Time flies when you are havin' fun but mostly around here it has just been getting through the mundane aspects of life. Dottie just asked me to update our blog and I first had to look at what the last post was. It seems that it has been a while since we last wrote anything. So, let me update you. In the past couple of weeks we have continued to get a few more of the documents that we need for our dossier. Dottie got her first round of shots (Hep A/B and Tetanus). I finally made my appointment to get my physical. Frankly though, it seems that things have slowed down somewhat. Not much more can happen until we get our fingerprints and are approved my immigration. Never the less, things move forward. One really great thing happened. We received our first official donation to our adoption fund. It was great to get it not just because of the financial help but because of the emotional support that was behind the giving.

Today of course we celebrated Thanksgiving. We had turkey and a wonderful apple pie that Joshua and Dottie made. For the most part we spent the day relaxing and going through sales ads. It was a good day. I have noticed that throughout the day I have found myself thinking about next Thanksgiving when our house will have 2 new children who know nothing about this holiday. I've also been wondering what they are doing today in Ethiopia. Hoping that, even though they aren't celebrating Thanksgiving, that they are having a good day and eating well. In what may seem strange to some people, I suppose I have been missing our kids today. I dwell for a moment on those thoughts and then come back to the now. I hear Joshua talking about a new cartoon. I hear Hannah blowing her nose (again). I hear my wife giggle at our goofy kids. Life will be different next year. Life will be good next year. But life is good this year too.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Life goes on and we get one more step closer...

As a family goes through the process of adoption, much of their thoughts and energy is put into the adoption. Even during the periods when you are merely waiting for paperwork to be filed and finished you can find yourself easily caught up in all things adoption. However, life does and will continue. Just this past weekend life continued here as we are celebrating our daughter's 13 birthday. Officially her birthday isn't for another couple of weeks but for her birthday she wanted to go to a horse show that was happening this past weekend in Virginia. So, her, her mother, and a friend enjoyed a weekend away.

Now today we met with our social worker for our final meeting. We were scheduled to do this earlier but the social worker got sick. Unfortunately, this meant more than just having to wait another couple of weeks it also meant that we had to switch from meeting at an Ethiopian restaurant in Raleigh to meeting at a Cracker Barrel in Salisbury. Never the less, we had a good meeting and a good meal.

Now we are one more step closer and yet have many more steps to go. So, life goes on...

Adoption Funds

Hey everybody,
As you all know we are currently in the long process of adopting 2 children from Ethiopia. As you may also know this is one very costly adventure. In order to both help with the expenses of the adoption and to provide an opportunity for others to be involved in this wonderful mission we will be doing various fundraisers throughout the process.

One fund-raising idea that has come our way is through Current. You may recognize Current as the company that prints checks as well as other paper products such as wrapping paper, cards, and stationary. If you wish to participate simply:
1. Go to www.currentfun.com
2. Click on "Start Shopping Now" and shop.
3. When you are done shopping and "Proceed to Checkout"
4. You will be asked for what state. Click on "North Carolina"
5. When the list of organizations come up, scroll down to "Raymer's Adoption Fund".
6. Finally, just finish up your order.

Please understand that we in no way want people to feel obligated to do this. Honestly, I really don't like the idea of fund-raising. However, I do like the idea of involving as many people as possible in this incredible life changing event for not only our current family but for the our two children currently in an Ethiopian orphanage. This is just one way to get involved. If you want to help with the adoption but aren't into "Current" stuff, we will have other opportunities. And by the way, we only will be getting a check from Current. We will have no idea who bought something or what they chose to get.

We thank you all for your support and above all for you prayers during this time.
John and Dottie Raymer

Mommies and Cookies

John's parents came to visit. While they were here John decided he wanted THE COOKIES. The ones that when he talks about them, he refers to his mom as "mommy". I just had to get a shot of John in the kitchen with his mommy and son making cookies. (Please ignore the mess!!)