Pregnant 1 year?! Is it possible?

Yes folks . . . .
We have been "pregnant" for 1 whole year today! :) It was a year ago today that God showed us (through Jeremy's dream) that we have a daughter in Guatemala! If you haven't heard the story - just find (or click here) The Dream post from April of 2006. It's an amazing story!
I never thought, in my wildest dreams, that we would be spending this 1 year anniversary WITHOUT our little girl home. Last year someone mentioned that maybe we would have her home in June 2007 (in reference to a mention of D-Day in J's dream - which is June 6th) - and my response was "I HOPE NOT! I want her home THIS June (of 06)!" . . . . . As you can guess - I would GLADLY bring her home THIS June 07!! :) We'll see. That would still qualify under the "miracle" heading right now though. But God COULD do it if He wanted.

As for the latest developments. Thank you for all who have been praying about all the possible changes/announcements (of the Protocol of Good Practice), etc and how that might affect our adoption process. Keep praying. As of now, things have died down in Guatemala in regards to all that - but it can always rear it's ugly head again at any time. Let's pray it doesn't. Let's pray that the gov't and those in authority/the decision makers, will figure out a way to become complaint with the Hague treaty without jeapordizing the welfare of thousands of orphans and children! That should be their main concern - but unfortunately, it isn't always the case.

Keep praying for our process too - that nothing will hinder it from going forward quickly and smoothly. We are still waiting for the English translation of Wendy's COA and for our POA (Power of Atty) to be fully authenticated and sent down to Guatemala. Hopefully we will have all that done by next week sometime. We'll see. . . . .THEN . . . . it's FINALLY time to start the adoption process in GT!!! Man! For alot of people - that part of the process is the longest and most emotionally nerve-wracking time . . . . but it already feels like I've gone through so much so far . . . . and we haven't even STARTED the GT side of things! Maybe that will benefit me and make it seem like the GT "waiting" isn't as bad! :) I've been waiting for 3+ months with "nothing" happening till lately - so I think we'll make it through the rest. Oh yeah - and it looks like (according to her COA) there is a good chance that the rest of the process won't take the 2+ years, but somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-8 months (avg - 6-7 mo's). Yeah!!!!

I would also ask for prayer for us to be able to go visit Wendy in April. We are asking God to make it all work out - financially, childcare related, etc. Right now I am a bit overwhelmed just thinking about all the hoops to jump through just to get down there. If we had a ton of money (and all my kids had their passports) I would just buy tickets for them all and hop on the plane tomorrow! :) But at $600-700+ a ticket . . . . I don't think so. :) Anyways - just pray that we can go visit her soon. My heart is aching to see her, hold her, snuggle with her, let her get to know us and to know that we love her sooooo much. Thanks guys!

Well - that's about it for now! Thanks for checking in and for praying for us. We always need it! Don't be afraid to tell us what you need prayer for! I LOVE praying for people! I LOVE seeing God at work through prayer! K?!

Blessings!
Lori :)

Katie's COA . . . I mean . . . COF is here!!

Your prayers have worked!! Yes - can you believe it?! Our agency has finally been able to get ahold of her COA (Certificate of Abandonment) - which we affectionately call - her COF - Certificate of FREEDOM!! :) We got the wonderful news yesterday and we are now able to sign and send our POA (Power of Attorney) down to Guatemala and actually START the adoption process!! Woo-hoo!! What an answer to prayer!

Our director was trying to get in touch with the orphanage director or social worker down in Guatemala, for quite awhile. It wasn't until last week that we finally started to get some "movement" on this journey (probably due to your prayers!). I had a hard time when Feb. 3rd came and went. That marked 3 months since our referral of our daughter - with N-O-T-H-I-N-G happening. I felt like our boat (going down the river) was just stuck - stalled - not going anywhere. I didn't know if we were still moving forward or not.
On Tuesday, Jan 30th, I was praying over this situation, and I felt God led me to Joshua 1:11 -
". . . 'Get your supplies ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan here to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you for your own.' "
I didn't know if this was going to be a literal 3 days or just an encouragement that we would get to accept the referral of our little girl very soon. But I did feel that it was an encouragement from the Lord to get ready.
The next day (Wed) I got an email from our director saying that she had gotten in touch with the social worker in GT and that things were "moving" - that the SW was going to look into where Wendy's COA and paperwork was. Woo-hoo! :) Yeah! We thought we would hear something back that day or even on Thursday. So . . . when I didn't hear anything by Friday, I was quite sad. Saturday I spent some time praying about it all again and reading more from Joshua. This time vs 13 stood out - " . . . 'The Lord your God is giving you rest and has granted you this land.' " There were some other things in the next two chapters that had me worried (would I have to help others find their "rest" and "land" before being able to "go back and occupy" my own land . . . ."toward the sunrise") - and so I talked with a friend on Sunday after church.
I shared my heart with her and the scriptures and she got excited as I read vs 13 as that was a verse God used to help her totally relinquish her adoption process over to God. It is both a permanent statement (he HAS granted you this land) and a continuing process (he IS GIVING you rest). I knew this - but I just wasn't feeling the "rest" at the moment as I was frustrated at the lack of movement on the part of the people involved (or lack of communication). She prayed with me and God really poured His peace into me. It is HIM that I need to trust - not the people, not the situation . . . just HIM! If He can create this whole complex world, He can surely cause our adoption process (and all those involved) to go as HE has planned!

He also gave me some clarity on the vision He showed me before - about our boat on the river going through a narrow opening between 2 large, expansive slabs of rock. Jeremy has always thought the rocks meant danger. I always thought they meant difficulties along the adoption process - in the vision I got the sense that people didn't think we would fit between the rocks . . . but we did - just perfectly. The rocks extended all the way to the edge where a waterfall awaited us - a scary, fast, yet exciting waterfall that we ride down to a calm pool of water below. I have been asking God for some time - What do the rocks and waterfall represent? Are we there yet? Where are we on this "river"?
He led me to Pslams 62 - esp. vs. 1&2, 5-8. "My soul finds rest in God alone . . . He alone is my rock. . . my fortress, I will never be shaken . . . my hope comes from him . . . he is my rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times . . . pour out your hearts to him for God is our refuge."
In the notes of my Bible for the verses in Joshua it said that "rest" is an important OT term - meaning a secure border . . . peace with neighboring countries . . . no threat of harm to life . . . etc. What God was showing me was that He was giving me "rest" - a secure border, no threats, etc - and what was that "rest" found in . . . the "ROCK". The rocks represented GOD - surrounding us on all sides - protecting us, making a secure border, guiding us down the river EXACTLY where He wanted us to go (no chance of us veering off), and staying with us till the very end (the waterfall). These rocks cannot be moved! It is a permanent path we are floating down! We have no paddles (and couldn't use them even if we did) - so we just need to sit back and REST! WOW! This gave me so much peace!
I am soooo glad that I know God and that I trust His ways for my life! He has never let me down, and His plans and ways have ALWAYS been perfect for me. I may not always enjoy the paths He takes me down - but they are for my good and I am thankful for them!

So . . . what's next? Well . . . more waiting. :) hee,hee. We are now just waiting for our agency to get the POA authenticated and down to Guatemala, and then the lawyer(s) can start the process in GT. How long that will take is anyone's guess. I am praying it will be fast like that waterfall!! :)

Please pray that:
1. Our POA gets to GT and logged in/registered VERY SOON!!!! This is important!
2. That the rest of our process in GT goes quickly and smoothly - that our paperwork will get in the right hands (speedy social workers and reviewers).
3. God would continue to bless our finances for this adoption.
4. God will not let anything hinder Wendy/Katie from coming home this year!
5. God will orchestrate things in GT to see that adoptions are ethical, compassionate and in the best interest of the children. There has been talk for some time of the US (or even GT) gov't stopping adoptions from GT to the US. We want to see changes that will benefit the children (relinquishements and especially the abandonment cases).

God bless you all today and this week! Thank you for all your prayers! I KNOW they have made a difference, and I have felt the peace that has come with those prayers! We truly appreciate and value your support through this amazing journey! How blessed Wendy/Katie is to have so many prayer warriors on her side to bring her home!!

Bless you a hundred-fold!!

Lori :)