Ecuador Day 44

Well, today was an interesting day.

Last night Jace woke up about midnight with a fever of 104 degrees. Such a fever is only slightly bothersome...so I tossed and turned all night thinking about what we were going to do for him. Right in the middle of this, the thought occurred to me that Rex, the director of OSSO, had flown in to Quito last night and would be at the OSSO house for the next few days. Rex is a doctor. Hallelujah. I worried about bothering him, but figured he was our best bet for help since he is A) a doctor and B) speaks English. Both very good things.

Rex was very gracious and had us come right over to the house. He took a look at Jace, checked his ears, looked at his rash, and discussed his symptoms with us. He concluded that Jace probably has a urinary infection of some sort, plus a yeast infection. All things we typically associate with girls, but all the signs were pointing to both for the poor boy. So, he recommended that we take Jace to a pediatrician here for a urinalysis and for a recommendation for some medicine. Angel and Jenny called and got us an appointment with their pediatrician for 12:15. We are very blessed to have our associations with all of OSSO here. It was nice to be able to see the OSSO house too, since that is where Flor and I will be staying starting Monday. The house is a different one from when I was a volunteer here. It is quite large and has multiple floors with all sorts of space. So, that will be quite nice.

After a hurried lunch, we got the kids packed up again and out the door to get to the Pediatrician. All in all I can summarize the experience by saying it was interesting. The doctor's office was miniature and was packed to the brim when we got there. One thing that is the same for doctors here and in the states (in our experience) is the wait. Always a wait. So, while we waited, I discretely took a few photos (terrible shots, but hey) of the office so that you can see. 

By this time, all the other people had cleared out and we were the only ones left. Another similarity-- drug reps. The office had three drug reps come in in just the time were waiting and they of course snuck in for a few minutes of the doctor's time.

When it was finally our turn, we went into the office where the doctor sat behind her large desk. To the left of the desk was a little exam table and that was it. No nurse, no lab equipment, nothing more. The doctor asked about Jace's symptoms and did a visual exam. She was very alarmed that we were using wipes on Jace's bum and ordered us to not use wipes any more; we are to only use water (sorry- pretty sure I can't abide by that!). She gave us a cream for his rash and then came to the same conclusion as Rex- that Jace probably has something going on with his urinary tract. She wrote some instructions on her paper on how to give him Tylenol (which we had already been doing) and how to put the cream on his bum. Very helpful.  Then, she told us that we need to get a sample of pee and a sample of poop (sorry if TMI) and bring it back to the lab in the basement of the building before 4 pm when she leaves. She asked probably 3 or 4 times if we are sure we know how to get the samples. I a pretty sure that she thought we were idiots overall, due to our lack of Spanish knowledge. Devin can understand better than I can since he speaks Portuguese (especially when people speak really fast, like she did) and I can speak better than he can (because he reverts back to Portuguese), so Devin would interpret what she was telling us, then I would respond. She asked after each instruction, "Do you understand? Do you know what I am saying?" I can honestly say I have a new understanding for what people go through in the US who don't speak English.
 
Anyway, after all the instructions, we went back into the waiting room to pay the receptionist. That was also interesting in that she did not know how much to charge us, so she checked with the doctor on that. The charge was $35. I offered her both my American Express and my Visa cards and she didn't know what to do with them, so she went back in and asked the doctor if they take the cards. The answer was no. I then gave her two twenties. She again went back into the doctor, this time to get some change. She came out empty handed, so instead got her own wallet out and gave me five one-dollar coins (very common here- you never see one dollar bills). It made me wonder- do people never pay here, or what?

We spent the afternoon attempting to collect pee and poop samples from our diaper wearing son. Good news-- we were successful! Bad news-- we didn't finish until past 4 pm. So, that means that we have to wait until tomorrow to bring them in. However, in the meantime, Devin and I talked with a few people and made an executive decision that since something is clearly going on, we were going to start Jace on an antibiotic, especially since if he does have a urinary tract infection, we don't want to go any more days leaving it untreated. This is when having a pharmacist for a sister comes in handy. She told us exactly what to get and all we had to do was walk into the pharmacy here and ask for it- no prescription needed. We then called her back tonight and read her the label and she gave us the correct doses. Wah-lah. Feels much better to have him on something, in addition to the Tylenol. We have a doctor's appointment scheduled for him already for when Devin gets back to the states so he can check in with our regular doctor, so that is also reassuring.

After the fun afternoon indoors, we made our way to the pharmacy first and then onto pizza day with the Schinnerers, as is becoming our tradition each Tuesday. We really love the Schinnerers and enjoy spending time with them. They are just good, uplifting, and fun people. We love seeing them. I do have to say, though, that I think Papa John's hates seeing us---afterall Hallie does run wild around the restaurant (we are usually the only ones there, which is surprising since Tuesday is 2 for 1 day!) and because between the three kids of ours, we leave a rather large mess. Oh, well. Gotta love Tuesday pizza day! We are going on Thursday with the Schinnerers to Cotopaxi, a volcano here in Ecuador. We are looking forward to it-- should be a fun field trip! We are so glad that we are not on this journey alone!!

Alright, that's it for now. Happy Tuesday everyone!

Ecuador Day 43

Devin decided to come up with another rhyme for you today. "Day 43 and here we still be." Isn't that man such a creative genius?

 Last night was a little rough-- Jace woke up about 9 covered in his throw-up and Hallie also threw up in the night. What is going on, I have no idea. Both woke up fine this morning. We planned on staying in all day, but since they were acting fine and we were all feeling very cooped up, we decided to go out.

We have been wanting to go to Teleferiqo the entire time we have been here,but every time we have it planned, it rained. So, today we finally got the chance to go. What do you know-- it started to drizzle on our taxi ride there. Luckily, by the time we got there, the weather was back to being sunny and beautiful. Teleferiqo is a cable car that goes to the top of a large peak, giving you a really pretty view of the whole valley.

We got in line for our tickets and the lady behind the window was feeling especially generous as she gave us buy an adult, get a child free. She told us it was a special for the day, but I am pretty sure she was just being nice. However, when we got in the line to board a car, the ticket taker would not let us past because apparently you have to be 18 months old to ride the cable cars and I guess Jace didn't pass for that. She gave us some spiel about the altitude and his ears. So turned away we were. Luckily, the nice lady at the window refunded our money.

All was not lost as just below the Teleferiqo is an amusement park with all sorts of rides. So, we opted to do that instead. We were unsure if the place was even open as there were about two people in site. But, it was open and having so few people there made it all the better. We basically went to whichever rides we wanted and the workers followed us and let us right on. We also played a fair few arcade games (Devin even won two dog stuffed animals- I think winning is easier here than in the states. All he had to do for each of those is to make a basket from 10 feet away. His high school basketball skills came in handy there).

Poor Flor-- she was just so tired the whole time, she could barely enjoy herself. Any opportunity she had, she laid her head on chair, on a lap, or on the floor. I don't know what is going on, but she must not be feeling well still. She also rejected dinner again- a classic sign that something is up. After all, her two loves in life (that we know so far) are food and Barney. Hmm. It is sad to me that I can't tell what is going on. Unlike Hallie, who tells you repeatedly that she doesn't feel well and asks for medication or anything she believes to be medication (altoids at this point) or Jace who cries and whines, Flor is silent in her pain. She obviously can't tell us what is going on, but she doesn't cry or act sick really either, other than to act more tired and to refuse food. Poor girl. She took a two hour nap this afternoon, but was ready for bed again right at 6 when we got home. So, we'll see I guess.

All in all, we had a really great afternoon. Getting out after a day inside is always a good remedy to lift my spirits and to make it seem like the days are going faster.

No news on the Adoption Decree yet. Maybe tomorrow. We can only hope!

And now, a bunch of pictures from our afternoon out.

The ride that wasn't to be for us. Oh well...

They had this really cool bubble thing that I have never seen before. Basically, they blow a huge bubble up with air and let the kids roll around and play on top of the water. Hallie really wanted to try it- that is until she got in. Then she started bawling hysterically, so this is as far as she made it. Oh well. The guy was really nice about it and let us ride a different ride for free instead. She just had to pick one of those spinny rides and insisted that I go with her. UGh...

On said spinny ride

Our view of the other three from a top the ride

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See what I mean? Poor Flor.

Again. Poor Flor.

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Flor actually loves jumping on trampolines, so we let her and Hals go into this tramp to jump. She clearly didn't love it this time...

...Hallie on the other hand enjoyed it immensely

A view of the city from the amusement park. Just imagine it another few thousand feet up and that is what it would have been from the top of Teleferiqo.

Ecuador Day 42

I almost forgot to write the blog post today. But, here we are with a short little update.

Today was a typical Sunday. We woke up and went to church. Church is always uplifting and is a bright spot in the week. Today we had a really good discussion in sunday school that helped put some things into perspective for me. Then, third hour meetings were combined because it is the 5th Sunday of the month. The Bishop of the ward went over the ward mission plan for the year. It was rather interesting and the group had a rather in depth discussion. So much so that the class went over by almost a half hour. Whoa...you don't often see that at home!

I also got the good news that the OSSO house is a yes for Flor and I. We will pay $16 per day to stay there (and that includes food) so that is a great deal. They are counting Flor as half a person basically, figuring that she won't eat that much. HA! What they don't know...we are getting a good deal.

This afternoon was extremely slow and painfully boring. I have nothing to say about it, in fact. You know me-- I tend to get wordy, so having nothing to say is a big deal.

We made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner since I have been craving that and it was a hit. Why I didn't think to make it any earlier...no idea. Hallie had three bowls full. Do you think she's dying for a good meal? Yeah.The only thing missing was good cheese to go with it. Another time...another time.

A few more Unique Ecuadors for you: (some from Robin and some of ours)
*It is considered rude for the wait staff to bring you your check unless you ask for it and it is also considered rude to put your hands under the table while you are eating.
*Men can pee anywhere they want here (I have mentioned this before, but we have a really spectacular view of this from our window)
*The people that clean the bathrooms at businesses/restaurants don't care if the bathroom is empty or not. They just walk in and start cleaning. Many times there have been men in the ladies bathroom and women in the men's bathroom. You get used to ignoring them and going about your business.
*Drinks are interesting. Juices and milk all come in square boxes and are not refrigerated. The juice is particularly gross (don't know about the milk- I don't drink it). The juice is very syrupy and the flavors rarely resemble what they are supposed to be.
*Cakes, cookies, desserts, etc. are all cooked with way less sugar than we are used to. Things just don't have the same sweet taste.
*It is not uncommon for trucks to drive by in the mornings with whatever product they are selling. They either honk their horns to notify you to come out to purchase or they have someone speaking through a loudspeaker advertising. The problem with this is that the people talking always put the  walkie talkie thing right next to their mouth, use their deepest voice possible, and it seems to be a race to see who can speak fastest. They repeat the same message over and over, so it just sounds like a chant. I really have no idea how anyone understands them.

Ecuador Day 41

One more note on the topic from earlier today before we lay it to rest. I can honestly say that I never knew that the term "Gotcha Day" was offensive. My last post basically described how my feelings differ from the thoughts on the blog that the anonymous commenter directed me to since she did not say (nor did the blog) just what is so offensive about the term. So, I did a little research this afternoon and found THIS website very helpful. There are a few comments there that help me understand a little bit better why some people don't love the term. However, I am still not offended in the least by it and I actually think it is rather endearing, so we are sticking with it. To me, "Gotcha Day" is a fun way to describe a very important and monumental event in our lives. It means that after a lot of hard work, prayers, time, money, and hardships, we can finally celebrate having Flor as an official part of our family. We don't have to use more serious or heavy-toned language...after all, something can be fun, can't it? So, please, let's just move on and agree to disagree (speaking to all who find it offensive.)

Alright, on to today. Thank you for all the well-wishes for my illness. I feel much better today, especially after the large and delicious dinner that we had, but we will get to that.

This morning we hung out around the house before making a trip to the Mega. We are going to try to use up whatever food we have left in the house instead of doing more grocery shopping since Devin, Hals, and Jace leave a week from Monday (sad day). However, we are having a bit of an issue in the eating department in that four out of five family members refuse to eat rice anymore (I will let you guess who is still agreeable to rice). We have a lot of rice on hand...so, we might be getting creative in what we eat this week. Honestly, the food situation is getting rather dismal here. I can't wait to get home and eat to my heart's content (wow, don't I sound gluttonous?) Oh well. The flavors of things here are just not the same, so though we can usually find similar items in the grocery stores to what we buy at home, everything just has a weird taste. As mentioned before, dairy products are particularly bad...which is rough because I love me some cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, etc. Oh well, I'll live, right?

After our trip to the Mega, we spent about an hour at home before heading out again about 4:30 to go to dinner. We decided to celebrate Flor's Gotcha Day today as we did not have a chance yesterday since I wasn't feeling too swell. We went to TGI Friday's for dinner as we were fairly sure we could find some good old comfort food there. It didn't disappoint. Hallie's hot dog was the only thing that was a little iffy, but I don't eat hotdogs anyway, so it was no loss to me. Devin tried it and said it tasted more like sausage. Oh well, Hallie still ate it and that's what counts!

After dinner, we took a walk down the road to an ice cream shop that the Schinnerers had told us about. They told us that they sell diabetic ice cream--which means no sugar--which means Flor can have it! What a treat! Well, we all enjoyed our ice cream immensely....all except for Flor. She hated it. Too bad. Now we know that we shouldn't feel bad eating ice cream in front of her; she wouldn't eat it anyway!

Well, that about sums up the day. Nothing too exciting going on. A few people have asked what the process from here entails since I won't be coming home for a few more weeks. Well, here is the process:

1) We wait for the Adoption Decree from the Judge. She promised she would get it done as soon as possible...so we will see.
2) After we have the decree, there is a three day mandated waiting period before we can do anything else. Who knows why...we just comply. So three days of waiting, which will certainly put us into the next week.
3) I will go with MJ and Flor to the Civil Service Registry for an all day affair. Please wish us luck on this one as Flor has a really hard time sitting still and needs naps like no one I know. So, we will be there all day until we come to the front of the line in order to acquire Flor's passport, ID card, and birth certificate.
4) Flor will have a doctor's appointment to verify that she is healthy enough to leave the country.
5) INFA writes one more report, summarizing everything. Again, who knows how long this will take...
6) Flor and I will fly to Guayaquil to go to the US embassy. We have an exit interview and obtain Flor's visa.
7) The judge must sign our "Salida", basically signing off on everything.
8) We are free to leave the country and fly to the US! Flor becomes a US citizen as soon as we land on US soil. She also retains her Ecuadorian citizenship.

So...as you can see, how fast things go will depend a lot on the judge and on INFA and how quickly they get things done. Please pray with me that it will be a week past when Devin goes home, versus two. The thought of a week here alone is much more handle-able than two, for some reason.

 And a few pictures from today:

While I was sitting on the couch writing the post this morning, Devin was busy getting the kids ready, hair and all. Check out that amazing hair-do! He does hair like no man I know, minus my Uncle Brad.

Nothing special here, just three kids enthralled with Barney. Devin was already discussing today how we are going to wean the kids from Barney when we get home. I agree-- a necessary step. I don't even know why Hallie and Jace like it so much; it's in Spanish.

Our delicious ice cream. Mmmmm.

Flor not enjoying her ice cream. Little stink!

Jace on the other hand was loving it. He "uhhhh uhhhh uhhhh"ed every few seconds until we fed his need.

And...another soccer game is going on outside the window, so that ought to be entertaining for tonight. Until tomorrow!

A Response to Anonymous

I received a comment yesterday about my use of the term "Gotcha Day" in my last post. I would like to respond to this person and the only way I can is here on the blog since the comment was left by "anonymous".  However, maybe this is better because there may be others of you who want to know our family's opinion on this.

First, here is the comment:
I have really enjoyed reading about this whole experience, as a social worker and potential adoptive mama. But I have to say, the use of "gotcha day" threw me. It's an incredibly offensive term to use! Perhaps you might want to take a look at the blog "Letters to Ms. Feverfew" for information on why.

Sorry for the negative comment! I hope you feel better soon and continue to be blessed!

 I have read the blog "Letters to Ms. Feverfew". Here is the part where the term "Gotcha Day" is used: (This portion of the blog is a letter that was written by an adult adoptee, who shares her own personal experiences and opinions on being adopted. The author of the actual blog is a woman who placed her child for adoption years ago.)

"Try not to make a big celebration out of your child’s adoption day (and PLEASE don’t EVER use the horribly offensive and insensitive term “Gotcha Day). The same goes for birthdays. For while it may be a happy occasion to remember, keep in mind that it also marks the day that the adopted person was permanently and forever separated from their mother, their father, their original family."  (Read the entire letter HERE )

And now, I must respectfully disagree and offer my perspective on things.

I have a lot of background in adoption. Not only have I worked with adoptive couples, potential adoptive couples, and numerous birth mothers, but now I am an adoptive mother. I also have had a close relationship with adult adoptees, particularly my aunt Linda.  While the blog above offers one perspective on things, I have another. And that is okay. Each of us, as human beings, is entitled to have our own views on things. A sum of my experiences has led me to my opinions and the sum of this woman's experiences has led her to hers. She can have one viewpoint and I another and there is nothing wrong with that.

One of the most treasured times I shared with my aunt was last May when we drove to Boise to go to Wicked. My cousin Che'Lyn and I drove there and back with her, not knowing that she would pass away a short month and a half later at the tender age of 38. One of the conversations we had was about Linda's adoption. I won't share the details of the conversation, except to say that she felt differently from the adult adoptee who wrote the letter on Ms. Feverfew's blog. She was secure in the family she was placed into and felt they were her family. She had little curiosity about her birth parents and birth family and felt that her adoption had happened for a reason- to lead her to her family. We all feel too that God's hand played a part in Linda coming to our family. She is ours. She always has been. The circumstances bringing her to our family were a little bit different, but that doesn't mean that she is loved or was treated any differently. And I can definitely tell you that we never tip-toed around her birthday, afraid to celebrate it because it might offend her or remind her of  her separation from her "mother, father, or original family." That just wasn't the case.

In my experience working with birth mothers, I can honestly tell you that there are many who are happy and very secure with the choice that they made to place their baby for adoption. Many come from wealth and have abundant resources that could have helped them parent their baby if they chose, but they still chose adoption. I respect the choice that each of the expectant parents make that I work with, whether it is to parent or to place. Each has different reasons for what she chooses, but ultimately, only they can make the choice for themselves. I have also worked with a few birth parents who regret the choice they made to place for a time-which they are also entitled to. I respect each for the journey that they go through. One clarifier here- I have never worked with a birth parent who has not wanted her baby; each wants their child. However, they have their own reasons for continuing forward with a placement plan, despite knowing that it will be the hardest, most gut-wrenching, life-changing experience. These reasons may include the desire to have the child placed with a father and a mother, the spiritual prompting they receive to place, or the desire they have to have the child sealed in the Temple as soon as possible (specific to birth mothers I have worked with), or something else entirely. I have watched as many have celebrated with their child's adoptive families for birthdays, significant events, and yes, even "Gotcha Days." There may be some to whom this term is offensive, but I can honestly say that in my experience, there are more who celebrate this special day with the child's family.

Now, speaking of our specific experience with Flor. We have some details of Flor's birth parents. We know that her birth mother took specific steps to ensure that she could abandon Flor in the hospital. I am not going to speculate why she chose to do this because the fact is, we don't know. I will just say that I respect her very much and though I have never met her, I love her a great deal. She brought Flor into the world and Flor is a very important and special part of our family.

So why are we choosing to make Flor's "Gotcha Day" a celebration?

Because we have waited and longed for this little girl for 6 years. 6 years. So are we going to celebrate her finally being a part of our family? You bet we are.

Because otherwise, she would be destined to live a life in an institution. The orphanage were she was living was wonderful and far exceeded my expectations for the care given their children. But- each child there lacks one major and important thing- a family. I am a firm believer in the value of a family and I know that family is fundamental to a child's growth and development.

Because we celebrate each of our children coming into our family. We thank our Heavenly Father for each of them. Many may disagree with my saying this, but that's okay. This is my opinion and my blog, so I will share how I feel. I feel like Flor was meant to come into our family. I feel the circumstances which led her to us were indeed tragic. I feel that her life was born out of tragedy. Yes, I believe all that. However, I also believe that Heavenly Father had a plan for her from the beginning and that plan included coming into our family. My reasons for believing this and feeling this are sacred and special to me. You may disagree with me, but that won't change the way I feel about the matter. My feelings on this started 6 years ago when I was here with her, a little one year old girl, alone in the hospital with severe medical problems. I was given specific thoughts and feelings then that were a comfort to me at the time and continue to be now.

So, until the day that Flor tells me that she does not want to celebrate her "Gotcha Day" (and I would respect that), we will continue to celebrate this important day in her history and in the history of our family.  It is significant and it is a cause for celebration to us because Flor is a cause of celebration to us. As I said before, others may view things differently and that is okay, but this is a sum of our experiences and our perspective on the situation. I don't use the term lightly, but to signify something deep, meaningful, and important to us. The intent was never to offend anyone and hopefully this explanation suffices.

(Anonymous, if you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to email me. Strobelite@gmail.com)

Ecuador Day 40-It's Official!

Well, it's official! Flor is ours!

When I woke up this morning, I instantly knew that I didn't feel so swell. And by not swell, I mean horrible. Great. Just the day to not feel well! We have been here for 40 days with nothing to do  every day and the most important day of our adoption journey I have the makings of the flu? Awesome.

Flor was luckily feeling better. I tried to sleep it off and self-medicate all morning long, but nothing quite worked. I just prayed that I would be able to make it through court. We got the kids up from their naps at 1 and got ready to go. Our agency had told us that we should dress up for the event, which we did. Devin did opt out of wearing his shirt and tie and instead went for a polo with his dress pants. A good call, a good call.

Getting to the courthouse was stressful as we hit horrible traffic. We were supposed to be there right at 2, with our hearing to be at 2:15. We finally jumped out of our taxi about 3 blocks away and ran the rest of the way as we were in stand still traffic. We got there at about 2:05. MJ and Fabiola were there waiting for us and we went right into one of the offices.

We waited for just a bit and then moved into the judge's office. She soon came in and I couldn't help but notice first thing that she was wearing a pair of jeans and a hooded sweatshirt. Can you say "overdressed"? Yes, we were. She took a seat behind her desk while her secretary (?) pulled up a chair beside her and started typing on the computer. The judge asked for color-copies of our passports, which we did not bring as MJ told us we would not need them. Fabiola ran downstairs to get the copies while the judge pressed on with the proceedings. She began to ask us questions about our relationship with Flor, why we decided to adopt, why we chose a special needs child, if we understand what her care is going to entail, what we are willing to do for her as parents, if we will love her the same as a biological child, many variations of the same, and my favorite (she asked twice): "Do you realize that you now have three children?" Answering the questions was torture, not just because we felt highly interrogated, but because there was no translator there (Fabiola doubles as the attorney and translator and she was out, remember) so we had to answer the questions in Spanish. Neither of us are really all that great at Spanish, so I am sure our answers were interesting. It was also hard not to mention my previous relationship with Flor, as that is the real reason we have pursued her adoption. We have felt she is our child for sometime, but had to answer the questions about why we are pursuing adoption and specifically the adoption of a special needs child in a different way. The judge was not so encouraging either; she sat there and scowled at us pretty much the whole time. It didn't help that Hallie was running around wild around the room and refused to sit in her chair. Yikes.

We must have passed though, because as soon as Fabiola returned, the Judge asked a few more questions, had Fabiola dictate some things to the secretary, who dutifully typed it up, and then we signed some document. That was that. All done. We did ask the judge how long it would take for the decree (though I did not put my begging skills to use- I just was not up to it) and she said she would get it done as soon as possible. That could mean anything--but we will try to be hopeful.

We did ask the judge for a picture in the room and that opened her up. She was super friendly after that, holding the kids, smiling at them, blowing kisses at Flor, and asking us to send her pictures of her. Hmmm. Okay.

I had to crop the photo as it is a shot right up Hallie's dress. No one wants to see that. This is us with the secretary (in blue shirt), and the judge (sorry you can't see the whole outfit for effect). Please also forgive my hair. It has multiple problems, including that it has a new quality of life to it since my giving birth to children, and also that I had to do it without a mirror today as the bathroom plugs in our apartment don't work. Thus the ponytails every day.

This is Fabiola (attorney) and the famous MJ here with Flor.

After court, I felt as if I was about to die, but MJ said that we needed to go around the corner to a notary's office to finish the Power of Attorney process for Devin. She took us in a taxi, literally around the corner, and dropped us off, telling us that a man was coming to translate for us and that we ought to wait at the coffee shop next door until he came. We sat at the little shop for about an hour waiting for this man, who finally showed up. We felt rude just sitting there so ordered a few snacks to keep us occupied.

After the man arrived, he led us into the next door building where another long waiting period ensued. I felt so awful at this point that it was all I could do just to sit there. I laid my head on the table for a while, which I am sure they thought was rude, but hey, it's better than throwing up during the reading of the legal documents, right? Another hour later, that was finally accomplished and we headed home.

I took another long nap while Devin handled the children. He is such a champ. I don't feel much better yet, but at least I made it through court with no incidents. Can you imagine? What I wouldnt' give for a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup right about now. Unfortunately, no such thing has been seen by us around here.

I wish the day didn't have such a negative undertone for me because this is such a significant day for us and for Flor. It's official. She is ours! Though it has felt that way for the past few weeks while we have had her (5 to be exact), it is nice to know that it is really real and that no one can take her away from us now.

The question the judge asked us about loving Flor the way we do our biological children was interesting to me. I guess I just didn't ever think it would be any other way. I have seen a lot of adoptions in my work and I know that the love an adoptive parent has for their child is to the same caliber that a biological parent does. We are so grateful that this journey has led us to where we want to be, despite it being a fairly difficult road. Flor is our child and we love her immensely. She has already taught me lessons I know I would not be learning any other way. I look forward to many, many more years of developing my relationship with her and enjoying the gifts and spirit she brings into our home.

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY FLOR!!! WE LOVE YOU!


(PS. We had a little issue with Flor's name. Our agency never informed us before that each child can only have four names- so even though we had planned to keep Flor's prior last names as her middle names, the agency went ahead and dropped them for us to comply with Ecuadorian law. Hmm. So Flor's official name is Maria Florinda Perry Perry. Yes, two Perrys as it is custom here to have two last names, (usually one from the mother and one from the father). I asked if we could keep one of her prior names instead of the double Perry and the answer was no. Don't ask me. So, welcome to the family, Maria Florinda Perry Perry!)

Ecuador Day 39

ONE DAY until court! One day. Our good friend MJ almost thwarted it today, but luckily, we are still on.

We stayed in this morning as we were slow-moving getting ready. For one, we were out of hot water (we have been for the past few days-- Andres has been promising to get us a new gas can, but hasn't had success yet). Finally we got the text that the water should be back up and running, so we got the kids bathed (hallelujah-- would have been a bad day if we can't bathe the kids. Some, okay I mean two who wear diapers, smell not so bueno in the mornings). We also noticed that Flor was acting weird. She didn't want to eat, which is TOTALLY unlike her. Later she started getting really hot, so we are sure she has a fever. Just peachy. She also put herself to bed mid-morning, which is very unusual. I wish Hallie would do that from time to time!

We left the house about 2:30 in order to get to the courthouse for our signature verification. We met MJ in front of the building and in we went. The judge and her clerk met with us in a different cramped office than last time. Last time we were there, MJ had told me that we would need to bring color copies of our passports and nothing else. However, the first thing the judge asked to see was our actual passports. Luckily, right before we left, I had the thought that I ought to bring our passports with us "just in case." I can't imagine what would have happened had we not had our passports. I don't even want to think about it.

The judge took a good while staring intently at our passports (not exactly sure what there was to look at for so long) and her assistant went to work typing up a document which we were to sign. Meanwhile, MJ asked me what was going on with Flor-- she seemed a little out if it. I told her that she is a little bit sick. So, what does MJ do? She turns to the judge and points out that Flor is sick, so perhaps we should postpone court. I almost fell through the floor. The blessed judge, however, quickly said that she doesn't have time any other day, so tomorrow it needs to be. THANK YOU JUDGE. I don't care if Flor is projectile vomiting, we will be at court tomorrow. On our way out, MJ let us know that we ought to give her some medication because she has to be with us at court tomorrow. She said that things wouldn't go well if Flor was home sleeping through the proceedings and that she needed to be there. Yes, thank you- we understand that.

Back in the court room, MJ also noticed a goose-egg on Hallie's head and asked what happened. I told her that Hallie fell and hit her head on the corner of the table. She had been sitting on Devin's legs, which were stretched from the couch he was sitting on, resting on the other couch. She lost her balance and tipped off, hitting her head on our coffee table yesterday. So MJ, as soon as getting these details, turns to the judge and says "look at that! She fell off the table and hit her head!" She was sure making us look like parents of the year, right there. Awesome.

The assistant asked us if the signature on our passports were indeed ours. We verified this twice for him, then a translator came in to ask the exact same question in English, just in case we didn't understand. We verified it again. The judge also turned to Devin at one point and asked him where he is from. He replied Utah. She then turned to me and asked where I am from. I replied the Utah. She looked surprised to hear that we are from the same place. Married people do tend to live together, do they not? The assistant finally finished writing up the document, we verified the details, and then we signed the documents while the assistant hid our passports and the copies of our passports so that we couldn't "cheat". I think we passed because they let us go without any further trouble.

One little Hallie-ism: While at the courthouse, Hallie asked, "Are we here to adopt Flor?" I said that we are. She then said, "Oh good, so now we can go home? To the home without all the stairs?" Apparently the hates the stairs here, too.

We then went to the Schinnerers apartment to meet them. We had planned to go to the fruit and vegetable market together. We spent an hour or so there getting our produce and looking around. All the little ladies there love Jace and follow us around each week when we come. One in particular is really cute with him. She remembers his name, though she can't really say it (most here can't-- it comes out more like "Jay") and hauls him off to show all her friends. I don't know if we will be back to the market since Devin is leaving in a little more than a week and I will be moving out, so we got a picture of her with Jace today.

We only took a few pictures today, all at the market.

This is the lady (sorry from the back) who we get our fruit from. She also likes to take Jace and have various people hold him so they can see for themselves just how big he is.

Here is the cute vegetable lady who is Jace's biggest fan. Not the best picture, but Jace wasn't much into cooperating.

The market also has a floor where people sell pottery, wooden items, baskets, etc. They have the most massive wooden spoons I have ever seen.

Alright, wish us luck tomorrow at court. We should finally be official. And prayers that Flor is not actually projectile vomiting would be lovely too.

Ecuador Day 38

I can't help but wonder how many days we are going to be up to by the time Flor and I leave here...any guesses? I hope we get home sooner rather than later.

We are trying to make the most of our time here, but we are running out of things to do. Today we took another trip downtown to the Centro Historico to go to the Albert Mena Caamano Museum. One of the missionaries at church recommended it to us, so we thought we would give it a try. The museum is right smack in the middle of the historical district, just up from the Presidential Plaza. It gives a history of Ecuador's independence.

We were the only souls at the place, which as pretty nice. When we got there, a guard at the door went inside to verify with the clerk that it was okay for us to go through. Not sure what that was all about, but they let us in. They offered us a tour, but it was in Spanish, so we opted just to walk ourselves through. The missionary had told us that the museum is wax museum. Upon first glance, all we saw was a timeline pained onto the wall, some books in glass cases, and three wax figures depicting something or other. We were rather disappointed...that is until the guard pointed us through another door, which led to a whole huge museum! Everything was really fascinating and the wax figures were so well-done it was almost creepy. I got spooked a few times thinking that there were people around the corner looking at us. All in all, it was very interesting and worth the $1.50 it cost to get in. Here are just a few of the pictures of some of the figures:

Check out that background! It looks totally 3D, right? It was actually just a painting on the wall behind the figures.

Well at least they are both looking. Smiling, no. Looking, yes. We'll take it.

Just a little picture outside the museum. I am pretty sure we will never again have a decent picture of all three kids, looking and smiling. Oh,well.

After the museum we had a little snack of bon ice. You can't go wrong at 15 cents for a delicious treat like bon ice.

This afternoon we just stayed inside the apartment as the kids napped late and the dark  clouds were rolling in. We watched a movie with the kids and just hung out together.

Tomorrow is the day that we will go to the court house for "signature verification". Remember when we had a big issue a few months before we traveled because Devin's passport signature did not match his signature from our application? Signatures are apparently very important in this process. So tomorrow, we get to go just to sign some documents for the court to verify we are who we say we are. Devin gets to revert back to his pre-mission signature for all these documents, which is very, very different from his current signature. Wish us well with this venture.

Ecuador Day 37

Finally forward progress today! Wahoo! We will get to that.

The day started off slow and dreary. We stayed around the apartment this morning, put the kids down for early naps, and headed to the Schinnerers apartment at about 2. Jim had called this morning to tell us that MJ and Fabiola (translator/attorney) were coming to their apartment at 2 to talk to them about their case. They invited us over to talk to them as well in case we had questions, which of course we do. Jim and Robin played it off like we just showed up to see them because they didn't really know what MJ needed to talk to them about and she hadn't mentioned us needing to be there.


When we got into the apartment, MJ was quite happy to see us and said that we ought to praise the Lord as he had sent us to her at the right time. (No, actually that was Jim...) She said that she intended to go to the court house after her talk with Robin and Jim and wanted Flor and I to come to talk to the Judge to see if we can get into court on Friday. I was confused...if she wanted us to go to court with her, why hadn't she simply called us to tell us so? Had we not shown up, what would have happened then? I hope we continue to be "directed" to her at the right time when things need to happen!


Anyway, Devin, Hallie, and Jace walked back to our apartment to get copies of our passports for MJ as we will need a Power of Attorney for Devin since he won't be here to finish the process with me. Meanwhile, Flor, MJ, and I headed to the courthouse. MJ had an appointment to talk to the Judge at 3 pm but in true Ecuador fashion, we rolled in at 4. The judge hadn't waited for us (surprise, surprise). MJ directed Flor and I into a room with white piece of paper taped to the door with the word "JUEZA" typed on it. She stood around outside the door while Flor and I sat inside. I felt a little foolish as I had no idea whose office I was sitting in and MJ was roaming around outside. The office had two desks shoved into it, each with mounds of disheveled papers on them. The chairs were rickety, the walls wood paneled. Nothing in the entire building gave off the impression of being a court house.

Flor and I sat there for probably 20 minutes with MJ occasionally popping her head in to smile and nod at me while holding up a few fingers to indicate "just a few more minutes." Finally,  a mystery door on the opposite wood-paneled wall opened and two ladies stepped in. One immediately sat down behind one of the desks and started typing away, meanwhile casting me occasional glances. Surely it must have been weird for her to find a strange person and a child sitting in her office with no explanation as to why. I had no idea who she was and didn't know how to explain why we were there, so I just sat there looking dumb. Finally, MJ noticed that the woman had come in and came rushing into the room.  She went right to town explaining our situation and why we needed a court date on Friday. The woman stopped her and turned to me to ask some questions but MJ just plugged right on, answering all the questions for me before I could even open my mouth.


The woman seemed very un-interested in our situation, but eventually did say she would look in to having us come in on Friday. She then got up, left the room for about 10 minutes, and then returned to say that we could come in on Friday at 2 pm. I was elated with this news since it seemed that earlier in the conversation the woman had said our case would be seen the next Friday. THE NEXT FRIDAY? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!? I am not sure why MJ has told us all this time it would be this week when we were apparently on the schedule for next week, but I guess I can't blame her too much as she has the begging act down and got us in.


As we were leaving, I asked MJ about the Judge. She turned to me and laughed, telling me that WAS the Judge that we were sitting before. Well, I guess I should have known by the "Jueza" on the door, but in my defense, MJ had told me that Judge 6 is a man and that was no man. Plus the woman leaving for 10 minutes gave me the impression that she was going to discuss with the judge whether or not he had time for us. Why she really left, I don't know. So we have met Judge 6, who will be the one to finally help us complete the court portion of this adoption.

The whole court experience today was a rather interesting and insightful look into how things are run here.


On the taxi ride back to the Schinnerer's apartment, MJ gave me some lessons on how to beg the Judge to hurry up with our paperwork after the finalization. The lesson included holding my hands together as if in prayer, puppy eyes, and pouty lips, all while saying "por favor....por faaaaaavor.." Sounds all too familiar as we get this from people selling things on the street all the time. Not sure I will be performing this for the Judge, but maybe I will be desperate enough by then. Only time will tell. I'll keep you posted.

We went to 2x1 pizza day at Papa Johns with the Schinnerers and then headed home to get the kids to bed. Just our luck, tonight is the first soccer game of the season!! You should see the scene outside our window. It is a MAD HOUSE. There is no other way to describe it. Remember, we live one block above the stadium, so we have a great view of everything. Never mind parking spots, there are cars parked all skiwampus everywhere on the streets. Awesome. Too bad there is so much fog and it is dark, because we can't get any good pictures. I think we will be up late tonight!

Here are a few pictures for the day.

On the way to pizza, Hallie insisted upon having her own umbrella. Pablo was kind enough to let her take over his. What a gem.

While moving two tables together at Papa John's, I grabbed on chair and the top immediately fell off and then right after, Jim grabbed the next one and the seat part fell right off. Quality. We had to get a picture of that.

On our way home from dinner, we noticed the crowds gathering at the stadium. We also saw a man who was inside at the top of one of the bleachers lowering a rope down to his buddies to pull them up from the outside to get into the game. Awesome. There is a unique Ecuador item for you right there!

This is the view outside our window a while ago. It's much worse now. The cars are parked all over, such that there is not even a driving path left. Good thing we are not going anywhere...

Ecuador Day 36

5 weeks today.

First things first, we did hear from MJ today. She said that we will go to the courthouse on Thursday for our signature verification and then court will be "maybe Friday, maybe Monday." So, apparently court keeps getting pushed back. I hope Friday or Monday are accurate. Only time will tell. So please pray for us that things will get moving and that we can get to court this week.

This morning we took a trip to the Mega for some groceries. It seems like it has been ages since I have been there, but at most it can't have been more than a week. Man, we live at that place.

This afternoon we also went to the Mariscal market (yes again. I think this is our last time officially) and to the Basillica, a huge cathedral here in town and quite the tourist attraction. Pictures below. Our kids were extremely disruptive inside the Basillica (crying, shouting, fighting, you name it) so we decided to get out of there before someone let us have it. There were a few people in there worshiping, so surely they enjoyed our shenanigans.

A few pictures from yesterday first. Hallie and Flor made these cute necklaces that say "Heavenly Father and Jesus Love Me". We will have to get a picture of them with their cute Primary teacher before we leave. She is probably in her early 20's and always has such fun things to do with the kids. Plus, she speaks fluent English, which is great for Hallie's sake.

Hmm..one likes pictures better than the other. Any guesses which is which?

Here we are at the Basillica, on the street to the side.

This is the side view--Can you see us in the picture? The place is huge!

Inside. We had issues with figuring out the right camera setting, so you'll have to forgive the terrible lighting.

A view from the outside and down the block.

This is back at home from our window. There has been a lot of fog lately and we watched a few planes try to come in to land and then all the sudden go up to detour instead of landing because of the fog during dinner time tonight.

Our friend Robin has been keeping a fun list of "Unique Ecuador" items and I thought you might like to see some of them to get a glimpse of what life is like here:

*Unique Ecuador: Where mascara is $13-$22 and Oreos are $1.48 for a normal size package.
*Unique Ecuador: A guy had a metal extension ladder (about 20 feet up) leaning up against the high wire lines that he was fixing
*Unique Ecuador: At almost all public restrooms you get your toilet paper before you go into a stall, and usually you pay 15 cents for a few squares. Speaking of restrooms, it is also common for men and women's to be in the same building. Men to the left, women to the right. Avert your eyes when you are going in! 
*Unique Ecuador: Where you get into a taxi and you put your life, literally, into his hands. They create 4 lane roads out of 2. Ten times worse then New York City.
*Unique Ecuador: When you check out at the grocery store, you unload a silver cart and leave it there. Then a bagger sacks and loads your groceries in a plastic coated red cart to go outside.
*Unique Ecuador: The breath mints they give you at restaurants and the ones you can buy in the store taste EXACTLY like our Halls Cough Drops
*Unique Ecuador: A pair of Reeboks will set you back $140, a toaster oven-$200, a washer or dryer -$1,800, a 42" flat screen-$1,800, a cup of walnuts-$20, 8 oz. of peanut butter-$4, 1 box of Mac & cheese-$2.50, jar of canned tomatoes-$2.50, Prego spaghetti sauce-$5.00. And the average net income is $330 a month!
*Unique Ecuador: When it thunders outside, every car alarm goes off in Quito. They are VERY sensitive.
*Unique Ecuador: Whole families take motorbikes for transportation, babies included. Wrap them in a blanket and put them in between the parents and you are good to go!
*Unique Ecuador: where ALL dairy products smell like the back end of a cow. It's either their processing system is really dirty or it's that fresh. (yes, it is all disgusting. Milk, butter, sour cream, cream cheese...they all taste the same= yuck!!)
*Unique Ecuador: instead of candy bars, chips or junk food sold on the streets you can buy a piece of fruit. They cut off the top and give you a spoon.

Also, a few Hallie-isms from today: 
*While prodding Hallie to clean up the toys today, she stopped, turned to me and said "Mom! I want to see you smile at me! Stop being gross!" (I am pretty sure she meant "grumpy")
*Every time Hallie goes to the bathroom now, she says, "Mom, I'm sick! I went to the bathroom, so I need some Pedialyte!" She learned that since Jace has diarrhea and gets some, she ought to get some too, just for going to the bathroom. Too bad it doesn't work that way. 
*While walking to the Mega Maxi today, Hallie was a bit grumpy, so we started to sing "Follow the Prophet". We sang the verse about Daniel (Daniel and the Lion's Den from the Bible) and then I asked Hallie which verse she wanted to sing next. She replied, "Sarah!" I was confused for a second and then figured it out. My cousin Sarah's husband is named Daniel, so she figured if we are singing a song about him, surely there has to be a verse about Sarah too. Funny girl.

Ecuador Day 35

Today was really slow. So slow that I am afraid this post is going to be pointless. However, for the sake of continuing with the daily habit I have imposed on myself, here we go.

We got up and got ready for church this morning but had a really difficult time getting a taxi ride there, so we ended up being late, drenched from the rain, and hauling one particularly ornery child (Hallie). Fun start to the day. However, Hallie perked up when Sacrament meeting ended as her Primary teacher came by our bench to pick up her and Flor for class. Devin and I were grateful for the two hour break. :)

I was able to talk to the OSSO site directors at church to discuss the upcoming housing problem Flor and I will have when Devin and the other two kids go home. They were optimistic about Flor and I being able to stay there; they just need to clear it with the director in the US, who is coming here on the 30th. So that will be great if that all works out. Solves a few problems-- housing issue plus my sanity would be on the line if I were to stay alone for however long it takes for us to get out of here. At the OSSO house, I would have the company of all of the current OSSO volunteers and the directors here. So hopefully that will work out.

The rest of the day was spent...sitting around. Oh so fun, I know. We are getting really lazy and I don't particularly like it. I have a feeling that I am going to get home and want to be lazy all the time when life just isn't like that there. We have responsibilities that we need to attend to. You know things are bad when Devin is actually kind of looking forward to going back to work (and this from a man who really really does not like his current employment) simply because he is sick of all the sitting around. Yes, little fulfillment comes from hanging around the house all day with nothing beneficial to do. We definitely will feel better when we are more productive. Right now, I feel like we are doing nothing productive at all. Sure, vacations are nice, but there comes a point in every vacation (at least for me) when I am ready to get back home and get back into the grind of things.

Anyway, two more weeks from tomorrow until Devin and the kids will return to the states, so that will be good. I know Hallie is really ready. She has been throwing way more fits and has told me directly that she wants to go home. Jace is still having a terrible time sleeping and that is taking a toll on both Devin and I. I just really hope that he can get back into the swing of things once we get home. He has always been a good sleeper and a good napper from the time he was a few months old. But not here. I also worry about him going home without me because he has been so attached and clingy with me. I will also miss him a lot-- not that I won't miss Hallie and Devin- I definitely will. I just feel like since Jace is my baby, he needs me more. Oh, well. No use worrying about it now. I hope that Flor and I will be able to get out of here in a reasonable time after the others leave. Time will tell.

We still have no more news about court. It really better be this week...the delays so far have been really frustrating. It is especially frustrating to have no rhyme or reason as to why things are so slow-- and the lack of communication from our in-country rep is still an issue. I have really no idea why we have to wait two weeks after being assigned a judge to get to court when most families are assigned a judge and go to court within a week, if not less. We are supposed to go before the judge before the finalization to do signature verification too, and of course we haven't heard a word about that. UGH.

Oh well. I definitely did not mean to turn this into a venting post, but there it is. Much longer than originally anticipated.

Hopefully the good news starts tomorrow.

Ecuador Day 34

Happy Saturday. Another week almost down.

Today was a good day. We thought a lot about Erin and her arrival home. Her husband had returned home a few weeks ago to be with their other daughter, Addie. Addie was unable to come to Ecuador, so today was the first day that she and Adriana met. So sweet. I wish I had been a fly on the wall for that!

We decided to get out this morning and go to the El Ejido Park again because Saturdays and Sundays are "art park" days. Different artists come and set up their work all along the outside sidewalks and on the inside sidewalks clothes/jewelry/handicraft booths are set up, much like at the Mariscal Market, which we have also frequented. On the way there, our taxi driver was super chatty. He was a friendly guy, probably 70 years old, and told us that he is one of 32 children in his family. His father had two wives and each had 16 kids. How about that. Most people here think that Devin's family of 8 is HUGE. When we tell them we might have a few more kids, they are generally shocked. The driver also told us that he has been driving a taxi for 20 years. I can only imagine...he seems to enjoy it though!

Once at the park, we walked around for a few hours and looked at all the art. We did end up buying another picture. We decided that we will put one picture in the family room at our house and one in Flor's room as a honor to her heritage. The art we bought today is more a scenic picture of Quito. The artist sold it to us for $20 and it is rather large, so we feel like we did pretty well. We will have to post pictures of our art once we get home.

At the park, we decided to call Maria Dolores and have her meet us there. She lives nearby and so it was a short walk for her. After the park, we walked to Subway for lunch. Subway is new in Quito, so its kind of a big deal. Our opinion? Over-priced and not as nearly as good as it is in the states. The meat is different as is the cheese. Maria Dolores said that she doesn't like sandwiches, but was willing to eat the Subway because Ashley (an OSSO friend who spent a lot of time here in Ecuador as a site coordinator and later adopted a little boy from here as well) always talked to her about it and told her how good it is. Maria Dolores said that she liked it, so that's good. I told her it is better in the states, so should she come visit us and we will take her.

By the time we were ready to leave, the rain started, so we came home and called it a day. The kids took a nap (well Jace and Flor) and Devin and I cleaned and organized our stuff. We started packing away some of our gifts and purchases. Not that we are eager to leave or anything...but yes, we started packing.

Not much else to report today. Here are a few pictures:

Devin and Jacer at the park

We really liked these pictures. Devin especially liked middle one on the top. Too bad they are way too large for us to get them home safely!

Hallie and I got some cheap sunglasses off a vendor at the park. Here she is trying mine on. Hers are pink. I'll have to get a picture.

This is how badly Flor is hating pictures these days. Not just a hand in front of the face...a whole foot.

Here we are at Subway with Maria Dolores. The cookies were delicious. I'll give them that!

Another day tomorrow...