Our Sweet, Sweet Elena

Happy Father's Day!!!

2009-06-21T15:59:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely Father's Day! The weather is absolutely perfect today! I opened all the windows early this morning with the expectation of having to close them part way through the day, but it was just awesome all day.

Elena and I did lots of nice things for daddy, who deserved every bit of it! We started by having a landscaper clean up our landscaping. Usually Sean does it himself and actually enjoys it, but this year he was just so busy and hasn't gotten to it. They are not done with it yet, but so far so good. The rain kept them from finishing yesterday. That is something that I have absolutely no interest in tackling myself. Second, we completely cleaned the garage. It was just me doing the work, of course, but I told Sean it was Elena's idea. I was filthy and exhausted, but it was well worth it. It took me ALL day Friday. I pretended to go to work, but actually headed to the store to get hooks and peg boards and other stuff to organize and clean. Sean seemed pretty happy when he got home from work. He thought I was at work all day! Saturday morning Elena and I made a stepping stone for daddy. See pics below. It was fun; albeit, a little messy. We're going to put it out front once the landscaping is done. It will be nice to see it out there everyday. This morning we made daddy's favorite Nana's Apple Cake. Mmmm . . . mommy and Elena's fav too. Then today, we had Sean's parents and my parents and my sisters and their families over for a cookout. Simple and relaxing. It was a great day to sit and just enjoy being with family. Sean is an awesome father and he deserved a great day!

My niece just got back from NYC where she did some cleanup at a camp and did mission work in the city with her youth group. She was so excited and had so many stories to tell. I'm so happy that she has made some very important personal decisions in her life recently that will really just change her life forever. God is amazing! Both of my sisters have amazing children that I am so proud of!

I hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day, especially all you dads!! Happy Summer too!

Gotcha and Home Forever Weekend

2009-06-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been two years! Our Gotcha Day was Friday and Home Forever Day is Monday, so we made a weekend of it. Yesterday we went to Dutch Wonderland. We had a really good time. I was very upset with myself when we got there because I realized that I had taken the memory card out of the camera and so we were only able to take ten pictures. :( Thankfully we had the video camera, but I was still a little bummed. I was hyping up the event a few days prior telling Elena that we were going to see a REAL princess and ride on a REAL train. When we finally saw the princess, Elena didn't want to get her picture taken with her, but once she left, she looked all over for her. Then when we saw her again, she was excited to see her. We took a picture of the Princess, the Castle, and Thomas the Train so Elena would remember the day. She loves looking at them! She's was pooped by the time we left.

Today we also celebrated Sean's Mom's birthday, which is tomorrow. We met his parents at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast. Elena loves the rocking chairs and the checkers outside. We spent most of the day outside today; the weather is awesome! I'm glad we had a great weekend. I'm assuming that when you give birth, the day is special for your child, but also for the parents. I'm assuming it brings back the memory of the day you had given birth, the days leading up to it, etc. When you adopt, obviously you don't have those memories. But you sure don't forget the day they place that child in your arms forever! Gotcha Day is very special to us and I plan on doing something special and memorable each and every year!

Hope you are all well and are enjoying Spring. Summer is just around the corner! HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDA!!!!! We hope you have a great day! Love you!

Turtle Sunday

2009-06-07T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sean spotted a turtle creeping through the loooong grass in the front yard this morning. Now I have to tell you that I'm not "afraid" of much of anything, but turtles, they give me the heebie jeebies! I would sooner pick up a snake, which I'm not afraid of at all, than a turtle. I know that is strange! Anyway, it was fun to show it to Elena and to watch Sara sniff it obsessively (that would be the dog). Elena loved looking at it, but didn't want it near her either!

This pic has nothing to do with the turtle, obviously, but it was just cute.

Busy Weekend

2009-05-31T16:24:00.001-07:00

Hello friends. The Molls had a busy, but fun weekend. Hope you all had a great weekend as well. Two things that we did were we made banana bread and we went to Lake Tobias. For those not from our area, Lake Tobias is a Wildlife Park in Halifax PA. If you don't live too far, you should go; it's awesome. It's so great for children and most of the animals have a much bigger and more natural habitat than a zoo. (Not all; some are much like a traditional zoo.) We really like it and it it super affordable. As for the banana bread . . . yum! I love the recipe I use. Not low cal, but yummy. In an effort to avoid sneezes in the batter, Elena got her own bowl of flour to play in while I made the bread. She loves to help me cook or bake and I love when she helps me (despite the enormous mess!).

I had a very very bad work week. One of my very great friends was displaced from his job, on top of some other personal things he is going through. He was offered a job within our area, but it still just really stinks; he's an awesome person and a loyal employee. Nobody is secure and I know that now more than ever. So works stinks as usual, but for now I have a job and we have income and I do realize that is a blessing that I thank God for each and every day.

But then I get home and Sean and Elena brighten my day! I was whistling a tune earlier this week and Elena started making some fun sounds. When I looked over at her, she had her lips puckered and was singing "Hoo hoo". It was priceless! It was her version of whisling and I loved it! Everyday is new. She's so amazing.

Potty training is still going well. She has had one pull-up on all day and we even at Lake Tobias today. She's still not telling us when she has to go, but I just get her there often.

Hope you are all well!

Day at Lake Tobias

We think Elena's favorite attraction was the coy in the pond . . . figures . . .

This animal has a better do than me! I just thought he was funny.

On the Safari bus!

Daddy is so brave! This elk loved his crackers!

Banana Bread making!

Time to clean this mess up!

Poor Sara was showered with flour . . .

Yum, warm banana bread!

2009-05-25T06:28:00.001-07:00

Oh my gosh, can it be true?! Two posts in two days??? It must be a holiday, right? Happy Memorial Day and thank you so all the Veterans!

I just wanted to post some more pictures and give a shout out to Matt, Leah, and their awesome family! Looking forward to seeing you all again soon!

2009-05-24T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Hope you are all well. Elena is doing great; she's just as amazing as ever! We are very pleased with how she is starting to play with other children. I guess that comes with age. We can't believe in a few months she will be three! Since I have last posted, we have had two addition to our family (two new cousins for Elena). My SIL had a beautiful little girl to give my nephews a baby sister (woo hoo) and my sister had an amazing little boy. He came a month early; she was due June 1. He's a tiny little guy!! I just love them both. I had the most distinct opportunity to literally witness my nephew being born and to cut his cord. What an awesome experience! My BIL wanted nothing to do with cutting that cord, so I quickly stepped in! Elena loves both of her new cousins!

Otherwise, Elena's speech is not progressing. In fact, she started speaking fairly decent about a year ago and has since digressed. However, she now has two speech therapists who are just amazing. They each work with her once a week. It is a free service provided by the county. How awesome to have such a service available.

A few weeks ago, Elena wanted to read a Christmas book and she handed it to me and said "Ho Ho Ho"! It made us laugh so hard. She must have learned about Santa at school. We spoke about him minimally around Christmas time, but I don't recall teaching her Ho Ho Ho. Her daycare is amazing too! She has the best teachers and she loves them soooo much. I thank God for them.

She has been healthy over the past few weeks (knock on wood). Her asthma shows its ugly face now and again, but we know what to do now. Potty training is going really well too, thankfully! I just wish I had more time with her. They are great with her at daycare, but there seems to be a disconnect. She goes on the potty all the time here, but not at school. Hmmm . . . we'll get there!

I don't have a lot of time, so I'll end here. I'll let the photos tell stories. Blessing to you all!

2009-02-01T06:40:00.000-08:00

It seems like Christmas was so long ago, but I'm going to post the pictures anyway since I'm so far behind. Elena had a blast around the holidays!

Christmas morning and the never ending game of ducks. She still loves this game. Daddy and I just wish it had a mute button. Hehe!

This was her favorite gift which we refer to as "fat cat." She won't go to sleep at night without him. He's a pillow pal, so he doubles as her pillow. Really soft!

Her second favorite thing . . . the boxes . . . . of course.

We play prince and princess all the time now. Her imagination is so wonderful. This was a gift from grandma.

Elena had her first Christmas show this year with her daycare classmates. Apparently the first year that not one child in her age group cried. Woo Hoo! Glad we didn't spoil that! You can see from this picture that she wasn't about to go back up on that stage once it was over!

Hope your holidays were as good as ours! We survived a few more asthma attacks and another round of pneumonia since then, but otherwise, Elena is doing well and so are we! Sorry I'm just now getting things posted. Busy as usual. More to come . . .

Just some newer pics, for now . . .

2008-11-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Birthday!

2008-10-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

2008-10-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

Our baby is two!! Oh my gosh, we can't believe it. We celebrated Elena's birthday on Sunday (actual day was Saturday). We had a lovely party with our immediate family. Elena is doing great. She had been constantly sick for awhile there. Apparently she has cold-induced asthma, but I think our pediatrician has us on a good plan of attack if she has another episode. She's also on Singular daily and she has shown huge improvements with that. I was so sad to see her sick all the time. We are also switching daycare centers and I have a feeling that will be a good thing.

Elena is growing up so fast. I think developmentally she is behind in her speech; however, I'm not worried about it quite yet. She has her two year wellness check-up this week and I'll run it past doc. Hearing check perhaps?? She says a lot of words, but for only a certain period of time and is not building her vocab. Her latest is "Oh Bill" which we are assuming is "Oh Boy." It's hilarious! We keep asking her who this "Bill" character is. She makes us laugh every single day. She is also counting now, but only knows to say one. So as we are walking up the stairs, she says one . . . one . . . one . . . Hopefully "two" will sink in soon!

Elena is finding interest in a lot of new things. Daddy bought her a kitchen for her birthday and she LOVES it! We know that she plays on one at school and loves the one at church. They've come a long way with those little kitchen sets! She also loves dolls now and feeds them their bottles. It's adorable. I just love seeing her develop. She's just now starting to wear 24 month clothes, but barely. She can still fit into her 18 months from last fall. And she can now fit into her Chicago Bears cheer leading outfit (very important)!

We had our very first family vacation in August. Sean's parents invited us to the Smoky Mountains with them where they rented an incredibly beautiful cabin. It was lovely! Unfortunately, we ended up in the ER with Elena (asthma/touch of Pneumonia) our next to last day there. We had an awesome time anyway; we just had to keep Elena calm and in her stroller. Pics are below.

Summer is over, which I'm very bummed about. It went so fast. I like this time of year as well though. I hope that everyone had a great summer! We had a couple of really great adoption group events. Please visit our group's blog: http://circleoffamilies.blogspot.com/ . Our group has been opened up to all adoptive families now, not just Guatemalan. It's so wonderful. We missed the latest event because Elena had strep. Better not to share the love that day! If anyone who reads my blog is interested in joining, please let me know!

I hope that everyone is doing well! I'm still working a lot and still really bad at blogging and keeping in good touch with my e-friends. :( SORRY!! I think about you all! Blessing!

2008-08-03T06:18:00.000-07:00

I love this picture. My two peas in a pod. It says so much, doesn' it? Love . . . trust . . . mommy, my shorts are too big. It says it all.

2008-07-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

We've been busy as usual (home & work). Elena is doing great. She's just talking away, still pretty much doesn't make sense, but has added a few words to her vocab. She's still just so stinkin' cute. We are having so much fun with her. I miss her every single day while I'm at work. :( Time is flying by so quickly. I can't believe it is July already! Elena will be 2 in October already. She's amazing; we love her so much.

We celebrated our GOTCHA DAY on June 12 by going to the Phila. Zoo. What a great place. We met a couple there who has a most beautiful Guatemalan son! It turns out that they lead an adoption group out of Philadelphia. We traded information. Apparently there are a lot of people looking for adoption groups in this area and can't find the one we are in. We are now called "Circle of Families" and have a blog, thanks to our fearless leader. If there is anyone who reads my blog who is interested in joining our group, please let me know! We are getting together this coming Saturday for a picnic and all are welcome.

I hope that everything is going well for all of you. We continue to pray for all the families who are still waiting for their babies to come home from Guatemala.

2008-05-04T09:33:00.000-07:00

Hello friends. Hope everyone is well. We are doing great. Elena is growing like a weed and just blossoming. She is walking now, finally, and does really well. She's talking a lot; however, not sure exactly what she is saying. She does say "yes, no, shoe, fish, dog, Uh Uh (as in Uh Oh, but without the Oh)." She is just doing the cutest things too, like the motions to Itsy Bitsy Spider and pointing to her nose and belly. She also pushes our noses and I make a beeping sound. One thing Sean and I love is we group hug and she loves to see Sean and I kiss, so she pulls our faces together, then we kiss her and over and over again. She's so amazing and is developing a wonderful personality. She's a great hugger and kisser (she puckers up so cute). Sean tells her to smile and she shows all her teeth (see pic below). We are having so much fun. She has had a fever for the past two days, but that is the first sickness in a long time. We are blessed that she has never had an ear infection (I should knock on wood). I hear of so many toddlers who have trouble with that. Even when Elena is sick, she tolerates it very well. She's not a cry baby at all. She fell off her little sliding board the other day and I thought it was going to be horrible, but she got up and went right back to it. We don't make a big deal out of things, so she doesn't either, I guess. Great advice someone gave us.

We have been in contact with Elena's Foster Mother on a routine basis since Elena has been home. They are not doing well at all. She has been out of work since the program is closed. Both of her children have had to quite school to go to work. It is very sad in Guatemala; I can't imagine how much worse it is for them now. Please pray for all of the babies that are waiting for loving homes and for all the people living in poverty.

Things are going good otherwise. We have decided to move; although, I have no idea when. I have been more frustrated than ever at work then when I have to make that commute all the way there and home again, it makes it even worse. That's just some of the reason, but is enough for me. I'm not looking forward to moving, but it will be worth it. Just the time and gas money that we will save will be worth it! We are in the car far too much. God has blessed us in so many ways and we are thankful to have the resources to make a move.

Sean is busy right now carving up a turkey that he shot yesterday. Oh yummy, fresh turkey (eeek!). It's actually not bad. It's not the first one he has brought home. He really enjoys hunting and I am happy to say that we eat everything he kills (so far anyway).

I suppose it is not likely that I will be updating my blog before Mother's Day, so HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you wonderful mommies!!

Just pictures because she's so darn cute . . .

2008-03-06T20:43:00.001-08:00

2008-02-16T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hello my friends. It has been a very long time. I don't have a lot of time on my hands these days. Unfortunately, my job is overwhelming, but I'm trying to make some changes there. I would appreciate any prayers; I know God will guide me. I try to leave work at a reasonable time, I come home to Sean and Elena and after she goes to bed, I work until very late at night . . . every night. For this, I hope to step down soon, whether I leave the company or step down to another job within. I don't care about the money; we will adjust. I just care about my family and my health. Well, enough about that! More importantly . . .

Elena is doing so great! She is just growing so fast. We can't believe that a year ago this week, we were visiting her for the first time. (Oh, which means HAPPY GOTCHA DAY TO OUR FRIENDS LORI, JOEL AND SONJA!). Today we went for her second haircut. She is napping or I would have given you a before and after. She needed a haircut BAD! You can see that in the pics below that we took earlier this week. We had wonderful holidays with our families and we are having a great year so far. Elena's health has been good; although, the runny nose is neverending. We don't know if that is becuase of constant cold (daycare) or perhaps she has alergies?? It doesn't faze her a bit, it's just messy. She had pink eye (both eyes) a few weeks ago and she dealt with that pretty well too. She's just amazing. She's such a happy child. The only reason she every vomits is because she is laughing too hard. We can't imagine life without her!

We're so happy that a lot of our adoption friends are getting OUT of PGN!! I haven't been very social lately and haven't been keeping up with Guatemala affairs very well, but we are just so happy that people continue to be united with their beautiful babies! We keep in close contact with Elena's foster mother and sister and they are really struggling financially. Please pray for them and all the people of Guatemala who suffer financially.

We hope that everyone is well and are having a great 2008! Blessing to you!

2007-12-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

HELLO everyone! We are alive, this I promise. Elena is doing GREAT and we are having more fun than ever with her. She is growing so quickly and everyday is something new. So much has happened since the last time I posted. We did the trick-or-treat thing, celebrated a wonderful Thanksgiving with our families and are now preparing for Christmas. For those of you who know me well, know that I'm not a fan of Halloween; however, we had a great time dressing her up and visiting neighbors. We are so excited for Christmas! Elena obviously won't understand any of it this year, let alone understanding why we celebrate this time of year, but we look forward to giving her some fun gifts for now. Hopefully by next year she will know who Baby Jesus is.

Elena continues to blossom! She is waving now, doing great with her straw cups, and is even "eating" with a spoon. The spoon thing gets a little ugly sometimes, but we have to start somewhere! School is going well for her; still better than I'm doing. She's walking, but not on her own yet. She pulls herself up on EVERYTHING and pushes her push toys around, but still can't keep her own balance. We think it should be soon!

Sean and I are doing well! Work is still a bit of a drag for me and has become overwhelming again. I do not work late, but I have been working from home every night after Elena goes to bed. I still miss Elena every single day. I can't wait until the new year and I have some vacation days again! I haven't taken a day off since I was off with her this summer. Sean continues to do an awesome job with Elena! He takes over after I leave for work in the morning by changing the poopy diaper after breakfast, dressing her, and taking her to school. He picks her up after work too. It's their time together. She loves him soooo much and gets so excited when she sees him!

We have had our last social worker visit, which is great! We will miss our social worker very much though. She is such an incredible person. She's not far away though and we plan to visit now and again.

Things continue to evolve in Guatemala and with the adoption process and we continue to pray for all of those families still in process. We pray that the babies come home soon!

Well, pictures say a thousand words, so I'll wrap it up. MERRY CHRISTMAS & GOD BLESS ALL OF YOU!!!!

2007-10-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

Hello my friends. First and most importantly . . . the issues in Guatemala. For all our friends who are currently waiting for their babies to come home, we want you to know that we are praying for you and are doing everything we are able to do to encourage that to happen. For those who are not familiar with what is going on, effective January 1, all adoption from Guatemala are being stopped. There is a lot behind this and I encourage everyone to read up on it and do what you can as well. Sean and I cannot imagine not having our wonderful and beautiful Elena in our lives and we pray that our friends will be blessed with their babies home as well.

Our sweet Elena is now a year old. We can't beleive it. We had a lovely party on Saturday with family and friends. Everything since my last post has been just wonderful. Elena continues to do well at daycare and is just blossoming. I continue to struggle and just miss her so much during the week. Weekends are so precious. Unfortunately, this week, she was sick. She had a sever from Sunday to Wednesday, but is doing great now. She had a doctor visit today and had some vacinations and a flu shot. Last time we had vacinations, she had a pretty high fever. So far so good this time!

I'm keeping it short for now. Don't forget to say a prayer for all the babies in Guatemala who are in need of a loving home and for those babies already with loving parents waiting for them to come home.

John and Nina, we're praying for you for a safe trip and can't wait to here you are back with wonderful Anna! Woo Hoo!

Daycare

2007-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

This was Elena's first week in daycare. It went okay. Elena cried a lot there, but I assumed, and her teachers confirmed, that it is normal at first. She went half days and I really missed her those few hours. She is taking a morning nap for them and even eating lunch, but for some reason, won't take a bottle from them. Now that is weird! She gets very excited for her bottle normally. When I get there to pick her up a little after Noon, I give it to her and she takes it from me. Next week is full time and hopefully she will begin to have a better comfort level. She seems to play well with the three other babies. It'll be fine. She is in an exceptional mood when we get home. I have a feeling I'll be in the same state when I get to my office on Tuesday. I'll probably sit there and cry . . . I'll eat lunch, but not drink my coffee. Then when I get home, I'll by happy and talk a lot.

On the home front, Elena is talking up a storm! She's so darn funny. She is also on the verge of crawling. She leans forward like she is going to get into the position. Soon enough. On the other hand, I'm having a hard time getting her down for naps. She cries and cries; however, she will go down for Sean. Hmmm . . . This has been ever since she got her immunizations last Friday. We pulled an all-nighter. I finally gave her Motrin at 4:30 a.m. and she fell asleep. She had a fever of 103 as a result of the immunizations. I was dead to the world on Saturday and she was wide awake. Oh boy. Sean was up at his cabin so it was a long day. He came home early to releive me. She slept well Saturday night, but we skipped church on Sunday and rested. We had to get ready for daycare on Monday, of course.

The weather is absolutely gorgeous right now and is suppose to be this way the entire long weekend. In fact, I'm headed out to the deck, as soon as I am finished here, to enjoy it. My great friend at work lent me a book just around the time we started the adoption process and I'm determined to finish it before I go back to work. Wow, 18 months to finish a book (and a really awesome one too). I guess I've been busy! If you are a reader of fiction novels, pick up "Blink" by Ted Dekker (or any Ted Dekker novel will do). Oh, nevermind, she's waking up . . . the book will have to wait. ;)

Hope every has a great holiday weekend!

Time Sure is Flying . . .

2007-08-12T10:39:00.000-07:00

I go back to work on September 4. I'm pretty bummed about that. It's not so much that I will be away from Elena all day, it is going back to my job/company that I'm not looking forward to. I'm sure that's no surprise to many. I will miss her as well. I don't think at this point I realize how much I will miss her.

I don't think a summer has ever gone by so fast for me. It has been the best summer for me, however (of course)! Elena and I have been to the gym a few times last week and again this week. She did pretty well in the daycare. It is a great way to break her in. I keep my workout time to just around an hour. Starting August 27th, she starts daycare half days and I'm hoping these few days at the gym daycare gets her at least a little ready. We'll get through it!

Elena still isn't crawling or walking; however, she is standing pretty well. She has to hold on to me or something else. She doesn't pull herself up though. I have to put her on her feet. She reaches forward like she wants to, but gives up and starts doing something else pretty quickly. We'll keep working at it! Her new favorite food is whole grain pancakes. I have to slow her down; she shoves them in her mouth one bite after another! Breakfast is the easy meal. She loves fruit and carbs . . . the heck with protein and vegies! Oh boy. That's the opposite of mommy! I know that is typical of babies so I'm not too worried about it anymore. We went for ice cream the other night and she certainly loves to dip her lips into the ice cream cone! Daddy thinks that pretty funny. We don't let her have much, but she loves it!

'Till next time . . . God Bless you all.

2007-07-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted for awhile! We're still doing really great and Elena is still wonderful and sweet (of course). I can't remember what it was like without her, nor do I want to. We just love her so much! She's still on a really great schedule; although, we are usually out and about every afternoon. This means mommy is messing up her afternoon nap. She sleeps really well in the car. Today we went to work again. I've worked for my company for fifteen years so I know a lot of people; all who want to meet her. This was our third trip to meet people and I still have another building to go to. She only lasts so long and I don't blame her for that.

We had a very special day on Sunday. Elena was baptized. It was very emotional for us and we had a very blessed day with our families. She did so well while being baptized. She just looked at our pastor while grabing at his robe. He said "she was a gem!" I love our pastor so much; he is so wonderful with children. Our families came back to our house and we had lots of food and just a very nice afternoon together. The day is just how I envisioned it. I've been waiting for that day for a long time. My daughter is a child of God . . . officially. What a wonderful gift.

Well Elena is still not crawling or walking. Is that bad? People say not so we will just remain optimistic and be thankful that all of our picture frames are safe on the end tables. She stands pretty well with our help so we think it will be soon. I also am struggling with things to feed this little girl. Now that we have introduced her to rice cakes, Cherrios, ripe fruit and other things that she can chomp on, I think she is doesn't care much for baby food. She still loves her banana cereal in the morning though. Sean called Enfamil just after we got home from Guatemala to ask them which formula here in the US is comparable to that in Guatemala. Ever since then, they have been sending us great coupons ($5.00 off) and samples too. We just got a can in the mail yesterday. Sweet!

I only have one more month until I have to go back to work. Ugh. I will miss her very much, but we found a GREAT daycare center. The original center we were to put her in fell though, which is another blessing! This center is secure, clean, has educated teachers, small ratios AND she loves the director of the center, which sealed the deal. We visited a center near our house the other day that was not secure at all (we walked right in amongst the children) and she cried like I have NEVER heard her cry before. We left her with one of the teachers to go talk to the director and when we got her back, we could hardly calm her. I couldn't watch that happen everyday! We feel good, actually great, about our pick.

That's it for now. I want to end this post by saying "CONGRATULATIONS" to Peg, Joe, and their son Timothy! They are finally home from Guatemala forever. I think they need to move to Pennsylvania.

2007-07-12T19:24:00.000-07:00

So our most exciting news is Elena said her first "word!" I have been trying to get her to say "daddy" or "dada" since she has been home. She said it tonight and I mean over and over. Then I said it and she repeated it over and over. Ha! It was exciting. I'm anxious to see if she says it again tomorrow. It was a big moment for me! We ran outside to let daddy hear too. She said it a little, but I think I killed the moment at that point.

We finally got a little pool for the deck. Elena really likes to splash around in it. I sit in it with her and that keeps me cool too. Funny that everyone we know has a pool and we sit in four inches of water on the deck instead.

We took a trip to Sean's Nana's house in Bally PA on Saturday after the July 4th holiday. It was great to see all of his relatives and for all of them to finally meet Elena. We had a great time. They had a cake for Elena and gifts. It was a really nice day as it always is at Nana's. Sean wasn't able to go since the State hadn't passed the budget yet. He was at work.

Sean and I took a CPR class this week. I highly recommend this if you have never taken one or if it has been awhile for you. I had taken it years ago, but seriously needed a refresher. This focused on child /Infant CPR and addressed choking. We are certainly glad we took it.

2007-07-08T14:20:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July holiday was very good. We went to a picnic at my parent's friends' house, which was really nice. It was hot, but Elena did really well. Yesterday, Saturday, we went to Sean's Nana's house in Bally PA. Sean was not able to make it because he had to work (State budget still not passed). It was a long trip, but again, Elena did well. She didn't nap at all, but she ended up sleeping through the night anyway.

Today we went to Toys R Us and got Elena her first pool. It's hot enough for sure! We also just bought our second box of 160 count diapers! Wow, she goes through them. Sean bought Elena her first camouflage outfit. Oh grief. It's pink, so I suppose that is okay. ;) She's cute regardless.

Eating continues to be a challenge. She likes all fruit, but vegetables aren't going well. Sean got a carrot, apple, mango medley and she likes that. The first ingrediant is carrots so we'll go with that for now. The pediatrician says she fits right in with all the US children since she hates vegetables. She had to get a TB shot on Friday. She only cried for a few seconds. We have to go get blood taken tomorrow, which I'm really not looking forward to for her. That would be after I drop off her poopy samples . . . aaahhh . . . I think that officially makes me a mommy!

Elena is being baptized on July 29th. I'm looking forward to that. It will be a wonderful, blessed day. Our pastor was just elected Bishop so he is leaving our church on July 15th. This is very sad for me; I love him very much. Our Youth Pastor will be baptizing her, which is great too! He's awesome.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is doing well! I continue to have trouble with my DSL connection so if I don't get back to you right away, that's why! SORRY!

We're Doing Great!!

2007-07-01T07:44:00.000-07:00

We are just having so much fun! Elena is such a good little girl and so sweet. She is very content and happy and such a blessing to us. She is on a schedule; the same one she was on with her foster mother and she rarely fusses. If she does fuss, we know it is because she is tired or hungry. I've never been a mommy before, but I believe she is just the easiest baby to take care of (so far anyway!) and we just love her sooo much! Sean is doing great with her. I had a dentist appointment on Monday morning and he was forced to change his first poopy diaper . . . te he! Funny that he can gut and skin a deer, but can't tolerate baby poop!

We had our first pediatrician appointment as well. Elena was really scratching her forehead where her birthmark is. She was doing it in Guatemala, but even more so with the dry air here in PA. Well it ended up getting infected, but it is great now with a prescription we got. Our pediatrician is AMAZING! We feel so blessed to have found him! I was very discouraged because we where turned away from three other doctors because Elena is not a newborn (don't ask, poor subject with me). It turned out for the best because Dr. Ryder is incredible! He see many, many adopted children and apparently is one of the best in this area. He is from South Africa and financially supports orphanages there. He is the author of "Take Your Pediatrician with You" which is an awesome reference! He sells them for $15 and all proceeds go to Chance Children's Home is South Africa. He signed and gave a copy to Elena as a gift. Like I said . . . he's amazing and was so great with her; so personable! If you come across this book, I highly recommend it or if you want me to get you a copy, please let me know. Her next appointment is her wellness check-up next Friday. He did a quick exam while we were there this week, but will do a more thorough exam next week. He says he can tell she's very healthy and was well taken care of, which we knew. She weighs 20 lbs now! (Kendra: Eeeeek!!!) The heck with the gym, I'm getting a great workout with Elena! Ha!

We're really enjoying all of our visitors and continue to be blessed with generosity from others. We have been out to eat at least four times now. Elena is so laid back that we are able to do it. She loved Red Robin because it is so colorful. Today we are headed to Toys R Us to get a little pool for the deck. It has been too hot to be outside this week . . . we need a pool!

That's all for now. She should be waking up from her nap soon. Love to all!

Our Trip

2007-06-23T18:47:00.000-07:00

We traveled to Guatemala on Monday, June 11 and arrived around 8:00 in the evening. We just settled in since we were getting Elena the next morning. We didn't know exactly when so we were ready by 9:00 a.m. Well, 9:00 a.m. came and went and the phone didn't ring. It was the longest morning ever! Finally around 11:00, I checked the phone and they weren't working!! I couldn't believe it; one of the most important calls of our lives and the phones in our room didn't work. Sean rushed down to the front desk and as he was coming back, he ran into our foster mother, her daughter, and Elena coming in the door. What a coincidence! They actually asked if they could come early, before the coordinator, to spend time with us. She is comfortable with us because Sean speaks Spanish. We sat together then had lunch. I didn't take Elena from them; I let them hold her the entire time. We knew that this was a very emotional time for them. The coordinator/translator, Oscar, came a few hours later and we went over the Embassy appointment and what was needed for that. He is a true blessing! He was the only person that we met from our agency on both trips to Guatemala. We couldn't have done it without him! He took some pictures of all of us together and let them know it was time to say good-bye. Our foster mother told him that she was just going to wait there for the taxi, so he left. The taxi arrived and we said our good-byes. It was very sad for all of us. Sean promised her we would call as soon as we got home and he did. Her and Sean have a special relationship since he speaks Spanish. I know that she appreciates that he does.

We hung out for the rest of the day and got ready for the Embassy appointment on Wednesday. We were so excited that our friends John and Nina were visiting their new daughter the same week! It was so great to meet them face to face and spend some time with them. While they were visiting with us in our room, the earthquake happened! Sean was the only one who felt it, but he didn't know what was going on at the time. It measured 6.8, but Guatemala City didn't experience it like the coast and places like Antigua.

Thanks to our awesome coordinator, the Embassy appointment was a piece of cake! He picked us up, along with another couple, and walked us through the whole thing. I hope that all of my friends who are on their way to bring home their babies have the same experience. We were there for three hours (that wasn't so great), but Elena did great! She is so content and is so easy to care for. We just love her so much! Once it was over, we headed back to the hotel and hung out at the pool. Daddy did a great job swimming with his daughter. It was so sweet! Elena's visa arrived on time Thursday afternoon and we started packing for an early departure the next morning . . . holy early . . . we had to be in the lobby at 4:30 a.m. I packed the night before, so it wasn't so horrible.

Our flight left at 6:25. We checked in at the airline office located at the hotel which made the airport very easy. I carried Elena in the carrier in front of me and had the diaper bag (backpack style) on my back. It was a good workout, that's for sure. I carried her all day and I think I did pretty good. I wasn't even tired when we got home. Our first flight into Houston was about 3 hours and Elena didn't make a peep! She actually fell asleep during take off! Sean and I didn't realize it, but on both flights, we were separated. Ugh. We managed to trade seats on the first flight, but not the second. He was eight rows back and had all of Elena's toys! Our flight attendant was wonderful though. She passed things back and forth and tested the bottle for us and everything. I highly recommend Continental; they were awesome. Elena did great on the second flight as well, which was another three hours. I was relieved and immigration was easy too!

Once we got to Baltimore, we called Sean's parents who met us at luggage claim. It was a great reunion!!! We made it home to another wonderful reunion of friends and family! It was just great to be HOME with OUR DAUGHTER! My nieces decorating our house with balloons and welcome signs and best of all . . . food! We were starving. Elena did great with everyone.

The entire trip was smooth and we are so happy!

Back in Business!

2007-06-22T12:25:00.000-07:00

I'm back!! AND . . we're home! Our sweet Elena is home too and we are just so excited! I have so many updates, but only just last night had the opportunity get this borrowed laptop hooked up and working. Elena is sleeping right now, but I'll update you on our trip and how we are doing really soon. And, of course, some pictures! She's so incredible! Love to you all!

PINK!!!!

2007-06-06T14:59:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?! It came much quicker than we thought in terms of the notice they gave us. We got the call this morning around 10:30 and we leave MONDAY!! We still can't believe it! Our Embassy appointment is on Wednesday! We'll be flying home with our sweet Elena on Friday . . . forever. What a wonderful feeling! We are so blessed!

We are even more excited that we will be in Guatemala at the same time as John and Nina!

Well, we have a lot to do!! I'll be posting as we go! Praise God! Our Elena is coming home!

Nothing New Really

2007-06-02T14:27:00.001-07:00

Well, we were hoping to hear something this past week, but didn't. That was hard for us, but we know it will be soon. We hope to get the Embassy appointment this week and travel about two weeks after (?). In the meantime, Sean is working on getting Elena's bathroom finished, we're making the finishing touches on her room, and I'm doing a lot of reading, thank you cards, and working out.

Sean's co-workers had a "manly" baby shower for him on Thursday. It was so nice! Very pink! Ha! Once again, we've been blessed with generosity. It was nice to see all of Sean's co-workers and meet new ones too.

I'm confident that my next post will be a great one!

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer ~ Romans 12:12

Encouragement At Its Finest

2007-05-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Today we had an appointment with our SW to go over travel. This was very uplifting and encouraging. Not to mention it was just great to see our SW! She's an awesome person and a wonderful Christian. Our agency is incredible. She told us today that our attorney is one of the best . . . which we knew just from our experience. There wasn't much for us to go over today because we had already been there, done that. There are more forms to fill out though so we went over those. What a wonderful feeling though . . . nearing the end!

I was also blessed with a wonderful visitor at work this morning before we left for our appointment. We are carrying a package for an awesome couple who now have a beautiful son in Guatemala. I remember being at the same place in the process like it was yesterday so I pray that it goes as smooth for them as it did for us. It was a great pleasure meeting her today as she dropped off the famous Ziploc full-o-love at my work. Together we learned today that we are with the same agency, have the same attorney (Laura, see note above about how awesome our attorney is!), and our children live in the same city in Guatemala. How great! God put so many wonderful people in our lives as a result of our adoption who have been such great support. I hope I can offer the same support and strength for this wonderful couple and their son. I think it was meant to be! Thanks Nina, for hookin' us up!

Today was a really good day, I must say. Not to mention I keep forgetting Monday is Memorial Day and we have off work! Holy geez, that's awesome! It will be a nice day of appreciation, reflection, and relaxation.

Let the Games Begin

2007-05-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

I just realized that I've never posted anything about our sweet little Sara! We adopted this little girl two years ago and she is our spoiled little furry daughter. She's six years old now and we just love her so much! We're a little worried about how she will be when Elena is here because she is use to 100% of our attention (more like 150%). She's so sweet and well behaved that we're not concerned at all with her being any kind of threat to Elena, we're just concerned she may be sad that she's not going to be the only "child" any longer. I guess people deal with that all the time when they have their second child, right?! We agreed we would do our best not to neglect her. We see other people do that and it is so sad. She's too cute to neglect anyway. :) Feel free to give us any words of advice in this situation!

So what' behind the title of this post? It's that time of year . . . the bunnies are born. Beagles and bunnies don't mix!! Sara doesn't need to be on a leash any other time of year, but if she sees a bunny, LOOK OUT! The chase is on! It's quite a scene actually . . . I scream "there she goes!" while Sean sprints across the yard as if he's actually going to catch her! She's never gotten one, thankfully, but it's been close! Sara rings a bell when she has to go outside and when she sees a bunny out the window, that bell sure gets a workout. Let the games begin!!

Waiting for Pink

2007-05-24T18:39:00.000-07:00

Today we received an e-mail from the US Embassy requesting additional information from our attorney (this is called an I-72). It said that our file did not include Elena's original birth certificate. The good news is we were submitted to the Embassy! Our attorney has been amazing and I know he will get it taken care of quickly. We'll have our pink slip soon, that we know!

I have to say that this has been by far the most emotional time I have had in the entire process. I can hardly explain it. I know that we are so close to having her here in our arms forever. I'm having a hard time focusing on anything else and that is really not like me at all.

Thank you Kendra, Nina, and Marne for being my awesome emotional support!

We worked on Elena's room this week and I am thrilled! I love it so much! I find myself peaking in there over and over. Friends and family continue to be generous to us! We've received and continue to receive so many wonderful gifts, hand-me-downs, and gift cards that allows us to have everything we need for her homecoming. We are just so blessed and are so thankful.

New pics today and hopefully the last . . .

2007-05-16T15:34:00.000-07:00

. . . sent from Guatemala that is! Hopefully the next pictures you see will be taken by us! Elena is growing so fast. She looks so happy in the new set of pictures, which makes us very happy! We know she has the best foster mother, which has made this journey so much easier than I could have imagined (well, easy may be a strong word). We hope to see PINK soon! We got word today that her birth certificate will be ready on Monday. That doesn't tell us when we'll have pink, but it is progress!

IT'S A GREAT DAY!!!

2007-05-09T15:12:00.000-07:00

We're out! We can hardly believe it! I got the call today at 2:00 and, of course, I was in a meeting. My SW left me messages on my cell, my office voicemail and e-mail to call her. That's why I love her so much; she is just as excited as we are (well, almost)! We have only been in the PGN for 8 week and 2 days so we feel so blessed that we went through so quickly and with no previos. I just continue to pray for all of the other people waiting in PGN. Our SW expects that we will be traveling in about four weeks. I continued to praise our agency today, but our SW says it is our attorney who makes it all happen smoothly. Praise God! Hold on Elena, Mommy and Daddy are on their way!! Thank you everyone for all your support and love!

Very special message!

2007-05-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

We got an e-mail this evening straight from Guatemala! It was from Elena's foster mother and it was short, but very very sweet and special. She tells us that Elena is growing and that she is very beautiful (which we knew!). She says that she has two teeth now and is saying papa! Elena also still likes to watch Discovery Kids. We were asked not to communicate with her, and we haven't, but we were very happy that she reached out to us. What a wonderful surprise!

No News is Good News

2007-04-27T18:19:00.000-07:00

We received an e-mail from our SW yesterday that said we are still in PGN. I have decided that no news is good new. We haven't gotten kicked out, which is great! We have just completed our seventh week in PGN.

I just got home from spending an absolutely wonderful evening with friends who have adopted their son from Guatemala. I had met him when he was a baby and can't believe he's going to be three already! I just loved being around him and playing with him and especially loved hearing the stories about their journey! Sean wasn't able to make it, but he will another time. Thank you D, T, & Little T for an awesome evening and all your support!

Hope our next update is THE ONE!

What could possibly take our minds off Elena???

2007-04-24T20:20:00.000-07:00

Sean and I had decided we wanted to support another child in Guatemala prayerfully and financially. We contacted our agency and they matched us up with a very special and beautiful little 2-1/2 year old girl named Andrea. We have fallen in love again! Andrea needs all of our prayers. She is HIV positive and also deals with mental and physical challenges. In the past year, she has shown great improvements and is considered strong and healthy. We pray for her everyday and wish we could do more for her! Our new association with Andrea reminds us that Elena is healthy, safe and well taken care of in her foster home. While we constantly pray for her welfare and quick homecoming, we know that Andrea may never have the same opportunities as her. The way God brings us together is amazing and we are so glad that Andrea has come into our lives.

Pictures from Our Trip February 10 - 16, 2007

2007-04-22T18:57:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day this year! We met Elena for the first time and we had a great visit with her. She is so sweet and was so easy to take care of! She was four months old at the time. She hardly fussed at all and it was so easy to make her smile. It is an unbelievable feeling meeting your child for the first time and instantly falling in love. Sean did an awesome job with Elena and thank God for his skill of speaking Spanish! Our FM doesn't speak a word of English and he did great conversing with her. We had Elena with us from Monday to Thursday. Giving her back was very difficult, but we know she is in good hands. We miss her so very much.

A little bit about our Elena

2007-04-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

Elena was born in Amatitlan, Guatemala, which is about 20 miles south of Guatemala City. She now lives in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala (known to the natives as Xela -- pronounced Shala) with her wonderful foster family. Xela is located about three hours west of Guatemala City. She was born on October 4 and weighed 6lb, 6oz and was 19.5" long. Apparently she was considered a big baby, which we thought was funny. We think she is absolutely perfect and just can't wait to bring her home.

Our Story

2007-04-22T15:03:00.000-07:00

Let me preface this by saying that it doesn't matter what the "Title" of my entries are . . . I go off on tangents! For those of you who know me well . . . you get it!

Sean and I decided to adopt last February after several years of infertility and miscarriages. God opened up the adoption path to us which was great because my body and emotions called it quits! In early March of 2006, we began our research and chose our adoption agency who we just LOVE! Our SW is the best; I don't think we could find any better. After several meetings, interviews, and a TON of paperwork (aka our Dossier), we received a call on November 9 telling us we have a referral (meaning, we have a daughter!). What an exciting and memorable day for us! Since then we have done a lot of waiting, met a few milestones in the process, and most importantly got to visit our Sweet Sweet Elena!

We found out that we entered PGN on March 12 and haven't heard must since. That's probably a good thing; no news is good news, I hope. For those of you who are not familiar with the Guatemalan adoption process the PGN is equivalent to our Attorney Generals Office. It is the final step in the adoption process, but is the LONGEST. I'm praying my way through it! Some cases get through it in a matter of 6 to 8 weeks (that's the average they gave us) and some are in it for months. The PGN has several layers of reviewers who look at your case and have the opportunity to kick it out if they find any "errors." These are lovingly known as a KO in the adoption world. If you get kicked out, it is hopefully for something that your attorney can easily fix and get you back in quickly. The sad news is, you go right back to the bottom of the pile. :(

Once your case gets approved by everyone, including the top dog at the PGN, you are considered OUT! So keep a look out for that topic on our blog! We're hoping it is soon. Once you are out, you wait for PINK. This is when you get your appointment at the US Embassy in Guatemala and can finally bring your child home. Congratulations to our friends Kendra and Michael who just found out they are PINK!! It's amazing how excited I get to hear of other's wonderful news.

We have made some of the most wonderful friends through this process! I want to give out a special THANK YOU and lots of love to those friends who have been so supportive . . . Marne, Nina, Kendra, Lori, Peg, Dina, Andrea, Ellen . . . oh, I hope I didn't miss anyone. I don't know what I would do without all of you!

Our families have also been so wonderful and supportive! We are truly blessed!

I'm Really Behind . . .

2007-04-22T14:40:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our Blog! I'm really behind! So I guess the best thing to have done would have been to start the blog when we first started the adoption process, right?! Well, I hesitated and now I have a lot of catching up to do, but that is okay. Thank you to all my fellow adoptive parents and especially all of you who have inspired me to get started . . . you know who you are . . . Lori, Peg, Kendra. LOVE your blogs and love checking the updated pics and stories of our Guatemalan babes. Not to worry, I'll catch up! God has blessed me with a wonderful husband, a beautiful Guatemalan baby girl, and fast finger. ;)

Today is a very special day. This morning at 9:38, our new little nephew was born, who I have lovingly nicknamed Sweet P. SIL and BIL are doing great, as I suspected they would be. Little Brother also seems good. He may not know what this whole new baby thing is about, but he's going to be a great big brother! LOVE YOU ALL and CONGRATULATIONS!