Thursday, July 31, 2008

Hola de Bogotá

We are finally on the last leg of our journey in Colombia! Hooray! We made it to Bogotá around lunchtime. Just before boarding the plane in Pereira, we received an excellent email letting us know that our reservation at Hotel Halifax had been confirmed. The flight went well. The twins cried a little on take-off, turbulence and landing, but overall they were extremely brave and did very well for their first flight. Samuel was so excited and just beaming the whole time. I think the biggest surprise for all of them was that they got "jugo" (juice) just for being on the plane! I didn't get a picture, but I have to say to all those who thought we were nuts for adopting three, it definitely has its benefits - all three boys helped push/pull/carry luggage and most of it is bigger than they are. I will try to remember to take a picture on our way to Charlotte. It is pretty funny!

Hotel Halifax is definitely an answer to prayer, so thank you to all who have been holding vigil for us. Not only is it close to what we need (and now we won't need to pay to go sightseeing everyday), but there are other families here, we are in two rooms (no more closet!), and there is a swingset, toys and DVD player on-site. Oh, and Inés, one of the innkeepers, has even shown Troy a route that he can go running in the mornings! The only drawback is right now (approx. 10:15 PM Colombia time) they are doing some street work and jackhammering - I hope I can sleep through it soon. In fact, it started about 9:00 PM and when I went to check on the boys Daniel said "Mama, un avion, un avion" which is doubly funny because I had just said to Troy I bet Daniel is telling his brother's "A plane, a plane". This isn't quite El Cortijo, but it is a real blessing nonetheless and we are thankful for God's grace and to those who recommended it.

Lastly, before I post pictures, I have to mention our final moments in Pereira. OK, I admit when we were saying our good-byes to our friends at El Cortijo, I really teared up and almost started to bawl. In fact, I was teary eyed the whole way to the airport (and at the airport as we bid José and Mauricio "chua"). As the boys chatted endlessly to José about "un avion rojo" (for some reason it was very important that the plane be red), I just tried to take in the sights one last time. I kept reminding myself we will be back one day (only to visit), after all that is one of the main reasons we chose Colombia.


The boys were super excited at the airport as we waited to board. All of them kept shouting "Oooo, un avion!" And Daniel kept saying "Mama venga!" (Mama come here!), like "Mom why aren't you at the window looking at these awesome planes!" Here they are looking at our plane, and just like José promised, it was red indeed!


All of the boys looking at another much smaller (thank goodness it wasn't ours) plane.


Luis swinging here at Hotel Halifax. He was so very excited to swing, but not too high. And Troy and I learned a new word today - columpiar. We were trying to explain to the boys that at the new hotel there are new rules (namely you can't just run off without asking) when Samuel just burst into tears. It took a while to get him to tell us what was wrong when all of the sudden he says "quiero columpiar" (I want to swing) which sent us scurrying for the Spanish/English Dictionary. That little book is a lifesaver!


Daniel sort of climbing, but not really. If you look closely you can see his other foot is through the ropes and firmly on the ground. He gets an A for effort though!


Papa took Samuel to the store during naptime and he got a new hat from a street vendor! Muy guapo (very handsome!)


We had our appointment with the embassy doctor this evening, and while we were waiting, the boys collected all of the Bibles and were using them as building blocks. We would love to say that they just love The Word, but really they are just creative!

The appointment with the doctor was easy breezy. Aside from a few disciplinary issues (only because they basically put the boys in one room and us in another), the boys did well. The doctor simply had to fill out a form for each of them, and it turns out that he has adopted four-year-old twins of his own and used to work at a hospital in New Orleans. We are up-to-date on all shots, so the next step is to go to the embassy at 7:30 AM on Monday morning. I am not sure how that is going to work, our boys don't get up that early.

To everyone who has followed us this far, please keep checking in and keep posting! We definitely need the love and support more than ever to get us through this next week. It is going to be a long one!

11 comments:

Genece said...

Glad to hear you're all settled into Bogota. Not surprised at the persuasive manipulation on the agency's behalf. We encountered very similar situations and I couldn't be more pleased with my myself remaining firm on where we chose to stay. So often the adoptive parents just go with the flow avoiding any confrontations and end up spending the next week in over-priced accomodations unhappily just to appease their agency rep. I'm so glad you were able to find suitable lodging and that you made is safely to Bogota. Enjoy your weekend rejuvenated enough to get right back in there come Monday morning.

Anonymous said...

I have so enjoyed reading your blog. We are headed for the Halifax in a week or two to get our baby: vinsonbaby.blogspot.com. I doubt we will overlap but we will be thinking of you!

Joanne

Anonymous said...

I am so happy everything seems to be working out well. I hope you were able to get some sleep last night. I loved the outpour of help you received from people in terms of finding a place to stay. How awesome is that. I love reading the stoties about your boys. I so cant wait to meet them.
Love ya
Becca

Beth said...

I'm so happy you are in Bogota and seem to have a smile in your voice. You really are in the home stretch now. It was good to hear you confirmed a different hotel. We stayed at Zuetana for 4 1/2 weeks and we were broke when we left. But we stayed at 109 and had a huge room and a play area outside, not like the Zuetana you were in, but it was a bit pricey. Try to enjoy the weekend, you will be home soon.

Nicole said...

Make sure you leave a note in the book there. You'll see us in it. We stayed outside in the garden area. We never made it to Crepes and Waffles but it's in the park area. You may meet American families at the park. They work at the Embassy and they said it was one of the nicer areas to live in. Have fun!!

Anonymous said...

GLAD TO HERE ALL IS WELL.SOUNDS AS THOUGH A GREAT NOVEL IS TO BE PUBLISHED SHORTLY AFTER THE ARRIVAL TO CHARLOTTE. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND AND LOOKING FORWARD TO MEETING THE NEW ADDITIONS TO THE FAMILY (AFTER YOU GUYS ARE SETTLED IN) IF THAT IS POSSIBLE, HA!HA!. KEEP THE BLOG ACTIVE! THIS IS TERRIFFIC!!!

Anonymous said...

Your mother and I have been lovig this blog since the start. We are very glad that the trip home is rapidly getting close. Both of you no doubt could write a great novel over the passed few weeks of the rollercoaster experiences.Have a great weekend and all will be in our prayers.

Mom and Carter

Unknown said...

Hi Troy. I hope you've been able to keep up with all the baseball moves going on! I hope you're a Manny fan!

Red said...

Whew - and with that you're almost done! I'm so glad the farewells, flight and Drs appt went well and that the hotel worked out too - Praise God! Hopefully with the 2 rooms you'll be able to really enjoy some "couple time" once the kiddos are down -- which I'm sure will help you both through the next week! You're deep in our thoughts and prayers as you wade through these last moments until you're home...how exciting! =0)

Brian and Penny said...

Glad to hear the flight went o.k. You will have to let me know how the flight home goes and give me any words of advice. We have plans for Sunday (someone offered to take us sight seeing) Maybe we could meet for icecream sometime before dinner in the next 3 days. The unicenter also has a bowling alley? Keep us posted on your plans. We are going to the animal park on Saturday.
Talk to you soon,

Penny

Lauren said...

Don't despair. God has great plans for this coming week for you. He will carry you through. I am so excited for you all. You are so close to the end of this chapter.