Home--and this time for good!

(I hope you enjoy these pictures. They are of Emeline at the conference and our baby shower in the Austrian Alps and times in the town of Salzburg in Austria and the little village of Ramsau in the Alps in Germany. These were Emeline’s first times in snow and cold weather, so we kept her very bundled up!)

We are finally home for good. No more hotels, staying with family or conferences in Austria. As much as we enjoyed those times, we are more than thrilled to be settled in our apartment for a good long while. Emeline has been to 4 different countries in just the 6 short weeks she has been with us. We are going to be staying put for a bit. Emeline needs this, and we are looking forward to showing her around the neighborhood and showing her off to our German friends and neighbors.

We were home in Germany for just one week before we headed off for a week-long conference in Austria. And, it wasn’t just in Austria, but in the Alps and in a castle. It was a wonderful time of catching up with friends and getting some spiritual refreshment and encouragement. My friend, Jackie, organized a shower for us with all of our friends. It was a very special time, and we got some great gifts for Emeline. It was at this conference last year that we first showed off our first pictures of Emeline. At that time, we had just been matched with Emeline, and were just beginning the long wait to bring her home. It was so wonderful to celebrate Emeline’s homecoming with these friends who had been praying for her all year.

Emeline, being the social butterfly that she is, loved all the people at the conference. She especially enjoyed running (yes, I said RUNNING) around with the other little children. She has even started kicking a ball as she roams around. She is very coordinated. It a crying shame that Pappy can’t get his hands on her to play softball. Oh well, since she is from Guatemala and is living in Europe, maybe soccer is a more natural choice.

Oh, and she is busy, busy, busy. She is still trying to eat everything and has a special fondness for chewing on tubes of all kinds. She still also enjoys chewing on—and not wearing—her shoes. She also has begun twirling around in circles.

And---She is sleeping through the night now (with a few short wakes)!!! This has just been for the last 3 nights. She had been waking up for a 3-4 hour play session each night since we got back to Germany. I feel like a new woman now that I have gotten some sleep! No complaints here, though, I still feel like the most blessed mom in the world to have her waking me up. She can wake me up anytime. She is currently in our bed at night, and sometimes I can’t stop staring at her. Chris and I still thank God every day that she is finally home.

I know there are many moms who would give anything to be up at night with their babies. Please remember to pray for the many families who are still waiting to bring their children home.

I hope you all had a Happy Easter. We did not have a white Christmas, but we did have a white Easter this year! HE IS RISEN, and that is our hope. I am getting off the internet now to play with my daughter!!!!!

Home in Germany

(The pictures above were taken less than 24 hours before we left for Germany. I got a CD of the pictures, but they are not cropped like they did before we ordered them. I am not sure how to do that, so for the sake of getting those pictures posted, you will get the uncropped versions. That being said—isn’t she just gorgeous!!!!!!!! The last couple of pics are of Emeline in traditional Guatemalan dress.)

We arrived home in Germany early Saturday morning. It has been such a joy to have Emeline at home with us…to see her playing in her own room. When we first brought her into her room she was pointing and cooing at everything. It was a very special moment to see her in that room for the first time. For many months as I would look into her little room, which has been painted yellow for her since we moved in this apartment, and just imagine her there. I would just dream of what it would be like to see her playing with her toys…and now she is there playing with her little kitchen set and making a big mess. It is truly surreal. Thank you, Lord.

Emeline is adjusting well. She has been a bit clingy at times, but that is to be expected, and I don’t mind one bit. That being said, she has even been playing in her room some by herself. She can see us in the living room, and she will occasionally roam into her room and get busy with those toys. She also loves music, and we are playing lots of kids praise and other children’s music CD’s. She gets to dancing and sometimes tries to sing along—in her own baby babble.

Emeline has also started saying “yes,” and she says it quite often. Today we also took her out all bundled up in her stroller for a walk along the Rhein River. We live just a few blocks away, and there are covered walking trails all along the river. She is handling the colder weather like a champ, and I keep her bundled up when we go outside. She also continues to be a very good eater. She even ate some sweet purple sauerkraut, so she even likes German food!

Now, if she will just go to sleep before 3am, we will be all settled. Her little internal clock just doesn’t seem to want to re-setJ. Please pray that somehow we get her on schedule before we leave for a week-long conference in Austria on Sunday—for our sakes and the poor souls who happen to be in the rooms next to ours.

Welcome Home Emeline

We are all very thankful to be home in the USA for a while. We have been very busy since we arrived home to Louisiana on March 20th. Emeline has been to see doctors and has been to New Orleans to get her US Passport. She became a US citizen when we arrived in the US with her, and now she has her passport to prove it. We have also met with our attorney to get begin the process to get Emeline a US birth certificate. Our time at home is flying by.

We have also taken some time to celebrate Emeline’s homecoming. Our family had a welcome home drop in party last Saturday where Emeline met many friends and relatives who had been praying her home. It was so wonderful to be with everyone and to celebrate how God had answered our prayers. Chris’ parents and sister also flew in for the occasion and to meet Emeline. It was a special time we will never forget. If you happen to be near the Jackson, MS area we would invite you to come to Franklin Baptist Church in Flora, MS on this Sunday, March 2nd. Chris will be preaching, and the church is hosting a get together directly after the service for us. The service begins at 11:00am. The address is: 2222 Cox Ferry Road, Flora, MS. We should be at the church a couple hours or so after the service. Feel free to come to the service or stop by and say hello if you are in the area.

I also want to say that Emeline is everything I dreamed she would be. She is a happy, silly, outgoing and easygoing baby. She is an absolute joy…and her daddy still insists she is the most beautiful baby he has ever seen. I cannot believe that I get to be her mom…that I get to be the one (along with Daddy) who sees her little smile when she wakes up each morning. She is already calling me “Mama,” and when she says those magic words I still feel like I am dreaming. I cannot even begin to put into words how much I love my daughter. She was worth waiting for…worth every tear that was shed. I would not change anything we have walked through to get us to the place where we could be the parents of this precious child.

As William Cowper wrote:

God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.

Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break with blessings on your head.

We don’t always get to see how God is moving in our lives, but we always trust He is in control and that He knows best. In this case, though, God has allowed us to see the clouds break, and allowed Chris and I to hold this blessing in our arms!

Welcome Home Emeline

(Keep checking...I will post a slideshow on this post soon. I am working on it.)

We are all very thankful to be home in the USA for a while. We have been very busy since we arrived home to Louisiana on March 20th. Emeline has been to see doctors and has been to New Orleans to get her US Passport. She became a US citizen when we arrived in the US with her, and now she has her passport to prove it. We have also met with our attorney to get begin the process to get Emeline a US birth certificate. Our time at home is flying by.

We have taken some time to celebrate Emeline’s homecoming. Our family had a welcome home drop in party last Saturday where Emeline met many friends and relatives who had been praying her home. It was so wonderful to be with everyone and to celebrate how God had answered our prayers. Chris’ parents and sister also flew in for the occasion and to meet Emeline. It was a special time we will never forget.

If you happen to be near the Jackson, MS area we would invite you to come to Franklin Baptist Church in Flora, MS on this Sunday, March 2nd. Chris will be preaching, and the church is hosting a get together directly after the service for us. The service begins at 11:00am. The address is: 2222 Cox Ferry Road, Flora, MS. We should be at the church a couple hours or so after the service. Feel free to come to the service or stop by and say hello if you are in the area.

I also want to say that Emeline is everything I dreamed she would be. She is a happy, silly, outgoing and easygoing baby. She is an absolute joy…and her daddy still insists she is the most beautiful baby he has ever seen. I cannot believe that I get to be her mom…that I get to be the one (along with Daddy) who sees her little smile when she wakes up each morning. She is already calling me “Mama,” and when she says those magic words I still feel like I am dreaming. I cannot even begin to put into words how much I love my daughter. She was worth waiting for…worth every tear that was shed. I would not change anything we have walked through to get us to the place where we could be the parents of this precious child.

As William Cowper wrote:
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform.
He plants his footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm.
Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, the clouds you so much dread are big with mercy and shall break with blessings on your head.


We don’t always get to see how God is moving in our lives, but we always trust He is in control and that He knows best. In this case, though, God has allowed us to see the clouds break, and allowed Chris and I to hold this blessing in our arms!

Reason to Celebrate

Emeline knows how to celebrate!!!!!!!

Emeline having some fun at meal time.

Who me??? What??? I didn't do anything...

Well, I might as well eat some.

Guatemala Sunset--look at that Volcano. This is the view from our room.

This was Emeline taking a nap on her first Valentine's Day.

We have reason to celebrate! We are praising the Lord that our visa appointment at the US Embassy here in Guatemala City went very smoothly. Many thanks to all of you who have been praying for our appointment. We were at the Embassy around 7 am and left around 10 am with no problems. We should be able to pick up the Visa on Tuesday afternoon and will be flying out on Wednesday afternoon. We will arrive in Louisiana late Wednesday night.

We are really enjoying all this time just to get to know Emeline. The three of us are having some real quality bonding time. She has our undivided attention—and she likes it! Emeline is adjusting very well. She is a very outgoing baby and smiles at everyone. She is a real charmer.

We were able to spend some time yesterday with some co-workers who have been doing what they do for over 35 years here in Guatemala. It was such a treat just to be with them and here about some of what has and is going on here and how God is at work in Guatemala. We will be going to church with them on Sunday as well. We will be spending tomorrow with Emeline’s foster family. Please pray that is a good time and that she is not upset when we leave their house. Please pray for them as they say goodbye to Emeline at this time.

Again, we can’t wait to get home--to the US and to Germany—and introduce you all to our daughter!

We have her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have her—and I can’t wait to bring her home to meet everyone. She was brought to us by her foster family late Monday afternoon. It was very emotional for us all when they left the hotel. Even her little foster brother who is 9 was crying as he kissed her goodbye. She is one loved little girl. I had always joked about her sleeping through the first time she was brought to us when she was just 11 weeks old. She slept through it all and woke up with us and just smiled and smiled. I was always saying she wouldn’t sleep through it this time. Well, she did fall asleep before the foster family left, but then when she woke up this time she was not smiling! We had a rough first night as she cried for almost 3 hours straight. However, at some point in the middle of the night when she woke up, she started just looking us over. Then, by Tuesday, the second day, she was much better. She still had her moments, but was giving us some smiles and playing with us. I also must confess that at least at this point she is clearly a daddy’s girl. She wants Chris to hold her all the time.

We also took the entire foster family including one cousin and an aunt out to dinner last night. This was such a special time as we were able to celebrate Emeline’s birthday all together. Karina, Emeline’s foster mom, also gave us a gorgeous pink blanket that she made by hand for Emeline. Emeline was going from person to person eating off their plates and drinking their drinks. I was also able to ask some more questions about things that Emeline likes and dislikes. I was very nervous that Emeline would be upset after we left, but she went right to sleep when we got back to the hotel. We will be visiting the foster family in their home on Saturday as well.

Now about Emeline…she is very social. She waves at people even when they are not waving at her. She just started walking...the foster family says she had started walking 4 days earlier, but she just takes a couple of steps. She especially loves children and other babies. She also loves to dance, and according to her foster sister likes to dance to High School Musical Music. She just starts dancing when she hears music. She also loves Barney (yikes!) . She is a very good eater. Her diet consists mostly of beans, bananas and eggs for breakfast and dinner. She eats whatever you eat for lunch in baby size bites. She also still takes a bottle with vitamin enriched milk several times a day and during the night. She NEVER likes to be alone. She loves baths and to swim. She also sleeps with us and likes to try to take over the entire bed. She also has 2 baby dolls that she will periodically rock, pat and kiss. This is so sweet. Oh, and she can roll a ball back and forth. She also says the names of her foster sisters. She likes her shoes—but not to wear them. She prefers to use them as a chew toy. She is very sweet and gives hugs and if you are very, very fortunate you might get a kiss.

Lastly, our big US Embassy appointment is early Friday morning, so please keep us in your prayers. We look forward to seeing many of you soon!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Hello everyone. We are in the New Orleans International Airport waiting to get on a flight to Charlotte, NC and then on to Guatemala City, Guatemala. We are due to arrive at around 3pm and will be meeting Emeline in our hotel lobby at 5pm. Please keep us all in your prayers—especially sweet Emeline as she gets to know us.

We have been in the US over the weekend visiting my family in Louisiana. This was our first time home in 2 years as we have not been home since leaving for Germany. Right after we got off the plane we went to eat at Chilis with my entire family…I was practically drinking the salsa. Then, my nephews beat us home and shot off fireworks as we came down the driveway. The next 2 days involved much eating and many visits to Walmart and Target. I was in awe of the cereal aisle at Walmart. I also managed to eat at Taco Bell and have lots of nestle chocolate chip cookies and Blue Bell ice cream in the past few days. Oh, and Chris was able to help Devin “build a fort.” The boys spent the night with my parents and us on Saturday night. I also got to visit with my grandmothers and one of my best childhood friends and her family. So, lots of memories, food and fun were packed into a very short time.

In just a few hours we will be with Emeline!!!! Now, we are off to Guatemala!