Tomorrow it will be two weeks since we finally arrived in Cartagena. As I said in FB, at moments it seems like we've been forever and then there are others when it seems like we just got here.
The day after, it will be two weeks since we became a family of seven.
What a difference two weeks make. We still have a long way to go but the changes in this short period of time are amazing.
Our youngest, Santiago, is finally coming out of his grief and enjoying his new family and environment. He finally tolerates and even likes, at times, his siblings :-) He's become daddy's biggest fan because he gets to go in the stroller and daddy is the one pushing the stroller, most of the time -- it's a double stroller and "sidewalks" are a challenge, at best.
We made it to church today! Yay! There was much going on to actually get out of the apartment and head to church but we made and we think we did pretty well. We even asked and got a very special blessing from the priest after mass. Faith is very important to us and going to church felt good to us today.
Our oldest boy gets extremely anxious any time there is mention of going out. So, even going downstairs to take the trash causes him much angst. So, stuff like that, make outings a bit challenging :-)
I think they are finally used to this apartment so they'll have to readjust when we move again. Most likely, we'll be moving on to Bogota over the coming weekend. If we get our adoption decree by then that would be great but if not, we'll continue our wait there. It should be a more relaxed envrironment there.
So, for now, we're just into our routine, living life. Tired but very happy. It is supposed to start getting very "Christmassy" around here tomorrow.
No pictures. I took my camer to the beach yesterday but....the batteries were dead :-) If I haven't sen you our picture site, let me know if you are interested.
---
Domingo en la noche y por fin todos durmiendo. El mismo que batallaba en Chula Vista para dormirse, es el que batalla aqui. El extrania su casa, su cama, su paz, su silencio. Hoy dijo que se queria ir a dormir, aunque estaba viendo Cars!!! Pero nada. Fue el ultimo en caer.
Estamos felices y contentos porque fuimos todos a misa y no causamos ninguna escena. Nos sentamos en la banca de atras y no estaba lleno. Y todo tranquilito. A nuestro nervioso, como que hasta se relajo porque iba llorando todo el camino, casi hasta la puerta de la iglesia. A el le causa mucha ansiedad toda salida, aunque sea ir abajo a llevar la basura con uno de los dos.
Al termimar la celebracion, nos acercamos al padre para presentarnos y pedirle una bendicion. Nos las dio con todo carinio y nos dijo que estaba a nuestras ordenes para cualquier cosa. Acaso veria nerviosos/cansados a los padres? :-)
Maniana la van a ser dos largas y cortas semanas que estamos aqui. Al dia siguiente, dos semanas que somos sietes. Tenemos un largo camino adelante pero es increible todo lo que ha pasado en este tiempo.
Nuestro bebe, Santiago, ya no se pone histerio cada vez que un hermano lo quiere tocar. Hasta se dejo vestir por Lulu hoy. Ya sonrie, hasta se carcajea, y corretea con sus hermanos. Estos ultimos dias no quiere soltar a su papi porque quiere que se lo lleve en el carrito. Le gusta mucho salir del apartemento -- y quien lo culpa!
Ayer fuimos otra vez a la playa. Les toco disfrutarla con un poco de luz pero pronto se oscurecio. A Santiago no le gusta. Le mojo sus pies y es todo. Quiere salirse. Pero feliz en la arena. Los otros cuatro, pues nos hacen falta ojos para cuidarlos. Lulu es un sirena, Pablo no tiene nada de miedo (y como el agua esta bien calientitat) y a Josue y Juan David les gusta jugar en el agua. Se divirtieron y yo ahi si me puse nerviosa.
Estos angelitos del cielo tienen de historias y de cosas que aprender que es impresionante. Mientras estabamos en la playa, por ejemplo, empezamos a ver fuegos artifiiciales. No me sorprende mucho que no los conozcan pero si su reaccion. Josue de pronto asustado, que donde estaba el policia. Yo le decia que no habia policia. Me dijo: entonces que tiene la pistola? A quien van a matar? Pensaba que alguien estaba disparando. Ya que le dije que no pasaba nada, que eran bonitos, que viera los colores y formas, se relajo y no queria que se acabaran. Ellos rompen el corazon (asi como otras cosas!) en un segundo.
No puse fotos nuevas en el sitio de fotos porque ayer nos llevamos la camara descargada y hoy de plano ni la sacamos.
Saludos a todos. Los extraniamos mucho y la misma lata de siempre: sus oraciones.
Ciao desde Cartagena,
Laura y Familia
12.06.2009
12.02.2009
Una Semana
Que les podemos contar? Donde empezar? Ayer cumplimos una semana de estar juntos. Tenia toda la intencion del mundo de escribir pero el cansancio nos llego durisimo a los dos. Para los Conviventes que estan leyendo esto: nos sentimos como en Convivencia. Arduo, duro trabajo todo el dia, preparacion en la noche, la evualacion de cada noche. Solo que aqui el equipo somos solo dos. Ya sabiamos que iba a ser pesado y que no vamos a descansar hasta que tengamos unos sesenta anios pero, sin entrar en detalles, hay unos asuntillos ahi que lo han hecho esto mas dificil pero aun asi, invaluable.
Estamos en una zona muy turistica. Casi, casi, imaginense que estamos en Cancun, en la zona hotelera, con tres peques. Muy pero muy turistico. Esta perfecto para vacacionar pero no ideal para estar conociendo nuevos ninos con dos ya en mano. Y ninos que necesitan atencion sin parar.
No hay muchas zonas de distraccion que no sean restaurantes con juegos. Tenemos la piscina pero es algo complicado con unas personitas que les cuesta mucho trabajo obecer y que no nadan. Esta la playa a media cuadra y el mismo problema.
Ayer fuimos al parque ya cuando estaba obscuro. Hoy hicimos lo mismo con la playa. La playa no fue intencional el mojarse, solo queriamos ir a caminar. Pero eso es imposible para ellos. Asi es que todos menos yo y Santiago terminaron baniados. No habia gente asi es que se nos facilita cuidarlos.
Seguimos creciendo, dia a dia, como familia.
Santiago, el bebe, hoy le dijo papa por primera vez a su papa. El estaba muy pero muy apegado a su familia sustituta -- que es bueno porque para nosotros eso es senal de que lo cuidaban y querian -- y le ha costado mucho la separacion. Yo nunca habia visto a un bebe deprimido pero ahora lo estoy viviendo en el. Poco a poco va entrando en confianza. Ahorita solo quiere mama, a papa para el banio, dientes, etc y que ninguno de sus hermanos lo toque, especialmente Pablo.
Pablo y Lulu siguen ajustando pero ya se ven mas relajados. Pablo ya empezo a reganiar a sus hermanos cuando hacen algo mal --- mu mal, mu mal -- y Lulu, sigue intentando, como es ella, de atender a todos.
Papa y mama cansados. Muy cansados. Pero eso no es nada sorprendente.
No hay nada significativo que reportar sobre el proceso legal de la adopcion pero parece que se ve positiva la situacion para regresar en el 2009. Por favor no apaguen sus velas.
Ya se imaginaran como nos vemos como familia telerin. Tenemos dos que no soltamos de la mano porque no sabemos donde van a terminar. Con decirles que a Pablo es a quien confiamos que corra!
Hoy una seniora de las que venden artesanias abajo, que me imagino nos han visto diario, me dijo: Seniora, que bonita familia y que buen corazon. Solo pude decirle gracias. Estoy de acuerdo. Y el buen corazon es de los 7 completitos, que nos estamos queriendo.
--
So here we are. A week as a family of seven. Some minutes it seems as if we've been together longer and yet some others it seems like we just met. There is so much to learn and the bonding process is lengthy. We had a rough start but I think we are all learning to cope and, so, having brighter days. The children, all five, are amazing. They are all very different.
Lulu has been having a hard time. She discovered that love is not reciprocal and that, although she'd been enthusiastically waiting for these brothers, they are rough on the outside. We had talks with her before coming about all of us being different, that the new boys will have to learn how we live, we'd have to learn what they liked and didn't, that it might be hard. Talk is one thing. Life is another. So, today, when we were looking at some pictures and there's one of Lulu all dressed up, and the two oldes said that was their sister Lulu, bonita, like a princess.....she just didn't know what to say! And, though, boys will be boys....eventually, love will be reciprocal.
We are in a the middle of a tourist area. Imagine any beach city you've been to (Hawaii, Cancun, etc.). That's sort of how we feel. We are in an apartment complex in the middle of all the action. Which would be fine in another situation but not when you are trying to bond with three new children. We have the beach a block away and today was our first visit to the beach. And we went when it was dark. We've only discovered one public park. We also visited it when it was also dark. It was perfect, though, because we were the only ones there so it was much easier to keep track of our brood.
We are quite a sight. We have a double stroller. One of us uses the stroller with the two youngest, one usually walks next to the stroller, either holding a hand or the handle of the stroller. And the other two walk with the other parent. We can't really let go of anyone because we don't feel so safe.
We cook, we clean, we do laundry. Just regular everyday stuff. And, most importantly, we work on bonding, building trust -- they need to trust us and we need to learn how they act/react. Without going into their story, these children have been through a lot. They get easily overwhelmed. They want everything, even if they don't know what it is. Tiny little things are milestones for us.
And, so, life goes one. We take it not only day by day but hour by hour, and little milestone by little milestone.
One of the boys today, on his own and out of the blue, told me: mami, te quiero mucho. (mommy I love you) and the youngest has started calling Jose dad. Those are huge milestones for us.
We don't have an update on the legal aspects of the adoption. Things still look positive to be done in 2009 but only time will tell.
It is quite hard to blog. I'm sure everyone understands. I've been trying to upload pictures for more than hour and the computer is still working on them. Maybe they'll be there by tomorrow.
Good night to all and thanks for the continued support and prayers.
Estamos en una zona muy turistica. Casi, casi, imaginense que estamos en Cancun, en la zona hotelera, con tres peques. Muy pero muy turistico. Esta perfecto para vacacionar pero no ideal para estar conociendo nuevos ninos con dos ya en mano. Y ninos que necesitan atencion sin parar.
No hay muchas zonas de distraccion que no sean restaurantes con juegos. Tenemos la piscina pero es algo complicado con unas personitas que les cuesta mucho trabajo obecer y que no nadan. Esta la playa a media cuadra y el mismo problema.
Ayer fuimos al parque ya cuando estaba obscuro. Hoy hicimos lo mismo con la playa. La playa no fue intencional el mojarse, solo queriamos ir a caminar. Pero eso es imposible para ellos. Asi es que todos menos yo y Santiago terminaron baniados. No habia gente asi es que se nos facilita cuidarlos.
Seguimos creciendo, dia a dia, como familia.
Santiago, el bebe, hoy le dijo papa por primera vez a su papa. El estaba muy pero muy apegado a su familia sustituta -- que es bueno porque para nosotros eso es senal de que lo cuidaban y querian -- y le ha costado mucho la separacion. Yo nunca habia visto a un bebe deprimido pero ahora lo estoy viviendo en el. Poco a poco va entrando en confianza. Ahorita solo quiere mama, a papa para el banio, dientes, etc y que ninguno de sus hermanos lo toque, especialmente Pablo.
Pablo y Lulu siguen ajustando pero ya se ven mas relajados. Pablo ya empezo a reganiar a sus hermanos cuando hacen algo mal --- mu mal, mu mal -- y Lulu, sigue intentando, como es ella, de atender a todos.
Papa y mama cansados. Muy cansados. Pero eso no es nada sorprendente.
No hay nada significativo que reportar sobre el proceso legal de la adopcion pero parece que se ve positiva la situacion para regresar en el 2009. Por favor no apaguen sus velas.
Ya se imaginaran como nos vemos como familia telerin. Tenemos dos que no soltamos de la mano porque no sabemos donde van a terminar. Con decirles que a Pablo es a quien confiamos que corra!
Hoy una seniora de las que venden artesanias abajo, que me imagino nos han visto diario, me dijo: Seniora, que bonita familia y que buen corazon. Solo pude decirle gracias. Estoy de acuerdo. Y el buen corazon es de los 7 completitos, que nos estamos queriendo.
--
So here we are. A week as a family of seven. Some minutes it seems as if we've been together longer and yet some others it seems like we just met. There is so much to learn and the bonding process is lengthy. We had a rough start but I think we are all learning to cope and, so, having brighter days. The children, all five, are amazing. They are all very different.
Lulu has been having a hard time. She discovered that love is not reciprocal and that, although she'd been enthusiastically waiting for these brothers, they are rough on the outside. We had talks with her before coming about all of us being different, that the new boys will have to learn how we live, we'd have to learn what they liked and didn't, that it might be hard. Talk is one thing. Life is another. So, today, when we were looking at some pictures and there's one of Lulu all dressed up, and the two oldes said that was their sister Lulu, bonita, like a princess.....she just didn't know what to say! And, though, boys will be boys....eventually, love will be reciprocal.
We are in a the middle of a tourist area. Imagine any beach city you've been to (Hawaii, Cancun, etc.). That's sort of how we feel. We are in an apartment complex in the middle of all the action. Which would be fine in another situation but not when you are trying to bond with three new children. We have the beach a block away and today was our first visit to the beach. And we went when it was dark. We've only discovered one public park. We also visited it when it was also dark. It was perfect, though, because we were the only ones there so it was much easier to keep track of our brood.
We are quite a sight. We have a double stroller. One of us uses the stroller with the two youngest, one usually walks next to the stroller, either holding a hand or the handle of the stroller. And the other two walk with the other parent. We can't really let go of anyone because we don't feel so safe.
We cook, we clean, we do laundry. Just regular everyday stuff. And, most importantly, we work on bonding, building trust -- they need to trust us and we need to learn how they act/react. Without going into their story, these children have been through a lot. They get easily overwhelmed. They want everything, even if they don't know what it is. Tiny little things are milestones for us.
And, so, life goes one. We take it not only day by day but hour by hour, and little milestone by little milestone.
One of the boys today, on his own and out of the blue, told me: mami, te quiero mucho. (mommy I love you) and the youngest has started calling Jose dad. Those are huge milestones for us.
We don't have an update on the legal aspects of the adoption. Things still look positive to be done in 2009 but only time will tell.
It is quite hard to blog. I'm sure everyone understands. I've been trying to upload pictures for more than hour and the computer is still working on them. Maybe they'll be there by tomorrow.
Good night to all and thanks for the continued support and prayers.
11.29.2009
Hanging on
Hello. Blog posts will probably be sporadic for more than obvious reasons.
We are having a tough adjustment period. Some of what we're living we expected and some of it, we did not. There's different degrees of suffering for all us, for different reasons. We are slowly discovering their little personalities. Suffice it to say, we did not have a honeymoon period, as happens in some adoptions.
Our paperwork entered the court system last Friday and the lawyer is hopeful that we'll get out this year. We sure hope so but if we do not, we'll have to firm up a plan for the long haul.
We have to take baby steps with everything. And we mean everything. We tried to go to mass today but we never made it. But we did have our first meal together and our longest stretch of time without conflicts, tantrums, interventions.
We probably had some nice pictures today but we haven't dowloaded them and still don't want to post many pictures. We miss everyone and continue to ask for prayers and good vibes our way, whichever is your preference.
---
Por obvias razones, no estaremos escribiendo tan frecuentemente en este blog.
Nos ha tocado una semana dificil. Todos nos estamos ajustando. La mayoria de lo que estamos viviendo lo esperabamos pero hay unas cosas que nos han caido de sorpresa. Poquito a poco vamos descubriendo como son estos ninios. Estamos seguros de que todos estamos sufriendo, a diferentes niveles y por diferentes razones, pero, Dios mediante, saldremos adelante. Los dos mayores nos dicen mami y papi pero va a tomar tiempo y muchas otras cosas, para que sientan, en sus corazoncitos, que somos en realidad us mami y papi.
Nuestro caso entro a la corte el viernes pasado. La abogada se mantiene optimista de que si salgamos este anio. Aunque asi lo quisieramos y rezamos porque eso suceda, necesitaremos un plan por si no. De aqui, lo mas importante, es que el juez a quien le toco nuestro caso, firme la sentencia de adopcion.
En el menu para maniana esta conseguir un pediatra para Lulu. Ya se acabo una botella de jarabe y el resultado parece contraproducente.
Por favor, sigan rezando por nosotros para que esta semana sea menos pesada para todos, y para que que nos haya tocado una corte de la cual salgamos rapidito.
Los queremos y extraniamos mucho, a toda nuestra familia, como dice Pablo, y amigos.
We are having a tough adjustment period. Some of what we're living we expected and some of it, we did not. There's different degrees of suffering for all us, for different reasons. We are slowly discovering their little personalities. Suffice it to say, we did not have a honeymoon period, as happens in some adoptions.
Our paperwork entered the court system last Friday and the lawyer is hopeful that we'll get out this year. We sure hope so but if we do not, we'll have to firm up a plan for the long haul.
We have to take baby steps with everything. And we mean everything. We tried to go to mass today but we never made it. But we did have our first meal together and our longest stretch of time without conflicts, tantrums, interventions.
We probably had some nice pictures today but we haven't dowloaded them and still don't want to post many pictures. We miss everyone and continue to ask for prayers and good vibes our way, whichever is your preference.
---
Por obvias razones, no estaremos escribiendo tan frecuentemente en este blog.
Nos ha tocado una semana dificil. Todos nos estamos ajustando. La mayoria de lo que estamos viviendo lo esperabamos pero hay unas cosas que nos han caido de sorpresa. Poquito a poco vamos descubriendo como son estos ninios. Estamos seguros de que todos estamos sufriendo, a diferentes niveles y por diferentes razones, pero, Dios mediante, saldremos adelante. Los dos mayores nos dicen mami y papi pero va a tomar tiempo y muchas otras cosas, para que sientan, en sus corazoncitos, que somos en realidad us mami y papi.
Nuestro caso entro a la corte el viernes pasado. La abogada se mantiene optimista de que si salgamos este anio. Aunque asi lo quisieramos y rezamos porque eso suceda, necesitaremos un plan por si no. De aqui, lo mas importante, es que el juez a quien le toco nuestro caso, firme la sentencia de adopcion.
En el menu para maniana esta conseguir un pediatra para Lulu. Ya se acabo una botella de jarabe y el resultado parece contraproducente.
Por favor, sigan rezando por nosotros para que esta semana sea menos pesada para todos, y para que que nos haya tocado una corte de la cual salgamos rapidito.
Los queremos y extraniamos mucho, a toda nuestra familia, como dice Pablo, y amigos.
11.26.2009
Happy Thanksgiving -- Feliz Dia de Gracias
Hoy no escribire mucho y me voy a comer los acentos y demas porque eso me toma mucho tiempo. Estamos bien, muy bien. Seguimos adaptanos y creciendo como familia. Han sido dos dias largos y cansados pero muy valiosos. Nos seguimos conociendo mutuamente. Maniana tenemos una visita de integracion donde nos hacen preguntas y ven como vamos. Si 'pasamos esa prueba', la demanda de adopcion pueden entrar a la corte/juzgado y de ahi a esperar. Si alcanzamos a tener sentencia antes de navidad, es porque nos toco un juez bondadoso :-) Y si no, que Dios nos siga bendiciendo con la larga espera.
No escribo mucho porque no tengo tiempo pero todos quieren alguna foto. No es la mejor foto pero es la primera que tenemos de los siete juntos. Una familia completa!
Esperamos que todos esten bien y hayan pasado un buen dia de gracias. Nosotros pasamos un buen dia de gracias pero dietetico. Sopita de pollo y en la tarde un helado.
Con todo carino desde Cartagena,
La tribu de siete.
---
We are alive and well. There's so much to share but really, at this point, not much time.
We continue to learn about each other and to blend as family. It is incredible what changes we already see in two days of being all together. The boys do test us, as expected, but we think we are doing very well. Slowly they will (or so we hope) trust us and eventually love us as parents. The youngest continues to grieve though tonight he went to bed without a single tear. That is a huge milestone. Ah! And he called me 'mama' for the first time.
They are excellent eaters. They even ate a pasta that I managed to make with ketchup!!!! Me, who savors her pasta, with fresh tomatoes if at all possible...got ketchup for her sauce. The label said tomato sauce. I even got olive oil, garlic AND fresh basil...but ketchup? And I didn't know it 'til I put in with the rest of the stuff. And I don't even like ketchup. But, I had two excellent customers who ate seconds (Santiago) and even thirds (Juan David). So there you have it, a rant about pasta a la ketchup.
And, without further fanfare...the awaited picture. Our first family portrait. The seven of us!
Much love from Cartagena,
The Gang of Seven
No escribo mucho porque no tengo tiempo pero todos quieren alguna foto. No es la mejor foto pero es la primera que tenemos de los siete juntos. Una familia completa!
Esperamos que todos esten bien y hayan pasado un buen dia de gracias. Nosotros pasamos un buen dia de gracias pero dietetico. Sopita de pollo y en la tarde un helado.
Con todo carino desde Cartagena,
La tribu de siete.
---
We are alive and well. There's so much to share but really, at this point, not much time.
We continue to learn about each other and to blend as family. It is incredible what changes we already see in two days of being all together. The boys do test us, as expected, but we think we are doing very well. Slowly they will (or so we hope) trust us and eventually love us as parents. The youngest continues to grieve though tonight he went to bed without a single tear. That is a huge milestone. Ah! And he called me 'mama' for the first time.
They are excellent eaters. They even ate a pasta that I managed to make with ketchup!!!! Me, who savors her pasta, with fresh tomatoes if at all possible...got ketchup for her sauce. The label said tomato sauce. I even got olive oil, garlic AND fresh basil...but ketchup? And I didn't know it 'til I put in with the rest of the stuff. And I don't even like ketchup. But, I had two excellent customers who ate seconds (Santiago) and even thirds (Juan David). So there you have it, a rant about pasta a la ketchup.
And, without further fanfare...the awaited picture. Our first family portrait. The seven of us!
Much love from Cartagena,
The Gang of Seven
11.24.2009
El primer dia -- The first day
İGracias a Dios por tres niños más! İGracias a Dios por los que ya teníamos y que se estan portan como unos campeones al recibir, de repente, tres hermanos! La mayoría de las familias no se forman asi pero para los nuestros, esta es una manera muy natural de hacer una familia. İGracias Dios porque nosotros dos nos encontramos y hemos hecho un buen equipo durante todos estos años y humildemente nos sentimos capaces de ser padres tres veces más!
Lo que vivimos hoy es realmente indescriptible. Son emociones que no se les puede hacer justicia al escribirlas ni al ver en fotografias ni en video (aunque, con todo el trajín, ni la cámara de video sacamos y las fotos no son muy buenas).
Los conocimos hoy alrededor de las 3 de la tarde. Conocimos brevemente a sus madres sustitas con quienes han vivido más de un año y con quienes estaremos eternamente agradecidos.
Ahorita duermen. Toda la tarde fue un caos de actividad.
Estamos en un departamento con dos habitaciones que parece aún más pequeño con cinco criaturas activas.
Como llegamos anoche, en la mañana como que medio nos acoplamos para el cambio de hora (3), no hubo tiempo ni de conseguir mandado antes de ir por ellos.
Nos recogió la abogada después de las dos, pasamos por una torta de chocolate y unas gaseosas y a conocerlos. Algunas formalidades y entran los niños, de repente.
Son pequeños y creo que así nos los imaginabamos. Nos dicen Mami y Papi y saben los nombres de Lulú y Pablo, porque tienen unos libritos con fotos que nosotros les preparamos y enviamos. Santiago, el más pequeño, es el más confundido y el que muestra más signos de tristeza por el cambio. Le costó muchísimo trabajo dormirse y solo se durmió de tanto llorar. Se quería ir a la puerta y el le hablaba a mamá. Me trato de imaginar lo que siente, que de repente me dejen con unos extraños y que de repente pierda todo lo que me es conocido y me trae seguridad. Yo también lloraría inconsolablemente.
Pablo esta compartiendo sus cosas y su mami. Corretea con ellos como si siempre los hubiera conocido. Lulú es una mini Mami. Juega con ellos pero tambien los quiere cuidar y se ve grande junto a ellos. Le tendremos que seguir recordando que ella también es niña.
En fin, tantas cosas que quisieramos contar pero la noche es para descansar porque si no, como dice Facundo, son muchos y nos ganan la batalla! Nuestras aventuras como familia de siete apenas comienza. Tenemos un largo camino por recorrer. Gracias por estar al tanto. Las fotos creo que se las vamos a deber por ahorita.
We are in Colombia, of course, and as of today, we are a family of seven. After much running around, we took off to LAX Sunday evening, departed Monday morning, and made it to Cartagena, via Houston and Panama City, last night. It is hot here. Very hot and humid.
The trip itself was pretty uneventful. The children did extremely well all day. We learned that peanut butter and jelly are not allowed as carry-ons! As much as it hurt the officer to confiscate it, as he saw me with Pablo and Lulu standing by, he said he had to . We didn’t get a chance to pack as much as we wanted, with all the rush, but the other few American treats made it (goldfish, graham crackers, granola bars, oatmeal). Oh, well.
We are staying at a furnished apartment. It has two bedrooms. Cartagena is a tourist destination. We don’t think many international adoptions take place here so there are no adoption houses that we know of. This is certainly no vacation for us. We are trying to make a home away from home. Cooking, cleaning, chasing children will be the daily specials.
Without much fanfare, we were told late this morning that we would meet the children today. With just enough time to get ready, we changed, got our cameras ready and the children’s presents. Our lawyer picked us up shortly after 2. We went to get a cake and soda for the encounter. And off we went.
There were some formalities to be done and then, without any notice, the children started walking in. From then on, it is just a blur. We were all trying to hug them , greet them, give them their backpacks. Someone had our camera but we never took the video camera out. The pictures are not very good but the moment is in our hearts.
We officially met, from oldest to youngest, Juan David, Josue and Santiago. Juan David and Josue seemed eager to meet us, not shy at all. They even call us mami and papi. Santiago, on the other hand, seemed very shy and confused. And he’s been like that all day. There are times when he is happy, joining in the chaos and then, he goes to the door, wanting to leave. As if to say: ok, enough of this, I want to go back home. It is totally expected yet totally sad to see him grieving.
Words simply cannot adequately explain how we feel at this point. So blessed. So anxious and so at peace, all at once. The children are bonding, we are bonding. Pablo and Lulu have been real troopers, sharing their stuff and their parents. We are just beginning as a family of seven but to be here, starting is amazing beyond words. Pictures will still have to wait. We were told to take many pictures but somehow, with five children, the camera has not been a priority today.
Peace to all and thank you for letting us share our journey.
Laura & José
Lo que vivimos hoy es realmente indescriptible. Son emociones que no se les puede hacer justicia al escribirlas ni al ver en fotografias ni en video (aunque, con todo el trajín, ni la cámara de video sacamos y las fotos no son muy buenas).
Los conocimos hoy alrededor de las 3 de la tarde. Conocimos brevemente a sus madres sustitas con quienes han vivido más de un año y con quienes estaremos eternamente agradecidos.
Ahorita duermen. Toda la tarde fue un caos de actividad.
Estamos en un departamento con dos habitaciones que parece aún más pequeño con cinco criaturas activas.
Como llegamos anoche, en la mañana como que medio nos acoplamos para el cambio de hora (3), no hubo tiempo ni de conseguir mandado antes de ir por ellos.
Nos recogió la abogada después de las dos, pasamos por una torta de chocolate y unas gaseosas y a conocerlos. Algunas formalidades y entran los niños, de repente.
Son pequeños y creo que así nos los imaginabamos. Nos dicen Mami y Papi y saben los nombres de Lulú y Pablo, porque tienen unos libritos con fotos que nosotros les preparamos y enviamos. Santiago, el más pequeño, es el más confundido y el que muestra más signos de tristeza por el cambio. Le costó muchísimo trabajo dormirse y solo se durmió de tanto llorar. Se quería ir a la puerta y el le hablaba a mamá. Me trato de imaginar lo que siente, que de repente me dejen con unos extraños y que de repente pierda todo lo que me es conocido y me trae seguridad. Yo también lloraría inconsolablemente.
Pablo esta compartiendo sus cosas y su mami. Corretea con ellos como si siempre los hubiera conocido. Lulú es una mini Mami. Juega con ellos pero tambien los quiere cuidar y se ve grande junto a ellos. Le tendremos que seguir recordando que ella también es niña.
En fin, tantas cosas que quisieramos contar pero la noche es para descansar porque si no, como dice Facundo, son muchos y nos ganan la batalla! Nuestras aventuras como familia de siete apenas comienza. Tenemos un largo camino por recorrer. Gracias por estar al tanto. Las fotos creo que se las vamos a deber por ahorita.
We are in Colombia, of course, and as of today, we are a family of seven. After much running around, we took off to LAX Sunday evening, departed Monday morning, and made it to Cartagena, via Houston and Panama City, last night. It is hot here. Very hot and humid.
The trip itself was pretty uneventful. The children did extremely well all day. We learned that peanut butter and jelly are not allowed as carry-ons! As much as it hurt the officer to confiscate it, as he saw me with Pablo and Lulu standing by, he said he had to . We didn’t get a chance to pack as much as we wanted, with all the rush, but the other few American treats made it (goldfish, graham crackers, granola bars, oatmeal). Oh, well.
We are staying at a furnished apartment. It has two bedrooms. Cartagena is a tourist destination. We don’t think many international adoptions take place here so there are no adoption houses that we know of. This is certainly no vacation for us. We are trying to make a home away from home. Cooking, cleaning, chasing children will be the daily specials.
Without much fanfare, we were told late this morning that we would meet the children today. With just enough time to get ready, we changed, got our cameras ready and the children’s presents. Our lawyer picked us up shortly after 2. We went to get a cake and soda for the encounter. And off we went.
There were some formalities to be done and then, without any notice, the children started walking in. From then on, it is just a blur. We were all trying to hug them , greet them, give them their backpacks. Someone had our camera but we never took the video camera out. The pictures are not very good but the moment is in our hearts.
We officially met, from oldest to youngest, Juan David, Josue and Santiago. Juan David and Josue seemed eager to meet us, not shy at all. They even call us mami and papi. Santiago, on the other hand, seemed very shy and confused. And he’s been like that all day. There are times when he is happy, joining in the chaos and then, he goes to the door, wanting to leave. As if to say: ok, enough of this, I want to go back home. It is totally expected yet totally sad to see him grieving.
Words simply cannot adequately explain how we feel at this point. So blessed. So anxious and so at peace, all at once. The children are bonding, we are bonding. Pablo and Lulu have been real troopers, sharing their stuff and their parents. We are just beginning as a family of seven but to be here, starting is amazing beyond words. Pictures will still have to wait. We were told to take many pictures but somehow, with five children, the camera has not been a priority today.
Peace to all and thank you for letting us share our journey.
Laura & José
11.21.2009
Is it happening?
It doesn't feel real. Yet the house is a mess. Packing. Painting. Furniture. People in an out. Soon, very soon, we're meeting our boys. We just can't wait. For now, we just gotta make sure we don't forget anything essential. Thanks for all the prayers, support and last minute help. I just won't know what to do when I don't have any more paperwork to chase...oh, wait,...I'll have more kids to chase :-)
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Ahora si, parece que nos vamos. No lo podemos creer pero por la actividad en la casa, parece que si vamos por los famosos nenes! Ahorita solo estamos concentrando en preparar la casa lo mejor posible para cuando regresemos como una familia de siete y para que no se nos olvide nada esencial. La proxima historia sera desde Cartagena. Gracias por todas las oraciones, apoyo y por toda la ayuda de esos duendes que limpian, pintan, empacan, hacen mandados, cuidan a P y L. Gracias, gracias, gracias.
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Ahora si, parece que nos vamos. No lo podemos creer pero por la actividad en la casa, parece que si vamos por los famosos nenes! Ahorita solo estamos concentrando en preparar la casa lo mejor posible para cuando regresemos como una familia de siete y para que no se nos olvide nada esencial. La proxima historia sera desde Cartagena. Gracias por todas las oraciones, apoyo y por toda la ayuda de esos duendes que limpian, pintan, empacan, hacen mandados, cuidan a P y L. Gracias, gracias, gracias.
11.17.2009
Incertidumbre
Para los que se han tratado de mantener informados por este medio: aqui estamos y no nos vamos. No es cierto. Aqui estamos y [todavia] no sabemos cuando nos vamos. Nada, pero nada, concreto para compartir. A lo mejor escribo hasta cuando estemos en Colombia con nuestro cinco cachorros porque no sera real hasta entonces.
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Truly, really, no news to share. There's hope, there's things to do but there's no new travel/meeting date. I'm tempted to stop this blog until we are all together in Colombia. But most likely I won't be able to help but get excited, once again, when we have a new date to leave/meet the children. We'll see. I was getting ready to post the names of the boys and then our plans were put on hold. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow if I'm in a happy mood :-)
--
Truly, really, no news to share. There's hope, there's things to do but there's no new travel/meeting date. I'm tempted to stop this blog until we are all together in Colombia. But most likely I won't be able to help but get excited, once again, when we have a new date to leave/meet the children. We'll see. I was getting ready to post the names of the boys and then our plans were put on hold. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow if I'm in a happy mood :-)
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