Today on Dr. Phil

Bring Sean Home was on Dr. Phil today. It makes me so mad every time I see something on it. When are our congressmen and senate going to step up to the plate and do something for this child? This is taking way to long for something to be done. As soon as I can find a Youtube version of the Dr. Phil show I will post it here.

Obtaining an American Visa

As most of you know I am pregnant. We are very exicted as we wait for the arrival of our little Evie. We have done preperation after preperation and there is still more that needs to be done. It's a joyous time. Each day I feel the kicks in my stomach and everyday I get bigger and bigger. There is one thing though that isn't right. Enzo's family is not legally allowed to come visit.
Yes, you heard what I said...VISIT. Most Americans have no idea what is going on in the world of immigration. Most Americans don't care. If you do care, you can keep reading...
When Enzo entered the country, all he could obtain was a fiance visa. We knew we wanted to get married so we knew this is what had to be done. We dated long distance for 3 years and finally we felt that enough was enough. So you might be asking, why could he not obtain a tourist visa??? There is simple answer to this question...he didn't have money while living in Brazil. The US government refers to this as proving that he has "ties back to Brazil." What exactly are "ties back to Brazil?" It is simply showing that if he is given a tourist visa he will return back to his native country of Brazil. A "tie" could be money in bank account, owning land, job, real estate, cars, etc... Of course being a college student at the time, living with his mom in a rented house, and other things led him down the path of visa denials. It is fair to say that some people that are in the same conditions that Enzo was in get student visas, work visas, etc. without being questioned and without having their papers looked at during the 30-second interview... the law is relative...We could have used this as Enzo's excuse to enter the country but this would have been a lie. All we wanted was for him to enter the country and see American life before we committed our lives to each other (trying to be responsible). We had no intentions on getting married while he was here on a tourist visa.
He tried twice and both times the US consulates wouldn't even let him speak during the interview besides answering 2 or 3 canned questions that were already answered on the form he turned in... They just stamped in the passport "DENIED" and turned their backs on him.
Once he finally went in for his Fiance visa interview the US consulate accused him of lying. Yes I said it: LYING. He said that when he went in for the tourist interview he never told the truth about having an American girlfriend. Well first off, they don't even let him speak during the interview and second of all we had no intentions of getting married while he was here on a tourist visa. We planned to obey the law. Our plan was for Enzo to enter the country and stay during his allowed time, get to know my family and some parts of the country (doing tourism!?) and then return to his country of Brazil. He had other American friends too besides me as well.
We are done with this phase in our life...thank God. It was a terrible time and no one deserves to go through what we did (unfortunately others have had to). We strive not to be bitter because in the end that would ruin us. It is just a reminder to me of all we went through whenever Enzo's family attempts to get a visa and is denied because they have no worldly wealth. However, they are wealthy in another area: they have the gift of integrity. No one has the ability to take this away. No one can deny them of this.

I live in an area where illegals are building houses, working in restaurants, attending public schools, so on and so forth. I will admit; it is frustrating to know we had to do it legally while they are rewarded for doing it illegally. Crazy as it may sound, some are from Enzo's old neighborhood. They were never struggling for survival and they never had to jump the fence at the mexican border. In fact, they had enough wealth to be granted tourist visas but decided to overstay. I am sure there are those that have though. When will this country wake up to the devastaing effects of its messed up immigration system? When will the undocumented immigrants wake up and realize they are just as much to blame as the American government? In a nutshell: The more the US government tightens it's immigration laws, the more illegal immigrants will enter BUT the more illegal immigrants that enter America, the more the US government has to tighten it's laws. It is a never ending effect.

All we want is a chance for Enzo's family, especially his mom who's in old age, to come see us and the baby and get to know Paige's family, where Enzo now lives...Is this really too much to ask for? For a country that claims "FAMILY FIRST" shouldn't this be priority?

Seriously, let Sean be with his REAL dad!!!

http://bringseanhome.org/piaui.html
This story may take a little while to read but it will help you understand what the status is on bringing Sean home. Please read.

I guess this story is really disturbing me because I know the pains of dealing with immigration. I also undestand what it is like to be separated from someone because of ridiculous government standards or illegal activity that has not been committed by the one getting punished.

15 more weeks:)

This Thursday I turned a whopping 25 weeks pregnant. It's going to by really fast. I still forget that I am pregnant all the time. I wonder when that will end. Wednesday I went to the doctor. I had the yummy glucose test...seriously it wasn't that bad. I had fruit punch:) Now let's pray I don't have gestational diabetes.
The doc said everything looked great. My appointments are now 2 weeks apart instead of 4 weeks. I heard her heartbeat and it was at a beautiful rate of 140.

Enzo has been out of town (again in California). I am so glad he doesn't travel as much as he used to. It's not right to be apart from your husband. I don't think God created us to do that.

One more week till Thanksgiving break! I need it more than ever. I have a lot planned during this time..for example...I plan on sleeping late, drinking coffee (decaf of course), sitting on facebook, making hot chocolate for Enzo as he works from home, and again sleep some more. It is going to be a grand week.

Baby Eliot

This story was on Oprah and Celine Dion presented it with The Miracle Children. Grab a box of tissues. You may never look at the world the same.
It's funny because God normally only gets glory when things go right. If something good happens it easy to say all glory goes to God. But what do you do when something bad happens? Baby Eliot and his parents have been through a difficult time but still manage to give God all the glory. I don't know many people who would have this kind of attitude. I really wish I was friends with them. They look like amazing people.

Lins E Silva kidnapping Sean..when is Oprah going to get on this?

Here is a link to a news article on the newest happenings regarding Bring Sean Home. It's completely wrong what is happening with this child. Please contact anyone you know that can help.
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008810300533

Name matters...

Evelyn Rose Silva "Evie" is the name we have chosen for our little girl.  Most the time we will call her Evie though (pronounced like "Eh-v")...We had a great boy's name picked out because we were CONVINCED it was going to be a boy so a girl's name took us a little while to come up with.

In Enzo's family all of his siblings names start with an "E" so we wanted to keep this tradition going.  The name  "Rose" comes from his mother's name "Rosaria." Evelyn also means "Life" according to some websites I found.  

The pumpking

This is the pumpkin we splurged on (yes I say splurged because I I don't think I have ever spent $20 on a pumpkin). Enzo carved away on Saturday morning...and for those of you who actually know Enzo know that he loves to do things as a child would do them. For example, sometimes I catch him watching Saturday morning cartoons or better yet...Bill Nye the Science Guy. Needless to say carving a pumpkin was a fun event for him.

Our annual trip to Burt's w/ Katie and Trey

A couple of weekends ago we met Katie and Trey at Burt's Pumpkin Farm..something that has become an annual event. I still haven't downloaded my pictures from my camera so I had to steal these from Katie. Maybe one day I will get to doing that. And yes, you can see my belly in these pictures!

More heartbreaking news on bringing Sean home...

The following is from www.bringseanhome.org
It really is a screwed up system.


The Federal Court in Brazil issued an order for visitation permitting David to see Sean for the first time in four years. David flew to Brazil for a visit scheduled for Friday 17 Oct at 8:00 PM. Sadly the visit did not happen, the visit was delayed until Saturday but now - Sean has disappeared…….

Below are emails from David which he has authorized to be publicly released.
——Original Message—–From: David GoldmanTo: bringseanhome@yahoo.comSent: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 5:31 pmSubject: Sean
I’m in Rio. It is 6:30 PM and it appears that it is still a go with visitation beginning at 8:00 PM. I have spoken to a U.S. consular officer who will accompany me. My attorney and two court officers will also come. It has been a long travel with a several hour lay over in Sao Paulo. But, I am here now just 20 minutes away from where Sean is supposed to be staying. I am cautiously optimistic. I think it is a very good idea to hold a vigil in Ipanema. Some officials have encouraged that as well, in order to help spread the word in Brazil. I will keep everyone posted as much as I can. It is all so very surreal.David—–Original Message—–From: David GoldmanTo: bringseanhome@yahoo.comSent: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 6:03 pmSubject: Re: Sean
I just got a call from my Brazilian counsel. The visitation will not be tonight. We are hoping for tomorrow at 8 AM.David
—–Original Message—–From: David GoldmanTo: bringseanhome@yahoo.comSent: Fri, 17 Oct 2008 7:02 pmSubject: Re: Sean
Apparently, Lins e Silva filed an appeal today in the 2nd level court claiming I should have no contact with Sean. He continues to claim that I have abandoned Sean for the last four years. He claims that I do not want anything to do with Sean.
The good thing is that the 2nd level judge of first instance (it’s a 3 judge panel) denied the appeal. He said the claims are unfounded. He said because it is late, it’s raining, there is a lot of traffic, etc., visitation will begin tomorrow at 8 AM.
I am encouraged that the Fed level judges have not yielded to Lins e Silva. It’s about time. I will remain cautiously optimistic.David
—–Original Message—–From: David GoldmanTo: bringseanhome@yahoo.comDate: Sat, 18 Oct 2008 11:43:42 -0400
We arrived a little before 8 AM to the address filed in State and Federal court by Lins e Silva as Sean’s address. I walked up to the gate outside the condominium with two plain clothed Federal agents, three Federal court officers , one U.S. consular officer and my Brazilian attorney. I waited outside the building while the Federal court officers and agents presented the order for visitation to the security of the building. They all went into the condominium to meet Lins e Silva and ultimately begin the visitation process for Sean and I. We hoped Lins e Silva would cooperate and handle the delicate situation with compassion for Sean.
I remained outside the gate preparing myself as best I could to finally after four + years to reunite with my son. Twenty minutes later the Federal agents/officers appeared WITHOUT SEAN.
In the apartment were Bruna’s father, brother, the new baby and some servants. NO SEAN and NO LINS E SILVA. The Fed agents were told that Lins e Silva and Sean went away yesterday and they are not sure where they went. The agents checked the apartment and did not find Sean or Lins e Silva. The security of the building said they don’t think Sean lives in the condo because they don’t see him there all the time.
As is becoming the normal the most egregious behavior by Lins e Silva and the Ribeiros keeping Sean and I separated has continued. Actually, now it is worse, because they are disrespecting even a Brazilian Federal Court order and up until now getting away with it
The Fed officers will report back to the Fed judge of the events that occurred. It is Saturday morning and I don’t know when the Fed. judge will learn of this morning’s events. I hope Monday the latest.
How long can Lins e Silva and the Ribeiro’s continue this blatant disregard of the law? How long can they obstruct justice? Will they ever be held accountable?
So once again I’m in Brazil without any contact with my son, while his kidnappers go about their daily lives unscathed. I will not give up. I am not sure how long I will remain in Brazil. I just can not believe that such evil and illegal behavior with complete and flagrant disregard for my son as well as for the Brazilian, U.S. and international law can continue. I will keep everyone posted. I will not give up on my son……EVER!
David
Tags: ABC, ABC News, abdução, child abduction, david goldman, Hague Convention, International Bar Association, kidnapping, kidnapping Brazil, parental kidnapping, sean goldman, sequestro, sequestro de menores, sequestro no Brasil, Today Show

It's a girl!

We went in yesterday to have an ultrasound and we found out we are having a little baby girl! Everything looked great and healthy! Thank God!

Here is our sweet little girl's profile!

Mom, Dad, and Enzo went with me...we all had bets on what it would be. I must not have very much motherly inuition because I really thought it was a boy (so did mom and Enzo)...Dad was the winner. We all got to watch our little girl kick and play. she was having a blast inside the womb. Funny because I don't really feel her kick that often. As I laid there though I would feel a kick inside my stomach and then I would see it on the screen!!! It makes it so much more real when you actually see it.

The ultrasound tech took measurements of EVERYTHING. We got to see the heartbeating (and hear it). She also counted every bone and organ in her body. Everything was there! At this point she weighs 3/4lb.

After the ultrsound I met with the nurse practitioner and she said things were exactly the way they should be. And to top the trip off the whole family made a trip to Belks to buy PINK baby clothes!

To the right is a picture of the baby's foot. I think they caught this picture when she was kicking me.

Here is a picture showing that she is ALL girl!!!

Update on life...

This weekend was a bit crazy. i went to a conference in Atlanta and then Enzo surprised me with tickets to the Fox for Les Mis. Good weekend but by Sunday I was completely exhausted. The conference I went to was at Phillips arena. Now I don't know if you have ever been there but it isn't very convient for a pregnant woman. We were seated the top which meant I had to do a lot of climbing up some steep stairs. I was huffing and puffing. The sad part is that I don't even look pregnant! Each week that goes by though I am showing more and more. Oh AND I have never had heartburn till this weekend either. So weird that your heart actually doesn't burn?????What's up with that?
Saturday night the play was awesome. It really is a great production that everybody should go see. The biggest theme I picked up on was forgiveness and we need all the lessons that we can get on this one. I am looking for tickets to Wicked so if anyone has some they need to get rid of let me know!

Bring Sean Home

I was watching the Today show this morning and this man told his story. It was horrible.
please watch.



If you want more info you can check out his website:
http://www.bringseanhome.org

Back in the day...

Feels like such a long time ago when I used to take those trips to China and South Korean for the language learning software company to manage the installation of the program and provide training for those interest or already purchasing it.

Today I was going through some trash and I found a travel invoice with one of those trips' itinerary:

08 Nov 06 - Delta Airlines from Atlanta 10:44am to Honolulu 3:30pm

10 Nov 06 - Korean Air from Honolulu 10:45am to Seoul Incheon International Airport 4:30pm (of the 11 of Nov.)

11 Nov 06 - Air China from Seoul Incheon 6:20pm to Beijing 7:30pm

14 Nov 06 - Korean Air from Beijing 1:00pm to Seoul Incheon 4:00pm

19 Nov 06 Korean Air from Seoul Incheon 10:50 am to Atlanta 9:35am

This reminds me of how thankful I am for the experiences God has allowed me to be through. I have seen places I have never dreamed of seeing, met interesting people, learned a lot. And now I want to be able to have my wife and kid :) go with me to different places as well. When possible, I want my mom and people I love to experience different places and cultures...

:)

A little bit of thyroid education

It is out Fall break this week (if you can't tell by 2 post in 2 days!) so I have been going to appointment after appointment.  Yesterday I went to the endocrinologist and today I went to the OBGYN.  Basically, like I said in a previous post I have a thyroid problem.  But what I didn't know was how much a bad thyroid effects a pregnancy.  The midwife told me and mom today that it is a GA law that all women be tested and treated for thyroid problems because of the issues that can happen because of it.  She said if your thyroid is off everything in your body is messed up and causes miscarriages and developmental delays in children.  I also had NO idea that I wasn't supposed to use the generic brand of Synthroid (the medicine used to treat thyroid problems).  Thank God my body has almost made a complete turn around since I have been medicated.  I really don't mean to be so detailed in my posts but I really find this crazy how important everyone's thyroid is...

Despite all the thyroid talk, the baby is doing great and so am I.  Mom heard the heartbeat with me so now she has no doubt that I am actually pregnant;).  

16 1/2 week update

I now understand women who give birth and they didn't even realize they are pregnant. Before being pregnant I never would have made this statement but now I see. Sometimes I even forget that I am pregnant. I have to remind myself everytime I want that diet coke or glass of red wine. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I haven't felt bad at times but nothing that would make me think I am pregnant. Someone asked me the other day how I knew I was pregnant...I told them I just knew. I took about 6 pregnancy test that ALL said it was negative. I didn't feel sick or any other main symptoms you can find on all pregnancy websites. I just knew. After all 6 test came back negative I told myself I was going crazy and I said no more test because I was going to end up spending our savings on them!!!! Finally weeks later I gave up again and made myself take just one...then I knew I wasn't crazy. I ended up taking 6 more test at that point because I was in shock! hahaha!!
2nd trimester really makes me wonder if I really am growing a baby inside of me. For those of you who knew me in college you know I had a tumor growing on my back..and it was huge! It's kinda scary to think I can grow a human being inside and not feel a thing...imagine all the other things going on in our body that we have no idea. I guess that's where trust comes in. Knowing that God has and will take care of me. There are so many things we have no control over and creating a human is definitely one of them. We pray that this child will be healthy but when it comes down to it we also know to fear God and that things happen.
So in a nutshell...not much is going on during my 16th week up date! Some people have asked for belly pictures and honestly you wouldn't be able to tell much difference. You would just think I had gained a lot of weight. ;)

The picture I am putting on here is of a baby at 16 weeks in the uterus.

Nasal Kettle

Has anyone else ever used one of these? I am dying from a cold that has lasted ever since I got pregnant! Mom bought me one this weekend. Any successful users out there on cyber space?

Election 2008

I just want to say that I am very excited about the upcoming elections. I have been watching the Democratic convention and I definitely plan on watching the Republican one as well. No matter who you plan on voting for you have to agree that the people of this country haven't been this involved is many years. It's refreshing to see so many caring about the future for ourselves and our children. There really are people out there that haven't given up.

Week 14...

So everyone has told me that is I can just get through the first trimester all will be glorious. Sooo not true. The day I began my 14th week (2nd trimester) I also began puking. I was sitting at work during my planning and it just over took me! Thankfully, no one was around. It was bad. I probably need to quit writing so much about this pregnancy because all my readers are grossed out...hahahaaa...

Midnight Sun Disappointment

For those Twilight saga fans out there you might be a bit disappointed today. Check out the following link: http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/midnightsun.html

My heart goes out to Stephanie...hopefully she can finish this book.

Also, the picture I am putting on here is from when I was a judge at a local bookstore for the costume contest when Breaking Dawn came out. Yes, I am a nerd. I am on the far left, then there is someone I do not know, and then Katie Smith (a childhood friend and now a coworker).

Emergency Room Visit

I woke up this morning and I knew I needed to go to the hospital. I won't go into many details but just trust me, I knew. We got to the ER and they took us right back. I didn't even have time to have a seat. So weird because every time I have ever been I have had to wait for hours just in the waiting room and then they finally decide to see me. I guess I learned that the best time to go is on a Saturday morning because no one is there! They took me back and got my weight and blood pressure first. Then I was taken to my own personal room where Enzo and I could watch the Olympics. Two ladies cam in and for the life of them could NOT find a vein to take blood from..I seriously think they scanned my entire body for 30 minutes before eventually resorting to the vein in my wrist. Oh dear..it was painful. I did however enjoy listening to their jokes back and forth.Enzo was cracking jokes with them as I sat their in pain. After that I was taken down to the ultrasound room. As she put the gel on my tummy the top fell off the container and I think the entire bottle was released all over me..pretty funny. She began the scan and we were relieved to see the little baby kicking and hearing the heartbeat. She said she wasn't allowed to tell us anything about what she thought since she wasn't the doctor but I decided to ask her questions anyways. She told us everything looked completely normal. Her first concern was the cervix..if it had begun to open up but thankfully it hadn't.
It's funny how God works...Wednesday Enzo was very upset that he couldn't go to my doctor's appointment to see the ultrasound. Well God provided that opportunity in such a strange way.
When we got back up to my room the doctor met with me and he said it was just a freak incident(I don't think he used the word freak though). He said women are in the ER all the time with the same things and there is no explanation for any of it.
After doing my own investigation through internet sources it appears that around the 13th week the placenta takes over which causes effects that can scare the poop out of the mothers. Who knows if this is what happened but at least I know everything is safe at this point.
Afterwards, Enzo took me for pancakes at Cracker Barrell and I was happy camper.

Week 13 and Ultrasound results

I went to the doctor today and it was a great experience. They actually called me and had to reschedule so the time went from 3:30 to 2:00...Unfortunately, this meant Enzo was going to have to miss it. He had planned on attending but he had a conference call for work where he was the presenter so there was no way he could get out. When I got there the ultrasound tech began by saying that they were doing to the test for things like down syndrome and other abnormalities. I had planned on not having it so I was a little confused. I explained to her that I teach special needs and I am as prepared as I ever will be for something to to happen like that. Sounds kinda arrogant doesn't it? I just know that I don't need anymore education about those disabilities and it would just cause more worry. I think I would probably do it if I had no idea what the possibilities were but thats just not the case...Anyway, back to why I am telling this story...so once I told the lady this she said that that was the only reason I had that I could use in order to get an ultrasound today. Once she said that I told her that if that was the case I would just suck it up and have the test done. I really wanted an ultrasound. She said she really didn't want to make me do something I didn't want to do so she went and met with the doctor and they decided they would file it a different way so that I could have the ultrasound. I don't know exactly what they did..maybe used my thyroid as an excuse...who knows?
So she started the ultrasound...it is so refreshing to immediately see the little baby kicking and moving. At one point he/she move it's little hand up to the mouth. The heartbeat and everything seemed perfectly normal. Afterwards I met with the doctor and not much happened there. I met with a different doctor. I think there are 4 different doctors at this group and they want me to meet with each one before I deliver.
One more thing...from the looks of the pictures it looks like the baby has Enzo's nose!

As soon as I get the pics scanned I will post them on here:)

Really great Visa news

Friday Enzo had an appointment at the Brazilian consulate to renew his passport. While he was there he decided to ask about my Brazilian visa since it recently expired in May. I have been kinda nervous about trying for another one since now they have gotten stricter about the length of stay they are giving out (some friends I know have even only gotten 1 week visas!). Well we were both pleasantly surprised to find out that after three years of marriage I can apply for a permanent residence card and I don't even have to live there! Also, even just after 2 years of marriage I can get a 5 year visa. They said it would just be important for us to go to the consulates office in person to receive this. This is great news for two people have struggled so much in the past with immigration.

Week 12...almost 13

So just when I thought I was in the clear with all this sickness is slapped me in the face. Well it wasn't that bad. Last night we went to our cast party (which reminds me that i need to blog about the play we were just in) and Enzo and I were walking down the driveway and it hit me. I don't know if it was because it was around 1:00 in th AM and I had just had 2 sprites or what the deal was but it wasn't pretty. Then this morning I woke up feeling horrible with a cold. I guess when it rains it pours...right? Hopefully, last night will be the first and the last spell of feeling like I did. And maybe I shouldn't stay out so late (oh I am getting so old). And on top of that my clothes are getting tighter and tighter. At least I know it's for a good reason. The thyroid medicine is doing wonders with my energy level. I also had to get an appointment with an endocrinologist; we'll see what he says about all my issue:) Wednesday I am going back to the OBGYN so I will inform you all then if there is anything new to share. Hopefully, all will be growing just right.

A Kind Gesture

Yeah, I know I am always saying I am a magnet for idiots and jerks (which is true). Some examples are when I went to see "Indiana Jones and the Alien Skulls" (I know, that should have been the name of the movie) and I get my phone out to see the time (seriously didn't take 5 seconds and I turn it off and put it in my pocket), as soon as I PUT THE CELL PHONE AWAY, a jerk speaks these words almost in my ear (between Paige and I): "Could you please turn the cell phone off?" ... "wait, did he just say that?" was Paige and mine's reaction (especially after the phone WAS off). Why didn't he wait a second so he wouldn't come out as a jerk? Obviously because some people like to be known as the jerks!!! Especially when they have an audience (this old guy had his grandkids with him).

But today I was surprised by a random act of kindness from a stranger. I was about to pay for my ritual and everyday Chick-Fil-A milkshake when a woman that was standing behind me said: "I'm going to treat you..." My reaction: "o... ok..." seconds later: "thank you so much..." [touching her shoulder, probably too close for American comfort]. She just said: "No problem, just pass it on..."

I still haven't...