4 months

Today is my four month anniversary in Guatemala! I continue to say that the days can go by slowly, but the weeks fly by. Can't believe it is already July 18! This week was pretty quiet- not a lot to post about, but today has been an exciting day!

First of all, we are pretty sure "canicula" (AKA: the break in the rainy season) is here. We've had 3 days with no rain and gorgeous, sunny weather. It is a huge blessing and has lifted everyone's spirits. We've had several "good volcano days" in a row. I consider it a good volcano day when I can see the top!

Today Grampa Beyer arrived for his visit! We are SO excited to have him here. His visit is very timely as I've had some trouble being at peace with some parts of our adoption lately. It's a really long story, but I'm just praying for that the Lord would just give me peace and confidence in the next few weeks. Having my Dad here tonight was great- he listened to me ramble about the adoption stuff and was encouraging. Samuel warmed up to Grampa immediately. He let my Dad hold him at the airport and they have been playing all evening. I think both Dad and Samuel were exhausted by the time dinner was over!

Another highlight to today was a trip to the Guatemalan zoo! A few friends rode into the city with us and we went to the zoo before picking up my Dad. The moms/babies hit the mall while I waited for Dad at the airport. The zoo was beautiful and pretty impressive for a 3rd world zoo! Definitely worth the $2.50 it cost us to get in. Not sure if Samuel appreciated it too much- he seemed interested in the bears and ducks (or at least looked at them). His favorite though was the chain link fence that he grabbed onto at each place we stopped.

One of the best parts of our time at the zoo was being there to witness our sweet friend Lindsey receiving the phone call to inform her that her daughter's case came out of PGN today!! Congrats to the Wheeler's! It was a blessing to see the joy (and shock) on Lindsey's face!

Another favorite was courtesy of Lee Anne. I tried hard to catch it on video, but missed it. Fortunately, I did get a picture as proof. Lee Anne was hissing at the snakes- must say she does a pretty good snake hiss. I think she was trying to get them to move or something, but it was entertaining.

This is a random zoo pic- I just liked the sign above the bears "Please don't throw things at the animals. They are living beings that also feel." I like the "guilt" approach :).
Not much else to report... we are looking forward to hanging out with Grampa and will post more pics this weekend. Samuel has a couple of new "tricks"- clapping and "talking" a lot. It's pretty cute!

In closing, I have three important questions...

1) Does anyone know how long it takes for eyelashes to grow back? :) Last night we made dinner for our landlord who is in town. I was lighting the gas for the oven and it flamed pretty big. I cinged my hair and eyelashes- oops. Gotta love the smell of burnt hair! Needless to say, my already stumpy eyelashes are now even shorter!

2) Is it part of the male DNA to love being naked or is it just a baby thing? Here's a video clip of Samuel from last night. He was chatting away, but of course got quiet when I started filming. This was pre- PJ time and he was having a bit of a WWF moment on the bed. Here's the clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mD4Y87MqMI

3) Does "da da" count as a first word if Samuel says it to everyone/thing? Jimmy and I are in disagreement on this one :), but Samuel sure is saying "da da" a lot, much to my dismay. Is there an official "first word" rule? Anyone?