Our Family is Complete!

Introducing our completed family! We are so blessed and so thankful for the family the Lord has knit together.

Family pictures are an experience in our home. You never know what is going to happen! Sometimes you'd think some of our children were having root canals. With the promise of a "fun" picture when we are finished some of them cooperate more quickly. :)

Crazy days and Polka Dots

Wed. night - Home! Yeah!

Thurs. - Allison leaves with a friend for college orientation. I do wash and put the house in order. My wonderful husband is going to hold down the fort. I am struggling, wanting to be with both our youngest and oldest. I had toyed with the idea of brining Nathan with me to orientation but I would have had to fight the rest of the family for him.

Fri. - I leave for orientation. It appears I have picked up a little "bug" from Guatemala.

Sat. - We return from orientation around noon. I collapse on the couch.

Sun. - I am feeling a little better. Watched the US Open - I've never watched golf before. Everyone is smothering Nathan with love.

Mon. - Ken thinks Nathan has a rash, on closer inspection he has the Chicken pox! (I am very sorry for anyone who we came into contact with in the airport - who knows when he was contagious).

Tues. - What we thought was a light case is now growing rapidly.

Thurs. - He is sufficiently covered with the Chicken pox.

It is now over a week and all his spots are dried up and many of the scabs are gone. He smiled through most of the pox, except for one day. He is precious, polka dots and all. It was not the way we had planned his homecoming week, but it is the way it went and it was a memory-maker!

Please be in prayer for another Nathan's case at the Children's Home and for the other children there that have the chicken pox.

A Pack of Pics

We love our little guy! Whether they are trying to take some pictures in the yard with him,



or he has crashed in his high chair, probably from over stimulation,



or hanging out with his oldest brother, Joel, reading the paper,

or just being a precious smiley child, we love him bunches!

He is a wonderful gift from the Lord to our family. It is our prayer that we raise him in a way that honors the Lord and helps Nathan to understand the depth of the Lord's love for him.

Welcome Home Nathan!

Our last breakfast in Guatemala for a while. So bright-eyed.Preparing our airplane. We were anxious to climb aboard and be on our way. There were three other families on our plane bringing home their children. This was our third time in Guatemala. Ken and I were so ready to be home, being home this time represented the end to our adoption journey and the beginning of our family being all together. We were all so anxious to be together!~

It was about 10:45pm and we really didn't expect much more than our family. We were quite surprised as many were there to welcome Nathan home. It was an emotional moment. (Thank you for the pictures, Kris).

Three of our other kids meeting their brother, they were soooo excited as they had prayed daily and waited so patiently for their little brother to come home. Molly (in orange) told Ken, "Nathan isn't what I thought he would be, but he is perfect for our family!"

Meeting one of his grandmas - he was delighted and so was she! We are so thankful that the Lord brought us to Nathan, he is a delightful little boy. Thank you so much to all who have prayed for us along the way, we have experienced the delightful answer to your prayers.

Antigua

On Tuesday, we passed the day with the Schommer family and guide (Jose) touring Antigua. It was very interesting and great fun. Both of our boys did great as we took it all in.

The fountain in the square in the middle of the town.

The inner parts of the cathedral. This had been destroyed by an earthquake a very long time ago. They are slowly putting some of it back together.

The front of the cathedral. Many of the statues on the outside have been restored.

This next picture will in all likelihood never happen again. After walking around for quite some time we decided to eat lunch. To get to the restaurant we had to hop in the van, Jose suggested that Ken and Nathan (in his stroller) just hop in the back and ride there since it was so short - so they did. It will make a fun memory. :)

A special day with new friends. It was even more fun knowing that our boys were almost home!

Passing the time ....

Sometimes things look the same in Guatemala and sometimes they don't. To us this a an old red school bus, but it is really public transportation. This bus is as full as it looks. If I would have captured the whole bus in the picture you have seen a rear door with people just as packed in. Our mass transit is suddenly looking more like a "limo".



We saw this gentleman, more than once, walk by the entrance to our hotel. It is hard to tell by the packages but they looked to be round paper packages in a netting. He would holler out something we couldn't understand. We were guessing that it was some type of food for sale.

These three young boys were watching the fountain in the courtyard and the way they stair-stepped caught our eye. We later learned that they had come to drop off a little boy their family had been fostering - he was going home to the States, and they were having a hard time leaving him. When you look at this picture please pray for them, our first foster child left our home and though we knew it was the way the Lord desired it we still missed him greatly.

People watching. This was how we spent the day Monday after our Embassy appointment. It was so nice to have that behind us. The part of the Embassy we were in reminded me a little of a larger Driver's license facility - with glassed in windows. Jose walked us through the process and was a great help! We also got to meet Gabriel's family and that was a lot of fun, as we had been following their journey to home. It was also nice to enjoy the time with Nathan, with no where to go, just hanging out getting to know one another.

Our First Day Together

Hanging out on the balcony. I think we spent most of the day just gazing at Nathan. It seemed so surreal that he was actually there with us. Monday - the day of our Embassy appointment seemed so far away. Nathan has a great smile, two little teeth and when he got excited he flailed his arms.

Daddy letting Nathan touch the grass, he wasn't too sure about it. He is an investigator though, loves to look at everything and notices everything. We better look out!

Getting him ready for bed the first night. So snuggly. He woke up once during the first night, I think we probably messed up his schedule in the transition. Now if he wakes up it's because he is uncovered and he is used to be covered.

The Hand Off

Mimi arriving at La Casa Grande. We had only been at our hotel about 20 minutes when they arrived. We were so excited. She had him wave to us up on the balcony.



The mamas at Eagle's Nest do such a great job. They seem to love what they do and take such great care of the children. Nathan is such a happy little guy. We are so blessed to have him in our family.




Please continue to pray for the other families waiting to be released from PGN. May the Lord see each of these children home to their families.

I'll share more when things get settled down at home.

As a side note: A great THANK YOU to all of you that met us at the airport. It was a another of those humbling times. What an encouragement you all have been in this journey. Thank you!

An additional sidenote: To those of you that read Allison's earlier post- we did find evidence that someone had had some type of fruit to eat while we were gone. There was one apple that had one row eaten around the center of the apple. :)


Thank you.


ADDENDUM: Four more families from Nathan's Children's Home found out that they are out of PGN! This is great news to praise the Lord for.

Their flight from Atlanta to Peoria was delayed so they will not be arriving until around 10:30 (in Peoria).

Hi everyone! This is Allison. Amy's most wonderful, amazing, and awesomest daughter ever! While my parents have been out travelling, me and four of my other siblings have been suffering at home with no one to watch us. Our diet has consisted of pizza, frozen dinners, and fast food. The house is still standing and nothing has been broken...that I know of. :)

Although this is riveting stuff I know you are all reading this comment looking for something other than assurance that the park kids survived having no parents:)

Their plane is supposed to arrive at the Peoria Airport at 9:32pm tomorrow (Wednesday). Their flight is Delta 4158.

Hope everyone has an amazing Tuesday and the rest of their week!

Sigh

Last night we were with a group of people sharing with each other some of the struggles and triumphs of adoption. Each child is so uniquely created by God and brought to each family in a way only the Lord can orchestrate.

As I have reflected on the conversation I, as usual, feel the need to put an * after all that I shared, because I don't feel that I am always the best communicator and I so want to share what the Lord has taught us in a way that honors Him.

As we pack our bags to pick up Nathan I am again struck by the great love the Father has for us. He has blessed us beyond our wildest dreams and humbled us to choose us to be the parents of our children. To think that the Lord would allow us these blessings!

I am so thankful that "when I am weak, He is strong" because some days are not as easy as others. I am so thankful that He has given me the chance to "do over" the times I mess up. As we start this final chapter (yes, we again think we are complete) I pray that we would honor the Lord as we raise our family, as we hope to encourage others as they raise their families, as we come alongside the fatherless and strive to point them to their Heavenly Father.

Growing up there was a cartoon-Quick Draw McGraw, it was older when I watched it (it had to be). Snuffles the dog loved his dog treats and when given a treat he would jump up and down and then go very high in the air and float down with a contented sigh. I feel a little like Snuffles today.

My heart is so very full today.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my
heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will
give thanks to Him in song. Psalm 28:7

PINK'D!!!!