We got our copy of the homestudy yesterday.  Shannon and I read through it together last night.  Other than a few minor errors, it seemed good.  Seemed to really capture who we are.  And that's a relief to me-- hopefully our case manager does really get us and will know what's best for us in placing children in our home.

We had a good Christmas.  Other than some drama with my dad and stepmom that I don't want to go into right now, it's been a great holiday week.  My brother and his family are in town visiting from Los Angeles.  I absolutely love getting to see my nephew again.  He is 14 months old now and doing so many new things compared to when we saw him in October.  He has really shifted into toddlerhood and it's so fun to share this special time with him.  He really recognizes and likes me now, reaching out for me to pick him up over and over.  One of the most fun things for me is that he is really starting to look like me.  He is literally the spitting image of me when I was that age.  We got out an old family album from when I was one year old and it was amazing to see the resemblance.  That is incredibly special to me.  If I cannot have a biological child of my own, it means a lot to see that my genetics are still being passed down.  It helps lessen that loss to know part of me is in him too.