IT'S 5 O CLOCK SOMEWHERE

In our case, it is 12 midnight in Georgia, which means that the revocation period has ended. Gabriel James Guidry is our little boy. All legal risk involved is over, and now we just have to go through the system to make the adoption official. I feel that we can breath a huge sigh of relief. God is so good! Thank you all for your continued prayers and support. We can now move forward as a family of 5! How sweet the sound:))

HOME SWEET HOME!

We are home, we are home, we are home! We arrived home Friday night around 6PM with family members waiting for us in the driveway (we love you, Granny!). My mom made dinner for us, and we had a good ole fashion family party! Gabriel got to meet Jude and Anna for the first time. Anna wanted to hold him all night (she is such a good little mommy). Jude, on the other hand, kept his distance while everyone was here. After everyone left, though, he went immediately to Gabriel, loved on him, and asked Lee if we could adopt another child after Gabriel:)) One at a time, Jude!

The 3 kids (and one of the dogs) slept together Friday night, as you can see in the picture below! How sweet!

Saturday, I unpacked and re-organized our lives, and today we went to Mass and went to the Guidry family reunion for the afternoon. I can't tell you how good it is to be home, and to share our little guy with our family and friends.

We continue to thank God for this newest blessing in our family and for your continued support and prayers. Enjoy the new pictures!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

We are on our way home! We just left Atlanta. Mrs. Bobbie made sure our bellies were full with a delicious breakfast before we left. I was sad to say "goodbye". We definitely have an extended family now here in Atlanta. God bless them! We can't wait to introduce Gabriel to Anna, Jude, our family and all of our friends. We'll see you when we get home!

Louisiana, HERE WE COME!!

Yes, that is right! We received notification this morning that we can come home! Oh, how good that sounds! Lee is riding up to Atlanta with his sister (who was coming this weekend anyway), and we will drive back home tomorrow. Please continue to pray for all us during this revocation period (expires Monday at midnight) and for safe travels. God bless you all!

A Quiet Day

Nothing much has happened today. Gabriel was a little fussy this morning, but I can't complain. He has slept in 4 to 5 hour increments during the night and falls right back to sleep after he eats. I'm really being spoiled:)) I've gotten some funny reactions the last few days. A frazzled young mother asked me today how old Gabe was. When I told her "1 week", she said "WOW, you look great!" I hesitated, but then I told her that he is adopted. She smiled with a huge smile and big sigh of relief and said, "thanks so much for telling me that. I feel much better now!!!!". People are funny.

Hope everything is good back home. Thanks so much for your kind emails and prayers. It's so good to know how much everyone loves us back home. We can't wait to be back.

Enjoy the pics taken today. The lady in one of the pics is Mrs. Bobbie Pope holding Gabe. She says she'll miss us when we are gone. God bless her! She has been an angel.

Good night!

One state down, one to go!!!!!

Just a quick update......I got a phone call from our agency this morning. The state of Georgia received our packet this morning and it was approved 3 hours later. This is almost unheard of!!!! We are so excited. This means that our packet will be off to Louisiana today to arrive there in the morning. Once Louisiana approves our packet, our agency will be notified and we are then free to go home! So, keep the prayers coming! It is looking like we'll be home by the weekend!

All systems are a go!

Well, Gabriel had a good night again last night. He went 4.5 hours between 1 feeding in the middle of the night. I am getting good rest, which is really nice (and unusual)! He had his checkup at the pediatrician's office today. I arrived prepared with the excel spreadsheet that my husband set up which lists every feeding, poop, and pee pee since he's been in our care. The pediatrician was quite impressed (so she said)! He is a perfectly healthy little boy and is doing great.
Our paperwork will arrive in Georgia's office tomorrow morning. The agency said today that they are anticipating us to be able to travel home by the end of the week. YIPPEE!! Keep the prayers coming. They are working!!
The Pope's continue to take really good care of us, and, of course, are spoiling Gabriel greatly.
Many of you have asked about the picture of the girl with Gabriel on the last post. The girl in the picture is Lindsey Pope. She is my nephew's fiancee. It is her parent's home that we are staying at. Did I mention that they are getting married in 3 weeks here in Atlanta?? What a fun time! I am enjoying seeing them wrap up last minute wedding details.

This picture was taken a few days ago. We were washing his hair. He loved it!
Of course, thank you for all of your prayers. God continues to take care of us in so many ways. He is so good. I keep pinching myself. We are so blessed!
Please continue to pray for us. Please pray specifically for our return home quickly. Also, please pray for the surrender process to continue to go smoothly. The birthparents have until next Monday night to revoke their surrenders. Our case worker continues to reassure me, though, that they are very comfortable and at peace with their decision and have not waivered with their choice. She does not anticipate any complications or suprises, but, again, I will feel much better when this period expires.
God bless you all!