Mellow Day

We said goodbye to another set of friends today. Ella's family returned home this afternoon. I have to admit that I teared up telling Ella goodbye. But then they got awesome news from our attorneys!! They are out of Family Court (after being stuck for 6 months) and should be submitted to PGN next week. Your prayers are working. Keep'em coming!

Gabi had a pretty low-key day. Ed worked on homework. Gabi and I hung out by the pool with him and then we all three went for a swim. She had lots of Daddy time late this afternoon and early evening since I wasn't feeling great.

No other news really. Enjoy the pics from the day and the video. She's pretty stinkin' cute...

Friday Excitement... or Not

We made the funniest discovery yet about Gabriella tonight. My sister used to do this ridiculous thing when she was little. She could stand on the knuckles of her toes and jump up and down. It was painful to watch but also pretty amazing. I mean, dancers do that when they're wearing toe shoes. Paige just did it around the house in bare feet. Well Paige, I've found your kindred spirit. When we pull Gabi up to a stand, she curls her toes under and stands on the knuckles. I lost it when I saw that. I mean who does that? Apparently, Paige and Gabi do! She also loves to use her feet and toes like hands like we used to. She picks things up, hangs her toys on her feet, kicks her legs all over the place when she's excited. She is a MONKEY!

Today was pretty low-key for us. We hung out by the pool with Ella and family and were delighted to see that Ella is feeling a bit better. She definitely isn't 100%, but she's smiling again and able to take her bottles.

I do believe we've gone around the bend with the clothes. I think I counted 4 outfits that Gabi wore today. Is that excessive? But it doesn't really count because we took pics of her in her Christmas dress and in our matching shirts. We got to see Ella is her gorgeous Christmas dress too. The girls are so cute together. I wish we could see what they're like day-to-day with each other at Jackelin's. They like to touch each other when they're sitting near the other. So sweet.

Our other friends, the H.'s, are on their way home to Ohio. They had to leave their beloved Emma behind. But they left knowing that Christmas could be their pickup trip. I don't know how to explain that seeing other people nearing the end of this process gives you hope that there is an actual end. There are days that you feel it will never be over and you'll never stop feeling like she belongs to someone else. We're getting there.

Please keep our friends' cases in your prayers. Ella's case has suffered pretty major setbacks that have been heartbreaking and infuriating. Please pray that the rest of her process goes smoothly and that they'll have her home by her first birthday.

On Barrios' Desk

Well, well, well... we are on Barrios' desk!!! Woohoo!!! Woohoo!!! We are waiting for final approval. This step usually takes one week or less. Please pray that we hear early next week, as we are anxious to be finished with this part of the process. The sooner we get finished, the sooner we get our Embassy appointment and get to bring our princesa home!!!

Hope your Friday was as wonderful as ours!

Thanksgiving

Ed woke up feeling much better than yesterday, though not 100%. We talked to my family at Gran Gran's. Mom had already gone out to Beanie's to read the blog since Gran doesn't have internet access. I even got to talk to my cousin, Jennifer, who I haven't seen or talked to in years. That was a nice surprise. I missed being there with everyone, but I wouldn't pass this up for anything.

Late in the morning we went to the G.C. Zoo with Emma's family. Big brother, Jay, and I decided that we have much in common. Ed and I were impressed with the zoo and decided it far exceeded our expectations. We headed back to the hotel to go for a swim. It was warmer today than it has been the rest of the week and we enjoyed the sunshine. Gabi, once again, got a kick out of her swim and actually got in the big pool this time. She was lounging in her float like a lady of leisure.

We later met the H.'s in the lobby to take Christmas pictures which turned out better than we thought they might. We laughed at the difficulty of getting three kids to look at the camera at the same time. The boys were real troopers and Emma did great. When our turn came, Gabi did pretty well despite having a fairly cranky couple of hours. She redeemed herself in a big way after dinner when she played for about 2 hours in the H.'s suite while Amy and I chatted, Emma slept and the men went down for a PGN celebratory cigar. She entertained herself forever and then fell asleep sitting up in a walker. So funny.

Ella turned out to truly be sick, rather than just teething. We barely got to see her today because she had a 102 fever. The doctor came and declared she has a throat infection. We hope she'll be on the mend tomorrow after getting some rest and letting the antibiotics, fluids and fever reducer do their work.

Here are a few pics from the day. Hope you and yours had a wonderful day!

Emma is OUT of PGN!!

Can I get a little woo-woo?!? Emma H. is out of PGN. I had the pleasure of calling and checking on her case and was informed that her case was approved yesterday. What a wonderful moment to be a part of. We've been so fortunate to have met these two amazing families. We feel very blessed to be spending this week with them. It just goes to show you how God blesses us so fully in the midst of difficult trials.

We spent the afternoon today with Ella's family-- Mike, Robin and Ella. We headed over to the handimarket. They have beautiful things and I bought a Mayan sling to carry Gabi in. I hope this helps her attachment when she comes home. Poor little Ella did not feel great today, but she is precious even when she's under the weather. Not a peep out of her on our excursion and she definitely had a fever. What a doll!

Gabi has been very busy today. She ate like a horse and took one more step toward crawling. She played forever this afternoon on her belly and got up on her hands and knees and rocked back and forth. She's so proud of herself too. She'll look up and grin from ear to ear. She chatters the whole time she's rocking. Absolutely adorable. She may be tiny, but she is a mighty little thing. She also charmed everyone at the market. She literally grinned all over herself and anyone who'd give her a glance. She's such a delightful baby-- I don't know how we got so lucky.

Gabriella ended the night on a high note with her beloved bath and her Illini pjs. Keri and Chris gave these to her last spring and I've been dying to get them on her. I think I heard her babble "I-L-L!" What kind of mother would I be if I didn't respond with a hearty "I-N-I!"

Ed is feeling a bit better and is looking forward to a good night's sleep. We received wonderful news that an offer has been extended from Deloitte! He won't receive the details of the offer until next week, but if it's competitive then we may be in Chicago next summer. This would be an answer to prayer for us. We actually received this news after the H.'s returned from a day trip and gave us a cross that the boys picked out. Jay and Drew said that God answered their prayers for Emma's OUT when they put their cross in the window last night. So they picked a special one out for us so that God would bless Gabi's case the same way! How awesome are those boys! We'd love for Ed to have a job he loves in a city that is a reasonable distance from our families. And I would love to be able to work in the Chicagoland area. Kim-- stop doing cartwheels. It isn't official yet. Please pray that we know without a doubt where we should be.

I know I've said this a million times, but we cannot get over how thrilled we are to be here with our girl! We know this Thanksgiving is one to change our lives forever. We look forward to so many years of spending the holidays with our Gabriella (and her siblings...lol). Please enjoy your holiday weekend and remember to give thanks for all the blessings in your life. We are thanking God for all of you.

Another video from today

I know it seems excessive that I keep posting all of these pictures and videos. It just seems like she's doing so much that I want to capture it all. And this is my log of all things Gabi during this crazy process. So please enjoy one more video (I'm sure there will be more this week.) of Gabriella eating today.

More Tuesday and Wednesday Pics

Gabi Swims

This is one of the videos I've been trying to upload. Click here to see a true Clark girl who has taken to water like a fish. And click here. Michelle T. don't have a heart attack-- I know you're gonna freak when you see how I'm holding her by her arms.

Videos of our sweet girl

If you click here, you can see Gabi scooting around on the bed as she learns to crawl.

More Tuesday Pics...

We had an interesting evening. Gabi didn't feel well because of her teeth and didn't get a good afternoon nap. So we went to dinner and she decided that she did not like the waitress. She was taking a bottle from Ed and every time the waitress approached, she stopped eating and started crying. It happened about 4 times in 7 minutes. Very odd.

Over dinner, Gabi played with Ella (who turned 9 months old today!),took a nap and we then proceeded to try one of the most ridiculous things you can do with 3 infants. We took Emma, Ella, and Gabi down to the lobby in their matching pajamas and took pictures. You should have seen us. There were about 4 cameras going constantly with all of us calling their names, shaking things, and generally looking like idiots. The girls were great, but we caused quite a scene. Other parents were gawking at us. Pretty funny. I'll include a couple of the best ones. You really need to see the 2 dozen or so of the progression to appreciate how funny, not to mention ambitious, this undertaking was.