May 12th

May 12th... Today was fun. We all slept in and had a great breakfast at the hotel here. We talked to our agency first thing and they think it could be tomorrow when we get our signature but unfortunately that doesn't guarantee we can come home this weekend. I am still holding out hope about it though...

So, we packed up Jim's things and got him ready to leave as he leaves at 6am tomorrow. We talked to the kids and made sure they understand why he is leaving and that we will see him in about a week. They started pouting but got over it pretty quickly with some candy. We played some games and Jim again played his favorite game - throwing the kids up as high as he can. They laugh and laugh.

We continue to work on their English and our Spanish. It is really a lot easier than I thought it would be. I bought a phonics book for Catalina and she really tries each day to work on learning. Every chance we get we are teaching them things. We went thru some pictures with them and they pointed out all the things they knew. John has a hilarious way of saying WOW when he sees something he likes. It makes us all laugh.

Last night was very special as Jim took me out for dinner and a movie. It was our first time that we have been without our kids in 3 weeks! 24/7 kids make you really appreciate getting out and spending time without them. We went to this mall where they said they had a California Pizza Kitchen - one of my favorite places to eat. Well, we looked and looked but could not find it so we went to plan B and had some Mexican. Not a bad 2nd choice... When you buy a ticket for the movie theater, they are assigned seats which is kinda nice. They also escort you to the correct seat.
Jim had a little culture shock there as the restrooms are a little more unisex here. They still have mens and womens bathrooms, but when Jim went to use the restroom, there were two women in the mens room just acting like it was no big deal. Apparently the men didn't care either.

Overall, it was a pretty good mothers day. The kids made me feel very special and loved and Jim kept reminding them all day to go abraso (Hug) Mami. I probably got hugged and kissed 100 times yesterday! They also brought flowers to my room in the morning. I know they have wanted a mami for a long time and I wonder what they are thinking as they know I am theirs and they are mine. We did have a time in the afternoon that they didn't get what they wanted and had a pouting fest. We were at the mall so Jim took them back and little squirt and I shared some ice cream and finished shopping. It was a really nice time and as Jaysa and I were walking around we heard some singing and realized they were having a church service in the middle of the mall. It really is amazing that God knows exactly what you need and meets you right where you are. Even when you are in a foreign country and don't really understand what they are saying HE can use it to still speak to your heart. I serve an awesome God! What a great day!

I took the kids shopping with me today as the next few days may get a little crazy without Jim. It is nice to be able to get out and have the hotel take care of the munchkins. They have been amazing and are really good with the kids. I see the way the kids listen to them as they speak spanish with them, and I know that once the kids have more English under their belt, things will get easier to deal with.

Sorry we haven't been able to post many pictures. Our flash went out on our camera and a lot of the pictures didn't turn out. Here are a few happy pictures and sad pictures. It isn't all roses here but it is most of the time. The kids like to pout but they are learning that it doesn't get them anywhere except an hour in bed. Please forgive me if I don't post a whole lot the next week but I will do my best to let you all know what happens as we finish our journey to Colombia.

Many blessings