Another week has come and gone

Well, this week we have several families in Guatemala picking up their kiddos. This week Pascuala and Daniel go home, next week we hope for at least one more and maybe two. We did have 3 cases come out approved from the PGN this week and we are all very happy for that. We really hope that all of our placed children will be home this year. Please continue to pray for the speedy finalization of the rest of the cases. We are coming up on the Christmas Season and you remember how the PGN goes 1/2 staff from Nov 15-Jan 15. So we would like to see them all done before then.

Personally, we got through this week of extreme extra curricular sports. Whew! 3 scheduled soccer games (x2) since there is an "A" team and "B" team and Jacob plays on both teams. So 6 games later, then homework and tests to study for made for a hectic week. I do have to say, although probably horribly "unsportsmanlike" or sportsly incorrect, I absolutely do NOT enjoy watching soccer. I know that this may come as a shock so many of you (mainly my sister who has 3 kids and a husband in soccer Sorry Felis!) I feel her pain! I hope she enjoys it better than I do! tee hee) So watching 6 games for me from 4-6 pm 2 days this week was hard for me! It's so LONG and so much running (which I hate to do so thankfully I'm not doing it), then the field is so big that you can't see the kids very well. One game was out of town so we opted not to go. Sorry to go on and on about it, but I thought Basketball was bad, now I love to watch that, so maybe one day, I'll enjoy watching soccer better than I am right now. In the middle of that Gabe also had a CX (cross country) meet on Tuesday and will have another one tomorrow morning. We signed Abi up for YMCA basketball w/her friends from school....Not sure if she will like it since she told my mom at one of the boys' b-ball games, "Gramma, I really H-A-A-A-TE basketball!"

Well, enough about life in the Humble House! Have a great weekend everyone!

Crazy week!

WOW! It was a pretty crazy weekend and the week will only get more jam-packed with extra-curricular sports. I don't know how most parents do it. Friday afternoon, Gabe had a cross country meet. He came in 17th and ran the mile in 6:37.80, his own personal record! THEN, at 6:00 Abi had to be at school to cheer for the Homecoming Football game. The little girls got to go out and do a couple of cheers during 1/2 time. It was a beautiful night for football! Nice and cool, lots of junk food and lots of noise. We did win, so that was a plus! Today, Jacob had a soccer game. They didn't win, but played hard. Tomorrow, both boys have games/meets out of town so we probably won't go to either. (WHEW!) Jacob has another game on Thursday and then Gabe has another meet on Saturday. Soon, we'll start Basketball with Abi. That's my nutshell weekend update.

Now for Adoption stuff!

Things are still moving pretty slow in Guatemala. We are finally seeing some more birth certificates come out of RENAP which have been there for quite some time! We know that the families are so anxious to get their hands on their babies! Pray for Guatemala as everything is still up in the air.

For those of you who don't know RENAP is an acronym for a new Civil Registry in Guatemala. Most of the small towns have RENAP and what happens is once an adoption is approved, the next step is to get a new birth certificate with the adoptive parents' last name. The attorney will send the required paperwork to the city & Providence where the child was born and then they will start the new paperwork. THEN, that city has to send it to the RENAP in Guatemala City, where it will take weeks, sometimes 4-6 weeks, to update it in the "National Registry". Then they send it back to the city of birth, where they print and certify it and give it back to the attorney. Once this process is finished, THEN we can proceed to do the passport and submit final paperwork to the embassy for the 2nd DNA and then finally pink. I hope this clears up the RENAP issue, this new process just started at the first of the year and there are still glitches!

We still do not have any information on the cases where the birth mother has not shown up. As previously posted, they have given a new date of Sept 30th to get the mothers in again. SO, we still wait until they decide what to do.

Adoption Reunion/Workshop! I think that I need to clarify, if you live out of state and still wish to come, you are not excluded!!! Please let me know. We just thought having a little get together for KS was easy to do at short notice. We still plan to have the big one in June 2009 and that is far enough in advance for many of you to make your plans to come! We are also going to see if we can get a couple more ladies to come up, but that is still in the works.

KANSAS GUATEMALA/ADOPTION GET TOGETHER

I want to officially post that we are hosting a get together for families that have previously adopted from Guatemala and want to get together with other adoptive families in the state of Kansas. We are also going to have a little "workshop" for families interested in pursuing adoptions in the future whether with Guatemala, Taiwan or Haiti or perhaps even domestic. Please tell your friends and family.

The date for this eveng will be Sunday, October 5th from 2-5 in the BelAire Recreational Center. You can get to it off of Oliver and 48th Street North. BelAire is north of Wichita. If you have changed your address or would like us to update your files, please let us know by writing to me at ginger@specialdeliveryint.com

Please RSVP to me at my e-mail or you can call me at 316-737-2125 We hope to see you there!

News from Guatemala

Talking with our Attorney's secretary today, she informed me that they have again extended another deadline for birth mother interviews until Sept 30th. This is good news for those where we KNOW the mother is locatable but unwilling to come in, but still "uncertain" for those where we know that the mother is not anywhere to be found. (It kind of prolongs the wait) Please be in prayer for all those who are now being given another "3rd chance" to come in!

Soccer mom!

Well, I've officially become a soccer mom! I even have the van to prove it! Tonight was Jacob's first ever soccer game. He is playing on the Junior High team for Sunrise Christian Academy, although he's only in the 5th grade. There were only 10 official junior high boys in 6-8th grades to go out so they invited the 5th graders to try out. There were 6 so they kept them all on the team. I didn't even know that Jacob was even interested in soccer....too much running if you as me! While I was in Guatemala the end of August, he tried out and made the team. He has been practicing almost every night until almost 6pm. They played a team from out of town that had 50 kids on the roster. They even had girls! All of them in the 8th grade. We didn't win, but Jacob got to play most of the "A" game and all of the "B" game. He didn't think he would get to play at all! He made several good "head shots" and dribbled pretty good! We were proud! I'll attach pics. Our boys are in the Yellow Jerseys, since both teams were burgandy and white!

Items of Misc. Information

The Rain:
Sunday has come and gone and we are dry! Since it started raining on Thursday it finally quit sometime Saturday morning. At church this morning Pastor Mark said we got like 10.5 inches of rain. Today we woke up and the "pond in the back yard" was virtually dry. The wind was blowing pretty hard, so it probably just evaporated quicker. The boys were out on Saturday catching frogs. I think they caught 5-6. Thankfully they let them all go! We are now experiencing some pretty cool weather. It's supposed to be just warm and dry the next week!

Guatemala Independence Day:
Well, September 15th marks Guatemala's Independence Day. So, for the next 2 days, there will be no official business in the PGN, the Embassy (just for the 15th) and the Atty's offices. They are all closed until Wed Sept 15th. We will not have any communication with anyone in Guatemala until then. So, in case you are waiting for very important information we must wait, yet again.

Out of the "office":
OK, so "technically" I don't work in the office, but at home. This week I will be substituting at my kids' school. They are in desperate need for Junior/Sr. High subs. I am volunteering for this to help with their tuition! They have a teacher that will be gone all week so I will be taking over his classes all week. I will not be able to answer e-mails as quickly as I have in the past, but rest assured, I will get them done in the evenings. I will also try to call back any voicemails that you may leave me during my off periods or lunch.

Juan Jose:
I received a little note from Juan Jose's adoptive family. (He's the little boy I brought back 2 weeks ago who is almost 4). He is adjusting extremely well and they are so happy to have him a part of their family!

Hurricane Ike

Rain, Rain, go away!!! Yesterday the rain started and it hasn't stopped. It rained all night. The weather reports are saying that we can get up to 12 inches of rain here in KS all as a result of Hurricane Ike....I don't think it has even hit land yet, or maybe it did, but we are sure feeling the wet here. My sump pump goes off every minute and runs for approx 20 seconds each time. So technically, from the time it stops til it starts running again is less than a minute. I went down to check it and it sounds like someone has a faucet just pouring water into the sump! I'm just happy we moved into our new house....the last house had a leaky basement!

Gabe had another cross country meet, he was lucky the rain held off until they were done. I'm not sure what he placed, but he ran the mile in 6:39! I'm such a proud mother! Ithink the most fun the kids had was to stop at Wendys after the meet and eat together. They are bonding well as a team of 9.

On a personal note

I have added several links that are some of my favorite places to go on the web. As you can see, I don't have many, but these are close to my heart.

1. Larry and Claire Boggs, as you know are my parents who have been missionaries in Guatemala for 30 years this Dec.
2. NewSpring Church, where I have attended since I was a young girl, formerly known as Messiah Baptist Church. It is the place were I was baptized as a little girl and then the place where I was married 16 years ago (different building, same pastor) We have a very exciting, upbeat, contemporary church and we love attending. We currently help facilitate a Starting Point group, which is a 10 week study for Seekers, Starters, and Returners. This group is a priviledge to lead. We also help in Merge, which is a "Singles" group for 18-24 year olds. Check out the site, I think you'll be amazed!
3. Photo Works.com....This is where I go to participate in contests. I have currently won about $300 in free products from this site, just because I entered photos in a contest. If you go there, you can sign up for free and even vote on different pictures. This month, I have entered in the "Fall Sports" category and in the Storms and I think Nature. You can tell which ones are mine by my name GingerH.
4. GuatAdopt.com is a forum where many adoptive families can get information regarding Guatemala. They will post many things and they also have chat rooms. Chatrooms are great in certain settings, but I have noticed that sometimes people get terms mixed up, like Pre-Approval and Pink, then they start a panic. If you read something that disturbs you about the process, please let me know and I will check it out. I don't read many things there, but I know it's a valuable source to have.

Well, it's getting late and I better close for now! Have a great week and keep checking, I'll be posting more this week.

PGN

Well, it's Tuesday and there hasn't been any MAJOR issues happening on the Guatemala front. Nothing new from the PGN regarding cases where the birth mother did not show up for the interview by the deadline of Aug 31. I guess they are still debating. I did have one positive note. I wrote to the PGN on behalf of a family and GUESS WHAT?! They actually wrote me back. I'm not completely sure that the information they gave me was correct, but someone did write me back. I'll post the e-mail and if anyone wants to try, more power to you! I don't know if the squeeky wheel will get the grease, but it is comforting to know that they did reply the same day that I wrote. The e-mail to the PGN is info.chat@pgn.gob.gt Hopefully you can get some results. I do not know if they will reply in Spanish only or also in English. I wrote in Spanish.

Cross Country Meet

Well, this weekend, we went to our very first cross country meet. After it rained all night, we left for Lake Afton we wondered if it was even going to happen....Shows you how much I know about cross country. The Coach said it was the best kind of weather for a race! I took Gabe to school so he could ride out w/the team and then we went out much later. They were scheduled to run at 11, so we didn't want to be late for a 7 minute race. Well, we got there and it was MUDDY! To the point where our pants were muddy and the tops of our shoes were caked on mud. The 6th grade boys were racing a 1 mile race in the 7th grade category. Gabe started off really fast and then ended up being a little behind after running up the steep hill by the dam. Finally finishing 27th of over 100 boys. I thought it was pretty good for his very first meet. He ran the mile in 7:32. His best friend Tyler came in 7th! We are proud of him. I'll attach a couple of pics to show before and after the race.

Mark Your Calendars for June 12-13, 2009!

Special Delivery is going to help sponsor an Guatemala Adoptive Families Reunion. This is to say, that any family in the past 30 years, who has adopted from Larry and Claire Boggs by way of Refugio Bautista Infantil, Hogar Cuna or Nido del Aguila Children's Home, we are going to get together!

Right now the date is set for June 12-13, 2009 and will be held in the state of Indiana. I'm not sure the exact city yet, but will post that as soon as I know more details.

Normally we have a reunion about every 2 years. The last one was in 2007 in Normal/Bloomington, Illinios. We had over 150 people that came. This year we hope to have even more than that. It is a great time/place for siblings to meet or get re-aquainted if they were adopted separately, a place for families to just get together and talk about their adoption stories, whether good or bad. It is also a great time for Larry and Claire to see all of the children whom they have loved on and provided a loving place for them to stay during their adoption process. The pictures that are taken and new friendships made are always a highlight. The reunions also provide a place where families can finally meet their consultant who walked you through the journey.

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend this event! We plan to have lots of good food, fellowship, and fun!

End of the Week.

Well, this week has come to a close and there haven't been many changes. In Guatemala we had 5 children come home to their forever families. Juan Jose, Rosita, Carlos Daniel, Daniela, and Cristian Javier. The families are so excited and are going to be coming home to parties, receptions and get togethers to welcome these precious children into their extended families. God is so GOOD! Although some of these families have waited a long time, others have not, yet God's timing is always perfect. As Ty Pennington would say, "WELCOME HOME, CHILDREN, WELCOME HOME!!"

I had the priviledge to escort Little Juan Jose (Juanjo) back to his forever family this last week. He had been at Nido del Aguila since he was born. He is 3 1/2 now and what a little sparkplug! He was talking and saying, "Hola" to everyone in the airport. He was so good on the plane. His favorite thing was to put the headphones on and listen to Kung Fu Panda that was playing. He slept good and ate good and was potty trained and didn't have any accidents. The funniest part for me was when we sat next to a man in the airport who was wearing a white baseball cap and had white hair. He kept patting my arm and calling me Mama Clarita and would pat his arm and call him Papa Larry. I guess since I look like my mom, he thought I was her and that any white haired man he thought was my dad! When he met his new family he was a little apprehensive, but with the coaxing of a loving mama and 3 other brothers, he is adjusting just fine.

Next week we will have 3 more children go in for their 2nd DNA and then they will be awaiting PINK! What a wonderful word that is PINK! This is the final step and appointment date for the families to pick up their precious little ones. If you are new to the process or are considering it, that is one of the adoption lingo words.

Well, I'll close for now, Hope to hear from our new families that are getting home sometime!

PGN and birthmother interviews

I spoke with our attorney's secretary today and they are checking everyday to see if there are any opinions by the PGN regarding the cases where the birth mother did not show up. They still do not know how long it will be, but they are checking everyday. There are RUMORS that families will not lose their referral, but that is yet to be verified. We will keep everyone updated as we get the information.

On another note: RENAP, the National Civil Registry of the country of Guatemala is still working out it's kinks. There are 2 areas where they are taking a very long time. Chiquimula and Mazatenango. They don't take long there in those respective cities, but those cities have to send them off to Guatemala City, where they are taking 4-6+ weeks to get the new birth certificates issued. (This is the new birth certificate with the child's adoptive name.)

Those are my thoughts for this afternoon regarding these 2 subjects. More info to come.

Just starting up!

Well, this is a first for me, so please bear with me as I learn to blog. I will post some things that may just be a personal blog and other things that will more specifically deal with Special Delivery International and the adoption processes.

Just a little background. I have been in the adoption business since 2004 (officially), but my family has been involved with adoptions since 1979. When I was 11, our family moved to the country of Guatemala. My parents were called there to be missionaries. They have lived there ever since. December 10, will mark their 30th anniversary on the field. During that time many birth mothers approached them about giving up their children and so they began taking children into their home. Since then it has been a very rewarding experience to know that close to, if not over 1,000 children have found their Forever Homes here in the United States and even some in Europe.

Special Delivery has primarily worked in the country of Guatemala since the very beginning, but as those of you know, Guatemala has shut down since January 1, 2008. The current cases that we have are finishing up, but we have not been able to place any more children with their forever families since the beginning of January. Due to this "delay", we are expanding and are going to be offering families more options. As a Hague Approved Agency through COA, we are cooperating with another Christian agency and have opened up 2 new countries and hope to add more in the future. Currently we are looking for families interested in Taiwan and Haiti. If you are interested please contact me and request a packet. My e-mail address to contact me will be different than this post.

Please feel free to comment or ask questions and I look forward to hearing from you.

My e-mail address is ginger@specialdeliveryint.com