8 Months!

Michael is Eight months today and we have his American Visa in hand!  That means we are good to Go :)  I am so excited it's hard to contain myself after our three month stay in my homeland.  It has been a life changing experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world.  We were able to adopt our son and God showed his faithfulness and grace through it all.  I am keeping this entry short today so that I can pack!  Sending warm wishes your way.

Love,
Kristin         

Last Weekend in Colombia

It's hard to believe this was our last weekend in Bogota.  We have been here almost three months  and have tried to take in as much as we can with an almost eight month old in tow ;)  Saturday we decided to check out a new street, Calle 53, for local crafts from Colombia.  The stores didn't turn out to be out of this world but the sidewalks were nice.  If you spend anytime in Colombia, you really appreciate a sidewalk/street that has no pot holes or uneven pavement.  We enjoyed the fresh air and made it back before the afternoon storm.  We are now in the rainy season, which is hard to believe since it has rained almost everyday since we have been here.  The season is supposed to last until June.  Glad we are going to miss the worst of it.

Calle 53

 On Sunday we got the pleasure of attending a horse show at a local restaruant called "La Margarita".  Our local guide suggested we check it out for something different and after convincing my Dad to go, we ended up having a lot of fun.  We ate lunch and watched the horses "dance" down a wooden isle in front of us in an open air barn.  It is easier to imagine with the help of the pictures below.

Front Entrance

 

Ajiaco (Bogota Specialty)

 

Loving the Horses

 Beautiful

 There were many local families there and the riders were very talented.  After the initial shock,  Michael loved the horses.  He has changed a lot since the last time we took him to see animals.  At our Multi Parque outing he could have cared less, this time aroud he squealed with delight.  He even got to pet a pony, which he loved.  Today was a Holiday in Colombia so it was like an extended weekend. We took it easy today because of our busy day planned for tomorrow.  We have a full day with a doctor appoinment and visit to the US Embassy.  We are praying that it all goes smoothly.

Once our Visa is in hand, hopefully by Wednesday, we will be ready for our Thursday/Friday midnight flight.  We hope that Michael can sleep most of the way.  For our second flight we even paid to have a little extra leg room, the things you do to make your life easier when traveling with kids ;)  I hope that all of you are doing well and appreciate all of the continued notes and emails.  I had a friend share a very special quote with me about prayer regarding Michael that touched my heart: 

"When you pray for someone so much, it's as if you've known them your whole life even though we've never met ;)"

To sum all of it in one word to all of you: Thank You!

Luv,
Kristin, Matt, & Michael

 Soo Tired

Sentencia Finally!

Those of you who are wondering, "Sentencia" is our final adoption decree.  Yes, we are officially Michael's parents forever.  It became official March 14th at the courthouse with cake and coke to celebrate.  We heard word on Tuesday night that the judge was most likely going to sign the papers on Wednesday.  We were beyond excited and wanted to share the news with our family and friends as soon as the process was complete.  Our new judge was a very kind man and had his whole office stop to celebrate our adoption with us.  He is the only judge in the court system that celebrates with the families and we felt blessed to have gotten him for our second time around. 

With the final decree in hand, I was able to get Michael a new birth certificate, listing us as his parents and with his new given name.  It was icing on the cake to have the new birth certificate in hand.    Now we begin the process to leave Colombia. We have to get him a passport, visa, doctor's check, etc... We are hoping to have all of that completed and be home the weekend of March 24th.  Words can not express the joy we have in our hearts that this little boy is ours forever.  We thank you all so much for supporting us along the way.  The comments and emails encourage us a lot.  We hope all of you are doing well and we will keep you updated as we continue along.

Love,
Kristin, Matt, & Michael

Second Step Complete

So after a weekend of basketball watching, thanks to the internet, we received some good news.  Our paperwork is now in the third part of the court process and we are eagerly waiting for the adoption decree.  We are still not sure how soon that will be but once that is complete we can begin the process to get out of here :)  Don't get me wrong this has been a once in a lifetime/ life changing event for me but it will be nice to have the comforts of our own home again;  making our own meal schedule, not worrying about waking the family next door, less germs to avoid, more toys to keep Michael entertained,..you get the point. 

As I reflect back to my time here in Bogota, I wouldn't change a thing.  We have made some great friends, I've gotten to know my own country in a way I never had before, and most importantly we now have a son.  I am not sure when we will get back to explore this country again but I sure am glad we got to make this trip. 

God is so faithful, I never knew when I would be a Mom,but God's plan was greater than my own.  It's funny how right after Christmas we did everything we could to travel to meet Mikey and I know many of you are feeling the same joy as we get steps closer to bringing him to his forever home.  Below are a few pics of what he has been up to:

Michael low crawling!  He wanted to see what Mommy was up to.

 Yes, I am standing on my own. Just give me something to pull myself up with. 

 I am so proud of myself ;)

 Mom, stop with the pictures already.

 Love you all,

Kristin, Matt, & Mikey

     

ACC Champs!

SEMINOLES

Today was a good day in my book.  Our Seminoles won the ACC basketball tournament for the first time ever.  We were lucky enough to be able to watch it online.  For those of you who know Matt and I well, you know that we bleed Garnet and Gold ;) We definitely plan on passing that pride onto our son, lucky him :)  In other news, Mike survived his shots last Wednesday.  He actually only had one shot with six vaccines in it.  I was glad it was only one shot and his reaction was not too bad.  It upset his stomach but that was the worst of it, we are grateful for that.  I can now share with you that Michael is an avid crawler as well.  He is into everything and his favorite thing to do is try and stand.  

We got to Skype with Matt this weekend and that was our real highlight of our weekend.  His command has been very good with keeping up to date with Matt, about his "family" being stuck in Colombia.  We are very lucky they have been so understanding.  We heard last week that our paperwork has made it to the second part of the court process with three steps total.  We hope to hear more good news this week.  

I have faith that there is a "purpose" for us being here this long, we might not ever know what that is, but God's ways are greater than ours.  My brother mentioned admiring our perseverance.  The Bible has the following verse regarding that topic:

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. 

1 Corinthians 15:58

We never knew for sure if this was God's plan for our lives, but we had Faith that adoption was put into our hearts for a reason.  When I look at Michael I know that he was meant to be ours from the start.  God had a plan when he created him and he is now on "loan" to us to love and nurture. As Christians our paths won't always be easy but God will be by our side every step of the way.  Thank you for continually supporting us as we continue this journey.

Love,

The three of us :)

And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Romans 5:3-4

Sunday Outing

So we did get out of the house this weekend and enjoyed lunch out on Sunday afternoon.  We have eaten at most of the popular restaurants here and decided to try our luck on a local Italian place.  We needed something different other than meat and potatoes.  I am always a little nervous taking Mike out to restaurants but we seem to go early enough to beat the crowd.  We were there for over two hours, no one is in a rush here, and Mikey did quite well.  All he got to eat were carrots but he loves looking at all the Chicas ;) 

After the restarant we headed to a vegetable market.  I even took some pictures to remind us of the variety of fruit here.  We have introduced Mike to bananas, avacado, and green beans.  We decided to start buying some fresh veggies due the lack of baby food variety here.  Most mothers prepare there own; we just don't always have free range in the kitchen.  Thankfully, Mike is not a picky eater.  He must get that from me ;)

We are actually going to the doctor today to get Mike's six month vaccines.  He needs to be up to date before we can leave the country.  Now that he is healthy again I am really dreading him getting the shots and hate to see him cry :(  But it has to be done before we can leave so I will get over it ;)  Below are also some pictures of Mike having fun at the park, enjoy :)

ARMY STAR!

 Yes, we are still in Colombia.

 Just missing Matt & the Dog!

Sending our love,
Kristin & Michael    

Court # One

So we got assigned a new court yesterday after over a week of waiting.  The best part is that the court has a very good reputation with adoptions!  We are so grateful that this court will hopefully be our ticket out of here this month.  We thank you all and ask that you continue to PRAY.  This journey has never been easy and we are still relying on our faith through the whole thing.  The judge of this court is known to like to celebrate with cake and coke on the day of the final adoption decree.  I will buy him three if he let's us leave ;) 

Other than that we haven't been up to anything new.  Michael was sick all last week with a cold so we never left the hotel.  It has actually been quite chilly here.  Today looks a little warmer so we will probably adventure out.  The hotel is full again with six families total staying here.  We miss the original crew we got here with but are keeping in touch via email with many of them.  It is interesting to me that none of the new families are American.  All of the families are from Europe.  I am not sure why that is but just interesting to say the least.  We hope all of you are doing well.

Love,
Kristin & Mikey        

New Toys

Hello Family & Friends,

We are still here patiently waiting for our documents to be sent back to court and I thought I would share a post of our life now.  We have had some new families arrive, both are from France.  One couple got a little girl who turned one today and the other couple will receive a 10 month old boy on Thursday.  They are both very nice but our only common language is Spanish, of which they know very little, so none of our conversations last too long ;)  Out of all the European couples we have met, the Italians have been the best with multiple languages.  One Italian family will return on Thursday with their three boys so the house will be full again.  Mikey was getting a little bored with his toys and the room so I wanted to share some new pics of him enjoying the new toys he got.  Granted toys over here are outrageous in price, so we found a store similar to Walmart to buy some.

He loves his stacking rings :)

 Yes I needed a mat to crawl on because the bed would no longer due!

 This is where we all sleep, you can see why we would like to go home ;)

We thank you for all your continue prayers and hope to have some new progress to report soon. 
Love, Kristin, Matt, & Michael

        

Court Update

Hello Family and Friends,

I wanted to inform you that we got to speak with the judge yesterday.  Our prayers were answered in that matter because she could have refused to see us.  She told us what the issue was with our paperwork.  ICBF put I was adopting as a Colombian and American but since I don't have my Colombian paperwork corrected yet (current name, passport, etc..) they should have only put American in the wording even if they gave me Colombian perference.  The Defendor of Minors was the one who actually didn't like the wording and persuaded the judge not to sign. We spoke with him also.  To make a long story short, ICBF has to correct that one paragraph and we should be good.  However since the judge already declined my paperwork in writing we have to go back into the lottery for a new court.

We are praying that it won't take long or that I might get the same court since they are familiar with our case.  We have other factors that might affect us but are not a problem as of right now. Please continue to pray for a smooth court process,  peace of mind on our behalf, and guidance & grace for those working on the procedures.  We hope to be here for less than another month.  Thank you all again for the prayers and support.

Kristin, Matt, & Mikey

   

Please Pray

Today Michael turned 7 months, and I can't express the gratitude I have in my heart with him being a part of our lives.  He brings so much joy and meaning to our purpose.   The reason I am asking you to pray today is because of our desire to give him a better home.  Don't get me wrong, Mikey will always be ours, but at this time a Colombian judge does not think we should leave with him.  Our judge, that we were randomly assigned, does not believe that I deserve to be given a child so fast because in her opinion my Colombian roots aren't strong enough.  In her mind I married an American, claim American citizenship, and live in America and therefore should be put behind other Colombian families. 

To make a long story short, I am Colombian by blood and have wanted to adopt my whole life.  This desire that I have to pass it forward to another child from my same orphanage should be enough.  As Christians, we often have questions about why bad things happen to good people.  God does have a greater plan. This whole journey has been by Faith and I have Faith that I will return home with Mikey soon.  It does not mean however that it will be easy or short.  All the characters of the Bible went through struggles and my point is no one is immune.  Being a Christian does not mean you will have an easy life but it does mean God will be there with you.  I believe God hears our prayers. 

I am not sure how many people will read this but I am asking you to pray for a change of heart on our judge.  My father and I are going to try and meet with her tomorrow to plead our case.  We are not sure if she will even meet with us. but it is all we can do.  If she still says she will  not approve our leaving we will have to start completely over with the court process, which could mean another month or so here.   We are still trying to accept that this outcome could soon become a reality, but we have Faith that God has a greater plan.  Please Pray with us.   

Growing Up So Fast!

Michael will be 7 months in fives days and he has already grown so much since we have had him.  I wanted to share some of the things he has learned so far.  This post is especially for Daddy overseas. WE LOVE YOU!

 I can sit up on my own!

 I interact and laugh a lot!

I decided I wanted to try to eat on my own!

 Cereal and apples taste good to me!

 I reach for Mommy in the morning. Yes I am this happy when I get up!

 I can get up on all fours and will push up on my toes.  Eyes have to be on me at all times now ;)

 My legs are strong. I can stand!

 I can entertain myself with toys!

 I hope to play soccer one day!

We Miss You Matt!  Love, Kristin & Mikey

Monserrate

So we are the only American family left at this point.  The family from Minnesota left this morning and they got here a week before us.  Praying that we will hear something this week ;)  In the meantime I thought I would share with you a must see Bogota site.  "Monserrate is the main symbol of Colombia's main city, not as a ecological icon but it's religious nature, whose Sanctuary was visited by thousands of people and pilgrims, since 1640 when it was founded."

It's location is 3.152 meters high with a clear view of Bogota and can be reached by cable car, train, or on foot. Matt and I got to go before he left but it was raining on the only day we could make the trip.  Below are a couple of photos of when Matt and I went.  

My parents then visited Monserrate this past Monday as an early Valentine's day outing and got much better photos of what the view  really has to offer.  They also had an open air market up top.  I wanted them to go again even it is was just to get better photos.  Mikey and I stayed behind due to the elevation.

Bogota has changed quite a bit since they were here 28 years ago.  The city size has more than doubled, there is a better infrastructure of the roads, it's safer, and the poverty level is not as prevalent.  It was a nice day for them to get out and reminisce.  They even got to stop by their old apartment to take a photo.  

Time flies, so enjoy every minute of it!   

La Fontana

Sundays are always relaxing days, with little traffic, families outside, and good food to eat.  We don't get served lunch on Sundays so we are usually all out of the hotel enjoying what Colombia has to offer.  This past Sunday we visited the flea market at the "La Fontana Hotel".  The hotel is a little more upscale and tends to attract tourists which leads to them having an open air flea market on Sundays.  The Fontana is about a 15 minute walk from our hotel and many of the streets are closed to allow for more walking room for the families.  The courtyard to the Fontana was even breathtaking due to the amount of foliage.

Colombia has a perfect climate for plants, a gardener's dream ;)  The market itself had very nice quality gifts from Colombia but with that came very little bargaining room.

My Mom and I purchased a couple of bracelets and we enjoyed some quiet time away from the house.  We have six families here at El Refugio now, with 12 adults and 8 kids (6months-10years).  It's getting a little noisier to say the least ;)  We have quite a representation of families with Italy, France, Spain, and the U.S. all being under one roof.  We even seem to communicate quite well with all the language boundaries.  It's a "God" thing to see so many people from different walks of life adopting children in need.  Before closing out today I wanted to share with you some of the different faces of Mikey I got to take on Sunday as well.   

I think he is adorable, but I know I am a little biased ;)  He sure does have quite the personality!  Sending lots of Love this Valentine's Day XOXO