Returning Kami, Returning Home

Yes, it was hard, very hard. But God is in control and God is still good. We feel very blessed to have had a wonderful week in the country of our children's birth. We feel very blessed that we have seen Kami bond to Ken and I. We feel very blessed that we leave her most of all in God's care, but also in the care of a wonderful foster family. We were able to spend a good 30 minutes with the foster mom, foster granny, and foster 3 yr. old brother on Friday morning. It was a huge blessing. We could feel and see the love they have for her. Also, Kami was extremely content with all of us. We were still able to hold her and see to her needs even when her foster mom who she has known so much longer was sitting right there. We know that God has answered our prayers and we have peace. As of today, there is a new adoption law in Guatemala that will take effect Dec. 31, 2007. Most of you know that we knew there was change coming, but opted to try for the adoption to go through. Once again God has heard our prayers, the new law does contain a "grandfather clause" and so our adoption should proceed under the law that it was initiated under. Of course, there could still be many bumps in the road, but we are feeling much better about the process. It is very good to be home with Brett and Briana. We are slowly getting back into the swing of things. Thank you to all of you who have petitioned God with us and we would continue to ask to be remembered in your prayers. Merry Christmas to all! (I do plan to keep this up, but I can't say that it will be too timely. It is a lot harder to get it done at home.) Love to All!

Day No. 4

We had a wonderful day today. She is getting to be herself more and more. It is so fun to see little glimpses of her personality. We spent most of the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather again. We give her up at 9am in the morning which is going to be very hard, but we are very anxious to be back home with Brett and Briana. Happy Birthday Briana! We have enjoyed our stay very much. Our hotel is full of adoptive families. It has been a blessing to get to know them and share encouragement with one another. We had news today that our process is moving along and we are thankful. We continue to pray for a quick process. We will keep you updated in the weeks ahead. Thank you all for your prayers and support. God Bless You All!

Mom & Dad left this morning and Ken and I did not do real well at getting pics. Here are a few candid shots of the day. The first pic is of the La Casa Grande which is where we are staying.

Day No. 2 with Kami Rae

We had a good night. Of course, we were up a little, but I am pretty sure I should not complain. She did go through another little spell of being scared after she had slept for about an hour, but we got through that and she slept till 4am, was up for an hour, and then slept till 7am. So Heather, you would probably say we had a great night. She has had a good day; slept little cat naps, will not drink her bottle very well, but still enjoys her baby food and the table food I will give her. She watches everything that goes into our mouths including drinks. She is getting teeth on the top so I think that makes her a little more touchy, but we can't complain. The foster mom has been through chicken pox and two teeth so I won't say too much. I do feel sorry for her though so she has gotten some tylenol to help out. We have really enjoyed our stay at the Casa Grande. It is fun to see all the different families come and go. There have been many here on their pick-up trips which is very fun for them. Mom and Dad are preparing to depart in the morning. They enjoyed a trip to the mall this afternoon and walked some this morning exploring around the neighborhood. I think Dad has enjoyed his first trip out of the country. Thank you all for all your prayers. I had serious doubts about this visit trip thing yesterday. It seemed like it was so hard on her and I just wondered if it was all worth it. God has seen us through though and I know that your prayers are holding us up. Please continue to pray for Friday morning. As each hour goes by I know it is going to be harder and harder.

Kami Rae

Kami has arrived and she is a sweetheart. As you can tell from the pictures she is already Daddy's girl. We had a little bit of a rough start, but I know it could have been a lot worse. You can tell in the first picture that she is just not too happy about this situation. Who can blame her? It breaks my heart that we will have to do this all again and yet it is so wonderful to get to see her and love her in person. She was not too sure about us at first and let us know by crying. At one point, I am sure she was just plain mad, but she has relaxed a lot, has ate for us, and finally just took a bottle. She had refused it all day. Her foster family was very sweet. We could tell that they have good attachment and love her very much, but they were also very good to us. She is used to two older sisters so I am thinking she will love her older cousins Although, she would not drink her bottle, she definately eyed my chicken nuggets and french fries so of course she got to eat pieces of bread, a little, little piece of chicken, and teeny, tiny pieces of fries. She enjoyed her bath, but did not enjoy getting dressed. We feel very blessed and are praying for a good night. She has slept a little today, but only in our arms. We haven't tried to lay her down so the night could get rough.

Lake Atitlan

We left Guatemala City at about 6:15 this morning headed up the mountain to the Guatemalan highlands. We stopped for breakfast and were able to get it down, but we were not exactly immpressed. It took about 3 hours to get to the lake. We then took a boat ride across the lake to the town of Santiago where we were able to view some of the lifestyle of the Mayan Indian tribes. It was quite an experience to see them all dressed both men and women in their traditional dress. The most exciting part was visiting the Sunday market where the natives come to shop for the week. We shopped a little too and tried to say "no thanks" nicely to the very persistent mayan sellers. The sights and smells were interesting to say the least. Lunch was "fun" too in that we ordered "club sandwiches" and they came with fish paste, hamburgers, and egg on them. Our stomachs are trying to recover. We have learned so much about the culture from our tour guides. We feel very blessed! Kami will arrive in the morning so we are headed off for a good nights sleep.

Touring Antigua

We toured Antigua today which is one of the old capital cities. We found out today that there has actually been five of them. They change them because the capitals have been destroyed several times by volcanic action and earthquakes. It is a very quaint, old town with lots of character. We enjoyed touring an ancient building associated with the Catholic church. We walked on cobblestone streets from 1580 and ate in an authentic Guatemalan restaurant. (nobody is sick yet) The food was okay a little bland unless you put HOT green sauce on it. We are not positive what we ate, but Ken was impressed with how well Kathy ate. Dad was the most impressive; he tried the hot peppers, black beans, and some sausage dish that he said was great. Kathy enjoyed the guacamole the best. None of us chose to eat the cow stomach soup. I wonder why??? We walked a lot, enjoyed seeing many natives, and had everyone trying to talk us into buying their wares. We heard "I give you good price" a lot! Brett and Bri, we thought of you a lot today. You would have enjoyed the sights, but not the smells. We travel to Lake Atitlan tomorrow. We start at 6am so we are going to try for an early night.

We Arrive Safely

We arrived safely a little later than planned, but everything worked out really well. We all enjoyed the mass of Guatemalans that welcomed us in at the airport especially Mom and Dad who were waiting for us in the sea of beautiful, brown faces. We walked around town after having a little rest, tried to find the mall, and ended up at the Marriot. It brought back lots of memories for Ken and I. We enjoyed supper there and then walked home in the little daylight that was left. Dad is lying wasted on the bed and longing for a cold diet pepsi! I think we will call it an early night. We leave at 8am in the morning for Antigua. We are looking forward to seeing more of the country and of the people. We hope to post pictures tomorrow evening.

The Journey Begins

The journey officially began in July after months of praying and pondering. There were many questions to be pondered and yet the time comes to step out in faith. Knowing that Guatemalan adoptions were beginning to be unstable at best, we felt God leading us to try to bring one more child home to our family. Yes, Ken is on the other side of 40 and yes, Kathy can barely keep up now; but what is life all about anyway. God needs us and uses us in the lives of those who need fathers and mothers so we said, Yes!
To make a long story short, we accepted our referral of a 7 month little girl that we named Kami Rae the beginning of October and sent our final paperwork to Guatemala to be translated and registered.We are still in the beginning processes but things are progressing. We have decided to make a "visit" trip so we leave Fri, Nov 30, for Guatemala City. Mom and Dad Riffey are going with us. We meet up in Guatemala City a little after noon on friday to begin our adventrues. We did very little sight seeing when we went to pick up Brett and Briana so the weekend will be spent touring Antigua, the old capital city, and Lake Atitlan. We hope to bring pictures and stories home to our children about the culture and people of their native country. On Monday Kami will be brought to us and she will be with us until Friday morning. We leave Friday afternoon for home.
Please pray for safety in our journeys, Kami's adjustment for the week, and our children left at home to be spoiled by aunts and uncles.