This is a report on my... VACATION!

Exactly, I've been on vacation since last friday, and somehow I managed to stay away from the computer until last tuesday, a new record for me... WOOHOO! I came back to find a few post on my facebook wall asking where I was and if I was still alive or away on a trip hehe that is not a good sign... means I spend too much time there.... it's just so much fun! haha
Well.... though we had planned going to Petén or Panajachel (lake Atitlán), it hasn't happened yet! both places are probably full of people, but hey... you got to get out at least for a bit right? we all want to go to Pana though, we've been to Petén way to many times and just to imagine how hot it must be there makes me start sweating! ugh!
Anyway... we've been relaxing at home... cleaning (my mom freaks out because the puppy its messing with her clean floors... it drives her crazy... as you might have guessed he's not 'potty trained' yet and every morning there's poop and pee somewhere, exactly why I kept telling my sister a dog was not a good idea for this small apartment, we adore him anyway, he's just sooo cute and funny!) visiting grandma, having fun with my little cousins Diego and Mariana, speaking of them, they are both such big kids, they look older than what they are and incredibly intelligent! it's amazing.
We haven't gone to see any procesions, maybe this weekend, every time we try to leave the house it's like hell because most of the streets and avenues are closed, either because of the procesion or people making rugs! a drive that usually takes about 20 min or less can take about an hour if you're lucky.
I haven't read anything for school... I really don't want to right now... hehe
We got an email from Angelina's mom saying my baby girl has been asking for us! How sweet is that???? AND my mom had just had a dream about Angelina that same day, she was very emotional about it. We think about her and her family everyday but it's hard now to get on the computer on time for the skype call with school and all! We'll figure out a way to talk to her this week!
Weather has been great, a little bit too HOT, but still nice, blue skies and flowers everywhere, what a nice time!
If we do leave, I promise I'll take a lot of pictures!

yep... school has kept me THAT busy

Well, it's been... many weeks? I have no idea, but one thing I know for sure, it's been BUSY!
I have the biggest dark circles under my eyes, and almost every day I get a comment like... "you've been really busy don't you?" or "you sure didn't get much sleep last night", it's a little annoying but then I think of the time when I have to stay for 36 hours in the hospital (next year!) and wonder what will the patients think when they look at my pretty face lol!

I have learned a lot, done and touched so many new things. Every day I marvel at how perfect we are made, there is a God out there and he loves us SO MUCH! and man! there are some nasty diseases out there, so lets keep everything clean, lets have a healthy lifestyle and hope for the best. So far so good, grades are good, in fact, I have one of the best grades of my group in the last Pathology test! Woohoo! Now, I have a Microbiology test next Friday so I'm working on that, though it makes me nervious to know that it's one of the most difficult ones according to the teachers!

We have a new member of the family, little Marianna was born January 20th. She is just the cutest baby girl and she has curly hair! Diego is now a big brother and loves his sister to death, he's so protective of "his baby girl". She is one month old now and getting prettier by the day!
Speaking of months... that's how long it has been since the last time we skyped with Angelina and her family. I miss her so much!! sometimes I think I am over the fact that she is gone but we all miss her so much. She marked our lives in a big way, specially for me and my mom, and it's not easy to let go of the strong feelings towards that little girl, 'cause she is no longer the baby we took care of. School has kept me busy even on the weekends, that or we just use that free time to go out together as a family, or simply rest! The girls are so beautiful, and I just wish I could hold them in my arms and kiss their chicks and tell them how much I love them in person, but that just seems so far away... I keep thinking that I won't have much free time as the years go by and this dream is not looking any closer to reality :'(

Ok, it's late and I better go to bed, I might not sleep at all tomorrow, to end up this post... we had two earthquakes on Tuesday, one at 5:00 am and the other one around 10:00am, the second one was the most scary, it was 5.7 degrees in the Richter scale, how I hate earthquakes... I freak out everytime and it's just awful, specially after what happened in Haiti, we had one like that in 1976 and it was just as terrible. Anyway... I'll try to post more often... won't make any promises but next time I'll try to post pictures as well!

holiday season!

Yes, holiday season has officialy started in Guate, Christmas decorations everywhere, the Arbol Gallo lights up every night and Avenida Reforma too, it has been like that for 24 years now, its a tradition that started in Guate City and now is done all around the country. We even have a Chirstmas parade today, not that we are going to watch it, it's a little bit far from home.



We are having GORGEOUS weather, and I can't believe how fast time passes! It's my grandma's birthday today but she went away in a trip to her home town, to celebrate with her twin sister, more sisters, nephews and nieces who live there and we hardly ever see. It's hard for her to leave like this, she doesn't like to leave her house and the students living there are still going to school and she doesn't have a rest until they are gone. Anyway, I will have to stay at her house until she comes back, that's next wednesday, I am the only one who doesn't have anything better to do :s haha Oh well... I am armed with my laptop and books and TV and that will have to do.
Oh and cousin Brandon's 14th birthday was yesterday, we didn't see him all day but we sent him his present and they (his brother and my brother) headed to the mall to buy more Yu-gi-oh! (or however that is spelled?) cards for their collection.
We had pizza and ice cream cake last night, it was yummie and we had a good time. I have no picture since my sister took the camera :(

BUT... we got pictures from Angie's mom a few days ago, their 09 Christmas pics, both girls looked beautiful in their dresses and hair bows! Goodness I love them to death! I'm leaving you with my fav pic of the bunch!

I LOVE YOU BABY GIRL!

p.s. I have a new nephew! he was born on wednesday o thursday, not sure :s he's name is Javier (everyone calls him Javi!) he's really big and and beautiful! When did I stop having cousins and start having nieces and nephews??!! (sigh...)

feeling the winter

winter is showing its face around here. It's been a few days now with rain, cold, clouds, you know, that kind of day when all you want is to stay in bed all warm and cozy. Not my kind of weather really, this year has been pretty hot, the rainy season is coming waayy late. It means we are using sweaters, scarf, boots or sneakers, I even wore gloves yesterday... GLOVES!! and I am Miss I.Always.wear.Sandals for Christ sake!
Anyway, we did have a couple of hours of sunshine today, then the rain came back :( , this is all because of a hurricane near Nicaragua that is now heading north. They said in the news the rain will be over by the 10th and then we can expect more cold. Great! ¬¬

I got a call from the call center I was trying to work for, they wanted to hire me!! too bad the schedules they were offering were way different from the times my mom can drive me. And as dangerous as it has been around lately, I rather stay home with no money but safe. I mean seriously, there have been attacks to police cars and 17 to 20 people are killed every day due to violence. I had to say no.


News from the US, little Angie, my sweet girl, it's going to school now with her sister. Her mommy told us that according to her teacher, Miss Megan (she has mentioned her on skype talks), she is the smartest in her group and is really good paying attention in class and follows instructions very well! Believe me she is sooo smart, I mean she had words at 9 months old! and at age 2 she has 4 and 5 words sentences! God I love this child to pieces.
We get to see both babies every friday now, which is great, though within a week there is not much to talk about, our life is not that exciting. lol!

Have a great week!

xoxo

Thank God for Skype!

(First, I am sorry to be away for so long... school and life are keeping me busy and this post has been actually hanging since almost a week ago!)

That's right! Thanks to skype I got to see my baby girl and her family LIVE!!
OMG!!! we were sooo excited! as usual I had tears in my eyes, Angie is getting soo big! she's talking and now she can do and say so many new things. If talking with them on the phone was incredible seeing her LIVE and hear her saying "I love you" and blowing kisses was the best thing on earth!
Now, we have been using skype for about 5 days straight and you might find it odd but sometimes it seems like there is not much to say but to stare at Angie with a huge smile on our faces... I mean... the fact that I am pretty much the only one talking in this side of the screen doesn't help much, but it's awesome!
At least now Angie actually knows who we are again, not only and pictures or from what her mommy tells her about us or from the phone calls.
I wish I could get thru the screen and hold her! and her sister is the most adorable little girl!
She is sooo active. I find it unbelievable how kids show their personality at such early ages, Angie is the same girl we met at 3 days old, so calm, smart and loves to cuddle.

Now, if I could only get to visit them!! I have high expectations on that!!

Missing this sweet little face :'(

They finally got the dresses!

Remember the pretty dress we sent for my baby girl a few weeks ago?!
They finally got them! I was seriously starting to think they would never get them but I guess our mail does work! ... kind of in slow motion but works!
Her mommy sent us some super cute pics of Angie holding her dress with a huge smile on her face!
And in one of the videos she says "Thank you.... pretty dress.... love you.... byebye!"
She can melt my heart every time!

Oh and I did great on my lab today! Wohoo! I was kind of worried about that because about midnight my eyes started to hurt so I decided to take "a half an hour nap" that lasted until 5am!! LOL
I should have learned by now that those naps never work... well hardly ever work.

School officially started today for everyone, I never had any vacation except for the official holidays. Swine flu is still around there, still spreading but it doesn't seem to be a priority.
No news in the Rosenberg thing, the CICIG is working on it despite every obstacle.

Happy Birthday Angie!!!

It's my baby girl's 2nd birthday today!!!!

I can't believe it! Time sure flies!
I wish I could be with her to hug her and kiss her happy birthday :(
But I know she has a wonderful family, she's happy and healthy and I pray for her life to be full of blessings and good things. And I also pray for her birth mama wherever she is, I guess she did what was best for her child and God bless her for that.
I hope she gets her present and hope its the right size :s
I love my baby girl sooooooooooo much and I miss her. She is growing up into a beautiful little girl and no matter how much it costs me I will get to see her some day not too far from now.

Happy 2nd Birthday sweet little princess!!!

FFF - MEMORIES!

So... this is a perfect timing for this post, since my baby's 2nd birthday is coming next week!
I have a ton of pictures from baby Angie and I lost another ton when my desktop computer broke, so even when I was the one taking her pictures most of the time, and she was the one looking gorgeous and I was the one looking awful or just waking up in the morning... I will try to find the better looking ones :)

These are some of my favorites:

She was about 3 months old here, look at that tiny little thing, how I miss those times :'(
And look and her hair! It took a long time to get it down xD

She started making that wrinkly nose right before her mommy came for her and it was all her and her happiness.

This is christmas 2007, with matching hats

She used to loved those bells so I used to take her to the door and make them sound for her.

visiting grandma and hanging out with cousin Diego

Here's my cutie

I think I look like a momma in this one lol!
I miss my baby!!

I'm Back :)

So... we got some pictures from my baby girl's mommy last sunday.
We love her so much for keeping us updated of how my baby is growing up. We appreciate it so much and thank God everyday for giving my sweet Angie such a wonderful family.

My sweet baby's birthday is coming next week, June 3! I can't believe she's almost 2 years old!!
I wish I could be there to hug her and kiss her!
Well, even being so far away we always manage to send her a little something. This year my mom and I went to the Mercado Central, a place were you can find ANY kind of handcraft and got her and her sister the most beautiful hand embroidered dresses! Perfect for summer!
We love the Mercado Central, a lot of things at my home come from there and are just beautiful. We go there pretty often, sometimes just to look around lol!

We are crossing our fingers that we picked the right sizes :s but I think we did.
The little box is already in the mail, hopefully to reach them next wednesday.
Angelina is getting a big birthday party next saturday. We are eagerly waiting for the pictures and video!

Now on to the pics....
I have to mention that my camera is dying... :(

Both dresses have different designs, this is Angelina's

And this is Andrea's

In other news, we had a BIG earthquake today, at 2:24 am! It scared the hell out of us.
It was very very looonnnggg! We were ready with sweaters and shoes to run when it stopped.
It actually happened in Honduras but it was also sensitive in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala.

It's been a while huh?

I am such a lousy blogger, sure it gets crazy around here some times but some others I just don't feel like writing a post, some other times MSN or Facebook keep me too busy to turn to blogland :s

Believe or not, we are enjoying a very rainy SUMMER!! It's been raining every evening for about 3 days now. It's that kind of weather that makes you feel all gloomy and want to stay in your bed 24/7. It can also make you want to die if you are far away from your house or stuck in traffic, Oh and this doesn't mean it isn't hot at noon. Go figure...

Anyway, it has been a while since my last post and a few events that I'm going to separate in a few post to make up for the lack of attention to my blog. lol!
The main event for today is....

We had a Call from my baby girl's family!!!

I mean what could be better than that??? We got to talk to her mommy and even hear her on the phone saying "I love you Eva" "i love you Molly" and "I love you Samara" (my mom) and her prayer! aaaaww! her little voice melts my heart!
we only got to hear a little bit of it since she was only saying a few words when she left.
That really made my day :)

One Year Ago...

Around this time of the year...My mom and I headed to the Westin to place my beloved Angelina in her mom's arms.

I remember it just as if it was yesterday. My heart was in pieces, the day before I just couldn't stop crying! As I didn't want to scare the hell out of Angie I hid in my bathroom crying for a long time but then it was bedtime and as I always put her to bed she wanted me there, she wouldn't go to sleep with my mom. So I came out and I hated that she had to see me like that. Seriously I COULDN'T STOP CRYING!

Anyway, we had already planned to meet with my dear baby's mommy before the actual date of the pick up, so Angie would have more time to know her new family and it would not be so traumatic. Well, dr. montiel gave us a little extra help, and everything turned out to be not so much of a secret as it would have had to be. He actually advise the agency to do exactly what we had planned to do, because according to him, Angie didn't manage new experiences very well. He said she got stiff and cried a lot.
Well, the truth is Angelina is a very smart baby and every time she had a dr. appointment she knew she was going to get a shot or a not so pleasant time with him. In little words that man scared the Hell out of her every time! Of course she would react like that! + She only did that when she was around him and not with any other person.

At the end, everything went incredibly well and Angie bonded great with her mommy and there was not one tear in the first day, that day she came home with us, the next day was the hardest of all, she would have to stay with her mommy forever.
And guess what? She did GREAT! She didn't cry at all, stayed with her mommy and played with her in the pool and eat very well. My heart was hurting but I was so happy because now I knew for sure she was going to be ok.
Somehow my mom and I managed not to cry (too much) in this whole time. To me it was truly God's hand because we were devastated.

In the third day, I had to leave due to a field work in a remote village in Puerto Barrios, I know, that came in terrible timing and of course I didn't want to leave.
This is another reason I believe God was right with us, otherwise it would have been just way too much for me to handle. I still called the hotel room everyday to check on my sweet baby. And yes, I did cry in those times but anyway Angie wasn't looking at me. Every time she was calm and just being her perfect self and that made my family feel a lot better.

To this day, we miss her as if we had to say goodbye just yesterday. And we thank her mommy sooooo much for letting us have some updates and pictures. That is just priceless and it can fill our hearts with joy.
My mom and I are determined to get our visas somehow and visit her as soon as possible. We really want her to know how loved she was here and that in our hearts she is and will always be our beloved baby girl forever.

In this one we were waiting in that little living room in the lobby for her mommy and Marielena to show up. (Did you know the agency or maybe just Marielena doesn't allow the foster mother or foster families to be in this area? Man! You could get some very bad stares or words if you were there). Can you tell we have some very fake smiles?

This is my beautiful baby girl just before we left the house. We picked this dress for her on that special day. She looked so darn cute! The shoes stayed off until the last minute lol

p.s. it took me almost a week to be able to post this. At first the tears wouldn't let me and then it was hard to find time to sit and type and look up for the pictures :s

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

Hope you all have a wonderful day filled with LOVE

Here's a picture of sweet Angelina, she is getting prettier and smarter by the day.

Strocked by memories

that is exactly how I felt today, it happens quite often actually, it's just that a ton of memories from Angelina and our time together come back to my mind and I just feel this huge urge to hold her and hug her or just hang around her as I used to. And all this tears come running to my eyes, it's hard not to cry. I am a very emotional person so... I just can't hide my feelings!
It hit me hard today, after we turned on the digital player and seeing all of her pictures.
Angelina was my joy, I remember when she was here I just didn't want to spend my time with anyone else. Anything else seemed as special as being there just watching her grow up and learn.
Especially because I knew that any day she would be gone and only God knows how much time it's going to be until I can see her and hug her again!
It is going to be a year since she was taken to her forever home next March. I can't believe it's been that long... I still miss her so much!
I am sorry for being so corny.... It is just that... I can't help it! that's what is in my heart

Almost potty trained!!!

Oh my goodness! I actually cannot believe I am doing this post! My babygirl's mommy wrote to us this past week and said both Andrea and Angelina had been visiting the toilet! Not even the potty but the BIG TOILET!
Angelina went poopoo 3 times and cute miss Andrea went peepee! Wow!
I just have to say that Angelina is 19 months old! She is just so young! And Andrea is 26months old. I think we all know it can be really hard to potty train kids and it is even more advisable to teach them to use a potty first before taking the big step to the toilet.
They are both doing so great! And their mommy is doing a great job too. We have to give her credit, I will ask her advise when I have my own kids for sure. As the babies mommy will have a 4 day weekend, the girls will be in toilet training camp.
I am so proud of both girls. They are sooo smart. Oh I wish I was there to give them big proud hugs!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

So I just want to wish everyone who read this a very MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

I am not even so sure if anybody reads anything from my blog but anyway... It's christmas time and everybody should have the best of times.

Well. tomorrow as every year we will be meeting my dad's family for a Christmas lunch, it is actually the same food we all have at Christmas dinner so we have a double super meal that day.

This year this reunion almost doesn't happen, some of my dad's brothers and sisters are not in Guatemala. We never have had the party at my house (though my dad would die for it) because we live in a small apartment and in the fourth floor, so obviously there would be no room for the almost 30 getting together to eat and "share".

To be honest we have never got along very well with them or we never felt that way. Most of the times my family and I sit by ourselves in a table until it ends. Of course once in a while someone sits with us asks how we are doing and leaves. It is not really fun. I guess the reason is that we hardly see each other during the year. And so we don't have many things in common.

They all are wealthy people, really like to party and travel with their wealthy friends.

We are not poor but just don't have that much money. We party but just differently, it doesn't haveinvolve alcohol :S theirs do. Most guatemalans think that parties MUST have alcohol or otherwise it just won't be good. It is sad. Of course you can have fun without being drunk! I guess it's a cultural thing and usually rich people parties have lots of alcohol. Sad thing isn't?

Well after that my family and I will be heading to my grandma's house and spend the rest of the evening there. Singing karaoke!!! yeah!

Anyway have a great day with your loved ones!! Merry Christmas

I'm adding this picture of Angelina on Christmas day with my dad's family last year. My mom and I picked a special and beautiful dress for her and she looked sooo pretty! Everyone said so. And she was soo good! Though she didn't know anyone and it was so late at night.

This other picture is the next day at my grandma's house, this is my mom and my cousin C. She is a year younger than me and we always have a great time singing and just girl talking! ha! As this was the Real Christmas day we got Angelina this gorgeous red dress. She looked so beautiful! She was tired that day and went to sleep at 8pm. I was constantly checking on her because I thought she would wake up at any time because of the noise of people and the fireworks. But she was sound asleep! My sweet perfect baby!

Before leaving for today...

I just wanted to say that.... I miss Angelina sooooo much...

I think about her every day... and remember all the wonderful times we had. I love her so much!!! She is my little Angel.

I never thought it was going to be so hard to get over the fact that she had to leave and left more than 9 months ago. I just miss her and wish she was here or at least that I could she her and hug her and kiss her like I did for 9 months of her life.

I know she doesn't remember me anymore but I won't NEVER EVER forget her. None of us will.

Hopefully I will stop crying when I remember her some day soon :'(

TE EXTRAÑO MUCHO ANGIE!!! TE AMO BEBE!!

The last few days have been really hard for us. Last year on Christmas Angelina was here and we set our Christmas tree and decorations since early November because we didn't know how long she was going to stay with us and we wanted here to see all of the nice stuff, she loved to play with the tree decorations. This year while my mom and I set the tree, we remembered all of those sweet moments and could not help to get teary eyed.

My baby Angelina can stand all by herself!!

wohoooo! my baby is standing!!!!!!
man! that makes me soooooo happy and sooo proud!
I remember when she came home... such a tiny little peanut... and I loved her to pieces since the first time I saw her. She is learning to do so many new things, it is really sad to be so far away from her and not be part of her everyday life. I miss her like crazy!
I thank Angelina's mommy so much for keeping us updated, she is so kind! even sharing 1 or 2 minutes of this baby with us makes us so excited!
So here goes the last video of my baby girl standing! she is the cutest child on earth!

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