FLORA'S HOME!!
We returned home from picking up Flora on Saturday May 24th. I have to say, I was so relieved when the wheels went up on that plane. I didn't think anything out of the ordinary was going to happen, but with some very uncertain times on the Guatemalan Adoption front, it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

We had a great trip. We were able to spend the first 3 days and nights with Flora's Foster Family. I think that made all of the difference with her acceptance of us. When we arrived at the airport on Saturday May 17th, she really didn't want to have much to do with me, but by the end of the night, with a little coaching from her Foster Mother she slept with us and was very content.

The rest of the trip was devoted to rest, relaxation and developing a bond with Flora. Maria loves her new little sister. She is all smiles when she wakes up in the morning and can't wait to see "the baby, Bloora"!! She has a obsession though with making sure that Flora's nose is clean. Flora has a bit of a cold and is teething, so she always has a runny nose and Maria can't stand to have Flora with a messy nose!!

Here are a few pictures from our trip.

Flora's birthday was the 3rd of May. Her Foster Family had a party for her, but they saved some of the presents until we got there so we could watch her open them. How sweet was that??

This was the best picture I got of the girls in their cute matching dresses on Embassy Day. Oh Well!! There's always the next event for matching dresses!!

Here are my two sweet angels with Lidia. They both love her so much and I know she loves them. We can't wait to go visit her and her family again soon. Gosh, I can't believe they are both at home with me! I'm am simply amazed at how much this life has given me!! I am blessed!!

Here's little Flora, Big Flora (whom our Flora is named after) and her husband.

Flora and Flora

Lidia and Maria

And last, but not least, here is my sweet Flora sleepinng soundly at home at last!! Sweet Dreams Baby Flora!! We're Glad You're Home With Us!!

We Received Our Last Picture Update Today!!

We received new pictures of Flora today. The email I recieved from our facilitator was kind of cute. She said these were the last pictures of Flora I would receive from her, the next ones I would have to send her! What a great place to be...the one that has to send the photo's!!!

I posted a couple of days ago about our first meeting with Flora. It's amazing to look at those photo's and to look at the ones we received today. She is getting so big and I am so glad that she will now be growing with us.

We leave on Saturday, May 17th and will be returning with Flora on May 24th. I'm still amazed that it's actually happening and when we touch down in Guatemala City at 9pm on Saturday night we will be a family of four!! Crazy Huh!!

Here are the last pictures of Flora that we will have to get from someone else!! Enjoy!!

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

We're PINK!!

We received our appointment from the US Embassy today. We have to be in Guatemala at 7am on Tuesday, May 20th. We will be traveling on Saturday the 17th and returning on Saturday, May 24th. I can't believe that in less than 96 hours Flora will be in our arms forver!!

I think I'm still in a state of disbelief that it is actually happening. It has been such a long stresful process and for the stress to be gone is something I haven't felt in a year. Tomorrow, May 14th is exactly one year to the day that we met Flora for the first time. She was only 11 days old. Tomorrow she will be one year and 11 days old and she will be coming home to her forever family in just a few days! Whew what a ride...I'm glad this part is over and the future is just beginning!

Here's the post I wrote a year ago and a few pictures of our first meeting with Flora as well as a video.

We arrived in Guatemala City at 7pm that evening and our travel guide Mario was there to greet us at the airport. He took us to the Marriott and made plans to leave for Lake Atalan in the morning. When we arrived at the Marriott we were greeted by a familiar face. Karla, one of the people that work for the attorney that processed Maria's adoption was in the lobby. From across the lobby, I heard, "Hola, Stephanie, Hola, David!" It was very nice to see a familiar face. Karla was at the Marriott to meet with an adoptive family that had their embassy appointment the next morning. They were just finishing the paperwork. Karla had already arranged to bring Lidia, Maria's foster mother to the Marriott with her when she went to the embassy appointment in the morning, so we knew Maria would be able to see her right away on Monday morning.

Lidia was waiting for us when we arrived in the lobby on Monday morning. Maria was a bit apprehensive at first, but she warmed up to Lidia in no time. It didn't take long for Maria to recognize who Lidia was or the sweet sayings that Lidia constantly says to her. My favorite is:"Oh Pretty Baby! Conchita Juanita!" I'm sure I spelled that wrong...but you get the picture.

As we were sitting in the lobby waiting for Karla to arrive to join us for breakfast, Lidia asked if we were going to adopt again. I told her that we were thinking about it, but we probably wouldn't start the process again until November or December. She then asked if we were interested in a boy or a girl? I replied that I would probably like a girl, but it didn't really matter. At that point, the light went on...she said to me..."you know, we have a baby girl that was born 3 weeks ago, that hasn't been referred to any other adoptive parents yet." Dave looked at me with complete and utter fear...I started to ask questions about the baby and after a couple of minutes Lidia was on the cell phone to Karla. Karla arrived to have breakfast with us about an hour later and as we ate, I continued to ask questions, and Dave continued to look as though he was just hit with a Mack Truck! We decided that we would talk about it as a family and get back to them. Although, truth be told, I had already made my decision at that point!

We finished our breakfast as Mario arrived and we decided to go to Lidia's house before going to our next destination, Lake Atalan. Mario drove us to Lidia's home, where Maria was able to see Jaime, Lidia's husband. She went right to him. I suspect, that she remembered him right away. We found out while there where Maria's fasination with birds comes from. Lidia has several birds and Maria was quite captivated by them. We met Flora Luisa for the first time, but didn't take any pictures or talk too much about her as we hadn't been alone to discuss the situation yet. We left Lidia's and continued our travels to Lake Atilan.

These pictures are from the 15th, after we had made our decision to adopt Flora.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

We Are Officially Waiting For PINK!!

OK...Just like waiting for Orange, I know you guys are wondering what "waiting for pink" means. It means that Flora's DNA results have been received by the US Embassy in Guatemala City. They were sent via Fed EX from North Carolina yesterday and arrived at 3:41pm today. As I said previously, thank goodness for technology and tracking numbers.

Now that her postive test results have arrived, I know they are positive because the lab faxed me a copy of the results, the US Embassy will usually take between 1 and 3 business days to give us our appointment. The US Embassy will email me the date of our appointment as soon as they determine when it will be, but my attorney will have to go to the US Embassy to pick up the hard copy of the appointment date. The piece of paper that my attorney picks up that lists our appointment date is on pink paper, thus "waiting for pink".

The date of the appointment is usually a week from the date of notification, therefore if we were to get notified tomorrow that we have an appointment, it would probably be for next Friday, the 16th. If they notify us on Monday, it will probably be Monday the 19th and so on. I am guessing that our appointment will be on the 19th, 20th or 21st, but who knows, maybe we will get lucky tomorrow!! Secretly praying for that, but I'm OK with anything at this point!!

I just can't believe that we are almost to the point of making our travel plans. What an incredible journey this has been. It's impossible to describe the emotions that have developed over the past year. It's simply amazing to know that within a couple of weeks our life is going to completely change....AGAIN!!

Another Step Down!!

The DNA results are now on their way back to Guatemala City. The lab that sends them uses Fed Ex so they are scheduled to be delivered tomorrow. Hopefully, there won't be any delays at customs, which sometimes happens, and they will be delivered to the US Embassy on Thursday. Then we just have a few business days to wait until the US Embassy let's us know what day we have to be in Guatemala to take Flora to the interview at the US Embassy! It's getting exciting!! Won't be long and Flora will be home forever!!

We received a few more pictures of Flora's First Birthday Party today. Don't we have the sweetest Foster Family ever!! I am so thankful that Flora is with such loving people. They are so much in love with her and I can't think of a place that I would have rather had Flora spend such a special day!

Happy Birthday Flora!!

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Flora turned one year old on Saturday, May 3rd. Although we were sad we couldn't be with her we were able to see her via the webcam during her party. She is so loved by her Foster Family in Guatemala. It made my day to know that she was having a wonderful birthday celebration surrounded by people who love her. Here are a few pics from her party!!

The DNA is State Side!!

I received this email today:

sample has just arrived
It will be entered in the system later today and testing will
start...we usually say about 7 days however some have been moving
faster...I will keep you posted.
PAT

This is an email from the wonderful lady who works for the DNA testing company. I sent her an email after I knew the DNA test had been performed and she was nice enough to tell me that she would keep an eye out for it and let me know when it arrived in North Carolina. That is really nice of her, because she doesn't have to do that. So, the DNA is in North Carolina to begin it's testing. Hopefully there aren't any complications and we can be in and out of the testing facility quickly!

It's still possible that the DNA results will be back to Guatemala City before the end of next week. Then we are only a week to 10 days away from bringing sweet Flora home. I'm so excited to finally be at this point. I wish I could book our airline tickets now, but with my luck I would guess wrong by a day or two and we would have to re-schedule. I will hold tight for now and pray that next week is good to us and we have more news as to when the newest member of our family will be with us FOREVER!!