Difficult day and More Need to Knows

Today has been difficult. I know that it's not the end of the world and people do have to sometimes take a little longer. I guess the reason I was so worried and confused today was that I had my bags packed, money ready, barf bag and clean up towels ready to go. We were waiting for the call this morning at 8:00am to tell us either what time today or worst case Wednesday. At 8:00, I get an email saying that we will know by 11:00. At 11:00, we were told Thursday because the judge was in a criminal case. Around 2:00 we were told probably Friday.

My concern and tears came from not knowing when it would end. I wonder what kind of criminal case this is and how long would it really take? I was thinking how the judge had to have known this before today. Why wait until now to tell us? We have been told that the judge is against this adoption. I don't know if that was our adoption or American adopting Colombians in general.

It is really hard to understand the translations that I get online when it has to do with court. I do like that our Attorney is emailing us updates. We then translate it using a Spanish translator. But, sometimes it is better than trying to coordinate calling your translator and her getting a hold of the attorney. It is hard for Marly to understand all of the legal terms as well. Nichole, Lucia, and Julie have really helped us to understand things. We really appreciate them not getting mad every time we email with questions and freak out. It is sometimes difficult when there are changes and understanding why. I never knew how Type A I was until I came here.

Don't get me wrong, everything is going well other than just the worry of why the changes. We have been told that the judge has until Tuesday to sign the decree. So, there is an end. I thought today, that it was possible to be here until whenever he felt like signing. I just don't want to scare anyone. This is the process.

I just pray that God opens this judges heart. I pray that even before he sees us, that he sees the love we have for one another. I know that our family will be together soon.

Need to Knows:
Well, I have learned a couple more things since being here that might help everyone. I talked earlier about laundry. I don't remember what I said, but SCRATCH IT!
We got our bill for 3 different times doing laundry. We were told it was expensive, but we paid $75 each time. We didn't have anymore than 1 regular laundry bag (mostly baby clothes). CRAZY. For some reason, we thought it was like $15
My recommendation- bring tide (which I did) and wash your own clothes. I have no problem with that. I just have a hard time paying that much money. You also need an iron. The lady at the front desk said there may be something else we can do with laundry. So look into that before your first load. As for me, I'm doing it myself.

Bring your own lumfa's (washcloths). You have to pay for the ones here for $1.50. Then pay to have it washed. It is easier to pack the lumfa's. That is an easy fix.

The pizza place around the corner across from Tropical Pollo. Marly's parents know the owners really well. When you go there, tell them that you are the Americans (they call us Green go's for fun- not sure on the spelling of that). Tell them your room # and what you would like on your pizza. Get there card. Then when you call from the hotel, we just say Hola. Green go's. and they come with pizza just like we love it. This is so funny. Just remember to have the exact change because he will not bring any money with him.

Airline Again= We use AVIANCA. We like this airline because there offices are everywhere and honor waiving the change fee (with a little persistance because everyone doesn't know this who works there). We had to change our tickets today from Bogota to Miami. We needed to back them up. When I originally got the tickets, they assured me that we could change our tickets without being charged a change fee. This is for Adoptions only. At home, I confirmed this 2 different times. Both times they originally told me that there is no such thing. You have to be persistent for them to ask their supervisor. Then you will get the go ahead.

When you are in Cucuta, you have to go to the downtown main office. Here is the address Principal Av. O Avenida O #13-84 phone # is (57) (7) 5 716 151. The hours are Monday-Friday 8:00am -12:00pm then 2:00pm-6:00pm. Sat. 8:00- 12:00 (i think it is 12). Make sure you get there when the doors open. It was so busy. We were first and the room was packed after us.

It took us 1 hour to get the changes. We were told no. They called Bogota and again told no. I said please ask a supervisor. They called Bogota again and said yes. They kept telling me to do it by phone, but I knew that I had to do it in the office. Turns out that was correct. So we did get the change. They assured us that we would be able to change it again in Bogota if we needed. They couldn't give me anyone specific to talk to other than to ask for a supervisor. Make sure you do this 2 days prior to flight.

Well that is all for now. I am sleepy :) Have a good night.

Final Decree Canceled

Our attorney just informed us that we are not going to Pamplona today or tomorrow. The judge is now in a criminal case and can not see us. She said Thursday maybe. She is waiting to hear. I am so upset. They had to have known that there was a criminal case. There has to be some kind of schedule. A criminal case can go on forever. Please pray for us.

Final Decree Tuesday or Wednesday

This is posting on June 29th. I still haven't figured out how to fix things.

Anyways, we were suppose to be meeting the judge for just a meeting on Tuesday or Wednesday. We were concerned as to why and how that would delay us. Nichole help figure out the situation. She contacted Lucia who then contacted our Attorney. We are in fact going for Final Decree. This is huge. We went from being on track for a 4 week stay to possibly a 5- 5 1/2 due to falling on Friday's and Weekends. We are ready. Please pray that the judge likes us and proceeds with the Final Decree. We hope we can go on Tuesday. This would get us in to Bogota to possible get the Doctor appointment on Thur.

What did the judge ask other families during the Final Decree? How long did it take? Was it stressful? I have never been in front of a judge before. I am nervous my husbands not with me. Genece, if you are reading this. I would love to hear from you as well. I am thinking we probably do have the same judge.

Thank you for your prayers.

Having problems with my blog

Im not sure what it is, but I am unable to sign into my blog anymore. Occasionaly I can get on, but I don't see the last 2 updates I have done. I know other people see them because I can read their comments; however, I can't publish them. Has anyone else had this problem. I even have an ERROR message at the top of the new post page saying "your request could not be processed."

Please help; it's driving me nuts. Playing on the computer is what I do when Mya takes naps and at night. I should have brought some good books to read. She sleeps a lot.

Our WIFI is broken at the hotel, and it won't be fixed until Tuesday. I can blog when I go to the lobby if it starts to work for me.

Going to talk to the Judge

We were asked to drive to Pamplona again to see the judge. He wants to talk to me and ask questions. Marly said she has done this before here in Cucuta. She said he tries to see what kind of Mom I am. No pressure! I have never heard anyone talk about this. What questions does he ask? I am nervous. I wonder if our paper has even moved. Two other officials have to sign of after him.

Please pray for us.

More info

I should probably go back through this blog and just make a list of suggestions. It would probably be easier. Until then, take some notes I guess. I wish I did. It's funny, because I remember now Genece telling me that the laundry was expensive, but I couldn't remember how much. When you are getting ready, it is so hard to think of everything. Yes, pack less.

We only brought 1 large bag, 1 carry on luggage, (per person). We also each wore a book bag (which doesn't count as a carry on and a laptop). This was more than enough.

Things I use:
pool float for Mya (it was easy to pack and very necessary)
umbrella stroller (add a little extra pouch on the back- $5 at babies r us, target- very handy)
Tide
detergent soap (you can buy it here if you need- we use it to wash out plastic bowls and spoons we brought for mya. we put leftovers in the bowls- works out great
blow up balls- gave to the orphanage, bubbles
anything deflatable
iron
laundry bag
sponge for dish washing or bottle cleaner
sunscreen
PediPed shoes (these are such a great idea because you don't have to have the exact size. These shoes are sold from 12-18 months. 18-24 months. You have a better chance of them fitting. I would definetly bring something, because she came with tight dress shoes. There are places where you can get shoes, but not this cute:)
blow up bath tub- we bought it here for $30 at the mall ( bring it if you can)
crib sheet

Things I wish I had:
more crossword puzzles for Troy and Diane
DVD player with movies (not sure it would have fit, but would have been nice) Mya sleeps a lot
more jeans- i only brought 1 pair. in cucuta, you mainly see jeans. at the hotel, you see it all right down to a g-string.
sweater for myself and at least 1-2 warmer outfits for Mya for days in Pamplona. It is cold there. Also, when we got off the plane in Bogota, it was breezy. It felt great!
my pillow- I would have done without some clothes to have my pillow right now. the ones here are ok, but i miss that pillow
*pack and play- be sure that you don't put young babies in the packnplay. Mya gets stuck down in the side all the time. I'm always pulling her out. I'm sure they have more than this one, but it is also really slanted. Poor things slides all around. She is safe in it, but a baby younger than her would not be. I know I have mentioned this before.
OH BRING your flash drive when you get your children. ICBF usually has pictures on their computer of the kids that you probably haven't seen. They just saved them on our attorney's flash drive. We were so grateful. What a gift. I am such a picture person. It hurts to miss out on all of those first pictures.

I haven't used yet:
blow dryer- have one here
converter kit for outlets- most outlets are fine here
umbrella- it has rained a few times though- we just haven't been caught yet

Things we do to keep busy:
pool- we were shocked at how cold all of the pools are here (oh, there is a pool in the back of the hotel that is more private)
go to mall
exito
make a shutterfly book about the trip- i love shutterfly
read
eat
play
sleep
computer
work out- there is a really nice gym with awesome spin and aerobic classes. If you can talk hubby into holding down the fort, then your golden.
journal

Someone asked if I was able to get souvenirs. Funny you should ask. Justin would say absolutely. I say, no. There are not a lot of stores that have Colombian souvenirs. There is one in the big mall that has 3 stories. It is on the 3rd story. There is 1-2 downtown, but you won't be able to get a ton of stuff from any of these stores. I am hoping to get more in Bogota. Oh, Pamplona has an awesome store with hammocks, Pancho's for adults and children, and wraps. This was awesome. I definitely wanted a pancho for Mya. I have posted a picture of her in it. I wanted to get 18 presents for her and give her 1 every year. The problem is, I am horrible with surprises and want to give it all to her now. So, that's not going to work out. Plus there is no way I can find 18 gifts unless I do a lot of jewelry.

I think I am going to do the shutterfly book, a few keepsakes, and we will celebrate her Gotcha Day every year. Do other families do more? What presents did you just love?

Some days Cucuta is REALLY HOT, but for the most part you get a great breeze and really nice weather. We love to be outside for the most part.

Well, I need to get to bed. I just wanted to take advantage of the WIFI working in the room and Mya being asleep.

Corrections to Blog- Please Read

There are a few corrections to previous blogs that I need to make. First of all we would like to say that we know a lot of things are in the hands of the courts and plans change. We are okay with this. That is part of life, and we have learned this early on with the adoption. Our purpose of the blog is to inform our family about what we are doing daily and to have something for Mya to cherish when she is older. We also have received numerous emails from families that adopting to provide as much information as possible.
We just want to give information to help other families. This does not mean your trip will be the same as ours.

We are also grateful for our attorney and interpreter. I can’t imagine having a better team. They have been on top of things from day one and go above and beyond. Marly has made our trip. We know that without her, we would be sitting at the hotel everyday. We really enjoy her company and cutting up with her.

The first thing that I would like to clarify is at the beginning of the trip. We were supose fly to Bogota on Saturday and stay in Bogota for one night. Sunday we were to travel to Cucuta and Monday meet Mya. When we arrived in Bogota, Andres was there and very helpful. We realized at that point that we would be flying to Cucuta on the same day. We were glad for this change because we could finish traveling in one day. The tickets for Bogota to Cucuta were $394 per person.

We were greeting by Marly and our Attorney at the Cucuta airport. When we met they told us that we would not meet Mya until Tuesday. Not because of a holiday like I said, but because ICBF needed to reschedule. Nichole did tell me the holidays before we got here. It was every Monday in June but the first one. That was a mistake when I blogged. We were trying to just make the point to try to get the baby soon upon arrival (travel one day, meet your child the next). Some people may need to acclimate for a day or two, so this would not be for you.

Our Attorney also told us the day we got to Cucuta that we would need to travel to Pamplona to get Mya. We certainly would have gone regardless whether we new in advance or not. I was just concerned that things were not going as planned and the area we were traveling. At that point, I wasn’t sure about things. However, everything worked out just fine.

The other thing we discussed was the plane tickets. I wasn’t clear on some #’s and want to clarify so there is no confusion. Justin always knew he was coming home after 2 weeks to go back to work. So, it would have been less expensive to by a round trip to Cucuta. We bought him a round trip to Bogota, but the agency likes to handle the flight from Bogota to Cucuta and back. There was some miscommunication due to a language barrier and Justin’s tickets were not booked. When we realized this all the flights other than an early flight was sold out. That was keeping him in the Bogota airport for 10 hours. We didn’t want him doing that so we purchased him another ticket from Bogota to Miami for $650. It was expensive, but we were uncomfortable with him sitting in an airport for so long. This was our doing as we chose to by a ticket so he didn’t have to wait so long. So his price for plane tickets were $1081 plus $650 (which was our choice).

Power of Attorney: You do need to do the Power of Attorney in the states as well as well as one in Colombia if a parent is leaving. This is not a big deal.

The hotel rooms are great as we have said. We were needing a larger room for when the Grandparents arrived. Julie thinks we had trouble due to a prearranged price for adoptive families. We weren’t aware of that. It did end up working out.
I hope this clarified any mistakes or misunderstanding. Please feel free to ask me any questions.

Tid Bits

We love using Skype. Troy is talking to Phil now. He wears
the headphones so it is a little more private. Although
Troy got so excited, I think everyone in the hotel heard him.
They don't know what he was saying though.

You can use Skype to instant message people, call them on their
phone (anyone). They don't have to download skype, for free,
unless you want to see them on webcam. You can buy the
unlimited calling for $12 a month then cancel when you get
home. No obligations. We are on it often.

We have wireless computer. The hotel gives you a user code.
There is not a plug in area for ethernet. I have never used that, but
we did bring it in case we would need it. Maybe in Bogota.

Sometime the Wifi service isn't so good. You can just go to the lobby to
get better signal. I notice on the weekends that the service is bad. I haven't
really paid attention though. If you need to, there are 2-3 computers
in the lobby that you can use.

TAXI'S:
We rode in our first taxi today. Marly called one from her house and
then picked us up to go to the mall. She then called the taxi service
to pick us up. They gave her the # of the taxi that would pick us
up. This is a good system. Then you know you are getting in a cab
from an agency. Know that the cab ride will only cost 4,000 pesos.
Usually. You ask how much as soon as you get in. Make sure he says
about 4,ooo pesos for a fairly short trip (5 minutes or so). Marly
says that you do not tip. Nichole had mentioned in our briefing
that you could a little if they were helpful or something.

TIPPING:
I told you about the hotel tips are already included, right? At first
we were tipping everyone like we would in the states. Marly told
us not to because it makes us stand out more. You never want to
put a target on yourself. Even when you only tip $2-4, Marly tells
us no. She tells us when it is okay to help people on the streets and
when it is not okay. It is just for safety. You will want to do so much
more. I think that I heard other people say they tip well at the end
of the trip. Good idea.

A day in the Pool

"DON'T TOUCH MY TURTLE'S HEAD!"
This is Mya's first time in the turtle. We tried it before,
but she screamed so loud that we took her right out. I just
left it in the hotel room so she could get use to looking at it.
Diane was holding her in the pool and Mya wanted to do it
all by herself. We got the turtle; she loved it!

She was just cruising around the pool having a blast.

There are very few times where she we let you hold her.
She has to be tired, in a car, or cold and wet. I told Justin
that we are going to have to drive around the house so I can
hold and snuggle her more.

We found these panchos in Pamplona. Mission
complete. I knew I wanted one for her. They
are hard to find and didn't have any other than
this one really. I love it.

UPDATE ON TIME FRAME:

We are now waiting on the final decree. Our
attorney emailed us back with more information.
Nichole and Ashley helped us translate it. Basically
what it said is that we will get the final decree in
about 10 days. We were thinking from the integration
to the final decree would only take 1-2 weeks.
Integration was on the 12th. 2 weeks from there is the
26th, but it is looking more like July 3rd. This is a
Friday. After the decree, we have to stay 2 days here
for her birth certificate and passport. So we will
probably have to stay July 4th weekend here. Then,
Monday and Tuesday to get birth certificate and
passport.

Travel on wednesday the 8th to get back to Bogota.
We need to stay there 3-4 days for her Visa at the
Embassy and Doctor visit. The thing is that the
Embassy is closed on Friday. So, hopefully we
can do that as soon as we get there. We don't
know what order any of that comes in. Do any of you?
Would we be able to go to the Embassy the day
we get there? What takes 3-4 days? Did it take you
that long.

This is looking a little tight. It is looking more like a 5
week trip. We are just going to try and stay busy.

Let me know if you have any more questions about
the area, food, trip in any way. I would love to fill you
in as much as possible. Also, contact me if you want
Marly's information.

Important Bano Information

I decided to take a picture of one of the
bathrooms I used when I was out. It important
to learn the word toilet paper. It took me a little
while to get across that I needed toilet paper.
I usually keep something with me in case of
emergencies. This is the first time they gave me
a whole roll. This one like most is typically clean.
There are no seats. You don't flush the paper here.
At the hotel, it is no problem to flush toliet paper.

Judges Decision

After translating my attorney's email using http://www.spanishdict.com/translation. Write that website down. You will need it, and it is easy to use.

Okay okay, the attorney says that the judge said yes or okay to whatever he was upset about and is moving on. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Great news. We are now waiting for Final Decree. They said 1-2 weeks after integration. That would put 2 weeks on today the 23rd. We asked the attorney how much longer. We will let you know if she has an idea. Hopefully we can get it today:) and not be put a week behind.

KEEP PRAYING! PRAYER IS WORKING!
Thank you.

Keep praying for Troy's arm.

Day 16 continues

Marly's mom knows everyone everywhere. We stopped
at her friends house to visit for a short time and took some
pictures. Here is her friends dad. I am showing you this
picture because it looks like it is out of a book. He fixes
clocks. Check the window out. He is just so cute:)

This is my favorite view of Pamplona. Diane was 3 seconds
from getting run over to get this picture for you. So, I
hope you appreciate it. She risked her life.

Just after we took this picture, we started to walk in the
park. I looked to my left, and I saw Mya's foster family.
Yes, the whole family. AHHH! Everyone was certain that
this would never happen. I was shaking because I didn't
know what to do. I didn't want to upset Mya and have
another drawn out exchange. We walked quickly without
looking and got into the car. The family watched us the whole
way. The children ran after us, but the mom and dad continued
to sit on the bench. I felt terrible. One day, I will explain why
we didn't stop. We have decided that when we are home, that
we will email them pictures. Just not while we are here.

Marly said the last family she worked with foster parents wrote
letters in the paper. They gave them a hard time. I know this
family probably wouldn't do that, but I don't want to take the
chance. I know how much they loved and cared for her. We
are grateful.

Strolling around Pamplona.

Papa gives her Coca Cola and French Fries. He knows how
to win her over. She loves him.

Trip to Hospital

Before the Hospital we took some pictures.


Please pray for Troy's arm. He is in a lot of pain. They
gave him a shot in the buttocks. It seemed to work for an
hour, but that is all.

I hope no one needs an Ambulance in this town. Mya is
showing us that the tires are flat. The Doctor was very
nice. It only cost him $15 to get the shot. We were a little
worried about the low price. Troy said it was "dog pee."

Small town befor Pamplona

I forgot the name of this town. I will tell you later. It was
on our way to Pamplona. We went with Marly and her
mom. It was such a nicer trip than the 1st time. Other
than getting our little girl of course.

The tree behind Diane was the most beautiful tree I have
ever seen.

We went to eat breakfast at this neat restaurant. Marly's
mom knows the owner. We took a tour of the kitchen.
They have the best food here.

At the restaurant, Troy's arm was really hurting him. After
a little bit of "passing of energy and laying of the hands," from
Marly's mom, we decided to see a Doctor. There was one
eating breakfast next to us. See next blog for update.

Thank you God for Red, White, and Blue

Thank you Sloan's for sending Mya this dress.
We needed a little Red, White, and Blue for
Mya. Especially for July 4th coming up. So,
she is posing for you. Thank you friends for
your prayers.




It is so fun to hear from some of you that I
have not talked to in such a long time. I look
forward to every comment and every email.
It is keeping me going. I really appreciate
your thoughts and prayers. Thank you for
making us part of your day.

We are headed to Pamplona tomorrow for a
visit. I wanted to show Troy and Diane how
beautiful it is. We will be going with Marly and
her mom. She is a safe driver. So, please
pray for our trip tomorrow. I won't be able to
contact you mom until I get back:) Love you
guys.

Justin,
I'm going to do a little bit more shoping this time:) OK
Love you

Dinner at the Rancho

We bought tickets to go to any ice skating performance.
Marly was going to pick us and her parents up. Turns out
the tickets are for next Sunday. AWE! We blame it on
Marly:) It's more fun that way. We tease her that she
needs to brush up on her Spanish.

She said "don't worry, you will be here next Sunday." Of
course I was like noooooooo. She said "Oh yea, you won't
leave until next Monday, Tues, or Wed. Justin is finding
this out right along with the rest of you. I have had
such bad signal that we haven't been able to talk. Honey,
No Screaming. I already did.



Get me off of this thing!

Daddy's last night

These two were so cute snuggling in bed. I just love the way
she sucks on her two fingers. He didn't want her to go to
sleep. She stayed up with us last night until 11:00. He
was trying to love her every minute. This morning he
woke her up to say goodbye at like 6:00am. She blew kisses
and waved as he was pulling away. We are going to miss
him so much.

It is so amazing how much he really does that you don't realize.
Just thinking ahead ie. room key, money, hiding stuff, computer,
making a plan, helping with mya ect. It was a little bit of an
adjustment today but no big deal. Mya is so good, it is almost
a cake walk.

We have tried to put her in the stroller before
and she threw a fit. Children here are not use
to any type of restraints ie. car seats, strollers ect.
I wasn't able to carry her through the mall
by myself, so I tried it again. Golden! It
worked out great. I am so glad I have it. You
can't use it downtown and other crowed places
or where you need to cross roads often. It just
isn't safe.


Marly took Troy and Diane to see her house
today. Her dad gave us some Mangos. He
is so fun to be around. Mya just loves him.


Marly's dog, a lab, thinks Mya is a toy. We had
to hold her up high to keep him from tossing
her around:)

Some General Adoption info:
Flight info:
Also, we brought our carry on bags to Cucuta, but when
returning they said that the same bag was too big and did not
allow it. However, they did allow him to check it.

Don't forget to pay taxes at the airport before you board. They
won't let you board, and you don't really realize you need to pay
it. Both in Cucuta and Bogota coming home. We knew about
Bogota, but just forgot.

Skype again has been a lifesaver for communication.

Dinner at Attorneys House

My camera that I brought wouldn't take good
enough pictures for this lighting, so I apologize.
I just wanted to send a few so the blog
wasn't so boring :)




Everyone here knows the Troy loves mangos. He was
happy to see so many mango trees when he got here. At
breakfast this morning he didn't eat anything, but he found
a couple of mangos on the floor that he enjoyed.

Mercedes, our attorney, gave him this mango. Her mother
works with children who have special needs on "The Farm." The
apparently have many mango trees there. There are about
50 children on the Farm. They have been abandoned. These
children are not even up for Adoption. When we told her
many families from our agency have adopted children with
special needs she eagerly wanted to get contact information.

Mercedes mother and I were discussing how awful it is that
it takes so long to process the children through the system
for abandonment. Mya was left by her mother at 1 month
old, and wasn't put up for adoption until 15 months old. It
is just sad. Her mother works at the Farm mostly inspired
due to her daughter having menegitis which left her severly
cognitively impaired. I love how Mercedes family takes such
good care of their family. As well as their community.



I know this picture is bad, but it is Justin's last night here.
He likes this wrap on me. I'm still not sure, but I like to try
different things.

UPDATE WITH THE JUDGE:
Well, we didn't find out anything tonight. The judge started
this on Tuesday and we still don't have an answer. We have
been told that he made a decision today, but he can't tell us
until Tuesday. Monday is another holiday here. Every
Monday in June is a Holiday.

It is really getting hard to hear "we will know tomorrow" over
and over. We don't know at what point is too long. It feels
the same as the referral. Every month we were expecting, as
most of you are, and nope another month, another month.
It gets so frustrating.

Nichole has talked with Julie and Lucia. Everyone is aware of
the situation and has told us not to worry. So, we are going
to go with that. We are just trying to enjoy Mya and Colombia
because this is a once in a lifetime experience. I don't want
to ruin it. However, Justin leaves in the morning. Tears falling:(
You don't realize how much you need and love your spouse until
they can't be with you. I am really missing hime already. This
next stretch is going to be really hard. I am missing my family
and friends so much.

So, please keep emailing and commenting. It gives me something
to look forward to at night when I tend to get sad and lonely.
I typically am staying up until 1:00am everynight playing on the
computer. I never do this at home, but it helps me pass the time.
Especially because I have the best little girl that sleeps until 8:30-
9:00am.

Potty Training: Hey Amber, Mya was completly potty trained when
we got her. Now after 10 days with our precious little girl we have
ruined her. It is so hard when we go out during the day, because
she won't sit on big potties. She screams in terror. So, I think this
has messed her up. When we get home, I need to get a portable
potty. This is no big deal. She is just a baby.

She loves having her Mimi and PaPa here. You would think she has
been with them her whole life. Us too. PaPa takes her around anywhere
we are and says in a monotone soft voice to calm her "this is a table, this
is a light, this is an airplant, this is a couch." It is like a magical touch
that he has with children. They love to listen to him. Marly says "Wait,
I need to get in on this lesson." She is so funny.

By for now. Please pray for us! Pray that Justin has a safe trip home.

Judge Update and Grandparents Arrive

Judge Update

Today we met with our attorney about her
meeting with the judge and what his decision
was. She told us we would hear something
tomorrow for sure.

The judge is wanting paperwork from ICBF
that apparently doesn't exist. We keep asking
what kind of information the judge is asking for.
The only thing she has said is our name and
address. Well of course I'm like lets create
him a form with that information, but that
hasn't worked. There must be something more
to it. It is just getting lost in translation.

Good news will be if tomorrow he decides to
move on without this document, and then
we will be on track to leave here the end of
next week she says.

Bad news is that she says the judge can drag
this out for weeks or months. As you know,
tears were falling. If she hears bad news,
she will go back to Pamplona tomorrow and
talk to a Superior. However, this can backfire.
She also may have the option of changing
courts, but this would add at least a week
to the process. Another option, which I have
never heard anyone do, is bring the baby back
to the US and then come back in 2 months to
make the adoption legal. Has anyone gone through
anything like this?

Our Attorney says this is the first time that this
has happened. My friends and family know along
with fellow blog friends that we have heard that
since the beginning and all the way through
this adoption. Everyone tells us that nothing
else matters other than our little girl. While this
is true, it is hard to continue to hear that.

What we need is your prayers. Please pray for this
judge. Pray that he sees us more than paperwork.
Pray that he moves us along quickly. We really
just want this to be an overall good ending to a
"Long Road Home."

Thank you

On a Happier Note...

Mya met her MiMi and PaPa today. We are going to
call him Grandpa for now to not confuse her. She went
right to them and immediately gave un besos and started
playing with them.


We took them to Pollo Tropical for dinner.
Everything was good, but I'm pretty sure I
ate hog guts. I couldn't put enough hot sauce
in my mouth to get rid of the taste. It is so
hard to order food here. You never know
what your going to get.

It was so hard to get a clear picture of them.
They both were dancing around and enjoying
there first meeting.

Last night we just went to the mall and bought
some more souviners. Today is 13 days down.

First Republic of Colombia

Tonight we went to the First Republic of
Colombia. This is where the Declaration of
Independence was written. An earthquake
destroyed most of the structure here.

Mya has had a great day. She is now signing and saying
"more" independently. She is also signing "eat." We are
working on some others like swing, slide, water, and all done.
She loves seeing the connection between doing a sign and
then getting what she actually wants. She just laughs and
smiles when she does it. When she can't tell us what she
wants she points and cries or screams. This hardly happens
anymore, so we feel like communication is going well.


All of the pavers and stone is where this house use to be
prior to the earthquake.

Update on Adoption:
Our attorney met with us this evening. She had the paper
work sent to Pamplona today. The judge is asking for
additional information that is not required. We are still
not sure what he is asking for. She said it was a document
that doesn't exsist.

So, our attorney is going tomorrow morning to Pamplona to
speak with the judge. She said if she is not able to resolve it
tomorrow, then she will request another judge. Apparently,
he is being very particular. So, please pray for a good meeting
with him tomorrow.

We may still need to go to Pamplona for the Final Decree. We
are okay with this because we will have a slower driver. We love
our attorney's confidence and determination, but her driving....well
lets just say you will need motion sickness meds:) We don't want to
argue with the judge at all. So we are just going with the flow.

There is another family here adopting siblings. They are from
Germany. Today is there 12th day and they are there way
to Bogota to finish up the adoption. So, this is great news for
families adopting from Cucuta. Remember, we are adopting
from Pamplona and going through there courts. This apparently
is a big difference.


The attorney says her foster parents would like to contact us by
email to send pictures and videos of Mya. I think I am going to
set up a different email account. That is what our Attorney
recommended. Does anyone else have communication with
the foster families?