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"The Visit"

We decided to make a little trip over the Christmas holidays to meet our daughter to be. If you know me (Reba) at all, you know that is a HUGE step of faith right there...it involves FLYING. Not one of my favorite things to do. Anyway, the day after Christmas, we drove to MS and left Lauren and Hunter with "Meme and Papaw" (Mark's parents). We flew from Jackson to Dallas with a slight delay. In Dallas, we waited for the flight to Guatemala City, only to find out that a volcano was erupting...our flight was delayed until the next day. So we spent the night in Dallas praying we would be able to fly out. We arrived EARLY at DFW on Wed. morning, boarded the plane, and arrived safely in Guatemala City around noon. We had a driver waiting who drove us to the beautiful city of Antigua. When we arrived at the Hogar, we discovered Maria was napping. So after all that time, we had to admire her from afar. When she awakened, an hour and a half later, the reception...well, let's just say she has stranger anxiety. We enjoyed the first hour and a half with our daughter crying, and me coaxing and speaking Spanish.. We went outside...didn't help. We were doing a lot of praying for a change of heart (on her part). As we walked her back to her room, feeling a little defeated, she tripped on the stairs. As Maria reached for a nanny, the nanny told her firmly in Spanish that I was her mom, and she needed to come to me. I cannot explain what happened, but Maria turned around, looked at me, and I swept her in my arms. The picture above shows the first smile I received shortly afterward.

We were able to take Maria back to our hotel (with the
Hogar's blessing. She looked a bit confused to be riding in
a vehicle (in a car seat)...so many new experiences for her.
When we arrived at the hotel, she stayed snuggled in my
arms. We weren't supposed to leave with her, so we had
pizza (a chain found in the US) delivered. Even as I ate
and we watched a little t.v. (with Spanish subtitles), Maria
stayed with me. Finally, we got her ready for bed. I am
sure all of the crying wiped her out. :) She fell asleep in
the crib with no problem. We, on the other hand, could not sleep. The roads in Antigua are cobblestone. VERY noisy. The next morning, Maria didn't seem eager to wake up. I wonder if she thought she was having a nightmare with these two strangers who just showed up out of nowhere? We took her to breakfast outside, the volcano smoking in the background. It took a little coaxing, but Maria decided she was hungry. She ate a lot of fruit, eggs, beans, and cheese. Then she and I relaxed in the hammock by the pool for a while.

As we looked over her schedule, we discovered it was bathtime. So we took her back to the room and prepared a bath. The bath...it was the turning point of the whole trip. At first Maria would not sit down, so I just washed her hair while she stood. Finally, she decided to sit and relax a little. That girl came alive. Apparently she loves water! I had brought a little bath book with pictures. She spent thirty minutes just pointing and babbling with that book. Then she started putting on a little show, laughing and yelling out "Mama" and "Dada". Okay, not for us necessarily, but we don't care. :)We hated to get her out, but finally did. We enjoyed some Pollo Campero (like KFC) for lunch...she LOVED that. Then she decided to play a little. Even with Daddy (Mark). They played peekaboo and blocks...it was the highlight of the trip!

Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After her nap, where we just relished looking at her and drinking in her preciousness, we had to return Maria to the Hogar. We had her for 24 hours. Our last memory of her is walking out of the Hogar during booktime (a book we had given her on her lap) and her waving good-bye to us.

December 2005