Quick Takes - a day late

Thanks Jen for hosting!  Go check out her blog for some hilarious quick takes!  :)

1. I know, I know, I'm a day late.  I had a busy day yesterday that ended with.....going to see Dr. Ray speak!  Woot!  It was a fun date night - the kids loved their new babysitter, Dr. Ray was hilarious (and insightful), and we got to see some friends that we weren't expecting to run into there.   Overall, it was a great night!

2.  Guess what I have today?   Believe it or not, I have PETER NEWS!  Double woot!   Just before Hurricane Sandy took our power away for a few days, we ended up getting a fabulous message from his country.   We received more pictures (which you can see here), and this child has already totally and completely melted my heart.  Seriously.  He's adorable.   

3.  Better than the pictures, though, was......a short but sweet update on Peter himself.  We learned that he's happy, healthy, and WALKING!  For those of you with kiddos with DS, you know that this walking thing is a pretty big deal.   I'm very excited about it - most likely, it's a sign that he's been well cared for and receiving therapy.   It's a very, very good indication for his overall health status.  :)

4.  Let's see.  What else is going on?   I'd been keeping track of our donations that have come in since this post about our matching funds.  I sat down the other night (once our power was restored), and did a little math and discovered that.......we only need to raise $560 before Johnny and Alison chip in the rest and we end up being FULLY FUNDED.  (Technically, it was $580 then, if you saw the facebook post, but we had $20 come in that night, so I've already updated it).  $560.  That's all.   I'm amazed and so very grateful.  Thank you all!   I will have a puzzle update picture soon - we're almost halfway there, and then the matching funds will take care of the rest!!

5.  Remember Malcolm?   His parents just recently returned from visiting him for the first time, and the pictures and stories from their visit are just incredible.  Poor Malcolm didn't quite understand that he wasn't able to go home with them right then...and tried to pack up his things and go home with his Mommy and Daddy.   As a result, a friend of the family (who also runs a fantastic advocacy blog), is trying to put together a matching grant that will help them get fully funded.  Can you help?  Contact this friend through her blog here.

6. Love coffee?   Love Nico?   Can you help his forever family bring him home by purchasing some coffee through this link?   They'll be ever so grateful!!   

7.  Like Scentsy products?  Check out this link!   There are THREE adoptive families holding fundraisers at this moment, and you could order awesome Christmas presents while helping all or one of these families bring their child home.  

Alright, that wraps up our return to Quick Takes!  Have a great weekend, guys!