STILL TRAPPED IN FAMILY COURT!!!!!

Hi everyone,
No, we did not forget about the blog, there is just NOTHING happening on our case. We are still stuck in family court. The average time spent in family court varies, but is usually 4 weeks. We are going on week 11!!!!!!!!!!!!! My patience are a thing of the past and I am desperate to move on to the final court (PGN). The holiday season really put the brakes on our process because each government employee in Guatemala gets to have ONE MONTH (yes, you read correctly) off for vacation! Insane! There is no one to cover for the staff so when they leave literally everything shuts down. We have been told that we should be out this week, but we were also told that on December 18th so I dont hold a lot of stock in that promise. Sorry for the bitter tone of this post...we just miss Joey so much and have told Sarah about her baby brother so she asks for him constantly. We have tried to explain that he will not be home until after the Easter Bunny comes, so then she asks "is today Easter"?? It is actually very cute and she is already so infatuated with him. She loves to look at pictures and our video and will tell anyone who will listen that she is getting a baby brother from "Caramala" that is three year old speak for Guatemala. We read books about being a big sister and international adoption and she seems really excited. We have decided not to bring her on our pick up trip as we had originally thought we might do, her asthma is just too unpredictable and the food supply there just too risky for food poisoning so she will meet us at the airport!!! She is busily deciding who will take care of her while we are gone and I think she has narrowed it down to 12 people!

Thank you again for all of your support. Keep the prayers coming... pray most for my sanity!

Lee Anne

We're home!! We miss Joey!!

We had to do V-day alittle early
GO EAGLES!!!
Hi everyone,

Well we arrived home from Guatemala yesterday night. We were so excited to see Sarah, but already we are missing Joey a lot. The trip was wonderful and as hard as it was to say goodbye to him we would not trade those four days for anything. He is such a good baby, happy and lovable. During the day we would walk around the hotel and hang out in our room. Joey, unlike his sister Sarah, is a napper and I could not believe the wonderful naps this baby took. He was such a charmer and everyone we met at the Marriot commented on his beautiful big brown eyes! He is SO big and well fed. At four monthes he weighs almost 17lbs!!! Almost all of the closes that we brought were tight and I felt bad that I was sending him back to the foster mom with a bunch of clothes that border on tight! Who knew he would weigh so much. Healthy atleast.

Handing him over to his foster mother was nearly impossible. It was one of the hardest thing I have ever done and I cried for hours. Yoli (the foster mom) is so amazing though and she understod our saddness. She tried to reassure me (in spanish) that he is getting great care and that he will be fine. I do believe her, it is just hard and we miss him so. We cannot wait until Sarah meet him and I know that she will keep him busy.

Luckily Sarah never missed a beat. She had a wonderful time with her grandparents and I dont think missed us too much. She did greet me when we came home looking for her "carmella" (that is three year old speak for Guatemala). When I gave her the dress we bought she was so excited she wore it to bed.

We will keep everyone posted on our legal process. Just keep praying that this moves quickly.

Thank you for all of your support,
Lee anne

Greetings from Guatemala

Hi everyone, here we are with Joey in Guatemala (Guat.)!!! He is wonderful! We arrived on Wednesday after a few turbulent flights and around 3p we met up with him and his foster family in the lobby of the Marriot. We recognized him the second we saw him only he is about 4 lbs bigger than they told me he was. He is huge (17lbs, 4 mo). His foster family is wonderful and loves him so much. They are very affectionate with him and kept saying "look Joseph, it's Mamma and Pappa". We appreciated that so much! After reviewing his daily schedule we were off to our hotel room and we have been having fun ever since. The time passes quickly and tomorrow we have to meet in the lobby at 6p. to return him to his foster mother :(

John and I keep saying how amazing it is how much we love him already! He is really sweet and loves to smile. I cannot believe how big he is and unfortuantely many of the clothes that I brought are on the brink of not fitting. Our days are filled with roaming the hotel and speaking with other adoptive families. Everyone is WONDERFUL and supportive. Here are some pictures of our trip.

more updates later...all our love

Lee Anne, John and Joey