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!

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Good Morning from Guatemala!

It is great to be back with my family. I flew out yesterday and after an uneventful flight, I caught the shuttle to Antigua. I was the longest drive to Antigua I've ever had. Traffic in the city was worse than normal (although it is normally bad) and then when we got into the mountains, where traffic usually speeds up, we slowed even more. Apparently, there was a big accident in San Lucas (where we turn to go back down the mountain to Antigua). So it took about two hours to get to Antigua. It was well worth the wait, though. The kids made signs and had them in the windows and on the door, and I was greeted with big hugs and kisses.

We played outside on the swing and played a little soccer while Jenny unpacked to see what I brought. The kids were excited to have some extra toys and some new reading material. Caroline has already finished "The Missing Mummy" in the A to Z mystery series that I got from the library. Luis has looked through the Big Backyard magazine I bought him three times.

While Jenny ordered dinner from Pollo Campero and Telepizza (they are the same company so you can order both from the same place), I put on the video I made of our street and house. Luis relly ejoyed watching it, especially the parts with his bedroom and our dog Pongo. Then we ate dinner and watched an episode of Pokemon before it was time to start getting ready for bed.

Jenny is still working to get rid of a cough and I was tired so we went to bed right after the kids. Today we will go to church and visit the pharmacy to see if we can kill whatever bug she has picked up.

Victor

A Fun "Fall" Day

Good evening!

One of the interesting things about Guatemala is that there is really only two seasons: the rainy season (April-October) and the dry season (November-March). There really isn't an "autumn" in the way we know.

Caroline wasn't really willing to accept this - she said, "It's November. I always jump in big piles of leaves in November." I said, "OK." There aren't a lot of leaves on the ground here, but you know we're always looking for something fun to do! We found a kid rake on the property, so we worked together to get the few leaves together for a pile. Even Luis was very helpful in our quest, even though I don't think he understood why his sister was so excited!! Here they are after working for about an hour:



Caroline demonstrated the classic activity of jumping in the pile of leaves. Luis ended up wanting to jump OVER the pile. Well, either way, it was fun!

On another note, but still funny (at least to me)....sometimes I don't realize just how quickly Luis is picking up English. So tonight, I could hear him being kind of, well, you know when your child is up to something!!! So I asked, "Luis, what are you up to?" and he said, "Not telling." No doubt we know which two other kids he hangs out with!!!

Friday Picnic and Saturday Wild Goose Chase

The weather lately has been gorgeous again. Highs in the 70s and sunny during the day, Lows in the low 60s at night. Yesterday, after we finished our first nine weeks of school, we celebrated with a picnic. We had sandwiches, fruit, chips and juice. Then we just hung out outside for a lot of the afternoon.



Today we took care of chores in the morning, and after lunch, headed out to find La Pena de Sol Latino. It's a restaurant, but today it was hosting a show of traditional folk dances. I'd read about it in our local tourist magazine. The kids weren't that excited about it, but I thought they'd get into it once it started. Unfortunately, when we arrived, nothing special was going on. We were definitely in the right spot, but the hostess had no idea what I was talking about. She told us about a festival in another part of town, which was sort of on the way home. We walked over to the festival, but it was mostly local vendor food (which we don't eat as a general rule of thumb). We did, however, see a really pretty old church, so we took a picture. We also took a picture of the festival with a tuk tuk in the foreground.

A Big Step Completed

How did it already get to Wednesday?

On the adoption front, we were excited to hear that the legal department of the CNA has signed our file. Praise God! The next step is for the CNA Director to review and sign off on our file. That, however, may take 4-6 weeks. After that, we'll head to Family Court, and then RENAP (National Registry), get a new Birth Certificate, a Passport, and apply for the US Visa. We're still several months from coming home but we celebrate every completed step!!

When I told the kids the good news that the file was signed off by Ms. Ramirez, and that our adoption was now one step closer to completion, Luis asked, "How many minutes until we get on the plane?" He longs to be home, too, in the United States.

This week has been busy with school. For the Fettes Christian Academy (Antigua Campus), the end of the first nine weeks is Friday. Chris and Care both had science projects to complete and a couple of other things to wrap up.

Today I found a store that will threaten to screw up my budget. My close friends and family will know right away what it I found....yep, an office supply store. My heart beat faster seeing all the rows of binders, paper, folders, calculators......

The kids were happy, too, because the store sells art stuff too (even crayola crayons!)

After gazing in the "papeleria" for a few minutes (and I couldn't help buying just a few new pens and glitter for a science project), we made it to La Bodegona for some actual needed items. ;) I finally got the sour cream for making Luis what will be his first of countless batches of Poppy Seed Chicken. I hope he likes it!!

Victor left 10 days ago, but returns in 10 days, so we are looking forward to being together again. I love my kids a ton, and we're having a ball (a lot of the time, at least) but this Mommy is ready for a break!! :)

Thanks for your continued prayers for our adoption and family! Have a great night!

Caroline's "Half-Birthday"

Good morning!

The sun has finally come out today after many days of clouds and rain. It is great to see the beautiful "Agua" volcano again, and even better that the kids can enjoy playing outside!!

We held school again on Friday, and we made "flubber" for the first time! I know Chris and Caroline had experienced "flubber" before at Children of The Woodlands, but it was new to Luis. I am so grateful for all the teacher trainings I've attended over the years at COW because they are really paying off in this season of my life where I am "teacher" AND "mom." Anyways, Luis loves manipulating the "flubber" - it was a hit! Here he is:



This weekend we celebrated Caroline's "Half-Birthday" - she was treated to a girls' sleepover with me and then we made a special trip to Marco Polo for ice cream in honor of her. Of course, there weren't gifts or anything, just a chance to "spotlight" her and make her feel special for the day.



I know this sounds sappy, but I just can't believe my baby girl is 7 1/2 now.... She is already talking about what she wants to do for her 8th birthday!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Good afternoon!

It's been a rather rainy week, so we've had more "indoor time" than usual. Fortunately, we're not anywhere near "Ida."

After school today, we walked to the Panaderia and visited with another adopting family who are looking for a place to stay here in Antigua. It was nice to visit with another American family, and my kiddos enjoyed their kiddos.

We opened up the new manipulatives that Vic brought in from Texas: Bristle Blocks. The kids were very excited! They all got to building right away. Here are the master builders:




A "Shout Out" to all the COW ladies today because I've been thoroughly enjoying the notes and encouragement. Thanks again, so much!!! The pretty cards and stationery also add some color to my desk area!

Dad's in the States again

Greetings from Antigua, where the volcano views are spectacular and the stop signs are a "friendly suggestion."

Sadly, Victor's visit came to an end Sunday morning. He made it safely home but the kids took a little while to bounce back. It rained most of Sunday and Monday, so we stayed close to home. Plus, Chris and Caroline were feeling a little under the weather themselves (too much Halloween goodies?).

I remember when Victor was in graduate school out of state. We'd visit with each other once every six weeks or so. He was at Millsaps for almost 2 years. I keep reminding myself that this time, we're seeing each other more often, and it's only for a few months, not years, plus, we have skype now and all the new technology. But to the kids, this separation is a new experience, so I try to remember what it felt like when my own dad had to go on military deployments for months at a time. Finally, when it came down to it, I just told Christopher, "Yes, I know, it just stinks!" That sums it up.

On a positive note, today we were all conversing on our way to the library about the things we like about Antigua that we don't have in Texas. They thought of the interesting plants we have here, the tuk-tuk rides, and a "cozy, little home." I'm not sure I'll miss our "quaint apartment" but there are certainly aspects of Antigua that are really neat and we truly will miss someday.

We had school today, as usual, and then of course, our library visit. This afternoon the sun has peeked through so we're spending a lot of time outside playing.

Please continue to pray for our adoption. Have a wonderful day!