HALF WAY THERE

Final Post!

2009-05-21T05:25:00.000-07:00

This will will be the last post for this blog. We are no longer "half way there" so I thought I would go through, do some editing, and make this blog into a book.

So... hop on over to "what dreams may come" and there we are! You can't get rid of us yet!

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-05-20T05:35:00.000-07:00

My naked babies!

2009-05-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

This is how we spend most evenings since it is so flippin hot here in Texas!

Little Man and Abbie Girl usually start off doing some outdoor dishes!

It's a given that they will become soaked so....

All the clothes come off and it's sprinkler time!

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Have a terrific Tuesday!

A First!

2009-05-18T05:25:00.000-07:00

This has never, ever, ever, ever, never, ever happened before! I have to document this because it may never happen again!

This weekend a lady walked up to us a we were finishing our dinner in a restaurant, to compliment us on how good and well behaved Abbie Girl and Little Man were! Yahooooo!!!!!!!!!! Yipeeeeeee!!!!!! Hallelujah!

I think I barely got a "thank You" out since I was in total shock and almost choked on my food!

Little did she know that they were starving and since it was a Mexican food restaurant they had chips to occupy their time before their food came!

So, lesson learned here! Keep them hungry before going out into public and have food to keep them busy around people! lol

FFF ~ Bloopers!

2009-05-15T08:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a couple of bloopers of Abbie from our photo shoot last month!

Here she's getting tired and bored with all the picture taking!

And here... She's getting MAD at all the picture taking!

This is Abbie Girls famous "glare" or "stare down" that she has down pat! I'm sure she was looking straight at me during this picture!

Have a good weekend!

To see more FFF check out Sarah's blog here.

Easter Pictures...a little late!

2009-05-14T05:10:00.000-07:00

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Can you believe it?!

2009-05-11T05:31:00.000-07:00

I'm finally the one getting the picture taken and not the one taking the picture! lol

This was not an easy task getting these two to stay put for this picture!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T07:06:00.000-07:00

What a difference two months makes!

2009-05-07T20:55:00.000-07:00

I was going back looking at all the pictures we took in Guatemala on Abbie's pick up trip. I don't think I ever posted this picture because it was so sad. At the time you could just place Abigail wherever you wanted and she would just stay there unless you directed her other wise. Poor baby fell asleep right where she sat. See the piece of bread in her hand? She also would not give up one speck of food!

Now...

We cant get her to sit still!!!

And even though she's still a good eater...she doesn't eat non stop!

So, no more days like this for Abbie Girl! Days of just going through the motions

Only good times ahead like this

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-05-06T05:01:00.000-07:00

Sneak Peek

2009-05-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

I'm just about ready to retire The "HALF WAY THERE" blog since we're "ALL THE WAY THERE" with our family being complete!

Not to sure what I'll be calling the new blog but here's a sneak peak at one of the pictures I'll be using for the header!

My good friend Trish took a bunch of pictures for me a couple weeks ago and

I just love the way they turned out!

Mickey and Minnie...

2009-05-03T19:32:00.000-07:00

Get ready for Abbie and Isaiah!!!!

We finally did it!

We've been talking about going to Disney World for the past several weeks so Ray decide to call and just "ask" about the vacation packages. Ten minutes into the phone call it was done!

The Deposit is made, rooms are booked and we're excited!!!

We're going all out on this vacation and we're going to stay right in front of Cinderella's castle! We'll be able to see the fire works from our hotel room!

You might be thinking... Abbie and Isaiah wont remember this vacation. That's probably right but I guarantee one thing... they'll sure enjoy it when we're there!

Plus...We can always go back when they're older!

Got Nothing but pictures!!!

2009-04-29T22:05:00.000-07:00

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-04-29T05:37:00.000-07:00

Charlie's Lunch

2009-04-27T20:16:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we went to a benefit dinner to raise money for an organization called Charlie's lunch, and Glory reborn.

Some really close friends of ours are involved with Charlie's lunch and they've been to Guatemala on several Mission trips with this organization. If you get a chance, take a minute to read about how Charlie's lunch got started here. It's such a sweet, wonderful story that took place in Guatemala several years ago.

Here's a couple pictures from that night.

These two were so good during the whole event!!!

Here's some Isaiah craziness!

And some Abbie sweetness!

And check out my new painting that I won in the silent auction! I LOVE it!!!

Does anyone recognize what church this is in Antigua? It looks familiar but I just cant figure it out.

Attachment...part two

2009-04-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

So here's the second half of my attachment post. I don't want anyone to think Abbie is like this all the time because she is not. It is only rare, but very obvious moments. And to be honest...one happened last night.

We went to a benefit dinner (I'll blog about it on next post) to benefit missions trips and one of Ray's friend's wanted to show off Abbie girl. Well, since Abbie is very nervous around men, Ray went along for the introductions. Well, before you know it Ray's friend handed Abbie right over to his wife. I was still at the table, noticed this and just took a big sigh. Once Abbie is with someone....forget it. It's a done deal. So, I gathered all my stuff and headed over to where they were.

I explain to our friend that Abbie is having some issues and she, not knowing what it's all about, tells me... "it's okay" and sits down with her. So...rather than telling her..."give me back my child" I tell her Abbie needs to go the bathroom and I take her. Just as I thought... Abbie reaches out and cries away for her. I take her in the bathroom and after a couple minutes her whining she stops and we all head out to the parking lot to go home. Guess who's there?! Our friend that just held Abbie. Abbie again wants her back and they walk us to our car. We put Abbie in the car seat and everyone tells Abbie and Isaiah bye and gives kisses as normal. Abbie reaches out with one arm toward our friend and has a look of such sadness. it's so hard to explain. She never takes her eyes off of this women or the car as they drive away. I just stood there and watched Abbie as this was happening.

I can't even tell you the feeling that flowed through me as I watched this.

As all this went on, Ray told me to try and get "the look" I had off me and we sat in the car and told Abbie we loved her and distracted her from whatever she was thinking at that moment. All was well again within a few minutes.

Here's a few things that's still happening but getting better as time goes on as well.

Abbie gets nervous when we arrive at new places. For example we went out to eat and as we pull up Abbie takes a look at the restaurant and starts to whine. We have to tell her everything is all right and once she realizes EVERYONE is going in, all is fine.

If we go anywhere with out Isaiah she is nervous and she'll call out for him for several minutes and he reaches both arm towards the house for him. (we have noticed he is like a security blanket for her).

If we walk outside for a quick minute without her and she realizes...it's a full blown out screaming and crying fit.

You can tell when she is nervous because she starts biting her bottom lip and she starts scratching her belly or underarms.

I'm not telling you these things to make you feel sorry for her or us, I'm telling you because this is "real life" stuff that goes on. These poor kids that are left in orphanages are bringing unfair baggage home with them. What will happen to the kids that are left in these hogars that are over crowded, unloved and uncared for? The ones that don't or will never have a loving home?

Please don't think Abbie is walking around miserable or traumatized because she is far from it. She truly walks around swinging her arms in happiness and she just loves her new life. The simplest things makes her happy and she's constantly fascinated with all the new things she see and is doing better everyday.

I'm already looking into a few programs to put her in with one being a speech therapy class. Ray also bought a few books for me on attachment disorders and adopting older children.

To be honest I never really thought about these things in our two year plus wait for Abbie. You would think I should of done this! Isaiah came home so young that he just fit right in with no problems. Abbie came home with the experiences of being ripped away (literally) from a fostermom at a year old, put in one hogar for a few months, taken away from that home to be put in another for over six months, then placed back in the original hogar until we came to pick her up. Throw in several visit trips from strangers (us) that loved on her for a short time and given back... you can see why she is having these issues.

Things will get better. I know that and one day these issues will just be a memory. We will take it one day at a time and our gatherings with others WILL get better. Ray and I talked about how we will handle people that are around her. From the get go we will explain the situation BEFORE any accidental "pick ups" happen.

I'll keep ya posted on our progress!!!

Attachment Disorder/issues

2009-04-22T20:05:00.000-07:00

This post has been sitting in my "edit posts" for a while now and I wondered if I should even publish it or not. Not that I want to hide it or anything like that but to be honest I don't completely understand it. It's very hard to explain and I'm not the best at expressing what I feel here blogging. But here we go...

I truly think Abbie has some Attachment disorders. At first when I experienced this was in the first week of bringing her home. We went to the zoo with a friend of mine and Abbie attached to her instantly. My first reaction was...My baby girl is so cute, I want everyone to think the same. She is a lovey dovey and people just love her back! But...when it was time to come back to me that day, she didn't want to.

At that time I was hurt and felt like I wasn't loving on Abbie enough (since she was new to being home) or that Abbie didn't love me like I thought she did. Why was she so attached to me a minute ago but now with my friend, she wants nothing to do with me?!

Then, the same happened with Ray's Sister. Two weekends in a row Auntie Sandra came over to love on Miss Abbie Girl and Abbie Loved every minute of it. Then, when it came time for Sandra to leave...Abbie would scream, cry and reach out for Sandra not to go. (Sandra loved this as well because she thought her new baby niece loved her to pieces and that she was the best Aunt EVER!) At this time I thought, "Okay.., at least we're related." I thought (and maybe it's true) it was because Auntie Sandra speaks Spanish to Abbie and she may feel comfortable around this?

And it continues. I take Abbie with me to a meeting at work. An employee wants to hold her...Abbie does not want to leave her. A little embarrassing.

We go to Easter dinner with a group of people. Abbie attaches right away to another friend. Auntie Sandra shows up to the same dinner. Guess what happens?! Abbie has already been loved on by someone else and not only does she not want me, but she does not want Auntie Sandra even though Auntie is doing EVERYTHING to get her to come to her.

At this point, I'm starting to catch on to the pattern and I explain to Sandra not to be hurt and I explain to my friend... don't feel special (I mean this in the nicest way! I know your reading this post. lol).

Now...I have learned since, or I have been told, what I'm doing wrong. Back up, not that I'm doing it wrong but what I could be doing to break this. Very simple but I guess so very true. I should not let anyone hold Abbie for several months. Only immediate family. I've been told six months is the average time especially for older children that's probably have never bonded with anyone in their short life. It does make total sense to me but when your having a melting point with another 2 year old that has been the center of your attention for over a year....it's very hard!

I'll end this post with telling you that Abbie is 100% totally in love with all of us, there's no question there at all. Unless you have experienced attachment disorders, it's very hard to explain. It's still hard but now I'm not getting my feelings hurt thinking Abbie doesn't love me the way I want her too.

There's more to tell but I'll break it off on another post.

Wacky Wednesday!!!

2009-04-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

Pickin and crying!!! Life is Good!!!

2009-04-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Here's one of my "real life" moments captured in a picture!

The other day Ray and I were lying in bed and Abbie girl and Little Man was in between us crying, fighting and just throwing fits! We both just kinda stared at them laughing and Ray looked over to me and said....

"Life is Good!"

Have a great weekend!!!

Favorite Foto Friday ~ Wet

2009-04-17T05:54:00.000-07:00

Here's a few pictures of Abbie and Isaiah giving some "wet ones"!

Abbie is a kisser like no other!!! She asks for about 30 kisses a day! No lie!

This was taken a couple weeks ago (before Abbie was potty trained!!!)

The weather here in Texas is wonderful. 80 degrees and sunny!!!

Still a little bit chilly to be running through the sprinklers but I had towels close by!!!

To see more of fff...go check out Sarah's blog

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-04-15T04:20:00.000-07:00

Easter Weekend (part two)

2009-04-14T04:30:00.000-07:00

Easter Morning...

I wish I had three hands. One to camcord, and the other two to take pictures!!!

This picture pretty much says it all on it's own!

I love it!

All dressed up and lots of places to go!!!

We had brunch with friends and family at a beautiful restaurant in Old Mesilla.

They say this restaurant is haunted!!!

No ghosts today!!!

Abbie Girl truly loves her brother!!!

I can never get them posed at the same time!

My handsome Little Man!

Easter weekend (part one)

2009-04-13T08:40:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a non stop fun filled weekend.

Here's some pictures from Saturday and I'll post the Easter pictures tomorrow.

We started the day off with an Easter Egg hunt

Abbie was terrified of these guys and screamed every time we passed by them!

Then we headed off to Peter Piper Pizza for lunch

Here's Isaiah and our friend Amy in a serious game of air hockey!

Then we headed to see Elmo!!!!

Abbie and Isaiah loved every minute of it!!! They danced away and watched the entire show!

Ray and I had fun watching them watch the show! We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that we can share these things with Abbie now!

Then we came home and fixed up our eggs!!!

I think they turned out so cute!

Let Us not forget............

2009-04-12T07:00:00.000-07:00

On this joyous day of bunnies, tons of candy and colored eggs, let's take a minute to reflect on the true meaning of Easter. Instead of the one Hallmark and Walgreen's has shoved down our throats. Today is the day our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ rose from the grave to fulfill prophecy and our secure our salvation. "Behold, we are going to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And on the third day He will rise again." Matt 20: 18-19 Well guess what today is? It's actually the remembrance of the Third Day and the Risen Christ; not a celebration of the Easter Bunny, enjoy Easter with your children eat all the candy you want, but please let's not forget the true reason for the holiday. This is the first post I have ever written but this is something that weighs on my heart every Easter and something I wanted to say. Let me close with the most famous verse from the Bible: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 Such beautiful words, I don't think anyone has ever given us such a wonderful promise and please remember that God would have sent His Son just for you if you were the only one who needed Him.

Happy Easter,

Ray & Terri

Bad hair day!

2009-04-11T05:25:00.000-07:00

I was experimenting with Abbie's hair and as you can tell... this didn't work! I left a few rolled up little buns in her hair over night which resulted in a fro!

Tonight I will try rollers!

Busy day ahead for us.

We are off to an Easter egg hunt and bbq this morning and then tonight....ELMO!!!!!

I bought tickets for us to go watch Elmo's Street Live!!!! Yay!!!!!!

Love, love, love these!!!

2009-04-09T21:17:00.000-07:00

First off...how cute are these socks?! These socks ROCK!!!

Lynda, they're so darn cute! I love them all!

Also check out these pillow case dresses! Right now they're on sale for $10.00 and you can get them monogrammed for free!

( Leslie, you got me hooked on Etsy! lol)

SO... I'm REALLY thinking of going on the Gathering of Hearts get together in Indy! How cool would it be for all the kids to get some matching outfits or some of these cute dresses with our kiddo's name on it?!

Just a thought! The girl that made these dresses Monograms clothes for

boys and for girls

(who's planning on going on this trip?)

My next two Internet purchases will be some new bows for Abbie from Cutie Patutu's! Mary Ann makes awesome bows and Tutu's for little girls!

I also love, love, love the handmade clothes made by Suz!

So cute!

So much to buy!!! I need to hit the lottery!!!

And do you think I could do a post with pictures and not include my little Guat tots?!

By the way... I read a blog, not to long ago, that the term Guat Tot is not very well liked among a few adoptive parents! As you can tell....I disagree!

I think it's cute!

Posted on Guat Adopt today

2009-04-08T19:10:00.000-07:00

Raid on Primavera

This story has been in the Guatemalan papers, on our forums, and elsewhere I am sure. Guatadopt has confirmed that a raid did indeed take place. But contrary to the new reports, under order from the relevant judge in Escuintla, no children were removed from the Primavera location in Palin (or GC). Because the newspaper reports are incorrect, I don't feel it approproate to post a link to them here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*For those who don't know.... Abbie was at Primavera in Guatemala.

Thank God for the judge in Escuintla.

I feel sick to my stomach right now that this has happened.

Two days...

2009-04-08T04:53:00.000-07:00

And no accidents! Abbie is pretty much potty trained!!! Yippee!!!!!

Yesterday morning we put on her Barbie underwear and she has been diaper free except for when she sleeps! (I'll try this one on the weekend)

I was so proud of her last night because we had to do a bunch of shopping and we went to three stores and guess what?! No accidents!!!!

Fun filled weekend

2009-04-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Since Isaiah insists on jumping non stop on the couch and bed, we gave him something else to jump on for his birthday... His first trampoline!

He loves it it!

Throw in some bubbles with a bubble machine....Fun, Fun, Fun!!!!

So... for some reason I felt like betty crocker this weekend and I bought some Easter cupcake molds.

As you can tell I had two little helpers!

Isaiah and Abbie think it's pretty darn good!!!

Our finished product!

Bakerella watch out!!!

And this is how Isaiah ends up several times a day.

In time out!

This is his corner! He owns it!

And this is how Abbie looks after I put Isaiah in time out! lol

Happy again and kickin butt playing Rock Band!

(we just bought this and I love it!)

Happy Birthday to my Boy!!!!

2009-03-30T22:12:00.000-07:00

That's right...I'm two years old today and I'm such a big boy!

Even though we were at Chucky Cheese...Isaiah had his favorite...a hot dog and french fries!

Lots and lots of fun for my Little Man!!!

Always has the dance moves ready at all times!

My big boy made it all the way up by himself for the first time tonight! Where did my baby go?

Lots of tickets = Lots of loot!

___________________________

If you have a second...please wish Little Man a Happy Birthday in the comments section! (That even means all you lurkers to my blog!!! lol)

Isaiah did received a VERY special Birthday letter this morning from a VERY special person...his birthmom!

We are very blessed to have contact with her and I will share part of her letter on my next post!

Another first for Abbie

2009-03-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend Abbie Girl got to attend her first Birthday party!!!

As you can tell she loved every minute of it!!!

Little Man partied hard today!!!

A very serious game going on here!

Cruising for some chicks!

Found one!!! Now he needs to do some dancin!!!

Speaking of birthdays....Any guesses on who's birthday it is tomorrow?

FFF ~ Unique

2009-03-27T06:30:00.000-07:00

PRESENTING.....

The... Al La Tia Song

A "unique" song written and sung by Abbie Girl. Written and thought of, while on tour in Guatemala!!

Staring...MIss Abbie Girl

Back up dancer....Isaiah "little Man"

Filmed by...Mommy

Uploaded by....Daddy (or Pappa, as Abbie would say)

Buy your concert tickets in advance for the next showing!!!

My Sweet Girl

2009-03-24T05:30:00.000-07:00

Tonight I was thinking back to our week in Guatemala and remembering how Abbie was back then. She was very quiet, shy and she just kinda went with the flow of things.

Now... Her personality is just shining through. She's acting silly, dancing up a storm and walks through the house swinging her arms like she's loving ever second of her new life.

Here's a little something cute that happened this morning as we were leaving the house...

Abbie turned to her grandma and said "bye bye!"

Then Isaiah turned to her and said "adios!"

We all started laughing.

Isaiah's learning lots of Spanish as we are trying to teach Abbie Girl English!

Abbie and Isaiah are defiantly getting along these days. I love watching them run around the house chasing each other.

They have become partners in crime!

There's still fights that happen but they have drastically reduced.

Abbie LOVES Isaiah so much and sometimes she almost acts like a little mother to him. When he gets hurts or gets in trouble she's the first one to go comfort him. She wraps her little arms around him and pats him on his back.

If they are eating a snack and Isaiah runs out first...she gives him part of hers.

Just a second ago, I stopped typing here and I went into the kitchen to split a doughnut in half to give to each of them. Abbie was quick to take half and she just ran away as fast as she could. Isaiah was no where in sight. I just left his on the counter and about two minutes later Abbie comes running back empty handed. She was so dramatic and excited in trying to tell me something about Isaiah so I went to look. Isaiah was happily sitting in his bed with the half of doughnut Abbie gave him and she was trying to tell me what she did. We went back to the kitchen together and she now has her half of the strawberry doughnut that she is loving so much!!!

Katherine

2009-03-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

A few months back we became the sponsors of a sweet little girl named Katherine from El Salvador.

We were so excited to receive our first letter from her along with a cute little picture she drew below.

Our Letter to her as well as some photos of us are headed her way!

If you are interested in becoming or thinking about becoming a sponsor for a child please checkout

World Vision

He's addicted....

2009-03-22T08:11:00.000-07:00

To Choo Choo Soul Train!!!

In fact he woke up at 1:30 last night crying for "Choo Choo!"

He can watch it over and over and over and... you get the point!

The boy can dance!!!

Fun at the Zoo with Friends!

2009-03-21T07:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we got to hang out with Sweet Maya and her Mommy Stephanie at the Zoo.

Are these kids gorgeous or what?!!!!

Abbie was stuck to Steph like glue! She didn't even want to come back to me after the sea lion show!!!

"Mommy worried about Abbie's hair today and not mine!!!

Bad hair day, but I don't care! I'm having fun!"

We all had a blast and cant wait to hang out with our friends again!!!

Thanks Stephanie and Maya for the fun day at the zoo!!

Some things about Abbie

2009-03-19T04:30:00.000-07:00

Here are some random things that we have learned about our Abbie Girl. Everyday we see a little more of her personality shine through and you can tell that she just LOVES life right now.

Remember how we were amazed in Guatemala about how much this girl can eat and drink? Well...it still hasn't changed. This girl is a machine. I'm so glad that some of her favorite things to eat are healthy!
Here are some of her favorites...Carrots, squash, bread, pasta and corn dogs!
Her least favorite foods are... steak and broccoli! She's not a big fan of french fries but loves all other kinds of potatoes. (french fries are Isaiah's all time favorite! Don't even whisper the words french fries around him unless you are prepared to deliver!)
She obviously was taught how to clean. She knows how to fold clothes, sweep and dust! No lie...she is good at it! I was folding clothes watching TV the other day and she came right up and started straightening and folding the shirts using her chin.
Sleeps all night in her room!!! YAY!!!! (Isaiah still wakes up for his midnight milk!)
I think She's going through a "baby stage". Lately she is whining a lot wanting to be cuddled and babied. If Isaiah gets hurt or we hug on him, she is quick to "pretend hurt" or want to be hugged right away as well. She will always try and over power Isaiah to be in front and closer to us.
She is starting to test us to see how far she can go with things. If we tell her "no" for something, she continues to do it all the while looking at us in the corner of her eyes to see if we will get upset. If we go ahead and take whatever she's not suppose to have...she will show her temper. Hey wait...I just described Isaiah! lol
She wants to please us with all things that she does. She is always seeking praises and attention (which she gets).
Still calls all women "Mama" and all men "Papa". This is hard to break.
Finally knows that her name is Abbie (they called her Mishel).
She loves to tattle tale on her brother CONSTANTLY! lol

I'm sure I could keep going on and on about my Abbie Girl. We are constantly saying how blessed we are to finally have her. We just sit and stare at her and thank God she is finally ours and walking through our house!

There are a few things that I am concerned about. Pretty sure they are from being placed in three homes since she was born. Well, I guess it's four if you include ours.

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-03-18T06:30:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2009-03-17T07:25:00.000-07:00

Their getting along!!!

2009-03-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

We went at least one full hour tonight with no fighting and they actually had fun together playing and sharing toys!!!

YAY!!!!!

Post from Abbie...

2009-03-14T15:07:00.000-07:00

So...I was thinking...Since I'm such a girlie girl...

Who loves to accessorize...

Why not get my ears pierced just like my Mommy's!!

Okay, forget everything I just said!!! Get me out of here!!!

Dad...HELP ME!!!! Their really going to do it!!!!

Life is sweet again and so is this sucker! I'm styling like no one's business and so is...

My main man Isaiah Luke!

We are looking toooooooo good!

Out of the way people!

These gorgeous Guatemalan's are coming through!

FFF~Then...

2009-03-12T22:37:00.000-07:00

And....

And...

This and that!

2009-03-12T08:30:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we took Abbie for her first doctor visit her in the good ol' U.S.A.!

I thought for sure she was going to scream and cry when the doctor came in but she did pretty good. She even gave him an "adios" when he left the room.

You could tell how relieved she was when it was just her and I sitting in the room together until...

The lady with the needles came in!

We decided to have Abbie's immunizations redone.

Since Abbie was moved from place to place, I am missing some of her shot records and the doctor thinks it better to be safe than sorry and not trust the few records I have for her. So....

Abbie received 4 of many more shots to come.

Isaiah still wants to pick on his sister on a regular basis. It has gotten a little better the last few days. I think he's understanding that his actions are coming with plenty of time outs!!!

Look who picked up a few of Isaiah bad habits below. Yes, here's a tantrum thrown by little Miss Abbie Girl! Americanized already!!! (I had to take a picture to document it! lol )

Ray decided to take a few more days off to hang out with us. We are trying to decide whether to take a road trip this weekend. Yes, I may be crazy!!!

Wordless Wednesday...

2009-03-11T21:31:00.000-07:00

A dose of Abbie and Isaiah cuteness!

2009-03-09T21:49:00.000-07:00

Helping Dad with the yard work!

Starting off the morning with the breakfast of champions...Sun Chips!!!

Is this boy handsome or what?! He has his fake smile down pat!!!

No fake smiles for my Abbie Girl!!! She is one happy princess!!!

Okay, this one wasn't fake!!! Yay!!!

Ending the night with gummy bears and more smiles!

A chance to post!

2009-03-08T20:09:00.000-07:00

These girls were ready to leave Guatemala

Adios Amigos!!!

Boy oh boy, two is tough!!! I'm loving it though!

Abbie is doing wonderfully! She loves to be rocked, showered with kisses and just plain loved on. She is the most kind hearted, caring, and precious girlie girl. I have exactly what I wanted. A rambunctious little boy and a princess that loves to be dressed up!

Abbie has already picked up on English. We had a couple friends over tonight and out of the blue she said "bye bye" to them as they were leaving. For the most part we've been trying to talk Spanish to her but I can tell she understands what I say in English. Sometimes I catch myself asking Isaiah something in Spanish and he looks at me as if I'm crazy.

Yesterday I did make a BIG mistake as far as Abbie feeling totally comfortable in the house. Remember I told you that she was terrified of dogs? Well, we have a very small, minds her own business, Miniature Dachshund. She LIVES under our covers in our bed. Not thinking anything about it, I put Abbie in bed with us when she awoke in the morning. I put on the cartoons, we get comfy, and she notices that something was moving around underneath the covers. She lifts them up and saw poor little Miss Ginger under there and you would of thought Abbie was being attacked by a killer Pitt Bull! Major mistake on my part. She's now scared of my bed and when I do finally get her up there with Isaiah and I (we watch cartoons before going to bed and in the morning together), She freaks out if she sees the covers moving from Isaiah's feet! I have to pat down the whole bed and tell her, "nada, nada" (nothing) , "no mas perro's" (no more dogs) over and over!

All in all she is doing great. Isaiah...not so good!

He's really taking it hard to having a new sister. Almost from the get go he has been jealous. If Abbie has ANYTHING that he wants, he will flat out go after her for it! Yesterday he fought her over a plastic bag! Not that he wanted it but she had it and not him! I have seen another side to Isaiah that I never knew. Remember I posted a month or so back that I bought two baby strollers for Abbie's babies? Thank God I did or there would of been fights galore!

Abbie is such a sweet girl. If Isaiah throws a fit about her having something, she hands it to him and she gets something else. It is so very cute and I'm going to catch it on video. SWEET, SWEET, SWEET is what she is. If she's drinking out of a sippy cup and Isaiah wants it..No problem, She gives it to him, no questions asked and asks me for another. Of course I cant let this go on so any advice on how to break Isaiah of this and get him to start sharing is appreciated.

Here's a rare moment of Isaiah sharing with Abbie. Not the other way around! lol

I know he's hurting and feeling threatened by Abbie so I have been trying to give him lots of loving and babying on him too. Don't get me wrong... When he's well rested and in a good mood, they play so good together. But when he's the slightest bit tired, watch out!

Today was one of the better days though since we have been home . It was nice outside and we spent several hours outside playing. We also went to church, which Isaiah loves, and had our neighbors come over to meet Abbie. We had a busy day and I don't think we had one argument out of them since this morning!! Awww, if it only can stay this way!

YAY!!! Im a US Citizen!!!

And guess who's starting to Love on her Daddy????

Isaiah and Abbie meet for the first time!

2009-03-07T11:36:00.000-08:00

Last Night in Guatemala

2009-03-04T18:20:00.000-08:00

We had a very enjoyable relaxing day today. Our driver picked us up at 9:30 and we went to Hyper Paiz to buy some stuff for the kids at the Hogar. We planned a trip to the Zoo today and we were privileged to be able to take two of the sweetest boys from the hogar with us!

When we had picked Abbie up that first day at the orphanage, we had made friends with a little boy named Manuel. He had asked us if we had brought a present for him. Of course this broke our hearts and we told him that we would buy him a special present and bring it for him today. As we were waiting outside the gate at the hogar to be let in, he was yelling under the wall..."did you bring my present?" It was the cutest thing as well as the saddest thing ever!

After giving our new friend Manuel his present we handed all the kids suckers, balloons and gave the nannies several games and puzzles that we bought for them. Abbie was passed around the nannies again for some more goodbyes but afterwards she reached out for me! You don't know how happy this made me!

After getting our other two new Amigo's, We headed to the Zoo. Very nice and very relaxing! It was awesome being able to hang out with my friends two little boys. I'll let their Mommy blog and post pictures first on her blog (I'm not sure if she has received the e-mail I sent with all the pictures) before posting here.

Pizza and Chinese food at the zoo!!! I was in heaven!!!

Then we dropped off the boys and went to get Abbie's Visa and passport and then checked in early for our flight tomorrow! We are still so very grateful, thankful and in awe that this is really happening!

Embassy Day!

2009-03-03T18:58:00.000-08:00

We started off the day waking up at 4:30 in the morning (3:30 my time in the US)!!! Abbie woke up not really crying but kind of whining that she was scared. We laid there for awhile, talked and got up to get ready for our 7:15 Embassy appointment.

As you probably would of guessed, there was only one other couple at the embassy adopting a child. I have only met less than a handful of adoptive parents down here on this trip. Very sad! Anyways, Talk about not very nice workers/officers at the embassy!!! Cant they pretend to be happy?! The little room where you go into for the interview was only about 2 minutes long. The lady was like...sign, sign, stamp the papers and get out!!! The lady at the window seemed to want to analyze all our paperwork and I thought she was going to go get a cup of coffee to read our homestudy!

Very easy as I had remembered it and I am glad it's all done!

Later on, after a nap, we headed out with our old facilitator.( This is the person that had me bring her all the Thongs and heels!) She had wanted to take us to to some little town about 2 hours away but with Abbie's car sickness, and yes she got it again, I told her it wouldn't be a good idea. So...instead she took us to the Central park and to a market that the locals mostly go to. Little did I know... until later... was that this was the bad area in Guatemala city! I think we were in Zone 2 and zone 4. I guess I should of picked up on this when she told me the vendors go to this market to buy stuff for their shops!

Oh well! We made out there safe and sound and only had to dodge a few bullets and gang fights! lol!

Here are a couple pics from that neck of the woods!

This was the old Presidential palace

The Central church

And the Central park

Abbie is a wee bit better today. Not a whole lot but I have seen a little sparkle in her eyes. She started saying a few words to me while she was bathing. At one point I had her repeating after me some words in English.

She still wont go with Daddy yet but she will tell him "Adios" and "Hola" from afar. One time Ray went down stairs to get some ice and she started asking..."Pappa?" Pappa?" I think she wants to like him but she's not quite sure yet!

Several people have tried to pick her up or talk to her but she is glued to my side. You think I'm joking when I say that I'll have a kid on each hip when I get home!!! Maybe then I can lose a few pounds!

I can already see some of the things that have come with her being in a hogar. Ray said it pretty good today when he said she has no "free will". Here are some things that I have seen so far.

*If you sit her down anywhere. A chair, bed, floor or where ever she will not get up unless you tell her otherwise.

*If she eats something that she does not like, she will leave it sitting in her mouth until you tell her "it's okay" to throw out.

*Table manners are perfect.

*If you don't tell her to stop, she will continue to eat or drink a ridiculous amount at one time.

*If she drops something, she is scared someone will notice or get mad.

*If you pull out a diaper, she will lay down on an instant for you to change her.

*She has not sat or played in a bath tub for a long amount of time because she was very nervous when her hands were wrinkling up.

*A shampoo bottle will occupy her time for an hour.

I could keep going but you get the point. I'm not saying that she has been mistreated or anything like that but I'm sure she has the Hogars rules down pretty darn good. I guess with 80 some odd kids in a hogar at one time, they had to have a strict routine set?!

Day two with Abbie Girl

2009-03-02T17:22:00.000-08:00

Let me start off saying that today has been absolutely wonderful having my Abbie Girl with us and knowing that I wont ever have to give her back!

I will say that it has been a flip side to how she was yesterday. Abbie welcomed us with open arms yesterday and today we have had to work very hard trying to gain her trust. Last night she was giving her Daddy kisses and today she wants him at least three feet away from her at all times.

Not being able to speak fluently in Spanish to her has also been difficult. We know a lot of basic words but obviously not enough.

She woke up this morning and had a good cry. We think she was confused at where she was. Ray immediately went to her and we think this is what set her back to being scared of him.

We started the day with breakfast at Mcdonalds hoping a "happy meal" would make her happy! By the way...We LOVE the Mcdonalds here! They have the best Mc Cafe's!!! The Dulce's and Coffee...YUMMY!!!

Then we headed to our lawyers office to get all the paperwork for the embassy. We sat and visited with her for about an hour and we told her about our family and that Abbie would have plenty of doggies to play with at our house. That is when set back number two came into play.

Not only were we told that Abbie is scared of dogs ( we are dog lovers and have several) but she had to show us.

Not really knowing how this was going be, Susana (our atty) brought in her tiny toy poodle. I thought I would hold Abbie and we would pet the dog together. NO WAY, NO HOW! Abbie is 100%, absolutely, positively TERRIFIED! Not just scared, but shaking in terror. This is not good!

Some people might think...no big deal. Get rid of your dogs! But to the people that really know us, this has me stressed out! Of course Abbie comes first so this will be a tough area in our dog situation.

Then we headed to Antigua. I think we bought out all of the coffee plantations stock of coffee! lol! It's the picking season for coffee beans so I took some pictures of the women and children hard at work.

We also went to the market and I bought several Guatemalan outfits for Abbie and Isaiah. I want to get some professional pictures taken of them with them on later on. Abbie had to go ahead and wear one of them today because she had some car sickness on the way to Antigua.

All in all it has been a wonderful day. Abbie has not came out of her shell yet and we know it's going to take some time in her doing so. This baby girl has been through a lot and we are going to give her all the lovin we can to make her the happiest girl in the world!

She's ours forever!!!

2009-03-01T19:24:00.000-08:00

I can't tell you how we felt walking into the hogar today.

All I can say is God is awesome!!!

When we arrived at the hogar they told us they needed to get Abbie ready so it would be a few minutes. We walked upstairs to the baby area so that I could take pictures for a friend of mine and look who just strolled in like she knew exactly what was going on and where she was going...

Little Miss Abigail!

I turned and there she was!!!

I was so calm, cool and had everything together until I saw what she was holding. She had the picture of us that I left on my last visit trip with her. It was hers and she knew her Momma was in the picture!

That's when the water works started for me!!!

Daddy had them too!!!

Tears of absolute joy!!!

She collected her two baby dolls that I left for her the last visit trip and was holding on to the new one I just gave her and she was ready to go! (Also, with the picture in hand as well!)

I really think Abbie knew what was going on. She waved at all her nannies and to all the kids. She said her goodbyes and did not shed one tear. I'm not sure if this was a good or bad thing?

All dressed and ready for dinner!

Kisses for Daddy!

See you tomorrow!

Life is good!!!

Next post from Guatemala!

2009-02-28T19:25:00.001-08:00

I'm packing up the laptop. Next post will be from Guatemala tomorrow night!!!

A few minutes ago I was thinking that this will be the last night Abbie will be sleeping at the Hogar. I'm still in shock that this is happening. I cant tell you how many times I was told that I would never bring Abigail home. Our first attorney said "no way, no how". Adoptions supervisors said..."Sorry, take another referral." The agency I used for Isaiah said, "it would not be possible".

Thank God for Susana Luarca (our current atty)!!! She made this happen for us. I will be forever grateful to her!

Also as I sit hear, I think of all the parents that are still waiting for their children in Guatemala. Most of who, are in the same situation as I was in. Abandonments that just didn't finish before adoptions stopped. Please pray for these families. There has been movement on these cases but it's so very slow going through the Central Authority.

Please say an extra prayer for Audra. Her daughters final abandonment hearing is on the same day as our Embassy appointment. Audra has been waiting over 6 years for her beautiful girl! So very unfair!

Also say a prayer for Rhonda. She's having surgery on the same day as well.

I had to blog about this!

2009-02-27T06:06:00.000-08:00

So...I still keep in contact with our first Facilitator that handled Abbie's adoption way back when. It's kinda like the saying..."keep you friends close, but your enemy's closer." Not that she's an enemy, she's actually a very nice person, but I still believe she holds some of the "secrets" regardings Abbie's back ground. Know what I mean?

Anyways...She asked me a couple months back if I would mind bringing a few things, that she would order, to Guatemala when I go for Abbie's pick up trip. No problem! Well, one thing, then another and then another showed up at my house. After about the 6th package, I told her enough was enough!

I just want you to take a look at all the stuff I'm bringing for this women. I wont comment any further and PLEASE...to my friends that know this girl/facilitator...I'm not trying to be mean, I just think this is flat out crazy!

She's not going to need jewelry for a VERY long time!

Her stuff took up a whole flippin suitcase!!!

I'm thinking about buying me a pair of these shoes when I get back from Guat! What do you think...Abbie on one hip, Isaiah on the other and me strutting my stuff in these shoes?!

What a deal on these thongs huh?!

Okay, maybe I'm being a little mean?

We're getting ready!!!

2009-02-26T05:36:00.000-08:00

We booked an early fight for Sunday morning and we should have Abbie by 4:00 that same day!

I'm going to start packing tonight so that I can have fun ALL DAY on Saturday with my Little Man!

Isaiah's ready for his sissy to come home!

Abbie Girl...Here we come!!!

2009-02-24T15:07:00.000-08:00

We got it!!! We are sitting pretty in "PINK"!

Our appointment is Tuesday, March 3rd!!! We have the first appointment @ 7:15 in the morning! I can't even tell you how happy I am! I was planning this spectacular post for my "Pink post" but I cant even think straight right now!

I have alot of planning, planning and planning to do!

Embassy appointment....

2009-02-24T05:38:00.000-08:00

Nope, not yet! Fooled ya!

I'm stalking my e-mail today. I know the consulate has all my paperwork for sure now. The DHS e-mailed me yesterday!

I have good vibes about today! I'm also excited because Ray, Aimee and I are going to see

Chris Tomlin in concert tonight! Today is going to be a good day!

Weekend Get Away

2009-02-22T20:42:00.000-08:00

We went on a short road trip this weekend to Albuquerque, New Mexico!

It was a nice weekend get away!

One of the stops was the Zoo!

"Hey Dad...He looks like you!"

What a serious look Little Man!

Our road trip would not of been complete without a stop at Pappadeaux. We LOVE this place! Yummy!!!!

Maybe the next post will be a Abbie update?!

US Embassy Call

2009-02-18T21:27:00.000-08:00

As you probably already guessed... I called the US Embassy today!

I nearly had another melt down and now I realize I need to just relax.

First off, I think it's completely crazy that you can only talk with someone between the hours of 2:00 and 3:15, Tuesday, Wednesday's and Thursdays at the Embassy!

Anyways, here's a short version of my 15 minutes of total panic.

Finally, after several tries, I get ahold of a "real" person In Guatemala. I give her my name. She looks us up and sees that we already adopted one child. I say yes, she asks me again "why are you calling?" I tell her I'm adopting a second child and we received our orange slip and I want to see about setting up our Embassy appointment. She goes on to tell me that they have not received our final documents, therefore she cannot give me an appointment. She does not have any info for us or on us what so ever.

Very confused and wondering what the heck she needed or was wrong, I called my Attorney. The time was 3:05 and I had only 10 minutes to find out what was missing from our atty and then call the Embassy back before they stopped taking phone calls for the day.

Let me back up just a bit. I had found out from this lady at the Embassy that even though they took calls on Thursdays (tomorrow), they would not be answering phone calls due to some important meeting taking place in the afternoon. JUST GREAT!

So this is where the real panic hit. All I could think about was the fact that if I didn't find out what the problem was or how I could "fix" these missing documents, I would have to go through the weekend and all the way until Tuesday of next week to find out what the heck was wrong. NOT GOOD!

So...I get my Atty on the phone, I tell her what the Embassy told me which was that they didn't have any info on us. She gets angry (not at me) and tells me, that they HAVE TO HAVE our info because they issued us our Dr.'s appointment and also gave us a case number. I had her and her secretary scrambling for the number as I only had 5 minutes left to make the Embassy call. Can you believe I was telling her to hurry up!? lol

I call back to the Embassy and talk to ANOTHER women, explain to her about why I'm calling and she confirms they they don't have any of our paperwork. (By the way, I'm talking with someone from Guatemala that does not speak English very well.) All she could tell me was as soon as DHS (Dept of Homeland Security) gives them the our file and final documents, then, and then ONLY, would they be able to schedule an appointment.

At this point I thought I was going to freak out! I thought there was something wrong with my 171-H, homestudy or something very very wrong. Why would I have to wait for DHS?

I hung up the phone and I could feel the water works coming on. I didn't even have the energy to call my Atty back to see what kind of trouble I was in. So, I emailed her and told her I didn't know what to do, who to call, and to PLEASE help me. I was whooped!

Another 15 minutes went by and our Attorney e-mails me back and explains something that she should of from the get go.

Turns out there are two offices at the embassy. One is the consulate where they issue "pink" and the other part is DHS where they give the "okay" to issue "pink"! Make sense? I had not the slightest idea! I was talking with the wrong friggin office!

I don't even know if I can call the DHS side tomorrow but I'm not going to make myself looney over it if I cant.

I intended this to be a short update. Sorry so long. I was planning to tell you about my phone conversation with Isaiah's birthmom tonight but it will have to wait until tomorrow! I'm Whooped still!

What does this mean?

2009-02-18T05:08:00.000-08:00

Can someone help me understand this e-mail? I understand the doctor appointment stuff but what does she mean as far as telling her something word for word? Does she mean to tell her when I receive the "pink"slip?

Dear Terri,

We got orange slip, which allows us to take Abbie to the final check up, at the doctor appointed by the embassy. The benefit of having an abandonment decreee is that you don't have to wait for the results of the second DNA to get pink slip. In other words, now you can start asking the embassy "Are we there yet, mommy?" Please tell me what do they say. Word by word.

More Pictures and a Party!

2009-02-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

We received more pictures of Abbie Girl tonight.

Including the most important one of all...

A scanned picture of her passport! YAY!!!

I'm guessing we will have our appointment date any day now!

These pictures were taken at a near by Pizza Hut that the kids walked to from the Hogar. One of the parents sent money to our lawyer and asked her to throw a birthday party for their child.

Looks like Abbie had a great time!

Our lawyer is pictured here with Abbie and the pinata

Here she is....

2009-02-16T05:51:00.000-08:00

Our Lawyer said she's getting Abbie's passport today and sending our file to the embassy!!!!

Whoooo Hooooooo!!!!!!!

We're almost there!!!!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

2009-02-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Valentine's Day 2008

FFF- LOVE!!!

2009-02-12T20:26:00.001-08:00

I Loved you the moment I saw you!

April 2007

February 2007

This is how my day went

2009-02-11T19:41:00.000-08:00

So... this morning I woke up determined as all get out, to find out what the heck was going on with Abbie's birth certificate. If my lawyer wasn't going to tell me, I was going to find out myself! So...I grabbed my cup of coffee, charged up the calling card and dialed away.

I was able to get the phone number for the Municipality in Abbie's birth town (Coatopeque if your wondering) and asked what, when or how I was going to be able to get a birth certificate. Was it going to take dodging bullets, fighting through angry street vendors, or blasting my way through burning cars in the street? Just tell me because I would do what ever it took at this point!

So... with a fighting attitude in tow, a very sweet lady answered the phone and said the municipality has been open every day with no problems and every thing was fine and dandy!

What?!

I needed further explanation.

There was trouble in the town but they only locked their doors for short periods of time during this whole riot ordeal. It was business as usual.

So...with a sigh of relief, I ask her to check to see if our birth certificate was ready. Guess what??? She cant tell me!

WHAT?!

She said..."you have to call RENAP!"

So... I did!

A very helpful women, that is probably sick and tired of me calling, called Coapeteque while we were on the line. Turns out...the birth certificate WAS NOT ready but since this so very nice women, probably had some pull...she made them do it right then and there!

The birth certificate IS DONE!!

Now..this part is no lie what so ever. As I'm getting off the phone with RENAP...our lawyer finally responded to one of my 20 e-mails that I had sent these last two days. She told me that the Municipality was still closed as her employee "talked" with someone the day before. She said they would try again in the next few days.

WHAT?!

I knew she was on line and checking her e-mail so I e-mailed back right away and told her what I had just done and who I just talked to. Frustrated like you would not believe, I waited and waited for a response. NOTHING is what I got. Not another e-mail. Until.... tonight!

She is sending someone in the morning to pick up the birth certificate and she sent some surprise pictures of my sweet Abbie Girl!!!

I'm going to stare at these pictures tonight and tomorrow I'll post them. Hopefully along with confirmation that the birth certificate is in our lawyers hot little hands (as she puts it!).

Another great website

2009-02-10T18:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, I'm spending WAY to much time surfing websites. But here's another great blog/website to check out here.

What do you think about this Valentines Recipe?! Too hard for me but maybe one of you fabulous bakers can do it!

Refresh Workout!

2009-02-10T08:11:00.000-08:00

My refresh button has been getting a good workout the last two days!

I have heard from every lawyer that I know, but the one I REALLY want to hear from can't e-mail me back!

So far today, Isaiah's lawyer in Guat e-mailed me and confirmed the problems in Abbie's birth town and Abbie's first lawyer (facilitator) e-mailed me and said she will check and see if the municipality has re-opened.

Maybe I'll know something by the end of today from my current lawyer!!!

Ay Ay Ay!!!!!

A Must Read Blog

2009-02-08T17:42:00.000-08:00

Please check out this blog here. This man is amazing.

Someone Found My Stash...

2009-02-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

OF CANDY!!!!!!

Quick update

2009-02-06T05:13:00.000-08:00

Here's a VERY small update to my birth certificate dilemma.

I called the CNA yesterday and they confirmed that Abbie's birth town is having problems in the city but they said the municipality is still "working" but cant open until it's safe. All she could tell me is that they "hope" to be open by Tuesday.

Our Lawyer said she was sending someone today to check for us. Maybe she can sweet talk someone to letting her employee get our birth certificate?! I'm going to stay quiet and not tell her I called the CNA yesterday!

More Drama for this Momma!

2009-02-04T17:02:00.001-08:00

Just when I thought it was smooth sailing from here on out...We get ANOTHER set back! Here's the e-mail I received from our lawyer today.

Turns out that the municipality in Abbie's birth town is closed because the mayor wants to move the street vendors to another location and they are resisting and creating a big problem burning tires and fighting with the Police and the Army, who thus far have been very ineffective.

She went on to say that they will keep trying to get the birth certificate and they will also call the CNA to see if they can tell her what's going on. You can bet I will call tomorrow too!!!

This is CRAZY!!!! I don't know whether to laugh or cry at this point!

Today one of my friends told me to be patient and that I have waited two and a half years already...I can wait a few more days! Guess what I said?..."FORGET THAT! I have waited TOO LONG already and I DON'T want to be patient ANYMORE and I DON'T want to wait ANY more days!!!"

What else can go wrong?

Wordless Wednesday!

2009-02-04T05:21:00.000-08:00

New Recipe!

2009-02-03T19:23:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe on another blog and I finally got around to making it!

If your in the mood for a good chocolate cake...try this one here!

It's awesome!

Super Bowl Sunday!

2009-02-02T19:15:00.000-08:00

First off...Isaiah had a blast!

We had some friends come over to watch the game

He played and played all night!

Then all the kids laid in bed and watched movies while the Mommy's...

Had some fun of our own!

We spent most of the evening laughing and letting loose!

We did a little celebrating at the end of the game (but not too much)!

This Mommy made sure to drink lots of water!!!

Adios RENAP!

2009-01-31T10:42:00.000-08:00

RENAP released our file yesterday and next week we will have our birth certificate!!! I'm thinking we'll be able to get our girl the third week of February!!!

YIPEE!!!!!!!

RENAP Previo (kick out)

2009-01-29T15:00:00.000-08:00

I learned a little bit more in detail about why we received the kick out from RENAP.

Turns out that someone wrote Ray's passport number wrong on some form that came from the CNA. They need our lawyer to pick it up, take it back to the CNA, redo the form and then they will issue the birth certificate.

Last night I was really stressing about this previo and I was getting frustrated that our lawyer was not answering any e-mails. When she did FINALLY e-mail me this morning all she said was..."quit listening to gossip or what people tell you. We should be approved tomorrow".

WHAT?!

I e-mailed her back and said I TALKED with someone at RENAP and it was a FACT... not gossip!!! This whole RENAP thing has been very aggravating! No word back from our lawyer yet!

Let's hope I have better news tomorrow!

It figures!!!

2009-01-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

I'm going to experience all problems, in all areas of this adoption, whether I like it or not!

We just received a previo (kick out) on Abbie's birth certificate from RENAP!

Not really sure why but I guess I'll be finding out soon. At least I hope soon!

I'm going to stay positive and hope it's something minor that can be fixed fast!

I really thought It was going to be a happy day today and not a depressing one!

International Adoption Group

2009-01-26T19:19:00.000-08:00

Last weekend our Local International adoption group got together for a fun morning at the park. Isaiah was actually not in the best of moods this morning. He wanted to play on all the "big boy" stuff and couldn't understand why I wouldn't let him. I had to leave with him kicking and screaming! We did have lots of fun in between him being a grouch!

We have kids from Guatemala, China, Taiwan, Russia and Columbia.

OMG!!!!

2009-01-25T15:57:00.000-08:00

I just received news about Isaiah's birth mom!

News that I was not expecting! News that really freaked me out! News that can't happen!

They found her today and they said she was VERY happy to hear that I wanted to meet her and to hear about Isaiah. As expected, she was in tears. Turns out... she's leaving Guatemala this week and I wont be able to meet her while I'm picking up Abbie. Any guesses to where she's moving???? Anybody???? Anybody????

CALIFORNIA!!!

Yikes!

Of course, I would NEVER, EVER, EVER take Isaiah anywhere near her or let her come to see us. She did tell the investigator she would fly to see us if we wanted her to.

NOOOOOOOOO

WAY!!!!!!

NOOOOOOOOO

HOW!!!!!!

I also learned that her Mother (in California) does not know that she gave a baby up for adoption and If I call her....(YES, I have her phone numbers!)

I'm not suppose to tell any family members about Isaiah!

I'm so blown away right now. I also received several pictures of her today too!!!

WOW! WOW! WOW!

Maybe I should make a phone call this week???? Of course BLOCK my number!

Don't worry, I will be EXTREMELY careful.

A great blog to read

2009-01-24T12:54:00.000-08:00

I used to read this blog about a year ago and somehow I lost the link. I stumbled onto it again and I'm so happy I found it. This women's blog makes me want to run out to the grocery store, throw on an apron and start cooking!

I don't know much about her, but her blog reminds me of Little House on the Prairie!

I love it!

Favorite Foto Friday - NEW

2009-01-23T05:21:00.000-08:00

I have been going crazy buying NEW clothes for Abbie these last few weeks!

She'll be modeling one of these NEW outfits on our Embassy day appointment.

Little man has been learning some NEW words this week as well. He's actually becoming very bilingual! Our NEW baby sitter (I'll be blogging about her next week) is teaching Isaiah Spanish. She says she's wants to get him ready for Miss Abigail.

So far this week he's learned how to say... Hands, eyes, and shoes.

To see more FFF go to Sarah's blog

To Find or Not to Find...

2009-01-21T05:20:00.000-08:00

I need your opinion...

When I went on my pick up trip for Isaiah I had asked our lawyer if she would ask the birthmom if she would like to meet us. I'm not sure if she ever did ask, as the B-Mom never showed up to the hotel as requested.

Then, when I went on my visit trip in July to see Abbie, I asked the lawyer for a second time if she could contact Isaiah's birthmom and ask her if she wanted to meet us and once again... it was a no go. I think at that time I was told that she had trouble finding her.

Now...turns out that the lawyer knows where she moved and says if I want to meet her I should be able to (for a small fee of course) and I need to give her my info on when I will be in Guatemala and where I'm staying.

Now that it looks like I may be able to meet her...I'm nervous! Don't really know why but I am!

I feel as if I cant pass up on this opportunity. All I really want to do is thank her for her precious gift and give pictures and let her know how much we love our Little Man.

What do you think? Good idea or bad idea about meeting the birthmom?

Please Watch

2009-01-20T18:15:00.000-08:00

I copied this from Jill's blog. Please take a few minutes to watch and reflect on what you saw. There are so many children that need our help.

YAY!!! I love awards!

2009-01-19T18:54:00.000-08:00

Thanks Stephanie for thinking of me!

Steph and I live in the same town and I'm sure Abbie and Maya will become great friends!

Here is the meaning of the award:

It is the Friendship Award which means:"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to five bloggers who must choose five more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

So here goes I pass the award onto:

FFF- Eyes

2009-01-16T05:29:00.000-08:00

Every month when I receive pictures of Abbie from the hogar, I always think about her eyes. They always seem to have a blank, sad look to them.

It's only a few short weeks away until I can change all of that.

Come on RENAP...give us our birth certficate!

Check out more FFF on Sarah's blog

Shopping!

2009-01-15T05:03:00.000-08:00

I don't have a lot to blog about today. I wish I had an Abbie update but I don't think I will for a couple weeks since RENAP is taking so long to issue birth certificates. So..I thought I'd post some pictures of what I have been doing non-stop.

Shopping!

No, the Victoria Secret stuff is not for Abbie. It's just some things I have been picking up as thank you gifts to take to Guatemala. Some of it's for our lawyers daughter that always sends me Abbie's monthly pictures and also for Abbie's Nanny. All purchased at a 75% sale discount I might add!

I hope she fits in these Guess shoes! Their a 6.5 and I bought them several months ago when I was planning to take a December visit trip.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these shoes. Their probably too big right now but again...75% off at Gymboree!

Oh my Gosh! I just remebered I can use my Gym bucks today! YAY!!!!

Not 75% off, but on sale, and they looked so comfy!

Do you think I would forget my Little Man?!

Here he's sporting a new pair of Vans!

And he gets to inspect all of Abbie's toys to make sure their up to par!

My sore back!

2009-01-13T05:08:00.000-08:00

This is why I cant get any sleep and my back is constantly sore!

I didn't mean to take a direct shot at the dogs... you know what... but I wanted to show you how comfortable he makes himself on our bed! Do you see he even has his tongue hangin out?!

And of course you see Isaiah has to sleep the wrong way on the bed at all times. This is no lie...I think I have crack in my nose! It's not broken but I think Isaiah had done some damage one night with a solid kick to my face!

And of course if the dog can make himself comfortable...why not get comfortable on the dog!

Will you pray for Abby?

2009-01-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

Will you pray for Abby?

This is really for my non blogging friends. I'm sure my blogging buddies already follow Abby's story.

She was adopted from Guatemala. At three years old, she was diagnosed with a high-risk, aggressive form of Leukemia. Certain genetic complications have put her chance of surviving the treatment at about 20%.

I am praying for her and her family. Would you pray for them too?

You can find more about Abby here, on her family blog:http://www.riggsfamilyblog.com/2009/01/about-abby.html

Ten Little Monkeys...

2009-01-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

Ten little monkeys jumping on the bed. Isaiah fell off and bonked his head.

Fell off the couch actually!

More Bowl game pics

2009-01-08T18:03:00.000-08:00

Isaiah almost has his "Hook'em Horns" down! I think he's really going to like football later on in life. If we pass any kid of football field he says... touch down! And any kind of ball he sees he says...football!

In case your wondering...Texas won 24 - 21!!!

Go Longhorns!

We did the open tail gate before the game. After the last couple days of chasing Isaiah around Arizona...I needed to be close to the margarita and Budweiser stand! (see in back ground)

Yes, Isaiah's on a leash! Totally necessary these days!

In this picture he was flirting with the singer and boogied down to the music!

By the way, I have never been so happy to empty my bank account! Final payment for our lawyer was done today!

Yippee!!!

Our lawyer e-mailed us this afternoon as well and said she had went to the hogar today and little Abbie girl smiled up at her like she knew she was coming home! I'm getting so excited I can hardly stand it!

Now I need to come up with another blog name! We are past...HALF WAY THERE!

Abbie Girl time!

2009-01-06T19:28:00.001-08:00

I finally received an e-mail from our lawyer today and I felt as if I was just told that we were "out" of PGN again!

Not hearing from our lawyer for the last couple weeks had made me kinda nervous. I really don't know why, but now it's exciting hearing and knowing that some action is going on again and it's getting us closer to our Abbie Girl coming home!

From the estimated time frame our lawyer gave us, it seems like we will be traveling the middle of February. If it seems like it could be longer...I may take Little man with me and go early to Guatemala! Just a thought right now.

And guess what made this day even better???

Pictures! YAY!!!!!!!

Fiesta Bowl Road Trip!

2009-01-05T09:00:00.001-08:00

Ray, Aimee, Isaiah and I decided to take a road trip to Phoenix Arizona to watch our Longhorns play in the Fiesta Bowl!

Last night we went to the UT pep rally and pre game party!

Isaiah got to hang out with the UT cheerleaders!

Isaiah loved all the action going on! He's helping our buddy David cheer with the crowd!

And here's a couple pictures of Aimee and Isaiah from Scottsdale Az. We spent the day being "tourists" checking out old town and the the city. Scottsdale is awesome! It has the best mall EVER!

Tonight....Game time!

FFF- Favorite 2008 Foto

2009-01-02T06:30:00.000-08:00

This was taken for Valentines Day 2008 and it is probably my favorite photo of our little man so far!

I hope everyone has a blessed 2009!

Happy New year!

2008-12-31T18:44:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

I cant wait to introduce everybody to Miss Abigail in 2009!!!

Trying to get an Abbie update!

2008-12-29T21:08:00.000-08:00

So far nothing new about Abbie! I even called RENAP today to see if we are waiting for a birth certificate and they don't have her in the system yet. I tried e-mailing the lawyer today and I haven't heard back yet. I haven't even been asked for the final payment either which makes me a bit nervous. Our lawyer for Isaiah asked for her money the very day Isaiah got out of PGN. I'm not complaining...I would just like a general idea of what she is going to charge me! Some of you may not know this but Abbie's case was turned over, about a year an a half ago, to the lawyer we have now. She (our new lawyer) took our case when no one else thought it was possible to continue Abbie's adoption. So, besides the donation I gave her back in July for foster fees, I have not paid this women a penny! Don't get me wrong, I paid plenty of adoption fees, agency fees and a "pay off" to our old lawyer that got me absolutley no where! In a sense Im paying almost double for Abbie's adoption. Well worth it, I must add! I'm actually grateful to the first lawyer and facilitator though. Without them I would not of ever of met my Abbie girl! And... without Abbie's ever so long and problematic adoption... I may of not ever met my spoiled Little Man!
So...I'm counting down the days until I have my two spoiled little Guat tots together!

Mommy's Little Helper!

2008-12-28T06:41:00.000-08:00

FFF- Christmas Fun!

2008-12-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

This has been the jackpot of the day for Isaiah!

We had Isaiah's roller coaster in the den all morning helping Isaiah get up and down the track. After about an hour of this we pushed it in the hallway hoping to get a break in...when all of a sudden here comes Isaiah on his own! He has figured out that he can do it all by himself and he has been doing it non stop!

I'm waiting for the bumps and bruises to happen because this thing can fly! Especially with all the tile in our house!

Sorry so blurry but I was trying to get a picture in before getting ran over!

He just rolls with laughter with this thing!

Daddy even got a toy this year! Maybe he'll share with the rest of us?!

I think Isaiah still likes the boxes and bubble wrap better than the toys this year! One of his big presents (Thomas the Train) is still in the garage waiting for set up.

Elmo live is the coolest! The only problem is, Isaiah just wont let him finish his whole routine!

They're pounding Isaiah's new table chanting..."We want breakfast!"

Notice the tree behind Isaiah? All the ornaments are missing from the bottom! Guess who is at fault for this?! Start's with an "I" and ends with an "H"!

Merry Christmas!!!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-23T22:18:00.001-08:00

M & M boy!

2008-12-21T20:25:00.000-08:00

Guess what my boy discovered and loves... M & M's!

For the most part he's not a candy eater but today...It was all about the chocolate!

Looks gross huh?! He's been teething and drooling for the past couple of weeks. Mix in a handful of M&M's and you have a yucky face!

So... instead of doing Christmas shopping, which I'm still not done with, I've been Abbie shopping! I bought these two babies at toys R us. They interact with each other and only speak in Spanish. Their kinda cool and kinda creepy! Let's see if Abbie likes them. Isaiah is not to sure about them but LOVES the stroller I bought Abbie for her babies. He's been pushing it from one end of the house to the other. I may have to go buy another!

FFF- Christmas Party!

2008-12-19T05:03:00.000-08:00

We took Isaiah last weekend to Ray's company Christmas party that they put together for the kids. I used to take my friends kids to this party every year so being able to take Isaiah is awesome!

Next year...Abbie and Isaiah!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cake walk time with Sissy! Darn!!! We never won!

Lovin the popcorn!

Here's Isaiah wanting to be the center of all attention! His sissy had to run and grab him about every two seconds because he wanted to give the magic show!
I'm not sure why but Isaiah LOVES Santa! He's so serious with him though. He just wanted to sit on his lap and have lengthy conversations with him. It was actually very funny for those of us watching.

Not the best pics this time but I tried!

Wordless Wednesday =) (new picture!)

2008-12-16T19:16:00.000-08:00