A Very Busy Week

Once we got the call from our agency that we would be presented with our baby on Thursday, April 12^th at 10:00am, our life started moving in fast-forward speed! We got our tickets to Colombia and our agency secured our hotel for the time that we will be in Colombia as a family of four.  We had talked to a couple families that went through the experience to get a few last minute tips - which have proven to be very helpful (Thank you Nicole & Julie!)  For the first two weeks, we will be staying in a hostel named Zuetana that specializes in hosting adoptive families.  Perry and Evan will be in Colombia until the 28^th and I will need to stay until the adoption process is complete (which they are still saying will be 6-8 weeks).

This past week has gone by so fast! Exactly one week ago, I was finishing up with work before my temporary leave of absence and Perry had a day trip to and from Chicago for a 30 minute appointment at the Colombian Consulate. This was just one more of the multitude of steps in this process. Perry had to get a Visitor’s Visa from the Colombian Consulate in Chicago, but he could not apply for it until he had proof of his return flight. With the weekend being Easter weekend, we were lucky that he was able to get the appointment after we got the tickets, but before we had to leave. It’s yet another “hurry up and wait” process, but it just happened to work out.

On Tuesday, the 10^th, Evan had his last day of school before his extended vacation. I spent the day trying to fit 2 months full of clothes and baby stuff, as well as Perry & Evan’s stuff, in 3 suitcases that weigh less than 50 pounds each. That proved to be impossible, so we decided to pack a 4^th bag and just pay the extra bag fee. That ended up to be a good idea, because we ended up being very close to the weight limit on all our bags.

Wednesday was our travel day and it was LONG! We got to the Minneapolis airport at 8:30am flew to JFK, had a 2+ hour layover, and then another 5 ½ hour flight to Colombia.  One thing I found comical was how many looks and comments we got walking around the airports with a stroller full of carry-ons and no baby. It may have looked funny, but, boy, was it ever handy to be able to stroll our overweight carry-ons instead of carrying them! J  Evan was such a good traveler – and always has been! Even though the international flight was so long, he was intrigued by the personal screen with the flight map and flight information that gave all the stats. That definitely helped make the time fly. That, and the fact that we were all so excited to be united with Sofia the next day.  Once we arrived in Bogota, we collected our 4 bags, car seat, stroller, and carry-ons and as we exited the airport, we saw a driver holding a sign that said “Familia Swanson”. We were driven to our hotel/hostel and checked in at about midnight. We tried to get to sleep right away, but we were all anxious for the following morning.

Thursday morning came quickly. We got all dressed up and our contact came to pick us up to drive us to the orphanage. We met with the Director of the orphanage to sign some papers, and then met with the Pediatrician.  We were told that Sofia had just recently been in the hospital for 10 days with Bronchitis and needed oxygen, but is doing well now. She is on a few medications, so the Pediatrician explained everything. Once we finished our meeting, they brought us down to a room that was set up like a living room. They said that Sofia was in there, and once we go in, we can spend time together as a family before we take her back to the hotel. Perry, Evan and I walked in and saw a pink bassinet. We walked towards the bassinet and saw the most beautiful, sweet, precious baby girl. We were all filled with emotions as we took turns holding her and giving her kisses. We were all in love. Even Evan kept saying “Oh, cute!” We were so happy to finally be with our baby Sofia!!!

After our official “Presentation”, we went back to the hotel to be a family of four. We enjoyed every minut of it! It’s amazing how natural everything felt, but it helps that she is the most sweet and easy baby. We are truly blessed to have miss Sofia in our lives!

Thursday and Friday were both rainy days, and with Sofia’s Bronchitis, we were hesitant to leave the hotel anyway, so we stayed in. It’s amazing how tired we were, trying to get used to the new routines, in addition to a bit of jetlag and the effects of being in the high altitude. …All well worth it!

So that’s the start of our adoption journey. We have had some connectivity issues, so I am writing this all at once. I will continue to blog through the process and share our story of how Sofia Nicole came into our lives.

Thank you to everyone for your well wishes. Until next time…

We got the call!!!!

Great news... after such a long wait, we finally got the call from our agency stating that we need to be in Colombia on April 12th at 10:00am. WOW! Time to put the pedal to the medal!  In just two days, we were able to secure our flights and get most of our accomodations figured out.  We thought there may be some difficulty with planning our flights right after Easter, but it turns out the only thing that was affected by the Easter Holiday was that the Colombian Consulate in Chicago was closed at the end of this week. Luckily, we were able to get a flight to Colombia on Wednesday so Perry will still have time to fly into Chicago on Monday to secure his Visitor Visa and return home the same day.  Once we have that, we just need to get on the plane on Wednesday morning in anticipation of being united with Sofia soon. We are all so very excited and still have so much to do to prepare for our trip.

Thank you to all of you that have wished us well on our journey. A special thanks goes out to the other adoptive families with whom we've been in contact. Your tips and information have been invaluable.

Y para toda mi familia en Colombia - estoy feliz de poder verte muy pronto. :)