Pictures of Our Friends in Guatemala

I thought that I would include some pictures of the wonderful people that we met while we stayed in Guatemala. These pictures are of families that are also adopting their little angels. Hope you enjoy! Please keep all these families in your prayers, as each case is unique. I am on my knees right now praying for Leah and Maya. Leah was kicked out of PGN while we were in Guatemala together. Her and her husband made the sacrifice for Leah to go and live in Antigua to foster Maya for the next 2 months. However, Leah just found out that her case is behind schedule and will probably be living in Guatemala for the next 5 months. I am asking all of you guys to pray for her and Maya, so that her case will be done in record time. Pray for her file to have a "shining" light on it so that all the reviewers will be drawn to it.

Spencer and Sophia (Florida)

Caroline and Ava (California)

Kirsten (who is living at the Marriott with mom until she gets out of PGN!!! YEAH!)

Leah and Maya (Fostering in Antigua and will hopefully be living in Washington soon)

Becky, David, and Andrea (neighbors to us in Conyers!!)

Pics from our 2nd trip (July 11-24)

C stands for Cutie Caroline!

This smile is for Daddy! I missed you!

Mommy, Nana, and me!!! (Ignore the date, mommy messed the camera up!)

I'm trying to walk for you guys!

Picture Perfect in my custom made dress by Nana!

Sorry for the delay...

Sorry for the delay in posting any news. It's been a little hectic around here trying to unpack, settle back in, and get ready to go back to work. Okay, enough about me, you really want to know about Caroline???

Caroline is doing great! My mom and I had such a wonderful visit with her. It was amazing to see how much she's grown! She's trying to sit up on her own, trying to roll over, and is following objects with her eyes! I really think she's going to be a lefty...whenever we would give her a toy, she'd take it from her right hand and put it in her left hand! Tim thinks she's going to be a left-handed fast pitch softball player! Look out Arizona Wildcats!!! Caroline is such a good baby. She rarely cries...only when she is hungry or trying to fight going to sleep. We think that we spoiled her by holding and rocking her so much! I'm sure her foster mom, Ulyssa, is loving us right now!

It was heart wrenching leaving her again. We packed a large duffel bag of clothes, books, disposable cameras, a playmat, and a bouncer seat to leave with her. I think Ulyssa was a little overwhelmed by all the goodies. During the good-bye, I heard her say that she takes Caroline to church each week. She said that she was a Christian. My heart did a somersault! I replied in my "broken" Spanish that I was also a Christian. She smiled a huge grin and gave me a hug. I told her to keep taking Caroline to church and to keep praying for her to come home quickly. What a great testimony! As we gave Caroline back to Ulyssa, it was bittersweet. I leaned down to give Caroline a huge hug and kiss and she looked up at me with the biggest smile of the week! It was as if she was telling me that she would be okay and she'll see me soon. I suppose it's better to give her back smiling rather than crying. I'm not sure I'd have gotten on the plane at that point! God definitely knew what I needed!

If there is anything that anyone can do for us...it is to PRAY! Pray for Caroline's safety, health, and that she will come home to us in October.

DNA...Check!!!!

DNA...check! What exciting news for us! Our DNA results came back for Caroline and they matched with her birth mother. 99.99% to be exact. You can't get any more perfect than that! I had this cute little picture to post when we got the news, but being in Guatemala, I can't get to the picture. Oh, well. Next week, we should be getting the "official" paperwork to fax down to Guatemala so that we can exit family court. Hopefully, we will be entering PGN in the middle of August and coming home in late September or early October. We are asking all you prayer warriors out there to keep up the awesome work! God is so good!

Hello from Guatemala!!!

We made it to see our wonderful little angel! She's so perfect! As soon as I saw her foster mother rounding the corner, I gasped with a sigh of relief and excitement. She literally took my breath away! My mom is here with me and she immediately began crying! She kept saying "She's so beautiful! She's so beautiful!" Caroline is weighing in at about 12-13 pounds and has gotten really long! We took her foot and hand prints so we can frame them on the wall.

We've had a great day and had a great night last night. Caroline slept in her crib for the first time and slept solid. She woke up once for a bottle and went right back to sleep for us. We've already changed her clothes 4 times!!! Poor thing...she doesn't have any clothes!! :) Today, we met another couple from our agency and they are adopting 3 children! I can't even begin to imagine! What an awesome couple!

The only thing that we are missing, is daddy! Caroline and I miss him very much and wish that he could be here with us. WE are sending a BIG kiss and hug to him today. I'll try to post some pictures later today or tomorrow of her. I'm not sure how successful I will be since the computer is in Spanish. I definitely need to brush up on my second language! Stay tuned...

Adorable Pictures from our 1st Visit

My first bath with Daddy and Mommy! Wow!

Mommy, I don't like this carrier!!!!

Practicing sitting up!

Sleeping Angel

Pretty in Pink

Typical Saturday

It was another typical Saturday for us...we got up, played tennis and went to Babies-R-Us. We looked at cribs and mattresses for Caroline. We met a very nice man who informed us of all the basic crib facts and we learned a ton! I can't believe that I got Tim to stay there for over an hour!

I learned that two of our Guatemama friends got out of PGN yesterday! YEA!!! We met Ruthanne and Andrew and Alissa and Emilio in June at the Marriott. They will be receiving their embassy dates some time next week! God is so awesome! He heard their prayers and is bringing their boys home at an early age! We keep praying each day for an expedited process and so far He is listening. We are truly blessed by Him!

Good News...

Yesterday I called our agency and they told us that Caroline will be getting her DNA taken on Thursday! I thought we had already crossed that milestone, but they informed us that the Embassy didn't approve her birth certificate. So, our wonderful facilitator, went to get her a "corrected" birth certificate and submitted it to the embassy. He received the approval on Monday, so DNA day will be soon!!!!

I went to our wonderful neighbor's house last night and booked our buddy passes to Guatemala for Wednesday, July 11th. My mother is so awesome, that she agreed to stay even longer, so we'll be returning home on July 24th. I can't wait to see Caroline and spend an amazing 2 weeks with her!