The Herndon Family Adventures

First Haircut

2009-04-07T18:59:00.000-07:00

Today I took Miranda to my "stylist" for a haircut. Ok..., if you know me at all, you know the thought of me having a stylist is kind of amusing. Really, it is is my friend Amy from church who does a great job with my hair 4-5 times a year which is the most I can make it in to see her.

Miranda's hair is beautiful, but was pretty uneven in the back, as we have never had it cut. This was her very first haircut! Thanks to Amy and also to Elizabeth for letting me borrow her camera--I was on my way to the salon and realized I didn't have my camera--PANIC!!! Elizabeth's house was (kind of) on the way and she let me borrow hers.

The back of her hair, post-cut. It is so much more even now.Ta-Da! The view from the front.

Miranda was a trooper this whole day. She has been doing great since she got her ear tubes in February. Today, though, she woke up with yucky goo coming from both of her ears. Thankfully, the goo is draining because of the ear tubes. Pre-ear tubes, she would have gotten a raging ear infection and fever and been in tons of pain. Now, with the ear tubes in, we just have to do antibiotic ear drops for 10 days.

Florida Trip

2009-03-16T18:32:00.000-07:00

We have had a great few days here in Florida visiting my parents. We are excited to head home tomorrow to see Matt, but will miss the warm weather and beaches here in Florida! We've gone to the beach every day for anywhere from 2-5 hours. Miranda has done really well, usually taking an hour nap in my arms under an umbrella whenever we're out during naptime. I hope she gets back into her routine once we're back home! Here are a few pics from our trip.
At first, Miranda didn't quite know what to make of the water and sand.
Once she had been at the beach a while, she was happy playing in the sand with the boys and running around in the shallow water.

Debbie, this post is for you

2009-03-06T13:00:00.000-08:00

...and all the rest of you who've asked if I'm going to keep the blog going. The answer to that question is that I'm not really sure! But, here's a post and lots of pics to update everyone.

We had a big snow in January and it took me about 20 minutes to get Miranda all bundled up, only to spend about 2 minutes outside because she hated the snow!Here are the boys measuring the amount of snow in the backyard.And, of course, being St. Louis, about a week later we had a 60 degree day and the kids all had fun playing outside!
Max has been practicing how to hold Miranda on his hip. I think he's doing a great job! Miranda has been practicing eating with a spoon. She's doing a great job, also! (About a minute after I took this picture, I thought "What the heck am I thinking giving Miranda a GLASS bowl of yogurt???" and I poured it all into a plastic bowl.Miranda has recently learned how to climb up into the chairs at the kitchen table and thinks it is great. I, however, have not learned yet to not leave things within her reach on the table!Miranda is an excellent Jedi knight. Here she is practicing with her fellow Jedis.Here is my perpetual 1st place science fair winner. He and Matt did a project on pendulums. I'm really excited for him because he won first place last year also, but wasn't able to take his project to the city-wide science fair because we were in Guatemala. He was a great sport about it.

So, there's an update from us. If you actually still read this blog, let me know and maybe it will give me incentive to keep working on it!

Halloween Fun

2008-11-01T09:35:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun yesterday for Halloween. Max had a party at school and I took Miranda and we helped out a bit. Poor Mitchell had a fever and a sore throat on Thursday, so he had to stay home and miss his party on Friday. The room mom who hosted his class party brought by a treat bag for him, which I thought was definitely above and beyond!

We went to our friends', The Dohle's, house for chili and trick or treating and had lots of fun. Today we have our Trunk or Treat at church. So much activity!

Matt and the boys and Matt's dad worked hard last week on our pumpkins. Max showing off his pumpkin that he designed.
My favorite pumpkin (created by Matt) on display in the front yard.
Miranda has learned to open the fridge! I may have to go buy a fridge lock!

Great News

2008-11-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

Halloween pictures to come, I promise...

More importantly, our friends Jimmy and Emily are bringing their son, Samuel home on Wednesday!! Emily has been in Antigua fostering Samuel since before I went down to pick up Miranda. She was a blessing to me, helping me find a place to stay when the boys and I were in Antigua with Miranda. I'm so excited for them!!! Here's a pic of Samuel. You can also read their blog (The Armstrong Family)--the link is over on the right.

Samuelito, I'm so excited for you that you're coming home!!!

Birthday Fun!

2008-10-30T11:22:00.001-07:00

Last week was a long birthday week for Miranda! On her actual birthday (Wednesday) we went to her friend Jayden's house and played. Jayden's mom took some pictures, so when I get those, I'll post some. Wednesday night, the boys and Matt and I celebrated with Miranda. She got a new toy and a few cards from the grandmas and grandpas and great-grandmas.
On Sunday after church, Matt's parents and brother came over for the afternoon. After a nice chili lunch, watching football, and sleeping in the basement, we all did (more) cupcakes for Miranda and then Matt's brother Greg took some pictures for us of Miranda. There are a ton of great pics, but here's just a few:

Playing in the Kitchen

2008-10-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Miranda has figured out that playing in the kitchen is fun! Matt put drawer latches and cabinet latches on everything except the pots and pans and Miranda loves to get into that cabinet. Unfortunately for me, now that she's in the kitchen a lot more, I have to sweep the floor multiple times a day because she'll pick up any tiny bit of food that's left on the floor!

Updates

2008-10-16T11:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Lots going on in the Herndon household. Miranda is walking all over the place and on the move...as you will see by the few pictures I can actually get her to sit still for! I am totally recovered from my kidney stone episode. REALLY hope I never have to go through that again!

Big news is that I got a new job! It is still at the same hospital where I work now, but in a different department. The big news is that it is 2 days a week...no weekends, nights, or holidays!! That's a big change from the ER. I'll totally miss all my friends and the excitement of the ER, but I am really looking forward to the new department and meeting all of my co-workers.

Here's some recent pictures for you all!
Matt and the kids and I went to "the Cupcakery" to celebrate our friend Rachel's birthday. Rachel and Kyle are below. Check out the cupcakes, too...they were very yummy.

The kids enjoying their cupcakes.

Miranda also enjoyed the cupcakes.More big Miranda news...no more bottles! She does great with a sippy cup and has switched to all cups and whole milk.Here's Miranda in our new Ergo baby carrier. I was able to purchase one for 50% off the regular price from a friend on the Guatemala adoption forum on adoption.com. Miranda LOVES being in the carrier and it is helpful when I'm trying to make dinner and she's a little crabby. Today I used it when we went to visit Max's 1st grade class.

Update and pics

2008-09-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this past few weeks has had it's ups and downs! It began last Friday with me (Michele) going to the ER with horrible, terrible, excruciating right back pain. Ended up being...a kidney stone! I had heard that kidney stones were painful, but I never imagined the pain would be that bad. It was seriously as bad as natural childbirth. Seriously. After a bunch of drugs, an overnight stay in the hospital, and two minor procedures with general anesthesia, I am on the mend now!

A friend from work, Shari, is going to Russia in a few weeks to pick up her son, Hughes. Her blog is on the side if you want to check it out. She is going for pick-up on her own and was trying out different baby carriers. She decided on the Ergo and I brought Miranda to the store as her practice baby! Here's a pic of Miranda and Shari. Miranda loved being carried in the Ergo.

Here's a few pics of Miranda and Me playing in her room before I went to the ER! This past week I haven't been doing too much playing on the floor!

She's all over the place!

2008-09-28T07:53:00.000-07:00

This past month has shown Miranda climbing, cruising, and even taking up to 7 steps on her own! She REALLY wants to be able to keep up with her big brothers, I think! We have a big bay window in our front room and she's learned to climb up on it and stand at the window. She loves it when the boys or the neighbor kids come over and talk to her through the window. Here are some pics of her at the window I love this next picture because it totally shows Miranda's personality. She is really always smiling and laughing. Her brothers have a lot of fun making her laugh

Thanks Carrianne

2008-09-16T12:09:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I received a most thoughtful surprise gift in the mail from my friend Carrianne. I cried when I opened it. I will post a few pictures, but the pictures will NOT do it justice. It is this beautiful necklace with a picture of Miranda on one side and Mitchell and Max on the other. I love it! Carrianne has a photography business and she is expanding into jewelry. She said she should have some information posted soon on her blog (see the link to her blog on the right side of this blog).And here is Miranda and the boys playing with a diaper box. What fun!

The life of a shift worker

2008-08-27T20:00:00.001-07:00

I know that there are many of you out there who understand. :)

Computer problems fixed

2008-08-26T07:30:00.000-07:00

I started to post on the blog a few weeks ago, but had to stop because our computer ran out of memory! We've finally fixed the problem, so now I can download pictures from our camera again.

Miranda is growing like crazy! At her doctor's appointment a few weeks ago, she weighed 21 lbs. She's in the 50th percentile for weight and the 10th percentile for height! (Which I think is funny because the boys are both in the 90th percentile for height!)

Miranda is pulling up, cruising, and even standing by herself for a few seconds at a time. Here are a few new pics of Miranda to show you how she's grown.

The boys had their first day of school last week. Mitchell is going to a new school for 3rd grade, so they don't ride the bus together anymore. So far, the school year has gone great for both of them.

The weekend before school started we went to Tantara at the Lake of the Ozarks for the MoGuate weekend. There were around 30 families who all have adopted children from Guatemala. It was fun to get to meet all the families. My mom went with me and the kids and the boys had a ton of fun with her while Miranda and I mingled with the families.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Not much to post. We're having some friends and family over tomorrow afternoon. Matt and the boys will go to the parade in the AM, while Miranda and I stay home. She'll nap and I'll get ready for the party! Hopefully the rain will STAY AWAY!!!

Here are a few pics of Miranda in her red, white, and blue! I'll have more pictures to post after tomorrow.

I am a blog-posting slacker

2008-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. I can't believe I haven't posted in 2 weeks!!! We've all been keeping busy. The boys have had swimming lessons 4 mornings a week for the past two weeks. They are doing great and love swimming. We are trying to convince Mitchell to join the swim team (he is a GREAT swimmer), but he's a bit nervous because he doesn't know anyone on the team. My parents are now in St. Louis, so we've hung out with them a few times. They have a great pool at their house, so the boys and Miranda have enjoyed that.

Miranda had her first ear infection. She had a fever up to 103 and was simply miserable. After she finished her antibiotics, she was feeling so much better. Then my ear started hurting, my head felt like it was going to explode, and I had a fever!! Guess what??? Yep, ear infection for me, too. I am now, finally starting to feel better after about 2 1/2 weeks.

Miranda is doing awesome. Sleeping all night...goes to bed at 7pm (if we're not out at various baseball games or other activities!) and sleeps until 7:30am. She takes a bottle 4 times a day (7:30, 11:30, 3:30, 7pm roughly), and is now eating baby food three times a day! So far, there isn't any food that she doesn't like. Thus, she is gaining lots of weight...she now weighs somewhere close to 20 lbs! My arms are getting tired from carrying her!

Miranda is crawling, pulling up to standing, and can go from laying down to sitting all on her own. She thinks it's pretty fun to crawl under the exersaucer, then get stuck there! Matt and I are trying to get the house child-proofed. He has a bunch of door latches that I need to get him to install! She's getting quicker and quicker every day with the crawling, so we need to make our house safer!

Here are some pictures of what we've been up to the past few weeks! Matt's been busy at work...that's why he isn't in any pictures!

Hanging out at my parent's pool has been lots of fun for all of us.

My mom and I took Miranda and the boys to the wading pool at Tower Grove Park. Miranda loved playing with the fountains.On a recent trip to the zoo with some church friends.

Two Firsts

2008-06-03T15:15:00.001-07:00

Miranda had two firsts in the past few days---her first biter biscuit and her first ponytail! I forgot how great biter biscuits are when you need to occupy a baby for a little while. Yes, they are extremely messy, but I was able to cook dinner! She really liked it and did well gumming it...since she doesn't have any teeth yet!
Today, I attempted Miranda's first ponytail! I didn't think she had enough hair, but friends at church kept telling me it was possible!

As you may be able to tell from the pictures, Miranda wasn't feeling so hot today. She's had a runny nose for a week, had a fever last Tuesday and a fever today. While I feel bad for her that she feels yucky, I sure don't mind the extra snuggling that she does when she feels bad. I'm actually typing this whole post one-handed because she fell asleep in the hip hammock and I wanted to let her have a little cat-nap before I leave her with Matt and the boys so I can go to Costco!

Not sure if she's teething or caught some virus, but I really want her to feel better before we go visit relatives this weekend!

I Love Our Neighbors

2008-05-31T08:59:00.000-07:00

So, last night was supposed to be a "neighborhood BBQ." Some neighbors down the street (all our kids are in kindergarten together) organized it and we were all supposed to bring our own meat to grill, bring a side dish, etc...typical BBQ stuff, right? NO...it was a surprise baby shower for Miranda!! Deep down I have always desired some kind of surprise party in my life, but have never one...well, last night I was totally surprised! I can't believe that the secret didn't get out!! We had a lot of fun--we all get a long great--and we got a few more cute things for Miranda!

Miranda was the center of attention with all the little girls in the neighborhood. She was very content for the night...lots of attention. She stayed up until 8pm, I fed her, then she slept all night until 7am!! Yay!

church shower

2008-05-31T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday night was our church shower for Miranda. It was a lot of fun, with over 35 women from church coming to the shower. Miranda came for the first 45 minutes, but then got pretty tired, so Matt came to pick her up. I enjoyed spending time with women from our church family and I was so grateful for all of their generosity. Here are a few photos from the shower.

New Pics

2008-05-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

We had a good weekend with Matt's family and some church friends out in Augusta. It was very relaxing. Unfortunately, it rained a lot, but it cleared up yesterday afternoon and Matt and our friend Ken took the kids out on the canoe.

On Saturday, our church had an event at a local place with go-karts. The kids had a great time and Mitchell was disapointed that he wasn't tall enough to drive the big karts by himself.

Last week my grandma came to visit. She said she just couldn't wait to see Miranda...which made me really happy! We had a nice visit.

Our friend Gloria gave Miranda this cute outfit, so I had to take a picture!

Miranda has her appointment on Wednesday at the International Adopton Clinic at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I'm dreading her having to get blood drawn!! Even though I do it all the time at work to kids, it's different when it is your own child. I'll report back after the appointment.

Wednesday night is also the shower at the church for Miranda. I'll try to get lots of pictures!

6 month pictures

2008-05-15T16:09:00.001-07:00

Took Miranda to a photo studio today for her 6 month pictures. We have 8x10's of the kids on the walls in the living room and we needed an 8x10 of Miranda! The photo shoot went really well and we got some really good pictures. Looking forward to a photo shoot with Uncle Greg sometime soon when it is nice enough to go outside. Enjoy the pictures!

New Pictures

2008-05-11T19:23:00.000-07:00

(Yes--I can sit up all by myself now!!)

Hi everyone. I'm finally taking the time to sit down and create a new post! Miranda is doing great. Went to the pediatrician's office on Friday and Dr. Irvine said she looks great. She's sitting up really well on her own now and doing really well eating from a spoon. So far, she's had rice cereal, oatmeal, squash, carrots, and sweet potatos! She is taking an hour nap in the mornings and a 1.5-2 hour nap in the afternoons. She takes a bath and goes to bed around 7pm and has been waking up to eat between 3 and 4am. Obviously, this is something I'm hoping she'll grow out of soon!

Miranda is a very happy little girl. Lots of smiles and laughs. I think that she is bonding to Matt and I--she seems to have a brighter smile for us and for Mitchell and Max than for others. Though, really, at this point, she'll laugh and smile with almost anyone. Being home has been good for her developmentally, because with the carpeted floor that I vacuum at least once a day, I can let her explore the floor without hesitation. Our hotel in Antigua didn't have carpet, so I would just put her on the floor on a blanket--this didn't give her much room to roll! So, here she is rolling all over the floor and doing GREAT sitting up.

Here are a few photos for you. Papa John came to visit yesterday (didn't get any pictures) and Grandma and Grandpa Herndon and Uncle Greg came today. Matt's mom always makes a quilt for each grandchild and she brought Miranda's today. It is GORGEOUS---I love it! The picture above is Miranda sitting on her new quilt.

Some new pictures of the room. The small square pictures below each have a picture from Antigua, where we lived for 2 weeks. The larger photos above her crib are Miranda with me, Matt, Mitchell, and Max. Matt also put the shelf up with the stuffed animals and bought the totally cool lamp that I just love! Great job Matt!! The room is almost complete...we're just waiting for curtains and the cushions for the rocking chair!
When we were taking pictures of Miranda and her new quilt, we had to get out the boys' quilts that their Grandma made them and take a picture of everyone! Their quilts are a bit more tattered...or should I say "well-loved" (and washed lots and lots of times!)

We're home!

2008-05-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

We arrived home last night at around 9:30pm after a very long day! The flights went ok, except for Miranda having diarrhea twice! Ugh. That was no fun. Had to throw away an outfit and a blanket, but otherwise no major problems. She seemed fine and didn't act out of sorts at all. She slept most of both of the flights.

Matt's parents picked us up at the airport and when we got home there were so many surprises! Beautiful, colorful signs in the yard and in our living room, flowers and food at our doorstep, food in our freezer, cute gifts from friends...It was all such a great welcome home! Matt did a great job on Miranda's room--I'll try to post some pictures later today.

Miranda slept all night and woke up happy around 7:30am. The boys are going to go to school this afternoon and I'll be here unpacking and doing laundry! Back to real life.

Home tomorrow!

2008-05-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

I'm using Matt's computer, so sorry...no pictures. Today was a relaxing day. We just hung out at the pool and then I went to the U.S. Embassy with our facilitator to pick up Miranda's visa. There is a big huge envelope that is sealed that we are NOT SUPPOSED TO OPEN!!! We have to carry it with us and give it to the person at customs. Hopefully, immigration will go smoothly in Houston.

Tonight, we went to dinner with our facilitator and attorney at a nice steak restaurant close to the hotel. I was a bit worried about Miranda being off schedule, but she did well and seems to have gone to sleep (for now).

Looking forward to seeing everyone!! Please call us once we are home. We'd love visitors, though probably not a lot at once. We don't want to overwhelm Miranda too much. And please don't be offended if we don't let a lot of people hold Miranda for a while. We want to do whatever we can to help her adjust to a new environment as well as bond with us. This means that we probably won't let anyone besides close family hold her and that Matt and/or I will be doing most of her feeding, bathing, etc for the first few weeks home.
See you all soon!!

Back in Guatemala City

2008-05-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

We made it to the Westin this afternoon. After some swimming, we are just relaxing in the room and will probably go to bed early! We have to meet our attorney in the lobby tomorrow morning at 7:30am to go to the U.S. embassy. No cameras are allowed (you even get in trouble if you take a picture of the outside of the building!!), so I won't be posting any pictures from the embassy. Basically, I've heard it is like waiting at the DMV for a few hours. We go up to a few different windows, answer some questions, solemnly swear some stuff, then we're done.

Some of you have been asking about meeting us at the airport when we arrive on Wednesday. While we really, really appreciate your enthusiasm and excitement, we would prefer to see all of you at a later date. Our plane gets in really late and after a long day of travelling, we're pretty sure we'll all be a bit crabby. Plus, we don't want to overwhelm Miranda with lots of new faces too quickly. She's just getting to know us. Please call us during our first few days home and we'd love to see you!

We're off to bed! Will post about the embassy tomorrow!

Leaving Antigua

2008-05-04T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today we are leaving Antigua at 12:00 to head to the Westin in Guatemala City. We had a good day yesterday, going to different markets and having lunch with our friends Jimmy and Emily Armstrong and their son, Samuel.

Mitchell and Matt had a nice morning reading on the roof of the hotel.
Miranda loves looking at herself in the mirror.

One of the markets we went to in Antigua. Just imagine...lots of people yelling, "Hey lady, good price, you like? you buy?" and me constantly saying, "No, Gracias" over and over. Our last ride in a Tuk-Tuk. For 10 quetzales (about $1.30) these drivers will take you all over Antigua. Very helpful when coming back from the grocery store or when the boys are especially whiny.
This is us with Maya, the daughter of another guest in the hotel. She and her mom, Susan, have been here for over 2 weeks. They are hoping to have their embassy appointment in the next few weeks.
Here are our new friends, Neena and Shreesh, packing up their car. The whole time we've been in Guatemala, Matt has been searching for a new hat. Right as Neena and Shreesh were packing up, Shreesh asked, "Do you wear hats?" (Those of you who know Matt well know what a funny question that is!!) Then, Shreesh gave Matt one of their "A Long Drive" hats!! Rooftoppers....I imagine you'll be seeing this hat soon

Hallelujah...Matt's First Blog Post

2008-04-26T08:13:00.004-07:00

Greetings from Guatemala. Matt here. I arrived in Guatemala yesterday, after a mostly uneventul trip down. (See below for more details.)

...

Over the past many months, people have commended me on "our" blog. I have humbly confessed that I have nothing to do with "our" blog; it is Michele's blog. In fact and in general, Michele has been the heart and administrative hands of this adoption. I've been her gopher and servant: "Matt, Sign here...Take this to the post office...Email this person...Pray this prayer." Not to say I'm not THRILLED and EXCITED by Miranda entering our life. Just that Michele's been in charge, as she should be. What do I know about raising little girls? I'm just now getting the hang of raising little boys, and now they're not so little.

...

Anyway, it's time I made my mark in this adoption process. So I suggested to Michele that I make my own blog post. To this suggestion Michele said, "Hmmm...Are you sure you can do that?" I said, "Michele, I pastor a medium-sized church. Surely I can make a blog post." Twenty minutes later she was pointing to keys on the keyboard saying, "Type this. Now Return. Michele is spelled with one L. Geesh."

...

In a further effort to demonstrate my independence and contributions to this process, I took some pictures of Miranda and myself BY myself. Michele offered to take them for me, but as a self-made man I insisted I could do this myself. Here are those pix.

I know she doesn't seem especially happy to be with me, but she is. Trust me.

...

Perhaps you notice the resemblance between Miranda and I. My brother Brad and his wife Allison recently had a baby named Lucy, who is a sweet and adorable little girl who is the SPITTING IMAGE of my mother at Lucy's age. (She has the pictures to prove it.) Well Brad, Mom, Allison, Lucy...if you want to talk about spitting images, surely you agree that a father and daughter never looked as much like each other as Miranda and I do. It's in the eyes, the cheekbones, the forehead. If you can't see it, picture Miranda with a gotee and it'll jump out at you.

...

Anyway, my trip down here was nice, except having to sit at the back of the plane from Houston to Guatemala. (Why don't people want to sit at the back of the plane? It's because after breakfast everyone needs to take a big early-morning poop, and those lavatories do NOT contain very well the smells of early-morning poops.) Also, our plane in St. Louis had some hydraulic problems, so they had to reload us on a different plane. I didn't complain. Thank God for plane inspections. But it did make catching the next plane in Houston a bit too close for comfort.

...

Once here, I had a nice conversation with Marvin (Mar-veen) on the way to Antigua, where Michele and the kids (not just "the boys", anymore) are staying. Mar-veen was the driver sent to pick me up at the airport. In broken Spanish we talked about politics, family, life, religion. Mar-veen told me that in Guatemala more and more people are leaving the Catholic Church for the Evangelical Church because evangelical preachers preach better. They use illustrations, humor, they talk about peoples' lives. They keep it interesting. I said "Amen, hermano!" Apparently they don't need me down here.

...

Miranda is beautiful and lovely. She really seems to like me: she smiles at me, laughs at me. However, I think Miranda likes everyone. And, of course, everyone likes Miranda. Among all the Guatemalan babies God could have given us, he seems to have chosen one of the friendliest and happiest and prettiest kiddos in America de Central. We're grateful and blessed.

...

Today we are going to continue bonding. We're going to go on a walk, we're going to go to the market. We're going to go see the sites of Antigua. I brought a bunch of church stuff to do on my down time here in Antigua, but this morning I agreed with God that getting work done was a distant second priority to my first priority of family-bonding. (Some of you are thinking it shouldn't be any sort of priority while down here.) So while I have church email access down here, if I don't respond your church-related email, deal with it. And God bless you.

April 30

2008-04-26T08:13:00.003-07:00

Matt comes to Guatemala tomorrow! We are all so excited to see him. He will hopefully arrive in Antigua by 1:30 pm. Nothing too exciting to share today. Miranda decided to wake up in the middle of the night last night and wanted to eat. Today, she took two great naps, so we'll just wait and see how she does overnight. Just some photos to share from our past two days...

This is what we normally look like when we get ready to head out to run errands or whatever. Miranda is still a big fan of the Moby wrap and it is super helpful for me to have two hands to grab onto the boys!

Just after bath time.Look! I scooched myself all the way into this little corner between the bench and the table! Aren't I funny!? Max being a totally awesome dish-washing helper!
I love to roll all over the floor! Thank goodness for Patty who mops our floor every day because it gets really dusty here!

April 28-Monday

2008-04-26T08:13:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I think I told you about Shreesh and Neena (maybe I didn't...I can't remember), our new friends at our hotel. Anyway, they are travelling all throughout North and South America and are driving the entire way. They have been as far as the Arctic Circle and are now headed south. They are chronicling their journeys on their blog and have given me permission to link you to it:
http://www.alongdrive.com/

Check it out! They are both computer people professionally, so their blog is really good...read the post about the mezcal in Mexico. This is a liquor that is made from the agave plant--Shreesh told me it is similar to Tequila. Anyway, tonight we shared one of their own drink creations--the "alacranes," with mezcal, lime, salt, and I can't remember what else. It was very good...Kind of a lemon/lime-aid with a "kick." Here are Shreesh and Neena with the alacranes...
Today we mostly stayed around the hotel, dropped off laundry, picked up laundry, walked to the store, and spent a few hours this afternoon at a local playground with a friend from Truman who is adopting her son from Guatemala and is also living in Antigua. One of her housemates and her son also joined us. It was very nice for the boys to have some room to run around. The lavanderia is just around the corner and Lily does our laundry for around $9. It comes back all nicely folded in a bag. Can anyone relate when I say it really is a glorious feeling to open up the nice, clean laundry already folded and ready to put away?

And now, leaving you with a cute photo of Miranda.

April 27

2008-04-26T08:13:00.001-07:00

We did get everything done today that I wanted to do! We walked to the town square and went to the ATM, went to Pollo Campero for lunch (the boys actually wanted Pollo Campero over Mcdonald's!) and went to the grocery store, La Bodegona this afternoon.

There is a nice couple that have moved into our hotel. They have been travelling since October and will continue to travel until the end of this year. They are driving and have been all the way north past the Arctic Circle and are now heading south. They have a blog, so once I get the address, I'll post it.

No plans yet for tomorrow. There's a park a few blocks up that we haven't tried yet, so we may do that.

Miranda is doing GREAT. She wakes up happy, eats, plays, naps, and continues the cycle again. I'm trying to keep her from taking a nap around 4-4:30ish, so she gets pretty cranky and wants to be held all the time right around 5:30 when I'm trying to make dinner. So far, the routine has been for me to put her in the high chair with some toys while I make dinner for the boys, give her a bath while they eat, clean up the dishes, put a movie on for the boys, feed Miranda around 6:30, then put Miranda down for the night. The past few nights she has gone straight to sleep, no crying at all. And then sleeps for 12 hours!! After she's in bed and the boys are watching their movie, I'll make dinner for myself, read, call Matt, and just relax. After their movie is over, the boys go to sleep and I get the computer for internet time!

A few photos from the day for you all! Keep up the comments. It really is one of the highlights of my day when I get to read all the comments on the blog!

More Adventures (April 26)

2008-04-26T08:13:00.000-07:00

First of all--I don't know what the deal is with the date that is posted on the blog...it seems like everything says April 21. So, I'm going to start posting the date in the title.

For lunch today, we went to a little store called Culinaria. It has a small patio in the back with a lawn and a small playset. The people are very nice and don't mind if you hang out for a while. I bought a yummy salad with olives, cherry tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and olive oil. The boys each got a drink and ate sandwiches and oranges we had brought from our kitchen. It was especially nice for Max to have more area to run around and burn off some energy. The only problem is that there aren't any trees, so there is very little shade. I put a sheet down under the slide and that was where Miranda hung out and played!

Rachel--this was when I was trying to call you!After Culinaria, we walked home and while Miranda napped, the boys and I read and had a little "rest time." We then got Miranda back in the Moby wrap and headed out to find Deliciosa--to try some excellent chocolate as recommended to us by my fellow St.Louisan/blogger/adoptive mom, Katie Mohr. Katie: this picture is for you. We will DEFINITELY go back for more chocolate!

We then walked back to our hotel via El Arco, the street with the famous yellow arch. Along the way we stopped at a textile market and took some pictures. We're getting a lot of walking in while we are here in Antigua. I enjoy it, but have to tune out the boys when they are complaining about how tired they are. Doesn't Mitchell look like he's having a GREAT time!!!??Tomorrow we have to make another trip to La Bodegona (the grocery store), go to the ATM, and I promised the boys that we could go to McDonald's. If we get all of that done, it will be a successful day! The McDonald's here is crazy nice...a beautiful courtyard. I'll definitely get pictures for you to see!

Another day in Antigua

2008-04-21T16:11:00.004-07:00

Today, we ventured out a bit more into Antigua. The boys and I dropped off laundry with Lily, who is just around the block. Then, we went to a small store to "reserve a chicken." Yes, that's what I said. They have a rotisserie-style oven and people go early in the morning to reserve their chicken. We are going in a bit to pick it up and will have it with rice and broccoli for dinner!

For lunch, we met a few other adopting families and their children at a local restaurant.

Mom--Mitchell took some more pictures of our courtyard especially for you.

Herndon/Bernekings--we miss you!! Hope you're having a great time in August at the golf weekend. Take care of Matt for me!

Mitchell has been an awesome helper...here he's making lunch for all of us--PB&J's.

This girl LOVES her toes!Here she is in the Moby wrap again. As you can see, I actually took a shower this morning. Future note: hairspray and make-up are not really necessary to pack, as I haven't used them at all.Typical stret in Antigua. I'm constantly reminding the boys to watch out so they don't get killed by a crazy driver and to make sure they don't twist their ankle on the cobblestone streets!

We are Pink!

2008-04-21T16:11:00.003-07:00

To all of you out there who are unaware, being "Pink" means that we have our U.S. embassy appointment date!! Our appointment will be May 5 at 8am. We then have to pick up Miranda's Visa the following day, so we'll all fly home on the 7th! Matt is going to fly to join us in Antigua sometime next week and we'll all travel back to Guatemala City on the 4th. We're going to be coming home so soon!

Today we went to the local grocery store to stock up on supplies. I had Miranda in the baby carrier and we walked quite a ways...I really like my Moby baby carrier and Miranda seems to like it as well. It was super helpful as we walked home from the grocery store and I could have my hands free to carry groceries and also keep the boys from being hit by a car on the crazy streets of Antigua!

Even though I think I look like a total dork, I am going to let go of my pride to show you a picture of me with Miranda in the Moby baby wrap. She really likes it and seriously, almost every Guatemalan smiles at her as we walk by. And they say wonderful, heart-warming things like "Que linda! Que bonita! Que preciosa!" (How beautiful, How pretty, How precious!)

It is 10pm Antigua time and I'm off to bed. Apparently tonight is the weekly "mass for people with problems" (as our front-desk person described to me) and the local Catholic church rang it's bells for close to 30 minutes and people were setting off tons of fireworks. When the bells kept going off, I seriously thought it was like in the movies...an emergency cry...like maybe the volcano was erupting and we all needed to evacuate. Yes...I know I have a tendency to jump to conclusions. Good night.

In Antigua

2008-04-21T16:11:00.002-07:00

We arrived in Antigua yesterday. Our little hotel is very quaint. We are in the back courtyard, right next to the kitchen. So far, the only other guests are an older gentleman and another adopting mom with her 17 month old daughter. She and I have bonded a bit---it is nice to have another grownup to talk to! The boys are having a great time playing outside in the courtyard. They did some homework this morning and after Miranda naps, I think Susan (the other mom) and I might venture out to the local grocery store. I bought cereal yesterday, but no milk! I also bought muffin mix that you just add water, but there aren't any muffin pans and the oven isn't marked with temperature degrees on it! Not sure what I'll be doing with those mixes...

Here are some more photos. Mom--I took a lot of these courtyard/flower shots for you. I thought you'd appreciate them. Their geraniums and salvia are CRAZY big.

Here is Mitchell in the hammock, showing off his Lego creation.

Here are the boys in our room, watching "The Empire Strikes Back" on the laptop.Here are the boys doing homework at the table right outside our room. Miranda is being entertained, just watching them.The courtyard is full of sun and flowers. It is very warm during the day when the sun is out, but gets cool at nighttime.We should hopefully be getting an e-mail from the U.S. embassy sometime today or tomorrow, which will let us know when our embassy appointment will be and when we can come home!

A great day!

2008-04-21T16:11:00.001-07:00

Miranda's foster mother, grandmother, and the facilitator were right on time this morning. Miranda is doing great...rolling over both ways, almost sitting up on her own, weighs around 16.5 lbs. Just about perfect....except for the big, huge mosquito bite on her nose!! We had a nice morning at the pool. Miranda took a nap in the stroller and we had a little birthday party for Max poolside. The workers at the Westin were awesome...balloons, singing, the whole works!!

I'm now on hold with Bank of America trying to figure out why my ATM card won't work!!!! AAAHHHGG!! I just want to get some Quetzales so we can buy Pollo Campero!!

I could write a ton more, but I'm too tired...I'll just post another for you! I just got off the phone with Bank of America...hope it works now.

We are here!

2008-04-21T16:11:00.000-07:00

We arrived without incident around 2pm today. Thanks so much to everyone who prayed for our safety. God totally provided for us by having our friends who are also adopting be on the same plane with us from Houston to Guatemala City!! We met Alex (and her daughter Rachel) here in February and this time she and her husband Sam are coming for their pick-up trip. Sam was totally awesome with helping with our bags at the airport. I was so grateful!! I think it helped Matt to know that they were going to be there with me. The airport was a breeze, hardly any lines.
We've already gone swimming. Now we're going to watch a movie and walk to a local restaurant. Miranda arrives tomorrow morning at 10am!! I'll post pictures by tomorrow night. We're going to have a little birthday party by the pool tomorrow afternoon for Max. The hotel is going to have a cake and I'm going to order the boys' favorite Guatemalan fast-food chicken---POLLO CAMPERO!!

The Big Thank-You Post

2008-04-20T16:57:00.001-07:00

I've been composing this post in my head now for weeks. Over the past days, weeks, and months so many people have helped us out along our adoption journey. It really is humbling to see the love that has been poured out on us by our family and friends! I am so thankful for everyone and below is just a summary of things that Matt and I are grateful for.

so many people praying for us
helping us out with $ for the adoption
giving us adorable gifts for Miranda
giving us gently used girl clothes for Miranda that are sooo cute
helping watch our boys
calling and sending encouraging notes to us
lending us stuff for our trip, like books and a laptop and a laundry hamper and DVD's and CD's
buying us a new set of luggage
buying the boys fun activities and toys for the trip
driving us to the airport at the crack of dawn
picking us up from the airport
having a "Herndon family of 4-no more" party for us
giving baby advice
being so totally excited for us
AND leaving us comments on our blog!! I love comments!!

DNA is at the lab!

2008-04-17T14:44:00.000-07:00

I got an e-mail this morning from the nice lady at LabCorp. She said that the 2nd DNA sample arrived at the lab in the U.S. today. I have looked back at many of my online friends' timelines and it seems that for most of them, the time between the arrival of the 2nd DNA sample at the lab and their U.S. Embassy appointment is anywhere between 16 and 22 days!! YIKES!!! That's so soon! I may be staying in Antigua for a shorter period than I had imagined.

We've been busy here, working on Miranda's room. Below are some pics of the boys working on the crib and what her room looks like today...with all the suitcases spread out all over the floor!

We ended up using the crib bumper and ruffle that we used with the boys. It is a light colored denim. We bought cute flowered girly sheets to go with them and they look good together!
Here is a picture of the cute bag that my friend Melissa from work gave me last night for Miranda. It's the first thing we have with her name embroidered on it!! Thanks so much Melissa.
Finally, I have to give a shout-out to our friend Lisa from church. She has basically served as our private notary over the past 9 months, helping us with all of our documents. Thanks so, so much to her for saving us lots of money in notary fees and for being so excited for us in our adoption!

The countdown continues

2008-04-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

We leave in 9 days! There has been a change in plans regarding where we are going to stay in Antigua. We are now staying at a place called Posada La Merced. Here is their website: http://www.merced-landivar.com/

A friend from college is living in Antigua fostering her son and she went to visit Posada La Merced for us and took a few photos. We will have a two bedroom suite---one room has a double bed and one room has a twin bed. We have use of the shared kitchen in the hotel. This place is much more family-friendly than the other inn where we were planning to stay. Here are the pictures of looking into the room with the double bed and of right outside our rooms. Apparently, the table is "ours" so I imagine eating there and having the boys do homework there.

The only thing I'm a little worried about is that our suite is right by the kitchen, so I'm afraid it may be a little louder than other areas of the hotel. Well, that's what earplugs are for, right?

We found out on Friday that the Guatemalan facilitator already has Miranda's new Guatemalan passport and birth certificate. These documents state her given first and middle name, but have "Herndon" as her last name! We expect that her DNA test will take place Monday or Tuesday.

Plans

2008-04-11T07:11:00.001-07:00

I have been busy making so many plans! It is hard to think about much else besides getting to Guatemala and picking up Miranda!

The boys and I are going to be leaving on April 21 to fly to Guatemala. We will stay in Guatemala City for two days, then the boys and Miranda and I will drive to Antigua, where we will live for 2-3 weeks while we wait for our U.S. embassy appointment. Matt will come down sometime near the end of our stay.

Here is a link to the hotel we will be staying at: www.cameliasinn.com

We will have the apartment, which is two rooms and a bathroom. There is a shared kitchen where I will be able to cook lunch and dinner. Breakfast is provided.

I have talked with the assistant principal from the boys' school and we will be taking lots of schoolwork with us! This will help to fill our days, but otherwise we will just be spending time together: walking to the market and the town square, relaxing in the courtyard, visiting with other families in Antigua.

I am taking a laptop (thanks Dan and Michelle!!!), so OF COURSE I'll keep the blog updated while we are there!

Say Goodbye to PGN!!!

2008-04-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

SHE'S COMING HOME!!!

It really is true!! Miranda's case has been approved by PGN!! Anne called us today and told us that we were approved and out of PGN sometime last week, the final decree has been signed (that means the birth mom has signed off for the final time), the new birth certificate should come later this week, and the 2nd DNA test should be next week!!! CRAZY!!! Thanks so much to everyone for all of your prayers and support. We'll keep you posted!

The room and the boys' new (old) toy

2008-04-07T17:41:00.000-07:00

If you've been wondering, here's Matt painting Miranda's room. The color is a bit brighter than we were wanting, but it's on the wall and paid for, so we're going to make do!

Last Tuesday night after small group, our friend's Dan and Michelle brought in the box seen below for the boys. This had been in their attic for at least 10 years (Dan's sons are in their late teens now). Matt swore that we were going to wait to set it up until AFTER our houseguest moved out of the basement, because he didn't want it to take up the whole living room. Well, that lasted about two days and it is now, indeed, set up in the living room. The boys love it and had all the neighborhood kids over this weekend to play. The last picture is Mitchell playing it with a neighborhood friend.

Curtains, anyone?

2008-04-04T12:19:00.000-07:00

So, I took down the two old curtains in Miranda's room. They are super-cute, but just dont match with the new colors of her room. They measure approx. 36 X 54 inches and have cute ribbon loops at the top to hang them on a curtain rod. If you are interested, please let me know and I'll get them to you!
If no one claims these, then I'm going to cut them up and use the fabric for quilting!

No news

2008-04-04T12:13:00.001-07:00

No news from PGN. I'm not calling today, because many people have been getting unreliable information when they call PGN lately, so I'm going to try and not stress about it. Yesterday marked 6 weeks in PGN for us. I have seen families posting on the Guatemala online adoption forums who have been approved by PGN who entered at around the same time as us and even some who entered after us. I am so praying that we hear news of our approval soon...and PLEASE NO KICK-OUTS. We would so appreciate it if you could pray with us.

To help pass the time, today I worked a bit on Miranda's room...cleaning, taking stuff to the basement. I also did a bit of shopping for Miranda yesterday at The Children's Place. They had some cute stuff...all for less than $6.

Here are a few pics of the clothes and of Miranda's room now...all ready for Matt to get started painting!!

Called PGN

2008-03-28T14:28:00.000-07:00

I called PGN again today and found out...we are STILL with the 2nd reviewer. Yes, I know, it is good news that we haven't been kicked out for a stupid previo, but I really wanted to hear that we were on the director's desk waiting for approval or that we were OUT! I'll call again next Friday.

Baby Rachel is OUT!

2008-03-28T07:39:00.000-07:00

Today I found out that my friend Alex and her husband received the call that they are OUT of PGN!! Their daughter Rachel is one month older than Miranda and we met Alex, Rachel, and Alex's mom in Guatemala on our visit trip. Rachel's file went into PGN on 2/15 and they just found out yesterday, 3/27, that they are OUT! I am so happy for them! Here is a picture of Miranda and Rachel by the pool. (Miranda has the big bow in her hair!)

Mitchell's birthday festivities

2008-03-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

The whirlwind birthday fun has ended! We had a fun dinner with Grandma Donna and Papa John last night. Mitchell was very excited about the steak and potato dinner! The bowling party was also a success today. Matt, me, and 11 boys under the age of 9. Crazy! The boys all had a lot of fun. Mitchell was pretty excited about a lot of his gifts, but when I asked him what his favorites were, he said "The Pokemon stuff, the shoes (Converse high-tops), the Brain Quest questions, and the popcorn!" One of his friends gave him a gift card to Blockbuster with a tub of microwave popcorn and he was pretty excited about it.

Here are some pictures from last night and today.

This shirt is from the Mitchell, IL volunteer fire department. A friend from work whose brother is a volunteer firefighter got it for me.
For dessert, I made individual molten chocolate cakes. They were awesome! They had gooey chocolate centers....YUM.

Mitchell laying in our bed, reading one of the many books he got for his birthday. He's just like I was/am...he reads super fast and will read a book over and over again.

Happy Birthday to Mitchell!

2008-03-21T05:57:00.000-07:00

Today is Mitchell's 8th birthday! This picture is from last night at the Science Fair, where Mitchell received a blue ribbon. His project was about the different ways to find North and which way is the most accurate. He and Matt had a lot of fun working on the project.

Today we are celebrating Mitchell's birthday by going out to breakfast with Matt's parents and then having my parents over for dinner tonight. Mitchell has requested steak and baked potatos for dinner! His birthday party is tomorrow at the local bowling alley and 12 of his friends will be joining him. I'll post pictures of that later this weekend.

2nd Reviewer

2008-03-18T13:44:00.000-07:00

I spent about 30 minutes and $20 yesterday on the phone trying to call PGN. After being hung up on a few times and transferred to extensions that didn't work, I finally reached an English-speaking employee at PGN. This employee fields most of the questions from English-speaking families with questions about their cases. She has a computer and can type in your case number and tell you where your case is: first reviewer, second reviewer, "on the director's desk," has received a previo, or has been approved. Only occasionally has she been known to not have the most up to date information. MANY adopting parents call her once a week to check on their file. Sometimes the parents will know more about their file than their agency or their attorney! (By the way, it is my understanding that the "reviewers" are actually attornies.)
So, the word from Laura (the employee at PGN) was that our case is with the 2nd reviewer and has been on the desk of the 2nd reviewer since 3/11. The first reviewer does a quick check of documents and then passes the case on to the 2nd reviewer, who does a more thorough check. The 2nd reviewer then either approves the case or issues a previo or multiple previos for missing documents or errors on documents. All of the files then go to the director's desk for signature--approved cases AND cases being kicked out have to get his signature.
Here's one of the insane things about PGN, though...there are anywhere from 3-5 2nd reviewers (I think there are 12 first reviewers...and only one director--Sr. Barrios). Each reviewer has different requirements that they like to have in files...one of them insists that the adopting parents have a specific kind of notarized and certified letter, while another reviewer doesn't care if that letter is in the file or not. There really is no rhyme or reason to the whole process.
In the past, cases could stay on the 2nd reviewers desk for 6+ weeks. There is no telling how long we could be there now. PGN is closed for the rest of the week for Easter, but after than, anything could happen...we could find out we are OUT at any time...we could find out that the 2nd reviewer has issued another previo at any time...The timing is completely up in the air. There are people whose cases were submitted to PGN before us who are OUT and some who are still in PGN.
It is kind of mind-boggling to think that there are around 12 first reviewers, 3-5 second reviewers and one director for THOUSANDS OF CASES!!! No wonder it can take so long!
Please keep praying. We would love to hear news in the next few weeks that Miranda is OUT of PGN!! That is our prayer.

Talked to the Pediatrician

2008-03-11T08:14:00.001-07:00

I just got off the phone with Dr. Hagen. It was a pretty quick conversation, but he got out Miranda's chart and went over her last visit with me. He said that the foster mother didn't have any concerns and told me what immunizations they gave to Miranda. He said lots of positive comments including:

"looks very well"
"doing great"
"physically and neurologically normal"

I asked him specifically about Miranda's eyes. He told me that the foster mom mentioned I was concerned about a possible lazy eye and he told me he checked her eyes and they "look fine" and are "OK."

He also told me the foster mom had told him I was concerned about Miranda's head shape---which is true..she has a pretty flat back of the head!! He said her head is just a slight variation of normal (and even used to correct medical term-plagiocephaly) and was nothing to worry about. Those of you who have known us for at least 7 years probably remember that our oldest son, Mitchell, had to wear a corrective helmet because he had EXTREME plagiocephaly. So, as you can imagine, I am a bit hyper-vigilant about head shape!

I have heard good reports about this doctor from other families and hope to meet him when we are picking up Miranda. He is one of the doctors who the U.S. embassy contracts with to do "exit" medical appointments on children who are being adopted. I hope to go to that final appointment with Miranda in Guatemala.

No word yet from PGN. I asked our coordinator if she had heard anything and she said "No." The good thing, though, is that we haven't heard about a KO (kickout) either! So, I'm praying that our file will have God's protection as it goes through different reviewers at PGN and will be on the director's desk soon. The director of PGN, Sr. Barrios, gives the final sign-off on the cases. Last night I was talking with Matt again about the whole PGN process and he said, "So, we need to pray for Barrios, right?" I thought it was a good approach to take...Let's all pray for Sr. Barrios!

New Measurements

2008-03-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Today we received Miranda's measurements from her doctor's appointment on 2/29. The facilitator in Guatemala also said "the doctor said if the family can call him, because she is excelent," which I am taking to mean she's healthy and the doctor would be willing to talk to us. I tried to call the doctor today, but he said he was with patients and could I please call back tomorrow at 9am. This doctor, Dr. Sidney Hagan, is a pediatrician who was trained in the U.S. He is on staff as one of the U.S. embassy pediatricians in Guatemala City and also has a private practice. I'll post more after I talk to him tomorrow!
Miranda's measurements as of 2/29/08:
weight: 14.4 lb. (55%)
length: 24.6 inches (26%)
head circumference: 16.1 inches (35%)

When will winter be over?

2008-03-05T13:58:00.000-08:00

No news from PGN or from Miranda's doctor's appointment from last week. I'm checking my e-mail multiple times a day in the hopes of getting some news. Oh, how I would love to have a miraculously fast OUT from PGN!!! In the past few days I have seen people posting in the internet who are out of PGN who were submitted or re-submitted to PGN on 2/18--just 3 days before us. I'm praying that our turn is coming.

Yesterday, (yes, March. 4!) we had a lovely winter storm that left us with 6+ inches of snow and yet another snow day. The kids had fun with Matt and the neighbor kids playing in the snow. I stayed inside and was warm! Here are some pics from yesterday.

Re-Submitted to PGN

2008-02-27T12:45:00.001-08:00

We found out today that our case was re-submitted to PGN on Feb. 21. Now, we all need to pray that our case wil be approved by PGN with no previos or KO's (kickouts)! Also, if the case could be approved super-fast, that would be great, too!

Miranda has her 4 month doctor's visit tomorrow. I have become concerned because it seems like she has an obvious lazy eye. I found out today that the foster mother was also concerned and asked the pediatrician about it at Miranda's 2 month appointment. According to our facilitator, the pediatrician wasn't too concerned about it then and stated that the eye might fix on it's own. The facilitator and foster mom say they will address Miranda's eyes again with the pediatrician. Please pray with me that God would guide the pediatrician in Guatemala and give him wisdom as to whether Miranda needs to go see an opthalmologist in Guatemala.

Our trip

2008-02-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I don't know where to begin...our trip was wonderful and it was horrible to have to leave Miranda and come home without her! We were able to have her with us at the hotel Friday morning through Monday morning. We spent lots of time at the pool just hanging out. Miranda eats every three hours and mostly took naps in the stroller during the day. At night, she ate around 9pm then slept in her crib until 6:30ish. (Crazy!!! I didn't sleep that great, though, because I couldn't really allow myself to fall asleep because I kept thinking she might wake up!) She would fuss a tiny bit around 2am and 5am, but only for a few minutes, then would fall back asleep.

We weighed Miranda on the hotel gym scale and she weighed in at 13.2lbs! That's more than double her birth weight. Her head circumference and weight are in the 25-50% of the growth charts and her length is <25%, which is not unusual for Guatemalan babies.

Miranda is a very content, happy baby. It was obvious that her foster mother and foster grandmother love her very, very much and that she is well-cared for. The grandmother was fostering a little boy who they brought with them on Monday. He is 7 1/2 months old and they were taking him to meet his parents for their final pick-up trip. They were sad to say good-bye to him. With the adoption system in Guatemala changing, there won't be foster mothers anymore. The government is planning on having all of the children in government-sponsored orphanages. This is so sad, because one of the great aspects of Guatemalan adoption is the loving care the foster mothers provide.

Mitchell and Max had a great time swimming at the pool at the hotel and just hanging out. Miranda loved watching them and they had fun playing "peek-a-boo" with her!

As far as the progress of our case goes, we did FINALLY receive our pre-approval from the U.S. Embassy! So, now we are waiting to be re-submitted to PGN. Then we wait. And wait some more... I hesitate to even predict when this process will be over, but since the beginning, I have prayed that we could bring Miranda home by the end of June. I'm going to keep praying that will happen. If you'd care to join us in prayer for that, we'd really appreciate it!

I also am praying that Matt and/or I will somehow be able to visit Miranda again before this process is over. The thought of not seeing her for another 3 months is just heartbreaking!

I've posted a slide show of our visit below. I hope you'll check out all of the pictures!

2008-02-19T10:55:00.000-08:00

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

We're Here!

2008-02-15T14:38:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! We just picked up Miranda this morning. Of course we think she is beautiful! Lots of swimming at the pool and just hanging out. Thanks to everyone for praying for us!!! Here are two pics for now...will post more when we return!

Last post before we go!

2008-02-12T20:02:00.001-08:00

We'll be leaving in just a few short hours! I'll try to post something while we're in Guatemala, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to find a computer with the internet. Please pray for our safety! The plan is that Miranda's foster mom will bring her to the hotel on Friday morning and she'll stay with us until Monday morning. So, all weekend we'll just be hanging out by the pool!

Nothing new

2008-02-06T12:59:00.000-08:00

We met with Anne last night. While she gave us lots of helpful information about our trip, she didn't have any news specifically about Miranda. It seems we are going to have to wait until our visit to see how big she is and how she's growing. I hope the 3-6 month clothes fit her! I have some 6-9month clothes that I'm taking to give to the foster mom, so if she's bigger she can wear these. If she's small, though, I'll have to run to the mall in Guatemala City to buy her some clothes!

Shopping today to get ready for the trip...I've been "getting ready" for many weeks now! Today I bought her a pair of earrings to give to her foster mom when she has Miranda's ears pierced. I also bought gifts for the foster mom, foster grandma, and our Guatemalan facilitator. Here are some pics of the adorable clothes I'm taking for Miranda. I've bought a few things at local resale stores, but many of these clothes were given to me by a good friend at work---THANKS SO MUCH LISA!!

I totally reminded myself of my mother today. I went to a resale store in town, "The Purple Cow," and was looking at diaper bags. I saw this cute messenger bag-type and thought it was pretty cute...until I looked at the price tag! "$79.99!!" I exclaimed outloud. (My mother used to proclaim prices loudly when we were in "cool" stores in the mall...I would always be mortified.) Anyway, I didn't buy the $80 diaper bag. I'm sure you're not surprised.

Meeting with Anne tonight

2008-02-05T15:34:00.000-08:00

We did find out that our case was kicked out from PGN a few weeks ago. There were 3 previos, all have been resolved except receiving pre-approval (PA) from the U.S. embassy. We are on day 55 of our wait for PA. If we haven't heard anything by day 60, then the next step is to contact our senator or representative and ask for a "Congressional Inquiry" into our file. This usually yields results in a few days. I'm praying I don't have to do it, but if we don't have PA by next Monday, then Senator Kit Bond's office will be receiving a phone call!
We are meeting with Anne, our adoption coordinator, tonight after Bible Study at our house. She is going to be going over travel information regarding our trip, which is coming up soon! We're excited because we decided to pay the extra money and change our flights and add a day to our trip. This will give the boys and Matt and I time to see more of Guatemala before Miranda is brought to us at the hotel. I hope to be able to post more for you after our meeting with Anne.

Mitchell and the Election

2008-01-31T13:11:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to let you know that now that John Edwards is suspending his campaign for the presidency, we have not heard of an official endorsement of another candidate by Mitchell. We'll keep you updated.

Election thoughts from Mitchell

2008-01-28T17:38:00.000-08:00

Today in the car, Mitchell had a lot to say about the upcoming election. At this time I'm not going to share any of Matt and my thoughts about candidates, but I thought you'd be interested in what Mitchell had to say! As you read, you may wonder if I am making any of this up...trust me...this all came from the mouth of my 7-year old son!

Mitchell: Mom, I've decided I'm a democrat. I believe in their rules and stuff.

Mom: That's interesting. What is it about the democrats that you like so much?

Mitchell: The democrats think that the government should help poor people. It's good to help poor people. I think if the government helped poor people, we would have more peace in the world.

Mom: That's very interesting.

Mitchell: Mom, I think I've decided who I want to win the election. John...John...John...not McCain...John Edwards.

Mom: That's interesting. Why do you like John Edwards and not Barak Obama or Hillary Clinton?

Mitchell: I don't know that much about Barak Obama and all Hillary Clinton talks about is healthcare. John Edwards is a good speaker. I think the president should have to be a good speaker.

Mom: That's very interesting, Mitchell.

Mitchell: Mom, I think I know why Mitt Romney is beating John McCain.

Mom: Really? Why is he beating him?

Mitchell: You see, mom, John McCain was a soldier and they don't make a lot of money. Mitt Romney is a businessman and he's made lots of money. You need lots of money to run ads and comercials and stuff.

This whole conversation took place after we had been at Washington University where Mitchell is participating in a brain MRI study. One of the incentives for him is that they gave him a picture of his brain---totally cool for a 7-year old. So you can see where all these thoughts are coming from, here's a pic of Mitchell's brain. I can just picture all those neurons and synapses firing away...

No Miranda News & Florida

2008-01-24T06:34:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. No news from Guatemala. Anne told us that she was going to talk with the Guatemalan facilitator yesterday, so hopefully we will have some news soon.

I spent the last 4 days in Florida with my parents. Both are recovering from some physical ailments, so we spent a lot of time just relaxing at their house. I did take my mom to the beach one day. I parked right on the beach and put a chair right by the car door for her. It was in the 70's and sunny, but it got cloudy, so we only stayed for 90 minutes or so. My dad cooked some great fish for dinner two nights (salmon and amberjack) and we went out to eat at JollyMon's restaurant, which has my favorite Sangria!

Here are some pictures from my trip.

update

2008-01-16T08:54:00.001-08:00

I just talked via e-mail with Anne, our adoption coordinator. She says that our file was actually submitted to PGN at the end of December! Because we have not received pre-approval from the U.S. embassy, this means that will will get an automatic previo and KO (kickout) from PGN for no pre-approval. The good thing about doing it this way is (1) our file was submitted to PGN before the Dec. 31 law change and has a much better chance of being "grandfathered in" and (2) there may be other previos in our file that PGN will notify our attorney about and these can be fixed before the file is re-submitted after our KO. These previos can be either on the Guatemalan side or on our side. So, now we wait for the actual KO (Anne says she expects it in the next few weeks), wait for the pre-approval from the embassy, fix any previos, and re-submit our file to PGN. After the re-submittal our file might receive another KO for other previos (lets pray that doesn't happen!!!!) or will be approved by PGN after 8 weeks.

Unfortunately, now PGN is saying that even files that were initially submitted before Dec. 31 will have to register with the new Central Authority (that is not quite up and running) before being re-submitted. Hopefully, this will simply be that our attorney needs to submit some paperwork at the office of the Central Authority, but the specifics haven't been released yet. The people on the Central Authority are just now being appointed by the new government. There was an announcement last week about the actual physical address in Guatemala of the Central Authority, so that's a step in the right direction!
If this whole process is TOTALLY confusing to you, check out one of my earliest posts where I try to explain the Guatemalan adoption process.

Hodge Podge

2008-01-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

Today was our church's annual Hodge Podge. It is an event put on by our women's commitee. In essence, it is a big garage sale where everything is FREE! People bring their garage sale type-stuff to the church and it is all displayed by category-clothes, kitchen, electronics, decor, toys, etc. Everyone gets post-it notes and if you would like an item, then you write your name on a post-it and place it on the item. If more than one person wants a particular item, then there is a drawing for the winner. It is a lot of fun and I always find great stuff! Here's what I brought home this year:There's a crib bedding for Miranda's room. I had thought about using the boys' denim crib set and just sewing on some rick-rack or something girly, but I found this set at the Hodge Podge and really like it! Matt says he'll probably paint her room yellow if I use this bedding. Let me know what you think about this set. I've heard that I'll have lots of pink stuff for Miranda, so it might be nice if her room WASN'T pink!I also got a bunch of neat books for Mitchell--a series called "The Adventures of Wishbone," some small toys for Miranda, and a Living Bible. Grandma--this is for you! Remember, I told you this might be an easier version of the Bible to read?

Finally, I got Miranda this cool toy. It's an activity table for when she's a bit older.

I think I did pretty well at the Hodge Podge! The one item that is not pictured is the Atari Flashback that I won (it was a hot item!). It looks a lot like the old Atari system from when Matt and I were young...has the same controllers. BUT--this system is newer (kind of a nostalgia-like thing) and has all of the old Atari games loaded onto it. Probably onto a microchip smaller than my pinky fingernail. (Remember how big and clunky those old games were?). The boys and Matt and I have had fun this afternoon playing Asteroids, Pitfall, Adventure, and other games.

Movement at the Embassy and blankets

2008-01-12T12:57:00.001-08:00

Well, there seems to be some signs of life at the U.S. embassy in Guatemala! On the internet forums there were multiple families that posted that they received their pre-approvals today. Most of the families were between days 45-53 of their wait for pre-approval. We are on day 31 of our wait...so we should hopefully get pre-approval in a few weeks.

I mentioned that I've been keeping busy sewing...here are a few pictures of the blankets I made for a co-worker and a neighbor. They are my home-made version of the popular taggies blankets.

Nothing

2008-01-11T17:02:00.000-08:00

Nope, nothing...zilch, nada, cero, zero...can't think of anymore words right now. No word regarding Miranda this week. I keep telling myself...it has been less than a month since our last update...be patient. I am wanting to buy some cute girl clothes and borrow some from friends to take down for our visit trip, so I am really needing to know how big she is! I was looking at a website today: www.thebowlady.com. It is a site owned by the mother of a friend at work. I may have to convice Matt, but I feel like I just HAVE to buy her a headband with some bows! It has been a long wait for me to buy girly things!
Anyway...I have been keeping busy. I have two baby showers coming up, so I got the sewing machine out of the closet and have kept busy being creative.
Please pray for patience for us as we wait for an update. Please pray for Miranda and her safety and health. Please pray for our case...that God would continue to guide us through this process to bring home our daughter!

Maybe an update this week?

2008-01-07T16:41:00.000-08:00

Anne, our adoption coordinator, told me that we should get an update "early this week." Of course, I was hoping maybe "early this week" meant today and I have been stalking my e-mail! Unfortunately, today was not the day. Please continue to pray for the adoption situation in Guatemala. We should hear in the next few days how the new laws are going to affect in-process cases like us. And keep praying for pre-approval from the U.S.embassy--we are on day 26 of our wait for pre-approval. There haven't been a lot of pre-approvals posted on the various internet support forums that I belong to, so we need to pray that the embassy opens the floodgates and gets those pre-approvals out!

Since I don't have any news or cute Miranda pics, here are a few pictures from our New Year's Eve festivities. We went to a bowling party sponsored by our church. I made the boys take a nap (of course, I took one too!) and they both stayed up until 12:30am! And they bowled the entire evening!

Update and Lots of Holiday Pics

2007-12-31T15:21:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! No new news from Guatemala. We are still waiting for pre-approval from the U.S. embassy. Our DNA results arrived at the embassy on Dec. 12, so we are on day 18 of our pre-approval wait. In the past few days I have seen some families on internet Guatemalan adoption forums receive pre-approval around day 40-45, so maybe the typical 60 day wait might be shortened a bit. Let's pray that it is waaaayyy shorter than 60 days so that we can get our case into PGN as soon as possible! Once we are in PGN, we have at least an 8 week wait and possibly more if we are kicked out of PGN for any reason.

We did book our flights and our hotel rooms for our trip to Guatmala in February. The boys are very excited! We are staying at a very nice hotel with a heated pool, so we'll probably just hang out poolside for most of the time. We hope to have Miranda with us at the hotel for most of our stay.

We have had a lot of holiday fun over the past week. Below are some pictures from a party Matt and I went to, from my birthday, and various Christmas pics!

My friends Gwen and Liza. I was just thinking... I have known them both for 13 years! And I still see them at least once a week!

My friend Rachel, the hostess for the party. Haven't known her that long, but wish I had. (The cake says Happy Birthday Jesus (and Michele).

Celebrating my birthday. Matt bought me tickets to go see Blast! at the Fox Theater next month. I'm super-excited! The boys waiting at the bottom of the basement stairs on Christmas morning! I worked and didn't get home until 6:45am. I was actually surprised because everyone was still sleeping! The boy cousins all got matching T-shirts from Uncle Brad and Aunt Allison.Max holding 4-month old cousin Lucy.

more pictures and updates

2007-12-19T19:00:00.001-08:00

I met with Anne, our adoption coordinator, today. She told me more about her visit with Miranda and her foster family. She said that the foster grandmother has a big role in caring for Miranda and Anne could tell that both the foster mother and grandmother really deeply cared for her. Anne also told us that we are OUT of family court! That means that the social work interview and report is complete and we are just waiting for pre-approval from the U.S. Embassy, which has been taking up to 60 days for many families. So, now we wait some more! We are planning a visit to Guatemala City in February, so that gives us something to look forward to.

When Anne first met the foster mother back in November, she gave her two disposable cameras from us. The foster mother gave her one back this past week and I just had it developed today. In these pictures, Miranda is anywhere from 4-7 weeks old.

We sent her that striped outfit she is wearing! We sent her that outfit too!

New pictures!

2007-12-18T14:55:00.000-08:00

Look at that smile! These new photos were taken last week, so she is around 7 weeks old. Our adoption coordinator said that Miranda is incredibly responsive and smiling a lot. Her foster mother said that she is going to see the pediatrician this month and we will get new measurements after that appointment. She is drinking 4 oz. every 3 hours. She goes to sleep at 9pm, wakes up for a bottle at midnight and then sleeps until 6am! Her foster mother said that when she wakes up, she smiles immediately. The foster mom has asked our permission to have her ears pierced, which is a very common thing in Guatemala for baby girls. When Miranda grows up she'll probably think it is pretty funny that I didn't get my ears pierced until I was 18!

I am meeting up with our adoption coordinator in a few days. She says she has a letter for me from the foster mother and one of the disposable cameras that I sent down for the foster mother to take pictures of Miranda. So, hopefully I will have more photos to show you soon!

Grandfathering Rumors-Pray!

2007-12-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone. There are rumors circulating that the U.S. Department of State and the Guatemalan government are meeting to determine what the actual definition of "in process" means for cases that will continue under the old system. The new adoption law passed in Guatemala and goes into effect 1/1/08. In the past, "in process" has meant having a registered Power of Attorney for a specific child in Guatemala, which we have. Now, though, there is talk that "in process" is going to mean being in PGN, or the Guatemalan attorney general's office. We will not be ready to go into PGN until at least February, so we are praying that this will NOT be how they define "in process." Please pray with us over the next few days that our case will fit within the new definition of "in process." If our case does not meet the definition of "in process" then our case may be delayed for months or worst-case scenario not ever completed-something I just refuse to think about.
No update from our coordinator in Guatemala yet. She returns to St. Louis on Sunday and usually e-mails us on Monday or Tuesday with the update and pictures.

More cute girl things

2007-12-10T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone. Our adoption coordinator left for Guatemala today and we sent down a big bag of clothes and gifts for Miranda and a bag of gifts for the foster mother and her family. We should have pictures and a medical update in about a week, which we will post for you all to see, of course! There is supposed to be a vote in the Guatemalan Congress tomorrow about the adoptions law. While everyone anticipates there will be a grandfather clause, tomorrow we will hopefully know more about the details of the grandfather clause. Will keep you posted!

All He Wants for Christmas...

2007-12-10T16:55:00.000-08:00

Are his two front teeth!
Yesterday Mitchell lost his 2nd top tooth! He's pretty excited about it. This was the first tooth he lost at home--1st was at church, 2nd was at the water park in Florida, and his 3rd lost tooth was at school!

DNA test done! (and no more Black Monday!)

2007-12-04T19:57:00.000-08:00

We found out today that the DNA test was done yesterday, December 3. The DNA has to be shipped to a lab in the U.S. and we will hopefully find out the results by next week. Then the results are sent to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala and we begin the wait for pre-approval from the Embassy. The social work interview is scheduled for Thursday! Things are moving along!

For those of you who don't know, Matt and I have unfortunately come to call the 1st Monday in December "Black Monday." This is because for the past two years, we have received bad news on the first Monday in December---2 years ago, we received confirmation that we had miscarried our 7 week old baby. 1 year ago, we had an ultrasound and found out that our 16 week old baby's heart had stopped beating in the previous two weeks. So, "Black Monday" hasn't brought good news for us in 2 years. Thanks to God for the good news today.

Monday??!!

2007-11-30T12:37:00.000-08:00

Our adoption coordinator told us today that the facilitator in Guatemala is planning on having the DNA tests AND the Family Court interview on Monday! The Family Court interview involves the birth mother meeting with a Guatemalan social worker. Please pray that both of these go smoothly! We will keep you posted.

Cute Little Boy Conversation

2007-11-27T15:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight I overheard this conversation between Mitchell and Max:
Mitchell: "I'm going to write a story about travelling around the world. Where should I go?"
Max: "Hell" (Yes, he really said this!)
Mitchell: "Hell isn't a place on earth."
Max: "Pizza Hut!"
Mitchell: "No, I mean like a country...like Paris or South America."

No adoption news to post. Waiting to hear from our adoption coordinator about when the DNA test will be scheduled. In case you don't remember, the DNA test is a U.S. embassy requirement...DNA is taken from Miranda and her birth mother to prove that the birth mother didn't steal a baby and is fraudulently trying to give the baby up for adoption. If you have read any negative articles about babies being stolen from birth mothers in Guatemala, I can say that IF these stories are true, then the babies aren't being adopted by U.S. families. The U.S. is the only country with a DNA requirement...I believe.

Of course I'll post again when I hear any news.

She's 3 weeks old!

2007-11-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Here is Miranda at 3 weeks old!

Our adoption coordinator returned from Guatemala yesterday and e-mailed us new pictures today. She also gave us an update about Miranda and told us she met the foster mother and the foster grandmother (the foster mother's mom who lives with her!). According to the foster mother, "Miranda is a peaceful baby. At this time she is either drinking or sleeping. She only cries when she is hungry and is a happy little baby." She also told us that Miranda is drinking 3 oz. of formula every 3 hours. Our adoption coordinator said that both the foster mother and grandmother are "exceptionally gentle and sweet ladies." Our adoption coordinator will be visiting again in 3 1/2 weeks, so we'll get more pictures then! For now, here are a few more.

The Truth

2007-11-15T09:50:00.000-08:00

So, Mitchell's school is having Reading Week this week, with lots of special reading activities. One of the activities included "Wear a book day" The kids had a piece of paper shaped like a book cover. They had to write the title and description of their favorite book and then it had holes in it with string and they wore it around their neck. Last year, I think he did a "Magic Tree House" book, but this year he did the Bible! Here's what his book cover says:

Truth

Like 5,000 years there was this guy named Jesus

He had 12 followers.

They were matthew, mark, luke, john, judes, moses, paul.

While some of the facts are a bit off, I am so proud of him! Here's a picture, though you may not be able to see the detail.

Those of you who go to Rooftop will remember that while in college, Matt labeled his Bible with the words THE TRUTH on the cover. He talked about it in one of his sermons a few weeks ago...I guess Mitchell was listening!

Update

2007-11-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

Our adoption coordinator e-mailed from Guatemala today. She was able to see our daughter and hold her for about 30 minutes! She said she got lots of pictures and will e-mail them to us this weekend. She also met the foster mom and the foster mom's mom! She said the foster mom and her mother really like the name we've chosen, Miranda Ruth, and have been calling her by her name! We're really excited to get the pictures and will post some new pictures when we get them.

Cute girl clothes and Halloween

2007-11-12T12:28:00.000-08:00

Our adoption coordinator is going to Guatemala tomorrrow and will be taking our Power of Attorney with her. This is the document that can get the ball rolling and we will hopefully have our DNA test done in the next few weeks. Anne is also taking down a few things for the baby that I have bought over the past few days...I just couldn't help myself! I also sent down a few clothing items that Mitchell or Max wore when they were infants. I thought it would be cute to get pictures of this baby wearing the same clothes that they wore. Here's a picture of what I sent this time. I mostly sent newborn-sized clothes, since she's so tiny. I have 0-3 month clothes that I'll send with our adoption coordinator next month. She will be seeing our baby this week in Guatemala and her foster mother and told me that she will bring us back a lot of pictures!

I have finally gotten around to downloading pictures, so here are some pictures from Halloween. Some friends from church had a party and we took the boys and had lots of fun. Trick or Treating, Cupcake decorating, Pumpkin Carving, lots and lots of good food and candy! The boys decided to be Ninjas this year. They had fun with Matt, going online and downloading "Ninja moves."

Our referral!

2007-11-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Here she is! This is our sweet little girl, born on 10/22/07. She is tiny, between the 5th and 15th percential for weight, length, and head circumference. We received photos and a limited medical record. "Su examen fisical y mental es normal." Translation: "Her physical and mental exam is normal." This is from the embassy pediatrician that will provide medical care to her while she is in Guatemala. We also received a few medical test results on her and the birth mom and even a photo of her birth mom.

So, we sent our power of attorney to Chicago today and hope to get it off to Guatemala next week. Everything is definitely still NOT set in stone...the nature of international adoption won't let us get too excited, yet. The DNA test and family court interviews in the next 4-6 weeks will be very revealing to us. Keep reading the blog for updates!

Adoption News

2007-10-13T14:48:00.000-07:00

Exciting news today: We received our I-171h. This was a blessing from God, as our local USCIS office was saying to expect 6-8 weeks for processing. Well, we received ours in 5 weeks! Our adoption coordinator is traveling to Guatemala next week and will be taking all of our documents with her.
There is a lot up in the air right now regarding the future of adoptions in Guatemala. As of January 1, 2008 there will be many changes in effect. The Guatemalan Congress will be voting on an amendment in November to essentially "grandfather" all of the existing cases as of January 1. The grandfathered cases would then be completed under the current rules instead of the new rules and regulations. The U.S. Department of State, UNICEF, and the Joint Council on Adoption all favor a grandfather amendment. Please pray that the Guatemalan Congress will vote to include the grandfather amendment and that our adoption case would qualify as an in-process case as of Jan. 1, 2008.

What's Happening Now?

2007-09-25T08:44:00.000-07:00

Lots of adoption stuff going on in the past few days:

had our documents certified by the Secretary of State on 9/20

sent our documents to the courier in Chicago via FedEx on 9/20

confirmation e-mail that our documents had been submitted to the consulate on 9/24

fingerprinted by the USCIS on 9/25

So, now we continue waiting! We're waiting for the documents to be returned to us from the consulate in Chicago and we are waiting for our I-171h from the USCIS. Our adoption coordinator is going to Guatemala during the third week of October and is planning on taking our dossier with her when she goes. A referral should hopefully come soon after our dossier gets to Guatemala!

Please be praying for us and for the baby girl that God has chosen for us!

Home study

2007-09-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

We sent our home study to the USCIS yesterday. Our branch office in St. Louis is saying that it is taking them 6-8 weeks to process the I-600A form, which will give us permission to adopt a foreign-born orphan. We have heard of people receiving the clearance much sooner than 6-8 weeks, though. So, we could use your prayers! Specifically, that God would perform a miracle and help the USCIS branch office to move quickly!

First Day of School

2007-08-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

No adoption news to share...we're still waiting for the final copy of our homestudy. But, the boys had their first day of school today! Max is in afternoon Kindergarten and Mitchell is in 2nd grade. Don't they look cute!

Water Balloons

2007-08-16T15:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday the boys really wanted me to buy balloons so they could do water balloons with Matt when he came home. It took me about 25 minutes to fill all the balloons up and less than 5 minutes for them to destroy them all! But...they had lots of fun! It started with a nice and calm water balloon toss, but ended with a water balloon war. I believe Matt was the winner...he seemed to get the technique of throwing the balloon near the boys feet. The boys would always throw the balloons right at Matt's chest and they would bounce right off and he'd throw the balloons back at the boys!

Adoption Process

2007-08-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

I thought Iwould try to fill you in on the adoption process in Guatemala. This might help all of you as you follow us on our journey!

Homestudy--Interviewing with a social worker, gathering papers and information. This documentation is a requirement of the state of Missouri and the USCIS (formerly the INS).

The Dossier--This is the group of documents that ultimately goes to Guatemala to demonstrate to the authorities there that we are emotionally, financially, and physically prepared to be good parents. Creating the dossier involves gathering all the official clearances and background that has been notarized and certified by the state it originated in and then sending them to the Guatemalan Consulate to double-check the legality of the documents. From there, the dossier is sent to Guatemala and translated. The paperwork is a big step because Guatemala requires documents to be absolutely perfect. No staple holes, no illegible signatures, no creases in the paper...

The Referral--This is when we will see pictures of our new baby. We should receive a few pictures, results of medical testing and some basic information on the birth mother. Once we accept the referral, we will need to sign a power of attorney (POA) to let our attorney in Guatemala act on our behalf during the adoption process.

DNA test and family court--The next step is to set up the DNA test of both the baby and birth mother. This ensures that the mother who brought the baby to the attorney to be relinquished is the actual mother and the baby has not been illegally obtained. Once a match is received, the case will head to the Guatemala Family Court where a Guatemalan social worker will be assigned. The social worker will conduct interviews of the birth mother, foster mother, and anyone else they may need to interview. Then the social worker will write up the report and it is approved by a judge.

US Embassy pre-approval--During the time the case is in Family Court, we will be waiting for pre-approval from the U.S. Embassy to ensure that the baby we are adopting is adoptable according to U.S. requirements.

PGN--After Family Court and PA our case will move to the final stage, PGN (Procuradoria General del Nacion). This is basically the Guatemalan attorney general's office. The attorney general act much like the U.D. Department of Health and Human Services when it comes to adoptions in Guatemala. They are responsible for checking the legality of all the steps taken during the process and picking through all the documents with a fine-toothed comb. Ultimately, one man, Sr. Barrios, signs off on every single case. This tends to be the most unpredictable part, especially lately. Some people can go through PGN in less than two months, while some have taken 5 months or more. While in PGN, your case is seen by different levels of reviewers. These reviewers scrutinize the file and can give you a previo (also known as a KO-or kickout) for anything from missing a certain document, an illegible signature, a name mispelled. At times they have been known to give a previo for missing a document that is ACTUALLY NOT MISSING!! Then, the attorney has to go show them that the document is there, but it usually doesn't matter. When you receive a previo, your case is sent back to the bottom of the line and you usually start PGN all over again.

U.S.Embassy Approval--Once the case is approved and exits PGN, we will receive the new birth certificate and passport changed to reflect our last name. After that, all the documents are translated back to English and sent to the U.S. embassy for final approval. There is a 2nd DNA test done on the baby only, to confirm that it is the same baby from the initial DNA test. After the confirmation of the DNA test, we then wait for the "pink slip." that will tell us when to be at the U.S. embassy--usually within a few weeks. They have a short interview with us and then it is official! We pick up the visa the next day and once our feet hit the ground in the U.S., the baby will be an American citizen.

Cardinals Game

2007-08-11T18:40:00.000-07:00

Went to the Cardinals game this afternoon. Thanks to the Beckners for giving us the tickets! Matt was busy, so my mom, Donna, went with us. We had a great time and got to see Rick Ankiel hit two homeruns and make an awesome catch against the right field wall. Lots of fun!

Our new family blog

2007-08-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

So I wanted to be able to keep everyone updated on the many adventures of the Herndon Family and thought a blog might be a good way to go about doing this. My hope is that this site will keep family and friends updated on what Mitchell and Maxwell are up to and also about what is going on with our adoption from Guatemala. What is going on with the adoption, you wonder? Well, we had our home study visit yesterday. We should receive the final copies in 7-10 days. We will then begin the lengthy process of getting the documents for our dossier certified by the Secretary of State and then authenticated by the Guatemalan consulate in Chicago. The dossier will then go to Guatemala to begin the translation process. In the meanwhile, we will be getting fingerprinted by the USCIS--formerly the INS--and will be awaiting our I-171h, which will give us approval to adopt a foreign orphan. The local USCIS office reports that current waiting times for the I-171h are 4-8 weeks.