Sabbatical Update: Family Times

Over the past few weeks, we've had some neat family time. Here's a few snapshots...

WASHINGTON D.C.:

The picture above was taken at Mt. Vernon minutes before I was told very forcibly that I had to remove Noah from my shoulders due to safety concerns. Ironically, as I took him down I dropped him on his head. Here he is below, fully recovered except for his sense of balance.

We stayed with Whitney's Aunt Joyce, who was a very gracious host.

I'm not really sure what's going on in this picture. This kid just loves to be goofy.

The thing the kids wanted to do in Washington D.C. more than anything else was visit the Lincoln Memorial. Here we are.TENNESSEE

After our time in D.C., we headed down to Tennessee to see my Grandparents and cousins. My grandmother, of course, is the famous "Grammy." Here she is at her computer with Austin, possibly preparing to comment on my blog. Further below are pictures of the grandparents and cousins with the kids.

FLORIDA:

After Tennessee, Whitney and I dropped the kids off in Texas and spent some time in Florida together. TEXAS

We arrived back in Texas at the beginning of November and have been here ever since. I've been visiting churches and interviewing people. Sunday we went down to San Antonio with my parents as an early Christmas present. On Tuesday, we went to Sea World and came back yesterday.

Due to the expense of hotel rooms, we rented a drawer for Noah in some stranger's room.

Noah also loved the animals. He went crazy hugging everything in sight.

The funniest part of the trip was watching the 4-D Pirates show. This picture was taken moments before the screaming began.

Hannah kept us from getting lost.

Here we are at the obligatory stop at the Alamo.

The first night we stopped by at "Skateboard Hill", near one of the homes we lived at in San Antonio. It was neat to see the kids enjoying skateboarding where I had spent so many Sunday afternoons.

HuckChuckFacts

Sugar, Sugar

I think this means something....

Guess who went running along the Potomac river? (& UPDATE)

Uh...that would be Whitney and me. We had a great time in D.C with Whitney's aunt. We left yesterday and had a brunch with a friend who is now attending Liberty University. We're in Tennessee this morning and saw this on JCICS' website. There are a lot of people out there making statements and they are by far the most reliable. Bottom line: Things are still in flux but Berger, UNICEF, and the Guatemala government seem to be backing down. Keep contacting your representatives!

JCICS' statement:

Monday, October 22, 2007
This past week saw much activity including continued direct dialogue with UNICEF and the Office of President Oscar Berger. We once again thank the adoptive parent community, our friends and our professional colleagues for everyone’s continued support.

United States Congress
Joint Council is very pleased to report that as of Friday October 19, 2007, 70 Members of the United States House of Representatives and 28 Members of the United States Senate have agreed to sign the letters to President Oscar Berger, UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman, and UNICEF Guatemala Executive Director Manuel Manrique. With three days remaining until the deadline for signing the letters, we expect to have the support of well over 100 Congressional offices. As we reported last week…your voice is being heard! The deadline for Members of Congress to register their support is Wednesday, October 24th. We anticipate the letters to be sent to President Berger, Executive Director Veneman, and UNICEF Guatemala Executive Director Manuel Manrique on or around October 29th.

Given the ongoing nature of our initiative, we do not yet know the names of those Representatives and Senators that have agreed to sign the letters. We ask that you contact your three members of Congress no later than Wednesday, October 24th and, ask if they have agreed to support the Guatemala 5000 Initiative by signing all three letters. If they have, simply thank them for their support. If not, ask that they support the Guatemala 5000 Initiative by agreeing to sign onto the letters.

For those Congressional offices needing additional information, please refer Members of the House of Representatives to Mr. Chip Gardiner in Congressman Oberstar’s office or Tad Bardenwerper in Congresswoman Brown-Waite’s office and Members of the Senate to Ms. Lauren Bocanegra in Senator Landrieu’s office or Andy Burmeister in Senator Coleman’s office. They can also contact Ms. Nicole Vitale at the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.

President Oscar Berger
As you may know, statements by President Oscar Berger and Guatemalan Congressman Roberto Morales were reported in the Guatemalan press this past week. Some have interpreted these statements to be the official support of the Guatemalan government for the completion of all in-process adoptions under the current law and procedures. Joint Council has chosen to withhold its assessment until a transparent and expeditious process for completing the in-process adoptions has been published by the Berger administration.

To date the terms by which an adoption would be considered “in-process” and the process/timeline by which the children’s adoptions will be completed have not been published. Given the volatile nature of Guatemalan adoptions and the current political environment within Guatemala, Joint Council does not consider it prudent to rely on vague and conflicting statements by various officials. Until such time that President Berger publishes clear definitions and a transparent process for legally and expeditiously completing the adoptions for all children having been referred to a family, we will continue to advocate on behalf of the children we serve.

UNICEF
On October 15th, Joint Council participated in a panel discussion with UNICEF Guatemala Director Manuel Manrique, UNICEF Consultant Kelley Bunkers and adoptive parent and journalist Elizabeth Larsen during the Adoption Ethics and Accountability conference in Washington DC. In continuing our ongoing dialogue with UNICEF, Joint Council has been invited to meet with UNICEF officials beginning next month at UNICEF headquarters in New York.

A point of clarification for adoptive parents:
It was indicated by UNICEF representative Manuel Manrique both at the conference and
subsequent interview with National Public Radio, that the announcement attributed to President Berger (noted in Joint Council’s Guatemala 5000 initiative) did not actually occur and the initiative itself unnecessary. Joint Council firmly stands by our statement and ongoing support of Guatemalan children via the Guatemala 5000 Initiative.

As reported by the United States Department of State, the Guatemalan government informed the U.S. Department of State of its intent. As the head of the Guatemalan government, we believe that President Berger is responsible for the information his government relays to the United States government and should be held accountable.

Joint Council believes that using diversionary and misleading tactics do not advance the best interest of Guatemalan children. We again call on all parties to refrain from such strategies and focus our energies on ensuring that all children referred to families are permitted to complete their adoptions in a legal and timely manner.

AP Story Update

We're in Washington D.C. tonight, but just saw this AP report....

Guatemalan president says he's not trying to stop U.S. families from adopting babies

The Associated Press
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemalan President Oscar Berger said Tuesday that his government is simply working to make adoptions more secure and not trying to interfere with U.S. families already in the process of adopting some 3,700 children from the Central American nation.

Guatemalan lawmakers are debating how to fulfill their promise to comply by Jan. 1, 2008, with the Hague Convention, the international standard for legal adoptions. A key requirement is the creation of a centralized adoption-monitoring agency.

Would-be parents — many of whom spend US$30,000 (€21,000) or more to adopt Guatemalan babies — are on edge, worrying that adoptions already in process will be blocked by the impending legislation. But Berger denied that.

"I have never said that I want to stop the adoptions," Berger told The Associated Press. "All my government wants is for the adoptions law that is about to pass to be respected and for Guatemala to comply with the Hague Convention."

U.S. families adopted 4,135 Guatemalan children last year, making the Central American nation second only to China as a source of babies for American couples. One in every 100 Guatemalan babies born annually is adopted by U.S. families, thanks to a speedy private adoption system in which notaries handle the entire process, from scouting for pregnant women to filing all the paperwork.

The Hague Convention requires that a government agency control the process, not independent notaries.

It remains unclear exactly what parents who are already adopting Guatemalan babies will have to do to comply with the new rules. But Rep. Rolando Morales, one of the main backers of the adoption bill in Congress, also said adoptions under way won't be blocked.

"All we ask for is an investigation to make sure that the woman giving the baby up is the biological mother and that the infant was not obtained under coercion or, worse, stolen," Morales said.

"We don't believe an adoption should cost more than US$7,000 (€5,000)," he added. "The difference is the profit the lawyer makes."

UNICEF's Guatemala office also wants cases already in process to be re-examined to ensure that babies were not stolen or obtained under duress. And the U.S. State Department has warned U.S. families not to adopt from Guatemala until the U.S. Embassy can examine each case more thoroughly. The embassy recently began requiring DNA tests at the beginning and the end of each adoption to verify the child's identity.

In response, a notaries' lobbying group has run radio ads praising adoption as a way to get children out of orphanages and help those living on the street. Meanwhile, adoptive parents have deluged U.S. government offices with calls and e-mails calling for Guatemalan adoptions to continue.

Guatemalan lawmakers are determined to pass the bill before the nation's presidential elections on Nov. 4.

President Berger's Statement

The following was taken from JCIS's website. It apparently is Berger's statement that they were reluctant to publish. I think they should have left it unpublished....

PLEASE NOTE: The text below is a statement from President Berger’s
administration, as it was sent to the Joint Council on International
Children’s Services via email.

1. El Presidente de la República de Guatemala, Oscar Berger Perdomo, NO ha
emitido declaración alguna en cuanto a que se suspenderán en Guatemala
todas las adopciones internacionales.
1. The President of Guatemala, Oscar Berger Perdomo, has NOT issued a
statement about the suspension of all intercountry adoptions.

2. El Presidente Berger apoya una nueva ley de adopciones (Iniciativa 3217),
que regula los procesos de adopción, otorga más certeza jurídica a una
institución social noble como lo es la adopción y es acorde a los estándares de
la Convención de la Haya.
2. President Berger supports a new adoption’s law (Initiative 3217), which
regulates the adoption processes, will give more judicial certainty to a social
noble institution, as the adoption, and which will be in accordance to the Hague
Convention.

3. Los niños guatemaltecos que están en proceso de adopción, son menores
bajo protección y amparo de la Constitución, y por lo tanto, el Estado de
Guatemala tiene el derecho y la obligación de velar por el interés superior de
ellos. Por esto, se promueve una ley en armonía con el Convenio de la Haya y
que procure adopciones dignas, seguras y sobre todo, con certeza jurídica.
3. Guatemalan children, who are going through an adoption process, are minors
under the protection and shelter of the Guatemalan Constitution, hence, the
State of Guatemala has the right and obligation to assure their best interest.
Therefore, the Government supports a new adoptions law, in harmony with the
Hague Convention, that will foster secure and dignified adoptions and above all
adoptions with judicial certainty.

4. A partir del 31 de diciembre de 2007, es intención manifiesta del Estado de
Guatemala que el Convenio de la Haya en materia de Adopción Internacional,
sea aplicado en Guatemala, tal y como lo refleja el decreto Legislativo No. 31-
2007. A partir de esta fecha, TODAS LAS ADOPCIONES desde Guatemala
deberán cumplir con los estándares de la Convención de la Haya.
4. As from December 31st 2007, it is the will of the Goverment of Guatemala,
that the Hague Convention on International Adoptions, enters in force, as
reflected on the Legislative Decree No.31-2007. From this date, ALL
ADOPTIONS from Guatemala must meet the Hague Convention standards.

5. El Congreso de la República de Guatemala está por aprobar la Ley de
Adopciones (Iniciativa 3217, con enmiendas). SI se aprueba esta ley, esta
regulará la forma como serán resueltos los casos de adopción pendientes o
que ya están en proceso.
5. The Congress of the Republic of Guatemala will soon pass the Adoptions
Law (Initiative 3217, with amendments). IF this law is approved, this will
regulate the procedure for the pending adoption cases or adoption cases which
are already in-process.

6. El Gobierno de Guatemala ha nominado a la Secretaría de Bienestar Social
como la Autoridad Central para las adopciones (Acuerdo Gubernativo 260-
2007). La Autoridad Central emitirá un comunicado respecto a los procesos de
adopciones en los próximos días, el cual será dado a conocer a las autoridades
internacionales por los canales oficiales.
6. The Government of Guatemala has nominated the Social Welfare Secretariat
(Secretaria de Bienestar Social) as the Central Authority for adoptions
(Government Accord 260-2007). The Central Authority will issue an official
statement regarding adoption processes in the next few days, which will be sent
and notified to international authorities, through official channels.

7. El Gobierno de Guatemala reitera que está a favor de las adopciones con
todos los países y familias que GARANTICEN una vida segura y digna para los
niños guatemaltecos. El Gobierno de Guatemala no tolerará procesos de
adopciones fuera de la ley.
7. The Government of Guatemala reaffirms that it is in favor of adoptions with
all countries and families that will GUARANTEE a secure and dignified life for
the Guatemala children, but it will not tolerate adoption processes outside the
law.

Andy Popping into Frame