A month ago, I received a copy of Jessica O’Dwyer’s newly-released book Mamalita: An Adoption Memoir, and based on the other reviews I’d already read, I was ready to read it myself.

Like Fred and me, Jessica and her husband are adoptive parents of two children from Guatemala.  Mamalita recounts the story of their first adoption.  And yes, their first adoption was fully capable of filling a book.  Once I started reading, I had trouble putting it down.

The story follows Jessica’s and Tim’s experiences with a do-nothing agency that took their money and then failed to process their case while at the same time “setting aside” their daughter so she was unavailable to be adopted by anyone else, a corrupt attorney at the other end, the bribe-to-succeed state of the Guatemalan governmental adoption office at the time, and many of the ethical and moral dilemas adoptive parents face in-process and afterwards. Read the rest of this entry

Pachanga is one of our favorite low-tomid-cost places to eat.  The food is authentic (verified by a couple of my native Central American friends).  The service is friendly and usually pretty quick.  And it’s a great place for me to encourage our kids to try out their Spanish.

And now there’s one more reason to love this place - FREE BIRTHDAY MEALS FOR KIDS!   Read the rest of this entry

Just finished this book after hearing it mentioned in a sermon at my aunt’s and uncle’s church over the New Year’s weekend.  John Ortberg tackles the topic of how much we “play life to win” but mis-interpret what “winning” is.  We miss things along the way, opportunities and relationships we have in the present, because we’re so busy focusing on the “next big thing” we think we “need.” Read the rest of this entry