Christmas is coming, The goose (not me) is getting fat

So life goes on. Congrats to the several families who have had referrals made in the past month or so. Exciting to see families coming to completion. One of those referrals was similar to my own, so I have two families with similar requests ahead of me (that I know of). This is good news.

Christmas is coming and I'm getting ready. I'm done shopping for my son, and my nieces and nephews and one of my sisters. Two sisters, one brother-in-law, and a mother left to shop for and we are good to go. I highly recommend the Melissa & Doug puppets -- well-made, and fairly priced. Caucasian-looking, although the skin is ethnically obscure, and the few with dark hair could pass for other races. When did I start shopping like this???! I don't care. It's good to be aware. I bought one for each of my sister's kids.

The boyfriend and I are going to choose a show or concert or something (maybe dinner theatre), and buy that together. It'll be fun; we both like getting stuff to do over stuff to have, and we're still not at a place where we are sure of what to buy each other. That part of my life is going very well. Very well. I'm super-pleased, and I think the family will eventually see him as I do. Sigh. Life is ooooookay.

See Ya Ticker Baby

Well, there she goes again. Well, in all fairness, I got rid of her, knowing it was coming, so technically she didn't fall off. But it's past two years of waiting. Whatever. She'll come when she comes. Would I like to meet her? Absolutely. Is she becoming dimmer as I look down the pipe of my future? Well, yeah. There will come a day when she is clear and bright. There will come a day that we will finally meet her. Someday. Just not yet. I still hold to hope that it will be soonish, but I know better than to hope too much. I don't think I'm going to go with the name I'd originally chosen for her. It's been so long. It seems like that girl is gone. I have another name in mind. It's a good one too. Any guesses? I'll give a couple of hints: Biblical, four letters, not common, but not unheard of. That's three good clues. Someone will probably guess.
Things are going well with the new fellow. Except that he is not a Christian, which is certainly a concern. Especially when he could be someone with huge influence on my kids. My family hates that I'm with him, because of that. My sister has nothing nice to say about it. My mam is worried that Jonah will be hurt if he attaches to him and things don't work out. But they don't know him at all, and this man is amazing. With the exception of that one (admittedly MAJOR) thing, he is so the guy for me. And not only is he not anti-Christian, like some non-Christians, he is curious and open to hearing about my faith. We discuss and debate the possibility; he prays with us at meals, and is coming to church on Sunday.
Arg. I hate that I can't tell my mam and sister, who are the people I'm closest to, about this guy. They don't want to hear. It's just caused a fracture in the family. But honestly, I'm so frustrated with them. Because it's not up to them. It's not their life. And they don't know anything about him or us, because they don't want to know. They can be so black and white. I would love to see him come to Christ, and truly, I think he will. Should I walk away from him because he's not? I know it is unwise to date a non-Christian. But I guess I'm holding on to hope. For him and me.