[rebelfd]

We posted this on our Agency's forum. Sorry this took us so long to post.

This is a long time coming we know. You know us first time parents, can't get anything done.

Our trip started out with us being upgraded to first class. Continental Airlines must have known our return trip was going to be a dousy!! When we arrived in GC we waited five minutes for our luggage, and almost forgot to give our papers to the Guatemalan customs agent. Marriott's van was waiting for us, and two porters helped us to the van. Tipping is expected for these helpful gentlemen. Our room was nice, mention you are with Bethany, you might get a good deal, we averaged less than 80/night.

Our first night there we went out for a traditional Guatemalan meal. We went to Kacao, which had been recommended in the travel packet. This is a beautiful, open-air restaurant. The food is delicious and the service was wonderful. You really should go...it is within walking distance of the Marriott and we found it quite easily after asking the front desk staff. We had planned to attend a church while there, but decided to go to Chichicastenango. This trip is a must. We arranged all of our trips in Guatemala through the Clark Tours desk at the Marriott. If you've never been to Guatemala this trip will give you a glimpse on how a majority of the Guatemalans live. The countryside while poor, is beautiful and mountainous. The road to Chichi is quite crazy. The drivers honk their horns to alert the pedestrians of their approach. There are some great deals in Chichi, but we tried to pay what we felt was a fair price for the things we purchased. We met a couple from Baltimore, MD who we stayed with while in Chichi.

Monday was the big day. Our lawyer was delayed at the Embassy, and we had to wait until the afternoon to meet Jonathan. We spent the morning at the Mercado De Artesenias in GC, another nice place to shop. We also went to a bookstore and bought some Spanish/English coloring books and storybooks for Jonathan. At 3:00 Silvia called us to come down to meet her, and go over our paperwork. Shortly after we met, I noticed Jonathan and His Foster Mom coming into the lobby. What an awesome moment. The meeting lasted about an hour. We brought kleenex and we used them!! I gave Jonathan a Pat the Bunny toy to break the ice. It's still one of his favorite toys. Jonathan's Foster Mom mentioned to us that she tries to stay composed until she gets back home, and then she grieves at her loss. Still to this day, we see the great and wonderful care Jonathan received from her. We got a nice picture of all of us for Jonathan's life book. We plan to keep in touch with her. Tuesday was the Embassy appointment in the morning. We were done by noon. In the afternoon we went to Antigua, what a beautiful city, another must trip. Jonathan did great the whole time.

On Wednesday, we ventured out the the mall in Guatemala City to buy some clothes for the kids in the Bethany program. Again, a simple field trip that showed us what a typical day is like in GC. We had lunch at Pollo Campero. Any of you from the South would get a kick out of this...We were on the bus returning from one of our excursions and all the sudden I saw Casa Del Waffle!! Same colors and logo as Waffle House here in the US Word of warning though, it is somewhat hair raising to cross the streets in GC! There are really no crosswalks or lights for pedestrians, so just be cautious.

Now, I don't want to scare any of you who are planning to travel soon, but my best piece of advice for your return flight is to bring AT LEAST one complete change of clothes, an extra blanket and some extra burp cloths. Jonathan threw up a full six ounce bottle five minutes after we were airborne from GC!! When we got to the bathroom of the 737 to change him, we discovered a VERY messy diaper!! I spent the rest of the trip scavenging for paper towels, napkins, or anything else I thought we might need. I guess he figured if we could handle that in the claustrophobic 737 bathroom at who-knows-how-many-feet, we were capable of being his Mom & Dad. I probably left out a ton of stuff, so we may post more later. Feel free to email us with questions.

Craig & Lynn

[PackGirl]

Congratulations on having your son home!

Sounds like you had quite an adventure... We also went to Chichi and Antigua... I cannot say enough wonderful things about both cities!

I will have to find the waffle house! I'm a northern girl but I do love my waffle house!

Enjoy your family time!

[seania]

Thanks for all the information.
Congratulations!!
How are things going for you now that you are home?

So you didn't have any problems taking Jonathon out and about in Guatemala? Because we have been reading stuff that says we should stay in the hotel once we have our baby (something about rumors in Guatemala that make the people think that we are stealing babies...) Had you heard of that?

We can't wait to make that trip ourselves. It is nice to hear that it went so well for you.

[RLK913]

Thanks for sharing. I love hearing stories of people's pick up trips!!

[WVUMom418]

Are all the children testing us? You are not the first that I've heard of that had the explodind diaper on the plane.

It sounds like you had a wonderful trip.