A year ago today...

... we were purchasing tickets to fly to Guatemala. We flew to Guatemala on October 27 of last year and met Samuel for the first time on October 28. We were nervous that we were acting impulsively and I'm pretty sure our friends and family thought we were a bit nuts! It's been a year full of surprises, changes and a lot of waiting, but I can't imagine life without Samuelito!

I catch myself thinking about what I'll do when I'm home. I make mental lists of things I miss, things I want to do, etc. I'm trying not to get ahead of myself- to make myself wait to plan anything until we have our return flight and visa appointment! I told Jimmy that besides family and friends, I am most excited about coming home to a dishwasher, a garbage disposal, a good haircut, a car and good Mexican food (no, Guatemalan and Mexican food are not the same!).

It's been great to have Jimmy here for a few days. After getting what we needed to accomplished with the adoption on Wednesday and Thursday, we spent the past two days just hanging out with Samuel. We hit the market today and bought some squash and gourds (since they don't have pumpkins) to celebrate Halloween. We also bought Samuel two more pair of HONKY shoes (yes, that's the brand name). They are cute and only $7!

We also did some packing. Jimmy is taking home a lot of our stuff.

Samuel has also started walking a bit. He is taking 5-6 steps now. It was fun for Jimmy to be here for these first steps. We are still a bit worried as he's the ring bearer in my brother's wedding in December and I hear the church has a long aisle! We're going to be doing lots of walking practice or else he'll be crawling down the aisle.

Tonight we had an amazing dinner party! We had invited Maria, our nanny, and her family to dinner. She said they would come, but that she wanted to cook. We couldn't talk her out of it! Her husband borrowed his boss' truck again and the family rode in- the back of the truck was packed with people and dinner! We weren't sure how many of her family members to expect. I opened the door and it was a bit like a clown car- people kept coming! We had Maria, her husband, her 2 daughters, her son, his wife and five grandkids, plus the six adults who live here and our 5 kids. Maria made an incredible meal- turkey, vegetables, rice, tortillas, chips, and cheesecake! This family is so sweet, kind and friendly. I am very hopeful that we will be able to stay in touch with them and visit when we return.

Jimmy leaves in the morning and I'm sad to see him go. When he left last time, I thought the next time he was here, I'd be going home with him. Hopefully I'll be seeing him in KC very soon.

Hope you've all had a good weekend!