Holiday

We have been here less than two weeks.

In this period of time, we are having our second "vacation" day today. In the US, most of our church feast days are celebrated on Sundays. Not here.

Today is the feast of Saints Peter and Paul.

So - today is a holiday. No news of court today with the holiday. So, we look forward to tomorrow. Pray, pray, pray for a wonderful court and judge!

The weather is overcast, so we shall see what we end up doing. Most likely this means another trip across the street to the mall. I need a few pairs of shorts for the coast. I am very nervous about making girlie wait while I try on clothes, so I hope that it is a fairly simple task.

Perhaps we can bribe her with some ice cream. She's definitely a fan of ice cream!

Tomorrow, we take our first flight with her. It's only an hour, so I think we will be fine. Pray that she does well and doesn't get too scared. We have been talking all about airplanes, so we are hoping that our ease with things will help he know that all is well.

Goal C*lombia!

It's a great time to be here with the World Cup going on! The place goes wild with every goal and every win. 

We have spent the entire day being lazy - in pajamas - watching the games today. 

We will go to mass tomorrow right downstairs. It will be our second mass together. Hoping it won't rain like it did last week. 

This week will be going for a little trip to the coast. We are so excited. It will be Rose's first time to see the beach, the ocean, a pool! 

We will keep you posted on how it goes!

Passing the days

We are trying to think of ways to pass the days around here. There isn't much to do. It rains 90% of the time. When it's not raining, it's going to rain soon.

We tried being adventurous yesterday and got a taxi to the Children's Museum. It was closed. CLOSED. On a Tuesday. For no reason! Ack! I guess the reason could have been the C*lombian futbol game happening later that afternoon. Bah.

We ended up in Park 93, which in my opinion, is MUCH nicer than our area. We might end up there at some point in our trip.

That little day trip took every ounce of energy for me. I was so glad to be back to our room. Comfort. This momma isn't much for the unknown. Funny how I ended up here. HA!

Apart from that, things are perfect. We love this little girl and we are pretty sure she is starting to love us, too :)

I took some ultra-cute pictures today. I wish I could share them with you. Soon!

Tomorrow we have integration. It's basically the end of the bonding period. Hoping for everyone to be having a good day tomorrow and get our case into a court! Please pray the meeting goes well.

As far as courts go right now, the general consensus looks to be a 3-4 week time period. I'll take it. If we get a court this week or early next week, that puts us home by the end of July. Awesome. Please pray for a quick court and a wonderful judge.

Getting to know you

I'm getting used to being second favorite person in the world. 

My Christopher treats me like a queen and it seems like Miss Priss is going to have a king - her Papi. 

It's taking a bit of time to adjust to this new position in the world, but it's actually a beautiful thing to see a little girl love her Daddy so very much. 

Daddy is a bit under the weather today, so we are spending a bit more time together just us girls. We have painted, watched Dora and read a few books. 

We have a little hello/goodbye game we are playing right now... She leaves the bedroom and I cry for her. She thinks that's pretty awesome. :)

Two pictures that pass as non-identifying to share :)

Our little girl

I know it sounds odd when someone tells you that their adopted child was made for you, but I think it can be true. 

Paul's late grandmother, Theresa, always told us we would have a little girl. We always hoped we would, but we were thrilled with our precious boys. When we saw Rose's face we felt an instant connection. Paul was drawn to her sweet smile immediately. After reading her file, we realized how much she could fit nicely into our family. 

When we arrived at the office where we were to meet her, we walked in the door and there she was! She was sitting with a few ladies from the institution and they knew who we were and started pointing and telling her 'Mami y Papi'. She motioned to is to come and sit down with her. Especially Papi. After a moment, we were forced to go our separate ways so we could be told more about her from the institution staff. 

Surprising to me - most of the staff looked half my age. No joke. These teenagers were telling me all about my daughter... She plays well, she loves water, she loves sweets - no veggies, she likes to sing and dance and she calls the boys her 'bebes'. Her favorite picture we sent was of the beach and they think she will love it there. She loves rice and pasta. Instant Italian, right?

After a question and answer session, they brought her in. 

She ran right to her Papi and we sat together and opened her gifts. There was a pop up tent thing of a school bus and she had us both crammed inside of it in no time. She's very playful and imaginative.

After a few minutes, I was asked to sign some forms - Papi wasn't allowed to leave her.  She had him wrapped around her tiny fingers from the first moment. 

And just like that, after two long years, we could take her with us. 

She basically ran to the car. She was ready to go. We had a car seat for her to use (which isn't typical in C*lombia) and she refused. Papi's lap is the best seat. She did great in the car. 

We came up to the room and settled right in. I brought a few toys for her and she was playing in no time. She ate a banana and drank some juice - good eater!

I know it's hard to imagine, but she did great. Her first day was a success. We even ate in the cafe downstairs and she didn't even cause any trouble at all. She FaceTimed with her grandparents and brothers and had them all in awe at how she was able to call Nana and Nini all by name. Happy, happy, happy. 

Day 2 was another great day. She woke up after a restful sleep with her Mami and Papi on either side. I've never seen a smile bigger than the smile on her sweet face. It's just as if we could see her thoughts! "They are still here! Mami and Papi!" 

We took her on her second trip to the mall and she ate nearly an entire hamburger and fry by herself. It's great to know she's happy to eat! 

We went to the little park outside our apartment and she was very nervous. I think she assumed the loud barking dogs would come and get her there. And the ferocious birds. Ha. So we tried to help her see it was ok, but when she reached her limit, we went back inside. Baby steps, right?

Over all, this has all been a dream come true. We have had a few issues with letting Mami help with teeth brushing or hair styling, but after a few sí vs no episodes, she gave in to Mami's requests. 

After a homemade dinner of ham and cheese quesadilla, she went to bed fairly easily. 

And now we begin day three! 

Chao! Bye-bye! (Rose's phrase)

Just a few more days!

In a matter of DAYS we will meet our precious girl!!!

Please pray for a smooth transition for all of us. I expect that she has suffered some recent trauma, so let's specifically pray that she will be filled with peace and calm.

All that is left to do is hop on that plane!

Thank you to each and every one of you that has followed us along this journey. We are almost there!

Praise God!

One of our sweet girl's Aunts got this doll for her! Perfecto!

Not much longer, now

Dear Sweet Love,

Mommy is so excited to see you soon! I am constantly thinking about you and praying for you! Much like a mother anticipating a birth, I am filled with so many emotions.

God has written this story and I am so excited to see how it goes.

I know it won't be easy and I pray He calms your fears.

I love you!

Hugs and Kisses!

Mommy

Recent Thoughts

God has certainly been protecting me from some thoughts in the past two years. Because recently, they have been flooding in! I attribute this to knowing that she was moved to the 'school' from her foster home (which breaks my heart).

One major realization has come from comparing Rose and C. Her life in the past 6 months and his life in the past 6 months.

Imagine...

She was just a sick little peanut when she was taken in by her foster mother. Just 3 months old and teenie tiny. Just about like this:

C at just a few weeks old

This foster mother took time to dress her so cute and love on her. She provided the love and nurturing to help her grow and progress. She baked cakes and celebrated birthdays. We have proof - photos from her celebrations throughout her 5 years with her. Much like this: 

C's birthday celebrations...1st, 2nd and 3rd

Then, most likely the government organization that looks over children in the foster system decided she needed more care than her foster mom could give. The decided to take her out of her home and move her to a government-run 'school' for children with special needs. Look at C's face. Imagine what it would be like for that darling, precious child to be taken from everything he knows and put into an institution. No more goodnight kisses, midnight snuggles or dried tears. Does anyone answer her cries? Does anyone show comfort when she is sad? Or lonely? Or hurting? 

I hope you can 'hear' the urgency I feel. I am so grateful that God protected me from these realizations. These thoughts would have driven me mad if I had known where she was all these months. 

Everytime I snuggle with my buddy, I think about that gorgeous little girl who waits for her forever family. I am not even sure if she knows that we are coming. It's killing me. I am so glad that this process is winding down now and that in just a few short weeks our beautiful girl won't have to be alone any more! 

Praise God!