Guatemala Adoption

It is not the "same difference". Recently, Beauty and I went out to do a bit of grocery/household shopping. We frequently go as a family of four, and this day was no exception. My husband was taking Bear to the restroom, so Beauty and I shopped about. She sat in the cart as she usually does, holding and pilfering through the coupons and my shopping list, chatting up a storm. We paused in an aisle loaded with pajamas (Beauty's weakness--she loves to obtain/receive new pajamas!) and as we were hunting through the racks, a woman stopped beside us to compliment Beauty's, well, beauty. "What big eyes she has! And such long hair with cute hair bows! Is she Mexican?" I thanked her… [more]

Recently, someone asked me the following question: "What do you even write about for the Guatemalan blog at AdoptionBlogs.com, seeing how Guatemala is closed for adoptions?" Well, if you've been reading so far, you know I write on a little bit of this and a little bit of that--my own experiences as a proud Guatemama and our journey to  Beauty, as well as anything related to Guatemala in general. I've mentioned in passing that I frequent Guatadopt, as it is one of my favorite sites on the web for current and breaking information regarding Guatemalan adoptions. A few days ago, Guatadopt linked to Guatemala 900 and my heart sank a bit reading the latest update. For… [more]

Beauty was born in March 2007 and spent less than forty-eight hours with her first mom, M., before entering the care of her foster mother. M. was nineteen when Beauty was born; she worked long days to help support her aging parents. She was illiterate and had just over a year (total) of formal education. Beauty's birth father, F., denied involvement with M. We do not have contact with M. or F. Beauty's foster mother, R., cared for her for the first nine months of her life. (We do have contact with her, however.) Like most international adoptions, ours is a closed adoption with a distance of many miles separating our families. While we most definitely plan to visit Guatemala… [more]

...the other climbs the proverbial walls for days until the plane lands at the designated airport. I can verify this. I've been there. Most people are shocked when they find out I did not travel to Guatemala, but the truth remains: I did not.  My husband works as a civil servant and the first year of any new job is considered "probation". That said, traveling wasn't really an feasible choice, since we were anticipating Beauty's homecoming to be somewhere within the last six months of this time frame. We had resigned ourselves to an option we didn't really want to choose: an escort from Guatemala to the United States. But all that changed when we found Beauty would be arriving… [more]

While we were in process, one of the big draws to adopt from Guatemala was the percentage of adoptable children who resided with foster families. Most Guatemalan children eligible for adoption did not live in orphanages (I'm electing to use past tense here, seeing how the Guatemalan program remains closed), although some did. Beauty spent the first nine months of her life with a foster mom/family. I thought this would be a noteworthy topic of discussion this morning, considering the foster family versus orphanage issue is one that many adoptive parents contemplate. Beauty's foster mom, R., was a grandmother of three children, ages ten and younger, for whom she cared on a full-time basis. She earned a small income from fostering… [more]

In past entries, I've discussed Beauty's delay in language. When she was last assessed, she was around a year behind where she needed to be. Since starting weekly speech therapy with M., Beauty has improved leaps and bounds. She's really trying to vocalize her opinions and emotions; she's working on making choices between two options. She tries to repeat almost anything. Suffice to say, as I write this, I am beaming with pride. So maybe there's one small fly in the ointment of joy. Beauty's favorite word of all time, ever? No. Don't get me wrong: I know she's two and this is prime time to assert her independence. I respect that. In fact, I encourage it. I could've cried with happiness… [more]

A confession:  I'm a bit of an early shopper when it comes to the holidays. Since we started the process of adopting Beauty in 2006 and every subsequent year, I have tried to incorporate some sort of Guatemalan item into my family's gift-giving repertoire.  Last year, the item of choice for the season was an ornamental tin can angel. We bought several sets (they're sold four pieces in  a set) and gifted them (individually) to our family and friends.  At less than $10.00 each, it was a great, meaningful gift--thoroughly appreciated by those who love Guatemala as much as we do. So, where else can you locate some amazing Guatemalan finds? Commercially speaking (for those… [more]

Starting on a lighthearted note, have you heard that hot chocolate has been declared a national treasure in Guatemala? An article found here further explains, "In an effort to recognize the historical importance of hot chocolate and protect the labour-intensive traditional preparation of the beverage, Guatemala has awarded the drink a special designation." I'm especially partial to this article for two reasons: one, we are a family of devout chocolate lovers in basically any form; and two, this article sites chocolate as being symbolic of the Mixco region (Beauty's birthmom grew up and currently lives in Mixco). In any event, the kids and I spent a good portion of yesterday afternoon discussing chocolate and its background/uses in cooking… [more]

October 1 was Children's Day in Guatemala. While we've been battling a bug here in our home and didn't do much to celebrate, it's definitely worth a mention, even if it is somewhat belated. In essence, the purpose of this holiday is to honor children and really, who better to celebrate than the little ones who light our lives in so many amazing ways? That said, Guatemala does a great job at celebrating and honoring its children. With "clowns, mimes, chorus concerts and music at different stages", how could one not feel celebratory? Mayan Families, a charitable organization I've mentioned in past entries, traditionally tries to celebrate with a pinata and cake. However, due to this year's food shortage… [more]

Beauty is not "chubby"; in fact, she has a bit of a belly and would definitely not be classified as either "skinny" or "malnourished". In short, she likes to eat, and it's rather apparent she eats well. She's in the upper percentile for her weight and the girl can surpass her brother's caloric intake in a heartbeat. She isn't picky in the least--she'll try anything that's placed before her and enjoy it with gusto. However, when I read another article about Guatemala's food crisis earlier this morning, I looked at Beauty (then happily devouring pancakes, her favorite breakfast food) and I could feel my eyes well up. This article on CNN details the declaration that Guatemala is "in a… [more]