FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006 04:56 PM
Today is Friday 9/29/06, exactly 3 weeks since our completed Dossier was sent to Colombia. We have not received any news yet and have tried to stay busy finishing up the 3 little photo albums and DVD we put together for the girls and had lots of fun shopping for the goodies to put inside the 3 little "care-packages/gifts" we are sending the girls (they will receive all of the above, if we get approved for them)!
Please, don't forget us & continue to pray for the Lord's perfect will regarding this matter and that we will know something "REALLY SOON", for as you can imagine, our emotional state is a bit "RAW" with all this WAITING!!! :>)
__________________________________________
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2006 11:45 PM
Today we had such a wonderful time with Michael's family. We attended the "New Home/Open-House" at his nephew Karl's and were very touched how after not seeing many of Michael's relatives for a while, so many of them were so excited to hear about the girls. There were many kids (really a ton of them) present and they had purchased a big "Bouncer Castle", it was just such a joy to watch all of them playing and having so much fun and day-dreaming of how soon our children will be some of the kids jumping up and down and having loads of fun.
It was wonderful to also meet a beautiful lady from Colombia "Rosa" & her adorable 6 year old Gabriella, she gave us so many good info about Colombia & 6 year old little girls! :>)
We also had the privilege to meet and socialize with a couple from Mexico and their 2 daughters ages 7 & 9, the oldest looked just like our Catalina, with beautiful long black hair and bangs. The lady was sooooooooooo helpful, giving us all kinds of info on 7 & 9 year old little girls, clothes, etc. The cool thing is that this ladies name was, yeap you guessed it: Luiza, just like my Mommy!!! :>)
__________________________________________
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 01:20 AM
God is soooooooooooo good!
This week we received news that our wonderful friends Ana Laura & Landy have adopted a beautiful baby girl from Brazil. The way God brought her into their lives was a real miracle, it was absolutely just meant to be!!!
We are so excited for them and cannot wait for Ana to return from Brazil with our precious little niece (not by blood, but by heart) Kyla Bianca - Wow, what a gorgeous name!
To find out more about their miracle gift, visit their caring bridge site at: www.caringbridge.com/visit/kylamazzotta
__________________________________________
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2006 08:10 PM
Today we had the wonderful opportunity to drive out to Grand Rapids and attend the annual picnic our adoption agency throws for all the families. We were thrilled to meet several families who have successfully gone through the journey before us. They were all so encouraging and could all relate to the hard time we sometimes have with the "waiting." It was awesome to meet all their beautiful children and just amazing to observe how they all had one thing in common: "They are all regular and good old fashion REAL kids!" :>)
We also had the pleasure of meeting and talking at length with Raul, the Director of the Colombian program and he just made us feel even more excited about our soon to be (hopefully), trip to Medellin Colombia. We believe that going to the picnic has re-charged our batteries to keep on waiting for our "Official Referral" and trip date to arrive!
We are extremely grateful to the couples we met, for sharing their stories with us and cheering us on!
May God bless all those amazing families!!!
Sharon & Michael
________________________________________
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 08, 2006 10:58 PM
Today we have absolutely AWESOME NEWS:
Our COMPLETED Dossier was mailed to Colombia today, this means that we are 100% done and now, all we can do is "WAIT" for Colombia's final decision to give us the "Official Match & Referral" for the girls. Of course as we have been told from the beginning, there is no guarantee they will approve us, but we are waiting on the Lord and His perfect will not just for us, but most importantly for the girls. Of course everyone knows what the desire of our heart is, but we will continue to wait on the Lord, because His ways are better than ours!!!!
Please keep praying as we hope to be hearing good news very soon and will be leaving for Colombia in the very near future!!!
*** Tentatively, and totally by faith, some of our dear family & friends are planning a "Shower" for the girls sometime in November (after we receive the "Official Referral" & prior to our trip to Colombia), you will receive more information about this in the mail as it gets closer!
Much love & gratitude,
Sharon & Michael
___________________________________________
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 06, 2006 11:26 PM
YEAH, BANG, BOOM, CAN YOU HEAR THE FIRE-WORKS?????????????????
NEW & RE-DONE BIRTH CERTIFICATES FINALLY ARRIVED FROM ILLINOIS & BRAZIL LAST SATURDAY AND TODAY WE RECEIVED OUR I-171H APPROVAL FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME LAND SECURITY (FORMER IMMIGRATION), IT WILL ALL BE FEDEXED TO THE AGENCY FIRST THING TOMORROW AND THEN SENT TO COLOMBIA FOR TRANSLATION & LEGALIZATION AND IF ALL IS KOSHER AND THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT APPROVES US FOR THE GIRLS, WE SHOULD GET THE "OFFICIAL MATCH"!!!!
ONCE WE GET THAT, COLOMBIA ASKS FOR 1 MONTH TO PREPARE THE GIRLS FOR THE TRANSITION WITH THE HELP OF PSYCHOLOGISTS/SOCIAL-WORKERS. WE SHOULD RECEIVE OUR TRAVEL DATE FOR ANY TIME AFTER THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
PRAISE THE LORD, WE HOPE THAT SOON AND VERY, VERY SOON, WE WILL BE ABLE TO BRING OUR DAUGHTERS HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MUCH LOVE AND GRATITUDE TO ALL OF YOU WHO ARE SO FAITHFULLY GOING ON THIS JOURNEY OF LOVE WITH US, THE GIRLS ARE ALREADY SO INCREDIBLY BLESSED TO HAVE SUCH WONDERFUL AUNTIES & UNCLES!!!!
SHARON & MICHAEL
________________________________________
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 01, 2006 02:06 PM
Happy September 1st everyone!!!
It has now been 5 months since we started the process to adopt the girls from Colombia. Yes, we are a bit discouraged that it seems to be taking longer than we expected, however we are grateful that things are still flowing and we are still on schedule based on the approximate 6 to 8 months time-frame we were given. We just want the rewarding end of process to arrive "YESTERDAY" and absolutely cannot wait until we will finally hop on a plane to Colombia to go pick up our daughters, who although we haven't met, we have come to love so deeply already. We pray that the Lord will be merciful to us, supplying all that we need to bring them home ASAP!!!
Thank you for your many prayers & all the support!!!
Much love,
Sharon & Michael
Friday, September 29, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
