Great Week!

This week was much better than last week...We are finally in our huge apartment (two large bedrooms, big family room, great kitchen, awesome bathroom and a balcony)! We have prepared most meals at home and the kids have been very helpful in the kitchen. The kids like my cooking (except the hash browns...I think they just didn't understand what they were...very little exposure to potatoes). So, Sunday, Carrie and Chris came to the Humuya to visit. We decided to take them to the restaurant by the bowling alley, but everything was closed, due to election day. We just kept walking (such a beautiful day) and we ended up at the Mall Cascadas where we ate at TGIFriday's...this was the first sit down American restaurant the kids had eaten at besides Pizza Hut. It was very nice to visit with Christian friends who understand our Honduran adoption struggles, as they are also going through the same process. We were able to pick up some groceries at Walmart and have our taxi driver, Don Julio, take us back home and we moved into our apartment! Monday, we went to the Embassy. It was very chilly and the kids were freezing. After about an hour in line, our attorney helped us gain entry and we were ready to turn in our packet. We knew we were covered in prayer, as we went to the Immigration counter and met with an English speaking woman. Everything was in order, except we did not have a copy of our I171H. Marta arranged to have a copy emailed to her. Our pictures were the right sizes and she didn't need the little ones (though we found out we need two little ones for the doctor's office). I had left the questions blank about the children's orphan status, so I was asked to explain the whole story of the children's upbringing. We were told we would hear something soon. Marta was elated with how well things went with Melissa...I was in shock and asked her three times, "That was Melissa?". Melissa is the adoption investigator, not just an immigration officer. I had no idea and Marta said she had decided not to tell me, so I wouldn't be nervous...Good call, Marta! Within two hours, Marta received a call from Melissa that she needed to interview the biological parents and the children's grandmother on Wednesday at 1:00. This would not be easy to arrange, so Reyes decided to go home immediately to work on the details. He was out the door in 20 minutes! That left me alone with the children for the first time...we had fun! We played Monopoly, cooked together, went for walks and played on the terrace. We turned the bed sideways, against the wall, and slept side by side. This might work great for short people and little ones, but I am 5'8" so this was not very comfortable :) but the kids were scared, so it worked! Tuesday was our doctor's appt and TB test. I learned that the kids will need a lot of vaccines and I was not happy, nor were they. Cristofer became very upset during the TB test and that was heart breaking for me. Poor little guy! I also learned their height and weight...Jennifer is 55 inches and 59 pounds, Jefferson is 54 inches and 55 pounds and Cristofer is 50 inches and 48 pounds. As far as I know, Wednesday went well for our family members at the Embassy. We are still waiting to hear something. I canceled our dr appt and vaccines, since we still don't have a case number. My mother in law decided to stay with us for Thanksgiving. We made reservations for the Clarion. After watching the Macy's Parade, we headed to the Clarion. The food was good and the service was excellent . The Apple pie was amazing...the stuffing was very strange and the turkey was delicious. Today, we went to the Chiminike Children's Museum...it is $3.00 to enter...it is very nice and clean with great exhibits. We had a BLAST and the kids want to go back. We probably will at that price! No plans for tomorrow yet...hoping for an even better week next week!