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Friday, May 2, 2003 8:35 PM CDT
Hi everyone!
We're home! We are, of course, also very tired, so I'm not going to write much today. The emotions when the plane took off were very sad, but when we landed, they were just as happy. It was such an incredible trip filled with the joy of Benjamin, the wonderful sights and experiences of Colombia, and great friendships made. We'll write more tomorrow.
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjamin
Thursday, May 1, 2003 6:28 PM CDT
Buenas Tardes por la ultima vez desde Bogota-
We are heading home tomorrow morning!! Yesterday Jim was able to change our travel plans for a smaller fee (that we will later contest) and our plane departs at 10:30 a.m., so we should be heading home from the Jersey Turnpike at around 6:30 p.m.
Today was our day of last minute to-do's. Benjamin and Jim were up at 4:30 this morning; too bad Jim and I stayed up 'til nearly 1:00 a.m. with the Steinkirchner's last night. I'm sure Jim has no regrets, Mark and Debbie! We had a nice breakfast prepared by the maids, Okenis and Ledys, and then hung out for a while and visited with the families here at Betty´s Place. We will miss everyone a lot. By noon or so, we set out for our final milkshake at El Corral. Mmmmmmm.... was it good. We stopped at Pepe Ganga with the Steinkirchner´s and Gualtieri´s on the way home and then made one last stop at Carulla.
As I write, we are waiting for the right moment to order pizza in for dinner. May 1st in Colombia is Labor Day, a national holiday, so the families here decided to give the maids the night off and we invited them to help us eat some Jeno´s pizza. Besides, we truly consider Okenis and Ledys to be our new friends, as well as babysitter, Alicia. It is important to us that all are together for our last meal here in Bogota. Did I mention that we have had such a great time here!! All of our packing is done, thank you notes have been written, and now we can sit back and enjoy the rest of the evening. Guillermo will be at the residence by seven tomorrow morning. Oh, such memories we will forever hold dear to our hearts!
Thanks, again, friends and family members, for writing in our caringbridge guestbook. We are anxious to see you all and treasure your presence in our lives, albeit from a distance for now. Benjamin will have a good time reading all of the entries when he is older.
God bless and take care,
Jim, Shelly, Breezy and Benjy
Wednesday, April 30, 2003 9:52 AM CDT
Hola a nuestros familiares y amigos-
Hope all of you are doing well. We have been extremely busy these past few days, so much so that we neglected to write an entry yesterday. Oh, well!! As I write, Jim and Benjamin are at the US Embassy with Annette, our driver, to get Ben's visa. Today will be another fast-paced day. Our family will head to FANA today to witness Mark and Debbie Steinkirchner's presentation of their son. They arrived last night and we are so happy that they're here!! We also need to figure out our departure plans. Our scheduled date of departure was to be on MOn., May 5th, but now we're hoping to be home by the weekend. The problem we're confronting at this time is that the airlines wants to charge us a per passenger fee of $150 to change our tickets. Hopefully something can be resolved.
Yesterday we went to the US Embassy-appointed doctor to get Ben's medical check-up. He is a healthy little boy who weighs 12.5 pounds and measures 24 inches long. Yesterday we also needed to get Benjamin's passport pictures, go to the bank to exchange our traveller's cheques for pesos to pay our lawyer, visit Mercedes for our farewell at FANA, and present ourselves at the Continental Airlines office. As you can see, we were able to accomplish a ton!
It is hard to believe that our time here in Bogota is coming to an end.We have had a most positive experience here making new friends and learning more about our son's native culture, not to mention treasuring our time as a family of four. God is so good! We certainly have missed seeing our friends and family back in the States and very much look forward to having you all meet Benjamin. Planning our departure from here brings about all sorts of emotions.
We are most grateful for the gift of Benjamin in our lives and for the people we have met along this journey. Thank you all, friends and family, for your unending words of encouragement, prayers and kindness. We love you.
Muchos Abrazos-
Jim, Shelly, Brianna and Benjamin
Monday, April 28, 2003 11:14 PM CDT
Hey everyone,
Well, a big day today. We signed. Yes, we're definitely on our last leg here in Colombia. We now have to visit the US embassy for a couple of reasons (a checkup and a visa for Ben), get Ben's passport, and make arrangements with the airline for our flight home. We also get to stop by FANA for one last time to say some final thank yous and good byes.
It's a very bittersweet moment that I don't think can really be effectively communicated. I know that those of you that have been down here know what I mean, and I don't think I could have predicted these emotions a week ago. This experience has been truly wonderful. Of course, the addition of Ben to our family is everything we've hoped for, but I can't say enough about the experiences we've had. We have grown immensely in terms of our knowledge of Colombia and its inhabitants and we have really made some terrific friends during our stay.
We, along with the Antonios and Gualtieris went to Betty Castillo's home for dinner tonight. It was a great evening, and it was the first time that any of us had met Betty's husband Rafa. We can't say enough about how wonderful a couple Betty and Rafa are, so I won't even try. Let's just say that they're great and they'll always be in our hearts. It will be extremely difficult to leave.
Today also marked Ben's third (month) birthday. He celebrated by eating, sleeping, and pooping a couple of times. He has been bonding with Brianna a lot lately, and enjoys playing "where's Benjy" with his big sister. Well, Brianna seems to think that Ben enjoys it.
It's very sad to think that this will be one of the last entries for us while we're down here. We are just happy to know that we will leave Colombia with more friends than we had when we entered and we will have been exposed to a wonderful country that we previously did not know.
Love,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjy
Sunday, April 27, 2003 8:23 PM CDT
HI EVERYBODY, IT'S ME, BRIANNA.
HOW ARE YOU? I HOPE THAT YOU ARE DOING WELL. ME AND MY BROTHER ARE DOING WELL, SO ARE MY MOMMA AND DADDY. MY BROTHER IS SUCH A CHUBBY CHEEKER. I LOVE HIM MORE THAN A BUNCH OF MARSHMALLOWS!!
TODAY I SLEPT IN AND THEN HAD CINNAMON FRENCH TOAST FOR BREAKFAST BEFORE JORGE RICO PICKED US UP FOR AN EXCURSION. JUST THE THREE OF US WENT WITH HIM. BABY WAS WITH ALICIA THE BABYSITTER. WE WENT TO THE CATHEDRAL AT THE SALT MINES THIS MORNING. IT WAS REALLY COOL TO BE WALKING INSIDE OF A MOUNTAIN. THE MINERS HAD TO USE EXPLOSIVES LIKE DYNAMITE TO MAKE THE TUNNELS AND CHAMBERS. I USED A FLASHLIGHT BECAUSE IT WAS DARK INSIDE. I SORT OF FELT LIKE I WAS PART OF A SCOOBY DOO MYSTERY. WE SAW SOME REALLY NEAT STATUES OF MARY, JOSEPH AND JESUS, ALSO OF SOME ANGELS AND ADAM, THE FIRST MAN GOD MADE.
AFTER THE SALT MINES, JORGE TOOK US TO CENTRO COMERCIAL CHIA, A SHOPPING MALL, TO LOOK FOR SOME COLOMBIAN MUSIC TO BUY. WE BOUGHT A FEW CD'S THAT HAVE A BEAT THAT MAKES ME WHAT TO SHAKE, SHAKE, SHAKE!! WE ATE LUNCH AT THE MALL, TOO. DO YOU KNOW THAT IN COLOMBIA THEY SERVE FRENCH FRIES WITH CHINESE FOOD?! THE EGG ROLLS WERE YUMMY! ON THE WAY BACK TO BETTY'S, JORGE STOPPED AT HIS HOME WITH US SO THAT WE COULD MEET HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTER. WE WERE INVITED INTO HIS HOME AND LIKED WHAT WE SAW. IT WAS ESPECIALLY FUN PLAYING FOR A LITTLE BIT WITH SINDY PAOLA,HIS EIGHT-YEAR OLD DAUGHTER.
WHAT A BUSY DAY TODAY!! MOMMA, DADDY, BENJY AND I NEEDED TO REST BEFORE DINNER. WE RELAXED IN OUR ROOM BEFORE THE EMPANADAS WERE SERVED. NOW WE ARE FULL. I WILL GO TO BED IN A WHILE, BUT FIRST I WANT TO PLAY SOME MORE WITH CHRISTIAN. WE LIKE TO MAKE FORTS AND USE OUR IMAGINATION. MOMMA AND DADDY WILL STAY UP TO WATCH A HOCKEY GAME. BENJY IS ALREADY SLEEPING IN HIS SWING. HE'S SOOOOO CUTE!
BUENAS NOCHES-
BREEZY
Saturday, April 26, 2003 9:50 PM CDT
Wow, what a day! First off, it was a gorgeous, sunny day of about 70 degrees, and we just so happened to have plans for all of us to go up to Monserrat. Monserrat is a sacred place for many Colombians, and is marked by a church atop the mountains surrounding Bogota. The view of the city is really amazing. In fact, you can check out a bit of the view on the photos page.
From there, Jorge took us to a great restaurant in the old city where we all had copious amounts of meat and some arepas that were absolutely delicious. After that, it was off to the leather district for (hopefully) our last big shopping excursion. We made it out of there with a briefcase and a jacket.
After we got back to Betty's, we sat outside and enjoyed the sunny afternoon. We then ordered pizza and had a great long conversation. The friendships that we're building down here are very special and ones that we intend to maintain in the future.
Anyway, check out the new pictures, and keep signing the guest book- we love hearing from you!
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjy
Friday, April 25, 2003 8:59 PM CDT
Hey everybody!
Well, a relatively calm day today, but one that brought some great news for us. It started early, as Benjy decided to wake up before the birds and play at 4:45. So, around 5:45, he decided to go back to sleep and I was wide awake. I used that time to add a photo archive website that can be accessed under the "links" section below the journal entry. No new photos, just a collection of photos that have previously been up on this website. Anyway, after sitting through 2 hours of Sportscenter in Spanish to watch highlights of the Timberwolves game, the day began to take on something of a normal pattern. Later in the morning, we got in touch with some people at FANA who informed us about the progress of our court case. We are now in the final phase of the process (yes, phase III), so we could "sign" any day now. That means that we would then have about 3 more days of paperwork necessary before we can head home. Exciting stuff, but we still have a lot of things we still would like to do before we leave.
After a quick lunch, we took the kids off to Norberto's for haircuts. (We're talking about Brianna and Christian, NOT the babies.) Anyway, Brianna sat in a race car while her hair was cut, styled, and decorated with sprinkles. We'll get a picture or two of that up tomorrow. From there it was a stop off for an ice cream cone and a bit of relaxation before dinner. After dinner, it's been a great night of conversation and laughter with the Antonio's and the Gualtieri's (visit the Antonio's website if you haven't done so today).
Ben's doing great, and has really started reacting more to us lately. He's a very smiley baby and we can even get him to laugh. This is, of course, one of Brianna's favorite passtimes.
Thanks again for all of the guestbook entries and we hope we'll get to see you all soon!
The Pomoni
Thursday, April 24, 2003 8:41 PM CDT
Hello again everyone!
Well the rainy season took a break today and the sun joined us for a beautiful day. Temps were probably somewhere in the high 70's, and all of us celebrated by having breakfast at Jacque's. They even gave us an extra loaf of cinnamon bread. Great morning. From there we went to Maku (a local store filled with work from area artesans) and finished up a lot of our shopping. We next went to El Corral and had the requisite milk shakes, and wrapped up our outing by picking up some photos of our trip to Cartegena (yes, they're posted now- including one of the guinea pig races).
Today marks the end of our third week here in Bogota, and we have to say that the time has really flown. The things we've done and the people we've met have really added a great deal of value to this already wonderful adoption experience. We look forward to seeing more of Bogota (and possibly more of Colombia) during the remainder of the trip.
It's also been great welcoming the Antonio family to Betty's place and Bogota. We are actually feeling like we know what we're talking about (although we still are rookies compared to the Gualtieri's). We're also anxiously awaiting the arrival of the Steinkirchner's next week. The living room will once again look more and more like FANA's nursery. Well, we're going to immerse ourselves in some more Colombian culture by watching the Timberwolves play the Lakers tonight (play-by-play in Spanish, of course). Wild versus Canucks tomorrow.
Take care,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjy
Wednesday, April 23, 2003 7:27 AM CDT
Hi everyone, we're back! What a trip! We hope everyone had a Happy Easter or Happy Passover, and a belated happy 85th birthday to Great-grandma Van. We were sorry to have missed the big celebration, but we were thinking of you. Big props to the Minnesota sports teams (especially the Gophers and Wild).
OK, back to our doings. Of the four days we spent in Cartagena, it was only rainy on our last day, Tuesday. The other days were mostly sunny and quite hot (high 80s). This of course, was just fine with our resident fish (Brianna) who took full advantage of the 5 pools at the hotel and the beach. She was so sad to leave. She cried on the airplane and made us promise that every time we visit Colombia that we return to Cartagena. Sounds like a good deal to us.
Well, I suppose I should describe Cartagena to those of you who aren't familiar with it. It's the second oldest colonial city in Colombia and is on the Carribean coast. The city is rich with history, and a very interesting history at that. It was the main Spanish port for shipping gold back to Europe, which led it to be attacked frequently by pirates (including Francis Drake). As a consequence of this, it was eventually surrounded by thick walls armed with cannons, and these walls are still very well preserved today. While this kind of history is fascinating to adults, imagine how cool it is in the eyes of a 5 year old. Brianna always kept an eye out for pirate treasure. Along with that history, the city is filled with unique and beautiful architecture and churches, numerous convents, and a big castle on top of a hill. Quite the departure from what we've been seeing in Colombia.
Along those lines, I think that this trip has been invaluable to us in our adoption journey. First it was a great four days for our family to spend some quality time together, but probably more importantly, it demonstrated how diverse of a country Colombia is, both ethnically and geographically. We have felt all along that spending a lengthy period of time here in Colombia will really allow us to tell Ben what his country is really like, and now we have an even greater depth of knowledge.
Speaking of Ben, he's doing great. The one hour flight was a good litmus test for Ben and airplanes and he passed with flying colors. He slept the whole time both ways, so let's hope that the flight back to NJ will be equally uneventful.
A big welcome to the Antonio family, who arrived a few days ago, and congratulations to the Steinkirschner's on the referral of their son. There's lots of love here at Betty's.
We'll write again tomorrow!
Love,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjamin
Friday, April 18, 2003 8:09 PM CDT
Hi again, everyone!
This might be our last entry for a couple of days as we're off to Cartagena tomorrow morning. We'll look for an internet cafe to update you, but trust us, we'll do our best to enjoy the sun, sand, scenery, and history. We'll get back into Bogota around 9:00 on Tuesday night. Sam and Barb- you'd better still be up with little Samuel!
Today was a beautiful day in the morning and we took advantage of it by heading down to a couple of parks in the neighborhood. Lots of families were out enjoying the day and Benjamin thoroughly enjoyed the sights and sounds of the outside world. Pretty different from what he's been used to at FANA or Betty's Place.
Of course, it is the rainy season, so it rained pretty hard in the afternoon, which allowed us to pack for our big trip. We then got the low-down from Betty about places to eat at and visit, so we're set.
We hope you all have a safe and happy Easter (or Passover)and we'll try and get another journal entry posted as soon as we can.
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjamin
Thursday, April 17, 2003 8:26 PM CDT
HELLO, EVERYBODY, IT'S ME, BRIANNA!
HOW ARE YOU? I AM FINE. I HOPE THAT YOU ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME WHEREVER YOU ARE 'CAUSE YOU ARE MY FRIENDS AND I LOVE YOU.
I LIKE THE CARTOONS IN COLOMBIA. I LIKE TO WATCH POWERPUFF GIRLS, BARNEY AND ZOOBOOMAFOO IN SPANISH.
TODAY CHRISTIAN AND I PUT ON A SHOW. IT WAS GREAT. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT? I HAD A GREAT TIME. WE EVEN MADE SOME MICROPHONES. WE ALSO PLAYED WITH OUR RUBBER YO-YO BALLS THAT WE BOUGHT AT THE MALL TODAY.
TODAY I WENT TO JAQUES FOR BREAKFAST. I HAD A LITTLE BIT OF CHOCOLATE CROISSANT. THE CINNAMON ROLL WAS TOO GOOEY. AFTER THAT, WE SHOPPED AT PEPE GANGA AND DADDY BOUGHT ME A PLASTIC BASEBALL BAT AND BALL. WE PRACTICED TODAY AND I ALMOST HIT ONE OVER MISS BETTY'S WALL. I LOVE TO PLAY OUTSIDE WHEN THE WEATHER IS NICE.
I CALL MY LITTLE BROTHER A LITTLE COLOMBIAN SOUVENIR AND I JUST WANT TO SQUEEZE HIS CHUBBY CHEEKS. I HELP BURP HIM. MY BABY IS SO HANDSOME AND CUTE. I LIKE HIM.
GOOD-BYE FOR NOW.
FROM YOUR FRIEND,
BRIANNA
P.S. MY DADDY WANTS YOU TO SEE THE NEW PICTURES.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003 8:08 PM CDT
Hola amigos!
We had a great break from the rainy weather with a beautiful, sunny day. Even better, Ben set a new record by sleeping until 7:30 (actually, mom gave him his pacifier at 6 a.m., but we didn't hear another peep until 7:30). We took advantage of the great weather by heading into downtown Bogota to visit the Gold Museum. It was truly fascinating to learn about the indigenous people of Colombia. We are with the Incans, the Mayans, and the Aztecs, but I don't think that too many of us are familiar with the native nations of Colombia. Anyway, the artwork was amazing. We'll show you pictures when we return.
After the museum, we took a stroll around the area with our driver, Wilson Sanchez. Our afternoon included a walk through a bazaar full of artwork and crafts made by the local artesans. Somehow, we restrained from spending any money and ventured out to the plaza just in time to see the guinea pig races. Yes, the guinea pig races. Briefly, there were 14 buckets turned upside down and three guinea pigs about 20 yards away. People would put money on top of the buckets for their bets, and after enough bets were down, the guy would tickle the guinea pigs, and they'd take off. Pretty cool, actually. But if you every see this, bet on tub #4.
From there, we walked further around and saw Bolivar plaza and a lot of the surrounding government buildings. It was a very typical, European style plaza, complete with the hoarde of pigeons. Further down the street, we saw a group of men on the corner selling rough, uncut emeralds. We could have bought one about an inch and a half long and a half an inch wide for less than $200. We also looked into a very old church (I think it was built in the 1600's) that was full of golden statues. The contrast of that with the poverty on the street just outside was kind of sobering.
Well, that was our busy morning, and we've been relaxing and playing with Ben since 3:00 p.m.. We had another great meal which was basically the Colombian version of chile rellenos, and we're now getting ready to start winding down. Thanks again for all the guest book entries and your words of support. I think we should have some new pictures up tomorrow.
Take care,
The Pomoni
Tuesday, April 15, 2003 7:31 PM CDT
HAPPY INCOME TAX DAY!
Have you been to your local post office lately? Good thing we filed ours before leaving! Today was a different sort of day here at Betty's; it was quiet. Sue and Bodie left early this morning and the rhythm of the house instantly changed. Because our family liked the room they were staying in, we had the rights today to move, and that we did. All this involved was shifting our things to the room right next to ours. We now have a much bigger room that has a fireplace, a microwave (which is a plus at the 5:00 a.m. feeding)and a VCR for rainy days like today.
We didn't accomplish too much today aside from the move due to the aforementioned rain. However, because we have the "get out at least once daily" rule, we managed to walk to Carulla (grocery store)and found some watercolors for Brianna at a local "papeleria". When we arrived, we were pleased with the aroma permeating through the air, that of "ajiaco", perhaps "the" typical Colombian dish. The Gualtieri's enjoyed this meal as much as we did. Brianna liked it, too. As for this evening, we have loads of laundry to do. Apparently Jim didn't bring more than seven pairs of boxers!! (Sorry, honey, I've got to remember my domestic duties while vacationing!)
Well, I must admit, with this rainy weather down here, we are a bit envious of the eighty degree days you're getting both in MN and NJ. Enjoy it!! We look forward to "la playa" on the Caribbean coast this coming weekend.
God bless you all. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks, again, for your kind journal entries.
Love,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna and Benjamin
P.S. We'll post new photos within the next day or two.
Monday, April 14, 2003 8:47 PM CDT
Hi again everybody,
Well, rainy season is definitely here. The rain started around dinner time last night and continued off and on until about 5 a.m. Lucky for us, it has done much more than sprinkled today, so we didn’t have to cancel any plans that we made. Our day started off watching The Princess Bride, which now has surpassed The Wiggles and Bob the Builder as the most popular video in the house. After the morning showing, we went to El Corral for a final milkshake with Sue Schauer. After that, Shelly, Brianna and I stopped by Jeno’s Pizza for a quick lunch and a little diversion at the playground. Brianna thoroughly enjoyed all the toys and running around with a large group of kids again. From there the three of us went to the travel agency to pick up our tickets to Cartagena. Should have been a quick trip, but a couple of small wrenches that had been thrown in the works extended it by about an hour. Anyway, we have the tickets, so it all worked out in the end.
Tonight was the last meal for Sue and Bodie Schauer, so we had empanadas (of course), some delicious roast beef, mashed potatoes, and chocolate log. Those of you that have been here know what we’re talking about. They leave early tomorrow morning, and it will be noticeably more quiet with them gone. It’s strange to think that the house will be half as full as it was when we arrived 12 days ago.
Benjamin is doing much better now in terms of his eye infection. Just two more days of eye drops, but there’s really no sign of anything present at this point. He’s been getting up a bit earlier the last couple of days, so we’re remembering what it’s like to be parents to a newborn again. There’s one new picture up- a nice one from the day we received Benjamin.
Thanks again for all the notes you all have sent us though the guest book and emails, and we hope all is well for you.
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjamin
Sunday, April 13, 2003 8:23 PM CDT
Buenas Noches desde una Colombia llluviosa-
It's been a rainy afternoon and evening here. Good thing it wasn't raining yet when the four of us walked to mass at Santa Beatriz, a Catholic church located just a few blocks from Betty's. Since it was "Domingo de los Ramos" (Palm Sunday) we felt that today's mass was an appropriate first outing for little Benjamin. We arrived just as mass was starting and the church was already packed, so we, along with a good fifty other people, had to stand outside. Like I said, it was lucky for us that the rain hadn't started to fall. Little Benjamin slept through the entire service, which lasted less than an hour, surprisingly. He seemed to like the cuddly feeling of the Baby Bjorn snuggly. It was interesting to see many different vendors lining the sidewalk outside of the church as we left They all were selling their various creations that they had woven from the palm branches, some of which were absolutely remarkable.
We walked back home and marveled at all of the people who were out biking, running, roller blading and walking in the street. On every Sunday and holidays they block off one side of the street from 7:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m. on a main street in Bogota. This affords the "Bogotanos" the opportunity to exercise and meet up with their friends. We also were surprised to see that many of the people had dogs, namely labradors. We miss our two dogs!! Thank you, Michelle, for staying at our house; we're confident that they're in good care.
Okay, so when we got home, we greeted Alicia (babysitter) and got organized with the other two families for an outing.
We first walked to El Hotel La Fontana for some shopping in the courtyard (full of artesans)and then walked (and fought off the rain) to El Corral for lunch. El Corral reminded us of a Fuddrucker's. They have excellent milkshakes, burgers and fries. When we got home, I took a two hour nap (Thanks to Jim for allowing me this indulgence!). Between the full tummy and a late last night (live music and dinner at Carbon de Palo), I was exhausted. I'm still adjusting to the new alarm clock in our lives, Mr. Benjamin.
As I write this entry, Brianna and Christian are watching Zooboomafoo in Spanish as they construct the Empire State Building out of legos. Benjamin is sleeping. His eye has shown great improvement in the last 36 hours with those special drops. We just finished visiting with Elizabeth, the FANA nurse, and her husband, Carlos. Carlos is a jeweler and was here to show us many beautiful emeralds. Now I had better sign off to give Benjamin his five ounces before bedtime. We find that if we feed him at 9:00 p.m., he'll typically sleep until 6:00 a.m.- not too shabby.
Que se duerman con los angelitos-
Shelly, Jim, Brianna and Benjamin
Saturday, April 12, 2003 6:09 PM CDT
Buenas Tardes!
We have had a pretty mellow day today and that has been a nice change. Benjamin slept from eleven until after six this morning. He likes to play a little bit when he first wakes up and then he chows down his four or five ounces. After being burped he´ll stay awake for a while and then it´s back to sleep for an hour or so. He´s such a great baby and so very cute. He is quite expressive with his eyebrows and has the most precious giggle.
We had a simple lunch at Betty´s today and then set out for an hour as soon as Alicia came. Jim, Brianna and I went to get some film developed and then had to stop at Carulla, the grocery store, to pick up a few things. We needed to buy some special eye drops for Benjamin because his left eye has been a bit gooey. We think that he has a bit of a cold settled in his eye, but other than that, he´s fine.
Tonight we will go out to dinner at Carbon de Palo with the rest of the people at Betty´s. It´ll be our first time dining at this highly recommended restaurant. I hear there are singing waiters and fun music that the kids will enjoy. As I write this, both Jim and Brianna are resting in their bedrooms and that´s exactly where I´m heading. The altitude has decreased our energy level, so we find ourselves needing to slow down and relax more often.
Hasta manana!
Shelly y el resto de la familia
Friday, April 11, 2003 10:26 PM CDT
Hi all,
Well, today was a split day for the two of us, involving very different but wonderful experiences. Shelly spent the morning at the Hogar (the home where the mothers receive their pre- and postnatal care, while I spent the afternoon with Arturo (the husband of FANA’s foundress, Mercedes) and his remote control airplane club.
First, we’ll start with Shelly’s day. The full name is Hogar Margarita, and as I said before, it’s where women can receive free pre- and postnatal care. By staying there, the mothers are not required to relinquish their rights to the children, but most FANA babies’ mothers spent some time at the Hogar. Further, while at the Hogar, the women have educational and vocational opportunities as well. So this morning, Shelly, Josie Gualtieri, and Sue Schauer went to the Hogar, and after a quick tour, they basically had a panel discussion with 25 women currently staying there. The three of them were able to answer a lot of questions about what life is like in the US and Canada, both in terms of standard of living and the overall culture. Most importantly, the women wanted (and received) assurance that their biological children would be well cared-for. They all said that it was a very emotional experience, and they also agreed that they felt like they made positive impressions on the women.
My day was very different. Arturo picked me up, pointed to the mountains to the east and said “we’re going up there to fly the planes”. We fought our way through the worst Bogota traffic I’ve seen since we’ve been here, picked up a friend, Fernando, and made our way up the mountains. We drove about 30 kilometers east of the city to a very nice golf course. After a nice lunch of “roast beef” which was actually prime rib and cost $4.00, we got ready to fly the planes. I learned that flying those planes is a lot of preparation and not much playing. You have to set the planes up, spend a lot of time tweaking the engines, and spend a lot of time helping the other people out. Well, the flying was cool, the landings were often difficult, and let’s just say that since the (attempted) landings were on a little lake, I can now claim to have rowed a boat in Colombia. Along with that, I got to see some wonderful scenery and meet a lot of really nice people.
Brianna says: “How are you? I am fine. I just got a baby brother and I love him very much. And also, he has little chubby legs. I like to play with him and make him laugh.”
Buenas noches-
Jim, Shelly, Brianna and Benjamin
Thursday, April 10, 2003 8:33 PM CDT
Hi everyone,
Well it was another great day in our adoption experience. We had our tour of FANA, which really brought out a lot of different feelings. First, it made us feel closer to Benjamin in that we have more of an understanding of where he spent his first two months of life, and who his caregivers were. Second, it strengthened our feelings about how wonderful of a place FANA is and how important it is that it continues to operate successfully. The care and the love that the children (whether they are newborns or grade school age) receive is so apparent when you walk around FANA. Considering the situations that these children are in currently or have recently left, the fact that the entire atmosphere is full of hope and love is truly amazing.
It's a great place.
Well, it's the rainy season now in Bogota. We lucked out our first four days and we're now seeing the South American version of thunderstorms. There was even some pea-sized hail today.
Benjamin is doing well, still eating and sleeping a lot, and of course he's still smiling. Actually, last night he slept straight from 9:30 to 6:00 this morning. He seems to be staying awake more in the evening now, so hopefully, he'll get his schedule turned back around to coincide with the rest of us.
Tomorrow has some fun activities on the social calendar for both Shelly and me, but I'll wait to give out the details until tomorrow.
Love,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Benjamin
Wednesday, April 9, 2003 8:12 PM CDT
Hi all!
We hope that everything is going well for you. We are doing great. Benjamin has started eating more for us and continues to be a good sleeper. He likes to grasp onto objects and has begun to use a pacifier. He's a happy little guy and we adore him.
Today was a busy one for me socially. Betty invited us ladies to an American Women's Club brunch held at a local hotel. They had an Easter bonnet contest. It was pretty entertaining to see what some of the women were wearing, especially Betty with her black crow hat. You should have seen her doing a chicken dance! After dropping a few of the ladies off at the residence, Betty took Sue and me to the travel agency. Jim, Brianna, Benjamin and I will be leaving for Cartagena (a coastal resort town) over the long Easter weekend (four days total). From the agency, we enjoyed lunch at a place called Crepes and Waffles. Todo estuvo muy bueno. Mmmm... I hope that it's true that one burns more calories in higher altitudes!!
While I was out, Jim, Brianna and Benjamin hung out with the other Dads and children. It'll seem strange not to have Scott, his daughter (Nicole) and Scott's mom here tomorrow; they leave in the morning and Sue will stay here with her son, Bodie. Brianna has had so much fun playing with the two other children. Good thing Christian Gualtieri will be here for a few more weeks. Our two families just received word of what court we've been assigned to; we're in court seven, they're in court eight. Supposedly these are average courts, so if all goes well, we should be done with the whole process by the first week of May (remember that all government buildings will be closed for Holy Week).
We thank you for your greetings and well wishes. It is awesome to check in and read what many of you have written.
God bless and take care!
Love,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna and Benjmain
Tuesday, April 8, 2003 8:10 PM CDT
Hi everybody,
First of all, we'd like to say thanks to everyone who has been signing the guestbook. Your support is appreciated more than you will ever know. Sorry we haven't responded personally to them, but please consider this our communication to each of you.
Well, a pretty significant day for us in the adoption process. At 3:30 this afternoon, we had our Bienestar interview, which is essentially the welfare or child protection agency here in Colombia. All four of us went to a government building near downtown Bogota and met with a "defender of minors" and a social worker. They were interested in how children that have been adopted from FANA have done as they've grown up in the US. After that, they spent most of their time talking to Brianna, asking her about how she feels about being a big sister and how she helps out taking care of her brother. She did a great job answering in Spanish (after we translated the question for her), and the two officials were taken by her. Ben was pretty much asleep the whole time, which is fine.
That was the main event for our day. We had an easy morning prior to that and have been relaxing all evening. Things are a bit different now with Mrs. Marra and Mr. Marchello being gone, but we're really glad that they finally got to go home.
Ben's been sleeping a lot- both during the day and at night, but we're still trying to get him to eat for us like he does for Alicia. She definitely has the magic touch.
Well, tomorrow Shelly and the ladies are going out with Betty to the American Women's Club Easter luncheon. I'm sure that there will be lots of stories from that tomorrow.
Well, we're off to watch Zoboomafoo en espanol.
Love,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna, and Ben
Monday, April 7, 2003 4:14 PM CDT
Muy buenas tardes a nuestros familiares y amigos-
HAY FOTOS- Yes, there are new photos of Benjamin that have been posted for your enjoyment. Aren't they so cute?! I can not tell you how wonderful Brianna has been with her brother. She dotes on him and is so sweet and gentle with him. I am such a proud mommy of two!!
Today has been so fantastic! First of all, Benjamin slept from 10:00 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. I was so glad to get up with him as the birds were heard chirping in our courtyard. We had a few quiet hours of mother-son bonding while Jim and Brianna slept until 8:00 a.m. Instead of having breakfast at home this morning, we walked about 8 blocks to a french bakery called Jaques with the Gualtieri's, Sue and her toddler, Nicole. We devoured the most delectable cinnamon bread and freshly squeezed mandarin orange and strawberry juices. I can already tell that I am going to miss the freshness and quality of all of the edibles!!
From Jaques we strolled another block or two to Maku, which is a huge store full of Colombian souvenirs created by local artesans. I could've spent an entire day there marvelling at all of the fine goods, but we instead headed back to Betty's after an hour or so. There will definitely be more trips to Maku in the upcoming days. Upon returning, we hung out in the courtyard with everybody and enjoyed the 75 degree weather (we're 4 for 4 so far on the sunshine)as we ate some lunch. The older children had a ball playing and dancing to music by the Wiggles (if you're a parent of a young child, you know who these Aussies are) outdoors. Brianna has had so much fun with both Nicole and Christian, older siblings of FANA babies.
Tonight we will have dinner with the Tedesco's. It is their last night &we want to spend some quality time with this special threesome. I'll write more tomorrow; it'll be a big day for us since we have our Bienestar interview. We love the messages that many of you are leaving for us- keep 'em coming!! Thanks for sharing in our joy!
Mucho carino,
Jim, Shelly, Brianna and Benjamin
P.S. I highly recommend the Hard Rock Cafe- Bogota. We had such a blast last night!! This is truly a vacation.
Sunday, April 6, 2003 5:15 PM CDT
Hola a todos-
We have had another beautiful day here in Bogota! Yesterday we spent a good four-five hours at the Jaime Duque Park. There was a lot to do there on such a gorgeous day. We enjoyed the zoo there, as well as the rides at the mini amusement park, the paintings depicting Colombia's rich history (all housed in a Taj Majal-type building)and the awesome statues, fountains and gardens. I must mention, too, that the lunch we had was "delicioso".It amazed us that we packed so much in and it cost us a whopping fifteen dollars. The exchange rate now is 2780 pesos per U.S. dollar. Everything is so inexpensive.
When we arrived home from our day at the park tehre was a birthday cake for Mara, a new mommy from Toronto. All of us enjoyed a piece of cake after singing to her. We feel blessed that there are some wondrful people accomplishing the same thing we are staying at Betty's. The report we received from Alicia, Benjamin's nurse/sitter, was very positive. Benjamin eats better for her than he does for us!
Today has been a nice blend of relaxation and fun. Due to the fact that Brianna and I woke up with Benjamin at 5:30 a.m., we sent Jim to church with another family. A missionary nun from Delano, MN picked the group up and accompanied them to an English mass. Brianna, Benjamin and I took a much needed nap. At about 2:00 p.m. we walked to La Fontana, a gorgeous hotel near us. On Sundays they welcome several different artesans to set up booths with their specialty items. We, of course, bought a few things.
Tonight we plan on going to the Hard Rock Cafe- Bogota for dinner. Mara and Marcello will be taking their son, Noah, home to Toronto on Tuesday, so we wanted to dine out with them before they leave.
Well, it's about time to leave for dinner. It was another 75 degree day and we are enjoying our time here with our new son. Please know that Benjamin is a happy little boy who smiles and coos often. We'll do our best (actually, Jim will) to post a recent photo of him. Thanks for writing in our guestbook!
God bless-
Shelly (Jim, Brianna and Benjamin, too)
Saturday, April 5, 2003 7:23 AM CST
Buenos Dias from sunny Bogota-
As I write this entry, little Benjamin is laying on his belly sleeping on the couch. What an angel he is! Last night was our first night with him and Jim took over completely. Benjamin slept from 9:00p.m. until 3:30 a.m. Jim tried to feed him at that time, but Benjamin hasn't been eating very much yet. He drank a few ounces at 4;30 and went back to sleep for a couple of hours. I woke up at 7:00 and fed him another ounce then he drifted off to sleep after being burped. We are a tad bit concerned at his lack of appetite, but know that there has been a lot of change in this little fella's life. Imagine the transition he has had to make in the last day! He is a very sweet baby and is very observant during his waking hours.
Today we plan on taking Brianna to the zoo with the other couples who are staying at Betty's place. Mara and Marcello from Toronto will be going, as will the Gualtieri's from Canada (they have a three year-old son, Christian) and the Schauer's from Virginia (they have a 2 1/2 year-old, Nicole). We all will leave our babies with Alicia, the wonderful babysitter who is an expert in infant care, here at Betty's. This evening we hope to see our MN friends, Tim, Alyson and Tori Thorson; they fly back to Mpls. tomorrow morning.
On a different note, we spoke with Annette, the woman who will serve as our driver for business-related items (a true key player in our process), and she told us that our Bienestar interview (meeting with a social worker through the welfare system) will most likely be on Tuesday of next week. It'll be on that day that we will be assigned to a court. Whatever happens, we're just so glad to be a family of four surrounded by many loving and warm people here at Betty's.
Well, Brianna is just getting up and it is time for breakfast. We'll be in touch. Thanks, again, for your kind thoughts and prayers.
Un abrazo fuerte-
Shelly (Jim, Brianna and Benjamin, too)
Friday, April 4, 2003 2:32 PM CST
Well, we're now a family of four! Benjamin was presented to us at 12:30 today, and we're all delighted. Shelly is a beaming mom, Brianna is the very proud big sister and I'm planning future father/son outings.
So first of all, I'll apologize for the lack of new pictures- we're still working out a few things with downloading images from the digital camera. We hope to have some on the website later tonight. Trust us, he's adorable.
Now for some of the details about the presentation. We headed over to FANA with Tim and Alyson Thorson (our good friends from Minnesota who introduced us to FANA in the first place). After our arrival and the medical history with Elizabeth, Brianna was taken down to the nursery. About five long minutes later, Brianna walked into the "green room" holding her new little brother. It was quite the moment. After lots of ooohs and ahs, we joined Mercedes, Flor, Ezliabeth, and lots of staff for cake.
After more thank yous and good-byes, we hopped back into the van for the always adventurous ride through Bogota. We're now back at Betty's Place, still somewhat dazed, waiting for everything to sink in. I'll let you know when that happens. Well, gotta run. We'll work on getting those pictures up as soon as we can.
Love,
Jim, Shelly, and Brianna
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 6:18 PM CST
Good evening to you all!
Just wanted to let you know that we're busily preparing for our departure tomorrow. I had been writing a rather lengthy description of our past two days, when suddenly, AOL dumped me. AARGH! I'd love to re-write everything in detail, but frankly, I have no time. We need to tidy up the house and finish packing, among other musts. We'll write more when we get into Bogotá.
We are so psyched to meet our son! Brianna was beaming at school this week as she shared the news of her brother with her classmates and teachers. Thanks for the well wishes via phone calls and e-mails/guestbook messages. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.
Les escribiré más detalles cuando estemos en Bogotá-
Shelly
Monday, March 31, 2003 5:54 PM CST
Hello Everybody!
We are so thrilled to announce that we have a SON!! Jim, Brianna and I drove the 425 miles up to Buffalo, NY to attend the annual Friends of FANA (Colombian orphanage) business meeting. Toward the end of the meeting, our buddy couple, Paul and Sarah Melone, announced to us that we had a son. We were so surprised to have had the news delivered to us in front of 250 people. We immediately were able to see a photo of our "Diego" and it was love at first sight. When we left the meeting after the many well wishes from our new FANA friends, we headed directly for our friends' home where Brianna, Jim and I were staying for the night. (Thanks, Tim, Brenda, and Danielle!) We were so excited to share the great news with big sister, Brianna. It was her decision to name him Benjamin and ours to keep his birth name, Diego, as his middle name. We already adore this little boy!!
Despite having to drive through 400 miles worth of snow flurries, we had a smooth ride home. We have been frantically busy since waking up this morning. (We actually allowed ourselves a good night's rest last night.) We called down to the orphanage this morning and spoke with both Elizabeth (nurse) and Flor (administrator). We were so happy to learn that Benjamin Diego is gaining weight at a healthy pace (he already weighs over eleven pounds!) and is doing extremely well. We also made our travel arrangements and plan to fly direct from Newark to Bogotá on Thursday of this week, that's right, in THREE more days!!
Due to the fact that we leave in a couple of days and there is a ton to be done, I will sign off for today. There is just so much to share and we all are ecstatic!! Please check back with us before we leave. Thanks for all of the well wishes.
Mucho cariño-
Shelly (Jim and Brianna, too)
Thursday, March 27, 2003 5:31 PM CST
Hello all,
Hope all is well in your part of the country. Just wanted to give all of you an update as to the latest in our adoption process. This weekend we are heading up to Buffalo, NY for a FANA meeting. Once a year the organization has a general meeting for all members (adoptive parents and parents-in-waiting). We look forward to seeing a lot of the couples who we've met during the last year. Rumor has it, one or two "expectant" couples will get a referral notice (i.e.BABY). We are anxious to learn to whom the next beautiful, Colombian child will be offered. We will write more after this weekend!! God bless and take care.
Love,
Jim, Shelly and Brianna
Wednesday, March 12, 2003 11:20 AM CST
OK, so no news yet for us, but three families from our group have received referrals. It's hard to be patient, but there's nothing we can do right now. Finally, in response to overwhelming demand from the Thorson's, we've added a picture of Brianna, the big sister-in-waiting, and yes she is missing a tooth. In fact, since that picture was taken, she's lost another one as well!
Thursday, February 6, 2003 8:31 PM CST
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