Here are the two pictures that we have of Gracie in her new hoodie:

I will share a cute story about how much she likes her hoodie. Monday night she took off her hoodie in our bed and Tuesday morning we forgot to put it back on her... you know "out of sight out of mind". So all day Tuesday she ended up going without it. She must have gotten cold because that Wednesday morning she searched our bed until she found her hoodie, drug it from the bedroom in to the living room and laid it at her dad's feet and sat down looking up at him with those big puppy dog eyes!

You are all probably wondering what has been going on with my adoption. Well, here is the update...At the end of the second meeting, we had received the paperwork for the doctor's approval (and physical) to move on to step two. Then that following Monday Chuck got a call from the adoption agency saying we shouldn't waste our time or money and proceed with the adoption. Chances are we will either be turned down because of my condition, or we will be put on a waiting list for several years. These kids are from pretty tough backgrounds and I may not be able to control them. I still wanted to try because I have always wanted to be a mother, but Chuck just gives up and doesn't want to bother with it anymore. It has been several months now and I still haven't been able to convince him to keep trying, so I have now just given up also. I guess I will never be a mother!

*Just a Note*
After receiving my friends comment and question made me re read my post and realized I forgot something... I meant to answer the question beforehand, but for some reason I didn't. The agency told us that they wouldn't be the ones that would turn me down, it would either be the child's lawyer that is actually the one that places the child with a certain person or the person that does the home study. The agency was really impressed by me and the fact that I have degrees in Child Development helped a lot. So as you see it would not matter what agency I went through, all children that are adopted have a lawyer from the time that they leave the home until they are adopted and it is them that will discriminate and give us trouble.

Shall I be worried?

It has been a while since I have posted a blog. I finally have a break from that puppy! She is no longer the cute cuddly little newborn puppy, she is now the cute obnoxious active little pain in the butt. She has entered the "terrible twos" stage and keeps me on my toes throughout the day. She had a vet appointment this afternoon and my husband took her about 30 minutes ago... ah yes, a well deserved break!

Next Saturday is when my husband and I go to the first training session. We are excited to get this done and have a child. Yet, we are also very worried that the state will disapprove us for the adoption because we live in a fixer upper home that still is being worked on. But we do have enough room for another person so hopefully that is all they're interested in knowing. My father-in-law's new wife, Maggie, wanted the website for the adoption agency to give to her daughter. She was telling Chuck and I that in the state of Ohio (where her daughter lives) that the children available for adoption are only those that are mentally ill. That had us worried because I could not physically handle a child with limited mental capacities in certain situations. I again thoroughly searched the website for Michigan to see what kind of children were available to adopt. I did find a perfect child to adopt. She is named Jennifer, is 10 years old, loves animals and to be outside, but most importantly she prefers to be an only child! Hopefully she will still be available when we are approved... if we are approved.

, adopting, a new dog, and my mother-in-law

Wow, I haven't written on the troubles that I had with my mother in law and a couple of weeks. As you know, my husband and I have started the adoption process and we are required to attend a training seminar next month. There are two of them that we need to go to, one is on the 15th and the other is on the 20th. We are both really excited about being parents, but the longer this drags on the more worried we get that we will be turned down. We are not rich and I have a lot of physical ailments that may give them a reason to turn us down.
This coming Friday, the 10th, we will be getting a new puppy. I know I told everybody that we were going to wait a while before getting another dog, but these two months without a dog have seemed so lonely and long! So my brother-in-law's neighbors have some newborn puppies that they are giving away. I met the dog that we are getting Sunday. She is so cute and tiny! She is a mixture breed a Chihuahua/Miniature Pincher/Jack Russell, I will have to post a picture when I am able to. She will be six weeks old on Friday and I chose the name Gracie.

Several weeks had passed and Sharon was losing interest in the shop. She had decided to sell everything and close up shop. We had a big sale (which played a big part in my re building the relationship between Candy and I) at the shop and another one in the Days Inn conference room. The rest of the stuff that was left I said I would sell on eBay for her.
Then on December 31, 2006 is when something that I had dreaded happened. I received a phone call from her asking me if she could move in. My husband said yes, being his mother I understood why. Her reason for wanting to move in was because she was lonely....

My weekend fun

We got the kids Sunday night, all three of them. Usually we just get Brenden and Carrie but this time their stepbrother, Zac, wanted to stay too. It was a lot of fun and it kept me busy watching them and helping them play my game, Sims 2. Sunday when Ken and Kelly came to pick me up for church, Carrie asked if she could stay. Then on our way to church Brenden asked if he and Zac could stay, I said okay.

After church Ken and Kelly dropped me off at my house so Chuck and I could change into shorts. Then we went over to his dad's for barbecue and birthday cake. Then everyone in Ken's family (Kelly plus four kids and their dog Peppy) came over to celebrate Ken's birthday which was on Saturday. It was a great meal and a really good visit. They all seemed really interested in our adoption process. Carrie and Zac wants us to adopt a nine-year-old because that is how old they are, Branden wants us to adopt a 10 or 11-year-old since he is 11, Jessica didn't really have a preference... or at least she didn't say one. Chuck and I have not sent in our application yet, they want to see your house so Chuck and I are cleaning our house and removing all the unnecessary items that we have piled up. I am excited that he is now starting to take having a family seriously. It is about time I wasn't the only one. After we ate and the talk had died down, we went home and Ken followed us and dropped off the three kids. That evening we all watched Bridge to Terabithia and then they took turns on the computer or on their PlayStation that Brenden brought. Then they watched Ice Road Truckers and went to bed.
Monday I had them all to myself. Since it was a rainy day they spent it inside and played on my computer or on the PlayStation. By noon we noticed that it started to get awful dark... it was so dark, I couldn't even see the hands of the clock that was located 3 feet in front of my face!... then it started raining really hard. Soon after that we heard the tornado sirens go off. Since I grew up in "Tornado Alley", I was not worried at all because I knew what signs to look for and besides I was watching the news and I knew it was nowhere near us. I did tell the kids that if we were in any danger, they would go down stairs under the stairs and block them in with big boxes because of the big sliding glass doors by the stairway and I would go into a closet. The storm didn't last long, about 15 minutes after it had passed my sister-in-law showed up to pick up the kids. She was in a hurry and got the kids and left. It kind of upset me that she didn't even call to tell me she was on her way. I wasn't expecting anyone until five o'clock, so I didn't have the kids ready to go yet. They were at least dressed and fed, but they hadn't a chance to pick up all the toys that they had gotten out. Once they left I went in to the computer room and had to weave back and forth to avoid running over the PlayStation. Next time I would appreciate a phone call to tell me which you would be there at least!