Ingrid became part of our family as soon as we landed in Guatemala in June 2017! We had known her family for many years and we needed a babysitter. She only spoke basic English, but she was someone that we could trust. She became much more than our babysitter. She became part of our family.
Many of you know that Ingrid has three sisters—Daisy, Melissa, and Dulce. Soy took great pride in ranking the sisters from his favorite to his least favorite. Ingrid was always his number one and he did not mind telling the other sisters.(For some reason, Daisy was always on the bottom!)
Every time I would travel by myself, I would make Soy and Ingrid listen to my instructions about what to do if something happened to me. I would explain where all of our important papers were kept, and tell Ingrid that she had to live with Soy and my girls for two years. She always looked at me like I was absolutely crazy, however, I knew that Soy could not fix the hair of three little girls.
In January 2024, I asked Ingrid to live with me for three months. My girls love her and we needed a lot of love during this time. My girls needed our Guatemalan family to be very present. Ingrid did not hesitate to move in with my family. She was there for my girls. Loving on them. Listening to them. Laughing with them. Grieving with them. One day I asked my daughter if she wanted to visit the counselor again. She responded, “Why would I go to a counselor when I have Ingrid?”
By the way, three months has turned into eighteen months of living with us!
Soy and I always had a desire for Ingrid to return to Alabama with our family. There are so many requirements for a visa and we knew it would be a difficult road for Ingrid. This past January, Ingrid received her visa!
As I am writing this blog, Ingrid is sitting beside my girls in route to the United States! We are thrilled to show her our home and family! Cracker Barrel, TJ Maxx, Dauphin Island…..Taters Gas Station in Mississippi, Buckees in Alabama, Youth Camp in Tennessee! Can you think of any better places to visit in the states? LOL!
If you are lucky enough to meet Ingrid this next week, hug her tight. She has been a huge blessing to my family for the past eight years. So many people have worried about us, but Ingrid is one of the reasons that I have been able to move forward during some very dark days.
To know Ingrid is to love Ingrid!
We Love Sweet Ingrid!
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