Long time, no post...

Well, I have a lot I could write about, which is probably why I haven't, because, you know, that stuff takes time, but I will update you (my family and closest friends) on this major happening in our family:

Last week, Lance and I met with an attorney to talk about adoption.....no new kids or anything.....just for Lance to adopt Kristina and Jakob. We are praying and hoping that this all goes smoothly. The attorney will send John a letter (which he probably already has) and if he agrees to the adoption, all he has to do is sign and return the letter. Then we can precede with a court hearing, which only takes a few minutes, and we all sign the same document, and it is a done deal. We get amended birth certificates that say Nath instead of Troester or Andersen. If things don't go this smoothly, then the attorney will start doing things like filing for child support etc, and this would just drag things out. He has not seen the kids (well, he has never seen Jakob) since Kristina was two. He has made no attempts to see them either since that time, even though he has known where we are. This was my coaxing though. I sent a letter long ago....right after I left....that said if he stayed away, I would not file for child support. He has stayed away. He called me a year after the fact asking me to make that legal. he wanted to sign away his rights at that time. I told him he couldn't unless there was a stepfather ready to adopt them. Then he said, "So, you dating anyone?" So, yeah, unless he has had some miraculous change of heart or he decides he wants to be a big pain, all things should go smoothly. I honestly expect him to be relieved to get the letter and sign right away. After all, he actually PAID for the stepfather of his first daughter to adopt her.

The attorney himself seems very nice and well-informed. He is also a believer which makes it nice. He came highly recommended from some of the ladies I know through our homeschool co-op.

Anyway, I will keep you all posted as things develop.