FINALLY some photos...and she's 8 months old!

This is for you, Deb & Erica! The only ones who have held out hope that I might someday get my act together!

Don't let Mazzi fool you...she usually doesn't look quite this lovingly at her sister!

Mazzi with her Rufus!



Miley West

Miley after a nice long bath!

First shot of Miley at birth...she's a whopper!

Although it seemed strange...

Although it seemed strange to do it, I decided it was time to update the title of our blog. Bringing Mazzi Home no longer seemed appropriate since, well, she's here and since we now have another daughter to share the blog with!

As most of you know by now on September 2, 2008 at 1:17pm, Miley West Roberts, entered the world at St. Francis Hospital in Peoria. She was a big one at 9 lbs, 2oz and 20.75 inches. She also has this head of dark hair that is a mystery to us since we were certainly expecting a bald, blonde headed baby!

Thinking about that hospital and labor experience sure makes me wonder about the place Mazzi was born and the experience her birthmother had. Just one of those things that we may never have a chance to know more about and thinking about the stories that Mazzi will never hear puts such a pit in my stomach. Although I know that some people feel we should leave the past in the past, I hope that someday we will be able to "fill-in the blanks" for Mazzi by having an opportunity to talk to her birthmother. It may never be possible but if given the chance I hope that I can be strong enough to take Mazzi back to Guatemala and help her to find the answers she needs.

I must be feeling sentimental today because I also got to thinking about the fact that my feelings for Mazzi and Miley are no different. They are both our daughters - both special, both sweet, both the most important thing in the world to their dad and I. I just can't express enough to anyone out there who is trying to have a child without success...please adopt! You will never regret it and once you see your baby's face you will never look back and never doubt your decision!

I will attempt to post some pics in the next few days because I know many of you are waiting for them. I know our posts are few and far between but we hope you will keep reading and watching our girlS grown!

Again, it's long overdue, I know!!!

Over the last few months I have gained a whole new respect for many of the mothers I know...the ones who have children and keep their blogspots up-to-date! Ladies, you know who you are, how do you do it?!?!

Well, I just have a quick minute to update you all on Mazzi's progress in the USA. She is doing so wonderfully! She is growing like a weed, almost 24 pounds and 31.5" inches which puts her in the 95% percentile for height! She is walking all over the place...anywhere she wants to go really and lately she's been trying to run, walk backwards and does this little sidestepping thing...it's too cute!

A few of her favorite tricks:

- She shakes her head "no" when told "no" and sometimes "yes" although it's not as much fun.

- She will blink her eyes if you tell her to blick and repeat, repeat if you laugh at her!

- She can show you where her belly is.

- If her dad says, "It's up, it's good, touchdown" she will raise her arms up in the air.

- Screaming just for fun is really hilarious, at least to her.

She really has become quite a little show-off who will mock anything her dad does lately and she is really into giving big kisses when you ask for them! And, she loves to be outside...doing just about anything, bringing her inside is getting harder and harder. All in all, she is a super sweet, funny yet quite demanding (she might be a little spoiled) little girl!

As for Baby #2, all is well with the pregnancy. It's been quite uneventful and easy to this point. I'm about 22-23 weeks along and you can definetely tell it! We had a sonogram a couple of weeks ago but have decided not to find out the sex...Jit thinks it's the last exciting thing that will ever happen to us! I think he's a little dramatic but I'm happy we've decided to wait.

Thanks for reading and enjoy the pics...

I know, I know...it's LONG overdue!!

First things first, I'm sorry! I know this post is SO long overdue and I so appreciate that many of you have checked our blog faithfully for updates. I'll I can say is that keeping up a blog during motherhood is harder than I expected, but I promise to try to do better!

Second, I am going to post many pictures of Mazzi today if time allows. It takes awhile for them to load and she isn't very patient while I'm working. She's napping now so if she stays asleep you might see many new pics!!

Third, for those of you who don't know him - the cute blonde in the previous photos with Mazzi is our nephew, Vance. He is my brother and sister-in-law, Aaron and Heather's son. He is the cutest and sweetest boy. He squeezes Mazzi's cheeks and says, "you're just a little sweetie."

Fourth, Mazzi update - she is doing so well. She had surgery on her extra toes on January 15th and was a super tropper! She never really cried at all, not when the nurses took her away or when she woke up. She's just one tough little cookie! She has never really acted like she's been in pain at all. The surgery went very well. Dr. Elwood removed her sixth toe from one foot because it was very undeveloped and removed the fifth toe from the other foot. He placed a wire in that foot to pull the sixth toe closer. The wire will be removed next week during her follow-up visit. It's just pulled out. Makes me cringe too but I just keep thinking she won't know it's going to happen. Mazzi is doing new things everyday it seems. Her latest trick is "SO BIG." And, she loves to wave - hi and bye. And, she's very smart she knows to only do it when seeing you for the first time or when you are leaving. It's adorable. Oh, and she's crawling non-stop! She gets faster and faster everyday and now will just follow us around the house. And, she pulls herself up to anything and everything. She can also walk behind and push her new riding toy that she got from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas.

And last but not least, I'm pregnant. Yes, I'm pregnant. I know it came as quite a shock to us as well! I was really struggling with the idea at first to be honest. Just totally overwhelmed with the idea of another baby in the house. And, scared that Mazzi would be forced to grow up way too fast. But we are really coming around now and are getting very excited. I had my first sonogram on Thursday and everything looks really good. We saw the little peanut and could even see it's heartbeating. I'm 7 weeks and 6 days along today, due September 6th. Also, I'm back to work now. I returned this Monday. It was very hard but I'm surviving. And, the best part is I'm only working Monday, Wednesday and Friday which is perfect! Well, that's all for now. I promise to post again soon!

We're home and it's never felt so good!

Well, as you probably know by now...we are home sweet home!!! And, trust me, it has never felt better! Mazzi is doing so wonderfully it's just hard to believe. She is having no issues what so ever. She loves her new home and her forever parents. She is a mama's girl already. There is one problem though. She wants to be held constantly! If her and I are sitting on the floor, she would much rather be sitting in my lap than on the floor right next to me. She's my little cuddle bug. She still thinks her dad is the funniest person too, no change there!

She went to the doctor today and it went very well. She got a flu shot and a TB skin test. We have to go back on Wednesday for blood work because the good lab tech was not in today. She is already famous at the doctor's office. They had all been waiting to meet Lola and Brady's cousin, Mazzi. She is going in December for her consult with a plastic surgeon regarding her extra little toes. The doctor seems to think it will be fairly easy to correct, but I'm still very nervous about the whole idea of surgery!!!

Well, I guess I must have scared all of our visitors away with my post from last week. Sorry about that!!! I didn't expect Mazzi to adjust quite so quickly and now we are just dying to show her off and have had very few visitors beyond our immediate family. So, if you have been waiting to give us our space...thank you and PLEASE come see us!!!! Mazzi is just so anxious to meet everyone! You may want to call first in case we are out and about or just stop by! We can't wait!!!

It's ALL over!!!

Well, I left the computer suddenly yesterday because Adriana walked by the computer room with Ms. Mazzi! Her doctor's appointment went perfectly, but she, of course, was woke by the doctor and NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!! I think he must have startled her half to death. She cried and cried, but fortunately Adriana stayed and settled her while we worked on some last minute paperwork with Kenneth. We had some major computer issues so it took awhile and then she was rushed to leave. She had brought us another Guatemala bag full of brand-new supplies for Mazzi, some hair scrunchies, a little wallet and her daughter had gotten us a little candle holder type thing. All very nice indeed! We quickly gave her our gifts which she seemed to appreciate and she quickly left. Mazzi was sleeping by then so she didn't really have a good-bye. I hope she is okay, she seemed really very fine. She just kept saying she will have a wonderful life and please send pictures. It was obvious she was in a hurry!

Then, this morning I woke at 5:20am, 10 minutes before the alarm which worked out perfectly because I got up and showered and got ready before Mazzi and her dad woke! We all finished getting ready and then went to the lobby to meet Kenneth at 7:45am. We walked to the embassy and first stopped in a back alley to have Mazzi's picture taken for her Visa. It was interesting to say the least. By the way, wait until you she her passport photo. I know I'm a little bias but it truly is the cutest thing ever!! It should be in a magazine!!!

Then we waited in line outside the embassy to get through the security. It is chilly in Guatemala today so we were actually a little cold. Warmer than those in Illinois though, of course! Security was really pretty easy, similar to the airport and then we headed into the embassy. Talk about babies!!!! Lots of them!!! Right off the bat, we see Shannon and her husband they were sitting in a different area than us though. So, we wait. It's about an hour later and they call several family names - one being Roberts, so we proceed to another line and wait some more. Then it's our turn, we walk into a TINY room with 2 stools and a man behind a piece of glass asks for our passports. We presented them and he indicated that our paperwork looked good and he was approving our I-600. Short and sweet. Then he told us to wait again for our next step.

So, we headed back to the waiting area and sit for about another hour. Finally, they call, "adopting family Roberts to Window 8." This time we head to a little window and a very nice woman asks us to raise our right hand and swear to tell the truth. Then she asks for a few pieces of info - our agency's name, our attorney's name, if this is our 1st adoption, 1st child? Then through the glass she hands Jit a paper to sign. He signs twice. Then she asks if we have met Mazzi before now. We said yes, but in the heat of the moment I couldn't remember the date. So she checked our passport and saw our June 3 stamp and indicated that since we had met her before this trip she would qualify for an IR-3 VISA which means that once our little feet land in the USA, she will be a US citizen. Then she handed us a form and indicated our Visa could be picked up Wednesday at 3:30pm. Then she said, "congratulations, all done!" She then gave us an email address and asked for our honest comments about the process from start to finish. She indicated it would help the US prepare for the Hague implementation. Yes, all these folks at the embassy were American.

That was all - we walked back to the hotel and arrived there by about 10:30am. No big deal at all! So, it's official - she is ours forever!!!!!!! Nobody can take her away now! Kenneth will pick up our Visa tomorrow and he said that the real attorney Walter would like to come by and meet us. We agreed that would be nice so we are planning to see them both tomorrow about 4pm. Then, Kenneth will be back to take us to the airport on Thursday. Kenneth keeps asking if we are wanting to get a little boy now. He says once things are squared away with adoptions here he'll see us again! I hope he is right! By the way, he said that the major change with the Hague will be that all of the child's family will have to sign off rights to the baby before adoption can occur. That will mean that many families will probably keep babies that they can't really take care of well and that this will drag out the process because they will have to gather many signatures before the adoption can occur - not just the birthmother. He is worried about it but says there are many attorneys working to stop this new rule.

Well, that's it for now...guess there is nothing left to say!!! Love you all! Jit, Kik and our daughter - Mazzi Herlinda Roberts. By the way, that is not really her name yet, it's still Herlinda Floricelda Roberts but we'll pretend until we get home and get that fixed!

We are here safe and sound...and more drama occured!

Well, a couple of wild events from our arrival today. First, we were sitting at the gate getting ready to board our flight from Atlanta to Guatemala City and we think we see a girl that was in my graduating class. We weren't 100% sure it was her and thought why on earth would she be going to Guatemala. Well, after we landed we discovered it was Shannon Cronk. IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT'S A SMALL WORLD THIS STORY WILL MAKE YOU!!!

We spoke to her and guess what?!?! She and her husband are adopting too! Their embassy appointment is also tomorrow morning and they are flying home on the same flight as us! They live in Alabama. Now, you can't tell me that is not a weird story!!!! A class of about 80 students and we are both in Guatemala adopting babies!!!! Their son is 16 months old and this is their first meeting. We are, of course, thrilled for them. They also have two biological children - ages 7 and 5. We will surely see them again tomorrow and on our return flight.

Then, we arrive at the hotel and Kenneth is helping us settle in and his cell phone rings. He tells us that someone from their office is at the Embassy and the police outside will not let them in to pick up our pink slip. He told us that he and Victor (who picked us up at the airport) would head over and see if they could resolve the problem. He said they might be back to pick us up to head over and beg as well. Well, after waiting for a couple hours, Kenneth finally called and said that all was well. They got the slip at 3:30pm and she is at the embassy doctor as we speak. They will drop her off as soon as that is over. Thank heavens!!!!

Well, as you all know the wait is finally over...

Well, what a weird feeling waking up this morning knowing this is our final day together - just the two of us! Weird, but wonderful, of course! Life is about to change forever!!

We leave for the Bloomington airport bright and early tomorrow - probably about 3:45am to make our 6am flight. Mazzi will arrive to the hotel after her 4pm embassy doctor appointment - just a final clearance allowing her to enter the US. We will fly home through Atlanta. We are both a little nervous about going through customs. We have a million papers we have to take and we just hope it is all in order. We have heard Miami is horribly hard to get through so we're hoping Atlanta is easy! Then we arrive in Bloomington on Thursday night at 8:58pm.

We want to thank all of you SO much for following our journey and for all your support, well wishes and prayers during this process. We know it seems like it's been an eternity but we really only applied one year ago. Amazing how life can change so much in 12 months.

Life is not only changing for us though...it is also changing for Ms. Mazzi! We know that Mazzi has some MAJOR adjustments ahead of her. Everything in her tiny little life is changing - from her physical environment, smells, voices (English speaking ones none the less), the car seat (she has never rode in one), her bed and must significant of all - she is leaving the mother and family she has known for 7 months.

We absolutely cannot wait for all of you to meet her but in order to help her adjust as smoothly as possible and to give her some time to get to know her new mom and dad, we are asking that visitors wait until after the weekend to come and see her. We hope you will all understand our need for Mazzi to spend Friday, Saturday and Sunday in her new home with her Mom and Dad giving her and us this time to settle in. We welcome you ALL the following week and can't wait to see you! Thank you for understanding!!!!

Thanks again for all your love and support, we never could have done it without you!!!

Just a quick note...will write more later.

Just wanted to post a quick update to let you all know that the wait is finally over. After a crazy mess and confusion, it is official. We fly out Monday bright and early. Mazzi will come to us about 5pm and we will say our good-byes to Adriana. Then we have our embassy appointment at 8am on Tuesday. We have wait for her Visa on Wednesday and then we fly home on Thursday. Leaving Guatemala at 2pm and arriving in Bloomington at 9pm. Finally the date is set! I will post more later...when I'm not so exhausted!!!

Happy Halloween from Mazzi!

Trick or Treat...wish I was home for some candy!

The October photos have arrived...notice she doesn't smile nearly as much without her Mom & Dad.

I have yet another favor to ask of all of you...

Well, I know many, many of our faithful readers have been praying that Mazzi's adoption would be completed quickly and that we would be able to bring her home very soon. Well, those prayers have been much appreciated by us and we know they have worked as we are getting SO very close to bringing her home.

So, now I have another favor to ask of you. I'm sure you all have either read about or heard me talk about the wonderful lady, Jane, who is fostering her son at the La Casa Grande where we stay when we visit. Jane is an exceptional woman who has been living in the hotel in Guatemala for many months. She has become a sort of mother hen for all the visiting families and takes care of everyone! Her husband fortunately is able to visit them every 3 weeks or so, but as you can imagine, Jane is ready to get home and get back to a normal life in the USA. She is so very anxious for her whole family to meet her little one and ready to be reunited with her husband for good and start their life as a family!

Jane has just experienced her second "kickout" from PGN. Both have been for completely foolish reasons that she has had absolutely no control over. Needless to say, she is frustrated and feeling like her OUT will never come. Well, I'm hoping that you will all consider adding Jane and her family to your prayers. Please pray that her OUT comes very soon and that the remainder of her stay in Guatemala will be safe! She would certainly love to spend Christmas at home instead of in the La Casa Grande!

I know you have all been waiting patiently...finally photos from our trip!

News today from Katie...

Well, we got an email today from Katie indicating that we have already received our authorization for DNA testing from the Embassy.

She continued by saying the following: In addition, I wanted to let you know that we should hear about your pink slip much sooner than I had advised you earlier. The 2nd DNA test is the last step and usually takes about 2 weeks to complete. I just wanted to give you both a heads up that we will probably hear about your pink slip in about two weeks. Please remember, this is my estimate again, but you guys should be prepared to travel in about 3 weeks. Of course, I will keep you posted on everything. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Oh my goodness! This is just fabulous news...it's going to happen even sooner than we thought. We won't know the exact date until we get our pink slip and will probably only have about a week to make our arrangements and get there. Therefore, let the packing begin! I'm going to try to get everything ready very soon so that we aren't stressed and rushed to get packed, etc.
I think we will probably be flying out of Bloomington. I'll keep you posted!

Shout it from the rooftops...WE'RE OUT, WE'RE OUT!

Well, I can't believe I finally get to write this...but today at 5:25pm as I was heading home from Morton, the phone rang...503 area code...I knew it was Katie...could hardly control myself. She started the conversation with asking about our trip and then said, well, I have some more good news for you, "you have PGN approval!" Tears started flowing and I almost wrecked...BEST NEWS OF MY LIFE!!! Then she said, "she is finally legally your daughter." What a feeling!!!

She then explained the process from here on out...still several things to happen...acquiring the birth certificate, translating some documents back to English, the 2nd DNA test...then finally we'll get to bring her home! She estimates 6-8 weeks. Kenneth said 4 weeks when we were there visiting. So, I'm offically saying 4-8 weeks...by Thanksgiving hopefully! Definitely by Christmas...no more worrying about that! We'll be spending Christmas with our new baby girl! Our pick-up trip will be approximately 4-6 days depending on whether we have to stay over a weekend. We are going to do everything in our power to fly into Peoria!

Really, I know this wait has seemed like an eternity, but really it was just November when we submitted our very initial application to Journeys...less than 1 year ago. Not bad really!! Barely longer than a pregnancy!

Then, I got home to check the email to read the official approval. It's all in Spanish, can't read a bit! And, I had to laugh, the email immediately following the approval was the final invoice...they didn't waste anytime getting that out...ha, ha!!!

Well, I need to get settled down for bed or I may never sleep tonight! We thank you all for the prayers over these many months and especially Pastor Keith for praying for us and his daugher who was also visiting her child in Guatemala last week. On Sunday, he said, "God is in control and no government can keep these children from their adoptive parents." He was right! Please continue to pray the next few weeks go smoothly and that all the other families waiting get OUT soon!

She is gone...and we are NOT out of PGN.

Yes, that's right. She is gone and we did not get any news today. We are both nearly over the edge. I really thought today was the day and ran around telling everyone that. No such luck...I have no idea why we are not out yet.

Mazzi was almost reluctant to go back to Adriana today. She turned away from her and hugged me. It made us feel so good, not sure if she was intentional in her actions but we like to think so. She is a cuddle bug with her mommy. She lets me hold her and cuddles up with me. She likes dad to laugh but me when it's bedtime so that makes me feel better. She laughs so much at him...thinks he's hilarious.

Adriana was so sweet today. Again, wanted us to know she was praying for us. And, brought us another Guatemala diaper bag. She is the best! And, she wanted us to write down the correct spellings of our names and Mazzi's name. She said something about making us something??

Well, we just left the hotel for the first time and walked next door to eat. We are full and emotionally exhausted. We're going to get to bed because Kenneth is picking us up at 5:30am and we don't arrive in Chicago until 10:40pm. Going to be another long day.

Love yas!

Just a few more tidbits from today...

Well, Mazzi is asleep again, not for the night...I don't think but just a late evening nap. She likes to nap! She was so much fun today. We just had a ball! Played and laughed...and yes, she loves her Dad! She knows already that I'm the one who feeds, wipes her nose, changes her pants and he's the one who gets to have the fun. We, moms, get the raw end of the deal!

Couple tidbits from today.

First, the closet lady was here today! My mom may be the only one that understands that! Yes, I caught her and bought some things. She is a woman who sets up shop her in the hotel on Thursdays and sells traditional Guatemalan hand-made items. I bought a blanket, 6 placemats, a little cosmetic type bag, a beaded bracelet and a shirt for Mazzi when she is older for $65. It was a wonderful deal and I'm so glad I get to bring home something this time. Also, I think I forgot to say that the airport is done now...the remodel is complete and it is much nicer!! Lovely actually! But, all the Guatemalan cute gift shops that we found the first time have been replaced with high-class duty-free shops selling expensive perfume, purses and liquor. Same stuff as every other airport...nothing authentic...I'm so mad...why would they do that!?!?!?

Second, a woman very pleasantly introduced herself to us today. She is from Florida, had just arrived and was waiting for 6 month old baby to arrive. She said she had been in PGN for 8 weeks. We said about 12 (yes, that's how long it has been). Then her attorney arrived and I hear her almost screaming. I knew what that meant. I went to the hall to find her and sure enough she's crying and screams, "I'm out of PGN as of today!" I hugged her and congratulated her but I really just wanted to scream. I am so jealous and almost was angry with her. I could have just cried myself. This process is unfair and unpredictible. Just makes me angry but I'm really trying to take back those thoughts...I was very unpleasant for a moment! Then all evening at supper (she was eating a couple tables away) she was telling others of her good fortune today. I almost couldn't keep my food down!

Well, that's all for now...going to get ready for bed. It' s nearly 8 in Guatemala and parents need their rest! Love yas!

PS...if we don't have any news from PGN tomorrow you may hear us crying all the way in Illinois!!!

In Guatemala with Mazzi at last...

Hi Everyone! Yes, we have safely arrived in Guatemala and Mazzi is here! I know I should have posted yesterday, but things are different with a 6 month old than a 3 month old like last visit. It's busy keeping her fed, bathed, entertained and soundly sleeping!

Day 1 as some of you may already know was ROUGH! Mazzi was woke from a nap when she arrived and was not a happy camper! The first night involved a few giggles followed by roughly 3 hours of screaming! We still aren't sure what was wrong but more than likely we just allowed her to get too tired. I think we were too ready to play and she was too ready to sleep. We were worried that she just didn't like us and that we were going to have 3 days of nonstop crying, but much to our pleasant surprise she woke up on Day 2 as the same old Mazzi I remember from the last visit. She giggles, smiles and mocks a noise her dad taught her. She is much more like a regular baby now though...she does get crabby and crying does happen occasionally. I know it's hard to believe! Really though, we have learned to get her to sleep (which is what she is doing right now) and she is a much happier little thing! Day 3 is also off to a great start...she is doing well today and having lots of fun!

Now for the good stuff- she is as cute as ever! Her dad keeps saying isn't she the cutest...she's going to be a diva, I know it! We understand the pingtails entirely now because without them her hair is SO wild!!! It's all over the place and even adult hair products won't tame it. We are trying though...lots of combing going on. She is VERY long...will not fit in the 6-9 month sleepers that we brought, too short on her. One fits so we have been rinsing it out and hanging it outside to dry. She is eating a little now, one jar of food. Of course, I unpacked the food because they said she wasn't eating and we had NO room for it and now I wish we had it. Fortunately the woman who is fostering her baby here is SO nice. Other families leave her things when they go home so she has a room FULL of food, etc. We have taken some from her and borrowed her scissors. Are you worried as to why? Yes, we are going to cut her hair. It is SO long in the back and has rats that will not come out so we are going to give her a trim. Crazy we know!

As far as the process is concerned, we know really nothing more than before. Kenneth keeps saying anyday now, but he hasn't a clue really, no one does! He did say at least she'll be home for Christmas like it was a fact so that is good. A 5 month old was here and going home today so that is both discouraging and encouraging at the same time...is that possible? Kenneth called today to check on us and when the phone rang I nearly jumped out of my skin thinking it was "the call." No such luck...he shouldn't have done that to us. We still hope today or tomorrow we'll hear something but who knows? Fortunately we are hearing it's just about 3-5 weeks until pick up after the call. We were thinking 6-8 weeks so that is better. To think we could be coming back in less than a month!!!

As far as the adoption scare, no one here is worried at all. This is just something that happens every few years to scare us Americans. Everyone seems to think all will be well, but again who knows for sure? We are much less worried and please take the stories on the news with a grain of salt. The poverty here is tremendous and the wonderful people here see adoption as a blessing and necessity for their children - not a money making scheme like they make it sound on the news. And, I especially love the way they make it sound like adoption is SO simple here. Apparently, the media is not aware of the homestudy, 3 sets of fingerprints, letters of reference, 2 DNA tests for baby, physical exams and miles of other paperwork we have endured not to mention the 6+ months of waiting! Simple...are they crazy?!?!?!? I can't believe one of them hasn't been shot by an adoptive parent who has waited more than a year as many have!

Well, I need to get back and make sure she is still asleep...this has taken forever to write as the keyboards here are different from ours and I have struggled to find the keys!!

Love you all! See you on Sunday with photos and VIDEO!!!

Visit Trip #3

Well, we just couldn't stand it any longer and have purchased tickets for Visit Trip #3 to Guatemala! This time it's Jit and I. We leave from Chicago at 6am on Tuesday, October 2. We are flying Spirit Air for the first time and change planes in Fort Lauderdale and are scheduled to arrive in Guatemala at 3:26pm. Kenneth will be waiting for us at the airport as usual and Adriana is meeting us at the hotel with Mazzi at 5pm!!! We are staying at the La Casa Grande once again. Mazzi will stay Tuesday night, Wednesday night, Thursday night, and will leave sometime Friday evening. We fly back to the states on Saturday morning at 7:45am, again through Ft. Lauderdale and arrive back in Chicago at 10:40pm. It's going to be a VERY long day. We are staying the night again in Chicago and will drive home Sunday. We are very excited to say the least...the days of this week have just crawled. We asked Kenneth what the fostermother would like us to bring her this time and she responded "a hair straightener!" Cracks me up! She's so easy to please! Needless to say, we'll be taking a high-end hair straightener and some other things as well! Ideas anyone?!?!