Ecuador Day 24

Today it seems we have a little bit of forward progress in our case...WahOO. We will see. I got a phone call first thing this morning from MJ, saying that we needed to be home between the hours of 1 and 3 this afternoon so she could stop by to have us sign documents. She said that she was going to INFA today to get their report, so they must have hurried as we asked them to do, since it definitely has not been a week. We are grateful for that.

We decided to go to the market again this morning since it was a beautiful day (no rain yet) and we had a few things that we wanted to buy that we were unable to get last time. We decided that we ought to buy an art piece from Ecuador to honor Flor and her heritage that we can hang in our house. We found some last time that we both loved, but wanted to think about it. We went back today and bought the art- deciding that the $50 price tag was worth it. Actually I bartered him down to $45, which is actually a really good deal as it is large, framed, and original. Wish we could post a picture of it, but he wrapped it and taped it for traveling, so you will have to wait until we get home! Trust me, though, it's so beautiful. We tried to go to another market that we had heard about first, but most of the booths were still closed and it seemed a lot smaller than the Mariscal (the one we had been to before), so we just walked to the Mariscal. They are pretty close, so it wasn't a big deal.

After shopping, we came home for a later lunch and then got the kids to bed by 1. Ensue waiting. A lot of waiting. I finally called MJ about 3 pm because I couldn't stand it anymore and she said that she was at the INFA office with our attorney Fabiola and they had been there for four hours waiting for the INFA report. Apparently all the INFA workers were in a meeting and so they just sat and waited...and waited...MJ told us that we still should not leave our apartment as they still intended to come to our house and have us sign documents.

The ladies showed up about 5:30 after finally getting a portion of what they needed from INFA. I am unclear on all the paperwork issues, especially with the language barrier, but they only got the bare minimum from INFA (the ones we need to sign) and then will return tomorrow to get the rest of the file. We had to sign four of the same document and had to use the exact same signature as our passports (remember the issues with Devin's passport signature not matching all of our other documents?) So yes, from now on we will be using passport signature on everything, meaning Devin has to revert back to his 18 year old signature. Awesome.

Anyway, next step is to file a court petition, which Fabiola and MJ assured us would happen tomorrow. We really need prayers that we will get a good judge who can help us expedite this process as we are severely behind schedule right now. MJ said that we want Judge #2, 3, or 8 as they are the easiest to work with and most efficient. We really would love any prayers you are willing to offer that tomorrow will go well and we will draw a good judge. We really, really need to get home on time so that we can resume our jobs, etc. MJ told us that after we get a judge, the actual court date could be 1-2 weeks still. UGH. Let's pray for one week, so that we can get this show on the road! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all your prayers. We need them and we appreciate them.

So that sums up the day. A little forward motion...hopefully we can build the momentum from here!

Here are a few pictures of our fun today.

Our morning ritual. While Devin and I shower and get ready, the kids (usually just the girls while Jace naps, but he had just woken up at this point) watch a show: Dora, Barney (Flor's FAVORITE...she starts bouncing up and down and going crazy) or Duck Tales (remember that old gem?) on Netflix. Look at the grin on Jace's face. He is such a ham.

Here is the Indio Market, the first one we tried to go to. Now we can say that we have seen it, even though we didn't shop there.

On our walk to the other market, we passed this big square with all these statues of men who have major roads named after them now in Ecuador. Apparently they must be important people?

In order to keep ourselves busy this afternoon, we made brownies. However, the one bowl in the apartment (that we bought) was in use, so we had to make them in the pot (that we also bought). Can you tell the dire situation of this kitchen, especially prior to our arrival!?

Mmmm, brownies! Good treat...we will have to make them again sometime.

Here is a picture of Flor in her hat and jammies, since I just posted one of Hallie the other day. Both girls wouldn't look at me at once, but this is still pretty darn cute.

Family scripture study tonight-- Hallie insisted upon sitting on the bathtub, while we were all in the other room. Whatever floats your boat, Hals!