The Granda Cause: March 2009

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 Granda and Robyn Taylor-Granda, members of our family here at South Valley, were talking with Eddie's mom, and mentioned that they were considering adopting. And, they were thinking about adopting from Ecuador, where Eddie's family was from. It was then that Eddie's mom mentioned his half siblings. They had no idea at the time, but that conversation would lead them on a roller coaster adventure! An adventure with up and downs, frustrations and triumphs, and certainly change their lives, and the lives of a few others, forever.

Eddie's parents had divorced when he was a teenager and his father had gone back Ecuador. About four years after his father's death, Eddie learned that he left numerous young children behind. Since he'd had no contact with his father's side of the family for years, that was the extent of the information he had about the kids. So Robyn and Eddie decided to investigate the situation to see if there was anything Eddie's aunt Nancy (who kept tabs on the kids) might need some help with. The news wasn't good. As it turned out, not only were there many children (aging from eight to eighteen), but their mother had died only six months before their father! The kids had been passed between the mother's relatives for the first five years. They were living in such terrible conditions that Eddie's aunt finally went down there and took them to live with her nephew, where they have been for the last three years. As they spoke to relatives to learn more and searched for legal ways to help them, it became clear that the kids needed to have legal guardians who could take them permanently. So Eddie and Robyn made a decision. They decided to legally adopt the five older children and gain guardianship of the youngest. In order to do that they first had to work for a year to become their legal guardians in Ecuador. This would enable them to: document their U.S. Citizenship (by getting Consular Reports of Birth), get their passports and to bring them to the U.S. Instead of adopting them from Ecuador, they chose to bring them here to the United States first, which was made possible because their father had been a U.S. citizen and they met all of the conditions to pass on the right to citizenship. But there were more hurdles to come! The government of Ecuador required DNA tests to prove Eddie's relation to the children. And after more red tape and gathering of legal documents, all their documents were stolen, and they had to replace them. With all the set backs, Eddie and Robyn just pushed on, even attending to the responsibilities of their regular lives, including responsibilities here at South Valley. Robyn was working through governmental red tape by day and planning

REGAL events by night! So, now, after hiring a lawyer, doing DNA tests, getting all of their official documents stolen, gaining guardianship, learning that the 17 year old is expecting a baby, making a trip to Ecuador, getting their reports of birth and passports, making a second trip to get the kids, being denied exit from Ecuador and having to get all new tickets after the five day delay...they are finally here !!! By the time you read this, the Grandas will have the following new members: Nancy-18, Diana-17, Miguel-15, Marlon-13, Jefferson-11 (with Steven-8 hopefully coming next summer). And maybe one more; Diana is due to have her baby any day!

Now with the kids finally in the United States, the adventure is just beginning! And Robyn and Eddie can use your help. As of this writing they could use the following donations:

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 South Valley's

Social Action Council program, Family-Caring-for-Family.

by Drew Carrillo

Monday, March 23, 2009

Quick updates

We applied for social security numbers for everyone on wed, no problems!

We got the estimate for a small addition to our tiny house (to add a 4th bedroom and a second full bathroom) and it was $17,000 more than we have left over in our savings account from our refinance. We don't have a plan of attack yet...

Jefferson and Marlon started school on friday and really enjoy it. We're still working on finding the right fit for Nancy, Diana and Miguel. For now they're doing a computer program at home.

We are just days away from starting our fundraising blitz, the hold up has been with finding the time to get the Paypal non-profit donation buttons ready and trying to get all the info for people put together in the same place while still living our lives! Since Eddie was laid-off early this winter, we aren't able to get a mortgage on a larger house, but we still hope to add on somehow. It's not so bad for now, but once the baby comes (March 20th), this house will feel twice as small!

The kids had their first experience with snow last night and though it was great, we have a snowman to prove it!

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Home at last

They're home!

Eddie, Nancy, Diana, Miguel, Marlon and Jefferson arrived in Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon and were greeted by a crowd of family! We spent the rest of the day at home, getting them settled in. Saige showed the boys how to use the trampoline and pulled out ALL of our yard and pool toys as well. They played soccer and volleyball, jumped on the trampoline (sat in the sled and to be bounced) and chased each other with our floating pool "noodles". The girls got busy unpacking and organizing everything and went through all of the baby clothes we've been given.

We finally called the boys and Saige in when it was dinner time, ate, and everyone took showers. Then Ben showed the boys how to use the Nintendo and Eddie put on a movie for the girls. Next came bedtime!

Phew!

All in all the day went really well!

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Houston we have a problem...

Oh No!!!! Eddie, Nancy, Diana, Miguel, Marlon and Jefferson did not get on their plane in Ecuador today at 4pm! Ecuadorian immigration would not let them through! They cannot leave until we get them Ecuadorian passports. We were told previously that they wouldn't need them, since they have U.S. Passports, so we never got them! Ugh, we have every document conceivable for them except that! So, now they are all stuck in Quito (4 hours away from where they were staying) until he can go to the immigration office. He's hoping they will be able to get some kind of "emergency" passports and leave on the 4 pm flight tomorrow. But we really won't know until he gets to that office. I guess it was asking too much to have everything as smoothly as it did the last trip. I'll know more tomorrow morning...

Monday, March 9, 2009

South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society you are awesome

The wonderful people of the church that we go to, South Valley Unitarian Universalist Society, have really given us tons of support! So far each sunday we've come home with our car filled with clothes, toys and blankets. We have also been given $1975 in gift cards and cash! xoxox

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Check in

Eddie called, all is well at the equator. Change of plans...he and all the boys (ours plus their cousins boys) are headed down to Guayaquil to pick up Steven and bring him back to Santo Domingo for a few days. They're staying the night in La Troncal which is where their father is from. I think they also visited the cemetery where he is buried, but I forgot to verify if they did it today or were planning to do it tomorrow. Meanwhile, I've been trying to put the house back together since Eddie had to clear out the three bedrooms to do the rearranging. The beds, dressers, clothes and desks are all in place now, but there is somehow so much left over and most of it has overwhelmed the kitchen and living room! I'm glad to have lots to keep me busy, I think I'd go crazy waiting for five more days without something to keep me occupied!

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Eddie is off!

Eddies off and flying now. I took him to the airport late last night and he should be in Quito by 1:45 EST. Then it's on to Santo Doming de los Colorados again to pick up the 5 older kids. They'll go down to Guayaquil to spend two days with Steven (the one who is staying behind for now) and then back to Santo Domingo to pack! The only thing we're still stressing about is whether or not the Dr. will give us the letter we need so that Diana can fly while pregnant. Ok, there's a bigger worry than that one...it's whether or not Diana is actually going to get on the plane. She's been a bit hesitant all along, but we really hopes she takes the leap and chooses to put what's best for her and her baby's future first. They will all fly back on the 11th and stay two nights in Los Angeles with Eddie's sister (and theirs) Maria. Then on to Salt Lake on the 13th (yes, I know it's friday the 13th, but I have bigger and more realistic worries to fucus on than that!). I'll keep you posted when I hear from Eddie!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Roller coaster ride

Wow, today has been such a roller coaster ride of disappointment and excitement. It started off with two donation requests and english tutoring for the youngest all falling through and ended with getting a freezer, the rest of the mattresses we needed and a generous gift card to IKEA donated to us. Then to top it off, someone delivered a card to our house tonight with a donation in it that is large enough to pay for half the cost of the plane tickets for the kids! All of these donations have been a huge relief to us. When we started this process and committed to helping these kids Eddie and I both had jobs, so refinancing the house to pay for the expenses and to add onto it was reasonable. Since then though, I've been laid-off twice and Eddie has been laid-off since November (it's a terrible time to be in the field of architecture).We have realized that we're not going to be able to do this all on our own. It feels wonderful to know that there are other people that are willing to give these children a better life along with us!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

You guys are good people

We've started receiving donations of clothes, bedding, books, gift cards and baby things from friends at our church and friends of theirs that have been forwarded a needs list that we sent to only three people. The generosity of our friends and their friends, who don't even know us, is amazing! We appreciate so much the love and support that is being shown us by our local community and this "virtual" community that we are all connected through. This is a huge challenge that we are taking on and it feels wonderful to know that we are not alone in helping these children on their way to a safe and healthy life.

Sincerely....Thank you!

The Granda Cause