It has been a busy few days.

Well we have officially been able to check off one of our things on our long list of paperwork. We mailed off our I-600A to the immigration office. One down and I don't even know how many more to go. Wayne talked with Missy, the international adoption coordinator, at our agency yesterday and she said that we are right on track. She was glad to see how much we have accomplished in just a short time. We also set up our first meeting for our Homestudy. That will take place in a week. From what we understand the entire Homestudy process will take several weeks with at least 3 face-to-face visits at our house. We are currently in the process of getting the necessary documents for the homestudy to be completed. We are also starting the big task of cleaning out the room that will become the nursery. For two people, we sure do have a lot of stuff! We have managed to come up with a place for just about everything at this time which is a big plus. Our cats are thinking we are moving or something. Shadow does not like change and so she has been on edge all day long today.

We are pleased to announce that we did decide on a name. The beautiful little girl shown below will be known as Madison Grace Burton.

It does not seem like this is all possible but hearing from the adoption agency that we are right on track with everything helps us to feel a little more secure. We just keep reminding ourselves that God is in control and Madison is the child he chose for us.

God's Amazing Grace for us.

Yesterday Wayne and I set out to find a way to start paying for our adoption process. This was not an easy process and one that still seems a little bit scary but our families keep reminding us that if it is God's will then it will all work out and to just trust in him. We are both the type to over think situations, worry way too much, and make an easy situation harder. It is really easy to talk about having faith and trusting God but putting these things to practice is a lot harder.
My mom called me a while back with a verse she wanted us to read and memorize and this verse is something that has really comforted me over the past few months and really reminds me how much God is in control.

Jeremiah 29:11

" For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

I contacted the adoption agency a little while ago and talked to them about our plans and asked them if they thought the attorney in Guatemala would agree to them. They contacted me back and said YES, so they are now in the process of working on the power of attorney for a beautiful baby girl for us. It seems so unreal that all of this has taken place in just a matter of days. We have been talking about adoption and really committed to the idea of adoption for a few months now, but never imagined that once we got going we would have an specific baby in mind. The typical international adoption process begins with paperwork, paperwork, and more paperwork. I guess that was not the plan for us because we have not done the paperwork yet but already have a referral for a baby. We are now going to begin the tedious process of the paperwork.

We know we still have a long way to go before we bring her home but God willing here is a picture of the little bundle of joy we hope to call our own very soon. In this picture she is 27 days old, 6 pounds, 18.8 inches long, and all accounts appears to be healthy and happy.

We have picked an agency and a country!!!

After a lot of prayer and discussion we have finally found an agency we feel 100% about. We found this agency right in our backyard. We have decided to work with Worldwide Adoption Services, INC. out of Spartanburg, SC. Our first meeting with them was so informative and felt so welcoming that we knew they were the right place for us. Yes, we did check everything out and found that they have absolutely no complaints with the state at all. We are so excited to finally be beginning this process. After speaking with the agency my worries about possible issues with other countries were gone and Wayne and I finally realized that God was leading us to adopt from Guatemala.

A little history about our decision...

Since we started our discussion about adopting Wayne has always felt led to adopt from Guatemala, but I was hesitant and was also thinking more along the lines of a domestic adoption. Wayne agreed to apply for domestic adoption so we did. We applied with one agency and never had a good feeling that we weren't going to get strung along for a very long time. We then applied with another agency only for them to tell us that they felt we would be better suited for their International program.
This got me to thinking and so we started praying again and I began to feel that maybe what I wanted was not what God wanted. I learned a long time ago that God always wins and his plans for us are always better than what we think. So, here we are starting the adoption process to adopt a baby from Guatemala. (And yes, I am waiting for Wayne to tell me " I told you so" at any time now).

At this time we are working on gaining the financial support for the adoption. We have the opportunity to adopt a little girl who is currently available if we can come up with half of the adoption fee within a week. If this works out we understand that we have started this whole process a little backwards but our agency will work with us every step of the way to make sure nothing is left undone.
If this does not work out then we know that it was not meant to be and that God has another child in mind for us. We ask that you all keep us in your prayers during this process.

Guatemala

• Guatemala is located in Central America bordered by Mexico, the Pacific Ocean, Belize, the Caribbean Sea, Honduras, and El Salvador.



• It is the most populous nation in Central America.



• The capital is Guatemala City



• The population is about 12,800,000

Guatemala has a long history that can be traced back to about 12,000 years ago. The country was dominated by the Maya Civilization for nearly 2000 years before the Spanish arrived in the 16th Century. Guatemala gained it's independence from Spain in 1821. The country remained part of the Mexican Empire until it fully gained it's independence in the 1840's.

Guatemala City

The Presidential Palace in Guatemala City

Our Pets

Happy our dog Wayne refers to as being My dog

Max is a Cocker/Lab/Chow mix and is Wayne's Dog

Hunter is 100% Beagle - you can't stay mad at him with that face
Mufasa - enjoying rolling in the dirt which he rarely gets to do because he is an inside cat.


Shadow -the cat many don't believe really exists because they have never seen her.