October 25

Happy Saturday,

Today was really a quiet day for us. It rained for much of the day. This is really the first time it has rained since we have returned back to Bogota. The rain was very heavy, and even had some thunder.

Cecilia stopped by this morning, and I completed a couple documents that we will need for US Immigration for each of the boys. She is having me complete some paperwork ahead of time, so when we get Sentencia, there will be less things to complete. On Monday, we are going to the Immigration office in Colombia, to extend my VISA, as it will expire on Nov 1. The way it looks, I will be here longer than that date, so we want to be sure to get it renewed before it expires.

In the afternoon, we watched a couple of Children's movies, in English. Clifford the Big Red Dog, and also Toy Story. The kids enjoyed the movie just as much in English, and I am hoping that they picked up a few English words. They are both starting to repeat things that I say to them, in English. Jeferson often times will say something in Spanish, and then say the English word for it. For example, if he burps, he will say, 'Pardone' and then follow up with "Excuse Me!" Both of them also will tend to say "Gracias" and then follow up with "Thank you". They are very cute in saying "Mami, Please" when they want something. They have the cutest accents.

We also did some crafts this afternoon. Diego, who would prefer to just watch TV most of the time, actually put together a boy with construction paper. He started with the legs, and then decided to add a body and head. He put a smiley face on the face, and then we traced his hands and arms, and he cut them out. He then glued it all together. This was fantastic for Diego, to actually complete this. He was so proud of it when he completed it, and he couldn't wait to show papi on the webcam tonight.

Not sure what we are going to do on Sunday. I guess it will depend on what the weather is like.

Adios,

Joyce, Eric, Jeferson and Diego.

No news today from the Court

No news today, regarding our case. So, we will wait over the weekend, and hope to hear something early next week, regarding Sentencia.

This morning, as I was putting on makeup, the boys were very attentive, and insisted on them putting some makeup on as well. Isn't Jeferson cute with that blue eyeshadow?

Diego powdering his face.
Jeferson checking out how handsome he looks, in the tiny mirror.

Diego applying some blush!

This afernoon, we took a walk to some stores, and a park. I purchased some flowers for myself, from this fantastic floral shop. They have some very unique flowers, and a dozen of roses is $5. I needed something to brighten up the room, and make it look a little festive. For those of you that have seen my house at Halloween, you know that I love to decorate for the fall and Halloween. Oh well, all those decorations will be around next year. I have boxes full of decorations.

Everyone have a great weekend! Thank you to all of you who have placed such positive comments on our blog.

Joyce, Eric, Diego and Jeferson

October 23- Our papers have moved to the judge!

We received a call this afternoon, and our papers were signed by the Defender of Minors, and it is now residing with the judge. The judge has 10 days to sign off on the paperwork, but we are hoping it will be less than the 10 days. It could be as early as tomorrow, but could also take the full 10 days. So we will wait and see what happens.



Today was a rather quiet day. We hung around the hotel this morning. Jeferson asked for some gum this morning, and I only had 1 stick left for him and Diego to share, so I commented that we will have to get more when we go to the store next time. So, guess what Jeferson wanted to do this afternoon? You probably guessed it, he wanted to go to the store.



We did take a trip to the store, and the boys insisted on wearing their blankets around their necks like superman. So, I walked to the store with 2 Superman wannabees. The boys received a lot of looks along the way. I think that people were wondering why they were wearing a blanket around their necks, or may they were wondering why they were weating their Halloween costume today. Oh well, the kids felt pretty important and were happy.







Diego outside of the grocery store with his Superman cape.



We purchased some bubbles for the boys, and we stopped at a park on our way home, and while we were there, another US family was walking by and said that the US Embassy is suggesting that we stay at the hotel, due to some 1 day picketing and some small explosions that was going on across Colombia. So, we returned to the hotel and took our bubbles with us. The bubbles didn't last very long anyway, as they were spilled within a half hour.

Below is a picture of Jeferson when he was angry at Diego. They are brothers and they fight with each other as all brothers do. I just thought I would throw a picture of him as I often see him throughout the day.

Here is a small article from THE COLOMBIAN REPORTS regarding the picketing today- Our understanding is that this is only a 1 day strike, and the courts were not affected by it. Apparently this is a normal thing here.

25 thousand join day of strike
Thursday, 23 October 2008 17:16
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25 thousand people in Colombia's biggest cities joined a union called strike and demonstrate against the government. Public life was barely disrupted. Only universities had to be closed out of fear for riots.
Workers union CUT called the day of strike a success and there were no reports of any disruption riots of public order. Public universities were closed to avoid radical students to clash with the police.

So, with everyday now, we are hoping we get the call that we can sign Sentencia, and finalize the adoption process, and return home.

We miss everyone.

Joyce, Eric, Diego and Jeferson

Starting Week 12 in Colombia

Well, today is the official start of Week 12 for us being here in Colombia. And we thought that 9 weeks was going to be a long time! This morning, the word from Cecilia, was the same as yesterday, and that our paperwork is in the Defender of Minors office that is in the courts. They have to review all the paperwork and sign off on it, and then it will go to the judge. Cecilia said she would contact us if she hears from our attorney today. As of the end of today, we did not hear anything, so we are assuming it has not yet been signed off by the Defender of Minors.

We also heard that there was an American family with another agency, that was only here 3 weeks, and received their Sentencia yesterday. This does tell us that things are at least moving in the courts. The other 2 families with our same agency, are still here as we are, and are also waiting patiently.

We spent the morning at the hotel. The boys played in the playground in the backyard, with all the other children who are staying at Hotel Paris. It is really a small park, with another building where there are many other toys for the children to play with.

However, the lawn care guy showed up, so all the children then had to play inside.

I couldn't resist taking a photo of all the kids looking out the window, waiting to be able to go out and play again.

In Bogota, since there is so little grass, people don't own lawnmowers, and just use weed wackers to trim the lawn. We even saw a guy carrying a weed wacker on his bike. It looked dangerous to us. I also had to take a picture of his broom that he used- it was like a witches broom, that you would find in a costume shop.

Two of the families from France left today. One of the families was here for 5 weeks, and the other family was here for 4 weeks. They have an excellent rep who was here daily, advocating, and making phone calls on their behalf. We are so happy that they are able to return home. The boys really enjoyed playing with the children.

Below is a picture of our room at the hotel. The room is small, but there are many common areas, where the children have room to run and play. And there is also a large dining area, and the food here is very good. They serve a combination of American foods, and Colombian foods. They also have the best French Toast that you can order for breakfast. The meals are served family style, and for breakfast, you can choose from a menu of breakfast items. The only disappointment that I have, is that they don't have yogurt on the menu. Jeferson and I really miss our yogurt. On a brighter note, they serve Coca Cola light with lunch and dinner, so I am really happy for this!

Jeferson and Diego playing with a balloon that they got from a vendor at the mall. Note: 5 minutes after taking this photo, Diego jumped on the balloon and it popped.

The boys spent some time on the computer again today. This is a rare photo where they are sitting together nicely.

After lunch we took a walk to a park. Even though Bogota is a huge city, it does have some nice parks. There is a canal that runs through the section of the city where we are staying, and this park is situated right on the canal. Along the walkway, there are some arches, with flowers blossoming on them. It is a very nice place to relax for me, and for the boys to play.

Bridge crossing over the canal.

Arches along the path throughout the park.

The boys really enjoy this park.

Wait until he does this in the Cold Wisconsin Snow!!!! I think Jeferson is practicing making snow angels!

So, hopefully we will have more positive news,tomorrow and know that our paperwork is moving.

Adios, Joyce, Diego and Jeferson

Paperwork update

Ok, so I am going to start with an update on the progress of our paperwork. I heard from our rep today, that the paperwork was reviewed and approved by the court. So the next step in the process, is for it to be reviewed by the Defender of Minors (similar to our Social Services). It is supposed to be in their office tomorrow. Once they review and sign off on it, then it goes to the judge to sign it , and send it back to the Defender of Minors, at which point, we sign it and the process is complete. So now you wonder how long this will take. Well, I am wondering the same! I have been told that the paperwork is moving quickly, but still no timeframe as to how long me and the boys will be here.

My two little monkeys!!!

The past few days, we just pretty much hung out at some local parks, and at the hotel. The boys are doing well, and their behavior has been OK. Yesterday, Diego wandered away from me at the mall, and I found him a few aisles over standing in front of a large screen TV watching a movie. When he watches TV, he tunes out everything around him, *just like his papi*, so he didn't hear me as I called his name. Then at dinner, Jeferson decided to have a tantrum, because, I cut up his meat for him, and he didn't like that. So, yesterday was truely a challenging day.

Don't they just look angelic!!!

A family from France also checked in over the weekend. They adopted a boy 5 years ago, and now returned to adopt 3 siblings- 2 girls and another boy. So, there are alot of children to play with here, and there is a park in the back of the hotel, where the kids can play.

Not really much sightseeing anymore for me, since Eric left. It is very challenging for me with having both boys , to take any trips, other than to the park. Even the mall is challenging. It is great that there is a playground here at the hotel, and alot of room for the kids to run and play.

The rep from several of the families from France has been here everyday for several hours, and yesterday she brought her dog with her. It is a large dog, and Diego spent probably close to 2 hours playing with it yesterday. Both boys just love dogs. Jeferson is a bit apprehensive around big dogs, but eventually gets up the courage to pet them. At one point, I looked out the window in the living area, where the Rep for the French families was sitting, and her dog was looking in the window-along with who else but Diego! It was very cute.

Today, we just hung around the hotel. We have found a great computer program, Starfall.com, and Diego loves to go on the computer and work through it. It is an educational program, and it has a great section with the alphabet. Jeferson and I worked on making some pumpkins out of paper, and cutting out the eyes, nose and mouth. My english sentence of the day was "Be nice to your Brother!!!!" I think they understand what it means, but are ignoring its definition. Both boys can repeat it.

Now that we are around alot more English language, the boys are really starting to pick up some english words. I am trying to always say the english word for whatever they are asking for. Both of the boys are very good with "Mami, Please?" They have the cutest accent when they say it. Today, we played a game with peanut M&M's and they had to tell me the english word of the color of the M&M before they could eat it. It takes alot to keep their attention, so I am bribing them with candy. Bad mother!!

We have been talking with Eric over the internet, and also webcam every night, and the boys are always so excited to see him and hear his voice. Technology is amazing!

Well, I will update when I hear more. Thanks for all the emails and support.

Joyce, Diego and Jeferson.