Beautiful, Busy Bella!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The title says it all. Bella stays busy all the time. She is always on the go! Anyone that knows me and my love for shoes can appreciate the first picture. Well, the second picture is of her in this cute little outfit that has a headkerchief with it. It only stayed on a few minutes. In April when Bob and I were here she would wear hats without any problems..... not anymore! She won't keep a hat on for more than a second. It's hard to put any kind of bow or pigtail or anything in Bella's hair because she is constantly moving.

Arabella is so inquisitive. In the third and fourth pictures you can see her concentrating on trying to take a business card out of Mom's wallet. When she finally figured it out and got it out, she just smiled from ear-to-ear. She was so proud of herself.

The last two pictures show Bella drinking apple juice out of a cup. Her foster mom said she liked juice. Well, she won't drink juice out of a bottle at all. She doesn't like sippy cups either. We discovered she likes it out of a cup. She makes a mess, but she loves it. Other things Bella loves are Cheerios and crackers. She loves any kind of fruit and will eat almost anything you give her.

She really likes to ride in her stroller (and usually eats Cheerios) when we walk into town. She smiles at all the people we meet on the street or sidewalk. Everyone smiles at her, and not a day has gone by that people don't stop to talk to her and tell us how beautiful she is. She is so friendly and everyone is drawn to her. I can't wait for you all to see her beautiful smile in person!

We are supposed to go to Guatemala city on Wed. to get Bella's passport. Then the lawyer will submit the documents to the US embassy in Guatemala and we will wait to hear when we are supposed to take Bella for her embasssy doctor's appointment. A couple of days after that we will take Bella for her 2nd DNA. They take a swab from the inside of her mouth and check the sample against the DNA from her 1st sample in February. This sample will be overnighted to a lab in the US to be tested and will then be overnighted back to the US embassy in Guatemala. After the results get to the embassy, we will wait a few days for a "pink" slip to be issued with our embassy appointment on it. The appointment is an immigrant exit interview. This appointment is usually about 7 -10 days after the pink slip is issued. Usually people in the country can call and get a quicker appointment; that's what we are hoping for. We will get the pink slip, then call to hopefully get a sooner appointment, then call to book Bob a flight here and all of us a flight home. The day after the embassy appointment, the visa is issued. You usually get that late in the afternoon and fly home the next morning. Whew! Did you get all that?

Thanks for all your prayers. They are working! My friend Valerie' s baby, Maria Jade, got out of PGN a few days after we did. My friend Lori's baby, Bethany, finally got submitted into PGN. Keep praying for them as well as for Lauren and her baby, Isabelle; pray that she gets OUT of PGN this week!

Well, it's almost July. July will be OUR month! It will be the month when Arabella is home in KY with her forever family where she is meant to be. Some say Bella is so lucky to have us for parents, but they have got it all wrong. We are blessed beyond measure to be the ones chosen to be this angel's mommy and daddy. All the years of sickness, infertility, pain, and struggles are gone. This is the path we had to go through to get to where we are today, and I would do it all again for my sweet darling Arabella Josey! Remember that we chose Arabella's name because it meant "answer to a prayer," and she most definitely is the best answer to a prayer that we could've ever gotten.

Take care my precious friends and loved ones,

Tonya

Arabella is now a Boster (on paper)!

Well, I've been a bad blogger. We spend all of our time taking care of Arabella and blogging isn't on the top of my priority list (Sorry, Aunt Liz). My nieces Kayla and Lyndsey informed me that Antigua looked neat, but that they just wanted to see more pictures of Bella. I'll try to do better. We got the good news this morning that we have Arabella's new birth certificate now (we have a copy). We are listed as her parents and her last name is now Boster! We are being submitted for her passport today, and then there are just a few more steps after that. If we keep going at this pace, Bella will be home in a month!

Please pray for us and our finances as we have decided it would be best for Bella if we just stayed a few extra weeks until we can bring her home. Since it is happening sooner than we expected, it would be silly for me to fly home and turn right around and fly back 2 - 3 weeks later. So, it looks like we (Mom and I) will be staying in GU for a while longer. This way Bella won't have to live with her foster family (as wonderful as they are) again. Also, please pray for them as they adore Arabella and were expecting to "have" her for a couple more months before they had to tell her goodbye. I dread the day they say goodbye to her; it will be awful! We promised them that we will come back to GU in a few years to visit, and we will. GU is a beautiful place, and we want Arabella to be proud of the country she was born in.

I'll update you when I hear about each step we get done and on when to expect us home!

Love and blessings,

The Boster Family (all 3 of us)

All Around Antigua (and Arabella of course)!

Well, we are finding new things everyday in Antigua. It is still amazing to me that I can look right out the window here and see volcanos. It is a big reminder of all of God's beautiful creation. There are so many friendly people here and they are all very beautiful as well. I was thinking this morning about how much God loves us all, and more specifically the Guatemalan people were on my mind. Many of them live in extreme poverty. Many of them don't know Him as their Lord and Savior. I have a burden for them today. Please pray for this country, all its people, and the government. Pray for all the orphans without homes and that they will get the new adoption system up and running very soon. Pray for all my friends and their babies who need to get out of PGN so they can go home to their forever families.

I feel so blessed today. My dreams are coming true and Arabella is coming home soon! I can't wait for you all to meet her. She has the biggest smile you have ever seen and she makes me so happy. Thank you all for all the prayers, love, and support you have given us during this difficult process.

Love and blessings,

Tonya

WE ARE OUT OF PGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, you read it right! We are out of PGN; we are so excited! This means in less than 2 months, Bella will be home with us. Hopefully she will be home right before her first birthday! This has been specifically what we have been praying for, and the Lord has answered our prayers. The next step is to get her new birth certificate from the village where she was born; it will have our last name on it. Pray that this step doesn't take too long as they have to drive to Huehuetanango where she born (6 hours away) to get it. The next few steps after that are all on the U.S. side of things; pray that they do it all in record time! I am officially a mom. It feels great! Bella is ours; we just have to do these last few things in order for her to be a U.S. citizen and be able to come HOME for good! Thanks for all the prayers so far and keep them coming that these last few steps will happen super fast! Blessings, Tonya Arabella's Mommy

Bella is 10 months old today!

It's been several days since I've updated you all. As you can see from the pictures, we've been busy walking around Antigua. There are so many neat little shops and restaurants. They also have a pretty central park with a fountain in the center. Bella keeps us busy, but we are so enjoying this time with her. She has learned to clap her hands and click her tongue, and she keeps us laughing.

Happy Father's Day to my husband Bobby (Arabella's daddy)! We wish you were here with us on your first Father's Day to celebrate. We love you!

More Antigua pictures and updates

Hola everyone! I am trying to type fast while Arabella has her morning nap. We are doing very well. Let me explain a few of the pictures first. Well I had to put a few of my favorite shots of Arabella styling in her sunglasses, crawling everywhere, playing, and trying to type on the computer. She is a very busy girl!

Next are various pictures of the house we are staying at and outside our house. You'll see iron "gates" that lock that are for security purposes. We have a nice balcony and like to go out there in the mornings when it is sunny. There are two apartments beside ours that share the same driveway and gates. There is a picture of Arabella and Grandma Charlene on one of the cobblestone streets. One is of several markets where you can buy all kinds of crafts, ceramics, textiles. We went shopping that day and had a blast! We are waiting for our water to be delivered (it comes in big 5 gallon jugs) so that we can go out and look around some more today.

We found a pharmacy that delivered and we were able to get Bella's formula that way yesterday. She is eating everything we give her; she is not a picky eater! We are giving her baths in a tub up on the kitchen counter; she loves to splash and play in the water.

Bella is sleeping with me in a huge king size bed. We don't even take up half of it. I put pillows on the sides so she can't roll off. She usually doesn't roll in her sleep, though. She sleeps on her back and stays in pretty much the same position the whole time. Bella is an early riser, but she sleeps all night. She sleeps for about 8 - 9 hours. That is great for me, because I like to sleep. Yesterday morning she decided to wake up at 5:30 a.m. I usually feel her move or hear her and wake up. I didn't wake up fast enough for her, so she kept hitting me on the arm until she woke me up. Then she just smiled at me.

I will cherish this special time together forever!

Well, my Bella girl just woke up, I've gotta go.......

Adios amigos,

Tonya