Well yesterday was quite different than we had expected. We got to the court place after getting the directions and correct address (it is quite different driving around here looking for an address). We parked and went in. We saw Andrea (Emily), her birth mother and one of the nuns from the orphanage outside the meeting room. Andrea was dressed in a really pretty maroon dress and had her hair tied with two of the little ponytail holders that were in the supplies that we brought to the orphanage the day before. It just so happened that they were Abby´s old ones and out of all they had to pick from, well that was really neat to see.
We didn´t get to talk to them right away, we just kind of stood there while others coordinated and discussed things that we couldn´t understand (I think they were complaining about my socks personally). Anyway, after a few minutes or so, we were introduced to the birth mother. She is very sweet. After a couple of sincere hugs, Anne presented here with a gift we brought for her. We were then told that we could visit with Andrea there in the hallway. The sister that brought her there was a very kind and very young nun from the orphanage. We sat with her for a while and I am just thinking and trying to process all this.
Then they invited us into the meeting room. There was the judge lady, the PGN lady, a social worker, our attorney, a man that is kind of a witness guy (sort of like a notary), the nun, the nun´s helper to watch the baby, the birth mom, Lilly (our translator, friend, guide and Tamara´s co-worker like friend) Anne and myself. Well off they went reading things and discussing things (I still think they didn´t like my socks) and reviewing photos and other documents. Our file was about 1 inch thick. The PGN lady seemed to keep telling the birth mother that she still has the right to keep her baby and the mom kept telling here that she wants her to be adopted. They even brought up the thing about the unknown baby picture that got in the file by mistake. Well to shorten this up, the judge over ruled the PGN and said that not only could the baby return to the original foster mother Lilly (a different Lilly than our translator) but she could go back to the hotel with us for a day or so. That was a shocker. We were not at all prepared for that.
Outside in the hallway, we stood there for another 20 minutes or so while they finalized some things and I held Andrea and then she walked around a bit and then off we went. It was really hard to say goodbye to the birth mom, a very emotional moment for all.
We stopped on the way to pick up some diapers and things and then to the hotel. Little Andrea was not very happy at that time and I could only imagine what was going through her head. She went from the orphanage where there were other children and everyone spoke Spanish to a hotel room where there were 2 adults that spoke a different language. At first she only wanted me to hold her then only Anne. I know that one day soon we will be able to look back at this and after Andrea has been with us, adjusted she will see the love of a family that she doesn´t really have right now. But for now, she must be wondering what is going on.
We all decided that she needed to go to Lilly the foster mom that night so that there would be as few transitions times for Andrea as possible and that there would be Spanish speaking people around her and other children nearby. We arranged that and at 8PM last night, Lilly got to the hotel. It is about 30 to 40 minutes away from her house. She was there with the attorney´s assistant and the assistant´s 16 year old son. That too was an emotional time for Lilly as it had been about 10 months since she had seen her and Andrea seemed to double in size. Lilly really loves this child. We visited a bit and off they went and left Anne and I to sit and ponder this day.
We didn´t get to talk to them right away, we just kind of stood there while others coordinated and discussed things that we couldn´t understand (I think they were complaining about my socks personally). Anyway, after a few minutes or so, we were introduced to the birth mother. She is very sweet. After a couple of sincere hugs, Anne presented here with a gift we brought for her. We were then told that we could visit with Andrea there in the hallway. The sister that brought her there was a very kind and very young nun from the orphanage. We sat with her for a while and I am just thinking and trying to process all this.
Then they invited us into the meeting room. There was the judge lady, the PGN lady, a social worker, our attorney, a man that is kind of a witness guy (sort of like a notary), the nun, the nun´s helper to watch the baby, the birth mom, Lilly (our translator, friend, guide and Tamara´s co-worker like friend) Anne and myself. Well off they went reading things and discussing things (I still think they didn´t like my socks) and reviewing photos and other documents. Our file was about 1 inch thick. The PGN lady seemed to keep telling the birth mother that she still has the right to keep her baby and the mom kept telling here that she wants her to be adopted. They even brought up the thing about the unknown baby picture that got in the file by mistake. Well to shorten this up, the judge over ruled the PGN and said that not only could the baby return to the original foster mother Lilly (a different Lilly than our translator) but she could go back to the hotel with us for a day or so. That was a shocker. We were not at all prepared for that.
Outside in the hallway, we stood there for another 20 minutes or so while they finalized some things and I held Andrea and then she walked around a bit and then off we went. It was really hard to say goodbye to the birth mom, a very emotional moment for all.
We stopped on the way to pick up some diapers and things and then to the hotel. Little Andrea was not very happy at that time and I could only imagine what was going through her head. She went from the orphanage where there were other children and everyone spoke Spanish to a hotel room where there were 2 adults that spoke a different language. At first she only wanted me to hold her then only Anne. I know that one day soon we will be able to look back at this and after Andrea has been with us, adjusted she will see the love of a family that she doesn´t really have right now. But for now, she must be wondering what is going on.
We all decided that she needed to go to Lilly the foster mom that night so that there would be as few transitions times for Andrea as possible and that there would be Spanish speaking people around her and other children nearby. We arranged that and at 8PM last night, Lilly got to the hotel. It is about 30 to 40 minutes away from her house. She was there with the attorney´s assistant and the assistant´s 16 year old son. That too was an emotional time for Lilly as it had been about 10 months since she had seen her and Andrea seemed to double in size. Lilly really loves this child. We visited a bit and off they went and left Anne and I to sit and ponder this day.
