Salt Cathedral

Today we were up early and had contacted one of everyone's favorite drivers Freddy on Facebook to see if he was willing to take us on a tour.  Some of our friends have raved about how great he is!  :-) He came to pick us up at 9am.  Freddy works as a tour guide so is so knowledgable about the city of Bogota and all the things to see and do.  We headed out to the town of Zipaquira for a tour of one of Colombia's best attractions, the Salt Cathedral.  It is a catholic cathedral built in to the mountain 200 meters underground.  See this video link:
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/colombia_saltcathedral

There are several stations that represent the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.  Freddy told us that 85-90% of Colombians are Catholic also but that only 30% are considered practicing.  Words can not describe how cool it was!  Isaac was amazed.  Freddy explained all the symbolism which was unbelievable.  Many crosses were carved in to the walls of the mine.  At one point there were 3 sets of stairs leading to the same destination.  He told us to choose which set we wanted to take.  Isaac took the set to the right, Jeff the middle and me the left.  Then Freddy proceeded to tell us that the right were for people with pure hearts, the middle was for sinners, and the left for people who have many sins.  Did we chose accurately?? :-) HA!  The Cathedral had 3 sections representing the birth, death and resurrection of Christ.  Again very cool and so much symbolism.  After the mine Freddy took us to the town center of Zipaquira where we were able to do a little shopping and see the beautiful architecture of this town.

We then headed to another small town on the way back to Bogota for lunch at one of Freddy's favorite spots.  We had traditional Colombian food and Isaac ordered...you guessed it...ajaico soup!! It was so fun to get out of the city a bit and see some of the smaller towns that surround Bogota!!  On the way back we passed huge greenhouses, rows and rows of them.  Freddy said that Colombia is the 2nd largest exporter of flowers.  These greenhouses is where they grow many roses.  He said that around American Valentines Day Colombia exports around 500 million roses.  That is A LOT of roses!! He said that men don't tend to give roses in Colombia to their significant others as they are very cheap here...around 4$ per dozen.  So they love to give tulips or orchids or other flowers.  One other interesting thing he shared is that in traditional Colombian families the women are the decision makers.  He could see me get a smile on my face.  Then he said, but men have the final word.... "yes dear!!"  We laughed and laughed!  We absolutely loved having Freddy with us and will contact him again for sure!  He plays electric guitar in a band so I told him that I need to get his CD!  One other fact Freddy shared with us is that typical Colombian families don't eat a lot of vegetables and the fruit that they eat is usually for dessert or in their juice in the morning.  We have noticed this with the food we are served here at the hotel.  Many times I am asking Juanita to cut up fruit or have a salad for dinner.  Crazy as the markets are full of fresh fruit and veggies.  Colombians love their meat and carbs!! :-)

We are thrilled that there is another family here.  When we get back Isaac is off playing with the other 3 boys.  Tomorrow another Italian family is adopting a little 8 year old girl.  I hope she does OK with the boys.  :-)  I will have to get a picture of them all together.  There are many pillow fights, foosball games, and lots of energy!!  :-)

I need to get a few pics of Freddy and Diego without baby A in them so I can post!! Many pics we take include her so I will try and be more intentional!! :-)

God’s way is perfect. All the Lord ’s promises prove true. He is a shield for all who look to him for protection. (Psalms 18:30 NLT)

Here are a few pics from today:

One of the mining trucks used!

Balcony overlooking the cathedral

Once again an amazing lunch!! However it did include fried cow intestines.  We did all try them...eww..

More rows of greenhouses!

Facts about our sweet kiddos!!

Monday morning came quickly and Isaac decided that it would be best to end the vacation with one last swim in the pool.  We had room service delivered to our balcony and he was in the pool by 8:45am!  Diego came to pick us up around 10:30.  He told us that his wife and girls required him to stop and get some fresh arepas on the way home.  See the pictures at end of post...they were simply amazing.  Freshly made and very cheap.  The ones we had were stuffed with cheese.  One of the best parts about going to Anapoima was the journey there and back.  I can not get over the beauty of the countryside.  Once back at the hotel we all took a nap.  Amazing how the sun can zap your energy!

Today was a low key day catching up with school and homework and Wednesday we are planning on going to the town of Zipaquira to visit the salt cathedral.  We have been told by many that it is a must see!! We are going to have Freddy take us there.  Freddy has been a driver for many of our friends and he tells us he knows all the best places!  We are really looking forward to meeting him!!
This evening an American family arrived to finish up their process.  They are from New Orleans and have adopted 3 boys ages 15,12 and 7.  Isaac spent the entire evening playing with them and using both Spanish and English.  It was so nice to visit with their parents!! They will be here for a week or 2 so we are excited for Isaac to have someone to play with and for us to have adult conversation!! There is also an Italian family who arrived who are adopting an 8 year old little girl.  We are excited to meet her also!!

Before I post pictures I thought I would tell you a few things about our sweet girl!

She LOVES her brother.  I think he gets the most smiles and giggles out of her!!
She is using her hands A LOT and is clearing the table when given a chance!  This is HUGE progress for her.
She is doing really well with solid food.  She is eating banana, avocado, mango, carrots, squash, pears, apples, and rice cereal
She sucks her thumb and pointer finger to go to sleep
She is rolling all over the place, back to front, front to back
She loves sitting and is almost doing this independently...again HUGE progress for her
She gets REALLY mad and REALLY crabby when she is tired or hungry!  :-) If these 2 things are met she is really smiley and content.
She wakes up still once or twice in the night
She has discovered shaking her head no and grunting...so funny and she can be so loud!
She LOVES water of any sort, pool or bath!!
She is learning that when she cries she gets scooped up and comforted so going to sleep is becoming more of a challenge.  She doesn't want to miss out on anything!
She loves going for walks and being outside.  She just takes it all in.
She still has reflux and spits up fairly frequently so you will find her sporting the latest fashion in bibs quite often.  You may also find us with rainbow colored streaks on our outfit for the day! :-)
She goes to bed around 8, awake around 12 or 1, again around 4 and then up at 7:30.  She has slept until 7:30 without waking at 4.  We are hoping this pattern continues. :-)
If she sees you making the bottle it is all over!! :-)
She is constantly moving her legs or arms...she gets so excited and it is funny to watch.
She loves being naked or only in a diaper.  The minute you start dressing her you hear about it! :-)
Her hair is growing!!
She loves all her toys and loves chewing on a a spoon at dinner!
She is constantly gnawing on things.  Maybe teeth coming soon?

I can not wait for you all to meet her!!!

Thought I would also post a few things about our sweet boy!

He loves his kindle..LOL..you can find him reading or playing games a lot!
He has been doing really well with his school work...can be a bit of a challenge to do more if he takes a day off but he is doing better than I expected!
He really misses his friends and his grandparents.  We have not heard him say anything about wanting to go home yet though!
He loves teasing Juanita and Valeria and Tulio ...hiding and popping out at them scaring them!!
He loves almost everything Juanita makes for him and is very willing to try new foods!
He loves figuring out the $ here.  He wants to bring pesos back for his class.
He is a huge helper and is always willing to go and grab things we need.  He loves to feed his sister, hold her and entertain her!  When she is crabby he always seems to have a fix!
He LOVES to swing...here at the hotel or at the park.
He is an AMAZING translator!!
He worries sometimes that people are staring at him and his blond hair.  You may find him with his hood up in public places at times.  I tell him they think he is "muy guapo"  meaning handsome!  :-)
He loves the weather here and LOVED being in the pool this past weekend!
He will NEVER turn down a date to the local ice cream shop!! :-)
He keeps himself busy with legos, books, umbrella forts, stuffed animals, writing a journal, playing outside and movies!  He is also loving all the family time we are having!!
I continue to be so proud of him and all the adjustments he is making.  I am so glad that he is the age he is and will be able to remember this experience!!
He thanks God every night for being in Colombia and for the fun he is having and for his sister.  Melt my heart!!

Isaac and A-
I sit here with tears in my eyes giving praise to God that you are my children.  I have waited so long for the day where I could hold you BOTH in my lap.  I thank God for this amazing blessing and responsibility he has given your dad and I.  I promise to love you both unconditionally all the days of my life and will look to God to help me guide you.  A, you are such a blessing to us and we are so thankful you are finally here with us.  All the waiting and paperwork is so worth the blessing of having you with us.  You are a beautiful little girl and we LOVE you so much.   Isaac, you are an amazing big brother.  I am so proud of the boy that you have become and love your HUGE heart.  You will always be my favorite boy in the whole world!  I love you bud!! I promise to pray daily for you both as you grow up to love Jesus and other people.  Thank you for the blessing you both are to me.  Thank you for the joy you bring.  God loves you both more than I ever could.  Thanking him for your presence in my life!!

Children are a gift from the Lord, they are a reward from Him.  Psalm 127:3  NLT

Pictures for you:

One of many signs on the road.  Many turns and a lot of patience when you get stuck behind very slow trucks!!

Many many tropical flowers for sale

A quick shot of the countryside.  It was very cloudy!

Freshly made arepas!! The buses would stop and purchase these in containers for all the people riding!  This family was very sweet!!  They were so proud and let me take pictures!  I wish I could bring some back for all of you!! 

The beginning process of making the arepas.  First bowl is corn and the second is the cheese filling.

Diego found this little dog lying underneath the warm stove!

Tropical wilderness!  It felt as if we were in the rainforest at times!  This trip reminded us of the road to Hana in Maui if you have ever been.  Winding roads and constantly changing beautiful landscape.  

Buenos Noches!!!

PARADISE!!

Tomorrow will be our last day at this beautiful resort!  We have had an amazing time that is for sure! This place is really geared toward families and we are so glad that we took Cecilia's recommendation to visit.  AMAZING!! It has felt like a vacation within a vacation.  It has been warm 85-90 every day.    It rained one night overnight but that was all.  It is strange because it will get very overcast and you will hear thunder in the distance but no rain and then 15 minutes later the sun will be shining.  The tropical flowers and landscape are beautiful!  The resort is situated in the middle of a mountain that over looks the valley.  It is a bit humid at times but we spend a lot of time in the pools they have here.  A has done amazing as we were not sure how she would do in the heat.  She loves hanging out in just a diaper so she has done well!!  Our room is not air conditioned but there are fans so that has also kept us cool.  We have heard that true Colombians don't believe in using air conditioning!!

The resort consists of "cabanas" or cabins with balconies for families to stay in.  There are also several main buildings that have a play room for kids, work out area, tennis courts, volleyball courts, entertainment area with ping pong and air hockey, a little store the boys visited for pop and candy  and a few areas with TVs.  There is a full restaurant on site that has amazing food at very reasonable prices and free breakfast.  We have been enjoying typical Colombian food, wraps, crepes, seafood etc.  There is a zero entry kid pool and a large pool and 2 hot tubs.  Isaac met a friend Lucas who is visiting here from North Carolina.  His mom was born here and married an American in college and moved to the US 20 years ago. She is here visiting her family.   Many families here ask us where we are from, why we are here, how long we are here etc.  Once again we are so impressed with how friendly people are.  Many people we have met speak more than one language so are always willing to help when we are struggling with our Spanish.  A few of the staff here have wanted to work with us to work on their English.  So nice!!

Jeff and Isaac have been having a lot of adventures and quality time together.  They played tennis together and jumped on the trampoline yesterday!  Jeff was excited to learn that they have a tennis pro here that will play against you for 5$ an hour.  He was a really good match for Jeff and Jeff had a blast!!  Isaac, A and I went to watch!  Today Jeff played tennis again and then he and Isaac went horse back riding.  They have 5 horses that people can ride and another 3 young ones who are in training.  This was Isaac's first time on a horse.  He was thrilled and a bit nervous!  He was also super excited to learn that the horse was the same age as him! HA!  Jeff had a hard time telling the horse which direction to go!  I wish I would have been able to capture that on video! Majority of our afternoons are spent in the pool.  Today the lifeguard asked Isaac if he is a fish! :-)

We have really enjoyed our time together and all the family time that we are having.  We are looking forward to heading back to the city tomorrow.  We plan to go and see some more of the sites this next week.  Isaac is doing so well.  Hard to believe tomorrow marks 4 weeks here.  I asked him today if he was ready to go home.  His response was he wants to go back to the city but is not ready to go home-home yet!!  He misses seeing all his friends and grandparents but is really enjoying all the time here and the weather.

Here are more pictures for you:

One of many super cool bugs Isaac found! Praying Mantis!

Not a bad view each morning!

Psalm 104:24 - O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom has thou made them all: the earth is full of your riches. 

Planning to go to Anapoima!!

It was a lazy couple of days getting ready to travel out of the city for the weekend.  On Wednesday we had to go back to the private casa to get some paperwork stating that we are allowed to take Baby A out of the city.  Being we are in the court process there is a lot of paperwork we carry with us at all times being she is in our custody.  We had a low key day and headed to El corral for lunch after Isaac finished his school work.  It is spring break at school next week so he asked if he could work harder these next few days and then not have to do as much next week.  Sure! Great plan Bud!!  :-)  Pilar picked us up that afternoon to go to our meeting.  It was quick and we were able to talk to the director of the casa.   She was not aware which court we are in and we have been told that they are not telling people any longer.  SO we really don’t know and the director told us to just RELAX!!   We are trying to but it would be nice to know although it has always been speculation as to which court is good and which court is slow!! :-)

We are headed to a private club that our in country representative brought her children to for many years and she was able to make a reservation for us for a long weekend.  Diego had agreed to drive us out of the city and come back to pick us up.  Anapoima is about 2 hours outside of the city.  It is known for having some of the best weather in the country.  It is warm-80-90 and sunny.  The weather here is unpredictable these days so we are not sure if this will be the case.  It has been raining in the city every afternoon around 3 for about an hour or so.  Cecilia said this is not typical for this time of year.  Sounds like the weather in MN.  Not typical!! Isaac is excited as Cecilia told him that they have a beautiful pool!!

On Thursday we headed over to the mall to find some sandals as we did not come prepared for hot weather!  We went to TGI Fridays for lunch-a little taste of home! We like to go out for lunch to get us out and about and it costs about the same as if we were to eat at our hotel if we split things.  It is fun to taste new foods and visit new places but we also love having typical Colombian food for lunch too which Juanita is always excited to make for us.  We spent some time in the arcade at the mall again per Isaac’s request.  After we got back we packed up.  Being our hotel is not busy Katya was fine with us leaving all of our stuff in our room and won’t charge us while we are away.   Hotel Paris has truly become our home away from home!  We thought we would pack just a weekend bag but we forget how much stuff you need with a baby in tow! :-)

Friday am Diego picked us up around 9 am and we were off.  It took almost 1 hour just to get out of the city.  The city puts restrictions on times that people with certain license plate numbers can drive to try and control the traffic.  For example if the plate ends in an 8, you can drive on even days all day but if it ends in a 9 you can not drive during the hours of 6:30-9:30am and then again from 3-7pm on an even day.  Diego said that it is meant to try and get people to carpool, however people are smart and just own more cars with different plate numbers.  The restriction is lifted from 9:30-3.  You would think once the "rush hour" is over it would be OK, but really the traffic gets worse!  

Once out of the city it was a lot of driving in the mountains to get to the club.  The views were absolutely breathtaking at times.  It felt as if we were driving through a tropical area with mountains and very deep valleys.  There was bamboo everywhere, many flowers even along the road, lush green scenery, and many views of valleys in the mountains. There were fresh fruit stands everywhere with literally hundreds of mangos and many other types of fruit for sale.  Many tropical flowers in buckets for sale.  My camera was packed away so I will be sure to get some pictures on the way home as we will take the same way back.   In certain parts the road signs had the squiggley line as there were many turns and there were also many 90 degree turns going through the mountains.  No direct way to drive when going through mountainous areas.  Diego had us listening to his favorite Colombian music the entire ride!!

There were a lot of eye opening moments for Isaac (and for us) driving through some very impoverished areas.  He saw how many people on typical farms live with tin roofs, laundry hanging on the line, very thin cows tied out in the front yard, chickens roaming about, freshly butchered meat hanging in the window, and dogs that were very skinny.  He saw many houses built right along the edge of the land fill.  He has learned a lot about people living in impoverished areas who do not have a lot with our sponsor kids living in Africa and Haiti from World Vision and Compassion.  He has seen videos at church talking about the importance for clean water and how far people have to walk to get clean water.  He has learned about the importance for families to have a cow for milk, or chickens for eggs with our sponsor kids.  We talk a lot about being thankful for what we have and ways that we can help and be gracious to people.  It was a lot to take in and I am sure there will be many conversations to come.  

We arrived around noon and got settled in.  We checked out the pool and the restaurant. We are really looking forward to a great weekend!!  It is absolutely beautiful here with many views of the mountains and the valley.  We have a cabana which is like a very large room with 3 beds and a baby bed, a balcony and a bathroom.  I will post some pictures this weekend!! :-)

Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT)

8 months old!!!

We had an amazing day on Monday!  It marks 3 weeks of being here!!  We were up early and had the girls call a cab for us to set off to the botanical gardens.  Isaac was excited as he has never rode in a taxi cab!! The driver was very nice and was impressed that Isaac could speak some Spanish!! It was about a 25 minute ride and cost about 6$ to get to the garden.  Much cheaper than any taxi in the US.  Traffic was its usual crazy self as the lanes, traffic rules, etc are merely just suggestions.  Taxis weave in and out of other cars.  It was a bit nerve wrecking but was totally worth the ride once we arrived!!

The gardens are beautiful and we walked around for a few hours.  We also walked through the amazing greenhouse that featured different plants from all the different regions in Colombia.  Many cactus plants, tropical flowers and a very cool tree that Isaac thought looked like a snake.  I took many pictures of all the different flowers and could have spent a lot more time there.   It was nice to not feel as if you were in the city.  It was just a few dollars for all of us to get in and we would love to go back again depending on how much time we are here.  There was a large group of school age children (maybe kindergartners) that were also there on a field trip and they were so adorable! 

When we looked on a map it showed us that the largest park in Bogota, Simon Bolivar was not far from the gardens.  We decided to walk to the park from here and see a part of it.  This park is enormous and much like Central park.   We discovered a HUGE play area and several walking paths.  It was beautiful.  There was also a small lake with a sand type beach.  It was not too busy with people as it was Monday so we would love to come back here on the weekend.  Isaac had a ball running from one play structure to the next. 

After about an hour and a half we decided to start heading back north.  We hailed a cab from the street and we were off.  We had the cab drop us off at Jacques for a late lunch.  They have amazing crepes and sandwiches.  Delicious!  While we were there they were filming some sort of Television show in the back of the restaurant.  They told us it was El Capo being filmed, we were not sure what this was so decided we had to look it up once we got back to the hotel.  Check out this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_capo 

We made it home just in time for a huge thunderstorm.  It rained very hard in a very short time.  We felt really bad as the rain flooded the room that Juanita and Valeria stay in here.  There was ankle deep water on the floor as there was a leak in the bathroom.  Katya said that she has not had any issues with flooding in more than 10 years.  They spent hours mopping it up and we felt a bit helpless they would not let us help them. 

On Tuesday baby A turned 8 months old!!!!  We met our precious girl 3 weeks ago.  She is doing really well and seems to be adjusting to being with us very well.  She is smiley and happy most of the time and continues to discover her voice.   At times it seems so surreal that she is actually here with us!

It was a bit low key once again as we were planning on going to the private casa to pick up some paperwork we need to have to be able to take baby A out of the city this next weekend.  We were all ready to go around 10 and we got a call that the director could not meet with us as a kiddo at the casa was sick and she needed to take them to the doctor.  The meeting is rescheduled for 3pm Wednesday.  So we decided to go for a long walk and hit up Juan Valdez coffee shop on the way back.  Isaac loves the mango smoothies there!  Juanita made spaghetti for lunch so we ate at the hotel and took naps in the afternoon.   We ventured out to a little market in the afternoon to stock up on some snacks to bring a long with us for the weekend. 

Once again here are a few pictures! 

The tree that Isaac thought looked like a snake!!

one of the play structures at Simon Bolivar

Beautiful park!

Always be joyful. (1 Thessalonians 5:16 NLT)

Fin de Semana numero tres (Weekend #3)

Friday was a low key day again spending time at the hotel and getting work and homework done.  We really enjoy having low key days and just hanging out.  The time goes by and we are loving being a family of 4.  We treasure this time as we know that we won't have another time where we can all be together like this free from distraction and busy schedules for awhile.  We have heard from friends who have done this in the past that they were excited to go home but they really had a hard time with adjusting back to getting on a regular schedule of having to be places at a certain time and constantly looking at the clock etc.  Friday afternoon involved going for a walk and doing some shopping in the afternoon. 

Saturday was a great day for the boys.  They were picked up early in the am by a driver and taken to a soccer camp that is run by Diego.  Isaac was so excited to go and got to play for a couple hours with kids his own age.  Many of them are learning English so were trying to use their English with him and he was trying to use his Spanish with them.  SO cute!!  Soccer is HUGE here in Colombia and Diego said that there are not too many boys who don’t play.  It is slowly becoming a sport for girls also.  When you watch any sports channel here soccer is usually what is on.   A and I stayed back at the hotel and I got caught up on downloading pictures while she napped.   Cecilia also stopped by with a woman named Pilar  who will be helping  us as Cecilia is leaving for China on Thursday for 3 weeks.  Pilar works with many Swedish families and has been doing this for almost 20 years.  One of Cecilia's daughters is having her first baby and she lives in Hong Kong.  We know we will be in good hands while Cecilia is away.   Baby A loves to sleep and takes 2 naps each day and sleeps 12 hours at night but is usually awake twice.  We are working really hard on sitting up and tummy time.  It is so fun to watch her grow!! When the boys got home we had ajaco soup again for lunch.  I think it has been our favorite meal while we have been here.  Juanita and Valeria are off this weekend so Katya was the cook!!  We miss having them around as they like to tease and we have so much fun with them, but these ladies work so hard and deserve some time off.  After lunch we walked to a park not far from the hotel and there was a soccer game being played on the basketball court.  On our way back we stopped off at a cupcake store.  It is fun ordering things in Spanish as you never know exactly what you are going to get!   It was a fun day and rained around 3.  We are NOT missing the crazy weather at home that is for sure.

Sunday was another day at the markets and ciclovia.  We really enjoy long walks on Sundays as the streets are free from cars.  There was a race going on with many people from Venezuela .  Diego told us that many people come to Bogota to train as the air is thinner and that means less oxygen which he believes makes people stronger athletes.  We bought some artwork to bring home and hang in our house.  There are so many things I want to bring home but have to check on how much room we will have.    There was a lady in the park selling puppies.  They were adorable!  We went to lunch at El corral gourmet again!! SO delicious!  On our way back we stopped off at McDonalds to use the restroom and discovered an indoor play area that entertained Isaac for a half hour.  We then made our way to Hacienda Santa Barbara which is an open air mall not far from the markets we go to.  Today over nap time we are going to make some plans of other places we want to go and things we want to see.  We are talking about a few getaways to get out of the city.    We are enjoying our time here.  We have seen several west highland terriers and that really makes Isaac miss Buddy dog.  Monday marks 3 weeks here.  Looking forward to more adventure on the horizon!

Here are a few pictures from the last couple days:

Futbol!!! 

This is his favorite!! 

Static arm hang??

One of many streets in the market!

McDonalds playland!

Posing with another character in the park!

There are all sorts of different cars here.  Isaac spotted this one and wanted a picture by it!

Our fruit of the week...Granadilla...you crack it open and it is slimy with seeds in the middle.  Isaac loved it and Juanita said it is really good for digestion! :-)

Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock. (Isaiah 26:4 NLT)