Saturday, September 29, 2007

Please help bring them home!

I am asking for your help to bring home the 5,000 Guatemalan orphans currently in process to be adopted by US parents.

Edited to remove personal commentary, as it just takes up time and space when you could be reading the linked site instead....

http://www.5000orphans.com/

ETA: The DOS has revised their statement and added verbiage saying they have asked that the current in-process cases be grandfathered in to the new "law" and be allowed to finish. While we would be thankful for that, it does nothing for the babies being born right now that will not have any other option to remain with the birthmother. The majority of adoption agencies have shut their doors to Guatemala for the time being, and it is unknown if or when they will be allowed to reopen. It breaks my heart to know that the Guatemalan government is not prepared at this point to step up to the plate and help care for their own. I look at my first daughter's laughing eyes and smiling face and cry when I think about what 'could have been' if she had remained in Guatemala. And it makes me very sad to think there is even a slight chance that we might not be able to bring home our second daughter at all.

Sunday, September 16, 2007

2K




No, 2K is NOT a distance that I run. I don't even walk 2K if I can help it.




Maya started the new 2K program at a local church. She loves it! I cried. And Gran cried when I told her about it a few months ago. Gran kept Maya for us on Mon, Wed and Fri, and a friend kept her on Tues & Thurs. But the friend lives pretty far away, and we've had a couple of problems in the past (with another sitter) and had to scramble at the last minute for daycare. Once I had to stay home on LWOP as I didn't have any leave time left, but Maya was sick. Soooo, Gran is the one who actually looked into the church program for us, but she intended it to be a Tues/Thurs program only. I had already told E that I would prefer to just pay for 5 days and then just have the option to drop her off on MWF if Gran or Poppi is sick. But when it came time to enroll (we were number 23 on the waiting list when we signed up months ago), they had eliminated the TTh program and had begun a new 2K program. So Gran cried when I told her it was now 5 days. She knows she can still have Maya anytime she wants, but this does give us a sense of security if we need to keep her there. But Gran wants Maya to have that time with the other children, and to not miss out on whatever little projects they have going on.




And then it came time for her first day. We had visited the week before when they had the open house for parents, and Maya played in her room and met her teachers. Maya adjusts extremely well to most situations, so I knew she would be fine. But I wasn't . It was one of those "below the head" reactions. 'Below the head' means it doesn't involve my brain or my common sense. Those two told me she would do wonderful here, and that she would love meeting new children. But 'below the head', I was anxious and nervous and I just hated leaving her there that first day. Who knew I would turn into this quivering mass of emotions the minute I became a mommy? E and I walked Maya to her room that morning, and she looked around a little. Then when she realized we were leaving her there, she started crying. So we said goodbye to her and left (as they instructed us the children tend to recover faster if we don't prolong the goodbye.) That was one of the hardest things I have ever done. EVER. I was crying before we rounded the first corner. Then we had to stop by the director's office and paid our first month's bill, and turned in Maya's updated immunization form. I'm still crying the whole time I'm writing out the check. The director (and the rest of the staff, too) are all very sweet, and she kept telling me Maya will be fine, and she will have a good time. I KNEW all that! But I couldn't help the tears anyway. My baby is growing up so fast. Oh, and yes, she is just fine there, and she's made some new friends, and she is having a great time.