Sara Michele Needs your prayers

I have a friend that is in the same position that we have been in. Her name is Jennifer and her baby girl is 6 days older than Bella. They are in the same hogar and the judge is holding her certified copies, too. This precious baby needs to come home to her Mommy and Daddy. Tomorrow at 8:30 (Guatemala time), there is an important meeting that is going to take place. Please pray that the Lord moves on the judge's heart and that she would release Sara Michele. God did a miracle for Bella and He can do it for Sara. I look forward to posting her good news tomorrow night!

Guess what?......................

"If you guessed that the judge gave up my certified copies, you are RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My Mommy and Daddy and my big brother, Jake, are coming to get me SOON!!! All of the prayers that went up to Heaven for me have been answered. Thank you all so much. I can't wait to meet all of these people that love me so much. Mommy did not know that when I gave her this BIG smile, she would need it to post my freedom from Family Court! Now, can I ask you for one more thing?.... I would like to be home before my Mommy and Daddy's fingerprints expire, which is Oct. 12. So, please say a quick prayer for that and stay tuned..."


Love,
Bella--soon to be Salemi! :)

Keep 'em coming!

Keep those prayers coming... we are almost there!!!! I am hoping that I have good news to post for you this afternoon. I got a call last night and things are looking HOPEFUL! One last push...

Once again...

We have hit another BIG snag in our adopiton and if ever there was a time we needed a miracle, it is now. Please pray that the heart of the judge will be changed tomorrow. Things are getting bad and we need God to step in and fix this mess. Thank you! Tommorrow is a big day for our case. I will keep you posted.

Thanks SBP!

I just wanted to say thanks to my SBP. I received the special package and let me tell you... my son was ELATED! My wonderful SBP sent Jake a football and Bella the cutest outfit. It really meant alot to Jake that you thought of him. I know he must sometimes feel lost in this process and you really made his day!

I will take a picture of him with his football this weekend and post it and also post a picture of the outfit.

Thanks again... can't wait for the big reveal! :)

New Pics and another prayer request

My friend, Jane, took these for me today. She even called me and held the phone next to Bella's ear for me to talk to her! She says she is happy and healthy. I miss her more than words can say and feel like my heart is breaking. We are so close, yet so far away. Still no ceritifed copies. Please pray that NOTHING will stand in the way tomorrow.

Jeff and I have a very close friend named, Dickey. He just found out that he has 2 brain tumors and they are operating tomorrow morning (Thurs.) at 5:00 A.M. One of them is jagged and has arms that are wrapping around his brain stem and down his spinal column. They found them the day after his wife was given the all clear from her cancer. They are going through a lot and need our prayers. We truly appreciate it.

11 months old today and not an end in sight to this horrible nightmare

Well, another month has come and gone. We thought for sure we would be picking up our baby girl now, but instead, we are being held hostage by the 3rd family court judge our case has been with. We have been approved for 5 weeks and not progressed at all! She will not release the certified copies we need to get the birth certificate. I thought bouncing from judge to judge for 12 weeks was bad... NOT!!! I should be getting pictures of Bella this week because my friend is going to the hogar and will send some to me. But, stay tuned, if you miss these, you will get some next month. How do I know this? Because she will NOT be home when she turns 1 year old. To think I was so naive as to believe that when we accepted her referral on Sept. 20 (her birthday and my son's) last year that we would be celebrating it WITH her.

Backing Off

Four weeks ago today we were finally released by a jugde after spending 11 weeks in FC. I still have no idea where we are in the final process and quite frankly I am hurting more than I ever have in this process. I am thankful for the support, prayers and encouragement I have received thus far. However, I have finally come to a place where I have to step back. I know many of you don't understand since we seem so close to the end and should have her home soon. One thing I have learned through all this, is that I should not expect anything as far as WHEN she will be home. My daughter will be 11 months old on the 20th and as far as I know we don't even have a BC.

I just wanted to let all of you know that I am sorry, but I am not reading blogs anymore. It just hurts too much to see babies home and I have no idea when mine will be. I know that sounds selfish or that I am jealous. I am not. I am glad to see that it does happen. It just hurts entirely too much. I don't like who I am. Everyday things are hard to enjoy. The daughter I have prayed for for 7 years is in an orphange in another country and I am missing every day of her life. Please continue to pray Bella home and if she happens to get here by Guatoberfest, then I will see you all there. I pray that happens. I know they say God's timing is perfect, I am just struggling to accept that these days.

There Is A Reason

I am really missing my baby girl. Tomorrow will be one month since we were released by the judge. I am having a hard time today. I am weary and ready for this to be over. I am ready to enjoy things the way I once did before we began this adoption. A part of my family is missing and it makes my heart ache. My son is believing with all that is within him, that his baby sister is coming home for their birthday. I pray he is right! We start school tomorrow and the questions are going to begin.... "You don't have that baby yet?" I am not wanting to answer those. But... as I was cleaning my house this afternoon, I decided to turn on the radio and this is the song that was playing. Read the words and I pray that they minister to you like they ministered to me.





Cademon’s Call – There Is A Reason
From the album – Overdressed

Late at night I wonder why
Sometimes I wonder why
Sometimes I'm so tired
I don't even try
Seems everything around me fails
But I hold on to the promise
That there is a reason

Chorus:
Late at night, the darkness makes it hard to see
The history of the saints who've gone in front of me
Through famine, plague and disbelief
His hand was still upon them
Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

He makes all things good
He makes all things good
There's a time to live and a time to die
A time for wonder and to wonder why
Cause there is a reason
There is a reason

I believe in a God who sent His only son
To walk upon this world and give His life for us
With blood and tears on a long, dark night
We know that He believed
That there is a reason
There is a reason

Chorus:

For the lonely nights
And broken hearts
The widow's mite
In the rich man's hand
And the continent
Whose blood becomes a traitor

For the child afraid to close their eyes
The prayers that seem unanswered
There is a reason
There is a reason

SHOUT! SHOUT! SHOUT! Madalyn is OUT! OUT! OUT!

Madalyn is coming home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! God is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot begin to tell you how happy I am for Kristin and Greg. Kristin has maintained such a Godly attitiude during this process. She is truly one special Guatemama and I am so thankful that He has brought our pathes together. I CANNOT wait for our 2 girls to meet. Congratulations, Campbells!! We love ya'll!

Guatoberfest and school...

I am soooo excited about Guatoberfest! I wasn't planning on going, but my wonderful hubby convinced me to go! It is going to be great to meet everyone that has walked beside me during this crazy journey and even meet new families I have not had contact with. Jeff can't make it, though, so it will be just me and the kids! How weird does that sound... kids... plural.

We are waiting to hear that we have a BC. I start school tomorrow... teacher in-services and classroom preparation. The students come next Monday. I thought it would be hard for me to begin the school year without Bella here, but amazingly, I am at somewhat of a peace about it. I will have time to get things in order for my absence and by then, we will be leaving. I am hoping we are on pickup by early to mid-September.

I have been focusing on the scripture in the Bible that says... "He will keep you in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee." Every time I feel the anxiety of her being there and not here, I begin to meditate on that scripture and peace comes over me. It happened yesterday (the anxiety) and that verse popped into my mind. Things are nearing the end of this journey and we will soon begin a new one. I am beginning to get EXCITED about the new adventure we are about to enter.

Hope everyone has a great day and I will post when we get news of the birth certificate!

On to the civil registry!

I found out tonight that the certified copies were obtained and we are being filed with at the Civil Registry! Not sure if that means we were already or will be. But... we are creeping along! We will have to do the 2nd DNA test, but at this point, I have gotten past it and just come to accept it. Not sure if we will have to redo our fingerprints- they expire Oct.12.

I went to see Evan Almighty with Jodi (Corryn's mom). It was her son's birthday. Jodi and I were amazed at the nuggets we gleaned from this movie considering the adoption process. I am not sure if you all have seen it, but I highly recommend it. There is a line at the end of it where Steve Corral (correct spelling?) tells Morgan Freeman, who plays God, "you knew what was going to happen all along, didn't you?" and "I fought you every step of the way", yet His plan still unfolded and it proved to be worth it all for him to have endured all he did. This is true for us. Steve could only see a small part of Freeman's plan, and none of his instructions or problems made since. In fact, they were down right ridiculous and cost him alot, personally.

This is how this journey is. He calls us to do something, we "figure" out how it will unfold and then get upset because we feel "due" something. When He called us to adopt Bella into our family, He had a very specific plan and it has not changed along the way. My plans have. This is not about me... it is about His plan for my family. My part is to pray and walk in the way He has prepared. I don't understand why we manage to hit EVERY potential roadblock to this process. I thought about something tonight. When you are driving and come to a roadblock in the road, you must go through the detour. It is for your own safety. You get aggravated because the journey to your destination will take longer, but along the way you see different scenery. Maybe, these roadblocks have changed the "scenery" of the life- lessons I need to learn to fulfill His plans for my life and the life of my children. If I would have stayed on the straight course, I may have remained stagnate in my walk with Him. If there is one thing I can say about this year, I am NO longer stagnate in my relationship with Him.

Stay tuned... it should be interesting how this comes to an end! If any of you know how long it is taking to get GCBC, please either post it or send me an email.

Wrestling, not resting

I got "schooled"-- by my Heavenly Father. I layed in bed last night and pouted and complained about the unfairness of this and when I was done, I realized that I should be ashamed of myself. Things are not going like I had planned, but they are going like HE planned. He did a miracle for us while I was in Guatemala and when He did it, He knew the day she would be coming home. Us being released on that Monday was all part of His plan for our adoption from the beginning of time. It did not happen by chance because I was there. He did not do it on a whim, but by divine design. Just as He orchestrated that, He has a divine time for her to come home. That day has been established from the beginning of time and there is nothing I can do to change it and make it happen on my timetable. If she is not home by her first birthday, then she was not ever meant to be home by then (thanks, Kristin!). And if that if His way of doing this, then it is the perfect way. Wow-- that was a hard pill to swallow.

I believe that this adoption of Bella was God's perfect plan for me and my family. He began to plant the seed of desire for adoption in me at a very young age. It was something the I have always said I would do when "I grew up". We actually tried to start this 3 years ago and God shut the door. Thankfully, I was not so hard headed that I did not realize the timing was wrong-- we would have missed out on Bella! I guess what I am trying to say is that I have come to realize that this was not my idea. It was His; therefore, it is by His doing that she will come home. Not mine. Just like He knew when to begin to line all things up for this to start, He knows how to line all things up for this to end. My job is not to aid in that, but to REST in that. I have NOT been resting. Well, I take that back. I did rest for the past 2 weeks, while I thought things were going the way I wanted them to unfold. That is not true resting. I was finally sleeping and enjoying life around me. The minute I found out it may not happen on my timeline, I reverted back to my "miserable" mode. That, to me, is wrestling.

So, today, things are still very uncertain and I am okay with that. It may still work out. Who am I to limit God because of how things look in my many timeline scenarios? But, He may have a different plan. We may miss her first birthday and we may have to renew fingerprints and we may be subjected to the wait of the new DNA test. But guess what? That is no surprise to HIM. He knew it all along. I am just the one that took so long.

You see, I have been on a journey for the past 7 years to learn to truly trust Him. I have been a Christian since I was 12 years old, but I have always wanted to control my circumstances. I am a planner and planners must feel in control of the events in their lives. As a Christian, I cannot operate that way. I know He is using this in my live to teach me this. We feel called to the mission field to work with orphans in some capacity. I cannot do this, if I am always trying to have control. He loves me so much and wants me to fulfill His plan for my life. It's like with my son. I want him to happy, but more than that, I want him to learn to be the man of God he is supposed to be. Because of that being my greatest desire, I have had to watch him be hurt by our discipline, even when he doesn't understand it. Well, that is what God is doing. Trying to teach me what trusting Him truly is. Each setback we get, brings me one step closer. I am not naive enough to think that I will learn it toatlly by the time she gets home, but I do belive that I have made GREAT strides in this area this past year of our adoption.

For now, I will continue to pray for our miracle and rest in the assurance that He is STILL at work to bring her to our family. He never stopped. I just stopped looking at Him and began looking at the flood waters that were rising around me. Didn't He promise to be there when the flood waters tried to overtake us? :)