Ecuador day 2

We woke up this morning and frantically dug through all of our suitcases to find a decent outfit for each of us (note to selves: try to keep everyone's things in one place versus dispersed throughout 10 suitcases.) The one thing we COULD NOT FIND was toothbrushes. Combine that with the fact that we had no towels in the vicinity with which to shower (the apartment is furnished, but missing a few key items, such as towels!), and it was looking like we would not be very clean or good smelling for the introduction to our daughter. We improvised and used Jace's blankets as towels (hey, it's all part of the adventure, right?) and used our fingers to brush our teeth (plus downed a lot of altoids!)

Our in-country rep was apparently busy today, so we were told that a translator was coming to pick us up. She came at about 11 am and off we went to Flor's orphanage, For His Children. The translator, Jenny, talked to us the whole way and was so sweet, which helped calm my nerves. Once we got to the orphanage, we were shown into a room where we met with the orphanage social worker, psychologist, some other lady (sorry can't remember her role!) and two ladies from INFA (People with the Government in the adoption unit). They reviewed with us a lot of Flor's past history with a focus on her significant progress in the last six months. Flor has done amazingly well with the care of For His Children and she has progressed SO much. We are so grateful for all that they do for her. They have her meet one-on-one with teachers daily to help her progress and she is also meeting regularly with a physical therapist. The social worker, Pamela, said that it is due to his diligence that she has started walking. She said that he put it into her head that she can do it, and now she can! We were also able to meet with the physical therapist for a minute to discuss his work with her. The whole meeting was so wonderful and invaluable. I cried through basically the whole thing. I think it was the anticipation of seeing Flor finally, but it was also that I was hearing such great things about her and seeing how wonderful her care has been.

After the meeting, which lasted about an hour, we were led to FHC's guesthouse, where we were greeted by a poster welcoming us (see below!)

The sign says "Bienvenidos Papitos De Flor". So cute! Hallie got to keep one of the balloons (she popped the other) and she was in heaven.

No sooner had we taken this picture than the door opened and Flor came walking out. I thought I was going to burst from the excitement. I tried to go directly to her, but she didn't want any of that. She instead made a bee-line for Devin and wanted to hold his hand and walk outside with him. She and Devin were so cute together and it made me so happy. (I cried again, in case anyone wonders!) She has not really had any male figures in her life, other than 3 men who work at FHC (versus the many women), so she was really taken with Devin. The two of them went for three walks around the compound with me trailing behind, and then we would come back inside and read books for a minute and then start over. Hallie and Jace were kept occupied by the workers there and by the toys, which was so nice because it gave Devin and I the time to focus on Flor.

Hallie interacted with her a little bit, but not much. Devin left with Flor to go put her down for her nap and I stayed back with the other kids. As soon as they left, Hallie started crying and said, "I want to play with Flor!" haha...well, too late. But there is plenty of time for that in the future.

We were given an hour to play with Flor and get to know her (with the eyes of about 5 individuals watching us. No sweat) and to see how she responded to us. The orphanage has a specific plan for her and our bonding, which included the hour today, and then two full days of being with her there to watch her schedule all day. We will go tomorrow at 7:30 am! Hopefully by Friday, she will be staying with us.

Flor loves to look at books. Apparently she particularly likes books about Ecuador written in English.

Sweet Flor. This is what she wanted to do the whole time. Take walks with Daddy.

The whole meeting exceeded my expectations. It was so great to see my girl again--not a little baby anymore, but a sweet, grown up girl! She is so adorable and has a fun, happy personality. She walks quite well on her own. She doesn't speak with words, but she definitely understands things and lets you know what she wants in other ways. When you ask her, "Where is Flor?" She gets really happy and points to herself.

I was really the most happy to see her and Devin bonding so well. Of course I knew that I would bond with her, but I didn't know what the process would be like for him as he is coming into this situation with no previous experience. He is so great with kids though and he took to her just like I hoped he would.

The rest of the day was spent visiting our adoption friends, Stephanie and her children, eating lunch, and then going on a super duper shopping trip at the Supermaxi (not to be confused with the MiniMaxi or the MegaMaxi). We needed quite a few items for the house plus some food....so off we went. We almost died 1286 times in the taxis, but don't worry moms and dads, I promise we will live. I forgot how horrible all the drivers here are-- plus the traffic! Oh killer. We have a beautiful view from our apartment (remember the four floors up??) We can see the city so well and we are right next to the Olympic Soccer stadium. We will definitely try to catch a few games while here!

We put the kids to bed after a dinner of oatmeal (discovered that there are no pans to be had in this apartment. Augh! Add that to the list for the next trip to one of the maxis!) and then Devin and I organized all of the junk from our suitcases, as everything had been sitting in piles and if you know me at all, you know I don't do clutter OR piles. Now we are happily sitting in our clean apartment. We are ready for bed though as the morning wake up call will come at 6 am. We get to be there all day with Flor, including when she wakes up in the morning.

We appreciate so much all your love and support, plus the continued prayers. We will try to update as often as possible! The one bad news item is that we somehow forgot our camera charger (OF ALL THINGS TO FORGET!!!) so we will be without pictures until we get a new one. Pray that it doesn't cost us a small fortune...as things tend to be rather expensive here! Our junk of a cell phone for in country calls only cost $60. That was without any minutes. Eek.

Pray that tomorrow Hallie and Jace will be nice during our all day expedition to the orphanage. Not sure how that is going to work....but we will see!

More later.