One Week Home

We had a great trip home. All of the flights were on time and I have a new love for the Houston airport. It went very fast and we made our connections that we needed to make. The only sad part was that I left my camera on the plane from Bogota to Houston and of course all of my pictures from the whole month were on there.
We have been adjusting to life in the US. The girls started school this week and their first two days were great! They are loving school so far- understanding a little more everyday, but we are going to try to find a translator for a couple of hours a week at least to help out.
I will try to update once a week of so, time has just gotten away from me for some reason!

Coming Home!

I have the girls visas and we are planning to leave the Refugio at 5thirty tomorrow morning and catch the flight at eight oclock. It has been wonderful having Jan here. She has played games with the girls and assisted with pushing on the swings in the park.
We are scheduled to arrive in the Grand Rapids airport at 8thirty, but if anyone is thinking about coming to the airport, it would be good to check with my mom or sister to see if we made our connection in Houston. My mom´s number is 616 245 6686 and Joy´s is 616 540 0642.
Once again, thank you so much for your prayers and postings. It has been such an encouragement and a blessing to know that so many people were praying and thinking of us here in Colombia.
May God´s blessings return to each one of you!
love to all,
Jeralyn, Angie, and Judy

Final weekend in Bogota

In a way, it is hard to believe that a month has gone by and yet it seems like forever since I have been in my house. There are many things I miss about being at home of course, but I was thinking there will be things I miss about Bogota as well. I can buy a great cup of coffee and a donut for about 75 cents, the weather is predictable and has been beautiful and sunny, the parks are well maintained here and beautiful. We love walking through them to go to the store and then stopping on the way back for the girls to play and me to sit under my favorite tree.

But we are all so excited to be going to estados unidos! The girls are deciding what clothes to wear on the plane and are imagining a great food selection for which they will be very disappointed.

The embassy went well yesterday after a bit of a scare. We were playing, who has the birth certificates, for a litttle while. That is not a fun game. We were all very stressed because the embassy appointment was at 8oclock and I thought the agency had them and they thought I had them. Anyway, they went into problem solving mode like they do so well and we picked up the lawyer, went to his office, got the originals, and were only 30 minutes late at the embassy. We had to wait about 2 hours for approval, but they said all the paperwork looked good and I could pick up the visas on Monday at 3thirty. Then we are off on Tuesday morning! Another great answer to pray comes by way of Jan Ellens. I use to teach with Jan, now she is retired, but she is coming down today to fly back with us on Tuesday. That will be a great help! Both girls like to hold a hand in large areas and two girls and two suitcases and customs and immigration would be a bit to manage alone. She is an incredible blessing! I know some of you were praying a specific prayer for a travel companion on the way home, so thank you!

The pictures posted today are of the girls in quiet mode and in dance mode. Their companion is Alexandra who I wrote about earlier, but didn´t get her picture posted at that time.

Hope this finds all of you well. Have a great weekend!!

The Paper Flurry

I feel like I have been through a tornado of paperwork in the last 24 hours. So many answers to prayers! First of all, we got the judgment. They even kept the court open an extra 30 minutes to finish the paperwork. I do not know what Oscar my lawyer says to people, but he has a way and when he finishes talking to the person in charge, he turns to me, winks, and gives the thumbs up. His charms worked in the passport office, and at the Soacha office where we had to get name changes. He would see a line, say wait here, talk, come back, say follow me, and we´d suddenly be where we needed to be. It all went as well as it possibly could have. We also had the required doctor appointment this afternoon, so it was a very full day!
All I need to go home now are the visas for the girls. They normally do not do adoption visas at the embassy on Friday, but Lucia said to call and try, so I did. The lady in charge said, no problem come in at eight oclock. Therefore, if all the paperwork for the visa is accurate it is possible that I will be done by tomorrow at this time!
I think it was a very emotional day for the girls today, it all seemed a bit overwhelming I think and they both complained of headaches and were a little cranky. Hopefully tomorrow we can celebrate completion and I will not have to say possibly anymore when they ask if we are leaving on Tuesday.

Back to Ubate

It is one oclock Bogota time and 2 oclock in Michigan time and I will be going to Ubate now, but my papers are not signed. Everyone else´s are signed and ready except mine. Lucia still wants me to go and we are going to see what can be done, so please pray that the judge will hear and understand and sign the papers. I don´t understand and she doesn´t understand except that they all have the same lawyer and that may have played a part. The people from Belgium also cried in front of the judge, so I may give that a try as well. Send up those prayers!! Thanks on behalf of Jeralyn, Angie, and Judy.
The girls goal is to get to the U.S. by Halloween, yes, it is surprisingly big here. Mine is by Tuesday.

Paperwork Update

The update is basically there is no update. There are four families, me being one, that have paperwork in Ubate. They are waiting for all four to finish before we go back to Ubate to sign the final papers. At first we were going to find out at ten oclock, then at noon, now it will be two oclock. The papers are on the judge´s desk, and they just need is approval. Therefore, keep praying for paperwork. God is so good and all I have to do is look back over the last eighteen months of answered prayers to know that this too will turn out for the best. Lunch is being served, so I had better go.

Weekend Highs and Lows

We have had a good weekend here in Bogota. Saturday we had a literal high when we went up Monseratte, a mountain that overlooks Bogota. We went up in a cable car and had an amazing view of the city. Tati and Kevin took the girls and I up there and then afterwards took us through downtown Bogota. We stopped at an overlook area where people gather to eat, drink, and socialize. We enjoyed some corn and a sweet sugary drink there.

I would say our low point, and actually the first time I saw tears, was when we lost our pet bird. Yes, they are girls after my animal-lovin´ heart. Friday morning when we were in the park, they found a baby bird that had fallen out of a tree. I knew it wouldn´t make it very much longer, but I couldn´t convince them of that, so we ended up taking it home and making a nice little nest for it. The Senoras here at Refugio were supportive of the rescue effort and did what they could to accomodate their new guest. I was suprised when it made it through the night and was still with us on Saturday morning. When we went on our outing on Saturday, Judy at first wanted to stay home with the bird, who now had the name Lily. I knew it wouldn´t end well once the baby bird had a name. One of the senora´s, Rosita took charge and assured Judy she would care for Lily while she was gone. Well, Lily made it until Sunday morning. That was when I heard the crying and knew. There were tears all around. By the afternoon they were doing better, but it was a quiet morning.

Today we should hear whether the final judgment will come tomorrow. Please pray that it will. If it does, that means I should be able to make my original return date which would be another huge answer to all of our prayers. Love to all from Colombia!

Ubate Experience

Lilian the owner of the hotel was our angel. Most everyday she took us on a paseo, a little trip somewhere. She seemed to be quite the woman of Ubate. She took us to her dairy farm one day where the picture of the three of us was taken. We saw a baby calf that was born just one hour before, so that was special! Two men were milking the cows by hand and Lilian went over and took milk right from the cows for us to drink. I took it happily, but I just couldn´t do it.

She also took us to her house which is where the picture of the fountain is taken. She lives in a beautiful two hundred year old house. It has the courtyard with many rooms off of the courtyard filled with beautiful antiques. It was amazing. And then her gardens were filled with incredible flowers and fruit trees. She made us a delicious drink from one of the fruits in her backyard.

We also went to a few towns around Ubate. She took us to an old Catholic church and in that area, there were battles between the Spanish and the Indians because the Spanish wanted to convert the Indians to Catholisism. There was a room there that a man unlocked for us, with the help of a little dinero from Lilian, and it was filled with 18th century paintings of the disciples. They were just all hanging in this room. I just had to touch a painting from the 1700´s! We also went to her daughter and son in law´s finca. It was like a cottage or cabin in the hills of Ubate. It was beautiful. They made a fire and the girls ran around outside and we had a glass of wine and ate cheese and bread by the fire. It was one of those, am I really here moments. So as you can see, it turned out to be a once in a lifetime experience. We really got a better understanding of life in Ubate and Colombia.

The girls are completely themselves now. The honeymoon is over. They are typical girls who squabble with eachother, but also love eachother a whole lot. They need to be told to do something more than once now and have had to had the DVD player taken away for a day, but it feels more real now. We love eachother and they are very expressive with their affections. They keep coming and asking me to push them on the swings and I keep saying five more minutes, so I had better go. Thanks for the continued faithfulness in your prayers. I can´t even tell you what it meands to me.

Back to Bogota

We arrived back to Bogota today at about 2 oclock. It is good to be back. The girls played outside almost all afternoon here. We were in Ubate which is about 2 hours north of here. It is considered the land of cows and cheese. Our hotel owner was wonderful and she took us on an outing almost everyday, so we did get a very good feel for life in Ubate and the surrounding areas. We will be eating dinner soon, so I will write more tomorrow and post some pictures.
The final adoption judgment should take place next week. At first they said Monday, but then Oscar said it would probably be later in the week . It takes a few days after the final judgment to get passports and visas, so it will be cutting it very close to my planned return date of the 28th. Pray the judgment comes early in the week so we can return on the 28th. Thanks!

New Routines?

It is ironic that the last post was about routines, because they are all changing. I went to Soacha this morning to complete the final adoption. Yeah!! And now the papers are ready for the court. The only problem is the court isn´t ready for me. They are still striking. The plan is that the girls and I will be going to another hotel about one and a half hours away. We need to establish an address in another area so that a different court will take the paperwork. Oscar the lawyer seems to think this will move things along very quickly. Pray that is true. In just a week this has started to feel like home. I like the workers here, the other people, the food and of course the swings. But where we are going is suppose to be more in the country and very beautiful. Everyone is working hard to make things work and I am very grateful for that.
The bad news is no phone to the U.S. and no internet. Therefore this will be the end of my blog for awhile. We should be there about five or six days. Keep the prayers coming! We will be leaving tomorrow morning at eight thirty. We need to pack up tonight.
love to all,
Jeralyn, Angie, and Judy

Routines

Our day usually begins with eggs and toast for breakfast followed by a little schooling. After the school work, we play Monopoly, paper dolls, paint, watch Discovery Kids, and of course swing if it´s not raining. However, it was another rainy today today and to avoid cabin fever, we did eventually venture out to the park as is our routine, but it was wet and drippy so we didn´t stay long. We also missed Tia. Joy left this morning. We are all sad about that. It´s nice to have two to poosh. Actually now it´s mas poosh.

We also are entertained daily by our local French nina, affectionately referred to as Madamoiselle. Alexandra is 3 years old and her mom has been here seven weeks, so Alexandra feels like she owns the place and her mom is just tired of being here. I am posting a picture of her because Joy and I laughed at her everyday and I am sure there will be more to come. Her antics include, unhooking all of the phones in the den-daily, taking a glue stick from our room and using it as lipstick, hiding in a kitchen cupboard and having all the workers and guests search frantically for her. The girls lock the door every time they leave the room for fear of Alexandra entering.

We have lunch about one oclock and dinner at 7 oclock. We are all very hungry by the time the meals roll around, but they´re very good. The girls ask to get their pajamas on at five thirty and they pretty much just brush their teeth and go to bed after dinner.

Lucia was here today with good news most likely for me and bad news for the other guests. The announcement of the strike being over was not accurate. We thought it was, but we are learning to believe it when we see it. All of the others here have their paperwork started or else they need to adopt in Bogota. Because Angie and Judy are from the Cundinamarca region, it gives me more options. Lucia thinks she will be able to get someone to complete the paperwork. She will know Thursday for sure, but everyone keeps telling me, for you, no problem. That was suppose to be in quotes, but they are not found on this Spanish keyboard. With all of the people praying, of course , for you no problem! Thank you so much! I am sure all will be well.

I also found many pictures of paper dolls dressed in beautiful attire when I was looking through my pictures. I just found it funny. The other picture is of Judy pretending to talk to Abuelita on a phone that is not hooked up. She has my mom´s number memorized and looks forward to calling her everyday. She of course can´t understand my mom, but politely repeats, Senora? Senora? It makes them both happy.

Once again, thanks for the prayers and the posts. I look forward to reading them each day!

Our First Weekend

It has been a rainy weekend here in Bogota, but from what I hear, that´s better than what Michigan is having. Yesterday afternoon we were able to meet Piedad and her daughter, son-in-law and their little baby. Piedad´s sister teaches Spanish at Western, so her sister contacted her and she contacted us here which was so nice! We went to Piedad´s apartment and then walked to a market that had Colombian items. She was very kind and bought the girls several treats along the way like fresh squeezed orange juice and a small fruit that I have never seen before. It was white and creamy and very sweet inside. She also bought them some kind of sweet milk spread between two larger wafer cookies. It is just interesting to see all the different foods. We were all in the backseat of their car along with Piedad´s daughter Tatiana and her baby Nicholas. It was raining hard and since there were many in the car, we had the window open. With the close proximity to other cars, it didn´t take long before Judy and Joy who were sitting by the window were sprayed all over by a passing car. There were many laughs in that backseat.
At the market I made a purchase and asked for 16 bracelets. Judy made the lady count them 2 times and then take them out of the bag and count once more to make sure I had what I asked for. Piedad laughed and said she was a true Colombian- making sure she gets what she pays for.
They will fit into the Dutch culture as well if that is a Colombian trait. Thanks for the continued prayers! God has answered many already and His faithfulness is evident each day.

Hola de Tia Joy

Hello All! Jer gave me permission to update the blog today :) and I´m happy to tell you this has been an amazing experience so far. Angie and Judy are beautiful children, inside and out...happy, well-behaved, polite, kind, very affectionate. They seem so grateful for everything and have already written Jer precious notes about being adopted. They love her already.

Today we had a chance to work on some basic math problems and english words. We´ve covered days of the week and colors so far, basic stuff, but they seem to like to learn new things. The language difference is the most difficult part. They will say things expecting us to understand and we try hard, but sometimes have to just shrug our shoulders and smile. They are very understanding. Sometimes we do find a translator, but for the most part we find we can understand each other. Jer does really well with the Spanish I think.

We also took a walk to the same park we went to yesterday, and the girls love that. They are very active. We also took a walk down the streets near our hotel, being careful to hold their hands. It´s quite a populated, busy city and there are lots of sights and people to see just walking down the street. We are being careful. After lunch we played Monopoly in Spanish, colored, and watched some TV. Tomorrow we hope to see a little bit of the city with a sister of a friend of a friend of Jer´s.

Oh, and good news: we have received word that the strike has been resolved and the courts will open on Monday! This is such a reason for praise and we give God all thanksgiving. Hopefully the adoption will move smoothly through the system, but please remember to pray. Thank you so much for all the prayers you have already prayed in regard to this. I´m already excited to bring them home to Michigan.

Blessings to you all!

Joy

Our First Full Day

Today we began with a little school work followed by a walk to the local park. We are working on learning a little English. One word they have both mastered is poosh. As in please poosh me on the swing. That seems to be their favorite activity right now.

As you may see in the pictures, Judy is wearing the same pink mini skirt as yesterday. My challenge for tomorrow will be getting her to wear something different. When we talked to the psychologist yesterday before the girls came in, she mentioned that they both liked vanity. At least that´s how it was tranlated. The translator said, you know vanity, girl things. hmm. Anway, that is the truth. They both enjoy girlie things. Judy just came up to me with body glitter all over her face. Adorable! Angie asked if I had a dress for her this morning. Some of you have asked about sizes. Angie does wear a 10 and Judy wears an 8. They just both need short in pants. Both have their pants rolled up 3 or 4 times.

Thank you for the postings. It is great to hear encouraging words from family and friends. I admire Angie and Judy so much for their bravery and courage. They already have been a blessing to both myself and Tia Joy.

And then there were 4

We had 2 at our breakfast table and 4 at our lunch table!

The meeting went really well. And yet it was very difficult. They have been with the same foster mother for 4 years and they are leaving their brother so they were understandably sad too. The agency strongly encouraged me to pursue adopting the brother as well. He is a complete gentleman and very handsome is what they kept telling me. We saw a picture and it about made me want to start to work on getting him as well! Don´t worry, I understand it´s not an impulse decision.

We did a lot of hugging and by the time they were in the car, they were loving their barbies and doing more talking. They are wonderful! We are enjoying getting to know each other and figuring out each others language. We are going to be heading to the mall soon. All of the pants seem to be wayy too long. Still not sure of exact sizes, but we´ll get there.

The courts are still striking, so keep praying. Colombia is wonderful so far, but all I´m hearing right now as I type is French and Spanish so more than four weeks would get tough.

We're Off!!

Our plane leaves in two hours and we'll be on it! For those of you who didn't know, it was questionable whether we'd be going today because the Colombian courts are striking and the agency didn't want me stuck over there with no court activity. The bad news is the courts are still striking, but the good news is they really think it will be over within the next week. My papers need to be in court a week after I pick up the girls (which is tomorrow!!). There is also a back up plan. The agency thinks that we may be able to put the paper work through a general court outside of Bogota. We'd better get going, but thank you thank you thank you for the prayers. I definitely feel them and continue to see God's guiding hand working through it all.

School shower

One week from today is my meeting day with Angie and Judy! What a better way to celebrate than with a shower. Angie, Judy and I received many wonderful gifts. Thank you everyone!

It was fun going through everything tonight. The room is starting to look ready. Now all it needs is a few little girls to bring life to it.

Two weeks and two days...

But who's counting? I've stared at the picture of Angie and Judy so many times, that it's hard to imagine that I will see them in in about two weeks. The visa is in place and also the tickets so now it's a matter of finishing up a few odds and ends and then I'll be heading super south of the border on September 30. I will then meet the girls on October 1.
I am excited and nervous about the unknowns, but through this process so far, God has taught me I can only look one day ahead and He has met each need so far!