Oh my! I think I just got a whole bunch of new readers, and I have nothing insightful or profound to say today! I guess I’ll just tell you a little bit about courtyard life. I do love my neighbors, most of whom are also adopting moms and kids. The kids have fun playing together. Here are some photos of tea parties and bubbles and even a photo of sweet Sonia, whose mom misses her so much!

Did I tell you that a few nights ago at dinner I met a family from Minnesota who adopted their daughter from Guatemala 22 years ago? The young woman was beautiful, poised and articulate, and flushed with the excitement of having met her birth mother for the first time a few days before. The parents were so happy and proud of their lovely daughter, and the whole family made a hit with the princess Liana, who made them carry her about and practice walking up and down the courtyard and whatnot. The young woman now works as an adoption facilitator with families adopting from Ethiopia. This young woman was adopted in the middle of the civil war, at a time when adoptions from Guatemala were rare. Her parents were returning to Guatemala for the first time since they adopted her, and the young woman was on her second visit. I kept looking at this young woman, and then at Liana, and hoping that my precious daughter will become a woman as smart and wonderful and happy and successful as the daughter of this lovely family.