Update

Still waiting on DNA results which typically take about 2 weeks. The two week mark is tomorrow. I did leave a message for LabCorp this evening to make sure they received the sample and to find out if they had sent the results yet.

Status of PGN court: Very good news regarding this court. It has been VERY slow since April. Well yesterday and today the floodgates have opened up and tons of people have posted that they have finally been released. Apparently, the court hired a new "helper" to review and do the final signoff on the cases. On the webforum that I am a member of there were 20+ cases released today. The most that has been released in any given month since April has been 18. So it looks like things are speeding up. This gives me renewed hope that Evvy might be home by Christmas time. That would be so wonderful!

So, what have I been doing to keep busy waiting for Evvy to come home? Well, I have done a little shopping since everyone seems to be having their summer clearance sales. I went to a department store last week (one that I don't ever shop at because they are too expensive) and they had all of their clearance baby clothes 75% off and then another 40% off of the 75%. I got quite a few outfits (mostly for next summer) and paid about $2.00 for each outfit. Many of the outfits were 3 piece outfits (bib, onesie and sleeper). I did pay $5.00 for one outfit was just beyond cute. It is a little pink jacket and skirt to be worn over a pink flowered onsie. It is a 6 month size so I am hoping that she will be able to wear it when I go pick her up and take her to the Embassy for her visa. Little girls are definitely fun to shop for especially when everything is on sale.

I have also almost completed a quilt top. It has pinwheels on it in pinks, blues and purples. I just have to finish one side of the border and then it will be ready to quilt. Quilting just makes me so happy. It is a great release for me when I am stressed out. It is customary to give a gift to the foster mom when you pickup your child from Guatemala. A lot of people really go overboard and take electronics down or buy all sorts of expensive gifts. I think I have decided to try to make a lap size quilt for my foster mom. I have a pattern that I made for myself that I want to try to make again. Hopefully I can get it done in time. When I made the one for me, it took about 5 years :) However, I was just starting out in quilting and it was really too hard for me then. Once I picked it up again and sewed on it, I was able to get it pieced pretty quickly. It has a lot of small pieces. I thought this would make a nice gift and show Evvy's foster mother that I really appreciate all she is doing for my little girl.

Hopefully I will have an update about the DNA testing soon. I am also hoping that the Family Court process has begun. Many cases seem to start Family Court simaltaneously with the DNA process since one of the processes is a US requirement and one is Guatemalan so they are not dependent on each other.

After the DNA results are received by the US Embassy, they will review the case file again and hopefully issue "pre-approval" to proceed. After Family Court and pre-approval are completed, it is into PGN which with any luck will now be a shorter stay than originally thought.

I will update again when I receive DNA results.

Susan