Testing to begin tonight.

Yippie! Ali's DNA "specimen" has arrived at the lab in NC, and they say they will begin testing tonight. I can stop wondering if the specimen was lost in shipping and start wondering how long testing takes.

a problem

Here's what we heard this evening from our agency:

"According to the lab in Guatemala, there was a problem with Fed Ex."

Of course there was! Ali's adoption is involved. So her DNA sample is still en route to the lab in NC not there last Friday like it should have been. But it *should* be there tomorrow. So they say anyway.

Sigh.

Finally...an update!

Vacations are all over now for awhile, and we are all back home with computer and internet access again. While we were away Ali got a Guatemalan passport, saw her regular doctor and the US Embassy doctor, gave a little of her DNA from inside her cheek, and was told that Papi Jason will be coming very soon to take her home to Mami Lisen. The DNA sample should be processed/tested/whatever they do to it to issue their report this week in North Carolina and then sent speedy delivery back to the US Embassy in Guatemala. This DNA test, the 2nd one in the process, proves that Ali is indeed the same child whose DNA matched that of the woman relinquishing her for adoption back in the winter of 2006. Once the Embassy receives the report proving this fact, they have 48 hours (I think) to tell us when our visa appointment is. That is the day that J will have to be at the Embassy with Ali! Two days after that they will fly home. So if all goes swimmingly, he could be zipping down to Guate in about two weeks!

The boys are back in town!

Good to have the big guys back. What a big week they had. J is now officially the top ranked overall snowboarder in the nation for 30-39 year olds. #1 is 14th in the nation for 9-10 year olds. Way to go guys!! It was great to see how excited the kids left behind were to have J and #1 home. #2 and #1 walked around attached to each other in some way all morning, and Cupcake only wanted J to hold her and only to hold her, constantly. Spark was overflowing with "I love you, Daddy"'s.

Two more days of togetherness and the girls and I hit the road for a week's vacation with friends.


Here's a self-portrait of J on the podium with his 2nd place medal for Giant Slalom:

The gang: J, #1, my dad, travelmates & fellow WV riders P.S. & S.S.

The giant hit in the center is the "varsity" hit and that's what #1 went off for the slopestyle event. Riders can choose the small, medium (on the other side of the huge-y), or huge "varsity" one.

Cupcake glued to Dada & trying on his winnings:

1st place for Dada J!
Home sweet home, nice goggle tan, and wiped out!

They missed their big brother a lot.

Giving it a try.

Got it!

Ali is now officially Alisson Violeta Kern! Our agency's facilitator went back to the Amatitlan town office today and got Ali's new birth certificate which lists us as her parents! What a relief. FINALLY.
The not such good news is that the attorney's office is now closed until Monday for Holy Week and Easter. So the next step, getting Ali a passport so she can leave the country and apply for a visa to immigrate, will have to wait until next week. But what's one week after 166 weeks?!?!
And meanwhile in Colorado, J came in 3rd in the slalom today on a freestyle board even! The 1st and 2nd place guys were on race boards with hard boots, but J was in his squishy freestyle boots with his wide stance. I'm so psyched for him. We thought this would be the #1 show, but it's turning out to be the #1's dad show. #1 was in the top few in his age group, but then he fell so he didn't place. He really didn't mind though because racing isn't his thing either. He's really looking forward to the slopstyle and half-pipe later this week.
And here are some photos from last weekend when it was just us girls (#2 was at a sleepover).

These pics were The Spark's idea. I guess she's so used to me asking for a photo whenever she and Cupcake wear something that matches, that this day she demanded the photo session.

What a nut! Cupcake raided the cubbies on the mudroom and came up with this ensemble.

another snag in Guatemala

Yep. ANOTHER glitch. Who was I to think that maybe we'd be told today that Ali's new BC was ready?!?!?!?!

No. The guy at the BC issuing office in Amatitlan said they need the PGN protocolo. He says all files need the pgn protocolo to get a new BC. Our case was completed as a judicial one not a notarial one. In other words ours and all other cases that were decided upon in Family Courts rather than PGN do not have a PGN protocolo! THAT is what we just spent 8 weeks in RENAP dealing with.

Our attorney spoke with a friend of our facilitator's in the Amatitlan office, and he says he has to talk to his boss. What do you want to bet the boss is out of the office for the next two weeks?!
And here I was thinking maybe Ali would be home the first week of May. Who was I kidding?!?!?!!?!?

ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

The Wait + Results from CO.

UPDATED at 7PM: J and #1 made it safely and on time to Colorado yesterday, met up with another dad & li'l shredder from NH, and my dad from FL, finally got to sleep at the slopeside hotel, and then sometime in the night J started puking. Bummer. He has not gotten sick like that in probably six years! So while the other riders, including #1 thanks to my dad, were out on the mtn. at 7:30 this morning and up the lifts when they opened to study the bordercross course, J was still in the hotel room puking some more. Lucky for the guys that placed 1st and 2nd I guess because J managed to pull himself together to get up on the mountain and come in third! Not acclimated at all, sick, with a totally empty stomach: third in the country for 30-39 year olds. Go J!

#1 was awesome too (of course I think so b/c I'm his mom) and came in 1st in one of the time trials, but he fell in the elimination round. J thinks #1 still probably came in 7th or 8th out of about 20 kids even with his fall. His buddy from NH was doing great too but crashed and came down in the ski patrol sled. Just a precaution, and he's fine. When I asked #1 on teh phone tonight how the other riders in his age group seemed, he said there are some REALLY good riders. I think he's one of them, so we'll see how he does in the other events the rest of the week. They do not compete tomorrow so hopefully they can rest up and get a little more acclimated before Slalom on Tuesday, Giant Slalom on Wednesday, Half-Pipe on Thursday, and Slopestyle on Friday.

We miss you guys!
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Those of you who are Guate-adopt readers will remember when getting your child's birth certificate(BC) took 1-2 days in some towns and waiting 3-4 weeks for a Guatemala City BC was agony?! Ali's file was submitted for her new BC in early January. On Friday, our agency guy went to Ali's hometown, Amatitlan, with (hopefully!) everything needed in the file to FINALLY get Ali's new BC. Thirteen weeks and counting that we've been waiting for a step that used to take 1-2 days!

What we thought was a ridiculous process three years ago has gotten exponentially worse. And so has travel to Guatemala. It was cheaper and easier for us to fly to China last summer than flights to GC are right now. Add to that the escalating crime rate in GC that was already high enough for this country bumpkin, and this process that was difficult in the beginning just plain ol' sucks now.

Waiting for Ali has been such a huge part of our lives for so long now that as The Wait seems like it could actually, really, and truly be nearing the end, I think I might miss it. Oh yeah, The Wait will be replaced by The Fifth Child! I don't think I'll have too much time to laze about missing The Wait.

All that to say we *should* have Ali's new BC this week. Of course, only if it is ready in the next 2-3 days because most offices close by Thursday for Holy Week.