Mixco issued Gabriela's birth certificate today! We were very worried that this process would take another 30 working days, but they have come through for us! Praise the Lord! Her Guatemalan passport will be issued tomorrow. The 2nd DNA test will be done on Monday. Then, we wait for the US Embassy to issue our "pink slip." This will tell us the date and time of her Embassy appointment to issue her Visa.
We are thinking about traveling around the 17th of March and staying in Antigua for Holy Week and Easter. We have heard that it is an unbelievable time. Let's just hope we can get a hotel room during this busy time!
Thanks for checking in on us! We are so excited!
Joe & Tara
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Hurry Up & Wait...again.
Hello ~
We received news yesterday that Gabriela's birth certificate may take a little longer to get than expected. Worse case scenario -- 30 working days. Ugh. My heart breaks again. Our lawyer and agency are confident that they can get it sooner and based on their past history, they will. Keep us in your prayers. We will let everyone know when we know anything. As soon as the birth certificate is secured, the rest should be fairly prescriptive and quick.
Thanks for checking in on us,
Joe & Tara
We received news yesterday that Gabriela's birth certificate may take a little longer to get than expected. Worse case scenario -- 30 working days. Ugh. My heart breaks again. Our lawyer and agency are confident that they can get it sooner and based on their past history, they will. Keep us in your prayers. We will let everyone know when we know anything. As soon as the birth certificate is secured, the rest should be fairly prescriptive and quick.
Thanks for checking in on us,
Joe & Tara
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
New Gabi Pics!
Gabi went in for her doctor's appoinment on Monday! She is over 16 pounds now and almost 26 inches tall! The doctor said she is very healthy and her hip feels good. You can tell in one of the pictures that she has her little brace on. We hope that it is working, so she can avoid going in the cast once she gets home! We worried about her hair loss, but after a little research, have come to the conclusion that most babies lose all of their hair that they were born with before they are 6 months old. We just hope it comes back quick because it is going to be cold when she comes home to Colorado! We are very thankful that she is so healthy. She will be 5 months old on the 25th of February.
Joe & Tara
Monday, February 18, 2008
GREAT NEWS!!!!!
Today, Gabriela officially became our daughter!!! The Guatemalan government (PGN) gave their final approval on the adoption and Gabriela's birthmother signed off for the final time! So, the next steps will go as follows:
1. Birth certificate reissued from Mixco, where Gabriela was born, and a Guatemalan passport will be issued in her name with our last name (Maria Gabriela Hall). We will change her name to Gabriela Marie when she arrives in the US. This will take about 1 week.
2. US Embassy authorizes 2nd DNA test -- results take 1 week.
3. US Embassy issues "Pink Slip" with date of the Visa appointment. This is usually set for 1-2 weeks after the DNA results are received. This is the date that the US will finalize the adoption and we will be able to bring her home FOREVER!!!
We will plan to travel to Guatemala around the week of March 10th. We will probably go down before the US Embassy Visa appoinment and stay in Antigua for a little while.
I have a feeling that I may be able to acutally sleep tonight -- or maybe I may now realize that I am actually a parent and will probably not sleep for another 18 years!
Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. We are so thankful that we will be able to bring Gabriela to a home surrounded by such wonderful friends and family!
Joe & Tara
1. Birth certificate reissued from Mixco, where Gabriela was born, and a Guatemalan passport will be issued in her name with our last name (Maria Gabriela Hall). We will change her name to Gabriela Marie when she arrives in the US. This will take about 1 week.
2. US Embassy authorizes 2nd DNA test -- results take 1 week.
3. US Embassy issues "Pink Slip" with date of the Visa appointment. This is usually set for 1-2 weeks after the DNA results are received. This is the date that the US will finalize the adoption and we will be able to bring her home FOREVER!!!
We will plan to travel to Guatemala around the week of March 10th. We will probably go down before the US Embassy Visa appoinment and stay in Antigua for a little while.
I have a feeling that I may be able to acutally sleep tonight -- or maybe I may now realize that I am actually a parent and will probably not sleep for another 18 years!
Thank you for all of your prayers and well wishes. We are so thankful that we will be able to bring Gabriela to a home surrounded by such wonderful friends and family!
Joe & Tara
Monday, February 11, 2008
Update
Hello! To all of our blog followers, I am sorry I haven't updated in awhile. We have been stuck, along with everyone else in the process of adopting from Guatemala, and we finally became "unstuck" today! Basically, before we were allowed to enter PGN, we had to register with the Central Authority. This was a stipulation of being "grandfathered in" under the old law after the new law went into effect Jan. 1. Well, the Central Authority was supposed to be up and running January 18th, but due to a few bumps in the road, they didn't open until last Friday. The good news is that we are now registered and were submitted to PGN TODAY -- yea!!!! So, if all goes well and PGN does expedite our case, Gabriela will be in our arms forever by the 1st or 2nd week of March. Keep those prayers coming!
Here's another picture from our trip to Guatemala! Our little angel!
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