Weekend in Villa de Leyva

Freddy picked us up on Saturday am and we headed out for Villa De Leyva.  We have heard so many great things about this town so we were happy to go and visit even if it was for just 2 days.  It is a Spanish colonial town full of white buildings with tiled roofs, the streets are all cobblestone and there are many restaurants and shops.  There are beautiful court yards and buildings that are very old.  The central plaza is huge surrounded by a large church and many colonial buildings.   There are 2 routes to take to get there so Freddy thought that we should take the long way around stopping in several small towns one day and take the freeway back the other day.  There were several beautiful churches we wanted to visit along with going to Raquira which is a small town full of handicrafts and known for pottery.  We were able to find a lot of nice things to bring back home with us.   Freddy decided to stay over night so that he could show us around both days.  As always he was giving us the tour and was a wealth of knowledge about the history of all the towns we visited.  We took our time getting there as it is about 3 hours outside of Bogota.  We arrived in Villa de Leyva around 4pm and got settled in to our hotel that is right near the main square.  The town is very old as is the hotel we were staying at but very nice with a beautiful court yard, spa, and restaurant.  We ventured out to do some sight seeing, shopping and find dinner.  Freddy has been here several times so was able to recommend some good places to eat with live music.  We decided to meet up with Freddy the next day after lunch so we could do some exploring in the morning and shopping.  We knew we wanted to visit the ostrich farm, the mud house and the fossil museum for sure.  At the farm for ostriches we learned all about them, and got to go in to the pen and feed them.  They are big and can be very assertive finding the food.  They are very tall and their necks are kind of snake like so just when you thought they were not looking you would look up and there they would be.  We laughed so hard many times and have a lot of good video!  It was hilarious!  We would highly recommend anyone visiting to check out this great little town!  We were excited that we were able to visit and that there was not a strike.  It was a great ending to an amazing 8 week visit in this beautiful country.  It is going to be very hard to leave. Tonight was another tough goodbye as we said thank you to our amazing friend and driver Freddy.  We are so going to miss him.  He has been SO SO good to us.  We have shared a lot of laughs together and we all grew to love him!  We told him if he comes to the US he needs to tell us so we can go and visit him.  We ended our weekend with a great trip to Teriyaki as a goodbye dinner.

The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.   Numbers 6:24-26

Ubate Square

A stop for fresh strawberries and cream! Yumm-o!

Chiquinquira Square

The church where the pope visited

One of many colorful handicraft stores in Raquira

Raquira main square

Outside the hotel Freddy recommended right near the square!

Villa De Leyva was beautiful!

The main square

Beautiful gardens

Doing some shopping in Villa De Leyva

Proud big brother!

An entire house made out of terra-cotta.  The inside was simply amazing!

Isaac  at the ostrich farm with the buffalo

Freddy did not know what he was getting himself into when he came on this adventure with us!

Isaac's expression is about how we all felt.  We laughed so hard we cried!

Just when I thought I was in the clear I look up to find this staring at me!

They were surrounded!

Isaac with the fossil of a  dinosaur they found in this region

We saw a lot of homeless dogs while we were there.  Isaac felt so bad for them so he bought a doughnut and fed it to one of the dogs.

Dinner at Teriyaki to thank Freddy and tell him goodbye!

The bridge where Colombia gained their independence!

Appointments and Paperwork!!

We had a wonderful weekend here!! The weather was sunny and 70 and we spent a lot of time outside at the park and going for walks.  On Saturday night we had a party to celebrate our Sentencia with wine and whisky.  SO much fun but I think I had a bit too much!  HA!!  Imagine people with a language barrier laughing and drinking together.  It was nothing short of hilarious!! Whisky on the rocks is popular here.  I was not a big fan!! Even Valeria and Juanita joined in!! It was a great night filled with a lot of laughter.  Sunday was our last visit to the markets in Usaquen.  Freddy gave us a long list of restaurants in Usaquen to check out!  I have a long shopping list so was sure to check many things off my list!!

Monday Jeff headed out with Pilar to apply for a new birth certificate for Amelia.  Once we have this listing us as her parents we can apply for the rest of the papers to come home.  They told him they would need one day for processing so our driver will plan to pick this up for us on Tuesday am.  He was back around 11 so we headed out to WOK for lunch.  It is great chinese food!   We then stopped by a book store and went to Juan Valdez.  Juan Valdez is much like starbucks in the US.  We love it!!  Almost everywhere we go we ask for patio seating.  We are really going to miss the weather here and are praying spring has arrived when we get home!  :-)  We don't have a lot planned for this week as we need to be available to go to appointments when necessary.

Tuesday we were picked up by Pilar at 9:45 and made our way to the passport office.  Amelia will travel back to the United States with a Colombian passport and a visa for the US.  We will have more paperwork to complete once we are back in the US.  We waited about 30 minutes there and she had to have her picture taken.  So funny as she has a pouty face and crazy hair!! :-) We will go back tomorrow to pick it up.  We then stopped by the ICBF to check our papers there and will also go there tomorrow to pick these up. At 3:00pm we headed to her medical appointment which is not far from our hotel.  We met with a pediatrician who spoke great English.  She needed the influenza vaccination and he sent us on our way declaring her healthy stating that her ears look good and her heart and lungs sound great.  He said it is typical that kids have an X-ray to detect hip dysplasia at 4 months old.  We don't have any record of her having this done so we will follow up with our pediatrician with this as he did not think it was a problem.  We will go back on Thursday once we have her passport to pick up the doctors final report and  papers to take with us to the US Embassy.  It was a very busy day but we managed to squeeze in one last lunch at El Corral Gourmet.  Pilar told us that this process will probably be complete on Friday afternoon.  We originally booked tickets to come home 4/8 and got a stellar deal.  We are thinking that we may keep this date as if we leave this weekend the difference in price of tickets is 600$ each.  We have a few more things to see so may stay for a last weekend and do a little more sightseeing with our favorite driver Freddy!!

Today we were picked up by Cecilia's secretary another Cecilia and we went back to the passport office to pick up the passport.  It's official we have her passport in hand!!! :-) We then went to ICBF to get the final paper we need for our appointment at the Embassy.  Tomorrow we will head to the MD to get the final paperwork and head to the private casa to say goodbye and sign some papers and we will be set for our appointment at the Embassy.  We are so close to completing this process!! YAY!!!  It has been an answer to prayer that we have a lot of our paperwork complete and it has been smooth sailing.

As when we were getting ready to leave for this trip we have many lists.  We are compiling lists now of things we want to see, things we want to buy and places we want to go one last time.  We have many mixed emotions about going home as we are sad to leave yet excited to get home and in to a routine and to see everyone.  We are really going to miss this place.  I sure hope to travel back when she is a bit older.

As always more pictures for you! :-)

Bounce House at Archies

Crazy fruit!

Ajiaco Soup!

Usaquen

Entertaining people while they wait in traffic

Someone LOVES bath time!!

Signing for the new birth certificate

Applying for the passport

Central office for Bienestar Familiar

Colombian car seat?? UGH!!!

El Doctor!

Papers are signed!!

Hope you love the carseat when we get home!!!!

Helping daddy work!

We have her passport!! WhooHoo!! :-)

Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God ’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Prov. 3:5-6

SENTENCIA!!!!!!!!!!

This is the post that we have been anxiously awaiting!! :-) After 6 weeks and 5 days in this beautiful country we are excited to have Sentencia!!  We got a call from Pilar on Thursday evening around 6pm.  She said she was happy to let us know that we  have Sentencia at 9:30 on Friday am.  WHOOO HOOOO!!!  She told us only one of us will need to go as it may be a long day and we could dress casual as we would not be meeting the judge.  We decided it would be best for Jeff to go. Pilar picked him up at 8:30am this morning.  They headed downtown to the courts.  We learned we are in court #18.  Our attorney met them there and checked over all the documents for correct spellings, passport #s, and dates before they had to sign.  The entire process took less than 60 minutes but they were gone for almost 4 hours due to traffic and they stopped off at the private casa to drop off the documents to send to another office.  We plan to go to the office for the birth certificate on Monday and also to the office to apply for her passport.  She will also have a medical exam and we will have an interview at the US embassy later next week.   There are several papers and steps that we need to complete in the next week but we are so excited to have this behind us!! Pray for the rest of our process to go smoothly so that we can come home within the next week or week and a half!!!! We are so excited for this day yet we will breath a big sigh of relief when we touch down on US soil!! :-)  We don't need a piece of paper to know that this precious little girl is ours but it is nice to have this behind us and to focus on loving her and being a family of 4!!

We celebrated by buying our staff at the hotel lunch from Carulla the local grocery store.  Rotiserrie chickens, plantains, and papas (potatoes).  We are planning a little fiesta tonight also.  We are making a list of everything we want to see this weekend and will be finishing up our shopping!! We are excited to have another weekend of the markets and Ciclovia!!

So now the moment you have all been waiting for:

I am pleased to introduce to you Amelia Grace Valeria Points born on July 4th 2013!!!  We are completely in love and she has her dad and her brother wrapped around her finger!! :-)

I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give her to the Lord.  For her whole life she will be given over to the Lord!  1 Samuel 1:27-28

Please take a minute to listen to the song that has carried us through this this process.   I hope to put up a slide show once home of many of our adventures in this country!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwY-BUJgRhw&index=2&list=PL2B61C22C65E9C223

Week in Review

This week has been very low key.  Monday was a holiday so we decided to venture out to a soup and dessert restaurant and go for a long walk with Ciclovia.  There are many tents set up on the street so we stopped at a few vendors and tried the grilled corn.  It was delicious but very different from the corn in the US.  Large kernels and a more starchy taste.  We went for a long walk before returning back to the hotel.  Tuesday we spent hanging out at the hotel also.  Wednesday Freddy came to pick us up and took us back downtown to La Candalaria area to an antique store.  I was able to find some great treasures to bring back home to have in our house.  We also stopped off at the mall to pick up some traditional Colombian music.  Freddy is in a band so he brought us his cover CD.  So nice!!  We heard from Pilar that she talked to the attorney and we will have good news soon!! YAY!!  There are a few more places we hope to visit before leaving but we will see what we have time for.  Thursday we spent hanging out at the hotel and getting homework done in the morning.  Isaac has been begging to go to Burger king while we are here.  We have not really wanted to go to places we can go at home but he has been really good so we decided to try it out.  After lunch we walked to on of our favorite parks here.   Heather, Jeff and Jefferson came for dinner at the hotel along with Jeff's parents.  Juanita made the famous Ajiaco soup again.  Isaac was in heaven.  Isaac and Jefferson were off playing having pillow fights, and playing fifa on the iPad.  They are leaving for Cartegena in the am so we are not sure if we will see them before we leave.  They are great friends and if we venture to the Portland area we will be sure to look them up!!  We have been enjoying a little down time this week.  Hoping for good news soon!! :-)

Let My light shine in you; don't dim it with worries or fears. -Jesus Calling

The crazy antique places Freddy took us too!! Found some amazing things though!! :-) 

Such a good big brother!

We are going to miss Jefferson!!

"How are you??"

The title of this post is a phrase we hear almost every day by the man who works here overnight Tulio.  He does not speak any English and is always talking to us in Spanish but he has learned this phrase along with "what it is??.  We keep telling him it is supposed to be "what is it?" but it doesn't seem to catch on!  So funny!

So I thought that I would answer the question instead of just the day to day things that we are doing.  We are doing really well!!  We have been eating and drinking the water and everyone has been very healthy!!  We pray that this continues!

 Jeff has been checking in with work quite often when he gets time and has done a few conference calls.  Hopefully he won't end up using too much vacation as he saved up 7 weeks but may not have to use a lot of it.   He has been going running and doing P90X type videos during nap time.  He is loving having a baby again and is very helpful with bath time, feedings and shares night shift duties with me.  :-)

Isaac has been great and I am so proud of him.  He is doing well with school work and reading a lot and keeping up with his math.  Screen time is a bit challenging at times where there is not a lot going on but he has been a good listener and does well with direction.  We have been pleasantly surprised that he has not been homesick.  He really misses his friends and things about home yet it does not seem to get him down and he does not complain.  He does so well wanting to help with A, feeding her, playing with her and holding her and we have not seen a lot of jealousy.  It has helped that he has had the boys here for the last week and half to play with and we both make sure that we are giving him a lot of one on one time, reading, snuggling, watching videos, looking at pictures, and going to the park.  We have noticed a few more silly behaviors trying to get attention but all in all is doing really well.  He has said that he misses going to school!!  Please feel free to email him and send him messages.  He loves hearing from you!!

A is doing well rolling all over the place and continues to practice sitting on her own.  She will still fling herself backward so we still watch her closely when she is sitting.  She looks like she wants to crawl but has not quite figured it out.  She has the best belly laugh and is very smiley.  The floors here are really hard so we lay a comforter our for her to roll around on.  She is very alert and interested in everything we are doing.  She loves to go for walks in the stroller and is very go with the flow.  We will be anxious to get her home to more toys and books! She is constantly moving her arms and feet and making funny faces and sounds.  Can't imagine her energy level once she starts to crawl.

I am loving this time also.  I have enjoyed all of our family time together free from distractions and busyness.  I am totally in love with this country and plan to visit once she is a bit older too.  The people here will always hold a special place in my heart as I have been so impressed with how friendly and welcoming everyone we have met has been! Although some times lack of sleep catches up with me and we all will crash for an afternoon siesta once and awhile.  I could just sit and watch Isaac and A play together for hours.  My heart melts when I see Isaac just loving on her.  I am soaking up every glorious moment of having a baby again!!

Some of the challenges we have had include:
Sleeping in one room at night.  Thank goodness for a fan and earplugs!!
A waking up 2 times per night, about every 4 hours.  SO thankful that she drinks a bottle and goes right back down, and it is so sweet that she is so snuggly at that time!
All baby food has sugar in it so we try our best to give her certain things we can mash.
Missing our dog!  He has been in such great hands while we are gone.
Living out of a suitcase gets a little old as everything is a bit disorganized but we are managing!!  The boys shake their head at how much stuff we packed!! :-)

We are really enjoying our time here but will be excited to go home too!  We miss our family and our friends and getting together with people.  The food here is great don't get me wrong but we miss lighter meals and vegetables.  I miss driving and grocery shopping too!! :-)  I say that I miss all of these comforts of home but in reality they are all just luxuries we are used to.  The place we are staying has been great.  Great food, warm water, good internet, fairly comfortable nice size room, and wonderful wonderful staff.  This is a major blessing to us and we are very thankful!!  We are very thankful to be in a big city with many things to do also.   We are very thankful that it is fairly easy to get around either by walking or by taxi (even if the traffic is not great).  Certain things that we will not miss have only made us appreciate the way things are at home even more.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

Tulio acting "macho" for the photo!!  LOL!!