7 Weeks Back in PGN

Okay so 7 weeks back in PGN today!!! Come on, we must get the OUT call soon! I have to be honest...I am not handling the wait all that great this week. I need to get focused on other stuff, but this is my kid I am waiting on! I am always happy to see other families get out of PGN and know that they will be taking their babies home, but today I am having a pity party wishing that we could be one of those families! Keeping positive can be a challenge!
On a very bright note, one of our best friends has decided to move forward to adopt from Guatemala....We are SOOO excited for them...Bianca will have another Guatemalan girlfriend!
Some of the old high school buddies are getting together this week. I am excited to see everyone and we will be working on our class reunion coming up this fall......15 years.....Is that really possible?
As always thanks for your prayers and thoughts.
Much Love
Chantelle

6 weeks back in PGN!

Hey you crazy kids! Okay, today is 6 weeks back in....Totally believing to get out at 8 weeks, so 2 more...Wahoo! I can do some serious math....I am obsessed with the date....Wonder why? Eric and I are talking more and more about the realities of Bianca being in our home soon! I love it! I have so much planned for us....Okay, mainly just staring at her...and thinking everything she does is brilliant. Is that wrong? Today I am just being thanksful for our family's health and happiness. We have such an awesome life. I really could not ask for more, except to get Bianca home ASAP, of course. Thanks for all that so many of you do for us...We appreciate the fact that we have so many people who already love Bianca and are believing for her to get home soon.

As always, we will keep you posted as soon as we get more info.

Love-Chantelle

Bianca is 8 Months old!

Wahoo!

New Bianca updates and medical! This photo was taken at her 8 month check up. Is she a doll or what? She still weighs a petite 14 pounds....She did not gain any weight over the past month, but I am hoping that is because she is constantly on the move! Other than that she seems to be doing fantastic! She is totally crawling with no problem, responding to her name. She laughs and gets frustrated and really can show both of those emotions! Her hair is making a full come back which we are so pumped about, and it looks like she will sport the curly locks. Man, I HAVE to get this child home!!!! Keep sending out the positive vibes for PGN to give her paperwork the official OUT!!!!!

Lots of love!

Chantelle

Sweet Tuesday-

Not a lot to report here this week. We are in a waiting pattern and is looking like around Aug.12 to hear something. Most all of the resubmits are coming out 8 weeks after the resub date.
Dang, so hard to envision what it will be like to actually bring Bianca home....SOOO excited and also just kind of freaked out. WOW, so this is an every day thing! I can only imagine what our days will be filled with! I feel like I will just spend my time looking at her! I know we will have to do other stuff too, but I have a lot of looking to do! So many days of waiting to see this child, once we finally get home we are going to have lots of family time and week day lunches with dad. Am I going to start calling Eric and dad? Geez, I cannot go there! Okay I need to compose myself. I just feel like it is right around the corner for the first time in a long time! I have been reading about so many people who are going to get their kids and it makes me so excited. To think about these little lives and who many people are invested in bringing them home. It has really given me a whole new view of God. And I guess exactly how big he really is. That he can orchestrate bringing all of these kids to their families is really beyond me. I think that is why I am so excited about the non-profit organization that we are starting. I can't wait to be a part of bringing people together with their children. Just since we really started to move forward with the group, just a week or so ago, I have had 5 people talk to me about adoption. Now is that a coincidence or what?

What a great life! I will check in later in the week. I will be at Candy's for a few days hanging out with the boys. Have a great week!

Saturday Night and I am Feeling Alright!

Hi guys

Of course it is always close to midnight when I post. Lots of great thing happening this week for adoptive families. Looks like we are another day closer....basically no matter what is happening. I got up the nerve to call the PGN in Guatemala on Friday....It gets mixed reviews on whether or not adoptive parents should call or not. They were actually really nice to me and I found out that our paperwork is on the 2nd reviewer's desk for approval. Now honestly, this could be accurate and then again maybe not. I was just so happy to hear her say my name when I gave her our PGN case number....I thought, YES! one thing good...We are actually in PGN. This is a good thing. (At this point, mama is not choosy about things to get excited for!) So as the process goes in PGN, one reviewer approves the file, and then on to a second reviewer, and finally to Senor Barrios desk for final approval. At any of these steps they can issue another KO if they find something they are not happy with. About 90% of cases, from what I have heard get 1 previo, or KO. So we have our 1 KO down and hopefully will be blasting through to our OUT! Keep up the positive mojo as always that our file keeps moving and maybe even more swiftly than before. Also for perfect paperwork and lightning speed approval now!

Okay, so that is the latest on Bianca!

Now the latest with us....Eric is totally obsessed with getting the IPhone....He has turned into a bit of a techy...which is a real change. We have decided to join forces for the time being also, and have started working out together daily. We have always done our own thing, but this has really been fun for us....Dang, we are a competitive duo. Hope Bianca does not have to see these extremes! We really must get this under control!

I am slowly working toward getting my pilot's license which has been a lot of fun and also terrifying....A bit for me, maybe more so for my instructor! HA!

I am also working with a few people to begin a non-profit group for families interested in International Adoption. The organization will be called, "Room for One More"- awesome name that I cannot take the credit for. What a cool group of people starting to come together to get the word and information out. I will post more as it begins to take form. It has really started with a few women at my church who are all feeling led to make a difference. Kids all over the world need a voice, and southeast Missouri is going to hear mine! What a great adventure this will be!

We have really been having a great time with the new and old friends we have made here. It is also so great to have family close by. We love living here! Check in again soon!

PGN is on the move today!

Yes- this makes 2 posts in one day! Wahoo! Great news for many fellow adoptive families today...A great day in the PGN for so many families. I saw several people posting their joyous OUTS on the forums today. This is really great news for us also, because it means that the process is actually IN MOTION!!!! The average timelines still look like a full 8 weeks from our resubmit date, which would put us around the 12th of August. Please send good energy so we will not see any more issues, but only fantastic results! I have a feeling something will happen before that date, so let's believe for it, shall we?

Do I look Older?

Happy 8 months old Bianca!!! Today the little lady is officially 8 months old. I can hardly believe it! We should throw a party...I love a party! I am so glad so many of you are so interested in keeping up with the blog. I am doing much better keeping it updated. Until we get the good good news you will be learning more than you would ever want to know about what goes on in my own head! How fun is that? Okay, don't answer that.

I need to apologize....I scolded some of you for getting on to me for not updating the blog daily...And as I read through a few things on it (for the first time) a few nights ago, I CLEARLY see that I wrote specifically that I would post every day or so.....Those of you who know me best also know that I pretty much do things as the spirit moves me....Hence I am a free bird and sometimes have trouble being consistent.

Life here is fantastic...Getting in a lot of pool time recently at our best Cape G friend's house. Also working on some cool stuff which you will learn about in upcoming entries. I should be getting some new photos of the little lady soon. We seem to get them every month at her check ups....This is my third week home since our visit and I am feeling like we are going to be getting out of PGN within the next 3 weeks or so.....I am a bit obsessed about it, so I am keeping busy with other fun stuff. Heading out to see Candy, Mark, Fisher, & Klein next week. Those fellas totally keep you on your toes and they say the most hilarious things. I can hardly wait to be around them for a few days.

Hey everyone! Happy Monday! What a great weekend we had. Good buddies Erika and Bets were down for a short visit and what a great time! Nothing like good friends!

Well, we are hearing of many people getting out of the PGN! I have to admit, I wish it were us! Is that sooo wrong??? Okay, I am just going to put this out there.....I am anticipating 4 more weeks or less...I would prefer tomorrow of course, but I know that little lady will be home when the time is right!

Now, I know some of you might be a bit confused about the blog updates (Aunt Judy). I am not sure that I said I would update EVERY day, though I know you must think my life is just that exciting! I will try to be on at least a few times a week however, and I realize that no matter what I write people are really here for the new Bianca photos so I will keep them coming! I have been having a really good humor about the wait for B the past week or so. I am not saying that I do not have a pity party every now and then during this tedious wait, but in the scheme of things our adoption process has been pretty amazing.

I had an idea the other day...Ran it past my mom, and she pretty much thought I was nuts. Now that I have all of the cool baby stuff, I thought, why not try them out? I could put a doll in that hot rod stroller I bought and roll that thing around the neighborhood. You know, just as a warm up.....Then maybe head into Target with the new baby sling I bought...Again, I could put a doll in there, just to get a feel for the thing.....Wow, would people talk...And wouldn't that be fun to really give them something to talk about over dinner. I could quickly fill the crazy lady role...no big stretch there!

Anywho, it is late which is typical of my long rants. Eric is a morning person and of course, I am a big time night owl. I am guessing we will have to make some "small" changes when Bianca gets home. Still trying to decide what her nickname might be. I guess that will come with time. She is just so cool. Have I said that like one million times on this site?

I hope everyone is doing great. Let's send some seriously postive energy to the people within the Guatemalan PGN! We are ready to bring home that child already!

Happy 4th EVERYONE!!!! I hope you all enjoy a day off....I am sure that you deserve it!!!! The weeks are rolling by, and NOT TOO fast for me! I am missing that little sweet pea in Guatemala.

We have been back in PGN now for 3 weeks...So on the very bright side every day is one day closer to Bianca coming home!!!!!

I am so excited as I am sure you can tell, but I also know that I will be freaked out when we actually get the call that she is coming home. I know my life will change is a HUGE way...just cannot wrap my head around that yet. Maybe it is similar to being pregnant. The waiting gives you time to prepare....At this point I am then 13 months pregnant! Wahoo!!!

Eric handles all of the waiting much better than me, as most of you would imagine. I am learning (much of the time against my will) how to be a bit more patient.

We are heading out to my friend Cheri's for a pool/bar-b-que day for the 4th. Then back to the house in the evening to hang out with the Seabaugh family to grill out and watch fireworks!

I hope you guys are all great. Thanks for keeping up with us!