Ecuador Day 4

I can't believe it has only been four days since we arrived in Ecuador. It seems like it has been weeks!

This morning started out just like yesterday, except that we let Hallie and Jace sleep in and took them to the orphanage in their pajamas and fed them there so that they could get a little extra sleep. We have certainly made ourselves at home in the Guest House there!

After everyone's breakfast and Flor's shower, we played in the house and outside a little bit. Flor was extra tired this morning and I am not sure if it was because she didn't sleep well last night, woke up early, or what. She was just little bit more down than usual because of it. Like I said before, it will be so nice when she is here so that we can respond to her needs when they arise!

For His Children was putting on a Christmas show with all of their children this morning and had invited some guests, including sponsors of the orphanage, volunteers, etc. All the kids had practiced their parts and even sang a cute little song. It was adorable. Of course, our camera had to die after I took about two pictures. SO LAME. I hope our camera issues end soon. Flor was the "star" of the show-- literally. She was the star on the top of the Christmas tree. Another girl was the tree and Flor was in charge of holding a big star on a stick for the top of the tree. However, she wasn't having any of it. She was so tired and wanted to just sit there. Later, there was music and stuff and she did want to get up and dance. :) They had lunch for the kids (something special for Christmas-- which included rice, some kind of meat soaked in sauce, and some cheesy broccoli thing). Flor inhaled it, as usual. They also had a large jump house set up for the kids, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Hallie went in for a time but then got mad because she couldn't figure out how to climb up the ladder to the slide part. So that was enough of that. Flor didn't want to play in there, she was too tired.

After lunch, all the orphanage kids gathered round and presents were distributed. I am not sure why they are not doing the presents on Christmas day, but the kids didn't seem to mind! Each got two or three presents and the presents were really great! They had barbies, dolls, hair bows, toy sets, etc. Flor got a doll and a doctor kit with a plastic stethoscope, medicines, shots, etc. It is really cute. We also had two suitcases full of donations and gifts for FHC, but we did not know to get them there ahead of time for this party, so one of the managers there took them and was going to get them ready to give to the kids on Christmas Eve, so that will be great for them to have another gift.

After this, Flor finally got to go in for her nap. Devin and I took Hallie and Jace home to rest. We also stopped by the Mega Maxi-- which is the first place that is familiar to me that we have been! Everywhere else is new. But, I definitely remember the Mega Maxi! One thing that is funny is that we are constantly being stopped by people because they want to oooh and ahhh over the kids. They think Hallie and Jace are so cute and say "ohhhh que guapos!" Or "Hermosas!" They love their blue eyes particularly. It's kind of fun. 

After our break, we went back to the orphanage at 4:30. We were supposed to have an outing with Flor, but due to the holiday, everything is busy and crazy, so we opted to just walk around the neighborhood instead. We stopped at little bakery/bread store and let the kids pick a treat. Flor's treat was a roll since she can't have sugar. She inhaled it anyway. As she was eating it, Pamela (who was with us) informed us that she can't have white bread. Huh. So we stopped her mid-roll, which was not her favorite thing. Luckily, as soon as we got back, we had a little trampoline time and then she was ready for her dinner. Dinner was a bowl of rice mixed with a little meat and vegetables. Sound familiar? I don't know how she is going to do when we throw variety into her life!

The best news of the afternoon was that Pamela informed us that we do not need to come back to the orphanage tomorrow, but that she will be bringing Flor to us at about 9 am. We need to sign some documents for her custody and then she will be with us for good! Pamela needs to write a report for INFA to state that the placement is in Flor's best interest and that things are going well with bonding and then that will go to the court. So hopefully things will progress quickly...but we aren't holding our breath!

After dinner, we walked Flor back to her casa and then off we went again. Leaving her tonight was much easier than it was last night, probably because she didn't have as hard of a time (Little Mermaid was on and that occupied her quite well) and because I know that tomorrow is the day! We fed the kids, got them in bed, and then made some spaghetti for us, which was nearly the most horrible thing I have ever eaten. The sauce...ugh. But, regular spaghetti sauce is like $4.50 per can, so we went with some off Ecuador brand. Not a good choice. I'm telling you--- our eating here might be kind of scary. Thank goodness for the 5 pound brick of Costco cheese we brought with us (Cheddar is nowhere to be found here! Don't worry, we froze it and then transported it). Anyway-- You surely don't want to know every detail of everything we eat. So onward.

I intended to upload a lot of pictures today because we got a lot this afternoon (after figuring out how to properly recharge the camera! ha!), but the internet is being super painfully slow, so we will go with these.


This was this morning. Flor was more down and so so tired. Poor thing. She goes to Devin for comfort a lot when she needs it. So cute!

This is Hallie and Jenna at the FHC Christmas program today. Jenna is my friend Stephanie's daughter, who we have now met since being here. She and I have emailed for months during this crazy process. They are at the tail end of their adoption of their 8 year old, Alison. Hallie took to Stephanie's girls so well and loves to see them. She calls Jenna, "the girl with the blonde hair" even when I tell her her name.

How cute is this? I asked Flor to give Jace a kiss, and sure enough, she did!

Such beautiful girls! One blonde haired and blue eyed and the other dark haired and dark eyed, but both equally beautiful! They had a good time on the trampoline together today, laughing like, well, little girls. :)

Inside the FHC Guest House where we have basically lived the past few days. It's much more spacious than our apartment, I'll tell you that! This is Pamela, the psychologist, who has been so great with us and with Flor. She has been with us a lot and is so helpful and very, very kind.

More tomorrow!