One week down

Tomorrow is a pretty big day. 
ICBF visits and interviews us to see how "integration week" went. 
This is the day we also tell them we haven't changed our minds and we still want these kids.

We still want these kids.  

Even with the tantrums, shutdowns, and defiance.

We still want these kids.

Thanking God for the learning, laughter, and growing.

We headed to Simon Bolivar Park for some fun

This is a favorite! A dog walker...this guy had 9 or 10 dogs on leash.

They go out twice a week for about 4 hours.

Wesley wants this job.

 

Sometimes I wish I had something like this...

What can you pray about right now?  That interviews go well tomorrow so that paperwork may be submitted to the judge.  Pray for favor from the defender, assistant, and judge who will thoroughly review our case.
The kids had TB tests done today and they are supposed to not bathe, hit, or bother their arms in any way until the tests are read Friday afternoon.  This will be a challenge--especially for my lively BOYS.
Continue to pray for us as we merge.  So much happens in a day that I cannot even begin to write about it all.  I am processing it, praying for wisdom, and hoping each one feels loved.

Thank you for faithfully praying!!

These glasses

Every time we set the table we pull out 9 glasses from the cabinet.  

Each one is different.

And I glance around the table and look at each one of us and how we are all so different.

Yet we go together.

At the table, sometimes we are scrambling, sometimes everyone is peaceful (not often), sometimes we are dealing with a kid who doesn't like what we are having, sometimes we are laughing.

Most of the time we are laughing about a new food we tried to make 

but it just didn't turn out like we hoped.   

And sometimes we don't laugh about that. :-)

Today was one of those days that will swim through my head as I try to fall asleep.  

We tried to do a little "school" today.  

Oh my.  That was disastrous.  

But we figured out what NOT to do so tomorrow we will try again.  

And amazingly enough, they are willing.

Tonight ended well with an enthusiastic game of Hide-and-Seek.  I am so impressed with how much Spanish the 3 blancos are picking up and how the kids are able to communicate without help from mom and dad at times.

Nine of us.  

Each one different.  

Each one important.  

Each one in the right place.

What's up in COL?

We have been together for 4 days now and it's hard to describe all that is transpiring here.

God is good

ALL THE TIME

I'm thankful.  I'm amazed.  I'm at a loss sometimes.  We are adjusting really well, and when I send an email or skype with family I say, "Yes, we are well."

But doing really well includes grief.  It includes discipline.  It includes trying and trying again.

As hard as it is to see my kids grieve, I'm thankful they ARE expressing their grief and not bottling it up or ignoring it.  And in the midst of it, they receive love and they give love.  How humbled we are with this blessing. 

Thank you - thank you - thank you for your prayers.  I know your prayers are carrying us right now.  Here are a few pics from our first days together.

Gotcha Day!

 BEFORE

 ANTICIPATING

 FINALLY

 REUNITED

BEAR HUG

HOLA NANA

LUNCH

 PLAYING

DOWN TIME

 BROTHERS

 ACTIVIDADES

 FRISBEE!

 GOTCHA DAY!!!!!!

Bienvenidos!

We made it!  We are actually here!  We THANKFULLY checked all six 50 lb (maybe ONE was 50.0001 lbs) and then proceded to carry-on, yes carry-on 12 maximum sized pieces of luggage. 

When we were filling the overhead bins, the flight assistent said, "I'm surprised they let you get all these carried on."  As we loaded the last one up high, I passed her and said, "Me too."

My goal this first day was to get settled in the guest house and go grocery shopping. 

We are settling and we went shopping.

The kids will have to get used to carrying groceries home.

mom too! :-)

It's about a 20 minute walk but they got to tour the mall connected to the grocery store.

We met with our agency rep and lawyer tonight and they went over details for tomorrow and the following weeks.

TOMORROW! 

Our family will look totally different TOMORROW!

How are we doing?  Pretty good! 

Excited, ready, emotional, and at PEACE.

Thank you for the prayers!!

(And I have to give a shout out to my mother in law who is here with us a few days...she has already been so helpful!) 

We are blessed.

Multitude of anxieties within me

Here we are a couple days before we leave to reunite with the kids and it seems strangely unreal.  I have been packing and as I had finished packing the 4th kid out of 7, I realized I would need 2 more bags.

That did it. 

Until then, I had been fine.  Really calm.  Excited.  Looking forward to our departure.  Then all of a sudden the anxieties flooded my chest and I started feeling stressed.

And I look at that now and think,

Really--THAT got you? 
Caused you to stumble?

Oh boy am I in trouble. 

But God is so good.

One of the verses I came across this weekend
(actually the morning before I realized I needed more luggage)
was Psalm 94:19

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me,

your comforts delight my soul."

And I started thinking and delighting in His comforts.

He will never leave me.
He will never forsake me.
His mercy is new every morning.
His grace is sufficient.
His power is made perfect in my weakness.

And I called a couple friends to borrow that luggage.

Almost packed.

Love ya blue

So I have been praying for a new ride for our growing family...

What do you think?





I was hoping to find something that didn't look like we are

running a daycare,

transporting tourists to a hotel,

or on a church road trip.

The motorcycle kind of fits my wish list.

;-)

But my wish list also included

15 seats

low mileage

and anything but white.

The first two things are pretty easy to find,

 but finding something that's not

white, white, or white

is pretty slim.

We put the swagger wagon up for sale in our front yard and it sold in 3 days.

Bye-bye, swagger.

No turning back now. 

The next day I called the guys at FindMeAVan.com

and they had a "Summit White" 2009 15 passenger

coming in town that was kinda close to our price range. 

The "Summit White" looked like a silver so I was definitely interested.

It's the little things, ya know.

So we looked at pictures,

we checked out some vans here in town,

we prayed about it,

and waited. 

We could have purchased it, and we probably would have been completely happy with the van.

But for some reason, we just hesitated...

and hesitated....

and hesitated a bit more.

Then the guys emailed us back and

said they had a 2008 coming in

that was exactly the same as the 2009

and even the same mileage,

but it wasn't the same color.

AND it would be a couple thousand dollars less.

We were interested.

We prayed about it,

talked about it,

and thought it's probably a better decision for us to get the cheaper one.

So I email him back and ask if it's white and he says....

dark blue

and I say

SOLD!

Welcome to the family, Big Blue.