first day home

The drive home from Mexico was interesting to say the least. We were stuck at the border near El Paso, Texas for about six hours waiting for papers to be processed. The people behind the counter would work intermittently, which was extremely annoying when all you want to do is head for home. Finally, we got the kids' Visas stamped, and we crossed the border at about 1:00 in the morning. Getting into the United States was a little anti-climactic after the excitement (uh..no) of waiting the previous six hours. We drove for a little bit because we felt the need to get away from the border....just because we needed to feel a small victory.

The rest of the ride home is a bit of a blur. Much to Linda and Wendy's dismay, we limited their intake of water because we didn't want to stop for bathroom breaks every ten minutes. Linda, Wendy, and Emmy all had a severe case of head lice, which we tackled all the way home. When we stopped at a hotel for the night, we set up shop and picked through hair for HOURS...and I mean HOURS. Howard and I figure we ended up spending about 26 or so hours going though hair with a fine toothed comb (literally). We really didn't want to bring the lice home, so we were pretty motivated to get rid of it before we drove into our driveway. The girls didn't quite understand what the big deal was and did not enjoy our lice/nit removal sessions (that's an understatement).

So, we drove....and drove...and drove...Finally, we made it HOME!

Tio (Uncle) Dave was ready with the camera when we drove into the driveway. Overall, I think the kids didn't know what to think. We were all exhausted from the drive. The kids had seen pictures of our house, but I think they were still in a bit of awe. They explored the house with mostly smiles and laughs. Julia enjoyed showing Wendy their room. There were some great moments.

All the kids enjoyed seeing their rooms. This is the first time in a long time they have had their own space and don't have to worry about things getting stolen or messed with (okay...except maybe by Elijah, but we're working on that.)

We are fortunate to have great family and friends who support us. Several people were responsible for doing things to the house while we were gone, like putting beds together, washing and organizing clothes/closets, and getting more dishes/silverware for EIGHT. We are very appreciative to everyone who pitched in!


They all explored and explored. After twelve days, Julia and Elijah were very excited to see us. I wasn't sure how they would handle the shock of having four more people in the house, but their initial reaction was good. Julia's biggest concern was the language barrier. She was excited to tell them she knew the word "agua." It was funny.

It got to the point, we really didn't know what to do. So, we decided to....EAT! For the first time, all eight of us sat down for a meal of pizza. It was surreal.

And now....life as a family of eight begins.

From the Beginning

So many ask about our family. We're just like any other family...sort of. Our family began in July 1999 when my husband, Howard, and I got married. We were always on the "five year plan" to have children, and it worked out as just that. In 2004, our daughter, Julia, was born. Life was good. In 2005, Howard and I made our first trip to an orphanage in Mexico. Howard continued to travel to Mexico and began leading teams to build houses for people in need of more adequate shelter. In 2006, he met Wendy, age 18 months...she captured his heart. Over time, we found out Wendy had three siblings. We "adopted" the four of them from afar by sending cards, letters, gifts, etc. We envisioned that's all it would ever be. God had different plans.




Howard and I always thought we might adopt a child. We didn't know when we would feel the push to begin an adoption journey, but we thought someday...when the time was right. That time ended up being November of 2006. Howard and I felt God was leading us to officially adopt Wendy and her siblings into our family. It was in November, 2006 we hired our first adoption attorney in Mexico. Most people thought we lost our minds. Sometimes, I think we even thought so; however, we knew this is where God was leading our family. In 2007, our son, Elijah, was born. Much happened over the next two and a half years. We fired our first attorney, hired another one, got an adoption homestudy, filled out a boat load of paperwork, hit many road blocks, made plans, made new plans, made plans again, made new plans again (you get the picture)....not to mention continued our family and works lives here. Finally, in August 2009, we were able to travel to Mexico to pick up our children; Victor (age 16), Emmy (age 12), Linda (age 7), and Wendy (age 5). Julia is now five years old, and Elijah is two. Today, we spend most of our time learning to become a family of eight.




As I mentioned....many people ask about our family. Why? Victor, Emmy, Linda, and Wendy crossed paths with many individuals over the three plus years they lived at their orphanage. Many people all over the United States and Mexico met and fell in love with one or all of them. We are blessed to be their parents. They are blessed to have so many on their side. This blog is our attempt to allow you to continue to be a part of their lives (and now ours) by providing....The Whole Nine Yards.