big boy....

Nathan recently had his first experience at a barber shop. The nannies are very protective of his hair. They call him "Colocho" meaning 'curly'. Even though he really does not have much curl to his hair anymore, they seem to still be particular with him. The missionary took all the boys to get hair cuts and Nathan, "Colocho", got to go. He was very excited and felt special.






such a boy... loves the bugs:)


where did my baby go??? He is such a handsome little guy!!! Oh, how my heart misses him!

sweet nathan...

this boy just can't get any cuter! he has the brightest, sweetest face!

There is not much to report about our case. There is not movement. Nothing. Still waiting. I hate waiting. I can't say much more about that....

Nathan is doing well. He is in good health and so well loved and cared for! I am so very thankful for that!! He is going to start preschool at the first of the year. He weighs 48 lbs and is 40 inches tall now. It is so hard to wrap my mind around how big he is now. The last time I held him he was so tiny compared to his size now. He is almost to big to hold and carry. That makes me sad.

From what is told to us and what we see on his precious face, Nathan seems to have a sweet spirit about him. Below is what the latest report said about Nathan:

Jose Pablo “Colocho” is turning into a sweet little boy. He would rather sit and read than to get up and run outside. He loves to go on long walks though. He loves the pool and is sweet and loving to everyone. He loves to talk as well and points out everything he sees.

As Casey and I read this separately and talk about it later, we both said this reminded us of my little brother Conner when he was younger. Nathan has always reminded me of him.

We continue to pray for this child. It may not be legal (yet), but he will always be our son in our hearts. We continue to pray and ask God to move mountains....

thank you for praying for our son and our family.... it is so obvious when Cooper is playing with older children that he was created to be the little brother.

praying him home...

Well, it has been a long time since I have written a post.... so here is my attempt.

Not much to tell you on Nathan's adoption. No answers yet on what they are going to do with out case. Not much action taken on our behalf. Frustrated..... DOES NOT even begin to describe how we feel. I honestly do not know how to feel or what to think anymore.

Are we going to have to raise Nathan from here while he grows up in Guatemala?? WOW, I hope not. BUT, if that is God's plan for our family, good. We will do just that. Nathan is our son, we love him, we care for him, we will provide for him no matter where he physically lives. We WILL see him again!

As Cooper continues to grow and change soooo fast, I think about Nathan at each milestone.... we missed and continue to miss so much with him.

~ We saw ( in a picture) Nathan for the first time when he was 2.5 weeks old.
~We brought Cooper home when he was 2.5 weeks old.
~We have only spent 2 weeks of Nathan's 3.5 years of life.
~We have only missed 2.5 weeks of Cooper's 9.5 months life.

That is a lot to take in. It breaks my heart that Nathan does not know he has a mommy and daddy that wanted to be there when he had all his first's. It breaks my heart that he does not know and feel the love and care of his own family. He does not know he HAS his own family that he can not be with, yet. How is this the best plan??? So hard to understand.... continuing to try.

Nathan is doing great! Each time someone visit's or we get an update, he just keeps getting more beautiful!!!! He is growing and doing great!!! He is loved and cared for. That gets me through.

I long for the day that I hold him in my arms again. It will be hard to let go. He will be so much bigger, he will be talking.... in Spanish. He is not the 10.5 month old I remember from our last trip. He is a walking, talking, potty trained, Spanish speaking little 3 year old boy.......

Praying our son home.....

3 years ago....

We saw this precious blessing for the first time. God gave us a special gift, Nathan. I never dreamed we would be in this place three years later, but God's plans are perfect. Praying you home sweet Nathan! We miss you!!!!

What is sad about this????

NOTHING!!!!

When we are out in public, I know the things that are going through most people's minds. They are trying to figure out our family. Is he a foster child? Is he adopted? Where is he from? Which country did they go to?

When people ask where is he from, I answer 'the US'. Then the response is always, 'Really?!?!' Yes REALLY! 'Orphans' are not just in third world countries, they are in our OWN back yard. Then the response is sometimes, 'that is so sad'. WHY?? What is so sad about it? What WOULD have been sad is if Cooper's birth mother would not have chose life for him. It is so heart breaking to think of this precious, perfect little life not being here with us now. That is sad! Not that his birth mother made a huge sacrifice and placed her child for adoption so that he could live and have a life. Not only have a life, but be given the opportunity to know Jesus. There is nothing sad about this. There is nothing sad about adoption. Jesus was adopted. I was adopted by my Savior. Cooper WAS adopted and is now our son.

God has shown us so much about this world, about ourselves and about Jesus through our past 7 years of this journey into starting a family. He continues to teach us and direct our paths. I pray I am open and ready for what He has in store for us and our family.

My baby is 3 today....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet Nathan Lee!

Mommy and Daddy miss you so much and pray you have a great day! We wish we were there to celebrate such a beautiful life! We love you from afar and continue to pray you home!!

my little may flower...

These pictures made my mother's day weekend. This boy is just precious and a little miracle! Words can't explain how my heart hurts to not have this boy home! I cannot believe it has been TWO YEARS since we have been with him. Where does the time go??? This is precious time we will never get back.

Nathan is doing well. He is weighing 42 lbs! He is a big, healthy boy!!! He is still going great on the potty training. He has been attending church on Sundays. They said he is doing well, other than hitting Flory during Sunday school. Don't worry, she hit him back;). Flory and Nathan are buddies! I pray we all get answers soon and get to bring our children home and end this nightmare.

Thank you for faithfully following our journey for over 3 years now. Please continue to pray. Pray we get answers. Pray our son comes home.

daddy's love...

november 07- nathan 4.5 months


april 10- cooper 4.5 months

March Update...

Nathan and his buddies....

He loves to play and be outside....

seems so long ago since i put him in this swing myself....

Last week we got new pictures of Nathan and a health report. Nathan is getting soooo big!!! It breaks my heart to see how big he is and how much we are missing, but I am so thankful he is so well taken care of and loved.

I am asking all to pray. Things will hopefully be "moving" again soon with our case. Please pray that those making decisions will see our case as a family and as a child who needs us and we need him. This could be a good thing or a really bad thing for Nathan and us. Pray for Nathan. Pray for God's protection over him.


HEALTH REPORT:

Nathan always wants to watch "Simba" (Lion King) on TV. He is very wiggly. He touches
everything he see and takes it. He is knows no stranger and is nice. He likes to go out to play or for walks. He get very mad if a toy or something is taken from him and throws a fit. He is potty trained now.

Weight: 41 lbs
Height: 38.5”
Head: 20.5”
Foot : 6.5”
Health: Good

Introducing Cooper...

I know many have been wanting to see our new addition. He is such a joy and such a wonderful baby. We are so happy beyond words that God chose us as his parents. I am enjoying being home with him. I try to take each moment, soak it up and enjoy!! Watching him grow and change has been so fun!

3 weeks old...

5 weeks old...

12 weeks old...

3 months 2 weeks old....

i know many have been wanting to see our new addition. He is such a joy and such a wonderful baby. We are so happy beyond words that God chose us as his parents. I am enjoying being home with him. Watching him grow and change has been so fun!

God has taught me sooooo much since Cooper has been home. When my thoughts get together and time is available, I will share. Life has been different for several years. Now life is different, forever. I am so thankful God chose me.

40 lbs. 38inches

Nathan is doing well. Getting sooo big and is now potty trained:(. Just one more thing to remind me how big he is now and how much we have missed. We miss him more and more every day. Praying for a miracle to bring him home.

We have been so blessed with two precious miracles! Praying we are all together soon!

To follow the three of us, visit our family blog at allumsfamily.blogspot.com

When there are updates on Nathan I will still post here.

Blessings to you all!

life has changed...

Well, it has been over a month since Cooper has become our son. Life has definitely changed. What a wonderful change it has been. Words can not describe. My love grows for him more and more every day.

Through the past month I have learned so much. Being a transracial family has forced us to learn a lot! I am so thankful. I have learned so much about myself and about the God I serve. God has given us discernment, knowledge, grace and mercy up to this point and I am believing He is going to be with us each step of the way.

I was just telling a friend the other day how thankful I am that God chose this path for us. I am so thankful for adoption. I am so thankful God chose to bring our children to us through adoption. I am so thankful.... God chose Nathan for us!!! God chose Cooper for us!!!

The funny thing is... people still ask, " how many children do you want to have?" I just laugh! HA!! As many as God would like to bless us with! Does not matter how they get here or how far we have to go to bring them home. They are OUR children chosen by Jesus.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

(Cooper pics to come when we are ready)

New addition...

Most of you know that God has blessed us now with two sons.

We recieved a call on Thanksgiving day that we had a new son.

After much prayer and thought, we started a process for a domestic adoption in June. We did not expect the process to go quickly, but God (as He always does) had other plans. Needless to say, we were very shocked and surprised.

We brought our son, Cooper, home December 8th. He was about 2.5 weeks old. Life has been much different since bringing him home. I am a full-time mommy to a newborn. Never thought there would be a chapter in our journey written like this. I am so thankful for this little miracle... this wonderful blessing!

We wish nothing more than for his big brother, Nathan, to be home with us all. We continue to pray for a miracle for him to come home forever. Nathan is our son and we love and miss him!

We are waiting to post pictures of our newest addition, so you will have to continue to wait just a little while longer before you see his sweet face. Trust me, I have plenty of pictures to catch you all up on the first weeks of his life:)

I plan to post mostly to our family blog (allumsfamily.blogspot.com), but any adoption related isssues or news, I will post here.

I leave you with a picture of our brave little boy....