Less than 24 hours and I will officially be on leave...

I can't believe it!!!! Tomorrow is my last day at work and then I will start my maternity leave!! I am SO excited!!! I have already put in about 44 hours this week not counting tomorrow. At least I'll have a good check coming up. ;-))

I added more things to my "TO DO" list tonight. I have got to get busy this weekend. I am running out of time. Monday is fast approaching. It's funny.....time hasn't gone by this fast in a long time.

Praying for good news tomorrow for my friend Bethany! Her little boy, Anthony, needs to get out of PGN!!! We are hoping and praying that it will be tomorrow!

Happy Wednesday

First off, we got great news today! My friend Keely called and her daughter, Savannah, is OUT of PGN!!! YIPPEE!!! I am so excited for them!!! Hopefully the next part of the process will go quickly for them! Now we just need for Bethany son, Anthony, to get OUT of PGN!!! Please join me in praying for them. They have been in about 4 months now.

Well, I thought this week was really going to creep by but it is flying by. I have so much to do. Yesterday and Monday I worked 11 hour days and made a lot of progress at work. Today I only worked 8 hours and then I came home. I have so much to do and I really haven't accomplished much tonight. Mike came over and has been working on my ceiling fan in the family room almost all night. It has been a realy pain to put up, partly due to the fact that I have cathedral ceilings.

Tomorrow I have to get serious. I have at least written out my "To Do List". I know that this weekend I am going to be SO busy. I have to finish getting packed, clean the house, work in the yard and just everything organized. I still can't believe that in less than 5 days, 113 hours, 28 minutes and 30 seconds ;-)))) I will have Zachary with me forever!!!! WOW!!!! I can't wait!

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Hugs,
Rebecca

IN JUST 10 MORE DAYS....

I WILL BE IN GUATEMALA WITH ZACHARY!!!! WHOOOOO HOOO!!!

Today I made my flight and hotel reservations. I am flying out on Monday, April 2. My mom is going to join us on April 16. Then on April 17 we have our Embassy appointment. On Thursday, April 19, my mom, Zachary and I will be returning to Charlotte. I made hotel reservations for us at the Westin! Veronica and her sister are also staying there. Veronica did all of the leg work and found the best deal at the Westin. We wanted to stay at the same hotel, so when I found out she was staying there, I booked our room too. The pool at the Westin looks AWESOME!!!!! I'm so excited!!!! I have lots to do this weekend. I need to revise my list of "Things to do". Tomorrow morning, I'm going for an early morning walk and then it's out to the back yard to put a water sealant on my fence. Fun stuff!!! I am have to put my cool new blinds up in the kitchen and install 2 carbon monoxide detectors. Then it's on to finish painting the bathroom. I really have my work cut out for me this weekend but I have SO much energy because I am pumped about the good news!!!

Will touch base tomorrow and give you an update on my progress.

Thanks for all of the sweet messages over the last couple of months!!HUGS!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE........

PRAISE GOD!!!! I found out tonight that we have our PINK SLIP and Zachary's final appointment is April 17 @ 7:15 a.m. YIPPEE YAHOO!!!!

I just made my flight arrangements. My flight leaves Charlotte on Monday, April 2 at 11:22 am and Zachary, my mom and I will return on Thursday April 19@ 7:52 pm. My mom is not flying down until 5 or 6 days before our appointment. I am staying with some friends until she gets there!!! ;-)))

I can't believe that the journey to bring Zachary home is FINALLY almost over!!! Now the real fun begins!!!

Thanks SO much for all of the prayers!! Please keep them coming!

Oh and I almost forgot, two of my friends got their PINK slips today too!! Congratulations to Veronica and Susan!!!!!! We'll all be in Guatemala together!!! ;-))

Love and Hugs,
Rebecca

PINK

Three words for you: I NEED PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Counting down....

Happy Monday. Today was a pretty good day. Once again I had a hard time concentrating at work. I am counting down the days until Thursday. I am so anxious to see when our appointment is going to be. I am ready to book my flight but I really need to find out when our appointment will be first. I am still planning to fly out the first week of April. I am really hoping that my mom will fly down if she can't go when I leave. She has few conflicts at work but she thinks that she will be able to come the third week if we have our appointment then. I am so excited!! I am really trying to get everything in order now because I know the time is drawing near.

Not much else to tell today. I did get up and go to the gym this morning and boy oh boy am I sore...especially my back. That's what happens when you fall out of your routine for a month!! Maybe I'll learn a lesson from this.

Hope everyone is doing well....and that this will be the week when we all get good news.

Love and hugs,
Rebecca

There are good things to come......

This has been a really good weekend. I have stayed very busy and been very productive. Friday night I didn't do much..by choice, I just stayed on my couch. I was still in a bit of a funk. Yesterday morning I got up with an attitude and decided that I'm not going to let anyone else control my life (i.e. the Guatemalan gov't, the US Embassy, my agency, etc.) I could have stayed on the couch all weekend but instead I stayed on the go. I went to the gym for 1 1/2 hours yesterday morning then out shopping and running errands. I came home and took a nap and then I met my friend Celeste for dinner last night. It was great to get out! Then I came home and put Zachary's valance up. I FINALLY decided on one. It's so cute. I'll post a picture of it later tonight. His little room is really coming together. I still don't have the border up but I really don't feel like taking that on right now. Hhhhmmm...may not happen?! This morning I went to church. We had a great service and of course everyone was anxiously asking me "Any news"? I told them that I plan to fly out on April 2, regardless of when our appt. is. I just can't wait any longer. It's plain and simple. I really believe it will be the week of the 11th. That's what I'm hoping for anyway. That way I will be there just under 2 weeks. I am so excited. I have been packing today, organizing things, cleaning, etc. I put up some ventilated shelving today...don't let anyone ever tell you that it's easy to do. NOT! Anyway, I got them up and it's so awesome. I have more storage space and I can keep more stuff out of Zachary's reach. ;-)) I'm trying to decide on dinner now and I'm leaning towards Jamaican Jerk Shrimp! ;-) I may as well treat myself, right?!

Hope you all have had a good weekend. Thanks for all of the encourage comments!! HUGS, Rebecca

Sad Day

Well, night before last we found out that we will not get PINK until next week...probablly Thursday according to our agency. I was SO disappointed. I was just sure that we would know when our appointment would be by yesterday. Unfortunately, not only does a week seem like an eternity at this stage of the game but now I will have to extend my leave start date out a week or two at work. Basically this process controls your entire life. Emotionally it's very hard when you want something so bad...and it's so close...but every time you go to reach for it, someone moves it further away. It's just far enough away that you can't reach it. Last night I was a basket case but today I am feeling better. I am still sad and disappointed but trying to take on a better attitude today. I know that this is part of God's plan but it's hard for me to understand since I can't see the whole picture. I just have to keep reminding myself of this and keep my focus where it should be. For all of you who are praying and have been, thank you and please continue. Also, please pray for my friend Veronica who is in the exact same situation as I am. We are both struggling right now but we will make it and we will be in Guatemala with our babies very soon preparing to bring them home.

Hugs,
Rebecca

Standing on my head....

Well, it's Wednesday and I am just dying to know when our Embassy appt. is going to be. I an SO anxious to make reservations and get on the plane! This past Monday we got Zachary's passport. Philip sent a copy of it to me today. SO precious!!!!! We were submitted yesterday for PINK!!! Typically these pink slips are issued within 48 hours. Our 48 hours will be up tomorrow afternoon. I am just hoping and praying that we get our appointment date tomorrow. I'm so anxious that it's hard to focus on anything else. I have to head up our neighborhood association meeting tomorrow night so that will occupy my mind for a while. Philip promised that he would call me the minute he hears from Cinthya....no matter when it is. Since Cinthya is 2 hours behind us now...she won't be able to pick up pink slips until 5:45 our time. SO, I guess we didn't get it today so we'll look to tomorrow. After all, that's when our 48 hours will be up.

That's it for now. I am hoping that I will be able to post our appt. date tomorrow!!!

Thanks for all of the prayers.

HUGS!!

More Good News today....

I talked to Philip this afternoon and he said that our birth certificate has already been translated and we have been submitted for Zachary's passport. WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!! Philip said that we will have it back Monday. So our attorney will pick it up on Monday and submit it the US Embassy for PINK!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!! I called my mom and told her the good news. She is SO excited! She said that she is going to start packing this weekend. Well, that's makes THREE of us. Veronica is on the same schedule as me so she is going to pack too!! I'm so excited that we are going to be travelling together. I am still planning to fly out on March 26. I can't wait to find out when our appointment is. I am praying it will be the last week of March but it could be the first week of April. I have given my FMLA notice at work so my last day will be March 23!!! OH how I can't wait for that day!!!

I'm so excited!!!! I know Veronica isn't sleeping....but I sure am!!! Not much interferes with my sleep. A lot of my friends are telling me to stock up on sleep now because soon the naps and sleeping late will be OVER!!

;-))))) Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

HUGS!!

Zachary now officially has my last name!!!

We received the birth certificate today!!!! Another prayer answered!!! Zachary is now a Harmon-Steen. ;-)) As soon as he gets home, we will both be Harmons because I am having our names changed back to my maiden name. My friend Veronica also got her birth certificate today. We are on the exact same timeline!!! ;-))) This means that more than likely we will be travelling to pick up the babies at the same time. I am on the countdown now. I have already started looking at flights. I am planning to go down on the 26th even if I don't have an appointment yet. Of course, this is subject to change based on what happens over the next week or so.

Ok, so here's what happens next. The birth certificate is being translated and our attorney will have it back either tomorrow afternoon or Monday. (I would love to believe that it will be tomorrow BUT based on what we've seen with this agency, I'd say it will be Monday). The birth certificate will then be submitted to the Guatemalan Embassy for them to issue the passport. The agency said that it takes a week but I don't believe that based on what I've seen. Passports are typically issued in 24-48 hours. So once we get that back, we will be submitted to the US Embassy for a PINK slip and appointment. This usually happens in 48 hours and during that time the Embassy doctor will examine Zachary. Then they will issue our appointment date. This is the tricky part. Since there that *#&@^ convention going on the week of the 19th, we will be delayed a little. So more than likely, we will have the passport back by the 14th or 15th and then be submitted for PINK the next day. That means that our appointment will probably be scheduled for the last week of March or possibly the first week of April. Also, the week prior to Easter, the Embassy is closed the 5th and 6th. We could possibly get pushed to the next week but I'm trying not to think about this. I'm just praying that we get that appt. the last week. If we don't, I may be travelling alone. My mom won't be able to go the 1st or 2nd week of April. ;-(( So, we'll see what happens. Tune in for more exciting news to come. ;-))
HUGS!!!

Hump Day

Well, I made it through today. This has been kind of a tough week...not necessarily with the adoption but I have some other things going on. I am just trying to stayed focused on Zachary. Of course, when I do I'm always smiling. My brother came to visit this evening. We went to dinner and did some catching up. He has so many exciting things going on in his life too. He just recently got married and his wife is AWESOME!!!! They are getting ready to close on their new house so they are really excited about that. I'm excited too. I told them to make sure that they get mine and Zachary wing ready ASAP!!! ;-))) They are ecstatic and can't wait for Zachary to get home. Also, they knew I was having a hard time today and they sent me a dozen pink roses. They are beautiful! How sweet was that?!

Ok, now on to Zachary. Tomorrow is the day that the Civil Registry promised our attorney that our birth certificate will be ready. My friend Veronica and I are praying and crossing all of our fingers and toes that both of our birth certificates come in tomorrow so that we can get submitted for PINK by Friday. We are praying for an appointment by the end of March. Also, my friend Pam was submitted for PINK today so we are praying that she gets her appt. very soon too!!!

I tell you, I could really use some good news tomorrow. I feel really good about it and know that there are so many good things to come. God has blessed us so much already! I'm am trying to keep faith in him and let him handle this situation. HOPEFULLY tomorrow I will be posting that we have the birth certificate. Once we get that it has to be translated and then will be submitted for PINK. This will probably take anywhere from 2 days to a week or so. YIPPEE YAHOO!!! I get more excited with every passing day!!

HUGS!!!

Another Week

Hope everyone had a good weekend. We had a very good weekend. We were at my parents mountain house. It was so much fun and we got to see some snow!! A lot of people don't get excited about that but I do!!! It snowed for about 14 hours. Mike and I went out walking in the "blizzard". It was so much fun. It was like we were little kids. ;-)) We both took a vacation day today which was really nice.

Well, I couldn't wait to get home and check my email. I was SO hoping to have an email from Philip telling me that Zachary's new birth certificate had come in. Unfortunately I didn't have an email from him. I am still really hoping that we get it this week. The problem is that now we are getting close to the cutoff and if we don't make it, we will be waiting until the second week in April to pick Zachary up. This just kills me. We can't even get a confirmation as to what days the Embassy is closed. We are hoping at best to get an appt. for the last week of March. If not, then it will be the week of April 9....which means he won't be home for Easter. ;-((( Oh well, I'll get over it I guess since I don't really have a choice.

Well, it's back to work tomorrow. Fun stuff!!! Let's pray for good news this week!!!

Blessings, Rebecca