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!

Embassy Day!

The night went pretty well. I think Rebecca got more sleep than I did (Laura). She went to sleep on her own in the crib around 9:00. She woke up about 3:30 and we fed her a bottle and then she went back to sleep on her own. We had to wake her up at 6:30 to get ready to go to the Embassy. Everything there went very well. It is just like the DMV - you just go to a window and answer a few questions and they stamp our paperwork. Our appointment was at 7:45 and we left about 9:15. Rebecca fell asleep in my arms just as we were called to the window and slept all the way back to the hotel. The visa needs to be picked up tomorrow at 3:30 - the representative from the attorney's office will pick it up for us, so we don't even need to go!
Don't know if I already mentioned the view from our hotel window, but it is beautiful. We can see a lot of the city - mountains on two sides and the volcano in the distance (it is often covered by the clouds). We have enjoyed the breakfast buffet at the hotel. We may venture over to the Marriott (where a lot of adoptive families stay) for lunch - we'll see how Rebecca is doing.

Our first day with Rebecca!

What a sweetie pie she is! She has hardly fussed unless she is tired or hungry. She slept from 11-1 this morning. We tried a bottle first, but she was just too tired. She woke up from her nap as happy as could be. I thought she might be a bit uneasy when she woke up, but she gave us smiles and was quite content. She is doing so-so with her bottle, we are trying to work out temperature, etc. We have tried jar food a few times, we were told that she eats fruits and veggies, but she just spit everything out both times. We have decided to just work on bottles and maybe some cereal until we are settled back at home. She took another nap in the afternoon while we sat down by the pool. Chris has made two trips to the grocery store down the block to get supplies. Rebecca took her first bath with Daddy this evening before dinner and seemed to like the water. We had dinner at the hotel restaurant and met another adoptive couple and their 6-month old daughter. Rebecca fell asleep in her stroller while we ate, which was very accomodating of her! She has just had another bottle and we are all going to try to get some sleep. I am holding loosely to that idea!
Thanks to those of you who have sent emails - it's great to hear from you!
We couldn't have asked for a better first day - although Chris is really ready to get his suitcase - it didn't arrive today and it is supposed to be here tomorrow morning.
We are being picked up at 7:00am to go the Embassy. Not sure what the rest of the day will entail.
More tomorrow!

First Pics with Mama and Daddy

IN OUR ARMS FOREVER!

She arrived just after 9am and Rebecca is now in her Mama and Daddy's arms!!! She was with the woman who oversees the foster mothers and a translator from the attorney's office. We all came up to the room to go over her schedule (we did get a written schedule). Then Ana Maria left and Pedro stayed and went through all the documents with us.
She is wearing the yellow outfit that Steven picked out for her and Grammy took down with her in February. She has a sweet perfumy smell and has been mostly very happy. We put her on her tummy and that was her first cry! She is loving her teething toys and her legs are kicking and kicking - she'll love the pool!
They brought us a box of cereal and formula, Chris will go to the store soon to get some baby food as well.
We will try our first bottle soon!
More later!

On the Ground in G.C.

We made it! Our flights were pretty smooth and "on-time" in airline industry terms. We got 3 of our 4 bags, including all of Laura and Rebecca's stuff, but not mine (Chris). Which is fine with me. If one had to be misplaced, they picked the RIGHT ONE. We should get it tomorrow afternoon, when the next flight comes in. No worries. The hotel and our room are nice. It's late and were tired, but still trying to unwind from the events of the day. It's a little surreal being here. It's hard to process it all and the reality that we're actually in Guatemala hasn't quite sunk in. They are supposed to bring Rebecca to the hotel tomorrow morning between 8am and 8:30am...in Guatemala time that...well, we'll see. Hard to believe we'll be holding her in about 8 hrs. Hopefully we'll sleep most of that time. Until tomorrow...Blessing and good night.

Chris

THE BEST CALL OF ALL!

We were quite surprised yesterday to find out that we are cleared to travel to Guatemala to bring Rebecca home!!!!!!!!!!!!
We have an appointment at the US Embassy in Guatemala City at 7:45am on Wednesday, June 14th. We need to be there by noon on Tuesday to receive Rebecca. We are still finalizing our travel plans, but it looks as if we will be leaving on Monday! We will return either on Friday or Saturday! She will be home for Father's Day - which was my prayer! GOD IS SO GOOD!
Needless to say, we are beside ourselves with excitement! We are also running around like crazy people getting everything set for our trip.
We will post the details when the travel plans are confirmed!
HANG ON REBECCA - MAMA & DADDY ARE COMING SOON!!!!!!!!!!!

WE GOT THE CALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are OUT OF PGN!!!!!!!!!!! We got the call yesterday morning! My mom had just arrived to be with the boys while I ran some errands. We were making a list of flowers I needed to buy for the backyard, when the phone rang. My mom says she wishes she had a picture of my face when I saw the agency name in the caller ID. I don't remember much about the phone call as the room was spinning and my heart was beating out of my chest! Of course, I called Chris right away! We are hoping to travel in about 2-3 weeks! At this point we have been approved by the Guatemalan government. Here is what happens next:

ADOPTION DECREE. The attorney then prepares the final adoption Protocolo or deed, and meets with the birth mother for her to sign her final consent to the child’s adoption. The executed Protocolo is filed with the Archivo de Protocolo. At this point, the child is legally the child of the adoptive parent(s) under Guatemalan law.

CIVIL REGISTRY AND PASSPORT. The attorney presents the required documents to record the adoption at the Civil Registry where the child’s birth was recorded, and requests that a new birth certificate be issued to reflect the adoption, and to change the child’s surname to that of the adoptive family. The attorney then takes all documents including the new birth certificate and applies for the child’s Guatemalan passport. The child is again fingerprinted to affirm his/her identity.

US EMBASSY – FINAL APPROVAL AND VISA. The attorney presents the case file with the child’s passport and new birth certificate to the US Embassy. The Embassy again evaluates the file and, if all documentation is in order, issues a “Final Document Approval” or pink slip. (Note: Guatemalan passport is NOT required to submit the REQUEST for the pink slip, it is however required to PICK UP the pink slip from the US Embassy.) After the attorney receives this approval, the adoptive parents and child appear at the US Embassy for final verification, and an embassy official then issues a visa for the child’s entry into the US.

Once the US Embassy has issued the "pink slip" the agency will call us with a date and time for our Embassy appointment. This appointment is generally within 7 days of the notification. At that point, we will make our plane and hotel reservations!

We are so excited and also can't believe that we are this close to meeting our daughter and having her in our arms forever!
We have a lot to do in the next few weeks - time to go make some lists!
Laura