"Paper Pregnant"

     Well, I will start off by saying we have had a very eventful past 8 weeks.  So I apologize for not writing a post in such a long time!  Just to sum it all up for you: Michael had a 3 day hospital stay for a spider bite, I broke my ankle and had surgery, Addyson had the worst diaper rash both I and the doctor has ever seen, and each of us has had our turn in the doctor for a sick visit.  As I am writing this Michael is sitting beside me using Addyson's nebulizer because his chest is so congested.  Like I said, very eventful.  But I don't want to sound negative, because something wonderful also happened this week!  We are officially homestudy ready! In the adoption world, you could say we are "paper pregnant".  I like to say this even though I know we may get a toddler or older child.  But in a way I do feel pregnant; like I want to "nest" because I know I have a child coming soon and I want to prepare in every way possible.  But since we do not know the age of the child we will be getting, it's almost impossible to do that right now. 
     Anyway, we are homestudy ready as of 1-5-12, which means we could get a call for an adoption situation at any minute and we could GO GET HIM!  But right now all we can do is WAIT. During this wait I have been doing alot of research on down syndrome. I have to say that my new favorite blog/website is www.noahsdad.com If you have a minute to check it out, he is a dad who blogs daily about his son who was born with down syndrome.  His purpose is to show the world that a child with down syndrome can live a normal life, and wants to urge mothers to carry their babies to full term.  This is so important to me because 90% of down syndrome diagnoses are aborted.  I pray for our little boy all the time, wondering where he is, what he is doing, or if he is even born yet.  I've even prayed that if our child is in his mothers womb that she would not even think about aborting him, because we are waiting to love him!  I pray that God would be preparing him to come to our family, and protecting him wherever he may be.  Michael and I have also decided that if we do get a newborn or a child who we are able to name, that we will name him Carter James Manuel.  I love that we already have a name to call him, and that allows me to pray for him by name.  I pray for Carter, even though I know he may already come with his name.  This allows me to feel like he is already my son.  Every night Bayleigh and Landon pray for their brother.  Bayleigh always prays for him to come soon.  I love her big heart!
     I have to admit I am getting very anxious and cannot wait to get "the call".  But I am trying to just be patient during this waiting game, and focusing on Jesus Christ.  I know that He has allowed every circumstance to be orchestrated in order for our Carter to come to us at the right time.  I love that He is still working out Jeremiah 29:11 in every aspect of this adoption!
     Even though these past few weeks have been rough, we know that we have some really happy days ahead of us!  We are still raising funds for our adoption and would love for you to prayerfully consider giving to our adoption. If you can give financially, please contact either myself or Michael, by emailing us.  katiem0614@aol.com, bromichaelmanuel@aol.com  We want to thank all of our family and friends who have already supported us and everyone who has given financially!  You are Awesome! We pray that God blesses everyone who gives and prays for our adoption! You don't know how much we appreciate you and Love you!