We're Coming Home

Day 79 – Friday, June 29^th

We celebrated another birthday today at a Spanish restaurant near the Andino mall in Bogota. I had lunch with family and friends and it was a chance to start our goodbyes. I can already tell the next few days are going to be tough. I have connected with my family here and it’s always hard to say goodbye. I have to keep thinking that we will be back in a few years as I am planning to have a family reunion in Santa Marta, Colombia in June of 2014.

The next few days will fly by as we prepare for our trip home. We will be leaving Colombia on July 1^st and getting into Minneapolis at 10:30am on Monday morning.  My total length of stay in Colombia was 81 days. Eighty-one! I will be leaving in July… and I’ve been here since mid-April… It’s time to go home!  I’m packing things up, saying our last good-byes during the next few days, then heading off to the airport. Good-bye Colombia. See you in 2014.

Adoption is a very beautiful thing, but the “process” of adoption has been very trying at times. It is much like the ups and downs of fertility treatment. Over the past two and a half years, my life has been taken over by this process. Every decision I made was based on the process of adoption. It has caused much stress – both positive and negative. Luckily, I have learned to deal with that stress (with some days better than others) and we are finally closing in on the end of the process.

As I reflect on this life experience, I realize how truly blessed I am in so many ways. I have been blessed with the opportunity to go through this challenging process. I have been blessed to have so much support from my family and friends – both in Colombia and in the U.S. And most importantly, I have been blessed with the most beautiful, precious, sweet baby girl – my little angel, Sofia Nicole.

Now it’s time to move forward; moving on as a complete and loving family of four. Perry, Evan and Sofia- I’m looking forward to spending the rest of my life with you. I love you all very much!

We will be arriving home on day 82 – Monday, July 2^nd

Day 78- Finally Able to Breathe

Week 12

Day 78 – Thursday, June 28^th

I’m into my 12^th week in Colombia and I finally have everything I need to be able to return home with Sofia.  Today we had the maid come to the house so we planned to have a lunch with all my mom’s sisters that are here in Bogota. Maria Teresa, Elvira, Rachel and Beatriz were all able to make it. We had a nice lunch, but I had to leave when my driver came to pick me up. All I had to do was run in to get Sofia’s Passport with Visa and a sealed packed to be given to the U.S. Customs agent at immigration in New York. So I decided to leave Sofia in excellent hands with my mom and all her “Tia Abuelas” (Aunt Grandmas).

The car picked me up just before 2:00 and oddly enough, there was no traffic all the way to the Embassy. We got there at 2:30, but it was too early to go in, so my driver waited with me for 15 minutes and dropped me off at 2:45. I presented my ticket (from the day before) at the window and she said that she would let me go in early. I went through security and went directly to window #1. The guy at the window asked me to check the cover page summary that was attached to the packet. It was all correct so I was able to take it with me. (HUGE sigh of relief) As I was walking toward the car, I noticed the beautiful view of the mountains with dark rain clouds above them, although it was very sunny where I was. As I looked towards Monserrate on top of the mountain, there was a huge Colombian flag that looked like it was lit up by the sun. It would’ve been a great picture, but I didn’t bring my camera since I knew I wouldn’t be able to bring it into the Embassy. (Oh well, missed photo op.) I felt great!

So my mom was watching Sofia for the afternoon, and I was completely done and had everything in hand that I need to be able to return home, and I was feeling great, so I decided to celebrate by taking one last Zumba class in Colombia. I found out that there was a class at 6:30, so I got dropped off at Hacienda Santa Barbara, had a celebratory cup of coffee and sat at a table for a while to relax and enjoy the moment.  I called Cecilia to see if she would like to join me in the class and I was surprised when she said she would. So after a while of walking around, I met Cecilia just in front of the Zumba studio and in we went. Let me just say, this class was much different than the morning classes that I have been attending. The room is small and there were 15-20 people all squished together in the studio. I was standing by the wall in the back and many times was not able to do the full movements because there was not a lot of room. But the class was AWESOME! Nelson was our instructor, and he has a ton of energy and moves fast. The class tonight definitely got my heart rate up and it was fun to be there with Cecilia. She did well – even though it was her first time. She mentioned that she will continue going to Zumba, but will start a little slower pace with the smaller classes in the mornings.  YEAH! Another person has been introduced to Zumba and liked it.

So I came home tonight, more tired than I was the day before. Tonight I’m guaranteed to be able to sleep well and I can finally breathe knowing that I have done what I needed to do and I have what I need to have to be able to come home.

What an EXCEPTIONAL day!

Day 77 – Wednesday, June 27^th

Today was the most productive day I’ve had in Colombia since I got here. (I seem to function better when there are lots of things that need to get done in a short amount of time. I actually like the rush of it all. So today I was more in my comfort zone… and it helps that thing went right for a change!)

Both Sofia and I woke up early and were picked up at 7:00am by our hired driver.

·       We first went to pick up Cecilia from her house.

·       Then to the passport agency to pick up Sofia’s passport. They told us it would be there and ready by 8:30. We got there at 8:00. A very helpful assistant took our receipt and went in back to look for the passport. 10 minutes later, we were called to the window to pick up her passport. I checked everything to make sure it was correct and we were off to our next appointment.  (By the way… her passport picture that she took a few days earlier is SOOOO cute!)

·       Cecilia went to make photocopies of the new passport and scanned one to her office to send to the Embassy to let them know that we would be coming later in the day. We got an appointment at 1:30 at the Embassy.

·       The driver swung by to pick us up again to drive us to the Medical Clinic where Sofia has to get checked out by a doctor that specializes in international adoptions.

·       We got to the clinic and the doctor was not there yet. He typically doesn’t see patients in the mornings, but made an exception for Sofia so we could get to the Embassy and be able to leave this weekend. Once he arrived, he called us into his office. She checked out well with a clean bill of health. I was very happy to hear that there was no trauma to her lungs from having bronchitis before we got here to pick her up. The 10 days of hospitalization and additional month of inhaler medication helped. She is right in the middle of all the chart curves and is growing so fast. She is a very happy and healthy baby! The doctor gave me an envelope that I was not to open and I was to give it to the U.S. Embassy along with the other paperwork.

·       We then called the driver to pick us up again and then we were off to go to the government adoption agency (Bienestar Familiar).  Cecilia and I went in and Sofia was napping, so she stayed with our driver, Bibiana.  We rushed through the building and went upstairs to a small office. I had to sign a confirmation of the adoption and fill out a survey pertaining to my agency in the U.S., my adoption agency here in Colombia, and the Government Agency.  Hopefully my responses (along with the responses from other families) will help to make the process a little more efficient. I could’ve written a book, but I was able to get most of what I wanted to say on one sheet of paper.  It was just after 11:00am at this time and we didn’t have to be at the Embassy until 1:30 so we had a chance to take a little break from it all.

·       We drove Cecilia back to her house so she could jump onto a conference call, while Sofia and I hung out at the Hacienda Santa Barbara mall (where I take my Zumba classes). It is very close to Cecilia’s house, and I wouldn’t have enough time to go home. So in the mall I was able to get lunch, feed and change Sofia, and walk around the mall a bit until our driver came back to pick me up at 12:30.

·       We picked up Cecilia and went straight to the Embassy with all our paperwork in hand. Once we got to the Embassy, we took the stroller out to stroll Sofia around (rather than carrying her in her carrier). We walked to the entrance window. Cecilia was able to come in with us. We went through security. (Cecilia had to leave her phone with the guard since no cameras are allowed.) Once we were in, we went to window #1. We gave them our paperwork and Sofia’s passport. They said that we would have to wait a day after the passport is issued for us to apply for the Visa. Cecilia (whom has been VERY helpful lately pleading my case and getting exceptions) said that I have been here going on 12 weeks now, that there was a problem with the passport printer and that’s the only reason we had to wait until this morning to pick it up, and that when they faxed over the passport this morning, they said that we just got the passport and still scheduled our appointment for 1:30 today. After all that pleading, the lady at the window said she would see what she could do. She told us to wait for our name to be called.  We sat close by, hung out with Sofia, and just as I was changing Sofia’s diaper in the restroom, they had called our name. I was just finishing up and washing my hands when Cecilia came running into the bathroom saying, “hurry up, hurry up. They called your name and we have to go there now!” I took Sofia to the window with me and Cecilia grabbed the stroller. The guy at the window asked me how long I had been in Colombia. I told him tomorrow will be going on 12 weeks. He asked how long I was told I would be in country. I told him 6-8 weeks. He asked if I was given a reason for the delay. I told him that it had to do with the television program related to illegally adopted children from Colombia and the investigations that were going on.  He shook his head and said, “That’s just part of it. It’s way bigger than that.”  His response made me think that although I have been here 12 weeks, at least I am finishing the process and I will be able to go home soon. It seems like there is something else going on that I don’t know about. There aren’t any other families here from LSS or any that have come after we did. There’s definitely something big that’s going on and I’m glad I was on the front end of all these problems as opposed to being at home waiting to meet my child for the first time.  I feel for all the families that are waiting to be united with their children and I feel for all of the children that are waiting to be united with their new and forever families. After a few other questions, he said that her passport with the Visa would be ready to be picked up tomorrow after 3:00pm. He gave me a slip to present when I arrive tomorrow and then we were done.

·       The traffic coming home was rough, but we dropped of Cecilia and then went home. Sofia and I were home by 4:00 with a load off my shoulders and a throbbing headache. 

With all the exceptions that were made for us throughout the day, we came home victorious. This is not typical to be able to do this many steps in one day. I could tell that the stress is very hard on Cecilia as well. But only one more step to finish the in-country portion of the adoption and that’s to pick up the Visa on Thursday. We scheduled a driver to pick us up and we were done for the day. Sofia seemed to be just as wiped out as I was. Needless to say, we went to sleep very early.

Day 76 - Another TRYING Day

Day 76 – Tuesday, June 26^th

I woke up today, got ready, got Sofia ready, and off we went. We took a taxi to go pick up Cecilia, and we went to the passport agency to see if we could pick up her passport. Unfortunately, the lady we were supposed to ask for had just left the building. We talked with another lady that said sometimes the passports are ready by 9am and to go downstairs to check. As we went downstairs, another guy that was working there offered to help us to check if Sofia's passport was ready to be picked up. Unfortunately, it wasn't, but he said he could put a rush on it and we could come back after 3:00pm today to pick it up.

So I refilled Sofia’s diaper bag, put Sofia in her carrier, hailed a cab, and went to pick up Cecilia AGAIN, to head to the passport agency again. I was hoping her passport would be ready for us to pick up because we have an appointment with the doctor at 4:30 and we can't go without having her passport first. My thought at this point was that if all goes well today, there's a slight possibility that we will be DONE with the process by tomorrow afternoon. We planned to go directly to the doctor for her check up since he only sees patients in the afternoons.  We got to the passport agency and Cecilia waited in the taxi while I went in to get her passport, I found the guy that we were talking to earlier that told us to come back after 3:00. He brought my receipt in the back and came out a few minutes later empty handed. He said that it was not there yet because the passport printer was broken. What luck I have, huh???? Not one step of this process has gone smoothly. I have run into problems throughout this entire process from the very beginning. I feel like I am being tested to see how much stress I can take. Apparently there's no EASY button here either!  So the guy offered to talk to Cecilia over the phone (she was in the taxi with Sofia) and told her that it will be there tomorrow morning by 8:00am. (I'll believe it when I see it, 'cuz he was also the one that said it would be ready by 3:00 today.) So... Cecilia called the doctor to cancel our appointment for today because he won't see her without having a passport number assigned to her. Cecilia was very helpful today as she pleaded with the doctor to make an exception to see Sofia tomorrow in the morning. Our plan is to go and get her passport (which will be there! - positive thinking), go directly to the doctor for her check up, and then go to the Embassy at 1:30p. If all goes well, we will have everything completed by tomorrow afternoon or Thursday morning. We're cutting it pretty close since I bought the tickets for us to return on Sunday night. We WILL be home by Monday. 

I think everything from here on out will go well. It has to! One can only be tested so much - and this process has proved to be very trying and stressful. But no matter what happens at this point, we already have the decree and Sofia is already ours. Nothing can take her away from us so I continue to focus on that and I am truly thankful for her. She is so sweet and lovable, and continues to woo strangers on a daily basis. (We'll have to keep a close eye on her when she's a teen - if she's as flirty then as she is now... we could be in trouble!)

Anyway... I was super stressed and mad about an hour ago, but writing this blog is somewhat therapeutic. That and my cold can of Coca-Cola are helping me to feel better. The good news is that Cecilia worked it out so we can "possibly" do all 3 things tomorrow. It's guaranteed to be another race of a day. I'm wiped out. 

Day 75 -TRYING to get a birth certificate & passport

Day 75 – Monday, June 25^th

Every part of this process has been difficult... but the end is in sight.

Monday morning we were supposed to go to pick up Sofia's new birth certificate at the registrar's office and if we were done before noon we could go to apply for Sofia's passport.  We got to the office at around 11:00am to pick up the 8 copies of her birth certificate. We read through them to make sure everything was correct. Everything looked good so then our driver picked us up and drove us to the "Ministerio" to apply for her passport. There were hundreds of people waiting in the lobby and all the seats were taken. Luckily, as we were walking in to get a ticket number, Sofia was smiling at one of the guys that works there (she is definitely a coqueta/flirt) and he asked if we were getting a passport for the baby. We said yes and he told us to follow him. He took us upstairs, past all the people that were waiting, and brought us to someone that was open to help us right away. We were so lucky! As she was looking through our paperwork, she told us she would be right back because she had to ask a question about something. When she came back, she said that she was not able to process Sofia's passport, because the Sentencia has my Colombian ID listed as my identification and the birth certificate had my Colombian passport as my identification. (The numbers are the same but the passport is listed as PP and the Cedula/Colombian ID is listed as CC.) Since they are different, they could not process Sofia's passport. So we got the name of the lady that was helping us and she told us to go back to the registrar's office and ask them to change the PP to a CC, and when we return, we can go directly to her to continue processing Sofia's passport. So we quickly took a taxi back to the registrar's office, got in line, pleaded our case to have the PP changed to CC. The lady told us that she told me on Friday that my Cedula wasn't registered. I thought that meant that the photocopy of my Cedula wasn't notarized so I gave her a notarized copy of my Cedula and passport. (So it was my mis-understanding.)  What she did say (which I found out on Monday) was that my Cedula, which I applied for almost 2 years ago by driving to Chicago 3 times, has not yet been registered into the Colombian system - so it was not recognized.  We asked what we could do, and pleaded with the lady working at the desk. She told us we would have to go to the main registrar of Bogota (?) to authenticate my Cedula to get it put into the system. Cecilia asked if there was any way we could do it from this office since I have been here over 11 weeks and we needed to process the passport today. The office wasn't as busy at that point, so the lady offered to call to see if they could get the Cedula put into the system. They were able to do so. When she came back, she said that the reason it wasn't authenticated was that I have dual citizenship, and "Colombamericana" didn't fit in the space provided on the form, so they listed me as Colombian (without the American). This caused some problem at the Colombian Consulate of Chicago so it was never entered into the system, yet this was the first I had heard of it. Luckily, after about an hour, we were able to fix the issue and she changed the PP to CC. So then she had asked an intern to go get the form notarized upstairs and make 8 copies of it. After another long wait, the intern came back with the forms. As the lady at the front desk was putting the authentication stickers on, she noticed that only the first copy was Sofia's and the rest were for someone else. She had no idea who the other person was. (No wonder there are so many errors.) So the intern had to go upstairs again and make 8 copies of Sofia's form. (How long does it take to make 8 photocopies at a notary in Colombia? Ages, it seems, especially since we were in a hurry.) We needed to get to the Passport agency before they close at 4:00pm. We finally got Sofia's authenticated birth certificates at 3:45pm. Cecilia didn't think we would make it to get the passport, but we decided to try anyway. And we made it! We were able to go in right away and go upstairs to wait for the lady that was helping us earlier. We were able to process the passport, but she said we would not be able to pick it up until Wednesday morning. Again, that puts us another day or two behind - passport Wednesday, doctor Wednesday evening, and Embassy Thursday, pick up Visa on Friday.  Getting a ticket for this weekend is pushing it in case something doesn't go as planned. So Cecilia asked if there was anything we could do to get the passport on Tuesday instead. The lady helping us said that we could come back in the morning and talk to one person that might be able to get it for us - but no guarantees. So we ended the day dropping off Cecilia, driving to Los Pisingos to drop off one copy of Sofia's birth certificate and our Sentencia, and then we were dropped off at home. We finally arrived at 6pm, and I came with a huge headache. What a day! Sofia took a nap when we got home and I checked my email. My travel agent had responded to an email stating that the flights are getting booked up because this coming week is ANOTHER Colombian holiday and we have the 4th of July holiday coming up next week as well. The earliest flight we can get is leaving Colombia on Sunday night and getting into Minneapolis on Monday morning and there are only 2 more available seats on that flight - otherwise we would have to wait until Tuesday. So I spent the next half hour procuring our tickets for Sunday night - in hopes that nothing else goes wrong that can delay this EXTREMELY LONG process. 

While working on securing our tickets, I was also getting ready for a party at my cousin, Freddy's house. His son, Daniel, just graduated and is going to study in China for a year. So everyone got all dressed up and I put Sofia in her PJs and off we went. It was fun to have so many family members all together again. It was a very nice party. Sofia was so excited with all the noise and all the talking and all the family members that she didn't fall asleep until after 10:00pm. She slept very well for the rest of the night. I on the other hand, had such a bad headache that when I got home, I couldn't sleep at all.

Getting Sofia's Birth Certificate

Day 72 – Friday, June 22^nd

Sofia and I were supposed to be picked up at 8:30am to go to the registrar where her original birth certificate is located. We will be changing her name on her birth certificate and getting it updated with our information. [For those of you that don’t know about her name change… When we decided to adopt from Colombia, we had lots of time to think of names. We were thinking about Gabriella or Sofia if we were blessed with a baby girl. If we were matched with an older child, we would’ve kept his/her given name. Once we got the referral, we were told that her birth mother gave her the name Nicolle Sofia. –amazing coincidence, huh?- So we decided to keep both names but just switch them around. Usually Sofia is spelled with a –ph- (Sophia), but we chose to keep the spelling with an –f-. So our new addition to our family is Sofia Nicole Swanson. (Actually, in Colombia it’s Sofia Nicole Swanson Nuspl, since they always add the mother’s maiden name as the second last name.)]

While getting Sofia ready, Cecilia called to say that the car would come to pick us up at 10:00 instead. We first picked up Cecilia, then went to the bank to pay for 6 copies of the birth certificate and then went to the registrar. I didn't have a copy of Perry’s passport (because nobody told me I would need one for this visit - so I didn't have it with me.) Cecilia had to go back to her house to get it and run across the street to make copies. We waited in line again and they processed the birth certificate. Usually (in  most other cases) people get the birth certificates the same day, but in this case (of course) it was very busy and they said the certificates won’t be ready to be picked up until Monday at 1:00. So we can't do anything else until we have her new birth certificate. So we were planning to go today to apply for Sofia’s passport, but that didn't happen. We won't be able to do it Monday either, because you have to be there before 11:00 to get an appointment, and we won't have the birth certificate until 1:00. UGG! That puts us back another day or two. So, best case scenario... we pick up the birth cert on Monday, Passport & doctor visit on Tuesday, (Cecilia is checking with the US Embassy to see if they will take us on Wednesday - even though they are usually closed for appointments on Wednesdays). My guess is that we won't be able to get to the Embassy until Thursday of next week. If they are able to process everything the same day, we can leave on Friday, and if not, we will pick up the paperwork on Friday and be able to leave by Saturday. I just hope nothing else gets in the way. Although I love my family here, and I’ve had such great experiences (and improved my Spanish), I am ready to go home to be with Perry and Evan. I miss them so much but I know we will be reunited soon. I can’t wait to introduce Sofia to all of our family and friends in Minnesota.

Day 73 – Saturday, June 23^rd

Today we are going to a Fiesta at my Tia Rachel’s finca in Subachoque (spelling???)  to celebrate my cousin’s cousin that is moving to Lima, Peru for a few years. The day was cold at the finca, but the sun was out. We had a great time. We ate very typical Colombian foods, visited with our family, we enjoyed a few drinks, and lots of dancing! (Sofia was dancing with everyone and had a great time!!!!)  We drove back later in the evening while the fiesta continued.

Day 74 – Sunday, June 24^th

Today was a lazy Sunday. We woke up late and decided to walk down the street to have lunch. We invited Efrain to join us and he chose to go to a Mexican restaurant.  After lunch, Efrain went home to watch the big soccer game, while my mom, Sofia and I walked quite a ways down 140^th to a place that sells typical Colombian things to pick up some last minute gifts.  I spent the rest of the day online, Skyping Perry, checking e-mail, checking flight availability, and packing. I’m ready to move into our last week in Colombia (for this trip anyway). We hope to return to Colombia for a real vacation/family reunion in June of 2014 – San Andres. 

Day of Sentencia

We start week 11 on a good note...

Day 71 – Thursday, June 21^{st –}

WE DID IT!!!! As of 3:00 this afternoon, Sofia is officially our daughter. My contact, Cecilia, called me just before noon to let me know that she would not be able to come with me, but my lawyer would be with me the entire time. I was picked up by a driver at 1:00 and we picked up my lawyer at 1:20. We were downtown in the center of Bogota at 1:50 and were dropped off at the courthouse – which is an old building with 22 courts spread out on many floors. Our case was in court 10 which is on the 4^th floor. When we entered the building, there was a HUGE line to enter the building. We were at the end of the long line, but at 2:00 the doors opened and the line went very fast. We took the stairs to the 4^th floor and got in line at the Court 10 window. Our papers were ready for us to sign. We had to read through the Sentencia to make sure everything was correct and then we signed. As we were going through the papers, my lawyer noticed that the signature of the Defender of Minors was missing. She went to the window and asked if she could talk to the Judge’s secretary. She explained the missing signature and he was able to sign instead of the Defender which made our paperwork official. At that point we needed to run down the 4 flights of stairs to get 8 photocopies of the Sentencia. We double checked to make sure every packet was complete and had to run up the 4 flights of stairs again to have the 8 sets of documents authenticated. He told us it would take about a ½ hour so again we went down the 4 flights of stairs and went to a coffee shop to wait. I had a nice time talking with my lawyer. Just after 3:00 we went back up the 4 flights of stairs and went back to talk to the Secretary. He had authenticated each page and we had to double check to make sure every page was stamped. At that point everything was complete. We got picked up again by our driver, Nancy, and I was home by 4:30 and very happy with the progress of the day.

The tentative plan is that tomorrow Cecilia and I will go to the registrar to change Sofia's name and get a new birth certificate. If that goes quickly, I think we are going to go to get her passport. If all is good, we will go to the doctor on Monday and the U.S. Embassy on Tuesday. The Embassy is closed for appointments on Wednesdays, so if we have to go back to pick up the papers (if they are not available the same day) then we will go back on Thursday to pick up the papers and be able to come home Friday. If we do get the papers done the same day, there's a chance we might be able to come home Wednesday or Thursday. We just have to go with the flow for the next few weekdays and we will have a better idea of when we will be returning home by Tuesday of next week. It will be very hard to say goodbye to all of my tias, tios, primas & primos here in Colombia, but we are ready to return to home base. 

June 21^st will always be a very special day for the Swanson family.  We are so lucky that Sofia is officially part of our family. We love her so much!

Day 70 & We Got the Call !!!!

Day 70  -   Wednesday, June 20^th-  I can’t believe it has been 70 days in country waiting to complete the adoption process. (I was told 6-8 weeks, and also told that it would probably be faster since I have Colombian heritage. With all the hurdles I’ve run into, that’s not my case!) I spoke with Perry last night and I have decided to take his advice; To ask my mom to watch Sofia and do something that will take my mind off of “the call”.  So yes. I woke up and decided that I wasn't going to sit around and wait for the phone. I asked my mom to watch Sofia and I looked online to find a Zumba class. There was one that is not too far from here and decided to walk to class. The email said class was at 9 a 10:30 (from 9-10:30) - but I read it as 9:00 and 10:30. I left at 9:30 thinking that it would take me a while to walk there and find it. I got there at a little before 10:00 and the lady at the desk told me it started at 9:30 and goes until 10:30. There is no class at 10:30. She let me go into the last 30 minutes of the class. As I was in the building, I got a call from my contact so I had to step out to take the call. She said she is sorry that I am still here and can't believe it. She said that she is waiting for her secretary to come to update her on everything and is going to call the lawyer herself to see what's going on. She also mentioned that the government adoption agency Bienestar Familiar is going to be at Los Pisingos today and she won't have any news until after 2:00 and she will call me back later.

After class I walked further to an Exito and grabbed a few essential. I also got yarn and a crochet' needle to start making something. I decided that there is no reason to be bored. I just have to look for things to do to keep my mind off the waiting.

I walked back to Efrain’s house and got there at about 12:30. My mom and I decided to make lunch at home and just while we were eating, my cousin Maria Claudia called to ask if I wanted to go to a movie. We decided to go to a movie that is a ways away. We got there just before the movie started. We chose to see “A Boy on his Bicycle” which won awards at the Cannes Festival. We sat down and as soon as the movie started, we looked at each other and laughed. The movie happened to be in French with Spanish subtitles. (Just like the other movie we chose to go to a few weeks back.) It was a good movie, but really harsh. After the movie we walked down the street and stopped at Crepes & Waffles to get an ice cream. (I usually don’t care much for ice cream, but they have awesome ice cream there!)

While we were sitting at the table, my phone rang. It was Cecilia. She called stating that she had great news. She said, “I guess they were just waiting for me to return”. I didn’t know if she was joking or not. If she was joking, it was a joke in poor taste (since I have been agonizing over the expected call), and if she was not joking, that’s not very nice of them knowing a family has been here this long and without consideration of the need to be home.  So our appointment is at 2:00. She will send for a driver to come pick me up at 1:00.  I am to bring my passport, photos of Sofia (for passport & Visa), any and all paperwork (just in case we need it), and me. Sofia will need to stay with my mom as she is not allowed in the courthouse. Believe it or not, I’ve had all that ready to go for the past several weeks. It’s all ready to grab and go.

Can’t wait until tomorrow. J

Day 69

Day 69  -   Tuesday, June 19^th-

Today is a nice, sunny day in Bogota. I went for a walk at lunchtime, but other than that, I spent the rest of the day in the house with Sofia, waiting for my phone to ring. (Sounds desperate, huh???!!! … getting there!)  All of today I felt like a teenage girl waiting for someone to call, checking my phone every so often to make sure it was working.  UGG! Makes for a long day!

Weekend in Paradise

Day 68  -   Monday, June 18^th- Just like last Monday, today is another Colombian Holiday where most everything is closed. After a bit of fun in the sun followed by a nice lunch, we headed back to Bogota.  Thank you mom, (baby) Sofia, Beatriz, Maria Claudia, Juaquin, Pablo & Sofia (Maria Claudia’s Sofia)… I had a wonderful time hanging out with you in paradise over the long Holiday weekend.  Thank you Claudia (the finca owner and my mom’s relative) for the use of your beautiful finca. It truly was God’s way of telling us to relax and enjoy life and the beauty of Colombia.  It was much appreciated!!! 

AHHHHH.......... PARADISE!

Enjoying the Good Life

Day 66  -  Saturday,  June 16^th-  Our vacation starts…NOW! J Yahoo… we’re heading to Anapoima. Maria Claudia picked us up early so we could get to the finca before lunch. The trip is not too far, but the climate is totally different from Bogota. It’s warm and sunny all day. (Exactly what we need.) If you looked on a map, you would see that Anapoima is not that far from Bogota. It looks like it would be about 45 minutes away or so, but with the mountainside roads, it takes more like 2 hours or more to get here. We also stopped a few times on the way, but we got here in good time. The weather is perfect and the finca is gorgeous!!! There are seven of us here. My mom, Sofia and I are sharing the big bedroom on the second level. It has its own bathroom and a rooftop deck that overlooks the mountains and the beautiful pool in the back.  The 3 other rooms on the main level all have adjoining bathrooms as well, so everyone is comfortable in their rooms. The caretakers live in a smaller house on the property and have been taking good care of us. (Angela is a great cook!) At times I feel uncomfortable having them do things for me that I am capable of doing myself, but I have been told to let go of that feeling. So I name today’s entry as “Enjoying the Good Life!” (‘cuz once I get back, I know it won’t be like this. Although it would be nice to have a house cleaner/maid every once in a while in Minnesota – yea, I know… but a girl can dream. J )

Day 67  -  Sunday,  June 17^th- Father’s  Day-

Anapoima is awesome!!! It is a delight to be here. It truly feels like a 3-day vacation and that's exactly what it is. We are still here and plan to leave tomorrow afternoon to head back to Bogota. Yesterday and today Sofia had a lot of firsts; She went swimming for the first time, she hung out in a hammock, she drank sweet lemonade, ate a little saltine cracker, tried a mandarin orange, and has been "talking" all day. It's quite fitting that on Father's Day, what she keeps repeating sounds very much like "Hi dada". (Everyone here can attest to that and I have proof on video - unfortunately I don't have the cord to be able to upload it to Facebook.) We've had a great time so far and I'm looking forward to a little more sun tomorrow before we head back to the Bogota weather.

Day 65 - The good and the bad

Day 65  -  Friday,  June 15^th-

It was a nice day today. I woke up this morning and went to another Zumba class while my mom took care of Ms. Sofia. The Zumba instructor happens to be a master trainer for Zumba and she told me she was going to be in Chicago soon for a Zumba training. (Count me in!!!)  Afterwards, I walked around the mall to find a baby swimsuit (like the one that I just bought that came in the mail at home a few weeks ago – thinking we would be home before we had a chance to use a swimsuit. Oh well…so now she’ll have 2). We have been invited to stay at my mom's cousin's finca for the weekend. We are going with my cousin Maria Claudia's family (Juaquin, Pablo & Sofia) and my aunt Beatriz. It should be a good get-away and a little distraction from waiting for the call.

I called Maria Teresa to tell her that I was going to Anapoima for the weekend. She told me that the courthouse was closed today too so nothing happened. So get this... last Monday was a holiday- courthouse closed, Tuesday and Wednesday there was a protest in front of the courthouse - again closed. Thurday it was open (imagine that!) and today, not sure why, but she said it was closed again and they were not letting anyone in today. Wow! A one-day work week. (I wish I could work at the Colombian courthouse… not only for the limited  number of actual work days, but more so, I would like to go in and introduce them to a computer!) Hopefully I'll be able to come home by fall when people start working again for real. Someone told me today that they think the duration of my stay is a record for my agency.  It’s really not supposed to take this long. I just happened to run into a few more hurdles than normal.

My original contact, Cecilia, comes back from her long vacation this weekend, so hopefully things will move a little faster starting on Tuesday. So all I can do is, enjoy this weekend and wait for the call to come next week. If I don't get the call next week, I might just have to stand outside the courthouse and have my own little protest! 

Into Week 10

Week 10

Day 64  -  Thursday,  June 14^th-  We’re heading into week 10 in country and no Sentencia to date.

The weather here has been so dreary. We were offered to stay at one of my mom’s cousin’s fincas in Anapoima (a pueblo that is about 2 hours away in the mountains where the temperature and climate are a lot better than Bogota – with lots of sun and warmth.)  That’s exactly what we need! This weekend is another holiday weekend, so we planned to go up with Maria Claudia, Juaquin, Beatriz, my mom, Sofia and I. They will pick us up early on Saturday and we will come back early on Monday. Just a quick get-away, but I’m looking forward to a change in climate (and a bit of a distraction from waiting for the phone call stating that we have Sentencia). 

I haven’t given up… every day that passes, we are a bit closer to Sentencia. I just NEVER expected to be here this long.  Perhaps the call will come tomorrow.

Ms. Sofia is doing well. She is now eating cereal, baby food: apple, mango, banana, pear, and carrot (super messy).  She is still sleeping beautifully during the night, but her daytime naps have been getting shorter and shorter. A month ago I could say that she NEVER cries, but now, that’s not the case. She found her voice and now, not only does she cry when she’s hungry or tired, but she SCREAMS for no reason at all. When you look at her after she screams, she smiles. It’s a crazy game that she plays and she thinks it’s hilarious. I’m just hoping she doesn’t play that game when we’re on the airplane on our long international flight home (whenever that will be).

More Hurdles; Days 62 & 63

Day 62  - Tuesday,  June 12^th-  Since yesterday was a holiday, today is the first day of the workweek. I received the name of a contact at the orphanage that I wanted to call to see if he knew where we are in the process and how much longer he thinks it might take. When I called, I pleaded my case and he gave me the name of another contact there that might be able to help me out. I then spoke with her, pleaded my case to her, and she gave me the same information that I already knew; (Hurdle #1) Unfortunately, we came at a time where there was an investigative show that uncovered some illegal adoptions out of Colombia many years ago. Because of that show, there were many spontaneous investigations at five of the major orphanages in Bogota, and unfortunately, Los Pisingos was one of those under investigation.  So now everything is being looked at with a fine tooth comb. That was the first to slow our process. (Hurdle #2) Our paperwork was in court and there was a certificate from our orphanage that had an expired date on it. The judge wouldn’t sign until the certificate was updated. The certificate was updated and the judge finally signed, but we are still waiting for one more signature from the Defender of Minors that has to review all of the paperwork and make sure everything is complete and legal. (On the upside: That’s a good thing so we don’t run into any problems later on.) The contact at the orphanage was able to get in touch with our lawyer and she said that we will probably get Sentencia this week as it is close to being done (apunto de salir). That’s great news that there is a light at the end of this very rainy, gray & dark weathered tunnel.

So I was hoping for a call today and I got just that. My contact called me later in the morning, but unfortunately it was with not so good news. She told me that there are protests in front of the courthouse today and tomorrow and the courthouse will be closed until Thursday. So (Hurdle #3) the protests have extended “The Process” another couple days. (What’s another couple days in the whole scheme of things??? It just gives me more time to be with my Colombian family.)

Later in the day, my mom’s cousin, Elena, invited many of my aunts and cousins over to her apartment for “onces” (like an afternoon brunch). Sofia was passed from arms to arms and they all enjoyed her presence. She is so good with everyone! She slept while we ate. We had a delicious quiche that tasted like Grandma Pat’s eggbake. We stayed until about 8:00 and got back to Efrain’s at about 8:30pm. When we got there, the door was locked and Efrain wasn’t hearing the doorbell (since he is usually in his room with the TV turned WAY up). We had to have the neighbor and my aunt call to get his attention to come down to open the door for us. Sofia was tired, had her te-te (bottle) and went right to sleep.

Day 63  -  Wednesday,  June 13^th- Today was my day to hang out at home with Sofia and do nothing important. My mom went with her sister to spend the day walking, having lunch and hanging out at the mall. Before she left, she went to open her door to her room and it was locked. We searched all over for the key. I finally found the key but it didn’t open. The portero (neighborhood guard) came over and noticed that the window was open. He asked me if I wanted him to grab a ladder and climb through the window to open the door from the inside. He tried, but the door latch was broken, so he couldn’t open it from the inside either.  Before my mom left, she had called a locksmith to come. The locksmith came over and said the lock was damaged (as if I didn’t know that). What I didn’t know or understand was what he was telling me about the inner-workings of the door knob (in Spanish). I called my mom and had him talk to her on the phone. He was asking for 65,000 pesos ($32) to take off the door knob. I talked him down to 50,000 pesos which I thought was worth his time to come out to the house.  For the rest of the day, we watched TV in Efrain’s room while he was gone, I did laundry, I read, did a little packing (again wishful thinking). When Efrain came home, I told him about the door knob. He was mad that the portero called a locksmith that is more than 10 blocks away when there is a locksmith just around the corner. He was mad that the portero came through the window – from what I understood it was because he could’ve stolen something (there’s no trust with the employees and porteros). Efrain asked how much I paid the guy that came out and he was furious. He said that the man was a crook and that he took advantage of us (as women and gringos). I had the card of the guy that came and gave it to Efrain. When Efrain was looking at the door, he noticed a pair of glasses and asked if they were mine. Nope. They were the locksmith’s glasses. So Efrain took them, went to talk to the portero, went to the locksmith just down the street to ask about replacing the knob, and in the meantime the guy that was here earlier came back to get his glasses.  In front of the portero, Efrain was yelling at the guy saying that he is a crook for taking advantage of the situation, that the job should only cost 20,000 pesos for his time to come over & to take the door knob off (which I could’ve done the same thing), and Efrain said that if he didn’t give back 30,000 pesos, he was going to put his glasses on the ground and step on them. The guy gave Efrain 30,000 pesos and Efrain returned his glasses. When the guy left, the porteros were laughing at how Efrain was able to recoup some of the money and asked him how he could do that. Efrain said that through his 87 years, he has learned not to get taken advantage of by crooks. (And through other stories, never to pay full price for things – there’s always a way to barter a lower price.)

This situation was a good interruption to help pass the day. Hopefully tomorrow will be the big day when Sofia officially becomes part of our family. I’m praying for Sentencia and a quick return home.

Sofia’s new scream/cry/laugh face.

Dedos (fingers) means “I’m getting tired”.

Happy girl doesn’t stop moving J Not even for a picture.

Day 61- Colombian Holiday (but not sure what we're celebrating)

Day  61 – Monday,  June 11^th- Today is another Colombian Holiday where most everything is closed; So there is a zero percent chance I will be getting the call today. My hope is that the Defender of Minors had a nice long weekend and will be able to sign our paperwork first thing on Tuesday so we can finally get our Sentencia.  (wishful thinking)

So I wait. In the meantime, I will enjoy playing with Sofia and sharing “raspberries” (the noise, not the fruit). I will continue to take my super flower remedies for my cough and to relax. I will enjoy a glass of wine during Sofia’s nap every now and then. I will practice improving my Spanish. I will continue to exercise daily – if not out and about, then in home. I will enjoy and cherish all the moments I am here – because my time here in Bogota will come to an end eventually.  And although this process has taken its toll on me, I do love many, many things about Colombia.

Today I was at my Aunt Beatriz’s house and we went for a walk after lunch. As soon as we stepped outside we saw the most beautiful rainbow against the mountainside. It looked like it was so close and each band of color was so thick. That was definitely an AHHH moment! (And of course, my camera was out of batteries. L )

Day 60 - Finca

Day 60 – Sunday, June 10^th – 60 days. 60 days I’ve been in Colombia with no word on when I can bring my little one home. All the other adoptive families that I have met have come and gone already, so I know my time is near. I can feel it!!!

We were invited to go to my aunt’s finca/cabin in the mountains for the day. It is only about an hour away close to a town called Subachoque (that’s my best guess on the spelling). Tia Elvira and Fernando picked us up and off we went. The drive is beautiful.  I came to this area once before on this trip when we celebrated Mother’s Day at Tia Rachel and Peretz’s finca. How nice to have a place to get away from the city that is so close, with such great views. I could actually see the center of Bogota, way in the distance, from Tia Maria Teresa and Oswaldo’s finca. We pulled up and I was amazed at the beautiful view. It is breathtaking!  When we arrived, my cousin Nicolas and his wife Natalia were already there. We sat outside, had some appetizers,  and I even had a couple shots of Aquardiente. (It’s a pretty strong, but smooth drink that I think tastes like black licorice.)  After a while of being outside, it started to rain, so we moved the party inside. Sofia was so playful with everyone – smiling, sticking her tongue out and letting out “raspberries” (the noise you make when you stick out your tongue and blow), and making her new faces – where she puckers her lips to make an “O”, and when she smiles she learned how to wrinkle her nose. SOOOO CUTE!!!!  We had a delicious lunch and hung out while the men were in the other room watching the Colombian Soccer team play poorly. We ended up leaving at ½ time to head back to Bogota. That was a pretty good decision since almost everyone watches the game, there was almost no traffic. (That’s usually unheard of in Bogota – except when there is a Colombia Soccer game on.) It only took us 45 minutes to get back to Efrain’s house. We had a nice time and I am glad we were able to spend another day with our family.

Day 59 - Another Zumba Day

Day 59 – Saturday, June 9^th –

I decided to go to another Zumba class today. I asked my mom to watch Sofia and she mentioned that my aunt Elvira was going to pick her up and they could take Sofia and meet me at the mall (Hacienda Santa Barbara).  I got ready and left at 10:15am to get to the 11:00a class in time. It is only 5 miles away, but the traffic is horrible here – especially on Saturdays.  There are so many cars in Bogota that they have what is called pico y placa. If your license plate ends in a certain number, you can only drive on certain days. On the day that a person can’t drive their car, they have to rely on others, public transportation, or taxis. There is no pico y placa on Saturdays, so ALL cars are allowed on the streets. And that’s exactly what it seems like – like EVERYONE is on the road at once.  So I was finally able to hail a taxi at about 10:30 and was off to Zumba class. Unfortunately, my taxi driver wasn’t familiar with the mall or the area, so when we got there, he took a wrong turn and we ended up going way out of the way. With the wrong turn and terrible traffic, I was afraid I would miss the start of the class. But once I got there, I realized the class had just started, so I jumped in. It was a good class. After class I walked around the mall and eventually met up with my mom, Sofia and my aunt at about 1:00p. We walked around the mall, as well as a very nice neighborhood that is just outside of the mall. We were there until 5:00p. By that time, I was ready for a nap with Sofia. We came home and did just that!

By the way, I started taking the homeopathic remedy for my cough yesterday, and I can already notice a difference. I’ll continue with it and report on it later.

Today I am thinking of Perry and Evan a lot. They are heading up to northern Minnesota for our yearly stay at a cabin on Lake Superior with the in-laws. This was a trip I had been looking forward to for quite some time – especially as it would be Sofia’s first trip Up North where she would have time to bond with our family. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out the way I had hoped and imagined.  At least I know that Perry and Evan are having fun, relaxing, having campfires on the rocks, and eating S’mores.  And we are here in Colombia with my family; healthy and happy.

Re-addicted to Zumba; Day 58

Day 58 – Friday, June 8^th – OK… so I’ve come to terms with the fact that I will be here for quite a while longer. So I woke up today and decided that I was going to make better use of the time I have here in Colombia, rather than just sitting by my phone and waiting for the call to come. I found a Zumba class that was starting at 10:30am today and I decided to go. I asked my mom to watch Sofia and of course she accepted. I put on some workout clothes and hailed a taxi to take me to Hacienda Santa Barbara which is about 5 miles and a $3.00 taxi ride away from Efrain’s house. I wasn’t sure where the studio was, but I found it across from the movie theater (Cine Colombia). I arrived early to fill out the paperwork and pay for the class. It was 12,000 pesos (about $6.00) for the class. They asked me if I want to buy a punch card for 10 classes for 100,000 pesos (about $50/ $5 per class) but I chose not to since I’m not sure how long I will be here. The studio is TINY; An oblong room with a platform in the middle for the instructor to teach. There were about 10 people in the class. I introduced myself to the instructor and was talking to 2 of the students before the class. It was great taking a Latin-style fitness class in Colombia! I thought I would move very “gringo”-like compared to the others in class, but I did very well fitting in and caught on to everything quickly. I also thought that it would be much harder to do the class at this altitude, but I guess all the walking here has paid off. I didn’t have any difficulty keeping up. It was an AWESOME ZUMBA class! I am now re-addicted to Zumba and plan to get recertified to teach it once I get home.

After the class, I took a taxi back home. As usual, my cough was pretty bad after I took the class due to my exercise-induced asthma.  Lately, my inhaler has not been enough to tame my cough here in Colombia, so I decided to look into homeopathy. My mom found a place that is close by that we can drop in at any time.  I decided that today is the day that I am going to take the next step to get rid of my cough, because it’s not only annoying for me, but everyone around me.  At about 1:00pm, I went for a walk down the street with my mom, Sofia and my aunt Maria Teresa. We went to lunch at a pizza place and Sofia was smiling at the waitress every time she was at our table, and when she wasn’t, Sofia was looking around for her. Sofia definitely gets attention wherever we go!  After lunch we stopped at the homeopathy place and I bought a remedy that will supposedly get rid of my cough. I am to take 1 small teaspoon of a liquid that tastes like honey every 3 hours. So far I have taken it 4 times and it seems like it might be working. I will continue with it and hopefully be cough-free by the time I get home.

Things Are Looking Up; Days 55-57

Day 55 – Tuesday, June 5^th – Things are looking up. The sun was out all day today and it has been beautiful here. I’m hoping for more days like today!

Today was one of the best days in Colombia so far. We went to my cousin’s house for lunch, and later, Dayana and I met up with my two other primas/cousins Maria Claudia and Maria Carolina at the Bogota Beer Company in Usaquen. We had Mojitos and some good, but VERY greasy empanadas. We had a blast. I am speaking Spanish almost all of the time and it’s so much fun to be able to understand everything and be able to respond and communicate effectively in a second language. (Although I still need to work on my verbs.) Tonight was the first time I have been out of the house (on purpose) after dark. It was a delight to do something different with my cousins, whom I adore!

Day 56 – Wednesday, June 6^th – Another sunny day. Maria Claudia swung by to pick us up and we headed back to the Plaza de Andres for lunch. We ended up staying until the lunch rush was cleared out. After lunch & coffee we decided to walk around a mall because I have been thinking about buying an inexpensive camera here. My mom has her camera, but the battery doesn’t last long. (We just bought a battery a week and a half ago and it is already gone. Neither one of us has been taking many photos. There’s no way the battery we bought was new. I’m thinking it was used and sold as new. L whaa, whaa, whaaa!) We looked around, but I decided against it. I decided to buy a charger for my Samsung Galaxy Smartphone instead. I didn’t bring the charger to Colombia because I knew that the internet and email would not work here. I didn’t realize that I would need to use the camera on the phone.  (Suggestion for anyone coming to Colombia: Android phones do not work in Colombia, but iPhones and iPads do.) I was thinking about buying an iPad before I left Minnesota and decided against it. Now that I’m here, I am kicking myself for not getting one. And they are way more expensive here, so that’s out of the question!!!

At 8pm, I finally got a call back from my contact. Unfortunately, it wasn’t “THE” call.  She was getting back to me to tell me that the lawyer finally called her back and that our papers have been signed by the judge already, but now we have to wait to get a signature from another Defender of Minors. She said it could take a while, but of course, there is no timeline.  “Be Patient”, she says (every time I talk to her). It could also take a while because the next two Mondays are holidays, so I’m heading into two short weeks. Let’s just hope that they sign soon. I’m more optimistic now that I know that our paperwork has passed the judge, but no one knows how long this segment of “The Process” might take.

I’m still having the same reoccurring dreams that are related to this process. Imagine the judge’s desk with hundreds of papers stacked on top of it. In one dream, my paperwork gets shuffled around and ends up falling underneath the judge’s desk. After months and months of me asking what’s the delay and not getting any response, a cleaner finally finds the paperwork covered with dust and it finally gets signed. In the other dream/nightmare, it’s the same judge’s desk full of papers. The judge works his way down the stack, but ours happens to be at the bottom of the pile. Instead of working through the entire pile, a new pile gets placed on top of our paperwork. And the judge never gets to ours.  Frustrating!  At least I know now that we are passed that point. So we continue to wait with more optimism.

I am so lucky that I have my family here so I can get to know them better while I am here and so they can get to know Sofia. She is loved by ALL! (Even the retro-dude working at the music store in the mall couldn’t stop saying how precious she is. It’s amazing how so many people stop to look and comment on how beautiful miss Sofia is. Next time I go to a mall, I should count how many comments we get.)

Day 57 – Thursday, June 7^th – I am now in my 9^th week in Colombia. Sofia is growing so fast. She is now sitting on her own, reaching for her toys while sitting (without tipping over), she found a pretty horrendous shriek and she laughs after she shrieks (she finds it funny, but mom – not so much!), and she is now eating solids. I tried to hold out on feeding her solids until we returned to the states so she wouldn’t have to get used to yet another change, but there’s no telling how long were going to be here, so I decided to start with cereal. So far, so good! (I forgot how cute it is to watch a baby eat solids for the first time. She had no idea what to do with her super long tongue. It was going wild while she was eating. Super cute and extremely funny!!!)

Today I am wiped out! I went to the store after Sofia’s 6:00am feeding to pick up more water, bread for breakfast, and juice. Later in the morning, my mom stayed with Sofia while I went for a quick walk to run a couple more errands. When I returned, my mom left to play cards and I hung out with Sofia for the rest of the day. She is so much fun. She loves to laugh. What a happy baby!!! Perry, Evan and I are so lucky to have her as part of our family. They are going to be amazed at how much she has changed in the 6+ weeks since we were last together. That’s a long time to be apart, but for Sofia… it’s worth it!!! We will be together soon.

Day 54

Day 54 – Monday, June 4^th –

I talked to my contact today. I told her I was expecting her call and she told me that she didn't forget about me. She said that she called again to find out about our case and no one is returning her call; So no news. I told her that I am frustrated that I have been here 8 weeks and still waiting for Sentencia. She said that there is nothing we can do to speed it up and just to be patient. I asked her when our court date was and she said that's what she was going to ask the lawyer, but they haven't called her back. I told her it's taken MUCH more than 10 working days for the judge to sign, and she said "Well, it's hard to count those 10 working days because of all the holidays and having to send the papers back to the orphanage due to an expired date on their certificate." (Now that made me MAD because she told me earlier that that did not affect our case.) I just have to be as patient as I can be, drink a few glasses of wine, take my magic potion, and WAIT.

So I'll keep hoping that the call comes, but I'm going to just let it go and enjoy the rest of my time here. I write that half-heartedly, because although I love Colombia and being with my family here...I'm more than ready to come home.  

Passing time... days 48-53... EEK!

Day 48 – Tuesday, May 29^th – On Tuesday morning, my mom, Sofia and I woke up early to bring Sofia back to Los Pisingos (the orphanage) to get her vaccinations. It was so nice to go back. The first time we were there to pick up Sofia, I was so emotional and didn’t seem to look around. This time we got to see and talk to the people that work and volunteer there. We met a “substitute mom” who is a volunteer that takes a few of the babies to live at their house between the time that the baby either enters the orphanage or when the referral has been accepted until the time that the adoptive families come to be united with the baby. It is such an important part of the adoption process, but I can imagine how hard it would be for the substitute moms that get attached and then have to see the babies go to their new families. God bless all the substitute moms for their selflessness, kindness, and love they have for these children.  Sofia got her shot and we were off… we caught a taxi and headed back to Efrain’s.

The days are starting to mesh… I don’t remember what we did after Los Pisingos… All I remember is I was waiting for the call and it never came.

Day 49 – Wednesday, May 30^th – Another low key day at Efrain’s. We didn’t have any plans, so my aunts Maria Teresa and Elvira come over after lunch to hang out. We talked all day until it was dark. (Have I mentioned that my Spanish has improved so much? I’m still having issues with the verbs and tenses, but I can get past that.) I love that I am able to get to know my aunts and other family so much better since I have been here so long.  I am anxious to get back home to be a family and get into a routine again, but on the other hand, it is so nice being able to be with my extended family here.

8^th Week-

Day 50 – Thursday, May 31^st – I’m in my eighth week with no call so far. Our fights are scheduled to leave Colombia today, so we had to cancel our flight and we will need to rebook when we know when we can leave. My anxiety has risen a bit since I know that Evan starts vacation on the 6^th and I will not be there by then. My mom went to a homeopath and brought me some “magic drops” (at least that’s what I call them) to help keep me relaxed. The other thing that has helped is after talking to Perry, we have the first 2 weeks of vacation figured out with help from both grandpas. Hopefully we will be back in 3 weeks so we won’t have to worry about who’s going to be with Evan while Per is working. So Hakuna Matada (no worries) if it takes up to 2 more weeks, but after that, I can’t guarantee that I won’t get stressed again.  Fingers crossed that “The Process” will be less than 10 weeks all together in Colombia.

For lunch today we invited Elvira, Maria Teresa, and my cousin Felipe.  Now, I can say I’ve seen almost all of my family here in Colombia. I’m glad Felipe was able to come to meet Sofia. As always, she was her usual smiley, flirty self. She was so cute with Felipe. After lunch, Felipe brought the ladies to go play cards and I stayed home with Sofia.

Day 51 – Friday, June 1^st – Hoping the call would come today, but no-go.

We had lunch at my cousin Maria Claudia’s house, hung out for quite a while, then went to Hacienda Santa Barbara for tinto/coffee. We were there until dark. We walked around with Sofia and spent a good amount of time with Maria Claudia, Beatriz and my mom.  (I saw that they teach Zumba there. I’m going to look into it and I might start going to class. We were saying if I am here too much longer – I might as well start teaching it here. J/K)

Day 52 – Saturday, June 2^nd – Today, Perry is treating us to a stay at the Radisson, to have a change in scenery. He wanted us to stay for 5 days, but 1 night was good enough. Before we left, we invited Efrain to lunch. We went to Toro Burger on 140^th again. It’s the 3^rd time we’ve been there, but the meat is consistently good. After lunch we took a taxi and checked into the hotel at 3:00. The first thing we did is lay down on the beds with the super comfy pillows and turned on the TV. (It’s amazing how much a good pillow will make a difference in your comfort level!)  Ahhh… It felt wonderful!  At 6:00ish, my mom stayed in the room while Sofia was napping and I took advantage of the 2 free drinks in the bar. BLISS! This one-night-get-away was totally worth it! Thanks Per!!!!!

Day 53 – Sunday, June 3^rd – I woke up this morning in heaven. I love the Radisson Bogota! I took a long, steamy hot shower for the first time in 2 months. It was….simply delicious! My mom, Sofia and I went to the hotel restaurant to have breakfast. They had EVERYTHING!!!! Typical Colombian things like empanadas, arepas, tomales, almohavanas, Caldo (a potato & meat soup with cilantro – sounds weird to eat soup for breakfast, but it was awesome!) and a huge variety of typical Colombian fruit. They also had the “regular” breakfast food like bacon, eggs made to order, waffles, all types of bread, etc.  Everything you could imagine for a breakfast buffet. After breakfast we hung out and played with Sofia in our comfy room. Checkout was at 1:00 and just before checkout we went to the lobby and met my second cousin, Alejandra, her son, Santiago, and Efrain. They came to pick us up to have lunch at Alejandra’s place. We had a nice time.

Days 45-47...

Day 45 – Saturday, May 26^th – Today I am thankful for my mom. She has been here with me for the last 6 weeks and I am so thankful for her presence. She has helped me through some tough times of missing Evan & Perry, and is there for me when she knows I need to take a mental break from what I now call “The Process”. Today was no exception.

Just before lunchtime, my mom, Sofia and I hailed a taxi to take us to my aunt Beatriz’s house for another lunch. We were there with my aunt Maria Teresa and my cousin Maria Claudia. After another delicious lunch, my other cousin Dayana came by to pick us up to go out on the town. My mom and her sisters babysat Sofia while the cousins went out. We went to Usaquen to walk around. We were too full after lunch to have anything to eat or drink, so we walked around a mall, went to an art gallery, Maria Claudia and I went into a beautiful church to say a quick prayer, and we finished our “cousin date” at a cool, little theater where they show artsy movies and you can eat or drink while watching the show. We each asked for tea and watched a really good movie – the only thing was that it was a French movie with Spanish subtitles. Although the subtitles flashed faster than I could read most of them, I understood the movie and thought it was great. After the movie, we headed back to pick up my mom and Sofia and head home.

Another great day in Colombia as I wait through the weekend and hope to get the call next week.

Day 46 – Sunday, May 27^th – I’m not expecting a call today since it is Sunday, so I’m just enjoying the day. Today my mom’s cousin, Edgar (Efrain’s son) picked us up to bring us to lunch at a mall that is close to their house. We ate at Crepes & Waffles with Edgar, Patricia and the 3 boys. After lunch, we went to Edgar’s house to relax, converse and catch up. We had a nice day!

Day 47 – Monday, May 28^th – 

Memorial Day – Special thoughts & prayers go out to the men and women that serve and have served our country. God bless the U.S.

I had a hunch that I would get the much awaited call today, but rather than sit around and wait for it, I decided to have a”ME” day (with the help of my mom, of course).  In the morning I went for a long walk and ended up at a huge bookstore called Panamerican.  It was a huge store, but unfortunately only had one small shelf full of books in English. I looked through the options, and unfortunately there were only a few fiction novels that I wasn’t too interested in, and the other options were all “how to succeed in business” books. Those books once inspired me, but not at this point… So I thought about reading a book in Spanish, but was quickly reminded of the past few nights, not being able to sleep because every thought I had, I was subconsciously translating into Spanish.  I’ve been waking up very tired, and reading a Spanish book probably wouldn’t help that cause.  So I left bookless and decided to make my way back home.  When I got home I found Sofia sitting up and smiling at me as I walked through the door.  Today is the first day since we got here that we actually made our lunch and ate it at home. We made spaghetti – to keep it simple J.  After lunch my mom and Sofia and I walked over to a local Peluqueria/hair salon and I decided to get my hair colored, highlights, cut and styled. My mom took Sofia back to the house while I enjoyed my SPA day. The guys that work there are very nice. I ended up being there for over 3 hours, but the conversations, people watching, and TV made the time fly. (I remembered what I have been missing without having a TV for the past month.) It was truly a delight!

...And We Wait...

Day 44 – Friday, May 25^th – There’s nothing I can do to speed up the process of our adoption, and even though I am ready to go home, I have decided that I have to let go and just “desfrutar”/enjoy the rest of my time in Colombia. I have accepted the fact that we will not be able to come home on the 31^st.  Early next week I will contact our travel agent to cancel our tickets for the 31^st, and we can re-book once we know when we can fly home.

Today, Sofia was an angel for most of the day. She has been crying a little more the past few days, but with reason. Not only are her two bottom teeth showing under her gums, but she has 3 points of a tooth that have pierced through her gums on the bottom left side of her mouth. It’s incredible how the back tooth pierced through the gums before the front teeth. Poor baby! Now that’s a reason to cry! Even a baby that doesn’t cry much would cry at that pain.

Other than the occasional cry, Sofia was great today. She was watching a soccer game with her Tio Abuelo Oswaldo after we had lunch. I was thinking that her first word might be “GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL”. But in actuality, she got a little scared when Barcelona got a goal. So that was it for watching “futbol”.

As for the adoption process… I did not get the call. So we wait until next week and hope for the best.

The Only News is "Not Yet"

Day 42 – Wednesday, May 23^rd – Sofia is sitting up on her own and playing with her toys. Everything is going into her mouth. She’s such a happy baby. She hasn’t cried much in the first month (if at all), but now she’s cried 2 days in a row. My guess is that her teeth are bothering her. Her cries are very quiet (at least so far). Usually a quick walk around the house, looking at all the pictures and photos brings her smile back. (Get ready Papi, she’s ready to pace with you.)

Today we went to the local Kodak store to get passport and visa photos of Sofia. (No one told us what we need and it’s not listed in any of my paperwork, but one of the other families mentioned that they needed to get these photos, so I want to have them ready when we need them.) We went to the store and the owner said that we need to change her clothes because the photo has to be against a while background so she can’t be wearing white. So my mom and I went across the street to a little baby clothes store and bought a dark pink long sleeve shirt. We went back to the photo store and was told we also have to take her earrings off. I was scared to take them off and didn’t want to, but it’s a new U.S. rule that you can’t have earrings. (But come’on… for a baby???) But to be safe, we took them out and put them back in right away.  The owner was having a hard time getting a good shot because the picture has to be with her mouth closed and Sofia kept smiling when she took the picture. We finally got one.

7^th Week-

Day 43 – Thursday, May 24^th – Today was a tough day for me.  I’m in my seventh week in Colombia, and almost a month since Sofia and I were with Evan and Perry. We miss them so much!

Our contact is officially on vacation so I called our substitute contact to see if I could get a few answers.

1)     She said there is no news about our case. They are still waiting for 1 signature. Our paperwork stated that the judge has up to 10 working days to sign, but in our case it has been MUCH longer than that.  I asked her about the 10 day period that is mentioned in our paperwork, and she said that everything is done by hand and the judge is the only one to decide when to sign. She said it can take more than 10 days if the judge is busy with many cases. I also mentioned that we were right behind the other Minnesota family and they are leaving tomorrow, and she said that that is normal; that the papers can be on the judge’s desk and be signed at totally different times depending on what cases are in between. She said it should be soon.

2)     I asked about the Embassy being closed on Friday and Monday due to our Memorial Day Holiday and she told me not to worry about that because we won't be at that point at that time. I asked if they are also closed on Wednesdays too (someone told me that the US Embassy does not usually take appointments on Wednesdays) and she said that they usually are open on Wednesdays during holiday weeks. She said we probably won’t be at that point by then either. (ARG!!!!)

3)     There was also mention that our orphanage had an expired date on their adoption certificate. Our contact said that was already fixed and it did not affect our case as our papers are still waiting to be signed.

4)     Our paperwork states that our contact will stay in contact to update or just check in every few days… well, that’s never happened. I asked our substitute contact to keep me updated on the progress... she said she will call the lawyer on Friday afternoon or Monday to see if there is any progress and she'll get back to me.

5)     Well, our tickets are for the 31^st. Our contact thinks I will need to change them for a later date because she doesn't think we'll be done by then. :(

The good news is that the other Minnesota family got everything done from Sentencia to travel in 7 days. They will be travelling home tomorrow.

So I'm not optimistic that I will be home by next week, but my aunts are saying prayers for me and there's still a small chance. Hopefully soon...