Family of 5

Since I know you all aren't just interested in pictures of Colombian attractions (despite their beauty), here is the post you have all been waiting for.

The presentation meeting went very well. Short, sweet and early! We got a call at 9:25 AM letting us know the meeting had been moved up half an hour which of course put me (Andrea) into a tailspin since I hadn't even hopped in the shower yet. We met with the psychologist who has been working with the boys and she went over many of the details of their personalities. Then we waited a little while longer, and before we knew it...it was like they just stepped off the pages of photos we have. There they were. These three precious little boys that we have come to adore through pictures and the referral information. I can't put words to it. But sitting here now, as hard and overwhelming as this day has been, it somehow all feels like this is how it should be. Even though we have only known them for a few short hours (and boy what a time that has been), we have no doubt that this is what the Lord had for us all along. So without further ado, I give you pictures from Presentation Day:


This is us in the waiting room at ICBF with our in-country agency rep Nora Velez Velez. She has been the biggest help. I don't know what we would do without her.


The boys arriving at ICBF to come and meet us. The woman on the left is the psychologist and I believe the woman in the middle is their foster mother, but I am not sure. I will have to ask them. Oh and from left to right, Samuel (that is what everyone calls him, his brothers call him "Carlito"), Luis Angel, and Daniel.


They did not cry when they came into the room, but they were cautious. Samuel ran right up to Papa, but the twins dashed to the opposite side where the toys were.



By the grace of God, Mama remembered to pack some Hot Wheels (carro!) which immediately grabbed their attention and endeared us to them. They warmed right up after that.


Back at the hotel (I will post pics of this awesome place soon), Samuel is hamming it up with Papa's glasses. Papa has promised sunglasses for everyone when he goes shopping tomorrow.


Daniel is just too cute with his glasses to correct his lazy eye. They don't seem to bother him at all.


Luis Angel is somewhat camera shy and won't really let me get a good picture of him...yet.


The new favorite thing to do is toss toys off the balcony and into the pool. Papa and Samuel had to fish some of them out this afternoon. We are working on listening and not throwing things. We are also working on not hitting - Daniel gave Luis Angel a bloody lip today! Gotta love boys!


We received a photo album with a ton of pictures and other information on them at this morning's meeting. The boys were telling me about the pictures. It was really sweet and quite chaotic since they all compete for my attention!


And for my sister's benefit, way #322 that children and dogs are similar: when they play hard, they eventually take a nap. This was the only peace and quite that our hotel had from about 12:30 PM until we put them to bed at 8:30 PM.

Today has been crazy, chaotic, really hard at times, but mostly just beautiful and a whole lot of fun. The highlights are that Luis Angel screams (and I mean screams) when you try to give him a bath, the minute we sit down to eat everyone has to "chi chi", they actually want to and ask to brush their teeth, they throw their toys, Daniel is a hitter, Luis Angel is a whiner, Samuel is like a third parent, the twins suck their thumbs when they sleep (and they have blankies to boot!), and they are just 100% boys. I am still not sure I know what to do with boys. Troy and I keep looking at each other like, "what in the world have we gotten ourselves in to?" But I can't wait for all of you to meet them. Hopefully they will be speaking some English by then, or I will at least be able to translate better. Oh that reminds me, the two words of the day "No!" and "Cuidado" (careful).

On that note, good night!