I'm Coming Home Soon!

More good news... the DNA sample was taken, and I expect that the lab will begin processing the test next week!!!! I'm hoping it only takes a week (the test can take anywhere from a few days to 10 days, from what I understand), and that the results are back in the hands of the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala by early in the week of Feb. 25. I also got new pictures today of sweet Izzie. She is the cutest ever, even when she is looking wistful and perhaps even a bit sad, as in this little picture. I still am pinching myself over and over that this wonderfully sweet-natured, beautiful baby girl is my daughter!

Anaranjado!

More exciting news to report. As of now, I am officially, legally, wonderfully, and HAPPILY Mary Isabela's mommy!!!! I got a call from my agency last night and Izzie now has a modified birth certificate and Guatemalan passport with my last name on it. The final adoption decree has been issued. And the U.S. Embassy has authorized the final DNA test, a test that will compare Izzie's DNA with the sample that was taken when she was just a few months old. The sample (using a cotton swab on her cheek) will be taken by a U.S.-approved embassy doctor, likely by week's end. Then the sample will be sent to a U.S. lab for testing, and the results will be overnighted back to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala. From there, embassy officials review the results and then make an appointment for me and Izzie to be at the embassy, so she can receive her U.S. Visa to travel into the U.S.!!!! We really are on the home stretch. Hallelujah! We still won't know when we'll travel (until we get the e-mail from the U.S. Embassy telling us when our appointment is) but it could very well be the week of March 10!!!

Oh, and anaranjado is "orange" which is what is referred to for DNA Authorization. When we get our embassy appointment, that's rosado "pink."

It is really time to get all the last-minute stuff done on my list. Izzie will be home soon!

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Did You Hear The Good News?

We're OUT!

Finally, after about 125 days, PGN put its stamp of approval on Izzie's adoption. Her family -- mommy, Griffin, Papa, Grams, Uncle Todd, and Gabby the Pup -- are overjoyed.

In about six to eight weeks (maybe a tad longer, maybe a tad less), we'll be traveling to Guatemala to bring our sweet Mary Isabela home!!!

International adpotion according to...

John Stossel. And he's GOT IT RIGHT!

Okay, in full disclosure, I don't always ultimately agree with Mr. Stossel, but I generally do find myself impressed with the arguments he makes. He often offers up a compelling case on a variety of topics.

But here, with regards to international adoption and in particular, adoption in Guatemala, Mr. Stossel hit the proverbial nail on the head. Here are just a few pointed snippets from his op-ed:

... a UNICEF representative who huffed to The New York Times that adoption "has become a business instead of a social service."
Oh, yes, everyone loves "social service." But when adoption was a government-run social service in Guatemala, the results were disastrous.

and this:

Guatemala is one of the more corrupt nations in the world, 111th out of 179 countries, says Transparency International.
Even if the new bureaucracy isn't corrupt, there's little chance it will process adoptions as quickly as the brokers did because without profit, it has no incentive to move the kids through the cumbersome adoption process. When other countries have put adoption in government hands, adoptions slowed or stopped. Paraguay went from sending more than 400 kids to the U.S. in 1996 to sending zero in 2006.
That's a tragedy.

To read the op-ed in its entirety, go here.

Take that, Unicef!!!!

Small Joys

I've said before that life with my dear sweet Griffin is what's shored up my fragile sanity during this adoption process. Here are just two small examples of how:

Last week, I suggested we go to Bowling Night, which was being sponsored at the local bowling alley by his school. Now Griffin has never been bowling in his life, but that didn't curb his enthusiasm. After numerous yelps of joy, my son hopped up and down in a circle, blowing kisses over and over and over. I asked, "What are you doing?" His response: "I'm kissing my life!"

Fast foward to today, when I picked him up from school. Here's a snippet of our conversation about our puppy, Gabby, the mixed-up black lab who we think has a lot of cocker spaniel in her blood.
Griffin: "Why doesn't Gabby look like us?"
Me: "Because she's a puppy and puppies don't look like people."
Griffin: "Why didn't God make puppies look like people?"
Me: "God made us all look different. That's what makes life interesting. Imagine if everyone and everything looked the same. Or there was only one color. What if everything was the same color? Wouldn't that be boring?"
Griffin: "Yeah. What if everything was black."
Me: "Yeah, that would be boring. And dark. Our house would be black, the grass would be black. The flowers, our car, the sky. Everything."
Griffin: "Yeah. That wouldn't be good. EVEN IF BLACK IS SO TRENDY."

Turning Blue

It is hard holding your breath for 3-plus months. But that is what I feel like I've been doing. Ever since I got to hold her sweetness and hear her laugh and snuggle up with her in October, I've been holding my breath, waiting to bring her home.

Of course, I do get the requisite breaths needed to sustain life, but honestly, I'm not really breathing...

So I'm tossing up a prayer that we'll soon get Izzie home. I want to hear that we've gotten PGN approval. Then I want to hear that the final decree has been issued, and that the birth certificate and new passport have been completed. Then, that the DNA test has been conducted and processed and then that the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala has received the results and given us a Visa appointment date. I would like that date to be in March, or sooner!!

I would like all this so I can breathe. And so that I can hold her sweetness again and forever.

The View of The Room

Maybe because I'm feeling more optimistic (and because some posters on an adoption thread started a discussion about what their babies' rooms look like), I thought I'd post a pic of my kids' room.

There's still work to be done, but it's nearly complete. We even hung a sweet chandelier in the alcove where Izzie's changing table/dresser is (you can't see it in this picture). And I still have some artwork to hang in there. But I really like it. It is cheerful -- a mish-mash of bright colors: hot pink, yellow, orange, red, sea blue, blue, lime green -- that I think mesh well together but give each child their own personal area.

They will be sharing a space for sleeping and keeping clothes in, but the playroom is upstairs. Of course, I suspect there will be many a night in which one or more of the kids will end up in my bed. Griffin still does on occasion, and sometimes for a treat on a weekend night he gets to fall asleep in my bed with me, as we watch HGTV. I do plan to co-sleep with Izzie if it helps with her attachment and adjustment. I co-slept with Griffin and am a big attachment parenting fan. There has been some good news from Guatemala... it looks like they are making progress on setting up this Central Authority. And I am still seeing cases being approved by PGN so I suppose they are doing some work. But there's still a lot of questions to be answered.

On a sad note, my dear friend lost her mother this week. I attended the funeral on Tuesday, and it was a lovely service for a lovely, beautiful woman. I am praying for the family, especially for my friend's father (he and his beloved wife were married for 60 years!), and for my friend who will miss her sweet mother so much.

peace,
Beth

In The New Year

It is 2008, and lots will happen. Izzie will come home, I truly believe. And I'm hoping sooner than later. Griffin turns six! Now that is amazing. My dear friend Amy will have her third child. We'll elect a new president! And so much more... It will be a very good year, I believe.
Izzie's file was resubmitted Dec. 20th, thank God. I found out the same time rumors were swirling that since the new law took effect (Dec. 31) PGN was no longer accepting new cases nor allowing current cases to be resubmitted after they were kicked out. There are plenty of questions remaining about the process of grandfathering, but apparently we are supposed to hear some news this week (more rumors, but I'm crossing my fingers!)
This has to be quick update, as I've got tons to do today. Izzie never leaves my thoughts, and this wait to bring her home is definitely taxing my emotions. But the sweet Griffin boy constantly rejuvenates me, as does the support of my amazing parents, brother, and friends.
Here's to 2008!

Tears

I got word this morning that once again, our file has been kicked out of PGN. The reasons are completely absurd, and are easily fixed, according to my agency. But they will take some time, and it will be a miracle if we can get the new requests from PGN taken care of before the new year. I am so sad. Beyond words. Now, I just am praying that Izzie will be home before her first birthday.

I will post more later, but for now, my heart is too heavy.

Good News...

We are back in PGN, which means that once again our file will move along in the process. Hopefully this time instead of another kick-out the next bit of news will be approval!!!
Also, there's been rumblings of movement among the Guatemalan Congress, which seems to be searching for a better solution than to enact a law that in effect may very well stop adoptions on Jan. 1, 2008... including in-process cases such as mine. We are cautiously optimistic.

peace,
Beth

The Dream Team

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The Spook With No Face!

Look what was scarying everyone and everything on Halloween in Wilmington! Chills... spooky... eek... ahhhhhh... RUN!

Griffin was quite the scary ghoul. He proudly went around knocking on doors trying to scare everyone. Of course, his sweet heart wouldn't allow for endless scares. After their initial fright, he'd quickly peel off his mask to show them that really, he wasn't a ghoul but a Griffin!

I love my boy.

She's All That!

The Amazing Izzie. She really is. My mom and I fell in love with her precious heart. She really is the sweetest, gentlest, loving-est, cutest, beautiful-est, cuddliest, darling-est baby girl ever! Our visit in Guatemala with Mary Isabela was perfect (except of course we had to say goodbye.) She did really well considering she had to stay in a hotel room for three days with two complete strangers... who of course are her mommy and her abuela who love her so so so so much. At first she wasn't sure she wanted us to give her a bottle, and the foster mother (who is great!) was worried Izzie might not drink her bottle. She wouldn't look at me when I gave her the bottle, and would slowly drink it down. By the middle of the second day though she started to trust us, and by the third day all was well. She slept with me in the big bed, after my three unsuccesful attempts the first night to get her to sleep in the crib. Trouble is, I'm so short that I could not lay her down in the crib very easily (this was a very simple hotel crib and the sides did not come down). Three times poor Izzie would be sound asleep in my arms and then I'd go try and lay her in the crib, and it was pretty much gentle, gentle, gentle... then almost a free-fall! the last six inches as I tried desperately to lay her down as softly as I could manage. She'd of course wake up, eyes frantically looking around to find out who rudely awakened her from her slumber, then pucker up her sweet bow of a mouth into a big cry. I told my mom, enough is enough. I'm a veteran co-sleeper (Griffie slept with me for his first few years) and so we pushed the bed up against the wall, took all the big blankets off and she laid next to me and slept so sweetly. I actually loved the opportunity as I think it was a great way for us to bond.
I told my mom that for Izzie, it was probably a bit like a baby spa... three days of two ladies attending to her every want and need, holding her all the time, playing with her, fully focused on her, talking to her. For us it was heaven.

BUT

Leaving her in Guatemala was very, very hard, and it makes the wait now seem even harder. Especially since today I got bad news: we got a previo this week from PGN, which means that our file was kicked out. In our case, it was for a minor technicality. Apparently PGN didn't think the photocopy of the birthmother's birth certificate was dark enough so they kicked the file out. UGH!!! Now our attorneys have to go back to the province where the birthmother is from to get a new (darker) photocopy of the birthmother's birth certificate because it has to be stamped from the powers-that-be in that province. This is on the West coast of Guatemala, so they have to drive several hours to take care of this. Hopefully we will get resubmitted to PGN early next week. Needless to say, this delays our case because typically your case is going to take at least 8 weeks to get through PGN, and every time you get a previo, that 8-week countdown starts over. With the Christmas holidays coming up, it is now very likely that we won't get approval from PGN before the new year. That is not good news.

Please keep us in your prayers.

Two Days! Too Excited!

I can hardly work. I can't believe in two days I will finally get to meet in person her sweetness. I have a ton of things to do between now and the flight early Friday morning, but the only stuff I want to do is that which is related to our trip to see Izzie. Writing stories about RFID is very challenging at the moment.

Of course I have the typical angst of leaving my precious Griffin, and every time I think about leaving him tears well up in my eyes. I am such a wuss. But I love him to the moon and back and around the world a million, million, million, million times, and more than that even! I wish he could come with me and my mom, but he (and my dad and mom) will make the trip to bring Izzie home, hopefully in December.

Please keep us in your prayers that we have a safe journey, and that the ongoing adoption crisis in Guatemala resolves, and that Izzie and the thousands of other babies can join their forever families.

Adios. I'll post new pics when we return.

The Final Review

I've gotten word that our file is now in the hands of PGN, the Procuraduria General de la Nacion. PGN is the Guatemalan agency that will review all the paperwork on me, Izzie, and her birth mother (we've already been reviewed by the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, and the Guatemalan Family Court). Word is that PGN is averaging about two months, if you have no kickouts (the so-called previos). Those are given when the PGN reviwer doesn't like something he or she sees in the file. If there's a kickout, the attorneys have to fix the issue, the resubmit the file, where it starts again at the beginning of the queue. And the average two-month clock starts ticking again.

So, our file was submitted on Oct. 5. Two months from now will be Dec. 5 -- my birthday. What a grand birthday present it would be to receive PGN approval. Of course, I'd love to get an early birthday present!

In the near-term, my mother and I are headed to meet Izzie in less than two weeks!

Peace,
Beth

Time

Really, where does the time go? Griffin started kindergarten the last week of August, and it has been unbelievably non-stop busy since.

He has homework every night. He is learning so quickly. He walks around the house all the time talking about letters and letter sounds and words and numbers and shapes. He loves it.


Izzie's adoption continues to move along, and we continue to receive new pics, new videos, and doctor reports. She is amazing and beautiful and precious. She is five months old now. On Sept. 24, we got pre-approval (PA) from the U.S. government, which basically is their approval that we can adopt this specific bundle of love... Mary Isabela. Now, we will wait for the Guatemalan government to give us approval.

But back to time. Apparently now, time is running out. Guatemalan President Berger is threatening to make changes to the adoption process, to take effect Jan. 1, 2008, that could very will put a stop to all adoptions between Guatemala and the U.S., including ours. It is unbelievably scary. Forces are at work to try and change this. There are many fighting the cause. Because if Berger has his way, thousands of children, including Izzie, would end up in limbo because they have already been relinquished by their birth parents and are waiting to join their forever families. And the Guatemalan government has no money or resources to care for these children. And thousands more will never have the opportunity to find forever families if adoptions shut down. It is indeed very tragic, both for us personally and for humanity. Please pray, or chant, or yell, or meditate, or dance, or whatever method you choose to help prevent this from happening. And if you can, go to these two links and do some more:

Petition

Guatemala 5000 Initiative

Finally, I'll leave you with a sweet Izzie smile.


Peace,
Beth

Izzie Visit

We are planning to visit her sweetness in October, and I can't wait! She is growing and changing so fast, reflected in a new batch of photos we received just the other day. My mom is planning to go with me, and while I'd love to go for a week, we'll probably only go for a few days. I want to save up as much time off to spend with Izzie when we're able to bring her home forever! Anyway, isn't she too adorable?!?

Major Hurdle Cleared!

We got the results back from the DNA test Izzie had with her birthmom, and all is good. It feels really good to have that hurdle cleared. Now, our adoption file will be submitted to the U.S. Embassy for review, and hopefully in 50-60 days the powers that be will grant us pre-approval. We're looking at early October. And that's the month my mother and I are thinking about going to visit her sweetness. Once pre-approval, or PA, is granted, then our adoption file gets submitted to the Guatemalan government agency (aka PGN) that will review our case. That'll take a few more months.

I have to say it really broke my heart looking at the DNA results paper. There's a polaroid photo of Izzie and her birthmom, who despite being only 19 looks much older. I'm sure... life in Guatemala is not easy, and being so young, and single, and having to relinquish your child, must surely steal away the bliss and beauty of youth. But I hope in Izzie's birthmom's heart, there is a sliver of peace. Because Izzie is so very loved, by so very many. Already and always.

In addition to the photo, there are two thumbprints: A big one, Izzie's birthmom's, and a tiny, tiny one, Izzie.

And finally, in the photo, Izzie is wearing the little dress I sent her. Her foster mommy put the dress on I'm sure specifically for the very important day. So there Izzie was, in the lap of her birthmom and wearing a dress from her mommy.

Godspeed to bring her home.

DNA Test Done!

We got word that Izzie had her DNA test done on July 13, as expected. Her bio mom came to the appointment, and she also had her first Family Court interview. It was great to hear that those two events happened. I am so thankful that Izzie's bio mom has so far been strong enough to continue through with all the necessary appointments. I can only know how I would feel, and I am not sure I would have her strength and conviction to see it all through. I believe that it is love and faith that is shoring her up, and that is what I will share with Izzie about her bio mother. Izzie may not be able to understand it until she becomes a mother herself, but the story of her bio mother's bravery, love, conviction, and faith will be the story I tell her.

I do not really know what Izzie's bio mother feels or thinks. I cannot speak truths of fact, but only truths of faith...

Now we are waiting for the DNA results to come back, which is probably the quickest sub-process in this larger, lengthy adoption process. I expect will get the results in the next few weeks. By the way, once we do, we can go and visit sweet Izzie!

As for my other sweet baby -- Griffin -- he has only 8 more days 'til he turns FIVE! Amazing. We are having a joing b-day party with his buddy Riley, who turns five just four days after Griffin. I've got to go and get my little man's b-day presents. I know my parents bought him an ant farm, something he has been wanting for a long time. So, I guess we will soon have pet ants in the house. That is not necessarily something I relish, so let's just hope this little ant home on the range is super secure, and that no little six-legged creatures escape the joint. I am going to get Griffie some stuff for his PlayMobil castle, and also a new lunch bag for school. I also got him a book and a pencil case for school.

Well, time to get crackin' on work.

Cheers,
B

Smiles

We got some new pictures of Izzie yesterday and she is all smiles. Griffin took one look at the picture and said "I love you!" Of course then he asked, "Mommy, why are you so curious about her?" He loves using the word curious. He also loves using other big words--and made-up words--whenever he can. One of his long-time favorite made-up words is smugg, which in Griffin Dictionary means to smoosh or squeeze, as in "I smugged up the paper." Or "Don't smugg up the cookie." This morning, he made up a new one, telling me I shouldn't kaze, which in Griffin Dictionary means to think someone isn't hurrying up, when actually they are hurrying up.

So isn't Mary Isabela so beautiful, and lovely, and sweet, and smiley, and amazing? I am sorry I'm not posting full big pics of her, but I'm reluctant to do so until we have gone through the full legal process of her adoption. As for the process, I received word about a week-and-a-half ago that the U.S. Embassy authorized DNA tests for Izzie, and her birth mom. The agency told me they expected the tests to have been done last week, but I have not heard if they were done or not. Izzie's birth mom was also supposed to have met with the Guatemalan Family Court last week. I am praying for her birth mom, as I can only imagine the sadness she feels. I pray that she has faith that her child will be well-loved and well-cared for. For she is, and will be.

Griffin turns 5 in just a few weeks, and I really can't believe my baby boy is getting so big! This is a big one. Up next, kindergarten. Where does the time go?

Speaking of time, time for me to get back to work.

Cheers,
B