Timeline and NEWS!!

I haven't been very good at keeping a time line of our journey. But while I can still sort of remember what has happened this last year I figure I better try to jot it down. AND since I have found that pouring over other mother's timelines has been helpful to me over the past year, I thought I should try to share mine.

April 20, 2012----I travel with Grace to meet her daughter Sam for the first time.
June 24, 2012---we start getting fingerprints done for our home-study (I know this because they have expired...and we have to get them done AGAIN :) )
September 2012----we commit to Simon
January 24th 2013---I mail my dossier to my agency!!!
January 28th 2013---my dossier goes to Bulgaria
February 22nd 2013---verbal referral
February 28th 2013--written referral
March 22 2013----we get to meet Simon for the first time
April 30 2013--Article 5 interview
May 20 2013----our article 5 is submitted
June 2 2013----our lawyer tells us that she is going to a hearing to get us a court date
June 8 2013----our court date!!!! Simon is officially ours!

We can't wait to get our travel dates and we have been told that we will get some travel dates on Monday or Tuesday of next week. (july 15 or july 16)

It finally seems like things are moving quickly!! I hope it continues to feel this way! Praise God for all his provision, and moving the mountain to allow our court date to happen before the court shut down in Bulgaria. Now I pray that he helps me get everything done to prepare for our trip!

Here are some pictures of our recent camping trip to Lake McConaughy. If you live in the midwest...you should visit is sometime. It is the closest you can get to the "beach" in the midwest...besides lake Michigan, which really doesn't count as midwest because it is so far north :)

here is Ishmael driving a stagecoach in a museum in ogallala...we didn't know this was such a cowboy town!

Here is our campsite...this is the best beach I have seen in the midwest...I can't believe we were in Nebraska!!!

Here is Ishmael roasting his own marshmallow.  

This is after we came home...but I wanted to include it.  Ishmael really loves to play in the water!  I hope Simon does too!