How do I get through the day? By the grace of God.

Some days are just going through the motions, others are more. At this point it is so hard to know what to do. When your life is at this state and on hold for so many different reasons, you do not know what to do. I just pray that through this all, I do not miss the point. I pray I do not miss the "big picture".


This is not the path we chose for our lives. We would not have chosen this path four and a half years ago. God chose it for us. Because of this path, God gave us Nathan. I am thankful that God's plans are bigger and better than ours. This path has been full of ups, downs, happiness, sadness, joys, sorrows, pain, laughter, etc.; but in the end I pray it will ultimately glorify our God.

So many people say so many different things to us because of this journey God is carrying us through...

I could go on, but those are just a few.
-No, we do not have lots of patience. I am a very impatient person, but am always working on this. I feel that I have improved, but not enough to enjoy waiting on my son to come home with no end in sight.
-No, we are not amazing people. Our God is amazing!! He is the One who chose us to be His children. By His grace we are able to face each day knowing He is with us and all things are possible! He first loved us! He is the one who created this family, not us!
-I do not see how we are waiting either?!?!?!??!? It blows my mind every day that I am still sane:). Some days I wonder how I am going to make it through another day, week or month; but once again my God provides and here we are...

My mind has gone in so many directions since we received this news. And it is coming back to the fact that this is completely not fair to Nathan. I pray that the right decision will be made on his behalf and ultimately God will be glorified. All I know to do at this point is pray, seek, pray and seek. I rest in knowing that He is in control.

Thank you to all who have been praying. You all mean so much to us! It humbles me when I stop to think about how many people are actually praying for our son to come home to us.


Thanks for Sarah and the rest of the mission team for loving on my son while at the Nest. Thank you for all the pictures and the precious details of Nathan. Read below what Sarah had to say about Nathan...

"I really enjoyed playing with and loving on your your precious baby. He was so sweet and has the softest, curly hair. When I walked into the orphanage for the first time, your son was the first baby I noticed. I just remember seeing this big baby with his curly hair sitting on the floor. He was so cute! He is such a cute and funny baby. He was always making funny faces. Also, he is starting to talk. I think that his favorite things to do are have someone walk him around because he cannot walk all by himself yet and to be held. He is so close to walking on his own though. He just really loves to be walked. It was so funny when he wants to be held the mamas will wrap him on their back and carry him around. It looked like he was half their size hehe. Also, he liked it when I took his picture, and then showed him it. Oh and my best friend wanted me to tell you that one night when it was bed time he was crying in his crib. So she went over and showed him the little picture book of your family that you sent him. It immediately calmed him down and he stopped crying. He received lots of love while we were there. Our team just loved Nathan. His nickname was "Bruiser." We all think that he is going to play in the NFL someday. Many people on our team really enjoyed reading to, playing with, and walking Nathan around. I know that he misses you lots and cant wait to be home forever!!"

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weakness, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong."



"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

i miss you baby boy...
(thank you sweet friend for the glimpse of our son)

Where does the time go...
Please be praying today for Nathan's case. God is in control...

As we were finishing up dinner tonight the conversation of coarse was about Nathan and the adoption. We were rehashing the updates we have receive the past few weeks and how they were so different from week to week and still we are no where different.

We started thinking back to the beginning of the process and what our mind set was this time last year. It is funny to think about where we were at that point. To think that we thought Nathan would be home by Christmas- HA!! All I can do is laugh! It keeps me sane. We contemplated for months whether or not we would be making a visit trip before our pick up trip. "Should we make a visit trip?" Now that is a funny question!! I can not believe that was ever a conversation between Casey and I. It seems so far away.

God has such different plans than us. Even though it has been extremely painful, stressful and the hardest thing I have ever done and continue to do I am thankful for God's plans. Yes, if our plans would have worked, Nathan would have been home by the age of 6 months and there would be so much that we would have not missed. But we would never have experienced Guatemala the way we have on our,not one, but two visit trips. We have been able to see the beautiful country side of Guatemala where our son is from, see the city where Nathan was born, spend time in the orphanage where he has spent all of his infancy, meet all the precious nannies who have taken care of him, meet all of the other precious children at Eagle's Nest, and spend two weeks with our son that we will never forget, and on top of that my mom and dad has also got to experience this!

We are forever changed because of this experience and this journey. We do things and see things so differently than before. I pray that never changes.

Please continue to pray! We are getting updates, but nothing really to report. The lawyer is working on it, but more importantly God is working on it! Our son is going to come home! I just pray it is so very soon! We are soooo past ready!

One year ago today we saw this sweet face for the first time. We knew right away this was our son. No questions asked. God chose him for our family! What a blessing he has been already and he is not even hear with us yet.
Jesus never said it would be easy. I do not want the easy road. I want the road that leads to my Jesus. Thank you God for loving me when I am not lovable. Thank you for choosing me.

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory."

Nathan is now weighing 28.8 lbs and is still 30 inches long. He is now infected with the chicken pox. I new it was only a matter of time since it was going around. The report said he loves cookies!(not surprising!) He loves anything sweet! They said he is also learning to say MAMA and loves walking around while someone is holding his hands. I miss my baby boy!

Thank you so much for all your encouragement and prayers!!! You will never know what you all mean to us! Keep praying!!! God is working!!!

Well, Nathan is obviously not very happy that he is not home yet to celebrate with us on the 4th. Poor baby boy!!! He is still too precious even when he is upset and I miss him terribly!!!

Please continue to pray. God is faithful and is working! I pray we will have great news soon!




A big thanks to Ana and her family for taking some pics of Nathan for us on their recent trip to EN to visit their babies. Thanks for taking time out of your trip to love on our baby boy and snap some priceless pics for us!!! God bless you!!





Thank you Lord for who You are. We trust in you. Your timing is perfect!