Prayer request and exciting news

If you read this post, please say a prayer for my mom who is having hip replacement surgery on Monday, March 3rd. Pray that the surgery goes smoothly, that she recooperates quickly, and that it helps relieve the pain that she has been in. Mom and I have had fun shopping for Bella. We have hit all kinds of clearance sales and have clothes put back for her for the rest of the year. Mom is sad that she doesn't get to go in April with us to meet Bella, but she has to get her hip taken care of now. Then she needs to get back into the groove so that she can go with me to see Bella again in June. That's right! MOM AND I ARE GOING TO VISIT BELLA IN JUNE!!!!!!!!!! If it all works out right, we are going to stay for 4 weeks! Can you tell how excited I am? We have found this cozy bed and breakfast that we can stay at for only $1100 for a month, and this includes breakfast. We will split the cost of the room and groceries. We are able to go the store and buy food and use the kitchen at the B&B to cook our own meals at night. Spending a whole month spoiling my baby sounds like the closest thing to heaven I am gonna get while on this earth. It will be hard to leave her at the end of such a long visit for me and for mom, but hopefully she will be able to come home forever just a few months after that. Also pray for our finances that everything will be taken care of. I plan on doing lots of jewelry shows between now and then to help pay for this once-in-a-lifetime trip. Bella will only be little once, so this trip is extremely important to me. This month will give us a special time to start the bonding process which is extremely critical for babies who are adopted. I also want to thank my husband for loving me and our daughter so much to agree to making this sacrifice for us. It will be 5 weeks until I get to meet you, Arabella. Then it will be will be only 7 weeks after that until I get to spend a whole month with you. I can close my eyes right now and picture me holding you and being silly and making you laugh. We will have a wonderful time getting to know each other. Hang on, baby girl. Momma will be there soon.

Quote for the day

"We witness a miracle every time a child enters life. But those who make their journey home across times and miles, growing within the hearts of those who wait to love them, are carried on the wings of destiny and placed among us by God's very own hands." Kristi Larson I loved this quote when I read it. It very much relates to the adoption process and our journey to bring Arabella home to us from Guatemala. I don't believe in coincidence. I know God chose us to be Arabella's parents. When Arabella is old enough to understand all about this I will let her read all my thoughts that I have written in this blog. So, here's a message for today from my heart to her: Dear Arabella, You have been on my mind all day. It is six weeks until your daddy and I get to fly to Guatemala and meet you. I can't wait to hold you in my arms, cuddle you, and kiss your sweet face. Just know that we love you and pray for you to be healthy and happy with your foster family until we can bring you home to us, your forever family. May God protect you and keep you safe from harm. May He bring you home to America in record time. I love you my baby girl. With all my love, Momma

Poem for today

God's Little Girl

Oh, little girl, your life was planned,

Right from the start from the Father's hand.

He fashioned your frame in ways so grand,

And loves you in ways you don't understand.

And though I've yet to hold your tiny frame,

You've captured my heart & I long to call your name.

I thank God for you, a gift so sweet and pure,

And pray for you to know His Son for sure.

And as you grow, may you always know,

The Lord is there wherever you go.

I promise to love you thro' all your days and hours,

But never forget His love is far greater than all of ours.

Our Father's Son He freely gave,

And all who believe he surely will save.

Oh, little girl, I've adopted at so great a price,

But as God's little girl,

you're adopted twice.

by: Paul W. Smith

Happy Valentine's Day My Precious Bella!

Happy Valentine's Day Bella! You are 6 months old today! One of the teachers I work with today decided to throw a celebration for your turning 6 months old. She bought you the cutest pink sleeper that you will get to wear when I visit you in 7 weeks. She also crocheted you the most beautiful blanket that looks adorable in your nursery. Then she gave us cupcakes with a candle in them for us all to blow out the candles and make a wish for you. I wished for you many things: to be healthy and happy; to feel loved; and for you to be home for your first birthday. I know it will be a miracle to bring you home that soon, but my God is a God of miracles! It will all happen in His timing.

We got some exciting news this week. First of all we finally got registered with the new Central Authority in Guatemala. This has been a long and frustrating process for our attorney. I won't explain all the drama involved in that, but she got it done. YEAH!!!!! Yesterday we got word that Bella's and her mirthmom's DNA matched, so the results are on their way to the embassy in GU now. As soon as they arrive, we can start waiting for our preapproval from the embassy needed to enter PGN. Please pray for favor from the Lord for a speedy PA to help make our miracle happen!

I just booked our flight to visit Arabella over spring break. I can hardly wait to hold her, feed her, bathe her, etc...... I could go on and on. I am even looking forward to changing diapers. The neat thing is I found another mom who is adopting from GU. She is going the same week we are and is staying at the same bed and breakfast. It's kinda funny how God brings poeple into your life right when you need them.

I hope you had a wonderful day, my sweet Bella. Momma and Daddy will be there in 7 weeks to spoil you and spend a whole week with you.

February pictures of Arabella

These are pictures from Feb. 11th. She now weighs 16 pounds! I love the last picture. It makes you really want to know what she is looking at that is so enthralling. Her hair is getting longer, too. She already has more hair than her daddy. As I said in my last post, the DNA samples are at the lab and we should hear something about the results next week. As soon as we get these, we can purchase our airline tickets for our visit trip on spring break. I am so anxious to hold her I can hardly stand it! I have a prayer request for you as well. Please pray for Bella's birthmom. I can't imagine the grieving she has to go through. Imagine being so poor that you can't afford to feed your baby. You know the only way for her to be healthy and happy is to let another family raise her and that after she leaves your country, you will never see her again. Pray that the Lord will give her peace that she made the right decision and for her to know that we will love her child as our own unconditionally. I read a statement recently regarding adoption that sums it up: For my dreams to come true, someone's heart had to be broken. It is sad, but true. We will get a picture in the mail of Bella's birthmom with our DNA results. I will keep this picture to show Bella what her birthmom looked like when she is older and asks about her. I will forever be grateful to Bella's birthmom for choosing life and for giving her a chance at a healthy and happy life with us!

January pictures of Arabella and updates

Here are pictures of Arabella in January. She weighed 14 lbs., 2 ozs. Doesn't she look pretty in purple? She gained almost a pound and a half since December. She is really growing! I thought I would try to give you an update about where we are in the adoption process since December when we started. Like I said in my first post, we started the adoption in Dec. We got our power of attorney signed and registered in Dec. Shortly after that our dossier (adoption paperwork) was sent to Guatemala. Then it had to be translated into Spanish. We entered family court on January 31 and should have a social worker assigned to our case by now. The social worker interviews the birthmom and the fostermom and then writes a social worker report. She needs to write a report with a favorable opinion for us to proceed further with our adoption. After we exit family court, our case can then go to PGN (it's like the Attorney General's office), but not until after DNA and PA. I'll tell you more about that next. We got DNA authorization on Feb.1. This means that Guatemala authorized the sample of birthmom and Arabella's DNA to be taken. The appointment was scheduled for Feb. 8. This is done to ensure that the person who is giving up the baby for adoption is in fact the biological mother. They put this safeguard in place to help stop corruption in adoptions. The DNA appointment happened as scheduled on Fri. and it is now at the lab being tested. When the test is done, they will send the results to the United States Embassy in Guatemala. When it arrives there, we start waiting for preapproval (PA) for our case. Like I said earlier, you have to have the social worker report and PA to enter PGN. Pray for a quick PA. Right now PA is taking up to 60 days or longer. The faster we get PA, the faster we can get into PGN. PGN is the office that eventually approves the adoption. After you get "out" of PGN, there are only a few steps left. You are usually in PGN for a couple of months or longer. Again, pray for our paperwork to be perfect so we can sail in and out of PGN quickly. Usually after your exit PGN, your baby is home within 6 weeks after that. Hopefully this has explained a little bit about why it takes so long. Everybody keeps asking me that. International adoption is not for the weak at heart. It is a very long and tiring journey, but we are up for the challenge! It will be well worth it in the end. We feel very blessed to be the ones chosen by our Heavenly Father to care for Arabella while on this earth. One day last month as I was driving down the road I started thinking about how much I love this baby that I haven't even got to hold yet. A realization hit me and tears ran down my face. The Lord knew Arabella would need me. I have had a place in my heart that only a child could fill; I have been devastated by not being able to get pregnant and have a biological child. If I could have had a bioligical child before now, I would not have pursued international adoption and I would not have found my precious Bella. I found a lot of peace in that realization. I wouldn't wish the pain and grief of infertility on anyone, but now I know God had a plan. He always has a plan, it is just hard for us to see at the time. I know the Lord is watching over Bella now and will keep her safe until we can bring her home.

December pictures of Arabella

These are December pictures of Arabella. She weighed 12 lbs. 11 ozs. Wouldn't you just love to pinch those chubby cheeks? They remind me of my niece Lyndsey's chubby cheeks when she was a baby. The first picture looks like she is waving at the camera. The second picture looks like she loves to chew on her fingers; she might be teething. The last picture is my favorite of this bunch. You can't tell it, but someone is holding her arms down because she wouldn't keep her hands down and out of her mouth for the pictures. What a serious look she is giving them! I love this little outfit with the pink heart on it. Look at her mouth closely, it is shaped like a heart. How sweet! I have a feeling we will have to chase the boys away when she is older.

November pictures of Arabella

She just keeps getting cuter, doesn't she? These are from November, when she weighed 12 lbs. 3 ozs. I love the bow in her hair. Her foster mom dressed her in cute clothes. Look at those long fingers!

October picture of Arabella

Doesn't she look like an angel? This picture was taken in October when Bella was 2 months old. She weighed 10 lbs. and 3 ozs. October was the month that we got our dossier ( all the paperwork for an international adoption) done. This was also the month we found out that we might not be able to adopt from Guatemala due to the adoption laws changing. I started looking for another country to adopt from, but I could not find any peace changing countries. This is because my daughter was already born in Guatemala; I just didn't know it yet. But... God knew.

September pictures of Arabella

Arabella was born on August 14th. These are two of the pictures we got with our referral. This is when she was almost a month old. They dress their babies in layers in Guatemala. She weighed 7 lbs. when she was born. She weighed 9 lbs. 4 ozs. here. She looks kinda grumpy in the second picture, doesn't she? I think she is thinking, "Why are you that close to my eyes with that camera?" Bella's foster mom takes her once a month to the doctor for a checkup. We get pictures and a medical update once a month from our agency.