But one request

We chose foreign adoption for numerous reasons. I will not go into all of them. Following are only a few:

• Guatemala is considered a private adoption
• Because of that, you are allowed to visit your child whenever you want and allowed to "foster" during the process
• The process, (normally), is very short in comparison to other programs
• The health of the children are excellent
• Most children are fostered from birth, this cuts down risk of attachment issues

The biggest reason, we prayed. We prayed God would open the door. And he did, by way of my father. When we announced we had been investigating adoption, our families were supportive. My father had but one request, a boy. We have no grandsons on my side of the family. Even though my father has never complained about us girls, I believe he has always secretly wished for a boy child to nurture and watch grow. He had suffered enough of sugar and spice and everything nice, now it was time for frogs, snails and puppy dog tails. (just kidding, pop!) So that decision was made, we would adopt a boy. From there the countries were narrowed to Guatemala. A large majority of the children available for adoption from this country are boys. Not that they have a ratio of more males than females, but rather, the girls get chosen first. That is where we begin our journey to meet our son!

We contacted many agencys and again prayed. We chose a agency, but the initial path was a little bumpy. So we switched. Our new agency had a child that was our son!

We knew it from first sight. Our son, Benjamin, was now within reach.

The paper chase is often described as hectic. There are so many forms and documents. Everything has to be notarized, authenticated , sealed, and translated. But we "whooped" it in break neck speed. That being done, we were off to meet our social worker. Her name is Kat and she is a sweetheart. She quickly relieved our fears about whether or not we were good enough to be parents. From there, we really enjoyed our visits. She is a true gem.

Now the chase begins over there, in Guatemala. Once approved and bestowed the right to parent, our dossier gets sent to Ben's country to start the process there. His case is assigned a social worker, interviews are held, and a family court is petitioned. When they agree that Ben would best be served by way of adoption, he gets the first seal of approval. Then DNA tests are done. They do these in order to confirm there was no funny business and that Ben was truly offered for adoption by his birth mother. Thank God it was a match! Now we petition the US Embassy for preapproval. They gave their blessings. Next we enter a hierarchy, supremo, no all be all court, called PGN. This begins the dreaded wait. In here, adoptive parents enter an eternal black hole of, "no news is good news". I have to say that our adoption agency contact is a VERY PATIENT woman. I am sure she was not the least bit aware of just how many opportunities we would get to talk when she accepted our file :) This is where we are now...the black hole. Actually, there has been some movement in our case. But only that of trying to get a new birth certificate. You see, the original had a typo in the birth mother's last name. So, this has to be corrected. And there, is where we truly are. In another court. Waiting for someone to recognize that the "r" should have been an "a". (duh)

Sounds simple, right? Well this is the cliff notes version. I have tried to give you a very positive description. I have left off the tears, heart breaking news, endless depression, roller coaster highs and lows, eternal "whys" and all over gloom and doom. I do not want to mar my son's blessed events by negative undertones. Once he is home and in our arms, everything will be rosy. The sleepless nights will be remembered through rose colored glasses, AND HIS SMILES WILL FOREVER LIGHT OUR DAYS!