WE ARRIVED!

We arrived at the hotel around 2:00 p.m. Central Time. We had a 45 minute flight delay in Houston. We are unpacking now and getting ready to pick Nora up at 3:00 P.M.. Weather is beautiful. More later.

NEW PICTURES!

WE ARE IN PGN!

Today's weekly update states that we entered PGN on November 20. Nora was six months old on the 20th as well.

UPDATE FROM AHH

The Guatemalan Foreign Ministers Office is still processing our DNA paperwork. We anticipate the paperwork will be approved and submitted to PGN next week.

October Medical Update and Pictures

Nora weighs 14 lbs 1 oz. Her length is 23.54 inches and her head circumference is 15.75 inches.

We heard back from the adoption agency today that the DNA paperwork was authenticated and has been forwarded to Guatemala. Now we are waiting to be notified when our case has been submitted to PGN.

UPDATE FROM AHH

Philip thought we would have to wait for the DNA paperwork to be completed before we could get pre-approval from the American Embassy. However, since we now have pre-approval we will go to PGN as soon as the DNA paperwork is completed and arrives in Guatemala. We have no idea of how long PGN will take. We are still praying to have Nora home before Christmas.

AMERICAN EMBASSY PRE-APPROVAL NOTICE

We received an e-mail notice from the American Embassy in Guatemala that our paperwork has been pre-approved. We were told that once everything was pre-approved by the American Embassy, our case would go directly to PGN. We are unsure what happens now since we are waiting on the DNA paperwork to be corrected by the Consulate in Houston.

DNA UPDATE

We received a call from Philip at the adoption agency who informed us that there had been a mistake on our DNA papers. It seems the Guatemalan Consulate in Houston misspelled the Attorney General's name on our papers. The papers would have to go back to the Consulate in Houston for correction and re-authentication. Philip thought it would take two weeks for the papers to be corrected and sent back to the US Embassy in Guatemala.

VISITING NORA DAY 8

Here are the final pictures and video's we took of Nora on Wednesday morning just before we gave her back to America her foster mother. It was hard to give Nora back but knowing how much America loved and cared for her made it a lot easier to do. Our flight from Guatemala to Houston was perfect but, the flight from Houston to Dallas was pretty bad. We had a 3 hour weather delay in Houston which was a mad house in the terminal and when we finally landed in Dallas our luggage never came with us. The airline delivered it this morning to our house. I want to thank everyone for your prayers and messages of support. Pam and I really appreciated them.


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This is a picture of America and her grandson with all of us;

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VISITING NORA DAY 7

WOW, were did the week go!!!

We had another great night and a great day. Nora is laughing, cooing, and squealing even louder. She loves taking walks, going outside, she loves to look at trees, and being around people. She is going to love Gammer and Gaffer place more than ours in Rockwall.......she loves trees. She is a very happy baby. Pam and I are very fortunate to be given this precious gift from God. She has really gotten very comfortable with Pam and I. Unfortunately we leave tomorrow and I pray that our time away from her is very short. We heard from the adoption agency that our official DNA paperwork for Nora and her birth Mom will be submitted to the US Embassy for verification which should take about two weeks. Then it will be sent to the Guatemala government for the final approval process. Since we have been down here, we have heard anywhere from 3 days to 6 weeks from the adoptive parents who are here for this process. But, the adoption agency keeps saying 1 - 4 months. Pam and I meet the adoption agency and the foster mother in the hotel lobby at 9:00 a.m.. Our flight leaves Guatemala at 12:30 p.m.. I have included some pictures from today. This will probably be our last blog posting until we get home.

This is a picture of Maria who is an attendant in the main lounge area. We got to know her very well. She has a brother who lives in Plano (Dallas area);

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More pictures of the hotel;

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Interesting shot of the big volcano;

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Other pictures of our girl;

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UNCLE BRAD'S SPECIAL VIDEO REQUEST

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VISITING NORA DAY 6 MORE VIDEO

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VISITING NORA DAY 6 UPDATE VIDEO

HEY BRAD, HOW BOUT THEM SAINTS!


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VISITING NORA DAY 6 UPDATE MORE PICS

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McDonald's is hiring delivery drivers Eve and Hannah;

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Here is a small craft mall that we are allowed to visit next to the hotel;

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I thought this was a funny picture but Pam didn't;

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Nora and I were wore out after today's adventures;

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VISITING WITH NORA DAY 6

We had the longest night of sleep last night since our arrival. The weather, Nora, Pam, and Del are doing great but the internet is having problems. I have not been able to post any video clips since last night and I cannot get anymore pictures to post. I guess the earthquake in Hawaii has bogged down all of the blog sites. I will keep trying to post later in the day. I did get pictures of the volcano's this morning and I did find Eve and Hannah a job..... picture later.

MORE DAY 5 PHOTO'S

VISITING NORA DAY 5 UPDATE "MORE PHOTO'S"

VISITING NORA DAY 5

We had a very good sleep last night so Nora and her parents are getting into a good rountine. Yesterday, we ventured out for the first time to one of the restaurants in the hotel for dinner. Miss Nora couldn't stand all the excitement and fell asleep as soon as the menus were handed out but Pam and I continued on with a great dinner. This morning Dad joined the "dad's group" who walk the hotel lobby with their kids each morning. The weather is good with a nice breeze blowing. Thanks April for doing the research on the active volcano outside our hotel window. I am glad to hear that it's last eruption was in 2000......I'll sleep better at night. I have included videos of our hotel room in this posting for those who asked about the room. We had our first accident of the trip. We ordered black bean soup from room service for lunch today. Dad extended one of the table extensions from the portable serving table the hotel brought so everyone could eat from the table. We had taken a few bites of soup when the table extension collapsed sending soup "every where". I am glad we brought extra clothes.

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DAY 4 UPDATE ENJOYING THE COMPUTER

Nora loves the computer especially the pinball game.



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DAY 4 WITH NORA UPDATE

Here are some pictures outside our hotel window. We have met with several other adopting couples who are picking up their children to take home. They have gone through the PGN process very quickly most within days or weeks instead of months. Hopefully we can bring Nora back home to Texas very soon.