Levi Douglas Bradley: Update

Our Adoption Story

Levi was born on April 21, 2007 in Chinautla, Guatemala, a small town known for pottery. He weighed 6.7 pounds and was 19.7 inches long. He was in private foster care in Guatemala City where he lived for 10 1/2 months with his foster mom, her son and daughter and Isaac, his foster brother. Throughout our difficult adoption journey, Isaac's mom, Nancy and I became very good friends. God placed our boys together and had the perfect plan in place long before we ever realized it. When I was undecided on an adoption agency, I joined an online forum where Nancy provided me with information about her agency and recommended them to us. We decided to sign with the same agency and I emailed Nancy back to let her know. Over a few months we emailed back and forth to learn we were both from TN and lived only 30 minutes apart... we thought wow, it's a small world. Little did we know a few months later we'd both get referrals, earlier than we expected, of 2 beautiful Guatemalan angels. When they turned 2 months old our agency called and decided it was time to tell us that they were in the same foster home together and had been since they were 1 day old. We were amazed they were together. Even more so, God amazed us once again when we learned shortly after that they were born on the same day and were from the same town... no longer a coincidence that was for sure. We were being told by the foster mom how attached they were and acted like brothers. But, Nancy and I got the chance in January '08 to go to visit them and see it for ourselves. It was an amazing time of bonding with our boys that we will never forget. After that trip it seemed when one of us would reach a roadblock in the crazy process of international adoption the other would be delayed with something else. We stayed right together until the very day we picked them both up. We had our US Embassy appts the same day and we flew home through Atlanta on the same flight on March 11, 2008 when they both entered the US as citizens! It was an awesome time for us in the Atlanta Airport when we rec'd the congrats they were official! We've made friends for life with Nancy, Eric, and with Isaac's extended families. We look forward to many years of watching them both grow up so close together. Over the past year, as we went through battle after battle to bring our boys home, Nancy and I both would never think of one without the other in our endless prayers to keep them safe, happy and healthy until they could be home with their forever families. We're finally parents and it's what we've both waited for, for so many years.. our families are finally complete!!!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Update

Just wanted to post an update since I haven’t in awhile. First of all, we had our baby shower and it went great! My mom, April and Morgan did a great job with all the food and decorating. We got a lot of nice things and his closet is now full of clothes and waiting for him. We have his room all done except for a few minor things. Having all the shower stuff there did make me a little depressed for a few days but, I am just trying to stay focused that the wait will all be worth it soon. Then last weekend we had the benefit dinner/singing (our last fundraiser I hope). It also went very well and we had a lot of people donate extra money above and beyond their ticket cost which was an answer to prayer. God is so good… just let me tell you. Sandy felt like God told her last week to put a flyer about our benefit dinner in her neighbors mailbox and after that (to make a long story short), she got a note back in hers that said she (the neighbor) had left us a donation under Sandy’s door mat. She and her husband donated $1000 towards our adoption benefit!! We ended up having enough to pay off some agency fees we have had due since September and just not had the extra money to pay them. We’ve just been praying for God to make a way for us to get the money we need and he did just that. We do still need quite a bit to pick him up for the country fees (you pay the rest of once we’re out of PGN) but, it’ll come. Tuesday our agency rec’d the document we’ve been waiting nearly a month to get back from having all the seals placed. This should resolve the kick out we rec’d from the court (PGN). The agency sent it overnight but, it really takes 2 days to get there from TN. Our attorney in Guatemala should get it today (Thursday) and then it will be translated, get another seal from the Office of Foreign Affairs and then we can be resubmitted back into PGN. We do start back with the first reviewer we had when we first went in but, hopefully since that person is not who issued the kick out then, he or she will sign it and send it onto the 2nd reviewer quickly. It would be nice to be one of those random files that gets resubmitted and right out but, they are few and far between. Keep on praying for our case and for Levi and Isaac to get home soon. Nancy called PGN this week and after her resubmit from kick out too, she is with the 2nd reviewer again. Our baby will be 7 months old next week on the 21st and we want him home!!!!