Our days

Our days here are not all that exciting. We sleep in--as much as a 4 year old does--and then go to breakfast.

Meals are all prepared by the hotel and are very much social occasions for the families. We check for updates and news. We all ooh and aah over each others children.

I try to get out in the morning. There are several parks nearby. Someone always needs to go to the ATM or grocery store. Today Jason (Angie's husband) and I put our girls in the hotel's double stroller and went mall walking. Both girls were content to be out. If all else fails, we swing behind the hotel.

Lunch is around 1. Another social event.

After lunch, we head back to the room to rest. Sara sleeps from 3 to 5 everyday but it takes her a while to wind down. It also takes her a while to wake up. She will open her eyes around 5 but doesn't really sit up or speak for a solid hour.

So, by the time she's really awake, it's time for dinner. After dinner, I try to sit and talk with some of the other families. Usually, the older girls will take Sara our back to swing. She thinks she's one if the teens and they are great with her. Other nights we Skype.

I usually try to have her in bed by 8. She falls asleep somewhere between 8:30 and 9.

As you can see, our days aren't very action packed. Sometimes we have appointments thrown in there -- usually during nap time. But, at least it's warm here!

Bonding

This week is known as the bonding period. It is supposed to last 5 to 7 days. Ours is 8. We will have our integration meeting on Tuesday to make sure that all is going well abs everyone thinks we should proceed.

After that our case goes to court. We don't know yet what judge we will get but we are praying that it is a pro-adoption judge who will move quickly. The court process is definitely the longest step and will determine how long we are here. Please pray it goes quickly. I'm already anxious to go home.

After the court process, the rest should go quickly.

Sara continues to adjust well. She's smart and adorable and loving and very spunky. I can't wait to get her home and settled into real life.

Right now we are doing a lot of nothing. We try to kill some time each day. She naps for two hours in the afternoon which is really nice. She sleeps well and loves to eat. I'm convinced she's already starting to understand some English.

It takes her a solid hour to wake up in the morning and after a nap. A solid hour. She has her eyes open but won't sit up or talk. Just stares at you. That's gonna make mornings interesting when school starts.

We've loved skyping with so many of you. She tends to hog the camera. She loves to look at herself. I don't think she realizes she's supposed to be meeting her new friends.

Ready or Not....

The checklist is done.  The house is clean.  There can't possibly be anything else at Target that I need.  I'm all packed.  (46 lb suitcase!)  IEPs have been written.  Report Cards are almost done.  I'm ready to go.

Now, I get to try to enjoy the next few days.  Unlike a woman waiting to give birth, I know exactly when I'm going to leave and how much time I have.  Instead of stretching things out until the very end, I crammed them into the beginning of the week.  Now, I have time for people.  I had dinner with a good friend tonight.  I have small group tomorrow.  Friday night will be spent with friends.  I want to enjoy this time.  I know that the best is yet to come but I don't want to rush past these next few days, either.  While that's easier said than done, I know that there will be pieces of this time that I will miss.  

Tomorrow morning I get to Skype with Sara again.  She will be with the legal representative in Colombia that will be holding my hand and walking me through the in-country phase of this process.  I'm so excited to see Sara again and meet the rep.  I am planning to go to the church offices to Skype with the hopes of getting some recordings of the video.  How fun will that be to have video of my little girl?  (On Monday, I can take all the video I want!)  

In some ways, I feel like this process has taken forever.  In other ways, I feel like the last few months have flown by and I can't believe I leave on Saturday.  I don't think it will really sink in until I get there---maybe not until we walk out of the orphanage.  

I had no idea how much the process itself would change my life.  Looking back on it now, I can't even remember most of the things that had me so stressed out in this process.  None of it matters any more.  In a few short days, all that will matter is my daughter.  

I Don't Hate Skype Anymore

Today, I got to skype with my daughter.  Since I only have a few small pictures of her (that all look different), this was an amazing experience that I've had mixed feelings about for a while.  I've always hating skype.  In some ways, I was really dreading it.  Skype is awkward.   As much as I hate it, I was not going to miss a chance to see my little girl.

When we first connected, she was pretty quiet and reserved.  I felt like I should be chatting with her more but she wasn't really talking.  The psychologist did a great job telling her that this was her mommy.  I'm at my parents' house so they also came in and we introduced her to them and her aunt and some of her uncles.  She warmed up pretty quickly.

She's precious.  She chattered a lot.   She kept asking where the dog was.  (Sorry, hon.  No dog here!)  She also was convinced that my dad was Santa Claus.  Any time he got in the shot, she started talking about Papa Noe.  I didn't understand everything she said but I was encouraged by how much she was talking and how in-tune she was to what was going on.  She clearly wanted to get down and play but she knew every time Santa Claus walked past the computer.

My heart is full tonight.  I'm not sure how I'll wait another 18 days.   Until then, I have a couple of screen shots to look at.

Not really sure about this whole Skype thing.

Blowing kisses to her Mami!

Visa Holder

I am officially the holder of a Colombian Adoption Visa.  I took yesterday off from work (the first day I've taken off since March when I did my adoption training) and spent the day in the city.

I stopped at the Secretary of State's Office to get some things apostilled for travel and for the visa.  They didn't like a couple of the notarizations so I made a quick trip down to the bank to get them fixed.  (Since I had to do this last time I went, I knew it wasn't a big deal and didn't panic this time.)  The woman that looked at the papers at the bank insisted that I had to have a Spanish speaking notary since the documents were in Spanish.  (I still think she was wrong.)  Fortunately, it didn't take them long to find one and I was done with the whole process pretty quickly.

I got to check out the German Christmas Market downtown before heading to the Colombian Consulate to get my visa.  I didn't really know what to expect but it was all a lot less complicated and dramatic than I thought it would be.  The website clearly listed what paperwork they wanted so I was able to hand it all in and answer a few questions.  I waited about 15 minutes and I now have a visa glued into my passport.  (I've always wanted something important looking in my passport.)  

I also have plane tickets purchased for myself, Sara, and my mom.  I had been working with an adoption travel agency but it was taking forever and I was getting impatient.  There were a lot of little details to work out and it was not going well by email.   I need a round trip ticket that can be changed.  Sara needs a one way ticket.  My mom is going from a different city and only staying a week.  None of us wanted to fly over night.  We preferred to layover in Atlanta.  I finally just called Delta myself.  It took several hours over the phone and a trip to Midway but all three of us have tickets and we got a great deal.  There is something about plane tickets that just make things seem final!

I have found a friend that has the ability to record Skype calls.  I'm just waiting to hear when it will be scheduled.  I'm really hoping it happens this week so we can record it.  Warning:  If it is recorded, anyone who comes into personal contact with me in the next month will most likely be forced to watch it.  I have heard that another family has had their call scheduled for the 18th.  I'm hoping and praying that Sara and I can talk that day as well.

I am so excited that it is now under a month until I get to meet my little girl.  I feel like I can finally start counting down the days.  30.....

Article 5

I found out on Friday that my Article 5 had been issued.  (A week to the day after I was told it would be.)  I'm learning, once again, that "tomorrow" means "sometime in the next two weeks"  in some cultures.  

The legal rep in Colombia will now go book the official appointment to meet Sara.  After that, I can finally book my tickets and get my visa.  I'm starting to worry that the visa thing is going to run into my Christmas break.  Ugh!!  I just want it all done already.  But, once again, it's out of my control.  So, I wait.

The good news is that I've been told I can Skype with Sara.  I hate Skype.  I think it's incredibly awkward and I don't enjoy it.  BUT, I will do anything--even Skype--to be able to see my baby.  I'm waiting to hear back about when this will happen.

When I first heard we were going to Skype, the teacher in me kicked in.  I thought:  I will get to see if she follows directions.  I can hear her speech patterns.  I will be able to see how active and/or attentive she is.  I will get lots of good information on her functioning levels.    Then, the mom in me kicked in.  I will get to see her little face.  I will get to hear her voice.  I will get to see her mannerisms.  I will have more than just a couple of pictures to remember/know/love her by.   Then, reality kicked in.  How am I ever going to get through this?  I don't want to scare her to death by bawling as soon as I see her.  I seriously didn't used to cry this much.  Will I even be able to speak?

It's going to be interesting, that's for sure.  I feel so blessed to have this chance and I hope it comes together soon.  I'll let you know how it goes and if I forever scar her with my blubbering.