New Birthfamily photos

Finally received Lily's birth family photos from the Christmas basket delivery.  Can't believe how grown up Suzanna looks!  It's crazy the resemblance among all the girls!  Especially in the eyes!!!!

Swimming and Honor Roll

Lily has been slowly recovering from her sprained ankle and has begun to participate a bit more with her high school swim team.  She appears to be enjoying it for the most part. She was recognized for a strong swim team debut and has managed to shave some time off her entries.  She also received her report card and I am happy to report she made the honor roll again!  She's actually taking her first college-level course through Frederick Community College in her CTC program.  She had to take an entrance exam and did very well.   Very exciting!  She's maturing into a very responsible and level-headed young lady!

December download

Typically December is a time of crazy schedules, but an unexpected sprained ankle in one of Lily's early December soccer tournaments unfortunately has slowed her down.  She sprained her ankle in the last few minutes of her travel teams game sidelined her for the rest of December.  In some ways, I think she was disappointed, but in other ways, I think she welcomed the break.  She was also doing high school swim, so that got put on the back burner as well.  Her ankle appears to be doing better so hopefully, she will be able to participate in both sports come January.

Soccer Tournament Damage

Swim team photo

We had a very enjoyable and busy Christmas season.  Lily and I went to see the movie Frozen at the Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra.  We also went to see Wicked with Kathy and Rudy at the Kennedy Center as well.

Lily in Georgetown

The kiddos at breakfast

Kennedy Center at the holidays

We also did our first-ever gingerbread competition with Tia Elaine and Ms. Emily.  The girls against the boys (Ashton, Mr. Ernie, and Daddy.  We asked people to vote on Facebook and the girls won by one vote!

Christmas Eve, we had a wonderful party and a lovely Christmas day.  I was so thankful we were all healthy this year after last year Covid canceled our plans.  Lily had a wonderful day.  She had really wanted Burberry Her perfume and Santa Mom delivered.  Christmas night we enjoyed our typical Chinese food dinner with the Rinkes family.

The coveted perfume!

The day after Christmas Lily headed on a magical trip to Walt Disney Land in California with her friend Emery.  They had an amazing time!

When Lily came back she enjoyed a short visit with Bubby and Luis Miguel.  We spent the day down in DC.  We invited her boyfriend Raymond because it was his 17th birthday!

We spent New Year's Day catching up on sleep!  We enjoyed seeing the boats down at the Carroll Creek Promenade and today we enjoyed a hike with Abuelita and Hombre Sin Nombre.  Happy New Year!

Freedom

Well, I am both happy and terrified to announce we have a licensed driver in the house!  Last week Lily passed her driver's test at the MVA!  She took her first solo drive to her friend Carolina's house to get ready for the TJ homecoming dance.  The girls looked lovely as they stepped out in their cocktail dresses.

This month Lily also attended her high school's homecoming dance with her boyfriend.  As always she looked lovely.  She and Raymond seemed to have a good time.  Raymond was super sweet and handmade her corsage.

We also took a trip to the pumpkin patch.  She, Raymond, and his brother wandered around, while I took Ashton and his buddy around.

She has very much enjoyed her time playing soccer with one of her all-time favorite coaches (Coach Chad) even though they have been decimated in nearly every game.  All the players on the team have improved throughout the season.  It's been fun to watch her be the shining star for sure!

Also, she recently got a positive compliment from one of the travel soccer coaches saying how much she has improved since last spring!

She got her report card yesterday.  She got two B's and one C.  Math continues to be a challenge for her, but she continues to hang in there and wants to stay at the honors level.

Birth family update

Lilian Bernardina Yac López

A la familia se le lee la carta y contesta:

Estamos bien de salud, esperamos que Ustedes también y que Dios les bendiga en cada momento de su vida.

Gracias por la Educación de Lily va progresando y está terminando otro año escolar; Ojalá se haga realidad sus sueños en asistir a una Universidad y que Dios le de sabiduría para elegir lo que quiere hacer después del Colegio.

Sus actividades físicas son admirables y soy feliz porque la niña tiene la oportunidad de practicarlas y el acompañamiento de Ustedes como Padres desde que comenzó su gusto por estos deportes.

En mi círculo de conocidos no es muy común que los jóvenes manejen un carro pero entiendo que es mejor comenzar a manejar desde joven y tener una educación vial.

Espero que a Lily le vaya bien en el Viaje de Alaska y que sea una buena experiencia, convivencia, conocimiento y aprendizaje.

Seguimos predicando y apoyando en las Comunidades de Alta Verapaz, viajamos cuando nuestra Iglesia nos pide hacer esa misión.

 Lily, Manuel y Susana por ahora están en la Capital, dedicados a su Iglesia.

La familia completó sus vacunas del Covid 19.

Hace más de 4 años la familia NO visita Santo Tomás la Unión, Suchitepéquez por falta de dinero.

Lily dice: Extraño mi Pueblo supongo que ha cambiado mucho, quizá hay mas casas, negocios y gente joven que ya no conozco pero le doy gracias a Dios que estoy con vida, salud, una familia y que sea una integrante más de una Iglesia.

Mi familia y yo vivimos muy tranquilos, sin discusiones ni gritos ni enojos, somos felices con lo que tenemos y lo que somos.

 Lily que Dios te bendiga en cada actividad que emprendes, tienes muchas oportunidades de aprender y hacer lo que te gusta hacer.

Pon tu mayor esfuerzo, siempre adelante y piensa positivamente; Te amo y bendiciones en tu vida mi niña hermosa.

Kim, Olav y Ashton, gracias por el apoyo material, el afecto y sus buenos deseos hacia la familia. Estamos agradecidos con Ustedes deseamos su bienestar y armonía familiar, bendiciones.

 Visit to: Lilian Bernardina Yac Lopez

I read the letter to the family and she answered:

We are healthy, and hopefully, each one of you is fine, God Bless You! Thanks for providing Lily with a great education and hope;  she feels excited about finishing another school year. Her dreams will come true if she keeps studying and fortunately, she has the chance to study in college. God will provide her wisdom to make the best decisions for her future.”

“It makes me feel happy to know she does several physical activities. It's amazing that she has the chance to practice these activities. Thanks for taking care of the girl in every moment and providing her a life full of opportunities. Among my friends, it is not common to see a young person who is able to drive. Many people think it is a better way to learn when you are  young in order to be well educated and learn properly.”

“I wish Lily the best in her travel to Alaska and that she enjoys the experience. Hopefully, she will be growing as a person and learning new things. We keep supporting some villages from Alta Verapaz. When our church requests us to do community work we feel more than glad to help others.”

Lily, Manuel, and Susana are living in Guatemala City. They love their church.

The family is already vaccinated against COVID-19.

They haven’t visited “Santo Tomas, La Union, Suchitepequez” because of the lack of money.

Lily said: “I miss the village where I am from and things might be very different nowadays. There might be more buildings, houses, businesses and people in the village. I thank God for being alive, healthy, and with a family who loves me. My family and I are feeling great living in peace. We do not complain against each other and even if our life is simple, our gratitude to God is always present.”

 Lily God bless you for being a good girl who does her best in everything. Follow your instincts, if you feel somehow unstable, work harder and make it happen. Take advantage of opportunities, be polite, have a good heart, and help if you consider the person needs it. Enjoy the chance of doing the things you love and learn during that process as much as you can.”

“Someday you will be by yourself, be an independent girl who cares for her parents and make them feel loved. Sometimes we forget that our parents are not forever and when they leave is a really hard process. Go ahead with the hard work, do not stop absorbing information and someday you will be enjoying the results of your efforts. I wish you the best, respect others and yourself please.”

“Kim, Olav, and Ashton, thanks for the support you provide us. Your kind words provide me mental peace and thanks for sharing the girl’s activities. Our family is thankful for every single effort you have done for our family. God Bless You!”