Marissa - Heaven Sent

One Year Later and Time to Say Good-Bye!

2008-06-21T09:37:00.000-07:00

One year ago today!

Today!

We just returned from a wonderful relaxing two weeks in Maui with just the two girls. It was a wonderful way to spend Lauren's 12th Gotcha day and Marissa's 1st Gotcha Day. The girls are great travelers.

Marissa has changed so much since she became ours this time last year. One night while in Hawaii, I was thinking about the vast changes in her short little life. I could not help but reflect on God's great plan for her life. I watched her laugh, play and love on her sister on the beaches of Maui. Chances are she would have never left the village that she was born into let alone Guatemala had God not brought us together. I also thought about the incredible love of her birthmother who knew that Marissa would have a better life and was willing to trust her precious child into our hands to raise. I thought about how her birthmother at 22 years old could not sign her own name for the adoption and had to use her thumbprint instead. Now her five year old child in one year is beautifully writing her first and last name. She is reading sight words. She has graduated from preschool. But most importantly, Marissa is a child of God who we are incredibly blessed to call our daughter FOREVER.

It seems like a natural time to end this blog journey. I am creating a scrapbook for Marissa from the blog. I am almost done and can not wait to see the finished product. For now, if you feel inclined you can follow our next journey for Bryson at his blogspot or check in with me on my new blog called mylifemydesire.blogspot.com. It is in the works, but my plan for the blog is to give whole family or indidvidual kid updates from time to time. I also envision it being a place where I will share my faith, a place where you can see how God continues to work in our lives and a beginning voice for the adoption/foster/orphan care ministry Robert and I would like to start.

Thanks to everyone who has followed this awesome ride with us over the last two years. May you continue to be blessed!

Marissa Has a New Card!!!

2008-05-18T11:19:00.000-07:00

We just received Marissa's social security card in the mail. She is so excited to have it! Last piece of the adoption that we are waiting on is Marissa's US Citizenship. It is hard to believe we have had this angel for almost a year now. My plan is to close her blog after her one year Gotcha Day celebration! May start a family blog to keep everyone updated on our mucho grande la familia.

New Pictures!

2008-04-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

Just a few photos to show how girlie Marissa loves to dress up. The more colorful the better!! The yellow thing on her head is her long blonde hair and her slippers are glass slippers of course! The ones at school were at her open house.

Pay it Forward!

2008-04-01T17:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my blogger friend and fellow Guat momma, Natalie, I'm now playing the Pay It Forward game.How does it work?Here are the rules:I will send a handmade gift (of my choosing) to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this "PIF" exchange, and who make the same pledge on their own blog.I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!The only thing you have to do in return is PAY IT FORWARD - on your own blog.So, if you want to (eventually - remember, I get a year!) get a homemade goodie from me, and are willing to do the same via your blog, let me know!(Note that you'll need to give me your real (snail mail) address... Which you can give be by emailing me at: sallyreed@sbcglobal.net or just leave it in the comment section. Let's have fun! I actually know what I am sending and will if I really even have three bloggers to send to!

Marissa Has Been Tagged!

2008-03-29T15:05:00.000-07:00

Marissa's blog buddy Caleb and fellow Hiskids adoptee has tagged Marissa. The directions are to post 10 random bits of information about themselves and then tag 10 more people.
1. Marissa LOVES to wear dresses. We have not seen pants on her in two months.
2. The dresses have to be able to twirl when she spins around.
3. She loves Cinderella!!!!
4. She has an incredible imagination. She loves to pretend play like she is a teacher, princess and waitress.
5. She is very bright. She is reading and writing her first and last name. She can write "I love mommy".
6. She loves her family. You can see it! You can feel it! You just know it!
7. She is very obedient.
8. She says grace before every meal on her own.
9. She loves PINK!
10. She is going to be a big sister to Bryson!

At Papa's Work!

2008-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Robert thinks she is another softball player in the making. I think Marissa has her eyes set more on cheerleading and dance than softball! I have to admit Lauren and I am hoping for softball too! We just are not the cheerleading type! Then go figure-God blesses us with this adorable Guatemalan who loves to shake her pom-poms! Gotta love her!

Lauren used to go with Robert to coach the high school girls too. She became the team's mascot. They even gave her a softball shirt with "Baby Bulldog" on the back. Looks like Marissa will be having just as much fun with the high school girls as the new softball season gets underway!

Happy Birthday To You!

2008-02-04T20:02:00.001-08:00

All a birthday girl needs is her sash, crown, wand and pink boots to have a great birthday!!!

Started this tradition with our older kids when they were little. They get to pick out their favorite junk cereal for their birthday. This has been a great tradition as the kids have never bothered asking me for junk cereal during the year, but look forward to it every year on their birthday! So here is the continuation of our tradition with our little Guatemalan birthday girl!

Marissa turned 5 years old today!!!! Our sweet baby has been sick since her surgery last Thursday. Started on Friday with high fevers and asthma only to get much worse over the weekend. Last night her fever was 105 and had 6 breathing treatments at home. She went to the doctor today. She has pneumonia! Not a fun way to bring in your 5th birthday! By the looks of her pictures you would never know she is as sick as she is. She has such an incredible resilient spirit!

New Teeth! New Girl!

2008-01-31T15:46:00.000-08:00

"I'm getting my teeth fixed today!"

A little time for fun!

Pre-surgery sillies!!

"Okay, what happened to the laughing gas that LuLu got? There is nothing funny about this - my mouth hurts!" (Nothing a little Demerol couldn't fix!)

"Okay, it was all worth this great smile!"

Marissa did a great job today. We got up at 5:30am and headed over to Mercy Hospital in Folsom. She was a trooper the whole time. She actually had seen Lauren getting laughing gas at the dentist office a few weeks ago. Lauren, of course was laughing so it looked like fun to Marissa. She thought that she was getting laughing gas too. Little did she know they were knocking her out cold for almost four hours! They did four root canals, numerous caps and crowns and the rest were fillings. 18 out of her 20 teeth were worked on today. She woke calmly and quietly. She was an angel. She loves her new teeth! Just in time for her
5th birthday on Monday!

A quick little note: I have been so worried that Marissa would get sick and wouldn't be able to have this surgery that has taken so long to get dental and medical insurances to finally coordinate. Well, yesterday Marissa was sniffling at the breakfast table. I said, "Oh no! Are you getting sick?" Marissa nodded yes. Then she said "Mama will pray for me?" Of course, I wrapped my arms around her and we prayed for God to keep her well so she could have her surgery! Tender moment! Sweet child of mine!

Quick note #2: In the short seven months that Marissa has been with us, she has gained 5 pounds and has grown 4 inches!!!!! Her eyes are no longer yellow. She has lots of new hair growth. She is thriving! It is amazing what a LOT of love and some good nutrition can do for someone!

Our Little Guatemalan Celebrating New Year's Korean Style!

2008-01-02T21:40:00.000-08:00

Marissa's first try at making Kim Bap! She liked it too!

Proud Lauren of her delicious Kim Bap!

We brought in the new year Korean style! Lauren, Marissa and I made Kim Bap, Kim Chi and Korean Rice Cake soup. It was a lot of fun and quite tasty. We had a quiet night at home, but tried to make it a little more fun. The girls had a bag to open each hour that had something in it to bring in the New Year.
6pm - Card games
7pm - Masks
8pm - Party Hats
9pm - Noise Makers
10pm - Blowers
11pm - Cookies
12am - Sparkling Cider
It was obvious that Marissa was not going to make it until midnight so a few minutes before midnight eastern time Lauren turned on the television showing the party going on back east. She and Marissa celebrated New Year's EST and then Lauren brought in the New Year Again with mama PST!

Reflections of Christmas 2007!

2007-12-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

The reason for the season! And a new tradition for Lauren to teach Marissa how to bake and decorate Jesus' birthday cake!

My family!

Less is always better!

Christmas day was filled with lots of love and family in our home. It was a peaceful and relaxing day for all of us. We purposefully tried to keep it simple for Marissa. As we expected, it was a little overwhelming for her. There were times throughout the day that she seemed melancholy and reflecting on her past. She told me that she didn't do these things with her foster mother.

It had become apparent when we started dragging out our Christmas decorations and putting presents under the tree that Marissa did not understand what Christmas was all about. I asked her in Spanish about Christmas and she replied, "Never" with a look of confusion.

The confusion quickly changed to wonder over the weeks as she was saying "What is taking Santa so long to come?" and "Christmas is Jesus' birthday!" Santa brought her a beautiful wooden kitchen for her "casa". As much as she loved it, she would have been perfectly content with her new Little Tykes shopping cart and new Baby Alive. She truly has taught us that LESS IS ALWAYS BETTER!

I spent Christmas reflecting a little myself. I thought about where God has taken us this last year from anxiously riding the adoption roller coaster to living in Guatemala to adjusting to Marissa's new life and ours to celebrating the first of many Christmas' with our newest angel. I wondered does she really know how very much we adore her? Does she realize that we can not imagine one day without her now? Does she know that she was chosen by God to be the perfect piece to our family? Does she know that this Christmas would not have been the same without her and how we desperately yearned for her this time last year? Does she know that we will love her forever and ever? If her warm embraces and sweet kisses could speak, I would believe the answer is "yes"!

Our Angel's First Stage Performance as an Angel!!

2007-12-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

Her favorite Lulu and Marissa! They love each so very much!

Grandma and grandpa came to see their angel on stage too!

Angels We Have Heard on High!

Our sweet little Marissa had her first debut on stage. She attends a wonderful Christian preschool. They put on a Christmas play ever year with 2-5 year olds! Imagine that! Marissa started out nervous and wanted mama to come on stage with her, but her teacher gently held her hand through the whole performance. I quietly stole a spot in the front row on the floor so she could see me at all times. As I watched her on stage, tears rolled down my eyes thanking God for blessing us with her and thinking of how far she has come in six months. I was incredibly proud of her up there. I can't even describe it adequately in words.

2007-12-10T16:49:00.000-08:00

Never thought weeding was this much fun when I was their age. These two girls love working in my garden!

After four bouts of coughing attacks since September, we finally got an asthma diagnosis for little missy. She is on two steriod breathing treatments a day. Sitting there is a little better with her new Hispanic Baby Alive!

Early Christmas with my sister and Nana B. My sister got her a darling apron, bowl and scrub brushes. Marissa could spend hours doing our dishes!

And a little bit of Christmas!

2007-12-02T21:25:00.000-08:00

Thanksiving and then some!

2007-12-02T21:12:00.000-08:00

Can you tell that Kevvie and Marissa adore each other?

Guess What??? Marissa Slept in Her Own Room Last Night!

2007-11-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

Marissa at her first Veteran's Day Parade!

Happy Veteran's Day! We went to the parade in town in support of our boys. Friends of ours made a poster with Joe's name on it on a float. It was hard for me to watch everyone's joy at the parade as my joy will be felt only when Matt and Joe are safely home!

Yes, Marissa slept until 4:45am in her bed and then it was snuggle time with mom. After 5 months of sleeping with mama or in our room, I have to admit it was a little bittersweet. She is such a snuggle bug! However, I know it is the best thing for her and I am so glad she finally feels safe enough to know we are not going anywhere except to sleep in our own beds next door!

We added a new girl to our mix today! Introducing Dazy Reed!

2007-11-11T17:42:00.001-08:00

We got a phone call a few days ago about our beloved boxer Maggie's granddaughter being available. Maggie is the sweetest dog in the world so we jumped at the chance to get a dog that is very similar to her disposition. Her name is Dazy and we are in love with her!

Marissa also got a new (well new from Craigslist. I love Craigslist!) bike today. She has learned how to ride a tricycle so now it is time to try a bike. She can't rotate the pedals yet, but give her a week and she will be riding it!

Trick or Treat!

2007-10-31T19:54:00.000-07:00

Marissa our ladybug had so much fun trick or treating with Lauren our chef (flour on her face and all). She was very cute. She went to our next door neighbor's house to trick or treat and then came running home. She thought that was it! It was too cute! She was totally content going to one house!! That didn't last for long once she got her bag full, she wanted to keep going. Another cute thing she did was everytime someone gave her chocolate she would tell them "That's okay my mommy likes it!" She knows she can't have chocolate so she figured she would just give it to me! Everyone was cracking up when she would say it like I put her up to it not realizing she is allergic to chocolate!

Tucking her in for the night she said, "I'm going trick or treat tomorrow!"

My pumpkins at the Patch!

2007-10-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at the pumpkin patch yesterday. We met my sister and her family there and my parents. The kids rode the train and then the hayride out to the field to find their pumpkins. Marissa had a great time with her cousin "susy" and her first trip to the pumpkin patch. All these first are so much fun with her! We had a nice picnic and then ended the day with a caramel apple!

Crazy Wacky Hair by Lulu!

2007-10-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

Lauren just can not help herself when it comes to doing Marissa's hair! She loves to make her little sister look crazy! Best part is Marissa loves it too!!!

African Lullaby

2007-10-13T09:14:00.001-07:00

If adoption has ever entered your mind as an option for you, just watch this video. Do you know that 1 in 5 children in Guatemala die before they get to Marissa's age? Did you know that there are 60 million orphans in Africa right now? Did you know that hundreds of thousands of little girls are abandoned each year in China just because they were born a girl? Who will sing their lullaby?

Down for the Count for the last 10 Days!

2007-10-12T22:08:00.000-07:00

Marissa has been very sick for the last ten days. We got her on antibiotics on Monday. I am sure if we hadn't she would be in full fledged pneumonia right now. Between myself, big brother "justie" and papa we kept her home this whole week from school so she would be ready for the big CAL game tomorrow. It will be her debut at a college football game. We are excited to see how she does. I went and bought her blue sweats today and we will pick up a Bears shirt on the way to the stadium tomorrow. By the way, if you are not a Cal fan you should be as they are ranked number 2 in the nation right now!! Go Bears!!!

We finally just got Marissa's authorization to be in the hospital for her dental surgery. It states it must be completed by December 8th so we should find out real soon when it gets scheduled. I'll post prior to it. It will be nice to have that behind us. I can't imagine her smile being any better than what it is now, but pearly whites here we come!!!

Just keep lifting our boys in Iraq up in prayer. There is not a moment of the day that they are not with me. I will end on a patriotic note...Marissa is quadlingual now as she can sign God Bless America as she sings it in English!! It is the sweetest thing in the whole world!!! If I knew how to download a videoclip, I would post it, but I need Nancy to do that!!

Our Little Guatemalan Blessing!

2007-10-07T17:22:00.000-07:00

Dress Up Beauty Queen

Apple Hill

Tres Hermanas

7-2=5!
This is a picture of all the kids minus Justin and Matt. I am not sure when we will be able to have all seven of them together. Justin was fishing a tournament in Washington where he won $25,000 and of course Matt is in Iraq now along with Joe who left today. Pray for both of them!!! Okay and the mama too!!!

It has been almost four months since we were united with Marissa. She is such a blessing to our lives. However, I just realized that I have not had a full night's sleep in four months now!! Marissa continues to amaze us with her wonderful spirit, incredibly bright little mind and loving heart. We absolutely adore her! Here are a few recent photos of our little one!

Can't get enough photos!

2007-09-05T17:24:00.001-07:00

Marissa making homemade tortillas!

Her new Dora bathing suit and hula skirt!

Brother "Jose" (Joe) home on leave teaching Marissa how to swim with her arms!

Home 7 Weeks Today! In Our Arms 10 Weeks!

2007-08-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

Sweet Child of Mine!
Our Guatemalan living seems like so long ago and yet like yesterday as it seems impossible that we have been home with our precious little girl seven weeks now! None of us can even imagine life without this sweet child. She is absolutely incredible, so loving and full of life! Marissa loves and understands that she has a family now. She is quite the mama's girl and will be the first to tell you that she is "mama's baby" and will fight for the position if need be!!! I can not fully describe the energy that emits for this little one when she holds me. Yes, she holds me with her little arms wrapped so tightly around my neck and just squeezes me with her entire body wanting to soak up all the loving she can get! She is spontaneously telling me in her sweet little voice "I love you!" It is the cutest thing in the world! I am grateful that she is so gentle and loving. Now, I am not saying that she can not be stubborn and independent as she can be both, but she is very easily redirected. Papa feels as if he has two wives now as Marissa loves to shake her little finger at him and tell him what to do! Poor Justin gets the wrath every now and again too! It is pretty cute!

We do continue to work through some mild issues with her that are more related to abandonment than typical four year old stuff. Often times it may be hard to distinguish between the two, but after raising children, educating ourselves on older child adoption and just being with her for almost three months now we can distinguish the difference and try our best to give her what she needs.

I thank God each night when I am rocking her sweet soul to sleep that He brought us together in His time and His perfect plan! Marissa has so much potential and will someday make a difference in this world! I would be negligent if I did not give much credit to Robert for encouraging the adoption. My heart has always been a lover of children and being a mother has often defined me. However, after raising three teenage boys all at once I was a little exhausted. It was through Robert's unwavering confidence and desire that we could give another child a home, his awesome parenting and his love of children (including teenagers!) combined with my ability to follow God's will and submit to my husband's desire to adopt again that I have the privilege to type in this adoption journal about this incredible child who was meant to be in our family, just born in a different country. My sweet Marissa, you are so loved!

Pictures!

2007-08-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Fun in the City!

Marissa selling tortillas to papa!

Marissa in her favorite place..our pool! She has taught herself how to swim underwater. She jumps off the rock and swims across the pool, pretty cute!

We took the girls to San Francisco's Pier 39 for a little fun today!

Fun with Hats in the Crazy Hat Shop!

You Asked for Pictures! You Got'em!

2007-08-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

Cousins from Redding!

Exhausted after helping Kevvie move to his new casa in Monterey where he gets to go to school and play golf everyday!!!

Lunch at the Nut Tree on our way home from Kevvie's casa

First Day of Middle School and preschool (2 hours with Mommy!)

Marissa with her new amiga! She loves school!!!

Putting Sentences Together!

2007-08-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

I have been working diligiently on having Marissa learn a few sentences instead of just giving her whatever she wants with one word utterances. We have been working on "I want.....", "I need help" and I am constantly telling her " I love you" very slowly. She has gone from telling us "No" when we would say "I love you" to repeating it after us. However, she still has not come up to us and said "I love you" spontaneously. She has been on her own saying things like "I want to go to grandmas", "I want my window down please", "I want to go swimming" and "I want to eat". Today, she came running up to hug me as happy and as proud as can be slowly saying "Mama, I want to love you!" I knew what she meant to say was "I love you", but it warmed my heart even more hearing her say "I want to love you" because she does so badly want to love us!! Even though the sentence was not her intention, it is really how she feels! This child truly has captured my heart! I love her so very much!

Today is our son, Matt's 25th birthday. As you know he is serving our country in Iraq right now. This is his second tour of over a year long each. He is really struggling over there right now. Please keep him in your prayers.

Adjusting Well to the USA!

2007-07-26T21:32:00.000-07:00

Helping Papa water the plants!

Swimming with her cousins

Cousins Sarah and Sally

Garden girls!

Bringing in their harvest true Guatemalan style!

Marissa is doing fabulous adjusting to her new life in the USA. She is such a blessing to our family. Everyone of us are absolutely smitten with this little girl. She met her four girl cousins last weekend and will make the trip to Redding to meet her four boys cousins tomorrow. She is totally teaching herself how to swim. Today, she pretended that she was catching fish underwater. She would swim off the step towards me completely underwater! She loves the pool! Took her to see Hairspray today, it was a $6 nap as she fall asleep as soon as it started and woke up as soon as it was over! Lauren, her friend and Robert and I enjoyed it though!

Dentist Appointment Today! And the results are....

2007-07-18T18:44:00.000-07:00

Marissa had her first dentist appointment today. Well, it wasn't a shock and then in the same breath it was a shock to have confirmation that her teeth are so bad. Basically all but two teeth in her precious little mouth have some sort of decay. The work is so extensive that they are not going to do it in their office but at Folsom Mercy Hospital under general anesthesia. They said it would take between 3-4 hours to complete. Due to me changing insurances with my job and the long process time to get this procedure authorized, she most likely will not have it done until November. So until then we will continue to brush, floss and gargle with fluoride. Otherwise she is doing outstanding. Hard to believe we have had her for a month already. She is such a joy to have around the house. We just love her to pieces!!!!

Test Results are in and Mama is Smiling!!!

2007-07-16T10:02:00.001-07:00

All her test results came in great!!! We actually had her see a different doctor this morning who said her eyes did NOT look yellow to her at all. She said the other doctor tested her for everything imaginable and it all came back negative. I was so happy that I started to cry in the office! However, with the negative results meant she was cleared for two more shots today, Hepatitis A and B, poor thing! Everything will only get better from here!!! Still waiting on the parasites results, but that is an easy fix if she does indeed have them. Off to take Lauren to camp as she is feeling 100% better now too and got the clearance from the doctor to go!

Marissa's Doctors Appointment - Some Disappointment

2007-07-13T22:53:00.000-07:00

We had scheduled an appointment for today for Marissa last week, just a check up with our regular pediatrician to make sure everything was fine. A pretty typical appointment for all newly adopted children. Well, last night Marissa had a very bloated stomach, so bloated that she looked like a child from Ethopia rather than Guatemala. She was complaining that it hurt. I also have noticed that the whites of her eyes have looked "dirty" to me, not yellow but just not white. Well, the doctor today said her eyes are yellow and she is concerned about her liver. They took four vials of blood and we should know the results on Monday or Tuesday. Of course, that means I get to fret all weekend long. I wasn't even going to post this on the blog, but after putting her to sleep tonight and holding her so tenderly in my arms, my heart ached to think something seriously could be wrong with her and I need more people than just our immediate family to be praying for positive results on Monday or Tuesday. We can not trust any of our medical reports from Guatemala as they had her listed as being 6 pounds heavier and 8 centimeters taller than she really is. So today Kaiser gave her four shots and she will need two more on Monday then in one month we will have more blood work to see where her vaccination levels are and to see if we need to give more. We are collecting stool samples over the weekend as well. I am hoping that she has some parasite that is causing this and it is easy to treat! Marissa has gained one pound four ounces since last Friday. The doctor said we were feeding her too much, so now we have to cut back on all the leche (milk) we were giving her and reduce some of her portions. I gave her a half of piece of bread today that I just cut in half. She still thought she was getting two pieces and seemed happy with it.
Please just keep her in your thoughts and prayers over the weekend. She is a sweetie!

Yes, We are Home!

2007-07-12T20:20:00.000-07:00

Listening to "musica"

Leaving the Guatemalan Casa!

Between acclimating back to the USA, tending to a 4 1/2 year old and having some internet problems I have not been able to post or respond to emails. We arrived safely home yesterday. Marissa was wonderful on both planes. Justin, Kevin and Rachelle are quite impressed with their little sister. Justin was playing dolls with her this morning and Kevin was blowing bubbles with her last night. She is doing as well as can be expected when you are 4 1/2 and your world has been turned upside down! I will post again in a few days for our final hoorah!

Today is our last day in Guatemala!

2007-07-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Marissa holding her VISA and passport!!!! Yeah! USA Here we come!

Today we celebrate our last day in Guatemala. It will be our last day to boil our teethbrushing water. Last day to eat huevos and frijoles every morning for breakfast. Last day to throw our used TP in the trash next to the toilet. Last day where pedestrians do not have the right of way. Last day of stop signs having no meaning. Last day to walk one mile each way to get groceries. Last day trying to manuever a stroller on sidewalks wth random heights and sinkholes! Last day walking by men with machine guns and rifles at every street corner. Last day to be in our newest daughter's birthcountry and while I am trying so hard to be respectful of her birthcountry, I honestly have to say there is a side of me that my heart breaks when I think she could and most likely was one of the little girls I see on the streets selling candy or tortillas to people walking by. This is not the life any child deserves to have and if it means moving away from your birthcountry to have the same rights that she most certainly deserves than I can do it without feeling guilty for taking her from here. I speak of this because I distinctly remember feeling overwhelming guilt flying above Seoul, Korea with Lauren in my arms 11 years ago. While Korea has definite third world aspects to it, it is also a thriving country and would have been a perfectly fine place for Lauren to grow up HAD Koreans been willing to adopt their own children or better yet HAD Korea not placed such a stigmatism on unwed mothers and their children. The reasons for international adoption between these two countries are bi-polar; Korea for class and social status and Guatemala for extreme poverty. Whatever the reasons, I sit here typing with my two beautiful daughters playing together just like sisters do and feel so blessed that I have been trusted with their lives. It is humbling and at the same time such an honor to be their mama! Today we will be our last day in Guatemala, but the first day of a wonderful life together!

Kisses Kisses Kisses Kisses!!

2007-07-09T16:22:00.000-07:00

Proof in the pictures! Marissa is giving out kisses without any bribes for food!!! They are the best kisses ever! Only took almost three weeks to get, but we will take them as we know they are now forever!!!!

She is ours!!!! Done with Embassy! We are coming home!!

2007-07-09T08:52:00.000-07:00

Reintroducing the New and Official Marissa Faith Paola Reed!!!!
Look and See Who Has Stolen Our Hearts Forever!
Reintroducing the Best Big Sista and World Traveler Ever!

We left at 6:30 this morning for our US Embassy appointment and returned to our casa at 9:15. Marissa did great and she is ours forever and ever!!! I cried tears of relief and joy! It is an amazing feeling! I thanked and praised God as soon as the final stamp was stamped saying "APPROVED"!

In less than 48 hours we will be on a plane in route to Marissa's new and forever casa. We show her pictures of the house, backyard, her room and all her brothers and sisters including Maggie, of course. She seems to understand that we will be going in an airplane to her new casa.

Lauren stayed at the casa with Melody while we were at the Embassy. Her first break from parents in three weeks. We teased her that we were going to go to camp with her next week too and sleep in her tent with her and her friends. She actually said that would be fine as long as we didn't embarass her! Well, that rules me out right away!!!

We are starting to pack and get ready for home. Boys, the house MUST be spotless by 2pm Wednesday any evidence of any misbehaving must be removed from the premises. I want to come home believing you were my darling angels while we were away!!!! Which of course, I am sure you were!!! :) :) I love you so much and can't wait to see you!

Sunday at the Children's Museum

2007-07-08T19:17:00.000-07:00

Lauren making a BIG bubble!

Playing Legos with Papa!

My new amigo who will live only 30 minutes from me when he comes home too!

Mom just loves this picture of me!

We went to the Children's Museum again with Carlos and Melody. We had a great time playing. Marissa had a way better time this time. We went back to the artesian market and got some more things for home. It made for a fun filled day and a great way to pass the time. We are getting ready for an early rise as it is finally our US Embassy appt at 7:00am. We are going to leave Lauren at the Casa with Melody as we probably will not be back until close to 10:30. It is a very long boring morning with lots of waiting, sound like fun with a 4 year old?

Melody and Carlos!

2007-07-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

Marissa is warming up to Carlos. I think they are going to have a fun day together!

Third Saturday in Guatemala!

2007-07-07T18:26:00.000-07:00

Lauren's Casa Construction

Lauren Turning Marissa into a Guatemalan Taco

Really nothing new to report, but I keep getting emails wondering if we are still alive so I thought I better find something to post. First and foremost, Marissa had a wonderful day today. We have seen so much improvement in her across all areas. As much as we would love to be in the comforts of our own home and wonderful country, we would not trade this time here for anything. At the park, she is actually playing on the equipment, still does not know how to climb or slide down a slide but is getting more brave with each venture. We went to a restaurant for lunch today with no meltdowns or crying for more food. She actually allowed herself to have fun while waiting for the food. She in now playing in the playroom at the casa with Lauren. For the first two weeks here, she would have nothing to do with playing in there. Now she has a great time with Lauren building her casas out of the foam squares. She snuggles so closely to me every night. Even when she is sleeping she will reach over grab a hold of me and not let go! It is precious! She is kissing Lauren, Papa and I every night on the cheek now before she goes to sleep. She accidently caught herself giving me a few kisses today. She knows about 50 words in English now and understands many more. She can rote count to 7 consistently and sometimes all the way to 10. She has number comprehension to 5! She has learned how to draw a happy face.

Lauren and her are having so much fun together. Lauren is wonderful with her and yet still young enough that she will play with Marissa. They bathe together every night. They are creating endearing memories for each of them.

At this point, we absolutely can not imagine not having this little bundle of fireworks and love in our lives. She fits just perfectly with us. God truly had a plan for her and it was for us to be blessed with her!

A long time casual friend who has children the same age as the boys is also adopting a four year old boy from Guatemala. She heard that we were here and decided it was a good time to come down for a visit trip with her son. Melody arrived this morning and will leave on Monday early evening. She got to spend today with her son, Carlos. He is adorable, a big stocky boy especially when you put him next to Marissa. He seems to have a real outgoing personality. We will look forward to seeing him again tomorrow as he is staying the nights with his foster mother.

Until tomorrow, good night and thank you to all my loyal blogfollowers! Less than 4 days left!

Embassy Doctor Appointment Finished!

2007-07-05T09:51:00.000-07:00

We got up bright and early and headed to the Embassy doctor appointment where we waited over an hour to be seen with a packed waiting room. Marissa is a whopping 31 pounds 2 ounces and about 35 inches tall. The doctor gave her a clean bill of health other than having severe dental decay. Next order of business is embassy appt on Monday and then pick up Visa on Tuesday then fly home on Wednesday!!!

Who's Counting the Days?????

2007-07-04T19:54:00.000-07:00

One Week To Go and Look At The Fun!

2007-07-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

A day in the life of the Reed Family in Guatemala!

We had a fun day at the casa today! Our first mission of the day was to find a nail shop to get Lauren's nails done. We found one and she received her first French Guatemalan Manicure. She loved every minute of it! Then we hit our favorite cheap restaurant for lunch, the Taco Inn. We could see the black clouds coming so we decided to try and risk getting to our casa two miles away. (Sarah and Kelly I know you are laughing your heads off in Kentucky as you know exactly what is going to happen next!) Well not even five minutes into the trek back home when it poured like we have never seen before. We found an overhang for refuge after we were already soaked while using umbrellas. We waited it out and then headed home. We got into our pajamas at 2pm!

Lauren and Marissa had the time of their lives while taking a megabubble bath tonight. Lauren says, "It was the funniest time I ever had taking a bath!" Pictures prove the fun!

Today marked the third day of Marissa not having any meltdowns. She is doing great and is so much fun! She makes us laugh all the time. She still will not kiss us and says "no!" everytime we tell her we love her, but we know she loves us and wants us to love her!

Finding Fun on Tuesday!

2007-07-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

Lauren sabatoging her sister's hair!

Lauren took the house owner's dog for a walk to the park with us today!

I just love those long little fingers!

Marissa finally walking across the bridge by herself at the park today!

Our big adventure today was going grocery shopping and finding a wonderful bakery five minutes from the house. All I can say is it is a good thing we found this place on day 14, not day 1 as I am sure it will be part of our regular daily routine from here on out to get us through this last long week! I tried to get papa to take Lauren home tomorrow, but he will not leave me here. I know Lauren is more than ready to go home and thought it might be better if I finish it out with Marissa myself, but he will not even consider it. So we are all in it together for another week! We are keeping busy with lots of card games, walks and eating.

Finding Fun on Day 13!

2007-07-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

Lauren Turning Marissa into a Mayan Pippi Longstocking, Prettty Funny!

Nothing a lollipop can't cure!

Marissa telling me that 2 hermanas on papa!

Nothing much to report today, except Marissa had a great day. No real fits. She has finally caved in and gave each of us a kiss when we played a kissing game. It was pretty cute! I am sure there are more to follow hopefully sooner than later! The pictures tell it all on our silly day and how we find fun! Lauren and Marissa are in the bath with lots of bubbles having a grand time as I post on the blog. Marissa will stay in the tub with bubbles for over an hour if we let her! She loves it! we are hoping to go to our Embassy Doctor appt tomorrow for final approval to leave country. Her scalp issue is 100 times better. I truly believe that the foster mother was just not providing good hygiene for her and once we started the antibiotics and medicated shampoo she has been fine. Her hair even looks much better and healthier already. What a difference 13 days can make in the life of a child!!! We are blessed!

More Antigua Pictures

2007-07-01T16:26:00.001-07:00

Antigua Adventure!

2007-07-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

Marissa's Native Top

Handstitched Wallhanging for Marissa's Room

Cathedral Built in 1545

Oh my gosh, Antigua is the most beautiful and quaint little ancient town. Antigua was the first capital for all of Central America. It is over 500 years old. It was just incredible walking through some of the buildings. We had a great time there. We bought Marissa a traditional shawl type shirt that was originally worn by natives and now she is wearing it. It is beautiful. She loves it! I will frame it after she outgrows it and hang it in our home. I also bought a beautiful tapestry from the woman in the picture above. It shows Mayan children,a temple and other Mayan items. Lauren chose a handmade small ceramic whistle and a necklace. I could easily spend several days just hanging out there. We thought about going and staying a few days there, but really feel like Marissa needs the consistency of staying at this house until we go home where we will have another transition. I took some awesome pictures that I am hoping we can enlarge for our home. We have become good friends with Kelly who is adopting her second daughter from Guatemala and Kelly's sister, Sarah. They went to Antigua with us today. We will miss them when they leave on Tuesday.

Saturday Pictures!!!

2007-06-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

Marissa playing hairdresser!

Today we ventured over to the hotel district. We found some small shops selling native goods. We bought Marissa a beautiful handmade Christmas stocking and a darlinig native dress. We bought a nice Guatemalan cross for our cross wall collection and a Guatemalan nativity set. Lauren is scoping everything out before she makes her purchases. I think she is eyeing a Guatemalan doll, a stuffed turtle made out of Guatemalan textiles and a few other little things. We got caught in a horrific thunderstorm on the way back. We all got drenched. We must of looked pretty silly to the Guatemalans racing two miles back to our casa dripping wet. But hey it was fun and part of our adventure! It is truly the little things that amuse us these days. After drying off, the girls and I made brownies for all the people in the house. Two more families have arrived so the house is full. It helps pass the time visiting with everyone.

New Appointment Time!!!! Yippee!!!

2007-06-29T12:32:00.000-07:00

Not as soon as we would like, but heck we will take it!!! Our appointment has been rescheduled for July 9th with visa pick up on the 10th. That means we will catch the 7am flight on the 11th OUTTTAAA HERE!!!!! Papa and mama will celebrate with a margarita tonight. More later!!!

More Pictures!

2007-06-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday at the Children's Museum
Lauren standing inside a huge bubble!

Marissa's New Baby!

We Have Pink!!!!

2007-06-28T15:59:00.000-07:00

We got our appointment. It is for July 13th and then again on July 16th to pick up our visa. The funny thing is Robert and Lauren's plane tickets are for July 17th. However, I am emailing like crazy to the embassy begging and pleading for an appt for next week. There is some big convention here next week and all hotel rooms are sold out. So that means people who have appts for next week are cancelling them because they can not get a room. I am hoping that we will be able to get one of those cancellations. Please make this your next prayer for us. Marissa had a fabulous day. We went to a Children{s Museum. It was very nice. Lauren and Marissa had fun. We then went to the Artisian market and saw all these beautiful Guatemalan handicrafts. We are going to Antiguia in the morning so we will check prices there and then go back to this market. There were some darling native dresses there that Marissa would look darling in! She loved them too! Well the cutie patootie is bringing me the clock showing me it is time to eat dinner! Gotta go!

First Week With Marissa!!!!

2007-06-27T18:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary to the Most Wonderful Husband and Father in the World!

Marissa found papa's glasses! She is such a hoot!

I can not believe we have already been here a whole week. It seems like forever to get here and now a whole week has gone by! Marissa had a fabulous day today after one major meltdown over food. We napped her and she woke up a new little girl. She actually played at the park, played non-stop with Lauren and get this didn't want to come inside when it was time for dinner!!!!! Wow! You can just see her trusting us so much more, but not other people. She completely relies on us and makes sure that we are within sight at all times. Today we were running downstairs to go potty. I was holding her. She was very happy and almost kissed me! She caught herself just in time and then flatten her lips, but hey I knew she wanted to if her guard wasn't there!!! It will come down in time. She can be such a cuddlebug!

Had another teary eyed moment today when I went to put her new sandals on. It was the first time that I really looked at her little toes. Her toenails were literally grown over the top of her toes and into the skin on the bottom of her toes. I do not know how she could walk and wear shoes the way they were.

A good friend in Roseville has contacted Lauren's pediatric dentist to see if they are willing to help out with the 30% that our dental insurance will not cover for Marissa's teeth. She clearly is going to have to have several thousands dollars with of work done. I hope they will agree to it.

Obviously Marissa has not ever been to a park. She has no idea how to play on playground equipment. She can not climb up the stairs to go down slides. Today we saw much progress, she actually wanted to try and climb up the steps with me holding on tightly. She just doesn't have the concept or strength.

Lauren has many mosquito bites including one on her eye. We tease her about getting in a fight with a cute Guatemalan boy.

Hoping and praying for our PINK which means our embassy appt time tomorrow. We will find out at 3:30. If not, then we will not find out until Monday. Once you get your time they are running about two weeks from the day you receive PINK. Of course, we will beg and plead for a sooner appt, but may not be able to do anything about it. Robert is insistant that he will not leave me here alone. So he and Lauren are going to have to stick it out if we need to stay longer. Please everyone pray for pink tonight. I just wanna go home. Besides my sweet peaches, Kevin misses his momma and wants to be able to spend time wiht Mairssa before he leaves for college. Kevie, you are going to be head over heels in love with her!

New Clothes and Swimming!

2007-06-26T17:33:00.000-07:00

Marissa Checking The Clock To See When She Can Eat Again! She will now bring the clock to me to show me! Smart Girl!

We finally got Marissa some clothes that fit her better today and a pair of new shoes. She picked out two dresses, a pair of pants and a top. Lauren found a pair of shorts. We then met another family adopting through our agency at their fancy hotel to let the girls go swimming. They have a four year old daughter they adopted two and half years ago and then a new three year old daughter. They both were darling little girls. Marissa got in the water for about five minutes and then wanted out and on my lap with her new clothes on! Learned today that she needs a siesta or the later afternoons can be on the rough side, lots of stand offs! Be praying for a quick appt time or Robert and Lauren may have to leave without us. We heard today that they are not changing any appts once you get them. I just wanna come home!!!!

Monday Night Photos!!!

2007-06-25T18:27:00.001-07:00

Bubble Blowing Sisters!

My Size 4T pajamas are just a little MUCHO GRANDE!

Lauren's Personal Blog!

2007-06-25T16:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Lauren's first personal blog. I sit here in Guatemala adventuring different parts of the world. It is very different here. You can not flush the toilet paper down the toilet. You have to throw it in the basket and let me tell you it gets el stinko! :) We can not drink the water unless mom boils it or we buy it. Mom will not even let me brush my teeth with the tap water. If I drink tap water I will get the Guatemalan punishment like my mom has, but she didn't drink the water. Their are lots of mosquitos that I do not enjoy because they enjoy me! And that is not fair! One thing that I have liked so far is the food even though it has been mostly American that my mom is cooking. Second of all, I like the mall and then comes the zoo. Little Marissa is very cute cute and sassy. So mama and papa were thinking of calling her Drama Queen 2 and kicking me out of my title. But I didn't agree because I still earn that title so Marissa is Miss Attitude. She is three feet tall with ten feet five inches of attitude! She is very girlie and can not go anywhere without her sunglasses. I hope to go swimming one day this week at one of the big hotels. I like playing spoons with mama and papa and Go Fish with my new Guatemalan friends. I have learned a lot of Guatemalan ways. This is an adventure and thank you to everyone who emails me. I like reading them. Your world traveler, Lulu

Submitted for Pink Today!

2007-06-25T15:49:00.000-07:00

Marissa's Idea of Fashion! She has darling clothes and she chooses to dress more traditional Guatemalan - layered. This is her swimsuit coverup over the pink dress she was going to wear for her pink appointment. She loves this outfit of hers!!!

Marissa in a stand off at the park.
What does this mean? It means that we are one step closer to coming home. We should have our embasssy appt by Thursday. They are usually 2 weeks away, but since we are here we are frantically emailing the embassy telling them about my Guatemalan Trots and that I want to see my own US doctor as soon as possible. We hope it works and we get an appt for the beginning of next week. If not then I will go park my trotty butt in the embassy until they give us an appointment!!!

Marissa had a little tougher day than yesterday, but still not as bad as the first few days. We went to our first Guatemalan restaurant today. The food was great! Lauren ordered a cheese sandwich that she loved so she wants to go back tomorrow. Marissa had Guatemalan pancakes that papa wants to order next time as well. Marissa came back and took a nap and then we headed to the park. Lauren and papa played basketball. Marissa had a stand off for a while because she wanted more food. She only got over it when I flipped her onto my back and ran around the park like a loco American in front of all the Guatemalans. This is difficult because Marissa does not know how to hold on when being carried. It is almost like carrying a much younger baby when holding her. We are having to teach her to hold on with her legs and arms. So I was running around the park leaning halfway over so she would not fall off. I am sure it was a sight! Then Lauren and papa had a race across the basketball court and when they got to the finish line papa almost flew over the planter box into the bushes with his feet in the air. It was pretty darn funny!

What a Difference a Day Makes!!!

2007-06-24T12:36:00.001-07:00

Papa and Marissa Being Silly!
Loco Guatemalan Dresser!!!

Marissa is doing so much better with the food, therefore everyone is having fun. We can now just tell her "later" when she asks for food and she is okay. We are continuing to give her lots of small healthy meals. Up until today, she literally could not go 15-20 minutes without begging for food. Today she even gave papa one of her noodles! We ventured walking to a local market to buy some food. She sat in her stroller the whole time, not crying for any of the food. We kept showing her what we were buying, telling her it was hers and would put it in the cart. She held a new sippie bottle type cup that she picked out. She is wanting to do a lot of baby type things, so we are just going with it as she must need it. She likes a cup that is more like a bottle. The house we are at has a baby walker and baby swing, which she fits just fine and loves. It is so exciting to see her progress. She is also very fascinated with her new clothes. She wants all of them all at once. Unfortunately, I brought almost all 4T's with me and they are mucho grande on her so she will not wear them. She really loves dresses. I hope to find some native dresses here for her. She is so girlie! She loves her sunglasses, hair stuff, jewelry and lipstick galore! I can not wait for everyone to meet her. She really started warming up to Lauren last night. She is letting Lauren do more things for her.

She loves all the affection we give her, however she still will not seek it out. It has to be us giving it to her. She loves being held tight and rocked. She loves to put her tiny little hand up my shirt and onto my skin. She has been allowing me to kiss her, but not papa until today. He was so happy! We both are just waiting for the first time she comes to us and gives us a kiss or says I love you. But for right now, we are just grateful that she is accepting and wanting it from us. Robert is wonderful and I am so glad that I will not be down here alone. I can not even imagine being here without him. I also now could never imagine not being able to bring her home with us. She has been so emotionally fragile that I really beleive us leaving her would have been devastating for her. I thank God that it is all working out that the four us leave together!

More later!!

Today was a good day for all!

2007-06-23T19:11:00.000-07:00

Our Self Dressing Guatemalan Beauty Queen!

We have tried some new strategies with Marissa today that seem to be working regarding her food issues. I started drawing with a red felt pen on the clock when she gets to eat next. She starts to throw her fit and we grab her up in our arms and don't let her push us away. We tickle or make funny noises on her to make her laugh, then distract her with something else. It works for a little bit and then we start over. It is exhausting, but we do see slight improvement today. When she is happy and not thinking about her next meal, she is hysterically funny. She has quite the personality and a smarty pants. She already is asking papa for dinero. She keeps some in her pockets. She is counting in Spanish and starting to count in English. I was looking at a book with her counting and labeling different pictures such as mice and dogs. She saw one mouse and said "one mice" and saw a page with two mice and said "two mice". She also held up the right amount of fingers. Of course, the special education teacher in me is thrilled that she seems to be learning very quickly. I have been discreetly doing my own assessments on her and think she is goinig to do great. She has a great pencil grip. She is already starting to recognize her new name in print!

The trip to the mall was too overwhelming for Marissa just like we had feared. She kept asking to go to "mama's casa". We were able to eat and buy her a pair of sandals and then come back home. We were supposed to go to Antiguia tomorrow but have decided it is not in her best interest, so we will stay home. We may try to go next Sunday.

Lauren has had a blast today. A new family has come to pick up their little baby. They are having the foster mother and her three kids stay for two nights to help the baby transition. The two girls are 8 and 10. They do not speak a word of English. Lauren and I taught them how to play "go fish" and "war". They had fun for hours. They are still playing together right now making universal fart noises with gak and cracking up!! It is really fun to see them playing together. Good night!

We Have Marissa's Passport! Another Adventure in itself!

2007-06-23T09:16:00.001-07:00

Three ladies

Marissa's new hairdo by Lauren!

Lauren emailing Auntie Amy!

It would be an understatement to say that there are NO driving regulations in Guatemala. It is absolutely craziness. Our attorney literally was inches away from taking out at least 10 people that were walking including one in a wheelchair. We made it back and I am really not sure how. I am perfectly content just sitting in this house until we get on the plane and most of you know that I love to travel, but this is craziness. The driving here gives road rage a whole new meaning. All us Californians look like saintly drivers!!!

We are learning that even though we feel incredibly sorry for her we must establish some routines, boundaries and consistency with her in a loving way. She is seeking it. I am going into teaching mode where the first day of school I establish my year long routine in the first few days with the kiddos. The food issue is very significant and we are learning to deal with it. I am getting some good advice from the older adoption yahoo group. Clearly she has suffered from stravation at some point in the last four years and these are the ramifications of it. We did have food issues with Lauren as well but I contributed it to being in the orphanage and when the bottle that was propped fell out too bad all done! Lauren still has some subtle issues that seem to be resolving as she matures. I guess I was just naive to think that Mairssa would not have these issues living in a foster home. But I completely ignored the fact that the foster mother had four teenagers at home (I know how much teenagers eat!) and what life was like prior to going into foster care.

We are going to try and go to a local mall and get some clothes that fit her and a few other things, but honestly both Robert and I are a little nervous because she gets so upset when she sees food and can't have it. However, we need a few things and Lauren is in need a shopping fix!

Marissa's Third Day!

2007-06-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

We just got back from the doctor's, oh my that was an adventure in itself! The driving is mucho loco here. Luckily, we had Julio as our driver. He is in his 70's and does not speak English, but stayed with us at the doctor's the whole time to take us home. I invited him in for a sandwich. He appreciated that! The doctor said that Marissa has a scalp infection from bug bites. He prescribed three antibotics for her. I am a little nervous about her tummy and the antibiotics at this point. She has been doing the typical of adopted older children hourding of food as she is unsure when or if she will get anymore. She literally will eat anything and everything available. She seems happiest when she is eating. Today, we tried letting her have a few snack items for her to keep in her backpack that seemed to help a little bit. However, she ate so much today that her tummy started hurting. I have posted a help request on an older adoption yahoo group hoping I can get some more ideas as I thought I knew how to deal with this better than I am. Here are some cute pictures of her playing with play dough. Oh, this is hilarious. Lauren is her personal fashion designer. She picked out these darling white demin capris for Marissa to wear today. Marissa put them on. She got huge tears in her eyes and started rattling off in Spanish and demonstrating with her hands that her pants were too short. She would not have anything to do with them!!! She prefers dresses! The doctor said he could not beleive how well she speaks Spanish as when he first started seeing her in December she could only speak her Mayan language, no Spanish. The owner of the house where we are staying said that the region that Marissa is from speaks a completely different language than Spanish. She said it sounds more like German and does not resemble Spanish at all. It is amazing how well she is doing and certainly is picking up English in just three days with us. However, with that said the language barrier is extremely difficult for her and us. We would have learned more Spanish if we thought she really understood it. Well we are off to our next adventure to get Marissa's passport. We will then be submitted to the US EMbassy on Monday.

Picture Parade!!

2007-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

Lauren's Quote for the day "She is cutier than I could have ever thought!!!!! She is hilarious!" Mom's quote of the day "I have the sweetest girls ever! I am blessed beyond belief! Both these girls were meant to be my girls forever!"

Second Day with Marissa

2007-06-21T14:46:00.000-07:00

Our dear little Marissa is learning how to adjust to us well. She slept in my arms all night long with the exception to wake me twice for "Banos". However she went right back to sleep each time. She is eating very well. We are hoping to fatten her up a litte prior to coming home. She is really the size of a 2-3T right now and would like to get her to at least a 3T. We are taking her to the embassy doctor tomorrow regarding her scalp sores. We ventured to the Guatemala Zoo today. It is very beautiful and puts the Sacramento Zoo to shame! We had a good time, but Marissa was asking me "Mama´s casa" so we knew she had enough. She seems to need just short bursts of fun things and then some serious quiet time and holding. I am very grateful that she is wanting me to hold her even though I can still sense her insecurities. The positive thing about being stuck down here is that I absolutely have all the time in the world to just hold her and not have a thousand other things calling me. Although at one point, both Robert and Lauren said they needed some of mama too!!! Mamamia!!!! Still have not been able to get our labtop running to download pictures, but they will come! Trust me she is worth the wait!

We Have Our New Daughter!!!!

2007-06-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

Marissa has been with us for about two hours now. I am unable to post pictures at this point but know that many of you are waiting to hear how things went. The fostermother was over an hour late so we sat there in pins and needles waiting for her. When she finally arrived, we could hear her talking. I met her at the door, she shyly came up to me and then started quietly sobbing. It was heart wrenching for both of us. I just held her tightly in my arms telling her "esta bien" It´s okay! We gave her our presents and that seemed to help. As sad as it was to watch her get upset, it is very reassuring as we know that she can and does feel emotions which is very important when adopting an older child. She is absolutely darling and incredibly smart. She is repeating everything we say in English already. She tells me "mama media (look)". She is warming up to papa and calling him by papa now as well. The foster mother did a wonderful job preparing her. I had made several laminated scrapbooks. She knows all of the kids are her brothers and sisters. She is very tiny. She has some obvious teeth problems and something going on with her scalp that is fairly significant. She came to us with only the three sets of clothes that I had sent down to her and no underclothes. Good thing Lauren and I bought some Dora panties while we were out shopping before we left home. She is very sweet. I hear her calling me, gotta run!! More later with pictures I promise! PS Lauren is in heaven even with major lack of sleep!

We Made It!

2007-06-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

We arrived about three hours ago. We had a great flight. In fact, we got upgraded to first class from LA to Guatemala. Our plane was delayed one hour which was perfect because that meant we arrived at the airport right in time for our driver to pick us up. She would not come to the airport until daylight, so when we arrived the sun was rising and our driver was there waiting. We have just met two other families with the most darling boys that are staying at the same house. We just had a wonderful breakfast of eggs, black beans and Guatemalan coffee served to us. The owner of the bed and breakfast is getting ready to take us to the grocery store and then to go pick up Marissa. I can not even express to you how excited we are to get her!

We are off to Guatemala!!!

2007-06-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

I can not believe that I finally get to type this post!!!! We are running around getting all the last minute details done and then we are off. We will have an early dinner with my parents. My dad will give us a ride to the airport. We fly out of Sacramento to Los Angeles. We will have an hour layover there and then onto Guatemala. We will arrive in Guatemala at 4:45am. The owner of the B&B will meet us there, take us to the grocery store to stock up and then off to the attorneys office at 11am to get our Guatemalan package!!!! I look forward to posting our first picture together as our next post! Check back in Wednesday evening!

First Guatemalan Dinner!

2007-06-16T20:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our good friends, Mark and Kathy, we were able to experience a little bit of Guatemala prior to our departure. Knowing that we have literally one thousand things to do before we depart, Kathy graciously had us over for a wonderful meal tonight so I would not have to cook. Kathy found Guatemalan receipes off the internet. The food was yummy and safe to eat!!! Not so sure about what we will encounter in a few days, so this was a real treat! They even had Latin music playing in the background. It was a perfect way to set the stage for this upcoming week. We are all very excited and can't wait to get Marissa. Robert and I spent the day shopping and picking out a car seat, so Marissa can travel safely from the airport to our home in a few weeks. When we first meet her, I have a doll to give her. Lauren picked out an incredibly soft pink blanket for her and Robert bought some barrettes that have Marissa painted on them. I will try and post Wednesday evening with a picture of the four of us! Until then pray for a safe and uneventful travel for the four of us and that Justin and Kevin will have an uneventful bachelorhood at home while we are away!!!

A New Room for Marissa!

2007-06-12T17:42:00.000-07:00

Lauren, Rachelle and I have been busy painting Marissa's room. Here are a few photos of where we are in the process. Lauren and I went out today and bought Dora sheets, a new pillow and mattress pad, oh and Dora panties too!!!

OUT! OUT! OUT! She is Ours!!!!!

2007-06-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

We received the best phone call today on Lauren's 11th Gotcha Day that Marissa is OUT OUT OUT of PGN!!!! So we will ALL be coming home together around the first of July! This is the best news ever!!! 8 days and counting!!!

Plane Tickets Purchased!!! And New Picture!!!

2007-06-09T17:14:00.000-07:00

Robert, Lauren and I are leaving on June 19th for Guatemala. We will get our sweet Marissa on the 20th. At this point, we are not certain what is going on with her case, but we are hopeful that we will bring her home with us. Robert and Lauren have flights that leave Guatemala on July 17th and my return flight is for August 7th, if need be. It would be our prayer and hope that we all return by July 17th, but I am wise enough to this adoption roller coaster to know that anything can and will happen. I will try to blog with pictures daily from Guatemala, so let the countdown begin 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1!

Fingerprints are Here and Gone Again!

2007-06-01T17:30:00.000-07:00

We got our fingerprints back yesterday and sent them right back to West Virginia's Secretary of State's office. I included a picture of Marissa so they would be more inclined to getting it done ASAP. It worked! As I just checked Fedex tracking and it was picked up with a Saturday delivery in DC to the courier who will then take them to the Guatemalan Consulate in DC to get authenticated. The courier will Fedex them to Guatemala. Our attorneys should have the fingerprints by the end of next week! We are moving as fast as we can jumping through ridiculous hoops to get our daughter home. She is going to be sweeter than sweet when we finally meet! We are hoping to leave by the end of the month to go be with her until she comes home!

Just waiting for Fingerprints from FBI

2007-05-27T22:38:00.000-07:00

We have begun the long wait for the FBI to send us our approved fingerprints back. They told us the adoption expediated time is 10-20 business days, so far they have had them 6 business days. As soon as I get them back I will FedEx them to the Secretary of State's office in West Virginia. They will stamp with the state seal. Then I will have them FedExed to the Guatemalan Consulate in Washington DC where they will authenticate them. From there I will have our courier in DC FedEx them to Guatemala. Once they get to Guatemala our attorney will need to translate them and authenticate them in Guatemala. And from there we go back into PGN. We are estimating one week to get everything done on the US side, another week to get translated and authenticated in Guatemala and hopefully three weeks in PGN. If we should get our fingerprints back this next week, the earliest Marissa will be home is August. We are trying to decide whether we should risk going down and being with Marissa and possibly getting kicked out from PGN again or if we should just wait until we are completely out of PGN and she is legally ours. There are pros and cons to both sides. But it all narrows down to this summer being able to spend time with her or not. I just have to trust that God has His hand in all of this adoption mess and we will understand later why it is taking so darn long to get our little girl home!Thanks to all our prayer warriors out there! Keep them coming!

God Must Have A Plan!!

2007-05-16T18:28:00.000-07:00

Found out yesterday that PGN is now requiring us to get rolled old fashioned fingerprints and then approved by the FBI in West Virginia. Robert found a sherrif's station down in Sacramento that was opened late last night. So we ran down there and got them done and FedExed to the FBI. This will add several weeks to our case just to get back into PGN where we will have to go through the whole PGN process again and could feasibly get another KO for another stupid reason. This is awful! There is absolutely no rhyme or reason to what PGN demands. I have to trust that God has a plan for her. The soonest Marissa wil be home at this point is August. So there goes our whole plan to spend the entire summer and six weeks prior to summer with her!Please, please pray for her to come home with no more delays. Our hearts are incredibly sad right now!

PGN Kick Out!

2007-05-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

We found out last week that our file was kicked out of PGN for something completely ridiculous. Our entire family was devastated as this now adds quite a bit of time onto getting Marissa home. Looks like I will be spending the majority, if not all the summer in Guatemala with Robert and Lauren leaving after a few weeks. We just have to believe that there is a reason for all this chaos! We are hoping to be back into PGN by the end of this week. The only one hurt by all of this is Marissa. It is so unfair to her. I did receive this darling picture of her today. She is holding the stuffed animal we sent and family scrapbook I made for her. Her looks are changing so much. She is definitely looking more like a little girl than the toddler that we first saw a picture of! Please keep her in your prayers that she gets to come home soon.

Heading for Guatemala June 11th!!

2007-05-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

Robert and I just finalized all our plans to head to Guatemala on June 11th to wait it out with Marissa. Ironically this is Lauren's "Gotcha Day" eleven years ago! We contacted our adoption agency to let them know that we will foster Marissa if she is not finalized before June 11th. We are going to stay at a bed and breakfast down there that has other adoptive families staying there until their adoptions are final as well. You can check out their website at casadelunabb.com so you can see what it looks like. We will take Lauren with us since we may be down for there for a month or longer. Can't believe it is finally happening! We are so excited!!! Rachelle officially moved out this week (bittersweet), so I am going to get busy and paint her room to get it ready for Marissa. I am going to incorporate some of the bold Guatemalan colors into her room; girlie and Guatemalan will be the theme! Lauren is excited to help. Rachelle will be the artsy big sister and paint some fun designs on the wall. Praying that we are out of PGN very soon!

A New Picture to Help With the PGN Wait!

2007-04-17T06:53:00.000-07:00

She is looking so much older! We just want her home. We have started our tenth month of pregnancy with a four year old at this point!

April Update

2007-04-01T19:38:00.000-07:00

We are still in PGN waiting to hear something either finding out that we have been kicked out and need to fix something or approval from Sr. Barrios. He is the head guy to sign off in PGN. At this point, the best we can hope for is to travel the first week of June to get Marissa. Please say a quiet prayer that we get through PGN very soon! The wait is killing me!!!

PGN At Last!

2007-03-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today it was confirmed that we got into PGN (Guatemalan Courts)! Yippee!!! We are on the homeward stretch from here. We are hoping for 8 weeks or less in PGN. Then about two weeks after that we should travel to Guatemala to bring her home! Still hoping for a Mother's Day miracle! Kim from our agency was down there last week. She got to see Marissa for us. She reports that Marissa is a happy and healthy teeny little girl. She loves make up and having her hair done. She likes to clean the foster mother's house and play ball with the foster mother's teenage son. She also likes to take care of the foster mother's six month old baby. We will send her a frilly girlie dress for Easter. We just can't wait to bring her home. Like I said before, international adoption is not for the weak at heart. This process has been extremely challenging for me, much more so than Lauren's adoption. Thank you for your support. We appreciate everyone's encouragement and excitement for us through this adoption process. Turn prayers towards a speedy time in PGN with NO kick outs!

We Have PA From the US Embassy to Move into PGN!

2007-03-01T16:03:00.000-08:00

Finally after 43 days in limbo, we have finally received our confirmation that we are clearly approved for adopting Marissa on the US side of things. Now our attorney in Guatemala needs to pick up the approval and get us into the Guatemalan Courts (PGN) ASAP!!! Marissa needs to come home! I contacted Congressman's Dan Lundgren's office yesterday. They emailed the Embassy in Guatemala this morning. Not sure if that had anything to do with it, but we are very happy and his office is willing to help again if we should need it! Okay now turn your energy and prayers towards getting out of PGN with no problems. New timeline is looking like right after Mother's Day. Wouldn't it be a wonderful Mother's Day to have Marissa at home with us?!?!?

New Picture

2007-02-06T07:45:00.000-08:00

Our darling Marissa turned four years old yesterday! We put four candles on a cake and sang Happy Birthday to her! My friend, Nancy who was down visiting her three month old daughter brought Marissa our birthday gifts and got to see her for us. This picture is with Nancy. This is what Nancy said about meeting our jellybean. "Your daughter is absolutely beautiful. She is a doll! She loved the candy- a big hit! She loved the lip gloss. At the end I asked her if I could hug her and she hugged me so tight. She also gave me a kiss. You are so lucky!"

New Video

2007-02-06T06:32:00.000-08:00

This is a video taken February 5th by another adoptive mom.
You can see Marissa hugging and talking to the fostermom coordinator at the attorney's office.

Marissa is Feeling Like Reality!

2007-01-23T09:02:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of Marissa opening the gifts we sent her for Christmas. Oh ny gosh, she is so darn cute! Can't wait to hold her. Everything seems to moving along perfectly right now.

It's a 99.99% match!!!!!

2007-01-17T15:50:00.000-08:00

Kim from our adoption agency called today to let us know that Marissa's DNA was a match!! That means all we wait for now is our preapproval (can take up to 30 days from today) to enter PGN (Guatemalan Court) and then we are off to Guatemala. PGN has no set timelines. Some people have only been in PGN for two weeks and others have been stuck in PGN for months. We are realistically hoping for our agency's average of 5 weeks. Once out of PGN we just wait to get her embassy appt which usually takes two weeks and we will be flying high to get our sweet little girl that we can only dream about right now! Pray for speedy everything at this point!

New Hopeful Timeline
2 weeks to authenitcate DNA 1-31-07
3 weeks preapproval by embassy 2-8-07
5 weeks in PGN (Guatemalan Government) 3-15-07
2 weeks to travel date 3-29-07

DNA is done! We are moving forward!!

2007-01-03T11:41:00.000-08:00

Just got the call from our adoption agency saying that DNA was completed on December 28th. It wasn't the 19th like we had hoped as it throws us off two more weeks, but we will take it! This is the new timeline we are hoping for, of course we know that anything can still happen. Give or take a week or two but this is a close estimate.
2 weeks to get DNA results back 1-11-07
1 week to authenitcate DNA 1-18-07
3 weeks preapproval by embassy 2-8-07
5 weeks in PGN (Guatemalan Government) 3-15-07
2 weeks to travel date 3-29-07

Christmas Day!

2006-12-25T20:01:00.000-08:00

We have had a wonderfully bittersweet Christmas as we have enjoyed having Joe home from boot camp. It has been a lot of fun with all the kids. The boys have gotten into these "Guess Who" tournaments which is a crack up watching 18, 19 and 20 year old boys actively engaged in a six year old's game! Rachelle and I have played several Pac-man tournaments with me getting a 20,000 point high score, which she proclaims has ruined her Christmas spirit! Lauren has been serenading us on her new keyboard. However, never far from our thoughts are our two other children in two different countries. Matt in Iraq and Marissa in Guatemala! We hope tomorrow brings us news that DNA was complete on December 19th and everything is moving along nicely. We couldn't help but think of what Christmas will be like for her next year in our home. We are so excited to share things like Christmas, Disneyland and all the other fun stuff all of our kids have had the opportunities to do. While we have missed many of her firsts, there are many firsts that we will be able to experience with her! How fun will that be! Merry Christmas and God Bless!

Still No Word!!

2006-12-20T19:05:00.000-08:00

We are optimistic that DNA got done on Tuesday. However, we have not heard an answer either way. We did hear that we are OUT of family court. This can sometimes take up to two months to get out of and we are done. That is a big positive! So once we get DNA results back, we are hoping for a trip to pick up our angel in eight weeks after DNA results are in!

A big thank you to Nancy for taking down our Christmas packages to Marissa. Nancy is adopting a baby girl from our agency. We are hoping that she will actually get to meet Marissa and her foster mother next week. If so, Nancy will be sending us a DVD of Marissa opening her presents from us. We are so excited!

Poverty and malnutrition in Guatemala

2006-12-20T19:00:00.000-08:00

Artice in paper last week explaining the situation in Guatemala.In Guatemala, hunger's often a part of growing upBy Nancy San MartinMcClatchy Newspapers(MCT)JOCOTAN, Guatemala - Three-year-old Antonio's patchy skin is thin and saggy, like that of a shrunken old man. But his cries sound more like a newborn's whine. And although his head seems much too large for his frail body, it's actually his body that is too small.Plopped on a wheelchair because he's too weak to walk, Antonio's crystal black eyes tend to wander until the smell of food penetrates the air and steaming bowls of beans pass before him. Then his mouth starts to salivate and he lets out a desperate whimper.But Antonio must wait until 10 other hungry children are set up with their meals. Only then can the nurse at the health center focus her attention on feeding the boy who doesn't have the muscle coordination to feed himself.Weighing about 18 pounds, as much as a 6-month-old baby, Antonio represents one of the worst cases of malnutrition in a country where more than one million children under 5 suffer from the condition."Cases such as Antonio's should no longer exist, but the problem remains constant," said Dr. Carlos Arriola, director of a health center in this remote village where the boy and other malnourished children are being treated. "Like Antonio, many others exist."Guatemala has the highest rate of malnourished children in the Western Hemisphere, even higher than Haiti, the region's poorest country. The Central American nation also ranks sixth in the world for chronic malnutrition.The problem usually begins in the womb of mothers who are anemic throughout their pregnancy and give birth to children with low birth weights. More than half of those babies don't make it beyond the age of 5."We have many children because we know that some of them are going to die," is a phrase often heard by indigenous families in Guatemala's rural communities, where the problem is most prevalent. The indigenous make up about 45 percent of the population in a nation of 13 million."There is no reason that this should be happening. Yet, it's been going on for years and years," said Manuel Manrique, a representative for the U.N. Children's Fund in Guatemala. "Part of our task is to make people aware that this is happening and that it is unacceptable."You can read the rest of the article at http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/world/16237634.htm

Welcome to the Adoption Roller Coaster!

2006-12-14T16:43:00.000-08:00

Evidentally the birthmother showed up three hours late for her DNA appt so they had to reschedule for this coming Tuesday, December 19th. This will add another week onto the journey, so move the timeline into March for sure now. A little disappointing for us, no a lot disappointing.

Our latest picture of Marissa Faith Paola Reed!

2006-12-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

Kim, the owner of our adoption agency was in Guatemala during Thanksgiving week. This was the week we were supposed to travel. However, we cancelled our flights and hotel reservations as we truly believe it is in Marissa's best interest not to visit prior to bringing her home. We want her to know that when she comes home to be with us it will be forever. Kim met Marissa for us. She said she is the sweetest little thing. She makes great eye contact with people. Marissa is picking up Spanish quickly and is adored by her foster mother! Last medical update 3 years 9 months 36" tall and 32 lbs.

In A Perfect World Timeline

2006-12-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

DNA - Completed today 12/13/06 (we hope) - We will know for sure tomorrow
1 week to authenitcate DNA 12-21-06
3 weeks preapproval by embassy 1-11-07
5 weeks in PGN (Guatemalan Government) 2-15-07
2 weeks to travel date 2-27-07
Perfect world we would be flying into Guatemala City on Robert's birthday February 27th!!

DNA - the necessity for us to move forward

2006-12-13T21:13:00.000-08:00

You ask what is DNA all about? Well in Guatemala one of the adoption requirements is to make sure the birthmother is relinquishing her own child and that she fully understands her commitment to placing her child up for adoption. The DNA appointment is nerve racking for all adoptive parents as it seems more likely if the birthmother is going to ask for her child back it is at this time when they have to meet. However, another twist to the DNA dimension for us is that Marissa is almost four and has been with her birthmother until her relinquishment in July. This has got to be a heart wrenching time for both of them and just more confusion for our sweetie. I pray for not only Marissa's strength and little pschye, but also for her birthmother to give her peace and trust that we will take very good care of her little girl. Picture is with Guatamalan staff

Answers to all your questions!

2006-12-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

Finally figured out an effective way to get our adoption journey out to everyone. (Boy, do I wish I had this up and running when we were in Korea this past summer with Lauren.) Robert and I are so excited as is our entire family about adding our sweet little Marissa to our family. It seems several times a day we get asked the questions, "When are you getting her?" and "What takes so long?" It is frustrating not to be able to tell people anything concrete. So, this will be a perfect place to find the answer when you feel like asking!!! The adoption process is a very long and tedious one, not for the faint hearted I might add. While it seems like it should be so easy, it is not. We are dealing with the United States government and the Guatemalan governement at the same time. All we know is that we can not wait to get Marissa into our arms FOREVER! I will post our updates and timelines next. This picture is of Marissa in July. Thanks to everyone who is on this journey with us!