God is GOOD!

Well, first of all it's only 9 days til I get to hold my sweet baby again and Grandma Charlene gets to meet her. We're beyond excited! We had a yard sale yesterday to make some extra money for our trip. I told Mom I would be excited if we made $200. Well, we did much better than that. We actually made $510! I am not sure how, the most expensive item we sold was $20. All I can figure is that the Lord really blessed us! There is no news to report about our adoption; I'm told we're still in PGN. PGN is continuing conducting birthmother interviews. Ours has not been scheduled yet and PGN is still not releasing any cases. Please pray for our birthmother as these interviews are very emotional and not easy. Also pray that we won't get any previos (kick-outs for errors, missing signatures, etc.), and that our interview will happen soon. Rumors say that in a couple of weeks all the cases which have had interviews will be released with either approvals or previos. If you have a previo, you must fix the error and be resubmitted. I pray this is true as PGN has been "holding" cases for several weeks now. If they hold all these cases and release tons at the same time, then this will cause delays with the last few steps of the process, but at least they will be out of PGN. Some of my friends who are adopting got some movement on their cases this week, and I am happy for them. Keep praying for Valerie and Lori and their families. Happy first birthday to Isabelle (Lauren's baby) this week in Guatemala; she needs to be home soon! Pray for Lauren as it is hard to be missing her baby girl's first birthday. Congratulations to Beth and her handsome son, Zach, who just arrived home from Guatemala! I praise the Lord for his mercy and goodness! He is good to me, and I know I don't deserve it. I am so thankful for this chance of a lifetime to spend a month with Bella. Someone said to me today that they couldn't do it, that it would be too hard. It will be hard to leave her, but I wouldn't miss the time I get to spend with her for anything in the world. Hopefully we will get good news from PGN while we are there. It usually is less than 2 months after that (PGN out) that you get to bring your baby home. We're still praying for a miracle that she will be home to celebrate her first birthday on August 14th. Join in this prayer with us! Blessings, Tonya Arabella's Mommy

Arabella is 9 months old today!

Our sweet baby girl is 9 months old today. I just found out she has 5 teeth now and is trying to crawl; I think she is going to walk before she crawls! I will be in Guatemala with Arabella in 3 weeks; I can't wait. PGN is still not moving any cases out right now; continue to pray for this situation to be resolved soon so that we can all bring our babies home as soon as possible!

Hope you had a great day today Bella, I love you!

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy

MY WORLD....TURNED UPSIDE DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This has not been a good week for me. My world has literally been turned upside down. I shared with you that "PGN" was doing some restructuring in a recent post. Well, they fired the Attorney General and the guy under him under numerous allegations of illegal activities. We were all hoping this would be a good thing, but it is not turning out so good. The new people met last week and said that they would make sure that all the rest of the adoptions that started last year under the old laws who were "grandfathered" in would be completed and released in a timely manner. So much for that... they stated this week that they will put cases on "hold" for at least a month while they investigate each case and bring in all birthmothers for another interview, along with foster mothers and the babies. They are adding more requirements and changing the rules in the middle of the game. What they are doing is illegal, but there is no way to stop them. They started the interviews with the birthmothers today. The birthmothers have already been interviewed in family court by a social worker, so this extra interview is just ludicrous. All it is doing is wasting precious time. So there are over 2000 cases right now who need to be completed by PGN, and now they are saying they want to interview all the birthmothers again. This could take forever. My dreams of having my baby home by her first birthday are quickly dwindling away.

This is what I need each person to do who is reading this post. Pray like you have never prayed before for the orphans of Guatemala. Pray for the birthmothers to have courage and strength to endure another interview and have to deal with the pain all over again of having to give their babies up in the first place if these interviews must continue. Pray for all the families who love their children so much and just want to bring them home and give them a happy future. Pray for the Guatemalan goverment to somehow see that these new requirements are illegal and to stop them immediately. Pray for PGN to be humbled and for their hearts to be softened and for them to work very efficiently so that our babies can come home!

Pray specifically for Bella's birthmom and for her foster family (Karen and her family). Pray that Bella continues to be adored and loved by them. Also pray that she makes a connection again easily with me on my next visit and let her feel all the love we have for her. Pray for the Lord to have His angels surround her and to keep her safe.

Please keep praying until you hear that she is home safe and sound!

Dear Arabella,

I miss you so much. In 26 days I will be with you again, but it feels like a lifetime. Oh how I long to hold you and to kiss your sweet face. Thanks for the flowers you sent (with help from your grandma and your great-grandma)! I am so happy to be a mother for the first time this Mother's Day, but it is bittersweet because I can't have you here with me yet. I look forward to all the holidays we will get to spend together in the future and how much fun we will have together. When you read this one day, just know that we did everything we could to get you home with us as soon as we could. I love you very much my sweet girl, and I can't wait to spend a month with you this summer. While you are waiting to come home, I hope you have fun playing with Margie, Joshua, Karen, and Josue. They love you very much, too!

Hugs and kisses,

Mommy

There is a light at the end of the tunnel.......

Isn't this the sweetest face you have ever seen? It is to me. Thanks to Lauren who took this picture while we were visiting Arabella in Guatemala. As I do every day, I really miss my Bella girl today. However, in less than a month now I will be holding her again. I miss her all the time. I try to stay busy and most of the time handle it (missing her) ok. Other times, I ache to hold her so badly I feel like I might just die. This wait has been one of the hardest things I have ever had to endure. On Thursday afternoon, we were watching some video we took of Bella while we were with her in GU. Many times this gives me comfort to watch the special memories we made that week, but on Thursday it just made me so sad. We went to a Christian concert later that evening and the Lord spoke to me through the music and lyrics. The concert was fabulous by the way; it was a "Third Day" concert. The first song they sang had these lyrics: "There is a light at the end of the tunnel, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, for you, for you....." I felt the Lord whispering to me that everything would be ok, that He would help me through this hard time. My tunnel right now is this long adoption process. The end of it for me is having my precious Bella at home with us where she belongs. Yes, I know the song is talking about Jesus. He is waiting there for anybody who needs help out of their "tunnel." What tunnel are you in today? Jesus has always been faithful to me, and He will be faithful to you if you invite Him into your heart and life. He is the only reason I have made it through all the hard times in my life. Our case is in PGN as I have wrote about previously. Please pray diligently that our case gets approved and out quickly. After we get out of PGN, it usually takes about 6 weeks for the last steps until Arabella can come home. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Also please pray for these other ladies (and their families) who are waiting on their babies to come home from GU: Valerie (Maria's Mommy); Lori (Bethany's Mommy); Lauren (Isabelle's Mommy); Beth (Zachary's Mommy). I am looking forward to spending a month with Bella soon. That is what is keeping me going right now. Hopefully it won't be too long after that when we can bring her home to KY. I really want her to be home to celebrate her first birthday in August. All my friends and family just can't wait to meet her. Everybody is buying her cute clothes and swimsuits. Thanks Mom and Tammy! Grandma Charlene is getting really excited about our trip, too. We spent a long time this afternoon going through clothes, shoes, toys, etc. for Bella that we are taking with us to Antigua in June. My dad bought us a jogger stroller to take with us to maneuver through the bumpy cobblestone streets of Antigua this weekend. That is the last thing we needed for our trip. Now we're all set! Thanks Dad, I love you. I feel really blessed tonight. I have a family and friends who love me and are very good to me. I have a beautiful daughter who will be home sometime in the near future. In the meantime, she is with a wonderful family who adores her. I have a loving Heavenly Father who knows and wants what is best for me. Thank you to everyone who is reading this for the support and prayers. I can feel them. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. Blessings, Tonya aka Arabella's Mommy