IT'S OFFICIAL!!!

Today was the big day!! Left for the US Embassy in Guatemala City to go for Lilys visa appointment. Everything went great and she is officialy ours. What a joy to know that all the stress is lifted. My mom is here with me and was such a BIG help!! Never woulda been able to do it without her. Lily is such a great child. Not even 2 and she says pee/poo poo and gets right on the potty and goes. She brushes her teeth, eats by herself, and just now got dressed from head to toe socks,shoes and all cause she kept asking me to dress her and I said no cause we just got back from the pool and shes ready for a bath. If someone wont do it for her, she does it herself. Very independent. Wears underware and hasn't made 1 mess. Sleeps thru the night. What a BLESSING!!! She's gonna have a blast playing with her brothers, nieces,nephews and cousins!! Thanx for everyones support and prayers through our journey!! Actually the journey has just begun.

WE ARE PINK!!!

To those who don't know, PINK is the color of the slip they send you when your adoption is approved and they give you the date to come pick up. We just got it a couple hours ago and were still in shock!! The DNA was back @ the Embassy in Guatemala yesterday and we got the epink today. The appointment is 4/21 and will get the visa the next day and LILY GIRL will be home 4ever on 4/23. Me and mom are going to leave 4/18 to go get her. Will send pics from there and you will all get the chance to meet her in person when we get home or at her welcome home party on 5/24....Thanks for all your prayers and support!!!

WERE OUT!!!!

Just got the wonderful news that we are finally out of PGN!! Now we have to get her 2nd DNA and finalize some paper work and than we will get an appointment to go to the embassy in Guatemala. I will be traveling by myself and I'm a little nervous. Never traveled with a baby before. A girl no less!!! Anyone want to join me??? Anyway I was so excited this am when I found out ... I was shaking!! It's been over a year now and these last 5-7 weeks are gonna hopefully fly by!! We are planning a big party for her. A Welcome home/Baptism Fiesta!!
Will keep you all informed and send more pictures when we get them. I will be bringing the lap top with me on pick up so I will send back all the newest pics!! Can't wait to go get our daughter!!

"HELLO" Mommy...Daddy..R U There!!!

Well it's been a while since the last post. It's just been a run around since than. We were kicked out of PGN for a stupid reason. Than they created a whole new part of the process since the new president has taken over and it looked pretty grim for a while. All the files had to be registered with a central authority before thay could be resubmitted to PGN. After another 2 months we finally got back into PGN on 2/11 and we are awaiting info on our progress. The PGN has been moving cases thru very quickly latley. I saw 3 outs in 7 days on the Web today. That is crazy considering the norm is 4-8 weeks. We are just Praying for her to come home for her May 15th 2nd Birthday!! Thats about it for now. Will definatley have new news up as it arrives. T&T

IN THE HOME STRETCH !!!!!!

GOOD NEWS GOOD NEWS..WE WERE FINALLY PR APPROVED FOR THE ADOPTION AND NOW WE WILL ENTER PGN WHICH IS THE FINAL STRETCH...HERE BELOW IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE PGN AND THE FINAL PROCESS....
The official adoption office is the PGN in Guatemala. PGN stands for Procuradoria General de la Nacion. Procuradoria is a Spanish term that is used in Central America. Its relative to jurisprudence in Guatemala. The PGN in Guatemala is made up of lawyers, judges, counselors and administrators as a combination of the US Immigration Service and elements of the Justice Department. The Procurador is the person who manage and administers laws on behalf of people adopting through the PGN in Guatemala.
In order to comply with The Hague Convention, the PGN in Guatemala was set up to act as the central department with authority over adoption in Guatemala. In addition to standardizing the adoption process, the Hague Convention is also an effort to stop the trafficking of children.
The PGN in Guatemala is the group that receives the paperwork prepared by prospective parent(s). The PGN reviews the paperwork and analyzes it against the adoption requirements required by Guatemala and the guidelines of The Hague Convention.
It is important to note, that the PGN in Guatemala does not charge a fee for adoptions. Many unscrupulous operators will attempt to charge vulnerable prospective parent(s) for this service.
Recently, many prospective parent(s) have reported that there have been delays in receiving referrals as they wait for approval from the pgn in Guatemala. The timeline seems to vary greatly from month to month in terms of referrals. The PGN in Guatemala provides referrals as quickly as 4 weeks and often stretches out the waiting period to 12 weeks.
Called the Notarial System, adoptions in Guatemala are facilitated by attorneys in the country. These attorneys specialize in adoptions and work to refer children available for adoption to prospective parent(s). These attorneys are also the point of contact between the prospective parent(s), their representatives and adoption agencies and the PGN in Guatemala. The unusual situation involved in the attorney representation with the PGN in Guatemala and throughout the adoption process is that the attorney is representing both the adoptive parent(s) and the orphan.
The PGN in Guatemala will also be the agency that requests documents from the legal representative of the prospective parent(s) as the adoption process continues.
The PGN in Guatemala is also involved in registering the approved power of attorney to the Guatemalan attorney who will be representing the prospective parent(s) in the country. The Spanish phrase ‘Protocolización del Mandato de Representación” refers to this process.
The PGN in Guatemala will be responsible for approval. At this point, the prospective parent(s) gain the legal responsibility for the adopted child. The child’s birthmother, if known, will then approve the adoption and a birth certificate will be issued listing the adoptive parent(s).
In addition to interactive with the PGN in Guatemala, the attorney will also represent prospective parent(s) with the USCIS or US Citizenship and Immigration Services and the DHS or Department of Homeland Security. The USCIS/DHS is the US agency responsible for issuing immigrant visas to children being adoption.
From within the US, mail the USCIS at:American EmbassyU.S. Department of Homeland SecurityUnit 3334APO AA 34024
The USCIS has a helpful web site that is available at: www.uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/overseasoffices/mexicodistrict/guatemalacity/aboutus.htm
As stated before, the PGN doesn’t charge adoption fees.

Web
internationaladoptionstories.com
The PGN in Guatemala is the official adoption office. ...SHE WILL BE HOME SOOOONNNN....LILY GIRL!!!WE LOVE YOU.....

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN!!!

WELL THE GOOD TIMES ARE OVER AND THE HARDEST PART IS HERE. WE JUST SAID OUR LAST GOODBYES TO OUR SWEET ANGEL. IT WAS ONE OF THE HARDEST THINGS WE HAD TO EVER DO. WE HAD A GREAT WEEK WITH HER AND I'M SO GLAD WE DECIDED TO COME VISIT INSTEAD OF JUST WAITING..YES IT WAS HARD TO SAY GOODBYE, BUT IT WAS A BLESSING JUST TO BE ALL TOGETHER FOR A WHILE. BUT NOW WE GET TO GO HOME AND SEE THE BOYS AND DOGGIES AND GET BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS. WITH ALL THE HOLIDAYS, BIRTHDAYS, PLAYOFFS AND STUFF COMING, HOPEFULLY THE TIME WILL GO BY QUICK. WE ARE STILL NOT SURE WHEN SHE'LL BE COMING HOME, BUT WERE THINKING JAN-FEB. MAYBE FOR VALENTINES DAY. THAT WOULD BE SWEEEET.


UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN OUR SWEET ANGEL, YOU WILL BE IN OUR DREAMS EVERY NIGHT. WE LOVE YOU SOOO MUCH...MOMMA, POPPA, AND FAMILY..

HERE SHE IS!!!!

WELL GOD FINALLY HAS BROUGHT US ALL TOGETHER. WE GOT IN LATE LAST NIGHT AND THE HOTEL WE WERE SUPPOSED TO STAY AT JUST DIDN'T FIT THE BILL SO WE SWITCHED TO THE MARRIOTT. (THANK GOD) THIS PLACE IS SO GREAT. THEY CATER TO ADOPTIVE PARENTS AND HAVE A WHOLE FLOOR JUST FOR BABYS. THEY HAVE A HUGE HEATED POOL AND JACUZZI AND 5 DIFFERENT RESTAURANTS. THE FOOD IS GREAT AND THE PEOPLE VERY FRIENDLY AND NICE. THIS AM @ 9AM THE BABY ARRIVED WITH HER FOSTER MOTHER AND SHE WAS VERY SHY. SHE STARTED TO CRY WHEN THE FOSTER MOM HANDED HER TO US. I WAS SO NERVOUS. THAN WE ALL WENT TO LUNCH AS SOON AS OUR LAWYER ARRIVED. THAT'S WHEN IT ALL CHANGED...I FED HER AND THAT WAS IT..THIS BABY ATE A WHOLE BOWL OF CEREAL. (BY HERSELF). AN ENGLISH MUFFIN, AND 2 PLATES OF FRUIT..I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT. WHERE IN 4 IT!! WELL AT LEAST SHE'S NOT PICKY.

WHEN WE WERE DONE I HAD TO GO TO THE FRONT DESK FOR A STROLLER. WHEN I GOT BACK THE LAWYER AND FOSTER MOM SAID SHE GRABBED ON TO TONI LIKE A LIL MONKEY AND THAT WAS IT. SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO ONLY STAY FOR A COUPLE HOURS AND THAN COME BACK TOMORROW, BUT SINCE SHE TOOK TO US SO GOOD WE GOT HER TILL MONDAY AM..SO AFTER BREAKFAST WE WENT FOR A STROLL AND THAN TO THE POOL. 1:30 WE WENT TO LUNCH AND SHE ATE AGAIN. NOT AS MUCH THIS TIME THOUGH. NOW SHE'S ON THE BED PLAYING WITH HER DORA DOLLS AND PLAYDOUGH. (IT'S ALL OVER THE BED..LOL). WERE SO THANKFUL AND BLESSED TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY AND I DONT KNOW HOW WERE GONNA LEAVE THIS CHILD HERE AND HAVE TO WAIT ANOTHER 4-6 MONTHS TO GET HER..THERE ARE SO MANY OTHER FAMILIES HERE ADOPTING IT'S CRAZY. NOW I KNOW WHY THEY CALL IT THE BABY HOTEL. WELL AT LEAST ALL THESE CHILDREN ARE GOING TO GET THE OPPORTUNITIES AND LOVE THAT THEY NEED TO SUCCEED IN LIFE. GONNA TRY TO GET THIS LIL ONE TO TAKE A NAP NOW OR IT'S GONNA BE A LONG NIGHT!!