Our Day in Court

We arrived at the airport yesterday around 1:30ish..Roberto was waiting for us ( he had tears in his eyes when we saw us!) I realized then just how blessed we were to have him as our attorney. He took us to the hotel to check in...very nice hotel and very affordable. We unpacked and then had a late lunch/dinner. I couldnt sleep at all last night as I was so nervous about today. Literally, I just laid in bed and couldnt shut my mind off.

Roberto picked us up at 9:30AM this morning and we headed to the court appointment. We got there and had to wait for an hour in the hall before we were able to even go in the office sitting area to where we would be seeing the judge of minors. Once we got in, a representative from PGN told Roberto that is was necessary that the birth mother be present during this appointment...this was not told to him or us before this appointment. LUCKILY Roberto called the birth mother , Yessica and he was able to get her to come in. We had to pay for her taxi to and from her home as well as give her a bit extra for medicine as she has been sick...she coughed the whole time.

The director of the orphanage where Mateo has been since the removal from Semillas came to this appointment along with a nanny and Mateo. He has gotten taller, but not very big...he is still small I think. His beautiful hair has grown back and it is curly!! He is the most beautiful little baby boy I have set my eyes on! I brought a bag full of toys, clothes, books, and a blankie. My sister Cherie gave me a toy sorter for him as I remembered that he loved that the last time we were here. He loved that! She also gave him a book that made sounds and had pop up pictures in it. He loved the music and kinda danced and moved his head to the music...VERY CUTE! I was able to talk with the director and she spoke very good english. She shared with me how Mateo has been doing. He has been to the zoo and has been out to eat pizza.

After about two hours of waiting to get into our appointment we were finally all in this room ( not what you would expect)the PGN representative, the judge for minors court, Roberto, Yessica, the director of the orphanage where he is now, and two other women...I think from either Minors court or PGN. Basically DOug and I didnt understand a lick of what they were saying, except we could tell that when they asked the birth mother questions, she looked like she was having to think hard about her answers. We assumed that she was lying about whatever it was that she was saying...because once she would say something the PGN lady and the judge would look at her like " YEAhh...RIGHT" and then they would talk really fast. Yessica looked very nervous. Afterwards I asked Roberto what all was said and he said that she had to think about her own parents names, and where they lived. She said that her other two children lived with her parent..near the ElSavador border...which is about 2 1/2 hour drive from here.. It was apparent that they didnt beleive what she was saying. SO because of everything, they still felt uncomfortable with her and didnt trust her, so they are requiring another DNA test... This test is set for FRiday. We gave Roberto money to make sure she gets there on time ( for her taxi, and a bit extra). It will take about 15 days to get the results back as this is a private DNA lab that Minors Court will use. ONce that is done and the results are positive that means that we are approved to adopt Mateo offically...this is the only thing stopping the adoption from completing. THe judge said that we will be able to proceed and they will reccomend us as his parents at that point. THey set the last appointment for Sept 22nd. THis is when they will have the previous attorney, the birth mother, ROBerto, and anyone else involved in our case to come and they will decide if they need to persue further investigation of the birth mother and the previous attorney. As long as the DNA test comes back positive....which we will know mid August, than at that last hearing on the 22nd of Sept...our file will be sent to the Central Authority for the last phase. They have to do their investiagtion of our file, ect...which shouldnt be long..a few weeks. At that point we will be issued as Mateo's parent legally in Guatemala's eyes. Our file will then go to the US Embassy for VISA< ect..

SO basically, I feel good because we have a date..we havent had anything but speculation this whole time. SO, I am praying that the DNA test comes back positive, if not, that will open up a whole can of worms. The birth mother does look like Mateo though. I have a pix of her & I together to give to Mateo when he is older if he wants one.

I was hoping that we would be able to get him home on this trip, but the judge and PGN is in our favor and I know that Mateo is hers, he looks alot like her...so for now Sept. 22nd is the day that we will wait for.

after the court appointment we went to the orphanage to bring Mateo, the director and the nanny back. It wasnt the same orphanage that we were told initally he was going to, so it isnt a Catholic orphanage. It isnt in a good area of town. Although it is locked and you have to have access to get in. THere are only 29 kids where Mateo is. I had 50 dolls that SHadow Buddies donated in KC, and gave them to the orphanage. The kids loved them! THey kept kissing me and saying thank you. Mateo had some lunch, he loved it. He and DOug kicked a ball around for a bit. He looked very happy. THe director said that I could give her my email and she would give me hers and she would send me updates on Mateo (pictures, ect). I will also give her a disposable camera that she will make sure that we get to take home when we pick Mateo up for good the next time. She said she will get different ones with different activites that they do. I feel very comfortable with her.

Roberto is picking us up tomorrow at 9:30AM and we will spend the day with Mateo at the orphanage to play with him. I am so excited about that. You would all just fall in love with all these DARLING little kiddos there!!! I cant wait to see them again!! I will take lots of pictures and video tomorrow to share with you. SO I will post again tomorrow.

Oh, Doug cried when he saw Mateo. I cant tell you how awesome it was to see the look of Doug when he looks at Mateo. When we first saw Mateo he cried abit, and I showed him the scrapebook of all the pictures that I took of us the last time we were with him. THat calmed him down. He looked at a pix of him and Doug and then would look up at DOug like "oh, I know you". The judge loved the scrapebook I did of Mateo..the whole staff looked through my pictures. I beleive that they know he is meant to be with us and that we will make great parents!

I cant wait to bring him home...You will all fall in love with him! Till tomorrow!! THank you for your prayers. It was a good day! Oh, I will also post pictures of our visit! Val