Amen! We have our Pre-Approval.

We received our pre-approval from the US Embassy today through email. This is one huge step and now means we are in the PGN portion of the adoption. As stated in the post from Aug. 28, PGN is basically a Guatemalan Government Agency that approves all adoptions. The adoptions cases are averaging anywhere between 5 to 9 weeks in PGN. We did hear about some instances where PGN took up to 20 plus weeks but we have faith in God that our case will not take that long. God has been so good to us so far and everything has been completed in such a timely manner that we can't imagine going that long. We have been praying that our pre-approval would arrive earlier than the 60 day deadline and God answered our prayers. The pre-approval wait was only 45 days. This just puts us that much closer to being able to bring Madison home for Christmas. We miss her sooooo much that watching the video of her or looking at the pictures of her is sometimes a joyous pain. (If that makes any sense) Please keep this process in your prayers and also continue to pray for all three of us. As soon as we know more I will post the details.

Meredith is 35!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to Meredith today she turned 35! No other news to report with the adoption process. We are still waiting. Meredith did say today that the only thing that could make this birthday any better is if we got an email from the US Embassy in Guatemala with our approval. So far that hasn't happened. We are also still awaiting new pictures and medical information on Madison. We know that she had a doctors appointment on the 21st of September (and usually within a day or so we get an update) but as of yet still no update. Meredith emailed our agency coordinator this morning to see if she has any news, but she hasn't responded yet.

Madison is 6 months old....

and all she wants for her birthday or Christmas is to get to come home and be with Mommy and Daddy. Oh, and the teeth she is working so hard to get.
As you can tell in the pictures she loves to chew on her fingers while she is teething.

Happy 6 Month Birthday (half a year old - such a big girl)!

We are back home.

First of all we want to thank everyone for your support and prayers while we were in Guatemala spending time with Madison. We cannot wait for everyone to meet her and to see how wonderful she is. One day while we were there, I think it was Wednesday, I was a walking with Madison in the lobby of the hotel waiting for Wayne. When I walked around the corner into the lobby a lady who was sitting in the area stopped and looked at me. She immediately said to me that Madison lit up the room when we walked in. I have to agree with her. When you see her you can't help but smile. We miss her every day but know that each day that goes by is one more day closer to us bringing her home forever.
I thought I would share some more pictures of our time with you all.


Madison enjoys watching football with her daddy.



Mommy and Daddy are way too funny!



I love my Daddy.



I love my Mommy too.

What a Beautiful Little Girl!

Ok I know that you are all wanting to know about our days here in Guatemala. Well Tuesday we went to the Zoo with Chrissie, Enrique, and Marissa. We had a great time seeing all of the animals. I am not sure how much Madison enjoyed since she fell asleep and slept a good part of the time. It seems that everywhere we go people want to stop and talk to Madison. She does not look like most of the babies here and people just assume that she is our biological daughter. They are surprised when they find out we are adopting her.
On Wednesday we went to the local Artisian Market. This is a local outdoor market with all types of Guatemalan items. We would have loved to spend a lot of money there but we had to be realistic in what we really needed. We are also planning on buying things when we come back to get Madison to bring her home.
Today we stayed at the hotel all day. We spent the morning at the pool and then at lunch by the pool. Madison seems to enjoy the water which it great since both her parents do as well. The staff at the hotel is extremely nice even to the point that when it started raining at lunch, instead of us having to take Madison through the rain, they took us through the kitchen. Wayne and I felt really strange parading through the kitchen with a sleeping baby in the stroller and us in our swimsuits, but we were really thankful for not being in the rain.
Tomorrow will be our last full day with her which will be very hard. We are meeting her foster family at 9am (11am est and 10am cst)on Saturday morning to give her back to them. That will be the hardest thing we will ever have to do. Please pray for us at that time and that everything with the adoption will continue to go smoothly and in a timely manner. We want our time apart to be as short as possible. I can't imagine not having come here to spend this week with her and getting to know her personality. She is the sweetest girl and has such a serious side to her. I am crying as I type this because the thought of leaving her is sooooooo hard. I never knew how much I loved her until I held her in my arms that first day.
Well now on to the pictures which I know you are all waiting for.

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Monday was Wayne's birthday and not only did he get to spend it with his daughter but she was attached to him most of the day. I have to say that I think that was the best part of his birthday. We started off the day with going for a swim after breakfast, then a nap, and then later that evening we went out to dinner for Wayne's birthday. We went to a local steak restaurant a few blocks from the hotel and had a great dinner. At the end Wayne was surprised to see that a group of the wait staff came and sang to him. I have to say that he did not see that coming....hahaha!




Isn't she the most adorable baby ever!!!






She is such a daddy's girl already!









Happy Birthday Daddy!

We're in Guatemala!

We arrived in Guatemala yesterday around 11:30am after a long morning but pretty easy trip. Chrissie, Enrique, and Marissa picked us up at the airport which was a huge plus. After we got our luggage at the airport and headed toward the exit we were immediately greeted by a huge crowd all eagerly wanting to take us to our hotel. Some even almost insisting. The other thing was they all were speaking Spanish which made it even harder to understand what they were trying to do.
We were not at the hotel probably for more than 30 mins. when they called and said that Madison was downstairs.
The meeting was just like my mind said it would be but my heart was hoping for something a lot calmer. Madison's foster mom loves her very much and was crying when she gave her to me. Madison immediately started crying and not just a regular cry, a toe curling cry. She cried for a good while before she calmed down a little bit. We also determined that she had really bad gas pains and of course we had nothing to give her. Again thank goodness for Enrique and Chrissie who were able to help us through this time by the support they gave and their ability to communicate with the hotel staff to locate some gas drops.
We spent some time in the "baby lounge" with other adopting families and they all told us that the first day is the hardest and to trust that it will get easier each day.
After a rough start last night she finally fell asleep and slept for 4 hours straight.

Today has been a huge improvement. She has eaten better, played more, and is even taking a nap at the current moment. She does not look at Wayne and I like we are going to hurt her anymore either, which is huge for us.
Below are some of the pictures from our day yesterday.
Please continue to keep us in your prayers for this visit as well as the adoption process.

(I can't spell check at the moment, so if there are typos in the post...Sorry!)

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.