| Visit Trip Guatemala City October 1-5, 2007 |
I've seen his pictures...I carry them with me everywhere... I've watched him on the videos...I know every minute... I know his look, I know his smile, I know his laugh... I've read all the books... I've surfed the internet... I've tried to prepare myself for this day... But I can't... The phone rings...it's them. My son is downstairs... The five minutes it takes for them to come up feels like eternity. The door opens... There he is. The most perfect creature God has placed on this earth is looking right at me. I smell his baby smell... I see his soft skin... I hear him breathing... I reach out for him...he doesn't cry. He looks right at me, confused... I don't know what to do next. I'm lost in his deep brown eyes... Tears are burning mine... I have met my son!! |
| Here it is... Time to meet our son... |
DAY ONE: We arrive at the hotel right before 5:00 pm. The Foster Mother and translator arrive right at 5:00 to drop Xan off. We spent the next half hour learning of his daily habits, what he likes to do, and letting the Foster Mother "feel us out". She is a wonderful woman who loves our son very much. After a few hours of unpacking and playing, we visit the attached mall to see the sights. Actually...we're hungry. We haven't eaten today... We go up to the third floor and find Quizno's. Who would have thought? ;) Will orders, but I'm too busy watching the angel in my lap to eat. Within minutes, Xan lays his head on my shoulder and is asleep. Talk about the best "Mommy Moment" ever... DAY TWO: We sleep as late as possible. It's our first full day with Xan, and we're not quite sure how to keep him busy. Xan could care less...he's having fun anyway. We go to breakfast, and pay $40 for 6 pancakes. That started my day off on the wrong foot. :) After a few minutes of griping...I realized "who cares"?? I have this perfect little angel in my arms...and I'm going to enjoy MY day. We spent most of the day playing in the hotel. Xan had his clothes changed so many times for pictures he didn't know what was going on. Still...no tears...just a lot of smiles and bubbles. DAY THREE: We wake up late, but don't go for pancakes. :) We spend the entire morning playing in the hotel room. Around lunch Will goes to the mall next door to buy Xan's Foster Mother a playpen. Xan and I wait downstairs in the Lobby until we get bored. We go back upstairs and have some quality bonding time. And no, I didn't change any diapers. ;) After Will gets back, we all play in the hotel some more. Finally, we're hungry again. (If you haven't noticed...we didn't eat very much on this trip :) We go to the mall and buy a Guatemalan cell phone (5146-3018 - not sure of the country code) and find our way to the food court again. Of course, Will doesn't venture off far...he goes back to Quizno's. We eat, walk around the mall, then go back upstairs for bedtime. It's my last night with Xan... DAY FOUR: We wake up later than usual. No plans for the day, so we stay in the hotel. We take a few trips up and down the elevator to play around some. I do get some good videos of Xan today. We get him to play with all of his toys, and start packing him to go back to his Foster Mother. No lunch for us today... Just playtime with Xan. We were able to sneak in his first bath with us. When the Foster Mother came to pick him up, I watched his every move. As selfish as this seems...he didn't giggle and raise his arms towards her. I don't know what he was thinking at that time...but I do know that he was content to stay with us... She picked him up and hugged him tight. I know that she missed him... We carried his new playpen and gifts downstairs. We held him one final time... When we got back to the hotel room...I just thought I could go on with my day. Will sat down at the computer, and I sat on the empty bed. Right then it hit me... I had just said good-bye to MY son... My eyes started burning...tears started forming...there was no stopping them. Will looked at me from the computer, and I was expecting him to tell me to "shrug it off"...but he didn't. He came to me immediately and wrapped his arms around me and let me cry into his chest... I missed Xan already... DAY FIVE: Yeah right. We woke up at 4:30 to get on the airplane. |
