Adoption Update from the Bat Cave

Long time, no blog. Sorry I've been quiet this week. Olivia was a nun in "The Sound of Music" at her school and I had to take a vow of written silence with all the rehearsals and performances as well as the regular craziness of school homework and day-to-day keeping everybody alive and in clean underpants.

(My little nun is the second from the left. I'm singing along in my head with a slightly different version of the lyrics: "How do you solve a problem like overcommitment. . . .")


(This pic is my trio with their sweet cousins after one of the shows.)


It also seems I'll be going to Guatemala next week to care for Danilo and try to finish the last steps of our adoption and I'm scrambling to get as much as possible done before I go. I'm not sure when I'll be back, so I want the house ready to bring our new son home and need Christmas presents bought and decorations up just in case we don't come home till late December. (The sound you hear is me breathing into a paper bag.) Pray that we make it home by Christmas or there will be some really pitiful blog posts!

One more update, we want you to know that our sweet son has a new name. When Brad was there a couple weeks ago and got to tell him that he is forever our son and would soon be home, he asked Danilo if he wanted to change his name. He explained that often adopted children wanted to start their new life with a new name. But Brad also assured him that this was his choice, it was also fine to keep Danilo as his name. I was conflicted about this because we have grown to love him as Danilo, but I also know that most Americans aren't sure how to say it (Dan-E-lo) and I've seen him get frustrated when it has been mispronounced (and in the South it would not only get butchered but pureed).

Well, he quickly announced that he indeed wanted a new name. Brad asked if he had one in mind and Danilo suggested (drumroll) . . . Batman! Brad agreed that it was a fabulous choice for a superhero and, although he is certainly super and heroic, he might want to choose something that didn't require a mask and cape.


So Danilo did a little mental Googling of great American names and came up with (drumroll again) . . . Junior. I'm not sure where this came from but I hope it's because D. wants to be like his dad. Brad explained that it would be a fabulous nickname, but we want him to have a special name that is all his. Brad suggested Daniel, because it is the English equivalent to Danilo. It would be a way to honor his past and celebrate his future. We have also prayed for many months that God would protect our "Daniel in the lion's den" from any harm or sickness. (I've actually got a little collection of lions waiting for him at home and his favorite animals when we took him to the zoo were the lions.)

His smile went from one ear to the other at the suggestion and he exclaimed that he loved the name Daniel. In fact, I've accidentally called him Danilo when talking on the phone with him and he politely reminded me that he is now Daniel. (And from now on on my blog I'll refer to him as Daniel.) We're still not sure of his full given name but his "working title" is Daniel Batman Junior Williams.

Mommy of a Superhero,
Kathie