Together at last

Well, yesterday was the big day!! We were reunited with Yamile and, this time, we got to take her with us!!! She is now, "provisionally", part of our family. It won't be final until our integracion meeting next Monday and until we receive the sentencia a week or two after that.

We took two taxis (there is no way to fit five people, including our translator, into one taxi here in Colombia) to the ICBF (family well-being department) offices and arrived there about 15 minutes early. While we waited in the parking lot for our attorney we saw a vehicle enter and Lenna and Rebecca were quick to note that they saw Yamile inside. We quickly scurried away to another area where we couldn't be seen, but we could watch her enter the building with her defender (basically, her case worker who has handled her case and made sure she has been cared for appropriately). I was so excited just to see her that I got goose bumps.

The ICBF building was an interesting structure, a two-story brick building that has large openings to allow the breeze to pass through. (The receptionist was seated at a desk that was, essentially, out in the open with a roof over her.) We headed upstairs and were brought into a large conference room with our attorney (Olga Elena), our translator (Sorany), an ICBF attorney, and the ICBF psychologist. The ICBF attorney explained the process to us and prepared us for the introduction.

And then ... the moment we were waiting for. Yamile came in wearing a beautiful, new, yellow dress and came over to us and we were able to give her big hugs and tell her how beautiful she was. She was introduced to her new mama and papa and hermanas (sisters) and she sat with us on our side of the table. We brought a cake for a little celebration and we all shared in it together. During the whole time, Yamile was very quiet because she was nervous (and who could blame her? - her whole life was being turned upside down). We were very thankful for the ICBF staff, who had been ensuring her care for the last four years. She and her defender shared a big hug as they said goodbye and her defender held Yamile's face in her hands as she said something to her. We signed some legal documents giving us permission to have custody of Yamile. This way, if anyone questioned us, we were to show these papers. Then we were done.

After a bit of frustration trying to find two taxis in the middle of heavy traffic, we headed back to the hotel. Sorany was still with us and was able to help us with some translation with Yamile. We gave Yamile the suitcase we'd brought for her, which included a wardrobe that we'd picked for her (so far, thankfully, everything is the right size). We went on a quick shopping trip to buy a couple pairs of shoes and some socks for her and headed out to lunch. Through it all, Yamile was still prety quiet and, truth be known, so were we. The uncertainty of it all, along with the language barrier, contributed to the silence.

We then decided it was time for a little "play therapy" and headed to the hotel pool. There, we had a blast. We found out we've adopted a fish, as Yamile immediately took to the water and was all over the place. I was able to talk with her a little bit and she talked with us more. She climbed all over us and laughed and we generally had a ball. So far, our observation is that Yamile has a very quick wit and quite a sense of humor. We love it! And her!