Grants, Adoption, & the VCU Dog

I haven't posted in a few days because i have been consumed with the title of this blog.

1. I am the Coordinator for the Walworth Co. Literacy Council. The Council is implementing a Jail Literacy Program in the Walworth Co. Jail. As a Public-Defender@Heart I am thrilled about this initiative. When I was practicing law, I often thought/said, "I am so frustrated because I wish I could do more to actually HELP my clients". Well, it is interesting how things have a way of coming full circle. The Jail Literacy Program is going to have tangible benefits to so many people who need it so badly. This summer, we hope to start 2 classes in the jail: one for English as a 2nd Language, and the other is Adult Literacy (reading/writing/grammar for native-English speakers). I am writing the grant in order to have financial backing for the jail program. This is the first grant I have ever written. The writing is very technical, and kind of reminds me of the grueling legal briefs I once wrote. It is a work-in-progress, and has consumed much of this week and will no doubt be a weekend project... All this leg work will hopefully be the helping hand for some people who need a lift...

2. The last few days (and weeks and months) I have been busy with the adoption documents. What continues to amaze me is how the people that we encounter in the adoption process seem to balance each other out along the way. What I mean is this: for every one person that aggravates and complicates the process, there is another who comes along and demonstrates so much compassion and kindness. I truly believe in "random acts of kindness"--they have a way of spinning the world to a different beat. At any rate, my example of the ebbs and flows of the adoption process is pretty simple. This week I tried to find a psycholgist to conduct a psychological examination for us and write a report for Peru. (this is a Peruvian requirement, but was not a Guatemalan requirement) I spent hours on the phone trying to find someone, ANYONE who would even talk to me on the phone about this. I received a few laughs-in-my-face/ear, a few flat-out "NO's", and a few "Sorry, we don't do that here and i don't know who can help you." Finally, I connected with an incredibly kind psychologist who empathized with our situation (as he once contemplated a Peruvian adoption himself) and who is going to do what he can to make the process less painful. In a simple word, he was kind. Random acts of kindness do go a long way.... One phone call made up for the hours of rejections we received from others.

3. Finally, this week has been consumed with the VCU dog. Uncle Andy (VCU Strength & Conditioning Coach) gave Marcella a lanky & lovely VCU dog/stuffed animal for Christmas. It was showcased in her room since then, but for some reason, this week she just fell in love with the VCU dog. It doesn't leave her side. We have gone to the YMCA, the Post Office, the Police Station, and the library with the VCU dog at our side. Marcella shares her milk and food with him. She does the sign language to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" with the VCU dog. And we even did a rendition of Ring-Around-the-Rosie, with both of us holding a VCU dog paw and dancing around in a circle. I hope that this is all good Karma for the VCU Men's Basketball Team in the Bracketbuster, as they take on Akron at 10 a.m. Saturday (2/23) morning on ESPN 2. Go VCU!!!!!!!!!!!!

Weddings & Birthdays Galore

Friday night, the whole Kutschma family celebrated Baba's 88th birthday. Luba (George's mom) made a delicious meal of Jamon del Pais (A pork roast that is stuffed with tons of garlic, then slow roasted all day). After it is done cooking, it is eaten as a sandwich, and topped with au jus and a crisp onion salad. It is absolutely delicious. Luba also made "Ceviche", which is a Latin American dish consisting of raw seafood that is 'cooked' only by the powers of lemon juice. There is no heat involved, in fact ceviche is served best when it is ice cold. The seafood is accompanied by a ton of onions & cilantro & juices, with chunks of sweet potato & corn-on-the-cob on the side! George's aunt Maria made "Halupki", which are basically cabbage rolls. Mmmmm. Dessert was a cheesecake, and a Cold Stone Creamery birthday cake (although Baba is not a dessert person, she enjoyed blowing out her candles with the help of Forrest & Marcella). And, of course, there were many celebratory 'shots' of brandy for Baba's 88 years and for many more to come!!!

Saturday, we headed up to the Mequon/Cedarburg area for wedding planning. Mom & Dad also came down to join in the festivities. We went to visit the wedding & reception sites, which was kind of interesting because they were covered in about 2 feet of snow! Even so, we were able to visualize how awesome (and warm!) it will be in September. We also gained a few pounds by taste-testing some delectable dessert options, and had fun exploring some funky paper/invite shops in the 3rd Ward in Milwaukee ~~The countdown is on until the big day: 6 months & 19 days~~

Oh, Sugar, Sugar...

On Valentine's Day, we had an impromptu little cookie baking party with our friends. We had alot of fun, eating & decorating, decorating & eating.... The cookies were slightly addictive, and, as the potato chip ad goes, you can't eat just ONE!!!

Marcella had fun playing with her friends Makoto and Keller, who were equally impressed with the copious amounts of sugar that seemingly flowed from every nook & cranny in our kitchen.... (Pictured above is Ayako with her 14 month old son, Makoto)

Ayako's mom decorated these cookies with Japanese characters,,,I believe the translation is something to the effect of "EAT COOKIE & LIVE LONG, HAPPY LIFE!!!"

Plum Wine

This was such a cooooool gift, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to include it on my blog...


My friend Ayako's mother is visiting from Japan for 2 weeks. Her name is Kimi. She was so kind to bring me a gift, and what an APPROPRIATE, USEFUL & INNOVATIVE one it was! Kimi found out that I love Plum Wine, a Japanese specialty. Kimi brought me this special crystal carafe all the way from Japan.



Plum Wine is best when it is COLD. I have always had this dilemma: when we buy plum wine at the store, it is room temperature, and I don't want to wait the 2 hours it will take to chill it,,,,, so I usually add ice cubes right to my glass and then it is diluted, and it just never really gets the chance to live up to its potential.



Soooo, the really unique thing about the carafe from Japan is that it has two openings. The opening on top is where you pour the wine into...The opening on the front is where you insert the ice cubes.... The wine and ice cubes are in separate little compartments inside the carafe. So, the wine chills without being watered down. GENIUS!!!! Why didn't I think of this????
ARIGATOU KIMI!!!!!!!!!

Up North

Marcella & I spent a few days up north while George was in Florida for work. We had a good time,,,played alot, ate alot, and had fun with family & friends. Here are a few pictures from our northwoods get-away.

At right, Marcella visiting Grandma's 3rd grade classroom at Stratford Elementary. Marcella loved the rendition of "Ring Around the Rosie" that the entire class did with her. She was in 7th heaven.

Nana & "Little Marcy"...

Papa Lynn constructed the coolest cardboard tunnel for Marcella, out of a hot water heater box... It even contained a skylight and custom made door frames complete with thick tape so as to avoid cardboard-cuts. Those grandpas!!!!

Amy Winehouse

Perhaps it is the true Public Defender in me coming out, but I REALLY like Amy Winehouse's music....

Up until this past weekend, I didn't know too much about her, except for the bad press I would read in the paper virtually every single morning. Then, on the radio on our way up north, I actually heard her music for the 1st time (instead of just reading about her most recent arrest). I was jamming out as we headed north on I-90. Then, the infamous Grammy awards happened on Sunday night (i'm not typically a grammy-watcher, but it happened to be on tv while we were up north...). Since then, i've been hooked and REHAB keeps running through my head! ...And I said "no-no-no...."

Granted, she has some major major major problems, but dang, her voice is amazing....it has a smoky, funky, bluesy edge to it.

Here's my Closing Argument, going back to my recent Public Defender days... If you've never actually heard her music, check her out on youtube. Look past the tatoos, the seemingly drug-induced dance moves, the daze in her eyes, the beehive,,,,,and just really LISTEN to her sing. I think she deserves each and every one of those 5 grammy's. Hopefully they will be motivation for her to get the help that she probably does really need....

Pucker Up

As mom & I were frantically getting Marcella ready for her first professional picture session today, we "somehow" missed her going into a drawer to find some dark burgundy lipstick, which she applied, showcasing her budding artistic talents.

The long & winding road...

The picture on the left was taken today at "Nana's" house. Nana is my dad's mom, my grandma, and Marcella's great-grandma. Today, we visited with Nana. As we were leaving, Marcella wanted to venture on her own, through the snow, up the ramp, in her dress, tights & black patent leather shoes.
This picture symbolizes quite a bit to me, and I thought it would be a good companion to a blog entry on the topic of our next adoption from Peru. The picture to me, represents the uphill climb that we set out on to adopt Marcella, and to now expand our family via Peru. Granted, Latin American countries aren't receiving a whole lot of SNOW these days, but the idea is that we've come a long way regardless of wind, snow, rain or shine...we've learned so much...and we continue to venture on towards our dream of building our family through adoption...
The Peruvian adoption process is night & day from the Guatemalan process. Many people are naturally curious or interested as to 1) why Peru? and 2) what's this process going to entail. I'll highlight a few of the main points:

• We decided to go through Peru, because this is where George was born. We feel a connection to the country, the culture, and a desire to adopt a little Georgie--or Georgina--from Peru.
• This leads to the next point--boy or girl, nino o nina? We decided to not specify the sex of our next child. Therefore, we will have no idea until...???
• How long does it take & Why does it take sooo long? The short answer: no definite timeline, but probably about 1 to 2 years... We are currently in the homestudy & dossier stage. The homestudy is a Wisconsin check on our suitability to be parents. The dossier is the set of formal paperwork that we compile to submit to Peru. The dossier is very intensive, and puts to shame much of the work I did in law school. Once the homestudy and dossier are prepared, we will then wait for 'acceptance' from Peru...
• and we will wait.
• and wait.
• and wait.
• Sometimes Peru will decide they need more information from us;
• Sometimes Peru might decide they don't like something we've presented to them;
• Sometimes we will hear nothing....until one day we find out they've accepted us.
• Hooray! Once we have been "accepted" to adopt from Peru, we will again wait until we are matched with our child. This could take a month or a year.
• Unlike Guatemala, where we found out about Marcella when she was 2 weeks old, and we received monthly updates on her and our case, we will know nothing about our Peruvian child until...
• We get that magical call, informing us that we have a child!
• Our child could be anywhere from 0 to 3 years old...typically around 18 months. Our child will have been raised in an orphanage, most likely (foster homes do not exist, as they did in Guatemala...)
• When we get that magical call, we have about one week to travel to Peru to finalize the adoption process. Yes, one week!
• We will stay in Peru for about 5 weeks, to meet our child & finalize the process.
• And then, the Kutschma family of 4, will come back home!

We know there will be many trials & tribulations along the way, but wanted to let you know a general idea of how things will proceed. As with all adoptions, there are exceptions to every rule, and many bumps in the road. So, I started the blog with the picture of Marcella trekking up a snowy ramp, and I will end with the idea that we are thrilled and excited about our Peruvian adoption, but we know we have a long & winding journey ahead of us. "GRACIAS" family & friends, for being here with us along the way... G, B & M

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow

While the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL, the breakfast inside the KUTSCHMA home was DELIGHTFUL.

Hooray for snow days!!! A foot of snow already and no sign of letting up anytime soon...

Snowed-in Quote of the Day

"Piss Poor Planning Prevents Proper Procedure"
~~George's response to a perceived shortage of dish-washing soap in the Kutschma house.

US Snow Sculpting Championships

Lake Geneva hosts an annual "Winterfest" and the big attraction is the US Snow Sculpting Championships, held downtown at the lakefront. Marcella & I went to see the sculptors at work on Thursday, with our good friends Ayako & Makoto (13 months old).

The basic idea is that 15 teams from across the nation compete to be named the best snow sculptors in America. Using only non-electrical tools, the teams create these dynamic works-of-art out of gigantic cylinders of compressed snow. The sculpting lasts for about 3 days. Below is a member of "Team Minnesota" carving his sculpture. The "Marine Life" clay concept for the snow sculpture is in the foreground.

Below is a member of Team-Waukesha/Wisconsin. We talked to this very 'chill' sculptor, who gave us some behind-the-scenes insight on what goes into the sculpting process. He and his fellow teammates must have been having a very 'fun' night when they came up with this interesting concept: A large lady swinging from a tree branch, while squirrels come to eat the nuts that are strewn all over her body. (the clay model for the sculpture is on top of the little table. i'm still not quite sure what the Pooh Bear, the Skull, and the Jerry Garcia doll have to do with the snow sculpture,,,,maybe they helped in the brainstorming process????.....Hmmmmm.

B, G & M returned on Saturday night, to check out all of the completed masterpieces. We are standing in front of the completed "lady swinging from tree" snow sculpture...

And the GRAND PRIZE WINNER is...

Team Minnesota's Marine Life sculpture....Absolutely impressive.

*Editor's Note: In case you were curious...the "swinging lady" took home 3rd Place, PLUS a People's Choice Award. Rock On....

Valentine's Day?????

We were in Target the other day, and George was walking around with this slightly puzzled look on his face. He was definitely contemplating something or other.... (which is not too unusual when we are in Target together, because he is usually processing how his wife could spend so much time & money in this store) Apparently on this day, he was thinking about something else. He was a little mystified by all of the Valentine's marketing & merchandise that Target was promoting throughout the store...because when we got to the register to check-out, he exclaimed "Briggi, when is Valentine's Day?!?!??!" Our cashier--and all of the other patrons & store employees within earshot--were laughing hysterically. The amuzed cashier just shook her head back & forth, and said FEBRUARY 14th!!!! Now I know why Target is my favorite store!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Peruvian Consulate, Jorge Bacilio Nunez Demcuk & Other Random Thoughts

On Friday, we ventured to Chicago, despite a mini-blizzard, and despite the fact that most Chicago schools were closed down, and despite the fact that the Chicago news stations were telling people to stay home! We went to Chicago with a mission, and nothing (except perhaps another January tornado) was going to stop us!

We went to Chicago in order to get the ball rolling on a very important part of our Peruvian adoption: Applying for George's Peruvian Passport at the Peruvian Consulate. If you are a Peruvian citizen, this provides much preference in the Peruvian adoption system. George has dual citizenship (USA & Peru), but needs a Peruvian ID card & Peruvian passport to submit as proof to the adoption powers-that-be.

[[Background Info: As many of you may know, George (AKA Jorge Bacilio Nunez Demcuk) was born in Peru. When he was 4 years old, he moved to America/Chicago. He was adopted by his step-father, at which time his name was changed to "Jorge Bacilio Kutschma". Jorge, being the patriotic academic he was at the age of 8, decided he wanted to be more like this guy named GEORGE WASHINGTON whom he was learning about in his classes! Thus, his name was legally changed to GEORGE BACILIO KUTSCHMA. ]]

Sooo. Back to our Chicago adventure. Bill, George's uncle, came along to Chicago with us to be our offical "Spanish interpreter" at the Consulate. However, when we arrived at the Peruvian Consulate, things quickly turned LOCO. I somehow became the unofficial "Spanish interpreter" while Bill somehow became Marcella's babysitter at the Consulate! After I introduced our situation to the Peruvian Consulate (through a thick glass window) & in Spanglish, this was the answer we received (in spanish) "I DON'T WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU, WE MUST HEAR FROM JORGE/GEORGE. HE IS THE ONE APPLYING FOR HIS CITIZENSHIP DOCUMENTATION AND THEREFORE, HE MUST SPEAK THE SPANISH!!!". Uh oh...... George can understand alot of Spanish, but he, admittedly so, cannot speak it so bueno.... As it turned out, the Consulate backed off on this scare tactic for the most part, but every once in awhile during our tango at their office, they would randomly insist that JORGE/GEORGE be the one to respond in Spanish. It was slightly neurotic and a bit of a power-trip for them, but the more we venture down this adoption road, the more we find that is the unfortunate reality of the situation...

To make a very long story short(er), I will tell you the end result of our Consulate visit. They did agree to issue George his Peruvian national ID card (which is a prerequisite to obtaining a Peruvian passport)---however, they would only issue it in his birth name (Jorge Bacilio Nunez Demcuk). They did not care (despite the loads of documentation we brought along with us) that 1) Jorge was no longer Jorge; that 2) Jorge was only trying to do this so that George could adopt a Peruvian child; and that 3) Jorge was now a married man. Oh no... They refused to recognize any American documentation of any sort, and informed us that if Jorge wanted to change his name, he could hire an attorney in Peru to attempt to amend his birth certificate with the Peruvian courts. Ay yi yi yi yi. (Editor's note: After pseudo-interpretting for George/Jorge all day, I am completely convinced that the Consulate lady who was handling our paperwork, wanted Jorge to remain Jorge--a 'single' eligible bachelor in the eyes of the peruvian law---so that she could arrange a marriage for her daughter...that is another subject for another day...) In the meantime, George will remain Jorge, and we will continue to brainstorm how to remedy this entirely confusing, chaotic, & slightly controversial consulate CLUSTER.

One interesting piece of info that we have come to learn through this whole process is that noone (not our adoption agency, not the other adoption agencies we researched, not the Peruvian consulate, noone) has dealt with a case such as George/Jorge's. He is truly in a category all his own. Now, the only thing we need to figure out is how to make that 'category' eligible for a Peruvian adoption!!!

I believe our next step will be to proceed with all of our other mounds & mounds & mounds of adoption paperwork, just as if we were a 'routine' American couple, and if/when his Peruvian paperwork is corrected to reflect the 21st century, then perhaps we will supplement our adoption case with this information down the road....?????

Two things are for certain: 1) this adoption process is never boring; and 2) the 'adoption rollercoaster', however difficult & crazy, is leading us towards the child that is meant for us...and that really is all that matters. We have Marcella to be a constant reminder to us that all of the confusion, longing, hard work, turmoil, and road blocks, are soooooooooooooooooooooo very worth it in the end.

Photo: A fun way to end a hectic day: A shopping trip to our favorite grocery store, Trader Joe's with Princesita Mar-Mar.