Funny from Nathan's teacher

I know you guys can't believe I would post twice in one day! I can't believe it either, but this was really cute so I had to share it with you. Here is an email that Nathan's teacher sent me:

I have to tell you the funniest thing that Nathan said the other day. The day that he brought Wall-e to share, when he was finished and I told the kids to put their items back in their backpacks, Nathan said, “Can I pick something from Housekeeping to put in my backpack for Wall-e to play with?” I said, “I think Wall-e should probably take a rest in your backpack for the rest of the afternoon.” He said okay and took Wall-e to his backpack. When he came back out he said, “Mrs. Donnelly, Wall-e said he was not sleepy.” This made me laugh so hard! He was so serious!

For those of you who don't know, Wall-e is from a disney movie that is out right now.

God's arms are reaching...

We received an email from our agency last night, our attorney is willing to reduce some of her fees! We also have received some help from friends, thank you guys we love you!! Our bill is still large but it is a little more manageable now.
Psalm 27
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? 2 When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. 3 Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. 4 One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. 5 For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. 6 Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord.

Matthew 6:25-34

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?

Please Pray...

We just received our final invoice from our agency. It isn't pretty. There is about $5,000-$6,000 extra that we are not prepared for. I am trying to negotiate with our agency, which she in turn is speaking with the attorney about. However, the director said the attorney more than likely isn't going to back down. I have an amazing friend who just stepped forward and is donating $1,000 to us. WOW! I am so moved. Over the last two years we have had fundraisers, yard sales, sold anything not bolted down, in an effort to help raise the money to give Joseph a home. Last year we had a sweet couple donate money so we could go and visit Joseph. I am so thankful and grateful to have all of you in my life. We never would have made it this far without your support. We could really use the support of your prayers now. Thank you.

Just for fun...

Things I've learned by "making do"

- chewable maalox, not so good as a breath mint
- bank deposit slips filled out in crayon, make for bad banking mistakes
-a good napkin is a great coffee filter in desperate times
-a car really can make it a ways on fumes alone
-your child will use just about anything as a tissue
-a drier sheet is not a good substitute for tissue paper
-scented lotion as deodorant, it doesn't work no matter how much you use
I've had 30 something years of "making do" so there are many many more than what's listed here. Some have been better than others, like all my cooking substitutions that I won't even go into. These are all the ones that just popped up in the 10 minutes I had to post. I'd love to hear how you've made do in the past. Don't be shy, come on tell me about it.

The Big Day

There's my official kindergartner! I had to take pictures this morning before we left. I know he'll change so much by the end of the school year. I can't imagine it though, because he already looks so grown up to me. Still my baby though, of course! Today is his first full day of school. He was pretty laid back about it all, since last week he went twice for half days. He did tell me he did not want to stay "all day." Especially when I threw in there that they would have a rest period today. I'm having lunch with him and staying to help out this afternoon, he's excited about that.
And, there's the proud daddy.

This one was Nathan saying "I need to take a picture of you guys too!"

This is him lined up against the wall with all the other kids waiting to go into the classroom. What a cutie!
And, there he goes. And here comes the tears. Well, not really but a little choked up on the inside. ("the crying on the inside kind, I guess") - sorry, just a quote from one of mine and Tim's favorite movies.

Now I'm off to work on all the final adoption paperwork. Someone say a prayer for me today :)

US17

Last week, Nathan decided he and I needed to build a robot. He started out with some very aggressive plans for a robot built of wood with a brain, a motor, and a remote control. His plan involved an expensive trip to Lowe's. For some of the materials, I think I was going to have to break into NASA. That may be frowned upon. Anyway, since I would like to stay out of prison, I convinced Nathan that we could build one out of some things in the garage.

Here is a picture of US17. Nathan came up with the name. US17 is a top secret, highly evolved, super robot disguised as a low-tech, cardboard box, tissue paper roll, milkshake lid, cut up tennis ball wearing nothing. He is very specialized. He is able to slide gracefully across the hardwood floors on his advanced gliders and is able to hold massive amounts of cargo in his rear holding area. He has experimental padding on his front in case he runs into something or is attacked.

Don't ask me questions about his capabilities. You do not have the clearance.

planning planning planning!

I am starting to plan for ALL the zillions of things I am going to need to take with me on the trip to Guatemala. Also, we have decided to take Nathan with us!! He is pumped about coming along to bring his little brother home. Tim and I are so excited that Nathan will get to be a part of this process too. I plan to check in with our attorney the end of next week to get the progress report on our paperwork. Believe it or not, it will take me 6 weeks just to make my "list" for travel! Other than that, we've been glued to the Olympics!! I'll be so sad when it's over on Sunday. For those of you who are doing the knitting Olympics, good luck and don't worry you can sleep on Monday! I decided not to do it this time because I have WAY to much else I have got to get done before my little Guat gets home. I'll keep you posted on any new adoption info.

Tracy

Getting ready for school...

I can't believe that it's time to send Nathan to kindergarten. We're ready though. Well, as ready as you ever get I guess. Truthfully, I would like it if he'd stay little forever. Right now he loves his mom and dad; there is no one in the world he thinks is cooler than us. I know that is about to change! It's nice to be your child's hero. I'm going to try and enjoy the few weeks I'll have at home alone, before sweet Joseph gets here. I keep saying that, hoping eventually it will sound good! I keep thinking about all that knitting I'll be able to get done, and those books I've been wanting to read but haven't had the time. It's only from 8:30am to 3:330pm, that will go by fast, right? I miss him already. I know, I know, I've got to suck it up! Seriously though we are excited about this new chapter in our lives. Nathan is going to have a great time at school and I have plenty to do to keep me busy. Especially preparing for Joseph! I just got the email on all the paperwork I have to take with us, whew that's a lot of work! Thanks for all the CONGRATS that we got! We love you all.
Tracy

Still floating high....

We are still beside ourselves with excitement about Joseph! We called the foster family last night to talk to Joseph, but he was already sleeping. She said he had played hard all day with another little boy and he was very tired. The foster family said that they are very happy about us being pgn approved. She also said they are sad. I can only imagine how hard this will be for them, they have cared for and loved him for 2 years now. They are such an incredible family. We feel very blessed that Joseph got to wait for his forever family with them. BUT, now he's coming home to us! We couldn't be happier. We are trying to prepare our hearts for his transition. Although we've been waiting and waiting, he hasn't. He's been happily content with his temporary surroundings. I can't wait to get started "attaching" to him and him to me.

Nathan and I called him this morning, he didn't really want to talk but he was listening to us. Nathan got very excited that he got to say "hola" to him. Apparently Joseph said "papa" back to Nathan which cracked Nathan up! I'm hoping 6 weeks FLYS by!

Amazing Grace...

As I have said over and over through the last two years, God is good all the time. This is a day that it comes easy to say that. After two long hard years of fighting to bring our sweet Joseph home, we no longer have to fight. HE IS COMING HOME!!! We got the call from our attorney this morning, and our file has been APPROVED by PGN! Let me say that again, we have been APPROVED!!! We have final signature and it is officially over. He is our son! So, now we wait for all the necessary paperwork to be submitted to the US Embassy and they will issue our pick up appointment. Thank you all so much for your support and prayers! I'm dizzy with emotion right now. It's hard to put into words everything that is running through my mind. So here are the only other details I have right now. We are looking at being able to travel to Guatemala in about 6-8 weeks, possibly sooner. Also, now we've got to pay the big bucks!! Start praying!

It's True!

WaaaWhooooo! Our attorney confirmed that our file is awaiting final signature in PGN. So, if the director doesn't issue a kick out, we'll be approved soon! The attorney said she will call as soon as she gets word that we are approved. We are very excited and anxious now. After PGN approval we have to go through steps with the US embassy in order to get our pick up scheduled. Best case sceneiro it will probably take about a month to two months. We are certainly believing we will be the best case scenerio there! How nice it will be to get my baby boy home!!!!! Thanks for your prayers everyone.

Introducing Harvey...

We have a new addition to the family. For 2 years Nathan has begged us for a dog, and so here we are. We have had him for a month now, but we wanted to make sure allergies and everything else was settled before we made our big announcement. Harvey is really fun to have around and Nathan loves having someone to chase all day long! Nathan helps take care of him and he is so proud to have his "very own dog." He says that a lot. For those who are wondering Harvey is a goldendoodle.
In other news, I spoke with our adoption attorney again yesterday. She said our file was approved by the 2nd reviewer now. This would mean we are waiting for final signature from the director for approval. I am supposed to check in again with the attorney later in the week. We'll see what happens now!
ONE MORE KNITTING PROJECT COMPLETED:

Love these socks!! Now Tim's feet will be nice and cozy, wrapped with love. (ahh)
Now I'm on to a million other projects for a million other people.

More Breath Holding....

We're not out of the woods yet in bringing Joseph home. I spoke with our attorney today and it's more of the same insanity. Apparently, when our file went from juvenile court to the PGN it went without all the documentation on our investigation. We were approved in PGN by the 2nd reviewer, but when we got to the final adviser he would not approve us without the documentation. The good news is that at least all the work that was involved in getting the documentation, to prove no fradulent activity took place, has already been done. Now it is just a matter of getting papers from one spot to another. The attorney has close friends in both departments and is working on using their help to get these papers to PGN. I know what all of you are thinking, and trust me I'm thinking it too. Why and how would a file go from an investigation to the approval system WITHOUT THE DOCUMENTATION?!!! I don't know so don't ask me! We are all just hanging on the best we can. God has perfect timing and who am I to question that. A good friend of mine is going through a difficult time with her daughter, who is having to be admitted into the hospital for treatment. They have had to play the waiting game a lot too. One thing she said about their waiting, was that it gave her more time to pray and talk with God about the situation. Waiting isn't always a bad thing. Obviously their situation is very different than ours. However, both situations are tough. So, I am taking a cue from her and I will use this time to pray for Joseph and for his homecoming. If you could, would you also pray that he would have a smooth transition into our family? Pray for his grieving and his attachment. Those of you who have already brought home your Guatemalan angels know exactly what I'm talking about. Also about my friend, her sweet little girl's name is Stephanie and she is only 8 years old. Please pray for her and her family, and that the doctors will have the wisdom to know how to proceed.

Thanks!