Park Day

Such a pretty day today. Summertime was definitely calling us......

I needed a hug and God gave me one!

Well, this day started with a major downer. I finally took Kate to the dentist. We would have gone earlier, but we thought it was important to get the surgery and recovery behind us before taking on anything else. We suspected that she had a broken tooth with a cavity in it, but we were wrong. She has 4 teeth with cavities!!! Three have huge ones. UGH!!! This outcome means more doctors , more pain ,and more money. UGH again!!! So, if our second opinion agrees, next Thursday Kate has a date with a drill. Anyway, i thought i was handling the news fairly well( by God's grace) but my emotions were much closer to the surface than i realized. Between a visit to the pediatrician for a suspected sinus infection (yes, that makes 2 doctors in 1 day) and a trip to Target's pharmacy for an antibiotic for the sinus infection, Kate and i stopped by a local children's consignment shop just for the fun of it. While i was looking through clothes and Kate was tooling around with one of those toys that sings while you role it, I met a woman shopping for her granddaughter. We struck up a conversation and she commented on Kate. I told her that Kate was adopted and she shared that she had a grown daughter who was also adopted. She made the comment that adopting Kate had undoubtedly changed her life in ways we might never know. At that point, with my eyes tearing up despite my best effort to hold tears back, i told her that Kate had already been through major surgery and that i had just found out that she was in for more with her teeth. With a warm hug from her, we talked further and realized that we were related! We were sisters in Christ Jesus:) A few years older and with grown children, she was brimming with Godly counsel and encouragement. She was the hug i needed from the Lord after a hard day (and a hard week). It was one of those times when God whispers, "I have been here all along and i have caught every tear that you have shed over this."
I thank God for this woman and her willingness to serve a perfect stranger.(She reminded me of my mom in this way.) Kate was so enamored with the push toy she had been playing with that the lady bought it for her along with the bathing suit that Kate is sporting in the photo above. It was quite a day, quite a day.....I really needed a hug from God and He was faithful to give me one.

Thanks!

I am only posting this picture because Kate has come such a long way and i wanted to thank everyone who has prayed for her and for me as we journeyed a down a road that neither of us saw coming. We are both better now:)

Yeah Kate!!

Just a few more photos from the warm day we had. The more exciting news of the day is that someone (remaining nameless) pooped on the potty today. Yeah !!! Forgot to mention that these photos were taken by my blog assistants, Hunter and Olivia.

Warm and sunny .....

After 4 days of cold rain (did i say days, felt like months), finally some sunshine! We took advantage of it and played at the pond in the neighborhood. Saw some interesting wildlife including a nice-sized copperhead swimming along the edge of the water. Tried to get a picture but it was too elusive . Meanwhile the girls and the dogs played and "fished" and soaked up some vitamin D. The seven of us walking down the street made a nice little parade...

Quote for today...

"Love of God is pure when joy and suffering inspire an equal degree of gratitude."

...taken from the blog of Mary Beth Chapman
(thanks Kristin)

Look at you Kate!

This is what happens to Kate when mom isn't looking and her big sisters get ahold of her and a hairbrush. When you are the youngest, everyone wants to dress you up and make you beautiful.

This is Kate's bathtub face. This girl loves the water!

Back to Duke

Today i took Kate back to Duke to have her incision checked. During the hour we were waiting for the Dr. we met another little girl with a lung tumor, a boy with a brain tumor, and another boy undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. It was a lot to take in. I don't know how many more times we will have to return to Duke, but, for the most part ,our time there is almost over. To look around the room and see children with such vicarious health issues and know some have weeks and even months of arranging their lives around the hospital was very sobering . My heart and prayers goes out to all of them and their parents. Some of the parents looked so tired. I hope those families have the hand of Jesus to hold onto during the storms. I think i let go of His hand during the fury of our latest trial with Kate's health. But, He held on tightly to mine ,faithfully. Thank you , Lord. BTW....Kate's incision looks great. Another week and the child can start bathing again :)
PS-Hug your kids tonight and thank your Father in Heaven for their good health.

Those crazy Allen girls....

Kate turns 2!

Birthday girl enjoying her cake. Eating some, wearing some...It is good to be the birthday girl!

Unwrapping our gift...

It has been 2 1/2 months now since Kate arrived in the United States and in our family. With all of the hullabaloo surrounding her health and surgery, we have barely had any time to just take a breath and begin to discover who this little girl really is. So, just now scratching the surface, we know that Kate is very quiet and watchful. She is always studying situations. She doesn't say a lot at this point but it may be coming. She has about 50 English words now and will mimic almost anything we say. Although she isn't talking much , she has GREAT lung capacity as she squeals with delight better than any child i know.(Seriously, it is ear-piercing! ) She is very nurturing with her baby dolls. Amazingly attentive for her age. She likes any toy that makes noise. This would explain her enormous affection for her big sister Olivia. She loves to be outside, no matter the weather. She loves loves loves shoes!!! And, believe it or not, she loves to try on clothes and have her hair washed. She is a girl's girl! Favorite foods? yogurt, apples, bananas, cheese and circus peanuts. Foods that come right back out? avocado and milk. Favorite things to do? chase Olivia , have Olivia chase her, play ball, take a bath (or do anything in water), dance , try on shoes. Least favorite things to do? go to bed, finish a meal, sit through church, be told "no". She has a pleasant personality and is sweet natured. Last time Olivia got hurt and shed some tears, Kate actually took a Kleenex and wiped her tears away. I can only think that her foster mom was very tender with her. Anyway, we are thankful to be at a place where we can now take some time to start unwrapping our gift...

What a journey so far....

Well, if someone had told us how the past two months would unfold, we would not have believed it. God delivered us to and from Guatemala safely and then down came the rain. Two days after we arrived back in town, we took Kate to our pediatrician for a checkup. I pointed out to her that there was a small bump on the base of her backbone . Our Doctor sent Kate for an MRI and then we got the news that she would have to have surgery and would be in the hospital for a week flat ,on her back. Unbelievable!!!!! So we prepared the best we could for what seemed surreal. After all, we had been promised a healthy child, hadn't we? In the meantime we also learned that Kate would be wearing glasses to correct a problem in one eye. I worried how I would keep glasses on a 2 yr old along with all the other stressers we were facing. I just prayed. The glasses arrived and Kate put them on and really never took them off. Again unbelievable! Throughout this tumultuous time we had a lot of prayer warriors circle the wagons around us. We are very thankful for all those who hit their knees on our behalf and for all the prayers that lifted us up during that difficult time.

Home!!!!!

We're home! After 12 hours of travelling, we are home again! There is nothing like being out of the country to make you appreciate the United States of America. You can really see how God has "shed His grace" on our nation when you see what is going on around the world. We had 2 more great flights . Thank you to all who were praying for us and to God for handling our travel so gently. On the flight into Dallas, our pilot felt the need to warn us that there was turbulence ahead and that other flights were reporting bumpy rides. He then put the seatbelt sign on. Those who know me know how well i received that news! After a momentary panic, i reminded myself that my God is the God of the impossible and that he could smoothe the air currents with a mere word. I asked Him to give us a smoothe and safe remainder to our trip... We had no turbulance whatsoever. Before long , we emerged from the fog and the wheels touched down as gently as you can imagine. We arrived in RDU around 6:00 and met a handful of dear friends. Kate did her best to entertain. She was amazingly good natured for being sooooo exhausted! It was so good to see those familiar faces! Once we got home, i was able to grab the 3 girls i left behind. I had only been gone 4 days, but i just wanted to drink them in. I think i have a whole new appreciation for these 3 entrusted to Randy and me years ago. My parents were here(thank you for all your help) as well as Elisa and her roommate Eve. Again, so good to see everyone! Hunter , Logan, and Olivia could not get enough of Kate and Kate seemed to enjoy everyone too. Again, amazingly good natured for being so tired. Muffin (our dachshund) left quite the impression. Before the night was over, Kate had said "puppy" twice.
We are home. Now real life begins. Please continue to pray for transition for all of us. Pray that i let go of expectations and just rely on the Lord to smoothe out the wrinkles. This was my sustaining verse on this trip: "May May the God of all hope fill you with peace and joy as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." Romans 15:13 (Thanks Bethany)
Thanks everyone!

Dec 16th-Tuesday

Hello everyone! I have a lot to tell but it is late so i will keep it brief. We did make it to Antigua today. We had a very nice driver but i aged 40 years riding on the Guatamalan highways. God kept us safe, none the less. It was an interesting, very old colonial town at the base of a volcano. Lots of children trying to sell us everything under the sun but still sweet and cute. In the middle of this ancient city in the middle of nowhere we discovered a MacDonalds of course. Amazing!
We bought Kate her first ice cream. Ureka! She liked it! It doesn't matter where children come from....they are all the same. This took most of our day. Upon returning home we had to prepare to get to the USEmbassy to pick up Kate's visa and passport. We decided to walk and save the cab fare. I asked Randy to double check the location of the USE. It was supposidly 7-8 blocks away. Needless to say we had the classic scene of getting halfway there and Randy admitting that the roads didn't look familiar and that he hadn't really double checked the directions at all. So we stopped to ask the locals and tried to decipher the lingo. We finally made it after i had carried Kate about 8 blocks. 21 pounds doesn't seem like much until you carry it all over the city!
Anyway, all went well and Kate is free and clear to come home.
We had our final dinner at a close Mexican style resturant that we discovered. The food was great but i didn't recognize everything i ate. Came back to the hotel and have been packing ever since. By the way, Kate called me MaMa for the first time...
Please pray for a safe return home. Can't wait to be there.
Lisa

later on the 15th

Hello again,
Today was very interesting as Randy and i spent 3 hours at the US Embassy finalizing Kate's paperwork. What a hodgepodge of American couples and families there were. We thought that ...none of those families will make any of the local papers where they come from, even though some flew half way around the world to save a life, some 2 lives. One lady seemed to be there alone and she was adopting an older boy(maybe 4) with cerebral palsey. He seemed to have a mild case, but still....how inspiring! I think everything hit me this morning sitting there in this room so far from home with a child who would really be happier with any other Guatemalan woman than me right now.( I know this will change but i don't look, sound, smell or talk the way she is use to and she would prefer i did.) Anyway, i felt extremely homesick( esp. for my girls) and could not control the tears. I slipped and thought that this was all about me again. The only thing that could get a hold on me was my God telling me that He knows full well how hard it is and that all He expects is my obedience. He doesn't expect me to welcome the trials and tribulations that may result from this adoption. He only expects me to rely on Him. So that is where my heart is right now, to be truthful. Kate was fun today. She only says a handful of words but she is very expressive. And the child cannot take a bad picture!!! Tomorrow we are off to Antigua to sightsee. Hopefully it will go well. Another couple offered us thier backpack for Kate so i think we will get it in the morning. At 3:30 we pick up Kate's visa and come back and pack for home. And then i get to face two more flights. Yeah!

We made it in one piece!

December 15th
Hello everyone. We made it to Guatemala and so did our luggage. Praise God for smoothe, uneventful flights. And thanks again for all the prayer. (It is probably about time to start praying for our flights back.) Guatemala is beautiful and mountainous but the city is just a city and a poor one at that. Some 200 + people on the plane but somehow Randy and I were the LAST through Immigration. Go figure! Anyway we made it to our hotel despite the cab driver's driving ability. And now(24 hours later) we know that everyone here is a crazy driver! And there are no cross walks so you take your life in your hands if you want to walk anywhere. We got to our room around 3:00 and were called to the lobby to get Kate at 4:00. No rest for the weary! It was a sad, sweet experience to meet her foster mom, a grandmother who obviously loves Kate very much. She was in tears and told us she loved us. We will keep up with her i hope and send photos.
We have to run to the drugstore so i will write more later.

7 Months and Counting....

It has been 7 months since our dossier arrived in Guatemala. We are happy to report that our file is in PGN, finally which is the last major hurddle we must jump over. We are praying that we will not be kicked out but that we sail through without issue. Kate is now 20 months old and is looking sooo grown up in her pictures. Seeing her photos is a bittersweet experience. Of course we want them but watching her grow up away from us is hard. We trust that God is keeping her perfectly in His hands.