One of the things we learned at Heartsent last Monday was that we get to send a gallon Ziploc bag full of whatever we can fit down to Noe. So Christopher and I have been pondering the past week and put together a list, but I thought I'd throw it out there for any other suggestions before making the final cut. Here's what we're thinking so far:
First of all, our thought is that we'd like to cover as many senses as we can, so that said, we were thinking of including:
* A small blanket or cloth diaper or stuffed animal that we've slept with that has our 'scent' on it
* Some photos in a compact, baby-proof holder of some sort
* A mini tape recorder with tapes of Christopher and I talking, reading and singing (I found a CD and companion songbook of Latin American children's songs and lullabies)
* A disposable camera for her foster mother to fill up with shots of Noe and send back to us.
Any other suggestions?
Sunday, November 26, 2006
A Guatemalan Thanksgiving
Getting our first pictures of Noe on Monday and writing the words 'THE END' for my first novel made for an especially full Thanksgiving for us this year. Thank you to everyone who has e-mailed and called for all your enthusiasm and excitement for us. We can't tell you how grateful we are to be sharing this time with you.
We had planned on spending Thanksgiving alone this year, using the day to recharge, give thanks and absorb all that has happened in the past week. So Christopher had the brilliant idea of cooking a simple Guatemalan meal to celebrate, and that we did. Our friend Marilee Wingert had sent us a recipe for Pollo Jocon (Chicken in Green Sauce) earlier, so we printed it out and made it along with black beans, Spanish rice and homemade corn tortillas. It was the first of what we're sure will be many Guatemalan meals at the Huber household.
Here's the recipe (thanks Marilee!) in case you're interested in trying:
Pollo Jocon (from False Tongues and Sunday Bread)
1 3lb. chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 small onion, quartered
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sliced scallions, green part only
1/2 cup tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. flour
1 tsp. hot green chile slices
Cook the chicken, onion and salt in 1 cup of water in a saucepan over moderate heat for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, process the scallions, tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, flour and chile into a smooth paste with 1/2 cup water.
Add the green sauce to the chicken and continue to cook over moderate to low heat for 20 minutes. Serve warm with rice.
We had planned on spending Thanksgiving alone this year, using the day to recharge, give thanks and absorb all that has happened in the past week. So Christopher had the brilliant idea of cooking a simple Guatemalan meal to celebrate, and that we did. Our friend Marilee Wingert had sent us a recipe for Pollo Jocon (Chicken in Green Sauce) earlier, so we printed it out and made it along with black beans, Spanish rice and homemade corn tortillas. It was the first of what we're sure will be many Guatemalan meals at the Huber household.
Here's the recipe (thanks Marilee!) in case you're interested in trying:
Pollo Jocon (from False Tongues and Sunday Bread)
1 3lb. chicken, cut into serving pieces
1 small onion, quartered
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sliced scallions, green part only
1/2 cup tomatillos
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. flour
1 tsp. hot green chile slices
Cook the chicken, onion and salt in 1 cup of water in a saucepan over moderate heat for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, process the scallions, tomatillos, cilantro, garlic, flour and chile into a smooth paste with 1/2 cup water.
Add the green sauce to the chicken and continue to cook over moderate to low heat for 20 minutes. Serve warm with rice.
Monday, November 20, 2006
First Pics
Well Christopher and I are just absolutely giddy. We just got back from Heartsent to make our adoption of Noemi de Leon Huber, born November 6 in Guatemala City, official, and have come back with a bit more info and PHOTOS!
Here is all we know right now:
* She was born at 5lbs and weighed in at 5lbs 8oz and 19 inches long two days ago (you grow girl!)
* She was born in Guatemala City
* The remainder of the process will take about 5-7 months -- until we can bring her home
* We can go visit her (!) in Guatemala City after the DNA test is complete, which Kelly Jo estimates will be sometime in February.
* We're keeping her name(s) Noemi de Leon, and are going to call her Noe for short.
* We're already completely, head over heels for this little girl and cannot WAIT to be with her!!!
Sunday, November 19, 2006
How 'bout a BABY!
Christopher here...Sit down peeps; fasten your seatbelts.
Friday, November 17 at approximately 3:30 PST Lia and I received the phone call we didn't expect 'til at least the New Year. I was in my office and heard Lia answer the phone. Then, I heard that silence where you know something's up. By the time Lia got to my door, I was thinking, "no way, this can't be the call; I mean, I was just at the police dept on Monday this week. We just had our Immigration fignerprints taken on Tuesday. We haven't even received our infamous C.I.S. document yet." Lia opened the door. I picked up the phone.
Sure enough, Kelly Jo calmly said, "I have something to tell you. I have a referral for you. Her name is Noemi de Leon Lopez. She was born November 6, 2006, she's healthy and I don't want to tease you but she's a total cutie!"
We just sat there looking at each other, completely stunned, eyes bigger than basketballs. Mouths wide open. Speechless. Tears of joy. And what a gorgeous name!
So...tomorrow we go meet Kelly Jo and Val (Exec. Dir.) to hear more about this 2 week old girl that God has planned for us. No doubt we'll be signing gobs more paperwork, I'm sure, and we'll get a photo.
Stay tuned; we may be taking a trip over New Years to go meet our daughter(!). We'll tell you more after our appointment tomorrow.
Friday, November 17 at approximately 3:30 PST Lia and I received the phone call we didn't expect 'til at least the New Year. I was in my office and heard Lia answer the phone. Then, I heard that silence where you know something's up. By the time Lia got to my door, I was thinking, "no way, this can't be the call; I mean, I was just at the police dept on Monday this week. We just had our Immigration fignerprints taken on Tuesday. We haven't even received our infamous C.I.S. document yet." Lia opened the door. I picked up the phone.
Sure enough, Kelly Jo calmly said, "I have something to tell you. I have a referral for you. Her name is Noemi de Leon Lopez. She was born November 6, 2006, she's healthy and I don't want to tease you but she's a total cutie!"
We just sat there looking at each other, completely stunned, eyes bigger than basketballs. Mouths wide open. Speechless. Tears of joy. And what a gorgeous name!
So...tomorrow we go meet Kelly Jo and Val (Exec. Dir.) to hear more about this 2 week old girl that God has planned for us. No doubt we'll be signing gobs more paperwork, I'm sure, and we'll get a photo.
Stay tuned; we may be taking a trip over New Years to go meet our daughter(!). We'll tell you more after our appointment tomorrow.
Monday, November 13, 2006
Huber Status Update
Well Christopher went back for the third round of police clearance letters today and I thought I'd use it as an example for what this paperwork has looked like.
Friday: October 27 -- Pick up notary person at UPS store and drive her to police station to meet Christopher and the Chief of Police (Susan) to sign and notarize a letter saying that Christopher and I both have clean criminal records. Half hour later, go back to UPS store and send both copies to Heartsent.
Tuesday: October 31 -- Kelly Jo calls from Heartsent and says that the notary person crossed her 7 on the date and it looks like a 1, and that Guatemala is a stickler on things like that. She says she'll send it back to us and that Susan can just write the date (October 27) next to her name and we should be fine.
Friday: November 3 -- Christopher takes the notarized docs that Kelly Jo sent back to us over to the police station for Susan to date. She writes October 16. Chris laughs (sort of), rips up the notarized docs and says he'll be back on Monday.
Monday: November 5 -- Christopher meets another notary person at the police station and gets two more notarized copies stating we have clean records. Sends them to Kelly Jo.
Thursday: November 8 -- Kelly Jo calls and says, great job on the notary and date, but they just heard from their Guatemalan contact that some cases are being thrown out for having a 'joint' police letter and that it's best to not take the risk and just get two notarized copies for each of us as individuals.
Monday: November 13 -- Christopher goes back to the police station and meets the first notary (figures it's safe, no 7's in the date) to get 4 notarized copies, two for each of us, stating we have a clean record. Fedexes them to KJ.
So, actually, I could have entitled this -- Homestudy DONE--really, really, really! Because it's taken this long to actually get that last piece done correctly . . . but now we're on our way!
Christopher and I go to get our fingerprints taken tomorrow for the government, and then it'll be about two weeks after that that we get our official clearance for a match. So we're (almost) in the count-down to baby time!
Friday: October 27 -- Pick up notary person at UPS store and drive her to police station to meet Christopher and the Chief of Police (Susan) to sign and notarize a letter saying that Christopher and I both have clean criminal records. Half hour later, go back to UPS store and send both copies to Heartsent.
Tuesday: October 31 -- Kelly Jo calls from Heartsent and says that the notary person crossed her 7 on the date and it looks like a 1, and that Guatemala is a stickler on things like that. She says she'll send it back to us and that Susan can just write the date (October 27) next to her name and we should be fine.
Friday: November 3 -- Christopher takes the notarized docs that Kelly Jo sent back to us over to the police station for Susan to date. She writes October 16. Chris laughs (sort of), rips up the notarized docs and says he'll be back on Monday.
Monday: November 5 -- Christopher meets another notary person at the police station and gets two more notarized copies stating we have clean records. Sends them to Kelly Jo.
Thursday: November 8 -- Kelly Jo calls and says, great job on the notary and date, but they just heard from their Guatemalan contact that some cases are being thrown out for having a 'joint' police letter and that it's best to not take the risk and just get two notarized copies for each of us as individuals.
Monday: November 13 -- Christopher goes back to the police station and meets the first notary (figures it's safe, no 7's in the date) to get 4 notarized copies, two for each of us, stating we have a clean record. Fedexes them to KJ.
So, actually, I could have entitled this -- Homestudy DONE--really, really, really! Because it's taken this long to actually get that last piece done correctly . . . but now we're on our way!
Christopher and I go to get our fingerprints taken tomorrow for the government, and then it'll be about two weeks after that that we get our official clearance for a match. So we're (almost) in the count-down to baby time!
Hague Convention Update
For those of you who are hoping for more than just diaper discussions from this blog, I thought I'd post an update on the political situation with the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption -- an "international treaty, completed in 1993, that is the first-ever agreement designed to govern the adoption process and protect children being adopted across national boundaries. Through their participation, the U.S., China, Guatemala, and more than 60 additional countries have signaled their intention to legitimize international adoption by agreeing that:
* Every child has the right to a permanent family, even when that family is in another country.
* Adoption of children between countries should take place via agreed-upon procedures that are ethical and orderly." (for more, see http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1400)
In the past few weeks, there have been articles in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that have given the impression that the US position on the Hague Convention and the current status of Guatemala (who has ratified the convention, but has not yet implemented the mandates) would halt adoptions between the two countries. ("Guatemala System Is Scrutinized As Americans Rush In to Adopt", NYT November 5, 2006) And that is simply misleading. In fact, here is a Q&A with Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and the one responsible for implementing the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in the U.S:
Q: Guatemala ratified the Convention without having properly implemented it. What is the country’s current status?
A: The U.S. Department of State is encouraging Guatemala to pass implementing legislation this year. We’ve offered consultation and training to government officials, and believe that Guatemala will find an avenue to implement the Convention so that adoptions between our two countries can continue once we ratify.
Here, also, for those of you who want to dig further, is a statement from the US Department of State addressing the 'false rumor that Guatemala will halt adoptions': http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_3042.html. This one was a rumor pointed the other way (that the 'halt' would come from Guatemala). And here's another link to the US DOS FAQ on Guatemalan adoption http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2859.html. [Thank you Steve Wingert for leading us here and for your reassurance!]
Here's the bottom line:
* Yes, the US plans to officially ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in 2007 and it will 'enter into force' three months after that.
* Yes, this is something that all reputable adoption agencies are fully aware of and on top of and that we discussed with ours (Heartsent) going into it.
* No, there has been no 'new' information about the convention and the standing of Guatemala since we began this process in August.
* Yes, it seems the media blew things out of proportion and put a 'fear factor' spin on existing facts and yes, that is unfortunate.
* Yes, Christopher and I are already far enough along in the process with the government that we would be grandfathered in regardless of when the ratification takes place.
* Yes, any and all of this information may change tomorrow ;-).
Thank you all for you concern -- we'll keep you updated on any new news!
* Every child has the right to a permanent family, even when that family is in another country.
* Adoption of children between countries should take place via agreed-upon procedures that are ethical and orderly." (for more, see http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/articles.php?aid=1400)
In the past few weeks, there have been articles in both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal that have given the impression that the US position on the Hague Convention and the current status of Guatemala (who has ratified the convention, but has not yet implemented the mandates) would halt adoptions between the two countries. ("Guatemala System Is Scrutinized As Americans Rush In to Adopt", NYT November 5, 2006) And that is simply misleading. In fact, here is a Q&A with Maura Harty, Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, and the one responsible for implementing the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in the U.S:
Q: Guatemala ratified the Convention without having properly implemented it. What is the country’s current status?
A: The U.S. Department of State is encouraging Guatemala to pass implementing legislation this year. We’ve offered consultation and training to government officials, and believe that Guatemala will find an avenue to implement the Convention so that adoptions between our two countries can continue once we ratify.
Here, also, for those of you who want to dig further, is a statement from the US Department of State addressing the 'false rumor that Guatemala will halt adoptions': http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_3042.html. This one was a rumor pointed the other way (that the 'halt' would come from Guatemala). And here's another link to the US DOS FAQ on Guatemalan adoption http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/notices/notices_2859.html. [Thank you Steve Wingert for leading us here and for your reassurance!]
Here's the bottom line:
* Yes, the US plans to officially ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in 2007 and it will 'enter into force' three months after that.
* Yes, this is something that all reputable adoption agencies are fully aware of and on top of and that we discussed with ours (Heartsent) going into it.
* No, there has been no 'new' information about the convention and the standing of Guatemala since we began this process in August.
* Yes, it seems the media blew things out of proportion and put a 'fear factor' spin on existing facts and yes, that is unfortunate.
* Yes, Christopher and I are already far enough along in the process with the government that we would be grandfathered in regardless of when the ratification takes place.
* Yes, any and all of this information may change tomorrow ;-).
Thank you all for you concern -- we'll keep you updated on any new news!
Diaper Breakthrough
OK all, several of you weighed in on the diaper dilemma, so I'm publicly sharing an interesting 'hybrid model' (for lack of a better term) that Christopher and I found. Check out gdiapers.com. They use the same 'waterproof panties' type of system that cotton diapers do nowadays, but the innards are totally flushable (really) and, for the pee-only liners, compostable (Rick, who knew your worms would come in so handy!). The company is new, started by a couple who had the same questions and concerns we voiced and weren't satisfied with any of the answers available. So we'll see . . . I think we're going to give these a shot to start. Stay tuned for a test-drive update in, say, six months or so!
PS -- Yes, I did do a cost analysis on these gdiapers ;-) and they're a tad more expensive than the major brands, but not by much, a few pennies per package.
PS -- Yes, I did do a cost analysis on these gdiapers ;-) and they're a tad more expensive than the major brands, but not by much, a few pennies per package.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
