Merry Christmas!

Our Girls Are Here!

We Are Home!

It is such a wonderful feeling to have the girls running around in our house and playing in their playroom! Everyone is doing great!

We had a wonderful trip to Guatemala and took the girls on a tour of the city with us. Of course, Hannah enjoyed eating at Hacienda Real (i.e. steak house near the hotel). We toured the relief map and went to the market. Hannah and Papa shared a 7 Up while Mama did what she does best - shop, shop, shop....

We are so blessed with these two girls. We hope you enjoy the Gotcha Day and homecoming pictures below.

We Got Pink!

We can not believe it! Baby girls we will see you next Tuesday! Papa John and Mama "Sasa" can't wait to get you in our arms forever! It has been a long, long journey. Now that we are at the end, it almost feels surreal. All the bags are packed, nursery and playroom finished, and Christmas tree up! Just counting the hours now until our plane leaves on Monday and we see our two princesses on Tuesday morning.

To all of our family and friends, thank you so much for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers during this journey. Words could never really say how much you all are appreciated.

Baby girls, we will see you soon!

We Got Orange!

Just wanted to let everyone know that today we received word that we received our "Orange" slip, which is the request for the second DNA authorization. We are so excited, I can hardly think straight. We better get busy putting the final coat of paint on the girls' playroom. Please continue to keep our girls in your thoughts and prayers. As always, we will continue to update our blog as we approach that magical day - "Gotcha Day"!

We Got Birth Certificates!

On Thursday, November 1st, we received a copy of both Hannah and Haley's birth certificates. We are now hoping that we will be submitted to the Embassy for "Orange" the first part of next week. It is really exciting knowing that we are in the final steps and will be able to bring our girls home very soon.

Today, we started painting the girls' playroom. The primer is currently on the walls, and we will be painting the final coat later tonight. We will post some pictures of the room after everything is complete. We originally were not going to turn the guest bedroom into a playroom; however, the toys seem to be accumulating quick (very quick). For some reason, I don't think we had this many toys to choose from 20-30 years ago as kids. A very good friend earlier in the week gave us three musical instruments (i.e. loud noise makers) because she said, "every kid needs these". As I took them out of the boxes, I noticed that they are loud enough to rival that of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Makes me wonder what the definition of a very good friend is? :)

Seriously, Sarah and I are walking on cloud nine as we anxiously await these final steps to be completed. We will update our blog as the final steps towards getting "Pink" are completed. Thanks to everyone for continuing to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers.

Baby Girls Here We Come; WE ARE OUT!!!!!

October 9, 2007. It started out like most any other day. Both Sarah and I were at work (probably both dreaming about our girls all day long if it was like any other day). Around 1:30 p.m. this afternoon I get a phone call at the office from the adoption agency. The adoption agency said, "Are you ready to celebrate tonight?".

I was like, "Do what?". Then that's when they said it....those three magical words that every adoptive parent longs to hear from the very first moment that they start an adoption from Guatemala. Those three words that you hope for all those months that you are tied up in PGN, that keeps you up in the middle of the night, that makes you jump at every call you get in anticipation, that causes you to cling to your cell phone as if it was a pace maker. Those three simple words - "You Are Out". For those of you that have gone through the experience, you would probably agree that it is almost a surreal experience when you hear those words after such a long journey.

We are so close to bringing our two baby princesses home! For the last ten months I have carried around a picture album of the girls in my car to look at every day. On our way home from the celebration party tonight, I opened up the back seat to grab my work from the office and had a huge smile on my face. As I looked down in the back seat, there was the picture album on top of my suit case. Then I thought, instead of a picture, there they will be very, very soon - kicking the back of my seat, eating/spilling Cheerios, and drinking/spilling juice. Baby girls...you can kick and spill all you want! Mama "Sasa" and Papa John will be there soon!

We Love You,

Papa y Mama

Pre-Approval - The Second Time!

Eleven weeks. My how slowly they can crawl by when you're waiting to get back into PGN. Today; however, we are one step closer to bringing our two princesses home. We received a call late this afternoon indicating that the US Embassy has released the pre-approval for Haley! After approximately eleven weeks out of PGN, we are now getting ready to re-enter PGN tomorrow - for hopefully our final approval.

To our girls - we send you a million hugs and kisses! We hope to have you in our arms very, very soon. Please know that there is not a moment of the day that you are not in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers!

To our friends and family, thank you for keeping us in yours.

And to Mama Claudia, thank you for all that you continue to do for us and our girls.

We are truly blessed.

Our Girls

Update & Pictures

We are currently waiting to re-enter PGN following a recent kick out. For those of you that have followed this journey, you obviously know that it certainly has been a roller coaster ride. We are anxiously awaiting to hear if we have been resubmitted this week and hope and pray that our case gets approved quickly.


Our girls are doing great. We recently got some updated pictures of them. Haley is trying her best to try to take those first steps on her own; however, she is not quite there yet. Hannah, as usual, continues to be a little mommy to her sister. At night, she will lay beside her sister and rub her head until she goes to sleep. She also loves to give her sister kisses. Haley will actually lift up her head so Hannah can give her a kiss. It is the most wonderful thing in the world to see the love between them.



Claudia, our foster mom, is doing such a great job with the girls. We continue to be so blessed to have her in our lives. Hannah recently memorized a story that Claudia's daughter, Ararat, was giving at school on Peacocks. Hannah grabbed the report from Ararat and pretended that she was giving the presentation and reading from the report. We laughed so hard when Claudia told us this story.



We pray every single day that our girls will be home soon. Thank you to all of our friends and family for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We hope you enjoy these recent pictures.

Haley's First Birthday!

Tomorrow is Haley's first birthday! It is so hard to imagine that Ms. Haley is already one year old. When we first started the adoption journey back in September '06, Haley was only three months old. Although we can't be with her on her birthday, we have some special things planned to celebrate her first birthday! Sarah is bringing cup cakes to work and we are going out with some friends tomorrow night to celebrate the big day. Obviously, when the girls come home soon, we plan on celebrating again with Haley.

Join us in celebrating Haley's birthday tomorrow. Let's all make Haley's birthday wish for her on this special day, and pray that the girls will be safely home very, very soon. Thank you to all of our friends and family for all of your support. It is appreciated more than words can ever say.

Happy Birthday Our Little Princess!

We love you,

Mama y Papa

Father's Day

Father's Day was very special this year for me, even though we were not with our girls. The day started out like most any other day, with the exception that Sarah gave me my first Father's Day card from the girls.

What turned the day from ordinary to extraordinary was what happened during our visit to Target later that afternoon. For those of you who do not know, one of the most special moments that Hannah and I have shared over the last two visits to Guatemala City is to cook Mac N' Cheese for her. She absolutely loves for me to cook it for her! Keep this in mind, and you'll get the gist of the story and how special it is.

Sarah and I bought the girls several items for outdoor activities for when they come home. We also had some other general items that we needed to buy for around the house. Sarah checked out first, given that she had a gift card that she had been given to use strictly for the girls. She got her receipt (with no coupons attached), and then I checked out afterwards.

After paying, the cashier handed me two receipts - one receipt for purchases and another with coupons. I seldom pay attention to the second receipt that stores give out that has a long list of coupons for various items. However, as we walked out of Target that afternoon, I unraveled the second receipt and glanced at it. The foot long receipt only had one coupon on it - for none else than Hannah's Mac N' Cheese.

The best Father's Day gift I could have received was a sign that my girls were with me on that special day. A coupon from Target - who would have ever thought!

Update From Our Mother's Day Trip

Like our first trip, our Mother's Day trip was amazing. From a father's standpoint, the opportunity to see our girls with their mom on her first Mother's Day was priceless.

When we arrived at the hotel, there was a mix-up in the rooms; therefore, we spent the majority of Saturday night working with the hotel staff to get us into the type of room we originally requested. At around 9:00 p.m., Sarah and I walked to TGI Fridays to grab a late dinner. The fajitas I ordered were great (not like the standard fajitas we get here in the States).

The next morning, Sarah and I had breakfast with Sue (director of our adoption agency). Afterwards, Claudia (our foster mom) brought our girls to the hotel. Our girls are the most beautiful girls in the world (however, I realize I could be bias). We immediately went up to the hotel room and played for a while. Later, Papa cooked some of his famous "Mac N' Cheese" for Hannah and Mama "Sasa" feed Haley her bottle and some baby food.

After we took a short afternoon nap, we brought out the coloring books and paints. We colored and painted for a long time, as Hannah colored pictures for all of our family and friends. Later that afternoon, we got ready to go eat with Sue and two other adoptive families at a restaurant she recommended. We couldn't believe Hannah's appetite! I think she ate more steak than Sarah and I combined. By the way, she loves corn on the cob.

The next day (Mother's Day), Hannah and her Papa got out the finger paints and painted a Mother's Day card for Mama "Sasa". Both Hannah and Haley put their handprints on the card and Hannah colored the outside of both the card and envelope. Later that day, after the card had dried, Hannah and I took the card into the bedroom to give to Sarah. Needless to say, I guess you can imagine what came rolling down Mama's cheeks.

In hindsight, the trip flew past in a blurr. However, we made the most out of every moment we had with our girls. We are so fortunate that God has blessed our family. We ask that you all continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers, as we pray that we get our girls safely home very, very soon!

Finally, I have to give thanks to Claudia, our foster mom, again. She has done an amazing job with our girls. They are so fortunate to have her as their foster mom through the adoption process. Thank you Mama Claudia!

God Bless,

John y Sarah

Return Trip to Guatemala!

Three weeks have come and gone since our last trip to see our girls. There is not a moment that goes by, that our girls are not in our heart, thoughts and prayers. Knowing that we are going back this weekend for Mother's Day is what has gotten us through these past couple of weeks.

We were really excited to receive an email from Claudia (our foster mother) this past week letting us know that the girls and Claudia's family were doing well. Claudia told us that Hannah talked about her birthday party and cake for an entire week. Haley is doing well and is smiling every moment of the day! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful foster mother taking care of our girls.

We have been really busy this week trying to get ready for our trip this weekend, and as a result, we haven't been able to update the blog recently. Below, we have added some additional pictures of Hannah and Haley during Hannah's 3rd birthday party! Being able to hold our girls in our arms for the first time and celebrate Hannah's birthday with her was a feeling that words could never express.

Continued thanks to all of our family and friends who continue to keep our girls in your thoughts and prayers. We are looking forward to sharing new pictures and an update from our second trip to Guatemala next weekend!

God bless

New Pictures from the Trip of a Lifetime...

Finally had a chance to recoup from our trip. For two new parents, it took a day, but we got new pictures posted both in the previous post below and at the very bottom of the page. We hope you enjoy the pics of our girls.

Our Girls at Last!

Hello everyone. We arrived in Guatemala an hour behind schedule on Wednesday night. On Thursday morning, we woke up and had breakfast downstairs in the restaurant. On our way to the market to buy formula, aqua, & snacks; we "ran into" our two girls and our foster mom on their way to see us. As soon as Hannah saw us, she came up to Sarah and I and gave us a huge hug. It was the best feeling in the world. The second best is when she says "Papa John" and "Mama Sarah"!

We are so busy taking care of the girls that I can't type long. Haley and Mama are currently sleeping in the bedroom. Hannah and Papa just got through sharing a bowl of Mac N' Cheese! Hannah said she loves Papa's Mac N' Cheese (i.e. my secret receipe, just add water and package of cheese and cook in microwave for 3 1/2 minutes).

Below are some of the pictures that Sarah and I have taken over the past two days. We hope you enjoy them and will try to update the blog again before we leave. Thanks everyone for keeping our girls in your thoughts and prayers. They are doing great!

Three Days Until We Visit Guatemala!

Well, the last three weeks have flown by as we have been getting ready for our trip to Guatemala to visit our girls and celebrate Hannah's 3rd Birthday! Sarah has been feverishly packing all of the girls' clothes and toys over the last couple of weeks.

This past weekend we finished purchasing Hannah's birthday presents. We also purchased all of the party supplies that we will be taking down to Guatemala with us. There is a lot you have to do to plan a birthday celebration a thousand miles away; however, just seeing another smile on Hannah's face like the last set of pictures we received (i.e. when she received her teddy bear), makes it all worth it!

We will arrive at the airport in Guatemala on Wednesday evening and our foster mom will bring our girls to the hotel the following morning. I can't wait until that morning when we have our girls in our arms. With that being said, take a moment to listen to our music video by Steven Curtis Chapman that we recently posted to our site. The song, "When Love Takes You Home", comes very close to capturing both what this journey has meant to us and what has gotten us through it.

Thank you and God bless for all of our friends and family who continue to keep us in their prayers. We look forward to posting our family photos next week!

Guatemala....Here we Come!

No, we are not out of PGN yet. However, we are flying down to Guatemala to be with our girls on April 18th and to celebrate Hannah's third birthday with her!

Despite receiving word that we were potentially out of PGN last week, we ultimately learned that the PGN director has not yet signed off on our case. Given that the Easter holiday is coming up soon, we were told that we probably would not be out of PGN until after the holiday (as things seem to come to a halt during religious holidays).

Even though there is a chance that we will be making a return trip in a couple of weeks to actually bring our girls home for good, we couldn't wait any longer to visit with them. We also didn't want to miss celebrating Hannah's birthday with her.

Sarah has had several long conversations with our adoption agency regarding what to expect when we arrive in Guatemala. It truly seems like it is going to be a whole different world.

We have 22 days to go, and we will be with our girls! We will certainly keep you all posted as we get closer to that day!

No News...

We have finished child proofing the house, washing the girls' clothes, putting the double stroller together, bought the SUV; and now.........

....driving my wife crazy. Still we haven't received any news regarding exiting PGN. As a result, I (John) have turned towards the internet to read other parent's blogs about their Guatemalan adoptions. I have been reading about the various reasons that cases have been "kicked out" including incomplete name affidavit, supposedly new requirement for 3 witness affidavits, etc. I think I will start limiting how much stuff I am reading on various people's blogs.

Thanks to all of our family and friends that continue to keep us and our girls in your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully the week of March 19th will be the week we exit PGN!

New Pictures!

Today was a very good day. Sarah called me at work this morning to tell me to check my email for new pictures of our baby girls! Hannah and Haley have changed so much since the last set of pictures we received in late December. Hannah truly is a little lady now.

We were also very happy to see the smile on Hannah's face below! Once I saw this picture, it made me feel so good. The first several sets of pictures we got (because it was so close to when she originally came to the foster home), Hannah looked so solemn and sad. She has come a long way in the last several months.

With this kind of smile, how can Daddy say "No" to her?

And our littlest princess (Haley), she is as cute as ever.... You will just have to look at the pictures below to see for yourself. Yes, we know, we are going to have our hands full with little Miss Haley!

"In a couple of months, I will have to use these?"

"Books taste so good!

I'm so glad my Mommy

& Daddy sent me this one!"

First Entry (March 13, 2007)

Welcome to the first entry of our blog. We are in the final stages of our adoption of our two little girls...Hannah (3 years old) and Haley (8 months old). We started our adoption journey in September 2006 and it has been a roller coaster ride ever since.

We are currently in the PGN phase and recently received word that we had been temporarily kicked out. However, the document in question was corrected by our attorney and resubmitted into PGN the same day.

We are hoping that we will progress quickly through PGN this second time around! Thanks to all of our friends and family for keeping us and our two little girls in your thoughts and prayers.

God bless,
John & Sarah