Pssst...I have a story to tell

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

I have a story to tell you. This is a story of uncertainty and hope, a story of trust, and a story of faith. On June 7, 2003 a baby boy was born in Guatemala City. His future was unclear. Through a series of miracles this baby found himself traveling to the United States on December 18, 2003 to join his forever family. Sitting on an airplane, on his new mama's lap and beside his new daddy, he was headed home to meet his brothers and sister and the rest of his family.

Shortly before this little baby's homecoming I made a vow to acknowledge God's hand in this adoption journey. To honor this vow I tell a bit of Gustavo's story every year on his birthday and on the anniversary of his homecoming.

My dear sister made a scrapbook for us documenting the emails I sent out during Gustavo's adoption. It is a treasure which captures the intense emotion during the adventure of bringing him home. I will share a few tidbits to help paint the picture of our lives from June through December, 2003.

*June 21, 2003 "It is with excitement that we annouce we have accepted the referral of a little boy from Guatemala...adoptions in Guatemala are going through a period of transition...we do not know when we will be able to bring Gustavo home...because we believe in the power of prayer, we invite you to join us in prayer...we are trusting God to allow us to bring Gustavo home..."

*July 28, 2003 "We continue to be held in the difficult position of being caught between old procedures being changed and new procedures not yet in place...There is a chance the Guatemalan government could deny our referral of Gustavo under the new guidelines...Our desire is for Gustavo to have a mami and papi, we hope it is us...We have accepted the challenge, but understand we must be ready to accept God's will for the outcome."

*September 10, 2003 "I am going to visist our little Gustavo...The adoption process is in the best shape it has been in since February...there lies a long road yet to travel...we will certainly have a story to tell regarding getting this little guy home...planning a trip to Guatemala before the presidential elections to avoid any political unrest...traveling to a third-world country in a time frame to avoid political upheaval to visit my baby, who said God doesn't have a sense of humor!"

*September 12, 2003 "It is official - no more adoption shutdown...God is at work in the adoption system in Guatemala...I wish Marco could remember when he is older that he has gone through each and every step of bringing Gustavo home. He has accompanied me on every trip to retrieve and file paperwork, get fingerprinted, go to FedEx again and again and again. He has watched me cry, scream with despair, and shout for joy..."

*September 27, 2003 "One week from today I will be on a jet plane bound for Gustavo Adolfo..."

*October 6, 2003 "Gustavo arrived at 4pm, he is the most precious little guy...he came right to me and we have been falling hopelessly in love ever since..."

*October 10, 2003 "God has blessed us with a wonderful foster family to care for Gustavo...he has the cutest laugh and is very ticklish...he is full of personality and melted my heart...I thought I was going to throw up when I had to leave him..."

*October 16, 2003 "It is very difficult to explain the plight of Guatemalan adoptions this year...we still have far to go...I recently read the quote: I will pray my child through this process. I will trust God's will. I will trust that he will finish what he has begun. I haven't come this far only to give up because it is a little scary!"

*October 25, 2003 "I am waiting on word to find out about our Family Court status...the answer could potentially make a difference of MONTHS in getting Gustavo home...on pins and needles..."

*October 31, 2003 "It is with much excitement that I share our case has exited Family Court...please continue to pray, not only for our journey, but for the many others who are also involved in Guatemalan adoption...there are many birth mothers, children and waiting families going through an emotional time..."

*November 20, 2003 "Received an email from Gustavo's foster mother today...she wrote that she hopes the rest of the process goes fast so Gustavo can be home in Ohio with the family that God has put in his path...as the holidays approach my heart is a little empty because part of our family is not home..."

*December 1, 2003 "It is with incredible joy that we announce our Gustavo Adolfo is coming home...I was Christmas shopping at Target when our attorney called on my cell phone. After hearing the news, I stopped breathing, asked her if she was certain it was our case that was out of PGN, then broke down in an ugly cry right there in the electronics department...when I think of all the times this summer that we were unsure of whether the adoption would be able to move forward, I am filled with gratitude at God's mercy and power..."

*December 8, 2003 "The flights are booked...if all goes well we are headed to Guatemala this Sunday...If you hear a rumble tonight, it is Mark and I trying to put Gustavo's baby bed together. I actually tried to buy the floor model from the store...In all of the excitement this week, I ask that you also pray for Gustavo's birth mother and foster mother. For Gustavo's birth mother, I pray for her peace now that she is finished with this adoption process. For Gustavo's foster mother, I pray for her comfort as she says goodbye to the baby she has parented for nearly six months. Two courageous women who each, in their own way, will hand over to me the gift of motherhood once again..."

*December 15, 2003 "We are here...Gustavo arrived several hours ago and is currently taking his first nap with Daddy..."

*December 16, 2003 "We are officially done, done, done with this adoption...we can't wait to get home and share our little guy with everyone..."

On December 18, 2003 two tired and grateful parents walked down the hallway at the airport carrying a chubby, healthy, happy, incredibly loved baby boy ready to introduce him to his brothers, sister and grandparents waiting not-so-patiently!

There is an indescribable feeling of having your family united. Being all together in one place, no separation, no being patient, no painting a smile on your face to get through the day, no answering for the millionth time "no news yet". I have 5 children. Two of my children I met in an operating room as they were pulled from my body. Three children I met in a foreign country, their birth country. One I met in the lobby of a posh hotel, one I met poolside at a hotel with a volcano overlooking us, one I met in her foster home. The emotion of meeting your child for the first time is precious, and the feeling of welcoming a child home for good is the sweetest of all.

Each and every child is a miracle. I do not tell this story with the thought that Gustavo is any more special than his siblings or any child on Earth. I tell this story to acknowledge the fact there was no luck or favorable circumstances which made him our son. Each child has a story. Celebrate the story. Rejoice in the miracle of life.

On December 18, 2003 our son was welcomed into our home. It has been an amazing 6 years! On December 18, 2009 our son awoke excited for the day because it is Polar Express day in his first grade classroom and he gets to wear pajamas to school today! He carefully chose just the right pajamas and even his robe. As he tied his robe, with his famous twinkle in his eye, he exclaimed he felt he looked just like the boy in the Polar Express with his robe on. Oh, the joy he can extract from his daily life! I asked him if he knew why this day was special. "Yes, Mom, I know. I came home on an airplane from Guatemala on this day."

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

Amen

December 15, 2003 Daddy meets Gustavo

Six years of adventure with my son...looking forward to so many more!

Hmmmm...chew on this for awhile

Do all the good you can

by all the means you can,

in all the ways you can,

in all the places you can,

at all the times you can,

to all the people you can,

as long as ever you can.

~john wesley

I'll be back to write more once I am done digesting. Enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Birthday Marco!!!

Eight years ago today the world became a brighter place when Marco Vinicio Gomez Lopez was born. Our son. Of course we weren't at the hospital, nor did we hear his first cry, and we didn't even learn of his birth until mid-December.

Here is what I do know of that day...

*We were home in Indianapolis working on adoption research. The decision had been made to grow our family through adoption but we had not shared the news yet.
*I prayed each day for our future child, who was probably not yet born, and for the birth family.
*In Jalapa, Guatemala there was a very courageous woman who had some tough choices to make regarding her newborn son.

In the adoption community it is often discussed that adoption requires a huge leap of faith. As adoptive parents we prayed, researched, learned all we could, attended meetings, endured multiple interviews, completed state and FBI fingerprinting, were required to prove our financial, mental, physical, and all-round well being, completed a huge stack of legal paperwork, and in the end made that leap of faith.

I am thinking today about the leap of faith made by Marco's birth mother, Ana Francisca. She had to believe that the people surrounding her in the adoption choice were trustworthy and truthful. She had to believe in her soul that relinquishing her newborn son to an attorney who promised to provide a loving foster home during the adoption proceedings AND place her son with a family in a foreign country would result in the outcome she desired. Talk about a leap of faith - incredible.

Our family had the precious opportunity to meet Marco's birth mother in June. We brought Ana Francisca from her home, four hours away, to Guatemala City to be with us. I'll never forget walking our son to his birth mother and watching their reunion. He looks like her. It appears she is quiet - much like Marco. It wasn't awkward. It wasn't nerve-wracking. It was several hours of pure joy. Sure, there were sad moments, particularly as Mark and I learned more about Ana Francisca's life and her circumstances. There were tears. Most of all there was pure love. Ana Francisca loved watching Marco talk. She scoured his entire body with her eyes as if she was drinking in every bit of him. She kept repeating "he looks so good". I saw peace in her eyes. In turn, she gave me the sweetest gift of peace as well when she remarked, "He looks so good...I will never worry about him again." It was almost as if she could now be completely secure in her decision and confirm for herself that the leap of faith taken on October 5, 2001 was a wise choice.

The timing of the decision to adopt, sharing our news, and his birth is a fun story in itself. On October 6, 2001 we attended a meeting with an adoption agency and made the final decision to move forward with a Guatemalan adoption from that agency. On October 7, 2001 we sat down with Zack and Katie to share the news we were adopting a baby. They were absolutely thrilled and couldn't wait to welcome a new sibling. On December 13, 2001 we received the referral of Marco which means he was matched with our family. Initially I was shocked to learn he was born in October. We were expecting a newborn referral. When I looked at the calendar I was overcome with emotion in realizing that Marco was born on Friday night, we made our decision to move forward with the adoption on Saturday, and told the kids of our plans on Sunday of that first weekend in October. Simply amazing. Little did we know during that weekend that our son had been born on Friday night.

So today we celebrate! We celebrate the birth of a little boy in another country who through the courage of his birth mother, the success of an adoption system, the decision of our family, and the hand of God became our son.

Feliz Cumpleanos Marco Vinicio - you have many people who love you dearly!

Visiting Marco in Guatemala when he was 5 months old - March 2002

Marco sharing photographs of his life with his birth mother Ana Francisca - June 2009


The birthday boy - October 2009

The Middler is 8!

Our middle child, Marco, turns 8 tomorrow. How could it be?! It seems it was just yesterday that we made the decision to grow our family through adoption. After prayer, research, and a leap of faith we decided to pursue an international adoption.

As I type, Marco is sitting in the dining room reading "Henry and Mudge" to me. Our sweet little Guatemalan blessing is turning 8, and I can hardly believe it.

To help in celebrating his birthday, Marco is Star Student in the coming week. He had to complete a poster for the event. Here is how he completed the assignment:

*I am 4 ft. tall and I weigh 48 pounds. My hair is black and my favorite color is red. I am 8 years old and my name is Marco.

*When I grow up I want to be a policeman.

*Three wishes: I wish I had my own monkey and snake. I wish I could be a Star Wars character. I wish I was on a swim team.

*A few of my favorite things: bananas, shrimp, swimming, coloring, and Star Wars.

*Things I don't like: broccoli, honey, bees.

He also drew his family and provided a portrait of himself in an intense pose holding a lightsaber (see photo above).

Our boy - oh how I love him!

Tomorrow we celebrate Marco Vinicio - all 8 awesome years of him. One family tradition is to chose whatever you wish for dinner on your birthday. Marco's request: steak, corn on the cob, watermelon, and shrimp. Long gone is the hot dog or cereal request for the birthday dinner!

So thankful for the miracle of adoption and for the courageous woman who made a difficult choice for her newborn son. We will respect and love Marco's birth mother for the rest of our lives.

Back on track

Pardon me - I took a little vacation.

I was livin' life...enjoying the end of summer and transitioning back into the school year.

The beginning of the school year was full of newness! Zack is a senior - oh my! He is enjoying early release, and done with the school day at 12:40 each day. He is working part-time and making some college decisions. Katie is a sophomore, and at a new school. Zack and Katie are at the same school for the first time in six years. Marco is in 2nd grade and at a new school as well. So far, so good. Gus is in 1st grade, and in school all day for the first time and eating lunch at school. He is big time. Ana Lucia started preschool and attends four mornings/week. She is all about the backpack, attending school, and making new friends. I have Monday through Thursday ALONE from 9:30 to noon. Life is good.

October brings Marco's 8th birthday, our 20th wedding anniversary, an anniversary trip to Boston and the coast of Maine, and more adventures. The To Do List is long.

Welcome fall - one of my favorite times of the year!

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression,

and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who

suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war,
so that you may reach out your hand

to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness
to believe that you can make a difference in the world,
so that you can do

what others claim cannot be done
to bring justice and kindness

to all our children and the poor.

Amen and amen. Yeah, I am foolish enough to believe our family can impact those less fortunate than us. I am currently working on a great opportunity to do just this for someone very important to our family. I'll share more in the next post.

Summertime baking

The littles wanted to cook. They wanted to make some brownies and cupcakes. Observing the egg cracking alone would have been worth the price of admission to this show! Ana Lucia claimed the mixer made her arm shake like crazy.

As we were preparing to get everything in the oven Marco asked for a clipboard. Huh? He went around to several neighbors and took their order. He came back with a page for each family and their request for cupcakes, brownies, or some of both. Too funny.

The boys just finished their deliveries much to the delight of the kids in the cul-de-sac..and a few parents as well.

There is nothing like chilling out and participating in a baking project with little kids to remind one of what is important in life.

Home is where the heart is...not always completely true

I saw what I saw and I can't forget it
I heard what I heard and I can't go back
I know what I know and I can't deny it

Something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me
your dream inspires
your face a memory
your hope a fire
your courage asks me what I'm afraid of
and what I know of love

...a few words from one of my favorite Sara Groves songs

The song sums up my thoughts after every trip to Guatemala. Each time I return from Guatemala I leave a bit of my heart behind.

Traveling to Guatemala with children who are 17, 15, 7, 6, and 3 years old is an adventure. Spending time with the 7, 6, and 3 year old children's birth and foster families was a leap of faith.

How would everyone handle the time spent together?

How would the children feel when reunited with the women who had either given birth to them or cared for them in their first months of life?

It was a gamble for sure.

The truth is each child handled the visits beautifully.

While I believed before we left that these meetings would be beneficial, I now know they were absolutely the right thing to do for all parties involved.

For the birth and foster mothers the visits granted much desired peace. To see the children they had given life (or cared for like a mother) healthy, happy and loved was a dream come true for all of them. For our children their birth/foster mothers are no longer a stranger we talk about and look at in photos. They are real women who love them and hugged, cuddled, and kissed them. For me, the adoptive mother, it was joy come full circle.

Yes, there was sadness present. In a perfect world there would be no need for adoption. Our world is not perfect. The birth mothers in our family have difficult lives. Their decisions were not made in haste or arrived at easily. They made difficult decisions in an effort to provide a life for their child that they knew they could not.

Right now I hang in the balance - between two worlds. My life of luxury here in the United States and my extended families' lives in a developing nation seem at opposite ends of the spectrum. While I suspected that one of our birth mothers lived in extreme poverty, this fact was confirmed during our trip.

I saw photos of her home and I am haunted.

My soul is disturbed.

My heart is hurting.

I am unsettled.

I have returned home a different person with the knowledge of some of what I learned last week. Now that we have met her face-to-face I hope a relationship develops. I am unsure what this will entail. I must rely on God to reveal how our family fits into her existence.

In the midst of working through this reality I must be careful not to be flippant toward the everyday. Please forgive me (or at least be patient with me) if I appear to be frustrated at the ridiculous "drama" of life in the United States.

It is one thing to be aware of the fact that people in today's world have no running water or no indoor plumbing or not enough food to eat or no access to clean water or no warm/comfortable place to sleep but when it is the very person who gave your child life it is an entirely new reality.

Some of my posts in the near future are going to be an attempt at working through emotions and thoughts. It is cheap therapy. I welcome your prayers and feedback/thoughts dear friends.

I read the following this morning and intend to pray it daily:

"God, would you do a miracle for our family? Would you cause us to remember what we have seen and heard and then go and do something about it? Would you prick our hearts to be sensitive to the poor, the suffering and those around us? With time, it always seems like our pain is dulled and the sting loses its hurt. Would you keep the emotional wounds that were carved during the past week from healing?”

So incredibly grateful for our week in Guatemala.

Winding down...

Today is our final full day in Guatemala. We fly home very early in the morning. Oh dear, my heart is already sad just thinking about leaving.

I just walked Zack and Katie to Pollo Campero to meet up with friends. They hopped on a school bus (not a chicken bus - don't freak out) and are headed to the Pacific Coast for the day with a mission team. It is great to have friends in a foreign country!

I have so much to share but will post some random pictures of our week here until I get home, process my thoughts, and write about the week.

God has blessed our time here for sure!

Gustavo working on his lion craft at the VBS in Magdelena

Ana Lucia checking out a parrot at a hotel we visited

Katie playing with her favorite little boy from VBS

Katie with new friends in Magdelena

Gustavo and Marco playing hoops at our house in Antigua

Hanging out in the hammock

Zack & Katie enjoying some facebook time in the evening

The men (Mark, Marco, Zack) shopping

At the world famous arch in Antigua

Walking to the market

Ana Lucia pooped out at the market

Livin' life

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us."
~Joseph Campbell

As I sit here and write my husband and teenagers are working at a project site with a mission team from the states, my 6 and 7 year old sons are lost in a pretend world of adventure in the courtyard, and my 3 year old daughter is napping after a morning of being in Magdelena.

We were picked up this morning by friends and taken to a community served by mission teams from the states. I have served with the Greene family before and was excited for the rest of my family to see Magdelena, the school where a feeding program takes place, and the church where we tiled the floor last summer.

Our teens have joined me on mission trips before. This morning was the first chance for my husband and young children to get a glimpse of what Mommy does when she goes to Guatemala.

The littles ones loved peering out the car windows and taking in the sights. The sights and smells were intriguing. Ana Lucia quickly became Guatemalan (as in no car seat) as she sat on my lap while driving and then stood in the backseat of a Suburban and enjoyed the bumpy ride. The kids especially loved when the car had to stop and wait for a herd of cows to get out of the street in front of us. The cows walked right by the side of our car much to the delight of Marco, Gustavo & Ana Lucia.

We spent part of the time at a Vacation Bible School and the little ones joined the other children in the craft. Zack joined some local boys in some futbol (soccer) before heading off to work. Katie enjoyed being with the children from the community and took many photos before heading off to work. I imagine Mark will head to the site where they are building a house. I can't wait for them to be back and hear about the rest of their day.

Zack and Katie are headed to the Pacific coast (black sand beaches) on Thursday with our missionary friends. Very cool.

It is happening. We are experiencing Guatemala. We still have so much to learn and experience. But for now, for this one week out of our lives, it is absolutely amazing.

Had you told us twenty years ago that we would have 5 children, 3 adopted internationally, fall in love with another culture and country, develop a passion for serving those in need in Guatemala, and develop friendships with the many amazing people we have I am sure we would have laughed. We had plans...a couple of kids, careers, the American dream. Somewhere along the way God got ahold of our hearts and revealed his plan for us. I am so thankful that we were willing to get rid of the life we had planned in order to have the life that was waiting for us.

Dinner delivered via a motorcycle driver


The kids love riding the tuk-tuks!



We have put the kids to work...

True joy

While I would love to post many of the photos we have taken this week, I will share some here which respect the privacy of the foster and birth families of our children.

I believe the phrase "a picture is worth a thousand words" is so true. I feel I could write a book to correspond with each of these pictures. I have been given the blessing of observing true joy this week each time our kids were reunited with a foster or birth mother. Ana Lucia and Marco were able to be with their birth mothers. The women who gave them life and then gave them a life with us. Both of these courageous women feared they would never see their children again and took a bold leap of faith that their decision would indeed result in what they hoped for. Marco's birth mother made a statement that I will cherish forever. She simply stated, "He looks good. I will never worry about him again."

Gustavo was reunited with his entire foster family. They cared for him from the time he was a week old until we brought him home at six months. We have stayed in contact with them and developed a friendship over the last 5 1/2 years. Every time I have returned to Guatemala I have spent time with them. Mami Ruth has fostered over 50 children and Gustavo is the very first one to return to Guatemala. Mami Ruth's daughter told us that she has told everyone (family, friends, and even strangers) about Gustavo returning for a visit. At one point during the visit I looked over to see Gustavo sitting on her lap, surrounded by her three daughters and husband, enjoying one another. Priceless.

Ana Lucia began her visit quite shy. She drew some pictures for her birth mother and slowly warmed up. By the end of the visit the two were playing together in the yard with daughter Ana Lucia babbling away and pretending and mother Ana Lucia enjoying every second. We all held back and gave them their time together.

Marco shows his birth mother pictures of his life in the United States


Gustavo reunited with Mami Ruth


Ana Lucia with her birth mother also named Ana Lucia


Ana Lucia marches off to the yard to show her birth mother around


Giggling and playing with birth mom


I'll never be the same having experienced what I have this week.

The adventure has begun...

I'll sit down later today and share some of our trip thus far.

In a word...incredible.

As we drove through Antigua yesterday Gustavo remarked "Mom, everyone here looks like us. You don't look like the people here but I do." It didn't take long for him to verbalize his observations.

I'll leave you with the opportunity to share in the view from our upstairs patio this morning.


Gustavo just ran downstairs yelling for me to come up to the patio because the little ones noticed black smoke coming out of the volcano. He turns around and exclaims to me "Is that the fastest you can run? Come on!" Ouch.

Yes, indeed the volcano is smoking and the 3, 6, and 7 year old nature buffs discovered it all on their own. They are in paradise!

Stories to follow later today...

Our luggage is supposed to be delivered today. Cross your fingers. We are on day 3 of the same clothing. In a word - gross.

The precious gift of family

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you are to them."
~Desmond Tutu

We've had the pleasure of spending time with immediate and extended family for the past week. My brother and nephew traveled home from North Carolina and spent a few days with us. We enjoyed hanging out and exploring Findlay Market here in Cincinnati. My children LOVE Uncle Doug! The little ones barely leave his side while he is here. Poor Uncle Doug...very happy kids.

My grandmother's 90th birthday party was yesterday. We traveled home to Indiana to join others to celebrate. My grandmother is one of the loveliest people I know. She has always been an important part of my life. I grew up living just 4 houses down the street from Grandma. I have been walking or riding my bike to her house ever since I can remember. At Grandma's house we played in her backyard, played aggravation for hours, played cards, played with the red metal cash register, put puzzles together (my favorite was the one of the covered bridge), listened to record albums on her stereo, and so much more. I spent most Thanksgivings at her house, and every Christmas Eve.

My grandmother has been widowed for nearly 40 years. Can you imagine? She is an independent and strong woman. She loves to laugh and is one of the greatest storytellers you'll ever meet. She laughs until she cries. I sometimes do the same (or pee my pants). Laughter is an important part of our family.

Grandma introduced our family to Guatemala. She traveled to Guatemala on a mission trip in the early 1970's. I remember sitting in her living room listening to stories about her trip and anticipating the gifts she brought back for us. Who would have known all those years ago that Guatemala would become so important to our family? She loves her little "black-eyed" Guatemalan great-grandchildren. Several years ago she gave me the slides from her trip to Guatemala and they are a treasure.

I am so thankful that my children are growing up knowing their great-grandmother. They call her "memaw". When we are in Indiana it is tradition to go down to Memaw's to visit. We sit in her living room and talk. The children know just where the toy box is stored and head straight for it as soon as walking in the door and giving a hug and kiss.

There are many times I miss not living in close proximity to my family. How wonderful it would be to drop in at my parent's house any week night or walk down to Grandma's. I do believe we have managed to make the best of our living in different cities and states. My parents and grandma live in Indiana, as well as my sister and her family. My brother and his family live in North Carolina. We spend holidays together, we vacation together occasionally, we visit whenever we can, and make it a point to "do life" together. We laugh, we play cards and games, we cook and enjoy meals together, we tell stories, and truly treasure time spent together. Even though separated by miles our children are all growing up together and are thick as thieves.

I hope Grandma looked around yesterday at all the people gathered to celebrate her and realized how loved and respected she is. She has made a positive impact on so many lives.

I love capturing memories in photos and will share just a few to illustrate the past week with my family.

Grandma with her brother Jack and sister Betty. They each traveled several hours to attend the party and surprised Grandma. It was wonderful to see the look on her face when she realized they came.


4 generations - Grandma, my parents, my crew


My sister Holly and Ana Lucia - my kids adore their Aunt Holly


My brother Doug with Marco and Gustavo - checking out life at Findlay Market


This weekend we'll be visiting with foster families and birth families in Guatemala. Goodness, we are so blessed!

"To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there."
~Barbara Bush

The Griswolds, uh Davis's, do vacation...

9 days from today we will be off on our adventure to Guatemala. As you know I am a planner. The planning gurus are all laughing at me right now.

I have a feeling this trip is going to replace Griswold's European Vacation with "The Davis's Central American Vacation".

I plan by making lists and then implementing the lists. My list for this trip has officially gotten OUT OF CONTROL.

Mark stood in the garage with me last night as we discussed checked suitcases, carry-on suitcases, and all of the loot we will travel with. A simplified overview:

*1 stroller
*1 car seat
*5 children
*2 adults
*3 rolling suitcases to carry on the plane holding 2 cameras, 1 video camera, an assortment of chargers, batteries, media cards, medications, change of clothes for the littles, and paperwork for the trip
*Lap top computer to carry on
*7 backpacks - 1 for each individual to transport snacks, books, magazines, leapsters, action figures, crayons, paper, ipods, headphones, lovey/cuddle items, and anything else which keeps a human happy for six hours on an airplane
*At this point we are up to TEN checked suitcases to hold not just our clothing for the week but gifts we are taking for foster and birth families, food items, medicines, and most importantly many donations of shoes and clothing for families in need

Lord help us. We can't even get all of our suitcases and people to the airport in one vehicle!

The excitement is starting to build. The last minute panic will begin in a few days. I'm not sure when the 7 of us will be able to take this trip again so we are going all out, doing it up big, and going for broke!

The plan: visit with foster and birth families, spend some time helping others, settle in for a week of living life in Guatemala, no big expectations, just "being" in the birth country of three of our children.

Oh, yeah, and we still have semester exams and the end-of-the-school-year activities to accomplish before leaving.

Our dining room has become the staging room for packing. Hopefully it won't look like this...


The children are talking about seeing their foster families and/or birth families. Each has decided on a few gifts they want to pick out. Ana Lucia decided she wanted to draw a picture for her birth mother as well as take a necklace to her. She then decided she also wanted to take snacks and a Diet Coke to her birth mother. Precious. Gustavo wants to take a necklace to his foster mother and requested that I take him shopping by himself in order to choose just the right necklace. Ana Lucia reminded me the other night at dinner that she was not in my tummy but in her birth mother's tummy. The dialogue is so awesome. It has always been my goal/hope that the children would grow up being totally comfortable talking about being born in Guatemala, birth families, foster families, adoption, etc. It is happening. A few months ago Marco came up to me, hugged me, and out of the blue thanked me for adopting him. Be still my heart.

I can't wait for them to be in their birth country, be surrounded by people who look like them, experience life in another culture, and begin to truly understand what Guatemala is. Yes, they are just 3, 5, and 7 years old, but my hope is this trip will be the beginning of many more to come.

School is out next Thursday and we fly out on Friday. Ready or not - here we come!

Can I get a shout?!

If you know me then you know I detest winter. Snow at Christmas is acceptable and then on January 1st I am ready for spring. Somehow living in the Midwest tends to drive me a little bonkers several months of the year.

I am thrilled to have arrived at summer weather and all things related to enjoying spring and summer at our house. Memorial Day weekend around here includes fishing with Daddy, planting flowers, and enjoying the pool. This weekend the weather is fabulous and the traditions continue.

The littles are ready to go fishing with Daddy

Marco helps Daddy with flowers

Renewing her trust in the life jacket

The 5 year old's dive - we think he might be part fish

The boys can spend the entire day in the pool

Swinging is always fun when you need a break from landscaping


Gus has proven to be quite the hula hooper


Notice that Ana is holding Wolfie in the video. Yes, Wolfie went fishing with her.

13 more days of school - I hope we make it!

Three weeks from today we will be in Guatemala - can't wait!

Ode to Wolfie

You know when your child has a special "lovey" and it gets really worn, or worse yet lost? Tragic.

Ana Lucia's "Wolfie" has become her special friend. Wolfie goes most places with us. Occasionally he stays behind in the car seat. Truthfully I'm not even sure the poor little animal is even a wolf. Ana Lucia says it is so it is! She has gotten so attached to Wolfie that I decided it was time to purchase a back up. The problem is I have no idea where I found Wolfie. No problem, I just looked at the tag and found the company online. I'm smart like that! Problem is I cannot find Wolfie on the company's web page. Crap.

I have lived this nightmare once before. Gustavo became attached to a cute little bunny when he was a baby. REALLY ATTACHED. He rubbed the bunny's ears across his face when he went to sleep. Once I noticed he was becoming obsessed with Bun-bun I decided to buy a back up. It was made by Ty so I assumed I could find one anywhere. No such luck. I finally looked at the Ty web page only to learn that Bun-bun had been retired. What?! Ebay saved the day. I almost had to buy one from someone in England but a domestic Bun-bun showed up on Ebay and I snatched it up. Pitiful.

Back to our current dilemma - no Wolfie. I looked for the blasted creature under every animal classification on that darned website...cats, dogs, farm animals, forest animals, cold weather animals. Yes, those are actual classifications on a stuffed animal company's web page. Wouldn't you love that job?

So we surfed through the website as I showed Ana Lucia their selection of wolves. There were several to choose from. I think I may have her excited about ordering a different wolf so that Wolfie can have a friend.

Dear Lord help us.

Ana Lucia and the very loved Wolfie