Visit Trip 3~ Highlights and Days 3 & 4

Isabella, you are 4 months old today. Happy birthday, baby!

Visit Trip 3~ Day 2

The three of us out by the pool

Bella and daddy taking a nap

Bella and mommy hanging out by the pool while dad takes a swim We walked around the mall and did a little shopping. She just slepped in her Bjorn!

Fashion shows galore!

Visit 3 Day 1

Isabella is getting bigger! She is so happy and has gotten to be quite the chunky monkey. Our internet connection is sooo s-l-o-w right now at the hotel. I'll see if I can post more pictures and video later.

Woo Hoo!!!

A dear new friend of mine, Gina, whom I met in Guatemala on our first visit trip in August emailed this verse to me last night, "Be joyful always; pray continually; giving thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will for you in Christ Jesus" I Thessalonians 5:16-18. That was my focus verse today, as I am trying my hardest to stay focused on the Lord- and not the daily ups and downs of this adoption process.

One bit of news today is that DNA arrived to the Guatemalan Embassy at 3:40 pm. Woo Hoo!!! I guess we'll start our wait for visa pre-approval tomorrow. I read today that the PA wait is back up to 60 days. That stinks! That's 60 whole days where Bella sits in her orphanage and nothing happens with her case.

I better start thinking about that verse again!

A Simple Thank You

The other day my youngest son said a genuine, unprompted, heart-felt thank you to me. I don't really remember what it was for. I think I helped him put his seat belt on (He has a broken arm). Anyway, his thank you really stuck out to me. There is so much that I happily do for him day in and day out...cooking, cleaning, endless loads of laundry so he can wear his favorite pair of shorts, praying away bad dreams in the middle of the night, running forgotten homework and lunches to school. I do it all because I love him, not for a thank you. BUT when a thank you comes and it's from his own little heart, it means the WORLD to me. It draws me closer and fills my heart with joy.

His thank you made me think of the Lord and our adoption process. You see, I seem to always be doing battle with the Lord... "God, please help the Congress vote for a grandfather clause. God, please bring Isabella home before the laws change." You know, prayers like that. I think those prayers are good and necessary. However, I was reminded by my little seven year old that a "thank you" once in a while sure is a breath of fresh air. Instead of only "battle prayers" today I changed it to a time of "thank you's". I took time to thank God for many things that I have been neglecting to thank him for because I have been so focused on the fight. I thanked him for helping us through the maze of paperwork putting together a home study and dossier in 2 1/2 weeks, for our 171H before I lost my mind, for Isabella... she is our sunshine, that God saved her life before she came to the hogar, for her birth mom's sacrifice of love, for a daughter that I have been praying for my whole life, Family Court approval and DNA, opportunities to travel to visit her, hope that she WILL come home, the money for her adoption when we didn't know where it was going to come from. I have so much to thank Him for! And you know what? After I prayed those prayers I got the most wonderful, unexpected feeling that a weight was lifted off of my chest. That's the only way I can describe it.

As my son's heart-felt thank you meant so much, I hope that I brought joy to my Father's heart today thanking Him for all that He has done for me.

Esther 9:22, "Their sorrow was turned into joy and their mourning into a day of celebration."

The Latest

We got confirmation today that DNA was taken last Friday between Bella and her birth mom. We are soooo thankful! We also got confirmation that the DNA specimens arrived to LabCorp (in the US) today. We are so thankful this step has been completed. Now we wait for a few weeks to get results. Ahhhh, more waiting!

Our next steps after DNA are... receiving US visa pre-approval (hopefully a two to three week wait), and then we will re-enter PGN. We have already been through PGN once, so hopefully we will get through in 60 days or less. Please pray with us that God would continue to watch over Bella (and her friends) while we wait. Please also pray that God would expedite our cases and that our precious babies would be home by Christmas! That's a TOTAL prayer of FAITH!

I love the picture below. It looks like a little Guatemalan baby girl sitting on Jesus' lap. My friend, Dayna, emailed it to me when we first started paper chasing. It's called "My Child", and was painted by David Lindsley. It reminds me that Isabella's life is in the Lord's hands- the best place to be. He dearly loves her and has such great plans for her life. I can feel it!

Hey, how's this for cool? I was looking in my Bible for a verse of encouragement for today. I wasn't looking specifically for something- only something to lift me up. The cool part is that it totally relates to the picture below and adoption. I pray that these verses will encourage you too:

Psalm 146
Praise the Lord! Let all that I am praise the Lord.
I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God with my dying breath.
Don’t put your confidence in powerful people;
there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth,
and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
He made heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them.
He keeps every promise forever.
He gives justice to the oppressed
and food to the hungry. The Lord frees the prisoners.
The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down.
The Lord loves the godly. The Lord protects the foreigners among us.
He cares for the orphans and widows,
but he frustrates the plans of the wicked.
The Lord will reign forever.
He will be your God, O Jerusalem, throughout the generations.
Praise the Lord!

So We Wait 'Til Friday...

"During the past seven days, Joint Council has been in frequent and direct communication with the Office of President Oscar Berger regarding his administration’s position on the adoption cases currently in-process. Despite the ongoing dialogue between Joint Council and the Berger administration, we are unable to report that President Berger supports the unencumbered completion of the adoptions in-process. Similarly, we cannot confirm the President’s support for the amendment to Article 52 of bill #3217, which would allow for the completion of in-process cases under current law. It is our understanding that the administration will publish an announcement on the transition cases on or around October 19th" (JCICS).

This waiting is exhausting! However, if we look on the bright side, it gives us more time to pray, pray, pray!

Keeping Our Fingers Crossed

JCICS will be posting an announcement on Monday, October 15th, regarding an update from President Berger. We are hearing rumors that he is supportive of a grandfather clause. We're keeping our fingers crossed! We'll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

Prayerfully,
Stacy

We're Coming to See You, Bella!!!

Bella,

Daddy is missing you way too much, and so am I! We are coming to see you at the end of the month! Daddy is such a good shopper and found airline tickets for $64.

We love you so much and pray for you constantly. This Friday we are mailing out adoption announcement photo cards with your picture on them. We are asking everyone we know to post that little photo card and to pray for you daily. We included a little note with the card explaining what is happening with Guatemalan adoptions and how to pray for you and your friends who are waiting to be adopted. When you are big enough to read this you will get a glimpse of how much you are loved by your family, friends, neighbors and church family. We are all praying for you and can't wait for you to come home!!

Love you like crazy,

Mom

Good News... Answered Prayer!!!

Gosh, it felt good to write that title!

Thank you all for praying for DNA authorization. God heard our prayers and answered them this morning at 11:00 am. Yea!!! We are feeling so thankful and happy that things are moving again for Isabella's case. The actual DNA test is scheduled for this Friday. On one hand, I am so excited for Friday's test. . . on the other, my heart is sad for Bella's birth mom (M.M.). This will be the last time that M.M. sees and holds Isabella. We are praying specifically that M.M. feels peace and confidence knowing that her daughter will be cherished by us and will grow up in a family full of kindness, laughter, faith, support and unconditional love.

We Need Prayer for This Next Step

Please be in prayer for us to receive DNA authorization. What usually is a quick submittion of papers, is actually taking many weeks. I called our lawyer in Guatemala and he says he is waiting on some documents. We really need prayer for this next step!

Thank you for praying!!!

Edited: I just emailed Guatemalan President Berger asking him for grace for in process cases and why it's important. You can send him an email too at presidente@scspr.gob.gt . Thanks!!!

Hope

I have been having such a hard time lately with all the uncertainties with Guatemalan adoptions. I think of myself as "strong", but this has really gotten me weak in the knees. I think I look fine on the outside, but on the inside I am a mess... just worried sick!

I choose to cling to the hope I have today. Psalm 31:7 says, "...You saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul." I believe that God knows my heart and is acting on our behalf to help the innocent babies in Guatemala, like Bella.

We have written and called all of our local politicians. All of the responses have been wonderful. We found out last night that our Congressman wrote a personal letter to the US Dept. of State on our behalf. That was encouraging. Today I called UNICEF in Guatemala and New York and voiced my concerns about the importance of including a "grandfather" clause. They assured me that they are supportive and sent me an email to verify it. The Guatemalan Adoptions & DOS Accountability petition to President Bush, Congress and Department of State officials is now over 30,000. That is also encouraging. Joint Council on International Children's Services (JCICS) just came out with a new statement today, "10/5 - Joint Council is pleased to confirm that the Hague Permanent Bureau (HPB) has now joined with Joint Council, the U.S. Department of State and others in agreeing that transition cases should be allowed to proceed to completion without interruption. It is our understanding that the HPB has now conveyed their revised position to both the Berger administration and Guatemalan Congress." That's super good news!

So today I cling to the hope that the Lord has given me. I will close with this verse from Psalm 94:19, "When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul."