In a town not too far south of me lives a friendly, close knit family that I’ve gotten to know through adoption. We will be following this family as they wind through the process to bring their daughter home from Guatemala.

Now a little history while I do my utmost to respect their privacy since they’ve so graciously allowed me to tell their story. Mom and Dad have five children, their youngest, a daughter, adopted from Guatemala.

For this adoption, it was a three month process to gather all the documents of the dossier and get their petition from the USCIC. They... more

Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday that I missed all the years I lived in Israel. It isn’t just the great food that I enjoy making, it is the fact that it is about giving thanks (and I don’t mean in the religious sense) for all we have and being with family and/or friends.

Unlike many people in our area who have lived here for generations and have huge family dinners, ours is usually small. This year it will be my husband and our youngest two children. Regardless, my husband will fry a big turkey (he hates the smell of turkey baking in the oven), and we will have stuffing,... more

It cost $52.00 to fill my gas tank today. One of my “e-friends” (email friends) spends $140 a week on gas for her van, built to hold her family of ten children. Many people are struggling to stay within their budgets with rising gasoline prices. As we buy our turkeys for Thanksgiving, we notice that the price per pound has risen as well. Turkey feed (and all feeds for that matter) have risen in price. The movement towards ethanol fuels in the US hasn’t lowered oil prices, but it has raised prices on all... more

Kudos to ABC on a decent report on the Guatemalan adoption quagmire. You can watch this video of the ABC news release in Wisconsin about two couples who are in the process of adopting from Guatemala right now.

Maybe I’m too optimistic, but it seems that the media is winding down from their “let’s slam Guatemalan adoptions” gig, and some are earnestly attempting to paint a more balanced picture.

I do at times have (brief) empathy for reporters who know very little about Guatemalan adoption... more

With the holiday season around the corner and plenty of shopping on the horizon, why not buy some beautiful crafts from Guatemala? For some of these you don’t need to go farther than the keyboard on your laptop.

Maya Works offers lovely products, and they are only a click away. Part of the Fair Trade Federation, this organization is all about empowering women and strengthening communities.

And if you are the person who has everything, suggest that your loved ones buy you a ticket to go on a Maya Works tour.... more

One procedure in the Guatemalan adoption process is getting more stream lined. In the past, we would get the notification that we had "pink" from our agencies or lawyers - pink being the color of the document with your appointment time and date at the US Embassy in Guatemala to finalize the adoption of your child. This was the last stop before bringing your child home, so the words "you've got pink" always triggered great excitement.

According to a notice from the US Embassy in Guatemala City:

“…the Consular Section at the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City will no longer issue adoption... more

I was standing in line at the grocery store yesterday wondering why it was so crowded for a Tuesday evening. Ella was home with her brother, and after I explained her absence to the disappointed cashiers I questioned the chaos in the store. That is when I discovered that Thanksgiving is next week.

Next week? Where has time gone this month? It is already the middle of Adoption Awareness Month and I have not succeeded in getting anything written in our local newspaper about adoption. Not one to give up easily, I will send another email off tonight after I finish this... more

If you never got to see the PBS special on “Child Brides”, you can watch it at your own convenience here. NOW’s production team traveled to Niger, India and Guatemala and put together this powerful documentary about young girls, some mere children, married off because of tradition, convenience, necessity, lack of options or all of the aforementioned.

It is not unusual for girls under the age of fifteen to be married in Guatemala and to have babies even younger than that. Not surprisingly, one... more

Shortly after I felt cautiously optimistic with the announcement that the Guatemalan Congress was going to push back the implementation of the Hague and perhaps the Ortega Law to April, 2008, the DOS decided that this didn’t suit them at all. They want Guatemala to stick to their initial implementation date of December 31st, 2007.

In their statement of November 8th, 2008 they say: “The Guatemalan Government has said it will assume its obligations as a Hague Convention... more

Photo: Ella a few days before we arrived in Guatemala to bring her home forever. The wait seemed eternal.

Beautiful names and equally beautiful faces. These are six baby girls waiting in Guatemala to be brought home to their forever families, families I’m fortunate to know personally.

With so much controversy about Guatemalan adoptions, the individuals involved are often obscured under the rhetoric. Each of these little girls, and thousands of more children are moving through the precarious Guatemalan adoption process right now.

And... more