Lilypie
Not flesh of my flesh
nor bone of my bone
but still miraculously my own.

Never forget for a single minute
you didn't grow under my heart
but in it!


Friday, February 22, 2008

Baby Shower

My family had a baby shower for me and Gabriella on Sunday, February 17th.

The front of the shower invitation:

The cake that my cousin Trisha designed:

Me and Ken:
Some of the presents for Gabriella and me:
Many thanks to all of my friends and family that have been supporting me through this long process. Gabriella and I are so blessed to have you in our lives.

Photos from Second Visit Trip





Gabriella with Grammy and Grampy:

The cutest grumpy face I've ever seen!:

Status Update

I received Gabreialla and her birth mother's DNA Match and the Social Worker report of the interview with Gabriella's birth mother has been complete. I knew that I had to receive "Preapproval" from the US Embassy in order to be submitted to PGN (Procuraduría General de la Nación), Guatemala's Attorney General's office. Preapprovals had been taking on average only about 2 weeks. The US Embassy in Guatemala received the DNA results on February 8th, so I was expecting to have received Preapproval and to be submitted to PGN by now. After calls and e-mails to the US Embassy in Guatemala I found out that they have extended the review period to allow up to SIXTY days for review.

I received this from the US Embassy in Guatemala, "Due to recent events that have caused the State Department to recommend against adopting in Guatemala, it has become necessary to scrutinize more thoroughly each case. This additional scrutiny has caused us to extend our self-imposed suspense goals. The goal for adjudicating the pre-approval for complete and accurate cases has been extended from 30 days to 60 days from date of receipt of DNA results..."

They claim that there are hundreds of files in front of mine and I will receive Preapproval by April 7th. Evan, the other baby living with Gabriella in her foster home, has been waiting 50 days now for his Preapproval. This is EXTREMELY bad news and VERY FRUSTRATING.

Please say a prayer for a faster turn-around of our file and a quick homecoming for Garbriella and all of the other babies in Guatemala waiting to unite with their families.

Sick

Gabriella was sick last week. She had a fever of 102.9 degrees F (39.4 degrees C). She had vomiting and diarrhea, the symptoms of the Rotavirus which is quite common in Guatemala. She wouldn't eat and was very lethargic and sleepy. She was seen by her regular pediatrician and then when she wasn't getting better N. brought her to her family doctor. The doctor put her on Pedialyte and antibiotics and suppositories to reduce her fever. What a helpless feeling it was for me. I kept wishing that our roles were reversed and I would get it so that she wouldn't have it. It turned out that I ended up ill as well with similar symptoms!

During Gabriella's sickness, Gia and I made frequent calls to N. My Spanish is very poor, and even though Gia translates I try to pay attention to N. speaking to help me learn Spanish better. During all of these conversations with N. and N.'s mother I kept hearing "Gracias, Adios" intertwined into the sentences. "Gracias, Adios" translates to "Thank You, Goodbye". I kept wondering why N. was saying "Thank You, Goodbye" mid-sentence and was very confused! I finally figured out that they were saying "Gracias a Dios" which translates to "Thank God"!

Thank God Gabriella is better now!

Saturday, February 9, 2008

DNA Match!

Gabriella's DNA results arrived and her birth mother has a 99.9999% probability of maternity! One more step in the process is complete!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

5.5 Month Photos

I recieved an e-mail today with these photos taken by the attorney's office. The photos were taken on January 16th at which time Gabriella weighed 16 pounds and was 60 centimeters! I can't believe how much she has grown in a month!

Monday, February 4, 2008