Welcome Blake Luis!

5 MONTHS LATER!

2009-07-08T12:46:00.001-07:00

It has been 5 months since I have posted anything on our blog and I feel so guilty!! When I was in Guatemala, I was so good about posting weekly, but now that we have a 2 year old and 2 MONTH old, things have slowed me down a bit!! So speaking of little ones, we welcomed sweet Lyla Jane Williams into our family on May 4!! She is absolutely beautiful and was quite a surprise as many of you know. We were told for years that we would have difficulty conceiving so after adopting Blake, we were ready to call ourselves a family as was. Lyla is truly a miracle baby and I still stare at her daily, amazed that she is a part of us. She is growing and changing quickly and went from a tiny 6 lb. 10 oz little monkey to a 10 lb bubbly baby who is now beginning to smile!! She keeps me occupied eating every 2-3 hours and I'm still trying to figure out how to manage 2 little ones, but we're doing it. Our kids make us so happy and keep us laughing daily :)

Blake is an absolute hilarious, intelligent, mischievous and delightful 2 year old! He says the funniest things one of being "Happy Birthday Mama and Daddy" for the last week every day! Not too sure where that came from! He continues to amaze us with his ability to speak in two languages and when he talks it is clearly a combination of the two. For example, "Los fuegos go boom, boom, mama!" ("the fireworks go "boom boom!"). He will be 2 on August 7th and we enjoying watching each day as he changes from a baby to a little boy.

When Lyla was born, he gave us a run for our money and we had a bit of a rough transition being that Blakey wasn't the center of our attention anymore. It was hard for me as well, (not being able to give 100% of my attention to my baby boy) and still is, I have to admit, but we are doing our best to share that attention now. Blake has the ability to make us laugh, (when he shakes his sippy cup of milk all over Lucky our black Lab or reads a story to himself and we hear him over the intercom speaker), cry (when he falls down, is hurt, or feeling left out), and make our heart melt (when he comes up to us and says, "Hug mama and daddy" or "Te amo mucho Mama and Daddy" or "Blakey happy!"). I can't tell you how much we are in love with this little boy and baby girl.

Tomorrow we leave for California for the memorial service of Chris' Aunt. His entire family on his Mother's side will be there and some of whom have never met Blake and Lyla! We look forward to spending time with family and I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to post once we return! I hope our blog followers will come back if I promise to post more frequently! We love you all!

Blake is 2!

2009-02-15T12:53:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that our baby is now 2! On February 6, we celebrated 2 years home in the U.S. and the next day, his 2nd birthday. We had a wonderful day with Mickey decorations galore (his new favorite character), a Mickey cake made by Grandma Bennett and Mickey balloons. Last year, we had a quick 1st birthday since we had just returned from Guatemala so it was nice to plan this year! Blake is doing so well and continues to make us smile and laugh every minute. He is growing tall and looks so grown up all of a sudden. We love him so much. I keep thinking, "How am I going to share this love with two?" when the second one comes along in May, but I know it will just happen. We will be a busy family! One major accomplishment that occurred once and hasn't occurred again, is that Blake went #1 on his new little toilet on his 2nd birthday!! We were overjoyed and continue to encourage this new habit - although I think it will be awhile before he's completely independent in the bano! It was quite hysterical watching him sit there after getting out of the bathtub and then hearing the little music play when the pee pee hit the potty (pardon the potty talk). He was SO proud of himself and every time we enter the bano now, he has to follow suit. It's very cute. He wants to be so grown up. And...let me tell you about the 2's :) He's now in a "no" stage so when he's grumpy, every answer is "no" and he'll also say, "No, mama" and "No, Daddy" when he wants to do something independently! He's a big boy now apparently. He has been enjoying my pregnancy as well and takes our little fetal heart monitor and puts it on his own tummy saying, "Blakey baby!" Priceless. He does this to Daddy too. He's also into being Mr. Social so whenever we're out in a store and he sees another little boy, he'll say quite openly, "Hi nino!" I had to laugh when he said it to a little Asian boy who didn't speak any English. That poor little boy was probably thinking, "What the heck is he saying?" Anyway, with a few days of sun lately, we've been trying to get outside more and now that I'm on mid-winter break this week, we will have more time to spend together! We are anxious for Spring, this baby and playing in the sun! Rumor has it I am having a boy, but we'll be surprised in May - you never know! We will be happy either way. We are so grateful for our family and for this blessing.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T11:14:00.001-08:00

Blake Rides the Christmas Train with "Bear Bear"!

2008-12-16T22:19:00.000-08:00

2008-12-13T13:34:00.000-08:00

This was at Chris' 40th Birthday party if you're wondering why Blake is holding Rogain for Men!

SO THANKFUL AND 17 WEEKS PREGNANT!

2008-12-13T12:58:00.000-08:00

Hello friends! I realize it has been such a long time since I've posted to our blog (over a month). I continue looking at it excitedly to see if we have any new comments, but why should we when I can't even keep it current!!! :( Anyway, I know pregnancy can run you down, but honestly, I didn't realize I would feel completely out of my mind at the same time. Here are some examples of what I've been experiencing lately: not remembering if I've responded to emails at work so I send a response only to realize I DID already respond, forgetting to call people back and important meetings, and feeling like I got hit by a truck every day to name a few. And, this is only the beginning. I am now 17 weeks pregnant with a due date of May 21 and I've been told, it will only get worse. Well, yippee! I'm in for a treat! Honestly, things are going rather smoothly pregnancy-wise despite the above mentioned items. My midwife told me my growth is exactly where it needs to be, the baby looks healthy and all of our genetic testing came out normal. We feel SO thankful to not only have the luck of becoming pregnant, but to have such a beautiful son too. Speaking of Blake. He is the apple of our eye. He is amazing and we are absolutely head over heels inlove with him!! He is hilarious every day and keeps us constantly smiling. He will be 2 on February 7th and let me tell you, he is one bundle of NON-STOP energy. EVERYTHING is amazing to him and his latest fascination is flushing the toilet 5 times in a row and putting toys in it. Hmmm...this is fun for mom and dad. He also thinks it fun to pull things out of every drawer or cupboard in the entire house and then put these items into the dog's water bowl. Does this give you a little indication of maybe why his mom feels exhausted?!!! We love watching him. Every time we play music in the car, in the house or if he hears it in a store, he begins dancing. He is the happiest boy and we are overjoyed that he is ours forever. He is also talking up a storm and is just on the verge of putting short sentences together (right now they involve 3-4 words at the most). He loves his Grandma and Papa and goes to their house every day while Chris and I work. He is also fascinated with their toilets, by the way. My mom has neverending patience and loves him so much. We are again, so lucky to have her watch our son. Chris and I will put up our Christmas tree this weekend so I'm sure it will be lots of fun watching Blake "help" us decorate! On January 6th, Chris and I have our big 5 month ultrasound where we can find out the sex of our baby. While I would LOVE to find out what we're having, it means a lot to Chris to keep it a surprise, so it looks like we may not know until May! I know we will be so happy either way. We hope everyone is having an enjoyable holiday season thus far and will be able to spend it with friends and family. We will stay at home this Christmas and visit Chris' sister Heather and her family who will be here from California soon. It looks like our annual trip to Hawaii in April is off as my midwife has told me I can't fly at 37 weeks of pregancy! Darnit! Oh well. We will be thankful to just relax this year and get ready for #2! P.S. These are 12 week ultrasound pics! Hope to post the 5 month ones to compare in January!

YES WE WILL!!

2008-11-05T18:05:00.000-08:00

What a refreshing change and historical moment. We are so proud to have our children born and raised during this man's presidency. As he said repeatedly, "Yes we will" and we have faith that he will.

1 MORE MAKES 2!!! YES, IT'S TRUE!

2008-10-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well, you all told me that this would happen and of course, I didn't believe you thinking, "After all that we've been through trying to get pregnant, I won't be the one it happens to." Well, guess again? Here we are going on 11 weeks PREGNANT!!! Chris and I read the plain as day word "pregnant" on the trusty little pregnancy test on Sept. 21 with mouths gaping open. It took awhile for us to realize that "yes," it was true! I made my first appt. that was scheduled with a nurse a week later and it was confirmed! As of now, my due date is May 21. My first doctor appt. will be Nov. 5th. We've been waiting patiently (actually for me, rather impatiently) for this appt. because it will be the first time we'll be able to see our baby for the first time with an ultrasound. I have to tell you it's a bit nervewracking the 1st trimester of pregnancy because you of course, worry about everything and hear every horror story (why do people feel the need to share this information?!) Thank goodness for family and friends that know just what to say to ease my nerves. We are very thankful and excited at the same time and know Blake will be so happy to have a new baby brother or sister!
Now, onto Mr. Blake! He keeps us going, I must say. That kid has more energy than any kid I know! Form the minute he wakes up in the morning, until his head hits the crib, he is wound up. I'm not saying he's hyperactive, just very active! It's hard to believe he will be 2 on February 2. He is now, almost 21 months old and like they say, the words keep-a-coming! He now says, "Mama, dada, hi, bye-bye, mas, pez (fish), more, Gus, Remi, Lucky (all dog names), nana and sometimes mama (for Grandma), papa for (Grandpa), hee-haw (when he wants to hear the farm song about the donkey), my dada and my mama (which means he wants you to do whatever it is he wants you to do - for example if he's jumping and he wants Daddy to do it, he'll say, "My dada," zapato (a new one) gracias, thank you, "ees" for "si" (not sure why this is still a backwards word, but it is), no mas, no more, ya (ready in Spanish), and this list goes on and on. He's also able to say all the sounds for the following animals and people when he's asked in Spanish or English: dog, cat, sheep, rooster, cat, cow, horse, dad (snore sound), donkey, chick, frog and bunny (both say "hop, hop") and lion. His favorite things to do are: jump, climb up and down on anything he can climb onto, run away from Daddy (he thinks he's always trying to catch him :), eat fish crackers, get into anything he can get his hands into, read books, play outside and in the rotting garden (this is nice), run in the leaves at Grandma's house and go on walks! Blake is one happy little boy and still quite a flirt. Let me give you a visual of his flirtatiousness. We were at Cucina, Cucina for dinner last night with some friends of ours which is always quite an adventure with an almost 2 year old anyway. It was homecoming weekend for several local high-schools so we were able to see many beautifully clad teenagers enjoying dinner before their big dance. Blake decided he would target one particular table next to us with 5 lovely ladies and spent his evening saying, "hi" to them and just standing by their table staring at them and looking cute. The girls thought this was hilarious, so they played along with their new little boyfriend. We just sit there and laugh. He is definitely Mr. social :) Then, once he had flirted enough and touched enough sequin dresses for the evening, he decided he would ride his Cucina, Cucina like a horse under the chair(see pictures). We all just sat waiting for the big moment it would pop and after a few giddy ups, it did. He couldn't figure out what had happened and he kept looking around for it which was equally hilarious. Once the novelty of looking for the popped balloon wore off, he decided he'd join the waiters and waitresses in clapping to the Italian rendition of "Happy Birthday" which ironically was sung to the group of Blake's lovely ladies! There is never a dull moment, I swear! Anyway, I'll leave you with some new pictures of our growing baby who is not so much a baby anymore! We hope everyone is well and in good health and looking forward to the upcoming holidays - I know I am already! Take a look at the difference in our sweet boy from last October in Guatemala!

2008-08-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

2008-08-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

PLEASE TAKE A LOOK!

2008-08-03T21:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Being a teacher, I have the wonderful opportunity to be at home all summer with Blake! Once he goes to bed at night, I have another opportunity to catch up on my friends' adoption blogs! After reading Terry's blog tonight, (I knew her for a short time at Casa Bella before they went home soon after we arrived), I wanted to post a link to her new on-line business that she and her husband have created in order to raise money for their second adoption! As you know, adoption fees are horrendous and so I take pride in posting this link in hopes that you will pass it on to your friends to help a friend help a child come home to a new family. Thank you for taking the time to look! http://gifts-of-hope.com/ P.S. These new pictures are of Blake last July and August shortly after we met him a year ago at 5 months. How the time flies. Just look at him now (this was today at the Woodland Park Zoo)!

SUMMER SUN!

2008-07-24T11:43:00.000-07:00

We apologize for not updating our blog for so long, but we've been very busy running after a very energetic 17 month old!! Blake is doing so well and continues to grow and amaze us every day. He is now 22 pounds and I don't remember the exact height he is off hand, but he's getting tall. Our doctor said he is likely to be tall as an adult and believes one of his birth parents was on the taller side. I'm sure he'll outgrow his short mommy! Blake is enjoying the summer sun everyday and we now have a couple of different pools outside to keep him busy. His favorite thing is to spray the water from the hose all over the backyard like a fireman and then chase Lucky, our black lab with it. Lucky isn't too sure about this, but Blake thinks it is hilarious. He is definitely a dog lover and wakes up every morning wanting to go outside to chase them or throw them rocks! Yesterday, my sister, her kids and Blake and I all went to beautiful Snoqualmie Falls and hiked around. I kind of felt like I was doing Pacaya (volcano in Guatemala) again carrying Blake, but of course this was easier! I too am enjoying the summer off from work to spend more time with Blake. Every day we try to something new together like find a new park or other fun place to go. I am also staying busy changing classrooms from the first level of our school to the second which makes sense as I'm moving from Kindergarten to second grade! I am looking forward to this change and having some of my former students :) It has been a lot of work moving and then unpacking, but I'm sure will be worth the change this Fall. We have also been spending time on Pine Lake (where Grandma and Grandpa Williams live) and Blake has enjoyed floating around in his pink and yellow car (I know the colors aren't very boylike, but nevertheless, he loves it)! On our 6th anniversary, August 17th, Chris, Blake and I will be leaving for our annual trip to Canada to fish and enjoy some fresh ocean air. We are looking forward to boating, fishing and looking at bears and seals with Blake!! Hopefully the bears will stay their distance. Last time, one was practically in the backyard of our cabin!! Let's see...what else is new. Blake is still talking up a storm and certain times makes more sense than others. We know that language skills will likely be delayed a bit since I am speaking to him only in Spanish as he is processing two languages. Right now, however, he seems to be doing great! He is talking in both languages and understanding everything I say to him in Spanish. The other day I asked him in Spanish to go get his diaper bag and get out a diaper (just to see if he could) and he did exactly these two things! In English he says: bus, dada, bye-bye, hi, no, poop, Gus (granparent's dog), Remi (our dog), mama (for Grandma), duck, night-night and a few others. In Spanish he says, mas (more), mama (with the accent), casa, bebe (baby), pez (fish), and pato (duck). It is a joy to watch him learn every day - we love him so much - it's hard to even put it into words!! I go back to work on August 28 so we will spend a good 10 days in Canada together as a family. Until then, we will continue playing with dogs, going to the park and spending time with family. It has been so nice to hear of other families experiences upon returning home from Guatemala and to read their blogs. We feel so fortunate to have met so many wonderful people during our adoption experience and have enjoyed staying in contact with them watching each other's children grow up so happy. We hope you enjoy these new pictures of our growing baby! The last picture is a video so click play to see one crazy child!

BLAKE IS 15 MONTHS OLD AND WE ARE AS HAPPY AS CAN BE!

2008-05-12T20:03:00.001-07:00

Words cannot express how happy Chris and I are having our sweet little boy home with us. He brightens our day and literally, is always smiling. We have been SO blessed to even have Blake here with us. He is our little angel and we love him SO much! So much has happened since returning home on February 6, so here is a little recap.

We were met at the airport by our immediate family as well as a few good teacher friends of mine. It was like a huge weight had been taken off our shoulders and it felt amazing to be home where we feel so comfortable all the time around our friends and family.

Theday after returning home, we celebrated Blake's 1st birthday, February 7th (pictures on our last entry) and then we left to go to Hawaii for Spring Break on April 14th! It has been a whirlwind with going back to work on March 24th (which is interesting in Kindergarten :), seeing all of our friends and family to introduce to Blake and the list go on and on. We are having a wonderful time and enjoying each minute we have. It is so true how fast the time goes. Every day Blake changes in some way. I have finally decided to go 100% Spanish with Blake and I have been speaking to him in only Spanish ever since February 15th or so. It took me that long to finally make the committment to him and myself to do this wholeheartedly. He is doing an amazing job with it and is understanding phrases such as, "Donde esta tu boca, tu pelota, tus zapatos, etc." He points to his mouth, goes and gets his ball and looks at his shoes! Yahoo! I have to remember though, from being a dual language teacher, that the language will come later - the understanding comes first. So far, so good!

Here are some things that Blake likes to do or has done since we've been home:

1. Say "hi" to everyone that walks by including our two labs every morning!

2. Waves to people when I say, "Dile adios or saludale/hola!"

3. Has had 3 haircuts since returning home (his hair grows like a weed).

4. Plays with his neices Hadley and Savannah and his nephew Cody - he loves them so much.

5. Has ridden in a limousine.

6. Watches baby bunnies in Grandma and Grandpa's yard.

7. Wiggles his fingers around when he's excited or nervous and when I say, "Dedos!"

8. Likes to touch female's legs (I'm a little worried about this one). At the gate in Hawaii, I got a little nervous.

9. If he's not saying "hi" to someone, he says "hot" - these are his two favorite words at the moment.

10. Play outside on our deck and carry the dog dishes around.

11. Chase and play with Remi and Lucky our two labs every day.

12. Play hide and seek and peek-a-boo with whomever will play it with him!

13. Point out school buses on our way to grandma's every morning.

14. Take walks in the jogger stroller.

15. Throw rocks in the drains on the streets to hear the water sound.

16. Throw all of his toys into the bathtub and then once he's in, throw all of them out!

17. Blow kisses to people.

18. Blow daddy's duck call.

19. Eat watermelon (still his favorite).

20. Make funny faces in his carseat as we drive around.

And the list goes on and on! Blake brings us so much joy every day. Although I'm working full time (to pay off our adoption debt), I feel good knowing that Blake is in warm hands with his grandma. She loves him so much and I have to keep remembering that the year is almost over, June 18, so we will be able to enjoy the whole summer with our precious little guy!!

Here are some random Blake pictures including some from our last Hawaii trip! We love you all!

BLAKE IS WALKING!!

2008-02-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

We are home sweet home and there is nothing better. There is so much happening that I don't even know where to start. Forgive me if this post is all over the place because it's 10:30PM right now and I'm tired, but so eager to let you know about life back in Washington!! First of all, many people ask us how Blake has adjusted to being in a new country. The answer is, beautifully. He sleeps and eats well and is doing everything he needs to be doing at age 1 (we think)! He is happy, full of life and into everything as usual. And, the most exciting news is HE IS WALKING!!!!!! About 5 days after his first birthday on February 7th (the day after we got home), Chris and I were sitting on the couch watching TV and all of a sudden Blake just took off with this arms straight out in the air like a mummy. We knew he was close, but it was so funny how he just decided to go one day!! It has been quite humorous watching him walk. He now thinks he is way cool and opens every drawer, tries to take everything off of shelves within his reach and pull the dogs tails (so far so good with the two dogs). The babbling is now turning into more defined babbling so the random "ba, ba, ba" is now "dada" or "do" for dog. He tends to leave off the last consonant. Let's see. We celebrated his first birthday party the night after getting home (actually on his birthday) and we had dinner and cake with close family. Chris and I opened gifts not only for Blake, but ones missed from Christmas. My sister, Melaine printed out our whole entire blog in color and put it into plastic sheet covers and then into a large 3 ring binder (see the picture). It is one of the best gifts we've received as it will be so special to share with Blake when the time is appropriate. Oh, we took Blake to the snow on Snoqualmie Pass on Friday and that was a hoot. Chris' sister Heather and two of her three kids came to visit for a week to see Blake so we took the clan up to the pass to sled. As you can see by the pictures, Blake wasn't too sure about being in the cold sledding, but you have to admit he looked so darn cute dressed in camo two sizes too big for him!!!!!!!!!! Today, Chris, our friends from Malibu and I went down to Pike Place Market in Seattle. We had a blast and had to get pictures of Blake with the famous fish throwers (men in orange). Jody and Nik, our friends, loved Blake and we will spend one more day with them tomorrow before we bid them farewell. Last night, Chris' parents hosted Blake's welcome home party and it was so fun to share Blake with friends and family whom we hadn't seen in ages. We had Mexican (close to Guatemalan) food that was delicious and my sister-in-laws worked hard to decorate the house to look Guatemalan. We even put the Mayan guipiles around the chair backs! It was beautiful and we had fireworks on the dock after dark. Blake did great being passed around the crowd, but of course crashed immediately after returning home. Anyway, enough blabbing, let's post the new pictures!!! We love you all and are SO GLAD to be back in the beautiful Northwest!

HOME SWEET HOME AND BLAKE TURNS 1!

2008-02-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

I know I always seem to post two topics at once every time I update the blog, but it always just seems to work out this way! We are FINALLY HOME AND TOGETHER AS A FAMILY! We can't even tell you how good it feels to be here. Honestly, we feel like we've died and gone to heaven. We could not be any happier I don't think. We arrived on Wednesday night to our family holding "welcome home Blake" signs at the airport. What a happy feeling to walk off the plane to this. Everyone was crying tears of joy including ourselves and Blake just smiled as usual to make it even more special. He got to meet his Auntie Marne and Uncle Erik along with cousin Hadley, Grandpa Dick and Grandpa Larry for the first time which was really emotional. We went home in cold windy weather, but it felt so good! We truly felt like we were back home. Now, we've spent the last 4 days getting the house back in order, baby proofing the house a bit more, meeting new friends and spending time with family. Oh, I forgot that we've also had a blast driving, going to Target (I love that store) and SAFEWAY!!! What a great store and a nice change from Bodegona where you can barely walk through the aisles.

Blake celebrated his 1st birthday on Thursday night and of course, the whole neighborhood showed up!! He has more new toys now than he could ever need and is intrigued by each one of them. My mom made a lovely dinner and Blake had his very own piece of chocolate cake! He was so tired by the end of the night though that he decided not to eat it. Oh well! On Friday I took Blake to my school to meet my students and staff. It was so nice to see everyone again. My students were overjoyed to play with Blake and had pictures and emails from me on the classroom door. It was very cute. I missed them so much. I will go back to work on March 24th now so it will be nice to not only teach again, but have such a short year!!! I feel like I've already been on vacation for 6 months and now I'll have another summer one! Can't beat that.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your constant prayers, positive thoughts and support throughout this year of our adoption. We are truly blessed and thankful for not only Blake, but for people as wonderful as you. What would we do without you?! All of this waiting was truly worth it. We love you all.

HOTEL PICTURES/VISA APPOINTMENT DONE!!

2008-02-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

Hello all! We arrived here at Hotel Casa Grande on Sunday and we already are getting picked up at 5:45AM for our 8:15AM flight to Seattle tomorrow morning. We are at the end and can hardly stand it. Both of us have had trouble sleeping - actually all 3 of us because we're so anxious! Tonight, Blake's foster mother is coming to visit which will be a little sad. She has already been teary while on the phone with us, but she also is so happy that he is happy with us and ready to begin a new life in the U.S. I am posting a few pictures we've taken while being here as well as a couple from Antigua. See you in Seattle!!

LAST POST IN ANTIGUA!

2008-02-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

We are actually coming home. It is still surreal. It will be quite a change to come home to freezing weather, but I'm sure we'll get used to it quick. We are so excited to see you all and share Blake with you. Blake is doing so well and is just on the verge of walking. He can stand alone, say no by shaking his head, clap, and take steps from one chair to another if they're close to each other. He is so grown up and this first year has flown when we look at how much he's grown. We will miss our friends and daily routines in Antigua, but will look forward to creating more memories at home. Tomorrow night (Saturday) Chris arrives and then Sunday we'll head to the city to stay for our last 3 nights. Our plane leaves at 8:00AM on Wednesday morning so we arrive in Seattle at 5:30PM!! I will keep up on the blog when we return - I promise!

NEW PICTURES!

2008-01-28T10:49:00.000-08:00

Finally some new Pictures!!

2008-01-23T07:31:00.000-08:00

Here we are with exactly 2 weeks left before coming home!! I can't believe I'm saying that. It's like a dream come true. Blake and I are doing well and just waiting for Chris to arrive on Saturday, the 2nd. We are so glad we'll be able to go home as a family. Not too much is new here except that Blake and I have been spending lots of time with little Vinsy and Flor. These little girls you've seen before on my blog. They sell in the park every day. They have now returned to school (4th grade), but still sell every afternoon. We have had a great time eating at Burger King together, having hair braiding parties and walking around town. These pictures crack me up of Flor with Blake on her back and wearing my sunglasses. They are the sweetest girls and every day they ask me when they can come to visit or live with Chris and I. It will be hard to leave them. It melts my heart when I see them running up to me and Blake in the park calling our names and hugging us. These beach pictures are from Monterrico where my friend Beatriz and I went last Friday. It is about 2 hours away and was absolutely beautiful. There were pigs running around the streets - very funny!

WE HAVE OUR EMBASSY APPT. AND ARE REALLY COMING HOME THIS TIME!!!

2008-01-19T07:44:00.000-08:00

Hallelujah! We finally received our Visa/Embassy Appt. on Thursday morning!!! This is the VERY LAST THING we have to do before coming home. Our appointment is set for Monday, February 4th (in 16 days and yes, we're counting them down), which is not too far out. We were hoping for sooner, but apparently the holidays have backed up the embassy's appointments. We will hang in there though. Of course we've already emailed them to see if we can get an earlier appointment or be put on the cancellation list, but we haven't heard back yet. That probably won't happen though so we'll just enjoy our last couple of weeks in Antigua. We can't even imagine what it will be like to be at home now. Every adoptive family here says, "Until I'm on that plane, I won't feel like we're really going home." This is so true. It often seems like things will always go on and on and you'll never see this day. It is actually here for us. Our plan is to go to the embassy for our 7:15 AM appt. on Monday, the 4th. Then, Blake's Visa will be available for pick up after 3:00 the next day. Therefore, we will fly back home on Wednesday, February 6th!!! And, this is 1 DAY BEFORE BLAKE'S FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!! It will be exactly one year since he was born that we have been going through the adoption process. Wow! This has been an amazing journey. Blake is SO WORTH everything we've gone through here. Yes, it has been VERY frustrating and emotionally draining at times, but for the most part, the things we have experienced and seen in Guatemala we are so lucky to have been a part of. How often can you wake up in the morning to sunshine and the sound of doves in the trees? How often can you say "Buenos Dias!" to every person that walks by and have them respond happily? How many times can you see pigs wandering through the streets like dogs and walk on a beach with your baby on your back? (yesterday's trip to Monterrico beach). How often can you make friends with and directly help a child in need by walking to the nearest park? How often can you order any type of fruit smoothie just by walking up to a bar in a cafe? The list goes on and on. We are SO thankful for Blake and this trip. We have been able to foster Blake for 5 months and we can't imagine life without him. At this point, we'd like to take 3 children home with us when we go, but that's impossible. All we can say is that if you are even the slightest bit interested in adopting, DO IT!!! You will never regret it. Yes, it can be trying, but like I continue to say, SO WORTH IT when you see that little smile every morning! Anyway, we're hoping to post more pictures soon. I'm taking my new fancy disposable camera to the camera store today so look for new ones tonight! We can't wait to see you! Chris said he's planning on kissing the airport floor as soon as we walk off the plane (hee, hee)!

2-3 More Weeks and it's Homeward Bound!

2008-01-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

Hello friends and family! We hope everyone is well in the states. We are still hanging in there for our last few weeks in Guatemala. We are now waiting for our official "pink" email with our embassy appt. date. Our DNA results have been sent to the embassy (our agency confirmed) and now we wait once again. The good news is, we should get the email today or tomorrow. The not so good news is that some of the appts. have been for 18 days out. We can try to get an earlier appt. if this is the case for us, however the majority of my friends who've tried this have had no luck because the embassy is still backed up from the holidays. I think we can hang in there, but we're really starting to want to come home now. What else is new here. I got really sick on Monday night from eating at McDonald's again (I've been sick from eating there before and continue to go back). It was like the 24 hour bug because I was up all night vomiting. Sorry for the visual. Thank goodness Blake didn't wake up during this. Thank goodness also for my wonderful neighbor Beth who nursed me back to health with Gatorade, bananas, and everything else I needed. She is great. Blake is doing great, by the way and growing like a weed! He is now able to stand up on his own and has figured out how to step down a curb by putting his arms straight out for balance. It's really cute because he's so intent and focused when he does this. We also think he's beginning to cut a few more teeth because his appetite has decreased a bit and he's been really fussy and clingy to me. Any moms out there that can help me with this one? He doesn't have a fever, but is just not his usual self. Let's see. Oh, my camera is officially lost now. That's why I haven't posted any new pictures lately. I'll have to post some older ones and/or wait for Chris to get here with the other camera. I did buy a disposable, however so when I get the pictures developed soon, I'll put them on a CD to download to my computer so you can see some more recent ones! I will post again as soon as we receive our appt! Cross your fingers for an appt. not too far out!!

Have you ever hiked a Volcano with a Baby on your Back?!!

2008-01-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

Yes indeed, we did just this. On Tuesday, our friends Heather, Grady and their daughter Kylie along with Blake and I did a 2 hour climb up the volcano Pacaya. I think now that we're out of PGN, I'm feeling like I want to see everything before we go so I decided to put Blake and my back and go for it. We drove a very scenic route about an hour and a half away from Antigua and then hiked an hour up and another one down. It was absolutely amazing and SO worth the aching legs the next day. I actually sat in front of a lava river that was about 3 feet away from me. We walked on volcanic rock that radiated heat under our feet. It was surreal. The view at the almost top (they don't let you actually summit for safety reasons) of the volcano was breathtaking. We were actually looking down on towns while watching 3 lava rivers flow down the mountain. Our guide, Luisa, was amazing and she had us all roast marshmallows on one of the white hot rocks. That's how hot it was. Another nice woman on our tour watched Blake while I got close to the lava rivers so don't think I'm too crazy. I had to laugh because as we got to the top, an English speaking man walked by and said hi to me before realizing Blake was on my back. He then said, "Wow, you have a baby! Where are you from?" I said Seattle and as he walked off I heard him say to his friends, "Only a person from Seattle would bring their baby on their back and hike a volcano!" Go Seattlelites! I had to laugh at this one because I'm not a typical Seattlelite and normally wouldn't do this! The bad part about this trip is I lost my camera or it was stolen. We had amazing pictures of the volcano. Luckily, my friend Heather has some of us that I'm having her send. I will post them as soon as I receive them.
So much has happened here in the last few days so I'll start at Monday. We now have Blake's new birth certificate, Passport and 2nd DNA completed. The DNA was sent to a US lab yesterday and the results should be at the US Embassy by next Monday (according to our agency). Our facilitator said that we will receive our "pink" email (used to be called a pink slip because you would get an Embassy/VISA appt. date on a pink piece of paper) by next Wednesday if the results come in Monday. By law the embassy has to give you an appt. date within 48 hours of receiving 2nd DNA. Once we have that appt., we will go to the Embassy for our final doctor visit there (you have to check out of the country with a thorough exam from a designated Embassy doctor) and then attend our VISA appt. date which should be that same week. We will be handed a sealed envelope with Blake's paperwork to get through customs at the airport and then go through a short interview. The next day, we will return and pick up his VISA. Once that is in hand, we can RETURN TO THE USA!!!! We are so excited to come home, yet sad that we'll be leaving this beautiful place. It has been an experience we will NEVER forget. We are blessed and SO incredibly lucky to have this sweet baby boy.
On another note, I have been busy this week helping the family whom we brought gifts to at Christmas. Remember this family? I have pictures of Juanita (the mom) with her 3 boys (5, 3 and 4 months). This is the family who is homeless, living in a shelter and whom I've become really close to living her in Antigua. Basically the mother has no money and sells probably 2 bracelets in the park a day equalling about $8.00 a day. She is supporting 3 kids on this income. To make a long story short, the oldest child, Esteban, developed an enormous tumor like looking mass on the inside of his right leg. Literally, it was the size of a grapefruit. I had not seen it until Monday, but Juanita had told me that her son was not well and she was really worried. Finally, on Monday when I came through the park for our daily walk, little Esteban showed me and drew a crowd of people amazed at how bad this mass was. I asked her if she'd been to the doctor and she said yes and was given an antibiotic prescription. Of course, she couldn't pay for it so she returned to the streets. The mass just continued to get worse. So, to save this little boy's life (literally), I took them all by taxi to Dr. Juarez where I take Blake in town. He took his temp. and said that not only did he have a fever, but that Esteban had an infected abcess filled with puss. I know this sounds absolutely awful - it was. He said he needed to go to the hospital and I had two choices - one associated with him around the corner and another a little outside of town (little did I know that the "Nacional" hospital is government operated and treatment is free). Of course I chose the closer one not knowing this. We waited with 4 children in the lobby of the hospital for an hour before Esteban was given a room. He stayed for 2 nights and Dr. Juarez basically took out the puss and filled him with antibiotics. He was released yesterday and I paid a huge hospital bill. Thank goodness though for my wonderful former roommates who had helped Juanita at Christmas though because they all donated money and helped to pay me back. Basically we all ended up chipping in money for the cause. The mother, Juanita, has been calling me now from a friend's home (we also paid rent for her to stay there for the month while Esteban heals) beyond thankful. She continues to tell me that her son would've died if we hadn't helped. This is true I'm sure. Esteban is a prime example of the children that die because their parents can't afford medicine and hospital treatments. When I went to visit Esteban the day after his treatment, he was SO happy and like a different kid. I left that evening with tears in my eyes. I can't even tell you the feeling I had knowing I had helped save this little one's life. I'm tearing up right now writing this. Anyway, I will never forget this experience. It was definitely a once in a lifetime one.

We May be Home Sooner Than we Thought!!

2008-01-06T06:58:00.000-08:00

After 11 months of waiting for our adoption to be finalized, things are finally moving rather quickly. Moving quickly in Guatemala is literally unheard of so we are very lucky. Tomorrow morning we are headed to the city to get Blake's Passport and 2nd DNA test done. Last week we received his birth certificate in 1 day as well as his adoption decree. Birth certificates can take weeks at times depending on which town they're coming from so we feel very fortunate. We actually went to get his Passport last Friday however the man needed Chris' signature which is impossible now that he's returned home. So this is why we are returning on Wednesday with our Mandatory attorney (the one whose last name was mispelled on 1 document in our file) and she has a Power of Attorney that says she has legal responsibility of our case should we not be in Guatemala. So, all is well. We have to be there at 7:45 AM before they open so this will be interesting. Blake will wake up and will literally jump in the taxi!

Antigua is, believe it or not, rather calm since the holidays have ended. Many stores have shut down for awhile because of a lack of business and others are closed due to renovations. My favorite coffee shop is closed, however not for renovations. We're still trying to figure out why when it's one of the busiest places in town. Speaking of coffee, I thought I'd make a couple of lists again of things I miss about Seattle and things I'll greatly miss about Antigua. Now that our trip is coming to an end, I'm suddenly having all of these thoughts of things I remember and will miss. What a journey it has been and probably the greatest experience of our lives. I've posted some new pictures today too! We miss you all. Here goes the lists:

Things I miss about Seattle:

1. Starbucks Mochas (actually Starbucks in general). They don't make mochas too much here and a cappuccino is actually a latte.

2. My husband, dogs Remi and Lucky, and my family.

3. My car.

4. Carpet.

5. Regular shoes.

6. A warm fireplace.

7. Normal lighting.

8. Scented candles, lotions and soaps.

9. The mall.

10. Target and Walmart.

11. My school and 24 kindergartners.

12. My neices Savannah, Jordan and Hadley and nephews Cody, Reilly and Carson.

13. My house.

14. Tucking Blake into a normal crib rather than a Pack and Play.

15. Constant electricity and running water.

16. Paved roads.

17. The convenience of the states (everything is available when you need it and you don't have to search all over town for things).

18. Las Margaritas chips and salsa and bean burritos (Woodin staff I'll be wanting to go weekly when I return to work so get ready).

19. Real Mexican food (I still am biased to it probably as a result of all of my wonderful Mexican parents who bring me lunch every so often at school).

20. Snow, cold and wearing warm turtleneck sweaters.

21. Shopping with my sisters.

22. Fresh air - especially from the lakes and oceans.

23. Our weekend neighborhood get togethers.

24. Cash machines that always have money and never run out.

25. Safeway and grocery stores where I can walk through the aisles without bumping into 5 people at once.

26. My bed and sleeping in (I guess the second part is unlikely to change much)!

27. Visiting my parents.

28. Costco.

29. Full length mirrors.

30. Receiving mail.

31. Normal Internet service that also doesn't go out every day!

32. Saturday Night Live and Grey's Anatomy (I'm going to have to buy an entire missed season I think).

33. Country music (this one's for you Amanda, my friend!)

OK! Things I'll miss about Guatemala:

1. The beautiful architecture, restaurants, doors and vivid colors.

2. The kind and gently people.

3. The swimming pool, brunch and the best Eggs Benedict ever at Hotel Antigua.

4. Horse drawn carriages.

5. The wonderful friendships I've made with other adoptive families and Guatemalan women.

6. The calmness of every day life.

7. Homemade tortillas available on every street.

8. Hyper Paiz (the large Target store in the city).

9. The market prices.

10. Tokens to do my laundry (this one's for you Monica).

11. Carlos the 12 year old who shines shoes and gets mad at me when I don't wear my shinable shoes every day.

12. The two little girls who always ask me, "Laurie, what will you buy me today?"

13. The market women asking me, "What you like lady? Good price" (Mel, this one's for you).

14. Being able to walk for miles every day and enjoy every bit of it.

15. The market in general.

16. The used clothing section of the market (it's like an oversized Value Village).

17. Pollo Campero (the best fast food KFC type restaurant in town and they deliver).

18. Pushing strollers over bumpy roads and bumpy Tuc Tuc rides.

19. The "Tres Leches" coffee drink made with evaporated milk, whole milk and whipped cream (fat? what?!!)

20. The beautiful views.

21. The church bell ringing all day long at random hours.

22. The random fireworks.

23. Curious, yet smiling children's faces.

24. The look on a Mayan child's face when you give them a toy or give them anything for that matter.

25. Warm banana bread fresh out of the over at Dona Luisa bakery.

26. I'm sure I'll keep adding to this list as the week goes on!

WE ARE OUT OF PGN AND COMING HOME!!

2007-12-30T06:30:00.000-08:00

Hallelujah!! Blake's adoption was FINALLY approved on Friday, Dec.28 at PGN. He is officially our son and we will be coming home to Washington at the end of January or first of February. We are still in shock that this actually happened AND happened 3 weeks earlier than expected. This is what happened. Chris, Blake and I were getting ready to go to the city for our monthly formula and diaper run when we received a phone call from our agency. Apparently, Barrios' secretary had called them asking them to call me to come to PGN to meet with Barrios. This is usually unheard of so of course, we thought the worst. We did however, submit the "special consideration" letter before Christmas so we wondered if it had something to do with it. So we rushed to PGN and went right into his office upon arrival. He sat us down and was very nice (compared to last time) and had our file with the letter attached on the table. He also brought in an interpretor for Chris which we thought was a nice gesture. He wanted to know if we had indeed written the letter ourselves first of all. We said "yes" of course and I told him that we had it translated by a translator to ensure the letter was written in Spanish correctly. He then proceeded to say that he was giving our case an exception and approving our case 3 weeks early. The letter worked!! We were amazed and thanked him up and down. Can you believe I actually hugged the guy?!! What was I thinking? We plan to write him a letter thanking him again and asking him to please consider other families that write letters in similar situations. He told us he loved children and reached out to hold Blake who immediately screamed (I had to laugh inside) and reached back for me! Our agency representatives Lourdes and Alex met us at PGN shortly after and physically came to pick up the file. I asked (of course) to see the approval letter with Barrios' signature just to be sure. It was there!! There is no way we can go back into PGN ANYMORE! The file is OUT OF THE BUILDING!
The next steps will be: Wednesday, January 2 (after everything opens again) the adoption decree will be picked up at Civil Registry in the city.
Thursday or Friday our birth certificate will get picked up (as we were told it would only be a day to obtain which is VERY lucky as some cases take 3 weeks to obtain), and then the following Monday we will get Blake's Passport and 2nd DNA test. We should be submitted to the embassy by the 2nd week of January and have our Visa appt hopefully 2 weeks later. Our agency swears we will be going home by the end of the month, although we're estimating the first of February around Blake's first birthday as one month usually ends up being longer here. We feel so lucky to be out of PGN now and this will save us a whole month. It's a miracle!! Get ready for one of the biggest welcome home parties you've ever seen when we return to town!! You are ALL invited!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!! DADDY IS HERE!

2007-12-23T06:40:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays friends and family! We hope you are all enjoying some much needed relaxation with your family. We hear it has been just beautiful in Washington with crisp cold frosty days. The fireplace next year at Christmas is going to feel so good - I miss it so much. Chris arrived at 1:00 am on Thursday and we've been busy ever since! It only took Blake a couple of days to remember who his Daddy was. He thinks he is the most hilarious person in the world. The pictures I'm posting today prove it. Chris makes funny noises and faces and Blake just cracks up. I've never had myself in tears quite this much from laughing at the two of them. They are quite the pair. Yesterday we went to Hotel Antigua and went swimming! Blake loves the water and he had a great time eating cheese puffs with his new friend Jordan who is also being adopted (they've been in PGN since May with 2 previos - can you believe it?) Jordan was so sweet sharing his bag of puffs with everyone at the pool.

Antigua is SO alive with Christmas spirit! We have seen a parade of floats with Santa and his reindeer, children singing, fireworks (nonstop), families coming into town to visit, white lights on every tree in the park, and lines of children lined up to receive toys at a local church. It is quite an experience being here. Chris is enjoying every second as we all are and every day there is something new to see. On Friday, Chris and I splurged a little bit and purchased a gorgeous Talavera (hand-painted pottery) sink for our Mexican style bathroom. It's been on our list for awhile and now that we're here and found one at an excellent price, we got it!! I'll have to take a picture later on to post. Chris plans to redo the countertop and whole sink area when he returns. It will remind of us this Christmas in Guatemala every time we see it.

Let's see...what else is new? Blake is growing like a weed. He looks like he's a year old and he's only going on 11 months. He has 8 full teeth now (4 on top and 4 on the bottom) and a full head of hair. In fact, we may get hair cut number 2 today! I wrote a list of everything he is doing now and it amazes me. We cannot wait to watch the list grow as he grows.

There is a possibility that I may be moving again before the end of the month. Our new apartment has bad mold and dust and after taking Blake to a lung specialist in the city last week (he has had lower respiratory problems since birth), the doctor took x-rays and concluded that although his lungs look healthy, he does have allergies to several different things. So, we are on a house hunt again. We may go look at one on Monday. The problem is it's pretty difficult to find housing here without mold and dust. It's the climate. We may have to grin and bear it until we go home.

Still no change in our adoption status at this point. Right now we're still hanging on for the 8-week mark of January 17th to have our adoption finalized. We PRAY we have no other kick outs in the meantime. There is a possibility we could get signed at 6 weeks which would be around January 3.

The adoption law passed here which is good and bad. It is good because all adoptions will continue between the US and Guatemala. Pending cases such as ours, have been "grandfathered" in and will continue as well, however as of January 1, 2008, our case (one of 3700 cases) will have to be registered at a place that has not been designated yet. Hmm...this could be interesting and to us, it sounds like another 3-4 week delay. Cases that are not in PGN yet, will have to abide by the new rules which will go into effect on January 1. These rules will be a bit stricter and therefore take families, once again, more time to be approved. At least all adoptions will continue and the past problems of illegal adoptions will stop ( with abducted/stolen children for example). What a relief for all adoptive families here. Families were quite scared they would stop them all from continuing and they would lose their children. Thank you, God for this not having this occur. We have so many pictures to post right now so I'll do my best to do as many as possible! Happy happy holidays!!! We'll see you in 2008!!

BLAKE'S NEW FAVORITE FOOD -WATERMELON AND SWEET RAGMUFFINS AT THE MARKET

2007-12-15T07:38:00.001-08:00

So not only is the tongue thing back (see pictures), but Blake has discovered that he loves watermelon. He will sit for about 20 minutes gnawing on the smallest piece. It is so funny. He tries every angle. The other pictures were taken in the local market the other day. We saw these adorable children (sons/daughters of vendors) and paid them 5 quetzales to get their picture (so worth every quetzal). I just wanted to take them home and bathe them. They were so dirty, but still the cutest things ever!

Dia de la Virgin de Guadalupe - December 12, 2007

2007-12-13T13:23:00.000-08:00

LAKE ATITLAN AND BLAKE IN SANTA COSTUME

2007-12-12T18:24:00.000-08:00

I have so many pictures this time to share with you that I don't know how I'm ever going to get them all on this post! My mom just left this morning (tear) and it was hard to say goodbye. We had an amazing time together and saw so many beautiful sights. She was such a help with Blake and after about 2 days, he warmed right up to her greeting her every morning with one of his big handsome smiles. Of course, she melted every time! I mentioned that we spent two nights in Lake Atitlan on my last post and I wanted to post these pictures first. We were able to take a small boat (Blake's first boat ride) to another bordering lake town called San Pedro. There, we found a hotel with the most beautiful lake view for I'm not kidding, $13.00 for both of us. Yes the shower pipe was sticking out of bricks in the bathroom and there was no mirror or clean toilet, but with the view we had, all we needed was a bed! The next day we took the boat back to Panahachel (where we came from) and stayed a night there. For $60.00 that night, we were very comfortable in a little more upscale hotel. See the picture of the yellow hotel "Paradise Inn." We were room 6 up in the right hand corner. Funny though, our view in the $13.00 hotel was 10 times better! We shopped, got sunburned, made friends with some local boys (Juan and Juan - see picture) and probably purchased a little too much! We had a blast. I HIGHLY recommend traveling to Atitlan if you ever come to Guatemala. It was so peaceful and nice to get away from Antigua for awhile.

My mom brought a darling Santa outfit for Blake which he wore all over town once we returned from the lake. The locals all said, "Mira, Santa Claus! Que regalos tiene?" This means, "Look, it's Santa Claus! What gifts do you have?" It was really cute. We joked and said we'd bring them next time.

Today was the second celebration of the holiday season, the day of "Virgin de Guadalupe." Day of the Devil was on the 7th. At a local church, all the children come dressed up in their traditional Guatemalan dress. The boys wear a beige shirt and pants with a red belt and hat. They also paint a mustach on to look like men. The girls do their hair in beautiful braids with ribbons and wear makeup and traditional costumes as well. A big casket looking thing with the Virgin on top then leads a procession in the streets of Antigua and all the children with their parents follow behind. It was really a neat thing to experience. Blake is so busy and will not hold still long enough to let me change his diaper! He climbs stairs and into suitcases as well as crawls all over the place. He has stood up two times now by himself, but only for about 3 seconds. He laughs out loud and does this little flirty thing with the women in the streets that talk to him by smiling and then looking away. What have we got ourselves into?!! More pictures to come. They are never ending!

BLAKE IS 10 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

2007-12-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone! OK, I'm a bit more rested today even though Blake decided to get up at 5:45AM. Lots has been going on, so here is the latest. My mom, Rosalie, arrived on Tuesday afternoon! It is so nice to see her again and have her see how much Blake has grown. He did not take to her immediately, but today was a breakthrough and he actually let her hold him and play for about an hour while I rested. Blake is going through the phase where he has to be with me EVERY second and if I go out of his eyesight or set him down, he freaks. It's so sweet, but a little tedious! He continues to do his uncontrollable arm flapping when he's excited and yesterday when he was on my lap, he laughed till no end while Grandma made funny faces. I was in tears from laughing so hard. Blake has also figured out how to go up 20 stairs in our apartment (of course with us right on him)! Yahoo! He is a mover and a shaker and I'm telling you, he will not sit still for anything. When he's on a mission, he's gone (see the look in his eyes in the picture as he wanted to climb DOWN the stairs off of Grandma's lap). Of course I cannot find ANY type of baby gate in all of Guatemala and even if I did, it wouldn't hook to anything at the bottom of our stairs. So, instead, mom and I have rigged suitcases and dressers to block off the top and bottom. It's pretty humorous.

Yesterday we walked around town and did a few errands. Now, my mom is shopping on her own while Blake naps. Tomorrow, we are taking a taxi ride to Lake Atitlan (2 hours away) and staying for the day. We will even take a short boat ride while we're there. This is supposed to be one of the prettiest tour attractions in all of Guatemala. We are looking forward to it. Blake has been quite the trooper hiking all around town. Hopefully, tomorrow will be another good day. We are also interested in hiking up the Volcano Pacaya soon. We won't be able to take Blake on this trip though because of the actual toxic gases in the lava pools that you can pretty much touch. As long as we're here, we want to see as much as possible. It definitely keeps things moving.

The latest with our adoption is that our agency has decided to try a different angle to get us approved before January 17th. Robert, our facilitator, typed up an outstanding "special consideration" letter that states the facts of our case as well as asks for "thoughtful consideration" of expediting our file. This seriously is our last resort. If he takes the letter the wrong way or is having a bad day when he receives it, we will be out of luck and still have 6 more weeks (now) to wait for approval. Let's cross our fingers that it works. We've inserted pictures of our family together as well as me with Blake as he saw me when I met with him earlier. Hopefully he'll remember us.

Oh, Blake has almost 8 full teeth now (4 on the top and 4 on the bottom). He looks like he's a year old with all of these teeth and people cannot believe he's just 10 months. This morning he looked like he'd grown to me. It is amazing the changes I notice every day. We are so lucky to have Blake in our lives. I can't even tell you how happy he makes us every day.

Chris will be coming after my mom leaves from December 17-January 2! It will be great to have Christmas together and have him spend more than 4 days with us this time. We are thrilled.

We heard about the crazy weather and flooding in Woodinville. I hope no one was affected by it too bad. I watched the video clip on King5.com and couldn't believe it.

Let's see. Oh! We are fully moved into the new apartment now. We have decorated it a bit for Christmas and actually had a small artificial tree, but left it in the box at McDonald's the other day. We are getting a new one today. It will be fun to decorate it with all of the cute Guatemalan ornaments we've purchased! We'll post pictures of it as soon as it's done. The apartment is nice, but it's a very small space compared to the house we were in before. It will do though for 2 more months or so. The stairs just give me and my mom a heart attack with Blake every day! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season. Love to you all. By the way, the yellow onesie Blake's wearing in the picture with my mom was a gift from her and it says, "I'm kind of a big deal." How cute is that?!! One more thing. Will you please email me your addresses a/s/a/p (that's to everyone who has been reading our blog) so I can send you Blake's first Christmas card? My mom brought them here for me to address and will then send them once she returns to the states. My email is: cowgirlwilliams@comcast.net Thank you!

Grandma Bennett's Second Visit to Antigua!

2007-12-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

I will write more tomorrow as it's late here now and we're exhausted from a long day of shopping! Lots to tell so I promise I'll be back my wordy self tomorrow! For now, enjoy the Blakey pictures :)

Still in PGN after Previo #2 - It's Home in February, 2008

2007-11-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

It's a little bittersweet posting this entry tonight because although we don't have any good news (in fact it has gotten worse), we have to stay positive for the fact that Blake and I are here together as a team. On December 4th my mom arrives to visit for 12 days and then Chris comes so we can count on all being together for Blake's first Christmas.

So the latest news is this. After 3 hopeful trips to PGN, we've only been disappointed with the results. We were told during the second trip, from Barrios' assistant, that she would request our file to be expedited. She did do this, however Mr. Victor Barrios declined. Since we have had 2 previos for our attorney's mispelled last name, it has put us back another 8 weeks starting on Thanksgiving when we got the second one. We have tried everything in our power to not have to wait 7 (now) more weeks now to be signed, but nothing has worked. Therefore, we are counting on being signed and OUT (we can't wait to say this word when the time comes) of PGN on January 17th. This will be exactly 8 weeks from November 22. If we get signed earlier, it will be a complete miracle because Barrios will be signing out of the goodness of his heart (which we're not sure he even has). On Monday when I arrived for the 3rd time with our facilitators, Barrios walked by me as I sat in the lobby. At first, he turned to me like he recognized me (from the meeting with him before) and for a minute it looked like he was going to say something. Wishful thinking on my part because he didn't say a thing and kept on walking. When he returned and walked past me again, he wouldn't even look at me. Nice. Oh well. I have done everything I can and now all we can do is sit and wait - once again. If we don't get signed until January 17th, it will have been almost 5 months in PGN. I have heard of longer times believe it or not, so I guess we can't complain.

So Christmas, 2007 will be celebrated Latin style! It will be an experience we will never forget, that's for sure. We have been told of beautiful festivities that go on in the town and just the fact that we'll be together as a family will be amazing. I am actually starting to look forward to it. I think the month of December will fly with both my mom and Chris here therefore making January 17th come that much faster. If we are lucky, we will be home around Valentine's Day or a little after. I will be extending my leave at work until March or so now, but will have to take unpaid family medical leave because my paid sick leave ends on January 7th. This might get a little complicated, but we'll make it work I'm sure.

Blake continues to grow and change daily. His big boy haircut truly makes him look like he's already 1 and every Guatemalan in town swears he's 1 anyway and not almost 10 months (on Dec. 7). Every day I hear, "Cuanto tiempo tiene?" (how old is he - this is how they ask here) and then when I say, "Casi 10 meses" they gasp and say, "Whoa, muy grande nene." Yah, whatever. He's normal sized for the U.S. It's just because everyone is used to seeing tiny babies here (even though I've seen some huge ones)! This and staring are just little pieces of our day here in Antigua. Today, Amanda (my roommate) and I went to Hyper Paiz which I've mentioned before is like a Walmart. We love it because we can go once or twice a month and get necessities we can't always buy in town like formula, baby nail clippers, normal brand shampoos, and decent clothing. We brought Maya only (Blake and Aleeyah stayed with our house nanny) today to make the day a little easier. As we walked through the food court you could've sworn that two ghosts had just entered the room because for some odd reason today, EVERYONE stared at us!! Yes, we are blond and brunette and speak Spanish and have a Guatemalan child. It just cracks me up because in the states this is considered so rude and we just don't stare like this at people. We just continue to smile and brush it off. I have to admit it gets a little hard to take after awhile. Anyway, I'm not sure why I got off an that tangent. I also loaded up on Christmas decorations, tree lights and a garland for my new apartment! I will move in on Monday as I decided I missed my roommates too much now to leave on the weekend. So, hopefully the next pictures I post will be of the decorated apartment and Blake! I will post pictures in the morning because I'm using one of my roommates computers to post tonight. Besides, I need to take some new ones of our boy! I hope everyone is enjoying the festivities of the upcoming holidays and decorating your homes for Christmas. I miss the cold at Christmas and still have not completely warmed up to the idea that I will be in warm weather for it this year. It will be an experience we never forget and although I miss my family and friends dearly, I know that next Christmas we will be together. I love you all and know that we think of you all the time. I've kind of forgotten what home and Seattle looks like a bit - I feel like I've been here so long. It will be nice to reacquaint myself with my hometown once we return! Happy beginning of the holiday season!

Flaunting the Colors and Blake with Daddy!

2007-11-24T18:31:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving in Antigua!

2007-11-24T14:26:00.001-08:00

Nov. 29th Makes 3 Months in PGN

2007-11-24T11:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true. We're going on 3 months. It turns out we've had 2 previos now because our agency didn't correct the last name error the first time adequately. Both times we've been resubmitted the next day - which is fortunate because some families have to wait 2-3 months to be resubmitted. So, last Monday and Tuesday I physically went to PGN with Blake and my agency. On Monday, I talked to the infamous Barrios (the guy who approves and signs you OUT of PGN) and then on Tuesday I met with one of their second reviewers (the steps are Advisor, Reviewer #1, Reviewer #2 and then Barrios). On Monday, Barrios told us to return the next day with our Notary and Mandatory in charge of our case (since it was the Notary attorney who mispelled our Mandatory's name). I was wondering why they weren't there in the first place. That would've saved a day. So, on Tuesday, all of us returned. First, the Mandatory and Notary talked to the second reviewer lady and admitted that they had made a mistake on our file. They came out of her office and explained to us what was going on (like I didn't know what was wrong about a month ago). We were about to walk out and I was feeling frustrated that I even made an appearance as I didn't seem needed in any way when the reviewer asked to see me and Blake only in her office. Yahoo!! We went in and instead of crying and begging, I decided to maintain composure. She explained to me what was happening to our file (for the 80th time) and showed me the exact paper and exact last name mispelled. I explained how we had received approval in October and were so excited to go home and now it was a big let down. After my big sob story she said, "I'm going to give your case a special exception because we usually don't see clients here. If you have your agency go fix this immediately with a special signature saying it was fixed, then I will recommend to Barrios that he sign quickly." I graciously accepted her offer and now am going to hold her to it! Our case is with a second reviewer now, however we're not sure if it's with THIS reviewer (which it needs to be so she remembers us). So, guess who's going to PGN again on Monday morning to make sure?!! You've got it. Why do I feel like I'm running my own agency and adoption at this point. What are we paying money for again?!!!! I will do anything to get Blake home and that's all that I can think of so of course I'll go. It's just a bit frustrating that I'm doing this all myself. It's not an easy jaunt to the city 3 days in a row.
Blake got his first haircut at the Barbershop yesterday! I know you're thinking that he's a little young for one, but trust me, his hair was starting to look like a girl. He looks so grown up now (see the AFTER smiling pictures). He was happy at first when he sat down on my lap for the cut, but by the end of it, he was livid. Please don't think I torture our baby from these photos, I just thought they were so cute! :) He really only cried for about 2 minutes!
On November 30th I will be moving to the one-bedroom apartment I think I mentioned earlier. I will be living next to another friend I met here who's adopting so it will be nice to have a neighbor. We'll miss our roommates here though. We'll have to visit all the time.
Things are going well, but I'm just a little bummed lately. It seems like a never ending hole sometimes. Today a Guatemalan man followed me in the street asking me how much Blake cost twice. Somehow, I just didn't need that today!! Let's hope for good news next week.

GOING TO PGN WITH BLAKE AND OUR AGENCY REPS.

2007-11-19T06:53:00.000-08:00

We received a phone call last night (Sunday) from our agency. Because of mixed information we're all receiving and almost 3 months in PGN, our agency felt it was important for me to make an appearance with Blake at PGN. So, as you're reading this on Monday morning, we are waiting for our taxi to pick us up. We will arrive at PGN around 11:00AM (9:00 AM your time). This is a bold move, we know, but our agency thinks it might tug on their heartstrings a bit. We'll see. I'm very nervous, but willing to do whatever is needed at this point to bring Blake home. We're not sure who exactly we'll be able to talk to, but regardless, hopefully we'll all get the same information so we can all be on the same page. Please be thinking of us at 9:00 AM. We need your support to get OUT!!! We love you all.

PGN IS STILL DECIDING ON OUR CASE :(

2007-11-17T11:18:00.001-08:00

Yes, this is the latest news. The meeting went well (from what we heard), however we were informed that Barrios (the sub general attorney who signs us out of PGN) is still deciding if we'll be approved right away or not. Apparently he is on a power trip (since the error has been fixed) and he is just going to take his time at deciding. Seriously, I don't get it. We were told that by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, we should have a resolution of some sort. It will probably be that we sit in PGN for 3 more weeks for NO REASON!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, I'm venting. We're going on 10 (wait maybe 11) weeks in PGN. They're saying now that the mispelled attorney's name was made by the attorney. Hmm...that makes sense. The attorney spelled his own name wrong. Sure. Please pray that next Tuesday or Wednesday (don't even know why those days were designated) we will be out or we'll know at that time that we'll be out shortly. My roommate Amanda got out of PGN on Friday. Another friend on Tuesday of last week. We should be next I hope. Anyway, sorry to be the bearer of not-so-great news. We're still hanging in there and Blake is still climbing into closets. Chris and I both want a girl soon after this, but honestly, I'm not sure I could deal with this process again. We'll see though. I'm sure I'll change my mind. Thinking of you all. Here are some gorgeous scenery pictures that help me smile!

Today was the big meeting and still no news :(

2007-11-16T12:02:00.000-08:00

OK. We're waiting on pins and needles here for the results of our meeting with the head guy in PGN. We should hear shortly. It's already 2:00PM here though and I can't get a hold of anyone. We're still crossing our fingers as this was a big day. I personally called PGN this morning and spoke with a very kind woman who told us we were with the second reviewer. This is good because then it goes to the final guy for sign off, but the problem is we were there last week too. Hopefully by tonight or tomorrow morning we'll know more. The thing is now, we will for sure NOT be home for Thanksgiving. Now, possibly we'll be home for Christmas, but no guarantees. At least on Thanksgiving we can be thankful for the most beautiful baby in the world!
In order to pass the time by lately, my roommates and I either eat everything in sight and/or go shopping. Blake likes to eat too and his favorite meal is refried black beans. Today he ate a scrambled egg mixed with beans (a true Latino). He is also literally ready to walk. He is pulling himself up onto everything, standing up and today, balancing on me with one hand. He doesn't like to sit anymore! He has so much energy I can hardly believe it. Will he be a wrestler or football player? You tell us. Yesterday, he stood by himself for about 10 seconds. He's still VERY unsteady, but he wants to walk so bad!! He's done with this crawling business I guess. He also thinks it's fun to crawl into closets and play with things there or crawl under the table and then stand up (see the series of closet photos from last night). Can you believe we're already getting ready for his 10 month doctor visit? Yes, on Dec. 7th, he'll be 10 months. This is a great age. Blake has so much personality and is so funny to be around. He continues to be a flirt and is babbling all the time. He has sad "da-da" and yes today, "ma-ma." I know he has no idea what he's babbling, but who cares.
The other news is that at the end of this month I have to move out of this house (another woman has rented my room because we thought we'd be home by now). It is kind of ironic because after meeting another adoptive mom last week in the park from Redmond, it turns out that her apartment complex has a one bedroom available that I can rent week to week or monthly. Blake and I walked to it yesterday and it is perfect. It has a nice washer and dryer, my own large kitchen, a spiral staircase that leads up to my bedroom attached to a bathroom, Internet service (free) and best of all, Monica will be right next door! She just got out of PGN last week so will be going home in about 4-5 weeks. It will be nice to enjoy her company for a short time when I move in! I will post photos of the apartment as soon as possible. I promise to post any new news we here a/s/a/p! Wish us luck.

2007-11-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

More Pictures!

2007-11-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

Not the best news - but we'll try to hang in there

2007-11-10T18:21:00.000-08:00

So the latest with our adoption is that no one seems to know anything! Isn't that comforting?!! Our facilitators told us we'd be out of PGN last Tuesday or Wednesday (that didn't happen), then they told us for sure this last Friday (that didn't happen). Now, our facilitators tell us that our file is on the boss' desk ready to be signed to be out of PGN ONCE AGAIN and the other side is saying it could be another 2 weeks!! So, we're very frustrated right now and just don't know what to think. I think the reality is that NOBODY knows when we'll get out again so they're just making up dates. Do you notice my sense of frustration?!! Nevertheless, I am enjoying every moment with Blake and I know there is nowhere else I'd rather be. I know I've said that so many times, but it's true! Every day brings something new. A couple days ago I found myself assisting an intoxicated woman who was 3 months pregnant. Yesterday, I spent 2 hours with 3 Mayan women in the park selling jewelry and we ended up taking care of each other's babies while sitting there on a park bench. I love the way I walk by families or people walking alone and they smile back when I do and say "Buenos Dias" or "Buenas Tardes." In the states, it's not this friendly! Here are some other great things I've experienced lately or enjoy about Antigua:

1. Going to the market every day. It's like walking through Pike Place Market, but much more in depth, detailed and colorful. Every day I have to buy something new because it's such a great deal.

2. Buying $2.00 illegally reproduced DVD's (I'll probably get caught with these on my way home). I think I have a collection of 10 movies now for about $20.00.

3. Cheap imitation Abercrombie and Fitch, Lacoste, and Ralph Lauren clothing and hats. Even though they practically fall apart in the washing machine, they're still fun to buy and wear while I'm here.

4. The outside seating area with a garden, fountain and view of the volcano at McDonald's (see my pictures)>

5. Discovering that my camera has a few more interesting settings (see my new black and white or monochromatic pictures - yes I'm bored again).

6. Meeting new people every day and hearing there stories. Would you believe I met a woman who is also adopting that literally lives about 15 minutes away from my house in Washington?!!! Small world I must say.

7. Sharing adoption stories.

8. The Guatemalan children.

9. Reading a bilingual book with a little Mayan girl, Gabi, in the park. Oh how I miss my students and reading these books with them (see pictures).

10. Finding other Guatemalan babies who are bigger than Blake at a younger age (this is funny because every Guatemalan person tells me how big Blake is for his age and for a Guatemalan baby). I beg to differ when I picked up this 24 lb. 8 MONTH OLD BOY, Jose (see pictures)!

11. Buying a loaf of fresh warm banana bread literally once a week. I think it's gone in about 3 days though as I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner it's that good.

12. Finding a Glade candle in the Target-like store in Guatemala City (this is a rarity).

13. Bargaining with street vendors. Although afterwards I feel guilty that I didn't just give them everything in my purse (I would if I could). They so badly want a sale.

14. The continuous random fireworks every other night.

15. Listening to Blake babble for a half hour while I try to wake up in the morning.

16. Watching Blake light up when a Guatemalan woman picks him up.

17. Listening to Blake laugh when I tickle him every night on the bed (he suddenly gets a burst of energy right before bed).

18. Waking up to his little hand touching mine through the netting on his Pack and Play.

19. Doing more loads of laundry than I've ever done in one week (yes, I do like doing laundry for some odd reason).

20. My roommates. They are outstanding this trip and I am so lucky to have them in my lives. They are wonderful people and make the days go by so much faster.

21. Taking our babies to McDonald's for breakfast in the morning in their pajamas and watching them play by the fountain.

Blake is 9 months old Today! November 7

2007-11-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

Daddy and Blake!

2007-11-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

Chris came to visit us on Saturday and although he already has to leave tomorrow, we're so happy to have spent time with him! Blake loves to wrestle with Daddy on the big bed and walk miles around town in the front pack! We've had a great time together and it will be hard to see him go. We were really hoping for good news (out of PGN again) by today, but no luck. Cross your fingers for that out by this Friday. We want to go home!!

DIA DE LOS SANTOS/MUERTOS (DAY OF THE SAINTS/DEAD) NOV. 1

2007-11-02T15:17:00.000-07:00

Happy belated Halloween everybody! Wow, there is lots to tell so I'll just get started. On Halloween, my two roommates and I went to the city to the giant store Hiper Paiz which is equivalent to a Fred Meyer I'd say. They have American food and more of a variety as well as clothes, toys, home goods, etc. It's a little like a Walmart too which everyone knows is my favorite store besides Target. I was the only one that brought their child (because I just can't leave him) and so it was interesting to push a cart and carry a baby in the other arm because he wasn't interested in sitting in the cart. Hmm.. that's nice. We had a great time though and shopped for 2 hours! Our other goal with this excursion was to buy a Halloween costume for our housekeeper's daughter as well as pumpkins. Funny, we never did get to carve them yet! Actually, Heather, one of our roommates and her husband and child did carve one - Amanda and I will carve them on Thanksgiving maybe!

Yesterday, we had the best day ever as we had the opportunity to go to a neighboring town for their "Dia de los Santos/Muertos" celebration. For those of you who don't know about this holiday, it is a traditional Latin festival in which all of the families get together in the cemetary where their loved ones are buried. It is a day of celebration rather than mourning since they believe their families are alive in heaven and they all get together to eat, enjoy music and fly kites. Now when I say kites, I don't just mean your average little drugstore kite although there were plenty of these. They also have kites that are so huge that they have to be flown by 20 men. They looked like giant ferris wheels (that's how big they were -see our pictures). They were absolutely gorgeous and made out of tissue paper. They reminded me of a finely crafted quilt. Each one had special meaning for the town, a family or this day of celebration. People come from miles (it was packed) to see these kites and remember those who have passed. It was quite spectacular and we are so glad we went.

On a more solemn note, our taxi driver/tour guide accompanied us through the cemetary and was very happy to answer my questions about the particular gravesites. You might think this sounds a bit morbid, but it was very interesting. First of all, cemetaries in Latin America (especially Guatemala) are beyond beautiful. They are colorful, have flowers everywhere and are worth just going to walk around and see on an average day. Each family, depending on money, buries their loved ones differently. For example, those with money, bury their family in coffins as we do and then cement is built around the coffin. Some families build casitas (a house) around or over the coffin and some even have doors. The family then gets to choose what color to paint the casita. They are beautiful. Families without money, on the other hand, don't have the privilege of cement (can you imagine) and therefore bury in coffins, with a mound of dirt over them. On this particular day, these gravesites were either painted (the dirt is actually painted) or pine needles are sprinkled all over the mound. The most heartwrenching thing we saw was child after child, after baby buried. Someone told us that 1/5 children die daily in Guatemala. When I asked our taxi driver Raul why, he said that many children walk around the streets without shoes and have little money. They eat food they find on the street (basically garbage) and then get sick with amoebas. Once the child is sick, the family can't afford to buy medicine, so the child dies. It is awful. The pictures here, although they're difficult to see, are so significant of this country. One other funny thing. The families leave food on the gravesites at night as well as little containers of alcohol for the adults. The belief is that at night, after all the families have gone home, the dead rise to eat and drink. They believe this because when they return the next day, it is gone. What they don't realize is that every stray dog and homeless person in the town have a party of their own once the families have gone home eating and drinking what has been left! The one picture with the 3 little containers is a picture of 3 types of alcohol that were left on a gravesite.

On a happier note, we were told that the reason we were kicked out of PGN was indeed for a misspelling, however it had already been fixed by our agency awhile ago and they didn't realize it. I don't get it. Anyway, they've apologized to our agency (it should be to us I think) and said we should be out again with approval to go home on Tuesday or Wednesday. Since Nov. 1 was a holiday, today as well as Monday is too (they take advantage of a one day holiday apparently). I guess we do too with Thanksgiving and Christmas though! It's just not so nice for us adoptive parents waiting!

We had a nice Halloween with a little party back at the house after returning from the Guatemalan Walmart and we made chili, had cake and treats and dressed all the kids up! We had a fun time, but of course we were all wishing we were back in the states waiting for cute trick or treaters to knock on our doors. Hope everyone is doing well. Thank you for your prayers this last week with our little setback. Love you all.

A KICKOUT OF PGN AFTER FINAL SIGNATURE AND OUR BABY THINKS HE'S A DOG!

2007-10-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is the wonderful news for the day. Apparently even after everyone reviewed our file and it was signed off, 20 files were asked to be rereviewed and what do you know, the name of our Guatemalan attorney (the mandatory) in charge of our case was misspelled on several documents. We were told that we were not the only file previewed with this rereview so that makes us feel better, but still. It is beyond disappointing when you were just told you were getting ready to go home and now it's going to be a bit of a delay. The good news is that if our facilitator here has a name affidavit for the mandatory then he can pick up our file and have this fixed in a couple of days. If he doesn't, it will be like 5 days to fix. After it is fixed, we will be resubmitted and we were told that we should be moved right along upon resubmission to perhaps get out again in 1-2 weeks. We'll see. Please keep your fingers crossed for us.

Blake is doing really well and continues to brighten my day with new little things he's learned. He's been a little clingy lately (which I'm not complaining about) and loves to climb up on me and then stand up with my support. He has also discovered his tongue and crawls around the floor with it sticking out quite often. These pictures I've posted I'm sure will make you laugh! He is growing every day; in fact he must be 20 pounds by now. We have his 9 month doctor visit around his 9 month birthday - November 7th. It looks like we probably won't be home for Thanksgiving now which is SO disappointing. We will hope for Christmas now. What a journey.

A Scare with PGN

2007-10-27T05:12:00.000-07:00

We need your prayers and positive thoughts as much as possible at this time because as of Friday, our file (yes, after being signed) was pulled back along with 19 other files for rereview. This is our worst nightmare. Apparently one of the twenty files has something wrong and they are uncertain as to which file it is. Therefore, all twenty have been "recalled" for rereview even after being signed. We thought we might hear last night about the status, but we didn't so the soonest we'll know if our file is OK or not will be at 10:00AM on Monday morning after a meeting with the sub general attorney. If ours is the one with the error, we WILL get a previo (kick out) and have to begin all over again at step one in PGN. Depending on the error, it could be as short as a 2 week fix or as long as an 8 week delay in the adoption. We are praying that our file is OK. If it is OK, we'll go on as if this never happened and we'll be back where we started last Wednesday - getting the Passport, new birth certificate, etc. to go home. Now, here Blake and I sit in Antigua and Chris in Seattle, nervous all weekend as to what's going to happen on Monday. We can't believe that we got final signature and then the file was asked to be seen again (along with the others). If our file is OK, I feel awful for the family who will get a previo after all of this waiting. This is torture! We know we have to stay positive, but it is hard at this point - just when we thought we were going home fairly soon. Thank you for your support - we need it right now.

More Antigua and Blake Pics!

2007-10-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

WE ARE OUT OF PGN AND COMING HOME!!

2007-10-25T04:36:00.000-07:00

Hallelujah! I can't believe that we are actually on our way home soon. What a relief. We spent 6 weeks waiting to get into PGN because of a missing document and then 8 weeks exactly in. We had no previos (kick outs) though so we are counting our blessings. We got the phone call yesterday afternoon while walking in the market! Amanda took a couple of pictures of me with Blake immediately after the phone call to show how excited we were!! Now we have to get Blake's passport, new birth certificate, 2nd DNA test and then we'll wait for our Embassy appointment once all of this is submitted. Once we have our appointment there, we pick up Blake's Visa the next day and we are free to return home!! I can't wait for Chris to come pick up his son and then return as a family together. We have never been happier. Blake will turn 9 months on November 7th so I'd say by the time we get home this whole process will have taken about 9 1/2 months. We have no regrets whatsoever even though it got really tough emotionally along the way. Blake is worth every minute, hour and week we waited. Right now it's 5:50am and Blake is wide awake playing with tupperware on the floor next to me! You got to love these early mornings! I think on Monday we'll be able to go to the city together to get his Passport picture taken and to pick up his adoption decree (which his biological mom will sign for the last time in the next couple of days). Thank you friends and family for your continual support, prayers and love to bring Blake home. We cannot wait to take him to the park, have Christmas together, have him meet his new doggies Remi and Lucky and meet his new family. What a joyful time! Here are some new pictures of Blake with his cool red flip flops! Mayela and Melina - you did good! He loves them!! Miss you all.

Early Morning Blogging in Antigua!

2007-10-19T05:53:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family! Blake just went down for his morning 7-9 nap and I'm enjoying the tranquility of Casa Bella with a cup of coffee. Yesterday, Amanda and I had quite the afternoon after the babies woke up from naps. Our initial goal was to go the market to get fruit, but instead we ended up with a tire almost falling off of Amanda's jogger stroller, amidst a rainstorm with 3 babies and running around town looking for a bicycle shop that fixes wheels! Whew! During the rainstorm however, we took shelter in an ice-cream shop where Amanda introduced me to a banana split for 10 quetzales. She's been doing a great job helping me gain back the weight I lost here this summer by taking me to bakery's for the best banana bread on the planet, cookies, ice-cream, etc. She's not a great influence, but I love her anyway. Blake is doing well and is growing every day. He's eating pureed carrots, crackers, mashed potatoes, refried black beans, bananas, and other baby food vegetables and loving being introduced to new foods. He didn't quite care for the cold ice-cream yesterday, but I'm sure that will change! I took some great pictures of the market and children there yesterday while we were trying to maneuver jogger strollers through tiny pathways! It's always a laughable adventure when we take the strollers out. Our lives are shown perfectly here in the pictures of us with our babies and the strollers! This is what we do everyday! Love you all. P.S. Blogger is having problems downloading photos so the ones I was trying to post just now, we'll have to try again later!

Up at 5:00AM everyday and Mom has a new bedtime!

2007-10-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

5:00 AM...hmmm...this is an interesting hour to get up each morning. First of all, there is no sound to be heard in the whole entire village or house, it's still dark out and I can barely see the stairs I'm stepping down with 19 pounds of baby in my arms. This is safe I must say! So, I've decided that 8:30PM is my new bedtime or I will not function at this early hour anymore! You've got to love it. I keep trying to keep Blake awake a little later each night, but regardless, he's still up with the roosters (I forgot to mention sometimes I hear them at 5:00AM). I love how each morning, Blake wakes up with a giant smile on his face and he kicks his legs and flaps his arms when he sees me. If I can look forward to this every morning, the early hour is worth it.

Not too much news around Casa Bella lately. We are expecting a new mom and her baby girl today. This will be fun to have a new friend in the house. Blake and I are going for a crazy taxi ride today to the city to visit Rocio (his foster mom) so we can get the rest of his clothes, toys, etc. she forgot to bring to the airport. She will be so happy to see Blake!

Oh, how could I forget about our doctor excursion yesterday morning. One of Amanda's little girls, Aleeyah, was running a fever for a few days and with Blake's lung and breathing issues, we decided we should make a trip to our good friend Dr. Juarez (who thinks we are nervous Gringas!) No, he's very nice, he just thinks we worry too much. Turns out, he agreed with me that Blake is allergic to something in this house so he prescribed Claritin and an anti-inflammatory/phlegm medicine. Little Aleeyah had the start of a tonsil infection (puss on her tonsils) so she was put on antibiotics. She's already feeling better thank goodness. Interesting though that Dr. Juarez did not specific CHILDREN'S Claritin on his prescription and when I asked about it, sure enough, they ended up trading the ADULT version for pediatric drops. That's not a huge ERROR OR ANYTHING!! Aghh! Blake would have been a wreck on adult medication. Thank goodness I speak Spanish - that's all I have to say. So anyway, here we are today constantly checking my emails and phone messages to see if we're out of PGN. Tomorrow will be 7 weeks in so this week should be it. Please cross your fingers for us!

A Bouquet of Flowers for $1.00!

2007-10-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. Flowers for $1.00. I'll explain. Yesterday, Blake and I went for a long walk in the section of the market that is not the most pleasant for some, but for me, the most interesting! When I took my sister to this section of the market for example, she had to leave because she almost threw up from the raw meat smells lingering in the air. I like this market because everyday you find something new. I think I mentioned this market last time I was here, but I swear, I just found that it continues on and in a way it is kind of intriguing when you have nothing better to do in Antigua! So, getting back to the point of this entry. I came across a Mayan woman selling flowers in a back corner. She had a variety of Mums, Roses, and Hawaiian looking flowers. The ones that caught my attention were so fragrant. They reminded me of the scent of a Hawaiian lei. They were gorgeous. So, I asked the woman how much a bouquet would be figuring that this fancy of a flower would be about 50 quetzales (about $6.00) but no - she first said, "8 quetzales" which is the equivalent of about $1.00. I couldn't believe it. Of course I bought them and just gave her 10 quetzales. So this was the nice part of today's events. It became not-so-nice later that evening. We brought the flowers home (I gave some to Amanda to put in her room and I put the other vase in mine) and Blake grabbed and smelled them the entire way home from his front pack. We ate dinner, got ready for bed and then Blake went down for the night. At about 9:30PM, Blake was restless, and he was coughing and congested. Blake has always had a little bit of a lung thing (which the doctors here say is Bronchitis, however after having it for 4 months now, I'm beginning to think it's something else) so I thought nothing of it. I got up with him, made a new bottle and we walked around a bit. Finally it dawned on me that perhaps Blake's breathing issues are allergy related and are brought on by things like fumes in the air, FRAGRANT FLOWERS, etc. After 4 hours of no sleep, I removed the flowers and wouldn't you know, Blake was out. I don't know if this was just a coincidence or if indeed he does have allergies or allergy onset asthma. Any nurses out there? So, here we are today and Blake is sleeping well. In fact, he took a 3 hour nap this morning (7:30-10:30) to make up for last night's lack of sleep (I took advantage of this nap time too!)
The sun is just beginning to come out again after 7 days of Seattle weather (rain and clouds). It's actually rather cold here at night, so we get fairly bundled up before bed. Let's hope the sun stays for awhile now! It's much more fun to explore Antigua when it's sunny! Enjoy these new pictures - steak anyone?!!

PLEASE HELP ADOPTIVE FAMILIES!

2007-10-11T05:50:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you have read in numerous newspaper articles, the US Government has decided to implement the Hague Convention Law beginning on January 1, 2008. To put it simply, this could mean that adoptions already in process at that time, may not finish or could take a ridiculous amount of time to finish based on new regulations for adoptions between the US and Guatemala. Therefore, we need your help in bringing other babies like Blake home to their families in the U.S. It would be like someone saying to us that after all of this time, Blake's adoption would be stopped and that he was going to an orphanage until further action from the U.S. Can you imagine? I have left the link for the online petition that has been circulating on I think about every adoptive mom's blog site. It takes 2 minutes or less to type in your name and add it to the list. Basically, you and thousands of others will be signing to say you too, disagree with this. We pray that adoptions already in process WILL finish and WILL go home to their loving families even when the Hague is implemented in less than 3 months. Thank you for your support. The link is: http://www.petitiononline.com/guatpos/petition.html

This is Paradise!!

2007-10-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

We are together at last! We are having a great time already, however we are wishing Chris were here to enjoy it with us. Hopefully he'll be coming down soon. Seeing Blake for the second time was almost surreal. I still can't believe he is really OUR baby. When he saw me at the airport he gave me the biggest smile ever and right then and there I knew this was where I was supposed to be. Blake has had no separation anxiety from his foster mother so far and has in fact transitioned to being with me with no problem. I really think he does still remember his mommy! Whew! We are having so much fun together and I am loving this age. He has so much more personality now and he giggles all the time. It is so adorable. He also has almost 6 teeth now (two on the bottom and 3 1/2 on the top), is beginning to crawl (he's scooting and pulling himself around, however got on his knees and almost did it today), grabbing at everything in his reach and so alert with his environment. If he hears the slightest noise, he immediately turns his head towards it and he observes everything all the time. It is so fun to watch him take in this world. His hair is thicker now and he's grown so much (18 pounds now). I really understand now when people say, "they grow up too fast." It is true. That is why we plan to enjoy every minute of this journey together as a family.

This morning, our friend Elizabeth and Isabel finally got to go home. I lived with Elizabeth all summer and we became great friends. It was sad to see her go. Now we're down to me and Amanda who has 2 little ones ages 6 and 13 months. They are darling little girls and we have had a lot of fun together since our arrival. Blake is the man of the house now! Next weekend another mommy will arrive with her two daughters (one of whom she just decided to adopt at 2 weeks old)! The first daughter is still in process. We are still hoping to be out of PGN this week or next - no word yet, but we'll keep you posted. Right now I am enjoying every minute with the happiest little guy ever! More to come so stay tuned :)

Happy 8 Month Birthday, Blake! Oct. 8th. Mommy will be there in the Morning!

2007-10-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

Thought you'd enjoy these pictures we just got about two hours ago! What great timing right before I leave! These pictures definitely get me even more excited to squeeze Blake in my arms as tight as possible and this time never let go!!

Lara leaves for Guatemala in 2 days!!

2007-10-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

I am actually leaving to be with Blake again! We've been so busy lately with work and everything else, that this time has just kind of crept up on us. I am so excited to be with that sweet baby. It's also hard to believe that this time I will be staying there until we bring him home!! Yes, we will be bringing him home! Of course, we don't know the exact timing, but we're aiming for before Thanksgiving. We'll keep our fingers crossed. My flight leaves on Sunday night at 11:45PM and then I arrive in Guatemala City at 11:30AM the next morning! We've talked to our agency and the proper fostering documents will be given to me at the airport so I no longer feel nervous about fostering and not being quite out of PGN. Hopefully that will be soon too. Next Wednesday will make 6 weeks. At this point, the time doesn't matter as long as I'm there with Blake. Chris is trying to come for a week or two when we have our embassy check out appt. He will be there to come take us home as a family! What a long haul this has been, but it has been worth it every step of the way. Just having the opportunity to experience another culture in Guatemala, spend time with our own baby, and meet wonderful fostering families along the way has been an experience of a lifetime. I promise to keep you all posted once I arrive on Monday! I'm sure you will be overloaded with Blake pictures! I am officially on leave from work as of Monday and will return to work full time on January 7, 2008! I am so lucky to have all this time to spend with Blake. Once I return to work, Grandma Bennett will get to take over and she is SO excited. She's been busy buying a crib, clothes, and fun toys to keep Blake happy while he's at her house. He will be in loving hands indeed. We love you all and until Monday - hasta luego y bon voyage!

Look at how I'm growing! 8 months on Oct. 7th!

2007-09-28T22:09:00.000-07:00

4 weeks in PGN and Lara leaves for Guatemala on October 7th!

2007-09-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

Hello friends and family! We apologize for not posting more frequently this month, but with the start of a new school year and everything else going on, we've been so busy! Not to mention that we miss our sweet boy so much. On the positive side, we continue to hear good news about our case moving quickly through PGN. We've made it through an advisor and 2 reviewers who are the main ones to get through. We just need to get this last reviewer's sign off and then our file goes back to the sub general attorney's secretary and then to the actual Sub General Attorney's desk for final signature. Sorry that's a mouthful! I have been busy preparing to return to Guatemala and as of now, my plan is to leave on Blake's 8 month birthday, October 7th. It has been quite stressful starting a brand new kindergarten class and then 3 weeks later preparing for a substitute to take over, but I know it will all be worth it in the end. My 40 day leave will end on Dec. 12 and the children are out for the holiday vacation on the 18th. I will have to use personal days to make up for the 6 days I'll miss when my leave ends. Our plan is for me to return to work full time in January. As much as full time will kill me (being away from Blake) it seems we have to do it financially this year. I'm so excited for my mom to provide childcare for us when I do return to work! There is no place I'd rather have our baby. She is amazing and we know Blake will be in loving hands once again.

On another subject, we're very sad to say that our dear 11 year old friend, Gloria passed away peacefully from Neuroblastoma last Friday morning. Her funeral will be on Thursday and I plan to attend. It will be sad I'm sure, but we are glad she is not in pain anymore and in a better place. What a sweet angel she was. She will forever be in the hearts of many. These pictures of her were taken a week or two before her passing while I visited at the hospital. She was so excited to hear about Blake and in fact, that's all she could talk about. It's amazing that this sweet friend of mine could be lying in pain and hardly breath, yet was still able to express her happiness for us. This was Gloria. Always thinking of others. I don't remember ever hearing her complain until the very end when the pain was too much to take. She touched so many people's lives and I know that seems like what everyone says after someone's passing, but honestly this girl really did. This was apparent by the letters readers had sent into the Seattle Times sharing how Gloria had touched them. I'm still processing her death right now and am finding it difficult to even understand it completely, but in time I know I will realize more clearly how Gloria has changed my life. We all (those that knew Gloria) have been changed by knowing her; that's a fact.

Until October 7th, we will be busy getting ready to return to beautiful Guatemala! We are so happy to be nearing the end. It's hard to believe that this trip will be our "bring Blake home trip" finally!! (it still hasn't really sunk in yet). We love you all! By the way, the picture of the lady with all of the children is Rocio, Blake's foster mother. The older boy and girl (Angel and Karla) are siblings and have just been placed with a wonderful family in the states (they're still with Rocio, but will be adopted soon). The one holding Blake is her biological daughter Susy. Her other biological daughter is Caroline next to her. The other little boy and another girl (not pictured) are also waiting to go home to their families! With her own girls, that makes 7 children in her care! She is a loving and caring foster mother. I talked to her a couple of weeks ago and she was in tears knowing that she didn't have a lot more time with Blake. She was happy at the same time, but I can imagine what a tough job that would be.

Blake is 7 Months Old on September 7th!

2007-09-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! Thought you might enjoy recent pictures received from Blake's doctor in Guatemala! Dr. Montiel continues to say all is well developmentally and that he's very healthy! He is 16 pounds and happy as can be! It is amazing to see how much he's grown in less than a month. Don't you love his little "big boy" shoes?!! We feel like we just left and he's already so grown up. We cannot wait to see our baby again to squeeze and kiss him. Soon, soon, soon. That's what we have to keep telling ourselves. In the meantime, we have to keep faith that everything will continue going well. He is in good hands. Enjoy.

Next Wednesday Makes 2 weeks in PGN!

2007-09-06T20:21:00.000-07:00

It is so refreshing to know we are PGN. This sounds so silly to some people I'm sure, but after waiting so long, it is nice to know you are on the homeward stretch. Wednesday, August 29th we were officially submitted so next Wednesday will already be two weeks. We continue to hear good news from those working for us and are hoping to hear information about how it went with our first reviewer in PGN, next week. I have returned to work and have 24 sweet little 5 and 6 year olds that just look at me every day needing love. Although teaching is my life and I love every minute of it, I am CONSTANTLY thinking about our Blake. We now (of course) have pictures of him abounding in the house and in my classroom. The pictures are beautiful and remind us of our trip this summer, but they still make us long to see him and be with him even more. Today, Rocio, his amazing and loving foster mother called us just to update us on how he is doing. What a thoughtful gesture. I can't even tell you how good it was to hear her voice and learn that Blake is growing rapidly, eating like crazy and sitting up on his own! She also went to the doctor with him today for his 7 MONTH CHECKUP!! We can't believe he is 7 months. It is amazing how time flies. Many people have asked us how much longer and although we don't have a definite date, we are hopeful that we're almost done. We began our adoption at the beginning of February, 2007. We are heading into our 7 month now. Blake was just 2 weeks old on February 20, 2007 when we received a phone call and then an email with his darling pictures. We still remember the day we were sent them along with a message that said, "We have a healthy 2 week old baby boy available if you are interested." It didn't take us long to decide this one! :) Fortunately, on another subject, our agency was NOT one of the agencies affected by the recent "raid" in Antigua. Rumor has it that things are not as safe as they were in Antigua and this may affect where we stay when we return shortly to bring Blake home. Please pray for the safety of all the fostering families in Guatemala and for this to pass quickly. We continue to love to read your kind comments. They've stopped a bit since I returned so we'd love to hear from you if you get the chance.

Dad and Grandma Michele's 1st Visit with Blake!

2007-08-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

We are FINALLY in PGN after missing 6 WEEKS!

2007-08-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

It is a miracle I think that we are actually in PGN!!!! We can't even tell you how excited we are to be there. What a relief is all we can say. Now we can be reassured that our case will be followed and cared for until we receive approval. We were submitted on Tuesday, August 28th and we received our first DNA pre-approval from the U.S. on July 21st. I can't believe it's been 6 weeks. We seriously could be out of PGN by now. We are not going to dwell on the past though as we now get closer to actually bringing that sweet baby home. At this point, that's all we can think about. Today, I went to Costco to pick up 600 (seriously that's how many I got developed) from my first trip to Guatemala. Of course, I had to get every pose of Blake sitting on the couch, in the bathtub, in the walker, eating his first cereal versus one of each. I'm definitely a bit obsessed with my first child as any mother would be! Now I'm not sure where I'm going to put all of these photos, but I'm sure I'll find a place. Perhaps creating a photo album will help this last amount of time go faster. I sure hope so. The other good news is that according to all those involved with our agency, families have been receiving approval in a much shorter time than in the past. In fact, yesterday we were told of an approval in 9 days. Don't even ask me how that happened, but it was true! We have to still remember that even if we receive approval quickly, we still have at least 3 weeks afterward to get Blake's new birth certificate, Visa, Passport, and our final Embassy appointment. Let's cross our fingers that everything goes smoothly from this point on. I know I've said this before, but I'm saying it again for good luck! Blake's room is more than ready for him at this point. I was able to organize all of the wonderful baby shower gifts we received and he not only will be the best dressed kid in all of his outfits, but he will have plenty of fun things to play with. Thank you all for your beautiful and thoughtful gifts. Blake will enjoy and use everything. We will keep our blog updated as we receive more news. School starts on Tuesday, Sept. 4th already. Last night I had the opportunity to meet all of my students and parents at Open House and it looks like I will have another great class. It's back to the grind, but hopefully work this Fall will be short lived! Enjoy the new pictures!

Back in the States and Missing our Boy :(

2007-08-25T15:03:00.000-07:00

Well, Melaine and I arrived safe back in the states on the 21st. Although it is wonderful to see my husband, drink Starbucks Coffee and see family and friends, we can't get our mind off of Blake. I spent almost 2 months in Antigua and leaving him was SO hard. We know he is in wonderful hands with his loving foster family though. A friend of ours just got out of PGN in a little less than 8 weeks with no kick outs so we are hopeful for this time frame as well. Right now the plan is for me to return to stay with Blake until we bring him home around October 13th (hopefully we'll just be getting out of PGN). This time, Kaylie might come with me! I can't wait for the other sis to meet her new baby nephew. We miss him SOOOO much. I can't post pictures right now and I know you're all waiting for them, but I promise when I return from Canada (where I'm with my husband right now), I will post more. Thank you all for your encouraging and thoughtful comments to the blog while I was gone. They were appreciated.

Auntie Melaine Arrived!

2007-08-16T16:25:00.000-07:00

I apologize for not staying more true to the blog, but I have had the worst random illness for the last 5 days. It began Sunday with a high fever (for three days) and then turned into an almost allergic throat/cough reaction now ending in extreme weakness and fatigue! Fun, fun! Thank goodness Auntie Melaine arrived in the nick of time.

Melaine arrived around 7:00AM on Wednesday morning and immediately grabbed Blake from my arms! She loves him so much and he took to her really fast. He giggles and smiles every time she enters the room! It's so cute. We now only have 5 days left to spend in Guatemala with Blake and we're trying hard to make them the best days together.

As far as our adoption goes, once again, Chris' police document that was mailed apparently was not "done right" according to our agency so once again, we're out another week from PGN. Originally we were going to be in by today. Now, it will be next Wednesday supposedly. Basically we could've been in PGN for a month by now! It's so frustrating, but there's nothing we can do about it. We have to keep remembering that we're going to have Blake with us for the rest of our lives, so I guess we can hang in there now. Most families have been getting out of PGN in 8 weeks so if we go in next week, 8 weeks would be the third week of October. We'd then be looking at actually bringing him home in November. At this point, if we can have Blake home for Christmas it would be the best present yet. Tomorrow, I plan to take Melaine to the wild market to show her chicken feet and raw meat. I'm sure she'll love that! Today we went to the Macadamia Nut Farm and Melaine went in a Tuc-Tuc (which almost crashed with all of us in it) for the first time! After nearling crashing though, she might not though! Our driver told us that our screams scared him and helped him from not crashing! Can you believe it?!! What a different life it is here. We will miss the beauty and quirkiness of Antigua when we go. I'm already looking forward to returning in October!

Check out my New Jet Walker!

2007-08-10T18:28:00.001-07:00

Chris' Police Clearance Document has been Found!

2007-08-09T06:41:00.001-07:00

Finally! We received a phone call last night from Robert saying that our documents have been found. It tooks 2 1/2 weeks to figure out that they were at the San Francisco Guatemalan Consolate (don't even ask me how this couldn't take one phone call). Anyway, the police clearance as well as family photos will be Fed Exed to Robert from San Francisco today and then as soon as Robert receives them, they'll be Fed Exed once again to Alex and Lourdes here in Guatemala (hopefully on Friday). If they receive them Monday, translate the police clearance and then do one more thing they have to do with it here, we should be submitted into PGN on Wednesday or Thursday. Since we're talking about Guatemala time, let's just say HOPEFULLY by the end of next week! Aghh! Now Chris will not have to make a trip to Olympia today to the Washington State Patrol which he was very happy about. We're just trusting Robert that indeed this is the original that was found. Once things begin to be lost, you start wondering who to trust and if your documents are for sure the originals. I can't even tell you how many things get forged or copied here. Let's have faith. If PGN does find anything forged or copied, of course, we'll be kicked out.

Last night, we were able to witness the most beautiful thing. A volcano behind our house erupted giving us a beautiful lava display well into the evening (began around 6 and went to about 9 or 10PM). Not only were we able to see coral colored lava and ash, but as it got dark, we were invited to the rooftop of a neighbor's house to watch the lava fall down the mountain. It was spectacular. I've never seen anything like it. It was like watching a fireworks show, but better. The last time it actual erupted with lava was 6 weeks ago we were told, so this was a rare occasion. We sat and ate pizza for at least an hour or so at the neighbors. It was really neat! I videotaped for at least half and hour. The video coverage is ten times better than the pictures I took. I have posted a few! As soon as we get our video completed once I return home, you're invited to come see it!

Yesterday I received phone calls and emails from my beloved counselor friends at Camp Goodtimes. This is the first summer I've missed camp in 20 years. It's hard to believe this would have been my 20th summer at camp! I miss them so much, but it was so good to hear their voices and know that the kids are happy and having fun. I guess an actual circus came to camp yesterday. Perfect for the circus theme!

Blake is 6 Months Old Today!!

2007-08-07T17:05:00.000-07:00

Is this the happiest kid or what?!! I think he knows how cool he is now that he's a whole 6 months old!! Actually, Blake thinks it's hilarious now when mom fake sneezes so I caught these pictures during a "sneezing episode." Not much positive adoption news at this point - STILL waiting on lost documents. We have hired an adoption attorney so hopefully we'll actually feel like we're in communication with someone after tomorrow. Enjoy happy baby!

We Visited the Filadelfia Coffee Plant!

2007-08-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, my new friend Elizabeth and I and of course the babies went on a tour of the famous Filadelfia Coffee Plant. It was breathtakingly beautiful. I feel so fortunate to be able to see all of these sights! In fact, I think this place is in the book titled, "100 places to see before you die!" This might not be the title exactly - I think I might have the number part wrong! Anyway, we began our tour with Carlos (the guide) around 1:30 who picked up the 4 of us at our front gate. The plant itself is only about 20 minutes outside of Antigua. We also toured the plant with one other family of 4 from Israel who are also here visiting. They were a great family and pretty much it was just the 8 of us there. I think we saw only 2 other parties the whole day. Carlos spoke perfect English and interestingly enough, we were able to learn a little Hebrew as well with the Dad from Israel translating the entire tour to his daughter! Carlos took us literally on a 5 hour tour of the plant and showed us every step from the little coffee sprouts, to the actual plants with beans, to the shelling area (did you know that coffee beans have 3 layers of skin?), then the sun drying area, to the shelling area again, and then to the roasting. At the end, we sat down in a little outside restaurant overlooking a gorgeous view of the hillside and we were given two cups of the best tasting coffee I think I've ever had. Sorry, Starbucks! It was also interesting on this tour to learn that the entire school system in Guatemala is geared around coffee bean picking season. I believe he said that all schools shut down from October to January so that the entire family can make more money bringing their children to help. Families are paid by the weight of the beans they pick so you can imagine with a few extra hands, you'd have a lot more beans and ultimately more money. Carlos told us that the average family in Guatemala makes around $500/month. Can you even imagine? During the coffee season however, families generaly earn I think he said $4-5,ooo so a little more for this time. He said their particular plant pays a little higher than the other 90 plants they have in Guatemala. I had no idea how many coffee plants were in Guatemala. So, next time you are having second thoughts about spending a bit more money at Starbucks for your Grande cup of coffee, think of how many little hands had to pick the beans to make your cup and you might think twice. It's incredible, isn't it? Let's see. What else is new. We're still waiting on our missing document and photos. It is so frustrating, but there's really nothing we can do right now. If they're in the mail, then they'll arrive sooner or later. Worse case scenario, we have to send more pictures and get a new police clearance for Chris. Problem is, it still needs to be authenticated at a US consolate here in Guatemala and this is what appears to be the hold up now. So, let's just add another month, why not?!!! Blake is still as happy as ever and is growing every day. I can't even imagine how big he'll be just after a month or two of me being gone. I can't even think about this right now so let's move onto another subject once again! We are now down to 11 days until Aunt Melaine arrives! It will be so fun to show a family member the beautiful as well as strange sights of this city (for example men pulling over their cars on the side of the road to urinate- that's an interesting sight). Blake is now into pulling and eating my hair while he rides in the backpack seat which is quite fun with, might I say, 4 BAGS OF GROCERIES NOW?!!! Am I Wonderwoman or what?! Just kidding. I have to admit I had to stop about 3 times on the way home from Bodegona today to rest. I just couldn't do it! The other hilarious thing about Guatemala is that if your baby is the least bit fussy, they immediately diagnose what's wrong - "oh, he's hungry, has he eaten?" No, actually I don't feed my baby. Or, "he's cold. Feel his hands and feet." If Blake doesn't have sweat dripping down his hair then he's cold. I just smile and say something silly to them in Spanish and they usually laugh (or call me a weird Gringa after I leave)! I've heard that one yelled a few times! Hopefully I'll have news about the arrival of our stuff on Monday. Please cross your fingers that it is this week at least! We love you all and hope you're all well. Enjoy the coffee plant pictures! Oh, the first picture of the plant is actually the hotel that cost $250/night to stay. In front of it (the large looking patio) is actually the area that they sun dry the beans before they're roasted.

P.S. Have I already said that I have never been happier in my life (than when I got married of course) Spending time here in Antigua with my baby is as good as it can get.

Still Waiting on Documents!

2007-08-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

We are still waiting for the arrival of Chris' police clearance and our family photos at this point. Aghh!! Lourdes told us that she expected them last Friday and it is now 5 days later and they're still not in her hands. This is so frustrating because we could be in PGN this week and now it looks like it will be next week (hopefully). I spoke with our US agent today and he said he has no idea how they're missing from our file. It's simply a mystery apparently. It's funny because Lourdes told me that they hadn't been sent by our US agent because he was having family problems. Hmm...interesting. Can someone fess up?!! Can't you tell the frustration in my voice?!! He said that these documents were sent to a Guatemalan consolate somewhere in the US to be approved before being sent to Lourdes here in Guatemala. Who knows. All I know is that when you're told you might be getting into that step, you get your hopes up and now here we wait again. Well, onto more positive things!! Blake and I have been trying to stay busy every day to help the time go by. I also, of course, want my last few weeks with him to be completely worthwhile. Did I already mention that I've decided to come home with Melaine on the 21st? While it will be so painful (I already feel it and have had several crying episodes with Blake asleep in my arms), I will have more time to be with him once my leave begins from home. We're really hoping that I will only have to work all of September and maybe part of October. If we're able to return to bring Blake home say mid-October, then my leave will begin as soon as we're back in the states. With Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner thereafter, my 40 days will go into the holiday vacation and my estimated date to return to work would be around the first or second week of January. This will be so much better in the long run for Blake. If I stay here, then we will only get more attached to each other and then leaving will be harder. Also, I will have to go directly back to work with no transition for Blake and this would kill me. So, as hard as saying goodbye will be, I have to keep thinking positive that we will bring him home soon and we will have more quality time with him upon our return. Thank you all again for your continuous positive comments for me to stay strong. I keep remembering these words when I feel like I'm going to lose it again!

This morning after Blake's first 1 hour morning nap, we went out in the backpack seat again to the Bodegona (the local tiny supermarket). I'm getting good at carrying a 16 lb. baby on my back as well as 2-4 bags of groceries at least 3 miles both ways. I never thought I had this strength! It's hard work I must say! Blake loves the outings and is happy as ever shaking hands with just about everyone passing by. It is so nice to talk to people during our daily outings. I feel blessed to speak Spanish because you look at things and get to know people on a whole different level when you can communicate with them. We see the most beautiful sights walking by and even though my shoulders ache by the time I get home, it's always worth it to meet someone new or see something new. Often we run into other moms here fostering their babies. It's always nice to know that you aren't the only one feeling frustration and anxiety!!

Blake has now taken to practically running in his walker now. I know he's going to be a soccer player some day. His little legs are so strong and he does NOT stop moving them! He does this kind of crab walk thing and books it across the walkway in the house. It's very humorous and of course, I have about 30 minutes of it on video! He still takes at least 2 naps a day and goes down without crying. He's such an easy baby. We lucked out. Morning naps are still rather short, but the afternoon one, has been at least 2 hours every day. Yesterday was a record 2 1/2! Let's see. What else is new? Oh, Chris and I both have web cams now and Skype! How fun it is to talk and see each other through our computers!

Melaine will be here in exactly 2 weeks! Hope everyone is doing well. Oh, the little boy in the picture with the Dr. Pepper is Carlos whom we met yesterday. We had quite a conversation for about 45 minutes in the park. Another sad story of a dear soul whose mom died 2 years ago leaving him with dad and two older sisters. His job is to shine shoes in the street all day long because he is the only boy in the house. He's never been in school and probably never will be. Sigh...Just maybe the Dr. Pepper I gave him made his day :)

Blake Rides in his First Tuc-Tuc (the roller skate car)

2007-07-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

Our House!

2007-07-28T17:03:00.000-07:00

There's a New Girl in Town!

2007-07-28T16:53:00.000-07:00

Swimming!

2007-07-28T16:36:00.000-07:00

Monday Submitted to PGN?!!

2007-07-24T17:24:00.000-07:00

After talking to Lourdes today, we found out that our pre-approval was picked up at the embassy and our file was being reviewed by her before being submitted to PGN. She told us that our file was somehow missing Chris' Washington State police clearance (which we have, it just wasn't there) and photos of our family, house, job, etc. which we mailed to Robert, our agent months ago. Don't ask me how one or two things can somehow just be missing. This is how families get kicked out of PGN however so at least we know our file is being reviewed well ahead of time. Anyway, the story is that Robert is mailing these items tomorrow Fed Ex however they won't arrive to Guatemala to Lourdes until Friday. If they arrive in time, Lourdes will bring our completed file and submit it to PGN. If it arrives too late, we'll have to wait to be submitted on Monday, July 30th. Lourdes also said that in two weeks (around August 14th), she will check on our file in PGN to find out if we'll be getting kicked out for something else that they may have missed. If she finds out that we won't have a "previo" (kick out), then we've been told it could just be 4 more weeks after that to get approval (6 weeks in all). You never can trust dates you hear though because of course, it will be out of her hands at that point and in the hands of PGN officials. If they see an error in translation we could get kicked out. Please continue crossing your fingers. If this timeline in fact happens, I may rethink about returning home. I would love to stay, of course with Blake, but at this point we have to wait to see if we get kicked out or not. Without kick outs, this could be our timeline to final approval. Anyway, let's move on to a new subject. How about we talk about some of the things we see here every day that is completely different than the US! There are so many, so I'll begin listing them (these I will call the "Top Ten of Antigua"):

1. Babies ride on motorcycles along with their entire family (baby is usually in front of dad and mom in back of dad so it often looks like baby is driving)

2. Fresh meat (literally just sliced off the cow) is always available and sold at the market unrefrigerated -includes flies if you ask

3. Human feces is covered up by a white substance so people are more aware of what they're walking in on the sidewalks

4. Women breastfeed openly (I mean this literally) - breast hanging out and baby hanging on

5. Men ride bikes on bumpy cobblestone roads (this has got to hurt)

6. People carry furniture (sometimes larger than themselves) on their backs for miles - women carry baskets with goods on their backs sometimes while at the same time carrying a child of 5 years of age on their back and four other children in tow

7. Random blasts throughout the day and night (we're not sure if they're fireworks, guns??)

8. Armed guards no older than 18 at times, stand in front of every bank and will not smile no matter what to show their brut power

9. Psychedelic chicken buses dominate the streets and yell "Guate, Guate!!" as they go by (meaning they are headed to Guatemala City)

10. There are no traffic lights and rarely a traffic sign therefore, traffic is a game of its own. If you're hit, oh well!

Actually, I don't mean to make light of any of this. It is quite an experience being here every day. These are just some of the things that make me smile as I cruise by with my baby who thinks nothing of it!!

The people here continue to be the kindest people I've ever met. They are genuine, helpful and work so hard for their families just to survive every day. It makes you realize how good we have it in the U.S. Did you know that 1 in 4 children die here every day because their families can't afford the medicine at the hospitals needed to keep them alive? I may have already mentioned this. It breaks my heart. You want to help them all and hand them all money. If you ever feel like donating to a good cause, please donate to a family or child in Guatemala. I know other countries are needy as well, but this country will always hold a soft place in my heart. I want to take 4 children back with me, but I know this is not possible. Still awaiting Auntie Melaine's arrival! We can't wait to introduce her to the top 10 of Antigua!! By the way, the picture of the two women together are Blake's foster mothers who are sisters (Rocio and Karina). They are amazing. They have given nothing but love and care to Blake. They love him as their own. The other lady holding Blake is Virginia, the housekeeper of our house. Oh, there's one more lady with long curly hair holding Blake. I met her the other day at the market. She was from Honduras and here doing business. She adored Blake and quickly swooped him into her arms! His new name is "coqueto" which means flirt in Spanish! Can't you tell from all of the women holding him! He's only 5 months and they can't keep their hands off of him! What will we do when he's 17?!!! Thank you all for the thoughtful and reassuring comments. I love to read them every day. You have all been so supportive and wonderful.

2007-07-22T08:48:00.000-07:00

We have Pre-Approval!

2007-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

Big news! We received pre-approval from the US Embassy yesterday! Hooray! This means that our DNA was approved and our next step is our last step - PGN! On Monday, Lourdes, our facilitator here in Guatemala will pick up the pre-approval and then submit it along with our file to PGN. She told me should would do this on Tuesday or Wednesday. We are so happy to finally be moving on once again. What a relief. We will hope for a quick time in PGN. What is new here? Well, let's see. Blake's bottom two teeth are really beginning to show now and he is not as fussy as he was when they were popping through. Poor little guy. At one point I actually found a small chunk of his gums hanging in front of his little tooth. I felt so bad for him. We went to see Dr. Montiel yesterday (see the picture) for my first time - Blake's 5th! Blake weighs 15 1/2 pounds now which is only 1/2 lb. more than last time so I think we'll up the rice cereal a bit! He was smiling and talking to Dr. Montiel until he had to get a Polio shot which sent him over the edge! It is SO awful to watch your baby cry like that. Thankfully, he happied right up. Rocio, Blake's foster mom has been missing him terribly so I invited her to come meet us along with her daughter for the appointment. She couldn't take her hands off him and was a great help at the doctor's office. We are so fortunate to have her. We hope Blake will always stay in contact with her throughout his life. Let's see. Oh, mom has had Montezuma's Revenge after eating at McDonald's (which I'll never do again) last Wednesday. Fortunately I loaded up on the "D" medication before leaving so this has helped. This is the second time now so hopefully it will be the last! On another note, Antigua has been celebrating a certain saint day (July 25th) all month and so there have been much festivities in the central park along with fireworks at night! Thankfully all the babies here are used to this noise and they sleep right through it. Blake has been attempting rice cereal in the last week or so. He's not too sure about it, but a little bit is going down at least! These pictures say it all! I am trying really hard to stay occupied and distracted day by day because the minute I don't, I begin thinking of home and Chris and my dogs that I've left behind. It is hard, believe me. I am trying to keep my head up though for Blake's sake though to be the best mommy I can be. The daily emails from Kaylie and phone calls from Chris continue to keep me smiling as well as Blake's adorable face.

On another subject, Blake's birth mom wants to meet me. This has been a really sensitive subject lately and Chris and I have been really torn about whether to meet with her or not. We received a phone call last week from Lourdes who said that she wanted to meet me to make sure Blake was happy and safe and that I was a good person. Apparently, as awful as this sounds, there are newspaper articles in Guatemala that are stating that Americans are adopting babies to donate their organs for money. This makes me sick, but to some Guatemalans, this is very true and they believe every word especially when their towns are pressuring them. This is what has been happening to Blake's birth mom. We had planned on meeting her (along with Lourdes and her business partner) last Wednesday, but I got a call at the last minute saying that the birth mom's brother had died the night before in a car accident and that she wanted to reschedule. So, as of now, we sit waiting for the phone call to meet again. Perhaps that phone call will not come (which might be a relief), but if it does, I think it will be best if I meet. If not, our agent has said it will cause more anxiety and who knows what could happen at that point. The thing that has been stressing me out to the max is that a friend of mine, Jen from Arizona who was fostering her 3 month old baby in a house nearby was in the same step of the adoption process as us. 5 days ago, she received a phone call from her agency saying that her baby's birth mom had changed her mind and they were coming to get her baby in three hours. She was devastated of course and came to talk to me about it. I was speechless. She assured me though (after me telling her that I was meeting with Blake's birth mom the next day) that this was a rare occurrence and I shouldn't worry. Still, I cannot stop thinking about the phone call I might get in the next few weeks. At this point in the adoption, she can still change her mind. Please send positive thoughts our way so that this won't be the case. I have spoken with Lourdes several times about how we feel and she continues to tell us that the birth mom is 100% positive about her decision to put Blake up for adoption and all she wants to see is that Blake is in loving arms. Hopefully this will be obvious to her when we do end up meeting. I have begun writing her a letter in the hopes that she can take it back with her. Chris has sent me pictures of us, our house, our dogs, and Blake's nursery in the hopes that they will put her at peace with this adoption. Auntie Melaine will be here in 3 weeks! She is still waiting on an expedited passport that is supposed to arrive in the next 2 1/2 weeks. It will be cutting it short so if it doesn't arrive in time, she will reschedule her flight for a few days later! We are thinking of you all and wishing you well. There are so many fun things I keep thinking about that I want us to do when we return home I can hardly stand the wait! Please pray for no kick outs and a smooth PGN process! Please also pray for the speedy return of all of the moms living here with us at Casa Bella. Love you all.

Grandma Bennett returns to Seattle :(

2007-07-17T13:55:00.000-07:00

We said bye to Grandma this morning and it was so sad once again to see our third family member leave us. Grandma grew so attached to Blake and Blake loves her so much. Every morning when he woke up I'd bring him to her and he'd greet her with a huge dimply smile! We are so lucky. What a sweet baby we have! Now Blake is sleeping and I am sitting here a bit lonely for my mom who was so helpful and reassuring of my mothering! Today is a beautiful blue sky day and Rebecca (another mom here), our babies and I made our way to the local market (we do this daily for entertainment) - the Bodegona to buy diapers and other baby necessities. Blake continues to be a trooper and is happy as can be smiling at everyone walking by. Everyone stops to shake his little hand and say "Que bello bebe o que bello ojos" which means "what a beautiful boy "or "what beautiful eyes." Those big brown eyes are hard to miss I must say :) Big news! Blake's bottom two teeth are coming in as you can see in the picture I just posted! One is really showing while the other is just poking through. He continues to shove everything in his mouth as he teethes and has not shown much sign of distress which is a plus. He also just started giggling which is my favorite! His little giggle is so sweet. Chris and I continue to stay in contact via phone every day. He is thinking about getting web cams for us to talk and see each other! I don't know if this will make me happy or sad. I think us seeing each other might make us miss each other more. We hope you are all enjoying the summer. Will post again soon. Oh, did I mention that there is a 10 day old baby girl available through our agency?....:)

Hola!

2007-07-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

Hello! How is everyone's summer going? Since it is the rainy season here in Guatemala the weather is fairly unpredictable. We are missing the hot summer days in Washington! Yesterday we had rain almost all day and it was overcast. Today, on the other hand, it is sunny with blue skies! Go figure. We're so sad today because it is Grandma Bennett's last day with us. She has been so helpful with Blake and we've had so much fun together that it will be hard to see her go tomorrow morning. We'll be lonely once again until Aunt Melaine arrives on August 14th! We can't wait and of course, she is overjoyed to be coming to meet her new nephew! I've been a little homesick lately and especially missing Chris and our dogs. Please continue posting us comments because I swear, they are all I have to keep my going! They make my day when I've been having a hard day missing you all. Not much else to write about today except that I can't wait to come home already!!! Love you all and missing you. Enjoy these new pictures of Blake in his Sunday best!

2007-07-12T20:53:00.001-07:00

Antigua Scenery!

2007-07-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Blake, Grandma and I went walking and shopping together near the famous "arco" arch in Antigua. We had a great time and Blake did so good being lugged around all over town. With my shopping habit, he's going to have to get used to this! While Grandma went into the bank I had a nice conversation with a darling little girl (her picture is here) and her mom selling their jewelry on the street. Turns out that this sweetheart was 6 years old and getting ready to go kindergarten next year (we're still not sure why she's not in school now, but most likely because she's earning money for the family on the streets). So sad, but this is fairly normal here. Anyway, I couldn't resist taking a picture of her. How beautiful is she?! Today has been a tough day as I'm still debating what to do with work and our adoption. Basically, I have two options. One, I can begin my 40 day leave on August 28th when my contract begins and then stay here until the adoption is final. Problem is, this could go over my 40 days and then I'd have to apply for family medical leave with no pay. With PGN being so unpredictable, it could be possible I'd still be down here in November/December at the latest. The other deal with this option is that I'd have to come home and immediately start work again with no transition for Blake to be at home with us to adjust. However, if PGN did go into November or December, I would have some time to be with him as we'd be heading into Thanksgiving/Christmas vacation. Option 2 would be to come home around August 20th or so, set up my classroom and teach until Blake was ready to come home. Then, once he was home, my 40 days would begin and we would be guaranteed time together at home those days. So, this is the dilema I'm facing right now. Hopefully as time passes, the decision will become clearer. It just drives me crazy thinking about what would be best for me, Blake and Chris. Thank you for your positive thoughts on this subject! Hopefully it will just come to me. Right now, the thought of leaving Blake a week before August 28th makes me teary. We'll see what happens. I hope you all enjoy these new pictures! I'm off to bed so I don't ponder this anymore today!! Love you all.

The Internet is Working!

2007-07-12T07:14:00.001-07:00

Hello! We finally have our internet up and working so hopefully it will stay working so I can post more frequently. Things are going very well here in Antigua so far. Blake has been busy getting to know his new grandmas and they are completely taken by him (I think it's the dimples)! Grandma Michele spent 6 days here (she left on the 9th) and Grandma Rosalie is still here (she extended her stay of course)! She plans to leave on the 17th. Today, she is spending the day by herself in another town to shop at a famous market. We can't wait to see what she comes back with!

Blake is as happy as can be and smiles all day long! We are so lucky to have such a beautiful happy baby. He has made a nice transition and seems to recognize his mommy and grandma's faces more every day. He is sleeping well at night and takes good 1-2 hour naps (just enough time for me to take a shower and get ready for the day)! He has been going to bed for the night around 8:30 PM and then wakes around 1:00, and 4:00 for a bottle. He usually wakes up each day around 6:00-6:30 and then talks, kicks and plays in his crib until 7:15 AM! I think we lucked out with this schedule! Daddy left on the 6th, but hopes to return at the end of the month. He loves Blake so much and had a hard time leaving (the picture of him holding Blake's hand was when he had to say goodbye :( We talk every day though and Blake likes to babble into the phone to him.

During the day, the babies spend time together playing and we often take trips to the market in the jogger strollers. The roads are fairly treacherous, but as long as we stick together and watch out for buses, we do OK! The people here are so amazingly nice and helpful. We couldn't ask for more. Every day we see something new and exciting. It is like being in a secret hidden village here. I feel like I'm in the middle of a postcard. It is absolutely gorgeous. I will post more scenery pictures soon!

The latest news with our adoption is that we are about 2 weeks away from getting pre-approval from the U.S. Embassy. After that we go into PGN (our last step) and the average amount of time families have been there is 8-10 weeks. No guarantees though on this time frame as many families get "previos" - the kick outs I mentioned before which set you back quite a bit of time. We will remain hopeful and pray that things go smoothly. In the meantime, I don't mind spending time with the cutest boy ever!

If the school district allows me to do so, I am now planning on staying for the duration of the adoption so I don't have to leave Blake and then return to bring him home. Pray that they allow me to do this! I think it will be the best thing for Blake and me! Chris continues to support me at home, but we miss him very much.

I will continue posting as frequently as possible so please check back soon! Miss you all and hope you are enjoying the pictures!