We made it! The Highs and the Lows of our journey so far!

Saturday we left Huntsville, Alabama for Bogota, Colombia.  The week leading up to our departure was brutal with packing, organizing the house, getting all bills and paperwork taken care of for the next several months and travel planning. 

This is what 7 people's luggage for 2-3 months looks like.  Actually missing 1 suitcase from the picture plus backpacks.

Our flight left at 1:00 pm so we arrived at the airport before 11:00 to make sure we had time to get us and all the luggage through the checkpoints before the airport became busy.  My parents and some amazing lifelong friends came to see us off.  We have felt so loved and supported by all of you so far and this was another example of people taking from their time to show they are behind us.

At the gate before we said our goodbyes.

Reese was so excited about his first plane ride.  We talked for weeks about sitting in the seat very quietly :)

Jude was equally as excited.

Ready for the journey

Visiting the cockpit

The Huntsville to Atlanta leg of the flight was fairly uneventful.  The kids were well behaved (quiet) and it was a very short flight.  When we landed in Atlanta, Brant and the man seated behind him began talking about where each of us were flying to.  As soon as we said Colombia, he told us he was a former missionary to Colombia in the town of Sincelejo.  Before we went to our separate gates, this man prayed for our family and for Little One.  We felt God's presence and confirmation once again.  It was a gift of peace in that moment. 

Our new friend

After a 2 1/2 hour layover in Atlanta, we were off for the next leg of our flight.  Our arrival time was to be 9:30 pm in Bogota. We instead landed around 12:30 am.  About two hours into the flight, the pilot announced there was some sort of instrumentation problem with the plane and we would be turning back to Orlando for repairs.  No.  Please no.  The kids could have made it, I was confident, until 9:30.  They apparently could NOT make it with any semblance of calm until 12:30 am.  Brant and I spent quite a bit of time in the spacious airplane bathroom with a certain short member of the family trying to spare our fellow passengers a few decibels of the screams. Reese and Jude finally fell asleep about an hour before we landed.  

Jude's makeshift bed

It gets even better in Bogota!  We planned on spending the night in the airport since our next flight left early Sunday morning.  What we did not know was that the Bogota airport is under MAJOR construction.  We assumed we could find a nice, quiet corner to tuck everyone into for the night.  What we found out is that all the construction work is done during the middle of the night.  Hammers, nail guns, saws, endless people marching back and forth with equipment and supplies.  It was terrible.  Brant and I did not sleep at all.  Dakota and Gavin probably got about two hours of sleep and Reese and Jude fought sleep off until about 4:00 am.  That's right.  We were CRAZY at that point.  

Our home for the night

Finally.

The flight early Sunday morning was easy and fast compared to the night before.  We arrived in Valledupar in the Cesar region around 9:45 am.  This is the city Little One lives in.  We were met by our drivers (yes two to hold us all) and traveled to the hotel.  In the rush to get loaded, somehow Dakota and I ended up with the Littles while Brant and Gavin went in the other car.  I sat in the front seat with our driver, Grace.  This was a mistake.  Dakota did her best to contain the boys.  But there was only one of her and two of them and no car seats or window locks.  You can only imagine.  

Our guide got us set up in our hotel rooms at Hotel Vajamar. We were able to get two adjoining rooms.  They moved beds in and out to accommodate our sleeping needs.  One room has 3 twin beds.  The other a king size bed and a crib.  It is clean but small.  We have 6 people in about 600 square feet of space.  It is tight. 

We have already established a bit of a ritual in our days.  We eat breakfast,which is included in our stay, each morning out by the pool before the heat becomes unbearable.  Then we visit the fish tank in the lobby before going to sit out on the sidewalk in front of the hotel to watch the people starting their day and to hear the motorcycles and taxis honk at each other.  The kids love it.  

Lunch is PB&J, fruit, nuts, yogurt or whatever else we could find at the grocery store just across the street from the hotel called Exito.  It is so convenient.  Our rooms have mini-fridges which help with being able to keep snacks on hand. We swim mid-day and the Littles nap after their swim.  The pool is a beautiful and much needed reprieve from the hot days.  Dinner is either at the hotel or the deli at Exito.  

Our amazing hotel breakfast.  Fresh fruit, fresh juice, hot chocolate for the kids and so many other delicious items.

Our stoop outside

Dakota's pool buddy.  They are so cute teaching each other words from their own language.

We of course do not have a washing machine in our hotel room.  Nor do most hotels in Colombia have a bathtub.  Showers only here.  So I purchased an inflatable baby bathtub to bring along on the trip to serve both as a bathtub for Jude and a washtub for our laundry.  I do the laundry every morning after our sidewalk sitting session so it will be dry by the next morning.  

We are definitely the talk of this small town.  This is not a tourist destination.  Americans are not common visitors to this city. And very few people speak even a tiny bit of English.  So we receive curious stares.  Many comments about the children being lindo or precioso.  Everyone also thinks the boys are twins (gemelos).  They get a lot of attention. It is rare for us to pass by anyone without them speaking kind things about the children to each other or to us.  They are affectionate with the kids and pat their heads or just pick them up and hold them without permission :)  You can tell the people here have a true love for all children.  It is touching.  

This sweet elderly man today at the plaza took Jude's hand as he was passing by our family and decided to walk around with him to show him the pigeons.  He brought him back in a couple of minutes, called us gringos and smiled :)

The policemen here are so helpful and friendly.  We had several approach us just to strike up a conversation. This is Davie.  We managed with lots of hand motions and Spanglish.  Brant's is terrible.  Just throwing that out there.

The plaza we visited today.  Plaza Alfonso Lopez.

Today is Gavin's 9th birthday!  We celebrated the day with a cake (from Exito like everything else) and just hanging out at the hotel. 

Fort-making birthday fun

As many of you know, today was supposed to be our Encuentro date.  That is the date we meet and take custody of Little One. Our driver and lawyer were scheduled to pick us up at 2:45 to head to our appointment. About 1:45 we received a call from our agency and one from the driver telling us that the Encuentro was off for today because Little One was sick and at the Emergency Room.  The lawyer and our guide went to ICBF to meet with the team there to get more information.  We waited.  Late this afternoon our guide called and asked if we could meet at the hotel for an update. She arrived at our room along with our lawyer, the psychologist from ICBF and someone in administration from ICBF.  We all packed in tightly sitting on beds and squeezed in chairs for our "official visit".  They notified us that Little One was still in the ER under observation and for testing.  The results of those tests will determine if she will be admitted or not.  She is having extreme pain in her elbows and knees and her normal pain medication is not giving her any relief.  If she is admitted, it could be a very lengthy stay.  Her last hospitalization lasted 21 days.  We are hoping she is not looking at that type stay again.  The psychologist and administrator were so kind and helpful.  They told us we were free to go to the ER or to the hospital if she is admitted.  We can visit whenever we would like to.  Brant and I made the difficult decision to not go meet her tonight.  She is in serious pain.  It is more important for her to get stabilized without us adding anything to an already stressful situation. Right now is about her and not our excitement or plans. As of 9:30 pm, there is still no news so we will wait to hear more tomorrow.  

So I sit here, concerned and sad that I'm not with her.  But I am also encouraged at the number of people praying for her and us.  I feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit.  I can tangibly feel your prayers.  During our meeting, our guide asked if we are Christians.  We told her YES!  All four people in our meeting told us they too are Christians and were praying for Little One and our family. Every one of them has an immediate family member who is a pastor locally.  God did that.  He gave us those ladies today to show us we are not alone.  Please continue praying and do not stop.  Little One needs a direct healing from God.  We love you all.