THINK PINK!!!

OK. Everyone THINK PINK this week. Pink is the color of the form that the US Embassy uses to issue visa appointments to adoptive parents. I am really hoping that my attorney did his job this week and submitted all of our paperwork to the Embassy. The Embassy has been averaging about 7-10 to issue pink slips lately. They used to only take 48 hours but they are scrutinizing paperwork more carefully since the DOS (deparment of state) issued a statement about Guatemalan adoptions. For more information about the DOS statement go to http://www.guatadopt.com.

I have been staying busy quilting this past week. I am still working on a quilt for Evvy. Not that she doesn't already have enough quilts but it has been a project to keep my hands busy while I wait. I have picked up some things for her foster family this week to take down to them (mostly chocolate candy bars). I know how hard and expensive it is to get good chocolate down there so I hope they appreciate it. I have tried to send some down in all of the packages I have sent and they always thank me for it. I also mentioned in my last email to the family that I would like to take them out for lunch or dinner while we are down there. I just want to give us all a little closure and have a chance to visit in a more personal environment than just in the lobby of the hotel. It is going to be such an emotional experience for all of us.

Work has been busy which has made time go by quickly also. System testing has been extended by a couple of weeks so user acceptance testing (UAT) has been pushed out until March 26. I feel like I am in a pretty good position to pass things off to my "testers" to make sure everything is working the way it needs to before we flip the switch. I have been pretty involved in the system testing the past 3 weeks so hopefully we are working out the main kinks before the users start testing. The implementation date is set for June 1 right now I believe. I will probably still be out on leave when we implement unless it gets pushed out again. I would have really liked to be there for UAT and implementation but a combination of factors have made it so that I probably won't be there (Guatemalan lawyer lies, Guatemalan lawyer delays, US Embassy Delays, System Testing delays). I just have to believe that it will all work out fine. I know I am not indespensible but I like to think that I bring some value to the company with my expertise in this computer program.

OK. So I went off on a bit of a tangent there. I am SOOOOO ready for baby Evvy to come home. I worked on packing this week. I think I am going to end up taking my bigger suitcase since I am taking the quilt and other stuff down for the foster family. I really don't have that much for me or Evvy but I would rather have a little extra space than not enough. We will see. Maybe mom and dad will have extra space in their suitcases and I can go back down to the smaller suitcase. Mom and dad are planning a trip to Utah the last weekend of March and then they will drive out to my house probably stopping at my sister's house in Nebraska on the way. We are just playing it by ear and hoping that we hear something this week so that we can finalize our travel plans.

THINK PINK!!!!!

Susan