What a Day!

In Colombia you have to be very flexible and go with the flow...today we experienced this. We were told that at 11:30 we had our Defender of Minors appt. at Los Pisingos (this appt. is what starts the court process). Johnny and Isabel R. picked us up, we had a nice ride to Los Pisingos, the kids were excited! We got there, and OOPS...Carlos (the Director) just "forgot" to tell Isabel that it needed to be rescheduled, the Defender had already left...Isabel R. was not happy! You have to understand, Carlos is an amazing man, and loves the children of Pisingos very much...but, not all that organized...we are ok with this this, it is what it is. We trust that God will have us in Colombia as long as each and everyone of our kids needs to be here! (Our Appt. with the Defender is not scheduled until Monday)!

We did receive a few treasures from Pisingos...my favorite being a picture of Silas when he was 3 days old!

Here's a glimpse into this intense, exhausting, unbelievably rewarding, sometimes very diffiult, most glorious day (probably doesn't make sense to anyone except those who have adopted a child older than 2 years old)...

Caroline and I are forming a most precious bond. I've never met

a little one who needs so much love. She is full of hugs and kisses....I was so proud of her at Pisingos. When she would see a caretaker that she adored (she calls them all "Tia" or Aunt), she would look up at me to see if it was ok to to run up to them and give them hugs...of course I encouraged her to do this. She was so happy to see them, but, quickly returned to be by her Mama!

Isabel really looks up to "Tia" Isabel. She is a wonderful woman. Family, you do not have to worry about us over Christmas. Tias Isabel, Carmen, and Carmen's Husband have invited us over to share a meal and some Colombian Christmas Music/Traditions. We really look forward to this! Isabel R. is also letting John drive her to ICBF tomorrow. She is "loaning" us her car on Saturday so we can go out to a fun resturaunt with the kids! Seriously, John is a little nervous, driving in Bogota is like being downtown Chicago (magnified by 100)...not only do you have cars on top of eachother, side by side...you have horses, and tons of pedestrians, and mucho perros....this ought to be an interesting day! Boy, things have come a long ways since we adopted Isabel...

Below are a few of Caroline and Marta's "Tias" that have poured into our little ones for the past year and a half!



Silas was very happy when he saw his amiga, Marisa, on the wall at Los Pisingos! (Marisa lives in Jenison, MI)!

Isabel was excited to see all the pins representing the children that have been adopted to MI. She was naming all her amigas/amigos...Ally, Santi, Marisa...

And then we returned back to the Paris for what we thought would be a relaxing afternoon...not the case...Caroline had an intense temper/meltdown that lasted over an hour (of course, Mama had to deal with it because she has still been cautions of Papa)! It was, yet again, a "healthy" time even though it was not fun...rather exhausting for me actually...but, then came our friend, Nancy, who is on staff at the Paris. I left the room and let her talk to her...after 5 minutes Caroline put her clothes back on and came out and gave me a hug...and held me pretty much the rest of the day.

So, John and I decided it was time to get crazy and have some fun! The kids absolutely love dancing in the kitchen...we can't keep Isabel out of the cocina! So, after lots of yelling, kicking, and screaming...little Caroline returned back to her happy self...see for yourself! We so have our hands full!!!

And AT LAST...be careful what you ask for Daddy! Little Caroline finally went to her Papa and had some serious fun! Not to many hugs...but, we are making lots of progress within our first week!!

So ends another day in Bogota. It is hard to believe that we have been a family of 6 almost a whole week. We experienced some challenges today...but, the victories and fun totally are worth every tiring, painful minute! Marta began waving today for the first time, she is pulling her self up more, crawling more, and seems more motivated. She is so content and easy most of the time! And of course the above picture shows the victory that Daddy and Caroline conquered today!

Silas and Isabel are adjusting more and more each day (Isabel a bit quicker than Silas)! It sometimes takes everything that John and I have...but, when our heads hit the pillow at night, it is so worth all of it...visiting Pisingos again today, and seeing a few children look sad, roaming around the facility, with an empty look in their eyes...the love/passion in our hearts for the orphan has grown much stronger in this last week...every precious child deserves a family!!! This is God's heart, and we are grateful He has given us this privilege to adopt 4 of His kids!

P.S.

To Pisingos Families waiting to travel...

Ernie and Christy - We did not see your boys today. But, you would not believe this, during our Presentation of Caroline and Marta, we are rather certain your oldest was peaking in the window trying to talk to Tio Carlos. Silas played outside that day when we were waiting, and we are quite certain that your 2nd oldest was on the playground with him. We could not take pictures then, but, we have our tour of the orphanage next week, we will certainly have our camera ready for you!

Kaameraads - Hang in there with your paperwork. Once your dossier get's translated I think we can request to take a picture of Maria. We will definitely keep our eyes open for her on our tour. I showed Caroline her picture, and she got very excited and said "Mi Amiga! Mi Amiga!" Hang in there!!