7 Weeks in America

This kids are doing fantastic. They are adjusting so well. In fact I had 2 of our friends over yesterday one of which is a social worker and adopted a little girl Maria's age (7yrs) from Guatamala several years ago. She said that both of the kids are doig super! JP is a hit at his school - he loves it and everyone things he is just a little ham. Maria's teacher is VERY patient with her. She has tested her a little and said that she knows a lot more than what we know. We just need to get it out of her. She has her first spelling test today, Friday 9/12/08. There are a few little minor things that we keep working on i.e. trying to get other children's attention while the teacher is instructing. Other than that she is doing great. She has become connected at the hip with her cousin, Taylor who is the same age and the same grade at the same school (not in the same class). We took them both to Rock the Universe (Universal Studios Christian Concert Weekend) in Orlando. THEY LOVE THE NEWSBOYS!!!!! Betty, Sonya and OKenny's the kids have not forgotten you. Sonya, Little JP still says "Gracias Senora Sonya" to me to be funny. I will try to keep in touch. Still working on home network. Will try to get pictures up as soon as I can. Love to all in Colombia! Blessings Wendy By the way...our case worker who was with Common Wealth Adoptions (Our adoption agency that went under) is great! If anyone knows how we might be able to help with a position and prayers for her and her family would be great!

School's In

Well, school starts Monday! The kids have had their physicals and we went school supplies/clothes shopping yesterday. We went to several stores...JP missed his nap. They were so cute...it was "are we going home now?" We would answer, No not yet a couple more stores. They would reply oh no....aye yi yi yi yi! :). Maria finally has her teacher's name and will be 3 doors down from her Aunt Trish (Bilingual/Teaches speach). She is excited. JP starts with his teacher who is a little nervous as this is her first Spanish student (has had other ethnic children before but, first spanish). She is super sweet and stopped by the house for an hour to get aquainted with him. Her assistant is from Venezuela and is bilingual so will be big help. Both are looking forward to seeing him in school. Thats it for now.

The First 3 Weeks

Hey Everyone! I have yet to get my network set back up at home so bare with me a little longer. We have been working on getting the kids ready for school. J.P. will be starting VPK at the methodist church. He will have an English speaking teacher who has a bilingual assistant. She will be making a visit to our home tomorrow to meet J.P. to introduce herself to him. Maria will be attending public school with our niece, Taylor, she starts first grade. Her aunt is bilingual and is the Speach pathologist at the school so she will be onsite if we need her.

I will try to get things up soon.

Christina & Nickhil Get tHeir Sentencia

Thanks for all your prayers! Christina and Nick got their sentencia! She will be traveling home with him on Saturday. Please keep them in their prayers for safe travel.

We are having home network issues so I have not been able to update on the Canuels.
Will try to get us back up this weekend.

The First Days

The kids just went crazy in awe when we got them home. They loved their rooms. After breakfast we took a drive out to my sister's house as they were not able to meet us when we came home yesterday (Sunday night). It was too late for their kids. The kids swam at their house for a little while. Michelle (an "aunt") made finger foods for the kids for lunch. Then it was off to the beach. They were so funny....Maria ran down to the water and was not afraid of the waves. J.P. on the other hand didn't really want to and only got his feet wet. They both loved digging in the sand and loved how it felt between their toes. We met Aunt Trish and Uncle Joe and cousin Taylor for Pizza at Bizzarro's for pizza. The kids love pizza. After pizza we went over to Taylor's house and the kids went swimming. Maria wanted to stay and play for a little while and it was time for J.P.'s nap. We took J.P. home to take his nap. Later when he woke up we went to pick up Maria at Joe & Trish's. (Trish is bilingual and has been a big help translating and teaching good manners & how toos.) When we got to Joe and Trish's however, Maria wanted to ride in the car with Taylor to go get ice cream. After icecream it was home for bed. We'll write more later.

The Canuels are Home!

Sorry it took so long to get this posted as you can imagine it has been busy these past couple of days. Sunday we were picked up from the residence (Betty's Place) at 6:15AM and wisped off to the airport. We made it there the 3 hours in advance as we were suppose to. It is a good thing though because it took us 2 hours to get checked in and through to the gate. We were only sitting about 25 minutes and they started boarding the plane. The flight left at 9:50AM and was aprox. 3 hours and 20 minutes. The kids did great on the flight. No screaming, crying or anything of the sort. I had packed them backpacks with stuff to do and it kept them content. We landed in Ft. Lauderdale about 2:30PM. There were about 3 other flights that landed the same time as ours so the "people traffic" was incredible. My mom was great helping me through everything with the kids...I do not think I could have made the travel without her. She was a blessing. (Thanks to God I was able to get to travel back with her on return date like we had been praying for.) After getting through customs (about 1 1/2 hours) we were escorted to immigration where we waited another 2 hours. All this time our family was waiting for us downstairs. We understand that an escort from our airlines should have taken us through to the front of all the lines because of the adoption but, they did not. Finally, we were able to leave immigration and we were escorted to the family. Maria saw Taylor and she ran and gave her a big hug. My dad, Arlene (Steve's mom), Joe & Trish (Steve's brother and wife), Taylor (my niece) and of course Meem all came down to meet us at the airport. It was really cool. We didn't get home until about 9:30PM. Our friends Donna & Tony had a huge welcome banner and some decorations out on the front entrance. Taylor put up some balloons and signs for J.P. and Maria to welcome them. It was nice. The kids came in and saw the house and their rooms and were totally floored. I got video and will try to put it up as soon as I can. All said good night and I put the kids to bed. They were use to sleeping in their own beds but in the same room at Betty's Place. I left them at night to go over to the next room (with a baby monitor on in case they needed me) to get them use to being seperated from me while we watched a movie at night and I did laundry. They did well! They both have night lights in their rooms and there are some more through out the house also. They have a big day the following day: To my sisters, the beach and over to Taylor's to play then out for ice cream. More details to come. Please continue to pray for Christina....she is still at Betty's and not sure when she will get sentencia. Thanks W

Going Home!

This morning I had to get up really early as Tia Betty set me up with an appintment to get my hair done (Cut n Colored). Noberto of Noberto's is a very well known stylist and has a huge business. He is very feminine but, super nice and did a great job. He has everyone that comes in there treated like a princess. There were always at least 2 girls working on me at the same time. It was really neat! There are several different sections in his salon. The building alone takes up a whole corner of a block and is about 3 stories high. He lives on the top floor (making it 4 stories in a place that sort of looks like a pent house). Christina gave us the scoop. Later that afternoon I took the kids back to get their hair done in the "kids salon" as I wanted to do something special for them for the trip home. They had so much fun. This salon for kids is utterly a disneyland fantasy complete with a ball pool, a slide and a little play area for this kids. J.P. was taken and seated in a "car" chair and the grin on his face was worth a million dollars. At first I was just going to take Maria but, I am so glad that I took him, too. Maria was next with braids and ribbons. She had a finishing touch of a flower, glitter then lip gloss and stickers for her face. They had a blast. We walked back home then it was time for siestas while I packed most of our suitcases. Mom went with Christina to a art show at the convention center which had all handmade things from Colombians. When they got back we sat down for dinner. After dinner it was off to bed. I wanted to get the kids to bed early because we have to get up at 5:00AM to be picked up at 6:15AM. Our flight leaves at 9:50AM but, we have to get there 3 hours early. The kids didn't go to sleep right away as we were doing the finishing touches on the suitcases and I think they were probably a little excited. Later I updated the blog and now it's time for bed. I can not believe the time has come for us to come home. I can not wait to see and hug all the family. I know that several are coming to meet us at the airport. We will see everyone soon! Please pray for a safe trip with no hick ups. Luv to all. W See you soon, Honey! XXXOOO