Victor Returns to U.S.

Good evening! It's been a busy day for the Fettes family! Victor left Antigua this morning around 9 a.m., and safely returned home around 5 p.m. this afternoon. It was sad for all of us, but trust me - we are counting the days until he returns to Antigua!

I felt it was important for myself and the kids to start our routine instead of just staying sad all day. So, we started back to home-schooling, mostly a review of where we left off, but of course, now accommodating a new student! It will definitely be an adjustment in my daily school schedule!! After school wrapped up, we ate lunch and headed out. My goal was to locate the local library. Good news, I found it, and I was excited that for 100Q, or about $13, our family could purchase an annual membership. Each person can check out up to 3 books at a time, and they had a decent selection of English and Spanish children's books. It took about 2 minutes for each kiddo to select their 3 books, but it took about 10 minutes to get "checked out." Computerized check out services have not made it to Antigua, Guatemala, and the librarian had to pain-stakingly write out a card for each person, and list the title and author of each book. By the time we left, Chris had already finished reading one of the books he borrowed! Anyways, I am super grateful for any semblance of a library, so please don't take my comments as a complaint!

On the way home, we stopped for helado - "ice cream." This is typical because the promise of a delicious treat always motivates everyone to go for a 1 or 2 hour walk! Then, we found a different bread shop which was rumored to have the best bread within three blocks of our apartment. We'll test our purchases out for breakfast.

We returned home with several hours of the afternoon still available for free time. I decided to have a go at soccer with the boys, and was pleasantly surprised that Luis might be ready for RUSH soccer next year. He's pretty good! And after maybe six months of playing soccer with him, I might be ready for it too! We had a lot of fun and playing soccer actually gave us a lot of bonding time - high fives and muy biens all around. Caroline spent the afternoon sitting in the swing outside reading a book. Such a book worm!

Later, we were invited to join Kathy (another adopting mom) and kids (three adopted kids from Casa, but not all Kathy's) at Antigua's McDonalds for dinner. I was nervous about being out after dark, but decided ahead of time that we'd walk there but catch a tuk tuk or taxi home. That worked out wonderfully, the kids and I had a great time. Please include all of these adopted kids as well as our family in your prayers. We all need to get home to the US and Kathy and/or her husband have been in Guatemala since around the end of March. Ugh.

Now the kids have gone to bed and I will be heading there also. Tomorrow is another amazing day with my three kids! Buenas Noches!!!

Getting to know Antigua

We spent today getting to know Antigua and the neighbors a little better. We got up early and I made eggs, bacon and pancakes for breakfast. Then we played some soccer and football in the yard. Jenny took Luis for a short walk to the panaderia (bakery) and got some bread for the day. They learned that they sell "American Donuts" and the kids were delighted with the news. We spent the rest of the morning around the apartment playing. The highlight was watching Luis snuggled up with Jenny looking for Goldbug on every page of "Cars and Trucks and Things that Go". His face would light up and he would squeal every time. Here is a short video.


After a quesadilla lunch, we went out to explore more of the city. Each time out we take a different route to the plaza so we can find out what is on each road. We had not gotten too far before Luis let me know he needed the Bano for a "Poo poos". I remember that I had seen a sign just off the main square for "Sanatarios" so we hussled ahead while Jenny, Care and Christopher looked in a couple of shops. I found out the bathrooms were very clean and nice but cost 2Q to use and an additional 1Q for papel (paper). The moral of this part of the blog is don't leave home without 3Q in Antigua. Anyway, 3Q later we were back on our way to Marco Polo for some helado (ice cream) and then the Artisans Mercado on the far side of town. It was just as I remembered it, except much less busy. After looking though their wares, we headed next door to the Mayan market where the locals shop. Our primary goal was to find the fruit and veggie section. We found it with relative ease and bought grapes, apples, liches, tomatoes and the biggest carrot you have ever seen. Luis convinced us to buy the liches. Here is a picture of one. They look hairy and scary, but are not bad, they peel easily and have a hard seed but the meat of the fruit is juicy and tasty.

On returning to the apartment we visited with the neighbor for a while and learned her favorite panaderia and the location of the library that has both english and spanish books. Jenny is very excited as the library was one of her favorite spots for home schooling in Texas.

After a spagetti dinner and showers I spent some extra time with the kids, knowing I would be leaving tomorrow. Luis and I read the Baby Einstein book we bought in the city and then looked for Goldbug again in the Cars book. Then it was off to bed.

I am sad to be leaving tomorrow. I will miss my family and the fun we have been having. I return in three short weeks. Until then it will be up to Jenny and our guest author Christopher to update us all on the happenings here.

Return to Antigua

Today we are transitioning again. This time, back to Antigua. We got up this morning and packed up our stinky clothes and the rest of the things we brought to the city or bought in the city. Victor, our driver and translator, arrived around 8:50 and the psychologist and social worker from the CNA arrived about 10 minutes later. They spent about half an hour asking us questions about how the family was adjusting to life together. We were honest and upbeat and they seemed pleased that things were going well. Then the psychologist took Luis out of the room to talk privately to him. They came back out five or ten minutes later and said everything was good, and that was the official end of the empathy study.

We then loaded up our stuff and headed to Hiper Paiz (the Guatemalan version of Wal-Mart). There we got some things we needed for the apartment like extra plates and bowls, a printer and some non-perishable food. We arrived back at the apartment around noon and had some mac and cheese for lunch. After spending an hour or so getting settled back into the apartment and getting the laundry started we set out to explore Antigua some more and get perishable foods at La Bodagona. We found the store without too much trouble and got what we needed. It is a long walk back to the apartment, though with heavy bags of groceries. In the future Jenny will likely need to take a tuk-tuk (a three wheeled mini taxi) for the return trip. When we got back, Christopher and Caroline went out to play and found some new friends to play with. Jonathan, Josh and Christopher played soccer in the grassy area while Caroline and her new friend Heidi played on the swings. Josh and Heidi are Mormon Missionary children and will only be in Guatemala four more days. But it is good there are other children there age in the apartments that they will be able to play with from time to time. After Christopher and his friends were done playing soccer, Luis wanted to play with me. He is pretty good for this size and very sneaky. He would work to distract me by pointing out the "Muchos aves" flying by and then trying to score when I wasn't looking. We had fun playing for about half an hour and then came in to get ready for dinner.

Dinner was sandwiches and grapes which was a nice light option after having eaten out for 7 straight days. The kids did not seem to mind and both Christopher and Caroline had three sandwiches while Luis had two. After dinner was bath time and then a little down time for them to play with their DS's before going to sleep. I am currently enjoying watching Monday Night Football in Spanish. Tomorrow is my last full day in Guatemala and we plan to have some fun in and around Antigua. Sorry, no pictures today, I will have to add some more tomorrow.

A day in the life- Guatemala Day 6 by Guest author Christopher Fettes

Today we woke up and went to Mcdonalds for breakfast. After that, we went to a street fair! We stayed at the street fair for about one and a half hours. There were pony rides, parks, street side stands, and more! About half-way through, Luis, Care, and I got thirsty so we stopped at a pharmacy store to get a drink, I got miranda soda(A lot like fanta.), Caroline got lemonade, Luis and Jenny got water, and Victor got pespi. On the way, back we stopped at pollo campero for lunch... ...AGAIN! When we got back to the hotel, the Luis, Care, and I raced up the elevator, through the hall, into the room, and got in our bathing suits, before you could say "La piscina!"(a.k.a. the swimming pool.) We went down to swimming! But dad stayed in the room to watch the Jaguars beat the Texans 31-24! Later he came down to swim while our mom went up to skype her friends. While we were at the pool, Luis jumped to me!!! Luis is getting to trust us more and more everyday. After the pool, went to the hotel room to dry off and take a shower. Then, we decided what we would do for dinner. We decided on the aquarium. I got pita pizza, Care got sun-tanned tenders, and Luis got sea cow ham and cheese. After dinner, we(the kids) got a dessert. Care and I got a cookie sundae and Luis got ice-cream. When we got back, Mom, Luis, Care, and I had a pillow fight! Then, after the pillow fight, we went to bed... ...everyone but me that is!

Empathy Study: Day 5

This morning was beautiful. We awoke to clear blue skies and got up and headed to McDonalds for breakfast. Then, to Econo Super to refill our water and snack supply and get sun screen. We have gotten into somewhat of a routine now and know what the kids want. It makes ordering at restaurants and picking out snacks much easier. Since the weather was nice we decided to give IRTRA a try. We got to IRTRA around 10am and told the driver to pick us up at 3pm. We went in and rode the carousel and the Dragon, which is a mini roller coaster. Luis loved both of them and even said the Dragon was his favorite part of the day. Then we went to the Valle de Dinosaurios, a dino-themed play area with lots of slides and swings. After playing for a while, we decided to go check out the animal portion of the park. The first exhibit was Peacocks and Ostriches. Christopher was delighted to find a couple of peacock feathers, not the super long tail feathers, but irridescent none the less. Luis thought it was hilarious when one of the ostriches peed about five feet from us. It also did not go unnoticed by the kids that it was a male ostrich and he was quite well endowed. We were about half way through the animal exhibits when it started to rain. We continued through the next couple of animals before taking refuge at a nearby restaurant. After waiting about ten minutes I got the bright idea that if we could just get back to the play area we would be under the trees and would be covered most of the way to the spot we wanted to eat. By the time we got to Pollo Campero (yes, we ate there, again) we were all drenched. We had lunch, used the hand dryers to help dry our clothes and hung out there for about an hour and a half before the rain lessened and we decided to tough it out and go see the rest of the animals. It was well worth it. The two jaguars, the lioness and the puma were very active - the puma was even growling (I think it was almost feeding time). We finished up at IRTRA by riding the carousel a couple more times and getting a Choco Banano (a frozen chocolate covered banana).

When we got back to the hotel you will never guess what the kids wanted to do. That's right, they looked out the window and saw people at the pool and wanted to go. We hung out there for about an hour and a half and played in both the main pool and the hot tub. Luis continues to get more daring and trusting and is working on his swimming technique. Christopher and Caroline just want to battle Dad and get thrown over my shoulder. After cleaning up, we went to the Galleria Mira Flores which is a beautiful new mall that has the only Chili's in Guatemala. We ate there and then found a book store. Luis picked out a Baby Einstein book (in Spanish) that has a cat puppet built into it. Christopher got two Captain Underpants books (both in English), while Caroline picked out two Tiara Club books. We immediately put the books to use when we got back to the room by having reading time prior to getting to bed. Overall, another great day, the only problems we are facing are the lack of clean clothes and eating at Pollo Campero every day.

Day 4 - Museo De Los Ninos

We woke up early this morning to a cloudy-with-a-chance-of-rain kind of day. We decided to postpone the IRTRA park for a sunnier day and head instead to the Children's Museum "Museo de los Ninos." I wasn't sure what to expect but I knew other adopting families had enjoyed it. After another breakfast of muffins from our new favorite bakery, we caught a taxi and headed over to the Museum.



WOW!!! What a treat it was! For Q35 each, or $4.50US, we were able to enjoy the museum for hours. We were so impressed with the quality of the museum. First of all, there were employees at each exhibit area who personally demonstrated their area. For example, they had a circular "tent" with constellations at the domed top, and with the black light, we had to identify constellations on our cards. A lot of the staff were able to speak in English, but even in Spanish, we think we understood a lot of it. Outside, there was a great park for the kids, a re-created Mayan ball court, and a climbing wall. We were thrilled that Luis asked to try it out (see the picture above). He loved it! There were exhibits on electricity, global warming, bubbles, germs/medicine, and this huge room with these vacuum tubes that carry plastic balls to a giant container on the roof. When the container gets full, it opens up and dumps all the balls out. It's like the giant buckets of water that tip over at the pools in The Woodlands. Anyways, we must have spent an hour in the ball room, and it is hard to say who had more fun - the grownups or the kids! There was also a giant Guatemalan flag made out of Legos.

The skies were still grey and cloudy when we returned to the hotel, but alas, once again the kids were begging to go to the hotel pool again. It sprinkled a little but I guess when you're in the pool, it doesn't matter - you're already wet. At least that is how Caroline convinced us to go. It is still amazing to me each day how much Luis loves the pool. I am so grateful for the ways he is choosing to trust us.

After the pool, we cleaned up since it was time for dinner. We decided we were getting tired of pizza (except Christopher) but read about a quaint restaurant that served seafood, paninis, pasta, and brick-oven pizza. Well, we got there and realized that it was a restaurant much more suited towards a romantic date than a casual family night out. With a quick "Lo Siento", we were out of there and headed (ugh) back to Pizza Hut. Thankfully, we ordered a chicken vegetable pasta in addition to the kids cheese pizza, so all of us were pleased. Christopher called tonight's dinner "The Best Mistake Ever."

Now the kiddos are all in bed, sleeping, and I continue to be amazed with the way our family is growing together. Good night!

Un Dia in Zona Viva

For day three of our empathy study we spent the day around the hotel in an area called Zona Viva. For breakfast we ate the muffins we bought at San Martin last night. They were very delicious. After breakfast, we went to Econo Super to get some extra socks and underwear so we would not run out before the empathy study ends on Monday. We also picked up a lot of water and snacks. The same water they provide in the hotel for $2.75US can be purchased for Q3.10 at Econo Super (the exchange rate is 8.24:1) and we go through a lot of water with five of us. The finance guy in me just can't pay that kind of mark up.

We spent the next hour or two in the hotel room playing hide and seek. It is pretty amazing how many places you can find to hide in a hotel room. The kids had a great time and it was everything we could do to end the game when lunch time rolled around. We were determined to get Christopher (our very picky eater) something other than pizza to eat for lunch, so we asked where the nearest Burger king was. It was a couple of blocks further than we had ventured before, but felt it was worth it. Christopher was happy with the chicken tenders but even happier to get Pokemon Cards in Spanish. The best part though was watching all three kids run and play in the play area. It had slides with rollers that would never be allowed in the US, but they had a great time running and playing and so did Jenny and I.

We spent most of the afternoon in the pool. Luis absolutely loves the pool and gets more comfortable every day. Today he had fun jumping from the edge to our outstreached arms. He even rode accross the pool with me to the deep end where I was having to tread water. I love that we can see the trust building every day. The other highlight of the pool visit was on the way back to the room Luis wanted to hold Christopher's hand. This was great because Christopher loves Luis and desperately wants him to love him back. Christopher was BEAMING.


Tonight we out to dinner at Applebee's which worked well. The food was good and it is the only place I have found in Guatemala with free drink refills. On the way back we stopped at San Martin and got more muffins for tomorrow's breakfast.

Tomorrow we plan on going to IRTRA which is a combination amusement park and zoo. We took Luis on one of our earlier visits but Christopher and Caroline have never been. We are looking forward to another great day tomorrow.

Feliz Cumpleanos in Guatemala

What a great way to spend a birthday. I did not open one gift, but had the only gift I really wanted, our family of five together. We spent the first half of the day at the La Aurora Zoo, about a five minute cab ride from the hotel. Since it was Wednesday, there were not many people at the zoo. There were a few school groups and families with small children, but mostly we had the run of the place. The zoo is clean and well kept but very stinky. A few of our favorite animals were the Pavo Reals (Peacocks), Ocelets, Axis Deer, Monos (monkeys) and, of course, the Jaguar. It was great watching the kids faces when they saw some of the animals. The Tapir put on quite a show for us and was so close we could have touched him. Luis really liked watching the spider monkeys and we stayed at that exhibit for at least ten minutes.
Just before leaving, we waited about 15 minutes to take the train ride around the zoo, but when we rode the train the ride only lasted about 5 mintes. I think we got the gringo version of the trip.

When we returned to the hotel, we went swimming for a couple of hours. The kids had a great time again and Luis continues to get more confident and trusting in the water. I could tell when he went in the deeper water with me that he was trying to imitate the swimming strokes he sees from Christopher and Caroline.


After getting cleaned up we went out for a birthday dinner. The plan was to go to Tre Fratelli's but we could not find it. So we went to San Martin's instead. It is a cafe and they have the best bread. We bought some muffins to bring back to the hotel for breakfast tomorrow. Finished up the dinner with a little cheesecake for my birthday. Overall, a great way to spend a birthday!!!

Moving to La Ciudad

Yesterday we spent the morning at the apartment getting settled in, exploring Antigua, and getting ready to move to Guatemala City for the week long empathy study. In the moring we played at the playground that is about 20 feet from our door. Then we wandered in to Antigua and walked to the central park. There we ran into another adoptive family from Casa. We had a great time chatting with them and getting the information on the best local places. After that, we changed our money to Q and tested the recommendation for Ice Cream at Marco Polo. The Chocolate Mint Ice Cream was great. On the way back to the apartment, I (This is Victor writing) found the spot to feed my addiction to cold caffeine. There is a tienda only a block from the apartment with cold soda. In the afternoon, we rode in a car in a pouring rain storm from Antigua to the Westin in the city. We spent the evening finding food and getting acquainted with the neighborhood.

This morning we had a meeting scheduled for 8:30 at the CNA. We had breakfast at McDonalds. The kids we all interested in the cool train set they had on display and we got a little behind schedule. We hussled the 10 blocks to the CNA on foot and arrived at 8:30 on the dot. Of course the meeting did not actually start until almost 10am. Welcome to Guatemala time. We met with the CNA psychologist who gave us the run down on her evaluation of Luis: he is very smart and somewhat picky about food (just like his big brother). Then we meet with the CNA Legal group who asked us to be patient with the process. Not a lot of chance we will be patient, but we listened politely anyway.
After getting back to the hotel, Chris and Caroline were anxious to get down to the pool. When we took Luis to the pool at the animal park on our last trip, he would not get within 5 feet of the edge. After we figured out the route to the pool (you have to go through the basement), Chris and Care hopped right in, followed closely by their little brother. He showed very little fear and said it was this favorite part of the day. What a nice surprise to find that he enjoys the pool too.

After getting cleaned up we went to find the nearby mall. It is about 4 blocks away and we explored all four floors in about an hour. There are a lot of food options there and so we will likely be frequent visitors while staying here. We decided on Pollo Compero, well except Chris who wanted Pizza House. We stopped at the arcade and let the kids ride a couple of the little rides and then ventured to Cemaco where we got some items we needed for the apartment. By this point the kids were pretty tired and it looked like rain was coming, so we headed back to the hotel. We wrapped up the night by watching the Incredibles, having dinner and calling some family on Skype. Now the kids are all asleep and so I will be too.

The First Day of the Rest of Our Lives

It was an absolutely fantastic day!! We arrived safely and earlier than scheduled in Guatemala City, got all of our bags, found our friendly driver, and managed to load all of the luggage and all four of us in the driver's old Datsun 210. Miracles!! We arrived in Antigua, got our "vacation home" set up, made a quick errand to La Bodegona (groceries & more!) and arrived at Casa around 4pm. Luis was as excited to see us as we were to see him, and he was pretty much ready to leave with us as soon as we got there! We weren't sure what to expect but we hoped he'd want to come back to the apartment with us. So grateful it worked out so amazingly well. All three kids are "in the zone" together, despite the language differences. They are all sharing one bedroom but we wanted to be good & cozy, all of us, for attachment reasons. It was a very poignant moment praying at bedtime, since for over two years now we have prayed to be together, and tonight, our prayers were answered and our family is complete. Luis fell asleep snuggling in my arms, and I think tonight all of our dreams have come true.

The Adventure Begins

Tomorrow is a day we have long prayed and waited for. Our family - Victor, Jenny, Christopher and Caroline - will be traveling to Guatemala to continue a journey that will add Luis to our family. We began this process over two years ago and have visited Luis many times during the last two years. We have had many highs and lows during the process. We are so thankful for our wonderful family and friends that have supported us during our adoption process. The last several months have been particularly difficult as we have been waiting to be called for our empathy study. The call finally came on Wednesday and we begin our official study on Tuesday the 22nd.

We spent today trying to pack our lives in to 4 suitcases weighing 50 pounds or less. Jenny and all three kids will be living in Guatemala for up to six months after the empathy study is complete while the adoption and visa paperwork are finalized. During that time Jenny will be home schooling, so two of the suitcases are filled with school supplies and books. The others hold all the clothes, personal gear and everything else we will need while there.

Tomorrow we will arrive in Guatemala about noon and spend the day getting additional supplies, setting up the apartment and visiting Luis. We could not be more excited to move forward with our process. Hopefully, sleep will come easily tonight.