HO Ho ho, Santa is coming..........

Okay, so do you know Santa is coming in just 39 days. WOW!

About two weeks ago, mommy attempted to bring Anna and Peter to the photo studio to get their Christmas pictures done. Peter was very cooperative and eager to take them and be done with them. Anna on the other hand - had other things in mind. When we got to the studio, mommy had to get Anna dressed in her pretty Christmas dress - Anna was screaming "no, No, no" and tried to run away from the dress. After a few minutes, mommy managed to get the dress on Anna. Anna didn't want anything to do with Pictures - with or without her big Brother. The photographer managed to get some "okay" pictures - so mommy said that was fine. Mommy was happy that we got at least one "okay" one with the both of them together.

As for Anna's Pretty pretty dress, her big brother Peter picked the dress out when we went shopping at the mall. While walking through the store, this dress caught Peter's eye and he said "mommy, we have to get this dress for Anna, she would look really pretty in it for Christmas". Mommy agreed and purchased the dress. Mommy was so surprised that Peter thought of his baby sister and Christmas too. Peter was so excited about the dress, when we got home he had to show it to his sister.

Today, mommy was eager to try one more time - to get pictures of Anna while her big brother was at School. Mommy was very glad she did, because the pictures were priceless. The last picture (scroll down, its right above "Santa's hands") was so darling - it was too bad she wasn't looking forward, but this shows you just how pretty Anna looked in her dress. Yes I know, mommy has to do something with the hair, but mommy couldn't find a headband/piece to put in Anna's hair that matched the dress. All the hair accessories, clashed with the dress and besides, Anna looks darling with those curls, curls, curls.

I hope you enjoy the pictures................. we sure did.

Guatemala Needs YOUR Help..........

Hi all,

Thanks for coming back and checking out our blog. I have updates and pics to share with you, but at the moment there is more important things that need to take priority. Please read below. I have posted info about three wonderful organizations that could use your help.

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The following was sent to me via email from the Mayan Families - I can't even put into words how much this bothers me soo. This organiztion is Non Profit, so your donation will be Tax Deductible.

Dear Amigos of Mayan Families,
Many of you may be aware that Guatemala is facing a huge crisis. The President of Guatemala has called it "a calamity". The drought has caused severe food shortages and the cost of basic food items continues to rise daily.

According to Unicef almost half of Guatemala’s children are chronically malnourished—it has the sixth worst record in the world. In parts of rural Guatemala, where the population is overwhelmingly people of Mayan descent, child malnutrition reaches 80%.A diet of little more than tortillas does permanent damage.This is the only diet that many families have right now.
In Guatemala, which has some of the worst levels of chronic malnutrition, children have already started dying. In rural areas, thousands of families can no longer afford to eat. Malnutrition rates are rising among the very young, and the elderly. We have many mothers who are not eating, just surviving on a few tortillas a day so that they can give the food to their children.Children who suffer from chronic malnutrition are not in immediate danger of starvation,but they will face stunted growth and a diminished mental capacity. The children don’t look underweight — they just look tiny. Some have light hair, others have patches of hair missing,some are even bloated.

Families that before could afford to feed their children, are now struggling but the families that were already living without enough to eat are now facing daily hunger and the children are quickly becoming malnourished and sick.Daily, we have families coming to our door who have nothing to eat. The worst affected are single mothers whose wages were barely able to keep the family together before this crisis. Now, they just do not have enough to feed their children even the very basics.

Through your help ,Mayan Families currently feeds over 110 children everyday at our three pre-schools. These are children that have been identified as malnourished or are in danger of becoming malnourished.We have started a feeding program for the Elderly this week. Many of the elderly people do not have enough to eat and are becoming very malnourished and weak.We need your help to be able to continue to feed these people and the many more who need help.

This is a crisis situation and while we believe in long term solutions...right now ...people who are hungry cannot wait for crops that will grow during a severe drought or chickens that will lay eggs. They need help today.The biggest need and challenge facing the indigenous people of Guatemala this year and in the coming year will be the struggle to have enough to eat.

The United Nations children's fund, UNICEF, reports that Guatemala has the worst malnutrition problem in Latin America, even higher than the 35.2percent average in Africa!

October 1st is Children's Day in Guatemala. We traditionally celebrated this with a pinata and cake. This year, in the hopes of giving children food, we are asking for a small donation of $10 or more to be able to provide a child with a bag of corn and several pounds of beans to take home. Beans are sometimes the only protein the children will receive.We need food for general distribution.....this is for families that are in desperate situations, many of these will be single mothers.

A 100 lb bag of corn is $35US. This will supply a family of five with tortillas for two weeks .
A 100lb bag of black beans is $90 US.
A carton of 30 eggs is $5US.
A basket of food with a cooked chicken is $35 US.

To help a family get through this crisis , please consider donating today.Any donation of any size, to help feed a child and their Family will be greatly, greatly appreciated.We don't want to turn people away that we know can be helped. With your generous donation, we can help those who are in terrible situations and give them hope. If you would like to nominate your sponsored student to receive your gift of food, we would be very happy to do that.

TO DONATE:Please click on the link to visit our website and donate online at http://www.mayanfamilies.org/DonateOnline and put it in the General Donation area, "Where most needed".

You may also choose to send your donation in the form of a check. Please make it payable to Mayan Families and send to:
Mayan Families
P.O. Box 52
Claremont, N.C. 28610

We are asking you to join in our efforts to help the Guatemalan people by giving a tax-deductible donation.We hope that you will be able to help us with a donation of $25, $50 or more, this will feed a lot of children. However, any donation no matter how small is always welcomed and appreciated. We make every dollar count! We are asking that all contributions - personal, employee and corporate - be made as soon as possible.

You can make a difference right now, today!
Thank you for your support.
Best wishes,
Sharon Smart-Poage
MAYAN FAMILIES
Tel: 619-550-2608

ABOUT US:Mayan Families is a small non-profit group working in the Highlands of Guatemala. We are a registered 501(c) (3) Non Profit Charity. Your donationis tax deductible. P.S. Please help spread the word by forwarding this e-mail to your community or posting it on your personal blog, web page and your social networks such as Facebook, My Space, Twitter, Hi5, Ning and any others that are appropriate.

Please follow Mayan Families on Blog:http://mayanfamilies-sharon.blogspot.com/Twitter:http://twitter.com/mayanfamilies Facebook:http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1603632323&ref=name Ning :http://mayanfamiliessocialnetwork.ning.com/If you would like to give this gift in Honor of someone special, please send us an email to [mailto:dwight@mayanfamilies.org]dwight@mayanfamilies.org giving us the details and we will put them on our IN HONOR OF Blog.Mayan Families is a non-profit, tax-exempt charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible.Thank you once again for supporting Mayan Families!

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This Next Organization - is doing a wonderful things for the children in Guatemala. Vanessa lives on the West Coast and she is doing a "Project Santa". You can learn more by going on her blog (see websites below) for the latest updates. Yesterday Peter and I spent the day cleaning out his room and packing up the toys and books he no longer plays with. These boxes are going to be shipped to Vanessa so another child in Guatemala can have as much fun playing with them as our son Peter did. This weekend, Anna and mommy will be cleaning out her room and doing the same with the toys and books she no longer plays with. With Christmas only being about 91 days away, maybe it's time for you to make some room and donate the old toys and books to the Children in Guatemala.

www.heart4children.blogspot.com (Guatemala missions info)

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This last organization that I want to tell you about - it very close to our family, because my niece and nephew started it and are determined to make a change. As I type this - they are doing a clothes drive for the children in Guatemala. And plan to ship a large container to Guatemala the middle of October. So, while you are packing away your family's summer clothes and taking out your family's winter clothes - whatever you are getting rid of please put in a box and donate it to this organization, so it can be shipped to Guatemala for those who are in need of it. You can go to their website to get updates on what is going on, please go to:
www.te-foundation.com. This organization is Non Profit, so your donation is Tax Deductible.

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I know some of you are probably thinking, why aren't we helping families in the U.S., and I'll give you the same answer I have given others. Here is the U.S. , one doesn't know how lucky they are to have food stamps, and WIC checks, and welfare assistance just to mention a few. In Guatemala they don't have food stamps or the option to collect welfare while things are tuff! Guatemala is Peter's and Anna's Birth Country - so you bet I am going to help their country anyway possible.

We want to Thank you from the TOP of our hearts for your help. Please spread the new so others know about this. If you have any questions, you can leave a comment - those are sent directly to me before being posted on the blog.

Thanks so much!
Margaret

Anna is officially Anna Maria.

Anna's Birth name was Nancy, since we already had a Nancy in the family - we decided to name our daughter - Anna Maria (Anna after her grandmother in the U.S. and Maria after her Birth mother in Guatemala). So, we had to do some paperwork to make it happen. A few people asked why we re-adopted Anna - and there's a lot of reasons to do it. One is to change her name to her given name, and the other is to get a U.S. Birth Certificate, so in a few years when we have to sign her up for school - it will be an easy task, since she has a U.S. Birth Certificate, as well as all that other stuff you need a Birth Certificate for.

Since Anna came home on a R-3 Visa, the paperwork was a lot shorter - and we weren't required to appear in front of the judge to finalize the re-adoption. Mommy asked the woman if we can appear in front of the judge and the woman from the Adoption office, said for us to do that we would have to fill out the larger packet of paperwork. Then we decided that it would be fine to get her new Birth Certificate and we would just go out to lunch that day to celebrate. Well, a few days later mommy got a phone call from the adoption office and they said that we can appear in front of the Judge for Anna's Re -adoption. Mommy was so surprised and asked the woman how can that be, since we were originally told that wouldn't be an option. It turned out the Judge that did Peter's Re-adoption wanted to do Anna's too - he remembered us and our big family. So mommy was so excited she immediately said yes. Then the woman from the adoption office said - how about tomorrow? Mommy was like oh - that is tooo soon, because daddy wouldn't be able to take off from work that quick. So we picked a day (a Friday) after recess so everyone would be able to make it if they wanted to.


Aunt Carol, Aunt Jean, Aunt Karen/God Mother, Grandma, Pam and Emily all showed up for the re-adoption. Since it got over so quick and early - we all went out to breakfast (except for Pam and her daughter - that had another appt.)


It was such a nice day. It was especially nice that the Judge made an exception for us to be able to appear in court to make it complete.


Mommy thinks the Judge did this, only because he wanted to see how many grandchildren Grandma had now, because the Judge still has grandma beat by about 3 grandchildren. The Judge gave mommy his business address to keep in touch, because he would like to know how the family is doing. Mommy turned around and told the Judge that he just wanted to make sure he still had more grandchildren than my mother/grandma.

Mommy, who's my Grandpa?

Lately, that question has been asked A LOT from Peter. Mommy explained to Peter how he has a Grandpa in Guatemala, and his Grandpas in the U.S. are no longer living. But, Peter wanted a Grandpa. So mommy asked him how would he like to adopt a Grandpa? Peter's face lit up and was so excited over the thought of adopting a Grandpa. So, we took a few days to discuss who he wanted to adopt to be his and Anna's Grandpa. It was a hard decision, because mommy had to make sure that it would be someone who would want to be a "grandpa". So, we discussed our options and we talked about Joe being Grandpa. Then a few days went by with nothing said, then on the news they were talking about a "Joe" who was a hero, and Peter jumped up and said - Joe - that's my Grandpa's name. Then mommy knew - who Grandpa was going to be. Mommy typed up an adoption certificate to send to "Grandpa Joe". Peter and Anna signed it with their thumb prints. We all went to the post office and mailed it to Grandpa Joe. A couple of days later we got a phone call from Grandpa, who wanted to come over and visit. It was pretty tricky to plan the visit, since the kids were both napping when Grandpa called the first time, but the next day - Grandpa came over and had his Adoption Certificate with him and asked Peter about it. And Peter was soo happy to tell his Grandpa what the certificate was for, and Grandpa gave Peter a big hug and said he would love to be his Grandpa. Then Grandpa gave Anna a big hug too. Mommy thinks she even saw some tears in Grandpa's eyes. Peter was soooo excited that he finally had a Grandpa.





About a week later we went to go see Grandpa and Terry (grandpa's girlfriend) sing at a Restaurant. Peter was so excited to see his grandpa sing. Peter turned to mommy and said - you know what mom, my grandpa sings really good, he has a good voice. Peter is just so cute when his face lights up when he talks about things that make him happy.



Below is Grandpa's Adoption Certificate..............

Happy Birthday to Anna Maria

Happy Birthday to Anna Maria. Wow, how time flies. Anna turned 2 today. Yes, I know you are probably saying "oh those terrible twos". Well, when Anna turned 1 - she was in the "terrible 2 stage", now since she is 2 - I am expecting the "horrible 3 stages". But on a brighter note - she is a cutie pie, and she knows it too. She still does have that "Latin temper" going on, but we are hopeful that once she is able to express herself more clearly - that temper will disappear :) positively thinking of cause. LOL

This evening we had family over for "Anna's Ice Cream Parlor" Birthday Party. It was nice having the party in the evening, it made the day more relaxed and enjoyable. It was a great day and the weather couldn't be any better. It was fun. Anna's cousin's had fun in the sand box and playing on the jungle gym/swing set. We had the party in our backyard. Thanks goes out to Joel, Anna's God Father/Uncle for the tent, tables, and chairs, luckily the rain didn't come but it was nice to have for a bit of shade.

Muchos Gracias goes out to Anna's Birth mother who gave birth to Anna today, and decided to place Anna for adoption. We are ever so grateful for our wonderful daughter. This evening while everyone was singing Happy Birthday to Anna, mommy got a little choked up and teary eyed, when she thought of Anna's Birth Mom on this special day. Mommy helped Anna make a wish while cutting her Birthday Cake, and mommy made a wish too. Mommy hopes that one day, we will be able to have contact with Anna's & Peter's Birth mother, so she/they can know/see how their daughter/son is doing.

The party ended just in time, before all the mosquitoes came out. Instead of spending money on goodie bags, we decided to use that money and purchase food for a family in need in Guatemala - so they can eat for a couple of months, instead of going without. So, instead each child got a little bottle of ice cream cone bubbles with a note, letting them know why there wasn't any goodie bags today. The family thought that it was a wonderful idea. Once everyone left, we saw the large mess that was left to clean up, but we got it all cleaned up and packed away. Anna fell asleep before opening the gifts, so that will be put off until tomorrow.

Sunday, July 19th, 2009 - was another busy day - we had Anna's and Peter's Cousin's Christening to go to, then to a Christening Brunch. We came home for a short "nap time" and then we were off to another Party. Anna's & Peter's cousin Natalya's First Birthday Party was this afternoon. After that party we headed home, and Peter fell asleep in the truck while driving home and mommy carried him straight to his bed and he stayed asleep. Anna was awake and it wasn't bedtime yet, so we decided to open her gifts. Anna was so adorable opening her gifts, with a "sigh" each gift that was handed to her to open. She was so adorable opening her gifts. At Natalya's Birthday Party, her uncle and aunt gave Anna her gift, since they weren't at her party - Anna opened the box and she liked the dress so much - she started to undress herself to put on the new dress she just got - tags and all. LOL. Later on, Anna got her new dress wet - so she tried taking it off, to put something dry on, and we found out that the bloomer panties were still attached to the inside of her dress. So when Anna lifted her dress, you saw the panties hanging down from the inside of the dress - everyone broke out laughing at this cute sight. It was Anna's bedtime, but she wasn't ready to go to sleep quite yet, because she was busy playing with her toys she got as a birthday gift. But once mommy got her sippy ba ba (it use to be her bottle, but it has a sippy cap on it to make is a sippy cup, but that is what anna calls it) ready, Anna was all ready to get her jamies on and go to "nite nite".

It was a busy weekend, but a fun weekend with mommy's & daddy's families.

Here are some pictures of the great weekend...............

Hmmm, I love Ice Cream.............

Happy Birthday to me!

Anna's Ice Cream Parlor

It's my day, I can eat as much Ice Cream as I want.

Hey Mom, come give me a hug!

Gramdma and Me - having some Ice Cream

This was the little note, in the place of "goodie bags"

Peter the Chef - making his baby sister's birthday cake.

How time flies.....................

well, I know I have been slacking here - but I do have my notes I just have to put them down on this blog. LOL. The only time I get on the computer these days is to check emails - and then it's usually time to hit the hay to get some sleep. My two little angels are keeping me on my toes during their waking hours. So I am going to try and catch up here. Please scroll all the way down until you are all caught up, because there are some interesting Happenings that went on over the past couple of weeks.



Peter and Anna are getting so big. It is amazing to see how each one is growing in so many different ways. Peter is on this kick now on "knock knock" jokes, and it's cute, because when we do the "knock knock" jokes - Anna is right there saying "knock, knock, ......knock, knock" Anna copies her brother to a "T". Peter always complains when Anna is copying him, he "doesn't like it". But mommy tries to explain to Peter that his baby sister loves him so much she wants to be like him, but Peter doesn't want to hear about it. When Peter has play dates - he'll go over to Anna and tell her (as if she knows what he is talking about at 19 months old) that "Emily is his friend, she needs to find her own". I think Peter is going to have his hands full when his baby sister gets bigger - mommy's bets are on Anna when she gets older. Peter loves his sister very much, and he protects her all the time. It so cute to see how they help out each other.



Peter is doing GREAT with the pottie training. Just those couple of accidents the first two days of going cold turkey right to underwear. But, since he gave up his diapers- he also gave up naps. Now, Peter only naps occasionally - depending on the day. If we have a busy morning, then Peter will nap in the afternoon, but if the day is relaxed - then he's good to go and stays up all day. On the days he doesn't take naps - you can tell just by his behavior. There is a difference in Peter's behavior when he naps and when he doesn't. Mommy always has to remind daddy when Peter didn't nap, because we usually have to have extra patience. Peter always manages to give up something at each milestone - when Peter gave up the bottle - he also gave up milk, and now when he gave up his diaper - he gave up naps. Peter has done great in Pre School and is very excited that this is the last week for pre school. During the summer we signed Peter up for swimming lessons, and he'll be going to camp for sports for one week with his pal Emily. Even though, Peter is only 3 (he'll be 4 in Sept.) he has been asking about where he is from. Mommy has always been honest with Peter and told him about his life - both in Guatemala and here in the U.S. And we even talk about how his baby sister Anna is from Guatemala too. We told Peter when he and Anna gets older - we'll be going back to Guatemala to visit so he can see where he was born, and hopefully meet the families that took such good care of him and Anna. A lot of people are surprised that Peter knows so much about his life and Guatemala, and you see it in his pride - even at 3 years old.



You know, thinking about that - I have a story to share. One day we were at a playground playing. Peter and Anna were having so much fun and the weather was sunny and nice. The park was crowded with kids all over (which was odd, because it was a school day & a lot of these kids should have been in school). Aunt Karen kept on eye on Anna, while mommy kept an eye on Peter. Mommy noticed this one kid (maybe 8/9 years old) kept on following Peter and cutting him off on the slides and ladders. It didn't seem to bother Peter - and he was having fun either way, so mommy just kept an eye on it. Then the kid got in front of Peter and turned around and said "your not American you don't belong here" - then before mommy can say a word or reach her hands out to snatch that kid right up - Peter turned around and said "Yes I am - get out of my way" & Peter pushed the kid out of his way. Oh my, mommy just wanted to clap her hands! Bravo Peter! The kid didn't have a thing to say - he looked dum founded. Mommy waited for the kid to do something or say something else to Peter but he didn't - he went his own way and left Peter alone. Mommy looked around to see if the kid's mother was here to go say something to her - but it was hard to tell, because all the women sitting on the benches were busy chatting on their phones - not even paying attention to their children. Then mommy decided that it wasn't worth getting into a confrontation with the rude parent in front of Peter & Anna. Unfortunately, even in the year 2009 with Obama as President, people are still like that. As for the kid - someone taught him that - that is not something you just learn on your own. It is such a shame. But Peter's mommy is so proud of him for doing what he did without any hesitation.



Anna - wow - she is definitely a girl. LOL. She's a toughie and she doesn't put up with much. Unfortunately, the few times we visited Grandma, she (grandma) got to see just how Anna can be. Grandma is already predicting that mommy will be busy going to school, because Anna will be in trouble and be in the Principal's office a lot. Hopefully this is just a phase, that will pass. Boys are definitely different than girls. When Anna really wants something, it is amazing how she can talk so clearly and ask for it. Anna will probably be pottie trained very soon, because I think she'll know she won't have to fight mommy during diaper changes, if she just does her pee pee & poo poo on the pottie. Anna HATES diaper changes. Anna also, learned a new trick with all her velcro shoes and sneakers. While Anna is walking - she'll bend down and undo the velcro then take a couple of more steps and say "OH OH" and start laughing because her shoes would fall off. So mommy would have to put the shoes back on, maybe a minute later - Anna would be doing the same thing.........."OH OH". So the other day, Anna got a new pair of sneakers - with SHOE LACES. Anna was soo upset over her new sneakers - she was trying with all her might to get them off, and she was trying really hard to untie the double not, to get the sneakers off, but she wasn't able to do it. So Anna will definitely be a shoelace girl for now on.



Anna & Peter amaze me with the things they do and the things they say every day - they always manage to put a smile on my face all the time. I just love being their mom. Peter is forever saying "I love you mom" - regardless where we are or what we are doing. Out of the clear blue sky, Peter will say "your the best mom in the whole wide world". I am the luckiest mom in the whole wide world - for having 2 wonderful children.

oh yeah, a few people have been asking about the fish - well, we still have 2 fish left. It's amazing how these two fish are still living. Their names are snoopy and woodstock.

Four Fish.....Three Fish........Two Fish.......

sigh............................... okay, so the kids had their cousin Ryan's Birthday party yesterday and it was a Carnival Theme. And guess what the prize was? Yup - you guessed it - Gold Fish. So, instead of Peter just taking two home - one for him and one for Anna, he also had to take two more home for his older sisters. The fish were doing fine when we got home. Then last night, daddy woke up mommy to let her know a fish died. And this morning, daddy told mommy that another fish died. Now, keep in mind - mommy thought that daddy took care of the dead fish. This morning while daddy was getting ready for work - mommy and Peter was sitting at the kitchen table discussing what they were going to do today. Mommy looked at the jar where the fish were and noticed that there was still 2 live fish in the jar along with the 2 dead fish. So, mommy asked daddy if he was going to take care of the fish (of cause not to alarm Peter - mommy was spelling the words to daddy, so he can take care of the dead fish without Peter watching). Well, daddy being like most men - thought mommy would take care of it. LOL. So, with a few more words spelled out to daddy - he took care of the dead fish without Peter noticing. After daddy took care of the fish - he left quickly for work, knowing that Peter was asking about the fish. Peter saw that there were two fish missing, so in a very nice way - mommy explained how they were in fish heaven. Peter got upset over the two fish no longer being here, so mommy changed the subject to better and happier things. Throughout the day Peter kept on bringing up the "dead fish" - we even had a name for all 4 fish. Peter asked which fish died - so of cause mommy told him that Lucy and Woodstock (yes, after charlie brown) died, and Peter was happy about that, because those fish were for his older sisters, they weren't his fish. LOL. So now, it is almost midnight and Charlie and Snoopy are still living. Lets hope they are here tomorrow - otherwise, mommy will be making a trip to the fish store, but this time it will be for a Betta Fish - they are much hardier fish.

we'll keep you posted on the Charlie Brown story.

oh yeah, on a cuter note...............

Yesterday while driving to Ryan's Birthday Party (it was about an hour and 10 minute drive) - it looked like rain. So mommy was talking to daddy about how we need sunshine - so the party isn't indoors. Peter then said with a big smile on his face - "mom you already have sunshine, you have me". Oh my - it brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. Mommy then told Peter that he was so right - he is my sunshine! Then Daddy just looked at mommy in awww - that our son just came out and said that.

Happy Mother's Day!

To all the Grandmothers, moms, mamas, Godmothers, Foster mothers, etc. etc. etc. Happy Mother's Day! I am so Thankful for my two little Angels on this special day. I prayer that their Birth moms are safe and happy, and know that their little ones are doing very good. Because of Anna & Peter, everyday feels like Mother's Day! I am very Blessed to be their mom.

You may ask what is the difference on Mother's Day, well that is easy - this day Daddy gets to do stuff around the house, that mommy would normally be doing. Even though mommy gets to hear daddy with his sighs each job he completes. LOL. It just goes to show - Daddy can't handle "mommy's world". This morning we went out for Brunch with a few of mommy's family to celebrate Mother's Day, and grandma was there too. It was a nice brunch. Then we walked around town, and came home and daddy planted all the nice plants that him and the kids bought for mommy. This evening, Daddy will be BBQ-ing a nice dinner for the family. It'll be a nice peaceful day, since mommy has nothing to do.

I would like to share a poem with you, that my niece Kim found on line - while searching for a poem for the mother's who have babies in the NICU in Rochester where she works. It brought tears to my eyes just reading it................hope you like it............

Cross-Cultural Adoption
Author: Victoria Carrington

I don’t look like my mommy
People have started to say
I don’t look like my mommy
So I asked her why one day

“Some babies are so special,
They come in different ways
Some must wait for their babies
For days and days and days

Some babies come from close by
The Mom who had them could not stay
Other Mommies are waiting for them
For a baby they pray and pray and pray

Other babies are born in a far-away land
The mommy who had them no longer there
But some Mommies fly across the sea
A baby’s love to share

You may have a different skin color
Or a different kind of hair
But the love Mommy has for her baby
Will truly always be there

No matter how you or I look
One thing will always be true
You are my precious baby
And I will always love you!


The other day, we went to Hallmark to get cards for the special people in Anna's & Peter's life for Mother's Day. Kuddos goes out to Hallmark for having such a nice selection of Mother's Day cards written in Spanish. Even though, we are unable to send cards to Peter's & Anna's Birth moms, we got cards for their Foster moms along with a card for Jacqueline - Anna's Lawyer's wife - who had a big part in taking care of Anna while she was in Guatemala. We mailed out the cards with pictures of Anna & Peter for Mother's Day.

Have a Wonderful Mother's Day!

Project Santa

Hey all,
A Blog that I have been following is working on "Project Santa" (Christmas in Guatemala) and I thought I would help spread the word, because I am sure a lot of us have a lot of stuffed animals put away in the closet or the attic. This is a good way to clean out that closet and put a smile on a child's face in Guatemala. Read the info below for more details. I also included an email address where you can contact the person in charge directly. Please pass the word.

thanks,
Margaret.


2009 PROJECT SANTA
Would you like to be a child's Santa this year??? Here's your chance!! You can simply donate a new or gently used toy to a child in Guatemala this holiday season!! It's simple just gather the toy and ship it to me at P.O. Box 276 Des Allemands, LA 70030 if you're using regular postal service or to 146 Norman Ln. Des Allemands, LA 70030. Due to the high cost of shipping these items to Guatemala I'm asking that with each toy you also include a donation to help with the shipping expense. This is not meant to hinder those who would like to donate, but this is a vital part of Project Santa!!Want to save on shipping the item twice?? Simply click on the donate button and contribute to the Guatemala missions. This money wil go towards shipping and party expenses as well as helping ot make sure we gather enough toys for the children!! For more info on Project Santa, becoming a mission team volunteer, or to coordinate a shipping site from your home simply email me at vbayouangel@aol.com Thanks for all of your continued support!!

The BEST advice I can give about pottie training is...

The best advice I can give any mother when it comes to pottie training, is WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE READY, AND FORGET ABOUT WHATEVER ANYBODY IS TELLING YOU - ABOUT WHAT YOU SHOULD DO WITH YOUR OWN CHILD!

For the past year I have tried to put Peter on the pottie, I tried everything. I listened to every one's advice and pointers on how I should do it, but it just wasn't worth the fight to get Peter to sit on the pottie. I said forgetaboutit. Daddy was even giving mommy advice on how she should do it, but mommy never saw daddy step up to the plate to show her how it was done. So mommy told daddy, when Peter's ready then he'll be pottie trained. Over the past couple of years I have heard horror stories about how different parents pottie trained their child. I heard about the tantrums, the sleepless nights, the fed up points that so many mothers reached, or how some mothers stayed at home for a month with their child determined to get their child pottie trained before they reached 2 1/2. I was like - are you kidding me! I didn't want to be part of any of these horror stories. So I just left the pottie in the bathroom as a foot stool for Peter to brush his teeth and I left his Diego & Power Ranger underwear in the drawer for the day to come.

Well, on March 12th, that morning came where Peter told mommy that he wanted to wear underwear. Of course mommy was very surprised, but it was a very happy surprise. Mommy reminded Peter that he had school today, but it didn't matter - Peter wanted to wear underwear so mommy put underwear on him. It has been over a month - and Peter has just worn underwear - no pull up diapers, no diapers at bedtime or nap time - he wore underwear all the time. Peter only had a couple of accidents the first two days, and that was it.

This happy story I am happy to share, because since mommy waited for the "right time" - it has been a wonderful experience. We didn't have to stay home for a month to work on the pottie training. Peter never got upset those couple of times he did have an accident and mommy was cool throughout the whole thing. This is the way pottie training should be for both the child and the parent.

This is the way pottie training should be, forget about the age thing and being determined to "keep up with the Jones" and having your child pottie trained by the same age the rest of his peers were pottie trained. Let your child decide when he/she is ready - trust me - you'll be happy you did.

Good Luck!

Well, who would of thought........

Who would of thought that the family court would of called us up, to let us know for Anna's re-adoption we can appear in front of the judge. Mommy was so surprised to hear that over the phone, she had to ask the lady to repeat what she just said. And yup it was true - the woman on the other end of the phone said that the judge said if we and our family wanted to appear in front of him for the final signing of the re-adoption he would do it. Of course I had to question it, because just last week we were told that it wasn't possible since it was a re-adoption for an international adoption. But the same Judge who signed off on Peter's re-adoption paper work agreed to do the same for us for Anna and he welcomed us and our family into his court for the proceedings. I was so excited - because for Peter's it was such a nice thing that the court did and grandma (mom's mother) enjoyed seeing it done. So, mommy told the woman that they would love to come to court, and she said how about this Friday - hmmmm, mommy knew that wasn't going to work because Daddy was planning on being out of town working. So we scheduled it for the 17th of April - when mommy & daddy would be around along with grandma and other family and friends would have enough time to rearrange their schedule if they wanted to attend. So, Friday April 13th, 2009 Anna's re-adoption paperwork will be signed off by the same Judge who did our son Peter's re-adoption.

When daddy came home from work, mommy told him the good news and he was very surprised that they agreed to do it. It will be a nice day to have family and friends there to see this special event take place with our Daughter.

Special Thanks to the Judge who agreed to let us have this opportunity with our daughter.

It's been a GREAT 10 days!

Well, 10 days ago - Peter wanted nothing to do with pull ups/diapers - he just wanted underwear. Well, it has been GREAT!!!! Thursday night he went to bed with underwear on under his pj's - and he woke up in the morning without having an accident....YIPPIE! Friday - was better with going on the potty. He would run to the potty, but would get himself a little wet and get the potty a little wet - missing the potty. But he was doing great, and did not want to give up. When daddy came home, we took Peter to the toy store for a gift - for doing such a great job with the potty training. Friday night was great, Peter woke up Saturday morning without having an accident. Saturday - Peter became the "holding king" and only went to the bathroom once all day. We went to Margaret's sister & husband's house for a St. Patrick's dinner and Peter told mommy he had to go potty, but mommy took Peter to the wrong bathroom, he needed his potty chair - so mommy ran to the other bathroom where Peter's potty chair was and we made it 1/2 way through. But this accident is mommy's fault because it was her who went to the wrong bathroom. LOL. Since Friday (9 days ago) Peter hasn't had any accidents!!!!! Mommy still has to remind Peter to hold snoopy (yes, we gave it a name - or should I say Peter named it) down so he doesn't get everything including Peter's pants wet. Peter has tried standing a couple of times, but "snoopy just isn't listening". LOL. Peter loves the potty chart (Lightning McQueen) - because when he gets 20 stickers - he gets to go to the Toy Store to get a toy. Today he told mommy that he wanted to get a fish instead of a toy, we'll have to see about that request. This evening, Peter thought he was a "big boy" and went to the bathroom by himself and also cleaned up the potty chair by himself also. Mommy walked into the bathroom, and had a lot of mess to clean up - since I didn't know if the pee actually made it into the toilet or not. Peter is just so happy over accomplishing going to the potty on his own.



As for Mommy, I am so happy that this potty training thing is going so smoothly. Over the past few years, I have been hearing "horror stories" about people potty training their child - I was like - wow, I hope my Peter isn't like that. Over the past few months, so many people (friends and family) have been telling me - you better get him potty trained, you have to stay home for weeks and potty train Peter, etc. etc. etc. But a few months ago, it wasn't worth the "fight" to put Peter on the potty, when he was not one bit ready. It was definitely worth the wait - to have a nice pleasant story to share about Peter's potty training.



As for Anna - I think she'll be potty trained before she is two, because she keeps on saying "pee pee" and she runs to the potty and sits on it, fully dressed, but she sits as if she is going. But I'll wait until she is ready - so it's a pleasant experience for everyone.

It just happened one morning........who would of guessed!

You hear about it all the time ~ boys are the hardest to potty train......... you just have to wait until their ready. Well, it happened this morning and who would of guessed! Out of the clear blue sky, Peter wanted nothing to do with diapers or pull ups anymore.

This morning, just like any other Thursday, Mommy woke up Anna and Peter - to get them ready to start the day and have breakfast and take Peter to Pre School. Well, mommy was changing Peter and went to go put a pull up on (since he wasn't potty trained yet) and Peter said he wanted to wear underwear today. Mommy was soo surprised, and asked Peter what he said (mommy had to make sure she heard it right), and Peter said he wanted to wear underwear. Mommy asked Peter if he was sure, and Peter said yes. So, mommy got a pair of Peter's underwear out of his drawer (they were collecting a lot of dust sitting in his dresser drawer) and put them on him and got him dressed for school. Mommy was so happy, but at the same time a little worried - because Peter was going cold turkey - with no more diapers/pull ups. You have to understand - Peter didn't want anything to do with potty training and he was comfortable in wearing diapers all the time and wearing Pull ups to school (diapers weren't allowed). So, off to school we went. After dropping Peter off at school - mommy called daddy to tell him the great news - daddy was like "hmm, you did put a pull up on him also, right?" Mommy said no, Peter just wanted underwear. Now, mommy was worried even more - because "what would happen if Peter had an accident" "would the kids pick on him, or would the teachers protect Peter". Mommy then called up Pam O. to tell her the great news- and lets just say - she was on daddy's side about how I should of put a pull up also, just in case he had an accident. Well, it was tooo late to worry about this now, because mommy very well couldn't turn around the truck and go get Peter out of class to put a pull up on just in case. So mommy just had positive thoughts that Peter would do great in his underwear for the first time and will not have any accidents. 11:30am couldn't come soon enough - that was the time that mommy got to pick up Peter - he was fine and didn't have any accidents....YIPPIE!. As for the rest of the day - it went pretty good for Peter's first day in underwear - he had a couple of accidents, but that is expected. Luckily, daddy was out of town for work - so we didn't have to worry about where the accidents happened - whether it be the living room rug, or the leather sectional, or the cushion on the kitchen chair - everything was good and mommy cleaned it all up. Peter managed to make it to the potty to do 1/2 his poop in the potty and he was sooo soo excited about doing that in the potty. Once he was done with the bathroom, he had to call daddy and "tell him exciting news" it was so cute to see how Peter was so happy and telling his dad the "exciting news". This evening, Peter didn't want to wear a night time diaper, he wanted to wear his underwear and that "was final". So, mommy said okay - hey, if he had an accident it just had to be cleaned up - that's what they make wash machines and dryers for - right? right!

Anna on the other hand was fun with this transition - because she wanted in on the fun too and she wanted to sit on the potty when Peter was sitting on the potty. So while Peter was busy pulling down his pants, Anna squeezed in to sit on the potty. It was cute to see Anna do that, but mommy was trying to prevent more messes on the floor. We'll be going out to get another potty too, just so Anna has something to sit on to pretend she is going potty, while her big brother is going on the potty. Anna isn't ready yet to be potty trained, only because the first indication is usually them waking up with a dry diaper and Anna is far from that. But, I am sure Anna will be easy to potty train when the time comes, because her big brother is showing her pointers now.

So, keep your fingers crossed that the weekend goes good, especially since daddy will be home, and mommy really has no idea how daddy will remain positive with Peter having accidents. I guess we'll soon find out.

My little Peter is becoming a big boy! Wow, wouldn't it be great to be diaper free!

Anna's is in process of being re-adopted.........

Over the weekend, mommy was on the computer printing out the new forms to re-adopt Anna. We have been waiting a few months for the paperwork to be updated for international adoptions. When Peter was re-adopted there was a fat packet (about 1 1/2" thick) that had to be filed out by the adoptive parents. Along with that packet a home study had to be done along with both parents getting finger printed (again). Besides the cost it was very time consuming. When Anna came home, mommy called the re-adoption office to get the packet to start Anna's re-adoption. The woman explained to me that in a few months everything was going to change where international adoptions wouldn't have to do a home study or get finger printed again and they wouldn't have to fill out that large packet. Mommy was so excited to hear the news. The woman said it would take a few months, but they hoped to have it all set by the new year. She told me that it was my choice if I wanted to start the paper work now, or wait - of cause mommy chosed to wait - because she remembered all the work that went into re-adopting Peter. Mommy called back in January and they were still working on it. Mommy called them this past Friday to find out it was just completely done a few weeks ago and the new forms were on line. Mommy was sooo nicely surprised to find out that it was 2 forms that had to be filled out and 2 pages that required the parents signature and one of those pages had to be notarized. That was it - there was no fingerprinting and no home study that had to be done - it was a beautiful thing, until Mommy went to the re-adoption office with the "kitchen sink" ( all of Anna's adoption documents) with the forms. Luckily daddy came home early from work - so mommy was able to to this solo, which was a good thing, because something that was so simple - turned out that to be so simple. Lets just say Cruella De Vil was there and boy was she in a bad mood. Mommy knew as soon as the woman opened her mouth - it was not going to be a good thing. There was no hi, there was no how are you, or how may I help you - it was - I can not tell you how to fill out the form. I was like what? I understand the forms were just put on the computer, but there were a lot of blanks that the adoptive parents had to fill out - and who knew (except the people in the office) what exactly goes in the blanks - and keep in mind - these blanks were just big white areas - there were no lines - indicating where something should be written. So, mommy asked the woman what would go in the blanks and Cruella De Vil said that she couldn't tell me how to fill out the form, I would have to ask her questions. I asked her if she had a pen for me to borrow, because I managed to drop mine on the way up here - while she was going to get me a pen, she stopped in her tracks and asked if I had to last page notarize - I replied no. Cruella De Vil then said - well, you can't hand them in without them being notarized and asked if I still needed a pen - as if my request for a pen was making her job hard. I told her that I still wanted the pen and I explained that I didn't get the page notarized, because it said Deputy Clerk Notary - so I figured that had to be done here at the courts. Cruella De Vil "barked" no any notary can do it. So, despite Cruella De Vil rudeness, mommy was determined to get Anna's re-adoption paperwork done. While mommy was at the doorway (no desk, no table - just the bottom half of a door closed) filling out the paperwork with very little help from Cruella De Vil another woman told me that in the next building I could get the page notarized and get copies and bring it all back here - because they were open until 5pm. While mommy was filling out the paperwork, Cruella De Vil was looking through the original documents - telling me that I didn't have the correct paperwork and I must have other documents. I explained to the woman that I have the same paperwork that I had for my son when I re-adopted him 2 years ago. Then Cruella De Vil looked at the copies that I was suppose to have to hand in with the forms - and she enjoyed telling me that I had the wrong documents copied. Cruella De Vil then proceeded to mix the original documents with the copies and mommy kept on asking the woman not to mix the documents up, because it was hard to tell the difference from the originals and the copies, but Cruella De Vil seemed to not have cared. Keep in mind, that when mommy called this office last Friday and woman told me what copies I needed to hand in and mommy made sure those copies were made. So, mommy just took a deep breathe and was more determined to get this paperwork done and handed in today! Before going to get the paperwork notarized, mommy asked Cruella De Vil to check the paper work (keep in mind - we are talking about 2 short forms) to make sure it was correct before getting it notarized. She pointed out blanks (white areas) that needed to have something there, so Mommy made the corrections. Mommy then went over to the next building to find out that the notary in the courts left for the day, but was told that the law library should have a notary. Once there, a sweet elderly lady assisted me and notarized the page and was soo happy to know that we were re-adopting our daughter - it was so nice to be treated so kindly. In this same office mommy made the copies that she needed to hand in with the forms. Mommy went back to the re-adoption office to hand in the forms, luckily Cruella De Vil was not there - so it went smoothly. We should be hearing something in about a week.


I couldn't believe how today went - something that should have been a nice happy experience was a sad and aggravating moment. Something that should of only took about 10-15 minutes took over 1 & 1/2 hours. I am happy that this part is done, and hopefully the judge will be fine with the documents that were handed in. I was also told, that we do not have to come to court any more - the paperwork is mailed to our house, or we can pick it up. I was very surprised to hear this, because that was such a special day when we re-adopted Peter. But the woman said that since Anna came home with a R3 visa, she was already adopted and a US Citizen, so there was no reason to appear in court. I asked if it would be possible to have the option to appear in court if we wanted to, and the woman said that only way for that to happen was if we re-adopted Anna and do all that paper work (the 2" pkg., fingerprints again, and a homestudy - as if we were just starting the adoption) - and we really don't need to do that to celebrate this special day. I know with Peter's re-adoption grandma, family members and friends enjoyed this special day, but we decided that when we pick up the paperwork of Anna's re-adoption we would go out to eat and celebrate the day. The woman said in about a week we should be getting a call to come and pick up the paperwork of Anna's re-adoption.

We'll keep you posted, when we hear something.

Happy Gotcha Day Peter...

We can't believe it's been 3 years since Peter was put in our arms forever! On March 6th, 2006 we went to Guatemala to pick up our son. On March 13th, was Peter's Embassy appointment, when he became officially ours. On March 15th, we came home with our son at exactly 6 months old. Peter is such a blessing.

Today, Peter wanted to go out to Dinner for this special day - and the only place he wanted to go was the Chinese Buffet. He just loves the "all you can eat peel and eat shrimp" (mommy has to peel it for him, otherwise he would just eat the entire thing), and he loves to look at the big koi fish they have in a huge pool as soon as you walk in. Afterwards, we had his favorite- vanilla ice cream with sprinkles. Peter has added so much love, happiness, and joy to our family! We are so blessed to have him as our son.


Our Adoption Story - During our adoption - Beth our coordinator from FTIA always asked me to write a story about our adoption and the friends we made during it for the FTIA website. Well, I never had the chance to do it 3 years ago - so I decided to do it now.

Juan Carlos (Peter) was born on September 15, 2005 in Guatemala City, Guatemala, a city known for pottery. He weighed 8.4 pounds and was 19.7 inches long. He was in private foster care in Guatemala City where he lived for 6 months with his foster mom (Sandra) & her family. There was another boy also in forster care with Peter with another agency, who had the same name. Sandra (the forster mother) decided to give Peter the nickname of "little coyote" - since both boys were named Juan. We asked about the nickname, and Sandra told us that Peter was so cute - he was a little coyote.

In the beginning of our adoption journey, FTIA our agency - had a yahoo group where other family members from all over the U.S. were able to chat with one another and give each other support. During our adoption journey we have met quite a few of the families on the yahoo group - whether in Guatemala or at the FTIA East Coast Picnic. It was nice meeting so many of them, since we shared the same bond - adopting our baby from Guatemala. To this day, I still go onto that Yahoo group - to give support to the families that are still waiting to bring their baby home.

The social worker who did our Home Study along with a couple of other families adopting from the same agency (FTIA) & Country (Guatemala) gave us their names and phone numbers. Their names were Pam O. adopting Emily & Cathy S. adopting Maria, who lived in the area. I called Pam and Cathy and we planned to meet for lunch. Emily's mom, Pam O. and I became very good friends. We kept in touch with Cathy via emails, because she was working full time. Pam was a stay at home mom, and I worked for my husband's business keeping the books in order - so I had a very flexible schedule. God placed us together and had the perfect plan in place long before we ever realized it. During our adoption we were calling each other everyday - giving each other support, we were emailing each other also everyday - for that "positive thinking pep talk." We had the same coordinator at FTIA, and we took turns who would call Beth in the morning and who would call her in the afternoon for some good news. Beth was our "booster shot" when things weren't looking like they were moving. I kept in touch with the foster family - which also helped a great deal during this adoption roller coaster. While our adoption was moving, Pam's adoption hit a couple of road blocks. But, Pam and I got the chance in February '06 to go to visit our babies in Guatemala for a week. At that time I was in PGN not knowing when we would get out - since the Dr. who delivered Peter was against adoptions and refused to give the necessary paperwork to our lawyer to proceed with the adoption. And Pam was stuck with some paperwork head ache, and she was getting very frustrated, that her case wasn't going anywhere. It was an amazing time of bonding with our babies that we will never forget. After that trip we were more determined to get our babies home. Shortly after returning home, we got that phone call that we were out of PGN - who would of figured - it felt like I just left Guatemala and we were heading right back to get our son (we came home the day before Valentine's day and was heading back to Guatemala on March 6th). It was hard to be soo happy, knowing that Pam was still waiting to move ahead in this crazy process of international adoption. But Pam O. was a trooper - she was very happy for us, and she continued to think "positive" that her daughter would be home right after us. Once Peter was home, Margaret kept on cheering for Pam and her family until their daughter came home a month later. It was nice to take this roller coaster ride with Pam O. - we had our happy moments, sad moments, and frustrated moments together and always had that shoulder there whenever it was needed. Sure we had our husband's, but hey just didn't understand everything that was going on and what was involved and what was taking place, like us - the moms!

It's been 3 years and Pam and I remain great friends - we've made friends for life with the O'Dea family. We look forward to many years of watching both our kids grow up. Peter and Emily are the best of Pals. We do plan play dates for the kids to play, lately it's not as many - with pre school and everything else going on, but we try to get the kids together often to play, especially since they are always asking about each other. We went on vacation to Alaska with the O'Dea's and that was fun and Emily and Peter just loved having their pal around all the time.

We also became good friends with Julie M. and her family. Julie also adopted with FTIA and was on the yahoo group. When we went to Guatemala to visit Peter the day after Christmas '05, Julie and her husband was doing the same thing from Buffalo, New York. We knew we would run into a few families at the Marriott as per the yahoo group - a few families were visiting the same time we were, but we didn't know it would be in the airport waiting for the shuttle to pick us up to take us to the Marriott. We noticed Julie having an empty stroller and she noticed us having an empty stroller - and at the same time we asked each other if we were adopting and what agency we were using. It was so weird how we were both from New York, using the same agency and being in Guatemala at the same time visiting our babies. We hit it off right there - it was just meant to be - for us to be friends. For the week we were in Guatemala we spent the entire time together with Macie and her parents Julie & Dave. We went sight seeing, went swimming in the pool, they came along for the drive to see our lawyer to give him a gift - that is when we found out that we had the same lawyer too. We did everything together and had a wonderful time. This was the trip where Margaret got an email from our lawyer at 11pm informing us about the Dr. who delivered Peter was not cooperating and refused to give our lawyer the paperwork to continue the adoption. Margaret was a wreck and poor Fabio - he was gentlemen in the business center who was there when I got the email and he translated it for me. Fabio was great - he gave me suggestions on what I should do and where I should go. If you remember I told you about Fabio when we picked up Anna because he picked up Peter's foster family to visit us while we were in Guatemala to bring Anna home. I remember calling Julie that night at 11pm in her room, just sobbing - she came right away to the business center to give support. At that point I knew I had to go to the U.S. Embassy first thing tomorrow morning and talk to them about what the Dr. was doing. Fabio suggested not to bring Peter, because he said it is very hectic there and it wasn't the place to bring a baby - so even though I only knew Julie for just a couple of days - I trusted her and asked her to watch Peter while we ran to the U. S. Embassy. After talking to our Country Coordinator - I went to our room to tell Kerry what was going on and what we needed to do - it wasn't something to discuss - it was something that a mother (me) needed to do for her son. The next morning we got up early and left Peter with Julie and Dave while we went to the U.S. Embassy - we found out that it was New Year's Eve and they were closed but the guards said that I can write a note and they would give it to them. So we stood there and wrote a note explaining the situation and gave it to the guards. We went back to the Marriott and met Julie and Dave in the lobby with our son and their daughter - and we had breakfast together. Then it was time to head home - Dave & Julie flew back to Buffalo, while we flew back to Long Island. After the trip, Julie and I kept in touch via emails, phone calls and texting - we all went back to Guatemala together for our pick up trip to bring our babies home - it was a great celebration.

Over the past 3 years, Julie and I still keep in touch via emails, texting, and phone calls. We have gone on vacations during school breaks, and during the summer. Just this past winter we all rented a house to play in the snow and go snowmobiling - it was a great time. Julie and her family lives in Buffalo - that isn't exactly in the neighborhood, so our get togethers/play dates
involve vacations. It's about a 10-12 hour road trip to get to Julie's, where Pam is about a 15-25 minute road trip.

You know, I sit here and I am amazed that I remember the above, as if it was yesterday. Just goes to show that good memories are never forgotten.

To Pam and Julie - Thanks!