Ameera's Birthday Party

Matt and I were very lucky to celebrate with our studio family! Thanks to all the girls for taking out some practice time to sing and eat cake!!

Ameera's 1st Birthday is December 22!!

Happy 1st Birthday to our little princess!
We are so sad that we cannot be there to celebrate on her special day, but we are so thankful that she is in our lives. Can't wait to see her again!!

November Visit trip

Closed to the end of the year

Well it is official. Guatemala just announced they will close all adoptions through the end of the year. We are still trying to stay positive and take it one day at a time to get through this. Thanks for your support and all of the prayers.

Case Info

New Update on our case: Guatemala is now saying that all the birth mother interviews for pending adoptions must be completed by Aug. 31. What that means to us is that they are at least trying to get the old cases out soon. Our agency had predicted that we might file in August, but it won't happen now. They need to get all the old cases out before they start the new/transition cases like ours. Keep us on your prayer list!

Ameera's foster family

A lot of people have asked who takes care of Ameera in Guatemala. Thankfully she is not in an orphanage, she lives with a wonderful foster family. They love her so much!! Pictured R-L are Jorge (our translator/facilitator), the neice of our foster mom, the sister of our foster mom, and the foster mom Ana. On each visit trip they bring Ameera to our hotel and she stays with us the entire time we are in the county. The hardest part of course is when they come back to get her. But at least we know she is in a loving home.

Shining Stars

Congratulations to all of my Shining Stars Students on a great job at Nationals!! We have tons of champions this year!! I am so proud of everyone and especially excited to have 2 students on the 2009 NBTA World Team. Chloe, Jillian, and I will be traveling with our families to Belgium in April for competition. I think the Guatemala worry dolls from Ameera were a big help in our success!!

Some hope

A little light at the end of the tunnel. We have been waiting like crazy for Guatamala to re-open and start new cases of adoptions. It sounds like they might be moving a little closer to that. Having her home by December would be the best but if they don't get moving soon, that is not going to be a viable option for us. Keep us in your prayers!!!

Guardian angels

One of the worst things about adopting internationally is that your close friends and family dont get to know your baby's personalility. Everyone likes to hear about her, but it just isn't the same as knowing her. My grandma loved to hear all about Ameera and I wish that she could have held her in her arms before she passed away. As I get ready to attend her funeral in the morning, I find some peace in knowing that grandma is looking down on her and will be among her many guardian angels. We love you grandma and will miss you so much.

Happy 4th of July

As July 4th approaches, I can't help being patriotic and thinking about how many opportunities that Ameera will get as a United States citizen. We will be so excited when she gets her visa and finally becomes an American! This Independence Day when you watch those fireworks, don't forget to think about Ameera!!!

Guatemala Friends

Today we wish a Happy Birthday to our friend Gina! Hopefully Andy & Gina will get some good news soon about their son Wade. Ameera and Wade had many playdates in Guatemala and we hope to have them play again soon at HOME!!!

Missing You

We have only been gone for one day and all we can think about is getting back to Ameera! Our time with her goes so quickly and we pray that she will be home with us soon. Each time we visit Guatemala we have been very lucky to meet so many wonderful families who have been so supportive and helpful. It really is an overwhelming and comforting feeling to spend time with people who are going through the very same emotional rollercoaster. Many of the families we have met will become life long friends!