Eight Months Old

Happy eight month birthday, baby girl! We miss you and love you!!

The idea of giving Isabella back to the foster moms at her orphanage was never far from my thoughts. On "give back" day as I call it, thoughts of Hannah in the Bible (1 Samuel) and her desire for a child came to my mind.

10 In bitterness of soul Hannah wept much and prayed to the LORD. 11 And she made a vow, saying, "O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant's misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life."

God did answer her prayer, and when little Samuel was weaned Hannah literally gave him back to the Lord by having the priest raise him in the temple.

On my "give back" day on Wednesday, I kept thinking about how Hannah must have felt the day she gave her baby to Eli the priest to raise. I imagine that she kept a brave face as she fed him and bathed him. Then I bet she dressed little Samuel up in his best clothes, probably a special outfit that she made for him. I imagine that he looked so adorable to her. She must have choked back tears as she looked at her precious baby- the one she prayed for for so many years.

When Hannah presented Samuel to Eli she said,

27 I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. 28 So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." And he worshiped the LORD there.

I kept thinking about this story over and over again as I was getting Isabella ready to give her back. I fed her and bathed her and dressed her up in her best clothes and a new pair of tiny shoes. She looked like a princess to me! When I handed her over, a thought jumped into my mind that Isabella's name literally means "consecrated or dedicated to the Lord". In that moment my heart handed her over to the Lord. God is the one who is taking care of her and giving her what she needs when we can’t be there. That is one thing we have been praying consistently for her~ that she, in her small spirit, would be cared for by God.

Visit 5~ Day 4

Today Bella woke up with a big bad fever to go with her big bad cough. I didn't bring a thermometer with me on this trip (of course!), so I have no idea how high it was. I just know she was steamin' HOT in my arms when I was holding her, and she was very weepy. A little Tylenol and a three hour nap in my arms and she was a new woman~ answer to prayer!

Here are pictures from this evening:

This chair and little tray are well worth the space they take up in a suitcase.
They're great for playtime and mealtime. Nice commercial, huh?

After Bella fell asleep on my chest in the lobby of the hotel, I didn't want to move her. Little did I know she'd sleep for three hours! Every time I tried to get up to go back to our room she'd start to fuss. So, I gave in and fell asleep too. I hope no one saw me drooling!

This t-shirt was a Christmas gift from my brother and sister-in-law. Isabella is such an answer to our many years of prayer!!!

Visit 5~ Day 3

Here are some highlight pics from Monday.

Southern hospitality in Central America!

I love this picture! Here is our group picture of Kirk, Bella and I with Meghan and her four awesome kids (See yesterday's post for her blog address). I'm still in awe how God has connected us!

I'll fill you in on a little secret... this baby LOVES to be naked! If she could go buck naked every minute of the day she would be beyond thrilled!

Bella admiring her new bunny pantuflas (slippers) from grandpa.

I called PGN today since it's a local call. We are still with the 1st reviewer. It kind of bummed us out considering how fast the outs were last week. We keep hoping and praying for our miracle.

Kirk and I found some verses last night that helped to keep our focus today. The verses come from Psalm 50:14,15 and 23. They say:

Make thankfulness your sacrifice to God. Then call on me when you are in trouble. But giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.

What this Psalm is saying is that the Israelites made a lot of sacrifices to the Lord, but they were forgetting to be THANKFUL. The Israelites were always complaining about their current situation, but forgot to be thankful to God for all that He had done for them. These verses have reminded me to be THANKFUL for all that the Lord has done for us and has provided for us. Having a thankful heart instead of a worried or complaining heart is what the Lord desires of me.

Visit 5~ Day 2

Today was so full and so fun! We got up early this morning and headed out to Antigua. We had the wonderful privilege of meeting a friend there. Meghan is fostering her daugher (Baby Z) in Antigua. You can visit her blog at http://adoptingbabyz.blogspot.com/. Meghan, thank you so much for inviting us over. God has blessed you with an amazing family! Would it be OK with you if I post a group picture? We had so much fun saying hi!

After we returned from Antigua, we headed to the pool at our hotel for a "Guatadopt.com" party. We got to meet many of the families from across the country that we have been corresponding with through the online adoption forums and blogs. It was fun to trade stories and see these beautiful children, most of whom are going home with their parents in just a few short days.

Here are some highlight pics from the day:

Shopping in Antigua~ We bought Isabella a couple little things. I plan to put them away and save them for her when she is older and wants to know about her beautiful birth country.

The girls standing in the coutyard of a hotel in Antigua

Beautiful, fresh fruits and veggies~ We sampled a couple and they were GOOD! Kirk was braver that I was, though.

Kirk snuck a shot of these unbelievably gorgeous ruins in someone's back yard.

Lovin' on my girl!

Visit 5~ Day 1

Oh, it feels so good to be back! I am missing the boys a lot, but it's great to have this time with Isabella. She grew so much! In fact, I walked right past her at the orphanage. I literally thought, "Oh, that baby is cute," and then I kept walking. Hello? Bad mom! No, I honestly didn't recognize her because she is so big, and she also had little ponytail "nubs" in her hair. I had never seen my big girl in ponytails before! Too cute! Her foster mother laughed and "reintroduced" me to my daughter, and Isabella lit up with smiles! I think she remembered me! I think I'm the only blonde lady she has ever seen before. She's got an advantage, O.K?

Here are a couple highlights from this afternoon...

Isabella has this new thing now where she sticks out her tongue when she's happy and being silly.


This little kitty cap is from an 11 year old girl named Chloe. She is becoming a little prayer warrior and faithfully prays for Isabella every single day. She bought the little cap all by herself with her own allowance just for Bella. Isn't that amazing?! God sends such encouragement to me. I just have to keep my eyes open.

Back in the Game!

Yes, we're back in the game! I called PGN today to confirm. Our attorney fixed and resubmitted our file the same day we got the previo. I am so thankful it was an easy fix. Thank you, Lord, is all I can say! So, our new countdown date is 2/19.

By some MIRACLE, PGN approved a few files that were resubmitted on 2/11. My friend, Brenda, is one of the happy mama's out there who's file was approved! Her beautiful little Sofia will be coming home soon! Congratulations, Brenda! Sofia is an hogar "sister" to Isabella. Our daughters have spent every day of the last 6 months together side by side. I'm sure Isabella is going to miss lounging around in her pj's all day with Sofia. Sniff!

Heavenly Father, release Isabella's file as approved. I ask this in your Holy Name. She needs me. She needs her dad. She needs her brothers. She needs a real home and good food. She needs to be doted on, loved and rocked to sleep. She needs to feel the warm sunshine outside and someone to help her muscles get strong. She needs someone to talk to her, to make her smile and laugh. We're ready for her. Please send her home. Amen.

Like cold water to a weary soul, so is good news from a distant land.

Proverbs 25:25

Guatemalan Sunshine

Today is such a gloomy, foggy, rainy day here at home... so I thought I'd post some GUATEMALAN SUNSHINE to brighten my day! See you in a few days, angel baby!!!

I made this quilt for Isabella. I love the shabby chic look!

Kirk, you are such a dork! I love you! Thanks for making me laugh!

I just called PGN... We got a KO today. When the lady (not Laura) told me, "Los papeles estan en la ventanilla," I knew it wasn't going to be good news. I called our attorney in Guatemala to confirm. He said the previo was for Isabella's medical report which needed to be updated. Thankfully, it is already fixed and our file will be returned to PGN by 3:00 pm today Guatemala time. I choose to be thankful today because we got the previo only 8 days into our last resubmit- The previo before that came at almost 6 weeks of waiting for approval. I also choose to be thankful today because our attorney was with Isabella today and says she is so healthy and doing really well. Now THAT is some GOOD news! Praise God for His faithfulness!!!

Third Time's the Charm

YES! We're registered with the new Central Authority, and we're back in PGN. Our attorney resubmitted our file back on the 11th of February but didn't have time to update us right away. This is our third time being submitted to PGN, so we're praying that the third time's the charm!!! Even though we have previously been submitted to PGN (Guatemalan Attorney General's office), we lost our place in line and have to once again wait the 8 to 10 weeks for approval. Of course we are hoping for sooner- you never know!

PLEASE be praying with us for Isabella's PGN APPROVAL!!! We need her home now.

Missing My Happy Girl

Sorry this video is sideways. I have to remember not turn the video camera! I miss you, my happy girl!

Spiritual Counseling & Encouragement from a Delta Representative???

Weird title, huh? Ya, I know! Kirk had the most interesting conversation today with a Delta Airlines rep. while he was making flight arrangements for an upcoming visit trip to see Isabella. She said on the phone that she could tell there was "light" in his voice, and the Holy Spirit was showing her that he was a Christian. Okaaay, that was cool! Kirk then told her that we are traveling to visit our daughter that we are adopting in Guatemala. Then she said she needed to tell him something (Kirk grabbed a pen and paper at that time). She said, "What we believe in our hearts... is going to happen. God promises to fulfill what He started. We may be running into problems because of spiritual warfare. We have to remember that we are bringing her into God's family and out of enemy "territory". She is a child of promise." She ended their conversation by saying that she would pray for our adoption like crazy.

Um, that was seriously amazing! Kirk said that after their conversation he felt like he knew better how to pray. There's no doubt that God will get all the glory when our sweet Bella is home! Keep praying with us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Meeting with God at Starbucks

First of all, I want to thank each of you for your prayers and comments. It has been such a bright spot for my husband and me. A few of you even left a comment for the first time. It is so great to have new friends! All of you encourage us to keep on keeping on with this cruel adoption process.

Where we are at this point...
Well, our attorney was too busy to give us an update yesterday. His assistant thinks that we were given a previo solely for the purpose of registering with the new Central Authority (I won't even go into how unfair this is). Herein lies the problem... our file wasn't released from PGN until Friday, Feb. 1st. Our attorney picked it up and tried to submit it for registration at the Central Authority, as per PGN's request. However, the Central Authority is no longer accepting cases for registration. The deadline was 30 days from the beginning of the new law (The new law started Dec. 31st). That means that January 31st was the cut off. At this moment in time we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. PGN didn't release our file in time to be registered. I am hopeful that Monday we will get some more clarification. This just makes no sense!

I just wish I could talk face-to-face in person with God on this. I would meet him at Starbucks and ask him so many questions. We would sit in the back corner, just the two of us. I bet we would get the big comfy chairs- and not even have to wait for them! He knows everything I'm thinking about, but I made my list of questions for Him anyway. Here goes...

1. Why? Why is this taking so long?
2. Why has EVERY step at EVERY level been such a struggle? (Our I-600 was lost at USCIS, we had to get a home study addendum and lost a whole month in the wait, our whole file was lost at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala and we had to re-do our entire dossier, we got kicked out of PGN too late to register with the new Central Authority. Adoptions in Guatemala are completely falling apart- the whole system)
3. What more can I give you, God? You have my heart. I am fasting regularly and praying without ceasing. I am praising and worshipping you, even in dispair, out of obedience.
4. Would MORE people praying for us help?
5. I'm using the only weapons you've given me for battle- the sword of the spirit and the shield of faith. Can I get some reinforsements here? I'm just so tired of fighting.
6. Why is Isabella in an orphanage? Why isn't she with a loving foster family who cherishes her? She lays in her orphanage crib day in and day out. The effects of orphanage life are taking a great toll on her body.
7. Will you make a way for me to foster her in Guatemala? Do I look for a roommate so we feel safe? Kirk would never let me go alone. How will we pay for it? Do I take the boys and homeschool them? You already know I would really, really love that!
8. When will she be home, Father? I'm so tired of being sad. It's kind of like I carry around a little sadness in my pocket every day. Some days my pocket feels a little lighter and other days my pocket is very, very heavy. What will life be like without sadness in my pocket every day?

Well, with our Starbucks Guatemalan coffee grown cold, I'm sure it would be time for God to leave. He's in high demand these days. I wonder how we would say good-bye? I could imagine Him giving me a hug... a HUGE melt-your-heart-to-die-for kind of hug... and knowing that SOMEHOW everything was going to be O.K.