Kirsten's birth certificate has arrived and we are doing her passport today at 3pm :-) I can finally say it feels like it's coming to an end!!!!!! We are hoping to be submitted to the embassy on Tuesday morning which would put us home either the 21st or the beginning of the week of the 24th. I am planning on emailing the embassy and begging for them to move our appointment to the 19th (my birthday!) so that we can go home on the 21st as long as they have all our dna stuff already done. Please say a huge prayer for us that they will move it and allow us to be home just that few days sooner, as what a difference it will make for everyone. WE ARE READY TO GO HOME! LOL

xoxo
-Diana

OK I only have a few new pictures to share but there funny ones. Kirsten pushes around this box from a router we bought down here and the other day heard her pushing it around behind me and I turned around and this is what she was doing:

Such an noisy kid LOL

and she is also does this thing with her phone...everytime I tell her dada is calling pick up your phone she goes and finds her phone and trys to talk to dada.



She is such a funny kid!

-Diana

PEOPLE THE PROTOCOL HAS BEEN COMPLETED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is offically registered under Guatemalan law as our child!....now lets get some paperwork stating that :-) They said the birth certificate is being applied for on Monday! Please say a prayer that they get on the ball and we get submitted to the embassy next Thursday which should place us home sometime the week of September 17th!

Take care!
-Diana

OK so some family members have been asking me what is left before we can travel home....Here is the steps in order below and an estimated timeframe for each:

1) Attorney signs final protcol for the birthmom (we have a POA) and the protocol is registered. (Should take 2-3 days)
2) Registered protocol is taken to Malacatan and a new birth certificate is received (1-2 days)
3) Mommy, Kirsten and a rep from our agency go to get her new passport (1 day)
4) File is translated into english (1-3 days)
5) We are submitted to the US Embassy for our appointment date and get 2nd DNA authorization (1 day)
6) Embassy medical done and 2nd dna results taken (1day)
7) 2nd dna results get sent to Labcorp, results determind, and mailed back to US Embassy in Guatemala (10-14 days)
8) US Embassy issues visa "pink" appointment date which is usually 4-7 days out
9) Go to visa appointment and next day pick up visa at 3:30pm
10) GO HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems like a lot but it should only take about 4 weeks.

-Diana

WE ARE OUT OF PGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Kirsten is offically ours! We should be back home in Florida within 4 weeks we hope :-)

-Diana

Still no word from PGN :-( I was really hoping we would be out by now. They said sometime between Monday and Wednesday we should hear something, until then I am on pins and needles waiting for the OUT or ugh I don't even wanna say it....another KO :-( My mom is leaving tomorrow after being here for a week and I think Kirsten wanted to go with her (see the pictures below) but it has been fun and now I will be all alone again until Ruthanne gets her butt here to pick up her little cutie Andrew hopefully in the next few weeks. We have decided since we will still be here for Kirsten's 1st birthday that we will order a big cake and let all the adoptive families here at the hotel help us celebrate and eat some cake! I am very sad and would never have thought our daughter referred at 3 weeks old would never be home for her first birthday.....it's very depressing and enraging but we have scheduled her party at home for Sept. 29th so hopefully we will be home by then.

Kirsten has made big strides in the last few weeks. She walks carefully with one hand held now and if you hold both hands she trys to run. It crazy to me she could learn so fast as she didn't even crawl for the first time until we came in June and now she is completely on the go! I will attach a few pictures from the last few days.

*Very seriously watching tv*

*She losing her baby look :-(*

*New toy from grandma and grandpa vinny*

*Her other new toy from grandma and grandpa vinny*

*Open the suticase I wanna go home*

*PGN man Mr.Barrios let me OUT I really really wanna go home!!!!!*

*Giving up*

*My mom and Kirsten*

-Diana

I came across this on someones blog and it really brings to light the situation in Guatemala and how much of a chance these children being adopted from there stand to gain from their new lives in the US.

The United Nations estimates that 80% of the Guatemalan population today lives in poverty (measured as a daily income of $2 USD or less) and half of those, 40% of the total population, live in extreme poverty (measured as a daily income of $1 USD or less). Medical care is inadequate. About 25% of children die before they reach the age of five and malnutrition affects 50% of children. Education statistics are similarly poor. About 48% of the population is illiterate. Unemployment and underemployment stand at a startling 60%.

It is very sad to read these kind of statistics and to think that adoptions from Guatemala may stop December 31st :-( All these crooked lawyers and people have just ruined it and it's the children who are going to pay. I have seen and heard a lot since I have been down here, a lot that I just never believed really happened....paying pregnant woman to give up their children just so they can survive another couple months, the bribery of government officals to speed cases up, the blackmailing of people, holding children hostage for more money, the crimes against woman and those trying to give these children a chance at a good life...all of it just makes me sick to my stomach :-( All of these things I don't know if or how I will describe to my child when she is older. It will be a lot harder to paint that pretty picture knowing all of these things really do happen.

Be happy that we do live in the US where we are given a starting chance at life from the moment we are born.

-Diana

We are on the directors desk!!!!!! According to PGN we should be out sometime next week!!!!!! We are so close I can taste it haha! We will celebrate with more pictures LOL

*Kirsten and her future hubby Jesse*

*She really loves this crab raft*

*the next morning, still loving the crab raft*

Please pray that the director is nice to us and signs our file out!!!!!!

-Diana

Well it's been a few days since I have updated. Kirsten and I have been enjoying the company of Tom, his mom and my mom starting this sunday. Tom's mom had a great visit and fell in love with Kirsten and everyday Kirsten is turning more and more into a daddys girl...I know Tom will have a hard time leaving on Monday. Kirsten has been sick the last few days but seems to be getting better slowly and it doesnt seem to bother her very much. From watching the pgn out dates it look like we should be out of pgn next week!!! I am very excited to get out of pgn and have Kirsten's adoption finialized and to get back to our house in Florida. We took Kirsten in the pool here at the Marriott last weekend and I will post some pictures below.

*She is all over the place*

*Look no hands :-)*

*The view of the volcano from our room*

*Debbie(Tom's mom) and Kirsten*

*Splash, Splash*

*Loving the crab raft*

*Pool time with daddy*

-Diana