July 25: The Loooooong Journey Home

Big sister and proud of it! (thanks to our role model "A" for the t-shirt!)

Our day began at 3:00 am. All four alarms worked, so Gordon and I were well awake and ready to go on time.

Gracie: not so much. She gave me some flash forwards to her teenage years, burrowing under the covers saying: “I want to sleeeeeeeep!” Since Danny is used to a 4:00 am feeding, he was a more willing participant.

We had one near disaster when someone from the hotel came to check the mini bar. We had only requested access to this so we could store Danny’s medicine. We didn’t use anything. I explained this to the person checking. “Nothing?” he said, “then I no need check.” As he headed down the hall I suddenly realized that he thought I meant there was nothing left. Oops! I ran after him and through pantomime, brought him back to take note of our fully stocked mini bar. Whew! I don’t want to think how many Quetezales that might have set us back!

Our friend Edwin loaded up the car for us and helped to transport a still sleeping Gracie. Our carry on luggage was much lighter on this leg of our journey because I didn’t need to pack a change of clothes in case our luggage was lost. (Note: this is foreshadowing.)

Edwin promised to deliver our left over formula and baby food to a nearby orphanage. And we were off.
.

As many times as we were scared and stressed out on this trip, the beautiful people of Guatemala without exception made our journey memorable and very special. For every broken promise and dispassionate encounter from our Gringo contacts affiliated with the orphanage, our Guatemalan friends restored our trust and overrode the bad memories with their kindness. When we return, Edwin promises to show us the “real Guatemala” away from the touristy areas of Guatemala City. I can hardly wait.


Edwin did us one last favor as we arrived in the airport by setting us up with a porter who whisked us through the check-in lines. Usually I wait my turn, but this day I did not feel a bit guilty about being ushered, with our load of babies and baggage, to the front of a line of about 150 exuberant 20-something members of a mission team. In fact, my personal mission was to stay in front of this group to avoid long lines. And from the joyful smiles they gave us, I don’t think they minded a bit either.

My last triumph using my limited Spanish vocabulary was to go back to the snack bar where we bought our airport breakfast and tell them that they forgot to include Gordon’s ham and cheese croissant in our order. “No hay croissant. Donde esta croissant?” It worked!

Once on the plane, our kids (our kids!) were amazing. As on the flight out, the stellar invention of the portable video player saved the day. Danny got his first look at the Wiggles and I’m still not quite sure what he thought of them.



Ever the sharer, Gracie made sure that her puppy, Quenta, had a listen, too.




There was a treat waiting for us in Houston. Just the day before I had learned that our credit card would give us access to the Continental VIP lounge. With a four-and-a-half hour layover, this was a welcome refuge.

First we needed to pass through Customs with our luggage and them Immigration with our new little US Citizen.

Re-entering the security area after Customs gave Gracie a chance for one last melt-down. Poor kid, we had to wake her up to go through security since we needed to fold up her stroller. To say that she was upset would be an understatement. She was exhausted, angry about waking up and wanting to be carried like her little brother. She screamed, kicked, writhed, and howled. We made it through the check point, but then she didn’t want to get back in the stroller. She wanted me to carry her along with the diaper bag and carry on bag of toys. Finally, we just wrestled her into the stroller, strapped her in and proceeded amidst ear-splitting screams. We looked neither left nor right – just pushed ahead. At one point a kind stranger stopped me to tell me that one of Gracie’s socks was outside the elevator on the floor we had just left. For all I know it’s still there because there was no way I was going back for it!

Then, just as quickly as it started, our Gracie was her usual sunny self and all was forgotten.

We got to the VIP lounge and were treated like royalty. As we sat in the quiet, cool air-conditioned sanctuary eating free snacks and drinking free juice we marveled that some people travel like this all the time.

But our adventure was not over. Take a look at the two pictures that follow. Both were taken at the Houston airport....



Yes, Danny had one last surprise for us helped along by the interaction of antibiotic and his digestive system. Gordon headed off to the men’s room with Danny for a routine diaper change. He didn’t come back for almost a half-an-hour. Gracie and I were so engrossed in stuffing down as many free snacks as possible that we didn’t even notice. Suddenly there was Gordon with a shirtless Danny. “Danny has just had his first US bath!” Gordon informed me. It seems that this episode was not going to be taken care of with a few flimsy wipes. Gordon said that after 5 minutes of trying, he just headed over to the sinks.

I was actually kind of excited about buying Danny a new outfit – I imagined a nice Houston related ensemble. (Remember, no change of clothes in the carry-on!) So I headed down to the shops only to discover that the sole baby clothing source was a shuttle ride and three gates away. Thus was born the start of my new fitness program. Twenty minutes later, 10 minutes before boarding I was back with the cute outfit you see above.

One last flight and we were home. HOME!

Looking back at how tired we were, I still can’t believe that we had time to sit down for our first family dinner.

Yes, I have see one of these, and I know how to use it!

The doctors at the Guatemala hospital told us to start Danny on solid foods just like you would start a six month-old. Let him get down and dirty with it. I tell you he was in heaven! I can’t even begin to describe the look on his face when I handed him the spoon. It was one of pure joy; as if he had been waiting for this moment all his life. He does this cute thing where he dips the spoon end into the food and then puts the handle in his mouth.

I told you I could do it and you ain't seen nothin' yet!

After a meal like that, of course, a bath was called for. God bless the nannies at the orphanage, when they bathe the kids in the special sinks, they dunk them completely under to rinse them off. So Danny had absolutely no fear of the water. He seemed overjoyed to have such a vast body of water all to himself. He laughed and splashed and laughed.

And so our journey ended. And our first day home ended as all of them have so far: food fest, bath, bottle, bed.

I leave you with a few more pictures of Gracie and Danny, good friends already.

Thank you for travelling this road with us. The journey is just beginning. Over the next few days I’ll tell you about our re-entry into society, and a few surprises waiting for us this week.

Then we will be caught up to each other and we can once again walk side-by-side as we move into a new chapter of our lives. Your presence, your prayers and your kindness have gotten us this far. We will be forever grateful.