"Paper Pregnant" in Peru

FINALLY!!!!!!!!!

We got the call tonight at 5:30 p.m. from our agency~~~We have officially been approved to adopt a child from Peru!

This is a huge milestone in our adoption, especially considering that we started the Peruvian adoption in November 2007! So today, August 19, 2009, after much rigamarole from Peru and elsewhere, they have finally accepted us to adopt a child born in their country (which, coincidentally, is also George's homeland!!!). AMAZING!!!!!!!!!

The past few weeks, we have been a bit more vocal and inquisitive with our agency. I'm not sure if our concern and advocacy have helped with our approval---or if it was just in the works anyways. At any rate, we are 'in'!!!!

Now, what happens?

We wait some more~~~ but at least we have the peace of mind that we are legitimately able to adopt our child. The estimated wait time is basically unknown; however, we have an approximate time frame of one to three more years. Our adoption agency informed us that they aren't really sure of a reasonable time frame, as there are constant fluctuations in the adoption system. In fact, very, very recently, a brand new Director of Peruvian adoptions was appointed. How this new Director will change things, including timeframes, is yet to be seen. We can only hope and pray for the best.

And with that, I will leave you with a few recent pictures. You will see a 3-year old in the pictures, who was extremely elated when we got the phone call tonight, informing her that she will indeed be a big sister. And we are extremely blessed beyond words, to have Marcella each and everyday with us, as we journey down the path to building our family.

My siblings & hija, (L--R), Andy, Micky, Mar, and Luke!

The end of the paperchase (for now!)

For the last 2 months, we have been working on 2 amendments to our Peruvian dossier. One was a minor change and the other was a major, 12-page amendment. I am happy to report these documents are DONE. Signed, Sealed, Delivered. Our agency just reported that they were expedited to Peru today!

Once in Peru, they will be translated, and then submitted to the Adoption Bureau down there. In the meantime, we wait for APPROVAL!!!!!!!! After Approval, we are still looking at over a year's wait...but one step at a time. Approval is on the horizon...we hope and pray!

A few pictures...

Marcella with her new 5-month old friend "Baby Chicako". If you look really close at this picture, you can tell that Baby Chicako is a SUPER SMART baby, as she is wearing a Brewers onesie!!!!!!!!

A glimpse of Marcella's first Dentist appointment! She did stellar, and came away with a bag of teeth-cleaning goodies.

Below---Mar, the Candy Girl! George's store donated a ton (literally) of candy for the Troops. This pix was taken on candy-delivery day! The candy sat in our house for about a month, and amazingly, it all remained intact?!?!?!

"Cambio de Sentido"

Although I haven't blogged about our adoption process in a long time, there have been many changes. I primarily didn't blog, because things were changing day-to-day. However, we appear to have weathered the storm, for now, so I thought it was the right time to blog once again.

Just to recap, this is what has happened in the last 6 months (the 2-second version). We were adopting from Peru; Peru rejected us; We switched to Ecuador; Peru accepted us back; We proceeded with concurrent adoptions in Peru & Ecuador...

Then, everything reached a screaming halt.

I have thought long and hard about writing this next sentence, but I ultimately concluded that I would, because it really does give the complete and accurate picture of our journey to expand our family... I found out I was pregnant, and several days later miscarried.

The pregnancy sent us into a tail-spin, and dichotomy of emotions..... First, the shock of pregnancy, which likely would have eliminated one of the adoptions. (Adopting 2 children was, for us, akin to being pregnant with twins...) Second, the JOY of being pregnant (biologically)! Third, the shock and grief of the miscarriage, which is simply beyond words. Fourth, the uncertainty about what to do next....

The best advice we received through all of this, came from our adoption agency. Jean, our angel at CHSFS, told us simply that there is 'no rush'. For those of us who know us, we really are borderline impulsive [at least we are able to admit it :) ], and we LOVE to live in the moment. So, this was a lesson in taking a step back---digesting all the information, emotions, grief, fears, and hopes---and not rushing.

By stepping back, we were able to see the whole picture, and really try to investigate & internalize God's plan for us. And quite frankly, we may not 'get' the whole picture right now, but we are trying our very hardest to listen to our hearts and our heads.

And...this is where we are at right now: We are proceeding with the Peruvian adoption, full steam ahead (well, its actually a snail's pace, but at least we are proceeding). We are going to put the Ecuadorian adoption on hold for now, for a myriad of reasons I'm not going to delve into right now, but suffice to say the decision came after much contemplation, soul-searching, and prayer.

**Side Note**: In the midst of all of this chaos, Peru has instructed us to amend our Psychological Report to address some hot topics, such as "Subjects of Frequent Argument", "How We Handle Stressful Situations" (are they trying to be funny?), "Our Social Network", etc etc. We were joking with our Psychologist about these bureaucratic requirements (while admiring his 12-page, stellar response to their inquiries), and he said he can't imagine what Peru could possibly want to know about next. My response: Perhaps they will want a detailed psycho-analysis of our passion for the Brewers, and our general disdain for the Cubs? His response: That, right there, qualifies you to adopt! :)

Amigos, in closing, we are taking things day by day, living in the present, thoroughly enjoying our princesita Marcella, and our Milwaukee Brewers!!!!!!!!!! We hope this blog entry finds you also savoring the present moment, and appreciating this amazing journey called life!

Cinco De Mayo Recipe

I found this picture and recipe on a great website, www.familyfun.go.com Great ideas for fun kid stuff! Here's the recipe if you feel like being festive this Cinco de Mayo. I think I am going to give the sombrero cookies a try! I'll report back, if I have success!

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
1 sugar cookie
white icing
nonpareils, colored
white gumdrop
1. To make one, frost the edge of a sugar cookie with white icing and roll it in colored nonpareils.

2. Next, coat the bottom and the lower edge of a small white gumdrop with frosting. Roll the edge of the gumdrop in the nonpareils, then set the gumdrop in the center of the cookie.

La Revolving "Puerta"

Hola.

This week I received a phone call from our adoption agency. However, it was not the Ecuador adoption coordinator calling--instead, it was the Peruvian coordinator.... We haven't talked to her in awhile, since Peru rejected us nearly a month or so ago. She called to inform us that the government attorney in Peru---the one who REJECTED our case---was recently fired. Seeing a window of opportunity, our Peruvian representative (she is the one who lives in Peru, and handled all aspects of our case down there) went to the new, replacement attorney. She presented our case to this new attorney for reconsideration.

(Side note: We had no idea that our case was even still in Peru!)

The new attorney declared that the old (fired) attorney's opinion was WRONG and that our Peruvian adoption can continue. WHAT?!!?!?!??! We do not need to do any Birth Certificate amendments (as the previous regime had demanded). We can proceed, as is! Our case is completely legal, and we should not have been kicked out. All we have to do is write a letter to the Peruvian government, asking that our case continue.

As you may imagine, this news came as a complete and total shock. We have been thinking, praying, contemplating, and digesting this news. We are on the verge of sending our dossier to Ecuador--I have been scrambling for the last month, piecing this dossier together. What should we do???? What should we do????

There are so many factors that go into this decision. Some of the factors are very technical, and some are very emotional. Needless to say, I have had the 'ol "Pro" and "Con" list going since we got the phone call. In my head, I was viewing the situation as "Which country? Which country? Ecuador or Peru? Peru or Ecuador? AHHHHHH!".

Thanks to my contemplative, rational, intelligent, caring (did I mention AMAZING) husband, I was able to process all of these thoughts---and more. George presented the following scenario to me: "Why can't we adopt from both countries". I have to admit, my initial reaction to this proposal was "OH BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". But, after more praying, reasoning, soul-searching, we both arrived at the same conclusion:

We both have always wanted a large family--this is in our heart. We LOVE adoption--it is the most amazing gift to both the giver and receiver (in fact, the giver often becomes the receiver, and the receiver becomes the giver.....). We believe that God's plan for us is to welcome children into our home, and give them a 'forever' family. The Hispanic culture is woven into our hearts, minds, and home---building our family through Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru! HOW AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have been praying for guidance and help in building our family, and we believe that this situation is truly a blessing from God. It is yet another door opening. This situation has taught us that we can never predict the future, or try to control the future with an iron fist. We have to roll with the opportunites and challenges presented before us. Most of all, we have to stay positive and faithful.

My good friend Jen commented on my last blog entry (the one about Peru's rejection). Her comment resonated with us, "If God brings you TO it, He will bring you THROUGH it!" We are holding fast to these thoughts, as we go THROUGH this challenging decision and journey. Gracias nuestra amiga, Jen!!!

Barring any unforeseen curveballs, we have decided to embark on concurrent adoptions through Ecuador and Peru. We believe that the Ecuador adoption will probably occur way before Peru's adoption. There will undoubtedly be challenges along the way, and there are some paperwork technicalities that we have to work through to appease the US Government, as well as Ecuador and Peru. But, as always, we will keep you posted on our journey to become a family of....CINCO!!!!

Here are some pictures from our recent Spring Training trip to Arizona. The Brewers looked AWESOME. The rest and rejuvenation that we experienced on our trip, certainly helped us in our decision making process, which we have encountered immediately upon our return back to Wisconsin!!!

After a Giants-Brewers game in Scottsdale... This is truly our paradise vacation: 6 baseball games in 8 days...

Auntie Mimi (AKA, my sister Micky) LOVES cupcakes. She not only loves to eat them, she loves to make them (and they are soooooo good),,,,, Micky spent alot of time researching our 'cupcake crawl' through Scottsdale, and it turned out to be a sugary success.

PAPARAZZI!!!! Taking after her mamacita! Poor George!

Looks like Marcella is sitting directly on a VORTEX in Sedona! "Bien Electrica", as her foster mom coined her in Guatemala, once upon a time...

When One Door Closes...

...Another Door Opens...

I haven't written in awhile, partly because I was waiting for word from Peru, and partly because things have been fun & busy here!

Well---We heard officially this week that Peru has rejected our case.

We held out hope that they would look beyond their "bureaucratic binoculars", but they ultimately chose to kick us out because of the technicality with George's names. Peru said that because Jorge is the name on his Peruvian Birth Certificate (but he is now George on his American documents) we must amend his Peruvian BC in Peru (which would take at least a year to do, and would involve attorneys, more money, and more bureaucracies. We have chosen not to pursue this at the present time). They chose to overlook the complete, documented papertrail that connects his birth in Peru to the present day. Apparently that was just not enough for a Peruvian adoption....

Yes, we are sad about this ridiculous decision, but what we are even more sad about is that another Peruvian child is without their forever home....all because of a bureaucracy and their red tape.

However, we have some good news to report. We are proud to announce that an ECUADORIAN child will soon have their forever family with the Kutschma's! We are amazed at God's planning for everything. The VERY minute that we found out Peru was rejecting our case, we were presented with the option of an Ecuador adoption. I was literally crying tears of sadness (Peru) and joy (Ecuador) at the same time. It was one big South American river of tears, right here in Wisconsin!!!

As it turns out, our agency, Children's Home Society out of Minnesota, was JUST granted the ONLY United States license to complete adoptions in Ecuador. Amazing. We are so thrilled because we are working with an amazing lady named Jean, at Children's Home. Jean is the same person who helped us bring Marcella home in 2007.

We are currently compiling our Ecuadorian dossier. (This is becoming old hat!). We should have the dossier to Ecuador sometime in March or April. We are told that once Ecuador has our dossier, it could be anywhere between 3 and 18 months before we receive a referral for our child. Wow......! Once we receive our referral, it takes about one to two months before we can travel to Ecuador to finalize the adoption. Then, we have to stay in Ecuador for two months!!! Marcella and I are thrilled about this!!! George can come back home after 21 days in order to keep working, while Marcella and I (and maybe a grandma or 2?) will remain in Ecuador until we can bring home our newest addition!

We truly believe that when one door closes, another door opens. We certainly may not always understand the reasoning behind WHY things happen as they do, but we trust that God has a master plan for everything.

On a side note, we went to Kohl's today, and Marcella insisted on taking the cart with the TWO child seats in (as opposed to one). It was the thrill of a lifetime for her. I think she is getting really excited for a little brother or sister...

I am going to sign off for now, as I have some packing to do yet tonight. We are heading to sunny Arizona tomorrow for our annual Brewers Spring Training pilgrimmage! YAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What's a Girl to do when it's 40 below???

FINGERPAINT !!!!!!!

And FACEPaint
And FOOTPaint


And, Dress like a Princess for good measure!