Case Update

We continue to wait for Pre-approval (PA) day #35, on average it is taking about 45 days. We have also had our paperwork submitted for registration with the Central Authority. Following our PA and the "stamp" for registration we are ready to re-enter PGN (final court).

Please be in prayer for our PA to come and for the Central Authority to release the registration okay. We are anxious to be in PGN, that would be somewhat of the homestretch in bringing home Nathan.

We look forward to meeting him in February!


On an exciting note: Ellie is arriving home with her parents later this evening. We are so thankful that the Lord has put together this forever family!

What to do while we wait?

What's a person to do while they wait? That is the question-and I hope that whatever I do takes my mind off the wait and makes the waiting go more quickly. So as we wait :) for pre-approval from the Embassy and for the Central Authority to register our case we are attempting to be productive in our wait.

We have made a plan for switching our bedrooms around to make the best use of our space. That means that all, but one child, will be moving around inside our walls. While this seems a bit much at first, I am excited about the opportunity to PURGE and freshen our home.

We are making progress in the area of college choices for our oldest. She has made a decision and now is in the "filling out scholarships" mode. It is true what people say, that the years fly by!

For fun, Daniel celebrated his 12th birthday with a sleep-over. Why do they call it a "sleep-over", when no one really sleeps? They had a great time!

This morning Ken piled the younger 4 kids in the car along with a friend and headed to a sledding hill. It was great sledding and not too cold! Ken loves to go as much as the kids.

I think that more importantly, in the wait, we don't want to stop doing what is most important. We don't want to be parallyzed in our Christian walk as we wait. As time goes slowly it is more important for me to stay focused on the Lord and what He has for each of my days, not just the days to come. The Lord is in EACH day and as a family we are blessed each day in so very many ways.

So while we wait it is our desire to honor the Lord each day.

Lamentations 3:22 - 24

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him."

Lamentations 3:22-24

I thought the plan was....

If my memory serves me correctly...We had thought for our 20th or 25th anniversary we would go to Alaska. Neither Ken or I have ever been there and we would really like to see it. Fast forward 20 years to February of 2008 and we seem to be heading the opposite direction. A few days before our 20th anniversary we are heading to Guatemala to meet our son - wow!

We have gone back and forth about taking a visit trip. Really praying that the Lord would bring Nathan home so quickly we wouldn't have time to take a trip. Last week Ken decided that we were definitely going! He said it is a combined visit trip and 20th anniversary celebration. Now while I do see some humor in this: we are celebrating 20 years of marriage and are waiting to bring home a little one, I don't feel that we are crazy. Maybe that is the craziest part of the entire thing, each day I am more certain that we are on the path the Lord has placed before us. It will be a short trip but one we are both looking forward to. (Perhaps the most fun of looking forward to this trip is to hear my usually very laid back husband talk excitedly about it.) :)

As an update we continue to wait for our pre-approval (PA) from the US Embassy in Guatemala. After that arrives we can be re-submitted to the final court (PGN) when they resume taking cases. Things are moving ahead slowly in Guatemala but there is positive news about the new Central Authority. You could pray for us that we would be patient for the Lord's timing in bringing Nathan home. We are trusting that the Lord is in the details.

Some Unexpected Blessings

He looks squeezable! Can't wait to be able to cuddle with him!



UPDATE: Wt:10#15oz. Ht:22 inches long "He is happy, smiles alot, and he is lovable."

Case Update: We continue to wait for our Pre-approval from the US Embassy in Guatemala. Please pray that this would come soon.

Cute (Christmas) Pics

Praying that next Christmas Nathan will be in our very own Christmas pictures!

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." Hebrews 11:3

This verse has been stuck in my head most of the week. While this scripture is not about adoption it does show the power of the God we love and serve.

Currently there is a temporary bump in the road in Guatemala. There are rumors that there will be news out Monday (tomorrow), and hopefully that is the case. But I choose to rest today on the fact that our Lord was able to form the universe out of nothing visible and simply by His command. That is truly a Mighty God!

I know that He cares about the children of Guatemala. He cares about Nathan - Psalm 139:16 tells me that his days were ordained for him before one of them came to be.

So I am trying to keep my focus on what I do know: The Lord is Mighty! The Lord cares about His children. The Lord has ordained Nathan's days. There is a peace in that knowledge. This is a continual process for me, and it is growing my faith deeper for which I am truly thankful.

We are continuing to wait for our Pre-approval from the Embassy, praying it comes soon.