PICS!!!

MOMMY AND MAYA GETTING ON THE PLANE LEAVING GUATEMALA

WE WERE ALL ALMOST TO HOUSTON WHEN MAYA DECIDED TO FINALLY NAP

PROUD POPPY

LOVING NANNY

THIS WAS THE THREE OF US WHEN HUGO GAVE US MAYA'S VISA!

NOVEMBER 10TH, 2006- MAYA IS HOME FOREVER!!!

WE ARE HOME....HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SORRY WE HAVE NOT WRITTEN MUCH LATELY. WE HAD NO INTERNET LASTNIGHT!

WE SPENT AS MUCH TIME AS WE COULD IN THIS SHORT WEEK GETTING TO KNOW MAYA'S COUNTRY. IT WAS GREAT AND WE HAVE WONDERFUL PICTURES AND AWESOME MEMORIES.
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WE WILL UPDATE THE BLOG AS WE CAN, BUT IT WONT BE EVERYDAY BECAUSE WE NEED TO CONCENTRATE ON GETTING BRYAN AND MAYA ADJUSTED TO ALL THIS CHANGE.

SO FAR, MAYA IS NOT FOUND OF RILEY (OUR DOG) BUT WE WILL WORK ON THAT!

TONIGHT MAYA AND BRYAN ARE TIRED, BUT BRYAN DID RUN OUT TO MEET MAYA AND HE TOLD HER THAT HE LOVES HER, IT WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SWEET!

NANNY AND POPPY WERE HERE AND OUR HOME IS DECKED OUT IN PINK...IT LOOKS SO NICE!!! MY MOM DOES A LOT OF "SMALL STUFF" WHICH REALLY IS THE BIG STUFF TO ME!


PICTURES TO FOLLOW SOON, I PROMISE!!

EMBASSY DAY...FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DOES ANYONE SEE HER TWO TEETH???


LASTNIGHT WE WERE REALLY TIRED SO I WILL WRITE A LITTLE TONIGHT.

Yesterday we were told to meet our agency rep, and Maya with her foster mother at 3pm. Debbie(Maya's foster mom) for what ever reasons did not bring us Maya until 4:30pm or so. But, while we waited, we got to over a lot of paperwork with our agency rep. Our driver, Hugo, also showed up.
Hugo should run an agency, really...he knows everything. A ton of stuff that we brought we did not need. This includes various notarized documents that we were told that we "needed"...most of which were notarized while Bryan ran around the UPS store. All we can do is say better safe than sorry, because what is done is done and Maya is ours now!!!
Anyhow, last time we saw Maya we were tired but we were just so happy that we kept going...this time it was strange because we were taking Maya away from Debbie and her family forever. I know that this is her "JOB", but she was and I am sure will continue to be an EXCELLENT mother. She let us know that she will love her forever and that Maya will always be part of their family. We let her know that we believe that she saved Maya's life. For those who have not been following our adoption closely, Maya suffered from malnutrition from her first foster mom . At 2 months she was just over 6 pounds , her cheeks were sunken it, we were afraid for her life. We could not just leave Bryan to come see her or foster her ouselves. Maya was given to Debbie at that time and as you can see, Debbie took excellent care of Maya.
So, we let Debbie know that. We told her that Maya will ALWAYS know of her and we will continue to stay in touch via email. Long story short, it was very emotional.




Today, on the other hand was AWESOME in every sense. Maya slept pretty much through the night. We got up early, and Hugo picked us up for our Embassy appointment. Our appt. was at 7:15am. We arrived on time and it took about two hours. It hit us today ...this is it...we took our oath, we were given many congrats...we shared joy with so many other adoptive parents who went through all the bologna that we went through. Maya was an angel.

After our appointment, Hugo took us to Antigua. It was a wonderful day. A day we will never forget! We really saw how people here live. There is a lot of poverty, but they are simple people and we were very thankful to meet and see so many people today. We had a great time seeing jade being made and shopping...of course.
We saw the cobblestone roads of the old city. We saw how women carry food and supplies on their heads. We saw people washing their clothes at a free ouside laundromat. The driving is crazy, the people are kind, the scenery is unique and breathtaking.
We now know that we were indeed supposed to come here and adopt this child.
People think she is lucky to come to America and have a future...I think we are even luckier to have her.

Anyhow, we did a lot of touristy things...and ended by shopping at the market. What an awesome place to shop. Hugo knew exactly what shop to take us for whatever we wanted to buy. We had a great time. Maya is a better shopper than big brother, for now anyhow!

I am only telling a small portion of what we did, because now we are tired again and I know you all want pictures...so here we go!!!!!

MAYA LEAR WITH HER PROUD PARENTS AT THE JADE FACTORY IN ANTIGUA

MAYA LOVED HUGO. WE TOLD HIM THAT HE SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN OUR ADOPTION PACKAGE!

WE ARE HERE, MAYA IS WITH US, AND WE ARE ALL POOPED!

DADDY'S GIRL

MAYA IS PICTURED HERE WITH HER FOSTER FAMILY MINUS HER FOSTER DAD WHO WAS WORKING

HAPPY BELATED HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!

MOMMY'S GIRL NOW...WE ARE BOTH SOOOOOOOOOO TIRED

IT WAS NOT EASY FOR DEBBIE TO GIVE MAYA UP. WE CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE HOW SHE IS COPING. MAYA IS SO SPECIAL!

WE THINK THINGS WILL BE OKAY FOR NOW...

I know my last post was awhile ago, but we have been busy! Afterall, we are leaving to go get our baby girl in a little more than 24 hours!

We just got word this evening that George's Dad is doing a lot better. Long story, short...he is better than we last heard and may be getting out of ICU tomorrow.

I am going to try and post some pictures now if blogger allows me tonight!

This is Logan's Daddy, Troy. He spent about 1/2 hour opening this toy robot dog from the box. It is one of those "you had to be there" stories.

Logan and his Mommy having some birthday cake at his party

Meet Taylor Marie Lear

Bryan and his cousin Zachary= ENERGY!

WE HAVE A HOTEL BUT ARE VERY WORRIED ABOUT GEORGE'S DAD

Hello everyone,

Yesterday George got out of work early and we drove down to the Atlantic City area to meet our new niece. Taylor is beautiful. Her hair is strawberry brown and she reminds me of Bryan as a baby. She mostly slept when I held her and it was so nice! Bryan played very hard with his cousin, Zachary. He was so tired lastnight!

The good news:
I begged and pleaded with The Marriott in Guatemala City and got us a room next week!!!!!

The bad news:
George's Dad is having trouble breathing, AGAIN. He was found to have aspiration pneumonia in both lower lobes of his lungs and moved back to the ICU. He had a feeding tube put in this past week and we thought he would be discharged this weekend. Definitely not. We went to visit him lastnight and it is the worst we have ever seen him. He can hardly breathe. He cannot talk and is extremely thin. He cannot move without losing his breath. It really took George by surprise. I see it at work, but it is still different to see family sick. I could go on about this more, but let me just ask anyone reading this to pray that he stays strong. He needs to hold his granddaughters!


I will try and post a picture of Taylor when we get back home tonight or tomorrow.

We have to see Bryan's friend, Logan blow out 3 candles today!

MAYA WILL BE HOME NEXT WEEKEND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, here is what we have all been waiting for.........

Maya Grace Lear will be entering the USA next week!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are leaving Tuesday morning to go and put her in our arms FOREVER!!!!!

Our daughter will be home next Friday 11/10/2006 !!!!

And guess what, we do not have enought time between now and Tuesday!!!!! So I gotta go!

Today we have a few million things to do! But not that much will get done....because...we are going to meet our niece this afternoon and staying at my in-laws. We will be visiting George's Dad too. He is in the hospital. I have a million things to do!!!!

And one of them is still finding a hotel! HA! Listen, we made the plane reservations, so if we have to sleep at the airport, so be it...we ARE bring home our daughter!!!!!!!!!

PINK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE GOT PINK TONIGHT!!!!!

WE HAVE AN APPOINTMENT AT THE EMBASSY 11/8/6 WHICH MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO PICK UP MAYA ON 11/7/6!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


NOW....LISTEN UP PEOPLE FROM ADOPTION.COM:

IF ANYONE HAS A HOTEL ROOM FOR US NEXT WEEK , PLEASE LET US KNOW!

WE HAVE NO ROOM. THERE IS NO AVAILABILITY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE PICTURES...AND MY BROTHER PASSED HIS TEST!!!

Well, here is our little train. He is obsessed with trains. Anyone who has met Bryan knows!!!! He has gone through the TOYS R US big book and checked off all train related toys. He now opens it up periodically and says "Mommy says I have to ask Santa Claus for this"....I am pretty sure Santa Claus would like to buy something other than trains but he does not take redirection very well in that area!

Anyhow, he was very cute trick-or-treating with Logan lastnight. He said Trick-or-treat and then he would get candy and then I would say, Bryan, "what do you say?"...expecting "Thank you"...and he would say "MORE, PLEASE?" But he learned after a few houses just to take one and say "thank you" and he was SO cute. Logan was Bob the Builder and he is in a few pics below too.

WELCOME TAYLOR MARIE LEAR !!!!!!!!!!

We just received WONDERFUL news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

George's brother, Jeff and his wife, Amber welcomed a baby girl into the world this morning. Her name is Taylor Marie and she weighs 8lbs.6oz and is 20 3/4 inches long.

We have not heard much more than that, but we are very excited. She has a big brother, Zachary, that is meeting her now.

Zachary and Taylor are about 17 months apart. Good luck guys!!!!!!

What a Happy Halloween for The Lears!!!!

This week will be a PINK week!!!!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I will be posting pics of my little Thomas the Tank Engine soon:)


THIS BLOGGER SITE WAS GIVING ME TROUBLE YESTERDAY SO THIS MORNING I AM UPLOADING PHOTOS I GOT OF MAYA GRACE YESTERDAY!

Along with the pictures, we received a report on little Maya. She goes to bed at 9:00 p.m. and sleeps the whole night until 6:00 a.m. She takes a morning nap from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. During the afternoons she takes short cat naps. The rest of the day she stays awake. She sleeps on her back. She sleeps without the light.


She is drinking her bottle without problems and is starting to eat more exciting foods. She likes eggs, fruit, veggies, juice, bread and get this..BLACK BEANS!!!! Just like big brother!!!!!

Her last doctor's appt was in late September. She weighed 14.12 pounds and measured 25.2 inches long.
According to Debbie, her foster mother, she has started to crawl. So looks like she will be into everything!

We did not send this outfit down, but she does look like a little model, huh? And she knows we like cats.
Yes, her shoes are dirty, but she will be getting LOTS of new, clean ones when she comes home!!!

These pictures are from a few days ago so this is who you will all be meeting really soon!

WE WERE SUBMITTED FOR PINK TODAY...FOR REAL! AND WE GOT NEW PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Believe it or not, the good news is rolling on in!

1. We were submitted for "PINK" this morning. That means that by Thursday night or Friday morning we SHOULD be making plane reservations to bring our daughter home FOREVER!!!!!! AND EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


2. We got new pictures of Maya today!!!!!!!!


I know I am prejudice, but I have to say that she is the most beautiful baby girl in Guatemala right now. It is funny because when you are adopting you do not know what you will get, but look what we got!


I mean this adoption wait has been HELL, but when I look at her, I know it is completely worth it.

George and I are so PSYCHED for our family and friends and neighbors and co-workers and well, even strangers to meet her!

Maya made the Guatemala Adoption Calendar!!!

Well, Maya is a star. Can you find her in February???
www.guatadopt.com has adoptive families submit pictures for the calendar and guess who is the cutest baby???

MAYITA IS!!!!!



Who is the other cutest baby??? Check out Gia. She is in the lower right hand corner. That is when she was a baby baby!

THE JOURNEY TO PINK IS NOT EASY EITHER

WELL, GUESS WHAT? THAT IS RIGHT...WE DO NOT HAVE PINK YET! IN FACT WE WERE NOT EVEN SUBMITTED YET.

I WAS AT THE GROCERY STORE AND OUR COORDINATOR CALLED AND SPOKE WITH GEORGE. SHE TOLD HIM THAT THE EMBASSY IS GIVING OUT NUMBERS. OUR AGENCY HAS AN ATTORNEY THAT HAS A RUNNING MAN WHO GOES TO THE EMBASSY AND PULLS A NUMBER. THE MAN GOES SUPPOSEDLY AT 3-4AM AND PULLS A NUMBER, YET BY THE END OF THE DAY, HIS NUMBER IS NOT CALLED. WE ARE TOLD THAT HE IS BEING HIRED TO SLEEP AT THE EMBASSY SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING IN ORDER FOR US TO BE SUBMITTED FOR PINK. IF INDEED THIS HAPPENS, WE WOULD HAVE PINK BY THE END OF NEXT WEEK AND MOST LIKELY BRING MAYA SOMEWHERE BETWEEN NOVEMBER 9TH-16TH.
ONCE AGAIN WE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN PATIENT.
IT SEEMS TO BE THAT WE HAVE TO GET TO BREAKING POINT BEFORE THINGS CAN GO OUR WAY.
I KNOW GOD THINKS THAT WE ARE STRONG, BUT WE WOULD APPRECIATE IF HE WOULD NOT TRUST US SO MUCH.

WE WANT A BREAK.

WE WANT HER HOME.

SHE HAS SO MUCH LOVE TO COME HOME TO.

KEEP PRAYING....OUR SUPPORTERS WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. THE ALMOST DAILY EMAILS, COMMENTS AND PHONE CALLS HAVE HELPED US SO MUCH!!!!

ON THE UPSIDE, I AM TAKING THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE(aka Bryan Barrettt Lear) TO A HALLOWEEN PARTY THIS AFTERNOON.

We are hoping that our sister-in-law, Amber goes into labor like...TODAY... so that we could go see the baby this weekend. George's Dad is sick in the hospital so we may go down soon, anyhow. The poor man could have his own blog on his medical history. Currently he has a lung infection but it is more complicated than that. We hope he stays strong mentally. His mind over matter gets him discharged time and time again! He will have two new grandchildren to meet in November.

Tuesday we have numerous Halloween festivities to choose from. Bryan went door to door last year and it was cute, but this year he really knows so much about Halloween. His imagination is so awesome.

I will update, hopefully..soon!

NO PINK...WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS CORRECT!!!

Really, we are so confused. I thought we were finally getting a break. We totally thought we would be in Guatemala next week!
Here is the new email I got from our coordinator:

Hi Kerry – I spoke to your attorney this afternoon. They have gotten the birth certificate and have turned it in to the translator. They hope to have it back tomorrow and be ready to put the file in the Embassy this Thursday to wait for the Pink Slip. Next Wednesday is a holiday in Guatemala – All Saints Day. If the file gets turned in to the Embassy this Thursday the pink slip should be issued next Tuesday. I’ll check in again with the attorney on Thursday to see if they got the file in to the Embassy. Thanks, Susanna

So, if you are following this blog, you too will be confused! I just emailed her asking which email is correct, or has it just been being translated this whole time????

Part of me, feels like"whatever" because she will be home in November no matter what! Then another part of me is so aggravated at this misleading, confusing information!

I will update again when I get some answers. This is just nuts. We have a conference call with our agency tomorrow night. Some crazy stuff has been going on in Guatemala and they will address that.

If anyone is interested, you can check out: www.guatadopt.com

On the bright side:
1.George and I will get to take our little Thomas the Tank Engine Trick-or-Treating on his 3rd Halloween!
2. We are almost certain that we will meet out new niece or nephew before we travel. George's brother, Jeff and his wife Amber are expected their second child and she will most likely go this week. If not, they will induce her...but she is 3cm and they think she will go...come on water....BREAK!

More happy news:
I had a busy day yesterday. I babysat Cheryl's son Logan yesterday morning while she went shopping. She returned the favor yesterday afternoon, so that Cathy, Aidan and I could go shopping. It was more about having a day out with an old friend. Her son is an awesome shopper. He hardly let out a cry. He loves shopping.

I had dinner with Cathy and Cheryl (2 major cheerleaders in Maya's adoption!!!!)lastnight and they bought Maya some goodies!!! They also had a few balloons and a yummy DARK CHOCOLATE cake...mmmmmmmmm! Thank you guys!!!!

Monday... Come on Pink!

No real news to report, but here are a few photos. I want to go watch "What about Brian"! I will update the blog when we get pink, if not before!!

Bryan and Logan at Shoprite about a month ago....so cute!!!!(They are two, so it only lasted the produce isle!)

My little HAM

Modeling for IZOD

Maya's boyfriend, Aidan at his Baptism last week...look at that face!

We think we were submitted for PINK today!

Today we found out that we are more ahead of the game then we thought!
Below is an email we received today:

Kerry,
I finally met up with Susanna regarding your case. Her attorney told her that the final documents were being translated the 16th (Monday) and would be re-entering the embassy today (Thursday). You should be issued a pink slip sometime early next week. Keep in mind that Friday is a holiday in Guatemala.
Thanks, and have a great day!

Our coordinator has been visiting Guatemala this week, so the above email came from her assistant.

It sounds to us like the birthmother signed(or the Power of Attorney took effect), and the birth certificate was taken care of.

Maybe we will get more answers tomorrow.

I worked today and stopped at The Children's Place Outlet before picking up Bryan...so I am tired!

I will be updating!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep praying, we are so close to PINK now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WE HAVE BEEN OUT OF PGN 1 WEEK!!!

WELL, FINALLY...FINALLY, A WEEK FLEW BY!!!!

Those past 12 weeks were killers, but knowing we are out and our daughter is coming home soon is a totally different feeling. I have been feeling much better about everything!!!
No news yet on the birth certificate, but I will post whenever we get any word.
Our coordinator is in Guatemala this week until tomorrow. I am trying to get in touch with her assistant but still no word. We keep praying it is soon. They told us 3-4 weeks, meaning anywhere from the last week in October until the 1st week in November. It is quite possible that we will miss Halloween, but with our timeline, we figure it will be at the 4th week, not the 3rd. We do not care as long as she is coming home, and she is!!!!!! If we do not miss Halloween, we may miss Logan's third birthday! Logan is one of Bryan's very best friends. He was born 3 months before Bryan and they are like brothers. He lives 2 doors down. Logan's Mommy usually has a small family party that we crash. It is a tradition! Bryan could still crash it without us, however!


I am keeping busy. I worked twice last week and am working twice this week. I am a nurse and I work on a really wacky unit! Who knows what I will do after Maya comes home. I have so much time to make up for with her. We have to bond and Bryan has to get used to the idea that he is not the only big cheese in the house!
I will post when we hear something, if not, before.
Until then, here is a picture of Maya Grace about an hour after we picked her up for our last visit. We hope she is just as happy to see us this time!!!

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS NOW...

Now that we finally have PGN APPROVAL, our attorney needs to make the final adoption decree. This decree has to be signed by the birthmother, or the birthmother's power of attorney(POA). Maya's birth mother had signed over POA awhile back, so this part should move quickly for us. Once this is issued, Maya is legally ours:)

Next, a new birth certificate is issued with our last name (LEAR!!!)

Our attorney then takes Maya's new birth certificate and applies for a Guatemalan passport.

All documents are translated from Spanish to English.

A passport is issued to Maya. She will get her photo taken for the VISA.

The attorney takes all the paperwork to the Embassy and requests approval for an orphan visa to the USA.

The embassy authorizes the VISA, commonly known as "THE PINK SLIP". This pink slip will have our VISA appointment date on it.

Then....we book tickets, get on a plane and go get our daughter!

SCREAM AND SHOUT WE ARE OUT-OUT-OUT!

On PGN day #85, on our 12th week of being in PGN, at 6:26pm we found out that we are OUT of PGN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOO-HOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MAYA, MOMMY AND DADDY ARE COMING TO GUATEMALA TO BRING YOU HOME SOON!!!

OUR ADOPTION COORDINATOR COULD NOT BELIEVE THAT I WAS NOT SCREAMING OR CRYING! I WAS AND STILL AM IN SHOCK!!!!!

More news to come...next up is to get Maya's new birth certificate which will have her last name changed to LEAR!!!! He-he-ha-ha!!! YEA! We are so excited, Bryan is even singing..."Baby sister coming home, baby sister coming home"

She should be in her quite pink room in 3-4 weeks!!! YEA-YEA-YEA!!!!