SUPER Sunday in Medellín

While everyone at home was immersed in Super Bowl Sunday, we had a SUPER Sunday here in Medellín!  We had a yummy breakfast buffet downstairs and then headed to Tesoro Mall.  Tesoro is the mall with the outdoor amusement park called "Happy City!"  We have already been once before but I promised Tori we could go back and ride a few more things.  Since this morning was sunny and beautiful, we headed out.  We had a great time at the park, but God had a couple of surprises in store for us today!

Not long after arriving, Evie, Juliana and I sat waiting for Tori to play on a slide/climbing area.  While we sat in the warm sunshine, up walked a family with a tiny little one who has Down syndrome.  They immediately saw Juliana and approached us.  Their daughter, Sofia, is two years old and nearly as big as Juliana.  The two girls were SO adorable together!!!  I had so much fun talking with her parents.  Sofia's mom and I are already "friends" on FB.  It was a precious time and most definitely God ordained! Just look at the cuteness!

Best Big Sister EVER!!!

Tori tried several new things today.  She gave the rock climbing wall a go and rode the electric bull.  We thought the bull riding was appropriate since this month is known for Bull Fighting here in Medellín.  In fact, many of the bull fighters are staying here at the hotel and we have seen them practicing in a small ring on the grounds.  Quite a sight!  I tried to get Evie on the bull but she refused - NO FUN!!!  She did ride a few things with Tori.  It's hard to get a pic of her since she's usually the one taking them. 

You'll notice that most of the pics of our sweet little one are blurry.  The reason?!?  She's constantly moving!!!  Such a fun and happy treasure!


Tori looks a little dizzy after Evie spun the Hot Air Balloon SO fast!

We ended our time out with a drink to cool off.  As we were seated, the family next to us got up to leave.  They immediately saw Juliana and came over to our table.  Their fifteen year old daughter has Ds and they were so intrigued that we are adopting Juliana.  They were very sweet and encouraging!!! Their daughter loved Evie and gave her a big hug as they left.  What a blessing and treat!

Truly a SUPER SUNDAY!!!!!!!!!

Filling Our Days While We Wait

It's hard to believe that we have already been here in Medellín three weeks.  We were initially told to expect to be in Colombia four to six weeks to complete Juliana Grace's adoption.  However, after the judicial strike last fall and other changes in the adoption process, our agency told us it could take up to eight weeks.  We are certainly hoping for the four to six range! 

Although the seemingly endless waiting and unknowns are at times frustrating, we are certainly enjoying our time here in this beautiful city! 

Here is a run down and a few pics from our first week without Victor.  Our wonderful guide, Vicky, is taking very good care of us and making sure we stay busy!

Tuesday, January 29th - Souvenir Shopping at Pueblito Paisa

The girls bought a few "recuerdos" for themselves, Cami and Leo and their friends. We didn't end up with any pics because this replica of a Colombian village is under repair and had lots of construction going on. However, here is one picture Evie took of Medellín from the village.




Wednesday, January 30th - Visit to Casa de María

We were so excited to visit the orphanage where Cami and Leo had lived.  Our dear friend Alba was thrilled to see new pictures of them.  She could not get over how much Cami and Leo have grown up.   I had so much fun telling her how well they are doing and how very loved and treasured they are!  She was literally moved to tears!!!

Thursday, January 31st - "Parque Explora" Science Museum

We had a great day visiting Parque Explora.  There was SO much to do!  We started at an outside area with lots of fun physics activities and dinosaur replicas.  We then made our way to the Aquarium.  It was very cool and had tons of fish found in Colombia.  Next, we made our way to the Reptile area and then the Science and Technology areas.  The girls had a wonderful day and could have stayed till closing time.  Sweet Gracey did so well hanging out in the stroller.  She loved looking at all of the fish!

Sweet Sisters sharing a frosty drink on a warm afternoon!

Friday, February 1st - A Day of Nothing Much!

After several busy days, we took a day off.  We hung around the hotel - walking on the paths, playing on the playground and just resting.  Evie tried to get a bit of schoolwork done too!  It is great to be able to get outside and not have to go anywhere.  The afternoon was rainy and cool so we didn't get to swim.

We had hoped to get news about our case today but didn't hear anything.  We continue to pray for God's perfect timing!

Saturday, February 2nd - Parque de las Esculturas and Botero Plaza
                                         Parque de Bolívar Mercado

On Saturday we headed out on an adventure on our own.  We had heard about a monthly crafts market in the center of Medellín.  We took a taxi from the hotel.  Our taxi driver offered to accompany us and ended up taking us on a great tour of dowtown.  We started out at Botero Plaza and then walked several blocks to the open air craft market.  We picked up a few souvenirs and had a great time looking at all the treasures.  We actually only got through about half of the market!  Even though it was a rainy afternoon, I loved that the girls got to walk around in Medellín and experience more of the city.  Evie got some fun pics.  Enjoy!



Evie says we were "Photo Bombed!"  Hilarious that the dude who got in our pic looks clearer than we do!!!



 

Taxis, Metro Trains, Cable Cars and Buses!

Thursday, January 24th

When we were here in Medellín in 2009, we took a wonderful paseo on the metro and cable cars way up the mountainside.  We all had great memories of the trip and Victor really wanted to ride again before he had to leave.  Vicky told us that since we were here, a second section of the cable cars had been added and it ended at a fabulous ecological park called Piedras Blancas or White Rocks.  We headed out for the day last Thursday.

We had an amazing time again!  Vicky was right - it is even better than before.  We left the hotel in a taxi, rode the metro train to the edge of town and then got on a cable car to ride up the mountain.  At the point our ride had stopped before, we boarded another cable car and continued to ride up the mountain.  The view was spectacular - such a mix of beauty and poverty.  Every way you look, there are thousands upon thousands of homes all the way up the mountainsides.  Truly overwhelming - so many people living in such humble and desperate conditions.

The two beautiful Victorias!  They are quite a duo!!!

 

Getting out of the cable car, we entered the beautiful ecological park called Piedras Blancas.  We then rode a bus up to the top of the park where there is a lovely hotel and restaurant.  From there we went on a hike through the woods.  We saw a few beautiful birds and gorgeous trees and plants.  We hiked around the lake, went to the butterfly house, played at the park and had lunch at a cafeteria down by the lake.  We then hiked back up to the hotel where Vicky had waited for us.  The ride back down the mountain was just as impressive!  Medellín is a beautiful city filled with beautiful people!

This is a traditional bus for this area called a "Chiva." 
They are now mainly used for tourism.  Tori loved the bright colors.

 



Evie had a wonderful time taking pitures in the butterfly house.

This beautiful bird is called a Barranquillo.

Little Bit took a great nap on our hike! 

This is a library donated by princes from Spain.  It is situated right in the middle of the poorest part of Medellín.



Gracey enjoyed the day riding with her Daddy!

Catching Up Via Facebook Posts

The cutest packing helper EVER!!!

As long as she's got her stacking cups, she's happy!

This last week has been a blur of packing, unpacking, repacking, unpacking and repacking again!  I haven't brought myself to unpack again from our latest move.  We may just live out of suitcases for a few days.

Since I'm so behind in posting, I've decided to copy my updates from Facebook and paste them here.  I am using the blog to keep up with family and friends who aren't on FB and also as a diary for our family.  So, all you FB friends can just skip this post - there's nothing new!  I surely hope I can get back to blogging and adding pics more frequently now.  However, please know we truly appreciate your prayers and support. 

Thursday, January 26th - Paseo on Metro Cable To "Ecológico Parque Piedras Blancas"
 I will do a separate post about our  outing with pics!

Friday, January 25th - Move from Hotel to  an Apartment
The move was a success! Wouldn't you know our little princess handled the move better than anyone?!? She's a real trooper. Will update the blog tomorrow with pics of our amazing outing yesterday. Thanks for your prayers

Saturday, January 26th - Preparing to Send Victor Home :(
Packing and re-packing! NO fun!!! Trying to send a bunch of stuff back with Vic to lighten our load for the next two legs of this journey. Please pray for our T-Girl today. She is having a tough time adjusting to all the changes over the last few days and anticipating Daddy's departure. Also, "Little Bit" did not sleep well last night so we are extra tired and stressed. Prayers needed and appreciated!

Sunday, January 27th - Victor Flies Home
Please continue to pray for us. It's been a rough few days - little to no sleep for several nights, Vic leaving, T-girl very anxious and tonight my right hand gal, Evie, has gotten really sick. Almost seems like a stomach flu or something. She feels just awful. Please pray the worst is over ad that no one else gets this. I promise a cheerier update and pics soon - PROMISE! Our little one is an absolute doll and so easy going - what a blessing!!!

Monday, January 28th - Move Back to Hotel

Thanks for the many prayers and comments over the last days. Evie is better today - weak and worn out but was able to eat a little broth tonight and keep it down. Please pray that no one else gets the bug. Can't even imagine my littlest angel that sick. :(

Would you believe me if I told you that we moved AGAIN today?!? Well, we did! We are back at the hotel for a while. The apartment just wasn't working out. It has certainly been an eventful few days.

Biggest challenge at the moment is enduring pitiful pleas from Gracey. She is NOT liking her crib. Until tonight, she has slept with us. However, she becomes a Ninja after about 10pm and can deliver some serious kicks and punches - ALL NIGHT LONG! She fell off the bed last night. I haven't slept well in days. Not sure I can withstand the sadness. Even her pitiful face is adorable!

 

Tuesday, January 29th - Catching Up and a Bit of Souvenir Shopping

That brings me to today!  Yay!  Naptime is over so my time is up.  I hope to add pics from our paseo later this evening.

Our Case has Officially Begun!

We've had a busy couple of days; but, sadly, I don't have many pictures to share.  The little girls have been dressed so adorably the last two days for our meetings but we didn't take pictures.  MUST DO BETTER!!!

It's amazing how the days are beginning to run together.  I had planned to blog each day so I would have a record of our days and be able to remember details for a photo book.  How have four days passed and I have no idea what we did Sunday or Monday?  Oh well! 

The biggest news is that we had our "Integration Interview" at ICBF on Tuesday.  We met with the psychologist, our lawyer,  the Defender of Minors and our rep.  The psychologist asked us many detailed questions about how Gracey is doing and how we feel she is adjusting to our family.  She slept through half of the meeting and then woke up happily and proceeded to show off her new skirt and shoes!  The whole office is delighted that she is doing so well!  Based on ICBF's observations and our testimony, the psychologist determined that we are a good match for Gracey and we were granted permission to submit our case into the court system.  Yay! 

After our interview we continued meeting with the same team to discuss submitting our adoption case.  This past year has been one of many difficulties and changes in the adoption process here in Colombia.  The year also ended with a long judicial strike.  Because of all the unrest and because we are the first family to enter an adoption case this year, the decision as to where we would present our case was very serious.  After much discussion and deliberations we decided to present our case in a suburb of Medellín.  I won't go in to all of the details here but please pray that we made the correct decision.

Today we traveled to the court outside of Medellín and our lawyer entered our case.  We feel very blessed to be in the care of our lawyer.  She is extremely detailed and seems to work hard to follow the law exactly so we will hopefully not encounter any problems with the process.  We were assigned a favorable judge and everyone seems to think that things should go smoothly.  This part of the process typically takes about three weeks.  Please join us in praying that we will find favor with the judge and that he will not encounter any problems in our paperwork.

The only other bit of news is that because we have entered a court outside of Medellín, we will have to move to that region.  We hate the thought of packing up all of this stuff but we understand the law and we will be able to stay in an apartment that is much more reasonably priced than the hotel.  An apartment is not available until Friday so we will move then.  Please pray that Gracey will adjust well to the move and not be scared of new surroundings. 

Victor does not return home until Sunday so it will be nice to have his help moving.  I anticipate that it will take a few days to get settled into a new routine without the girls' beloved Papi!  Please pray for them and for me!  These girls are most definitely "Daddy's girls." We will all miss him terribly.  Who is going to carry the incredibly heavy diaper bag?!?

I'll close with a couple of pics Evie has from the last few days. We are going on another paseo tomorrow so we should have better pics soon! Thanks for following our journey and for praying for us!!!

Gracey LOVES looking at the board book we sent to her of our family!
She is SO smart!  She can find people we ask about and is trying to say some names.
Papi is her favorite, OF COURSE!
Never mind that the book is upside down!!!



We celebrated our great interview with ice cream at Crepes & Waffles!  SO SWEET!!!

Un Paseo



 

 

 Saturday was a beautiful day here in Medellín! Our guide, Vicky, took us on a wonderful "paseo" to see the countryside surrounding the city. We stopped at an overlook with a great view of the city, had refreshments at a quaint market area, drove through a pueblo then stopped for lunch at a delicious typical restaurant. It was a marvelous day and such a privilege to see more of our children's country. Colombia is BEAUTIFUL!!! Enjoy these few pics of Medellín - "The City of Eternal Spring!"

 Our little Colombian princess is quite the traveler!  She never complained about a wet diaper, missing her snack time or a long, windy car ride.  She has the sweetest disposition!  Here she is napping after a long outing.  SO PRECIOUS!