Levi Douglas Bradley: GOOD NEWS- WE'RE OFFICIAL!

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!!!

Saturday, January 26, 2008

GOOD NEWS- WE'RE OFFICIAL!

Hey, just wanted to post so really good news for a change! We are officially Levi's parents as of yesterday! His birth mom has been in and signed off for the final time. Our attorney reported to our agency yesterday that she submitted our file for the dreaded wait to get the new birth certificate from the town where he was born.
Sad thing is, the mayor here is supposedly corrupt and doesn't like adoptions, Americans,etc.. He has been holding the birth certificates for several weeks (8-9 weeks and as many as 12 weeks) and not issuing them without the adoptive parents flying to Guatemala to get it in person. Many posters on a forum Nancy and I belong to say that he holds out for bribes to release it any sooner. Nancy has been waiting 3 weeks as of yesterday to get Isaac's new bc and is very frustrated with the whole waiting game to get it issued. The birth certificate has to be issued before they can submit for the 2nd DNA and then for your Embassy appt to go get them. It is simply ridiculous that we pay out A LOT of money to the attorney for this to be over as quick as possible and to get them home as infants not as toddlers and then your hung up in the system from one man holding so much power over a bc... one piece of paper.
The agency said that basically now after mine was submitted since then their firm I assume has had 2 more submitted there needing bc's. The total being 4 now, she said that would make them "stay on top of it more and work harder to get them all out than they were." That is part of Nancy's frustration I am sure. She was the first one submitted and they would have already been "working hard" to get hers regardless if they have 4 waiting now! She and Eric are planning to go to Guatemala and get it themselves if possible. They are at least going to try. She has some contacts there who plan to go with them to translate and hopefully walk away with it in hand. Please pray for their safety, both our bc issues and continue to pray for Levi and Isaac that they will be out of this mess and home soon where they belong! Thanks as always for your prayers and support. They just turned 9 months old, we've pulled our time I think and it's time for this to be over and start our families. - Tracy (aka Levi's mommy)