1st full day in Antigua

What a challenge getting here! We traveled to Nashville on Thursday to spend the night at Embassy Suites and fly out on Friday morning. That all went pretty smoothly! We were a bit concerned about our connection in Houston since it was only about an hour lay over. Well…those concerns were well founded. We ended up with a NINE HOUR lay over in Houston. Claire and I made the best of it with a trip to a local mall. We had a nice lunch, pedicures, facial for Claire and lots of browsing. It felt like those movies when people are locked in the mall and trying to entertain themselves!

We finally made it to Guatemala City and eventually realized we had no luggage. Ugh! We arrive around 11 PM and spent the night at the Marriott. We got AnnaMaria at 9:00 on Saturday. Our facilitator, Aura, brought her to meet us. We wondered where Blanca (foster mom) was. Apparently, Aura was concerned about AnnaMaria’s physical development and decided to keep AnnaMaria with her about two weeks ago. Aura, reiterated that she knew Blanca loved her; just didn’t work with her in a way she needs now. AnnaMaria is a little lazy! However, she doesn’t appear to have any physical reasons for slow development and is already showing improvement. She can roll over, if she’s in the mood and sits pretty well when propped up. Her hand and eye coordination seems very good. She is just starting to eat a little baby food.

Knowing that AnnaMaria needs us here really confirms our decision to be in Antigua!

I was able to pick up two pieces of luggage on Saturday and we ended up spending an extra night in Guatemala City. Fortunately the other two bags were available on Sunday. I am really glad to get out of the city. The Marriott is very nice, but it gets so expensive. We are now the proud owners of a $7 can of deodorant, $8 travel pack of wipes and I purchased 2 ibuprofen for $2.50. Crazy!

Claire has been enormous help. I don’t know how I would have managed the whole luggage ordeal without her. AnnaMaria thoroughly enjoys “hanging out” and watching TV with Claire.

I think the apartment will work out nicely. I love that we have grass! All the buildings here have walls around them. I know I would quickly feel claustrophobic with no grass.

We went to the grocery yesterday. We didn’t even have toilet paper in the apartment. I had forgotten what a rough ride the tuk tuks are! We also had a nice meal in a restaurant. I love dining outside here. The weather is just wonderful. I haven’t seen a mosquito yet!

Our current adoption status: We entered PGN (final Guatemalan court) on 4/19 with Pre-approval from the US Embassy. PGN usually takes 6-12 weeks, but you hear of people getting “out” in a few days or several months. Cases are often “kicked out” for “previos” (problems). Once the case goes back “in” after the problems are fixed, the clock starts again. It is rare, but possible to get “out” without first being “kicked out” and re-entering.

Please pray for a speedy “out”. Once we are OUT of PGN, we will have to have a new birth certificate issued, have an Embassy appointment and get a passport for AnnaMaria. All that takes an additional 3-4 weeks.