Home for the Holidays!

Matthew 1:22-23(NIV) All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). God has been so faithful...ALWAYS with us! We have been home for over a week. So grateful for God's grace and provision the past two weeks. I have been suffering from shingles, probably from the stress of finishing the adoption and transitioning back to the United States. The children have started school; Jennifer is in 5th grade, Jefferson in 4th grade and Cristofer in 3rd grade. I love all of their teachers. We have a lot of work to do, but the kids seem to be adjusting well. We bought the children bicycles and the boys only used their training wheels for 3 days. They are all doing great with their bikes, with no serious falls. Their helmets are SO cute and we try to ride bikes every day. Our first day at church was wonderful, though our church has been mourning the death of a dear brother in Christ, Mando Moreno. Hermano, I thank you for your prayers! You will be so missed! I want to live like you did...loving and living a Christ-like life! Well done, Brother Mando!!! Brother Rene, Chef and owner of Azuca, prepared a wonderful meal after church of Paella and salad, for our Angel tree ministry. The kids LOVE salad!!! And Rene's salad was spring mix, but the kids ate every bite. I am looking forward to Christmas vacation...Aunt Kristy and Cousins Daniel and Brandon will be spending time with us; making cookies, going to the San Antonio riverwalk, miniature golf, bowling, etc. We will also be seeing Mariana and meeting Karla's new baby in Galveston over New Year's. Please continue to pray for us...each day has new challenges, but I am trying to focus on the many blessings that come from each adversity! Feliz Navidad...Dios les bendiga en 2013!

Precious Last Days in Honduras

We have been in such a whirlwind since my last post! Tuesday, November 27th, was such a difficult day. After waiting 5 hours for our doctor's appointment...the kids went through an AWFUL medical exam (I did not like our doctor at all...) and 8 injections EACH! DREADFUL!!! On Wednesday, November 28th, I was so down in the dumps! All of my anxieties regarding this adoption were heightened! We had not heard from the Embassy regarding the Visas...I couldn't understand what was taking so long. The biological parents and maternal grandmother had been interviewed the previous Wednesday (November 21st) and I was just ready for ANY decision! We knew that we would now have to wait until Monday, December 3rd for our earliest Embassy interview and we were just TIRED! On Thursday morning, at 7:15 am, the phone rang and it was our attorney. Reyes answered the phone and within seconds, I knew...we were APPROVED! Our whole lives had just changed! I wrote an email to the Embassy...it was 7:15...maybe they could get us in today (No embassy interviews on Friday). We received an email 30 minutes later...no, you are scheduled for Monday (GRATEFUL it was Monday actually, so decided to live with it). There was an attached packet of information...more forms...more lists of things to do. But the forms were confusing and I had questions, so I decided to take everything and head to the Embassy for clarification. I remembered that Americans could go to the Embassy for questions/issues Mon-Thurs at 10:00. CAVEAT...you must arrive by 9:30 and get on a list. Fortunately, they let me in...I got there at 9:40. Got my questions answered, saw what the process Monday would likely look like, asked again if we could be seen today...NO! And, went back to the hotel! You are not supposed to buy tickets until you have the Visa in your possession! Everyone knows this...anything could go wrong...a typo, a computer malfunction, etc. But with the holidays approaching, I kept looking at prices and decided to take a risk. Plane tickets for Saturday, December 8th were $150 one way (up from $89 one way two weeks ago...believe it or not)! I figured, the interview is Monday...given almost every possible scenario, I should have the Visa by Thursday and we can make the plane on Saturday. Within 6 hours of buying the plane tickets, the prices had gone up to $288. Friday was Reyes' birthday...he was not in a very celebratory mood so we just hung out. I called my benefits resource center (not easy to do, as I only had a 1-800 number and you cannot make those from Honduras---Thank you, Shaun, for coming to the rescue). I was able to use email to communicate with my Human Resources department and they wanted copies of the birth certificates and adoption decree. Could NOT find a fax machine within a mile and a half of the Humuya Inn. Fortunately, we were able to scan the documents at the hotel and email them to Houston. We had made plans to have lunch Saturday with our attorneys, Marta and Karla. We went up to the terrace a lot and played...tag, hide and seek and other games. The weather was BEAUTIFUL while we were in Tegucigalpa. No rain at all! On Saturday, we had to move to another apartment. It was very different from our first apartment...older, different style...more typical Honduran...but it was a change of scenery and kinda helped us with our transitions. Monday...the BIG day...we woke up at 4:00. We had to be at the Embassy by 6:30...pickup at 6:00. Noone was hungry and I assured Reyes that there were vending machines in the waiting room at the Embassy (with POPTARTS!!! Thanks AAFES). Don Julio, our AMAZING taxi driver...phone number 9930-1802...courteous, safe, protective and knows TEGUCIGALPA...we had an account with him and did not use anyone else...we saved so much money...picked us up at 6:00 and he was so happy for us! After waiting in line for 40 minutes, we were told that we were in the wrong line. (Line up on the right, not the left under the canopy) However, we were in the Embassy by 7:30 and labeled priority---adoptions are priority. From there on...everything is blurry...we were getting very hungry...having gotten up so early...but the vending machines were broken! We hadn't considered a back up plan and had no other food with us...You can bring your own snacks...but we did not. We were called up and told that once we paid the cashier ($230 each...13,662 lempiras total), we would immediately have our interview...this was at 10:15. Well, the cashier was closed...I complained...but was told that there was an emergency (an emergency! The cashier can just close and not have a backup cashier available). The cashier remained closed for over an HOUR! INSANITY! Finally, we paid the cashier...were called for our interview...recited an oath, in Spanish, to tell the truth, etc. Honestly, they were most interested in my HUSBAND'S immigration status than anything...which I found interesting, since he has been a permanent legal resident for over 10 years. (I know, I know...I have to make him study for his citizenship test...But, I heard him tell Don Julio that he plans to do that ...Yippee!!!) Within, 5 minutes, we had our final approval and I was given a pink slip to return at 2:45 to pick up the passports and visa packets. The Visas were BEAUTIFUL!!! Such a long, hard road, but I was so thrilled to be at the end!!! The children seemed to grasp the significance and decided that play time on the terrace that night...to say goodbye to Tegucigalpa...would be entirely in English! PROUD MAMA moment! They are learning it!!! We paid all of our bills...and were pretty much broke...on Tuesday morning, we headed to Cristina Transport to take the bus down the mountain. We got home to San Pedro Sula without incident. It was great to see the finished house (and the puppies). The new patio was my favorite part and I enjoyed sitting outside and just resting! It is time to say our goodbyes and pack to go home....I am ready to drive again...so many new experiences for all of us! Looking forward to every one of them...One more restless night in San Pedro Sula (Reyes killed a scorpion in the bathroom last night) and we are OFF!!!