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.