Visit Trip???

What? Why yes we are going to go for another visit! We are so excited. We just decided today out of the blue that we are going in 2 weeks. We are going to be gond May 12-19. We should get Mia on Monday morning and we will give her back Satuday morning. We have been missing her so much and she is growing up so fast without us so why not go!
Anyway we have a lot of things to do before we go so I should get busy!
Gwen

We're still in...

Yes, we are still in PGN! We have been in for 12 weeks or 81 days. The wait is killing us and there isn't anything we can do so we just wait... On a good note though, this weekend was beautiful in Michigan and we got A LOT of things done around the house. I painted the deck, while Jenny washed the screens and windows, put mulch down, weed n seeded the lawn, and some other small things. So as you can see we have been making very good use to our time.

We'll keep you updated.
till then...

Still in Pgn...

Well next week marks 8 weeks in PGN. UGHHHH! I can hardly stand it and I think Jenny is sick of me whinning about it! I want my little girl home. I miss her so much and it is getting harder and harder getting through each day. With everything that is looming in regards to Guatemalan adoptions, and the reports that have been circulating it certainly doesn't put our minds at ease.

On a good note though we finally got Maria's address right so we can send our packages to her. We are sending her clothes, toys, and gifts for Maria eventhough she said that she didn't want anything. I can't help but send her things she is a wonderful woman who is taking excellent care of our daughter. I really hope that she will be a grandma to Mia and we can visit her.

We will keep this updated to let anyone if there is anyone : ) know when we hear some news.

We talked to Maria...

We called Maria (Delmya's foster mother) this week with the help of Carlos at Jenny's work, who speaks fleuent Spanish. First off we absolutely love Maria and she is the best foster mother in the world. She told us that Mia was almost 19 pounds on Feb. 28 and 26 inches long. She is rolling over on her own and eating solids! She loves fruit and veggies. She also said that she was absolutely beautiful, but we already knew that.

Well we are still in Pgn - no news on that front.

Still no word...

Well here it is 4 weeks into Pgn and not a word. I guess I did expect this, but it can be a good thing or a bad thing. We can either get out, and have Mia home shortly, or we could get kicked out and the clock in Pgn starts over. So of course we are hoping not to get kicked out.

We finally got our fist set of update pictures taken (we think) around 1/28/07. Maria had Mia in the red velvet Christmas dress, with the matching shirt, and tights!!!! It was SO cute. She looked the same, and she still doesn't have a neck, but she is still adorable.

Other than that not a lot is going on, but we are working on getting the house clean and ready for the baby.
till then...

PGN and Medicals!

We entered PGN on February 1st we are hoping to be out by April 1st.

We got her medicals yesterday, boy we are going to have a big girl on our hands!
As of 1/28/07 at 4 months and a week old..
she weighed 17 pounds and was 25 inches long.

She is SOO big, but healthy!

We won't be hearing anything while in PGN until we get kicked out or get the OUT we want so I hope my next post will be that we are out of Pgn!!

Also for those who don't know we have a website with all of the pictures from our visit trip it is www.delmya.com

It will explain her name, but for those who don't know we aren't naming her Addisyn. We are naming her Delmya pronounced (Del-me-a) and her nickname will be Mia. We just think that it fits her better. Sorry for the confusion.

We're Back!!!!

Well I am sorry it has taken me so long to get back to this, but we are back. Here is our story....

Everything went great and we of course had a great time. We were really nervous about the airport and I was nervous about the plane ride because I hate to fly. First of all we upgraded to first class which was great!! We got drinks and great food.

The decend to Guatemala City was beautiful and sad at the same time. There were mountains and volcanoes that were beautiful and like nothing I have ever seen. On the other hand there were shacks - I can't even explain how the conditions were so I won't even try.

When we landed we exited the plane and followed the crowds to the luggage corral and waited for our luggage. When our luggage finally came we got our passports ready to go to customs. We were told by some other pasangers to smile at the man taking the forms so we didn't our bags searched. We did smile, but Jenny dropped her bag and couldn't find her form. She finally found her form and we passed through with no problems. Then we walked about what seemed like 2 miles to immigration, another line. This was the day of never ending lines. We waited in line to give another piece of paper to another person and have our passports stamped. Then we walked near the exit of the airport. Only this isn't like any airport once you exit you cannot go back in so you had better be sure that there is someone waiting for you. We also heard a lot of horror stories about the exit at the airport so we were nervous. To the right of the exit was cattle gates holding Guatemalans begging for money back, and it was heart breaking, but there wasn't anything we could do. So we bravely exited the airport and thankfully there was Juan holding a sign that said Marriott. As soon as we saw him a small boy who couldn't have been more than 10 years old grabbed our 200 pounds of baggage and took it to where Juan was. It was heartbreaking that this little boy was working instead of attending school. We tipped him about $15 and I think that we made his day. Then we were off to the hotel.

The ride to the hotel was uneventful and the architecture was amazing. There were people dressed in business attire walking to where ever they may have been going.

The hotel was beautiful and everyone there was great. Our room was great and we had a view of the volcano and mountains. We unpacked and went to dinner after we were so tired so we just watched some tv, and went to sleep.


The next morning we went to Antigua and went shopping. The drive was very interesting because they really don't have traffic laws. There aren't even lines on the road you just fit as many cars as you can. The drive was beautiful, we drove past mountains and vocanoes. There was also a lot of poverty and seeing how the Guatemalan people live first hand was difficult, but everyone seems happy. When we arrived we first we went to the Jade Factory. Guatemala is one of only 2 places in the world that has purple Jade so we had a tour of the factory, and bought some Jade. Then Miguel our driver took us to the central park to go shopping. We walked around the central market and then went into the shops. We got a lot of really beautiful things for Delmya when she gets older.

We then went back to the hotel and waited for our baby girl to be brought to us. Guillermo, our facillitator, were late so we anxiously waited for Mia. Finally we got the call that we could come down and see her. It was love at first sight! Mia was sleeping and looked like an angel. She woke up and cried a little and then went back to sleep. Guillermo was dropping another baby off so we were alone with Maria, her foster mother, and it was difficult to communicate because we didn't speak Spanish and she didn't speak English. We got through it, and then Guillermo was back so we all went up to the room and Guillermo translated. We found out from Maria when she ate, slept, and everything else.

Our fist night with her was interesting to say the least. As soon as everyone left we tried to feed her, but she was getting used to us and wouldn't eat. Then she started to have as what most parents call a "meltdown" she started crying, crying, and more crying. She was crying so hard and so loud that she could hardly breathe. Finally we got her calmed down and it seemed like an eterninty, but it was only 10 minutes or so. We got her to eat and to bed. She slept through the night, but it was a very restless sleep for all of us because we woke up everytime she made a noise.

Ok I am going to get a lot less detailed because the rest of the trip consisited of the following...
Waking up in the morning and going to breakfast.
Coming back to the room and giving Mia a bath.
She would then sleep for 4 hours. - We were so bored while she was sleeping!
We would go to an early dinner.
Put her to bed.
Order some room service.
In between all of this we would walk around the hotel and outside.

It was very difficult to give her back and we miss her more than words can express. The only thing that makes it worth it is that Maria loves her VERY much, and she only has a little bit of time left with our precious Mia, and we have the rest of our lives. We are very thankful for Maria, and the people who have been supporting us through this process. Most of our support has came from our friends and without them I don't know what we would do. So Thank You and you know who you are!!!

Our Visit Trip is actually going to happen!!!

We have gotten the ok from our agency to go to visit from Jan 11-20. We are so excited to go and we will have a lot of pictures when we get back. We will also have video when we get back.

We have been getting ready to go on our trip and working on our new business. We have been pretty busy.

This was the last New Years without a baby and we were planning on staying home, but Kristen talked us into going out and painting the town red. Jenny was the Designated Driver and I was the drunk!!! We all had a really good time until a fight broke out around 2 am, and we left because as someone once said nothing good happens after 2 am!!

I didn't want to start a new post, but I wanted to say that it is going to be 79 degrees while we are in Guatemala!!!
Here we come land of eternal spring.

Anway I won't be posting until we get back from our trip. (unless something important happens)
till then...

We have it!!!!!!

We have a DNA match!!!!!
It matched 99.99%. Here is the latest picture of her taken at the time of the DNA testing. She is almost 3 months old in the photo. We are glad to see that they are feeding her well!!! We are so excited to finally be able to meet our daughter!!!!!

Changing the date again

Well we are changing our dates again for Guatemala. I think we have it set now. There isn't any chance that the Dna won't be back in time, unless of course the results don't match. Our new dates are Jan. 11-20. It is a Thursday to Sunday.

Our Plans...
Note - these aren't set in stone so they can change!!!
We will get to Guatemala at about 3:00, and go to the hotel eat, shower, unpack, and sleep. Wake up the following morning and go to Antigua for shopping. Then we will go back to the hotel, shower, and eat. The the best part of the whole trip, at about 5:00 on Friday Addisyn will be dropped off to us!!!!
She will stay with us for 7 days. We will have to give her back to her foster mom around 4 or 5 the following Friday.
The next dat at 3:00 we will board the plane back home.

So everyone wants to know when she will be home!!! We are hoping that she will be home by May or June. It could be sooner or later.

The rest of the process goes as follows:

- after receiving the Dna witin 30 days we get the Pre Approval from the embassy - this is called getting PA
We should have this by the first week of February.
- Right now we are in Family Court and our Social Worker interview (between the birth mother and a soical worker) took place
on December 4th. The report should be done by the middle of Februray. - this is called exiting Family Court (FC)
- Then we have to go to PGN this is the tough one. These are the people who make the decision if your baby is 8 months
when she comes home or 2 years old. Some people sail through here within 8 weeks and others have been in PGN for
8 months or longer.

We are hoping to be in PGN by the middle of Feb or begining of March.
Hoping to be out by April

After all of that we have to wait for the embassy to do some MORE paper work. We then get the date that we will be at the
embassy and we pick her up to come home forever.


So that is all we know for now.
till then...

News, News, News...

Well as some may know we have had some problems lately. Our agency, who we are not ver fond of right now, threatened to take away our referral. The whole problem was because after we sent an email asking them a question they sent us a demeaning email back. So we sent then a "witchy" email and apparently they are big chickens, so instead of answering our questions, they threatened to stop our adoption. We decided this battle wasn't worth losing Addisyn, so we backed down eventhough it really bothered us. They can do whatever they want - and when our daughter is home in our arms we will tell them what we think of them.

GOOD NEWS....
Our DNA was received at the lab, which means that our results are coming soon!!!
We are hoping to leave for Guatemala on the 29th or 30th.

We will keep you updated.
till then...

Weight & Length Percentile

11-25-06

Her weight was 11.8 pounds - She is in the 57th percentile
Her height was 22 inches - She is in the 17th percentile for height

Well we are....

We don't know. We don't know when we are going. We could be going the 22nd or waiting and going the 28th. Who knows?
I just hope we get the results back in time to go the 22nd so that we can be with her for Christmas.

So I was just looking at this adoption website and they had this video and it said that there are over 100 million orphaned children in this world. It also said that 15 million children die each year of malnutrition. That is 15 million. It is something I can't even wrap my head around. The video showed children in Africa, and it was heart wrenching. Jenny and I have talked about our next adoption, eventhough this one isn't anywhere near completion, and I am pretty sure we will do an African county. I think that these are the children in the most need and that is all that matters. Plus Guatemala is suppose to be closing adoptions in the end of 2007 so that won't be an option. I want to have a big family if we can afford it comfortably and Jenny agrees. Who know we may be some of those crazy people with 10 kids.

15 million children die of starvation each year.
It puts my problems and maybe everyone else's in perspective.
We will keep you updated.
till then.

Problem with DNA????

What you say????
Yes there was a problem with the DNA the birthmother showed up for the appointment, but there was a problem. The specimens never made it to the lab. Other than that we don't really know anything else. We have a new test rescheduled for Thursday December 14th.

So another words we won't be going on our trip as scheduled. On a good note, which is ver difficult to find, we may still be able to go over Xmas. Our director (of the agency) said that the earliest we should expect the results is the 22nd. So if we do get them on the 22nd then we will book our flights and leave bright and early on the 23rd. It should be very interesting because Jenny and I cannot stand not knowing what is going on and we are people who have to plan ahead. I guess we won't have much of a choice on whether or not to plan ahead.

Adoption is difficult and it tests your nerves, wills, and sanity. This is a test and I am not sure that I am going to pass.
Keep you updated.
till then...

New Medical Update...

As of 11/28/06 she weighed 11.8 pounds and was 22 inches long!!!
They are still feeding her VERY well, and she growing so fast.

We still don't know if we are going to be able to visit or not, but we are hoping. I am going to wait to call the lab until Friday and then again on Monday if we need to . I hope we will know on Friday because I can don't think that I can stand not knowing over the weekend.

If anyone is interested I am attaching an article about Guatemala. It is very heartbreaking and sad. So if you have time read
this. Below is the article, but because I can't figure out how to make it into a link and I know a lot of people won't be able to copy and paste I thought I would do this.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16211511.htm

JOCOTAN, Guatemala -- Three-year-old Antonio's patchy skin is thin and saggy, like that of a shrunken old man. But his cries sound more like a newborn's whine. And although his head seems much too large for his frail body, it's actually his body that is too small.

Plopped on a wheelchair because he's too weak to walk, Antonio's crystal black eyes tend to wander until the smell of food penetrates the air and steaming bowls of beans pass before him. Then his mouth starts to salivate and he lets out a desperate whimper.

But Antonio must wait until 10 other hungry children are set up with their meals. Only then can the nurse at the health center focus her attention on feeding the boy who doesn't have the muscle coordination to feed himself.

Weighing about 18 pounds, as much as a 6-month-old baby, Antonio represents one of the worst cases of malnutrition in a country where more than one million children under 5 suffer from the condition.

''Cases such as Antonio's should no longer exist, but the problem remains constant,'' said Dr. Carlos Arriola, director of a health center in this remote village where the boy and other malnourished children are being treated. ``Like Antonio, many others exist.''

Guatemala has the highest rate of malnourished children in the Western Hemisphere, even higher than Haiti, the region's poorest country. The Central American nation also ranks sixth in the world for chronic malnutrition.

The problem usually begins in the womb of mothers who are anemic throughout their pregnancy and give birth to children with low birth weights. More than half of those babies don't make it beyond the age of 5.

''We have many children because we know that some of them are going to die,'' is a phrase often heard by indigenous families in Guatemala's rural communities, where the problem is most prevalent. The indigenous make up about 45 percent of the population in a nation of 13 million.

''There is no reason that this should be happening. Yet, it's been going on for years and years,'' said Manuel Manrique, a representative for the U.N. Children's Fund in Guatemala. ``Part of our task is to make people aware that this is happening and that it is unacceptable.''

ADDRESSING PROBLEM

Two efforts are under way to address the problem: a national program for the reduction of malnutrition and a public awareness campaign called Creciendo Bien or Growing Well. The programs have international support from the United Nations, the U.S.-based Save the Children and other agencies.

Launched in 2004, the goal is to reduce chronic malnutrition for children under age 5 down from the current 49.3 percent to about 25 percent by the year 2016. The initiative is aimed at two types of malnutrition: chronic and acute, which is easier to treat but more life-threatening.

Malnourished children do not grow properly. Often, they are much thinner and shorter than they ought to be for their age.

''Children here don't grow enough,'' Manrique said. ``There is a difference [in height] of 25 percent, compared to other kids in the Americas.''

''It's not just what you see outside, it also affects their brain,'' he said. ``It's a life sentence.''

Factors contributing to the widespread problem are high illiteracy and birth rates, unemployment, scarce fertile land for peasant families to grow their own crops, persistent drought and insufficient government help with cultivation. Unsanitary conditions and contaminated water raises the problem to life-threatening levels for malnourished children.

Malnutrition is most prevalent in mountain villages like Jocotán and Camotán in the department of Chiquimula, east of Guatemala City. Here, most everyone is petite, the result of years of insufficient food. Most families live in adobe homes with thatched roofs and dirt floors and depend on agricultural work. Poor harvests mean few jobs and many empty stomachs.

''There is too little food for so many mouths,'' said Melesia Nufio, 25, the mother of a wispy 1-year-old boy. ``We live off tortillas and coffee.''

The bony-framed Nufio, who has three other malnourished children, is among about 35 women receiving instruction on proper childcare and hygiene as part of a year-old pilot project to stop malnutrition at an early age. A cereal distribution program for children and pregnant mothers also was recently launched.

The women in the program have a combined 75 children, newborn to 6 years old. Most are underweight and several suffer from chronic malnutrition. But the program has been successful in preventing deaths in a community where dying children was common.

''We used to have a child die about every six months,'' said Irma Yolanda Martínez, a community leader. ``Thank God, no child has died of malnutrition since the program began.''

STEADY WORK NEEDED

Even as the assistance is welcome, Martínez said that what is really needed is steady work.

''If we give them food, they'll eat and then the food will be gone again,'' she said. ``An agricultural program would be more beneficial.''

Nufio's family knows the dire consequences of malnutrition. Her mother-in-law Nicolasa Vásquez, has lost two of her nine children. One died at birth, the other as a toddler.

''I don't have enough food to give them all the nutrition they need,'' said Vásquez, 45, as she cradled her youngest child, 7-month-old Jessica.

''We are used to living like this,'' said Vásquez's husband Tereso Casiano. ``It's what God has given us.''

In Jocotán, salvation can be found at two nutrition centers.

The public Center for Nutritional Recuperation opened in 2001 with 70 patients and now treats more than 150 children annually who suffer from chronic malnutrition. Patients, who often display symptoms that include irritability, loss of hair and spotty skin, stay as long as two months while they are fed a ''recuperation'' diet comprised of vitamin-rich formulas and cereals.

But as hundreds of children are nursed back to health, just as many fall ill.

''It remains a constant problem,'' said Dr. Juan Manuel Mejía. ``There is a lot of malnutrition in the countryside and this year, it seems to have grown a bit.''

Children suffering from acute malnutrition, like Antonio, often end up at the Centro de Recuperacion Nutricional Infantil Bethania, simply known as Centro Bethania. Many are on the verge of death by the time they are admitted. Antonio was 15 pounds underweight when he was admitted.

GETTING TREATMENT

The center treats about 400 children each year and on average eight don't survive. It takes at least a month for children to reach up to 80 percent of their ideal weight, said Arriola, the director.

Treatment costs about $900 per child, and though parents are asked to contribute only about $40 of the cost, that is a small fortune in a nation where the distribution income is highly unequal and as much as 75 percent of the primarily indigenous rural population lives on less than $2 per day.

Arriola praised the national initiative as a good first step but added that to successfully combat malnutrition, the effort must be accompanied by ''concrete programs'' that will lower unemployment, increase crop production and improve literacy rates.

He also expressed concern that the national programs would be dropped when a new national government is elected next year.

''What happens when we get a new government?,'' Arriola said. ``Will the state continue to take on the responsibility or is this just going to be a program based on politics?''

Manrique, of UNICEF, blamed politics for previous failed attempts to address malnutrition and criticized limited resources for health and education programs. About 1.8 percent of the GDP goes to health and about 2.9 percent to education.

''This country has a gigantic effort to take on,'' he said. ``With food and other efforts done simultaneously, in a couple of years, we can start to see significant changes.''

The primary focus of the current campaign is to create awareness among the population ''so that these programs are not thrown away once this government is finished,'' Manrique said. ``Knowledge, consciousness and food: those are the three things, properly mixed, that will make change.''

Still Nothing : (

Well I called the lab today and they still don't have the specimens!!! We still have a chance I guess, but it is getting really close.
Keep you updated.
till then....

Did it happen??

Did the DNA and Social Worker appointment happen? That is the big question and as far as we know it did. I called the lab on Thursay in the morning to see if they had received the specimens yet, and they hadn't yet received them. We are getting really close to our trip. Sometimes it takes a week for the DNA to get to the lab and lets hope less, much less then one week to get the results we only have 7 working days and a weekend before we are suppose to go. I am going to call the lab on Monday to see if they have received the specimens yet.
We will keep you updated.
till then....

Could complaining be good luck????

Of course most people would say no, but I would tend to disagree.

We had our SW and DNA appointment were scheduled for today!!!! This means of course the birthmother could change her mind or the DNA could not match, but those are the worse case scenarios. So we should be able to go over Xmas!!!!! We should get the results back witin 2 weeks at the latest. We will still be cutting it close, but who cares we will be able to go!
We are so excited and we have SO much to do. If all goes well we will be leaving on December 20 and coming back on the December 30. We are finally going to be able to meet our little girl. I am sure we will have tons of pictures to post too when we get back. So wish us luck and cross your fingers for us.

YIPEEEEE!!!!!!

Getting VERY annoyed!!!!!

Well we are to say the least getting very antsy. We only have 20 days to get the DNA done and get the results back. We have had DNA authorization for almost a month. I mean this is getting ridiculous. Everytime we email they say the usual we are waiting. Well aren't we are waiting. I just want to call and yell at them, but that won't do any good either. It just makes us feel helpless. If we can't go over Xmas then we are going to try to hold out and wait until the middle or end of January. Well other than that not a lot going on. We are still trying to get the money together to pay for the rest of the adoption.
Keep you updated.
till then...

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!
Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had my sister's family and grandpa over. This was my first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner and if I do say so myself it turned out really well. Everything except the gravy that is because I had no idea how to make gravy and let's just say that it was a difficult thing to do. Other than that it was great. The only thing missing was Addisyn, but she will be here for next Thanksgiving. That is how I think of everything, this time next year she will be here for this or for that.

Nothing new on the case, but we are hoping we will get our usual Friday update. Although we aren't holding our breath on the update because of the holiday weekend.
Keep you updated.
till then....