Roatan

We were so fortunate to have the time to visit Roatan while waiting for paperwork. Friday, Sept 9th our entire family flew to Roatan on Toca Airlines. We were getting the run around all week on when we would actually sign our adoption decree. Our plan was just to leave and fly back whenever they were ready. Finally on Thursday, Sept 8th they set a date for Monday, Sept 12th to sign the decree. Luckily for us my younger brother and sister-in-law decided that they wanted to visit us there so a month prior they set a date to meet us in Roatan (much guessing of dates when into this plan but it worked out perfectly). We landed in Roatan the 9th, they came the 10th, we flew to Tegucigalpa, the 11th, signed the adoption decree  on the 12th, flew back to Roatan the 13th, and then flew "home" to Tegucigalpa yesterday, the 21st. Our oldest 2 stayed with Uncle R and Aunt S while the 3 of us flew to Tegucigalpa. It was so nice to see family and experience life with them in such a beautiful place. Especially at a crazy time like this.

It was heavenly and almost felt like a vacation. Infinity Bay had the most beautiful beach I have ever seen. White, sandy beach with clear water. Perfect for snorkeling. Four of us enjoyed it, and the youngest snorkeled, but on the beach. Every day we enjoyed swimming in the ocean or the pool, and explored the island. We went swimming with the dolphins at a marine biology park, and visited an iguana farm. The island is very expensive with prices being comparable to a U.S. resort. The grocery store was a bit more pricier than the U.S. but they did have Coffee-mate vanilla liquid creamer, which was a treat on this trip. I did "cook" with dinner consisting of pancakes, grilled cheese, or peanut butter/jelly sandwiches. Ok and a night of cereal, but no one complained and neither did I :)

For 4 of the days we stayed in a home on Brick Bay. The home was on a hill overlooking the Bay. The water was not conducive to swimming because of the trash that had accumulated there, but it was a nice break to play outside with Leo, the kitten, or look for mini-crabs. One night after the kids climbed in bed we were about to say our prayers when all of a sudden the fans stopped, the AC in the room turned off and the lights went out. We were in total darkness and silence. Immediately it started to thunder, and rain. A lot of crazy thoughts went swirling about my head. Our lives are about to end, we are gonna be robbed, who will even know? We were in the middle of nowhere by ourselves. Bob tried the caretakers phone and couldn't get a signal. It was a scene out of horror movie for sure. After about 5 minutes of freaking out together, silently of course. We just tried to lay they and not think about the sweat that was starting to accumulate on our brow. Forty-five minutes later all was well. We were not going to be robbed, we were not going to sweat to death. We would be alright.

Justin will be swimming in no time. He loved the water. Brett said, "Mom, this is really,  really cool" as he was snorkeling for the first time. Madeline just took it all in and loved everything new and Bob and I said this place could be romantic. Maybe we will go back just the two of us.

playing in the ocean for the first time

                                              

Uncle R styled the boys' hair before walking to dinner.

                                      

A wild monkey was chained up on the property so we felt sorry for him and gave him a mango from the tree.

                        

Maddie caught a crab on the beach

Family Update

Twenty four days into being a family of 5 and it is starting to feel a little bit more "normal". My patience is being exercised more than ever with all three of my kids. The last 3 nights at bedtime our oldest cries telling me that she wants to go back to being a family of 4. Brett and Justin still don't understand each other. I always thought that "play" would bring the boys together, but in our case it doesn't seem to be true. Brett is frustrated with Justin because his first instinct is to be aggressive at play. Brett says he doesn't know how to talk to him. The list goes on. As for me I often have to remind myself of what used to be his circumstances just 3 weeks ago. He has a lot more adjustments for sure, but he has made incredible strides in such a short amount of time. I never thought he would come along so quickly. At first there were minor food issues, grabbing toys, food, etc. out of ones hands, fits of anger, running away, not wanting help with his shower or in the restroom, but now that is 99% gone. It seems like what we deal with more now are "normal" kid behavior with all 3 of them. At first I felt like we were correcting and guiding him more, but now it seems like all 3 of them are on an even playing field. Our day used to consist of waking up at 5:30 a.m. and Bob and I wondering how we were going to pass the day, but now we feel like we don't have to jump from one 10 min activity to another to keep the kids occupied. It almost feels "normal". Our trip home is in the near future (I think) and I really cannot wait to see the good it will bring to all of us.