We SHOULD be flying home tomorrow

Just an update on what is happening. When we left 9 days ago, we were told by our agency that we were submitted for PINK. It usually takes 72 hours to get your pink slip and then they give you your embassy appointment date. So we figured within 10 days we should be able to have our pink slip and our embassy appointment and be on our way home. When we got to Guatemala, we found out that we did not even have Layla's birth certificate yet???? Needless to say, we are here and trying our best to make things happen. I keep thinking to myself that we should have waited another week but the way things have went with this adoption, I don't know when Layla would have come home without us coming to check on things. I am angry with our agency for lying to us and costing us not only alot of extra money but also the fact that we have a little 4 year old boy at home waiting for Mommy and Daddy to come home. We miss him so much and just don't know what to do. Steve wants to stay to bring Layla home but we are torn with what to do. Eli is having a great time with his cousin Elena(Thanks Jeff and Dale)!! but I am sure he is wondering when we will come home. We are going to the embassy tomorrow to plead our ca se and see if we can get an appointment set and if they will show us some mercy and make it SOON. This is so hard and yet we want it to be a joyful time. We are so close to having our little girl.
I am posting a picture of OUR little ELI...... WE MISS YOU!

Sunday at the park

On Sundays they block off the streets in front of the hotel and everyone comes to ride bike, rollerblade or just walk their dogs. Their are pony rides across the street ,(which Noah loves) and face painting and everyone enjoying the day as a family. We have noticed that in Guatemala, family is everything. They love their children and spending time with them. In Guatemala city the people are of the upper class. And when you go 1 mile out of the city you see extreme poverty. It seems there are not middle class here. We are having a great time learning more about the country our children are from but are anxious to get home. WE Miss you Eli!!

Layla is starting to warm up to daddy!

Saturday at the Zoo

We went to the zoo yesterday and WOW what a Zoo!!! We had a great time and also went to the Artisans market. We bought Layla a beautiful little Guatemala dress and Noah picked out a pocket book. Eli wants a race car and that is probably going to be picked up at the mall before we go home. Trying to get some things from here since this will be our last trip for a long time. We would like to bring the kids back when they are teenagers. We love Guatemala but have had our share of it for awhile.

Noah and Layla at Sarita's Ice cream shop

Just another day in Guatemala

We have established a great routine here. Better than the one we have at home actually. Layla and Noah are napping and sleeping well which really helps. I usually go to bed after everyone and get up a little earlier so I can get something done. My little cling on is getting better but if Daddy is in the room she will still not venture far away. Noah has taught her how to get in all the cupboards!!! And she thinks she is invincible. You will probably notice the bruise mark on her cheek and forehead. She just cruises at 100 mph and goes until she crashes into something. We are having a great time but we are missing Eli and want to get home. He is having a great time at Uncle Jeff's farm and thinks we need to buy a farm when we get home!! We will be submitted for Pink on Monday(Finally) and will then try and get an appointment for as soon as possible. Please pray that they will show mercy on us and get us home Soon.

I took this saying off of a friends blog so I hope she doesn't care but after my post yesterday I found this and it spoke right to me!!

Stop telling God how big your storm is
And instead tell your storm how BIG your God is

This is a test....This is only a test

If you have heard the national broadcast system say this on the radio and listened to the loud blaring noise, that is what I have been hearing for the last 13 months. It seems that this adoption has tested my faith, my strength and my endurance, not to mention my patience. I feel as if I have been in a triathalon race and am nearing the end but I don't have the strength left. We rode bike with a flat tire, swam across the ocean with weights on our legs and have now been running for all we are worth with a broken leg. It seems that every step of this process has had a glitch. Today I spent 4 hours at a passport place with no other Americans and everyone watching me take care of my baby. Needless to say my baby can walk and does not want to be held for 4 hours. I literally stood most of that time while she screamed to get down and was just as fed up with the wait as I was. The reason for the wait......Something wrong with our paperwork???? Can this lawyer do anything right?? I am sorry to be whining when there are still people that would love to be in my place and in Guatemala on their pick up trip but I am tired of the fight......... Then I look at my beautiful little girl sleeping on the bed and think YOU CAN DO IT!!!! Just a little farther....

Noah taking a snooze with Layla

Finally time to post a couple of pictures!!

We finally have our Girl!!

We arrived in Guatemala on Saturday at around 1:30 and arrived at the hotel just in time for our call that Layla was HERE!!! We have Grandma and Grandpa here and also a good friend that is visiting her little girl so we all headed down to the lobby. I have dreamed of this moment for so long and it was just as special as any of my dreams. The hard part is that Layla has always been excited to see me and she is now at the age where she is scared of people..... Especially Daddy which hurts his feelings so much. (and Mine). She is also not liking her little brother much and he has been making plans for 13 months how he is going to take care of her. We keep telling him that she is sad and will Love him soon. He just keeps kissing her and trying his best to make her like him. I don't think Grandma and Grandpa were prepared for how emotional this was going to be. The foster mom just cried and cried. Grandma was supposed to be in charge of the video camera, but we have mostly shots of the floor because she was too excited. Layla is grieving and though she has taken to me again( Won't let me out of her sight for 2 seconds) she is sad and not herself. It is too bad that this had to drag on for this long so she is this old. We are still not completely done with the process and are waiting to possibly get her passport today. We are here for at least 10 days and really hope that we can all travel home together. I will post pictures soon. She is absolutely Beautiful!!!!

I get by with a little help from my friends!!

I have been thinking lately of all the things I am grateful for during this wait. #1 on that list is all the wonderful friends I have made. What a relief to have someone who totally gets how you are feeling!! I am not saying that my other friends don't understand but I guess I am just a little shy about telling them how I am feeling for fear that they won't have a clue about: checking your e-mails obsessively for any news, planning the next visit trip before you have even left your baby, discussing how incapable your agency is at showing any compassion that your adoption is taking Forever. Some days I am the one who is needing a shoulder to cry on and other days I am the one with my ear to the phone telling them it is all going to work out and that I understand their frustration. So, while the wait has been horrendous, I am trying to enjoy time with my boys and doing some of the things that will be impossible when Layla gets here. Life as we know it is going to change soon! Thank you to A. B. S. and D. for always being there for me!!

Did I hear you right? You are coming to get me!!

Checking Flights and Getting Prepared

It is finally sinking in that this is actually going to happen!!! That sometime in the next month I will be typing on my blog with my little girl in our house!! I have been trying to decide which clothes to bring with for Layla and keep wondering how much she has grown since I spent time with her the beginning of May??? I have checked flights daily for the last month and I am so ready to just book it and go. I really want Steve to be with me when I see her or I would have been on a flight a week ago. I am trying to be patient but that is not a quality that I have an over abundance of. Within a week our tickets will be bought and paid for (well with a credit card anyhow)!! Me and the boys were deciding today how we are going to baby proof our house??? We have lots of stairs and she will be walking and climbing so we are going to need GATES, and more gates. Speaking of gates.....did I mention I am sooooo ready to go through the GATE at the Guatemala airport and go get our little girl!!!

humility....patience....kindness.....integrity......courage...... FAITH like a child