3 Weeks in PGN...

and I still cringe every time the phone rings - so QUIT calling me! :) So far no bad news from our agency, but since we are supposed to expect at least one previo, we are just waiting and waiting so we can get it over with! The longer we're in the harder it will be to take. :(

Guatemala's Congress read and passed a new Ortega Law the day before yesterday, then they had the 2nd reading which passed yesterday. It takes 3 readings to be final. We've been waiting on pins and needles to find out the details, but of course there aren't any coming. It's rumored there is a grandfather clause, but we don't know what it says and this Law is NOT good for Guatemalan adoptions. Apparently the US is pressuring to keep the date Dec 31 instead of of April like Guat seems to want it to be. Grrrr. We thought the 3rd and final reading would be today so at least it all could be resolved and we'd know what we are dealing with, but NOOOOOOOOO, the congressional session ends tomorrow so now we'll have to wait until they call an emergency session sometime in December.

My patience is wearing very thin. It's bad enough we have to fight the Guatemalan government, but to have to fight the US government is such a disappointment.

Thus a new Call to Action has been advised and I'm off to talk to Senators once again.

4 MONTH DOCTOR VISIT

Natalie went to the doctor today for her 4 month check-up! She is doing well - her weight is in the 51%!! Her height is about 21.5 inches. She is basically a cute bowling ball!

Here is what Dr. M says:

This afternoon I have just finished examining little Maria Jose who is now 4 months old and has been, I am told, doing well in the time since her last medical assessment, both her growth and development appear to be progressing well, she is alert shows interest in what goes on around her, will interact, turns to sound and makes many cooing noises of her own, both to respond and also to call attention to herself, she also smiles socially and will also laugh out loud and also vocalize her eagerness and pleasure, will also cry to let her discomfort be known. I'm also told that she takes well her formula and is also receiving her ordered vitamin supplement. Upon evaluation today I found her in good health with no obvious physical or neurological abnormalities her weight is 13 lbs 13 oz, length of 53.7 cms and head circumference of 38.4 cms.

Last Day with Natalie

Today was the day we had to give her back. It's sad and emotional and I worried how Nathan would feel since he is sensitive and a worrier and had so much fun playing and getting to know her. We meet the FM and I give back a sound asleep baby girl and we kiss her good-bye. We are literally not 2 feet away from her (thank God FM doesn't speak English) when Nathan turns around and in a 6yo loud voice says "well now that she is given back it's time to go to the pool!" Ahhhh, to be 6 again.

I took all the Christmas pics today and since I don't know which ones I'm using on the Christmas card I'm not going to post any yet, sorry! We flew out the next morning and Nathan didn't want to leave. I think he really had a great time playing with all the babies and he was a real hit with the toddler set! See you on New Year's Eve baby girl. I hope we arrive with news that we are OUT of PGN!

Here are a random few:

The First Thanksgiving!

Natalie's first Thanksgiving was a lot of fun. We played at the pool, played with brother, watched the Cowboys game, and then had a private dinner with the other families from our agency. The Westin put on a big Thanksgiving buffet. Nathan stood up and told everyone he would not eat turkey out of principle because it gobbles. Tell that to the Turkey lunchables he eats every week. Go figure. ANYWAY, we had so much fun meeting all the other families and the itty bitty babies that were there for POA (power of attorney). There were also a bunch of PGN OUTS for some of the families - now that is something to be thankful for! Today marks 2 weeks since we've entered PGN and so far no previos!

Happy First Thanksgiving baby girl!

We Arrive at the Westin!

Nathan and I hopped in a plane and off we go. Daddy was nice enough to get us an upgrade to first class. Mr. Prince enjoyed it thoroughly and ate the entire 4 hour flight! He was so excited he couldn't contain himself - boy was he disappointed when we arrived and realized we weren't picking up Natalie till the next morning! We met my friend Terri and her adorable baby M and just hung out. The next morning we scrambled around to get ready to pick Natalie up (Happy 4th month bday baby girl!!). Finally, we went down to meet her - I don't have pics as I taped Nathan meeting her and our FM. Here are first day pics:

One week in PGN & Did I go overboard?

Today marks 1 week in PGN. I jump and cringe every single time the phone rings - dreading that its my agency saying we received a previo! Ugh.

So, did I go overboard on the Christmas clothes?

Grandma Barb sent this:


This has a shirt and matching hose & bow coming...


Grandma Barb sent this too:


The one on the left was Nick's when I thought he was a girl...the one on the right is MY WISH...


Cuteness!


I just love this one!

Friends on the news...

Some agency friends were interviewed about the adoption mess going on...

www.wisn.com/video/14602976/index.html

What we go through...

http://www.jcics.org/CIS%20Guat_Adop_Chart.pdf

New Video Montage

Posting a new video montage of Natalie from about 1 month to the beginning of 3 months. Enjoy! (Click on the picture).


Natalie 1-3 Months Old

Finally... WE ARE IN PGN!

And we're scared to DEATH! This is somewhere you want to hurry up and get to, then you get there, and well it's just pure dread. This is where BAD things happen to cases. When I got my update this morning, I was so excited and then I just felt sick. The Family Court typo was fixed on November 7 and we entered PGN on November 8.

If we don't get a previo (a kick out - which puts you back to the bottom of the pile when you reenter) and with the holidays coming up we might be lucky enough to get OUT around January 10 (assuming there is a Grandfather Clause and things don't slow to much). But, if we get previos and such, and with all that may happen on January 1, we have no idea when we will get OUT. Just can't possibly even guess.

Think good thoughts, say prayers, send good vibes....THANKS!

Thanks for nothing Condi...

A big bunch of nothing from the Department of State...

November 8, 2007

The Department of State has received inquiries about the status of anticipated adoption reforms in Guatemala, and the outlook for adoption cases which are currently pending. Whether the Guatemalan government elects to implement the Hague Convention on December 31st or later in the spring of 2008, pending cases would not be affected if, as expected, the final legislation includes a transition provision that allows pending cases to be processed to conclusion under current law. We continue to advise American Citizens not to initiate new adoptions until the Government of Guatemala has completed its implementation of the Hague Convention.

Adoption reform legislation remains under discussion in Guatemala’s Congress. We continue to advocate for a law that complies with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption and that includes transition provisions for cases already filed under the current system of law.

Passage of a new adoption law is only the first step. The next, urgent priority will be for Guatemalan officials to establish a Hague compliant system. Designing and implementing the necessary structural reforms will take time.

The Guatemalan Government has said it will assume its obligations as a Hague Convention member on December 31, 2007, a decision we support, because Guatemala’s children -- indeed all parties to an international adoption -- deserve the protections afforded by the Convention as soon as possible. When the Hague Convention goes into force for the U.S. in the spring of 2008, both the U.S. and Guatemala must have Hague-compliant adoption procedures in order for new adoption cases to be filed. Thus in the interest of long-term adoptions from Guatemala, responsible, prompt reform of the current law and procedures is critically important. The U.S. is committed to provide assistance and support to the Guatemalan authorities for this task.

The Other Shoe Drops?

There have been some reports that Consul General John Lowell (a higher-up at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala) may be lobbying the Guatemalan Congress in favor of Ortega and of a January 1 date for Hague implementation. It's also possible that the U.S. Ambassador may also be lobbying for the same thing.

***************
Here is a form for those of you who would like to send such a fax or e-mail once again to your appropriate Congressman and Senators, but it would be better if you used your own words:

Dear Senator/Congressman/Congresswoman _____,

I am a constituent writing to ask for your help. As you know, almost 4,000 American families are in the process of adopting a child from Guatemala. The Guatemalan Congress is now deciding how best to bring its adoption system into compliance with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption.

It has been reported in Guatemalan newspapers that the Consul General to the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala, Mr. John Lowell, has been in contact with Guatemalan congressmen and political party leaders to lobby for a specific bill, the Ortega bill, that threatens to terminate or severely hinder in-process cases, putting the adoption cases of almost 4,000 Americans directly at risk. This, despite the fact that the Guatemalan Congress has indicated its clear intent to bring the Guatemalan adoption process in line with the requirements of the Hague treaty and the various options that are available to any country in developing a Hague-compliant procedure.

Mr. Lowell's actions, if as reported, are unconscionable. First, it is wholly improper for Mr. Lowell to interfere this way with the Guatemalan legislative process - Guatemala should be able to choose, without interference from Mr. Lowell or any other U.S. official, a process that involves both public and accredited private sector actors (like the one we will have in the U.S. when the U.S. implements the treaty next spring). Second, Mr. Lowell's actions are directly contrary to the best interests of the children in the adoption process and to the thousands of Americans who would be adversely affected by the passage of the Ortega bill.

I ask you to take all appropriate action available to you to prompt Mr. Lowell and all U.S. officials in Guatemala to refrain from interfering with the Guatemalan political process regarding intercountry adoption.

[your signature]
******************

ALSO - MORE IMPORTANTLY:

Call and fax Condoleezza Rice's office and ask her to look into the above matter. She is Lowell's boss (after the Ambassador). We would like to know if John Lowell is acting independently in his interfering/lobbying the Guatemalan congress or is he acting at Secretary of State Rice's instruction?

Phone 202 647 5291
202 647 9572

Fax 202 647 228
************************

Once again, thank you for your help!

Good News...A New Proposal!

I don't know if this is just Guatemalan politics playing out, or if the 5000 families made an impact (or both), but I woke up this morning with this announcement:

***********
JCICS (www.jcics.org) has just formally announced the following:

We can now report that members of the Guatemalan Congress, including numerous party chiefs, have submitted a new legislative proposal which:

- includes a strong ‘grandfather’ clause,

-designates April 30 2008 as the effective implementation date of the Convention,

-allocates $5 million Quetzales ($650,000 USD) for the creation of the Central Authority,

-allocates a percentage of the total government budget for child welfare services

-creates a new government entity to act as the Central Authority in Guatemala,

-provides for private non-profit accredited entities to provide services to children,

-allows single potential adoptive parents to apply for adoption,

-and creates a functional process by which children can find a permanent, safe and loving family
************

For Natalie specificially, this could mean that we would be grandfathered (not sure of any specifics) - and with the Hague not being implemented until April (when the US is supposed to implement) - it give us four more months to get the heck out fo there.

THIS IS ONLY A PROPOSAL AND HAS NOT BEEN VOTED ON YET. We are just ecstatic that their Congress has at least acknowledged many of the issues we were concerned about.

It's at least a step in the right direction and gives us some major hope. Woooo Hoooo!!!!!

Election Results

Colom won the Presidential election run-off in Guatemala on Sunday. He was the slightly better of the two so we hope that it's a good thing for that country. The Vice-President is a cardiologist who worked in Houston for many years and was trained at Baylor. We have a lot of hope he can dispel the rampant rumors of Americans adopting babies to harvest their organs. I can't even believe I'm writing that sentence. Sheesh. Anyway, let's hope these two make for a "better" Guatemala.

New Year's at the Westin!

David and I just booked tickets to spend New Year's with Natalie! We're so excited! We are spending Christmas in Dallas and the Grandmas were nice enough to offer to babysit the boys while we are gone. We still need to confirm hotel reservations, but hopefully that won't be a problem. We just feel the need to be there on New Year's Eve. We don't know what will happen at year's end yet, but at least we'll be there no matter what is decided.

Out of Family Court.... BUT

The social worker made a typo in the report! UGH!! So that means we didn't get our file into PGN. Under normal circumstances this would NOT be a big deal to me at all. It just goes back to the social worker so it can be fixed and takes a week or so. But that one week makes our time in PGN go from 8 weeks until 7 weeks before year end and I'm afraid that won't be enough time to get out by New Year's (assuming we were previo-free, which most people are not). I don't want to be what I fear most - literally sitting at the top of the heap on Dec. 31 for signature then everything shutting down. Please God, let the grandfathering amendment pass.

I want to thank my agency though because a typo means a previo (kick-out) in PGN and I am thankful they caught it. I don't want my gratitude for them to be overshadowned by my whine-fest. :)

We exited on October 30.

THANK YOU!!

Here are links to the letters signed by various Senators and Congressman on behalf of our Guatemala 5000 initiative. One letter is to the President of Guatemala and one letter is to the head of UNICEF. If your Senator or Congressman signed the letters, please let them know it is appreciated. If they didn't sign, please let them know you are very upset.

Thank you for your hard work in contacting everyone and making aware our situation!


http://www.jcics.org/UNICEF%20Letter.pdf

http://www.jcics.org/BERGER%20Letter.pdf