Conejo Met!!!

Well, it actually happened...after 10 weeks, the Consejo met and we have our final approval for our adoption!!! YYYEEEEAAAAHHHHHH!! So happy, it's really difficult to put words to how I feel. This has been such a long wait for us - in August, it will be a full 3 years since we first turned in paperwork to adopt our Gracie. We still have a lot of work to do to get home, but this is a big step for us in the right direction. The Consejo meeting, as you all know by now, is ALWAYS unsure. Delay after delay, makes you wonder if it will ever happen, but it did!!

I had some very close friends tell me that they felt very good about this Consejo...felt positive that this time, it would happen and it did!! I think I'm still a little in shock that it actually has!

I received a call around noon today from our friends Jason and Michele - they tortured me a little about giving me the good news - but what a great phone call that was!! I cried and congratulated them as well and then immediately called my husband. Tim answered the phone, I told him "They met love, the Consejo actually met!!" and before I could give him any more details, he said "Hold on love, someone is at the door" - I hear him say "hey" it was our Pastor and friend, Brad Russell. Helloooo, can you believe the timing of that?!?! Brad was thrilled to hear the news and congratulated me on the phone and all I could do was cry!! I got a call from his wife Amy, a few minutes later and again, I cried, she cried and we laughed and were so excited!! I love the Russell's!!! What a blessing they are to me and my family.

What a blessing you all are to me...to us!! I have received so many calls, emails and Face Book messages, it is overwhelming and humbling. I do not deserve this amount of love and support but I just keep receiving it!! It makes me so happy to know that I am living a life surrounded by family and friends who take the time to make sure that I know how they feel, that they continue to encourage and love us through each step of this process...so thank you!!!

We spent most of today and the Galleria Mall with Allie and the girls - doing a little shopping and spending some great quality time together. We then had a celebration dinner with our friends the Tomczak's....fun!! We went to a beautiful Italian restaurant - they brought the kids some dough to play with to keep them busy. They were all very excited. I started to think that this is probably the first time Gracie has seen dough and then my next thought was, better explain it quickly to her! As I looked at her to explain, she had the dough about half way to her mouth. I told her "No love, this is to play with ..... not to eat. It can make you sick and you DO NOT EAT IT!!" Thinking my motherly duties were finished, I turned to my friends to continue my conversation when I heard Scarlett yell "NO Martita, NO"!! When I looked at her, she was chewing the dough very quickly and had her ugly face on...that could not have tasted good!! I went over, forced the dough out of her mouth (this was not an easy task) and took the dough away from her. When I sat back down, I looked over at her - she was NOT happy but she had flour all over her face and we all started to laugh. My poor girl, she has no idea what's going on!!

I kept thinking all day that this was Gracie's day and felt bad that she didn't really understand it. My husband told me that it wasn't Gracie's day but OUR day and I think he's right!! This is a day we needed badly - a day of good news - a day of celebration!!!

So many people have asked us what the next steps are....there are many but to summarize everything and of course, daily updates will still be coming, our next step is to get the formal word from the Consejo that we have been approved, to the court. This is called our "declaration". The government offices are closed on Monday (celebrating 30 years of independence on Sunday so I guess they need a day to recuperate) so this declaration should be completed next Tuesday.

Once the declaration is submitted, we wait for our court date. This can take 1 - 4 weeks!! We just wait for the phone call and then we show up at our court date and the judge signs the paperwork that legally makes Gracie our daughter. Her name is formally changed at this point and she is given a new birth certificate.

Once we have that, we have 2 more weeks of getting her medical check-up's, Visa, Passport and all other government documentation and then we come home!!! So the bottom line is that we could be home as soon as mid-August or worst case scenario, late August. Just in time to get all my children in school on time!!! How's that for timing?!?!?!

I am still digesting this good news, still working through all the emotions. I know that my adventure here will soon be over and I will be going home. I feel so good that God listened to my prayers, the prayers of my family and friends and that His timing, is perfect!! That gives me such a feeling of peace and love....I can never express it in words.

The girls and I are creating a "Consejo Dance" to celebrate this day!! I look forward to dancing it for you all.....soon!!!