I can't believe it's already been one week since I first held my daughter in my arms. Our time to leave Guatemala is coming up all too quickly and I'm having to face the fact that I will have to hand my daughter back to her foster mother on Sunday and walk away. This time here has been so amazing and it was all I could have dreamed it too be...but I am not looking forward to this Sunday. Instead of getting caught up in that though, I'm just going to focus on the wonderful memories we've shared this week with Isabella. We feel so blessed to have been able to meet her when she was this young, and that we'll have this story to tell her when she is older. I know the next few months will probably be some of the hardest of my life, but I'll make it through just as I have all the waiting to get to this day.

Update on our case: Unfortunatley, we were unable to get the DNA testing done this week. There is a big mess at the US Embassy and our attorney has been there every day this week at 6am to get in line to sumbit our authorization request for DNA testing. He said there are hundreds of attorneys in line each day and the Embassy is assinging numbers of 1-50 and sending everyone else home. Of those 50 they are only getting to about 10-20 a day. Each day he has had a number and still has not been able to submit or authorization. It makes me so angry that our own US government is screwing this up. I would be more understanding if it were the Guatemalan government holding us up, but our tax dollars are paying for stuff like this. I certainly plan to call my congressman and senators when I get home. The next stage after DNA testing is pre-approval from the US Embassy so I will be at their mercy for the next two steps. If anyone else would like to write their congressmen on our behalf it would be appreciated. There are a lot of other adoptive familes doing the same so if we rally together maybe something will get done.

Okay enough of my venting..I guess that's what happens when something stands between a momma and her baby. I'm going to end for now so I can go watch my little angel sleep. I'll try to add a few more photos for you guys too :-)

-Janine