Still Waiting and No Guatemala has not closed adoptions at this time.

I just thought I would let everyone know that we are currently in the 60 day wait for the US Embassy pre-approval for Madison's visa. That is supposed to be a 60 day wait but the most recent rumor is that it could be a much as a 90 day wait. We are praying that is not the case. Once we have the Embassy pre-approval our case will move to PGN. The easiest way to describe PGN is that it is a Guatemala Government agency. Each adoption case has been averaging about 7 weeks in the PGN process but it could be longer. Some of you may have either read or heard about a raid on an orphanage in Antigua Guatemala. The reasons behind the raid and the issues surrounding this situation do not have any relation to the majority of the adoptions in Guatemala. However this kind of news does tend to send fear into the foster homes, attorneys and birthmothers. Guatemala is currently in the process of making all of the adoption policies and procedures compliant with the Hague Treaty (Convention) which regulates international adoptions. The new guidelines will only help to strengthen the system and weed out the dishonest people but in doing so it may lengthen the entire process. Wayne and I ask that you please keep all Guatemalan adoptions in your prayers. We are confident in our agency and trust that they have our best interest at heart. We know that they are doing everything they can to see that our case is completed in a timely manner. We all know how much red tape is involved anytime you deal with a government office and when dealing with two different countries that only multiplies. We are hoping to have a miracle and have Madison home by the middle of November but know that it is not up to us. God is in control of this entire situation and we have to continue to trust in him.

As to the rumors that Guatemala has stopped all adoptions and closed the system, they are not true. Yes the US Government has recommended that no new cases be started until after the first of the year when the Hague treaty is in effect, but the current cases are still being processed and are all expected to be completed by the end of the year.

We are currently getting ready to go for our visit in Guatemala. We are so excited and thank God for this opportunity. Some of you may remember that at the beginning of August we were told that a visit in September was more than likely out of the question, well God Is Good! He made it happen and we are going to see our little girl. We will be in Guatemala on Wayne's birthday. I know he is so excited to get to spend his birthday with his daughter. I keep telling him that we will find a restaurant that sings to you like they do here, except that they will be singing in Spanish. If that happens I will try to get pictures. We are also excited to get to spend time with our friends Chrissie, Enrique and their daughter Marissa. Chrissie and Enrique are missionaries in Guatemala and are going to come to the city to spend a few days while we are there.

Again please keep our adoption in your prayers and that whatever happens we know it is God's will. We also ask that you keep our trip in your prayers.

Madison is now 5 months old!

We received our medical update and a few new photos so you all don't have to wait until we get back from our visit to see Madison.
She is currently 5 months and 4 days old. She is 16lbs and 24.8 inches long. According to our loose translation of her medical report she is healthy. They include things in the report like her cardio system is normal, she has no sores, her abdomen is normal, etc. The report also said that she is an active baby. She is our little "chunky monkey". These pictures make us more anxious to see her in person. We can't wait to take our own pictures and video of her.

WhoooHooo!

Well we have a few things to update about. First of all the yard sale was today and it was a big success. We put in a lot of work to pull this off but in the end the hardwork was worth it. We want to say a special THANK YOU to everyone who donated items, bought items, and gave donations. Every bit helps us with the costs of bringing Madison home, and trust us when we say she is worth every penny and every bit of the work.

Now to the other good news. WE GET TO GO FOR A VISIT! (yes I know all caps is considered yelling but we are excited) We were approved to go for a visit last week when the DNA test results were confirmed. We have purchased our plane tickets and are currently working on our hotel reservations. I can't even begin to tell y'all how excited we are to finally get to hold Madison in our arms. We can't wait to see her personality that is so apparent in her last pictures. We will have her with us at the hotel the entire time we are there so we will actually be a family for that short time. We know it will be really hard to leave and have to leave her there but it is just as hard only getting to see her through pictures. We are already planning on taking a ton of pictures and video so everyone will get to see our visit.

We have a DNA match!

We received a letter from the lab yesterday stating that the DNA was a match. Madison and her birthmother had a DNA match of 99.991%; I would say that is pretty close. We also received a copy of Madison’s First Identity Certificate. This is a little certificate made up with a copy of what her DNA looks like. I hear having your DNA printed out in color and then framed is a new rage in the art world, but we won't be doing that.

From this letter we also learned that Madison was born in Nueva Concepcion, Escuintla, Guatemala at 7:30pm. In researching this on the internet I learned that Guatemala is divided into 22 departments (which I believe is like States) Escuintla is a department and Nueva Concepcion is a district within that department (I believe that districts are like our cities). This department is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. It has a population of about 686,764 and the languages are Spanish,Cackchiquel, and Poqo’mam.

We also received a Polaroid picture of Madison with her birthmother. In the picture her birthmother looks so sad, in fact if you look closely at the picture you can see a tear stain under one of her eyes. Seeing this it broke my heart. I have no idea what the circumstances were for her and why she put Madison up for adoption but I can tell from the picture that it must have been one of the hardest decisions she ever made. I am very thankful for her decision and pray that she knows what a good home we will provide for Madison and that she will be loved by so many people. I never thought about how hard the reunion for the DNA test might have been for her and ask that you all keep her in your prayers. As many of you may be wondering, yes she still could change her mind and decide not to let Madison be adopted. If I think about her possibly changing her mind I end up making myself crazy. Wayne and I have to hold onto our faith in God and trust that he is in control of this adoption. I truly believe that God would not have allowed us to get this far into the process only to have it fall apart. Again I remind myself of the verse Jeremiah 29:11
" For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We are currently waiting to hear back from our agency as to what steps are next. We are still in for a pretty long wait before we get to bring her home but each day is one day closer. As soon as we know more we will post it to let everyone else know.
Again please continue to pray for us, Madison, and the process as well as everyone involved.

See the Video below.

Wayne and I decided to create a video of the pictures we have received of Madison during the adoption. We will continue to add to the video up until we bring her home. At the end of adoption we will put it on a DVD.

We thought we would share what we have so far since we don't really have anything to update about. (The video has sound so make sure you volume is not muted.)

The DNA test has been requested.

Our adoption agency called and left us a message yesterday stating that the DNA test for our case has been authorized and requested. As far as she knew there were also in the process of conducting the test as well. This is a huge step for the adoption. Once the results are confirmed and the tests results are finalized then we should be able to at go visit.

We also found out that there have been some changes with adoptions in Guatemala. Guatemala has signed the Hague Treaty which regulates the adoptions with new standards by the United States and Guatemala. Part of the new standards is to have a second DNA test done toward the end of the adoption. This is a test which requires Madison's DNA to be taken and tested to verify that she is still the same baby that was originally tested in the beginning (the one we are waiting on now). Of course we all know that these regulations are not put in place just for the fun of it. Guatemala has had a bad history of illegal adoptions and child abductions. This is just part of the steps both countries are taking to try to reduce these incidents from happening. It is hard to hear about the changes but when you think about the innoncent children who have families already and can be spared from being taken from their families, it is all understandable. The second DNA test will be another expense but it is one we completely understand and it will just help to confirm that Madison is able to be adopted.

Please continue to keep our adoption and Madison in your prayers. We also ask that you keep the other families with our agency who are adopting from Guatemala in your prayers and that these changes don't cause too many speed bumps in the process.