Here is the scoop on what we have left..

So we just finished our empathy study..and below is an outline of the process that we have left. We are looking at Feb or March to bring Mateo home. We needs all the prayers we can get to have people pray for a speedy process through the CNA to family court and then that we get entered into family court #4..please pray for us to not get entered into Family Court #2!!! Thank you all for all of your support and help! xo, valerie

Process to Completion
Starting with the Empathy Study


1) After the empathy study; the social worker and the psychologist do a report and give to the legal department, after visiting you during your empathy study.
2) The legal department creates a document that is signed by the sub-director. The head attorney is Lorana Ramirez, she will prepare the documents for the director. Juan Carlos works with Lorana on national adoptions & speaks English.
3) Once director signs off on papers they go back to the legal department.
4) After that the file is submitted to the family court. ( Pray for family court #4- Judge Gonzalez, rumor has it that Family Court #2 is more difficult)
5) Once you have gotten sign off from Judge at family court, the child is legally yours. ( It could take a week to 2 weeks after the final signature of the judge before your case ACTUALLY gets out of family court)
6) IMPORTANT****- Once you get notification that the family court judge has released and signed off- go ahead and submit documents to Embassy for preapproval & include all items on List A.
7) After signed off from family court judge, notifications will be sent out to PGN, RENAP, & C N A. Once those have been sent out there is a 3 day waiting period.
8) If there are no objections than C N A will request certification of ruling & C N A produces the final documents to go to RENAP (the local Renap where your child was born..Amatitlan in our case). They will need the C N A & family court ruling & then the RENAP will register it in the system.
9) Once it is registered in the system from local RENAP, it then goes to Central Renap. (It goes in on Tuesday and out on Friday.) Gaby from RENAP speaks English, call her is you are waiting or there are any problems ( 2416-1914). She can tell us what we need to get together to get the birth certificate if they don’t already have it all.
10) At the central RENAP they will give you the birth certificate with your last name.
11) Then go to the passport office to get child’s passport.
12) Once you have the passport, go to the embassy & prepare documents for List B. ( New BC, C N A ruling, Family Court Ruling, Copy of passports- you will need all pages of passport)
13) Submit List B to Embassy
14) Once you get approval or notification from USCIS on List B, you will get orange slip & that will give you permission to get final physical for child. ( Can use Dr Sidney Hagan- 12th St- 1-25 Zone 10, Inside a mall, Torre Norte, Suite 402; Spanish only, and the phone # is 2335-3431) You will get an HIV test for child which cost $60 US, and final physical. ( Make sure you have all shot records from hogar or foster family to bring to final physical or they will charge you and do them all over which can be very expensive.)
15) Final Interview will be scheduled when you get orange slip at Window 10- Embassy.

A gift of the Lord....

Mateo- Gift of the Lord. I had no idea that our life would lead us to the adoption of our son. I had no idea that the name we picked out for our son wouldnt be just a name reccomended by my best friend Laura, but that it was a divine intervention. Mateo IS truly a gift from the Lord. We had prayed God and thanked him for more than we ever have before. This process has opened my eyes to what is really important. This process showed me how lucky we are to have been blessed to have Mateo placed with us to be his forever parents.

Mateo has experienced so much in his short little life, more than he will ever be able to express to us but enough that we know just how strong he is. He has such a loving heart & spirit. He freely gives kisses and love to us, and he trusts us. The nannies at his hogar love him because he has this special something about him that just makes you fall in love with him from the moment you meet him.

In May of 2002 when we were first assigned to Mateo and received his pictures in our email was one month that I will never forget. I prayed for God to let me love him just like I do my biological daughters, I prayed to the process to work out. God has blessed our broken road many of times, and I know that we will see Mateo come home to us in 2010! He will be able to experience all the love that his family & friends have for him. When I looked at his pictures for the first time it was love at first sight. He melted me right then. I had no idea i would still be waiting to bring him home almost 3 years later. Although God designs a plan for us and we are his servants and have to have faith and follow his lead. My faith has been tested, but I always realized how much we have been blessed with, and I am reminded that it is the broken road that led us straight to Mateo. That song melts my heart when I hear it because it describes our journey to the "t".

In October when I found out that we wouldnt be bringing you home that year it was one of the hardest days I had ever had. We were only 1 signature from bringing you home! ALthough, again...GOd had a plan. Then in February of 2003 when we received a phone call saying that because of the documents that were falsified from the birth mother that we would more than likely not be able to complete our adoption, we decided to go ahead and fly out to see you for your 1st birthday. We took a flight of faith and believed that even if we only have you for 5 days , that for 5 days we would love all over you and you would know you were wanted. I think DOug was nervous to go because he was afraid if something happened and we werent able to complete our adoption that I wouldnt get back to normal....but I had faith, enough for both of us. DOug fell in love with Mateo the moment he laid eyes on him in person. Doug instantly cried and of course I melted....

In May of 2003 I had spent 1 day scrapebooking all of the pictures from our trip to visit you in March, and then I got home and receceived an email from Nancy Bailey at Semillas de Amor saying that because we cancelled the POA that we had signed for her attorney that she assigned to us, and hired another due to advice we took from PGN Minors Court, that we would no longer be able to adopt Mateo. She said he wasnt our son and that we did this to ourselves. I was sick, I remember being in a fetal position crying myself to sleep. I remember not wanting to wake up and get out of bed and get on with the days....but then I realized that this is one part of our journey to bring Mateo home to us, and I needed to be strong for him and for Rylie and Adyson who needed me. Doug didnt know what to do with me he knew that I was taking it hard. Very shortly after that nasty email from Nancy, we decided that we would do whatever it took to bring Mateo home and so we worked with our attorney and did what was needed to get out of the MP & Minors Court. We were there from Oct of 2007 to August of 2008. Then it took from AUgust of 2008 to July of 2009 before we recieved a paper saying that the investigation was dimissed and we could offically enter the CNA and start the process to be linked to Mateo.

Now here we are in Guatemala with Mateo on our empathy study, about 5 months from having him home with us....faith, stregth, prayer, faithful friends & family, prayer warriors have gotten us through and we thank all of you for being there for us during this very difficult time but also this very special time in our lives.

Mateo is a gift from God . He placed Mateo with us and we are his forever family.

SO as I sign off for the night I will sign off with a poem...

The Adoption Creed

Not flesh of my flesh, not bone of my bone- but still miraculously my own. Never forget not for a minute-you werent born under my heart but in it.

Mateo my love, we are getting closer and we love you! Blessings, Valerie

This is our last full day with Mateo in Guatemala....

Today is our last full day with Mateo before we have to bring him back to the CNA tomorrow. We have to bring him back at noon on Tuesday. We have had a great time with him. Its been fun getting to know him better and he us. He has had a hard time taking naps and going to bed at night, not sure why but he lays there for quite awhile before he goes to bed, I am hoping that he is okay when we leave and adjusts back to his schedule at the hogar.

We are ready to go home, its been hard to be cooped up in 1 hotel room for 13 days. We miss Rylie & Adyson like crazy, and cant wait to jump off the plane and hug them both. This is the longest we have gone without being with them. They have been busy with their grandma's, aunts, and cousins...so they have had fun but I think they are ready too.

Yesterday we spent the day in Amatitlan. It is the city where Mateo was born. We tried to give him a little pony ride there although he wanted nothing to do with it. Then we went up a cable car..VERY HIGH i might add..and looked at the view of the lake at the city. That was fun. At the top we stopped and got Mateo a chocolate banana...he loved it of course, as did I! Then we decided to drive to Port San Jose, which was about another hour from Amatitlan..and went to the beach. THey have black sand beaches, so it was beautiful. IT was Mateo's first time being at the beach. He LOVED it! We hadnt planned to go so we went in just a ways in our clothes and quickly got them soaked, so we stripped Mateo down to his superman undies and let him play..he was in HEAVEN. That was an awesome experinece. The lake is called Lake Amatitlan. Then afterwards we stopped at a resort and ate at a hotel. Doug started feeling sick so he got a bit grumpy, and then ended up sleeping awhile on the way back to the hotel. We say beautiful views the whole way home. GUatemala is a beautiful country. We saw Pacaya ..which is a famous volcano in Guatemala. We saw smoke coming out as well as lava flows, which was awesome.

Got back to our room and gave Mateo & I a bath...as we both has sand all over us, and then ate some pizza for dinner, and off to bed. It took about 45 min or more to get Mateo to sleep. Doug seems to do the best job getting him to fall asleep. If you hold him or rock him he just lays there quite, but awake. If you lay next to him, he will lay there for hours awake...so if has to be very dark, no noise, and you cant talk with him or try to soothe him..or he will stay awake, so we had to let him cry it out...that was hard as a mom.

Today we are planning to just really enjoy our time with Mateo. We are staying at the hotel and doing the pool thing again. We have dinner plans with another parent coming to visit her daughter tonight and then that is it. Tomorrow we have to have Mateo back to the CNA by noon and then we will go with CLaudia to do last minute shopping for CHristmas presents. We are looking to buy a large little tykes play area for Christmas for the hogar. This was it can stay out and the kids can play with it. They seem to keep the little toys put away most of the time so I dont want to bring any little toys. THe little tykes are too big to put away they will have to be put together and then left in the courtyard for the kids to play with all day.

Thank you all for your prayers. DOug and I fly out on Wed morning at 7AM, so pray for a safe return flight home. Blessings...

Good Morning

SO we are on day #10...time has flown by on one hand and then went so slow on the other. We LOVE being with Mateo! He is an absolute doll, and I cant imagine leaving him at the CNA on Tuesday. That will be a VERY hard day! He has progressed so much since he was been with us; speaking english, talking also in spanish ( basic words like por favor, gracias papa, agua, mama...and words I am sure he is saying that I dont know), he has been able to say both of his sisters names and when he talks with them on the phone each night he smiles...he loves hearing their voices.

He loves to play ball ( throwing and kicking) he LOVES the pool NOW, yeah!! THe other day we were at the pool with friends for about 3 hours and he had plenty of time to get acclimated to it and didnt want to leave. HE was so cute , when we were in teh hot tub he would grab ahold of my hands and say 1,2,3 in spanish and then dunk himself under the water...he loves that! I have been able to have some extra pool time to lay out while Mateo and Doug go up to nap. Which is great because I get to listen to my IPOD, listen to some of my favorite songs and think & pray. I have downloaded alot of HIllsong and Mercy Me songs, so they really lift my spirits when I think about having to leave him again. I just dont want him to be confused with why we are leaving again. I think we will definately have to start doing webcam weekly.

I am so thankful that he is in a hogar that cares for him and loves him...that is obvious. I just want his sisters and family to be able to get to know him and his sweet personality. He likes to push the button on the elevator when we go to the lobby, he likes to read books...especially the ones that he can feel different materials on the books. He loves to color, and play playdough. At first he would be nervous in various situations when we would go out, etc...but now he is quite comfortable. He does pout when we tell him he has to go to sleep...we have had a harder and harder time getting him to take naps and go to bed. He will lay there forever until finally he will just get too tired and go to sleep. They go to bed early at the hogar so I am hoping that he gets back into a routine and doesnt give them too much trouble with his naps when he gets there. They hae va great schedule for them and we havent had as good of a schedule with us beig here...appointments, etc....

I am so thankful that my girls get to be with their grandparents and my sister during the time we are gone, it has really made the time go by quickly for them. I am looking forward to going home and seeing Rylie & Adyson....although its bittersweet because I am missing Mateo then.... I look forward to the day we are all together.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!

We just finished our emapthy study appointment today

About 2:45 we went downstairs to the lobby and met with Lily from CNA..she is in charge of the adoptive childrens unit, and then with Maria Los...she is in charge of the adoptive families unit. She was a little more stern but not too bad...maybe because Lily is so overly friendly. We also had CLaudia who is our adoption agency in country contact that has helped us so much be there to translate for us.

They asked us questions like: what do your girls think of Mateo? What do your grandparents think of Mateo? What are your plans for MAteo for the future; school ( will he go to the same school that the girls go to?), college, activities he will be involved in once home ( sports, cow shows with the girls, etc..?) They asked us if we would tell Mateo that he was adopted, as well as asked us if we plan to travel back to GUatemala to have Mateo visit his country of orgin. They asked us if MAteo was closer to DOug or I and of course we said both of us equally. They asked if Mateo remembered us when we came. They asked why we named him Mateo. They asked if he was speaking english as well as spanish. SO basic questions that were pretty easy for us to answer.

We went shopping this morning for CHristmas presents for mom, dad, Grandpa & Granma Raley, and the neices and nephews that we were suppose to buy for. Then we had lunch at an authentic Guatemalan resturant, but couldnt read the menu so we told them to surprise us..so they did, adn it was awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We dont have many plans tonight so just planning to hang around here and maybe meet up with another adoptive parent to have dinner.

So we are planning to go to Amatalian..which is where Mateo was born probably tomrrow so we can get a picture of the hospital where he was born and get some items from his birth place...'

We miss our girls like crazy and look forward to the day that all of our kiddos are together!!

THank you for your prayers!

Update over the last few days

On Sunday we went to Antigua for the day. We had a great time and did some shopping, which of course I love!! We were able to tour some beautiful cathedrals, and buildings. We went to the pool yesterday again and Mateo liked it this time because daddy played with him in the hot tub which apparently he loves! I am sure the ball had something to do with it! :)

Today we went to the childrens museum and Mateo had a great time! We came back to the hotel and I laid out while Doug and Mateo took a nap. We decided to just hang out in the room tonight after DOug had a massage and I went to take a nap and Mateo decided to dive in too! So funny! He loved it!

Tomorrow we are planning to do shopping and then hang out again at the pool! Its beautiful here! Our emapthy study appointment is tomorrow, so I am looking forward to getting that done. I will update you later with how that goes!

Yesterday was a great day

We went to the pool at the hotel yesterday and Mateo didnt love the water so much. He kinda whined/cried most of the time. Hopefully with us being here for 2 weeks he will get use to it. We had a great dinner last night at this authentic Guatemalan resturant, it was wonderful! The waiter was very helpful and taught me a little spanish, so hopefully after being here for 2 weeks this time I will learn a little more. Mateo had ice cream last night after dinner, he loved it. Although last night he was so gassy..his tummy was hurting him. Literally he had gas all night! He is such a doll baby! Literally I am sooo excited for when you all get to meet him in person! I cant wait for Rylie and Adyson to get to hug their little brother! They are going to fall in love!!!

Well we are headed to Antigua today, I cant wait! It is my favorite place so far in Guatemala! I am looking for some gifts to buy my mom & dad and in-laws...they have been such a HUGE support system! My sister Cherie is watching my girls this week and has been a HUGE help as well! I know the girls are excited to spend the week with her boys.

Well that is it for now, thank you all for all of your prayers! Hugs!!!