Job Update...

Just wanted to share a praise with the faithful few who check in. Rex started a contract job yesterday with a mortgage company here. It's only for the month of March but it will help to supplement his severance until something permanent is offered. We're still praying for that to happen so please continue to lift us up and we'll keep you posted. Thanks for your prayers that have already been said.

Snow Day in my Winter Wonderland

The last time it snowed, there really wasn't much to do anything with. So this time, since we got nearly 6 inches, we made sure to build a big snowman and have a snowball fight.
















Our backyard makes for a great sledding hill. With the rain a few days before, the river was up and more muddy than usual but it still looked like a winter wonderland.

It's hard to believe that we've had three snow days so far this year. This last one was definitely one to remember, but I think I'm done now and ready for spring.

1st Gotcha Day & Homecoming Anniversary

Life has been extra busy the past week or two so I'm just now getting around to sharing pictures from our first anniversary celebrations with Kenan.

Forever Family

We had wanted to go out to eat at a Guatemalan restaurant and even enlisted the help of a friend to find a place but there just aren't any in this area. So instead we went to the next best thing and our favorite, Monterrey. Kenan enjoyed his chips and salsa and we even got dessert, fried ice cream!











That Saturday we went to a Sunday School social so we decided to bring a dessert to commemorate the occasion, cookie cake! Another favorite at our house.











We look forward to many more celebrations in the years to come!

March Bow Giveaway!

My new friend Jeanette is giving away a collection of spring hairbows. Enter now for your chance to win! Even if you don't need them yourself, you can give them away as gifts for a sweet little girl. They're so cute and you'll be helping to promote her business that she uses to raise money for bringing home her daughter from China.

OUR JOURNEY TO KENAN

Part 8

Coming home certainly did not slow us down any. Just a week and a half after we came back we had Kenan's Rosebud Dedication Service at church and celebrated his first birthday. That weekend he got to meet his grandparents, aunt and uncles, and cousins for the first time.

About a month later, we went on our first family weekend getaway to Charleston, SC so Rex could run in the annual Cooper River Bridge 10K. We stayed an extra day to take in some sight seeing and go to the aquarium.

Later in April, two very sweet friends, Mandy and Lisa, gave us a baby shower.

Life was starting to return to the new normal. It took some adjusting on our part having another child in the house but Kenan did amazingly well and never once showed any signs of separation anxiety, etc. We'd have a year full of firsts with this new bundle of joy and lots of memories I hope to eventually put on a slide show (if I can figure out how).

Thanks for sticking with me as I've replayed our adoption journey. Here's one final thing, our announcement - Home At Last! Thanks for the idea Emily and thank you http://www.mandysmoon.com/, we just love it!

OUR JOURNEY TO KENAN

Part 7

HOMECOMING!

By day four we were exhausted but so excited to be going home! Rex headed out early with an agency staff member to go back over to the Embassy to pick up the Visa - please be ready... He returned an hour later, Visa in hand. We went downstairs for our last breakfast and then finished craming our suitcases with all the goodies from our shopping spree.

A driver took us to the airport and we proceeded to go through baggage check and a number of security points. There were quite a few people in line so it took a little while but we eventually made it and stopped to get a bite to eat before boarding.

A friend of our's we sing with in choir, Suzanne, works for the airline we were using and we knew that flight's to and from Guatemala were part of her regular schedule. We had told her when our flight home was going to be and she switched days with a coworker so that she could be with us. What a joy to see someone from home waiting for us at the gate. She had checked the seating chart and saw that we were supposed to be in the very last row. Rex had done that on purpose so that we'd be close to the bathroom in case we needed to tend to Kenan. She told us, "That's not going to work for my friends!" and bumped us up to first class! What a surprise! We had an entire row to ourselves and got a meal we had not planned on too.

After we boarded, the captian announces that we were going to have to make a stop in Fort Myers, FL to refuel. The reason behind that was the plane only had a half tank of gas. If we had taken off with a full tank, the plane would have been too heavy and not been able to get enough speed to get us high enough to clear the downtown buildings. Suddenly, refueling didn't sound so bad, even though it would delay our arrival. We stopped and sat there for over an hour. What was taking so long?! Because it was an international flight, no one could get off or on. People were starting to get antsy, Kenan was getting fussy and so were all the other babies that were going home. Come to find out, there had been some engine trouble during flight and it was being looked at. Again, getting in later would be just fine.

We finally landed. Our original arrival time was supposed to have been at 8:00, it was now 10:00. We still had to go through Customs and Immigration. We were told to have a seat in a waiting room and they would call our names when it was our turn. Our family was the third group that got there and more and more kept coming in. We thought that we'd be called in the order we had arrived but we weren't that fortunate. After another hour of waiting, we were the next to last people to be called. We went out to a desk and had a man look over Kenan's passport and Visa and asked us if that was Marco we were holding. We said yes and he said welcome home, and handed us back our papers. That was it! Oh well, what can you do?

It was so late and I had been hoping that we'd have a welcoming committee there to greet us but I just knew that everyone had gone home to put kids to bed for school the next day. I was so surprised to see all our friends that had waited an extra 3 hours that I was overcome with emotion. Friends, if you're reading this, words fail to express how important and special that was to me. Each of you are so dear to us and we love you so much. We just can't thank you enough for making those first moments home so memorable.

After lots of hugs and pictures and prayers of thanksgiving, we made our way to the car for Kenan's first ride in a car seat. We got home about 12:30 and were surprised to find a clean house that had been decorated with banners and signs. Thanks Valarie for making it look so pretty. We love you!

It had been a very long day but we were finally home! Welcome Home Kenan! We Love You!

OUR JOURNEY TO KENAN

Part 6

Kenan kept us up most of the night that first night. He had been used to getting up at 2:00, 4:00, and 6:00 for a bottle. We didn't want to change his routine right away but we weren't about to keep that up once we got home - mama needs her sleep! We finally figured out he was cold, us Americans and our air conditioning, and he didn't want to be laid down. Once he was bundled up in a blanket and propped up he at least slept some.

Our day was going to be jam packed. All 3 families that had gotten their kids on that Tuesday had appointments at the US Embassy Wednesday morning to get Visa's. We all piled into vans and they drove us over - no car seats by the way, it made for an interesting ride. You'd think a place like that would look official but it was just an ordinary building only with hundreds of people standing around outside. I wish I had pictures but they don't allow cameras or video equipment anywhere on the premises. There were two lines, one full of Guatemalans and the other full of Americans and children. They would point and make comments, I wish I could have understood what they were saying, maybe...

After waiting outside for about thirty minutes, we went through security, walked through the main area with lots and lots of Guatemalan eyes following our every move, and into a back waiting room over flowing with parents and kids. We sat here for close to an hour and finally our agency's group was called. We all got in another line, imagine that, and waited our turn to see a man who approved our I-600 form and we pledged to be his parents forever and to provide a good home for him. Back to the waiting room we went for another 15 minutes, then into a little room that you could barely get into because when you opened the door the chairs were in the way and it was only wide enough to fit a desk in - we're talkin' closet. Once we all squeezed in, the lady looked at our passports and receipts, then we took an oath saying that everything we had submitted was true, etc. This was the point the bomb dropped.

When these appointments had been set up for us, we based our flight schedule around the days and times all the legal things had to occur. We had been told that Kenan's Visa and the two others would be ready later that afternoon but now they were telling us that Embassy appointments and Visa's are never done on the same day, what we had gotten was a misprint and we'd all have to come back the next afternoon. Major problem, our flight out was at the same time as our new appointment the next day, the other families had flights scheduled before then and all the rooms in the hotel were reserved for a golf tournament the next night. No one had a place to stay if we were made to stay an extra day. Prayer time. I should have asked that lady if I could have borrowed her closet...

Let me tell you, God had it all worked out. He is so amazing! One of the dad's knew someone at the State Dept. and called her to see if she could possibly help us. This lady called the Embassy on our behalf and we all pleaded our case there in the main waiting room in front of all those Guatemalans. They told us to come back later that afternoon, all Visa's should be ready.

After lunch back at the hotel, everyone piled into the vans once again and headed over to an outdoor bazaar. Let's just say we did a little shopping...

We found a 'native' outfit for Kenan, some t-shirts, a hand woven blanket, picture frame, flag, magnet, a story blanket which is basically a hand made needle point wall hanging showing the culture and history of Guatemala, some hand beaded jewelry, and a book about the country.

When we got back, the daddy's returned to the Embassy to pick up the Visa's. Only one person per family was needed for that so I stayed in the room so the kid's could get a nap, OK, me too. (I can now say kids, plural, woohoo!) When Rex came back the look on his face told me something was up. He told me good news and bad news. The good news, two children got their Visa's. The bad news, one didn't. We were the one that didn't. You've got to be kidding me! He was given another appointment first thing the next morning before we went to the airport assuring him it would be ready. Time for more praying.

For dinner that night, we all went out as one big group for an authentic Guatemalan meal to celebrate together. No vans this time, we were within walking distance. Kenan ate well but refused to sit in a high chair. He wanted to be held or moving at all times. Was this a sign of things to come?

Bath time and packing needed to be done before leaving in the morning. It would be another up and down night with our new little man. We were ready to come home!