Christmas 2012 and looking ahead to 2013

It's the day after Christmas, and I am sitting here at our computer sipping my coffee with a orange tabby kitten asleep on the desktop. My husband is still in bed asleep. I think about this last week of hustling and bustling around trying to make sure I had all the ingredients bought for the dishes I planned to make for our two Christmas celebrations, one with my dad and the other with the in-laws. I made it through. 
Last year, I can't say I made it as easily. I was pretty much an emotional wreck. We had just finished our GPS classes for DHR and were working on our home study paperwork. I was so yearning for a little girl that stole my heart... but Christmas day came... and went... New Year's came... and went... and 2012 came and is almost gone and our family still has missing pieces. 
Since Summer of 2011, we have inquired on 7 children (if I am remembering them all). And it has taken us until November 2012 to get our CPR class in (of which we have not gotten our official cards yet). I honestly don't know where this crazy road of trying to adopt from the state is going... to me, all it seems to be is dead-end after dead-end. That is why I am so happy that we are going to at least go see the fertility specialist in January. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

CPR... check!

Well, we have now made it successfully through our CPR class, which was the last official step left in our home study process. We still do not have any prospects towards adoption, but are still somewhat hopeful.

Back to CPR... We not only learned the lasted CPR technique but also learned how to basically use an AED (automatic external defibulator) and basic First Aid.
I had to laugh at Kim & I when we tried to learn the CPR on the baby dummy. Oh, yeah, you could so tell who had never had a baby! lol I think we "killed" that poor baby doll.

So that's about it. But it's one more step down.