To the trip followers - we made it to Houston!

Wow, the first leg of the trip is over. We survived the mad rush to the airport this morning, and now a 7 hour wait for the next flight to GT! Now, I am not complaining, we are saving a lot of bucks by flying today and spending this quality time together(Jill and I). So what does one do for 7 hours in an airport! First you eat, then you walk around trying to find a free Internet connection, when you try for an hour and are unsuccessful, you finally pay a fee and connect...the good news is that for TODAY only, we can connect to over 4000 airports, hotels, and other international destinations!! Yes, we are stuck in Texas for the moment, but it is nice to know what's out there, isn't!? As we flew out towards Houston I was overwhelmed with the thought that this was IT..the final time I'll fly to Guatemala to see about 'this' sweet baby girl...from today on, for the rest of my life, I'll KNOW all about her and she'll know about me. Oh, I hope she remembers me!
The road to THIS day has been like no other I have ever taken! I have grown and changed, and cried and smiled and been all consumed by this process. But, today I am filled with relief and joy that this is almost over, and won't believe this is really happening until I feel Emily Belle sink into my arms! It has been 23 long months since the first phone call was made to this agency to ask about a little girl who needed a family. Sadly 'that' little girl will not be leaving Guatemala with me next week. She will remain in an orphanage unable to be adopted as her situation stands right now. Unfortunately, she has fallen victim to a sad turn of events that were totally out of her control. She is absolutely alone when she should have already been with me. The last thing she knew from me was a box of cool girl stuff, a photo of our family and letter telling her I would be on my way to get her soon. That just didn't work out, and my heart breaks thinking she may still be holding on to that hope. She will remain in my heart and in my prayers as she grows up and older a little bit more as the months go by, and still, she's with out a family. The agency tells us that she is in a good place and we are thankful for the photos they have sent us of her. IT seems that God has placed a hedge of protection around her for this season of her life. We know His hand is on her, and He has a purpose for her special life. If things change for her, I hope we will know. I'd LOVE to see her while I am in Guatemala, but I honestly don't know how I could ever meet her in person, have no real hope to offer her, and then just say goodbye and walk away. I would never want to give her false hopes about the future. I have been wrong before and now things are very uncertain for the children left in Guatemala. I won't stop praying that she will have a forever family one day, she deserves all the love a lasting family would give her. I just pray her spirit is strong, and that she feels loved by her care-givers, and that she is happy. I will always pray that for her.
Ok, it is probably time for some more 'forced family fun' for Jillian...we might go down and check out the book store, get a newspaper and discus some current events! I may quiz her on some international news... or something! You know she's begging me!! OR, maybe we'll call somebody...it could be YOU!! We are totally enjoying all the people watching...there are some really strange people going through here... really strange! We may need to go see what the muffin special is at Starbucks...Jill is so bored that she is about to start talking to the little guy selling stuff that says I'VE BEEN TO TEXAS ***** I hope Leslie's holding down the fort!! more later on...We'll be in GT late tonight!