Team Kirkland, Silas

Sept 23-- Coming home!!!

2009-11-02T19:02:00.000-08:00

Our sweet little ones waiting in the airport for our flight after a very long morning. What happy little souls!

Lucia and Silas traveled very well. It was a nice flight.

Keva, we love the backpack for Kaylee. What a treat for Lucia!

When we got home, we were shocked to find that our dear friends from church did a room make-over for Silas. Due to the upstairs bathroom leaking and ruining his closet right before we left for Colombia, we were not able to create a baby room. Over the nearly 7 weeks of being gone, we arranged to have the bathroom remodeled. But we never expected that Silas's room would be made over! We didn't have anything set up for him. Not even a crib. And the Lord blessed us so through our friends who painted, decorated, and made the room look like the best in our house. We are so grateful for each of you!!!!

Sept 22--Last full day

2009-11-02T18:38:00.000-08:00

Our last breakfast with our Halifax family. It was bitter sweat. We tried our best to soak in every moment of it!

We will always treasure our memories in this little cafeteria.

Our dear friends, Peir, Randi, and Nicoli before they leave for Norway.

Pablo and Gloria with Lucia. Oh how Lucia will miss playing with Pablo!

Great friends, Lucia and Pablo!

Lucia with her Colombia shirt.

Little Nicoli before leaving for Norway.

We will forever miss this sweet family with whom we shared life with during our time in Bogota. It was sad to see them leave and solidified even more that we will be leaving tomorrow morning.

Sept 21--What is in a name?...Silas Jacob

2009-09-21T17:27:00.001-07:00

SILAS JACOB KIRKLAND

What is in a name? You may have wondered why we chose the name Silas Jacob. The name Jacob comes from his birth name, Jacobo. We have kept it to honor his given name. We were drawn to the name Silas, not only because we liked the way it sounded, but also because of the Biblical Silas we read about in Scripture.

Silas is named after an incredible individual who lived during New Testament times; a man who helped spread the gospel following Jesus’ resurrection. You can read about the Biblical Silas, also referred to as Silvanus (we didn’t dig the name Sylvester!), in the New Testament, mainly in Acts. Our favorite story of him is in Acts 16:16-40. You will discover he is a man of God. A man who put his life on the line for the sake of the gospel. We learn through Scripture that Silas was a prophet and evangelist who had attributes such as prayer, worship, obedience, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and the ability to teach. From these stories, we will encourage our Silas through the life of the man from whom he got his name.

These qualities of the Biblical Silas led us to other Scriptures which we used to compose a blessing statement to pray over Silas nightly as we lay him down to sleep. We feel strongly that God has called us to daily bless our children (no we are not perfect at this, but we do our best!) And we want to share Silas’ blessing with you, our family and friends, so you will know the prayer we ask the Lord to bless. His blessing is derived from Acts 16, Ps 113, Prov 3, and Ps 25. May the Lord bring to fruition our prayer for our son!

“Silas, you are a servant of the Lord. Praise the name of the Lord everywhere, from east to west, for the Lord is high above the nations. Put your hope in Him, Silas. Seek God’s will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. Obey His word and He will lead you with unfailing love and faithfulness.”

To help capture the essence of this blessing, we are giving him the word picture of a “compass”. Throughout the years, we will buy little compasses at pivotal points in his life to remind him of his blessing and to bring its meaning to life.

LUCIA PROVIDENCE DIANA KIRKLANND

If you are interested, this is what Lucia's name means. Providence is given as a middle name to draw attention to our providential God who brought us together as a forever family and who knows every day before it happens. Diana is to honor her birth name. We chose Lucia because we liked it and also because of its meaning: "light." We wrote the following blessing for Lucia when we adopted her four years ago, and we pray it over her nightly. It comes from Matthew 5:14-16. It is so sweet as she is learning more about what her blessing means. Her word picture is “light” (candles, flashlights, glow in the dark stars, etc). And as we look at our sweet daughter, we truly find that the Lord is bringing her blessing to life, for in so many ways Lucia shines!

“Lucia, you are a light to the world. Like a city on mountain shining its light for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket, but put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, Lucia, let your kind actions shine out so that all may see and praise your heavenly Father.”

Sept 21--Embassy

2009-09-21T17:12:00.001-07:00

Our little light got a booboo today at the Embassy as she and Brian were racing to get a gatorade. But she is okay! We left for the Embassy at 7:30 this morning and got home around 11:00ish. There were some paperwork glitches (more frustrations), but we believe we have it all sorted out and we should get our visa tomorrow at 3:30. Then we will call Delta to book our flight home (which we hope will be Wednesday morning at 9:30--direct flight to Atlanta!!!!)

Adios Juan! We are beginning to walk around and tell special places "goodbye." Today, Lucia, Silas and I walked together (Brian had to work). We paused at one point, and I told Lucia to just soak it all in...the sights, the smells, the feelings. She was so sweet, for she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I will soak it into my heart. I'll keep it there."

We went to Juan Valdez to say goodbye to this special place that holds many wonderful memories for us (our girl time). We enjoyed our last brownie caliente and granazada (like a frapp).

After our time here, we walked back to the hotel saying "bye" to various special places. I got teary eyed with tears of joy and sadness as we were walking. This really has been an incredible experience for our family. Especially for Lucia, she has matured in so many ways while being here.

Playing in the courtyard with Per and Nicolai.

Inez surprised us by bringing Obleas to eat. She let me practice making them since we are bringing back 50 to share with our family and friends!

Randi and Nicolai enjoying obleas.

Per and Randi gave us these socks that Per's mother knitted. They are nice, comfy and warm!

Sept 20--Hacienda La Margarita

2009-09-20T17:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Haciendia Margarita today with our friends, Arnstein and Evelyn. Jorge Rico (same tour guide who took us to the coffee planation) took us in his mini-tour van about 40 minutes away from our hotel to enjoy this "horse restaurant."

It was a fun ride in Jorge's mini-bus. The girls especially enjoyed it, giggling and singing much of the way.

This "horse restaurant" is located on a farm previously owned by two drug lords, who are now in jail. Their sister owns the place now. We met her and she was kind and welcomed us. The security here was very tight. They checked our diaper bags, while asking us "do you have guns." With this said, it was a family friendly place and we highly recommend it!

Future cowgirl!

There were farm animals everywhere! We were able to walk up and pet them as much as we liked. And there were many baby animals.

Valentina and Lucia

Petting the animals.

This is the entrance of the restaurant. We had a table to the left.

While we ate lunch, we enjoyed live entertainment.

Mariachi band.

Horse show during our lunch! This was a riot!!! Horses danced down the middle of the restaurant. It was terrific! Later, after the horses, they brought all the baby animals in for the children to come and pet. So in the middle of the restaurant were children and baby goats, cows, horses, sheep. And also poop and pee. Oh yeah, and the occasional waiter delivering cheesecake to a guest. It was a hoot! We loved it!

This guy appeared to be the "star" horse performer. He had his horse walking on its two back legs down the middle. It was amazing.

Okay, so how weird is this... that same horse performer came up to us b/c he knew Jorge. He began talking to us in English. Come to find out, he lived 24 years in Florence, S.C. Really, how small is the world!

Before we left, Lucia and Valentina road horses for a long while. She said this was her favorite part of the day.

So, we had a terrific day and one we will not soon forget. Now, off to bed (while watching the Emmy's) b/c we leave at 7:30 am for the Embassy. Hopefully we will get Silas's visa with no problem.

Sept 19--Clemson and....soccer?

2009-09-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

"Nicolai is so cute." We hear this about 100 times a day from Lucia! She absolutely adores him.

Dressed for the game. Go Tigers!!!

Yeah! Clemson beat BC, and it only took 5 hours!

The guys headed off to a soccer game around 4:00. With Brian are Per and Arnstein. Both are from Norway.

Santa Fe (Bogota) vs. Junior (Barranquilla)

The game lasted until about 8:15. Brian enjoyed the game and may just become an avid soccer fan! He liked the enthusiasm of the fans the best. He says his favorite chant, which apparently lasted the entire game, was "Junior es tu papa."

Sept 18--Our last Friday

2009-09-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

This morning, Trisha and Lucia enjoyed "girls time" by walking in the city to get some Colombian flag ribbon. We then enjoyed Dunkin' Donuts and an oblea. It was nice to spend time together, just the two of us.

We are really going to miss Bogota, and we are trying to soak in everything during our last days here in this wonderful country. I asked Lucia what she was going to miss the most and she said, "my friends." I agree. We have been so richly blessed with the friendships we have made. We will also miss the city and the places that have grown special to us, for they hold so many treasured memories.

Hanging out in our hotel room.

Brian and Lucia painting in the play room.

Can you tell what is on their minds?

Brian = football. Lucia = princess.

Tonight we went out for dinner at Crepes and Waffles with Inez and Maria. It was nice to get dressed up for a special dinner. We tried to get a family photo since we were dressed nicely.

Lucia and her ice cream mouse.

Chocolate fondue. It was delicious! This will remain a special memory, spending time with Inez and Maria at Crepes and Waffles and walking through Parque 93 at night.

Sept 17--Passport and Embassy Doctor

2009-09-17T18:34:00.000-07:00

This morning, Brian left with Helena to get Silas's new birth certificate. They then came and got us to go get Silas's passport.

On the way to get Silas's passport. Do you think it safer to have Silas sitting on my lap in my arms or snapped into the Baby Bjorn? Hmmm. Today, we went with the Baby Bjorn. Brian holds onto Lucia. We figure since she is bigger she needs his strength.

Getting Silas's passport picture. Notice the Simpsons, ha ha. Oh, another funny thing. At night, we are watching Latin American Idol. The judges personalities and looks are just like Randy, Paula, and Simon. They even sit in the same order. We can't escape U.S. influence! Another example is when we were touring scenic Monserrat up in the mountains (see previous post), the souvenir shop was playing a Miley Cyrus video.

Waiting to get our passport. Pictured is Helena, our facilitator.

This is the Embassy doctor who performed Silas's required physical and immunization check, which is the last step before obtaining Silas's American visa. We have this same picture of this doctor holding Lucia. The only reason we can't leave this Saturday is that the U.S. Embassy does not process visas on Fridays. We tried begging them on the phone for an hour and sent emails asking them to make an exception. They wouldn't budge. Having to wait until Monday cost us $2000 b/c of the charge of changing our plane ticket, as well as the added hotel expense. Brian also went to the Delta counter at the airport and explained our circumstance and asked for grace for the penalty fee. Delta had no such grace to spare. We are now thinking that we should have called the Embassy on Tuesday, but we didn't know. One day. We missed it by one day. Huge feelings of frustrations.

Flower stand at the park near our hotel (taken from the cab). When we arrived back to the hotel, it was party time (the hotel had a band), which honestly was a little hard b/c we were feeling frustrated with the Embassy. I felt like crying b/c I had my hopes us that maybe we would travel Saturday. But we soon were able to accept our reality and settle into enjoying the wonderful celebration of getting to this point in the process. Adoption truly is a blessing and looking in our sweet son eyes grounds us. See the next post to read more about the party at the Halifax!

Sept 17--Party at the Halifax!!!

2009-09-17T18:03:00.002-07:00

This evening, Inez arranged for a party at the hotel. A band came and played Colombian music and we danced, danced, and danced. Colombians love to dance. They had a special drink called Agua ____ (which means boiling sugar cane). They said the lulu juice made it taste great. I inquired about lulu juice and found it was a fruit. Eagerly I took a great sip... and nearly spit it out! It tasted like a very strong cocktail and I was not expecting it.

We enjoyed a great evening with the other families and hotel staff. It will be a treasured memory of celebrating our sentencia.

Dancing is in Colombian blood, so we hear. Silas and Lucia had great fun. Silas smiled as we danced and it seemed he had a great time, even though the music was very loud.

Brian and Lucia had great fun dancing. At one point when Brian and I danced, Lucia became very jealous. She wanted Brian all to herself. Made us smile.

Me and Silas "dancing".

Mama's and our little boys (Randi & Nicoli; Evelyn & Peder Dilon)

Hermane and Blanca--they stole the show...great dancers!

Pablo and Inez. Pablo is one of Lucia's favorite grown-up friends here. They goof around together all day.

Blanca pulled Brian out onto the dance floor. It was great fun to watch! This is proof that Brian does dance!

More dancing.

A song came on and all the Colombian staff grabbed candles and held them in the air as they danced. Really neat. Another dance involved handkerchiefs. We had a great time.

Sept 16-- SENTENCIA!!!!!!

2009-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Great news came our way today at 10:50 am. Helena called and said, "Tell Brian I am on the way to get him. We must sign the sentencia by 12:00". We couldn't believe it. We (all the families here) were in the family room and together we all started jumping up and down with happiness. We got many hugs from our friends and the staff at the hotel. Oddly enough, I (Trisha) also felt sadness, even while we were celebrating b/c I began to realize that soon we will be leaving this wonderful place. Truly, this is such a special time in our lives and such a beautiful country. And we have very dear friends. It will be bittersweet to leave.

We were shocked at how quickly the sentencia had to be done. There is usually a days notice. Fortunately, only Brian had to go with the passports and the money to give his signature. He and Helena ran errands until 3:00.

An amazing thing happened while he was in line at the courthouse. Behind him in line was our lawyer, Gertrudis from Cali who helped us adopt Lucia!!! We have tried to contact her, but have been unable to. So we feel it is God's grace in allowing Brian to bump into her in a city of 8 million. She now lives in Bogota. We hope to spend time with her before we leave.

While Brian worked on the sentencia, I stayed back with the kids and all of the families went out for lunch. Then the kids played all day. And then around 5:00, another family got their sentencia. More dancing and jumping with happiness.

What lies ahead of us is some pretty busy days of new birth certificate, visa, passport, embassy doctor, etc. So we are definitely on the home stretch. We are aiming to leave on 9/23 or 9/24 and can't wait to be home (and to see our new bathroom...long story, but our bathroom pipes broke the week before we left and ruined the downstairs closet. The bathroom needed to be completely remodeled, and the closet. So that will be fun to come home to!)

Stay tuned!

Lucia and Valentina blowing bubbles.

The kids played in Lucia's tent. Much fun.

Nicoli and Peder Dilon.

Out for lunch at La Taqueria. Both families are from Norway.

Pierre and Nicoli.

Sept 15--Saying goodbye to friends

2009-09-15T18:06:00.000-07:00

Today, a wonderful family left for home. We were quite sad to see them leave, for it is amazing how quickly friendships form here. Yet, we are so happy for them that they are on their way back home to Holland.

Lucia with friends. Manuela, Valentina, Peder Dilon, and Michel. She will greatly miss playing with Manuela and Michel. They have been terrific friends.

Lucia and Valentina, who will likely be here with us for the remainder of our time. They have enjoyed playing with a stuffed puppy that they throw up and down the stairs.

Silas is sporting the Radius look. We like the mohawk and may give it a try tomorrow. Silas ate well today, so avocados worked well for us!

Sept 14--First Food!!!

2009-09-15T06:17:00.001-07:00

This morning, Silas took his first "bites" of food. It actually went pretty well! He dined on mashed avocado. We were considering beginning with Rice Cereal, but in Colombia all baby products have sugar in them. So it is not uncommon for people to make their own baby food if they are concerned about the sugar. They even put sugar in the milk.

Sept 13--Happy 5 months!

2009-09-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Today has been a fun-filled day...

On Sundays, the chefs make a special breakfast of french toast or pancakes. Here are our new coffee mugs that we bought at the craft shop yesterday. We are already creating many wonderful memories together with them. (Lucia loves coffee).

This is the Colombian doll Lucia picked out at the craft shop. She is wearing a traditional Colombian dress.

We went to church this morning at United Church of Bogota. It is nice b/c we are getting to know folks there and they are recognizing us. Again, we had a wonderful time.

When we got back to the hotel, we found that we were going to have a cookout. This is Berta and Herman, some of our wonderful chefs. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day in Colombia.

Pictured here is Inez, who is one of the owners of the hotel. She is fabulous to get to know and shared with us about the Colombian culture. A couple highlights from Inez--Colombians are happy people, always happy even though their history and lives are difficult. There is also a love for dancing!

The cookout was a terrific community builder. We talked on into the afternoon. BTW, Silas sleeps from 1:00-3:00. Since we have a baby monitor, we can feel free to leave him in the our room upstairs.

Afternoon coffee! Don't worry, Lucia's is about half milk.

Lucia's friends.

Making necklaces with Manuela and Michel.

Happy 5 month birthday!!!! Lucia made this hat for Silas. It is a dinosaur with army men. It was so cute b/c Silas had no qualms about wearing it and kept in on all afternoon and at dinner.

Silas is getting so big!

One funny story for my girlfriends--Today Brian ran a personal errand for me to the grocery store... understand? As he was standing in the aisle trying to figure out what exactly to purchase, not only from my instructions but also trying to understand the Spanish labels, 2 women came up to him and began explaining all the products to him in Spanish. They were asking him questions and so forth. When they realized he didn't understand, they went and got a man who could speak English. So they would explain the products to this man who would then translate it to Brian. Can you imagine!!! But good for the women...he came home with exactly what I needed!

Sept 12-- A day of shopping!

2009-09-12T18:44:00.000-07:00

We left today around 11:30 and returned at 4:00-- a full day of shopping at an artisan store. (Brian was in heaven...ha...ha...)

This shop was about a 10 minute cab rid from Halifax.

There were 3 stories of Colombian treasures...pottery, hand crafts, etc. Lucia picked out her Colombian present, which was a doll wearing the traditional Colombian dress. She was the happiest little girl in the world playing with this doll. And yes, if you are wondering...I found a terrific pottery coffee mug to add to my collection! We also got Silas some gifts for his future Dia de Bienvenidos celebrations.

For lunch, we had some American food, well sort of. The cheeseburger came with fried yucca. Tasty, but tougher to chew than french fries. The fresh mango juice hit the spot!

Since we were gone for the day, Silas took his nap in the stroller, which is very uncomfortable. This stroller is for the birds. We bought a cheap one b/c last time we flew, Delta snapped our Combi in half and replaced it with a recalled dinosaur stroller. So we didn't want to chance messing up a nice one. Now we are wishing we would have taken the chance. This stroller is very hard to push and it it is very hard for sitting. We try to make is as comfortable as possible for him.

This afternoon Lucia played and played with the other kids at the hotel. Fun memories.

Sept 11-- Missing Home

2009-09-11T18:15:00.000-07:00

We are so thankful for the wonderful families at our hotel. The language barrier can be quite difficult for Lucia since she is the only child who speaks English. God's grace is so tangible here through the many things He blesses us with, like the lovely children here who reach out to Lucia.

And these two little girls are some of the blessings. They have reached out to Lucia. Today the girls came and knocked on the door and asked if Lucia could come play. Brian and I had big warm hearts. They also came over to our room and built a tent and played baby dolls. Lucia is having a wonderful time with them. BTW, I braided lots of hair today (for those of you who don't know, I love corn-rowing and french braiding hair). I beaded these girl's hair.

Tonight, we went and had dinner with a great family we met from the church we are visiting. It was so nice to be in their home and speak English and connect about American things (they are from Wheaton area). We had a lot of commonalities. Lucia cried and cried when we had to leave and kept saying she wanted to stay. We think it was because it has been our first "American" experience since we have been here. It felt good for all of us.

I am feeling quite home sick today. A few families are leaving to go home in the next few days, and things will be a bit quieter. Their leaving makes me long for home. We have heard stories of family's paperwork not being processed for things like the government office running out of paper or toner. Or maybe someone decides to go on vacation. Meanwhile the paper work just sits. We are in prayer that we are not going to be one of those stories. We hope to find out next week about our sentencia. We are comforted by knowing that God holds our days in His hands. And He is gracious to us, providing for all our needs.

Sept 10--Thursday

2009-09-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today has been a nice down day. Not too much happening. Another family arrived, and now we have 13 kids at the hotel. And 6 are little girls 4-6 years of age. So Lucia is getting to know some new friends. Of course, we are still the only American family. But that is alright.

We went to Parque 93 after Silas's nap and then got an Oblea for a yummy snack. Several people have mentioned that Silas is looking so much bigger. It is hard for us to tell b/c we see him every day. But he is a little chunky guy.

In the mornings on some days, Lucia and I do "school". The science nerd comes out in me. And Lucia loves science too (one of her favorite shows is Sid the Science Kid). What fun! We have a kids book about the body that goes through each body system. It gives a lot of fun facts. Today we did the heart. Oh, here is a fun fact about the eye--did you know that you have microscopic eight-legged mites living on the base of your eyelashes? (they eat germs to keep our eyes protected). Yeh, nice.

Sept 9-- Part I--Monserratte & Old Bogota

2009-09-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

Today has been a fantastic day. One of the best! It started early with a visit to Monserrate. Our tour guide (Mouricio, with good seat belts :) picked us up at 8:30 and drove us into the mountains to one of Bogota's most famous places. Monserrate was built in 1640 and overlooks the city of Bogota. Please look at the following website if you are interested in learning more:

www.cerromonserrate.com

We boarded the train in the last car, so we got an excellent view as we road up the mountain. Lucia was very excited about riding the train.

This is looking down at the track as we drove up. It was very steep!

Lucia is leaning against the window of the train. Notice the steep tracks below her and the city behind her.

Once at the top of the mountain, we began a climb to the church. The stations of the cross were along the cobblestone path that lead up to the church.

We are almost there!

The view was breathtaking. We took a gazillion pictures. This is the view from one side of the mountain. This is the city of Bogota. It helped us appreciate just how big this city is. And also we were able to see how Bogota is in the mountains, nestled in a plateau b/t the central and west Andes Mountains ridges.

In stark contrast to the view on the other side of Monserrate is the view on this side. Lush mountainside. The clouds were hiding the top of the mountains. Gorgeous.

Monserrate Church.

We had a great time touring Monserrate. It was much colder and windier than we were prepared for. But nonetheless, we had a wonderful time and believe it is a must see for anyone who travels to Bogota.

When we got back down the mountain we saw this guy with a llama. The llama had a very fancy saddle and it made us laugh.

Another car picture...but alas, we are all buckled in with working seat belts. Well, all of us but Silas. We held on to him tightly! But it made for a tricky feeding.

After Monserrate, our tour guide took us to the old town (1500's) of Bogota called La Candeleria. This is Bolivar Plaza, we think. La Candeleria has beautiful architecture. The hard part for us was the intense traffic. It was very slow moving which is hard with two little ones.

One reason for the bad traffic was that university students were protesting the U.S. putting military bases in Colombia. So they filled the street we were on and stopped the traffic. We got to see all kinds of "friendly" signs about us yankees. Fortunately, this is not a common thread here. The cars on our street ended up having to back up a fair distance to get to another street. Made for an interesting trip through the old city!

Sept 9-- Part II--Colombia vs Uruguay

2009-09-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

As most people know, soccer is HUGE in Colombia. Well, it is huge in most parts of the world except the U.S. And the Norwegians and Colombians were very excited about the soccer game today, Colombia vs. Uruguay. They made sure to give Brian a hard time! They are doing their best to turn him into a soccer fan.

Inez, one of the hotel owners, and her staff arranged for a party for all of us (I must mention that now we have 6 families and 9 children). The hotel staff and guest piled into the "TV room" for the game. We were served drinks and snacks. They even got a new flat screen TV! Most everyone was decked out in the Colombian jerseys and colors. It was blast!

The new flat screen. We were all very excited! Oh, btw, Colombia lost.

Watching the game.

Silas dressed for the occasion.

Getting ready for the game.

"Vamos Colombia" -- we heard this a lot.

Herman collecting the reward for betting on the correct score. Uruguay 3. Colombia 1.

This really helped to build community here at the hotel. It really has been a great day!

Sept 8-- Update, Obleas, Crepes, and Crafts!

2009-09-08T17:46:00.000-07:00

We got an update from our facilitator about our Sentencia. She said that the paperwork was put into action last week (we think it took the Defender of Minors longer than usual). It will go to the judge tomorrow or Thursday. He has 10 business days to respond with the date for our Sentencia. He could respond on the first day or the tenth (let's hope it is the first!). Once we go to our Sentencia, it will take approximately one more week to process things like Silas's new birth certificate, passport, and visa. Other little nuances that could slow us down include our court being closed for 2 days next week to work on electrical problems and the U.S. embassy not processing Visas on Fridays. So, where does that put us? We aren't sure, but it will not likely be on September 19 (which is our date with Delta).

Today, we went out for a special lunch. On the way, we ran into Inez's brother. Inez is one of the owners of the hotel. Her brother is one of those people that you run into all the time in odd places. He insisted on taking us to a stand that sells Obleas, a traditional Colombian sweet. This is the lady making our Oblea. It is a flat pastry circle with caramel inside.

Yes, they are terrific! Too bad it took us 4 weeks to get one. It may become a regular treat, competing with Juan Valdez.

This is Pablo, who works at the hotel. Inez's brother offered for him to pay for our treat :)

The Colombian flag, on the way to Crepes and Waffles for lunch.

Crepes and Waffles is a very famous restaurant in Colombia. They are found in many places. We went a few times when we were here adopting Lucia. They have a wide variety of foods served on crepes. Delicious.

The best part about Crepes and Waffles is the ice cream. It is presented very beautifully, or fun in the case of Lucia's ice cream.

Took a picture of this so we don't forget. This is on the corner of our street. The boom box is booming these Learning English cd's. So on the streets you hear the alphabet and common English phrases. It is really kinda funny.

It is fun having little girls at the hotel. We bought paint and the girls painting this evening before dinner. It was a really nice way to get the girls to know one another. We are thankful their parents speak English!

Lucia's art and coke bottle dolls.

Sept 7-- Beginning of week 5, but who is counting!

2009-09-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

It is truly hard to believe that we have been in Bogota for 4 weeks! Time has moved quickly and we are enjoying our time here so much. As of today, we do not know when our Sentencia (court date) is. We trust the Lord knows what lies ahead and have peace in Him. (And yes, we are praying we get home quickly :)

The Halifax calendar. Our return ticket is for September 19. We hope to be on that plane!

Silas loves playing. Today, he began sitting up much more sturdier on his on and for a longer time.

I keep taking pictures of the food b/c I don't want to forget how to make it or present it. I am hoping to make a small cookbook of our favorite foods and to put pictures with the recipes. This is the avocado salad that we have nearly every day at lunch. Brian and Lucia do not like avocados so I get to eat them. This is my favorite part of the meal!

Plantains with cheese...another yummy treat.

There are now 10 children at the Halifax Hotel. 7 children are Norwegian and 2 are Swedish. There are 2 little girls, which is great for Lucia. We were told that we are the 3rd American family this year at the hotel. While we are enjoying our friends, we would love to have some fellow Americans here at the hotel with us.

We got Lucia some body glitter and she is loving it. She asks to be called Princess Sparkles. When she put in on her, she said, "I am a princess b/c I feel like a princess!". Makes our hearts smile.

I braided and beaded some of Lucia's hair.

Princess Sparkle with beads!

Sept 6--Sunday in Bogota

2009-09-06T18:47:00.000-07:00

Today, we went back to The United Church of Bogota, an international English speaking church. Again, it felt so good to be there. What a reminder of how God is the God of the world! It is hard to explain just how wonderful it feels to worship in another country, amidst different people and a different culture.

For lunch, we had plantains, which are becoming one of Trisha's favorites. Lucia does not care for them, but was kind enough to smile for the picture!

In the afternoon, we went to Juan Valdez and Parque 93 (becoming quite a routine for us!) This picture is taken as we are entering the park.

The park was packed with families today (probably b/c it is Sunday). Little groupings of folks sitting on picnic blankets decorated the park. The apparent enjoyment people have for being at the park is lovely. I hope we take this back with us.

A shout out to my homies!

Silas and I left early to get him back for his nap. I tried to capture the moment...looks like Silas is really ready for that nap.

This afternoon, Brian said that he would be so happy if we had hamburgers for dinner. And guess what was waiting for us at dinner-- Hamburgers! He was one happy man. Notice the plate of cucumbers. We tried to order pickles, but instead got served a plate of cucumbers for our hamburgers! We just smiled. Also, just an interesting thing to note-- ketchup and mustard come in bags. You can see the mustard bag in the corner of this picture. They are a little tricky to use, but we are getting used to them.

Sept 5-- 1 2 3 4 , 1 2 3 4

2009-09-05T18:11:00.001-07:00

C L E M S O N T I G E R S

Fight Tigers, Fight Tigers

Fight, Fight, Fight

We must have looked a sight walking around in our Clemson get-up! Hmmm, I wonder if we stood out. But Tiger love runs deep on Team Kirkland, and we cheer no matter how far away we are!!!

This picture is taken at the bookstore, where Lucia goes for story time. Today, she took her beginner readers and practiced her reading with Alejandra.

We went to a craft show at the mall. For a treat, we got strawberries and marshmallows dipped in a chocolate fountain, with sprinkles. Mmmm. Mmmm.

Game time!!! Since Silas was napping, we set up our Clemson spot out in the hall. We (well, Brian really) listened to the game over the internet. Lucia ran around pretending to run as fast as C.J. Spiller (notice #28 on her jersey). We are snacking on some stuff we got at the craft fair. Not sure exactly what it is, but it is tasty and Mango-ey.

Meanwhile, our Norwegian (the 2 here) and Colombian friends were donning the Colombia soccer team jerseys for the big game b/t Colombia and Ecuador. Colombia won! And they are celebrating! It was a big soccer day in Colombia. We are planning on getting jerseys for Silas and Lucia to help celebrate this Colombian spirit.

Jersey time!

Earlier in the day, Lucia and I made a craft doll out of a coke bottle, sock, diaper, glitter, and yarn.

This morning we were introduced to Colombian "chocolate con queso"-- yes, that is hot chocolate with cheese. It is a different sort of hot chocolate (made with a bar of chocolate) and is very tasty. And then you add cheese.

Sept 4--Outing at Juan Valdez and Parque 93

2009-09-05T18:04:00.000-07:00

Today, we spent most of the day at the hotel. After Silas's nap, we took a family walk to Juan Valdez and Parque 93.

Our Norwegian friends are letting us use there Baby Bjorn. We are soooo grateful!

At the park, practicing sitting by himself.

Sept. 3--Loving the Halifax Hotel!

2009-09-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

We are really enjoying our time at the Halifax Hotel these days. The first week we were here, we were the only family. This was sort of nice as we were able to ease into being a family of four at a calm hotel. And then we had a treasured week with Alma and her family. Lucia still misses her. Now it is hoppin! And we love it. It is so nice for Lucia to have more children to play with. Today, there were 6 children in the courtyard. From what we understand, there will be 4 more coming over the next few days. And two are girls, ages 4 and 6. We can't wait.

Today was low-key. We walked to Parque 93 in a light drizzle so we could go out for lunch. Looking at the picture below, any guesses what restaurant?!

McDonalds! This is the nicest McDonalds I have ever been to. This is the McCafe. Since we are in an affluent area, most things here are nice. It was very different to see adults dressed in business casual clothing choosing to eat at McDonalds. We actually looked at one another and laughed, wondering if we were dressed up enough to eat at McDonalds. Who does that?

Tucked in the back was the kids area. I ate a great hamburger called the the McNifica (wish they had this in U.S.) Brian enjoyed a Quarter Pounder. And Lucia had a Super Cajita Feliz (Happy Meal)...came in a gigantic box, but was just a normal portion. Interesting and fun!

Sept. 2-- Visit to CRAN

2009-09-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today, we visited CRAN, the children's home through which we adopted Silas. We got a tour of this lovely home and met with the social worker and director.

Center for Reintegration and Attention of the Child

CRAN's Mission:

CRAN is a non profit institution that seeks to care for children up to seven years of age whose rights have been infringed due to problems related to maltreatment, abandonment or situation of risk, through strategies of integral protection, with the intention of restoring their rights and improving their conditions of life.

If you are interested in seeing and learning more, please check out CRAN's website. There is a video tour that will acquaint you with the children's home, as well as a lot of great information.

www.cran.org

CRAN is nestled on a mountainside in Bogota, about 30 minutes from our hotel. There are many steps to get down to the administration building, where we met with the director and social worker. Along the way, we were met with many lovely children who live at CRAN.

CRAN houses around 80 children who are in protective care due to unsafe home situations. There are four dorms, each designated for certain age groups. We were able to tour them, as well as the school and have many pictures of the lovely little children.

Silas did not stay at CRAN. Rather he stayed in a foster home, which is where CRAN cares for infants awaiting adoption. Even so, we soaked in our time at CRAN, for it is one of the homes that helped to bring Silas to his forever home.

We continued our walk down to the administrative building. On the left and right of this path are the children's dorms. Further to the left are playgrounds.

This is the administrative building where we adopted Silas three weeks ago, and where we met with the director and social worker today.

Maria (social worker) and Ximena (director). They went through Silas's file and shared treasured information with us. Ximena founded CRAN and is an amazing woman, full of wisdom. We could really tell how deeply she loves all the children in her care.

After meeting with Maria and Ximena, we got a tour of the entire children's home, including the dorms, cafeteria, school, doctor's office, etc. The children loved us taking their pictures and our video camera. This truly is a wonderful home to so many children in need. Please check out their website if you are interested in seeing and learning more. There are too many pictures for us to include here and we want to respect the children's privacy.

Lucia kept watching all the children playing and wanted to play so badly. So we gave her a little time to have some fun. She greatly enjoyed the see-saw.

We thank God, our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, for we have been given two Colombian jewels. Colombia will forever be in our hearts. We are so richly blessed.

August 31-- Part I--Well sit back now and you'll here a tale, tale of a 9 hour trip

2009-09-01T07:16:00.000-07:00

1973 Dodge Dart--Our first excursion out of Bogota lasted about 9 hours and this was our ride. Our destination was 2 hours away up through the mountains to a small town called Fusa. I longed for a SUV and car seats for the kids, but we managed well and had a nice time.

In the back seat of the Dart. It took 1 hour to drive from the North side of Bogota (affluent area we are in) to the South side (which is much poorer). The change in class was very evident. It made us realize just how well-off our area is.

The streets were packed the entire way with cars, cabs, motor bikes, bicycles, and the occasional horse and buggy. It was a long, slow drive through Bogota, but very interesting and well worth it. We got a better appreciation of this city of 8 million people.

Look very hard (we tried to zoom in on this). It is a mountain side full of houses. All those little brown things are small houses. It was sobering to see all these little houses covering the mountain side. This is the poor section of Bogota.

Our tour guide/driver informed us it is against the law to take pictures of policemen! Good thing this guy wasn't looking.

Poorer area of Bogota. Took about 1 hour to get here from our side of Bogota.

Banana cart amidst the traffic (we are at a traffic light).

This picture is taken in the mountains. We spent about 1 hour driving further through the mountains (Bogota is in the mountains on a plateau). The Andes were beautiful. All along the side of the mountain roads are these little stands where you could get food. There were also large work trucks on the roads b/c they were doing construction on the mountain roads.... remember the Dodge Dart. Yeh, I was nervous. We were miniscule compared to the trucks.

Notice that the clouds hide the top of the mountains. It was lovely.

Our tour guide knows all the places to eat. This was a little stand/restaurant where we stopped to stretch our legs and get a bite to eat.

Our cooks-- outdoor cooking and eating!

Jorge Rico was our tour guide. He did an excellent job taking us around. We felt good in his care (not to be confused with car :) For snacks, we ate Arepas, Chorizo, and Papas. It was very delicious.

August 31--Part II--Flower Garden & Lunch

2009-09-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Our first tour was of an orchid garden in the town of Fusa.

This orchid is the national flower of Colombia.

The gardens were lovely, hilly, and hot. We got a nice little workout.

This goose followed us around. Even though we were higher in the mountains than Bogota, it was much hotter. We had Silas all bundled up when we left, but when we got here we had to take off his long sleeves and socks so he would be comfortable. It was very hot for us.

Orchid and bromelia nursery.

Goldfish pond.

The bromelias grow huge here in the tropical climate (weird to think of the mountains as tropical).

Bromelias and orchids grow in trees. We had no idea and were amazed by what we saw.

The greenery you see in this tree is not the tree, but bromelias and orchids.

Silas did great the whole day of our trip. We love our little guy!

Lucia also did great. There was an orange tree, and Jorge Rico picked one for her.

At the end of our tour, Lucia took a quick little rest.

Lunch at Solomillo. It was a nice restaurant. We learned that the biggest meal of the day in Colombia is lunch. This helps explain why our lunches are so big at our hotel.

August 31--Part III--Coffee Plantation & Home

2009-08-31T18:12:00.001-07:00

We toured Coloma Coffee Plantation, nestled in the mountain town of Fusa.

The coffee bushes are not in a field along rows like we thought they would be. They are all bunched up together along little curving paths. Seems inefficient for picking, according to our American mindset. But we are sure they know what they are doing!

Coffee Growing 101: You take a bean (not the kind at the grocery store) and plant it in soil mixed with sand. It takes 2 months to grow to this height. Notice that the bean grows up through the soil and is at the top of the plant. This was so cool.

It then looks like this.

Then it is transported once it is this size.

And it is planted. This is Jorge Rico, who taught us all about the coffee. These mature plants are about 25 years old. They prune them to stay this size b/c the coffee is better this way.

The plants produce these flowers, which eventually turn into....

Green coffee beans (look closely).

When the green beans turn red, they are ready to be picked. Since it is not coffee season, it was very hard to find a red bean.

We let Lucia pick the red beans and she was thrilled. We always tell her how famous Colombia is for coffee. It was heart warming to see her pride in coffee and Colombia.

Our little treasures.

The plantation church.

There were many machines that we looked at that processed the coffee. This was one of the last ones, where we could smell the delicious coffee smell.

Coffee from the plantation.

Coffee and coffee liquor awaited us at the end of our tour. Lucia preferred the taste of the liquor in her coffee (probably b/c there was no cream).

Us Kirkland girls love our coffee!

On the way home, we stopped by one of the roadside places to get one of these hanging food items. They are everywhere. This place looked very dirty, so I did not eat any. Brian and Lucia did and said it tasted like cheese biscuits.

Back to the Dodge Dart-- Jorge got a natural gas engine put in his car to help cut down on pollution. So he took us to the station and we got to see how to fill a car tank with natural gas. This was very interesting.

Silas says, "HOORAY we are home!!!" He kept doing his arms like this and it was cracking us up. We figured he must be able to tell we were almost at our hotel. It was a great day and we are so glad we went. After being in the hot mountains and polluted city, the first thing we did was take a shower. It never felt so good to be clean!

August 30--Out & About on Sunday

2009-08-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

We went for a walk on Carrerra 15, which is closed for runners, bikers, walkers, etc on Sundays. Our first stop was at Baby Ganga.

This store is Baby Ganga, sort of like Babies-R-Us, but much smaller and waaaaay more expensive. Baby items in Colombia are about 3x more expensive, or even more. For example, the microwave sterilizing bags we bought in the U.S. were $5. Here they are $30. So there is not much we can afford at this store. But we really needed a teething ring for Silas, who chews his hands constantly.

From Baby Ganga, we continued on a walk down Carrerra 15. Exercising seems to be very popular here. It is a great environment for us.

It wasn't too long before a slight drizzle and a cool breeze called us in.

We stopped by Dunkin' Donuts for a drink and to get warmed up. This picture shows how Silas likes to spend much of his awake time-- standing up.

When we got back to the hotel, we were surprised to find that the tables were all decked out with Colombian pottery for a special meal. The hotel was hosting a party, and we got to benefit! This is Herman, who works here. He is great to talk to and is very helpful for us.

We ate with a couple from Norway who is here adopting their son, who you can barely see in this picture. They have been here about 1 week.

Keva-- this is the Colombian pottery we found in Beaufort that our coffee mugs are made out of. Come to find out, this is special pottery made about 3 hours from Bogota in a dangerous area. How cool that it is also sold in South Carolina. It may cost an arm and a leg here. This soup was delicious by the way.

Mystery dessert. We couldn't figure out what this was. It had a cheese consistency but no taste. We figured it must be a very special dessert since is was served with this meal. But none of us could finish eating it.

After nap time, we went to the "Dog Park" for Lucia to play and Brian to run. This park has more dogs in it than you can imagine. Really. And none of them are mutts. We have seen nearly every breed imaginable... beagles, boxers, goldens, yorkies, bulldogs, afghans, great danes, chows, german shepherds...shall I go on! It is like an AKA show. It looks like folks in Bogota take their dogs very seriously. And most of the dogs are not on leashes, but they are so well behaved. It is very different, and we like it.

August 29--So we don't forget...

2009-08-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

This is our hotel room...so we don't ever forget (right now that seems impossible!)

This is take from the entrance door.

This is where I am sitting to write on the blog. Notice the windows. We have 3 very large windows in our room, which is terrific. The only down side is that the sun sets on our side, so our room heats up incredibly hot every afternoon. By 5:30, the sun is hidden by the Direct TV building (our view from our windows). In order not to cook in this room, we open up the door and all the windows to create a breeze. We hope our hotel neighbors don't mind!

Lucia's bed.

Silas's bed. Notice the noise maker. It is essential to drown out the street noise.

This is the chair Trisha feeds Silas in. It is our special chair and I already have many wonderful moments with him in this very spot. And a lot of spit up to boot!

This is just about everything we brought down here with us. There is great storage here, which is good. I think I would go nuts if the stuff was hanging out in the room with us.

Bathroom. Notice the blue thermos and bottled water. The thermos holds hot water that we mix with the bottled water to make Silas's bottle the perfect temp. This keeps us from having to go to the kitchen each time we need to fix a bottle.

The view from our window. It is hard to see it from this picture, but there is an "ally' that runs directly in front of our window, which is how we get to Carulla (grocery store). The street that you see is packed every rush hour, bumper to bumper. Traffic is crazy here, and very slow moving.

August 29--Feeling Better

2009-08-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

Dr. Clamencia came by today and gave us clean bill of health, for the most part. Brian has a few more days of medication. But overall, we hope we are over a very long week! Lucia is relieved that she can now touch Silas and have some sweets.

For lunch, we went to the Parque 93 area and ate at La Taqueria, a Mexican restaurant. It was only the 3rd time we have eaten out in nearly 3 weeks. It was a nice change.

Doesn't Silas look like a big boy! Hard to believe he is 4 months. Of course, he could only hold this position for about 10 minutes and he was completely tuckered out, not to mention that it was very close to nap time.

While Brian went for a run, I took the kids to the book store for story time. Lucia was very happy to get back there and see Alejandra, who works at the store and handles the story time. She also speaks fairly good English which helps.

BTW, I am learning that I am not a fan of the sling. It cramps up Silas's legs and it puts him a sleep position no matter the different positions I try. At least it is comfortable for me. But I really wish I brought the Baby Bjorn.

Never too early to begin a love for books!

Lucia loves all the book selections. She picks out many of the books for Alejandra to help her with. She also enjoys just reading by herself. One thing is clear...She likes for me to sit away from this area on the couches so she can have her space with the other kids. I like her independence. She comes to check-in every now and then and then runs back to read.

We tried a different way of bathing Silas tonight. Thought he looked cute! But we need to work out the kinks of making it comfortable for him if we use the sink again.

August 28--Luci loves Pepto!

2009-08-28T17:53:00.001-07:00

Today has been pretty uneventful, and we consider this a blessing. Brian and Lucia are feeling better, but we stayed at the hotel and rested all day. Brian and I realized that this whole week has been at the hotel. Kind of a bummer when there are so many adventures to take. But is was the best thing, of course, to help everyone get well. We are really hoping the sickness has passed. Dr. Clemencia will be coming back by tomorrow morning to check in on us. She is very mindful of us, and we are grateful. She was also happy to find that we brought Children's Pepto with us, b/c they do not sell it in Colombia. Lucia is also very happy about this b/c she loves the way it tastes and can't wait to take it at every meal.

Silas has upgraded to the highchair! He was in a bouncy seat when we ate. But we have been doing lots of tummy time and "sitting up" and "standing". His muscles have strengthened so much in the past couple weeks. It is nice to see his face at the table while we eat.

By the way, someone mentioned to me that we have not posted his age. Silas was born on April 13. He is 4 months old. Lucia was born on April 6, so they are four years apart.

August 27--Doctors still make house calls

2009-08-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

Today has been long. Last night, Lucia began feeling sick and threw up. She was such a trooper, especially b/c this was the first time in her life she has thrown up. Late this afternoon, her temp went up to 103.3. Lucia being sick like this is new territory for me b/c until now she hasn't been sick like this. I was feeling quite helpless and nervous. We called the doctor this afternoon for help.

The pediatrician is very nice here, and she came to our hotel tonight at 8:00. She took good care of Lucia (and Brian, who is still not feeling well). She seems to think that Lucia has a stomach virus and Brian has a respiratory virus. Double whammy of germs floating around in our little hotel room (and Carulla does not sell Lysol spray). So tonight Brian and Lucia are sleeping on one side of the room while Silas and I are sleeping on the other, even though this only places us a few feet apart :) We are hoping and praying that Silas and I do not catch either one of these viruses!

On a lighter note, I think I may have designed a Bumbo seat for us to use in our room. Okay, so it is just a high chair with a soft towel and some toys, but it is great for Silas to practice sitting!

Looking back--Adopting Kaylee

2009-08-26T18:20:00.000-07:00

When we told Lucia that we would be adopting again (about a year ago), we told her that she would be able to get an American Girl doll. Her doll has been sitting in my closet since February. The Sunday morning that we left for Atlanta for our trip to Bogota, we had her baby's adoption day. We enacted it just like it would go with Silas. Lucia got all dressed up, and her husband "Mr. Rubber Duck" (yes, on her own she married him last year and talks of him constantly) and their baby, Isabel, were there for the adoption. Brian video taped it. I pretended to be the adoption worker. I gave her adoption papers for her and Mr. Rubber Duck to sign. And then I took her outfit into another room and dressed her baby in it. I then walked her baby in and presented her to her new family. It was very sweet. And we hoped that it would prepare her for how Silas would be adopted.

Lucia named her baby Kaylee and she is with us on our trip. In fact, she came with us to Silas's adoption day. Lucia has a dress just like hers, so they were dressed alike. She loves her baby. Lucia held on the Kaylee during the adoption, but when she had a chance to hold Silas, she pushed Kaylee aside and said she wanted to hold her brother. I found that very sweet.

August 26--Another day at the hotel

2009-08-26T18:10:00.000-07:00

We stayed around the hotel today and were getting a little bored. Lucia has colored about 1000 pictures and was a little antsy. So we played "tattoo artist" and she colored my feet. If you are wondering, no we don't do this at home! It was just one of those days :)

Brian took Lucia on a date--"Donuts for Dads" (like they do at her pre-school.) Fortunately for us, we stay right next door to Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robins. Believe it or not, today was the first visit there.

August 25--Shopping for Yarn

2009-08-25T19:45:00.001-07:00

Olga Lucia, who works at our hotel, took Lucia and I shopping for yarn that was made in Colombia. I am going to make Silas a little blanket that is good for the stroller and sling. Olga knew just the spot and the three of us took a cab to her neck of the woods to yarn shop.

Silas appears to love blankets. He sleeps on the one from his foster family. The two that he cuddles with are the ones I made after we got his referral (still can't believe I managed to make 2 blanket during that crazy hectic time...but I am so glad I did!)

It is so sweet how Silas sleeps. He hugs his blanket and turns on his side. He snuggles with it throughout the night.

August 25--Trisha out with kids & Brian in taking it easy

2009-08-25T19:34:00.001-07:00

I (Trisha) took Lucia and Silas out for a couple hours to Parque 93 and Juan Valdez. I was going stir crazy in the hotel. Brian was still feeling pretty badly and needed to rest. I braved the streets to make the 15 minute walk to park and for coffee. It may have taken a couple years off my life crossing the street, but they were added back when I relaxed with a frapp!

You can barely tell it in this picture, but the park us just across the street. This is a great area to come to. At the park, I met two women from Cali (Lucia's birth city). They spoke excellent English, so I was able to get in some "girl" time as our children played. It was a great break in the day!

Special memories with Lucia!!!

And Brian is feeling better! Yippee!!!

When we got back to our hotel, Lucia and I played a little "pink ball". We miss Alma very much. Some how, pink ball was not as much fun for Lucia with me as it was with her good friend.

August 24--Attack of the Mosquitoes and other Illness

2009-08-24T18:00:00.000-07:00

You can barely see it in this picture, but Silas has 5 bug bites on his face. He woke up with them this morning. The hotel staff said that it is because it is unusually hot in Bogota and with the rain the mosquitos come in through the windows. They look more like bed bugs, so I had the sheets changed. In any case, all is well. Just bites.

On a same note, Brian is sick. 100 degrees with aches and hard to breath. I emailed our facilitator, Helena, to update her on some things and mentioned this to her. Within about and hour she had called concerned and with the name of a doctor! She is our Bogota mom! Brian slept just about all day and we are hoping that it does not spread to the rest of us.

So our day was very laid back. Just sitting around the hotel. This was nice for us. A new family that arrived yesterday had their adoption this morning. So we have another little one. Their child is absolutely adorable and is one year old. It is too bad for us that they do not speak much English.

August 23--Church in Bogota

2009-08-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today, we crammed into a very small taxi and went to an international church. It was great to be there. We met two young families who are from Glen Ellyn Bible (our Wheaton friends Jen and Matt go there and they know them). It is a small world indeed! This church is an English speaking church, where internationals come to worship.

Our Norwegian friends are still here. We all went to church together. This was great because Lucia got to play with Alma, who she loves. We enjoy their company so much. This picture was taken in the courtyard of the church.

We took the rest of the day easy and relaxed at the hotel. Lucia and Alma played nearly all afternoon and we visited. It was nice to just hang out at the hotel today.

Yesterday, three new families came! So the hotel is hopping. Two families are Norwegian, and the other is from Spain (we think). So the atmosphere of the hotel has changed a bit.

August 22--Story Time

2009-08-22T19:26:00.003-07:00

This book store is right across the street from our hotel. Don't let the front fool you though. Inside is a quaint little book store that is quite lovely.

Lucia spent 2 hours at the book store's "story time". They had snacks and made a craft, as well as listened to stories (all in Spanish).

August 22--At Parque 93

2009-08-22T18:15:00.001-07:00

This morning we walked to Parque 93 for a change of scenery. It is one of the closer parks. It was packed with families. It appears that folks here really take their parks seriously, which is nice.

Brian stayed with Silas at the park, and Lucia and I walked to Juan Valdez for a frapp.

We shared some girl time on the park bench. It was very nice just being the two of us. Lucia is such an sweet and insightful little girl. I learn so much from her!

The "bubble man" came by and Lucia had a great time playing in the bubbles.

August 21--Bath time!

2009-08-21T18:40:00.000-07:00

Silas really enjoys the water. Bath time is a part of our bedtime routine.

While Trisha bathes Silas, Brian and Lucia sit outside our room on the couch and he goes over her reading with her. She has beginner readers that she practices each night.

August 21--Some cute pictures

2009-08-21T18:34:00.000-07:00

August 21--Walking around our Chico neighborhood and to the mall

2009-08-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

The area that we are staying in is called El Chico neighborhood. We walked around the area today for about 4 1/2 hours. This included time in the mall and grocery shopping. It was a great day, but ended up a little rainy. The streets are incredibly bumpy and difficult for strollers, but we managed!

A local vendor. These guys are on almost every street corner. Like we mentioned before, the streets remind us of New York and the parks of Boston. It is very much a big city here and very crowded.

Every now and then, we will see a horse and cart on the busy streets. Lucia loves this.

Another vendor. Notice the yellow cabs and motor scooter. They are everywhere. People can only drive their cars on certain days of the week in order to cut down on pollution, which is quite bad here. So cabbing it is necessary b/c there are no restrictions on cabs.

In front of Andino mall. It is a very big mall with three stories. We went to Juan Valdez again!

For lunch, we took Lucia to McDonalds!!! What a treat :)

When we left the mall, it was drizzling and we had about a 20 minute walk ahead of us. We put a grocery bag over Silas's legs and my sweater over the top of the stroller. He managed to sleep through the whole ordeal. Lucia hovered under her sweatshirt and hood.

By the time we got back to near our hotel, the rain had stopped, so we decided to go grocery shopping at Carrulla.

I love the mangos here. They are much tastier than the ones from Bi-Lo.

A flower stand in front of the grocery store. After grocery shopping, we went to a great book store that is on this same street. They have a little area for kids that Lucia enjoyed while Brian and looked at books about Colombia. By the time we got back to the hotel, we were satisfied with a wonderful day of adventure. We can say that we truly are enjoying our time here!

August 20--Immunization Day

2009-08-20T18:25:00.001-07:00

Dr. Clemencia, the pediatrician who works with adopting families, came to our hotel to administer 4 vaccinations and do a well check-up. She reports that Silas is "a very strong baby."

Sweet Silas...has no idea what is about to happen.

One of the oral vaccinations. The taste looks to be awful.

After the injections. This broke my heart and Lucia's too. Silas calmed down after a while and is sound to sleep as I write this. I hope he sleeps well tonight and does not have any reactions.

August 19--Move over Starbucks, Juan Valdez is in town!

2009-08-19T18:17:00.001-07:00

You probably know how much I (Trisha) like Starbucks. Well now there is competition, which I never thought could happen until I went to Juan Valdez. It is a "high class" coffee shop, much like Starbucks, located throughout the area. Lucia and I split a drink (can't remember the name of it), but it was delicious. We plan to return many times!!! I must admit that I was a little skeptical at first b/c I remember all the Juan Valdez commercials of the early 90's. I had to erase my thoughts of that. Now I am a big fan and welcome him to my window with his donkey and a cup of coffee any morning!

Well, for posterity sake, check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHQAAfVvvOU

Walking the streets of Bogota. It is very, very, very crowded here. The sidewalks are filled with people and little shops. Bogota alone has twice as many people in the city as South Carolina has in the entire state (from what we hear). The streets are packed with cars, taxis, mopeds, and the occasional horse and cart. We are vigilant at all times. Notice the wrist band that connects Brian and Lucia. It helps us stay close but not get too clammy holding hands. Lucia is a trooper, as she walked for nearly 2 1/2 hours today around Bogota without complaining. God's grace.

Our handsome fellow, pooped after a long day.

August 18--Defender of Minors

2009-08-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

Today, we got all dressed up to meet with the Defender of Minors at Bienestar Familiar. She was a very nice woman who questioned us about parenting, our work, and adjusting to Silas. From our interview, she made a favorable recommendation to the court that our adoption proceed. Our adoption representative and our lawyer accompanied us to this meeting.

This is Helena, our Alliance for Children representative. She is wonderful and arranges everything for us. She picked us up from the airport, took us to CRAN to adopt Silas, translates all our legal meetings. She handles all the legal requirements, as well as helps us go shopping when there is a need. Currently she is working hard to locate a store in Bogota that sells Crocs :)

August 17--More fun at Parque de El Chico

2009-08-17T18:49:00.001-07:00

Today, we walked to Parque de El Chico, about 20 minutes away. The sidewalks are too bumpy for strollers, so Lucia walked. She is a trooper. This is a large, gated park full of trees, water, and play grounds. There are many families with picnic blankets throughout the park, so the atmosphere is very lively and fun. It is gorgeous park with the Andes in the background.

Lucia says that the girls of the house have "flower power". So far, she is enjoying being a big sister, always wanting to hold and kiss Silas.

This park is so lovely. Pictures do not do it justice.

One of the many playground areas located within the park.

August 16-- Streets are closed on Sundays for biking

2009-08-16T18:33:00.001-07:00

Taking a rest on our way to the Parque de Flores. Notice the bicycles behind Brian and Lucia. Every Sunday, Carrera 15 (a major road) is closed so that people can bike, run, rollerblade, etc.

This park was full of people and dogs! It will be a great place for us to run in the mornings.

Lucia had a great time playing.

August 16-- Laundry day

2009-08-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

Our All Star!

This afternoon, we enjoyed the fire while Silas was sleeping. Trisha helped Lucia with her pre-school books. We use a baby monitor so we can go wherever we want in the hotel while Silas sleeps (it is a small hotel).

Earlier in the day, Lucia and Trisha "beaded" as Brian worked on the laundry and Silas slept.

Silas sleeps in a pack-in-play. We have to cover it up when we are in the room so we don't disturb him.

Brian did laundry today! We had to guess how much detergent to use b/c we couldn't exactly read the directions since they were in Spanish.

This is the laundry sink. Trisha washed many of the hotel's toys in this sink (b/c they were quite dirty).

We have to line dry our clothes. Brian put in a full day of work :)

August 15--Parque de El Chico

2009-08-16T18:18:00.001-07:00

Of the parks we have visited, this is the most beautiful one. It is a large park with many trees and play areas. It is also gated, so it feels very safe. Within 20 minutes, we had met two American families with children who live in Bogota.

August 14--Just some fun pictures

2009-08-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

This is one of Trisha's favorite pictures. I love the way they are looking at one another.

Lucia with her coffee (I love the look!)

Getting some work done.

Our handsome fellow.

August 14--Granadilla to the rescue!

2009-08-14T19:41:00.001-07:00

Silas was quite constipated, so our pediatrician prescribed granadilla juice. Brian went to the grocery store and found one. We think it is in the family of a pomegranate.

To get the juice, you press the seeds through a strainer.

We had no idea how to do this...so we got help. Before we knew it, there were five women telling us what to do and how to solve baby constipation..all in Spanish of course!

Silas did not like drinking the juice-- but it worked!!! A couple hours later and presto, his problem was solved. We had to give Lucia the same juice when we were in Colombia adopting her. We call it "miracle juice".

August 14--Eats at the Halifax

2009-08-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful cooks: Blanca and ____

"Breakfast bar"

Breakfast: eggs with tomato and onion, toast, yogurt, fruit... and coffee, of course!

Lunchtime begins with soup

Lunch: Avocado/tomato salad and a pot pie sort of dish.

Mango dessert (the best mango we have ever eaten!)

Enjoying our afternoon coffee!

Dinnertime (beef and gravy, almond green beans, and some sort of corn bread pancakes).

Pear dessert....yummy!

We thought it would be interesting to share a little about our hotel. So, today we’ll focus on food. We have a package deal that includes 3 meals a day. So far, we are really enjoying the meals. We definitely have plenty to eat! Fruit, fruit juices, and veggies. But most of the meals are quite heavy. It is like eating family reunion style each meal, with desserts to boot.

So we are mindful that if we are not careful, we will all come back the the U.S. a little heavier than when we came. To help with this, Brian is joining a gym. We also are running in the morning, taking turns before the children wake up. It feels very safe here to run, minus the fact that we are breathing pollution. Also, the high altitude adds a bit of difficulty. Brian is enjoying saying that he is involved in "high altitude training".

August 13-14 Settling in to a family of four

2009-08-14T18:37:00.000-07:00

Tummy time!

Many adopting families stay at the Halifax. There are albums full of stories of families who have stayed here. Most seem to be from Norway and Sweden. It is great fun reading through these albums. Currently, we are the only family here. We are hoping some families come in soon.

There are 3 large bulletin boards of pictures of children who have been adopted. We can't wait to add Silas's picture up here.

Sleeping angel (in a pack-in-play)

Over the past two days, we have spent time relaxing at the hotel, getting to know Silas and growing as a family of four. We are mainly staying around the hotel for the next couple weeks to help with the transition. Brian and Lucia are able to get out and go to the parks to play, which is nice.

On Thursday, we went to the notary to have all of our documents notarized, which includes our fingerprints. That was the big outing of the day, and that was only a couple blocks away! This is all good though, b/c we need this time as a family to just settle into our new normal. We are so thankful God has given it to us.

Things are going smoothly and we will continue to keep you updated!

August 12--Safe and Sound

2009-08-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

They dressed Silas in the outfit we brought for him before the put him in our arms.

Moments after getting Silas.

"Safe and sound, you're here with us now."

Lucia is doing amazing. She already loves Silas very much and wants to hold him and feed him.

On the ride back to our hotel.

Balloons and a welcome sign on our door.

It has been an amazing day. It is hard to put it into words how today has been, but we will try. We arrived at CRAN around 11:00 after a 30 minute ride. It is a beautiful children's home in the mountains. We met with Ximena, who founded CRAN 31 years ago. She is an amazing woman who passionately loves the children in her care. While we were meeting with her, Silas was being dressed in the outfit we brought him. We then met with Silas's foster mother, who cared wonderfully for him. It was very emotional for all of us. It was very evident that her love for him runs very deeply and that Silas got loving care and attention. She gave us a photo album of his first months, along with his schedule. We are so grateful for these treasures.

We were then united with Silas. It went just like we dreamed it would. They placed him in Trisha's arms while Brian and Lucia were standing by. It was an incredible and indescribable family moment. We all soaked in our first moments together. We were also given his favorite blanket and bottle, which will help in the transition from his foster mother's arms into ours.

We are madly in love and so thankful to our Father in heaven who has brought our family together. We thank Him for the blessings of our children! We will be posting a video later, so stay tuned!

We sang the song that you are listening to on the blog on our ride back. Safe and sound, you're here with us now... What wonderful words describe what we are experiencing!

August 11--Exploring our Bogota neighborhood

2009-08-12T03:46:00.000-07:00

There are three parks within walking distance. They have excellent playgrounds.

This is on the way to Carrulla (the grocery store). It is right behind our hotel.

Notice the beautiful mountains in the background! It is lovely here.

Our hotel is within walking distance of just about everything we could want (parks, shops, banks, etc.) Mountains create a beautiful backdrop for our enjoyment. We explored the area for a few hours today. It felt a lot like New York City and Boston to us. Very busy streets with people and businesses, along with nice parks for escaping the rat race. Lucia especially loved the park and playground.

Tomorrow, we meet Helena at 9:45 and she will drive us to CRAN for our 10:30 appointment to adopt Silas. We are soooo excited and can hardly wait. Lucia is doing great with all the adjustments. When we were video taping her earlier and asked what she would like to say to Silas, she said, "I love you Silas and cannot wait to adopt you." Tears of joy on our faces.

August 11--Welcome to the Halifax Hotel

2009-08-11T16:12:00.000-07:00

Entrance into Halifax.

Lucia playing in play room.

Playground at the hotel.

The hotel had balloons and a "Bienvenidos Lucia" sign on Lucia's bed.

Playroom area (toys are in the next room).

Living room area with fire place (it is cool here!)

Inside the hotel. We are on the second level.

We are staying at the Halifax Hotel, which is situated in an affluent area of Bogota. The Halifax hosts families, many of who are adopting. So while all four of us will share a small hotel room, we have access to a living room, play room, play ground, etc. It is great for us.

August 10--Traveling to Bogota

2009-08-11T14:55:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to be settled into our hotel in Bogota after a full day of smooth traveling. We left Atlanta around 10:00 am for Aruba. After a 4 hour lay over, we headed for Bogota. We arrived in Bogota at 9:00 CST. Our travels were enjoyable and easy. We are so thankful that we didn't encounter any problems. Helena, who will be helping us, was waiting outside the airport amongst many, many other people, holding a sign saying "Kirkland". And she took us to our home in Bogota for a much needed night of sleep.

August 9--Colombia or bust!

2009-08-09T04:08:00.000-07:00

We can hardly believe this moment in time is here. Today, we will be finishing all of our packing and heading over to Atlanta to spend the night with friends who will take us to the airport early in the morning. Silas, here we come!