Happy birthday, Amani!

Ok, I'm a day late on that. However, our gorgeous niece, Amani, turned one year old yesterday. Wow, how the year has flown!!! We had a party for her on Saturday. She is precious and more amazing than ever!

Michael had a job interview yesterday for a position at the airport. Now we wait. He has been substituting quite a bit and is working for IST Management during the school holidays. I am so proud of him for being so determined and dedicated.

My hours at my part time job have been cut further. I am not working at all this week.

On December 14, Michael and I were in a skit at church. It was recorded and put on YouTube. The link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbTXVfBm9W8. Michael is the lead guy with the guitar case and I am background with the purple shirt and a kid.

On December 21, Michael and I were part of a choir for the first time since college! We sang for the Christmas service at church.

Michael will also be reading the Christmas story at our Christmas Eve service tomorrow night. That morning will be spent with the Dude, Share the Food ministry from our church. It is a weekly ministry that delivers food in Atlanta. We get to deliver the 300 blankets the church has collected. We are taking our neighbor's son, Camden, with us. He was given a bag of 350 tootsie rolls for Christmas that he wants to distribute tomorrow. He is the most generous child I know!

I am grateful to be out of school, and am making remarkable strides in avoiding my doctorate dissertation! It looks so huge right now that I feel I will never finish it, so why try? I know this is a terrible attitude to have..........

Michael and I visited Cumberland Mall yesterday. While walking around the conversation continually returned to the children we will be adopting and how much we want them to have a wonderful Christmas this year and how much we hope that they will be with us next year.

On whim, Michael and I sent a Christmas card and a copy of our support letter to Mark Richt, head football coach for the University of Georgia. He and his wife have adopted two children from Ukraine and are HUGE supporters of adoption. We actually got a letter back on December 19! He is praying for our adoption journey and wishes us well! We were so touched that he would take the time to actually write us back. While this house is dedicated to Notre Dame, Mark Richt as a person has two new fans!