We've survived our first full day together - actually not only survived, but thrived!  Little H is a great sleeper so far!  Ten hours solid is pretty good!  Woke up and had a good breakfast of pancakes and fruit and then got to play all morning.  Lunch was a picnic in the room of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches along with chips and galletas (cookies).  Then it was nap time!….for Little H, too.  HaHa!  After we woke up we decided to attempt an outing at one of the malls in Tegucigalpa.  Little H is still hesitant about riding in a vehicle but once we got to the mall and started riding in the stroller, all was good!  We meandered around the mall, which is really nice, and saw all the cool sites and stores.  We saw some strollers that were cars and decided Little H needed to ride in one.  It was such a fun ride of steering and and honking the horn; this child’s smile and laugh is amazing by the way.  We stopped by a water fountain and were mesmerized by the water, then stopped to hang with a local that was zipping around on a hoverboard.  After returning our cool car stroller we headed off to the food court and ate some local flavor food of burritos - which were deliciouso!  Then, we strolled back to find a train that was driving through the mall!  Of course we had to take a train ride.  Afterwards we hit up some ice cream, donuts, and coffee before heading back to the hotel.  I’d say our first family “outing” was a success!!  We hung out and played until Little H passed out.  Lol.  It was a really great day to see this child’s eyes light up and the smile that will make you melt.  It’s going to be so hard to have to leave without Little H, but we know that God is for us and He will be close to Little H when we can’t be.  Who better to leave your child with than the best Father there is.  Until then we’re going to have a blast before we have to leave!  It’s been so amazing and we’re loving every second.

Sorry...wifi has been down last night and this morning...Wow! Our hearts are so full!  Tuesday was a whirlwind of emotions…starting in the morning around 9 am at DINAF for interviews with social worker and psychologists lasting nearly 2 and a 1/2 hours.  When we arrived, there was a little confusion at first, which we picked up on, about the translator not being present; but he showed up very soon and we got started.  They asked us many questions about our childhood all the way through to adulthood, leaving nothing to be wondered; but they were very professional and personable.  It was a long morning, but not bad at all.  

Afterwards, we were told that we were headed straight to meet Little H!!! We did have time to stop by the hotel to change clothes and grab a couple of toys and things for Little H.  In a little over an hour (after a quick stop for lunch), we arrived and were taken into the office, where we waited for Little H to be brought in for us to finally meet.  This child is so amazing; we can’t wait for all of you to see our little blessing!!! At the first sight of us, Little H cried, but we know it was only because nap time was interrupted for this event ;)  So, a little warming up to us was required.  Nothing some candy, a few toys, and a lotta love couldn’t remedy!  Before long we had walked around the grounds together and loaded up in the truck to head back to the hotel as a family of 3!  Sort of unsure about what was happening, Little H was pretty tense during the whole ride, but began warming up once we got back to our room and began playing.  Because of the tenseness, we decided we should simply hope to get a smile by Friday (which, by the way, Little H will be staying with us from now until Friday!!!).  But, we are so excited to say that we have already been blessed to see numerous smiles and to even hear laughter :)  This is so amazing! Our God is so good!  

Yesterday, as we were asked why adoption, we were able to respond with the Gospel.  What an incredible opportunity we had to share the Gospel with the psychologist, social worker, and translators.  We pray God will stir in their hearts and that they will find salvation through Jesus.   We’ve been adopted into God’s family; and we were present today to adopt Little H; so prayerfully the circle of adoption will be completed with these beautiful people who we met yesterday.  

What a blessed day - we met for the first time, rode in a truck, played and laughed together, ate dinner, hugged and kissed, bathed (which was a somewhat traumatic experience for Little H and us 😳), read a book, and then called it a night.  What an incredible experience!!! And it’s only the beginning…

Well, we have arrived in Honduras for trip 1 of 2!  After a midnight drive up to Memphis, we caught a flight to Atlanta and then boarded a plane to Tegucigalpa.  We arrived to our hotel shortly after noon and immediately crashed for a short nap since we skipped last night’s sleep entirely.  When we awoke, we joined a fellow adoptive couple in the hotel restaurant.  We truly enjoyed having their company and conversation.  We were able to share adoption details and life stories - it’s really cool to get to meet some of the people you “know” on FB in real life and establish a real connection.  Praying for the rest of their process.  They even surprised us by buying our meal…so thoughtful and generous!

Our week will be filled with appointments, interviews, and visits with our sweet child (who we will call “Little H” for little Hatch, until we are able to share more details).  Tuesday is our big day - its the day of our first meeting with Little H!!!  We can hardly contain our excitement over meeting this child, who God had selected for us long before we even knew it and who we have loved before we ever met.  We can’t wait to tell Little H that “tu madre y padre estan aqui", “te amamos", and “tu eres nuestro nino" (your mommy and daddy are here, we love you, and you are our child)!  We can’t wait to show God’s love to Little H the way God has shown it to us.  

We would love to share something so that God will be glorified through it.  In September 28, 2015, we were assigned the number 9 on the waitlist to adopt from Honduras.  Approaching the 1-year mark of no movement and hardly word at all, on September 25, 2016, we were to the point of hopelessness and doubting that this adoption would really actually ever happen; but God.  But God, on the very next day after we’d vocalized these feelings to some friends showed up in a big way; and we received the phone call of a lifetime.  Not sure if it was all of you prayer warriors, or that we had come to the point of acceptance that God was gonna do HIs thing (whatever that was), His timing that He had planned all along, or everything working together; because we had honestly began praying The Hillary Scott song “Thy Will Be Done”:

I'm so confused

I know I heard you loud and clear

So, I followed through

Somehow I ended up here

I don't wanna think

I may never understand

That my broken heart is a part of your plan

When I try to pray

All I've got is hurt and these four words

Thy will be done…

I know you're good

But this don't feel good right now

And I know you think

Of things I could never think about

It's hard to count it all joy

Distracted by the noise

Just trying to make sense

Of all your promises

Sometimes I gotta stop

Remember that you're God

And I am not

So, Thy will be done…

I know you see me

I know you hear me, Lord

Your plans are for me

Goodness you have in store

I know you hear me

I know you see me, Lord

Your plans are for me

Good news you have in store

So, Thy will be done…

God once again met us right where we were and showed us how He loves, who He is, and that He is good. Glory to God, forever!

We would like to mention that we are so grateful for everyone at home who has prayed/is praying over us, have supported us financially, donated sky miles to cover our flights, are taking care of our pets, and are covering for us while we miss work.  Not going to mention names because we don’t want to forget anyone, but you know who you are and without you, this wouldn’t even be possible; so we are so truly thankful! 

Referral!

Well….It’s been just a little while since our last post (only about four and a half years, but who’s counting).  During that time, we have experienced one huge roller coaster of emotions, but we have finally arrived at number ZERO!!!  On September 26, we received a referral of a child from Honduras.  We accepted it the next day and are waiting to hear back from our agency on when we will travel to Honduras to meet our child!  It’s surreal to be able to say that, but we are so thankful that God has brought to this point and know he will continue to be faithful to see this adoption through.  We would like to thank everyone for praying over our family and we ask for your continued prayers over the next several months.  

The first trip will consist of intense and lengthy interviews with the Honduran governmental body that is facilitating the adoption, but, more importantly, it will also be a time of visits with our child!

After spending about a week in Honduras, we will have to come home for a few months while paperwork is being processed.  During this time, there will be a court hearing in our absence that will declare the child ours.  We will be informed of when that happens, and at that point we will be able to release all of the information about our child.  Until then we have to keep the details to ourselves due to legal reasons.  We can’t wait to reveal everything to you all!  We’re so excited!  God truly is a good good Father and His timing is always perfect!  In a few months after our first trip, we will travel back to Honduras to complete the adoption and bring home our little blessing!

To give you a snapshot of how the last four and a half years progressed, we will list all of our waiting list numbers along with the dates that we received them.  There were times when we regularly received a new number on the waiting list; and then there were long periods of time in which we didn’t hear anything.

#70 5-15-12

#65 6-20-12

#59 8-3-12

#56 9-4-12

#52 1-8-13

#50 2-15-13

#45 4-4-13

#42 6-11-13

#41 6-26-13

#39 8-15-13

#37 11-8-13

#35 1-24-14

#34 3-10-14

#33 4-24-14

#29 5-27-14

#28 6-23-14

#24 9-25-14

#19 11-18-14

#14 4-28-15

#12 7-22-15

#9 9-28-15

Received referral  9-26-16

Waiting List!

Well, we have reached another milestone in our journey!  We just found out last week that our dossier (all of the paperwork) has been processed and approved by the Honduran government, and we didn't have to redo any of it!  This is a huge step because we have now been put on the waiting list for a child or children.  We are logged in at number 70 and will begin the countdown to number 1.  We're not sure of a time frame right now since it is a relatively new program and they haven't figured out an average completion time.  We'll know more as time goes on, and we get closer to receiving a referral.  The referral will be a picture of the child(ren), medical records, social history, and other necessary information to help us make our decision.  Once we accept the referral, we will travel to Honduras to begin the legal process there.  We are so incredibly thankful for all of the support and prayers from family and friends.  We are especially thankful for God's help through this time.  He is leading and guiding us to see what He has set in motion through to the end.  He is strengthening us.  He is testing us.  But above all things we know that He is in control and will see this through until completion in His good and perfect timing.  Thanks again and until next time.  Love God and love others!