The Holiday is over

I'm kind of sad to see it gone. We had a great time with a house full of family. The only problem is............we need a bigger house! That's just something we're going to have to deal with, at least for now. I did my best to concentrate on the blessings in my life. I truly have been blessed beyond measure. My mind often wondered to Guatemala where our youngest blessing is still waiting for us. My heart ached to have her here with us, but not this Thanksgiving. I continue to pray that she is being cared for by an angel who has fallen in love with her spunky little personality and adorable smile.

This is almost a complete family picture. My brother was MIA on Thanksgiving. (way to go Jay, maybe we can photo shop you in) Trey and Katie had to leave early and Mark's mom was sleeping.............we didn't wake her.

Here are the three youngest family members. I'm just thrilled that Maria isn't the naked one for once! From left to right we have Laura, Jillian and Maria. They were having a fun play day at my sister's house the day after Thanksgiving. We had a great time at the Christmas parade and then chowed on left over dessert later.

Thank you God for my wonderful family!

Catching Up On Lots Of Stuff

Just downloaded lots of pictures from my camera. So I'm sharing some of my favorite ones so you can see what all has gone around here that I've failed to blog about in the last couple of months.

Here's the guys in the kitchen on Joshua's Birthday. Josh is on the left making his own "hors d'oeuvres" and Tim is putting the icing on the cake (cause I needed some help).

Anna had her first shower in October. From left to right is my sister Geri, Anna, Alison and Kelsey. The girls had a beautiful party for Anna and her little one to come. We're counting down the days. Due date is Dec. 11th.

Here is the little Christmas rag quilt that I made for the baby. It turned out so cute! The picture doesn't really do it justice. Just take my word for it.............it's adorable!

Now for yesterday's fun. Lisa invited us, and Marty and her girls, for some cookie making fun. What a mess! But what FUN!!! The girls had a blast. Flour and dough were everywhere but that only added to the fun! Thanks so much Lisa! What a fun Friday!

Marty and her girls.

And in case you were wondering, there is no adoption news! It's been a long week worrying about little Nola. We're praying she's alright and that PGN gives the report to the judge soon.

I'm also praying there is a wonderful woman working in the hogar who has just fallen in love with Nola and is showering her with love and attention.

So Disappointed!

****UPDATE****

HEARD BACK FROM THE AGENCY. THE JUDGE HANDLING OUR CASE HAS ASKED FOR A REPORT FROM THE PGN. NOT SURE WHY, BUT THAT'S WHAT HE WANTS. WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE NOTIFIED WHEN HE RECEIVES THE REPORT AND HOPEFULLY HE WILL RULE TO ALLOW NOLA TO GO BACK WITH HER FOSTER FAMILY.

PLEASE PRAY SPECIFICALLY FOR THE REPORT TO BE COMPLETED QUICKLY AND THE JUDGE TO RULE FAVORABLY.

**************

After waiting anxiously since Tuesday last week for some news on our case, I found out yesterday, there is none. Our agency sent a representative to Guatemala to meet with our lawyer and others to try to get some answers for all of us in this situation. The man came home with NOTHING for us. I am beyond disappointed. I'm disgusted and frustrated and feeling a total lack of respect for that particular agency representative. I was given a list of questions that our agency is trying to get answers to and I fully expected some of them to be answered. Out of desperation, I sent a message to the director of our agency letting him know how very disappointed I am in the agency; in the apparent lack of concern for Nola and our family and in the apparent disregard of the urgency of the situation as a whole. This morning I received a phone call from the director. He apologized and said someone would get back with me today with anything they find out. He couldn't promise anything other than he (or someone from the agency) would call our lawyer today, ask him some questions, and let us know what he said. That's all I can ask.
I'll post with any news we receive.

The past three Mondays I've dedicated to prayer and fasting. After a friend from church made that commitment, I decided to do the same until we receive good news about Nola. Well yesterday morning I just didn't feel the dedication I should have felt. After getting in the car to take Maria to dance class, I turned on the radio and Lincoln Brewster's "Today Is The Day" came on. I felt like it was the boost I needed to get my day going in the direction it should have been in all along.

Today is the day, You have made,
I will rejoice and be glad in it,
Today is the day, You have made,
I will rejoice and be glad in it,
And I won't worry about tomorrow
I'm trusting in what You say,
Today is the day.

This morning, after getting my stuff in the car to deliver to the Ortho office, I turned on the radio and guess what song came on first thing? You're right, Lincoln Brewster's Today Is The Day.
Love those subtle messages!

I Can't Believe It's November 1st

Where has this year gone? It's unbelievable to me that November is here already! We had an absolutely wonderful beginning to the month. This morning, I met with several others from our church who have committed to participating in a mini marathon in May (yea, that means I'm doing it too). You know, ........I should have warned you before I put that news out there. In case you weren't sitting down, you could have had a chance to do so. Then we could have avoided that hysterical laughter that leads to wobbly legs and subsequent falling. I'm sorry if I have caused any of you to injure yourselves in a fall.
Now, I didn't say I was running in a mini, only participating. We have six months to train and hopefully by then I'll be in good enough shape to walk some and run some................that's the plan anyway. We met at Shakamak State Park and walked a couple of miles. It was just beautiful out there! We came back to a fantastic breakfast (thanks Alice and Carol and everyone who was there). It was a great start to a hopefully successful training season.

Last night, we had "trunk-or-treat" in our church parking lot. What a fun time! It's the first year we've done it and it was a huge success. Maria had a good time passing out treats. She's not much into dressing up for trick-or-treating and we don't have many kids come to our house so it was a great alternative for us.

We have no news on Nola. I received a call from an organization I contacted hoping to send some support through them to the hogar. I was told, unfortunately, they no longer support the hogar where Nola is staying. The actions of the hogar director have caused them to withdraw their support. I was told the director takes the donations and sells them for her own gain. I had heard that from others but hoped it wasn't true. We're praying the judge rules soon and allows Nola to go back to her foster family.