I'M GOING HOME!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems like just yesterday my good friend Lynn told me about this wonderful place called FANA. And now this time tomorrow we will be headed for home with our beautiful baby boy. Our journey here in Colombia (this time) will end at 47 days, and what an amazing journey it’s been. We’re filled with so many different feelings right now: first and foremost thankful, for this wonderful baby, and excited for Luke to meet his family at home. We’re feeling relief that our adoption is now complete. But we are also feeling a bit of sadness to have to leave this wonderful place we’ve called home for six and a half weeks. We feel so fortunate to have been able to see so many beautiful places and take in so much of the Colombian culture. We feel like we did and saw so much and yet I know we’ve only barely scratched the surface. And thanks to Jorge, not only did we take in the beauty of Colombia, but our eyes were opened to the reality of the poverty and those who are in need of basic necessities of life that we all too often take for granted. We’ve come to realize now as we pack up our things that there is so much we will miss: the wonderful people, the lazy days with nothing to do but love and adore Luke, enjoying a coffee and taking in the sights and sounds around us, enjoying this quality bonding time and getting to know our son without the distractions of “real” life. It’s rare I think that people get to enjoy uninterrupted time like that and we are so thankful for it. And oddly enough I think I’ll even miss the sounds of the blaring horns and the crazy drivers where there are no rules and no lanes. And of course, the coffee and food: the great late night burgers from downstairs, the milkshakes and ice cream from Crepes, the empanadas, and all the wonderful meals we’ve indulged in for the past month and a half. We had such a wonderful experience from start to finish and hopefully all the families who are to follow will have an amazing time as well. And now to Luke, this peaceful and happy soul who has experienced so much the past six weeks. Since meeting his parents, he has been vaccinated, braced, x-rayed, had ultrasounds, and nebulizer treatments and has never lost that adorable smile (and thankfully, no worries and all is well). I know all parents probably feel this way about their children, but he really is amazing. He is so sweet and kind and we feel so blessed God has called us to this journey and chosen us for one another. The sound of his giggle or him sucking his thumb in the middle of the night would melt your heart. And now we get to take him home and shower him with the love of our wonderful family and friends. We are so thankful for each and every one of you. You have all helped us and supported us from the very beginning of our dream to have a family. And we couldn’t have spent so long away from home without your continued help. So, thanks to B for your genuine excitement to meet your 4th great grandchild. To our parents thank you for your encouraging words and endless support ( and to my dad for shining up our cars like new). Alison and Kevin thanks for getting the mail, watering our plants, checking on the house, paying our bills and the millions of other things I called and asked you to do. Lisa and Mike thanks for answering all our silly questions (and Mike thanks for shoveling the snow). We are so excited for Luke to meet Michael, Morgan, and Nico and we feel so blessed to be able to raise our children together. Alicia thanks for your support and wonderfully funny comments that always kept us laughing. To our great friends thanks for your phone calls, skyping, and comments on the blog that helped us continue to feel connected to you all and to home. We are so thankful to Kenny's colleagues who have been so supportive and understanding and have given Kenny the opportunity to work here with the wonderful people in the Bogota office. To my great friends at Mountain View thank you for being so supportive throughout our entire process and for all of your comments. I’ve enjoyed reading them and staying connected. To Mercedes and Elena and everyone at FANA, we are forever grateful for the love and care you provided our son while he waited to be united with us. To all the wonderful people here in Colombia who have taught us, driven us, translated for us, helped us in any way, we thank you. To Jerri thank you for all you’ve done in helping to create our family and the hundreds of others. Thanks for always being there regardless of how stupid or numerous our questions were. Your dedication to the children and families of FANA does not go unnoticed. To our wonderful buddy couples who prepared us so well for our journey, we thank you. Our experience has been so wonderful I think in part because we knew what to expect, where to go, what to do, etc thanks to all of your advice. To all the wonderful families of FANA, many of whom have shared in our journey here in Colombia, we thank you for your love and support. We feel blessed to be part of your wonderful family. To all of our faithful readers, we thank you for following along on our amazing adventure. And finally to the brave, young woman who chose life for Luke in so many different senses of the word, we are eternally grateful to her. Her love for this child is so evident. She longed for him to have a family and a life that she could not provide. We vow to her that we will do our best to raise Luke to be a wonderful Christian person that she would be proud of. So now we prepare to close this chapter of our journey, take with us wonderful memories to share with Luke as he grows, and begin the next chapter of this wonderful life ahead.

Monday, March 15th: The US Embassy

The weather was beautiful today. Maria Teresa picked us up at 9:00 and we were off to pick up the letter we needed from Bienestar. Thank God everything was correct or else we would have been delayed in getting Luke's visa. So then we headed to the US Embassy. As we got close to the embassy we could see the American flag. It may sound funny, but for some reason we were really comforted and happy to see our flag. Maybe because it symbolizes home and us getting one step closer to getting there. So when we got to the entrance Maria Teresa had a concerned look on her face. There was a sign posted in Spanish that she read to us that the embassy would not be processing visas today. She said about once a month the workers get an administrative holiday and the visa office closes for the day. That would not be good because that would delay our return home until Thursday at least. But no worries. When we got inside we found out that only visas for tourism, studying abroad and things like that were not being processed. So thank God we were able to get Luke's visa processed and it will be ready for pickup tomorrow. That means we're still able to leave Wednesday! Two more days! So after the embassy we enjoyed a nice lunch and walked around for a little while. Tonight Jorge stopped by. A lot of families who tour Guatavita with him chose to plant a tree, native to Colombia, in honor of their child. The tree is planted in a protected area and is cared for by the people at the lagoon. It is a neat thing to do first to help the environment which Jorge promotes and secondly for your child to see if he or she returns to Colombia someday. Jorge has the tree planted and then a marble plaque is placed in front of it with your child's name, birthday, and state/country they live in. It's a really nice thing to do. We didn't make the trip to Guatavita this time since the three of us ended up with colds and then we didn't want to leave Luke with the babysitter for an all day trip. So we picked out a tree, a Colombian pine tree, tonight and Jorge will see to it that it is planted and has Luke's plaque. But anyway, we're off to bed. We're picking up Luke's visa at the embassy tomorrow and then getting ready to come home. We can't wait!

Election Day

After mass we thought it would be a good idea to head back up to the Usaquin area that we went to last Sunday. It's a nice place to walk around, get something to eat and look at the neat things at their market. When we got there, it looked a little bit different from last weekend. There were police and military everywhere. We thought maybe just heightened security for some reason. So we tried to make our way to where the market was set up last time. To enter people were patted down and bags were checked. Still we kept going only to find out that we just entered the voting polls for their congressional elections. It wasn't the market at all. So we left that area and headed to lunch instead. We went to Amarte again since we really enjoyed it last Sunday. We thought we'd relax with a good drink and good food. But no. There were no cosmos or cerveza being served. We came to find out that they don't serve alcohol anywhere on election day. So after a great meal we decided to go back to the apartment. But then someone pointed out that the market had moved to a different area because of the election. We're so happy that we decided to take a few minutes to walk around the market area since we found great pieces of art for a reasonable price. We really liked the young artist and he is from Bogota. So not only will the art look great in our home, but it also helps to support this hard working artist. So now we're back at the apartment. When we were getting on the elevator a nice guy stopped us and asked us if we were here for an adoption. He had heard of us from FANA and went on to tell us that he and his wife received their baby girl, Maria, from FANA on Monday. They are another family from Spain, but not Barcelona, they are from Madrid. So it was nice to meet another family staying here at La Fontana. Oh and the picture of Luke in his stroller we thought was cute. That is how he rides around all day. He won't sit back anymore since he got his brace off. So he rides around holding onto the front of the stroller like he's the mayor of Bogota. But anyway we've started counting down the days until we are home. Tomorrow we're off to the embassy to get Luke's visa. Then two more days to go!

My Turn At Norbertos.......

We enjoyed a lazy Saturday morning and then headed out to, yes you guessed it, to do laundry. After we dropped off the laundry we went for lunch at A Todo Taco. We're trying to hit some of our favorites one more time before we head home. Luke slept a little bit while we ate. He was so tired, he passed out with his leg up on the stroller (as you can see in the pictures). Now to one of my favorite parts of the day. I thought since the boys both got to experience Norbertos, it was now my turn. We arrived at Norbertos and it was crazy as usual. That place is just so busy all the time, and all 3 or 4 floors are always crowded. So I told them I would like a manicure and pedicure and they took us up to this room where my 2 hours of relaxation was to begin. I was curious to experience these services in another country and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. The room is lined with about 8 to 10 recliners. You just sit in your recliner and receive both your manicure and pedicure at the same time. I've never had both done simultaneously but it was very efficient, especially when you have your husband and eight month old waiting in the next room. So they served me a great frozen lemonade and I sat back and relaxed. It was kind of a strange experience again because of the language barrier. I felt like I was in that episode of Seinfeld where Elaine couldn't understand what the people in the salon were saying and thought all the women were talking about her and laughing at her. And as I was thinking about that the cell phone of the girl next to me went off and oddly enough her ring tone was the Seinfeld theme song. But I wasn't bothered too much that I couldn't understand them because I was thoroughly enjoying myself. I've never received such a great manicure and pedicure (mom, I was thinking of you, you would have loved it here). When I was finished I went to find Luke and Kenny. They both looked as though they were ready to go, which was totally understandable. So we headed back to pick our laundry. The nice thing about doing our wash at Lavasport is the lady who works there is so kind and always makes sure she calls us a safe ride back to the apartment. Well now Luke is sleeping and Kenny and I are settling in for our Saturday night tradition: the 5 hour American Idol party. We're looking forward to a nice day tomorrow and then in just a few more days we'll be heading home! We can't wait!!!!

Thank You FANA.......

Luke and I enjoyed some nice quiet time, with normal nap and feeding times for a change, while Kenny went to work. When Kenny got home we stopped by FANA to say our goodbyes and thank them all again. As we've said before we will be forever grateful to FANA and the wonderful people who loved and cared for Luke while he waited for us and continue to love and care for the children who remain. We had an opportunity to take a few more pictures in front of the beautiful window at FANA and included them for you all to see. We stopped by the Andino mall area for one last great meal at Luna, since we probably won't head down to that area anymore during this trip. Since I am so predictable in what I order and it was our 3rd time at Luna, the waiter knew what I wanted even before we ordered. He even remembered that I like my caeser salad without anchovies. Like I said before, the service there is great. After we ate, we headed back to the apartment and enjoyed a relaxing night. We also got good news from Maria Teresa that our letter from Bienestar is ready. So this means we are all set for the embassy on Monday to get Luke's visa, pick it up Tuesday, and then head home Wednesday. So we're looking forward to a nice weekend before we wrap things up next week. Oh, and we wanted to say good luck to the wonderful families who are working so hard to make the PA wine festival this weekend a huge success. We were hoping to be home and be there with you all, but obviously we're still here. So good luck and have fun!

Flights Are Booked!!!!!

We had a very busy and productive day. Maria Teresa picked us up at 9:00 and we were off to get Luke's Colombian passport. Thank God it's not like the process for a passport in the states. We went in and got Luke's picture taken. We included his picture for you all to see today because it is so darn cute. Dad, it reminded me a lot of your pictures when you were a baby. I think he has your ears. So after we got his pictures we walked into this huge room with probably about 100 people waiting to get their passports. We had to pay first and the line was really long. But this nice security guard let us move to the front of the line because of Luke. We see that a lot here. They make a lot of special exceptions when it comes to their children. So after we paid we didn't wait too long for our number to be called to have the man process the passport. Within about an hour we walked out with it. Maria Teresa dropped us off at the apartment and Luke ate and took a quick nap. Then Maria Teresa picked us up again to head to the US embassy doctor. This is a necessary step to ensure your child's vaccinations are up to date and they are from of contagious diseases to enter the U.S. The doctor was nice with a very dry sense of humor. He looked over Luke's medical history, gave him a brief exam, and we were on our way. So we got a lot done today. Now all that is left is to pick up a letter from Bienestar and then we're off to the embassy for his visa on Monday. It feels great. We've been here almost 6 weeks now and it's funny but we can't believe we're actually going home in a few short days. Our flights are now booked, and it looks like Wednesday is the day. What a great birthday gift for my sister in law. We'll have lots to celebrate that day. Oh and we just wanted to wish Bob and Gisella safe travels home tomorrow (we included a picture of our two happy families). Bob and his wife adopted a baby girl from FANA about 14 years ago and now have just completed their adoption of Gisella, who is about 13 I think, through the summer magic program. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but about a year ago Kenny and I sat with Bob at the general membership meeting in Buffalo. He told us of his daughter and how he and his wife were hoping to adopt another child through this summer program. We never thought we'd be down in Colombia, staying in the same hotel, and spending time together while we both completed our adoptions a year later. Gisella is such a sweet girl (who Luke just loves) and we've enjoyed spending time with her. We wish their new family all the best.

Bye Bye Brace!!!!!!!!

Well today was another big day for many reasons. Luke is finally free of his brace during the day!! He'll just have to wear it at night for 2 more months. It was so funny to watch him play for the first time without it. We think it must have felt funny to him because at first he was still moving like he had it on. But I guess if you think about it he hasn't used certain muscles in a month and it will take a little bit to rebuild. But by tonight he was rolling and starting to crawl a little more normally. But anyway, to our other great news. We weren't really expecting to do anything official today since we thought we would have to wait for that letter from the court. But at about 12:00, Maria Teresa called and said the letter was ready and our attorney was picking it up. So Maria Teresa picked us up at 2:00 and we met quickly with our attorney to pick up the letter and then it was off to Notary 51 to change Luke's original birth certificate. This was the Notary where Luke's birth mother filed his original birth certificate. It was a strange feeling walking through the door and being in the same building where she once was doing something for Luke. We think of her often and continue to keep her in our prayers. So back to the birth certificate. After about two hours we finally had it in our hands: the birth certificate for Luke Samuel Paulino Morgan (that is how they do it in Colombia with the mothers maiden name at the end). So when we left the notary we had Maria Teresa drop us off at Bogota Beer Company so the three of us could celebrate Luke being free of his brace, now having his new birth certificate, and being one step closer to coming home. When we got back to the apartment, Luke was playing, I was on the computer and Kenny was relaxing in bed watching TV when suddenly the phone rang. Kenny jumped over to the other side of the bed and when he did the one side of the bed dropped to the ground. He completely busted one of the screws. So that's it, we're done. I kept blaming the dryer at the laundry mat for shrinking my clothes, but in reality I think we've both had one too many empanadas and milkshakes. But we look at it this way: in order to fully embrace the Colombian culture, you must fully embrace their food. And I guess we've been doing that completely. But back to business, and it looks like we'll be able to book our flights for next Wednesday. So I'm going to get going so Kenny could get on the computer and start checking flights. And tomorrow we're off to get Luke's passport. Good night!

SENTENCIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've been waiting 39 days to write that title above. We are so excited and it feels really great. So this morning Maria Teresa picked us up at about 8:30. After an hour of traffic we finally arrived at the court. It was not at all what I would have imagined it to be like. There is a long hallway and all these different courts fill it. So we found lucky number 13 and went in. It was a small room with a counter and a few workers behind it. The room was filled with shelf upon shelf upon shelf of papers. I don't think I've ever seen so many stacks of paper all together in one little space like that before. It makes you a little nervous to think that all of the paperwork you've worked so hard on is lying somewhere among the millions of others. But somehow I guess their system works. So Maria Teresa fought through the crowd at the counter and finally it was our turn. This young girl brought over a stack of paperwork with our name on it and the signing began. We've never been so excited to sign a document before in our life. So that was it. At about 10:05 this morning Andres Felipe officially became Luke Samuel, our son. So after we signed Maria Teresa and the girl helping us exchanged a few words, in Spanish, so we weren't exactly sure what they were saying, but it didn't look too friendly. What the girl was telling her was that she wouldn't have our next piece of paperwork ready for us until Friday. This would hold us up from completing the next step of the process until this letter was issued on Friday. Maria Teresa pleaded a bit for us and the girl finally gave in and said to pick it up tomorrow afternoon. So that is much better than Friday. Maria Teresa feels sometimes the workers do things like that to show their power or be difficult but we'll give the girl the benefit of the doubt and think she must just have a lot to get done before ours. The process is pretty confusing (to us anyway) so I'll try to do my best to explain to those who don't know what needs to happen the next few days for us to get home. I don't know if I understand it so clearly, so some things may be a bit off. So now that we signed Sentencia, we must wait for that letter from the court tomorrow. Then hopefully Thursday we will take that letter to the notary and have Luke's birth certificate changed from his birth name to his name now. Then we can get his passport, wait for Bienestar (like child social services) to issue some other letter to the embassy so we can start our business at the embassy, then visit with the embassy doctor, and get Luke's visa to enter the states. Sounds like a lot right? Well it will all get done. It always has and everyone always goes home. Maria Teresa is making sure of it. So we are thinking maybe next Wednesday at the earliest to travel, but we will see how things progress. As we've said so many times before, we'll just sit back and continue to enjoy Colombia. So that's just what we did after we left the courts. Since it was a bit too early for lunch, we stopped at Juan Valdez for a coffee and to feed Luke. Then it was off to Teriyaki (again) to celebrate. We had a great lunch and celebrated Sentencia while Luke slept. After we ate, we thought it was about time for Luke to get his first haircut. It was starting to grow over his ears. So we went to Norberto's Infantil ( it is the same place where Kenny got his haircut, but in the children's area). The place is great for kids. It is decorated really cute and Luke had his own tv to watch the Backyardigans in espanol. He didn't care too much for the decorations, the tv or the man cutting his hair. He cried the entire time. But thinking back we kind of don't blame him. The guy was dressed all in white and then puts a mask on. After immunizations, brace fittings, doctor visits, and breathing treatments, we don't blame him for being a little scared of some strange man with a mask and instruments. But he got through it and he looks so cute. The rest of the day we just relaxed and continued to celebrate this wonderful day. Well now we'll just wait and see what the next few days bring. And then, very soon, the three of us will be heading home!!!

A Day Of Great News!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luke was smiling even bigger than usual today. Probably because we got all kinds of great news! It all started this morning. We went to yet another clinic for some additional tests for Luke. The pediatrician who stopped on Saturday to listen to his lungs, kindly gave him a full exam as I think I mentioned earlier. She wanted us to followup on a few things and set up some tests for this morning. She has been so supportive and has gone out of her way to make sure we are well taken care of. Kenny and I were discussing how we've learned so much by the way others have treated us during our time here. I think we always try to be kind to others, but from now on I think we'll make even more of an effort to go out of our way to be better. But anyway, back to our day of great news. We thank God all of Luke's test results were good. So very thankful, we headed back to the apartment. When we got back the phone rang and it was Maria Teresa (our driver). We were so excited. Could it be sentencia? No. She was just calling to give us an update, but no sentencia yet. So I went to the gym for a bit for a much needed workout. When I got back to the apartment, I noticed Jorge Rico (our tour guide) had stopped by to drop off some things we had ordered from him. When I got in the door and looked at Kenny he had huge smile on his face. While I was gone, Maria Tereas called back and.....we got SENTENCIA!!!! We will be signing tomorrow morning!! We are so excited, as is our family (my younger sister, Alison, went wild and cried a river, maybe an ocean, of happy tears). I always knew we would be taking Luke home with us, obviously, but when Jorge looked at Luke and said "Luke, you're going home," it really struck me. We're really taking him home. This beautiful, sweet, happy, peaceful baby is really coming home! We are so truly blessed and can't wait for you all to meet him. We know God has chosen Luke for us and us for Luke from the very beginning, tomorrow we will just make it all official.

Usaquin And The Oscars

Sunday, so as you may have already guessed, (since we've been here for six Sundays now) we started our day with mass downstairs. Then we thought we would try out a new outdoor market and headed up to Usaquin (Laura and Steve, thanks for the advice to keep walking further up the hill to reach this market). It was a really nice area with lots of vendors and nice little restaurants. While we were shopping we noticed Victor Betancourt (the artist whose home we went to with Jorge to see his work) had an area set up showcasing some of his pieces. We stopped to say hello and he remembered us right away. He even remembered Luke by name. He showed us a few of his most recent pieces. He said the day we left his apartment he finished all the work he had started and then a few new pieces. He said Luke created great inspiration for him (really sweet). We were happy to see him and actually found a piece of art we really like. After we walked around for a while, we were pretty hungry and found a nice spot to stop and eat. As we looked at the menu and the food being served around us, something started to feel all too familiar. The name of the restaurant was Amarti, but we think it may have the same owners as Luna, that place by the Andino mall that we really enjoy. I ordered the same thing I usually get at Luna and sure enough everything was the same. We thought it was pretty funny that of all the places we could have chosen to eat we pick that particular one. After we ate we made it back to the apartment just in time for Luke to have his last nebulizer treatment. He did well (except with the saline nose flush as usual) and the nurse said his lungs sound good, so thank God. Then we got ready for our big Oscar red carpet party. I know it won't be anything close to your party, Susan and Mark. The Kuligowski's were telling us about the big bash they have for the Oscars, complete with a red carpet entrance and Oscar trivia. Kenny and Luke didn't seem too thrilled to be at my party, but I enjoyed it. I never really paid attention to Ryan Seacrest when he said they were broadcasting live to over 120 different countries, but I definitely noticed it tonight. So we had the red carpet in English and then watched a bit of the Oscars in Spanish until I got really annoyed with the guy translating over all the actors (we really need to learn the language). So we are back to our reruns of the sitcoms instead and then off to bed. We are hoping to hear something from the courts this week (tomorrow would be nice). We'll keep you updated. Oh and we thought the picture of Luke today was cute and so coordinated with his turtle pajamas, turtle bib and turtle like brace.

Doctors, Nurses, And Laundry

So today Luke got a full exam by the the very kind pediatrician that Kenny is working with down here. She generously came to apartment to see him. The only thing we were really missing was the scale to check his height and weight so we may stop by the office tomorrow so she can check on his progress in those areas. He got a good report and wonderful news that his hip is looking good! (countdown until he's brace free throughout the day: 4 days, then only at night) His lungs sound good too, thank God. Afterwards, for the fifth time we headed to the laundry mat. After we loaded our wash and we're on our way to lunch, we were discussing how now after several weeks you start to appreciate the wonderful conveniences of home, like your washer and dryer. We tried a new place for lunch called Teriyaki. I don't know if we were just really hungry because it was 4:00 and we were just having lunch or the food was really that good. But either way we enjoyed it. When we got back the nurse came again to give Luke a second nebulizer treatment. He tolerates the treatment pretty well but when she goes to flush his nose with the saline, it all falls apart. And I kind of don't blame him. It looks like an awful experience. Afterwards I think he had a bit of an upset stomach and then got really hyper (maybe from the medicine). So he just finished his evening bottle at about 10:00. I think he just wanted to stay up for My and Kenny's American Idol party. Yes, every Saturday night, the weeks American Idol episodes air for about 5 hours straight, all three nights in one here. So Luke is settling down and enjoying the music. It may be a late night tonight, but hopefully it's a good night.

No Word Yet..................

No word yet from the courts. So it looks like we'll be here for at least another 10 days. Sorry to disappoint. I know our family/friends who are so eagerly awaiting the arrival home of our wonderful son won't find this too funny, but it made me laugh so I thought I'd include it. We were on our way back to our apartment and saw a banner on our hotel for the Nationwide tour going on now that I talked about earlier. On the banner it said: Colombia, the only risk is not wanting to leave. I had to laugh, now about 5 weeks into our stay. But no worries, we will be home soon. So anyway, today was a nice day. The weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. When Kenny got in from work we headed back down to the Andino mall area that we have grown to really love. We had another great meal at Luna. We both started with a great Caesar salad and I had penne with vodka sauce and Kenny had penne primavera. We couldn't resist dessert. It was so good we had to include a picture. One was a warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and the other was some sort of warm apple tart with cinnamon ice cream. We couldn't believe we spent three hours at Luna enjoying our meal. Luke was pretty good. He is back to his smiling, happy self. He amused himself for a long time trying to work on his fine motor skills picking up peas (from Kenny's meal) off his stroller tray. Everyday we grow more impressed by how quickly he picks up on things and develops. When we got back to the apartment a nurse came to give Luke a nebulizer treatment. Like I mentioned yesterday we were still a little concerned about his coughing. So today when Kenny went into work he spoke with the chief medical officer there, who is a pediatrician, about our concerns. She ordered these treatments for Luke for three days and is stopping by tomorrow morning to give him a full exam. I know I've said it before but Kenny's colleagues have been so kind and supportive. We are so blessed to have these connections here and everyone makes sure we are very well taken care of. Luke of course loved the nurse when she arrived and gave her that big, cute smile and flashed those long eyelashes at her. He's such a little flirt. He did pretty well with his nebulizer treatment but didn't like it very much when she flushed his nose with saline. But he got over it. We're so thankful that we were able to get these treatments for him so quickly. Later, we talked with some family and our good friends, Jesse and Dana, who are vacationing on the Cayman Islands right now, and wanted to check in on us. And we just wanted to say hello to the Kuligowski's. We're so glad you're all home safe and sound (despite the two and a half hour hold up at immigration). Again it was great meeting the four of you and we look forward to keeping in touch and watching the girls grow. Today, we also said goodbye to our new friends from Spain (Marty, Martha and Carla) who headed home today. They are such nice people and we are so glad to have gotten the chance to spend time with them. Maybe someday we could make a trip over to Barcelona and reunite Luke and Carla. Well that's it for today. We're off to relax and catch up on some old episodes of Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, and According to Jim. These are some of the only shows they keep replaying in English so that's what we watch. Good Night.

Luke Continues To Share.........

Luke is continuing to share: his germs. I have a touch of his cold now too. We will all be fine in time, but we just feel bad if this is what Luke has been feeling like. It is no wonder he was a bit cranky the last few days. He is doing much better now, but is still coughing (Kenny is going to talk to one of the doctors at work tomorrow about his cough). So Kenny and I picked up something like Advil cold and sinus to start taking today. The writing on the box is all in Spanish so we think/hope it's like Advil cold and sinus. So we took it easy today and went out for a late lunch at this place we had been eyeing up for a few weeks called Shamua. It has a really nice atmosphere, the service was great and the food was really good as well. After lunch we did some shopping at Maku (a place to pick up gifts for home) and Migues (thanks for the great directions Amy). Migues is a little shop which sells all kinds of little loafers for babies/kids. So we got Luke a really cute pair. Well, still no word from the courts (obviously, or I would have mentioned that first). So we will keep you updated, but for now we'll be here a bit longer enjoying Colombia.

Zoo Closed.........So Plan B............

Kenny called Maria Teresa from FANA this morning to check on our status with the courts. Could it be sentencia today? No, not today. Maria Teresa updated us that our paperwork is now back in the hands of the judge and now we are just waiting for him to sign (this could take up to 10 days). So since there would be no signing today, Patricia (Jorge's wife) picked us up to head to the zoo. At least that's where we thought we were going. So after about a forty five minute ride we pulled up to the entrance of the zoo only to find out it was closed. There is some problem with the private bus transportation system going on right now in Bogota, so alot of the workers of the zoo weren't able to get to work today and the zoo had to close. So we went to plan b. The Salt Cathedral of Zipaquira was also on our list of things to do and it was only a few minute drive from the zoo. So Luke will have to see the zoo another time and we were off to the Salt Cathedral. We stopped for lunch first at a really neat restaurant (the first two pictures) and had a great meal. When we were finished it started to rain. It's funny how things work out because walking around the zoo in the rain would not have been good. Well I have to be honest. We heard a lot about the Salt Cathedral from other FANA families but I never really grasped all that it really is. My account may be a bit off, but this is what I took away from our tour. Many, many years ago there was salt water in this particular area. When the water dried up salt was later discovered here and the mining of it began. Since mining is such a dangerous job and the Colombian people are very religious (I think about 85% of the people are Catholic), the miners began to build alters and places they could worship and pray in the mines. And now the Salt Cathedral is the number one tourist wonder in Colombia. It was really amazing to see. It is actually an underground mine (I think you begin at about 2600 meters above sea level and end at about 20 meters above sea level). The entire thing, walls, ceiling, floor is all salt. They say Colombia has enough salt for the next 500 years. The first part of the tour you walk through is the stations of the cross. Each station is depicted so beautifully and carved completely out of salt. It was such an appropriate time to visit since it is Lent. The next part is the cathedral itself, which holds mass each Sunday. The large cross you see in the pictures is carved out of the salt walls and the alter, made of salt (obviously) is placed so beautifully in front of it. You can also see in the pictures Michelangelo's "creation" redone in salt by two Colombian artists. This was pretty neat because this time last year we saw the original work of Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel when we were Italy. The third part of the tour was the convention center, where we stopped to watch a 3-D movie about the Cathedral (hence the funny glasses). So I guess what was to be a day at the zoo ended up being a great day touring the Salt Cathedral. When we got home Luke took a quick nap. He is about 90% back to himself I think, although he still has a bit of a cough. Tonight we headed over to Betty's place to say goodbye to the Kuligowski's. It was funny, but when we first arrived Luke looked around the room and I think realized where he was. Both times we left Luke since we received him he was at Betty's place. I think he put it all together and thought we were leaving again and immediately he started to cry ( and he rarely cries for no reason). And Lauren and Helena took one look at us and thought we were taking their parents away again and Lauren kept saying "mommy please take your shoes off." I guess they all didn't want us to leave. We're really glad we had the chance to meet Susan and Mark and their two beautiful girls and are thankful we were able to spend some time with them. They are a really great family and we are so glad for them that they are able to head home tomorrow. (Safe travels to you guys) We wish them all the best. So we said our goodbyes and once we got the cab driver to understand where we were going, we headed back to the apartment. Luke did such a sweet thing when we got back and I know my words can't even begin to describe just how sweet it was. I was rocking him to sleep and he spit up all over my shirt (not the sweet part). So I went to change and Kenny took over rocking him to sleep. When I can back, Luke gently touched Kenny's face with one hand and then reached to pull me in closer to the two of them. He cuddled with the two of us together like this for a bit, almost as if he was saying how happy he is with the two of us and how loved he feels. It was a really great moment. We are such a blessed family.