Day 32 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Word:

November

Noviembre

Tomorrow is the first day of November. It is also All Saints Day, a national holiday in Guatemala, so all government offices will be closed. I guess we won't hear anything (if we hear anything this week??) until Thursday at the earliest. I know I am really getting my hopes up thinking that we will hear that we are out of PGN this week, but a girl can dream can't she! Oh well, November is full of promise....I can't imagine that we wouldn't get out of PGN before we visit during Thanksgiving, but if we don't, I can at least look forward to that weekend! Just in case you're curious, here are the translations for the rest of the calendar months.
January Enero
February Febrero
March Marzo
April Abril
May Mayo
June Junio
July Julio
August Agosto
September Septiembre
October Octubre
November Noviembre
December Diciembre

Mateo Is Coming Home!
I was just about to sign on late this afternoon and post a kind of bummed out post that I hadn't heard much good news this week....when I got a very hurried email from a friend of mine. She got out of PGN today!

I was so excited when I read her email, you would have thought I just received news that I was out! I am so happy for her, her family, and Mateo, her new son. When you are out of PGN your adoption is final...they just have to get a new birth certificate with his new last name and the names of his new mommy and daddy. Then they have to apply for a passport and a visa and next thing you know they will be on the plane to go get him.

Kathleen and I received our referrals (knowledge of who our babies were) on the same day, May 5, 2006. We have the same agency and the same attorney in Guatemala. We have corresponded almost daily since then. We have gone step by step together in the process. We were slowed down a bit with our 171 (approval to adopt an orphan from the US Immigration) so we have always been one week behind her.

Everyone please cross your fingers, toes, and your eyes (I have heard that is doubly effective) and pray that the trend continues and we get out of PGN next week!

At the bottom of Kathleens' emails she has a saying below her signature...it says...The Waiting Is The Hardest Part...Tom Petty
So Kathleen, Family and Mateo....Here is a little Tom Petty, Just for You!

Thanksgiving In Guatemala??

I asked our adoption coordinator about the possibility of visiting again and she said we could, so I have booked the air and hotel.

We will be spending Thanksgiving in Guatemala! I will miss all of the great food and spending time with my family...but I do work with them every day, so what is there really to miss?? Except of course the turkey!

My husband asked, What if we get out of PGN next week...won't Thanksgiving be about the time we would travel? I can only pray that's what happens. I would give my right foot to be out of PGN next week and have to change the dates on this set of tickets. I don't care how much the fee is...please let that be my worry! But if we don't get out of PGN in the next week or so, it will be December before we travel to bring Maria home for good, so at least now I have something to look forward to.

I know most of you are thinking...boy is she impatient! and I know that I am...I don't care! I really don't have much patience left and at least for the next few weeks I have something concrete to think about...Seeing Maria Again!

Yea! I'm gonna go look at my online reservations one more time...and just dream about being there!

Stephanie

Day 25 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Phrase:

I'm veering from my normal English to Spanish Word and jumping right into a Phrase, I hope it translates correctly!

Think Positive Thoughts

Piense Los Pensamientos Positivos

Friday will end 4 full weeks in PGN for us. Usually people hear something in the 4th, 5th or 6th week. Hopefully, we will hear the words, "You are out of PGN", but it's possible for us to hear, "You have been kicked out of PGN again". Please think positive thoughts for us for the next couple of weeks. We pray that we hear , "You are out of PGN".


















It only takes a single thought to move the world.

Day 23 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Word

Shower

Ducha

Yesterday and today we had bridal showers for my youngest sister Amber. On Saturday we went to Parker to Pat's Aunt's house and had a great time. Today the shower was at my house and I think everything turned out perfectly. Here are a few pictures.

Amber and Taryn



Amber and our sister in law-Nikki



Stephanie-Amber-Valerie-Nikki
P.S. I usually don't have a giant bag of toilet paper in the dining room. We played a game where there were teams of 5 persons who had to choose a model and then design a dress and headpiece out of toilet paper. It was a hoot!

Day 22 PGN

Although today is Saturday and PGN isn't open we still count all of the days! Or at least I do!

Todays English to Spanish Word:

Pictures

Cuadros

We received some pictures of Maria from our adoption coordinator this week. They were actually taken on October 2nd before we went on our second visit trip. I always enjoy getting these pictures, because I get to see how Maria is interacting with others when it's not us taking the pictures.


Yesterday concluded 3 weeks in PGN after we were re-submitted. I am still hopeful that we will conform to the 4.5 week average of being in PGN. That would mean that we should expect to "get out of PGN" in the next week to two weeks. I know that I am probably being overly optimistic about the timeline and that's OK...it's what keeps me going. PGN seems to have very little rhyme or reason as to whose case gets signed off and when. Some people have been waiting months in PGN while others get out in a matter of days. I belong to a couple of Guatemalan Adoption Forums on the internet. These are places where adoptive parents go to exchange information, ideas and lend support. Of course one of the main topics are the timelines....everyone looks and counts the days of everyone else to see how long their process is taking and try to predict their own. You can see our timeline on the right. I can't wait until I can add the line:
WE ARE OUT OF PGN!
Have A Great Day!
Stephanie

Day 18 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Word:

Budget

Presupuesto

Today we worked on budgets all day. Seven people in one room looking at tiny numbers on a screen. EEEKKK! And it's not over yet...this is just round one. I had better get a good nights sleep so my brain will actually work tomorrow!
Stephanie

Day 17 PGN

Today's English To Spanish Word:

Gloomy

Melancólico

It's a gloomy day in South Dakota today. The weather seems to fit my mood today. I sure do wish Mr. PGN would sign off on our case so we could bring Maria home. Here he is hopefully signing off on ours and many others cases!

Amber bought the most beautiful dress for Maria to wear to the wedding this weekend. Please Mr. PGN man sign off so she can wear it!

Prayer of Children

It's a sad day.
A friend of mine that I met through this process and have been corresponding with found out yesterday that her baby passed away. She had gone down to Guatemala at the end of September to visit sweet Silvia. Silvia contracted roto virus and was taken to the hospital but passed on Thursday afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Keri and her family as they try to work through their sorrow and grief.

Stephanie

Maria's Foster Mother gave us a disposable camera that we had left with her on our first visit. We took it in and got it processed and it had some great shots of Maria and Lidia. Here are a few of the highlights.




Don't tell Mommy, but I always sit on top of this sofa like this. Don't pay any attention to those hands that look like they are holding me...they're not...they're props. I do this all the time! I'm preparing for my future career as a stunt woman!

Someday I will either be the Queen of England or Miss America...Either way I need to start practicing now. How is this look for a starter PR shot??

Oh My Goodness! Jack And The Beanstock Couldn't Have Asked For A Better Leading Lady....Could Have They??

Well we are back to reality, South Dakota and work today. Not much fun and I would really rather be back in Guatemala with Maria. We had to give her back to her Foster Mother, Lidia, yesterday morning so we could catch our flight at Noon. I found it much harder to give her back and walk away this time as compared to the first time we visited and then came home...I think I now know how hard it is to be here without her and that made it much more difficult to leave. No word yet as to when she will be able to come home. We have been in PGN (back in PGN after our kick out) for only 1.5 weeks so I guess we probably should plan on at least another 3 to 4 weeks before we hear that we are out of PGN and another 2 to 3 weeks to travel to get her. I hope that I don't read this blog in 2 months and we still haven't gotten out yet! I think I will go crazy! Dave would say that I am already there! OK...enough wallowing (is that a word??) in my self pity...here are a few final pictures of our second trip to visit my Maria. Remember you can click on any picture and go to a website that hosts all of our pictures or click on the link on the right and go to the same website. Enjoy!
Stephanie

It Was Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary on Sunday Night, So We All Got Dressed Up And Went To A Fancy Dinner...And Me In My Fancy Dress!

How Many Times Will My Daddy Say "Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake?" To Try To Get Me To Smile? You Will Have To Watch To Find Out!

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My Mom's A Dork Too! See How Many Times She Says "Let Me See You Smile!" Does She Really Think I'm Going To Fall For That Old Trick?? I Don't Think So!


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Here's A Pic Of Me And My Daddy As We Wait To Go Eat On Saturday Night.

And Here's My Mommy And Me At The Sunday Breakfast Buffet.

Hey Everyone We're Just Chilling At The Marriott
Now Give Me My Bottle Or I'm Gonna Have To Hurt You!

Why Don't I Ever Get The Remote??


Here I Am In Action!

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I Love My Daddy!


And My Mommy!


See More Pictures By Clicking On The Link To The Right. You Can Also View Pictures From Our Previous Trip.
See Ya Soon!

We Are Back In Guatemala

We got to Guatemala at about 12:15 pm today. The only little glitch we had was the the suitcase with all of Maria's clothes didn't arrive. We were on the last flight that Delta had for today, so hopefully the suitcase will arrive tomorrow. It's not too big of deal though, Lidia, her foster mother brought her all she would need, we just had lots of new things to give her.
Here is a picture of the Guatemala City International Airport

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Maria has a pretty bad diaper rash and isn't feeling too well today, so she took a little nap this afternoon and I couldn't resist taking a picture when she was actually relaxed and sleeping. She also has taken a liking to her new friend Furry! Furry luckily was packed in our bag and not hers!

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I also couldn't resist taking a close up of her incredibly cute little feet!

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We're Back Into PGN!

I was told today that we were re-submitted to PGN on Friday, September 29th. The average time line for cases that have been re-submitted to PGN seems to be around 4 to 5 weeks right now. Hopefully this will hold true and we will be getting the call that we are out of PGN around the end of October and then we will just have a couple of weeks to wait as a new Birth Certificate is produced, a Guatemalan Passport is issued and and US Visa is issued with Maria's new name on them. Hopefully the reviewers at PGN have found all of the discrepancies there were to find and the next interaction we have with them will be the call that we're out!

Dave and I are getting packed to go to Guatemala on Thursday evening/Friday morning. We simply can't wait to get there. We will be posting pictures and video's from the hotel while we are there, so check out the site this weekend.