Happy Gotcha Day, Nicholas!!!!!!!!

Three years ago today in Guatemala City, Guatemala, we were handed our precious Nicholas Channing Antonio. He was 12 mo. old with his hair all cut off and the chubbiest cheeks you have ever seen!! We were so thankful to the Lord to have him in our arms because his adoption was one of the hardest we have completed yet! During the adoption, the country closed and the lawyer handling our case had health problems. We were told that we would not get him and that we would all in about 12 mo. time! I was an emotional wreck by the time we received our travel arrangements. The day before we were to leave for Guatemala we were told that our fingerprints with the INS were set to expire the following day. Officer Cole with the INS went above and beyond her call of duty to stay at the New Orleans office late and let us redo our fingerprints. We literally flew to New Orleans in our Yukon and had to call the FBI later that night to ensure that things were being processed. Once we arrived in Guatemala we were told that it would still take weeks if not months to get our adoption paperwork completed. Our lawyer just didn't understand the power of prayer and the God we serve. Toby looked our lawyer in the eyes and said, "We will be on a plane home on Thursday and our son will be with us!" Toby then went to the US Embassy and learned that indeed all the paperwork was ready and that no one had even checked on its status. After that information came to light our rather snippy lawyer became as sweet as sugar and couldn't have been more helpful the rest of the trip.

The last 3 years have flown by very fast and Nicholas is now a loving 4 yr. old boy full of life. In my opinion he did suffer from some attachment issues at first and from the effects of malnurishment but all in all he is a typical boy interested in balls, dinosaurs, and cars! He is one of loves of our life! We love you, Nicholas! Happy Gotcha Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!