I-800 Approval!!

We heard from our case worker today that our I-800 was approved!  This is what we've been waiting for!!  This is the last big piece of the puzzle that needed to happen before we can travel to Maria.  It was approved on January 20th.  It takes about two weeks for the approval to arrive in Bogota, and after the U.S. Embassy receives it they issue what's called an Article 5.  Once that is issued we will receive our travel date!  Our case worker estimates that we'll be able to travel the weekend of February 13th!!  So that means that we'll most likely be traveling in three weeks!  We can't wait!! 

It's been such an amazing day!  This news was the icing on the cake.  (And a huge answer to prayer!)  I've been so up and down emotionally this week.  My poor mother-in-law and sister-in-law got to witness me feeling completely overwhelmed at the start of the week.  It slowly got better as the week progressed.  And then today was such a wonderful day!

After I took Carlos to school I went to the chiropractor's.  While I was being adjusted, the doctor was asking me questions about our adoption.  As I was sharing what's been going on, her assistant came in and overheard part of our conversation.  It turns out that she and her husband have recently decided to adopt.  She was eager to talk with me, and I was eager to share with her!  I love talking about adoption, and could do it all day long.  She gave me her contact information and so I'll be able to share with her what I've learned and experienced over the past five years.  What an honor to be able to walk along side of her as she and her husband start to navigate the sea of adoption.  It's a blessing to be able to do that!

I then drove to a new friend's house.  She and her husband adopted their daughter from Colombia a year and a half ago.  We met them in November and had dinner with them in January.  They are letting us borrow their space bags for our travels, and so I went to go and pick them up.  I so enjoyed my time talking with her and playing with their beautiful, busy, adorably sweet two year old daughter!  She and Maria are two months apart in age and were at Los Pisingos for six months together as infants.  We're really excited for them to be able to be playmates now in Michigan!

I then had a really nice conversation with my brother-in-law Tony on the phone.  He is my sister's husband.  They live in Los Angeles, and I love them and miss them very much!

A few months ago I received an email from a woman who's son has the same rare diagnosis as Maria.  She and her family live in Zeeland (about thirty minutes outside of Grand Rapids).  She heard about us from her sister who goes to church with Kevin's parents.  (I love how God connects people in all sorts of ways!  And this connection was definitely from Him!)  She wanted to let us know that her son is fifteen now, and doing great, and she would be happy to share his story with us, and encourage us in whatever way she can.  We set a date for this afternoon, and I was there for three and a half hours!  We discovered so many similarities between us.  And their story of what God has done in their lives with their son is AMAZING!  Truly miraculous beginnings.  And now their son is fifteen, and in some ways a very typical teenage boy, but she also was very open with me about the things that are difficult for him.  She was full of information and insight and resources, and just shared it all with me.  She was very real, and I just soaked it all in.  It was an absolute blessing to meet with her, and I'm so thankful that God connected us.  As we navigate the road ahead with Maria, I'll be able to talk with someone who's been where we're headed, and who's still on the journey.  What a gift!

And so I end my very full and rich day...serene.

I'll start the mad scramble tomorrow! :)

A really good day

Yesterday was a really good day.  It started off with taking Carlos to school and then meeting a friend for coffee.  This friend and I only just met in August, yet it feels like we've known each other a very long time.  We are very similar in so many ways, and it's been such a blessing becoming her friend!

As soon as I got home, Kevin's mom was here.  (She works part-time with us now, and it's great!)  Our friend Katie also works with us part-time, and she was here as well.  The three of us got so much done in the office, and really enjoyed each other's company.  (Kevin was out of town visiting schools.)

Just before I left to pick Carlos up for school, I checked my email one last time and there was an email from Kristi VanderMaas.  They went to Los Pisingos and while they were there they were able to see Maria!  She was able to tell Maria that her new mommy, daddy, and big brother are so happy that she's joining their family.  And she gave her many kisses and told her how much we love her.  She asked if she could take photos of Maria and they quickly took her upstairs to get her "cleaned up" and wet her hair.  Here is our precious little one, who just melts my heart:

 

 

A quick update on the adoption process: I filled out the I-800 form last week and it arrived at USCIS last Friday.  It takes about two weeks for approval, then two weeks for the approval to get to Bogota, and during those two weeks we will apply for our visas.  Once we have our visas, we'll be able to travel!  So...it looks like as of right now that we'll be able to leave in the middle of February!  Please continue to pray with us that this last round of paperwork goes quickly and smoothly so that Kevin can be with us in Colombia for two to three weeks before coming home just in time for his March school visits.

For dinner last night I took Carlos to "our" restaurant - Fazoli's.  He and I love to go there together for special Mama and Son times.  We had a wonderful date night - so much fun!  There was hardly anyone in the restaurant so it felt like we had the place to ourselves.  We were there for an hour and a half just eating, talking, laughing, telling stories, playing made-up games - it was great!  Just what I've always hoped for in a Mama and Son night.  :)

It was a really good day!

December 2009

Our first day of snow in early December:

 

 

 

Decorating the tree, and then decorating Carlos.  I mean Spider Man.

 

 

 

 

Baking with Mama:

Christmas Eve dinner always consists of homemade tomales, just like in Guatemala.  Mmmm.....

 

A Brighter Day

We are feeling much better today, much more optimistic, than we did yesterday.  Thank you to those who've said prayers for us.  As Kevin was working out this morning he was listening to one of his iPod setlists and the last song on it is called "Shine On," which is by local artists Daisy May and Seth Bernard.  It's a laid back song and he's always liked it, but he never thought about it in terms of Kristi.  (Her theme over the past few years since her diagnosis has been "Courage to SHINE.")  There's a line that's repeated throughout the song and then sung over a couple of times at the end and it says, "There's work to be done, so you've got to shine on."  Kevin felt like Kristi was next to him "slapping him upside the head," saying this to him!  He's been wondering how we go on and "do" normal life, but now today we were reminded: we just need to shine on.

And we received Maria's referral from FedEx this morning!  It was really good to read about how she's been doing over the past eight months, from when we first read her file.  She is such a strong and resilient little girl!  We are so blessed to be becoming her parents!  With each passing day we are getting closer and closer to holding her in our arms, and we are so thankful.

Heavy Hearts

My eyes are tired from crying.  Our hearts are heavy tonight.  We got a call this afternoon from Kristi, Kevin's oldest sister.  She and her husband Brian recieved the news today from her oncologist that her cancer has metasticized.  For those of you who don't know, Kristi has been battling ovarian cancer for three years...and has been winning!  She is such a fighter, and is an amazing woman of God!  His light shines brightly through her and Brian!  They are such beautiful people.  (You can read their blog of their journey which we link to on the right side of our blog.)  Kristi just turned forty before Christmas, and she and Brian have three kids, ages 12, 9, and 5.5.  She has so much life left to live, and so much to live for!  But this cancer just will not stay away.  It has spread to her lymph nodes.  The next typical spot it would head would be for her lungs.  She starts chemo up again on Monday.  Her oncologist does not think that her cancer is curable.  He's said that before, but felt it was treatable.  He didn't add that today.  They asked him straight out what he thinks her prognosis is.  He said that he doesn't think she'll make it another five years.  He feels that the chemo is just to help her hang on as long as possible. 

Please pray that Kristi, Brian, and the kids would feel God's loving arms around them, and that He would grant them His peace which passes all understanding.  Pray that He would guard their hearts and their minds from anything that would seek to take them away from their faith and trust in Him.  They are hanging on tightly to their Heavenly Father and need the comfort and strength that only He can give them.  And we are asking God for a miracle healing to be done in Kristi's body.  He's done it before, and we know He can do it again.  All of us believe that He is sovereign and pray that His will be done, not ours, but we do pray the desire of our hearts about this, which is that Kristi would be healed. 

As we've been reeling all afternoon about this news, we can't help but think about everything else our family is going through right now.  We are so thankful that God is always with us and that He never leaves us, because we need Him so much.  Not only is our family going through all of this with Kristi, but our brother-in-law Eric has been battling ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).  Eric is Lori's husband. (Lori is Kevin's other sister.)  He will turn forty this month, and he and Lori have two kids, ages 12.5 and 7.  Eric was diagnosed with ALS in May of 2007, but had symptoms for two years prior to that.  ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord resulting in muscle weakness and atrophy.  People with this disease usually start with a loss of movement in their limbs, and then it spreads from there until it affects all of their muscles, including their ability to speak, swallow, and eventually to breathe.  To read Eric and Lori's journey, please visit their blog which we also link to on our blog.  They are also amazing and beautiful people of faith, and are so inspiring. 

It's hard to sum up real quick what's been going on with Eric, but as this is a degenerative disease, things with his body have been getting worse and worse as the disease has progressed.  The big thing right now is that Eric has been struggling with his breathing lately.  His breathing was checked last month and it was found that his forced vital capacity (FVC) was at 16%, which is very low.  A year ago it was around 50% I believe.  Without going into more details, as Lori and Eric haven't even blogged about everything yet, we are praying for a miracle for him too.  Please pray that what they are doing to try to strenghten his lungs would work, that he would be able to find comfort each day despite his incredible discomfort, for God's strength and mercy each day to sustain them, and for His peace, which passes all understanding. 

In the midst of processing all of this today, including thinking about what the next few months holds for us with traveling to Colombia to get Maria, as well as some things that my parents are going through, the phrase "sifted like wheat" kept coming to my mind.  I told Kevin that I feel like we are being "sifted like wheat."  Sifted like wheat?  I know this phrase is from the Bible, but I've never used it before.  I decided to look it up tonight.  It's from Luke 22: 31-32 and is Jesus talking to one of his disciples - "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.  But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."  I believe that Jesus has prayed this prayer for us and our family as well, and that our faith will not fail.  He is the author and perfector of our faith. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:2-3)

As I got in the car to pick up Carlos from school today, I was hoping to find comfort in songs that were played on the radio.  God's truth is sung in so many songs, and I prayed that He would speak to me through them during my drive.  I just longed to hear from Him, and this is the song that came on after I prayed:

Heaven is a Face by Steven Curtis Chapman

Here are some of the lyrics:

But in my mind's eye I can see a place
Where Your glory fills every empty space.
All the cancer is gone,
Every mouth is fed,
And there's no one left in the orphans' bed.
Every lonely heart finds their one true love,
And there's no more goodbye,
And no more not enough,
And there's no more enemy (no more).

This is what it will be like with Him in Heaven!  For those of us who know Him, this is what we have to look forward to!  The truth of these words didn't sink in with me until now as I'm typing them out.  God's glory will fill every empty space!  There will be no more sadness, no more tears, no more sickness!  "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (Revelation 21:4)  After reflecting upon this truth right now, I feel much more hopeful now than I did when I started writing this post.  There are going to be a lot of difficult times coming up, and we will need your prayers to help get us through.  But we will not lose hope.  "But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (Isaiah 40:31).