JCICS Update

Thanks to all the families, family members, and friends who contacted their Representatives regarding adoptions from Guatemala, we received over 200 signatures on letters being sent to President Berger in Guatemala and representatives from UNICEF.

Here is the latest information from JCICS in regards to our efforts:

Through our collective efforts, the Guatemala 5000 Initiative has resulted in 203 Members of the United States Congress supporting the completion of all in-process adoptions via their signature on letters being sent today, October 31, 2007 to Guatemalan President Oscar Berger, UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman and UNICEF Guatemala Director Manuel Manrique. The 203 Senators and Representatives represent the largest number in the 22 year history of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption and the first time the Coalition has addressed UNICEF.
Joint Council thanks the thousands of adoptive families and their friends who made calls, sent faxes and emailed their Congressional representatives. We also extend our considerable appreciation for the efforts of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute for their tireless efforts, to the National Council for Adoption for their support and to the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Coalition, Senator Mary Landrieu, Senator Norm Coleman, Congressman James Oberstar and Congresswoman Ginny Brown-Waite for their vital leadership.
The text of the letters along with all signatories will be available on Friday, November 30 2007 on both the Joint Council and CCAI websites. It is our continued hope that these letters will result in the development of a legal, transparent and expeditious process by which the thousands of children currently in Guatemalan orphanages and foster-care will find their permanent, safe and loving family.
As we have stated many times, Joint Council will continue our advocacy on behalf of the Guatemalan children until each child needing a family has found one.

10/29
In an effort to address the current Guatemalan adoption crisis, the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption, Senators Norm Coleman (R-MN) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) today sent two separate letters – one to Guatemalan President, Oscar Berger, and one to the leadership of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) - to encourage an interim measure for pending adoption applications. To read the official press release from Senators Coleman and Landrieu, please click here.

Six Months

Today Lili turns 6 months old. Although I know she is being loved and well cared for, it is still sad to know that we've already missed the first six months of her life. On the other hand, it makes those five days we were able to spend with her even more special.


So, happy birthday precious Lili. Mommy and daddy will be back soon.

Here's to Making New Friends

From the time Dave and I decided to pursue a Guatemalan adoption, we made it a goal to find other families in the Central Illinois area who had also adopted from Guatemala. Not only did we want our daughter to be around other families that look like ours, but we wanted to provide her with opportunity to stay connected to her birth country. We felt that one way we could do that was by establishing relationships with other families who had also adopted from Guatemala, therefore, allowing her that opportunity to eventually develop friendships with other children also adopted from Guatemala. So, once we started our adoption paperwork, I immediately started my search and was quickly introduced to a local Latin American Heritage group in the area. We attended our first get together shortly after the 1st of the year and it was wonderful meeting and getting to know other families in the area. Since that first meeting, I've continued to be pro-active in coordinating get togethers every 2-3 months and trying to find other Central Illinois families who have or are adopting from Latin American countries. So far my efforts have paid off and we've added about a dozen new families over the last 7-8 months. Not only is it a great feeling to know that Lili will come home and immediately have the opportunity to spend time with other children from Guatemala, but the bonus for me has been the friendships that I've personally established as a result.

Our next event is scheduled for tomorrow and we're doing something that I absolutely loved as a kid. We're having a wiener roast!!! The rainy weather over the last couple of days had me a little concerned that we might get rained out, but now the sun is shining and tomorrow is predicted to be a picture perfect wiener roasting kind of day :-)

So, to all you parents out there who have or are adopting, I strongly encourage you to find a group you can connect with, not just for the sake of your children, but for the support and adult friendships you may make along the way.

Want to Know What Kind of Shoe You Are?

While scanning through my daily groups and forums, I came across this little quiz called, "What Type of Shoe Are You?" I couldn't resist so I took the quiz and here are my results.



You’re a Fun Flip-Flop! Much like the flip-flop, you’re laid-back, casual, and comfortably chic in style and substance. Always ready to head out on the fly, you have a grab-and-go approach for everyday excursions yet never disappoint when it comes to whipping up fashionable alternatives for snappier occasions. In all, your life’s-a-beach outlook keeps you prepared for fun in the sun—whether it’s sandal season or not.

TAKE THE QUIZ

SEE ALL PRODUCT MATCHES

I'd have to say this pretty much describes who I am. I'm a flip-flop!


Click on the link above to find out what kind of shoe you are. After all, who doesn't want to know what kind of shoe they are?!!!


Also, if you would like to share, please post your results in comments.

Time For the Monthly Update

Every month Lili's foster mom takes her to the doctor for her measurements and to make sure she is developing normally. Our agency translates the doctor's report from Spanish to English and then send us the report. We received her September report in the mail today and Lili's stats as of Sept. 28 are as follows:

Weight: 13 lbs 8 ozs
Length: 25.75 inches

She sits up with help, she rolls over, she laughs. She is presently enjoying complete health.

Although she only gained 10 ozs and 3/4 of an inch from August to September, she is still growing and her foster mom told us that they were going to start her on solid foods this month. Therefore, we are expecting her next medical report to show a more significant weight gain.

We know from visiting that she is definitely healthy and developing well, so no worries!

The Thrill of Living in a Rural Area

This post will have absolutely nothing to do with adoption or Lili or any of my family members at all. Instead I'm going to talk about a little incident that happened this past Thursday night.

While driving home on a Central Illinois country road, I came over a small hill and there in the middle of my lane was a skunk. I had two choices to make:

1) Try to avoid the skunk, which would have most certainly caused me to wreck my van.
2) Hit the skunk, which would most certainly cause a terrible stinch in my van.

I chose #2, but may have opted for #1 if my insurance deductible wasn't $500.

Wow! Will the smell ever go away? I kept my van windows open all weekend to air it out, but the smell is still there. It's just this constant reminder of how I took the life of an innocent creature, just minding his/her own business on a Thursday night.

The sad thing is that this isn't the first skunk I've ever hit. Several years ago a skunk ran from the tall grass into my lane and under my front tire. What's even more ironic is that my sister and I had just been talking about how terrible it is to hit animals and I had said that hitting a skunk is the worst. I will never again have that discussion with anyone!

If someone out there has suggestions on how I can get rid of the smell, please let me know. And to Mr/Ms Skunk, sorry!

Visiting Antigua

While the majority of our visit trip was spent with Liliana, we decided early in the planning stages of our trip to spend an extra day in Guatemala after Lili went back to her foster mom so we could see other parts of Guatemala. Okay, I admit that it was also to give me an extra day to dry my tears before boarding the plane for home and I must say we made a good decision to stay the additional day. Not just because the extra day helped me emotionally, but because we visited the beautiful city of Antigua. What a great experience to walk along the original cobblestone streets and to see buildings built in the 1500's, although many had been severely damaged from earthquakes in the past. Still, you can easily picture what Antigua looked liked so many years ago. I highly recommend a visit to Antigua for anyone that goes to Guatemala. I don't think you'll regret it.

Here are a few of the sites we saw on our trip.

More Visit Trip Info

Handing Lili back to her foster mom on the Tuesday of our visit trip was very hard to do. However, her foster mom was so wonderful during my good-bye to Lili. She knew how much my heart was breaking and showed tremendous compassion. Earlier in the week, we had the opportunity to treat our foster family to dinner and during that visit our foster mom told us she understood how difficult it was going to be for us to leave Lili in Guatemala, but that when we come back to pick her up and take her home, it will be very hard for her. I think about Lili's foster mom often and while it is 'so hard' not having Lili home with us, when I cry because I'm missing Lili, I also cry for her foster mom knowing that she too will one day be shedding tears from missing Lili so much. She and I will forever share a bond as women and mothers who both love Lili very deeply.

Of course I'm sure you can all tell from these pictures, why Lili is so easy to love.

Now I've Been Tagged

Jobs I have had: past tense
1) Waitress
2) Teacher's asst. for Primary Multiply Impaired students
3) Administrative Asst
4) Call Center Rep

Places I have lived:
1) Tacoma, WA
2) Thousand Oaks, CA
3) Morton, IL
4) Delavan, IL

Food I love:
1) Mexican
2) Thai
3) Indian
4) Italian

Places I would rather be:
1) Guatemala
2) Hawaii
3) On a cruise
4) On a beach just about anywhere

Movies I love:
1) Sleepless In Seattle
2) Dirty Dancing
3) Erin Brockovich
4) The Borne movies

TV Shows I Watch:
1) Dancing with the Stars
2) American Idol
3) Ellen
4) Today Show

Books I Love:
1) Not much of a reader, but am reading Barack Obama's books right now
2) Have also read several adoption related books
3) Will have to read Adoption Nation now that Nora has recommended it

I'm tagging Polanks. You're it!

Early Morning Post

The excitement over being in PGN continues this morning. I could have never imagined feeling so many different emotions going through this process and every one is worth it. After all, who can resist this face!

And yes, for those wondering, I rarely put her down.

We're Finally in PGN

This is basically the last step on the Guatemala government side of the process. Once we're out of PGN, Lili's birth mom will need to sign off one last time and she will legally be ours. This is an exciting step in the process and I hope everyone will pray, send good vibes, cross your fingers, etc. that we can get through PGN without any major delays and hopefully without any previos (kick outs).

Some Good News from Guatemala

For those of you who have been reading my blog already know, there has been a lot going on regarding the Hague Treaty and the Ortega Law recently passed by the Guatemalan Congress which seems to have put all adoption cases at risk as of January 1, 2008. Today, Guatadopt posted the following information:

Grandfathering in cases....the intent is "official"

President Berger publicly confirmed the intent to grandfather current cases (I assume this means the 3700 cases that are REGISTERED). The Guatemalan press reported this with a statement by Berger:

"I have never said that I want to stop adoptions. What my government wants is full respect for the legislation that is about to be approved and full compliance with the Hague (Convention)."

The Guatemalan Press also reported the following:

Congressman Rolando Morales, one of the proponents of the new legislation, said that the intention with the pending adoptions is a full review to verify the identity of the woman that is relinquishing the rights on the child, that she is the natural mother, and that the child is given for adoption without coercion, and verify that the child was not abducted (stolen babies). Morales also mentioned that the final version of the new Adoption Law which will be published in the following weeks will not affect the almost 3,700 processes in the pipeline.

These changes (even if they delay the process a few days) are in the best interest of everyone in the process, specifically our main concern, the children.

Fortunately, the U.S. already requires DNA testing be completed at the beginning of the process to determine that the mother relinquishing the child is in fact the biological mother and a 2nd DNA test is required to verify that no switching of babies took place during the process. The social worker interview that is conducted during the process is in place to help determine that the bio mother was not coerced into relinquishing her child. Therefore, steps are already in place on both the U.S. and Guatemala side to address these concerns.

We are feeling more hope now that our case will continue to be processed and Lili will come home.

Lili's Post

Here are some more pictures of me.

Poppa says I look Italian in this picture. Apparently it has something to do with the way I'm holding my hand.

I really liked after bath time. In the evenings mommy would put my jammies on me, then daddy would put some music on and mommy and I would dance around the room. I love music and dancing with mommy.

Check back for more updates later.

JCICS Update

For those of you who have participated in the Guatemala 5000 Initiative, thank you. Our voices have been heard and while there is still progress to be made, there have been some positive outcomes as well. Here is the latest information from JCICS regarding our efforts.

10/15
Since Joint Council's call to action on September 27th, thousands of adoptive parents along with Joint Council Member Organizations, our colleagues at the National Council for Adoption, Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute, Adoptive Families magazine and the public at large have lent their support to the Guatemala 5000 initiative. We are pleased to provide you with the attached summary update including our most recent direct communications with the Office of Guatemalan President Oscar Berger. On behalf of the children we serve, our heartfelt thanks to all who have contributed to the collective effort. Please know that Joint Council will continue to update you on our ongoing efforts and all pertinent developments. As events unfold, we may be calling upon the entire community for support and action. Lastly, please know that Joint Council will continue the Guatemala 5000 initiative until all children referred with adoptive parents have joined their forever family.

Part III of Visit Trip

Since it's getting late, this will be a quick post regarding our trip.

When Lili would wake up from her sleep, she would fuss a bit to get our attention and if we didn't respond right away, the cry would come. However, the second we would peek over the side of her crib she would immediately flash us one of those adorable smiles and her arms would raise and of course I couldn't resist immediately picking her up to smother her with kisses.

Those moments are some that I miss the most right now and can't wait until she is finally home so I can see that beautiful smile and kiss those cute little cheeks everyday.

More About Our Trip

Here's Part II of our visit trip post.

On the first day of our trip, we left Chicago at 6:00 a.m. via Ft. Lauderdale with about 4 hour lay over before flying to Guatemala. Our flight left Ft. Lauderdale on time and was due to land in Guatemala City at 3:26 p.m., however, we circled the airport several times before finally landing a little after 4:00 p.m. Since I knew our foster family was bringing Liliana to us at 5:00, I was getting pretty anxious to land, get through customs, and get our luggage. Getting through customs was a breeze, but then we had to wait for our luggage. We did arrive at the hotel about 10 minutes before 5:00 and were checked in an in our room at 5:00. The bellman took our bags up for us and began showing us everything in the room when the phone rang. It was our foster mom's daughter letting us know they were in the lobby. I almost physically kicked the bellman out of our room and ran to the elevator. The excitement was almost more than I could stand and when we spotted them in the lobby and they handed Lili to me, all the emotions I had been experiencing for the last few months quickly ran to the surface and the tears started. Of course I hadn't brought any tissue with me because I wasn't expecting to begin crying. Fortunately, Lili's foster mom quickly made me feel comfortable and we sat in the lobby visiting while Dave and I passed her back and forth between us. Lili just smiled the whole time.

About a 1/2 hour later the 3 of us headed to our room and the phone rang again. It was my friend Nicole checking in. After several months of emailing and calling each other, we discovered that we were on the same floor and only a few doors apart from each other. A few minutes later Josh and Nicole and their little guy Sergio, were at our door and we headed downstairs to dinner. Sitting down enjoying dinner and conversation with our new friends while enjoying our baby girl is a memory we will forever hold dear.

That's enough trip information for now as I know you are all anxiously awaiting more pictures of Lili. So, here she is!

Home Again

Sorry for the long delay in getting information out to everyone, but I was too busy enjoying Lili to do any blogging in Guatemala and have been very busy (and tired), since getting home in the wee morning hours Friday. Now I'm going to do my best to fill you in on our trip and get some photos posted.

First of all, we knew how precious Lili was from her pictures, but had no idea how much more precious she would be in person. She is beautiful and has the best personality. I don't think we could have hand picked a better fit for our family. She is so happy and is one busy little girl who enjoys being on the go. Her idea of a good time was 'not' sitting in the hotel room with mommy and daddy for hours on end, so we spent a fair amount of time walking around the hotel, sitting by (or in) the pool, or hanging out in the kid's room at the Westin. It was one of the most amazing 5 days of my life and I miss her so much, but know she is being loved and well cared for by her foster family.

Speaking of her foster family, we did get to spend some time with them on this visit as well. Her foster mom, Sheny, is amazing. I have no doubt she loves Lili as much as we do, even though she knows that she will one day have to hand her to us forever. She is a strong and beautiful woman who has my utmost love and respect.

We also got to spend time with Sheny's children. They are wonderful as well and it is very obvious how much they also love Lili. She is a little sister to them and I know it is going to be very hard for them to say good-bye. Dave and I will do our very best to make sure Lili continues to be part of their lives, even though it may be primarily through emails, letters, and photos.

During our trip we were able to finally meet some email friends. Here's a shout out to Josh and Nicole as well as to Greg and Cammie. They are also adopting very precious babies and it's nice being able to share our journey's together.

I'll post more information about our trip over the next few days, but wanted to get some pictures posted as I'm sure that's what you have all been waiting for.

Mommy sure does love her baby girl!!!!

So does daddy!

What a cutie!

Keeping watching for additional trip information and photos.

One Last Note Before We Go

It's hard to believe that almost 10 months ago we began our journey of adoption. Now, at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, we will be taking off on our flight to Guatemala City, via Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Due to the events of the past week, I leave on this trip with guarded excitement, but I'm sure once I see Lili's cute little face, total excitement will take over my being.

We will have some computer access while we're gone, but I have no idea if time will permit me to do any blogging. I have a feeling I might be busy :-) Don't worry though, when we return I'll have plenty to blog about and thousands of pictures to share.

In the meantime, I am still asking everyone to do what that can to support Guatemala 5000. You can read more information at http://www.jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm and/or read my blog entry from September 27th. Dave, Lili, and I thank you for your support.

Adios!

Fun and Touching

The last week has been stressful with all the news coming from Guatemala so I though it would be fun to post a short video clip. Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/774922/great_shadow_puppetry/