Merry Christmas 2009

Wishing all who read this blog a very Merry Christmas. We are blessed beyond measure and thankful that we have this special opportunity each year to remember what our Savior did for us on our behalf. To become like us, experience life as we do with all the trials and sufferings and to do it perfectly without sin even once. I am so thankful He provided a way to reconcile my sinful life in exchange for His righteous one in God's sight. How humbling it is to think on these truths as we remember the sacrifice he ultimately made. Hallelujah what a Savior!

Haven't Updated In A While...

Here are the girls last week sharing the "favorite" rocker. It's finally gotten cool enough for long sleeves. We are busy making costumes for our local fair...It will be a first for the girls. I'm sure they will be overwhelmed. They are adjusting very well and have blended right into our large family. The love structure in their days and each one has a love of books being read to them or reading to themselves (looking at pictures). They have already blessed our lives tremendously and we are thankful to have them here with us. I'll post pics of the costumes once they are done.

Package Arrived...

We received the updated BC's today. Yea! Now we can proceed with doing the readoption in TX along with name change. We are hoping to do it ourselves and save some. It's so nice to get advice from those who done it before us.

The girls are doing so well. They have begun to come to us and hug us, now, unsolicited. We are so blessed that the adjustment has gone so smoothly. They love going swimming with us and playing in the backyard. They are trying to say more and more English words every day. Too cute!

Interesting...

Went to the Social Security office last Friday to get the girls' cards. I presented all the papers for the girls. The agent noticed that the date entered on McKelle's BC for having been logged into "the book" in MIXCO was dated before her birth. Oops! Thankfully, I had other documentation that verified her birth that the Social Security office could use. I came home and checked the original documents and they were in error as well. I was shocked that this was not found with all the checking of documents over the past two years. To miss this error...

My coordinator in country is looking into it and will try to straighten it out and get us a new BC with the correct log date. I hope it doesn't take too long as we would like to file for change of name and readoption in TX before Christmas.

Any how, the SS#'s should be here in a couple of weeks. Another interesting thing is that they said they couldn't issue the numbers back to back so one would have to wait a day before it could be submitted into the computer.

Very Interesting...

Just received our youngest girl's information from the USCIS. Discovered she has 3 siblings that all still reside with their mother. They are a 15 year old brother and a 11 year old sister and brother.
We thought that she likely did have siblings just because her mother was in her 30's.

McKelle had no siblings when she was born. Nice to have more history on both girls.

Now we can apply for their SS#'s. They said they need birth certificates, Certificate of Citizenship and the adoption decree. We hope to have their names officially changed by the first of the year. The paperwork never ends.

Life is Good...

The girls are adjusting very well to their much bigger family. McKelle understands most everything we tell her in English and is speaking more and more each day. She really enjoys using the sign language to communicate her wants. McCaule is picking up the English as well but I can tell has some holes yet in understanding a few things. She can imitate many of our words.

It has been a real blessing that they have been such good eaters (even salad) and sleepers. They really have thrived being on a schedule. They love going outside on the playground and using the cozy coup. We're not seeing very much play together yet, but that's normal for 2 y.o.'s. The other kids keep trying to get them to hold hands...funny. The cutest day of the week is dress up. The older girls (age 10 and 8) dress them up all morning in little princess dresses. This is a highlight of everyone's week. :D

McCaule Turns Two!

Pooh Party

"Winky" the elephant and quilt made by sister, McCrae

First bite of cake

HOME...

We finally have both our girls home with us. McCaule landed at DFW airport around 11:20 this morning. We are so excited to begin this part of the journey and leave the past behind to some degree but also reap the spiritual blessings the Lord has brought out of it.

Getting on a Jet Plane...

But I know where it's headed...Guatemala! My husband should make landfall 7:05 GT time and then tomorrow is the Visa Appt. with the embassy for McCaule. I made sure he had a sign Power of Attorney from me so he could process alone and my passport to prove that I visited prior as well to get the R3 visa which will allow for McCaule to have full citizenship upon arrival in the U.S. on Wednesday.

Please pray for him as he will be her sole caregiver and her as she makes the adjustment. Hope she remembers him since it's only been a month that we were there together.

We have three family members (including myself) suffering from some kind of terrible flu (lasts a week with 1/2 of the time having a high fever). Please pray that we are all fever free by the time she arrives home.

We Are Pink Again!!!!

Received notice from the consulate that we have our pink (pick up) notice. It is currently scheduled for Monday, June 8, but we are needing to push the date forward due to other responsibilities for June 15th. Needless to say, we are thrilled with this development.

Thanks to all who have continued to pray on our behalf. You have been a blessing to us and I know the Lord has been glorified.

Rod will be making the trip alone this time. We have a few details to work out...flights, lodging etc.

Currently...

This morning, my husband, 18 yo dtr and myself left the house at 6:30 to journey to Ft. Worth and beat traffic to redo our fingerprints with the USCIS. All went well there. Glad to have that done.

This afternoon, we received confirmation from our attorney that the I-72 paperwork requested by the embassy was submitted on Tuesday morning. Glad that was taken care of as well. Now we will wait to hear from them as to what they are doing with our file.

Our facilitator here in the states indicated that we could travel next week to get McCaule, but as of today we have received no word from the embassy. I know they have the correct email address so that's not a factor for us. We'll see what the Lord has planned and then we'll adjust ours. It's not like we don't have plenty to do.

McKelle continues to do well and her adjustment has been good. What a blessing that has been.

Another email from dhs

The DHS is not requesting yet another authorized copy of McCaule's passport. We already gave them one when we were there. Maybe they lost it?

The also stated "the USCIS Office of Field Operations has re-submitted your fingerprints and they have been processed by the FBI system" Interesting...we are still going to get our prints done this next week to cover all our bases. To say that I do not trust what they tell me is an understatement.

We are hopeful that this can be resolved quickly and we will be able to go get our little one soon. Pray that the details of that trip can be smoothed as we have tons going on during the month of June. I just thought May was busy...mostly trips by hubby and family reunion. I know the timing of the Lord will be perfect.

I can rejoice truly in all that has happened and know that getting the girls one at a time was best, difficult, but best. So glad to serve a Lord that knows better than me. :)

We have an appt. for prints...

We got our appt. for re-fingerprinting but it's not until the 28th. A year ago when we had this done, you could make your own appt., but this time they set the date and time. We'll go with it as at this point Rod does not have a conflict for that date. If we don't make the appt., they will consider the adoption abandoned. Scary!

We are eagerly watching to see how the Lord plays all this drama out. At this point, all we can do is watch and wait.

Nice to Be Home

McKelle appears to be adjusting well to life with 8 siblings. She is the center of attention. I can tell it's been a while since we've had a little one in the house as everyone is so concerned when she cries. She is sleeping through the night with only one waking, usually around 5 a.m. and then she goes back to sleep until 7. We've been putting her to bed at 8 p.m. and hope to work at turning that to 7 with only one nap per day instead of two. I think she was allowed to sleep whenever she wanted in GT and not on any time of schedule. She is a typical two year old, tantrums and all. She's throwing less of those as we deal with them. So thankful for having gone through this with the other kids.

We placed her on a regimen of yogurt, Primadophilus, oat bran, B-vitamins and iron to address her digestive issues. Thankfully, we are seeing great improvement. The Lord is good. We also switched her to soy milk as I think that may have been part of her problem.

Cake Face... Welcome Home Party

The Lord's Sovereign Will...

It is with sadness that I write, we will not be coming home with our little McCaule. The dhs portion of the embassy not only did not pass our file over to the visa division once the I-72 was corrected, but they have now notified us that our file is under investigation. Please pray that they Lord would soften the heart of the one in charge who is calling the shots. She is not an American but a Guatemalan placed in this place of power and she wields it. My heart hurts for her.

We are also now forced to renew our fingerprints once again. The good news is that we began the process before we left and now wait to get the go ahead.

The wonderful news is that we are bringing home our little McKelle. Of the two, we can see the Lord's blessing in granting her release as she is the needier of the two. We were blessed to celebrate her 2nd birthday here and share some special memories with both girls. Today we journeyed to a market to purchased special paper mache' dolls that are dressed in clothing reflective of the area from which they were born. The Lord also gave us special new friends who have cared for us. It is wonderful to see the body of Christ working together even abroad.

The Lord has stretched us in ways we would never have dreamed and been faithful to us and showing us that He indeed is in control of all things and for His glory and our good. It has helped us be even more Christ focused and may God be forever praised for that. I would have never personally chosen this outcome, but then I am not sovereign or all-knowing.

We are looking forward to our trip home and the graduation of our daughter from home school on Friday evening. His timing is perfect.

Today's News...

We did not receive a pink notice yesterday and were very disappointed. After a trip to the Guatemalan zoo, we decided to go eat dinner. One of the girls was not in a good humor and was screaming. After we felt like she'd eaten all she wanted, Rod took her back to the room. A gal who is also adopting asked whether we'd gotten the second appt. There was a gentleman at another table who interjected and asked if we were adopting and about our progress. He couldn't believe how we were being treated. Her is a very prominant figure in international adoptions. He told us he would inquire to see if he could help us out but couldn't give any guarantees. We are encouraged to see what the Lord is doing on our behalf and are waiting see what the final outcome becomes. Please pray for the Lord's will to be done.

What's Happening....

We arrived here in Guatemala on Friday evening after a 45 minute delay in our flight. We were met with folks wearing masks and asking us to fill out swine flu sheets. Our driver met us and got us to LaCasa Grande where we got an early to bed time of 9:30 pm.

Saturday we were awoken by the phone. It was our facilitator calling to tell us that our I-72 was never re-entered into the embassy. Thursday, the embassy would not take the file from our attorney because her name was not on the original file(remember we switched attorneys last summer). The next day, the legal aid who has always worked the case tried to submit the file and they would not take it from her either. These are new conditions they decided to implement. So it was up to us on Monday to get the file re-entered.

Saturday, we took a tour of Antigua with a guide from Victor's tour offices named Luis. He was wonderful. We toured a coffe plantation, a jade factory where I purchased an adoption ring, Santa Domingo, a refurbished convent that was destroyed in a horrible earthquake and now was made into a lovely hotel and museum. We also visited the market for goodies.

We got the girls on Sunday, but because it was Mother's Day here as well, the foster mother's did not want to bring the girls until later. It ended up being 7 pm before we got both girls and it was a very emotional thing as both fosters were crying and not wanting to leave. Once they finally left around 8 pm, we ate dinner with the girls and they ate everything in sight. We met briefly with our coordinator for the next day's plan of action.

The girls slept between us in a King size bed, but Rod and I got little sleep. The girls slept great but are active sleepers. Monday we got happy campers for them to sleep in. They are very busy little 2 year olds and are kind to one another.

Monday we went to the embassy to turn in the I-72. We were #1 on the list. While we waited to see Angela, the top dog, we walked down the block to get the girl's visa pictures made. That was the easiest thing we did all day. We then waited for our meeting. We also spoke with the consular section to let them know we were there and wanted a quick appt. They were very understanding but said they couldn't do anything about speeding up the dhs portion of the embassy. We had our meeting with Angela requesting a quick resolution and she was not moved. Just said she would do no special favors and things would proceed an usual and she could promise nothing. We did get a pink slip for McKelle for Tuesday morning. At least one of them is coming home with us.

Monday evening we had dinner with missionary friends. McCaule threw up in there car on the way over (I got car sick as well but no mess on my part :) We had a wonderful time and the girls were entertained by the Conners children. We got them to bed early for we had to be at the embassy at 7:15.

The appt went well and we are to get our final secret packet tomorrow at 3:30. We are still hoping to get an appt. for McCaule tomorrow morning . That would push our home coming forward a day, but if it works, that would be the best result in our opinion.

The girls are doing quite well and we all seem to be adjusting to one another. Some bowel issues with McKelle, but that has always been the case when we visited. I believe she may be lactose intolerant, but they've never had that documented. It's somewhat easier to deal with since she's older and we can feed her alternate foods.

More later...

Here We GO....

Our facilitator who is now in GT told us to make our flight plans for the weekend. She said we should have an appt. for Monday. It has been quite a battle with the passport office and embassy over the past few weeks. We don't know the details yet, but please pray for an uneventful trip.

The only date to return is Thursday as Wednesday is booked...cutting it very close to graduation on Friday. Whew!

Still waiting...

Found out today that a new BC was requested by the Visa Center in order to produce a corrected Visa. It was to be delivered today and then a new Visa Requested. At that point, all is to be taken to the embassy, hopefully tomorrow, and a request made for them to process the file since the error was with the Visa process which is an American entity. We shall see if they grant the request.

The embassy is closed on Friday for Labor Day. We really don't have any idea when we will be traveling. We do know that the consulate portion of the embassy has both girls DNA results and McKelle's file. They are just waiting on McCaule's. Be in prayer that our desires will be aligned with the Lord's.

Soon to be Home...

Good Reminder

..."Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace, nor are your best days ever so good that you are beyond the need of it." Jerry Bridges

A friend had this as a quote today and felt that it was very appropriate.

Just Thought We Were Going...Another Problem

Just received yet another I-72 from the embassy on McCaule's files that stated the birthdate on the BC and Visa were not the same with the initial file. I am not sure which is incorrect, but this will delay a pick up and I am not sure how long it will take to fix. Our fingerprints are set to expire in a couple of weeks, so I guess we'll have to make the appt. to redo those. Can this get anymore complicated? We'll keep everyone posted.

On Its Way!

McKelle's DNA is finally on its way back to the Embassy in Guatemala.

We received the results of McCaule's DNA on Saturday in the mail with a current picture. Too Cute. I can't wait to see McKelle's at the end of this week. USPS is so slow these days. Takes them 4-5 days to deliver an envelope from North Carolina to TX.

Update 4/22/09 - DNA delivered today at 3:23 p.m. to the embassy!

Delayed but not Late...

Looks like we will not be traveling Friday to get the girls next week as the 2nd DNA for McKelle will not be ready in time for an embassy appt. next week.

We are pushing the trip back an additional week to fulfill commitments we've made to our other children so likely it will be the last part of April or first part of May when we travel to bring them home.

Please pray for the remainder of the details.

Finally...

McKelle's DNA reached Labcorp this morning! Yippee! Now, we have to figure out if we still have time to travel for possibly a Wednesday embassy appt. Pat at Labcorp said they do test through the weekend so it could go out on Monday with a delivery on Tuesday and appt on Wednesday. We'll see. Praying and seeking advice from our facilitator.

Back to the Embassy

McCaule's DNA results are on their way back to the Embassy in Guatemala. We are stalking the Fed Ex site to see when it arrives.

McKelle's DNA is still MIA. Hopefully, it will make it to Labcorp either today or tomorrow. We'd appreciate your prayers on this issue. We are so ready to get our little girls, but also trying to consider it all joy as we continue to endure the end of this event.

Update: The McCaule's results made it to the embassy yesterday at 3:30 pm.

One DNA Has Made It...

McCaule's DNA showed up at Labcorp yesterday. Pat emailed me to let me know. Still can't get any information on whether McKelle's was done on Tuesday, but the date on McCaule's was Tuesday the 7th.

We're trying to plan which date would be best to travel. The Embassy only gives out appointments on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Hopefully, we will be able to get it moved back if it falls on another week if we plan to be in country...details, details. :)

One Plus One Equals Two...

We now have our second embassy approval for DNA. Our coordinator in GT said they plan to take the samples tomorrow and get them off before the Easter Holiday. GT basically shuts down beginning Wednesday through Sunday.

Our prayer is that things go according to the said plan. Still looks like we'll be traveling around the 17th. The Lord has been so gracious to us all along and we know He will sustain us now that things are getting crazy in last minute planning of details before our trip.

2 Oranges Take Away 1 Orange Equals...

We have McCaule's permission from the embassy to get a second DNA! I am amazed as that means she has her BC already. Strange that McKelle's hasn't already been done though. Her BC has been completed for a while. I'll try to find out more details later.

We are excited here, though. Another huge step. Now we can begin making travel plans.

Current Plan...

This came from our GT coordinator today:

" Milton orange slip will be ready for next Monday (April 6th). Tuesday second DNA test and then wait for pink slip or visa appointment."

The reason for the small delay is that Coban will not print our BC until this Thursday. They did not give a reason. Must be backlogged. :)

The Last File has been release from RENAP!

Today has been a little tense to say the least. I phoned RENAP around 11:30 GT time and the file had not been retrieved. I phoned our coordinator and she told me that both of my attorneys were set to be there by 2:30 and that I should phone back around 3:30. RENAP closes at 4 pm each day. I ended up phoning at 3:55 pm GT time and my attorney was standing in front of Gabby to get the file right then. Talk about a heart stopper! It was like I was standing there watching it all happen. Too Cool!

I am so thankful that the Lord saw fit to have the file released today. He is so good to us. Now, hopefully the fast stuff.

I did find out today that the girls are not being fostered by the same gal anymore. I guess it was too difficult for an elderly woman to manage two almost two year olds. The new foster's name is Karina. She cares for McKelle. Cindy said the girls had not seen one another for a couple of months now. I knew that it was strange that there were no pictures of them sent where they were together. Well soon they will be together for a very long time. :)

Newest Photos of the Girls...

They are getting so big.

McCaule - 20 1/2 months




McKelle - 22 months

The Latest

We know that McCaule's BC was approved by Renap last Friday for sure. What we haven't been able to find out whether it was definitely picked up by the attorney. Only the attorney may obtain the file. Central RENAP told me yesterday the file had not been picked up, but he was looking at a computer screen which is not always updated; that is why we are waiting for confirmation from our Guatemalan coordinator. The wonderful news is that it was approved.

If it was not retrieved last week, we have to wait until Friday of this week, so a week of getting Visa, DNA would have been lost. In times like these, one has to rest in the sovereignty of God.

update 3/26/09: Our attorney did try to pick up the file last Friday but RENAP would not give it to her. They gave her other files, just not ours. I phoned today and they told me to tell my attorney to come pick up the file tomorrow (Friday). I will likely phone them tomorrow to make sure the file was retrieved. Gabby had the file in her hand today when I spoke with her, so I know for sure it was not given to the attorney.

File Resubmitted!!!

McCaule's file was picked up on Tuesday, the 17th, corrections made and resubmitted. They can be fast in Latin America sometimes :) I spoke with Gabby at RENAP this morning and she said the file should be ready with an approval this Friday, the 20th. The excitement is building...

Thank you all for your prayers. This has definitely been a life changing event, more spiritually than physically at this point... and all for the good. God's timing is perfect and the best, no question about it. Sometimes takes the heart a while to catch up with the head knowledge. :)

One OUT One to Go...

Found out today than McKelle's BC was approved by Central RENAP and will now go to MIXCO to have the BC printed. McCaule's BC may have an error that needs to be fixed, but our coordinator in Guatemala didn't know for sure and will contact us tomorrow after conferring with our attorney. If it indeed has an error, they are usually easily fixed and then will quickly be out. Coban is a much easier municipality to work with than MIXCO.

Very Good News that some activity is happening!

update: McCaule's does indeed have an error... some paperwork missing. It should be an easy fix. Hopefully, the file can be picked up today and then resubmitted tomorrow.

Good Weekend Report

This from our coordinator in GT:

Both files are at Central Renap.

We had trouble with Mixco but Aida (our attorney) and the chief of CENTRAL RENAP made it possible to have the file of McKelle at CENTRAL RENAP.

Otto(the attorney who does our leg work) is friend of the person in charge to authorized this files, and he said to prioritize them to have them ready in just a few days.

We are truly excited to see how the Lord is moving on our behalf. Please pray for those families still hung up in the process.

Made it On the RENAP Site

I periodically check to see if the girls names are in the data bank at RENAP. Today, McKelle's name was listed. That means her file has been registered and ready to be picked up and a new certificate issued in our name. The date received was last Thursday. This is good news indeed. Now, it we can just get McCaule's done this week. This is getting exciting now.

RENAP News

Today I spoke with Luis at GT RENAP to check on the status of the girls' BC approvals. He had some encouraging news: McKelle's BC should be ready to exit by next Friday, the 27th and McCaule's could possibly be ready by the same time. Once they are approved by RENAP in GT then they have to travel back to the municipality where the girls were born and they print the birth certificates with our last name on them. Luis told me to have a nice weekend before the call ended. What a nice fellow.

I hope the information was correct. He was accessing the computer and before, the girls' files could not be found.

Straight from Guatemala today...

Guatemalan Coordinator informed us today that McCaule's birth certificate is being requested first. Her file is curently in the Municipality of Coban which is her birth place. Once they approve the file, then it will be submitted to RENAP Guatemala City for their approval. Our attorney plans to visit with them at that point to facilitate the speed with which the file is approved so that McKelle's birth certificate may be obtained from the MIXCO Municipality.

It's encouraging to get some news of movement forward. For those who are not aware, a municipality is akin to our word "county". Coban is actually in the mountains of Guatemala, where MIXCO is like a suburb of Guatemala City.

BC Watch

Here's the latest info:

We had some trouble getting our contract agency to send the remaining funds to our referral agency. They took a very slow route to getting the money sent, but it arrived this past Friday ( 2 weeks after our OUT). Now we shall see if the check clears. Then the money will be wired to our attorney in Guatemala so that the remainder of our adoption can proceed. They were waiting on the money to get the Birth Mother's signatures as it is custom to offer to pay for their trip.

We learned that since the girls have a single decree that they have to be processed one at a time. Once one is finished, then the other will be done. Even though this seems like a real delay, our facilitator told me that they just completed another just like it and it was only 10 days. Mainly because there are so few adoptions being processed now. I hope that holds true for our little girls.

The Lord keeps reminding me that this is not our adoption but His and that we need to allow Him to work it out the way He deems best for all concerned. His ways are definitely not mine, but are becoming more so as time goes on. He is making me more teachable all the time.

In summary, after the funds reach GT this week, the birthmothers will sign off on the decrees and then the process of getting the BC's will be begun.

Please pray for the welfare of our attorney and staff in GT. He was mugged & hospitalized over the last couple of weeks. Please pray that he will have a complete recovery. I know he is back at work and he has been a champion on our behalf over the past year. Pray for him spiritually as well. That he would have a saving faith.

APPROVED!

THE GIRLS ARE OUT OF PGN WITH AN APPROVAL!!!

Time does make the blessing sweeter. Does it look like we have some excited kids or what!

New Year News ....

This came tonight from our coordinator in Guatemala:

Milton: The last thing from the second head at PGN (Assistant Attorney General); she told Otto (our attorney) in her office at PGN yesterday ( Monday morning) that, they had performed
a typo on paperwork associated with the file , but they will fix it, and she told Otto to be at the Window on Friday morning this week to pick up the file, we assume it has been approved, but let´s see.

This is encouraging news, but I am not holding my breath. It could just as easily be at the window with a previo to be fixed. Time will tell :)