Happy Birthday Emily!

My baby turned 10 today.  I’m not sure how that happened!!! Where did the last 10 years go?

When she was baptized in November of 2000, Chris read this story of how she came to us:

Long before I was born, there was a family in the United States that seemed to be full. The Lotts had three children, ages 8, 10, and 12. If my Dad had told anyone that I would be their new child soon, he would have been told to quit kidding around.

But the Lotts began to feel a strong longing for another child, an adopted one like me. My Mom quickly answered the call from God to add to the family in this way. Dad, being stubborn at times, took a little longer. But eventually they agreed that the Lott family would grow by one little adopted girl.

So, sight unseen, they began a long process of getting approved for an adoption. They had to be fingerprinted by the INS, have an FBI background check, and even had a stranger come into their home and study it! It took them about 3 months to complete. They were put on a waiting list for the next available baby girl.

Now I come onto the scene. I was born, and my mother took me to an orphanage called Casa Quivira….I was cared for by a bunch of very nice and loving nannies, and had lots of friends at Casa Quivira.

When I was 2 days old, I was assigned to Mom an Dad. My birth Mom named me Maria Irene, and Mom and Dad decided to keep “Maria” as my new middle name. They sent Mom and Dad pictures of me, which were really cute, and they posted them on their refrigerator.

Mom joined an e-mail list and a weekly internet chat on Sunday nights sponsored by Casa Quivira. This communication formed a vital link to Guatemala during the remaining waiting period. She had to wait for all sorts of legal proceedings to play out in Guatemala. This included a social worker’s report on me and my birth mother, a review by 2 different courts, DNA testing of my and my birth mother, and getting me a Guatemalan passport and an American visa.

….When I was three weeks old, something went wrong. I started to hurt, and the doctors determined I needed a minor operation. I was packed into the van with Juan Jose, and was driven off at a maddening speed to a far away hospital. Fortunately for me, it was a minor operation and everything went well. I was back in my crib in 24 hours.

One effect from my surgery was that the nannies were told not to let me exert myself, for example, with strenuous crying. The nannies obeyed the doctor precisely, and from then on, they carried my everywhere so I wouldn’t cry. I was very happy to have such attention, but my Mom and Dad have since insisted that I learn to sleep alone in a crib.

Finally, when I was 3 1/2 months old, Mom and Dad, and my new sister, Katie, came one Sunday morning to pick me up. I have been with them since. After I game Mom and Dad a long tour of the baby orphanage, Juan Jose drove us to the nearby toddler’s home. We spent a long time there playing with the older kids, and everyone had a good time.

I am happy Mom and Dad decided to answer God’s call, and come get me. Although Guatemala is a really beautiful country, it is also very poor. Were I to have stayed in Guatemala, I would have been lucky to grow up and get a job in the fields. Now in America I have much better opportunities when I get a little older and can walk.

Besides getting to pick me up, Mom an Dad also got to meet some other really neat folks. Many of my buddies were going home to their new homes that weekend, too. Mom and Dad got to visit and met with them. We took a long trip one day to tour the Guatemalan countryside, we visited the American Embassy where I was given official permission to come home, and then we had a celebration lunch afterwards with all my buddies and their parents. Since then, Mom still keeps in touch with them, but less frequently now that she ahs to take care of me.

We feel that God has truly blessed us with Emily. The process of getting her here was long and arduous at times. But in the end, it was all more than worth the effort. Just to hold her in your arms and see her little face smiling at you reinforces our belief that this was in God’s plan for our family.

 

 

Happy Birthday, Baby!