I keep counting in my head: March, April, May...yes, it has been exactly three months since we arrived home with the little mister, who is right now having his nap. Since he's a short napper, I'll have to type this out quick, or I will never get to it.
I definitely don't want to make this sound like a complaint, because I certainly don't feel that way, but I most definitely have less time for things like blogging since Noah is home. His naps generally run around 45 minutes or maybe an hour or so, which doesn't leave a lot of time, and after getting him to bed in the evening and cleaning up the kitchen, etc., for the night, I don't have much energy to be very interesting. So this is what you get, I guess!
We are continuing to make our way down the adjustment path. Like I said in my last post, we feel like Noah is doing extraordinarily well in adjusting to life around here. Attachments are strong to me, Jerry, and his big brothers. He is always very excited when it is time to go pick up Mario and Erik from school and when Jerry pulls in the driveway after work. And me: I'm still the "it" girl in his life, which is fine by me! I'd like to keep it that way for a long long time!!
He is understanding practically everything we say. In terms of expressive language, he doesn't do a whole lot of words yet, but it is amazing how well he can get his point across as to what he is trying to communicate. A few weeks ago, he and Erik were on the patio in the back yard. All of a sudden, Noah is saying "Mama! Mama!!" very insistently. When I asked him what it was, he pointed to his water bottle, pointed to Erik, and then pointed all over the patio where it was wet. It was way clear as to exactly what had happened to all the water in his water bottle! Last night we were at my sister's house for a birthday party, and my brother-in-law was saying to my sister that he liked her shirt. I think we all added that we liked it too. Seemed like the thing to do. Just to be goofy I asked if people liked my shirt, and there was a round of compliments for me. Then Noah made one of his typical sounds and held out his shirt too fishing for some responses about his choice of attire! He didn't miss a beat!
We've just recently started speech therapy with him, and he is doing well with that. I really think he is a super bright little boy, so I don't think it will be all that long before he is chatting up a storm. He definitely has a lot to communicate. Speech is the only area where he is behind developmentally: he runs around the house and yard, goes up and down steps easily, eats with a spoon and fork, drinks from a regular cup, scribbles with a pen or pencil, has great fine and gross motor skills, etc. He can really do everything, except talking.
He's friendly, happy, has great eye contact, loves to help and is blending in well with the family. I truly think he is an amazing and wonderful little boy. He is truly a blessing! It is impossible to describe how much joy he has brought to my life, and my life is already quite high on the joy meter! I am a very blessed woman.
Like I said in my last post, the area where we have seen the most challenge is the relationship between the three boys. They definitely love each other, it is obvious to see that. I would also say that they get along well most of the time, but we could definitely have more harmony around here. We did a little rearranging of toys and furniture in the common area of the house in order to help Mario and Erik keep their things protected from little hands, when they make an effort to keep their things picked up, that is. That's helping. I also think that with time as Noah gets even more comfortable, he will be in their stuff less and less. Here's hoping for that!
We've seen more and more instances where the three boys play together, and that is like a slice of heaven to this mama. One thing they'll do is bust out in a conga line, where they walk through the house holding onto the boy in front of them saying "Conga line! Conga line! Conga line! Conga line!" There's no one-two-three-kick, but it is plenty adorable! It doesn't matter if Noah is in the front or the way back, he just beams! He loves to play with them! Sometimes they'll march around the house and salute each other. That's pretty cute too. Pretty much anything they do together is cute to me. Jerry and I make extra efforts to oooh and ahhh whenever they are doing something together. I think that helps too.
We're also making sure that we spend time with each boy individually as well. Date night, or whatever you call it. It's not generally a big grandiose event, but just something with mom and one of the boys or dad and one of the boys where they get a chance to really be heard and feel special. And I think it is just as important for them to have alone time with daddy as it is with mommy. They enjoy it, and you know we enjoy it too. Going out as a family of five can be a big ordeal -- it's much calmer when it is just one parent and one kid, and feels very special.
A friend that adopted a couple years ago also recommended making sure to check in with the older two frequently, as in "how you doing/ how are things going" kind of way. I've taken to asking them specifically, on a much more frequent basis than I used to, how they are feeling about this or that, things related to having Noah in the family now, and things unrelated as well. I definitely think that has helped too.
So that is it for now around here. I don't think I will blog much from here on out, maybe at the six-month home mark in August and again at a year home, or at least that is the plan. I love to do this and to document what is going on, I just don't see it happening much more. Especially with summer coming!
Monday, May 06, 2013
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
Home almost two months??
I seriously meant to post something at our one month-iversary, but now here we are home nearly two months. It barely seems possible, and yet it is so natural having Noah in the family, that in some sense it feels a lot longer than two months. But wow, have I been busy!
When we first arrived home, we were basically in our cocoon, though I would say it was a modified cocoon, as I did have to get out twice a day to get the older two boys to school and back, and then there were things like grocery shopping and the occasional trip to Target. Cocooning, for those that are unfamiliar with that term, is very common in the adoption world, especially for children that are older than newborns when they join the family. It means basically staying at home with just immediate family for weeks/months to get the new child used to the home, the family, the surroundings, etc. Only mommy and daddy take care of the new child: all feeding, all bathing, all changing, all everything, so that he understands who his parents are, understands as much as he can that this is for keeps, and attaches accordingly. As much as possible, there are no visitors or just quick visits by extended family members or close friends. It has its challenges, but is definitely worth it for the new child and the family as a whole.
So, that's what we did. And recall that the entire three weeks in Honduras we were basically in a cocoon too. Jerry took off work the first few days that Noah and I were home. We focussed on Noah while the other two boys were at school, and then juggled as much as possible when they were home. Then Jerry went back to work, and I juggled a little extra for those hours when I was home with all three boys. I'm not going to lie, it was a challenging time. We have a great support network in our family and friends who were ready and willing to help in any way they could, but the thing is, there are only so many things that other people can do for you. We had some meals brought which was very nice, but for the most part getting dinner on the table was not very hard for me to do. Not that I was doing fancy meals or anything, but we weren't in the habit of eating fancy much anyway, so it was not too much effort to get something on the table. The thing that helped us out a lot actually was playdates for the older two, especially on weekends. Cocooning got old with them fast, and they really enjoyed the opportunity of getting out with family members or friends. So playdate offers were real lifesavers. But the thing is, what the boys really wanted the most was mommy time and daddy time, and there is only so much mommy and daddy to go around. One way they were able to get some special time was when Jerry would take one or both older boys out for errands or adventures, especially on the weekends. They went to the Science Center, out for a hike, out for walks, to the hardware store, out for ice cream, anything where they had a chance to have some special time and really get heard. At first, it worked better if Jerry was the one that went on the outing, but at this point I am able to get out with the older boys without too much objection from the toddler.
And now, here we are: just about two months home, and things feel pretty good. Noah is attached well, he is most of the time very happy, and I am deliriously in love with him. People ask if the older boys are just so in love with their new brother, and my answer to that is they love him most of the time, and I am happy with that for now. It has been and continues to be a big change for them, but they are mostly very good around their little brother, and we have come up with some strategies for them to use when things aren't going their way.
I would say that our biggest challenges that we have had to deal with, both of which I have mentioned already, are (1) how to give each child the parental attention that they want and need, and (2) how to foster good sibling relationships between the three boys. I'd like to address both of these, but will do so in a future post, as naptime is just about over for the day!
When we first arrived home, we were basically in our cocoon, though I would say it was a modified cocoon, as I did have to get out twice a day to get the older two boys to school and back, and then there were things like grocery shopping and the occasional trip to Target. Cocooning, for those that are unfamiliar with that term, is very common in the adoption world, especially for children that are older than newborns when they join the family. It means basically staying at home with just immediate family for weeks/months to get the new child used to the home, the family, the surroundings, etc. Only mommy and daddy take care of the new child: all feeding, all bathing, all changing, all everything, so that he understands who his parents are, understands as much as he can that this is for keeps, and attaches accordingly. As much as possible, there are no visitors or just quick visits by extended family members or close friends. It has its challenges, but is definitely worth it for the new child and the family as a whole.
So, that's what we did. And recall that the entire three weeks in Honduras we were basically in a cocoon too. Jerry took off work the first few days that Noah and I were home. We focussed on Noah while the other two boys were at school, and then juggled as much as possible when they were home. Then Jerry went back to work, and I juggled a little extra for those hours when I was home with all three boys. I'm not going to lie, it was a challenging time. We have a great support network in our family and friends who were ready and willing to help in any way they could, but the thing is, there are only so many things that other people can do for you. We had some meals brought which was very nice, but for the most part getting dinner on the table was not very hard for me to do. Not that I was doing fancy meals or anything, but we weren't in the habit of eating fancy much anyway, so it was not too much effort to get something on the table. The thing that helped us out a lot actually was playdates for the older two, especially on weekends. Cocooning got old with them fast, and they really enjoyed the opportunity of getting out with family members or friends. So playdate offers were real lifesavers. But the thing is, what the boys really wanted the most was mommy time and daddy time, and there is only so much mommy and daddy to go around. One way they were able to get some special time was when Jerry would take one or both older boys out for errands or adventures, especially on the weekends. They went to the Science Center, out for a hike, out for walks, to the hardware store, out for ice cream, anything where they had a chance to have some special time and really get heard. At first, it worked better if Jerry was the one that went on the outing, but at this point I am able to get out with the older boys without too much objection from the toddler.
And now, here we are: just about two months home, and things feel pretty good. Noah is attached well, he is most of the time very happy, and I am deliriously in love with him. People ask if the older boys are just so in love with their new brother, and my answer to that is they love him most of the time, and I am happy with that for now. It has been and continues to be a big change for them, but they are mostly very good around their little brother, and we have come up with some strategies for them to use when things aren't going their way.
I would say that our biggest challenges that we have had to deal with, both of which I have mentioned already, are (1) how to give each child the parental attention that they want and need, and (2) how to foster good sibling relationships between the three boys. I'd like to address both of these, but will do so in a future post, as naptime is just about over for the day!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Worth waiting for
Sorry this has taken a while, but I am positive you'll agree that this is a face worth waiting for!
First, from our visit trip in August, I love these two shots of him smiling:
Feeding time for Mommy:
Our three banana eaters:
And finally home!!!
First, from our visit trip in August, I love these two shots of him smiling:
And this next one is a shot of Noah feeding Jerry. Noah would take a Cheerio, bite it in half, and feed half to Jerry. A little wet, but very generous!
And a few cute ones from the pickup trip. Here's Noah in his favorite hiding spot on the terrace at the Humuya Inn:
And a shot of everyone but Jerry in the water room at the Chiminike children's museum:
Feeding time for Mommy:
Our three banana eaters:
Getting a good picture of the five of us is exponentially harder than when there were just four of us, but here we are in Valle de Angeles after some souvenir shopping but before (luckily) the cotton candy:
Showing off some of their McDonalds and KFC toys:
And their Chiminike t-shirts:
And finally home!!!
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
One week home
I am still so amazed that we are home. All five of us. Home. It is such a tremendous feeling. I am an adventurer -- I like going new places and trying new things and meeting new people -- but maybe now as more years pass or the fact that I am a mother of three or that Noah's adoption was so long in the making, I don't know, but it just feels so good to be here altogether under one roof at last.
I remember thinking, when Noah and I were still in Honduras but after Jerry and the big boys had left, that maybe part of the reason that the little one and I were still there was so that he could have some one-on-one time with mommy. I do think that is part of it, and I certainly enjoyed having extra time to bond with him. But I think there was also another reason at play. It was to sear Honduras permanently to my heart. I cannot believe how much I fell in love with the place and the people, and I really didn't expect that would happen. Sure, I thought I would like it ok. But as much as I was happy to be flying back to the States with my new young son, I also felt a tinge of sadness to be leaving such a beautiful and warm place, and I am not (just) referring to the weather. I am missing the people that I met and the wonderful memories that we made there. I will always remember our trip there fondly.
So now we are home a week! Noah is doing very well. Because we were together three weeks in Honduras, I think he is very attached now to our family. Even though there was some difficulty for us in being away from home for that length of time (school for the boys, work for Jerry, etc), I do think it helped Noah quite a bit in his attachment process. Even though the Humuya Inn wasn't exactly where he had been living before, it was more similar than it is here, and the people there were Honduran, and they spoke Spanish, and the climate was the same, and the food was similar, that it enabled him to primarily work on his attachment to us without all those other things changing at the same time as well. Then after he had developed a strong attachment to us, he was much more able to figure out his new environment here. The first two or three days that he and I were here, he would quite often grab my hand, want me to pick up my bag, and point to the door as if he was ready to go back. This was similar behavior to what he had done when he was first with us at the hotel, so we were prepared for it, and in fact were rather expecting it. We just held him and comforted him and tried to distract him, and now we don't see that behavior anymore.
He is eating very well. No problems there. We are making food available to him whenever he wants it, which sometimes is less than an hour after he has eaten something, but at this point we are not going to deny him food.
He is sleeping well too. It was very helpful that Jerry was home a few days before me and Noah, as he could disassemble the crib. We already had a bed in his room, so Noah has been sleeping in it just fine. Given our experience with the other two boys, we thought that sleep might be the area where there would be longer remaining problems, so it hasn't surprised us that Noah will wake up at some point in the night and call for me. It is generally around 4 or 5, maybe a little earlier, and I have just gone into his room and lay down with him, and he is out like a light within a minute. He will go down for a nap, but at 45 minutes will wake up and cry. His eyes are usually still closed, so I try to get him to go back to sleep, and that generally works. We tried one day over the weekend without a nap, and that was a mistake. He definitely still needs one.
In terms of communication, I do think he has picked up another word or two. It's not completely clear, but is consistent. I talk to him all day long, and he probably wonders, "when will this lady stop talking?" but I just keep it up as a way to help him get used to his surroundings and acquire English words, at least receptive words. He understands a lot already.
We play all day long, and it has been so fun to introduce him to new toys. We're taking that gradually, but it is so fun to see him "get it" when it comes to a new toy.
We are not without challenges. I don't deny that. But I am confident that with time, those things will work out too and it will be even more amazing around here.
I remember thinking, when Noah and I were still in Honduras but after Jerry and the big boys had left, that maybe part of the reason that the little one and I were still there was so that he could have some one-on-one time with mommy. I do think that is part of it, and I certainly enjoyed having extra time to bond with him. But I think there was also another reason at play. It was to sear Honduras permanently to my heart. I cannot believe how much I fell in love with the place and the people, and I really didn't expect that would happen. Sure, I thought I would like it ok. But as much as I was happy to be flying back to the States with my new young son, I also felt a tinge of sadness to be leaving such a beautiful and warm place, and I am not (just) referring to the weather. I am missing the people that I met and the wonderful memories that we made there. I will always remember our trip there fondly.
So now we are home a week! Noah is doing very well. Because we were together three weeks in Honduras, I think he is very attached now to our family. Even though there was some difficulty for us in being away from home for that length of time (school for the boys, work for Jerry, etc), I do think it helped Noah quite a bit in his attachment process. Even though the Humuya Inn wasn't exactly where he had been living before, it was more similar than it is here, and the people there were Honduran, and they spoke Spanish, and the climate was the same, and the food was similar, that it enabled him to primarily work on his attachment to us without all those other things changing at the same time as well. Then after he had developed a strong attachment to us, he was much more able to figure out his new environment here. The first two or three days that he and I were here, he would quite often grab my hand, want me to pick up my bag, and point to the door as if he was ready to go back. This was similar behavior to what he had done when he was first with us at the hotel, so we were prepared for it, and in fact were rather expecting it. We just held him and comforted him and tried to distract him, and now we don't see that behavior anymore.
He is eating very well. No problems there. We are making food available to him whenever he wants it, which sometimes is less than an hour after he has eaten something, but at this point we are not going to deny him food.
He is sleeping well too. It was very helpful that Jerry was home a few days before me and Noah, as he could disassemble the crib. We already had a bed in his room, so Noah has been sleeping in it just fine. Given our experience with the other two boys, we thought that sleep might be the area where there would be longer remaining problems, so it hasn't surprised us that Noah will wake up at some point in the night and call for me. It is generally around 4 or 5, maybe a little earlier, and I have just gone into his room and lay down with him, and he is out like a light within a minute. He will go down for a nap, but at 45 minutes will wake up and cry. His eyes are usually still closed, so I try to get him to go back to sleep, and that generally works. We tried one day over the weekend without a nap, and that was a mistake. He definitely still needs one.
In terms of communication, I do think he has picked up another word or two. It's not completely clear, but is consistent. I talk to him all day long, and he probably wonders, "when will this lady stop talking?" but I just keep it up as a way to help him get used to his surroundings and acquire English words, at least receptive words. He understands a lot already.
We play all day long, and it has been so fun to introduce him to new toys. We're taking that gradually, but it is so fun to see him "get it" when it comes to a new toy.
We are not without challenges. I don't deny that. But I am confident that with time, those things will work out too and it will be even more amazing around here.
Wednesday, February 06, 2013
Day 22: We fly home!
I'm blogging on the same computer, but now I am doing it from our very own sofa in our very own family room. Our three precious sons are upstairs asleep in their beds, and I am overwhelmed with gratitude to God for this whirlwind of the past three weeks plus one day.
We're home!!!
Flying was fine. It was a long day and I am beat, and I don't know if the flying part of this story is really all that interesting. Noah turned out to be a pretty good flyer. I wasn't sure what to expect after his meltdown in the Tegucigalpa airport waiting to board, and his full-on temper tantrum when I buckled the seat belt around him prior to takeoff, but other than those very loud episodes, it was amazingly good. Of course, I had to be on my A game all.the.time. One usually is with a toddler anyway, but confined to the small space of the airplane seats and doing all the stuff that is necessary in an airport, it was bumped up to a whole other league. But it worked out fine, and people actually said to me after the flights that they thought he behaved very well.
I can't believe we are actually home. Praise God is all I can say. Day 22 and our adventure has run the full course. We are all five of us under one roof, and we will be family forever.
No way did I ever think it would move that fast. I seriously was planning on it being six or seven weeks. I guess God is a better organizer than I am. :D
Seriously though, it was all just God getting everything to happen the way it did. I can't figure out how it was possible that it went that quick, other than we got a good start by signing the adoption decree on day 2 of the trip, and the fact that we were working with the two most amazing Honduran women of all time: Ileana and Marta. And maybe God thought that three years, two months, and four weeks was enough time for this adoption story to be written. We had a super quick pickup trip, and a seriously long wait getting to that point.
It's all good.
It's all God.
We're home!!!
Flying was fine. It was a long day and I am beat, and I don't know if the flying part of this story is really all that interesting. Noah turned out to be a pretty good flyer. I wasn't sure what to expect after his meltdown in the Tegucigalpa airport waiting to board, and his full-on temper tantrum when I buckled the seat belt around him prior to takeoff, but other than those very loud episodes, it was amazingly good. Of course, I had to be on my A game all.the.time. One usually is with a toddler anyway, but confined to the small space of the airplane seats and doing all the stuff that is necessary in an airport, it was bumped up to a whole other league. But it worked out fine, and people actually said to me after the flights that they thought he behaved very well.
I can't believe we are actually home. Praise God is all I can say. Day 22 and our adventure has run the full course. We are all five of us under one roof, and we will be family forever.
No way did I ever think it would move that fast. I seriously was planning on it being six or seven weeks. I guess God is a better organizer than I am. :D
Seriously though, it was all just God getting everything to happen the way it did. I can't figure out how it was possible that it went that quick, other than we got a good start by signing the adoption decree on day 2 of the trip, and the fact that we were working with the two most amazing Honduran women of all time: Ileana and Marta. And maybe God thought that three years, two months, and four weeks was enough time for this adoption story to be written. We had a super quick pickup trip, and a seriously long wait getting to that point.
It's all good.
It's all God.
Tuesday, February 05, 2013
Day 21: Visa success!!!!!
Another amazing day brought by God! It is going to be hard to get it all in, because there were so many wonderful details. First, I had set the alarm clock for 5:20 and asked for a wakeup call, but was still a little nervous that I wouldn't wake up. I wasn't sure if I had set the alarm correctly, and wasn't sure if I would hear the phone since it is in the livingroom, but I just left it to God. And duh, I woke up five minutes before the alarm. I am so totally not an early riser, so this is incredible in itself.
Noah woke up just fine, we got ready and headed downstairs. I was expecting the driver at 6:00, and it was maybe ten minutes before that. He wasn't there, and my stomach dropped, but again, I just left it to God without trying to instantly develop contingency plans. And of course, he was there within five minutes.
Absolutely no traffic to the Embassy, which I understand is incredible, even at that hour.
So, we actually arrive well before the 6:45 appointment. I got in the residentia line, which for those coming after me, is on the right side of the Embassy front door. There is a big canopy on the left side, and that is where most of the people wait. They are applying for visitor visas. But the resident line is on the right, going down the sidewalk, and there is no canopy and fewer people. Because of our early arrival, we were I think the seventh people in line.
Oh, cell phones. You are not allowed to bring any electronic equipment into the Embassy. I knew that, but thought that you could check cell phones with the security guard, which is what other adopting families have done before. No, they don't do that anymore. But there are a few guys out front, entrepreneurs, who will guard your phone for a small fee, I think it was 50 lemps. I love that someone thought to do it. I noticed that all the other people in line were going up to these men, giving them their phones, writing their names in a book, and getting a claim ticket. I asked the lady in front of me in line, after she had just surrendered her phone, and she said it was ok. So, I did it too. I figured, the worst that could happen was that I was going to have to buy my friend Laura a new phone, and I'm happy to say that I got it back afterwards just fine.
So then an employee from the Embassy walks up to everyone in line asking for their appointment papers. It is a young lady I remember seeing from last Monday when I was there with Jerry and all three boys, and she remembered me too. She said right away, "Good to see you again. Where are the other boys?" Glad to know we stand out like that. Then again, given the fact that only ten Honduran children were adopted into the U.S. in 2012, I guess a couple of gringos and three Latino boys would stand out, especially three such adorable, intelligent, and wonderful boys as ours. Anyway, so she asked if I had one of those appointment papers. I didn't, since our appointment had been made on email. So she looks up his name on her clipboard with all the names of people that had visa appointments that day. And his name is not there. Not under his birth name, not under his current name. Again, my stomach dropped a little, and I said, "I'm sure we have an appointment. I got an email from them yesterday," in the calmest voice I can muster. "No problem," she said. "I'll just ask inside." So was so kind, and I felt like I had found a friend. Again, I just gave it to God, and I think you know how this one is going to turn out.
The residential visa line started to grow considerably. Nowhere near as long as the visitor visa line, but much longer than it had been when we arrived. The security guards started waving groups in at 7:00, and because we were so close to the front of the line, we get waved in in the first group of about seven people. That God, again.
Security goes fine, though I think the guard was surprised at the amount of snacks I brought in. I just wanted to be prepared, you know. They do have two vending machines inside, one that takes dollars and one that takes lemps, and there was also a lady inside that had a nice snack cart, and of course there were the sidewalk vendors selling candy and gum, but still. Noah is an eater, and I wanted to be prepared.
So, we get through security, and then into the big waiting room on the right. The group of us line up, and go to the counter one by one. This is just a preliminary check, I think. The lady looked at our passports and confirmed that we were there for an adoption. She took one of our passport photos that we had brought in, and then tells me to sit and wait; someone would call me. So, we sat and prepared ourselves for a long wait. Get out a snack and a book for you know who.
Everyone else from our group of seven took seats over in one area, but we weren't there. I asked my new Embassy friend if we should be over there with them. No, those people are getting fingerprinted. Noah doesn't need to do that. Not a problem at all. I guess the Embassy has changed their procedures a little. There weren't any numbers being called; people just waited in groups, and then shifted as necessary. So it was probably a lot quieter in there without a bunch of numbers being called.
Oh, I did have to laugh that there was a tv showing a Discovery Channel special about tornadoes. It occurred to me that this was a very odd sort of travelog for the U.S. "Come to the States and get hit with one of these!!"
Anyway, within a very short amount of time, I hear someone call "Noah Angel Anderson," so I scoop up the little guy and all our stuff, and go to that counter. The man at the window looks at our DS-230 form, and everything is filled out correctly. Yay for that. He asked if I had some other form I-864 or something. I didn't have that since it didn't seem to me that Noah met the categories for filling that out. The feeling in the stomach. Let it go. He tells me it is not a problem, and gets me one, and I fill it out right there. It was a very short form, so it took less than five minutes. He asks a few questions about the adoption, and then asks if I had any photos of Noah with our family. No, I didn't have any of those, and you know I got that feeling in my stomach again. It didn't say anything in the info packet from the immigrant visa section about photos. Give it to God. The man at the counter, who by now I consider my second Embassy friend of the day, said it wasn't a problem. It would have been nice to show a relationship, but it is not a problem not to have them. A couple more questions, and he somehow gets his stapler through the enormous stack of papers that is our file. Ok, I'm all done with that, and he tells me to go to counter C to pay the visa fee of $320, then come back and give him the receipt. He tells me to interrupt him if he is with someone else. (Can you believe it??)
It was a bit of a challenge locating that window -- I had to ask for help since all the windows have numbers not letters. It was over in the Citizen Services Room. Anyway, I paid that fee in crisp new bills from our bank at home, and all was good. I got my receipt and went back over to my friend at the window. He takes the receipt, and I go back to sit down. Get out some more snack and some blocks.
Again, without too long of a wait, I hear "Noah Angel Anderson," scoop up the kiddo and all our stuff and head to that window. Now it is time for the interview with a different official. He asks about where Jerry is, and I told him he left on Saturday with our other children. He asks how long I am going to remain in Honduras. "That is up to you," I say with a smile, "Though it would be great if it were soon." He said something about the fact that I was in the Peace Corps!! So I guess they really do read the file!! Yes, I was, and we chat about that for a while. He asks where we will be living, and I tell him. But why were you married in Arlington, Virginia? Do you have connections there? So I tell him about living there for several years, on and on. This is all very pleasant conversation, not an interrogation by any means, and I feel like I have made my third Embassy friend of the day. Then the best words of all, "Ok, the visa is approved. Take this pink slip and return at 2:45 to pick it up."
I was totally done in two hours.
Stunned but incredibly happy, I make my way outside, get my phone back, pay my fee, and call Ileana. She.could.not.believe.I.was.done.so.soon!!!! She was barely out of the shower! Traffic was very heavy by this time of the morning, so I have to wait a while for her to pick us up, but it was not bad considering how smoothly God had orchestrated everything so far that morning. We get in her car, and she and I are just both praising that amazing God once again.
Next stop: McDonalds near the Cascadas Mall, back in our 'hood. I think by now, Noah thinks he owns the place. He just loves the play place there, and he super-enjoyed trying chocolate milk for the first time. They didn't have any white milk, but I was so happy I didn't mind at all. Third child: getting chocolate milk at age 2. It is so early that they were still serving the breakfast menu. McDonalds in Honduras has a very good traditional Honduran breakfast, which I really enjoyed. Too bad they don't serve it in the States. I ate that, chugged down a few Coke Zeros, and watched the little guy loving life in the play place. I must have had the goofiest expression on my face: something like glee, shock, and amazement that after three weeks, we are all done. Unbelievable, except it is true!
We eventually head back to the hotel, and I get down to business of changing my airline reservation and making a reservation for him. I was bracing myself for a huge charge, but his ticket, bought one day in advance, was less than $600. My flight was actually cheaper than the one I had already booked for early March, so I got a refund, which I applied to Noah's ticket. Of course, I had to pay the change fee of $150, but I was expecting that. This is just so amazing.
Ileana went to the Embassy for me to pick up his visa, and catches up with us somewhere in the hotel later in the afternoon where Noah is feeding me some of his chips. I keep saying "Que rico!!" over and over. "I could hear you," says Ileana. "I just couldn't see you."
We both just looked at the beautiful visa, and the sealed packet that I am to give to immigration in Houston, and we just praise God again. He has really been showing off for us today!!!
I am just so amazed that we fly home tomorrow!!!! Ileana will pick me up tomorrow morning to take me to the airport and walk me through immigration there. It is another step to take, and even more so since Jerry has already flown home. They are very strict in this country about one parent leaving the country with a child and require that the other parent has signed a power of attorney allowing this to happen. A good practice I think. So we plan on getting to the airport about three hours early to make sure we have time for this and all the rest of the international check-in.
I'm sure the flights will be another adventure, but I know God will be with us taking care of us, especially through our very short layover in the huge Houston airport. I'll have to document it Stateside!!
Noah woke up just fine, we got ready and headed downstairs. I was expecting the driver at 6:00, and it was maybe ten minutes before that. He wasn't there, and my stomach dropped, but again, I just left it to God without trying to instantly develop contingency plans. And of course, he was there within five minutes.
Absolutely no traffic to the Embassy, which I understand is incredible, even at that hour.
So, we actually arrive well before the 6:45 appointment. I got in the residentia line, which for those coming after me, is on the right side of the Embassy front door. There is a big canopy on the left side, and that is where most of the people wait. They are applying for visitor visas. But the resident line is on the right, going down the sidewalk, and there is no canopy and fewer people. Because of our early arrival, we were I think the seventh people in line.
Oh, cell phones. You are not allowed to bring any electronic equipment into the Embassy. I knew that, but thought that you could check cell phones with the security guard, which is what other adopting families have done before. No, they don't do that anymore. But there are a few guys out front, entrepreneurs, who will guard your phone for a small fee, I think it was 50 lemps. I love that someone thought to do it. I noticed that all the other people in line were going up to these men, giving them their phones, writing their names in a book, and getting a claim ticket. I asked the lady in front of me in line, after she had just surrendered her phone, and she said it was ok. So, I did it too. I figured, the worst that could happen was that I was going to have to buy my friend Laura a new phone, and I'm happy to say that I got it back afterwards just fine.
So then an employee from the Embassy walks up to everyone in line asking for their appointment papers. It is a young lady I remember seeing from last Monday when I was there with Jerry and all three boys, and she remembered me too. She said right away, "Good to see you again. Where are the other boys?" Glad to know we stand out like that. Then again, given the fact that only ten Honduran children were adopted into the U.S. in 2012, I guess a couple of gringos and three Latino boys would stand out, especially three such adorable, intelligent, and wonderful boys as ours. Anyway, so she asked if I had one of those appointment papers. I didn't, since our appointment had been made on email. So she looks up his name on her clipboard with all the names of people that had visa appointments that day. And his name is not there. Not under his birth name, not under his current name. Again, my stomach dropped a little, and I said, "I'm sure we have an appointment. I got an email from them yesterday," in the calmest voice I can muster. "No problem," she said. "I'll just ask inside." So was so kind, and I felt like I had found a friend. Again, I just gave it to God, and I think you know how this one is going to turn out.
The residential visa line started to grow considerably. Nowhere near as long as the visitor visa line, but much longer than it had been when we arrived. The security guards started waving groups in at 7:00, and because we were so close to the front of the line, we get waved in in the first group of about seven people. That God, again.
Security goes fine, though I think the guard was surprised at the amount of snacks I brought in. I just wanted to be prepared, you know. They do have two vending machines inside, one that takes dollars and one that takes lemps, and there was also a lady inside that had a nice snack cart, and of course there were the sidewalk vendors selling candy and gum, but still. Noah is an eater, and I wanted to be prepared.
So, we get through security, and then into the big waiting room on the right. The group of us line up, and go to the counter one by one. This is just a preliminary check, I think. The lady looked at our passports and confirmed that we were there for an adoption. She took one of our passport photos that we had brought in, and then tells me to sit and wait; someone would call me. So, we sat and prepared ourselves for a long wait. Get out a snack and a book for you know who.
Everyone else from our group of seven took seats over in one area, but we weren't there. I asked my new Embassy friend if we should be over there with them. No, those people are getting fingerprinted. Noah doesn't need to do that. Not a problem at all. I guess the Embassy has changed their procedures a little. There weren't any numbers being called; people just waited in groups, and then shifted as necessary. So it was probably a lot quieter in there without a bunch of numbers being called.
Oh, I did have to laugh that there was a tv showing a Discovery Channel special about tornadoes. It occurred to me that this was a very odd sort of travelog for the U.S. "Come to the States and get hit with one of these!!"
Anyway, within a very short amount of time, I hear someone call "Noah Angel Anderson," so I scoop up the little guy and all our stuff, and go to that counter. The man at the window looks at our DS-230 form, and everything is filled out correctly. Yay for that. He asked if I had some other form I-864 or something. I didn't have that since it didn't seem to me that Noah met the categories for filling that out. The feeling in the stomach. Let it go. He tells me it is not a problem, and gets me one, and I fill it out right there. It was a very short form, so it took less than five minutes. He asks a few questions about the adoption, and then asks if I had any photos of Noah with our family. No, I didn't have any of those, and you know I got that feeling in my stomach again. It didn't say anything in the info packet from the immigrant visa section about photos. Give it to God. The man at the counter, who by now I consider my second Embassy friend of the day, said it wasn't a problem. It would have been nice to show a relationship, but it is not a problem not to have them. A couple more questions, and he somehow gets his stapler through the enormous stack of papers that is our file. Ok, I'm all done with that, and he tells me to go to counter C to pay the visa fee of $320, then come back and give him the receipt. He tells me to interrupt him if he is with someone else. (Can you believe it??)
It was a bit of a challenge locating that window -- I had to ask for help since all the windows have numbers not letters. It was over in the Citizen Services Room. Anyway, I paid that fee in crisp new bills from our bank at home, and all was good. I got my receipt and went back over to my friend at the window. He takes the receipt, and I go back to sit down. Get out some more snack and some blocks.
Again, without too long of a wait, I hear "Noah Angel Anderson," scoop up the kiddo and all our stuff and head to that window. Now it is time for the interview with a different official. He asks about where Jerry is, and I told him he left on Saturday with our other children. He asks how long I am going to remain in Honduras. "That is up to you," I say with a smile, "Though it would be great if it were soon." He said something about the fact that I was in the Peace Corps!! So I guess they really do read the file!! Yes, I was, and we chat about that for a while. He asks where we will be living, and I tell him. But why were you married in Arlington, Virginia? Do you have connections there? So I tell him about living there for several years, on and on. This is all very pleasant conversation, not an interrogation by any means, and I feel like I have made my third Embassy friend of the day. Then the best words of all, "Ok, the visa is approved. Take this pink slip and return at 2:45 to pick it up."
I was totally done in two hours.
Stunned but incredibly happy, I make my way outside, get my phone back, pay my fee, and call Ileana. She.could.not.believe.I.was.done.so.soon!!!! She was barely out of the shower! Traffic was very heavy by this time of the morning, so I have to wait a while for her to pick us up, but it was not bad considering how smoothly God had orchestrated everything so far that morning. We get in her car, and she and I are just both praising that amazing God once again.
Next stop: McDonalds near the Cascadas Mall, back in our 'hood. I think by now, Noah thinks he owns the place. He just loves the play place there, and he super-enjoyed trying chocolate milk for the first time. They didn't have any white milk, but I was so happy I didn't mind at all. Third child: getting chocolate milk at age 2. It is so early that they were still serving the breakfast menu. McDonalds in Honduras has a very good traditional Honduran breakfast, which I really enjoyed. Too bad they don't serve it in the States. I ate that, chugged down a few Coke Zeros, and watched the little guy loving life in the play place. I must have had the goofiest expression on my face: something like glee, shock, and amazement that after three weeks, we are all done. Unbelievable, except it is true!
We eventually head back to the hotel, and I get down to business of changing my airline reservation and making a reservation for him. I was bracing myself for a huge charge, but his ticket, bought one day in advance, was less than $600. My flight was actually cheaper than the one I had already booked for early March, so I got a refund, which I applied to Noah's ticket. Of course, I had to pay the change fee of $150, but I was expecting that. This is just so amazing.
Ileana went to the Embassy for me to pick up his visa, and catches up with us somewhere in the hotel later in the afternoon where Noah is feeding me some of his chips. I keep saying "Que rico!!" over and over. "I could hear you," says Ileana. "I just couldn't see you."
We both just looked at the beautiful visa, and the sealed packet that I am to give to immigration in Houston, and we just praise God again. He has really been showing off for us today!!!
I am just so amazed that we fly home tomorrow!!!! Ileana will pick me up tomorrow morning to take me to the airport and walk me through immigration there. It is another step to take, and even more so since Jerry has already flown home. They are very strict in this country about one parent leaving the country with a child and require that the other parent has signed a power of attorney allowing this to happen. A good practice I think. So we plan on getting to the airport about three hours early to make sure we have time for this and all the rest of the international check-in.
I'm sure the flights will be another adventure, but I know God will be with us taking care of us, especially through our very short layover in the huge Houston airport. I'll have to document it Stateside!!
Monday, February 04, 2013
Day 20: We have a visa appointment!
Praise God!!!!! And thank you to the Blessed Mother and everyone else who has been interceding for us! Yay! Yay!! Yay!!!
I am so relieved that our visa appointment is for tomorrow! Yippee!! We have to be at the embassy at 6:45 with all our important papers, the $230 visa fee in cash, nothing electronic, and plenty of snacks and things to entertain a two-year-old. I can't even express how thrilled I am that the appointment is for tomorrow. I know of several families that had to wait a week or so, and although I would certainly wait if I had to, and would do so as cheerfully as possible, I am just so happy that it is tomorrow.
The embassy allows US citizens to walk in Monday through Thursday at 10 am to have questions answered, and I was planning on doing that this morning, but I received an email from them very early this morning saying that the appointment had been set. I'm sure I let out a very loud "yippee!" but what can you do. It is hard to contain such elation.
Little mister is down for his nap as I type. We have had another great morning. Maybe it is especially great because of our news. Noah woke up in the middle of the night a couple times crying, but went back to sleep rather quickly when I patted his back. Around 5 he wanted to walk out into the livingroom, and I opened the door for him, but he got back in his own bed as soon as he had made a lap or two.
We hung out quite a bit on the terrace this morning, chasing bourgainvillea petals and trying to entertain ourselves in new ways. Anyone ever played with dryer lint? Interesting, I know, but Noah will take it and rub it on my arm or leg. Maybe it is a skin treatment. Anyway, it is not something I would encourage at home, but it did help pass the time. We also really like to watch the gardener water all the plants on the terrace. Today he even put a new cedar border around the plants in the courtyard downstairs. It was riveting. And we made a pull toy out of the housekeeper's laundry cart. It's all good.
I've got to repeat that the staff here are tremendous. They are all very professional and do great work, and yet they are so warm and friendly too. They are all so sweet to Noah and greet him every time they see him, and they don't seem to mind at all when he growls at them or shakes his head no or high fives them a little too hard. They are really super.
I saw the flock of parrots again. They are so beautiful. I have seen them several times, and I am always so happy when they are nearby. They are a lovely bright green with a little red. I think they are called Christmas parrots, though they probably have a fancier technical name too. We've seen the resident hummingbird only a couple times, and there are some very pretty mourning doves that live in the trees in the Humuya courtyard. They look quite a bit different than the ones we have in our neighborhood, but that might just be a regional thing.
Oops, he's up from his nap.
And now he's down for the night. We had another nice afternoon: playing soccer with our little baby ball and the semi-deflated beachball (Jerry is the good blower-upper in our family), wandering around the terrace and courtyard, coloring, and anything else that occurred to us. At 2:00 sharp, I started calling the immigrant visa section to ensure that I was filling out the form correctly. Recall that "because of high workload and minimal resources," they only answer the phone from 2 - 3:30 Mondays and Wednesdays, so I was going to be sure to not let that hour and a half pass without confirmation on my answers. So, on my eighth or so call, I got through. Prior to that, the voice mail comes on saying "the party you are trying to reach doesn't have voice mail. Goodbye." And promptly hangs up. Good thing I wasn't calling from a pay phone! Anyway, it gave me a good chuckle, sort of, but only after I was able to get through and get the information I needed.
Had dinner in the dining room tonight, as a sort of pre-visa celebration. That and I didn't feel like cooking after all that soccer and wandering around. The food here is really good by the way. Met a church group that is in the country doing mission work. Was nice to chat with them and show off my adorable little son!
Then it was up to the apartment, another exciting shower for Noah, stories, prayers, and bedtime. I'm going to follow soon, so I am bright eyed and bushy tailed for the embassy appointment tomorrow. I truly wonder where that expression came from. Well, I don't wonder about it all that much....
I am so relieved that our visa appointment is for tomorrow! Yippee!! We have to be at the embassy at 6:45 with all our important papers, the $230 visa fee in cash, nothing electronic, and plenty of snacks and things to entertain a two-year-old. I can't even express how thrilled I am that the appointment is for tomorrow. I know of several families that had to wait a week or so, and although I would certainly wait if I had to, and would do so as cheerfully as possible, I am just so happy that it is tomorrow.
The embassy allows US citizens to walk in Monday through Thursday at 10 am to have questions answered, and I was planning on doing that this morning, but I received an email from them very early this morning saying that the appointment had been set. I'm sure I let out a very loud "yippee!" but what can you do. It is hard to contain such elation.
Little mister is down for his nap as I type. We have had another great morning. Maybe it is especially great because of our news. Noah woke up in the middle of the night a couple times crying, but went back to sleep rather quickly when I patted his back. Around 5 he wanted to walk out into the livingroom, and I opened the door for him, but he got back in his own bed as soon as he had made a lap or two.
We hung out quite a bit on the terrace this morning, chasing bourgainvillea petals and trying to entertain ourselves in new ways. Anyone ever played with dryer lint? Interesting, I know, but Noah will take it and rub it on my arm or leg. Maybe it is a skin treatment. Anyway, it is not something I would encourage at home, but it did help pass the time. We also really like to watch the gardener water all the plants on the terrace. Today he even put a new cedar border around the plants in the courtyard downstairs. It was riveting. And we made a pull toy out of the housekeeper's laundry cart. It's all good.
I've got to repeat that the staff here are tremendous. They are all very professional and do great work, and yet they are so warm and friendly too. They are all so sweet to Noah and greet him every time they see him, and they don't seem to mind at all when he growls at them or shakes his head no or high fives them a little too hard. They are really super.
I saw the flock of parrots again. They are so beautiful. I have seen them several times, and I am always so happy when they are nearby. They are a lovely bright green with a little red. I think they are called Christmas parrots, though they probably have a fancier technical name too. We've seen the resident hummingbird only a couple times, and there are some very pretty mourning doves that live in the trees in the Humuya courtyard. They look quite a bit different than the ones we have in our neighborhood, but that might just be a regional thing.
Oops, he's up from his nap.
And now he's down for the night. We had another nice afternoon: playing soccer with our little baby ball and the semi-deflated beachball (Jerry is the good blower-upper in our family), wandering around the terrace and courtyard, coloring, and anything else that occurred to us. At 2:00 sharp, I started calling the immigrant visa section to ensure that I was filling out the form correctly. Recall that "because of high workload and minimal resources," they only answer the phone from 2 - 3:30 Mondays and Wednesdays, so I was going to be sure to not let that hour and a half pass without confirmation on my answers. So, on my eighth or so call, I got through. Prior to that, the voice mail comes on saying "the party you are trying to reach doesn't have voice mail. Goodbye." And promptly hangs up. Good thing I wasn't calling from a pay phone! Anyway, it gave me a good chuckle, sort of, but only after I was able to get through and get the information I needed.
Had dinner in the dining room tonight, as a sort of pre-visa celebration. That and I didn't feel like cooking after all that soccer and wandering around. The food here is really good by the way. Met a church group that is in the country doing mission work. Was nice to chat with them and show off my adorable little son!
Then it was up to the apartment, another exciting shower for Noah, stories, prayers, and bedtime. I'm going to follow soon, so I am bright eyed and bushy tailed for the embassy appointment tomorrow. I truly wonder where that expression came from. Well, I don't wonder about it all that much....
Sunday, February 03, 2013
Day 19: Nuestra Senora de Suyapa, ora por nosotros
He's down for his nap. So I'll repeat the blogging plan that I used yesterday.
Last night's sleep went very well. I was unsure what would happen, but he slept the night through until 4 am. This is the time that Jerry usually got up when he was here in order to get a couple hours of work in before the day began for the rest of us. Several mornings, but not all, Noah would get up around 4 or 5, whimper a little, then go out to the livingroom and sit in his chair. Most times he would fall back asleep, and other times he would just sit. You know the old joke: sometimes I sets and thinks and other times I just sets. I'm not sure which he would do.
So this morning he got up at 4, whimpered a little until I opened the bedroom door, and he went over to his chair. I asked very softly if he wanted to go back to bed, but he just shook his head no and stayed in the chair. I didn't push it, knowing that when little ones first wake up they are often disoriented. I didn't want to upset his little routine, so I just left him there and went back to bed, leaving the bedroom door open so I could hear any noise. At 45 minutes later, I heard him whimpering.
When Erik was a baby we learned that sleep cycles last 45 minutes, then a new one starts, but in between is a period of very light sleep. For a while (several months actually) Erik would wake up regularly every 45 minutes. When he first got home, he would wake up and cry so totally and completely. It was heart-wrenching, poor little guy. I would be able to get him back to sleep after a while, but it was just a combination of being disoriented and being tired and missing his life with his foster mother, that it was just awful for him. After a week maybe, I really don't remember well, I was in such a sleep-deprived fog, I started sleeping in his bedroom. Within another week, if I was nearby he would just look up, smile as if he were reassured that everything was ok, and would immediately go back to sleep. We learned quite a lot about sleep with that one.
Anyway, Noah woke up slightly at 45 minutes and whimpered. I came out to the livingroom and stood next to him, and he went back to sleep. Sometime later, I heard a noise, and noticed that he had crawled back in his bed and was rolling over. So, long story, but he made it back to his bed eventually, and then woke up at about 6:30 I think totally smiling.
We got dressed, went down for breakfast, said goodbye to the Canadian couple, and then just got down to the business of playing. Oh, I forgot to mention that there was also an American couple here for a few days, on their visit/test/interview trip. We didn't get much chance to talk to them, but I am glad to see that there are now two families that have recently received referrals and are moving through the process.
The morning was a repeat of much of the day yesterday: some playdoh, some walking, some reading, some ball playing, some block playing, some train playing, and some playing on the terrace. He had a really fun time hunting and chasing down some dried bourgainvillea petals that were blowing around on the terrace. They would collect in one of the corners, so he'd go get them and carry them out, only to set them down on a table and have them blow away. So he'd chase them down, catch some, and laugh when he succeeded. We are getting very good at applauding for all accomplishments.
We did get to skype home, and I think Noah really understood seeing Jerry, Mario, and Erik on the computer monitor. He was smiling and would wave his hand out to them, so that was great. I wasn't sure how much of it he would get, but it seemed to sink in enough to make it possible and worthwhile for us to do it. They have five inches of snow at home! And their luggage was lost!! I guess it is just as well we are not there because I am really enjoying all this sunshine and warm weather.
I have obviously wondered why it was that we weren't able to travel with them, and I think part of it is so that Noah can have some one on one time with Mommy. He is loving being able to totally dominate my time, and of course I am enjoying getting to play with him without any other distractions. Much as I of course love the rest of my family and miss them and want to be together, there are definitely benefits this way too. Just hope it won't go on too much longer.
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Suyapa, the 266th anniversary I believe, and is a big deal here for the people of Honduras. I love Mary very much, and have been asking for her intercession during this whole trip. I know that there are probably people that are reading this blog that don't understand Catholic devotion to the Blessed Mother, and if you are one of them, please feel free to send me a note (as long as it is polite), and I would be happy to answer your questions. The short answer is that Catholics honor Mary because she is the Mother of God. We don't worship her. Worship and adoration is reserved for God alone. But in His goodness, He gave us His own mother to help and intercede for us. It is just one more amazing thing about God that He let us participate in blessings for each other.
Nap time will be over soon, so I better cut this off now.
Funny, as soon as I finished typing that, I could hear him cry, after 45 minutes of napping. The rest of the afternoon went basically well, much the same as it did yesterday. More tears though; I wonder if he is missing Jerry and the boys.
He seems to be speaking and babbling much more every day, which is really wonderful. Have heard several instances of "Hola," and I think he might have said "no" as well. A whole variety of other sounds: roaring of course, woofing at the dog in the next yard, pretend snoring, and all sorts of babbling sounds. It's not where a two year old normally is, but we'll give that full attention when we get home.
So that's about it. Skyped home again and learned that the luggage arrived, so that is great. I am out of words.
Last night's sleep went very well. I was unsure what would happen, but he slept the night through until 4 am. This is the time that Jerry usually got up when he was here in order to get a couple hours of work in before the day began for the rest of us. Several mornings, but not all, Noah would get up around 4 or 5, whimper a little, then go out to the livingroom and sit in his chair. Most times he would fall back asleep, and other times he would just sit. You know the old joke: sometimes I sets and thinks and other times I just sets. I'm not sure which he would do.
So this morning he got up at 4, whimpered a little until I opened the bedroom door, and he went over to his chair. I asked very softly if he wanted to go back to bed, but he just shook his head no and stayed in the chair. I didn't push it, knowing that when little ones first wake up they are often disoriented. I didn't want to upset his little routine, so I just left him there and went back to bed, leaving the bedroom door open so I could hear any noise. At 45 minutes later, I heard him whimpering.
When Erik was a baby we learned that sleep cycles last 45 minutes, then a new one starts, but in between is a period of very light sleep. For a while (several months actually) Erik would wake up regularly every 45 minutes. When he first got home, he would wake up and cry so totally and completely. It was heart-wrenching, poor little guy. I would be able to get him back to sleep after a while, but it was just a combination of being disoriented and being tired and missing his life with his foster mother, that it was just awful for him. After a week maybe, I really don't remember well, I was in such a sleep-deprived fog, I started sleeping in his bedroom. Within another week, if I was nearby he would just look up, smile as if he were reassured that everything was ok, and would immediately go back to sleep. We learned quite a lot about sleep with that one.
Anyway, Noah woke up slightly at 45 minutes and whimpered. I came out to the livingroom and stood next to him, and he went back to sleep. Sometime later, I heard a noise, and noticed that he had crawled back in his bed and was rolling over. So, long story, but he made it back to his bed eventually, and then woke up at about 6:30 I think totally smiling.
We got dressed, went down for breakfast, said goodbye to the Canadian couple, and then just got down to the business of playing. Oh, I forgot to mention that there was also an American couple here for a few days, on their visit/test/interview trip. We didn't get much chance to talk to them, but I am glad to see that there are now two families that have recently received referrals and are moving through the process.
The morning was a repeat of much of the day yesterday: some playdoh, some walking, some reading, some ball playing, some block playing, some train playing, and some playing on the terrace. He had a really fun time hunting and chasing down some dried bourgainvillea petals that were blowing around on the terrace. They would collect in one of the corners, so he'd go get them and carry them out, only to set them down on a table and have them blow away. So he'd chase them down, catch some, and laugh when he succeeded. We are getting very good at applauding for all accomplishments.
We did get to skype home, and I think Noah really understood seeing Jerry, Mario, and Erik on the computer monitor. He was smiling and would wave his hand out to them, so that was great. I wasn't sure how much of it he would get, but it seemed to sink in enough to make it possible and worthwhile for us to do it. They have five inches of snow at home! And their luggage was lost!! I guess it is just as well we are not there because I am really enjoying all this sunshine and warm weather.
I have obviously wondered why it was that we weren't able to travel with them, and I think part of it is so that Noah can have some one on one time with Mommy. He is loving being able to totally dominate my time, and of course I am enjoying getting to play with him without any other distractions. Much as I of course love the rest of my family and miss them and want to be together, there are definitely benefits this way too. Just hope it won't go on too much longer.
Today is the feast of Our Lady of Suyapa, the 266th anniversary I believe, and is a big deal here for the people of Honduras. I love Mary very much, and have been asking for her intercession during this whole trip. I know that there are probably people that are reading this blog that don't understand Catholic devotion to the Blessed Mother, and if you are one of them, please feel free to send me a note (as long as it is polite), and I would be happy to answer your questions. The short answer is that Catholics honor Mary because she is the Mother of God. We don't worship her. Worship and adoration is reserved for God alone. But in His goodness, He gave us His own mother to help and intercede for us. It is just one more amazing thing about God that He let us participate in blessings for each other.
Nap time will be over soon, so I better cut this off now.
Funny, as soon as I finished typing that, I could hear him cry, after 45 minutes of napping. The rest of the afternoon went basically well, much the same as it did yesterday. More tears though; I wonder if he is missing Jerry and the boys.
He seems to be speaking and babbling much more every day, which is really wonderful. Have heard several instances of "Hola," and I think he might have said "no" as well. A whole variety of other sounds: roaring of course, woofing at the dog in the next yard, pretend snoring, and all sorts of babbling sounds. It's not where a two year old normally is, but we'll give that full attention when we get home.
So that's about it. Skyped home again and learned that the luggage arrived, so that is great. I am out of words.
Saturday, February 02, 2013
Day 18: Jerry, Mario, and Erik fly home
Well, they're gone now. I am writing this part while Noah is down for his nap. It is about 1:00 pm, and the flight is scheduled to depart at 1:01. We are practically right underneath the flight plan, so I am wondering if I will hear the plane any minute. We have been watching and waving to the planes the last several days if we happen to be on the terrace.
It was hard seeing them go. Noah and I watched from the lobby as they drove away in Ileana's car. I figured that would be a good thing to do so that Noah could actually see them leave. I didn't want a replay of what happened when his foster mother walked away without him seeing it and then he kept searching and searching for her for the first two days.
Ah, there's the plane. Bye guys!
I am relieved to say that it wasn't too hard on Noah when they left. It may be a different story when he wakes up from his nap, but the goodbye this morning wasn't too bad. After they drove away, Noah let out a cry for literally a couple seconds. We were standing in the dining area where the continental breakfast was still set out. I saw a bunch of bananas, grabbed one, and offered it to Noah. He got that "I LOVE BANANAS" look in his eyes, and that's all it took. God bless the Humuya Inn for having a continental breakfast still available at 10 am. We went up on the terrace, ate the banana, and played ball for a while.
Unfortunately, we are down to one ball left. We brought three, lost one over the terrace the first day (wild throw), and lost one last night (wild shot on goal). These are soft baby kind of balls stitched like a soccer ball with a rainbow of colors. We also have a beach ball that looks like a globe, what we call the baby train that is a fisher-price toy, some playschool-type animals, some plastic blocks, a set of stacking cups, a few board books, a few small cars, a push n go dumptruck, coloring books and crayons, a My First Crayola drawing pad, play doh, and I think that is it. Jerry and the boys took the rest of the stuff home so that I will be able to fit everything remaining in one suitcase. The toys we have left are Noah's greatest hits, and I am sure hoping they will continue to be the greatest hits for the duration of the trip. That and all I got in my mommy's bag of tricks.
We actually have had a fine morning so far. We played on the terrace, came down to the apartment and played blocks and trains, read books, did about ten rounds of "This is how the ladies ride...", colored, and had lunch, and now he is napping. Although I usually have been blogging in the evenings after all the boys are to bed, I figured I would get this written now in case I don't get much time tonight, or am completely exhausted, or both.
Ok, it is later now, and Noah is asleep for the night. Things went much better than I expected today. He woke up from his nap and cried briefly until I scooped him up and walked around with him. He likes to walk around after a nap and cuddle. So we did that for a while, then when he was awake enough, we started playing, and did so most of the rest of the day. The most challenging part was when I was fixing dinner. He found the remote to the tv sitting on a side table and figured out how to turn on the tv. First he acted like it was a cell phone and had some conversations in baby babble. I should mention that he has started babbling much more, more every day. It is music to my ears after him being so quiet. Anyway, I was chopping an onion so I didn't see exactly how it went down, but all of a sudden the tv was on, and it sure looked like he was pointing the remote at it. What a character. I guess he must have picked that up at his foster mother's place, since we haven't watched tv at all. Oh, I take that back: Jerry has flipped channels a couple times after all the kids are asleep, but Noah wouldn't have seen that. Another funny thing he does is squirrel things away. I have heard of children, especially those that have been institutionalized, who hoard food. Well, Noah hoards everything. He ends up putting all sorts of things in every cabinet and drawer he can reach. We have learned that anything of importance needs to go on the highest shelves or it stands a chance of being acquired. Anyway, at one point as I am fixing dinner I need to dry my hands and couldn't find the towels. He had moved them somewhere, and it took me several minutes to find them. All in all, it was rather funny, but I sure hope I remember to keep important things out of reach.
I gave him his shower after dinner -- kid loves his shower. It is funny seeing someone so small in a shower to begin with, and this one showers with abandon. He just loves it. It will be really fun in the summer taking him to venues that have splash pads. He is going to have a riot of a time.
We read some stories, played without getting too wound up, and then it was bedtime. Read the same three books again, said our prayers, and then turned out the light. He expressed interest, in his nonverbal way, of sleeping in mommy's bed, but I think it is best if he stays in his own bed, which is right in the same room anyway. He didn't seem to mind when I said no; it was kind of like he was testing the waters, knowing that I would probably say no, but figuring why not ask. I can respect that.
All for tonight!
It was hard seeing them go. Noah and I watched from the lobby as they drove away in Ileana's car. I figured that would be a good thing to do so that Noah could actually see them leave. I didn't want a replay of what happened when his foster mother walked away without him seeing it and then he kept searching and searching for her for the first two days.
Ah, there's the plane. Bye guys!
I am relieved to say that it wasn't too hard on Noah when they left. It may be a different story when he wakes up from his nap, but the goodbye this morning wasn't too bad. After they drove away, Noah let out a cry for literally a couple seconds. We were standing in the dining area where the continental breakfast was still set out. I saw a bunch of bananas, grabbed one, and offered it to Noah. He got that "I LOVE BANANAS" look in his eyes, and that's all it took. God bless the Humuya Inn for having a continental breakfast still available at 10 am. We went up on the terrace, ate the banana, and played ball for a while.
Unfortunately, we are down to one ball left. We brought three, lost one over the terrace the first day (wild throw), and lost one last night (wild shot on goal). These are soft baby kind of balls stitched like a soccer ball with a rainbow of colors. We also have a beach ball that looks like a globe, what we call the baby train that is a fisher-price toy, some playschool-type animals, some plastic blocks, a set of stacking cups, a few board books, a few small cars, a push n go dumptruck, coloring books and crayons, a My First Crayola drawing pad, play doh, and I think that is it. Jerry and the boys took the rest of the stuff home so that I will be able to fit everything remaining in one suitcase. The toys we have left are Noah's greatest hits, and I am sure hoping they will continue to be the greatest hits for the duration of the trip. That and all I got in my mommy's bag of tricks.
We actually have had a fine morning so far. We played on the terrace, came down to the apartment and played blocks and trains, read books, did about ten rounds of "This is how the ladies ride...", colored, and had lunch, and now he is napping. Although I usually have been blogging in the evenings after all the boys are to bed, I figured I would get this written now in case I don't get much time tonight, or am completely exhausted, or both.
Ok, it is later now, and Noah is asleep for the night. Things went much better than I expected today. He woke up from his nap and cried briefly until I scooped him up and walked around with him. He likes to walk around after a nap and cuddle. So we did that for a while, then when he was awake enough, we started playing, and did so most of the rest of the day. The most challenging part was when I was fixing dinner. He found the remote to the tv sitting on a side table and figured out how to turn on the tv. First he acted like it was a cell phone and had some conversations in baby babble. I should mention that he has started babbling much more, more every day. It is music to my ears after him being so quiet. Anyway, I was chopping an onion so I didn't see exactly how it went down, but all of a sudden the tv was on, and it sure looked like he was pointing the remote at it. What a character. I guess he must have picked that up at his foster mother's place, since we haven't watched tv at all. Oh, I take that back: Jerry has flipped channels a couple times after all the kids are asleep, but Noah wouldn't have seen that. Another funny thing he does is squirrel things away. I have heard of children, especially those that have been institutionalized, who hoard food. Well, Noah hoards everything. He ends up putting all sorts of things in every cabinet and drawer he can reach. We have learned that anything of importance needs to go on the highest shelves or it stands a chance of being acquired. Anyway, at one point as I am fixing dinner I need to dry my hands and couldn't find the towels. He had moved them somewhere, and it took me several minutes to find them. All in all, it was rather funny, but I sure hope I remember to keep important things out of reach.
I gave him his shower after dinner -- kid loves his shower. It is funny seeing someone so small in a shower to begin with, and this one showers with abandon. He just loves it. It will be really fun in the summer taking him to venues that have splash pads. He is going to have a riot of a time.
We read some stories, played without getting too wound up, and then it was bedtime. Read the same three books again, said our prayers, and then turned out the light. He expressed interest, in his nonverbal way, of sleeping in mommy's bed, but I think it is best if he stays in his own bed, which is right in the same room anyway. He didn't seem to mind when I said no; it was kind of like he was testing the waters, knowing that I would probably say no, but figuring why not ask. I can respect that.
All for tonight!
Friday, February 01, 2013
Day 17: Waiting to schedule the visa appointment
Today has been one frustrating day. We never heard back from the immigrant visa section all day. I emailed countless times. I would have faxed but could not locate a working fax machine anywhere. (Do people even fax anymore?) They only answer their phone on Monday and Wednesday afternoons from 2 to 3:30. (Wouldn't you like to say that to your clients? "Sorry, due to my high work load and low resources, I will only answer my phone three hours a week.") I asked the operator if there was any way I could just confirm an appointment date. No, she said, you'll have to email them. I even asked someone in the I-600 area for help -- they wouldn't even answer the phone for her. I know, in a few months I'll be laughing about this. Maybe I'm even laughing a little bit about it right now due to the sheer ridiculousness of the situation. But not too much.
So, this means we won't even have our visa appointment on Monday since the appointments are always at 7:00 am. I hope I can get them to answer my call on Monday at 2:00 pm. And actually, I don't even have a guarantee that I'll be able to get an appointment on Tuesday. Or even any day next week.
The thing that is actually giving me a hard time is that Jerry, Mario, and Erik are flying home in the morning. This is what we planned, that I would stay by myself with Noah after the first 2 1/2 weeks. Jerry has to get back to work, and the boys do need to get back to school at some point too. Really, those two just need to get home. This is a very long trip for a 6 year old and a 7 year old, or at least it has been a very long trip for them. Jerry asked if I wanted to switch places with him and me head home and he stay here, and although I truly appreciate the thought, it is the most logical thing for me to be the one to stay. It's just hard because the way things were moving so well there for a while, I had begun to entertain the thought that Noah and I just might be flying home with them. But little by little over the course of the week, the hope I had for that just dissipated. Now, I don't know when I will be home.
I talked to Ileana tonight to confirm when she'll pick up Jerry and the boys tomorrow, and she did a great job of pepping me up by reminding me of everything that I do know: God's ways are perfect. God knows what He is doing. All things work for the good. Etc. Plus, based on other families' timelines, we had thought I would be staying up to six or seven weeks, a full month after Jerry, Mario, and Erik had left. We're nowhere near that. It is just 2 1/2 weeks tomorrow. And realistically, we're on the very last step, other than the actual flight home. So it's not like it really will be anywhere near an entire additional month. Noah is a real little honey, and he is very attached to me now. It probably will be quite confusing and troubling for him for Jerry and the boys to leave tomorrow, but I'll do everything I can to keep him happy and will give him lots of love and attention (and chocolate ice cream if necessary). And of course lots of prayers. I know I've got crowds of people praying for us already, and God has blessed us so much as it is, enabling us to get so much accomplished in just 2 1/2 weeks. It will all work out. It will all be fine. It's just a little while longer.
So, this means we won't even have our visa appointment on Monday since the appointments are always at 7:00 am. I hope I can get them to answer my call on Monday at 2:00 pm. And actually, I don't even have a guarantee that I'll be able to get an appointment on Tuesday. Or even any day next week.
The thing that is actually giving me a hard time is that Jerry, Mario, and Erik are flying home in the morning. This is what we planned, that I would stay by myself with Noah after the first 2 1/2 weeks. Jerry has to get back to work, and the boys do need to get back to school at some point too. Really, those two just need to get home. This is a very long trip for a 6 year old and a 7 year old, or at least it has been a very long trip for them. Jerry asked if I wanted to switch places with him and me head home and he stay here, and although I truly appreciate the thought, it is the most logical thing for me to be the one to stay. It's just hard because the way things were moving so well there for a while, I had begun to entertain the thought that Noah and I just might be flying home with them. But little by little over the course of the week, the hope I had for that just dissipated. Now, I don't know when I will be home.
I talked to Ileana tonight to confirm when she'll pick up Jerry and the boys tomorrow, and she did a great job of pepping me up by reminding me of everything that I do know: God's ways are perfect. God knows what He is doing. All things work for the good. Etc. Plus, based on other families' timelines, we had thought I would be staying up to six or seven weeks, a full month after Jerry, Mario, and Erik had left. We're nowhere near that. It is just 2 1/2 weeks tomorrow. And realistically, we're on the very last step, other than the actual flight home. So it's not like it really will be anywhere near an entire additional month. Noah is a real little honey, and he is very attached to me now. It probably will be quite confusing and troubling for him for Jerry and the boys to leave tomorrow, but I'll do everything I can to keep him happy and will give him lots of love and attention (and chocolate ice cream if necessary). And of course lots of prayers. I know I've got crowds of people praying for us already, and God has blessed us so much as it is, enabling us to get so much accomplished in just 2 1/2 weeks. It will all work out. It will all be fine. It's just a little while longer.
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Day 16: Medical exam, shots, and I-600 approval!!
Wow -- what a day!! I feel like I keep saying that, but it really was! Things went smoother among the three boys than they have in the last few days, so that was wonderful in and of itself. I don't know if the two older boys were trying a little more, or if Noah seemed to understand better, or if it was just a shower of grace from heaven, but whatever it was, I am thankful. They had a lot of really cute moments of play together, and not nearly as many bad moments. Things are definitely progressing on the sibling front.
Mario and Erik finished all their school work, which is awesome, except Mario still has some cursive writing practice to do. He's not been liking it very much, so has been putting it off until manana pretty much every day. Tomorrow is the last full day for them here, so he's going to have to do it! I am extremely grateful to their teachers for preparing school work packages for them. It required a lot of planning and photocopying on their part, and it has really helped the boys not fall behind. Plus it definitely helped us structure our days. And I got to work with them on fun things like alliterations! On a few different occasions while we were waiting for Ileana to pick us up, we took turns through the alphabet coming up with sentences that had alliterations. It was fun seeing who could come up with the wackiest one.
Then this afternoon, within an hour of when Ileana was going to pick us up and take us to Noah's medical appointment, we learned that we had I-600 approval!! This is a BIG deal!! For most people that we know, it has taken one or two or three weeks to get approval, so we were extremely pleased that it took just three days. Course, one friend we know only took one day, but hey, I am not complaining one single solitary bit! So I quick-fired an email off to the immigration section at the Embassy asking for our visa appointment. They don't generally hold visa appointments on Fridays. Ileana thinks she knows of one family that had one on Friday, so I thought I would give it a try, and asked to possibly get an appointment for tomorrow since my husband and the other boys were leaving on Saturday, they are very attached, would cause confusion with our new little two year old, etc etc etc. I figured it was a long shot, since it was after 1:00 at this point, and Ileana was going to pick us up at 2, and we might be gone for several hours at the doctor's office, but I figured it was worth a try. I didn't hear a response by the time we were out the door.
We headed to the medical center, and the lab folks took a look at Noah's arm where he had the tb test. All clear! Then we waited for the doctor. He was to arrive at 3, and I think we probably got there around 2:30. Because of our son's young age, they put him at the front of the line, even though we were not the first people there. I was extremely grateful for that. Anyway, we headed in to the doctor's office, talked with him a while, he examined Noah (who really didn't want to have his shirt removed), then the nurse gave him a couple shots. The doctor followed this up with candy for all the boys, and gave us the famous sealed envelope that we are not to open at all under any circumstances but to bring it to the visa interview. I just put it in our folder, and will not touch it. I won't even let anyone else touch it or so much as breathe on it. We thanked the doctor profusely, and headed out the door. I can't believe how painless that was. Well, I guess one member of our party didn't think it was so painless, the one that was on the receiving end of those shots, but it could have been much worse and taken much longer. As it is, we were back at the hotel by 4.
I ran inside to our apartment to see if we had heard anything back about the visa interview, but no such luck. Ileana took us for a diaper run to Walmart, and since we were so close to McDonald's, well, you know what happens next. We actually didn't stay very long this time as it was much more crowded in the play place. Like it normally is, I suspect. So we ate a little, played a little, and headed back home. Chocolate ice cream to go please. Checked email again, and still no word about the visa interview. In fact as I am writing this later in the evening, we still haven't heard anything. Not that I expect embassy workers to be still at the office at 9:00 at night, but anyway, I think that means that Jerry and the older boys will be flying on Saturday sans Mommy and toddler. This means that we definitely have to have Jerry sign power of attorney for me so that I can take Noah out of the country. We hear that they are very strict about that around here at airport immigration, so that is a definite for the to do list.
I just can't tell you how thrilled I am that we have I-600 approval. It is such a huge relief because it gives me somewhat of a sense of how much more time Noah and I will be here, and it is not much longer! Sure, it would be way cool to fly home on Saturday with the rest of the family, but I think we will make do just fine for another few days. Either that or all the Coke Zero that I drank this afternoon has gone to my head.
Here's hoping and praying that tomorrow we'll hear back from the immigrant visa section that we have our appointment on Monday.
Mario and Erik finished all their school work, which is awesome, except Mario still has some cursive writing practice to do. He's not been liking it very much, so has been putting it off until manana pretty much every day. Tomorrow is the last full day for them here, so he's going to have to do it! I am extremely grateful to their teachers for preparing school work packages for them. It required a lot of planning and photocopying on their part, and it has really helped the boys not fall behind. Plus it definitely helped us structure our days. And I got to work with them on fun things like alliterations! On a few different occasions while we were waiting for Ileana to pick us up, we took turns through the alphabet coming up with sentences that had alliterations. It was fun seeing who could come up with the wackiest one.
Then this afternoon, within an hour of when Ileana was going to pick us up and take us to Noah's medical appointment, we learned that we had I-600 approval!! This is a BIG deal!! For most people that we know, it has taken one or two or three weeks to get approval, so we were extremely pleased that it took just three days. Course, one friend we know only took one day, but hey, I am not complaining one single solitary bit! So I quick-fired an email off to the immigration section at the Embassy asking for our visa appointment. They don't generally hold visa appointments on Fridays. Ileana thinks she knows of one family that had one on Friday, so I thought I would give it a try, and asked to possibly get an appointment for tomorrow since my husband and the other boys were leaving on Saturday, they are very attached, would cause confusion with our new little two year old, etc etc etc. I figured it was a long shot, since it was after 1:00 at this point, and Ileana was going to pick us up at 2, and we might be gone for several hours at the doctor's office, but I figured it was worth a try. I didn't hear a response by the time we were out the door.
We headed to the medical center, and the lab folks took a look at Noah's arm where he had the tb test. All clear! Then we waited for the doctor. He was to arrive at 3, and I think we probably got there around 2:30. Because of our son's young age, they put him at the front of the line, even though we were not the first people there. I was extremely grateful for that. Anyway, we headed in to the doctor's office, talked with him a while, he examined Noah (who really didn't want to have his shirt removed), then the nurse gave him a couple shots. The doctor followed this up with candy for all the boys, and gave us the famous sealed envelope that we are not to open at all under any circumstances but to bring it to the visa interview. I just put it in our folder, and will not touch it. I won't even let anyone else touch it or so much as breathe on it. We thanked the doctor profusely, and headed out the door. I can't believe how painless that was. Well, I guess one member of our party didn't think it was so painless, the one that was on the receiving end of those shots, but it could have been much worse and taken much longer. As it is, we were back at the hotel by 4.
I ran inside to our apartment to see if we had heard anything back about the visa interview, but no such luck. Ileana took us for a diaper run to Walmart, and since we were so close to McDonald's, well, you know what happens next. We actually didn't stay very long this time as it was much more crowded in the play place. Like it normally is, I suspect. So we ate a little, played a little, and headed back home. Chocolate ice cream to go please. Checked email again, and still no word about the visa interview. In fact as I am writing this later in the evening, we still haven't heard anything. Not that I expect embassy workers to be still at the office at 9:00 at night, but anyway, I think that means that Jerry and the older boys will be flying on Saturday sans Mommy and toddler. This means that we definitely have to have Jerry sign power of attorney for me so that I can take Noah out of the country. We hear that they are very strict about that around here at airport immigration, so that is a definite for the to do list.
I just can't tell you how thrilled I am that we have I-600 approval. It is such a huge relief because it gives me somewhat of a sense of how much more time Noah and I will be here, and it is not much longer! Sure, it would be way cool to fly home on Saturday with the rest of the family, but I think we will make do just fine for another few days. Either that or all the Coke Zero that I drank this afternoon has gone to my head.
Here's hoping and praying that tomorrow we'll hear back from the immigrant visa section that we have our appointment on Monday.
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Day 15: From Daddy's boy to Mama's boy
Can you predict what happened today?
No, we didn't hear back from the Embassy.
No, but little mister Noah was all about Mommy today. I'm not sure if Jerry even picked him up before about 3 in the afternoon. It was the all-Mommy-all-the-time channel. Jerry joked that it was like a vacation. I'm sure it was for his back and arms! Similar to how it was for Jerry the first couple days where Noah wanted nothing but Daddy, that is what I was doing today. Lots of carrying and playing and everything. At one point, we were chuckling at the little guy and thinking he was a little Italian Honduran: he has a way of gesturing when we wants to go for a walk, kind of a hand wave with his palms out front. He would do that and say "Mama, Mama," looking just like (if there is such a thing) an Italian Honduran! Jerry was able to get him down for his nap, and I am so very glad about that. It was a hot day today, so I was feeling rather sweaty carrying the hot little guy around. Moods were rough today by a couple of the other family members, and by the middle of the afternoon, we needed some special help. McDonald's anyone?? Yes!! All the boys had chocolate ice cream; a bottomless Coke Zero was more my speed. Oh yes, and that brilliant air conditioning and an almost completely deserted play place. It was really heavenly there for a while.
We had dinner back at the apartment, and moods went south again. It has been a long trip and is really starting to show. Home is looking really good right about now.
One nice thing is that there is a Canadian couple, adopting a boy, who arrived earlier this week on their first trip. We talked yesterday and today about the interview and testing process at IHNFA, and it was funny for me to relive memories of our first trip. All the questions, all the filling in the circles on the MMPI test, all the not sure what is going to happen next. Seems like so long ago, except the not sure what is going to happen next part. Still got that one.
I really am wondering how long it will be for us to get clearance from the Embassy. At this point I feel much better able to take care of Noah by myself than I would have felt last week. His attachment to me has grown amazingly. But I still shudder at the thought of Jerry, Mario, and Erik leaving in about sixty hours from now. I'm going to miss them terribly, and poor Noah is going to be so confused. I know God knows what He is doing. I pray for the grace to accept and embrace His will, whatever it might be.
No, we didn't hear back from the Embassy.
No, but little mister Noah was all about Mommy today. I'm not sure if Jerry even picked him up before about 3 in the afternoon. It was the all-Mommy-all-the-time channel. Jerry joked that it was like a vacation. I'm sure it was for his back and arms! Similar to how it was for Jerry the first couple days where Noah wanted nothing but Daddy, that is what I was doing today. Lots of carrying and playing and everything. At one point, we were chuckling at the little guy and thinking he was a little Italian Honduran: he has a way of gesturing when we wants to go for a walk, kind of a hand wave with his palms out front. He would do that and say "Mama, Mama," looking just like (if there is such a thing) an Italian Honduran! Jerry was able to get him down for his nap, and I am so very glad about that. It was a hot day today, so I was feeling rather sweaty carrying the hot little guy around. Moods were rough today by a couple of the other family members, and by the middle of the afternoon, we needed some special help. McDonald's anyone?? Yes!! All the boys had chocolate ice cream; a bottomless Coke Zero was more my speed. Oh yes, and that brilliant air conditioning and an almost completely deserted play place. It was really heavenly there for a while.
We had dinner back at the apartment, and moods went south again. It has been a long trip and is really starting to show. Home is looking really good right about now.
One nice thing is that there is a Canadian couple, adopting a boy, who arrived earlier this week on their first trip. We talked yesterday and today about the interview and testing process at IHNFA, and it was funny for me to relive memories of our first trip. All the questions, all the filling in the circles on the MMPI test, all the not sure what is going to happen next. Seems like so long ago, except the not sure what is going to happen next part. Still got that one.
I really am wondering how long it will be for us to get clearance from the Embassy. At this point I feel much better able to take care of Noah by myself than I would have felt last week. His attachment to me has grown amazingly. But I still shudder at the thought of Jerry, Mario, and Erik leaving in about sixty hours from now. I'm going to miss them terribly, and poor Noah is going to be so confused. I know God knows what He is doing. I pray for the grace to accept and embrace His will, whatever it might be.
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
Day 14: Living in the moment
The title for today is more of a reminder to myself than something I practiced perfectly. All day long, I wanted to sit at the computer hitting refresh to see if we had news from the Embassy letting us advance to the next step. My mind continually reminds me that we've got a clock that is ticking and ticking. Jerry, Mario, and Erik are leaving on Saturday. That is less than four days at this point. I have been hoping that Noah and I will be able to join them and depart at the same time, but the chance of that is slim and getting slimmer. Not impossible -- nothing is impossible with God. He doesn't need great odds; He can (and often does) pull out a surprise at the last moment. And trust me when I say that I am most definitely praying for that.
We didn't hear from the Embassy today. Like I said, I wanted to sit at the computer and hit refresh all day. But I didn't. Sure, periodically I would wander over and check, but I tried as much as possible to just let it go. I was constantly reminded to live in the moment. I am here in this beautiful country with my absolutely wonderful husband and my three precious boys, all of whom I love fiercely. We played lots together, we read stories, watched a couple movies, played hide and seek on the terrace, ate, laughed, danced, and a whole variety of things. If I had sat at the computer all day, I would have missed so much. If I had been mentally off on my own "what if'ing" all day, I would have accomplished nothing, and wouldn't have been living up to what I am called to be: a wife and mother. I would have totally lost this day, which will only come around once.
And you know, today was huge. I didn't get to check off anything big on the adoption checklist (although Noah did get his tb test so I guess that is something), but I got to do what I was supposed to do: love my family.
And you wouldn't believe what I got in return. I heard "Mama" from Noah for the first time! He said it all afternoon and evening! At first we weren't sure, but then it became completely obvious to all of us! He was calling me "Mama!!!" He wanted me to put him in his high chair, he wanted me to bring him more yogurt, he wanted me to read a book to him, he wanted me to pick him up and dance with him, he wanted me to get something that was caught under the sofa, he wanted me to play hide and seek with him, on and on and on. Really incredible! This is the kid that wouldn't give me the time of day two weeks ago. And now, he was calling me Mama, hugging and squeezing me, giggling with me, playing with my hair, and planting big wet sloppy toddler kisses right on my lips! One time Jerry tried to pick him up instead when he needed something, but no, Noah wanted "Mama!!!" Just amazing, and totally a gift from God.
So, I am really trying not to worry about whether we hear from the Embassy this week. Believe me, I seriously want to hear from them first thing in the morning, so that there is a chance that we can all fly home together on Saturday. I don't want to be away from Jerry, Mario, and Erik. And I don't like the idea of little Noah having to be separated from them either, so soon after being separated from his foster mother and the whole life he has ever known, and then making great strides at attaching to his new daddy and brothers. How would he understand that? Even if it were only going to be for a few days or a week, and then we would follow, how do you explain a few days or a week to a two-year-old?
I know this whole experience is in God's hands. I know that nothing surprises Him, and that He can always be counted on to bring good out of any situation. And even if they leave on Saturday, and Noah and I are still here, it will be ok. God will be holding us, and holding them too.
We didn't hear from the Embassy today. Like I said, I wanted to sit at the computer and hit refresh all day. But I didn't. Sure, periodically I would wander over and check, but I tried as much as possible to just let it go. I was constantly reminded to live in the moment. I am here in this beautiful country with my absolutely wonderful husband and my three precious boys, all of whom I love fiercely. We played lots together, we read stories, watched a couple movies, played hide and seek on the terrace, ate, laughed, danced, and a whole variety of things. If I had sat at the computer all day, I would have missed so much. If I had been mentally off on my own "what if'ing" all day, I would have accomplished nothing, and wouldn't have been living up to what I am called to be: a wife and mother. I would have totally lost this day, which will only come around once.
And you know, today was huge. I didn't get to check off anything big on the adoption checklist (although Noah did get his tb test so I guess that is something), but I got to do what I was supposed to do: love my family.
And you wouldn't believe what I got in return. I heard "Mama" from Noah for the first time! He said it all afternoon and evening! At first we weren't sure, but then it became completely obvious to all of us! He was calling me "Mama!!!" He wanted me to put him in his high chair, he wanted me to bring him more yogurt, he wanted me to read a book to him, he wanted me to pick him up and dance with him, he wanted me to get something that was caught under the sofa, he wanted me to play hide and seek with him, on and on and on. Really incredible! This is the kid that wouldn't give me the time of day two weeks ago. And now, he was calling me Mama, hugging and squeezing me, giggling with me, playing with my hair, and planting big wet sloppy toddler kisses right on my lips! One time Jerry tried to pick him up instead when he needed something, but no, Noah wanted "Mama!!!" Just amazing, and totally a gift from God.
So, I am really trying not to worry about whether we hear from the Embassy this week. Believe me, I seriously want to hear from them first thing in the morning, so that there is a chance that we can all fly home together on Saturday. I don't want to be away from Jerry, Mario, and Erik. And I don't like the idea of little Noah having to be separated from them either, so soon after being separated from his foster mother and the whole life he has ever known, and then making great strides at attaching to his new daddy and brothers. How would he understand that? Even if it were only going to be for a few days or a week, and then we would follow, how do you explain a few days or a week to a two-year-old?
I know this whole experience is in God's hands. I know that nothing surprises Him, and that He can always be counted on to bring good out of any situation. And even if they leave on Saturday, and Noah and I are still here, it will be ok. God will be holding us, and holding them too.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Day 13: The Embassy
This is another night when I am mentally worn out, but I want to do my best to capture the day.
We went to the U.S. Embassy today for our 10:00 appointment. Ileana (what would we ever do without her??) met us at the hotel and got us to the Embassy right on time. We had to park across the street, and then hold hands with the kids and run across while dodging traffic. Ileana made it very clear to the boys that they had to hold on tight and do just what we said as those drivers would not stop. They were good! We were very happy when there was a gap in the traffic and we could make it across relatively easily. We had left all of our electronic gear at home to make the trip through security easier. Ileana had her cell phone, and we had heard from families at this point last year that you could leave your electronic devices at security and get them on the way out. But no, they wouldn't let them in at all. So she had to stay outside.
We went in and through security. It was much like the airport or in a federal building in the States. They didn't make us take our shoes off though, which was nice. We had heard that some people had to do that, but that might have had something to do with high heels. I was in flats, thank you very much! The boys walked through fine, even little mister Noah, so cute behind his older brothers! Jerry about lost his pants without his belt. All that exercising he's doing chasing after Noah and carrying him around!! The Honduran adoption weight loss plan!
After that, we were directed to the correct window and met the USCIS official who will review our case. We gave her the I-600 form (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) and all the supporting paperwork. Everything was there, and in the correct order, and everything looked great! I think I even heard the word "perfect" once or twice. The official looked relieved, as did we. God bless you Marta and Ileana! Jerry has been calling these two ladies the dynamic duo. They have been incredible to work with. We were at the Embassy for twenty minutes total.
So now we wait. I am hoping and praying that they are able to have what they need to make a decision soon. The Embassy process works in a couple steps. First is the I-600 process. It is not the immigrant visa yet, but once we pass this step, then we can apply for the visa. Oh, and there is a medical exam too, likely with some shots. Youch!!
After we left the Embassy, we went for an early lunch at KFC. How could all three boys possibly be hungry? It was not even 11:00. Well, we pretty much had the playplace all to ourselves for most of our stay there. Course, it took a while for the chicken to be brought out to us. I'm sure they hadn't even harvested the birds by the time we walked in, or heated up the oil! The boys did have a great time playing. Noah was hysterical. He seriously thought he was a big time kid, running around, jumping on the mats of the playplace, going down the baby slide and doing a face plant on purpose each time. That laugh he has was music to my ears. I was remarking with Ileana how it has been less than two weeks now since we have been in country, and the first day he was crying his little eyes out and looking so so sad, and now he is loving us and laughing all the time. He and I can just look at each other funny and start giggling. We have come such a long way, he and I! And I am still not his favorite parent, so you can just imagine how much he loves Jerry. I thank God and praise Him for all these blessings He has showered on our family.
The boys were able to pick their toy that accompanied their meal. Mario picked an Alvin and the Chipmunks watch, Erik an Alvin and the Chipmunks earphone case, and Noah an Alvin and the Chipmunks notepad and carrying case that could also carry a CD. I only know that Erik's was an earphone case because it said so on the plastic wrapper. I had asked Erik what it was. "I don't know." he said. "But I want it." Oh boy. Noah carried his notepad and case around and around, again thinking he was big time. I personally was partial to Mario's watch. He told us what time it was every minute on the drive home. It took us fifteen minutes to get there. I am sure about that.
We did some more playing the rest of the day, some in our apartment, and some on the terrace, and did some reading too. It's funny: we can be having the best of times, and then suddenly it is, well not exactly the worst of times, but seriously rocky. The boys for the most part are loving each other and getting along very well. They can be so amazingly cute together. And then.....let's just say we are still adjusting to being a family of five. It can be rough when your new two-year-old brother knocks over your dinosaur creation you just made out of blocks, or wants to hold one of the stuffed animals that you really really really wanted to be playing with right at that exact moment, or kicks the ball that you really wanted to have a turn to kick and it's not fair because he just kicked it the last four times, etc. And these problems seem oh so big when you are just a kid yourself, away from home for nearly two weeks already, and having your life permanently changed by the addition of a sibling. And the two-year-old did come with a few bad habits of his own. We have been working on them, but they are not out of the picture yet. But in his defense, he has completely had his world rocked. It may take a while yet before he sheds those bad habits completely. He is two after all. So I get it, I really do. I continue to give them lots of love and pray for them all, and pray that we can all get home soon to at least what is a very familiar place to most of us, and can really start our regular life as a family of five.
We went to the U.S. Embassy today for our 10:00 appointment. Ileana (what would we ever do without her??) met us at the hotel and got us to the Embassy right on time. We had to park across the street, and then hold hands with the kids and run across while dodging traffic. Ileana made it very clear to the boys that they had to hold on tight and do just what we said as those drivers would not stop. They were good! We were very happy when there was a gap in the traffic and we could make it across relatively easily. We had left all of our electronic gear at home to make the trip through security easier. Ileana had her cell phone, and we had heard from families at this point last year that you could leave your electronic devices at security and get them on the way out. But no, they wouldn't let them in at all. So she had to stay outside.
We went in and through security. It was much like the airport or in a federal building in the States. They didn't make us take our shoes off though, which was nice. We had heard that some people had to do that, but that might have had something to do with high heels. I was in flats, thank you very much! The boys walked through fine, even little mister Noah, so cute behind his older brothers! Jerry about lost his pants without his belt. All that exercising he's doing chasing after Noah and carrying him around!! The Honduran adoption weight loss plan!
After that, we were directed to the correct window and met the USCIS official who will review our case. We gave her the I-600 form (Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative) and all the supporting paperwork. Everything was there, and in the correct order, and everything looked great! I think I even heard the word "perfect" once or twice. The official looked relieved, as did we. God bless you Marta and Ileana! Jerry has been calling these two ladies the dynamic duo. They have been incredible to work with. We were at the Embassy for twenty minutes total.
So now we wait. I am hoping and praying that they are able to have what they need to make a decision soon. The Embassy process works in a couple steps. First is the I-600 process. It is not the immigrant visa yet, but once we pass this step, then we can apply for the visa. Oh, and there is a medical exam too, likely with some shots. Youch!!
After we left the Embassy, we went for an early lunch at KFC. How could all three boys possibly be hungry? It was not even 11:00. Well, we pretty much had the playplace all to ourselves for most of our stay there. Course, it took a while for the chicken to be brought out to us. I'm sure they hadn't even harvested the birds by the time we walked in, or heated up the oil! The boys did have a great time playing. Noah was hysterical. He seriously thought he was a big time kid, running around, jumping on the mats of the playplace, going down the baby slide and doing a face plant on purpose each time. That laugh he has was music to my ears. I was remarking with Ileana how it has been less than two weeks now since we have been in country, and the first day he was crying his little eyes out and looking so so sad, and now he is loving us and laughing all the time. He and I can just look at each other funny and start giggling. We have come such a long way, he and I! And I am still not his favorite parent, so you can just imagine how much he loves Jerry. I thank God and praise Him for all these blessings He has showered on our family.
The boys were able to pick their toy that accompanied their meal. Mario picked an Alvin and the Chipmunks watch, Erik an Alvin and the Chipmunks earphone case, and Noah an Alvin and the Chipmunks notepad and carrying case that could also carry a CD. I only know that Erik's was an earphone case because it said so on the plastic wrapper. I had asked Erik what it was. "I don't know." he said. "But I want it." Oh boy. Noah carried his notepad and case around and around, again thinking he was big time. I personally was partial to Mario's watch. He told us what time it was every minute on the drive home. It took us fifteen minutes to get there. I am sure about that.
We did some more playing the rest of the day, some in our apartment, and some on the terrace, and did some reading too. It's funny: we can be having the best of times, and then suddenly it is, well not exactly the worst of times, but seriously rocky. The boys for the most part are loving each other and getting along very well. They can be so amazingly cute together. And then.....let's just say we are still adjusting to being a family of five. It can be rough when your new two-year-old brother knocks over your dinosaur creation you just made out of blocks, or wants to hold one of the stuffed animals that you really really really wanted to be playing with right at that exact moment, or kicks the ball that you really wanted to have a turn to kick and it's not fair because he just kicked it the last four times, etc. And these problems seem oh so big when you are just a kid yourself, away from home for nearly two weeks already, and having your life permanently changed by the addition of a sibling. And the two-year-old did come with a few bad habits of his own. We have been working on them, but they are not out of the picture yet. But in his defense, he has completely had his world rocked. It may take a while yet before he sheds those bad habits completely. He is two after all. So I get it, I really do. I continue to give them lots of love and pray for them all, and pray that we can all get home soon to at least what is a very familiar place to most of us, and can really start our regular life as a family of five.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Day 12: Valle de Angeles
We had another fun adventure today, this time to Valle de Angeles. Jerry and I visited there on our trip in August, and now we have enjoyed it as a family of five. Six if you count Ileana -- she sure feels like family to me!
The drive there is beautiful, the scenery gorgeous. Mario and Erik enjoyed spotting the cows, the chickens, the horses, and of course all the dogs all the way there. It is not a very far drive, but you definitely get out of the city, and it just feels so peaceful and green. What a gorgeous country this is.
Valle de Angeles actually was somewhat crowded today, as it is Sunday. Apparently a lot of people from the city like to venture out there on Sundays. It was fun to see the town square full of people and so lively. We did a little souvenir shopping and had a little snack and walked around a bit, and that was about it. I think it is such a great little place.
On the drive home, we saw a lot of little spots on the side of the road roasting corn. I love roasted corn. I must have said something like "Mmmm, roasted corn!" without even being aware of it. Ileana said "Want to stop? I'll get some too." So we did, and all of us enjoyed it. So we drove back to town enjoying our roasted corn with lemon and salt, and it was tasty tasty tasty.
We had a simple dinner tonight at our apartment, and played a little before bed. We are all enjoying getting into "roar fests" as we call them with Noah. He thinks its great, all this roaring! It definitely is funny. He certainly has grown in his attachment to us, which is a big relief to me. I think he still prefers Jerry quite a bit, but he likes me now too. Thank you God for that!
Big day tomorrow!
The drive there is beautiful, the scenery gorgeous. Mario and Erik enjoyed spotting the cows, the chickens, the horses, and of course all the dogs all the way there. It is not a very far drive, but you definitely get out of the city, and it just feels so peaceful and green. What a gorgeous country this is.
Valle de Angeles actually was somewhat crowded today, as it is Sunday. Apparently a lot of people from the city like to venture out there on Sundays. It was fun to see the town square full of people and so lively. We did a little souvenir shopping and had a little snack and walked around a bit, and that was about it. I think it is such a great little place.
On the drive home, we saw a lot of little spots on the side of the road roasting corn. I love roasted corn. I must have said something like "Mmmm, roasted corn!" without even being aware of it. Ileana said "Want to stop? I'll get some too." So we did, and all of us enjoyed it. So we drove back to town enjoying our roasted corn with lemon and salt, and it was tasty tasty tasty.
We had a simple dinner tonight at our apartment, and played a little before bed. We are all enjoying getting into "roar fests" as we call them with Noah. He thinks its great, all this roaring! It definitely is funny. He certainly has grown in his attachment to us, which is a big relief to me. I think he still prefers Jerry quite a bit, but he likes me now too. Thank you God for that!
Big day tomorrow!
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Day 11: The zoo
What can I say about today? It was kind of a hard one, mostly for the two older boys. I think they are just plain ready to be home. Plus, it is a hard transition for the two of them to suddenly have a new two-year-old in the family. Well, not really "suddenly" as this has been in the works for such a long time, but it was like one day they had never met him, then the next day they played with him for about an hour, and the next day he is their brother and is with them all the time. It is a big transition when you are used to things being a certain way, and then they are big time different. They do love him, that is clear to me, but there is a lot of togetherness on this trip with very little down-time for them. It is a hard thing for adults, so of course it is going to be challenging for kids. I try to soothe feathers as best I can, and distract them as best I can, and try to remember to praise them when I catch them doing something good, but it is something that is going to take time before we all find our new normal.
One supremely nice thing though is that there are plenty of absolutely adorable moments involving the three boys, and when I see them it is like a glimpse of heaven. The three of them have been loving to run around on the terrace together and play hide and seek or some sort of mob run where they seemingly make as much noise as possible. Sometimes Noah will grab Erik or Mario's hand to walk with them, which is precious. Mario and Erik are usually so quick to point out when Noah is sad about something or wants something or doesn't want something. Noah wants to be around them so much, it is obvious he thinks they are awesome. Erik loves to get Noah a banana in the morning, and Mario is quick to grab Noah's hand when he gets close to the steps. They are all three good boys, and I know it will all work out with time, patience, encouragement, and a lot of prayer.
Ileana drove us to the zoo this afternoon, which was a fun diversion. It is not like our zoo at home, but it was something, and we saw several animals that we had never seen before: several types of birds, a very heavy looking tapir, lots of types of snakes, and many zoo standby's: a lion, some jaguars, rabbits, deer, monkeys, raccoons, peacocks, and some others. We had a monkey incident: one monkey was walking around on his own around the zoo and just walked right up to us and on down the path. Ileana happened to mention a funny story involving another family who was at a resort town, and there were monkeys running loose there too. As often happens, those monkeys would take things that weren't hidden away, and these ones apparently had good taste and would try to take jewelry, cameras, phones, etc. One of our boys was especially nervous that this monkey would come and take the camera right out of my hand, and was oh so much happier when the monkey was in another part of the zoo. I won't say who was nervous: what happens at the zoo stays at the zoo.
The zoo is located in a park near the top of a mountain called El Picacho, which was maybe thirty minutes drive from our hotel. The park also has a large statue of Jesus, Cristo Picacho, overlooking the city, some playgrounds, and a replica of some Mayan ruins. It was great to do something new for the day. The views of the city below were simply gorgeous. Mario, Erik, and I walked to the top of the Mayan ruins replica, which was neat too, though I definitely had a hard time getting my size ten feet on those narrow steep steps. It was a good thing Jerry and Noah stayed on the bottom or we might have had some skinned knees to deal with.
More adventures tomorrow!
One supremely nice thing though is that there are plenty of absolutely adorable moments involving the three boys, and when I see them it is like a glimpse of heaven. The three of them have been loving to run around on the terrace together and play hide and seek or some sort of mob run where they seemingly make as much noise as possible. Sometimes Noah will grab Erik or Mario's hand to walk with them, which is precious. Mario and Erik are usually so quick to point out when Noah is sad about something or wants something or doesn't want something. Noah wants to be around them so much, it is obvious he thinks they are awesome. Erik loves to get Noah a banana in the morning, and Mario is quick to grab Noah's hand when he gets close to the steps. They are all three good boys, and I know it will all work out with time, patience, encouragement, and a lot of prayer.
Ileana drove us to the zoo this afternoon, which was a fun diversion. It is not like our zoo at home, but it was something, and we saw several animals that we had never seen before: several types of birds, a very heavy looking tapir, lots of types of snakes, and many zoo standby's: a lion, some jaguars, rabbits, deer, monkeys, raccoons, peacocks, and some others. We had a monkey incident: one monkey was walking around on his own around the zoo and just walked right up to us and on down the path. Ileana happened to mention a funny story involving another family who was at a resort town, and there were monkeys running loose there too. As often happens, those monkeys would take things that weren't hidden away, and these ones apparently had good taste and would try to take jewelry, cameras, phones, etc. One of our boys was especially nervous that this monkey would come and take the camera right out of my hand, and was oh so much happier when the monkey was in another part of the zoo. I won't say who was nervous: what happens at the zoo stays at the zoo.
The zoo is located in a park near the top of a mountain called El Picacho, which was maybe thirty minutes drive from our hotel. The park also has a large statue of Jesus, Cristo Picacho, overlooking the city, some playgrounds, and a replica of some Mayan ruins. It was great to do something new for the day. The views of the city below were simply gorgeous. Mario, Erik, and I walked to the top of the Mayan ruins replica, which was neat too, though I definitely had a hard time getting my size ten feet on those narrow steep steps. It was a good thing Jerry and Noah stayed on the bottom or we might have had some skinned knees to deal with.
More adventures tomorrow!
Friday, January 25, 2013
Day 10: Passport: Yes!!!!
So many great things happened today it is amazing. Ileana picked us up at 9:45, and we went to the passport bureau. We met Marta there, and didn't have to wait too long before going into a cubicle and getting Noah's picture taken. The passport official entered all the appropriate information in the computer system, Jerry and I signed, and I think that was it. I'm sure we were there less than an hour. We had brought school work and snacks along with us, in case it was a long wait, but we barely did any school work, and didn't even touch the snacks. We had been told the bureau was something like the DMV on steroids, and there was some truth to that since it was very crowded, and we would have been hard pressed to figure out which line to even start in, had it not been for Ileana and Marta. Regardless, I think it was still a good idea to bring the school work and the snacks.
We would need to come back later to pick up the completed passport, so we headed out to get another photo of him for the U.S. visa, which is the next thing on our list. We went to a new mall called the City Mall. When we were on our first trip here in August, the mall was not fully completed, but now it is open and very nice looking indeed. We found a Quick Photo, which lived up to its name. No waiting in line, and the photos were done twenty minutes later. So awesome. While we were hanging out at the mall, I was able to connect with the U.S. Embassy by phone and made an appointment for Monday at 10:00 to deliver our I-600 and the rest of the packet of information. See what I mean -- this day just keeps getting better and better! After that, we stopped at KFC for lunch and a little bit of playtime and cartoon watching. By 2, the passport was ready! And it is the cutest little passport photo too!
God has been so amazing for us this week. The way the week started, with the national registry on strike and no idea when it would end, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I am so happy with how much has transpired. And the fact that we have our appointment at the Embassy on Monday is just awesome.
The Spanish family that is here at the hotel is leaving for home tomorrow! They had been waiting to get paperwork out of the registry too, but have been able to get everything done, and are now ready to fly. They have been here three weeks in total for this trip. I am incredibly happy for them. Our kids have been playing so nicely together on this trip: running around on the terrace, playing hide and seek in all the obvious places, visiting the fish in the fountain (mama, papa, baby). It has been absolutely adorable to watch them. And to the four of them, it didn't matter that our two older boys speak very little Spanish, that she speaks no English, and that Noah doesn't speak at all. They could just play play play with no barriers at all. So sweet.
Noah let me in a little bit more tonight, actually more than just a little bit, I think. Jerry was changing his diaper and was getting him ready for bed, and I went in and sat next to Noah on the bed where Jerry was changing him. After the fresh diaper was on, I reached for Noah's socks to try to help out a little. Noah got a playful look in his eye, and somehow we started wrestling and giggling. I started kissing him real loud and he started laughing even louder, and then somehow we started growling at each other, first one then the other, back and forth, back and forth. That probably went on for nearly five minutes. My voice was starting to get hoarse, but there was no way I was going to stop for anything! Ok, then eventually I had to stop as it was getting close to bedtime, and it didn't seem fair to wind up the kid right before handing him over to Jerry to settle down and get to sleep. I could have tried to put him to bed myself, but I thought I didn't want to push it too far and get him crying at me again. Better to stop while I was ahead. But boy was it fun!
Ok, now after all this good news, I can share the funny stuff. Apparently Thursday night is the night for concerts around here. Erik woke me up in the middle of the night last night saying he could hear loud music that scared him. Sure enough, it was the same loud concert music as last week! Maybe not the same songs, but definitely the same guy, the same loud volume, and the same distorted sound. And now tonight, we've got it going again. Jerry just said, "I've been listening to this music, and it is really bad!" Yeah, no kidding!!!! I don't remember it starting this early last Friday, but maybe it did. It is just super funny to me. I wonder if they'll sing "My Way" again. Maybe it sounds a whole lot better up close, but I have a hard time believing that that could be true!
We would need to come back later to pick up the completed passport, so we headed out to get another photo of him for the U.S. visa, which is the next thing on our list. We went to a new mall called the City Mall. When we were on our first trip here in August, the mall was not fully completed, but now it is open and very nice looking indeed. We found a Quick Photo, which lived up to its name. No waiting in line, and the photos were done twenty minutes later. So awesome. While we were hanging out at the mall, I was able to connect with the U.S. Embassy by phone and made an appointment for Monday at 10:00 to deliver our I-600 and the rest of the packet of information. See what I mean -- this day just keeps getting better and better! After that, we stopped at KFC for lunch and a little bit of playtime and cartoon watching. By 2, the passport was ready! And it is the cutest little passport photo too!
God has been so amazing for us this week. The way the week started, with the national registry on strike and no idea when it would end, I wasn't sure what was going to happen, but I am so happy with how much has transpired. And the fact that we have our appointment at the Embassy on Monday is just awesome.
The Spanish family that is here at the hotel is leaving for home tomorrow! They had been waiting to get paperwork out of the registry too, but have been able to get everything done, and are now ready to fly. They have been here three weeks in total for this trip. I am incredibly happy for them. Our kids have been playing so nicely together on this trip: running around on the terrace, playing hide and seek in all the obvious places, visiting the fish in the fountain (mama, papa, baby). It has been absolutely adorable to watch them. And to the four of them, it didn't matter that our two older boys speak very little Spanish, that she speaks no English, and that Noah doesn't speak at all. They could just play play play with no barriers at all. So sweet.
Noah let me in a little bit more tonight, actually more than just a little bit, I think. Jerry was changing his diaper and was getting him ready for bed, and I went in and sat next to Noah on the bed where Jerry was changing him. After the fresh diaper was on, I reached for Noah's socks to try to help out a little. Noah got a playful look in his eye, and somehow we started wrestling and giggling. I started kissing him real loud and he started laughing even louder, and then somehow we started growling at each other, first one then the other, back and forth, back and forth. That probably went on for nearly five minutes. My voice was starting to get hoarse, but there was no way I was going to stop for anything! Ok, then eventually I had to stop as it was getting close to bedtime, and it didn't seem fair to wind up the kid right before handing him over to Jerry to settle down and get to sleep. I could have tried to put him to bed myself, but I thought I didn't want to push it too far and get him crying at me again. Better to stop while I was ahead. But boy was it fun!
Ok, now after all this good news, I can share the funny stuff. Apparently Thursday night is the night for concerts around here. Erik woke me up in the middle of the night last night saying he could hear loud music that scared him. Sure enough, it was the same loud concert music as last week! Maybe not the same songs, but definitely the same guy, the same loud volume, and the same distorted sound. And now tonight, we've got it going again. Jerry just said, "I've been listening to this music, and it is really bad!" Yeah, no kidding!!!! I don't remember it starting this early last Friday, but maybe it did. It is just super funny to me. I wonder if they'll sing "My Way" again. Maybe it sounds a whole lot better up close, but I have a hard time believing that that could be true!
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Day 9: Birth certificate success!
Another day with great news from Ileana: we have Noah's birth certificate!! We found out just after lunch time -- I think I was doing a happy dance for about fifteen minutes long. So happy and relieved to have that! So tomorrow, we go for the passport.
We also were able to do laundry today, so each of us has a stack of freshly smelling clothes.
And it rained today! Not a huge rain, but rain nonetheless.
Today marks the halfway point for Jerry, Mario, and Erik being here. Yesterday morning, before we knew that the registry was open, I was not feeling too good about the fact that we were nearly halfway through their part of the trip. I have been trying to stay in the moment and live one day at a time, but I was getting trepidatious that I might have a very long time ahead of me when it was just me and Noah, after the other three had left for home. But now, with the birth certificate in hand, and going for the passport tomorrow, I feel so much better. I think we will still have some amount of time when it is just the two of us, but the way things are going now, it hopefully won't be too many days. He will let me get him in and out of the high chair now, which is some progress, but I still can't hold him very long before he will start to get upset about it. He is going to be majorly upset after they leave, no way around it.
Anyway, I don't need to dwell on that. It is in God's hands, and we are going for the passport tomorrow (assuming it isn't the passport bureau's time to strike -- hee hee!).
We also were able to do laundry today, so each of us has a stack of freshly smelling clothes.
And it rained today! Not a huge rain, but rain nonetheless.
Today marks the halfway point for Jerry, Mario, and Erik being here. Yesterday morning, before we knew that the registry was open, I was not feeling too good about the fact that we were nearly halfway through their part of the trip. I have been trying to stay in the moment and live one day at a time, but I was getting trepidatious that I might have a very long time ahead of me when it was just me and Noah, after the other three had left for home. But now, with the birth certificate in hand, and going for the passport tomorrow, I feel so much better. I think we will still have some amount of time when it is just the two of us, but the way things are going now, it hopefully won't be too many days. He will let me get him in and out of the high chair now, which is some progress, but I still can't hold him very long before he will start to get upset about it. He is going to be majorly upset after they leave, no way around it.
Anyway, I don't need to dwell on that. It is in God's hands, and we are going for the passport tomorrow (assuming it isn't the passport bureau's time to strike -- hee hee!).
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Day 8: National Registry is back at work
Yay!
Ileana took me grocery shopping this morning, and greeted me with the good news that the registry is back at work today. I was so relieved to hear that. I don't know how long it will take for them to process Noah's birth certificate, but at least the strike is off, which feels like a major step forward.
I had my first little test as a single parent today. (No, not the first test ever, just on this trip, and for more than just while Jerry was in the bathroom.) Jerry had to take a conference call, so he ran up to the rooftop terrace with his computer after eating a quick lunch, and I was left with the three boys. Noah was eating pasta happily in his high chair. Thank goodness the boy is a good eater, as it bought me at least five minutes. After that point, he realized his favorite parent had left the apartment. He got that very sad expression on his face and wanted out of the high chair. I got him down -- he had eaten quite a bit of food at that point -- and then he proceeded to walk around the apartment looking for Jerry, and crying (somewhat) softly. He realized he must have gone out the door, and pointed at it trying to get me to open it. I said no, and then the real crying started. Crying. Shrieking. Screaming. The other two boys grabbed some toys, ran to their bedroom, and shut the door to get away from the noise. Thanks buds, leaving me in my hour of need. I picked Noah up so that he didn't go into full-blown tantrum and bang his head against the cement floor, and tried to comfort him, distract him, anything I could do. I might have gone deaf there briefly, but the cries stopped after probably five minutes. I put him down, and he wanted his shoes on. I put them on him, which probably bought me a little goodwill, and he went to his favorite chair. I worked on all the distraction ideas I had in my bag of tricks: singing songs and acting them out with a few little playschool animals, giving him his puppy, giving him a couple balls and tossing them back and forth with him, juggling, making silly faces, etc. Poor guy just looked so sad, but eventually his eyes started to look sleepy and he fell asleep in his chair. I'm going to declare this experience a success.
I wrote all that while he had his nap, and it is a good thing that I did it then, as now it is later in the evening, and I am wiped out. I don't think I would have done justice to the details if I had waited until now. We had a tough afternoon: some crabby moods (and not just in the children, but in their mommy) and then Erik's cold went through a strange hour where he was coughing and coughing so much and spitting out a ton of phlegm. There I said it. Phlegm. Isn't that one of the absolute grossest words in the entire English language? I don't think it is quite an onomotopeoia, but practically. It always feels like phlegm starts to grow in the back of my throat everytime I hear anyone say the word. So so yuk. Anyway, poor Erik. This is an issue he has periodically when he has a cold, especially if his nose isn't blown super regularly, but it seemed especially gross and productive tonight. Maybe because we were already in a crabby mood, or maybe because we are out of town, or maybe because even though we are only on day eight we are already ready to be home. Maybe all of those together. It makes me feel like a big time wimp to admit it, but there it is. I am so thankful that we have Noah, and thankful that we signed his adoption decree, and thankful that his file is now with the national registry, but I just pray and pray and pray that we can fly through the rest of our milestones and get home.
Ileana took me grocery shopping this morning, and greeted me with the good news that the registry is back at work today. I was so relieved to hear that. I don't know how long it will take for them to process Noah's birth certificate, but at least the strike is off, which feels like a major step forward.
I had my first little test as a single parent today. (No, not the first test ever, just on this trip, and for more than just while Jerry was in the bathroom.) Jerry had to take a conference call, so he ran up to the rooftop terrace with his computer after eating a quick lunch, and I was left with the three boys. Noah was eating pasta happily in his high chair. Thank goodness the boy is a good eater, as it bought me at least five minutes. After that point, he realized his favorite parent had left the apartment. He got that very sad expression on his face and wanted out of the high chair. I got him down -- he had eaten quite a bit of food at that point -- and then he proceeded to walk around the apartment looking for Jerry, and crying (somewhat) softly. He realized he must have gone out the door, and pointed at it trying to get me to open it. I said no, and then the real crying started. Crying. Shrieking. Screaming. The other two boys grabbed some toys, ran to their bedroom, and shut the door to get away from the noise. Thanks buds, leaving me in my hour of need. I picked Noah up so that he didn't go into full-blown tantrum and bang his head against the cement floor, and tried to comfort him, distract him, anything I could do. I might have gone deaf there briefly, but the cries stopped after probably five minutes. I put him down, and he wanted his shoes on. I put them on him, which probably bought me a little goodwill, and he went to his favorite chair. I worked on all the distraction ideas I had in my bag of tricks: singing songs and acting them out with a few little playschool animals, giving him his puppy, giving him a couple balls and tossing them back and forth with him, juggling, making silly faces, etc. Poor guy just looked so sad, but eventually his eyes started to look sleepy and he fell asleep in his chair. I'm going to declare this experience a success.
I wrote all that while he had his nap, and it is a good thing that I did it then, as now it is later in the evening, and I am wiped out. I don't think I would have done justice to the details if I had waited until now. We had a tough afternoon: some crabby moods (and not just in the children, but in their mommy) and then Erik's cold went through a strange hour where he was coughing and coughing so much and spitting out a ton of phlegm. There I said it. Phlegm. Isn't that one of the absolute grossest words in the entire English language? I don't think it is quite an onomotopeoia, but practically. It always feels like phlegm starts to grow in the back of my throat everytime I hear anyone say the word. So so yuk. Anyway, poor Erik. This is an issue he has periodically when he has a cold, especially if his nose isn't blown super regularly, but it seemed especially gross and productive tonight. Maybe because we were already in a crabby mood, or maybe because we are out of town, or maybe because even though we are only on day eight we are already ready to be home. Maybe all of those together. It makes me feel like a big time wimp to admit it, but there it is. I am so thankful that we have Noah, and thankful that we signed his adoption decree, and thankful that his file is now with the national registry, but I just pray and pray and pray that we can fly through the rest of our milestones and get home.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Day 7: We understand more
Well, here we are after a week in country. There are so many things every day to be amazed by. I am so grateful for so many things. Here's a short list, but there are so many more:
-- The Humuya Inn is absolutely wonderful. We couldn't ask for a better place. It is very comfortable, and the staff here are fabulous. At first we had asked for a pack n play, and it was here in our apartment when we checked in. Then we learned that Noah was actually sleeping in a regular child's bed. So we asked if the hotel had a twin bed that we could use. Within an hour, it was here, set up, and made, just like that. As soon as we finish one of the big water bottles, we ask for another, and in less than ten minutes, we have a new one. Everything is like that around here.
-- Our apartment is terrific. We are so completely comfortable here. It is bright and airy and spacious, and we have plenty of everything: chairs, plates, towels, everything.
-- Ileana, our agency rep, has been a dream to work with. We just love her.
-- Every day, Noah becomes more and more adjusted to the rest of us, and we become more adjusted to him. For a non-talker, he can really make himself understood, and it just has the rest of us laughing. He actually has been making more vocalizations, which is terrific. Several days ago, he was completely quiet, other than when he was crying, but now his sounds are more varied. I wouldn't call it words exactly, but he does have a way of expressing himself. Plus I think he gets it that we are really trying to understand him, and so he seems happier about it.
-- Except for a couple nights, he has slept all the way through the night. Which means that we can sleep too!
-- He let me walk and hold his hand again today, which is great. He most definitely still has his favorite parent, but he is giving me more and more bones.
-- Mario and Erik have been able to do some schoolwork each day.
-- Mario and Erik have been adapting so amazingly well to all the changes in their little lives. Things are very different for them, but they are really rising to the occasion.
-- Jerry has been able to do some work work each day.
It definitely hasn't been a walk in the park, but even through the hard parts, we can see so much beauty. At times, my heart just swells with joy and gratitude for these gifts that I have been given.
Still no resolution with the strike at the national registry.
-- The Humuya Inn is absolutely wonderful. We couldn't ask for a better place. It is very comfortable, and the staff here are fabulous. At first we had asked for a pack n play, and it was here in our apartment when we checked in. Then we learned that Noah was actually sleeping in a regular child's bed. So we asked if the hotel had a twin bed that we could use. Within an hour, it was here, set up, and made, just like that. As soon as we finish one of the big water bottles, we ask for another, and in less than ten minutes, we have a new one. Everything is like that around here.
-- Our apartment is terrific. We are so completely comfortable here. It is bright and airy and spacious, and we have plenty of everything: chairs, plates, towels, everything.
-- Ileana, our agency rep, has been a dream to work with. We just love her.
-- Every day, Noah becomes more and more adjusted to the rest of us, and we become more adjusted to him. For a non-talker, he can really make himself understood, and it just has the rest of us laughing. He actually has been making more vocalizations, which is terrific. Several days ago, he was completely quiet, other than when he was crying, but now his sounds are more varied. I wouldn't call it words exactly, but he does have a way of expressing himself. Plus I think he gets it that we are really trying to understand him, and so he seems happier about it.
-- Except for a couple nights, he has slept all the way through the night. Which means that we can sleep too!
-- He let me walk and hold his hand again today, which is great. He most definitely still has his favorite parent, but he is giving me more and more bones.
-- Mario and Erik have been able to do some schoolwork each day.
-- Mario and Erik have been adapting so amazingly well to all the changes in their little lives. Things are very different for them, but they are really rising to the occasion.
-- Jerry has been able to do some work work each day.
It definitely hasn't been a walk in the park, but even through the hard parts, we can see so much beauty. At times, my heart just swells with joy and gratitude for these gifts that I have been given.
Still no resolution with the strike at the national registry.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Day 6: Our son's name is.....
Noah Angel Anderson!
I realized today that I could go ahead and document his name on this blog now, since I won't be publishing it until I am at home. So, yay! That is his name! Isn't it a wonderful name?
Some background: we actually are keeping his birth name, only we are switching around the first name and the middle name. When we received his referral, we were told that his name was Angel Noe. I loved it right from the start, and I thought it was a great little God incident since his name is so close to my name Angela and our birthdays are just one day apart. I didn't even pay attention to his middle name "Noe" and didn't give any thought to what it might mean. Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, my brain just saw "Noel." No thought at all. A couple days later Jerry said that he had concerns about the name, such as rough first days of school every year when teachers would assume it was a girl's name, that he would get teasing from other kids, etc. I am aware of several Hispanic boys or men that are named "Angel," but Jerry thought there might be trouble, and didn't want him teased. Well, even though I personally love the name Angel, I thought Jerry probably had a point. But then it was like, well what now? What do we name him now? With all our boys, we have wanted to preserve their birth name, and had said that we would do so unless there was a particular reason why we thought we should change it. We know of many adoptive parents that want to give a name to their child, and of course that is their right, but for us, we wanted to preserve that tie to their birth family and their birth country. So it's not like we have had a name selected for a boy and a name selected for a girl, and when we learned our referral we just use that name. Here we were, without a name selected, and a given name that we thought we wouldn't use. So what do we do? We were in name limbo for a couple days, then one morning I was in the shower (I kid you not), and I had this thought come into my mind, fully formed: "Noe" is "Noah" in Spanish. Huh? What? I just knew that Noe was Noah. I literally almost jumped out of the shower to go to an online English-Spanish dictionary to confirm it, but luckily I waited until I was soap-free before getting out. I know, TMI. So as soon as I had towelled off, I looked it up, and sure enough: "Noe" is "Noah" in Spanish!! I called Jerry at work and told him. He was like "Yeah!" So, our new son had his name: Noah Angel Anderson!
Well, let me tell you something new about Noah Angel Anderson: this morning he nodded "yes" for the first time! Well, the first time to us, at least. As a two-year-old, he came to us able to shake his head "no." No big surprise there. But today was the first "yes" that we had, and we actually got several throughout the day. We were thrilled!
Other than the nodding thing, today was much the same: Jerry woke up early to get a few hours of work in before the rest of us got up. Then we got up and dressed, went downstairs for breakfast, came back up, Jerry played with Noah while I did school work with Mario and Erik, then we stopped mid-morning for a little snack. Then we all played together for a while, then had lunch. Jerry got Noah down for a nap, and I did some more school work with the older two boys while he was napping. Jerry worked. Yesterday and today Noah only napped about 45 min and then woke up crying. Jerry tried to get him back to sleep, but every time he tried to leave the room, the little one would wake up, so he eventually gave up. We were able to do a little more school work, but not much, then all played again until dinner time. By this time, the two year old was getting crabby, so soon after dinner, he was ready for bed. Jerry got him into bed and asleep very easily, while the other two stayed up a little longer for stories and prayers. Then it was time for them to go to sleep. And that was today.
I am still not Noah's favorite parent. No contest at all. But he is letting me in more and more every day, most definitely. I know it is hard work for Jerry, and I remind myself not to take it personally, and that it is only a matter of time. I do wonder how long I will have to keep reminding myself. How long this will be an issue. We take it one day at a time.
The strike is still ongoing with the national registry. I have no idea how much longer it will be.
I realized today that I could go ahead and document his name on this blog now, since I won't be publishing it until I am at home. So, yay! That is his name! Isn't it a wonderful name?
Some background: we actually are keeping his birth name, only we are switching around the first name and the middle name. When we received his referral, we were told that his name was Angel Noe. I loved it right from the start, and I thought it was a great little God incident since his name is so close to my name Angela and our birthdays are just one day apart. I didn't even pay attention to his middle name "Noe" and didn't give any thought to what it might mean. Since his birthday is so close to Christmas, my brain just saw "Noel." No thought at all. A couple days later Jerry said that he had concerns about the name, such as rough first days of school every year when teachers would assume it was a girl's name, that he would get teasing from other kids, etc. I am aware of several Hispanic boys or men that are named "Angel," but Jerry thought there might be trouble, and didn't want him teased. Well, even though I personally love the name Angel, I thought Jerry probably had a point. But then it was like, well what now? What do we name him now? With all our boys, we have wanted to preserve their birth name, and had said that we would do so unless there was a particular reason why we thought we should change it. We know of many adoptive parents that want to give a name to their child, and of course that is their right, but for us, we wanted to preserve that tie to their birth family and their birth country. So it's not like we have had a name selected for a boy and a name selected for a girl, and when we learned our referral we just use that name. Here we were, without a name selected, and a given name that we thought we wouldn't use. So what do we do? We were in name limbo for a couple days, then one morning I was in the shower (I kid you not), and I had this thought come into my mind, fully formed: "Noe" is "Noah" in Spanish. Huh? What? I just knew that Noe was Noah. I literally almost jumped out of the shower to go to an online English-Spanish dictionary to confirm it, but luckily I waited until I was soap-free before getting out. I know, TMI. So as soon as I had towelled off, I looked it up, and sure enough: "Noe" is "Noah" in Spanish!! I called Jerry at work and told him. He was like "Yeah!" So, our new son had his name: Noah Angel Anderson!
Well, let me tell you something new about Noah Angel Anderson: this morning he nodded "yes" for the first time! Well, the first time to us, at least. As a two-year-old, he came to us able to shake his head "no." No big surprise there. But today was the first "yes" that we had, and we actually got several throughout the day. We were thrilled!
Other than the nodding thing, today was much the same: Jerry woke up early to get a few hours of work in before the rest of us got up. Then we got up and dressed, went downstairs for breakfast, came back up, Jerry played with Noah while I did school work with Mario and Erik, then we stopped mid-morning for a little snack. Then we all played together for a while, then had lunch. Jerry got Noah down for a nap, and I did some more school work with the older two boys while he was napping. Jerry worked. Yesterday and today Noah only napped about 45 min and then woke up crying. Jerry tried to get him back to sleep, but every time he tried to leave the room, the little one would wake up, so he eventually gave up. We were able to do a little more school work, but not much, then all played again until dinner time. By this time, the two year old was getting crabby, so soon after dinner, he was ready for bed. Jerry got him into bed and asleep very easily, while the other two stayed up a little longer for stories and prayers. Then it was time for them to go to sleep. And that was today.
I am still not Noah's favorite parent. No contest at all. But he is letting me in more and more every day, most definitely. I know it is hard work for Jerry, and I remind myself not to take it personally, and that it is only a matter of time. I do wonder how long I will have to keep reminding myself. How long this will be an issue. We take it one day at a time.
The strike is still ongoing with the national registry. I have no idea how much longer it will be.
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