Here's to Family

On August 11, 2009, Carlos Alberto was born into this Peruvian world and became the newest addition to my host family!
...Here's the story.
Angelica is my 38 year old host mom and works as a farmer in Ancash. She never graduated from high school because she became pregnant at 17 to Juan Carlos, my host brother who is in Army school in Lima. A few years later came my beautiful host sister, Maria, 14. She's got a couple more years of high school to go, and if I have anything to do with it, she won't be getting knocked up like her mother, and will be going on to University in Huaraz or Lima to become a professional young Peruvian woman. Alberto is my host dad. He really doesn't bring much to the family, and I don't want to badmouth him on my blog so I'll leave it at that. So earlier this year, Angelica started to put on weight. We all just thought she was putting on weight, but around June, she discovered that she was indeed 5 months pregnant! (Sex-ed is severely lacking in this part of the world.)
At 7 months, Angelica's water broke, and she gave birth to a premature Carlos Alberto. He's now almost 2 months old, eats ravenously, sleeps like a Dila, and cries just enough to let us know he's a tough little man.
Last night, in our adobe kitchen, Angelica asked me if I would be Carlos' Godmother. I squealed, accepted, and gave her a huge hug - something she's still not quite used to yet. I'm going to lay so much loving on this little man over the next year, and as his Godmother, he and this beautiful family will be a part of my life for the rest of my life. So Here's to Family, all around the world.