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

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!

A Wonderful Trip & Great News!

We have made it home. Even though it was one of the most heartbreaking experiences to leave our little Gabriela, we are comforted to know that we will bring her home soon.

The GREAT news is that the US Embassy issued our pre-approval today. Congressman Tom Tancredo helped us to persuade the Embassy in Guatemala to expedite her case. We are so thankful to him and his office for their assistance. So, that means that our case will now go into PGN (the Guatemalan government). Our lawyer took us into PGN on Monday before we left to plead our case. They agreed to expedite our case due to Gabriela's hip dysplasia. We really hope that they are true to their word.

So, if all goes as planned, Gabriela could be home in a month! Please keep us in your prayers that everyone involved does what is the best for Gabriela -- to get to the US and get proper care for her hip. We have been in contact with the orthopedic surgeon in Guatemala and a pediatric orthopedist here in Colorado. They are working together to get Gabriela in a brace as soon as possible while she is waiting to come home. This will minimize the chances that she will need to be placed in a cast at some point.

Hope you all are well! Thanks for checking in on us! We love to hear from you!

Joe & Tara

Another great day with little Gabriela!

We're having another great day playing, sleeping, smiling, and trying really hard not to think about leaving tomorrow. She is such a peach. Hope you all are well! Joe, Tara, & Gabi

Buenos Dias!

Hello! We are having such a great time hanging out with Gabi. She is such a joy -- so easy going and fun. We are still amazed at how much she sleeps -- from 9-6 both nights -- wow! Hope this trend continues.

We had a crazy day yesterday. We visited 3 doctors. At the first visit, the pediatrican found a click in her right hip. It turns out that Gabi has a mild case of congenital hip dysplasia. We got an ultrasound by the 2nd doctor and the 3rd doctor, an orthopedic surgeon, explained what our treatment options would be. All doctors spoke very good English and trained at medical schools in the states. They were very helpful. We need to get it treated right away, so there are many things we need to take care of and figure out once we are back home. It is nothing to worry about and should be fine. Otherwise, she is of great health -- 15 pounds and 62cm long -- all in the 75th %ile. We are very lucky.

Our taxi driver was great getting around to all of the doctors. He basically spent the entire day with us -- waiting, interpreting when needed, etc. We thought it would be pretty expensive, but he only charged $22 -- wow! Needless to say, he got a healthy tip. :) The experience was another thing -- no car seats and the craziest traffic we have seen -- even worse than Rome! Gabi loved every minute of it -- she'll be a risk taker, we're sure!

Today and tommorrow should be pretty laid back, so that will be nice. We're loving every minute of it.

Take care,

Tara, Joe, & Gabi

We made it! She is an angel!

Hello! We arrived in Guatamala City yesterday afternoon and soon after, had our little Gabriela in our arms. She is such a good baby -- loves to smile and just hang out with us. To our surprise, she slept through the night last night! We were too busy listening to her to get any sleep ourselves, but that was to be expected! After her nap this morning, we are heading to a doctor's appointment with Ruby and may head over the the US Embassy to tell them to get a move on with our paperwork! We will write more later -- thanks to everyone for the well wishes! She is everything we expected and more!

Getting Ready to Visit!

Hi Everyone,
Joe and I are getting ready to go to Guatemala to visit Gabriela! We will arrive in Guatemala City around 2pm on Thursday and Gabriela's foster mother will bring her to our hotel. Gabi will get to stay with us until we leave on Monday afternoon. We are SO excited and nervous as well. I cannot wait to get her in my arms and shower her with hugs and kisses. It will be hard to leave her on Monday, but we feel that getting to spend time with her at such a young age will be worth the pain of saying goodbye. Plus, she will be in our arms FOREVER in a few short months.

We will keep this site updated (hopefully, daily) while we are in Guatemala, so please check back often for lots of pictures and stories!