Case Family in Hong Kong

We’re wrapping up preparations to unite with our son! Things are quite busy and intense around here. We can always use prayer. We’ll add the health update as soon as we get it. Peace, Cases

So, we are a little anxious with this big trip to the U.S. coming up….lots to get ready for leaving here and bringing there….for a long 6-week holiday.  We are also excited…but when we finally hit American soil, particularly Louisville soil, we will have crossed a big hurdle in our trip:  getting from here to there successfully!  We leave here at 12:30am (midnight) on a Sunday to fly to Korea….spend 7 hours in the Seoul airport…fly to Chicago…round up our belongings and fly to Louisville…about a 26 hour trip…makes for a little anxiety flying with a free-spirited toddler who loves to run and get around!  But we’ll get there.

We’ve had some fun events over the past week:  Saturday was the opening day of Kung Fu Panda in Hong Kong; the IMAX theatre was showing it in English so we took Ezri.  She started shaking a bit when the screen lit up and the music started, so we moved to the top seats…still great seats.  She watched every minute of the movie and really enjoyed it, exclaiming, Bear!…Kitty…Bear! from time to time (she called the raccoon a kitty).  On Tuesday Ezri and I went for a play date to meet friends at a toy store called WiseKids.  They have an amazing playroom(s) area for kiddos and you can go to a given session of play there.  We took Sabrina (15 months) and Ezri (nearly 19 months) and the girls had a ball!  It was overload, really….so many things to see and play with and only 1hour 15 minutes to do it in.  They had a multi-sensory room with cool fiber-optics, dress-up, large block area, train-track table, a beach-fun area, a ‘house’ set-up, and even a sushi restaurant with everything mini…even costumes, so the girls could play chef!  Ezri wasn’t into the hat, but Sabrina wore one and looked soooo cute!  Then, today, Wednesday we went for a play date with Ezri’s good friend, Ka Ka (short for Kaitlyn).  We went to their house and played, swam, ate lunch, and made snow cones and played some more.  The girls play really well together.

On Javier, we should have an update and new photos soon.  Good news is that his new birth certificate has been issued and the passport has been applied for and they should have that soon, if not already.  We now await a second round of DNA testing and then a date for our appointment with the embassy.  We’ll keep you posted.  Also, several of the kids from Javi’s orphanage have chicken pox….so keep those babies that are sick and those that are well…and those caring for them in your prayers, please.

Well, just wanted to update you on the goings-on with us.  We depart for the U.S. in 4 short days!  Please keep our travel in your prayers!

—Melanie, for the Cases

So, last night Jason and I called the PGN in Guatemala. It seemed like a good sign already when I spoke to a new lady whose name was Berta. She was quite jovial and when I told her Javi’s number to check his case, she asked me to wait a moment. She came back with a response that differed from what we’d heard from them over the past couple of weeks: “salida en la ventanilla”…which essentially means it is ready for pick-up at the window…what window and where, I have no idea, but it was good news! And, so I asked her how much longer we could expect. She replied, “2 days more”!!! WOW! We were both ecstatic and so glad we’d called.

Then it came….the email from our adoption consultant that we’d all been waiting for (and you with us): the subject line read: “APPROVED”!!! Javi’s case has been approved and released from PGN!!! This is the beginning of the end of the adoption process for us! We will most likely be able to travel to Guatemala to get Javi within the next 8 weeks!!! It is so exciting and emotional and fabulous….and overwhelming–all at once!

OK…that’s the huge news. Praise God with us; He has blessed this entire process! Please continue to pray with us that the remainder of the process goes smoothly without any unforeseen ripples. Javi was born in a town called Mixco; this particular spot seems to be a difficult one to get birth certificates from (Javi’s new birth certificate with his new last name: Case on it)…so, we’ll be paying an expediting fee to have it done in a timely fashion…hopefully that will be completed within 2 weeks time, as will the signing of the final decree of the adoption…and then we’ll have a last set of documents to fill out to get ready for travel. We’ll then await an appointment date from the US embassy…and that will dictate our travel dates. We already have travel arrangements from HK to the US for July…and traveling back east in August. Please pray that timing lines up for us to all travel to/from Guatemala and then back to HK together! Please pray for Javi’s transition from orphanage to home life….and the loss and grief he will go through as he has to leave the women who have lovingly cared for him for this first pivotal chapter of his little life!..and the subsequent transitioning into our home/family and building new bonds and strong/positive attachments!! Whew! That’s a lot of prayer, eh?!!!

Thank you for journeying with us on this. We love each of you so much and are forever grateful for you!

–The Cases

Here’s the latest from our little Javier…. apparently all decked out for summer!  He now weighs just over 15 lbs and is nearly 2 ft. long!  He is quite a growing boy.  The ladies at the orphanage who care for him say that he is quite a talker and is grasping and playing with toys and rolling over regularly.  He does seem to have a cold at the moment, but is otherwise doing well.

Okay….we’ll keep you posted on further developments with the adoption!  Thanks for your support and enjoy the pics.

The Case Fam.

So Friday night (Friday morning in Guatemala) Melanie was able get the current status of our case from the PGN office in Guatemala! Melanie was excited to speak Spanish and we were able to find out that cases were going to start being released that day, and in fact we found other sources to verify that info. We were also told that our case would be released to the lawyer in two weeks, more or less. So the good news is that the process is moving again, but the bad news is that only 1 out of 5 cases are being approved and if we get kicked out (previo) again, the case may have to wait for up to another 8 weeks. Considering we’ve already been kicked out once and we’ve had go ahead and purchase our tickets to fly home at the end of the summer, it is VERY important that we are approved in two weeks. SO PLEASE PRAY THAT WE WILL GET PGN APPROVAL WITHIN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS!!! PS: We should be posting some new pics of Javi in the next week, as soon as we get them from our agency. Also will be posting some clips of Ezri. Peace, Jason

From guatadopt.com:

Cases were released today!

Some cases were released from PGN today. Some came out with Previos and some were Approvals. We have not verified how many at this time.

Added: Around 50 released. 10 were approved, the rest had Previos. While not great news, remember that paperwork is not necessarily tied with birthmother intent. Let’s hope that these are minor issues and can be resolved quickly.

SOME OTHER COMMENTS FROM FAMILIES ALSO IN PROCESS:

How frustrating. Didn’t the new PGN say they weren’t going to be issuing as many unnecessary previos? And now it seems they’re being even pickier than the old administration.

Does anyone know what the protocol for resubmits will be post-BMI? I hope it won’t be another 8+ week wait…

Comment by A Waiting Mom at May 31, 2008 12:05 AM

Weight: 14 lbs 10 oz; Height: 24.5; Head size: 17.1; Foot : 3.5”

Cristian Javier is doing well. He is healthy. He has mastered turning over in his crib. He holds onto toys and holds onto his own bottle. He likes to watch tv and he is learning to sit up all by himself.

Update from the Orphanage:

• Weight: 13lbs 2 oz
• Height: 23.5″
• Head size: 16.5″
• Foot: 3.5″

Cristian “Javi” is doing great. Very happy baby boy and as you can see he is really starting to gain weight fast. He plays with his toys…and loves to be held. I think you might have a basketball player on your hands. He is also eating and sleeping well.

Melanie will post more about the adoption soon…

This is our latest update on Javi.  Things seem to be going very well.  We’ve also received pre-approval (see below).  We’re still a few months away since we have to redo some paperwork, but we’re hoping things wrap up by the end of May! 

DOB: 8/20/2007; Weight: 12lbs oz; Height:  22.5”; Head size: 16”; Foot :  3”

  A pre-approval was issued for the above-listed adoption case. You may pick up this pre-approval at Window #10 at your earliest convenience. You must bring a copy of this notification.  Reminder: Adopting parents should not travel to Guatemala prior to issuance of the pink slip by the Consular Section, in order to avoid unnecessary expenses. Travel before pink slip   issuance will not be considered an emergency and final documents will be processed as usual.  This office will not be giving priority to other cases over those who have complied with this requirement. The Consular Section has implemented an Appointment System for the Immigrant Visa. Please do not travel until you have received your appointment date and time.

The latest we’ve been told is that, “the attorney is just waiting for the PGN to start accepting cases again, to present your case is in as one of the first ones to go in after this shut down.”  The PGN clearance is supposedly the last step, but we don’t know much about the shutdown or when they will start accepting cases again.  You can pray for us that PGN starts accepting cases again soon!  All news other than that is very good.  The doctor says, “Cristian Javier is doing very well.  He is healthy and gaining weight. He is very tranquil and doesn’t put up much of a fuss.  He is eating well.  Cristian is very content and happy.”  He is reportedly 10lbs 11oz and 22.5 inches.  As you can see he is very handsome and looks like his father.  I taught him the Casanova pose with rose on chest, Melanie loves it!  New Ezri Excerpt Coming Soon…….