Hola from the Mala!

Hi everyone,

We are in Guatemala right now on our third and final visit trip. The next time we come here will be for pick up. We actually brought Sarah with us this time around and so far so good. Just the normal drama that comes with being the first born and an only child for four years. There have been many tears and a few major meltdowns (from Sarah) but overall she seems happy to be here and LOVES her brother (unless he is using something she wants). In one of her moment of complete despair I tried to explain to her that I once felt the same way when my sisters joined my family and that I understand that she is angry, confused and frusturated. I thought we were really reaching an understanding together as tears welled in her eyes and she nodded, but when I asked her if she wanted to talk about how she was feeling she responded (in border-line hysterics) "but my crotch hurts from my bathingsuit!" I am sorry...what? We were talking about deep seeded sibling emotions and she blurts that out! John applauded my efforts, and we both decided that we will save the philosophical conversations for a later date.

Joey is doing pretty good. He has a horrible cold so he is not to chipper at the moment, but doing better than expected considering he probably does not remember us too much. This visit has really shown us how attached he is to Yoli and her family. His pick up trip and the weeks/months subsequent are going to be a huge transition for him (and for us too). We have been a family of three for SO long now and there have been more than a few times in the last 48 hours where I have thought, wow this is going to be a lot more work than I thought. I feel up to the challenge but welcome any advice from other moms/dads with more than one kid (for the sibling rivalry issue) and moms/dads with older adopted kids (attachment issues).

I will post some photos later, I need John to help me with that part and right now Sarah is holding him hostage at the pool!

By the way, thanks for all of the well wishes on the previous post. It is all going in to his babybook. How awesome for him to look back someday, and he better look at it since that book is a lot of work, and see all of the people who were waiting for him.
Love,
Lee Anne, John, Sarah and finally Joey