Sentencia!!!

So today is Sentencia at our apartmento. This is the day we will be interrogated and the decision is made to make it final and send it to the courts or to stop the process (no way!) So today will be dedicated to cleaning and preparing food and such for their arrival.
Yesterday was a good day. We met with Carolina in the morning to get some documents notarized then went to a couple of local (down the block) shops to buy some produce. Then we came back to the apartment for a bit before going to Exito for some more groceries for today. I made the cream cheese fruit dip with cut fruit and the chocolate no-bake cookies but finding the specific ingredients was hard. I couldnot find the marshmallow fluff for the fruit dip and we could not find cocoa poweder for the cookies. So I bought marshmallows and melted them down then blended (no beater) with cream and sugar then added the cream cheese which worked out pretty well. I also found a recipe that used powdered chocolate mix instead of the powdered cocoa which also worked well. Camilo loved the cookies Angie is on the fence about them.
Angie and Camilo were very wound up in the evening. Angie stole Camilo's remote control and Camilo then took her journal, they were acting like typical siblings. They were laughing and playful. It was nice to see them just be natural. Angie also painted my nails a deep, dark red;-)
Mas bonita!

Monserratte

Monserratte is beautiful. We had a very nice day and thoroughly enjoyed it. We took a taxi through the other side of town which was a little bit scary- that is the Colombia that everyone warns about. It is in STARK contrast to the area we live in, there was no security, trash every where, grafitti etc. But when we got to the cable car station it was like another world again. We rode up to the mountain and when we reached the top it was very peaceful. The view is amazing and I think that Angie and Camilo really enjoyed sharing this with us. We ended up eating lunch at a really nice (and pricey) restaurant since the cafeteria was closed on Tuesdays. It was really nice though and Camilo ate so much food that I thought for sure he would hurl. We then went through this alley that had all kinds of souvenirs and such and again spent money. Eveything was reasonably priced so we couldn't resist. After all that we rode the cable car back down and took another taxi back home. I still can't get used to the driving in Bogota, it is downright frightening. We have decided that next time we will video tape a typical drive through the city to demonstrate. We then just did the usual Skyping of family and such. I miss them terribly!

Rain, rain...

Well I HAD a nice long post all ready to copy over to the blog and apparently it got erased. Things are going well I suppose. I am sick of the rain (today we got a break form it though) but it has really cramped my style. It also doesn't help the fact that I am so very, very homesick. I just want to go home and get on with our lives. Maybe it will get better but, it is what it is I suppose. Angie is doing much better as far as misisng her friends and such. They both seem like the playful kids we knew three years ago.

Our past few days have been spent going to Maloka ( science museum place) and watching the latsest Pirates movie in 3-D (and Spanish) and we went to the park and the usual shopping at the Mall Slitre Plaza. I think the people at Exito (think Walmart) know us by now. Unfortunately it is as the Gringo's who don't know a lick of Spanish and let the 15 year old handle their money that they know us by;-)

Anyway I will post about our great day at Monserratte tomorrow sometime as I am tired and a bit disgusted that I didn't save my original post. But please enjoy this video by Mr. Camilo himself!


Keep this in mind. Camilo is in the room alone. He asked to use the camera and off he went. He filmed it all as it happened. LOL

Day Two!

Yesterday was a little rougher. Angie is missing her friends and I think that the reality of leaving everything she knows hit her yesterday. She is smart and aware of reality, she knows that she will have a life with a family with us in the U.S. but, up to this point her life has been here in Colombia. Angie is very social and she is 15 regardless of the situation her friends are so important to her. I think if it wasn’t for her immense feeling of responsibility to Camilo she might reconsider leaving everyone she knows. Camilo is doing seemingly well. He is enjoying his own room and his own space. Since he is so shy anyway I think this is heaven for him. It’s just he, Angie, Jim and I. There is no sharing a huge room with bunk beds lined up, there is no open bathroom, he can eat when he’s hungry and most of all there is quiet.
My impression of San Mauricio (orphanage) was that the pictures did it justice. I believe the people there care for the children and do the best with what resources they have but, it is just sad. There are children everywhere and I don’t know how they keep track of them all. The facility itself is generally clean but with so many children and in such a small space it just seems substandard. This is not to dismiss all that Gloria (the director) has done. She is apparently a wealthy woman who puts her own money into San Mauricio- it is considered the best facility for these kids. She also will not kick out a child who has aged out of the system. They have, I would say, between 5-10 adults on campus who are disabled to several degrees. They live there and “help out.” I definitely do not want to see what the other orphanages look like!
It is raining today and I think the plan will be to go to Maloka which is right by Salitre Plaza mall. It is a science center/museum sort of thing. I believe they have an I-max theatre too. We need to get out of the apartment today and away from televisions, computers and any other technology and just do something fun.

Pastelito

Angie's nickname with her friends in Colombia is Pastelito which means cupcake. this suites her well be cause she is sweet but also fun, cheerful and energetic. I think it fits her well. Immediate after arriving at the apartmetn she grabbed our camera and started shooting video of the apartment. Apparently this apartment is a HUGE deal for her. It is a very nice place very secure and great for our purpose. Many thanks to Martha Mayorga for giving us a great deal! We would highly recommend if in Bogota! http://www.welovebogota.com/

Got 'em

We got ‘em. We were at court first thing this morning and now they are ours for the moment. To take it back a day….We visited them at San Mauricio again first with Camilo then with Angie and then went to the Sante Fe mall. The one thing that I underestimated is how nice all of the public places like malls are in Colombia but anyway, we then went back to our apartment again without them. Our visit was so nice yesterday but completely overshadowed but our bank issues…
We told the bank several times we were going out of the country for an adoption and no one ever mentioned that we needed to call and make arrangements with them about our credit card use. Makes sense but, with everything that has been going on we really didn’t think much of it. So our credit card got blocked because of suspicious activity in Bogota, Colombia. Wonder what that was all about? So after many trips back and forth to the mall two blocks away to try to use the ATM and make purchases and then walking back to call the bank SEVERAL times (I’m sure the security guard thought we were totally sketchy) in between our visit to San Mauricio. It seems we finally got it figured out (let’s hope.) There’s nothing more frightening than being in a foreign country and being without access to money.
Any who, our visit was nice yesterday but I think we were all so excited for the big day today. It was such an emotional day for all involved. Angie and Camilo were all smiles and a few tears. It has been what we have been waiting for for so long. Angie hugged me for such a long time, it felt great. There were a few anxious tears as they explained that we should not go back to San Mauricio or to see Vivianna and her son Daniel which is one of those things that is said out of formality. Carolina explained to Angie why we had to agree to this and that we will agree with them to get the adoption to go through but then…….It has to be so hard for her. She is 15 with so many friends here and now she has to leave everything she knows, pretty scary if you ask me.
So Angie and Camilo were ready to go back to the apartment after only a few minutes so we got outta there ASAP. We then came back to our apartment and spent some time waiting for the rain to stop (it didn’t) seeing as how I must have left our umbrella in the cab two days prior. So, we gave up and went to Salitre Plaza mall got soaking wet and still came back without and umbrella because we couldn’t find a store that sold basic inexpensive ones. I refused to pay $50+ dollars for an UMBRELLA that I may or may not leave on a cab. So we came back to the apartment after lunch and more shopping.
After lunch and shopping we just hung out for while. It’s so funny because it really is like we just took up where we left off. It’s really weird yet so natural at the same time. We made some phone calls then the weather cleared up so we went outside and played in the courtyard for a while. There was a real sense of community as many of the other children and families were outside enjoying the sunshine and visiting the local shops etc. Another day I will clear up many of the misconceptions about this country, Americans could learn a few things from them.
We ended up having Pizza for dinner we ended up being saved by finding a pizza shop (accidentally) that had a man that spoke a little English, talk about relief. This was serious stuff, this was pizza. Anyway the rest of the night was that same typical stuff that families do but, it made me miss my children at home (real one) so very much. I just wanted to have everyone together under one roof right that very moment. Well enjoy the pictures all! Buenos Noches!!!

We Meet Again!

This has been a day that I will never forget. After we found our way to the mall and grocery store (we bought milk in a bag that was at room temperature) we eventually made it to San Mauricio and to our Angie and Camilo. It was great, emotional and the best part ever was that it was just like we had not missed three years of their lives. They had grown and matured in their appearance but they were still them. Camilo so shy and easily embarrassed and Angie who is so full of energy you can practically see the sparks come off of her. We stayed at the orphanage for a while and walked around and Angie and Camilo showed me where they sleep, eat and basically live. Jim and I both felt that the pictures we have seen actually DO it justice. Not that it didn’t appear clean but it was so depressing. Children everywhere (they said that there was 160 there) preschooler being trotted in lines across the grounds. It was sad so sad. We actually went to the baby area where there were about a dozen one to two year olds in a small room that smelled like dirty diapers. They were all over the place watching something on TV. We came in an a little boy walked right up to me and held his hands out so I picked him up and he laid his head on my shoulder and snuggled in. Then little girls went to Jim and he picked her up. Angie finally pried away the boy from me and Jim sat the girl down and said we needed to go. It was hard to see. Then I look at my children Angie and Camilo and see how much they have to contribute to the world and I thank God that we are able to give them a shot at it. It changes a person.
I’m off to finish off the night; I’m exhausted and want to rest up for another day at San Mauricio. Chao.