On my mind...

As you know, our babies live in foster care (with wonderful Rosita and her family) and don't see their birth mom...except for the following four times (as required by the Guatemalan adoption process) during which the birth mother confirms her consent to the adoption: when she transfers custody to the lawyer and requests that they be placed for adoption, when she and the children appear together before a doctor for DNA sample collection, when she is interviewed by a social worker from Family Court, and when she signs the final adoption decree.

In our case, the first two (transfer custody & DNA collection) have already been completed. Since the DNA was collected only a few days ago, I've been thinking about the birth mom and wondering what it was like for her to see Catalina and Gus. I can't imagine.

Even more than that, though, I've been thinking about little Cati. Gus is too young to know, but Catalina remembers being given up by her birth mom. When we were in Guatemala, she and I were in the lobby of the hotel visiting with a sweet lady from Miami. We saw our Miami friend lots during the trip. She would talk to Catalina in Spanish and was always bowled over by that funny and sweet little girl. One day she asked Catalina if she loved her mama. Catalina reached over and hugged my neck very tightly and said, in Spanish, "I love her very much and I don't want her to leave." We were all in tears immediately, mostly because it hit us how much Catalina has been through and how much she really craves a loving, stable environment.

It breaks my heart to think of her seeing her birth mom. Cati was probably so, so happy to see her again and the thought of how upset and confused she must have been to be separated again is pretty much unbearable for me. I don't ever want her or Gus to be that sad. I know it's impossible to protect them because we live in a fallen world, but I guess it's pretty normal for a mom to want that anyway.

If you think of it, please say prayers for little Cati and Gus, that the rest of this process in Guatemala will be "easy" on them and that they will continue to be showered with affection by their foster family. As always, thanks.