Gotcha Day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How do I begin? This is one of the happiest days of my life!! First, the chicos are WONDERFUL! Everything is going a million times better than we could have hoped! They are attaching beautifully and are all quite a riot!  So let me start the day at the beginning....

Brent and I both fell asleep well but woke up early full of excitement. The moment I opened my eyes (at 5:30!) the Lord gave me a verse for this special day. I have to tell you that He has never spoken so clearly to me before. It was amazing. I can't really explain the gift of His Spirit speaking to my spirit first thing in the manana. He gave me Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for  and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
This verse was a gift of promise for our chicos for their Gotcha Day. God has set the plans in place since the beginning of time to bring them into our family after heartache in their past. He is the one who has done this and it is good! His plans are for their good- never evil! He has a wonderful eternity-filled future for them. They can have HOPE! Oh, thank you Jesus for waking me up with this precious verse!

Ok, so we had breakfast at the b&b, then Gloria picked us up in a rental van (so we could all ride home in one vehicle). We were all jittery with nerves, butterflies in our stomachs! Couldn't stop smiling like loony people! LOL! Once we were on our way, I noticed Quinn looking a little green in the back seat. He often gets carsick so I was imagining the worst! He did ok though! We made it to ICBF and after he laid down on the seat while we were waiting, he perked back up!  Thank you Lord! Didn't need to meet the chicos with vomit down my skirt! LOL!

So we waited about 20 minutes and then had a meeting with a bunch of people from ICBF. Our bio kids sat  quietly in the back of the room. I was so proud of how well they did! We were able to ask some questions and discuss the process. They brought in the kids' files and, I am NOT joking, it was over 12 inches tall! They had some legal issues in their adoption process so their file is huge! One thing we are disappointed about is that until after Sentencia, we are not allowed to put any photos of the kids on any public website. I understand the reasons, but it is still disappointing to not be able to show you our first moments together yet. So the photos will come later! If you want me to email them to you, we can do that since it is private. Just send me a message.

We were signing some papers when all of a sudden a flury of busyness started. Someone peeked in the door and everyone jumped up and started flitting about and chatting. I suspected that the kids were here, but we hadn't had a chance to set up the camera or anything! I commented to one of the ladies that it felt just like the flury of activity just before a baby is ready to be born in the delivery room. All the hurried hustle and bustle happening in an instant!

They quickly took us to a bigger room which had balloons and a Sesame Street tablecloth- very kid happy room! We barely had time to get the video camera set up (still not sure if any of it turned out!) and give someone our still shot camera when the door opened and Luisa burst through the door and jumped into my arms. The other two came right behind her immediately giving hugs and kisses to Brent and I. Luisa just clung to me. It was heaven! I am in awe of how happy she was! Jonathan was very affectionate with hugs and kisses! Cindy landed in Brent's lap and we could tell she was very scared. She hugged and kissed but then buried her head in his chest. Poor thing. She was terrified.

I have no idea how long we were there hugging and kissing but it was a moment we will never forget. A few minutes later we let the kids give the chicos their backpacks with gifts in them. They opened everything up one by one and then put them all away! They didn't seem super interested- just interested in us! Luisa kept stroking my hair and kissing. I asked her if she was scared and she said NO! Happy? YES!  Jonathan said he was happy to, but Cindy said, yes, she was scared. No wonder! It was total chaos wit about 15 people watching them meet their parents for the first time! So loud and unfamiliar. Then it was as if a light switch went on with Luisa- she noticed Cait- her big sister! She clung to her the rest of the time. They are still joined at the hip!

We pulled out the coloring books and everyone colored at the table for about 10 minutes. They were very focused and it was as if it was the only thing in their world that they felt confident about. The only thing they had control over. I'm so glad I brought this activity for our first meeting. We were able to color the pictures with them and it really helped the bonding. Luisa colors super well. Even Grant and Jake were impressed saying she colored better than them! LOL!

After a bit, we headed to the car for the drive back to the b&b for lunch. The kids really started to open up and we could see more of their personalities. Jonathan is fairly quiet although likes to laugh when something funny happens. He is going to be a daddy's boy for sure! Cindy started smiling as we spun around the curvy roads. I forgot that 3 year olds have the attention span of a gnat! She put her things in and out of her bag every 2 minutes! Brent and Jonathan stopped at a bank with one of the Glorias and the rest of the kids and I went back to the B&B to wait for lunch. In the room, the girls played Polly Pockets and once Johnathan arrived he got to experience Legos for the first time!

After a lunch of hot dogs (perros caliente!) for the kids and Tipico Colombiana (traditional Colombian platter) for Brent and I, we packed up and drove over to the apartment. We LOVE it! It is perfect for our time here. Plenty of room and a living area for everyone to gather together. Brent, the Glorias, Cait and Luisa went shopping for groceries. He said she was in awe of the store since she'd never been in a real grocery store before, only small markets in the country! She wanted one of everything! LOL! He had to tell her No several times but she never gave him a problem and put the things back on the shelf. He let her pick out one treat of chocolate cookies or something! He said it was no problem shopping here. Just like home with only a few differences.

I had stayed home to unpack bags and get settled....

ok i am posting this much because I keep getting interrupted...I'll try again later...