[LisaDR]

Merry christmas, with the holidays I'm sure the updates will be a minimum.... but I see LInda had some good news congratulations on the new pictures Benjamin is adorable.

I'm hoping to get a copy of my signed homestudy this week anyway. they were mailing to the SW to sign... hopefully I'll get the call and go pick it up and drop it off at USCIS so my 171 can get moving. Hoping it won't take too long since I was fingerprinted in the beginning of november.

How's everyone else the day after?

[cryswright]

Single mom (to be, I hope)... just getting started... you asked how we all are the day after...? I am ready to start the process TODAY... have thought about it for years, decided over the last few months... as a college professor, my life has been so hectic with end of semester business then Christmas shopping, but today is the beginning... great books on adoption received for Christmas and now some time (off from teaching until 2/1) to really get the process started....

I hope to adopt a newborn (under 6 months) from Guatemala (just feel "called" to Guatemalan adoption for a lot of reasons). I am trying to aim for Spring 2007, beginning the official process in Fall 2006 (shorter process typically in Guatemala, I hear), but I know you can't plan the exact dates because you never know what will happen...!

I'm also just looking around for some folks who are at a similar stage in the process. If any of you are interested in staying in touch for commiserating, comparing, etc. throughout the process, just let me know! And any advice would be much appreciated!

Crys

[KKR213]

Hi Lisa:


I hope you get the final version of your homestudy soon and you get your 171 clearance quickly.

Linda's little boy is so cute. What a great time to get an update!

Last week I received new measurements from November and December and John Carlos is getting big. He is 14.5 lbs and 59 cm long at 3 months old!

Hope everyone had a nice Holiday and hope we all get a lot of movement this week!

Kathy

[moelladeville]

Hi everyone,
What a great Christmas present Linda got.

Lisa, I hope your agency is better at the adoption itself than it is at the home study -- it is not too late to change. I hope you get it all finalized soon. I'm not being critical, mind you -- if you feel good about your agency, don't worry. If you've got doubts, take the home study and run. Literally. Get about five copies -- all notarized.

Crys, congratulations on making your decision -- that's great! Just a question for you -- why are you waiting until the end of the year? Paperwork is pretty easy to assemble and immigration processing takes about 90 days. Again, I'm not being critical at all -- just curious! If you started now, you could have your baby by your summer break. Good luck on your process.

Kathy, will you keep John Carlos' name? I really like it.

For me, it was a good news/bad news week. The bad news is I got a not-so-great MD report that said my daughter was not gaining weight. She's seven, so that wouldn't be concerning, except for another family who has a baby staying with the same foster mother, and I'm friends with the adoptive mother. She called to say that her physician report said her baby wasn't gaining weight either. I had been down to visit, and I had met the foster mother, who was perfectly nice. I took my daughter and the foster mother out to lunch and my comment to my agency was that they ate like they had never eaten before. I will say that, when I voiced my concerns to my agency about the physician's report, they acted responsibly. They told me if I wanted her moved, she could be moved. The problem is that my case is close to being done. It could be a matter of weeks. When I was there, my daughter was still mourning the loss of her birthmother, and she was VERY close to the foster mother. I decided not to have her moved, but I'm working with my agency to get some nutritional supplements to her. So that's my bad news. But my good news came in the form of two Guatemalan cuties under the tree. My oldest son has begun (at 2.5) to get the Santa thing, and he LOVED Christmas this year. We had a blast. Hope you did, too, and thanks for letting me go on (and on ... )! I'm going to post a couple of pictures of them. I love being their Mama!

Marjorie

[moelladeville]

And I'm sorry -- I can't help myself. Here they are in their Christmas outfits! Not the greatest photo of my older son, but it's impossible to get a good photo of both of them!

[KKR213]

Marjorie:

Your sons are adorable! I love their Christmas outfits. I am sorry about the problems with the foster mother and I hope you are out of PGN very, very quickly so that you can bring your daughter home soon. I hope that the supplements help her to gain weight. It is good that the agency is taking this seriously.

Thank you. John Carlos is the name I chose for him. His birth name was Carlos Daniel. My sister gave me the cutest Christmas ornament. It has a stork carrying a baby wrapped in a Guatemalan flag and it says Waiting for John Carlos 2005. She found it online. I put it right on the tree.

Kathy

[linda512]

Hi everyone:
Most of you have seen my news and pictures. I'm so happy to have an update. Hopefully I will have some news about authorization for DNA after the 1st of the year.
Congrats to Lisa on finally having your homestudy, almost.
Welcome to Crys- this is a great group of people with lots of information and support.
Kathy- John Carlos is really big! Wow!
Marjorie- Your boys are adorable! I can't believe you will soon have 3. Good luck. In terms of your daughter's growth- how big is she to start? I am sure she will catch up quickly once she gets home, especially if you've seen her eat well. You know she can do it, it's just a supply issue. Less concerning than if she just wouldn't eat or just wasn't growing.
Happy holidays to everyone.

[Teri33]

To all the singles, stay strong because the end result is worth everything you are going through. My daughter and I just celebrated our first Christmas as a family and having her here was the best gift of all. Good Luck!!

[Anne22]

Hello from Guatemala everyone!!!

I`m here at the Westin with my amazing baby boy, Gabriel. He is the easiest baby . . . ever. Boy, did I luck out on that front! He sleeps through the night, puts himself to sleep, loves to laugh and giggle. Loves to smile. I´m blessed. Last night, we spent a full hour just laughing at eachother.

Anyway, although I miss having a washer-dryer at my disposal, generally, hotel life is pretty sweet. Can´t say that I miss New Hampshire`s cold and snow!

I hope everyone had a great holiday and for those of you who are waiting for good news -- I hope you get it soon!

[cryswright]

So nice to see all of your sweet babies and to hear about some of you in that waiting process now... you asked why I'm waiting so long... again, it's the timing thing, although I'm seeing more and more that we can't plan the details and expect things to go as planned in this process... I'm 32, my mom just passed away very quickly and surprisingly in June, and I just bought my first home in September, so I'd like to take some time to prepare my home and my finances and my heart and mind for this little baby. I would love to have her tomorrow, but I think it would be ideal for me to spend this year settling into the house, thinking and planning financially with the baby in mind, and all of that... this summer I've taken on two paid positions for June and July. I could still get out of them, but I know that it would be pushing it to expect to have a baby by the summer anyway. If I couldn't near-guarantee that, then I'd hate to have a baby arrive early in the school year, since then I'd be full-time working with few options for staying home with her. So... we'll see how it goes, and as I start the process I may indeed try to get there sooner rather than later... I know I need to stay open to the possibilities and realistic about how long it may take.

Thank you for all of your support!!!

Crystal

[LisaDR]

Welcome Crys, You might want to get a move on the paperwork, especially since you are thinking of a little girl. Most agencies have a much longer wait for girls than they do for boys.

Anne, I bet it was a terrific CHirstmas. I guess you are staying until you bring him home on the 10th. I hope things continue to be so smooth. A good sleeper gotta love that.

Teri, love the picture it's so cute with the bow on the head. a perfect present

Linda come on DNA..

Kathy, the ornament sound fantastic what an appropriate and thoughtful gift.... bring home the little guy

Majorie, those boys are just precious just think you will have a third very soon to try and get to sit still, smile, and look at the camera.... you are between a rock and a hard place with your daughter. Maybe you could request updates more often. How much longer do you think it will be?

sorry if i missed anyone

[Molly12]

Crystal,

It's kind of amazing how similar our situations are! It's good to have someone else around who's decided to adopt, but is waiting to begin. I'm a teacher, and I'm hoping to start the process next fall and get a toddler boy home in the spring. I'm 27, so also on the younger end of the single mothers-to-be I've seen around the forum. And my parents passed away unexpectedly in June also. I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I definitely know I'll need the time to keep dealing with the loss of my parents, so when I dive into this I'm sure that I'm ready. We should definitely keep in touch throughout this process.

To everyone else, it sounds like things are moving along for quite a few people. I don't post on the singles thread every time, since I'm not into the getting news stage yet, but I love to read about how you all are doing. It's really helpful. I hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!

Molly

[maurahunter]

I am hoping this works...trying to reply to the Singles Thread. My name is Maura and I am single and just got referral in November. Any of you live in MA?

[djchris]

Hi everyone- Not too much to report this week- working on getting the documents for my dossier (almost done). Christmas was wonderful but hectic- The baby-to-be had more presents under the tree than I did. My family are all getting very excited about this newest member, and they've been so generous. Their support is very, very appreciated. I kept thinking that this will be my last holiday season without the baby- exciting and scary!


Kathy- I'd love to know where your sister got that ornament- can you share the website?

Maura- not from MA, but I'm right next door in CT.

[momofmng]

Hi all! Christmas with my 3 was absolutely wonderful this year. I am still in amazement that Sophia is home. Since I am in my 3rd (and final) month of FMLA leave, we had a 3 gift per person Christmas to take us back to the 3 gifts of the wisemen. The older kids were really spectacular about trimming down and got what they really wanted instead of a bunch of filler stuff. Sophia was happy just watching it all... she still does not play with many toys and too many overwhelm her very easily. She also has bronchiolitis which makes her just want me to hold her, which I surely don't mind, except at 2:30 am.

Anyways... I hope everybody had a great Christmas and for those of you whose children are not yet home... Christmas will be so special for you next year. I will keep you in my prayers!

Marjorie... I LOVE your boys Christmas outfits and cute little saddle shoes!!!

Sarah

PS... Have to share a picture of my princess, Sophia.