No news is good news?

It has only been a few days since my last entry so I don't really have any news. We just got a new picture though so I figured I better get it posted.

It is interesting all the Guatemala news that everyone (family, friends, us) noticices while this is going on. Some of the articles seem to be just wrong or misleading or just a little light on facts. I know we have had friends come to us and say that they are sorry about the news (when there really has not been any news). They have also told us they have heard that everything is cleared up and in-process adoptions will go through. In reality nothing concrete has really happened for quite a while now.

For anyone interested in the state of Guatemala adoptions, the sites I use are:

http://www.jcics.org/Guatemala.htm - seems to just report the facts and also has a lot of information on the Guatemala adoption process.

http://www.guatadopt.com - Also a good resource on Guatemala adoption

Overall the news does seem positive. I think most people want to do the right thing. It is politics though so it is not an easy process getting to the final state. We will stay optimistic though and assume that no news is good news for now.

Embassy Approval!

It has been six weeks since my last entry so I figured I should get a new picture out there. We got the new picture on 11/1. He is really changing so fast.

Part of the reason I didn't post it right away was because I didn't really have anything to say with it. We have been waiting for news on a new law going through in Guatemala that has the possibility of affecting the adoption. The news seems to keep going back and forth - especially if you listen to all the rumors on the web. First the law was not going to be passed until next year. Then it was passed last minute but they had to wait for the new government to come up with the exact details (including a possible grandfather clause). Then a rumor that Guatemala was going to put it off until April. Then a rumor the US was pushing them not to wait. The vote was supposed to happen on Nov 14th -then it didn't. I try not to think about it all too much - and everything we hear from hand in hand is very positive. It sounds like everyone does want what is best for these kids - and what is best for them is not to put them into an orphanage. Hopefully we will hear something a little more firm on that soon.

On a good note we were just notified that we got US Embassy approval yesterday. That was the first step in Guatemala. The US gets all the evidence that Victor should legally be allowed to be adopted - and then they issue this approval. Now it moves to the PGN in Guatemala. The PGN is the central authority in charge of adoptions in Guatemala. This stage is the longest stage and will probably involve the most waiting.