So soon!

I can't believe that in just 4 days I will have Owen in my arms--and I NEVER HAVE TO GIVE HIM BACK!!! I almost can't believe that the next time I come home from Guatemala, he will be with me, and his daddy will meet us at the airport! I so wish Shannon could come, too...we will definitely not be complete until we are home & with him, too. We've waited so long to become a family...when I get to Guatemala, we'll be 2/3 whole! :)

That said, those of you still State-side: Shannon will be busy w/school, football, etc., but PLEASE give him a call, check in on him, go to his scrimmages if I'm not back (or even if I am!) for them, have him over to grill, whatever. He'll miss us, and we will miss him SO MUCH. Shannon, I love you more than life itself, and that's the truth. We've worked so hard to have children, and finally, finally, this precious little boy will be OURS!! I love you, Coach.

Another weekend---and it's a 3-day one for Guate.

Well, Monday is some sort of holiday in Guatemala--Army Day? I think, sigh--so we'll go through another weekend with no word on PGN status. It's been 7 wks since our resubmit...plenty of time to review our file...but there's no telling when it'll be done.

On the other hand, this is the last weekend Shannon and I will be together for a few weeks, at least. He has a 7-on-7 tournament type thing tomorrow w/his football kids, but I hope we can have a date night Sat. night! :) He's still in a lot of pain with his ankle and the whole leg, so please keep him in your prayers.

No dice.

Our facilitator emailed us today--we are not out of PGN. :(

She did send new pics... :)

And I leave in one week to be w/him... :)

Just a quiet Sunday night...

We took Shannon to the ER Sat. morning because his calf pain was so bad we were afraid it was a blood clot. After a Doppler, they determined that his muscles in the calf have atrophied and contracted around nerves in there. We then went down to Cape to see my parents--my mom leaves Wed. to see my brother and sister-in-law in Washington state, so I won't see her till OWEN COMES HOME!

Why, you might ask? On the morning of our Independence Day, Shannon will be flying out of St L airport to Ecuador for his brother's wedding. On that same morning, I will be flying out to Guatemala--and I ain't coming home till Owen can come w/me! We hope/think it'll be sooner than later...although we're not sure exactly what's going on in PGN now w/our case. It's too soon to know for sure...but we'll keep you posted!

Baby in a little bathtub...

...is there anything cuter?

Owen Owen Owen...

Our little reader...
Our little rebel...

Our little sweet cheeks!

Oh dear.

We found out Thursday that our file has been...sitting. Sitting in PGN, unassigned. No one has been looking at it. At all. Not at all since our 5/9 resubmit. We are beyond devestated. It was finally assigned to someone...this past Wed. 6/20.

Then today, inexplicably, some maybe goods news...? Our facilitator says our file has been "approved" in PGN. This really is physically impossible, since no one was looking at our file for 6 wks, and just started to do so Wed. There are too many steps to be done in 2 days. So we think perhaps the reviewer has approved the file, and then passed it on to the next step in PGN, and that's what she meant. But we don't know. I emailed her, hope to know soon.

In other news, Shannon got his hard cast off and is in his walking cast! He is, however, in a lot of pain, and is unsure if that's normal or not. I'm trying to take care of him but I am at a loss...I'm calling his ortho Monday.

Please continue to pray for us! We love you!!

More pictures, upon request!

Owen reading books w/his buddy Daniel. :) Owen loves books--he leans waaaayyy over so his nose is about an inch from the pages to study them, I guess from a different perspective. Or perhaps he needs reading glasses already??

Yet more pictures...

Might as well...there no news to post...so here is the little guy and his momma!

Howdy all...

Here's Owen & his ma at Hotel Antigua one afternoon.

Just checkin' in. Still no word from Guatemala on our KO. I've been sick since Saturday (arrived home Thurs. night)--must've picked something up in one of those stale-air planes, or even in Guate. So not much went on this weekend! Shannon crashed on the couch w/his throbbing ankle and me crashed on the loveseat with my...well, you don't wanna know!

More pictures of the leading man, and updates

Here's the sweetie on my last night in Guate., at our friend Hardy's place.

Smilin' while holding Mommy's money!

Lovely hair, after his bath!

The update: We have no updates. Our kickout still is not out. We have no idea why not. Today marks 80 days in PGN.

Back State-side...

How odd that everyone isn't speaking a language that I can only catch every 3rd word or so...how odd that I don't say 'gracias' or 'de nada' or 'buena dias.' How strange that I can again buy apples to eat. How odd that my son is not attached to my chest via a Snugli or perched on my hip. Everything feels unfamiliar here in my own country right now. I can only imagine how those long-time fostering mommas will feel when they can finally come back with their babies!

There was a 6.8 earthquake in Guatemala, on the Pacific side...please keep them all in your prayers while we wait for more news.

Owen of the Jungle!

Here is my wild boy, my silly little Shorty! His grammy got him the slippers and I think my uncle got him the jammies. I love babies in jammies!

Hola

First of all, thanks so much to all of the sweet, supportive emails from those of you who read my weepy last post. Owen and I feel so loved, even way down here.

Things are better. Our KO has not yet actually come out of PGN, so we can't fix it yet, but if it's what we think it is, it will be a quick fix. Shannon is feeling better after a tough week adjusting to his huge hard cast...his mom compared him to a dinosaur. He's a big guy anyway, and so needs a big cast, and that just weighs him down. But he's getting help from them, and our friend Dave, so he's surviving, and looks forward to me coming back on Wed. I will miss Owen terribly, but Shannon needs his wife to help him out!

That said, we plan for me to be back here fostering Owen around 1 July. I told a woman who owns a big 4-bedroom house here that I would like to rent from her. There are 4 moms and babies there now, and 3 will be leaving for home forever very soon. Hooray for them! Money will be tight...but Guatemala is not the most expensive place ever.

Owen vomited 3x in the last 3 days, so we went to the little hospital her in Antigua this morning, with help from Katie and Eliot, showing us where to go. I know what you might think--a hospital here in this 3rd world country must be a hole in the wall. But it is very, very clean, and new, open, and just plan very nice. The doc was great, and determined that Owen didn't have an ear infection, which was my main fear, or gastrointestinal problems, and so prescribed some drops for just in case he vomits again. The visit was about $15, and the meds were like $6. Unreal! And all they wanted at the hospital was Owen's name. Not my name, not my passport, nothing else. Very nice!

It's been a gorgeous few days here, and the rain is on its way in right now. I love the storms here.

Owen continues to be a honey, so cute it kills me, and just full of life. He studies books, splashes in the baby bathtub, puts his toes in his mouth--how long do yoga people work to do that?--and loves people. He woke up from a nap to our friend Inken the other day, as I dashed across the street for a Coca-Cola Light, and she said he looked at her strangely, as if to say, 'you're not my mom!' Which secretly delighted me...

We look forward to our friends Hardy and Daniel, Jessica and Michael and Jaden all being here in the next few days. Jaden's early 1 year-old party is tomorrow, and I'll be meeting someone from the adoption forums as well. So while it's not home, and I miss my husband, family, friends and dogs so much, we are not lonely here for company. Most of the time, anyway...

Love you all! Email me anytime!

Rough day

Well, the day w/Owen was wonderful! It's just me...and PGN. Just found out that our facilitator doesn't have the actual paper with our KO, and has no idea what the actual problem is, so she can't fix it right now. She probably can't fix it till the KO really comes out officially. This sets us back even more. Apparently the reviewer is new and is being extremely over-picky.

Shannon is home with that broken ankle he got while running, and he's in pain and today got a hard cast. The doc said he will be into a boot in 3w, but till then, he's in a wheelchair or crutches.

I miss him so much, and yet can't imagine leaving Owen here. More later...too many tears...sheesh, pathetic, eh?

Um, yes...more photos.

This is Katie and Russ's boy Eliot, also known as Belly-ot, wearing his mommy's sunglasses and Owen's bottle cap!

Mr. Owen and Ms. Karen having some playtime! Well, really, she mostly crawls and tries to stand up, and he sits and studies and hits whatever toy catches his fancy at that moment, and watches the girls play! Marcello claims Owen will have many girlfriends. AAAAA!!! Too soon!!

Mas fotos!

Me and my sweetie snuggling in the dining room at our bed and breakfast one morning!

Hee hee! Look at these gorditos! The baby girl on the left is Eliana--I adore that name!--and she is 10 mo. old, being adopted by a couple from the UK. She should be getting her Visa w/in a couple of weeks and then HOME! The little teensy thing in the middle is Karen, who is just a week older than Owen and is being adopted by a couple from Germany. She crawls and can pull herself up to standing position all by herself! Holy cripes! She is very intense! And of course, on the right is the Man of the Hour.

You know that it is really hard to get this boy to smile when the camera's on, so Eliana's dad Lawrence--great name!--helped me by entertaining Owen w/silly faces to get some laughing shots! They turned out great, eh???

My sweet boy on the lawn at Hotel Antigua.

Mi amor...!

I PROMISE you all, Owen is the smiliest baby I have ever met. He just...chooses not to display this characteristic in front of video cameras, pictures, and often other adoptive moms who I have previously bragged to about his smiliness. Gals, I truly ain't lyin'.

I love this one!!!

Finally, some pictures!

Here are some pictures of my sweetie! He is the love of my life--you are the other love of my life, Shannon! He gives the most thoughtful looks, very deep thinker like his dad.

Here he is in the community walker at our bed and breakfast. He doesn't really get that he can walk in it, just pushes around a little and studies the steering wheel and phone intently.

This floor gym is his favorite!! He sits at it and beats the snot out of that poor ball and the fish, and tries to eat them both.

Getting up close and personal with his own adorable face.

Oh my. I am so in love!!!!! I wish I didn't need to come foster under the kick-out circumstances we've found ourselves in, but here they are...and he is the best reason in the world to come to this country and stay.

Hi again, all...

Mr. Owen is taking a nap, a rather late one for his morning siesta, in fact. After breakfast and playing, I strapped him into his new Snugli for the first time and we walked to the Museo de Colonial, which was open for the first time I have EVER seen in the 4 times we have come here! There were some gorgeous paintings, fountains, ancient statues and paintings of saints, Jesus, etc. Then we walked to the farmacia to get some more formula. Nothing but nonstop excitement here! Actually, it was quite enjoyable, leaving the stroller behind for a change.

No news on the kickout, or the previo.

I have about 30 pics, but have not downloaded them yet. Off to check on the boy!

Here in Antigua w/Owen!!

Ok, first of all, so sorry about the lack of pictures. I have been SO TIRED that I didn't even try to log onto my laptop till yesterday...and then couldn't get it to work! So I am on the hotel laptop. Well, it's a bed and breakfast, not a hotel.

Anyway! OWEN!!! OWEN LAWRENCE!!! He is, without a doubt, the sweetest, most adorable, funniest, happiest baby EVER!!! I'm serious!! He laughs and smiles all the time, giggles, loves people, can sit up on his own, altho he does tip often! He is so SO cute when he's sitting up--such a little guy, sitting there, looking with all seriousness into my face, looking at me for the first time as another little person, sitting face to face instead of up at me. He loves it when I kiss all over his bare belly, and puts his hands on my face and hair. When he wants me to do this or to come closer, he puts his hands out for me to come to him.

We went swimming today, and he kicked like a frog the whole time! He splashed his hands and hit the water, and even did it when the water splashed up in his face. It's rainy season here, so no more perfect sunny days, but it still wasn't bad for swimming, for a change!

He sleeps from about 8:30 or 9 till about 7:30am, wth 2 feeding times in there. He LOVES to eat, just like his mom and dad! Perfect fit w/the Hensons. He is eating about 300 million ounces of formula a day--an exaggeration, but not by much--and also some baby food and mashed banana.

His eyelashes are about a mile long and hit his cheeks when he blinks. When he smiles, his eyes squint up, like that picture of him in his hat, laughing at me on the bed. He sticks his tongue out, and says 'dadadadadada' and 'yayayayayaya', altho no 'mamamamama' yet! But I daresay he knows who his momma is!

There is some bad news, however. We found out today that our file has yet another kickout coming, so we will be kicked out of PGN AGAIN. This sets us back AGAIN. The fix itself will only take a day or so, but we also have to wait for the OFFICIAL kickout before we can resubmit the file with the fix. So, now we wait for the file. It could come out with the kickout on Monday...or in 2 weeks.

And then, when we do resubmit, we are basically starting over this step...again. For the 3rd time. It will be at least another 8 weeks, most likely, AFTER the resubmit.

Why the reviewer didn't give us this kickout with the first kickout, I do not know.

Please be nice to Shannon...he misses us terribly, and now we are discussing the possibility of me coming home for a week, getting ready for school, and then coming back here to foster until Owen can come home. It will be hard, but Owen is so worth it, and we want the best for him. We are thinking that the older he gets, the harder it'll be for him to make the transition from his foster mom to us, and we want to minimize any hardship for him. And, of course, we are tired of missing out on the first year of his life and are gonig to try to have one of us, at least, participate in these precious months.

Pleae keep us in your prayers. We love you!