Baby Showers and Charitable Organization

We are so blessed with so many wonderful friends!!! Peter has had 3 baby showers and has enjoyed meeting our friends! The first shower was given by Greta's dance friends with a wonderful meal and fun play time for the little girls after dance one day. Peter received some great toys which he loves playing with! Then some dear friends from the neighborhood had a gathering so other neighbors could meet Peter. Finally, last Sunday, Taylor's good friend, Megan, had a shower for Peter with Taylor's friends from school. They played games and had cake. Taylor felt so honored to have her friends care about her like this and do something so nice for us! Peter loves all the attention at any gathering so he was so good. Because we are so blessed in our country, we thought it would be nice to give to others in lieu of receiving baby gifts. If anyone is interested in donating to a very worthy cause, monetary gifts can be given to Grace Centre in honor of Peter. This organization started locally to make a difference in the lives of people in San Pedro, Guatemala. They are raising money at this time to bring a clean drinking water system to this area. Something we just take for granted here is so needed in that part of the world. There is a link to their web site further down on this page. I know there are so many worthy charities out there but this one just makes sense to us in lieu of gifts for Peter. We are so blessed to have him in our lives but so many others in Guatemala are living in conditions we can't even begin to imagine. Please consider opening your hearts to make a difference!!

Baptism

On February 17, Peter was baptized at our church. His Godparents are his Aunt Vickie and Uncle Dave. Unfortunately, Uncle Dave and his family were unable to be here with us because he lives so far away but we know they were thinking of us and praying for Peter. We talked to him later that day. The service and the baptism were very special to us as we were able to pick out the baptism songs. We chose one that we sing to Peter alot: Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World and also a nice traditional baptism song called Children of the Heavenly Father. Vickie and her family were all here as were Grandma and Grandpa and Terri. Afterwards, we had a wonderful Guatemalan meal at our home prepared for us by our Guatemalan friends, Walter and Anna. Pastor Mark and his wife Martha were also able to be here for the meal. What a blessing to have Peter in our lives and to be able to bring him up in the church to know the Lord!! The pictures are of his baptism, our family, his Aunt Vickie and his grandparents.

Our Trip to Guatemala-January 2008

Photobucket Album

Settling in...

Peter has made a wonderful transition into his new family! He loves his brother and sisters so much. Even when they are all over him and in his face, he enjoys the attention and never seems bothered. He is eating good now. For several days when we first picked him up in Guatemala he wouldn't eat anything we offered him. He wouldn't even drink out of any bottle except the one his foster mom sent with him. We are thrilled to see him settling in so nicely and eating anything and everything that is placed on his tray! He loves finger foods and is a great little eater. The only area he couldn't seem to get comfortable with was sleeping. We tried sleeping with him as that was what he was used to in Guatemala but he still woke up screaming several times a night. Then 2 nights ago, he decided to surprise us and slept 12 hours!! We thought it might be a fluke but last night he slept almost 13 hours!!!! He enjoys getting out and doesn't mind the winter weather at all. He's been to church, shopping with Mommy(and he liked it!), and to Greta's dance class so far. He doesn't like being bundled up in winter clothing but he's getting used to it. He is a blessing to us and we are so in love with him. Our prayer is that others would open their hearts up to consider international adoptions. There are so many beautiful children who need to be given a chance. If anyone would like to discuss adoptions with us, we would love to talk to you. Many singles adopt as do older couples. There are many older children in need of forever families too. Children are a gift from God and we are truly blessed!!!

WE'RE HOME!!!!!

We arrived home on Wednesday afternoon to subzero temperatures! It was a huge shock to Peter as we first stepped out of the terminal building and hit the cold air! It was about a 100 degree drop in temperatures from Antigua to here when we factored in the wind chills!!! Peter wasn't too happy about being all bundled up in a winter jacket, hat, and mittens. Our homecoming was so exciting for the 3 children that stayed at home. Peter was surrounded by love the minute he walked in the door and the attention hasn't let up yet. He loves being around other children and is so sweet and happy. He seems to be adjusting well to life in our household. It's been a bit of a challenge trying to figure out his schedule however. Night times are still rough. He must have been used to sleeping with someone because when he wakes up at night, he feels around for someone and then cries when he realizes he is all alone in his crib. He wakes up and cries out several times a night but always settles right back down. Trying to figure out what he wants to eat is also taking some time. We were told he liked baby food but he gags on it for us! He seems to like to eat what we do so it looks like table foods for this little guy! Overall, he is quite comfortable in his new home. He loves all the activity and commotion! Peter really has a sweet disposition and is such a wonderful blessing to all of us. We look forward to having all our family and friends meet him very soon!