Looking back at 2006...

To all my blogger friends: When I have time, I try and look at your blogs.
I got the idea below from you.

I am going to sum up the year 2006 with a few pictures and words.

Thanks fellow bloggers for the idea!!

Everyone, please enjoy!

January 2006-Looking back at my calendar from last year, I see that at the beginning of January we were awaiting immigration approval in order to proceed with an international adoption.

By January 19th, we had immigration approval(CIS approval) and began waiting for the referral of a baby girl frm Guatemala.

At the end of January, we celebrated Bryan's 2nd Birthday, THOMAS style.

On the 27th of this month , he will be turning THREE!

He decided in January to starting helping Mommy and Daddy in the kitchen.


February 2006- I remember checking my caller id, cell phone and computer constantly this month. We knew a referral would be coming any day and just could not wait to hear that our daughter was out there.

By the end of the month, she was, we just were not told about her yet!

Maya Grace was born on February 24th, 2006.

Thank God we had our sweet valentine at home to help us through the wait!

George and I were both working a lot.

We enjoyed our little Bryan who began talking non-stop.

It really snowed in February!

I remember that Bryan was not feeling well, but we dragged him out to see the snow. We did not stay outside too long.

He was not so sure about the snow last year. This year, I have a feeling that if it ever snows, he will enjoy it a lot.

March 2006-On March 10th we finally received our referral!!! I was at work assessing a patient. I remember the patient very well. The patient I was interviewing was hit by a train when he was young and lived. As a result of the accident he is still having surgeries today. He was a very, very nice man. My cell phone started to vibrate while I was doing my assessment. I excused myself from my patient for one moment and took THE CALL. I sat at the post-op area and wrote down her name and what we were to do next. We needed to get to a computer, see her pictures and information and then call our agency back to accept the child. Although, I wanted to race to the computer in the hospital's library, I went back to my patient to finish his assessment. I could not contain my smile. I promised myself that I would not tell people at work right away, knowing that sometimes things do not work out at the beginning of this process. Yet, my patient knew something was up. He asked me, something good???? I said, yes something GOOD!!! He asked if I just found out I was pregnant and I said no, but not too far off and I whispered to him my news telling him not to say anything to any nurses!

At this time, I was working 4 mornings a week at my job, so by the time I was done with this patient, my shift was over. I called George and told him the NEWS! I told him to start staring at his computer. I raced to the library, sent him THE EMAIL and then called him again and we looked at her pictures together.

We KNEW this was our beautiful daughter and we decided to call back our agency that day and get the paperwork started on this child.

As I walked away from the library, I dialed my Mom's number on my cell and she then raced to her computer and saw her granddaughter's picture for the very first time. I was in still in shock so I think she cried of happiness for all of us!!!

By the end of the day, the majority of our very close support system knew and we went to bed so happy. We knew we were proceeding with caution for the first 8 weeks, but we were ready!

MAYA GRACE -OUR ANGEL SENT TO US FROM HEAVEN

She was 6 pounds at referral.

By the third week in March, our lawyer had our Dossier and Power of Attorney over in Guatemala.




This was a picture sent to us on March 25th of our Maya, now starting to look like the Maya we know. She is 1 month in this photo.




Not forgetting about Bryan, we took him to his first swim class. He is a fish.

April 2006-April was a roller coaster.

On April 21st, we were given some worrysome news. Maya Grace weighed in at only 6.8 lbs at her appointment on April 18th and was not thriving with her foster mother. She was 1 month, 3 weeks old when we got the news. Our agency called and spoke with me. They warned that she would not look well in the photos they were about to send.

They explained that her first foster mother was not able to take care of Maya anymore. Our little angel was then placed in the care of Debbie, her 2nd foster mother. We were assured that Debbie was wonderful and had taken some nursing classes on being a foster mother. The doctor changed her formula and put her on weight gaining vitamins.

Easter 2006-Bryan was excited about making a mess with the colorful eggs at Nanny and Poppy's house

Maya received her first basket from the bunny . In the basket is a bunny blankie that Maya uses on a daily basis now. The pink box contained the dress and shoes that Maya wore EMBASSY DAY in Guatemala. My Mom bought it for her on March 10th(referral day) and she wore it on Embassy Day!!! You have seen her in it on her adoption announcement.




The news on Maya's health with her first foster mother came after Easter and gave us a huge scare. She has no cheeks in this picture.

Here is Maya Grace in Debbie's arms.

We have told Debbie many times that we believe she SAVED Maya's life. Maya will always know about Debbie, always.

Here she is on April 28th! Hello cheeks!

Here she is 7.1 lbs. She only gained weight from here on end.




May 2006-In May, once mandatory DNA tests were done, we went to Guatemala to meet our daughter. We met her on Memorial Day 2006. In 2003, we had found out we were pregnant with Bryan on Memorial Day. I think it is my lucky day somehow.

This wonderful photo of us meeting our forever daughter was taken by Holly. Most people reading this know Holly! We are so blessed that Holly volunteered to meet us in the Marriott Lobby at what I believe was 9am that day. We hardly knew Holly then and what a great thing she did. Within hours, our family and friends back in PA and NJ got to to see us meet our daughter through Holly's photography skills. We are forever thankful.

And here is the photographer herself...Holly G. and sleeping beauty Gia

We visited Maya for the first time when Candy and Kya were living at the Marriott

It was an amazing trip. We went from nobody having any idea what we were going through(except a few of you huge supporters back in the USA) with this adoption...to meeting person after person after person who shared our exact fears, happiness, stress , heartache and other emotions. We were not sure if we would visit our daughter when she came to be, but we definitely made the right decision. We met many, many people!! I have not 100% stayed in touch with everyone becuase I am so busy with two now. I do, however, watch Stephanie's blog. Steph is in the very middle of this picture. She is an Occupational Therapist and also adopted a MAYA GRACE! She is a single mother and simply sweet. She reminds me so much of my friend back home Melissa (the one who was surfing with Santa at Christmas time!)

This photo was taken moments before we had to hand our daughter back to Debbie for the first time. I was overwhelmed and George was extremely emotional. If this blog is still around when Maya can read, then we want you to know, Maya, that Daddy cried, Daddy cried long and hard. It was one of the hardest things we have ever done and although Mommy can cry on a whim, Daddy does not, so know that you were with us even when we left you.

My brother graduated Penn State last MAY!! YAHOO!!

JUNE 2006- At the beginning of June I was on a high from meeting Maya. It made everything easier for a week or so. Then we went back to waiting for our Pre-Approval so that we may enter the last dark and dreary wait of PGN in order to get Maya home. We were optimistic at this point that Maya would come home in August or September.

We kept busy working and spending time with Bryan. We took Bryan to go see Thomas the Tank Engine in Lancaster, PA. He cannot wait to go again, but it probably won't happen until this June.

This was the end of his pacifier days. It was also the end of his naps. He became a big boy over the summer.

JULY 2006- On July 5th, we did get Pre-Approval. We did not start our PGN wait until July 18th.

Here is Bryan at the beach. It was so nice to see him enjoy it!

...and Daddy too!

Our agency continued to send us pictures and doctor's reports so that we knew our daughter was okay.



August 2006- In August we started to think...anyday now, anyday, we could be going to get our daughter...then the next day would come, and the next. We knew in reality that it could be much longer but felt optimistic.

We got the kids rooms ready while we waited.

Bryan helped

We went to Sesame Place and had a BLAST!




SEPTEMBER 2006- September was the same story as August, but we knew that we needed to see Maya soon regardless of when she was soming home. We visited Maya Labor Day weekend. It was a wonderful visit. She changed so much. She got her first two teeth while we were with her at the Marriott!

I remember being so tired, yet so happy and at peace when we got to Guatemala.

Gia was living in Guatemala back then and was very close to coming home. She came to visit us with her Mommy and we dressed them up...so cute!

She's daddy's little girl

This time she was eating everything you gave her. This girl can eat, even back then when it was all MUSH!

This was taken right before we had to give our baby back to Debbie....for the last time.





Okay, this time, it was me that cried, and I cried a lot. She had changed so much and it was so hard to come home without her. It was completely unnatural and I knew that I could not leave her like that. The only thing that got us through, was knowing she was in the loving hands of Debbie and her family.

Back at home, Bryan was enjoying the nice September weather with Nanny, Poppy and Riley dog.

Bryan helped Mommy more in the kitchen when we got home.




OCTOBER 2006-When we left Guatemala in September, we hoped to get news that we were out of PGN immediatly and get back on that plane to get her. It did not exactly play out like that. We were very upset at the beginning of October and were very close to hiring adoption supervisors to investigate our adoption. A few days before we would have hired them, we got OUT of PGN. It was October 10th, 2006 when we knew that our daughter would be home very soon, forever. We still had to wait for "THE PINK SLIP" to get an exact date, but we knew it WAS happening and that made things MUCH better.

This picture was included in our last agency report.

Bryan was Thomas the Tank Engine for Halloween and he loved getting candy without eating his dinner first!

Right before Halloween, we went on a hayride at a pumpkin patch. This October there will be 4 of us in this picture!

NOVEMBER 2006- Remember the movie, SWEET NOVEMBER??? Well, it sure was. On November 2nd we got word that we needed to be at the US EMBASSY in Guatemala on November 8th at 7:15am...and we were!
Maya did come home with a little cold which ended up to be RSV and pneumonia. So, it was rough start, for sure. She was in the hospital for a few days but came home on Thanksgiving Day which was one of the best gifts ever.

George, Maya and I on Embassy day in Antigua.

We came home forever on November 10th, 2006 . My Mom had decked the place out in pink, it was beautiful. Bryan was excited among other emotions, and Riley was too.

Maya and Bryan are together, FINALLY!!!

One of the first of MANY pictures of our forever family



DECEMBER 2006- Maya Grace was Baptized on December 3rd. We had a small celebration . It was very nice. A lot of people met her for the first time and she handled that VERY well!

Jeff and Cathy stood by us

Ho-Ho-Ho......Christmas was the BEST SO FAR!!!!!

We had a great year. It was emotional but well worth it. Thank you all for your love and support throughout this process!!!!!!!!!!!!!!