Sweet, Sweet Relief!

       Yesterday was a BIG day for us! It was a day that I had been a little apprehensive about to say the least. After answering a bazillion different personal questions in our autobiographies I couldn't possibly understand what else they wanted to know about me, much less imagine it taking "at least 3 hours" to complete. I'm not that interesting, really, what more could we possibly discuss:)? When you couple that with the fact that I would be alone during this process, without Nick by my side, I was not exactly pumped about it. Nick and I have been together for 16 years. We are a team! Like Mickey and Minnie, Ray and Debra, Batman and Robin, Snoopy and Charlie, and PB&J all is right with the world when we are together. The thought of being "interrogated" without him did not thrill me, but it had to happen so that we could get this home study wrapped up. So I went in to my appointment at 10:00 a.m. not knowing what it would hold ,but being "certain of this, that He who started this good work in me would see it through to completion"! I had spent so much time praying for this very moment, asking many people who love us to lift us up during this appointment, and like a mighty wave His peace overcame me. I sat in that chair, looked at Kathy and told her I was nervous. Not a second later than the word nervous proceeded from my mouth I felt calm and at peace. She asked me all of her questions, each one leading to the next. The interview rocked on with a holy ease. Next thing I knew, we were done! Right at an hour and a half, and we had finished. She was shocked that we had gotten through it so quickly, and still gotten all the information she needed. I was not. I had asked for holy ease, and holy ease is what I got. A dear friend sent me this scripture after my interview, and it fit perfectly with what He had been telling me all day long. "Faithful is He who has called you that He will bring it to pass..."1 Thess. 5:24. Great is His faithfulness... all I have needed thy hand hath provided.

     Nick's interview went great that afternoon.  He was able to convey his thoughts easily, which was what we had prayed for . He said it couldn't have gone any better:) I want to personally thank Nick's Sunday School class for the love and prayer support you have shown us. You will never know how much it means to us. We would also like to thank everyone who knows us face to face, and those who are reading this blog from miles away for your prayers as we accept this calling on our lives. His word says that, "The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much." I had the great joy and privilege of watching this truth in action yesterday. May I never, ever forget the way I felt.... how He delivered, on July 11th, 2011.

We're here! Yay and yikes all at the same time.

Let's take one last pic together just in case one or both of us doesn't survive this ;)

The waiting room a.k.a the twilight zone where seconds feel like minutes and minutes feel like hours.

Knockin' it out!

What a busy week we had this week! As we wade through the paper work that will eventually become our dossier, our hearts become more and more excited about our future Wiginton(s). What began as an indelible unmistakeable word from God, and has since been confirmed over and over and over again is another step closer to becoming a reality. We applied for our passports, got the kids medical releases completed, our medical releases completed, and what seemed to be a million forms notarized! We also got our records from our local police department for the home study completed, and got fingerprinted for our Federal clearances. Oh, and I almost forgot... we finished our autobiographies and mailed them in for our home study! After thirty pages highlighting practically every aspect of my life I was especially excited to have it knocked out. I felt like I had given birth when I finally finished it :) Anywho, our "interrogation" style separate interviews ,which will last a minimum of 3 hours each, are scheduled for this coming Monday (Prayers are appreciated :). While I am a little nervous about what all the interviews will hold, I am so excited that this day is finally almost here. It means that we are one step closer to completing our home study, and one step closer to opening our hearts to all that God has set before us. 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

- Millie

Nick signing the forms for our local police records.

Our lil angels at the police department.

They are sooo excited:)

Notary Public extraordinaire Miss Sonja Croone

Nick's fingerprints for Federal Clearance at the ABI Office

Where to Begin

Where to begin? That's the question I sit here and ask myself.  It has been so long since I've last updated this blog and so much has happened since I don't know where to start, so I'll start from the beginning and try to catch you up. 

Since we last left off we have had our first homestudy visit with our social worker and have been trying to get all our paperwork completed.  I have to say that we have definitely been a bit overwhelmed by the amount of paperwork that is needed.  While we knew that it would be a great deal, we just didn't realize how much time and effort it would take until we had started on getting it all together.  But we have persevered and are now about complete with all the paperwork, autobiographies, forms, etc. that is needed for the homestudy. 

We still have two visits left with our social worker before we can complete the homestudy but we are planning on having them completed by the end of the month, knock on wood.  We had originally planned for us to have completed the homestudy by now but I had to be out of town for work for six weeks and that kind of threw a kink in our plans, but that's ok we're back on track now.

God continues to blow our minds with the things that He shows us and it's usually when we least expect it.  I guess that's how He likes to work.  We know beyond a shadow of a doubt we are on the right path God has for our family and even though there may be obstacles in our path we will continue to pray that He will remove them or just give us the strength to get through it.  We can't begin to express our deepest thanks to all who have and are praying for our family and have supported us on this journey we walk. 

Hopefully next time it won't be a couple months before I try to update our progress. 

With much love in Christ,
Nick, Millie, Alex, and Avery