Care Package No. 1

So here's the deal, we were told we could send 1...maybe 2 packages total to our son over the next 7-8 months. :( Fortunately for us, I am an expert packer (and yes I am for hire!!), so this 1 gallon ziploc will be full to the max!!

The first picture is of all the amazing things I will attempt to put into the thin, small ziploc. (Don't try this at home, folks!)
If you're wondering about that recorder, yes, we will in fact be taping our voices: talking, singing and waxing poetically to our son. Hopefully this will start to familiarize him with our voice and not scare him away. :)

The next picture is testimony to our incredible feat! All of the items actually made it into the bag! Well, okay minus 1 of the onesies. Oh and we'll be adding a letter to the foster family once translated.
Meanwhile, I keep scouring the adoption forums, checking for the time tables of everyone else and wishing and hoping that we'll hear about the DNA authorization soon. Patience is a virtue....

Lastly, many have inquired to see our cute doggie after we buzzed, I mean, uh, attempted to cut his hair. Well, the good news is we stopped. The bad news is we didn't stop soon enough. You can't really tell from this picture but he has a bit of a receding hairline now....a choppy buzz look about 3 inches back on his head. Okay! Okay!....we'll take him to the groomers next time. :)
Susan :)

Kaden's First Photos!

Here are a few photos of our adorable son! Apparently he's like his mom in that he does not appreciate being awakened when he's enjoying a nice snooze!

Hopefully we'll have more to post soon!

Susan

My First Blog!

Welcome to McKinley's Mayan Memos!! We've decided to start blogging our journey instead of sending out emails every now and then. We hope you will find this entertaining and interesting. Comments and input appreciated!

For my first blog, I decided to post our most recent email. (Actually I may copy other previous ones in here, just for historical purposes). Hopefully some day our son will enjoying seeing this blog of our journey to bring him home!

Email from January 24:
Greetings Friends and Family,
We hope you are all enjoying the new year and living out your 2007 resolutions! :)
I don't have any real progress to report, just wanted to share a few things.
First of all, I received confirmation that our dossier and acceptance documents have been received in Guatemala. Now they will be translated into spanish and the Power of Attorney document will be "protocolized"---whatever that means. I'm praying/hoping this will all go well/fast. The next big milestone we're waiting to hear about is that the DNA test has been authorized by the US Embassy in Guatemala. Hopefully the DNA test will happen soon after that, and then we'll get our greenlight to visit our son!
Second of all, I am in a yahoo group with other adoptive moms that live in the Atlanta area. We are all in different stages of the process, but one of our members just brought her son home last week! She does a good job of describing the trip back, the transition, etc...It was encouraging to me to see these pictures and read some of her latest blogs. In case you want to check it out:
http://collinsdrama.blogspot.com/
Thirdly, we have come to realize that we are pretty powerless over the next few months. I mean, I guess we already knew that...but we were so excited to get the referral that we hoped/thought things would be easier after that. One issue is that we won't be getting updates as frequently as we would like. Due to issues/political climate, etc...the foster parents don't take the kids out much. They can be harassed by police, etc...so we won't be getting a medical update once a month with updated pictures. That said, if I do get any updates, I will surely send them along. Also, we are not allowed/able to have any contact with the foster family so our only updates will be through our agency. Again, I'll let you know if we hear anything. :)
So, for now, we sit tight and pray. We would appreciate your prayers for Kaden's health and protection and for the family he is living with. (I'll send out the name next time...can't remember if is Hernandez or Fernandez....). And of course, prayer that the process goes quickly and we can bring our son home soon is always appreciated!!
Let us know how you're doing too!

Love,Mike and Susan