DNA test completed early!

I received an email from my social worker this morning that the DNA test was completed on Friday instead of today. I just received notification that the authorization was received on Thursday. This is excellent news to have it completed so quickly. It usually takes 4-8 months to get this completed. We are under that average as it occured 3 weeks and 1 day after I received the referral of little Evvy.

What's next? Social worker interview of Evvy's birthmother and of her foster mother. This often occurs close to the DNA testing so hopefully I will hear word on that soon.

The DNA test kit should be overnighted to Lab Corp her in the states and as soon as the test is processed, the results will be mailed to me. So hopefully in the next couple of weeks I should have the results.

The DNA results are also faxed/emailed to the US Embassy in Guatemala. The Embassy then reviews the case file again and hopefully issues "Pre-approval" which means that the case can proceed through the courts in Guatemala and then be resubmitted to the Embassy for final approval after the courts finish their process.

I truly believe I have an excellent attorney to get things moving so quickly. I just hope the process continues swiftly so I can get her home for Christmas!

Here's to a great Monday!
Susan

A bit of Guatemala in Missouri

So this friend Julie and her husband Mike came over last week to hear about my past experiences in Guatemala. I served a mission for the LDS Church there from 1987-1988. I lived and worked among the local people. This is where my love of Guatemala came from. This is why I knew I would eventually adopt from there. I looked at a lot of different countries but everything just kept leading back to Guatemala. Not really surprising.

Anyway, I started pulling out all of my keepsakes from Guatemala and just kept finding more and more and more. My dining room looked like a booth at the Guatemala Central Marketplace. I have left a lot of it out because I have enjoyed seeing the beautiful colors and textiles again. Guatemala is a land of many colors. Some of the most talented artisans I have ever seen come from Guatemala.

Here are some pictures that I took of my keepsakes while they were displayed in the dining room. I have moved some of them back into Evvy's keepsake cupboard in the nursery and just spread more around the house. I don't know if I will be able to put them back in the trunk again.

How I found my agency....

I had another couple who is adopting a baby girl from Guatemala over to chat last week. Julie and I work out at the same gym and I heard her talking about starting the adoption process last August or September. She said she was adopting from Guatemala and had just started the process with a local agency. She had been referred to this agency by another family who had adopted and was pleased with the agency. At this point I had decided that I would start my journey the following Spring after getting my current debt paid off. I was in the process of researching agencies and hadn't yet found a local one that I felt I could work with. This agency wasn't on my list and I hadn't seen them in the Yellow pages. She gave me the name and I found them on the internet. I requested an information packet from them. I was impressed. Shortly thereafter I received an invitation from them to come and learn more about their new China/Korea programs. I called and talked to the social worker and she discussed the pros and cons of singles adopting from China. Singles can't adopt from Korea. I then also talked to her about their Guatemala program. I decided to go to the meeting just to get a feel for the agency. My good friend Brenda went with me. It ended up being a somewhat rainy night and we were the only ones that came. The social worker and an intern gave us the presentation about China & Korea and then we pretty much talked the rest of the evening about the Guatemala program. I was very impressed and knew that I had found the agency that I wanted to handle my adoption process.

That was last October and I told them that I would probably start the process in April. In the mean time, my friend Julie was starting the process. It has been nice to see the process happen ahead of me to help me know more about what to expect. Well, I finally started my application process in March (one month sooner than I planned after receiving a generous bonus from work that allowed me to pay off my debt). My homestudy was completed in April , my USCIS paperwork was submitted the middle of May and approved on June 30. I received the referral of the most beautiful girl in the world on July 6 and now we are at the beginning of the Guatemala process.

I love my agency. My social worker turned out to be the intern that was at my initial agency meeting. She took over for the other Social Worker who left after she had a baby of her own. My SW is very detail oriented and did a great job of helping me gather all of my documents. Then she took care of all the certification and authentification process which after reading about other's journeys is time consuming and nerve racking. It is just one of the nice services that this agency provides. She has kept me informed every step of the way and when I have emailed her, I usually have an answer back in less than 24 hours (often within a couple hours). This local agency (ABC Adoption) partners with another agency in South Carolina (Adoption Partners www.adoption-partners.net). Adoption Partners actually has all the contacts in Guatemala and is the agency that handles all of the in-country details. They have a pretty good reputation so I feel very blessed to have found them.

Well, that isn't what I had planned to write about so sorry for boring you and rambling. It just seems that choosing the agency that you will work with in this important process can either make or break your adoption experience. I have heard a lot of horror stories about the bad agencies.

Enough rambling. I will write another post about what I initially started to write about.

Susan

DNA Authorization Received!

When I checked my email at lunch today I got an email from my social worker saying that she found out that my lawyer had received the DNA authorization from the US Embassy. The DNA test is scheduled for this coming Monday! That is a pretty quick turnaround I think.

Hopefully Evelyn's birthmother will be able to make the appointment. I have seen a lot of posts on the forum that I post on that it is pretty common for the mother's to miss the appointments due to work or not being able to travel. Evvy's birthmother is from the state of Izabel which is on the eastern coast of Guatemala and they have had severe flooding this past week closing schools and flooding many homes. I don't know if the mother is still living there or if she lives elsewhere right now. Sometimes they stay in Guatemala City during the adoption process I think. Go to this website for more information on this weather situation. http://guatemala.adoptionblogs.com/weblogs/destructive-rain-batters-guatemala-again

If you are wondering where exactly I am in the process and what comes next, look back at this post Adoption Journey: Next Steps.

Anyway, that was excellent news and really brightened my day. I went out to celebrate with my friend Peggy tonight. We usually have a quilt group on Thursday's but the other two gals cancelled so we went to the quilt store and then out to our favorite Indian restaurant. Then we went to Barnes & Nobel. I wanted to see if I could find a "Life Book" which is basically a baby book but geared towards adoptive families. Didn't find exactly what I was looking for but the sales clerk found this wonderful book called "Dear Daughter, a message of Love." It is a hardbound book that has very lovely touching messages for a daughter. It is almost like a pre-made scrapbook (for those of us that are scrapbook challenged). It has places marked to put your pictures. It is a beautiful book and as we stood and read it we both got a little teary eyed thinking about our daughters. Peggy's daughter Erica will be 2 in August. Time sure does fly by.

I also bought my first "parenting" book. It is called "Parenting with Love & Logic" by Foster Cline & Jim Fay. I have heard a lot about it through the school district here. Peggy went to some classes and listened to a series of tapes based on the principles of this parenting style. I really want to read it and learn from it so that I can be the best parent that I can be and hopefully have a calm home. I know parenting is very challenging and everyone has their own styles but I really want this to be my style. Maybe if I spend the next several months reading ab out it and letting it soak in, I will be a little bit prepared when I bring my girl home.

Today brings Evvy one step closer to coming home!
Susan

A Quilt from Grandma!

A couple of months ago my mom called and said that she wanted to make my baby a "raggedy" quilt. She wanted to know what colors I wanted. I asked if she had a pattern yet. She didn't. I told her that I just happen to have a pattern that I bought at Christmas time that I was going to make if I had time. She asked me to scan it and send her the pattern. I got it all scanned and then she went to a fun new quilt store that she had discovered.

I must say that she was very nervous about the pattern. It was not just your run of the mill same size square raggedy quilt. It had all sorts of shapes and then to top it off had appliqued flowers all over it. I felt a little bad asking her to make it. She called several times to ask questions and then my sister-in-law who is a master quilter went out to visit on vacation and helped mom some.

I don't remember the exact date that mom started the quilt but it wasn't that long ago. She called last weekend and said that she had just taken it to the laundry mat and it was done. For those that don't know what a raggedy quilt is....It is made of flannel and the seams are on the outside of the quilt instead of the inside. When you wash it, the seams fray and become "raggedy" and very soft. They are really cuddly, soft quilts. I made one for one of my sister's sons and she said that he loved to "twirl" the raggedy edges in his fingers.

Anyway, I got the pictures of the quilt from mom yesterday and it is absolutely gorgeous. I am jealous of my daughters beautiful quilt. I know she will cherish it for many years (maybe even take it to college with her one day). It turned out to be almost a twin size quilt. I had no idea what I was getting my poor mother into when I sent her the pattern but she sure did a great job! I know that it was made with a lot of love for my little Evvy.














Thanks Mom (you are a great grandma!)

Evvy's first care package!

I received word last week that the director of our placement agency is travelling to Guatemala in the first part of August. She takes care packages down for anyone that wants to send them. The only restriction is that it has to fit in a 2 gallon zip lock bag.

I wanted to send something to my baby girl so she could be wrapped in my love so I made her a soft blankie. It is very simple (flannel on one side and minkie on the other with a satin binding).

I washed it in with Downy Lavender and vanilla fabric softner and it just smells so good.

I am also sending 3 little outfits that I hope she will grow into. They are probably still too big on her since she is such a tiny little peanut. Then I sent a bag of chocolates and a pretty beaded bracelet for her foster mom. I also wrote a letter to her foster mom. Thanks to help from my younger brother Rob who also served a mission in Guatemala (much more recently than me). I did OK but he fixed the grammar and punctuation (accents and all that good stuff). I will post that later.

I love Evvy and can't wait to meet her!

Waiting on DNA authorization and planning a visit?

Well, no news on whether attorney in Guatemala has received authorization to have the DNA tests performed. This authorization is given through the US Embassy. They review the initial file to make sure everything is in order and then give the authorization for the DNA test. I have heard that there are long lines at the Embassy to receive this authorization so I hope my lawyer is an early riser.

Received word today from my Social Worker that my Power of Attorney has been certified by Secretary of State of Missouri and has been sent to the Guatemalan consulate. After it it authenticated by the Consulate it is sent to the lawyer in Guatemala so that he can proceed with the case through the Family Court and PGN (procurderia general nacional).

After talking to my Social Worker (SW) last week she said that I live in one of the counties in Missouri that requires readoption in Missouri Court after my baby comes home if I have not been down to Guatemala to visit her prior to the adoption being final. With that said, she said it would be less exensive for me to go down for a visit trip prior to finalization than to pay lawyer fees for the readoption after coming home. So, I may take a trip during Thanksgiving to go visit little Evelyn (aka Evvy, Evvie, Evie, Evita). We will see how things play out. Social worker said having her home by Christmas would be very optimistic but I am still holding out hope for that to happen. There is just no way to predict. I saw someone post on a forum that had completed the whole process in about 3 months so I know it can happen.

I did go ahead and make hotel reservations tonight since the hotels will probably be full around Thanksgiving (they were already showing sold out on Travelocity but I went directly to the hotel's website and was able to reserve a room).

My friend Peggy will probably go with me on the visit trip and then Mom & Dad (if he still wants to) will go with me for the final pickup trip. Of course this is all still up in the air until everything gets finalized and we see where everyone is living and if they can get away. Mom & Dad finish up there mission in January and will be moving back to Texas so we will just have to see how the timing works out.

Well, not much else new happening. I am working on a care package to send down when the director of our agency goes down in the next few weeks. I got ambitious and decided to make a little lightweight quilt (just simple pinwheels inspired by my niece Abby's first quilt) out of some fabric that I have had for years. I have it all cut out and many of the squares partially sewed. I also want to make something for the foster mother who is caring for her. Maybe I will make a pillow or wallhanging with a picture of Evelyn on it.

Hopefully will have more news coming soon.
Susan

News from Guatemala

I signed my Power of Attorney (POA) and a few more documents last night at the adoption agency. I was told that my dossier has already been sent to Guatemala.

Well this morning at work, I received a rather startling phone call. There was no caller ID so I almost didn't answer it but decided to do the professional thing and answer the phone. Good thing I did. The male caller asked if this was Susan "middle name" "last name"? I said rather skeptically that yes this was her. He said he was calling from Guatemala. He had my paperwork and needed my email address so that he could submit my paperwork to the US Embassy to request DNA authorization.

What followed was actually quite comical. I told him that I had an email address and started to spell it out. He stopped me and asked if I could fax it to him so he would have it in writing (I guess to avoid mispelling). I asked if he could just give me his email address and I would send it to him. He said yes and ask me to speak to his assistant. She then came on the line and I ask her if she could give me her email address. She asked if I had a fax# that she could fax it to me. I gave her my fax# which comes directly to my computer and within a minute I had it in my inbox. I emailed her back my home and work email address. I just thought it was pretty comical to call to request me to fax my email address to them. I do understand the reason though because spelling between English and Spanish can be confusing (a vs e; e vs i, etc). They just wanted to make sure there were no spelling errors which I appreciate.

He apologized for calling me at work but the director of the agency that he normally communicates with is on vacation for 2 weeks and he wanted to get things moving.

The email address is used by the US Embassy to send notice that the case is "pre-approved" to proceed after the DNA results are received.

Now we just have to hope he gets up bright and early to stand in line to get the DNA Auth appointment (it is rumored that the embassy only issues 25-40/day and that attorneys start lining up at 4am in order to get the appointments). At least the good attorneys get up early. There are some that I have heard of that just go every day and stand in line without getting the authorization. I hope mine is one of the good ones.

I am taking this phone call as a good sign that my attorney is proactive and moving forward on my case.

Next Steps

I have received a lot of questions about when little Evelyn can come home. There are many steps that must now occur down in Guatemala to get the adoption finalized. I am listing the steps so you can see all that must happen before she comes home. As you will see as you read, there are a lot of steps and a lot of people (including lots of beauracrats (sp?). I feel very good about my agency and the attorneys that they utilize in Guatemala so hopefully she will be home at the shorter end of the spectrum instead of the longer side.

1) I go in on Monday to sign my Power of Attorney which will be sent along with all of my "dossier" paperwork to the attorney in Guatemala.

2)Dossier is translated into Spanish for the courts in Guatemala.

3) Dossier is presented to the Ministry of External Relations who registers the case and certifies all the documents. (steps 2&3 usually take 2-3 weeks)

4) DNA Authorization--Attorney in Guatemala submits a request for DNA test to the US Embassy in Guatemala; Embassy issues the approval to move forward with the DNA test (this takes 1-2 weeks)

5) DNA test performed--birth mother and child will have DNA taken (cheek swab usually); specimen is overnighted to LabCorp in US. (this takes about a week)

6) Preapproval by US Embassy to proceed with adoption--DNA test is processed; results sent; results certified and notarized; results sent to the US Embassy in Guatemala who then opens a review of the adoption file to ensure that all US requirements have been met (this takes about 4 weeks).

7) Family Court (Guatemalan court)--Case is presented to the family court; social worker assigned to the case; social worker interviews the mother and foster mother (to see the child); social worker prepares a report for the court; family court judge approves the case to continue (this takes 5-6 weeks).

8) Procurderia Court (PGN)--case is presented to PGN where a PGN attorney is assigned (this is different than my agency's attorney); case is reviewed carefully to make sure all information and documents required are in the file. If the PGN attorney feels additional information/documentation is needed, the case is "kicked out" of the court and given back to the adoption attorney to secure the needed items. After the information is corrected, it is resubmitted to PGN (this process can happen in as little as 4 weeks or as long as ??? months).

**Note on PGN--A new director was named about 3 months ago and he is carefully reviewing each case. He has slowed the process down considerably. As of last week, my agency has hired an additional attorney to handle all of our cases as they go through PGN to try to expedite the process a little better. Currently, the PGN is where dealys seem to be occuring. No information is available while a case is in PGN unless the case is "kicked out" for additional information.

9) Birth Mother Signing--after the case exits PGN, the birth mother will come in and signoff on the final paperwork (this usually takes about 1 week).

10) Birh certificate reissued--The adoption attorney applies to the Civil Registry wher the child was born to issue a new birth certificate. The name will remain the same with the addition of my last name (Maria Fernanda Carter). This takes 1-3 weeks depending on where the baby was born (longer if born in Guate City)

11) Passport issued--a Guatemalan passport will be issued with the new last name of the child (this takes 2-4 days usually).

12) Final Embassy Review--The entire case is presented to the US Embassy who performs a final review to confirm that all documentation is in order. If they are all in order, a Pink Slip is issued (this takes about 48 hours, not counting holidays or Fridays).

13) Final Medical Exam--The child will go to the INS doctor to get a final review of the medical records and to be sure that all vaccinations are current. This exam is required to get the Visa to travel to the US (this takes 2-3 days).

14) Embassy appointment is set--the embassy sets an appointment for the family to go tot he Embassy to do the final paperwork for the travel visa. This appointment is usually set for about 6 business days after the pink slip is issued.

15) Make travel reservations to go pickup baby Evelyn!!!

16) Arrive in Guatemala City, travel to the hotel, receive Evelyn.

17) Embassy appointment interview (6:30 am) to turn in the paperwork required for the Visa. (2-3 hours)

18) Following day--pickup the Visa!

19) Home to Kansas City!

Welcome Evelyn May

Maria Fernanda to be named Evelyn May
Born on June 6, 2006 1230
Weight 4# 12 oz
Born in Guatemala City?
Mother from Puerto Barrios, Izabal, Guatemala
















I received the call from the agency yesterday morning and was very surprised that they had my little girl so soon. I was told that it would be at least a week. I was sent the above picture along with her birth certificate and lab results showing a negative HIV and Hepatitis B.

I was grinning from ear to ear as I looked at her picture. I knew she was to be my little girl. I immediately called my mom (her grandma) and got her email address at work so that she could see her new granddaughter while we were talking on the phone. She was just as excited as I was as we looked at her picture and found a website with a map and pictures of Puerto Barrios, Izabel. It is a beautiful coastal town but like most of Guatemala, very poor.

I don't know much about her birth mother right now other than she was 25 years old. There is nothing known about the father. After the adoption is finalized I will receive a copy of the Guatemalan social workers interview and report along with a picture of the mother. My heart breaks for her because I know it must have been a very sad day for her to have to give up her precious little girl so that she could offer her a better life and opportunities.

I had many names in mind but always came back to Evelyn May. When I saw her picture, it just sounded like the right name for her. Evelyn was my dad's mother's name and May is my mother's middle name. I wanted to honor both of my parents for all of the love and support they have given me throughout my life and in supporting all my life choices. I also just love the sound of the name. It is a classic name.

Yesterday Evelyn May turned one month old and she went for her first checkup. She will see an American Embassy approved doctor every month. I believe there are only 4 doctors that are approved through the American Embassy in Guatemala.

At one month of age, Evelyn's foster mom says she takes her bottle very well.
She went to the doctor and she now weighs 6# 1 oz and is 20" long (50 cm). She is still very small but that is pretty normal for Guatemalan babies. I received the faxed copy of her medical report this morning and everything is normal and the doctor had no concerns.

I must say that I have the most beautiful baby in the whole world :) I am still in awe that she will be mine. I have so many feelings running through my mind and need to put them down but I am just too emotionally drained right now. I had a sleepless night last night just thinking about my little angel girl and how I wished I could hold her in my arms right now.

The process is somewhat slow as it moves through the legal system in Guatemala but I know that in the grand scheme of life, it will be short and so worth it. She is being very well cared for until she can come home to me.

I have been overwhelmed by the love and good wishes from all of my friends and family that are so supportive of me fulfilling this lifelong dream of being a mother. I couldn't do this without all of them.

I really am exhausted so I am going to sign off for now. I will try to post some more of my feelings this weekend.

Susan (mommy to Evelyn May)