The story of us...

Silhouette Machine Giveaway

2010-11-22T11:32:00.000-08:00

Check out grosgrain for an awesome Silhouette Machine Giveaway!!! This machine looks so cool and would make some great christmas cards and presents!

Books

2010-01-27T07:58:00.000-08:00

Hello, my name is Jenn, and I am a book addict. I love reading fiction. I always have. I thank my mom who, when I was younger, used to lay in bed with me at night, before I went to sleep, and read books like The Hobbit to me. I would miss the bus to school because I was so absorbed in my reading -- and I'm still that way. I have to limit how many books I read so that I will be a good mom and wife. Often I will sacrifice sleep to get in some reading time (OK, maybe not lately. Sleep is a precious commodity right now!)

So, I've recently finished writing a book of my own. It is a YA fantasy fiction and I am probably about a week or two away from being ready to send it out to agents and publishers! I am really excited about it! Even if it never gets published (though I hope it does!) I feel such a sense of accomplishment just having done it, and it is so nice, as a mom, having a little world of my own to escape to for a little while each day! If any of you knows of any agents or publishers that I might be able to contact, please let me know!

I am also thinking about starting a book review blog. Just my own thoughts and opinions about the books I read. It's just an idea right now, we'll see. And if anyone out there is writing something of their own, there is this really cool blog called The Bookshelf Muse. The writer has created all these amazing descriptive thesaurus. You should check it out!

Leave a comment and let me know what some of your favorite books are! I'm always looking for something new to read:)

Canaan's birth

2010-01-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am FINALLY posting after months! Crazy, I know! It's been a little busy, getting used to having two kiddos! So, here it is, by popular demand, Canaan's birth story. Be forewarned, it is long!...

From about 30 weeks on I had pregnancy induced high blood pressure, so they decided to induce me at 40 weeks. When I went into the hospital I wasn't dilated or effaced at all. I hadn't been having any contractions. If they hadn't induced me, I'm sure this kid would have stayed in there all the way to 42 weeks, which would have been fine with me because honestly I wasn't that uncomfortable. Seriously, if it hadn't of been for the blood pressure thing and having to go to the dr. two to three times a week at the end, it would have been the world’s easiest pregnancy ever.

So I went in Thursday night (day 1). The hospital I went to does inductions really slowly, to make them as natural as possible, so my midwife warned me it could be a two or three day process, but I have to admit I didn't really believe her. Because I wasn't effaced or dilated, they decided to prep me with some medicine called cervadil first. I stayed overnight and had to be hooked up to the fetal monitors because of the medicine, so I was basically confined to the bed. After 12 hours, nothing had happened, so they decided to do another round of 12 hours. Needless to say I was pretty bummed out. After another 12 hours, still nothing had happened, so they were going to let me rest for the night (Friday night, day 2) and we would start with pitocen the next morning.

Saturday morning, they took me over to labor and delivery bright and early, and started me on a low dose of pitocen. The bad news was that I had to stay on the fetal monitors, but the good news was that they had a portable system, so I was able to get up and walk around. I wasn't stuck to the bed.

It was no big deal at first, mild contractions every several minutes, but by around 12:00 they were getting really close together and a lot stronger. The midwife put something in to irritate my cervix and help me dilate, and by around 2:00 I was dilated 2.5 cm. By 6:00, the nurses told me the midwife was on her way to check on me and if I wasn't at 4 cm yet they were going to stop the pitocen for the night to give my uterus a break and start again in the morning. By this time my contractions were like 1-2 minutes apart, so I was sure I was at like 6 cm or something. When she checked me, I was still at 2.5. I was so upset!

The next day we started again at 5am. It was similar to the previous day, but harder. I was able to get into the tub, which helped a little bit. By around 2:30 I pretty much broke down emotionally and cried off and on until 6pm. My contractions were coming like every minute, and by this time I was just done. I didn't even care if I ended up win a c-section. At the end of the day they took me off the pitocen and checked me. I was at 4cm. Totally depressing. The plan for the next day was to break my water, so one way or another he was coming out.

We started the pitocen again at around 5 on Monday. I had decided during the night that I wanted an epidural that day. I just couldn't handle going through another day like the one before. The midwife came in at 8am and broke my water. I told her I wanted an epidural and she encouraged me to wait until the contractions really started going, so that it wouldn't slow anything down. She left and the contractions started going really strong really fast. I didn't feel like I was getting any at all break between them. I couldn't sit still, all I could do was walk in laps around the room. At around 9am I told the nurse I wanted the epidural. Unfortunately there were a ton of people getting c-sections that day, so it took over an hour for the anesthesiologist to come.

I had been really nervous about the epidural. I HATE needles and I was really paranoid that it wouldn't work and then I wouldn't be mentally prepared to go the rest of the time without it, but it turned out to be no big deal and within minutes I was feeling better. I was so excited to just be able to just hang out with Filipe and my mom, watch movies and enjoy the experience. About 30 minutes after I got the epidural I started feeling light headed and nauseous. Before long I was throwing up and all I could do was lay motionless with my eyes closed. So much for just partying the rest of the time! The nurse said that some people just get sick as their labor progresses. I threw up off and on for the rest of the day. It was crazy for me because I NEVER throw up. I didn't even have any morning sickness.

By around 7pm I was FINALLY dilated enough to push. I pushed for over two hours (and still threw up a couple times during the pushing!). Canaan was born at 9:45pm and weighed 7lbs 14oz. Shlioh wasn't supposed to visit (no one over the age of 12 was allowed on the floor because of H1N1), but we snuck her in a couple of times. We managed to be released 24 hours after he was born. I was so glad! I felt so bad for Shiloh because by this time we had been in the hospital for 5 days and she had only ever been away from us for one night at a time!

It has been a little crazy going from one to two kids. Shiloh has been amazing with him! She hasn't really had any adjustment issues and is such a sweet big sister. I told her that one day Canaan will get bigger and they will be able to play with each other, so she has been making a lot of comments about how big he is getting and that one day he'll play with her. She loves to help with him! Her favorite thing to do is pick out his diapers (they have Sesame Street characters on them).

Canaan has been growing like crazy! He is now over 13 lbs! He is in the 50th percentile for height and between the 90th and 97th percentile for weight! He really is a very easy baby. He hardly cries and is smiling and cooing like crazy. We are still working on the sleeping through the night thing, but he is getting better. It has really been amazing having two kids! It's amazing how much room you have in your heart to be able to love them both so much!

The Pod Swaddler Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

2009-08-05T17:05:00.000-07:00

It has been forever since i have posted! I have kind of become more of a facebooker. Crazy I know! So what has inspired me to blog after so long? This super cute swaddler...The Pod Swaddler Pattern GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!. You can also check it out on this website, While They Sleep.

I am now 6 1/2 months along and the pregnancy has been going great so far! I am starting to feel the exhaustion a bit more, but other than that I've been doing pretty good. The little guy has been kicking a ton! We have been talking to Shiloh about it a lot, but the other day she got to feel and see him moving for the first time, and I think it has helped her understand a little bit more. She is talking about the baby in mommy's belly a lot lately, and sometimes she will just come up and put her hand on my belly to feel it. So cute!

We are in the midst of potty training, and so far she has been doing great! I'm still not brave enough to take her out of the house without a diaper, but we are getting there! Next step, moving to a toddler bed.

Boston

2009-06-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

We had a great but exausting time in Boston! It was so fun getting to walk everywhere and take the metro, it almost felt like being in Europe again. We all stayed in my brothers apartment in Harvard square, so we were right in the middle of the action. I didn't realize how much being pregnant would affect me, but I was dragging as we went all over the place! Shiloh was such a trooper! She was so good, had so much fun with all the family and just took everything in stride. It was such a relief to get out of the Oklahoma heat and be back in high 60's to 70 degree weather again! Summer is not my favorite time of year! Andrew's graduation was beautiful and we were so happy that we got to be there to celebrate with him! Congrats bro!!!

I have started to feel our little guy moving a lot more, and this morning Filipe even felt him kick on the outside! It is so fun to know he is growing and it is all making it feel more real to me! We are more than half way there! I think we finally made a decision about a name, but I'm not sure if we are going to put it on our blogs yet. It just feels a little weird putting it out there on the internet. We'll see.

New man in my life

2009-05-29T06:13:00.001-07:00

So this week we had our first official ultrasound and we found out that we are having a... BOY!!!

Here is his little profile. He is puckering his lips like he's giving a kiss. So cute!

Filipe has been certain through the whole pregnancy that it was a boy. It's going to be a fun new adventure since Shiloh is such a girly girl! Mostly I am excited to finally be able to buy some things for this little guy, just in time for Boston! H&M here I come!

We are still working on the name, although we are getting a little closer. It is so much easier to focus now that we only have to come up with one name instead of two theoretical names.

We leave for Boston in the morning (at 5 am!)! Pray for a good trip!

1 year ago....

2009-05-19T20:10:00.000-07:00

A year ago we were visiting Shiloh,
our long awaited girl,
for the second time,
but this time...
to be with her forever.

It was a moment to remember,
knowing that the waiting was over,
that she would never be far,
but in our arms forever;
and knowing that that now
we would have all the time in the world
to be with her,
to know her,
and to love her.

Today, 1 year later,
there are so many memories,
and the bond between the 3 of us is so big,
that its hard to believe
that its only been 1 year.
I am so in love with this little girl!

and all I can say is
God is so good!

Update

2009-05-15T11:28:00.000-07:00

Spring is in the air! Here that means that one day it will be roasting and the next day wet and cold, but we have managed to sneak in some outdoor play time. Shiloh is growing like a weed. She is so much fun right now! I am so smitten with her! Her imagination is really growing and it is so cute to see her play "house" with her baby and stuffed animals. Her favorite thing to do right now is rock all of her animals to sleep while singing to them and then she lays them all down to go "night night" in a row across the floor. She LOVES playing outside and loves rocks, birds, trees, clouds and the sky. It is so cute to see her in awe of these things that are so easy for me to take for granted sometimes.

The pregnancy is going well. I am 17 weeks along now. I never had to deal with morning sickness, thank goodness, though I am still waiting for some of that energy to come back, like everyone says it does in the second trimester. We will hopefully be finding out if it is a boy or a girl in the next few weeks! We still don't have a name, but at this point we have kind of given up until we know the sex. It was so much easier with Shiloh, knowing we only had to come up with a girl name!

We are headed to Boston at the end of the month to see my brother graduate from Harvard! We are looking forward to getting some time off and having some fun! If anyone has any recomendations of things to see in Boston, let me know!

A special day

2009-04-10T07:51:00.000-07:00

Two years ago today we got to see this precious face for the first time. We had already gone through a lot of pain in our adoption process, and seeing this little girl for the first time brought us so much hope.

One year ago today we found out that we were finally out of PGN (one of the last, long, BIG hurdles to bringing Shiloh home). I can still feel the relief and flood of emotions when I remember back to it. It was probably one of my best days ever.

Needless to say, April 10th holds a special place in my heart! It amazes me that it was only a year ago that we were going through all of this! God has so fully healed our hearts and made us into a family that sometimes it is hard to remember the pain and the waiting, almost like I am living another life. Shiloh is so completely a part of us that it is hard to remember a time when she wasn't here.

I am so blessed and thankful that I get to see this beautiful, smiling face everyday! God has truly blessed our lives!

We have a 2 year old!!!

2009-03-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

I promise, I will eventually get to putting up our Hawaii pictures, but first... Shiloh turned 2 this weekend!!! We celebrated on Saturday morning with a breakfast pajama party. All the kids came cozy in their pjs which was kind of nice because it had snowed the night before and was freezing!

We had a great time, but one thing I have learned is that 2 year old parties are CRAZY!!! We all had fun eating, talking and opening presents, but by the time the end came, everyone was way over-stimulated.

Shiloh in her pjs

Her cake was a towering strawberry short cake.

Here is a nice, calm pic we got of all the kids in their jammies...
...although we got about 10 that looked more like this.

On Sunday morning we woke up to hearing Shiloh laughing and playing in the monitor. Filipe had papered her room the night before and when we walked in, she had pulled some of it down and was playing with it. She got to open some more presents in the morning and then we went to breakfast before church.

After church we went to the park for a picnic lunch with the family. It was a beautiful, warm, sunny day (and it had snowed the day before. Go figure.). Shiloh had SO much fun running and playing with everyone.

I think her first birthday at home was a huge success. That night, after we had put her to bed, we could hear her singing "Happy birthday to you" to her animals in her crib before she fell asleep. So precious!

Big News!!!

2009-03-23T06:45:00.001-07:00

We are back from Hawaii! It was such a great time! I am going to post about it, but in an effort to delay having to go through all of my pictures, I thought I would share our big news...

...that I am PREGNANT!!!!

It was a COMPLETE shock, but we are really excited about it. We were just starting to look into the adoption process again, trying to find a new country to adopt from when we found out. I am about 9 weeks along. We saw the baby's heartbeat on Friday and everything looks good.

Keep us in our prayers that the pregnancy goes well and that God will be preparing our hearts and Shiloh's heart to become a family of four.

The Next American Idol

2009-03-07T18:52:00.000-08:00

My daughter is a singer and a dancer. Even right now as I am writing this I can hear her singing in her crib instead of going to sleep. This week TT, Malak, Shiloh and I took a trip across town to see my mom. Shiloh spent the entire 20 minute ride singing at the top of her lungs. Fortunately, TT remembered her camera and captured a minute of it. So, without further ado, I give you Shiloh...

We are going to Hawaii this week! I will be sure to post pictures when I get back, and maybe even some news about something crazy that is going on with us. Hope you guys have a great week!!!

Shiloh

2009-02-24T05:23:00.001-08:00

Ok, so I know I have been really bad at posting lately, but I am going to try to be better - really.

Shiloh is growing like a weed! She is such a happy girl! She is always singing and babbling. Filipe and I are constantly marveling over her, amazed by how wonderful she is and by how much we love her!

This girl is going to be a girly girl. Right now she is all about the clothes. She could spend hours just putting her socks on and taking them off again. Whenever she finds a stray shirt or pants, she instantly pulls them on. It's really cute.

She is picking up new words every day. Her sentences are still mostly gibberish to Filipe and I, though that doesn't stop her from telling us all kinds of things (we just don't really understand them), but sometimes she will say something clear as day and Filipe and I will look at each other and ask "Where did she learn that?" She loves grabbing her stroller or backpack and telling us "bye bye" as she leaves the room or walks down the hall. Yesterday, she grabbed the stroller and said, "See ya." Filipe and I both cracked up. It is amazing what kids pick up on!

Also, this is so cute! Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Things

2009-01-25T22:16:00.000-08:00

I got this post from someone else, but it was fun to read and made for an easy post, so here it goes...

The Bold are things I've done; italicized are things I'd like to do. Those with no gusto about them are just not my gig! But as you’ll see, most things are my gig :)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii - this will be bold in just two months!!!!
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise - I know, it's strange, but I really don't want to go on a cruise. I don't like
the idea of not being able to see land.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors -some of them
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language - I don't know if I taught myself, but I do know
another language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted - I've had it drawn, if that counts
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person - having lived in Europe, you would have thought I would
have done more of these things.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - Snorkeling, and I NEVER want to do that again. i
don't think I've ever thrown up so much
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie - do home movies count?
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Gotten flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book - I'm a little closer than I was a year ago.
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating - eww
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life - while this isn't something I want to do, per say (since it would mean
that someone else would have to be in a life or death situation)
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Best husband ever!

2009-01-16T13:12:00.000-08:00

I can't begin to tell you how often I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I have Filipe for a husband! He is so caring and giving and just a really nice guy! He loves to make me happy and to play with Shiloh and make her laugh.

Last night we watched Mamma Mia!. Well, I wanted to watch it and he agreed, without even a complaint. I had so much fun curled up next to him with a fire going in the fireplace, singing along to this cheesy movie. I wonder how many chick flicks Filipe has happily watched with me over the years, even though I am sure he would have prefered an action movie.

He also read Twilight with me just because he wanted to see what I loved about it so much. He only rolled his eyes a few times and afterwards went with me to see the movie.

This week I really needed some time to myself, and when I asked him if he would mind staying with Shiloh for an hour or two while I went to Barnes and Noble to read, his responce was, "Sure. You know you can go and get time to yourself whenever you want it."

These things are really just a few of the many sweet things he does for me and just some of the smaller reasons why I love him so much.

Filipe, I love you honey! Thanks for being such an amazing man. I can only pray that Shiloh finds a husband as wonderful as you one day!

For the rest of you reading this... leave a comment telling why your significant other is so wonderful.

2009!!!

2009-01-01T17:23:00.000-08:00

What an amazing year it has been! All day yesterday, as I thought back to what had happened in 2008, I couldn't help but be filled with emotion at the ways we have been blessed!

Being able to have Shiloh home, under our roof for the New Year was so touching. I have also been blessed with the most amazing, loving, supporting husband ever (although that is something I get every year, not just this past one.)

I actually lost some weight this past year. I have struggled with my weight for many years, so it is always something I plan on when thinking about the year to come, "This year I am going to lose weight." It was really nice to reach the end of the year and know that I actually did lose weight this year!

I also achieved something I have been wanting to do for a long, long time - I wrote a book this year. I just finished it, so I haven't started to try to get it published or anything like that, but even if it never gets published, I still feel like I have achieved a huge life goal!

We have spent time with family and friends from the other side of the world and gotten to take a lot of great trips. Though 2008 started miserably, it turned out to be an incredible year!

I am so excited to see what God brings our way in the year to come! I am hoping to lose more weight and find someone to publish that book, I am hoping to do more traveling (Hawaii in March!!!) and spend some good time with our family!

Happy 2009!!! May God bring so many blessings to all of your lives this year!!!

Brother/sister photo shoot

2008-12-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

My mom and dad have this big frame for multiple pictures that has been sitting in their room for a while, empty. They had been wanting to put pictures of their kids in it, so me and my brothers decided to get all of us together for a photo shoot. Filipe and I had just bought a remote for our camera so we all trecked out to the park by our house for our own personal photo shoot. Afterwards, I tweaked them with photoshop (a program I could play on for hours). My parents LOVED them, and I am pretty proud of them myself.

We also took a little trip to see Santa yesterday. I'll post the pictures soon, but i have to scan them and wasn't really feeling motivated.

Picture Post!

2008-12-02T14:57:00.000-08:00

By popular demand, I am doing a picture post. These are all really random, but we take so many pictures that it is hard to keep up sometimes.

This is one of my favorite outfits she had for fall!

Just lounging with her cousin and the bunny they fight over constantly (I really don't get why).

Her hair is getting so long! This is her first ponytail!

These are from Thanksgiving. I was taking a nap and she decided to join me.

Dinner

Playing with ShaSha's glasses.

The best little gifts under the tree.

Shiloh is growing so fast! She is so much fun to be with these days! She has gotten really happy and affectionate! When I'm not in the room with her, she wanders around the house calling "Mama!" It is so sweet to my ears because it took her a while to start saying it. She loves all the christmas lights everywhere and she LOVES stuffed animals. She is jabbering all the time, but some of her words are starting to come a little clearer. Mostly we are just having fun together. I am so excited for this holiday season with her!

Cute baby contest!

2008-11-24T18:04:00.001-08:00

My nephew Malak is in a cutest baby contest to win a $500 shopping spree and he is one of the finalists!!!! It is down to just him and one other baby! He is way cuter than the other kid, in my opinion, so please go vote for him if you can! It's super easy, just click here.

Thanks! I'll post another blog later with some pics of Shiloh.

Twilight lover

2008-11-21T19:46:00.000-08:00

I am going to see this movie tomorrow night!!! I am really excited! I LOVED the books and better yet we have turned it into a girls night out, so I'm going with six other friends while the kiddos stay at home with the husbands! My expectations aren't very high for the move. I know it is impossible to make it like the book, but I am just looking forward to a light, fun chick flick I can smile and sigh at. I can't wait!

Also, this is one of my new favorite blogs! I posted about her store the last time, but I could (and have) spend hours looking at all the different outfits she makes! It has actually inspired me to pull out my sewing machine and make a few things myself. In fact I am in the middle of a jacket kind of similar to what she is giving away. Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!! I'll post pics if I ever get it done in the middle of all my other Christmas projects!

Only five days until Thanksgiving!!!

Super cute skirts

2008-11-08T13:27:00.001-08:00

I noticed these skirts on another blog and thought they were so cute! One of the greatest things about them is that they are reversable, so if your child gets something on it while you are out, you just flip it around, plus it is two skirts for one price. The shirts are reversable too, so they are double lined and super warm, which would be useful if it will ever get cold around here. Where is my brisk fall weather!?

Check them out: GROSGRAINSTORE.COM

Shiloh's "first" Halloween

2008-11-01T07:26:00.000-07:00

I know technically this wasn't Shiloh's first Halloween, but somehow, it just feels like it. I wasn't sure what to dress her up as this year and I felt silly spending a bunch of money on a costume that at the time I wasn't even sure where she would wear it. My sis in law and I decided to go to the fabric store and spend $5 on felt and make whatever we could with it. The costume turned out amazing, and I think she will have many a felt costumes in the future!

Getting into character by doing a little rain dance.

She was having so much fun running around, she wasn't real thrilled about being picked up to take a picture.

We went to Filipe's office for a party and they had trick or treating - passing out candy at all the cubicles. Shiloh wasn't really sure what to do at first. First, when someone would give her a candy she would put it back in the bowl. Next she would give it to her cousin, Jenna. When she finally figured the whole thing out she was a girl on a mission, grabbing multiple candies from each bowl to put in her bag.

And here is a picture of her real first halloween. Don't you want to pinch those cheeks!

Fall Fun!

2008-10-21T11:57:00.000-07:00

Ok, I hope you guys are ready for a lot of pictures! Sunday we went out to my parents house with E,T and M to take some fall pics with the kids before it got too cold.

Not having fun.

Model pose.

This was one of the last pictures. Eric was doing something and Malak was absolutely cracking up. Too cute!

After that we all met up with A,K,J & E to go to the pumpkin patch. We went to a different one than last year, and we loved it! It was so cute! Shiloh loved seeing all the different farm animals and playing outside! She is an outdoor girl!

Afterwards we went back to my parents house to eat chilli and pumpkin pie! It was the perfect, relaxing fall evening!

Wind vs. the shopping cart

2008-10-07T17:03:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day. Crazy, I know, but I just had to share this crazy little thing that happened to me today.

So this morning Shiloh was kind of driving me crazy. She is teething so basically she was following me around the house fussing for no reason, so I decided that we needed to get out of the house. We decided to go to Target.

We got to Target, met up with Tara and Malak, hung out, bought a pair of shoes, basically had a good old time. We left and I loaded Shiloh up in the car. I have to admit that I left my shopping cart next to the front of my car rather than putting it away. The wind decided that it did not think it was cool that I was lazy and left my cart there, so as I was buckling up my seat belt the wind spun the cart 180 degrees and pushed it all the way to the cart return and pushed it in!!! It was amazing!!! I got a picture of it. My cart is not the crooked one half hazardly flung in, but the perfectly straight one pushed all the way in.

Chillin

2008-10-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

This past week has been really low key. We have had my sister in law, brother in law and nieces staying with us. Rather than running around all over the place we have just been hanging out around the house, watching movies at night and just relaxing. It was nice just being together.

Shiloh has been so much fun lately. She is such a little person with her own will and personality. She is really in to little spaces. In stores, if there is a low shelf that is empty or partially empty, she will crawl up on it and just sit. The other night at Kim's house she was crawling into this little cupboard, closing the door, getting out and then doing it all over again.

She is also in love with our dog right now. I always knew she and Bruno would be the best of friends. She loves giving him big hugs, or crawling onto his ottoman with him and hanging out. The other day I caught her feeding him one of her toy baby bottles, and then yesterday she was holding up a toy phone up to his ear. Too cute.

This girl has always been a crazy sleeper, but I had to laugh when this was how I found her the other morning.

It has been so good to see her with her older cousins. She follows them around the house playing with them, and they are so sweet with her! It warms my heart to watch them.
And this is the newest addition to the cousins. Shiloh isn't the youngest anymore. She loves looking at him. She probably thinks he is a moving baby doll. I'm sure she'll be terrorizing him in no time.

Shameless Plug

2008-09-30T13:03:00.000-07:00

Many of you may know of my sister in law Tara and her cutie little boy Malak that they just adopted from Ethiopia. While Tara was waiting for Mal to come home, she was buying and making all kinds of things for him. One of the thigs she made was this super cute leather cuff.

She has gotten so many compliments about it that she has started selling them on Etsy. She has a ton of cute ones for boys and girls and she has started making adult sizes too. You guys have to go check them out.

Her Etsy site is called Daisy Tara. There is also a link on the side of my blog.

Yes, this really is a new post

2008-09-26T13:29:00.000-07:00

OK, I don't know about you guys, but I am pretty tired of looking at that "brilliant weblog" tag. We have had company since about the middle of July, so between that and just the busyness of life, I haven't really felt like blogging. Plus, we have been taking all kinds of pictures and I have felt pressure to go through all of them and post them, and that was an overwhelming task, so instead I was just pretending that none of it existed.

So, I decided to start from scratch and not worry about the past unless I get the urge to show a pic or to from our trip to Washington or from the family being here.

Shiloh is doing wonderful. She is walking like crazy. In fact, she cries every time she has to sit in her stroller or be held because all she wants to do is walk. She is turning into such a little person. Two of my nieces are staying with us right now. They are two and four. Shiloh follows them around all day and wants to play with them. It's really cute. She is saying all kinds of words. She says no no, bye, hi (Her current favorite. She says it to EVERYONE.), night night, all gone, again, more (Another favorite. It's how she asks for goldfishes.) and more, but this is all I can think of for he moment. She is so happy and so much fun to be with. We've been having such a great time together lately. Don't get me wrong, she can drive me crazy sometimes, but those moments don't usually last too long, and even then she is still cute. Really it feels like she has always been with us. She is just such a part of our lives that it is weird to think that four months ago it was just Filipe and I.

The other day we went to this really cool play place. They have slides and tunnels and stuff like that, but they also have a paint station with easels and washable paints, a play dough station, a stamp station, chalk, a sand table and a couple of boxes of dress ups. They also have great places for parents to sit and relax, plus free wifi. It is a great place. Shiloh loved it! She is just to the age that she can really play with this stuff and enjoy it. She LOVED the painting and made her first official art works. I love seeing her getting into this stuff and experimenting with new things. At one point I was showing Shiloh and my niece, Jenna how to paint their hands and push them on their paper to make a hand print. Shiloh didn't totally get it. She loved the painting your hand part, but didn't really understand putting it on your paper. She was covered in paint when she was done. It's a good thing it was all washable.

So that was what we did this week. If there is still anyone out there reading, please leave a comment so I can know if I should keep blogging. Thanks!

2008-08-07T16:04:00.000-07:00

Thanks Hannah for giving me this award! I admit, I hardly feel I deserve it with how bad of a blogger I have been lately. Fortunately this is something I can do quickly without having to worry about pictures!

Here is how this thing works: 1st I have to answer a little questionnaire, which is all about me (Sorry!!) Then, I have to choose 7 bloggers who I feel are BRILLIANT and I give them the award. They will post their own answers to the questionnaire on their own blog and they will choose 7 more recipients. And so on!

A. Attached or single?

Attached

B. Best friend?

My husband Filipe. He is my favorite!

C. Cake or pie?

This is a tough one. I probably love pie more, but whenever I am on a diet (like now) I always crave a good cake. I guess right now I will say cake

D. Day of choice?

Saturday. I love having my little family all home together with nothing to do but play all day!

E. Essential item?

I think I am going to have to go with a book, though there are times I force myself not to have one so that I can manage to get something in my life done.

F. Favorite color?

Green

G. Gummy bears or worms?

Gummy worms, though all things gummy make my teeth hurt

H. Hometown?
Currently... somewhere in Oklahoma. But I was born in Phoenix and Lisbon is the hometown of my heart.

I. Indulgence?

An occasional coke. I typically only drink water and think soft drinks are bad, but sometimes an ice cold coke just sounds wonderful.

J. January or July?

January! I detest the heat and love the cold!

K. Kids?

One precious little girl who has me wrapped around her little finger.

L. Life isn’t complete without?
God and my family

M. Marriage date?

11/11/2000. I can't believe it has almost been 8 years!!!

N. Number of brothers & sisters?

Two younger bros

O. Oranges or apples?

Oranges, even though they make my mouth itch

P. Phobias?

Spiders. I hate spiders and always make my husband kill them. Actually I guess that applies to all bugs.

Q. Quotes?
I don't really have any personal quotes, though I do tend to laugh at my sis-in-law, Tara's, quotes a lot. Her most recent is "Put it on my tab" from Steve Carrell in Dan in real life. She does the voice when she says it and I laugh every time. You would have to hear it, but trust me, it's funny.

R. Reasons to smile?
I have so many! My husband and daughter! My family. The many ways God has blessed me!

S. Season of choice?

The Fall! I love the crisp cold air, the changing leaves and the excitement of the holidays to come!

T. Tag seven peeps! (see below)

U. Unknown fact about me?

This is hard, because I feel like there isn't much people don't know about me. I have crazy toes. I can pick things up with them, thread them together like when you are holding hands "going out" style. Normally they are all spaced out. I can't make them all scrunch together. I hope that makes sense.

V. Vegetable?

I don't really know. I like all vegetables, though I am really bad about eating as many as I should.

W. Worst habits?

I am kind of pushy when it comes to backseat driving. I drive my husband crazy, but I am working on it. I never close things (ex. drawers, cupboards), I tend to get defensive easily. Ok, these aren't the worst ones, but I can go on if you wish.

X. X-ray or ultrasound?
I am really pretty neutral about this one. Ultrasounds I guess, because they are typically for more exciting reasons.

Y. Your favorite food?
This is hard because I am on a diet so everything sounds good. I guess good spaghetti bolognese (spaghetti and meat sauce), though I am really picky about it. I don't like it made with sausage. I am also a sucker for desserts.

Z. Zodiac sign?
This is debatable because my birthday lands right on the line, so ocassionally I will be something else, but usually Gemini.

I tag:
Kim
Tara
Andrew
Steph
Kim
Krystal and
Kathy

Also, I will post pics and info from our Washington DC trip soon! We have had a ton of family in town, but I'll do it soon, I promise!

Photo shoot

2008-07-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

Sunday we had a photo shoot with my friend Megan. She is starting up her own photography business and was kind enough to give up two hours of her Sunday to go outside in the 100 degree heat to take pictures of Filipe, Shiloh (a very uncooperative 16 month old) and I. Here are a few of our first glimpses:

Thanks Megan! Can't wait to see the rest! Wednesday we are headed to Washington DC until Sunday. Filipe has to go there on business, and it just so happens that my brother is there for an internship, so we decided to make it into a vacation! I am getting pretty excited! It will be fun to take our new little American to the nation's capitol. Unfortunately, on the way home I will be coming back solo because Filipe has another stop on his business trip. I am kind of worried about flying half way around the country with Shiloh by myself. I just keep telling myself that even if it is horrible, it is still temporary and eventually we will be home and it will be over, but it would be really nice if she could just take a little nap for the flight! I'll let you all know how it goes.

Doughgirl

2008-07-08T14:37:00.000-07:00

So today I decided to make some bread for the first time since Shiloh came home. I thought it would be fun to involve her in the process, so when I was adding the flour I put some on her highchair tray. She seemed to like playing with it, but mostly she just ate it - yumm. Then I added some water to one of the side compartments and showed her how she could "draw" in the flour with the water. She was pretty excited about that for a minute, and then again moved to eating it - again, yummy. While I was kneeding and shaping the dough, I gave her her own little blob which she promptly ate, of course. In the end this is what she looked like:

She was caked head to toe in flour crust. Even after cleaning her up I am still finding it in her hair.

In the end, the bread turned out great. Gotta love the smell of fresh baking bread! Shiloh seemed to think it was a success.

My grandma came to town this past weekend to meet Shiloh and Malak. She is the cutest ever! It was so fun being with her and so special to see her playing with Shiloh! I love you grandma!

2008-06-28T14:24:00.000-07:00

Shiloh is growing more and more every day! This week she took her first steps! Funnily enough, it wasn't to Filipe or I, but to the dog. She LOVES the dog! It is so cute and amazing to watch her do these things! She isn't walking regularly, but today she took six steps, so I know it is just a matter of time. I can't help but marvel when I think back a month and I was walking with her around the hotel in Guatemala. I had to fully support her weight and she could only take these funny, little loose marching steps. Now she is walking all by herself. We also started having her take naps in her crib this week (not so fun.) She is so muh fun to be with! We love her SO much that it is just amazing to me. I can't believe we have only really only known this little person for a month! It feels like she has been with us forever!

We are still here!

2008-06-23T08:48:00.000-07:00

Things have been going really good around here. We are definitely more into the groove with our daily lives. It is so amazing to see how much Shiloh has grown and changed in the one month since we have been home. She is like a different baby than the one we picked up in Guatemala in May! She is a very active little girl. She loves to play. She has started to stand for a while on her own and she walks with this little push toy all by herself. She is getting real close to walking. Yesterday she threw a ball and then stood up and just looked at it. I could almost hear the cogs in her head spinning as she contemplated walking to it, but in the end she sat back down and crawled. She is still sleeping with us for the moment, though we are taking little steps to prepare her to be able to put herself to sleep in her crib. we had been singing and rubbing her to sleep, but now we sing her one song and then fake sleep while she puts herself to sleep. It takes a little longer, but it the long run it will be better and we get a few moments to rest while she rolls around on the bed looking for the perfect position to fall asleep. Bedtime is one of our favorite times of the day. She is so happy before bed. We lay down with her, and she is all smiles, giving kisses and cuddling. They are such sweet moments for us! She is so smart! I swear I can actually see her learning things. She only has to see us do something once or twice before she is trying it (and usually succeeding) by herself. She is eating everything now. When we first got her she was really picky about food, but now this girl loves to eat. The more solid foods still take her a while to chew, but we're getting there. She LOVES the dog! Every time she sees him she says, "dada" in this super high pitched voice. (Almost everything is dada except for Filipe who is da-ay). She only talks to dogs in this super sonic, high pitched voice. It's pretty funny. She isn't much of a whiner anymore, though she still has her drama queen moments. Over all we are completely smitten by her and are amazed at how quickly she has adjusted and adapted! The pictures are from the last few weeks. You should be able to click them to see them bigger!

Our Portugirl

2008-06-07T16:44:00.000-07:00

My husband is from Portugal, and I lived there for eight years. While I was there I caught the bug for international soccer and the Portuguese national team. About a month before we moved to the States, Portugal hosted the Euro Cup. Filipe wasn't working much anymore, and so for three weeks our whole lives revolved around watching futebol, hanging out with fans from all over Europe and partying with each victory. It was an amazing experience and a wonderful last good bye to the country we loved before we moved.

Hanging out with the Portuguese fans before a game

Meeting some fans from Spain.

Well, it is that time again. I can't believe it has already been four years! We made sure to get all the right channels so we can watch the games live, and made mini Portugal shirts for the kiddos. We had a party for some of our family and cheered Portugal on as they started the tournament by winning their first game! For the next three weeks we will live and breathe soccer and bleed red and green. Viva Portugal!!!

Two little Portu-girls.

Celebrating as a family
The three cutest Portugal fans ever!

2008-06-03T12:38:00.000-07:00

We have been kept pretty busy around here. We are slowly but surely starting to get a bit into a routine and I am starting not to be quite as tired all day long. Shiloh comes out of herself more and more every day and showing more of her little personality. She crawls around and plays. She is always singing to herself, especially in the car. She is such a crack up and such a drama queen! She has the fakest whine that she does when she wants something. My mom just laughs and says I was the worst whiner when I was her age, so what goes around comes around. We had our first dr. appointment today. She is between the 75%-90% for height and 10% to 25% for weight, so she is tall and slender. She is also doing good developmentally, which is always good to hear.

My nephew Malak came home yesterday! I will post some pictures when I get them out of the camera. He is so cute and smiley! I think he and Shiloh are going to be great buds. It was so weird being at the airport on the other end of things. I felt like it had been forever since we came home even though it has only been about a week and a half.

This is our adoption announcement that we sent out (the white Raquel looks funny because I blotted out our last name). I will post some real pictures later when I get a chance.

Homecoming

2008-05-29T06:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am finally getting the chance to post our homecoming pictures. This girl keeps me busy! These are all pictures my friend Megan took for us (thanks Megan! They're great!). Our flight from Guatemala to Atlanta went really well. As soon as we got onto the plane, Shiloh got so excited an super hyper, bouncing all over the place. It was so fun to see, but exausting. The flight went pretty quickly. We took forever to get through immagration and then caught our flight home to Oklahoma. By this time it was late and we were all exausted! Shiloh started fussing and crying as soon as we got on the plane. The only thing that kept her quiet and semi happy were the Gerber puffs. The flight, although it was less than 2 hours, felt like forever! Shiloh finally fell asleep right as we were touching down. We were then stuck on the plane for about 30 minutes because we were early and they didn't have a ramp ready for us. Finally, we got off and went to meet everyone waiting for us. There were about 30-40 friends and family all waiting, holding pink balloons. It was such a sweet sight. Shiloh was asleep at first, but woke up when we passed her to my mom. I was expecting her to be fussy, especially because it was so late, but she happily was passed around and took it all in stride.

Everyone waiting for us

Here we come

Meeting most of the family (I didn't get any pics with Kim, Andre, Jenna or Tara if anyone out there has any.)

I can't believe it has already been a week that we have been home! I have to admit, I feel like I am living a different life, like there was my adopting life and now my baby life. I am so thankful she is home with us that it brings tears to my eyes. I am praying hard for all of you who are still waiting for your babies to come home!!!

Picture blitz

2008-05-25T14:34:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't posted pictures lately, but I have an excuse. Somewhere along our trip we lost the power cord to our laptop where we have been putting all of our pictures. We finally emptied the camera out onto the desktop, so here are a few random pictures we have taken over the last few days. I'm warning you, there are enough of them that I probably should have spread them out into several different blogs, but honestly, this girl is keeping me busy enough that I probably wouldn't and then I would be behind agan. Enjoy!...

Here are a few pictures with my parents and younger brother. I didn't get any with the rest of the family, those will have to come later. Everyone is completely smitten by her and she has taken real well to all of them! Who could resist all that love.

Filipe and I are Borders and Barnes and Noble freaks. It is our favorite past time t go there and chill out with some coffee and a book. We used to talk about how we would have to enjoy it while we could, because it would be all over once Shiloh came home, but I think we are breaking her in quite nicely.

My neice, Jenna, has long held all of the attention of everyone around her, but she has done great sharing some of the love. She is such a sweetheart. Whenever Shiloh cries, she says, "Is ok, Shi Shi." She loves to share her food and her "munchy" (her blankie) with her. It is very cute!

Yesterday, we went to Kim and Andre's house for some fun in the sun. They have a cute little kiddie pool for Jenna to play in. Shiloh wasn't real thrilled with the idea at first, mostly because she had to sit in it without us holding her, but she eventually got the hang of it. Jenna kept running around her, playing and stopping to give her kisses. Very cute!

This girl is a crazy sleeper! She flips and turns all night long. The picture of her laying on top of me is actually how she fell asleep. Crazy, but cute.

And last, but certainly not least, this is my little beauty on her first Sunday morning after church. Her sweet little face just kills me! I just want to eat her up!

Hope this wasn't overkill for you all! I am a little behind. I should have the homecoming pictures tomorrow. Also be praying for Eric and Tara. They should have Malak in their arms tomorrow!!! It is so crazy and exciting!

Home!!!

2008-05-23T05:49:00.001-07:00

We're home!!!! We got in last night at about 11:00. She did great. I was worried she would be fussy or nervous around so many people on the plane, but the second we got on, she got super hyper excited. She was up and down, looking out the window, looking behind the seat, rocking back and forth, and jumping up and down. It was pretty funny. She hasn't been crazy about taking a bottle, so we fed her those gerber graduate puffs during take off. I figured she would have to swallow them at some time and it should help with her ears. During the whole take off she was laughing and talking, so it must have worked. The second flight was a little harder. By then she was so exausted she didn't know what to do with herself, but once again the gerber puffs were a lifesaver and the only thing that kept her happy for those last two hours. I highly recomend them!

She as been sleeping much better since that first night. She is only waking up once or twice during the night for a bottle and then she will go back to sleep. She is also coming out of herself a lot more. She is very smily and talkative. She has us both wrapped around her finger! We had a friend take pictures at the airport, and I will post them once I get them.

Day two- Embassy day!!!

2008-05-20T16:51:00.001-07:00

Last night was a pretty rough night. We ended up having to sleep holding Shiloh, and she would still wake up every hour or so crying and we would have to rock her back to sleep. Needless to say Filipe and I didn't get much rest last night. I think she was just feeling skiddish with the new surroundings and people. I was a little worried about what today would look like with the was she was last night, but she woke up smiling and laughing. It was so fun! The Embassy appointment went by easily and we have been chilling out today. Shiloh has gone from being smiling to fussy and back all day long. I think she is a little constipated, so isn't feeling her best. Be praying that we have a better night tonight and that she continues to adjust and feel better!

Day one!!!

2008-05-19T18:46:00.001-07:00

We are here with our little girl! We woke up this morning very anxious and excited. We went to pick her up at the hogar at 10:00. She was fussy for a minute while her nanny handed her to me, but calmed down quickly. She started off really slow and mellow, but as the day wore on started playing with her toys and even dancing to music. She cries whenever we set her down, which is proving to be a bit of a challenge trying to get her to sleep, and she isn't eating real well, but I'm sure it is all because of the big changes she is going through. Hopefully tomorrow she will feel a little more comfortable and adjusted. Keep praying for us! Here are a few pictures from the day.

First moments at the hogar.

Playing around.

We're here!

2008-05-18T12:47:00.001-07:00

We made it!!! The flight was fine, though we had to get up at 3:40 this morning. We are now chilling out a the hotel. We will be picking up Shiloh tomorrow morning!!!

Pictures

2008-05-14T22:00:00.002-07:00

I got some pictures from Jane today. Probably the last ones we'll get before we are with her!!!

Jane said that when she walked in, Shiloh was sitting in a walker just laughing and smiling. As soon as she pulled out her camera, she refused to smile. The nannies were all laughing. Shiloh just looked at her like, "would you just leave me alone and go back to where you came from." I guess a girl likes her uninterupted play time.

We only have about 3 days before we leave!!!! I can't believe it! It really doesn't feel real. I have so much to do, but it's hard to motivate myself because I don't really feel like I am getting on an airplane on Sunday! Tonight Filipe and I spent the evening chilling out and watching a movie. About 3/4 of the way through it hit me and I thought, "what the heck am I doing? I have a million things to do and I am sitting here watching a not that good movie." Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. I am starting to get nervous about how she is going to be with us at first and if it will be a really hard adjustment for her. Be praying for us!

At Last!!!!

2008-05-13T09:41:00.000-07:00

We FINALLY have pink!!! I am so happy! We leave on Sunday and we will be coming back on Thursday. I will get to be with her for my birthday on the 21st, which has been my birthday wish for the last 5 years. Every time my husband would ask me what I wanted for my birthday, I would say, a baby. Now I am finally getting the best birthday present! I am so relieved! More relieved right now than excited, though I'm sure that will come. Yesterday was not a pretty day when the day passed and we still didn't have pink, so I am just so relieved to not have to deal with those emotions anymore. It still doesn't feel real that we are actually going to be with her in 5 days and get to bring her home with us!!!! WoooHoooo!!!!!!!!!

I am officially going crazy!

2008-05-08T20:55:00.000-07:00

I am so anxious and frusterated right now!!! Another family, who's DNA arrived at the embassy in the same shipment as ours, got pink today. I have been checking my email like crazy, and nothing. Come on!!! I feel a little silly about making such a big deal about waiting an extra day or two, especially with how long we have already waited, but I swear, these last couple of days have been the longest ever! Please pray that we get pink tomorrow so that I don't lose my sanity over the weekend! It would be the best Mother's Day present ever!

Pink Watch

2008-05-07T10:48:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I'm not wearing pink today (I don't have anything pink), but I am definitely on the watch. I am glued to my email in the hopes that we will get something soon. I know of someone who's DNA got to the Embassy the day before yesterday, got pink yesterday and are traveling on Sunday. Although it would be a little crazy, I am hoping and praying for a little craziness! Wait, I think I have a pink necklace. I am off to put it on! Keep you all posted!

AHHHH!!!!

2008-05-05T08:26:00.000-07:00

I was planning on making this huge post about my current cleaning frenzy, but then I checked my email and saw that our DNA is done and heading to the US Embassy today!!! I can't believe it happened so quickly! I figured because of the weekend it would be a few more days!!! AHHHH!!! Next stop is pink!!! Does anyone know how long it usually takes to get to the Embassy?

On a cleaning note, I am in a total nesting/cleaning frenzy. We worked like crazy all weekend long doing stuff (I will post pics of our amazing bathroom transformation later). Sunday after working in the yard, I was exausted. I came inside to sit and rest for a while. I could literally only sit for like 2 minutes before I felt like I had to get up and do something, then I would sit to rest again, but just couldn't do it. Needless to say, I slept like a log last night. I am sure today is going to be more of the same, especially with this new news!!!

DNA

2008-05-01T12:04:00.001-07:00

Just got word that the DNA is at the lab!!! We are moving along! I was nervous that the Guatemalan Labor Day would delay things, but it looks like we are in the clear on that!

If you can, please be praying for my brother and sis-in-law and their baby boy Malak. They have their fourth court date today and they found out that yesterday was a holiday in Ethiopia, so they my be delayed again (they were already delayed on Monday because of a different holiday). Pray that it will go through this time and that they will get some really good news tomorrow! It's so crazy because we will probably be traveling to pick up our kids at the same time!!!

ORANGE!!!!!

2008-04-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

We have orange!!!! WE HAVE ORANGE!!! I am jumping out of my skin right now! I am so excited! Now I feel like I am in an instant frenzy. We are so close and I have so much to do! Ahhh!!! This is really going to happen!!!!! We are really going to bring this girl home!!!

Tucson

2008-04-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

We just got back from another weekend in Tucson. Somehow we have been there three times in the last twelve months. This time we went for my cousin, Lauren's (and now my new cousin, Drew's) wedding. It was like a big family reunion! It was so great getting to see the whole family!

Friday night we had a Mexican extravaganza at my grandma's house. The food was as amazing as it can only be at my grandma's. The weather was perfect as we all sat outside under the twinkle lights.

Saturday was the wedding. Everything was so beautiful! Lauren and Drew were so cute during the ceremony as they giggled and stared into each others eyes through the whole thing. The ceremony ended just as the sun was setting over the mountains. During the reception there was a cover band and we all had a blast dancing all night!

On the way home we flew from Tucson to OKC via Atlanta (strange, I know). In Atlanta we got bumped for the night and ended up getting enough in vouchers to pay for more than half of our tickets to Guatemala when we go to pick up Shiloh! It made for a long trip home, but totally worth it. As we were coming off the airplane and walking through the airport, we marveled at the idea that the next time we walked out those doors it would be with our daughter! I can't wait! We haven't heard anything yet about where we are in the process. I am praying to hear we have approval for the DNA in the next couple of weeks!

Beautiful day

2008-04-14T07:49:00.001-07:00

Thank you guys so much for all of the encouragement and congratulations! I am going to print them out and save them for Shiloh to read some day.

Getting out of PGN is the most amazing feeling! I really can't describe it. When you have been doing this so long it starts to just feel like a part of your life and who you are, not something temporary that you are going through. It is nice to be in a place where it feels like a process again instead of a miserable lifestyle! After having this huge weight and stress on our back for the last 2 years, we really feel so euphoric now! Before we got out of PGN, Filipe would say that we would probably be really happy and excited for a couple of days and then the anxiousness of wanting to get her home would kick in. Now that we are out, while we are anxious to get her home, I don't think the excitement or happiness of being on the home stretch is going to wear off any time soon!!! Every so often we will look at each other with a huge grin and say, "We're out of PGN!!! Our baby is coming home!!!"

I was instantly put in full blown nesting mode. Friday night I started making a list of things I wanted to do around the house or things we needed to get done before Shiloh comes home. It is already a page long, and I keep thinking of more things every day. I am so thankful that I'm only working a couple of days a week right now so that I have plenty of time to do it all!

As for the rest of the process... Here are the thing that we have left to do: 1) They need to record the final decree at the Civil Registry and get her new birth certificate with our last name on it, 2) They get her a passport, 3) It all gets translated and sent to the US Embassy who issues "orange" which is a DNA authorization, 4) They take the DNA and sent it to the lab, 5) Once the lab processes it, the results are sent back to the US Embassy where they issue "pink", which is our Embassy appointment (usually 1-2 weeks after they issue pink) 6) We go get our girl!!!!

This usually takes 6-8 weeks. For our agency it is typically 8 weeks. Mentally I'm telling myself it will be 8 weeks, but I am really praying that God will be moving and it will be closer to 6. May 21st is my birthday and I would love to get to spend it with her. Six weeks from getting out of PGN is the 22nd, so it is possible. Please keep praying for us! Thanks so much!

in-n-OUT!!!!

2008-04-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

AAAHHHHH!!!!!!! WE'RE OUT!!!!! WE'RE OUT!!!!! WE'RE OUT!!!!! Oh my gosh, I am so excited right now!!!! I knew it would happen eventually, but it was still hard to imagine, with how long a difficult this whole thing has been. We are having a garage sale for my brother and sister-in-law or their adoption, and I was there helping out when my phone rang. It was a number I didn't recognize. When I answered and it was our agency, I got nervous because I know another family who, when they got out of PGN, the agency emailed them, so the fact they were calling made me nervous. She said, "I just wanted to let you know, there was a fax waiting for us when we got in this morning saying you guys are out of PGN." I instantly started bawling. She was like, "Are you ok?" and I said (in choking sobs), "Yes. I'm just really happy." I am still shaking from it! I can't believe it!!! I thought it we were almost 8 weeks into PGN, but this morning I added it up and realized it was actually only almost 7 (evidently I can't add), so I was gearing myself up to wait a little longer than I thought. I am so relieved and thankful and happy, I can't even tell you!!! WooooHOOOOO!!!!!

A year ago today...

2008-04-10T13:50:00.001-07:00

...we saw this sweet face for the first time.

Our little love bug

2008-04-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

We finally got new pictures from the agency, and they were worth the wait because they are SO cute! Every time Filipe and I look at her sweet little face, it brings a huge smile to ours!

We have now been in PGN a little over 7 weeks now, and I am getting super anxious! I just feel so tense with a mixture of fear that we will get kicked out again, excitment thinking that this time we are going to make it, hope that it will be soon and uncertainty because it is hard to imagine it actually happening. These are a lot of emotions for one person to have, and the result is this constant hypercativity running through my veins. Not that I am running around a mile a minute, it just feels like my insides are. I am so ready for some good news! Please be praying we will get it soon!

I am going to call PGN this afternoon (hopefully I'll get through and be able to talk to someone who speaks english). I am expecting her to say we are still with the second reviewer, but hoping that we will hear we have moved further along. I will keep you all posted!

UPDATE: Called PGN today. Still with the second reviewer.

First Birthday Party

2008-04-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

We survived the first birthday without Shiloh being home. It was actually really good. Even though she wasn't here, we still wanted to celebrate her birth and her life, so we had our family over and had a little birthday party. We went to see Horton Hears A Who and then came back to our house for a barbeque. Shiloh got lots of great presents. Cute dresses, an adorable bathing suit and great toys to play with when she is home!

A couple days later we got some pictures of our little one year old from Jenn who is down in Guatemala picking up her daughter Sara and Jane who is down visiting her boys. Jenn was so sweet to take down a mini version of the rag doll I had made, sing to her and cuddle with her. It was so sweet and touching! It is good to see that she is still a bit of a cuddle bug! I miss her so much and can't wait to get her in my arms!

I called PGN yesterday and we are still with the second reviewer. Hopefully we will get some good news soon!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEET GIRL!!!

2008-03-29T07:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Shiloh! I can't believe that we are celebrating this day without you, but I pray that even though you are far away from us that today you will feel an extra dose of love, that the people around you will give you an extra dose of attention and affection. I pray that God will put a little bit of peace in your heart and knowledge that you have a mommy and daddy who love you very much, who are celebrating you and your life and who are anxiously waiting for the day we can all be together! I hope you have a wonderful, happy day today! We love you very much!

2nd Reviewer

2008-03-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

I wasn't going to call until Friday, but I started getting nervous that we would get a kick out, so I broke down and called PGN. We are with the second reviewer! It seems like lately the first reviewer has been taking longer than the second reviewer, so hopefully we will be moving along soon and get the good news that we are approved and OUT!!! I am so anxious to hear this news! Please keep praying for us that we won't get kicked out and that we will soon be out of PGN!!!

Raggedy Shiloh

2008-03-21T12:54:00.000-07:00

My sisters-in-law (Tara and Kim) and I decided we needed a new project for this week. Every so often we get the urge to make something for the kiddos. This week we discovered how to make these cutie rag dolls! It was so much fun and they turned out SO cute! The brown haired one is Shiloh and the blonder one is supposed to look like her cousin Jenna. There is also a little African boy in the process (we had some pants issues) to look like her cousin Malak. I also just sent off a mini version of the Shiloh doll to Guatemala so she can have something to cuddle with until she gets home. (Ok, maybe I went overboard a little bit)

Summer Fun in March

2008-03-19T14:44:00.000-07:00

We just got back this week from a company vacation in Tucson. It was such a fun and relaxing time! We got to sit by the pool in the sun, and then when it turned rainy I relaxed in my room and read or enjoyed some social time in the spa. We got back feeling very relaxed and refreshed. Tuesday we bought a new car! I will post more about the vacation and car later. I don't have pictures yet, and what is a post without pictures.

I am a little bummed that there will be no movement in PGN this week because of Semana Santa in Guatemala, but at the same time I have found peace in it. I was just thinking about how cool it is that the whole country is shutting down to celebrate Jesus and the amazing gift of salvation that he has given us through his sacrifice. I am really going to try to not get stressed about the adoption this week, but take this time where no movement is happening and there is nothing to stress or worry about on the adoption front and turn my focus to celebrate Jesus right along with them.

I also had a fun little shopping spree at Target today. They have some of the cutest little mix and match summer outfits for so cheep! Only four dollars a piece! Although I wanted to buy a lot more I got five cute little pieces and I can't wait to see Shiloh running around in the sun in them!

The little yellow shirt has pink snails on it

I bought the yellow shirt to go with the shorts, but this little cherry shirt was too cute, I couldn't resist.

One of my little friends has a 1 1/2 year old who never goes anywhere without her little purse. It is the cutest thing! I figure every little girl needs her own purse, and when I saw this, I couldn't resist.

Now I just need a little girl to use all of this stuff!!! Hopefully we will have some good news waiting for us at the other side of this holy week!

Still waiting

2008-03-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I called PGN today and we are still with the first reviewer. I haven't been quite so stressed about it lately, but I am really hoping that we can get a move on here. I am so ready for us to be OUT!

We also got some cute pictures of Shiloh yesterday. It is so great to see her little teeth and to see she is sitting up on her own! Just looking at these pictures makes me smile. She will be one in just over two weeks. I can't believe we have waited this long and we won't be with her for her first birthday. Hopefully we will have some good news from PGN by then! Please keep praying for us! We are so anxious to have this little girl home!

Back in the game!

2008-03-04T12:17:00.000-08:00

We were resubmitted into PGN on Feb 25 and we are with the first reviewer. I am so relieved! Our agency sent our updates this morning and it said that we were resubmitted on Dec. 28, which was actually the day we got kicked out. It made me really nervous that we were somehow over looked and that we weren't back in yet, but no worries! Yeah!!!!! Please pray that we don't get any more previos and that we get a quick OUT!!!!

Sweet girl

2008-03-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

We got some new pictures Saturday night! Thanks to Jane for taking them for me and taking some stuff down to her from us! It has been such a blessing to be able to connect with these other families and be able to get pictures whenever they are visiting. I just hope that at some point I will be able to return the favor!

Jane said that she has three teeth on the bottom and one on the top. It is so nice to get some pictures of her a little happier, and I love the feathered, bowl cut she is styling:)

We also got together with a bunch of different adoption families Saturday night as we had a dinner to celebrate Jocelyn and Pacey's homecoming at the local Ethiopian restaurant. It was fun to see so many different families who had adopted from all over! We also get to meet Kerri and Ruby for the first time. It was fun to see a cute little guatetot running around and Pacey is absolutely beautiful and so smiley!

I am really hoping to get some good news from our agency this week. I was going to call PGN today, but my husband thinks I should wait until the end of the week, so I guess I will. I figure Mondays are hard days to get through anyway and if I wait there is a better chance that I will hear that we are in as opposed to hearing we haven't been resubmitted yet.

In the mean time we are remodeling our half bath connected to our bedroom. It has been a little slow going, mostly because after we tore everything down we both got sick and it kind of killed our motivation, but we are back on track. Filipe, my brother Eric and Filipe's brother Andre worked all afternoon yesterday to get the drywall up. It was pretty funny seeing three guys cram into a little 4'x4' space (it is a minuscule bathroom) to work. I will put pictures of it up when we are finished with it. I really want to get it done because the ultimate goal is to get it done so we can have somewhere to go to the bathroom while we remodel the bigger bathroom! I figure it is going to be hard to remodel a bathroom with a child in the house, so we really want to try to get it done before Shiloh gets home. Of course, if some crazy thing happens and our case moves really quickly to get her home before the bathroom is done, I won't complain:)

Sort of an update

2008-02-28T08:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I called the agency this week, and they said that we should be getting our case updates early next week. They said that the lawyer was waiting until then because she hadn't gotten all the cases back into PGN yet and was waiting for that. This makes me feel a little bit better. I like the idea of waiting another week before we are back into PGN a lot more that some random unforeseeable date in the future because of unknown problems with our paperwork, which was what I was getting nervous about. It also looks like PGN is still moving pretty quickly, so hopefully they will keep up the pace to get all of these children home quickly! I am praying hard for all of you who are still in process and going through all of this with us!

Bummed

2008-02-22T13:51:00.000-08:00

I finally got through to PGN today and we still have not been resubmitted. I am really bummed out! It is so frusterating to know that our lawyer has had over six weeks to take care of stuff and prepare our paperwork to be submited, and it still hasn't been done, and her last update was so vague that we don't really know what one of our previos was for or how long it will take to fix. Now I am worried that it is something serious that is going to take a while. I am just so tired and frusterated. I just don't know how much longer I can deal with all of this stuff. I am so dissapointed right now. Sorry this is a bummer post. I needed to vent.

In the mean time...

2008-02-20T15:04:00.000-08:00

No new news here, though it is driving me crazy! I am so anxious to hear something. OK, the truth is that I don't want to just hear something. I want to hear that we have been resubmitted into PGN. And the only thing better than that would be to hear that we were resubmited into PGN and miraculously have already been approved and that we are out! I know it is very unlikely, but Candy (Jagger and Kya's mom) did hear on the forums that is has happened this way for some people lately. A girl can wish (and pray really hard:). I am really trying to wait until next week to call PGN, but I might cave and call tomorrow. We'll see. It depends on what level that I am going out of my mind tomorrow. In the mean time we got a picture of Shiloh today. If you look closely you can just see the start of two teeth poking out on the bottom. I had been wondering about that, so it is cool to see.

I started a new nannying job last week watching a two year old and a three year old. They are great kids, but a handful! It just makes me that much more anxious to have Shiloh home! I have been so blessed to have been watching such great kids over this last year or so, but I am so ready to be with my own child instead! I am also trying to get back into the swing of things as far as cooking better. I made a batch of bread today. I haven't made bread since before Christmas and I didn't realize how much I missed it until I ate a warm slice with honey a few minutes ago. Yumm! I grind my own wheat so it's extra healthy. It sounds complicated, but really machines do all the work, I really only put in about five minutes of effort.

Please, dear Lord, Let us get some good news about our case soon! Bless us with a miracle and bring Shiloh home soon! And please watch over our little girl. Thank you so much for blessing us by bringing her in our lives!! Please protect her and keep her happy, healthy and safe! Amen.

Happy New Year!!!

2008-02-12T11:00:00.001-08:00

We are registered with CNA!!! I am so relieved! Now we just need to get back into PGN and get this show back on the road! I am so so tired of this whole thing and can't wait to get my baby home and not have to deal with this any more! I think I am so used to being stressed out about it now, that I don't even realize that I am stressed. I think I am going to feel like a different person when she is finally home.

Sick

2008-02-07T11:42:00.000-08:00

UUhhh! I have been sick off and on for the last two weeks. It has made it very hard to keep up with my blogging because all I want to do is sleep. The only good thing about it is that since my husband is home sick too, we get to curl up on the couch together while we sleep. I am such a baby when I get sick, so today I was thinking, "how do you do this when you have kids?" I guess you just make it work.

In the mean time, here is a little Christmas in Febuary:

Bad news

2008-02-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

It has not been a good week, and just when I was starting to feel a little bit better we started getting bad news from Guatemala. The Central Authority is not registering any cases due to various reasons, the result being that things may be delayed until the cases can no longer be grandfathered into the new laws. You can read about it here at the ADA website.

I really don't know what to do. Just when I think that I can truly not handle another problem, another thing comes up. I am just feeling so discouraged, frustrated and tired! We are still not back in PGN, and apparently we won't be until we can be registered with the CA, which isn't registering anyone. Please, please be praying for us, Shiloh and all the other families going through this!!! Please pray that something will happen to make these cases move forward quickly and easily and that God will have favor on all of us and bring our children home!

New Pictures

2008-01-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted. I have kind of needed a break from the whole blogging world. I have been pretty discouraged lately by the whole adoption thing.

The good new is that in the mean time we have gotten lots of pictures of Shiloh. (thanks so much Jennifer and Krystal!!!) Here are a few of them:

We also got some Christmas pictures last week, but I'll save those for the next post.

The Office

2008-01-16T20:54:00.000-08:00

"It feels like somebody took my heart and dropped it into a bucket of boiling tears... and at the same time, somebody else is hitting my soul in the crotch with a frozen sledgehammer... and then a third guy walks in and starts punching me in the grief bone" Michael Scott, The Office

OK, so maybe it hasn't been quite that bad. My brother forced Filipe and I to watch a few episodes of The Office on Christmas Eve, and we have been hooked ever since. Last Wednesday Filipe took the day off to be with me and to run around fixing the issue with our paperwork. When we got home we were emotionally spent and just wanted to veg out in front of the TV, so we spent the afternoon watching The Office. In spite of our depression, we were rolling on the floor laughing. Lately, whenever I am feeling bummed out, I just watch an episode and I walk away with a smile on my face. I really think this show is going to keep me sane through these last few months of torture. If you haven't seen it yet, you really should rent it!

I am still pretty bummed out about the whole thing, but doing better than I was. Thank you so much for all of the prayers, comments and support! It has really been so deeply touching! One day I will be able to tell Shiloh how much people from all over the place cared about her and prayed for her. Thank you!

Kicked out of PGN

2008-01-09T12:05:00.000-08:00

Well, we found out that we were kicked out of PGN. I guess we got kicked out Dec. 18 and are only finding out about it now. I am totally depressed and have been crying about it all morning. Our agency said that PGN is still taking cases, though I don't know if that is really true. Plus, it is going to take a few weeks to fix the problems, so who knows if they will still be taking cases by that time. I know it is normal to get kick outs, but under the circumstances I was really hoping that we would go through without a problem. This also pretty much guarantees that Shiloh won't be home by her first birthday. I am so sad right now.

Retail Therapy

2008-01-06T13:04:00.000-08:00

These last few days have had a lot of ups and downs for me, and I am sure that will continue for many days to come. I am really working on not worrying and letting these problems in Guatemala go, but there are times when that is easier said than done. I have had little pieces of encouragement this weekend and times of truly being ok with everything.

Every time problems or delays come up in the process, I get the urge to do something or buy something for Shiloh. I think it is a subconscious way of me rebelling against the problems, like saying, "Oh yeah, well I still believe she will be home and just to show you, I am going to go out and buy something for her, because I know she will get to use it soon, so take that!" Kind of like my own stubborn show of faith. Well, today was no exception.

We went to Babies R US and finally bought a baby monitor. It has been one of the only big things that we have been missing. We also bought the warranty for when it falls apart (as all monitors seem to, according to the reviews).

I also got some bottles. This was my big "stick it to you" purchase. I had taken all of my bottles and sippy cups back a few months ago because I had done some reading about bisephenol in some plastics, but once I had returned them I was hesitant to buy new ones because I started thinking, what if it takes too long for her to come home and by the time we get her, she doesn't even use bottles anymore. Well, I am having faith that she will be home and will still need bottles. The great thing about these bottles, besides the fact that they don't have the bisephenol in them is that when it is time to move into sippy cups, you can replace the bottle nipples with silicone sippy nipples and they become the sippy cup without having to buy a totally different cup.

Now I just need my little girl home to use all of this stuff! The latest that I have heard about PGN (though my agency warns me that it could change every day) is that the cases that are currently in PGN are still being processed and approved, but if the case has not yet been submitted into PGN or if it gets a previo and is kicked out, then it can't be submitted again until it is registered with the Central Authority. We have been in PGN for 3 1/2 weeks now. I know that it is very normal for cases to be kicked out, but I am desperately praying that we will be one of the rare cases that goes through quickly without getting kicked out. Please continue to pray for us and Shiloh, and all the other families who are having to deal with all of this too! I know that God is faithful, and truly believe that if he has moved to grandfather the in process cases into the new laws, that he will also work this out too!

The drama is still not over

2008-01-04T12:31:00.000-08:00

Just when we thought that all of the conflict and turmoil was more or less over in Guatemala, we have started the new year with a whole new batch of complications.

The following is a letter we got from our agency yesterday:

Subject: Update about the adoption law - Jan 2, 2008

Last week we filed an amparo (legal resource to stop a threat to a constitutional
right) to protect the notaries from the elimination of the notarial process of
adoption,  but unfortunately, the lawyer who reviewed it, without asking anyone else,
 decided to change some vital parts of the petition, that caused it to be rejected
at once by the Constitutional Court.  Right away,  I printed the original version of
the amparo and this time it went to the CC without any changes, on December 28th.
The CC should have ruled that very same day,  accepting the petition, requesting 
the Congress to send an inform about the facts of the case,  and granting (or not)
the suspension of the law. Instead of doing so, the  CC notified us  today that it
only accepted the petition  of amparo (big step), but neglected to request the inform
from Congress and to rule about the suspension of the adoption  law. The CC also
requested us to let the court know about the possible interest that the entities
that we requested to have as interested third parties,  may have in the amparo.  We
filed a brief today, stating the  interest of  the professional entities who have a
vested interest in the outcome of the amparo  and pointing out that the CC neglected
to request the Congress' inform and to decide about the suspension of the law. We
believe that the CC is trying as hard as they can to avoid having to suspend the law
and that is why they also delayed the order to Congress.  But skirting the legal
issues won't solve the problem of the CC . Eventually they will have to rule on the
legal issues.  If they reject  the amparo, we are poised to   file as many
constitutional challenges as we can, to take down that awful law. Meanwhile, we will
try to work with the new congress, where the political forces have shifted  after the
 elections, and two thirds of the congressmen are new people, to pass a law that
would keep the good of the current system and the good of the Hague Convention, to
allow us to keep helping children to have families who love them.

The PGN is refusing to accept any cases,  old or  new,  under the argument that the
cases must be registered with the Central Authority, which of course, doesn't exist,
and very well could  be that it won't  ever be  established, because after all, they
don't want us to finish the "in process" adoptions.  Bienestar Social is trying to
get an inventory of all the children at the hogars and of their situation,  because
they are getting ready for a hostile takeover of all the children, after the 30 days
are over and we failed to register those cases with an nonexistent central authority.
We must start raising the public outcry, because this is way different than what they
offered to the US, and to us. 

Seems that the director of the hogar in Guatemala of Holt's is the designated member
by Bienestar Social  of the BOD of the Central Authority. If that is so, the plan is
clear. Snatch as many children from the private hogars  as possible and accredit only
Holts and a couple of other adoption agencies, to send all the children to them. 

We will  see tomorrow what the CC  says about the brief that we filed today, and if
the law is suspended or not. If it is not, we will know that they are playing hardball
and we will react accordingly. 

Happy New Year to all of you, and don't give up. This is very far from being over

Susana

I have to be honest, I don't completely understand what all of it means, but the danger isn't over yet. Please be praying for us and all the other cases waiting to be completed and babies who are still waiting to come home! Please be praying for all of the cases and children in Guatemala, that these problems will be worked out and that the transition into the new laws will be quick and easy, that all of the cases will be able to be completed without any problem and that God will keep a fence of protection around all of the hogars.

I feel confident that God will move and work it all out! I am fighting to trust in Him and not worry, because He is the only one with control in this situation, and He is more powerful than any government or authority. Please pray for our children and our peace of mind as we continue to wait for our children!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-02T07:14:00.001-08:00

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.

What a great week!

2007-12-21T07:16:00.000-08:00

This has been a great week. First we found out we are in PGN, then we got two different sets of pictures from people who are in Guatemala visiting their kids (thanks Jane and Pippa!!!).

The first set we got on Monday, the day we found out we were in PGN. Filipe and I were so excited to be in PGN and I had been thinking all day that I wished I could be with Shiloh to celebrate with her. That night I got pictures from Jane that were taken that very day! It was so fun to look at them and think, "This is what Shiloh looked like today."

Then last night I got another batch from Pippa. She said that Shiloh was very happy and contentedly playing alone in her crib while the little girl next to her was trying to get her attention:) It just warms my heart to get any little information about her! I also love seeing that they put her hair in little ponytails! Hopefully it will be one less thing she will have to get used to once she gets home, because I can't wait to put all kinds of things in her hair!Shiloh, mommy and daddy miss you and love you so much and are praying for you to come home ASAP!!!

WE ARE IN!!!

2007-12-17T09:09:00.000-08:00

We are finally in PGN!!! I am so happy, so thankful and so relieved!!! We were submitted on the 14th and we are with the first reviewer. For those of you who don't know a lot about this... PGN is where they go over all the paperwork with a fine tooth comb to make sure everything is right. It is the last really big, long hurdle we have to go through. There are there are three stages. The first reviewer, the second reviewer and then Sr. Barrio gives the final review and sign off. The second reviewer is usually what takes the most time. The average stay in PGN is around 8 weeks. Occasionally it can be shorter, but sometimes they will find errors in the paperwork and the case will get kicked out of PGN. Then you have to fix the errors and be resubmitted into PGN all over again. Please be praying for us and that we will have an extra short stay in PGN with no kick outs! It would be a real relief for this to go quickly and smoothly after all the problems and delays we have had throughout this process!!

Ice Ice Baby

2007-12-10T06:10:00.000-08:00

We have had a really mild fall and winter. It has been in the high 60's for about a month now. I love the cold, the snow and the frosty wintry weather, so I have been a little sad. It's been Christmassy inside, but not so much outside. Well, things changed this weekend. The temperature has dropped to 25 degrees and we have had a constant flow of freezing rain. This morning we woke up to an icy winter wonderland. I know it hasn't been good for the people who have to still go to work in the ice or for the many people who are without power right now because of falling tree limbs and power lines, but for me... my husband is home with me on this Monday morning. We are sitting in front of our Christmas tree in our pj's watching Elf. Perfect!

Even the grass is coated in ice

Warm and toasty inside!!!

Our little turkey

2007-12-04T06:09:00.000-08:00

We got new pictures yesterday! These are the Thanksgiving pictures. They definitely went all out on the decor and the outfit. It warms my heart to see her little smile!

At Last!!!

2007-11-30T16:51:00.000-08:00

We are finally out of the black abyss otherwise known as family court!!!! I am so excited and feel so relieved right now! I know that this isn't that big of a step for a lot of people but it has been such a huge hurtle for us. Our agency said that it may take a couple of weeks for preparations and then we are off to PGN!!! So hopefully we will be in PGN before Christmas. I know this may not mean a whole lot to some of you who aren't as familiar with the whole adoption process, so I am going to put a time line on my blog this coming week to help clarify what is left in the process. Thanks so much for all the prayers, thoughts and fasting! It has been such a blessing and gift! Keep us in you thoughts!

Prayer and fasting

2007-11-21T05:28:00.000-08:00

There is a group of people out there who have dedicated today for prayer and fasting for us, Shiloh and our case. I just wanted you guys to know that we are so thankful for you! We are so touched and feel so blessed that you are taking this time and making this sacrifice to pray for us! Thank you so much!

New Pictures

2007-11-19T11:22:00.000-08:00

We got new pictures! They are a cheesy Halloween theme, but she still looks so adorable! I miss her so much! I have been so down over the last month, but I am really working on letting it all go and chilling out about it all, but it is really hard. I'll be totally cool and fine one minute and then the next totally bummed out. We had a good sermon at church yesterday about not worrying. One of the things he was talking about was seeking first the Kingdom and letting God worry about the rest. It kind of hit home for me. I feel like God has worked on me and drawn me closer to Him in so many ways through this whole process, but I feel like I haven't been seeking His will and His Kingdom first, I have been seeking after this adoption first through Him. I don't know if that makes sense or not. Basically I have grown a lot closer to God but a lot of my prayer life and focus in reading the bible etc. is all so focused on Shiloh coming home, when she's coming home, what is happening in the process. I guess it is time to grow a little bit more and make my focus God and what he wants to do through me and in me and release the rest of it into His hand for Him to take care of (since that is what is going to happen anyway) and not worry about it. It's hard and still so emotional for me, but I do feel a little less of a burden than I have been feeling over the last month. Anyway, that's my thought and feeling for the day. I'm sure it will be different tomorrow.

Now on to the pictures...

Looking for advice

2007-11-17T08:40:00.001-08:00

So lately I have been wanting to read up on what to do with your adopted child when they are home, specifically about bonding etc. For example, I want Shiloh to be able to sleep in her own bed when we are home with her, but I had also thought that went we went to Guatemala to pick her up, it might be nice to have her sleep with us while we are there to be able to have that bonding time. I just don't want to make it hard for her to adjust once we are back home. Also, I want to be able to rock her to sleep initially if she needs it, but eventually I want her to learn how to fall asleep on her own. At what point are you bonded enough to be able to go into more of a training mode. (I know, I over think things way too much. It drives my sister in law crazy.) I haven't checked out too many books, but the ones I have looked at all talk more about how to tell your child that he or she is adopted, how the adoption process works, how to deal with tough questions you child may have when they are older, and the few that I have seen that do talk about bonding are more about bonding with an infant. Not really what I am looking for. I am wanting something practical. Something that is more about, "your home with your not newborn baby, now what?" I know that a lot of it will come naturally and depends a lot on the personalities of the child and the parents, but as a first time mom and first time adopter I just wanted to see if any of you had any good suggestions for any books or websites, or for those of you who already have your little ones home, what has worked for you and what hasn't? I am open to any thoughts or ideas about anything that you might have. Thanks!

Our posh little girl

2007-11-12T20:44:00.000-08:00

*Update below*
Many people are rushing to get their hair as stylish at Victoria "Posh Spice" Beckham's new hair cut. They are spending millions at salons and on hair products. Fortunately for Shiloh, she is naturally posh. No hairstylist needed for this styling girl's hair. See the evidence for yourself...

On a more serious note, we are supposed to be getting a new update some time this week. I am getting so nervous! I am hoping and praying that we will see some progress. I am praying for that miracle that our process will have moved farther than we could have thought possible, but I am also nervous and aware that we could once again get the same update we have been getting since August: that we are still waiting for the social worker to schedule an interview with the birth mother. I am in such turmoil. One minute I will be at peace about it, the next I will be stressed out. One minute I will be full of hope, and the next I will be "trying to be realistic" which is really another way of saying looking at the bad side of things. Please be praying for us! Pray that we will see some light at the end of this tunnel instead of the constant black hole we have been stuck in for the last few months! I'll keep you all posted once we find out.

*Update- Well, I got our update today. The social worker did the birth mother interview on the 9th. Now she needs to visit Shiloh and do the homestudy for her. This still isn't scheduled. I know that I should be happy that we finally have a social worker that is doing something, but instead I am just disappointed. I feel like the smallest amount of progress that could have been made is what happened. Like instead of even making a whole step forward in 4 weeks, we made a 1/4 step. I should be happy that any progress was made at all, since nothing has happened since August, but I was just hoping for a little bit more. I am just so tired of this wasteland that is Family Court, and this isn't even supposed to be the hard part. If this is what family court looks like for us I am afraid to see what PGN will be like. I am just so so tired with no end in sight. Sorry if this is such a downer, I am just really really bummed right now. Please keep us and Shiloh in your prayers.

Shiloh's room

2007-11-08T07:26:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of Shiloh's room. We still need a little table next to the chair for her lamp and need to get new blinds, but other than that it is pretty much done. The pictures don't totally show the right color (it looks better in person) but you get the idea.

This is a panorama of the room. It's a little distorted, but gives you a bigger picture of it all.

We got these little paintings in Antigua

Inside her crib

I got this chair at a garage sale and recovered it. It used to be an old blue LazyBoy.

Giggles and the paper chase

2007-11-01T08:26:00.000-07:00

So I was going to post something else, but changed my mind. Instead... this is a video I have been wanting to post for a while, but I had to figure out how to do it first. I love it. It makes me smile every time I watch it because I love hearing her giggle and I love to see her daddy playing with her!

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

In other news... I always figured that we would be working on our next adoption before I had to do the paper chase again. Silly me. We are in the process of updating all of our paperwork so that we can send an updated homestudy to USCIS to extend our I-171h. Anything that is over a year old (which is everything) besides official documents like marriage license and birth certificates have to be redone. So once again I am running around getting medical exams, reference letters, employment letters, bank letters etc. On one hand it is a total pain, on the other I guess it gives me something that I can feel like I have a little bit of control over (since I definitely don't have any control over anything else.)I really can't wait until all of this is behind me! I am so ready for the next season of my life. I am ready to be a parent instead of waiting to be a parent. Please keep us and Shiloh in your prayers! I'll post pictures of her room next time, I promise.

I have been tagged- Part 2

2007-10-29T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Whitney, but first I wanted to share some new pictures we got this week (thanks Amanda!). It was so bittersweet to get the pictures! I love seeing her sweet little face and see that she is doing ok, but it also makes me so sad that I'm not with her!It has been a very stressful week this past week between birthdays, baby showers, fall nights and pumpkin carving days, but it looks like things are going to settle down a bit now. The good news is that in the middle of all of that I am pretty much done with Shiloh's room! I am still missing a little table to go next to her chair, but I will probably put the pictures of her room up anyways in the next couple of days.

Ok, here it goes...
Jobs I have had
Working in one of those little carts in the middle of the mall (not so fun)
Gymnastics coach
Missionary
Baker (self employed)
Floral designer/Sales
Sales Manager at a wireless company
Part time nanny

Places I have lived
Phoenix, AZ (where I was born)
Flagstaff, AZ
Gainesville, FL (Go Gators)
Denver, CO
Lisbon, Portugal
and now Oklahoma City, OK

Foods I love
Spaghetti (Boring, I know, but I get it at every Italian restaurant I go to in search for the best spaghetti. On a side note, I got some while we were in Guatemala from the hotel San Carlos. Very good!)
My mom's tostadas and chimichangas
Chocolate

Places I'd rather be
In Guatemala picking my little girl up
Portugal (or anywhere in Europe for that matter, but I'd have to go to Portugal first)
Sitting on the couch at Borders drinking a hot tea and reading a book (that may have to be a project for later today)

Books I love
Pride and Prejudice
Harry Potter
Really I am pretty open. I just love to read.

Please pray for us!

2007-10-23T05:55:00.001-07:00

I know a lot of you in the adoption world heard about the fight at PGN last week. For those of you who don't, here is how our agency told us what is going on,

"PGN had summoned an underage birth mother and her parents for an interview. This birth mother had already relinquished the child as her parents said that they were unable to support her and a baby. PGN separated the birth mother from her parents and kept her in the "psychological section" of the PGN in an attempt to "change the birth mother's mind about her relinquishment". Her parents were extremely upset that they were detained in another part of the facility.

Susana (our lawyer) was summoned by the foster mother of the baby. When she arrived there was an attempt to detain her by locking her in a room along with the parents of the birth mother.

Unable to summon help, they broke down the door to the room and in an attempt to leave the building (which was locked) Susana kicked a door which broke the glass and severed 2 arteries and her Achilles tendon. It is fortunate that she did not bleed out but she was transported to Centro Medical where repairs were made to the leg.

As of yesterday, Susana remained hospitalized and on morphine. She is due to be released today but faces 2 months of immobilization due to the severed tendon, not to mention months of rehabilitation. Barring unforeseen medical complications, there is a favorable medical prognosis. Only time will tell!"

I know that she is planning on continuing her cases and has already hired a driver to drive her around.
Unfortunately, the latest update on our case is that it still hasn't moved, and unknown to me (I thought we were almost out of Family Court) we are still waiting for the social worker to schedule an interview with the birth mom. We have been in Family court since around Aug 16th and they have just been sitting on in and there is nothing we can do but wait. Many people in the court and PGN are trying to hold up Susana's cases. She is going to file a petition today to have the court change social workers for our case.

So my family and I are devoting today to pray for our case, for Shiloh's protection and for her to come home quickly. I know that God can move mountains and that He is bigger than all of this! I know that He can work and move to bring her home quickly and safely! Please join with us today in praying for Shiloh and our case, for Susana's quick recovery, and that the courts and PGN will stop holding things up and start moving these cases through! Please be praying that we get a new social worker quickly who is pro adoption and who will schedule the birthmother interview as quickly as possible!

Thank you so much!

Waiting

2007-10-17T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are at home. Life should be getting back to normal, and yet somehow it all feels different. I have been pretty down the last couple of days. I miss my daughter so much, my agency is driving me crazy and even though I love the cold and the rain, it is making it very hard to get motivated to get out and accomplish things. In the midst of all of this I have really been trying today to remember to trust in God and hold onto the hope in Him. That he is more powerful than any agency, lawyer or government. That He loves us and Shiloh and that He will be working to bring us together. Please be praying for us that God will be with us and with Shiloh while we are away from each other, and be praying that He will have His hand on our process and that He will be moving it along quickly! Thanks so much! It is so comforting to know that we have support from so many people out there!

Now here are a few more pictures:

We're home

2007-10-15T10:01:00.001-07:00

Well, we're home. We are missing our little girl so much! It is amazing how spending five days with someone could change our life so much and how we could miss her so much even though we were only with her for such a short time! Coming home, our house feels emptier, like something is missing, even though she has never been here. But in spite of all of this, God has given us an amazing peace about it and a hope to look forward. That each day we are away from her right now means we are one day closer to being with her forever and that He is working and moving to bring her home! Our time with her was so amazing and so special! I am so thankful that we were able to go and meet her!

We took so many pictures! I think it was like 1500 (we are having trouble fitting them all onto 2 DVD's!) So I have decided that I will just slowly share them with you guys over the weeks to come since there are too many to put them all into one or two posts.

The hotel we stayed at was very family friendly. I think the only people staying there were families either visiting their children or picking them up. We all sat in the sitting areas and talked. We would rock our babies to sleep in the halls and leave the doors to our rooms open during the days. it was great to be surrounded by people going through the same experience as we were. On the last day we took some pictures with a few of the babies. They are a little hard to see, but you should be able to click on them to see the bigger view.

I'll be posting more pictures later, but right now my husband is home sick (I think he got "The Bug") and we are trying to get DVD's and pictures out to different family members who don't live here.

More pics

2007-10-10T18:44:00.000-07:00

This little girl is a heartbreaker! Seriously, Filipe and I are so smitten! She is so much fun! She has been a lot more talkative today and has been doing a lot better at sitting up and holding her head up (she was pretty shaky the first day.) Tomorrow there is a photographer coming to the hotel who is going to take our pictures. In the meantime, please be praying for us and Shiloh's process! It seems like things are moving a little more quickly in PGN with other cases. Be praying that our next update has good news that we are already in PGN so that we can catch this wave of quickness. I am so much more anxious to have her home now that we know her I don't know how we are going to be able to leave without her! I am trying not to think about it too much, but it's hard! I don't know if I am going to get the chance to post again before I go home. I don't want to do it while she is awake and by the time she is asleep we are exausted. I'll try, but I make no promises. In the mean time here is a dose of sweetness to hold you over.

We got her!!!

2007-10-08T19:57:00.000-07:00

We have her in our arms at last! We went this morning at about 10:30 to the orphanage to pick her up and have been loving every minute of it! She has been so good and such a snuggle bug! She loves to be held all the time! We got back to the hotel and laid her down to change her diaper. She started crying as soon as we put her down, so I picked her up and rocked her, and she was asleep in two seconds. She only slept for about 15 minutes (I think Filipe taking a ton of pictures may have had something to do with it). She was a little fussy during the morning and only wanted to be held really close while we walked around. We got the chance to talk to my brother Andrew and Filipe's sister and brother in law, Diana and Ricardo with the web cams over the internet. It was exciting to be able to show her to other people in our family even though they can't be here. After that she fell asleep again, but the second I would try to lay her down she would wake up and cry. The second I would pick her up again she would be fast asleep all over again. In the evening we webcamed grandma (my mom) and headed downstairs to the restaurant for dinner. She was asleep before we even sat down and I was really worried that we would have to hold her all night to keep her asleep, but we laid her down in the pack n play and she is doing great and is fast asleep. So that was the long version of our day. I'll try not to go into so much detail next time. I don't know how we are going to give her back on Friday! It makes me emotional just thinking about it and makes me that much more anxious for our process to move quickly! Please be praying for us that things will be moving quickly and that our next update will have good news about our progress!

She already has her dad wrapped around her finger

Cutie Patootie in her pj's, but not so happy to be set down

Day 2- Antigua

2007-10-07T17:57:00.000-07:00

Today we woke up early and went to Antigua. Antigua is a town about an hour away from Guatemala City. It was fun to drive through the city and a bit of the country side. I love how raw everything is. Not touristy at all. There is a lot of it that reminds me of Portugal, but there are definatly a lot of parts that are poorer. The land is really lush and green! The mountians look like they are carpeted in trees and then the trees are covered in vines so that all you can see is green.

Antigua is a smaller town than Guatemala City and looks a lot older and rustic.

We started at an old monastary that had been converted into a very elegant hotel. It was crazy to see the walls of the hotel built around the old ruins of the monastary. Very beautiful!

We then drove throught the streets a little bit. You could see the huge volcano looming on the horizon behind the city. Our driver and tour guide, Luis, told us that sometimes he takes people up to the volcano where they then ride horses to the top. Filipe asked him how long the volcano has been dormant. Luis said, "Dormant? No, it's an active volcano." Filipe said, "Yes, I know. What I meant was how long has it been since the last time it erupted?" Luis said, "About a month. When we ride up there you can look inside and see the lava flowing. Usually we just go to the base of the volcano and before we get the horses they tell us if it is a dangerous day to go." Crazy! I don't think I could get the nerve up to do that one, but it was an amazing site to see from the city!

We walked around the city a little bit. We saw this beautiful church. Next to the church there was a group of people cooking food and selling it. It smelled so good! We asked Luis if it was safe to eat it. He said, "Well, I would come and eat and bring my family." Sounded good to us. Then he said, "But people say that I probably already have 'The Bug' and that's why it doesn't affect me." We decided to be adventurous and hope we didn't get "The Bug" and got some food (so far so good with The Bug). It was really good.

Then we went to the artisan market to buy a few more things. We spent what felt like our life savings because the currency uses higher numbers (about 8 quetzales to the dollar) and we bought so much. Filipe had fun bartering with the murchants. Our first stop Filipe was bartering with this boy named Edgar who was about 12 years old. Filipe wanted to pay 150 for a couple of little paintings while the boy was holding firm at 160. Filipe finally caved in. Later we realized that they were probably going back and forth over the difference of about a dollar. After that we kept the bartering to a minimum. There was so much to see and buy.

We rounded off the trip with a tour of the Jade factory and bought Shiloh some baby earings. I guess this means we have to get her ears pierced now. On the way home we stopped at the "Walmart", here to buy a couple of things for breakfasts and some rice cereal for Shiloh. The place was packed! It was worse than the mall on Christmas Eve. Then we headed back to the hotel for some much needed rest.

It has been fun just relaxing in the evenings. Our hotel is on a main street, and no one really recomends us walking around on it a lot so we sit at the hotel and chill. Actually, Luis said that people go out on the street in the mornings to jog for some exersize. Filipe said, "That sounds good. So we can go for a walk in the mornings?" And Luis said, "Yeah, you can go run in the mornings." This, after he had told us earlier that he is ok walking around because he knows what to look for and if anyone comes after him he can just run away. So we have been avoiding walking around the street, which makes me a little sad because I have been itching to walk around and explore.

This last picture I leave you with is a picture of a bus. All the busses here are individually owned and they all look like school busses that are pimped out. Some of them are on the more normal side, but a lot of them are painted with flames with their name emblazoned on the side, have flasing lights and chrome grills. It's a pretty funny sight.

Tomorrow is the day!! We get our little girl!!! We will be posting new pictures some time tomorrow.

We're here!!!

2007-10-06T16:13:00.000-07:00

We got to the airport this morning at 4:45am. Only something crazy like going to Guatemala to see my daughter could get me out of bed that early! The flights were great. We slept through the whole thing. Now we are here in Guatemala. We got to our hotel at about 1:45 had luch and chilled for a while and then took a quick trip to the artisan market. There were so many cute things! Tomorrow we are going to Antigua. We found a great taxi driver who lived in the States for 10 years and speaks great english. He is really friendly and knowledgable about things to go see around here. Now we will probably relax for the rest of the night and try not to spend too much money on dinner.Here we are on the patio of our hotel. I am wearing a new headband I bought at the market. More pictures to come. I'll put some pics from Antigua tomorrow.

I've been tagged

2007-10-02T11:22:00.001-07:00

Well, we are back from L.A. and getting ready to go to Guatemala. It's kind of crazy only having one week in between the two, but it also makes time go by fast. I am so excited to see Shiloh and God has really given me a lot of peace about all the trouble that is going on over there. I have really been praying a lot about it. My brother tagged me a couple of weeks ago, so I guess I'll use this time to do that.

Here are the rules: (1)Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves. (2) People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (3) At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names. (4) Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

OK, so here are my things...

1) I have this thing where I believe I can make and/or fix anything. But seriously, I really do believe it. When I was a teenager, our VCR broke, so rather than having my parents call someone to fix it or buy a new one, my dad took me to the library and we got a book on fixing VCR... and we fixed it! More recently, when we were moving a couch out of Shiloh's room into the office, it wouldn't fit through the door. It was about 3 inches too big. We were going to recover it anyway, so I decided to take the arm off the couch, move it into the office, put it back together and then recover it. Everyone thought I was crazy (and still make fun of me for it). But it worked and I did it. Seriously I can do anything.

2) I scar really really easily. Unfortunately I am also the worlds biggest klutz, so I have all kinds of little scars from cuts and burns all over myself.

3) I would love to live in London at Christmas time. I don't know why, it just sounds so wonderful, romantic and christmasy and I have to say that my ideal movie to watch at Christmas time is a romantic comedy set in London during Christmas.

4) I love to read fiction. I could read all day long. In fact, I usually have to take breaks after finishing a book before I start a new one because other wise that's all I want to do and I won't do all the other things that need to be done like make dinner. I have always been this way. When I was a kid I used to miss the school bus because I would be reading a book.

5) This obsession with reading also gives me the desire to write a book. I really want to write a book and feel like I would do good at it. Unfortunately my biggest problem in accomplishing this is a lack of ideas. So if anyone out there has a good idea for a book, but doesn't feel like you can write maybe we can hook up and make a great team.

6) My family is really important to me and I really want to raise my children near them. Unfortunately I have a feeling that everyone is going to move away from us in the next couple of years. It has already begun (thats right Andrew, thanks for ruining my dream.)

7) I don't think of myself as a very funny person, however I do love to laugh at other people who are funny. And I do love to be around people who make me feel like I'm a funny person.

8) I hate horror movies. I don't like being scared or having bad dreams. I really don't get why people like that feeling so much.

OK, so there it is. Sorry if it isn't very interesting. It was a lot harder coming up with 8 things than I thought it would be. Now I tag Courtney, Melissa, Shannon, Diana and Megan. My next blog will probably be from Guatemala! Let me know if any of you have any last minute suggestions of things to bring with me or places to go see!

Nothing new

2007-09-24T13:40:00.000-07:00

Isn't this so cute! My sister in law and I made these shower invitations for my brother and other sister in law's baby shower, and I have to say that I am quite proud of them. I am really excited about the shower. We already had our shower back when we had our other referral, before Shiloh. It was a torture for me not to be involved or know what was going on, but just to show up. I love planning the parties, so it is a lot of fun getting to be involved this time! And if you know Tara, don't worry if you haven't received your invite. We haven't sent them out yet.

By this time in two weeks we will be in Guatemala with Shiloh! I am so excited about it! It is making it hard to focus on anything past that time, but at the same time I think it has been making me a lot more tense as I wait to hear new news about what is going on in the process! I have to keep reminding myself that just because I don't know what's going on doesn't mean that God's not working. We are going to L.A. tomorrow for a week, so I know we will be in Guatemala before I know it! Please be praying for us that we will get some good news about the process before we go. I have been really hoping and praying that we would be in PGN before we left.

Trusting

2007-09-17T13:00:00.000-07:00

I just bought our tickets and we are 3 weeks away from seeing Shiloh for the first time! I am so excited! I know it is going to come so quickly!

This summer has really been an emotional roller coaster and such a beautiful time of growth for me! Our church takes a time of rest during the summer when our groups slowdown and the focus is to focus on God. When the summer hit, I was really not in that place. I was an emotional wreck from the whole adoption and really didn't feel myself focused on growing closer to God in this season, but I guess God had other things in mind. I feel like all summer long He has been reaching out to me, comforting me, and speaking to me. The whole focus and idea has been about knowing His power and authority over everything and really trusting and hoping in Him.

When it comes down to it, that is the only thing that brings me peace in this time of waiting. There are times when I want to take control over everything or make it all work to the "time line" that I have in my head, but the truth is that I have no control over any of it, and that the only thing that I can do is trust and hope in God. It is the only thing that really brings me peace in this process, otherwise I am sure I would have gone out of my mind by now.

I have been reading in Psalm, and every scripture that I have come across lately talks about trusting and hoping in God.

"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." Psalm 84:11-12

"To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul; in you I trust, O my God. Do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one whose hope is in you will ever be put to shame," Psalm 25: 1-3

"I will say of the Lord,'He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'" Psalm 91:2

I am just really learning even more to trust God and know that He knows what's best and that He is good and wants good things for us!

I don't know if any of you relate to any of this, but I thought I would share where I am at and what has been encouraging me and keeping me sane.

Beach Babe

2007-09-10T18:27:00.000-07:00

For all of you who are back to school and welcoming the first hints of fall, here is one more glimpse of summer sunshine! By popular demand I bring you the new pictures of Shiloh! The are the cutest ones yet! They make me just want to eat her up!

We got our PA!!!

2007-09-10T08:09:00.000-07:00

We got our pre-approval on Saturday!!I am so excited!! Now we just need to get out of family court so we can get a move on into PGN!!! I guess all the interviews and everything is done, we are just waiting for the judge to sign off on our file. Please be praying that he will do this ASAP!

This is really such an encouragement to me because I really felt last Sunday that God was telling me that I needed to let go of everything and trust in Him. I have been working really hard at releasing it all, which has been hard this week because we have been getting e-mails from our agency about all the problems going on in the Guatemalan government. It was such a blessing to see God working in our case!

The letters in the picture are the letters for her room that I made this week. They were so easy to do and turned out so cute! They are hanging over her crib now, and we have been doing other things to get the nursery ready. It is almost done! I can't wait to take pictures to post here for you guys to see!

2007-09-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

I have always said that I wanted to take advantage of all this waiting time before Shiloh comes home to get into shape. Now we are hopefully only a few months away from getting her home and I am still saying it, though not taking a whole lot of action to do anything about it.

The weather here is finally making the change for the cooler. No longer is it the suffocating heat from the summer. We decided this weekend to take advantage of the weather and take a bike ride with my brother and sister-in-law. The last time I rode my bike was about a year and a half ago, and I could only go for about 20 minutes because the seat hurt my butt so bad. I convinced Filipe to buy me the cushy, lazy boy of bike seats, assuring him that if my seat was more comfortable than I would go riding with him. And here we are a year and a half later.

Needless to say, I was nervous to go for a group bike ride. I figured that I was completely out of shape and was expecting to only be able to do another slow 10 minute bike ride before I ruined the party and told everyone that I needed to go back. Tara (my sis-in-law) assured me that she would be slow and couldn't go that far either, so they convinced me to go along.

The first 15 minutes were easy! Tara and I were patting each other on the backs saying that this was no problem and we were obviously in better shape than we thought. Then we started getting tired and thinking about turning around. The guys were planning on going all the way around the lake, so we started asking if we were half way yet. They assured us we were, so we figured there was no point in turning around. After a while I needed a quick break, so we stopped at a clearing where we could see the other side of the lake. It turned out we were only maybe about 1/3 of the way there! They guys had been lying to us for the past several miles! I was feeling better after the break, so we decided to trek on anyway. To make a long story short... we made it the whole way around! It was 9 miles! I was incredibly proud of myself (though I won't tell you how long it took us), and decided to start riding on the weekends to finally pursue my dream of losing some weight before Shiloh comes home. Now that I have put it in writing, I guess I have to stick to it.

Also, Guatemala is having their elections for a new president next week. Be praying that the new person elected will be pro-adoption and will have a desire to get these processes moving! The current president is also trying to cause some trouble before he leaves, threatening to close down the hogars in Guatemala. The US government has responded negatively to his actions, and our attorney doesn't think that he will be able to do it, but it is still a threat at least for another week or two. I have been praying a lot about it and am really feeling peace about it. I feel like God is going to protect the children there, and I know that God is stronger than any president or government and that he loves my little girl more than I do. Please be praying for these things! Thanks!

Hurricane Felix

2007-09-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Please be praying for protection for Guatemala and for all of the children there as hurricane Felix comes through today! Pray that it will dissipate before it reaches Guatemala! Thanks!

A pick me up

2007-08-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so here is a little something to cheer up all of your days. I was feeling stressed about the whole adoption process and feeling a bit down earlier, but it is hard to feel down when you are listening to this kid.

We have decided to go visit Shiloh in October. I am so excited to see her in person, to hold her, and I really can't wait to hear her little voice and make her laugh and smile! I am really praying that we will be in PGN by that time, so that we know we are on the downward slope waiting for her to come home for good!

Curtains and Consignments

2007-08-25T11:12:00.000-07:00

This week we had a huge consignment sale for baby stuff at the fair grounds. My sis-in-law and I went about an hour after they opened on the first day and the place was already hopping. We got some good deals on a pack-n-play and booster seat for my parents house when the grandkids are over. And we also found some cutie clothes for Shiloh. Here are a few of the things we got for only $3-$5

I also got a cute little blanket that I won in a drawing (thanks sig!). It's from burpittyburp.com and has her name embroidered on it.

We decided to go visit Shiloh in October. I have been looking to see what I already have to take with me, and what I would need to buy. I am trying to decide whether to take this blanket with us to leave for her, so she would have something with our smell on it. The only thing is that she is in a hogar, not a foster home, and I'm not sure if they would leave the blanket with her, or whether we would get it back when we went to pick her up.

I have also finished the curtains in her nursery. I have had mixed reviews on them, so I wanted you guys to give me your opinions on them, whether you liked them, or if you didn't, what about them are you not that crazy about. Let me know. And I won't be offended if you hate them. I will warn you that the coloring in the picture isn't quite right as far as the colors of the room. For example, the red stripe you see in the picture isn't really red in real life. It is more of a magenta. Our camera isn't the best with coloring these days.

I'm almost done with the nursery. I will put up more pics when I get it finished. I have been feeling a bit weary about the whole adoption thing this week. I think getting to the point where hopefully things should be happening and moving, but they also may not, is starting to stress me out. I have been praying about it a lot this week, and have been feeling better about it all today, but I am definitely ready for this whole experience to be over and for my baby to be home. I just don't know how much more of this stuff I can take before being shipped off to the loony bin!