PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Me and my Mommy!

This is one of my FAVORITE pics of my kiddos.... notice the look on Jake's face as he looks at her!

"We had a REALLY rough night.... you ought to see my Mommy's hair!!!! :)"

"Look at my bother's BIG muscles!"

Christmas pics to follow.....

Anyone still read this blog?

I am not sure if anyone still reads this blog, but if you do... HEY!!!!!

I have not been a very good blogger since Bella came home. I know that so many of you were so good to me during our horrific process. I was encouraged and loved by so many and I don't want anyone to think I took that for granted and bailed once I got my precious baby girl home. It's just that, well, life with Bella and Jake has been WILD!!!-- in a good way! :)

She is walking... wrong... RUNNING everywhere. My mom and I laugh at her as we watch her roam around the house like a little old lady, seeing what she can knock down, pick up and throw or just get into. She is VERY inquisitive, much more than Jake was at her age. Jake is WIDE open, but I could leave him alone in a room and come back to find it just as it was when I left. NOT WITH ISABELLA!!!!! She will change it's appearance FAST!!!!

She is saying a few words.... Momma, Dada, Hello (with a palm-up, sideways wave), Bye Bye (with a backwards wave), and brover (brother). Let me tell you... she LOVES her brother!! He is the first face she looks for every morning and the first one to whom she gives her "loves"! It makes me so incredibly happy to see them chasing each other around my house and hear them laughing belly laughs! He ADORES her and strives to make her world PERFECT! In his eyes, Isabella can do NO wrong and he lets me know it. He calls her "Sweet Thing"!

She is attached to me!!!! If she could attach her body to me permanently, she would! Hey... I am not complaining. She loves her Daddy, but Mommy is her first choice... as it should be! :) She does not like to sleep, unless it is on me! I sometimes, feel like I am a human mattress.

I must admit, I was not expecting things to go as well as they have with her coming home at such a late age. I do get sad that I missed that very first birthday, but know that it was all in His perfect timing and He had a reason for it. I know that her coming into our family has changed my life FOREVER and has sparked something in me that I was not expecting. I will be posting more about that this week. I am not able to post pics... darn Blogger, but I will try to do so tomorrow and will promise to post more faithfully. I was considering going private or just quitting all together, but have decided to leave things as they are and continue on....


check back soon... if I still have readers, that is...

God is good!!!

Well, I am happy to announce that Lucas was declared ADANDONED today and Jane can now start his adoption!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you for your prayers and support! It will be a Merry Christmas for my friend Jane!!!!!!

They are here!!!! and a prayer request for Lucas

The little boy in the picture is Lucas. He is my friend Jane's son that she has been trying to bring home for 2 years now. The little girl is Karly and she came home in October. Jane has a big ole Momma's heart and she has given a home to 4 Guatemalan girls and is in process with a precious little boy that enters PGN this week. Here is the problem with Lucas. He needs a COA issued by Friday before the judge goes on vacation until the first of the year. They told our attorney that they would not issue a court date to give the COA until August of 2008. In lieu of the Ortega Law passing today, August is too late and Lucas will not come home. Now, this case has gone through the Appeals Court and they ruled in favor of an abandonment decree being issued. The problem is the judge... he is not cooperating and wants to make things difficult.

Lucas has watched 3 other children make it home to Jane before him and she started trying to bring him home before any of these. This is heartbreaking. I had the privilege of spending a week with him and Jane in July and he stole my heart. He carries around a photo album of his family here and his house and his room. He just sat and looked at those pictures for hours in July. He also has a shunt in his head and it will need to be changed out next year, as well as needing a hernia surgery.

I tell you all of this because he needs a MIRACLE!!! I know times in Guatemala are not good right now for adoptions and all families need a miracle. But... please storm Heaven's gates for this little boy and his Mommy, Jane. She is torn up and just a mess. Imagine having to go tell him that he will never come home to the only Mommy he has ever known. He was brought to the hogar at only a few days old wrapped up because of his hydrocephalus and no one wanted him. Jane and her family wants him SO badly and he NEEDS them.

Please pray that the judge has a change of heart and give him the COA in the next 3 days before he leaves for vacation!!! I will keep you posted.

AND.......

Our Christmas cards just came in. If you have not already sent me your address and want one, please e-mail it to me. asalemi@cox.net








I will be sending them out this weekend!

Please pray...

for these precious baby girls and their families.

This is Eloisa and her parents are Drew and Bekah. They really need to hear that she is OUT of PGN. It has been a long and hard journey and it is overdue. I am committing my weekend to praying for them. Bekah is such a mighty woman of God, with such a sweet spirit and precious heart. I am amazed by her strength and wisdom and faith in the Lord. Please join with me and pray specifically for her file to be signed out of PGN this week.




This is Corynn. Her Mommy is Jodie and she lives in my town. We have become really good friends. She got released from PGN on Oct. 30- the day Bella came home! She still does not have a Birth Certificate because it is coming from Mixco and the officials there have decided not to release any until they "approve" the cases. Now, mind you she made it through PGN in 8 weeks without a kick out and Barrios approved it with NO problem. It is not the Civil Registry's job to approve cases, but in Guatemala they do what they want to do, regardless of the law and others suffer for it. It will be 6 weeks this Tuesday since her approval and she is no closer to being home. She will be 1 year old on Jan. 4 and if that BC is not given, she will miss Christmas with her family (2 big brothers that are anxiously awaiting her arrival!) and her first birthday... all over some person that is doing something totally illegal and nothing is being done about it! Please pray specifically for her BC to be released this week. Enough is enough. You can imagine how her parents are hurting.

I know there are so many people waiting for their children to come home. I am praying for you daily. My heart breaks for the condition of Guatemalan adoptions right now. Please know that you are not forgotten and that my family prays for all of you each night. As I check the blogs that I read each day, I pray for each of you before going on to another blog. I am believing that the officials in Guatemala will do the right thing and that their hearts will be turned toward the children and not political agendas. If you are a reader of my blog and would like for another family to lift your adoption up in prayer, please leave me a comment and I promise you it will be done daily until your children are home.

LSU Christmas

LSU Christmas

Twenty four days before Christmas, in a state in the south,
Les Miles was ticked as he opened his mouth.
“Miles to Michigan,” was reported as fact.
To which Miles responded, “Herbie you don’t know jack!”

The Tigers had suffered a gut wrenching loss,
At the hands of McFadden and the rest of the hogs.
And Bo in his sweatshirt, and Miles in his Hat.
Were determined to prove they were better than that!

When the Tennessee Vols ran out on the field,
There were ruckus applause from the mentally ill.
Still in the locker room, Les told his team,
“This season ain’t over. We still have a dream.”

The hurt throwing arm of QB Matt Flynn
Meant Ryan was the man they put their faith in.
Then the fans all heard, what Les said in the Dome.
“I ain’t goin’ anywhere. I’m happy. I’m Home!”

The fans were still thinking “This might be a trick.”
‘til someone pointed out “Hey, this guy ain’t Nick!”
The Hat took the field for this championship game,
And he brought all his Tigers, and called them by name;

“Now, Hester! Now, Early! Now, Highsmith and Putt!
Let’s let ‘er rip and shut these guys up!
Take to the field! And give it your all!
Then later we’ll watch numbers 1 & 2 fall.”

The fans still weren’t sure as to what team would show,
The Virginia Tech game seemed like so long ago.
But there in the stands, the fans they did cheer,
As Perrilloux played his game of the year.

While out in Ar-Kansas, the hogs claimed the boot,
The tigers were focused on far better loot.
With the game knotted up, Ainge threw a quick out
But Zenon was ready and took six to the house.

He wore an LSU jacket, and a white turtle neck,
The same as he wore when his team beat La Tech.
With the hat on his head, and a childish grin,
Miles put his team in the title picture again.

His smile-how it widened! as Pitt won its game!
He cheered Oklahoma, when it did the same.
The stars were aligning, it couldn’t be true.
Turns out Miles WAS destined, to play O-S-U.

With a month to prepare and a month to heal up,
We’re all pretty sure which team will show up.
He ain’t going to Michigan, and we’re sure of that.
But Tressel and the Buckeyes should still Fear the Hat.

On December first, he called L-S-U home.
Then set up the Tigers, to play again in the Dome.
It soon will be legend, how Les started that day,
“Can’t talk now. . . . I’m busy. . . . [Y’all] have a GREAT day!”

Continuing Traditions...

For as long as I can remember, my parents would give me and my sister a Christmas ornament on my birthday. It was always an exciting time... more than my actual present... to see what ornament they would give us. Sometimes it would be something to remind us of something important from the year or just something unique. They always picked PERFECT ones! Then when I got married and left home, I had ornaments to decorate my own tree.

I have been doing it for Jake and was SO excited that Bella was home to share in our family tradition! This year, I found the PERFECT one! It is from the Hallmark Keepsake Collection. It is called "Forever Family." I tired to put it down here, but Blogger was not cooperating... um, imagine that?! :) It says: " 2007 Connected with a bond of belonging-- forever family."

It is our family ornament this year. So... do you think I did a good job carrying on my parents' tradition?

I spent the day shopping with my baby girl. We bought her some new Robeez and she was quite proud of them. She showed them to everyone that would look and clapped as they oohed and aahed over them. My daddy bought us steaks and Jeff grilled them. It was a GREAT birthday and I will never forget it. BELLA IS HOME!!!!! BEST PRESENT EVER!!!!!!!!

Sorry, no pictures of the night, we forgot. Santa came by on the fire truck through our neighborhood and through the kids candy. I remember thinking last year that Bella would be here for it this year and she was. It was the best!

Here they are....

First things first...

"Have you heard? LSU is going to play Ohio State for the National Championship!!! How 'bout them Tigers?!

Now... Bella update... she is walking- NO more crawling. She just cruises around the house seeing what kind of mess she kind make! In one month, she has begun walking, got her first haircut, gone to the park, done LOTS of shopping and eating out, starting saying some English words, helped Daddy and Jake put Christmas lights on the tree, started eating some table food, gained over 1 pound, and learned to drink out of a straw! She has been busy!!!!!

I get so overwhelmed and emotional each time I hold her and look at her. During our adoption, I did not give much thought to her birth mom, but while we were on pickup, I was able to read her social worker report and learn more of her situation. Something changed in me at that moment and I began to truly realize how much love this woman had for this precious baby girl. I mean, as a mom to Jake, I cannot imagine how I would live day to day not knowing who had my baby, where they lived, what kind of life he was living and yet, Bella's birthmom does this daily. I hope to be able to instill a love for her in Bella. She truly gave the ultimate sacrifice of a mother's love to my daughter and for that I will forever be grateful. Not a day goes by that I don't think about her and pray for her.

We are going to be getting Christmas pictures done this week for our Christmas cards. I did not do cards last year since my other child was not home. It just did not feel right. I found the cutest dress for the occasion and cannot wait for everyone to see them. If you want one, please e-mail me your address. My e-mail address is asalemi@cox.net

Now on to more pics of my precious children (I love the sound of that... "children"!)

Holding Daddy's hand while she sleeps!

My sleeping beauty.

My sleeping beauties! Notice her hand on her big brother's arm. She sleeps like that with him.

First haircut... not too sure.

Trying to get Daddy to save her.

This is the kind of mess she "finds" when she cruises the house. This child LOVES to unroll toilet paper. I got smart, after this one, and removed it and put it where she could not reach it! We found some in her mouth!

This is her newest thing... when she sees a camera, she gives this cheesy grin as her pose. We got to work on that or there will be no modeling career in her future! LOL

Playing with Daddy. She just started sticking her tongue out ALL of the time.

She loves to jump on Daddy's belly and hear him moan.

I admit, I have been really lazy with taking pictures. I will be more diligent this week and get some better shots. Today is my 35th birthday and I am so excited she is here to celebrate. Jeff took me out to the Melting Pot Friday night. We left both kids with my parents. It was the first time I left her with anyone except Jeff and I only did that the day after Thanksgiving for Christmas shopping. She did great! I had a harder time, though! LOL :) Anyway, normally, I would not be happy about turning 35 (30 hit me REALLY hard), but having Bella home has brought me a contentment that I have not had for a while. Jeff is cooking steaks and my dad is coming over to eat. I will post pics of the very special occasion.

Hope everyone has a GREAT Monday!