surprise blessing...

All I wished for was one picture of our son on the day of his first birthday and look what a blessing we received... Thank you Ashley and precious mamma's!!!

All the mamma's and children were excited to celebrate "Colocho's" first birthday!


Mamma Joanna helped him get started on his cake...

He already had icing on his shoe;)

No, no word yet on how yesterday went. THANK YOU FOR ALL WHO PRAYED AND ARE PRAYING. And thank you for your words of encouragement during this difficult time. You will never know what it means to know so many people care. God is faithful!

GOD have mercy...

Please pray with us for our case. Friday our lawyer will be presenting a letter to PGN stating that the search for the BM is over. She is unable to be located. So therefore it will be up to the courts as to what happens with our case.

Lord, we pray you will show mercy on us. God we know that none of this surprised you. You chose us as your children. You love us and Nathan more than we could ever understand. You chose us to become a family. God you know our desires. We put our faith and trust in you...

I leave you with a poem that a friend sent to me,

The Fern and the Bamboo

One day I decided to quit.
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality.
I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

"God", I asked. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me.
"Look around", He said.
"Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.

"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds,
I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo."

"In the second year
The Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo".

"In the third year,
There was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit.

In the fourth year,
Again, there was still nothing
from the bamboo seed.
Yet I would not quit."

"Then in the fifth year, he continued
A tiny sprout emerged from the earth.
Compared to the fern it was seemingly
Small and insignificant."

"But just 6 months later the bamboo
rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots.
Those roots made it strong and
gave it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations
A challenge it could not handle."

Then He said to me.
"Did you know, my child,
that all this time you have been struggling,
you have actually been growing roots?
I would not quit on the bamboo.
I will never quit on you.
Don't compare yourself to others."

He continued,
"The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern,
yet, they both make the forest beautiful.
Your time will come," God said.
"You will rise high!"

"How high should I rise?" I asked.

"How high will the bamboo rise?"
He asked in return.

"As high as it can?" I questioned.

"Yes." He said,
"Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

~ ~ ~
Never regret a day in your life.
Good days give you Happiness.
Bad days give you Experiences.
Both are essential to life.

Keep going, DON'T QUIT!

GOD is too wise to be mistaken.
And too good to be unkind...
So when you don't understand..
When you don't see HIS plan...
When you can't trace HIS hand...

HAVE FAITH AND TRUST HIS HEART

Happy Birthday Baby Boy...

Day 4....

Sorry it has taken me so long to continue posting about our trip, but life is so busy these days that I do not know what is up and down;)

So here is day four:

We had took him outside for his usual morning troll after his nap.

I just love this picture of my baby boy! It has to be one of my favorite out of the 2000 we took!

this is also one of my fav of my two boys!!! so sweet. I love how he is holding on to his da-da!

ME and MY BOY!!! I miss him sooooo much. Oh to be able to look into those big brown eyes again....

When we sat him down in the grass for the first time, he was not to fond of it. We had to run and get some food to get his mind off of the grass. We food out quickly that food always works with him:)

We just loved this little outfit on him!!! The colors looked great! But what colors don't look good on him????

POPPY AND NATHAN!

We found out quickly that Nathan LOVED to swing!!! We will definitely have to get a swing at home!!

His first time in the swing I do not think he moved a muscle! He would have fallen alseep if we left him there long enough. He was so relaxed!


cuddling with daddy....

poppy and me...

playing with my helicopter... wish it could have all taken us back to the states;)

these nannies get a good workout when they have to carry this big boy around!! While we ate lunch one day at the Nest, one of the nannies had him like this. HE LOVED IT!!!! He is soooooo spoiled and I LOVE IT!!!!

Casey lovin on Kendall and Jose

Nathan bumpin walkers with Kendall (aka- flirting)

Mimi and Nathan

San Jorge

Panajachel

View of the resort area at the Nest

New entrance into the orphanage


Please continue to pray for a miracle in our case.... that is what it is going to take. God can move mountains. We just have to believe.

in God's hands...

These days all we know to do is trust that God loves us and is in control. We KNOW that He loves Nathan. Nathan is HIS child. He is protecting Nathan. He has a PERFECT plan for Nathan.

The birth mother interview has still not been completed because BM still has not been located. Please pray with us that miracles will happen so we can move over this big hump in the process and we can bring our son home. They tell us that PGN is in control and is running the show. But I know who is really in control- MY GOD!!!


Thank you Marianne for the pictures of our precious growing boy!!! They are priceless!! And thank you for taking time away from Sarah to take the monthly pictures that are precious!!! They made me laugh!!! I love them!!!!! Although, Nathan did not look like he was having too much fun;)


We miss you terribly baby boy!!! We will soon be packing up your room we have so perfectly put together for you and moving it to your new house. I pray you are home soon so we can all make it a home together!!! I love you more than I will ever understand!! I am praying you home...

Our Little Man (edited)

When we saw these pics, we just laughed! This is just too funny!!! He is looks like he is having 'fun'. Not one smile with all the pics we got! He is going to look back on these pictures when he is a teenager and not be so fond of them;)

Health info:
Weight: 27 lbs
Height: 30” tall
Head Circ: 18.7”
Foot size: 4.5”

General information about Jose Pablo:
Continues w/the cold/flu. Is taking “gripetin” for flu symptoms. He likes to be put down to walk and watch TV. He understands when they say “Colocho” which means Curly. (That’s his nickname) He likes to play with his helicopter and his little kitten(which we left for him). He will also “fight” for his toys when they are taken away.

That is our boy! Oh how I miss him so badly!!!! I want him home with us! Please pray that we hear something about his birth mom this week!

On another note, one year ago today we receive pictures of a precious little baby boy who we thought would be our son. God had other plans. I think of Mauro often and pray for him and his family. I pray that he is healthy and safe. Thank you Lord for your plan for our lives and for our family. God we trust and love you. We give you the glory for what you have done and what you are going to do.