A Week of Firsts

We safely arrived home last Friday, March 5th. Our first week home has been chock-full of amazing firsts, which we share below:

First Airplane Ride:



First Time in Texas:



First Snuggle with Pongo:



First Time riding a Bicycle:



First Visit to Grandma & Pa's house:



First Visit to Bender's Landing Park



First Time to meet Daddy at work and then lunch out:



First Tractor Ride mowing the grass:



We praise God for these and our many other "firsts" this week. We look forward to the adventures God has in store for us!!

Our last update from Guatemala

Well it is currently 3:30 am and I am sitting in the bathroom writing this blog update so as not to wake the rest of the family. On Wednesday we went to our 7:30 am visa appointment, which did not start until 8:45 am. The appointment was not difficult, as we had Jenny the Paperwork Maestro on our team. It was just a review of the documents followed by more waiting and then a quick trip to the window to hear we were approved and could pick up the visa on Thursday at 3:30 pm. Here are Jenny and the kids on the way to the visa appointment.



By the time we left the US Embassy, we were all starving for lunch and we headed back to our hotel and ate at the food court in the commercial area under the hotel. We thought we might go to IRTRA, but decided to save that until Thursday morning. Instead we came back up to the room and worked on the logistics needed to get the hotel room extended one night, change all the flights and book Luis a ticket home.

For dinner we wanted to celebrate so we went to the Nais Aquarium restaurant in the Oakland Mall. Luis, as well as the rest of the family, had enjoyed it when we went there on our empathy study so we thought it would be a good pick. Wow! Luis, Christopher and Caroline had an awesome time. Luis loved watching the fish and could not contain his excitement with the eels, rays, or sharks. Here is a shot of us at the aquarium.



Yesterday we got up and headed to IRTRA. It is an amusement park in Guatemala City. It is undergoing a lot of renovation right now but that did not stop us from having a great time. They have rides, a dinosaur themed play area and a zoo. Here are some shots from our morning at the park.








After returning to the hotel, I headed to the Embassy to pick up the Visa and Immigration Packet for Luis. There were no surprises, the 3:30 pick up time really meant 4:15, but the visa was correct and I could hardly contain my excitement.

When I arrived back at the hotel, Jenny had already done most of the repacking that was needed and we were planning a pizza/movie night with the Return of the Jedi. Although Luis does not understand all of the dialogue, he gets the main storyline and loved the show and the pizza to go with it. With all the excitement of our trip home today and the movie, the kids were pretty crazy, and Jenny and I were too. But we managed to get everyone to sleep by 9:30 or 10 o'clock. Now it is almost time to wake them up so we can catch the shuttle to the airport for out flight this morning. Can't wait to get back into the states with the whole family today.

En La Cuidad

Yesterday afternoon we had Luis' embassy medical evaluation. It was at a Doctor's office a couple of blocks from the embassy. The main thing we were looking to avoid was having to get shots. I had done a vaccination affidavit while in the states and that did the trick. He will still have to have shots but at least they will happen when we are home. The rest of the medical exam was quick and easy. The doctor asked some questions, checked Luis' mouth and poked around his stomach and then we were done.

We waited the rest of the day, but got no visa interview date from the embassy. So we spent the afternoon and evening playing in the pool and then I went and picked up pizza and bourbon chicken from the food court, before going to bed.

This morning we got up and made pigs of ourselves at the continental breakfast. We ate almost all the watermelon and yogurt as well as the last of the chocolate pastries. Then Chris and Caroline had school with Mom while I worked with Luis. They finished up school around noon and then we headed to find lunch. We got back at 1:30 and I learned we could call the embassy visa unit at 2pm. They told me they had not received our file from the USCIS yet and so could not schedule an appointment. I did everything I could to convince them and she said if they got the file by 4 pm she would schedule us for tomorrow. By 4:40 I gave up and assumed we would be spending the weekend in Guatemala. Just before 5pm we got the appointment date for tomorrow at 7:30am. YES!!!!! We had a giant family hug and headed out to Chili's to celebrate. After Chili's we headed back to the hotel and now we are watching the Empire Strikes Back before we head to bed. Can't wait for our appointment tomorrow.

Embassy Update

Wanted to give everyone the update since Friday. On Saturday, I sent Jenny to the Mayan Spa for a more than well deserved massage, facial and pedicure. I spent the morning playing with the kids around the apartment. When Jenny got home, we were having lunch and we spent most of the rest of the day trying to squeeze all of our belongings into suitcases and back packs. For the most part we were successful and only had a few extra shopping bags of stuff. The real test will be if they weigh less than 50 pounds.



Sunday we went to Iglesia del Camino for the last time. After church we rushed home to order Pollo Campero for delivery. However the Pollo Campero did not arrive until after our shuttle to the city arrived, so we had to make do with the food we had packed until we got to the city. When we arrived in the city, the documents for the embassy that we expected to be waiting for us at the front desk had not arrived. In fact they did not arrive on Sunday at all. But we spent the evening exploring the Grand Tikal and adjoining commercial area. We found a food court and all had a late lunch/early dinner. Then it was off to the pool for some fun and relaxation before coming upstairs and getting ready for bed.




After having no luck reaching the attorney on Sunday, I decided to venture out to the embassy on hope and faith that we might be able to get the documents prior to 9am when the USCIS starts calling numbers. I was sitting on the ground outside the embassy praying when I got a call from the attorney apologizing and saying he would have the documents to me before I needed to go into the embassy. About 45 minutes later Favio arrived with the documents. Normal Guatemalan time - everything happens at the 11th hour. At 9:30 I met with the USCIS who accepted the documents and said we would get an e-mail. Now we wait.....but not for much longer.