Levi Douglas Bradley: Hard to believe it's almost been a year!

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!!!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Hard to believe it's almost been a year!

Wow.. it's hard to believe that this time last year we were so excited packing and getting ready for our pick up trip to go bring our boy home forever. This coming week will be what us adoptive parents call 'gotcha day'. It's the day we go him and knew we never had to give him back.. when it was official we could bring him home to the US. Thinking back we've been through so much this past year but, at times it seems like it was yesterday we were there seeing his country and trying to capture as many pictures for him as we could in such a short time. Bringing him home to meet our family after nearly a year of waiting for him was priceless. Usually, for 'gotcha day' the adoptive parent lets the child decide what to do for the day and it's just "their day" every year. When he's older and can choose himself he will but, this year.. I chose. Nancy, being the great friend she is, is taking her time away from being with her family on this day to spend it with me and Levi. She knows (I'm sure) that it'll be a bittersweet day for me. I'll be missing Steve more I'm sure because he can't be here to share it with us..Levi's 1st Gotcha Day! But, it's his day and I'll go out of my way to be sure he has a special day. Nancy and I are taking the boys to Pigeon Forge to a new indoor water park that aunt Becky tells us is awesome. We're getting away for 2 nights just to spend time with the boys with no distractions...just time with them. I cannot thank Nancy enough for going with us and missing her own family time just to be with us. We all came home on the same day so of course it's Isaac's gotcha day too!! The boys have brought us more joy than we ever dreamed of and being their moms has been what we waited for, for so long! I love everything about it from the time outs, the kisses every morning (which by the way is the best!) the good and the bad... I wouldn't trade it for the world! Until our trip... we will try and get over colds so we will have a better time!- Levi's mommy