Day 40.......................................

Isn't she funny! This is Anaya cracking up! This in turn cracks me up! Laughter, it is a blessed thing!!

While we were taking our walk yesterday, this made us laugh! We are not sure what is up with these Guatemalans, but they were funny, they had bags of chips all over them. Then later we saw them on T.V. in a commercial!
Here are some pictures we took on our walk today................

And some from a while back..............................

Not much going on today, the boys were able to swim, and we took a little walk, went and got cookies from the bakery, and came home, just before it started raining!! Each day when we take our walks, we have to go past the dogs. We are not sure who owns the dogs, as there are about 3 that are running around all the time, and Jayden and Spencer always pet them! They are not the cleanest, or cutest dogs, but to Jayden that doesn't matter, he gives them hugs, and loves them! Well, yesterday he said a completely Jayden statement~after petting the dogs, he said "they even smell like dogs!" To which Dylan said, "DUH, what did you think they would smell like, they are dogs! Mom, you gotta put that on your blog!" Funny kids!

We found out that we can stay here until Friday the 13th no problem!! That was a relief. While it sounds fun to go to a hotel, we were going to have to pay for 3 days, what we did for a month here in Antigua! That is so not worth it! Besides, I would much rather be here than in the city any day!

I checked on where our DNA is at, and it went from Greensboro NC to Memphis TN to Miami FL, where it has been since 7:45 this morning! It is quite anticlimactic to have this going out over the weekend, we know it won't get there till sometime Monday afternoon(they say before 6pm!) If it were on a weekday, it would be overnighted, but I guess they don't work on weekends, because it is still sitting in Fl! Oh well! We are getting excited for Daddy to arrive, and are cleaning and getting things organized! Thanks for checking in!

HAPPY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy day! Yes, I wanted to write "Happy Birthday" but I couldn't get the B to look good, and I ran out of M&M's!(I bought 2 packages!!) So Happy Day it was! Easton turned 3, and we finally received word that our DNA results have been shipped out, and are on the way to the US Embassy! Which means it won't get there until Monday, and we are praying for a quick PINK, however quick usually is not synonymous with us and this adoption, so we will wait and see. But, I am very thankful to be this far, and baring any trouble, I can see an end in sight, and I am so excited to be done!!

We started the morning out singing "Happy birthday" and letting Easton open a gift! Well, I mean get it out of the bag! I didn't see any gift bags, nor birthday candles, on our recent trips out, so we just had to "deal with it!" He didn't mind!
It was another decent day again today, thank you Lord!! So we headed to the market! We got a few things, including this flute, for Easton!
Then we went to the awesomest McDonalds in the world! I really do (usually) hate McDonalds, but this place is so cool! Not to mention clean, and beautiful!! Easton and Jayden ordered Happy Meals, but Dylan and Spencer opted for more food, and each got 2 cheeseburgers! Yes, usually I have to order 5 cheeseburgers, and 10 chicken nuggets, for my 4 boys!(plus fries, and pop, and they are still young!!) We WILL go broke feeding these guys someday! =)

We came home from our walk, and baked the cake, they were so anxious for a piece, that we frosted it, and decorated it while warm, and had a small piece for "snack!"
Then while I was making dinner, Gretchen called, and invited us out to pizza, but instead, I invited her over for dinner, and cake and ice cream! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them, but Gretchen and Ana were there to help us celebrate Eastons birthday!! He opened his last little gifts, and we had our cake, and guess who DID NOT want ice cream? Easton! Here I made a special trip out to find good ice cream, because it was all he wanted~cake and ice cream, and he didn't even eat it! Oh well, it must mean birthday to him to have cake AND ice cream!!
We had a very nice day today! Easton got a few personal Skype calls, and phone calls wishing him a Happy Birthday! Thanks everyone for helping make his day special! We will celebrate more once we get home, and probably when Daddy gets here too, he's never had a birthday so good!Thanks for checking in on us! Also, one small request, since we probably won't get our appointment for Wed. like we had hoped,(though we can still pray to that end) we are going to try to stay here in Antigua. Please pray that we can stay in the house till the 13th! It will save us a TON of money, as we would have to get 2 rooms in the city with our large family, and if we don't have to be there yet, we would rather be here! We should hear back from the land lady tomorrow.

Day 38...............................

Anaya was crawling on the boys, and I flipped her over so that we could see her face, and she wasn't too thrilled with that, but the boys thought it was funny!

It was another halfway decent day today, so we headed to the store, and got Easton a few small things to open, and he didn't even know! We were so sneaky!! If it is nice out tomorrow, we are going to go and see if anything at the market strikes his fancy! There is a store by McDonald's that sells balloons, and we may have to get one of those too!! He is so excited for cake and ice cream, and for us to sing "Happy birthday" to him! And we are excited too!!
I just love the color here! The buildings are painted such vibrant colors, it is a feast for the eyes!! This is a bank with only a small line out front. The other is a chicken bus up close and personal! These were all taken by Dylan in our tuk tuk ride home from the store! It was sprinkling and so the kids just NEEDED to have a tuk tuk ride!
This is one of the "whoahtay whoatay" corners! That is what the man who rides halfway out of the bus yells when they get to a corner, they stop for a few minutes, and yell "Whoatay whoatay!" We are not sure exactly what they say, but it sounds like that, and we have no idea what that means! Anyone out there know about this~it has perplexed us for a while now!!

Here we are, safe at home!!

Scary hair Yuckie!!
Dylan has been such a big helper! Today, we started to pack a few things up, and he was so excited, he hopped right into action! He assigned jobs to the boys, and when I came downstairs, they were doing it! It was so cute to see them working so hard packing up their games and toys, and backpacks! Hopefully they will continue, as we have a LOT of work to do yet, and most can't be done until the last minute! It is a little overwhelming, the thought of all that I have to do! We really settled in here for the last 6 weeks, and on Tues. morning, we are leaving our Antigua home, and moving to a hotel in Guatemala City. I usually need help in this area, as my mind goes into shut down mode, when there is a lot to do in a short amount of time!!
Well, I have no idea what the problem is, but our DNA still has not been shipped out!!(and of course, our agency has not given us any info, nor has the lab!) We are hoping they will get it out tomorrow, I don't know why everything has to take so much longer than normal for us, BUT there is one thing I have learned, and that is, that there is nothing I can do about it, so we will just rest in the fact that God knows, and He will take care of us, and our situation!! It is a good thing that my sister is able to check our email, as I will more than likely need her to tell me when we are PINK! Wow, we have waited soooo long for this, and I won't even be able to see it first! Oh well, Steph, I hope you are ready to sit at your computer ALL day long!=)

Ryan is coming in on Tuesday, and we are so excited! Please pray that the US Embassy will be fast at issuing us our pink email, and that they will switch our date, so that we can fly home as a family on Friday!! Thanks so much!

Jayden's got a new look!

Jayden's tooth was so loose, and tonight in bed, Dylan told him that if he pulled it out, he would give him 25 centavos(which is like 3 cents!)and he did it!!! He was so excited, then he said he didn't believe in the tooth fairy, so I just handed him 5 quetzals, and 75 centavos, and he was thrilled! Poor kid, he got jipped, but it was all the small change I had!(he didn't seem to mind!) I love his new smile!

Happy baby girl eating Cheerios! Only a few short weeks ago, she had no clue how to get these things into her mouth, now she can clear her tray in minutes!! I was not so happy when she woke up this morning at 5:30!! I usually hear her start to talk in the morning, and I rolled over and looked at the clock, and was like ~ no way chickie! But then I heard her clunk her head on the wall, and start to cry, so I hauled her in bed with me, as I did NOT want the rest of the crew to wake up! So she finally fell asleep in my arms, but I can't sleep like that, so I just watched her in awe!

I am still so amazed at the miracle of adoption! The fact that someone else gave birth to her, and is allowing us the privilege of raising her, just blows my mind. What a precious gift, straight from heaven! Even though we missed so much, there are so many firsts, and things we are still getting to experience, and we are truly blessed to finally have her!

YAY!! We were blessed with a decent day today, and went for a walk into town! This is a beautiful old church, and a few weeks ago, there was a wedding taking place here. The whole thing was illuminated with candles, it was so incredibly beautiful, I still think Anaya needs to get married right here in this building!! Then we went to my utmost favorite coffee place in the world! Move over Starbucks(or fourbucks, as Abel calls it)meet Cafe Condessa! The carmel latte is awesome!

Another beautiful old church, this one is on one side of central park, it nearly takes up a whole city block!
I was talking about the ladies with the baskets on their heads last night, and as we turned the corner this morning, what do I see coming at us~lady with a basket on her head! So I waited till she passed, (as not to be rude, and photograph her face on,)and got a shot, but with my non- paparazzi camera, she was halfway down the block by the time I got my camera out and ready!! A photographer, I am not!!

Well, it felt so good to be able to walk around town today, we were able to go to the store and get some ice cream, however I am at a loss as to what to get Easton for his birthday gift! I am hoping for another decent day on Friday, that way I can take them to McDonald's for Happy meals(big treat), and then to the market, and if he sees something that looks fun, get it! But I will have to check the weather and see, it is rainy season after all!!

No word on our DNA, Ryan called, and they said it was still at the lab this morning, and he was supposed to call back and let us know if it was shipped this afternoon,(but he didn't) so I am guessing that means it was not shipped yet, I am praying they can do it first thing in the morning. Then it should be at the Embassy on Friday, however they usually do not issue "pinks" Friday, so we would have to wait till Mon. or Tues. But I am going to pray that they do, and will!! We shall WAIT and see!!

Sending our love to you all!

Day 36........................................

I love the look on her face, she knows that when she pushes them over, she will be scared half to death, yet she proceeds to knock them down! She is such a funny girl! I tried to capture "the rest of the story" in pictures, but she was looking down, and you can't see her face! Notice her legwarmers(they are inside out in order to save them from being ruined, as I only have one pair, for now!)these things have been lifesavers, or shall I say legsavers, with the tile floor! I need to stock up on them for this summer, they are great to protect those little legs! Which, I might add, have filled out a bit, since she has been with us!=)

The boys~ doing the dishes, I love how deep into their work they are! They get so wet, they have to take their shirts off, Spencer should have taken his shorts off, he got soaked! I think we should stick to Dylan and I washing, but these 2 like to do it, especially Spencer. He is my ultra competitive one, and if he dries, he "gets too far behind!" So he prefers to wash, so he can be done first!! Oh how they make me laugh! 5 different kids, 5 distinct personalities!! What fun!!
Unfortunately, with the rain, THIS is what we spend a lot of time doing ~ Absolutely NOTHING, but kicking back and being lazy! Anaya is an all terrain crawler now, she goes over any and everything! My how she has improved!!
I was looking for some more pictures, as we don't do much to photograph these days, and I found this one of Jayden, being like the ladies in town!! They carry everything on their heads, loads of fabric, laundry, huge baskets filled with all sorts of stuff, water jugs, etc... and most of the time, their hands are empty!!

I also found this video of Anaya cracking us all up by laughing so hard, you can't tell too much, but she was laughing so hard, and we couldn't figure out what was so funny!

Ahh the good old days, when the sun was shining, and we took a walk each day!!! I sooo miss that!

Well, no word on our DNA today, but Ryan is going to call the lab tomorrow, and see what the status is himself! I have so many pictures of this baby, I have half a mind to just march down there to the US Embassy, and say "look, can't you see, this IS the same baby, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out!" But, good thing the other half of my mind is stable, and I know it will all be over in short while, so I will just sit back, and wait some more!!!! Why is it though, when you are down to the wire, things seem to go in slow mo? Don't get me wrong, we are doing fine, but I feel as though these few last steps are taking forever! It has been almost 2 years since we started this whole process, and I am ready to get on with life!! Although I am certain that once we are back into the daily grind, I will long for the super lazy days in Antigua!!!

We are praying for a break in the rain, we need to get a few things(like birthday stuff for Easton!!) He turns 3 on Friday! I asked him what he wants for his birthday, and he said, "um, cake and ice cream!" So easy to please, I love it! We have a cake mix, and everything, but no ice cream, so it is necessary we get out and get that!! And somehow, I have to buy him a gift without him knowing! Good thing he is only 3, I think I can pull it off!!

Thanks for praying for us, we love and miss you all!!!

Day 35..............................

Playing battleship, guess who's ship just got hit!!
Even Easton likes Guatemalan coffee!!
These are my "old neighbors!"(Charles, Ana, and Gretchen.) They were only there for a little while, then moved closer to the town square! But, they still called and invited us to dinner again. Here we are at Papazitos! Thanks guys, we had fun!(please remember to keep them, and all the families stuck in the system in your prayers!)
Me, and the gang! Dylan usually takes all of the pictures, so it was nice to have someone else there to get a shot of all of us!
Jayden, giving "Daddy" his nightly hug! All of the boys "hug Daddy" when they say goodnight to him on Skype! We are so grateful for technology! I could not stand to be away, if it were not for the computer! We email, and talk daily, and we can see each other, which helps emmensly!

I woke up to Anaya crying at about 6:15, and realized it was raining! YUCK! That is not my idea of a wonderful morning! But, it did improve, and we were able to go out for a little while this noon! Once again, it was pretty dreary most of the day! We took a cab(that the neighbors called for us)out to dinner! The boys thought that was nice, "We're not squished at all in here!" Jayden said! But, it wasn't nearly as exciting as a tuk tuk, however, we stayed dry, and to me that was a big plus! The boys have been praying that the days would go faster, and they certainly feel as though they have been! Thanks God, we needed that!!

This is the video of my "church" service yesterday, Ryan told the boys to do a service for me, and this is them doing David and Goliath!! I was treated to a few more, they were having fun, and kept thinking of more stories they could act out! What fun!

We are praying that our DNA will be done tomorrow, and that they will be able to ship it out the same day, however, we received an email (from our agency) saying that it wouldn't be done until Thursday, and then shipped out, and they say that we should have pink about 4 days after that. But, we are praying that is not true, and that God will give us our pink slip yet this week!! We will keep you posted!

Thanks for checking in!

Day 34....................................

The boys posing under the cute little palm trees in the front of our condo!

Jayden, my lone swimmer! He will swim rain, shine, hot or cold, and all alone! He loves to swim!
These two like swimming, when the conditions are right, but they love to play ball! Here they are playing football, with a baseball glove!
Easton, riding the the water jug! I got the thing up on the base all by myself tonight! I figured I could, but it was rewarding to actually do so! Sweet baby Anaya! She is a funny little baby, and we are having so much fun with her! She is into babbling and making all sorts of funny noises lately!

Today started out really well because Anaya slept in till 7:30! And the boys were relatively quiet this morning too! We went out to the store right away, because when I checked the forecast, they were calling for scattered showers, but it looks like we are going to be dumped on for the rest of the week! They are calling for lots of rain, and flash flooding! I hope that doesn't happen! Antigua is in a low lying area, so who knows, but I really hope they are wrong, as we don't fare well cooped up all the time! We took a tuk tuk back home because it was starting to sprinkle. That was the highlight of the day! The kids just love those things, and I think the drivers think they are so funny. The boys hoot and holler, and bounce up and down, and I can see the faces of the drivers in their mirror, just smiling at them! I have noticed that a lot of guys here seem to like kids, or at least are intrigued with mine! They will stop and pat their heads, and give them 5, and tell me how cute they are, even more so than women! The guards at our gate especially have fun with them, they try to get Easton to speak in spanish, and depending on his mood, he will sometimes give them an "hola" or an "adios!"

We did get some time in the afternoon, to burn off some energy outside. It was cooler, and it did start to sprinkle after a while, but at least we made it out a few times! Then tonight we ordered pizza, but it wasn't that great, we tried a new place,(first not great food yet!!) and it was over rated! But all in all it was a good day!

The laundry takes forever to dry when it is like this, however the dryer costs a lot to run, so everything feels a little damp! Yuck! I think it is good we are starting in on rainy season, because while I miss all of my family and friends, I really love it here! Who would have thought, a 3rd world country would have such awesome restaurants, shopping,(although I miss Target, and Meijer) and beauty! I love antiques, and architecture, and this town is so rich with old beautiful buildings, I want to get out one of these days, and just take tons of pictures of the buildings, and surroundings!

Thanks for checking in on us, we are doing well, but I miss my awesome husband! He is such a great Daddy, and boy do I miss his help! I have a new respect for single parents, it makes for a long day. Ryan always tucks the boys into bed at night so I can veg! I miss that! Thanks Ry you are the BEST!! The boys miss that too!