First Smiles and Wedding Weekend

Working up to a smile....

Almost there....
(this pic reminds me SO much of Caleb's baby pictures)

There it is!!!

Getting sleepy...

She's done : )

All dressed up for Uncle Andy's wedding!

Just as handsome as the day I married him!!

The boys!!

Emily passing the time on the trip home : )

*Notice the bow even when we're travelling

A big CONGRATS to all my blogger friends with "OUTS" from PGN!!! Praising God for the GREAT things He is doing for our babies in Guatemala!!

Happy 7 months!

For all of you wondering "when" we are going to the Nest.... 5 WEEKS from TODAY! Every time I look at this sweet face I nearly burst with excitement!! There is a sense of freedom I'm feeling with this upcoming visit. In adoption, guarding your heart from the hurt of waiting sometimes overshadows the joy of the journey. But all my shields and guards are down now.... because my daughter will no longer be a picture that shows up on my computer screen or a health report telling me how much she smiles. In just 35 days, I'll be holding her soft warm chubby little person and be able to run my hands through that CRAZY hair of hers!! I can't stop praising the Lord for this gift!

Eagles Nest... here we come!

WE'RE REALLY GOING!! I'm finally going to meet my baby!! Alright, all you Eagles Nest mommas.... give me your advice, your lists, or whatever else you have to share concerning "visit trips" : ) And don't forget to let me know your baby's birth names so we can take pictures for you!! You can e-mail me at dm.gross@juno.com

We were supposed to go on our visit trip in January before Emily was born but with all my pregnancy complications our plan didn't come to fruition. However, I'm so glad the Lord's plan always prevails because Sarah is old enough now to really interact with us.

Honestly, I had no anxieties leaving Emily(she'll be 11wks. when we go plus she's a breast-fed baby) until we purchased the airfare.... then I was filled with all sorts of fears. After the last few years of God's dealings in our lives, I've become a pro at recognizing fear is NOT from God. So every time it rises up in my spirit I can confidently rebuke the temptation. Isn't it WONDERFUL to serve a God we can fully trust?!?!

We're Still IN!!

5 weeks in PGN but technically 4 considering things close down during Holy Week and stilll no rejections!!! Our case worker said this is a good sign in her email last night : ) If all goes well with PGN, the agency "predicts" a pick -up at the very end of June or very beginning of July. Our Orphan Care Ministry and my husband's youth group are taking a mission trip together to EN July 12, so the Lord's timing for Sarah's homecoming could be interesting!

A big shout out to my friend Sara, an EN mommy who recently went to visit her little sweetie! She took pictures for several other "waiting" families while she was there... and the pics she got of Sarah are some of our favorites ever! Thank you Sara for loving on our girl, praying for her and taking time to write notes on how she is doing!

Her little smirk melts my heart!

Just want to kiss all over those sweet cheeks!

Zach says she's reaching for him in this picture : )

Health Update!

Sarah finally caught what seemed to be going around at Eagles' Nest. This month's report said she is sick with a cold and being treated with Nistafrin. She is still eating and sleeping well which is a good sign to me. She is now 14lbs. 9oz. and 25in. long. Emily has a cold right now too and it makes me sad I can't snuggle with Sarah the way I do Emily. I know the Lord is always taking care of His babies even better than this mommy can! Please continue to pray with us for Sarah to come home SOON!!

My favorite! .... I've never seen that dimple before : )

Guessing from her weight... I really don't think she's hungry : )

I already can picture this face every time her brothers try to surprise her!

So much personality!

This is the first picture I've ever seen her laughing..... oh, I can't wait!!!

Such a sweet pretty girl (even in basketball gear)!

I'm SO worth it!!!

Found these pictures today on EN's website just to remind me that I would wait FOREVER for this precious child of God! (thanks for the tip that these pics were up Deb!)

A little blurry but still a total cutie pie!!
UPDATE: Saw this report on the Eagle's Nest blog (Sarah's orghanage) by one of the missionaries. Please read and pray about ways to help!! Just go to the Eagle's Nest link on my blog : )

"The other day I mentioned on the Nido Blog that the Lawyer told us that in two week the CA was going to have interviews with 2 of our new mothers, of the babies we received who have not been placed.

Friday, Lic. Pedro informed Larry that the interviews were in his office to prepare the mothers for the kind of questions that might be asked when and if the CA calls them in for the interviews.
I had misunderstood, and I’m sorry.

I guess deep down I had hoped that it would be that easy. It is not easy, and Lic. Pedro did not give us very much hope on Friday. He has heard no news about the new process being ready to start anytime soon. He told Larry that there are lawyers actively trying to get everyone to work together PGN/Lawyers/Homes/Adoptive parents. So far nothing is being done or said about starting. He did say that several homes are shutting down, because with adoption they cannot fund their homes. We have that problem also.

The cases in PGN at this time have been on hold, because of Holy Week, so hopefully we can see some progress this week. PGN should not have an excuse not to work this week.

Just keep praying. All these little lives are depending on PGN decisions.
Our lawyer told us that there are more sad cases showing up in the news. Just the past month there were 4 different cases of babies in dumpsters, and babies found dead, and some mothers are going to the border and giving or selling babies to Mexico. If babies are unwanted, the court makes that mother feel bad, therefore, she looks for others ways to take care of her problem, rather than taking the child to the PGN and declaring that she just can’t care for the child, she just takes matter in her own hands.

We have been with girls when they have been so brave to take the child to a court and declare only to have the social workers will say things like : “Dogs don’t even give up their puppies.” or “You look healthy, why can’t you take care of this baby?” or They just embarrass the girls with bad comments about their life style. Young mother’s don’t want to be subjected to that treatment, they have said to me, they would rather, “See the baby dead, than far away.” Or, “do I have to tell everything about my life?”

We have living in Guatemala nearly 30 yrs. We know the culture. This change is not going to make orphans disappear. There will be just more left alone and abandoned.
Our hearts are heavy about this, and we know that we must keep on loving these little ones.

If you can help keep the home open, please pray about what you might give by the month so we don’t have to shut down and have to let our workers go. Keep praying the court and lawyer and homes can work together for the good of the children. "

CASE UPDATE

I literally put my hand over my eyes and prayed for God's grace and a trusting heart as I opened my email from our case worker today, since as far as I knew we were going on week 5 of being in PGN.

It was not horrible news but not exactly the miracle all of us hope for in our case.....
"Just got a case update from the attorney. He said that on March 12th, your case was rejected from PGN for one problem and that was the pre approval from the Embassy of the DNA. On March 14th, they resubmitted it to PGN with the pre approval...so now we just wait for the approval. In past times, when they reject for the pre approval and nothing else, it's a pretty good sign that the next time around it will go through without any rejections. But unfortunately the time might have started over...so it will probably be another couple of months before we hear anything positive. "

I immediately counted the 8 wks from March 14 and it looks like it would be May 9 which could still mean a pick up date in June if it's the Lord's will. We were considering a visit trip the end of May but are unsure what to do if we would end up going again to bring her HOME in the beginning of June. I was hoping we would get through that 1st time in PGN so we wouldn't have to make a decision about a visit trip. I can hardly stand waiting even one more day to meet my little girl but we want to make sure we are making a wise decision. We would love your prayers as we seek God for His direction.