US Adoptions To Halt From Guatemala as of Jan 1, 2008

Reading this brought me to my knees. Yes, you read it correctly. This was a statement issued today by the Joint Council On International Children's Services (JCICS) and National Council For Adoption (NCFA). The following is an excerpt from their statement from the JCICS website:

"September 26, 2007 – According to the U.S. Department of State, during a recent meeting of the international community sponsored by the Hague Permanent Bureau, the Berger administration announced that as of January 1, 2008, the date on which the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption goes into force in Guatemala, all adoptions from Guatemala must meet Hague standards. This new rule affects all adoptions, including even pending adoptions filed before January 1, 2008. As of January 1, 2008, Guatemala will not process any adoptions to non-Hague countries, including the United States.

Guatemala does not currently possess a functioning Hague-compliant adoption process. Even should a Hague-compliant system be established in Guatemala by January 1, 2008, the U.S. is not expected to come into full Hague compliance until April 1, 2008 or later. If Guatemala proceeds as announced, all intercountry adoptions from Guatemala to the U.S. will therefore come to a halt on January 1, 2008, including “pipeline” cases where children and parents have been matched. At this time, the best-case scenario would be a resumption of U.S. adoptions from Guatemala on or after April 1, 2008, under a process with still-unknown procedures or timeline."


I know all of you reading this are wondering about the fate of our case...I can't answer that question. At best our case will be completed by end the end of the year, at second best our case will "stall out" next year until the US becomes Hague compliant, at worst....we lose our child.

Have I given up HOPE? Absolutely not....if I am going down, it's going to be kicking and screaming. For those of you that know me well, you know this won't be a pretty sight. There are so many families impacted by this "threat"...we are not in this alone. This means there are many people acting and advocating for the many pending cases and the many waiting children.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP???
There is an online petition....it takes seconds to sign and submit. I am posting the link....I BEG of you to please do this. Tell everyone you know to come visit our blog page and sign this petition. Click on the link below:
http://www.petitiononline.com/foafoa1/petition.html

I had the chance to visit with our adoption consultant this evening. She has assured me that steps are being taken in Guatemala to advocate for the waiting children and families too. She also said the home is in the process of becoming hague approved. At this point our case continues in process...awaiting PA, hoping to be out of family court soon. Our attorney MAY try to submit our case to PGN without PA once we are out of family court.

I am away from home this evening because of work meetings. As I paused for a moment while typing this, I looked outside my window. It is pitch black outside, at first glance I noticed the light of only street lights and passing cars. Then in the distance, a wondrous light caught my eye. There is a giant white cross surrounded by lights. It's absolutely beautiful...shining in all it's glory in the dark night.

I am reminded once again to hold on to my faith and trust in Him. He has heard my cries, He knows the desires of my heart. He is sovereign and He has great plans for my family....plans of hope and protection, not harm.

I found out this evening that another family, whose son is at the same home as Mason, received PA today. Theirs was issued UNDER the 60 time frame the US Embassy has given. Praise God!

Good night.

More Drama...

Well, this adoption journey continues to be interesting. We have been sailing along pretty smoothly since Mason was released from the hospital. However, yesterday we found ourselves in the midst of a tidal wave. This whole process is very difficult to explain, let alone the current issue at hand.

Here is my attempt, for what it is worth. I have mentioned before that the adoption process (b/t US & Guatemala) is going to change significantly in 2008...to what extent remains unknown. We entered this knowing fully well there may be delays, but were reassured we would be "far enough into the process" by end of 2007 to be "OK" or "grandfathered in". Basically we were under the impression that as long as we have "PA" by Dec 31, 2007 we were "safe"...but there could be some "delays" in 2008. We are currently about 2 weeks into our PA wait (remember this can take up to 60 days).

Well, yesterday the US Department of State issued a very stern and alarming statement regarding the fate of adoptions that are pending (meaning not finalized) after Dec 31. In a nutshell they are now stating there is no guarantee that any "pending" case will be allowed to continue EVER. There is still so much unknown and uncertainty. I can tell you many in the adoption community are FRIGHTENED, CONCERNED and ready to advocate for these waiting families and children.

So, of course upon hearing this devastating news I did what I do best....CRIED MY EYES OUT! Then I calmed down, spent time in prayer and sent letters of concern to the DOS and other US/State Reps. I have said it before and will say it again...I believe firmly that God has led us to adopt and he has brought Mason into our lives with purpose and a plan. A plan that I pray is to bring him home forever to our family.

I can honestly tell you that if we "lose" this child his innocent face will haunt me for the rest of my life. I can't even put into words how I feel about Mason...as far as I am concerned he is "our son" although there is not a piece of paper proving so. I will wonder every day what ever became of him.

Readers....this is not just about us & Mason. There are many, many other waiting families and children out there whose lives will be forever changed if cases are not allowed to continue. Just because adoptions stop, it does not mean these children will easily find other homes in their country. Guatemala is poverty stricken, they do not have the government "support" to care for these children or help the orphanages who are providing their care. I do not want to appear selfish during this time, because it is not just about me and what I want.

I have sent an example letter to many of you to email to the DOS with concerns. Thank you for those willing to act on our behalf. If you are reading this and would like to know what you can do to help, leave a comment with your email address, I will email you a letter to send. I have heard there may soon be an online petition. If/when I receive word of this I will post it to our blog.

At this point we are awaiting word/advice from our agency. We are also waiting for our September health report and case update. We are hoping they will be able to offer some insight as to what we can expect in the near future.

In the midst of all this I must hang on to my FAITH. God is my shield and He has heard my cries, He has heard my prayers. I pray His name will be glorified throughout this process. With this being said, I must also prepare myself to stand firm in my FAITH and TRUST in Him...regardless of the outcome of this.

"The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord have never forsaken those who seek you" Psalm 9:9-10

Here is a link to the DOS statement that was issued yesterday.
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_389.html

Mason will be 12 weeks old tomorrow. We appreciate your support and prayers. OK, I can no longer see my computer screen...tears : (

Vote for Mason's middle name...

Mason turned 11 weeks old this past Thursday. There is not much new to report, so I thought I would spice things up with a poll. I already did this with our family, but have decided to take it to blogland! (For my family out there...vote again.)

We have been debating a middle name for Mason since before he was born. We were just certain it was going to be Jeremy or James. Well, that is so yesterday! As soon as we heard Mason's birth name we just knew we needed to incorporate it somehow.

So, your choices are.....(drum roll please).....

Mason Alexander
Mason Cristian Alexander

*To place your vote...click on "comments" at the end of this post. Type in your message. Click a "user identity" (pick "other") and type in your name. Then submit your comment! It's that simple!

New Pictures & 10 Weeks Old

We have received our September pictures. He is such a little turkey...we received 12 pictures and his eyes were closed in every single picture! We are still waiting on his health report, we are anxious to see how much he has grown. We are so blessed!

99.9943%

I have several things to share today...

First, I am pleased to announce that our son has passed his first test with flying colors! We received the DNA results today...it's a match, 99.9943% to be exact. That's an A+ in my eyes! Go baby boy! As a result of this news, I have had the song "Pure Love" by Ronnie Milsap going through my head ALL day long (those of you familiar with this song know what I am talking about...now you have it going through your head too...don't ya?!).

For those of you who are wondering what on earth I am talking about, here are the lyrics..."Pure love, baby it's pure love Milk and honey and Captain Krunch and you in the morning. Pure love, baby it's pure love, Ninety-nine and forty-four one hundreds percent pure love". Sorry for regressing...I was a child raised listening to 61 Country on the am dial. Anywho...

He has also won his first contest! The couple who run the home have their own blog site and each week they post pictures of "Cute Kids This Week". Well, he made the cut this week. OK, so it's not an "official contest"...but he won my vote!

I am preparing care package #3 as I type this...the clothes are actually in the dryer. I have the opportunity to send down another package with someone who is traveling this coming weekend. I asked our adoption consultant if there is anything the home is in need at this time and she told me preemie sleepers and preemie onsies. Sooooo, you know this involved some shopping. Hey, it's for a good cause! By the way, it's not easy finding preemie clothes and when you do the selection is pretty limited.

So, once things are dry I will be packing two 1-gallon baggies. One for Mason and one w/ the donated preemie clothes. Isn't Mason so lucky to have a mother who will go to the ends of the earth to find great deals on this season's latest fashions? :)

On a serious note...today is the 6th anniversary not only for the events of 9/11, but also for my Grandma's funeral. I will end today's blog with happy memories of her...if she were here today she would not be able to contain herself in the wait for Mason. She loved her grandkids! I guarantee you the first thing she would have asked me would have been "what colors are the nursery?", so she could have started working on an afghan for him.

God bless each of you and your family. Tonight I pray for peace over those who were directly impacted by the events of 9/11. I pray for peace & safety over Mason, the children's home and those caring for him. I praise God for the good news we received today (the DNA results). God, please continue to bless and protect our adoption journey.

9 Weeks Old Yesterday...

Hello! Thought I would take a moment and give you all a quick update. At this point we are waiting for DNA test results. I received an email earlier this week with pictures of Mason.

The couple I had mentioned from MN in my last blog post... they made it safely to the children's home over Labor Day weekend. They took several pictures of Mason and were gracious enough to share (thanks again Aimee)! They told me he is beautiful and likes to sleep a lot!

Oh, I have a cool story to share! The pictures of Mason that I posted in my last blog...with the orange blanket in the background. Our pastor's wife told me that a group of ladies and children from our church made those blankets and sent them down to the children's home a couple of years ago. God's work amazes me each day.

Tonight I continue to pray for Mason's health, safety & happiness. I pray for the health & safety of his bio mom and the children's home staff. I also pray for peace over the country of Guatemala and that adoptions in process will continue smoothly. This Sunday is election day in Guatemala.

Enjoy the pictures and have a great weekend.