So tired of waiting...but life is good...

Hurry up; we are ready for you, Danny!!!

..

This wait seems so very long. It’s strange that waiting can be so tiring but I know first hand that worrying about your children is the most exhausting thing there is.

The weeks have dragged by and the fact that this is also the fifth anniversary of the month leading up to Josh’s diagnosis hasn’t helped.

I was just putting the finishing touches on a blog of several paragraphs of “woe’s me” when I took a break to put Gracie to bed.

One story and she was out like a light. I stayed there for a while as she slept. Then just as I was getting up to leave she rolled over. Still completely asleep, but just as completely sure of where I was she snuggled herself into me nudging her head into the crook of my shoulder.

And so for tonight anyway, life is good.

Easter Sunday; 6 inches of new snow; 32 degrees outside; but our hearts are warm!

Lost in Translation...

That’s going to be our theme this week.

We learned that we’ve been kicked out of PGN for a translation error on our Power of Attorney. It sounds like it’s a simple matter to fix, and we were told we’d be re-submitted by this Friday.

That pesky Power of Attorney is our undoing again! First it was lost, and now it’s got a mistake! I’m glad that this is an easy fix, but at this stage of the game every lost week hurts.

It also makes me wonder how many other little small things they’re going to kick us out for before we’re finally out for good.

I have a splitting migraine and I think the stress of this news and lack of sleep that followed are big contributing factors.

Danny, 7 months

On a lighter note, there was another little something that needed a bit more careful translation. It’s painful to admit this, but for a brief time, I didn’t recognize Danny in a photograph.

One of our wonderful friends from this nation-wide family of bloggers snapped a picture of Danny while she was visiting the Children’s Home. Her son, Nathan, is one of Danny’s roomies. I’ve even noticed that they’ve shared outfits!

Anyway, I saw the picture and didn’t think it was my boy. Too much hair. But further inspection, a facial feature analysis by another friend and a second look from momma confirms that it is indeed our little Danny. This picture was taken just after a smile. Obviously, he’s regrouping for another one!

Here’s what Amy had to say about our little boy: He was sitting in the swing and was very alert and watching everything going on around him. Two of the caregivers were sorting an enormous pile of socks as he watched. When Amy said hello to him he gave her a big smile! He was very content.

This picture was of a much higher resolution than the photos we usually receive from the Children’s Home. I must confess I blew it up large on my computer and looked at every little hair on his head. I looked at his cute little nose, his big eyes; those cute ears super close up in perfect focus. It reminds me of the scrutiny I gave each of my two previous children the first time I held them. I can hardly wait to give him the once-over in person.

In Community

Danny(nller) and a few friends hanging out before their photo shoot: Early March

I consider myself pretty competent on the computer. But when it comes to riding the cutting edge of web-communication I’m a throwback.

I prefer to use the ear-piece of a phone rather than the little message screen; in fact, I’ve never text messaged in my life. I can’t even type names into my cell phone directory. Everyone ends up with extra QQQ’s or VVV’s because I can’t figure out how to get to the next letter.

But twice in my life, the high-tech world we live in has brought me into community with people I desperately need and who I never would have otherwise met.

The first of course, was the CaringBridge community of families battling their children’s cancer. The support of friends through our website as well as being able to keep in touch with others travelling the same journey was a life saver for me.

Now I find myself so very fortunate to be a part of the amazing community of families at various points in the Guatemalan Adoption Odyssey. How is it that a seemingly random group of people have changed my life and kept me on track? It’s only been about 5 months, but I feel I’ve known these families forever. It started with a Google search (yes, I can do that!) on the name of the Children’s Home where Danny lives. This brought me to one website which in turn provided links to many more. Now I have a dozen blog stops to make every day.

Granted, we don’t sit around over cups of coffee rehashing our day, but somehow we do manage to cry on each other’s shoulders. We offer hugs and celebrate milestones together. You see the public world of our websites, but I have met people who I can call at 2:00 am if I need to, and people who can read panic in an e-mail from me and will write back immediately to offer comfort and support. And I hope these same people feel they have an equally caring friend in me.

Many times it seems, too much technology and “screen time” can create a vacuum resulting in stunted personal growth. But other times the seemingly cold sterile environment of a piece of plastic with a bunch of memory chip thingies can actually spread warmth and humanity and compassion.

Thanks to all of you who visit this website, and to all of you who comment and keep us in your and prayers and who blanket the Universe with your positive healing energy and thoughts! And thanks to my community of Guatemala Adoption friends!

Once I figure out how, I will post a list of families who are travelling this road with us and who all need to be included in your thoughts and your prayers as they go down a path that continues for a lifetime.

New Pictures!

The new pictures showed up in my inbox today. Gracie who has now been nice to babies too many times to count was anxious to see pictures of her baby brother.

She thought these were the funniest photos she'd ever seen, especially when we made up a little story to go with them. When we got to the end, she was laughing hysterically. We probably looked at these pictures 50 times!

Here is the story we wrote to go with these crazy pictures of our little sweetie:

Danny's Day in the Sun

Hey! What am I doing on this clothesline?!?

Oh, I get it! I'm supposed to be like laundry! That's funny!!!

OK, that was so funny! But now I'm ready to come down, please!

No, seriously! I need to come down right now! Right down there on the ground!

OK, one more time. Let me make this simple for you:

Put me down or I'll have to give you my fiercest frownie face!!!

GRRRrrrrrrr!!!!! (Even when I frown I'm cute!)

Story line and sound effects written by: Gracie

(After a long day of face painting!)