Bogota, Week 5

We were assigned a new court last week, 15. It is supposed to be a better court, and our attorney is predicting that we get Sentencia by Friday. Please pray that this is true! Once we get Sentencia we should be home in about a week. Here's a recap of our last week:

Saturday: This was my favorite tour thus far! We went hiking at the Guatavita Lagoon with the Sanjines family. The hike took about an hour, and it rained almost the whole time. We still had so much fun, and the kids did awesome. Brielle LOVED being out in nature. She just giggled and giggled. I wish I could put up our better group picture, but can't show her face yet. Then we toured the historical town of Guatavita. It is all white stucco with the traditional hispanic tiles. It turned into a beautiful day, and we had lots of fun walking around. We even toured the bull fighting arena!

Sunday: We had a normal Sunday going to church, and then Jen and I got to shop at the market without any kids! Thanks Scott & Nick! Then they came over to our apartment for some last minute swimming. Great way to end our weekend!

Monday: We had a quiet morning, and I started getting things ready to move to a new apartment (again). We ate lunch at the Sanjines apartment. Nick made awesome empanadas! Brielle loves playing with their girls, and they are so sweet to entertain her. We are getting her to say 'mamama' more consistently, so now she just needs to understand that momma is me!

Tuesday: It was half price at Jeno's pizza, so we went there for lunch. This time we went down the slide with Brielle. She loved it! I can't wait to take her on kiddy rides at home.

Wednesday: Today was moving day, so we finished packing up our apartment. Someone had already leased it starting the 19th, so we found a new place to finish the rest of our time. We move in our bags, and then went to the airport to get Gramma! After a long time waiting on her bag we headed back to the apartment to unpack and grocery shop.

Thursday: This was our 4th wedding anniversary, and I honestly am so happy to be spending it with our daughter! I made crepes for breakfast because we did that on our first wedding anniversary. We had a final lunch with Nick & Jen, and some other friends from church. Then we hung out at their apartment for a bit. It was so hard to say goodbye, but we are already making plans to do some hiking together this fall! Our time spent in Bogota was so much better because of the awesome friends God placed in our path. Then we cooked steak and shrimp for dinner, and ended with a quiet night at home. We're planning to go see the Maze Runner this weekend since Gramma is here to babysit!

Gonna miss these cuties! 

(I can finally put up their picture, since their adoption is finalized)

Friday: We spent the morning at our new place playing with Gramma. Then we had lunch at Crepes and Waffles again. It is definitely one of our favorites here! We played at a nearby park in the afternoon until the rain came.

Saturday: We woke up to more rain, so we called our favorite tour guide, Rene, to see if he had any suggestions for the day. We ended up touring the historical part of Bogota called La Candelaria, and the Simon Bolivar plaza. The rain let up and the clouds cleared, so we took the cable car up to Monserrate. It was a beautiful view, and the sun decided to come out. We walked the stations of the cross and went in the cathedral. It is amazing to see the sprawling city of Bogota, but even more beautiful were the mountains on the other side of Monserrate. Then we took the train called the Funicular down the mountain.

Update on Brielle: She is continuing to do well, and showing more improvement every day! I had not idea how much a three year old can eat; she gets close to the same portions as Scott. She has gained weight over the last five weeks, and developed the typical 'toddler tummy'. I love it! She loves to be tickled, ride in the Ergo, play crazy games with Daddy, read books with Mommy. She is pulling up more and more, and walking around using the rolling suitcase. She is making more babbling noises. The people who have seen her over the past couple weeks comment how much she's changed and how well she is doing, which is so encouraging to us.

Again, please pray for Sentencia this week! We cannot wait to get home and settle into our regular lives. We have scheduled her first appointment with the adoption doctor at the end of October, so we'd love some time to settle in before we begin any medical treatments. Thanks for all the continued support!