About 10 minutes ago I received an email from the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala informing us that we have pre-approval. After all the bad news surrounding adoptions in Guatemala, the timing of this news could not be better. This means that we have a real chance of getting in and out of PGN before the end of the year. Let's just hope all the PGN reviewers are pleased with our paperwork and we can get through without a previo (kick-out).
We're getting closer to bringing our Liliana home forever!!!!!!!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Adoptions At Risk
As much as I want to only put good news on our blog, I'm unfortunately not able to do so this time and must share some information with everyone and ask for your help.
If you've been following our blog you know, Dave and I have been pursuing the adoption of a baby girl from Guatemala. Her name is Liliana and she is almost 5 months old now. We started this process in December, 2006, going through considerable hoops, such as an extensive homestudy, DCFS, police and FBI background checks and fingerprints, more paperwork than you can imagine, many documents that required notarization, certification by the Secretary of State's office and authentication at the Guatemalan Consulate General's office in Chicago. I don't want to make this too long, because even if I did, it wouldn't convey in writing how long and how many requirements on our part it took to even qualify as adoptive parents. However, knowing that we started this process in December and didn't get our referral until June 8th gives you an idea of just how much work has gone into this so far.
Because Guatemala has NO INFRASTRUCTURE to take care for orphaned children, the mothers who choose adoption, relinquish their children to an attorney, who places the child in private foster care (in most cases excellent care) or private orphanages (also very well run). The attorney then refers the child to an agency in the U.S. who works with prospective adoptive parents (PAPs), like us, and refers the child to them. This is how Liliana came to us.
From then on, the foster mother or orphanage caring for the child is paid by the PAPs until the adoption is finalized. The adoption process consists of several steps :
1. U.S. Embassy issues DNA authorization - the birthmother and the baby have to meet at the Dr's office for a DNA test. A picture of the two of them is taken at that time (remember, this can be several months after the birthmom relinquished the baby) and the test sample is sent to a lab in the U.S. If the DNA test shows a positive match, the U.S. Embassy issues a Pre-approval (PA). We are currently on day 34 of our wait for PA with an average wait of about 60 days right now.
2. About the same time as the DNA test, the birth mother is interviewed by a Guatemalan Family Court social worker who writes and submits a report concerning whether the birth mother's relinquishment of her baby was voluntary.
3. Once the report is submitted, the case comes out of Family Court and once PA is issued the case goes to the Guatemala Attorney General's Office (PGN) for their approval of the case.
Cases are typically in PGN a minimum of 2 months with some cases being stuck there for 6-12 months. They scrutinize everything, and if they find a problem on any of the paperwork they issue a previo, which simply means the case is kicked out of PGN. The attorney takes care of fixing the problem and the case is resubmitted. Unfortunately, previos seems to the rule and not the exception for everything from a missed signature on a document to the use of black ink instead of blue ink or blue ink instead of blank ink on a document. Some previos are legitimate and some are not, but all must be fixed to be resubmitted. I realized some of this sounds unbelievable, but it is absolutely true. When a case is resubmitted, it starts back at Day 1, which obviously means that the minimum 2 month period starts all over again.
4. Once the case is out of PGN, a new birth certificate with our names as parents has to be issued by the Civil Registry in the place the child was born and the baby's passport is issued.
5. The U.S. Embassy then authorizes a 2nd DNA test on the baby alone (ensuring no baby switching took place), and if the match is positive, a visa appointment is scheduled and PAPs can travel to Guatemala to bring their child to the U.S.
Throughout the process, the birthmom has to sign-off on the adoption 4 times (the final time is after the case is out of PGN). While some birthmoms have changed their mind during this process and have taken their children back, due to the level of poverty and the poor treatment of women and especially single women and Mayan women, birth mothers usually follow through with their adoption plan to provide the opportunity for their child to have a better life.
Now things are getting much worse as there are huge political battles within Guatemala. In a nutshell, Guatemala wants to shut down Intercountry adoptions and UNICEF has stepped in offering several millions of dollars, if Guatemala becomes "Hague compliant." This week it was announced that President Berger stated the Hague will be ratified on January, 1 2008 and at that time any cases currently in process will not continue to be processed. Our case is currently in process and unless we can get into PGN very, very soon and out before the end of the year, we won't make the January 1st cutoff!
Please keep in mind, there is NO WELFARE SYSTEM, NO INFRASTRUCTURE in Guatemala today. Therefore, we have no idea what will happen to any of the other children stuck in this mess. The President didn't say. (More explanation is in the included links below)
We are scheduled to leave one week from today on our visit trip and will spend 5 days with Liliana. The thought of not being able to bring her home is so emotional, but we have to fight for her and do anything and everything we can to make sure that Lili, as well as all the other children, come home.
So here is how you can help. After reading the information on the links listed below, if you would please sign the online petitions and follow the instruction of the Guatemala5000 initiative it would really help. We need to put pressure on the politicians. The Guatemala government is always asking U.S. for money, and the U.S. government should be able to put some pressure on them at least to let in-process cases finish! There is strength in numbers.
Also, as the U.S. and Guatemala get closer and closer to ratifying the Hague, more and more information will be reported by the media. Unfortunately, many of the reports have very little factual information. For example, last week NPR reported a story in which a representative from UNICEF said that there are no requirements to adopt a baby from Guatemala other than having $25K-$40K. As you can tell from our experience to date, this information was absolutely incorrect and he apparently knows nothing about the process involved in adopting a child from Guatemala.
Please help us, as well as all the other families that are trying desparately to bring our children home.
Links to the petitions: Media Coverage of Intercountry Adoprion from Guatemala Petition Guatemalan Adoptions & DOS Acountability Petition
Link to the Joint Council on International Children Services with "how you can help" THIS IS THE IMPORTANT ONE TO DO!!!!!! http://jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm
Link to "Families without borders" with an explanation of UNICEF's stance (very good, especially the second link to the sponsor letter, where it is very well explained why UNICEF is being so harmful): Families Without BordersDear …
If you've been following our blog you know, Dave and I have been pursuing the adoption of a baby girl from Guatemala. Her name is Liliana and she is almost 5 months old now. We started this process in December, 2006, going through considerable hoops, such as an extensive homestudy, DCFS, police and FBI background checks and fingerprints, more paperwork than you can imagine, many documents that required notarization, certification by the Secretary of State's office and authentication at the Guatemalan Consulate General's office in Chicago. I don't want to make this too long, because even if I did, it wouldn't convey in writing how long and how many requirements on our part it took to even qualify as adoptive parents. However, knowing that we started this process in December and didn't get our referral until June 8th gives you an idea of just how much work has gone into this so far.
Because Guatemala has NO INFRASTRUCTURE to take care for orphaned children, the mothers who choose adoption, relinquish their children to an attorney, who places the child in private foster care (in most cases excellent care) or private orphanages (also very well run). The attorney then refers the child to an agency in the U.S. who works with prospective adoptive parents (PAPs), like us, and refers the child to them. This is how Liliana came to us.
From then on, the foster mother or orphanage caring for the child is paid by the PAPs until the adoption is finalized. The adoption process consists of several steps :
1. U.S. Embassy issues DNA authorization - the birthmother and the baby have to meet at the Dr's office for a DNA test. A picture of the two of them is taken at that time (remember, this can be several months after the birthmom relinquished the baby) and the test sample is sent to a lab in the U.S. If the DNA test shows a positive match, the U.S. Embassy issues a Pre-approval (PA). We are currently on day 34 of our wait for PA with an average wait of about 60 days right now.
2. About the same time as the DNA test, the birth mother is interviewed by a Guatemalan Family Court social worker who writes and submits a report concerning whether the birth mother's relinquishment of her baby was voluntary.
3. Once the report is submitted, the case comes out of Family Court and once PA is issued the case goes to the Guatemala Attorney General's Office (PGN) for their approval of the case.
Cases are typically in PGN a minimum of 2 months with some cases being stuck there for 6-12 months. They scrutinize everything, and if they find a problem on any of the paperwork they issue a previo, which simply means the case is kicked out of PGN. The attorney takes care of fixing the problem and the case is resubmitted. Unfortunately, previos seems to the rule and not the exception for everything from a missed signature on a document to the use of black ink instead of blue ink or blue ink instead of blank ink on a document. Some previos are legitimate and some are not, but all must be fixed to be resubmitted. I realized some of this sounds unbelievable, but it is absolutely true. When a case is resubmitted, it starts back at Day 1, which obviously means that the minimum 2 month period starts all over again.
4. Once the case is out of PGN, a new birth certificate with our names as parents has to be issued by the Civil Registry in the place the child was born and the baby's passport is issued.
5. The U.S. Embassy then authorizes a 2nd DNA test on the baby alone (ensuring no baby switching took place), and if the match is positive, a visa appointment is scheduled and PAPs can travel to Guatemala to bring their child to the U.S.
Throughout the process, the birthmom has to sign-off on the adoption 4 times (the final time is after the case is out of PGN). While some birthmoms have changed their mind during this process and have taken their children back, due to the level of poverty and the poor treatment of women and especially single women and Mayan women, birth mothers usually follow through with their adoption plan to provide the opportunity for their child to have a better life.
Now things are getting much worse as there are huge political battles within Guatemala. In a nutshell, Guatemala wants to shut down Intercountry adoptions and UNICEF has stepped in offering several millions of dollars, if Guatemala becomes "Hague compliant." This week it was announced that President Berger stated the Hague will be ratified on January, 1 2008 and at that time any cases currently in process will not continue to be processed. Our case is currently in process and unless we can get into PGN very, very soon and out before the end of the year, we won't make the January 1st cutoff!
Please keep in mind, there is NO WELFARE SYSTEM, NO INFRASTRUCTURE in Guatemala today. Therefore, we have no idea what will happen to any of the other children stuck in this mess. The President didn't say. (More explanation is in the included links below)
We are scheduled to leave one week from today on our visit trip and will spend 5 days with Liliana. The thought of not being able to bring her home is so emotional, but we have to fight for her and do anything and everything we can to make sure that Lili, as well as all the other children, come home.
So here is how you can help. After reading the information on the links listed below, if you would please sign the online petitions and follow the instruction of the Guatemala5000 initiative it would really help. We need to put pressure on the politicians. The Guatemala government is always asking U.S. for money, and the U.S. government should be able to put some pressure on them at least to let in-process cases finish! There is strength in numbers.
Also, as the U.S. and Guatemala get closer and closer to ratifying the Hague, more and more information will be reported by the media. Unfortunately, many of the reports have very little factual information. For example, last week NPR reported a story in which a representative from UNICEF said that there are no requirements to adopt a baby from Guatemala other than having $25K-$40K. As you can tell from our experience to date, this information was absolutely incorrect and he apparently knows nothing about the process involved in adopting a child from Guatemala.
Please help us, as well as all the other families that are trying desparately to bring our children home.
Links to the petitions: Media Coverage of Intercountry Adoprion from Guatemala Petition Guatemalan Adoptions & DOS Acountability Petition
Link to the Joint Council on International Children Services with "how you can help" THIS IS THE IMPORTANT ONE TO DO!!!!!! http://jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm
Link to "Families without borders" with an explanation of UNICEF's stance (very good, especially the second link to the sponsor letter, where it is very well explained why UNICEF is being so harmful): Families Without BordersDear …
Monday, September 24, 2007
How Many Clothes Can One Baby Need?
In preparation for our upcoming trip to Guatemala (it's in 10 days by the way), I decided to lay out all the clothes I've bought that we'll be taking down for Lili to wear during the 5 days we'll have her. Here's the part my hubby will read and either gasp or pass-out about. There are currently 13 outfits hanging in her closet, 5 in her dresser, 5 sleepers, at least a dozen onsies, 5 pair of shoes, and tons of socks. And we can't forget the cute little swimsuit for our pool time at the hotel. In addition I have bought several headbands and bows for her hair. Wonder if that will be enough for 5 days?
The problem seems to be that everytime I enter a store I feel this strong gravitational pull toward baby girl things :-) On the bright side, the majority of what I bought was on sale and/or clearance, a gift, or bought at garage sales (many with tags still on them). Keep in mind, this is only the things we'll be taking with us and doesn't include the larger size clothing that will stay here awaiting her arrival home. I will do my best to not buy anything else before we go.
The problem seems to be that everytime I enter a store I feel this strong gravitational pull toward baby girl things :-) On the bright side, the majority of what I bought was on sale and/or clearance, a gift, or bought at garage sales (many with tags still on them). Keep in mind, this is only the things we'll be taking with us and doesn't include the larger size clothing that will stay here awaiting her arrival home. I will do my best to not buy anything else before we go.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
12 More Days
That's right folks, only 12 more days and our little Lili will be in our arms. While I would love to say she'll be in our arms forever, it will only be for 5 days, but it will be a wonderful 5 days I'm sure.
We are also very much looking forward to meeting her foster mom and hopefully the entire foster family. As is customary, we will come bearing gifts. I must say that the gift buying has been quite challenging. After all, what do you give to each member of a family that is so lovingly caring for your baby. There is nothing we can give that will ever express the love and admiration we have for this family. In the meantime, we'll do our best to let them know just how deeply we appreciate them and what they are doing for us and for Lili.
In case you are also trying to keep track of where we are in this process, we are currently on Day 29 of our wait for PA. Unfortunately, the Embassy was closed this week for some training, so no PA's were issued. I'm hoping for a PA storm this week to find out if the trend of PA's under 60 days will continue. Because we haven't heard otherwise, we are also assuming we're still in Family Court. The social worker interview was completed 23 days ago and it can take up to a month for the social worker report to be written. Once we have PA and are out of Family Court we can enter PGN. Each day we get one step closer and I get one day more anxious to get through these last two stages so we can enter PGN. Of course PGN can also be the longest and most treacherous part of this journey, but we need PGN's approval before Lili becomes ours legally. I can only imagine what my blog posts will look like when we get to that point. Keep reading, it could get real interesting!
We are also very much looking forward to meeting her foster mom and hopefully the entire foster family. As is customary, we will come bearing gifts. I must say that the gift buying has been quite challenging. After all, what do you give to each member of a family that is so lovingly caring for your baby. There is nothing we can give that will ever express the love and admiration we have for this family. In the meantime, we'll do our best to let them know just how deeply we appreciate them and what they are doing for us and for Lili.
In case you are also trying to keep track of where we are in this process, we are currently on Day 29 of our wait for PA. Unfortunately, the Embassy was closed this week for some training, so no PA's were issued. I'm hoping for a PA storm this week to find out if the trend of PA's under 60 days will continue. Because we haven't heard otherwise, we are also assuming we're still in Family Court. The social worker interview was completed 23 days ago and it can take up to a month for the social worker report to be written. Once we have PA and are out of Family Court we can enter PGN. Each day we get one step closer and I get one day more anxious to get through these last two stages so we can enter PGN. Of course PGN can also be the longest and most treacherous part of this journey, but we need PGN's approval before Lili becomes ours legally. I can only imagine what my blog posts will look like when we get to that point. Keep reading, it could get real interesting!
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Various Pieces of Information
I think our adoption has turned me into a stalker. I'm not a stalker in the Hollywood sense of the word, but I stalk the Guatemala Yahoo groups and forums several times a day to make sure I'm up-to-date on who has gotten pre-approval, out of PGN, or the highly coveted "pink slip" informing a family it's time to travel to bring their baby home. While our ultimate goal is the "pink slip," our primary interest right now is pre-approval. From the point the DNA test results are received at the Embassy, the countdown to pre-approval (PA) begins. So, I've been counting down and as of today we've hit the 25 day mark. The average wait from DNA to PA has been 60 days, but suddenly over the last couple of weeks it's taken as little as 45 days. If this trend continues, we could actually get PA while we're on our visit trip. How exciting would that be?! Better yet, maybe the process will begin moving even faster and we'll have PA before we leave for Guatemala and enter PGN while we're on our visit trip!!! Okay, I'm obviously starting to become delirious, so I'll move on to other topics of interest.
I ordered our nursery furniture over 13 weeks ago and it finally arrived and was ready for pick up at Baby Depot. Of course I couldn't wait to pick it up, so we took the seats out of the van and headed to Baby Depot Saturday afternoon. By last night the crib was assembled and everything is now set up and awaiting Liliana's arrival. There are still a few more details to take care of like buying that glider chair I want for the nursery and putting the pictures on the walls, but it's coming together nicely. Getting the nursery put together has been so much fun, but at the same time it's sad knowing that we have to wait a few more months before the room will be occupied.
Lexie's leg seems to be on mend, although she's still not quite herself and is very protective of her leg. The bigger problem is the fact that she seems to really enjoy being carried from place to place. I hope she's gets over that once her leg is feeling better. Then again, maybe her leg is feeling better. Hum!
That's pretty much it from the World of Weeks. Good-night!
I ordered our nursery furniture over 13 weeks ago and it finally arrived and was ready for pick up at Baby Depot. Of course I couldn't wait to pick it up, so we took the seats out of the van and headed to Baby Depot Saturday afternoon. By last night the crib was assembled and everything is now set up and awaiting Liliana's arrival. There are still a few more details to take care of like buying that glider chair I want for the nursery and putting the pictures on the walls, but it's coming together nicely. Getting the nursery put together has been so much fun, but at the same time it's sad knowing that we have to wait a few more months before the room will be occupied.
Lexie's leg seems to be on mend, although she's still not quite herself and is very protective of her leg. The bigger problem is the fact that she seems to really enjoy being carried from place to place. I hope she's gets over that once her leg is feeling better. Then again, maybe her leg is feeling better. Hum!
That's pretty much it from the World of Weeks. Good-night!
Friday, September 14, 2007
Lexie Has a New Trick
I've spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of weeks carrying Lexie from place to place as her leg is healing. A couple days ago she started a new trick and will periodically raise her front legs up to me in the same way a baby raises their arms to be picked up. I'm having these visions of Lexie on one hip, Lili on the other, and Jada trying to figure out how her world changed so drastically.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Report on Lexie
Now, for the news you've all been waiting for.
Lexie arrived at the vet's office at 7:30 a.m. for her knee exam under sedation. I just got a call from the vet about 30 minutes ago saying that she didn't feel any tear in the ligament, she x-rayed her hips and she has "good hips," (this was really good news since hip dysplasia is not a good thing), and the x-ray of her knee showed inflammation of the knee joint caused by trauma. Therefore, no surgery is necessary!!!! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray! We will need to keep her on pain medication for awhile and she'll have to stay down for another 3-4 weeks, but should heal nicely.
Lexie arrived at the vet's office at 7:30 a.m. for her knee exam under sedation. I just got a call from the vet about 30 minutes ago saying that she didn't feel any tear in the ligament, she x-rayed her hips and she has "good hips," (this was really good news since hip dysplasia is not a good thing), and the x-ray of her knee showed inflammation of the knee joint caused by trauma. Therefore, no surgery is necessary!!!! Hip, hip hooray! Hip, hip hooray! We will need to keep her on pain medication for awhile and she'll have to stay down for another 3-4 weeks, but should heal nicely.
Monday, September 10, 2007
I Just Love Picture Day
We received some updated photos of Lili this afternoon and as promised I'm sharing some with my loyal readers.
These photos were taken on August 22 and the little dress she's wearing is one that we sent to her. I now have a better idea of what size I'll need to take on our visit trip.
Our agency also reports that she already cut one of her lower teeth. Our little girl is growing up!!!!
When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you!!!!!!
Yum, fingers!!!!
Isn't she lovely! Isn't she beautiful!
These photos were taken on August 22 and the little dress she's wearing is one that we sent to her. I now have a better idea of what size I'll need to take on our visit trip.
Our agency also reports that she already cut one of her lower teeth. Our little girl is growing up!!!!
When you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you!!!!!!
Yum, fingers!!!!
Isn't she lovely! Isn't she beautiful!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Lili Continues to Grow and Lexie's Injury
We received our monthly medical report on Lili in the mail this morning and here are the stats.
Weight - 12.12 lbs
Length - 25 inches
She only gained a few ozs from last month, but seems to have grown 1 1/2 inches. Based on her weight I need to be buying her 3-6 month clothes, but based on her length, she is close to needing 6-9 month clothes. What is a mom to do?
Sorry I don't have updated photos to send along, but as soon as I receive them, I'll share.
Now that I've shared our good news about Lili, it's time to move on to the bad news about Lexie.
First of all, for those who have never met Lexie you have to understand that she is just like the little cartoon dog, Chester the terrier, who followed Spike the bulldog around. She is always moving twice the speed of Jada and is a jumper and when I say jumper I mean she can jump at least three feet off the floor and she's only about 17 inches tall. So, last week we noticed that she was pulling her rear right leg up and trying to avoid walking around on it. Although we are 99.9% sure she injured it while out running with Jada, we don't know exactly how the injury occured, but it is obvious that her leg is injured. We kept her down for several days and every day she would seem to be doing better and obviously her leg was feeling better because she would try to move around more. However, just about the time I thought she was on the mend she would end up slipping or move too quickly and up would come the leg and she would be back to sitting or laying down again. I took her to the vet this morning hoping to hear that she had a pulled muscle and we would head home with something to help her leg. We weren't quite that lucky. It appears that she most likely has a torn ligament in the knee and will be back to the vet on Tuesday for a full examine of the knee and hips under sedation. If, they find it's a small tear we will have to keep her down and/or crated for 6-8 weeks while it heals. However, if it's more severe it will require surgery. UGH! Fortunately, when we got our dogs I took out pet insurance policies on both of them. Boy am I happy that we have insurance!!!! But, I'm very sad that our little Lexie has to go through this. She really is a tropper though.
I'll keep everyone posted on the results of her tests Tuesday.
Weight - 12.12 lbs
Length - 25 inches
She only gained a few ozs from last month, but seems to have grown 1 1/2 inches. Based on her weight I need to be buying her 3-6 month clothes, but based on her length, she is close to needing 6-9 month clothes. What is a mom to do?
Sorry I don't have updated photos to send along, but as soon as I receive them, I'll share.
Now that I've shared our good news about Lili, it's time to move on to the bad news about Lexie.
First of all, for those who have never met Lexie you have to understand that she is just like the little cartoon dog, Chester the terrier, who followed Spike the bulldog around. She is always moving twice the speed of Jada and is a jumper and when I say jumper I mean she can jump at least three feet off the floor and she's only about 17 inches tall. So, last week we noticed that she was pulling her rear right leg up and trying to avoid walking around on it. Although we are 99.9% sure she injured it while out running with Jada, we don't know exactly how the injury occured, but it is obvious that her leg is injured. We kept her down for several days and every day she would seem to be doing better and obviously her leg was feeling better because she would try to move around more. However, just about the time I thought she was on the mend she would end up slipping or move too quickly and up would come the leg and she would be back to sitting or laying down again. I took her to the vet this morning hoping to hear that she had a pulled muscle and we would head home with something to help her leg. We weren't quite that lucky. It appears that she most likely has a torn ligament in the knee and will be back to the vet on Tuesday for a full examine of the knee and hips under sedation. If, they find it's a small tear we will have to keep her down and/or crated for 6-8 weeks while it heals. However, if it's more severe it will require surgery. UGH! Fortunately, when we got our dogs I took out pet insurance policies on both of them. Boy am I happy that we have insurance!!!! But, I'm very sad that our little Lexie has to go through this. She really is a tropper though.
I'll keep everyone posted on the results of her tests Tuesday.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Another Step Forward
After being gone for several hours this afternoon and evening, I returned home to find a couple emails from our agency with some good news.
The social worker assigned by the Guatemala Family Court has completed her interview of our birth mom and our case is almost finished in Family Court. Yeah!!!!!!!
The other piece of good news is that our DNA test results were received on August 24th, not August 28th, so we're 4 days closer to receiving our Embassy pre-approval. Another, Yeah!!!!!!!
Now for the last piece of good news. We are due to arrive in Guatemala around 3:20 p.m. on October 4th and our foster mom is going to bring Lili to the hotel around 5:00 p.m. that same day. That's a big, YEAH!!!!!!!! I better make sure I have plenty of Kleenex in my purse when we arrive because I'm sure the tears will begin to flow when I see her for the first time.
This has been a good news report brought to you by Debbie.
The social worker assigned by the Guatemala Family Court has completed her interview of our birth mom and our case is almost finished in Family Court. Yeah!!!!!!!
The other piece of good news is that our DNA test results were received on August 24th, not August 28th, so we're 4 days closer to receiving our Embassy pre-approval. Another, Yeah!!!!!!!
Now for the last piece of good news. We are due to arrive in Guatemala around 3:20 p.m. on October 4th and our foster mom is going to bring Lili to the hotel around 5:00 p.m. that same day. That's a big, YEAH!!!!!!!! I better make sure I have plenty of Kleenex in my purse when we arrive because I'm sure the tears will begin to flow when I see her for the first time.
This has been a good news report brought to you by Debbie.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Visit Trip Plans
Liliana, here we come!!!!
We have officially made our reservations for our visit trip to Guatemala. Although we weren't able to visit during our anniversary as we had originally planned (a large convention is in Guatemala City during that time making hotel reservations difficult to come by), we are thrilled with the new arrangements. We will be leaving on October 4th for a week long stay in Guatemala. That is less than a month away :-) I got the official word from our agency that we'll be spending quite a bit of time with Lili during our trip so I'm obviously excited beyond words.
Also, by moving our trip up a month, we will get the opportunity to meet one of my very good Internet friends, her husband, and their little one face to face. After spending so much time trading emails, it will be nice to finally spend some time with one of my new friends.
During our trip we hope to visit other parts of Guatemala, especially Antigua. Over the next couple of weeks we should have more details regarding the time we'll be spending with Lili and can then put our other travel plans in place. Next month I should have a lot of information and photos to share with everyone, so stay tuned.
We have officially made our reservations for our visit trip to Guatemala. Although we weren't able to visit during our anniversary as we had originally planned (a large convention is in Guatemala City during that time making hotel reservations difficult to come by), we are thrilled with the new arrangements. We will be leaving on October 4th for a week long stay in Guatemala. That is less than a month away :-) I got the official word from our agency that we'll be spending quite a bit of time with Lili during our trip so I'm obviously excited beyond words.
Also, by moving our trip up a month, we will get the opportunity to meet one of my very good Internet friends, her husband, and their little one face to face. After spending so much time trading emails, it will be nice to finally spend some time with one of my new friends.
During our trip we hope to visit other parts of Guatemala, especially Antigua. Over the next couple of weeks we should have more details regarding the time we'll be spending with Lili and can then put our other travel plans in place. Next month I should have a lot of information and photos to share with everyone, so stay tuned.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Guatemala Adoption
Guatemala adoption is getting a lot of media attention these days. Unfortunately, most of the attention is negative and it is sometimes difficult to explain to people what we know to be true about Guatemala adoption versus what the media states.
The following article was shared by a member of one of the forums I follow. Although the writer tells of some personal experiences, they have done a wonderful job of explaining the various processes involved in adoption from Guatemala and expressing the need for reform of the current system.
International adoptions have made plenty of headlines lately, thanks mostly to cases involving celebrities such as Madonna and Angelina Jolie. However, international adoption has been around for many years. Different countries have different ways of regulating adoptions. Guatemala is often listed as having "corruption prone" adoptions.
There is, in all probability, some corruption in the Guatemalan model, but it is likely no worse there than in any other country, including our own. Because of the lack of a large middle class, and much racism toward indigenous peoples there, adoptions in-country are very rare — even the Guatemalan president’s daughter adopted from Eastern Europe.
However, Guatemala actually represents the “gold standard” in terms of adoptions and caring for orphaned children. China is implementing a foster care system patterned on Guatemala’s, because children do better with foster parents rather than in orphanages or other institutional settings.
One aspect that needs reform concerns how children become part of the system. Because of the high illiteracy rate in Guatemala, often buscadoras, or finders, are used to locate women who will relinquish their children for adoption. These finders are unregulated, and some are far from ethical. They need to be licensed and regulated by Guatemalan courts.
Guatemala’s adoption process is clearly delineated: After a successful home study and police and FBI background check, you get a spot on a waiting list with an agency, which may work with one or more attorneys who handle adoptions. Women relinquish care of their babies to attorneys, who then put them in private foster care or private hogars, or orphanages.
Many hogars operate with a high ratio of caregivers and provide excellent care; some fall well short of excellence. Prospective parents wait to receive a referral (a child available for adoption.) After the parents accept the referral, the adoption goes to Family Court. A social worker interviews the birth mother and foster mother and reviews the home study of the prospective parents. After court approval, the matter is referred to the attorney general’s office for a stringent review. They will kick out a case (issue a previo) even for a misspelled word. Sometimes, there is a real problem (such as an underage birth mother), but in the majority of cases, it is a simple misspelled word, an expired notary seal or other minor issue. The attorney gets the document corrected, resubmits it and the review begins anew. The steps are long and arduous — ask any of the parents who have been awaiting a final determination for months.
At any point in this process, up to her final sign-off, the biological mother can change her mind and take her child back. The most common time for this to happen is at the DNA test, which is usually the first time the biological mother has seen the child since she relinquished him or her.
A DNA test is required to establish that the woman relinquishing the child is indeed the biological mother and the child wasn’t stolen.
When our first referred child was DNA-tested, results showed that she was no biological kin to the woman who said she was her mother. The woman had hospital records ‘proving’ she gave birth to a baby girl the same age as this one. What happened? We don’t know and we won’t ever know. We tried to find out — we’d held that baby girl and loved her, and will always have a place in our hearts for her — but once the DNA test did not match, the Department of Minors took little Flor de Maria from her foster home, put her in an orphanage, halted the adoption and turned the "mother" over to the authorities.
When I hear stories of people adopting Eastern European children being told to bring up to $10,000 in crisp new bills to give to their facilitator once they land (with no knowledge of to whom this money is going), I wonder how the United States can be trying to push Guatemala toward a similar system.
People often will look at our daughter and ask, “How could her mother have given her away”? I always think of the story in the Bible about the two women, both claiming to be the mother. When the king said he’d solve the problem by cutting the child in half, the biological mother said that the other woman could have the baby, giving up her rights, to guarantee that her child could live. That is pretty much what anyone relinquishing a child for adoption goes through, I think. It is a huge loss for the mother, but, it is hoped, one made with love and with the wish for that child to have the best life possible, one that the biological parents cannot give, for whatever reason. In our country, most children available for adoption are relinquished because the parents aren’t ready to be parents.
In Guatemala, bone-crushing poverty is by far the most common motivation. About 75 to 80 percent of the people live in poverty, many in extreme poverty, and 21 percent of the people in Guatemala live on less than $1 a day. They have one of the highest fertility rates in the Americas and also one of the highest under 5 mortality rates. Illiteracy is rampant and education is expensive and out of reach of many. Clean water is a dream of which many are not even aware. Easily prevented diseases kill babies and children because of a lack of medical care. With adoption, mothers are able to dream for their children. They can dream of a better life for their children, a life where their children won’t be endangered by drinking the water, where their children have a chance at education, medical care and a safe environment.
We met our daughter’s birth mother this past summer, five years after she relinquished our child. Over and over, she told us how happy she was for the opportunities that our daughter will have in the United States, opportunities her other daughters still in Guatemala cannot imagine. When we sent a letter and photos to her last spring, she said she thanked God for us letting her know. When we met this past summer, she said it was something she had not dared even dream– that she would ever see her child again. I think that her knowing how our daughter is doing gave her great peace of mind. Because of her biological mother’s generosity and love, our daughter has the chance to reach her full potential.
It isn’t our place to say that people “should” or “shouldn’t” relinquish their children for adoption, but if it is their wish to provide more than they can themselves, it should remain their right. For many in Guatemala, it is their only hope.
We know first-hand that Guatemala has laws and that they work. Whatever the faults of the system, there are other problems I believe to be more pressing (slavery, medical needs and grinding poverty) that need to be addressed. U.S. policy shouldn't get between innocent children and opportunity.
The following article was shared by a member of one of the forums I follow. Although the writer tells of some personal experiences, they have done a wonderful job of explaining the various processes involved in adoption from Guatemala and expressing the need for reform of the current system.
International adoptions have made plenty of headlines lately, thanks mostly to cases involving celebrities such as Madonna and Angelina Jolie. However, international adoption has been around for many years. Different countries have different ways of regulating adoptions. Guatemala is often listed as having "corruption prone" adoptions.
There is, in all probability, some corruption in the Guatemalan model, but it is likely no worse there than in any other country, including our own. Because of the lack of a large middle class, and much racism toward indigenous peoples there, adoptions in-country are very rare — even the Guatemalan president’s daughter adopted from Eastern Europe.
However, Guatemala actually represents the “gold standard” in terms of adoptions and caring for orphaned children. China is implementing a foster care system patterned on Guatemala’s, because children do better with foster parents rather than in orphanages or other institutional settings.
One aspect that needs reform concerns how children become part of the system. Because of the high illiteracy rate in Guatemala, often buscadoras, or finders, are used to locate women who will relinquish their children for adoption. These finders are unregulated, and some are far from ethical. They need to be licensed and regulated by Guatemalan courts.
Guatemala’s adoption process is clearly delineated: After a successful home study and police and FBI background check, you get a spot on a waiting list with an agency, which may work with one or more attorneys who handle adoptions. Women relinquish care of their babies to attorneys, who then put them in private foster care or private hogars, or orphanages.
Many hogars operate with a high ratio of caregivers and provide excellent care; some fall well short of excellence. Prospective parents wait to receive a referral (a child available for adoption.) After the parents accept the referral, the adoption goes to Family Court. A social worker interviews the birth mother and foster mother and reviews the home study of the prospective parents. After court approval, the matter is referred to the attorney general’s office for a stringent review. They will kick out a case (issue a previo) even for a misspelled word. Sometimes, there is a real problem (such as an underage birth mother), but in the majority of cases, it is a simple misspelled word, an expired notary seal or other minor issue. The attorney gets the document corrected, resubmits it and the review begins anew. The steps are long and arduous — ask any of the parents who have been awaiting a final determination for months.
At any point in this process, up to her final sign-off, the biological mother can change her mind and take her child back. The most common time for this to happen is at the DNA test, which is usually the first time the biological mother has seen the child since she relinquished him or her.
A DNA test is required to establish that the woman relinquishing the child is indeed the biological mother and the child wasn’t stolen.
When our first referred child was DNA-tested, results showed that she was no biological kin to the woman who said she was her mother. The woman had hospital records ‘proving’ she gave birth to a baby girl the same age as this one. What happened? We don’t know and we won’t ever know. We tried to find out — we’d held that baby girl and loved her, and will always have a place in our hearts for her — but once the DNA test did not match, the Department of Minors took little Flor de Maria from her foster home, put her in an orphanage, halted the adoption and turned the "mother" over to the authorities.
When I hear stories of people adopting Eastern European children being told to bring up to $10,000 in crisp new bills to give to their facilitator once they land (with no knowledge of to whom this money is going), I wonder how the United States can be trying to push Guatemala toward a similar system.
People often will look at our daughter and ask, “How could her mother have given her away”? I always think of the story in the Bible about the two women, both claiming to be the mother. When the king said he’d solve the problem by cutting the child in half, the biological mother said that the other woman could have the baby, giving up her rights, to guarantee that her child could live. That is pretty much what anyone relinquishing a child for adoption goes through, I think. It is a huge loss for the mother, but, it is hoped, one made with love and with the wish for that child to have the best life possible, one that the biological parents cannot give, for whatever reason. In our country, most children available for adoption are relinquished because the parents aren’t ready to be parents.
In Guatemala, bone-crushing poverty is by far the most common motivation. About 75 to 80 percent of the people live in poverty, many in extreme poverty, and 21 percent of the people in Guatemala live on less than $1 a day. They have one of the highest fertility rates in the Americas and also one of the highest under 5 mortality rates. Illiteracy is rampant and education is expensive and out of reach of many. Clean water is a dream of which many are not even aware. Easily prevented diseases kill babies and children because of a lack of medical care. With adoption, mothers are able to dream for their children. They can dream of a better life for their children, a life where their children won’t be endangered by drinking the water, where their children have a chance at education, medical care and a safe environment.
We met our daughter’s birth mother this past summer, five years after she relinquished our child. Over and over, she told us how happy she was for the opportunities that our daughter will have in the United States, opportunities her other daughters still in Guatemala cannot imagine. When we sent a letter and photos to her last spring, she said she thanked God for us letting her know. When we met this past summer, she said it was something she had not dared even dream– that she would ever see her child again. I think that her knowing how our daughter is doing gave her great peace of mind. Because of her biological mother’s generosity and love, our daughter has the chance to reach her full potential.
It isn’t our place to say that people “should” or “shouldn’t” relinquish their children for adoption, but if it is their wish to provide more than they can themselves, it should remain their right. For many in Guatemala, it is their only hope.
We know first-hand that Guatemala has laws and that they work. Whatever the faults of the system, there are other problems I believe to be more pressing (slavery, medical needs and grinding poverty) that need to be addressed. U.S. policy shouldn't get between innocent children and opportunity.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
A Trip to the Windy City - Chicago
Dave and I always look forward to making a trip to Chicago and this weekend was no exception. The weather was gorgeous, shopping was good, and the food was wonderful. The fact that we were able to share our weekend with some family from out of state, made the trip even more special. Here are some of the highlights from our trip.
Day 1 - After checking into our hotel we headed out to Navy Pier where we enjoyed watching the Cirque Shanghai show. It was an amazing, but a little tense for me at times. Regardless, of the fact that I had to close my eyes a couple times, it was well worth the money.
Following the show we took a speed boat tour up and down Lake Michigan. The water was sparkling, the sky was clear blue and all we had to do was sit back and relax while we sped along the lake with the wind rushing through our hair. Too bad the ride is only 30 minutes. We've decided it's probably time to make some boating friends. We're willing to begin conducting interviews with anyone who cares to apply for the position of "Boat Owner Friend."
Cooled off from the boat ride, it was time to head to Michigan Ave for some shopping. Because we didn't have much time before our dinner reservation, we were only able to complete our shopping warm-up.
If you're ever in Chicago, we would recommend dinner at Weber Grill. Although we had reservations, it took them a little over 15 minutes to seat us, but they went out of their way to apologize by giving us two appetizers on the house. We had wonderful service and great meals. We'll visit Weber Grill next time we're in the Windy City for sure.
Day 2 - Out of all the museums I've ever visited, the Museum of Science and Industry is my favorite thus far. We were only there for 4 hours, which was not enough time to see everything, but what we saw was fascinating and we had a lot of fun.
Because we were only able to complete our shopping warm-up on Day 1, it was time to head back to Michigan Ave for some more serious shopping and a trip to the Cheesecake Factory for some dessert. So much for the diet, but we were on 'vacation.'
We finished our day with dinner at Harry Carey's before heading back to the hotel to relax before bed.
It was a nice little trip and I highly recommend that everyone visit Chicago at least once in their lifetime. It is a great city!
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