Highlights of 2012

I went to journal a little on New Year's day and reflected on some of the things that happened over this past year. I decided to share some of the highlights (good and bad) of 2012 with you all.

To begin with, I keep track of the many things I am thankful for throughout the year in my journal and I also keep a list of my prayers. It is amazing to look back and see how prayers have been answered and all of the many blessings I have in life (they can so easily be forgotten in the hustle and bustle of life).

Major highlights of the year:
1. Loss of Larry (David's dad) - we miss him so much and there is not a day that goes by that we don't think of him. Cherish every moment you have with those you love! Don't be afraid to talk about mental health issues. They are part of so many people's lives and the stigma surrounding them needs to be overcome.
2. Move from Indiana to Texas - so many mixed emotions with our move. It was exciting to start a new chapter in our lives, but bittersweet to leave those we love.
3. Starting new jobs at UTA (David) and TCU (Amanda). My new position (that I started in December) at TCU is going well.
4. Getting matched with a baby boy and continuing on our adoption journey to Bennett (still haven't chosen a middle name for him ;) Things have been moving slowly on the adoption front. Korea has passed a new law to allow for additional transparency in the adoption process; another checks and balances in the process to ensure children are being safely relinquished and placed. However, with implementation of any new law, things are moving slowly and have caused delays in all areas for the process. Our adoption agency, along with many others, should have had one more group travel to bring home their children in 2012. This did not happen due to the lack of implementation of the new law. With one group facing delayed travel, it pushes all of us back in the waiting to travel queue. We are still hopeful that we will get to travel by the end of 2013. We also got pictures of Bennett the day after Christmas and he was pictured with items from the package we sent him a few months ago. It was great to see he got his gifts.

We hope you all have had a wonderful Holiday and that your new year is full of many wonderful things!

Another step forward....

David and I had our fingerprinting completed with Immigration today. It's a small, but still a step closer in our adoption process.  Basically, the government wants to make sure we are who we say we are! It's crazy to me that they don't use the old fashioned ink and paper to take your fingerprints. It's all electronic!  Once the Adoption Unit at Immigration receives our fingerprints and reviews our home study, hopefully we'll officially be approved by the U.S. government to adopt.

On other good news, I got a new job! I'm so excited! I'll continue to work at Texas Christian University, but will move to the nursing department in a full-time position. My official title is the Coordinator, Nursing Academic Excellence Program. I will work with students who are struggling in their classes, helping them find tutoring and/or other resources they need to be successful.  I'll also be putting together some programming (mainly for study skills) for the department and will get to teach a class as well. Needless to say I'm pretty excited and I already love my new co-workers. I'll miss my other department, but luckily I'll still get to see them! 

This new job has also provided the financial peace we've been praying for! Thank you for those who have helped us fund raise and have donated to our adoption fund. We would not have made it to this point without you!

On another note, please pray for our friends Katrina and Jonny. They are expecting twins (due April 2013) and Katrina had to have emergency surgery yesterday as the babies are suffering from twin-to-twin transfusion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin-to-twin_transfusion_syndrome). She is at risk of going into early labor and there is always the possibility that she could lose one or both of the babies.  Please keep them in your prayers!

Love, Amanda