Surprise Pictures

Here's our most recent pictures of Hannah and Noah from their surprise visits. Our agency workers in Guatemala drop in on all the babies every 6 weeks or so to check on the babies and take pictures. Here they are!

Not the phone call we wanted

Our case manager called today to tell us that Hannah's case was kicked out of PGN yesterday with a "previo" or problem with her and her birth mother's birth certificates. We don't know yet how long it will take to get the issue resolved so her case can go back in PGN. Needless to say, we're really disappointed.

Noah's in PGN!!! :)

Noah's case entered PGN today! He's about 2 weeks behind Hannah's case. The current update on PGN is that files are still moving but not quite as fast as what we saw last week. So, we're still hopeful our cases will get out before the normal 8 weeks but we really have no idea what to expect. Just pray that we don't encounter any "previos", or problems, that will kick our cases out of PGN, requiring corrections to our paperwork, and making our cases start over in PGN. In the past, about half the cases end up with a previo. We're just hoping for a smooth ride!

New Pictures

Here are some pictures of Hannah and Noah from this past week. Can't wait to bring them home!

Hannah - 4 1/2 months




Noah - 3 months

Noah's Gets Pre-Approval!!

Noah finally got pre-approval (PA) from the US Embassy yesterday. We're so excited! Now his case will enter PGN and will be about 2 weeks behind Hannah's case. We received some new pictures and medical report on Noah just this evening. He's up to 14lbs 8oz. Looks like he might be out weighing Hannah now! The doctor's report said he's alert and active and making lots of cooing noises now in response to others and to draw attention to himself. The doctor also said he's smiling socially and really reaching for things. Now enjoy some new pics!

Files flying through PGN

5 of the 31 files that went into PGN last Monday from our agency, exited PGN today! That is amazing! It would typically take at least 8 weeks! Our file went in last Tuesday so we are so hoping that ours comes out soon too! Our agency is optimistic that many more files will be coming out of PGN this week.

Large Stroller....very large

We ordered a new stroller over the weekend and it is bigger than Jason's car. Well, not exactly, but we are concerned that it won't fit in the back of our minivan! It has 2 seats for Hannah and Noah and a small platform on the back for Joel to stand on (plus a small bench seat in case he wants to sit down) so he can ride too. We're excited about it and are looking forward to picking it up when it arrives at the store. We'll post some pics when we get it in.

Hannah's in PGN!!!!!!

Finally, after over 6 weeks of waiting, Hannah's case was entered into PGN in Guatemala today! PGN is the last Guatemalan phase that Hannah's case needs to go through. This phase usually takes around 8 weeks but with all the recent changes, it could be shorter or longer. We're hoping for shorter. :)

Registered with Central Authority

We've just received word tonight that both Hannah's and Noah's cases have been successfully registered with the Central Authority in Guatemala. Our lawyers and paralegals in Guatemala spent the entire weekend in line submitting and resubmitting our paperwork (along with all the others from our agency) to the Central Authority. This means that Hannah's case should be submitted to PGN tomorrow as long as there is no limit as to how many cases can be submitted. There are approximately 2600 adoption cases waiting to get into PGN so our agency will work as quickly as possible tomorrow morning to get the cases submitted in order of how long they've been waiting. Noah's case is still waiting on pre-approval from the US Embassy before his case can be submitted to PGN. We've been waiting almost 9 weeks for pre-approval. We're hoping it will come soon but we know of others that are still waiting at 11 weeks. We're excited that Hannah's case is going to start moving forward again. Her case has been on hold now for 6 weeks. Our agency has heard that PGN is going to try to process cases faster than they have in the past so we're hoping this next phase will go faster than we've previously thought it would. We'll see. Here are some new pics of Hannah Faith we received this past week. She weighed in at 13lbs 4oz at her 4 month doctor visit last week. Cheekolas! :)

Noah Out of Family Court

We received word today that Noah's case exited Family Court on January 28th. Hooray! Now we are waiting on pre-approval from the US and then Noah will be at the same place Hannah is, waiting for their cases to be registered by the Central Authority so that they can enter PGN. Pre-approval with Hannah took 8 1/2 weeks which had been the norm, but several other people from our agency have been waiting more like 10 weeks right now. So, although Noah has been waiting 8 weeks and we would hope to have pre-approval soon, it could be a couple of weeks. What is taking the US so long?

We also heard today that their have been more delays with the Central Authority as some people appointed by the old administration were let go in order for the new Presidental administration to appoint their own people. This will probably cause at least a several day delay. In the end this could be good news to appoint people more supportive of adoption, but in the short run it is more delays.

New Pics and Central Authority

Here are some new pictures we received this week of Hannah and Noah. These are from surprise visits where our agency drops in unexpectedly on the foster moms to check up on our babies. We're still waiting for paperwork from Central Authority. There have been some delays but we are still hoping it will be ready next week. Enjoy the cuties!

Hannah on Jan 19th



Noah on Jan 23rd