While We Wait: February 2016 (month #2)

A little belated...short and somewhat sweet

Adoption Related Stuff

• In February, we chose an adoption lawyer in case we have a private adoption opportunity, meaning we connect with prospective birthparents on our own, without the mediation of our agency. (This is a possibility - keep us in mind if you know anyone considering adoption!) Our lawyer will also help us understand state adoption laws as they apply to new situations we encounter. And God willing down the road, he will be our lawyer for finalizing our adoption. It feels reassuring to have a lawyer in our court, so to speak.
• We turned in two grant applications, which were time consuming to fill out. But hopefully it will help us financially in the long run! We have one more grant in the works (for now).
• We showed our profile to a prospective birthparents, but unfortunately were not chosen. That was tough.
• Kept praying for our child, who is out there somewhere!

Other Stuff We Did

• We had a very nice Valentine's Day dinner at our place with good friends of ours. It is an annual tradition now in its seventh year. On the menu: arugula-prosciutto salad, filet mignon, asparagus, roasted potatoes, and a phenomenal dessert aptly named "death by chocolate."

• Dan helped to plan a major event at his place of employment that was a great success. He is also working on several really neat projects at work including his first foray into coffee table books!
• Bethany created and coordinated a virtual marriage retreat around Valentine's Day.
• Bethany also visited good friends of ours (including her two godchildren) in Virginia - a quick trip but really fun! A highlight was discussing with their almost 5 y/o son various ways in which his grandpa's ducks have met their untimely ends - including a thunderstorm. Who knew?
• We visited the town of Frederick, Maryland for a day trip, partly to soothe our sad hearts after finding out that we weren't chosen for the adoption. We went to Mass at St. John the Evangelist Parish, a beautiful historic old church, then had brunch at IHOP, one of Bethany's favorites. We toured the Flying Dog brewery and had some delicious beers (see below), walked along an urban park with pathways over a river, strolled through downtown historic Fredericksburg, and finished off the day with picking up some Cubanos at a local Cuban restaurant. It was a great day, but our favorite part was the brewery.  

Huge vats (?) of beer. We got to sample some not-quite-done beer.

Where beer is made

The original flying dog is behind us.

Taking a yummy flight.

"300 bottles of pop on the wall, 300 bottles of pop...."

We hope your February was great!