tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51473007832061539842024-03-12T17:46:09.746-07:00~At Home With Olivia~Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-88691404466986365182014-06-19T05:31:00.000-07:002014-06-19T17:44:23.746-07:00Our Family Is Complete!<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Olivia is home! Living in our house! 7 years, 3 months, 1 week and 3 days after we began this process. It is a dream come true! To God be the glory! Dios es bueno!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Her pick-up trip began on Monday June 2nd. Our flight was supposed to land in Guatemala at 11:30 a.m. and we hoped to get Olivia soon after and take her for her mandatory TB test to get the ball rolling for the first step that week, to complete the process. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Unfortunately, there was a rain storm at the time we were to land and the pilot decided since we were getting low on fuel and Guatemala wasn't clear to land, we would need to fly to neighboring El Salvador to refuel! By the time that was accomplished and we actually were able to land in Guatemala, 3 hours had passed. Internet and cell phone connections were sketchy when we got to the hotel so by the time we got a hold of the people we needed to, it was too late to get Olivia.</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d74JNvRitx8/U50NsP42NKI/AAAAAAAAA0M/5t6wlyDUTzU/s1600/ElSalvador.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d74JNvRitx8/U50NsP42NKI/AAAAAAAAA0M/5t6wlyDUTzU/s1600/ElSalvador.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i> Flying into El Salvador</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE) </i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UZtBv2V5V9I/U50ODAzhyQI/AAAAAAAAA0U/mHnyxUCQF_U/s1600/GuatemalaApproach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UZtBv2V5V9I/U50ODAzhyQI/AAAAAAAAA0U/mHnyxUCQF_U/s1600/GuatemalaApproach.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Finally, flying into Guatemala</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Tuesday June 3rd, Olivia came to the hotel in the morning with her orphanage director Shyrel. We all signed a document that legally transferred custody to us. This was Olivia's "Gotcha Day", exactly 13 years ago to the day was Emily's Gotcha Day in China. I believe God gave us a little detour the day before so that both our girls would enter our family on the same day! </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kq6BnQdQvjw/U50V5pfC2VI/AAAAAAAAA0k/_rlU36kihaM/s1600/OliviasGotchaDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kq6BnQdQvjw/U50V5pfC2VI/AAAAAAAAA0k/_rlU36kihaM/s1600/OliviasGotchaDay.jpg" height="172" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v3ncyLRzmpE/U50WCIimlNI/AAAAAAAAA0s/FMyW5B0cghY/s1600/OliviaHallway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v3ncyLRzmpE/U50WCIimlNI/AAAAAAAAA0s/FMyW5B0cghY/s1600/OliviaHallway.jpg" height="400" width="263" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>A little later, Shyrel drove us to the doctor to get Olivia's TB test done. She was a trooper, not even a flinch! We'll have to wait 2 days for the result.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Wednesday morning, our attorney picked us up to go to the passport office to get Olivia's Guatemalan passport. We arrived about 9:30 and she took us in to start the process. Another American family had gotten there an hour or so ahead of us and got their daughter's passport just as we sat down. Unfortunately, one of the required original certified court documents was missing and we ended up driving an hour away to that court to get the document which had been promised earlier. It took 2 1/2 hours and phone calls to the U.S. Embassy and others to convince the court to release the documents to us. Finally at 2:15 that afternoon, we got them. Now we had to drive the hour back to Guatemala City to the passport office before they closed at 4:00 to get the passport! We made it at about 3:45, got in, started the process all over again. Before a young gentleman could take her photo, he had to read every. single. word. of every. single. document. Then, scan every. single. page. Once done with that, we waited in a seemingly endless line to be seen at the first available window that opened up. Once it was our turn, the lady took our paperwork and read every. single. word. of every. single. document. again. We started getting nervous when she took out her pencil and began making marks and notations all the while sporting a very serious look on her face. About 30 minutes later, she asked us to have a seat and wait till our name was called to get the passport. By 5:10, we had passport in hand! A VERY long day, but we achieved our goal for that day.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-geXKveak1-c/U55b3emc2XI/AAAAAAAAA08/gdJmFFrBYg0/s1600/Passport.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-geXKveak1-c/U55b3emc2XI/AAAAAAAAA08/gdJmFFrBYg0/s1600/Passport.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Thursday morning, our wonderful friend and translator Mirna, delivered our documents to us, that needed to be translated into English, then accompanied us back to the doctor's office for Olivia's medical exam and TB test reading. Olivia passed with flying colors and only needed one vaccination!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Once done there, we headed to the U.S. Embassy for the first of two interviews. First with USCIS/Immigration, then on to the Consular section for the visa interview. The USCIS meeting took about a half hour and the first part visa interview took about 20 minutes. We were asked to have a seat for a few minutes while they entered our file into their system. About 30 minutes into waiting, we were told their computer system crashed. As we've learned over the years, waiting is a way of life in Guatemala, even at the U.S. Embassy! Finally an hour or so later, we were given the rest of the interview, but because of the delay, we wouldn't be able to get the visa at 3:30 like we expected, we had to make an appointment to come back Friday morning at 9:00.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>That night, Mirna called to make sure we had the certified documents required by the CNA (the Guatemalan agency that processes and approves adoptions) for the meeting we were scheduled to have with them at 10:00 the next morning. Funny thing was, we didn't know we had to provide them with any documents. Now scrambling, I discover I had all of them but one. Our attorney had the missing document and would deliver it to them in the morning. Meanwhile, we needed to get the ones we had to them before 9:00 a.m. Fortunately, the CNA offices were right across the street from the Embassy, so we were able to drop them off before we went to pick up the visa on Friday morning. The CNA meeting, (which is called a "Restitution" meeting, where we all sign a document stating that Olivia's right to a family has been restored), happened at 1:00 p.m. We were officially and FINALLY DONE!!!!!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2X5qhzGUftQ/U5-p6sP0JpI/AAAAAAAAA1M/VCMGti_otKA/s1600/OliviasVisa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2X5qhzGUftQ/U5-p6sP0JpI/AAAAAAAAA1M/VCMGti_otKA/s1600/OliviasVisa.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: center;"> </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: center;"> <span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Sealed visa packet</i></span></span> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9EWkKL6xIw8/U5-qlrphICI/AAAAAAAAA1U/RKIFk9crg6s/s1600/CNAmeeting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-9EWkKL6xIw8/U5-qlrphICI/AAAAAAAAA1U/RKIFk9crg6s/s1600/CNAmeeting.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>CNA Restitution Meeting</i></span> </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lXonbMAsGyk/U5-qqVPd7CI/AAAAAAAAA1c/5nwi8YqBdd8/s1600/CNAmeetingOliviaSigns.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lXonbMAsGyk/U5-qqVPd7CI/AAAAAAAAA1c/5nwi8YqBdd8/s1600/CNAmeetingOliviaSigns.jpg" height="260" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Olivia signing</i></span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>It was time to celebrate with a trip to the Oakland Mall and the very cool Nais restaurant for lunch! This restaurant has an amazing, huge, saltwater aquarium smack in the middle of it, complete with sharks, stingrays, eels and other varieties of ocean fish. There was an observation "tube" the girls climbed into to get a fish-eye view! It was a very tranquil setting for lunch. We would highly recommend a visit to anyone in the vicinity!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Lq8XPuLT1o/U5-w2XEnspI/AAAAAAAAA1s/G1ZI7t2Pao8/s1600/NaisAquariumGirls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Lq8XPuLT1o/U5-w2XEnspI/AAAAAAAAA1s/G1ZI7t2Pao8/s1600/NaisAquariumGirls.jpg" height="400" width="243" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>It had been 4 years since Olivia had seen her foster family. They are such a wonderful, loving family and they were devastated that day she was taken from them and sent to the orphanage. They had always thought of her as their own child. We wanted to honor them and the role they played in her life, give them a chance to see her again and wish her well in her new life. </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We threw a party for them, Mirna, her daughter and our attorney, Beyla to show our appreciation for all they've done for Olivia and us all these years. It was truly a blessed evening. We love these folks!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaH2Uf8cXC0/U5-1Ot3NB1I/AAAAAAAAA14/uAlrGRnwK2A/s1600/FridaysParty1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jaH2Uf8cXC0/U5-1Ot3NB1I/AAAAAAAAA14/uAlrGRnwK2A/s1600/FridaysParty1.jpg" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a2KSUZnJJf4/U5-1T6nRsYI/AAAAAAAAA2A/VkKwO5jdtQs/s1600/FridaysParty2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-a2KSUZnJJf4/U5-1T6nRsYI/AAAAAAAAA2A/VkKwO5jdtQs/s1600/FridaysParty2.jpg" height="284" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E_JDofKxPfA/U5-1YimcHaI/AAAAAAAAA2I/TzZVEWkYhrU/s1600/FridaysParty3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E_JDofKxPfA/U5-1YimcHaI/AAAAAAAAA2I/TzZVEWkYhrU/s1600/FridaysParty3.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Saturday, we were invited to visit the children's home where Olivia had lived for the past 4 years. We were so blessed to meet her friends and the people who cared for her when we couldn't. We were also blessed to be there on a day a wonderful missionary group from Kentucky was there working. One young man in particular has a special relationship with Olivia. He and his family have been visiting the past 4 years, they had some gifts for her and very kind and encouraging words to us.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We got to snuggle and play with several of the babies. Both our girls have a soft spot in their hearts for babies. It was so sweet to see them interacting with them.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Olivia has several very sweet and special friends at the home. Hannah and José are brother and sister who helped Olivia learn English and are very loving, forever friends to her.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We can't thank Shyrel and Olivia's nanny, Doris enough for the love, care and protection they have given Olivia over the past 4 years. It was incredibly difficult to be so far away from her for so long, not being able to "parent" her. Knowing she was being taken care of by such wonderful, godly people gave us comfort.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nsxkeNZhBdk/U5-8N6755WI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/w_y8MwqnfSI/s1600/AmorDelNino2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nsxkeNZhBdk/U5-8N6755WI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/w_y8MwqnfSI/s1600/AmorDelNino2.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WqL1VQjtU8/U5-8TA_CCNI/AAAAAAAAA2g/YIMrM-EIKno/s1600/AmorDelNino1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WqL1VQjtU8/U5-8TA_CCNI/AAAAAAAAA2g/YIMrM-EIKno/s1600/AmorDelNino1.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OMaZl8_sxU4/U5-8ZK3hoQI/AAAAAAAAA2o/XmoJypVpjm8/s1600/AmorDelNino3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OMaZl8_sxU4/U5-8ZK3hoQI/AAAAAAAAA2o/XmoJypVpjm8/s1600/AmorDelNino3.jpg" height="320" width="306" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4O0WggCxO_g/U5-8f2oPZ6I/AAAAAAAAA2w/rSkbsXtqJIQ/s1600/AmorDelNino4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4O0WggCxO_g/U5-8f2oPZ6I/AAAAAAAAA2w/rSkbsXtqJIQ/s1600/AmorDelNino4.jpg" height="273" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QgOvbJsgb0k/U5-8j7PrQ0I/AAAAAAAAA24/pX2oDKtExKc/s1600/AmorDelNino5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QgOvbJsgb0k/U5-8j7PrQ0I/AAAAAAAAA24/pX2oDKtExKc/s1600/AmorDelNino5.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XPMl4B5VyFw/U5-8p35qMmI/AAAAAAAAA3A/bLlFClHfxPs/s1600/AmorDelNino6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XPMl4B5VyFw/U5-8p35qMmI/AAAAAAAAA3A/bLlFClHfxPs/s1600/AmorDelNino6.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8T4YZrYR9Y/U5-8waPfmEI/AAAAAAAAA3I/pf4rK3COA6E/s1600/AmorDelNino7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-t8T4YZrYR9Y/U5-8waPfmEI/AAAAAAAAA3I/pf4rK3COA6E/s1600/AmorDelNino7.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Shyrel & Olivia</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pog_-pVygBo/U5-80QXePeI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/zRgjlWFupUQ/s1600/AmorDelNino8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Pog_-pVygBo/U5-80QXePeI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/zRgjlWFupUQ/s1600/AmorDelNino8.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Doris & Olivia</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dZozn3Wt8SQ/U5-85Pi2PKI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/9ee45Pbs7aw/s1600/AmorDelNino9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dZozn3Wt8SQ/U5-85Pi2PKI/AAAAAAAAA3Y/9ee45Pbs7aw/s1600/AmorDelNino9.jpg" height="320" width="256" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>John & Olivia</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jWzEKYv80E/U5-89fJEVuI/AAAAAAAAA3g/tGAVZdYypTQ/s1600/AmorDelNino10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0jWzEKYv80E/U5-89fJEVuI/AAAAAAAAA3g/tGAVZdYypTQ/s1600/AmorDelNino10.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Hannah, Olivia & José</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<br /></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We enjoyed our visit very much. Shyrel, her husband Steve and their staff provide a much needed haven for vulnerable children in Guatemala. We really hope to be able to return and help out however we can.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Our flight home the next morning was scheduled for 7:19 a.m., so when we returned to the hotel, we spent the rest of the evening getting all our things packed up and ready to take the 4:30 a.m. shuttle to the airport. Fortunately I checked our email one more time before going to bed, through an email, Delta informed us that the 7:19 flight had been cancelled and we were now booked on the 12:20 p.m. flight! This of course was unwelcome information as we had told everyone we would arrive in Rochester at 5:00 p.m.! We really wanted Olivia to arrive to her new home in the daylight, but once again, God had other plans!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Sunday morning, we arrived at the Guatemala City airport a few hours prior to boarding, good thing because when we went to check in, they had no record of the one-way ticket we bought for Olivia before we left home! After discussing this with 2 ticket agents for 20 minutes, we were told the only thing we could do is buy her a ticket, not at the one way, 1/2 price we had originally paid, but the full, round-trip price! Needless to say, we were not happy. We will be discussing this issue at length with Delta!</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wPn-cQgMZ60/U6IG73f9FbI/AAAAAAAAA3w/TdsIuuCwTws/s1600/LeavingHotel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wPn-cQgMZ60/U6IG73f9FbI/AAAAAAAAA3w/TdsIuuCwTws/s1600/LeavingHotel.jpg" height="400" width="268" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Off to the airport</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cUM6q2in85A/U6IHCf-GWvI/AAAAAAAAA34/jVn4fhJSDjY/s1600/BoardingPlane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cUM6q2in85A/U6IHCf-GWvI/AAAAAAAAA34/jVn4fhJSDjY/s1600/BoardingPlane.jpg" height="400" width="315" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Boarding the plane</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lEYzEMmSIWg/U6IHL1fCxwI/AAAAAAAAA4A/lLzWa_5Sfi4/s1600/BoardingPlane2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lEYzEMmSIWg/U6IHL1fCxwI/AAAAAAAAA4A/lLzWa_5Sfi4/s1600/BoardingPlane2.jpg" height="400" width="283" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>We're goin' in!</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf8G11NGkn4/U6IHd8WabXI/AAAAAAAAA4I/QVq_IBQJzc0/s1600/WindowSeat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Yf8G11NGkn4/U6IHd8WabXI/AAAAAAAAA4I/QVq_IBQJzc0/s1600/WindowSeat.jpg" height="258" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Ready for take-off!</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zqXSEIt47-E/U6IHnzs1ovI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/C1EXT53L_Jg/s1600/LandingOnUSsoil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zqXSEIt47-E/U6IHnzs1ovI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/C1EXT53L_Jg/s1600/LandingOnUSsoil.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>3 hours later, we land in the good ol' USA!</i></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Our port-of-entry was Atlanta, and once we cleared up a little confusion about which line to get into at Passport Control/Immigration, it was smooth sailing with plenty of time for dinner before we boarded the plane for our final flight home.</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h--RaKzocZQ/U6I7UQUrRJI/AAAAAAAAA6c/hVX-pV1hinw/s1600/OliviaCitizen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h--RaKzocZQ/U6I7UQUrRJI/AAAAAAAAA6c/hVX-pV1hinw/s1600/OliviaCitizen.jpg" height="400" width="225" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Olivia is officially a U.S. citizen!</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Olivia slept pretty much the entire hour and a half flight, so by the time we landed at 11:00 p.m., she was pretty tuckered out.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We did have some awesome, diehard family and friends who served as welcoming committee at such a late hour. Complete with precious signs, flowers and balloons! Olivia sweetly and sleepily smiled upon meeting everyone there.</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8OeQM5h9IM8/U6IuFkfMW0I/AAAAAAAAA4g/acLdP-lVrbM/s1600/RochesterArrival2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8OeQM5h9IM8/U6IuFkfMW0I/AAAAAAAAA4g/acLdP-lVrbM/s1600/RochesterArrival2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Delta flight 1111 ~ We have arrived!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QpmTBIeyvGY/U6IuLXX_ulI/AAAAAAAAA4o/2W066Z3CTR4/s1600/RochesterArrival1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QpmTBIeyvGY/U6IuLXX_ulI/AAAAAAAAA4o/2W066Z3CTR4/s1600/RochesterArrival1.jpg" height="400" width="297" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-esz65KXW9Cg/U6IwZi2w3DI/AAAAAAAAA5E/LFpfUb5cews/s1600/TeamCharles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-esz65KXW9Cg/U6IwZi2w3DI/AAAAAAAAA5E/LFpfUb5cews/s1600/TeamCharles.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Our homecoming t-shirt we designed for the occasion</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PFXFIeysg4/U6IuUuTYXzI/AAAAAAAAA4w/wCzvPb6xySk/s1600/RochesterArrival3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4PFXFIeysg4/U6IuUuTYXzI/AAAAAAAAA4w/wCzvPb6xySk/s1600/RochesterArrival3.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LA_MAauZacg/U6I5YCVbLjI/AAAAAAAAA5U/gMfdWixpggE/s1600/CarRideHome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LA_MAauZacg/U6I5YCVbLjI/AAAAAAAAA5U/gMfdWixpggE/s1600/CarRideHome.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Car ride home</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--926Y-ZBUuE/U6I5mnsVd5I/AAAAAAAAA5c/uBLs6fN7WKU/s1600/PorchWelcome.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--926Y-ZBUuE/U6I5mnsVd5I/AAAAAAAAA5c/uBLs6fN7WKU/s1600/PorchWelcome.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Emily's friends' handmade "Welcome Home" sign</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xN-mYHCw2D8/U6I5vR_8JGI/AAAAAAAAA5k/49OiQs2NSYE/s1600/FirstSleep.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xN-mYHCw2D8/U6I5vR_8JGI/AAAAAAAAA5k/49OiQs2NSYE/s1600/FirstSleep.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Fast asleep in her own bed</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-en7EQmLdvis/U6I6ExYNclI/AAAAAAAAA5s/x8HlI8-TM4w/s1600/PancakeFirstBreakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-en7EQmLdvis/U6I6ExYNclI/AAAAAAAAA5s/x8HlI8-TM4w/s1600/PancakeFirstBreakfast.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Olivia sharing in Emily's traditional chocolate chip pancake </i></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">birthday </i><i style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',serif;">breakfast!</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u6fttgUd-GU/U6I6d2pJYQI/AAAAAAAAA50/wdj9T2SnzXg/s1600/WelcomeSign2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-u6fttgUd-GU/U6I6d2pJYQI/AAAAAAAAA50/wdj9T2SnzXg/s1600/WelcomeSign2.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VhOOjJYOtXQ/U6I6k99Qy1I/AAAAAAAAA58/9XiK9jnI9e4/s1600/WelcomeSign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VhOOjJYOtXQ/U6I6k99Qy1I/AAAAAAAAA58/9XiK9jnI9e4/s1600/WelcomeSign.jpg" height="227" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e_CThyi2QDU/U6I6qz8KxeI/AAAAAAAAA6E/LMSCnXJIuLY/s1600/ChalkFlag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e_CThyi2QDU/U6I6qz8KxeI/AAAAAAAAA6E/LMSCnXJIuLY/s1600/ChalkFlag.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Emily's Guatemala flag chalk drawing</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J1VN3kdhLF4/U6I60CnIvAI/AAAAAAAAA6M/7xRfLa3kR-M/s1600/TractorDriver.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J1VN3kdhLF4/U6I60CnIvAI/AAAAAAAAA6M/7xRfLa3kR-M/s1600/TractorDriver.jpg" height="272" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Helping Daddy mow!</i></span></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWim5_yU1Rc/U6I68NpFw7I/AAAAAAAAA6U/L45L6WRyXwk/s1600/CakeParty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RWim5_yU1Rc/U6I68NpFw7I/AAAAAAAAA6U/L45L6WRyXwk/s1600/CakeParty.jpg" height="320" width="293" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Welcome Home Olivia! Happy 14th Birthday Emily!</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We arrived at our house just after midnight, making it June 9th. 4 years to the day that Olivia had been taken from us, and our hearts were broken. That day in 2010, was also Emily's 10th birthday. We didn't know if we'd ever see Olivia again. From the moment we realized back in 2007, that Olivia's adoption wouldn't be a smooth ride, we turned it all over to God. We knew He was in control and His timing would be perfect. And it was. </i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We want to thank the good Lord for giving us our daughter(s) and thank each and every one who has supported us and prayed our baby home.</i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-14975990342335151372014-05-19T19:04:00.000-07:002014-05-19T19:42:56.705-07:00It's A Girl!<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We are praising God for His faithfulness! 7 years, 2 months and 3 weeks after we embarked on this adoption journey, Olivia now is <b>officially</b> our daughter!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The next steps will include, getting a birth certificate with her new name, a passport, then a medical exam and a visa. We hope to travel to Guatemala in the next couple of weeks to complete the process and bring her home!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We are so very thankful to all those who have followed us, supported us, prayed for us and believed with us that this day would come. We are truly blessed.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4AEz9Kh_YI/U3q1-XhGS5I/AAAAAAAAAz4/EYo6DT4vfMQ/s1600/OliviaStoneWall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D4AEz9Kh_YI/U3q1-XhGS5I/AAAAAAAAAz4/EYo6DT4vfMQ/s1600/OliviaStoneWall.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">More to come!</span></i></div>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>YouCaring Fundraiser:</b> <a href="http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318">http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318</a></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-90170928019513680722014-04-03T14:45:00.000-07:002014-04-03T14:47:14.311-07:00Right Where We Left Off<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The last 2 weeks were spent with our beautiful, funny, sweet, 8 year-old Olivia! Our family was together for the first time in almost 4 years and honestly, after the initial, momentary awkwardness wore off, we picked up right where we left off. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">A 5 or 10 (business) day stay, called an Empathy Study, is a requirement by the Guatemalan adoption officials to show that the family has a bond with the child they're adopting. Because we hadn't been able to spend time with Olivia for so long, we were required to stay for the 10-day (2 weeks, including weekends).</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We went places and saw things we'd never had the opportunity to on our previous 8 trips. Guatemala is a beautiful country with equally beautiful and gracious people. (And the sunny, 85º weather was a welcome change from the 112" of snow we've had here this winter!)</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Olivia is such a sweetheart! She's smart, thoughtful, polite, helpful, artistic and has a great sense of humor! We still have a bit of a language barrier, our Spanish is pretty pathetic, using one and two-word phrases to hopefully get our point across. She however, is very eager to learn English and understands and can read and speak certain things pretty well. I don't think she'll have any problem mastering it.</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We are very encouraged that it will be just a few short months more until we travel back for our 10th trip and this time she will ride that airplane back with us! The wheels of the adoption process have started to roll and after 7 years, we can confidently say that our little Olivia will finally be coming home!</span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here are a few photos of our visit.</span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4lyO0uH-35A/Uz3Qm9NHJuI/AAAAAAAAAx4/_VO_heWpGmw/s1600/CNApickupday2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4lyO0uH-35A/Uz3Qm9NHJuI/AAAAAAAAAx4/_VO_heWpGmw/s1600/CNApickupday2.jpg" height="201" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EFvwTy-QlLM/Uz3Q5efSGWI/AAAAAAAAAyA/idRTyACgjQo/s1600/DadOliviaEmilyRoof.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EFvwTy-QlLM/Uz3Q5efSGWI/AAAAAAAAAyA/idRTyACgjQo/s1600/DadOliviaEmilyRoof.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-66-u5ZAMt_s/Uz3Q-89eXvI/AAAAAAAAAyI/2emPo3xU8wI/s1600/EmilyMomOliviaPoolSteps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-66-u5ZAMt_s/Uz3Q-89eXvI/AAAAAAAAAyI/2emPo3xU8wI/s1600/EmilyMomOliviaPoolSteps.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vH4cORQ2LE/Uz3RNeeaMwI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/mgIEIzGdusM/s1600/GirlsAtCayala.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6vH4cORQ2LE/Uz3RNeeaMwI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/mgIEIzGdusM/s1600/GirlsAtCayala.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YPBuf3Bh6qE/Uz3RTvFB7cI/AAAAAAAAAyY/tHML7s-6qe8/s1600/IHOPbreakfast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YPBuf3Bh6qE/Uz3RTvFB7cI/AAAAAAAAAyY/tHML7s-6qe8/s1600/IHOPbreakfast.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QckJmf1PRXE/Uz3RgVp7ZvI/AAAAAAAAAyg/n1pfJqPIRe8/s1600/OliviaEmilyHeartArms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QckJmf1PRXE/Uz3RgVp7ZvI/AAAAAAAAAyg/n1pfJqPIRe8/s1600/OliviaEmilyHeartArms.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Te9OkxTZbgw/Uz3RpAs8FII/AAAAAAAAAyo/rFuwUPt9reI/s1600/OliviaEmilyMarket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Te9OkxTZbgw/Uz3RpAs8FII/AAAAAAAAAyo/rFuwUPt9reI/s1600/OliviaEmilyMarket.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYkEwpDxbaQ/Uz3RzJUvn0I/AAAAAAAAAyw/wKoOP3z7AnY/s1600/OliviaMomEmilyRuins.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vYkEwpDxbaQ/Uz3RzJUvn0I/AAAAAAAAAyw/wKoOP3z7AnY/s1600/OliviaMomEmilyRuins.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gNmdT5UfoSU/Uz3R66XzR3I/AAAAAAAAAy4/Cw4YleraYlw/s1600/OliviaMommyZoo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gNmdT5UfoSU/Uz3R66XzR3I/AAAAAAAAAy4/Cw4YleraYlw/s1600/OliviaMommyZoo.jpg" height="320" width="235" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ck996Q5f-iU/Uz3SIvPUwvI/AAAAAAAAAzA/WSepw0OM3sg/s1600/OliviaDaddyFlag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ck996Q5f-iU/Uz3SIvPUwvI/AAAAAAAAAzA/WSepw0OM3sg/s1600/OliviaDaddyFlag.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgLLEuVYfss/Uz3SRnECVhI/AAAAAAAAAzI/Tn_Tzy9Jn7Q/s1600/FamilyShoes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgLLEuVYfss/Uz3SRnECVhI/AAAAAAAAAzI/Tn_Tzy9Jn7Q/s1600/FamilyShoes.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XY5yyMEs7O8/Uz3S7pI3OsI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/XvnFULz3ifw/s1600/MomGirlsStorefront.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XY5yyMEs7O8/Uz3S7pI3OsI/AAAAAAAAAzQ/XvnFULz3ifw/s1600/MomGirlsStorefront.jpg" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qwUii_Jzxag/Uz3TMmxpyLI/AAAAAAAAAzY/Ic6j372a8Uk/s1600/EmilyOliviaMayanCards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qwUii_Jzxag/Uz3TMmxpyLI/AAAAAAAAAzY/Ic6j372a8Uk/s1600/EmilyOliviaMayanCards.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XxEPSaNhOGA/Uz3T5k692QI/AAAAAAAAAzo/5PgrPrpdIpM/s1600/Bowling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-XxEPSaNhOGA/Uz3T5k692QI/AAAAAAAAAzo/5PgrPrpdIpM/s1600/Bowling.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vf7xjZECSFw/Uz3TjlEjx2I/AAAAAAAAAzg/5Lob-QLQfEw/s1600/MomDadOliviaDrawing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Vf7xjZECSFw/Uz3TjlEjx2I/AAAAAAAAAzg/5Lob-QLQfEw/s1600/MomDadOliviaDrawing.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">Emily drew this picture for Olivia to illustrate where she will be living in the U.S.</span></i></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-70521937917221691462014-03-07T10:23:00.000-08:002014-03-07T10:23:32.337-08:00This Just In.........<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">This week brings more good news! We have received our invitation to go down to Guatemala and spend time with our precious Olivia! This will happen very soon. We're in the process of making arrangements and are getting very excited! It's been almost 4 years since we've been allowed to visit our little girl. We have a lot of catching up to do!</span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If you'd like to be part of her "coming home" team, please visit the YouCaring.com fundraising link below, or click the 'Donate' button on the left hand side of this page.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">One day we will tell Olivia about all the wonderful people all over the world that diligently prayed for her and helped to finally get her home. She is a blessed child for sure!</span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></span>
<b><span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. ~ Matthew 18:5</span></span></span></span></i></span></b><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Thank you, God bless you and stay tuned! </span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span></span></span></span></i>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318">YouCaring ~ Adopting Olivia Fundraiser</a></span></i></span></span></span></span><br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
This
week brings more good news! We have received our invitation to go down
to Guatemala and spend time with our precious Olivia! This will happen
very soon. We're in the process of making the arrangements and are
getting very excited! It's been almost 4 years since we have been
allowed to visit our little girl. We have a lot of catching up to do!<br /><br />If you'd like to be part of her "coming home" team, we welcome your donations.<br /><br /><strong><em>And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. ~ Matthew 18:5</em></strong><br /><br />Thank
you, God bless you and stay tuned! - See more at:
http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318#sthash.Ns1pPR2q.dpuf</div>
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-12172628818603888162014-02-21T08:02:00.000-08:002014-02-21T08:02:05.625-08:00One Step Closer!<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent">We're a little bit closer today! Our dossier made it to Guatemala! <br /> <br /> Next we will be invited to travel down to <span class="text_exposed_show">spend
time with Olivia. During that time (called the Empathy Study), we will
be interviewed by the adoption authorities there, so they can make sure we are all bonding well, etc. We're hoping this happens in March.</span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Please visit and share the links to our fundraisers, we appreciate every penny and every prayer!</span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="https://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318">YouCaring.com ~ Adopting Olivia</a> </span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><br /></span></span></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"><a href="https://www.booster.com/adoptingoliviafundraiser">Booster Fundraiser ~ Adopting Olivia </a></span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Thank you and God bless! </span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">Stay
tuned!<br /> <br /> </span></span></span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /><br />
<br />
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-72611281639649242582014-02-11T10:50:00.000-08:002014-02-11T14:56:36.359-08:00"Bringing Olivia Home" Team<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We are so thankful and blessed that this journey we've been on, for so long, will soon be ending and we can begin a new chapter in our family's life!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We can now see the finish line, but before we reach it, come several steps in the adoption process before Olivia will actually come home. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>To date we have made 8 trips to Guatemala, there will be 2 more. The first is called the "Empathy Study" where Olivia will spend 1 or 2 weeks (to be determined) with us and we will be periodically interviewed by the adoption authorities there during that time. After that, our file will go to Family Court where a judge will finalize the adoption. The last trip, several weeks later, after obtaining a passport, visa, etc. she will accompany us home. We don't have a time frame as yet, but we hope this will all take place and she will be home by summer.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We have started two fundraisers to help defray the final costs of the adoption, ie: travel, documents, attorney and other fees. Because of the unexpected 7 year duration, this process has not only exceeded the originally expected timeline, but has also exceeded the original cost estimate at least 3-fold.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>If you feel led to be a part of our "Bringing Olivia Home" team, and you'd like to help do that with any size donation, we would be more than grateful. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The first fundraiser is through YouCaring.com. You can find our page with this link: <a href="http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318">http://www.youcaring.com/adoption-fundraiser/adopting-olivia-after-7-years-she-s-coming-home-/137318</a> </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>The second is through CustomInk Booster, where we've designed a t-shirt you can purchase to help raise funds. That link is: <a href="https://www.booster.com/adoptingoliviafundraiser">https://www.booster.com/adoptingoliviafundraiser</a></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Please feel free to spread the word and share the links above.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Thank you and God bless, we so appreciate everyone's prayers and support! </i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Stay tuned, updates to follow!</i></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-61809184240141610282014-01-30T18:42:00.001-08:002014-01-30T18:42:39.407-08:00Guess what?<i><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>It's taken 6 years, 11 months and 4 days of waiting, but today we received word from the Guatemalan officials through our government, that our adoption of our sweet Olivia WILL proceed!</b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></i>
<i><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>We have several steps, 2 more trips and a few months to go before she can come home, but we are praising God for His faithfulness and the beautiful light at the end of a very long tunnel! </b></span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pmyTrK8XFa4/UusL0P66DqI/AAAAAAAAAxg/HHBDCmxwKQk/s1600/lightendtunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pmyTrK8XFa4/UusL0P66DqI/AAAAAAAAAxg/HHBDCmxwKQk/s1600/lightendtunnel.jpg" height="275" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Stay tuned!</b></i></span></div>
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-61288649819781829582013-11-15T14:50:00.000-08:002013-11-15T14:50:15.915-08:00Eight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5B7WkUjgo6k/Uoakfrnu0SI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/enT_t7191Js/s1600/Olivia2012closeupsm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5B7WkUjgo6k/Uoakfrnu0SI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/enT_t7191Js/s320/Olivia2012closeupsm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Happy 8th Birthday precious girl. You are loved.</i></span></div>
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-90702311063439638512013-09-05T08:31:00.000-07:002013-09-10T11:33:03.963-07:00Patience<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, the hearing did take place yesterday, but there was no ruling. There are a few more legal steps the court is waiting on in order to hopefully come to a resolution.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">The next and hopefully final hearing is scheduled soon.</span></i></span></span><br />
<i style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i>
<i style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; font-size: large;">Please pray for God's continued protection over Olivia. That He would comfort her and guard her heart and mind.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We really appreciate everyone's support! Thank you and I'll update soon.</span></i></span></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-12496721946057457402013-09-03T13:20:00.000-07:002013-09-03T13:20:55.834-07:00A Little Closer<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I know it's been quite some time since I posted here. I think I finally have something to share. </span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Well, since the last hearing on March 1st, we have been waiting for the results of DNA taken on March 21st. That day, the police brought the elusive, alleged birth mother to court and took her DNA sample. She told the judge, just like the alleged grandmother has said over the past 3 years, that she is not Olivia's birth mother.</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We received "unofficial" news of those results in late June, then got the official result from the court on August 19th. Negative. The family at the center of this investigation for over 3 years, is <b>not</b> Olivia's biological family. We are </span></span></i></span><span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">so relieved and are </span></span></i></span>thanking God!</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Over the past few months, our case has been batted back and forth between courts, it has finally rested back where it's been for the past 2 years. Tomorrow morning is, what we've been told to be, the "definitive" hearing. We pray that the judge will finally see that WE are Olivia's family and he will grant adoptability so we can proceed with her adoption. </span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">We'd appreciate your prayers. Please also keep in prayer the remaining children and their families. There are many of us still fighting this battle.</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I'll post again once we hear the outcome.</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thanks and God bless!</span></span></i></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-31526269961857053392013-04-29T08:49:00.001-07:002013-04-29T09:13:11.289-07:00STUCK<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EOF02rhKH3o/UX6L9tvF72I/AAAAAAAAAws/QJ-AEpJVOyY/s1600/STUCKposterRoch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EOF02rhKH3o/UX6L9tvF72I/AAAAAAAAAws/QJ-AEpJVOyY/s400/STUCKposterRoch.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent">If you're in our area, please come out and join us Sunday evening,
May 5th at 7 pm at the AMC Webster 12 Theater for STUCK ~ the award
winning documentary that addresses a broken international adoption
system and the need for reform that works! </span></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent">We will be speaking after the film and telling the story of our 6 year-long fight to get Olivia home.</span></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent">We encourage you to<span class="text_exposed_show"> buy your tickets online ahead of time at <span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.stuckdocumentary.com/" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.stuckdocumentary.com</a></span> Help us make a difference, come out and see the movie!</span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">If you're not able to attend, please go to <a href="http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bothendsburning.org&h=AAQGGtel2&s=1" rel="nofollow nofollow" target="_blank">www.bothendsburning.org</a> and sign the petition to change the broken system and/or support this
movement in other ways. </span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">The STUCK movie is currently on a 60 city, 80 day bus tour that will culminate on May 16th at it's final screening in Washington, D.C. Go to: <span style="font-size: x-small;">(copy & paste)</span> https://bothendsburning.org/initiatives/stuck-tour/itinerary/ to see if the tour is coming to a theater near you. </span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">The purpose of the film is to help the average person understand the issues that have caused the international adoption system to become a deterrent to children being placed in loving homes. The other objective of the film and tour, is to gather over 1 million petition signatures asking government officials to take specific actions to change the landscape of adoption. It will be delivered in D.C. on May 17th during the Step Forward for Orphans March. </span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show">If your family has been touched by adoption, if you're interested in international adoption or if you've simply been praying for and supporting our family through our process, we would love to have you help us make a difference to protect and advocate for the rights of orphaned children through this movement. </span></span></i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-style: normal;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);"></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>
Thank you and God bless!</i></span><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span class="userContent"><span class="text_exposed_show"></span></span></i></span></b></span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-69341760883738237512013-03-20T10:27:00.002-07:002013-03-20T10:27:59.223-07:00Prayers Appreciated.<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Tomorrow, (Thursday) is the day that samples for the 3rd and hopefully last DNA test are scheduled to be taken. We, (more importantly Olivia) has been waiting 3 years for the answer to the mystery of whether the Guatemalan family in question is or is not related to her. <b>3 years</b> when we know a definite answer can actually be obtained in a matter of weeks, if not days.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Provided the samples <b>are</b> taken tomorrow <u>and</u> taken properly, <u>and</u> the right tests are run <u>and</u> performed properly, we've been told we can expect results in either 3 months or 6 months. In other words, probably sometime this summer. As always, there are way too many factors to any one aspect of this process, and we are praying hard that everything that has to happen tomorrow and subsequently through to getting the result, will be done <b>right</b>. Olivia is very confused as to what her future holds and she deserves an answer as soon as possible.</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Would you please join us in praying for Olivia and the testing that will hopefully give her closure, peace and a family? </span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br /></span></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Thank you.</span></i></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="display-passages passages-single">
<div class="content-wrapper">
<div class="content-col">
<div class="passage-wrap">
<div class="passage-left passage-class-0">
<div class="heading passage-class-0">
<div class="txt-sm">
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="text Phil-4-6" id="en-KJV-29449">Be
careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ~<b> </b></span><b>Philippians 4:6</b></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div class="passage version-KJV result-text-style-normal text-html ">
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></i></span><br />
<br />
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-74452008113251680702013-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:002013-03-01T14:14:23.229-08:00Today's Hearing<br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Long day, long story. We did see Olivia today and she was beautiful. We did not get the adoptability decree we had hoped for. They will do one final DNA test, taking samples on March 21st. We've been assured they will do the proper test this time. If the results favor the Guatemalan family, they will take her and that will be the end of our case. If the results show no relation to them, we can proceed to adopt her. We will again have to wait for results which will come back in June.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Thank you everyone for your diligent prayers. God heard them....we still have hope!</i></span><br />
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-39072815738673338562013-02-26T08:28:00.000-08:002013-02-26T08:28:41.256-08:006 Years.<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today is the 6 year mark of when we began Olivia's adoption. </span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Wow.</span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">There will be a court hearing this Friday, March 1st on our case and we will be attending. It was exactly one year ago we attended the last hearing. We have a new judge and we're praying that he/she will allow us to proceed with our adoption and also that the hearing will take place, period. We would appreciate you joining us in prayer.</span></span></i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The hearing is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. Friday morning, (12:00 noon EST).</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and support. We'll update when we can.</span></span></i></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-25761989691787614462013-01-10T18:44:00.000-08:002013-01-10T18:44:42.356-08:00Tomorrow's Hearing Has Been Postponed.<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We found out about 7:00 p.m. that tomorrow's hearing has once again been canceled. Certain necessary parties are too busy to attend.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We now wait for a reschedule date.</i></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-49664164563381906502013-01-10T08:39:00.000-08:002013-01-10T08:39:04.656-08:00Court Hearing Tomorrow, January 11th<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. (CT, 12:00 p.m. ET) there will be a hearing on our case. Unfortunately, we are not able to be there.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>A new judge assigned to our case, will be presiding over the hearing.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>We would appreciate your prayers.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Specifically, that God would continue to protect and guard Olivia's heart and mind. </i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>That the hearing will actually take place and that the judge and all the officials in charge would have compassion for her and make decisions in her best interest (preferably that she would be able to come home to us <u>soon</u>). </i></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Finally, that this would be a definitive hearing that would allow our adoption process to move forward.</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span>
<span style="color: #660000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support. I will post again when I get news of the hearing's outcome.</i></span></span></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-20071969664692494192012-11-15T04:50:00.000-08:002012-11-15T04:50:38.161-08:00Happy 7th Birthday to Our Sweet Olivia! ¡Feliz cumpleaños!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-631TE0mSXLw/Swgmwnt3mrI/AAAAAAAAAaw/cEmDvVsevOg/s1600/birthdaygirl72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-631TE0mSXLw/Swgmwnt3mrI/AAAAAAAAAaw/cEmDvVsevOg/s320/birthdaygirl72.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"> </i><i style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> Picture from her 4th birthday in 2009, the only one we were able to spend with her.</span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: center;"> </i></div>
<br />
<i style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Today is Olivia's 7th birthday. We miss her very much and wish we could be celebrating with her today.</span></i><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>As for our case, we have found out that there will be a hearing with a new judge on January 11, 2013. Since the most recent DNA test done to determine whether the Guatemalan family in question, is biologically related to her, came back with an "inconclusive" result this past June, we're not sure whether the new judge will want to do another one or not. It's been 2 1/2 years since the first test was done and we're still no closer to an answer.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>There <b>has</b> been some positive movement with many of the remaining transition cases in Guatemala and a few children have come home in the past few months! That's definitely an answer to prayer!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>We continue to be </i></span><i style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">prayerful and </i><i style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">faithful that God will bring all the remaining children home to their waiting families very soon. We want this birthday to be her last without us.</i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>¡Feliz cumpleaños Olivia! </i></span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15.454545021057129px;">♥ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15.454545021057129px;">♥ </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; line-height: 15.454545021057129px;">♥</span></span><br />
Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-17219095379267586272012-09-02T16:24:00.000-07:002012-09-02T16:24:00.774-07:00No Hearing Monday.<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Monday's hearing will not be happening. We don't know when there might be another one scheduled, but I'll post again when we know something.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Please continue to pray for Olivia and all the remaining children and their parents. Things for all of us are pretty tough right now.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Thank you.</i></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-54904043937862388982012-08-20T12:37:00.000-07:002012-08-20T12:38:15.640-07:00Hearing 2 Weeks from Today<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>There will be another hearing on our case on Monday, September 3rd, 2012 at 9:30 a.m. CT.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>We are asking for your prayers. This hearing may be the one that potentially decides Olivia's future. Please pray for her. For continued strength and protection of her heart, mind and emotions. Pray for us. For wisdom, strength and peace. Also pray for the authorities making decisions that their hearts would be softened and they would put Olivia's best interest first.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">...behold, I have set before thee an open door, and </span><b><span style="font-size: large;"><u>no</u> <u>man</u> can shut it</span></b><span style="font-size: large;">: for thou hast little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. </span>~Revelation 3:8</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<i style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Thank you and God bless.</span></i>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-78370040764931635492012-07-09T17:05:00.000-07:002012-07-09T17:05:18.274-07:00Our Olivia & 350+ Children Need Your Help on Tuesday 7/10/12<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i style="color: #783f04;">Dear Family & Friends,</i><br />
<br /><i style="color: #783f04;">
Last week we, (</i><span style="color: #783f04;">the parents waiting for their children to come home from Guatemala</span><i style="color: #783f04;">)
delivered a letter to Secretary of State Clinton asking for her help in
bringing our kids home. (Visit our group's blog to see the letter and find out
more about our fight -- </i><a href="http://bit.ly/Hillaryhelpus" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">http://bit.ly/Hillaryhelpus</span></a><i><span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="color: #783f04;">). Please join us by contacting the Secretary on behalf of our children and ask for her
support. She has side-stepped this issue in the past but now it has gone
on too long and she can't ignore it anymore. Take a look at the 8
second video below the letter on the link above and you'll see what this
is doing to our kids, to our families. PLEASE help us. </span><b style="color: #783f04;">You can do so by picking up your phone on Tuesday, July 10th. </b></i><br />
<br /><i style="color: #783f04;">
Call Secretary Clinton's office at </i><a href="tel:%28202-647-5291" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank" value="+12026475291"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">(202)-647-5291</span></a><i style="color: #783f04;"> and use this script below (or something similar):</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #990000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>I
am an adoptive parent (friend of/grandparent) to a child who is still
waiting in
Guatemala for 5+ years. A letter was delivered last week to Secretary
Clinton asking for her involvement in ending this humanitarian disaster
and bringing these kids safely home. The previous two Guatemalan
administrations promised to resolve
these cases but that was proven to be simply rhetoric followed by
inaction. Four + years is long enough for these children to wait to
have a
family. This child is 6 1/2 years old, living in an orphanage while her room at home is empty.<br /><br />
I would like Secretary Clinton to please read this letter and take it
seriously. A simple adoption process has turned into a crisis as these
children spend their formative years in institutions when a forever
family waits for them. I believe Secretary Clinton can help. We need
her. These children need her.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Also, if you could forward this email to
your email contacts, Facebook friends, Twitter, blogs or any social
media tonight and tomorrow, it would be greatly appreciated.<br />
<br />
We're praying that Sec. Clinton will get the message tomorrow when her
phone lines are flooded with people supporting our children.<br />
<br />
Thank you so much!<br />
God bless,<br />
Sue & Bryan</i></span>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-38858459134821084062012-05-08T04:55:00.000-07:002012-05-08T04:55:30.051-07:00No Hearing Today<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>We have been informed that today's Court hearing has been postponed because the DNA results are not in yet.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>It really doesn't surprise me, it seems almost predictable. The price of airline tickets being so high in the past several weeks was a huge clue that we weren't supposed to go. And now we have confirmation.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>I have no idea when it will be rescheduled. Stay tuned...</i></span><br />
<br />
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-67274008123065355102012-04-26T14:53:00.000-07:002012-04-27T04:38:17.710-07:00The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ez-KHxOipow/T5mbBfi-bII/AAAAAAAAAsc/PhK0HfNpZo0/s1600/referralphoto1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ez-KHxOipow/T5mbBfi-bII/AAAAAAAAAsc/PhK0HfNpZo0/s320/referralphoto1.jpg" width="279" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>We received an email 5 years ago today and when we opened it, this is what we saw. The face of our daughter. She was 17 months old, sad, scared and alone. We knew however, that this was the child God had chosen to be our daughter. We fell in love, right then and there. What we didn't know then, was how difficult and endless the journey to bring her home would be.</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Our next Court hearing is scheduled for May 8th. 12 days from now. We <b>won't</b> be traveling to Guatemala this time. We're going to stay home and wait for the DNA results and the judge's decision. The main reason being that airfare is out of control! I have been checking the prices consistently since our last trip 9 weeks ago and they have been in the $545.- $550. per ticket range over the last month. That's actually pretty good. However, we had been waiting to book our flights until we heard from our folks in Guatemala that everything was still on, but the weeks passed and we just weren't getting any answers. One day last week, I checked the ticket prices in the morning and they were still at $545., then later that day, I checked again. The price per ticket had jumped to $822. a piece!!! Multiply that times 3! Really?! Oh, and today? Today, they're at $862. each. Need I say more?</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>We are waiting for a conference call with Senator Landrieu about her recent trip to Guatemala. As you can imagine, all the waiting families are anxiously anticipating what progress was made to get our kids home. No date on when that's supposed to happen though.</i></span></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Anyway, I just wanted to mark yet another milestone of this process.</i></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-21291916681177489532012-04-12T09:26:00.000-07:002012-04-27T05:00:43.732-07:00Boots On The Ground<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">This week, a delegation of U.S. Congressional representatives led by Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, are in Guatemala meeting with the adoption entities there to once again advocate for our children.</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">Sen. Landrieu met with Guatemala's new president, <span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}">President Otto Perez Molina yesterday to discuss the need to resolve these adoptions as soon as possible. Here is a press release regarding the meeting: </span></span></i></div>
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="entry-title">Guatemala President to Proceed on 350 Adoptions for US Parents Stuck in Limbo After Ban</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<div class="corrections " style="color: black;">
<span style="font-size: small;">By <span class="author vcard"> Associated Press</span>, <span class="timestamp updated processed">Published: April 11</span></span></div>
<div class="module byline" style="color: black;">
<h3>
</h3>
</div>
<div class="article_body entry-content">
<span style="font-size: large;">GUATEMALA CITY — Guatemala’s
president says he’s willing to speed up 350 adoptions by U.S. couples
that were in process before his Central American nation suspended
adoptions by foreigners in 2007 following allegations of fraud and baby
theft.</span><br />
<br />
<article><span style="font-size: large;">
President Otto Perez Molina said Wednesday he hopes to resolve
those cases after meeting with U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who
has been traveling to Guatemala to push for the adoptions to go
through.<br /><br />
The government issued a decree last August approving adoptions that
had been fully arranged before the ban, but it applied to only 44 cases.
</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />
Guatemala
was once a top source of adopted children for U.S. couples, with more
than 4,000 a year. The U.N.-created International Commission Against
Impunity studied 3,000 adoptions and found irregularities such as
falsified paperwork and fake birth certificates.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">We are anxious to find out what this means and will remain cautiously optimistic that he means what he says.</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">We are T-minus 26 days until our next Court hearing on May 8th. Since we were in Guatemala in February, many, many negative and potentially damaging things have taken place there that could possibly affect our case. At this point, we have no way of knowing. Hopefully the meetings taking place this week with the U.S. delegation will negate all the negative activities and insure forward movement for all the cases.</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;">We're asking for specific prayer for Sen. Landrieu, her delegation and all the Guatemalan adoption representatives. Please pray that this visit will make a definite impact that will insure a direct path to let our children come home. Soon.</span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></i></div>
<div style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-align: justify;">
<i><span style="font-size: large;"> Olivia is waiting.</span></i></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
</article>
</div>
<h1>
<span class="entry-title"> </span></h1>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-35708470154701674082012-02-28T17:28:00.000-08:002012-02-28T17:28:47.041-08:00Hearing Was a "GO"<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Yes, today's hearing did take place. And yes, we saw Olivia. She is beautiful, but looked very sad. This whole thing is so confusing for her.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Everyone who was supposed to, showed up. We are very thankful for that.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>The doctor who was there to draw blood for the DNA samples, determined that they could get a result if they got samples from Olivia and the boy (her potential bio. brother), by testing for a sibling relation. So "grandma" wasn't needed after all.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>The samples were taken, and handled very carefully so there would be no question about mis-handling.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>The judge set the next and dare I say "final" hearing where we will have the results and his decision, for May 8th, 10 weeks from today. And of course, we will be here for that. We won't be able to see Olivia again till then.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #660000; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>So, that's pretty much it. We were able to give her, her Valentine's gift we weren't able to give her 2 weeks ago, and took 2 pictures before she rode off in the hogar's van. Praying for a negative DNA result and for the next 10 weeks to fly by.</i></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7T4r8bvduQU/T019wI7XUfI/AAAAAAAAArY/JERy1h4M95Q/s1600/Olivia2-28-12sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7T4r8bvduQU/T019wI7XUfI/AAAAAAAAArY/JERy1h4M95Q/s320/Olivia2-28-12sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mrkOdJnutxU/T01-C4BAStI/AAAAAAAAArg/DcgrcXW-GsQ/s1600/Oliviatwo2-28-12sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mrkOdJnutxU/T01-C4BAStI/AAAAAAAAArg/DcgrcXW-GsQ/s320/Oliviatwo2-28-12sm.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5147300783206153984.post-65087632122728803572012-02-26T14:28:00.000-08:002012-02-26T14:28:23.828-08:00Today We Hit the 5-Year Mark<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Today is the 5th anniversary of the day we started Olivia's adoption. This week we received some very good news regarding all the pending Guatemala adoption cases. Here's a summary from our Guatemala900 group: </i></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #660000;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Tahoma, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #660000;">February 25, 2012</span></span><br />
<div class="entry" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Arial, 'Lucida Sans Unicode', Tahoma, sans-serif; margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="background-color: #b6d7a8; color: #660000;">The Guatemala900 met with the Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs <span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Harold Caballeros </span>in Washington, DC yesterday. The Minister outlined a general plan for implementing a new, transparent process for the pending adoptions within the next 100 days. The Minister asked for G900 support in helping him as he works to draft legislation within the next two weeks for the Guatemalan Congress will then begin to consider and hopefully pass. Many thanks to G900 executive board member Tracey Hoehn, Guatemalan Waiting Parents Support Group Co-Founder Christina Watson, and Joint Council President and ally Tom DiFilipo, who all passionately represented the campaign. Also the G900 would like to thank Guatemalan Minister Counselor Fernando de la Cerda, who has always been a champion to the children with pending adoptions in Guatemala and was instrumental in making the meeting come to be yesterday.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Basically, by the beginning of June, there will be a law implemented that will allow a definite path for our children's adoptions to be completed. Of course we don't know what the law will entail, but hopefully it will eliminate all of the problems and roadblocks that have plagued our processes for well over 4 years. The Guatemalan government has said they are committed to making this happen.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Meanwhile, we head back to Guatemala for our rescheduled hearing. If all goes according to plan, and everyone who needs to, shows up, and DNA samples are taken, and the RIGHT tests are done at the lab, and the results come back negative.....we should be on track so that when the 100 days in early June are up, we'll be ready to follow the path that the new law will put in place to lead Olivia home.</i></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<span style="color: #783f04; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>As always, prayers are appreciated! We'll update again soon.</i></span></div>
</div>Guatemala Waiting Parents Grouphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04296101125454273647noreply@blogger.com1