So, I broke my toe while packing.

Yeah, this really sucks.

While I was packing and doing laundry today, I was running down the stairs in my way-too-bulky slippers and tripped, landing with my whole body weight on the tip of my big toe.  I cried a little from the pain, a lot from the potential implications.  A trip to the Urgent Care confirmed that it is broken and, to quote the doctor, "the best case of a really crummy fracture."

Because of said crumminess, it's unclear if I'll need surgery, but I will have to see a specialist to find out. I'm pretty sure they're not working on New Years Day.  If I need surgery, there's no way we can go on Thursday.  If I don't need surgery, I suppose we could go, but it's still going to be a hard slog.

I really couldn't care about my stupid toe right now.  Broken heart is a bigger concern.

For medical professionals out there, it's a comminuted fracture that's protruding a bit into the joint. 

It's the final count down

We are finally in the home stretch.  One final week (one that that includes a major holiday) stands between us and Josie.  One would think that we would have bags packed and preparations completed... one would be wrong.  Although, not a bad thing to have a list of preparations to keep us occupied during our final week.

Skype has provided us the continuity that we have needed with Josie.  We have noticed a pattern with our time together.  She starts out very happy and interactive, but toward the end she turns sad and clingy with Juanita.  Friday it was very pronounced after she thought we were ending and she gave us a sad, "Ciao."  I don't know if it's accurate or not, but it seems possible that she is sad about us going away.  This possibility completely broke my heart.

This sad face is too much to handle.

Today was a wonderful turn of Skype-events.  While we still noticed a little change in her mood (and a little pouty lip) she was generally happy and playful.  I pulled off the biggest Mommy achievement of my career, an intercontinental parenting coup!  Josie was flinging around Juanita's phone and wasn't keen on giving it up.  I got her attention and showed her how to gently put it down on the the table - and she did it!

The return of the "no, no, no!"

A wonderful tickle fest!

Wearing Juanita's scarf, very shi shi.

All of Lucy's horses are lined up ready for Skyping with Josie.

19 days till lift off

Have our date is such a relief.  We have been able to work on preparing for our trip and setting our lives in order for our departure.  Much to do, much to do...


BIRTHDAY WISHES
But before the logistical update I have cute pictures and cute always trumps planning.

Got an email entitled, "Happy Birthday Mom"!  These cute pics were a great way to start my day!

Looks like she might be working the room, talking to all the cute boys here.   Oh, no.

Checking out some fun going on across the room.

TRAVEL
When we traveled for Lucy, we were able to accomplish the whole thing with points and go First Class.  That was nothing to be particularly proud of as each of us were on the road a lot to collect all of those miles.  Thankfully, our work lives are considerably more local now.  We got all of our service through Delta's SkyMiles Elite Service number... no more!

This time we decided to work with a travel agency and found Janey at Edina Travel Leaders (952-929-6444).  She has been incredible.  Part of the Visa process at the Colombian Consulate is to show your itinerary, but it's too early in the process to have your actual itinerary.  Janey's sister is adopting and she knew exactly what I needed.  She pulled off a miracle and had it ready for us the morning of our appointment.  She has been great help on the ticketing side, too, and will be ready to assist when we undoubtedly need to change our return flights.

Here Juanita asked us if we had a travel date.

This is the "Woo Hoo" that followed after we said yes :)

ACCOMMODATIONS
We absolutely loved our time at Betty's Place and are so sad that this won't be part of our visit this time.  Betty retired recently which requires us to find a new home in Bogota.  We really think that an apartment will be the best setup for us.  Everything seems to have a catch and really would be nice to see in person.  So, we will be spending our first week at El Refugio (2 rooms - don't think we could hack all 4 of us in 1 room) and visit 3 or 4 different apartment options before we make a decision.

There's a private apartment that we were really, REALLY excited about.  The people were very honest saying that the exterior of the building will be having work done, so they were worried about the noise for us.  We should be able to make that decision for ourselves, hopefully it won't be too bad and we can still end up there.


FBI FINGERPRINTS
One of the first things we did after our referral was to redo our FBI fingerprints.  Ours expire at the end of December, so we needed new ones.  Before the strike, we thought this was a just-in-case step, but in the end, it is completely necessary.  Thankfully they arrived this week and I was able to overnight them to a courier in DC for authentication at the US State Department.  Just in the nick of time!

It's a date!

We travel January 3rd for our presentation on Friday, January 4th!

Looking forward to seeing our little Josie in the Green Room at FANA.  This is the special place that we met our little Lucy February 23, 2009.  YAYAYAYAYAY!

Oh, how she has grown!

Must be the Elfin Magic

We have Article 5!  This is the part where the US Embassy gives our immigration process the thumbs up.  Means we can travel!  I did get a somewhat cryptic message from FANA saying we can travel in January, but the same short email included this alarming statement,  "we only need the courts to start working."

Huh?

News of families receiving Sentencia continues to flow through CaringBridge sites and blogs, so I know something is happening.  I also know that the Embassy wasn't going to issue Article 5s (Articles 5?) until the courts were functioning.  While I'm not super concerned, I'm not about book tickets quite yet.

As I am always on the hunt for silver linings in our extended wait, we found one today.  While checking airfare for a January 3rd departure, tickets have gone down about $500 each!  This at least offsets the fact that Josie will be 2 years old when we return home and no longer eligible to travel as a lap child.

And now, fun with Skype.  These are from Tuesday's call with Lucy and I.  Tomorrow morning, the whole family has a Skype date.

Josie arrived at the Skype call wearing a stylish elfish stocking cap.  I would like to think she is working part-time as an elf during this time of waiting.

More toy making.  She doesn't mess around.  Very good at her craft.

Intercontinental finger puppets.  Here we have a crab and a shark.

This one cracks me up.  It reminds me of a soap opera. 

Sleep-Skyping and Bedazzling

I ended the week before Thanksgiving with a webcast from the US Embassy in Bogota.  Any hopes we had of traveling in 2012 were gone with the sober message from the official.  With the strike, there was a 4 week backlog of cases so even if the strike had resolved, no new cases would have a chance of completing in what remains of 2012.

While not spectacular news, it was a huge relief to know something.  Anything.  Living in limbo was wearing on all of us.  So, instead we began to get some stuff done that we were putting off until our return from Colombia.

• We bought a real family vehicle!  We bought a Mazda CX-9 and Lucy is in love with it.  At school she had to make a turkey feather with 3 things she was thankful for:  Babies, Pancakes, and the CX-9.
• We finished unpacking and organizing the basement.  Now the kids can ride bikes and goof around - we are hoping to add a climber and a swing soon.
• We took a few days of vacation!  With the adoption looming, we were setting aside all of our vacation time.  Now with our travel in 2013, we needed to use some of our time AND we needed a break.  
• We visited family in Wisconsin.  We had to take advantage of our final chance with only 1 (potty trained) kid.

Skyping continues, now on a semi-regular schedule of 2 times a week.  You can tell that the regular conversations are really paying off and will make our transition more natural - she fell asleep right in the middle of it!

Before.

During.

After. 

In honor of Josie apparently being a good sleeper,  Lucy and I bedazzled the wall above Josie's bed.  I do love removable decals!

Good news yesterday that the courts are functioning again in Bogota, enough for a family from NY to get sentencia (the final legal step finalizing your adoption in the Colombian courts)!  After a brief check-in with FANA, it looks like we should be able to travel immediately after the New Year.  I am estimating January 3rd, but I am waiting for official word from FANA.

Yippee!

In other news - our group has been working with FANA to find families for some fantastic older kids and sibling groups.  Please visit the CaringBridge site dedicated to these kids - AND PASS IT ON!  Scroll through the pictures to see the kids that are waiting.

Update, or lack thereof

I have been waiting for some news before posting an update, but I'm afraid there is none.  At this point, no news is bad news.  As the days tick away, the likelihood that we can travel before the first of the year becomes less and less.

So, what's the deal?  It appears that the judicial strike is still on, at least in Cundinamarca which is the state that Bogota is in.  There was an agreement between the government and the union.  Now, union members are claiming that they don't agree with the deal and are, in a sense, succeeding from the union.  If the courts aren't working, we don't go.

Lawyers, officials and advocates for the kids have been working on alternatives with all parties involved and we were hoping to hear some news over the last few days, but nothing yet.  I again ask for prayers, thank you to everyone for your incredible support in this critical area!

Foolish as it may be, we continue to prep as if we will be leaving.  I guarantee that if we get word to hop on a plane, there will be nothing stopping us.  It has been wonderful to Skype with Josie on a near-daily basis.  She remembers us now and calls us Mama, Papa, Lucy and Gato.  The most entertaining thing so far is Josie's way of saying 'No" - she wags her finger and says 'No, No, No'.  Seriously funny.

Example - Josie is looking at the picture book we sent of family photos.  She is currently looking at Andy, who was not on this particular Skype.

That led to, "Papa, No No No" with wagging finger.

Big sis is showing Josie two very important toys, a doll and a car.    This is so good for Lucy, too.

'Allo?

We still don't know if we will travel next week, but we still need to operate as if we will.  Friday we finished up travel clinic appointments - oww, my aching arms.  We also received our official notice of provisional approval in the mail yesterday which I quickly scanned and sent to FANA, I really don't know if sending this will help.  Gotta try!

The file that the US Embassy need to issue us final approval (Article 5) is going to be received at the National Visa Center on Monday, then they update the system.  I know because I have been watching the UPS tracking thanks, again, to Officer Bethany.  I don't know how long it will take the National Visa Center to process the package, but if they can have Monday as a gimme since the US Embassy in Colombia is closed for a holiday.

While we wait, we have had the pleasure of Skyping with Josie both Thursday and Friday mornings.  It's been great.  Friday, Josie said both Momma and Pappa which melted my heart.  She showed great excitement for the little toy car she was playing with - that just put a toy car on my shopping list.  At one point the phone rang and she put her hand to her ear and said 'allo?'  It was super cute!  Enjoy a few shots I was able to capture from Friday's session.  Disclaimer - I am totally scary as I did this from my phone shortly after a shower.

Here Josie is blowing kisses.  Mwwa!

Juanita had to look up the word 'ticklish' on Google Translate to describe Josie.  Then she demonstrated.  Lucy was very excited because she also loves being tickled.

Here, Josie is discussing her love of online trading.

More silliness.  I don't remember what was the joke here.

My favorite.

Lucy is showing Josie how she eats yogurt.  I love that this kept Josie's attention. 

Skype and prep-a-palooza

It is still unclear if and when we travel. In the unlikely event of travel this weekend, I took the day off to jam through some important per-travel items. But to start the day, we had the surprise of waking up to an invitation to Skype with Josie! It started out as video only, but eventually Juanita and Josie changed computers. Here's the bottom line - she is so busy!!!  I knew this in my head, but seeing her reminded us just how busy 21 months is!

Favorite highlight was when we brought Bing into the frame. For those of you who know him, he is a giant orange tabby who never looks pleased.  She looked a little concerned, but she eventually gave Bing a big smile!

No news on the final approval. We have a tracking number that will tell us when the file is at the National Visa Center which should be tomorrow. Theoretically, once it's received in, it should be accessible by the US Embassy to review and give us the thumbs up. Pray, pray, pray....

In the afternoon, Lucy and I hit the Secretary of State for sone mother/daughter apostilling. Then we headed to the mall for 3 very important items:

1.  A new computer - MacBook Air (purrrrr), totally travel-ready
2.  A presentation outfit for Josie - leave it to Lucy to pick a vibrant number for her little sis. She kept saying 'no thank you' every time I showed her more subtle dresses. This will be the outfit that Josie is dressed in when she is presented to our family in the green room at FANA.
3.  More and additional hair products from the Carol's Daughter line.  Even thought Josie doesn't have much hair, I'm gonna be ready for it!

I should have a couple of Skyping pictures tomorrow, today I have Lucy taking Josie's presentation outfit for a spin.

Mostly Good Things

Lot of good things, yet still we are not sure we are going to be able to travel when we want/need to.

Good Thing #1:  The strike is over!  Late tonight an agreement was reached between the government and the judicial union.

Good Thing #2:  Today, we received provisional approval from immigration.  Past the lockbox, past Officer Bethany's Desk, an now on it's way to to the US Embassy in Bogota.

Good Thing #3:  We successfully went to Chicago to visit the Colombian Consulate for Visas.  We left really early on Sunday morning and spent the day in Chicago.  Monday, we had our appointments with a tiny tense moment (license we had from FANA was expired, but FANA was closed for a holiday), but the nice folks at the Consulate worked with us and we now have our visas!  I want to thank everyone who helped us when we were standing in line at the Consulate - Marcia, Julie, Sarah...  it's amazing in this age of iPhones and technology that we can pass documents between states and countries in a manner of seconds.

Down-right Confusing Thing:  FANA said the US Embassy in Bogota is not giving anyone final approvals with the courts out of commission.  One would think now that the strike is over, this would no longer be a problem.  But the one thing I learned is that I need to just chill out and see what happens.   Prayers that the system starts up again without any delay and we can travel next week.  If we don't, even missing a few days, might result in us having to wait to travel until January.

Uggghhh...

Now for some pictures of our trip to Chicago!

Finally figured out how to pay for fare on CTA when all credit card machines were broken and we had to scrape for small bills and change.  Money orders?  We had those, but no singles.

Pretty sure our coffees were almost gone by this point.  6:25 AM flight means very little sleep.

On our way to the Art Institute stopped to examine 2-story lips.  Often art is lost on me.

Andy's first time at the Art Institute. Obligatory lion picture. 

Meanwhile, with Grandma and Grandpa, Lucy was having a rough time...  

And we have VISAS!

Truly angelic

With travel uncertain, we are trying to focus as much as we can on 1-on-1 time with Lucy.  We're gearing up for Lucy's birthday this weekend.  Halloween has been a great diversion.  Today, we got a little surprise from Maria Theresa at FANA who sent pictures of Josie, the Angel!

Just rolled into town on her little Heaven cruiser.

Lucy was super excited to see Josie all dressed up for Halloween.  She loved dressing up this year and is taking it very seriously that she will need to teach Josie how to Trick or Treat next year.  As with a large portion of girls across the country (and world), Lucy idolizes the US Gymnastics Team - Gabby in particular.

All set for the medal stand.  Our Olympian is slightly antagonized by Bing, who wanted to eat her bouquet. 

 

Keep up the prayers for the courts to resolve their strike.  There's a big meeting tonight, we'll update once we hear something.  

I protest!

Things are going swimmingly with our paperwork process.  Immigration received our file, it was checked into the lockbox on October 18th.  From there, it takes 10 - 14 calendar days to reach our immigration officer.  I was able to speak Officer Bethany this week, she is the hero in this bureaucratic story.  She said the day it hits her desk, she will process it!  That means next week we will have provisional approval!  That is then sent to the US Embassy in Bogota for final approval, the step that means we are cleared to travel.  The last family this took 8 calendar days, we have consistently heard 10...  but one never knows.

Knowing that we should have provisional approval by the end of next week, we are planning to head to Chicago to visit the Colombian Consulate to get our travel visas.  We made appointments on November 5th.  If all goes according to plan, that puts us on a plane probably Sunday November 11th.  Unless...

... the entire Colombian court system goes on strike.  Which it did.  And we can't travel until they are back at work.

I am having flashbacks to 4 years ago when we were a waiting family.  The court system went on strike which meant no cases were being processed.  There were no referrals during the strike and for a 1st time waiting mom, I was obsessed - for 45 DAYS!!!  That was when I discovered just how sophisticated Google Translate is.  It allows you to translate entire websites, and for someone who's Spanish conversation topics are limited, this is absolutely necessary when reading about negotiations, unions, and the like.

So, back to my hourly checking of El Tiempo via Google Translate.  Positive news today as negotiations have resumed, but after 16 days on strike nothing but the words "back at work" qualifies as good.

In the mean time, we busy ourselves with preparations and loose ends!

How would you react if all of your shoes were pink?  I think if you're a little girl who LOVES dresses, this is a pro, not a con.

And here we have the exact same cubby unit that is in Lucy's room.  The interesting part of this one is that Lucy helped me put it together.  Yes, she helped me hammer on the back panels... that's my girl!

And lots and lots of clothes.  Now all she needs is a dresser to put it in!  Hopefully we'll find Lucy a dresser this weekend and move hers into Josie's room.  I can see this hand-me-down thing is going to be a way of life.

Maracas!

Tuesday morning I got a text that there was paperwork regarding Josie's referral would be received at our adoption agency that morning.  It was incredible seeing details of our little girl's routines, habits and personality.  My favorite part was what had been listed as her skills:  She is a girl who enjoys music, loves to dance, and plays the maracas.  I think that will look good on a resume someday.

I had the pleasure of calling FANA yesterday and talking details about Josie.  We will be pulling together a package to send her - picture book, stuffed animal, blanket, etc.  It is difficult not being able to travel as quickly as we were with Lucy (10 days), so this will be a small step we can take to making the transition easier.  Elena asked me what name we will call her so they can start using it with her - I cried.  I do that a lot, though, pretty standard.

Our conversation turned to practical things like clothes and shoes!  I was wondering if we should bring 18 month clothes or skip right to 24 month.  Without hesitation, Elena said 24 month.  In fact she said, "she's pretty fat, I think 2 years."  Fat is a new concept when it comes to kids.  Lucy is such a stick, we take in most bottoms to keep them from falling off.  

Today I received an email with an outline of Josie's feet to check the shoe size.  So cute to see her little toes!

Not to scale :)

Process Update

Things have changed since last time we went through this process.  These are the steps standing between us and traveling.

1. I-800 form submitted to Department of Homeland Security - they can take legally up to 180 days for provisional approval, but usually only takes 3 - 4 weeks.  This was sent on Tuesday, October 16th.
2. Once we receive provisional approval from DHS, 2 things happen in parallel.
1. Our provisional approval gets forwarded to the US Embassy in Bogota - this takes about 10 days
2. We hustle to the Colombian Embassy in Chicago for our Visas - these can be completed the day of the appointment
3. TRAVEL! 

'Dimples' is my middle name

Actually, Valeria is!  Josefina Valeria DeMaster if you put it all together.  Lucy may have one additional middle name (Lucia Ana Gabriela DeMaster), syllabically they are closely matched with Josie having 21 and Lucy having 22.  Seemed like enough, so we stopped.

Thank you to everyone for the love and shouts of joy that have been aimed in our direction.  We are so incredibly blessed to have you all as our extended family.

Our day started with great news from Jenna Fox that she had some pictures of Josie from her trip to FANA in August.  We were so excited to see that we jumped every time my phone dinged from a new email.  Tonight we just got the email and the big news is - aside from ridiculous cuteness - is she has dimples!  Another dimpled Colombian already stole our hearts, the fact that they are now a dimpled set is just perfect.  Jenna, we can't thank you enough.

She also described Josie as cuddly and curious...  hee hee hee.  So fun!

I think this one is actually mid-cuddle.  This is the first smile we have seen.

Rapt in conversation.

This one just gets me!  I don't know if she is covering a giggle, but I'm going to tell myself that she is.  So cute!

That there's the woman we have to thank.  Thanks Jenna!

While not gazing at these photos, I have been sorting all of the clothes we have stock piled in the event of a 2nd girl or the FANA Garage Sale.  I have Hannah Andersson, Gap Kids, Tea, and Carters coming out of my ears.  Since the future of the Garage Sale is uncertain and the clothes could be used now, I offer you this:  If you are interested in girls clothes from 6 - 18 months, let me know and I will hand off some to you.  All I ask is that you donate the Garage Sale equivalent to FANA.  Deal?  Just let me know!

Sisters!

Lucy's nightly prayer goes something like this, "Dear Jesus, I want a baby sisser."  Our buddy family visited us tonight and gave us the news that Lucy's prayers were answered!  

Please meet Josefina DeMaster, born January 25, 2011!

We are so excited and will provide tons of details as they are available, what a HONEY!!!!

Josie shares her mom's love of Apple products!

Thank goodness I have some experience with curls! 

Is there a Vacation in our Future?

Tiny tidbit of information was recently learned.  If we get our referral by October 11th (+/- a few days) we will be able to travel by the end of the year.  If not, we wouldn't travel until after January 1st of next year.  This is due to the Colombian courts shutting down for a large block of time over the holidays.

So, what does one do who has been stockpiling their vacation time that can't be carried over?  I believe October 12th will be the start to our vacation planning! 

Number 2

We are putting our lives in order in anticipation of our 2nd adoption.  Word is that it could be any time between NOW and the end of this year.  So commences the blog!

If you are curious about our first adoption, you can check out our CaringBridge site that we kept for Lucy, our first.