Mr. Personality!

Every day brings out a bit more of Little G's personality. He's laughing and giggling quite a lot.

Sunday we decided that he'd be OK with the church crowd so we took him and introduced him to the church family. He loved the music and during greeting time he looked at the people, but wasn't OVERLY shy in meeting them. During the sermon he got a little fidgety so we brought out the cheerios and milk. He was content to munch on those. I think he was playing Peek-a-boo with the pastor, though pastor obviously couldn't play back. Anyway, after the sermon when everyone stood for prayer, Little G let out a HUGE burp! It probably wasn't as loud as we thought (maybe it WAS), but it was difficult not to burst out laughing.

Sunday afternoon he took a 3 hour nap and when I woke him up (at 4:00) we snuggled (and slept) for another hour. The little dude was tired! At 8:30 he was quite happy to get his jammies on and go to bed.

Today (Monday) we went to Pittsburgh to the Children's hospital for his appointment with the cleft/cranio-facial team. I think he saw 9-10 different doctors and nurses... I lost count after 5. They all commented on what a content little fella he is! There was good news from the ENT! There is NO fluid in his ears and at this point they are not considering putting tubes in his ears. It sounds like most cleft kids have problems with their ears, but Guille's are good!! Praise God! Another piece of good news is that his palette is connected to the nasal bone on one side, which is also very good. The surgery for his lip will take about 2 hours and depending on how he does with the anesthetic they may go ahead and repair his palette at the same time. That would be wonderful! We don't have a date for surgery yet, but it sounded like the surgeon would like to do it sooner than later. So, after we get my nephew Matt married off this weekend, we will be open to any time that the team has an opening.

Little G missed his nap today and was ready for bed at 7:00. We tried to keep him busy so he wouldn't wake up too early in the morning, but he fell asleep anyway. So I took him up and put him to bed. He was out in 30 seconds!

Please continue to pray for him as the surgery approaches. Pray for the doctors and nurses and for the parents!!! I was so anxious this morning as we drove to the appointment. I suppose it was because I knew that it was the first step in the process--a process that will be painful for my little dude, but it will all be for the best.

Tomorrow he has his first pediatrician appointment. I suppose he'll have to get a few shots and they'll look him over pretty well. I don't suppose he'll be a very happy camper, but he might surprise me!! ;) So, unless there is something that I just HAVE to write about, my next post will just be pictures. (That is...IF the computer cooperates. It is in the process of dying. I'm on a different computer tonight that doesn't have a card reader, so... no pictures today. Sorry. I DID get a great one of him smiling from ear to ear, though.)

Rrrr! Put the breaks on! Back up!

Chicago!  How can I not post the events of Chicago?!  It's 4:05 am and I have been tossing and turning thinking about how to write up these events for quite a while, so I decided to just come downstairs and write them.  

OK.... we've just landed in Chicago.  For immigration, we have to go through the "Visitor" line instead of the "US Citizen" line because Little G is still a Chinese citizen.  The line is really long and everyone is tired.  We finally get up to the immigration agent who asks for our passports and THE BROWN ENVELOPE.  He asks Guillermo to open it and hand him the documents.  He looks them over, looks at us, looks down at Little G, puts the paperwork into a pile, stamps the passports, hands them back and says "have a nice day".  I said to him, "So he's official now, right?"  With the slightest of grins the official replied, "Yes, he is now official."  Yeah.  Even now my heart wells up with tears of joy!  My little guy is a US Citizen!  Yeah!  He is no longer under communist rule, he is a free 'man'!  My prayer for him is that he will come to know Jesus early in life and that he will know TRUE freedom.

OK... fast forward through customs and re-checking our luggage.  We have to take the inter-terminal train to get to our departing gate.  We get to the train just as it's ready to leave, but we manage to get on just as the door closes.  A family from the Chicago area is seated by where I am standing and the wife asks if I would like to sit down.  I told her "no thanks, I've been sitting for over 14 hours."  She asked where we were coming from and we talked about Little G's adoption and what lies ahead for him.  We talked about their family's trip to Colorado to attend their eldest's graduation from law school.  I told her that my nephew was graduating from law school this weekend also.  I turned to say something to Guillermo, or listen to what he was saying.  When I turned back around to continue our conversation, I saw the lady's eyes filled with tears.  She asked if she could slip "this" into one of my pockets.  She said, "It's not much, but you are doing something that we can't do, so would you accept it?"  I felt showers of blessing rush over me as I accepted the "little bit" of GREAT love that was poured out from this family to ours.  I didn't get her name or address but was quickly told her about this blog so she could follow our journey.  I know God has a plan for that exact amount of money and He will use it for good things.  So, gracious family from Chicagoland, THANK YOU and God bless you all!  

OK... back to present.  See why I HAD to post this!?!  God is so good and has blessed us so much.  We've only had little Guille for twelve and a half days, but already I can't imagine life without him.  He is such a joy.  His little giggles are coming more often, he's very much into "peek-a-boo" and making sure he knows where we are.  Thank you, God, for this incredible gift of love that you have entrusted to us.   (I'm going to try to go back to sleep now.  Good night... again.)

Saturday... Guille rules the roost

We got a VERY good night's sleep last night, though I'm still pretty tired today.  Guille woke up a very happy boy and was ready to explore his new surroundings.  

After breakfast he headed straight for his toys.  Little by little he explored another room in the house and I think he's feeling pretty comfortable now.  The 2 of us stayed home while Guillermo had to go to the college for graduation festivities.  We had quite a morning playing and exploring.  After lunch we both laid down for a nap.  I had PLANNED on sleeping about an hour.  After TWO hours Guillermo tried to wake me up, but I couldn't keep my eyes open, so Guille and I cuddled (and slept) for another hour.  I was STILL wanting to sleep, but knew that I needed to stay awake so I will be able to sleep tonight.  

We had our first visitors this evening.  A family from church stopped by to meet the little dude.  They had put a big "welcome home" sign on the front door of our house.  It was so nice to see that when we came in.  Guille wasn't too sure about getting down while they were here, but he DID flash them a few smiles and even giggled once or twice.  I think we'll try to get to church tomorrow.  I think he'll do just fine!  

When they left we went over to the neighbors to celebrate Mike's college graduation.  Baby Raya is growing so fast, though she still is having some eating troubles so please continue to pray for her.  We had a good visit there.  When we got home Guille helped put his toys in the toy box and was ready to put on his jammies and hit the sack.  He was asleep in less than 5 minutes after putting him in his bed.  

I'll add some pictures to this post tomorrow (I hope), but for now... I'm going to bed too.  Good night.  

Thuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuursday and Friday

Yep, Thursday was a very long day.  We woke up around 7:30, ate breakfast in the hotel room, repacked things, headed down to the lobby to meet our friends and head over to the airport.  

The checking in process went VERY smoothly.  When the ticket agent asked to see "The Brown Envelope", I kept praying... PLEASE DON'T OPEN IT!!!  She didn't, just copied some info from the first page that was facing out.  We got our tickets, checked our bags, went through security (they put the Baby Tylenol in a separate bag and sealed it), then headed up to our gate.  Almost Everyone was wearing a mask... at least the locals.  We saw a group of very important looking people going down the escalator--all wearing masks.  We took a picture, but they were so far away and it's pretty small, so I don't know how it will look on here... but I'll probably post it anyway.  

We were able to pre-board since we had a little guy.  The flight attendants were very attentive to our us and told us to let them know if they could do anything for us during the flight.  Several of them congratulated us on our adoption and commented on how cute Guille is.  (They didn't HAVE to tell ME that!! ;)  For take off and landing he munched on cereal and drank juice so his ears didn't bother him.  During the flight he was soooooo good.  He MIGHT have cried a total of 2 minutes on the 14 hour flight, and that wasn't all at one time.  He only took two 2-hour naps so I thought he'd be quite grumpy, but he was a happy camper and a real trooper.  He liked looking out the window with his daddy.

We left Hong Kong at 12:45 pm Thursday and arrived in Chicago around 2:30 pm Thursday.  We squished that 14 hour flight into less than 2 hours!  Cool, huh?  Well, it LOOKED like 2 hours on the itinerary due to crossing the international date line going 'backwards' in time.  

After a 5 hour layover in Chicago, we caught our last plane for Pittsburgh.  It was only about an hour flight and we arrived around 9:30 pm.  We picked up our luggage and looked for the courtesy phone to call the hotel where we had reservations.  We couldn't find any information for that hotel and couldn't find the paper we wrote the info on before leaving for China.  So we decided to bite the bullet and get a cab.  Well, one of the airport transportation-security guys was talking to the cabbie, asked us what hotel we were staying in, then HE called the hotel and had them come pick us up.  Saved us the cab fare!! Thanks bud!

By the time we got to the hotel we all put on our jammies and crashed!  We woke up around 6:00 (well, 2 of them slept until 6:00... I was awake from 3-5 then got woken up at 6:00! Grr! haha)  We ate breakfast at the hotel, went back to the room to get Guille set up in his car seat.  It was much easier to adjust the straps to him there in the room than it would have been to try to do it in a dark car at the airport when we were all soooo tired.  

Friday, May 15

We got home around 9:30, unloaded the car, headed off to the college to get things settled for the insurance, meet a few people, drop Guillermo off in his office for a few hours while Guille and I hit the grocery stores to get a few things that we were in need of.  Guille was pretty clingy around the house but was checking things out as we would go into each room.  After a nap and a quick supper we went back to the college for the baccalaureate service.  Home and to bed!

OOOOOOooooooooh, how could I forget to add this?!?!?  He POOPED!!!  All on his own!  No suppository!  And he did it in the hotel in Hong Kong so we didn't have to mess with it in the airport, let alone on the plane!  Thank you SOO much for all your prayers!    

First plane ride

The observers

Hey, I got my Daddy!

A tender moment

The most comfortable sleep on the plane... at least in "Steerage"!

Hey, this car seat is almost as big as the seats on the plane!

My "Welcome Home" poster

My first meal at home. (I think my high chair is too big, don't you?)

Wednesday...Off to Hong Kong

Let’s see, what has happened since I last wrote?  MMMmmm,  I can’t get on the internet right now so I’m not sure when I last posted.  So, I’ll start where I THINK I left off.  Wednesday, right?  (I guess I could edit this before I post it, but… naaaaah.)  OK… Wednesday morning we got up and packed everything.  We managed to fit everything in to two check in bags and “one carry on”, two backpacks, a diaper bag and a gift bag.  After our left-overs lunch in the hotel room, I put Guille down for a nap then left Guillermo to babysit while I went down to the little strip of shops near the hotel to look for a few more gifts.  We were down to only 90 Yuan (about $13 US) so I was limited in what I could buy.  I browsed quickly through the shops, as the employees must work on commission and were VERY interested in making sales.  At the last shop I stopped in I saw some little trinkets and started looking at them.  The employee told me that those items were “no sale”.  Fooey!  Oh well.  So, I went back to the room with all 90 Yuan. 

 

At 3:00 we met in the hotel lobby to go to the US Consulate office to take an oath stating that everything we had stated orally or in writing was true to the best of our knowledge.  Before taking the oath, we were called by groups to present a paper to the “lady behind the window”, smile, then back to our chairs to wait some more.  Then our guide brought us a plastic envelope containing Guille’s Chinese passport with his immigration visa, a white copy of the information on his visa and “the Brown Envelope”.  Following STRICT instructions, we took the passport out of the plastic envelope, made sure all the information on it and on the white paper were correct, sealed the plastic envelope and guarded it ‘with our lives’ until we presented it to the immigration official in Chicago.  Then all the families took the oath at the same time.  There were approximately 30 families there from several adoption agencies.  As soon as the oath was finished, we were rushed back onto the bus and back to the hotel to check out by 5:00. 

 

We ate our “last” McDonald’s meal in the lobby of the hotel, since we had all our luggage to watch.  I’m not too sure the 5-star hotel was too happy about us eating our McD’s food in the lobby…we probably looked like a couple of vagabons.  Oh well, they knew we had been staying there since they had seen us every day for over a week. 

 

At 6:00 we grabbed up all our luggage and followed our guide to the back of the hotel where we waited for the bus to take us to Hong Kong.  I guess it’s cheaper to fly out of Hong Kong, and maybe more direct, so the agency opted for that route.  So, we filled out our forms stating that we didn’t have swine flu and hadn’t been playing with pigs in the past month.  We had to put a sticker on our shirts… no clue what they said.  The bus was pretty nice and we headed out for Hong Kong.  We and one other family were on our own.  Our guide had told us that at the border between China and Hong Kong we would take everything off the bus, pass through immigration and customs then get back on the bus.  She said everything was a straight shot, very easy.  Hmmmmmm, maybe if you speak FLUENT Chinese and take that route regularly… then maybe it’s very easy! 

 

We got off the bus and had been told that there would be luggage carts there for us to use.  No luggage carts.  So, Guillermo took the two check in bags, his back pack and the gift bag and I put Guille in the stroller, hung the diaper bag off the back of the stroller, put my backpack on, pushed the stroller with one hand and dragged the carry on suitcase with the other hand.  EVERYONE there was wearing masks and it was very difficult to understand what they were telling us.  Guillermo turned to check the bus number, so we’d be sure to get back on the right bus.  A lady stopped him, showed him a number on her cell phone and said that was the bus number we would look for on the other side.  We got to the first check point.  The first agent just stared at us.  He didn’t say a word… just stared.  Finally the agent beside him told us to fill out a form.  So we started filling out the form and I recognized it as a form we had already filled out on the way IN to China.  We just needed to fill out a form for Guille.  Then we got back in line, up to the agent and had to show the adoption documentation.  OK, so they were just checking to make sure we weren’t stealing a baby, right???  Finally got past that checkpoint.  Where to now?  Straight? Turn? This way? That way?  Oooooooh, frustration was setting in.  We went straight and came to another checkpoint.  Needed more forms.  What forms?  This line? That line?  Over here? Over there?  Ooooooooooooooooh, more frustration.  Finally thought we had it figured out, got up to the next group of agents and were told to fill out another form.  Not here!  Not there!  Over there!  (Meanwhile, those who take that route regularly were already gone.  Nowhere in sight!  Time was ticking!  Would the bus wait for us???)  We finally got that checkpoint passed.  Now what?  Where do we go?  Which way?  Then some lady (masked lady) came running toward us, grabbed the suitcase I was dragging and started almost running toward a bunch of busses.  We followed her and finally saw the other family that was traveling with us.  Finally on the bus!  The other family was just about as frustrated as we were!  Hopefully the rest of the trip will go smoothly. 

 

As we drive through Hong Kong toward the airport we enjoyed the scenery, even though it was dark.  Lighted buildings, lighted bridges, people, water, mountains… all very interesting.  The bus stops at the airport, which is where we all understood tthat we were to get off the bus since we were staying at the Regal Airport Hotel.  So, we got off… along with everybody else.  The bus left.  No signs for the Regal Airport Hotel.  Once again… where do we go?  What do we do?  We went into the airport to look for signs.  No signs for the hotel.  We found a man who looked like he might know something.  Ah, yes!  He told us that if we had gotten off at the NEXT bus stop we would have been closer, but just walk down this way, then turn right, then take the lift down two levels, then turn left, then go straight…. So we headed out, and once again we were lost.  We finally asked another person who showed us a sign that said “airport hotel”.  So we followed the signs to the airport hotel. 

 

Before we could enter the hotel we had to pass a temperature check.  A bellboy stopped everyone entering the hotel and checked their temperature.  All the buttons on the elevators had plastic taped over them, the water fountains were covered.  I think it was 10:30 or 11:00 before we got to our room.  We had a good night’s sleep.  

Playing with bottles.  Cheap entertainment

Munchin' on the crunch berries

Mind Your Head... 

(Sounds funny, but might make more sense than "Watch your head", don't ya think?)

Already Tuesday

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Back to the orphanage

This morning started out with more smiles and snuggles. Breakfast was the usual except we found out that he REALLY likes watermelon juice. He chugged it!! We refilled his bottle before heading out and it’s a good thing we did.

At 9:00 we met one of our guide’s friends who took us to the orphanage that Little G is from. Our guide was busy with consulate appointments so she couldn’t take us. It took about an hour to get to the orphanage from our hotel. The director met us and took us to a room that had a good sized conference table with fruit, flowers, water and orange soda that is made in Foshan. It is the most popular orange pop in all of China, according to the orphanage director. She gave us several cans to bring back with us. I don’t think we can take them on the plane though, so we’ll be sippin’ orange soda for the next two days. We plan to offer some to the family that will travel with us tomorrow.

The “social welfare institute” (SWI) (aka orphanage) is a large building that houses the orphanage and also a nursing home of sorts. The grounds are nicely kept and the workers all seemed friendly. I think there are probably 15-20 kids in the orphanage. Most, if not all, are special needs. Some of them have pretty severe needs while others would not necessarily be considered special needs in the US.

We had a nice visit with the director. She told us that Guille seems very happy and that he is a lucky boy to have a good family. A couple of nannies brought in three of Guille’s friends. They were so happy to see him. He didn’t want to get down, at first, but then stood and looked at his friends. One of them had an “accident” shortly after they came to the room so we didn’t get any pictures of her. But we did get a couple of pictures with his two best buddies. And then, we went upstairs to the playroom and sleeping room. The gate was locked and who came to open it????? Yep, Guille’s nanny! He wailed, as if he hadn’t seen her for such a long time. He reached for her and clung to her tightly. It made me a bit teary to see my baby crying so hard. It didn’t last too long, then he went back to Guillermo while I hugged on some of the other little people who were there playing. We saw the bed where he slept, which is now occupied by another little girl. Guille did get down to play in the playroom for a little while. One of his little friends obviously did not want him to leave. When I picked him up to go, she stood at the door and pointed to the ground beside her and said “Lian” (which is Guille’s Chinese name). She repeated it several times, as if he should obey her command. It was so cute. She blew him kisses and said “bye, bye”. It made me teary eyed to have to leave all those sweet little people there, but I feel so very blessed to be leaving that place with my sweet bundle of joy.

When we left the orphanage, we drove across town to where Guille was found abandoned when he was one day old. He was left on the step of an automotive repair shop across the street from a large hospital. We found a lawnmower repair shop and a small engine repair shop near each other so we took pictures of both places.

On the way back to the hotel Guille downed 11-12 oz. of watermelon juice that we had taken along. It’s the most he has drunk in one sitting since we have had him. I was so happy to see him drink so much. His diaper definitely needed changing when we got back to the hotel!! (No poop yet, though.) The trip back seemed like it was some closure for the little guy. He downed that juice, leaned forward, let out a big burp, then started waving at the people on the street and saying “Hi”. (He says it when nobody can hear him, but if anyone is around, he won’t say it. Silly boy!)

We came back to the room and he took a nice nap. When he got up he and Guilllermo played while I worked on packing our things. We leave Guangzhou tomorrow afternoon and head for Hong Kong. We will travel by bus…a three and a half hour trip. Fun, fun! Then Thursday morning we walk from the hotel in Hong Kong to the airport, check in, and head for home. I can’t wait to get my little fella home and let him really spread his wings. I know he’s gonna soar!

We ate a quick supper then went to the hotel lobby to say good bye to four of the other families who left this evening. It was a bittersweet goodbye, since we were beginning to form friendships and having to say goodbye so soon, and yet, knowing that they were all heading home to get settled in and let their little ones begin to spread their wings was sweet.

So, now we’re ready to head down to StarYucks and post this and yesterday’s adventures and more pictures. We probably won’t post anything tomorrow, and depending on what the internet situation is in Hong Kong, we may not post until we get home. Ah, HOME!! Can’t wait to get there! (Wow, did I say that??? ME, who was always traveling somewhere when school wasn’t in session??? Yep, and I’m ready to take my little dude home!) Later!!

View on the way to the orphanage

Behind (or under) all those boxes is a man riding a bike

street sweeper

outside the orphange

another family picture-- outside of the orphanage

entryway to the orphanage

my cutie

inside the orphange--downstairs where the old folks live

courtyard at the SWI

inside the SWI

Our guide's friend who took us to the orphanage

greetings!

Guille's friends

wondering if he was going to stay?

eating bananas with the pals

friends

as the nanny said, "look at her buddha belly!"

missing one buddy 

(but WE have him!)

playground

"Oh, Nanny, I have missed you!"

Guille & his nanny

Big G, Little G, his nanny and a 6 month old with cleft lip and palatte

Sharing toys with friends

found here....

transporting goods

Monday, May 11, 2009

Little G woke up all smiles this morning.  I haven’t managed to get a good smile on camera yet, but just wait, it’s coming!  He ate a good breakfast and then we came back to the room for a little while before meeting many of the other families in our travel group out by the pool for a mini-church service.  Well, basically some just shared what the Lord has been teaching them and showing them through the adoption process.  Then we had a time of prayer together and dedication of our little ones to the Lord.  It was a neat time of fellowship. 

At 10:00 at least one parent of the families who had their US Consulate appointment today had to stay in their room.  That way if our guide, who took all the paperwork to the consulate for the families, has any questions, or if the consulate has any questions, she can contact the families.  Four families had their appointment today and the rest of us have ours tomorrow.  We won’t be stuck in the room though, as we are going to go to the orphanage.  Our guide told us that if she has questions for us she will contact the person who will be taking us to the orphanage. 

While others were waiting in their rooms, we walked to some nearby shops so we could compare prices with the shops on Shamian Island, which is noted for its shops and the White Swan Hotel.  In the nearby shops we found some cute little “traditional” outfits (which I guess are actually pajamas…but don’t tell anyone).  A couple of the workers were flirting with Guille and he went right to them.  I’m glad he decided to come back to us though.  We didn’t buy anything there and I used my Chinese skills to tell them that today we look and tomorrow we buy. 

In the afternoon we spent three and a half hours on Shamian Island.  The three of us went first to the White Swan Hotel.  That’s where some very good friends of our stayed when they adopted their little girl five years ago.  Their daughter played a big part in our decision to adopt from China when we were first seriously thinking of adopting.  Anyway, the White Swan is famous for its “Red Couch”.  Many, many adoption photos have been taken there and it is somewhat of a tradition among adoptive families to go to the White Swan to have a picture taken there.  Well, sad news!  We never found THE red couch.  There was a waiting area for the bus terminal that had red couches, but it wasn’t what we were looking for.  Oh well.  We did take some pictures in the hotel of the waterfall…or anyway the place where the waterfall had been flowing right before we got the camera out.  We walked through some of the shops in the hotel but didn’t buy anything.  I noticed one item with a price of 2909990 yuan.  (There are about 6.75 yuan/US dollar.)  We left the White Swan Hotel and did some shopping.  We bought Guille a couple of PJs in different sizes, a pair of “squeeky shoes” for Guille,  some souveniers, then grabbed a quick grilled cheese sandwich before getting back on the bus. 

On the bus ride back to the hotel, our guide was talking to Guille in Chinese.  He raised his arm and she tickled him.  I had told her this morning that he was smiling a lot more and now we were waiting to hear that little giggle.  We heard it!  And it is sooo sweet!  She had him laughing so much that other families on the bus heard him.  I don’t suppose those in the back did, but those across the aisle did.  They were so happy to hear him giggle too.  I’m looking forward to hearing a lot more of that!!

Back at the hotel we walked around a bit and took some pictures of Guille in his jeans and tee-shirt.  The t-shirt is probably a bit small, but it was one of those things that he HAD to wear at least once.  I thought he looked pretty cool!  It showed off his broad shoulders and skinny little waist.  He likes to put his hands in his pockets while he walks, so that was pretty cute. 

Our boy is spoiled.  Our boy is NOT spoiled.  Our boy IS not spoiled.  Our BOY is not spoiled.  OUR boy is not spoiled.  OUR BOY IS SPOILED!!!   Ok, ok… I admit it.  Our little guy is just a wee bit spoiled.  Today he decided that he wouldn’t walk out in public.  So whenever I’d try to set him down, he’d lift his legs, throw back his head and start that slow “I’m gonna wail” cry.  We’ll have to work on that, but for now… he’s my baby and I need to spoil him a bit.  He’s been lacking on the spoiling, so we need to make up for lost time, right???

He’s STILL not pooping on his own.  PLEASE keep praying that he will.  I gave him another suppository tonight and it worked, but I don’t want him to get dependent on those and I could tell he didn’t like the cramping that goes along with the job.  While the suppository was doing its job, I had Guille laying on the counter in the bathroom and had some warm water running in the sink.  I really wanted him to have a bath today and knew the fits he has thrown the other times we’ve tried to bathe him.  So, while he was filling his diaper, I put his feet under the running water.  Once the deed was done, I let him put his hands under the running water and get a feel for it.  He eventually let me set him down in the sink… but the water had to keep running.  He splashed and played in the water for probably 20 minutes.  He seemed content.  He likes getting rubbed down with lotion at night.  It’s good bonding time, too.

After he was jammied and had some juice, he laid on Guillermo’s chest and Guillermo told him a bedtime story.  He made it up!  It was “the three astronomers and a bear”.  I think Guille really liked hearing his daddy’s voice and heartbeat.  He looked so relaxed.  Then we prayed and put him in the crib.  Not a peep.  He was ready to go to sleep.  I love my boy so much. 

This morning as I was watching my two fellas snuggle my heart filled with such joy and thankfulness.  The Lord has given me the desire of my heart!  For sooooooo many years I prayed for a man who loves the Lord and who would love me for who I am.  Four years ago God blessed me with my dear husband.  He is so good to me, so patient, so kind, so loving.  And now, I have a son!  I have always wanted to be married and have children, and now God has given me both.  HE is so good!  I pray the Guille would grow to know Jesus as his savior and that he would desire to serve the Lord in whatever way the Lord has planned for him.  God bless my boys!  I’m so thankful for both of them.  (They are both snoozing and I’m pretty tired too.  SO, good night.  Tomorrow will be a big day at the orphanage.

White Swan Hotel lobby

White Swan Hotel lobby

Ivory carving

sculpture un the park

Laundry hanging from light pole

Brides everywhere... even if it's not their wedding day

a walk in the park

Sleepy boy

So cute!

Love that physique