Arrived and Anxious

We arrived no problem last night and met our driver,Andres to our lodging. We were very glad to hit the hay around midnight though... Today we met most of the people in our bed and breakfast and the Hollis and Calderaros who are with our same agency and I have communicated with over the internet for a bit now. We all went for a 4 mile walk to and from a flee market and had lunch at a great hamburger place. It was very nice and I got a couple little things. The weather was very nice, a little warmer then we expected as we both look like we spent a few hours at the beach.

There are quite a few other adoptive families here from the US, Canada and France. Very multicultural experience. Jim was able to communicate to the people from France a little so we had fun with that. Others are from California, Ohio, Virginia, Minnesota, and Manitoba.

Tommorrow is the big day. There are so many things going thru our minds but the best way to describe it is, like we need to throw up. I know that's a little crude, but I am sure those of you who have done this know the feeling. People here are so excited for us and I know that will be a great support for the first few weeks.

Anyway, I am going to put some soothing music on and Jim and I are going to get on our knees for awhile tonight for the last time as a family of 2. Will you please join us as we thank our God for all that He has blessed us with? If some of you can, we would love for you to comment some prayers and thoughts to this post. We will share them with our kids tomorrow!

We will post our pictures of the kids in our arms as soon as we can, but it will probably be late tomorrow night. Love ya lots

crazy wonderful

OK, here we are sitting in the Atlanta airport where we get to hang out for 5 hours! What a whirlwind it has been the last few days. Let me start with the wonderful... Thursday my Mom#2 and I spent the entire day out shopping, picking up gifts, and getting all the meticulous things we need for the next 4+ weeks, Whew! The good thing about the day was that I planned out all the stops and exactly what I needed to get. Jim was very proud as he terms this "purpose driven shopping". That night, my sweet friends from our old church, "the Brook" gave me a kids shower at Ruby Tuesdays. I again am overwhelmed by their generosity for our children and their love for me and Jim. On my way home, I teared up thinking of them and how wonderful it has been knowing each of them and the support they have given us. Thanks for everything guys!

And then.... Friday happened. I left to get my hair cut and while I was gone, my inlaws were working around the house when they heard a large BOOM! While this noise is a very familiar sound around our place as Jim works for a Fireworks company, they knew he was at work so it must be something else. After some quick running around, they realized that one of the water pipes in the basement had forcefully disengaged and was pouring water rapidly into our new house. Some quick thinking by my DAD#2 found the water cut off valve and was able to get that stopped. After multiple trips by different plumbers and a new water heater, 10 hours we had water again...

The day was quite hectic as packing took us most of the day. It is amazing how much it takes to pack when you are traveling for a month and for 3 expectant little muchachos... Somehow around midnight we were able to rest our heads for a few hours until we left early this morning for the airport. Since arriving in Atlanta, we found a nice little corner that we can chill and just meditate on the next few days. Oh yeah, we just found out that we are staying at La Zuetena as there was a Chicken Pox outbreak at the place we were going to stay.

This is Jim writing now. I am finally making an entry! Anyway, so far so good. Everything has been a complete blessing and we thank God for all the things that have taken place this last week. (Even the pipe bursting!) It all makes for some great laughter - especially after it is done.. This reminds me of one of my favorite sayings... "Life is a storm...One day you will bask in the sunlight, the next you will be shattered on the rocks. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes". We have been thru many ups and downs these last 2 years, but would not change anything for this unbelievable ride. It has changed our lives, strengthened our faith and brought us closer to so many people in our lives. We love you all and can't wait to share with you the next few weeks! Thanks to all that have supported us thru this, for friends at TNT, Church, Huntsville, Florida, Canada, Yahoo groupies, Liberty alumni buddies, Missions friends and to our awesome family. This is what life is all about... You have all become our extended family!

Last weekend!

Well, it was our last weekend at the house just the 2 of us. Thursday went great getting the Visas. Everyone was so nice and they loved looking at the kids pics! We also had "The phone call" with Julie. The phone call consist of going over everything from what to expect with the kids and the process to gift giving and money. It was so helpful and encouraging and really put my mind at ease! Yesterday we were very productive doing things around the house and getting things ready. What a great feeling that is! I have to say a great big thanks to Beth and everyone else for organizing a shower for us at our church tonight! We moved recently and are now going to a church that is close to us that the kids can get involved with. It was very hard leaving our other church and friends, but really felt this was best for our family. We have only been going to this church for 2 1/2 months now and everyone has been so welcoming and sweet to us! Tonight after church they gave us a shower and we are so overwhelmed by every ones generosity. Most of the people we have not met yet and others we did meet tonight. What a blessing they have been to us. Thank you guys! Jim had some Key Lime cake that was new for him and he hasn't stopped raving about it. I guess I need to get the recipe. :) Jim also put together a power point with the kids pictures, pics of Bogota and facts about adoption and Colombia and had it going the whole time. It was great!

The race is on...

Well, we received a packet in the mail today with all the original paperwork for the kids and got a little surprise with it. A few more pictures of our precious little ones!! We are just counting down the days until we are united with our kids!! We want to say thank you to everyone who called and sent us emails today! We really appreciate the encouragement and support and are overwhelmed by your love. Thank you!
So the race is on the get all the paperwork in order. I got the Visa and FBI prints notarized today and sent a few checks to CHI. Tomorrow I am off to Montgomery (4hr drive) to get some paperwork apostilled and then onto Atlanta (another 3hr drive) where I will stay the night with my dear friend Kate and her husband. Then Thursday morning I have an appointment with the Colombian Consulate to get our visas.
Please pray that everything goes smoothly! We leave in 11 days!! WoooHooo!

Great weekend!

Well, my wonderful husband surprised me with a last minute trip to New York this weekend for our 6 yr annivesary! He had a meeting for work and deceided it would be fun to have our last excursion just the 2 of us before kids. It was so much fun! We can't wait to start our next adventure in life with our 3 beautiful kids, but we sure are going to miss all the time we have had just the 2 of us. What a blessing it has been!!

Meet our Kids!!!!!!

April 21st at 10:30am we are meeting our kids!!!!! 2 weeks !!! I can't believe it. It is really happening and we are so excited. We have so much to do in 2 weeks! AAHHHH!!
So, now that we have the date here are the pictures of our beautiful children!



Our Baby Yurley Estefani- 18 months old

Our Son Jhon Fredy- 3 3/4 years old

Our Oldest Leidy Mireya- 8 1/2 years old


Aren't they Precious! We are in Love!!!

Late night info...

I talked with Julie this afternoon and she was going to send the referral letter and birth certificate info around 5pm. Well, we played email tag until 9pm because I wasn't getting the info then she was in the middle of things, so finally we got the official referral letter!!!! Yeah, and we also got just a bit more information that answers a few things we were wondering about. So we are writing the acceptance letter and will hopefully talk with Julie tomorrow to find out what else we need to do. We are so excited!!!!!!