Shira Naamah

Home At Last!!!

2008-09-29T00:19:00.003-05:00

Dear Friends and Family,

After almost 2 years of being immersed in the adoption process, we have finally reached the light at the end of the very long tunnel. Three weeks ago Julie found a lawyer who helped us get our birth certificate released from the local municipality that was holding it up (for over 2 months!). Once this happened, our case began to move very rapidly. We didn´t talk about it with anyone because of the healthy skepticism that we have learned to embrace during this arduous process. But, happily, our skepticism wasn´t needed this time! Our case progressed from receiving the birth certificate to receiving the Guatemalan passport to dropping off all embassy paperwork to doing the final DNA test and doctors visit to the embassy visa interview very rapidly. In fact, Julie picked up the completed visa today and then will be able to finally bring Shira home. This will be the sweetest new year ever for us.

After 3 1/2 months of living abroad, Julie and Ravi are understandably VERY excited about returning home. They are also a bit apprehensive about the re-entry (could this be because of the 3 months of mail waiting for them and school calendars that haven´t been set up yet?!). We are all looking forward to introducing Shira to our community of friends. We know that you will understand if we take a bit of extra time to help Shira acclimate to her new surroundings slowly in the manner in which she is most ready to progress.

There aren´t enough gigabytes for the many thank yous that we want to extend. First and foremost, our parents have interrupted their lives and schedules countless times over the past two years to travel with us to Guatemala or to help with childcare at home so that Julie could travel to Guatemala. We feel so grateful for their love and support. Our friends have done the same. More times than we can count we have needed help with carpools, playdates and more so that Julie could travel over and over again down to see Shira. During the past 3 1/2 months of Julie and the kids living abroad, you have all been so incredibly kind to us with your supportive calls and emails, care packages sent down to Guatemala (and visits to Guatemala!!), inviting Daniel over for meals while he was living by himself, helping Liat transition back to school with both her parents out of town....and so much more. We couldn´t have made it through these past two years without the love and support of our community of friends and family and for this we are so grateful.

We look forward to beginning the new year with great anticipation and joy--reunited as a complete family of 5 in the same city and country. And we look forward to celebrating many happy times together in the coming year.

Wishing you good health, unified families (!!) and much love from our family to yours.

Julie, Daniel, Liat, Merav, and Shira

(letter from September 23rd)

3 Months in Antigua

2008-09-16T15:04:00.017-05:00

We have been here over three months and are ready to come home. While we´ve enjoyed our time here, being apart from Daniel and Liat for this much time is wearing on us. But that being said, we´ve tried to look on the bright side and keep ourselves busy down here. These photos can show you what we´ve been up to these last few weeks:

Shira (wearing mommy´s shoes) and Ravi are getting along great!

Ravi with one of her teachers at school. Yes, they all wear uniforms.

A display of huipiles--traditional shirts worn by the indigenous women in Guatemala. The type of fabric used, colors and designs are specific to the regions in which the women live.

Shira wears her baby on her back while playing with Mommy Jane.

Ravi snaps a picture of me and Mommy Jane while we are at a restaurant.

Shira plays with her friend Luis while visiting Ravi´s school.

Ruins of a beautiful church that Ravi and I walk past each morning.

Ravi and her friends dressed up in Colonial garb to celebrate Independence Day.

The truck that delivers water bottles to our house twice a week.

4 brave women fostering their children in Antigua (including me on the left).

Fun with friends (Ravi is in the middle).

The market where I buy our fruits and vegetables.

Ravi signing the Guatemalan Declaration of Independence at her school.

View of my 2nd and 3rd favorite volcanoes (Acotenango and Fuego) over the market.

Ravi having fun in a hammock.

Do you often wonder where I am when sending emails or updating the blog? Here is a picture of me in my favorite internet cafe.

A chicken bus, which is a former New Jersey schoolbus that failed emissions testing and was shipped down south for another life.

Ravi singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star in her school´s talent show.

Ravi in front of La Merced church.

Buying bananas in Panajachel on our very first outing from Antigua in almost 12 weeks!

Beautiful Panajachel!!!!! (on the shores of Lake Atitlan with gorgeous views of three volcanoes)

Sleeping Beauties

Me and Meravi hanging out

Mommy Jane and Shira take a swim

Ravi draws a picture of her Abba.

Gorgeous Antigua scenes!!!!!

Mommy Jane reads nightly books to Ravi and Shira.

Ravi´s school celebrates the Olympics with relay races in gorgeous old ruins nearby!!

Mommy and Ravi prepare to walk to school each morning.

We attend a dance recital to help children raise money to stay in school (even public school costs money here so the very poor cannot attend). This dance was to celebrate the corn harvest.

Ravi and Shira ride the giraffe in our house.

9 Weeks (but who´s counting, really?)

2008-08-21T12:28:00.007-05:00

Time marches on and miraculously we are now in our 9th week in Guatemala. While I had hoped that this would be a neat-and-tidy summer experience (big spiders and large tantrums aside), it now appears that it will not be concluding any time soon, unfortunately. Everyone keeps asking when we are coming home and I simply have no idea. While we are Shira´s legal guardians according to Guatemalan law, she is unable to immigrate to the United States without a new copy of her birth certificate, which is being held up by a local municipality. We´ve been waiting for the new birth certificate for over 6 weeks now. When we finally receive it, we will be 4-6 weeks from coming home if all goes smoothly .

Here is the update on everyone:

Liat headed home with Daniel over a week ago. They joined up with the rest of his family at our annual Michigan family reunion and then proceeded on to his sister´s house until they head home soon to prepare for school starting. While Liat was running out of things to do down here and welcomed a change of scenery, it seems that after being gone a week and a half she is realizing that we are in for a long stretch of not seeing each other, which will be difficult. We miss her immensely down here and Shira walks around saying, "Chee-at? Chee-at?" and looking at Liat´s picture a lot.

Life is finally settling into a predictable and pleasant routine for Meravi. She is no longer resistant to attending school each day and even got upset last week when she had a 3-day weekend. She said, " I won´t see my teachers for THREE days?!" Her Spanish skills are beginning to show through and I´ve heard her use words that can only have come from school. One of the only positive aspects of being stuck down here for so long is that the longer we are here, the more fluent she is apt to become. Ravi has become a doting older sister and, while there are still many moments of jealousy, there are many more moments of sweetness between her and Shira. Ravi loves to dance around our house to the songs of High School Musical 2 and entertain all of us. She has also been loving her news toys sent down with and from our visitors and is especially captivated by some cardboard dolls on which you sew different clothing. Last night she dressed up as a princess and told me that she had married a prince. I asked if he was nice and she replied, "Yes, he doesn't bite!" So, I'm very happy to report that Ravi is finally returning to her happy self after a rocky adjustment to her Guatemalan life.

Our littlest lady, Shira, is cute as a button and quickly gaining in size on Ravi. My theory is that Ravi is losing a bit of weight here and Shira is gaining it and they now are about exactly the same size. In fact, they can each wear each other´s clothing, which makes dressing them very simple. Shira continues to delight us with her steep learning curve and watching her language blossom is a continuing source of joy for me. Let me be very clear.... she speaks Spanish and we all speak to her in Spanish for any words that we know. She´ll learn English soon enough and we are working hard to help her retain the only language she knew for 20 months. Using Spanish only with her has helped her continue to develop her skills without the break that often occurs when someone´s first language is suddenly halted and replaced by another language. It´s been great practice for all of us to speak to her in Spanish and so much fun when she responds in kind! Shira has several teeth coming in all at the same time but doesn´t seemed phased by it. In fact, she is a smiley, happy toddler who takes most things in stride. We do see her stubborn side, however, and it´s pretty clear that she´s headed towards TWO very soon. Shira is very friendly and loves to call out to people on the street (from her perch in the backpack) as we pass saying "hola" or "cuidado" (from con cuidado--travel safely--a common phrase here).

As for me, I am hanging in there. As my good friend down here recently said, "Fun is a state of mind." I´m trying to embrace that adage. As I change my mindset from having a fun summer abroad getting to know the homeland of two of my children, to being stuck here with no particular end in site, I am trying to stay positive and upbeat. As always, we have so much to be thankful for that it is hard to really wallow in any kind of self-pity for more than a few seconds!

But visitors do provide a welcome distraction and we were blessed with two sets of them this month. Our dear friend Dave, leaving his sick wife at home came down to spend time with us and that was terrific. Ravi especially enjoyed having a playmate to beat in the game Angelina Ballerina and Liat enjoyed having a challah-braiding partner and someone to kvell over her horseback riding lessons. For me, it´s so nice to have people over the age of 8 to talk with! My aunt and uncle were visiting Guatemala and stopped by to see us in Antigua also, which was a lot of fun.

I took one week of Spanish school last week and it was terrific. Studying 4 hours a day and then having an hour of two of homework a night definitely takes one´s mind off everything! And my Spanish skills improved a great deal. I will certainly enroll in another week of study as soon as I have a chance.

As we settle in for what might be a long haul, we are trying to look forward to special events coming up, such as Ravi´s birthday and finding ways to embellish them. Anyone who wants to come down and celebrate with us is more than welcome. Our new house has lots of space! Ravi and I have spent time looking for JUST the right pinata. Fortunately there are tons of them to choose from in every size, shape, and color. She is leaning towards a princess!

We´ve had lots of neat experiences down here and even two slightly scary ones involving me almost being hit by a bus, which suddenly decided to back up with no warning (but thankfully my flight instincts are VERY well honed and I jumped out of the way!) and a tuk-tuk driver who tried to head out of town with me and Shira in tow (probably to rob us--but after I started screaming at him, thought better of it and simply let us out!). So, never fear, things haven´t been totally dull!

Although our new house is beautiful and spacious, there is no computer so I can only check email sporadically. Still, I love to hear from you all. It helps me feel less isolated down here when I hear news from the north! So email me at julierachelfisher@gmail.com and let me know how your summer is going and what your family is up to!

Dave and the little ones

Ravi and Shira dress up for dinner at a restaurant.

Ravi plays Curious George with Uncle Rick.

Ravi exploring the courtyard of our favorite restaurant with her great uncle and aunt.

Liat and Ravi relaxing amongst the plants at the nearby nursery.

Abba visits his girls!!!

Abba with a full armload

Liat's last riding lesson

Abba celebrating his birthday with his princesses
(or is HE the princess? Who can tell...)

LOVING our pool!

Liat and Ravi show off the challah they baked.

Uncle Dave comes for a visit and Ravi is DELIGHTED!!

Shira is not sure what she thinks, but sits on Dave's lap because she watches Ravi do it!! :)

And take a minute to watch this video of Shira talking on the phone to Daniel and Liat. She says "Papa" and then "Liat" then--after Ravi hits her on the head--says "Ravi". Enjoy!!!

6 Weeks in Antigua!!!

2008-07-29T23:15:00.024-05:00

We've now been in Antigua for 6 weeks and we are finally settling in, I think! We've loved having so many terrific visitors (Thanks Mommy Jane, Poppy John, Daniel, Abbey, Elianna, Hope, Melanie and Aaron!) to keep us company and help us out in a myriad of ways.

Ravi is settling in to her school routine and beginning to understand a lot of Spanish. In fact, she has requested that I speak to her ONLY in Spanish, which is a bit tricky because my Spanish is still pretty much buried deep inside my brain. (I'm hoping to enroll in morning Spanish classes for a few weeks in August, which should help immensely.) Remarkably, on the second day of school we met a girl named Tali (YES, I SAID TALI!!) from America so, of course, they are fast friends and I've hit it off with her mother also. It's nice to have someone to call when I have no idea what is going on in school (because the teachers only speak Spanish!). They've been here 6 months so they know everything about life here in Antigua and are now my personal gurus. In fact, Tali's mom took me to the open air market and showed me an incredible used clothing market that is hidden behind the regular market. Apparently someone ships used clothing from the United States all the way down here to resell for 2 dollars each!! I guess I shouldn't be so surprised, as someone also ships down our old school buses so they can churn out smoke all over Guatemala.... I'm sure these buses are the ones which FAILED emissions inspections up north.... But, I digress...

I'm sure you want to see new pictures and I have many for you, but first I want to tell you that we are moving houses later this week, as the owners of this house are coming back for a visit. We found a beautiful house not too far from here and I'm excited about a change of scenery. It will also move us onto a more main street of town and put us near to a beautiful outdoor cafe with gorgeous plants and trees (all labeled with names) and very close to where Liat and I take yoga.

Shira continues to do beautifully. She is talking more and more. Today she said mojado (wet) and cuidado (careful) and enjoyed a visit from her foster mother. She has settled into life here in Antigua much better than the rest of us!! She is playful and smiley and keeps us all on our toes. Speaking of toes, she loves nothing more than trying on ALL of our shoes and trapsing around the house in them. When Abbey was here, she tried on Abbey's shoes (when she wasn't home) and said "Abbey!" over and over again!

Liat is enjoying her horseback riding lessons and making terrific progress. She has learned how to post (which is the special movements you make during trotting) and her instructor is very pleased with her. Next week she will go on an instructional ride near Volcan Agua. She continues to enjoy yoga and quiet time with mommy (as there are still NO kids for her to play with here who are her age). We are enjoying reading aloud the Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing series (Fudge-a-Mania, etc..). For fun we trek to a nearby hotel with a heated pool and she swims and swims and swims....

Enough talk, here are some pictures:

Strolling Beauties

Elianna and Ravi at our favorite restaurant

(notice the marimba band in the background)

The biggest eater of the family...

Ice cream in the central plaza...

The equestrian in the family..

Ravi in a huipil and falda

Liat tries on the cargador...

Facepainting helps pass a rainy afternoon...

Ellen (studying Spanish in Antigua!!) and Abbey and the kids eat a typical meal with us

(actually it's birthday cake!)

Me and the girls--the only picture we have of the 4 of us!!!

Me and the little ones! (Ravi and Shira are almost exactly the same weight these days!)

Shira enjoys her favorite pastime--climbing stairs.

Ravi enjoys a swim!

Hope helps me schelp the kids...

Ravi makes a tortilla at our favorite restaurant.

Ravi and I get into a tuk-tuk--our main form of transportation around town.

Elianna, Ravi and Liat in typical Guatemalan garb.

Elianna and the girls

July Pictures

2008-07-13T00:24:00.017-05:00

Hi Everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've written or posted pictures. As my dear friends from Brooklyn who are here visiting can attest, things are beyond busy keeping all three children happy and healthy! (Melanie says that she was checking the site every day for pictures and feeling frustrated, but now that she's personally experienced life down here with us, she understands why I haven't posted!)
*************************************************************************************
Ravi's Observations:
"I go to school in a different class. In my new school they speak Spanish. They only speak a little English—poquito! One of my teachers speaks a little English."

(Editor's Note: They have an hour of English instruction a day. It is a bilingual pre-school but no one except the English teacher seems to speak a word of English.)

"There's tambourines and instruments (marimbe) here and they play. And you can get candy there (at her favorite restaurant) and watch the woman make tortillas and I got to make one. Liat and Shira are good. Well Shira hits but she's getting better of hitting and learning not to throw her food or pizza. And Shira likes Patty-Cake and playing cards."
************************************************************************************* Julie's Report:
All is calm here in Guatemala. Hope and Melanie and their son Aaron are visiting us right now. It is great to see them and to have people over age 8 to talk to in English!

Ravi started school this week and I am SO proud of her. She is a real trooper going to school for 4 hours a day with kids who only speak Spanish. She is exhausted and a bit out of sorts but doing well. She loves riding on my back in the Ergo to school (about a 20 minute walk) and taking the tuk-tuk home (3-wheeled bicycle-like vehicle).

Liat is a bit moody right now and could use a bit of cheering up. (We have passed the honeymoon period, as we've now been here for a FULL MONTH and things are not fresh and exciting any more for her, I think.) She continues to enjoy horseback riding twice a week and yoga classes. Her friend Elianna is coming to visit her on Sunday so that should help cheer her up substantially!!

Shira continues to do well. She is speaking more and more each day (in Spanish). She now says Liat (cha-a) and Ravi (Raba) very clearly and is even trying to articulate her own name--very cute. She waves "adios" to me each AM when I walk Ravi to school and screams "MAMA" every time I return to the house. Her natural personality of playfulness and stubborness has come out more clearly now that she is used to being with us. She is even getting used to sharing her primary caregiver with 2 other children--something that was VERY hard in the beginning. Going from basically a first child to a third child was a bit of an adjustment, but she is doing well.

It turns out that Shira had Giardia (parasite) and two amoebas when we received her, but that's all taken care of and she is digesting much better now!! The rest of us (knock on wood!) have been extremely careful with handwashing and food-preparing and have been very healthy so far. (If you can't find any Purell up north, it's because I brought it all down here with me!)

So that's the Guatemala report for now. Hope all is well with everyone! Keep those posts and emails coming. We love to read them!

Julie

The first family photo in 14 months!

(Daniel came to visit for a few days in early July.)

Besitos...

Hanging Out...

Shira wearing a traditional Guatemalan skirt

Backpack time (which is whenever we venture into town).

Thanks for the great Brandeis hats, Julie #2!!

Mommy Jane and Ravi head to town

Liat and Aaron, our special visitor from Brooklyn, explore beautiful Antigua.

(Notice Volcan Agua in the background.)

Guess who LOVES ice cream!

Time to brush our teeth...

In the absence of a playground,

the door will suffice for little climbers.

Poppy John teaches Ravi how to make pancakes (one of his specialties).

Antigua Observations

2008-06-22T23:33:00.008-05:00

Well, we’ve officially been here one week. Phew! Truthfully, it feels more like one month, as it’s been chockful of hard work. Setting up a household in a new country has been quite a challenge. I think I had my rose-colored glasses on these last few months of planning. I visualized us all sitting around the pool happily, all three girls playing harmoniously together. Well, there are moments like that, but there are also more realistic moments! Everyone is still adjusting to having a new baby in the family. Unlike when a newborn joins a family and you can put him or her down for a while and lavish attention on the other children, a 20-month old who has just been wrenched from the only life she’s known and plopped into a new family has urgent needs that cannot be relegated. Each day gets better and we are finding ways for everyone to feel properly loved by mommy (thank goodness for the Ergo backpack!!!).

Shira is adorable and doing well. She is adjusting to her new situation and having the normal ups and downs that would be expected with such a huge life transition. We call her foster mother on the phone each morning so Shira can “talk” to her and the whole family came to visit us today, which was wonderful.

Shira is learning new words daily and can now say “Liat” (which sounds like “cha”), “Poopy” (don’t ask!) “mas” (more), “pacha” (bottle), and “MAMA”!!!! Her favorite word continues to be.... “NO!”, like most other toddlers we know. In fact, the very first morning we were here, I was giving Shira a bottle in bed and Ravi –across the room-- picked up one of the toys Shira brought with her from her foster family. Shira promptly pushed away her bottle, stood straight up, pointed at Ravi and screamed, NO!!! It was a riot. Shira is getting used to having siblings to share things with also, especially one so close in age to her. (Her foster brother is about 12.) Not to worry, Shira is no shrinking violet. She is not afraid to let us know exactly what she wants and when she wants it—loudly and clearly. I predict some sparks will fly around here as she becomes even more comfortable with all of us.

On the more mundane side of life, did anyone else realize that you can still buy carrots that are large, orange, and covered with dirt? Who knew that they still produced carrots that way... we’ve only eaten the small ones out of the bag for the last 10 years. Anyways, making meals here is quite tedious. Peeling, boiling, sterilizing and all that good stuff one needs to do when eating in a third world country increases kitchen time by about 300% I think. And boy do I miss my Amy’s frozen vegan burritos that I was living on at home!!! Finding food without meat here is a challenge, not to mention trying to find anything organic or dairy-free. We walk daily to the local store—the Bodegana—which is about 8 blocks away (on narrow sidewalks with fast moving trucks and buses passing you at breakneck speed!!). For safety’s sake I take one small child on my back or else take Liat with me. We haven’t yet ventured out all together.

Antigua itself is a lovely little town consisting of a central square, artisans market, internet shops, several high-end boutique hotels, great restaurants, and tourists from all over the world who come to study Spanish at the renown Spanish schools, tour the Colonial ruins (especially old churches), or admire the gorgeous volcanoes that surround and enclose the city. Antigua is also known for its delicious coffee and beautiful jade—there are several large jade factories here. The responsibilities of taking care of my three gorgeous children have kept me from exploring the city in the way that I would like to if I was a regular tourist. But over time, I hope to get out and about a bit more.

Our apartment is in a lovely little development on the side of town close to the hotel that I stayed in on my last visit. Our doors open onto a gorgeous grassy area with two small pools, which are terrific to have close at hand for the kids to enjoy. Liat especially has been swimming for several hours a day and does not mind the cold water (they call it “acclimatized” water which is obviously a euphemism for freezing cold!). Bottled water is delivered twice a week and there are always two security guards on hand to help with anything that is needed. (Crime is high in Guatemala—not to scare anyone off from visiting, but street smarts are important here, as they are everyone else.)

So, lots more to tell you in the coming weeks, but we wanted to let you know some of our experiences during this incredibly busy first week in La Antigua, Guatemala! Thanks for all your sweet messages and emails. They help us keep our spirits up and feel connected to you, though we are far away.

Antigua Arrival

2008-06-18T12:13:00.005-05:00

We have arrived in Antigua and are working hard to adjust to our new house, city, language, foods, routines, birth order and more.. :). We are very thankful that my mom is here helping us with this large task, and big sisters Liat and Ravi are doing their share as well.

Here are some pictures:

Shira in April

2008-04-15T21:15:00.012-05:00

Here she is:

First time in a carseat-EVER! (on the ride to Antigua)

Trying on mommy´s shoes

Enjoying the swing at the hotel

Snuggle time

Exploring historic Antigua with our little flat friend

(if you don´t know who that is, ask a 1st grader!)

Naptime!

Shira in February

2008-02-13T22:33:00.010-05:00

Here we are again visiting Shira. She is doing very well--healthy, happy and extremely mobile! Enjoy these photos:

Look who's walking!

Shira "helps" unpack

Besos.....(kisses)

Swimming with Mommy Jane (her grandma)

Snacks after a swim..

Mommy and two very tired girls

Shira in December

2007-12-26T21:14:00.000-05:00

Daniel and I are down in Guatemala for a quick visit. Here are some photos and a video:

Shira in November

2007-11-19T22:56:00.000-05:00

Shira is doing well. She is clapping, blowing kisses, playing peek-a-boo, making lots of sounds, responding to simple requests, copying things (such as brushing her hair when mommy brushes her own hair!), and more. She continues to be sweet and affectionate. You can see her above giving "kisses" to her mama and her mommy Jane.

Shira in October

2007-10-21T13:28:00.000-05:00

I am back to visit Shira. Liat is here also and we will each give you some of our impressions so far.

Liat says:

Shira is cute and cuddly. She can walk holding someone's hand. She loves putting stuff in jars and putting away stuff. She likes noise. She loves to just say little fake words and us respond to her --like "ada." I love playing with her with all the toys that we brought. She loves playing peek-a-boo with the scarves. She likes sleeping with pillows around her in the big bed so she won't fall out. She loves lots of food and she loves papaya the most. Shira looks exactly like Merav when she was a baby. I love Shira.

Julie says:
Seeing Shira again is a joy. She is developing beautifully and continues to be happy and healthy. She clearly remembered me from last month and it was a smooth transition for her from the foster family to us at the handoff yesterday. She is napping now so I'll take this opportunity to upload some pictures of our time together thus far--before she wakes up and we all go for a swim (if it stops raining!).

Shira, 12 months old

Ecstatic big sister with tired baby

Shira shares her teething toy with Liat.....then she wants it back!

Time for a piggyback ride!

Shira in September

2007-09-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

We are having a great time with Shira. So much so, that we didn't have time to post pictures until now. (Sorry to those who sent me emails asking me where the pictures were!) The transition from the foster mother was very smooth this visit. Shira seemed to remember me from last time and wasn't sad at all. She is crawling everywhere and loves to stand up and hold on to someone (or something) so she can walk. She enjoyed swimming with Mommy Jane (my mom)and is beginning to eat finger foods. She continues to be a smiley, happy baby. She only cries when she is tired. I guess she already knows she's a third child so she has to be flexible and easy-going! Here she is....

Yes, her ears are pierced!

Shira gets to know Mommy Jane.

Shira and Mommy Jane take a swim.

Mommy and Shira, together again

Another Visit to Guatemala

2007-09-11T20:31:00.000-05:00

In the hopes that Shira will remember me from my July visit, I am heading back to Guatemala tomorrow to see her. My mother is joining me, which is not only a wonderful opportunity for Shira to meet her first grandparent, but also great for me because my mom is fluent in Spanish!

As many of you have heard, the paperwork process this time around is both arduous and slow. Due to many complicated factors including changes in the Guatemalan internal legal system, a strife-torn election, increased oversight of adoptions by the U.S. government, and a pending overhaul of the Guatemalan adoption system that could significantly delay or essentially shut down international adoptions, adoptions are taking much longer now. If you want to know more details about these highly-complex issues, let me know. I have spent hours (and hours!) reading about them in great detail. Unfortunately, the news articles being written up in U.S. papers are often filled with misinformation and do not usually reflect the complexity of the issues. It's been quite an education about the media for me.

Here is our paperwork update: After waiting for over 2 months for the US Embassy/Homeland Security to issue pre-approval status for Shira (related to immigration--a task that took 2 weeks when we adopted Merav), we are now in the second-to-last stage called PGN, which is the Guatemalan Attorney General's office. This stage can take anywhere from several weeks to several months or more. After being released from PGN there is a series of smaller tasks that need to occur involving finalization of paperwork (new Guatemalan birth certificate, US Passport and final immigration papers, and a second DNA test, to name a few) which takes another several weeks. At this point, our hope is that we will bring Shira home by the end of the calendar year. We'll let you know.

When I get to Guatemala, I'll post new pictures for you!

Julie

Saying Goodbye Again

2007-07-28T20:40:00.000-05:00

We had a great day today swimming, napping and playing. Sadly, our visit came to a close this afternoon when Shira's foster parents came to pick her up at the hotel. I hope that we'll be able to come back again soon for another visit. Enjoy the photos!
Julie

Bathing beauty prepares for a swim

And then there's the complete collapse after the swim...

Saying goodbye is such sweet sorrow (where is the sweet part, exactly?)...

Picture Gallery Continued...

2007-07-27T23:23:00.000-05:00

Picture Gallery

2007-07-26T23:25:00.000-05:00

Shira Claps and Crawls!!

2007-07-26T22:59:00.001-05:00

Today was another terrific day with Shira. She seems much more comfortable and happy today, although every time she woke up she looked at me funny for a few seconds and then began to smile. Shira is crawling more confidently today and had several opportunities to practice her new skills. She also learned to clap today and was very pleased with herself! First I would clap and look at her and then she would clap and look at me--and then she would break into a huge grin and start laughing! She is very interactive and loves to be around other people. We spent some time in the adoption lounge today with other families who are here on their visit or pick-up trips. It's neat for Shira to look at all the other children and it's been great for me to have people to talk to about the adoption experience in all its frustrating detail.

Speaking of the frustrating details, I know that people are eager to hear about where we stand in the process and when we think we can bring Shira home. Last time we posted (two months ago) Shira was on her way to have blood taken for her DNA test. This is a procedure that is in place to prevent illegal child trafficking--to make sure that the birthmother and the child being relinquished are indeed related. The DNA test was done and the match was successfully established. The paperwork was then turned in to the United States Embassy in Guatemala City. When I emailed the embassy to check that everything was going according to process, I received an email back saying that the paperwork was actually NOT being processed by the embassy, but by Homeland Security. They obviously need to make sure that Shira is not a teeny, tiny terrorist. The bureaucracy is really very frustrating!! We hope that the embassy/homeland security folks release our paperwork at some point in August (or sooner) so we may submit it to the Attorney General's office, which is the last big hurdle we must overcome. The Attorney General's office can be quite fickle, throwing paperwork out for a variety of nit-picky reasons. Paperwork gets approved sometimes in as little as a few weeks but other times it's kicked out for supposed problems over and over again and it can take many months. We are hoping that with the end of the year looming (and new Hague Convention rules being put into place) we'll have our paperwork approved quickly while they attempt to empty out all the remaining cases. It doesn't hurt to be optimistic! So, we are really hoping that we'll come back to pick Shira up before winter break. Believe me, we'll keep you posted whenever we get the good news!!

Another Visit with Shira!

2007-07-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

It's been exactly two months since our last visit with Shira and it is clear that she has continued to thrive under the loving care of her foster parents. She adores them and has formed strong bonds with them (which is both wonderful and very hard to see). She cried when they left today--at 9 months old "stranger" anxiety has already set in. However, after a few hours of cheering her up with toys, songs and snuggles in the sling, she seemed to be content again. In fact, by evening she "kissed" me on the cheek several times (open mouth with two sharp teeth!!) and gave me several large grins! She took a nap in her sling, played in the "adoption" lounge with other infants, had several bottles and is now fast asleep (see photo). New developments include rolling over, sitting up completely independently, moving from sitting to stomach and lots more! Her foster mother told me that she was "almost" crawling. Well, she crawled in earnest in the adoption lounge today toward a toy she wanted. It could be that she was ready to crawl, but hadn't done it yet because she is carried a large percentage of the time, which is customary here. The good news is that now I can claim that I saw her very first "crawl!!" :)

I am a single mom on this trip, as Liat is in Ecuador with my parents and Daniel and Merav are at home. So, I should sign off and get some sleep because I will be the only parent on duty for the next few days and Shira does not like being put down on the floor, in the crib or in the stroller (so much for schlepping the stroller down to Central America!). Don't get me wrong--I'm not complaining--I am thrilled to hold her 24/7, as I have a lot of missed time to make up for!

Feel free to post questions if there's anything you want to know about sweet baby Shira, if you have a message you'd like me to give to her, or if you just want me to give her a kiss from you!

Signing Off,
Julie

The Hard Part

2007-05-28T23:54:00.000-05:00

It's Monday night, and tomorrow we head home. We've done a good job on this visit keeping the focus on enjoying our time with Shira, and not regretting the fact that we have to leave without her. But now the moment is nearly upon us, and it's not easy. We all love her so much, with all our hearts, and she fits so easily into our family, that leaving her behind will be very painful. We are extremely grateful to her foster family for the wonderful home they are giving her, and we are planning to visit again as soon as we can, and hoping for an early pick-up date.

The reasons for the long process are complex. Some of it is an excessively bureaucratic system here in Guatemala. Some of it is the very legitimate need to screen each adoption case to make sure it does not involve illicit baby trafficking. And some of it is sheer luck -- which attorney ends up reviewing the case, how stingy they are about the paperwork, whether the birth mother can easily travel to the necessary court appearances, when national holidays fall, and so on. We've met families on this trip who are bringing home 7-month-old babies, like Shira, so for some it still moves fairly quickly, but we also see families bringing home much older children.

In our case, of course, we didn't start assembling the paperwork until after Shira was born, so that set us back a few months. We are now at the stage in the process where a family court proceeding ensures that the birth mother is relinquishing her parental rights voluntarily, and that Shira is in fact her baby. In fact, a DNA test is scheduled for tomorrow after we give Shira back to her foster mother. So hopefully that proceeding will be completed within a very short time.

Next up is a preliminary review of the case by the U.S. Embassy. In light of recent increasing concerns about trafficking, the Embassy is giving greater scrutiny to each case, and we have been advised that this review can take up to 60 days. Hopefully, the fact that this is the same birth mother and the same adoptive family as our first adoption will make the review go faster. But who knows? We recognize this is a complicated situation with competing interests. We absolutely support a process that is thorough enough to insure against trafficking cases. At the same time, the interests of the child in legitimate cases is clearly to get to their adoptive family as early as possible. So it's frustrating, but it is a difficult balance.

After the Embassy review comes the Guatemalan attorney general's office, known as PGN. PGN is notoriously fickle about paperwork requirements -- some people sail through in a few weeks (as we did with Merav) while others get stuck for months as paperwork is sent back for review again and again. There is absolutely no way to predict how long this will take. When PGN completes its review, we should be able to pick Shira up within a few weeks, as final papers are prepared.

What all this means for us is that our most optimistic timetable -- having Shira home by the end of the summer -- is probably unrealistic. We are now pinning our hopes on getting her home by her first birthday, October 7. We will no doubt be planning additional visits, of at least some combination of us, as often as we can, and can afford to, come. We know that the older Shira gets, and the more language she acquires, the more challenging the transition will be for her. But however long it takes, and whatever challenges arise, we feel blessed beyond words by the arrival of our third daughter into our lives, and we look forward to a lifetime of happiness with her.

As always we appreciate your outpouring of support throughout this process and hope that this illuminates for you some of what the process entails.

Shira Update -- Saturday and Sunday

2007-05-27T15:52:00.000-05:00

Today is Sunday. Yesterday our party grew by one as Daniel's sister Naomi arrived to meet her newest niece and dote on the other two. Everyone is in good spirits. Daniel, Liat, and Ravi went to synagogue yesterday morning, where they received a friendly welcome. The shul is just one block away from the hotel. It's a small, liberal Orthodox community, with a few pillars who lead the service every week (the same guys as two years ago), homemade dishes at kiddush lunch, and a rabbi who can spot a newcomer instantly. Daniel was invited for an aliya, after which, according to their custom, a blessing was said for him and every member of his family, which means it was the first time Shira had her name mentioned in synagogue. Certainly not the last.

Shira has such a sweet temperment. She almost never cries, and follows the commotion of our family with great interest. She has favored her parents, both her sisters, and now Aunt Naomi with smiles, gurgles, and giggles, and she eats, sleeps, and poops with reassuring regularity. She is apparently very comfortable with us, and seems to share Ravi's outgoing personality. Both Liat and Merav have been extraordinarly sweet with her, each in their own way. Liat has an almost mothering, protective quality in how she cares for Shira; when Shira spit up, she ran to her and comforted her by saying, "It's okay, sweetie, everybody spits up." We've overheard her saying privately to Shira, "I just can't stop looking at this cutie, I just love her so much." Ravi is gamely keeping her jealous streak in check (luckily, Julie thought to bring her sling also, so both babies get a turn with Mommy), but at every opportunity, she snuggles in with her baby sister, kisses her, and coos, "Baby Shira."

Julie, Naomi, and the big girls went shopping for Guatemalan goodies this morning. It is raining now, so no swimming today, but fortunately, Naomi brought rainy day fun. She and Liat are making friendship bracelets while Shira sleeps in the sling and Merav naps in her pack-n-play.

Many of you have asked about the adoption process and when we can bring Shira home. We'll write more on that soon.

Mommy and Shira Poolside

2007-05-27T09:49:00.001-05:00

May 26, 2007

Julie says:
Just like Merav, Shira loves her sling!

Family Swim

2007-05-27T09:38:00.001-05:00

May 26, 2007

Back Row (from left): Liat, Daniel, Aunt Naomi
Front Row (from left): Merav and Shira

Liat says:

Shira was very cute in the water. Since she likes the bath, she likes the swimming pool. She likes to move around in the water.

Shira's First Swim

2007-05-27T09:34:00.001-05:00

May 26, 2007

Liat says:
This is Shira's first swim. She likes the water. She was not scared when she came in. She was very happy in the water.

Merav's Thoughts on Baby Shira

2007-05-25T17:56:00.000-05:00

May 25, 2007

Ravi says:
I was kissing baby Shira. I sang Annie "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" to baby Shira. She said "thank you." She moves her tushie like this (Ravi demonstrates to the typist). She is going up and down (playing airplane with Abba).

Shira

2007-05-25T16:05:00.000-05:00

Liat says:
When Shira first came to the hotel she was very early. The foster mother told us the schedule of the day then we went into our hotel room. We gave her a bear that says "I love you Shira" that we made. We played the bear for her so she can hear our voices. She likes to bite on stuff with her two teeth and lick stuff with her tongue. She likes to bite and lick her toys. She likes noise. She's not scared of us. On the first day she was happy to be with us and she is now. She smiles when Merav sings her songs. She likes a toy giraffe the most. She smiles all the time. She likes to move around. She is a happy baby. She is a cute baby. I love her so much.

Written by Liat, May 25, 2007

Please leave me a note!

A Hug for Shira

2007-05-25T15:54:00.000-05:00

May 25, 2007

Liat says:

Shira grabs onto things. She pinches on arms. She likes to be held all the time.

Shira in the Bath

2007-05-25T15:48:00.000-05:00

May 25, 2007

Liat says:

She doesn't cry in the bath. She loves the bath a lot.

Cutie Girl

2007-05-25T15:39:00.000-05:00

Liat says:

Shira sits up by herself. She's cute in pictures. She smiles a lot.

A Baby Bottle

2007-05-25T14:45:00.000-05:00

may 25, 2007

Liat says:

This is Shira having a bottle. She chews on it sometimes. She has two teeth!

Shira's Smile

2007-05-24T23:42:00.000-05:00

May 24, 2007

Three Sisters

2007-05-24T23:38:00.000-05:00

May 24th, 2007

Meeting Shira

2007-05-24T22:56:00.000-05:00

Today we met Shira. And, true to her history, she surprised us. We were checking in at the Marriott at about 2:30, expecting to have an hour or more to unpack and settle in before she arrived, when we looked over from the front desk, and there was a very familiar-looking little girl, wearing a dress that we had sent, being held by a smiling, waving woman we recognized from photographs. It was Shira with her foster mother, Ingrid, who came early and picked us out in the crowd in the lobby from the family photos we had sent. We spent about 30 minutes sitting with Ingrid, her husband, Cristian, and one of their sons, Edgar, and our agency translator to get to know them and ask them questions about Shira's progress, likes, dislikes, and routines. They have obviously given her exceptional care, and they truly love her. Five minutes in Shira's presence makes absolutely clear why. She is indescribably lovely: alert, smiley, playful, curious, good-natured, and, so far, not the least bit anxious about spending time with us. To say we are enjoying her is like saying Red Sox fans thought it was kind of nice to win the World Series. Liat and Merav want to be with her constantly, showering her with affection and sisterly play. In Ravi's case, she soldiers on with good humor despite a subtle, but unmistakeable instantaneous realization that she is now a middle child. We trust she'll forgive us. Liat, meanwhile, shows great maturity in the way she articulates her love for Shira. Every interaction between the three of them brings us delight. (See photos above)With the older girls asleep, we are enjoying our own time with our little sweetheart.

Shira Is Six Months Old

2007-05-21T20:08:00.000-05:00

April 2007

Shira Is Five Months Old

2007-05-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

March 2007

Shira is Four Months Old

2007-05-21T20:05:00.000-05:00

February 2007

Shira Is Two Months Old

2007-05-21T20:04:00.000-05:00

December 2006

Shira Is One Month Old

2007-05-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

November 2006

The First Picture of Shira

2007-05-21T19:52:00.000-05:00

October 2007

The Surprise Phone Call-October 2006

2007-05-20T12:55:00.000-05:00

In early October we got a message from our adoption agency on our voicemail. Daniel thought it was to invite us to speak to waiting parents. Julie thought it was because they wanted us to adopt another child. (By this point, you probably know who was right!) The story was that our facilitator, Anne, who helped us adopt Merav was reviewing children who were being placed for adoption in Guatemala City and noticed that a baby's last name was the same as Merav's original last name. And so, we were asked whether we wanted to adopt our daughter's biological sister! Talk about a no-brainer!!!

We have spent the last several months scrambling to assemble the necessary paperwork and waiting to reach the point when we could go meet Shira -- and at last the moment has arrived! The four of us are going to spend five days getting to know our new daughter and sister. We won't be able to bring her home on this trip, but we are hopeful that we will soon (more on the process later). For now, we are just focused on enjoying our first meeting and some special time together. We've started this blog to keep everyone updated on the process to adopt Shira. We look forward to reading your posts, and we encourage people to write notes to Liat and Merav as well so we can include them in the back and forth nature of a blog.