First doctor visit Monday, November 27th

Reed went to see Dr. Tom Stealey, a close friend of the Moberly family, on Monday afternoon. It was a hard day for Reed as well as mom and dad. The doctor looked him over as well as the paperwork we received in Guatemala. It was hard to hear but he had two slight ear infections, possible scabies (a rash he had been scratching ever since we got him), maybe some allergies, etc. The nurses came in and took some blood and I was ok until he was done and I picked him up and he was still screaming. I lost it and started crying myself. It was really hard. Then they tested him for TB. We have to go in and have it checked in 72 hours. We ended up going to the pharmacy on the way home and picked up 5 prescriptions for the poor kid. A couple of ointments and a couple of oral medications. This child will either be great at taking medicine or always hate it. Dr. Stealey wants to give Reed some of his immunization again. He had some too early and he wants to make sure he gets all the appropriate ones done well. We are so thankful for seeing Dr. Stealey since we had so many questions about his health. He said other than these few things we will be taking care of he looks to be healthy and developing normally. He was only 16 pounds yesterday but hopefully we can get him on the right track and he will start gaining soon.

Since he possibly has scabies which is catchy we will be limiting some visitors for a couple of days. It will be: come at your own risk. Jason and I are ok so far. Jason was scratching yesterday but I think it isbecause he knew Reed might have scabies. It is kind of like when you hear about someone having lice you immediately start scratching your head.

Reed naps in the morning mostly right now but the afternoon naps haven't been happening. He goes to bed about 8:30-9:00. If you are thinking about visiting we welcome you just give us a call before hand and give us a couple of days. Reed has been fine meeting our immediate families and we think he will be ok with others too. We just let him run the show. If he wants to be picked up he will let you know otherwise we let him be. It has worked so far and as long as he is comfortable we are fine too. It is all about him right now. Thanks you for your understanding.

Our travel to Guatemala

The first picture is of the family we stayed with. They were so nice. From left to right- Luisa, the duaghter-in-law of the King's holding her baby boy Tony, (her husband was still working), Mrs. King, Jose holding Chotsy the dog, Peter , and Dr. King. The next picture is the room we stayed in. It had a crib at the foot of the bed and a bathroom on the left side of the photo. I would have included more pictures but because our computer doesn't allow me to turn them the right direction I will not make you turn your head. Jason needs to be bugged to get a new computer. So any help would be great. The pictures next to our bedroom is the back side of the house we stayed in. The entry is through the dark portion on the left side and the window is the window to our room. We were able to look out at the beautiful flowers everyday. The last two photos were other homes in the neighborhood. It was a very nice neighborhood to stay in. We felt very safe and taken care of.

Here is a picture of Reed and mommy on "Gotcha Day". We got Reed about 11:30 on Monday morning. It was a very happy day yet a sad one too. The foster mom was brought to where we were staying and presented us with our baby. We were able to ask her some questions about his schedule and diet and what comforts him. She brought some powdered milk, cereal and a bottle he used. It was good she did because he really didn't like the bottles we brought. We presented his foster mom with a photo ablum of all the picture we received of him. We do not think she was given them while she had him so it will be something she can cherish and look at to remember our beautiful boy. The crib he slept in was in the background.
We did a lot of just eating and sleeping along with Reed. But I think that was best for all of us. We were thinking of traveling to Antigua but because of Reed's cold we decided to stay in. Another couple from Amarillo, TX came to stay at the same house with us. We met them on Wednesday morning. They were there to visit there little boy, Carter. Their names were Heather and Jason too. Weird or what?

Jason took some photos of the last sunset over Guatemala for Reed. I thought it was so sweet of him to think of it. You can also see the view we looked at everyday. It was awesome.

On Monday we received Reed. On Tuesday we went to the US Embassy for our interview. It was easier than I thought it was going to be. I was really nervous. We meet with two different women and they signed off on our paperwork and we were on our way. It was more waiting than anything else. Wednesday was kind of a lazy day since Reed had a cold and waited for Reed's visa to be delivered to us. Once we had his visa we were free to leave. Thursday was an early morning for all of us. Reed was up at 4:00am and so we just got things ready to go. Our flight left at 7:50am so we needed an early start anyways. Traveling with Reed was fairly easy. He did cry on the second leg of our trip because of a pooping issue but we fixed it and he was much better. We actually got him to sleep for some of the flight. When we touched down in Houston we were all tired but while I called home Reed and daddy tried to take a nap. We were so excited to be home and be able to share Reed with all of our family. We had about 25 people welcome us home at the airport. Thanks to those who took some time out of their Thanksgiving to see what we are so thankful for this Thanksgiving Day. We even had a couple offers to come for Thanksgiving dinner. It was very nice but we were so tired we went home, grabbed a bite to eat and went to bed. Reed slept about 12 hours that night.

Well we are home and have seen both sides of the family and have had numerous calls for others to come over and see the little guy. We hope we can fit all of the visits in. Reed took to his cousin Bella well. Here they are holding hands and looking each other over. Bella was being very helpful and putting Reed's bottle in his mouth and watching me change his diaper. She even went and got her stroller from her playroom. She will definitley be taking care of him at day care.






I only have one picture of Reed at home here because the ones of him smiling are all going up and down. Again a little help with Jason on the computer issue would be great. So I will take more picutres this week so you can see he does smile once in a while.

Thanks for following our story as it unfolded and I will try to keep current on this blog for as long as I can. It might only be monthly but I know the withdrawl you have from following something so closely and then it goes away. I will do my best.

Guatemala Update

We know you are all wondering how thing are going. We are all doing well. Reed has a cold but is doing ok. We are staying with a wonderful host family and they have the best. The man of the house is a doctor and help take care of Reed by giving us some medicine. The US Embassy interview went great and we will receive Reed`s visa tomorrow night. Then we will ready to travel home. Reed is a good baby and is content most of the time.
We miss home and all of our family and friends. But Thursday will be here soon. We will put our pictures on when we get home.
We look forward to seeing you soon.

We are going to Guatemala

Our appointement with the US Embassy has been scheduled. We checked our email late last night and had a surprise waiting for us. We will be leaving on Sunday, interviewing on Tuesday, picking up Reed's visa on Wednesday, and returning on Thursday. We have so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We have started to make travel plans. We fly out Sunday afternoon and arrive in Guatemala around 10:00pm. We think we will get Reed on Monday sometime. The director of the program has a sister who rents rooms to adopting families. We thought we might try staying with her and meet some people from Reed's home country. If it doesn't work out it will probably be the Marriott.

We also received a couple of medical reports yesterday too. In October he was 16.11 pounds, 27.6 inches tall and his head circumference was 17.4. In November he was 16.14 pounds, 28 inches tall and his head was 17.48 inches around. He was healthy for the October visit but when the November visit came he was ill. I had to ask what the Spanish meant. It said he hadn't progressed. The reason the doctor wrote this is because Reed had had the flu and hadn't gained much weight. Reed's imune system is building already with the flu and the chickenpox.

We are busy making plans, gathering the last of our paperwork , and packing. I have conferences Thursday and Friday. I am not going to be able to think through those but will definitely try. Sunday will be here before we know it.

Update

Milena, the woman from our agency, emailed late Friday night. She said she should hear about our US Embassy appointment date early next week. She is thinking Monday or Tuesday. She will email us with the date when she gets the information. We will have much to give thanks for. It will be a Happy Thanksgiving.

No News Yet

I just wanted people to know we haven't heard anything this week of any final plans. If we hear something over the weekend I will update the blog. However it isn't likely since they do not work weekends either. We are guessing we will not be traveling Monday the 13th but hopefully the next week. So those watching from school, I will probably be available for conferences.

WE ARE OUT OF PGN!!

We are finally out of PGN!!! All of our prayers have been answered. Milena emailed us and called Jason at work. I was so busy at the end of the day I didn't know what messages were waiting for me. Jason calls and asks if I have been checking my email. I knew right away it had to be good news. It is such a great feeling to be out of PGN. It has been so long that it doesn't seem real. The baby we have been growing attached to and making a place for in our hearts will finally be coming home. We have a few things to gather tonight and fax to our agency. Milena says we could be traveling as soon as Monday, November 13th. She thinks it will be November 20th at the lastest. It seems like it is moving quickly now. I know I am ready but I am feeling the adrenaline pumping.

It is such a wonderful birthday present for us to give Reed. He turned one today and now has a home and Jason and me to love him. We are both so excited and can hardly wait to hear when we will be traveling. We will update the blog as soon as we know.

12 months old

We recieved some new pictures today. Our little baby is growing into a little man very quickly. He looks as sad as his mommy and daddy. We are both very anxious for him to come home and start our family. Good news is... he still has curls!

I want to take some time to thank all of you for all of your support. We will need to throw a huge party for all of our supporters when Reed gets home. You are all truely amazing. Many of you set some time aside for us on October 25th to say a prayer for us. I know God was listening and will answer our prayer very soon. You are all such wonderful people. Enjoy the pictures and keep watching because one day it will say in big letters "WE ARE OUT OF PGN". But until then we will try to keep our heads up and our spirits high. He will come home, it is just a matter of when.