Gift From God

Nathan is our Son and a "Gift From God". We are so thankful that God has brought us through this journey and we are trusting in Him to bring Nathan home to us.

We received some very disturbing news from the State Department regarding all adoptions from Guatemala. After January 01, 2008, Guatemala plans to stop ALL adoptions until they and the US are Hague compliant which should be sometime next spring. If our adoption is not complete by then, we will fall into this, and we are not sure what will happen. There are a lot of unknowns.

Casey emailed letters to the State Dept, Rep. Spencer Bachus (AL), Sen. Jeff Sessions (AL), and Sen. Richard Shelby (AL) on the behalf of all adoptive parents of Guatemala children. Our prayer is that the US will sit down with Guatemala officials and get them to reconsider their decisions. If any of you have time, please send an email to your Congressman and Senators asking them to persuade the US State Department to request the Guatemalan government to allow all pending US adoption cases to continue under current requirements. See the following website for more details:

http://www.ncfa-usa.org/GuatemalaHaltsUS.htm

Here's the link to contact your Congressman:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Here's the link to contact your Senator:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

We did receive some good news this week. We got our pre-approval yesterday! So once we are "kicked out" of PGN, we can be resubmitted with PA. Our prayer is that we will FLY through PGN with no more KO's so we can be done with PGN by early December or sooner! If we are done in December, we should be able to finish up the adoption and still go pick up Nathan and bring him home with out having any problems.

Our Prayer:

~Nathan's Health and Safety

~The "Mamas" taking care of Nathan

~ the other children in the home, their adoptive families and their cases

~the US and Guatemala governments

~to FLY through PGN with no "kick outs"

~to trust God through this process and to give Him praise and glory

Thank you for your prayers and support!!

Update On the Twins:

They are doing good. Taylor is off the ventilator and improving everyday. She is having a swallow study done tomorrow and if she passes, they can start feeding her by mouth. Addison is doing good. They are still watching her for apnea episodes. She has at least 4 more days in the hospital. Please continue to pray for them as they both grow and improve.

Pray for Jennifer and Bryan as they gets rest when they can. They appreciate your prayers so much!! Thank you!!

Stephanie and Casey

Nathan has 2 Cousins!

Addison and Taylor were born Friday morning. Bryan and Jennifer are proud parents of two beautiful baby girls!!!

Addison is doing good. She is in the NICU at St. Vincent's. She is having feeding problems, but hopefully will resolve soon and will be home with mom and dad in a week.

Taylor had to be transported to Children Hospital's NICU yesterday. They discovered she has Esophageal Atresia. She had surgery today to repair it. If everything goes as planned, she will be in the hospital for a couple of weeks then hopefully come home.

Please pray for my two new nieces. They are so tiny and have already been through so much, especially Taylor. I know God is in control and has been and will protect both of them.

Jennifer is doing good, exhausted, but hanging in there. Bryan is tired also. He has been going between St. Vincent's and Children's the past two days. Pray for strength and comfort for them both.

I will keep you posted on the babies.
Thank you for your prayers,
Stephanie

Submitted to PGN!!!

We were submitted into PGN (Guatemala's court) on Sept. 19th without Pre-approval(PA). We will get a "Kick Out" due to the fact we do not have PA as of yet. But this will let us know if there is any paperwork that needs to be corrected and when we receive PA, which should come around Oct 8th, we will be resubmitted to PGN. From that point it should be about 8weeks in PGN, praying we do not get any real "Kick Outs". So we should be officially be out of PGN in early December. ( I hope this all makes sense)

Please continue to pray that our case goes smooth and FAST!!!! It would only be by a miracle for Nathan to be home by the end of the year, which God is totally capable of doing. More realistic time frame is sometime in January if the case keeps on the smooth path. But God is in control and His timing is perfect.

Pray that Nathan continues to stay healthy and safe while he is away from us. I know he is getting such good care where he is, I am so thankful.

Thank you for your prayers! God is faithful!

Update on My Nieces: Jennifer goes in tomorrow morning for a c-section. I can't believe she made it almost to 36 weeks!!! Praise God!! Pray for her and the baby girls that everything goes well and that the twins are safe and healthy! Thanks!!

(see my family blog later for pics of the babies-allumsfamily.blogspot.com)

September Update~ 2 months 2 weeks

Here is the September Update!!! He is getting soooo BIG!!!! So many ROLLS!!!! I could just catch a plane and fly down there now-watch out Casey!

Here is his health update:

weight- 11lbs. 7oz.

height- 22 in.

head circ- 15 in.

foot- 3.8 in.

Comments were " He is well. He takes his bottle well and cries sometimes."

We are so thankful that he is not sick right now and pray that he stays healthy. We are also thankful for the naked picture:) Some of you might think that is strange, but it is hard not being able to see every inch of his body to see for yourself that he is okay. So I am very thankful for the naked picture (with diaper) so that I can count all his fat rolls!

Thank you for the millionth time for your love, prayers and support!!!!

Stephanie and Casey

The Chosen Child

Longing for a child to love,

I'd wish upon the stars above.

In my heart I always knew,

A part of me was meant for you.

I think now happy we will be,

Once I adopt you, and you about me.

I dream of all the joy you'll bring,

Imagining even the littlest things.

The way it will feel to hold you tight,

And tuck you in every night.

The drawings on the refrigerator door,

And childhood toys across the floor.

The favorite stories read again and again,

And hours of games with make-believe friends.

The day you took my outstretched hand,

A journey ended, but our lives began.

Still mesmerized by your sweet face,

Still warmed inside by our first embrace.

I promise to give you a happy home,

And a loving family all your own.

A house you've now made complete,

With laughter, smiles and tiny feet.

A parent is one who guides the way,

Know I will be there everyday.

Rest easy as each night you sleep,

A lifetime of love is yours to keep.

Longing for a child to love,

I'd wish upon the stars above.

in my heart I always knew,

A part of me belonged to you.

Each day gets harder and harder to wait for Nathan, but I just keep taking comfort in Jesus Christ and his perfect plan. He has adopted me as his child. He chose me just as I am and loves me know matter what and no matter how weak my faith his. Thank you Lord!

Please continue to pray that our case goes FAST!! Even though we are given a timeline, God is far above any timeline. Pray that if it is God's will, Nathan will be home soon!!!! It would be such a blessing it we could get him here sooner then expected! God would definitely get all the glory because it is completely out of our hands.

Thank you sooo much for your prayers and support!!!!

Stephanie, Casey and Nathan

Thank you Aunt Pam for the precious poem!

Case Update

I heard from our Social worker, Anna, and she said that the social work interview was done with the birth mother on August 31st, but they do not have the report back yet. When the lawyer gets the report, he will then submit us to PGN (without Pre-approval). He anticipates us receiving pre-approval around October 8th.

She also said that we should get pictures and health update around the third week of this month. So I will post that as soon as we get it!! I bet he has really grown!!

Continue to pray that everything goes smooth and without delay!!! I am so thankful for all the blessings so far and for no major complications. Please pray for Nathan and the others at the orphanage as they face what is left of the hurricane as it passes through. Pray that they have no major damage and no complications from all the rain.

Thank you once again for all your love, prayer and support!!

Love to you all!
Stephanie and Casey

P.S. Say a special prayer for my sis-in-law and my nieces (Addison and Taylor)who will make their entrance into the world soon! She is on bed rest and doing well.