Dominic's Homecoming Countdown

After 67 days and a three-week kickout (but who was counting?) we can finally say that we are out of PGN! We received the official paper via email this afternoon. I could tell you how happy this makes us, but I am sure you can figure that out! Now, when everyone asks, I can REALLY say that Dominic will be home soon! What happens next? The birthmother signs off for the final time, his new birth certificate will be issued (the one with our last name!), and we will be submitted to the Embassy for our pink slip. The pink slip will tell us when our Embassy appointment will be held. It shouldn't be too much longer! I really don't know how long the birth certificate will take, but it is not from Guatemala City, so that will help things. Apparently, it takes a bit longer if the birth certificate comes for GC. Also, there has been some delay at the Embassy so it will take a little longer than the previously-usual 48 hours to get our pink slip once we are submitted. I am not even throwing dates out there, but we are definitely in the last leg of the race. Now we have some fun things to do around the house to really get ready. We've been waiting for this day to officially put his crib together, so that will be our next project. Please keep us in your prayers . . . it won't be too long now!

Dominic is doing great! We received 4 new pictures over the weekend as well as a foster care update. He is starting to eat solid food and he is a happy, happy baby! He is sleeping "through the night until 5 am." Funny . . . that is about when I wake up too :)

I've been busy as ever with our school musical and latest round of standardized testing. Yuck! Once the show is over, I'll have some time to catch up with people and fix some things up around the house. Frank and I still need to put shelving in Dominic's closet and put his crib together.

Good news here that I don't think I posted. Marcy had a very healthy baby boy, Nathaniel. He is so cute! Kim and Mark are having a baby! Woo hoo! Chrissy is having a little boy . . . any bets on red hair? I finally got to meet Amy and Tony's Alyssa . . . she is so sweet!

Still in PGN. Our agency and facilitator are both pushing for news. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers . . . we need it! :)

Well, I’ve been tagged twice now, once by Dennise and once by Julie. So here goes . . .

Four jobs I've had in my life:
1. Hostess
2. Waitress
3. Swimsuit Salesperson (After 5 years on the boardwalk, I can make everyone look good in a swimsuit!)
4. Teacher

Four movies I can watch over and over:
1. The Wedding Singer
2. She’s All That
3. The Goonies
4. Silence of the Lambs

Four places I have lived:
1. West Lawn
2. Bloomsburg
3. Shillington
4. Near Philadelphia

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. ER
2. Law and Order SVU
3. Grey’s Anatomy
4. Desperate Housewives

Four places I have been on vacation (in order of favorites):
1. Jamaica
2. Las Vegas
3. Austria
4. The Jersey Shore

Four websites I visit daily:
1. www.weather.com (Yes, teachers want snow days too!)
2. www.ebay.com
3. www.guatadopt.com
4. All my favorite blogs!

Four of my favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Sour cream and onion chips
3. Spinach dip
4. Chocolate cake

Four places I'd rather be right now:
1. Someplace warm
2. Someplace sunny
3. Someplace with a swimup bar
4. With Dominic


Four other bloggers to tag...
Karen
Erinberry
Erica
Becky

I had tons of fun shopping at Target to put another package together for Dominic. We sent him some very cute "springy" outfits (see picture), a stuffed animal and a teething ring. We also sent his FM a picture from our visit. One of Frank's colleagues helped us write a very nice letter in Spanish. Of course, we asked his FM to give him MILLIONS of hugs and kisses for us! Lots of activity in adoption-blog-land right now! Congrats to Betsy for getting PINK! She is going to get Savanna next week. Karen is finally out of PGN and the protocolo was signed;Marissa is officially her daughter! Dennise is in PGN after too long of a family court wait. Things are happening out there! I can't wait until some more things happen our way :)

Finally . . . a little bit of good news! After 3 weeks of waiting, our case is back in PGN. Things are up and running. Pray for us that we sail through this time . . . For Valentine's Day, Frank gave me the cutest gift. It is a "Waiting Mom" bracelet. Dominic's picture is in it and his birthstone decorates it. It even has a cute little "MOM" charm on it. . It's so cute and it made my day :) Now I can see him all day long on my hand. Check out http://casaverdebeadclub.com. They will soon have a entire line of adoption-specific jewelry. Hope everyone had a very happy Valentine's Day!

We had a MASSIVE snowstorm this weekend . . . I am sure most of the people reading this are exhausted from digging out! The view from Dominic's room was so pretty and peaceful that I had to take a picture. Stay warm and dry! If you are living in a place that is warm and sunny, I am green with envy :)

What a crazy 2 weeks it has been! After we received the ever-so-wonderful news about getting kicked out of PGN, Frank got into a black ice accident with my car. Frank is fine, thank goodness. My little red car? She's been in the car hospital since the accident. I am hoping that we get her back this week because I HATE my rental! On Friday, I had endoscopic sinus surgery to clear up my nose. I have been getting ear and sinus infections over and over for years and I finally did something about it. I don't want to be sick when Dominic comes home to us. The surgery was outpatient and went really well. I finally took a shower today and I am feeling somewhat back to normal! Today is Dominic's 5 month birthday! We received an update on Thursday. He is now a whopping 12.6 lbs! He is still doing really well. We also received a few updates from our lawyer via our agency. She reminds us not to worry . . . PGN kickouts are very, very normal. She said that the civil registry we need the document from is very far away (8 hours). She spoke with them last week and said we should PROBABLY have the document this week. I am not holding my breath. Dominic is being loved and he is healthy. That is all that matters until can come home. This entire process is the most random, unfair thing I have ever been through. So many people fly through it . . . others get caught. I can't even begin to give an estimate on when Dominic will be home. We are both praying that everything comes together soon!