Today we became orange. Basically, this means we’ve been presented to the embassy and they gave the go ahead for the final DNA test. This is the last test – just to confirm he’s the same baby that was tested in January. The birth mother doesn’t need to get another test.
From this point, it’s usually 3 weeks. Memorial Day week won’t work for us so I predict our pick up trip will be the first or second week in June!
They don’t have record of us.
Two hours later: I started to write the above post and my agency called. I had just sent them an e-mail saying that PGN has no record of us and wasn’t really sure what that meant but they should know about it. Well, the reason they had no record is that we are OUT of PGN! Joe and I are both in shock. For so long I waited for this day and now that it is here, I am totally weirded out.
The birth mother needs to sign off one final time – that usually happens within one week. So, once she has done the final sign-off, Nathanael is legally ours. Gulp and Hurrah!
Today we heard that we were out of family court on 2/11 (all that anxiety for nothing!).
But, the best news is that we were in PGN as of 3/12. There were times that I never thought that we would be in PGN – so this is great. This will make our visit trip all that much better knowing there is progress on our case.
Assuming all goes well, one week from tonight we will be in Guat with Nathanael. I am so excited. I just can’t imagine how much he’s changed in 2.5 months – Joe and I both really miss him. It’s a funny process – as we trudge through winter and all the waiting in MN at times he feels so far away that it’s almost not real. Othertimes, like tonight, he feels so real and I can hear his laughter. We love his laugh. I think one of the hardest parts of the return trip was our layover in Houston. There was a baby that was howling/gurgling/sounding just like Nathanael. Joe and I would both stop and thought we heard him. It was kind of spooky to say the least.
^Our last morning together.
So the buzz of yesterday’s PA has worn off and now I start to worry about Family Court. As you can see by the widget, we’ve been in family court for over 11 weeks. There are pretty much three possibilities that I can think of (but I am sure there are many more that I can’t think of).
First the best – we might be out and just not know it. Plausible. Recently, our lawyer has been doing a good job of letting people know they are out of family court. Approx two weeks ago many families with similar family court entry dates told they were out. We weren’t. However, one family (who also received a PA earlier in the week) just found out they were in PGN today and they never received official family court exit notice and they were submitted to FC the same day we were. So, maybe this could be us next week.
The second option is that we will get out soon and there are no irreguarities going on – it’s just slow or the lawyer’s office hasn’t stopped by family court to pick up our case.
The third option is that something unfun and ungood is happening. Some family courts are anti-adoption and slow everything down. Some judges get investigated and things stop. Some social workers have their computer’s break down and can’t get the report done. Some judges don’t sign the reports. Blah blah blah. If we fall into this option, it could be an easy, quick out or it could be a long wait.
So, of course the family court thing will be like an itch. As I obsessively scratch it , it will increasing get redder and redder and uglier and uglier and possibly infected until we find out what the dealio is.
