Wendy Elizabeth West West

Yes - that's what it says on her passport and visa - Wendy Elizabeth West West. :) When they called her name (Wendy West) to pick up the visa on Wed, she just smiled a big smile! :) They put the mom's and dad's last names on the birth certificate, passport and visa. Strange - I know. Let me back up though, as I haven't had internet access since Monday.

Monday night the staff prayed over us as a family - a blessing on Wendy, the adoption and our family in general. It was all in Spanish - but I think that's what they were praying. It sounded wonderful anyways. :)

We kept Wendy with us in our dorm room Monday night, as she had cried the day before when we took her back to her house. I'm glad she wanted to sleep with us. However, like most 3 year olds, when daddy said "It's time for bed!" she started to cry. We immediately prayed for her, and Meghan prayed against the spirit of fear that might be bothering Wendy. . . . and Wendy immediately stopped crying!! :) PTL! I was starting to think "why did we decide to bring her up here when we have to get up at 5 am tomorrow? I'm not going to get any sleep?" (selfish thoughts - I know - but that's what first went through my head as I knew it would be a looooong day on Tuesday). She slept great - only once did she moan a little in her sleep (and Meg responded in her sleep - "Yes - It's ok."). And somehow in the middle of the night they switched places in bed (they were sharing a double bed). :) But she didn't fall out of bed! This was her first time in a big bed (she had been in a crib still).

So Tuesday's appt went well - about 2 1/2 hours sitting in the embassy - with about 1 1/2 minutes of interviews. :) OK - maybe 5 minutes total - between 2 interviews. :) But we were approved for an IR3 visa (meaning she will come to the US as a US citizen)! :) Whoo-hoo!

We had to come back on Wednesday to pick up the visa and the yellow envelope that we can NOT open!! We are to give it to immigration in the US.

The rest of Tuesday we went to Burger King and then the beautiful zoo in Guatemala City!

Jeremy read a small sign in B.K. that said last month they only had a "40% infestation." :) Of what - I'm not sure?? I don't want to know. :)

The zoo was absolutely gorgeous, and our day was the same - sunny skies ALL day till we got back to the orphanage!!! God answered my prayers. We went with Wendy's housedad and his 3 girls, as well as the couple from Florida that I had met online, who were visiting their soon-to-be-adopted son Juanito (who came too).

Wendy and Meghan both loved the zoo! Wendy's favorite animal was the pink Flamingo

and Meghan like the Tapir (that seemed to like her too!).

At the end of our zoo tour, J got a banana split, Meg and Wendy got fruit bars (popsicles) and I got a wonderful Chocobanano!! Yum! That hit the spot on such a sunny day!

Tues night, Wendy cried again when we said it was almost time for bed, but because I was sitting in the dining room talking with the couple from Florida, I just held her, and she eventually fell asleep in my arms. She's a good snuggler! She did fall out of bed that night, but I had put pillows by the bed this time. :)

Wednesday Antonio took us to the Children's Museum and out for lunch at Pollo Campero before we went to the embassy.

We tried to go see a Star Wars Museum (of course!) - but it was closed. Both Antonio and Jeremy LOVE Star Wars (if you didn't already know)! There was a Lego room at the Children's Museum - and it had an R2D2 in it! :)

After the embassy we went to the church of some friends of ours, and they took us down to Antigua to spend the night with them. Their house, and Antigua are just beautiful. I wish we could have stayed in Antigua all week instead!! Very peaceful! Wendy cried again when she was going upstairs to our room with our friends (and I was tagging along behind) and she just wanted to snuggle and cry. She was exhausted (only a 10 minute nap that day), and in a strange place. We just rocked in a rocking chair and I prayed over her - again rebuking & binding any spirits of fear, sadness, etc that shouldn't be there, and again - she stopped crying right away. (noticing a trend here?) We snuggled a little, then I laid her down next to Meghan on a mattress by our bed. She stared at me for awhile, and then at Meghan, and then fell asleep within about 10 minutes. Yeah! :) She slept through the night fine and woke up happy! :)

Today we had breakfast on the porch, and then spent a couple hours sightseeing. We saw the ruins in Antigua via horse and carriage (VERY bumpy!!!),




went in an old convent,

and then went to the Market (not long enough though - only 45 minutes. I could be there for hours!), and to eat lunch at a beautiful coffee plantation!!!

Just breathtaking! I think this has convinced Jeremy that he could move here now! :) hee,hee.

The down side of this trip has been Wendy's diarrhea (yuck!) and Meghan vomiting last night (double yuck!). Wendy just caught something the other kids had in her house - it started the day before we got here. Meghan - ?? - she probably just ate something not too good for her (I hope that's all it was). She hasn't eaten much today, so we'll see.

OK - well I've written long enough I think! :) I had to catch on up the week's events though. Tonight we are going back to the church in Guatemala City (right by the airport) and will stay there in an apartment. Tomorrow J will help our friends with some technical (audio/visual/computer) stuff before we head to the airport around 11am for our 1pm flight. And then we will be home around 10:15 pm (I think that was the time). Yeah!!!! Home for good!

Thank you all for your prayers! It was a beautiful day in Antigua today - when it was originally supposed to be raining and miserable from a hurricane. We only got a slight drizzle all day yesterday - actually less rain than we had earlier in the week! So Felix was a bust here! PTL!!!

God bless you all! Pray for our safe return! See you on Friday (for those that are meeting us)!!

Lori, Jeremy, Meghan and Wendy!

"Hey Mami . . . " What? "Hola!" :)

Yes - we are here! And yes - Hurricane Felix is a Cat 5!!! Yikes. :) We are still praying it to move further north so as to not his us at all. We'll see. More than likely we will be touring Antigua in the rain on Thursday. :) Anyways . . . that' s not the important info . . . .

We arrived here safe and sound . . . a little tired . . . but excited. Well, J shouldn't have been tired . . . he slept the whole trip down (except to wake up to eat lunch). He then took a 2 hour nap yesterday and slept 11 hours last night (and another shorter nap today!). But - I can't blame him - I've been just as tired . . .but I'm not as sound a sleeper as he is. I've been too excited to sleep much.

It's the rainy season here, so in true rainy season fashion - it rained all day off and on yesterday. Today was better - beautiful this morning - but rainy in the afternoon.

OK, OK - enough about weather Lori! :) As for our Wendy girl . . . :)

She came up to see us with her housedad Antonio (and his two girls) and she looked beautiful! She seemed a bit shy at first, but still came to my arms and then Jeremy's without a problem. It wasn't too long after that that Wendy and Meghan were playing and giggling and having a blast together! Meghan is a GREAT big sister to Wendy and Wendy seems to love hanging out with Meghan. Yeah! :) Last night they chased each other around the dining room playing tag and giggling all the time! At one point Wendy came up to me and said "Hey Mami" What? I asked. "Hola!" she said with a smirk. :) She then went to Jeremy and did the same. So I did it right back to her! She laughed. When we first landed in GT, Meghan said "I think I want to go home already". But after playing with Wendy for less than an hour - she changed her mind! Plus there has been a couple puppies around to entertain Meghan too. :) She loves animals!

Right now I have a snuggling girl (Wendy) on my lap (she got a little over-emotional about something someone said to her here - so she needed some loving) - so I'm going to cut this short. You know I can write a book! :)

Pray that our appointment at the embassy goes well tomorrow. 8 am GT time (10 am VA time). We are hoping for good weather so that we can go to the zoo and possible Children's museum afterwards. I hope so.

Last night we took Wendy down to her house after hanging out with us all day up near our dorm room, and she was not happy about having to sleep back in her house! She cried and wanted to sleep with us! :) We had her sleep down there (as it was pouring rain at that time), but we will have her in our room tonight. She even took a nap in our room today. It makes me so happy to see that she is WANTING to be with us and seems to be attaching to us quite well. I know we have a long road ahead of us . . . but so far so good. :) Not hitting, biting, screaming, etc. :)

Here are a few pics of our day today.

Blessings to you all. I'm not sure if I'll get to post again or not. The internet is sketchy here, plus I have to ask one of Wendy's caretakers to borrow their computer.

See you friday!
Lori & Jeremy and Meghan & Wendy! :)

ps - This is what we got for dinner last night (and again tonight - frozen though)! Jeremy was excited . . . till we tasted the pizza. :( Oh well. After dinner the girls had a blast giggling and running around chasing each other!!

And now a Hurricane! What an adventure!

Yes - it's 4am - the day we leave - and I'm here typing to you guys! :) I must love you all . . . either that or I'm addicted to the computer! :) The truth be told - I slept horrible these last two nights. . . . . I'm waaayyy tooo excited! :) Hmmm . . . wonder why?!
Well - I hope I've packed enough (1/2 of my suitcase is snacks! Better than orphanage food!). And whatever didn't get done will just have to wait. I'm a bit sad we didn't leave on Friday like originally planned, to be able to go a see Tikal or Lake Atitilan . . . . but that's ok. Now we might have a Hurricane instead! :) What fun. Take a look . . .

Actually - just since last night around 9pm - it has shifted more north. Keep praying it does more of that - and slows waaaay down so it doesn't get to Guatemala till Saturday! We leave on Friday, and on Thursday I had planned on seeing Antigua! Hmmm. . . . What is God trying to tell me? Not to sightsee? :)

Oops - gotta go! I've got 25 mintues to dry my hair and finish packing the last minute items!

God bless you all! Keep us in your prayers.

Wendy . . .Here we come!! - Oh, we got to talk to her some last night (she mainly just listens) - but we heard her tell someone near her "esta mi mami y papi". :) That just warms my heart! :)

Blessings
Lori :)

1 more day!

I dreamed last night that we arrived at Casa Bernabe, and Jeremy picked up Wendy. She looked sad and scared. :( That's not the dream I wanted - but it could very well be a reality. We are coming to take her away from everything she has ever known for the last 2 years. It's her home. That's her family. Though, her family has changed some over the 2 years, especially this last year with some of her "friends" being adopted or having to move on to the next house (for 3-5 year olds). At 3 1/2, she's the last remaining "old" kid around. She enjoys helping out with the little ones (20 of them!)- being very motherly, and even helps out with the laundry from time to time (she can teach her older siblings here!). It will definitely be an adjustment for her coming here and being "the baby" of the house again. I hope she likes it. :) I think she will. So - my dream may really reflect my fear of her getting upset about leaving, more so than being prophetic about what will happen. Of course - every mom and dad wants an "Annie" reunion/welcome - with your child excitedly running into your arms - so excited to finally have a Forever Family. But that's not always the case. They may be excited by the thought of it - but once their Mom and Dad materialize in front of them - reality sets in - and the reactions range from timidity - to screaming or crying for hours; quietly going - to biting, kicking, hitting, and even peeing on the mom and dad (yes - that really did happen to a friend of ours!). We prepare for the worst, but pray for the best. We were pleasantly surprised in April when we visited, as Wendy spoke to us right away and didn't seem afraid at all. She was VERY good with us the whole week, and was actually a bit sad when we were not around - asking "?Donde esta mami y papi?" - Where is mommy and daddy? :) That's a good sign! So . . . . I am praying for a joyful reunion. I know that the caretakers have been preparing her to come here - talking to her most everyday about it - using the photo books we sent. When they ask her who is coming to get her soon, she says "Mami, Papi y Meghan"! :) And we will be coming . . . TOMORROW!!!! I can't believe that day is already here!!!! PTL!! It's exciting, but scary at the same time.
All the same feelings & thoughts you get before adding another child to the family start to flood your mind . . . . am I ready for another one? Will I be able to handle 5 kids? Have I done everything here I need to before she comes? What will it be like when she's here? How will the kids adjust? What do I need to be prepared to encounter or deal with (sibling jealousy? attachment or adjustment issues? etc)? Will Wendy get frustrated trying to communicate with us (with her little bit of English and our little bit of Spanish)? How quickly will she learn English? . . . . . . . . . . (you get the picture!). Deep down though - I know it will all work out as this was ALL God's plan to begin with! So, if we stick with His plan and ways and continue to seek HIM above (and about) all things - then we will make it! :) PTL!

Well - it's back to packing and spending some time with my kids here before we leave bright and early tomorrow morning! I know I've said this a million times over the last 18 months . . . but . . .Thank you all for all your prayers, encouragement and support during this fantastic adventure!! We REALLY appreciate it and needed it!! Keep praying - as we will still need your prayers. Here are our requests:

1. Safe and FUN trip to pick up Wendy! That we will actually be able to get off CB's campus several times to do fun things with Wendy and Meghan (I am NOT going to be stuck there again this time!!)
2. Easy adjustment for Wendy and our kids here. That Wendy will attach to Jeremy and I quickly and in a healthy way.
3. Easy adjustment for Jeremy and I as the parents of 5 kids - esp. with a crazy school schedule this fall! Why didn't I just homeschool them?? :)
4. The remaining finances for the adoption and travel.

Thanks so much guys! God bless you today!

Lori :)

September 4th!!!

OK . . . .finally . . .the moment you have all been waiting for . . . we have our embassy appointment for 8am September 4th!!!! Yeah!!!! We are still # 21 (out of 30 couples assigned. yuck!). That just means more waiting for us. . . . of course I can pray that maybe that some of the couples won't show up (like us today). :) No - that would be mean. Anyways . . . we will probably be leaving Sunday morning as flights are MUCH cheaper than on Monday - Labor day, and coming back possibly Friday. We are hoping to see our good friend Almarie's parents in Antigua for a couple days, and it looks like we will be able to see Angela (the caretaker) before she leaves!! Oh yeah - and we will get to meet another adoptive mom I have been chatting with online who is adopting adorable Juanito, from Wendy's orphanage!!! So - see? God is good! Plus I will have taken all my antibiotics for this ear infection that cropped up on Saturday. I definitely wouldn't have wanted to fly with my ear killing me like it was!

I tell you - Today I sent 2 emails to the US embassy today and finally had to call them (3 times to get through - and then it was a horrible connection) - and got to speak to a "not-so-friendly-and-slightly-patronizing" woman - but I didn't back down and take "just wait for our email" for an answer!!! :) I think she wanted to get me off the phone and to stop asking so many questions, so she finally gave me a date and time! :) Hee,hee. Yeah! Then she told me "Remind your attorney to follow regulations as we normally do not do reschedules over the phone." - click- :) I wish he would have "followed regulations" - then I wouldn't need to be calling. :)

OK gotta run! Dinner time and lots to do here! :)

Blessings
Lori :)