Crepes N Waffles

Today Maria started her English class. Mario was her instructor. He started her with the alphabet, numbers 1-20 and vowels. He said she is very eager to learn and wanted to continue with homework as he left. He gave her home work of practicing these lessons and he will return on Wednesday for lesson #2. I have already gone through in pen and have written out for her what she needs to practice. We will work on it tomorrow @ 10:00ish in place of the instructor coming. We decided she will have lessons on just Mondays, Wednesdays & Fridays instead of everyday. J.P. sat in with them for the 1st 1/2 hour however, it wasn't long I discovered he was sort of interrupting the study (I had asked at the start of the lesson if he wanted me to keep J.P. out or was it OK for him to sit at the table) so I decided to remove him from the room. He was a little disappointed so I took him into the family room with the 2 books I had here that were English/Spanish and tried to read some with him to make him feel better. Lunchtime rolled around and I warmed up the pizza we had left over from last night. After lunch Ms. Betty needed to take a ride to grab a quick light lunch and asked if we would like to ride along. The kids had not been out of the house yet so, I agreed and we piled into the car. She took us to show us a nice park where we could come when Steve got here (it would require a cab ride there and back) and then it was off to "Crepes and Waffles". This is a chain of restaraunts that are everywhere. It is very hard to get in due to parking issues - there isn't much of it. They have crepes and waffles of all kinds not just desserts. It was very crowded which ment the food was good. We sat out on the patio and I got the kids a really cool looking vanilla sunday complete with paper parrot, chocolate button eyes and mouth, and a waffle cone sombrerro. They loved it. After ice cream it was back to the residence and siesta. J.P. falls asleep and I take Maria into the other room and we do some water painting with the little kit that I got them. Dinner was amazing as usual with cocoanut blueberry rice & chicken. We had dinner a little later tonight as Nick, Christina and Joe had a late lunch. The kids had icecream earlier so it was probably better as they were ready for dinner when it was time. I have had them watching the Disney channel hoping that because everything is in Spanish here they would get to know the shows and characters so when they get back home...and everything is in English...they will be able to figure out what's going on and who is who much easier cause they would have already seen it. We had a little excitement for 2 minutes tonight. All the electric went out in the house - JUST FOR ABOUT 2 MINUTES. I was working on my computer so I had light, I gathered the kids up and we went to the other room where Christina was with Mira. Sonya, one of the staff, came in with a candle. When I went over Christina had mentioned that the guys had gone to a movie and were not home. A couple minutes later the lights all came back on. It was interesting. All are OK and snuggled in to sleep for the night. I am in the process of trying to get laundry done so will be up for a little bit yet. We didn't make it to the mall/movie today. Maybe tomorrow. I still am looking into getting a stroller for J.P. Just haven't gotten there yet. Until tomorrow.

"Giddie Up"

Today we went with Nick, Christina and her brother Joe to the "flea market" located at the top of this huge hill. Ms. Betty took us in her car to the top and dropped us off around 12:30PM or so. There were many booths with lots different jewelry, handicrafts and art. The art is fantastic here. The weather was rather unusual...it was like it couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted to sprinkle, shine or cloud up and cool off. It would change literally ever 5 or 10 minutes. It was crazy. After walking the rows of booths we followed the main road down the hill back to Betty's place which was about a 35 minute walk. We were about 5 minutes from Betty's place and poor little J.P. mumbled 2 little words "chi-chi" mommy!! Joe knows some Spanish so he was able to tell J.P. to hang on for about 5 minutes and we would be home. I picked him up and carried him most of the way and Joe was nice enough to carry him the last block or so as he could tell I was getting winded. (It's that whole 2 mile high thing.) When we got home and J.P. got in the door he bolted to our room...didn't even bother to close the door. :) It was after 3:00PM so the kids went down for siesta. J.P. finally falls asleep and Maria and I slip out of the room to let him sleep peacefully. (Just so everyone knows I am just in the next room...not to worry about leaving him alone in our room :) ) He sleeps for about an hour and maybe 15 to 30 minutes and he comes sleepwalking into the room where Maria and I are. He has some cookies for a snack and then it's off to play with the playdo until dinner. For dinner we had decided to go to this pizza place up the block that has this slide on the premisis of the restaraunt. Once inside we discover that there is not just a slide but, this little outdoor kids playland. It was great! We ordered what else but, pepperoni pizza (they don't seem to like the pepperoni so they take it off I discovered). Then off they went to play. There was a 4 lane slide, a huge pool of balls, a jungle gym thing complete with tunnel slides, etc and a wooden, roped bridge to play on. They played for about an hour or so then it was time to eat. After dinner we let them play for another 20 minutes or so then we started back home. They didn't want to leave of course so we had to bribe them with icecream upon the return to "la casa". Joe was nice and threw J.P. up on his shoulders as Maria jumped up on my back. (Nick and Christina had little Mira in the baby carriage and were cracking up because all the kids kept saying was "giddie up horsie" or something like that in Spanish.) We raced each other to the corner and then it was time to put the horses to pasture....we were tired. Each of the kids grabbed my hand and we walked the rest of the way home...well almost. Poor J.P. was so disappointed that the horsie stopped I had to pick him up and carry him the rest of the way home...he wasn't keeping up..mostly I think the combination of all the walking we did today, the short nap and the hard playing they did on the playground plum wore him out. We get back to the house and the kids run to the kitchen where they patiently await their icecream scoop. Then it's back to the room. I get them in their pjs and let them watch TV for about 10 minutes or so to unwind (the Canuel thing again) then I put them in bed. They both give me a kiss and say goodnight. Maria asks me if she has English lesson tomorrow and I tell her yes. Now, all is quite and it gives me a minute to say good night to my honey (the kids say goodnight tonight too) and to some family. It also gives me time to return some emails I received and write the blog for the day. Tomorrow we will either try to get to this big park (if Ms. Betty has time to show it to us) or I might try to take them to a movie - Walle. We shall see. Good Night Moon!!

A Cat and A Butterfly

Ok. I understand from Steve/Doc that you guys want more pictures. I do not have any "new" ones from Bogota but, I did put about 50 more pictures up via albums. Take a look they are from when we went to the picnic with Lucy's school, Miscelaneous pics and from when we went to dinner with Lucy, Manuel & family at this authentic Colombian Indian restaraunt. The food was fabulous! You basically walked through this whole cut out of a brick wall the shape of the opening of a door. There was this tinned roof pavilion which seated about 3 eight foot tables under it and one small table out in the open. The area where the food was being prepared was pretty cool, too. It was really neat to see the people cooking. Today it was raining when we woke up so the planned walk to the other parks was out. I didn't feel like taking the kids to the "Flipper" place yet via taxi on my own. Maybe next week we shall see. Instead I decided to take them back to McDonalds. We got J.P. back into this ridiculous stroller (I think we wore the thing out last trip) and off we went. It wasn't until about 15 minutes or so into the walk did I realize that I had gone the wrong direction. Now, you have to understand this was no easy road to travel. There are not really sidewalks and most of the walkways I needed to travel on are torn up. We turned around and walked all the way back to Betty's Place. The kids kept asking are we going home? I kept promising them that we were not but, that we needed to go back this way so I can get us to where we need to go - in the right direction. We finally got to McDonalds. I got the kids their happy meals and we went into the play area. After they ate I turned them loose and they ran around, up, down and every other which way the play place went. A lady came in with 2 girls I think she said that they were 2 and 8 years old. She was French. Her husband worked for ICBF and all I really got was that he signed off on a lot of adoptions. She worked in the Belgium Embassy re: Visa department. She obviously (you probably figured it out by now) spoke English. Not very well but, well enough that we could talk some. She had told me that she has been in the country for 10 years and they were leaving to go back to France in August. Her husband got a job there. She had mentioned to me that she also needed to get the girls out of the house before they drove her crazy. We talked for about a half and hour and then it was time for her to go. She asked where I was staying and if I would like her to give us a ride home. I thanked her but, declined her offer as some of the folks from McDonalds had come in to draw on the kids faces and J.P. had been patiently waiting for his turn. I didn't have the heart to make him leave right then despite the fact that it would have been much easier on me with that stroller walking back. J.P. returned to me with a black nose, whiskers and 2 triangles painted yellow (I think for ears) 1 over each eyebrow. Maria returned as a butterfly. I didn't have a camera so I took a picture of each of them with my phone. Now, if I can just figure out how to get them off my phone - the country thing is an issue. It appears that I can not call out on my phone but, I can receive calls. We try not to use my cell phone as it is VERY expensive. Only in emergencies (i.e. Steve trying to track me down) or something like that. Oh, I almost forgot!..Thanks Uncle Don and Aunt Janet for your call today! It was nice of you to take a minute to call. Sorry I couldn't talk longer but, it would have been really expensive. I did try to call you guys from my computer but, for some reason it wouldn't let me. I am not sure why. I will try one other thing tomorrow to see if that works. Else, will have to catch up with you when I get home. After we returned home the kids had some water and a lollipop from the girls who work here then it was off for siesta. We got a little off our schedule today because of the little detour getting to McDonalds. It is now about 3:00PM. J.P. finally falls asleep and Maria of course is wide awake. I shush her ( I know you love that term Jen) silently with my finger over my lips and pick her up along with her DVD player. I had put pillows under the covers to make it look like we are both still sleeping in our beds. We both slipped out of the room and I shut the door. I guess I got almost 1 1/2 hours before J.P. came hunting us. If he wakes up during his naps and he usually does, as long as he sees someone there he will go back to sleep. Else he is up.
I have them go back to the room and watch TV for about a half and hour because dinner is at 6:00PM. Tonight was a bean, rice and ground meat soup with plantains and guak. They made this awesome dessert which was made of passion fruit. It was sort of like a thick solid pudding served inside the empty fruit skin. I wish I had my camera. It was really cool. After dinner and dessert we made out way back to the room where they wanted to watch a little more TV. I let them watch until about 9:00PM tonight as it is a weekend night. They went to bed with no problem. We explained to Maria today that I have given her a privelage....at siesta time she needs to lay down until J.P. falls asleep (he will not take a siesta if she doesn't). After he falls asleep if she is good that morning then she may get up. If she was not then she looses the privelage of doing so. Also, if she gets up and purposely wakes him up then not only does she immediately go down for siesta but, she looses the privelage for the next day. She smiled when we explained it to her so...I think she gets it. She is so stinkin smart and so is he. We talked a little with family via skype today which was nice. Thanks again for everyone who is keeping in touch. I miss everyone terribly and it takes every ounce of strength not to burst into tears at the stupidest things. Like a couple of days ago during the first McDonalds trip we were leaving the house and I saw a dalmation walking up the sidewalk. At first glance I said Awwww and then it hit me like a ton of bricks and I burst into tears. Ms. Betty was there to see us off and she immediately put both hands on my shoulders and turned me away from the dog. She was talking to me the entire time...giving me strengh and encouragement. The children didn't see me and she straightened me right up so it went unnoticed by them. I have my moments I guess but, all I have to do is look into my childrens eyes and see their smiles and I know that it's all worth it. I guess this is my "Labor" time. Even though it is extremely hard I am sure once it is all over that I will only remember the parts of us laughing and having a good time. I won't remember how much I missed everyone. OK enough of that!! It's almost 10:00PM my time and I guess I should get myself to bed. Tomorrow we are gonna go and walk the local "flea market". Ms. Betty is gonna drive us up the hill and we are all gonna walk back down. Monday, Maria is suppose to start English lessons and afterwards we might try to go to a movie. We'll see. Luv to all. Hasta Luego - Chow for now.

"Stroller Buzz"

A routine getting perfected. We keep adding baby steps to our daily routine so the children know what to expect and what I expect of them. We are pretty much on our own today. Christina, Nick and her brother Joe went to the organization where they got their little girl for a tour. After breakfast the children were patiently watching TV (cartoon network) while I was trying to figure out what to do with them today. I decided to try to take them back down to the mall that Steve (hi honey) and I went to before he left. My sister gave me this fantastic idea of using an umbrella stroller to go places as it makes it a lot easier for her with her 2 children. I asked Nick if there was a stroller I could use and Betty did have one here that a family had left behind. It is a pretty sturdy one (it needed to be to hold my little guy) except the wheels are a little tough. They don't really roll right but, I made due with it. Before we left I explained to the gals here what my plan was and when I would be back. I also explained to the kids in my kindergarden spanish that I was going to try to take them out (vamos Unicentral Mall) and if they are not good I will turn around and bring them right back (porte bien, no porte bien then vamos la casa rapido), I asked them if they undersood and promised (intende, promido). They both shook their heads yes and said "SI!". I packed my little sachel with appropriate things (wipes, juice, crackers, my purse, tissues, etc) and off we went. I was really surprised at how much they listened to me. The first store we went into Maria was touching all the clothes and I asked her in Spanish not to touch and she stopped. I also asked her to stay right by my side and she did. We went into the big Exito and I looked around a little bit. We walked through the toy aisles because I was looking for some other stuff for them to do. Maria was looking at some things here and there but, not once did she ask me for anything nor complain about not getting anything. She said to me occasionally "look Mommy" and I did and said I see. They were very good. I found the "craft asile" and picked up some playdo, some paint stuff, a coloring book they could paint in and some foam shapes and construction paper for some stuff for us to do to kill time. Then it was back to the residence. It was about 12:30PM and almost time to eat something for lunch. We made one stop at the grocery store where I got some chips and a bottle of Cocoa Cola (I haven't had any in a while). Back at the house I got them seated at the table and I went into the kitchen to make one of my favorite lunches as a child - peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Maria liked it with no problem especially after I told her that Taylor liked them. J.P. wasn't so sure and ate all of his chips first. I had to help him with his sandwich. After lunch they had about a half an hour before their Siesta time at 2:00PM. I opened the playdo and we had fun making different things: cars, snowman, pizzas, butterflies and snails. I am not sure if they have seen playdo before or not. I think they might have. They called it something to do with plastic in the name. We ordered pizza for dinner (oh how I miss Bizarro's - somebody have a piece for me) and ice cream for dessert. After dinner it was back to the room to watch "Free Willy" and then it's bedtime. Another day comes to a close. The days seem to be running together now (I don't have a calendar so it is hard for me to keep track). I had to ask family what day it was. Tomorrow - Saturday- we may either take a walk to some of the other parks or try to get to this place called " __ flippers" which has a lot to do for kids. It would require a taxi ride. We'll see. I called today about starting Maria with an English tutor. The cost is $30K pesos per hour which I think is about $18.00 per hour. This may help her learn. She starts Monday and will probably have them come to the residence 3 times per week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) from 10:00 AM to 11:00AM. After which we can go out and let them play somewhere. I am not sure how JP will react. I may have to do something with him while she is studying. We'll see. Guess that is it for now. Hasta Luego.

"Mack Donalds"

Today was a good day. We finally have a morning routine which makes everything much easier. The kids know what to expect now and are good. After breakfast I took them in the family room and put on cartoons which they enjoyed for over an hour! Yesterday Christina, Nick and I talked about taking a walk up to the McDonalds up the street which has a large play area for lunch today. We left the house about 12:15 and got to the McDonalds about 12:30. The kids had chicken nugget happy meals (and this time it wasn't with Salsa de Tomate...it was BBQ sauce for J.P.). When they were done (Nick had to leave to pick up Christina's brother from the airport. He will be visiting until July 3rd. He is in the service in El Salvador. He is married and has a baby on the way. We got to see a picture on his cell phone & even hear the heart beat. It was pretty cool. )we took the kids to the play area. It's not as big as a typical McDonalds play area with ball pool and all but, it was big enough to wear them out. It gave them a chance to play with some other children. They played for about 2 hours. It was pretty neat to watch Maria help some of the littler (is that even a word?) children. There was this one little girl...she couldn't have been more than 4 years old and she reminded me a lot of my niece, Taylor, at her age complete with all the little Shirley Temple curls. She had this little stuffed, fluffy brown dog which she carried around with her until she felt comfortable enough to play without him. She was adorable and Maria helped her for a while. After an exhausting playtime we walked back to the house and both kids fell exhausted into bed for Siesta. They were so tired they slept for a little over 2 hours! I got a chance to have some coffee with grown ups which was kind of nice. By the time they woke up they had a half an hour to kill before dinner. We had this awesome soup which is a big traditional soup here in Colombia. I will definately have to get in the kitchen and take notes. These ladies are the best at preparing meals. I have been here almost a week and we have not had a single soup, meal or dessert repeated. They make this picante mix that is very spicey and very good but, I can only do a little. (I'll have to find out how to make it for you Honey, Dad Martinez and Ken as I know you like hot stuff.)

Jorge - one of the local drivers stopped in and had some handicrafts with him. He wanted to know if anyone was interested in. I bought 2 beaded bracelets (10K pesos each - they had the American flag on one end, Colombia written in the middle and the Colombian flag on the other end. I plan to keep these for Juan and Maria to remind them of our journey to Colombia to unite our "Forever Family") and 4 woven ones (1K pesos each). Jorge is the nicest guy - he does a lot for humanity, etc. He buys meals/food and hands them out to the homeless. He goes and takes gifts at Christmas to needy children. He just does a lot. If anyone would like anything from him please let me know and I can get it for you. He has ballcaps, pins, a leather pouch with zippers that says Colombia and some other things. (Steve, He also has a 3 piece socker outfit that says colombia and we can get names put on the back of the shirts for the kids for 50K pesos - if anyone else is interested let me know. )

OK back to the Canuels. At dinner the way we have the table set J.P. sits in a wooden high chair (works out much better) at the head of the table. We were cracking up because Maria made a cute little remark that we all were speaking English and we need to speak Spanish. :) Joe, Christina's brother is a little bilingual and explained that it is very inportant for her to pay close attention and learn all she can so that it helps her when she goes home to Florida. She chuckles. it is for this reason that we are looking into possibly hiring an English teacher to come to the residence to work with her. After dinner, desert and coffee it is back to the room and the kids get their jammies on. Their bed time is now officially 8:00PM. They stirred for about an hour but, finally dozed off to sleep. All is quite on the Colombian front. I smile as today...was a good day! Hasta Luego! Good Night. Oh, I almost forgot. I got a really good compliment today....Maria had told one of the girls who work here that her mommy disciplines with kindness. I thought that was pretty neat.

A Day for the Park

This morning was typical of every morning I think we have pretty much established a routine the kids got up about 8:00, we get dressed breakfast at 9:00, then it's off to wash the face and hands and brush their teeth. Today we planned to go with Christina and Nick on a walk to a small park that is near here. While we were waiting for Christina and Nick to get ready we played some games. I noticed today that the children are in a phase where they are fighting for my attention. I would help one of them with a piece of a puzzle and the other one would want my help with what they were playing with. This went back and forth for a minute until I caught on to what was going on. I immediately directed their attention to the courtyard and suggested we all go out and play until we were ready to go. At the park the kids played for a little while then we walked to a Mexican restraunt where J.P and Maria had what else but, Carne tacos. Then back home it was almost 2:00PM and I am trying to establish some sort of routine for the whole day so it is Siesta time. J.P. wanted to sleep on the sofa so I agreed. He finally fell asleep and Maria layed on the other sofa across from him both snuggled in a blanket. She didn't fall asleep so I let her get up and work a puzzle. Sonya had shown them some cards that had a Spanish word on them and a picture. I would hold up the card, Maria would say what it is in Spanish and I would tell her what it was in English. After we finished with the cards we snuck off to the kitchen for some chocolate ice cream. When we finished we went back into the living room where J.P. had just woken up (he wakes up on occasion to see if I am there and if I am he goes back to sleep) I wasn't right there in the same room with him so that was that. Steve and I had gotten them a game of Candyland (Dora's version) so I grabbed it for something new to do. They enjoyed it and it was easy to play. After Candyland we came back to the room for some Cartoon Network until dinner which is 6PM. After dinner it's off to wash the face and hands. They had short naps today so I thought it would be good to get them in bed early. I put in a movie to "wind them down" (Alvin and the Chipmunks). After the movie I got them in their jammies and it was off to bed. All is quite now and I finally got a chance to talk to Papi. (I love and miss you much). I am very excited as he purchased his ticket today to come back for a visit. He arrives on June 3rd and returns on June 8th. Please pray for the practice as I understand that it has really slowed down since we have had to give it divided attention with our trip to Colombia and the children. I believe in my heart that God sent us to pick up these 2 beautiful children. We have trusted him that he has gotten us this far and I can not imagine that he would just let everything go to pot now. So please pray for the practice in addition to all the prayers everyone has been praying regarding the adoption and the process. Our journey thus far (prior to Colombia) is truely an amazing one and it is wonderful to see how God has been working in this adoption. I am working on that story and will post it as soon as I can - progress is a little slow as my hands are full with the children but, I want to share it with all. Luv and kisses - especially to my husband who I miss dearly and can not wait to see in a week. Buenos Noches.

Ratoncito Miguel Was Here!

I was awakened this morning by a little hand waving 2 bills of 1K pesos (about $.50 each) and the biggest smile I have ever seen. Maria was standing there telling me that Ratoncito was here.

We got dressed and then went over for breakfast. After breakfast the children played in the living room a while. Silvia and Jamiez our representatives from our agency stopped in to say hello. I showed them around a little bit and took them to our room so they could see the beautiful spacious place where we were staying. Afterwards we settled in the family room and I offered them some coffee. I am not positive but, I believe we are through the first 2 of 4 phases (In business days the "phases" consists of something like this the best I understand it - 1) Assistant to judge has 10 days to review, 2) Minor defender has 5 days to review 3) the "Pro Qu Rador" like the D.A. has 5 days and then 4) Judge 10 days to make a decision). Keep in mind that they do not have to take the full amount of time...and looks like they have not so far. Please keep us in your prayers. It looks like we may still be on target for sentencia as Dollys (our attorney) had guestimated provided that everyone else does not take the full length of time. (Monday, June 30th is a holdiday here) so July 2nd would be the last day of Phase 3.

Silvia and Jamiez also went over with me the required paperwork and what I would need to make sure I had everything ready. They gave me a list of things we could do (tours, etc.) in Bogota should I choose. They gave me phone numbers of an English teacher and I may look into having them come out a couple of days per week to work with Maria. I think she would really enjoy that as she loves to learn.

Later that afternoon we had Mac N Cheese and icecream, chocolate. It was fun to watch them eat the icecream. I think Juan was trying to scrape a hole in the bottom with his spoon as he wanted to make sure he got EVERY drop. After a little more play time the children needed Siesta. I let them lay on the sofa where I could be with the others and not confined to our room. After J.P. fell asleep (Maria was still stirring) she looked over at me and I had gotten her coloring book and colored pencils so she could color there instead of napping. She understands now though that she is to lay down as if she were going to sleep until J.P. falls asleep. Sometimes she falls asleep and sometimes she doesn't and I am OK with that now that she is older. J.P. slept for an hour today instead of his usual 2ish.

After they woke up it was more playtime outside and then a movie inside. Later the evening we had dinner and they children played some games. Now it is bedtime and everyone eagerly jumps in to bed. It's time to sleep.

Today, Wednesday, I think we will try to get to the park as long as it does not rain. More tomorrow. Adios.