We are good to go

2 more nights -well, 1 1/2 since we have to be up at 4:30 a.m. Thursday morning. YEA!!! Today we picked up the Visa for Carlos. He said Visa now United States and see Angie and Judi, Tia Jeralyn, Abuela, Abuelo, Tias, Tios, Cousins, Amigos, and Amigas. Love our spanglish language! The other night Carlos asked for jugo in the chicken. What he was saying was juice in the kitchen. Chicken-Kitchen- sounds similar!!
Tonight we talked to a caseworker who brought us some information on a 13 year old girl who she is trying to place in the U.S. She has been working on placing this sibling group and has had to split the children up to get them into homes. She thinks that she has 2 homes for the younger siblings, but for Laura - the 13 year old - she is struggling to find a home. This is of course heavy on our hearts, as Carlos is also 13 years old. We can see that Carlos simply desires the love of a family. What a simple desire - to be loved. Laura has been placed on our hearts. We pray that someone will open their home to her and that she too will receive the love of a family. The process to adopt is not quick or easy, but it is one of the most rewarding, life changing things we have ever done. Carlos has brought us so much joy and laughter!! Our process all started when someone mentioned that a 13 year old boy needed a home.....Praying for another home for Laura.

We are coming home!

This morning @8:30 a.m. we received the phone call that we have been waiting for. Our paperwork "glitch" was corrected and Craig was off to the embassy for Carlos' Visa. Tomorrow afternoon Craig will pick up the Visa and we are ready for our return flight on Thursday. When Craig & I first scheduled our flights, we knew that this would be a 4-8 week time frame in Colombia. We "randomly" chose 5 weeks to be our scheduled return date. Random - hu?? God is so awesome!! Once again, we stand in awe of our Heavenly Father and His timing!!

Here is a picture of us at the presidents home in Bogota. We visited the historical area on Saturday. It was a beautiful area with many beautiful old buildings. Off to the park to play soccer......and counting down!!!

Me mucho happy!!

It is Friday night and most of you are enjoying a football game, fall mixer dance, or some other fun weekend activity. Somehow knowing that was easier once we heard "Me mucho happy" come from Carlos' mouth. Tonight at dinner we noticed the volume of the boys to be at an all time high. Looking back at this day-filled with low activity -Craig & I knew we were in trouble. We get done with dinner at 7:30...much too early to retire 4 teenage boys for the evening. The napkins started to fly at the dinner table which gave us the idea of a pillow fight. We started the activity in our room, but quickly realized we were -once again- disrupting the entire home. So we took the game to the back yard. Many times we heard Carlos say "me mucho happy" and "you good Wenke familia". Craig & I enjoyed from the side lines. (P.S. Craig & I will be sleeping on clean pillow cases tonight) Well, they are now showering and getting ready to watch some spanish episode of Power Rangers. I do feel sorry for Austin - Carlos has dubbed him a power ranger as well. We think the purple one.

We received good news today followed by unsure news. Our misdated letter - we believe - has been fixed, but we will not know for sure until Monday morning. We are continuing to pray that Monday morning Craig, Carlos & Carter will go to the embassy to begin the Visa process. On Tuesday we hope to have Craig, Carlos, Austin and Jared go to pick it up. I will be spending time packing. Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream, dream,..... yes the song is playing in my head.

Carlos mentioned tonight that he is looking forward to a pillow fight with Angie and Judi. This note is for them - Be prepared for a pillow war!! Judi you have been selected to be on Carter and Carlos team and Angie with Austin & Jared. Any other neighbors, friends or cousins who want to participate are encourage to practice before they participate as we have 5 more nights to hone in our skills. My understanding is that Angie and Judi can pack a pretty intense punch!! Carlos has fond memories of playing this game one time with Angie and Judi back in Soacha.

We are counting down the days until we get to see you again! 4 more days of soup, 5 more pillow fights, 6 more nights until our own beds, 1 more Sunday until we can go to our church, 10 more games of soccer, and hopefully 146 hours until we are home. Love to you all