Catching up-- Part 1: Special visitors from "the West"!!

I have some serious "catching up" to do...and I want to start right here!!!

Mid-july (oh my, has it really been that long ago???) our family was SO blessed to have Stacy and her family visit our home for a whole week!! We first met Stacy and Mark just over a year ago, when we traveled to Guatemala for our first trip to see Isaac. Stacy and I had chatted on line and on the phone a couple of times...but when I first met her face to face in Houston on our way to Guatemala...I just loved her instantly! Our friendship has grown (obviously) over the past year...and I am so blessed to count Stacy as one of my dearest friends!!!

It seemed crazy to some, to think that they would fly all the way across the country to stay a week with people they had only seen face to face for a handful of hours in a foreign country (or for us to host them, for that matter) BUT, I am forever grateful at their willingness to come and stay with us, eat, hang out with us, eat, meet our friends and family, eat, play games, and eat. The week was an amazing blessing to me (and my family), and my heart was so heavy when they left!

If you have never visited Stacy's blog, go NOW! Each time I visit...I am encouraged, challenged, enlightened or entertained!!

Stacy, you are a great blessing to me and my family! Through our rough adoption journey, you held my arms up when I couldn't any longer...and you gave me sips of cold water when the marathon was getting so long!! I have come to love and respect you so much...as a friend, a wife, a mother, a keeper-of-the-house...and above all, as a child of God, striving to serve Him faithfully in all you do!!! God has blessed my life in an amazing way through the gift of your friendship!

A sweet blessing!

I am overdue for an update on Micah...so, here goes!
Micah continues to adjust so well, although I almost feel funny saying that, because really he just seemed "adjusted" from the beginning. We are loving the whole scene...diapers, bottles, stroller, carseat, babyproofing, laughing at just about anything cute he does...really, it has been such a joy so far! The biggest adjustment has been figuring out when mama is supposed to find computer time (obviously I am still sorting that one out)!

Our sweet Micah has even managed to make it to the Chilren's Museum (like the glasses a friend found in the gift shop?? he will not appreciate this pic when he is 16, will he??) and a movie...and both were super enjoyable...OK, confession, I picked a movie time that I was certain I could get him asleep in...and it worked like a charm!

Brock and Erica continued to be captivated by their new baby brother...earlier today we just all sat on the couch cuddling him and laughing at all his expressions!

New developments in the past week: He has learned to get from his tummy to sitting and back to his tummy again, he is REALLY finding his voice, he has definitely learned what the word "no" means, and he is self-feeding some finger foods! It has been a big week, for sure!!

OK... I have probably gone on too much already....

We continue to marvel at the path and circumstances that God used to bring Micah into our lives, into our family!! Although the journey was long, we are so filled with joy at where God's road has brought us!!

Invisible post??

Yesterday I posted on "the first day of school"....but it is not showing up on my computer....yet, I have one comment on it??? Can anyone see it? Can you see this?? Go figure....I "get back to blogging" and I have a tech. problem!

First Day of School!!

We can't remember which started first..."First Day of School Cake" or "Last Day of School Cake"!! But, it really makes no difference...both are firmly established in our household!! The kids know that when they get home, there will be yummy cake (Cheerios for Micah this year) and a mom who is very anxious to eat it with them while we chat about the day. This year was no exception...the first day of school, with all its ups and downs, has passed....and soon we will slip into the routine again!

I pray that Brock and Erica will show Christ's love to their classmates and their peers, that they will make wise choices, that they will recognize and resist every one of Satan's tricks, that they will grow Christlike maturity and that they will be willing (and wanting) to stand out from their peers as they stand firm in their faith.

In our morning devotion, we talked this morning about choices...about the many choices, both big and small, that await them throughout this year. We read part of Joshua 24...including verse 15...and they were reminded that many of their peers may choose this year to follow "little g gods"...but as for our house, we will serve the LORD!!

Back to blogging....really???

I cannot believe what a blog-slacker I have been! And I cannot believe that some of you are still so faithful to check in each day, even though so many "post-less" days have passed!!

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Brock and Erica...so I plan to post about that.
Then...an update on Micah (who is doing GREAT!! by the way)
Then...I have a series of "catching up" posts to share...

There certainly has been no shortage of things to post about...but a definite shortage of time and motivation to do it.

Please don't give up on this blog yet...!!!!! =)

What joy!!

Just a few more pictures, as promised...Even as I look at these pictures, I am in awe of how the Lord has blessed our family..."Thank you, Heavenly Father, for your many mercies!!"

For you make me glad by your deeds, O LORD;
I sing for joy at the works of you hands.
Psalm 92:4

"How are things going with Micah??"

I think this is question we have been asked most frequently in the last 2 weeks....well, things are going great...like...

• Happy boy!! He smiles and laughs so much (especially at big brother and big sister). He seems so content, and for that we are very thankful! I have to give glory to God for this (and huge thanks to Chad, too!) ...while we were waiting for Micah to come home, Chad CONSISTENTLY prayed for Micah's little heart to be prepared to become part of our family. While I was busy praying for timing (mostly "please, Lord, let it be soon"!!) Chad seemed more focused on praying for everyone's transition...and the Lord has answered his prayers in a mighty way! The "transition" has gone very smoothly!

• Good sleeper!! I am not kidding...he has slept through the night (9:30 pm to 7:30-8:00-ish am) every single night and is pretty good about his naps, too. Maybe Chad was busy praying for this, too?????
  

• Social butterfly!! Micah has adjusted very well to meeting our family and friends. He enjoyed his time at the county 4-H fair last week, meeting lots of new people. He has been learning to wave "hi" ...and passes out lots and lots of smiles!

I could go on and on...we are having a great time meshing Micah into our family. We are so thankful for the Lord's hand in all of this...and all praise goes to Him alone!

I will post more pictures in the next day or two...promise!!

OK.....We are back to blogging!!!

Yikes! What happened?? It is like we fell off the face of the earth!?!?! (or have been super busy??) Thank you for checking in...and I promise to get back to the blogging scene! Here are some things that I need to blog about SOON (so check back in, would ya'??)

- Update on Micah (he is doing so well...and I will post pics, of course!)
-Special visitors! (Stacy and her family came all the way from Washington state for a week!!)
-The fair! (fair week is wrapping up...and I have the report and pictures of B & E with their projuects!!)

So....I will get busy blogging, and TRY to get consistent again...but at this exact moment, I am off to make some dinner!!

You would think we had a new baby or something.....

I can not believe that a week has flown by and I have not posted much at all!! We are trying to settle into the new routine...and things are going very well...it seems, though, that the 2 things that have really suffered are my quiet times in the Word (yikes!!!) and my time online! So.....hopefully we will settle into a new routine and I will be back to faithful blog-posting!!

Things are going very well...Micah is spoiling us with his sleeping...9:30 pm to 7:30-8:00 am...I hope he keeps that schedule!! =) He is such a happy baby, and seems to do just fine with all sorts of new people (family and friends, etc.) so we are feeling very blessed! He is healthy and eating well!

OK...I will try for some pictures tomorrow. Brock accidently ran over the high-speed internet line with the lawn mower (that was a tangled mess!!) so we are back to dial-up for now and posting pictures takes SO SO SO SO long.

Time flies while we are having FUN!!!

I can not believe that I have not posted for 3 days! If time really does fly when you are having fun, then that explains it...because we are having a blast!!

Micah continues to be adjusting very well. He is eating great, sleeping great, and entertaining all of his visitors!! We have had a wonderful last couple of days...with visits from friends and family...and lots of "lazy" hang out time just for us, too!! (Pics: The plate on the kitchen counter proclaims our happy news, Micah gets a kiss from Papaw, Dean's hat was a big hit!, Micah with his Leedy cousins, Micah sweet talks "Aunt Dona" already!!)

It is hard to remember, now, just how trying the last year has been. As I walked by Micah's door tonight, and peeked in at him sound asleep in his crib, I just had this overwhelming feeling of peace...like the ten ton truck on my chest had been lifted. I think it is really just now all sinking in...but each time I have thought that over the past week, it just seems to get even better!!!

Lord, through all of this, I pray that YOUR light will shine brightly...we are so grateful, and so humbled by your blessings in the life of our family. We praise you, and we thank you tonight...our hearts are very full!

God is so GOOD!!

top: Micah on the plane from Guatemala to Atlanta
next: Micah asleep in his crib for the first time!!
next: Cute, clean, happy baby!
bottom: Play time AT HOME!!!

God is good....all the time!
The journey to bring Micah home...from beginning to end... has been one of the most amazingly emotional experiences of our lives!! There have been so many ups and downs...it is hard to process it all. But, through it all...the good and the "bad"....God has been so faithful to us! God is good...not just today, as I sit here with Micah safe and sound, asleep in his crib....but God is good ALL the time. His plan is perfect, even when we can see the point of it all. I am thankful beyond words for God's blessings...especially on this day!!!

We arrived home on schedule...Friday night at 11:00 pm. Micah was wonderful the whole trip...what a great traveler!! We were met at the airport by Gummie, Nana, and Paps. Happy Homecoming, baby!! Micah was tucked into his crib a little after midnight and slept until almost 8 a.m.! Good boy!

We have had a wonderful first day at home! Micah seemed to enjoy meeting some of our good friends AND spending some time with Papaw, Gummie, Paps and Nana. After all the prayers and petitions...Micah is here in the flesh!! And we are so thankful!

We continue to be so grateful for our family and friends, as well!! Thank you for sharing this journey with us!

A full day!

As Erica shared, we went to the Guatemala City Zoo this morning! It is actually a fairly big and very nice zoo...with lots of fun animals! Everyone was feeling good for the adventure, and I am so glad we went!!

After lunch, Brock and Erica were off to the pool while Micah slept!

Micah had a great day (with one small...well, really quite large exception!) He was feeling much better and ate much better! As you can see from the picture, he was really enjoying his dinner! And now we know that he was enjoying it TOO much! Shortly after dinner, we went to knock on the door of another family that just arrived today to take home their 2 daughters...we were excited to meet them in person (I have gotten to know her on the listserve). We knocked on the door...and I am SO SO SO glad that they did not answer...because about 5 seconds later Micah "exploded" everything he had just eaten! My goodness it was a mess!! He had a quick bath and was even smiling and cuddly after all of that...then he was off to sleep!

Other than that little episode, we had a GREAT last day in Guatemala. Memories that we will never forget, I am sure!!! God blessed us EXCEEDINGLY on this trip, and we are so grateful! My heart is very full tonight!!

As we prepare to come home tomorrow...I am so excited to see everyone! And for everyone to meet our new precious son/brother!! But there is definitely a heaviness about leaving, too. To know that we are taking Micah away from his homeland, away from the only home/people he has known so far, and so far away from his birthmom. I do not take lightly the "magnitude" of it all! But, yet, I am so VERY anxious to connect Micah with life that God has chosen for him!

Well...this is probably it until we arrive home in Indiana tomorrow night! Our flight gets in at 11-something...so who knows what type of shape we will be in by then! I know it will be an exhausting day for all of us! (and Chad and I are definitely taking an extra couple of changes of clothes in our carry-on..."just in case" we have a repeat episode of tonight!!)

It has been fun blogging this week! Fun to fell connected with family and friends! And it has been so encouraging to read all the comments!! Keep checking back....we will try to share lots about how the transition goes.....and through it all, may the Lord be lifted HIGH!!

A fun trip to the zoo!!

The day is off to a great start! Micah was great AND Brock was feeling great!!!
We went to the zoo and saw lots of beautiful and strange (strange out numbered beautiful)
animals. Micah, I would say did not like it that much(he was a sleep) . Mom and I thought
the animals were very close to us. So close that we thought the CATS could have run and
jumped over a ditch and a slanted fence.
From:Erica
A.K.A Up Down

We think we are on the mend!

Everyone seems to be feeling better this morning! An answered prayer!! Thank you, Lord, for that!! Micah slept very well last night (best night yet! 9:00-5:00 without a single peep!) We may be headed off to the zoo here in a little bit...pictures later!!!!

It was bound to happen....

Earlier in the day, we were worried about how Micah was feeling. This evening, he seemed to turn the corner. He is still not eating great at all, but was much more smiley again!

Brock and Erica swam ALL day...they have made some friends (another adoptive family with kids about same age...I will let them share that later) and loved hanging out at the pool with them! Chad and I took turns early in the day, but by afternoon, Micah was at the pool with us. He even went for another swim and definitely LOVED it again.

But then there is the rest of the story...

Tonight Brock was complaining of a stomach ache (can we all say "uh-oh"??) and then got sick...and I mean really, really sick! He is alseep now, and we are praying that by morning EVERYONE is feeling much better!

Please be praying for us tonight and tomorrow. We REALLY want Guatemala to end on a good note for everyone!!! Maybe this is the Lord's way of making sure we REALLY want to come home soon, right??? We are certainly getting anxious to see everyone!

The pictures are obviously of the "high points" of the day...there are NO pictures of the low points!! =)

We survived the U.S. Embassy (but barely!)

We have returned from our US Embassy appointment. It was everything we had heard it would be....CROWDED room, hot, noisy, long wait! And, to top it all off....We had to wake Micah up this morning and when we did, he vomitted a couple of times again and had a fever AND a rash!!....YIKES!! All things considered, the Embassy appt really went pretty well. Micah was fussy but slept off and on the whole time (and did not vomit on the US Embassy floor!). Ashley (our representative from All God's Children) walked us through the whole thing...she had hoped we would be done by 10:00 am...we were actually BACK to the hotel by 9:30 ...so thank you to everyone who was praying for today!

We really think Micah caught a little virus...I was afraid it was from me (I was seeing a similar virus before we left, and was a little sick on the trip here---virus or nerves??) , but then one of the other couples said their baby (also from Hannah's Hope) had the same rash. ANYWAY...the cute boy still musters up some smiles and seems to be quite the little trooper. He just took a good bottle and went down without a fuss for a nap, so hopefully he will wake up feeling much better.

We have no pictures to post right now...we could not take a camera into the Embassy. So, we will post some pictures later!

SO.....DO YOU ALL REALIZE THAT THIS IS IT???? All of the paperwork to bring Micah home is DONE!!! Abel (HH's driver) will pick up Micah's passport and visa tomorrow for us....then Friday we are headed home!!! Can you believe it?? Praise God!!!

A Happy 4th of July!!!!

As you can see...we had a GREAT day with one of America's newest citizens!!

• We had a wonderful time at Hannah's Hope...seeing Micah's special moms again (and telling them over and over how grateful for the LOVE they gave Micah for 8 months!!!!!!!) and taking pictures for some of our "adoption friends."
• Micah took a nice long nap while Chad watched the World Cup AND Brock, Erica and I went for a swim.
  
• Micah went for his first swim!!! He absolutely loved it. He smiled tons while in the floaty thing...then he floated on his back in my arms and was SO relaxed!
  
• We had a nice dinner by the pool
• Brock and Erica went for an evening swim while Micah watched (with envy, I think)

It was a great day....especially considering how last night ended...Micah had a major spit-up...then ran a fever (102) for a couple of hours overnight and first thing this a.m.! Not sure what that was all about...but he sure bounced back quick and seems fine now!!! He went to bed without a fuss. We are praying for a good night's sleep for everyone because we have our U.S. Embassy appointment early tomorrow (we are to be in the lobby at 6:30 am to meet our driver).

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY TO EVERYONE!!!

We are a family of 5!!!!

OOOOPS! We realized we had not sent a "family of 5" photo!!
We are off to Hannah's Hope!
More pics and details later!

No eye has seen...

No eye has seen, No ear has heard, No mind has conceived
What God has prepared for those who love Him!
1 Cor. 2:9

I certainly never could have imagined....

• How Brock and Erica would love getting to know Micah...and fast they would learn how to get the quickest "belly laugh" out of him!

• How healthy and happy this beautiful boy would be! (and how fun it would be for me that we could go as a family to his appointment with Dr. Avilla)

• How helpful Brock and Erica would want to be!

• How 30 hours with our newest child would feel like it had been forever.

• How amazingly faithful God was in His plan and His timing (even when it did not appear that way 4 months ago)!!

• How much we would appreciate the love of family and friends "back home" praying for us!

TODAY WAS A 1 CORINTHIANS 2:9 DAY FOR ME!!!

Morning Report...

Micah slept great...from 9:00ish to 5:30. He has eaten well this morning and had a quick bath! We just got back from a "big adventure" to the Econo (grocery/general store)...we assume it was Micah first trip ever to the store!! Micah and Erica are sitting on the floor playing and giggling (picture)...and soon it is nap time!! We will check in later...things are going very well!!

An Amazing Day!!!

I do not know how to even describe this day!!!!

We arrived in Guatemala right on schedule, and the kids did great flying. As promised, we were taken straight to Hannah's Hope. Micah was asleep when we got there..but not for long! he was asleep on his tummy...I rolled him over and he woke up with big eyes! We were at Hannah's Hope for a very brief time (but we made plans to go back on Tuesday to spend more time with the other babies and children...esp your sweet Katerine, Stephanie!) and after a tearful good-bye to Micah's special moms, we were off to the hotel. When we arrived at the hotel, our room was not ready yet, so we decided to grab some lunch in the hotel restaurant. Micah fell asleep on my lap, and the rest of us had a great lunch...marveling at this baby and the change in our family! When we got to our suite, we had some good bonding time with Micah...he was VERY playful and laughing so much! Erica helped me feed him the first time. And Brock could not get enough of making Micah giggle! Erica started "making home" of our suite, starting of course with Micah's things!! Then (while Chad grabbed a much needed nap) Brock, Erica, Micah and I headed to the pool. Brock and Erica had a great time swimming...and Micah fell asleep in my arms. After dinner, Micah fell asleep in his crib after only a few seconds of fussing. He has cried out once since then (about an hour after going down) but only for about 2 minutes and then fell back to sleep on his own. We are anxious to see how the night goes!!

Tomorrow afternoon, we will take Micah to his last doctor's appointment. That should be a fun adventure for all of us!

We continue to be amazed at God's blessings! I do not think this day could have gone any better!! Thank you, Lord!

Stay tuned....we will do our best to post each day! Thank you all for sharing in this journey with us!!

Check back soon.....

We just wanted to let everyone know that we are here...and Micah is wonderful!! We will post a little later with pictures and a "full report"!!!!!!!!!

Chad, Michelle, Brock, Erica AND MICAH!!!!!

PACKED AND READY!!

We have had a fun (and amazingly peaceful) day of packing and preparing! Brock and Erica have had tons of quesions and I think it has actually "sunk in" that we are headed to bring their brother home!!!

I am off for a jog, then a quiet time, then an early bedtime! We are hoping to be on the road headed to the airport by 5 am.

Guatemala, here we come! Thank you, Lord.

A grateful heart...

A day so full of excitement and emotions as we pack for Guatemala....
A day so full of joyful tears, I could hardly talk about our trip without tearing up...
A heart so full of gratitude...

Thank you, Lord, for trading in our sorrows! Tonight we are rejoicing! And I continue to be grateful for the way that you have "held" our family through the last year of ups and downs. You are good, and you are faithful...and we are very, very grateful for the blessings you have showered on this family!