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Last update

We've decided to make this the last post in our blog as it was intended to document our journey to our daughter. We will continue to post pictures of all of us on our family website at www.geocities.com/garvcm
The last 16 months have been an incredible journey. I have learned many lessons along the way - one being that anything worthwhile in life is worth waiting for - and another - that if God calls you to something, He will carry you through it as well! As someone once said, "adoption is not for the faint of heart". My heart goes out to people who come to adoption after struggling with years of infertility and disappointments. They are the heroes to me, as they have already been through so much and then take on this rollercoaster of a process. I knew it would be hard emotionally, but it was even more so than I expected. Of course, the result far outweighs the pain.
I want to thank you all again for the love, support and prayers for us during this time. Being as relational as I am, God knew how much I needed you all, many times for a listening ear or a hug. As a bonus, I have gained some incredible new friendships. Megan and Dorothy are two women that I met online. They have both become soul sisters during this process, and I am so thankful to God for them. There are many others that have entered our lives through the link of adoption and I look forward to continuing these friendships.
At times, I just look at Rebecca in amazement that she is actually here and that she is our daughter. The words of this poem really sum up the feelings I have been experiencing.

The Gift of Life

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.
For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.

Rebecca update!

WOW! What a week it has been!
Rebecca is doing wonderfully! We continue to be amazed at how well she is adjusting. It has been such a thrill to introduce her to all of our family and friends! We still have many more to see in the weeks to come.
She has been sleeping through the night since Monday night - which is just an added bonus! David is very "into" her and likes to make her smile! Steven is still trying to work it all out and is asking questions like "Is she staying all day?" and "So, where is her mom?". All in all they are dealing well with all the change in their lives. My girlfriend took David to VBS at her church each morning this week, so that was a treat for him!
Rebecca went to see the pediatrician yesterday. We were there almost 3 hours as they did a complete check-up, along with a TB test, immunizations and lab work. We should get most of the results by tomorrow morning. Once again, she was a trooper through the whole thing and even had big smiles for all the doctors and nurses! The doctor was not concerned with the rattle in her chest and suspects it is just a virus that should clear up soon!
Chris was able to work 1/2 days this week, so that helped a lot too. We are still working on getting into some kind of routine, but considering it's the summer, it's a bit hard to do. We have been blessed with meals through this week and next from our church family and that has helped tremendously.
I have not quite mastered getting the pictures to sync up with the text, so I will make a separate post with just pictures. We still don't have one of all 5 of us on the computer yet. My step-sister Anna is getting remarried next weekend - and we are taking some family photos then, so maybe that will be our chance to get a good one!

WE ARE HOME - THE PICTURES

Here we are arriving in Houston - Rebecca's first time in the USA - little did we know we'd make a day long visit!



Home at last! It was about 12:30am when Rebecca first came HOME!




Chris' first Father's Day as a dad to three!

We'll work on a whole family picture soon!

WE ARE HOME!

It was a LOOOOOOONG day, but we made it. We left the hotel at 6:00cst to leave for the airport. Rebecca was still sleeping, so we swooped her up out of the crib and were on our way. The whole Guatelama City airport was bustling for so early in the morning and by the time we got through everything, we walked straight onto the plane and into our seats. Rebecca had two bottles and two naps and was great on the first leg. We landed a bit late in Houston at 11:00am cst. We noticed it was raining when we landed. We got through immigration easily and got our bags and went through customs in a snap. We checked the boards and saw that our flight was running 20 minutes late. We stopped to have lunch and could see that now it was storming. By the time we finished lunch our flight had been pushed back to 2:30. Then we found out that the plane we were waiting for to take us to Detroit had been redirected from Atlanta because of the storms in Houston. The next word we received was that we would leave at 5:00 - which seemed like forever. The whole airport was basically down for a couple hours so there were people everywhere at the gates. Rebecca did great - she was happy and took her bottles and slept either on us or in the stroller - she was truly an angel. Well 5:00 came and went and still no plane at our gate. The sign was now saying 6:05 so we went and had some dinner. When 6:30 rolled around and there was still no plane - I had a little breakdown. My mom and John were planning to bring David and Steven to the airport along with other family members and friends. I knew now that it would be too late for them to come. We finally boarded the plane at 7:00cst - then there was a problem with the push cart and we couldn't back up from the gate - which wouldn't have been too bad, except the air conditioning wasn't working (we are in Houston!). So we sat for an hour on the hot plane! Poor Rebecca was stripped down to her onesie and was just sweating. We were finally airborne at 8:00cst and arrived in Detroit at 11:30 est. Rebecca fussed a bit at the beginning of the flight (but not as much as I did!) and then she fell asleep and even slept through the landing. We checked the cell phone when we got off the plane to see how we were getting home and found out that everyone was there waiting for us. They got the boys out of bed and all came anyways! Well then I really lost it! We came down to the escalator to the boys in their pajamas and family and friends waiting for glimpes of our beautiful daughter! It was a amazing reunion and I will always remember that moment!
We all got settled into bed around 1:00am. Needless to say we haven't managed to download the pictures yet, but we will try to get them on here by tomorrow!
It was a crazy day, but the bottom line is we are home with Rebecca - and we are blessed and thankful beyond words! Chris said, it's a tough Father's Day gift to top!
Pictures to follow!

Last day in Guatemala

It's hard to believe that this whole amazing journey is coming to an end. At least for this chapter - we'll start a whole new one on Sunday.

For starters, we put Rebecca down at 10:00 last night and we had to wake her up at 8:00 this morning. Now we know what she CAN do!

We left the hotel around 10:00 this morning and took a taxi ride to Antigua. Anitgua is an historic town about 50 minutes southwest of Guatemala City. The ride there was worth the trip. It really meant a lot for us to see some of this beautiful country. We both didn't talk much on the way there or back as we were just taking in all of the sights. From the hustle and bustle of the city, to the plight of the poor living in shacks on the hillsides to the views from the foothills as we wound our way to Antigua.

Miss Rebecca slept on daddy's lap on the way there and on the way back (they don't use car seats here!). The town itself was fascinating - all the streets are cobblestone and there are beautiful catherdrals and old buildings. We had just a few hours to do some sightseeing and shopping.

We had lunch with a gal (Lisa) Laura met online who is fostering her daughter in Antigua. She had also invited two Guatemalan ladies that ride a chicken bus almost 2 hours each day to sell their handwoven goods on the streets of Antigua. She has befriended them and has even visited their village. Unfortunately Rebecca had had enough of sightseeing and she was not a happy camper during lunch, so we didn't get to visit as much as we would have liked. All in all, the day was a great experience and I am so thankful that we went there.
We are starting to get things packed as we will need to leave the hotel by 6:00am tomorrow morning to begin our journey home. We are really looking forward to being home and introducing Rebecca to her brothers and all our other friends and family. The boys have been having a great week. They got to see hot air balloons take off by Grammy's house and today they rode the "city bus" in Ann Arbor! They may be pretty bored with just us next week! :)
Thanks for following our journey this week. We'll try to post about our flight home in the next few days and also post some pictures of Rebecca with the boys!

WE'RE OFFICIAL!

We got Rebecca's visa and immigration papers back from the U.S. Embassy today. That was the last piece of the puzzle for us to officially be able to bring her home!! HOORAY!! The staff interpreter for our attorney went to the Embassy to pick everything up for us and met us at the hotel around 4:30.

We broke up the day today with an excursion over to the Marriott. It was nice to get out and see a different set of four walls for a change. We ran into a couple from St. Louis that was on our flight from Houston and that we had seen at the Embassy yesterday. We ended up eatting lunch with them and posing for a group photo afterward.


Josiah and Rebecca were more interested in each other than posing for the camera.

Another family from PA that is staying in the same hotel, got their visa around the same time. We're planning to go out to dinner with them to celebrate tonight!

Morning of Day 3 with Rebecca

We are getting a bit more settled in with Rebecca Christine. We are still trying to get used to her routine and are suspecting that the written schedule and instructions we were given were more ideal that actual. She took her first dip in the hotel pool with Daddy yesterday (she was sporting her new adorable swimsuit - a gift from the Moreno siblings)! The water was very warm - she seemed to like it.
Overall she has been happy still. She gets very excited when she is getting her clothes changed (Daddy is a bit concerned about that!) She is pretty little still - a lot of the 3-6 months clothes we brought for her a still quite roomy! Chris' suitcase was delivered to the hotel yesterday afternoon, so he was glad to be able to change clothes! Thanks to prayer and a two times daily regimine of Pepto - my stomach has been doing very well. We are getting a little stir crazy in the hotel - it is not recommended to just go walking around the city. We will do some kind of outing this afternoon. On the otherhand, it has been nice to be able to relax a bit while she is sleeping.

Here is the long awaited picture of all three of us! We finally remembered to have someone take the picture. Thanks again for all your messages and love and prayers!