Dear friends and family,
Greetings from Lima! We pray that this letter finds you well, trusting in God's promised presence, and living in God's love. We have been blessed with God's special presence in our lives in the past few months through the gift of our new baby daughter, Natalia Marie. “Nata” comes from various roots meaning, “Christmas day” and “gift of God,” and “talia” meaning “joy,” “delight,” and “morning dew.” She is very much a joy that God has brought into our lives at Christmas! Sometimes we call her “baby joy” because of her happy disposition.
After just 2 weeks on the waiting list we were notified of the wonderful news that we had a baby daughter waiting on us! We traveled to Iquitos, the city deep in the jungle where Natalia was born, and met our little girl on December 11. That same day she came back to the hotel with us and every day since then we have given thanks for God's incredible gift to our family. Natalia's was born on May 1st 2006, the same month we began the adoption process and began praying for our little one. She sucks her two middle fingers and loves all things silky just like her big sister. Isabel often says that God knew that Natalia would be perfect for our family, and we are daily thankful because that is so evident to all of us. Isabel has been SUCH a wonderful big sister to her, and a great help to us. Because her school vacation began just before we received Natalia, we have spent lots of time together as a family. Isabel helps give Natalia baths, bottles, and is Natalia's official morning greeter; we are often told to wait outside the baby's room and count to ”