Tuesday

What a day!  I will start by asking you to all pray for the Gilsons, Koebnicks and Spotts.  They all have paperwork problems and were not able to get their visa today.  Robel and the families plead their cases today since the mistakes are mostly problems in the wording and specifications that came from USCIS, but to no avail.  So the families are now all working frantically to get everything taken care of so they can ALL travel home on time!  It was a very rough day and they could all use your prayers.   It was a long day in general.  We went to the TH first thing this morning, picked up the kids, got right back on the bus and went to the Embassy.  Some of us made it through security and in to the waiting room only to find out that they hadn't had time to get to our stuff and we would have to come back at 12:30.  So, we came back to the TH and got Eli bathed and changed, etc. then went out to lunch with some of the group to the Zebra Cafe...I'm sure it's a great place but the service was slow (and we were in a rush) and everyone ordered pizza only to find out there wasn't any pizza.  So, everyone ordered spaghetti for themselvess and their kids...you guessd it, NO SPAGHETTI!  So, you can guess how that meal went.   After lunch we rushed back to load on to the bus to get to the Embassy (Ben, Eli and I held things up since Ben needed to get changed since he had changed out of his nice clothes and in to a t-shirt!).  We got through security again and began the wait.  First the Wings (Pass), then the Haglers (Pass), then the Lanzillottas (Pass - wahoooooo), then the Cornetts (Pass).  Then...nothing.  So, we wait and wait.  Well the Monbergs needed another piece of paper from the clinic so Famy rushed and got that taken care of...but still they weren't called.  The Monbergs were finally called and passed.  But it was only bad news for the other 3 families.  We stayed there from 1-5 trying to get all of the families through, but no luck!  So, they have all spent the evening on the phone or running to the TH for medicine, and a bunch of other stuff.   We didn't make it to the TH to take care packages and pictures for families today.  I believe that's on the agenda for tomorrow, but I haven't heard anything official yet.  Everyone was completely exhausted by the time we got back from the Embassy!  Then I had dinner (Ben is still under the weather, but not getting sick any more, thankfully) and we got Eli to bed.  Which brings me to what you really want to hear about...ELI!!!   He is beyond wonderful!!!  He is a complete Momma's Boy right now..  Mommy always makes him smile and laugh.  But Daddy is so proud because he loves to say, "Dadadadada" all day!  He has chicken pox, but they don't seem to be bothering him.  It seems like they're on their way out, so that's great!  He was such a happy little man today and quite a trooper!  He really only cries (which is very rare and very short) when he's tired or hungry!  Otherwise he loves to play with anything within his reach and he loves to watch EVERYTHING going on around him!!!  It's so fun!!   I met 2 of his nannies today very quickly at the TH and they both gushed about how much they loved him.  The Nannies really are great at the TH and love and kiss the kids constantly.  Our little guy was well taken care of until we could get here!!!  Now he is dreaming away in our room with Daddy.  He was in his bassinet, but woke up a little while ago still a little hungry (which I expected since he had only eaten 2 oz before bed) and Daddy refuses to put him down!  So Daddy is listening to his iPod and relaxing while I am blogging :o)   At present I cannot even begin to imagine how the rest of the week will play out.  But, please pray that we all get or stay healthy.  Mrs. Monberg is recovering nicely and seems to have her short term memory all or mostly back.  And Ben is definitely on the mend.  Hopefully he will be able to get a few continuous hours of sleep tongith, and that should really help!  And I could use the help!  He's been pretty weak, so it's been mostly Mommy on duty.  And it will be Mommy on duty all night so he can rest.    We miss you all terribly and cannot wait to come home.  In theory we could leave Thursday night, but I don't think it's worth the change fees and it will give us an extra day to enjoy this beautiful country!