Today is Father's Day and the boys are very disappointed that their Papa is not here and we can't even get our internet to connect to call him.
After breakfast this morning we walked to the mall (Unicentro) and found Mauricio a new pair of shoes. He had brand new shoes when we picked him up at the orphanage, but in 5 weeks he had already worn a hole through the toe. Then we headed to Jeno's Pizza for lunch. They have a huge play area and game room. The boys were enthralled with the video games (no surprise). They asked how long we could stay and I received the biggest smiles when I told them we could stay as long as they wanted. It beats sitting at the hotel for more endless hours of board games! We ended up staying for 4 hours!! I think I learned my lesson about setting time limits:)
Only 3 more days and we will be home!! They are beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The first thing Mauricio does when his eyes open in the morning is check his calendar. Every morning since Darin and the girls left his face fell when he saw how many more days it would be until we would be together again. But this morning he had a huge smile on his face!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Day 3 in Bogota
Today is Saturday. It was more of the same. Meals together in the dining room, board games, puzzles, Foosball, and a short walk to the park.
Mauricio and I had an "incident" today. The boys were tussling in the bathroom, supposedly brushing teeth or washing hands or something and Miguel starts crying. A real "I'm hurt" cry, not the "I'm not getting my way" kind of cry. I go in to see what happened and he has big alligator tears and is holding his ear. Now in the past few weeks we have witnessed countless times of Mauricio pinching and twisting Miguel's ear to get him to do what he says. It's obvious that he is used to being the boss. So I assumed that is what happened and sent Mauricio to his bed for a 12 minute time out. He started to cry and say something that I could not understand and after 12 mins I went over to enforce my point and let him up. He refused to get up and come down for lunch so Miguel and I went on down. After 30 mins I went back up to try again. He still refused to come down. An hour later I went back up. He was off he bed playing with the Rubix cube (actually taking off the stickers). I asked him if he wanted to go to the park and he said yes. So off we went and he seemed to be just fine. I have been told that boys don't hold a grudge like girls do, so I didn't give it a second thought. When we got back they went up to wash their hands for dinner and he successfully explained to me that the incident wasn't his fault. Miguel confirmed the story. He had fallen and bumped his ear on the towel rack and Mauricio didn't do it. I felt TERRIBLE! I took Mauricio's face between my hands and sincerely apologized. He forgave me instantly. I still feel bad though. I hate this language barrier. I hope he doesn't want to take back what he said last night:) I am so thankful for a loving son!
Mauricio and I had an "incident" today. The boys were tussling in the bathroom, supposedly brushing teeth or washing hands or something and Miguel starts crying. A real "I'm hurt" cry, not the "I'm not getting my way" kind of cry. I go in to see what happened and he has big alligator tears and is holding his ear. Now in the past few weeks we have witnessed countless times of Mauricio pinching and twisting Miguel's ear to get him to do what he says. It's obvious that he is used to being the boss. So I assumed that is what happened and sent Mauricio to his bed for a 12 minute time out. He started to cry and say something that I could not understand and after 12 mins I went over to enforce my point and let him up. He refused to get up and come down for lunch so Miguel and I went on down. After 30 mins I went back up to try again. He still refused to come down. An hour later I went back up. He was off he bed playing with the Rubix cube (actually taking off the stickers). I asked him if he wanted to go to the park and he said yes. So off we went and he seemed to be just fine. I have been told that boys don't hold a grudge like girls do, so I didn't give it a second thought. When we got back they went up to wash their hands for dinner and he successfully explained to me that the incident wasn't his fault. Miguel confirmed the story. He had fallen and bumped his ear on the towel rack and Mauricio didn't do it. I felt TERRIBLE! I took Mauricio's face between my hands and sincerely apologized. He forgave me instantly. I still feel bad though. I hate this language barrier. I hope he doesn't want to take back what he said last night:) I am so thankful for a loving son!
Day 2 in Bogota
Today we took a nice long walk in the afternoon. We ventured pretty far and found three different playgrounds to play on. Other than that we played board games all day until my eyes began to cross.
Before bedtime tonight Mauricio wanted to send an email to the orphanage. I got him logged onto gmail and switched the keyboard to Spanish and let him go. He composed such a sweet letter. The best I could interpret it he said, "Thank you for helping me to get my family. I am very happy. We are in Bogota. It is cold here." There was more but I'm not sure what it said. I will decipher the rest later when I'm not looking over his shoulder.
Before bedtime tonight Mauricio wanted to send an email to the orphanage. I got him logged onto gmail and switched the keyboard to Spanish and let him go. He composed such a sweet letter. The best I could interpret it he said, "Thank you for helping me to get my family. I am very happy. We are in Bogota. It is cold here." There was more but I'm not sure what it said. I will decipher the rest later when I'm not looking over his shoulder.
Day 1 in Bogota
I haven't been able to get online for a few days so I'll try catch you up briefly while the boys are gainfully employed.
Thursday morning (still in Cali) we got the boys passports. Our lawyer knows the director of the passport office so she pulled a few strings and we were in and out of there in 45 minutes even though the place was packed!
Back to the hotel to organize all the papers we would need for the various appointments in Bogota and off to the airport.
It was the boys first time flying and they were VERY excited. When they saw the plane come up to the gate they thought it was huge! It was a 149 passenger plane. When I told them that the ones we'll take to Miami and Chicago will be MUCH bigger, their eyes grew huge and I don't think they fully believe me. The flight itself was uneventful. Just 30 minutes (the taxi ride to the airport was 45:) They each took 15 minutes by the window. Mauricio already asked how many minutes each of our other two flights will be and figured out how many more minutes they will get by the window.
As soon as we landed our representative, Maria, took us the the ICBF office to review and sign more papers. Then straight to the U.S. Embassy approved doctor to make sure they are healthy and up-to-date on shots. This took about an hour, $175, and a polio vaccine for Miguel. He wasn't too happy about that, to put it mildly:)
After that we went to our hotel, the Hotel Paris. It's more like a large house than a hotel. It's kind of old and a bit run-down, but the staff are very friendly and helpful, the price is right, and there are other adopting families staying here. One couple is from Italy adopting 3 siblings ages 2,4,&6. They have already been here for 8 weeks and won't be heading home until sometime next week. Another is from Puerto Rico adopting two siblings ages 3&7. Another couple is from Miami adopting a 5 month old baby boy. And the other family is from Cinncinnati adopting an adorable 3 year old girl with a ton of spunk and personality and a captivating smile. They have their two other children (10&12) with them. It has been so refreshing to have other people to talk to and interesting to hear their stories.
Thursday morning (still in Cali) we got the boys passports. Our lawyer knows the director of the passport office so she pulled a few strings and we were in and out of there in 45 minutes even though the place was packed!
Back to the hotel to organize all the papers we would need for the various appointments in Bogota and off to the airport.
It was the boys first time flying and they were VERY excited. When they saw the plane come up to the gate they thought it was huge! It was a 149 passenger plane. When I told them that the ones we'll take to Miami and Chicago will be MUCH bigger, their eyes grew huge and I don't think they fully believe me. The flight itself was uneventful. Just 30 minutes (the taxi ride to the airport was 45:) They each took 15 minutes by the window. Mauricio already asked how many minutes each of our other two flights will be and figured out how many more minutes they will get by the window.
As soon as we landed our representative, Maria, took us the the ICBF office to review and sign more papers. Then straight to the U.S. Embassy approved doctor to make sure they are healthy and up-to-date on shots. This took about an hour, $175, and a polio vaccine for Miguel. He wasn't too happy about that, to put it mildly:)
After that we went to our hotel, the Hotel Paris. It's more like a large house than a hotel. It's kind of old and a bit run-down, but the staff are very friendly and helpful, the price is right, and there are other adopting families staying here. One couple is from Italy adopting 3 siblings ages 2,4,&6. They have already been here for 8 weeks and won't be heading home until sometime next week. Another is from Puerto Rico adopting two siblings ages 3&7. Another couple is from Miami adopting a 5 month old baby boy. And the other family is from Cinncinnati adopting an adorable 3 year old girl with a ton of spunk and personality and a captivating smile. They have their two other children (10&12) with them. It has been so refreshing to have other people to talk to and interesting to hear their stories.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
CHARITY!!
That is what they say here in Cali when things are going great. Well today I got a call at 7:30am to say I will pick you up at 9am to sign the papers! I was so relieved. The boys are usually difficult to get out of bed in the morning (especially since they were up late waiting to talk to Papa), but when I said that we were going to sign papers to make them officially Jones boys they hopped out of bed and were dressed and ready to go in no time:) It was very anticlimactic. We stood in this stuffy small office and looked over the papers to make sure that everything was spelled correctly and passport #'s were correct, I signed one paper, and we left. That's it? Really? We didn't see the judge or the secretary that has been holding up the process...lucky for her, huh?:) Anyway that was all that was needed to make it official. We now are the proud parents of Mauricio Nathanael Jones and Miguel Angel Gabriel Jones! Since we didn't get the privilege of giving them their names at birth we chose to give them middle names. Nathanael means "a gift from God" and Gabriel means "devoted to God". They really like both their names and what they mean. They practiced their signatures today because tomorrow they will have to sign their passports.
One slight frustration is that I cannot get in touch with our lawyer to ask her what time we will be finished with the passports and final notarization tomorrow so that I can purchase tickets and know when to pack and check out and arrange airport transportation.
This may be my last post until we get home on the 24th because we are not staying in a nice hotel in Bogota. We are staying at an adoption house with other adopting families. It's cheaper, a change of pace, and hopefully there will be other children for the boys to play with. There's still a lot to do in Bogota before we can come home and the timing will be tight, so please keep praying. If I can keep you updated, I will.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support during these last few days especially! I know they helped me make it through with my sanity still intact:)
P.S. Since I'm technically challenged the picture of our first meeting at the orphanage is at the bottom of the blog:) Miranda, HELP!
P.P.S. Just got tickets to Bogota. We fly tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm. We have an appointment with the doctor at 4:30pm and an appointment at the U.S. Embassy on Friday. It sounds like everything is put into place. We will be home in one week!!!
One slight frustration is that I cannot get in touch with our lawyer to ask her what time we will be finished with the passports and final notarization tomorrow so that I can purchase tickets and know when to pack and check out and arrange airport transportation.
This may be my last post until we get home on the 24th because we are not staying in a nice hotel in Bogota. We are staying at an adoption house with other adopting families. It's cheaper, a change of pace, and hopefully there will be other children for the boys to play with. There's still a lot to do in Bogota before we can come home and the timing will be tight, so please keep praying. If I can keep you updated, I will.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support during these last few days especially! I know they helped me make it through with my sanity still intact:)
P.S. Since I'm technically challenged the picture of our first meeting at the orphanage is at the bottom of the blog:) Miranda, HELP!
P.P.S. Just got tickets to Bogota. We fly tomorrow afternoon at 1:30pm. We have an appointment with the doctor at 4:30pm and an appointment at the U.S. Embassy on Friday. It sounds like everything is put into place. We will be home in one week!!!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
The past few days have been very emotional and draining, hence the lack of blog entries. I'm still not sure I can get my thoughts out so that you can understand. Where do I start...? I'm not sure. To make a REALLY long story short...apparently the secretary of the court where our paperwork is sitting is too busy to get it all together and take it to the judge for him to sign them. Our lawyer and agency representative have begged, pleaded, and pulled every string possible and still no signature and no promise of when that may be. We've been told "maybe tomorrow" for the past three days now.
As you may have read in an earlier blog we had to purchase return tickets before we could get our VISAS to travel here, so we chose today thinking we would certainly be done by now (31 days). Because we still don't know when we'll be able to come home, and since there weren't any reasonably priced tickets available at all next week, and since we thought the papers would be signed today, and several other reasons, Darin and all three girls flew to Bogota yesterday and on to Chicago today. Actually they should be arriving at the house in about 30 mins. Meanwhile the boys and I still wait. We celebrated Miguel's 7th birthday (which is actually today) on Sunday so we could all be together. And today I took the boys to the movies to see "UP". It looked pretty cute even though I couldn't understand what they were saying. When Darin and the girls left yesterday the boys cried and cried (actually we all did...except Darin, but I think he wanted to:) Then after we talked to then last night the boys cried and cried again. I ended up putting them both in bed with me and they cried themselves to sleep. It broke my heart. Today Mauricio sent Darin an email in Spanish that said, "I love you very much. I am waiting to be with you again soon." So sweet, again I cried.
I'm so tired of waiting. I've been clicking my ruby red slippers and saying, "There's no place like home" for about a week now and nothing's happening. It's very lonely being in a place where no one speaks your language, even your two sons. We do pretty well with the basics, but I'm not able to explain the details of why we're still here and why they can't go home with everyone else. I think they understand, but it's still difficult for two little boys that have only had a family for 3 1/2 weeks to say good-bye to them and still be stuck in the same hotel room. They are good boys and really they are being troopers. I'm proud of them. I hope to send some great news tomorrow.
As you may have read in an earlier blog we had to purchase return tickets before we could get our VISAS to travel here, so we chose today thinking we would certainly be done by now (31 days). Because we still don't know when we'll be able to come home, and since there weren't any reasonably priced tickets available at all next week, and since we thought the papers would be signed today, and several other reasons, Darin and all three girls flew to Bogota yesterday and on to Chicago today. Actually they should be arriving at the house in about 30 mins. Meanwhile the boys and I still wait. We celebrated Miguel's 7th birthday (which is actually today) on Sunday so we could all be together. And today I took the boys to the movies to see "UP". It looked pretty cute even though I couldn't understand what they were saying. When Darin and the girls left yesterday the boys cried and cried (actually we all did...except Darin, but I think he wanted to:) Then after we talked to then last night the boys cried and cried again. I ended up putting them both in bed with me and they cried themselves to sleep. It broke my heart. Today Mauricio sent Darin an email in Spanish that said, "I love you very much. I am waiting to be with you again soon." So sweet, again I cried.
I'm so tired of waiting. I've been clicking my ruby red slippers and saying, "There's no place like home" for about a week now and nothing's happening. It's very lonely being in a place where no one speaks your language, even your two sons. We do pretty well with the basics, but I'm not able to explain the details of why we're still here and why they can't go home with everyone else. I think they understand, but it's still difficult for two little boys that have only had a family for 3 1/2 weeks to say good-bye to them and still be stuck in the same hotel room. They are good boys and really they are being troopers. I'm proud of them. I hope to send some great news tomorrow.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Speechless
Yesterday we received an invitation from the hotel staff to attend some kind of gathering at 5pm. When we went down to the restaurant there were about 50 people there with cake and pop to wish us good-bye. They gave us a poster (with 16 different little pictures of various staff members and about 50 signatures) that said "Dear Jones family, Now that the goodbye is near, we want to let you know that you will always be in our hearts as the special persons that you are. We wish you to have a great life and hopefully in the near future we will be able to meet again. Don't forget about your friends in the Radisson Royal Cali ad be sure that we will never forget you. Receive the biggest hug from us and remember that here you will always find a second home in Colombia. Sincerely, The Radisson Royal Cali Family." Everyone from the sales manager, restaurant manager, another manager, waiters/waitresses, cooks, bellmen, front desk people, cleaning crew, everyone was there to say that they enjoyed having us and would miss us very much. They said that they have never done this for any guest before but they wanted to express to us that they had "fallen in love with us". We were blessed beyond words...well Darin wasn't:) He told them that the way they all served people was like Jesus served...no matter rich or poor, rude or polite, race or gender or religion...He loved and served and so do they.
Today I didn't want to look at these same four walls or walk to the same park or go to the same mall, so we went to the zoo again. The first time we went we were only able to spend 2 1/2 hours and had to rush through. But today we were there for 6 1/2 and covered every square inch and some of them multiple times. We spent an hour and a half in the butterfly habitat alone! It was slightly cool today and everyone came back exhausted so it was dinner, quick showers and right to bed (without much complaining!)
The judge will sign the papers on Tuesday to make the adoption final, so I will finally be able to post names and pictures!!!
Today I didn't want to look at these same four walls or walk to the same park or go to the same mall, so we went to the zoo again. The first time we went we were only able to spend 2 1/2 hours and had to rush through. But today we were there for 6 1/2 and covered every square inch and some of them multiple times. We spent an hour and a half in the butterfly habitat alone! It was slightly cool today and everyone came back exhausted so it was dinner, quick showers and right to bed (without much complaining!)
The judge will sign the papers on Tuesday to make the adoption final, so I will finally be able to post names and pictures!!!
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