A little update...

There's some adoption news below but first I felt the photo above needed an explanation. Many of you may know that little brings Ellie more joy than playing with a balloon. They make wonderful rewards/incentives for good behavior, not to mention easy, portable entertainment! A while ago I made the 'mistake' (?) of drawing her face on a balloon and now nearly every one she gets will be followed by the words, "Face? Draw face?" In fact, a few weeks ago she thought she would help by finding a Sharpie, removing the cap and bringing it to me!

I can't remember what precipitated the photo above, except that it might have been the first time I was challenged by Nathan to draw myself. I think I will stick to Nathan and Ellie. This is as close as we've gotten to a 'family photo' in several weeks or maybe even months and I needed a photo to accompany this post.

We returned from our three-state tour on Monday afternoon and have been transitioning into summer mode. We've got our project list made up and given ourselves deadlines. We'll see how it goes!

Funny story from our trip: on the way to Marion from Grand Rapids Nathan made a hasty decision to whip off the interstate to grab a St*rbucks. I had been chatting on the cell phone and had no idea what state we were in, much less what city. I wrapped up my call and walk into the store to see Nathan chatting with someone. Maybe they were asking about the enormous kayak on the roof of our van? As I came into the store I took a double take! It was a student (from Alaska, so you can understand by double surprise) who went to Argentina with Nathan in March. Not only that, but he was sitting at a table with two friends who were also equally surprised...because a photo of Nathan was open on Steve's laptop! Steve had been visiting friends (in Ft. Wayne, by the way) and showing them photos of the trip to Argentina. Crazy, eh?

Okay, now to the adoption update:
On Monday we got the news that our dossier has completed the translation stage and been submitted into the AAC registry. It always feels good to pass another milestone. The next thing we'll wait for is our actual referral! We're prepared for a long wait but of course would like for it to come sooner rather than later. Thank you for your continued interest and prayers for us and the next Waggoner!