Three Simple Letters means so much....DNA. We received authorization for DNA today!!! Yeah, WaHoo, Yippee! Little Benjamin will have his swabbing tomorrow, they will send the "stick" back to the lab and then they will mail the results to the embassy. The lady at Orchid Genescreen was so nice today. When she intitially pulled up my paperwork, she said, "Oh my! This has been a long time coming." She also offered to keep me informed every step of the way. (I just love it when people are sincerely happy for you.)
I expect that we will know something next week. I hope the days go by fast. If they do not, I surely will be tied up in knots by the time we get any information. We are so close...but yet so far. Thank you God for getting us here!
Paz a todo,
Gayle
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Proud Papa
My Funny Man! This is proud Papa letting off a little steam with some comic relief. Do you think Ben will want to grow up to be just like his father?
Gayle
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Our world has been righted
Whew....I think we dodged another bullet. (well, more like letting the bullet ricochet off us) Leslie from Senator Burr's office was very efficient in helping us with our embassy problem. She called me back, bright and early the next day with an answer. She said that the embassy had closed our case because our I600A had expired, even though we had an approved and valid I171H sitting there. The reason being that they are so overloaded right now with all the PAP's trying to get their children home that they are trying to clear the clutter. Now, why couldn't they have told me that instead of that very sterile and nonemotional response of, "your file is administratively closed". I bet that whole little incident took at least 2 years off my life. Anyway, apparantley the fix is simple. I scanned a copy of our approval to the Senator's office. They in turn are forwarding it to the embassy. We hope this will be enough. If not, I think they said we can just open the case back up when we get there with the physical document. WooHoo!
AND.....we have more good news! We have the passport in hand! Yeah, one step closer. Next we apply to the embassy for DNA authorization, get results and then submit for visa appointment. I love the color PINK! (for those that don't know, the visa appt. is referred to as having PINK, because it used to be issued on a pink slip, now they just email it.)
AND...one last thing. Ilse was talking with one of the old facilitator's assistant the other day and she told her of Ben coming home. The reply was that she couldn't believe it, she thought that boy would never be able to come home and that they all thought his case was a lost cause. Well, due to the grace of God, power of a lot of prayer, (and just as much money) and much help from many friends, we may have our miracle soon! The way I see it. We are looking at picking Ben up in the middle to late February. Somebody, please pinch me! We might actually be able to get off this rickety 'ol rollercoaster soon!!!
Paz a todo!
Gayle
AND.....we have more good news! We have the passport in hand! Yeah, one step closer. Next we apply to the embassy for DNA authorization, get results and then submit for visa appointment. I love the color PINK! (for those that don't know, the visa appt. is referred to as having PINK, because it used to be issued on a pink slip, now they just email it.)
AND...one last thing. Ilse was talking with one of the old facilitator's assistant the other day and she told her of Ben coming home. The reply was that she couldn't believe it, she thought that boy would never be able to come home and that they all thought his case was a lost cause. Well, due to the grace of God, power of a lot of prayer, (and just as much money) and much help from many friends, we may have our miracle soon! The way I see it. We are looking at picking Ben up in the middle to late February. Somebody, please pinch me! We might actually be able to get off this rickety 'ol rollercoaster soon!!!
Paz a todo!
Gayle
Thursday, January 17, 2008
At Every Turn
New Dilemma....emailed the US Embassy in Guatemala today to find out if we have been submitted to receive DNA authorization. Boy, was I in for a shock. The reply simply stated that they had administratively closed our case as of July 2007. W-H-A-T! What does that mean? How do I fix it? Who has to fix it? When can it be done? How long will this take? These are just a few of the questions I had and no one to ask. You see, you can't just call the Embassy and ask them a casual question. Your congressman has to do that. Just another link in the long chain. ( And who ever heard of a US Embassy that wasn't open to US citizens?)
Anyway, I emailed AS. They suggested to me, not just once, but twice, to get my congressman involved as soon as possible. They have never heard of a case being administratively closed. (Hmmm, imagine that.)
So, I did just that. First I contacted my female congress person's office. I chose her, thinking that they would be a little more sympathetic, being she's a mother herself. Wrong. I received the same 'ol run of the mill reply, first you have to submit a consent form, then follow it with an explanation of what the problem is, blah, blah, blah. Dead end. Couldn't they hear the hysterical tone to my voice? Don't they know how hard we have fought to this point?
So I did what every squeaky wheel does...I whined a little louder at the next stop. I called Richard Burr's office and much to my surprise, they were sympathetic and understanding and helpful and concerned. Whew, relief. Someone that actually sees this as the same emergency I see. They were truly genuine people. They admitted to not knowing what administratively closed meant. But they committed to finding out. (What a nice change of pace - honesty). I am still a little freaked at this last development. But I feel much better at our chances of getting this resolved since speaking with Ms. L.A. at Burr's office. She had me email her our timeline and all the info. on Ben, myself and my husband. She said she would email them and then follow up with a phone call. I have hope that she will be able to give me some sort of answer tomorrow. If not, I will have to wait out the weekend. (And we all know how excruciating that can be).
You know, I have to say that I have been taught a lesson about myself through this process. I could be labeled an obsessive person. When something has gone wrong in our process, (and much has). I find myself fixating to it. All I want to do is work on it, or think about it or talk to someone about it. I would have never thought of myself as having this gene. But I can't help myself. Today, when all of this was going on...in my mind, I kept thinking, "Don't you people know what is happening here? Don't you understand what kind of problem this is? How could you possibly want me to do something as trivial as work when I have such a HUGE emergency on my hands!" Of course, I haven't totally lost all my marbles, (just yet). So I can still tell myself there is a time and place for everything. And the middle of my office, packed with clients, is not the time nor the place to have a frenzied meltdown. So I continue the charade and smile warmly as I greet the next client at my desk. But on the inside, the war continues.
God, please put the right people in place to correct this latest dilemma. And also, please clear the way for us to bring home our son with no further "bumps". And give me the strength to stand tall and behave as my mother would be proud. I am weary. But with you, I know all is possible. Amen.
Gayle
Anyway, I emailed AS. They suggested to me, not just once, but twice, to get my congressman involved as soon as possible. They have never heard of a case being administratively closed. (Hmmm, imagine that.)
So, I did just that. First I contacted my female congress person's office. I chose her, thinking that they would be a little more sympathetic, being she's a mother herself. Wrong. I received the same 'ol run of the mill reply, first you have to submit a consent form, then follow it with an explanation of what the problem is, blah, blah, blah. Dead end. Couldn't they hear the hysterical tone to my voice? Don't they know how hard we have fought to this point?
So I did what every squeaky wheel does...I whined a little louder at the next stop. I called Richard Burr's office and much to my surprise, they were sympathetic and understanding and helpful and concerned. Whew, relief. Someone that actually sees this as the same emergency I see. They were truly genuine people. They admitted to not knowing what administratively closed meant. But they committed to finding out. (What a nice change of pace - honesty). I am still a little freaked at this last development. But I feel much better at our chances of getting this resolved since speaking with Ms. L.A. at Burr's office. She had me email her our timeline and all the info. on Ben, myself and my husband. She said she would email them and then follow up with a phone call. I have hope that she will be able to give me some sort of answer tomorrow. If not, I will have to wait out the weekend. (And we all know how excruciating that can be).
You know, I have to say that I have been taught a lesson about myself through this process. I could be labeled an obsessive person. When something has gone wrong in our process, (and much has). I find myself fixating to it. All I want to do is work on it, or think about it or talk to someone about it. I would have never thought of myself as having this gene. But I can't help myself. Today, when all of this was going on...in my mind, I kept thinking, "Don't you people know what is happening here? Don't you understand what kind of problem this is? How could you possibly want me to do something as trivial as work when I have such a HUGE emergency on my hands!" Of course, I haven't totally lost all my marbles, (just yet). So I can still tell myself there is a time and place for everything. And the middle of my office, packed with clients, is not the time nor the place to have a frenzied meltdown. So I continue the charade and smile warmly as I greet the next client at my desk. But on the inside, the war continues.
God, please put the right people in place to correct this latest dilemma. And also, please clear the way for us to bring home our son with no further "bumps". And give me the strength to stand tall and behave as my mother would be proud. I am weary. But with you, I know all is possible. Amen.
Gayle
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Cup not always half full
Confession......On days when I am a little tired, I find that I am not as grateful as I should be. Today, I was reading some posts and there was one that caught my eye. The person was posting that they received DNA results today. I posted a reply and congratulated her, (after all, isn't that what our mothers have taught us, to be gracious?) Then I read the rest of her post and timeline. She was in PGN with no KO's, and she was approved from PGN AFTER us. She will be bringing home her child at a whoppin' 5 months old. This is wonderful news and I am glad for her, (diplomatic answer). But sometimes I want to revert back to 4 and whine, "Why not me" Don't get me wrong...I am tickled that our son is finally coming home and I love him to the moon and back. But, I guess, sometimes I get a little sad at how much we have missed. And you know...the fact that we continue to hit "bumps" in the road at every turn is a little tiring. I'm weary of the bumpy road, I would like smooth sailing for a little bit. Is that too much to ask? (Now I do sound like I'm whining) WHERE ARE MY ROSE-COLORED GLASSES!?! FOR GOD SAKE, PLEASE FIND MY GLASSES!!!
Paul, PAUL, P-A-U-LLL....Where did you put my glasses this time!?!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Right baby...Wrong name
WOOHOO!!! Just received a copy of Ben's new BC. You know,...the one I was so excited would have George as his last name. WRONG!!! Can't believe it, but they even messed this up. They got the new BC with my husband's last name. And on all the paperwork we filed with the embassy, I am the petitioner and Paul is the spouse. We purposely did this because we intended for Ben to have my last name. Oh well. If anything were to run smooth in this adoption I would think the sky was getting ready to fall.......just ain't gonna' happn'! But, provided this last little slip doesn't cause us problems at the embassy, at least we do have it confirmed that he is really our child! WOOHOO!!! Now that is a reason to celebrate!
God bless,
Gayle, aka Ben's Mom
God bless,
Gayle, aka Ben's Mom
Can't stand it!
Good news...Good news...Good news! I was waiting until I received the actual document in my hot little hand, but....I can't stand it anymore! I have to tell someone. I was told that we received the new birth certificate for my lil' monster last week!!! That means his BC actually says "Melvin Ordonez George". WOOHOO...he finally is a George!
Whew...do I feel better. My plan is to still wait until I get a copy of it before I tell my family. My husband doesn't even know (snicker) I think it will be a nice surprise if I can just lay it down on the desk in front of him. Do you think he'll figure out what it is?
Hope to hear even better news next week. They told us that we should have the passport on Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. That means that in no time at all we can submit for authorization of the second DNA. (They have to wait for a trivial thing to occur first...something about the inauguration of the new President - no big deal).
Anyway...hope to post again soon! Hope everyone has a great weekend. Hug yourself today!!!
Gayle
Whew...do I feel better. My plan is to still wait until I get a copy of it before I tell my family. My husband doesn't even know (snicker) I think it will be a nice surprise if I can just lay it down on the desk in front of him. Do you think he'll figure out what it is?
Hope to hear even better news next week. They told us that we should have the passport on Tuesday or Wednesday of this coming week. That means that in no time at all we can submit for authorization of the second DNA. (They have to wait for a trivial thing to occur first...something about the inauguration of the new President - no big deal).
Anyway...hope to post again soon! Hope everyone has a great weekend. Hug yourself today!!!
Gayle
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Insanity Reincarnate
Whew....do things ever get better? Lately, there have been developments where PGN has posted they will not accept any new cases until the "Central Authority" is created.
H-E-L-L-O...when will that happen? As of today, there is no real plan in place. They are working on it. So, what does everyone do in the mean time? Wait? Wait for the 30 day deadline to expire?
And this brings me to another "soapbox". What about the press and all the true-journalistic reporting they have been doing. While they are trying to create enough noise to sell their treasured works of writing, sometimes they become part of the problem. They have, of late, leaned towards a tendency to only relay part of the story. Now, part of that I may understand. They don't always have enough room in their allotted space to fully explain the piece they are reporting. Well, if this be the case....either keep your pen dry or explain that in your article. Simple solution, right? Wrong. I guess that they are just like the rest of us and never like to acknowledge the fact that they don't know everything. Hard pill to swallow. But wouldn't it be better rather than misguide some and create unnecessary panic and confusion? I don't get it. Maybe that's why I am not a journalist. The truth, be it crystal and sparkling clear, seem important and much more preferable to a well spun story.
Back to my original intent... I feel sooooo bad for the people that are stuck in the process that doesn't know what to do with itself. My heart is extremely heavy for you. I know the added stress this is causing. Even though, the general consensus is that it will all get ironed out and everything will be just fine....the not knowing can be maddening. That again is a direct result of how people in power forget about the people they are making laws for. They sometimes forget that behind every file is a family waiting anxiously for their child. The wait is worse than any pregnancy. And until someone has been through it, you just never truly know how hard it is.
So, before lawmakers bend to the will of others, they should first consider who they are affecting. If you do not have a true plan, wait until you do. "Winging it" just isn't acceptable. Leaving people in limbo is a piss-poor, sloppy job.
I will continue to pray for the strength, patience and endurance of waiting families. And I'll pray that the lawmakers get their act together and have their new system up and running quickly. It is my hope that they DO NOT leave these families hanging on the edge any longer. As it looks, January 01, 2008 ushered in a sad day for Guatemalan adoptions and the children stuck in between.
God bless,
Gayle
H-E-L-L-O...when will that happen? As of today, there is no real plan in place. They are working on it. So, what does everyone do in the mean time? Wait? Wait for the 30 day deadline to expire?
And this brings me to another "soapbox". What about the press and all the true-journalistic reporting they have been doing. While they are trying to create enough noise to sell their treasured works of writing, sometimes they become part of the problem. They have, of late, leaned towards a tendency to only relay part of the story. Now, part of that I may understand. They don't always have enough room in their allotted space to fully explain the piece they are reporting. Well, if this be the case....either keep your pen dry or explain that in your article. Simple solution, right? Wrong. I guess that they are just like the rest of us and never like to acknowledge the fact that they don't know everything. Hard pill to swallow. But wouldn't it be better rather than misguide some and create unnecessary panic and confusion? I don't get it. Maybe that's why I am not a journalist. The truth, be it crystal and sparkling clear, seem important and much more preferable to a well spun story.
Back to my original intent... I feel sooooo bad for the people that are stuck in the process that doesn't know what to do with itself. My heart is extremely heavy for you. I know the added stress this is causing. Even though, the general consensus is that it will all get ironed out and everything will be just fine....the not knowing can be maddening. That again is a direct result of how people in power forget about the people they are making laws for. They sometimes forget that behind every file is a family waiting anxiously for their child. The wait is worse than any pregnancy. And until someone has been through it, you just never truly know how hard it is.
So, before lawmakers bend to the will of others, they should first consider who they are affecting. If you do not have a true plan, wait until you do. "Winging it" just isn't acceptable. Leaving people in limbo is a piss-poor, sloppy job.
I will continue to pray for the strength, patience and endurance of waiting families. And I'll pray that the lawmakers get their act together and have their new system up and running quickly. It is my hope that they DO NOT leave these families hanging on the edge any longer. As it looks, January 01, 2008 ushered in a sad day for Guatemalan adoptions and the children stuck in between.
God bless,
Gayle
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Infant Colic Treatment and Causes
Information for Ilse, her daughter and grandchild. I hope this helps!!! Just follow the link...
Love,
Gayle
Infant Colic Treatment and Causes
Love,
Gayle
Infant Colic Treatment and Causes
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Feliz Ano Nuevo!
Happy New Year everyone!!!
I pray this will be a joyous year for all of us.
I pray for continued health of the one's dear to me.
I pray my adoption family finishes their processes in the coming year, resulting with their beloved children at home, safe and sound. (Fe nunca floja!)
And somehow, I pray for peace. That the world puts down their swords and the killing stopped. I pray someday our nations can find a peaceful way for resolution.
And last but not least, I pray for my second country, Guatemala. I pray God will guide the people making decisions for so many...... that they leave no child behind.
Espero que el ano que viene le traiga todo lo que usted desea.
Paz a todos,
Gayle
And somehow, I pray for peace. That the world puts down their swords and the killing stopped. I pray someday our nations can find a peaceful way for resolution.
And last but not least, I pray for my second country, Guatemala. I pray God will guide the people making decisions for so many...... that they leave no child behind.
Espero que el ano que viene le traiga todo lo que usted desea.
Paz a todos,
Gayle
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