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:

 

 

 

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!!!

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.

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.

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!!

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....

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.

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!

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.