BLESSINGS ARE FLOWING & WE ARE SO GRATEFUL!!!

James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above.......

Today, as we are in the midst of the final preparations to leave for Colombia in exactly 1 week from tomorrow, we stopped to ponder on some of the many things we are grateful for. Keep in mind, that these are just A FEW things we are grateful for, there are just way too many blessings to post right now, forgive us if we are rambling, but here it goes:

- We are so grateful to God, for directing us to surf the Rainbowkids website on March 2006, causing us to find the photos of our girls less than 2 weeks before they were permanently removed from the "Waiting Children" list!

- We are so grateful that He opened our hearts to the calling of pursuing the adoption of 3 little girls who had been waiting for their "Forever Family" for just WAY TOO LONG!!!

- We are also so grateful to God, for guiding us during this journey and process, supplying for all the related needs, giving us the endurance when things were difficult and for not allowing us to "give up!!!"

- We are so grateful to family, who are always there and some who have gone beyond the expected: Stan Jr. & Judy (Michael's brother & his wife), you've been amazing in your support & encouragement - a real rock!!!

- We are so grateful to my brother Freddy & his wife Marina, who surprised us tremendously by offering to go to Colombia and now, it's a sure thing, Marina has bought her tickets and will be going to be there with me, offering great support right after Michael returns to the USA (he will be there for a little over 2 weeks and will return early due to work obligations - after the initial 2 weeks "adjustment period" with our girls). Thanks to our 8 year old nephew Liam & 6 year old niece Kezia, for lending me your Mommy for a week and thanks to Freddy for becoming both Daddy & Mommy for a week - YOU GUYS ROCK!!!

- We are so grateful to my brother Roddy & his wife Sonia, for taking charge & such good care of Dad during his cardiac emergency & surgery ordeal, when we could not go to Brazil (due to our adoption process).

- We are so grateful to Michael's niece Jennifer, for researching all the "best deals" on bedroom furniture & clothes for us!!!

- We are so grateful to my Mom Luiza, who will be returning from Brazil on 3/7, so that she can be at our home when we all arrive from Colombia and of course, ready to cook some delicious "rice & beans" for our girls!!! :>)

- We are so grateful to our "Old Friends" who are always there for us, no matter what. To name just a few: we are amazed at Gladys' generosity, in offering to come to our home and stay for the entire 2 weeks before Michael's return, to watch our home, take care of our 3 Mutts & 1 Kitty and welcome my Mom when she arrives from Brazil. Gladys, you never cease to WOW us, you are ABSOLUTELY AWESOME, TRULY ONE OF A KIND!!!

- We are so grateful to Chrystal, for never giving up on the dream that we would some day become parents, for taking charge at times when we were almost "giving up" and even trying to find a "child/or children" for us :>) Also, for always calling, sending emails & cards, when this adoption process got rocky and things got shaky - you were there for us, even during the times when our nerves were so raw and we could have literally chewed your head off, now that's something to say about "loyalty!" :>)

- We are so grateful to Kely, Ana Laura, Claudia B., Claudia S., Jennifer C., Ivani, Adelice, Deborah, Damaris, Sandra, Linette, Noemi & all their families, etc., etc., etc., for the support and love during the most exciting, but probably the most emotionally draining year of our lives!

- We are so grateful to my ex co-workers and now friends: Sue & Danielle, for being excited for us and wanting to be a part of our process, faithfully following us on this journey!

- We are so grateful to the wonderful "New Friends" we have made during our journey, all awesome parents of beautiful Colombian children: Kelly & Tom, Krista & Troy, Michelle N., Ralene and Ruth & Jeff. Also Catherine - soon to be Mommy to precious baby Hannah & Shana, Mommy to Sophie Lou and soon to baby Ollie. You guys have been so incredibly unselfish in giving us your time, advice, support, etc., etc., etc. We will never have enough words to thank you and we ABSOLUTELY can not wait until we all meet and our children become friends!!!

- We are grateful to the fabulous people in our "Colombian Yahoo Group," who have taken the time to give us all kind of practical advice, recommendations and pointers for our stay in Colombia.

- We are so grateful to Mr. Frank B., the Principal of the school our girls will attend, who so patiently gave us a tour and is working with us to put together the best possible ESL/ELL support system for our children to succeed in their academic transition.

OK, we could go on and on and on.............. but for now, we'll stop here. Trust us when we say that there will be a lot more "Grateful Posts" in the near future (we definitely do not want to leave anyone or anything out). God is just WAY TOO GOOD TO US, blessing us with such amazing people in our lives, so the least we can do is praise Him & show a tiny bit of our gratitude!!!