A quick thank you

I wanted to add a quick thank you to those of you who have commented on our blog.  Though they are few and far between, your comments are such a pleasure to get!  Thank you Flisa, Trina, Juliana, Jennifer, and everyone else!!

More pics

We walked to the mall today because we had a little extra time (if I could insert an emoticon here, it would be the laughing guy!!). We also wanted to show Marsha and Camila where it was.  Of course when we got there, we all looked at each other and said, "Sooooooooooo, what do you want to do?"  And we all answered each other and said, "I don't know.  What do YOU want to do?"  So we just wandered around and looked at stuff, and eventually went to a store and picked up a hair dryer for Marsha.(The travel one she brought just died on her.) Naturally, we had to get Italian gelato for everyone since we were right there and it's such a treat! So here are the pictures from our little adventure.

 

Who asked me to take a picture of  Whopper King? Remind me!

Drayven has been dying to go on an escalator.  When Nicole and her kids come to the mall by themselves, they have to take the elevator because of the stroller.  He was overjoyed that Geof took him for a ride on it! I tried to get a picture of his face because he was beaming, but he looked to the side as I took it. Then, of  course, the ride was over so I lost my chance.

Yamile, Me (Lenna), Geof, Marsha, Laura, Camila, and Svea. We are all enjoying our gelado very much.

I think Simon enjoyed his the most, though.  He scraped every last drop out of his little cup. Many of his facial expressions remind me so much of Josiah Rosario! Especially when he's being mischievous! :-)

Nicole, Drayven, Svea, and Simon (and the stroller!)

We have a return date!!

Lenna posting...We will have everything we need to come home by Tuesday, but we couldn't get a flight until Thursday, so that is the day we are set to travel.  We will start out in the wee hours of the morning and arrive in Reno late in the evening.  Excitement is mounting as we get closer to being back home with our friends and family.

It has been pouring rain again today, after a sunny morning.  It's kind of cozy, actually. When we first got to Hotel Paris in Bogota we were here with only one other adoptive family.  Now there are about 5 families here, two of which are single parent families.  A single adoptive mom just arrived yesterday and received her beautiful 13 year old daughter, Camila, today.  All our girls have been getting acquainted with each other.  Camila is from a smaller region, too, so Bogota can seem a little overwhelming.  As is the case at these hotels, one family learns "the ropes", so to speak, and passes on what they've learned to the next family to arrive.  So we have been taking Marsha (the mom) and Camila to different places, helping them find the store, the bank, the mall, and some parks.  We bought a disposable phone for our use while here, and we will pass that on as well when we leave.  We will all hang out and do lots of stuff together while we wait out our different processes, and we will likely have some new lifelong friends! We also have the privilege of answering lots of questions from new adoptive parents. 

So that is the scoop for now.  Can't hardly wait to get home to all of the people we love and miss!

This is where we got the photo taken for Laura's new Colombian ID card. Those are all photos on the walls, and you can see the little paper cutter they use to cut the photos to the right size.

 

This is the civil registry office.

Laura and Daddy, waiting for the ID card.

They attached Laura's photo to her ID card, placed her fingerprint on it, and handed it back to us, telling us to take it outside and get it laminated.  So here is where we had to go to get it laminated. He first had to cut it to the right size with his scissors.

The sign says they laminate documents.  The man standing off to the left in the purple shirt is Maricio, our driver and helper.

Laura watching them place her card in their laminator. It had to go through 4 or 5 times before it was done.

This is the outside of the registry office where we received the ID card. It's a pretty small place.

I know this looks like a walkway, but it is actually the driveway into the parking lot where we parked.

And here is the parking lot.  I am standing at the end of that driveway above.

I shot a couple of pictures from the window of the car heading back to the hotel after applying for Laura's new passport. The mountains in the background are green and very beautiful. Oh, and this is the same day we had the gushing downpour...a few hours after I took this picture of the blue sky.

More beautiful scenery on the drive.

As we waited to make a u-turn, we saw a truck full of what appeared to be men in military uniforms, all standing in the back of the truck.

Dr. Visit and Immunizations

Hi, This is Lenna again.  We headed out to the doctor at 3 today to have Laura's TB test read and to see the embassy doctor.  Good news! Laura has a completely clean bill of health.  Bad news...she needed some shots.  She was very nervous about the shots, so was, in fact, surprised at how she didn't even know they had given her the shots by the time they said "all done."  She was a real trooper.

While we were in the waiting room we met a couple who have 4 adult sons.  They were there adopting a sibling group of three kids--two girls and a boy--who are all under the age of 9.  It was fun to hear their story and to share ours with them.  We exchanged blog addresses so we could follow each others stories. It was such a neat blessing to meet them.

Today, the weather started out sort of hot.  We walked to the big Unicentro mall and wished we hadn't worn warm clothes.  But by the afternoon when we left for the doctor's office, it was pouring rain outside. It's pretty much always cold in the hotel, and Laura is used to very hot weather, so she is freezing. We found some leggings for her that she can wear under her jeans, and that seems to be helping. 

Tomorrow the plan is to get Laura's new ID card and apply for her passport.  We hope to pick up her passport Monday.  Tuesday we should be able to get her exit visa.  If all goes as planned, we hope to be able to head home on Wednesday.  Yay!!!

Yamile and Laura with our contact on the ground, "Tia" Martha.  She is such a huge blessing!

The hotel has plates on their walls from all over the globe.  We brought one from Nevada to add to the collection. It's the larger blue and white one there next to Geof.

Twins?

At Unicentro Mall, sitting in a spot where Mommy and Daddy sat with Yamile almost three years ago.

This is for you, Annalisa and Rebecca...la tienda Carulla.

This is a little hard to see, but as we were walking back to the hotel, we saw two guys walking what looked like 15 to 20 dogs. They were all very well behaved.

 

 

 

Geof at the ATM. This is a place we have to visit every day, as there is a limit to how much we can take out, and we are expected to pay cash for many of the things we have to do...like the doctor visit, hotel costs, and taxis.

Outside Hotel Paris, waiting for them to let us in. Everything is locked up like Fort Knox here.  We have to ring a bell and they let us in.  We also have to be let out when we need to go somewhere.

This is a picture of the construction work being done directly next door to Hotel Paris, which is right in front of the parked car.  The hotel is the only small building left on the street.  Everything else is becoming highrise.

Momma and new son, Nicole and Simon.

Yamile, Drayven, Svea, Simon, and Nicole. Nicole is a single mom of three kids, one of whom is the newly adopted Simon. (What a suprise...Yamile with kids!!!)

Laura and the owner of the hotel, Katya Paris.

Another one of Juanita's famous meals.  This one began with soup, and then tender, boiled potatoes, a carrot/cabbage slaw, and steak. Yes, that is meat on my plate.

Geof and Martha, in the reception room at the medical building where the embassy doctor works.

Nicole decided she wanted to buy cake for everyone's dessert after dinner tonight. This is a Milky Way cake.  It was REALLY yummy! Very chocolatey (sorry, Nisa).

Laura had the silly idea to put frosting on our noses and take pictures.  So we did!

Yummy frosting!! Hard to taste when it's on your nose, though.

Birth Certificates ... and more

(This is Geof writing this time.)  We were able to meet with Martha (our contact person here in Colombia) this evening and received good news.  The Registry system is back online and we should be receiving Laura's new birth certificates (listing us as her parents) tomorrow.  (Thank you to those who prayed on our behalf.  God is sovereign over ALL things and the prayers of the righteous avail much.)  The whirlwind now begins over the next few days.

Tomorrow afternoon we visit the doctor for a physical and to make sure Laura has all the immunizations she needs to come to the United States.  If not, she may be receivng some immunizations tomorrow.  She's not a big fan of shots (who is?), so we're hoping everything is up-to-date and she will be saved the "trauma" tomorrow. 

If I remember correctly, Friday we will be getting a new Colombian ID card and applying for a Colombian passport, both listing Stark as her last name.  With the passport in hand, we head to the U.S. Embassy on Monday (why can't they be open on weekends, anyway?).  We hope to receive her visa that allows her to travel to the United States on that day.  If all proceeds well, we hope to fly home on Tuesday or Wednesday.

We very much covet your prayers.  While praying for the above-noted events and their speed completion, pray for us that we would be satisfied with God's perfect plan and His timing for everything - God's place at God's pace.

Time to post some pictures!

Milk...in a bag.

Hot Chocolate "mix". These are bars of cocoa powder, sugar and vanilla. You add them to hot milk or water and stir (a long time) to dissolve.

Our puzzle.  All done!

 

First morning in Bogota.  Sitting down for breakfast.

This is a fairly common sight on the streets...a horse drawn carriage.

Another amazing tree.

Our bathroom has two sinks.  Yay!

Our roomy bedroom. It has 4 beds.

Geof, keeping track of all of our miscellaneous expenditures.

This is a couch in the front area of our hotel.Yamile is looking at the hotel's photo album, which contains a photo of our family when we came to adopt her.

A delicious playdough meal.

The three fabulous playdough "cooks", Laura, Svea, and Yamile.

Walking through some parks.

Watching a very fun game of soccer with a lunchtime soccer league. These are construction workers on lunchbreak.  They take their soccer very seriously. They even have uniforms and a referee.

Good game!