We just got back to Utah on sunday, but have both been sick since then so I haven't posted anything yet. The rest of our trip went really quickly. It was great to spend a couple of more days with all of the children, but then we were off to Quito to start our long trip home. Now that we're here, we've started working out their options for school, healthcare,and looking into possible social security benefits from their father.
We are anxious to buy their plane tickets to come the first week of March, but the family that the youngest, Steven, lives with doesn't want to let him come, so we're waiting to get the tickets. Legally Eddie is his guardian, but they only cooperated with the guardianship and citizenship because he assured them that we would force him to come. But once Eddie saw how they lived (8 people in a one room concrete block house in the campos outside of Guayaquil), he changed his mind. They have had Steven since he was born and really love him, so it is hard to consider taking him away. But Eddie feels that it is more important the he be with his brothers and sisters here where his has the chance for a better life. He is going to talk to them again today to see if he can get them to understand that Steven would be coming to a home where he is surrounded by family who love him and can offer him great opportunities as well. Everyday we wait, the tickets get more expensive since we want to get the kids here earlier than we had originally planned. In order for them to leave Ecuador, they have to be with Eddie, since he is their legal guardian. And he has to have a letter from the court giving him permission to leave the country with them. It would be too expensive to have them come in separate trips because of the legal and airline ticket costs, but we have to make sure that Diane (16) is here six weeks before the third week in April...because she's pregnant. Yep, we had hoped the girls would be able to avoid this exact situation by coming here, but we were too late. So, getting her here before her 34th week of pregnancy is driving our schedule. If she doesn't have the baby here, she won't be able to come at all. In order for her child to get citizenship if it is born outside the U.S., she would have had to live here in the U.S. for 5 years before the child was born. We have so much to do to get ready for them all to come here!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Success at the Consulate in Guayaquil!
We all went to the Consulate yesterday (by all, I mean all of the people that needed to be there and everyone who just wanted to cram into the van we rented, I think at one point there were 18 people in it) and everything went very smoothly. All of their Consular Report of Birth Abroad applications and Passport applications were accepted. So, they are officially U.S. citizens now!!!! (Endless thanks go to Shawn Tribe in Citizen Services for her endless patience with my endless questions). Their certificates and passports will come in 8-10 days. We´ll have our lawyer do the document with the local court that will give Eddie permission to take them out of the country, so everything will be ready for when he comes back for them in 4-6 weeks. While we´ve been in Guayaquil, we´ve been staying at a small hotel on a hill above the city, with just us and the children. This is their first stay in a hotel and they are enjoying the quiet of the garden here (and of course the pool). When we´ve been in Santo Domingo de los Colorados we´re surrounded by other relatives and friends (plus the constant noise of the city, radios, cars, chickens....), so now we are finally getting to get to know them better and to tell them more about what their lives will be like in Utah.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
It's like being in another country....
Well, we made it safely down here without any problems. Eddie´s cousin, Fabian, his family and the children met us at the airport. It took two hours to get out of the Quito city limits and then two more down insainly steep and wet mountain roads. Lanes and road rules are optional here, so the trip was interesting to say the least. Santo Domingo de los Colorados is a medium size city, kind of like Framingham, Ma. or Salt Lake if you replaced all of the nieghborhoods and businesses with the most run down neighborhoods of a big city. We ended up staying in a hotel near Fabian´s house and it isn´t so bad, it´s more like a hostel back in the states.
So, I have to tell you about the kids. It is very hard to think of them as Eddie´s siblings, they are soooo small ! The oldest, Nancy, will be 18 in three weeks and is the same exact size as Fabian´s 9 year old daughter! None of the clothes we brought for her fit at all and a few fit Diana (almost 17), but that´s only because she is pregnant. Nothing for the boys over the size 12-14´s fit either. They are all kind, considerate and get along with each other well. If any of the girls want to sit down, a boy immediately pops up out of their seat. They are used to having chores to do, and don´t complain when asked to do something. They are content with their lives here and feel that they are being taken care of really well, especially compared to their last guardian. Fabian says he took them from the last place when he saw how sick and small they all looked because they were hardly fed and slept on the floor. Let me tell you a little about each of them. Nancy has always been the caretaker, she is shy, kind and a very good student (she has had two english classes as well). She and Fabian´s daughter are always together, talking and holding on to each other. Diana is more independant, doesn´t like to do the cooking and as Fabian says, she seems to rely on her good looks too much. Miguel (15) seems comfortable with himself (his hair is always carefully gelled) is friendly and helpful. Marlon (13) just goes with the flow and watches everyone else. Jefferson (11) is quiet, but smiles easily and enjoys being around the older kids, he is never more than two feet away from Eddie. We haven´t met the youngest boy yet, Steven (8), we´ll meet him tomorrow in Guayaquil. Eddie could tell you more about the kid´s personalities, because he´s spent more time with them (while I´ve been in bed) and usually rides with them in the bed of the truck to go everywhere. We took them to buy new shoes yesterday morning, their choices were very telling about their personalities: Nancy - functional slip on keds, Diana - silver flats, Miguel - beige leather dress shoes, Marlon and Jefferson - sneaker/hiking shoes. We ended up buying shoes for Fabian´s three kids and his wife and even his god-son, the total was $90. We have lots of pictures so far, but no way to download them from our camera!
I will write more if our next hotel has internet. Sorry this is so short and choppy, but it´s almost weird to be writing in english. I´ve already gotten used to speaking in very simple spanish, since I have a limited vocabulary I have to be really creative in expressing what I want to say. Like when I was trying to say that I have a twin sister, I had to explain that I have a sister who was born on the same day as me and we are identical. Anyway, I hope everything is going well for all of you. Feel free to write to us!
So, I have to tell you about the kids. It is very hard to think of them as Eddie´s siblings, they are soooo small ! The oldest, Nancy, will be 18 in three weeks and is the same exact size as Fabian´s 9 year old daughter! None of the clothes we brought for her fit at all and a few fit Diana (almost 17), but that´s only because she is pregnant. Nothing for the boys over the size 12-14´s fit either. They are all kind, considerate and get along with each other well. If any of the girls want to sit down, a boy immediately pops up out of their seat. They are used to having chores to do, and don´t complain when asked to do something. They are content with their lives here and feel that they are being taken care of really well, especially compared to their last guardian. Fabian says he took them from the last place when he saw how sick and small they all looked because they were hardly fed and slept on the floor. Let me tell you a little about each of them. Nancy has always been the caretaker, she is shy, kind and a very good student (she has had two english classes as well). She and Fabian´s daughter are always together, talking and holding on to each other. Diana is more independant, doesn´t like to do the cooking and as Fabian says, she seems to rely on her good looks too much. Miguel (15) seems comfortable with himself (his hair is always carefully gelled) is friendly and helpful. Marlon (13) just goes with the flow and watches everyone else. Jefferson (11) is quiet, but smiles easily and enjoys being around the older kids, he is never more than two feet away from Eddie. We haven´t met the youngest boy yet, Steven (8), we´ll meet him tomorrow in Guayaquil. Eddie could tell you more about the kid´s personalities, because he´s spent more time with them (while I´ve been in bed) and usually rides with them in the bed of the truck to go everywhere. We took them to buy new shoes yesterday morning, their choices were very telling about their personalities: Nancy - functional slip on keds, Diana - silver flats, Miguel - beige leather dress shoes, Marlon and Jefferson - sneaker/hiking shoes. We ended up buying shoes for Fabian´s three kids and his wife and even his god-son, the total was $90. We have lots of pictures so far, but no way to download them from our camera!
I will write more if our next hotel has internet. Sorry this is so short and choppy, but it´s almost weird to be writing in english. I´ve already gotten used to speaking in very simple spanish, since I have a limited vocabulary I have to be really creative in expressing what I want to say. Like when I was trying to say that I have a twin sister, I had to explain that I have a sister who was born on the same day as me and we are identical. Anyway, I hope everything is going well for all of you. Feel free to write to us!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
On the move...finally!
Eddie and I are leaving for Ecuador tonight. We'll be at the U.S. Consulate all day tuesday to submit the 13 separate applications we are doing. I've been having the most vivid dreams the last couple of nights that I find the perfect sized luggage (the restrictions are so tight now!), finally meet the children and then miraculously move into a mansion for the same price as our 1100 sq.ft. house costs us right now! It's so exciting to get to see one of those themes become reality. Keep your fingers crossed for us that our nine months of hard work pay off at the consulate and they accept our applications without any problems and that our lawyer can get the final guardianship papers delivered to us before our appointment! We'll be posting during our trip if we have internet access.
Thanks for the support you've given us and for being interested in helping these children have a better life!
Thanks for the support you've given us and for being interested in helping these children have a better life!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Are we there yet?
Four days and counting down until we leave for Ecuador!
Last night Eddie got to speak with each of the five older children briefly for the first time ever. They finally got the package a couple of days ago that we sent last month. Eddie says they all sounded shy, but excited about our trip to see them. We were going to be staying at a hotel the first night, then the cousin they live was going to come get us the next day from Quito, but now they all want to come meet us at the airport and have us stay with them.
Guardianship:
Our lawyer emailed us a copy of the custody papers signed by the Judge on thursday!!!!! She's having them translated to English for us to use here in the States.
Citizenship:
After a few moments of panic when the Consulate emailed us that they'd be closed on the day we'd planned to go in (the 19th), put us with a totally new caseworker, then said they had no appointments the next day either...they finally worked it out for us to come in on the 20th and have the casework that we've had for the last 8 months.
We are half packed and I can't wait to get going, the waiting is miserable!
Last night Eddie got to speak with each of the five older children briefly for the first time ever. They finally got the package a couple of days ago that we sent last month. Eddie says they all sounded shy, but excited about our trip to see them. We were going to be staying at a hotel the first night, then the cousin they live was going to come get us the next day from Quito, but now they all want to come meet us at the airport and have us stay with them.
Guardianship:
Our lawyer emailed us a copy of the custody papers signed by the Judge on thursday!!!!! She's having them translated to English for us to use here in the States.
Citizenship:
After a few moments of panic when the Consulate emailed us that they'd be closed on the day we'd planned to go in (the 19th), put us with a totally new caseworker, then said they had no appointments the next day either...they finally worked it out for us to come in on the 20th and have the casework that we've had for the last 8 months.
We are half packed and I can't wait to get going, the waiting is miserable!
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