Hi everybody:

Cheryl and I have wonderful news about our 6-month old son Alessandro.  On Wednesday, 22 November, we received word that our adoption case has exited the last Guatemalan government court hurdle!  We exited the PGN court system and are now awaiting permission from the US Embassy in Guatemala to enter the United States with him.  We officially have custody of Alessandro and his last name is now officially DiBartolo.  It is so exciting!  His first name is still the one that the lawyer gave him at birth (Walter Steven), but that will be changed when we enter the US.

            It has been a wonderful 6 months here in Guatemala with Alessandro (D’Ale [Dee-Ah-Lay]).   It hasn’t been perfect, we have experienced a couple of scares with the Guatemalan government involving adoptions, just one major health issue (adenovirus that we all passed around to each other) and still not one full night of sleep (I think the longest has been 3 hours!).  However, the time has been so valuable and we sincerely and fully thank everybody involved who has made this experience come true.  We’ve been here longer than most families because we came so early in the process, so we have seen many people come and go.  It’s finally our turn to take home our child!  We have missed our families and friends in the States and hope to introduce you to Alessandro soon!

            Tomorrow (30 November) the US Embassy will receive our paperwork and in a few weeks, issue an entrance visa for Alessandro.  Early next week we will be applying for his Guatemalan passport which should be issued a few days later.  We still are not sure yet when we will be flying home, but we will let you know as soon as we do!  Hopefully, we will be home around Dec. 16.

            Again, we thank everybody for their support throughout this process; it has been a wonderful experience to be with him.

Sincerely,

Brian, Cheryl and Alessandro DiBartolo

During the week of 2 October, D'Ale had his first bite of rice cereal.  He really loved it!  (See photo album)

We had to fix one small problem with our dossier this week.  Cheryl signed a name-affidavit form (form was in Spanish) here in Guatemala City, and we believe the dossier was submitted back to PGN on Thursday 12 October.

The political climate surrounding foreign adoptions is always changing.  For instance, the President and First Lady have been trying to close all adoptions for the last few months, trying all sorts of tactics (legal, illegal, and downright sneaky). This week the President tried to issue an executive order making essentially making adoption illegal, and therefore anyone involved in adoption, a criminal.

  The police took this executive order and used it to detain foster mothers and babies in the process (but not completed) of being adopted.  We were told to not leave our house for the next few days with Alessandro, so that we could avoid any problems with the police/special agents.  These things seem to go in cycles; they have happened in the past and may happen again. Things should blow over in a few days, as this executive order was found to be unconstitutional and was shot down today by the (Guatemalan) Congress.

Well, the scare has passed.  It seems that something like this happens every few months.  The President and the first lady are anti-adoption, and try to stop adoptions on a regular basis with no success to date.

  After 2 days of "house-arrest" as we called it, Cheryl and her friend Sharon just HAD TO go shopping!  They rewarded themselves with wonderfully beautiful jade jewelry.  They did a great job picking them out.

  Another great/helpful event happened this weekend (21-22 Oct).  Our agency director, Traci, flew to Guate from Dallas, TX to visit with fostering families and to get some work done in Guatemala City.  We (Cheryl, Sharon, the two babies, and I) met her for a nice lunch, and then walked across town to a community of other FTC (For This Child) foster families.  We had lunch and chatted for a good four hours.  It was really nice to get to know our director and see how much she cares about working for us all.  Then this Sunday, she visited our house (with some wine) and dined with us and our house owner.  We would like to have some other foster families live on this side of town (where all the action is) and Traci came by to check out the house for future foster families.  She thought it offers another option for the many people who would like to come down to foster who can't find housing.  Cheryl, Sharon, and I had a great time with her here.  Alessandro and Isabella also loved having her here!

  Cheryl’s favorite holiday is just over a week away.  She is starting to decorate a bit (not like in NC, however) and has already picked out an outfit for D’Ale.  Then after Halloween, is The Day of the Dead holiday (also known as All Saints Day).  Huge parties and grave-site celebrations occur in much of Central America and Mexico.  We are looking forward to the next week!

Talk with you soon.

Brian