The Guatemala adoption process is quite a bit different than the China process. China has a centralized system run by the government. Guatemala has a system that is handled by a combination of government officials, judges and attorney's, which makes it more variable than the somewhat predictable China process.
We are about half-way through the wait for Jacob--we think?? It could be longer if there are any problems with our paperwork. We were recently given the DNA results of Jacob and his birth mother. They are a match! We are currently waiting for the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala to review the DNA paperwork and issue an approval for us to enter the final phase of the process. That phase is called PGN. This is where they will be going over our paperwork with a fine-toothed comb. It normally takes 1-3 months to move through this phase, depending on whether or not there are problems with our paperwork. We think we did everything correctly, so are hoping not to have to re-do anything!
Baby Jacob is living in a hogar with about 12 other babies who are waiting to be adopted. We have some video of him there and he looks happy and loved. We tried to put it on a YouTube for you to see on this blog, but sadly, the format was incompatible with YouTube. Drat....
Our adoption facilitator, Melissa, is in Guatemala right now and has promised to send us some pictures and video soon. Yay! We can't wait to see how our little guy has grown in the past few months!
