APPROVED!

We've been approved!

On Tuesday, March 18, exactly 23 months after we committed to the adoption of Cupcake as our daughter, we got the phone call we've been waiting for! The government of Guatemala (PGN) has approved our adoption! The papers have been signed! Cupcake is coming home!!!!

Now, we're not officially OUT of PGN yet, because they won't release our file until after the Easter holiday. Easter lasts a full week in Guatemala. So, hopefully, Wednesday morning, our facilitator will be able to pick up our file from PGN, and move to the next step.

I'm a little fuzzy about the next steps, because our case is an abandonment. It has different (fewer) steps than normal relinquishment cases, which could speed things up considerably. I believe the next step is to get a new birth certificate issued with our names as parents. Then we get submitted to the US Embassy for "PINK". "PINK" is the notification of your appointment time at the US Embassy in Guatemala City. (The paper used to be pink, but now it's done by email.) This appointment is where we raise our right hands and swear to care for Cupcake as our child. The next day, they issue her visa and then, we get to bring her home! So my best guess, if all goes smoothly, would be 4-7 weeks from now! :-D

And speaking of Easter...

Is God the God of the resurrection, or what?

I have to tell you guys, HE IS!

Last week, I didn't post much, because I was fighting this giant in my life called "Easter's coming". Now I know that Easter is all about the celebration of Jesus' resurrection from the dead, but this Mama's heart was hurting. You see, two Easter's ago, we spent the weekend with a picture of a sad little girl. We prayed over that picture. Was she the one God had planned for us? Was this a picture of my 4th child?

The resounding answer was "YES!" Someday I'll share why we were so certain, but let's just say we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Cupcake was ours. Little did we know how painful this journey would be.

As Easter approached again, I was filled with an incredible ache as I longed to just have my baby home. I was having a BIG TIME PITY PARTY. One day last week, I told Daddy S, "I feel like a dried up leaf that's been blown around and trampled on." Friday was the worst. On top of my pity party, I had a run-in with a jerk. And there was no news at all from our agency. I spent the afternoon and evening in tears, knowing that we would not hear anything until after Easter. To my friend, who witnessed the jerk and the tears, I choked out, "I'm at the end of my strength. There's nothing left."

It's always darkest before the dawn.

Well, a good cry was therapeutic. And despite my feelings, I did not curl up and die. My body kept breathing all weekend. The only thing I could pray was for God to have mercy on us and for Him to restore my joy. I began working on a photo/video montage of Cupcake to try to work out some of my grief. Daddy S joined me. As we spent hours choosing photos and videos, we laughed and cried. We remembered. We cherished. We hoped for someday.

On Tuesday morning, our tears of sadness turned to tears of joy. In an instant, this dried up leaf of a woman came back to life. He had mercy on us! My joy was restored! And the timing - at the last minute before they closed for Easter - That was the work of a mighty God! Now I know He could have restored my joy without the happy news, but isn't it just like Him to make it extra sweet?

So, here is our montage of our sweet Cupcake. She is loved more than she knows...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Hold on, little girl, we're coming!


Blessings to you,
Mamita J