Oh dear...I was told last night that our inquiries, registration information, and our debit card info (to pay for the registration fee) for the little girl we were trying to adopt, was never read. I know for a fact that the email with all the attachments was received because we got back an automated response...but evidently our email was never opened. Sooo...now the people deciding on the new home for the precious little girl are deciding TODAY whose home she will go to. We were not even considered because "supposedly" they didn't know we were interested. It is now too late for us.

It is a very hard thing, again, to be disappointed like this when I did everything right. I emailed all the information on Dec. 12th, emailed again to make sure the information was received, I called on the phone on Tuesday...but they were too busy to take my call...Their website asks us to wait 24 to 72 hours for our emails to be answered and NOT to phone because they are just too busy. So I did that over a period of almost two weeks and this is what happens. EERRRRGGGGG!!!

It just makes me wonder WHY these things happen!! Why is is so very difficult just to give a needy child a home?

Sometimes I feel like giving up...but I know that when I reach the end of my life, if I live long enough to be very old, I will regret not at least doing everything I can do to offer a child a home.

On a brighter note, Christmas is just around the corner, isn't it? Most of our shopping is done and the presents are mostly wrapped. I decorated a tree at the "big" house yesterday since we are going to do most of our celebrating there this year because we will have more room for everyone. We have a family dinner tonight with some of Roger's family coming over. Next week, Lord willing, we will be heading to Florida to celebrate in Pensacola with his twin sister and her family. We will first stop over in Nashville, Tennessee to visit with Joe, Roger's college roommate and good buddy!

Some friends of ours from Becca's homeschooling group are flying back from Ethiopia on Friday with their newest children! They already have 7 birth children and they are bringing back 4 more precious kids! Praise the Lord that is working out for them! We have been surrounded by adoption or "safe house" kids and that is probably what is making our adoption journey a bit harder for us...I know that they probably all have had bumps in the road as well that perhaps I didn't hear about! I am taking a meal to them the day before we leave for Florida...a meal for 13 people!! :) THAT will be fun!!

The little guy that I got really close to from my friend's "safe house" went home to his mom this week. That is wonderful for him but we got the impression that maybe she was going to place him in an adoptive home...we had hoped it would be with us....
I guess I should explain what a "safe house" is....when parents for some reason can't take care of their children and don't want to turn them over to the state, they can be put in a "safe house" with the intent of coming back to get them. It is all regulated and controlled but they are NOT in the foster care system. We have two friends who are doing that now.

Well, I have lots of cooking to do and kids to wake up! I was really mean to Becca on Tuesday, the first day of her long Winter break! I got her up and told her that I wanted to have her start on her Health class that day. She moaned and almost cried! (haha!!I'm sooo mean!!) She DOES have to do it in the month of January but I am going to give her this week completely off!! I'm not soooo mean! She doesn't have to start classes again for her "school" until January 23rd so she is working on Health and possibly Child Development for me! Some of the kids in the group are heading off on a missions trip but that wasn't in our budget this year.

You have a merry CHRISTmas!!!! Blessings to you!!
Love,
Beth