This is the day that the Lord has made!

Another beautiful day in Antigua! If you have to be somewhere for several months, Antigua isn't a bad choice. Tomorrow I will have been here 3 months. I admit, some days get a little long and I'm starting to miss home more, but I'm thrilled to be able to be here! Each day is truly a gift from God.

We had an earthquake tremor over a week ago. I would have guessed it lasted about 15 seconds, but the official report was around 40 seconds. It woke us all up, we grabbed the babies, and ran outside. Very eery rolling sensation. It wasn't one of the more fun gifts from God, but part of life, huh? It was difficult to get back to sleep as we all waiting for an aftershock. The quake was a 6.1 and off the coast of Guatemala (we're ~2 hours from the coast). Apparently tremors are not uncommon here. The US Geological Society has a fascinating website that posts every earthquake around the world for the past week.

Erick's new "fun things to do" are banging on tables and other babies' heads, testing out his big set of lungs, and spitting out green vegetables that I try to give him. He's happiest playing in the dirt outside with a rock in one hand and a stick in the other. I guess that's what boys do!!

Pictures: Lake Atitlan outing, Guatemalan man in traditional Mayan dress, Erick and Samuel (Armstrong), "our kids" of the house and friends (try getting 8 toddlers to sit AND smile!), Uncle Jay tossing Erick.

Family Visit

My mom and brother were here this past week and we had a great time. Erick really clung to his Uncle Jay and mom finally got to spend time with her first grandchild!

Jay and I hiked up Volcano Pacaya one afternoon. Not completely to the top crater, but close enough to the flowing lava! This is a calm volcano that just oozes, and is a 1 or 2 on a scale of 5. Mt. St. Helen is a 5. We roasted marshmallows over the hot spots. The volcano in the sunset picture isn't the one we went up, just in our view. To it's left is a smaller volcano "poofing."

The last picture is of Erick and Kylee playing in the garden and eating dirt. Kylee is quite the ring-leader and Erick is eager to follow! Kylee's family, Heather and Grady are finished with their adoption process and heading back to Colorado with little Eli in the morning. We will miss them!

As far as our process, we just got pre-approval into PGN which is the next big step. PGN's adoption department consists of 3 reviewers who go over our case in extreme detail and can give a "kick-out" for the most insignificant thing. If I had to guess, I'd say we have 2 1/2 to 3 months left in our process. Really, just a guess though.

Things are moving!!

Heather and Grady's process is almost complete and she could go home April 19!! She will be the second of our housemates to leave since I've been here. Angie is with the 3rd and last reviewer in PGN, the body that governs adoptions in Guatemala. Once a person has cleared PGN they should have 5-6 weeks left. So, we have not yet made it to PGN, but are moving in that direction as well. It's very exciting for Heather! She and her biological daughter, little blonde Kylee, and soon-to-be son, Elijah, have been here since August. We will miss them, but how wonderful that they are almost home!

Speaking of moving, we had a little earthquake tremor last week. It really jolted my bed and I saw the curtains swaying. Only lasted about 2 seconds, but it was memorable. The earthquake was like a 4.5 and was 70 miles SW of Guat City (not too far from us!).The US Geological Society has a website that gives a daily listing of every earthquake all over the world and info about it. Pretty interesting.

It's fun to watch the kids in our house interact with each other. They are each in awe of the ones older than themselves and they try to love on the younger ones. Erick thinks Kylee is pretty cool as she can ride the tricycle and pull heavy toys off the toyshelves. He is slowly learning to be gentle with younger Eli and Milo instead of giving a friendly whacks in the face.

This hasn't been my best time of reading or study as most waking moments are spent with Erick around my leg or waist, so I've at least tried to work on scripture memory. Psalm 37:4 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart" has been on my mind alot the past few weeks. It's been a long process, but God has truly blessed us. I so look forward to Pat being able to be around Erick more.

Mom and my brother, Jay, will be here tomorrow for the week! Yeah!

Sorry for the sideways pictures again. Proof that I shouldn't do anything after 9pm! The pics are of Erick finally getting a plastic Easter egg open and chomping the peep before I could get to it, a lady cruising through the streets with a box on her head (it's normal to see the large fabric bundle on their head, but a box takes more talent!), the produce market, 8th bday party for Katerin (sister Cindy with short hair--both being adopted by the Embrey family from KC), and lastly, Milo with a carefully crafted cup on his hand. He reached into a scalding bowl of tomato soup served at a restaurant and got a second degree burn. The cup is to let it dry without bumping into things. Would have been a lawsuit at home for sure!! The cup reminded me of the cone that the Harris's cat had to wear around it's head in order not to lick itself. :-)