Leaving on a very positive note!

Rich and I are SOOOO excited to get down to see Nate. Not to be too sentimental, but it will be our first time together as a full family. Very exciting. We'll have the little guy all to ourselves for 4 days- we can't wait. We are planning on going to Antigua on Sunday with Alfredo- a nice man who comes highly recommended by my fellow FTIA'er blog pals. I have heard amazing things about Antigua and I feel blessed to be able to first experience its beauty with my husband and son!

Secondly, we feel so fortunate to be leaving knowing that DNA has been completed and that our birth mother interview was also completed on 8/28 at the same time. Our foster mother said everything went smoothly and the interview with the social worker went well also. So glad to have this behind us. The little tube with DNA results should be waiting for us when we return. This was the last time that Nathan will see his birth mother if everything stays on track. Maria said that Nathan had another cold- but it is so typical this time of year as it is their winter season. She said he is feeling better though and it wasn't a bad cold. He was weighed at the doctor's office on 8/24 and he weighs in at 11lbs and 8 ounces and is slightly over 23 inches long. He seems to be doing really well.

Finally, I want to thank all my fellow blog friends and family for checking in on this site, sending me personal emails, and being such a great support during our journey. We appreciate all of your kindness!

Well, off to finish packing. 2 huge suitcases- one of which will come back empty! We're flying Philadelphia to Houston to GC and we hope it's uneventful. I will try to post some pics this weekend but I can't promise. Time with the little guy is too precious. Hopefully he can nap with Rich and I can run down and post a few! Talk more when we return from the other side! :-)

DNA is D-O-N-E!!

Yes, we are so thrilled with this exciting news. It was done yesterday- 8/28. We won't know the results until next week but this is a HUGE step and now we move on to the 8 week wait for the US Embassy to pre-approve us to complete our adoption. Yesterday, Nathan met with his biological mother for probably the last time (we think birth mother interview was done as well). We hope she is at peace with her decision and I hope she knows how loved he will be. Ahh- now we just wait for results next week (which will be an even bigger relief)! Another step to cross off- we're getting there slowly but surely! :-)

Giving Back...

Here's a positive and uplifting news piece about a young girl who was adopted from Peru. It outlines her quest to make a difference in the lives of orphans in the same village she is from. I am always so amazed at how one person can make such a difference. And at such a young age, too.

Here's the video...click here

11lbs, 4oz!

Yup, that's our little guy. We talked with Maria tonight and he's growing well. He went for a doctor's check yesterday and he weighed in at 11lbs, 4oz. He's 15 weeks old now- wow. I always feel so happy after I finish talking with Maria. She is so attentive to Nathaniel's needs and really cares about his developement. She describes his every need and talks about how fortunate he will be to have us as his parents--which is so very nice of her. We feel lucky to have her in Nathaniel's life until he can come home. We always look so forward to our Thursday night call with her. :-)

On another note, I have been a little down lately due to our DNA test (waiting almost 9 weeks now). We continue to be told it will be done and then nothing happens. We are told now that it will occur next week. We have every hope that it will happen and we are remaining positive that we'll have results in September when we get back from our trip to GC. We are SO excited and can't wait to get our hands on the little guy. We're off in a week! Hope to post some good news next week before we leave. Thanks for checking in!

A Little Slice of Heaven. . .

And all of this for just 215k! What a deal! Moving to Guatemala- here's the perfect house! I LOVE lakes and this house caught my attention. It's on Lake Atitlan and is surrounded by the beautiful countryside that Guatemala has to offer. I know I won't be moving to Guatemala, but I did enjoy the pics. :-)

Lake Atitlan House. . .

Remembering our Referral Day

I was reflecting this morning that it's already been 2 months since we received Nathaniel's referral. Wow- does time go by fast or what? 2 months ago today we received the call and I realized I never shared the details on this blog with all of you. Of course, like anything else with us, it didn't come in the traditional way. Nonetheless, it was one of the best days of our lives and we will never forget the joy it has brought us.

Let's start from the beginning. Most of you know we suffered through 33 days (not too bad after the fact!) of waiting for USCIS in Philadelphia to send us our I-797c so that we could get on the referral list. We received this precious piece of paper on 6/13. I immediately called our coordinator and we were put on the list that day. At that time, she told us the wait for a baby boy referral was 2-4 weeks. So, like anything else in this process, we like to be realistic and expect the longest. We were expecting a referral sometime in July. That weekend, we learned that our coordinator had left. So, on Tuesday the 19th @ 5pm ET I called our new coordinator to introduce myself and get an update on the referral time. Before I delve into describing this, I called Rich before I called our new coordinator. Another woman from our agency, Nicole, had been on the list for a few weeks and had gotten her referral that day. I told him- "Nicole got her referral today-- so that means we are getting much closer". There had been an unofficial boy wait list and we were behind Nicole as I remember. Once I saw Nicole received her referral, I knew we had to be close. I told Rich, "I just have a feeling we're going to get our referral today". He said-- and I quote -- "no way!" I just said- I have a feeling it will come today.

Back to my call to our coordinator. She was very new at that time and we introduced ourselves. I wanted to verify she had all of my #'s correct for when that "time" came. She said she did. I asked her what the updated referral time was (hoping to hear 1-3 weeks since a week had gone by) but she told me it was 2-4 weeks. I told her I would be on the road a lot the next day but that she could leave me a message at any time and I would get back to her. That's when the call got strange. She said, "You're going to be on the road" and her voice took a different tone. She said, "Can you hold just a minute" and my heart sank. From that, I had a funny feeling. Yet I was unclear what to think because she had just said 2-4 weeks for a referral. She came back about 2 minutes later- what seemed like an eternity - and said, " Mrs. Hoyt, may I call you, Emily (of course!)? We have your baby boy referral today- congratulations!" Wow- as informed as I thought I was I certainly wasn't expecting this. I said, "you do?" And from there, I guess you could say I was shocked. I never expected it would actually come from a call I made! Typically, the agency calls you when they have your referral. Our coordinator told me she was planning on calling me at 6ET to give us our referral. I was so glad I called because I had a 6:30pm appt that I ended up rescheduling. As soon as I hung up I called Rich and he too was in a state of shock. I ran home and we were staring at pictures of the little guy all evening. Can't believe it's been 2 months.

Hope you enjoyed our story. Everyone has a different story and I love reading and hearing about a moment that changes our lives so dramatically.

How thoughtful!

Look what arrived in the mail today from my Secret Blogger Pal:











These gifts are from Mayan Traditions- they have beautiful things which are handmade in Guatemala and go to support a good cause. I wish I knew my Secret Blogger Pal's name; If you're reading this- thanks so much! :-)

Just "Chillin" today...

And it's so refreshing, too! I have been traveling for the past month during every weekend and it had me tired. I'm so glad I have free weekends until we leave for Guatemala.

Let's see....not much is new. Work is keeping me busy as ever and cleaning the house takes up the rest of my time lately. :-) The weather has been absolutely beautiful here. 80's and perfectly clear. Yesterday I volunteered at an event for a non-profit animal rescue I have been involved with for the past 2 years. I volunteer at these events and from time to time we foster a pooch waiting for a home. It's the greatest feeling to know we can have an impanct on saving a loving animal and placing them in a home for the rest of their "doggy" years. I love this work and wish I could do it for a living.

Speaking of animals....Ben and Juney have been bugging me about when little Nate will be coming home. I keep reminding them patience is a virtue but they tell me they need someone to play ball with NOW.

Here they are today in the yard:

Would someone please play with us?!



And my handsome little Ben. . .



And our Big Guy Juney. . .

Just Because. . .

Click to play | Make your own Smilebox

We miss you and can't wait to see you soon. Happy 3 months old!

TGIF! We're in Family Court!

Thank goodness it's Friday! Well, another week has passed. Is it just me or does this summer seem to be flying by? It seems strange that Labor Day is just around the corner.

Skipping to the important stuff-- we got news last night that we have been submitted to Family Court! YAY! We don't know the date yet but it was sometime late last week or early this week. We haven't received word on DNA but by looking at other's timelines with our attorney, and through talking with our foster mother, we feel it will be soon! :-) We'll be sure to keep you posted. It was so great to hear last night that we were submitted. We will get our receipt emailed (something I have requested) so we will be able to see the exact day we entered. I will add it to our timeline when I know the date next week. We are in the Mixco Family Court which our attorney reports is less busy than the Guatemala City court. Mixco is about a 30-45 minute drive from the city, at least that's what we've been told. And our attorney lives there.

Well, I'm headed up to VT tomorrow, again! My good friend from high school is getting married on Sunday and I am so looking forward to it. She is officially (well almost--with the exception of one other long-time friend) the last to get married. Tomorrow I'll spend time with the family and we'll head up to the lake to do some swimming. Pennsylvania has been SOOO hot lately. Today was something like 95 degrees with pure humidity. I guess we really are in the middle of the dog days of summer!

One other piece of news to report. We painted the baby's nursery this week! Decisions. . . Decisions. . . Decisions! We initially decided to go with Bibbidi Bobbidi Blue (Disney collection)-- and at the last minute changed to Pooh Bear Yellow. It will go with all Nate's blue bedding and will be easier to coordinate with pink or purple if we have a little girl in the future. I guess being practical won over our decision on this one.

Hope you all are having a great start to August and I will post more early next week when I return from Vermont. Goodnight.

Measurements are in!

Fresh from the doctor today: (12 weeks old!)

Weight: 10lbs, 5oz
Height: 23.6 inches
Head Circumference: 15.3 inches

He's growing well. :-)

A Little Inspiration is Always a Good Thing

Don’t Quit!
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low, and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
when he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst, that
You Must Not Quit.

- C. W. Longenecker

And more pictures to share. . .