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We're Here!

Hi everyone! We just picked up Miranda this morning. Of course we think she is beautiful! Lots of swimming at the pool and just hanging out. Thanks to everyone for praying for us!!! Here are two pics for now...will post more when we return!

Last post before we go!

We'll be leaving in just a few short hours! I'll try to post something while we're in Guatemala, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a computer with the internet. Please pray for our safety! The plan is that Miranda's foster mom will bring her to the hotel on Friday morning and she'll stay with us until Monday morning. So, all weekend we'll just be hanging out by the pool!

Nothing new

We met with Anne last night. While she gave us lots of helpful information about our trip, she didn't have any news specifically about Miranda. It seems we are going to have to wait until our visit to see how big she is and how she's growing. I hope the 3-6 month clothes fit her! I have some 6-9month clothes that I'm taking to give to the foster mom, so if she's bigger she can wear these. If she's small, though, I'll have to run to the mall in Guatemala City to buy her some clothes!

Shopping today to get ready for the trip...I've been "getting ready" for many weeks now! Today I bought her a pair of earrings to give to her foster mom when she has Miranda's ears pierced. I also bought gifts for the foster mom, foster grandma, and our Guatemalan facilitator. Here are some pics of the adorable clothes I'm taking for Miranda. I've bought a few things at local resale stores, but many of these clothes were given to me by a good friend at work---THANKS SO MUCH LISA!!

I totally reminded myself of my mother today. I went to a resale store in town, "The Purple Cow," and was looking at diaper bags. I saw this cute messenger bag-type and thought it was pretty cute...until I looked at the price tag! "$79.99!!" I exclaimed outloud. (My mother used to proclaim prices loudly when we were in "cool" stores in the mall...I would always be mortified.) Anyway, I didn't buy the $80 diaper bag. I'm sure you're not surprised.

Meeting with Anne tonight

We did find out that our case was kicked out from PGN a few weeks ago. There were 3 previos, all have been resolved except receiving pre-approval (PA) from the U.S. embassy. We are on day 55 of our wait for PA. If we haven't heard anything by day 60, then the next step is to contact our senator or representative and ask for a "Congressional Inquiry" into our file. This usually yields results in a few days. I'm praying I don't have to do it, but if we don't have PA by next Monday, then Senator Kit Bond's office will be receiving a phone call!
We are meeting with Anne, our adoption coordinator, tonight after Bible Study at our house. She is going to be going over travel information regarding our trip, which is coming up soon! We're excited because we decided to pay the extra money and change our flights and add a day to our trip. This will give the boys and Matt and I time to see more of Guatemala before Miranda is brought to us at the hotel. I hope to be able to post more for you after our meeting with Anne.

Mitchell and the Election

Just wanted to let you know that now that John Edwards is suspending his campaign for the presidency, we have not heard of an official endorsement of another candidate by Mitchell. We'll keep you updated.

Election thoughts from Mitchell

Today in the car, Mitchell had a lot to say about the upcoming election. At this time I'm not going to share any of Matt and my thoughts about candidates, but I thought you'd be interested in what Mitchell had to say! As you read, you may wonder if I am making any of this up...trust me...this all came from the mouth of my 7-year old son!

Mitchell: Mom, I've decided I'm a democrat. I believe in their rules and stuff.

Mom: That's interesting. What is it about the democrats that you like so much?

Mitchell: The democrats think that the government should help poor people. It's good to help poor people. I think if the government helped poor people, we would have more peace in the world.

Mom: That's very interesting.

Mitchell: Mom, I think I've decided who I want to win the election. John...John...John...not McCain...John Edwards.

Mom: That's interesting. Why do you like John Edwards and not Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton?

Mitchell: I don't know that much about Barak Obama and all Hillary Clinton talks about is healthcare. John Edwards is a good speaker. I think the president should have to be a good speaker.

Mom: That's very interesting, Mitchell.

Mitchell: Mom, I think I know why Mitt Romney is beating John McCain.

Mom: Really? Why is he beating him?

Mitchell: You see, mom, John McCain was a soldier and they don't make a lot of money. Mitt Romney is a businessman and he's made lots of money. You need lots of money to run ads and comercials and stuff.

This whole conversation took place after we had been at Washington University where Mitchell is participating in a brain MRI study. One of the incentives for him is that they gave him a picture of his brain---totally cool for a 7-year old. So you can see where all these thoughts are coming from, here's a pic of Mitchell's brain. I can just picture all those neurons and synapses firing away...