The wait continues and, in fact, looms larger. At this point, I don't have the energy or strength to go into details of the conference call with our State Department. It was hopeful from the standpoint that there is lots of advocating for the children happening at very high levels. However, there is absolutely no sense that anything will happen anytime soon. In fact, we are still 100% stuck!
I've been trying really hard over that last year and a half to manage my expecations. With this call though, I let myself hope that they might have given us some indication of a time line, a task, OR something that we could do to move this process along. I'm still absolutely certain that this will eventually work out. Good news is that the officials on the call seemed to agree as well.
Until then...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Monday, September 21, 2009
18 Months
Our little man turned 18 months today and I'm a sad mamma. I have to say though that I'm feeling more optimistic than I have in quite some time. I feel good about things to come, and I can't wait to get A home with us so we can love on him! Happy Birthday and a half baby boy!!!
Love mom and dad.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
CALL TO ACTION - Kyrgyzstan 9/16/09
The last time all of our friends and families climbed on board a JCICS Call To Action, it resulted in a record number of congressional staffers showing up for our meeting with the Kyrgyz delegates on Capitol Hill in May. If you could take a few minutes to make three phone calls and send three emails tomorrow - THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 17 - 65 orphans and 61 families would be very grateful.
PLEASE consider taking a few moments out of your day to support this CALL TO ACTION:
Dear Friends and Families,
Joint Council is working closely with Representative Bachmann's Office and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) to secure a meeting between the Kyrgyz Prime Minister and Members of Congress when the Prime Minister is in the United States next week. Members of Congress are very interested in meeting the Prime Minister in order to discuss ways that Congress and the United States Government can assist in positively resolving issues related to intercountry adoption, child protection and child welfare. Members of Congress plan to send a letter to the Kyrgyz Embassy requesting a meeting. In order to ensure that as many Congressional Offices have signed the letter requesting the meeting and are in attendance at the meeting Joint Council is initiating a Call to Action requesting the 65 families contact their Senators and Congressmen. Joint Council requests that all families contact their U.S. Senators and Congresspersons today, September 16th and and tomorrow, September 17 to ensure the letter arrives at the Kyrgyz Embassy by Friday, September 18th. The purpose of your call is to request they sign the letter being sent to the Kyrgyz Embassy and, if a meeting occurs, the Member of Congress attend the meeting.
Either today or tomorrow we request that you do the following:
1) Call both of your U.S. Senators and your representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives:
You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov
You can find your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov
2) Include the following in your calls and emails:
"As constituents, I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to sign the letter to the Kyrgyz Embassy sponsored by Rep. Bachmann's office and attend the potential meeting with the Kyrgyz Prime Minister should it occur."
If they have not heard about the letter or the potential meeting, ask them to contact Blair Bjellos from Rep. Bachmann's Office, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute or Joint Council at (703) 535-8045.
3) Send an email to everyone you called.
The email is important, but the phone call should be placed first.
Additionally, feel free to forward this request to your friends and family, asking them to contact their Senators and Congresspersons requesting they attend the meeting.
Thank you!
Best Wishes,
Rebecca Harris
Director of Programs and Services
PLEASE consider taking a few moments out of your day to support this CALL TO ACTION:
Dear Friends and Families,
Joint Council is working closely with Representative Bachmann's Office and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) to secure a meeting between the Kyrgyz Prime Minister and Members of Congress when the Prime Minister is in the United States next week. Members of Congress are very interested in meeting the Prime Minister in order to discuss ways that Congress and the United States Government can assist in positively resolving issues related to intercountry adoption, child protection and child welfare. Members of Congress plan to send a letter to the Kyrgyz Embassy requesting a meeting. In order to ensure that as many Congressional Offices have signed the letter requesting the meeting and are in attendance at the meeting Joint Council is initiating a Call to Action requesting the 65 families contact their Senators and Congressmen. Joint Council requests that all families contact their U.S. Senators and Congresspersons today, September 16th and and tomorrow, September 17 to ensure the letter arrives at the Kyrgyz Embassy by Friday, September 18th. The purpose of your call is to request they sign the letter being sent to the Kyrgyz Embassy and, if a meeting occurs, the Member of Congress attend the meeting.
Either today or tomorrow we request that you do the following:
1) Call both of your U.S. Senators and your representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives:
You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov
You can find your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov
2) Include the following in your calls and emails:
"As constituents, I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to sign the letter to the Kyrgyz Embassy sponsored by Rep. Bachmann's office and attend the potential meeting with the Kyrgyz Prime Minister should it occur."
If they have not heard about the letter or the potential meeting, ask them to contact Blair Bjellos from Rep. Bachmann's Office, the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute or Joint Council at (703) 535-8045.
3) Send an email to everyone you called.
The email is important, but the phone call should be placed first.
Additionally, feel free to forward this request to your friends and family, asking them to contact their Senators and Congresspersons requesting they attend the meeting.
Thank you!
Best Wishes,
Rebecca Harris
Director of Programs and Services
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Surgery
Surgery, scheduled July 2nd, went well. Turns out there was a lot more damage than was initially thought. Apparently I tore 30% of my gluteus medius (butt muscles and tendons). Doctor said surgery went well and he is confident of a full recovery.
I spent the first night in the hospital. I was hooked up to IV and had to get shots of pain meds in my thighs. I was able to leave the day after my surgery and 3 in the afternoon. The hour ride home was not very fun! I started physical therapy only 7 days after my surgery. Unfortunately, I stopped taking the pain meds and the PT refused to do anything with me because of my pain level. I'm a bit stubborn, and I just did not like being all drugged up. I was getting nauseous and my face felt like it was falling off. They ended up switching to a different family of pain meds - life was much easier after that. I've since been going to PT twice a week. At this point, I'm only able to do calf raises, leg extensions, and I ride the bike for 12 minutes. I'm still using my crutches, no weight bearing on my left leg. I'll see the surgeon again ain a week and a half. At that point I will find out when and how I can start to walk again. Looks like I will be in therapy for a minimum of 3 months. I never realized how bad this was going to be.
My brother Joe is still visiting and it's been awesome to have his help. Ryan is probably wanting to strangle me by now. I can't do ANYTHING by myself...wait, I take that back, I can use the bathroom by myself. Other than that though, I'm pretty useless being. Doctor told me to take 6 weeks off work, unfortunately, that is just not possible. I'm going into work for a few hours in the morning and then my staff has been told they need to make sure I leave by early afternoon. The first couple days back I ended up being at work until 6! There's just always so much to do!
Otherwise, recovery is going well for the most part. I'm just looking forward to when I can start walking again. Crutches are for the birds! I'm one of the clumsiest people ever, so you can imagine the issues I'm having with these dang metal walkers :)
I spent the first night in the hospital. I was hooked up to IV and had to get shots of pain meds in my thighs. I was able to leave the day after my surgery and 3 in the afternoon. The hour ride home was not very fun! I started physical therapy only 7 days after my surgery. Unfortunately, I stopped taking the pain meds and the PT refused to do anything with me because of my pain level. I'm a bit stubborn, and I just did not like being all drugged up. I was getting nauseous and my face felt like it was falling off. They ended up switching to a different family of pain meds - life was much easier after that. I've since been going to PT twice a week. At this point, I'm only able to do calf raises, leg extensions, and I ride the bike for 12 minutes. I'm still using my crutches, no weight bearing on my left leg. I'll see the surgeon again ain a week and a half. At that point I will find out when and how I can start to walk again. Looks like I will be in therapy for a minimum of 3 months. I never realized how bad this was going to be.
My brother Joe is still visiting and it's been awesome to have his help. Ryan is probably wanting to strangle me by now. I can't do ANYTHING by myself...wait, I take that back, I can use the bathroom by myself. Other than that though, I'm pretty useless being. Doctor told me to take 6 weeks off work, unfortunately, that is just not possible. I'm going into work for a few hours in the morning and then my staff has been told they need to make sure I leave by early afternoon. The first couple days back I ended up being at work until 6! There's just always so much to do!
Otherwise, recovery is going well for the most part. I'm just looking forward to when I can start walking again. Crutches are for the birds! I'm one of the clumsiest people ever, so you can imagine the issues I'm having with these dang metal walkers :)
Kyrgyz elections
Kyrgyztan's presidential elections were Thursday, July 23rd. The results are in, and the incumbent, Bakiev, will remain as president. There have been allegations of wide-spread ballot stuffing, vote buying, vote counting irregularities, voter intimidation and election monitor intimidation. They will also, surely, slow down any return to day-to-day operations in the government and further delay any action on the part of decision makers to move adoptions forward. Now we will wait...and wait some more.
Friday, July 3, 2009
DOS Update - July 2nd
Yesterday, I received an email from the US Department of State. It doesn't say much, but this is the most news we've gotten in a while:
Dear Kyrgyz Adoptive Families:
I am writing from the Office of Children’s Issues to provide you with a brief update on recent developments regarding the pending adoption cases in Kyrgyzstan, following the visit of Kyrgyz officials in late May.
On May 27 three officials from the Kyrgyz government, Deputies Gulnara Derbysheva and Damira Niiazalieva, and Child Protection Expert Ekaterina Khoroshman, met with adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and government officials as part of a U.S. Government-sponsored international visitors program. The visit succeeded in helping these officials better understand, first-hand, the intense commitment that U.S. families have for their prospective adoptive children. The officials also learned about the standards and protections for adoptive children that are built into the U.S. intercountry adoption process.
After they returned home, these officials held meetings and interviews to address some of the questions and concerns that people in Kyrgyzstan had raised about intercountry adoptions. These officials are clearly following up on the promise they made to work for release of the sixty-five cases.
In June, the State Department also sponsored the visit of a U.S. adoption expert to Kyrgyzstan. This expert met with Kyrgyz government officials, private organizations, and individuals to answer questions about U.S. adoption law and to explain the support and protections available to adoptive children in the United States. During these presentations, the expert emphasized the importance of resolving the sixty-five adoptions currently pending for the well-being of the children.
Recently, the State Department received promising news that proposals regarding these sixty-five cases may be presented to the Kyrgyz Parliament in the coming days. As of this writing, no official action had yet been taken. It is not clear what concrete effect these proposals might have, since the Parliament itself apparently does not have the authority to resolve these cases. Further, Presidential elections are scheduled for July 23. Nevertheless, we welcome this interest and are optimistic that if the proposals are introduced and passed, they could initiate a more positive shift in momentum on the sixty-five cases.
I cannot yet report any specific, concrete developments either in Kyrgyz adoption policy or on any of the pending adoption case files. We, in the Office of Children’s Issues, will continue to follow this issue closely and will make every effort to report to you if there are any new developments.
Gerry W. Fuller
Adoption Division Co-Chief
Office of Children’s Issues
We're continuing to pray for good news!!!
Dear Kyrgyz Adoptive Families:
I am writing from the Office of Children’s Issues to provide you with a brief update on recent developments regarding the pending adoption cases in Kyrgyzstan, following the visit of Kyrgyz officials in late May.
On May 27 three officials from the Kyrgyz government, Deputies Gulnara Derbysheva and Damira Niiazalieva, and Child Protection Expert Ekaterina Khoroshman, met with adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and government officials as part of a U.S. Government-sponsored international visitors program. The visit succeeded in helping these officials better understand, first-hand, the intense commitment that U.S. families have for their prospective adoptive children. The officials also learned about the standards and protections for adoptive children that are built into the U.S. intercountry adoption process.
After they returned home, these officials held meetings and interviews to address some of the questions and concerns that people in Kyrgyzstan had raised about intercountry adoptions. These officials are clearly following up on the promise they made to work for release of the sixty-five cases.
In June, the State Department also sponsored the visit of a U.S. adoption expert to Kyrgyzstan. This expert met with Kyrgyz government officials, private organizations, and individuals to answer questions about U.S. adoption law and to explain the support and protections available to adoptive children in the United States. During these presentations, the expert emphasized the importance of resolving the sixty-five adoptions currently pending for the well-being of the children.
Recently, the State Department received promising news that proposals regarding these sixty-five cases may be presented to the Kyrgyz Parliament in the coming days. As of this writing, no official action had yet been taken. It is not clear what concrete effect these proposals might have, since the Parliament itself apparently does not have the authority to resolve these cases. Further, Presidential elections are scheduled for July 23. Nevertheless, we welcome this interest and are optimistic that if the proposals are introduced and passed, they could initiate a more positive shift in momentum on the sixty-five cases.
I cannot yet report any specific, concrete developments either in Kyrgyz adoption policy or on any of the pending adoption case files. We, in the Office of Children’s Issues, will continue to follow this issue closely and will make every effort to report to you if there are any new developments.
Gerry W. Fuller
Adoption Division Co-Chief
Office of Children’s Issues
We're continuing to pray for good news!!!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
One Year
It was one year ago today, on my birthday, that we accepted the referral of a beautiful baby boy in Kyrgyzstan. We were beside ourselves with excitement. Who knew a year ago we'd still be waiting for him to come home...and could love and miss him so much!!!
Lots of things happening in the past few weeks, I just haven't had it in me to post until this morning.
May 29th - Six PAP's and AP's travel to Washington D.C. to meet with three Kyrgyz delegates about our pending adoption cases. The meeting went very well, and the three women left in touched and inspired to go back to Kyrgyzstan and fight for our children. They tell the families that they are committed to do "everything possible and impossible" to united the 65 waiting families and their children. They said they would go home and start advocating for the children. They sincerely want these children to come home. Upon their arrival home, they immediately visited orphanages and begun working on our behalf.
Well no decisions, votes or approvals yet but there certainly has been a lot of positive press about international adoption and the 65 waiting families and children in Kyrgyzstan. The delegates who recently visited the US continue to advocate for us. They have had several press conferences and meetings with officials. Furthermore, a lawyer from the US Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Irene Steffas who has successfully advocated in many countries for international adoption is in Kyrgyzstan at this time and will be meeting and presenting to various officials throughout the week.
Also, in the news this week was Parliament's vote to allow the US to renew its lease at Manas Air Base, just outside of Bishkek. A positive relationship between Kyrgyzstan and the US can only help.
In other news, I have surgery scheduled next Thursday, July 2nd. Remember my "booty" issues a few months back? I recently saw a specialist and it turns out that I tore 15% of my abductor tendons (hip). The surgery will re-connect the tendons to my truncator (hip bone). Hip bone's connected to the...knee bone...
I will not be able to walk for 8 weeks, and will at some point have to begin physical therapy for quite some time. I have been concerned over this, because what if we get "the call"? I can't walk for two months!!! If this is what it takes to get "the call" though, I'm all for it! Time is winding down and it's coming real fast. I just learned yesterday that I actually have to stay overnight in the hospital, which I'm not exactly excited about. Stay tuned...
Lots of things happening in the past few weeks, I just haven't had it in me to post until this morning.
May 29th - Six PAP's and AP's travel to Washington D.C. to meet with three Kyrgyz delegates about our pending adoption cases. The meeting went very well, and the three women left in touched and inspired to go back to Kyrgyzstan and fight for our children. They tell the families that they are committed to do "everything possible and impossible" to united the 65 waiting families and their children. They said they would go home and start advocating for the children. They sincerely want these children to come home. Upon their arrival home, they immediately visited orphanages and begun working on our behalf.
Well no decisions, votes or approvals yet but there certainly has been a lot of positive press about international adoption and the 65 waiting families and children in Kyrgyzstan. The delegates who recently visited the US continue to advocate for us. They have had several press conferences and meetings with officials. Furthermore, a lawyer from the US Academy of Adoption Attorneys, Irene Steffas who has successfully advocated in many countries for international adoption is in Kyrgyzstan at this time and will be meeting and presenting to various officials throughout the week.
Also, in the news this week was Parliament's vote to allow the US to renew its lease at Manas Air Base, just outside of Bishkek. A positive relationship between Kyrgyzstan and the US can only help.
In other news, I have surgery scheduled next Thursday, July 2nd. Remember my "booty" issues a few months back? I recently saw a specialist and it turns out that I tore 15% of my abductor tendons (hip). The surgery will re-connect the tendons to my truncator (hip bone). Hip bone's connected to the...knee bone...
I will not be able to walk for 8 weeks, and will at some point have to begin physical therapy for quite some time. I have been concerned over this, because what if we get "the call"? I can't walk for two months!!! If this is what it takes to get "the call" though, I'm all for it! Time is winding down and it's coming real fast. I just learned yesterday that I actually have to stay overnight in the hospital, which I'm not exactly excited about. Stay tuned...
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Making the Adoption Tax Credit Permanent
May 2009 Update: The following article was first published in RainbowKids.com in mid-April. Since that time, 3 additional congressional supporters have joined, making our total 79. There are still NO supports from 16 states. Please act today!
The federal adoption tax credit has helped thousands of families say "Yes!" to adopting a child. It's vital that this financial support stay in place to help families offset the costs and fees associated with adopting a child. Unfortunately, the tax credit is set to expire in December 2010 unless Congress votes to continue it. It's time to take action!
The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009, H.R. 213 , will keep the adoption tax credit from being repealed, and may make the tax relief measure permanent. It only takes a few minutes to email or call your senators and congressmen it's important for them to hear from families impacted by the tax credit.
Currently, there are 76 State Senators and Representatives cosponsoring H.R. 213. However, there are 16 states that currently have no sponsors of this bill, including eight on the East Coast* (one of the largest areas of the US with internationally adopted children). H.R. 213 is currently in committee, where most bills die. It imperative that adoptive families, and all friends of children waiting for families, act now.
It only takes a few minutes to write, call, or email your representatives. Please do so today!
Email Representative: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Email Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Currently, the following states have no cosponsors or commitments of support for H.R. 213:
West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, New Mexico, Arkansas, Hawaii
The two states offering the greatest support are Texas & Georgia with 6 cosponsors each, closely followed by Pennsylvania with 5. Honorable mentions: Florida , Indiana , Illinois each with 4 sponsorships each.
Pass this on to friends and family, and ask for their help in writing, calling, and posting on blogs and facebook. To gain momentum, we must have an absolute ground swell of families lifting their voices together for the well-being of children throughout the world.
You can find this article and others like it at Rainbowkids.
The federal adoption tax credit has helped thousands of families say "Yes!" to adopting a child. It's vital that this financial support stay in place to help families offset the costs and fees associated with adopting a child. Unfortunately, the tax credit is set to expire in December 2010 unless Congress votes to continue it. It's time to take action!
The Adoption Tax Relief Guarantee Act of 2009, H.R. 213 , will keep the adoption tax credit from being repealed, and may make the tax relief measure permanent. It only takes a few minutes to email or call your senators and congressmen it's important for them to hear from families impacted by the tax credit.
Currently, there are 76 State Senators and Representatives cosponsoring H.R. 213. However, there are 16 states that currently have no sponsors of this bill, including eight on the East Coast* (one of the largest areas of the US with internationally adopted children). H.R. 213 is currently in committee, where most bills die. It imperative that adoptive families, and all friends of children waiting for families, act now.
It only takes a few minutes to write, call, or email your representatives. Please do so today!
Email Representative: https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
Email Senator: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
Currently, the following states have no cosponsors or commitments of support for H.R. 213:
West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, New Mexico, Arkansas, Hawaii
The two states offering the greatest support are Texas & Georgia with 6 cosponsors each, closely followed by Pennsylvania with 5. Honorable mentions: Florida , Indiana , Illinois each with 4 sponsorships each.
Pass this on to friends and family, and ask for their help in writing, calling, and posting on blogs and facebook. To gain momentum, we must have an absolute ground swell of families lifting their voices together for the well-being of children throughout the world.
You can find this article and others like it at Rainbowkids.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Call to Action - May 26th
Dear Friends and Families,
As noted in Joint Council's President & CEO's communication yesterday Joint Council has worked closely with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) to secure a 15 minute meeting with Congressional Staffers and the six families traveling to Washington D.C. to represent the group. The meeting will occur just before the Kyrgyz delegation meets with Congressional staffers. In order to ensure that as many Congressional Offices are in attendance at the two meetings Joint Council is initiating a Call to Action requesting the 65 families contact their Senators and Congressmen. Joint Council requests that all families contact their U.S. Senators and Congresspersons on Tuesday, May 26th. The purpose of your call is to request they attend the meetings on Friday, May 29th. Please note that Friday, May 29th is during a Congressional Recess.
On Tuesday, May 26th we request that you do the following:
1) Call both of your U.S. Senators and your representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives:
You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov
You can find your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov
2) Include the following in your calls and emails:
"As constituents, I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to attend the meeting with Kyrgyz officials hosted by Senator Landrieu and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute on Friday, May 29th."
If they have not heard about the meeting, ask them to contact the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute at (202) 544-8500 or Joint Council at (703) 535-8045.
3) Send an email to everyone you called:
The email is important, but the phone call should be placed first.
Additionally, feel free to forward this request to your friends and family, asking them to contact their Senators and Congresspersons requesting they attend the meeting.
Thank you!
Rebecca Harris
Government Relations and Communications Manager
As noted in Joint Council's President & CEO's communication yesterday Joint Council has worked closely with the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) to secure a 15 minute meeting with Congressional Staffers and the six families traveling to Washington D.C. to represent the group. The meeting will occur just before the Kyrgyz delegation meets with Congressional staffers. In order to ensure that as many Congressional Offices are in attendance at the two meetings Joint Council is initiating a Call to Action requesting the 65 families contact their Senators and Congressmen. Joint Council requests that all families contact their U.S. Senators and Congresspersons on Tuesday, May 26th. The purpose of your call is to request they attend the meetings on Friday, May 29th. Please note that Friday, May 29th is during a Congressional Recess.
On Tuesday, May 26th we request that you do the following:
1) Call both of your U.S. Senators and your representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives:
You can find your Senators' phone numbers and email address at www.senate.gov
You can find your Representatives' phone numbers and email address at www.house.gov
2) Include the following in your calls and emails:
"As constituents, I/we urge the Senator/Congressperson to attend the meeting with Kyrgyz officials hosted by Senator Landrieu and the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute on Friday, May 29th."
If they have not heard about the meeting, ask them to contact the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute at (202) 544-8500 or Joint Council at (703) 535-8045.
3) Send an email to everyone you called:
The email is important, but the phone call should be placed first.
Additionally, feel free to forward this request to your friends and family, asking them to contact their Senators and Congresspersons requesting they attend the meeting.
Thank you!
Rebecca Harris
Government Relations and Communications Manager
Friday, May 22, 2009
14 Months!!!
Here we are, 11 months later still waiting for our son. Who would've thought?!?! Yesterday he turned 14 months already. My goodness he's growing up so fast!!
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We Love You!!!!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Girls Weekend
This weekend I went to the Twin Cities with a few girls for some shopping and fun! We spent the day at the Mall of America and then headed out for dinner and drinks. We ate at a really nice Italian restaurant downtown and then we ended up at Shout's (I think). It is a dualing piano bar and it was totally fun!! I know I'm totally a dork, but I think it is so cool that you can pretty much request any song in the world and those dudes know it! I think that would honestly be my dream job!
Anyway, it was nice to get away from everything and have fun! I prescribe that everyone do that once in a while :)
Anyway, it was nice to get away from everything and have fun! I prescribe that everyone do that once in a while :)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!
Today has already been one of the hardest days for me. Still no news. Still no word when we'll get news. Nothing.
Happy Mother's Day to all those beautiful mother's out there!!!
A - Momma loves you. I'm blowing you kisses from way over here. I hope that you can catch them. Know that I love you more than anything. I cannot wait until you are home. Muah!!
Happy Mother's Day to all those beautiful mother's out there!!!
A - Momma loves you. I'm blowing you kisses from way over here. I hope that you can catch them. Know that I love you more than anything. I cannot wait until you are home. Muah!!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
13 months
That's right, today A turns 13 months. We love you more and more every day!!! Hold on tight - pretty soon, we will be together and loving on you more and more every day! Soon, soon, soon!!!
Mommy and daddy love you very much!
Friday, April 17, 2009
Prayers
I don't have any real news from Kyrgyzstan. All of the pending families had another conference call with the US Dept. of State on Tuesday this week. They still don't know anything and don't know when they will know. The call was focused on what's being done to get the 65 matched, waiting children home, and we stayed very much on point. This is the Embassy's priority at the moment.
The Embassy currently seems to be in education mode - educating the public and officials as to why Americans want to adopt Kyrgyz children - yes, it's that basic. They are using the Kyrgyz media to present our side of the adoption argument. They are sharing the stories that all the adoptive families sent in with officials. All this appears to be working to open minds and hearts, but it's slow going.
The US Ambassador is meeting with key decision makers, and at every opportunity, brings up the adoption issue.
There are currently 9 criminal cases of past adoptions under investigation, all having to do with alleged corruption on the orphanage director/MOE/judicial level. None of these cases involve children who were wrongfully removed from their families. But still, they have to be investigated, and those who were responsible need to be prosecuted.
We talked about our next steps, and it looks like another round of stories will be collected and sent over to Kyrgyzstan. This batch, from the waiting families.
More on the prayer tree...
When I got home from work last Tuesday night I was watering my plants and bringing them outside on the deck for some nice spring weather sunshine. While outside, the Boys and Girls Club van pulled up and a bunch of kids came running up to our prayer tree holding big brown ribbons! They were so excited to add them to our tree!! When they left, I got the ladder out and moved the ribbons up on the tree. It is a very old tree and it's on a hill so most of the branches are hard to reach. Most of the kids tied the ribbon to the end of very tiny branches and I was afraid we'd lose the ribbons once the tree started blooming. While I was moving the ribbons higher up, I noticed they all had little messages on them. Here's what some of them said:
Can't wait to see you!
Can't wait to see you!
I'll pray for you every day
Come home soon
Can't wait to see your family grow!!
Stay strong - soon you'll be Ryan, Jes AND Arsin Scheel
Praying!!
I don't know, but I think that is just about the cutest thing ever! These teenage kids really do have good hearts :)
I also got a letter in the mail from Shelley Nelson. In the letter, they expressed that it would have taken a long time to drive to our house, so they mailed a ribbon and wrote a little prayer. Thank you Shelley!! Anyone else, feel free to mail your ribbons and prayers and I will pull out my ladder and tie them suckers on!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Prayer Tree continued...
The other day when I got home, there was an envelope on my counter that just said 'Jes and Ryan'. Inside was a letter from good friends of ours, Jon and Angela. They started a prayer tree in our yard! How awesome is that??? Here's the letter that was left on the counter ...
Angela and Jon - thank you so much. This prayer tree really means a lot to us!!
If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by, say a prayer and tie a piece of string, yarn, ribbon or fabric to our very own prayer tree :)
Angela and Jon - thank you so much. This prayer tree really means a lot to us!!
If you're in the neighborhood, please stop by, say a prayer and tie a piece of string, yarn, ribbon or fabric to our very own prayer tree :)
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Leaving Bishkek
I've been putting off writing this post for some time. It's hard to re-live the day I had to leave Bishkek. I knew before I even left for this trip that this would be one of the hardest things I will ever have to do. I am more than happy that I made this trip and got to spent what limited time I could with him. He is quite feisty and I have a feeling that he will settle in as soon as he gets home. He is definitely a child of mine!! I can't even begin to tell you how awesome he is and how much I love him.
On our last day we arrived at the BBH and I was greeted by his personal caregiver. I had some things that I wanted to put on his crib, and she walked me back to where he (and all the other babies) slept and allowed me to attach the toys to his crib. She put A in the crib and was pointing them out and having him play. She was all smiles when she picked him back up and gladly handed him over. Right away he reach for my face, and just held my cheeks...how could you not fall in love?? We went upstairs to the music room with Donna and her son. I couldn't hold back the tears, although at that point they were more happy tears that I had the opportunity to spend time with him during that week. I didn't take as many pictures because I just wanted to hold him in my arms. He's 1 though, and that didn't last long - he just wanted to play and crawl and slap books and throw my camera and rip apart the kleenexes.
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I had to bring him back down to his room because it was time for him to eat. I asked (for the third day) if I would be allowed to feed him. Reluctantly his caregiver said yes. I felt very self concious while feeding him. They had me sit at a table in a folding chair. The table was to my left, so I had to sit A on my right leg and feed him left-handed. She brought over a giant bowl full of very liquid cereal and a metal spoon. I started to feed him, and of course, like any 1 year old, he started to grab the spoon. He was looking all around at the commotion going on around him. He burped once while I tried to feed him and the liquid cereal went everywhere. The caregivers in the room were watching and shaking their heads. After a while Kuba came in and they were telling him something. He smiled, but didn't translate. Of course I pushed for him to tell me. He said, "Well, they usually feed him that in two to three minutes." As you can imagine my jaw must've hit the floor. He laughed and then left the room. Those women totally thought I was incompetent. How in the world could you feed a child that much so fast? After a few more minutes they must've gotten impatient with me. The one caregiver took the bowl, heated it up, and then positioned him on my lap so that she could prop the bowl up under his chin and shovel the rest in. Wow!!!
We went back up to the music room for the remainder of my visit. I was rocking him back and forth while sitting on the floor (tears welling up of course). When I would stop for a second, he would push his head back so that I started again. Tears didn't stop then. He was just so fricken cute!!! He was babbling and yelling, so I put my fingers to his mouth and did the Indian call. Oh my - he loved that! He would yell louder and louder and then just laugh. You could tell he was so tired, but he must've known that it was the last day because he fought through it. When Kuba told us it 'was time'. I got him bundled back up to take him down to his room. I could not even compose myself at that time!!!
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When I finally got to his room, I hesitated. I didn't want to give him back! I wondered if I could manage to run out the door with him under my coat. Would anyone notice? How far could I make it? A moment later, the door opened and his caregiver was standing there with a big bright smile. I walked into the room and just held him for a minute. She reached for him and he turned away. Oh boy!!! I was absolutely bawling by this point. She took him and then was standing about a foot away from me. She was making him wave and saying, "Do Svidaniya Mama." She must've said it at least 10 times, and all of a sudden he was reaching for me. She handed him back and right away he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth to do the Indian call again. His caregiver was wiping away my tears and asking if I was leaving today (making an airplane with her hands). I nodded, but couldn't take my eyes of A. She finally reached for him and he went to her. She walked us to the door and kept repeating, "Do Svidaniya Mama." I almost had to run out of the door because an uncontrollable sobbing fit was coming on. I waited outside trying to compose myself before Donna and Kuba came out. I didn't talk the whole ride back to Asia Mountain. That night we had to pack up because we would be leaving at 2:30 a.m. I didn't sleep much and the entire plane ride(s) home were a complete blur. I miss him so bad already!
Ryan was waiting for me in Minneapolis and when we got to the hotel, the first thing we did was go through the pictures and watched the short videos I had.
Now we wait...
On our last day we arrived at the BBH and I was greeted by his personal caregiver. I had some things that I wanted to put on his crib, and she walked me back to where he (and all the other babies) slept and allowed me to attach the toys to his crib. She put A in the crib and was pointing them out and having him play. She was all smiles when she picked him back up and gladly handed him over. Right away he reach for my face, and just held my cheeks...how could you not fall in love?? We went upstairs to the music room with Donna and her son. I couldn't hold back the tears, although at that point they were more happy tears that I had the opportunity to spend time with him during that week. I didn't take as many pictures because I just wanted to hold him in my arms. He's 1 though, and that didn't last long - he just wanted to play and crawl and slap books and throw my camera and rip apart the kleenexes.
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I had to bring him back down to his room because it was time for him to eat. I asked (for the third day) if I would be allowed to feed him. Reluctantly his caregiver said yes. I felt very self concious while feeding him. They had me sit at a table in a folding chair. The table was to my left, so I had to sit A on my right leg and feed him left-handed. She brought over a giant bowl full of very liquid cereal and a metal spoon. I started to feed him, and of course, like any 1 year old, he started to grab the spoon. He was looking all around at the commotion going on around him. He burped once while I tried to feed him and the liquid cereal went everywhere. The caregivers in the room were watching and shaking their heads. After a while Kuba came in and they were telling him something. He smiled, but didn't translate. Of course I pushed for him to tell me. He said, "Well, they usually feed him that in two to three minutes." As you can imagine my jaw must've hit the floor. He laughed and then left the room. Those women totally thought I was incompetent. How in the world could you feed a child that much so fast? After a few more minutes they must've gotten impatient with me. The one caregiver took the bowl, heated it up, and then positioned him on my lap so that she could prop the bowl up under his chin and shovel the rest in. Wow!!!
We went back up to the music room for the remainder of my visit. I was rocking him back and forth while sitting on the floor (tears welling up of course). When I would stop for a second, he would push his head back so that I started again. Tears didn't stop then. He was just so fricken cute!!! He was babbling and yelling, so I put my fingers to his mouth and did the Indian call. Oh my - he loved that! He would yell louder and louder and then just laugh. You could tell he was so tired, but he must've known that it was the last day because he fought through it. When Kuba told us it 'was time'. I got him bundled back up to take him down to his room. I could not even compose myself at that time!!!
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When I finally got to his room, I hesitated. I didn't want to give him back! I wondered if I could manage to run out the door with him under my coat. Would anyone notice? How far could I make it? A moment later, the door opened and his caregiver was standing there with a big bright smile. I walked into the room and just held him for a minute. She reached for him and he turned away. Oh boy!!! I was absolutely bawling by this point. She took him and then was standing about a foot away from me. She was making him wave and saying, "Do Svidaniya Mama." She must've said it at least 10 times, and all of a sudden he was reaching for me. She handed him back and right away he grabbed my hand and brought it to his mouth to do the Indian call again. His caregiver was wiping away my tears and asking if I was leaving today (making an airplane with her hands). I nodded, but couldn't take my eyes of A. She finally reached for him and he went to her. She walked us to the door and kept repeating, "Do Svidaniya Mama." I almost had to run out of the door because an uncontrollable sobbing fit was coming on. I waited outside trying to compose myself before Donna and Kuba came out. I didn't talk the whole ride back to Asia Mountain. That night we had to pack up because we would be leaving at 2:30 a.m. I didn't sleep much and the entire plane ride(s) home were a complete blur. I miss him so bad already!
Ryan was waiting for me in Minneapolis and when we got to the hotel, the first thing we did was go through the pictures and watched the short videos I had.
Now we wait...
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Prayer Tree
My sister-in-law, Heather, got married in Mexico January 12th. For the wedding, my mother-in-law suggested that the four of us (me, my other two sister-in-laws, and my mother-in-law) each do one of the four: something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. My mother-in-law did something blue and she had everyone in the family send a piece of fabric of something of their's that was blue. Ryan and I sent in a piece of my wedding dress (glacier blue), and teh tie that he wore for our wedding. My mother-in-law said she's pick something up for A to have a piece on there as well and she would give to us what she used. What Heather ended up getting was a rectanglular lace hankerchief with all of the squares of fabric sewed onto it. It turned out really awesome! The piece my mother-in-law picked out for A was a blue onsie, obviously too small for him, with little doggies, bones and paw prints. She cut off the bottom to use for Heather's kerchief, but told us to hold onto the top for good luck. While Ryan and I were sitting at the MSP airport waiting for my departure, I had him rip off a piece of the onsie to use for the prayer tree in Kyrgyzstan.
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I had the piece of fabric in my purse the whole trip - Ryan kept the other piece at home, carrying it in his pocket every day. We had our visit to 12 Chimneys earlier in the week and totally forgot about the prayer tree. When we asked Kuba about it later in the week, he chuckled and said, "That tree is on the way out to 12 Chimneys." Well shoot! By that time we only had one day left. We talked a bit more about the prayer tree and Kuba told us that a prayer tree is started when someone puts a piece of fabric on a tree and says a prayer. So it could be any tree? He said it could pretty much be any tree. Well there you have it! Donna and I decided to start a prayer tree in the playground of the BBH. How fitting right?
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So, on your next trip to BBH, please be sure to add your piece of fabric and a prayer to our prayer tree.
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I had the piece of fabric in my purse the whole trip - Ryan kept the other piece at home, carrying it in his pocket every day. We had our visit to 12 Chimneys earlier in the week and totally forgot about the prayer tree. When we asked Kuba about it later in the week, he chuckled and said, "That tree is on the way out to 12 Chimneys." Well shoot! By that time we only had one day left. We talked a bit more about the prayer tree and Kuba told us that a prayer tree is started when someone puts a piece of fabric on a tree and says a prayer. So it could be any tree? He said it could pretty much be any tree. Well there you have it! Donna and I decided to start a prayer tree in the playground of the BBH. How fitting right?
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So, on your next trip to BBH, please be sure to add your piece of fabric and a prayer to our prayer tree.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Tokmok
Today we went to Tokmok to visit with Ruby and Lynn Johnston from LAMb International. To my suprise Jayne Schooler was also there. We had coffee, tea, and great conversation . It was so nice to finally meet them and pray with them.
On our way back to Bishkek we stopped at the Burana. For more history, go here: http://www.fantasticasia.net/?p=132. It was really cool!!!
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As usual our visit at the BBH was not nearly as long as I would like. When it was time to go our driver/translator came in and said, "Are you read?" Well duh! That was a stupid question. I told him no :) I think I threw him off a bit, and he said, "Well, we have to go." Sad time :( I cannot wait until he can be home and I can love on him forever!!!
On Donna's last trip she brought a photo book with our pictures in it for A. Of course when I asked if he still had it in his crib they had no idea where to find it. Took them a few days, but they finally found it and we looked at it today. A was mostly obsessed with his daddy's picture!
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On our way back to Bishkek we stopped at the Burana. For more history, go here: http://www.fantasticasia.net/?p=132. It was really cool!!!
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As usual our visit at the BBH was not nearly as long as I would like. When it was time to go our driver/translator came in and said, "Are you read?" Well duh! That was a stupid question. I told him no :) I think I threw him off a bit, and he said, "Well, we have to go." Sad time :( I cannot wait until he can be home and I can love on him forever!!!
On Donna's last trip she brought a photo book with our pictures in it for A. Of course when I asked if he still had it in his crib they had no idea where to find it. Took them a few days, but they finally found it and we looked at it today. A was mostly obsessed with his daddy's picture!
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Tien Shan Mountains
We visited a restaurant in the Tien Shan Mountains called 12 Chimneys. What a beautiful mountain range!!! The pictures don't nearly show the real beauty of these vast mountains! Such an amazing view...for miles and miles!!!
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Today we had to go late again to the BBH (Bishkek Baby House) and our time was cut considerably short. I am still very grateful for any time I get to spend with A. He recognized me right away and reached for me when his caregiver walked him to the door. We played hard and gazed into each other's eyes. He tried to eat my camera again ... this boy is going to be a photographer! He was also saying "Da, da, da". In Russian it means "yes", but I'll pretend he's saying dada like dad!
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Today we had to go late again to the BBH (Bishkek Baby House) and our time was cut considerably short. I am still very grateful for any time I get to spend with A. He recognized me right away and reached for me when his caregiver walked him to the door. We played hard and gazed into each other's eyes. He tried to eat my camera again ... this boy is going to be a photographer! He was also saying "Da, da, da". In Russian it means "yes", but I'll pretend he's saying dada like dad!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Happy Birthday!!!
I am so happy that I got to spend some time with A for his birthday! He is kind of congested and felt very warm. At first he was a crabby butt, but I did manage to get a few smiles out of him :) They even allowed us to put him in the outfit Grandma Scheel sent for him.
Nooruz
Today we went to the town square to watch the Nooruz celebration. Nooruz is the Kygyz New Year and also when they celebrate Spring Equinox. It was really a spectacular sight!!! The President was there, and there were snipers on the roof tops! Lots of dancing and singing, food cooked along the walk in the park, carnival toys and even some rides! There was an arm wrestling ring, gymnastics stage, kids doing relay races and more! The festival went on for blocks and went most of the morning into early afternoon.
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Thursday, March 19, 2009
Meeting my boy!
Oh my goodness ... He is the most perfect baby ever! More beautiful in person than I could have ever imagined. I almost can't even put this post into words.
When his caregive handed him over, he came right to me!! I brought several sensory toys and books to read to him. He was very interested in my earrings and picking my nose!!! We played hard, ate books, dropped the camera, pulled hair and had a blast! It was such an amazing feeling to finally have him in my arms. We played so hard that he eventually fell asleep on my chest. It was the cutest thing. I did not want to let him go. I whispered to him and touched his face softly. He was sweating so bad from the ten layers of clothes they put him in. You would think that we were going outside for a play date! I am savoring the smell of my shirt and cannot wait to go and spend time with him tomorrow. This is going to be a hard week.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Bishkek
We arrived at the Bishkek airport at 5:25 a.m. (Bishkek time). We are so off on our time and had such a long layover in Turkey. We thought we had it down, but then we had to go ahead 4 more hours for Bishkek time :) Our room wasn't ready when we got here, so we had breakfast in the lobby and waited.
We got a call from our driver 5 minutes before he was suppose to pick us up and said that we could not go to the orphanage. As you can imagine I was very disappointed. He said that instead, we can go at 4. We arrived a bit early and had to wait in the car. When we went in, we went right to Donna's child's room door. After about 10 minutes she was allowed to go in by him. I was brought to A's room and his caregiver gave me the once over before handing him over to me. I was then brought to a strange room and was left alone with him. It was all very strange, but so nice to have alone time! Tomorrow we will not be able to go until 5, and probably won't be allowed to stay very long. I'm glad to get any time with him, just wish it were more...
We got a call from our driver 5 minutes before he was suppose to pick us up and said that we could not go to the orphanage. As you can imagine I was very disappointed. He said that instead, we can go at 4. We arrived a bit early and had to wait in the car. When we went in, we went right to Donna's child's room door. After about 10 minutes she was allowed to go in by him. I was brought to A's room and his caregiver gave me the once over before handing him over to me. I was then brought to a strange room and was left alone with him. It was all very strange, but so nice to have alone time! Tomorrow we will not be able to go until 5, and probably won't be allowed to stay very long. I'm glad to get any time with him, just wish it were more...
Istanbul!
My flight from MSP to JFK was uneventful. Donna and I met at the Gate for our flight to Istanbul ... how fun!!! On the way to Istanbul there was a gentlemen who was either drunk or in severe pain. In any event, it made the flight quite interesting. In the last hour, we also had a man on the way to the bathroom vomit all over the seat right in front of us. Ick! I do have to say though, that the 10 hour flight wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be.
We met a nice young man on the plan traveling for business. We asked his to join us on our mini tour of the Istanbul. We got visas from the airport had a Taksi (taxi) and they brought us downtown. We visited some really beautifl mosques and an underground water well! So cool. I also bought a Turkish pashmina scarf. I cannot believe that Istanbul has 15 million people! They really are beautiful people!!
So far Donna and I are having a blast!
We met a nice young man on the plan traveling for business. We asked his to join us on our mini tour of the Istanbul. We got visas from the airport had a Taksi (taxi) and they brought us downtown. We visited some really beautifl mosques and an underground water well! So cool. I also bought a Turkish pashmina scarf. I cannot believe that Istanbul has 15 million people! They really are beautiful people!!
So far Donna and I are having a blast!
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Blue Mosque
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Monday, March 16, 2009
Leaving on a Jet Plane
The countdown is officially over. Tomorrow morning, Ryan and I will be heading to the Minneapolis airport where I will depart for my first trip to Kyrgyzstan. It will be Arsin's birthday on Saturday and I'm so glad to be able to spend it with him. Unfortunately, Ryan will not be coming with. Instead, I will meet up with another PAP in New York before my flight to Istanbul, where I will have an eight hour layover.
I am so overjoyed and excited, I can barely contain it. I do, however, need to hunker down and finish my packing. Hopefully I'll be able to post while in country and share some pictures. This blog has been public since it's inception and I have not been able to share any pictures until now.
Here is a glimpse of the birthday boy!!!
I am so overjoyed and excited, I can barely contain it. I do, however, need to hunker down and finish my packing. Hopefully I'll be able to post while in country and share some pictures. This blog has been public since it's inception and I have not been able to share any pictures until now.
Here is a glimpse of the birthday boy!!!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Private Blog
Hello all and happy hump day!! I am going to be making this blog private as of this weekend. With all the craziness that has been going on, I'd like to keep this as intimate as possible without the whole entire world be able to view :)
Please send me an email if you are interested in continuing to follow the saga of this incredible journey... s.jesandryan@yahoo.com
I will gladly send you an invite! Please leave comments if you have any questions.
Peace and love.
Please send me an email if you are interested in continuing to follow the saga of this incredible journey... s.jesandryan@yahoo.com
I will gladly send you an invite! Please leave comments if you have any questions.
Peace and love.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Catching Up
I haven't been posting anything of any real significance lately, but that's because nothing is happening!!! There have been some meetings and some conference calls, but we haven't gotten anything concrete out of them. About a month ago we had a conference call with the US Dept. of State. A few things were confirmed:
* "They" have no idea what the actualy problem is.
* "They" have no idea when it will be resolved.
* 65 families have received referrals and area waiting.
* over 200 families have submitted dossiers
There were a few more meetings scheduled that week. Valerie Chittenden is our Consul in Bishkek. On February 12th, she had a meeting with the Deputy MOE. Here's some of what came out of that meeting:
On February 12, 2009, Consul Valerie Chittenden met with the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Education (MOE)...This was the first official discussion we have had with Kyrgyz officials since the halt in adoptions.
The Kyrgyz Government has formed an adoption commission that includes officials from the Vice Prime Minister’s office, the Ministries of Education, Social Protection and Labor, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Justice, as well as the General Prosecutor’s office. This commission is responsible for drafting new adoption policy and legislation, with special emphasis on clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies involved. The commission will recommend whether the Kyrgyz Republic should join the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. According to the Deputy Minister, the commission plans to report to Parliament by March 20. The Parliament will then choose what action it will take on these proposals. New legislation Parliament may pass will NOT affect existing cases other than to allow the Ministry of Education to resume processing adoption dossiers again. New adoption cases would be subject to any new requirements established by Parliament.
The Kyrgyz government does not intend to process any adoption cases, new or pending, until the adoption commission issues its report, expected March 20, and Parliament acts on these recommendations.
Only children with urgent medical care or special needs (medical conditions not treatable in Kyrgyzstan) can be considered for expeditious processing, that is, before the new regulations have been promulgated. (Developmental delays and related conditions are considered treatable in Kyrgyzstan.) So far, only one case among the 65 pending cases has met this definition, and that case has been approved for processing. Additional cases would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Embassy is seeking additional meetings with other officials, many of whom are also newly appointed to their positions in order to learn more about the Kyrgyz Government’s plans and to urge that the children who have been matched with adoptive families be allowed to join their permanent families as soon as possible.
On 2/11 a new MOE was appointed:
New Kyrgyz education and science minister appointed 11/02-2009 09:15, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Aizada KUTUEVA
Abdylda Musaev was appointed a new Education and Science Minister of Kyrgyzstan. The Prime Minister Igor Chudinov introduced him to the cabinet Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
A week earlier the premier has introduced two assistant ministers – Umutkan Tynalieva and Boris Kubaev.
Note from the news agency “24.kg” – Abdylda Musaev is a principle of the Bishkek University of Liberal Arts, Umutkan Tynalieva is a former vice-mayor of Bishkek and Boris Kubaev headed the Institute of Strategic Information Technologies in Education.
http://www.eng.24.kg/personas/2009/02/11/7040.html
http://www.president.kg/ru/press/ukaz/3373/
March 3, 2009 - Joint Council is pleased to confirm that U.S. Embassy officials in Kyrgyzstan met late last week with the Vice Prime Ministers Office regarding the 65 in-process intercountry adoption cases and the future of intercountry adoptions from Kyrgyzstan. At this time Joint Council cannot confirm the exact contents of the conversation.
Further, we can confirm that police investigations are occurring in Kyrgyzstan in regards to accusations surrounding child buying for intercountry adoption. No further information on this subject is available at this time. As soon as more information is available Joint Council will release it on our website.
http://www.jcics.org/Kyrgyz%20Republic.htm
The only thing left to do at this point is to wait until March 20 and see what is reported. This waiting is sure getting old!
* "They" have no idea what the actualy problem is.
* "They" have no idea when it will be resolved.
* 65 families have received referrals and area waiting.
* over 200 families have submitted dossiers
There were a few more meetings scheduled that week. Valerie Chittenden is our Consul in Bishkek. On February 12th, she had a meeting with the Deputy MOE. Here's some of what came out of that meeting:
On February 12, 2009, Consul Valerie Chittenden met with the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Education (MOE)...This was the first official discussion we have had with Kyrgyz officials since the halt in adoptions.
The Kyrgyz Government has formed an adoption commission that includes officials from the Vice Prime Minister’s office, the Ministries of Education, Social Protection and Labor, Foreign Affairs, Internal Affairs, and Justice, as well as the General Prosecutor’s office. This commission is responsible for drafting new adoption policy and legislation, with special emphasis on clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies involved. The commission will recommend whether the Kyrgyz Republic should join the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. According to the Deputy Minister, the commission plans to report to Parliament by March 20. The Parliament will then choose what action it will take on these proposals. New legislation Parliament may pass will NOT affect existing cases other than to allow the Ministry of Education to resume processing adoption dossiers again. New adoption cases would be subject to any new requirements established by Parliament.
The Kyrgyz government does not intend to process any adoption cases, new or pending, until the adoption commission issues its report, expected March 20, and Parliament acts on these recommendations.
Only children with urgent medical care or special needs (medical conditions not treatable in Kyrgyzstan) can be considered for expeditious processing, that is, before the new regulations have been promulgated. (Developmental delays and related conditions are considered treatable in Kyrgyzstan.) So far, only one case among the 65 pending cases has met this definition, and that case has been approved for processing. Additional cases would be considered on a case-by-case basis.
The Embassy is seeking additional meetings with other officials, many of whom are also newly appointed to their positions in order to learn more about the Kyrgyz Government’s plans and to urge that the children who have been matched with adoptive families be allowed to join their permanent families as soon as possible.
On 2/11 a new MOE was appointed:
New Kyrgyz education and science minister appointed 11/02-2009 09:15, Bishkek – News Agency “24.kg”, By Aizada KUTUEVA
Abdylda Musaev was appointed a new Education and Science Minister of Kyrgyzstan. The Prime Minister Igor Chudinov introduced him to the cabinet Wednesday, February 11, 2009.
A week earlier the premier has introduced two assistant ministers – Umutkan Tynalieva and Boris Kubaev.
Note from the news agency “24.kg” – Abdylda Musaev is a principle of the Bishkek University of Liberal Arts, Umutkan Tynalieva is a former vice-mayor of Bishkek and Boris Kubaev headed the Institute of Strategic Information Technologies in Education.
http://www.eng.24.kg/personas/2009/02/11/7040.html
http://www.president.kg/ru/press/ukaz/3373/
March 3, 2009 - Joint Council is pleased to confirm that U.S. Embassy officials in Kyrgyzstan met late last week with the Vice Prime Ministers Office regarding the 65 in-process intercountry adoption cases and the future of intercountry adoptions from Kyrgyzstan. At this time Joint Council cannot confirm the exact contents of the conversation.
Further, we can confirm that police investigations are occurring in Kyrgyzstan in regards to accusations surrounding child buying for intercountry adoption. No further information on this subject is available at this time. As soon as more information is available Joint Council will release it on our website.
http://www.jcics.org/Kyrgyz%20Republic.htm
The only thing left to do at this point is to wait until March 20 and see what is reported. This waiting is sure getting old!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Let's Get it Right for the Wright's!!
Dear Friends of the Wrights,
We all know and understand the effectiveness of the work John, Julie and family have done in Kyrgyzstan – the country they love so much and have been called to. Let’s get them there ON THE GROUND full time! We can do this.
This post is coming out with other blog posts all over the country – people who have blogs that know the Wrights. Let’s shock them with the provision of financial resources and letters/notes of encouragement to help them return to Kyrgyzstan. They want to go as full time missionaries – they just need our help to get them there. We propose that we raise a minimum of the following:
$20,000 to cover a year’s needs on the home front
• Home expenses – the place to come back to
$30,000 to cover a year’s needs on the foreign front
• Travel in and out of the country with family 2 x a year
• Travel in the country to the different sites
• Family expenses – including the educational needs of one daughter
• Lodging and meals
This is just $50,000. We can do this and we can do it quickly. Here is how. Go to JOHN’S Blog and hit the button that is for the Wrights….support.
www.actofkindness.blogspot.com
AND guess what – you can watch all that is done there on his blog..you will learn to live vicariously in a healthy way by reading and supporting the RIGHT cause. What an opportunity – Will you help?
Let’s do it RIGHT FOR THE WRIGHTS!
Blessings,
Lynn and Ruby from LAMb International
We all know and understand the effectiveness of the work John, Julie and family have done in Kyrgyzstan – the country they love so much and have been called to. Let’s get them there ON THE GROUND full time! We can do this.
This post is coming out with other blog posts all over the country – people who have blogs that know the Wrights. Let’s shock them with the provision of financial resources and letters/notes of encouragement to help them return to Kyrgyzstan. They want to go as full time missionaries – they just need our help to get them there. We propose that we raise a minimum of the following:
$20,000 to cover a year’s needs on the home front
• Home expenses – the place to come back to
$30,000 to cover a year’s needs on the foreign front
• Travel in and out of the country with family 2 x a year
• Travel in the country to the different sites
• Family expenses – including the educational needs of one daughter
• Lodging and meals
This is just $50,000. We can do this and we can do it quickly. Here is how. Go to JOHN’S Blog and hit the button that is for the Wrights….support.
www.actofkindness.blogspot.com
AND guess what – you can watch all that is done there on his blog..you will learn to live vicariously in a healthy way by reading and supporting the RIGHT cause. What an opportunity – Will you help?
Let’s do it RIGHT FOR THE WRIGHTS!
Blessings,
Lynn and Ruby from LAMb International
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
TAGGED
Thanks Laura! I really needed to post something because it's been ages and I feel like I haven't had anything worth posting :(
I have been tagged. The task? to post a fun photo. The directions... Go to your fourth photo file location and post your fourth photo in that file. Well - wouldn't you know, it's a folder totally about Arsin!! While I'm not able to "legally" post pictures of him, the fourth photo just so happens to be a crop of an original picture...so I can post it!!!
If you're reading this - TAG, you're it! Be sure and post a comment to let me know you played along so that I can come and see :)
I have been tagged. The task? to post a fun photo. The directions... Go to your fourth photo file location and post your fourth photo in that file. Well - wouldn't you know, it's a folder totally about Arsin!! While I'm not able to "legally" post pictures of him, the fourth photo just so happens to be a crop of an original picture...so I can post it!!!
If you're reading this - TAG, you're it! Be sure and post a comment to let me know you played along so that I can come and see :)
Monday, January 26, 2009
"It is always darkest before the dawn"
This past week has been one hell of a roller coaster ride!!! This post's title was totally stolen, and I hope Ann won't mind :) She put together several posts that were very well put about the goings on of the past few weeks!On Friday I received the following message from JCICS:
Dear prospective adoptive parents,
It is Joint Council's understanding that 17 high ranking officials of the Kyrgyz government, including the Minister of Education and the Vice-Minister of Education, have been removed from their positions. Obviously this will have an affect on in-process intercountry adoptions. It is currently unclear exactly how the changes will affect in-process cases.
As more information becomes available Joint Council will update our website.
Upon further investigation, I found the following website: http://eng.kabar.kg/2009/01/23/education-and-science-minister-of-kyrgyzstan-dismissed/. We learned that 17 high ranking government officials, including the Minister of Education and her sidekick, were fired in Kyrgyzstan. Lots of things happening this week! President Kurmanbek Bakiev has since replaced several of the positions, but to date he has not filled the MOE position. There is lots of political happenings in Kyrgyzstan and I just hope that things get resolved soon, someone gets appointed as MOE and we are all able to get our babies home soon!
I am going to continue to stay optimistic..what other choice do I have??
Tonight after work we are headed to Powderhorn for a little skiing and fun with friends! We do this trip annually and we are really looking forward to it!
So - - I will leave you with this:
Nothing in this life that is worth having comes easy...
Baby boy, you are so worth it and I will continue to wait for you! This has certainly not been easy, but I do not regret even one day. Everything that has happened in the last seven months has brought us one step closer to you. We love you and cannot wait to share our lives together with you!!
Love,
mamma
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
10 months!!
Well, here we are 10 months old already! Happy 10 months Arsin! We love you, love you, love you!! This post is not a very easy one for me to write. I have been a complete bucket of emotions this week!! I am feeling very overwhelmed with everything and nothing at the same time. I find myself staring into space knowing I have a thousand things I need to take care of, but can't bring myself to do even one. I love my little boy so much, but this wait is killing me. I don't barely have the strength to stay positive anymore. I stare at his pictures daily and we sing to him, laugh with him, kiss him...I cannot wait until this stupid mess is all over with. Enough is enough already!
On a brighter note we got a couple new pictures. There is a strange blue hue and everything is really fuzzy. But the one had a sign in the background and I used my Russian/English dictionary to try and figure it out. What I came up with was New Year! Someone please tell me if I'm wrong.
ps. Can someone tell me how to center my text??
Some pictures from Mexico
The Bride and Groom!
The whole crew:
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Two cuties!
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MMMMM...cake...
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Mariachi Band
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Muah!
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Riviera Maya, Mexico
The whole crew:
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Two cuties!
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MMMMM...cake...
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Mariachi Band
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Muah!
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Riviera Maya, Mexico
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy 2009!
2008 has come and past and still our little boy is not home with us. It was one year in November since we started this adoption and we are so blessed to be matched with our son. 2009 will bring great things! This is the year that our son will be home with us for good! In the last couple of weeks we've heard new (and good) "rumors" and we're very hopeful that these "rumors". This information comes from the wonderful Executive Director of an adoption agency other than my own:
"[Kyrgyz] Ambassador Zamira [Sydykova] was able to get an audience with the President to talk about adoption. The end result was that he agreed to help resolve the problems. The nature of the problems are manifold and multitudinous, so it seems to take someone capably of moving mountains in Kyrgyz to successfully address them.
"A brief history...
"Last spring the MOE stopped processing adoptions to revamp their dossier requirements. Early summer, the head of adoption in the MOE, Almaz, was fired for providing letters approving adoptive parents without the required co-signature. (He was very efficient, but he got into big trouble.) Ever since, the MOE has presented problems with getting letters signed; in fact, they just have not signed any. It is probably a combination of fear, lack of initiative, ambivalence about international adoption, lack of advocates within the hierarchy of the MOE and thus lack of political will, and last but not least, confusion over who really is the regulatory entity over adoption.
"There are several overlapping entities that have some responsibility over adoption. The Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Physical Culture. This last one is odd, but within the Ministry of Physical Culture is a Dept of Child Protection. The Dept of Child Protection was formed in 2006, possibly to oversee adoption. Since Almaz was fired, his position has not been filled, and the onus of letter signing fell upon a woman named Janille. Janille is cordial, supports adoption to some extent as she sees it as a necessity, but will not sign letters. It seemed for awhile that the oversight would shift to the Dept of Child Protection. Now, after Ambassador Zamira talked to the President, it seems clear that the power and glory will remain in the MOE, under the direction of the Prime Minister's office.
"I think we can reasonably guess that there has been a power struggle going on as well as confusion. In any event, it seems that Kyrgyz plans to model their adoption oversight on Kazakhstan, who modeled theirs on Russia. Which means the MOE is in charge. The promise given is that the President will direct the Prime Minister to shift responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the MOE.
"The wrinkle is that there needs to be legislation or a letter from the Parliament that confirms this and pretty much abolishes the role of the Dept of Child Protection with respect to adoption. This needs to happen because the role the Dept of Child Protection exists under the law, and they cannot overlook this -- it's their laws.
"Tatiana said that they need about ten days to clarify this with all parties concerned and codify it. Then, there are the holidays. The 1st of January is New Years Day and the 7th of January is Orthodox Christmas. No one works.
"We believe that by mid-January the MOE will begin issuing letters, presumably providing letters for all families with all agencies who have been waiting to bring their children home. Then they will be reviewing dossiers and providing letters for families who do not yet have referrals. They have lists from all the agencies as to who is who."
Next Friday early morning we leave for sunny Mexico for Heather's wedding. We are totally excited and in much need of a vacation! They will be getting married on the beach barefoot! How awesome is that?? I don't have any real New Year's resolutions, but I would like to lose 10 pounds before Mexico...think it's possible? I've got 6 days!!!
All of the kids went home yesterday and my house is so quiet, and I can't barely stand it. The plan was to meet my sister half way today, but there was some bad weather coming and we didn't want to drive in it. I had to work the basketball game so Ryan ended up driving them. I was so sad to see them leave and totally cried when I left for work knowing that when I came home they wouldn't be here. They got home really late last night and everyone was so tired. We spent New Year's at Telemark Resort in Cable, WI and did some fun outdoor activities. We got in a little late on Wednesday and we just cooked a good steak and lobster dinner, ate cake, and went swimming in the pool before the new year. On Thursday morning the boys went out snowboarding and the girls and I rented some sleds and hit some little hills. Joe ended up not liking snowboarding and bummed around with us. It was pretty cold, so we had to go in several times to warm up. I was worried about those little girls and their rosy red (almost frost bit!) faces. Ryan and I also went out, me on my XC skiis and he was snow shoeing. We had a lot of fun and I'm pretty sure the kids enjoyed it too! I wish I had pictures but my camera was totally not working! I charged it before we left and it's almost as if the charger sucked the life OUT of the battery. It's the weirdest thing!
Happy 2009!!!
"[Kyrgyz] Ambassador Zamira [Sydykova] was able to get an audience with the President to talk about adoption. The end result was that he agreed to help resolve the problems. The nature of the problems are manifold and multitudinous, so it seems to take someone capably of moving mountains in Kyrgyz to successfully address them.
"A brief history...
"Last spring the MOE stopped processing adoptions to revamp their dossier requirements. Early summer, the head of adoption in the MOE, Almaz, was fired for providing letters approving adoptive parents without the required co-signature. (He was very efficient, but he got into big trouble.) Ever since, the MOE has presented problems with getting letters signed; in fact, they just have not signed any. It is probably a combination of fear, lack of initiative, ambivalence about international adoption, lack of advocates within the hierarchy of the MOE and thus lack of political will, and last but not least, confusion over who really is the regulatory entity over adoption.
"There are several overlapping entities that have some responsibility over adoption. The Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Physical Culture. This last one is odd, but within the Ministry of Physical Culture is a Dept of Child Protection. The Dept of Child Protection was formed in 2006, possibly to oversee adoption. Since Almaz was fired, his position has not been filled, and the onus of letter signing fell upon a woman named Janille. Janille is cordial, supports adoption to some extent as she sees it as a necessity, but will not sign letters. It seemed for awhile that the oversight would shift to the Dept of Child Protection. Now, after Ambassador Zamira talked to the President, it seems clear that the power and glory will remain in the MOE, under the direction of the Prime Minister's office.
"I think we can reasonably guess that there has been a power struggle going on as well as confusion. In any event, it seems that Kyrgyz plans to model their adoption oversight on Kazakhstan, who modeled theirs on Russia. Which means the MOE is in charge. The promise given is that the President will direct the Prime Minister to shift responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the MOE.
"The wrinkle is that there needs to be legislation or a letter from the Parliament that confirms this and pretty much abolishes the role of the Dept of Child Protection with respect to adoption. This needs to happen because the role the Dept of Child Protection exists under the law, and they cannot overlook this -- it's their laws.
"Tatiana said that they need about ten days to clarify this with all parties concerned and codify it. Then, there are the holidays. The 1st of January is New Years Day and the 7th of January is Orthodox Christmas. No one works.
"We believe that by mid-January the MOE will begin issuing letters, presumably providing letters for all families with all agencies who have been waiting to bring their children home. Then they will be reviewing dossiers and providing letters for families who do not yet have referrals. They have lists from all the agencies as to who is who."
Next Friday early morning we leave for sunny Mexico for Heather's wedding. We are totally excited and in much need of a vacation! They will be getting married on the beach barefoot! How awesome is that?? I don't have any real New Year's resolutions, but I would like to lose 10 pounds before Mexico...think it's possible? I've got 6 days!!!
All of the kids went home yesterday and my house is so quiet, and I can't barely stand it. The plan was to meet my sister half way today, but there was some bad weather coming and we didn't want to drive in it. I had to work the basketball game so Ryan ended up driving them. I was so sad to see them leave and totally cried when I left for work knowing that when I came home they wouldn't be here. They got home really late last night and everyone was so tired. We spent New Year's at Telemark Resort in Cable, WI and did some fun outdoor activities. We got in a little late on Wednesday and we just cooked a good steak and lobster dinner, ate cake, and went swimming in the pool before the new year. On Thursday morning the boys went out snowboarding and the girls and I rented some sleds and hit some little hills. Joe ended up not liking snowboarding and bummed around with us. It was pretty cold, so we had to go in several times to warm up. I was worried about those little girls and their rosy red (almost frost bit!) faces. Ryan and I also went out, me on my XC skiis and he was snow shoeing. We had a lot of fun and I'm pretty sure the kids enjoyed it too! I wish I had pictures but my camera was totally not working! I charged it before we left and it's almost as if the charger sucked the life OUT of the battery. It's the weirdest thing!
Happy 2009!!!
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