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International Adoption - GuatemalaGuatemalan Adoption: Spensor's StoryOn April 9, 2004 we (Jay and Heidi) were expectant parents anxiously pacing the floor in the lobby of the Westin Camino Real hotel in Guatemala City. After months of waiting we were finally going to meet our son! We had confidently contracted with Commonwealth Adoptions International in July of 2003 to help us find our son who we initially thought we would find either in Russia or in Kazakhstan. However, our hearts led us to Commonwealth’s relatively new Guatemala program in early January of 2004. Our adoption journey to our child officially began on January 23, 2004 with the referral of a 12-day old sweet baby boy born in Mixco, Guatemala. We immediately fell in love with his photograph, and with the 2 minute video that we received of our baby, cooing in the arms of his foster mother. Upon learning how easily a visit to meet our future son could be arranged, we swiftly made the preparations for the very easy trip to Guatemala City with a suitcase loaded with baby things. The evening before we were to meet our son, Heidi rushed around the hotel room to unpack and to set up the diaper changing and bottle preparation stations. Meanwhile, Jay relaxed like the expectant father that he was!
Spencer is a healthy, perpetually happy, busy, inquisitive, extroverted, talkative and affectionate baby. Within days of him coming home (at the age of 6 months) he was eating solid foods with ease, sitting up unassisted, and babbling away. By his first birthday, he was walking everywhere, “helping” Mommy by “putting things away” (and displacing anything that he can get his hands on!), and mimicking our words and sounds. He is a champion raspberry-blower, has a huge appetite, claps and does “high-five”, enjoys playing the lead role in “Peek-a-boo”, and can tell us what sound a dog makes. Spencer graciously accepts the hundreds of kisses we give him every day. We cannot go anywhere in public without someone commenting on how beautiful Spencer is; we proudly tell his admirers that he is adopted from Guatemala.
This story has been provided by: Commonwealth Adoptions International
specializes in international adoption to help orphaned children
overseas
find
safe, loving
homes, assisting families throughout the world.
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We will never forget the moment we first saw our baby boy. He was carried
into the hotel by his foster mother, facing out so he could take in all the
sights. His huge brown eyes and black hair – sticking straight up – clued
us in immediately that he was the baby in the pictures and video that we had
received. He was absolutely gorgeous! His foster mother handed him to Heidi,
and we both began to cry instantaneously. We had a series of questions to ask
the foster mother, but we couldn’t take our eyes off of this perfect
little boy; our translator took the list and finished asking the questions
for us because we were so enamored of this gorgeous baby boy. After the departure
of the foster mother and translator, Heidi wanted to run through the Westin
shouting “Look, everyone! Here is our baby!” Jay prudently suggested
that we get to know each other in the privacy of our room. We counted his 10
tiny toes in Spanish (“uno, dos, tres . . .”), and watched him
nap. Later that afternoon, we asked him a very serious question – what
did he think of the name “Spencer Conrad”? This was the name we
had settled upon, and decided to keep a secret from everyone until we had discussed
it with our future son. Spencer’s reaction was a big smile and a squeal,
and he kicked his chubby legs with excitement. Someday we will tell our son
that he helped choose his new name!
Our time with Spencer during this visit was magical, although leaving him
in Guatemala at the conclusion of our visit was excruciatingly painful. Nearly
two and a half months passed while our adoption case continued to be processed.
We anxiously awaited any news that would indicate when we could bring our son
home. On June 23, 2004 we received the phone call from Susana, our Commonwealth
Case Manager, announcing that the adoption was granted by the Guatemalan authorities!
Heidi and her mother flew to Guatemala City on July 1, and Spencer was placed
into the arms of his new family the next day. He was 5 ½ months old.
Heidi spent 2 weeks at the Westin Camino Real in Guatemala City with Spencer
while we awaited approval of his visa; the time flew by quickly as Mommy and
son played, took stroller rides around the hotel, lounged by the pool, and
spent time with the other American families who were visiting their children
or finalizing their adoptions. They made some wonderful friends with whom they
have kept in touch! Jay joined them in Guatemala City the day before they were
to go to the U.S. Embassy for final visa approval on July 14, 2004. Two days
later, we were home in Arizona together as a family.
We do not take for granted the series of events that resulted in Spencer becoming
our son. Our experience with the Commonwealth professionals was very positive,
and it was apparent to us that Maria and Susana’s work of joining families
with their children is well respected in Guatemala. Ironically, in the early
months of our adoption process, our I-600A cable was erroneously sent to Guatemala
while we were preparing our dossier to adopt a baby from an entirely different
country. Now, we laugh about that event and marvel at the suggestion that this
was a sign that we were supposed to find our baby Spencer in Guatemala. We
can’t imagine our lives without our beautiful baby boy and thank Commonwealth
for helping our dreams come true.