Our new normal

We are into week 8 of our COVID quarantine.  And while Mama is going a little crazy with cabin fever, Lily seems to be handling things fairly well!  She usually wakes up between 10 and 10:30 to begin her school day and then works steadily throughout the day finishing by late evening.

Every once in a while she'll come out of her room to grab a bite to eat or go outside to kick the soccer ball or humor her mama and go for a walk. 

Not sure what the summer/fall has in store...but I guess we shall see!

14 years ago!!!!

This girl is 14 today!  We are so blessed to have her in our lives.  She radiates inside and out!

We celebrated by getting Ledo's Pizza take-out and an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen.  She had really wanted Chinese, but it didn't appear as if the Chinese restaurant was still open because of the coronavirus.

Things are definitely strange lately.  Leaving the house for carryout was the big outing for the day!  We had a makeshift family sing-along for her birthday cake via Zoom!

Zooming on the cell phone for her birthday cake!

Poor Lily sprained her ankle really badly last Friday morning while practicing soccer!  At first, we thought it may have been broken, it swelled up so badly, but after a few days she seemed to be able to limp around on it, so it is most likely just a bad sprain. The good thing is that no one is playing soccer right now anyway so she is forced to rest it!

Ouch sprained and very bruised ankle

She started online schooling and that has been frustrating for her as the computer software the county uses keeps crashing because so many students are trying to access it.  But again, it gives her now the freedom to sleep in longer in the morning and do the work later when there is not as much of a demand for the program.

We also got an interim update from the birthmother searcher.  It is on hold right now until the lockdown in Guatemala due to Corona is lifted.  I suspect it will be quite a while.

Interim Search Report for Kim Gjerde

By Fidelina Chavajay

March 2020

Birth Mother:  Lilian Bernardina Yac López

When I researched Lilian I found an address of: Lote 31, Mzn. B, Sector 9, Villa Hermosa 1, Zona 7, San Miguel Petapa, Guatemala.

On March 13, 2020, I traveled to this address and found that it is a house with rooms for rent.  I spoke with the manager and some of the tenants but no one knew Lilian.

On March 14 I requested documents from RENAP (government ID office) and asked my K’iché translator to ask around in Sector San Toñito, Santo Tomás la Unión, Suchitepéquez, which was an address in the adoption documents.  No one recognized the photo of Lilian or her name.

In the information I received from RENAP I found information on Lilian’s brother, Juan Adan Yac López , and his wife, Yanira del Carmen Ramirez Alvarado, that showed an adderss of: 16 Avenida, Comunidad Esquipulas Segundo Callejón, Lote 116, Guatemala.  According to the documents Lilian also lived at this address in 2018.

Unfortunately, this address is incomplete as it just says “Guatemala” and does not indicate which Zone.  Escuipulas runs across several Zones.  I went to the transit police office in Guatemala City they could not give me any more information than what I’d already discovered.

On March 15 I went to each of the Zones of Escuipulas but could find no one who recognized her name or photo.

On March 16 I went to the Supreme Electoral and asked for help in locating the address.  They told me it was in Zone 21, Nimajuyu.

When I arrived it was obviously a red zone (high crime area) but I was able to find Juan Adan.  He was very rude and abusive.  I showed him Lilian’s photo and he confirmed she is his sister and said that the baby she was holding in the photo is now grown.  He said this very aggressively, in my face, and using vulgarities.  I told him I had come on behalf of a charity organization and asked if he could help me locate Lilian.  He replied, “Even if I knew where she was I would not tell you because I don’t get along with that trash.”

I asked some neighbors and showed around her photo.  Some of them told me that she was Juan Adan’s sister and used to live with him and they had seen her but now she lived in a settlement called El Barranco that was even more dangerous than where we were.  They told me it was late in the day and was not advisable to walk there.

This is as far as I got with the search before the travel restrictions for COVID-19 were put in place.  

Once in a 100 years!

Homeschool art with Ashton's art teacher Ms. Giro

In 1918 there was the Spanish Flu.  In 2020 we have Coronavirus or COVID-19.   Except for grocery markets, most things have been shut down at least for two weeks, but honestly, it appears as if it will last much longer.  China, where the virus originated, is only finally reopening after 2.5 months of lockdown and they are a communist country. With the USA being much more freedom based I am not sure how things are going to go down. 

Before all the closures, we started a search for Lily's birth mom.  She has expressed an interest for a long time and I never got a sense of when the right time was.  Daddy said, let's just do it, so we started.  However, now with the coronavirus worldwide, I don't expect to hear anything anytime soon.  I have been praying for Guatemala and Lily's biological family that God would keep them safe from harm and provide for their physical needs during this time of no work due to closed transportation etc... Last we heard on the birthmother search was that her birth mother could not be located in either of the two addresses I had provided.  No one seemed to know of her in her home village or in the city.  Last Friday they were supposed to get some information about a birth sibling.  But I haven't heard anything since.

I know God's ways are so much higher than my ways and so I need to trust in that, even though it is so stinkin' difficult!

Best kind of boyfriend ever!

So Lily shared last night she has a new boyfriend.  His name is Sean and she has been talking with him since we met him on our Labor Day camping trip near Elkton, MD.  In Daddy and my eyes that is the perfect boyfriend...two hours away!

Class of 2024

Last night we went to Lily's high school orientation at Linganore High School.  I was teary all day!  I can't believe my baby girl is going to go to high school!  I know she is ready and will be amazing.  It's so exciting to see all the opportunities she will have.  I just so badly want it to be an amazing time for her! Full of great friends, exploring new interests, and pursuing hobbies such as soccer and swimming.

2020 here she comes!

Lily continues to be a dynamic young lady!  I am so incredibly proud of her!!!!  In early November, I was invited to our former church Monocacy Valley Church to do a book reading and talk, and one of the questions was directed toward her, and she answered it with such beauty and grace!  Truly amazing!  I think overall she has enjoyed the attention of the book publication. 

Lily speaking

She continues to well with her sports.  Breaking personal records in swimming and constantly improving with her soccer.  She played indoor soccer for the first time.  I think she really enjoyed it!  I know I really enjoyed watching it.  She really wants to make the high school soccer team. 

On Black Friday I took Lily to Ulta to try some makeup. Thankfully she didn't love how she looked in blush, bronzer, and eyeshadow.  The mascara looked nice.  She got some makeup for Christmas, so yesterday she explored using some eyeliner to create "eye wings".  So grown up.  Personally, I think she looks beautiful without makeup, but I know it's the age!  At least it's not bright blue like I did when I was her age!

eyeliner wings

For Christmas, she got the new cell phone she has been wanting and some overpriced "holy" jeans from American Eagle.  I think she was a little sad when her brother got a gift from his biological father for Christmas, so when we went shopping and the expensive ripped jeans with holes from American Eagle were buy one, get one 50%, I figured what the heck... I know she so badly wants us to find her birth family and I so want to do it for her, but I just want to know that it's the right time.  I don't want to cause her any undue heartache.

 

 

 

The much-coveted cell phone

I pray that 2020 is an amazing year for her.  Full of great friendships and a deepening and personalization of her faith.

Non-Stop Action

It's been an eventful couple of weeks!

This past weekend, Lily's co-ed U15 soccer team played in the FSYCL tournament.  During the season their record was 1-6-1, but during the tournament, they really worked together as a team and ended up securing a place in the semi-finals.   During the semi-finals, they played their little hearts out.  And won the game in triple overtime with the first to three-point shoot-out. I was so proud of Lily.  She really wanted it and gave her all on the field.  The coach never took her out!  He must of seen how great she was doing!  The final game was tough, so they didn't win the entire tournament, but they took 2nd place!!!  What an awesome accomplishment!

Champions!!!!

Earlier in the weekend, we had two attempts a trick or treating.  On actually Halloween Eve, they were forecasting nasty storms with threats of tornadoes, so we laid low and simply visited the houses on our immediate street.  Even though she hit up only 3 houses she collected a bunch of loot.  The following evening, we went trick-or-treating with Nanna and her family.  The kids had a great time!  I was wondering if Lily would give it up this year, so I was glad she still went out this year!

My flying squirrel and loot llama

Flying Squirrel

Got Candy?

Fun with friends!

She also went to a Halloween party with her soccer team.  She had a blast!  She looked so adorable as a scarecrow!

Beautiful Scarecrow

We also enjoyed two fall festivals with some friends and family!

Five hands tall at Gaver Tree Farm

My beautiful girl

Hanging with Aly in the Pumpkin Patch

Lastly, the book I wrote for Lily finally became published on November 1st.  I really hope she knows how fiercely she is loved!

Advanced Reader Copies