Thursday, January 10, 2008
COMING HOME
For those of you wondering are the Mercer's still coming home by flying standby. The answer is NO!!!! We purchased tickets from Guatemala City to Washington D.C. via Miami on American Airlines. Please pray all the reservations that I had to make over the internet work out. We should land in Washington around 11:30PM Friday and Granddaddy and Grandmother will be picking us up from Dulles for the final trip home. Pray for the kids because they have CYT at 10:00am Saturday and they have to be there. Also pray for us all because we are not siting together. I had to take whatever seats I could get. We are all within 6 or seven rows all in the middle seats.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
I just wanted to take a moment to talk about the past few days. We have had a wonderful time. We have been blessed and challanged far more than we ever expected. When I was sitting in San Pedro Sulah, Honduras, I couldn't help but wonder what had I done to my family. Had I put their lives in Jeopardy. When I watched the silent tears fall down my child's face because of the unknown I couldn't help but doubt my decisions.
Later, as the pilot announced about the earthquake in Guatemala, that same child said, "well that's why we went through all of this, so we wouldn't be on the ground when the earthquake hit". The faith of a child. That same Child also said, "one day they'll know how much we love them because of all we went through just to hold them". I have repeatedly thanked God for bringing us through this adventure and for strengthening all of our faith and showing us that our true faith grows stronger through the trial.
Family Time
For the past several days we have spent a lot of family time. On Monday all seven of us took a walking trip to the Antigua Market. Stores in Antigua are vey small so many of the items that are needed for your everyday living will be bought from the market. The market resembles an American flea market. You could buy anything you might need from the market. Darla and I used the back pack baby carriers and the older kids helped carry Tradd when he got tired of the market.
Antigua is well known for Handicrafts from all over Guatemala. We spent most of our time in the touristy area called the Handicraft market. If it was made by hand in Guatemala then you could find it in the handicraft market. We all had a great time shopping. We were able to purchase wall hangings for both Tradd and Sophia's rooms and a few other keep sakes.
On Tuesday, the older kids and I spent an hour at the pool reading and talking. Makenzie actually jumped in. They say the pool is heated but it made my heart jump when I got in. We could only stay in the sun an hour before we all started to burn. It was only seventy degrees but the sun was intense. Davis, Kaylin and I went back to the market to pick up some items and went to the dispensory (grocery store). The store is about the size of a shoe store at the mall.
Wednesday, started off with Makenzie running a 100.4 temperature and Kaylin not feeling great. As of this writing they are both feeling better and Makenzie's fever is gone. We will spend the rest of the day playing games and starting to pack. We are planning to repack everything and just use one overnight bag for the final night in Guatemala City.
Todd
Antigua is well known for Handicrafts from all over Guatemala. We spent most of our time in the touristy area called the Handicraft market. If it was made by hand in Guatemala then you could find it in the handicraft market. We all had a great time shopping. We were able to purchase wall hangings for both Tradd and Sophia's rooms and a few other keep sakes.
On Tuesday, the older kids and I spent an hour at the pool reading and talking. Makenzie actually jumped in. They say the pool is heated but it made my heart jump when I got in. We could only stay in the sun an hour before we all started to burn. It was only seventy degrees but the sun was intense. Davis, Kaylin and I went back to the market to pick up some items and went to the dispensory (grocery store). The store is about the size of a shoe store at the mall.
Wednesday, started off with Makenzie running a 100.4 temperature and Kaylin not feeling great. As of this writing they are both feeling better and Makenzie's fever is gone. We will spend the rest of the day playing games and starting to pack. We are planning to repack everything and just use one overnight bag for the final night in Guatemala City.
Todd
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Just a quick update
Hey Everyone,
We haven't prepared a real BLOG entry but wanted to share some more pictures of our adventures. We are all doing well and having a wonderful time with Tradd and Sophia. They act like they have known us forever. Notice Tradd's long eyelashes. The funny thing about the kids picture is that Makenzie isn't holding a baby. She has barely put them down since she saw them. I will work on more updates as soon as I get some time. Got to go to dinner now. Todd
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Guatemala Trip Day 3
DAY THREE
We got up and after feeding Tradd and Sophia we went to breakfast here at the resort. While exiting the restaurant they stopped us and said we had a phone call. The call was from the airport either in Honduras or Guatemala. They said our luggage had arrived. Unfortunately, we had to go pick it up. We called Maria and she sent a driver to take Todd and Davis to the airport. We took the 45 minute drive to the airport and then spent another 30 minutes going from security checkpoint to waiting lines to finally the Delta ticket counter. The Delta agents looked up the luggage numbers and said the luggage was not here. Uugh!! They then put us together with a Taca airlines rep and he said the luggage was not there either. I was frustrated. The Delta agent asked if I wanted to go downstairs and look to see for myself. I told her I new I couldn’t explain to Darla if I didn’t go. Davis and I went through a checkpoint and had to turn our passports in for a badge. Needless to say being in a foreign country and turning in your passport was an uneasy feeling. We continued past the customs area and turned the corner and all eight bags were sitting right there. We were both very excited to say the least! We headed back to the resort and everyone celebrated as we looked through the luggage to see that everything seemed to be there. The rest of the day was spent playing with the kids and caring for their needs.
We got up and after feeding Tradd and Sophia we went to breakfast here at the resort. While exiting the restaurant they stopped us and said we had a phone call. The call was from the airport either in Honduras or Guatemala. They said our luggage had arrived. Unfortunately, we had to go pick it up. We called Maria and she sent a driver to take Todd and Davis to the airport. We took the 45 minute drive to the airport and then spent another 30 minutes going from security checkpoint to waiting lines to finally the Delta ticket counter. The Delta agents looked up the luggage numbers and said the luggage was not here. Uugh!! They then put us together with a Taca airlines rep and he said the luggage was not there either. I was frustrated. The Delta agent asked if I wanted to go downstairs and look to see for myself. I told her I new I couldn’t explain to Darla if I didn’t go. Davis and I went through a checkpoint and had to turn our passports in for a badge. Needless to say being in a foreign country and turning in your passport was an uneasy feeling. We continued past the customs area and turned the corner and all eight bags were sitting right there. We were both very excited to say the least! We headed back to the resort and everyone celebrated as we looked through the luggage to see that everything seemed to be there. The rest of the day was spent playing with the kids and caring for their needs.
Guatemala Trip Day 2
DAY TWO:
We were all hopeful for a new start to our trip. I didn’t feel like I could take another day like day one. We showered, ate breakfast and spent some time with other families who were at the hotel waiting to go to the Embassy to finalize their adoptions.
Day one’s problems disappeared when Sophia and her foster mother came into the hotel. Everyone was so happy and our hearts filled with joy at the sight of our daughter. Our Guatemalan contact who works with Celebrate Children International, Sonia, met us and did the interpretation as well as worked through a sheet of questions to help us take care of Sophia. Thirty minutes later little Tradd showed up and again our hearts jumped for joy. We went through the whole process again with Tradd’s foster mother.
Tradd and Sophia are both precious. Sophia has a head full of hair. She is so little and smiles easily. Tradd is going to be a character. He is small, but full of personality. He coos and cackles all the time. His eyes are more amazing than in pictures.
We spent a couple more hours at the hotel before our driver Maria showed up and we loaded up for our trip to Antigua. Maria is very kind and even took us to an incredible store to pick up some essentials to help us get by because our luggage had still not arrived. The store was probably half the size of a state side WalMart but still had all the items like WalMart and had twice as many customers than a WalMart at Christmas. The shopping was quite an experience.
We arrived at the resort Villa Antigua. The resort is quite nice with incredible food and the people here are delightful.
We were all hopeful for a new start to our trip. I didn’t feel like I could take another day like day one. We showered, ate breakfast and spent some time with other families who were at the hotel waiting to go to the Embassy to finalize their adoptions.
Day one’s problems disappeared when Sophia and her foster mother came into the hotel. Everyone was so happy and our hearts filled with joy at the sight of our daughter. Our Guatemalan contact who works with Celebrate Children International, Sonia, met us and did the interpretation as well as worked through a sheet of questions to help us take care of Sophia. Thirty minutes later little Tradd showed up and again our hearts jumped for joy. We went through the whole process again with Tradd’s foster mother.
Tradd and Sophia are both precious. Sophia has a head full of hair. She is so little and smiles easily. Tradd is going to be a character. He is small, but full of personality. He coos and cackles all the time. His eyes are more amazing than in pictures.
We spent a couple more hours at the hotel before our driver Maria showed up and we loaded up for our trip to Antigua. Maria is very kind and even took us to an incredible store to pick up some essentials to help us get by because our luggage had still not arrived. The store was probably half the size of a state side WalMart but still had all the items like WalMart and had twice as many customers than a WalMart at Christmas. The shopping was quite an experience.
We arrived at the resort Villa Antigua. The resort is quite nice with incredible food and the people here are delightful.
The Journey Begins
DAY ONE
The day started out early about 2:45AM. We headed to the airport with help from Grandmother and Grandaddy Davis. We boarded a DELTA jet for our adventure. Little did we know what lay ahead? Upon arriving in Atlanta we learned that the flight we were traveling on to Guatemala City, which had shown on the internet to have plenty of seats, was actually oversold. We started making contingency plans but none seemed to work. We got assistance from the DELTA ticketing staff which gave us about thirty-seconds to make a decision. We decided to fly to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where we would then buy tickets from an airline named TACA. This seemed like a good idea at first. The Delta staff said “go for it” there are plenty of seats on the TACA flight to Guatemala.
Upon arriving in San Pedro, we knew we were in trouble when we were landing and all we could see were pineapple fields and a very small concrete building for an airport. We deplaned and waited for our luggage….and waited…and then waited for a DELTA employee for help. We filled out the proper paperwork, which was pretty hard since the DELTA staff helping us barely spoke English. Next we had to go through customs and go outside…yes outside…to purchase tickets from TACA airlines. To our surprise all jets flying directly to Guatemala were grounded because of the fog and rain. We were able to get five tickets to Guatemala via El Salvador…Call us world travelers. Did you know when you travel through a country you have to pay taxes…we didn’t expect this just to buy tickets for a new flight but Honduras charged us $160 in cash only. Needless to say we were a little overwhelmed at this point. We were finally able to board a plane to El Salvador which went well. We went to the Duty free shop and everybody sprayed cologne on because we new we would be in the same clothes another day and Darla bought her and the girls a little make-up for the next day. We changed gates and boarded the second TACA flight.
As we began our descent the landing gear came down, then suddenly the plane took off back up into the sky. It seams that a 5.2 earthquake had just hit Guatemala and we couldn’t land until all the runways and structures had been checked. We finally landed and entered the airport, went through customs, which wasn’t hard because we only had our carry on luggage. You know when your friends tell you to pack an extra change of clothes in your carry on luggage, my advice is to do it because only two of us (of course our world travelers Davis and Kaylin) had a change of clothes.
We caught the shuttle for our hotel and checked into the Radisson which is very nice. Unfortunately they had our reservation wrong and the only room left for us had two double beds. Davis and Todd slept in one bed and Darla, Kaylin and Makenzie slept in the other bed. Needless to say the girls were uncomfortable and we were all cold due to the plummeting temperatures that night and no heat because you normally don’t need heat in Guatemala.
The first day ended with all of us stressed but hopeful for what the next day would bring.
The day started out early about 2:45AM. We headed to the airport with help from Grandmother and Grandaddy Davis. We boarded a DELTA jet for our adventure. Little did we know what lay ahead? Upon arriving in Atlanta we learned that the flight we were traveling on to Guatemala City, which had shown on the internet to have plenty of seats, was actually oversold. We started making contingency plans but none seemed to work. We got assistance from the DELTA ticketing staff which gave us about thirty-seconds to make a decision. We decided to fly to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, where we would then buy tickets from an airline named TACA. This seemed like a good idea at first. The Delta staff said “go for it” there are plenty of seats on the TACA flight to Guatemala.
Upon arriving in San Pedro, we knew we were in trouble when we were landing and all we could see were pineapple fields and a very small concrete building for an airport. We deplaned and waited for our luggage….and waited…and then waited for a DELTA employee for help. We filled out the proper paperwork, which was pretty hard since the DELTA staff helping us barely spoke English. Next we had to go through customs and go outside…yes outside…to purchase tickets from TACA airlines. To our surprise all jets flying directly to Guatemala were grounded because of the fog and rain. We were able to get five tickets to Guatemala via El Salvador…Call us world travelers. Did you know when you travel through a country you have to pay taxes…we didn’t expect this just to buy tickets for a new flight but Honduras charged us $160 in cash only. Needless to say we were a little overwhelmed at this point. We were finally able to board a plane to El Salvador which went well. We went to the Duty free shop and everybody sprayed cologne on because we new we would be in the same clothes another day and Darla bought her and the girls a little make-up for the next day. We changed gates and boarded the second TACA flight.
As we began our descent the landing gear came down, then suddenly the plane took off back up into the sky. It seams that a 5.2 earthquake had just hit Guatemala and we couldn’t land until all the runways and structures had been checked. We finally landed and entered the airport, went through customs, which wasn’t hard because we only had our carry on luggage. You know when your friends tell you to pack an extra change of clothes in your carry on luggage, my advice is to do it because only two of us (of course our world travelers Davis and Kaylin) had a change of clothes.
We caught the shuttle for our hotel and checked into the Radisson which is very nice. Unfortunately they had our reservation wrong and the only room left for us had two double beds. Davis and Todd slept in one bed and Darla, Kaylin and Makenzie slept in the other bed. Needless to say the girls were uncomfortable and we were all cold due to the plummeting temperatures that night and no heat because you normally don’t need heat in Guatemala.
The first day ended with all of us stressed but hopeful for what the next day would bring.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Visit Travel Plans
Hey everyone,
We just wanted to let you know that we will be traveling to Guatemala City on January 4th. During this time we will meet Tradd and Sophia for the first time. Thanks Brenda Mathews for helping us out with Delta Buddy passes. On January 5th, all seven of us will travel to the city of Antigua where we will stay for almost a week. We hope to have a wonderful time as a family getting to know each other. We also plan to take lots of pictures and video and spend some wonderful family time together. Please check back between the 5th and the 11th to see updated pictures and to see what we are doing in Antigua.
We just wanted to let you know that we will be traveling to Guatemala City on January 4th. During this time we will meet Tradd and Sophia for the first time. Thanks Brenda Mathews for helping us out with Delta Buddy passes. On January 5th, all seven of us will travel to the city of Antigua where we will stay for almost a week. We hope to have a wonderful time as a family getting to know each other. We also plan to take lots of pictures and video and spend some wonderful family time together. Please check back between the 5th and the 11th to see updated pictures and to see what we are doing in Antigua.
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