My trip in a nut shell

Well, there were wonderful moments and heartbreaking moments. I met with the Consul General who was very kind and did her best to explain the problems they are having trying to deal with the Guatemalan government. I left the meeting feeling hopeful.

Then it was on to the the hearing. The hearing was cancelled. No notification, just cancelled. The judge no longer presides over the court. I'm not sure if she quit or why she is no longer there but no judge means no hearing. We left information so we could be notified of the rescheduling but I'm not sure that will happen. The hearing was my chance to see Nola and since there was no hearing, those hopes were dashed..........until I got back to the hotel. When I told Gloria about the hearing she got on the phone and worked her magic. Within two hours we were on our way to see my baby girl. The day could not have turned out any better. I have pictures but just don't feel comfortable posting them right now with the situation the way it is. Take my word for it, she's as beautiful as ever!

The following day I met with Lissette of the Foreign Ministry. She is very kind, took down our case information and offered to help in any way she can.

And now for the not so good news. We decided to go to CNA and just wait until someone would see us. Well, that's not all together true. We were at CNA at 9:00 and my taxi to the airport was coming at 10:30 so we were prepared to wait for an hour and a half anyway. After about 35 minutes we were called back to Sr Valesquez's office. He proceeded to tell me our case was terminated the day the judge issued the Certificate of Adoptability. He also said they are required to look for a national home for Nola. Talk about tears, wow! They did bring me a box of tissues and a glass of ice water.......if they had just brought me my little Nola, I would have said thank you very much and gone home!

So now we're really under the gun. I'm not sure how hard the US is pushing the Guatemalan government to honor the remaining cases. I'm praying if some sort of agreement is reached, it happens before Nola has been placed in a Guatemalan home.

So much for being "Grandfathered"!

We are now trying to locate the birth mother and yes, it will be quite similar to finding a needle in a haystack! Sr Valesquez told me if we find the birth mother, it's possible we can have the judge's ruling reversed and continue processing through PGN.

I'm just not ready to give up yet. I haven't fought all of this time to quit now. Until God reveals to me that her coming home is not part of his plan, I will continue to pray and believe that Nola's coming home some day. Please stand with me in that hope and pray our little girl home!

Latest News From The DOS

Not sure where to begin this one. There just doesn't seem to be any good news to tell. We had a conference call yesterday with the DOS, USCIS, some other officials but I can't remember who they were and I don't really care. I'm sick (literally) and tired of being strung along all this time. Basically we were told yesterday that there are 27 cases like ours with the CNA. We are grandfathered cases and the Guatemalan government will process our cases but only after exhausting the possibility of National adoption. In other words, the CNA will try to find a Guatemalan family to adopt Nola first and if they can't find one, then our case can proceed. Thank you US Government for all of your support on that move! When we were told the news, it was very matter of factly, no words of encouragement, no promise to try and encourage the Guatemalan Government to see that these children already have loving homes to come to and there are so many children in their hogars who need families. No, basically, the facts were stated and then they moved on. Not sure what was said during the rest of the call. I was dumbfounded! How can they say we have "grandfathered status" yet make those of us with CNA process under the new law? It makes absolutely no sense! Welcome to the world of International Adoption. When it works, it's wonderful but when it doesn't, it's heart breaking. I'm leaving to head down to my home away from home on the 10th. The judge had scheduled a follow up hearing for the 11th that I will be attending. I'm sure I won't be able to sit in on the hearing but at least the judge will know that I'm there and I may be able to speak with her after. I have a meeting with the Consul General before the hearing and a meeting with the Foreign Ministry the following day. Believe me, this is one momma who is going to plead her case, probably through a lot of tears but..............that's me! I know that it isn't over yet. I know, if it's a part of God's plan, Nola will still come home. I also know this is getting to be almost more than I can take. Please pray. Pray that our little girl is going to have a loving family. Pray that no matter if her home is here with us or with a family in Guatemala that God will watch over her and protect her. Pray that God will give me the strength to get through this next wait cause, wow, it's going to be rough! This is a picture of my new mother's ring. I've always wanted one but could never find one I liked until now. Nola's birthstone is third from the right. It looks black in this picture but it's a Sapphire. She's my baby girl. She will always be my baby girl. Even if she never comes home to live with us she will always be in our hearts.

But I'm still praying "Please God, bring her home to us!"