Olympic Athlete in the House!!!

I've held off tooting her horn, but the time has come! Our friend, Anjali Forber-Pratt, is staying with us because her apartment building blew up... or something less dramatic. She's awesome in about a thousand ways. Her most recent huge accomplishment is that she qualified for Team USA for 2008 in Track and Field. She now has to qualify for the Beijing Paralympic team! We have no doubts that she will make it. Anjali competes in the 100m, 200m and 400m and she's an occasional reluctant participant in the 800m. She also uses some road races as training time. Anj will battle for the world record in the 100m in Beijing!!!

You can imagine the honor we felt when she decided to stay with us as a result of the latest mishap in her life. She is one of the most adventurous souls I've come across. She also has the world's worst luck of anyone I've ever met. That's saying a lot. I mean, Ed and I have pretty bad luck. Anjali has horrendous luck. It's a source of comic relief for us. It shouldn't be, but it is. So, we're hanging out with Anj while her apartment people figure out what to do with her.

Central Authority Announced

It was announced today that Guatemala now has a Central Authority building. No information on the registration process has been released as of yet. As soon as we hear something, I will post. But it's exciting that they at least have an address. Please pray that things continue to move forward in this arena. We must have a registration process in place for us to move forward. Please also pray that it is uncomplicated and quick to register these cases. We do not need any more hold-ups.

Ed, Mary-Kelsey and I went shopping for our girl today. Baby shopping is one of MK's favorite pastimes and I had to oblige. So off we went and we three decided on Gabi's Embassy outfit. It is simple and lovely. She will be beautiful on the last day of this ridiculous process!

We had a back-to-school reunion dinner with MK, Amanda Z. and AWK, which was lovely. Some people are just so easy to spend time with and I am grateful to have these friends in C-U. They make me laugh. And having Amie here for the last two years has been wonderful. We don't spend enough time together, but we get a lot more than we would if she were at home. Plus, Keith (AWK's hubby) makes me laugh. Nothing is better than old friends...

Re-submission Soon

I posted a few days ago that our errored document was fixed and picked up. Unfortunately, we won't be resubmitted until January 16. There was supposed to be a meeting yesterday between several agencies regarding the new process. But then it was posted that another meeting will take place on Thursday so they hope to have something on the website by Friday.

Also, PGN posted a sign in their building that said that cases who were not submitted to PGN before January 1 will be under new rules and must register with the Central Authority. It also read that cases which will be re-submits (like ours) will be under the "old" rules, but still must be registered with CA. That is the meeting we're waiting to hear about. We'd like to know what "registration" will involve. I'll keep everyone updated.

In other news, Amy got Emma's Embassy appointment moved up to tomorrow. They will be home on Friday. They are so excited!!! We are thrilled for them. Yea Emma!

Another Adventure

It looks like I'll be returning to visit our beautiful girl on February 1st. I got an incredible rate out of Chicago and a good hotel rate. My mom will be joining me for this 8-day trip. Paige and Barry will be on a cruise, so I don't know what Dad is gonna do. He'll sit at the computer and study our blogs, I guess. Paige got a new underwater camera, so her scuba pics should be even better than last time.

In other news, the decision to foster Gabi after we get her out of PGN is final. Once we get the word, I'll head down about 7-10 days later. This will hopefully be about the time that she gets authorization for her 2nd DNA test. My mother-in-law, Jane, is going to join me for a few days at least. And Christy and Lucy D. are going to join us for a week or so. It isn't surprising really. Christy has traveled to every single place that we've lived over the last 10 years-- from South Korea to Germany to Alabama. She's been wanting to join me in Guatemala since we began this process. Now that Lucy is a little older, it works out perfectly. We'll have a great time and I'm so excited to be able to do this with her. Woohoo!

Christy and I have always wanted our kids to grow up together. Our move to Houston will make that much harder. But Christy and I have never lived in the same town. Not since we met when we were 15. Despite that, our friendship has flourished and grown into one of the most certain things in my life. As it turns out, our children are only 3 months apart-- which is ironic considering I've been married for 9 years and she's been married for 2 1/2. I love that we both have girls so close in age. So, we'll go on another little adventure so our girls can start their friendship in the flesh, rather than through pictures and stories.

Some Other pics from Guatemala and Homecoming

We got home yesterday afternoon after spending the night at my parent's and picking Izzy up. She wasn't so sure she wanted to come with us. She's been living it up at her GG and Grumps, sleeping on the furniture, playing with Nudie and such. She slept most of yesterday when she got home. We worry about poor Nudie. He's so sensitive and he always gets depressed when she leaves, despite how much she's aggravated him during her stay.

Anyway, we were so lucky to have Dave, Christy and Lucy (who just had her 1st birthday) stop by for a couple of hours to hang out. Lucy is walking and so busy. She's such a big girl! Those first 3 months, I never in a million years would have guessed she'd be so big. She was such a teeny newborn. She has more than made up for it. What a smart, happy, healthy little girl.

Here are a few pics of the trip that I haven't posted yet. Enjoy the Elmo pinata and the birthday boy, Tyler.

HALLELUJAH!!!

OUR DOCUMENT WAS FIXED!!!!! We will not be submitted to PGN until January 16 when they re-open. But we are no longer waiting for our document. Oh Happy Day!!!

I think Edward and I just made out on the couch for about 5 minutes. I guess it's good we've still got it in us. We are so relieved. Now we just need to make it through this next phase of Central Authority registration. Please don't ask what that means. Right now, no one knows. But I assure you that I will post once it is defined.

Major faith has been restored in our attorneys. I never doubt God's power, usually just His timing. But God has once again revealed to me that if I'll just shut up and let Him do the work, it will be more wonderful than we ever could have imagined.

Already we have seen that God's choice for our daughter is sheer perfection. We always knew that we had so much love to give a child. Never could we have understood how perfect a child could be for us and us for her. When we are with her, we spend a lot of time laughing, kissing, dancing and being silly.

We know that it is an unusual experience to get to know your child in a hotel room. But it is our reality and it's wonderful to have just Gabi time. We spend all of our time tending to her needs, learning about her, making her laugh and seeing her personality come through. It is such a joyful experience, even when that sweet creature is sick. Most parents don't get such an experience without the burden of cooking, cleaning, shopping, etc. We realize this and revel in every moment. Granted, it isn't the comfort of home. But it is the comfort of being with our daughter.

I know so many of you are praying for us constantly. Thank you. We know that my recent surrender is what convinced God that I do have it in me to be faithful and obedient (if only for short spurts of time). Please add to your prayers for our patience and understanding during the rest of our process.

Windy City

We are in the midst of a very windy couple of days. We've lost power repeatedly over the last 48 hours and it's been too cool to do much of anything, expecially with a sick baby. Today we stuck it out in the room for as long as possible and then sat outside by the pool bundled up like a bunch of Eskimos. If we thought it was cold, imagine what the Guats thought. They thought it was Blizzard '08!

Anyway, we got to hang out with Angie, Mark and Tyler. Today was Tyler's 1st birthday. He's such a big boy! He's going home to St. Louis next Wednesday. He is adorable and full of personality. He had dinner with his foster parents and Angie and Mark got him a pinata and cake. The cake was heavenly. The pinata ended up being a 4 foot tall Elmo. I've never seen such a huge pinata in all my life. Adorable. But Tyler wasn't too sure of it. I didn't have my camera, so I'll have to post pics that Amy took later. So cute!!

Gabi slept on and off all day, partly due to her cold, partly due to her Tylenol. That usually knocks a baby out a little bit. I've never seen anything like her. She just isn't difficult. She feels lousy, although better today, and she still grins, plays and barely fusses. She's very easy to comfort, to put to sleep. We are in wonder of this little girl.

Amy and Drew joined us for dinner and the birthday party afterwards. We had to say goodbye and can only hope that we can get Gabi home in time for a visit to Ohio to see them before we move. However, we're supposed to see Gabi's cousins in New York, Georgia and head to Ohio. I think our schedule is getting a little tight. What do you think? Everything still hangs on the final arrival of Gabi in America. Let's hope it's much sooner than later.

Gabi sent a special message to her cousins!

Puny Baby

Gabi Sol has not been herself over the last 30 hours or so. It all started when we had 3 consecutive turnovers and lost the Rose Bowl. She just couldn't let it go. We tried to console her, but she'd have none of it. She had a fever last night and a gassy stomach. She woke up about every 20-30 minutes until 3:30 a.m. Finally, we coaxed her into sleep with Tylenol to lower her fever and an extra bottle. She got about 4 1/2 hours sleep then.

She's been a little off all day, but we've encouraged her to eat and sleep as much as she needed. At one point, she took a 7-minute nap. Bless her sweet little heart. We were inside all day today because we're having crazy winds and cold temperatures. We spent some time in the Baby Lounge with some other wonderful families (that we've been hanging out with all week). I had to strip her out of her jeans when we were in there because she was so stinkin' hot. Obviously, she was clingy and weepy. We felt terrible for her, but even when she feels rotten, she's an awfully good baby.

We came back to the room and took a good long nap. We went to dinner downstairs and dressed her lightly so she wouldn't be too hot. By the time we got out of there, she was burning up. And she'd already had Tylenol. We just decided to go ahead and call the doctor and see if he thought it was anything but a cold. It isn't. But we thought there might be a chance that she was reacting to all of those bug bites, or something else. We certainly don't want to send her back to her foster family sick. She has two foster siblings-- we don't want sweet Ella to get sick too. If we were going to be here longer, we probably would have just trusted our gut instinct.





This doctor was awesome! He had a fantastic bedside manner. He was very kind to her and picked her up when she was crying. The sweetest thing about her being sick is that she just wants us. She's a very cuddly baby, but she's also very busy at this age. It's hard to get her to settle down and let you love on her for very long. All day today, she's cuddled us, put her head on our chests and shoulders and let us soothe her. All of it is great for bonding. We hate that she's sick-- but at least we're building trust.

We didn't take many pics today. All of them are from tonight. Please pray that she feels better soon. We just adore our sweet Gabi.

Boo USC!

Gabi loved doing the wave with Daddy. She cheered her little heart out today until she just couldn't cheer anymore. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough for the old Illini. Gabi's Aunt Charlotte was at the game. We hope she wasn't too disappointed.

We headed over to the Westin today to check out the new H's digs. Not too shabby. The pool is awesome and it was nice to have a change in menu from the last 3 times we've been here.

We're supposed to see our attorney again tomorrow and we pray he has good news after talking to the Civil Registry official. Please pray for a speedy acquisition of this crucial document.

We hope everyone enjoyed their New Year holiday. We did a whole lot of nothing. But we have a 9-month old. What do we think we're gonna do? Soak her up every minute of the day. One positive thing to report is that Gabi and I are on the same nap schedule. I could get used to this. I wish!!!

A Rosey New Year

I obviously couldn't wait to post until tonight. There are huge things to celebrate--the Rose Bowl and the New Year. We're all geared up in our Illini colors and ready to spread the news. At breakfast, a couple of families asked if we were going to watch the game. I said, "Are you kidding me?" Didn't you notice the spirit of the Chief trailing us as we came into the restaurant. Gabi is very excited about her first Illini Rose Bowl. She could hardly sleep just thinking about it.

The festivities in GC for the New Year were abundant. Ed was almost asleep as midnight rolled around, but I couldn't resist the popping outside our window. So I got up and to my amazement, the entire 180 degree view from the 9th floor was filled with fireworks! They looked to be on the outskirts of town, but there wasn't a place on the horizon that wasn't covered in brightly covered pyrotechnics. That's so fun.

A few pics of the Rose Bowl-ready Guatemalan fan base.

Gabi turns her back on the USC Trojans!!