Our Adventure Continues...

First Days

2008-09-30T16:09:00.012-04:00

As each day passes, I realize how quickly time goes by. After celebrating both of Sean and Isabella's birthdays, it just reminds me of how big they are getting. I am partly sad to see our kids grow up so fast, but at the same time, I love seeing them (and us) reach new milestones. The following two pictures were taken on Sean's first day of "school".

The first picture is of Sean all dressed and ready to go with his new backpack. Oh, and I can't forget to mention "puppy" that is with him. "Puppy" doesn't go to school with Sean, but he waits for him in Mommy's car. :) Sean loves "school". It is actually a MMO (Mother's Morning Out) program. Sean goes three times a week and is there for almost four hours. It has been great for him, and he is having the best time. Many times when we drive to his school in the morning, he says to me "I'm excited!"

The second picture is of Isabella on Sean's first day of school. It is her first morning that she is able to play with all of the toys in our family room without big brother Sean over her shoulder. She is doing great, as well. I think she likes having that alone time at home, and some time to have Mommy all to herself. Although, I have to say that she does miss Sean during the day. It is so cute to see her face when I tell her it's time to go get Sean from school. She just gets the biggest smile on her face.

Una Fiesta Con Nuestra Familia

2008-09-30T15:59:00.002-04:00

(Translation: A party with our family!)

I know this is a little late, but here are some photos from Sean and Isabella's birthday party with some of our family.

What is all this stuff?

Big cousins help to blow out candles.

Sean's face is priceless, and Isabella isn't sure about the candles. :)

He's so excited he gave his forced "cheese" smile. haha

Woohoo! More toys!

I love my duck!

One Party Down.... One To Go

2008-08-13T09:33:00.010-04:00

Here are some pictures from Sean and Isabella's birthday party with friends. Our house was filled with "soon-to-be" three-year-olds and "soon-to-be" one-year-olds - all running and crawling around. It was so cute. The kids had fun playing outside in the pool and slip 'n slide. And then afterwards, everyone cooled off eating ice-cream! You'll also see in the last picture that our dog had a GREAT time cleaning up after all the kids. haha

This coming weekend, we will have a "family" birthday party. Wow, these kids are celebrating their birthday all month so far. haha

I'm THREE!!!

2008-08-13T09:23:00.002-04:00

And just one day later, on August 2nd, Sean turned THREE! Wow, he is getting so big. He loved celebrating Isabella's birthday with her, but was very happy to know his birthday was the next day. haha Here he is enjoying his day!

Opening presents - it's serious business!

I love my train conductor outfit! (We think he lived in it for 3 days!)

I must get to work!

Yeah, finally MY cupcake!

I'm ONE!!!

2008-08-13T09:04:00.003-04:00

On August 1st, Isabella turned ONE!!! We can't believe that she is one already. We have had such an amazing time with her, and are so thankful to have her in our family.

I'm not so sure about this....

What is that thing?

Opening presents!

Summer Vacation Fun

2008-08-13T08:51:00.002-04:00

It's hard to believe that the summer is almost over! We have been having so much fun that I have not sat down to post some pictures. So, here are some from our summer travels. We have had a great time visiting and traveling with both sides of the family.

Gary and Sean having fun on a tube in Virginia.

Sean getting to drive Grandaddy's boat

Deborah taking Sean out on a Seadoo (jetski)

Meeting SpongeBob at Kings Dominion

Having fun with Virginia cousins at Kings Dominion!

Sean and Alli taking a ride!

Posing with Florida cousins at the Children's Museum in Indiana

Mommy and Sean hugging on a merry-go-round

Back-to-back & Head-to-head

2008-06-12T17:12:00.005-04:00

Isn't that just the cutest picture? Okay, so Isabella had a few tears beforehand...but hey, she's a girl...she can pull it off. :) And you try to get two kids to smile at the same time at this age. haha

I know it has been awhile since I have posted, so I apologize.

Things have been really good over here, and we are having a great time with the kids. We are getting ready for summertime and a few vacations (back-to-back) that we have planned. It has been awhile since we have been able to plan for vacations. Usually, we were saving all of our vacation time for our trips to Colombia. So, as of right now, we are getting ready to head to a couple weddings. Yes, I said a couple. Our family will be attending two different weddings on the same day - in two different states. Pretty creative , huh? Actually, Gary will be attending a wedding of one of his college friends; and the kids and I will be traveling to a family wedding.

After we attend the two weddings, then we will all come home for a day and half and then we will be heading up to Virginia to see Gary's parents and family. It should be a lot of fun.

We hope you and your families are enjoying the summer. We'll post more photos soon!

Hugs to you all.

Time with Family

2008-04-29T12:16:00.004-04:00

It has been a busy couple months around here. We have been having a great time spending time with our family and friends. In fact, just a couple weeks ago, all of our family came to town for Isabella's Baptism. It was such a nice time to be able to see all of our family, and of course, it was wonderful to see all of the cousins playing together. Some of our family had not met Isabella yet, so it was even more special to introduce her to everyone. We definitely had a nice time and are looking forward to later in the summer when we will be going on vacation with both sides of the family.

In addition to spending time with our family, Isabella had some special time with Mommy. We went together to get Isabella's ears pierced. She did a great job, and just looks adorable. Many people in Colombia asked us if we were going to pierce her ears (as it is a tradition there, and in a lot of Latin America). I knew I wanted to do that, but we waited to do it once we got home. So, Isabella sported her new birthstone earrings for her Baptism.

We hope you enjoy the new pictures of our growing children. It's hard to believe that in a couple days Sean will be 2 years and 9 months old, and Isabella will be 9 months old. Wow. Where does the time go?

Our little family

I got my ears pierced!!

Rockin' with my FL cousins

Hangin' with my VA cousins

Springtime with Friends

2008-03-14T11:05:00.007-04:00

Everyone says that when you have children time flies. Well, they are right. I can't believe that it has been more than a month since we posted. The month of February flew by. We had a lot of fun times with the kids - in the middle of cold/flu season. haha Unfortuntely both kids got sick this month and so did Gary. But "Mommy" stayed healthy - so Mommy took care of everyone. However, thankfully all of that has passed and we were able to have a fun weekend last weekend. Our entire family took a trip to Tampa for our adoption agency's annual picnic. It was so nice see so many of our "Colombian Family". We even went a day early so that we could get together with a few friends for dinner the night before. We had a great time seeing everyone, and of course watching the kids play. It was also nice to be able to introduce Isabella to everyone. It's hard to believe she is seven-months-old now!

As usual, here are some recent pictures of the kids. We hope you enjoy them:

Isabella posing with Daddy

Isabella not posing with Mommy (aka -distracted by a light)

Sean showing off his big muscles

What Mom?

Serious Sean

My Big Brother, My Little Sister

2008-02-08T14:45:00.000-05:00

Wow, it is amazing how fast time flies. I can't believe we have been home almost two months now. Things are going very well over here, and Sean and Isabella are having a great time together. We are slowly getting into a routine with both of the kids, and getting used to being parents of two. We are having a great time, and so are they. Here are some pictures of them playing together:

Playing with our puppies

My chair, your chair

I'm six-months-old today!

Playing on the floor

Going for a run with Daddy

Happy New Year from our Home!

2007-12-31T22:55:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to all of you! As you can see we made it home! We arrived in Miami, Florida on Wednesday, December 19th. It was absolutely wonderful to see everyone at the airport and especially nice to get a huge hug and kiss from Sean....okay, and Gary too! :) Obviously, it has been quite a bit since I posted, but it has been very busy since we got home. Between getting Isabella settled and celebrating the holidays, it has been pretty hectic over here. But we are loving every minute of it. We truly enjoyed celebrating Christmas with the kids, as well as watching them get to know one another. They are doing great, and having fun with one another. It's just so cute to see.

As I write this, we are approaching the new year in about an hour. We are so thankful to have had a wonderful year last year, with it ending with the adoption of Isabella. Our hope is that we have an even better one next year, with lots of happiness, good health, and wonderful memories. Our hope is the same for all of you. Thank you to each and every one of you for your support, love, and of course comments and emails. Our adoption journey was even more special, as we were able to share it with you.

I am going to sign off to get ready for the new year, but please know that we will continue to post to this blog and give you updates on our family. Happy Holidays to all fo you, and have a wonderful New Year.

Hopefully we'll get to see you all soon, and introduce you to Isabella.

Lots of love -

The Lees

Gary, Deborah, Sean and Isabella

Muchas Gracias Colombia!!

2007-12-18T22:26:00.000-05:00

I can't believe this will be my last post from Colombia. Wow, it has defintely been an exciting journey and a wonderful adventure. As I write this, it is very bittersweet for me. As much as I have wanted to come home, I am very sad about leaving Colombia. This place will always be very special to us. This country gave us our children. Colombia will always hold a very special place in our hearts for that very reason. I remember that when I signed off from our other blog, when we were adopting Sean, I wrote that I knew we would be back for a sibling for him. Well, this time, it is different. We don't know if we will be back for more children or not. We will have to see what life holds for us. But I do know, that we will be back to Colombia someday. This is Sean and Isabella's country and I know that we would like to bring them back here and show it to them. So, on that note, I will not say good-bye.... I will just say, we will see you again one day.

With all of my heart, I am signing off from Colombia. Thank you, Muchas Gracias, y Mi Todo Amor (all my love).

Buenas Noches from Colombia

Besos (Kisses) y Abrazos (Hugs),

The Lee Family

Gary, Deborah, Sean and Isabella

Visa - Check!

2007-12-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

Now that's one tired girl. After all, she had a very busy day today, and had to go to the U.S. Embassy to apply for her Visa. Thankfully, everything went well and I will go back tomorrow afternoon to pick it up. Isabella will stay home with Nana, and will enjoy her last day in Colombia. But I think she is so tired from her busy day, plus her excitement to go home and see Daddy and Sean! And she's not the only one.... both Nana and I are extremely excited. We have most of our luggage packed, and will finish the rest tomorrow. Our day will be begin very early on Wednesday, and our driver will be coming to get us at 4:45 a.m. Yikes! But hey, we don't care...we're just so excited to go home.

So, tonight's post is going to be very short. We're feeling like how Isabella looks in this picture. It was just too cute, that I had to take the shot. She had just gotten done drinking a bottle and just fell asleep. She didn't even care that I was changing her diaper and trying to put her in some PJs without waking her up. And of coure, don't forget the sock, it is half off....and that is usually the state they are in...she is always trying to take them off.

Well, I better get to bed. I'm tired. I hope you all had a wonderful day. Stay tuned for tomorrow's post, as it will be our last one from Colombia!

Love you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia

Sunday Walks

2007-12-16T21:44:00.000-05:00

Over the many weeks I have been here, you have heard me talk about going to the market/fair on Sundays. I had posted some pictures of the fair before, and the hotel where they hold the fair, but I thought you might like to see what our "walk" is like. I mentioned in a previous post that they close some of the streets on Sundays (to cars) and allow the space to be used for walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, and even kids learning to ride bikes. So, today, we did our usual walk to the market/fair and I took some pictures of the road for you to see. If you look at the pictures, you can see that one side of the road is closed, and that is where everyone is walking, etc. (And if you look close enough, you might even see Nana and another Mom walking with the babies in their strollers.) On the other side of the road, you can see all the cars driving. It's actually pretty neat. It would be great to see them do this in U.S. so we would enjoy the same thing. I don't see it happening, but hey, it's an idea.

I also took a couple pictures of a Church that we pass every week. Several families from our hotel have gone to this Church for mass, and then they meet us at the market/fair afterwards. It's on the way, so it's very easy for the families to do. You can also see that they have some artwork displayed outside. This artist is there every week, and he makes out pretty good with everyone walking by on the closed street on Sundays. Then, the last thing I took a picture of was some dancing Santa Claus'. One of the shopping centers had it out on display on the street, and they defintely got some attention from all the little kids going by.

Other than our trip to the fair today, we didn't do very much. We have started some packing, and are definitely getting excited to head home. Tomorrow, I am taking Isabella with me to the U.S. Embassy to apply for her Visa. (We will then pick it up on Tuesday.) Nana is going to stay at the hotel tomorrow while we do that. We should only be gone in the morning and then we will come back and hopefully head out to a nice coffee shop we heard about. We are going to go with another Mom who got here on Saturday (from another region in Colombia) who is adopting the cutest 16-month-old little boy. They are here to do their Visa paperwork and are also hoping to head home (to Chicago) this week too.

Well, I better get to bed. Our driver is coming to get us very early tomorrow. Hope all of you had a nice weekend!

Love you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia

Relaxing, Lazy Day

2007-12-15T17:52:00.000-05:00

We were pretty lazy today, and just enjoyed a nice day indoors. We had planned on going out, but unfortunately it was a rainy day here so we weren't able to go anywhere. But it wasn't a wasted day. We had fun playing with Isabella and watching her try to turn over. (As you can see in the above pictures) She was so cute and so determined. She didn't do it yet, but it is definitely not for lack of trying. We also had our laundry done and got some goodie bags put together for the staff here. We want to make sure to leave them with some little gifts to thank them for all that they have done for us. The staff is so warm and accomodating, and have truly made our stay here very comfortable. We have gotten so used to having all of our meals made for us, bottles sterilized, laundry done and room cleaned. I am not sure I am going to remember how to do all of those things when I get home! :)

Well, we just got our laundry back, so I am going to start to pack some things up. We are hoping to get out tomorrow to go to the market/crafts fair that we go to every Sunday. This will finally be our last Sunday of going. It will be nice to go again and browse - just to make sure there isn't anything new there that we haven't seen in past weeks. Then on Monday, it's back to adoption paperwork, and then before we know it, we'll be on an airplane back home!!! :)

Love you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Plane Tickets Booked!

2007-12-14T22:48:00.001-05:00

Today was a busy day, and Isabella was a busy girl! :) All for good things, though. Our day started with Isabella getting a bath, as you can see in the first photo. She doesn't care for the baths too much, but loves to play in the towel afterwards. Once that was done, we headed out with our driver to get Isabella's passport photo taken. She had to wear something dark to contrast the light background, so we chose a beautiful dress that Grandaddy (Gary's Dad) picked out for her. Great job Grandaddy! She looked absolutely adorable in it. And just for you I took a few pictures of her in it. She was having fun in her dress and was kicking her legs up playing too. So, once she had the right outfit (because you know girls are all about their outfits), she was ready for her picture. Okay, so it took a few tries, but they finally got a good shot that they could use for the passport. I took a picture of her passport photo for you to see. Isn't she just the cutest thing?!

After the passport photos and then getting her passport, we came back to the hotel for lunch and a litltle rest. Then later in the afternoon we went to see the U.S. Embassy doctor for her check-up clearance. Everything went well, and the doctor even said my face seemed familiar. I told him we had adopted Sean two years ago, and he was happy to see we were back. He asked how Sean was doing, and was joking with us on how his world is going to completely change once he has a sibling at home. haha But the doctor was very nice and it was a good visit with him. He said Isabella was great and to take her home! Yeah!!! And for those of you that are curious, she now weighs 13.2 pounds. She's a growing girl! :)

Once our busy day was over, Isabella was pooped and ready for bed. So, one of the last pictures is of her in one of her PJs that Nana bought for her. It looked so comfy and warm, and she was having fun playing in it. So, I had to take a picture.

And last but not least, I couldn't end this post without reiterating the title of this post.... our plane tickets are booked!! Gary helped us and he called the airlines and we are officially booked on a flight for Wednesday morning (12/19), and we arrive in Miami at 12 noon!!! Woohoo!!!

Well, I better get to bed. Tomorrow we are going to do some laundry and do last minute errands, and then maybe go out to dinner to celebrate.

Lots of love to all of you.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

We Got Sentencia!!!!!

2007-12-13T21:08:00.001-05:00

Well today started out like any other day. We woke up and it was a sunny day, so we decided to head to the mall to do some....yep, you guessed it... shopping! After the mall, it started to rain a little so we took a cab back home. As we were getting out of the cab and getting ready to walk into the hotel....the hotel owner came runnig out and had a huge smile on her face. She held her arms out (like for a hug) but I still didn't know what she was doing. Finally I just said, "Sentencia?" and she screamed "Yes!". Everyone started screaming and before you knew it, we were running full speed!!

After lunch, our favorite driver, Mario, came to get me to go sign our sentencia. The weather was nice by then, and we were soon on our way to downtown Bogota. We went into the courthouse and we finished up all of the paperwork there and then we were ready to go. But while we had been in the courthouse, it began pouring rain. And no, we did not have an umbrella, raincoat, pancho or really anything! :) So, we sat there waiting for the rain to die down, and finally we were able to make a break for it. It was still raining, but it was not a downpour like before. So, picture this, Mario and I are running through downtown Bogota, in the rain, carrying very important documents. Thankfully, one of the stores nearby gave us a plastic bag to put the papers in so that we could keep them covered as we ran to the car-- which was down the street and around the corner. Needless to say, it was a memorable trip to the courthouse. Mario and I had fun, and you can be sure I won't forget that trip!

After the courthouse, we had to go to the notary office to get Isabella's birth certificate changed (to have our names put on there). We got there around 4:30 p.m., and thankfully we were able to get in. Technically, they had stopped working at 4:00 p.m., but we had a very nice lady at the window that did the work for us. This was huge, because if we had not gotten that done today, we would have had to add that to our "to do" list for tomorrow. So now, tomorrow, we will take Isabella to get her passport photos done, and then she will have her doctor's appointment at the U.S. Embassy.

During the weekend, we won't be able to do any paperwork, but things will start up again next week. The plan is to go to the U.S. Embassy on Monday to apply for Isabella's Visa, and then we can pick it up on Tuesday afternoon. If all goes well, then we should be able to fly home Wednesday or Thursday!!!!!

So, I think I will sign of for the day, as it has been a busy one, and tomorrow will be too. But I wanted to make sure to thank all of you for your prayers, good thoughts, support, emails and comments to our blog. All of them mean so much, and we are so thankful to have all of you as our family and friends.

Lots of love to all of you.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

P.S. I took some pictures of our hotel room. I thought you might like to see some shots of our "home away from home".

Rain Rain Go Away

2007-12-12T22:25:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone. Sorry we didn't post yesterday. It has been rainy around here the last couple days, so we have just been having some lazy days. I took some pictures of the view from our window for the last couple days. Can you see the mountains through the rain? I have to admit, I love looking at them. Obviously, we don't have any mountains in Florida, so I am enjoying seeing them everyday in Colombia. But I could live without the rain, since we get plenty of that in Florida. :)

Yesterday we didn't do very much. As I said in my last post, we were going to go shopping again. We went to Maku and picked up a few things to take home. I picked up a couple t-shirts for Sean and Isabella, and a couple stocking stuffers too. It was a nice walk, and it was good to get out of the hotel. After the trip to Maku, the weather was bad, so we just relaxed in the hotel. We also did the same thing today, and didn't go out anywhere. The weather was gloomy all day and we were afraid we would get caught in the rain.

Things around the hotel are pretty much the same. There are still many families here, but they have all gotten sentencia already. They are just working on getting their last few documents done and they should all be leaving soon. We are the last ones here without sentencia, but we are staying postive that it will happen soon. We really believe we will get sentencia before the courts close, so we are just staying hopeful for that. In the meantime, we are still enjoying our time here. Isabella is a doll, and she is definitely worth the wait for sentencia. We are having such a good time with her, and she helps make the days pass.

Well, Isabella is already asleep and Nana and I are on our way to do that too. We hope each of you are well and enjoying the holiday season. (Oh, and speaking of holiday season....check out our one holiday decoration that we have in our room...it's the poinsetta in the picture above. One of the families that left this morning gave it to me. Now how can you not enjoy the holiday season - when you have a poinsetta in your room? :)

Lots of love to each of you.

Buenas noches from Colombia.

Expoartesanias 2007 - Corferias Bogota

2007-12-10T17:19:00.000-05:00

Guess what we did today? We went shopping. Imagine that. :) Now, I know I have said this before, and by my recent blogs, you may not believe me. But I really don't like to shop. Just ask Gary - or anyone else that really knows me. So, I felt I needed to clarify in tonights post because many of you have been teasing me about all the shopping I have been doing. :) Yes, we have been out shopping quite a bit, but that is just because we are running out of things to do here. You either eat or shop. haha As you know, I went sight-seeing when Gary and Sean were here. But now we are just trying to keep ourselves busy during the week to help the days pass. So, we have been to many stores, shops and markets, but I am really not buying that much. After all, I need to be able to get all of these things home in my suitcases! Typically we are just going out for the day and walking around and I guess doing more "window-shopping" than anything else. So, to all of you know that I hate to shop...don't worry...I'm staying true to that! :) In fact, I told my Mom the other day that I didn't think I could do anymore shopping....but apparently that didn't last very long... as we did go out again today. But I guess the thing that is keeping me going is looking at all of the different things here in Colombia, and enjoying buying a few special things for Sean and Isabella from their birth country. So, on that note, let me tell you about the shopping we did today. haha

Today we went to "Coferias" in Bogota, and they were hosting "Expoartesanias 2007". If you are interested in seeing what it was like, here is the link to their English site: http://www.expoartesanias.com/en/index.cfm?lang=en I'm not sure how much you will be able to see from the site, but it was a very nice day trip. The Coferia was only 30 minutes from our hotel and we spent almost 3 hours there. It is similar to any Expo you have been to in the states, and a little like an indoor flea market, but much nicer. They had several buildings (about 8-9 of them) that were divided into categories (children's items, house decor, leathers, regional and international items, and of course plenty of food). We had a great time wandering around, and it was definitely worth wearing comfortable shoes. Mom picked up a couple things and I picked up some little things for the ladies that work here in the hotel. We had a nice time and it really helped the day pass.

We're not sure what we're doing tomorrow, but I think we are leaning towards going back to "Maku" which is a local artesan store with crafts made by Colombians. Pretty much everyone that stays at this hotel goes to this store at least once while they are here. This will be our second trip and we want to pick up last minute gifts. We want to make sure that once we get Sentencia, we can get out of here, and not have any last minute errands to run.

Well, that's it for us today. We hope you all had a nice day too.
Lots of love to each of you.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Street Performers and More Shopping

2007-12-09T21:02:00.000-05:00

Another Sunday, and another trip to the local market & crafts fair at one of the nearby hotels. As usual, we had a good time there today. I took a picture of the hotel where we go every Sunday. The market/fair is in the courtyard of this hotel. Like I've said before, they have many things there to buy, from artwork, crafts, purses, clothing, jewlery, and much more. Also, while we were walking back today, we saw a street performer and I just had to take a picture. There are many street performers in Colombia and we see them many times at the major intersections.

After we went shopping today, we took it easy in the hotel for the rest of the afternoon. There was a thunderstorm, so we just decided to stay in. Then later in the afternoon we had a man come to the hotel that was selling emeralds. He had come earlier in the week and said he'd be back today to bring us some more things to look at. He had a lot of nice things, but my Mom and I didn't buy anything for ourselves. We didn't see anything that we absolutely loved. However, Isabella made out pretty well. I bought her a pair of emerald earrings. I always said that when we were adopting, that if we got a girl, I would want to buy her some earrings from Colombia. They are a tiny little pair that will look so cute on her.

Last but not least, I had to add some pictures of Isabella. She was playing with one of her toys and I just thought it was so cute.... especially the last picture when the toy covered half of her face. She looked so cute trying to figure out what had happened.

Well, that's it for today. We hope all of you had a nice weekend. Tomorrow the courts open again for the week, so if we're lucky, we'll hear some good news this week. We're thinking positive.

Love to you all.
Buenas Noches from Colombia.

My "Second" Birthday in Colombia

2007-12-08T22:59:00.000-05:00

Today I celebrated my birthday in Colombia! It was my "second" birthday here. Okay, so you know I am MUCH older than two, but, it is my second birthday here. I celebrated my birthday here in 2005, as well, when we adopted Sean. And let me tell you, the ladies here can throw a party! :) Well, actually my Mom initiated the whole thing. She was so sweet and ordered two cakes for me for my birthday to share with everyone in the hotel. We all had a great time at dinner, and then of course dessert. I held Isabella as I blew out the candles.

After we had cake for my birthday, the ladies here got a little crazy and started blasting music from the kitchen. Next thing you know many of us are in the kitchen dancing to Colombian music. Then after the kitchen "party", everything moved outside to the backyard. Now, I would love to say that the party continued on because it was my birthday, but that's not the case. Today is actually a holiday in Colombia and they are celebrating - La Inmaculada Concepción - The Immaculate Conception. For this holiday, they light candles outside to light a path for the conception of Mary. It was really neat to see them do this tradition again this year. I was able to see it in 2005 as well. After they lit the candles, then the party began. Everyone was out there dancing and having a great time. Then the next thing we knew, bottles of Rum were coming out and glasses were being passed around. The party was just getting started.

Nana and Isabella had fun too. But Isabella kept a low profile and just watched the party. She sat with Nana by the Christmas tree and watched everyone outside. She must have been having so much fun, that it wore her out. Next thing we knew, she was fast asleep.

Anyway, it was a fun day here. As you can tell the night was a blast and during the day Mom and I went to Crepes & Waffles again. It was just as good as the first time. If we have time, I'm sure we will go again before we leave. Tomorrow we're off to the local market again.

Well, I better get to bed. Lots of love to all of you.
Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Another Step Closer

2007-12-07T18:16:00.000-05:00

Today we found out we have finally completed a major step, and have been notified that our adoption documents have been approved and have entered the court system. So, beginning today, we start our wait for "sentencia". The courts close in Colombia for the holidays beginning Wednesday, Dec. 19th. However, like we said before, we should be home for the holidays, but we will be cutting it very close. Although, you never know what could happen, and we may get sentencia sooner than we expect. Either way, we are going to change our flights to get back home on 12/22, instead of 12/15. If for some reason we are able to get home sooner, than it is easier to change them back, then try to get seats on the plane closer to Christmas. Granted we are very anxious to get home, but we know that the best gift we could get for the holidays, is Isabella. So, until we hear sentencia, we are just going to keep shopping. haha Just kidding! Don't forget who is writing this. Someone who doesn't like to shop. :)

Speaking of shopping.... today we went out to look for emeralds. One of our contacts here took us to a mining factory and we looked around for some jewelry. We knew we wanted to do this, because Colombia is known for emeralds. We learned today that 65-70% of all emeralds are minded in Colombia. The place that we went to was very nice, but unfortunately they didn't have what we were looking for. The staff there said they could make it for us and we could come back next week. So, we'll see. It just depends on how things go next week. There is also someone coming to our hotel on Sunday to sell some jewlery as well. So, we will see what he has. But today was nice, it was great to get out of the hotel. I took some pictures from the mining factory and their replicas of what it looks like when the emeralds are mined.

Isabella had fun at the store today too. After all, you have to introduce a girl to jewlery at a young age! :) Just kidding Gary!

After our shopping excursion, we went out for burgers and beer. Since we didn't do it yesterday, we decided today was a beautiful day to do it. Tomorrow, we are going to go back to Crepes & Waffles. Remember my last post on that? If you read that, you know I can't wait to go back.

Hope each of you are well, and having fun getting ready for the holidays. Hopefully we'll get to see you all soon. Love to you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

One step forward, two steps back

2007-12-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

Well, things have changed a little. As of last nights post, I told you that we were in the last 10 days of the adoption process. Well, this afternoon we found out there was a mistake and/or some miscommunication somewhere, and that is not the case. Unfortunately, we are not in the last 10 days of the process. We are still waiting for our adoption documents to be approved, before they can be placed in the court system. So, this is a little disappointing, since we are approaching the time that the courts close for the holidays. However, having said that, it still looks like we should be able to make it home for the holidays. Probably what will happen is that we will just get home closer to the holidays than we expected. Obviously, this is not what we were hoping for, but we are staying positive. We know that each of these steps just brings us closer to getting Isabella home with us. So, we will just take it day by day, and before we know it, we'll be home and Sean will be hugging all over his baby sister.

Before we heard the latest news, we went out today to another part of town that had a lot of little shops that sold Christmas items. So, the pictures for today are from that area. It was very bright outside so the shots might be hard to see. But we had a good time. My main goal was to find some Christmas ornaments that were made in Colombia, and you wouldn't believe how hard that was! I stopped at many stores and every single one of them had plenty made in China, or imported from other places, but none that were made in Colombia. Can you believe that? But I finally found some cute ones that were hand-made by this store owner and his wife. I can't wait to bring them home to put on our tree. Granted, it might only be 2 days before Christmas when they get up there, but they will be up there! :)

Well, Nana and Isabella are already asleep. I better get to bed too. We have a fun day planned tomorrow to go to the burger and beer place again!

Lots of love to you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Our Little Beauty

2007-12-04T20:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, just like I promised....here are some pictures of Isabella. In the first two pictures she was playing with her kitty cat and her pink puppy. The last picture (which is kind of dark, sorry) is after she drank a bottle and just fell fast asleep. Do you think she was full? :)

Tomorrow we are going to go to a different part of Bogota to do some more shopping and to see some crafts. We will take lots of pictures.

Until then....lots of love to all of you.
Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Slowly Moving Towards Home

2007-12-04T13:44:00.001-05:00

I'm sorry that I didn't post yesterday. We didn't do very much during the day, as we decided to stay "home" and wait for some news about our adoption process. We found out early yesterday morning that our contact here was going to be calling the courts to see where our case stood. So, we didn't want to miss any phone calls or visits with new information, so that's why we stayed here. After waiting all day to get some info, we finally got some information last night at dinner. Our contact came to the hotel and told us that we are in the final 10 days for the adoption process. That means 10 BUSINESS days. Basically that means that the judge has up to 10 business days to sign our "sentencia". The judge can take all 10 days, or he can do it in less. It's just luck on how that works. Once the judge signs the sentencia, then I go to the courts and review the papers and then I sign it. Once that is complete, then we spend the next several days getting several documents in order to be able to leave the country with Isabella. These include: her birth certificate, passport photos, doctor visit at the U.S. Embassy, and getting her Visa to travel. All of these items take some time to do, so we won't be able to come home right after the sentencia. On average from what I have seen lately, it looks like it is taking people almost a week to get these done, since the U.S. Embassy doesn't do Visas on Fridays. So, you lose one business day for that. But having said all that, we are moving in the right direction and it leads us to believe (and feel pretty comfortable) that we will be home for the holidays!!! :)

So, now, we just sit and wait some more. Right now Isabella is waiting patiently as she takes a nap, and Nana is waiting patiently downstairs enjoying the quiet and reading a book.

I know there are not any pictures in this post, but I wanted to make sure to pass along the info. But I will take some pics of Isabella later and post them on here for you... because I know you really don't want to see me. :)

To those of you that are writing the comments on the blog and sending me emails with words of encouragement....thank you. It means alot. Although, we really do want to get home, we are really trying our best to enjoy our time here. After all, this is the country that our children were born in, and it will always be a very special place to us.

Lots of love to you all. I'll write more later.
Buenas Tardes from Colombia.

Preparing for Christmas

2007-12-02T21:07:00.000-05:00

Like I mentioned yesterday, we walked to the local market today. It is such a nice activity to do on Sundays. The majority of the hotel goes to do it, since it is such a nice trip. I was excited to go this week because I had ordered a few things last week from some of the booths. I told them I would come back this week to pick them up. I picked up several things, but my favorite is the Christmas stockings that I got for our family. The lady that made them was so nice and put all of our names on the stockings, and on the back, put the months and years that we adopted Sean and Isabella. They are going to be great additions to our holiday decorations, and will be even more special since they are from Colombia. So, the pictures for today are Isabella "posing" with the stockings. Hope you enjoy them.

Well, Isabella is already asleep and I am watching a holiday movie with Nana. So, this will be a short post for tonight. We hope all of you are well.

Lots of love to each of you.
Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Four-Months-Old Today!

2007-12-01T16:42:00.000-05:00

Isabella is four-months-old today! Wow! It's hard to believe that in just five more days, it will have been a month since we have had Isabella in our arms. She is truly a blessing and we are so thankful to have her in our lives.

Isabella had a fun day today with Mommy and Nana. We went out with some of our friends for lunch. We went to a place called Crepes & Waffles. We went there two years ago, but I don't remember it being anything special. It may have just been what I ordered. But everyone talks about this place and how fantastic it is, so we decided to check it out today. Last time we went to the location in the mall (Unicentro), but this time we decided to walk to another one. And boy was it worth the walk! You know how I took a picture of the wall at the burger place? Well, I had to take a picture of the wall at this place too. You'll see it above. And this picture does not do it any justice. This place had the most amazing desserts that I have ever seen. (And this comes from someone who doesn't really like desserts/sweets.) Wow! To give you an idea, I took a picture of what I ordered for dessert and what Nana got for dessert. Mine is the one with all the chocolate. It was swirled on top of some mini-waffles - that were the lightest waffles I had ever had. On top of that, the lunch was to die for too. Oh my gosh! I had a mushroom, cheese and artichoke crepe with a cream of mushroom wine sauce. It was absolutely amazing! Nana and my friend had something similar and said it was fantastic. They had a spinach, cheese and mushroom crepe - with the same type of sauce. Wow! If I would have known this place was as good as everyone kept saying, I would have gone weeks ago. I'm just sorry that we didn't go when Gary was here. But don't worry Gary, I ate plenty for you too! :)

On our way to lunch, we passed the cutest trees that were decorated up for the holidays. So, we had to stop and get pictures of the kids by them. We tried to get both trees in the shot, plus getting all the kids in there too. Unfortunately, we couldn't get close-ups of the kids and the trees, but hopefully you can see it good enough. I also had to get a shot of Isabella and her boys. The two boys are Nathan and Joseph. They are cutest boys and we have gotten to be friends with their parents. This couple adopted Nathan last year and came back this year to adopt Joseph. They are so much fun, and it has been great spending some time with them. Sean also had a good time playing with Nathan (the older one) when he was in Colombia.

Well, Nana and Isabella are napping now. They had to get their rest after our huge lunch. We were planning on getting pizza for dinner tonight, but we'll see if we can pull that off after the lunch we had. Either way, it was a good day. Tomorrow, we are heading out to the local market that we visit almost every Sunday. It is such a nice walk since the roads are closed, and we love to look at all of the booths at the market. After that, the weekend will be over, and hopefully we'll hear some news about our adoption on Monday. Please say some prayers that we hear some good new soon - that we got sentencia so we can come home. We miss everyone, and can't wait to see you!

Lots of love to all of you.
Buenas Tardes from Colombia

For My Big Brother Sean

2007-12-01T16:31:00.000-05:00

Dear Sean,

Mommy took some pictures of me today playing with the pink puppy that you gave me. I love my puppy so much, and I wanted to say thank you for getting it for me. I had a great time playing with it today. I can't wait until I get home so we can play with our puppies together. You are the best big brother. I love you and miss you very much. I will see you soon.

Love,

Izzie

Winter Playland

2007-11-30T16:49:00.000-05:00

Today we walked to Unicentro, the local mall. It was a pretty day, so it was a nice walk outside. We decided to go to the mall because one of the little girls in the hotel is having a birthday party on Sunday, and we needed to get her a gift. So, we walked around the mall and picked up a cute gift for her. It was also nice to see all of the Christmas decorations that were up, and the little Christmas playland that they had set up for the kids. It wasn't very crowded today since the kids are in school. While I was there, all I kept thinking was that Sean would have had a great time running around all over the place by himself. And for those of you that know him... getting into trouble there, I'm sure. :) Isabella on the other hand, slept through the entire mall visit. haha

After the mall, we just walked back to the hotel and had a nice lunch with our friends. The rest of the day has been pretty relaxing and we have just enjoyed playing with Isabella. Now we are just waiting for dinner.

I also wanted to comment on those of you that emailed me or commented on our blog about my post yesterday. I know when you first read my entry you thought I got some "shots" from the bar yesterday. Believe me, I did think about it. Wouldn't that have made my day pass faster yesterday? hahah But no, I refrained. Yes, it took some effort, but I figured enjoying a good glass of beer was good enough. I guess I'll have to have those shots when I get home... Or maybe I'll just have Gary make me one of his great margaritas!

Hope each of you are well.
Lots of love from Colombia.
Buenas Noches early...

The Wall

2007-11-29T22:27:00.000-05:00

We had a nice day today. We went out and had a great lunch with some of our friends here. We went to a burger place called, El Corral. Everyone has been telling us that they have fantastic burgers and beer! So, we decided to give it a try. Everyone was right, and the burgers were wonderful! They had so many to choose from and they were so big and delicious. In fact, by the time dinnertime came, we weren't even hungry. Also, as you can imagine, while we are at lunch, we had to sample the beer. If you look at the pics in this post, you will see how much alcohol this place had. I was able to get a couple shots of the place so you could see how huge "the wall" was. Needless to say, it was a fun trip out, and definitely helped to pass the day.

We also had a special guest come visit us today. The Director of the Colombian program for our adoption agency was in Colombia this week for a conference. He surprised us and another family by stopping by our hotel this evening. We had a nice visit with him and he had a great time getting to meet our children. It was a nice surprise for all of us.

Last but not least, I can't close out a post without having a picture of Isabella. She was already asleep when I took this picture, so the shot isn't that great. But you can still see her, and how peaceful she looks.

Tomorrow, we will be heading out to one of the malls and will do some shopping. One of the little girls in the hotel is having a birthday party this weekend, so we need to buy a gift for her.

As always, we hope all of you are doing well. For those of you that post comments, thank you so much. We love to read them and it really does help us feel in touch with all of you as we wait to come home.

Lots of love to each of you.
Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Babysitters on Duty

2007-11-28T21:13:00.000-05:00

Sorry we did not post yesterday. It has been a little crazy around the hotel the last two days. Unfortunately, one of the little boys here, had to go to the hospital last night. He is four-years-old and he was adopted from Colombia several years ago. His parent's are here adopting a baby brother for him. But the older boy had been having some stomach virus symptoms and was in a lot of pain last night, so his parents decided to take him to the ER. (His Mom is an ER nurse and she felt is was better to be safe than sorry.) So, this all happened last night, and I volunteered to watch their new baby for them here at the hotel, while they went to the hospital. Since Nana is here, I knew that she could take care of Isabella. And really, how can a grandmother pass up an opportunity to spoil and love on her grandchild? I also watched the little boy all day today, since his older brother was admitted to the hospital overnight. So, I spent time with Jonathan, and Nana spent time with Isabella. Except for the few times that the two were awake at the same time. And that's usually when Jonathan was making "flirty eyes" at Isabella. (Gary, don't read this. I know you said Isabella couldn't date until she was 35.) haha Thankfully, Jonathan's older brother came home early this evening and his is doing much better. All tests, X-rays, and labs came back fine. So, he is just on a limited diet until his stomach calms down.

However, prior to our eventful night last night, we had a nice day yesterday. We actually went out to breakfast with Jonathan's mom, and did some walking around the local area. We had a nice breakfast at a french type bakery, and enjoyed eating something other than our hotel food for breakfast. The restaraunt was nice, and had some cute window displays, which you can see in the photos.

Beyond that, it has been pretty quiet over here. Today is rained a lot, so it was perfect weather for just staying indoors and babysitting. Tomorrow we have plans with a couple friends to go to a local burger place for lunch. We have heard they have great burgers and beer!

Other than that, things are going well. We are still waiting to hear some news on our adoption process. We don't know anything yet, but we know that the courts are moving. Several of our friends are getting their "sentencia" (which for those of you that don't remember, that is technically our adoption decree). That starts the ball rolling for us to come home. So, hearing about the other sentencias is giving us hope that we will get ours soon.

In the meantime, we are enjoying Isabella. She is doing great, and it is so much fun watching her personality develop. In fact, she even posed for all of you in some of the pics. She had on a new outfit from Nana, that had ruffles on her butt. It was so cute....that she had to show it off.

Well, it's been a long day. I better get some sleep. We hope all of you are doing well. We miss everyone, and hope to be able to come home soon.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Shopping, Shopping, and More Shopping

2007-11-26T21:49:00.000-05:00

Since Nana has been here, we have done a ton of shopping. For those of you that know me, you know that I hate to shop. Yes, I'm one of the few women that does not enjoy shopping. But it has been nice to visit the markets, and local shops to get some things to take home. I have bought some things for Sean and Isabella and a couple things for me. It has been nice having my Mom here and we have been able get out the last couple days and help the time pass here. In fact, tomorrow, we will be going out to breakfast with one of the other mothers. She invited us to go to a tea shop for breakfast with her tomorrow. She said it is a great place and they have some wonderful teas, coffees and things to eat for breakfast. So, we're excited about doing that with her. After that, later in the afternoon, we are going to go out shopping again.

As you can see from a few of the pictures, Isabella is doing great. She is growing everyday, and eating very well. I have noticed that her cute little cheeks are even more full than when we first got her. But that is a good thing-- they are even better to kiss all over now. :)

The other two pictures are on here as a request from Gary. He thought you all would like to see it. It is a fruit that we have eaten here several times. Needless to say, it is a little "different" looking, and you have to get past the looks of it, to give it a taste. It is actually very good, and even picky eater, Sean, had some and enjoyed it. The fruit is called a GRANADILLA. If you're curious about it, here is a link that has some info on it: http://www.exoticlandfruits.com/granadilla.htm

Well, Isabella is already asleep, and I'm ready to turn in too.

Love you all. Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Kissy, Kissies Delivered

2007-11-24T20:25:00.000-05:00

Nana is here! She arrived this afternoon, and she has been enjoying every minute with Izzie. But the pictures for this entry of our blog are special for Grandmommy. Nana (Deborah's Mom) wanted to make sure that Grandmommy (Gary's Mom) knew that she delivered kissy, kissies for her. Nana told Izzie that Grandmommy would be able to give them to her herself as soon as we got home. After all, Grandmommy is waiting for us in Florida, and is watching "big brother", Sean, while Gary is at work.

We didn't do very much today, as most of the day was getting ready for Nana to arrive, and then we drove to the airport to pick Nana up. The rest of the afternoon Nana just enjoyed playing with Izzie, and I was of course, very happy to have some company. Tomorrow we will be going out for a walk again to a local market. We will be going with several other families again, so it should be fun.

We hope you enjoy the pictures from tonight. The lighting was a little bad, but they came out good enough to see the kisses! :) Well, Izzie and Nana are already in bed, so I better do the same. Izzie wakes up early.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2007-11-22T21:18:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope each of you had a special day with family and friends. Although, we are not home to celebrate Thanksgiving with our family and friends, it is still a very special day. We have so much to be thankful for this year. Since so many families are here in the hotel this year and not at home, we decided to create the best Thanksgiving we could have here. The staff was fantastic, and was already planning to make a meal for us. However, several of the families decided to jump in the kitchen and make some of their family favorites. We had a Colombian style turkey/ham, which I didn't care for too much. It was definitely different, and it had hard boiled eggs in it and raisins. I tried to get a picture of it, but my camera died. (And yes, Gary asked me, "didn't you charge it?") No, I didn't charge it. I'm having too much fun taking pictures that I completely forgot! :) See, this is why I need Gary around. But someone else took a picture of the meat, and I will post it on here as soon as I get it. But I did get shots of the other items. We had stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet apples, congri (black beans and rice), Colombian salad, and several pies. So, considering we weren't at home, the food was great! Also, in the pictures, you can see the main cook here, Juanita, and one of the other ladies. Normally, they are dressed in uniform, but I think since it was an American holiday, they decided to dress down and have fun with us! :)

Isabella also had a nice first Thanksgiving. She even wore a Thanksgiving outfit, that says "My First Thanksgiving". She received many compliments on it. It is actually a special outfit because our friends gave us this outfit, as a hand-me-down from their daughter who was adopted from Colombia. Thank you Santos family!!!! And Isabella sends a special thank you to Olivia!! She said she loved wearing her outfit!

Well, it has been a long day over here. It was definitely hard to be away from my family, but Isabella and I did fine and we had fun with our friends at the hotel. We hope each of you had a wonderful day!

Happy Thanksgiving again, and know that our family is so very thankful to have all of you in our lives.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Fiesta!

2007-11-21T17:55:00.000-05:00

Well, you know girls need to be rested and looking their best for a party. So, after Isabella and Mommy took a nap, we went to a Fiesta! As I mentioned before, a little girl here was celebrating her 1st birthday! We had a fun time, and of course took some pics for you. Some of the pics include everyone partying/dancing, the kids picking up candy and toys from the pinata, and Isabella just looking cute. She had a great time watching everyone, and she was even "excited" to get her first goody bag from a birthday party. It has some candy in it, so I think Mommy will have to help her eat it. :) Then, the last picture is special for Sean. One of the Dad's gave me this truck to bring home for Sean, because he knew that I was sad that Sean couldn't be there to experience the pinata. If you look closely, you can tell that the truck has some pictures on there from the "Cars" movie. And if you don't know by now, Sean is all about Cars right now. So, it will be a nice little surprise that Isabella and Mommy will bring home for him.

Love you all.
Adios from Colombia.

Can you smell the fresh bread?

2007-11-21T11:43:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Blogger would not let me post my pictures for some reason, so I decided to wait until today. So, if I'm organized enough, you might actually get two posts today, instead of one. :)

Yesterday, we went out for a walk with several of the families. We walked to a place called Pan Pay Ya! It is a little bakery that sells breads, pastries and some breakfast and lunch items. And boy was it worth the walk. The aroma that was coming out of the store was absolutely amazing! The bread smelled so fresh, that I honestly had the hardest time deciding what to get. So, finally another mother and I decided to split two items: a croissant with cheese, and then the best one... a croissant with chocolate inside! Oh my gosh, it was so good. I definitely think this is a place Isabella and I will have to bring Nana to.

In addition to the place being a bakery, they have a pretty big play area for the kids along with a ball pit. So, some of the kids played in that while the parent's were enjoying their snacks and coffee. It's such a shame that Sean wasn't still here, as I know he would have loved the play area and the ball pit. He played in one when he was here earlier at an ice-cream shop. But this one was bigger. As you can see from the photo, the kids really enjoyed it.

Well, later today there is going to be a party here. One of the little girls that has been adopted by an American couple, is having her 1st birthday party today. They are going to have cake and a pinata! It should be a lot of fun. I'm just sorry Sean isn't here to see the pinata, as I know he has not seen one before. Hmmm, maybe that's an idea for one of the combination parties that Sean and Isabella will have. :) For those of you that don't know, Sean and Isabella's birthdays are just one day apart. So, I need to start thinking of some great party ideas for them. :)

I'm sure all of you are getting ready for Thanksgiving. So, I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday. They obviously, don't celebrate Thanksgiving in Colombia, but we are going to do our best to create it here in our hotel. There are several American families here, so we are all chipping in to make certain Thanksgiving items - to make it feel more like home. It should be a lot of fun.

Well, it's almost lunchtime, so we need to go. I'll try to post again later tonight.

Love you all.
Adios from Colombia.

Just Playing

2007-11-19T22:05:00.000-05:00

We didn't do very much today. It was more of a be lazy and just play day. Everyone in the hotel was doing their own thing today, so we stayed here. It was actually nice to just have a day to be lazy and just play. Mommy and Isabella had a great time just goofing off, lazing around, and of course eating. :) Izzie also got a bath today in the hotel tub, but with a new little mat that helped with the bath. She's just so tiny that it is hard to give her a bath in the big infant tubs they have here. So, one of my friends who adopted from here suggested that we buy this foamy mat to help with the baths. It worked great and Izzie seemed to enjoy it. Well, as much as an infant enjoys a bath. Also, after getting her bath, I was able to brush her hair down nice and pretty. It usually stands up, and I admit I do think it is cute. But in today's pics, you get to see the nicely styled hair. :)

Tomorrow we might be going out with a few of the other mothers and their babies. So, we'll give you an update on that when we get back.
Lots of love to all of you. Buenas noches from Colombia.

What do girls do? Shop!

2007-11-18T18:39:00.000-05:00

Okay, so it was our first day without the guys, and what do we do? Shop! Now, Gary will think this is funny because he knows I hate to shop. But we are in Colombia and it has been fun looking at all of the things that are made here.

Since it is Sunday, they close the roads for a period of time during the day, so everyone goes out and walks, ride bikes, or jogs. It is great, and it is so nice to have the open space to get around. So, today, several of the families walked to a market in the courtyard of a local hotel. It was an up-scale type market and they had some beautiful things. I thought about buying a few things, but decided to think it over, since I know many of these people will be there next week. And of course, we have to wait for Nana to come so we can show her all of the great booths.

Well, the littlest Lee girl is asleep already, kind of like how she is in all of the pictures. I know the pictures aren't very exciting, but we thought we would show you what the market looked like. And I couldn't resist having one of my friends take some pictures of Isabella and I.

Well, I better get to bed myself. I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying the posts and pictures. Lots of love to each of you. And as usual, special hugs and kisses to Daddy and Sean.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

It's just the girls

2007-11-17T20:06:00.000-05:00

Well, this is the first post from just the girls. Today, Gary and Sean left Colombia. We were very sad to see them leave, and we will miss them a lot. But we know that they will be fine at home, and will get some extra TLC from Grandmommy. Isabella and I will be fine here, as well, and hopefully we will get to come home soon too.

After Gary and Sean left, it was a little quiet around here, and definitely lonely. But everyone here is so nice, and some of the other mothers (and a Grandma) invited Isabella and I to go to the mall with them this afternoon. It was great timing because we left a couple hours after Gary and Sean left the hotel. So, it didn't give us much time to sit around and notice that Sean's loud noises weren't in our room anymore. haha

We had a nice time shopping, and getting out of the hotel for a little while. Then after the shopping trip, two of the fathers were going to get Pizza Hut for their families. So, they were extremely nice and offered to bring me some pizza to. So, they brought back a personal pan pizza for us to have for dinner tonight in our room. So, as you can see from one of the pics in this post, Izzie was shocked that we were giving away the secrets of what girls do when they get to hang out together without the guys. That's right, hang out in comfy clothing, lay on the bed, and eat pizza! Oh, and don't forget the Dunkin' Donut that we bought at the mall. I mean after all, girls gotta have their sweets too!

Some of the other pics you see are from our trip to the park yesterday. We had a great time, and it was really nice getting to spend some time with the other families. Sean had a great time running around the park, and so did some of the other older kids. In addition to that, there was a school there with a lot of children between the ages of 8-11 years old. They were so cute, and kept coming up to all of us and staring at us. Sometimes, they would play some games and we think "show off" to us. It was interesting for them because they had never seen Americans before. It was really neat interacting with them, and I did my best speaking some Spanish to them. They really enjoyed that, in between them trying to say a few words in English to us. We all loved it, and it really made our trip to the park a great time.

Well, I think that's it for now. The littlest Lee girl is already asleep for the night. It must have been all of that pizza. :) Hope you all enjoy the pics, and we'll do our best to continue to take more even though the boys are gone.

Love to you all. And special hugs and kisses to Daddy and Sean. (Hopefully they will see this post tonight or tomorrow)

Buenas noches from Colombia.

Preparing for "shift" change

2007-11-15T19:46:00.000-05:00

Today we relaxed at the hotel. Sean had a little bit of a fever yesterday evening and this morning. So, we decided to take it easy. Thankfully, by this afternoon Sean was fine, so we think he was just overtired or possibly fighting a cold. Either way, we thought it was best just to have a relaxing day for him to rest. So, we just played at the hotel and watched TV. At some point both of the kids were napping at the same time (Woohoo! That never happens!), so I went out to the local baby store to pick up something we needed and Gary stayed "home" to babysitt. The store is very close and was an easy walk. Although, it was a little strange for me to be out without both of the kids and all of the "gear". Oh, and to be out without Gary too. haha But it was a nice walk and it was such a pretty day to get some fresh air. We are trying to run any errands and things that need to be done so that I have everything I need before Gary and Sean leave.

For those of you that don't know, Gary and Sean will be leaving Colombia on Saturday. Gary needs to get back to work and he will bring Sean home, as it would be pretty tough to leave Sean here for me to watch, along with Isabella in the hotel here. So, thankfully Gary's Mom (a.k.a.- Grandmommy) is coming down from Virginia and will be going to Jacksonville to watch Sean for us, while Gary is at work. (Thank you SO much Grandmommy!) Then next Saturday (the Saturday after Thanksgiving) my Mom will be coming to Colombia to stay here with Isabella and me! Yeah! She will be staying with us until we come home. So, after being here alone for a week, it will be nice to have some company. And of course, I know Isabella will be excited to meet Nana.

Since Gary and Sean are leaving Saturday, we wanted to make sure we did something else before they left. So, tomorrow we will be going out with about 6-7 other families to a large park that is about 20 minutes away. It sounds like it is a nice place and it will have a lot of space for the older kids to run around and play. The woman that cooks the food here will be making sandwiches for all of us to take to the park. So, we will be able to have a picnic while we're out there. I'm sure it will be a nice time, and we'll make sure to take some pics of all of the kids.

Well, that's latest from Colombia. We hope each of you are doing well and that you are enjoying the posts and the pics. We love you all.

Buenas noches from Colombia.

Our First Step Toward Coming Home

2007-11-13T15:55:00.000-05:00

Today we had our integration meeting with the adoption officials. We were a little bit nervous about going to the meeting since one of the families in our hotel had a difficult meeting with them. We were hoping that the day that they had their meeting was just a day that the person was having a "bad day". So, we just did our best to go into the meeting positive and hope for the best. Thankfully everything went very well! Gary was teasing me after the meeting because I was planning on speaking some Spanish during the meeting, which sometimes can help in these meeting and can be viewed very positively. But heading into the meeting, I was a little nervous because I was scared that I wouldn't be able to understand them or say what I wanted to. So, after the meeting was over, Gary teased me because he said I went in there and it all my Spanish just came pouring out. So, I guess I really do know more Spanish than I think I do. I must have paid attention to my grandmother when she was speaking it in our house. :) Sean also impressed the lady at the meeting and smiled very sweetly and gave her a gift from us. She thought it was so cute. And Isabella just sat there sleeping the entire time. The lady thought that was cute too. So, I don't know which helped us more.... Gary and I? Or our two adorable kids? :)

After the meeting with the adoption official, we then went back to Isabella and Sean's "casa privada" to get a tour. It was nice to see everything again, and it looked about the same as how things were two years ago. However, some things had changed and they have more programs and facilities in place now. This organization provides resources for pregnant women, children in crisis situations and abandoned children. It really is so nice to see all of the services that are available for the women and children.

Once we were done with all of our adoption responsibilties for the day, we came back to the hotel and had some play time. The kids played and we watched them. It has been very special for us to have Sean back in Colombia with us, and also to have him here to meet and play with his sister. We also think the adoption officials and staff at the casa privada were thrilled to see one of their children growing up so well.

Well, it was a late night over here. We stayed up to watch a movie tonight with some of the other families. The movie is called "Las Hijas" and it is about three girls who were adopted from Colombia around 20 years ago. It follows them for a little bit and highlights their thoughts about adoption. It was very good. Gary, however, stayed in the other room with a couple of the other other Dads and some of the older kids to watch Disney's "Cars" movie. So, after our busy day, we are ready for bed.

Lots of love to you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Venturing Out

2007-11-13T00:47:00.000-05:00

Hola from Colombia! We're sorry we didn't post yesterday. We had a great day out on our sightseeing trip, but when we got back to the hotel we couldn't get online due to internet issues. So, please bear with us with the sporadic posts. Similarly, if you have emailed us and we have not written you back, please know we will do that as soon as we can.

As we mentioned in our last post, we said we were going to go sightseeing yesterday. We did, and we had the best time! It was so good for all of us to get out of the hotel and the city. We drove out to the country and saw the Salt Cathedral and then walked around the area for a little bit. Then after that, our driver took us to a nice restaurant for lunch. It was in the next town over from the cathedral and it was a nice change from eating at our hotel all the time. The tour of the Cathedral was about an hour and we both really enjoyed it. We also think Sean liked it too. It was underground and dark and we really interesting. Sean was in the stroller about half the time and then he wanted to walk. So, he definitely got his exercise yesterday. On the other hand, Isabella slept the entire time. I held her in the Baby Bjorn and she was asleep from the time we got there until the time we got back to the hotel. I guess she must have liked the Bjorn. haha But overall, yesterday was a great day and did us all a world of good to get of here for a little bit. We also think one of the most exciting things for Sean was sitting in the backseat of the car without having to sit in a carseat. Yes, you heard that right. The kids don't sit in carseats here. So, Sean felt free.... :) Since we had such a good time, I'm sure we will try to do another tour or something before Gary leaves next weekend.

Today we stayed at the hotel most of the day. We went out to the grocery store for a little bit to pick up something we needed. Then we played here at the hotel for a little bit. However, Sean and Mommy had some special time outside of the hotel together. We went for a walk to an ice-cream shop with another Mom and her eldest son. It was "Mommy and big brother" time. We thought both Sean and his friend needed some time alone with Mommy so it was nice to bring them out. They had a good time and were able to play on a little jungle gym and have some fun without their baby sister or brother. After all of that fun, Sean was exhausted (since he didn't get a nap today) and he just fell fast asleep on my lap at dinner. So, as I type this, he is asleep in his bed in his clothes that he wore today. haha Hey, it was worth it to have him finally get some sleep.

So, on that note, I will sign off and enjoy the quiet. It is time to feed Isabella and then she will be asleep too. Tomorrow we have some adoption things we will be doing. We have our "integration meeting" or it is also called our bonding meeting with the Colombian adoption officials. We have a meeting with them and they check in with us to see how the bonding is going and if our family is doing well. Once we have that meeting, then our paperwork goes into the court system and our wait officially begins. Also, after our integration meeting, we will be going back to Isabella's orphanage (casa privada), also the same one as Sean's, and we will get a tour there. We did the same thing with Sean's adoption, but it will be nice to hear how things have changed in the last two years. Hopefully when we get back, we will be able to get online and give you all an update.

As always, thank you so much for all of your comments. They mean a lot to us.

Buenas noches from Colombia.

Play time with the kids

2007-11-10T21:30:00.000-05:00

Hola from Colombia! We're sorry we didn't post yesterday, but it turned into a busy day. And then most of today we have been unable to get online. So, what have we been up to since we last posted?

Daddy and Isabella had a nice day together yesterday. We decided it was time (per our last post) to make sure Mommy and Sean had some special time together. So, in doing that, Daddy and Izzie got to play and hang out. As you can see from the pics, Daddy got some nice shots of Isabella. She has the most beautiful smile and Gary was so happy to be able to capture it.

Mommy and Sean had a fun day yesterday too. We spent a lot of time together and it seemed to help with the jealousy a little bit. As you can see from the pic (that Gary took while I was sleeping - sneaky isn't it?) Sean and Mommy were worn out after playing basketball, tickling attacks and eating popcorn. We both needed a nap! :) Okay, it was because Sean kept us up the night before. Yes, it was our two-year-old and not the three-month-old that kept us up. hahah

Today we didn't do very much. We went out grocery shopping again, and got caught in the rain AGAIN on the way home. Do you see a trend starting here? The same thing happened to us last time. But this time it was with 2 kids, instead of one. haha We also spent some time in the hotel and Sean played with some of the other kids here. So, he was able to burn off some steam.

Tomorrow, we will be going on a tour. We are pretty excited. It will be nice to get out of the hotel and see some of Colombia. Our favorite driver is coming to get us tomorrow morning, and we expect to be gone a good part of the day. But if you want to see where we are going, here is the link: http://www.catedraldesal.gov.co/ We are going to visit the Salt Cathedral that we have heard about from many people, so we are looking forward to it.

Well, both kids are asleep, so I better go take advantage of some quiet time. We hope each of you are doing well, and we miss you all. We'll post more tomorrow. Thanks again for all of your comments. We love them.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

It's a Daddy Day

2007-11-08T23:04:00.000-05:00

Well today was a Daddy Day. We don't mean that Isabella spent her time with Daddy. We mean that Sean wanted nothing to do with Mommy today. Jealousy really reared its ugly head today. Poor little guy didn't want anything from Mommy and Mommy couldn't do anything right. We knew to expect this, but it always makes it worse when you have a two-year-old throwing tantrums in a hotel room. But other than Sean having a rough day (achem, I mean Mommy & Daddy) having a rough day with him... Sean is being absolutely wonderful with Isabella. In fact, he was so excited today when she got up from one of her naps. He went straight over to play with her. So, it has been nice watching them play and interact with one another. We just need to work on how he is displaying his jealousy and displeasure with Mommy and Daddy. :) But based on today, we are working towards having some special time for Mommy and Sean tomorrow. Hopefully that will help. Well, I think that's it. Sorry this post is so short today, but we are exhausted from our temper tantrum filled day. ;) We'll post more tomorrow. We hope you enjoy the pics.

Lots of love to you all. And thank you for all of your comments. We love reading them.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

Our Children

2007-11-07T21:55:00.000-05:00

Today we spent the day at the hotel enjoying our children. It was fun watching them play and get to know one another. Sean has been great with Isabella and is learning to be gentle with her. He is adjusting just like any other child, and is having his moments of jealousy. But we know that is normal, and will continue until they are adults. haha

We tried to get some good shots of them for you today. A couple are of them playing, and then some of them sleeping. And YES we did get both kids to nap at the same time today. It was great! Although, we know that is a rare occurence. You will also see in one of the pics, the one we promised from yesterday. It is the one where Sean fell asleep eating a snack. But no, he wasn't tired, and he didn't need a nap. (According to him anyway. :)

We hope you all enjoy the pictures. We love sharing this time with you, and we hope you are enjoying the updates. Lots of love to you all.

Buenas Noches from Colombia.

The kids playing

Isabella talking & smiling

Isabella napping

Sean's power nap - after snacking on potato chips. See them on the floor? Oh, and don't forget to look for the one hiding in between his knees. haha And no, we're not kidding. We did find one there.

The Lee Family - now plus one

2007-11-06T15:07:00.000-05:00

Allright, we know you all have been waiting. Here are some pics from our morning. Isabella is absolutely gorgeous, and Sean is a proud big brother. We'll write more later about how things went, but overall it went very well! Sean did great, although, there was one moment of him not liking the idea of Daddy holding Isabella. ;)
But he has been showing off his baby sister to his friends here at the hotel. It's pretty cute. He must be enjoying part of it, and has worn himself out....since he just fell asleep on the floor eating a snack. :) We'll post a pic of that later.

Love you all.
The New Lee Family
Gary, Deborah, Sean and Isabella

Getting Ready for Isabella

2007-11-05T21:19:00.000-05:00

Today we spent the morning with some of the other families in the hotel. We all went out for a walk together and did a little sight-seeing. Some of the streets were closed today (for cars) and open for walkers and cyclists. They were closed since it was a holiday. So, it was nice to get outside and walk around and visit some things in town. We walked to a local flea market, a mall, and then stopped for some good ol' U.S. Pizza Hut! The Pizza Hut even had a play area for the kids, so it was great for Sean and some of the older kids.

After walking around with the other families, we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some things for our hotel room. After all, you have to have snacks in your room. Sean was thrilled of course because we picked up some goodies for him. We also experienced the change in weather here in Colombia. During our walk earlier in the day, it was beautiful and sunny outside. We were even a little warm and thought maybe we should have worn some short sleeved shirts. But by the time we came back outside after our grocery shopping, it was pouring rain! Needless to say, it was an interesting time trying to carry Sean, the groceries, the diaper bag, and push the stroller (that Sean didn't want to sit in). By the time we got back to the hotel, we were soaked. But we had a good time laughing about it on the way "home".

After that, we spent some time in our room relaxing and waiting for dinner. Sean and Daddy put together Isabella's (or as Sean calls her... Izzie's) bouncy seat. As you can see from the picture, Sean was very involved in the "assembly" process (haha) and was excited to help Daddy. It must have been hard work, because he is now sound alseep next to me. Which is kind of funny, because in the last few minutes we began having a very loud rain/hail storm here. In fact, as I was typing this, we just found out that one of the families is having to change rooms because the room they are in flooded! But all of the ladies that work here are great, and are doing everything possible to make this family comfortable. It really is a home away from home.

Well, we better get to sleep. Tomorrow is the big day! The last that we heard is that we need to be at the "casa privada" (private home) to pick up Isabella at 10:00 am. So, it will be an exciting morning over here! We will do our best to post pictures tomorrow at some point. We know you all are excited too, so we will make every effort to do that.

Love you all. Buenas noches.

Home Away From Home

2007-11-04T20:39:00.000-05:00

We're here! After driving from Jacksonville to West Palm Beach and then to Miami, we've made it to Bogota, Colombia! We had a nice flight, and thankfully Sean did great on the plane. Everything went well at immigration and before we knew it, we were on our way to meet our driver. We even had our favorite driver pick us up at the airport. It was great to see him, since he took such great care of us two years ago when we adopted Sean.

We got to our hotel earlier this afternoon, and it was great to see the hotel was just how we remembered it. We have met some very nice families, and there are several here from the U.S. We have also met some families from Finland, France and Puerto Rico. Everyone seems very friendly, and we all had a great time at dinner watching some of the older kids run around (including Sean).

Well, we better get Sean ready for bed. He's a tired little boy...or should we say overtired. :) Tomorrow we will do some walking around and some grocery shopping, so we can have some of our favorite snacks in our room. Then on Tuesday we get Isabella!

Love you all. Buenas Noches.

What happens now?

2007-11-01T14:41:00.000-04:00

Well, the time is finally here for us to leave our home. We are officially get on our way. So, we thought we would give you all a quick overview of our timeline:

Today: Run around and make sure we have everything we need.
Tonight: Drive to Deborah's parent's house in West Palm Beach.
Friday: Drive to Miami to get our visas.
Saturday: Run around again and make sure again, that we have everything we need. Oh, and maybe get a few minutes of rest??
Sunday: Fly to Colombia!
Monday: Get settled in Colombia and get our last few hours of sleep.....okay, only if Sean lets us.
Tuesday: Get Isabella!

So, stay tuned. We can't wait to share it all with you.

We love you all.

What is her name?

2007-10-29T22:17:00.000-04:00

We know everyone will be asking.... so without further delay...

Our new little daughter's name is Isabella.

And her big brother, Sean, is already running around the house and getting excited to go on an airplane so we can go get "Izzie". It's so cute watching him.

Love,
Gary, Deborah and Sean

We got the call!

2007-10-27T20:28:00.000-04:00

By now, most of you have heard that we were adopting again from Colombia. We had such a wonderful experience when we adopted Sean, and have had a blast having him home with us. So, we thought it would be neat to go back and get Sean a sibling.

Well, after waiting, and waiting, we finally got "the call"! On Thursday morning at 10:30 am, we recieved a referral for a two-month-old little girl. She is absolutely gorgeous and we can't wait to get down to Colombia to get her. Just like last time, they want us down there as soon as possible, since we are approaching the holidays and the courts will be closing soon. So, as it stands now, we are quickly getting our things together and we expect to be on the plane to Colombia on Sunday, Nov. 4! So, as you can imagine, we are running around like crazy just trying to get it all together.

During our adoption of Sean, we created a blog and everyone seemed to really enjoy reading it and posting to it. So, we thought we would do that again so all of you could follow our journey. We hope you will comment on our blog, like you did last time, and it was very nice to hear from everyone while we were so far away.

So, check back often and we will post updates. We hope you enjoy the ride as we prepare for another adventure.

Gary, Deborah, and Sean