The Kwiatkowski Family

The foster family and us-the Kwiatkowski's!!
Lizzy and her foster mother in the hotel




Yesterday was our first full day at home with Lizzy, and it was fantastic. After 21 hours of travel on Wedsnesday, we had a little trouble going to sleep Weds night/Thursday morning, but our first day together as a family in our home was great. Matt has been worried about the dogs, mostly because his mother and grandmother keep mentioning dog bites :), but Maggie's first act was to go up to Lizzy and lick her face. Both dogs are very curious and concerned when she cries, and I think they will be very protective and love her a lot.

Our trip to Guatemala was interesting and long. The airport was a lesson in chaos, and Latin culture. Instead of taking the bags off the plane immediately, the workers took a little break, and our bags arrived about 45 minutes after landing. Then, without signs or directions, we followed some arrows which led us to a long line of people waiting for something. Luckily one of the people waiting had a Radisson sign, and my high school Spanish was enough to get him to speak English.

Our hotel, one of the nicest in the city, was about the level of a Motel 6 here. Pretty dirty (your socks turned black after a day of being in the room) and dated, but the staff was very helpful. Everyone spoke English, or at least they were patient and kind while I attempted to speak Spanish. After we had been in the hotel for about 30 minutes, the phone rang telling us that our lawyer was here with the baby. We rushed downstairs (I was upset because I was not in the outfit that I wanted to be in to meet the baby) only to see a baby that was not ours. Matt said my face was fantastic (because the baby wasn't very cute). Finally, by looking at the foster mother (not the one in the pictures) we knew for sure that his was not our child, and we went back upstairs.

We were told that the foster mother would come around 5, but that in Guatemala that means 6. Nevertheless, Matt and I were in the lobby (Mom was sick with a cold upstairs) at 5:15 waiting, and Lizzy arrived at 5:25. The entire thing was surreal. She was beautiful, and her foster mother (who brought her husband and children) was very sweet with her and clearly loved her. She told us that every morning she prayed with Lizzy for us and for her health and that she would keep on doing that. She told us that Lizzy is a very special baby (a little demanding-as we now see), and that she would always want to know what happened to her. She asked us to keep in touch through email and letters, and we would really like it if Lizzy saw her again soon.

Our first few days with Lizzy were full of trips to the embassy to get her visas and walks around the safe parts of Guatemala City. The city is beyond beautiful set in a valley surrounded by volcanoes and mountains. The colors there are as vibrant and in any Latin country, and the people could not have been nicer-always telling us what a pretty baby and smiling. I was a little worried about the people because there has been some controversy in the government of Guatemala about the number of international adoptions, but the feeling we got overall was that the people were glad that she is getting a better life. The number of babies leaving was startling though. At the embassy on the day we were there, about 30-40 couples/babies were waiting to get their visas-just on that day! The hotel has one floor just for people who are adopting babies, and there is a culture there to cater to Americans with an Applebee's and Chilis and malls nearby. The main problem that we saw there was that the price of everything was the same as it is here, but that the people make so much less. They have no chance to get ahead, and they have to learn to adapt.

One day, on one of our walks around the hotel, a young girl came up to us peddling a small tapestry to hang up. She knew just enough English to get us to buy something, and as I looked at her face and then the face of my daughter I knew that this girl could be my Lizzy someday.

Well...this post has gone on long enough, but please know that our first several days together have been wonderful. She somehow gets prettier, smarter, and better everyday. She is an excellent baby who is very social. She went out to dinner last night, was GREAT on the planes during our trip home, and tonight she is going to a basketball game at my school. She loves to be active, and she demands to be entertained. She sleeps through the night-yeah, and Matt and I are getting much better at getting her to go to sleep and to nap.