The greatest experience, the one which shakes a soul with hopes and fears, the results of which are never ending, and incidentally, the one which pays the biggest dividends, is to be found in the adoption of children.
--Anonymous

Lilypie Waiting to Adopt tickers

Saturday, May 18, 2013

I can't believe that three weeks have gone by so quickly!  Today we take Nola back to the hogar where we will celebrate her 6th birthday with a cake, pinata and treat bags for her friends.  Then we have to say good-bye to her for now.  We fly out in the morning at 6am.  Hopefully we'll be hearing soon that our file has been approved by CNA and we can move on to Family Court.  Praying for a quick process from here on out!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Our Empathy Time

I still can't believe it but we have been here in Guatemala since Saturday, April 27.  We visited with Nola for a couple of hours on Saturday and then again on Sunday and on Monday, she came to stay with us.  The director of her hogar and his wife did a wonderful job of preparing her for our visit and she has been completely at ease with us.  We spent our first few days at our favorite hotel, La Casa Grande.  It was so good to see Gloria again as well as the rest of the staff there.  We are currently at the Grand Tikal Futura.  It's a bit fancy for my taste but the girls love the pool here.  I'm wishing I had worked harder on my Spanish but we're getting along pretty well.  I usually can get the main idea of what she's telling me and she is helping me out when I need it.  Mark is going to be here with us until the 11th and Maria and I will stay until the 19th.  We're meeting with our lawyer on Monday and will be going over what to expect for the rest of the process.  I'm wishing the rest of the process included Nola coming home with us when we leave on the 19th but unfortunately, that's not going to happen.  For now, we're enjoying every minute and praying our case speeds through the process and our little girl will be home with us this summer.


 
Our first meeting together on Saturday

Walking to the park
 
Loving her Papa when she said she was tired and he picked her up
 
Two sisters enjoying each other's company

  

Gordon Mote - Don't Miss the Glory