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!!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
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
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
