June 8, 2008

I'm going to GUATEMALA! I received my appointment information this past Wednesday (Maya's 13 month birthday) that I am to be in Guatemala for my Embassy appointment this Wednesday. I am so excited and can not wait to see her again. I leave tomorrow and we will be home Friday. Please keep us in your prayers and pray that everything goes smoothly from the flights, to the appointments, to our bonding, to the foster families emotions of Maya leaving, and everything else. What an exciting, overwhelming, sad, joyous occasion. 

I love you Maya! Mommy will see you in 2 days.

May 9, 2008

I haven't written lately so I thought I should give a brief update. Things continue to progress in Guatemala. I actually got to see the new birth certificate where I am listed as Maya's mother. It was so exciting to actually see it! This week they have applied for her Passport and should have it anytime now. As soon as we get it, then they will start the process for the DNA testing. So the way things look now, I hope to be picking her up early in June. However, in the mean time there is an issue with Immigration that we are working on and it needs to be resolved before I can bring her home. So please pray the issue is resolved soon. Immigration has all the paperwork they need from me so all I can do now is wait and pray.
I got new pictures of Maya this week. She continues to look very happy. She is now 23 pounds and is 29.9 inches long. She is also standing. I don't know if she is walking or not but she is standing. Her foster mother cut her hair sometime between 10 and 11 months and it is still short and she looks more like a little girl than a baby. I can't wait to see her again.
Maya, I love you so much and can't believe I am getting ready to miss Mother's Day with you here. I think of you 24 hours a day and can not wait to spend that time with you instead of just thinking about you. Mommy will see you soon.

April 11, 2008

I'm OUT! I'm OUT! I'm OUT! I can not believe that we are finally out of PGN and approved. I was getting worried that I would get another kickout but I got the call this morning that we are OUT! I am just so excited. It is so hard to believe that I am really OUT! This "eight week" process took 6 months and felt like 2 years but it finally happened.
So what's next you ask? Well now we wait on the adoption decree, then we get a new birth certificate, then there is the 2nd DNA test, and then the Embassy appt. is set. This all takes an average of 6-8 weeks so hopefully Maya will be home sometime between May 23rd and June 6th. Of course I have not wanted to do anything with her room until we were out of PGN so now I gotta get busy. Thankfully I have several friends that have volunteered to help me.
Please continue to pray for us as we go through these final stages to bring her home.
Maya, honey, the time is almost here to bring you home. I miss you so much but I am so thankful to know that you are so very well taken care of. Your foster family loves you so much and have done such a wonderful thing by caring for you the first year of your life. I am ever grateful to them. Mommy loves you and will see soon.

March 22, 2008

I received a beautiful pictures of Maya from her 10 month old doctor visit but I am unable to post them due to some computer trouble. But I can tell you she is now 22 pounds and 29 1/2 inches long. She is getting so big. We are still in PGN and like always we hope to here something soon. Please keep us in your prayers.
I love you Maya and can not wait to hold you in my arms again. ~Mommy

February 21, 2008

I am back in PGN!!! It is ironic that I pray so long to get back in PGN only to turn around and pray to get out quickly! Yes, now I am praying to get approved and out as quickly as possible. The average time is 8 weeks but of course I ma praying it is faster than that. 

I love you Maya!

February 20, 2008

Not a lot new (or should I say good) to post but I had a minute so I thought I would update everyone on what I do know. As I posted earlier, I was "kickout" of PGN on February 5th and before I could be resubmitted, I had to be registered with the new Central Authority. I don't know the exact date but I was registered with the "newest" Central Authority on February 8th or 9th. I say "newest" Central Authority because I was registered as of February 28th and then the Central Authority moved and EVERYONE had to re-register by February 12th or they could not continue in the adoption process. So I am registered but apparently PGN wants a copy of a particular document that is located more than 16 hours away from Guatemala City in a place that has no copy machine (very rural area). The crazy thing is they already have the info they need so I don't know what this is about. My attorney has a meeting scheduled to talk to the director of PGN today to see if they can get something done about me being resubmitted to PGN. It is so hard to have NO control over any this. I trust my attorney so all I can do at this point is PRAY and beleive me, I do that a lot! I don't know if I will hear anything today or if it will be tomorrow but please pray this meeting goes well and I can get back in PGN so I can eventually get OUT of PGN. Everyone is so great about praying for me and sending me words of encouragement. Thank you all for that, it really does help.

February 5, 2008

I really thought that I would be getting a call this week to tell me I am out of PGN and I would be bringing Maya home in 6-8 weeks. As of today, I was in PGN for 2 months (the typical time to be in before getting approval). Well I got a call today from my caseworker and found out that I am out of PGN but not because I am approved it is because I have received another "kickout." The reason for the kickout is invalid and despite my attorney showing PGN that what they needed was in fact there, they would not take my file back until I have been registered with the new Central Authority. Well I am registered but the Central authority is not giving out "Proof of Registration" yet so I can not be resubmitted yet. This is all part of the political mess going on in Guatemala right. Best case scenario is that they will pass out "proof of registration" in the next 2 weeks and then I can be resubmitted to PGN. Unfortunately, it will most likely take another 8 weeks or so there and then once approved it will be 6-8 weeks from there. This is just devastating! I felt so close to being able to have her home by April 1st and now it looks like it will be more like the end of May or beginning of June. Please pray for me. I am tired of being patient. I am frustrated, hurt, angry, sad, and exhausted over all of this. It is ridiculous that innocent children whose biological parents have done their best to make a good adoption plan for these children and the adoptive parents who want to give these children a home are the victims of political nonsense. Please don't get me wrong, I KNOW God is in control and I know it will all work out in His perfect timing but I am still hurting. Please pray that Maya will be home with me as soon as possible. Maya was 9 months old yesterday.
Happy Birthday Maya! I love you and my heart is breaking not having you with me and knowing that I have missed your first Chirstmas, your first New Years, and soon your first Valentine's Day, your first Easter, and most likely your first Birthday not to mention all your life "first that happen in the first year. I can only pray that you know how much I love you and pray that you are home with me as soon as possible. Love, Mommy.

February 3, 2008

This is her January picture from her doctor visit. At 8 months she is 20 pounds.

February 3, 2008

Not much to report today but since it had been awhile I thought I better write something. I am still in PGN and hope to be out any day now. Actually, I had really thought I would be out last week but I didn't any any phone call to tell me that happened. Tuesday will be the 2 month mark since I was resubmitted to PGN and a lot of others that were resubmitted at that same time are getting out now. So please pray that we get notified that we are approved and OUT of PGN this week. I am praying that I now by Tuesday. Once we are out it will be 6-8 weeks to bring Maya home. 

Maya I miss you so much. I told grandma the other day that I want to jump up and down ad yell and scream that I want you home. Of course, this will not work but that is what I feel like doing. You turn 9 months old tomorrow and I pray you are home before you are 11 months old. I love you and think of you constantly. I pray you can feel my love even though we are so far apart. I Love You!

January 3, 2008

Well here we are in 2008! At this time new adoptions are not occurring in Guatemala as there is a lot for their government to put in place before new adoptions can move forward. It is so sad to know that there are so many unknowns for the these birth mothers and children in Guatemala right now. For me, I am still in PGN and have been since I was resubmitted on December 5th. It is not unlikely that I will be there for 60 days before I will get "Out" but I am still praying that I am out sooner. I am also praying (and I am asking all of you to pray) that I am not "kicked out" of PGN again. Of course this would further delay the approval process through PGN but now that it is 2008, if I am kicked out then things get really hairy. As of today (and this could change at ANY time) there is a sign up at the PGN "window" that says they will not take any new or re-submitted cases until they are registered with the Central Authority. While this sounds minor and all that would need to be done is to be registered, the problem is that there is NO CENTRAL AUTHORITY in place yet. So obviously registering is impossible and I would not be able to be re-submitted to PGN. So I would remain in limbo until something happens. So like I said I am praying not to get kicked out again and I would appreciate all your prayers (as would all the other "in process" adoptive parents.
Maya honey, I can not believe how much I miss you right now. I am so ready for you to be home with me. I look at your pictures every day and just smile out of joy. I can not wait to hold you again and see that beautiful smile of yours. I love you! Mommy