Approved - Moving On

I must start off with a MEGA grande thank you to all who have commented to our posts, written emails, prayed for us, etc! Just having contact with a world outside of our B&B and Cali, Colombia is so vital. In the tough times, just knowing loved ones are praying for us fortifies us. Today, I know I have felt more collected and focused thinking upon the things written to us and I am certain the same goes for Karl. It was a busy day so this is our first opportunity to check in since last night but seeing so many kind messages and words of encouragement has sure ministered to my heart. Thank you.

We woke up and the water line had broken so we had no water! But after breakfast, we loaded up the backpack and went to Rita's home (another sister of our host) to take a brief swim in the kiddie pool and even Andres got in and had a blast! Then we all showered there too -thank goodness!

Then we came back and ate lunch and then the dreaded NAPTIME came . . . We only had time for a brief nap today because of our appointment at ICBF and needing extra to get all five of gussied up. But, naptime didn't go well for anyone but Andres who can sleep through anything once he's down. We told Anji "no musica" - her little doll plays music when she pushes the belly - she knows the routine and that she's not allowed to do that during nap/bedtime. Well, with a big smile on her face, she pushed it. I said "no musica" and she did it again with a chuckle and so we took dollie away. Well, she threw a huge fit and wailed the whole time they were supposed to nap and so that kept Claudia up too. Anyway, she was fine after that time was happy again. We have many dramatic ups and downs. One minute, they are blowing us kisses, & the next, stiff-arming us. We are getting more used to it though and it is taking us less by surprise and we are talking in advance about how to handle the next encounter.

So, our appointment at ICBF today went very well. They seemed very happy with us as new parents and said they were happy to hear things were going as well as they are - they were quite happy to hear about the progress with Andres and also could tell the girls were very attached to us as well. It was a good meeting and we were able to ask questions and had a much better interpreter this time so the exchange was clear and concise. So, we were approved to end our "integration period" and move on to our process within the Colombian courts to finalize the adoption. We pray that this process will go smoothly and quickly. We were told in the car by our interpreter & helper that Anji said to the effect, "I am very happy to have Papi & Mami as our permanent parents . . . so when are we going to get on a plane and go home?" Wow.

Karl is still feeling rough but thankfully we both slept well last night so that helped. Today has been pretty tiring so we will hit the hay soon and hopefully rest well again. By the way, my bites still itch but I am putting stuff on them including Laura's suggestion to put Vicks on the bites and the itching is a tiny bit better. Also, I bought bug spray and am now spraying myself down for bedtime to help prevent bites!