It Takes a Village...

OK. I spend so much time talking about my family... and don't get me wrong... they are the light of my life and the apple of my eye.

However, we have an extended family that is a very big part of our lives. That is the family that makes up Hi-Tech Enterprises... Tim's official first "baby". Tim started Hi-Tech in 1986, and while he won't make a big deal about it... I think it is a very big deal. It is how we make our living, how we pay our bills, how we have managed to afford to adopt our children, and it has allowed me the opportunity to be as much of a Stay-At-Home-Mom as you can be when you own your own business. (This basically means that when I go to work, the children go with me.) If I am there the kids are there with me... and they have their own area to play, with toys, a TV and yes, some old phones. They spend a lot of time on the "phone" with their own version of playing Hi-Tech... or they play their other favorite game "Honey and Tim". I won't tell you who Honey is... but I can tell you... she sure does talk a lot. ;)

OK, so back to Hi-Tech. This year instead of doing the Christmas Dinner out... I wanted to get the families together. So, I opted for a Pizza Party on the Friday before Christmas - at our office. It was really fun! We got to get everyone together... which is a huge feat since we have some people that work in the mornings, and some in the afternoons. I wasn't aware that a few of our staff people hadn't even met one another. It was really nice to get everyone together - and be able to say THANK YOU to them and their families for all that they do for US!

Like I said... it takes a village... and we know that we are only as good as the people that we have working with us each and every day. I think that we have a really wonderful team in place... and Tim and I both feel very blessed to have each person working at Hi-Tech. It's a wonderful thing to have a team that works well together - and still has fun. So here is the other part of our family - the family at Hi-Tech Enterprises!

Do You SEE This Sweet Smile???

Our God is so GOOD! I am overwhelmed with tears of joy... and shaking with excitement!!!

"LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O, LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known, in wrath remember mercy." Habakkuk 3:2

Every time I think I have seen an awesome miracle... God just "Wows" me even more. The judge on Lucas' case SIGNED HIS CERTIFICATE OF ABANDONMENT TODAY! You don't understand.... this is HUGE! This sweet boy is going to be able to come home. His case will be able to be filed before the end of the year, meeting the requirements for the new Law that just passed... and will be able to process through under the old law. I am so THANKFUL to everyone that took a moment of their time to say a prayer for this little boy. He is truly such a sweet little boy - and this is such an amazing gift for his entire family. The weight has been lifted... Thank you for your part in helping Lucas come home!

But most of all - Thanks be to God for this wonderful blessing!

ONE BIG PUSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We need your help....

OK... so I was planning to post about Ali's birthday... because let me just say... I HIT ONE OUT OF THE PARK THIS TIME... YES I DID. I will post about that later. Today we have more pressing issues... and it will need the help and prayers of everyone out there. This is very urgent... and vitally important! OK... if you have read the blog for long, you will remember LUCAS. We need prayers and we need them RIGHT NOW. Specifically pray that the judge will sign off on the Certificate of Abandonment this FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14th...so that Lucas' case can be filed with the Central Authority. This is very important. Many of you know that they did pass the Ortega Law this week. They have made provisions (supposedly...) for those of us that are already in process. For Lucas, however... this is not a good thing. THIS FRIDAY - DECEMBER 14th IS THE LAST CHANCE FOR THE JUDGE TO SIGN OFF ON THE COA. Please pray that the judge's heart will be softened... that he will see that unless he gives over the COA... that this new law could prevent Lucas from being able to come home. It is a terrifying thought for any parent. We have had to deal with those thoughts the last few months. I wouldn't wish this stress on anyone. Please pray for Lucas, pray for the judge... and pray for my dear friend, Jane. As a mother - I can't imagine a more difficult day than this Friday will be. Please join me in asking God for a miracle for this little boy! God is good! He has already worked so many miracles for so many of our friends... and this is Lucas' time for a miracle!

Going... Going... Goodbye Mr. Spalding!!!

OK - we are backing up to December 2nd now... I had a few posts about a friend of ours that had some really excellent news from DOWN SOUTH... but I decided to remove those posts becuase of the privacy of his family. So it appears I have let myself get WAY BEHIND in posting. Besides that...we have had 6 houseguests over the holidays and a 130 pound St. Bernard visiting. No offense to the humans... but that sweet dog is a breeze to care for. She is kind, gentle and loving... and she sleeps a lot. :) So for those of you that think I fell off the face of the earth... I have only been MIA.

Ali's birthday...it's such a tough one. It's not at a great time of year. You kind of get lost in the shuffle when it's right after one holiday... and yet everyone is gearing up for a new holiday. But still... we want birthdays to be a special time for each of our children. We set aside the entire day to spend with them - and if it is during the week... we take off the entire day to honor them and the blessing they are to our lives and our family.

Ali, however, has been a tough nut to crack. She always wants exactly whatever Rachel has gotten the month before. So I never have a new and unique gift idea for her, or she's upset because it wasn't what Rachel got. This year I began to look early for a gift that I thought would please her. I decided I finally found something! Ali's big day was on a Sunday. I could NOT WAIT until we had her party at home. I was so excited about her present. I just knew that I finally found something that she would like actually USE. (She liked the "I Can Play The Piano" for less than 10 minutes. She has never played it since.) We had our dinner... and we had her birthday cake...she wanted ANGEL CAKE (aka Angel Food Cake). She was thrilled. I( made the wrong icing...which she told me AFTER we had already started to eat the cake... but overall I think he was pretty happy with that part of the party.) She began to open presents... Rachel and McCaleb got her Bath and Body stuff... she was over the top excited over that! They also got her some art supplies. She is very talented, and she was excited about that, too. Then it was time for the "big" present. She opened her gift... and went totally NUTS! We got her the Nitro Notebook... which is like a kids version of a laptop. It's also pink. I wish now I had been taping with the video camera. She screamed... she jumped up and down... and I got the THUMBS UP. It was a great moment for the Mom that never seems to get it just "right"! I was tickled to death. She was out of control... she did a happy dance and began bragging right away.

It Speaks for Itself...

Sometimes... there just aren't words that can adequately describe a photo... so we will let Sara's NOVEMBER UPDATE speak for itself.

Note to self: Ask her when she gets home... Did she like the bonnet better, or the giant paper collar????

Bless her Sweet Heart!

So Sweet...

I know. I take hundreds and hundreds of photos of my children here at home... and yet when I get a photo of Sara... I post it immediately. We cling to those links with her. Why? It could be that we worry so much about Sara. What does she think...? Is she wondering if we've come back home and forgotten her? The kids pray for Sara every night. They also include her in all their daily activities and routines. It's very sweet. Yet... she's 3000 miles away... and we worry about her constantly.

Linda just returned home from visiting with Ruth...and sent me this photo this evening. You can just LOOK at this and see why we have nicknamed her Sweet Sara.

Please continue to pray for Sara. Pray for her to understand that we are not forgetting her... we are missing her terribly. Also, please pray that her case be resubmitted to PGN... and for a quick approval. We need this child to come home - SOON. We are currently waiting for a Birth Certificate correction - and once we have that the file will be resubmitted.

Finally...please remember all those other children that are in the process waiting for approval... or COA's... or PRE-APPROVAL!!!

And tonight, as you go to bed... say a special prayer that God will prepare Sweet Sara's heart... and that she goes to bed knowing that we love her and want her home SOON!

So Thankful!!!

We are so blessed! Lest we forget or take it for granted, I want to jot down the many ways that our lives have been richly blessed.

Tim and I are so honored to be the parents of four truly wonderful children. Three are home with us now... and one is still waiting to join us at home. We love them all - and they each offer opportunities every day for us to be reminded of how God has blessed our family, enriched our lives and taught us His amazing grace and patience over and over again. We are so thankful to a God who knew far better than we ever could that these children would be the biggest and the best thing to ever happen in our lives... and that we have learned far more from them at times than I think they ever will from us.

We are also blessed to have families that love and support us. Without our families - we would not be the people we are today. I am especially thankful that I had parents that taught me about God and His love... that made it fun to go to church... and that showed me how to love other people unconditionally.

Church has always been a very big part of our lives. Not having a church home these past few months has been a very difficult and emotionally draining time for us. However, I am thankful that God has gently reminded me that his CHURCH is not the building where we used to attend each Sunday - but rather church itself is the body... the people. We are so thankful for those families that have pulled so very close together this year and girded us up with their love during what has been the most difficult and challenging time. Their love and those friendships are deeper than we can ever convey... and they truly are our CHURCH FAMILY whether we are together each Sunday morning, or not. For those families God placed in our lives - we are forever thankful!

We have so many friends that we are blessed to know... friends that we have met through the journey of adoption, friends that we have known our whole lives.. and friends we only know over the Internet. We have been loved and supported by so many of you. I know without a shadow of a doubt that we have been blessed by intercessory prayer on dozens occasions by many of you... because I know that without the power of God... even on days when I haven't reached out to ask for help... I didn't think we would be able to get through this journey and all the uncertainty that has plagued it. We are so thankful for that prayer....and want you to share in our thanksgiving that your prayers are being answered! God has been so good to us and so faithful...and we are so grateful for the friends that he has blessed us with!

We are blessed beyond measure with a home to live in, clothes to wear, food to eat, jobs that pay our bills, cars to drive, and even the extra blessing of pets to love and enjoy. So many in the world don't have these things... and we do not take it lightly that these gifts all come from God. We are so thankful to Him - and pray that we honor his gifts with our own giving to others.

Our family wishes each of you a WONDERFUL THANKSGIVING.

We also want to say Thank You to Linda... who is with her family in Guatemala this week visiting Ruth... and took the time to visit with Sara and send us a new picture! This is Linda's daughter Claire with Sara. THANK YOU LINDA!!!

Belated BOO To You!

Just a quick update of sorts...we got some new photos of Sara today. Our normally "tan couch" has been turned into a witch's lair...for some festive Halloween photos! I love it that Susana, our attorney, makes great efforts to get us such wonderful photos... and we get them almost like clock-work each month! All the parents here wait on pins and needles to see how they have the children "dressed up". It's really quite a "treat" for us... and it really does show us that they make great efforts there to make things fun and engaging for the children, too.

On a few other issues that I have failed to announce publicly...

The Rally's are HOME with their beautiful baby girl. I haven't gotten to meet her yet... but I hope that once the holidays are past... that we can schedule some time to get together with them. If Ruth will allow me... I will post a photo of her in the future. Thank you to everyone that prayed this family home!!!

As for Sweet Lucas... the judge ordered that he is to remain in the HOGAR where Sara is... and we are now awaiting his Abandonment Hearing. We are so thankful that he will be able to stay where he is... but we need to pray for a speedy hearing (in light of all the law changes...) and that his COA is issued QUICKLY!!! Thank you for everyone that emailed and asked about this.

As for the law in Guatemala and the possible passing of a "grandfather clause". This all looks very likely... but again... we still don't have the official word from the Guatemalan Congress. WE are so grateful to the many members of our Congress that took the time to listen to our voices and advocate for our children. A BIG SHOUT OUT TO JIM BUNNING AND BEN CHANDLER for being so responsive and supporting our family, and hundreds of others. (However....Mitch McConnell...I am sad to say did not support us. Anyone that would like to hear more about this... please feel free to contact me and I can give you an earful...or two. Or perhaps a POST for Mitch... along the lines of "Mitch McConnell is not my HERO"...) Please continue to pray over this. We have so many friends that are caught up in this turmoil... and we don't want to see any children left in limbo. I know that Sara will come home... we just had hoped for it to be sooner rather than later. But - for those of you that endured the 15-month WAIT to bring the girls home... we also know that things will happen in God's time. It's mostly just hard on those here waiting... so please say extra prayers for the families of all of the waiting children, as well.

Finally... our family is very THANKFUL for the many family and friends that we have that continue to love, support and encourage us. You have all been such a blessing to us!!

Joseph Addison once wrote: "Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joy, and dividing our grief."

Thank you for traveling along with on on all of our journeys... and for helping us to double our joy!

Our Rachel... from Tug to Turtle...to Princess

Rachel has dubbed herself the Princess of the House. We all tolerate it... and occasionally McCaleb will play along and be her Court Jester...but for the most part...it's really Rachel that is the Court Jester. She is quite a piece of work. I'm not sure where the personality has come from... but it is coming out FULL BLOWN and it's hilarious. She is a handful... and since she just turned 5 years old... I want to write down some of the things that she does or says now that crack me up... because I know that they will eventually fade away.

Rachel and her Quirks:

When we first came home, Rachel was 15 months old. She loved TIM... and would hold onto his finger... and lead him around the house doing lap, after lap, after lap. I nick-named her TUG. I called her Tug until McCaleb came home. McCaleb couldn't say Rachel... so he started calling her "Turtle". I love it when he calls her Turtle. I cried the first time he called her Rachel. (Seriously) Sadly, she is starting to request to be called Rachel. McCaleb can say Rachel now... so it's beginning to fade, but I will hang on to the bitter end, kicking and screaming...

Some of the funny things she says or does:

May I have a drink of Wogger? (aka: water)

She got a camera for her birthday from us... she calls it a CRAMMA.

We gave her a Birthday Tiara and a Wand... she calls it her Magic Swan.

She sees the police - and she screams... "Look, the com-pleese!"

Her new favorite thing to say - "I'm just kidding". I hear it about 500 times a day. And no, I am NOT kidding.

She has turned into a picky eater. I don't mean she won't eat ... she just picks through the food, trying to identify all ingredients. Her current favorite is Weeds... also known as: Parsley.

All dresses are called "Princesses" or "Cinderellas".

Her favorite number for a while was Eleventeen.

She cannot carry on a conversation - OR HEAR - if the TV is on. PERIOD.

She loves to be tickled... all three of my kids do... and she will line up for hours and let you tickle her over and over and over...

She calls Ketchup - CHECKUP or DIP DIP.

Some of the Amazing things she can do:

She can say the ABC's backwards almost as well as she can say them forwards.

She can count to 100, with a little coaching at 80...currently called Eighty-teen.

She is already reading...because Ali is reading...and she thinks she is just as big as Ali.

She has amazing rhythm... and we catch her dancing all the time.

She has an uncanny ability with animals. She can pick up all of Millie's feet (the one-eyed bird dog)... she can get Maggie to do tricks... and she can call any of the horses over to the fence. Picabo loves her.

She shares her things selflessly... I think this might fade eventually... but it's a blessing right now.

She is also very mechanically inclined...she can take apart and put most things together without any help.

She is a whiz at puzzles, mazes, and extremely competitive. (EXTREMELY)

She can do most anything on the computer - and shuts it down and turns it off all by herself.

And... she can actually take pretty good pictures.


Now, please don't get me wrong. Rachel loves to get dressed up... and she loves to walk around the house in her high heel shoes and talk on her Princess cell phone. But this kid basically loves to do anything - and she does it all FULL THROTTLE.

She went Snow Tubing with Tim, Kelvin and some of the kids from church this year... and they could not go fast enough for her. She is the first on up (most everyday) and on Saturdays, she gets up first so that she can beat everyone downstairs to help Daddy with the animals. She strips off her zippie or her gown, puts on coveralls and boots, and feeds the dogs and the horses.. and chases the occasional chicken. Tim says she can squeegee the floor in the garage just as quickly and just as well as he can... and if JD won't eat, she feeds him by hand. She loves to go flying with Tim... and talks about airplanes almost as much as he does. She even takes his magazines and puts them in her basket to read. She loves to play with her dolls... but give her a train set and a few hours... and she is completely occupied.

BUT...the best thing about Rachel - is that she loves her family. She is always looking to make sure everyone is being treated fairly... and she will be sure to tell me every day that she loves her brother and her sister. She has been a Daddy's girl for so long... but just lately she has started coming over to sit in my lap and love on me. At first it caught me off-guard... but I have been eating it up! She is such a sweet little girl.



For her big day - she asked to go to school to see HANK.. (that's another post in itself)... then to come home - have TACOS for dinner... and to watch a movie. She is very unassuming... and easy to please. Oh... except for the birthday cake. She wanted a princess cake she saw in one of my Pampered Chef books. And Mommy had to make it. WELL...she opened and played with the PINK Barbie doll that matched the icing... so we had a little mismatch with the cake colors. I think she was "tickled pink" with it, anyhow. And... since I was very sick and had a fever...and upper-respiratory infection... I think that it turned out pretty good - considering all the little fingers that played in the icing. :)
Happy Birthday Rachel! You are 5 Years Old!

The End of October...

We have had a very eventful October.

The month began with some shocking news from Guatemala concerning the passing of the Ortega Law... and truly set our hearts in a downward spiral. However... we chose not to let our hearts become despondent. We chose to believe that God set us on this path - and we are trusting in His faithfulness to see us through until Sara is home. That choice has sustained us and kept our chins raised. God has been so faithful to us and has been a constant source of strength... we are truly very blessed.

We had a few friends travel to Guatemala to either visit their children or bring their children home... and were blessed with pictures of Sara nearly every week this month!

Here on the home front, we were kept busy with birthday parties, pig roasts, an unexpected visit from Jodi and the boys, countless major house repairs that all seemed to hit at one time... and the loss of a pet. Even if he wasn't really "ours"... we loved Spike (Mom and Dad's dog) and little McCaleb claimed him for himself the minute he came to live here. It's an amazing thing about children...they only see the beauty in things. They look at the heart... and not what's on the oustide. Spike was an old dog... he had some really bad open wounds that would not heal. He had a few other problems - and his quality of life had gone downhill considerably... but to the kids... he was all puppy, and they loved him dearly. McCaleb thought he was beautiful. We miss him. It's amazing that the loss of one dog makes 9 seem so much less than 10!

Finally the month ended... and it was time for TRICKS AND TREATS!

Despite everything... October turned out to be the beginning of a beautiful FALL. The leaves changed... the cold days returned... and a new season is upon us.

Finding Peace...

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God." Matthew 5:7-9 NIV

I have found myself in much deep and contemplative thought lately...and it's all about PEACE. We all want it - and yet it seems to elude us. I know it has felt that way for me for a while. It seems that there are times that you feel like you cannot possibly take ONE MORE THING... or you fear you might crumble. But then that "one more thing" comes along... and you find that you are still standing. When you begin any adoption... you can almost TOSS the concept of PEACE out the window. International adoption... absolutely forget it. Tim asked me not long ago... "Did you pray for patience, or what?" As Christians...it seems to be the unspoken taboo... DO NOT PRAY FOR PATIENCE. Ask for grace... ask for mercy... but never, ever patience! My answer to Tim... "No Honey - we are in the process of adoption. This is how it goes." And basically, that is true. I find myself often amused at the people that begin the adoption process - and then find themselves incensed by the "waiting". We have so many other issues to deal with this time around... that the waiting is almost secondary.

Which brings me back to peace. I checked my email Wednesday and found my Daily Devotional from the Purpose Driven Life. It was called "The Conflict of Peace." The title caught my attention immediately. I don't often think of peace as HAVING conflict - but rather being a solution to conflict. But then I read on... "Peace is not the absence of conflict. In fact, true peace is only possible with conflict." (Jon Walker)

I had to laugh... given the last month or so that we have been experiencing... there must be a LOT of true peace being made around us lately, because conflict seems to abound. Between dealing with the IRS...Corporate Tax Time... the office... the adoption...the ceiling falling in at our house... the air being out (twice) at the building...our attorney being held "hostage"(that incident made YouTube)... waiting for the November 4th run-off elections to pass in Guatemala (so we could hear the final reading of the Ortega Law which literally holds our life in the balance)... FedEx packages that are not absolutely, positively delivered... ON TIME... and finding out we are losing our biggest tenant at the building. If true peace is only possible with conflict... I decided that we must be really PEACEFUL. But then I read on.

"God showed us this when, in order to open the path to peace with Him, he sent the Divine Peacemaker, Jesus, to die on a brutal cross for our sins. He initiated this peace plan, even though we were the ones in rebellion; He paid the price for our peace with Him... even though we fought against it." (emphasis mine) It goes on to say that we are all peacemakers - and that we are here to show others how to make peace with God, and with each other. However it offers more one more thing about peacemaking:

"As a peacemaker, it's vital to understand that there is a difference between peacemaking and peace-keeping. Peacemakers won't settle for a tentative peace..." it goes on to say "Instead, peacemakers are like the dentist C.S.Lewis speaks about in Mere Christianity. You go to the dentist because you have pain, and all you want is for him to stop the pain. But the dentist knows he must get to the root of the pain or the tooth will just keep causing problems.

Jesus is like that: We just want him to stop the pain, allow us to have peace, but He knows He has to get to the root of the problem or peace will be nothing more than a fleeting, fragile moment without conflict."

I thought of this... and I thought of all that we are fighting for in Guatemala. This is the same kind of situation. We could settle for a fleeting, fragile moment without conflict there... and in that window of time... many children would be able to come home. But in the end - that isn't really PEACE. True peace will be working through this conflict - to a permanent and a final resolution. One that will benefit the children - and one that will end their waiting.

I know many of you keep hoping for a post that we know more about Sara and about her situation. I only wish we did. Right now - all we know is that our case is back in court... and that at this time they are processing some cases. (It was especially terrifying for us when the Ortega Law passed, as we had been KO'd from PGN at that time) We have hope that they will amend the Ortega Law to include a "grandfather clause" that will allow all in-process cases to be completed. But we won't know anything about that until at least November 14th. However... I have a peace about the process. There is conflict - but I can see that there are hundreds and hundreds of families, and thousands and thousands of people all working together towards a permanent and true peace.

Sara will come home.

When, I don't really know. But we will continue to fight to see this resolved... and we are humbled and honored to have you along with us in prayer and petition.

**Thank you Amanda and Jeff for getting this picture of Sara for me on Thursday! We are so thankful that your Bella is coming home and we Praise God for that blessing!!**

String Music

OK... so flashback to March of this year. Ali was determined to tie her own shoes. Since I am left-handed...I was doing more harm than good. Tim had been working with her - but every time I tried to help... she took three steps back.

Since then - Rachel has been equally determined to tie her own shoes. The only distraction for Rachel is that once the weather got warm... all she would put on her feet were sandals. Once cooler weather began to roll back in... I knew it would start again. This time I decided to stay out of it. I was going to let Tim handle it. Tim had worked with her two or three times... and she kept bringing it up - and asking me to show her. I told her to watch...and to watch Ali...to ask Daddy for help... and even to ask Ms. Cynthia to help when she was over playing. I guess we weren't helping enough. She came walking out of her bedroom on Tuesday with her moccasins tied. I just assumed that Ali had done it. She told me later that day, very casually, that she knew how to tie her shoes now. I said... No you can't. Rachel said - Sure I can. My reply...oh really??? She tried to show me... but the laces on the moccasins were just so short. We got busy, and she never brought it up again. The next morning, however, she decided to wear her tennis shoes. (Longer laces) She again told me that she could tie them by herself. She tried and tried...but the laces on those Nike shoes are round, kind of short...all in all she was getting pretty frustrated. It was close... but she finally gave up and asked me to finish them.

On Thursday...again with the shoe tying...and those frustrating Nike tennis shoes. So we swiped Ali's spare pair of K-Swiss shoes... with the nice long, FLAT laces... and she sat right down, tied her shoes and looked up at me, grinned and said, "CAN!"

She was so proud... and I was proud of her. She learned before she turned 5 years old... which was her goal. The funny thing is... when I talked to Tim about how well he had done working with her... he said he hadn't. He said that he explained it, showed her once (by sitting behind her) and that mostly she just watched him. That's the funny thing about Rachel. She sits back, kind of takes it all in, and then she masters a task with uncanny ease. It's amazing... and it sure does make me a proud Momma. At the same time... it's a terrifying thing. Always be on my toes... that's my new motto.

A big SHOUT OUT to TABITHA!!!!! Recognize the shoes or the shirt? Thank you for always keeping my girls looking so cute!!!! We love you!

Please Pray for the Rally Family

OK... I come to you all again with yet another prayer request. Our family has been blessed with so many wonderful friends on this journey of adoption. Some of them we know only on the phone or through email...others we actually get to meet and spend time with. Early in their adoption process, we were put in touch with the Rally Family. Initially they were thinking of going with Guatemala... but they decided to change to Vietnam. Their daughter was born May 19th, 2007... and they have named her Sydney. Ruth is in Vietnam now. She left to travel on September 29th... and they received Sydney around the 1st of October. However, things are not going well. I wish I had more details... but here is what I know:

Jennifer, hello from vietnam, hope this goes thru....i am praying for your adoption process. i really need your prayers because things r not going so well. been here since sept 29th, miss my kids and tom had to leave. many troubles with the last group of adoptive parents and paperwork investigations...some were not allowed to bring babies home, they wont issue visa's, am afraid that that will happen to us...what should be exciting has now been overshadowed with extreme fear and anxiety...i think i have lost 15 pounds, my pants wont stay on..(needed to but not this way) the last group has been here 5wks...i just want to take my baby home...i have her and am so in love with her...she was pretty sick, but we are on our way to recovery. i wll be devestated if we cant bring her home....my kids will be too and my faith is being tested...so i need a saint like u to pray for our family...i am not as strong as you or as strong as God thinks i am. i forgot to bring your email, so i hope u get this. take care, love ruth

I wish that I could give you more details - but this is all I know. Ruth has a blog, but she is unable to post anything on it. I cannot imagine being 6000 miles from my home, my children and Tim... and have the stress of not knowing if I would be able to bring my baby home with me. Please say a prayer for Ruth - and for all the families that are there with her at this time.

Adoption problems, bureaucracy and red tape are not issues that affect only Guatemala. In the adoption world we hear about them all the time. There is no rhyme, nor reason, nor ethnicity that is subject to scrutiny more than another...it is all sheer madness in my mind. We have families willing to open their hearts and homes to these children. We have children that NEED to be loved, cared for and adopted... and then we have the red tape. The investigations... the election strategies to close adoptions... the mismanagement of paperwork, of children being switched, of raids on orphanages... we hear of the baby smuggling in some countries... and yet, when there are children waiting... we cannot wrap our minds around the fact that still there is such a WAIT. I have said it before, and I will say it again - Adoption is not for the faint of heart. It is a hard, grueling, and emotional roller-coater ride adventure...and even knowing that before you go into it... it is still hard to keep your heart in check during the wait.

So many problems... so many issues... but nothing could be more terrifying than being where Ruth is right now... and feeling all alone. I ask you to please, as you go to bed tonight... and over the next few days... please remember this family in your prayers. They live here in Kentucky - and while I haven't had the privilege to meet Ruth face-to-face... I have spent a lot of time over the past year getting to know her over the phone and via email. She is a wonderful person, that loves her family and loves the Lord. Let's just pray this baby home... and unite this family once again!

Rumblings, Ramblings... and the Fish Face

This is a 3-part post. It's much more effective that way. I get to tell you my scoop, give you my thoughts for the day... and post adorable photos in the process. :) It's really a win-win for all of us. The first part of this post... is about the RUMBLINGS.

The Rumblings on the Internet are both good and bad. There is a post at http://www.guatadopt.com/ that states:

Ortega, Amendments, & Campaigns
Latest and Greatest:
1.) JCICS is reporting that the Hague permanent bureau is supporting allowing in-process to continue. This is excellent news for in-process families!

2.) The Guatemalan papers are reporting about amendments being offered to the bill and that the executive branch is not happy that the bill will undergo so many changes. The UNE party seems to be the one most supporting significant changes, or at least they are the ones saying that the bill in its current form has many issues.

3.) It does not appear as though the amendments will be voted on before the Nov 4th election. We are hearing it will be on Nov 14th. All parties in Guatemala seem to be agreeing that they must not allow the adoption law to become a campaign issue.

So this could end up being good news. It's still hard to say... so we want to ask for prayer to continue in this matter. At least until the final reading which takes place on Tuesday, October 9th. In the meantime... what can you do to help our family personally? Call Mitch McConnell's office 202.224.5968 and speak with Erin Hauer. Call Ben Chandler's Office and speak with Jim. 202.225.4706 (Sorry - don't have Jim's last name.) You need to give specific NAMES (Tim and Jennifer Hanks - in Paris, KY) and tell them that this does effect you personally, as you are relatives/friends/family/loved ones...whatever you want to say. JUST PLEASE CALL. Our Congress is one of the final hold-outs of supporting the "grandfather clause" amendment along with UNICEF in Washington. (Don't even get me started on all the money I collected as a child for UNICEF...)

As for my RAMBLINGS... they go something like this: I was riding in the car today with Tim and the kids. We were going to Sadieville to get some HAY. Tim's best friend Allen Smith lives there... and was KIND ENOUGH to take pity on the Hanks Horses... and gave us some hay. The reason that it was a family affair.. is because Allen and Angie just returned about a month ago from Guatemala bringing home their adorable daughter, Isabella. Naturally... headache or no headache... I was going to Sadieville. As we were driving home... I began to reflect on our lives...and all of our blessings. I met Allen in 1991, the same year I met Tim. It was a package deal... they were inseparable. Allen is one of those people that is loyal to a fault. He is kind, he is honest, he is funny... and I liked him immediately! Despite the many changes in their lives... marriage, family, work... Allen has always been around. It has been a challenge for me to BEAT Allen to be the first one to wish Tim a "Happy Birthday" each year. I promise you... I think this year was the first year I can remember doing that! I wonder now if the two of them ever had any idea 16 years ago... that their lives would travel the same journey... to the same country... to bring home such precious blessings!

It amazes me. It is something that I have talked a lot about with Cynthia... who has been my very dear friend... for more years than either of us care to admit. (We don't talk the "age" thing anymore.) ;) Cynthia and Adam have also journeyed down the path of adoption... all the way to China... for two very precious babies. Keegan and Romy are my kid's favorite playmates. I see them all together - and I think... "WOW - God! You are amazing!" Did we have any idea when we became best friends at the age of 10 that we would travel such similar and amazing paths? Did we know that at this point in our lives - and at this age we would both be parents of TODDLERS? No - we had no idea. but God always knew. He had a perfect plan... and he worked it all out for our good. He always does.

So... my ramblings end with this: I know that everything will be OK. I have a peace about that. (Initial meltdown aside -thank you Jamie, Cyn, Jane and Krystal for getting me through it- I have a peace about that NOW. Thank you everyone for your prayers.)

And here are a few photos of some of my very favorite people. I just wish we had Keegan and Romy in the group shot, too. (Too bad they are in Hilton Head. I bet they are just miserable there. Bah hah!) Someday soon we will have to have a big get together.

Oh the things I could tell these kids about their parents. HOWEVER... will I? NO WAY! They know way too much dirt on me! Enjoy the kiddos. The FISH FACE courtesy of Miss Isabella is my favorite.

The Battle JUST GOT BIGGER

Today, Wednesday October the 3rd...The Guatemalan Congress passed the Ortega Law.

Birth mothers currently have the right to relinquish their child for adoption, to know who will care for the child during the process, and to know that the child is going to America. This law takes those rights away. Also, unless an amendment is passed, this law says that our adoption is now null and void. This law also says that the home in which Sara is currently receiving EXCELLENT care will no longer receive any funding from adoptions. It is currently 100% funded by adoption fees. The law provides no place for her or the thousands of children in this situation to go. The implementation date has not been set, but it could be as soon as 30 days. There is still hope for the amendment to allow our adoption to be processed under the law in which it was initiated, but this is a huge knock against us and other in-process families. We will not stop fighting for Sara, but the battle just got bigger. Please pray for the children of Guatemala.

(Thank you Krystal for allowing me to steal your words... when, for once, I find myself at a loss of words.) Fore more information: http://www.adaguatemala.org/English/news/

Or see the post below...and join us in this fight!

WE NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We need your help!!!

Guatemalan adoptions have been "under fire" for a long time now, but the threat of adoptions ending has gotten more and more serious. Now not only are we looking at the possibility of adoptions closing in the future, we are also faced with a very real risk that current pending cases will not be allowed to be completed. In response to this threat, the Joint Council on International Children's Services has created the Guatemala 5000 Initiative to help mobilize a response to the proposed changes. There are approximately 5,000 pending cases right now, so if "in process" adoptions are ended, 5,000 Guatemalan children could be left with an uncertain future. The Guatemalan government has NO infrastructure, NO budget, and NO PLAN to take care of these children. Guess who is 1 of the 5,000? That's right - it's our Sweet Sara!!!!

Please join us in the fight to make sure that pending adoptions are completed. Please go to this petition, read it, and sign it. Please pass this link on to everyone you know and ask them to sign. http://www.petitiononline.com/foafoa1/petition.html

I have copied the JCICS recommendations for calls and e-mails below.

Guatadopt has form letters that make it very quick and easy to make these contacts. I am sending ours out tomorrow (Tuesday) via e-mail.

JCICS Call to Action --What can you do?

Make six simple phone calls and one email.

1. Call your U.S. Senator.· You can find your Senators’ phone numbers at www.senate.gov· Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff.

2. Call your second U.S. Senator.

3. Call your representative to the U.S. House of Representative.· You can find your representative at http://www.house.gov/ . Ask to speak with the Legislative Director or Chief of Staff.

4. Call or fax the Department of State’s Office of Children’s Issues· Their number is 202-736-9130· Their fax number is 202-736-90805.

5. Call or fax UNICEF Headquarter· Ask to speak with Ann Veneman, Executive Director· Their number is 212-326-7000· Their fax number is 212-326-77586.

6. Call or fax UNICEF Guatemala· Ask to speak with Manuel Manrique· Their number is 011-502-2327-6373· Their fax number is 011-502-2327.63667.

7. Send an email supporting Intercountry Adoption to guatemala5000@jcics.org

Write briefly or at length. Joint Council will use the cumulative email petition in our advocacy for Intercountry Adoption.

When should you call?

Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday (October 8th, 9th 10th)· For maximum effect, we are asking you to make these calls within a 72 hour window!

What should you say?

Speak from your heart and give them the following information.

• The Guatemalan government has announced that all adoptions with the U.S. will be suspended on January 1 2008.
• Their announcement also indicated that there will be no ‘grandfathering’ of adoptions already in process.
• If children referred to families are not allowed to be adopted, they will languish in institutions or foster care.
• Your office must get involved and sign the CCAI sponsored letters to the President of Guatemala and UNICEF. These letters ask that all adoptions in-process as of January 1 2008 be allowed to processed to completion under the existing notarial laws.
• Your office should contact the Office of Children’s Issues at the Department of State. Their number is 202-736-9130.

Can you explain the problem behind the pending crisis?

Here is some additional information…

• Guatemalan President Oscar Berger has announced plans to effectively stop all adoptions into the United States including those children who have already been referred to adoptive parents.
• Over 5,000 children have been referred· The birth parents for these children have already relinquished their parental rights. As a result, they currently have no family and the Berger suspension will result in these children having no prospect for a permanent, safe and loving family.
• The government of Guatemala currently does not have the finances or facilities to even provide housing for these 5,000 children.
• The Berger plan is a crisis waiting to happen.

I know that this is a lot of info - and a huge request. But you all know the blessing that these children are to each and every one of us. I have a huge burden on my heart for these children... for ALL of them. There are so many that we have met and fallen in love with along the way... and our hearts break thinking that some of these children will never be coming home to their families.

Please join with The Hanks Family in working to get these children HOME, and to work to keep the Guatemalan Adoptions open... for the thousands and thousands of children that are still in need.

Thank you!