Current Status

Our girls file is suppose to be ready for pick up today with a previo and then will be taken to the embassy to get a new Pre-approval from the embassy for the oldest baby. Her file was pre-approved on September 28, 2007. This has been a typical request as of late on files where they have found nothing else wrong... it's the smudge test.

Any how, we continue to be encouraged by acquaintances who continue to move along in the process; especially the faster processing of the MIXCO birth certificates. One of our little girls is from there and they had been a problem in issues the amended certificates. Our other baby is from Coban which is now a part of Renap, a centralized processing center. They take a bit slower time than it used to but still within a 2 week period.

We continue to be encouraged at seeing our Lord's hand move during this process and in our hearts drawing us ever closer to Him. What a blessing!

Home Grown Boys...

Trying Times...

The last few days have been particularly trying as new information comes in from Guatemala. We have been told that we likely now have a previo on our file which will require getting new pre-approval documentation from the embassy. Not suppose to take long, but we'll have to be resubmitted to PGN once again. The good news is that others who've gone through this have exited quite rapidly, within days, of their resubmission.

We've also learned some disturbing news concerning the attorney who was listed on our file. We will wait and see if it affects our file in particular, but this has definitely brought up our concerno-meter. Please continue to be in prayer for the little ones still in the system and that they will not continue long to be a pawn in the hands of those who show so little care and that the wishes of the birth mothers would be granted.

On a happy note, we are excited for those who are currently picking up. What a blessed time for them and us as we rejoice with them! God is good all the time; all the time, God is good!

My Home Grown Girls..

Birth Mother Interview Happening Today!

Just received notice that the interview is happening as I write. We are excited to finally have something taking place. Hopefully, we'll have info on how it went today. I'll update when I know for sure.

Update: Everything went beautifully without incidence. One more step completed.
As our facilitator quoted, "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country." Proverbs 25:25

Arrived Today!

Our approved USCIS I-171-H extension arrived in the mail today and none too soon as the original was set to expire on July 23rd. One more hurdle crossed and more faithfulness of the Lord in our lives. We are good for 18 more months!

Scheduling Problems?

The BMI did not happen last week as the birth mother was confused about the dates and thus did not show up. She thought the 9th was on Thursday rather than Wednesday. Oh, well, I guess they will give it another try this week. Hopefully, it will happen. I just keep reminding myself that the Lord's timing is perfect and never early...

Birth Mother Interview Rescheduled

Because of the deaths of President Colom's Cabinet members last Friday and the three days of national mourning, our Birthmother interview was cancelled and will be rescheduled for sometime next week. We had hoped to be past this hurdle but know the Lord's timing is perfect, so we adjust and wait.

Have a Blessed 4th of July!

Update: The birthmother interview is scheduled to take place tomorrow 7/10/08. We'll post when we hear if and how it went :)

Happy First Birthday Baby Girl!

A sweet memory was made today. Our oldest made a very berry pie in honor of our wee one's first birthday and all the children sang Happy Birthday to her. Amazing to see how they love someone so much they have never seen. Reminds me of the love we have for Christ.

Second Birth Mother Interview is Scheduled!

We are happy, but cautious, to report that McCaule's birth mother interview is schedule on July 2, 2008. We've been waiting for this for about 3 weeks.

Our facilitator and her boss will be in-country at the time of this interview to visit all the babies and all the attorneys. Maybe we'll get a new picture of the girls :)

Please be in prayer that the interview takes place without incident and that our file is released in a prompt manner. We really would like to have these babies home by summer's end. :)

Talk about Picky...

We received a rejection from USCIS of our updated home study last Thursday (June 19) because the Social Worker stated that she "recommended" us instead of "recommended and approved" us to adopt. I was so amazed that they would reject based on one word.

Any how, our social worker is making the correction and we hope to have the report mail out by Wednesday. Just a little frustrating.

Here's another picture of the girls from our trip...

Latest Joint Council Post... Encouraging

June 6, 2008

Joint Council is pleased to announce that PGN has released approximately 230 adoption cases today. At this time, there is no estimate of the number of cases with previos, versus the number of cases without. Upon the release of cases by PGN, Joint Council will be providing estimates of the number of cases without previos. Joint Council extends its appreciation to PGN for its release of these cases. We will continue to work with PGN and key stakeholders in Guatemala on the review of the adoption procedure.

More Positive News...

We have a missionary friend staying overnight with us who speaks fluent Spanish. We asked him if he would mind calling PGN and speaking with Jennifer about our file. He did call and found out our file has been approved and that our birth mothers interviews were scheduled for yesterday. One of the BM's was unable to attend due to work conflict (unable to get off). They said they should have completed the second interview by the 16th or 17th of June. We are very excited with all of this news and thankful for the Lord's provision of a Spanish speaker in our home to help us out.

We now pray that the interviews go without a hitch and our babies file can be released from PGN.

A Family Photo

PGN is Moving Again!

Today 5o cases were released to attorneys. 40 had previos and 10 were approved. All of these cases had confirmed birth mother interviews and included in the file was a brief statement concerning the interview done. This information comes directly from the Guatadopt website from their sources in-country. It is exciting to finally see the doors opening. Hopefully, more good news to come.

Promising PGN Info...

Phoned PGN today and asked about our file. The lady said we had finished our review without a previo. She also stated that our file should be released in one week. This is very promising news. We have not had a birth mother interview. Hmmm.

We also learned that there are 300 files ready to be released that have had birth mother interviews. They will release them 100 at a time, some with previos and others approved.

We are ready to see some movement of files outside of PGN. It is also our understanding that there are now some US officials watching what's going on at the PGN and advocating fair tactics with regard to the interviews of the birth mothers.

We're look forward to seeing what the coming days hold.

Three's A Charm!

We went to bed the same time as the girls did last night which helped tremendously in their sleeping. McCaule is especially auditory and any sound wakes her.

We went down for breakfast after their morning bottles at 7 a.m. McKelle ate evertyhing we put in front of her. McCaule won't eat anything but the scrambled egg. She'll try a new food and then shiver.

We had a very delightful day with them. We took them on a couple of walks outside and visited with other patrons of the hotel. We took a lot of video and pictures.

The foster mothers arrived a little after 6 pm and the girls didn't even acknowledge them. I guess they enjoyed us afterall. We did have many smiles and giggles today from them along with being content more when we were not holding them. We gave the fosters extra food for the girls that we had purchased along with some new clothes as well.

We helped them out to the taxi and said our goodbyes. It was a sweet time.

Our coordinator stayed behind to visit with us and gave us an update of what it's like in the PGN and CNA at present. It's really a zoo. The CNA says they are "rescuing" children and sent 9 up to PGN for them to do something with them and PGN sent them to hogars. The children are the ones being punished here. It's sad. The "interviewers" of the birthmothers are not people with any experience. They are basically like our FBI interogating the mothers even at times screaming at them. It is not a pleasant experience for them. There is no set practice of interviewing and every day promises something new.

We need to be in prayer for the situation at hand and as we shared with our coordinator Proverbs 21:1, "The king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes", our prayers must be ones that bring honor to Him as He is the only one who can remedy the situation and change the hearts of those who for whatever reason are causing so much pain to so many. In the end, may Christ be glorified!

Day Two With The Girls

We woke quite tired this morning as it took the girls until 10:30 to fall asleep and then McCaule woke at 3:30 to be fed. So much for both girls knowing how to sleep through the night. :) We put them on a schedule of sorts for the day.

McKelle ate everything we put in front of her today. She's a real chow hound. McCaule really only prefers the formula. She'll try things but not much of them.

Gave both girls a bath. McKelle hated it at first and then warmed up to it. McCaule loved it from the start.

Both girls took a really good afternoon nap for 1 1/2 hrs and then we kept them up the rest to help them sleep better tonight, hopefully. McCaule does not know how to fall asleep on her own, so she cries a lot and often wakes periodically after going down.

We had dinner with our former pastor and his wife who are serving as missionaries down here. They also brought their youngest two with them. We had a lovely dinner together. They brought the girls some gifts (toys).

We've already put the girls down (8:00 guatemalan time). McCaule slept for about 15 min and now is fussing, but hopefully she'll settle down soon.

Most families that are here are picking their kids up. It's really like a ghost town compared to when we were here in November. There's one other family her fostering and no others visiting that we've met.

All for today.

We're Back!

We arrived last night around 9 pm Guatemalan time. Had a good nights rest. Our room is #25 and in the corner of the hotel, so it's quiet here. There doesn't seem to be as many famiies as in November of last year for sure.

The girls arrived around 10:30. We got to meet their foster moms. MiMi is around 25 years old and is caregiver for McKelle. Rosa is approx. 55 and takes care of McCaule. One could tell they really love our girls.

We found out that both girls were having trouble gaining weight, so the Dr. put them on a strict feeding schedule of every 2 hrs and has added fatty foods to their diet. They have been gaining. They are not much bigger than when we saw them in November.

McKelle suffers from anemia and is therefore taking iron daily. They also said the doctor has them eat two eggs a day blended into their milk. They are both sitting and play happily with toys reaching for them and exploring them. McKelle is crawling but McCaule is not.

McKelle has 8 teeth while McCaule is still working on her first. They went down for naps shortly after we got them today, thus the time to make this entry. They are so sweet.

We found out today that the girls fosters live next door to one another so the girls see one another quite often. Also, the doctor who sees them has his clinic in their neighborhood and is very strict and checks on them often(at least weekly) to make sure they are doing well. They are receiving weekly weight checks.

McKelle ate over half a banana today, but McCaule just took a couple of bites. Neither really cared for the avacado.

We did take them both on a short walk around the grounds of the hotel. They seemed to enjoy that. It's been cool and rainy off and on today. The front desk said this is their winter season.

Two Things...

First, we sent off the home study update and i600a application today to extend our I-171-H to adopt internationally. Hopefully, it will not take them too long to review it. Little has change since the first home study.

Second, we are going to visit the girls this week, Lord willing. We noticed that ticket prices were down a bit and it was the only week we both had "little" planned, so off we go. We're excited to see how much they've both changed since we saw them 6 months ago. I am sure they will be a little tense and wondering who these "babysitters" are. :)

We will stay at the same hotel next to the Embassy. Maybe we'll get some good news when we're there also.

Before we leave town, we need to celebrate our oldest boy's 16th birthday. He's got plans to see "Prince Caspian" with his dad as a part of his gift from us. Time has flown!