We're back from our trip. Oh my, what an exhausting trip it was. And what a testament to the power of prayer!

When we got to the airport on Wednesday morning, we found out our plane was delayed due to weather and going to be at least 45 minutes late into Atlanta. This was a problem, as we only had about 55 minutes to make our connecting flight. We talked to the very un-helpful gate agent (you would think they would be nice to folks using skymiles, as that shows repeat customers, but no, they treat you like you know what...), and he basically told us we were screwed. We decided to chance it and fly to Atlanta anyways, knowing that we could get a flight to Guatemala City the next day if we had to. While we were in the air, I was praying to God that something would break on our other plane (which was coming into Atlanta from Boston and which I knew from the gate agent was on time).

Well, when we got to Atlanta and de-boarded, we saw that the flight had been delayed, but boarding was already closed. Another helpful agent told us we wouldn't make it, but we could run to the gate if we wanted. Needless to say, we sprinted through the airport (or at least, ran as fast as my flip-flops and our heavy backpacks would allow), and when we got to our gate, we saw a whole gaggle of agents just laughing and telling us how it was our lucky day. The plane, fully loaded, was rolling towards the runway when they discovered their GPS was broken, so they had to come back and load everyone onto another plane. That's how we made it. How's that for an answer to prayer?

Of course, one problem isn't enough if you are traveling with Slush.

When we got to Guatemala City, we were informed that the President and his wife were working really hard to get their hands on the 28 million dollars UNICEF is offering, and we were told that we wouldn't be able to see the baby in the near future. Most people who were coming for visits were caught in transit and stopped from coming down, but us and a couple of others made it. We were fairly despondent that night, so we hooked up with some other couples from our agency and went out to eat. Food and liquor heals all wounds, right? When I told how we actually made it to Guatemala, another girl told me, "that makes me totally believe we are going to see our children. God wouldn't have done that for nothing and it gives me hope." I was also hopeful, though I admit that when I woke up the next morning and looked at the empty crib in our room, I was pretty mournful.

Things did clear up, and we were able to have H2 with us at the hotel from noon on Thursday to 10 on Monday. What a sweet, sweet baby he is. And so tiny! He's less than half the size of Hatchling at birth! Needless to say, it was awfully hard to hand him back over to his foster mother yesterday morning. I cried on and off all the way to Atlanta. If I hadn't been going home to Hatchling, L would have had to leave me in Guatemala. I just couldn't have left him.

I'd just like to apologize to my mother for all the years of mockery she has endured over the fact that she wept hysterically all the way from Arkansas to Amsterdam when we left my 2 year old sister for 2 months. See, I'm getting my comeuppance.

Now that I'm home, I really wanted some hard copy pictures of the little peanut. I uploaded my favorites to WalMart's photo center and ordered them to be ready in an hour. When I arrived at the store a couple of hours later, they looked at me like I had two heads when I asked for my order. Apparently, they haven't received anything. So I came home, pulled up my confirmation email, and called them (they helpfully suggested that perhaps I ordered them at another store). They still don't have them, and my email says they should. To make a long and painfully dull story short, I ended up on the phone with the manager, weeping hysterically about how I had to give my baby back yesterday and this is all I have left of him. I'm pretty sure they think I'm a psychopath now. And they still can't find my pictures, but they are scared enough that they're looking really hard.

Lest I leave you depressed, let me tell you about Hatchling. He keeps telling me that when Daddy gets home from work, he is going to help him and they will go to WalMart and bring baby brother home. Apparently he thinks that is where babies come from (he started this before the above mentioned debacle). How cute is that?