It has been a little crazy this week. Alex's birthday was last week and we tried to make it as enjoyable as possible. She is 7. I still can't believe that I have a 7 year old. Where does the time go?? Friends of ours offered to let us use their pool earlier this week so that we could have a pool party for her. (thanks Melissa) Now, I am not big on parties, but will do whatever I have to do to make things special for my kids. To say that the party was hectic, would be an understatment. I do think that everyone had fun though, and Alex had a blast, so it was all worth it!!!
My birthday was yesterday. I will not even begin to tell my age:-0) I do think that it is such a blessing that my birthday is between 2 of my children's birthdays. All 3 of us have birthday's within 10 days of each other. Birthday's are nice and all, but the older I get, I do thing that they are definitly more for children than adults. Anyway, Gareth had to work about 13 hours and the kids had swim lessons, and then VBS at night and I am getting over a horrible cold. Liam and I did get to take a long nap thanks to my mom. She took Alex and Callum for a few hours in the afternoon. I did get to go to dinner with my friends Kristy and Chet while the kids were at VBS too and it was really nice. The food was great!! I ended up just about falling asleep before Gareth got home. It was a long day, but fun just the same. I was so busy with the kids that I didn't have to focus on getting another year older:0)
Callum's birthday is Saturday, and with both Alex's and my birthday, he wanted us to sing to him. I think that he is really going to enjoy his day this year. I am looking forward to seeing how he does.
The week with Liam has been going well. He hasn't been sleeping very well, so you can pray for us there. I personally don't remember being this tired when Alex was born, but maybe I have blocked it from my mind:0) And I do remember that Callum adjusted with his sleep better. I know he needs sleep and I feel for him. He didn't end up taking a nap at all today. He just cried for over an hour before I finally gave up. Poor guy. I know that it won't last forever, I just feel for him. It is such a transition, and with everything else but the sleep, he is doing fantastic!!!! I am not complaining, I just hate that this is so hard for him. I pray that that it doesn't last long!! With Gareth and I, he is doing great!!! I got my first mommy instead of mama at dinner the other night. He even said "bye bye" tonight when friends left. I couldn't believe it!!!
Anyway, I am off to be too, ,but before I do, we found out yesterday that some of our close friends court date went great for their adoption!! They should be traveling to bring their son home within the next month!! Praise God for that!! What a great time that will be!!!!!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Computer is Down!
Our computer is sick:0( I just wanted to give a quick update, but am typing on the lap top that sometimes works, and sometimes doesn't:0)
Things are going well!!! This week has been good. Gareth was able to take the whole week off which was a huge blessing!!! It has truly helped in his and Liam's bonding. Alex, Callum and I also came down with a stomach bug, so it helped to have him here then too!! Luckily, Liam and Gareth haev been in the clear with that.
Today, we were thrown a beautiful party after church to welcome Liam home. I was overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and kindness of our friends. Thank you to everyone who helped to celebrate our beautiful family!!!!!!
I am off to try and get these little ones to bed and since I can't really see what I am typing anyway, i will cut this short, but I just wanted to let everyone know how blessed we feel to have such wonderful friends and family that have supported us through the past few years and we are so thankful for you!!!!!
You are all truly blessings from God!!!!!!
Things are going well!!! This week has been good. Gareth was able to take the whole week off which was a huge blessing!!! It has truly helped in his and Liam's bonding. Alex, Callum and I also came down with a stomach bug, so it helped to have him here then too!! Luckily, Liam and Gareth haev been in the clear with that.
Today, we were thrown a beautiful party after church to welcome Liam home. I was overwhelmed by the thoughtfulness and kindness of our friends. Thank you to everyone who helped to celebrate our beautiful family!!!!!!
I am off to try and get these little ones to bed and since I can't really see what I am typing anyway, i will cut this short, but I just wanted to let everyone know how blessed we feel to have such wonderful friends and family that have supported us through the past few years and we are so thankful for you!!!!!
You are all truly blessings from God!!!!!!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Sweet Saturday!!!!
What a wonderful day it has been!!
We arrived home last night exactly on time. We had such a wonderful group of family and friends that met us at the airport. I can not thank them enough for their love and support. Liam was in a great mood. He had slept on the plane so when we arrived, he was ready to go. Alex and Callum just adore him. It was so great to see them interact. We had to put Liam in a car seat for the first time as we were leaving the airport. He did not like that at all. At one point, Callum looked over at him and said, "stop whining, we are trying to watch a movie." Of course, he did it lovingly:0) We just cracked up. Nothing like putting him in his place. The funny thing was, he did. We didn't hear a cry out of him after that. When we got home, we told the kids that although it was after midnight, they could stay up and get to know their brother. They had him laughing and smiling for over an hour. We also told them that they could have a sleep over in our room. We meant on the floor, but we ended up with all three of them in our bed by this morning:0)
Today, we got up and just hung out. We spent 2 hours looking for sandals for Liam. Who knew that it would be so hard to find size 5 boy sandals in July, but 6 stores later, we finally found some. We then went and hung out with my parents and sister and brother-n-law. I thought for sure that Liam would be overwhelmed. There were 7 other kids there. Instead, he chatted away, and played along. I think that he is a bit over tired now though. Bed time was a bit hard tonight. We tried for over an hour and now have resorted to Gareth driving him around to calm him down. Hopefully tomorrow will be better in that department. Starting tomorrow, we will really try and get him on a routine. We didn't follow anything today and it is showing now. We are all very tired, as the week has caught up with us. Hopefully we will all get a good night's sleep and have lots of energy tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Big RED Approval!!!!!
We woke up this morning at 5am in order to get ready for our Embassy appointment. We learned that Liam does not like to be woken up. He slept through the night again. Did not like his bath at all. I got lots of mama's last night after the bath. It was pitiful:0) Anyway, we arrived at the Embassy at 7am and were a bit lost. Luckily there was a facilitator with another family that walked us through everything. We went through 2 different interviews. Both times, they got to here our dreadful agency experience. Both indiviuals were wonderful!!!! We went in to a very small room, and then got a BIG RED APPROVAL!!!!! I don't think that I will 100% happy until i have his visa in hand, but for now, we are happy. I go back tomorrow at 3:30 to get his stamped passport and visa, and then we can come home!!!!
He is still very taken with me. He wants me to carry him everywhere. He is warming up to Gareth and is much happier at night than in the morning. He still doesn't like loud noises. We ventured out to dinner last night. Gareth spoke spanish very well. At dinner, we really saw Liam open up. He started chatting and tried to feed us. His sippy cup fell out of the diaper bag, so we had to have him use a straw. He loved that. At breakfast this morning, that is all he wanted. He is just precious and we can't wait to continue to see his personality as he opens up more.
We are staying in the hotel today since we don't have his passport. We are off to have lunch at take naps. Tomorrow we may go to the zoo and market before we go back to the Embassy. Then we will come back to the hotel to pack to come home!!!!!!!
Alex and Callum, we miss you like crazy. We can't wait for you to meet Liam!!!!! Love you!!!!!
Thank you for all of the prayers. Today could not have gone better!!!!!!
He is still very taken with me. He wants me to carry him everywhere. He is warming up to Gareth and is much happier at night than in the morning. He still doesn't like loud noises. We ventured out to dinner last night. Gareth spoke spanish very well. At dinner, we really saw Liam open up. He started chatting and tried to feed us. His sippy cup fell out of the diaper bag, so we had to have him use a straw. He loved that. At breakfast this morning, that is all he wanted. He is just precious and we can't wait to continue to see his personality as he opens up more.
We are staying in the hotel today since we don't have his passport. We are off to have lunch at take naps. Tomorrow we may go to the zoo and market before we go back to the Embassy. Then we will come back to the hotel to pack to come home!!!!!!!
Alex and Callum, we miss you like crazy. We can't wait for you to meet Liam!!!!! Love you!!!!!
Thank you for all of the prayers. Today could not have gone better!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
What a wonderful day!
Well, last night was great. Liam did great. He woke up from his nap and did great! Of course, he was a bit upset. We found that he doesn't like the hotel room. We spent a little while just walking the hotel, then had some dinner. He eats everything. Putting him to bed was much easier than we thought. He doesn't like a bath like we were told. He screamed so loud that we gave up. We then laid him in our bed and he looked from one of us to the other until he feel asleep. That easy. He slept through the night almost 11 hours. We woke many times just to look at him thinking that he would wake up. This morning, he woke up and did great. We had breakfast in the hotel and then we were able to get a tour guide to take us and another couple to Antigua. It was so nice. We were able to see the ruins of what was once a beautiful Cathedral. it was destroyed in and earth quake. We went to a Jade factory, (lots of fun) and then a market where Gareth attempted to make me barter for stuff. I didn't' enjoy that too much:0) We have had beautiful weather and had such a nice day.
Liam is very quiet and reserved. He is a little skittish and doesn't like loud noises. We haven't had a lot of smiles yet, but we did have a tantrum when I attempted to put him down. He loves to have me hold him. He is already raising his arms to me. So cute!!!!! He wants me to carry him everywhere, even though he can walk. Not a problem at all!!!! We can't wait until tomorrow to see his personality come through even more!!! Everyday is just going to get better and better. He is just so gorgeous!!!!!!
We will be getting up around 5:30am for our big appointment. Please pray that it goes well!!!
We miss Alex and Callum so much and can't wait to be home to have our family reunited!!!!!The Internet in our room isn't working, so I will try and post again tomorrow when we get back from the Embassy. We can't wait for everyone to meet him!!!!! He is so great~~~~~
Liam is very quiet and reserved. He is a little skittish and doesn't like loud noises. We haven't had a lot of smiles yet, but we did have a tantrum when I attempted to put him down. He loves to have me hold him. He is already raising his arms to me. So cute!!!!! He wants me to carry him everywhere, even though he can walk. Not a problem at all!!!! We can't wait until tomorrow to see his personality come through even more!!! Everyday is just going to get better and better. He is just so gorgeous!!!!!!
We will be getting up around 5:30am for our big appointment. Please pray that it goes well!!!
We miss Alex and Callum so much and can't wait to be home to have our family reunited!!!!!The Internet in our room isn't working, so I will try and post again tomorrow when we get back from the Embassy. We can't wait for everyone to meet him!!!!! He is so great~~~~~
Monday, July 14, 2008
Where do I begin???
I can start by saying that our new son is beautiful!!!!
Thanks to Shelly and mom for posting. We were having some internet issues, and the screen still isn't perfect, so if something isn't spelled right, or sound right, forgive me this time. I am the one that fixed the problem and I am still not sure how:0)
Our Journey BEGINS!!!!!
We arrived at the airport this morning at 4:45 to be told that our flight was delayed by 2 1/2 hours. No reason. We would miss our connection and if that happened, we wouldn't get to Guatemala today. What a way to start the morning:0) We were on standby for a 7:00 flight, and ended up not getting on that one thanks to a couple that arrived at the last second. We were able to get on the 7:15, that with the time difference, landed in Houston at 9:18. Our connection was at 9:25. The poilot and crew were so nice. They had called ahead and told them our situation. They said that there were no promises, but they might be able to hold the plane a few minutes. I, shy person that I am, asked muliptle people to switch seats with us. Our seats were at the back of the plane, and we needed to be in the front so we could run the seond the plane stopped. This was also after I asked about 40 people at National Airport if we could butt in front of them after we were told about our flight delay:0) My husband was very thankful for a stubborn wife today. I was not going to let us miss meeting our son today!!!Needless to say, we met 2 very nice people that offered to switch. We didn't get to sit together, but that wasn't the goal. We wpent the whole flight praying. The plane landed at 9:23. As we were taxing Gareth yells backc to me, "the plane is still there", the second the seat belt sign went off, we were running. What a sight we must have made. By the Grace of God, we only had 4 gates to go. Gareth ran ahead. I can't sprint like that anymore:0) He held the plane until I got there, and we made the connection!!Praise God!!!!!! Thanks to those of you who prayed us through that. Those prayers are the reason we were able to make the flight.
We arrived in Guatemala City at 11:35. Our Lawyer was meeting us at the hotel at 12:30. We head to baggage claim, and of course, no luggage. We spend a half an hour filling out a claim ticket. Didn't think that it should take that long, but it is us you know. Hopefully we will get luggage later tonight. If not, we will be in the same clothes all week. Just kidding, I will have to find a store somewhere!!!!
We arrive at our Hotel at 12:40, walk in and Gareth says, "there he is!!!!" Liam walked right in front of us smiling away. How beautiful. We weren't sure what to do, so I found our lawyer, went and checked in and then we all came up to our room. We were able to spend time with his foster mom. What a blessing that was. We were told that we problay wouldn't get to, and she was such a sweet and wonderful woman. The funniest part was when Liam looked at me, then looked at Gareth and said, "mama". We all died laughing. Maybe that will be the reason Gareth cuts his hair:0) Just kdding, I love it. His foster mom put him to sleep, and then she snuck out. He has been sleeping ever sense. What an amazing day!!!!! We are a bit shell shocked really. Everything was so stressful and rushed, but I am coming to learn that the Jenkins' family doesn't do it any other way. So, here I sit waiting........ I want to wake him up so badly, but know I can't. So, I will sit and wait as patiently as I can. The 45 minutes that we spent with him so far were amazing. He loves the 2 little stuffed dogs and are from Alex and Callum and he loves the toy cell phone we brought him.
We have learned that he loves that bath. He is walking all over, and he is still on a bottle. That will have to change, but I won't do it cold turkey. Hopefully gradually over the next few days, we will be able to introduce him to a sippy cup.(if we get our luggage, becuase of course, that is where it is. we forgot to put it in the carry on) That is all for now. I want to thank each and everyone of you for your continued prayers and support. Love to Alex and Callum. We miss you both so much and now that we have Liam, we just want to come home. 4 more days!!!!!
What a blessing our 3 children are. We will continue to thank God each and every day for the wonderful blessings that he has entrusted to us.
I am off to stare at my little boy and just watch him sleep!!!!!!
I will try posting more tonight or tomorrow!!!!!!
Thanks to Shelly and mom for posting. We were having some internet issues, and the screen still isn't perfect, so if something isn't spelled right, or sound right, forgive me this time. I am the one that fixed the problem and I am still not sure how:0)
Our Journey BEGINS!!!!!
We arrived at the airport this morning at 4:45 to be told that our flight was delayed by 2 1/2 hours. No reason. We would miss our connection and if that happened, we wouldn't get to Guatemala today. What a way to start the morning:0) We were on standby for a 7:00 flight, and ended up not getting on that one thanks to a couple that arrived at the last second. We were able to get on the 7:15, that with the time difference, landed in Houston at 9:18. Our connection was at 9:25. The poilot and crew were so nice. They had called ahead and told them our situation. They said that there were no promises, but they might be able to hold the plane a few minutes. I, shy person that I am, asked muliptle people to switch seats with us. Our seats were at the back of the plane, and we needed to be in the front so we could run the seond the plane stopped. This was also after I asked about 40 people at National Airport if we could butt in front of them after we were told about our flight delay:0) My husband was very thankful for a stubborn wife today. I was not going to let us miss meeting our son today!!!Needless to say, we met 2 very nice people that offered to switch. We didn't get to sit together, but that wasn't the goal. We wpent the whole flight praying. The plane landed at 9:23. As we were taxing Gareth yells backc to me, "the plane is still there", the second the seat belt sign went off, we were running. What a sight we must have made. By the Grace of God, we only had 4 gates to go. Gareth ran ahead. I can't sprint like that anymore:0) He held the plane until I got there, and we made the connection!!Praise God!!!!!! Thanks to those of you who prayed us through that. Those prayers are the reason we were able to make the flight.
We arrived in Guatemala City at 11:35. Our Lawyer was meeting us at the hotel at 12:30. We head to baggage claim, and of course, no luggage. We spend a half an hour filling out a claim ticket. Didn't think that it should take that long, but it is us you know. Hopefully we will get luggage later tonight. If not, we will be in the same clothes all week. Just kidding, I will have to find a store somewhere!!!!
We arrive at our Hotel at 12:40, walk in and Gareth says, "there he is!!!!" Liam walked right in front of us smiling away. How beautiful. We weren't sure what to do, so I found our lawyer, went and checked in and then we all came up to our room. We were able to spend time with his foster mom. What a blessing that was. We were told that we problay wouldn't get to, and she was such a sweet and wonderful woman. The funniest part was when Liam looked at me, then looked at Gareth and said, "mama". We all died laughing. Maybe that will be the reason Gareth cuts his hair:0) Just kdding, I love it. His foster mom put him to sleep, and then she snuck out. He has been sleeping ever sense. What an amazing day!!!!! We are a bit shell shocked really. Everything was so stressful and rushed, but I am coming to learn that the Jenkins' family doesn't do it any other way. So, here I sit waiting........ I want to wake him up so badly, but know I can't. So, I will sit and wait as patiently as I can. The 45 minutes that we spent with him so far were amazing. He loves the 2 little stuffed dogs and are from Alex and Callum and he loves the toy cell phone we brought him.
We have learned that he loves that bath. He is walking all over, and he is still on a bottle. That will have to change, but I won't do it cold turkey. Hopefully gradually over the next few days, we will be able to introduce him to a sippy cup.(if we get our luggage, becuase of course, that is where it is. we forgot to put it in the carry on) That is all for now. I want to thank each and everyone of you for your continued prayers and support. Love to Alex and Callum. We miss you both so much and now that we have Liam, we just want to come home. 4 more days!!!!!
What a blessing our 3 children are. We will continue to thank God each and every day for the wonderful blessings that he has entrusted to us.
I am off to stare at my little boy and just watch him sleep!!!!!!
I will try posting more tonight or tomorrow!!!!!!
They Got Liam!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, forgive the last post! This is Shelly, Dawn's sister and the first time I have ever posted on a blog! Dawn & Gareth wanted my mom & I to post for them to let everyone know that after a crazy morning of flights, Liam is with them and he is doing well. They met the foster mom, she was very nice and helped them get him to sleep so when he wakes up she will no longer be there and that will be the true test.
Dawn wanted us to thank everyone for the continuous prayers!
Shelly
Dawn wanted us to thank everyone for the continuous prayers!
Shelly
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Happy Saturday!!
I am sitting here with my house very silent. I thought that I should post now, because this may be the last time I can prior to us leaving. Thanks to Melissa for taking Alex and Callum today. Thanks to my sister for double checking my packing. (especially my 50 million papers needed) We are finished packing, my house is clean, the kids bags are packed and it still all feels very surreal. Gareth and I have been up every night since Wednesday until at least 2:00am. Not because we had tons to do I justI think that neither of our brains could shut down. We have so many feeling coming to the surface that have been locked away for so long now. We are both getting REALLY excited. This morning over breakfast we said, "this time next week, we will have all of our children sitting here with us." We don't want to wish the week away, and we certainly want to take this week to truly enjoy and get to know Liam and let him get to know us, but I truly think that the wall will completely be down when our family is united.
Our flight leaves National airport at 6am on Monday. We have a quick layover in Houston and then we head to Guatemala City. We should be there by 11:15. They are 2 hours behind us here on the East coast, so everyone in England, you will be a good 7 hours ahead of us:0) We should have him by 1:00 that day and he will not leave our side after that!!!!!! Our US Embassy appointment is Wednesday morning at 7:15 am, and his paperwork should be processed and ready for pick up on Thursday after noon. We leave Guatemala City at 6:30 am on Friday, arrive in Houston with a VERY long layover to handle his paperwork. We will leave Houston at 5:50pm and land at National Airport at 10 pm. We have already had friends tell us that they will be waiting at this end, which we can't wait for!!!! If you would like to meet him and welcome him in, we say "the more the merrier!"
Before I log off for the night, I will ask that you continue to lift us up in your prayers. Please pray for safe travel, pray for Liam's adjustment. Our hearts are already breaking for this beautiful 21 month old that is going to be handed over to a pair of strangers on Monday. If his little heart only knew how much we already loved him. Please pray that our Embassy appoinment goes well, and that they are able to process his paperwork correctly. Also, please pray for Alex, and Callum, (we will miss them so much!!!!) and all of those that are helping take care of them. My parents and sister and various friends that may end up taking them throughout the week. Our church has Vacation Bible School this week, and I was supposed to teach. Please pray for Demarie who has taken over my class as well as her own. Pray for Cindy and Stacey who are running the VBS and all of the other teachers that will be touching children's lives in a special way this week. I am bummed for missing it, but as we have all said, "this is God's timing, so I guess it will all work out in the end." ;0)
We are taking a lap top with us, but it is pretty old. I hope and pray that we will be able to post. We will not be able to upload any pictures, but hopefully we will be able to share our journey with you!!!!
I pray that the my next entry is from Guatemala!!!!!!!!!!!
Our flight leaves National airport at 6am on Monday. We have a quick layover in Houston and then we head to Guatemala City. We should be there by 11:15. They are 2 hours behind us here on the East coast, so everyone in England, you will be a good 7 hours ahead of us:0) We should have him by 1:00 that day and he will not leave our side after that!!!!!! Our US Embassy appointment is Wednesday morning at 7:15 am, and his paperwork should be processed and ready for pick up on Thursday after noon. We leave Guatemala City at 6:30 am on Friday, arrive in Houston with a VERY long layover to handle his paperwork. We will leave Houston at 5:50pm and land at National Airport at 10 pm. We have already had friends tell us that they will be waiting at this end, which we can't wait for!!!! If you would like to meet him and welcome him in, we say "the more the merrier!"
Before I log off for the night, I will ask that you continue to lift us up in your prayers. Please pray for safe travel, pray for Liam's adjustment. Our hearts are already breaking for this beautiful 21 month old that is going to be handed over to a pair of strangers on Monday. If his little heart only knew how much we already loved him. Please pray that our Embassy appoinment goes well, and that they are able to process his paperwork correctly. Also, please pray for Alex, and Callum, (we will miss them so much!!!!) and all of those that are helping take care of them. My parents and sister and various friends that may end up taking them throughout the week. Our church has Vacation Bible School this week, and I was supposed to teach. Please pray for Demarie who has taken over my class as well as her own. Pray for Cindy and Stacey who are running the VBS and all of the other teachers that will be touching children's lives in a special way this week. I am bummed for missing it, but as we have all said, "this is God's timing, so I guess it will all work out in the end." ;0)
We are taking a lap top with us, but it is pretty old. I hope and pray that we will be able to post. We will not be able to upload any pictures, but hopefully we will be able to share our journey with you!!!!
I pray that the my next entry is from Guatemala!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Dear Brothers, is your life full of difficulties? Then be happy. For when the way is rough, your patience has a chance to grow. For when your patience is in full bloom, you will be strong in character and ready for anything. You will be full and complete" - James 1:2-4
Never in a million years did I think that the days leading up to completing our family would be this stressful or the wait even more difficult than the wait that we have already endured. We recieved a call today from our lawyer. Liam is scheduled to arrive on Monday at 1:00. He will be delivered to us at the hotel. There are so many emotions going on in our heads right now I wouldn't even know where to begin. I have to just trust that God will allow everything to go as smooth as possible. I pray that He is preparing Liam's for the easiest transition possible. My heart is already breaking for the trama that he may go through coming to us at 21 months. I pray for Alex and Callum that will be here in the states. Alex had a very hard day today. She wants to travel with us so badly and kept repeating all day how much she will miss us. I don't want to wish a week away, but I can not wait until next Friday night when our family will be united and will be complete.
We are trying to stay as busy as possible at the moment. This morning we all had our yearly physicals. Alex weighs 51 pounds which is about the 53 percentile for weight. She is in the 97 percentile for height. Callum on the other hand weights 40 pounds. He is in the 95th percentile for weight and 49th percentile for hight. It was hilarious to see their charts side by side. Callum needs to get 4 shots to be up to date while Alex still needs a chicken pox vaccination. We held off today and will wait until we get back to do all of that. With our luck, we would have done it today and Alex would have been in the 10% to actually get the chicken pox:0). I won't share mine and Gareth's weight, but I have supposedly shrunk an inch. Can't see that really happening, but I wasn't going to argue with the nurse:0) Needless to say, we are all very healthy and hope to remain that way for the forseable furture!!!!
I will post more tomorrow!!! 4 days until we hold Liam for the first time!!!!!!!
Never in a million years did I think that the days leading up to completing our family would be this stressful or the wait even more difficult than the wait that we have already endured. We recieved a call today from our lawyer. Liam is scheduled to arrive on Monday at 1:00. He will be delivered to us at the hotel. There are so many emotions going on in our heads right now I wouldn't even know where to begin. I have to just trust that God will allow everything to go as smooth as possible. I pray that He is preparing Liam's for the easiest transition possible. My heart is already breaking for the trama that he may go through coming to us at 21 months. I pray for Alex and Callum that will be here in the states. Alex had a very hard day today. She wants to travel with us so badly and kept repeating all day how much she will miss us. I don't want to wish a week away, but I can not wait until next Friday night when our family will be united and will be complete.
We are trying to stay as busy as possible at the moment. This morning we all had our yearly physicals. Alex weighs 51 pounds which is about the 53 percentile for weight. She is in the 97 percentile for height. Callum on the other hand weights 40 pounds. He is in the 95th percentile for weight and 49th percentile for hight. It was hilarious to see their charts side by side. Callum needs to get 4 shots to be up to date while Alex still needs a chicken pox vaccination. We held off today and will wait until we get back to do all of that. With our luck, we would have done it today and Alex would have been in the 10% to actually get the chicken pox:0). I won't share mine and Gareth's weight, but I have supposedly shrunk an inch. Can't see that really happening, but I wasn't going to argue with the nurse:0) Needless to say, we are all very healthy and hope to remain that way for the forseable furture!!!!
I will post more tomorrow!!! 4 days until we hold Liam for the first time!!!!!!!
We are set to go!!!!!
We have the flight and hotel booked. It was pretty stressful. Thanks for Lori and Helena for keeping me calm. Well kind of:0) I am not sure that anyone could have kept me completely calm:0)
Also that to Andy our "travel agent" for helping take the stress out of everything. For those of you who don't know me too well, I am a bit of a control freak. I know it is hard to help us at times, because I a have a hard time letting people help. I appreciate all of our friends helping regardless of my control issues:0)
We are flying out Monday morning at 6 am, and will be returning at 10pm on Friday night. We are flying through Houston. I have heard that that is a good airport, so we are looking forward to a new experience.
We will arrive at 11;18 in Guatemala on Monday. They are 2 hours behind us here est. We don't have confirmation yet as to what time Liam will be delivered to us yet, but it will be shortly after we get there.
We are a little overwhelmed and a lot excited. Although we have been ready for a long time, all of the last minute details are a little overwhelming. Not that I am complaining at all:0)
I will post more later!!!! Thank you again for all of your prayers!!!!! The Lord is good and does provide!!!!! We may never know why He had us wait this long, but in the end, we are still getting our little boy. He is coming home!!!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!
Also that to Andy our "travel agent" for helping take the stress out of everything. For those of you who don't know me too well, I am a bit of a control freak. I know it is hard to help us at times, because I a have a hard time letting people help. I appreciate all of our friends helping regardless of my control issues:0)
We are flying out Monday morning at 6 am, and will be returning at 10pm on Friday night. We are flying through Houston. I have heard that that is a good airport, so we are looking forward to a new experience.
We will arrive at 11;18 in Guatemala on Monday. They are 2 hours behind us here est. We don't have confirmation yet as to what time Liam will be delivered to us yet, but it will be shortly after we get there.
We are a little overwhelmed and a lot excited. Although we have been ready for a long time, all of the last minute details are a little overwhelming. Not that I am complaining at all:0)
I will post more later!!!! Thank you again for all of your prayers!!!!! The Lord is good and does provide!!!!! We may never know why He had us wait this long, but in the end, we are still getting our little boy. He is coming home!!!!!!!!!YEAH!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
PINK!!!!!!!
We got it today!!!!!! WE should leave on Monday, and come back Friday night!!!!!!!
Our Embassy appointment is Wed. morning at 7:15 a.m.
I will post more details when I have them!!!!!
Praise the Lord!!!!!!!
Our Embassy appointment is Wed. morning at 7:15 a.m.
I will post more details when I have them!!!!!
Praise the Lord!!!!!!!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Don't even have a title for today:0(
We anxiously waited all day. I even emailed the Embassy to let them know that we knew that our DNA arrived at the Embassy yesterday in the morning. As the day progressed again, with no news, my heart grew weary. Then, at 5:15, we get an email. It turns out that our results that are in the Embassy, signed for at 10:01 yesterday morning have not even made it to the Adoption unit yet.
Don't know how it takes more than 24 hours when it is the same building. Needless to say, they still have another 48-72 hours to get us our date after THEY receive it. Most cases would have had their travel dates for hours by now. Of course, not us. We were not told how much longer we will have to wait. I truly thought that at this stage of the process, it would be easier. Not So!
We were so ready to travel next week. If we are delayed another week, we will miss Alex's birthday. That will be heartbreaking for all involved.
Please pray that we hear some good news soon.
Don't know how it takes more than 24 hours when it is the same building. Needless to say, they still have another 48-72 hours to get us our date after THEY receive it. Most cases would have had their travel dates for hours by now. Of course, not us. We were not told how much longer we will have to wait. I truly thought that at this stage of the process, it would be easier. Not So!
We were so ready to travel next week. If we are delayed another week, we will miss Alex's birthday. That will be heartbreaking for all involved.
Please pray that we hear some good news soon.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Please keep us in your prayers today!!!
Our DNA results are set to arrive at the Embassy today. If all go right, we could have our travel dates as early as tonight.
We are asking that you please pray for the situation. That the DNA does arrive when it should, that the Embassy worker hadling our paperwork is diligent in their job, and that God will give us peace today. We are a little anxious waiting to hear something.
With everything that has happened during this process, we really haven't let our guard down all the way yet. We have so many mixed emotions right now and want nothing more that to finally feel like we can get exited!!!!!
This is the final hurdle before we are truly able to bring him home. As long as we get PINK, we are able to travel, and anything for there should be a cake walk:0)
I will post if we hear anything at all, but in the meantime, please pray for our whole situation!!!!!
Thank you!!!!!!
We are asking that you please pray for the situation. That the DNA does arrive when it should, that the Embassy worker hadling our paperwork is diligent in their job, and that God will give us peace today. We are a little anxious waiting to hear something.
With everything that has happened during this process, we really haven't let our guard down all the way yet. We have so many mixed emotions right now and want nothing more that to finally feel like we can get exited!!!!!
This is the final hurdle before we are truly able to bring him home. As long as we get PINK, we are able to travel, and anything for there should be a cake walk:0)
I will post if we hear anything at all, but in the meantime, please pray for our whole situation!!!!!
Thank you!!!!!!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Happy 4th of July!!!!
Today was a great day! We woke up and had a relaxing morning. We went to a pool party at friend's from churches house.
It was a lot of fun. It ended up pouring with rain, but luckily we had already finished eating.
We hung out with them with plans to go to the minor league baseball game. As it was raining, we figured that we would wait until the game was about half way over before getting there. We arrived at 8:45, to the singing of the National Anthem. We couldn't believe it. The game was supposed to start at 7:00. We had lawn seats, which was fun. We had never done that before but it gave the kids the freedom to run around. Gareth and I had taken the kids to get a snack when the lights went out. Since the game was delayed, they had to stop the game in order to do the fireworks. The were not aloud to do them after 11:00 pm.
So, we stood there at watched a beautiful fireworks display. Alex LOVED it. Callum on the other hand, climbed right up my body before I could blink, put his head on my shoulder and didn't look once. He kept asking to go home. Bless his heart. Maybe next year he will be a bigger fan. All in all, it was a wonderful day. I am so grateful to those that sacrificed so much so that we have the privledge of living in such a wonderful country!!!!
On the adoption front, our DNA results are a the Fed Ex plant in Guatemala City!!!! YEAH!!! I will be stalking the computer on Monday praying for the email!!!!!
It was a lot of fun. It ended up pouring with rain, but luckily we had already finished eating.
We hung out with them with plans to go to the minor league baseball game. As it was raining, we figured that we would wait until the game was about half way over before getting there. We arrived at 8:45, to the singing of the National Anthem. We couldn't believe it. The game was supposed to start at 7:00. We had lawn seats, which was fun. We had never done that before but it gave the kids the freedom to run around. Gareth and I had taken the kids to get a snack when the lights went out. Since the game was delayed, they had to stop the game in order to do the fireworks. The were not aloud to do them after 11:00 pm.
So, we stood there at watched a beautiful fireworks display. Alex LOVED it. Callum on the other hand, climbed right up my body before I could blink, put his head on my shoulder and didn't look once. He kept asking to go home. Bless his heart. Maybe next year he will be a bigger fan. All in all, it was a wonderful day. I am so grateful to those that sacrificed so much so that we have the privledge of living in such a wonderful country!!!!
On the adoption front, our DNA results are a the Fed Ex plant in Guatemala City!!!! YEAH!!! I will be stalking the computer on Monday praying for the email!!!!!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
DNA test on it's way!!!!
At 6:30 a.m. the results were given over to Fed Ex.!!!! I have a tracking number and it is supposed to be there by 6 pm tomorrow. With tomorrow being a holiday, I am not sure how that works. I guess that they will hold on to it until Monday and deliver it again.
I pray that it makes it there when it should. We should have our travel dates within a day of it getting there.
Please pray for this situation with us!!!!! We still have not received any confirmation from the Embassy that the Visa situation is ok. I guess that we need to go on the no news is good news theory!!!!!
I pray that it makes it there when it should. We should have our travel dates within a day of it getting there.
Please pray for this situation with us!!!!! We still have not received any confirmation from the Embassy that the Visa situation is ok. I guess that we need to go on the no news is good news theory!!!!!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
DNA TEST DONE!
Tomorrow morning, I will be able to start stalking the FED Ex truck with our results to the Embassy.
The 2nd DNA test was finished today and was a match. (not that we doubted that) It will be sent back tomorrow morning to the Embassy. I pray that with the long weekend, it will be there Monday. If all goes as planned, we should have our travel dates within 24-48 hours from that!!!!! This is such an answer to prayer. I still can't believe that it has gone smoothly!!
Thank the LORD!!!!
The 2nd DNA test was finished today and was a match. (not that we doubted that) It will be sent back tomorrow morning to the Embassy. I pray that with the long weekend, it will be there Monday. If all goes as planned, we should have our travel dates within 24-48 hours from that!!!!! This is such an answer to prayer. I still can't believe that it has gone smoothly!!
Thank the LORD!!!!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
DNA Being tested!
Got the email today. The DNA has been extracted and is in the Lab being tested. Not sure how long it will take to get results. Some people have theirs in a day. Others wait up to a week. I pray that we are the day!!!! Please keep this process in your prayers. Hopefully we will be stalking the Fed Ex truck with our results to the Embassy by the end of the week.
We had a pretty busy day today. Alex and Callum had play dates and we ran some errands. Bailey the dog got her annual trip to the Vet. Abbie our 13 year old dog is still hanging on. The vet offered us pain pills for her. She has arthiritis and is almost fully deaf now. The prescription would run us hundreds of dollars a month. We love our dogs, but that can't happen. For now, we will just keep doing what we can to make her comfortable.
It was a gorgeous day here. Only in the 80's. We had a great night outside with sidewalk chalk and riding bikes. The kids were pretty worn out, and believe it or not, so am I. It is only 11:00 and I think that I am off to bed.
I will be sure to post if we have any new news tomorrow!!!!!
We had a pretty busy day today. Alex and Callum had play dates and we ran some errands. Bailey the dog got her annual trip to the Vet. Abbie our 13 year old dog is still hanging on. The vet offered us pain pills for her. She has arthiritis and is almost fully deaf now. The prescription would run us hundreds of dollars a month. We love our dogs, but that can't happen. For now, we will just keep doing what we can to make her comfortable.
It was a gorgeous day here. Only in the 80's. We had a great night outside with sidewalk chalk and riding bikes. The kids were pretty worn out, and believe it or not, so am I. It is only 11:00 and I think that I am off to bed.
I will be sure to post if we have any new news tomorrow!!!!!
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