A Synopsis of Our Situation

This post is really more for those who are new to our situation. A special thanks to those of you who have been following our adoption over the months.

We received PGN approval on September 14th. That means that our adoption was approved, and at that time, we were told to expect to pick Caleb up in 4-6 weeks. All we needed was a new birth certificate identifying us as the parents, his passport, DNA testing, and a visa appointment. This part traditionally goes very, very smoothly, so we weren't worried at all. We started getting suspicious that something was going on when we didn't hear anything from our agency...and our suspicions were confirmed October 23rd, when we learned that the city where our son was born, Sayaxché, passed a law closing their Book of Adoptions, which made it impossible for our attorney to register our adoption or get a new birth certificate. And unless this happened, we could not complete the adoption.

Since October 23rd, we have been working with our agency and attorney to get this rectified. Our agency & attorney have been outstanding, but in spite of their efforts, we still are waiting for progress in our case. Our attorney has tried several court actions, some which have failed, and others which are still in the courts, waiting to be decided. Additionally, we have contacted everyone possible, including the US Embassy, our Senators, our Representative, JCICS, The Office of Children's Issues, Ethica, and more, but again, with no success.

While we wait, Caleb remains in foster care, which we are very thankful for. Caleb's foster family is outstanding, and we know that he is receiving wonderful care, and most importantly, lots of love during the wait. But obviously, we want him with us. This waiting is absolutely pointless, unfair, and unbelievable, but for some reason we're being put through it.

On a brighter note, we have built up a huge support system. The number of total strangers who have visited our blog and left us encouraging messages has been very humbling and appreciated. We have been able to connect with families in the same situation as us, which has been very helpful as we try to weave our way through this difficult situation.

A huge thank-you to everyone for your support and encouragement. We are looking forward to the day when we get "the call" that we can finally travel to Guatemala to bring Caleb home with us forever.