BOO!!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Previo Progress

Okay, another quick update! Our attorney thinks that the birth certificate is just a bad copy. So, one of his staff is going to the civil registry on Friday to get a new copy. Geez, let's hope it is that simple! Let's also hope that he gets us resubmitted to PGN on Friday because PGN is closed on Monday due to the presidential elections. COME ON!!!!!!

Previo Update

We finally received an answer today! Apparently, our file was kicked out of PGN because there is a signature missing on the birth mother's birth certificate. I looked at the copy we have and there are two lines for signatures. There is a definite signature on one line and a questionable signature on the second line. I'm not sure why this matters, but....PGN has the power to ask for a new one. Our attorney said this should be a quick fix, but he did not specify when he expects our file to be resubmitted to PGN. We hope to get that answer by the end of the week. So, what do we do? You guessed it!! Wait.........

Fav Foto Friday

Hee hee!! These are a couple of photos from the first disposable camera we got back from Eli's foster mom when we were in Guatemala. Notice the adorable couple in the picture Eli is holding?!?! Ha!! We sent that picture with our care package back in June. Too funny!! Oh, a special note to the Westsylvanian's lurking...we did not, I repeat, did not send down the outfit he is wearing. :)

Eli's foster mom is playing dress-up with with some of the items we sent in our care package!! The hat, shoes, snuggly blanket, and of course the picture of that adorable couple. Hee hee

Budding Artist

Eli's first refrigerator art!! This card was included with our disposable camera. Isn't this the cutest thing??!! We love it!!

Bonus pictures!!

Lookee what we got today!! Woohoo!! Just in time to soften the blow of our previo. Funny how that works!! The family of Eli's foster sister were down visiting last week and brought back one of the disposable cameras we left with his foster mom. These pics were taken about 2 weeks ago.

Look mommy and daddy, I can hold up my own bottle!!

Ahhhh.....toy heaven

Babe in toyland

(yes, these are all things we left for him after our visit)

Bummer!

We called PGN today and found out our file was issued a previo (kicked out) on 10/18/07. This means that the reviewer found something in our file that needs corrected. At this point, we don't know what needs corrected, but we hope to get an update from our attorney soon. Most cases are issued at least one previo so this is not unexpected. But, let's just hope the problem is a QUICK and EASY fix and something our attorney can handle on his end. And, I hope our attorney has already picked up our file and is working on it. The really sucky part is that once we are resubmitted to PGN we start from the beginning of the review process all over again. Oh well. We just have to keep waiting.......

Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock

Waiting is hard!! But, that's what we have to do...wait...and wait...and wait...

Luckily, we have been very busy the last few weeks and that does help, a little. So, here are some brief updates from the past couple of weeks.

President Berger issued a statement indicating he supported the grandfather clause, but it was vague and noncommittal. Even so, our agency and many other involved parties feel confident that it will be approved by the Guatemalan congress. Congress is set to vote sometime after the presidential election (11/4). At this point, it is unclear how "in process" cases will be defined and how the grandfather clause will be implemented. US congressman are currently being asked to sign letters to President Berger, UNICEF headquarters in NYC, and UNICEF headquarters in Guatemala urging support for the grandfather clause. The deadline for congressman to sign these letters is tomorrow. I will be calling ours today to see if they have signed or plan to sign. All of this uncertainty has obviously been stressful and we are emotionally drained right now! But, Eli will come home. We don't know when, but he will come home.

A couple of weeks ago, I called PGN and found out that we are with the second reviewer. There are 3 levels of review in PGN and the second review seems to take the longest. The woman I spoke with told me to call back in 2 weeks for an update so that is what I will be doing in a couple of days. Hopefully, it will be good news!

We spoke with Eli's foster mom last week! One of the teachers in Jason's carpool just happens to be the Spanish teacher at the high school. How awesome is that?!?! His foster mom informed us that he is now sitting up and ready to start cereal. Before we went on our visit trip in August, we tape recorded ourselves reading stories and then left the tapes/recorder with the foster mom. She said that Eli smiles whenever she plays the tapes. Isn't that sweet of her to tell us that? Regardless of whether or not it is true!

And, we are finally feeling ready to tackle the nursery. We are quickly realizing that we have a lot to do to get ready for Our Little Pea!

Updated measurements

We received updated measurements last Friday and Eli is definitely a little pea!! We don't know exactly when these measurements were taken, but most likely the end of September/beginning of October.

Weight: 14 lbs
Length: 25.5"
Head cir: 16.5"

I looked at the CDC growth charts and he is in the 10th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for length, and 25th percentile for head circumference. So, I guess this means he is skinny, average height, and has a small head! His growth has been very consistent and he is healthy. Those are the most important factors.

Dear daddy

Happy Birthday!!!!

I hope you are having a good birthday, daddy. I miss you!! I can't wait until you can read me stories every night, play with me, and kiss me goodnight. But, don't worry...I will be home soon and then we will have lots of fun together. I love you to the moon and back.

Love,

Eli

Happy 6 month birthday, baby boy!!

What??? I'm how old???

A reason to celebrate

My friend, B, and her husband are meeting their daughter for the first time today in Guatemala! I am sooo excited for them. It is moments like these that make all the hard stuff worth the fight. She will be posting an update on her blog in the next day or two. Check it out and send her a BIG CONGRATS!! It has been a rough few weeks in the adoption world so this is a great reason to celebrate and a reminder of why we are fighting so hard to bring our babies home.
http://www.peachesncinnamon.blogspot.com/

Finally.....

Some good news!! Thursday was an exciting day for us! We received notice on Thursday that Eli's birth certificate was corrected before we were submitted to PGN. YEA!!! This is wonderful news!! We continue to hold onto hope that our adoption will be approved by PGN before the end of the year.

In addition, we are local celebrities. Ha! We were interviewed by one of the Toledo news stations, 13 Action News, regarding the potential shutdown of Guatemalan adoptions. The night before, CNN had a story on Guatemalan adoptions (which was HORRIBLE and misleading) and I think that may have hit the local station radar. My brother-in-law works with a woman who adopted her son from Guatemala and she has a friend, who has a friend that works for the news station. Funny how that works, huh?! This woman received our Call to Action letter through a web of e-mails and mentioned our names to the news reporter. He interviewed her family as well. The interview was very short, we didn't get to say everything that we wanted to say, and most of what we did say was edited. But....we think it turned out okay. I think they were more interested in filling some dead air time than in Guatemalan adoptions. If anything, we put a face to adoption. Jason is trying to figure out how to post the interview here so hang tight. :) The news station did not post it on their website so our technology skills are really being challenged!

To top it all off, we watched the Indians kick some Yankee butt. GO TRIBE!!! We're going for a sweep!!

We're making a difference!!

We are getting numerous reports from congress people and others that all the campaigns are being noticed. So keep up the good work! -Kevin from Guatadopt

THANK YOU!!!!!

Thank you to everyone who has sent letters, e-mails, faxes, and made phone calls. IT IS WORKING! The "powers that be," including our agency feel very confident that a grandfather clause will be added as an amendment to the new adoption bill. This is wonderful news for in-process families, like us. The Guatemalan congress is scheduled to review the law and all amendments on Tuesday, but the final vote will not be held until after the presidential election in November. So, nothing is final yet, but it looks promising. The US Department of State and the Hague Permanent Bureau have made official announcements that they are supporting a grandfather clause. UNICEF, unfortunately, has not made this commitment. Please continue to make some noise, especially to UNICEF. It is simply SHAMEFUL that an organization claiming to be an advocate for children is not taking a stand for what is right.

Political Update

We found out yesterday that the Guatemalan congress approved the "Ortega Law." I won't go into details about this law, but this is a tragedy to the future of Guatemala adoptions. There is still work to be done on this bill and congress is meeting on 10/9 to review all of the amendments. One of the amendments on the table is a grandfather clause for all current cases. This would allow current cases to proceed under the current laws. Our agency and other groups feel confident that this amendment will be approved, but it is still up in the air. If this amendment is not approved, there are potentially 5000+ children that will be left in limbo and the Guatemala government has no plan for these children. It would be devastating.

Focus on Adoption, a major advocacy group, is urging all of us touched by adoption in some way (that includes friends/family) to contact our congressmen, the Department of State, and UNICEF to urge them to support this amendment and place pressure on the Guatemalan government. We need to make these contacts today and tomorrow since the Guatemalan congress will be reviewing the amendments on 10/9.

We thank you for all of our support and your efforts to send these letters can make a tremendous difference in the loves of 1000's of children, including our son.

Jason and I will be faxing letters to the Department of State and UNICEF. If you want to e-mail us your letters, we can fax them all at once. Just e-mail them to us by tomorrow afternoon. steph24mohr@yahoo.com

Thank you, thank you, thank you

Look what we got today!!

PICTURES!!!!

The sweet face we needed to see today.

It does matter

The past week has been extremely difficult trying to balance hope while also being faced with the unthinkable. The situation with Guatemala adoptions is extremely serious right now and we are at risk of losing Eli. I have debated all day how to address this in the blog or to even address it at all, but this is part of our journey. No Pollyanna today. The fact is we are scared to death because we have no idea what is going to happen. We have fallen madly in love with our son , he is imprinted on our hearts forever, and the possibility of him not coming home is simply unbearable.

There are many, many people and agencies fighting for our children and a difference has already been made with the US Government. They are now stating they are pressuring Guatemala to allow in-process cases to continue under current laws. However, the US government is still supporting Guatemalan legislation that would basically make international adoption impossible. The US not only needs to pressure Guatemala to allow current cases to proceed under the current system, it also needs to support legislation that promotes the future of adoptions and Guatemalan children. Obviously, Guatemala is a sovereign nation and will do as it chooses, but nobody can argue that the US exhibits significant influence (history reveals a great deal).

There are two pieces of legislation before the Guatemalan government right now regarding adoption reform: one that is supported by the President of Guatemala, the US, and UNICEF and one that is supported by the adoption community both in the US and Guatemala, attorneys, and many Guatemalan officials. One of the major power players in this "game" is UNICEF. UNICEF is dangling a $28 million dollar check in the face of President Berger if he basically stops international adoption. Do not be fooled by UNICEF. They are not advocates for children.
DO NOT DONATE TO UNICEF.

Read more about this: http://www.familieswithoutborders.com/

So, President Berger can choose to stop all adoptions, but....what happens to the 5000+ children who have already been referred to their adoptive parents and have already been relinquished by their birth mothers?? Guatemala has NO social welfare system and NO money to support these children. The government has no plan for these children. Some will end up in orphanages that are terribly overcrowded and understaffed with very little resources. This is no place for any child.

Now, I am certainly NO expert on all of the politics involved in this situation and it is much more complicated than I have presented. But, the fact still remains that this is a very serious situation. We could choose to set back and think "it will all be okay," but we would be sticking our heads in the sand. I hope that it will all okay. I hope that Eli comes home to us very soon. I hope all of the children currently matched with their families come home soon. I hope that the US Government, UNICEF, and, most importantly, the Guatemala Government puts the children first.

I know not everyone is an activist. But, if you want to help in any way. There are several things you can do. We ask that you please sign the petition I referenced in an earlier post. I added a link to the petition at the top of the blog. It literally takes a minute. You can also e-mail/fax your Senators and Representatives. I listed a couple of links for form letters that you can use. All you have to do is type in your information. It is very easy and it will take maybe 10-15 minutes of your time. If you are inspired to do more, click on the links above.

It may not seem like it it will make it difference or that it matters. To 5000+ children and to those not yet born, it does matter.

Okay, I will step down from my soapbox.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.

-Margaret Mead

Some hope

Whew, what a crazy time it is right now! We are relieved to read that the US Dept of State updated their frightening announcement to say...

"At this time over 3000 applications for adoption from Guatemala are in process at this time with USCIS or the Guatemalan government. The U.S. government is asking the government of Guatemala to allow such cases, currently pending, to proceed to completion without additional requirements."

Hopefully, the US DOS is doing the right thing and not just trying to appease the angry mob at their doorstep! I believe they are making some sort of effort because the US Embassy issued many preapprovals yesterday. Many of my fellow blogger pals received preapproval after only waiting 22-29 days. Just to give you some perspective, we waited 63 days. So, this is definitely a step in the right direction and gives hope to many families. Even so, many agencies are organizing and placing a lot of pressure on both the US and Guatemalan government to allow in process cases to be approved under the current system. Check out the following site for more info on what you can do to help.

http://www.jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm

In the meantime, we continue to hold onto hope that we will be approved by PGN by 12/31/07. My obsessive compulsive side hit hyper speed last night as I poured over our attorney's PGN timelines. Cases with our attorney appear to average 11-18 weeks in PGN. There are 13 weeks and 5 days from the date we were submitted until the end of the year (I wasn't kidding about the obsessiveness! Ha!) So, it is certainly possible that we can be approved by the end of the year. Now, our attorney really has no control over what happens in PGN. The PGN reviewers have complete control over our case and can request that a document be redone for any reason. All our attorney can do is act quickly if something needs corrected. We are holding on tight to hope right now!!

For all of our non-Guatepadres reading, I know you are wondering when Eli will come home once our case is approved by PGN. There are several more steps once our case is approved by PGN so it will be an additional 4-8 weeks after PGN approval before Eli will be able to come home.

What a week!

Wow...the past week has been an unbelievable roller coaster. As you know, we were informed about an error on Eli's birth certificate that would take 2-3 months to correct. Our attorney would not submit us to PGN until this was corrected. We were just heartbroken and tried to process the idea that Eli will most likely not be home until spring. Many, many tears ensued because we just could not stand the idea of not seeing Our Little Pea again until spring. We have been feeling completely helpless. So, we decided the one thing we can do is to pack our bags and go visit Eli again. Today we booked our flights and made our hotel reservations for 12/25-12/31. What a huge spirit lifter!!! We are so excited!!Two hours after booking our trip, our coordinator calls me to inform us that...........

WE ARE IN PGN!!!!!!!

Geez!! Amazing how everything can change in an instant!! Our attorney submitted our file yesterday. At this point, we don't know if Eli's birth certificate has been fixed and we hope to get a response from our attorney within the week regarding this question. So, it was either fixed very quickly or our attorney decided to submit us anyway given the other very alarming news that rocked the Guatemalan Adoption world this week. So, please send lots of love and positive, happy thoughts to the PGN reviewers so that they approve our adoption before 12/31/07.

Please Help

As you can imagine, international adoption is plagued with politics. I have intentionally avoided this topic on the blog as it can be very depressing and complicated and my objective was to stay focused on the joy of our journey. Well, I should have known this topic was unavoidable and now it has become extremely urgent. This week, the president of Guatemala announced that any adoptions not approved by 12/31/07 will not be processed under the current system and possibly even stopped. Now, this could change because this action is unconstitutional and violates the Hague Convention. However, it does not mean that he won't try and it could cause significant delays or even a temporary shutdown. Our agency anticipates that the start date of any new legislation will be pushed back to spring. But, there is no guarantee. The situation in Guatemala has been very unstable for a few months now, but we have been given reassurance all along by both the US and Guatemalan Governments that any adoption in process before any changes in law/procedures would be grandfathered in under the old laws. The US Department of State issued an announcement this week as well and basically said to all of us adopting parents "sorry about your luck, but you are on your own with this one." So, these announcements have created a huge panic in the adoption world and in our house as well. The situation is very complicated and I cannot go into all of it now, but it is a very critical time for our voices to be heard on the matter. You can read more about the situation on many of my blogger friend's sites listed on the right hand side and on the following sites:

http://www.guatadopt.com/

http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_389.html

http://www.sunflowersandladybugs.com/blog.asp?ID=545

The MOST important thing you can do right now is to sign the following petition urging the US to support legislation in Guatemala that protects the future of Guatemalan children. It takes a few minutes of your time and there are thousands of Guatemalan children at risk. Thank you for supporting all of us in this process.

http://www.petitiononline.com/foafoa1/petition.html

8 Years Ago Today....

Jason and I were married in the mountains of Western North Carolina. I can't believe it's been 8 years already!! Happy Anniversary to us!

I have a secret......

...a Secret Blog Pal, that is. What?? Who knew such a thing existed??!! Not me!! Being an amateur blogger, I had no idea what this vast blogger world had to offer! So, what is a Secret Blogger Pal, you ask? Well, it is sort of like a Secret Santa or pen pal amongst the adoption blogger community. The idea behind Secret Blogger Pals is to provide support and encouragement to one another as we venture through this crazy adoption journey together.

So...I hate to brag, but....I have the BEST secret blogger pal EVER!!! She has been spoiling me (actually Eli) with wonderful gifts and, most importantly, has provided so much support and encouragement. She is just wonderful and very special.

B - Your thoughtfulness, support, and heartfelt messages have touched me deeply. Thank you!!


This is the first gift Eli received from my Secret Blog Pal. It is a wonderful book on being a kid and has photos of children from all over the world. No matter what the culture or the language, the climate or the customs, kids will be kids. And to be a kid means...getting kisses, having fun, and making friends that last forever and ever.

The second gift is this beautiful CD of lullabies from around the world.

The third gift arrived on a day that I needed a reminder to stay optimistic. How perfect! This is a little t-shirt for Eli. I can't wait to put it on him!

This latest gift is another wonderful book reflecting some of the things we value the most. Every day all over the world, children are laughing and crying, playing and learning, eating and sleeping. They may not look the same. They may not speak the same language. And their lives may be quite different. But inside, they are just like you.

Back on the Wagon

Well, we were very sad last night. We cried, drowned our sorrows in margaritas, and moped about the house a little bit. I have a feeling that their will be many margaritas in the coming months. :) *Jen - We predicted we would need lots of liquid courage!* But, we are back on the wagon! Granted, the wagon is not moving right now, but...we are hopeful that this birth certificate thing will be fixed quickly. This journey has been incredibly wonderful and amazing, but it is HARD!! We knew in our heads it would be hard, but no one could have prepared our hearts for this roller coaster ride. But, Eli is worth this wait and we are in this until the end. He will come home.

So, my "quote of the week" arrived in my inbox today and it was just what I needed right now.

You need only choose... then keep choosing as many times as necessary.

That is all you need do. And it is certainly something you can do.

Then as you continue to choose, everything is yours.

-Vernon Howard

Last night I needed to be sad and somehow figure out how to process the possibility that Eli may not come home until spring. It's so difficult knowing there is nothing we can do to fix this and bring Eli home. It is easy to feel helpless. But, I do have some choices. Today I am choosing to be hopeful and choosing to trust that the universe's timing is perfect. I may not understand why and it may not feel fair that we may have to wait longer for our son to come home, but I need to trust that there is a greater purpose for this timing.

As for tomorrow, I don't know what I will choose.....perhaps more margaritas!!

Bump in the road

Well, it's a very sad night in the Shank household. We received news today that there is a mistake on Eli's birth certificate and it will take 2-3 months to make the correction. Our attorney discovered the error before submitting us to PGN. It's great that he caught it before the reviewers, but.......we are so heartbroken with this news. We were hoping to be OUT of PGN in 2-3 months. So, I wasn't kidding when I said Guatemalan adoptions are unpredictable! All we can do at this point is hope that it gets fixed quickly and that we catch a break once we are finally submitted to PGN.

On a lighter note, our Signature HomeStyles party was a HUGE success!! We don't have the final amount that will be donated to our adoption fund, but it is at least $600!! So, despite some bad news today, we have much to be thankful for.

Where to begin??? HELP!!

So, I guess we need to register for our baby shower soon, at least that's what everyone is telling us. You would think I would be excited about this, but today it feels like a daunting task. Adoption is hard and, right now, it is very hard. Registering for gifts just feels so trivial when I am just aching for Eli to come home. Now, don't get me wrong, I certainly like to do my share of shopping and I have quickly discovered the fun of shopping for a child, my child. Just right now, all I care about is him coming home. The rest is just stuff.

Even so, I realize we do need at least a few things. :) With this in mind, we need some help with this baby registry thing. Where is the best place to register (online and physical store)? Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of options in our area. At least we don't have many options that we like. So, please, please give us some suggestions of fun baby stores, at least do it for Eli's sake! Otherwise, he may come home to a cardboard box for a crib. Ha! Actually, we have the crib part taken care of thanks to Jason's sister, but that is about it. So, please give us suggestions!!