Happy 2008!

I can't believe that the holidays are over! They went by so quickly! We had a great time relaxing with my family over Christmas, but Shiloh and Eva (our first referral that we lost) were on my mind a lot. Every year, on the last Sunday of the year, people at our church share different testimonies of things that had happened to them through that year. Last year Filipe and I shared a little about how God had put it in our heart to adopt and how God had provided for us to be able to do so. I remember thinking how cool it would be that the next time they did that, our daughter would be with us, but I guess God had different plans. It is a strange feeling to be sitting in almost the exact same place as we were in last year, still anxiously waiting for our daughter, but knowing that at the same time so much has changed. 2007 was the hardest, most emotional year ever for me, but also brought me a lot of growth and depth to my relationship with God. In spite of all the pain, I wouldn't change any of it. I still hope and pray that God might bring Eva back into our lives one day, but we have also released her into His hands, knowing that that may never be in His plans. I am so thankful that He has brought Shiloh to us! He has given me so much hope and healing through her. My life has already changed so much because of her, and she isn't even home yet. So, I am thankful for the year past, though not sorry to see it go, and am anxiously waiting to see what this year brings! I am so excited and hopeful for this next season in my life, and can't wait to have my baby girl home with me!



Filipe's dad and his girlfriend gave this little bracelet to Shiloh for Christmas. It is traditional in Portugal for all the babies to wear these little bracelets, and I have always loved them. I am planning on taking it with me to Guatemala when we go to pick her up. I feel like putting it on her will feel a little symbolic to me. It is definitely not the kind of thing we would put on her if we were just visiting and then leaving her behind, because we would probably never get it back, but something we would put on her when we are bringing her home forever. I can't wait to see it on her little wrist!


My sisters-in-law and I also decided to do a little project yesterday for New Years. We embroidered little shirts and sweaters for our kids. These are the ones I did for Shiloh:


The top one says Shiloh Hope Raquel, but the Raquel is hard to see in the picture because it is white.

Please continue to pray for us and our process! It has meant the world to us! I am determined to wait until at least Monday to call PGN again and am really hoping that things have progressed a bit in these last 3 1/2 weeks. I am getting really anxious now that we can almost see the end of all of this!

Also please be praying for my brother and sister. They are hoping to get their referral this week from Ethiopia. Their process is a lot different than ours because they get their referral at the end of the process vs. near the beginning, so we have all been waiting a long time to see this little boy!

Wow, I didn't think I had that much to say, but somehow this post got really long. I'll post some Christmas pics later.