Our new godchild Eddy Humberto

We recently visited Guatemala for the baptism of our second godchild, Eddy Humberto. It was wonderful to once again visit our dear friends Humberto and Paulina and their lovely family - daughters Vanesa, Paola, Yasmin, Yoselin, our goddaughter Aracely,  baby Eddy, and their cousin Rocio. They always treat us like family, and this was our fifth time visiting the family and staying at their home.

 

 Godparents and godchild

 Humberto, Craig, Eddy, Steph, and Paulina

 

The family at Eddy's baptism

  

Eddy on baptism day

Although the new school year usually starts in mid-January, it was delayed this year due to teacher contract negotiations. So the girls were around all day on weekdays as well, which was very nice for us. When we last visited in July, Eddy only had two teeth, and wasn't yet able to walk. But this time he was fully walking (and running) on his own, with a smile full of new teeth. And of course the girls have grown, also. Little Aracely is now as old as Yoselin was on our first visit. And the older girls now help Humberto to run his office. We are very proud of all of the kids. They are growing up before our eyes!

Paola, Steph, Aracely, Yasmin, Rocio, Craig, Yoselin, Vanesa, and Eddy

We like to bring small gifts for the children. On our last visit, the card game Uno was a big hit (the directions are easy to explain even in our broken Spanish). This time we brought Jenga, which was very well received. In addition to playing by the rules, they also used the wooden pieces as building blocks and dominoes. It provided for days of fun for young and old.

Playing Jenga! Craig, Yasmin, Vanesa, and Paulina

We went on numerous walks with the family, watching sunset over the volcano-ringed Lake Atitlan, and buying street-vendor churrascos for dinner. We went to the market with Paulina to buy the day's fresh food, and took a tuk-tuk home with the groceries. Our camera suffered an accident on the first night as I dropped it, which rendered its flash inoperable. So we  had the challenge of replacing it in Panajachel, being completely unprepared. We settled on a Canon PowerShot at Quick Photo on Santander Street. It took double A batteries and SD memory cards, so it would be compatible with easily available batteries and media. Of course, Quick Photo didn't sell SD cards, so we wound up buying those at the Fuji store. The new camera worked very nicely, and didn't have the 20-second video limitation of the previous camera. So everything worked out, and we got higher resolution photos and video during the remainder of the trip.

Vanesa and Paola - sunset at Lake Atitlan

Yasmin and Eddy

Eddy's baptism took place on Sunday January 24 at Iglesia de San Francisco in Panajachel. It was a very nice service. Eddy was dressed in an adorable little white suit with bow tie and pocket square. We walked home from church and then gathered with Humberto and Paulina's extended family at their nephew's restaurant, Restaurant Cafeteria Yulex. We had a lovely breakfast of huevos rancheros and black beans, and then later we had a delicious lunch of traditional pulique soup with chicken served with tomalitos. We had had this before at Aracely's baptism. It was a wonderful day, and we spent time playing with the kids' cousins, Loren, Laisa, and Yesmy, whom we had met in 2008. We got to spend time with Paulina's father and sisters Olga, Isabela, and Estela, their brother Carlos and his wife Vilma. We visited with Humberto's mother and his sister Juana. They are all so kind to us and treat us as part of the family.

Humberto, Eddy, and Paulina's father

Neli, Aracely, and Yesmy

  

Craig and Laisa

 

Cousins Loren and Aracely

On Tuesday, when it was time for us to leave, all of the kids begged to be able to accompany us on the 3 hour van ride to Guatemala City. Humberto was giving a tour that day, but Paulina agreed to accompany all of the kids (including cousin Rocio) on the ride. It was so sweet of all of them, especially given that the younger kids get car sick when riding on the windy mountain roads. But they all wanted to be able to spend those final hours with us before we headed back home.  After dropping us at the airport, they enjoyed lunch at Pollo Campero (a popular Guatemala chain of fried chicken restaurants) and then took the 3 hour drive back home. Now that's love!

 

 

 Aracely and Craig

 

 Eddy

 

Churrasco on Calle Santander

Paola and Eddy

Yoselin and Yasmin

 

Rocio and Vanesa