We had a tough week!

My sweet, affectionate loving child did some not so sweet and loving things this week. I think it actually started last week.



When I picked him up from school Friday he told me that one of the boys in his class hit him and it hurt. We talked about it a little and I thought it was forgotten.



I was wrong. When I picked him up on Monday his progress report had a :( on it. He had been hitting the boy that hit him on Friday. He was even throwing toys at him. I punished him from watching Max and Ruby (his favorite cartoon which he watches in the evening before dinner). Ok, so he just had a bad day, we all have those.



He promised he would be a good boy on Tuesday, but it was not to be. Daddy picked him up on Tuesday and to his embarassment, the teacher told him that Jacob had choked one of his friends. WOW, where did he see/learn that??? We were at a loss! I wondered if maybe he was getting sick, are his shoes too tight??? These are the crazy things that went through my mind. I added his favorite toy to his punishment and we hoped for better on Wednesday.

On Wednesday when I picked him up from school I was presented with two slips to sign because Jacob had BITTEN TWO KIDS! What???? One of the kids was a boy that he plays with and sometimes they get physical. But, the other was a sweet little girl that he bit on the arm. His teacher called the little girl over and showed me the dental impression on her arm. I was horrified!! Jacob went up to her and kissed her on the bite. Daddy and I began to start questioning our parenting skills.

We were really at a loss. We have NEVER had a disipline problem with Jacob. I've read and go by the 1-2-3 Majic time out method. I even typed out the method and provided it to his teachers at school and they use it for Jacob too. I looked up aggressive toddler behavior on the internet which brought me some relief. It wasn't our fault, it's normal. We are already doing all of the things they suggested for curbing this behavior.

On Thursday morning daddy and I only asked him once if he would be a good boy, then we didn't talk about it anymore. On Thursday and Friday we got :)!!! YEAH! I bought him a new book as a reward for his good behavior.

WHEW, I hope we have a better week next week! :)

Red Letters Campaign...Blog Buzz

Do you have any tips / advice / suggestions for your “Gotcha Day” for people preparing to travel to pick up their little one. . .This could include things that made your day special, an easier transition at home, etc. Tell us what worked (and what didn’t) for you





First of all, it was one of the best days of our lives. We arrived in Guatemala on Saturday night and Jacob's foster mom couldn't get to our hotel till Monday. We knew this before we planned our trip. This leads to my first piece of advice; if you are able to, arrive a little early. Although, at the time it was hard to wait, in retrospect, it was nice to get situated before we got our baby. I was able to get acquainted with the hotel and unpack ALL of the stuff I brought. We also got to know the hotel staff (as best we could speaking two different languages). On Sunday we walked around the city.





We were warned that everybody runs late in Guatemala, so not to expect them to actually be there at 9 AM. So, that morning we went down to breakfast. Just as I was sipping on my coffee at precisely 9, I saw a group walk into the lobby with the most precious baby boy I had ever seen!! I lept from the table and asked the group if this was Jesus'. Jacob's foster mother, Maria, was so upset. She had cared for him from birth until this day, he was nine months old. That part was very difficult, because this was one of the happiest days of our lives, but it was a hard day for her. We had lunch together and she and her sisters stayed with us for about 4 hours. Maria was much less emotional after getting to know us. She was assured that we adored this baby boy that she had loved so much.



When we got back up to our hotel room we just marveled at this beautiful miracle that was our son. Jacob, however, was very reserved and looked scared. We didn't leave our room much for the next couple of days. We spent our time holding and kissing our son. After the first night he began to relax and trust us. There were many opportunities to tour the city as well as excursions outside of Guatemala City. We didn't take advantage of any of these. I wish we would have. It is our intent to return to Guatemala with Jacob in a few years.



I'm not sure if I've offered any "advice", but that's our story.

Jacob and Daddy's first meal together. This is in the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Just moments after meeting our son.

Rest in Peace

Rest in peace beautiful baby girl

Catherine Francis Cantrell

You touched many hearts while you were here.

Rest in the loving arms of your creator

She spoke to ME today!!

I heard the words of Our Lady this morning....with my very own ears!

This morning I traveled to a little town called Washington. As we entered this little old church I could hear the rosary being recited. At the front of the church just in front of the alter was a visionary. His name is Mac Smith and Our Lady appears to him and speaks through him.

I have always loved to hear stories and read about how Our Lord reveals himself to us. One of my favorite books is Miracles of the Eucharist by Bob and Penny Lord. Today was the day I heard the words of The Blessed Virgin Mary with my own ears! What an awesome blessing!!

If you would like to read some of her messages from earlier masses, please go here

http://www.holymotherchurch.org/1656267.html

We were also there to ask for the intecrcession of Our Lady for baby Cate Cantrell. Please continue to pray for the Cantrell family.

God Bless

Coming together in prayer....

Baby Cate needs our prayer. This is an amazing story of people everywhere praying for this beautiful child and her courageous parents.

Their blog is http://catecantrell.blogspot.com/

Happy Father's Day

Our Hero

To the wonderful daddy who is always selfless when it comes to his family. To the man who is always so supportive and loving. To the man who inspires us to be like Christ. To the man who is passionate about the vocations of marriage and family.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

WE LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH

An Addiction

Is there a 12 step for Nemo addicts???

Jacob and I were sick with a virus earlier this week. Actually he was sick this weekend and so generously gave me the "bug". On Tuesday I was unable to eat and feeling like a horse was kicking my stomach nonstop. Jacob was feeling pretty good, so he wasn't into just laying in the bed with mom. So, I had to do the only thing I could so I could rest.....let him watch Finding Nemo (his current favorite). I set the DVD player to continuous play and he watched it 3 TIMES back to back on his little portable DVD player.

It is an awesome story though. Jacob loves when the daddy fish finds Nemo...he squeals with delight!

Does that make me a bad mom? :)

Red Letters Campaign...Blog Buzz

What advice would you give someone choosing an agency? What questions would you advise they ask? What resources or organizations would you suggest they reference?

In international adoption the choice of your agency is one of the first and most important steps in the process. We met a couple who had adopted two children from Guatemala through the agency we used for our adoption. We didn't, however, hire them because of this one reference.

We first interviewed the agency and they provided us with references. We made contact with ALL of these families. In addition, I joined three Yahoo groups for Guatemala adoptions. Those that have been there are your best source. These groups were good because we were exposed to many that had "been there" using many different agencies.

In retrospect, those things we were told were weaknesses of our agency were true. We were prepared for this and didn't panic. For example, we were told that we probably wouldn't get updates on a regular basis, and we didn't. We WERE contacted though each time they received an update on our case.

There are many questions to ask. We asked to see a copy of their contract and asked any questions that were not covered there. We had very few as their contract was very specific. The most important advice I can give is to INFORM yourself. Find out all that you can about the process for the country you are adopting from. You will be exposed to so much that will be new to you when you are interviewing your adoption agency. Therefore, if you've done your legwork regarding the country, you will be so much better prepared to ask questions.

We also contacted the Better Business Bureau and checked to make sure our agency was licesed by the state. It is also important to check with the Department of State to make sure the agency is Hague compliant. This was not a consideration for us 3 years ago, but it is now.

Good luck on your journey and if you have any specific questions, please do not hesitate to contact me directly aliciashj@yahoo.com

That song in my head.....The Summons

1. Will you come and follow me If I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know And never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown, Will you let my name be known, Will you let my life be grown
In you and you in me?

2. Will you leave yourself behindIf I but call your name? Will you care for cruel and kind
And never be the same? Will you risk the hostile stare Should your life attract or scare?
Will you let me answer prayer In you and you in me?

3. Will you let the blinded seeIf I but call your name? Will you set the pris’ners free And never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean, And do such as this unseen, And admit to what I mean In you and you in me?

4. Will you love the ‘you’ you hide If I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside And never be the same? Will you use the faith you’ve found To reshape the world around, Through my sight and touch and sound In you and you in me?

5. Lord, your summons echoes true When you but call my name. Let me turn and follow you And never be the same. In your company I’ll goWhere your love and footsteps show. Thus I’ll move and live and grow In you and you in me.

Eucharistic Miracles of the World

We experienced this awesome exhibit at a local church this weekend.

If you are blessed enough to have this exhibit visit your area, don't miss it. Our Lord loves us so much that He reveals Himself to us in so many ways. I believe that the most significant miracle of the Eucharist is that He transforms simple bread and wine into His body and blood for the nourishment of our souls.

Many of the miracles that are part of the exhibit are listed here: http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/mir/englmir.htm

I can also recommend this awesome book by Bob and Penny Lord

http://www.bobandpennylord.com/bookbt.htm

I received an email invitation to the exhibit. It stated, "the whole family is welcome to the exhibit". Well...I kind of disagree. It was much too quiet and serene for a 2 1/2 year old!!! It worked out though, he fell asleep after a while, then all I had to deal with was drooling on my shoulder :).