The first trip to the doctor

The kids wanted to go swimming so bad yesterday. I had taped a plastic bag over Maria's arm using medical waterproof tape. Well.....it didnt work. Her cast was soaked and began falling apart. The hotel doctor looked at it said it need to be replaced. We were sent to an orthopedic center. X-rays were taken and a new cast was put on. She is not allowed in the pool. This is going to be so difficult because this is the only thing that thay can do here is swim. She had so much fun yesterday while swimming. It's gonna be rough telling her she can't go in anymore, especially with the langauge barrier.

There is another couple from Italy adopting who will be leaving in several days. They invited us yesterday to go to the Exito. We didnt go because we had just returned from the doctor. This is like Walmart. We had gone shopping there on the first day here. There is two of them in town. The one the family went to yesterday has a second floor which is a childrens playground. Hopefully we can start going there as a substitute for the pool. Also there is an area walking distance from the hotel where the kids can drive electric cars. The italian familty had told me about yesterday. We just need to find out if this is safe for us to go.

Jennifer, who runs our office is pregnant and due on June 28th. She had some complications and the baby had to be taken yesterday. This is going to make it difficult for everone working to keep things going as steady. We need prayes for the safety of Jennifer and the baby along with office to continue to run efficiently. Pray that the judge makes a speedy closure of our case so we can return home to get things back in order.

We are on our own today so I dont know what we are going to do. I'm sure there will be another adventer. Hopefully tomarrow will be all about good news! Hasta luego.

We are all alone today

We actually had our bonding meeting yesterday. I think Dolly (our attorney) had presented everything to the courts although Im not too sure due to the language barrier, sometimes it's difficult to interpret. Not too sure where we are. Dolly had driven last night to Aguachica to get the original birth certificates. I understand she will return next week. We met with her about 3 pm yesterday and the social worker and psychologist were still working on thier reports at 3:30. Not sure how late the courts are open and if this was completed yesterday. Initially Dolly was planning on presenting today. Maybe her assistant will present it today!

We had several meetings yesterday and did alot of walking. We went back to the ICBF and have recieved official custody of the kids while in Valledupar. We can go back and get permission to leave the area but must remain in Colombia. We are planning on staying for now. Keep praying that Wendy and the children will be able to travel back to Bogata with me on the 22nd!

Today we have no meetings. We will spend the day, hopefully relaxing at the pool (La placina). Luci asked that we remain at the hotel. She has a seminar today and tomarrow and will not be with us. Last night we went to her house. She has 3 boys and one girl. The kids had a lot of fun with them. It was a good break for all of us. It's been difficult for them in a hotal room.


Things are much differnt here. The roads are very narrow. No stop lights. Motorcycles everwhere and constant beeping. People walking out in the streets. Sometimes I think they are going to be ran over. Most cars and houses have no A/C. Cars are very small. We have been walking alot to all the meetings. Several blocks from the hotel. I feel very comfortable on the streets. No ploblems and people have been friendly. You cant put TP in the toilet anywhere in Colombia. The food has been good. Breakfast consists of Arepa, empanada, queso (cheese), fruit and Hurvos (eggs typically with ham). I have papaya juice and 1/2 cup of cafe leche (coffee with milk).Lunch and dinner i have had baby beef, fish and several varieties of chicken. We have eaten at the hotel everyday. I'm looking foward to eating out soon. Wendy eats Arroz con pollo everday. Juan eats like a horse. He was hombre (hungry) last night night at Luci's. Manual, her husband warmed up Pollo and platonos (chicken and bananas) for him. He ate a large dinner earlier, Spagetti pollo (chicken) plus half my carne (beef). This can be good for me. Maybe I'll drop a few pounds. We neen to go for breakfast now so Hasta Leugo (see you later). Steve

PS. Thanks for the posts. It's nice to hear from everyone. Makes us feel closer to home.

It's a Beautiful day

It's about 6:30 AM and the sun is shinning. It comes up very early here and shines in our room, even with the curtains closed. It looks like it will be a beautiful day.

The meeting of the kids was very exciting. When they arrived at the ICBF we were upstairs waiting on the children in the room we decorated earlier. When Juan Pablo entered downstairs he took off running. They called him and he said he is going to find his "Papi". They were about a half hour late. We were so anxious while waiting on the children. When they arrived they ran to us giving each other hugs and kisses. They were very comfortable with us as if we knew each other for a long time. I think callling them several times prior really helped. Luci had her camera and took pictures so we will try to post later. Everyone at the ICBF was very impressed.

We have a meeting this morning at 8:30 to discuss the legal process. So far so good. Our "bonding" meeting is scheduled for Friday. This typically takes 8-10 days. Hopefully we will stay ahead of schedule!

Maria is an absolute angel! We bonded instantly and have been side by side since. She like to tickle me just like Taylor. I have been teaching her english words. She picks up quickly. Juan was a little bit of a handful last night although we managed. Wendy spent a lot of time with him. When he finally got to go swimming he callmed down. He is so adorable. God truly blessed us with two amazing children.

Both children slept with us last night. Maria snuggled in my arms all night. She had both dalmation stuffed animals with her. I woke up this morning with one of them in my face giving me kisses. Juan slept net to Wendy. He is still sleeping and Maria is next to me watching Cat in the Hat on her DVD player. I will talkto all later.

Welcome to Valledupar. Gotcha Day!

It's 7:30 am and Wendy is wrapping gifts for the big party today. We arrived about 7 pm last night and is was dark, hot and humid, much like Florida. Bogata was very cold and I was freezing the entire time. We met Luci (our translator and guide) and Dolly (our attorney) at the airport. The hotel was on a street that we traveled about two miles or so on. It was a narrow one way street with many stores lining both sides, mostly shoe and clothing stores. It reminded me alot of Bay Street in Nassau Bahammas only the street was much narrower. There were many people out on the street. Motorcycles were everywere pulling out in front of us all over. There were vendors with carts that looked like large wheelbarrels selling fruits/veggitables. The Hotel Vajamar is very nice and reminds me of the typical Miami Beach Hotel. The people have been very friendly.

Luci is picking us up at 9 am. We are going to go to a Sony store so we can find a charger for the camera. Then we will go to the store for decorations and cake for the party. It is going to be held at the ICBF office. There will be many people there. We are very excited about meeting the kids today! After the party the kids will be comming back with us to the hotel and staying with us the remainder of the time. I'm sure Wendy will post later. Well I'm hungry so Im going down for breakfast! Adios!

Hola Colombia!

We departed Ft. Lauderdale airport on Monday 6/9/2008. We got through security checks with no problems and no long lines. When we arrived at gate H4 the Avianca crew had not arrived yet. We boarded the plane at 5:50PM (about 15 minutes late). We were in the back of the plane but, had no problems finding places to put our carryons. Across the isle there was a mother (Luce) and 2 daughters (4 & 7 - the same ages as Juan & Maria!). There seats were not together but, close by. One of her daughters was seated next to us and I told her we would help her if she needed it. At one point in the flight her 2 children would sit together and she would sit next to us. We told her the purpose of her travel and she lit up like a shining star. She is originally from Bogata but, is now residing in Florida. We shared with her our adoption process to this point and how everything is being orchestrated by God. She was pleased to hear how he was working in the adoption and said she would continue to pray for us and our family. After arriving at the airport she helped us find our way to the baggage claim area, collect our luggage, get through immigration, find our friends from our adoption agency and delivered us safely to them. Thanks Luce for shinning! (Newsboys: Shine) Your guidence and assistance was greatly appreciated and I hope your vacation "back home" is a pleasent one.

After clearing immigration it's really cool! There is a small area on the other side of the "clearance machines" which has a large glass window wall. On the other side are hundreds of people/family members and friends waiting for loved ones to arrive with signs, flags & banners. It was pretty amazing to see. Apparently it is customary for many to "show up" to pick up loved ones from the airport. We had about a 20 minute ride to our hotel in which Nora - our adoption agency's representative/attorney in Colombia spoke with us some about what to expect over the next couple of days. When we arrived Silvia and her husband Jamier (sorry if I mis-spelled that) assisted us into the hotel, the Zentana. The Zentana is a quaint little place sort of like a bed and breakfast. It is very chilly here to us, in the 60s. Later this afternoon Silvia and Jamier will pick us back up and take us to the airport. We will stop by a store to try to pick up cord/charger so we can use our camera! Yes, we forgot the charger....we were going to bring the video camera but, could not get it to hold a charge. Knowing the charger and the video camera shared the same charger I didn't bother packing a seperate one for the camera. Then later when the camera didn't work forgot to put the charger in the suitcase. So, not sure if we will be able to post any pictures. We will try. After arriving in Valledupar this evening we will get to the hotel (Vajamar) and settle in, rest up because tommorrow is "GOTTCHA DAY"!