What A Difference A Day Makes!

Hello Friends & Family!

I nearly missed my 'post-every-day' goal today! In fact, if you want to be technical, I did! It is a bit after midnight as I type this. I typically do the posts after the kids go to bed. But since we leave the room to use the common areas to do our computer work (better wireless connection there) I always lay with the kids until they fall asleep just so it won't seem scary to be in the big dark room alone (plus who knows what they will get into if we are not there!). But tonight when I laid down with the kids I think I was the first one asleep! When Robert came in to go to bed, I woke up and thought I should get a post done while I had it fresh in my mind!

Today was a very fun day with very few difficulties with the kids. I know I keep saying it - but they are really such great kids! Normal everyday kids! We love them so much! Thanks for all your comments to by the way - wish we could respond to them all - but through them we are constantly reminded how much they are loved by so many other people too!

Today after breakfast we decided to head out with Tamara (Julianna's mom - see an earlier post) and her son John (we call him Juanchito) to just go out and about in Bogota - sometimes it gets a bit stir-crazy around the residencia. So we walked down one of the main streets in the area and stopped in a few stores...including a 'dollar' store (ironic, since they use pesos here...) where we found some great educational puzzles that gave words for things like colors, fruit, the human body, animals, etc in Spanish and in English...and they were just a bit more than a dollar (I think about $1.50 with the exchange rate!). We stopped in another store called PepeGanga to look for school items. But it was more of a toy store and we were astounded by the prices! Robert, knowing the stock and prices at Target, was able to analyze the difference in cost for the same toy in the US versus here in Bogota. I looked at one particular little hand held baby toy for Angie. One of the babies here has one and she is always playing with it, so when I saw it I thought I might get her one. Then I saw that the little handheld toy cost $20!!! The same toy would literally cost $5 or $6 at Target in the US. We assume because all the toys seem to be imported, that was the reason for their expensive cost. Needless to say, I did NOT get the little toy for Angie!

While we were out we stopped at a restaurant called El Corral for lunch. It is a restaurant specializing in hamburgers, french fries and shakes and it was GREAT! Very authentic American (feels weird saying that...) and so good! They had little kids meals for the kids, which they loved...though Angie was much more interested in eating French Fries than she was the hamburger! Afterwards we found a basic paper store where we were able to find some pencils and a pencil sharpener for the kids. They need them for school - they are starting with an 'official' English tutor next week (we met the tutor Mario this morning - we think he'll be GREAT!).

After we got back to the house the kids played for a while and then we had school. We worked on learning shapes in English (triangle, square, circle, etc.) and colors. We also reviewed the parts of the body and used our new puzzles! At the end of school the children wrote cards and colored pictures for their 'Tia Estela' (foster mother) which we will give to the Colombian Child Welfare Committee tomorrow and they can pass along to her.

After playing a bit more, our newest neighbors arrived! A couple parents from New York (thick accents!) arrived last night and they received their new children today - two girls age 10 and 12 (not biological siblings). When the new girls walked through the door suddenly Juancho jumped up, ran to the door, hugged the first girl and started talking in the fastest Spanish I've heard yet! Turns out that Diana (age 12) lived down the street from them and went to the same school as them! Small world, isn't it? So Juancho and Laura played with these girls for the rest of the night - which was fun for them.

Tomorrow morning we have our Integration meeting with the Colombian Child Welfare Institute. This is where they talk with us and the children and determine if enough bonding has taken place to begin the official adoption process. We don't anticipate any troubles. But I will be getting up early to get baths/showers in for the kids and make sure they are fed and dressed before we get picked up at 9:15. Our appointment is at 10 am (Eastern Time).

SORRY! No pictures today...I've been trying to get them uploaded onto the blog for the past 15 minutes but it is not working. The wireless connection is very low at the moment. If I get a chance after our Integration meeting tomorrow I'll try to do some pics and let you know how the meeting went!

GOOD NIGHT! We love you all!