34 lbs. of non-stop energy

He is a very adorable boy who loves, loves, loves to play with you. He has a sweet demeanor, but can show you his anger in a second with his piercing eyes staring right through you or with his fits of rage. My husband and I have been challenged since day 1 with him, but we have seen much progress and are encouraged by it. He started out on Day 1 with running from us for fun or when he didn't like something we said. We had to be quick and alert at all times because he would not stop until we grabbed him. Yes, we were tired from the moment we landed. We signed custody papers on day 2 of arriving here in Tegucigalpa so he has been with us 24/7 - for 9 days now. He no longer has his 20 minute fits of rage where we had to calmly talk to him as we held him and told him "It is o.k. We know you are angry, we love you Justin, calm down" It was hard. Hats off to my husband because he dealt with the most of them, but I told him I had to be willing to "help" if he was going to begin to understand me too.

Our 6 yr old boy was the most expressive about meeting his new brother, but it is his new 9 yr old sister that he has taken to the best.  Our 2 sons do not know yet what to make of each other. It has been challenging as a parent to know just what the right move is. On one hand you have a child who is testing his new family constantly and then on the other you have one who is trying not to lose his place. There are glimmers of hope throughout the day, but then one major disruption can shatter that hope so fast. I know it will come, but just a lot slower than I thought.

It is still mind boggling to think that this little boy popped into our family and is here to stay. He is not a baby. He is 5 yrs old, who believes he is 4. We are still adjusting and we will continue to do so for a while. For now we pray and take each day as it comes. We are trying to enjoy the moments good or bad because we know we are being formed into our new family.

I truly don't enjoy the fact that we have to be here in Honduras for so long, but I think it is better for all of us. (I can't believe I just said that. I might have to reread this post during week #5) If we were ready to go home after a week we would jump right back into our routines, the 2 kids will be back in school, my husband would go back to his busy schedule and it would be Justin and I at home. Here he is familiar with the language, the crazy car driving, the people, the sights of Honduras. There will be plenty of other things to adjust to once we land in the U. S. A. So for now we will wait for our Monday appointment when Honduras says Justin will be legally ours forever!