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.