We have a Nursery!!!

The nursery is complete! We got the room painted and have all the furniture. We love the furniture- it is PERFECT!! Thank you POPPY AND NINA for the CRIB!!! Nathan can't wait to get home and sleep in his nice new cozy bed!!

Here are a few pics of the room. We still have some work to do, but all we really need is Nathan!!

Daddy painting.....

The Crib- Thanks Poppy and Nina!

Nathan's bedding- Thanks Gammy and Papa

4 Months Old ~ 2 Weeks in PGN!!!!

I can't believe Nathan is 4 months old today! It does not seem like he should be that old already?? It makes me sad that we have missed so much of his life, but I am so thankful we are going to be able to see him very soon and spend a week with him and make lots of fun, sweet and priceless memories!

And today marks 2 weeks in PGN!! I can't believe it has already been 2 whole weeks!! YEAH!! If the weeks can just keep rolling by and no "kick outs" we can get that sweet baby home before you know it! Keep praying that the reviewers in PGN find all our paperwork favorable. Also continue to pray for all the changes that are happening with the whole Guatemala adoption process. There has been a lot of speculation, but nothing confirmed as far as what will happen with the active cases during the shut down.

We are getting very excited about our trip!! I can't think too much about meeting or leaving Nathan- I start to get sick at my stomach!!! I am just overwhelmed with emotions!! It is so hard to believe this day is so near. I just can't wait!!!!

I have already started packing a couple of suitcases with Nathan's stuff, donations for the orphanage and other babies care packages from their mommy's. There is so much to pack I had to start early to keep my sanity ;) My "To Do" List was getting way to long!!

Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support! God is so faithful!

Tagged

I've been tagged! (No news either, Witney)
We are just preparing for our trip. Tons to do before we leave!!! We are getting Nathan's stuff together, care packages for other babies and donations for the orphanage. We are so excited and can't wait for the moment we see his face in person!!

Jobs I have had:
I have had lots... I'll just list a few
~Sunglass Hut for a couple of summers... loved getting a huge discount!!!
~First Federal Bank-co op job- hated it!
~Nursing Assistant while in nursing school-loved it!!
~Nurse now at Children's Hospital...

Places I have lived:
~A couple of different towns in Alabama... not very adventurous....

Foods I love:
~Most any...
~Strawberries
~Macaroni and cheese
~Mexican

Places I'd rather be:
~At home with Nathan and Casey
~On Vacation Anywhere

Books I love:
~Not much of a reader....
~The Bible
~I am trying to read "The Peace Maker" by Ken Sande

I am Tagging:
~Sheri M
~Lori M
~Stephanie D
~Jennifer H
~Julie R

Answer to Prayer!!

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!"

Psalm 91:1-2

Where do I start.....

God has truly been working in our lives this week. We did not know when we were going to see Nathan, if we were going, how long we were going.... But God knew all along. We almost booked our flight for the 12th-18th earlier in the week, but for some reason decided to wait. It was God's plan all along!

All the details came together this afternoon. Thank you LORD!!!!

One major answer to prayer and my miracle of this whole thing-There was confusion on the dates that were available at the orphanage for the apartments. Our social worker has been communicating back and forth trying her best to work something out for us (thanks Anna!!). As of this morning we were only going to be able to travel the 12th-16th. This was a huge disappointment because that only gave us 3 full days with Nathan and the other two days for travel. I received this news from Casey around lunch when I woke up today(I work nights). I was extremely disappointed and asked God for a miracle and for some how to work it out for us to be able to spend two more days with our son. I did not want to travel that far for just 3 days. Two days does not sound like much, but every minute counts!! We were going to lose a lot of precious time if we lost two whole days. I do not think I could have been able to mentally handle just being down there for that short of time. This was a huge disappointment. I asked God for a miracle truly believing it would happen.

I could not go back to sleep, so I went to see the twins (they are precious and getting so big-they can't wait to meet Nate!). When Casey got home, he check my email and there was a message from our social worker, Anna. There was our miracle- TWO MORE DAYS!!! It does not seem like much- but God knows we need it and he answers prayer! So we will be traveling the 10th-16th. Somehow those dates that were once not available are now free and we are going for a week! My mom is now going with us!!! We are all very excited and can't wait to get down there and hug and kiss on Nathan all week long!!!

We have our flights booked and are ready to start packing our bags. Please pray for us as we prepare our hearts and minds for this trip. Pray that God will be glorified through us during this time with him.

We also got a case update today... We are in PGN!!!!!! We were submitted yesterday, the 10th!!! So, now the wait is on. If we do not get a kick out and we are in for 8 weeks, we should be out sometime early December. We are keeping the faith and trusting in God because he knows best.

Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory because of Your loving kindness, because of your truth.

Psalm 115:1

No News Yet

We do not have a case update yet. We hope and pray we here something this week. My prayer is that we have already been kicked out of PGN and been resubmitted with PA and we just do not know it yet!

Our trip dates are not set in stone. There was some confusion with the orphanage. Our social worker is checking on it. We should know something soon. I am just thankful we can go.

I am praying that the Lord will start preparing Casey and I for meeting our Son for the first time. I can't imagine what it is going to be like. Even more, I pray that he will prepare us for leaving him. I pray that God will be glorified during the first time as a family. Thank you Lord for this opportunity.

Once again, I thank you for your prayers and support. Family and friends have been such an encouragement during this journey. I can not wait for the day all of you can meet Nathan face to face! Until then, after our trip I can guarantee there will be plenty of pictures to post!

Love,
Stephanie and Casey

Health Update

Nathan is healthy and doing well.

Stats:

Weight- 13 lbs 6 oz

Height- 23.5 in

Foot- 3.8in

We are getting real excited about our visit trip!! I am already getting his clothes together that I want to take. I plan to take lots of pictures to make up for lost time!!!

We do not have a case update as of yet. We are praying we will get a "kick out" next week so we can be resubmitted with our pre-approval to PGN and FLY through in 8 weeks or less to get out before the end of the year. If not, we are not sure when we will be able to bring Nathan home. But, God is still faithful and in control. His timing is perfect.

Please pray for the children of Guatemala. With the changes that are happening with the adoption process, the children are going to be effected. Pray for their safety, health and care.

We are praying while in PGN our documents will be reviewed quickly and without error. Thank you Lord for bringing us this far and for blessing our family with this perfect child of yours. Thank you for what your are going to do.

Healthy Little Boy!! 3 months old

We got our new pictures for October. Nate is a chunky monkey!!! He is the most precious thing!!! I just love His beautiful face!!!

We have exciting news!!! We have decided to go on a visit trip!!!!! We leave November 12th!!! We are so anxious and excited to finally meet our son face to face! I can't imagine what it will be like. We will be there for a week! I am already getting things together to take for him. I will have thousands on pictures from the trip and tons of video!!!!

Still no news on the legal side of things. As far as we know, we are still in PGN. Hopefully we will get kicked out this week, or early next week. Please continue to pray that everything goes smooth and we will be out of PGN before the year is up so our child can come home with us forever!!!! Enjoy the new pics.....

(Don't for get to look a couple of post below and go to the links to write your congressional representatives to help get the children of Guatemala home!!!! Thank you!!!! The children thank you!!!!)

The Girls are Doing Great!!

Addison and Taylor are now Roomies and doing great. Taylor got moved from the NICU yesterday. They both are doing well and growing like little weeds. They are just precious!!! We are so thankful for these two little miracles. We know it could have been so much worse.

Thank you all for the prayers for them. They have really been felt.

Addison should be discharged today, but she will stay in the room with them until Taylor is discharged later this week.

(in the picture of the two of them- Taylor has her eyes open, Addison is asleep!)

I am going to post a few pictures on my family blog-

allumsfamily.blogspot.com

and you can also see a lot of pics on there blog-

thepopetwins.blogspot.com

Thank you again for the prayers!

Aunt Stephanie