We are in PGN and it has been confirmed

Praise the Lord! We were submitted on November 27 and we have a case number. Please pray we have no errors in our file and that we can get through PGN quickly

Bummer for our friends

Our friends Amanda, Ed & Gabi we spent last week with found out they were kicked out of PGN for the 3rd time. Unfortunately they do not know how long it will take to fix the misspelling. Please pray for this family during this difficult time. Everyone really thought the timing was right for their file to be approved. When you receive a kick out from PGN you have to have the error corrected then you are resubmitted and your file starts over at the beginning.

We Made It Home

We arrived home last night around 10:30. Our flight home was delayed but customs and immigration in Charlote were a breeze. (Sorry Gwen I think we will have to go through Charlotte when we actually pick Ella up instead of Atlanta).

Ella was picked up yesterday at 12:00 by her foster mom.I thought this time would be easier leaving her since I had already been through it once but no it was just as hard. We were met by our attorney and translator as well and received an update on our case. Our file was released from family court on Wednesday (8 days that has to be a record). The attorney has reviewed our file and found the US Embassy misspelled on of Ella's last names on a document so he will have that fixed on Monday and then can submit us to PGN on Tuesday. He tried really hard to have us in PGN while we were there but being as the US Embassy was closed Thursday and Friday it is in our best intrest to have the error corrected before going into PGN. Your prayers are working for our file so keep them coming.

Mike and I enjoyed reading all the emails and comments from you all while we were in Guatemala. One day we will share them with Ella.

Our last full day with our baby girl

This morning started off rough and it wasn't until about 2:00 till Ella started feeling better. Unfortunately we had to miss dinner last night b/c the doctor didn't get to our room until 6:45. Ella was given a shot of an antibotic and a fever reducer. See her get the shot made made me cry and I wasn't prepared to hear her scream like she did. I know I will have many more moments like this so maybe next time I will be better prepared.

This afternoon we spent a few hours at the pool today with Gabi and her family. We feel very fortunate to have met this family. They found out today they are on the 3rd reviewer's desk in PGN and should be signed off and out in about a week. This is very exicting news and we pray the final steps go smoothly for them.

This probably will be the last post. When we get back from dinner we will pack and spend as much time as possible with Ella. She will be picked up at 12:00 tommorrow. I am not looking forward to this. She is a great baby and we are greatful to have been able to spend this week with her. Hopefully we will be back very soon to pick her up.

If you checked the site earlier and their were no pictures I am sorry we were having technical difficutlies with the camera.

Enjoy the new photos.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sorry I haven't posted much in the past 2 days Ella isn't feeling too good. We actually are waiting right now for the hotel doctor to come see her. She has had a fever since yesterday and gradually has stopped eating and drinking as the day has gone by. She also is sleeping alot and very fussy. Posted you will see some pictures when she was feeling okay. You can see her cheeks are rosy in most of them.

We are hoping to have Thanksgiving dinner with some other adoptive families tonight if Ella is up to it. Also we hope to take our Christmas pictures as well. Unfortunately we will have to wait and see.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Wednesday Pictures

Today we went to the local handicraft market with Ella's foster sisters family (Ed, Amanda and Gabi). I hope to have more pictures later. We didn't take to many today because Ella hasn't been her happy self. I think she may be getting ready to cut teeth.

Another Video a little long

She Can Crawl

Log on to see a short video of Ella crawling. Don't worry we have throughly sanitized the remote.

Tuesday PM Pictures

Today we spent the afternoon at the pool with Ella's foster sister and their family.I have included a couple pictures of Gabi as well so you can see how beautiful she is.
I hope you enjoy the photos.

Happy 9 Months Baby Girl!

Ella is 9 months today. This is a big deal to us since we miss out on so much.
Yesterday we hung out around the hotel. We also had the pleasure of meeting Ella's foster sister Gabi and her family. Gabi is such a doll.

Ella is getting more and more comfortable with us. Last night was 10 times better than the night before. She slept through the night and wasn't nearly as fussy going to sleep.
Ella is talking and says dada. It seemed like the flood gates opened yesterday in the talking department. Not a word on Sunday then all of the sudden yesterday she started babling and she does say dada for sure. I am working on mama.

Please check out the next entry it has video of Ella and Mike talking to each other.

Shirt Video

Here is a short video of Ella talking with Mike. We are trying to get more video uploaded but we are having trouble.

First Morning

Ella is a morning baby for sure. Last night was a little rough. I think she misses her foster mom.

We Made it!

We made it and she an absolute doll. She is so easy going and curious! She has no teeth yet but she is crawling. We are so excited to be here with our sweet girl!

Ella was delivered to us by the attorney, translator and foster mom. We did find out there is a good chance our file will be released from family court this week. Our file was submitted on November 13th and the social worker has already interviewed the birthmother and the foster mom. So we pray that she will type the report and release it this week.

I have attached a few pictures. Please log on to see them under the journal page. Enjoy!

Lots Going On

Today our file was being submitted to a new family court. We are repeating this step since the last social worker would not sign off on our file. This step usually takes 4-6 weeks but we hope it takes us less since we are repeating. The next step after the social worker signs off and types a report is PGN. PGN is the final hurdle in this process which usually takes about 8 weeks. After we get out of PGN we will have her birth certificate issued in our name, the 2nd DNA is ordered and her passport is done...then we travel for her visa appointment. In this trip we bring Ella home. As is stands now we estimate bringing Ella home in February or March.

Guatemala still has not voted on a new law yet that will grandfather cases. There has been a lot of talk lately about it but no real action. We feel very confident that our case will be grandfathered however we are adopting internationally and there are no guarantees.

In less than a week we leave for Guatemala. Ella will stay with Mike and I from Sunday to Saturday. We are anxious to see how much she's grown and changed. I am dying to see if she is getting teeth. We are also excited to meet Ella's foster sister, Gabi, and her parents while there.
We will be posting up to 2 posts a day with lots of pictures. If you are on the email list and wish to be removed to avoid receiving numerous emails a day please log on to the site and unsubscribe under the journal tab.

I have posted a picture of Ella's Christmas dress and another dress I got from Pottery Barn. The Pottery Barn dress is size 12-18 months so you will not see her in it on this trip but maybe on the pickup trip. You have to log on to see pictures and they are attached to this post under the journal section.

New Pictures

She is getting so big. Ella is 16 pounds 13 ounces. We can't wait to hug and kiss on her. Only 2 weeks to go.

All Saints Day in Santiago Sacatepéquez

The Day of the Dead Kite Festival
The town of Santiago Sacatepequez in Guatemala, in Central America, celebrates the All Saints Day on the first of November every year. The day is known locally as the Day of the Dead. It is a three-thousand-year-old custom developed from a mixture of local religious practices and Christianity. On this day, local residents dress up in traditional bright-colored clothing and go to the graveyards to fly kites in the hope that they can communicate with the departed.
These are not normal kites. While they are constructed simply out of bamboo, cloth, paper and wire, they are amazingly durable even in strong winds. These kites are designed in a circular shape and usually with a religious or folkloric theme. They are also gigantic -- most of them are with a diameter of 24 to 30 meters. The biggest ones are with a diameter of 36 meters!
These tremendous kites fly effortlessly into the wind, their strong purple, yellow, orange and red colors standing out clearly against the blue sky and white clouds. Local residents fly these kites to establish links with the dead. However, families, community groups and religious communities often try to compete with each other and see which one's kite is more colorful and flies higher. There is a prize for the best design.

While the All Saints Day is dedicated to the dead, for the living it is a happy festival. In addition to flying kites, local residents gather together at home to eat, sing and dance. Those who have picnics at the graveyards paint the graves blue, pink or green, then decorate them with beautiful flowers. Finally, various delicious traditional foods are prepared for both the dead and the living. One of such foods is a dish called "Fiambre", which is made only once a year, for lunch. It is a mixture of cheese, meat and vegetables cured in vinegar.

This information came from this website.
http://www.taiwan.com.au/Club/GlobalVillage/20050923.htm