If anything, this post proves that prayer is fruitful. I feel like the past two years contained a lot of "hurry up and wait" over and over, but all of a sudden I am sitting in a living room in Medellin with the windows open enjoying a gorgeous view. Additionally, in precisely 24 hours we will have a son in our family.
About three weeks ago, we were having our final travel call. In a whirlwind, we got our Visas and other final paperwork knocked out, but needed one last bit of paperwork from ICBF in Colombia to submit to the US Embassy. At the end of one week, we were told that paperwork was nearly impossible to locate as the ICBF was in the process of changing offices. We were crushed because we thought that meant another delay. However, the following week proved otherwise as things happened at record breaking pace. Monday we received that last bit of paperwork. By Wednesday it was translated. Wednesday night it was submitted to the US Embassy, we were granted an en cuentro date (meeting), and told to book flights.
We got up at 3:45 yesterday morning, got ready, and embarked on our journey. My mother got up super early and drove us to the Montgomery Airport. We flew from Montgomery, to Dallas, to Miami, to Medellin. It was an incredibly long day, but everything went fantastically. The girls traveled well, although Alex struggles to sit for more than 2 or 3 minutes at a time.
Once we arrived in Medellin, a precious gal named Cristina and a taxi driver named Reuben met us at the airport and drove us to our apartment. We quickly learned very few people speak any English at all here, but they are both bilingual and helped us out a ton. The drive from the airport to the city is lovely, but incredible curvy. I'll spare details, but I had an embarrassing bout of motion sickness.
Finally we found the apartment, and were told by the landlord the jacuzzi flooded causing part of the ceiling to bust through. Honestly, all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. We adults were exhausted, and the kids were even more so! Fortunately, the landlord had already arranged for another apartment just down the street. It was fantastic! More space, seems more kid-friendly, and has gorgeous views. It ended up working perfectly! We got settled in quickly and hopped in bed.
Today was our first full day in Medellin. We unpacked and had to deal with some issues with the apartment. It is all being taken care of, thankfully. Cristina took us to the grocery store, and surprisingly it was laid out almost identically to most grocery stores in the states. The biggest difference was that it was sooo expensive. A small jar of peanut butter was $8! Brent and Cristina then went to exchange some money and get Brent a Colombian phone number.
This city is fantastic! The people are so nice, the weather is ideal, and the views are marvelous! Pray for us as we gain a new family member is 24 hours. I will also try to be better about posting photos, but won't be able to have Samuel's face in many until we are back in the states.
Adios!
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Up, Down, in Mexico, then WAY Up (Hint: great news!)
I don’t know exactly where to start, but let’s just say the past several weeks have been a roller coaster. We were planning on going to Colombia at the beginning of May, but due to a mega-glitch in Samuel’s abandonment decree, we were unable to go to our son to bring him home. We were devastated, heart broken, stressed, and left wondering if we would even be able to bring him home. We were taught lessons in patience, and were given the most precious gift of prayer. Cliché as it sounds, we truly felt surrounded by prayer. [Must read until end to see how this works out.]
Luckily, we have two munchkins that keep us super busy and are an absolute blast. On top of that, Brent is getting his masters degree and has elections going on. Needless to say, we have been busy and haven’t been able to dwell constantly on the delay of the adoption. We did know that we needed a major family distraction. Our timing had us in Colombia for Brent’s 30th birthday, and since that was impossible we planned a fun trip instead.
On May 8th, the last day Brent had in his 20s, we drove to Atlanta and hopped on a flight to Mazatlan, Mexico. Traveling with a 2 year old and a 3 year old, we expected the normal hiccups, but did not expect Delta to have Lilly Grace’s name incorrect. Because half of the flight was Delta and the other half was AeroMexico, they refused to change it. We had two choices… leave Lilly Grace behind or buy her a new round trip ticket. An extra ticket later, we were on board our flight, and we had been bumped to first class! We were some of the only folks in first class, had precious flight attendants, wonderful service, and delicious food.
We flew from Atlanta to Mexico City. Mexico City is the epitome of what you picture in your head. A bazillion tiny houses everywhere. Most of it looks rural, but there are several different areas of skyscrapers and modern looking buildings. All I could think in the Mexico City airport was about the movie “Man on Fire” and that I was going to be holding on to my children every single second.
One more flight and we were in Mazatlan, whose airport is not much bigger than the Montgomery airport. Mazatlan is on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We hopped on a bus shortly after landing, and after 20 minutes were at our humongous, gorgeous resort!
Our trip was fantastic. Not only did we make some incredible family memories, and loved celebrating Brent’s 30th birthday, but we fell in love with the Mexican people. We were basically the only Americans and the only white people at the resort. There may have been a couple of others, but we never saw them. We were stared at a bunch, because we were definitely the minority. They weren’t being rude - we just stood out. That said, the people of Mexico are the kindest people we have ever encountered. They put “southern hospitality” to shame, and we could move down there in a heartbeat! Their rich brown skin is gorgeous, their smiles are contagious, their fun-loving spirits are energizing, and their kindness is remarkable. We became close friends with Javier, our taxi driver. He and Brent even texted a bit a couple of days ago.
Lilly Grace was a hit. She loves meeting new people, and would hug the sweet older men. She danced every chance she got and really embraced the culture. She is going to do outrageously well in Colombia. Brent became pretty popular as well. He was an American that would speak Spanish. He claims he doesn’t speak much, but he is not far from fluent. What he doesn’t know, he picks up on so easily. I was amazed and insanely proud of my husband (who is now in his 30s, WOW)!
After nearly a week, lots of fun and sun, we got back to sweet home Alabama and the real world, and boocoodles of laundry. Brent has been working in overdrive and having super late nights as the primaries draw near. I worked the first weekend back, and had to take a class for work. The girls and I have been having a phenomenal last summer as just us girls, but every day we wonder about our Samuel. We want our son home. The girls want their brother home. Our families are ready for their nephew, grandson, and great-grandson.
Along the way, we received word that it was very likely the adoption would go through, but that it would take a lot longer than expected. We were thinking late fall for our travel date.
[Now for the prayer tie-in.] And then today we received a call that sent our hearts racing and drove us to our knees praising Jesus!!!! Things in Colombia are ticking along quite quickly, and we will likely be headed to Colombia in several weeks!!! Praise the Lord! How incredible. The process of securing his abandonment has to be completed, which will take about two weeks, and then the abandonment decree has to be either written or amended. Then, we will finish up the immigration process here in the states, get the new paperwork translated and submitted, and make travel plans. Be praying that we travel the first of August!
We are elated. We can’t wait to meet our son and bring him home. Samuel Timothy Buchanan, we are coming soon!
Luckily, we have two munchkins that keep us super busy and are an absolute blast. On top of that, Brent is getting his masters degree and has elections going on. Needless to say, we have been busy and haven’t been able to dwell constantly on the delay of the adoption. We did know that we needed a major family distraction. Our timing had us in Colombia for Brent’s 30th birthday, and since that was impossible we planned a fun trip instead.
On May 8th, the last day Brent had in his 20s, we drove to Atlanta and hopped on a flight to Mazatlan, Mexico. Traveling with a 2 year old and a 3 year old, we expected the normal hiccups, but did not expect Delta to have Lilly Grace’s name incorrect. Because half of the flight was Delta and the other half was AeroMexico, they refused to change it. We had two choices… leave Lilly Grace behind or buy her a new round trip ticket. An extra ticket later, we were on board our flight, and we had been bumped to first class! We were some of the only folks in first class, had precious flight attendants, wonderful service, and delicious food.
We flew from Atlanta to Mexico City. Mexico City is the epitome of what you picture in your head. A bazillion tiny houses everywhere. Most of it looks rural, but there are several different areas of skyscrapers and modern looking buildings. All I could think in the Mexico City airport was about the movie “Man on Fire” and that I was going to be holding on to my children every single second.
One more flight and we were in Mazatlan, whose airport is not much bigger than the Montgomery airport. Mazatlan is on the Pacific Coast of Mexico. We hopped on a bus shortly after landing, and after 20 minutes were at our humongous, gorgeous resort!
Our trip was fantastic. Not only did we make some incredible family memories, and loved celebrating Brent’s 30th birthday, but we fell in love with the Mexican people. We were basically the only Americans and the only white people at the resort. There may have been a couple of others, but we never saw them. We were stared at a bunch, because we were definitely the minority. They weren’t being rude - we just stood out. That said, the people of Mexico are the kindest people we have ever encountered. They put “southern hospitality” to shame, and we could move down there in a heartbeat! Their rich brown skin is gorgeous, their smiles are contagious, their fun-loving spirits are energizing, and their kindness is remarkable. We became close friends with Javier, our taxi driver. He and Brent even texted a bit a couple of days ago.
Lilly Grace was a hit. She loves meeting new people, and would hug the sweet older men. She danced every chance she got and really embraced the culture. She is going to do outrageously well in Colombia. Brent became pretty popular as well. He was an American that would speak Spanish. He claims he doesn’t speak much, but he is not far from fluent. What he doesn’t know, he picks up on so easily. I was amazed and insanely proud of my husband (who is now in his 30s, WOW)!
After nearly a week, lots of fun and sun, we got back to sweet home Alabama and the real world, and boocoodles of laundry. Brent has been working in overdrive and having super late nights as the primaries draw near. I worked the first weekend back, and had to take a class for work. The girls and I have been having a phenomenal last summer as just us girls, but every day we wonder about our Samuel. We want our son home. The girls want their brother home. Our families are ready for their nephew, grandson, and great-grandson.
Along the way, we received word that it was very likely the adoption would go through, but that it would take a lot longer than expected. We were thinking late fall for our travel date.
[Now for the prayer tie-in.] And then today we received a call that sent our hearts racing and drove us to our knees praising Jesus!!!! Things in Colombia are ticking along quite quickly, and we will likely be headed to Colombia in several weeks!!! Praise the Lord! How incredible. The process of securing his abandonment has to be completed, which will take about two weeks, and then the abandonment decree has to be either written or amended. Then, we will finish up the immigration process here in the states, get the new paperwork translated and submitted, and make travel plans. Be praying that we travel the first of August!
We are elated. We can’t wait to meet our son and bring him home. Samuel Timothy Buchanan, we are coming soon!
Sunday, March 30, 2014
It Is Well with My Soul
Whew, what a whirlwind the past couple of weeks have
been. I have been hesitant to post, but
because so many have asked I will go ahead and wear my heart on my sleeve and
share our current adoption situation. It
made my heart hurt and gave me a goose egg the first few times I shared what
was going on, but I know that the more I share, the more prayer there is… so
here goes.
We were started to pack, had received our travel manual, and
were getting super geared up and excited about travelling to Colombia in early
May to meet our son and bring him home!
Then we received the call that a glitch in his abandonment decree, which
should have been completed four years ago, was going to cause a further
investigation, which could prolong our travels a couple of months.
Devastated doesn’t even begin to describe how we felt. We were also told that we would have a call
later on that week to further discuss this matter with the head of our
in-country team. Though devastated, we
were hoping that maybe it wasn’t as bad as it seemed. We spent several days with tears and intense
prayer, and awaited the conference call between Brent, our Lifeline social
worker, our in-country guy, and me.
Devastation turned into greater devastation. Meeting our precious Samuel in a mere six
weeks turned into meeting him in 6-7 months at best.
Words cannot express how much our hearts ached and
broke. I haven’t cried (wept is a more
accurate term) like that in I don’t know how many years. This is a precious, beautiful boy who
deserves a permanent home. 6-7 months is
truly a big deal! It is that much longer
that he won’t be with a family, it’ll add to the time it takes him to adjust,
attach, adapt, and learn English, it is that much longer that his heart
condition won’t be monitored by American physicians, and so on.
What is terrifying is that there is a chance he won’t be
able to come home. I won’t go in to
details, but this is a possibility. Granted,
in all adoptions this is the case, but in this situation the likelihood is much
higher than we would like.
Immediately, I drove to Brent’s office. I just needed to be with him in person. We definitely show emotion extremely
differently. He is such a solid rock
(Praise the Lord for that), and I am an emotional wreck. I ugly cry, and when that is over I remain
splotchy and with watery eyes for hours.
At the time I was honestly frustrated that he wasn’t showing his
emotion, but a relationship can’t handle two of me. In hindsight, I am beyond thankful he is so
stable and solid. After leaving his
office I called my precious mother, who cried with me and didn’t act annoyed
when I said the same thing seven bazillion times. Shortly thereafter I got to speak with my
incredible mother-in-law, who is not only the best MIL in the universe, but is
so peaceful, kind, and wise. It did my
feelings and heartache a world of good to be able to talk to my mom and Brent’s
mom. My sister sent me a super long
sweet text that said the right things in just the right way.
As much as we would like to mope around, drown in our
misery, whine and fuss (which I have done my fair share of no doubt), we
realize this is not what we are supposed to do.
Several lyrics come to mind and have actually helped me, and I say them
as prayers several times through the days.
The old hymn, which has always been one of my favorites, “It Is Well
with My Soul” proclaims, “When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When
sorrows like sea billows rolls; Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It
is well, It is well, with my soul.”
Casting Crowns has a song that states, “ And I’ll praise you in this
storm and I will lift my hands, for you are who you are no matter where I am,
and every tear I’ve cried, you hold in your hand, You never left my side and
though my heart is torn, I will praise you in this storm.” There’s another chorus of a Christian song
that says, “ While I’m waiting, I will serve you. While I’m waiting, I will worship. While I’m waiting I will not faint. I’ll be running the race even while I wait.”
I had to ask myself and ask the Lord how am I going to
praise you in this storm? This is a
child’s life! A child who may never have
a forever family. A child who may never
be exposed to the Gospel. A child whose
heart is fragile physically and spiritually.
Of course I know we have infinite reasons to be thankful, but what was
there to be thankful for in regard to this news? Then the Lord spoke to me through a precious,
wise woman. (I sure hope she doesn’t
mind me mentioning her). Sweet, amazing
Tanya Birchfield called me a couple days after we received the news. Not only can she relate more than anybody
that I know, but she gave us some wise advice.
However, more than that she said the most remarkable thing. “No matter what happens or how long it takes,
Samuel is now being covered in prayer more than he ever have in his entire
life. That is the absolute best gift he
can have, and he has that now.” Wow!
Talk about being blown away. That
is so true. Thank you, Tanya! Our precious Samuel is being cloaked in
prayer. Prayer is significantly more
important than getting him home on our time frame, and more important than
anything else that may occur.
If you are reading this, please pray for Samuel. Pray for him every time he pops into your
brain. Pray for peace and understanding
for our family. Pray that the people in
Colombia get this process and investigation completed in record time, and that
we DO get to bring Samuel home and that it is significantly faster than the
times estimates we have been given.
As I close, I’d like to do so with a funny kid story. Those of you who have kids surely know that
although they know how to push your buttons and do so at the worst times, also
know that kids are hysterical. They keep
you in stitches, and make sure that boredom never will exist again. We took a trip to Atlanta for spring break
and to get our mind off of things.
Except for Alex’s tummy bug and upset tummy that struck at the most
horrendous times, it was delightful. We
did the Dekalb County Farmer’s Market, the Aquarium, had dinner with some of
our best friends, and Stone Mountain.
Instead of paying for parking, we used the Uber service frequently, and
had an Ethiopian driver one evening.
Lilly Grace picked up on the fact that he did not speak English as his
native tongue, and thought she would use her Spanish we’ve been trying to teach
her. After every sentence Mohammed
spoke, Lilly Grace would throw in “Gracias.”
We were hopping out of his car, and she hollered, “Feliz Navidad.” I asked her what she was doing, since he clearly was not a Spanish speaker, and she
looked at me and said, “I KNOW this stuff, Mommy. I got this.” Poor Ethiopian Mohammed luckily
just laughed and drove off.
Thanks friends for your prayers! Keep them up!
Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength. They will mount up on wings like
eagles. They will run and not get
tired. They will talk and not become
weary. Isaiah 40:31
PS All of your encouraging words, messages, texts, calls, prayers,
hugs, and posts have been so meaningful.
Thank you for the prayers and godly encouragement.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
I Will Wait for You!
People say "no news is good news." The people that say that are clearly not adopting a child. No news to us is just no news, and no Samuel, yet. Although we are still waiting for the official paper work to arrive, we did get some details about when we might possibly be expecting it. There is a state-level committee that meets roughly every two to three weeks, and we are guessing that next time they convene they will be able to send us what we need. The last time they met was two weeks ago, so we are hoping any day now!
While we are waiting, we have done a little more work on Samuel's room, purchased some boy toys, and worked on stocking his closet and drawers. The girls love being in his room and think his toys are super fun to play with. Speaking of the girls, this blog is to update our adoption process, and they are a huge part of it, so I shall update y'all on Lilly Grace and Alex (i.e. brag on our munchkins).
Lilly Grace is extremely headstrong but has the sweetest heart and sees the best in every situation. I complained about all of the rain and nasty weather, and LG replied, "I like it Mommy. I like that the farmers can grow strawberries and other foods." Way to see the silver lining, kid! She has mastered writing her name, and it looks great. She had the L-I-L-L part down for a while, but the Y was seemingly tricky. Not anymore. She's a pro. Her prayers have also become increasingly more meaningful and heartfelt. A few nights ago, her dinner time prayer went like this, "Dear God, please let all the nations praise your name. Amen." Wow! Despite the fact that quite often she wins the award for most spankings in a day, she truly is so precious, loves the Lord, and has a lot of wisdom packed into her three year old frame.
Alex is our drama queen, but is also such an easy child. She never wants anybody to be upset and will run and give a hug to anybody who is hurt or crying. She is quite the chatterbox. She talks nonstop from sun up to sun down, and has recently become obsessed with singing as well. We sing Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the ABCs, Baby Beluga, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider numerous times every day. I had to turn down a song on the radio this morning so we could belt out the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Her biggest newest accomplishment is being potty trained! Wearing big girl panties like Lilly Grace and her cousins is the coolest thing ever in her book. Accidents still happen, but she is doing fantastic.
Brent has been working super hard lately. He is juggling his normal work load, the legislative session, campaigns, getting his master's degree, being a husband and father... and adopting! Whoa! Impressive isn't it? And let me add, he grilled out steaks for us a couple days ago that were out of this world scrumptious!
I am not trying to be one of those people who goes on and on about her perfect family, but who wants to hear me gripe about the yucky stuff? Like how I got to bathe my child in a public bathroom today, then I got her poop under my fingernails. Yucky isn't it? Gross stuff, bad attitudes, spankings, regrets, fevers, and fights happen, but there's no fun in going there.
Anyhow, last blog I promised pictures that never became a reality. I will do that right now. Good night folks! Stay warm through Snowmageddon #2. We are just getting cold rain here in the Gump. And keep up your prayers. We definitely appreciate them. Let's get Samuel home.
P.S. We have a few photos of Sam, but we are not allowed to post them on here. Rest assured, this is one super cute four-year old kid.
While we are waiting, we have done a little more work on Samuel's room, purchased some boy toys, and worked on stocking his closet and drawers. The girls love being in his room and think his toys are super fun to play with. Speaking of the girls, this blog is to update our adoption process, and they are a huge part of it, so I shall update y'all on Lilly Grace and Alex (i.e. brag on our munchkins).
Lilly Grace is extremely headstrong but has the sweetest heart and sees the best in every situation. I complained about all of the rain and nasty weather, and LG replied, "I like it Mommy. I like that the farmers can grow strawberries and other foods." Way to see the silver lining, kid! She has mastered writing her name, and it looks great. She had the L-I-L-L part down for a while, but the Y was seemingly tricky. Not anymore. She's a pro. Her prayers have also become increasingly more meaningful and heartfelt. A few nights ago, her dinner time prayer went like this, "Dear God, please let all the nations praise your name. Amen." Wow! Despite the fact that quite often she wins the award for most spankings in a day, she truly is so precious, loves the Lord, and has a lot of wisdom packed into her three year old frame.
Alex is our drama queen, but is also such an easy child. She never wants anybody to be upset and will run and give a hug to anybody who is hurt or crying. She is quite the chatterbox. She talks nonstop from sun up to sun down, and has recently become obsessed with singing as well. We sing Jesus Loves Me, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the ABCs, Baby Beluga, and the Itsy Bitsy Spider numerous times every day. I had to turn down a song on the radio this morning so we could belt out the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Her biggest newest accomplishment is being potty trained! Wearing big girl panties like Lilly Grace and her cousins is the coolest thing ever in her book. Accidents still happen, but she is doing fantastic.
Brent has been working super hard lately. He is juggling his normal work load, the legislative session, campaigns, getting his master's degree, being a husband and father... and adopting! Whoa! Impressive isn't it? And let me add, he grilled out steaks for us a couple days ago that were out of this world scrumptious!
I am not trying to be one of those people who goes on and on about her perfect family, but who wants to hear me gripe about the yucky stuff? Like how I got to bathe my child in a public bathroom today, then I got her poop under my fingernails. Yucky isn't it? Gross stuff, bad attitudes, spankings, regrets, fevers, and fights happen, but there's no fun in going there.
Anyhow, last blog I promised pictures that never became a reality. I will do that right now. Good night folks! Stay warm through Snowmageddon #2. We are just getting cold rain here in the Gump. And keep up your prayers. We definitely appreciate them. Let's get Samuel home.
 |
| Lilly Grace and Alex wearing pajamas that match the blue pajamas for Samuel they are holding. The girls are on his bottom bunk bed. |
 |
| The girls are "modeling" Sam's ladder to get to his top bunk. |
 |
| Sam's beds. That's Jumbo and Roscoe up top. We still need to paint his desk, get a rug, and add a few things to the wall. |
P.S. We have a few photos of Sam, but we are not allowed to post them on here. Rest assured, this is one super cute four-year old kid.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
A Month of Waiting
The process of adoption has no doubt taught us significantly more about patience and reliance on prayer. It is interesting how these two really go hand in hand. It also is such a blessing that we have so many on our prayer team: friends, family, our Sunday School class, pastor, co-workers, physicians, and our team at Lifeline. Samuel has been prayed over countless times, and this will not end once he is home. We also pray that we will continue to have patience. The Lord's timing is so difficult to understand, but we are not called to understand. We are called to trust Him. Honestly, I am terrible at this. I like to be in control, but truly none of us are in control at all.
We received the call December 17 (Sam's birthday) that we had been approved to adopt him, but needed to wait for official paper work. This was estimated to take a couple of weeks since the Colombian governmental agencies took a nice long Christmas break. Sounds nice, doesn't it? While we were waiting, we spoke with a few doctors about his cardiac condition. I will not go into details, but some information was difficult to swallow. What wasn't difficult is we KNOW this is our son, and even our parents already talk about him like he is THEIR grandson. Yes, there may be hard times ahead, but we will take it one day at a time. Right now, we are just beyond ready to meet this little guy.
We assumed our paper work would arrive by early to mid January at the latest. You know what they say about assuming, though. Mid-January came and went, and no paperwork had come. We learned that the Colombian government was experiencing a form of a shut down. Despite the fact that Brent is a wealth of knowledge about any and everything political, I am a political moron when it comes to American politics, so I cannot even attempt to understand Colombian government. Nonetheless, the child care agency in Colombia was at a stand still due to whatever was going on. This meant no possibility of official approval until the government was back to normal.
Today is January 28. 5 weeks since we first received work of approval. We still do not have the paperwork, but we did find out the shut down is over! Woohoo! It is my understanding that any day now we could find something out! All of you who are reading, please pray this happens this week!
On a happier note, Sam's room is really coming along. It has bunkbeds with madras bedding and is nautical themed. Considering we have only decorated for girls so far, I think we are doing a not-too-shabby job. My parents helped us put it together and were a huge help! Thanks MaMere and Pops!
Also, while we are experiencing snow, slush, ice, sleet, freezes, wrecks, and overall unexpected Alabamian winter weather, it is a balmy 91 degrees in Medellin, Colombia. Literally as I typed this it started snowing. I guess it's time to put on snow clothes, drink some hot chocolate, and go make a 3 inch tall snow man. Adios!
(I will post some pictures later on, if I can figure out how).
We received the call December 17 (Sam's birthday) that we had been approved to adopt him, but needed to wait for official paper work. This was estimated to take a couple of weeks since the Colombian governmental agencies took a nice long Christmas break. Sounds nice, doesn't it? While we were waiting, we spoke with a few doctors about his cardiac condition. I will not go into details, but some information was difficult to swallow. What wasn't difficult is we KNOW this is our son, and even our parents already talk about him like he is THEIR grandson. Yes, there may be hard times ahead, but we will take it one day at a time. Right now, we are just beyond ready to meet this little guy.
We assumed our paper work would arrive by early to mid January at the latest. You know what they say about assuming, though. Mid-January came and went, and no paperwork had come. We learned that the Colombian government was experiencing a form of a shut down. Despite the fact that Brent is a wealth of knowledge about any and everything political, I am a political moron when it comes to American politics, so I cannot even attempt to understand Colombian government. Nonetheless, the child care agency in Colombia was at a stand still due to whatever was going on. This meant no possibility of official approval until the government was back to normal.
Today is January 28. 5 weeks since we first received work of approval. We still do not have the paperwork, but we did find out the shut down is over! Woohoo! It is my understanding that any day now we could find something out! All of you who are reading, please pray this happens this week!
On a happier note, Sam's room is really coming along. It has bunkbeds with madras bedding and is nautical themed. Considering we have only decorated for girls so far, I think we are doing a not-too-shabby job. My parents helped us put it together and were a huge help! Thanks MaMere and Pops!
Also, while we are experiencing snow, slush, ice, sleet, freezes, wrecks, and overall unexpected Alabamian winter weather, it is a balmy 91 degrees in Medellin, Colombia. Literally as I typed this it started snowing. I guess it's time to put on snow clothes, drink some hot chocolate, and go make a 3 inch tall snow man. Adios!
(I will post some pictures later on, if I can figure out how).
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
All I Want for Christmas is YOU
It's 8 days until Christmas - December 17th to be exact. Let me start by painting you a picture of our day.
We woke up in a lovely condo in Park City, Utah; threw on some warm clothes; and stepped outside to eat some bright, white, fluffy snow. We hopped in our rental Jeep and headed to breakfast downtown. Looking throughout the windows of a delightful cafe, we saw snow covered roofs, stunning mountains, skiiers boarding the lift, and evergreens dusted in snow. Talk about beauty!
We looked in awe, and Lilly Grace repeatedly asked if it was pretend or real (also referring to it as sand, as she confuses sand and snow). God's creation is truly remarkable. While gazing at the scenery and eating a scrumptious breakfast, we were talking about how today is Samuel's birthday. We were sad that he wasn't spending his birthday with his forever family, but thankful that this should be his last birthday as an orphan.
In the middle of breakfast, we received a call from our wonderful social worker, Beth. She said she had some good news - the ICBF had approved our family to adopt precious Samuel! We have been waiting for weeks for our dossier to be approved, so we were elated to discover that our dossier had been approved AND we had been "matched" with Samuel. This is all just verbal and e-mail communication. We're still waiting on it be officially be in writing, and due to the wording, we aren't 100% sure the dossier was approved. But we are fairly certain that the dossier and match were approved.
Immediately, we called and texted our families, who were all so encouraging and eager to meet this precious boy. A common question has resounded from almost everybody: What's next? The next step is to receive an official letter stating we have been matched with Samuel. The tricky part is that Christmas and New Year's are around the corner, so this could take a few weeks to receive. Luckily, the in-country team is really pushing for it to happen quickly. Lastly, we will have some paperwork to do and have approved here in America. It takes on average about 6 weeks, but Brent has some connections to some folks in DC who have volunteered to do all they can to cut this time as much as possible. Then, we will be making arrangements to go to Colombia for 6-7 weeks and bring our son HOME!
Yes, Christmas still is 8 days away, but we got our Christmas wish - an answered prayer. We are much closer to having Samuel forever. We have felt your prayers, and are thankful to everyone of you who have prayed. Thank you for the encouragement, and please continue to pray.
Merry Christmas and God Bless You!
We woke up in a lovely condo in Park City, Utah; threw on some warm clothes; and stepped outside to eat some bright, white, fluffy snow. We hopped in our rental Jeep and headed to breakfast downtown. Looking throughout the windows of a delightful cafe, we saw snow covered roofs, stunning mountains, skiiers boarding the lift, and evergreens dusted in snow. Talk about beauty!
We looked in awe, and Lilly Grace repeatedly asked if it was pretend or real (also referring to it as sand, as she confuses sand and snow). God's creation is truly remarkable. While gazing at the scenery and eating a scrumptious breakfast, we were talking about how today is Samuel's birthday. We were sad that he wasn't spending his birthday with his forever family, but thankful that this should be his last birthday as an orphan.
In the middle of breakfast, we received a call from our wonderful social worker, Beth. She said she had some good news - the ICBF had approved our family to adopt precious Samuel! We have been waiting for weeks for our dossier to be approved, so we were elated to discover that our dossier had been approved AND we had been "matched" with Samuel. This is all just verbal and e-mail communication. We're still waiting on it be officially be in writing, and due to the wording, we aren't 100% sure the dossier was approved. But we are fairly certain that the dossier and match were approved.
Immediately, we called and texted our families, who were all so encouraging and eager to meet this precious boy. A common question has resounded from almost everybody: What's next? The next step is to receive an official letter stating we have been matched with Samuel. The tricky part is that Christmas and New Year's are around the corner, so this could take a few weeks to receive. Luckily, the in-country team is really pushing for it to happen quickly. Lastly, we will have some paperwork to do and have approved here in America. It takes on average about 6 weeks, but Brent has some connections to some folks in DC who have volunteered to do all they can to cut this time as much as possible. Then, we will be making arrangements to go to Colombia for 6-7 weeks and bring our son HOME!
Yes, Christmas still is 8 days away, but we got our Christmas wish - an answered prayer. We are much closer to having Samuel forever. We have felt your prayers, and are thankful to everyone of you who have prayed. Thank you for the encouragement, and please continue to pray.
Merry Christmas and God Bless You!
Friday, November 22, 2013
November: A Month of Thanksgiving...and Complaining
Somehow, November arrived extraordinarily fast this year. As soon as it arrived, I was filled with thoughts of delicious meals, gorgeous leaves, pumpkins, family time, and of course Thanksgiving. Additionally, Brent and I were going on a trip to Miami as just a couple to celebrate our five year anniversary a few days early. We were so excited. We attended a Christian-marriage conference that Brent's parents gave to us as a gift while they kept the kids, which meant time alone in Miami. We love our children wholeheartedly but decided from the onset of growing our family that our relationship would have to come first. Truthfully, it is hard with munchkins, but well worth it. But I digress.
Clearly, we were ecstatic about our trip and about the entire month in general. The Wednesday before leaving for Miami, I was headed out the door to pick up the girls from school and take Lilly Grace to gymnastics. I had hopped in the car, backed out of the garage, and realized I forgot to grab her leotard. I ran back in and evidently put my car in drive instead of park. Let me tell you, running your car into your own house while you aren't even in it is mortifying! I felt like the biggest moron. However, Brent took the news so well and was calming, kind, and godly despite his scatterbrained wife. We have a lot of brick to replace, and the front of my car needs a little bit of help. My Dad even came over that night and got the garage door back in alignment so it would close.
The following day, Brent's parents came over early in the morning to keep the girls, and we headed out for what turned out to be a glorious trip to Miami! The conference was absolutely awesome, and we highly recommend it. It is "A Weekend to Remember" presented by Family Life. We journeyed to South Beach, downtown Miami, the Keys, the Everglades, and Little Havana. It was a lot in a few days, and we had a ball.
In addition to us celebrating five years of wonderful marriage this month, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday. All of the in-town family came over to our house for "Pop's Party" - his "Stew-Pendous Souper Sixty Celebration." We had soup as our meal, and yes, I really like alliteration. It was such a fun night. All the grand kids were precious, the dinner turned out yummy, and we had great family fellowship. The only down side was that about thirty minutes prior to everybody's arrival, Lilly Grace spiked a 104 degree fever. What we hoped was a 24 hour issue turned into an eight day fever virus affecting both girls. Fevers were up and down all day, noses were repulsively gross, they refused to eat, coughs were productive, and chests were rattling. It was rough.
Before the dreaded virus ravaged our house Brent was gone for the longest he has been gone since we had children. He was originally supposed to go to New Orleans for a few days, but ended up going to DC first then flew from DC to NOLA. He was gone for six days. Truth be told, the girls were awesome. We had a great time doing girlie things, although we really missed Brent. That said, military wives are incredible. Their husbands are gone for extensive periods of time, and they never complain! I am amazed by these rock star women. Six days without help is difficult, like really difficult at times, but it was also really fun. Lilly Grace slept in my bed, we did arts and crafts, we played. It was a grand old time. And because of Brent's flight schedule, we were able to both drop off and pick up Brent from the airport.
Finally, our crazy November was looking up. The girls were well, and they were going back to school for the first time in over a week. I was going to clean and sanitize my house. Right as I was dropping them off, Brent texted me. He was in a wreck on the interstate. AHHHHH! Luckily he was fine, just quite sore. And it wasn't his fault at all - unlike my incident with the garage a few weeks prior.
That brings us to today. Two days ago we were supposed to receive an update on where our paperwork is in Colombia, then the internet and phones went down in the area of Medellin that Lifeline has its in-country folks. Thus, we received part of the update today instead. Today marks six years since Brent and I started dating, and so I just knew that fate would allow something monumental to happen today. Cheesy, I know, especially considering I don't believe in "fate." Late this morning, our precious social worker called. Brent's birth certificate is still causing problems. Grrrrr. Whereas being born in England is no-doubt cool, it makes international adoption difficult for some reason. We filled out an affidavit previously, and completed some forms regarding Brent being born in England, thinking this was sufficient. Evidently it was not. We have to get his Great Britain birth certificate certified in Britain and apostilled there. Much to Brent's chagrin, it won't require a trip to England, but it sadly will add about two weeks or more on to being approved by Colombia.
Needless to say, the ups and downs of this month, which is not even over yet, have made me gripey. I've been a pill to be around I am sure. I thought about this, and am now embarrassed. This is the month of Thanksgiving, and I've done little more than complain! In these next eight days, I pray for an attitude adjustment. Honestly, I have it super easy. My husband is incredible, hard-working, and a true family man. Our kids are usually really healthy, happy, and precious. We never have to worry about food, a roof or clothing. Above all, we have a God who loves us unconditionally despite our unthankfulness. Let me end by saying, I can't WAIT to be thankful that we've been approved to adopt our precious, adorable son, and we pray that day is soon.
Clearly, we were ecstatic about our trip and about the entire month in general. The Wednesday before leaving for Miami, I was headed out the door to pick up the girls from school and take Lilly Grace to gymnastics. I had hopped in the car, backed out of the garage, and realized I forgot to grab her leotard. I ran back in and evidently put my car in drive instead of park. Let me tell you, running your car into your own house while you aren't even in it is mortifying! I felt like the biggest moron. However, Brent took the news so well and was calming, kind, and godly despite his scatterbrained wife. We have a lot of brick to replace, and the front of my car needs a little bit of help. My Dad even came over that night and got the garage door back in alignment so it would close.
The following day, Brent's parents came over early in the morning to keep the girls, and we headed out for what turned out to be a glorious trip to Miami! The conference was absolutely awesome, and we highly recommend it. It is "A Weekend to Remember" presented by Family Life. We journeyed to South Beach, downtown Miami, the Keys, the Everglades, and Little Havana. It was a lot in a few days, and we had a ball.
In addition to us celebrating five years of wonderful marriage this month, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday. All of the in-town family came over to our house for "Pop's Party" - his "Stew-Pendous Souper Sixty Celebration." We had soup as our meal, and yes, I really like alliteration. It was such a fun night. All the grand kids were precious, the dinner turned out yummy, and we had great family fellowship. The only down side was that about thirty minutes prior to everybody's arrival, Lilly Grace spiked a 104 degree fever. What we hoped was a 24 hour issue turned into an eight day fever virus affecting both girls. Fevers were up and down all day, noses were repulsively gross, they refused to eat, coughs were productive, and chests were rattling. It was rough.
Before the dreaded virus ravaged our house Brent was gone for the longest he has been gone since we had children. He was originally supposed to go to New Orleans for a few days, but ended up going to DC first then flew from DC to NOLA. He was gone for six days. Truth be told, the girls were awesome. We had a great time doing girlie things, although we really missed Brent. That said, military wives are incredible. Their husbands are gone for extensive periods of time, and they never complain! I am amazed by these rock star women. Six days without help is difficult, like really difficult at times, but it was also really fun. Lilly Grace slept in my bed, we did arts and crafts, we played. It was a grand old time. And because of Brent's flight schedule, we were able to both drop off and pick up Brent from the airport.
Finally, our crazy November was looking up. The girls were well, and they were going back to school for the first time in over a week. I was going to clean and sanitize my house. Right as I was dropping them off, Brent texted me. He was in a wreck on the interstate. AHHHHH! Luckily he was fine, just quite sore. And it wasn't his fault at all - unlike my incident with the garage a few weeks prior.
That brings us to today. Two days ago we were supposed to receive an update on where our paperwork is in Colombia, then the internet and phones went down in the area of Medellin that Lifeline has its in-country folks. Thus, we received part of the update today instead. Today marks six years since Brent and I started dating, and so I just knew that fate would allow something monumental to happen today. Cheesy, I know, especially considering I don't believe in "fate." Late this morning, our precious social worker called. Brent's birth certificate is still causing problems. Grrrrr. Whereas being born in England is no-doubt cool, it makes international adoption difficult for some reason. We filled out an affidavit previously, and completed some forms regarding Brent being born in England, thinking this was sufficient. Evidently it was not. We have to get his Great Britain birth certificate certified in Britain and apostilled there. Much to Brent's chagrin, it won't require a trip to England, but it sadly will add about two weeks or more on to being approved by Colombia.
Needless to say, the ups and downs of this month, which is not even over yet, have made me gripey. I've been a pill to be around I am sure. I thought about this, and am now embarrassed. This is the month of Thanksgiving, and I've done little more than complain! In these next eight days, I pray for an attitude adjustment. Honestly, I have it super easy. My husband is incredible, hard-working, and a true family man. Our kids are usually really healthy, happy, and precious. We never have to worry about food, a roof or clothing. Above all, we have a God who loves us unconditionally despite our unthankfulness. Let me end by saying, I can't WAIT to be thankful that we've been approved to adopt our precious, adorable son, and we pray that day is soon.
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