Letter to Henry

Hola amigos. Well Halloween came and went and we didn't see any trick or treaters with UNICEF boxes. Actually, we barely saw any trick or treaters due to the brutal cold up here. Classic Duluth Halloween, as you can't see the kids' costumes under the Gortex coat and numerous layers of long underwear. In a nutshell, the problem with UNICEF is that it pushes each country currently doing adoptions to shut down their systems in favor of a system regulated by governmental agencies and more red tape. I have mentioned the Hague Convention on adoptions before, which should be ratified by the U.S. in 2007. The Hague contains some admirable provisions, such as the requirement that health histories of both birth parents be disclosed to adoptive parents. However, even if countries are set up to handle all of these requirements, the end result would be an even longer process that would jack up prices and in the end severly restrict adoptions. Also, UNICEF advocates for countries to place their adoptive kids internally, with other families from that country. Unfortunately, countries like Guatemala are so poor that there aren't even enough families around with the resources to raise these kids. So in the end, the kids would end up in orphanges or on the street.

Okay, I'm done ranting.

We are waiting for updated pictures and medical information on our Henry. Our last update came on October 13, so we're not expecting another one right on time, although now we are into November and would like to hear something. This weekend we attended Andy's 10.5-year high school reunion in Northfield, and a fun time was had by all. We got a gift bag with a baby bottle and bibs because Andy stated on a questionnaire that he was expecting a child. We also put together a care package that will be dropped off with our agency this week, for further distribution to Henry's foster family in Guatemala. We enclosed a set of clothes, some pajamas, a baby book with our pictures in it (so he can see us) and a teddy bear that records sounds (so he can hear our first words to him). We also wrote a note to the foster family that was translated into Spanish by a gracious friend of ours. We wrote that we cannot express our gratitude in mere words, that we think and pray for the foster family every day, and that we promise to love Henry every day forever. It will be great to meet the foster mother when we travel down there, and we know the experience will be somewhat bittersweet because she has to give away a part of her life while we get the best gift of our lives.

On the ride back to Duluth we entered into serious discussions about buying a dog. We both want one, and it's amazing to think we've owned a house for over a year without one! The pros to getting a dog are obvious, but some cons are that we wanted to have our baby home first so the dog would know he is second fiddle, as well as the fact that the dog could mess up our wood floors (the latter is more Andy's concern than Erin's). So, what do you think? Should we get a dog or wait until our fella is home first? Please feel free to comment and we will post them.

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of decorations for Henry's room, as well as the "G" we carved into our pumpkin (for Guatemala, of course).