Maria is coming home soon!

We got a call Saturday from our agency, and Maria should be coming home in January! woohoo! Maya is finally going to be a big sister!!!

We got out of PGN on Friday, which is actually about a week earlier than I had predicted. We were kicked out around Oct 18 and resubmitted the next day, but I was sure it would take at least another 8 weeks before we got out. I'm so glad to say it ain't so!

We still have to wait for the reissued birth certificate, the 2nd dna test and results, and our appointment date to appear at the US embassy in Guatemala, but at least an end is finally in sight! So Maria will be 10 months old when we bring her home. Maya was 9 months old, and I must say, it is a wonderful age.

I was just telling E tonight that it's hard to remember Maya being so small when we got her. She was running around the living room between daddy and the orange and her toys and mommy. Everyone is so surprised at how well she speaks now. She will talk up a storm if you have time to listen, so we make time!

We went to see Omi Saturday and took Maya to see the Christmas lights at the zoo. Traffic was horrendous, and while I'm on the subject, let me just express my complete displeasure with the extremely rude, boorish and completely inane drivers who think it is perfectly ok for some of us to sit in traffic over 1/2 an hour to take a certain zoo exit while they zoom up the left lane and weasel their way into the front of the traffic line. I wish I could remember the NC license tag number I tried to memorize ... the one that so rudely pushed his way into line even though we were trying not to let him in. I'm all for being curteous and letting people get in front of me, but I'm not exaggerating when I say we were in traffic for more than 1/2an hour to go about 1/2 a mile. But it was worth every second of the traffic agony to see the big smile on Maya's face when she saw the elephants!

One of her favorite movies is Jungle Book, and we practice our marching with the elephant military patrol. She also still loves Garfield and Cinderella. I heard from a little birdie that she will be getting Cinderella III from some of her favorite relatives who happen to live in Nebraska.

We went to a neighborhood Christmas party last night. It was at our friend's house, and their whole neighborhood has a Luminary Night each year on the 2nd Sunday in December. It gets larger each year, and we have so much fun taking a hay ride around the neighborhood, eating snacks at host houses, and meeting with our friends each year. Maya is still afraid of Santa, who she calls "Ho Ho". She will be chattering away and if you ask her if she wants to go see Ho Ho, she'll freeze up and say "No!" very quickly. I hope she gets over her fear soon .. I can't wait to get pictures of her in Santa's lap!

E, Maya and I all wish each and every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!