Farewell tomorrow...

We're having such a good time it's hard to believe we leave tomorrow afternoon. We have had such a wonderful time meeting other families including those from our own agency. We are so pleased with how healthy and happy Nate is....he's such a good little boy. Tomorrow we will meet Maria and her family for lunch and say goodbye. We are very, very hopeful this will be our last goodbye- FOREVER!

I'll post lots more pics when we get home. We took Christmas photos today and they came out awesome. :)

Right now we are still waiting to get out of PGN. I feel like the time has gone by so fast....until this week where I have felt a sense of urgency to get OUT. We are currently waiting to be signed in PGN (meaning the legal review in Guatemala will be completed). We are fairly confident we'll have news to share this coming week. If we are successful in getting out of PGN, Nate will be coming home in about 5-7 weeks. It will be so hard to say goodbye again tomorrow but we are so fortunate to have had all these visit trips...I feel very blessed. I pray and hope we'll have good news to share in the next week or so!

Until next week...

Happy Thanksgiving!

It's my 1st Thanksgiving! Can I please have some mashed potatoes?!





An absolutely beautiful day in Guatemala....you can see the Volcano in the background




We want to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving today! We feel very blessed to be able to spend the week down here with Nate. We are thankful for so many things...but especially for our family, friends, and health. This year we feel overly thankful for the best blessing of all- our little guy!

Wishing you a peaceful and joyous holiday! :-)

Family of 3...

Hi- we're here! I wish I could have posted sooner but we've been so busy! All was uneventful with our arrival...until we arrived. When we got to the Marriott yesterday to check in- they told us they did not have a room for us! This was after they had just confirmed our reservation via email 3 days ago...and we booked the reservation 2 months ago. So, they took us to the Grand Tikal (another hotel here) and comp'ed the night for us. We weren't crazy about the GT but it was Ok for the night. They told us they had a crib but then 3 hours later they finally admitted they didn't have one! This morning the Marriott picked us up and brought us back and we were upgraded to a larger room with access to the executive lounge. Not too bad! We're glad to be back to our home base.

On to much more important things- we're so happy to be a family of 3 again! We are just loving every minute with Nate! He brings us SO much joy...he is such a happy baby. He is also teething-- no teeth coming through yet- but he is in the early stages and all he wants to do is put his hand in his mouth. We're trying teethers and other things to help him. He doesn't seem to be in pain or irritated- just wanting to put everything in his mouth. We just love every second with him...he is absolutely perfect for us. When we met him wih Maria yesterday he went right to our arms without even a second of hesitation....I think he might be starting to rememeber his mom and dad!

Anyhow, he is peacefully napping now with Daddy--whom he just loves to spend time with. Enjoy the pics!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

Stay Tuned... Next post from Guatemala! :-)

Keeping the faith...

Hanging on by a thread...BUT we're keeing the faith through this process. Gosh, I was just emailing with my fellow FTIA'er pal J., (her son Nick is with Nate) and she was saying how difficult this stage was- I couldn't agree more. For us, it's the most difficult part.

I talked with Maria tonight! Nate is doing wonderful. I can't believe it- he now weighs a whopping 14lbs 12 ounces at 6 months old! I would definetely title that a 'growth spurt'. Last month he was barely at 13lbs. He is doing really well. We are meeting Maria and her family at the hotel when we arrive. We'll have some coffee (the best!) and spend some time talking before we get Nate all to ourselves for 5 days. Not long at all and we'll have him in our arms...

Please keep us in your thoughts over the next week or two--we really need it! Our file should be making its way to Senor Barrios for final approval. Since we haven't received a previo- it is very likely by this time that we will make it to his desk. What happens there is yet to be seen, but, there is an 80% chance of any case getting an approval from him. Our potential is good- keep us in your prayers! Today marks 6 weeks and counting....praying like I've never prayed before...my heart literally hurts from all this waiting...please let us out soon. :-)

Whirlwind Weekend!

I can't even believe how fast time has been going lately. This past week just seems like a blur. This weekend was wonderful on many levels and I'd love to share the details. Ok, here's the play-by-play action (warning- long post) :-)

On Friday @ 4pm I left my office and drove 8 hours to my sister's house in NH. I thought I was seeing double by the end of the trip! Caution: not a good idea to work a full day and drive in the pouring rain and darkness in the late evening hours. I made it there safely though and all was OK. On Saturday morning my sister and I headed to my mom's house to "do some serious shopping". My mom called my sister that morning and told her that their cat was sick and that he needed to go to the vet. So, we should just come to her house instead of shopping and maybe we'd be able to go later. Well, we arrived at my mom's....only her cat wasn't sick and there were no intentions of going shopping either....it was a surprise baby shower!

Look how much fun we had...

Surprise!



My mom...always so happy!



The cake- yummy! And how creative?!



My mom and I...




Good Dog Carl....a must have book in the Hoyt household!



More books for Nate...



My Papa and I...



More presents for the little guy!



And finally...my sister and I...she's the major culprit behind the surprise!



You think the weekend would be over by now. Not quite! After the shower at my mom's my sister and I left and drove to Boston where my dad's family lives. We met them for a late dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (always so good!). The next day we got up and going early because we had another shower! This one was planned and we had such a great time.

Some pics from the day...

Here I am super excited to see my family at the shower



My sisters (yes, I have a sister 28 years younger than I!)...



To celebrate Nathaniel!



Another thoughtful gift!



The cake...



Special, special thanks to Molly, Aunt Joanne, Juanita, and Mom!!!! You all made the weekend such a wonderful time. I am blessed to have such great family.

Needless to say- the weekend was a blur and exhausting! We got everything and more we need for Nathan....we're very lucky. :-)

Happy 6 months old, Nathan!

Ok, so I haven't been posting a lot lately. We've been busy. Getting Nathan's nursery ready, doing stuff around the house, working! There is not much new to report. We are SO ready for our trip- only 11 more days and we'll have him in our arms again!

There has been some notable news though on the Guatemalan Adoption front... I am attaching the JCICS report but- the gist of it is that it appears as though the Hague will be pushed back in Guatemala until April, 2008. It also appears very likely that there will be a grandfather clause- meaning all in-process adoptions will be able to continue under the old system. We feel very confident that we'll have Nathan home before April of 2008- so this is good news for us and all of the children and families currently involved in Guatemalan adoption. While this is not finalized, the probablity of the Hague being pushed back and the Guatemalan Congress approving the grandfather clause seems very good. Here's the info on JCICS

EDITED TO ADD: Guatemala eleceted a new President on Sunday. Hopefully this will mean positive change when he takes office in January, 2008. Read more about Guatemala's next President...
And some interesting background on the Vice President elect...

***On the PGN front, called again today ...we are still with the 2nd reviewer- no KO's -- 5 weeks and counting! You'd think 4 weeks on the 2nd reviewer's desk would be sufficient-- we have to be getting closer to the top of the pile!

Cute as can be...

TGIF! We got updated pictures today. These were taken in the last week or so.

Meet our foster family...

Starting from the left...Blanca, who is a neighbor of our foster family. She speaks english and used to live in California- she's really helpful with the translating. Then Maria, the best foster mom ever! And her 16 year old daughter Ana who is so incredibly sweet. The only person missing from the picture is her son, Alberto. He works as an electrician and couldn't make it to our breakfast goodbye. Ana is in high school although she is now on vacation. Guatemala's schools run January through October.

We talked with Maria last night and Nathan is doing very well. He's growing along well. He was just at the doc's office yesterday and he said Nathan was in excellent condition. He is an absolute peanut but tracking along in the 5th-10th percentile just beautifully. Maria said he looks like he may start teething soon- just in time for our next trip! There are some days where I feel really optimistic about the progress we've made and other days where I wonder when it will ever be over. I recognize these emotions are part of this rollercoaster but I am so ready to get off....at least get me off this PGN ride... I did call PGN again a couple days ago and we are still with the 2nd reviewer, no previo's. I will call again in 10 days or so and get another update. The longer we go without a previo, the better chance we have of getting out the first time. If we don't get a previo in the next few weeks, we have a good chance of getting an approval around the first week of December (though I am completely prepared for a previo). I wish it wasn't so unpredictable, but hey, it's all part of PGN fun... :-)

Hope you all have a great weekend!

My 1st Halloween!

Where's my candy?



What I can't have any this year? When can I get out of this ridiculous pumpkin?!



Get me out of this!! :-)

Happy Halloween!