Some parting thoughts on Colombia

It's about 230AM here and I have insomnia. Thoughts are filling my head and I can't sleep. I guess it's time to write them down.

I'm sad to be leaving this place and happy to be going home all at the same time. There is a finality to this trip that is weighing heavy on my heart. We are done with adoption. No more paperwork, fingerprints, psych evals, physicals, HIV testing, tracking paperwork, updating paperwork, redoing paperwork. And the waiting....These things have consumed my life for the better part of 5 years. Don't misunderstand me. It's all been worth every ounce of energy expended! But it's an odd feeling to be done with it all. I wish I had it in me for another adoption. But I don't. I'm exhausted. (Maybe that has something to do with a family of 4 with a new baby being in Colombia for almost 6 weeks in a 12 x 12 room?) When people ask me how many kids I want I've always said it depends on who you ask, Kurt or me. Kurts has always said 2 and I've always said 3. I wish I could turn back the clock to do some things differently, meet Kurt earlier in my life, let go of a dream to have biological children with my husband faster, start adoption plans sooner. You get the idea. But that is not my life. If things would of happened sooner or later it would not be Kurt, Lucy or Mateo. I wouldn't change that for anything in the whole wide world. But what I do yearn for is youth. I wish I was younger. Not only have we aged out of the Colombia adoption program but I am exhausted from all of this emotionally and physically. We waited for Lucy for 9 mos. We waited for Mateo for almost 3 years. If I add in all the time spent on trying to have a biological family before that it would be 8 years.

But then again...we could get a call down the road that one of our children has a biological sibling waiting for us and my heart would leap with joy at the thought of it and we would gladly start the paperchase all over again.

I hesitate to share these feelings because I don't want to scare off some random person thinking about adopting. But this seems to be the trend now with international adoption, longer wait times while children still languish in orphanage care. But that is a whole other story. Onto a brighter topic. Let's chat about my home away from home.

Colombia, the beauty of it's landscape, it's people, the food, has gotten into my blood. It is an amazing place to behold with my eyes and my heart. It is a safe place to visit. Not only is it my children's birthplace, it also feels like home to me. I have such a special afinity for this place I find it hard to put into words. I've met so many wonderful people that have touched my heart in my 2 trips here, the experience unique and special. Each time I've encountered someone new there is a story about a place in Colombia that I must see next. My bucket list is getting long! So...I know that we will be back just not for adoption. We will be vacationers, or maybe more like a Colombian Americans family coming home after a few years away.

A new chapter awaits. Thanks. I'm off my soapbox now. Feel better and tired now so I'm going to go back to bed.
Smooch
PK

Flight info

We're coming home Tuesday! We'll be on Delta Flight #1669 from Atlanta arriving at 714pm.

The last of Cartegena

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What a great trip! It was so relaxing. Mateo ate like a little piggy and Lucy LOVED the ocean and sand. Cartegena is a lovely place. We're looking forward to returning when the kids are a little older and we can do more sightseeing or better yet sans kids;)

As always it's a bit of a shock to the system to return to the hustle and bustle of Bogota after a quiet trip away. But we did come back to some good news....Sentencia! This means that Mateo is legally ours (even though he was ours as soon as he was placed in our arms) and we can leave the country. The last few days have been a whirl of activity; going to the courts to get the actual Sentencia document, Notary to get Mateo's original birth certificate and then amended birth certificate with us listed as his new parents, then off to the passport for Mateo's Colombian passport because he will have DUAL citizenship the lucky stiff and finally a visit to the US embassy to get Mateo's visa to enter the US. We go back to the embassy today to pick it up. While I'm picking up the visa Kurt will go to the Delta office to try to get us some tickets home for Monday or Tuesday. Then of course the packing will ensue and the last minute shopping at the Sunday markets:)

We will post our flight info when we get it. Feel free to come down to the airport.

Enjoy the pics
Smooch
PK

Old town

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Cartegena

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Cartegena here we come!

Well we're officially starting week 5 here in Colombia. We're finally leaving in the morning for Cartegena! We'll be there for 4 days returning on Wednesday afternoon. There are tons of families here getting sentencia ranging from 7 weeks to 3 weeks. We've been getting fat on celebration cakes! It seems as though things are moving quickly in the courts these days. I have a feeling we could be home before Easter:) But you never really know....

Monday night Kurt and I went out to Bogota Beer Company after the kids were in bed. The staff took our baby monitor while we imbibed a bit. Good beers and my gin and tonic was delicious as well. The free Aguila beer here at the hotel was getting to us. Can you say Miller Lite?

We went to Parque 93 on Wednesday for lunch with some other families. Gotta love el Corral Gourmet hamburguesas! It's been a pretty quiet week here. There's a new family here from Ham Lake so we went to Maku and Jacques bakery for a treat. They serve Baileys in their coffee:-O

Caio from Bogota
Smooch
PK

The Human Petting Zoo AKA The Botanical Garden

I know Kurt already posted something about the BG but please indulge me a moment. You all know how I love a good story no?

The BG is a fine getaway in the city of Bogota. Everything is lush, green, blooming and smells great. We were with 2 other families so I realize we must have stuck out a little but I guess I didn't realize how much;) As we were walking around a group of senior citizen approached us. A few of them came up to do the traditional fawning over the children, blessing them, telling us how cute they are. You get the idea. Then more come over and then more come over. Suddenly it seems we're surrounded about 25 Colombian surrogate grandparents. We're all chatting with them. It is custom here to greet someone with a "buenos dias" (between breakfast and lunch) a "buenos tardes" (lunch and dinner) or buenos noches (you get the idea) they greet you back. You ask how they are. They say fine thank you and you? You respond, say thank you and then you can ask some questions, get directions or what ever else it is that you want to say. Any way we're starting to get the idea they want to stick around a bit when their tour guide shoos them away NOT before taking a few pictures with us mind you.

It is a cute exchange, our group laughs and remarks how friendly they were and we move onto the Butterfly exhibit. There we have the honor of having one of the Colombian military accompany us. I think the just of what he said was that he was "at our service" God knows we weren't going to squoosh any butterflies but whatever. When in Colombia right? The exhibit is beautiful. There are tons of butterflies all around. The smell is exotic and my skin drinks in the humidity and warmth of the room.

Our group decides to take a break outside of the exhibit so we can feed babies and children, change diapers what have you when we notice a group of 3 women staring at us, just staring at us. We say hellos but this doesn't seems to satisfly them. Then, of course, more of their group join them and once again we're surrounded. "adoptados?" "our children are adopted." This exchange is more stilted and strained. There are more questions that we try to answer and finally their tour guide leads them away.

Aannnd once again we think we're in the clear when Tracy gets approached by an elderly man round 70 that is clearly smitten with her, her tall slender frame and short blonde hair. I thought maybe she may need help understanding him so I approached but what this man was trying to tell her, you'd have to be a complete idiot not to get it! I decide to stay in case she needs protecting instead! He leans into her, she backs up a bit, he leans in a bit more, she backs up again all the while informing her that he's been to the US, CA in fact and has MANY children (I think implying a still quite virile man!) so being "novios" (sweethearts) with her should be no problem!

What a complete riot! We all had a good laugh at that one. And so ends another day in Bogota.

Smooch
PK