Holla!! Great Friends, Great Times

I am finally back in the blogging arena:) Work and life have been hectic and I have not had time in the past week to post or catch up yet on others' blogs.

This weekend was absolutely fantastic!! Every year around this time, Jamie and I, along with many of our close friends, go to Galena and rent a house in Eagle Ridge Resort. This was the 8th year we have been doing it and every year it just gets better. It is a way for all of us to take a weekend out (sans kids) and just reconnect. While some of us live close to each another, others do not and this is our one traditional weekend a year to get together, have some fun, and relax. I will say, after the past six months of crazy adoption "stuff" we were looking forward to this weekend more than ever. And it did not disappoint...I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Unfortunately this year, we were missing some key players who could not make it and we missed them incredibly!! We are looking forward to next year already and having everyone there!! Needless to say, it was a much needed weekend away:) Not to mention getting to spend quality time with people we love and hold dear to our hearts.

And then to top it off, Jamie and I went to Dubuque, IA to see Jen, one of my closest and oldest friends (we go back to junior high), and her boyfriend Bryan. Even though it was a short visit, I was glad we were able to go and spend some time with them. Jen got us the cutest baby gifts. She gave us a little photo album that will be put to great use, and a really cool teething toy for the Little Man! I can't wait to give it to him in Kaz:) All in all, a great weekend!!

On the adoption front, things are status quo. We are waiting for DCFS approval and expect to hear from them hopefully next week!!! Although it would be great if we got approval this week, but no expectations at all;) Jamie and I are working hard on making sure all else for the dossier is in good working order so we can send everything in for translation (minus the 171H) next month. March is looking like dossier submittal month, which is very exciting indeed!!!

On another adoption front, I cannot reiterate enough how happy we are that we switched agencies. There have been some additional pieces of information learned about our old agency that have really worked to reinforce why we switched. We are just so incredibly happy with our new agency!!

Also, I wanted to give a special shout out to our friends Ethan and Jill, who are having a baby in June and just found whether they are having a boy or girl:) I am not going to publicly divulge, but we are super excited for them and can't wait for our little ones to meet. And I can't wait for Jill and I to do some damage in the baby shopping department:)

Hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend and has a fantastic week!!! I for one, plan on having a great week, and I am already looking forward to next weekend for two reasons: 1. We have plans on Saturday meet up with two couples who have adopted from Kaz, and 2. My G-Men are in the Superbowl!!! I cannot wait to watch the game complete in my old school Joe Morris jersey (#20 and the running back on the 1986 Superbowl Champion Giants).

Good luck to all of those in country, travelling to Kaz, waiting for LOIs, paper chasing, etc. May good things come quickly to all:)