Sugar & spice and everything nice....

We wanted to share some exciting news and prayer requests…

For some time we have been looking into the possibility of adoption.  We've always felt that we weren't quite finished as a family and there has always been hope that one day we would have some girls join us.  Since moving to Guatemala,  we had heard many things as to whether or not we were eligible to adopt as foreigners so we decided to wait until we had our permanent residency completed to look in to the possibilities.  About a year ago our residency was finalized and through some different connections we began to investigate directly with the government to see if we met the qualifications to submit an application.  In January of this year we attended a half-day workshop, the first step in the process, and learned, as permanent residents, we are eligible to adopt.  After that, we spent two and a half months getting paperwork together from many different sources.  We then met with the government attorney who reviewed all of our paperwork.   He said everything was in order and they accepted the application!

A few weeks later the psychological evaluation was scheduled.  We (Chris and Holly) spent a morning telling our history, our family histories and drawing lots of pictures.   The picture thing was interesting because neither of us are artists and we were specifically told not to draw stick people.  We came home and googled the significance of what we had to draw (person, couple, family, house, and tree) and felt we might have failed that part right off the bat for various reasons and lack of artistic skills.  The next day the boys went in and talked to the psychologist and drew their own pictures.  That was a lively meeting to say the least!  If after spending an hour with those 3 together, they felt it was a good idea to give us a few girls, it would be a miracle.  But they did and called us a few weeks later to come out for a home visit.  After asking more of the same questions and looking at our house, the social worker congratulated us and told us we were going to be parents again! 

Yesterday, we spent all morning at an informational/preparation meeting and left with our official certificate of adoption eligibility.   Now, we wait for the call.  We know we will get 1-3 girls.  When you've got 3 kids, what's a few more?!?! We know that they will be anywhere from 18 months to 5 years old.  We are super excited and super nervous and praying that God will not give us more than we can handle.  Right about now we are asking ourselves if we are crazy!

After we receive a referral, we have 10 days to accept or not.  If we do, there will be a series of visits with the girl(s), just us and later the boys - they probably don't want to scare them right away.  :)  If all that goes well, they will come home with us. They will be ours but it will take the courts about 6 months to stamp and sign off on all of the documents.  After 2 years, we can get them passports for the US and apply for their naturalization.  In the meantime, we should be able to get them travel visas for when we go back to visit.

Please pray with us.  We know that these little girls will have their own stories, will have been through some type of trauma, and leaving all they know to come to our family will not be easy.  We fully expect there to be a difficult adjustment period and are praying that it be short and we all will have the patience needed.  We have alot to do to get ready for them - get their room ready, clothes, toys, etc.  There is not one girl thing in a house full of boys.  :)  We also need to be prepared emotionally for what to expect.  We are all excited to say the least!!

Marcedona

This precious, 32 year-old, mother of 6 was in a horrific accident in late August.  She was cranking up a machine that grinds corn and her hair got caught in the axle and torn off 90% of her scalp, one ear and half of the other.   Her whole entire family (mother, father, sister, brother, husband, kids) and people in the village rushed to help only to find her laying on the ground unconscious.  They thought she was dead and were afraid to touch her, so she laid there for about 30 minutes unattended.  When they realized she was alive, she was put in a truck and driven 30 minutes to the nearest "town".  (They live in a very remote village in the mountains).  There, she was transported by ambulance to a hospital in the city - over an hour away.  Now you are probably thinking that once she got to the ambulance, she was stabilized and given pain medication, etc., but I highly doubt it.  Where they were, I am sure the ambulance wasn't much more than a means of transportation.

Marcedona spent 2 months in the national hospital.  She had several skin graft surgeries and a surgery  to insert a tube where her ear was to keep the ear canal open so she would not lose hearing.  When Chris went to visit her family shortly after the accident, they were very concerned about the skin grafts because they had never heard of that before.  He explained it to them and that helped them to understand that she needed it to survive.  They live in a small remote place and have little knowledge of "modern" things.  In all, skin was taken from 7 places on her thighs - very painful she said.   She still needs one more surgery and possibly one that will give her a prosthetic ear.

Her youngest daughters

We went to visit her at home and she is doing well.  One of the most difficult parts of the whole ordeal was being away from her 6 children and the rest of her family.  The memory has left a lasting impression on everyone and we are praying that God will heal that so they can move on.  She is grateful to God and how He has provided for her and her family.

We shared her accident with our prayer team,  the hearts of a couple of people were touched to help.   As a result, bus fare was provided for her dad, husband, and brother to go see her when she was in the hospital.  They've been blessed with food, the medicine she needs until her wounds heal, and a water filter so she can wash her head with clean water.  Some folks sent sterile bandages and gauze that we could not get here in Guatemala.  The timing was perfect because she needed the gauze and a team was coming a few days later.  During our visit we explained that it's not the "Gringo's" who have helped, it's God who has provided and He has a plan for her life.  He brought her through this terrible ordeal and she's a miracle.

Please keep Marcedona in your prayers.  Pray that she would be healed mentally, emotionally, spiritually and physically from all that she has gone through.  Thank you!!

Thankful

Took a quick picture of Holly today while we were out in Buena Vista celebrating Thanksgiving with some friends.  What a great picture!  I've been married to this beautiful lady for 21 years today! Thankful for such a loving wife and mother to our children.  How appropriate that today is Thanksgiving...  Happy Anniversary Babe

Baby Eddy

A cutie!

Baby Eddy was born on September 10th.  Right before he was born we helped his parents build a block room.  They lived in a cornstalk shack and wanted (really needed) a better place for their baby.  We brought Baby Eddy, his dad Eddy, and his mom Miriam, and a few relatives home from the hospital and have kept up with him every since.  Miriam had a c-section, not something you ever want to do in Guatemala, and took awhile to recover.  This little guy has struggled with nursing and gaining weight from the start.  He was born at 6lbs, 5oz and at 6 weeks he weighed 5lbs, 8oz.   He's 10 weeks now and weighs 7lbs,11oz.  He is being seen my Dra. Sara, a local pediatrician, and Lesbia, a local lady who is going to school to finish her nursing degree so she can work with moms and babies.   Lesbia and I are visiting twice a week to weigh him and encourage Miriam with her first baby.  She started supplementing with formula a couple of weeks ago and Eddy is gaining weight!  She's 19 and can't read so Lesbia takes the time to explain things to her - how to care for herself and the baby, nursing, how to mix the formula, etc.  I just hold him and listen to all of the new spanish vocabulary words I am learning relating to babies.  He smiled at me today and it just melted my heart.  He's a sweet baby!

Lesbia and Miriam

A little smile

Fun With Books

We had friends visiting from Jacksonville this weekend.  They came with loads of books in Spanish to share with kids here.  It was tons of fun and the kids had a blast!  They started out reading "The Little Red Hen" ("La Gallinita Roja").  The moral of the story was to help one another. After the story, they had a craft and got to take home a book at their reading level.  It was a great way to encourage kids to read.  Thanks Lisa and Ashleigh!!!

If You Move, They Will Find You....

We moved the week before last.  We have been blessed with a house that is more "open" and has a little more space for the boys to do their crazy boy thing.  It's been good for our spirits to feel like we live outside more than feeling like we live in a cave.  The kitchen, dining room, office, living room and a half bath are on the first floor.  There are 2 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms and a family room on the second floor.  The third floor has a patio and 2 team rooms.  It's a great house with a lot of character.  After ALOT of work and cleaning and gallons and gallons of paint, we were ready to move in.

Here is where we (I) wash dishes.  For those of you who know me, I don't mind dishes in the sink.  Sometimes I have more important things to do like water my plants, referee boys, or answer the door a million times day.  Don't worry, I will get to them as soon as I am done writing this - I am waiting for the water to come in.  :)

This is the cute little sink in the kitchen but you would have to be 4 feet tall to use it so it's the hand washing sink for the kids.   Not sure what the thought was on that.   I know Guatemalans are short but not always that short.  

This is the 2nd floor.  Both floors have a nice patio or as my sister would say "veranda" outside the rooms.  We've had one rain so far and this area stayed dry so that is nice.  

This is looking down onto the patio where the boys can play and be "outside" since we are really outside all the time now.  

 We have 2 team/guest rooms on the 3rd floor and a nice sized patio area too.  

While we don't have a yard, I got a little dirt patch to plant some things in.  Yay!

The house is a little off the beaten path so we thought it would be a little quieter over here.  So far, not so much.  I think if we moved to Mars, people would turn a chicken bus into a rocket, powered by tortillas or manure, and find a way to get to us.  We've had more people knocking in the last few days than we've had in the last few weeks at the other place.  Their needs don't change and it's still a privilege to help them no matter where we live.

P.S.  I did the dishes.  If you have a dishwasher, hot water at your kitchen sink or even a faucet, be thankful!  :) 

Going Without Food

Miriam was over a couple of weeks ago and I notice that she looked a little thin.  She's pretty thin anyway but she seemed even more so that day.  In the last couple of weeks, I have seen her several times and each time, I've noticed it.  She was over late last week and as she was leaving, I looked at her calves and she has no muscle, her legs are just sticks.  Yesterday, I saw her in the street (the weather was warm so she was wearing a sleeveless top) and she looked emaciated to me.  I mentioned it to Chris and said that we needed to talk to them.  Selvin has been sick so I went to their house this morning to check on him but he was at school.  Since it was just "us girls" (me, Miriam and Kelly) I thought I would ask her why she's so much thinner and the answer caught me off guard.  She explained that since Kelly is eating more and nursing less, there isn't enough food for everyone so she doesn't eat as much. It's more important for Kelly and Selvin to have enough food than her.  Her husband Marco has not had regular work so they don't have much money for food.   I wanted to cry right there.  She goes without food so her kids can have enough when there is so little to begin with.

We have seen our share of malnutrition in kids here and the results of it, even death.   I haven't encountered it in an adult until now.  Cargo trucks leave ours and the surrounding villages daily, loaded with fruits and vegetables for export and there are hungry/starving people all around us.  It's one thing to miss a few meals but for an adult woman to get to the point where it's noticeable that she's not eating enough isn't good.  I explained to her the importance of her getting food too but what else can I say when there isn't enough.  If she had it, she'd eat it I'm sure.  All they had in their house to eat this morning was a corn drink - nothing else.  Later, I took them some food and told her to come to us if they are ever without and we will help.  

I wish I could give Marco a regular job so he could provide for his family better.  He's a hard worker and he doesn't drink like alot of men here do.  It's hard when you can't help people the way they need it.  Praying for God's provision for their family and wisdom for how we can help them.  

Here are links to other blogs about Miriam and her family.......

Marco and Miriam

Miriams's Wedding

Selvin's Education