halloween

Tonight as they said their prayers, all four of my verbal children thanked Heavenly Father for the blessing of Halloween. Wilson was thankful that Heavenly Father invented the holiday so kids could have fun dressing up and of course Cooper thanked Him specifically for blessing them with a large haul of candy. Wilson dressed this year as Death, Cooper was Pancho Villa the Bandito, Max was a vampire, Eliza was supergirl, and Marcos was the cutest little chick (pollito) I've ever seen.

The highlight of my day was when a little boy in Cooper's class asked what Max was. I told him he was Dracula and the little boy said, "he's not Dracula, he's Blackula!" Maybe "Balckula" will stick as Max's new nickname.

Tony was not on call this year (hooray) and really got into the spirit. He wore the lion costume and jumped out of the shadows on the porch. I'm sure he will be a legend around town tomorrow, particularly with the junior high kids whose screams could be heard for miles.

Grandma Sue came down to see the kids in their costumes at the school parade and inadvertently went home with half the costumes in her trunk. Tony was a real hero when he drove halfway to Spokane and back to retrieve the important wardrobe pieces.

I am feeling overwhelmed this week in two ways. First, I have a lot of kids now and I am felling the stretch. I know our family will eventually return to equilibrium, but I'm not going to pretend we are not having growing pains.

The second way I am feeling overwhelmed is with the amazing kindness everyone has offered us. I have such good friends who seem to be reading my mind and are helping in exactly the ways I need. Yesterday Betina came to can apple pie filling with me. I think I needed her company more than the pie filling and it was a great day. Today a friend called from the grocery store just to see if I needed anything. I have meals in my freezer and dear, sweet Audrey has cleaned my kitchen at least 3 times since we've been home. This experience has made me want to serve people more. I have a new appreciation for how much simple acts of kindness truly help.

I do spend a large portion of my day marveling at how wonderful it is to have Marcos home. He is an angel. I love his snuggliness, the sounds he makes when he is happy, his little hands and feet, his sideburns, and his little Guatemalan bum. Sometimes I wonder how our family ever lived without him.

antigua

Our visit to Antigua has been the second best thing about our trip to Guatemala (try to guess the first!) Yesterday afternoon we spent all afternoon walking through the mercado which must have been an entire city block. The first thing we purchased was a traditional sling for Marcos. Once snuggled in, he contently slept through all our shopping. We had a good time picking out surprizes for Eliza and Max, especially traditional musical instruments to add to our "box of music." Neither Tony or I are very good at bartering, so I hope we made someone's day by giving them a good price. After about a half an hour of shopping the thunder cracked and it started raining buckets. Most of the booths were covered with tin, but the ground turned into little lakes in minutes. We were running though stalls of raw fish, chicken, spices and unrocognizable fruits and vegetables laughing our heads off. At one of the stalls we met the most lovely girl named Monica and we sat and talked for quite a while. She wanted to know everything about the kids and was most anxious to meet Max. Our driver Luis had recommended an authentic restaurant for dinner and we enjoyed it so much, epecially the kids. I'm so proud of the kids for trying new foods. Today Wilson ordered linguini with squid and loved it.

One of the kid's most fun experiences was last night when we went to get ice cream . A girl about Wilson's age was selling necklaces and was more than persistant! She spoke amazing English and simply would not take no for an answer. The boys were fascinated by her and keep quoting her lines like, "yes my friend, I give you a good price," and "you liike this? I give you two!" I was glad to see my kids giving away all their Quetzales to people on the street. Cooper commented that he will bring more next time to give away. I hope it sunk in that the kids were making a living,not playing a game.

Our hotel room in Antigua was posh. We all slept in late and enjoyed a great breakfast buffet with watermelon and cantalope juice, omlets and of course, almond cookies and chocolate-real chocolate with cinnamon drunk from a mug. We spent the rest of the morning hunting down authentic Guatemalan music and visiting a museum in el centro. Back at the hotel the boys and I took a quick swim in the beautiful pool surrounded by Guatamaya birds (they look look parrots). Luis drove us back to Guatemala City and then joined us for lunch. My new favorite food is Peruvian Seviche, which unlike Seviche I've had before, is more like a salad than a soup. It was amazing and makes my mouth water thinking about it. We have confirmed that Marcos loves lime! He goes wild with it. After lunch we took the kids to the children's museum. We only had an hour, but it was a great place to let them explore and hear other kids speaking spanish.

We are packed and ready to go home tommorrow. The boys can hardly wait for Max and Eliza to meet Marcos. He is so sweet, so perfectly delicious. But mostly, so ours.

I wish everyone working on adoption policy could have joined us at he US consulate this morning. An entire room full of recently united families with beautiful black haired children would easily convince any skeptic of the joy of this process. The foreign adoption process weeds out weak parents and leaves parents who are fully invested. I think of society's broken families that are sick that a few people's bad choices could end so many happily-ever-after-families. We were particularly grateful to have the help of Leticia . She is a beautiful woman with a pure heart and charitable motives.

After our consulate appointment, which included a lot of waiting, Cooper and I had our first solo adventure to encontrar (to find) tortillas. How nice to be able communicate, even minimally enough to ask directions, find a tortilleria, order, pay and get ourselves home! Luis came to pick us up and we were on our way to Antigua.

Antigua is beautiful! The city is 8 blocks by 8 blocks with cobblestone roads and thin sidewalks. Each home is painted a different color. The mountain jungles are incredible, dense and green around the outside of the city. We spent all afternoon tasting new foods, shopping in the mercado, and meeting new people. We could not stop smiling.

Marcos has had absolutely no problems with the adjustment. He was immediately attacked by Cooper and Wilson and was in seventh heaven. He is a serious, curious boy, who hardly ever cries--When I carried him through the streets of Antigua with my "guatamalan blanket" wrapped around me, he slept like a baby. When he was awake he was ready for more adventure. He loves people. He does not like to be alone. He has been babied and we appreciate it. --When we met Lorena, who has been loving and taking care of precious Marcos since he was born, she was so sad. Once she met us it helped, but she was still sad. She could not stop complimenting Marcos on how good of a baby he has been, and that she would miss her "frijolito". --And she is right. He slept 8 hours, and he loves to eat, and play. What a marvelous thing that our Father in Heaven has given us, our fifth miracle. We could not be more appreciative. The only greater joy we will feel is when we seal him in the Temple, to truly finalize the adoption-forever.

We also had a chance to taste more of the guatamalan food-it is so flavorful. Our boys have loved it. Wilson said in response to a question about how he liked the food, "When can we come back to Guatamala?"

We miss Eliza, and Max -- We look forward to being together- as a complete family. There is no question in our minds that we will return to Guatamala. The only question is when. The people are beautiful, and we feel a strong pull, or obligation to return.

big brown eyes and tons of hair

How is it possible that in the time it takes to exhale I can be so in love, that I would die for this little boy? Never, in the history of Guatemalan adoptions, has such a sweet, darling boy found his family. So far his temperment is very relaxed, very mellow. His little cry is sweet and heartbreaking. On our outing today to the mercado he fell asleep in Wilson's arms and napped for over an hour in Tony's while we shopped. We'll test that temperment on the long trip home.

We were suprised to find out that he has no teeth yet! Lorena reports that he is a good eater, all vegetables, fruits and dulces (sweets). It's pretty clear that he has been held A LOT! He will probably follow in his brother Max's footsteps and wait to walk until he is 15 months. We are hearing cute little verbalizations and Wilson and Cooper can make him belly laugh like crazy. Tony and I have yet to even earn a smile.

He has Tony's big head--including one very flat side, Cooper's lashes, Wilson's nose, Eliza's eyebrows (another waxing candidate) and as dark of eye's as Maxwell. I think he has my mouth, but we'll see.

My favorite things on this boy are his awesome sideburns. Wilson loves his chubby tummy and cheeks. Tony is enamored with his eyes and Cooper loves his smile.

We are all so anxious for him to meet Eliza and Max. This is so much better than I ever imagined.

This morning was really hard. We watched Leticia, Lorena and Marcos pull into the parking lot from our window. Lorena was already crying and Marcos was nestled so comfortably in her arms. The minute she saw me she just handed me the baby and broke down, then I started balling and it took awhile for us both to gain our composure. There is no question about how loved he's been. Lorena has four children including a 10 year old boy and a 5 year old girl. Her other two girls were 16 and 18 and cried and cried when he left. Lorena was very happy that the boys were here; she knew his transition would be easier with kids.



This is Wilson. I'm the only person that can make him laugh. All you say is, "buje buje buje!" He laughs hard . He is a very very very very cute boy. We want to speak Spanash around him as much as we can.

Cooper here. I think Marcos is vary cute. I was the 1ast one to see him. He loves me. He is not black! He is tannish blackish whitish--mostly cute.

Safe Arrival

The four of us are snuggled up on a big comfy bed in a charming hotel called the San Carlos watching "El Mundo Divertido de Peep," (The fun world of Peep). Because it is a cartoon intended for children under age 5, I am understanding everything! We had a safe, rather uneventful flight. We were surprised to see the family who sat in front of us on the plane, check into the same hotel. We were especially delighted to discover that they are here to pick up their two little girls. They are on exactly the same schedule we are in terms of consulate appointment and trip home. Another family we met at dinner, was here visiting their little girl. The Mom warned me that it had taken three days for their little one to warm up to them, but watching her smiling with her new family was pure joy. Tony and I are surprised that we don't feel any nervousness or anxiety. We just feel peaceful and calm about putting the missing piece in our family puzzle.