By: Hanna Thomas

It’s Sunday morning and 3 out of 4 kids are awake. We let them stay up a little later Saturday nights to give us some time to sleep in Sunday mornings. Sometimes I wish for more time with kids asleep but this morning it’s so peaceful and beautiful watching them together. Andres is quietly helping Isaac play a block matching game while Belén is petting Red. Roxana is still asleep but probably not for much longer.

We spent yesterday cleaning our entire house but really focusing on our living room and kitchen. We have these pretty white curtains up now thanks to our friend Trish Holloway. Before we had purple walls with orange curtains and it felt stressful. But now that our walls are grey, our furniture is here, pictures are on the wall and it is freshly cleaned, our house has a real peaceful feeling.

I am thankful for this peaceful morning because this week was one of adjustment.

On Monday, 2 year old Isaac moved into our home. We actually don’t know his real age but we know a little bit of his heart breaking story. He is most likely in the 2-3 year range right now. He has a ton of teeth and despite mild Cerebral Palsy, he already has a talent of throwing balls around the house- which I’m totally okay with. lol He is a great eater and we are giving him so much good food. He doesn’t talk yet, but I have a feeling that between Roxana, Andres, and Belén he will be speaking more than most people imagined. And we are reading him lots of books and speaking to him in English so I think this little guy will be pretty talented in both languages. We are thankful for a good first week.

On Tuesday though, our life changed drastically.

I don’t want to be too dramatic about this because at least two of the American families have experienced similar things but far worse than us. Our two girls, Karla and Lidia had Audencia. Audencia is the court hearing where decisions are made if kids stay  put, go back to family or if other family members need to be found. Everyone told us that our girls would probably eventually leave but not for a long time as they would most likely need to search for other family. So as Lidia left for school that morning, I said my normal goodbye and I spent that morning with Karla and Roxana doing our normal things. Ten o’clock rolled around, I told Karla I’d see her later as she walked out the door with Evan to leave for Audencia.

I didn’t even get to say a real goodbye.

Evan texted me later that Audencia was taking forever. Later I received a message from the social worker that the girls weren’t coming back, that they were immediately going back to live with their brother. My mind was blown. Like I said, everyone said that this wasn’t going to happen.

So now it’s been some time, about a week since they left. Roxana still prays for them and thanks God for them. Although he says he doesn’t, Andres definitely misses them. Lidia and Karla were truly like sisters to him- Lidia would look out for him at school and play with him at home while Karla did things like helping him with his homework, teaching him how to clean the bathroom and also messing with him like any big sister would.

The house is a little more empty which one might thing would be easier but man, I loved the time we were a family with 6 kids. When Belen asks for ketchup, I think of Lidia singing a commercial we heard on TV back in November where they sang something about ketchup on everything. When we sit down to watch a TV show together, Evan and I have almost cried because we miss Karla asking to watch Soy Luna. And we come even closer to crying every time we hear Evan Craft’s song, “Mi Casa es Tu Casa” or the worship song, “Lion and the Lamb.” They were Karla’s favorite songs.

We are thankful that we know they have supportive family and lots of siblings and we pray that their brother takes good care of them. We are thankful knowing that Chris and Paula McNutt are there in their village, ministering and providing support for the families. We are thankful that they still can go to Liberty College, the school on campus.

Although they may not be where we hoped they would be (with us), we understand that this is part of real life for us in Family Style Orphan Care. We also trust completely that God will provide. We hope and trust that He used the 4.5 months they spent with us to change their hearts, habits and dreams. I’m hopeful that Karla will be motivated to achieve big things with her life as she had already changed her dream from being a secretary to being a graphic designer by the time she left. I hope they remember that eating bread 6 times a day just isn’t good for your health (this one needs the laughing face emoji because Karla wanted nothing but bread- even with spaghetti- and I tried to remind her lovingly that people need fruits and vegetables more than bread), I hope Lidia remembers to brush her hair before and after she showers, I hope that they remember our trip to Antigua and our grocery store adventures and our Christmas breakfast and our dreams of someday going to the States. I hope they remember our Friday night pizza and movie nights, the way Andres would dance around to his favorite song, the way we would joke around the table at lunch and dinner, the way Evan’s mom played games with them and made them tea, the way my mom and dad would joke around with them on FaceTime, the banana bread we would make and eat in one day, the ice cream sandwiches we would eat on the way home from the grocery store, the fact that they don’t need a boyfriend until they are a lot older and that they need to pick out a good one who respects them. I hope they remember us praying with them before they went to bed and I hope they know without a doubt how much we love them and that in our hearts they will always be like daughters to us.