Day 32 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Word:

November

Noviembre

Tomorrow is the first day of November. It is also All Saints Day, a national holiday in Guatemala, so all government offices will be closed. I guess we won't hear anything (if we hear anything this week??) until Thursday at the earliest. I know I am really getting my hopes up thinking that we will hear that we are out of PGN this week, but a girl can dream can't she! Oh well, November is full of promise....I can't imagine that we wouldn't get out of PGN before we visit during Thanksgiving, but if we don't, I can at least look forward to that weekend! Just in case you're curious, here are the translations for the rest of the calendar months.
January Enero
February Febrero
March Marzo
April Abril
May Mayo
June Junio
July Julio
August Agosto
September Septiembre
October Octubre
November Noviembre
December Diciembre

Mateo Is Coming Home!
I was just about to sign on late this afternoon and post a kind of bummed out post that I hadn't heard much good news this week....when I got a very hurried email from a friend of mine. She got out of PGN today!

I was so excited when I read her email, you would have thought I just received news that I was out! I am so happy for her, her family, and Mateo, her new son. When you are out of PGN your adoption is final...they just have to get a new birth certificate with his new last name and the names of his new mommy and daddy. Then they have to apply for a passport and a visa and next thing you know they will be on the plane to go get him.

Kathleen and I received our referrals (knowledge of who our babies were) on the same day, May 5, 2006. We have the same agency and the same attorney in Guatemala. We have corresponded almost daily since then. We have gone step by step together in the process. We were slowed down a bit with our 171 (approval to adopt an orphan from the US Immigration) so we have always been one week behind her.

Everyone please cross your fingers, toes, and your eyes (I have heard that is doubly effective) and pray that the trend continues and we get out of PGN next week!

At the bottom of Kathleens' emails she has a saying below her signature...it says...The Waiting Is The Hardest Part...Tom Petty
So Kathleen, Family and Mateo....Here is a little Tom Petty, Just for You!

Thanksgiving In Guatemala??

I asked our adoption coordinator about the possibility of visiting again and she said we could, so I have booked the air and hotel.

We will be spending Thanksgiving in Guatemala! I will miss all of the great food and spending time with my family...but I do work with them every day, so what is there really to miss?? Except of course the turkey!

My husband asked, What if we get out of PGN next week...won't Thanksgiving be about the time we would travel? I can only pray that's what happens. I would give my right foot to be out of PGN next week and have to change the dates on this set of tickets. I don't care how much the fee is...please let that be my worry! But if we don't get out of PGN in the next week or so, it will be December before we travel to bring Maria home for good, so at least now I have something to look forward to.

I know most of you are thinking...boy is she impatient! and I know that I am...I don't care! I really don't have much patience left and at least for the next few weeks I have something concrete to think about...Seeing Maria Again!

Yea! I'm gonna go look at my online reservations one more time...and just dream about being there!

Stephanie

Day 25 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Phrase:

I'm veering from my normal English to Spanish Word and jumping right into a Phrase, I hope it translates correctly!

Think Positive Thoughts

Piense Los Pensamientos Positivos

Friday will end 4 full weeks in PGN for us. Usually people hear something in the 4th, 5th or 6th week. Hopefully, we will hear the words, "You are out of PGN", but it's possible for us to hear, "You have been kicked out of PGN again". Please think positive thoughts for us for the next couple of weeks. We pray that we hear , "You are out of PGN".


















It only takes a single thought to move the world.

Day 23 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Word

Shower

Ducha

Yesterday and today we had bridal showers for my youngest sister Amber. On Saturday we went to Parker to Pat's Aunt's house and had a great time. Today the shower was at my house and I think everything turned out perfectly. Here are a few pictures.

Amber and Taryn



Amber and our sister in law-Nikki



Stephanie-Amber-Valerie-Nikki
P.S. I usually don't have a giant bag of toilet paper in the dining room. We played a game where there were teams of 5 persons who had to choose a model and then design a dress and headpiece out of toilet paper. It was a hoot!

Day 22 PGN

Although today is Saturday and PGN isn't open we still count all of the days! Or at least I do!

Todays English to Spanish Word:

Pictures

Cuadros

We received some pictures of Maria from our adoption coordinator this week. They were actually taken on October 2nd before we went on our second visit trip. I always enjoy getting these pictures, because I get to see how Maria is interacting with others when it's not us taking the pictures.


Yesterday concluded 3 weeks in PGN after we were re-submitted. I am still hopeful that we will conform to the 4.5 week average of being in PGN. That would mean that we should expect to "get out of PGN" in the next week to two weeks. I know that I am probably being overly optimistic about the timeline and that's OK...it's what keeps me going. PGN seems to have very little rhyme or reason as to whose case gets signed off and when. Some people have been waiting months in PGN while others get out in a matter of days. I belong to a couple of Guatemalan Adoption Forums on the internet. These are places where adoptive parents go to exchange information, ideas and lend support. Of course one of the main topics are the timelines....everyone looks and counts the days of everyone else to see how long their process is taking and try to predict their own. You can see our timeline on the right. I can't wait until I can add the line:
WE ARE OUT OF PGN!
Have A Great Day!
Stephanie

Day 18 PGN

Today's English to Spanish Word:

Budget

Presupuesto

Today we worked on budgets all day. Seven people in one room looking at tiny numbers on a screen. EEEKKK! And it's not over yet...this is just round one. I had better get a good nights sleep so my brain will actually work tomorrow!
Stephanie

Day 17 PGN

Today's English To Spanish Word:

Gloomy

Melancólico

It's a gloomy day in South Dakota today. The weather seems to fit my mood today. I sure do wish Mr. PGN would sign off on our case so we could bring Maria home. Here he is hopefully signing off on ours and many others cases!

Amber bought the most beautiful dress for Maria to wear to the wedding this weekend. Please Mr. PGN man sign off so she can wear it!

Prayer of Children

It's a sad day.
A friend of mine that I met through this process and have been corresponding with found out yesterday that her baby passed away. She had gone down to Guatemala at the end of September to visit sweet Silvia. Silvia contracted roto virus and was taken to the hospital but passed on Thursday afternoon. Our thoughts and prayers are with Keri and her family as they try to work through their sorrow and grief.

Stephanie

Maria's Foster Mother gave us a disposable camera that we had left with her on our first visit. We took it in and got it processed and it had some great shots of Maria and Lidia. Here are a few of the highlights.




Don't tell Mommy, but I always sit on top of this sofa like this. Don't pay any attention to those hands that look like they are holding me...they're not...they're props. I do this all the time! I'm preparing for my future career as a stunt woman!

Someday I will either be the Queen of England or Miss America...Either way I need to start practicing now. How is this look for a starter PR shot??

Oh My Goodness! Jack And The Beanstock Couldn't Have Asked For A Better Leading Lady....Could Have They??

Well we are back to reality, South Dakota and work today. Not much fun and I would really rather be back in Guatemala with Maria. We had to give her back to her Foster Mother, Lidia, yesterday morning so we could catch our flight at Noon. I found it much harder to give her back and walk away this time as compared to the first time we visited and then came home...I think I now know how hard it is to be here without her and that made it much more difficult to leave. No word yet as to when she will be able to come home. We have been in PGN (back in PGN after our kick out) for only 1.5 weeks so I guess we probably should plan on at least another 3 to 4 weeks before we hear that we are out of PGN and another 2 to 3 weeks to travel to get her. I hope that I don't read this blog in 2 months and we still haven't gotten out yet! I think I will go crazy! Dave would say that I am already there! OK...enough wallowing (is that a word??) in my self pity...here are a few final pictures of our second trip to visit my Maria. Remember you can click on any picture and go to a website that hosts all of our pictures or click on the link on the right and go to the same website. Enjoy!
Stephanie

It Was Mommy and Daddy's Anniversary on Sunday Night, So We All Got Dressed Up And Went To A Fancy Dinner...And Me In My Fancy Dress!

How Many Times Will My Daddy Say "Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake?" To Try To Get Me To Smile? You Will Have To Watch To Find Out!

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My Mom's A Dork Too! See How Many Times She Says "Let Me See You Smile!" Does She Really Think I'm Going To Fall For That Old Trick?? I Don't Think So!


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Here's A Pic Of Me And My Daddy As We Wait To Go Eat On Saturday Night.

And Here's My Mommy And Me At The Sunday Breakfast Buffet.

Hey Everyone We're Just Chilling At The Marriott
Now Give Me My Bottle Or I'm Gonna Have To Hurt You!

Why Don't I Ever Get The Remote??


Here I Am In Action!

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I Love My Daddy!


And My Mommy!


See More Pictures By Clicking On The Link To The Right. You Can Also View Pictures From Our Previous Trip.
See Ya Soon!

We Are Back In Guatemala

We got to Guatemala at about 12:15 pm today. The only little glitch we had was the the suitcase with all of Maria's clothes didn't arrive. We were on the last flight that Delta had for today, so hopefully the suitcase will arrive tomorrow. It's not too big of deal though, Lidia, her foster mother brought her all she would need, we just had lots of new things to give her.
Here is a picture of the Guatemala City International Airport

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Maria has a pretty bad diaper rash and isn't feeling too well today, so she took a little nap this afternoon and I couldn't resist taking a picture when she was actually relaxed and sleeping. She also has taken a liking to her new friend Furry! Furry luckily was packed in our bag and not hers!

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I also couldn't resist taking a close up of her incredibly cute little feet!

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We're Back Into PGN!

I was told today that we were re-submitted to PGN on Friday, September 29th. The average time line for cases that have been re-submitted to PGN seems to be around 4 to 5 weeks right now. Hopefully this will hold true and we will be getting the call that we are out of PGN around the end of October and then we will just have a couple of weeks to wait as a new Birth Certificate is produced, a Guatemalan Passport is issued and and US Visa is issued with Maria's new name on them. Hopefully the reviewers at PGN have found all of the discrepancies there were to find and the next interaction we have with them will be the call that we're out!

Dave and I are getting packed to go to Guatemala on Thursday evening/Friday morning. We simply can't wait to get there. We will be posting pictures and video's from the hotel while we are there, so check out the site this weekend.

We Are Going To Visit Again!

We have decided to travel to Guatemala again to visit Maria. This time will be a short visit. Marlin Jr. laughed at me when I told him it was going to be a short visit...."a short weekend visit to Guatemala...didn't know there was such a thing!" We will arrive in Guatemala City at Noon on Friday October 6th and leave at Noon on Monday October 9th.

After we received our previos from PGN and having not recieved any information on being re-submitted we chose to go again. Unless the PGN representatives begin to sign off on cases faster than they have in the past it will probably be at least another 4 to 5 weeks (from the time that we are re-submitted to PGN...which as of today we still haven't heard that we have been re-submitted) until our case is final in the eyes of the Guatemalan governement. We will then still have 2 to 3 weeks until we can travel to pick Maria up for good. That being the most reasonable and fairly optimistic time frame, we decided that we couldn't wait that long to see her again and booked flights and hotel. Please see our previous posts for information on the Guatemalan Adoption Process and PGN.

I felt so much better after actually making the decision to travel again. Just knowing that I would see Maria again soon, makes my day instantly brighter. We won't be doing any sightseeing or traveling in Guatemala during this trip. We will probably just lounge around the room and the hotel. Maria's toes probably won't hit the floor the entire time we are there. I have already warned Dave that he is going to have to fight me for the opportunity to hold her as I am going to do my best not to stop hugging her for 3 days!

I found an interesting article on Guatemala Adoption. I think it may give some insight as to why birthmothers from there relinquish their children in the hope of giving them a better life.

Finding Home in Two Worlds

By Laurie Stern
Produced by Ellen Guettler

Once a month, we get together with a group of families who have adopted Guatemalan-born children.
Our son Diego is six. He's a Mayan - Tzutujil Mayan. There are maybe 60,000 Tzutujiles who live in a couple of small villages in the mountains of Guatemala. Most Tzutujiles are small and strong like him.
As Diego gets older, he's noticing the physical things that set him apart from his friends. That's one of the reasons we wanted to be in a group like this, because these kids have something in common. And in a way, they're growing up as cousins.
A lot of the families in our group really like going to culture camp with their kids. We respect that.
But Diego's culture is complex. He is a Minnesotan. He is an American. He is a North American. He is a Native American. He is a Central American. He is a Guatemalan-born American. He is a Tzutujil Mayan. They're all Diego.
And we feel like we can give Diego more authentic information about who he is by spending time in his village. During Diego's adoption when he was a baby, I stayed with him in Guatemala for nine months. Dan and I went back with him when he was three to visit his biological mother, Isabel Xicay Petzey, and her three children. Now Diego is six and we're going there again.
The journey to Diego's village is spectacular. You take a boat across this huge volcanic lake. There are three volcanoes around it and a dozen small villages. Santiago Atitlán is one of them and it sprawls from the base of one of the volcanoes to the lakeshore.
On our fourth or fifth day in Santiago Atitlán, I ask my son Diego, "Who are we expecting to show up?"
"Isabel," says Diego.
We don't know whether she'll bring the children or how many she'll bring. We're kind of hoping that she'll bring Juan.
"Juan and, what's her name? My sister's name? My sisters?" asks Diego.
"They were Julia and Josefa," I say.
"Julia and Josefa and Juan and me are all brothers. Brother and sisters," he says.
Isabel never wants us to go to her home. Her neighbors don't know about Diego, so our translator and friend, Dolores Ratzán, brings Isabel and her children to us. On the morning she is going to come to our hotel, we wait pretty anxiously. Finally, I hear Tzutujil voices coming down the path.
"Come on. Let's go see them. Let's go see if it's really them," I say to Diego.
We run over to say hello. It is Isabel and two of Diego's siblings, Josefa and Juan.
"Hola," says Isabel.
"Y Diego, hola!" I say.
I am surprised when Diego goes right up to Isabel and gives her a big hug. Then she takes a step back, looks at him, and starts to cry.
Later, we ask Dolores about it. She says Isabel was wishing Diego's sister Julia could have been with us, because she had loved seeing Diego so much. But we found out just before we came that Julia had died several months earlier. When Isabel saw Diego, it made her feel sadder about losing Julia.
I've asked Isabel many times why she placed Diego for adoption. She always says it's because she can't afford to take care of him. She lives in a cinderblock room with a dirt floor. All she has is a clay pot, a grinding stone and a thin mattress she sleeps on with her children.
She says the children have the same father; I don't even know his name. He was in the military and now he works as a truck driver in a town on the other side of the volcano. The way Isabel puts it, he comes and goes.
At the hotel, she shows Diego, Dan and me a photo of a man dressed in an army uniform, carrying an assault rifle.
Diego asks, "Who's that?"
"That is your birth father," answers Dan, my husband. "What do you think?"
"He's cool," says Diego.
"He's cool?" asks Dan. "You like the uniform and the gun?"
"I love guns," Diego replies.
"I know you do," says Dan.
Diego was excited to play with his siblings. He loves soccer and thought they might too.
Here in Santiago Atitlán, physically, Diego is just like everybody else. But he has trouble communicating with his siblings. He only speaks English and they only speak Tzutujil.
While the kids play, our friend Dolores helps us talk to Isabel.
"Tell me about the health of you and of Josefa and Juan," I ask. "How have you all been?"
"She works hard for food every day," Dolores translates.
"What do you eat during the day?"
"Sometimes she goes to the mountain and if she finds some wild herbs. That's what she brings to feed her children," says Dolores.
I want to know how Diego's sister Julia died. Isabel says she had stomach problems that got worse because of an infection or a curse, but it wasn't clear. A lot of times, Isabel tells me stuff that doesn't make sense to me. Still, every time we're together, I feel like there's a mutual respect and affection.
It seems like visiting Julia's grave is something we should do together. Julia reminded me so much of Diego. She was so sunny and she laughed exactly like he does.
Dan stays at the hotel with Diego and the kids. Dolores, Isabel and I get into a three-wheeled taxi called a "tuk-tuk." The cemetery is part-way up the volcano, overlooking the village.
The cemetery is a jumble of pastel tombstones and unmarked mounds of dirt. Julia's grave is covered with weeds. Isabel begins yanking them out.
I help her pull weeds because it seems like the right thing to do.
When the grave is cleared off, Isabel stands at one corner of the mound and begins to cry. It sounds like it might be a prayer, it is so mournful.
Later, Dolores tells us that Isabel is crying to Julia; calling out the memories they'd shared. She says poverty always pursued them, that she tried to save Julia and she couldn't.
While we're at the cemetery, Dan and the kids play in the hotel pool. Dolores's son speaks Tzutujil and English and Dan can hear him translating for Diego and his siblings. When we get back from the cemetery, Diego tells us he's found out the real cause of Julia's death, and it wasn't a stomach illness.
"One of my sisters died," Diego says. "I know how she died. ... She was sick and she stole a mango and her dad got really out of control and he kicked her in the stomach and she died."
"How did you find that out?" I ask. "Because when we asked Isabel about it, Isabel told us that Julia had been sick and died? … Is it because you asked? Did you say what sickness did Julia have or something?"
"Yeah," says Diego. "I said that kind of stuff."
"The way I remember it," says Dan, "you said, 'What sickness did Julia have?' … And they said she didn't have a sickness, her papa … killed her. That's what they said.
And then you said, 'Well what did he use?'"
"His foot, he used his foot," says Diego.
Then Diego asks, "What was her grave like?"
"Oh, well, we have pictures of it," I tell him. "It was just a mound of dirt that was covered with weeds. So the first thing we did when we got there, especially Isabel, was to pull up all the weeds to make the dirt look nice. … Isabel was crying and maybe saying a little prayer. It was hard to understand. ... And what she said was about how Julia was always so interested in you and excited when she heard you were coming to visit. And that ... even though Julia's in another place, we're here at the grave to tell you Diego is here to visit and we're thinking about you. And we know you were thinking about him."
"She said that?" Diego asks.
"That's what Isabel said," I answer.
Diego starts sniffling.
"It's OK to be sad," I tell him. Diego bursts into tears.
We do wonder if this is too much for Diego. Dan worries about it more than I do.
"My view is that he, at the very core of his being, is [sad] because he knows he was separated from the place that he was born into," says Dan.
I feel like, "Yeah, there's sadness in Diego and there's joy and that makes him just like everybody else." Where Dan and I agree is that we feel looking this hard stuff in the face has helped Diego be articulate about his own feelings and that he should know all there is to know about his circumstances.
Also, by being in Santiago Atitlán, Diego knows what it means to be Tzutujil. He feels it. The people in his village taught him his Tzutujil name, "Atico." They tell him, "Never forget. You are Atico. Wherever you go in the world, know that you are Tzutujil and it's something to be proud of."
The last thing we do in Santiago Atitlán is visit this mischievous Mayan God called Moximón. You pay a little money to a kid in the village and ask where Moximón is living at the moment. They'll take you to a dark, incense-filled room. When your eyes adjust, you see a bunch of men, called the Brotherhood, guarding a life-sized but legless wooden figure. Moximón has a mustache and at least one cigarette sticking out from a hole in his mouth. Diego sits down next to Dolores in front of Moximón while the Brotherhood and other visitors look on.
"This is Moximón," says Dolores. "He is the holy grandfather. This is the main God for the Mayan in this village. The Mayan Tzutujil. And people come here, they worship Moximón. They want a blessing from him for studying or a job or anything they want to do."
"Can you ask the people who own Moximón to tell them can I visit anytime?" Diego asks.
"Anytime," says Dolores. "He says this is your home. You can come anytime Diego."
"Gracias," says Diego.
"Maltiyox chi aawe is thanks to you," says Dolores. "Can you say that?"
Diego tries, and the crowd giggles. Diego giggles too.
Back in Minnesota, we visit Diego's Guatemalan family through the photo album. Diego pulls it out a couple times a month, even though seeing Julia and the others makes him sad.
He loves knowing his Tzutujil name, "Atico." And being in Guatemala has made him want to learn Spanish.
We're not sure how Diego will deal with the difficult stuff he learned on the trip, but so far he's been his usual soulful and resilient self.
We're already talking about when to go back.

We Joined The Previo Club!

It's probably not a good club to be in, but at least we know that our file has already been looked at by a reviewer in PGN. Our Previos were for documents that the attorney in Guatemala can take care of, so she should be able to get us back into PGN at the beginning of next week. Tomorrow, September 15th, is Independence Day in Guatemala, so all government offices will be closed. Here is how our adoption coordinator summarized our Previos.

The 2 items are as follows.

There is a discrepancy in some document – one of them says that the Birth Certificate is form book 3 and the other from book 4. Miriam will correct this file and resubmit.
The copy of the Bio-Mother’s BC is illegible – Miriam will get a new copy and resubmit.

I also received some new pictures of Maria. She is in the stroller that we gave to the Foster Mother as well as holding the rattle we left in the diaper bag.

WE ARE IN PGN!
I received confirmation today that we entered PGN on September 5th. This is one of the final steps in our adoption process. Hopefully, we won't have any Previos (Kickouts). The reviewers at PGN can kick you out of PGN for any errors, omissions or discrepancies found in our or the Guatemalan social workers documents. Sometimes the Previos can be fixed by our lawyer in Guatemala...but if the previo is for a document issued in the US, we will have to get a new document, have it notorized, Great Sealed by the State of South Dakota and then Authenticated by the Guatemalan Consulate. Each document takes about 3 weeks to have re-done...so let's all pray for no Previos! I have detailed the PGN process below. Hopefully we will be in and out of PGN in 6 to 8 weeks!

PGN REVIEW AND APPROVAL
The attorney submits the adoption case file and a petition for approval of the adoption to a notarial** officer of the PGN. A PGN notary reviews all documents in the case file and, at his/her discretion, may independently investigate one or more aspects of the case. PGN may reject the file (issue a previo) any number of times for a wide variety of reasons that range from serious (e.g., irregularities in the birth mother’s or child’s identity documents) to minor (e.g., minor spelling errors, expired notary seals). The attorney for the birth mother and adoptive family corrects the problem and resubmits the case to PGN. Ultimately, the PGN typically concurs with the Family Court’s recommendation and issues its approval for the adoption to proceed.
** A notary in Guatemala is an attorney with additional legal powers, not, as in the U.S., simply a person who is authorized to certify signatures.