It's ALL over!!!

Well, I left the computer suddenly yesterday because Adriana walked by the computer room with Ms. Mazzi! Her doctor's appointment went perfectly, but she, of course, was woke by the doctor and NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!! I think he must have startled her half to death. She cried and cried, but fortunately Adriana stayed and settled her while we worked on some last minute paperwork with Kenneth. We had some major computer issues so it took awhile and then she was rushed to leave. She had brought us another Guatemala bag full of brand-new supplies for Mazzi, some hair scrunchies, a little wallet and her daughter had gotten us a little candle holder type thing. All very nice indeed! We quickly gave her our gifts which she seemed to appreciate and she quickly left. Mazzi was sleeping by then so she didn't really have a good-bye. I hope she is okay, she seemed really very fine. She just kept saying she will have a wonderful life and please send pictures. It was obvious she was in a hurry!

Then, this morning I woke at 5:20am, 10 minutes before the alarm which worked out perfectly because I got up and showered and got ready before Mazzi and her dad woke! We all finished getting ready and then went to the lobby to meet Kenneth at 7:45am. We walked to the embassy and first stopped in a back alley to have Mazzi's picture taken for her Visa. It was interesting to say the least. By the way, wait until you she her passport photo. I know I'm a little bias but it truly is the cutest thing ever!! It should be in a magazine!!!

Then we waited in line outside the embassy to get through the security. It is chilly in Guatemala today so we were actually a little cold. Warmer than those in Illinois though, of course! Security was really pretty easy, similar to the airport and then we headed into the embassy. Talk about babies!!!! Lots of them!!! Right off the bat, we see Shannon and her husband they were sitting in a different area than us though. So, we wait. It's about an hour later and they call several family names - one being Roberts, so we proceed to another line and wait some more. Then it's our turn, we walk into a TINY room with 2 stools and a man behind a piece of glass asks for our passports. We presented them and he indicated that our paperwork looked good and he was approving our I-600. Short and sweet. Then he told us to wait again for our next step.

So, we headed back to the waiting area and sit for about another hour. Finally, they call, "adopting family Roberts to Window 8." This time we head to a little window and a very nice woman asks us to raise our right hand and swear to tell the truth. Then she asks for a few pieces of info - our agency's name, our attorney's name, if this is our 1st adoption, 1st child? Then through the glass she hands Jit a paper to sign. He signs twice. Then she asks if we have met Mazzi before now. We said yes, but in the heat of the moment I couldn't remember the date. So she checked our passport and saw our June 3 stamp and indicated that since we had met her before this trip she would qualify for an IR-3 VISA which means that once our little feet land in the USA, she will be a US citizen. Then she handed us a form and indicated our Visa could be picked up Wednesday at 3:30pm. Then she said, "congratulations, all done!" She then gave us an email address and asked for our honest comments about the process from start to finish. She indicated it would help the US prepare for the Hague implementation. Yes, all these folks at the embassy were American.

That was all - we walked back to the hotel and arrived there by about 10:30am. No big deal at all! So, it's official - she is ours forever!!!!!!! Nobody can take her away now! Kenneth will pick up our Visa tomorrow and he said that the real attorney Walter would like to come by and meet us. We agreed that would be nice so we are planning to see them both tomorrow about 4pm. Then, Kenneth will be back to take us to the airport on Thursday. Kenneth keeps asking if we are wanting to get a little boy now. He says once things are squared away with adoptions here he'll see us again! I hope he is right! By the way, he said that the major change with the Hague will be that all of the child's family will have to sign off rights to the baby before adoption can occur. That will mean that many families will probably keep babies that they can't really take care of well and that this will drag out the process because they will have to gather many signatures before the adoption can occur - not just the birthmother. He is worried about it but says there are many attorneys working to stop this new rule.

Well, that's it for now...guess there is nothing left to say!!! Love you all! Jit, Kik and our daughter - Mazzi Herlinda Roberts. By the way, that is not really her name yet, it's still Herlinda Floricelda Roberts but we'll pretend until we get home and get that fixed!