Updated Measurements for Anna Maria

Hi All,

We got updated measurements for Anna. She went to the Dr. on November 23, 2007. Her measurements were: 12 pounds, height; 58cms and Head Circumference 39cms. She is doing great and eating very well. Dr. Lee also wrote us to let us know that "Anna's measurements are fine - her height continues as before at the 10th percentile, her weight is up a bit between the 10th and 25th percentile (was at the 10th percentile for the last 2 months) and her head is also about the same at just under the 10th percentile - better than the 3rd percentile we'd seen for the first 2 months, and about the same percentile as last month".

Spoke with our Lawyer today, to see how everything was going.

Today Margaret called Edwin with the help of Soni (thanks for translating Soni). Edwin was going to find out today how our case was going in PGN. Edwin said he would email us to let us know. Edwin still anticpates it to be at least 8 weeks before we are out of PGN, as long as we have no more previos (kick outs).

Later on, we received an email from Edwin, and our Dossier is still with the 1st Reviewer, and hopefully will be at the 2nd Reviewer next week.

Well, our adoption with Peter went so smooth, who would of thought PGN would of done this with Anna. We entered PGN on Oct 1st and had two kick outs, and still in PGN. Maybe Margaret should send a Christmas card to PGN, to get them in the spirit of the Holidays.

But on a Brighter Note, Margaret & Peter are going to visit Anna after the holidays. The arrangements are still be finalized.

Please continue to pray and send your good wishes for Anna Maria, so Anna gets out of PGN once and for all.

Thanks for your continued support.

"Miracle on Main Street"

Hi All,

This evening (Saturday) we decided to go to Sayville (this great little town where we use to live that have great events throughout the year) to "Miracle on Main Street". This was the first year the town did this (they usually only do a Tree Lighting), and it was great. Peter had fun with his older sisters. All of Main Street was closed, so they had movies playing, Santa and his reindeers there, merry go round, along with bands playing and a choir playing bells, and the tree lighting. Even though there was no snow, the cold temp. made it feel like Christmas.

One movie screen had Snoopy & Charlie Brown's Christmas playing and Peter just sat himself down on the road and watched it. Just the week before Peter watched Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving on the T.V. and he loved it and was laughing when Snoopy was up to no good. So I guess mommy is going to have to get the DVD, so he can watch it at home.

We ended the evening by going to dinner at a restaurant right in town.

It was a great evening.

Peter watching the Snoopy and Charlie Brown's Christmas. He just loves Snoopy these days.

Santa's Reindeers where there, they were on break having a snack.

And last but NOT least, good ole Santa Claus was there, or as Peter would say.....Ho Ho Ho! was there.

We are back in PGN!

HI all,

Just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, and we hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving.

Today we got an email from our lawyer's daughter (Jackie - thanks!!!) telling us that we were resubmitted back into PGN today. So lets just hope the next time, we are out of PGN for good and Anna can come home.

Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was nice.

A Christmas Package for Anna

Margaret bought a few items to send to Anna for Christmas, just in case Margaret visited after Christmas. Edwin and his family is coming to Virginia to visit for Thanksgiving. So Margaret sent the pkg to Martina (thanks Martina) who was going to see Edwin over Thanksgiving. Edwin is going to bring the pkg back to Guatemala with him and give it to Anna. We just can't wait for Anna to come home. Margaret is still trying to figure out when to visit, it will either be in the middle of December or the day after Christmas.

Peter helped pick out these gifts. He liked the soft feel to the pajamas - so we had to get them.

Update on our progress

Hi All,
Well, Over the weekend Margaret's patience sort of flew out the window, so she tried to contact Edwin to see when we can expect to enter PGN. Margaret was not able to get through to Edwin. In Guatemala the phone service is very bad. So on Monday Margaret decided to contact Edwin's daughter Jackie about our case. Edwin and his family (except for Jackie) are flying to the US today to celebrate Thanksgiving with a family who Edwin helped adopt a child. With the help of Soni (just in case translation was needed, thanks Soni) Margaret was able to contact Jackie on the phone. We were told that our folder is in the "Relaciones Exteriores" and she hopes to have us in PGN by Wednesday, Thursday the latest. The minimum time in " Relaciones Exteriores" is 72 hours, before you can enter PGN. Jackie told Margaret that either her or her father will email us to let us know when we entered PGN. After talking to Jackie, Margaret felt a little better knowing that their case was still moving along.

Please continue to pray, best wishes, fingers crossed - whatever works for you - that our folder goes right through PGN and we get approval to get out of PGN, so our Anna can come home.

Thanks for your continued support.

We got Updated Pics of our Anna Maria

These pics were taken on Nov. 13, 2007. Anna is just about 4 months old here. She is such a cutie pie. The shirt she has on, says.......... "Who needs Santa (pic of Santa face) when I have Grandma". We also got adorable pics of Anna in her Christmas Dress, but you'll have to wait to get your Christmas card to see that pic, it brought tears to my eyes, she is so adorable. The book is what Peter picked out and we sent that to Anna along with the Elmo Christmas rattle. Christmas outfits and white blanket.

An Anniversary Gift for Margaret

Hi All,
Well, for our wedding anniversary, my husband said that I can go to Guatemala to visit Anna. So Peter and I will be going to see Anna again - hopefully sometime in December. I just have to figure out when. We wrote Edwin our lawyer about us (Peter and I) coming to visit and if we would be safe? Our lawyer wrote back and told us - we would be fine and we will be staying at a very safe hotel. Edwin also told us that he would be available to us 24 hours a day, if we need anything. So, now I am checking out when we are going to go - because with the holidays here there are a lot of things to figure out and plan.

I'll keep you all posted on when we will be going. Unless, we get out of PGN real quick, then we'll just wait for a pick up trip.

Have a great day!

The Re-done Paperwork is off to Guatemala.............

Today was another trip into NYC to go to the Guatemala Consulate, to get the paperwork authenticated. We caught the 8:37am train as planned. On the way to the Guatemalan Consulate we dropped by Macy's to pick up a box of Godiva Chocolate for the "nice person who's going to authenticate our documents while we wait" - yes, you got it, Margaret bought some "good bait", because Margaret wanted the documents done today and given to her today, not in a couple of days by Express Mail. Hey, when you think about it, it was cheaper this way, instead of buying a pre-paid express envelope to leave with the documents - for the Guatemala Consulate to mail to you.

Margaret called the Guatemala Consulate yesterday to see what time they opened today and to see if it would be possible to wait for the documents, the man and woman (Margaret called twice hoping to get someone to say yes, you can wait) said no, you must leave them and they will be mailed to you the next day. Margaret also found out that Pedro was on vacation for three weeks too - that was the only person Margaret knew in the Consulate. So Margaret came up with the "bait plan".

After Macy's we went to the Guatemala Consulate and it was packed and people were even waiting outside. So Margaret got the "bait" ready with the documents before going inside. Once inside, a gentleman behind the desk asked if I needed help and I told him the reason why I was there. I handed him the 3 documents (Margaret made sure he knew it was only 3 documents, not an entire dossier) along with the Godiva bag with the box of chocolates in it. Margaret then asked him if she can wait for the documents and he said yes, he will do them now and they'll be ready in about 30 minutes.............WOW, that was music to Margaret's ears. So Peter and Margaret waited in the waiting area, where others were waiting too. The little girls in the lobby came right over and started to play with Peter, he is such a lady's man. Peter had fun playing with the other kids while we waited for the documents to get done. The gentleman came out and handed the documents to Margaret and Thanked her for the candies. Margaret was like, OH No, thank you for getting these done for me so I can Fed Ex them to Guatemala.

After the consulate, Margaret caught up with her niece Tami at a Staples and made copies of the paperwork and luckily there was a Fed Ex box right there - so they were mailed out right then. Luckily, Tami was there and noticed that Margaret put the envelope in the wrong compartment to be mailed out, so that was quickly corrected - (Thanks for paying attention Tami). As we speak, our envelope should be heading to a Fed Ex Airplane. Yippie.

Before heading back home, Margaret, Peter, and Tami had lunch - and we even went to the toy store to get Peter a small toy to play on the train - since he was a SUPER GREAT kid these past two days going into the city and spending all day in the city. Margaret was so surprised on how good Peter was, and he was so great on the train.

This evening, Margaret is going to email the documents to Edwin, so the translator can start translating it while Edwin is waiting for the original documents. Edwin hopes to have us back into PGN by the middle of the week, because once he gets the documents translated, he is going to see the Judge about what to do with the "dates not being in chronological order", because the Judge can always remove the last page - which would take care of this problem. And from there our folder gets handed into another part of PGN where they review the new documents that were just handed in and the minimum time here is 72 hours - before we are re-entered in to PGN.

So lets just hope that the Judge fixes this mistake and we go right into PGN and get out quicker than quick!

Talked to our Lawyer tonight about the paperwork that has to be Redone

Okay, so we talked to our lawyer tonight about the paperwork still not being in chronological order. And we decided to get everything authenticated at the Guatemala Consulate, and then fed ex it to our lawyer. Our lawyer will then take it to the Judge to see what he thinks and to see if the last page should be omitted so there is no confusion.

I hope the Judge is in a Ho Ho mood, and just fixes it, so we can move on.

It is so unbelievable that all this stuff is going on with Anna's paperwork, and Peter's paperwork was the SAME EXACT and he had no issues with PGN.

So, lets just hope that this is the end of the kick outs.

SIGH! It's been a long day.

Today Margaret and Peter started off the day at 8:30am by going to Town Hall to get a new marriage license. Luckily, Margaret had a birth certificate, so that was already taken care of. While at Town Hall we find out that the computers are down and they don't know when they will be up. The woman in charge of this paperwork was due to come in at 9am. So Peter and Margaret waited. Luckily, Margaret had one extra original of the marriage license, but needed another marriage certificate. The woman said she would be able to do the certificate on the typewriter (didn't know these still existed), but would not be able to give us a marriage license (which was fine, since we had one already). So after that long wait, we headed to Riverhead. Keep in mind it was raining in New York today and there were a lot of Sunday drivers out. We finally made it to Riverhead, and the woman did our county clerks certified documents. Margaret looked at them and wouldn't you know it..........THE DATES ARE STILL NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, are you kidding me. I asked the woman how can that possibly be. She explained to me that the judge takes a stack of blank forms and signs them and dates them, and she just uses them and then on the bottom of the same page, she certifies it with today's date. UUGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH. Margaret asked if there was any one, to get them to be in chronological order, she said no - that is the way they've been doing them and it's been fine. So, now I am going through the same authentication process for the same mistake we got kicked out of PGN. So, Margaret decided to still go into the city, and hopefully on the way will find out some answers. Margaret called her husband to let him know they were going to the city, and it turns out that Kerry had a 1/2 day so he took a trip into the city too. Since the day started off bad, it might as well continue, we managed to miss the 12:08 train, because it is IMPOSSIBLE to find a parking spot midday at any Railroad station. So we caught the 12:35pm. While on the train Margaret tried calling her lawyer to ask about the last page not being in Chronological order - it was pretty hard to talk to him on the phone, so Margaret told our lawyer that she would call him this evening to talk about it. Margaret and Kerry discussed it and decided to not go to the Guatemalan Consulate until tomorrow after we talk to our lawyer this evening about the paperwork. We made it into the city and took the subway to the States Dept - the place was PACKED! Margaret has never seen it sooo packed. The woman at the window said that they close the window at 3pm, that's why everyone is here, before the window closes. Margaret and Kerry discussed what we were going to do about the paper work, because if we omitted the last page (the certify, of the certify) then we wouldn't have to worry about the chronological order. So once up at the window Margaret asked the gentleman about omitting the last page and he said, that 's the most important page, because that exemplifies everything else. So in actuality, one document was certified 3 times, but all our other documents in the dossier were only certified once and they didn't have a problem with PGN. It's a Suffolk county thing for sure. After the State Dept. we met up with Peter's cousin Tami for a bite to eat and then we headed home on the train. We finally got home at 6:30pm. Luckily Peter napped on the way home on the train, so he was ready to eat dinner. Lets see how good he is tomorrow when we have to take another train ride. :)

Counting our Lucky Stars

This evening Margaret was getting stuff together to go to Riverhead (Suffolk County Clerks Office) and New York City to get the paper work redone - so we can be resubmitted back into PGN. On Tuesday, Margaret & Peter are doing this trip again.


Luckily, Margaret thought about re-checking the dossier (good thing for copies) and its a good thing Margaret did, because that "stupid mistake" Suffolk County Clerk's office did on our marriage license they also did on Margaret's birth certificate. So Margaret will be taking care of both things. Lets just hope Pedro at the Guatemalan Consulate is in a happy mood so he gives me that Guatemala Consulate stamp on the documents so I can fed ex them from NYC to Guatemala. Fingers crossed.

Hmmm, it's funny how those who never did a Dossier, always have a comment to make - BUT those who did do a Dossier, don't make a comment - only because they know how much work actually goes into it and how time consuming it is. Yes, Margaret knows if she checked the paperwork, before leaving the Suffolk County Clerk's office we would still be in PGN. But, she didn't. Who would of guessed a person would put the wrong date on the document - and I am sure she put that same date (wrong date) on the rest of the documents she did throughout the day. But, if we didn't get kicked out for this mistake, the reviewer would of just found something else to kick us out for. So lets just hope, this satisfies PGN and the next time we are out - it is for GOOD!

Please continue to pray that our Anna gets out of PGN so she can come home.

Thanks for your continued support.

Peter's new room is finally getting somewhere........

HI All,

Today was a busy day working on Peter's room. We decided to let Anna have the Nursery, and we would move Peter. We got rid of our dining room furniture, since we only use it for Christmas Eve Dinner and decided to make that into Peter's room. The room will be big, so it'll be Peter's bedroom and toy room, this way the living room can be a living room.............well, at least that is what Peter's daddy is hoping for.

The wall is done! Margaret will order the doors for it on Tuesday. And the guy will come to spackle on Tuesday. Hopefully it will be ready for Peter to move in before December.

Here are some pics of Peter hard at work........

We spoke to our Lawyer today about the "Previo" (Kick out) of PGN

Today Margaret called Edwin (with assistance from Soni - translating - just to make sure there was nothing misunderstood, thanks Soni).

It turns out that we were kicked out of PGN, thanks to Riverhead Clerks Office making the mistake. Margaret didn't even think to check, because how hard can it be to write the date. It turns out the date on the paper work for our marriage license was not in chronological order, so we were kicked out. What happened............well, Once we got our marriage license, we had to go out to Riverheard Clerks office to get it certified (dated 7/26/07). Since it was a marriage license we also had to bring it to the courts (same building, no biggie) to get the certification that the clerk just did - certified (this was dated 7/25/07). Then we went into NYC to the State Dept. and they did their part (dated 7/26/07), then we went to the Guatemala Consulate and they did their part (dated 7/26/07). It turns out that the court dept. in Riverhead should have put the date as 7/26/07. But since they put 7/25/07 that means I got that certification done before the clerk's certification, and that shouldn't of been - because that shows/means I did not do it in the correct order.

So, what do we need to do now. Well, remember during the summer how Margaret & Peter went to Riverhead with the paperwork, and then took a trip to NYC to get all the paperwork authenticated............... well, we have to do that again. Monday is a holiday (Veterans Day) so Margaret will not be able to do it until Tuesday. So first thing Tuesday morning we will be heading to town hall to get a new Marriage License with the raised seal on it, and then to Riverhead, and then to NYC. This time Margaret will be making sure the right dates are on the paperwork, before heading to the city. Hopefully once we get to the Guatemala Consulate, Pedro will be nice and do our one document while we wait, so I can Fed Ex to our lawyer in Guatemala that afternoon, so he gets it on Wednesday afternoon.

Once our lawyer receives the docuemtns, the next day we will go back into PGN.

Gotta Practice what I Preach!

Hi All,

This afternoon after getting the bad news of another kick out. I came to realize how lucky we are, and how I have to practice what I preach (thanks Pam, Barbara, Soni, and Martina). We have a wonderful son, that just gets cuter by the day, even when he copies Daddy when he snores, or when he thinks our cocker spaniel is a horse - luckily Max doesn't mind it. I have a wonderful husband who cares about us very much. This evening my husband brought me home a bouquet of flowers, because he knew I was having a bad day. We have a great family and friends, who is excited about Anna coming home too.

As for the "practice what I preach" - With our first adoption and this adoption I have always told my friends going through the adoption - "To think Positive" it will happen. That was always my motto. So I have to continue to "THINK POSITIVE", because Anna will be coming home soon. And in the meantime, we have lots to do here to get ready for our little girl. This weekend, we are working on making Peter's room. We got rid of the dining room (only used it on Christmas eve, so no biggie), and we are building a wall - so Peter will have a nice room so his baby sister can go in the nursery. Hopefully my husband and his friend will be able to handle it, while Peter and I go out and do some more Christmas shopping. I wouldn't want Peter or I to show up the men on how to do it.

As for the "kick out", our lawyer emailed us at 10pm this evening, he just got home from a long day and was getting ready for dinner. We are going to call him tomorrow to discuss it, but it something that the translator in Guatemala is going to have fixed by Monday morning and we will be back in PGN Monday afternoon. Lets hope the reviewers in PGN have the holiday spirit this time around.

thanks for listening and thanks for your continued support.
Margaret

Another letter from a Congressman

Wow, they must know that these letters are going to be put in Anna's life book Today we got a letter from P.K. congressman. And it turns out that he is a member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption. He also signed "the letter to President Oscar Berger Perodomo (president) of Guatemala and leaders of UNICEF urging them to adopt an interim plan to allow for the processing of pending adoption cases". And, P.K. even had a real signature on his letter.

Lets just hope, adoptions continue.

thanks for your continued support.

Kicked Out Again! :(

Okay, so today Margaret decided to call PGN herself - to see what is going on. And found out that we were kicked out (previo) on 11/06/07. Margaret then called her lawyer to find out why. Our lawyer picked up our folder this morning and he was going to look at our folder later this afternoon to find out the reason why and he would get back to us. Unfortunately, with PGN once you get "kicked out" it takes a day or two for your folder to get to the front window for the lawyer to pick it up. Nobody really knows why, but that is the way it is with PGN.

So now, Margaret just added something else to her Christmas List - A Visit trip to see Anna!

Please continue to pray, keep your fingers crossed, best wishes that all of this is resolved and Anna comes home real soon.

thanks.

Guatemala Adoption Information and News

Ortega/Hague Update
Guatemalan papers are reporting that committees of Congress met yesterday on the adoption law. This was NOT the vote on the amendments. But based on these reports, Guatemala will postpone implementing the Hague until April 1, 2008 in order to better coincide with the US's likely ratification date. Interestingly, one paper quotes US Consul General John Lowell as saying this is unnecessary.

In addition, one paper is reporting that the Ortega Law's effective date will be bumped back to April 1 as well. One story also mentions that one amendment to be voted on is to permit singles to adopt.

Once again, this all coming from Guatemalan papers. If you would like to see the newspaper articles in full, please visit http://www.guatadopt.com/ website. (there is a link to their website on the right margin).

Thanks!

Received a Letter from our New York State Assemblywoman.

Wow, we were quite surprised to get a letter from G.F. New York State Assembly Fifth District. She wrote us to let us know, that she forwarded our letter to P.K. our congressman and requested him to help us with our situation. And the letter had a real signature too. Sorry, but Margaret is a stickler about letters being signed or stamped. Hand signed letters mean a lot more to Margaret, then just the ones that have the stamp signatures. It was very nice for G.F. to take the time to write us and our congressman and request him to help us.

Please continue to Pray, send good wishes, fingers crossed - whatever works - so Anna comes home real soon.

thanks for your continued support.

Colom Wins Presidency - Guatemala will have a New President.

Its official....Alvaro Colom is the next President of Guatemala. He will take office on January 14, 2008. To see the details on the election and the information about the new President for Guatemala, please go to this website:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/05/america/05guatemala.php

It is really unsure, his opinions on Adoptions, so I guess time will tell.

Got an Email from our Lawyer today - Yippie!

HI All,

Margaret was quite surprised to get an email from our Lawyer on a Saturday. We know our lawyer likes spending the weekends with his family and NOT work. So it was a nice surprise to get this email. Thanks for taking the time to email us Edwin - it is greatly appreciated.

Our lawyer told us that he checked with PGN last week and we were with the 2nd reviewer, or as he would say - they are called "asesores".

So that is good news, now let just hope we go to Barrios desk and get signed off - that would be soo soo great!

Our Efforts have Paid Off! Thanks so much!

The Joint Council posted this wonderful information on their website (www.jcics.org/Guatemala5000.htm)

"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."

Thank you all for your continued support, prays, & good wishes.

Just an Update

Hi All,
A few of you have been asking what is going on with Anna. Well, we are in PGN. This is the waiting stage. PGN is closed until Tuesday (closed for All Saints Day, closed Monday due to the Presidential Elections on Sunday), so we will not be hearing anything - if anything until next week. Hopefully, we'll be on Barrios's desk (reviewer #3, last person) and he'll be in a good mood after a long weekend off and sign us OUT! Positively thinking of course. :)

Please continue to pray & send your good wishes, for Anna Maria to get out of PGN so she can come home.

Thanks for your continued support.

Today is All Saints Day in Guatemala

All Saints day is One of the Guatemala's most important holidays, All Saints Day (sometimes called Day of the Dead here) is marked by processions and festivals mixing Mayan and Catholic traditions. Most activities take place in the cemeteries, where people decorate grave sites and celebrate their dead. In the village of Santiago Sacatepequez, less than an hour from the capital, locals fly huge brilliantly colored kites, representing souls rising to heaven. Notes attached to the strings carry messages to the dead and to God.

All Saints Day is a very religious day in Guatemala, where most places are closed. Even PGN is closed today.

Just to give you an idea on how big the kites are - look at these pics. They are so amazingly big. Guatemala also makes their pinatas big for party celebrations.

I saw these pics on another adoptive family blog, and I just had to show them to you all.