I saw an Ella Phant

Wednesday night I prayed for a sign if Ella would be home this year. I specifically asked God to show me an elephant on Thursday. We keep Fox news on all day at work so I thought I may see a baby elephant born at a zoo or something. My sister asked me why I picked an elephant as a sign and the only reason I can come up with is b/c the MasterCard commercial with the elephant named Ella Phant. I went the whole day at work on Thursday without seeing an elephant. That night I met my sister at the mall to pick up a birthday present for my mom and I thought for sure this is where I would see my elephant. At the beginning of the trip I wasn't looking for the elephant but by the end I have to admit I was looking for it. Needless to say I left with out seeing a single elephant at the mall. Build-a-Bear doesn't even have one. Surprised me.

Mike had soccer so afterwards we went to the grocery store. We arrived a Bi-lo and there was a Bloodmobile and before we knew there was a lady asking us to donate blood. I can't give blood and Mike Murphy HATES giving blood they have to poke him 50 times to find a vein. Without any hesitation he said yes this time later he told me since we got news on our case he was in a good mood. I was so proud of him. Now I was on my own for grocery shopping. Guess what I saw at the end of the 3rd isle in Bi-Lo that is right a stuffed elephant.

From here on out I have to believe that the good Lord is going to get my little girl home this year. I know he still has the right to change his mind but he is capable of getting her home this year.

Right now our case is still in family court I estimate another 2-3 weeks. Then PGN should be 8 weeks. After PGN if we have no kickouts then we have 6 weeks. We are looking at about 17 weeks before we get Ella home. However this adoption is in God's hands so seeing as we only have about 9 weeks left in the year only he can get her home.

UPDATE

I don't know where to start with this update so I will dive right in. We were told on October 1st that our file was picked up from family court and we were submitted to PGN on October 5th. None of that happened. Mike and I have known this for a few weeks but we just learned tonight what has been taking place.
Our file just recently has been picked up from family court. The social worker assigned to our case has been trying to persuade Ella's birthmother to take her back since June. Our attorney kept this from us because he did not want us to worry. It is disturbing but he has confirmed with Ella's birthmother that she still wants this adoption to proceed, which is WONDERFUL news. Our attorney has also moved our file to another family court and unfortunately we have to start the family court process again. The bigger picture is that Ella's birthmother has been tormented by this social worker for 5 months and she stood her ground. I have to praise God for giving her the strength to endure this process. I can’t even imagine what she has been put through over the past few months. It makes me cry every time I think about it.

Our prayer is for mercy on our file with the next social worker and that we can get submitted to PGN by the end of the year. Our prayer is for Ella’s birthmother to continue to have peace and strength through the rest of this process.

Mike and I are looking forward to spending plenty of quality time with our baby girl as we visit during the entire week of Thanksgiving.

Thank you again for your support and prayers…keep them coming.

Guatemalan president says he's not trying to stop U.S. families from adopting babies

AP Article
October 16, 2007
GUATEMALA CITY: Guatemalan President Oscar Berger said Tuesday that his government is simply working to make adoptions more secure and not trying to interfere with U.S. families already in the process of adopting some 3,700 children from the Central American nation.

Guatemalan lawmakers are debating how to fulfill their promise to comply by Jan. 1, 2008, with the Hague Convention, the international standard for legal adoptions. A key requirement is the creation of a centralized adoption-monitoring agency.

Would-be parents — many of whom spend US$30,000 (€21,000) or more to adopt Guatemalan babies — are on edge, worrying that adoptions already in process will be blocked by the impending legislation. But Berger denied that.

"I have never said that I want to stop the adoptions," Berger told The Associated Press. "All my government wants is for the adoptions law that is about to pass to be respected and for Guatemala to comply with the Hague Convention."

U.S. families adopted 4,135 Guatemalan children last year, making the Central American nation second only to China as a source of babies for American couples. One in every 100 Guatemalan babies born annually is adopted by U.S. families, thanks to a speedy private adoption system in which notaries handle the entire process, from scouting for pregnant women to filing all the paperwork.

Today in AmericasU.S. Southeast reaches most severe category of droughtGlobal warming starts to divide Republican contendersLifers as teenagers, now seeking second chanceThe Hague Convention requires that a government agency control the process, not independent notaries.
It remains unclear exactly what parents who are already adopting Guatemalan babies will have to do to comply with the new rules. But Rep. Rolando Morales, one of the main backers of the adoption bill in Congress, also said adoptions under way won't be blocked.

"All we ask for is an investigation to make sure that the woman giving the baby up is the biological mother and that the infant was not obtained under coercion or, worse, stolen," Morales said.

"We don't believe an adoption should cost more than US$7,000 (€5,000)," he added. "The difference is the profit the lawyer makes."

UNICEF's Guatemala office also wants cases already in process to be re-examined to ensure that babies were not stolen or obtained under duress. And the U.S. State Department has warned U.S. families not to adopt from Guatemala until the U.S. Embassy can examine each case more thoroughly. The embassy recently began requiring DNA tests at the beginning and the end of each adoption to verify the child's identity.

In response, a notaries' lobbying group has run radio ads praising adoption as a way to get children out of orphanages and help those living on the street. Meanwhile, adoptive parents have deluged U.S. government offices with calls and e-mails calling for Guatemalan adoptions to continue.

Guatemalan lawmakers are determined to pass the bill before the nation's presidential elections on Nov. 4.

We have Decided to Visit Ella Again

Mike and I have decided to go visit Ella again. We will spend November 18 - 24 in Guatemala with our little girl. She will be 9 months old and we feel we are missing out on too much. Can you blame us for wanting to love on our little girl?

Ella foster sister Gabriella's family will be there so we will have some company.

Please continue to pray for all the families in process adopting from Guatemala. See the previous post for some updates.

PGN

We received the news we have been submitted to PGN. This is a huge step considering were we have been. Please pray our file is error free and we get through quickly.

Below are some other updates regarding Guatemala Adoptions.
1.) JCICS is reporting that the Hague permanent bureau is supporting allowing in-process to continue. This is excellent news for in-process families!

2.) The Guatemalan papers are reporting about amendments being offered to the bill and that the executive branch is not happy that the bill will undergo so many changes. The UNE party seems to be the one most supporting significant changes, or at least they are the ones saying that the bill in its current form has many issues.

3.) It does not appear as though the amendments will be voted on before the Nov 4th election. We are hearing it will be on Nov 14th. All parties in Guatemala seem to be agreeing that they must not allow the adoption law to become a campaign issue.

We Need Prayers Please

Since last Thursday Mike and I learned that our case is still in family court. We learned this after being told that our case had moved on to the judicial process and then PGN, all of which were not true. It turns out we have been stuck in family court since MAY 17. The social worker on our case would not release it. Family court usually takes a normal case 35 days to complete and our case has been in there 4 1/2 months. After discussing this new information with our agency we have since been released and are now waiting to be submitted to PGN. This is scheduled to happen either Friday or next Monday, but Mike will travel to meet with our agency on Thursday to find out why it can’t be submitted any sooner. I can assure you as soon as I hear we are submitted I will be calling PGN myself to verify.

Please understand this recent development is not something Mike and I wish to discuss. Right now we have to focus on getting Ella's case out of PGN and her birth certificate issued before December 31st. Time is currently working against our case and Mike and I are trying to be positive in a very negative situation. Please pray for our case to move through PGN quickly and for her new birth certificate to be issued quickly as well.

Today Guatemala Congress passed the Ortega Law which currently will not honor pending adoptions. Next Tuesday they will discuss adding a grandfather amendment for pending cases to this law. Please pray they add this amendment to honor pending cases.