Hi everyone! I don't know where to begin...our trip was wonderful and it was horrible to have to leave Miranda and come home without her! We were able to have her with us at the hotel Friday morning through Monday morning. We spent lots of time at the pool just hanging out. Miranda eats every three hours and mostly took naps in the stroller during the day. At night, she ate around 9pm then slept in her crib until 6:30ish. (Crazy!!! I didn't sleep that great, though, because I couldn't really allow myself to fall asleep because I kept thinking she might wake up!) She would fuss a tiny bit around 2am and 5am, but only for a few minutes, then would fall back asleep.
We weighed Miranda on the hotel gym scale and she weighed in at 13.2lbs! That's more than double her birth weight. Her head circumference and weight are in the 25-50% of the growth charts and her length is <25%, which is not unusual for Guatemalan babies.
Miranda is a very content, happy baby. It was obvious that her foster mother and foster grandmother love her very, very much and that she is well-cared for. The grandmother was fostering a little boy who they brought with them on Monday. He is 7 1/2 months old and they were taking him to meet his parents for their final pick-up trip. They were sad to say good-bye to him. With the adoption system in Guatemala changing, there won't be foster mothers anymore. The government is planning on having all of the children in government-sponsored orphanages. This is so sad, because one of the great aspects of Guatemalan adoption is the loving care the foster mothers provide.
Mitchell and Max had a great time swimming at the pool at the hotel and just hanging out. Miranda loved watching them and they had fun playing "peek-a-boo" with her!
As far as the progress of our case goes, we did FINALLY receive our pre-approval from the U.S. Embassy! So, now we are waiting to be re-submitted to PGN. Then we wait. And wait some more... I hesitate to even predict when this process will be over, but since the beginning, I have prayed that we could bring Miranda home by the end of June. I'm going to keep praying that will happen. If you'd care to join us in prayer for that, we'd really appreciate it!
I also am praying that Matt and/or I will somehow be able to visit Miranda again before this process is over. The thought of not seeing her for another 3 months is just heartbreaking!
I've posted a slide show of our visit below. I hope you'll check out all of the pictures!
I totally reminded myself of my mother today. I went to a resale store in town, "The Purple Cow," and was looking at diaper bags. I saw this cute messenger bag-type and thought it was pretty cute...until I looked at the price tag! "$79.99!!" I exclaimed outloud. (My mother used to proclaim prices loudly when we were in "cool" stores in the mall...I would always be mortified.) Anyway, I didn't buy the $80 diaper bag. I'm sure you're not surprised.
