Yes, we had a "major disappointment" today. I'm not talking about how our case hasn't moved forward in almost a full month (darn these holidays!) and that we're still not in Family Court. Or how I went to RENAP today to try to get Luis' original birth certificate (needed by the US Embassy) and told to come back next Wednesday (is that "code" for requesting a bribe?)....
You Texans reading this will really feel our pain. So we went into a new place called "Deliciosa" and discovered it wasn't just a cafe - it was a gourmet (had imports) shop. The kids yelled "Ice Cream!" and I immediately recognized a Blue Bell freezer!!!!!!! My mouth immediately started to drool just thinking about my favorite flavor "Birthday Cake." When we got to the freezer case, alas!!!! It was full of meat!!!
So now my new game plan is on our first day home, get Luis settled and comfortable. Second day, drive to Brenham!!!!! Or, maybe one of my bestest friends will make sure my freezer has some Blue Bell in it for when we get home!! (Remember the hint on favorite flavor listed above, although I'd probably love any ice cream made with milk from a Texan cow!)
But seriously, please continue to pray for our adoption. The delay from the holidays IS really discouraging as we are all ready to be home.
Other than missing their friends, the kids are generally fine and healthy. They are spending WAY too much time on their Nintendo DS's playing their new games from Christmas. But isn't that what Christmas vacation is for??
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Feliz Navidad from Guatemala!!
It was great to be together as a family of five for the first time on Christmas. When I last blogged, Jenny and I were getting ready to go to bed on Christmas Eve. Well, the tradition in Guatemala is to go to church late and at midnight shoot off fireworks. So from midnight till past 1am Antigua sounded like a war zone. Fireworks were shooting into the sky and exploding everywhere. So I did not get to sleep until that subsided. At 3:20 Christopher came in to our bedroom to let us know Santa had visited and he had seen him.....interesting from a boy that "knows" the truth. We sent him back to bed.
We were all up by 5:45 and were opening presents shortly after that. It was great to watch Luis' reaction. He is so expressive with his "WOW!!" and "Awesome!!". We had opened about half of the gifts before the kids decided they were hungry. We took a break from opening long enough to gobble down some toaster strudels (we found those at Hiper Paiz). Here are some photos of the of the gifts and the frenzy of opening presents.
Luis with his new Play Dough toys.
Christopher with his new DS.
Caroline with Mariposa which we watched later in the afternoon.
We spent the rest of Christmas playing with our new things and talking to family and friends on Skype. Christopher put together all the LEGO's in short order and has set up a Star Wars Lego base in his room. Caroline was working on leveling up Pokemons in her new Pokemon Platinum Game and Luis spent a good portion of time playing with his new remote control car (when he could get Christopher to leave it alone).
Jenny made a great dinner with ham, stuffing, potatos, rolls and mac and cheese. We followed that with our traditional Happy Birthday Jesus cake. Here is a picture of the kids with Jenny's cake. It was delicious.
After dinner Luis enjoyed a bubble bath with the bubbles he got from Santa in his stocking.
By the time we were going to bed, my knee was feeling some better, but I still think I am in line for an appointment to see Dr. Big this week. Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!
We were all up by 5:45 and were opening presents shortly after that. It was great to watch Luis' reaction. He is so expressive with his "WOW!!" and "Awesome!!". We had opened about half of the gifts before the kids decided they were hungry. We took a break from opening long enough to gobble down some toaster strudels (we found those at Hiper Paiz). Here are some photos of the of the gifts and the frenzy of opening presents.
Luis with his new Play Dough toys.
Christopher with his new DS.
Caroline with Mariposa which we watched later in the afternoon.
We spent the rest of Christmas playing with our new things and talking to family and friends on Skype. Christopher put together all the LEGO's in short order and has set up a Star Wars Lego base in his room. Caroline was working on leveling up Pokemons in her new Pokemon Platinum Game and Luis spent a good portion of time playing with his new remote control car (when he could get Christopher to leave it alone).
Jenny made a great dinner with ham, stuffing, potatos, rolls and mac and cheese. We followed that with our traditional Happy Birthday Jesus cake. Here is a picture of the kids with Jenny's cake. It was delicious.
After dinner Luis enjoyed a bubble bath with the bubbles he got from Santa in his stocking.
By the time we were going to bed, my knee was feeling some better, but I still think I am in line for an appointment to see Dr. Big this week. Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
La Buena Noche
In Guatemala, Christmas Eve is known as "La Buena Noche" which translated literally means the good night. We started the day by heading to the market to get me a haircut. On the way, we crossed paths with a tourist van with pinatas on top being driven by Santa. When it passed, he threw us a ball. Luis hasn't stopped talking about it since. At the barberia, I paid 20Q (about $2.50), including a big tip, and got the best hair cut of my life. The barber uses a straight razor for the sideburns, around the ear and the back of the neck. He also took care of trimming my wild eyebrows. If I were a rock star and had my own personal barber, he would have the job.
While I was getting my haircut, Jenny and the boys (Care stayed with me) braved La Bodagona to get a couple of things. Then we all went to the Bagel Barn to get some bagels for lunch today and breakfast tomorrow. After Bagel Barn, it was back to the apartment where we ate lunch and then played some games. Luis liked learning to play Old Maid and Crazy Eights. We had an early dinner of home made hamburgers and french fries (breaking the Guatemalan tradition of tamales on La Buena Noche) and got ready for Christmas Eve service. Here is a picture of us before leaving for church.
When we arrived for the 6pm service at 5:50, we were about the third family to arrive. It was pretty full by the time the service actually started around 6:20. Instead of the typical Christmas Eve sermon, the church had three members get up and share their testimony. The theme of the service was the difference the gift of Christ has made in people's lives. Then we had communion and sang O Holy Night by candlelight. Here is a shot of Caroline holding her candle.
After the service, we walked to the Central Park to check out the lights. It was hopping. There were people and vendors everywhere and fireworks were going off. I tripped cutting across the street and now my knee that was bothering me is really killing me. We had to hobble me over to a cab to get a ride back to the apartment. Here is a photo of the Cathedral in the Central Park tonight.
When we got back to the apartment, Christopher was insisting he was ging to stay up all night and take some pictures of Santa. When Jenny told him he needed to get some sleep or Santa might skip our apartment, Luis jumped right in and told Christopher in no uncertain terms that he better go to sleep. Now they are all asleep and Jenny has prepped everything for tomorrow so I could write the blog and avoid the stairs until tomorrow. Merry Christmas!!
While I was getting my haircut, Jenny and the boys (Care stayed with me) braved La Bodagona to get a couple of things. Then we all went to the Bagel Barn to get some bagels for lunch today and breakfast tomorrow. After Bagel Barn, it was back to the apartment where we ate lunch and then played some games. Luis liked learning to play Old Maid and Crazy Eights. We had an early dinner of home made hamburgers and french fries (breaking the Guatemalan tradition of tamales on La Buena Noche) and got ready for Christmas Eve service. Here is a picture of us before leaving for church.
When we arrived for the 6pm service at 5:50, we were about the third family to arrive. It was pretty full by the time the service actually started around 6:20. Instead of the typical Christmas Eve sermon, the church had three members get up and share their testimony. The theme of the service was the difference the gift of Christ has made in people's lives. Then we had communion and sang O Holy Night by candlelight. Here is a shot of Caroline holding her candle.
After the service, we walked to the Central Park to check out the lights. It was hopping. There were people and vendors everywhere and fireworks were going off. I tripped cutting across the street and now my knee that was bothering me is really killing me. We had to hobble me over to a cab to get a ride back to the apartment. Here is a photo of the Cathedral in the Central Park tonight.
When we got back to the apartment, Christopher was insisting he was ging to stay up all night and take some pictures of Santa. When Jenny told him he needed to get some sleep or Santa might skip our apartment, Luis jumped right in and told Christopher in no uncertain terms that he better go to sleep. Now they are all asleep and Jenny has prepped everything for tomorrow so I could write the blog and avoid the stairs until tomorrow. Merry Christmas!!
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A Visit to Casa
Today our main activity was visiting Casa to take Maria and Jennifer out to lunch and give them Christmas gifts. We left the house at 10:15 and took about 15 minutes to get to Casa. We started by meeting with Walter for a few minutes and then headed over to see Jack and Carolyn. We are so happy that they are getting very close to being getting their visa for Olga to come back to the States. Jenny spent some time with Jack going through the rest of the process and got a lot of needed clarification that should help us save time when we are working with the US Embassy at the end of the process.
While they were talking, I enjoyed watching the kids have fun with Maria and Jennifer on the swings and the playground. By the time Jenny was done, we were all ready for lunch and headed to Pollo Campero in San Lucas for lunch. It was great watching Luis and Maria play together in the play set and watching him give her gifts and his reaction as she opened them. They have a great bond and we will need to work to continue their bond after we go home. After lunch we returned to Casa and dropped of Maria and Jennifer and delivered gifts to our parents' sponsor children. Here are some pictures of the kids playing and enjoying their ice cream.
Then it was time to return the car to the rental company. We got that done and stopped at the tienda on the way home to get a few things we did not get at Hiper Piaz. After arriving home, we spent a couple of hours playing outside on the swings. All the kids wanted me to twist them up and give them a “Loco Columpio.” I even gave one to one of the other kids in the apartments before coming in for dinner.
Now the kids are asleep and we finished wrapping gifts and preparing for Christmas. I think the presents are ready and now all we have to do is pick up a few things at Epicure tomorrow for Christmas dinner. The excitement is building in the kids and I can’t wait for Friday.
While they were talking, I enjoyed watching the kids have fun with Maria and Jennifer on the swings and the playground. By the time Jenny was done, we were all ready for lunch and headed to Pollo Campero in San Lucas for lunch. It was great watching Luis and Maria play together in the play set and watching him give her gifts and his reaction as she opened them. They have a great bond and we will need to work to continue their bond after we go home. After lunch we returned to Casa and dropped of Maria and Jennifer and delivered gifts to our parents' sponsor children. Here are some pictures of the kids playing and enjoying their ice cream.
Then it was time to return the car to the rental company. We got that done and stopped at the tienda on the way home to get a few things we did not get at Hiper Piaz. After arriving home, we spent a couple of hours playing outside on the swings. All the kids wanted me to twist them up and give them a “Loco Columpio.” I even gave one to one of the other kids in the apartments before coming in for dinner.
Now the kids are asleep and we finished wrapping gifts and preparing for Christmas. I think the presents are ready and now all we have to do is pick up a few things at Epicure tomorrow for Christmas dinner. The excitement is building in the kids and I can’t wait for Friday.
Driving in Guatemala
Yesterday we spent the morning around the apartment. We opened our gifts from the gift exchange, played with Luis' new toys and had some free time. After lunch we headed to the artisans market to pick up a few gifts and things for the house. Christopher bargained for three packs of Pokemon cards for Q15 (about $2). Then it was off to pick up the rental car and head to Hiper Paiz (Super Wal-mart Latin America style). I got my first experience driving in Guatemala and it was easier than I thought it would be. The main differences are you always have to watch your mirrors for "Motos" (aka motorcycles), the mountain roads are very twisty and there is lots of traffic so you never really get going very fast (which is good for me). Here is a picture of the kids in the car.
The other thing you will notice drving in Guatemala is the Chicken Buses. You never know what you will see with them. Here are a couple of pictures of a man putting his stuff on top of the bus and getting back in while the bus is headed up the mountain.
Going to Hiper Paiz three days before Christmas was just short of insanity, but the trip was successful. The store was packed and it took about as long to get through the check out line as it did to do our shopping. We got supplies for two months and hope it is the last time we have to make the trip there. Here is a picture of Hiper Paiz.
After we got home, we watched Luis' new Barney Christmas Star movie and made the kids dinner. It was an early night for them as Jenny was hosting a date night. Jenny found a new store called Epicure that has a lot of good food for date nights. We started with some Gouda and Edam Cheeses on Triscuits. They were both delicious. Then she made Salmon and scalloped potatoes. Here is a photo of the awesome dinner.
After dinner we watched Christmas Vacation (our personal favorite Christmas movie) and shared some great coconut desserts that. Today we are headed to Casa Aleluya to take Maria and Jennifer to lunch at Pollo Campero and give them Christmas gifts. We are so proud of Luis for wanting to go back and see his friend and give her a gift.
The other thing you will notice drving in Guatemala is the Chicken Buses. You never know what you will see with them. Here are a couple of pictures of a man putting his stuff on top of the bus and getting back in while the bus is headed up the mountain.
Going to Hiper Paiz three days before Christmas was just short of insanity, but the trip was successful. The store was packed and it took about as long to get through the check out line as it did to do our shopping. We got supplies for two months and hope it is the last time we have to make the trip there. Here is a picture of Hiper Paiz.
After we got home, we watched Luis' new Barney Christmas Star movie and made the kids dinner. It was an early night for them as Jenny was hosting a date night. Jenny found a new store called Epicure that has a lot of good food for date nights. We started with some Gouda and Edam Cheeses on Triscuits. They were both delicious. Then she made Salmon and scalloped potatoes. Here is a photo of the awesome dinner.
After dinner we watched Christmas Vacation (our personal favorite Christmas movie) and shared some great coconut desserts that. Today we are headed to Casa Aleluya to take Maria and Jennifer to lunch at Pollo Campero and give them Christmas gifts. We are so proud of Luis for wanting to go back and see his friend and give her a gift.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Feliz Cumpleanos Luis!!!!
Since it was raining all day yesterday, we decided it would be a good night to do the annual sleep under the tree tradition. About 6pm I started Polar Express while Jenny made spaghetti aand garlic bread for dinner. We all ate on the matteresses I took off the beds and put on the floor. After dinner we had hot chocolate and popcorn balls. By the end of the movie the kids were all sugared up and we could barely get them to hold still long enough for the all important picture. Here it is.....
Here is another of us being a little loco....
It took a good while to get everyone settled down and resting, but the kids were all asleep by 9:30.
Sleeping on the couch was not bad, but I could hear every noise the kids made (yes, I am a light sleeper). This morning Luis was up at 5:30 needing the bathroom and was so excited about his birthday that he could not get back to sleep. I kept him relatively quiet until about 6:15, when Caroline and Christopher started waking up. Then it was all over.
For breakfast Luis requested bacon and eggs and Jenny did a great job making them. Luis especially enjoyed the eggs and Jenny and I made ours into breakfast tacos. Delicious!
After breakfast the kids rediscovered LEGO star wars on the computer. Christopher had complained that it was not working and I had fixed it after they went to sleep last night. We played around the apartment until about 10 am when it was time to run some errands before heading to McDonalds for Luis preferred lunch. By the way, Christopher has ranked Chicken McNugget's second on his list of favorite chicken nuggets, behind Pollo Campero. We ran to the bank and changed money, then went to Nim Pot so we could get some gifts for the gift exchange at the apartment's Christmas party tonight. McDonalds was fun and we met another family that adopted from Guatemala 3 years ago and was back for a vacation. On the way home we stopped at the Alamo Rental car to see about getting a car for tomorrow and the next day to drive to Hiper Piaz and Casa to visit Maria and Jennifer.
When we arrived back at the apartment the gifts were out on the table (Jenny had handled that before we left). Luis' eyes were huge and he asked "Por quien?" (for who?). He could hardly belive they were for him. Watching him open the gifts was awesome. He gets so excited and jumps around and yells. Christmas is going to be wild. Here is a picture of Luis with the gifts before the frenzy of opening....
After the presents it was time for cake. Here is a picture of Luis with his strawberry birthday cake. The cake was delicious and we saved some for tomorrow.
The kids spent the afternoon playing with the new toys while I went back over the the rental car store and finalized the contract and Jenny baked cookies and Buckeye Balls for the holiday party tonight.
The party started at six o'clock and featured a Santa Claus Pinata, Guatemalan tamales, potche (a hot Guatemalan fruit punch) and of course the gift exchange. Here is a picture of the pinata before it was dismembered by the kids.
We had a good time talking to the neighbors and enjoying the food. After the party we were all tired and it was right to the showers and bed for the kids. They are all asleep and soon I will be too.
Here is another of us being a little loco....
It took a good while to get everyone settled down and resting, but the kids were all asleep by 9:30.
Sleeping on the couch was not bad, but I could hear every noise the kids made (yes, I am a light sleeper). This morning Luis was up at 5:30 needing the bathroom and was so excited about his birthday that he could not get back to sleep. I kept him relatively quiet until about 6:15, when Caroline and Christopher started waking up. Then it was all over.
For breakfast Luis requested bacon and eggs and Jenny did a great job making them. Luis especially enjoyed the eggs and Jenny and I made ours into breakfast tacos. Delicious!
After breakfast the kids rediscovered LEGO star wars on the computer. Christopher had complained that it was not working and I had fixed it after they went to sleep last night. We played around the apartment until about 10 am when it was time to run some errands before heading to McDonalds for Luis preferred lunch. By the way, Christopher has ranked Chicken McNugget's second on his list of favorite chicken nuggets, behind Pollo Campero. We ran to the bank and changed money, then went to Nim Pot so we could get some gifts for the gift exchange at the apartment's Christmas party tonight. McDonalds was fun and we met another family that adopted from Guatemala 3 years ago and was back for a vacation. On the way home we stopped at the Alamo Rental car to see about getting a car for tomorrow and the next day to drive to Hiper Piaz and Casa to visit Maria and Jennifer.
When we arrived back at the apartment the gifts were out on the table (Jenny had handled that before we left). Luis' eyes were huge and he asked "Por quien?" (for who?). He could hardly belive they were for him. Watching him open the gifts was awesome. He gets so excited and jumps around and yells. Christmas is going to be wild. Here is a picture of Luis with the gifts before the frenzy of opening....
After the presents it was time for cake. Here is a picture of Luis with his strawberry birthday cake. The cake was delicious and we saved some for tomorrow.
The kids spent the afternoon playing with the new toys while I went back over the the rental car store and finalized the contract and Jenny baked cookies and Buckeye Balls for the holiday party tonight.
The party started at six o'clock and featured a Santa Claus Pinata, Guatemalan tamales, potche (a hot Guatemalan fruit punch) and of course the gift exchange. Here is a picture of the pinata before it was dismembered by the kids.
We had a good time talking to the neighbors and enjoying the food. After the party we were all tired and it was right to the showers and bed for the kids. They are all asleep and soon I will be too.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Wecome to the Winter Wonderland!!!
I arrived in Guatemala yesterday. It was a long trip, the flight was late, then the baggage took forever to arrive, then the area in front of the airport was packed with locals. I found the shuttle and we headed to Antigua, but the driver said that there was an issue on the road between San Lucas and Antigua, so we went past Casa toward Chimaltenango and took the back road into Antigua after picking up the driver's boss. That detour took an extra 30 minutes. I don't think there was any problem on the road, I think he had just been told to pick up the boss.
The whole family was at the gate awaiting my arrival and it was an awesome welcome. Then I was ushered into the apartment, with Caroline saying "Welcome to our Winter Wonderland". Here is a picture....
We spent the last few hours of the day watching a show and having tamales for dinner. After getting the kids to bed, Jenny and I unpacked the suitcases filled with toys for the good little boys and girl. I had packed a few surprises for Jenny and she was excited too since I had picked up Christmas Vacation for us to watch without the kids one night.
Today it has been raining, but we went to Church and to Pollo Campero for lunch (I know you are all shocked). Tonight was our planning to have our "Sleep under the Tree" night which includes watching Polar Express. Getting here and having the kids has really gotten me into the Christmas spirit. Can't wait for Luis' birthday tomorrow. He is very excited.
The whole family was at the gate awaiting my arrival and it was an awesome welcome. Then I was ushered into the apartment, with Caroline saying "Welcome to our Winter Wonderland". Here is a picture....
We spent the last few hours of the day watching a show and having tamales for dinner. After getting the kids to bed, Jenny and I unpacked the suitcases filled with toys for the good little boys and girl. I had packed a few surprises for Jenny and she was excited too since I had picked up Christmas Vacation for us to watch without the kids one night.
Today it has been raining, but we went to Church and to Pollo Campero for lunch (I know you are all shocked). Tonight was our planning to have our "Sleep under the Tree" night which includes watching Polar Express. Getting here and having the kids has really gotten me into the Christmas spirit. Can't wait for Luis' birthday tomorrow. He is very excited.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Hada De Diente
Hada De Diente is a literal translation of Tooth Fairy, who came for a visit Thursday night. Caroline had been wiggling a loose tooth for several days. When the kids were playing outside, Luis landed on Chris, who landed on Caroline, and POP! Out came the tooth. Thank goodness for my new red washcloth from Nurse Paula!! After a few minutes, Care stopped crying and got very excited about having a Tooth Fairy visit here in Guatemala. The Tooth Fairy gave her 10Q, roughly $1.25.
Luis' reaction was interesting. He hasn't lost any baby teeth yet (an answered prayer of mine) and was very curious to why Caroline would put her tooth in a little bag under her pillow. In the morning, however, he seemed somewhat impressed that she had 10Q instead, and checked to see if any of his teeth wiggle.
Poor Caroline, she is missing three top teeth, but we're getting some cute photos. Here she is, proudly displaying her newest smile:
We are still having a ton of fun with our geology unit in science. It is the favorite subject for all of us. We got to do some cool stuff with rocks (I didn't know you can create sparks with two tumbled quartz rocks), and we have rocks soaking in vinegar and creating crystals. One of the cool things we did this week was "Crack Open Geodes." Each kiddo, I mean student, got to try to crack their geode with a hammer. Smiles all around as they each opened their geode. Extra special thanks to Victor to bringing my "classroom rock collection" all the way from Texas.
And a highlight from Luis tonight, he was our prayer leader at dinner and sang the "God Our Father" grace correctly all the way through!! That was awesome!!
Have a great night!
Luis' reaction was interesting. He hasn't lost any baby teeth yet (an answered prayer of mine) and was very curious to why Caroline would put her tooth in a little bag under her pillow. In the morning, however, he seemed somewhat impressed that she had 10Q instead, and checked to see if any of his teeth wiggle.
Poor Caroline, she is missing three top teeth, but we're getting some cute photos. Here she is, proudly displaying her newest smile:
We are still having a ton of fun with our geology unit in science. It is the favorite subject for all of us. We got to do some cool stuff with rocks (I didn't know you can create sparks with two tumbled quartz rocks), and we have rocks soaking in vinegar and creating crystals. One of the cool things we did this week was "Crack Open Geodes." Each kiddo, I mean student, got to try to crack their geode with a hammer. Smiles all around as they each opened their geode. Extra special thanks to Victor to bringing my "classroom rock collection" all the way from Texas.
And a highlight from Luis tonight, he was our prayer leader at dinner and sang the "God Our Father" grace correctly all the way through!! That was awesome!!
Have a great night!
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Rebecca's Visit
My dear sweet friend, Rebecca, arrived on Thursday. We were so happy to see her! I was thrilled that she was finally able to meet her godson, Luis, after years of faithfully praying for him and the adoption!!
Luis was still feeling icky from the lip/mouth injury so we hung out close to home. It didn't take long, however, for Chris and Care to ask Rebecca to play soccer:
After awhile, Luis perked up (I ended up getting antibiotics for him) and he and Caroline just mauled her. She made it look fun:
We absolutely had to take Rebecca to Marco Polo for ice cream, although she and I enjoyed delicious iced coffee.
Here we are at one of Antigua's landmarks, the Arch. We'd had our picture taken by the Arch on our mission trip in 2005.
Rebecca and Luis frosted my birthday cake, and had a tremendously good time getting a little messy. Luis was falling in love with his "Miss Rebecca."
My birthday was wonderful - my first birthday with all three of my children!!!!
Luis and Rebecca:
It was AWESOME to be silly with BFF Rebecca!
Thank you, Rebecca, for coming to visit us!!! I can't wait to see you in the USA!!!!!
Luis was still feeling icky from the lip/mouth injury so we hung out close to home. It didn't take long, however, for Chris and Care to ask Rebecca to play soccer:
After awhile, Luis perked up (I ended up getting antibiotics for him) and he and Caroline just mauled her. She made it look fun:
We absolutely had to take Rebecca to Marco Polo for ice cream, although she and I enjoyed delicious iced coffee.
Here we are at one of Antigua's landmarks, the Arch. We'd had our picture taken by the Arch on our mission trip in 2005.
Rebecca and Luis frosted my birthday cake, and had a tremendously good time getting a little messy. Luis was falling in love with his "Miss Rebecca."
My birthday was wonderful - my first birthday with all three of my children!!!!
Luis and Rebecca:
It was AWESOME to be silly with BFF Rebecca!
Thank you, Rebecca, for coming to visit us!!! I can't wait to see you in the USA!!!!!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
What a Rollercoaster Day!
I could also have titled yesterday, "A Two Red Washcloth Day" - but we ended up on a high note.
Red washcloths are used at Children of The Woodlands for the occasional ow-ee. I would have needed two yesterday.
It started at 7:45 a.m., when Luis tripped on our concrete stairs, his teeth actually biting through his lip. Poor guy, he was in a lot of pain. I tried to stay calm and quickly remember emergency first aid. The bleeding was controlled within minutes, but his lip became pretty swollen. Thankfully, even in Guatemala, I could speak with Nurse Paula, and be sure how to continue his treatment. (I even had some of her stickers to give to my young patient!)
When the apartment cleaning lady arrived, we went outside. Luis wasn't up to a library visit, or much else, so we just watched Chris and Care play. Chris wanted to show me a trick he could do, jumping out of the tree. Just after I said, "I'm not sure that branch is going to support your weight.....", of course, the branch snapped and down he went. Fortunately, he was about to jump, he was feet first, but landed hard. He scraped his back on the branch that came down on him, thus, the need for a second washcloth in 4 hours.
It was at that point that I wished I'd packed bubble wrap (and two red washcloths!)
A few hours later, just as I was beginning to panic that the CNA would be out to "investigate," we learned that the CNA Director had signed our file! This is a very exciting step, especially when we had thought it might take 6 weeks (it was actually only 3 weeks). The CNA will then copy our file and prepare it for family court. Family court is the judicial side of the process, and eventually the judge will declare us to be Luis' parents. Family court has taken other families as little as 2 weeks to as much as 2-3 months, so please join us as we pray for favor with the court.
Today, Luis' lip is still pretty swollen, so we've had another low-key day. Christopher is totally fine again but won't be jumping out of trees anymore.
We are excited about my dear, sweet friend Rebecca arriving tomorrow! I'll be enjoying some "girl time" so please excuse me if I don't post again until Tuesday!!
Red washcloths are used at Children of The Woodlands for the occasional ow-ee. I would have needed two yesterday.
It started at 7:45 a.m., when Luis tripped on our concrete stairs, his teeth actually biting through his lip. Poor guy, he was in a lot of pain. I tried to stay calm and quickly remember emergency first aid. The bleeding was controlled within minutes, but his lip became pretty swollen. Thankfully, even in Guatemala, I could speak with Nurse Paula, and be sure how to continue his treatment. (I even had some of her stickers to give to my young patient!)
When the apartment cleaning lady arrived, we went outside. Luis wasn't up to a library visit, or much else, so we just watched Chris and Care play. Chris wanted to show me a trick he could do, jumping out of the tree. Just after I said, "I'm not sure that branch is going to support your weight.....", of course, the branch snapped and down he went. Fortunately, he was about to jump, he was feet first, but landed hard. He scraped his back on the branch that came down on him, thus, the need for a second washcloth in 4 hours.
It was at that point that I wished I'd packed bubble wrap (and two red washcloths!)
A few hours later, just as I was beginning to panic that the CNA would be out to "investigate," we learned that the CNA Director had signed our file! This is a very exciting step, especially when we had thought it might take 6 weeks (it was actually only 3 weeks). The CNA will then copy our file and prepare it for family court. Family court is the judicial side of the process, and eventually the judge will declare us to be Luis' parents. Family court has taken other families as little as 2 weeks to as much as 2-3 months, so please join us as we pray for favor with the court.
Today, Luis' lip is still pretty swollen, so we've had another low-key day. Christopher is totally fine again but won't be jumping out of trees anymore.
We are excited about my dear, sweet friend Rebecca arriving tomorrow! I'll be enjoying some "girl time" so please excuse me if I don't post again until Tuesday!!
Monday, November 30, 2009
A New Week
One thing I like about Mondays is that it means a new week and new opportunities. We are hoping and praying that our case moves forward this week with a signature from the CNA Director.
Unfortunately, Victor returned home to Texas yesterday. We miss him tremendously. The first day or two usually are "extra grace required" kind of days for the kids and I. This time, it was two days, but I think we're all back on the right track.
A common question I get is "How is Luis's English coming along?" Well, tonight at dinner, Luis said, "Rabbits poop in the grass." In my opinion, that's a complete sentence. So exciting. And so much a 5-year-old boy thing to say! Yes, his English vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, especially the sought-after "body function" lingo.
We got back into the swing of things for school, although our school day lasted twice as long as normal. A visit from the attorney, computer issues, and an "emergency" trip to the tienda for cell phone minutes contributed to a rather choppy school day. Oh well, I'm sure I'm not the first teacher to ever deal with interruptions.
Our exciting geography lesson, however, resulted from the response for our "global prayer team." We were able to plot locations in 14 states and 5 international countries. Pretty cool. Actually, pretty humbling. So many of you have interceded on our behalf to pray for our family and our adoption. We are so grateful!
Unfortunately, Victor returned home to Texas yesterday. We miss him tremendously. The first day or two usually are "extra grace required" kind of days for the kids and I. This time, it was two days, but I think we're all back on the right track.
A common question I get is "How is Luis's English coming along?" Well, tonight at dinner, Luis said, "Rabbits poop in the grass." In my opinion, that's a complete sentence. So exciting. And so much a 5-year-old boy thing to say! Yes, his English vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds, especially the sought-after "body function" lingo.
We got back into the swing of things for school, although our school day lasted twice as long as normal. A visit from the attorney, computer issues, and an "emergency" trip to the tienda for cell phone minutes contributed to a rather choppy school day. Oh well, I'm sure I'm not the first teacher to ever deal with interruptions.
Our exciting geography lesson, however, resulted from the response for our "global prayer team." We were able to plot locations in 14 states and 5 international countries. Pretty cool. Actually, pretty humbling. So many of you have interceded on our behalf to pray for our family and our adoption. We are so grateful!
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving and Pacaya
Sorry I didn't get a post up last night. I woke up Thanksgiving morning with tummy trouble and felt awful again last night. We spent Thanksgiving hanging around the house and playing. I had a couple of hours of feeling good and then would go take a nap. We did pull out the parachute for a while and played with it outside. Here is a shot of us having fun with it.
Jenny made a fantastic dinner, but I could only eat a little. You know I am not feeling well when I turn down her double layer pumpkin pie (which is usually the highlight of my Thanksgiving meal). Here is a picture of her with the turkey.
It was an early night for all of us because we knew we would be getting up early to hike Pacaya today if I was feeling better.
This moring I woke up feeling better, so we were up at 5am to catch the 6am shuttle to Pacaya. Being Guatemala, the 6am shuttle picked us up at 6:25. It is about an hour drive to Pacaya. When we got there, we bought a horse for Christopher and Caroline to ride. Luis wanted nothing to do with the horses. Here is a picture of the view when walking up the mountain next to Pacaya.
After about a 30 minute walk the scene transforms from a tree lined road to lava flow desolation. Here is what you walk cross to approach Pacaya. 
After crossing the cooled lava, you had to go on foot the rest of he way becase it was too steep for the horses. In addition, the wind was blowing hard and getting small lava bits and ash in our eyes. That is where it got really tough. About three quarters of the way up from there, Caroline was so terrified that she and Jenny stopped. Christopher was ahead of us so Luis and I continued up. After a tough climb we came to the hot lava. Here is a picture of the hot lava. 
The trip down was less demanding, but treacherous. It is like walking on sand at a 35 degree incline, any step can cause you to go sliding down on your rump (which I did several times). Luis, on the other hand, thought that was fun and wanted to go faster. Here is a picture of all five of us.
The kids fell asleep on the bus ride back and we spent the rest of the day quietly at the house. We ordered pizza for the kids and I made up for not having an appetite last night by eating a bunch of leftovers, including the double layer pumpkin pie I had missed the night before. With the early start today, we are turning in early again tonight.
Jenny made a fantastic dinner, but I could only eat a little. You know I am not feeling well when I turn down her double layer pumpkin pie (which is usually the highlight of my Thanksgiving meal). Here is a picture of her with the turkey.
It was an early night for all of us because we knew we would be getting up early to hike Pacaya today if I was feeling better.
This moring I woke up feeling better, so we were up at 5am to catch the 6am shuttle to Pacaya. Being Guatemala, the 6am shuttle picked us up at 6:25. It is about an hour drive to Pacaya. When we got there, we bought a horse for Christopher and Caroline to ride. Luis wanted nothing to do with the horses. Here is a picture of the view when walking up the mountain next to Pacaya.
After about a 30 minute walk the scene transforms from a tree lined road to lava flow desolation. Here is what you walk cross to approach Pacaya. 
After crossing the cooled lava, you had to go on foot the rest of he way becase it was too steep for the horses. In addition, the wind was blowing hard and getting small lava bits and ash in our eyes. That is where it got really tough. About three quarters of the way up from there, Caroline was so terrified that she and Jenny stopped. Christopher was ahead of us so Luis and I continued up. After a tough climb we came to the hot lava. Here is a picture of the hot lava. 
The trip down was less demanding, but treacherous. It is like walking on sand at a 35 degree incline, any step can cause you to go sliding down on your rump (which I did several times). Luis, on the other hand, thought that was fun and wanted to go faster. Here is a picture of all five of us.
The kids fell asleep on the bus ride back and we spent the rest of the day quietly at the house. We ordered pizza for the kids and I made up for not having an appetite last night by eating a bunch of leftovers, including the double layer pumpkin pie I had missed the night before. With the early start today, we are turning in early again tonight.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thanksgiving Prep……
Today was the day to prep a number of items for Thanksgiving tomorrow. We had school in the morning as usual. Christopher and Caroline learned about persuasive essays and spent much of the morning working on essays to convince their friends to visit them in Guatemala. Hope they are not too disappointed when it does not happen.
After school, Jenny and I worked on making the double layer pumpkin pie. We could not find Cool Whip here, so I spent thirty minutes introducing the cream we bought to the wire whisk. By the end, my hand and arm were tired but we had whipped cream. Jenny got the pie made and it is chilling in the fridge. No ready made graham cracker crusts either, in fact we couldn't even find real graham crackers, so we used some bran crackers that were very similar. The only problem is if I eat too much pie I may spend the rest of the day in the bano (bathroom).
After lunch we went out to find a travel agency in Antigua to take us over to Picaya Volcano on Friday. Picaya is an active volcano south of Guatemala City where they allow visitors to hike or ride a horse to the top. This is part of the kid’s science unit on Geology. We should be able to go and roast marshmallows over the lava. Jenny and Caroline also wanted to get haircuts. While Jenny and Caroline went to the Kinky Afro salon, Luis, Christopher and I went to a museum on the central park that had a bunch of old military stuff, including cannons, swords, muskets, pistols and restraints for prisoners. Luis really liked the cannons and had a good time looking at the rest of the things there.
When we got back to the apartment, we played for a while, had dinner, got cleaned up and into our Christmas jammies for a quick episode of the magic school bus. Luis was so excited that his usual 45 minute bath lasted all of 2 minutes. Here is a picture of the kids and Jenny on the couch watching the show before heading up to bed.
After school, Jenny and I worked on making the double layer pumpkin pie. We could not find Cool Whip here, so I spent thirty minutes introducing the cream we bought to the wire whisk. By the end, my hand and arm were tired but we had whipped cream. Jenny got the pie made and it is chilling in the fridge. No ready made graham cracker crusts either, in fact we couldn't even find real graham crackers, so we used some bran crackers that were very similar. The only problem is if I eat too much pie I may spend the rest of the day in the bano (bathroom).
After lunch we went out to find a travel agency in Antigua to take us over to Picaya Volcano on Friday. Picaya is an active volcano south of Guatemala City where they allow visitors to hike or ride a horse to the top. This is part of the kid’s science unit on Geology. We should be able to go and roast marshmallows over the lava. Jenny and Caroline also wanted to get haircuts. While Jenny and Caroline went to the Kinky Afro salon, Luis, Christopher and I went to a museum on the central park that had a bunch of old military stuff, including cannons, swords, muskets, pistols and restraints for prisoners. Luis really liked the cannons and had a good time looking at the rest of the things there.
When we got back to the apartment, we played for a while, had dinner, got cleaned up and into our Christmas jammies for a quick episode of the magic school bus. Luis was so excited that his usual 45 minute bath lasted all of 2 minutes. Here is a picture of the kids and Jenny on the couch watching the show before heading up to bed.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Happy Halloween, Fourth of July and Feliz Navidad from Guatemala
Today started with school. Both Christopher and Caroline had made the all “A” honor roll so I made homemade donuts for breakfast. Christopher liked them but Caroline didn’t. I should have just gone to get donuts at the Panaderia. Oh well! Today they studied irregular verbs and had a science class that included going out and seeing what they could find in the dirt (identifying organic and inorganic material). I worked with Luis on patterns and the memory game to improve vocabulary.
After school it was off to the bank to change money since I used most of Jenny’s Guatemalan currency at Hiper Paiz yesterday. Then we headed out to the barber shop near the market to get Christopher and Luis trimmed up. For 12Q (about $1.50) you can get a great haircut. They even use the straight razor around the sideburns, ears and the back of the neck. I am going to have to get one the next time I am down. Here is a picture of the boys in the barber’s chairs.
Then it was into the bowels of the local market past the meat area (whole chickens sitting out with the vendor waving away the flies) and on to the fruit and veggie area to get a pineapple. After successfully completing that mission we grabbed lunch at Pollo Campero. I gave Jenny some time to do more shopping while I got the kids back to the apartment.
The rest of the afternoon was spent putting up the Christmas Tree. Here is a shot of Luis who was way too excited. He is in his Halloween dinosaur costume waving the American flag in front of our newly decorated tree. It was awesome to watch his eyes light up at each step, getting out the tree, plugging in the lights, putting on the ornaments, getting out the stockings. I can’t wait to see him on Christmas morning, he is going to freak out.
Tonight Jenny and I are having a date night. I am going to an Argentinean Steakhouse for take out and we are going to have some treats from Chocolalala for dessert. Hope all goes well and I manage to do a good job hosting my first date in Guatemala.
Victor
After school it was off to the bank to change money since I used most of Jenny’s Guatemalan currency at Hiper Paiz yesterday. Then we headed out to the barber shop near the market to get Christopher and Luis trimmed up. For 12Q (about $1.50) you can get a great haircut. They even use the straight razor around the sideburns, ears and the back of the neck. I am going to have to get one the next time I am down. Here is a picture of the boys in the barber’s chairs.
Then it was into the bowels of the local market past the meat area (whole chickens sitting out with the vendor waving away the flies) and on to the fruit and veggie area to get a pineapple. After successfully completing that mission we grabbed lunch at Pollo Campero. I gave Jenny some time to do more shopping while I got the kids back to the apartment.
The rest of the afternoon was spent putting up the Christmas Tree. Here is a shot of Luis who was way too excited. He is in his Halloween dinosaur costume waving the American flag in front of our newly decorated tree. It was awesome to watch his eyes light up at each step, getting out the tree, plugging in the lights, putting on the ornaments, getting out the stockings. I can’t wait to see him on Christmas morning, he is going to freak out.
Tonight Jenny and I are having a date night. I am going to an Argentinean Steakhouse for take out and we are going to have some treats from Chocolalala for dessert. Hope all goes well and I manage to do a good job hosting my first date in Guatemala.
Victor
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Trip to Hiper Paiz
Today it was back into the school routine. We're happy to report that the teacher (aka Mom) woke up feeling a lot better. Christopher and Caroline had school and learned about helping verbs, two digit addition (for Caroline) and the Colony of New York. I worked with Luis playing the memory game, alphabet bingo and building with bristle blocks.
After school, it was just about time for lunch. While Jenny was working to get lunch ready, we got a nice surprise. The computer was ringing with a call from the Frenzels in Argentina. I finished the lunch prep so Jenny could chat with Alex who has been offline for several weeks with the move. She really enjoyed the time to talk and arranged to talk more later.
Next it was time for Hiper Paiz (aka Super Wal-Mart of Latin America). We arranged for the driver (it is about a 40 minute drive up one side of the mountain and down the other) and went to the Hiper Paiz in Villa Nueva. We picked out a bunch of food (for Thanksgiving and beyond) and other necessities, but the highlight was picking a new Chrismas tree and decorations. Luis loved the stuffed animals that sing and dance, so we grabbed a dog that dances and sings like Elvis. Jenny also picked up some Christmas gifts while I took the kids to get some ice cream at the Sarita located in the store. It was not until Jenny got to the check out counter that the wheels came off the bus. The bill was about Q4,000 (about $500) but the Visa was declined. She came and got me from the food area where we were enjoying ice cream. I went to the register and got declined with the Discover and the debit card. Panic was setting in. I did not hire a driver and go all the way to Villa Nueva not to get my groceries, Chrismas Tree and gifts. So I went and found an ATM and got the needed cash. It is a weird feling having to hand over a stack of 41 bills ($100 is the highest denomination) to pay for groceries, but it was taken care of and we were on our way.
When we returned to the apartment and put away the purchases, we already had a fraud alert from Discover. I called both Visa and Discover and reminded them that we had called to notify them we would be in Guatemala until March. Hopefully the next time we use the card it will work.
Usually we wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the Christmas tree, but Luis is so excited, we plan to put it up tomorrow. Can't wait to see his reaction. I will have pictures tomorrow.
After school, it was just about time for lunch. While Jenny was working to get lunch ready, we got a nice surprise. The computer was ringing with a call from the Frenzels in Argentina. I finished the lunch prep so Jenny could chat with Alex who has been offline for several weeks with the move. She really enjoyed the time to talk and arranged to talk more later.
Next it was time for Hiper Paiz (aka Super Wal-Mart of Latin America). We arranged for the driver (it is about a 40 minute drive up one side of the mountain and down the other) and went to the Hiper Paiz in Villa Nueva. We picked out a bunch of food (for Thanksgiving and beyond) and other necessities, but the highlight was picking a new Chrismas tree and decorations. Luis loved the stuffed animals that sing and dance, so we grabbed a dog that dances and sings like Elvis. Jenny also picked up some Christmas gifts while I took the kids to get some ice cream at the Sarita located in the store. It was not until Jenny got to the check out counter that the wheels came off the bus. The bill was about Q4,000 (about $500) but the Visa was declined. She came and got me from the food area where we were enjoying ice cream. I went to the register and got declined with the Discover and the debit card. Panic was setting in. I did not hire a driver and go all the way to Villa Nueva not to get my groceries, Chrismas Tree and gifts. So I went and found an ATM and got the needed cash. It is a weird feling having to hand over a stack of 41 bills ($100 is the highest denomination) to pay for groceries, but it was taken care of and we were on our way.
When we returned to the apartment and put away the purchases, we already had a fraud alert from Discover. I called both Visa and Discover and reminded them that we had called to notify them we would be in Guatemala until March. Hopefully the next time we use the card it will work.
Usually we wait until after Thanksgiving to put up the Christmas tree, but Luis is so excited, we plan to put it up tomorrow. Can't wait to see his reaction. I will have pictures tomorrow.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Papi's visit day two
I let Jenny sleep in the morning because she was up half the night coughing. When she woke up, we began getting ready for church. After the kids were ready, I decided to have a little fun and don the clown wig I found in the attic while I was looking for Christmas stockings. 
Here is a picture of me in the wig. The reaction was great when I went downstairs asking if anyone had seen my hairbrush. Each of the kids took a turn trying the wig. Here are their photos. 
Iglesia del Camino was having some issues this morning and church got started about half an hour late, but we were treated to "Todo Poderoso" which is one of our favorite praise songs. After church we headed to the pharmacia and then to Pollo Campero for lunch. The kids had a great time eating and playing in the play area.
After lunch we headed to the Bagel Barn to get some bagels for the next few days. On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at a small market that was set up next to some ruins. Christopher bought a new wallet for Q10 (about $1.25). Care found some ceramic butterflies that she liked and bought those. Then it was back to the apartment.
At the apartment the kids wanted to play on the DS's. So Jenny got cleaned up while I watched the Jacksonville Jaguar game on the Slingbox. After playing inside for a while, we went out and played some soccer and hide and seek. I sure can tell the difference in oxygen content between Houston and Antigua. After 20 minutes of running around I am sucking wind. While we were out we noticed that Fuego was pretty active. Here is a picture of the smoke plume.
We had tacos and leftovers for dinner and then worked to get the kids bathed and to bed.
Here is a shot of me carrying Luis up to the shower. Now Care and Luis are asleep and soon Christopher and the rest of us will be asleep too.
Victor
Here is a picture of me in the wig. The reaction was great when I went downstairs asking if anyone had seen my hairbrush. Each of the kids took a turn trying the wig. Here are their photos. 
Iglesia del Camino was having some issues this morning and church got started about half an hour late, but we were treated to "Todo Poderoso" which is one of our favorite praise songs. After church we headed to the pharmacia and then to Pollo Campero for lunch. The kids had a great time eating and playing in the play area.
After lunch we headed to the Bagel Barn to get some bagels for the next few days. On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at a small market that was set up next to some ruins. Christopher bought a new wallet for Q10 (about $1.25). Care found some ceramic butterflies that she liked and bought those. Then it was back to the apartment.
At the apartment the kids wanted to play on the DS's. So Jenny got cleaned up while I watched the Jacksonville Jaguar game on the Slingbox. After playing inside for a while, we went out and played some soccer and hide and seek. I sure can tell the difference in oxygen content between Houston and Antigua. After 20 minutes of running around I am sucking wind. While we were out we noticed that Fuego was pretty active. Here is a picture of the smoke plume.
We had tacos and leftovers for dinner and then worked to get the kids bathed and to bed.
Here is a shot of me carrying Luis up to the shower. Now Care and Luis are asleep and soon Christopher and the rest of us will be asleep too.Victor
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