We're Here!

Our first embrace

Daddy and Sarah playing with dolls... never thought we'd see a doll in Daddy's hands : )

We met Sarah for the first time about 4:00 yesterday afternoon... and was every bit the excitement and monumental moment as the birth of our 3 biological children that we will never forget. The mamas had her all dressed and ready for us in a dress I had sent to Sarah a couple months ago. There is SO much to tell already but I will keep this short until we get home.

We are having a GREAT time! Sarah is very sweet and quiet( not what we're used to with the boys ...lol). She has taken to both of us and does not want us to ever put her down. She was a bit frightened of Dave at first but has slowly warmed up to him. We are so very anxious to bring her home so she can meet the rest of our family.

Guatemala and Eagles Nest are BEAUTIFUL! No lack for inspiration here! I am enjoying meeting all of my blogging friends' babies and giving them extra lovin.... it's funny, Kendall and Kate look at me as though they know me... just follow me intently as I move around the room(I think I might remind them of their mommies back home). The older kids have already bonded with David... he's become a walking jungle gym, no surprise there : )

The thing that has surprised me the most is how much I feel like I already know Sarah... just from studying her pictures for hours the last 8 mos. of her life. And yet, I realize that to Sarah... yesterday was the first time we entered her life. It made me think about how the Lord has known His children from the beginning of time and has studied our pictures(if you will) intently long before we knew Him. Our adoption seems to never stop teaching me about the vastness of God's love for us as He pursues His sons and daughters!!

Thanks for checking in... we'll post again when we get home. Blessings, Marianne and Dave

Annie sang it best...

"Tomorrow, Tomorrow.... I love ya Tomorrow... You're only a day away!" Woke up this morning with that song in my head and excitement running through me : ) We will try to post at least once while we are at the Nest but if not we'll have a lot to share when we get back!!! Please keep us in your prayers! Love to you all!

CASE UPDATE

If you're like me when I opened my inbox your heart skipped a beat at that title. However nothing new... our agency was just letting us know we are still waiting. Not exactly the information we were hoping for but at least we didn't receive bad news. Their "guess" is we won't know anything new until ALL the birthmoms have been interviewed.

In light of the devastating tragedy of the Steven C. Chapman family, I am sobered by the gift of every moment we have with all of our loved ones and sheds light on what seems difficult in this wait. Their loss has felt like my loss as I know so many others feel the same way. His ministry and music have been one of the most influential pieces of my walk with Christ and I am so terribly grateful for God's work in his life... and I am deeply grieving for their family. Please keep this precious family in your prayers.

On a lighter note.... THANK YOU STEPHANIE for these sweet pictures of Sarah. Stephanie is a blogging friend who is also waiting to bring home her son. It was fun to see Sarah in a high chair : ) We are only DAYS away from seeing our little princess for the FIRST time!!!!! Can you tell I'm excited! Since we are going at the end of the month, they've asked if my husband and I would be willing to do the pictures for the monthly updates... it will be so much fun! I look forward to doing this for all families and hope we can capture some awesome moments of these little angels!

Lord, we thank you for the gift of these precious babies. We come to Your throne with confidence, standing on Your Word, reminding You that You promise to be the Father to the Fatherless and an Advocate for the orphan. Please bring these little ones home and "set the lonely in families". Amen.

Pray for Guatemalan Orphans

This beautiful video was created by a blogging friend....please help us pray for all the Guatemalan orphans. You might recognize Sarah in the blue bouncy chair and her wild hair : ) Grab a tissue...it's a tear jerker.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4744696279395710845&hl=en

Interview is over....

but we don't have any concrete conclusions yet. Our case worker said there were a couple of questions Sarah's birthmom didn't know the answers to but overall they felt like the interview went well. She could not remember the date Sarah was born(case worker said she may not have even known the day of the week... different culture, different world) and she couldn't remember the name of the attorney. We hope to get the attorney's perspective of the interview sometime Monday.... ahhh, Monday seems so far away. Since we are among the first to go through this "re-interview" process, no one knows what the next step is or how critical PGN will be of the birthmom's answers. Please continue to pray for us and ALL the other families and babies stuck in this mess! Thank you everyone for your prayers!!

But on to more HAPPY NEWS.....

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLDEST!!

Caleb is 7 yrs. old today!!! Even though I made a new rule in our house "no more birthdays and no more growing" I still love you : )

HEALTH UPDATE ON SARAH:

She is now 16lbs. 1 oz. and 25.2" long! She is "doing great, eating cereal really well, smiles a lot and is just a joy." She is still fighting a cold and cough with Gammatosyl I.R.S.... but I think she just needs her mommy to cuddle with her( 3 more weeks!)

HEALTH UPDATE ON EMILY:

She is now 9lbs. 11oz. and 22 1/4" long! She is doing great sleeping close to 7 hrs. every night! She will be 2 mos. tomorrow!! I have learned to not take for granted every opportunity I have to hold and cuddle this miracle baby girl : ) This is how I carry laundry up &down stairs with a baby!!

PLEASE PRAY FOR SARAH

We are humbly asking every willing believer to please pray with us for Sarah. As some of you are aware, we have, yet again, hit another bump in the road with Guatemala adoptions. A top official was recently replaced that called into question the 2000 some adoption cases in PGN. They have decided to re-interview the birthmoms of all 2000 cases..... which no one seems to know how long that will take!!! This morning I held my head in my hands and cried out to the Lord through tears begging Him to help our baby come home.... if it's His will.

So, here's the deal.... tonight, I got a call from our case worker that AMAZINGLY Sarah's birthmom has an interview 8:30am this Friday! Our agency was shocked to say the least. However there are some very serious concerns that we need prayer for:

1. The agency is very concerned that they will be able to find Sarah's birthmom in enough time to even be able to make the interview. PLEASE PRAY THEY WILL FIND HER QUICKLY! Update: prayer answered... Sarah's mom was located and she is ready and willing to make the interview tomorrow a.m.!

2. They also are very concerned about how PGN will handle the interview. In the past, they have been known to intimidate, pressure and embarass a mother into taking back her baby regardless of her ability to care for the child. Sarah will be in the room with her as she's interviewed. I hold Sarah close to my heart but with an open hand... I absolutely want what is best for her according to the Lord's will. However, if her birthmom doesn't really want her and the court pressures her into taking her...... I just can't even imagine the heartbreak. PLEASE PRAY FOR COURAGE AND WISDOM FOR SARAH'S BIRTHMOM!

3. I desperately want to please the Lord with my heart and fully trust in HIM. PLEASE PRAY DAVE AND I WILL BE STRONG!

Thank you everyone for praying with us!!

S.O.S.

Ever had those days you wake up and think "HELP!" Adding a third child to our family has been a great joy but has also characterized my last 7 weeks by the little 4 letter word... BUSY : ) In fact, I hear that word often from others when they observe me with the boys and Emily in tow. And I'm sure they're thinking the word CRAZY when I tell them there is another one on the way : )

No matter how crazy it seems to others, I am confident of God's plan for our family and am ecstatic about Sarah joining in! However, I have found myself in a dizzy trying to play with each child, keep up with my Bible studies, take care of my house, be ever present in my husband's ministry, keep up with friends, and trying to get a little sleep : )

I take comfort in the fact that the Lord does not expect us to do it on our own. I am genuinely faithful to my time in the Word but sometimes will take all I am learning and attempt to be obedient in my own flesh. That's when I really mess things up. God recently prompted this ever recurrent verse in my heart again.... " And He has said to me, ' My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.' Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me." 2 Corinthians 12:9

So my prayer each morning before I get out of bed is to admit my weakness and allow the word HELP to be engraved on my heart....... "for when I am weak, then I am strong"!