Update

Well, it's been a long time since I updated the blog.  A busy life has kept us all on the move.  Michell is still doing great and growing everyday.  She is now 7 yrs old.  She weighs about 45lbs.  She wears a size 6 in clothes and a size 11 in shoes.  She is in 2nd grade this year and she is very smart.

We've had a lot of changes over this past year.  For starters, Martin took a job working on the pipeline which has taken him all over the map to work.  Because it was such a good opportunity we decided to sale our house and I quit my job (which I loved) so that we could travel with him while he was working.  With that decision we also decided to homeschool the little kids.  We are really just getting started so things are going great so far.  Both of the kids are eager to learn so they love it.  We are currently in Pennsylvania so we have been able to go see some sights and do some fun things with the kids.

Over the last couple of months Michell has been able to video chat with her mom again so that has been very exciting.  It had been over a year since she had been able to see her mom via internet so now the regular video calls are great for both of them.  Michell has also had to deal with some sadness over the past year.  My grandmother passed away about a year ago.  As sad as I was for that to happen I'm so glad that all of my kids were close to her and loved her so much.  Right before we were able to start video chatting with her mom again her grandmother in Honduras passed away as well.  She was very upset about it.  Although she was barely 3 when she came to the U.S. to live with us she still remembers her family in Honduras and she was very close to her grandma.  Michell's mom said that her mom (Michell s grandma) asked for Michell before she died which literally broke my heart to hear.
I only wish she would have been able to see her by video before she passed away.  We do want to take Michell back to Honduras at some point to see her family but we know it will take a lot of planning and there are some things that I would like to happen before we make the trip back.  She only has a visa to be here.  Her passport for Honduras has expired so that would be one thing we would have to figure out before we could go back also.  Her visa is good until she is 15 but once Martin becomes a U.S. citizen then Michell will become a citizen as well.  I would like for that to happen before we travel back to Honduras.

Well, pulled the blog up to update and noticed I never published the last one I started in Sept of last year (like I said busy life!)  Anyway, we will fast forward to today Saturday, April 14, 2018.

We are now in Ohio with Martin's job.  We have been here for about a week now trying to get settled in.  We brought the RV this time so no hotel room...yay!!  At least it kinda feels like home.  He has been busy with work and me and the kids are just trying to learn our way around a town we don't know.  It's been very cold here.  We left Louisiana and it was in the 80s got her and it was low 30s and we've seen snow flurries several days.  Not sure I will get used to the cold here but looking forward to spending summer in what I hope are cooler temps.

The kids finished their first school grade of homeschooling.  Both did really well.  It definitely had its challenging days but overall I think it was a good experience.  We haven't ordered the next grade but we are taking a Spanish class in the meantime and the kids love it.

Update on Michell, she got glasses right before we left for our Ohio move.  She also had to have a spacer put in her mouth to try to expand her palette and make room for her permanent teeth.  She will wear it for about 4-5 months and then will have braces.  We will be traveling back home about every 10 weeks or so for her to see her orthodontist which is good because it will give us a chance to see the big kids every couple of months.  We aren't sure exactly how long we will be here but expect to at least be here until December or so.  I will try to get better about updating the blog.  I had great intentions when I stopped working but don't know what happened.  Anyway, I will try to post pictures and blog often so those who want can follow along with our travels!

Just an update

It's been a while since i updated and since the purpose is for Michell to one day look back over our journey I thought I would write about everything she has going on.  First of all, her visa expired in Feb of this year.  We sent in the fees and applications to have it renewed back in November last year but it took until August or so of this year before we finally received notice that it had been approved.  We received her new visa a couple of weeks later and it is good until she is 15 so at least we don't have to worry about that for a while.

She started kindergarten and she loves it.  She is so smart and eagerly learning new things everyday.  She loves her teacher and she has made some new friends.  Her teacher says she is the most responsible kindergarten student she has ever met which makes me so proud and also doesn't surprise me at all.  She has always been very responsible and such a good girl!  She has gotten a lot taller.
She is still a tiny thing though.  Her school clothes are a size 4/5 and we still have to wear a belt with some of them.  Her shoes size is a 8 1/2.  Her and Micah are having to adjust not being around each other 24/7 now that she is in big school.  He is still going to the baby sitter 2 days a week but he misses her during the day and is ready to pick her up by the time she gets out.  They are still really cute together.  She is learning to read at school and so she has been teaching him to read when she comes home.  He sits right with her and does her homework right along side her.  It reminds me of when Maddie started kindergarten and Mackenzie would do the same thing.  Everything Maddie learned, Mackenzie learned it a the same time.

Speaking of the big kids.  Mackenzie decided on LSU and left in August to move to Baton Rouge, LA.  We miss her so much.  We talk to her on the phone almost daily but it's not the same.  We are planning a trip to go visit very soon.  Madeline is a senior at UNT and still working full time as she works to get her double major.  I am so proud of both of them.  Mason is in 8th grade this year and still says he hates school and its boring and he doesn't learn anything....lol.  Everyone is doing good.  Martin and I still love our jobs and we will be in our house a year come October.  Time passes by so fast, way to fast for my liking!

Michell still talks to her mom frequently, sometimes a couple times a week.  We keep her updated with school and everything she is doing.  She still talks to her extended family too.  She talked to her grandma yesterday in Honduras.  She asked Michell when she was going to come visit.  Michell said one day.  Her grandma told Martin do you think she remembers anything about Honduras.  He assured her that she does.  We talk about it all of the time and she looks at pictures of her family.

We had this conversation at the dinner table about a week ago.  Martin asked her why she had 2 mommies and Michell said I don't know.  I told her that she has two mommies cause she is a very lucky little girl.  I told her that her Mommy Karen loved her so much that she wanted her to come live with us so she could have a better life and go to a really good school so that she could be really smart.  I told her that she is lucky because some kids don't even have one mommy and she has two mommies that love her soooooo much.  We have never really talked to her about why she lives with us and she has never really questioned it.  She has less and less moments of sadness like she used to of missing her mom and this makes me happy and sad.  Happy that she is not sad but sad that she is getting bigger and those memories probably are a little faded.  I want her to remember how much her mommy loved her when she was in Honduras and I want us to always support that relationship as much as we can.  I don't want her to ever think she is here for any other reason than we loved her and wanted her and her mommy loved her so much that she let her go.  Still hard on all of us,still learning as we go!  Still BLESSED beyond measure!

Two Year Anniversary

Today marks a very special day in my life.  It is filled with unspeakable sadness and a joy that can't compare to anything else I've ever experienced.  Today marks the 4 year anniversary that my sister left this earth and went to meet our Heavenly Father.  While it still brings selfish tears to my eyes to even think about it, I know she is in a beautiful place where she no longer has to suffer from the headaches she endured on this earth.  Even knowing that, I still miss her dearly and wish she was still here with us.  On the other hand, today also marks the 2 year anniversary of bringing Michell home.  I cant believe that it's been 2 years.  Throughout the journey of getting her here I could have never dreamed that it would end up being on the anniversary date of Leslie leaving this earth.  God is so perfect in his timing.  He knew how much we missed her and that we needed something good to happen on that day to ease our suffering.  He blessed us with such a wonderful gift.

Its hard to even remember what it was like before Michell came into our family.  It seems as if she has always been here.  To say that she has thrived is quiet the understatement.  She is perfect.  She fits in perfectly with our little family as well as our extended family from here to Mexico. 

A lot has happened with our family since the last time I updated the blog.  First off, I finally graduated!  Whoo Hoo!  Didn't think that was ever gonna happen.  Secondly we moved to Texas, bought a house and are much closer to the big kids.  Me and Martin have both been blessed with jobs we love.  We love our house, where we moved and of course getting to spend more time together as a family with the big kids is something we all love.  Kenzie is a senior and still trying to decide where she is going to go to college.  I'm going to be so sad when she leaves but I am so proud of who she is.  Madeline is in her 3rd year at UNT and working full time.  She is a beautiful person on the inside and out and I couldn't be more proud of her.  Mason is a teenager.....WHERE DID THE TIME GO?  (he was just my baby a couple days ago I swear).

What can I say about Michell and Micah......they are more like twins than siblings.  They both went to their well checks in December.  Michell weighed 35.6 and Micah weighed 34.6.  Michell was 41 1/2 " tall and Micah was 39".  Michell still wears a size 8 toddler shoe (just one size up from what she was wearing when she came home from Honduras)  She wears a size 5 in clothes.  They both love each other (although you wouldn't know from all the screaming I hear going on at this very moment).  Michell is such a big girl.  We pick out her clothes the night before and when I wake her in the morning she jumps up (and thanks me for waking her sometimes..lol) and then goes and brushes her teeth, gets her self dressed and brushes her hair.  She then helps me get Micah ready so we can get out the door.  She still loves to help around the house and helps keep her and Micah's room clean.

You would never know that her and Mackenzie are only related by love....she acts just like her.  She copies everything Mackenzie does.  She will even brush her hair and come and tell me "look, my hair is just like Kenzie" or she will get dressed and say "my shirt is just like Kenzie's"  its so cute.

Another big moment over the last year is that we all got to go to Mexico to visit Martin's family.  It was a really great trip.  His mom was so excited to get to see the kids.  She carried them around everywhere (even though they are almost as big as her)  It was fun to finally meet his family and they were all great just like I knew they would be.  It was a trip we wont soon forget.

We signed Michell up for soccer and she starts playing next week.  We are all excited about that.  She is so excited about starting to school next year.  She has learned to write her first and last name and all of her numbers 1-10.  She does her "homework" everyday.  She loves to ride her bike and play in the backyard or the "garden" as Micah calls it.

Michell still talks to her mom at least once or twice a week.  The language barrier is hard to deal with.  Michell still understands Spanish but doesn't really speak it very well.  We usually talk to her about new things she is going to tell her mommy so then she will ask Martin how to say it in Spanish.  It is very important to me that she has a relationship with her mom even if it is only over the phone.  Michell knows that she is loved and missed by her family in Honduras and that is a good thing.  We haven't had a Skype call with her mom in almost a year.  She doesn't have internet at her house so it's an ordeal just to travel somewhere where she has to pay to use the internet for an hour and hope that it works....more often than not it doesn't.  That is hard for Michell.  She gets so excited at the thought of seeing her mom.  The last time we were suppose to "see" her on the computer Michell got up early and put on her favorite princess dress so she could show her mommy.  As the day wore on she asked me no less than 100 times when her mommy was going to call.  By that afternoon we had to break the news that it didn't look like it was going to happen that day.  I found her sitting on her bed quietly crying a few minutes later.  She was completely devastated and I was heart broken for her.  It is so hard, and just another reminder that no matter how much I love her or how much she loves me she still misses her mommy and I can't fix that.  Usually she does really well but then there will be times when she cries about everything.  If you ask her why she is crying she cant tell you.  It will last for several days and then she will be better.  I know it is because she is just missing her mom and she can't even understand that right now.  I will admit it wears on me sometimes and I feel guilty about that but I have to remind myself and Martin that she has every right to be an overly emotional child.  Who knows if her moving her away from the only life and family she knew will have long lasting effects on her.  All I can do is pray that we give her the best life she can have.

She is a special little girl.  God has a plan for her and I am blessed beyond what I deserve for getting to be part of that plan.........I get to be her other mommy!

                                              Our trip to Mexico....Us with Martin's mom

One Year Anniversary Approaching

As our one year anniversary of bringing Michell home approaches i am filled with many different emotions.  First, I cant believe that it's been almost a year.  There have been so many added blessings to our life because of the addition to our family.  We love her so much!
She is doing so great.  She speaks only English except when we make her speak Spanish.  She has forgotten most of what she knew so we have to work on it daily.  Martin speaks mostly Spanish to both the kids but she will still answer in English.  It's hard because it makes talking to her mom very difficult.  She is unsure if she is saying things correctly so she doesnt want to talk at all.  She still talks to her mom at least one to two times a week.  She is always excited to talk to her but the language barrier is very difficult.  She understands what her mom is saying but just doesnt know how to respons in Spanish.  It usually ends with Martin talking to her and telling her how Michell is doing.  Her mom though disappointed that Michell cant really communicate with her like she could before is still happy to talk to her and happy for the updates from Martin.   It's not that she has completely forgotten to speak in Spanish.  She was barely 3 when she came to live with us so it's not like she had a full vocabulary of Spanish.  She was just learning that language too.  She could understand but even the words she spoke werent exactly "correct" Spanish.  She was a toddler just learning to speak.  We do work on it.  It is important to me that both of the kids know and speak Spanish.  Not only for Michell and her mom but for our extended family.  Martin's family only speaks Spanish so it's important to me for them to be able to communicate with them.  I record Spanish cartoons and the kids watch them all of the time.  I know that Michell understands because she watches and responds in Spanish when she is watching it.  Micah also surprises me daily with what he understands.  We were sitting in the living room the other day and Martin told him to go turn the light off in our bedroom (in Spanish).  He got off the couch and said ok daddy.  He went in and turned the light off and came and sat back down.  Me and Martin both started laughing.  He understands even more than we realize.
Michell turned 4 in December.  She still wears the same size clothes and shoes that she was wearing a year ago when she came home.  I know she is taller but she is just going to be little (like her daddy).  Micah is catching up with her daily.  They already wear the same size shoes.  I bet he will pass her up this year.  He is so big!
She loves to help around the house.  She picks up constantly after Micah.  She has learned to close her door so he cant go in and dump out all of her toys.  She loves to go to church and wants to go to school so she can take her "backpack" (like Dora)  She loves being outside just like Micah.  They are so cute together.  She is a good big sister and adores him.  She really loves the big kids too.  She is always excited when they are here and is sad when they have to leave.  She loves everyone she meets!
We talk about her family in Honduras to her.  We have pictures printed of her mom, and some of her extended family like cousins and grandparents etc.  We want her to always remember them and to know how much they love her.  We remind her mom of this too.  We promised her mom when this all started that we would always respect that she was her mother and we would always keep that communication open.  We have and will always do our best to make sure that happens. 
Michell will talk about Honudras to us and tell us something she used to do or some where she used to go so I know she still thinks about it.  She is a daily reminder of the things we so often take for granted here.  The other day I was folding clothes and she said I help my mommy wash clothes in Honduras.  As she was telling me this she was demonstrating with her hands rubbing the clothes on a washboard.  This is how they wash clothes there because they have no washing machines.  I know her life was a lot different there but I can only imagine without ever living that type of life.  Martin knows because that is how he grew up.  His family in Mexico still lives that way.  Any luxury items or conveniences they have(like a bathroom) have mostly been provided by us.  We do what we can for them but they still live a much different life than what we have here.  Martin knows the type of life he has saved Michell from and he doesnt even like to think about what her life would have been like had her mother not given us all this gift.
This next year holds many exciting changes for our family which we are all looking forward to.  I will be graduating from Tech (finally)  Kenzie will be a senior in high school.  Micah and Michell will both be starting "school" once I start looking for a job.  We are also planning a trip to Mexico in the next few months so that Martin's family can finally meet everyone.  He was there for a week in December but we didnt go with him.  He is really excited for his mom and the rest of his family to meet me and the kids.  I am excited to see where he is from and to meet the family that made him the great man, husband and father that he is.
I attached the video we made right after we returned from Honduras a year ago.  I still can't believe how easily everything happened for us.  I can only be thankful and believe that when God has a plan there is nothing that will stop that from unfolding as long as you put your trust in him to guide you.

Six Month Check In

I can't believe that it has been six months since we brought Michell home to live with us.  The time has gone by so quickly but at the same time I feel like she has been here forever.  She came into our lives and into our family and quickly found her place in all of our hearts.  We all love her so much.  There were so many things that I worried about while we were waiting to bring her home.  So many unknowns.  I wondered how my big kids would act or if they would love her as much as i anticipated that i would.  I wondered how Micah would handle having another little person running around the house.  I wondered how my family would be with her, would they accept her as one of our own.  Although i knew i would love her i didn't know if it would be different than the love i feel for my kids.  All of those questions seem so silly now.
My kids were so accepting and they love her so much.  Madeline (my emotional child) could not wait for her to come home and was already in love before she even met her.  Mackenzie (my reserved child) held back her feelings until we came home with her and she finally knew she was part of our family and Mason (my stubborn yet go with the flow child) was just happy to be a big brother again after being the baby for so long.
They all love each other and it still warms my heart to see them all together.  They laugh, play and fight just like true siblings but they all love each other very much and that makes me one proud mommy.
As far as everyone else, i don't know why i was even worried.  They were all vested in this as much as us and they all love her to pieces!
 Michell is doing great.  The language difference I feared would be difficult to overcome has been completely non challenging.  She has been here for six months and can pretty much say and understand anything in English.  What I thought would take a long time has happened in a few short months.  The problem now is not learning English but helping her remember her Spanish.  She still talks to her mommy on the phone every few days.  It is good for both of them.  She has started asking to call her sometimes and we always let her.  I know it makes her mom feel good to hear her and know she is ok and happy.  She gets to talk to her extended family in Honduras at least once a month too.  They are always excited to talk to her and she is excited to talk to them too.  When she is playing around the house she has a pretend cell phone that she brought home from Honduras.  She always walks around the house talking on it and she always pretends she is talking to her mom and her Abuela (grandma).  It is really cute but makes me sad sometimes too.  I know she must miss them.
She has had many first since coming home.  We have gone to the zoo, she has gone go cart riding, and today she had her first haircut ever.  She was so excited.  She wanted to get it cut like Dora but her daddy did not approve so we compromised on about 4 inches.  That's about how much it had grown in the last six months.  She is still wearing size 3 - 4t clothes and size 7 or 8 shoes but i can tell she has gotten taller.  The dress she wore to her interview in Honduras came well below her knee back then.  She wore the same dress to church last Sunday and it was above her knees.
When she first came home she was so shy and unsure when meeting new people.  I know it must have been really overwhelming to her.  All these strangers around all of the time plus not being able to understand what they were trying to say to her.  Well, she has gotten over that for sure.  She hasn't met anyone she doesn't like and is more than happy to talk to anyone who will talk to her.  She is a really good eater.  She tries new things all of the time.  She doesn't always like it but she will at least try things without making a fuss.
She loves to go shopping.  She is always helpful around the house like picking up after herself and her messy brother.  She is very much like her dad when it comes to her things.  She likes them to be in order.  It may be a mess to anyone else's eye but she knows exactly where she likes things to be and she will make sure they are put away like she wants.  She has to basically make her bed before she gets into it at nap time and bedtime because she likes her sheet to be just right before she gets under it.  She has the sweetest little voice and frequently walks up and hugs my legs and says "I love you too mommy" without me prompting it at all.
It has only been six months since she has been here but i feel liked i've loved her a lifetime already.  I cant imagine our lives without her.  She has completed our family in a way we didn't know was possible.
So i guess the most silly question in my head was if i would feel the same about her as i do my kids and the answer is simple.......she is my kid.  The End :)

The Last Three Months.........

The last three months.....wow.  I don't even know where to begin.  I can't believe that Michell has been here for three months already.  In a way it just all seems normal like she has always been with us and then again i can't believe that it's already been three months because it seems like we just brought her home.  She is doing great.  She has learned so much English you would never believe that she didn't know any when we met her.  She is such a happy little girl.  She loves to sing, she loves her brothers and sisters and Dora is her favorite cartoon.
When we went to get her we were told she was still drinking a bottle 4 or 5 times a day and we witnessed this the first couple of days we were with her.  Her first full night with us she woke the next morning around 5 a.m. and said she wanted her bottle.  Martin gave it to her.  That was the last bottle she had :)  I had been given different advice from people about the whole bottle issue.  Some said just don't give it to her once you have her others said take it away as soon as you can once you are home with her and others said let her have it a while so she can adjust.  Anyway, we realized right away that she wasn't drinking it because she "needed" her bottle.  She was drinking it because she was hungry.  Once she was with us she started eating, and eating and eating.  She never asked for it again. When we got her home it was the same way.  She woke up eating and went to bed eating.  I would have to sometimes tell her she couldn't have any more or she had to wait a while to eat again because she was hungry all the time.  That went on for the first couple of months and she quickly gained about 3 lbs.  She weighed 30lbs when we brought her home.  Over the last month that has slowed down....a lot.  I think she now realizes that there will always be enough food so she doesn't have to eat everything at that moment.  She doesn't snack all day long along with three meals.  She eats like a normal three year old child now instead of a growing teenage boy!
Her and Micah get along great.  They play well together and both are learning to share.  It took Micah a while to get used to her but they LOVE each other and they are really cute together.  She also loves her big brother and sisters.  She gets really excited when we go see them or when they are here at the house for a visit.  They all love each other!
It has definitely been an adjustment for me and Martin.  It has been a test of patience, of love, of trust, of everything, but we are doing great.  We wouldn't trade anything for the blessings we have and we are stronger as a couple because of all of this.
Michell talks to her mom at least a couple of times a week.  We have done several video calls and we have sent a care package to her  mom with lots of pictures and videos. She usually talks to her grandparents and other family members at least once a month sometimes more.  They miss her so much and it makes me sad sometimes when i hear them talk to her because you can hear the sadness in their voice but they are trying hard to sound happy for her.
This weekend she had a video call with her mom for about 30 minutes.  (The longest time we've been able to keep Michell interested)  The last 10 minutes was her running around playing, doing flips on the living room floor, singing ABC's for her, doing patty cake, etc... but her mom just watched and cheered her on.  When Michell finally said bye and closed my laptop she quickly opened it back just to peek and see if she was still there.  I told her we would talk to her again soon.  I sent her to her room and told her to make it pretty (clean it) which she usually takes much pride in doing.  After a few minutes she walked back out with HUGE tears in her eyes.  I asked what was wrong and she just shrugged her shoulders.  All I could do was give her a big hug and tell her that both her mommies love her very much and that her other mommy misses her too and she would get to talk to her again really soon.  This completely broke my heart.  She tries to be so brave even at 3 but i know she misses her mommy and that breaks my heart to see her sad.  Of course she was over it within a few minutes and i was still crying about it when Martin walked back in the house a few minutes later.  Even now i get teary eyed just thinking about it. 
This is so hard.  It's hard knowing that you are doing the best you can for someone but at the same time you are also causing pain.  I told Martin I'm sure her mom cries too when she gets off the phone or walks away after a video call and that makes me sad to think about.
There has been an overwhelming amount of joy and happiness brought to our family by this experience but it is still a very emotional journey we are on.  I just pray daily that we do whats right for everyone involved and that we always let this little girl know how much she is loved by everyone in her life.
It makes it all worth while when for no reason she crawls up beside me and gives me a big hug and says I love you mommy :)

It's A Dora Kind of Morning........

There are clean dishes that need to be put away, a sink full of dirty dishes, beds to be made and toys all over my living room floor, but the kids are watching Dora so I'm going to take a few minutes to reflect on the past week.  It has been an adventure! 

We left Honduras last Tuesday after 8 days.  When we got to Miami we got held up with immigration for 3 hours so we missed our connecting flight to Dallas.  We were not happy about that but we were just glad to be one step closer to being home.  We made it to Dallas sometime before lunch and back home after picking up Micah around 4 or 5.  Micah was so excited to see us but not so happy about us bringing home Michell.  He was really mad and kept screaming at her but on our two hour drive from Longview to Simsboro he kind of got over it.  We had them sitting on the sides so they couldn't reach each other but after about 30 minutes of staring back and forth they started reaching for each others hands.  It was really sweet.  By the end she was playing music and he was clapping and dancing.

The next day it was back to the doctor with Micah because he was basically sick the whole time we were gone.  He had another ear infection so we are on our 4th round of antibiotics in 4 months.  Thursday night Michell started running fever....ugh.  Not sure what is going on with her but we have been stuck in the house for the most part.  Martin is fighting a sinus infection too so I have been playing nurse for everyone, taking my vitamin C and hoping that I'm not next.  I do not need to be sick!!

I start back to school tomorrow.  Not looking forward to it but just have to get through it.  I made a B in all three of my classes last quarter so I was pretty happy with that knowing how distracted I was the entire time.

Everyone has been asking how she is adjusting and all I can say is that she has been so good.  Even with her being sick she has been great.  She has talked to her mom on the phone everyday.  She is happy when she talks to her and her mom seems to be doing ok too.  I am thankful for that.  The only time she has asked to go home was Saturday night around 1:00 a.m. when her fever was around 104.  She was so sick.  She still wasn't crying for her mom but just asking Martin to take her home.  That was hard but we got through it.

She is great around us but gets very worried when she meets new people.  Im not sure if she is scared that we are going to leave her with someone else and then we are going to go away but when we have introduced her to anyone she usually sits in my lap with her head buried in my neck and wont look or talk for most of the time.  Once she realizes the people are leaving and she is staying with us then she is back to her normal cheerful self.  Hopefully that will get better as time goes on.

The big kids are all on spring break next week so we will have a house full.......I cant wait!  It will be the first time the kids will get to see her in person.  We have done Skype calls with all of them and she talks to them on the phone but I can't wait to see them all together.

The language barrier hasn't been as hard as I thought it would be.  She is learning English fast and we do ok.  There are times when I have to call Martin and ask "what is she saying?"  usually when she keeps repeating something and I cant figure it out.  Most of the time I can figure out what she wants and she does the same with me.    I have learned more Spanish in the last week than I have in the last 3 years I've known Martin.

Me and Martin still keep looking at each other and saying can you believe this is all real.  We have prayed about this for so long.  All I can say is that God is Good and he has taken care of us.  The day we brought her home was exactly 2 years since my sister died.  I believe that she has been up there talking to God about this for me.  I'm glad she knew about Michell before she died and she knew we wanted to bring her here to live with us.  I think she would have been really proud and I know she would have LOVED her.