Final Days

We arrived back in Colorado on Monday but enjoyed our last few days in Antigua. I must say that two weeks is not enough time. On Saturday we went to the Finca el Pilar for a beautiful hike with Maria's daughter and then headed to Maria's house for lunch. Eli and Kylee cooled off at Maria's place by playing in the water.

See if you can find little Kylee in the first picture:)

This will be our last post. Thank you to everyone that wrote comment, it is so nice to hear from you.

Take care. Que Dios te bendiga.

Chichi & Lake Atitilan

The last few days have been extremely busy. Thursday we made our way to Chicicastenango, a large open market with lots of textiles and about everything you can imagine. We needed at least two more hours there to explore. After leaving Chichi, we headed to Lake Atitlan. The lake was beautiful, especially with volcanoes as its backdrop. We took a boat to three of the villages that are located on the lake.

Also note the horse trailer we saw on the way to Chichi.

Iglesia de Cristo

It's 10:30pm and we leave for Lake Atitlan early in the morning so this will be short. I really just want to post a few pictures. The first is the sign at the church. Then there is a picture of the four members of the church that help with any good will work. Next is a photo of a couple women picking out clothes for their babies. Lastly, is an adorable picture of Maricruz's baby girl.

Have good night.

Dona Maria

Dona Maria, the nanny that took care of all the children in the house, came by for a visit. It was like she and Eli picked up from where they left off a year ago. She stayed for a couple hours and played and played with Eli. She really is wonderful with children.

Semana Santa

Here are a couple more photos of the Semana Santa processions and a couple photos of the beautiful carpets they create on the roads in front of the processions.

Kids, Kids, Kids

The time here is passing toooo fast, we only have 1 week left. With such little time we seem to be running all day long to fit it all in. We have however slowed down to eat and eat and eat at all the good resturants. Cafe Condesa's quiche, La Pena de Sol Latina's quesadillas, Dona Luisa's banana bread. Enough about food:)

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Since it is quickly approaching Easter, the Semana Santa festivities are starting. Yesterday we went to the kids processions. Grady got some good photos of the kids in the procession and I also took a few photos of our kids.

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Tomorrow we have a special visitor coming by the house,

Dona Maria, our old nanny. She is a very sweet lady and

was like a grandma to all the

kids in the house. We can't wait to see her.

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Next week we get to have the clothes distribution at the Iglesia de Cristo and we are taking a trip to Lake Atitlan.

We also hope to visit the Kairos Christian School.

Casa Bella

Our trip started at 6am. First a 3 hour drive to the airport, then a 2.5 hour flight to Houston with a 4 hour layover, next a 2.5 flight to Guatemala City, and finally a 1 hour drive to Antigua. It was a long day, we arrived at Casa Bella about 11:00pm. The kids did well. Eli had a few screaming meltdowns on the planes. However, the passengers around us all still laughed when the plane can to a stop in Guatemala City and Eli said "All done."






It is wonderful to be back in Antigua. I keep

expecting to run into the other moms and their

kids in the house. When Kylee woke up on the

first morning she asked where all the kids were

so I know she misses having them here too.

The weather is beautiful, flowers

are blooming everywhere.

I have posted a few pictures in

and around Casa Bella.

Guatemala 2009

We leave for Guatemala in the morning and thought it
would be fun to start the blog again. For all you former
foster moms, I will try to post lots of photos of Antigua.

I still have most of my packing to do so I better get busy. I have added a few photos of the children's clothes that were donated to take to Guatemala. Thank you to all the kind, generous parents of Grand County who donated. We are blessed to live in this small, caring community.

Welcome Home Elijah

My family had a little Welcome Home Party for Eli. Everyone is excited to have him as part of our family. They think he is adorable and they are right:) I have also included a few pictures of the kids playing in the May Snow.

We're Home

It was a long travel day but we made it home to snowy Colorado. The kids are both adjusting really well. We miss Antigua but are enjoying family, friends, the cleanliness and the ease of living here.

We have heard that PGN is not processing cases right now, that there is a change in leadership, etc, etc. The same old stuff that is again delaying families from bring home their children. Please pray for all the in-process families.

I have posted a picture of us at the airport in Guatemala, a picture of the kids with Bailey and one of Eli in the snow. As you can see, Eli loves Bailey but is not so sure about the snow. There is also a video of one of Eli's favorite activities, the Jumper.

Elijah's Birthday

I wanted to post this blog last night but we had such a big day that I was too tired to post anything. Yesterday, April 22, was Elijah's birthday. I am glad Eli got to celebrate his first birthday in his birth country. We had such a fun day with the kids. First we went to the pool at Hotel Antigua, had lunch there, and then had Eli's party with all his friends. Here are some photos of the party and all the beautiful children.

Today is our last day in Antigua. It's time to pack. We leave Antigua at 5 am and our flight leaves Guatemala City at 8 am. It is going to be hard leaving all my good friends and their children. We will be praying for all of their cases.

We hope to return to Guatemala soon, real soon:)

Visa

Grady went to the American Embassy yestarday and got Eli's Visa. That is the last step in the adoption process, we are ready to travel. Thursday morning we board a plane to the USA. Here is a picture of Eli sitting in the window at the house and a video of Kylee with her friend Milo.

Today is Eli's Birthday and I will be posting photos tonight.

Embassy Day

Today was our embassy appointment. We had to leave Anigua at 5:30 in the morning to arrive to our appointment on time. The kids were extremely tired but held up well. After about 3 hours at the US Embassy with 18 other couples, Elijah was approved for a US Visa. On Monday we pick-up his visa and upon entry to the United States he will become a US citizen.

Here are a couple pictures of Eli's first haircut. We wanted him looking nice for his birthday on Tuesday.

Monterrico Beach

We took a trip to Monterrico Beach, a black sand beach on the Pacific coast of Guatemala. It was gorgeous and the kids had a wonderful time. It was their first time seeing the ocean and both were a little scared in the beginning. Now the kiddy pool, on the other hand, they loved right away. We are posting a short video of them playing in the pool together. The last picture sums up the only negative part of the trip, mosquitoes. We got eaten alive.

We also had at little excitement in the evening with a 6.1 magnitude earthquake that shook us awake.

We only have 1 week left to enjoy Guatemala and then we head home.