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Closer to bringing Eliana home!

         I know I have said this a lot over the last two weeks, but I'm gonna say it again - it has been a crazy couple of weeks and God continues to show off in big ways.
       Good news - today we signed our placement paperwork for Eliana!!! She is ours :). Once Eliana is discharged from the hospital she will be in our home for 90 days and that we will go to court to make her an official Tant!!! We can't wait to officially introduce you to our beautiful baby girl.

We can't share a picture of Eliana yet, but look at that precious, perfect little fist

        Eliana has had a big week. Last week they did surgery to repair a hole in her heart. Our sweet girl was so brave and strong and came through the surgery with flying colors. She is steadily improving, though a little slower than we had originally anticipated. We met with her doctors today and have a plan to move her towards discharge. I'm thinking she still has another week or two in the hospital, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are all so ready for her to be home with us and for a family to be complete.
        Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us on this journey so far. Thank you to everyone who has prayed (and continues to pray) for us and for our sweet girl. Thank you to the people who have picked up our big kids from school so that Aaron and I could both go to the hospital. THANK YOU!!
        In our last update I shared that we had been approved for a matching grant from Lifesong for Orphans. I can't believe that I actually get to say this, but we are completely funded except for the lawyer costs that we will have to pay when the adoption gets finalized. I am in awe of the goodness of God and his kindness and grace and the compassion of others who have partnered with us on this journey. We still need to raise about $2000 to cover the legal fees. Moving forward, all of our donations will be going through Lifesong for Orphans and these donations will be tax deductible. There are two ways to donate through Lifesong. The first is by writing a check made payable to Lifesong for Orphans and putting "#8291 Tant" on the memo line and mailing the check to Lifesong for Orphans, PO Box 40, Gridley, IL 61744. The second is to make an online donation by going to lifesong.org/donate/family and filling out the form, our Family Account number is 8291.
       Please continue to pray for Eliana - pray that she will continue to improve and that she will start taking her bottles more consistently. Pray for my momma heart - Eliana is starting to recognize us and that makes it so much harder to leave her each time. Pray for the big kids - it hasn't been easy on them to have their parents gone so much. Pray for Aaron - he has been amazing and so sacrificial so I can go to the hospital multiple times awake - he is my hero. Pray that the interstate compact agreement gets approved before Eliana is discharged from the hospital so that she can come directly home with us. God is good!

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