THE BEACON APRIL 2009
Article from South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society's Monthly Newsletter:
THE GROWING GRANDAS
It all began with a conversation on Mother's day last year. Eddie
Eddie's parents had divorced when he was a teenager and his
REGAL events by night! So, now, after hiring a lawyer, doing
Now with the kids finally in the
Bassinet
Playpen
Car seat/carrier
Diapers (lots!)
Baby formula
Gift cards to Babies R Us or coupons for diapers and
formula
Ongoing:
Boys shoes and winter boots (for boys the size of 9, 11
and 13 year olds)
Boys snow pants (sizes 8-12)
Boys clothing sizes 8-12
Girls clothes sizes 12-14 girls and women's/teens small
and x-small
Gift cards for Old Navy (for the girls)
Daily use products like: Shampoo, conditioner, lotion,
body wash, toilet paper, razors and
deodorant.
Gift cards or coupons for entertainment activities
Gift cards or coupons for places that we usually shop at
like Smith's grocery, Costco, Old
Navy, Target, etc.
Services we'll need each month like haircuts!
Household:
Any food donations of cereal, rice, lunch snacks, canned
tuna, etc.
Paper goods (plates, cups, paper towels)
Laundry detergent (liquid)
Gift cards to Home Depot or Lowes
Small vacuum for hard surface floors
DVDs with Spanish dubbing or subtitles
Soccer balls and small nets
Gift cards for bookstores, toy stores, craft stores, or even
Amazon.com.
For the latest details, please go to www.causes.com/
GrandaCause. Go there to read the full story, see
pictures, and even donate cash through
Social Action Council program, Family-Caring-for-Family.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Our caseworker at the U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil emailed on friday to say she's received all of the final DNA documents and wants to know when we can come in! Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure Eddie has to have guardianship of the kids before we can apply for their U.S. Passports, which we plan on doing at the same time as the Consular Reports of Birth (which no guardian is required for). So, we have to wait for the guardianship. But, we're going to double check just in case.
Guardianship:
Eddie heard from our lawyer today, she has all of the documents we've sent to her and is going into the court on wed. to file the petition for guardianship. So, we should know then about how long it will be until it will be finalized. We are so excited to be getting closer to having all of the paperwork out of the way. Unfortunately, since I last looked at plane tickets a month ago, the prices have gone up $200 each, even on Copa Airlines (out of Panama) and Delta has the most confusing new system for using skymiles that will rule that option out! Ugh, we just want to get there and be able to finally meet all of the kids!!!!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Here is an email Eddie received from our lawyer in Ecuador this morning:
"Yes Mr. Granda, the money was transferred to my account and I just received all your documents. The only thing left is the birth certificates. When I receive them I will present the request at the court in El Oro. I will update you with any new information and when I receive the other documentation. I will have everything ready and I will update you next week. I am starting everything and the court request is almost ready to file next week."
We wired $300 down to Eddie's cousin on monday so that he could close his shop for the day and travel to three different cities to gather the children's birth certificates and their parent's death certificates (again). Two months ago, those were the only original documents we had in our possession that our lawyer needed, and we were working on getting all the other documents from U.S. sources. But, since they were stolen with everything else, we have to get them again. One step forward, two steps back!
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Eddie just returned from a day-trip over to Los Angeles. He was able to get the last of the documents that our lawyer needs to get things moving - the Power of Attorney. So, now we have everything she needs to give to the court for guardianship except for the kids original birth certificates and their parent's death certificates that were stolen.
Citizenship:
Our caseworker at the U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil got an answer back from the legal dept. in DC about exactly what they want from the DNA lab to finally certify the kid's paternity as accepted. I've forwarded the response to Affiliated Genetics, so within a week we will have that piece of the puzzle in place.
Yay, another productive week!