Some Random Thoughts

We (again this week) anticipate receiving our PINK slip. We are trusting the Lord for His timing and are a little more excited with each passing day.

The crib is up and ready, Nathan's clothes are laying in a suitcase. Everything seems more real each day, this is actually going to happen!

We began this journey over a year ago, we have: grieved the loss of Grace, were part of a short term mission team to the children's home, received our referral for Nathan, took a visit trip to meet Nathan, and are now waiting to finish up the process.

Along the way the Lord has taught us many things and continues to teach us today. Each step, even the difficult ones, the Lord has seen us through. We are so thankful that we serve a God that is sovereign over all. We are so thankful that we have faith in a God who adopted us into His family "while we were yet sinners". Please pray that we glorify the Lord as we come nearer to the end of this chapter.

We continue to pray for the families waiting to be released from PGN. May the Lord be your strength and comfort as you wait to bring your precious little ones home.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." Isaiah 26:3

Patient Expectations

Recently a friend pointed me to an article in the Focus on the Family Magazine.

Psalm 37:3-4 says, "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."

Here is a brief summary of the article entitled "Patient Expectations". The author points out three thoughts for these verses.

First, choose to trust in the Lord. She reminds us that the Lord's plans are better for us than our own plans.

Secondly, dwell in the land, and do good. We are encouraged here to not let the waiting for tomorrow overshadow God's plan for today. God intends us to be used by Him where we are at this time.

Third, delight in the Lord. Our lives need to reflect Jesus, glorify God in every area of our lives. We need to let the Lord carry our burdens.

I know I need to be reminded of these things as we wait for this final leg of our journey to bring Nathan home. I find that I hit the refresh button way too much on our computer.

Our children are finishing up school this week. They are excited to be bringing home everything they have compiled, err stashed, in their desks. They are excitedly looking forward to being done with school and to having their little brother come home. As we look forward to having Nathan with us I know that I need to be careful to let the other children know that my love for them has not changed. I can show that to them while I am waiting by pulling myself away from my plans, activities, computer, and listening to what they have to tell me. Taking time to do something they enjoy doing, even if my sorting doesn't get quite done. Sit in the yard and watch them "play tennis" in the patio chair they have provided. Or just hang out and watch a movie with them.

It is hard to wait, even when we know that we can trust that the Lord is in control. Many families adopting from Guatemala are waiting right now, children in Guatemala are waiting, my wait is small in comparison to those. But it is still hard to wait.

And still waiting....

I thought I would just give you a quick update as to where things are. The lab that has Nathan's 2nd DNA was backlogged so we are still waiting for the results to be returned to Gautemala. We believe that will be this week and then we will get our Embassy appointment("PINK"). The Embassy appointment is when we travel and currently they have been about 7 days after being notified.

We'd love to know this week when our appointment is! In the meantime we are continuing to work on projects in our home to get ready for Nathan's homecoming. :)


Please continue to pray for those waiting on the release of their files from PGN. Dear families are in limbo as they wait for things to move ahead.

Still Waiting...

No news yet... praying that we would hear by the end of the week. In the meantime we are tying up loose ends and finishing up the school year. The Lord's timing is perfect.

Please be in prayer for the other families waiting to get out of PGN. While we are ready to bring Nathan home our wait seems minimal compared to those waiting out the process in PGN.

Please also be in prayer for Onoria and her twin sisters. These precious girls may be returning to the Children's Home. Please pray that the Lord would bring them back and that their adoption could continue.

How did this happen?

How did we get ....





from here....





to here?!

Allison graduated from high school this past weekend. We are excited for her, nervous for us, and proud to claim her as our daughter. She is off to college in the fall and that will be an adjustment for everyone.

I was sharing with a friend recently that I have this urge to tell her everything I think I may have forgotten, or she may have forgotten. This often is the conversation in the car on our way to who knows where. I am afraid she will not want to go places with me for fear she will have to be reminded of another life lesson! :) (So far she is willing, especially if there is shopping involved.)

I truly have wondered how she got to be who she is and I know the answer to that is the Lord's presence in her life and the wonderful godly people that have poured their lives into hers. We are so thankful for the special people that have come alongside Allison. We pray that the Lord will continue to place godly friends in her path to encourage her along the way. Knowing the difference some people have made in Allison's life makes me want to be that person to someone else and also makes me aware of the need to pray for special people in our other children's lives.

Congratulations Allison! We love you!

Closer and closer....

A blogging friend recently went to visit their son and sent us some awesome pictures - thank you Stephanie!

We are so thankful that we continue to move forward with the steps to bring Nathan home. 2nd DNA has been done.

PGN is in the process of interviewing birthmoms. Please be in prayer for the birthmoms as this could be traumatic for them, for the waiting families and the children. We know that the Lord cares for these children perfectly and we pray that He will soon be bringing them all home.

Our Animal Lover

Yes, Daniel is holding a "rat"!


The birthday hat has been a family tradition for many years - EVERYONE has to wear it.

Daniel is our second son and he is all boy! Missing in the summer - check the tree. Landscaping rocks moved-look for bug boxes. Buckets in the yard, beware of the contents! If it moves he's interested! A couple of summers ago Daniel had gone upstairs to shower and all of a sudden comes running down the stairs. I said to him, "didn't you go up to shower?" and he said, "yes, but I forgot I had a grasshopper in my pocket!" Out the back door he went to set the little creature free. He has a tender heart towards creatures of all shapes and sizes. Currently we have a large bullfrog tadpole we are watching in our sunroom.

He also has a tender spot for little children and the underdog. He has great conversations with young friends at our church. He will be a great big brother to Nathan!

What a blessing to our family! Daniel was the first child to come to our home through adoption. His life has shown us the sovereignty of God as we look back and see the path he took to our hearts and our home. His adoption impacted us all greatly as we saw the parallel between our adoption of Daniel and the Lord's adoption of us.

Daniel loves to learn and has made a great turn around this year with his grades, we are very proud of him.

Our young man's future is so bright! It is bright because He growing in his understanding of the Lord. We are praying that the Lord leads his tender heart to mighty things for the Lord!

Hi everyone!


What is that back there? I want to touch it. :)

This is most likely our last monthly update from Guatemala. We are praising the Lord for that! He is now 15# 14 oz and is 25 inches long. He has two teeth and turns over now! Smiley baby!

Can't wait to have him home! Thank you for all of your prayers, the Lord has answered in mighty ways. Please continue to pray for the children in Guatemala and their families that are still working their way through PGN; and for us as we finish this journey to Nathan. Thank you.

"Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." I Thessalonians 5:11

Moving Along

Things are moving along...we have authorization for DNA and that will be done by week's end! It is really seeming real now!

I was talking with a friend this morning and I told her that I was excited but a little scared. For those of you that have experienced a pregnancy it feels like that time at the end when you are very ready to hold your baby in your arms but scared of the labor pains? My excitment is greater than the fear, because I am so ready to hold this baby for a long time in our own home! I am ready for his brothers and sisters to meet him face-to-face. They are going to love him and he will be delighted with them.

There will be some adjustments along the way. We are going back to the diaper stage, which actually is a little easier than the potty training that is yet to come. :) Always adding another child just brings a time of change and everyone has to adjust some. School is coming to a close with our other children, I am thankful for the timing, now they can really be a part of his homecoming!

What is to come....

DNA is completed and sent to the lab.

Lab runs the DNA.

Results FedExed back to Guatemala.

We then get our date to be in Guatemala!

Thank you Lord for your walking us through this journey. It is our prayer that we will continue to walk with you while bringing Nathan home. May we raise Nathan, and all of our children, in a way that brings honor to you.

Please continue to pray for all the children in Guatemala. There are several families at the Children's Home anxiously awaiting their children's arrival.

Update: The DNA will be done on Monday, there were three birthmom interviews scheduled for today so they had to re-schedule. Please pray for things going on in PGN, that the children waiting would be able to come home soon.

We Gladly Share Our Name

Not sure exactly when it happened but Nathan now has our last name! It's beginning to sink in that he is actually coming home. We are praising the Lord for His provision for Nathan.

We continue to pray for all the children in Guatemala, especially those we have had the priviledge of meeting at the Children's Home. They are precious to the Lord and we know He hears our prayers.

"For this child I have prayed and God has granted me what I asked of Him." I Samuel 1:27

Adoption Summit IV

No new news on Nathan yet. We are praying that the attorney has our file in hand and that he is making progress on the final documents. In the meantime...

I returned home last night from the Adoption Summit IV in Fort Lauderdale. My precious husband manned our home while I flew to sunny Florida with another gal from our church's adoption ministry. It was a great trip in so many ways. Everything went smoothly. We were encouraged and spurred on in many ways. There were about 600 people in attendance all with a heart for the orphan. Be encouraged blogging friends there are many people doing amazing things for the orphan - and many more with the vision and passion to get a work going!

While we are waiting for more news I would like to share with you some of what we heard.

Dennis Rainey spoke during the first general session. He challenged the group to consider three ways to address the need of the orphan.

1. Pray, dream big, and expect God to use you.

D.L.Moody said,"If God be your partner make your plans large."
Mr. Rainey asked the question, "What are you believing God for that
only He can do?

2. Enlist battle savvy churches - churches that know how to release and equip
workers.

He used the example of Gideon and his ultimate army of 300. Gideon took
1% of the total into war. What if we were to take 1% of the nation's
churches into battle for the orphan?

3. Recruit and deploy orphan activists.

It's war time and we need to have war footing. Stand up and stand out
for the orphan.

Why was I encouraged? Just at a dinner alone I sat with a former pastor that is now recruiting christian foster parents to adopt waiting children, a state agency worker with a strong faith in the Lord desiring to partner with christian foster parents, a couple who retired and moved themselves to Mexico to begin an orphanage which now houses 25 orphans, and a young family that has begun an adoption agency using her social work background to help christian families adopt from Ethiopia! Wow! The Lord is doing a work in the church, He is opening eyes to the plight of the orphan! We have noted in our ministry that often it seems that the Lord is moving so quickly that it feels as if we are running to keep up. May we always strive to keep up with the Lord, may we run the race he has set before us.

Many of you reading this already have a heart for the orphan. You don't have to adopt to come alongside the orphan, there are many ways to serve. I would encourage you to pray, ask the Lord where you fit in His plan for the orphan. The Lord will direct and sustain you.

"...but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." Isaiah 40:31