I Still Can't Believe It!

For Easter Sunday last year (2007), I placed an Easter lily in the church sanctuary in memory of my grandparents (my mom's parents Grammie and Grandie and my dad's dad Grandpa). After the service, one of the women at church told me that if you plant an Easter lily (and are a little lucky) it will come back the next year.

Well, I planted it and watched, hoping that it would bloom for Easter this year. Needless to say, Easter was so early this year that it hadn't even started to come up yet! It turns out, the lily knew just when the time would be right...

When I went out yesterday morning, I noticed that the first blooms had finally broken open and were flowering for all the world to see! It was beautiful, but also a sign to me that things were finally going to take a turn and get better.

When Angela called to tell me that they had located Isabelle's birth mother and that she was coming in, I was over the moon and thought, 'this is it! I knew it was a sign!' Well, the news got EVEN BETTER last night!

Monica came over and we called Isabelle's foster mom to update her about the birth mother (she didn't even know she had been missing) and to let her know that the interview should be soon. Well, she let us keep talking, asked how we found out, etc., etc., and finally said, "We went today. It is over."

Not only did my attorney get Isabelle's birth mother to the city yesterday, but she (or someone working with her) managed to get an interview appointment at PGN, had the interview, and the report is that all went well!

Praise God!

...and the news gets EVEN BETTER! We asked the FM if the people at PGN said anything when it was all over and she said something like, "It is a yes." Then she went on to say my attorney told her that it is over - Isabelle is COMING HOME! Isabelle, your Grammie and Grandie and Grandpa were watching over you and your birth mother through it all, I am sure of that!

I was also very comforted to find out that the folks at PGN treated Isabelle's birth mom and everyone involved with respect and did not ask any difficult/inappropriate questions. The FM said she didn't get an opportunity to ask Isabelle's birth mom the questions I had hoped she could and that she asked about taking pictures but wasn't allowed. The good news is that she did get to tell her how much I love Isabelle, how much I have visited, and what a good life Isabelle will have with me in the US. I pray that knowledge will comfort Isabelle's birth mom in the days and years to come.

JUST TO CLARIFY: Unfortunately, this does not actually mean that I have been approved by PGN, but at least the tentative 'yes' is a good sign. They have been saying 10-15 days after the interview folks should get 'official' word, so we'll see! After that, I'll be finished with the Guatemalan side of things and just have ~2 months of US paperwork before bringing her home! Maybe we'll still have a little bit of summer to enjoy together!

God is good!