9/28/08 and 9/29/08

Sunday, September 28th

We took advantage of the closed streets again and walked back to the Santa Barbara Market with our new Colombian friend, Adriana.  She's so cute with Manny.  She took care of him all day, by pushing his stroller, giving him a bottle, carrying him around the market.  I wasn't sure she was going to give him back at the end of the day : )

We had lunch at Archies Pizzaria, which was fabulous!  Adriana's boyfriend, Alejandro met with us for lunch and then we did some more walking around the market until we found the Postres stand (Desserts)  Johnny and I tried something different and both were delish!  Since the streets opened up again at 2:oo, Alejandro drove us back to the hotel.  That was kind of nice, because we were pretty tired from all the walking at the market.

Monday, September 29th

Johnny and I and The Hayden's had the opportunity to cook dinner for the staff here at Hotel Paris.  We had a blast!  Our menu consisted of Spaghetti, Caesar Salad (No anchovies), Garlic Bread and for dessert, Apple Pie with ice cream.  It was a big hit!  We made a run to the Carulla (Super Market) to get the ingredients that we didn't have and started cooking around 4:30.  Hotel Paris' cook, Juanita, helped us with finding all the tools we needed while we prepared dinner.  Colombian radio was cranked up while we were cooking.  Dancing during meal preparation is required.  In fact dancing is a main staple in the kitchen here at Hotel Paris!

Manny was of course, well cared for by all the ladies while we were cooking.  After preparing that meal and serving and helping with clean up, we really got a taste for how hard these ladies work every day. (and we only did one meal!)  Thanks to the staff for letting us invade your kitchen.  We had a blast!

9/27/08

Saturday, September 27th

Johnny visited a salon on Saturday morning to get a hair cut.  It's about twenty thousand pesos for a haircut which is only ten american dollars!  It was a really nice salon.  They made Johnny wear a robe, which was a little tight.  He sang, fat man in a little coat as he put it on.   Of course I had to take a picture!

Our representative, Cecilia invited us and The Hayden's to a very large flea market in Santa Anna. This is a big event and it only happens one weekend a year.  We left Manny with a babysitter for the first time.  I wasn't nervous, but I started to miss him after we were gone for about an hour.  There were an enormous amount of food vendors there, including one that sold a Colombian Delicacy called Capybara. They are the largest living rodents in the world and are related to agouti, chinchillas, coyphillas, and guinea pigs.  We were stunned to see that the line for this stand was longer than any of the others.  We weren't brave enough to try it, but we heard that this is on the  menu at Chino Latino in uptown, but has to be ordered more than 24 hours in advance.  So if anyone is brave enough to try it, let us know what it tastes like. (And don't say Chicken!)

Click here to view the Wikepedia Site for Capybara

The Colombian Military had there own section and there were children climbing on tanks and assault vehicles for photo opps! The military men were also giving demonstrations of their machine guns (We think they were unloaded). I was drawn to a booth for handmade alligator and suede purses and of course they were super expensive. They were just gorgeous! Can you believe I walked away? We had a 2-3 mile walk back to the hotel and made it back just before dark.   When we got back to the hotel, Manny was sound asleep and had been well taken care of by the wonderful staff at Hotel Paris!  What a wonderful day in Bogota.

Love, Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

Big Daddy here (Johnny):

My first Man-Blog is about packing for the adoption trip.

First and foremost, don't let your woman pack. Inspect everything that she deems "necessary".

Remember that most airline will charge you an arm and a leg for any bag over 50 lbs. My first Man-Suggestion is to get everything in 3 bags if possible and either pack an empty 4th bag or purchase a duffel when in country. The extra bag is for bringing back goodies and such. Traveling out with six 50 pound bags may sound okay but traveling back home with seven 55 pound bags and a stroller and a baby is as much fun as passing a mammoth kidney stone.

In our case we travelled to Bogota Colombia, a city of about 8 million people. I am pretty sure we can find and buy anything that might be forgotten. Except in our case an LED alarm clock. It is true what they say about "Colombian time". No one here seems to have alarm clocks, we checked 6 different large department stores and the only alarm clock we found was at a store called Bed, Bath & Barrel. A blatant rip off of Bed, Bath & Beyond and Crate & Barrel. The only alarm clock they had was one that projected the time onto the ceiling and at 189,000 pesos (about $90 US) I will guess at what time it is in the middle of the night.

Baby clothes:

I know that the female persuasion love to dress up babies in the cutest outfits, but packing 25 -30 separate outfits should be a no no. The kid doesn't care what he/she looks like and the only thing Colombians seem to care about is if the baby is wearing shoes.  7 outfits that you can mix and match should be enough, and then some jammies. I like the little baby sack for sleeping in. Easy to insert Junior into and easy to get Junior out of for midnight diaper changing. Gets you back in bed quicker when you don't have to worry about getting all 18 snaps on Juniors Baby Gap matching  sleep wear!

His and Her clothes:

Find out what people wear in the country you will be traveling and what the temperature will be like. In Bogota it is between 50 - 70 everyday and the is a 100% chance of rain or drizzle. Bring clothes that you can wear in layers, we went for a walk to the market today and it started out cold (2 layers) got warmer (1 layer) started to rain (umbrella) then got colder and breezy.

Shorts:

Don't bother bringing them unless you go somewhere warm. I packed 3 pairs and have worn one pair for lounging around the hotel. People just don't wear them here so I wasted valuable luggage space.

Washers and Dryers:

Yep they have them here. We do laundry once or twice a week so try to only pack about 7 outfits  for yourselves. I have been known to wear a t-shirt more than one day and no one has complained about the smell so far. Another nice thing to pack is a small box of fabric softener sheets like Bounce.  Stevie Wonder has a better chance of finding Waldo than I did finding fabric softener in Bogota. If you don't mind clothes with 80 grit texture you're okay otherwise bring the Bounce. 

Lounge Wear:

This will be the most important part of your wardrobe. Your days will consist mostly of, having breakfast, playing with Junior, going for a walk, playing with junior, lunch, playing with Junior, dinner, playing with Junior, relaxing in your room, putting Junior to bed and repeat.

Formal clothes:

We brought one formal outfit that you will wear at the presentation and at our meeting at "The Defender Of The Minors. Any other meetings consists of "business casual wear".

Shoes:

Here is another prime example of women going completely mental about "having to have the right shoe for the right occasion". You must fight her on this, stand your ground. She will need lounge shoes, comfortable walking shoes and one pair of dress shoes. Stiletto heels don't work well in Bogota where the streets and sidewalks have potholes that could swallow a small SUV.

Guys, same situation, lounge shoes, walking shoes and dress shoes. 

Money:

Bring some local currency with you for taxi fare and for tipping. Keep some US dollars with you just in case and when you fly back to the US. Exchange money at a large local bank when in country and take out as much as possible. You will get a better exchange rate at a big bank rather than ATM's or airports.

Toilets & Toiletries:

Cipro. didn't think I needed it but am very glad my wife brought it. The first weekend I got a case of Montezuma's Revenge and spent some quality time on the biffy. Let me tell you, 11 dad-gum blowouts in 24 hours is no fun when you can't flush the toilet paper down the toilet. That's right, the Bogota sewer system is not designed for toilet paper. That is why the garbage can is located right next to the toilet. Actually you get used to it and it makes you plan your downloads. Here is something I am concerned about, if someone from Bogota visits me, what will they do with their toilet paper?

Salty Breakfast Meats:

If I would have known that a slice of bacon is around 15,000 pesos I would have smuggled in a few pounds of good bacon and sausage. What I wouldn't give for a B.L.T. with extra B.

That's it for my first Man-Blog, more to come. 

Chao!

Hola!

We moved to our new hotel yesterday and we love it! The room is bigger and brighter. Juanita is the best cook and comes out while we are eating to make sure we are enjoying it. She wants to hold Manny and brings him back to the kitchen with the other staff, while we are eating. It's also been great, being back in the same hotel with The Haydens. Ellie and I have become great friends : ) We had some playtime out in the courtyard at the hotel after lunch today. We were doing some balance beam practice on the cement border of the sidewalk. For those of you who know how clumsy I am, you'll be surprised to see that I still have some of the old balance beam moves in me!

The slideshow below has more pictures of the beautiful Flowers here in Colombia. This country is also known for their exotic fruits that you can't find anywhere else in the world. At lunch today we had a fruit called Granadilla. You cut open the top and spoon out the nectar and eat it. The look of it, can be quite off putting, but after a taste, I found it had a great flavor. You definitely have to get past the texture! You'll see in the picture!

Manny has been a little fussy the last couple days, and we're not quite sure if he's not feeling well, if he's teething, or if he needs more food! We decided to try and give him some rice cereal today. He had about 5-6 bites and then got impatient and wanted instant gratification from the bottle. (Mamma's little piggy - He even snorts) The Haydens have been so helpful with parenting advise for us first time parents!

One last note. . . Johnny keeps talking big about writing his own "Man Blog" as a guide for future Colombian Adoptive Dads. I think he needs a little encouragement to get started!

Love, Dulcie Johnny and Manny

9-24-2008

Happy Anniversary to my mom and dad tomorrow (9-25)  They will be celebrating 37 years of wedded bliss!  Thanks for the great example Grandma and Grandpa Karels!

We had a busy day today. This morning we went to the Los Pisingos Mother's Home. This is the home where many pregnant women stay during some of their pregnancy. They receive prenatal care, counseling, job training and support. Some women stay at the home for up to a month after the baby is born. There were 5 pregnant women in the room and 3 women who had already given birth. A few posts ago, we shared with everyone the experience of meeting the pregnant woman in the waiting room at the defender of minors office. As chance would have it, she was also at our meeting today as well. She seemed to be much less emotional and smiling a lot of the time. What a great opportunity to see her again!

The meeting was very emotional for all of us. We feel so grateful that we were able to meet with these women and ease their minds and help with any questions they had about adoption.  Manny was passed around the room and received lots of attention : )

Some of the questions they asked were:

Why did you choose to adopt from Colombia?

What is your baby's name?

Did you keep the name his mother gave him? If not, why?

How do you feel about women who give up their babies for adoption? (They worried that the adoptive families and children would think poorly of them, like they abandoned their children.)

What was the process like prior to receiving the baby? What did we have to do while we were waiting?

How did you feel when you met your baby for the first time?

Will you tell your child that they are adopted?

Did you make the decision to adopt on your own, or did you receive support from your family?

Now that you have spent some time here, what do you think of Colombia?


Some of the questions we asked them:

Has meeting us, helped you with your decision?

When your child is 18, how would you feel about him/her contacting you?

Has living in the mothers home helped you?

How would you feel about leaving a letter or picture for your child to have?

The answers to these questions were varied between each of the women.  During the meeting, we found out that the law recently changed for birthmothers being able to see pictures and updates about their child. In the past, adoptive parents would send pictures and updates to the orphanage and the birth mothers could visit the orphanage to check for these updates. I guess they can no longer do that and adoption files are closed until the children are 18 years old. We feel really sad about this and wish that they would be able to do that if they wanted to. I'm sure there are some that don't want to, but I would think that it would bring them peace to know that their child is happy, healthy and with a loving family.  At the end of the meeting we hugged each of the women and thanked them and wished them luck.  It really was an amazing experience that we'll never forget!

After our meeting we were treated to lunch by the Haydens at Hotel Paris.  The lunch was fabulous!  We had rice, red beans, fried plantanes with shredded beef and salsa.  Yummy!  We received a tour of the hotel and we were able to see almost every room.  It was really cute, they told us to lay on the bed in each room to see which one felt most comfortable.  The Haydens and one other couple are the only people staying in the hotel right now, so we had our pick of any room if we were to move.  We got back to our hotel and talked about it, and ultimately decided to move.  We really enjoy the company of the Hayden family and really liked the atmosphere at the hotel.  We will save a little money as well.  We will be checking out tomorrow morning and moving in to Paris!  We're really excited.  

We had an appt. to go to the orphanage tomorrow, but it has been postponed until next Tuesday.  Johnny and I will take a look at whether or not we are going to the coast after that meeting.  Because the strike is still on, we want to make sure we are conservative with our money, just in case we end up being here longer than expected.  We didn't really take any pictures in the last couple of days, but I did take a video this morning of Johnny and Manny playing.  He's cooing and laughing and it's so cute!  Make sure your sound is turned up when you watch, so you can hear Manny.  

Love, Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

9-22-08

Happy Monday!

This morning our fellow Minnesotans staying in the room next to us, checked out and moved to another hotel.  They had stayed at this hotel when they adopted their first child, 5 years ago.  We are going to have lunch with them on Wednesday and tour the hotel.  We may end up moving, but are unsure yet.  It has been really nice having them here, and we already miss them.  We are thinking of a trip to the coast for a week, so if we do that, we'll have to check out of our hotel.  When we come back from our trip it may be a good time to check into the other hotel.  We will have to check with our rep, Cecilia to see if this is a possibility.  If it's an issue, than we will just stay here.  We'll probably make a decision after we visit them on Wednesday.   

This morning, before they checked out, they brought their new daughter Emma and their five year old, Ellie to our room to say goodbye.  Emma and Manny ended up having some play time under the play gym.  See pics below.  So cute!  Johnny, Manny and I went for another walk, and went to lunch at The Bogota Beer Company.  Very delicious!  Then we had to have dessert at Crepes and Waffles since it is next door! 

We spent the rest of the evening hanging out with Manny and getting a lot of fun playtime.  He is so much fun! 

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

9-21-08

Manny is 4 months old today! It's hard to believe, since he looks like he's about 6 months old! We had a great weekend and hope to share all of the fun with you through our journal below, and pictures.

Thursday and Friday (9/18-9/19)
Not much to report for these two days. We went for walks both days and took a couple naps with Manny. On Thursday, we went to a store called Maku, which is a very large Souvenir shop with 4 floors! We bought Manny a Colombian Soccer jersey, which we'll have his name embroidered along with the number 08 for the year he was born. We took a picture of him in it. (So cute) There is an embroidered wall hanging in our hotel room that Manny just loves to stare at. It's a farm scene, and is very colorful. We found one exactly like it at Maku, so we bought that to put up in his room. We also purchased some fun gifts for friends and family back home. Friday, we walked to the mall, Unicentro. We've done quite a bit of walking, which is helping Johnny and I lose some weight. Let's hope we don't find it when we get back to Minnesota!

Saturday, 9-20-08

We took a trip to the Salt Cathedral with another family from Minnesota.  Steve and his daughter Ellie came with us.  Steve and his wife Carie just adopted their second daughter Emma.  They adoped Ellie 5 years ago.  Ellie and I have become fast friends : )

Our tour guide, Paola, picked us up at 9am and we drove for about an hour north of Bogota.  The salt cathedral is amazing.  The pictures can not do it justice because of course we are in a dark tunnel, but hopefully you can get a feel for what we experienced.  There is also a link below for the salt cathedral's website, where you can read about the history and see more professional pictures.   

Click here to see the Salt Cathedral Website

After the tour, we drove down to the village below and had lunch at a beautiful Colombian restaurant.  We had Ajiaco soup, which is a very popular dish in Colombian cuisine.  It's like Chicken soup, but it's very thick with a potato base.  It's got half of a cob of corn in it along with chicken and other veggies.  You put fresh creme', capers and avacado in the soup.  Yummy!  After lunch, Ellie and I went out to the playground because she was dying to get out and play.  She showed me a few tricks on the monkey bars, and then said, now you try it.  Yeah Right!  I tried hanging from the bar and I felt like my arms were going to come out of my sockets.  Getting old, is so much fun : )  Our tour guide was a lot of fun, and of course Johnny had her laughing so hard, she was crying.  She wants to bring us on more tours while we're here, so we'll have to take her up on that.

Sunday, 9-21-08

Another Sunday taking advantage of the streets being closed for pedestrians.  We walked to a beautiful old part of Bogota called, Santa Barbara.  We saw the Zona Colonial (Colonial area), which consists of the Santa Barbara church (constructed in 1665 and modernized in the 20th century), the old country manor of the same name (now a mall), seminaries, schools, and the famous Mercado de las pulgas, which is the large flea market. We also had lunch at a wonderful restaurant where I had some of the best roasted chicken I've ever had. It was right up there with The Redstone's fire roasted chicken.  We are now snuggled in for the night and almost ready for bed.  We can't believe we will be starting our third week here already!  Fortunately, time has been moving very fast.  The strike is still going.  We heard that they will meet again for negotiations, this Thursday.  We are praying for resolution!  Have a great week, and we'll try to post more this week.  

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

 

9-17-08

Good Morning,

Yesterday turned out to be a great day! On Monday evening, we received a call from our Representative, Cecilia, telling us that our appointment with the defender of minors had been cancelled for Tuesday. We received a call at 9:15 am on Tuesday morning saying that someone was on their way to pick us up for our appointment. WHAT?! Manny was taking a nap, hadn't had his bottle or diaper changed and Johnny and I were not dressed in our fancy duds, which is a requirement for this appointment. Now we know how fast we can do all of this when it's necessary!

We made it to the appointment just in time, but then found out that the orphanage had not delivered our dossier paperwork to this office, so we had to go out to the waiting room and wait for 45 minutes until the messenger could get there. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. A young pregnant woman was also sitting in the waiting room. It turns out that she is working with the same orphange from which we received Manny and she is considering adoption for her child. She asked our representative, Isabella, if she could ask us some questions about our adoption. Isabella told her some information about us, Manny's name and the woman asked why we changed his birth name. This is a very common question that many pregnant women ask. They may find it sad that the name they have chosen for their child is changed, unless they understand why. We told her that we wanted to honor my grandfather by naming our son after him. We also said that his birth name will always be special to us and we will make sure it is special to him as well. We then explained how his birth name happened to be the Juan (John) and Esteban (Steven, my dad's name). She smiled, nodded her head and then started to cry.

Johnny was sitting next to her and placed his hand on her shoulder to comfort her. He asked her if she would like to hold Emmanuel. She held him and started to sob while she was talking to him. It was a moment we will never forget. It was almost as if she was saying goodbye to her own child or coming to terms with the decision she was making. We only hope that her chance meeting with us, helped her feel at peace in some way. As she handed him back to us, she said, may God be with you and your family. Johnny again, comforted her and she went to sit down in her original seat. It was a few minutes later that we were called in to the office of the defender of minors. We signed paperwork that officially relinquished custody from the orphanage to us. Johnny gave the defender of minors a gift that was a hand turned wood pen that he made on his lathe, and we signed the documents with that pen. Now that this step is complete, we will just wait for the courts to open again, so we can have our case assigned to a specific court. No news on the strike being over, but they say that they try to go back to work before the end of the month, otherwise they will not receive any pay.

We then made our way back to the hotel rested for a bit, and then ventured out to the streets of Bogota once again. We ate at El Corral, which is a burger joint. It's a very popular spot. It kind of reminded me of A&W. Then we did some more walking and somehow ended up in front of Crepes and Waffles! What a pleasant surprise ; ) We shared a banana strawberry sunday and a cappuchino, then headed back to the hotel. Another Minnesota family received their baby girl yesterday, so we had a welcome party at the hotel. She is a little peanut! Manny is only a week older than her, but out weighs her by a lot! We held her, and they held Manny so we could compare and wow!

We think Manny is starting to get a tooth already. Yesterday he was a little fussy, drooling and had some flush cheeks. We gave him a cold wash cloth and rubbed his gums with it, which he seemed to love. Not much else to report today. Probably will do some more walking around lunch time.

P.S. - Johnny had a mild case of Montezuma's revenge last night, but he must have a stronger stomach than me, because he's feeling better already. (Lucky!)

Ta Ta For Now,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

9/13 - 9/15

Buenos Tardes (Good Afternoon)

Sorry we haven't posted since Friday. We had a very busy weekend with lots of excitement. The plan was to write all about it, yesterday afternoon, but I ended up getting the Montezuma's Revenge. It hit pretty hard, and put me out of commission for about 18 hours. Luckily we brought a prescription of Cipro with us, and I started taking that last night. I'm feeling much better now, but will still be careful about eating in the next day or two.

We met a wonderful family, The Kerns, while we have been waiting for our referral. They adopted their daughter Lucy from Colombia two years ago. During their flight to Colombia, they met a young woman named, Adriana, who was flying back home to Colombia. They talked during the flight and became friends. If you have not already heard, the people of Colombia are known for their warmth and hospitality and true to form, Adriana invited The Kerns to have lunch with her family on a Sunday during their stay. They have since stayed friends and even vacationed in Virginia with them this summer.

The Kerns asked us to bring some pictures to Colombia, so we could deliver them to their friend, Adriana. Adriana called us on Thursday and asked if we would like to have lunch with her on Saturday. On Saturday, we were waiting at the front of our hotel when two cars full of people pulled up. It was Adriana and her entire family! They were so excited to meet us, and we were so glad to have the opportunity to meet them. We started out with an hour 1/2 drive, north of Bogota, into a country village where we had a traditional Colombian lunch that consisted of Chicken, Beef, Potatoes, Avacados, soup, and of course beers. It was such a beautiful setting. Don't take my word for it, you'll have to see in the pictures. From the minute we arrived, Johnny and I didn't get to hold Manny! He was passed around from family member to family member getting lots of hugs and kisses.

After lunch, we drove to the town of Tabio. It's a quaint village nestled in the mountains. I found a site on Google, that has great information. If you wish to read more about it, click on the link below.

Tabio Website

We went in to many shops that boasted handcrafted goods that are native to the area. There was one shop in particular that I loved ; ) Of course they sold sterling silver jewelry and Johnny bought me a pair of earrings. The last stop in Tabio was a postre shop, which is a pastry or dessert shop. Johnny and I shared a piece of Tirimisu with a wonderful sauce on top called, tres leche, which is three milks. On the ride home, we had very nice conversation with Adriana and her father Godfrey. We talked about Colombia and how the rest of the world perceives it. He loves his country and is so proud and hopes someday the rest of the world will know what a great country it is. Godfrey spoke of the Kern family and how they are very special friends of his family and are wonderful people. He also added that he felt the same way about us. We told him that we had our best day in Colombia with his family aside from the first day we met Emmanuel. What a wonderful day!

On Sundays and holidays from 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., 121 kilometers of the main Bogotá streets become CYCLE-WAYS, or lanes for bicycle, skaters or strollers. The Cycle-way has become the most important recreational and sports activity for Bogotá inhabitants, since on Sundays and holidays over three million citizens participate. Johnny, Manny and I were three of the three million on Sunday! It was so nice to push the stroller down the flat level street! We walked for about four hours with a break for lunch at Patecones. The best way to describe the food would be like nachos. They take a plantane (Patecone) and flatten it and fry it. Then they add whatever toppings you order. The dish I had was Mexicanno, which had Beef, Queso, Lettuce, Guacamole and black beans. Check out the pictures below:





We were heading back to the hotel when we saw a place called, American Cheesecake. Of course we had to stop! We had a piece of dessert and some coffee and Manny had a bottle. There was a lady in the shop that spoke English and she was asking about Manny and where he was born. When we told her we adopted him, she said, Oh what a beautiful thing it is to adopt! We told her we were the lucky ones to have this little guy in our lives and she said, well, his name does mean, Gift from God. That couldn't be more true!

Now on to Monday.
We hung out at the hotel all day today, since I needed to stick close to the bathroom : ( We had a skype call with my cousin Stacy in Stillwater, and now are getting ready to go downstairs for dinner. We were scheduled to have our meeting with the Defender of Minors tomorrow morning, which is the last step before we are assigned to a court. We received a call from Cecilia this afternoon and she said our appt. was cancelled because the Strike is still not over. She is hoping that we can have our meeting rescheduled for next week. (If the strike is over by then). Unfortunately, our case won't move until it's assigned to a court. Once the court is assigned, we usually have another 4-5 weeks left before we receive Sentencia. (which is the final adoption decree from the court) From there, we have 4 days to get Manny's passport, visit the embassy, etc. and then we can travel home.

So, it seems like we may be here for the long haul, but we have always expected the worst and hoped for the best. There are things that can help us through our wait here. We will try to take in as much of Bogota and some other parts of Colombia as possible. We love to stay in touch with everyone at home. Sykpe has been especially helpful, because it feels like we are just in the next room talking. Manny loves to be on skype and usually coos and giggles for the people on the other end of the line. If you have a web-cam and an internet connection, you can sign up for skype for free. The calls are free if you are calling computer to computer. If you sign up, our account is under the name, Johnny Becker Jr. in Minnetonka MN. We would love to talk to you! Well, we are going to head down to dinner. Tonight there will be a family from Minnesota arriving around 10pm, so we'll be able to hang out with another family who speaks English : )

Enjoy the picture slideshow!

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

TGIF!

TGIF doesn't really mean anything here in Bogota, since the days are all jumbled together.  We had another day out and about today.  We took quite a long walk to the uni-centro, which is a mall.  We didn't realize how long it would take to get there, and I think we took a longer route than we needed to, but it was nice to see some new scenery.  On the way back to the hotel, we took the shorter route, and saw more new scenery.  

The way back was definitely a challenge with the stroller.  There was a lot of sidewalk construction going on, so we had to lift and carry the stroller in many spots.  It's kind of a toss up on whether or not to use the Baby Bjorn or a stroller.  The Bjorn allows you more mobility, but the stroller is good for storing the diaper bag and any purchases you make on your outing.  Manny loves to ride in either, so I guess it's up to us : )

Dr. Maria Clemencia made a house call today to give Manny a checkup.  We asked her to look through all of the medical records that we received from Los Pisingos and everything looks good there.  She said that he is a big strong boy.  He's healthy and happy, and that's all we could ask for.  We hope everyone has a great weekend!

Love, 

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

9-11-08

Hi everyone,

Yesterday was pretty uneventful.  We went for a walk and did some shopping in the morning and in the afternoon Cecilia picked us up and took us to the notary to get copies of our passports notarized.  We had to sign and put our fingerprint on the document.  When we got back to the hotel, they had the Colombia vs. Chile Soccer Match on the projector screen in the common room of the hotel.  We watched a little of the game and hung out with another family from Norway.

We had a big day today.  We went for a three hour long walk around northern Bogota today.  The weather was beautiful.  75 degrees and sunny.  We had lunch at a cafe inside of a grocery store and then did some grocery shopping.  We had Manny out in the stroller today, which he really enjoyed.  He's just so content.  He has finally had his first scream/crying fit, but was only when I had to clean his nose with the bulb syringe.  We've had to clean his nasal passages twice, because he seems to have a cold, and when he gets stuffed up, he forgets to breath through his mouth.  I guess they learn that over time?

He had two bottles in the middle of the night last night, which isn't so bad.  It's amazing how awake you are when he gets up and how you can fall right back to sleep when you put him back down.  I've been a little tired today, but took a nap when he did.  I'm awake from my nap, but he's still sleeping.  Tonight we'll probably just hang out at the hotel and maybe watch a movie.  Enjoy the pictures!

Love,

Dulcie, Johnny and Manny

09-09-2008

Hi everyone (Johnny here)

Even though we've only had him for a day, it seems like we've had him for. . . a day and a half! (HA)  

It's official, I have changed my first diaper. What an experience, as I was changing him he started to pee and didn't stop until he was empty! He arced his stream right off the bed onto the floor. I suppose every diaper will get easier and hopefully less dramatic. 

He is sleeping soundly right now and probably loading up another diaper for me, or Dulcie, probably Dulcie.

That's it for now, we will post more pictures tomorrow.

Thanks for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.

Buenas noches,

Johnny, Dulcie and Manny

Hi everyone!

We have just had the best day of our lives!  I'm mostly going to post pictures and video, because I know that's what everyone wants to see!  We had our presentation around 3:45 this afternoon at the private home of one of the board members of Los Pisingos.  It was a beautiful penthouse apartment.  It couldn't have been more perfect.  Johnny and I arrived, and received Manny within 10 minutes.  

We were only there for about 30 minutes, when the taxi showed up and we had to rush downstairs.  He fell asleep in the taxi on the way back to the hotel, and then slept for another 20-25 minutes.  He is very calm, content and happy.  We had dinner in the dining room downstairs with all of the other families and he was just happy to sit and watch all the other babies and kids at the other tables.  I had him in the baby bjorn while we ate, and he loved that.  After dinner, we had a Skype call with Grandma and Grampa Karels and his Auntie Karissa and Uncle Josh.  Skype is such a wonderful invention!

He fell asleep on Johnny's lap while we were talking on Skype.  It was so cute and everyone got to see him fall asleep online!  We changed his diaper and got his jammies on, and he woke up, but not for long.  He's sleeping peacefully in his playpen next the bed right now.  He looks like a little angel : )  

Well, enough babbling, and down to the pictures!

Presentation scheduled for 3:30 pm central time

Hola!

We just spoke with Cecelia, and she is picking us up at our hotel (Zuetana 106) at 2:45 pm. We will post pictures when we get back from Los Pisingos.

Love,

Dulcie and Johnny

We are here!

Just a quick note to let everyone know we made it safe and sound. It was a very pleasant trip. The flight was much shorter than we expected. We spoke with our representative here in Colombia (Cecelia) and she will be calling us at 11:00 tomorrow morning, to let us know what time we will be meeting Manny! We are both pretty tired, especially me, since I didn´t go to bed until 4am last night and got up at 6am. I´m running on fumes! I´ll post more tomorrow.

Buenas Noches (PK - Is that spelled correctly?)

Love from Bogota,

Dulcie and Johnny

We got our Visas!

This morning I was brushing my teeth, watching out for the Fed-Ex truck, when he pulled into the driveway.  Well, if anyone has been greeted by our dogs when the doorbell rings, you probably know that it's better if I greet our guest before they have a chance to ring the doorbell.  So, I ran out with a mouth full of toothpaste and my toothbrush still in my hand.   He got a kick out of it, and told us to have a good trip.

I picked up our updated apostilled FBI prints at Lutheran Social Services office today and talked with our Social worker who was full of news today.  We had heard that their could be a Judicial strike in Colombia last week, but when we asked our social worker to look into it, she said there was no indication of strike.  Well, she got the call this morning from Cecilia confirming that yes, the strike started yesterday.  There is no way to know how long it will last, but it will not change our plans to meet Manny on Monday.  It will just prolong our stay in Colombia.  Sometimes strikes last a few days and sometimes they could last a few weeks, so we'll pray that it doesn't last too long. 

Our social worker also told us that she is no longer going to be working at Lutheran Social Services as of September 11th.  I'm not sure how much this could affect us while we are in Bogota, since we have a representative (Cecilia) that will take care of us while we are there.  Our social worker would have done our post placement visits, but that just means that the new person will do that when we are back in the states.  They do not have a replacement for her yet, but have told us we can contact the director if we need anything.  

So, not the most settling news today, but it won't get us down, because we still get to hold our baby in our arms in less than 4 days!!!

Good news regarding our Visas

Just wanted to give a quick update.  I received an email from the Colombian Consulate in Chicago, this morning and they have approved our Visa's and are being sent fed-ex to us, today!  So, we should have them in our hands by Thursday.  

That is such a load off : )

Dulcie and Johnny

Gotcha Day will be Monday the 8th!

Hi everyone,

Last Thursday we received word that we could travel on September 7th. This means we have a LOT to do in 10 days! Thursday night we completed our special visitors visa application packet and then Friday morning a quick trip to the secretary of states office for apostilles. We were able to get the packet overnighted to the Colombian Consulate in Chicago. They typically approve the applications within 2-3 business days and with the short labor day work week, we are really cutting it close.

If we do not have our visa's by Saturday, we will need to postpone our trip until they are received. Lot's of prayers are needed : ) We included a pre-paid fed-ex (Saturday Delivery) envelope with our applications, so if they send them back to us on Friday, we will still have them in time for our flight on Sunday.

We received a note from our social worker on Saturday, saying that we will meet Manny on Monday, September 8th. Somebody pinch us! From that point on, he will be with us, his forever family. Our social worker also indicated that we will be staying at Zuetana. She didn't indicate which one. I think there are four Zuetana locations in the Bogota area. Hopefully, we'll find out which one we're staying at, and then we can get feedback from any families who've stayed there.

We've finished up all of our shopping for the trip, and I think we are pretty well set. Now the fun part. . . . Packing!

Thanks to everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers.

Love, Dulcie and Johnny