On Wednesday, Ted, the boys, and Papa made the drive out to Jaime Duque amusement park. Since I knew I would be able to stay awake and upright for that kind of trip, I stayed back to get a lot of work done as well as rest. This proved to be the most intelligent choice. They had a fab time, as expected.
We also waited to discover the joys of Archie's Pizza until our 3rd trip to Bogota. The staff came out with hats and dough and some other fun things to help the boys make their own pizzas! Drew was there for the bread.
On Thursday Lucas and Sammy went back to Fana to ask some questions and see their first home once again from the inside. Drew no doubt misses his favorite ball pit. He was stuck going to the Dr for his pre-visit for the Embassy as well as his TB test reading.
On Friday, we spent the majority of the morning running around to make sure the paperwork was in place so that Papa could safely leave the country with Lucas on Sunday. This took 2 long trips to 2 different notaries to try to make everyone happy. I had to fingerprint another 10 times or so to authorize all of this.
Ted and I were able to escape to a date while Papa stayed back with the sleeping kiddos. I needed to return to Wok, my favorite restaurant from last time.
On Saturday, we had a special day trip planned to Lake Guadavida. This was where the indigenous Colombian tribes made offerings of gold into the lake, the majority of which is now on display at the Gold Museum in the Candelaria. It was a great day of hiking, and we actually got to see the sun for the first time! Drew was a total trooper.
Oh, and there may have been some Crepes and Waffles (or two) along the way
There was also general mayhem, silliness, and chill in our downtime
Early Sunday morning, we sent Papa and Lucas on their way back to the USA so that Lucas could get back to his life in 2nd grade. We were happy that everything went well with this exit permit and his Colombian passport for him to be able to leave the country without any problems.
Today is actually a big deal in his case. We leave in an hour for our Bienstar interview. In Colombia, verses Ethiopia, you have custody of your child for a full week before you officially "sign on" to the adoption process. The fact that we were able to get an interview immediately at the 1 week mark of travel is actually very good. With both Lucas and Sammy, it was closer to the 2nd week before they were able to get us in. So today, Ted and I and the 2 remaining boys go to be interviewed on how everything is going regarding the bonding and his health and the ability to meet his needs. After today, we are officially into the court process. This time around, that will look very different from our first 2 adoptions here. We leave for another town (that is still in the same region as Bogota court) that has a court system not quite so packed. This has meant for families in the past year or so that adoptions are processed much faster. Usually resulting in a 1 week court process verses a 4 to 5 week process like what I had to do in 2008 and 2013. Isn't that potentially grand??!!
So, we ship out for La Mesa in the morning. I'm excited to have a different little town to explore, and just maybe we will have a bit more sunshine there. Maybe.
Drew's psychologist from Fana, Maria, came for his home visit on Friday. She also sent me tons of pictures from when he was a baby at Fana and an entire baby book they made for him!! That's a treasure I don't have for the other 3 boys that came home as toddlers/preschoolers. She was very happy with how he was doing in our care. In general, and we know that this will likely change as the grief of change sets in either next month or at some point, he is a pretty well adjusted kid emotionally. He will let you know when he is not happy with what you are doing. He will also flirt and play and run and interact, although developmentally behind schedule of course. He is a likeable dude. I'm excited for everyone to get to know him more after we are home.
So we are off to get better looking for our interview with child welfare, and we will hopefully post from La Mesa once we are in the court process!!
Sibley Family - glad Erin is feeling better ! Always fun to see the pictures and come along for the Journey to Drew episodes. Glad you saw the sun and it was in such a beautiful location. I'd love to take that hike some day. Drew is blessed to be in such loving kind arms of the Sibley crew. He has no idea what is in store for the rest of his life. God will take care of all that and it will be amazing ! Sending hugs
ReplyDeleteGreat photos, and an exciting time! Is Jorge driving your around, I think I recognize the van?
ReplyDeleteThe hotel in LaMesa has a beautiful pool that the kids will love. It should be warmer and drier there. However, it is a distance from town.
This makes me want to go back to adopt a few more kids (not really, as we are crazy busy with the two we have!)