We're Home!

Just a quick update to let everyone know that we arrived home late last night safe and sound!  The kids did great during our day of traveling and slept very soundly through the night.  (Thank you, God!)

I made pancakes for breakfast, but then had no energy to make anything for lunch or dinner!  I felt absolutely exhausted today and walked around in a fog. 

Kevin took Carlos to school this afternoon near the end of the day so that he could see his teacher and classmates.  They were so excited to see him!  They had lots of questions for him (in Spanish) and Kevin said he did really well answering them.  He also gave them the little gifts we got for them all.  It was a good experience and will help Carlos feel ready for school tomorrow.  (Then he'll be off for spring break for ten days.) 

While they were gone, Maria and I walked to Kingma's Market (our locally owned little grocery store).  I think this was a bit more ambitious than maybe I should have been today!  When Kevin and Carlos got back, I was struggling to stay awake while playing with Maria.  I had to take a nap, my whole mind and body was aching to take a nap, so Kevin was so sweet to play with the kids while I quickly drifted off to sleep on the couch.  I awoke 45 minutes later to my family calling me for dinner - pizza! 

A little walk outside after dinner, and then we put the kids to bed.  It was a good day!  I miss Colombia, but it feels good to be home!

P.S. I'm hoping to update the blog sometime in the next week or so with photos from our last days in Colombia! :)

Kevin is here!

Just a quick update to let you know that Kevin arrived safely last night!  It was so great to see him!!  Carlos woke up in the middle of the night and said "Daddy!!"  He jumped into our bed and kept saying, "I'm so happy!"  He talked a mile a minute for about twenty minutes, telling Daddy all about so many things.  We have one very happy little boy today!  And it's pancake day, so that makes the day even more special!  Right now the two of them are at Parque Jaime Duque, spending a special afternoon together.  I'm about to wake Maria up from her nap (or else she won't fall asleep well tonight). 

Here is our flight info for Tuesday night if anyone wants to come to the airport to say hello!:

We arrive March 30th in Grand Rapids at 10:34 p.m.
Delta, Flight #5434

How We're Doing

I've been writing so much about what we've been doing lately, that I haven't shared about HOW we've been doing.  I thought I would do that before Kevin comes back tonight and we are reunited as a family of four.

It's been emotionally up and down for all of us over these past five weeks, but it's neat to see where we are at now compared to when we started our journey in Colombia.

Carlos has come quite far and has been doing very well overall.  When we first got Maria he was filled with such raw emotion - such anger and hatred and sadness and jealosy.  Those have all lessened so much, and we are so thankful to God for that.  My prayer for him is that God would continue to work inside of him, molding him and shaping him into the little boy that He wants him to be.  I pray that love (and like) for his sister would continue to grow daily, and that he knows and feels how loved he is by God and by us.  I pray that his self-love would grow too, as he can be really hard on himself and many times has expressed how he doesn't think he's on God's team.  Please pray with us that his heart and mind will be open to God's presence in his life in a way that he can understand and know, and that he would come to love God's word and hide it in his heart. 

Carlos has been slowly learning how to be a brother:  how to understand his sister's words, grunts, screeches, and cries in response to what he says and does to her, how to talk to her, how to play with her, how to share his toys, how to teach her (instead of grab her) when she is doing or touching something that he doesn't want her to, how to share his mama - this one is the hardest!  The two of them fight over my lap, my arms, and my attention all of the time!  They are both learning that mama has two children and she loves them both.  It's difficult for both of them!  (And for me!)

Carlos misses his dad very much.  It was hardest the first week that Kevin was gone, especially at bedtime, but since then there still have been times when he feels really sad and cries.  At first Carlos refused to skype with Kevin, as he said it would make him too sad to see him and talk to him.  This was really hard for Kevin, and hurt him as he longed to talk to his son.  (They have such a beautiful and strong relationship.)  Thankfully one night when Carlos was really upset, we skyped with Kevin and had Kevin actually put him to bed!  He read books to Carlos and sang and prayed with him, as if he was right here with us.  I put the computer in bed with Carlos and he was just so happy!  We did this a few nights in a row, and I think this is what started to turn the tides for him.  Carlos seems more relaxed now and looks forward to skyping with Daddy, but it doesn't have to be every day.  So this has all been a great improvement.

Carlos can be very kind and thoughtful, and I love that I am seeing more and more of that each day now! 

I don't even know where to start with Maria!  She has grown so much over these past weeks!  When we first got her, she was quiet and a bit shy.  As the days and weeks have gone by, she has shown us more and more of her goofy and devious personality!  She likes to play and laugh and do everything her big brother does!  And she loves to get into things - she likes to see everything that's going on and be a part of it!  (I think her favorite thing is to sneak up to the computer and turn it off!  Such a pretty green button all lit up!  She can be such a stinker!)

When we went to Los Pisingos the day before we picked her up, we were told that she repeats words but doesn't say words that come from within her.  Well, she is showing us something different!  After a few days she started saying "Arlo" (Carlos) and "caio" while waving to people as they or we left.  After a week she was also saying "hola" and "mas" (which means "more" in Spanish.)  Since then she now says about a dozen words!  Every day she is saying a new word or showing us something new that we didn't know she could do.  It is so cool!  Praise God for how well she is doing!  The U.S. Embassy doctor said he wouldn't have known that she is missing her corpus collosum if I didn't tell him and if he hadn't read it in her file.  He was very impressed with how healthy she is and how she's developing!  :)

As for me, I have been doing pretty well.  There have been some tough moments for sure, with bedtime being the hardest for me since Kevin's been gone.  There was one night about two weeks ago where it took me over two and a half hours to put the kids to bed and I was so frustrated and exhausted that I skyped with Kevin and just cried for forty-five minutes while all he could do was just sit there and watch!  That was a rough night.  There have been a few more similar but not as intense nights, but other than that things have been going well.  After Carlos came home I struggled with intense feelings of anger and frustration, mostly centered around sleeping, feelings that I never knew existed within me.  It was scary, and I cried a lot.  For weeks.  And months.  I found out that there is such a thing as post-adoption depression, and I know that's what I had.  Because of that intense time, I was a bit nervous as to how I would respond once Maria came into our family.  I prayed a lot about it, and I am so thankful to God that I've only had a few nights where my intense anger reared it's ugly head.  Other than those few times, for the most part, I have felt really good.  From the moment that we received Maria, it has felt so natural.  It's been an incredible experience becoming her mom.  Carlos took about a year and a half to securely attach to me, and I feel like Maria has been attaching right away.  I am so thankful for this!  Overall, I feel like a stronger person from this time in Colombia, and more laid-back as a mom.  (Those of you who knew me when I first became a mom can pick your jaws up off the floor now! :) 

I love our family of four, and can't wait for us to be reunited tonight and tomorrow!

The National Park in Bogota

Carlos took this picture and the next two!  I think we have a budding photographer on our hands!

A Crazy Day, Followed By a "Normal" One (whatever that is!)

Yesterday was Natalie's birthday, and it was a crazy day! 

It started with Carlos waking up just before 7:00 a.m. and excitedly jumping into our bed saying "It's pancake day!"  He loves pancakes, they're one of his favorite foods, so he always looks forward to Sundays here. :)

After breakfast several families all went to the market together.  We realized it would be too difficult to all try and stay together, so we decided to meet for lunch at Crepes and Waffles around noon.  I wanted to take Natalie there since they have such delicious food and amazing desserts.  So Natalie and the kids and I walked around the market and we had a really good time.  We found some great things. 

We got to the restaurant at noon and our friends had gotten there a bit earlier as their kids were hungry.  We totally understood, but when we joined them at their table they were almost done eating.  The wait staff completely ignored that we joined their table even though they kept glancing ovr at us.  Then our waitress came over finally and I asked for the menu.  She brought us the brunch menu, not the lunch menu which is much larger.  So I asked her when she came back and she not too pleasantly told me that we can't order from it until 12:30.  I told her we would wait, but that I wanted to order for the kids now.  She was clearly annoyed with me, took the order for the kids, and then walked away.  (This was all in Spanish.  I was doing my best!) 

So at 12:45 she took our order, and I made sure to ask for mine "sin queso" (without cheese).  A half hour later when our food came out, my crepe was covered in this cheesy, milky looking sauce.  (For those who don't know, I have IBS and can't eat dairy.)  I apologized to the waitress who brought it but said that I can't eat it because I have an allergy to milk and cheese.  She looked really confused and I tried to explain again, but then she took my plate and left.  I thought that they would just bring out a new one without the sauce, but Natalie wasn't convinced that they understood.  So ten minutes later our waitress came out with my plate and glared at me and said "Que paso?"  I apologized to her and told her that I ordered it without cheese because I can't eat cheese or milk, that I have an allergy.  She was so angry and fired off at me in really fast and angry Spanish and the gist was quite clear to Natalie and I: that it said on the menu that there was a cream sauce and that I have to pay for this because they made it for me.  I told her that I didn't see it on the menu, I'm really sorry, but I can't eat this.  She said that I had to pay for it and then glared at me some more!  So I asked her to please wait a minute and I got out my Spanish/English dictionary.  (Natalie told me that she was rolling her eyes at this point.)  I looked up the word for "manager" and then pointed to it as I asked to see the manager.  She said OK and then walked away.  Ten minutes later the manager came by and asked me what happened.  She spoke English which made it much easier for me to explain.  She was nice and understanding and explained that all of their crepes have this sauce on it.  She told me that I should order a pita and then handed me an English menu and said if I have any questions I can ask her.  Ten minutes after that (it's now getting close to 2:00 p.m.!) the waitress took my order.  About ten or so minutes after that my food came.  I was so hungry, almost weak at that point.  The food tasted really good! 

The kids did great during all of this, they really did.  What a gift.  And the food was delicious.  Carlos had an icecream and loved it, but Natalie ended up not ordering any dessert because we didn't want to be there any longer.  I felt bad.  I took her to this restaurant specifically for the delicious food and desserts, and it ended up being a terrible experience!  Despite all of this, I don't want to paint a bad picture of the restuarant.  It's normally wonderful.  I relate this experience only because of what else happened yesterday as well, so that you can get the full picture of what a crazy day this was! 

So after we left we walked back through the market.  There were still parts that we hadn't gone through.  All of a sudden Natalie didn't feel well and needed to find a bathroom.  I knew there was a bathroom in the Santa Barbara mall at the end of the market, so we hurried there.  There is also a playground there so we thought it would be good to let the kids run around and play for awhile after we made our pit stop.  We were at the playground not even five minutes when I turned around and Carlos was standing right next to me with his face covered in dirt and blood!  He had fallen off the swing onto his face!  It happened so fast, I didn't even see it.  I was helping Maria climb the ladder and cross the bridge.  I felt so bad!  It really hurt.  So I scooped up both kids and we sat with Natalie in the shade as I cleaned him up.  (As a side note, Maria normally starts to cry if I am not within arms reach of her at all times.  When I gave her to Natalie she started to fuss, but after a minute or two it's like she understood that Carlos really needed me and she sat quietly and contentedly on Tia's lap watching.) 

Carlos was in no mood to walk the mile back to the hotel, and wanted to be carried, so I put him in the Ergo carrier on my back, put the backpack on my front, and Natalie carried Maria and our purses.  We started off for the hotel but had to pass a few more booths of the market to get to the street we needed to cross.  We had to stop for a moment for something and when I looked over at the booth across from us they were selling, among other things, a wrap to carry little ones in.  We bought one without hesitation, for Natalie to carry Maria in! 

I wrapped Maria to her Tia, and off we went.  We got about a quarter of a mile when Natalie suddenly felt very ill again.  Her stomach hurt, she felt hot, she had to stop and take Maria off.  It was too much.  We rested for a few minutes but she really wanted to get back to the hotel.  So I carried Maria on my front, with Carlos still on my back, and Nat took the backpack.  About five minutes later she needed to stop again.  At this point I knew we couldn't make it.  So I walked up to the road and hailed the first taxi that went by.  It stopped.  (My first hailing was a success!  Thank you God!) 

We made it back to the hotel just in time. 

She slept for about an hour and a half or so.  Dinner was just rice, potatoes, and chicken, so that was just right for her to handle.  Poor thing though - she couldn't have a beer or a coffee or dessert on her birthday!

After dinner I wanted to take my Sprite with me upstairs.  Natalie and I were talking in the hallway as we're herding the kids upstairs and somehow my glass slipped out of my hand and smashed all over the floor!  Ahh!  What a fitting end to a crazy day!

Here is a photo of Carlos's nose last night before going to bed:

Today was much better, although I went to bed with a sore throat last night that I woke up with as well.  I felt run down.  We actually got to sleep in though as both kids slept until 8:00 a.m.!  We started our day off slowly but then decided to walk leisurely to the mall, to buy some Colombian music, some groceries at Exito (one of the anchor stores), and Black Costume Spider Man that Carlos has been working towards earning over the past two weeks.  Here are some photos from our walk to the mall:

I call this one boy on a bench with a stick.

Tia Natalie and Maria

Carlos with Tia Natalie

We took a taxi back to the hotel and lunch was waiting for us.  After lunch we just hung out in the room all afternoon as it was raining.  Here is Maria entertaining herself with the CDs that we got:

Carlos entertaining himself for a while in his "boat": the baby bathtub that he filled with pillows, a blanket, and some essential toys. He said he was sailing to New York.

We bought a chocolate cake at Exito to celebrate Natalie's birthday tonight.  After dinner, Juanita cranked up some music and came dancing out into the dining room with the candle-lit cake!  We were all clapping and laughing and I realized I should have a camera.  I dashed upstairs to get it and while I was en route I heard much lounder peels of laughter.  I ran down the stairs and into the dining room just in time to miss the dancing!  Juanita had grabbed Steve (the only guy here right now as the rest of our husbands are back home working) and made him dance with her.  I guess then she grabbed Natalie and made them dance together for a minute before Steve grabbed Juanita again and the three of them danced.  All this in the minute and a half I was gone!  I did get Juanita to pose for a picture with Natalie though:

Every day is a new adventure in Colombia!

Monseratte

Monseratte is the tallest mountain peak in Bogota. We went there with Mom and Dad K. this past Monday.  On top of the mountain is a beautiful old church.

There are stations of the cross along the path up to the church.

This is an awesome view of Bogota from the top of the mountain.

We traveled up the mountain in this train, and this is the view of the city

This is the inside of the train - it's slanted so that each standing area is above the next one, kind of hard to explain.  It's steep.

A view of the track from the train.

It was a beautiful day!

What We've Been Up To

Thursday was a busy day for us.  Isabel picked Maria and I up at 10:15 a.m. so that we could be at the notary's office by 11:00 a.m. when they open.  (The reason for going to the notary is to get Maria's new birth certificate.)  When we got there, we walked right up to the window and our papers were sitting there ready to review and sign.  I looked everything over, signed my name, paid, and that was it!  It took maybe five, ten minutes tops.  It was so fast that Isabel said I should give the notary a tip, so I did.  And then we were on to the rest of our day....

We got back into the car and Isabel said that she didn't end up cancelling with Los Pisingos and we have plenty of time to get there by 11:30 for our tour.  This was great news, except I wasn't planning on going to Los Pisingos so I didn't have my camera with me or our donations.  Ugh.  I was so disappointed, but I didn't say anything to Isabel. 

When we got there and walked into the main building, we were greeted by Maria's group/foster mother and the psychologist.  They were so happy to see her!  She was very shy and reserved though, and kept burying her face into my chest.  I'm sure she was very confused and nervous about whether she was coming back to stay there or not.  So I just kept whispering to her, "Soy tu mama siempre.  Tu eres mi hija siempre.  No te preocupe.  Mama esta aqui."  (I am your mama always.  You are my daughter always.  Don't worry.  Mama is here.)  They then showed us into a waiting room, the same waiting room that we were at the day we picked up Maria.  There were a few blocks in there so we played on the floor until Andres, the assistant director, came in.  He was so happy to see Maria as well!  He asked how she is and how everything is going.  A few minutes later Carlos, the director, came in and he was amazed at how different, how healthy, and how happy she looks!  He said she has changed so much over these short weeks.  We've definitely noticed more personality in her since when we first got her, but it's been gradual so we didn't realize it would be obvious to other people.  It was great to hear!

Maria and I went on the tour with Andres, and it was really good to see all of the rooms, but also sad.  All these babies in their little incubator type beds - they need to be cuddled!  I know they are receiving good care, but with only two care givers to fifteen babies let's say (I don't know the exact ratio), they aren't getting as much holding and talking to and cuddling and rocking and loving as they need!  It was hard to see. 

I got to see where Maria's room was, but I couldn't go in there and see her bed because the room was being cleaned.  We did get to see Natalia again, which was sweet, and sad.  Again the girls just stared at each other.  I blew her kisses and I felt so bad saying good bye to those big beautiful brown eyes. 

After the tour we went back to the waiting room and Isabel and I talked with Andres and Carlos for a few more minutes.  The speech therapist also came in and talk with me for a few minutes.  She said that she wasn't able to talk with us at our original meeting the day before we picked up Maria because she was sick, but she wanted to meet me and see how Maria is doing and to make sure that I know that she will need continued speech and language therapy when we get home. I assured her that we would do that.  I was really glad to meet her. 

We left LP around 12:40 and went back to the hotel for lunch.  After lunch we went to the passport office and we took Carlos with us because he was missing me and didn't want to be at the hotel for several more hours without me. 

Maria cried so hard while getting her picture taken, we're not sure why, so her passport photo looks so sad!  We were at the passport office for maybe 45 minutes and then left with her Colombian passport in hand.  It takes months in the States to get a passport, but less than an hour in Colombia!  Hmmm....

On our walk from the passport office to the taxi (Isabel hires a taxi for the day and it's always one of three drivers), which was about half a block away, she got mugged!  She was holding Carlos's hand, I was holding Maria, and then all of a sudden this young guy runs up behind her, rubs her ear lobs, and then darts off into the traffic!  It all happend in seconds, before we even knew what happened!  He ripped her earrings right out of her ears - thankfully they didn't have backs on them, they were just looped through, otherwise her ear lobs would have been ripped!  We just stood there shocked for a moment.  It was so fast.  Her ears hurt, but we were so thankful she was not hurt worse, and that he didn't take our purses (mine was in my diaper bag, which I'm so thankful for, because who would want a bag full of baby stuff - not knowing my passport and money was in there!) 

Poor Isabel!  She's this sweet 70 year old woman, nicely dressed, and very sharp, but so sweet and petite.  I heard the next day that she did not sleep well that night and her ears hurt.  It was a very unfortunate incident, but it was an excellent reminder at how fast things can happen, and that they do happen.  All of us need to be very aware and smart about things whereever we are outside of the hotel, no matter who we are with.

It was about 3:00 p.m. and we had our appointment with the U.S. Embassy doctor at 4:30 p.m.  I asked Isabel if she wanted to rest and get some coffee or something, but she said no, we should just go to the doctor's and wait there for our appointment.  When we got there at 3:30 they said that our appointment got moved to 5:00 p.m.  Ugh.  An hour and a half wait with two tired (Maria hadn't napped that day) children in a doctor's office waiting room!   Lucky for us, but very unfortunate for our friend Phyllis from the hotel, we ended up being seen at 4:30 because she was there with her son but wasn't told she needed to bring his immunization records.  She had to go back to the hotel to get them and then come back later to be seen, so we got moved into her time slot. 

The doctor flipped through Maria's medical file, did a quick exam, and talked with me for a bit before signing off that she was healthy and could come to the U.S. 

We came back to the hotel exhausted and ready for dinner!

The next morning Rachel Thompson and I left the hotel with our girls and with Carmen, Isabel's assistant and went to the ICBF headquarters to pick up our letters.  We then went to the U.S. Embassy to apply for our girls' visas.  This is the last step before bringing our new little one's home.  It all went really well and we will come back on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. to pick up the visas!  And then that's it!  We're done!  We can all travel home!  Kevin booked a flight for next Saturday to come to Bogota, and we'll be flying home as a family of four on Tuesday, March 30th!  We're so excited!

Meanwhile, my sister Natalie flew in late Thursday night.  Hi, glad you're here, I gotta leave first thing in the morning and Carlos is staying with you at the hotel - have fun!  Welcome to Colombia! :)  They actually had a great time - they played dinosaurs for two hours!  Carlos is thrilled to have Tia Natalie here! :)  I am too!

I do have some photos to post from Monday and from today, but I'm just way too tired to post them tonight.  I will try to do it tomorrow or Monday!  Good night!

Baby Steps

So Isabel called this morning and said that she'd pick me up at 12:30 p.m. and we would go to the court to pick up our copies of our sentencia, then we'd go on to the notary, then back to Hotel Paris to pick up Maria to get her passport.  She called again at 11:00 a.m. to say that the Defender of Minors just signed and since the courts are closed from 12:00-2:00 for lunch, she'd have to pick me up at 1:30 p.m. and we'd get to the court as it reopens.  She said that we should take Maria with us as there wouldn't be enough time to get her passport otherwise.  So, that was the plan.

It took a little while at the court and then another little while to wait for our taxi driver to come back.  It was 2:40 p.m. when we got back into our taxi and the passport office closes at 3:00 p.m. so we weren't going to make it there on time.  I told her that there were no worries, it will all happen in time.  She felt bad, and was grateful that I wasn't upset.  On to the notary.  When we arrived we were told that the notary was sick and went to the doctor's so she wasn't in.  They weren't sure if she was going to be back before the end of the day at 5:00 p.m.  So we went back to Hotel Paris and waited until 4:15 to call and see if she came back in.  She didn't.  So this means that we need to cancel our appointment and tour of Los Pisingos tomorrow morning and go to the notary instead.  They open at 11:00 a.m. so Isabel is picking me up at 10:15 a.m.  We'll bring Maria so that we can get her passport afterwards. 

So, not a lot was accomplished today, but we do have our copies of our sentencia!  The first step is accomplished, so that's good!  Tomorrow is another day!

Carlos did great today with Valeria.  He didn't cry or put up a fuss at all when I left, which I was very thankful for.  He needs to stay with her again tomorrow, so please continue to pray that all goes well with him. 

I'll update more tomorrow!

Sentencia!!!

We got sentencia today!!  Isabel told me this morning just after 11:00 a.m. and I went to court this afternoon to sign our final adoption decree.  Isabel has four families that just got sentencia over the last few days so she is very busy.  She had to have her colleague's assistant, Carolina, come with me to court today as both she and her assistant, Carmen, were busy helping other families.

There are 21 courts and they are all located in one building in downtown Bogota.  There are several courts on each floor which are positioned down a short hallway. They aren't courts like I pictured them from t.v. shows.  Each is an office type room, with a couple of old desks and some shelving units along the wall.  They are quite small.  The paperwork for each case is stacked upon one another on the shelves that are labeled with letters of the alphabet, similar to what you see at a pharmacy in the states when you are going to pick up your perscription. There are no filing cabinets, that is their filing system.  Each courth has a counter along the hallway where people come up to it to get what they need.  There are no such things as lines, just people pushed up against one another at each counter trying to be next.  At one point there were eleven people crowded together around our court's counter trying to get the worker's attention.  Everyone was polite, I don't want it to seem like it's an angry mob at each counter.  Actually for how disorganized it all looks, it actually runs smoothly, politely, and relatively quietly.  

I signed our decree, and then Carolina noticed that the Defender of Minors hadn't signed it yet!  This is exactly what happened to our friend Rachel yesterday when she got sentencia!  So, we spent an hour trying to track down the Defender to see if she would sign it today, but eventually we were told that it might take another hour or two and her answer could be no (which is what happened to Rachel yesterday.)  We were told that she'd be back in her office tomorrow morning and she would sign it then, so Carolina said we should come back tomorrow.  I talked with Isabel after I got back to the hotel.  After I told her what happened and she called my attorney, she called me back and said that she'd call me tomorrow morning after the lawyer talked to the Defender and she signs off on our case.  So, today was a bit of a wasted day, but no worries.  We'll just start the process officially tomorrow instead! 

So since I'll be running around tomorrow and Thursday, I'll need to have Valeria, the hotel manager watch the kids for me.  I don't know how they'll do, emotionally I mean.  Please pray that they will have an enjoyable time, that it goes by quickly for them, and that Maria won't have any setbacks to our bonding.  I feel bad leaving them, but kids aren't allowed at court and it's not advised to take them to the notary, which is the next step after receiving our final adoption decree.  How ironic that the only two days that I'll be alone with the kids are the two days that I won't be around much to be with them!  (Kevin's parents leave tomorrow morning to go back to Michigan. It was great having them here as they've been a wonderful support. Thank you Mom and Dad K!  My sister Natalie flies in on Thursday evening and will be staying a week with us. We can't wait!)

The other things that need to be done this week are to get Maria's birth certificate, get her passport photo taken and then get her Colombian passport issued, she is required to be seen by the American Embassy doctor, we need to get paperwork from ICBF I believe, and then we submit everything to the U.S. Embassy who then issues Maria a visa.  Once we have the visa we are done and can fly home!  The Embassy is closed on Friday, so most likely we'll get the visa by Tuesday.  This all means that since Natalie will be here until Thursday, that we'll all fly home next Thursday, Friday, or Saturday!  We'll let you know once it's official (probably only a few days before)!

We are all very excited as you can imagine!  Carlos ran and knocked on everyone's door to tell them that we had sentencia!  So cute!  He's most excited about being able to see his daddy soon!

Since Kevin's parents are leaving tomorrow morning, we celebrated tonight by buying a sentencia cake.  It's tradition to buy a cake to share with everyone for dessert sometime after you receive sentencia.  Katya thought we should do it tonight, so I had her order us one.  It was delicious! 

An Update on Our Adoption Case

We heard from Isabel earlier last week that the judge approved our case the Thursday before (on the 4th), and so the next step is for the Defender of Minors to sign our paperwork. I’ve heard that she has five business days to sign, but I’ve also heard she has three business days to sign, but either way after she signs it goes back to the same judge who approved our case for his final approval and signature. That’s when we receive sentencia and can work on the final details before returning home. I saw Isabel yesterday and she asked if I had any plans to travel around the country. I said that I didn’t. She said good, because our case is before the judge so we could get sentencia any time now. She smiled and told me not to get lost!  :)  So, this is good news, but I’m not allowing myself to get too excited. He has ten business days to sign, but as I’ve seen with friends’ cases, delays can happen, so I’m just mentally preparing myself for the long haul, and that way I’ll be pleasantly surprised if it comes soon! 

Our fourth weekend in Bogota

Maria's first manicure!  (Given by sweet Camilla who's seven and lives at the hotel with her mom who's the manager.)

We went to the Bogota Botanical Gardens on Friday (I think - the days are getting all mixed up in my head!)with two other American adoptive families (the Kerns and the Follands) who are staying at Hotel Paris, and for awhile there we were the main attraction!  There was a group of elderly people who surrounded us and touched us and talked to us and this woman in the picture gave blessings and kisses to all of our children.

They also took photos with/of us!  All of them were so sweet!

About ten minutes later another large group of Colombian adults stopped and stared at us.  A few lingered very close and watched us intensely.  Phyllis tried to engage them in conversation and after a few more minutes of staring at us they obliged.  We felt like we were under a microscope!

We then went into the green houses and wow, were they beautiful!

Carlos got to see a turtle, so he was very happy!

There were many groups of school children at the gardens as well.  The little ones were so cute!  All of the school childen wear matching outing uniforms when they go on a field trip.  (They wear more traditional uniforms to school.)  This group of kids were pretending to be mariposas (butterflies) while walking to the butterfly exhibit.

Aren't they sweet?!

On Saturday we walked to UniCentro, the mall, with the Housemans and Thompsons.  There is a great path that we can take to avoid the main roads, which also has playgrounds every so often which Carlos and Jacob enjoyed:

After walking around for an hour we stopped to have some icecream.

They even had sorbet, so I could enjoy a cone along with everyone else!  Yeah!

This is the last photo we have of the boys together.  The Housemans left early this morning to go back home to Michigan.  We will miss them around here, but are so happy for them!  Thank you Houseman family for your friendship!

Sunday was election day, so we were told that we should stay at the hotel and not go walking around as there will be a lot of people on the streets, maybe some protestors and demonstrators.  So Rachel Thompson and I talked on Saturday about all of the activities we could do at the hotel to keep ourselves and our little ones entertained all day!  But then on Sunday morning, Dave Houseman said that Katya (the owner of Hotel Paris) said it would be fine to walk to the market.  So, Rachel and I jumped at that chance and left the hotel with Mom and Dad K. and the kids at 9:30 a.m.! 

The walk is over a mile along a very busy exhaust-filled road and is partly up hill.  It's always a tiring walk, but the market is enjoyable so it's worth it.  Well, unbeknownst to us, the market was closed because of election day!  It was a bummer, but there is a mall close by that is partly outdoors and they have a nice little playground, so that's where we spent a good part of our morning before heading back to the hotel just in time for lunch.  It was not the morning we were planning on, but it always feels good to get out of the hotel for a bit!