New Visas

Before we came to Colombia, we had to travel to California and get a Special Visitor Visa in order to come here and adopt.  The Visa was good for 90 days and ours expires on Monday!  We never thought we would be here long enough to have to renew it, but luckily, it was an easy process.  We had to go to the Colombian Embassy and hope we will not have to renew it again.  We joke with our hotel staff that maybe we will just need to move to Colombia and live at the hotel.

Popcorn and Movie Night

We enjoyed our first family popcorn and movie night, and our kids loved it!  We brought Spanish Disney movies from home, that we can play on our computer.  We put the computer on the bed, and the kids sat on pillows on the floor.  They had trays in front of them and enjoyed bowls of popcorn and a cup of Sprite.  We especially enjoyed watching a Disney movie we have never seen.  It was in Spanish so we have no idea what it was about.  The kids had a great time though and we hope to do it again soon!

Presents

Several times while we have been here we have given our kids small presents to make the day special.  Today was our last gifts so hopefully we will go soon!  The girls had fun making necklaces out of colored beads, and Juan enjoyed a new box of legos.  This lego set gives the option of making a boat, a helicoptor, and an airplane.

Live Colombian Music

We had a special treat tonight at the hotel tonight.  A Colombian band came and played a concert for us.  They were good and we all had a great time.

A Fun Day While We Wait

We are trying to do something fun everyday while we wait for Sentencia.  Yesterday, we went back to Divercity, and the kids had another great time.  They did some of the same occupations they did the last time we went.  However, a new one they tried was a theatre featuring Pinnochio.  Their job was to act out the story, and they did a great job.  Ingrid was Pinnochio, Angie was a cat, and Juan was a donkey.  Here are some pictures and a video.  We ended the day with a treat of cotton candy!

Our Adoption Update

Hello from Colombia!  We have now been in Colombia for 11 weeks and are still waiting for the judge to sign our adoption papers.  The judge had 10 days to sign our paperwork from the time it reached his desk.  So, he had to sign by 5 pm on Monday, in order to be within the legal time frame.  At 5 pm, he requested more information!  Although his request was outside of his jurisdiction, we had no choice but to supply him with the requested information.  Our lawyer supplied the requested information yesterday, and the judge now has 10 more days to sign our papers.  So, his deadline is now 5 pm on July 7th.  We pray that he does not take the full 10 days, and we can fly home soon.  Our kids are doing really well and very excited to come to their new home.  Thank you for your prayers!

Happy Father's Day

Dainis had a very nice First Father's Day, and the kids surprised him with a card and Colombian bread.  The bread is wonderful here, and the kids wanted to eat it right after breakfast.  Sunday is pancake day here, so we convinced them to wait until lunch.  It is hard to believe we have celebrated Mother's Day, Easter, and Father's Day here in Colombia!  Although we have really enjoyed this time with our kids, we hope can celebrate the next special occasions, Lori's birthday and the 4th of July, at home!

A New Field Trip

We visited a place called Parque Jaime Duque today, and we all had a great time.  This park is one of the top five in South America, so we are so glad we could go.  We went with another family that is here at our hotel.  They are adopting five girls.  This park was a combination of farm animals, museums, and an amusement park.  We took a picnic lunch, and we all enjoyed getting out.  Hopefully, next Saturday we will be packing to come home!

Lunch with Colombian Friends

We had the opportunity to go out to lunch with some relatives of a friend that lives in Colombia.  It was great that the kids could enjoy a lunch and talk with someone new from Colombia.  We all had a wonderful time!

Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches

There are three parks within walking distance of our hotel, and we try and go to one each day.  The hotel staff is wonderful, and they always prepare great meals for us.  However, once in awhile, we need a change.  So today, we had a picnic lunch at the park with good old fashioned peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Our trips to the park would not be complete if our kids didn't pick flowers for the staff,on our way home.

Thank You Along With An Update

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you so much for all of your love, support, prayers, and following our journey with us.  We are now starting our tenth week in Colombia, and it is hard to believe we have been here this long!  We just got an update from our agency representative here in Colombia that our final paperwork just reached the judge's office this past Tuesday, the 7th.  We did not know it had just arrived, and we are still waiting for his signature on our final paperwork.  Recently, the courts were closed for 6 days for training with the judges and computer network updates in the court, our Defensor working on our case was sick for 3 days, and everything was closed 1 day for a Colombian national holiday!  Now that judge has our paperwork, he has 10 days to sign it.  So, the last day for the Judge to sign the papers is Monday, the 20th, at 4pm, but we pray he signs it sooner.  We had our orginal flight planned for today but hope that we will be on a new flight home very soon!!!  When we get inpatient and tired of living in a hotel room for five all this time, we just look at our three beautiful children and remember that this is all part of God's plan.  Although the adoption hotel we are staying at is chaotic, loud, and full of distractions for our kids sometimes, we are thankful we have had this time to get to know our kids, where they could be surrounded by so many families and a staff that speak Spanish.  On Monday, there will 14 kids here!  Thank you for your prayers and we will keep you updated!

Our First Trip to McDonalds!

After nine weeks in Colombia, we finally took the kids to McDonalds!  This was their first time!  They loved the Happy Meals and had a great time in Playland!  We try and walk somewhere everyday, and today's lunch was a great break for all of us.  They even got their favorite....ice cream!

Good Friends!!

We always heard about the good friends you make on your adoption journey.  We have made a lot of new friends, and we have had the chance to be with families at our hotel from Italy, France, Spain, Canada, and The United States.  We became close to two special families.  One family lives on the East coast and one family lives on the West coast. Both families received their Sentencia and traveled back home, but we know we will enjoy many more years of friendship through e-mails, phone calls, and Christmas cards.  Both families are very missed!

These are pictures of the family from the East coast.  They are now a family of 9!

 

These are pictures of the family from the West coast.  They are now a family of 4!

58 Days And Counting!

We have been in Colombia now for 58 days!  The time here with our kids has been great, but we are very ready to come home.  The Colombian government is closed tomorrow (Monday), so we hope to get the good news of Sentencia on Tuesday.  Once we receive Sentencia, it will take about one week to finish all of the paper work in order to fly home.  We greatly appreciate everyone's prayers!

Our New Friend Abby

Our kids made a new friend, a dog named Abby.  Abby lives across the street from our hotel, and the kids love playing with her at the park.  We are so excited to see how much they love dogs, and there are lots of them here in Bogota!

Wiki Stix

We are always trying to find something new to do with the kids.  Yesterday, we all played with Wiki Stix for the first time.  Thanks Jenn!  They had a great time and did a good job being creative.