Lunes!!

This morning after breakfast we headed out for a walk and to explore another area of town.  We stopped at Jacques a French bakery/restaurant.  They have many French pasteries and Isaac picked out a few to bring back to the hotel.  We will definitely go back as there were many things to choose from and a lot of fresh bread!

We then wandered through a few boutique type stores that was in an area much like Grand Ave and Jeff stopped at the gym to check out how much a membership would be for a month. He was told 80$ per month.  He is not sure if he wants to spend that as he thought that seemed expensive.  Katya told us that is not expensive for our location and it is probably the least expensive gym we will find.  We shall see.    For now we plan to do lots of walking, Jeff will jog once and awhile and we found some P90X type videos on you tube. 

 Baby A was falling asleep, so after walking for about an hour and a half we decided to head back for  lunch being we have an appt at 2pm at the private casa.  She has been taking 2 hour naps in the am and pm and sleeping 12 hours at night.  Isaac and I are planning our activities for this afternoon when we get back.  We need to start working more on his school work. 

We ate lunch and were off to the private casa.  We were told by Cecilia that we do not have a meeting with the defender of the minors until 2/27.  We were a bit disappointed to here this.  That is another 10 days from now.  She said she was going to ask if this could be moved up as our case cannot enter the court until after that meeting.  Again, lots of things have changed so we are trying to roll with it.  Prayers for the meeting to be sooner would be much appreciated as that is when the real wait begins.  We met with the social worker and it was a quick meeting.  They just ask how everything is going.  Baby A’s primary care giver came to say hello, her name is Rosa.  She is a very sweet person and very loving.  We are so thankful for the care they have given our girl. 

On Thursday we are going back for a tour of the casa.  I was told we can take a video so we will be sure to bring the video camera.  We also will bring donations and a cake to share with the kids.  I think it will be a lot of fun.  Isaac brought some of his own money and wants to buy something for the kids to take along.  Melt my heart.

It has been raining today so once back baby A is sleeping again and we are going through Isaac’s school work.  We are planning some outings that he will have to write about also.  He is also writing a journal every day.  We plan to put together a little presentation of his experience in this country for his class once we are back. 

Before dinner we took a walk to the park.  It was so nice out after the rain.  The boys threw the football around and Isaac played on the playset.  We have heard there are many parks in the area so we are looking forward to making it part of our daily routine!

Tonight it was another night of hide and go seek with Isaac, Sara and Camilla.  It is so nice that we can give A a bath and get her ready while Isaac is entertained. 

Here are a few pictures from today:

He thought he was the king sitting in the big chair at Jaques

MMM....hard to chose just one!!

Football Americano!! 

Weekend in Review!

Saturday 2/15-
We are so excited for the weekend!  It has been beautiful weather.  70 and sunny almost every day.  It does rain around 3pm for about an hour or hour and a half.  It is a good time though as we usually come back for A to take a nap and spend some one on one time with Isaac.

Today we went out for a late Valentine's Day lunch at Crepes and Waffles.  It is a local chain here that is delicious and many friends have recommend that we try it.  My sister in law said that they had one in Quito also that they would visit when she was living there for a year.  Isaac had a waffle with nutella for dessert.  It was amazing!

After lunch we went for a walk.  We plan to walk every day if it is nice out.  It is nice to get out and about a bit.  We walked the area to learn where more things are at.  We found exito ( much like target or walmart) and the mall.  It looked like rain so we did not shop much but walked back home just in time for a down pour.  We have heard there is an arcade at the mall so we will be sure to go back and check that out!

We arrived back at the hotel just in time to get a delivery of formula and before the rain started.  A is on a special type of formula as she has reflux so we buy it from a pharmacy that delivers.  A man comes on a motorcycle about once a week and delivers the cans with no delivery fee.  Such a great service!  The formula is expensive so I am debating changing it but I know I will once again have to do this once we are home so we will see.

After dinner Isaac played hide and go seek with Sara and Camilla (the daughter of one of the girls who works here at the hotel) for an hour or so.  It is so nice to have some kids here for him to play with.  They both speak Spanish so it is fun to hear him speak Spanish!! :-) Dinner is usually at 6:30 so our evenings involve eating, playing for a bit, showers and baths and usually the kids are in bed around 8:30 or so.


Sunday 2/16-
On Sundays they close many of the roads for something they call Ciclovia.  They close off one side of many of the roads for runners, bikers, and walkers to enjoy exercise and not have to deal with the traffic.  It usually runs from 7 until 2:30 every Sunday.  Many of our friends have said they looked forward to Sunday as there is less traffic, they were able to get out and about, and there is a great flea market not too far from where we are staying.  After breakfast we packed everybody up and headed out with the stroller.  It was so nice to enjoy the sunshine.  We have to be careful however as the sun is fairly intense as we are so close to the equator.  We walked about 1 mile to Usaquen.  There were a lot of tents set up and different vendors selling everything you can imagine.  We spent a few hours wandering the market.  Isaac bought a few little things and we scoped out many things that we will go back for to bring home with us.

There is a church in Usaquen so at noon we attended a Catholic mass for a bit.  Baby A got a bit fussy so we left early but it was so fun to experience this.  There was a lot of singing and greeting one another. There was a large park outside the church with a few swings that Isaac played on for awhile and many people sit in the park and feed the pigeons.  After lunch there were musicians and different people dressed up that you could take pictures with.  It reminded me of when we were on Hollywood boulevard.  :-) We decided to go to lunch at a near by restaurant that was Colombian fusion food.  It was very delicious.  Once again the manager spoke some English so he came and told us all about what he thought we should try.  We told him bring us whatever he thinks is good.  We had a traditional Colombian banana with cheese between it and some shrimp and tomatoes with avocado.  It was amazing!! :-)

People stop us and tell us baby A is "muy linda" ...very cute... often.  People are extremely friendly here.  It is really amazing and so nice.  We are amazed at how many people are able to speak some English and how many of them have family in the states or have lived in the states themselves.  Jeff and I both have commented on how we wish we knew more Spanish.

We stopped at Carulla grocery store and picked up a few snacks and fruit on the way home.  Isaac has been trying many new fruits while here.  I will post more on that later.  We intended to go to the park but it started raining so we headed back.

A has not slept real well today so was a bit fussy.  We tried rice cereal and pears tonight and it was a huge hit!! She loved it!! Almost all baby food here has sugar in it so I did bring some cereal with me as recommended by a friend.  Juanita has been blending a few things for us also for her to try but I am going slow with it.  We visited with the family that is here from France that will be here until Friday.  They shared some chocolate with us that was simply amazing!! :-)

Evenings tend to go fast as we eat around 6:30 pm.  Once done eating it is baths and bed.  Isaac has really enjoyed having some other kids here.  We have not even touched the movies we brought with yet.

We learned tonight that there is more to the market than we even saw so we are looking forward to going back next week!! :-)

Baby A has been practicing her rolling and rolled from stomach to back this weekend.  SO fun to see and so funny the expression on her face.  She is doing new things every day.  :-)
Here are some pictures of the weekend! :-)

“The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.” -Psalm 126:3

Will you be my Valentine??

Happy Valentines Day a day late!!  I find myself writing these posts after everyone is asleep.  This year we have the best Valentines ever!! We started the morning off with lots of snuggling and watching some cartoons in Spanish.  Isaac said it is just like being in school right...he is learning Spanish! Ha!  Jeff got a box of milk duds that I brought from home, and I got a poem written by my dear husband...(yes this is a long standing tradition that Jeff does...some are hilarious as he will just throw in random things to make it rhyme) :-)   This weekend we plan to venture out for a Valentine lunch!

Today Cecilia came with a driver and picked us up to go to the immigration offices to register our visas.  We thought this would be a smooth process but Cecilia told us there have been many new changes so she was unsure of how long we would be gone.  When we got to the counter we had everything we needed and then we were asked for our blood type...hmmmm....not 100% sure of either of ours.  The officer tells us that it is absolutely necessary to know it to register us so if we are unsure we will need to go to the laboratory that is 4 blocks away to have our blood drawn.  OK...roll with it.

We walked to the clinic and were able to both get blood drawn and the results with in 15 minutes.  $20 total for both of us and that is without insurance.  So crazy how cheap the medical care is here and it is wonderful care.  The nurse was great and spoke English so it was fun for me to see how things are done.  She says a prayer before she starts that she is able to draw blood with the first poke and sure enough!! :-)  Back to the offices to complete our registration and have fingerprinting done.    Once again we were moved along faster because we had kids with us.  Isaac and A were such troopers.  Cecilia said that it was new that she was not allowed to come in to the office with us.  Usually she is able to come in and help translate.  We managed but once again Isaac was using his Spanish.  It took us longer to get to the appointment and back than it did for the actual appt. The traffic here is crazy.  It is grid lock and literally you feel like you could walk faster than you can drive.  I will try and get some pictures of this next time we are out.

This afternoon was low key again as I wanted to make sure baby A got a good nap.  She is a bit off from the immunizations yesterday.  I spent the afternoon with Juanita the cook as she was teaching me to make empanadas.  I love to cook so it is fun to learn to do this.  We were laughing so hard she had tears running down her eyes as I was trying so hard to communicate.  We were saying what I speak is more like Spanglish...LOL...I am learning!! :-)  We feel like we are playing charades as when we don't know a certain word we start acting things out.  Juanita has worked here for 23 years.  She is so much fun and such a good cook.  Isaac eats everything she makes!! The meal we made was delicious but it is a lot of work!  She had me write down the process so that when I come home I can cook these for my friends.

Isaac and A are going to bed around 8:30 or 8:45 so Jeff and I usually plan out the next day, send emails and watch Homeland a series we brought along with us.  We also have been getting the olympics but everything is in Spanish.

ground beef, peas, green onion, tomato, garlic, and spices for the inside of the empanadas

Juanita mixing water with the corn flour to make the dough

Rolling out the dough and putting in press to make the shape

Juanita taking my picture and making me laugh...they shout whisky instead of "say cheese" here!!

It was a great Valentine's Day.  One we will remember for a long time!! 

1 Corinthians 13: 4–8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails ... 

Bonding and Exploring

Wednesday:

Today was a beautiful day in Bogota.  It is about 65-70 degrees almost every day for a high.  It is a bit cooler in the mornings and evenings so dressing in layers is the best way to go. 

Baby A is an amazing sleeper.  She loves her bottles and is trying new foods such as banana, carrots, and pears.  She went to bed around 8:45 and slept until about 3 am and had a bottle and then went back to sleep until around 7:45.  I hope this routine continues!! :-)

We got ready and went down for breakfast.  Isaac is really enjoying being able to order anything he wants for breakfast as waffles are always on the menu!!  The 2 girls who work here are so awesome.  They both speak Spanish and they love to talk with Isaac.  Their names are Valeria and Juanita.  Juanita is an amazing cook and Valeria cleans and helps out with whatever we need.  We told Juanita that we are very excited to try some traditional Colombian food.  She also wants to find a time to teach us to make empanadas.  Valeria also has an 11 year old daughter Camilla that Isaac has been hanging out with a bit. 

We spent time just hanging around the hotel and learning about our girl.  She is very happy when she is fed and has slept.  She is VERY active and is always kicking her legs and moving her arms.    She has been taking an hour nap in the mornings and then 1-2 hours in the afternoon.  She gets really mad when it is time to eat or she sees you preparing her bottle.  After she eats it is more smiles and giggles.   There is a courtyard here that has swings so we spent some time playing outside and swinging.  We got some video of baby A in the swing.  So precious! 

We ate lunch here at the hotel of fish and fresh pineapple and then went with the owner of our hotel to the notary to have some papers notarized that we have to carry with us at all times that states that it is legal for baby A to be in our custody.   After the notary we went to the grocery store to buy some snacks and some diapers and just walked slowly up and down all the aisles.  It has been so good for Isaac to use his Spanish and also learn about converting US dollars in to pesos.  There are about 2,000 pesos in a US dollar.  Isaac is a numbers guy so it is fun for him to figure out how much things cost.  We bought a few snacks that are made here in Colombia and some interesting fruit.   We are looking forward to trying many new fruits.  

We spent the evening back at the hotel.  It gets dark around 6pm.  We had spaghetti for dinner and then it was time for a bath.  It was suggested to bring a blow up tub as the hotel does not have tubs.  I am so glad I did.  Baby A loves her bath kicking and splashing!! So funny to watch.  We were able to watch some of the Olympics and even found the Timberwolves game on ESPN but in Spanish!  It has been a great day once again.  Isaac has been so sweet wanting to hold baby A, help with her bath, give her a bottle, and play with her.  It has been so fun to watch!!  

Thursday:

This morning Isaac once again had a made to order breakfast!!  Cecilia arranged a driver to come and pick us up to take us back to the private casa as baby A needed vaccinations.  They have healthcare staff that come to the private casa on certain days and today was the day they could do it. We gave her some Tylenol prior and were off at 9:30am.  I forget how long it takes to get ready with a baby how much stuff we need!!  

The nurses were so sweet and it was so reassuring to see the kids getting excellent medical attention.  We were told by other families that the care is excellent but it was so nice to see.  I was able to tell them that I also work as a nurse and they asked all about where I work.  We did not have a translator but we managed with the help of Isaac.  He truly has been amazing!!  We were in and out in 10 minutes and we were able to hug her primary caregiver again.   We will be going for a tour in a week or 2.

Once back at the hotel she took a nap and the boys went to a near by park to throw the football around.   We are told that Bogota has many parks so we are looking forward to exploring them!

After nap we decided to go out for a walk and get a bit familiar with our new surroundings.  We loaded up baby A in the front pack and headed off to lunch.  We ate a pizza place called Archies which was wonderful and comes highly recommended.  Isaac was asked if he wanted to make his own pizza by a sweet girl name Luisa and she brought him upstairs and had him put on a chef’s outfit.  She was so impressed with his Spanish!  I can tell it can be a bit stressful at times when he does not understand the accent or they speak too fast so we have learned to tell people he is learning.  People have been amazing at slowing down and speaking simply to him.  The manager came over and asked if he could practice his English with us.  It was so fun!! After lunch Luisa brought him a gelato chocolate carmel sundae.  People are so friendly with kids here.   We will definitely be going back!!   

After lunch we walked around and familiarized ourselves with where some of the restaurants are and went to a few stores.  I can not believe how expensive baby clothes are here.  It was so nice to get out and enjoy the weather.  We came home as she was getting tired and with having shots I wanted to make sure that she got a good nap in.  She slept for almost 3 hours.  It rained some this afternoon so Isaac and I spent some time looking at old pictures and video and then we all took an afternoon siesta. 

We had a few families arrive at the hotel tonight from France and Italy.  We all had dinner together but they also speak Spanish also so it is hard to get to know them but we are trying!! One family has a little girl who is 7 and was constantly talking to Isaac in Spanish.  She is absolutely adorable. 

We are doing really well and are enjoying our sweet addition to our family.  We have also enjoyed some one on one time with Isaac.  I know this is a big adjustment for him to be in another country, using his Spanish, tasting new foods, and having a baby around.  He is doing absolutely amazing and it brings tears to my eyes to see him wanting to help and be a part.  He is going to be such a good big brother.  

Below are some pictures of where we are staying!  More to come!! :-)

Gotcha Day

Today is the day that we have been praying for and waiting for 3 years.  After getting in around 12:30 am last night we were all awake around 7:15am.  We spent most of the morning getting ready and unpacking our things.  We are running on little sleep and also trying to adjust to the altitude which is at almost 9,000 feet above sea level.

The owner of the hotel Katya was here to greet us this am.  She told us she had spoken with our in country representative Cecilia who would be arriving around 10:30 am to take us to the private casa where baby A has been staying.  We are so amazed by the friendly people we have met.  The 2 women who work during the day here are simply amazing.  They make all of our meals, clean, and do laundry.  It is so nice to not have those things to worry about.  I so wish I spoke more spanish as the owner and our representative Cecilia speak great English but others speak mainly spanish.
 
Isaac has done an amazing job at helping us in conversation.  At our hotel breakfast is made to order so after some french toast, eggs and fresh strawberry juice ( strawberries blended for juice) we were off to get all dressed up for our presentation.  It was a 20 minute drive to the casa.  Traffic here is very busy and cars with certain numbers can only drive on certain days.  The population here is 8 million people so it is a very big city.  Once Cecilia arrived we had some coffee before leaving.  It is very customary to have hot drinks often during the day.  Cecilia is a wonderful woman and has been assisting families in their adoption process for almost 20 years.

 Once we arrived at the casa we were greeted by many people.  Maria C is the director and we went in to her office where she spent a lot of time talking to Isaac in Spanish! :-) Baby A's nurse then came and went over her schedule, temperament, what she likes to eat etc.  It was very emotional for me to meet her nurse as she has been giving our baby girl care for the first 7 months of her life.  We signed a few papers giving us permission to have her in our custody until the court process is final and then Cecilia and Maria asked if they could take Isaac and my camera and head upstairs to get the baby.

 Jeff and I just sat in the office holding hands all by ourselves anticipating the moment when she would come down those steps.  I don't think we spoke a word to each other but yet knew the complete emotion the other one was feeling.  We felt that God was answering our prayers at that very moment.  Some little children were arriving through the front gate at that time.  They all walked by and smiled.  We were told they were coming from school and school starts at 6am.  That is very early.  They were darling and were headed to have lunch.  All of a sudden there were many people around and Maria came in carrying baby A.  I honestly can not tell you the exact details of what came next as I was completely overcome with emotion.  The tears started flowing, then Jeff started crying as they placed her in my arms and then Isaac got choked up.  It was the most beautiful yet tear filled moment.  I get emotional just writing about it now!  Cecilia took video, someone else had the camera.  People were congratulating us and telling us she is "muy linda" an expression they use to describe how beautiful she is.  Many hugs were exchanged.  It was a very beautiful moment.

We were given a bottle of warm milk for her and a bib.  She does have a bit of reflux so is on a special formula for this.  After about 10 minutes or so we were told that it was time to go.  We would be coming back for some shots and also for a tour of the casa in a few days.  We thanked Maria and the work that she does.  Jeff just recently hired a woman at work that has 2 siblings that are adopted from this same private casa that are now 27 and 25.  It is a small world and we are so thankful for this amazing place.  We gave Maria a gift and we were on our way.

 We then came back to the hotel for lunch, another wonderful meal made by Juanita of rice and a lentil gravy with bacon served with fried plantains and fresh pineapple.  It was delicious.  Isaac said he loves the food here so far!! :-)  We spent the afternoon playing with our sweet girl and napping.  She lays down and goes right to sleep.  A-mazing.  She was a bit fussy as I think she was a bit off schedule and a bit gassy but she was good as gold once she slept.  She is constantly moving and loves to move her legs.  I wish I had a jumper.  We will be working with her on tummy time and building that upper body strength.

The services here are amazing and we were able to have her formula delivered to us at the hotel.  So awesome.  Jeff and Isaac ventured to the grocery store today.  There are several things very close to where we are staying so we are looking forward to venturing out and exploring a bit in the next couple days.  For now our focus will be on getting to know this sweet girl.

Jeff and Isaac went out to play some football this afternoon before dinner.   Dinner was pork chops, potatoes and vegetables.  We were able to mash up some vegetables for her and that was a huge hit.  Tonight we laughed a lot as she loves to take a bath and splashed all over.  She was even giggling.  So precious.  She and Isaac went to bed around 8:30 after watching some of the olympics.  She just sat and stared at the TV.  It was an amazing day!

Baby A-
You are beautiful and an answer to prayer.  I have been praying for you every day since this process started.  Meeting you today was one of the best days of my life.  I have trusted God to bring us together.  I am so excited to have you become a part of our family, and have you meet all the people at home who are ready to meet you and love you too.  Your big brother Isaac has been waiting a long time to meet you and today he just could not get enough of you!! You are loved!! It is a blessing and an honor to be your mom.  Love you to pieces baby girl!!

Psalm 118:24  This is the day that the Lord has made, Let us rejoice and be glad in it!!

Buenos Noches!!

Travel Day

Well the day to travel has finally arrived.  I think this has been the hardest part of the journey thus far.  Once we received a referral it has been hard to wait to meet our sweet girl.  We had to wait until after the new year as the courts here close for an extended period over the holiday.  

It is 11:44 am and it has been quite the morning.  I am typing to you from the plane on our way to Atlanta.  My parents arrived at 8:45 am to pick us up for the airport.  We have 6 checked bags weighing almost 50lbs each, 2 roller bags, a laptop bag, a backpack, and my camera bag.  Lots of stuff.  We got about half way to the airport and realized that we had not remembered to bring our stroller…ugh.  Luckily we had planned for extra time so were able to turn around go back home and get it.  You can get these in country but we have been told they are expensive and not the best quality.  Once we arrived at the airport we checked in with the sky cab.  Being we are only allowed one bag each we were planning on paying the 75$ fee for each additional bag.  We explained to the sky cab that we had a bag of donations for the orphanage (private casa) and another bag with medications and things for baby A.   He proceeded to whisk Jeff inside and about 5 minutes later returned with tags for free baggage.  Thank you Delta!!  Needless to say he got a good tip and he wished us good luck!   Once inside we made our way to the family security line.  Slick.  No removing shoes, no taking out laptops etc.  5 minutes and we were through.  

 It was emotional taking off knowing we won’t be back for awhile.  It was very emotional for me this am saying goodbye to the dog too.  He is in great hands with our house sitters and friends though.  We told Isaac that we are going to our  new “home” for 6-8 weeks, we will refer to the USA as our “home home” just as our friend Maddie did when she was on this journey for her little brother over a year ago.  We are so thankful for this day.  We are running on high emotion and soooo excited to meet our little girl.  She is worth every second of the planning, packing, travelling, preparation.  We love you baby A!! Be there soon!!

12:30 am  

Our flights went smoothly.  We were on time to Atlanta and had about a 3 hour lay over before flying the second leg of the journey which is about 4 hours and 10min.  It was a good time to get a little lunch and have time to stretch our legs.  We ate lunch at TGI Fridays.  Our flight to Bogota was good also.  We were able to get 3 seats together but we were in the back row.    That was a bit tight but we were happy to have seats together.    We had screens in the seats so were able to watch a movie and play games.   Cecilia hired a driver to pick us up at the airport.  He brought a large van with him so it was nice to have the space for all of our luggage.  We exchanged our $ at the airport.  Sure wish we spoke spanish fluently.  

When we passed through immigration Isaac spoke to the young girl at the counter in spanish.  She loved him and gave him this huge smile.  He also had to ask a few girls that were working where the luggage carts are and thanked them for their help.  He told me he could understand they were saying he is so handsome!! 

:-)  We arrived at our hotel and went to bed around 1am.  Not sure I will sleep much as anticipation is so high!

Prayer

It is only hours before we start on our journey!  I am so elated!!  I can not believe we are at this point, today has felt so surreal.  I have been drafting these blog posts and it is finally coming together!! We have had a wonderful weekend getting together with friends, going to church, hugs, phone calls, and saying see you later!! Tonight we sat in the family room as a family of 3 and prayed together.  It was very emotional.  We have trusted God faithfully on this journey thus far and we felt we had so many things to say thank you for.  It was beautiful to hear Isaac ask God to help him be the best big brother.  I can not tell you how thankful I am to hear him say that.  I am so happy he will be a big brother soon!! We cried and hugged and cried some more.  It was a moment I will remember for a long time.  We know and we trust that God goes before us and will be with us each step of the way.

Specific things you can pray for us about:

Health: pray that we will be healthy on this trip.  Pray that we adjust to the altitude as it is almost at 9,000 ft.  It may take a day or 2 or 3 to acclimate.
Health of Baby A: (We will refer to her as this until we have our court decree) We will not be able to post any pictures of her on here until we have Sentencia which is our final decree stating she is our daughter.  We will hope to post pics of what we are doing and where we are at.
Safety
Bonding: Together as a family.  This is such a precious time for all of us and we are so thankful for the time we will have together
A smooth and quick court process.  We are told there are 20 some courts in the city.  Some are considered slower than others.

I will plan to post every couple of days or so.  It will take us some time to get settled in and we have a few appointments when we arrive.  The best way to communicate is email.
Please sign in to post comments.  We would love to hear from you.  Next post from Colombia!! :-)  Blessings to you all!!
We are coming baby girl!!!

Mark 11:24  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.