Dear Lili,
Happy 13th Birthday, Sweetheart! I can’t believe you are a teenager already. Tonight I was thinking about the evening you were born at Keio Hospital in Shinanomachi. And I’ll always remember that as the happiest day of my life.
I wish I could be with you today and celebrate this special day with you. Just know that I would have been there if I could have. Someday you’ll understand why I wasn’t and how much I wanted to be.
I love you with all my heart, bubby.
Always,
Your Dad XOXOXOX
P.S. Here are a couple of pictures of you from the last time I could spend a birthday with you — your 6th.
Do you remmeber the train world we used to make together and how much fun we had?
tony-and-liliana-delvecchio.com 
Hi Tony
Your nice and simple birthday message to your daughter broke my heart. I hope she has a wonderful birthday.
My daugther, Renee is 13 also in 6 months. I know how special little daughters are to daddies, and I know how much it hurts to not be allowed any contact and to be alienated from your kids.
Keep up the great work, your blog is great and will one day be found by the person it is intended for.
David
Thanks, David. It feels like this big hole in my life and it’s tough thinking of her growing up without me. If I met Lili now we’d be strangers to one another. So sad considering how close we once were.
I was touched as well by your recent interview on Irish TV. Some countries are not as strongly behind this issue as others. I have friends in Australia who are experiencing much of the same frustration you are feeling with the Irish government. Although the U.S. is now firmly on board, it wasn’t always like that. I too got turned away with the “There’s nothing we can do” line back in 2004.
Keep the faith, mate.
Tony
Hey Tony,
Did you ever read H Res 125 ….passed unanimously on March 11 , 2009 (I am referring to only the parts relative to Japan) …. I cut out everything relative to Brazil, and just posted here the Japanese sections (since Sean was brought home from Brazil a year and a half ago and your case is in Japan as well)
Patrick
Following here are the Japan relative excerpts from the original prior to passage….
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 4, 2009
Mr. SMITH
of New Jersey submitted the following resolution; which was
referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs
111th Congress
Whereas according to the Department of State, in fiscal year
2008, the United States Central Authority counted 306
cases of parental abductions involving 455 children taken
from the United States to other countries that are not
partners with the United States under the Hague Con-
vention, currently including 101 children in Japan, 67
children in India, and 37 children in Russia;
Whereas three-year-old Melissa Braden is among the children
who have been wrongfully abducted to Japan, a United
States ally which does not recognize intra-familial child
abduction as a crime, and though its family laws do not
discriminate by nationality, Japanese courts give no rec-
ognition to the parental rights of the non-Japanese par-
ent, fail to enforce United States court orders relating to
child custody or visitation, and place no effective obliga-
tion on the Japanese parent to allow parental visits for
their child;
Whereas Melissa was taken from Los Angeles, California to
Japan on March 16, 2006, when she was 11-months-old,
despite a California court’s prior order forbidding
Melissa’s removal to Japan and granting joint custody to
her father Patrick Braden;
Whereas despite his extensive efforts, Mr. Braden and his
daughter have not seen each other since her abduction;
Whereas according to the Department of State, abducted
children are at risk of serious emotional and psycho-
logical problems and have been found to experience anx-
iety, eating problems, nightmares, mood swings, sleep
disturbances, aggressive behavior, resentment, guilt and
fearfulness, and as adults may struggle with identity
issues, their own personal relationships and parenting;
and
Whereas left-behind parents may encounter substantial psy-
chological, emotional, and financial problems and many
may not have the financial resources to pursue civil or
criminal remedies for the return of their children in for-
eign courts or political systems:
Now, therefore, be it: Resolved, That—
(1) the House of Representatives … continue to work aggressively for the
return of children abducted from the United
States to other nations and for visitation rights 1
for their left-behind parents when return is not
yet achieved.
(2) it is the sense of the House of Representa-tives that the United States should
… and recommending
that all other nations, including Japan, that have unre-
solved international child abduction cases join the Hague
Convention and establish procedures to promptly and eq-
uitably address the tragedy of international child abduc-
tions.’’.
That was the Resolution that started it all, wasn’t it, Patrick? And I know you were instrumental in getting this off the ground. We all owe you for all your hard work and dedication.