A day of rest and recuperation

Today everyone slept in a bit. I think it was much needed sleep for Jessica and Joaquin. We spent the morning just playing around Zuetana and taking it easy. It was much needed day of recuperation for me. A little more school time then a little more playing. There is a room we hadn’t showed Jessica and Joaquin here yet because it’s an upstairs room and we didn’t want to be chasing them up and down the steps. So we decided to make that our room where we will have “school”. But today the activities director was using it for English lessons for some older kids from the other Zuetana. Our school time is really more of a time for us to start introducing them to the idea of getting on a plane and about everything in the United States, as well as some English vocab, letters, numbers etc. We don’t spend a lot of time, but enough to help them get used to the idea and it helps as being part of a routine. Today was the first day we really started talking about their house in the US and getting on a plane. Joaquin was very interested at first but had a short attention span. Jessica however, couldn’t wait to work with some books with daddy and then watch videos of the house, animals, her room etc. They both said they were ready to go on a plane to their new casa, seeing the videos made them pretty excited. We also introduced the idea of daddy leaving a few days earlier but that they would be getting on a plane with me and meet daddy in the US. They were very receptive and excited.



Nate and Eric went back to Maku together and I stayed with sticky fingers and Jessica here at the casa, along with Emilee. Tomorrow in the morning we are going to Monserrate which is a mountain top you can go to and see a view overtop of Bogota. We have been wanting to go, I hear you can get some great photos. We will have lunch out, then in the afternoon Emi, Nate and Eric are going bowling with a group of people from the Zuetana houses. I think I will stay back with Jessica and Joaquin, I think two trips in one day will be too much, but we’ll see.

This evening we had everyone from the Zuetana houses, that wanted to come, to sit by the fire and roast marshmallows over the fire in our fire place. Yesterday the activates director was telling us of her plan and we told her how to make smores. She loved the idea and said she may try it tonight. The Colombian people seemed as if they had never roasted marshmallows, how odd is that. The Colombians were all excited.



Just a few other things to mention. One of the German families left today and the other went for sentencia today. Another family from the other house also heard of their sentencia today. It’s great to celebrate with them. It’s such a big deal, you get to go home just a few days after sentencia. The family that left today had a little girl, adorable, and all morning before she left she would come up to all of us, over and over again and say “Ciao” and every time she heard an airplane she would run outside and point to it. She was only about 2 - 2 ½ yrs old.

Nate has become a coffee drinker. He now has coffee after every meal. Not sure how healthy this is, but hey, we’re in Colombia right? Also after racking our brains on gifts to bring back we realized we hadn’t bought any Joan Valdez Coffee. So sis and bros, guess what your getting? We’ll bring some back for our parents too and of course for us. We’ll see what else we can find.

This is what a real man looks like while drinking coffee


Jessica is doing much better. She has been very good and when she starts to get upset about silly stuff, she catches herself and straightens right up on her own. She has been a happy little girl for two days now. Last night was tough for a bit but she was sooo tired. We’ll see how tonight goes.

For anyone preparing to travel, one of my biggest suggestions is to buy a webcam and have your family members get one too. We get on the webcams everyday and talk to our families back home. It’s been great for us in feeling not so far away and a wonderful tool for Emi and Nate. We just use Yahoo Messenger to call computer to computer and then use the webcams to see each other. Oh and it’s free! It’s wonderful. Emi and Nate know they can call back home any time they want to their grandparents or aunts and uncles. We call and IM all the time, and it’s great for Jessica and Joaquin to see our families faces and tell them who is waiting for them in the United States. It was so funny today when we showed them the videos on the computer of home and the dogs. They kept talking to the dogs as if they could hear each other. They think if they see something moving on the computer it’s the webcam. Very cute.

One funny story about Joaquin. Remember Nate is in charge at bath time with Joaquin. So the other night we hear this “Bang” in the bathroom when the boys were taking a shower. Eric peeks his head in and sees Joaquin hanging from the hand sprayer flying all over the shower like Tarzan. Nate just looks at Eric and says “What am I supposed to do about him?” Oh my my…we have our hands full..smile!

Also Jessica and Joaquin are quite the schemers. We have two little windows to for our cabin and Joaquin realized he can fit through. Sometimes when we are out of the cabin in the yard or in the main house we will close the door so they don’t keep running in and out of the cabin. Well the windows don’t lock so it’s no use to shut the door because Joaquin will just crawl through the window and help himself. Jessica has even talked him into climbing in and opening the door for her so she can get in too. I’ll have to keep a close eye on them. Smile

Ahhh, sneaking through the window? Busted by mom with the camera


And finally…Last night Nate and I were up blogging and everyone else was asleep. All the sudden Emilee started talking in her sleep. She said, in Spanish, Uno mas o dos mas? Nate and I thought it was pretty funny, mostly just that she was talking in Spanish.

So what do we do on a day that we don't leave the casa?

We jump rope

We watch Joaquin show off his moves

We watch Shrek for the 10,000th time since we've been here with our amigos

we do puzzles

We ride horses

We play with polly pockets

And we play with monkeys

Just Hanging Out

Let me start by saying THANK YOU to all of you who have left comments and emails letting us know of your own experiences. It helps to know others have been thru this and are doing well and managing. I wasn’t so sure I wanted to get out of the shower this morning and face another day like yesterday. I stayed up for a good long time last night being reminded that this was a plan God had for us and that He would not put more on us than we could handle. I was hopin He hadn’t underestimated my strength…smile. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me! Thanks to all of you who have sent up prayers on our behalf.

All in all it was a good day. Small fit this morning and many hours of fun. After breakfast we had Emi and Nate do some reading and Math while we did a little bit of English with Jessica and Joaquin. Jessica ended up being pretty interested but we really just were having fun with it today. Hopefully we can get somewhere with the English, but I am really more concerned trying to prepare them for getting on a plane and going to the United States. We hope to work on things a little everyday until we come home. We didn’t hear word to day as to which court our paperwork is in. Hopefully someone will tell us, if not we may make a call by the end of the week to ask. It’s pretty known that some courts are slower than others. You can never be promised an actual date to hear of Sentencia, the day we sign the final decree and make plans to come home, but sometimes you can be given an approximation.

We spent the day around Zuetana. We did end up going to Maku, a store with authentic Colombian items, but Joaquin has sticky fingers and there are lots of breakables. So we got out of there pretty quick. I’m having a terrible time finding things to bring home for family. And the kids want to bring something back for teachers and friends, but it’s really tough, especially with two kids who aren’t used to shopping. They are great sports, but it’s a little tricky to concentrate to get anything done.

Zuetana had planned an outing in the kitchen on how to make empanadas, a Colombian food. Emilee and Jessica enjoyed the session and we have a recipe to bring back home. Empenadas are a stuffed flour of sorts, they were good. As we were finishing up Jessica taught Daddy how to make them. It was kind of nice to just let them play around the house today, a little breather. Jessica had a great day until time to take a shower and go to bed, so much better than yesterday.




Joaquin eating what his sisters made


Everyone’s encouragement is much appreciated. It will be great to look back in time and remember how far they have come and to give God the glory for a work in their hearts. Poor Joaquin had a bit of a rough day. He cried at the littlest things and had a lot of nervous energy today. He even cried at bed time, which he has never done. It was a very sad, pitiful cry. He did let me hold him until he was ready to crawl into bed on his own, then fell quick to sleep. I think he was over tired plus it’s all just caught up to him. I imagine he will be better tomorrow, but he was a tyrant today at times. It seems the only way he knows how to display his emotions is to be wild/silly.

No big plans for tomorrow. Just hang out again then maybe hit the park. We’ll see.

Take a close look at the kids shirts. Shirts compliments of Mami's friend Joanna. Thanks Joanna! Joaquin didn't want his pic taken so he was being a bit of a squirt.

Yesterday at Mimo's, just having some fun


The little Latino showing off his muscles

Interrogation a Success

We woke this morning with wonder in how the day would go. Jessica didn’t want to get out of bed, which is unusual. I think she was just afraid. Once we finally got her to get up she refused to wear her dress. So we let her put on whatever clothes she wanted so she could come to breakfast and eat before we had to leave. She was perfectly happy through breakfast and Eric reiterated to them what today would hold and just what it meant. After breakfast she finally did put on her dress to be dressed up with the rest of us. Joaquin, my little Latino, decided he looked awful handsome in just his white undershirt and slacks. So we took his dress shirt with us in hopes he would get cold and want it on.

When we pulled up to ICBF Jessica was very excited to get out of the car and into the building. Joaquin agreed to put on his shirt, but it only lasted about 2 minutes. He took it back off and gave a little strut to show off his “bad” self. When we walked thru the hallways they both ran straight to the room we met them in, which was not where we were supposed to go. We told them we had to go to a different room, but at that point something caught their eye. We had to pry them away from the window. As it turns out there was a family in that room meeting their little boy, the little boy they knew from La Maria, their orphanage. They were calling his name and wanting to see him. Once the family was finished in the room Jessica and Joaquin called the little boys name and played with him for a few minutes. He was only a little over a year old.

We had to wait our turn for almost an hour, it was a long wait because Jessica and especially Joaquin were WOUND UP!!! I have never seen them so wound up, it was just nervous energy. However during that time Joaquin did pick me a very lovely pink flower (oops, not supposed to pick the ICBF flowers) and said, this is for you, my Mami, and gave me a big kiss. Look out girls, my little Latino has the moves. I have started calling him my little Latino (not to him, but in my mind) he has some jigs and moves only a Latino could have.



So when it was our turn we all gathered around the table. Of course Joaquin had to chi chi (pee pee) so we sat around the table in a little file room waiting for the potty boy to come back. When he came back he was still wound tight, climbing on the table, under the table, Jessica unloading and reloading her purse and counting every item. Just simply nervous energy. The ICBF social worker ended up not taking the kids into another room. My personal opinion is that the social worker was afraid she couldn’t handle them by herself and was thinking if this crazy family can put up with this, well, just let them have them. In the end we were just laughing at the kids, and the social worker noted she knew it was just nervousness coming out in them.

They did ask Emilee and Nate how things have been, and they both said not so fun in the beginning but it’s much better now. When they asked Joaquin if he was happy and how it was going here is what he said, “A few nights ago a monster came in the room and the whole family was scared, but dad did “something’ and now it’s all okay.” I about lost it. When they asked Jessica if she was happy she said, “No,” but had a big smile on her face and started giggling, then quickly said “Yes, Yes, Yes.” That little stinker. I think it was pretty obvious that everyone was happy, but they did ask us if we had any questions and if we wanted to continue with the process. We went around the table and each person said “yes.” Of Course.



When we finally got in the car to leave, Joaquin was sitting in the back with Emi and Nate. He asked if he could come up and sit on my lap…can I hear an “ahhhhh.” Jessica was so exhausted from the whole ordeal that she zonked for about 5 minutes on Papi’s lap. Oh I forgot to mention that on the way there Jessica was quizzing the cab driver and Andres if they were going to be part of the family too or if they were just friends. It was cute. Anyway, once we pulled on our street where Zuetana is, Joaquin started yelling at Andres, who was driving, “right here, stop, it’s right here.” He recognized where we are staying and was glad to be back “home.”

Andres, our driver, he's the best


When we got back they started playing, different than they have this whole week. They played soccer with the other kids, which they haven’t done before. They were laughing and having a great time. It was like they finally felt at home. It was different I tell you, something was different. I think it’s finally starting to sink in and they are making themselves at home. This may sound awful, but for the first time since we got them, this morning I finally felt in my heart the sense of all 6 of us as family. I’ve read about others who say it takes some time for that to click, and I think it clicked in all of us, just this morning. Even Emilee said she could see something different in their eyes.




We ate lunch, well we tried to eat. You couldn’t even cut the meat, let alone chew it. How much are we paying to eat here anyway??? We did get soup with lunch and Joaquin said he didn’t like it. Jessica was sure to tell him they have had this soup at La Maria and to eat it. This was the first time they have mentioned La Maria all week. So they mentioned it once when they saw the little boy at ICBF and once at lunch. Then after lunch was time for a siesta. Joaquin really does need a nap, not Jessica, but defiantly Joaquin. Jessica knows she doesn’t have to sleep, but she has to lay down in her bed and quietly play. This has been no problem really, until today when she decided to be stubborn and pitch a fit about it. Of course Eric took care of it, he is much more stubborn than her if needed, and she knows it. Eric said he felt like some of this was spiritual, and I agree. It lasted for a bit and then she decided it was time to be her sweet self again. Hopefully she gets over this before Eric has to come home. I can analyze the issue and behavior but he is better at dealing with it. By the end of the night she had about 4 good fits today. I am too tired, mentally and physically to re live it by journaling. I do want to remember everything, but this behavior is really wearing on us, all of us, even Joaquin. The last fit just ended and she is now asleep, but she screamed so loudly at the top of her lungs that it woke Joaquin up and he was holding his ears.

It's not all fun and games


Anyway, so after nap time we went to Mimo’s for ice cream before dinner. We were starved after not eating a good lunch. There was a small play area there, so they played a bit then we hit the grocery store for some snacks. We got back in time to play a bit before dinner and deal with a fit or two. It’s taxing, it really is, you do what you can to stand your ground and analyze the root of the situation, but in the end you have to be sure they know you love them and it’s all going to be okay.

General note, just so I don’t forget. It seems that brothers and sisters here call each other mi hermano or mi hermana (my brother, my sister), then sometimes tag the specific name on the end. For example, Joaquin says mi hermana Jessica all the time, when he is referring to her. I’ve heard of other kids from here doing that too. Nothing major, just kind of interesting and I don’t want to forget it.

Okay, now let me end with a funny Joaquin story. Here at Zuetana at the front desk they keep candy, wrapped mints to give people to welcome them etc. Well they keep a refill stash behind the counter where the front desk person sits. The kids can’t really reach the top of the counter, but have figured out where the stash is. Any time someone is at the gate and needs in the push a button which rings inside 3 times. You can hear it throughout the little complex. So Joaquin has figured out that when the bell rings 3 times, the front desk person leaves their station to open the gate and if he hurries he can run behind the counter and get a few pieces of candy in his hand before the person comes back to their post. It doesn’t matter what he is doing, the bell will break his concentration and he takes off running for the front desk. Sneaky little latino!

Ok, I can’t resist, just one more story. The other night at dinner Joaquin burped and without thinking, in less than a split second, he points across the table at Nate and says “Nate!“ to blame Nate. It may not be as funny in print, but in person, we all cracked up. So now every time he burps he blames it on someone and laughs. It’s the look on his face that makes us laugh.

I have pics from Mimo’s but I am just to tired to do any more.
Good night.

A Sunday at the Market and so much more

Today we went on another outing, we went to the market that is open on Sundays and again enjoyed ciclovia. We went with a few other CHI families which was really nice. It’s so great to meet up with people you have only met on line. There is one other family that was also with us but not a CHI family. All of us are staying at the Zuetana houses because El Refugio had an outbreak of chicken pox. We are only a few blocks from each other. We met at 10 at our house and off we went. It is really a long walk so we took two strollers, and that worked well. Between the sun and the long hike, it was a bit taxing. The kids all did very well while we were out and about around the market. We let them each purchase a few small items and of course had to get an ice cream.

Lovely presentation

Mom, this one makes me think of you. Dad would have to pry you away from listening to this guy on the corner if you were here.


At one point Jessica and Nate had to use the bathroom, so I took them off to find and El Bano. Well we found a public restroom and I saw that same silly sign I saw last week. You know, the blue one with the guy standing and the girl next to him looking like she was loving on him. It obviously means it’s a unisex bathroom, but there are a few stalls, so boys and girls just help themselves in, very different. I told Nate to go on in first, I waited just outside the door, he had to go really badly, then right behind him followed some lady. I thought “oh poor Nate is going to die if he turns around and sees a women in here” I took Jessica in and it hit me that you have to pay for public bathrooms in South America. I knew it, it just slipped my mind. Plus I totally forgot to get some money from Eric before we took off. So when we were finished we had to stand there and wait for Eric to get a bit closer so Nate could see Eric and run after him for some money to pay for our potty usage. Note to those traveling soon, public potty use is about 500 pesos a flush. Eric sent Nate back with 10,000 pesos. Well let me tell ya, the poor folks who’s job is to collect the potty money don’t have that much change. Luckily we were at a parking garage and the parking attendant was able to give me some change. Aye, Aye Aye. (this has become one of my favorite sayings)

Once we were finished shopping we headed back into town to go to El Corral, a hamburger joint. We went with Peggy, Ed and adorable Sofia, one of the CHI families. We were all starving and beat from the sun and the walk. Today was one of the warmest days since we have been here. Ed and Nate talked the whole walk back. They talked about sports and video games. El Corral took forever and with starving children and parents and a Spanish menu, it was a bit tricky. We didn’t go to the fast food like one, we went to the more sit down, many options on the menu kind of one. Emi was so hot and hungry she wanted a salad with ranch dressing. Well they didn’t have ranch dressing as we know it. Their ranch is more like the sauce you get with onion rings at Burger King. Needless to say, Emi ended up eating Jessica and Joaquin’s left over chicken and fries. Nate ordered nachos, which were good, and cheese sticks, or so he thought. When they brought out his cheese sticks it was really sautéed sliced tomatoes with some kind of cheese on it. But mine and Erics burgers were delicious. More comfort food. Here at Zuetana normally lunch and dinner are some kind of fancy cooked chicken. They don’t divert much. We don’t know what its cooked with or what else we are eating, but we are certain that we have chicken twice a day almost every day.

Okay, so up to this point everyone was so good all day, I was proud of all four of them. Joaquin, no nap, Nate, needing Imodium, Jessica did awesome, and Emi she is always good. But by the time we were finishing up Jessica had had it and was ready to be back at the cabin. She got a little obstinate as we were preparing to pay the bill, so I decided I would just take her outside for a change of scenery. We were ready to go anyway. Well she decided, actually I’m not sure what she decided, but she started to cry and say “no”. Not loudly, but enough for everyone in the restaurant to watch me carry her out. She wouldn’t walk. It’s really so different in America. If a kid is not doing well, we just ignore it. Oh No Not In Colombia! Everyone looks. You don’t see discipline of any sort in public. I understand that kids basically get their way until they are about 8, when they start learning to keep house and do chores. So it was kind of a big deal for me. I thought surely someone would call the police and they would think I was stealing the child or hurting her. I was never so thankful to get out of a place. Once we were outside, I put her in the stroller and she fussed for just a few short minutes. Then it was over and everyone was happy again.

Just a note, Joaquin is a very picky eater. The info we were given, which was reiterated by the social worker when we met them, was that they love chicken and will eat most anything. Boy was that wrong info. We are trying to sort our their likes and dislikes as far as eating goes, because chicken is definitely not a favorite. Eggs, cereal, fruit and candy are favorites for sure. Oh another funny thing, the kids call all cereal “kelloggs.” They must have had corn flakes at the orphanage often and called them kelloggs. Well they have since discovered fruit loops, the new favorite kelloggs.

Okay, well anyway, we returned to the cabin and the kids perked right up from the taxing sunny day. You could see the comfort in their eyes to be back “home’. But we realized we had forgotten to put sunscreen on today…big oops. We have been so good about putting it on, but it slipped Mami’s mind this morning. Again I say “Aye Aye Aye!” Note to those of you fair skinned people getting ready to travel, BRING SUNSCREEN! You forget that you are sitting right on top of the equator and the sun is hotter and closer here!


So we are all back and everyone is happy. Tomorrow is our big interrogation day so we thought we better begin to prep the kids for what is going to happen. We needed to tell them that we are going back to the same place we went to meet them to sign some papers so that they could stay with us forever. We weren’t sure if they would really understand but they did. Again Joaquin is in it for the ride. But Jessica got so excited! She wrote each one of us notes, including Emi and Nate, made each one and envelope and gave them to us. They basically said, “I love (insert name) very much. I am happy with all my heart.” She has been the happiest little thing all evening and giving lots of kisses. Eric’s comment about it was “I think this is all part of her last minute negotiations!” Of course he wasn’t serious, but it was cause for a good laugh.

Here are pics of Jessica delivering her notes to Nate and Emi



On a more serious note, we even noted a different look in her eyes at dinner. It almost made me cry, it was like she allowed us to see right into her eyes and into her heart. She suddenly had a comfort about her and it showed in her eyes. She made comment that she and Joaquin are different than us, she was comparing their skin to our sunburned skin, in a fun way, but this lead to me being able to say how pretty we think they are. She thought it was funny that my skin was so hot. She pointed to Eric, Nate, Emilee and then me and called us red, she thought it was funny, then pointed to herself and Joaquin and shook her head no. She had the sweetest aura about her at dinner, I think the real Jessica has been released to come out and play. The difference in her eyes was so much so that Eric even wondered if they had been through this before and it didn’t work. Surely they would have told us that, if it were so. Just her knowing for sure that we were totally accepting of her and wanted her to be our daughter forever, and knowing that tomorrow was a big day did something amazing in her.

Now for a quick explanation of what we expect for tomorrow. We will go back to the place where we met them for a few questions and some paperwork. The ICBF just basically wants to see if we are bonding and if the kids are happy. They will take Jessica and Joaquin in another room and question if they re happy with us. They will want to see us interact with them. They will also ask Emi and Nate if they are okay with everything. Then we will sign papers and have full custody of them when we leave. Our paperwork will go straight to a court/judge in the Bogota courts. We should hopefully have a better idea at that time how much longer to expect. It’s known that certain numbered courts take longer than others. They can’t give us an exact date to expect the final decree, but they can maybe give us an idea.

I have several other things that I wanted to blog but this has gotten kind of lengthy. So I have made myself some notes so I didn’t forget, I have a few funny stories about Joaquin to show you just how funny he really is. For example tonight he decided to turn off the lights on the girls in the bathroom taking a shower, then run and laugh his head off when they screamed. Between him and Nate, I should live a good long life, laughter is great medicine.

Oh and one last thing, they no longer take showers with their underwear on. Thanks Wendi for the heads up on that being a trust issue. We have let Emi and Nate be in charge of showers with them, trying to allow bonding between siblings. Seems like an odd task to give Emi and Nate, but for some reason it just happened that way and has ended up being a real good thing. Joaquin ran around for 5 minutes in his underwear yelling “Bamos Nate, Bamos Nate” wanting him to come take a shower tonight. The kids have no trouble saying Nate’s name now.

Looking forward to tomorrow. According to Lucia on the phone tonight, "Tomorrow it all starts!" We will be picked up at 9 am.

And the last pic is of sweet Lucrecia that I speak of. She is delivering fresh cut flowers to each room. We love when she comes in to work in the afternoons.

A Tour to the Park, Jaime Duque

Last night about 11 pm Joaquin began to whimper in his sleep, a soft cry and sniffles. He never cries so I quickly went and picked him up. He was totally asleep, I think they were tears of grieving and acceptance of his new life journey. I laid him in bed with us and he held onto my hand tightly for hours. Then it was Jessica’s turn. She also was not awake but crying and kicking the wall. I think their little minds just can’t take care of everything while the are awake and last night was a way for them to get it out of their systems. Needless to say it was another sleepless night for Eric and I, so this evening Eric crashed when the kids did and I am sitting up waiting for laundry to dry.

Jessica woke with a bit of an attitude, partly because she didn’t sleep well and partly because it’s all just part of the deal. Emi had not been feeling well yesterday evening and thru the night, but some Imodium kicked it in the butt (no pun intended) and she was fine today.

I took the kids to breakfast while Eric finished getting ready. Jessica decided to be obstinate, no crying or whining, just dirty looks and not talking to me. I decided that she has realized she gets attention for such behavior and I would just ignore her. I ordered what I know she likes and within a few minutes she was eating and happy again. Of course I praised her for her good behavior. You really can tell when they are acting out of grief and fear, or testing the limits to see what works and what doesn’t verses acting up for attention. She is very smart and has definitely learned that we mean what we say, that we lover her no matter what and we will stand firm. So this morning she decided to push the limits for what seemed to be for no other reason than for attention. We asked Emi and Nate to ignore it and we would see what would happen. When her attitude changed we would praise her and have fun. By later in the afternoon she figured it out and again was a perfect angel. I am not sure what happened today but she watched an entire movie sitting with me, with Eric in the other room, she didn’t favor Eric nearly as much for the rest of the day, not sure what’s up with that.

One of the sayings we have been using with Jessica (in Spanish of course) is to be nice, or behave nicely and no dirty looks, or to not behave ugly. You wonder just how much they take what we say to heart, but this afternoon, Joaquin was being ornery to her and she used my lines on him. Oh yeah, she understands alright!

We did go to the park today, the Jaime Duque Park. it’s not a huge place but very nice. There are several animal exhibits, rides and play areas for the kids, replicas of various things etc. Joaquin loves animals so he was having a ball. Emi was the photographer today, so all the pics Emi took.

Joaquin's face every time he saw a new animal. The expression was followed by Mami Look or More Animals! (In Spanish of course)


Eric was taking care of Jessica, and I keeping up with Joaquin. Jessica was not so fond of all the animals, she especially didn’t like the snakes. Joaquin took two pony rides and would have stayed on all day if I wouldn’t have made him get off. Jessica was a bit apprehensive but stayed on just long enough to get a pic. Then we aren’t sure exactly what happened but the darn horse Jessica was on bit Eric and so that was the end of Jessica’s ride. (Eric’s okay, he just has a bruise)

You can see Jessica was not real thrilled


They had a group of big slides that Jessica loved.


They had some rides on the other side of the park for bigger kids, but we didn’t get to them. We were with a group and were on a time limit. It was the perfect amount of time to be out with Jessica and Joaquin, but it meant that Emi and Nate didn’t get to ride anything. Neither one of them complained, not even one time. I am so proud of them for allowing the day to be about their new siblings. They were great sports.

Before I switch gears, we just happened to come across monkeys and tigers today in Colombia, well how ‘bout that 6th grade boys. These pics are for you from Emilee!




The drive to and from was great. We had great views of the mountains, various living styles of Colombian people, it was nice to take in some culture. The park is just outside of Bogota. But coming home we sat in traffic and the pollution/smog is so bad you can hardly breathe. It really gives you a headache and a few times I had to cover my nose with my shirt just to filter the air a bit. We noticed this the other day when we went to the mall. By afternoon the air is so thick with pollution/smog you can hardly stand it. I guess that’s what happens when a million cars are on the road during the day.

Okay, now for a few tid bits I don’t want to forget. Today Joaquin left without taking his backpack anywhere. He is feeling much more comfortable with his belongings and trusting they will not disappear. Tonight he only went to sleep with his ball cap on and his bear. Big improvement. Way to go Joaquin.

Jessica is addicted to soap operas. Yes, you read that right, soap operas. There is a channel here that is like 24 hour soap operas, she specifically turns it on to that channel and is glued. We have a feeling that during nap time the staff at the orphanage would watch this kind of stuff and so it’s kind of habit, comfortable for her. We make her change the channel. You know how in the corner of the screen it will show the channel name, like FOX. Well she will sit in front of the TV with her hand over the channel name thinking we don’t know what she is watching and won’t make her change it.

Another funny thing is that she has called Eric, Charlie. Eric’s real name is Charles Eric. So the social worker told them our first names etc. I guess they assumed Eric went by Charlie. He hates to be called Charlie, and the first time she said it we cracked up. Now she thinks it’s funny and every once in a while will call him Charlie for a good laugh.

Ketchup is called salsa in Colombia. Ice is called hielo, which sounds like they are saying Jello.

One last thing, remember I talked about the security around the buildings here. I have some pics for you. You either see barb wire fencing like material around the top of buildings or broken glass secured to the top of walls or buildings. You’d have to be pretty crazy to try to climb over this stuff.



Joaquin gave great kisses and hugs tonight, all by himself with no coaxing, even to Emi. I could see a difference in his eyes today, he’s coming around, and I think he likes the change…smile. He winds up easily and has a hard time winding down. He gets so excited, but we are going to have to teach him self control, they boy is a riot. Jessica has come such a long way in just a few short days. We have 4 great kids!

And one last pic...yes, two days in a row I am in a pic...don't get used to it.
This is the first picture we had of all 6 of us together, not a great picture, but none the less, it's the first of all 6 of us.

One Week Under Our Belt!

As I type Emilee and I are sitting in the lobby living room by the fire sweet Lucrecia made, Emilee sipping her hot tea and I my coffee just talking about the events of the day. Daddy is getting everyone else in the shower and ready for bed. I feel like two old women sitting gossiping about the folks in town. Emi has agreed to help me type this post, but before she could sit down she went to look at the moon, the same moon her Mamaw and Mimi are looking at.

Emilee says if today could be described in just a few words she would label it “Better than the rest.” Not fits, no crying, very little whining and some entertainment from Joaquin.

After we went to sleep last night Joaquin decided to wake up every hour, turn on the light and check on all of his gifts, which were either in bed with him or on the table next to him. He quickly went back to bed and fell back to sleep each time, I can’t really fathom what they feel. They have things that are their very own and are so proud and protective of them. It was the cutest thing to see him note every little item, give a nod and go back to sleep.

This morning Jessica woke up and woke Emilee up right away. Fist let me back up. A friend of mine had shirts made for all four kids. Each one specially embroidered in both English and Spanish. Emilee’s says New Big Sister, Jessica’s says, New Little Sister and so on. Yesterday Emilee, Nate, and Joaquin all wanted to wear their shirts, but Jessica refused not only to wear it but wouldn’t even touch it. She can read, so she knew exactly what it said. Eric and I figured she understood the meaning and was used to being the big sister, so being a little sister was a bit more than she bargained for. But this morning she was very excited to pick out her New Little Sister shirt to wear and showed Emilee right away. She and Emi spent some time playing with Polly Pockets while the rest of us got ready. Relief, a good start to a day.

Breakfast was a piece of cake, no one even batted an eye at Mami taking care of everyone and everyone stayed seated with smiles the whole time. We could see today was going to be better than yesterday, so we decided a trip to the mall would be do-able. We decided to take an umbrella stroller because it’s about a half hour walk and neither of us wanted to lug kids on our backs. I was surprised that Jessica and Joaquin wanted to sit in it, but they did and were very good about taking turns.

The walk to the mall was interesting because the walk alone was a new experience for them. Joaquin took it all in stride. Jessica thought crossing the street dodging traffic was humorous. See pedestrians here DO NOT have the right away, you have to watch traffic from all angles and run like the dickens to cross the street. Sometimes the cars even come up on the sidewalks. So every street we crossed, Jessica squealed with laughter, saying pronto, pronto. pronto! About 3 times on the way we passed men who were, hmmm, not street vendors but like street people. She would look at them with the most unusual look on her face. We couldn’t decide if this brought back slight memories of when their uncle had them on the streets or if she was just confused at the behavior. We told her it was okay and that she was with Mami and Papi. She never said a word.

When we got to the mall we went to a place called Exito, kind of like a Target. We got some nail polish remover and Jessica and Joaquin their own water bottles. They carry their water bottles from the cabin everywhere but they are kind of big. Then we walked around the mall to find some earrings for Jessica as we has promised. We finally found a place similar to a Claire’s in Cincinnati, but not quite so big. She got to pick out two pair but didn’t want to put them in until we got home. Once we came home to put them in we realized one of her ear holes were partly closed up, so she is wearing only one. We will have to have her other one repierced. There is also a play area in the mall, with rides and games and such. We let Jessica and Joaquin each ride 3 or 4 little rides, Emi and Nate were too big. They did very well knowing how many tokens they had and that when they were gone they didn’t get any more. I was very proud of them both.

Now that's a pretty smile!


View from the mall


It was just about lunch time when we were ready to leave so we decided to hit the McDonalds, mostly for Mami. The kids wanted me to take a pic of the menu, it’s not like the States. Jessica was not so fond of their hamburger, but liked Emilee’s nuggets. Joaquin would only eat the fries, he didn’t like the burger or the nuggets and he especially didn’t like ice in his pop. He called his pop “picante“, which means spicy, he couldn’t think of a word to describe fountain pop. Soda from a bottle is different than fountain soda, I don’t think he has ever tasted such a thing, he wasn’t sure what to think.

Looks like all McDonalds are two floors, even the one in the mall

The kids wanted to show what the menu looks like, only a few choices.

Would you take a look at that, I acutally posted a pic with me in it. Acutally the family tied me up and posted it themselves. hee hee


Emilee and Nate couldn’t get over how Americanized the mall and stores were. They kept commenting on how the models had blonde wigs on and were light skinned. Nate said they must think that Americans all live like Hollywood people because that’s how a lot of people dressed at the mall. Tight clothes, short skirts and stuff just like you see on the movies. He said “News flash, we’re American and we don’t look like that!” It really was true, Emilee said, “Some of these Colombians want to look like Americans and Americans think Latino people are beautiful. It doesn’t make sense.” The mall didn’t thrill me, it was okay, but much like our malls at home. It was a nice walk but I wouldn’t go back just for fun, but I’m not a real shopper either.

I took a pic of the sidewalks here. Walking is not easy, they are uneven and rough to walk on . I hope you can see from the pic what I am talking about. You really have to keep and eye on your steps or you will twist your ankle.


When we got back Joaquin took a nice nap and Jessica played quietly on Emi’s bed and with Emilee. Once they woke up we took some balloons we didn’t use for the party and put a little water in them and a little air in them so we could toss them around. The kids thought this was great. A little entertainment for awhile. We were the only ones at the B&B this afternoon so it was very peaceful. I was able to sit outside and IM my sister for a good long time. It was the first time in a week I think I really had some peaceful down time. You would think that the day would be full of down time, but you spend all of your time teaching and dealing with “stuff” so down time hasn’t really happened. I think it will start getting better, we are starting to get into a routine. Next week will start some school work. Joaquin asked about school today, so I think they will be receptive to it. Emi and Nate can do some reading and Math while we work on English with Jessica and Joaquin.

This one's for you Tio Brian. (Tio Brian always wears a ball cap except for when he's at work, and it's always on backwards.)

More fun with balloons



The evening also went well, nothing really to report, that’s good news I guess. Just Emi and I sitting by the fire preparing our journal entry for the day.

Tomorrow we are going to a park/zoo kind of thing. We’ll see how it goes. We will be gone from 9 to 3, so a long time out, I am confident it will be fun. Jessica is excited. It’s nothing like our kind of zoo, at least that’s my understanding.

Oh and Mr. Ludwig (one of Emilee’s teachers), Emi said don’t worry, we won’t bring beans back for the class…aye aye aye!

I also forgot to mention last night that before Joaquin went to bed he freely gave us hugs and kisses. He still calls everyone Mami but I think he is starting to feel the bond and realizes we love him. We knew he was a funny but his true colors are really coming out, the child is hysterical. Jessica also has called several people Mami, but is freely affectionate and accepting of our love, she pulled some pretty funny stunts today herself. But I tell you, Jessica and Joaquin love to aggravate each other. Jessica is pretty blatant about it, but Joaquin is sneaky.

A very good day…good night!

And my just for fun pics...

Emilee pretending she was at a spa with cucumbers on her eyes (it's really silly putty, don't tell her)


Nate, well, I'm not sure what he's doing...