I have a One-Year Old!!!

So, several months ago I made the statement to Russ that Eliot's birthday was coming sooner than I'd planned. While that doesn't make logical sense as it's a date on the calendar, it makes a lot of sense to me. As I kept thinking about it, it occured to me that his "first year" only lasted 6 months. No wonder it felt so fast! I got here when Eliot was just over 6 months old. What does him turning one mean? Do I have a 'baby' anymore or are we onto toddler-land? To be honest, I'm super excited about him growing up, just not so fast. I'm not sure if it's the teacher in me, but I can't wait to see him recognizing letters and figuring out cute little math problems (is there such a thing?) I can't wait to see what clever little things come out of his mouth after growing up with Russ as his dad. I'm excited about picking out snacks to take to school for Eliot on his birthday and packing a little bag of yum for he and Russ to take to the Cardinal game w/ his little baseball mit. I'm so excited to see what trouble he and the dogs get in together and I pray that someday we'll see what a great big brother Eliot could be. I wonder what kinds of things he'll put on his birthday list when he's 8 years old and what sneaky surprises Russ and I will come up with for him.

It seems that everyday, he's more mobile. Every day he's smarter and cuter. This is the stuff that rocks my world. This is why people end up w/ 7 children, they're too stinkin' amazing. Yes, I'm not so naive to believe that children are a piece of cake, but I am just loving this. All odd beginnings aside, this is without a doubt where I'm supposed to be. I can't wait for you all to meet him, hopefully before I eat his face off because it's so cute!

Eliot's "pre"birthday party!!

I promise to blog more tomorrow but wanted to get some pictures out from Eliot's first birthday party. His birthday is really on Wednesday, the 16th but I decided to have the party early so that Margie and Dana Seibel could be a part of it while they were here for a visit. We went w/ a Monkey theme since he's such a little monkey right now! He enjoyed his cake that my housemates and I made quite a bit!! There was a great turnout (18 babies!) and Eliot was a great little host! Russ joined via webcam (that Margie carried around the whole time!).

New hair cut, new tooth, big day!

If you hadn't noticed, our son has just a bit of hair... He got a very short cut back in January from Russ and I've been trimming the sides and front just about twice a month ever since. Well, this habit was slowly turning into what Russ calls a "guatemullet", which combined w/ his spacious Madonna-type teeth and chicken pox was sending Eliot into his 'awkward' stage just about 14 years too early. So today we went to our favorite hair salon, Kinky Afro, to visit my favorite stylist (aside from Ninfa at home!) who's name happens to be Belly. Of course. She's so great, we love her!

Eliot did great! Also, as mentioned, he popped out another tooth up top!

Sidenote: please keep Eliot's birthmom in your prayers as this week includes mother's day and his first birthday. I can not imagine her thoughts and feelings.

Good cheesecake and good friends...

One of the many blessings of being "stuck" here has been the unforgettable friendships that have come about because of our similar situations. The tricky part of these friendships is that the time spent together is short-lived and you're actually happy about it. I can remember every single moment when one of my friends has told me that they were out of PGN. There's something powerful about hearing that news for someone. These are the people that when I get a previo, they hate it for me. It's their worst fear in their own life. All of them love my son and have been the ones to witness most of his firsts w/ me. It's hard to see them leave as each of them have a special place in my heart, as do their children.

To look at it from the States, you'd think it's an odd combination of people. We've often joked that many of us might not have become friends if we were in the states. There's people from all over the US and even from European countries. While many of us don't have a great deal in common, there's a very strong common thread. None of us could wait another day w/o our children. There are people from all age groups, all walks of life. Some married, some single. Some stretching every dollar to make it work, some who showed up paid in full. It doesn't quite matter what the story was to get here, we all love and support each other. When you see some "gringo" tooling through town pushing a big jogging stroller w/ a little brown head popping out, you already know you'll be friends.

I'm more than thankful for this community. These crazy people get every aspect of the process, all the lingo, all the frustrations, all the joys. They all miss home, too. For now, they are my family away from home. I couldn't be more excited for them to join their "real" family and friends. The sadness of seeing them go actually enriches my experience as I fully understand what leaving means.

My friend Nikki is leaving this weekend and I wish her and Gabby all the best. By far, they have been one of the highlights of my time here and I'm so excited that they finally get to go home. I will miss meeting them for coffee and cheesecake and hearing Nikki's stories. They are blessed to have each other and are such a perfect fit. My friend Shelly left last weekend after living here since September. There's been a few times this week that I've gone to dial her number and realized that I need to delete her name from my Guatemalan phone. I'm excited for her and her beautiful daughter Ana. She has brought me so much hope that this will happen for us one day, too.

All in all, I'm blessed to know these women and their children and to be a part of the journey they took to find them.

Hodge Podge

First of all, Eliot is grinding his teeth and it's driving me crazy!! Someone help! My aunts will laugh when they read this because I used to do it when I was a kid and one of them even used to hit me over the head w/ a pillow at night while I was sleeping to make me stop! I guess this is one of those things that comes full circle!

Secondly, I did it. I took the plunge. I, Katie Mohr, made baby food. Yes, Eliot's been eating it for a while but I've been so unsatisfied w/ the selection and the standards of baby food here that I finally just did it. So far, it's a big hit. I may just be in the running for Mother of the Year yet! (Don't tell anyone, but it's really not that hard and I'm kind of embarrassed that I didn't do it sooner...)

Speaking of Mother's Day (was I?)...Guatemala has their Mother's Day on Thursday. It's not on Sunday like everyone else’s. Just another feather in the cap of quirky Guatemalteca! Going along the same lines...they chose not to do Daylight Savings time this year. They did it last year but decided not to this year. Hmmm. Just like that.

Our suitemates, Sharon and Bella, have had an amazing week. Their story is one that takes some time, feel free to read their blog that I have a link to on my blogspot page.Their week started w/ finding out that an anonymous donor paid their rent for the next 4 months! Then an anonymous donor left "a package" at the front gate for her (see pictures...). The kids helped us bring it to the house as you can see! They now have over 800 diapers and 20 cans of formula! Then Bella celebrated her first birthday. She enjoyed a specially made cake all to herself (and all over herself, I might add)! All that and its only Tuesday! They definitely had this coming after all they've been through! Needless to say, there's been lots of praising God's name going on!





For some reason, Eliot has something against group pictures at birthday parties. Not sure if it's all the pressure to be cute or what. Here's pictures from the last two birthday parties that we've gone to...yikes. I mean...really.



Eliot has moved on from a nasty cold to teething yet again. Pretty soon, he'll have a mouth full! He's officially crawling now (yes, it's about time!) and can pull himself up w/ very little effort now. He's also "cruising" quite a bit, trying to keep up w/ Bella. Out of nowhere tonight he hugged me really tightly and gave me a very sweet kiss while we were walking to our room after dinner. It's really the first time he's hugged me just to hug. Makes all the mess we've been through feel pretty stinkin' worth it.

Normal 2.0

OK, time for another update from my side of the table. Things on the home front have been OK. It's a bit surreal and actually quite disturbing to realize that "life goes on." On one hand, it's certainly impossible to navigate life right now and act like things are normal. On the other hand, the harsh reality is that for 6 months now, life as I've known it at home alone is the new version of normal (hence the name of the blog entry). And it's not that I'm just used to Katie being gone and I don't miss her as much as I used to. It's more like... missing her has become a way of life. It's hard to describe.

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to add another blog entry is because the Lord has shown 2 really cool things to me in the past couple months, and I wanted to share both:

1. I was having a conversation with Bob and Margie Seibel at their house one night and we had one of those rare moments where someone shares a thought that just may has well come directly from the mouth of God himself. Margie basically asked what I thought would be our response if Eliot were old enough to ask why he couldn't go home yet. She said she thought our response would be very similar to what God might say to us right now. It was clear what was being taught to me/us in that moment by the Holy Spirit. What if Eliot could ask that question? What would we say? Probably something like, "I know you don't understand everything right now, and but it's going to be OK. Mommy and Daddy love you and are gonna get you home as soon as we can. We wish it didn't have to be this way either, but Mommy's here in Guatemala and she is not going to leave you. She's gonna be right here with you until this is finished and we will all be together at home soon." Wow. Chew on that for a few minutes.

2. Katie described to me the night she got an email about our most recent previo. She found herself lying on the floor weeping. After crying for a while she was distracted by a banging sound. Looking up and wiping her tears away, she saw Eliot sitting up on the floor across the room, banging one of his toys on the floor, giggling and playing. Their eyes met and he smiled, laughed, and went back to playing. In that moment, as heartbroken as she was, Katie smiled. She was overwhelmed, and said to me, "Russ, he's just so perfect. I love him SO MUCH."
And that, my friends gives you a perfect picture of what we're going through. This is without a doubt the most difficult thing we've ever faced in our lives. We are overwhelmed, frustrated, confused, to the point of lying on the floor weeping. And yet every time she sees him giggling, every time I turn on the computer and see their picture on the desktop, it is totally worth it. It's a powerful picture... a picture of the gospel, really. Right here in the midst of the worst circumstances we've ever faced, we find ourselves encountering the greatest blessing we've ever known. Wait until you meet him. You won't even believe it. He is totally worth it.

Keep us in your prayers. This is a big week for us as we work to move ahead with the adoption, finances, etc. It's quite overwhelming. Thank you all for your love and support!!!!

A regular day in Guate?

It started that way, at least. Changed a few diapers, made breakfast, put Eliot down for a nap, took a shower, worked on my scrapbook, listened to some music, played w/ Eliot, made lunch, picked up toys, and went w/ a friend to run an errand. So far, so normal.

After our errand was accomplished, we decided to grab some coffee and sit in the park. Two other moms and their babies joined us. Then a group of people, French people pretty much straight off the plane from France, swooped upon our group in the park. First of all, they kept asking us questions in French and when we would look at them with uncertainty the blond woman would start to speak English. We got the usual battery of questions, each in French first and then English: Are we adopting, when do we take our kiddos home, how long have we lived here, where do we live in the states, etc. Then the blond leaned in very close to me (personal space an option in France, maybe?) and asked in broken English if Eliot was Mayan. I replied yes to which she got very excited and asked to see his Mongolian spots (dark birthmark-type spots that look like bruises that a lot of Latinos have). For most of you, this wouldn't be a question that would've popped out of your mouth upon hearing that he's Mayan. For me, this was a first from a non-adopter. If you know about Mongolian spots you know that the majority of them are located directly above the child's butt, so to ask to see it is somewhat...odd. Awkward pause. So there I sat, processing, while my four new French friends awaited my response. They looked so excited that I gave in and exposed my son's little bottom to the whole park. They were delighted to see a real Mongolian spot, lots of ooohs and ahhhs and I think I even saw one of them clap w/ glee. Poor Eliot, at least no one took any pictures.

After the park we headed to the street market to buy produce. Back to normal. However, when I was looking through items on one of the tables, someone stole my wallet. Errrrrr. I thought I was being so careful but they must have been watching enough to see where I'd been keeping it because I was touching the stroller the whole time and they didn't take the whole backpack, just the wallet. Lesson learned I guess? Can I at least pray that they get sick off of whatever they buy w/ my stolen money? Is that a prayer that the Lord would honor? He probably has a better idea, I'll leave it to Him.

Another story I've been meaning to share happened to a couple of the other moms that I spend a lot of time with. Some background: most 'locals' are happy to have us fostering moms around and are supportive of what we're doing. I've had several people that have asked if I was adopting and have said a heartfelt thank you upon hearing that I was. The other side to this is usually low key. There is a general dissatisfaction w/ some ways that we raise our children compared to the Guatemalan way. The obvious one is the lack of layer upon layer of clothing that they keep their infants in. We often get comments from locals that are babies are "frio!!!" However, this story was unique. A couple of the moms were in the park at dusk. The temperature drops at dusk, of course. One mom had her baby being watched by the other as she went to take a quick picture of something. A Guatemalan man wearing a nice suit walked up to the mom watching both babies and said, "That baby needs a sweater." My friend replied that this baby wasn't actually hers but that her daughter did have a sweater on. To which he replied, "You mean, your MERCHANDISE has a sweater on" in perfect English. My friend handled it much better than I would have, she simply replied that she was sorry he felt that way.

Oh, Guatemala.



(Photos are of good friends that we spend a lot of our time with!! These pics came from a day we went to a local park. Pray for these women and their babies, as they are also here because 'someone' won't let them go home.)

Good news!!

We heard from our Coordinator today that the U.S. Embassy (which was closed for a guatemalan holiday on Tuesday, hmmm...) was cooperative yesterday and our lawyer got the paperwork he needed. Then he re-submitted us into PGN today!! Hurray!!! Thanks for all the prayers! I'll keep you updated as we hear anything else! (Keep in mind, it could take 4-8 weeks before we hear anything!)

Not only have I been overwhelmed (in a good way) w/ prayers and emails of encouragement through this hard time, but Russ has gotten invitation after invitation to ball games, golf, movies, and meals. I was also blessed to have a friend come to visit for the weekend to help lift my spirits!! On top of that, I found out last night that two more of my St. Louis 'family' is coming down soon! How fun! While I would obviously rather be home, I'm blessed to have so many willing friends and family be able to make the trip. It has helped distract me during the waiting time and has also taken care of some of the homesickness.

Eliot is scooting everywhere and pulling himself up every chance he can get. He even had his first major 'accident' as a toddling little man. Yesterday morning as I was cooking breakfast, he scooted/crawled into the dining room and pulled himself up using a dining room chair. So far, everything is normal. Then as he "walked" to the back of the chair, he started to lose his balance and grabbed the back of the chair which wasn't such a good idea. He fell backwards onto the tile and brought the chair on top of him. His nose has a major scratch and his forehead has a bump, but it would have been a lot worse had it not been for his little belly to block everything!

Specific Prayer Request

Tomorrow (Wednesday) our lawyer is going into the US Embassy to get our Previo (kick-out) fixed. There's a chance they could fix it tomorrow and we would be able to get back into PGN by the end of the week. There's also a chance that they won't fix it in one day. The sooner we get back into PGN, the sooner we can get out and come home! So, tomorrow, pray that we find favor in the US embassy!!!

Also, I found "Trader Joes" mac and cheese at a little tiny grocery store today. Oddly comforting.

Thanks!

Just wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful emails and comments. As usual, we are surrounded and overwhelmed by everyone's support. There are a few options out there right now of ways to get help w/ our case, so please pray that the Lord guides us to which option is the best. Also, there's more information to come on how you can directly help us. Again, thank you for all your words of encouragement!