Travel Clearance

Yeah!!! I just got a call from our agency representative at 6:30 PM, tonight. We have received clearance to travel to Colombia to pick our baby boy. Our presentation date (the day we pick up Andres) is Monday, September 14th, 8:30 AM.

We need to be in Cali, Colombia, on Sunday, September 13th. Can't wait!

Baby Shower - August 30, 2009

My mother and father hosted a family baby shower for us in Miami, FL. It was wonderful to continue celebrating our journey with our family. Everyone is really looking forward to welcoming Andres to our family and can't wait to meet him.

We had an array of sushi and chinese appetizers at our shower.

Baby Shower - August 29, 2009

My friend, Kristin, hosted a lovely baby shower for me at her home in Coral Gables, FL. She is an interior decorator, so you could imagine the lovely decorations and delicious food she had prepared for us that day. There were only 12 of us in total, and it was just perfect! She even had a vegan chocolate cake especially made by Whole Foods. Delicious!

Thank you, again and again, for hosting such an amazing baby shower for me to celebrate with family and friends.

Not Traveling Yet

We have been in touch with our agency representative almost every day. At this point, we are waiting to hear when we can travel. Last we heard, the orphanage wants us to go pick up Andres on Monday, September 14th. We are waiting to get more of a confirmation so that we can book our flights to travel the weekend of the 12th.

Waiting is getting harder and harder, but spending time with family and friends this past weekend in Miami really helped to keep us staying positive and patient.

Colombia is not as dangerous as you may think

A friend recently sent me this link, referring to a good article about Colombia.

http://thetravelersnotebook.com/destinations-guides/10-reasons-why-colombia-is-not-as-dangerous-as-you-think/

Correct spelling: COLOMBIA

Incorrect spelling: COLUMBIA

False Alarm

Friday, August 21, 2009: Talked to our agency representative, to confirm our travel arrangements since Doug and I had put some flights on hold until midnight this night. Well, thank goodness we called to confirm because our representative told us she had found out that there was still one document that had not been finalized on Colombia's end, so we couldn't travel yet.

Now, we are on hold again, waiting for this document to be finalized. It is the Article 5 Letter that has to be authenticated for immigration. We are trying to stay patient. We feel positive that we will be able to travel within the first week or two of September. Will keep you posted!

Either way, we are waiting for Doug's visa to come back because after receiving it last week, we noticed this last name was mispelled so we had to send it back to the Colombian Consulate in Chicago to be redone. We should be receiving it this coming week.

Received Call to Travel

Oh my God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We received a call this afternoon from our agency, notifying us that we are able to travel. Wow, that was quick! We are excited and frantic, all at once. We still have quite a few things to organize before leaving.

When I got home after teaching yoga class, I noticed that our visas were in the mail. Yippee!

Andres, we are on our way to bring you home! Can't wait to meet you.

Just noticed, it is the new moon, again. These new moons and full moons are bringing us lots of beautiful surprises.