Oh my goodness, so much to report. I've been a bad Mama-poster as of late! First of all, Christopher and I have tickets to Guatemala Feb 21st to visit Noe. I emphasize visit . . . C & I will unfortunately actually have to board a plane without our little peanut and come back home and wait some more. But . . . we do get four whole days with our little girl--just us three at the hotel.
We'll be spending Thursday in Antigua visiting with our God-son, Rene Antonio, and his family. We began sponsoring him seven years ago and have met him twice before -- can't believe he's a teenager now! And I've got some nursery shopping planned. Guatemalan textiles are just gorgeous, so I thought I'd pick up a few yards and have some of the soft nursery stuff made from it, bumpers and pillows and the like.
OK though, enough about shopping. Let's talk Noe! Kelly Jo, the director of the Guatemala program at our adoption agency, visited with Noe and her foster mother, Virginia, two weeks ago and came back with all kinds of photos and updates last week. She said that Noe was giggly and grinning and charming and loves to be held (can't wait to accommodate that request!). She also said that everyone commented on how strong her legs were already. So all very good news. And look at those eyes and those smiles! On the report, out of several descriptors to choose from, KJ chose 'cheerful' and 'content' to describe Noe. How lovely is that?
Timing-wise, we're still waiting for the 'pre-approval' notice from the US State Department. KJ said they seem to be taking a bit longer than normal as of late. Once we get that, our case will be entered into the Guatemalan State Department (PGN) and family court, unofficially dubbed "the black hole" by many adoptive families. We've heard of several cases where dossiers were tossed out because of a typo and had to be resubmitted from scratch. So we're just praying for a smooth ride through PGN once we get the 'pre-approval'; it literally comes down to how picky-ornery-etc. a particular person behind the desk is at any given moment. The process could take 5 weeks, it could take 5 months.
Another thing that has happened is that Noe's birthmother had her appointment with the social worker -- which means three out of four sign-offs have occurred. The last will be in family court.
Once we get through PGN, things really start to fly. The last few steps are getting Noe a passport and a new birth certificate (Noemi de Leon HUBER), and then we get the call with our court date. Christopher and I were a bit shocked to find out that we'll only get about 8-12 days notice before we need to be in Guatemala to bring Noe home. Sort of like, "honey, I think I'm in labor!" I guess, although with a week longer to plan. :-)
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