Another Bump In The Road.....

Well, again it's been a little while since I've posted.  I get my hopes up that this process is coming to an end and every time it seems like we hit a bump in the road.  The last time i posted we had traveled to New Orleans for the authorization letter for the passport.  So this is where we are now.  We mailed the authorization letter and she received it about a week later.  She went and picked up the letter and found out that it had to be authenticated.  She also found out that she had to go to the bank and pay for her passport appointment to get the date and time which she was told would be sometime in December.  So she had an attorney authenticate the letter and after some research I found out she could pay an extra $20 to get an emergency appointment that would be sooner than December.  So she goes to the bank gets the appointment set for Friday November 23 and we are all excited that we will finally have everything we need.  So her appointment gets here, she travels an hour, shows up and has to wait in line behind about 100 other people.  (I'm sure this was great fun with an almost 3 year old.)  It's finally her turn and they tell her they cannot accept the letter from the attorney that she can only get it authenticated in Tegucigalpa which is the capital of Honduras and is about 4 hours away from where she is.  So she calls us frustrated of course and we tell her to just to go back home so we can re-group and try to figure out what we are going to do.  The hard part for me is that I'm trying to do all of this researching trying to figure things out from here.  She doesn't know what to do or where to go and she gets conflicting information when she tries to ask questions there.  She has no transportation so all of this traveling she does is by bus with a toddler at our expense.  She tells us that she has never been to the capital and doesn't want to go alone so she has to find someone that can make the trip with her which just means more money for us, but at the same time I don't want her wondering around a city she doesn't know with Michell alone in the most dangerous country in the world. 

So Tuesday she traveled with the baby and her brother to Tegucigalpa by bus which took 4 1/2 hours.  They couldn't leave until 9:30 am because that was when the bus left so it was about 2 p.m. before she got to the place she needed to be.  She was told she would have to go to the bank and pay for the letter and then they would get it ready for her.  When she got back from the bank they told her they would have the letter ready for her to pick up at 5:00 p.m.  Of course the last bus going back home leaves at 5:00 and they still have to take a taxi from the place they are once they pick up the letter to get back to the bus stop.  By this time they are all tired, the baby is crying, and hungry because she hasn't really had a chance to feed her all day and she is getting sick.  So they ended up having to spend the night.   We called to check on them that evening and she said they found a hotel and the baby is already passed out.  (It was 6:45 p.m.)  I feel bad for all of them.  I know how much work it is trying to do anything with a toddler especially one that isn't feeling well.  When she got back home the next day she went back to the bank to pay for the new passport appointment.  We now have a passport appointment scheduled for next Tuesday December 4th.  I am praying that she has everything that she needs and that she finally gets the passport.

And so the journey continues...................

Trip to New Orleans.........

On Monday we left for New Orleans.  We had an appointment with the Mexican Consulate on Tuesday to get Martin's passport and then we had to go to the Honduras Consulate to get an authorization letter for Michell's mom to be able to get her a passport without Martin being there.  We got all of that taken care of.  We were hoping that we could just fax her a copy of the letter but of course no such luck.  They said she would need the original to be able to get the passport.  So it got mailed yesterday.  I sent it express mail which means that it should be there in 3-5 days but i was also told that they have no control over how long customs will hold it so it could be another month before she actually gets it.  We are hoping not but the last time we sent something "express" it took about 20 days for her to receive.  Anyway, once she gets the passport she can fax back the page we need from it and we will finally be able to send in the last packet and then wait for our interview date.  We were hoping for a December date but it is looking more likely it will be January or February.

So in the meantime, i have finals coming up next week....yay and I'm already registered for next quarter which will start up in the next few weeks.  We have Thanksgiving to look forward to.  The kids will be here so that will be fun and then getting ready for Christmas.  We mailed Michell's birthday present yesterday too.  We were hoping she would be here by then but that is not going to happen.  It was fun to actually get to send her presents instead of just sending money like we usually do.  Just hope she gets it on time.  Her birthday is December 1st.  It's hard to believe that she will be 3 next month.  I can't believe how much has happened in the last 3 years.  We have been praying since she was born that we would one day get to meet her and now knowing that she could be coming to live with us in a few months seems unreal.  Just hoping these next few months go by quickly so we can have her here soon!

Not Much Goin On

Well, i havent updated lately cause i really have nothing much to say.  We are going to New Orleans on Monday so we can get Martin's passport at the Mexican Consulate and get the paper from the Honduras Consulate giving permission to get Michell's passport.  We are hoping the consulate can forward the permission to Honduras for us so that we can get her passport taken care of next week.  If not we will have to fax it (if they will accept a copy) or send it if they wont.  If we have to send it then it will take about 3 weeks to get back to her.  This has certainly been a lesson in patience.  We just want her here as soon as possible.  We still talk to her on a regular basis and she always wants to know "when are you coming to get me?"  Hopefully one day soon we will be able to tell her we are on our way.

I've been meaning to post pics but havent gotten around to it so here is a few from our last web chat with her and one she sent with her passport photos......