On the Last Leg!!

We received word yesterday the 5th that we are now #13! Praise God we continue to move up on the waiting list. We are still believing and hoping for a June referral of our daughter with a travel date in July, however, we are even more confident in Gods perfect will and plan for our family and daughter. We have no doubt that she will be placed in our arms upon her birth. It's been hard to wait as its been over a year now since we started this process, but the blessings and teachings from God in all this have been profound. It's a calling to adopt a child in to your family, but its also one of the most amazing blessings in life. How grateful we are to be chosen.

At this point in the process, we can expect a call any day. Once our wait list number gets to #5, our Family Album could be given to a birth mother with 2 others giving her the ability to chose the family for her child. Even at #13, this could happen this month. Upon being chosen by the birth mother, we either accept or reject (can you imagine that) our referral and if we accept, we are to travel to Guatemala within 2 weeks from our referral to meet our daughter and the birth mother if she so chooses. We are required to travel to sign POA (Power of Attorney) forms in Guatemala....not doing so could delay the process of bringing her home by 2 months! We will spend 2 full days at The Orphanage and then travel home with out our daughter. We anticipate this will be difficult as we have never had to leave our babies behind. However, God promised that "where we are weak, He is strong" and we are counting on that. General wait time for our child to come home to the US is anywhere between 3-8 months with the average being 6 months. It is our confession and hope that she will be home by Christmas.

Please continue to check this site as we will be sending more frequent updates as well as specific prayers needed.

God Bless,

Moved up 5, were now #25!!!

Weve moved up on the Waiting List!

We are thrilled to announce that we received word today that we are now #30 on the girl waiting list. 6 baby girls were placed last month. We received notice of our new number the first week of every month. Our progress is significant and we are excited that things are progressing this well.

Last night I was priviliged to be part of a friends daughters Home Coming from Guatemala. It was a precious moment to watch them walk down the runway with that beautiful little girl. Although we are excited for our own moment, I truly enjoyed the their moment and I am so thrilled for them that their daughter is finally home at 6 1/2 months of age.

We are on the Waiting List!

I apologize, the last update did include where we are on the waiting list. We are #36. As new babies in the orphange are brought in or born, we move up until we are finally #1. They expect that will be around May or June. It's all in God's perfect timing and plan.

Stage 2 and 3 of the Journey

In November, we sent in our official application to AGCI. and received our Dossier package in the mail along with our first installment payment. On January 10th, we sent the completed Dossier with our 2nd installment payment to AGCI. and on January 11, 2007, we were officially placed on the girls waiting list and #36. Now we wait, we pray, we plan and we let God control his plan. How Great is our God for guiding us on this journey to bring a daughter in to our family. We all anxiously await and celebrate her homecoming.

The Journey Begins

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me." Matthew 18:5What a gift it is to be called to celebrate and participate in the "miracle of adoption". This of course comes at a time when we felt our family was complete. Our youngest is now 6 1/2; he will be in school full time next year. We had plans to travel more, to continue the my already blessed real estate business , plans to move to a new home, ballroom dance lessons, more golf, the list goes on. And then ever so gently, slowly and without recognition, God conceived Esabella in our hearts. So our hearts are pregnant and growing bigger every day.For those of you that do not know about the adoption process, it has already been quite a journey. As I recall when having the boys, the only question or concern anyone had was "do you have a car seat to take him home in? And "Insurance card please". Adoption however included DH and I being finger printed, having an FBI and Police Report run on us, ordering official birth certificates and marriage license, physicals, HIV tests, completing a 51 page booklet, each, on our past and current life, participating (along with our 3 boys) in an 8 hour interview with a social worker, who by the way is amazing and made it fun for all of us, ordering passports, copies of drivers licenses, 8 referral letters from friends, and a Financial Study. Oh...and let's not forget the Government and agency fee of close to $33,000. All of this red tape to give a beautiful child a home, a family, and life. It's no wonder more families do not choose adoption. Yet, with all the work required of us as well as the cost, we feel compelled and fortunate to expand our family in this way.We know the journey may be long; there may be times of great disappointment, anxiety and worry. We have been told that adoption is a "roller coaster" ride. It's starting to feel like pregnancy more and more everyday. Yet...we press on. Everyday we get closer to receiving the first picture of our future daughter, the first glimpse of "God's Eye's". We want to take all of you on our journey with us. There are several ways that you can experience the journey; continue to visit our blog site for updates and photos, pray for us that the Lord will guide us and provide all the funds needed to bring her home, pray for health and protection over Esabella and her birth Mother as well as the Lord's hand in guiding them to All God's Children. We need your support and prayers. This is a bold and new journey for our family, but one we accept with great joy. May God Bless all of you a thousand fold, and may he hold you always in the palm of his hand.