When we finalized Lili’s adoption, we vowed we would take her back to Guatemala for visits.

We took her back for a couple visits and then made the decision to travel other places around the U.S. and the world so our family could have some other experiences. In between we became a foster family and eventually adopted again.

In 2019 we made plans to go back to Guatemala for a visit in 2020, but then COVID hit and our plans were again put on hold.

We adopted again in 2022 and in 2023 we moved back to our home state of Illinois. A short time later, Lili and I began making plans to join a group of other adoptive families for a service trip back to Guatemala. Then I landed in the ER and my doctor would not approve me to travel to Guatemala until we had a diagnosis.

In October I had surgery to remove my gallbladder and by the end of the winter, Lili and I had once again made travel arrangements to return to Guatemala. By this point it had been 13 years since we had last visited and when we finally boarded the plane, we felt a mix of excitement and anxiety.

While going through the process of Lili’s adoption, we were able to meet Lili’s foster family. It became clear early on that her foster family was special. Not that all foster families aren’t special, but they were special to us in a different way. As we got to know them better, they became part of our family, and we became part of theirs.

On each visit to Guatemala, we made arrangements to spend time with our Guatemala family. They drove to different parts of the country – Antigua, Monterrico, Lake Atitlan, Chichicastenango, and Retalhuleu. Each visit allowed us the opportunity to create a tighter bond. We made memories as a large, extended family and have treasured those memories as each year has passed.

Not only would we be creating more memories on this visit, but instead of staying at a hotel, this time they were hosting us in one of their homes.

Another special part of our trip was the opportunity to visit a part of Guatemala we had not been to before. So the day steer we arrived, we pulled into the car and headed to – Quetzaltenango.

Quetzaltenango is a department of Guatemala located in the Western Highlands. The city of Quetzaltenango is the capital of the Department of Quetzaltenango and is the second largest city in Guatemala.

Quetzaltenango consists of 24 municipalities and those who live there include the Ladinos, the K’iche and the Mam. Ladinos speak Spanish. The K’iche and Mam groups are Mayan and each have their own Maya language.

The reason this trip was very special to us, is that Lili’s family is from one of the municipalities in Quetzaltenango. On this trip, we were going to visit her mother and were being given the opportunity to visit her home and get a small glimpse of her life in Guatemala.

Prior to leaving for Quetzaltenango, we found out that Lili’s older sister would be at the visit as well as her sister’s little boy. It would be her first time meeting her sister and her nephew.

After driving the winding road up into the Western Highlands, we arrived at our hotel. After a short rest, we continued the drive to see Lili’s mom, sister and nephew.

While I will not share details or photos from our visit (this is to protect her family’s privacy), the visit was so much more than what we expected. We had met Lili’s mom on our visit 13 years ago, but this visit was emotional in a different way. To get that small view of her mom’s life was extraordinary. It was an opportunity to learn more about her mom’s story and Lili’s story. It was a chance for everyone to say what they were feeling and to bring some comfort and closure to the difficult choice her mother made over 17 years ago.

We were treated to a lunch prepared by her mother and sister and as we sat and enjoyed our meal, we learned that another visitor would be arriving soon. A short time later, Lili’s grandmother arrived. I have no doubt that her grandmother thought she would never get to meet her granddaughter and she was overcome with emotion. For Lili to have all her mothers, (bio, foster and adoptive) as well as her sister, nephew and grandmother in the same room was amazing.

With many hugs and a tearful goodbye, the visit came to an end. We hope that we will have the opportunity to visit them again in the not to distant future, but for now, we will cherish the experience and the memories of that visit forever and hope they know that they are also part of our family.

We began the trip back to the hotel looking forward to a shower and dinner at the hotel after a long, emotional day of travel. Lili and I were especially tired from the day and hoping for a good nights sleep.

The next morning, we had breakfast and then headed to the rooftop pool before checking out of the hotel. Neither Lili nor I brought our swimsuits, but sitting in the Guatemala sunshine enjoying time with our family was wonderful.

After checking out we went to see a little more of Quetzaltenango. To be there with Lili and seeing how many similarities she has to the people of Quetzaltenango was amazing. To be visiting the place that is such a huge part of her heritage, was one of the most special experiences I’ve had in Guatemala. I just wish I would have done more research about Quetzaltenango before our trip. If I had, we would have stayed a little longer to see more. Hopefully next time.

On the way back to Guatemala City, we stopped at a restaurant for some lunch. Little did I know it would be another highlight of our trip. The food was delicious, but across the parking lot was a swinging bridge that went across a creek to a play area. There was a trampoline, a wooden playset with a climbing wall, slides and bridge that went between a couple playhouses. I have a slight or maybe a little more than slight fear of heights so walking across the swinging bridge made me very nervous. Me crossing the bridge was good entertainment for our family, especially their 8-yr- old who was traveling with us. For a matter of fact, my reaction to crossing the swinging bridge was so entertaining to him that he grabbed my hand to pull me across one last time before leaving to finish our drive back to Guatemala City.

During our stay we went to visit another friend. I met her about a year after moving to Texas. She was living with her daughter (one of my good friends) and her family and would join them from time to time when we met up at a park or for different activities. She moved back to Guatemala a couple years ago and completed the construction of her home there. We were invited to come have breakfast at her home which she will be turning into an Air BnB.

After a wonderful breakfast and a nice visit, we made our way to Antigua. This is a popular stop for most coming to Guatemala and after 13 years, I was looking forward to visiting again.

Since COVID, they have added a newer area to Antigua which includes a restaurant and a large, long slide. This was our first stop in Antigua and I soon discovered I would be walking up a very long steep hill to go down the very large, long slide. It was a much faster slide than I realized, but it was fun and one trip down was enough for me.

We then headed back into Antigua where we visited a little history museum and then went to the market for some souvenirs. We then went to dinner where I was able to enjoy Pepián de pollo.

I wish I could say that our visit to Antigua was everything I hoped it would be, but honesty, I found myself feeling disappointment. Antigua is so full of history and beauty, but it has become such a popular place for Americans to visit and to live that it was much more crowded than I remember and has become very Americanized. Not that it had lost all of its charm and I have no doubt that it is helping the Guatemalan economy, but it simply isn’t the same. We still enjoyed the time with our family, but I don’t know that Antigua will be included on my list of places to visit on our next trip there.

The rest of our trip was spent visit the market in Guatemala City, checking out a couple other shopping areas, playing multiple games of Uno Flip and Sequence as well as an impromptu belated birthday celebration for Lili.

We left Guatemala with some wonderful new memories and a desire to make sure we don’t allow 13 more years to pass before we go back to visit again. Next time, not just Lili and me, but hubby and the rest of the kids spending time together with our Guatemala family.