I know alot of you are wondering what is going on. We are fine - we made it into and out of Houston. I'll talk more about that later. If my computer will cooperate - I will attach photos very soon.
~Dana
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Our little Tyke wants to come home Ike! Please don't mess with Texas...
For those of you wondering, Edison had a much better night last night. Paul and I have been trying to stay on Kentucky time and have done a pretty good job of getting Edison on our schedule. Of course that means we have been up since 4:30 this morning!
I also forgot to mention yesterday that Eddy loves the swimming pool. He was not scared at all and enjoyed splashing me. We floated around a little bit and he kept putting his face in the water until he took a big gulp and started coughing and gagging. Live and learn. He didn't try that again. We then sat in the hot tub and he was so relaxed. He layed back in my arms and was totally peaceful to the point of almost falling asleep. We took him to the room and he took a very good nap.
When he came to us he was drinking 8 bottles a day and had zero naps. Now he has learned to drink from a sippy cup, is down to 3 bottles a day and 2 naps!!!! He prefers the bottle when he is getting ready to sleep. I was the mother who took her kids bottles the day after their 1st birthday but I am not going to rush it with Edison. He has had so many changes and will have so many more, the least I can do is let him keep his bottle. Oh, by the way mom, if you are reading this, will you go to Wal-Mart and buy a couple of bottles so we will have them when we get home? He came to us with a Gerber that has Barney and Baby Bop on it and we hate it! We brought with us an Avent and he likes it - so 2 Gerbers or 2 Avents will be great!!!
This has been a pretty long day. Anna Maria came and picked us up at 12:45 and took us to see God Bless the Children's orphanage. When we were here in February it was their offices and it still is, but they have set it up in anticipation of accepting children. I hate it that Guatemala has changed the rules and will no longer allow children to be fostered. Cinthya and Anna Maria and the rest of the staff at God Bless the Children truly want their orphanage to be like a home and I think it will be. They still need some things to fully furnish the orphanage but the biggest thing they need right now are monthly sponsors.
When Anna Maria and Cinthya were in the USA the last time, I invited them to eat with my family. My mom prepared a fabulous meal for Father's Day and she and my dad hosted. Paul's parents were there as well as my sister and her family and my grandmother. Our Guatemalan guests loved my mom's cooking and my mom's house. Today, they returned the favor. Cinthya prepared a traditional Guatemalan meal for Paul, Edison and I and brought it to the office. It was delicious!! It was a nice time to spend with all of her staff who had worked on our case. They knew Edison and obviously loved him. He made himself quite at home and walked around like he owned the place. It was a time I will never forget.
Afterwards, Anna Maria drove our family to the US Embassy to pick up Eddy's visa. We only had to wait a few minutes for them to call our name. We checked that everything was correct and left the Embassy with Edison´s Guatemalan passport, his United States immigrant visa and a sealed package that can only be opened by the Immigration officers at the Houston airport...
The Houston airport -- as I type this, our flight in the morning from Guatemala to Houston is still a go. We will take the 4:10 am shuttle from the hotel to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 a.m. (8:40 a.m. your time). We arrive in Houston a few hours later. Also as I type this, our flight to Louisville is the last Continental flight leaving from the Houston Airport tomorrow. All others after ours have been cancelled. Southwest Airlines have already shut down in order to get their planes and employees out of Houston. So far - so good. Please continue to pray that Ike will stay out to sea so that we can get out of Houston. Our girls want us to come home because they want to see their little brother. We want to get Edison home to meet his sisters, and his grandparents, and everyone else. We also want to introduce him to his home and his bedroom and his toys and his new life!
We do have a backup plan in place if the airport shuts down in Houston after we arrive there. There is a rental car held in our names with a car seat and we will just start driving home - I can't even think about riding in a car for 16 hours now so I am convinced this is not going to happen. We also have two seats reserved on a Delta flight from Guatemala to Atlanta that leaves around lunch time tomorrow. I know the girls want us home and we are going to do all we can to get there. I just pray we stay on schedule. Times up.
I also forgot to mention yesterday that Eddy loves the swimming pool. He was not scared at all and enjoyed splashing me. We floated around a little bit and he kept putting his face in the water until he took a big gulp and started coughing and gagging. Live and learn. He didn't try that again. We then sat in the hot tub and he was so relaxed. He layed back in my arms and was totally peaceful to the point of almost falling asleep. We took him to the room and he took a very good nap.
When he came to us he was drinking 8 bottles a day and had zero naps. Now he has learned to drink from a sippy cup, is down to 3 bottles a day and 2 naps!!!! He prefers the bottle when he is getting ready to sleep. I was the mother who took her kids bottles the day after their 1st birthday but I am not going to rush it with Edison. He has had so many changes and will have so many more, the least I can do is let him keep his bottle. Oh, by the way mom, if you are reading this, will you go to Wal-Mart and buy a couple of bottles so we will have them when we get home? He came to us with a Gerber that has Barney and Baby Bop on it and we hate it! We brought with us an Avent and he likes it - so 2 Gerbers or 2 Avents will be great!!!
This has been a pretty long day. Anna Maria came and picked us up at 12:45 and took us to see God Bless the Children's orphanage. When we were here in February it was their offices and it still is, but they have set it up in anticipation of accepting children. I hate it that Guatemala has changed the rules and will no longer allow children to be fostered. Cinthya and Anna Maria and the rest of the staff at God Bless the Children truly want their orphanage to be like a home and I think it will be. They still need some things to fully furnish the orphanage but the biggest thing they need right now are monthly sponsors.
When Anna Maria and Cinthya were in the USA the last time, I invited them to eat with my family. My mom prepared a fabulous meal for Father's Day and she and my dad hosted. Paul's parents were there as well as my sister and her family and my grandmother. Our Guatemalan guests loved my mom's cooking and my mom's house. Today, they returned the favor. Cinthya prepared a traditional Guatemalan meal for Paul, Edison and I and brought it to the office. It was delicious!! It was a nice time to spend with all of her staff who had worked on our case. They knew Edison and obviously loved him. He made himself quite at home and walked around like he owned the place. It was a time I will never forget.
Afterwards, Anna Maria drove our family to the US Embassy to pick up Eddy's visa. We only had to wait a few minutes for them to call our name. We checked that everything was correct and left the Embassy with Edison´s Guatemalan passport, his United States immigrant visa and a sealed package that can only be opened by the Immigration officers at the Houston airport...
The Houston airport -- as I type this, our flight in the morning from Guatemala to Houston is still a go. We will take the 4:10 am shuttle from the hotel to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:40 a.m. (8:40 a.m. your time). We arrive in Houston a few hours later. Also as I type this, our flight to Louisville is the last Continental flight leaving from the Houston Airport tomorrow. All others after ours have been cancelled. Southwest Airlines have already shut down in order to get their planes and employees out of Houston. So far - so good. Please continue to pray that Ike will stay out to sea so that we can get out of Houston. Our girls want us to come home because they want to see their little brother. We want to get Edison home to meet his sisters, and his grandparents, and everyone else. We also want to introduce him to his home and his bedroom and his toys and his new life!
We do have a backup plan in place if the airport shuts down in Houston after we arrive there. There is a rental car held in our names with a car seat and we will just start driving home - I can't even think about riding in a car for 16 hours now so I am convinced this is not going to happen. We also have two seats reserved on a Delta flight from Guatemala to Atlanta that leaves around lunch time tomorrow. I know the girls want us home and we are going to do all we can to get there. I just pray we stay on schedule. Times up.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly doo DOO doo DOO doo
Yes, I'm a Clint Eastwood fan and this sums up our first night...
Oh - and there will be no pictures until I return home (Sorry)
THE GOOD
We had our embassy appointment today and everything went very smooth. We made it through the interview with no problems and go back to pick up Edison's visa tomorrow. When the guy at counter 8 told us "Congratulations, on the adoption of your new son" I knew that everything was finally final - Although he was officially ours when we got down here, we still needed permission to bring him to the United States as a citizen and now that has been approved. What a wonderful GOOD day!
THE BAD
When I returned to the room last night, Edison was screaming and Paul said he had been crying for the past 30 minutes. He wanted me and only me and would have nothing to do with Paul. When I took him, however, he didn't really even want me but I was better than the other option. When I laid him down to change his clothes he went ballistic! When we laid him in the bed, it was even worse. He hit me and smacked me and would "growl" at me. He arched his back and threw back his head. I was really proud of myself as I had the patience of Job which in fact is a blessing from God because it was something I prayed for. When I would try to talk to Edison to soothe him he would get so angry! I would rub his hair or his neck and he would either start shaking his head side to side or push my hand away. His head was soaking wet from crying. He didn't want down, he didn't want a snack, he didn't want a bottle, he didn't want anything except his "mamamamamamamamama" which I knew was NOT me! Finally, I took his pajama shirt off, laid him down in front of me, with his legs over my legs and I got the lotion and just started massaging his belly, his arms, his hands and his face. Paul got a warm wash cloth and I washed his face and tried to cool him off. He finally settled down and made great eye contact with me, although he did have somewhat of a vacant look in his eyes. After a 20 minute massage, he was worn out and ready for sleep. I tried to put his pajama top back on but he did not want it. I stayed in the same position all night with my arm around him, afraid if I moved, he would wake up. I tried to keep the blanket and sheet on him because I was afraid he would be cold without a shirt, but everytime I would put them on, he would begin kicking with both feet to get them off. He did wake up around 4:30 in the morning, whined a little, found his bottle, drank it and went right back to sleep. I was exhausted and my body ached, but we made it through the first night! Before I fell asleep, Paul and I talked about how scared and confused he must be. We prayed tomorrow would be better.
THE GOOD (again)
This morning, when Edison woke up, I had just gotten out of the shower. I walked in the room and he looked at me and said "Ma-ma?" and then he popped his lips together with a kiss. I walked over to him and he held his arms up to me and when I bent down, he gave me a kiss!! I looked at Paul and said, "Did you hear that? Did you see what he did?" I think I was in shock but Paul confirmed what I knew Edison had just done. He and I have had a pretty good day except for ...
THE UGLY
As I said before, he "growls" at us when he is unhappy and doesn't like what we are doing. He especially likes to growl when we tell him "No". I guess he is trying to figure out our boundaries. When he doesn't like what we have told him, he likes to smack us in the face and he can get to your face quicker than you can imagine and he smacks pretty hard. Coming back from the Embassy today, he smacked me in the face and I held his hands and said, "No!" so then he bent his head and tried to bite my arm. I knew exactly what he was getting ready to do and stopped him. I said no again and he looked at me like he was surrendering. I still was not too happy about him smacking and then trying to bite me, so I sent him to the back seat with his dad. He has smacked Paul several times today too. Paul at first thought it was cute, but tonight, right before I came down here, he got pretty firm with his "No" and Edison looked like he was taking him pretty serious.
ANOTHER GOOD
Paul and Edison are doing really well together. Paul has kissed all over him and Edison has kissed back. He likes to be held by Paul and he loves it that Paul always has snacks! I had forgotten how sweet Paul was with little babies and it has been fun to see him interact with his son. Edison likes to play ball and has a pretty good arm. He is also good at throwing books, bottles, Cheerios, keys, etc.
Now for THE BAD and THE UGLY (together)
This time I am referring to Hurricane Ike. We are very concerned about his path and the fact that Ike is headed for Houston at the same time we are. Our travel agent said she is concerned about it too. Pretty much every flight from Guatemala goes through Houston. We would love to leave tomorrow but our visa appointment is not until 3:30 in the afternoon and there are no flights leaving Guatemala to the USA that late. We asked Debbie to at least try to get us to the US so we don't get stranded in Guatemala. She said she would try. She is going to keep a close watch on Ike tomorrow and let us know what to do. Please pray that we can get to Houston before Ike makes landfall. We are so anxious to get home and I know the girls want us home as well as the rest of the family. We have the earliest flight out of Guatemala on Friday morning but it still may not be soon enough. We also have to take into consideration the almost 3 hour layover we have to get through Customs and Immigration with Edison. We are not scheduled to depart Houston until after lunchtime. We really don´t care which city we land to come through Immigration we just want to be on American soil - let me clarify - North American soil, instead of Central American soil.
I better go back upstairs to make sure Edison is calm. I may have to become a masseuse again tonight. I wish I could get a massage...
So there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly. Luckily, as in the movie, the Good overshadows the Bad and the Ugly! Buenos Noches everyone. For you Spanglish speakers, that would mean, Good-o Night-o!
Oh - and there will be no pictures until I return home (Sorry)
THE GOOD
We had our embassy appointment today and everything went very smooth. We made it through the interview with no problems and go back to pick up Edison's visa tomorrow. When the guy at counter 8 told us "Congratulations, on the adoption of your new son" I knew that everything was finally final - Although he was officially ours when we got down here, we still needed permission to bring him to the United States as a citizen and now that has been approved. What a wonderful GOOD day!
THE BAD
When I returned to the room last night, Edison was screaming and Paul said he had been crying for the past 30 minutes. He wanted me and only me and would have nothing to do with Paul. When I took him, however, he didn't really even want me but I was better than the other option. When I laid him down to change his clothes he went ballistic! When we laid him in the bed, it was even worse. He hit me and smacked me and would "growl" at me. He arched his back and threw back his head. I was really proud of myself as I had the patience of Job which in fact is a blessing from God because it was something I prayed for. When I would try to talk to Edison to soothe him he would get so angry! I would rub his hair or his neck and he would either start shaking his head side to side or push my hand away. His head was soaking wet from crying. He didn't want down, he didn't want a snack, he didn't want a bottle, he didn't want anything except his "mamamamamamamamama" which I knew was NOT me! Finally, I took his pajama shirt off, laid him down in front of me, with his legs over my legs and I got the lotion and just started massaging his belly, his arms, his hands and his face. Paul got a warm wash cloth and I washed his face and tried to cool him off. He finally settled down and made great eye contact with me, although he did have somewhat of a vacant look in his eyes. After a 20 minute massage, he was worn out and ready for sleep. I tried to put his pajama top back on but he did not want it. I stayed in the same position all night with my arm around him, afraid if I moved, he would wake up. I tried to keep the blanket and sheet on him because I was afraid he would be cold without a shirt, but everytime I would put them on, he would begin kicking with both feet to get them off. He did wake up around 4:30 in the morning, whined a little, found his bottle, drank it and went right back to sleep. I was exhausted and my body ached, but we made it through the first night! Before I fell asleep, Paul and I talked about how scared and confused he must be. We prayed tomorrow would be better.
THE GOOD (again)
This morning, when Edison woke up, I had just gotten out of the shower. I walked in the room and he looked at me and said "Ma-ma?" and then he popped his lips together with a kiss. I walked over to him and he held his arms up to me and when I bent down, he gave me a kiss!! I looked at Paul and said, "Did you hear that? Did you see what he did?" I think I was in shock but Paul confirmed what I knew Edison had just done. He and I have had a pretty good day except for ...
THE UGLY
As I said before, he "growls" at us when he is unhappy and doesn't like what we are doing. He especially likes to growl when we tell him "No". I guess he is trying to figure out our boundaries. When he doesn't like what we have told him, he likes to smack us in the face and he can get to your face quicker than you can imagine and he smacks pretty hard. Coming back from the Embassy today, he smacked me in the face and I held his hands and said, "No!" so then he bent his head and tried to bite my arm. I knew exactly what he was getting ready to do and stopped him. I said no again and he looked at me like he was surrendering. I still was not too happy about him smacking and then trying to bite me, so I sent him to the back seat with his dad. He has smacked Paul several times today too. Paul at first thought it was cute, but tonight, right before I came down here, he got pretty firm with his "No" and Edison looked like he was taking him pretty serious.
ANOTHER GOOD
Paul and Edison are doing really well together. Paul has kissed all over him and Edison has kissed back. He likes to be held by Paul and he loves it that Paul always has snacks! I had forgotten how sweet Paul was with little babies and it has been fun to see him interact with his son. Edison likes to play ball and has a pretty good arm. He is also good at throwing books, bottles, Cheerios, keys, etc.
Now for THE BAD and THE UGLY (together)
This time I am referring to Hurricane Ike. We are very concerned about his path and the fact that Ike is headed for Houston at the same time we are. Our travel agent said she is concerned about it too. Pretty much every flight from Guatemala goes through Houston. We would love to leave tomorrow but our visa appointment is not until 3:30 in the afternoon and there are no flights leaving Guatemala to the USA that late. We asked Debbie to at least try to get us to the US so we don't get stranded in Guatemala. She said she would try. She is going to keep a close watch on Ike tomorrow and let us know what to do. Please pray that we can get to Houston before Ike makes landfall. We are so anxious to get home and I know the girls want us home as well as the rest of the family. We have the earliest flight out of Guatemala on Friday morning but it still may not be soon enough. We also have to take into consideration the almost 3 hour layover we have to get through Customs and Immigration with Edison. We are not scheduled to depart Houston until after lunchtime. We really don´t care which city we land to come through Immigration we just want to be on American soil - let me clarify - North American soil, instead of Central American soil.
I better go back upstairs to make sure Edison is calm. I may have to become a masseuse again tonight. I wish I could get a massage...
So there you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly. Luckily, as in the movie, the Good overshadows the Bad and the Ugly! Buenos Noches everyone. For you Spanglish speakers, that would mean, Good-o Night-o!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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We've been waiting how long ? ? ?
From the day we filled out our application for adoption (9/11/2007) to the day we picked up Edison's visa to come to the United States (9/11/2008) took exactly one year! Of my three pregnancies - this paper pregnancy was the longest and most stressful.
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