Confusion

I finally asked my facilitator to explain the judicial process to me. I was clearly misunderstanding something. I thought that based on the updates she was giving me, I should be on my way home right now. It turns out, I misunderstood her updates and we aren't really that close to going home.

Here's a summary of the process here and where we are in it:

•Once the attorney receives the integration document, she goes to the court and submits the case.

•The computer chooses where the case will be sent. (There are multiple courts.).My case was submitted on January 24.

• The judge has the option to admit it or not. He does not have a time term to fulfill. Mine was admitted on January 31.

•It is then sent to be reviewed by the family defender who had 3 working days to give his opinion. She went to the court office on February 5 and took my file and gave it back on Friday the 8th. (So glad she let it sit for six days first. Thanks!)

•It has been on the judges desk since then waiting for his signature.

•We have been in this process 13 working days. A normal process would take 24 (working) days....

•The judge has ten days to sign. He could take them all or he could sign today. There is no way to know.

So, as you can see, we could be here another two weeks. Not the news I wanted but I'd rather be informed and stop stressing about a phone call that probably isn't coming for a while.

There is another RR family at the hotel this week. Just having someone to talk to had greatly improved my spirits. I'm not sure what I will do when they leave this weekend but I guess I'll worry about that later.

I'm attaching pictures of the three RR girls meeting in Colombia. We had hoped to get a pic of all three today but I'm not sure that's going to happen. Jason is pretty busy trying to get out of here.

You'd think I'd be used to waiting.

Today marks a week since the judge signed the papers and we still don't have sentencia. I have no idea why. I must be misunderstanding something or missing a step in the process. I thought last week that we would be getting ready to leave by now.

People keep telling me to enjoy my time here but, in all honesty, I'm really ready to go home. Even if we get sentencia today, we won't be home until next week. I'm starting to think we may be flying on our original tickets for next Saturday.

If you know me at all, you know I am a doer. I love lists and checking things off. I'm very time oriented. If I say tomorrow, I mean tomorrow. I don't mean sometime in the next two weeks. These two things are combining here to drive me crazy. There is nothing I can do but wait. I've done lots of that in the last year and I still hate it.

I know we will survive. I think a piece of me will miss it when we get home. I know things aren't perfect at home either. I know all these things. Right now, I just want the phone call and to go home. That's just where I am right now.

The judge has signed

The judge signed the paperwork Wednesday night. Now we just need the family defender to sign and we can get our adoption decree.

After that, we get a new birth certificate, her passport, and her visa. These things will take about three days. So, if we get our decree today, we could be home on Thursday. (I am dreading the trip but so excited to go home and start our life together.)

Even if the decree takes a little longer, we will still be way ahead of schedule. Saturday will mark 3 weeks. An adoption in Bogota in 3 1/2 weeks is unheard of. I was expecting at least 5 weeks and was told that was a conservative estimate.

Please continue to pray. There are still quite a few details that need to fall in to place but the judge's signature is a huge step!

Progress

Yay for progress! In the middle of my pity party yesterday, I found out that our paperwork had been accepted and submitted to the judge on Monday. He has 10 business days to sign it. So, we will have Sentencia this week or next! There is a light at the end of the tunnel! We will get to go home in the next two weeks!

I've begun carrying my colombian cell phone everywhere. I don't want to miss the call. When the judge signs the decree, I will have to go in and sign it as well. Then, we get the new birth certificate, passport and American visa. Those things will take 3 to 4 days. Then, we get on the first plane out of here. Chances are very good we will be home before our planned date of February 16.

Please continue to pray that the judge will sign soon (like today)!!!! Pray that he won't wait the whole ten days. We are ready to go home!

And now we wait and pray

We had her physical today for the US Embassy. She passed with flying colors. He said she was the healthiest child with DS he'd ever seen. She just needed one vaccine. I hated it. She barely flinched.

Our paperwork has been submitted to the court. The lawyer takes care of the whole process. I only have to go to sign the final paperwork. We didn't get assigned to the infamously "bad" court so that's a good sign. All we can do now is wait and pray. Pray that each person who has a step jn the process will work quickly. I've enjoyed my time here but I wouldn't mind going home sooner, rather than later. Please pray.

Until then, I'm enjoying getting to know this amazing little girl. She has so many facets. She's sweet and loving. She's sassy and spunky. She's quiet and pensive. She's loud and destructive. No matter what mood she's in, she wants to learn. She's determined to tie my shoes. She's convinced she's reading. She's less scared of the dog every day. I love watching her grow and change. I can't wait to get her home and into real life.

Again, please pray. There are lots of steps to the court process. I know it will take time. I'd just like it to take as little time as possible.

Strike

We had our integration meeting this morning. Basically, we met with a psychologist and decided that we make a good family and we can file for adoption.

As we were leaving, we ran into the lawyer. She said she wanted to wait a day or two to file our case because there are rumblings of a strike. Again. Yes. Those same judges may strike again.

Scenario 1: they file my paperwork today. The judges go on strike tomorrow. My paperwork is stuck somewhere and we can't get it back. We ride out the strike in Bogota. This would be a very long and expensive options. Hotels aren't cheap and I will run out of sick time.

Scenario 2: they file my paperwork at the end of the day tomorrow. The judges don't strike. I get approval in 3 to 5 weeks. This is the usual process. We are home as planned.

Scenario 3: the judges go on strike before my paperwork is filed. My paperwork will then be filed in a contingency court. I will get approval in 1 to 2 weeks. We will be home sooner than planned.

Selfishly,I would like scenario 3. I really want to go home. Unfortunately, that would be really bad for everyone I know whose paperwork has already been filed.

I'd be ok with scenario 2. That's what I expected.

I fear scenario 1.