Our Visit Trip July 10-31st

We had such a WONDERFUL time with Joshua. On this VERY special trip he was able to meet his grandma and 2 of his sister....Kortney and Madison. I can tell you firsthand that they ALL feel in LOVE with this child but, then again who can blame them. He is WONDERFUL!!!! I will tell you about the place we stayed, shopping (of course), eating and our new friends.

Our house: I must admit I was a little concerned about the place we might be staying. Well, maybe I need to rephrase that...I'm NOT worried about safety by NO means but, furnishings. Well, as soon as we entered that BEAUTIFUL gated community I felt better and then the house was just AMAZING!!!! I don't know if all houses are like this but, we had an open courtyard IN the house with beautiful green grass and flowers. We had a living room, dining room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms (only used 2), 3 bathrooms (again only used 2), kitchen, utility room and a patio. There was also a rooftop terrace but, we didn't go up there. I promised the owner we wouldn't since I had small children. Mr. Godoy (owner) also supplied our fresh water, housekeeper, and a bed for Joshua....which I might add was not used. He preferred sleeping with mommy or maybe I don't know mommy preferred it. :) If any of my readers are planning a visit please let me know this house is really nice.

Shopping: Let me tell you I thought I was a shopper but, my mother now that woman is a GREAT shopper. After being blessed with such a long visit trip I was able to find our way around Antigua VERY easily. Now, with that said I must tell you about my older children...it sounds so funny to say that...we would get out in the morning and the 1st thing the kids would say is "PLEASE DON'T GO DOWN 3rd STREET". It's not actually called "3rd st" but, that's the place where El Carmen is and my mother loved that wonderful market. Here you could purchase purses, blankets, photo albums anything imaginable. As I said earlier she is a shopper and we would visit this place quit often. Although, I must say I had a FEW favorites of my own such as Nim Pot.....this place is down by the arch....I purchased alot there including Joshua's wooden rocking horse. Also, I think it's called El Mercadito....it's located right by Cafe Condessa by Central Park....I bought a TONS of things in there. As a matter of fact Joshua became a "household" name around there. So, many of the ladies would call his name and one lady inpaticular held him all the time and wanted photos of him before we left so she could remember him. Actually she wanted pics of him and all of us. She was SO very nice!!! There were TONS of other places but, these were just a choice few.

Eating: Where to begin...Cafe Condessa is WONDERFUL...if you ever go there you must try there quiche lorraine and the desserts. We ate here on a few occasions but, the #1 spot for our family was Pollo Camperro!! This place is located on the same street as the arch and they serve WONDERFUL chicken. My kids LOVED this place and when I say "LOVE" I mean it.....we ate there at least 8 times. We were in there SO often that the guard man would find us a table and new us by name....YES....especially Joshua!!! There was a play area and Madison would get to go run, climb and she made a couple of friends. When it would be time to leave she would say "Adios Amigos"!! It was just adorable. We also, ate at Captain Torque, Quesos Y Vino, Papazittas and YES dominoes. From the last place I guess you can figure out that it's various pizza/Italian places. My kids vote that Papazittas is the BEST. We also visited Frida's....Mexican food....and some other places. I must admit I really enjoyed ALL the places.

Ice Cream: Okay, this was originally suppose to be with the food but, it deserved it's own entry. TRUST ME we tried every ice cream spot you can hit in Antigua such as Marco Polo, Pop's, Pollo Camperro (yes, the chicken spot), Sarita and one more I can't think of. The #1 most WONDERFUL ice cream.....drum roll please.....is SARITA'S!!!! They have such wonderful dipped cones and of course the ice cream....strawberry being my favorite...is to die for. Okay enough said!!!!!

Church: We were SO blessed to have the chance to visit Iglesia del Camino church. It was WONDERFUL thanks Sharon for telling us about it. This church is located on 1st ave. going towards San Francisco church. It was a bilingual church...so, this meant that you would sing songs in English and then in Spanish. It was more of a charismatic and we really LOVED it. My children new several of the songs and could sing along with us. The preacher was also, VERY WONDERFUL and was in both Spanish and English. I must say that there were probably no more than 100 people in that place but, it felt like you were in a huge church. People were singing...I was moved to tears several times....and rejoicing it was and still is a true blessing. Please, if you happen to be there on a Sunday please attend. We went for 3 weeks and again I say we LOVED it.

Sightseeing: While we were there we had the chance to "see" some of Antigua. When I say "see" I mean tour in old monasteries, convents various places like that. We got to visit Capuchinas which is an old BEAUTIFUL convent. This place holds so much history and the grounds were gorgeous. We also went to San Francisco church and learned a lot of history. We visited Santo Domingo and La Merced church. These places are beautiful and a "must see" on any trip.

Friends: Yet, again on this trip I had the pure joy of meeting some of my CCI friends. The 1st day we got Joshua I met Susan and her son Samuel. Even though our visit was short but, sweet I am glad to have had the opportunity.
I was also blessed to meet Sharon and her BEAUTIFUL little girl AnnaMaria whom I am happy to say is home with her forever family. They are all such sweet people and yet again am so, glad I had the chance to meet them. However, we do live in the same city...CRAZY isn't it?......and will definitely keep in touch.
Oh my goodness I can DEFINITELY not forget these people....Nicole, Sam, Emerson and Kellan you are truly AMAZING people!!!! I had such a WONDERFUL time getting to know you and your sweet children. However, the next time Joshua and Emerson have there "date" PLEASE make sure "big brother" Kellan is not in the middle of them. LOL Nicole and Sam are just genuine down to earth SPECIAL people. I can't put into words the joy they brought me during my trip.
All of the people I have met are just amazing, fun loving, christian people that I am HONORED to call friends....well, actually they are my family.

Joshua: Okay I know you are thinking WHAT IN THE WORLD IS SHE DOING!!!! I have this post at the bottom for a reason. I am dedicating a whole post to him with photos. I just wanted to use this part to talk about our trip. But, I guess I can tell you that he is AMAZING, BEAUTIFUL, LOVING, PERFECT he is MY SON!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE HIM WITH ALL MY HEART WITH ALL THAT I AM!!!!!

Please check back later for the "life of Joshua" as told by his mommy.

God bless you all and thank you for your continued prayers and we journey to our most precious son. Also, remember to keep praying for all the other mommy and daddy's out there!!!!!!