While I was out making other plans....

Danny: Early August, two weeks old

Stress level: Medium high

Chocolate consumption: 2 truffles, 2 chocolate coins, one dark chocolate square

It wasn't supposed to happen this way. I had grand plans for many months to start a blog: sharing observations of motherhood at middle-age; updating with happy news about our adoption process; and getting to bed by nine-thirty every night leaving no laundry undone at the end of the day.

Well, procrastination on my part, and mistakes mixed with political turmoil have altered the terrain a bit. And of course the whole laundry idea was never realistic!

As a result the first official post and, I suspect, many more to follow will lead you along the rocky path we've found ourselves on as we try to bring little Danny home as quickly a possible.

Things started well enough, our time on the waiting list was short, all documents were forwarded to the appropriate parties quickly. The DNA results came back much more quickly then they usually do. Our pre-approval from the Department of Homeland Security was complete in record time.

All this was complete by the end of October. We fully expected that the next update would inform us that we had been entered into "PGN" the final stage of the process on the Guatemalan side. This is where all documents are checked and re-checked and then checked again before the big rubber stamp descends. We were excited and confident. Adoptions were to end in Guatemala at the end of the year, but those in process were promised to be "grandfathered" in. Since PGN was the last stage of the process, being there surely qualified us for the grandfathering.

But the update never came.

We waited, we called, we worried. Then just a few business days before the end of the year, we received notice that our Power of Attorney had been misplaced and was now in Guatemala. A rush was being put on our case. We went from planning to bring our son home in the spring to wondering if we'd ever bring him home. Power of Attorney is the very first step in the adoption "process." The most generous reading of the "grandfather" clause is that registered POA's qualify. But given the frantic rush at year end to register last minute POA's, would this be considered too early in the process?

To get into PGN, a hearing at Family Court must take place and a Social Worker interview with the birth mother must take place. Without POA, none of this could be arranged.

The last week of December was a frenzy. We called contacts, people prayed hard for us, we checked travel schedules just in case. We were prepared to fly to Guatemala and sign new POA's if necessary. Just before the close of business for the month of December, we received news that on December 21, a court date had occured, and that a Social Worker visit had taken place. This is all we know about our case.

Now Guatemala has dropped the other shoe: as of this week, no more new cases are being accepted into PGN. It is unclear if cases currently in PGN are continuing to move forward, but cases not yet in PGN are completely stalled. The new adoptions laws regarding "grandfathering" stipulated that pending cases must be registered within 30 days with the Central Authority. Catch 22: the Central Authority does not yet exist, and it has been given 60 days to form itself.

This is the quagmire we find ourselves in. Mistakes have been made, big mistakes. However, many are rushing to help us. The mistakes are water over the bridge and I'll try not to dwell on them when my energy is better spent moving forward.

The help from others has been a huge blessing. We appreciate your prayers, your thoughts and your kind words of support more than you can ever know. This is what will see us through until we are able to bring our son home.

In the meantime, we have much to be thankful for and many joyful moments in our lives. I hope one day that's all this blog will be about. As for the laundry - well...I think I'll let that one go.