Hola from Colombia!!

Well...we have finally arrived!! Six suitcases, 2 carry-ons, a stroller and 2300 miles later, we are at home in Colombia! There was bad weather in Atlanta yesterday so we left later than scheduled, causing us not to arrive at the hotel until almost midnight. Our driver spoke no functional English and we don't really speak Spanish...even though we try!...so we had a very quiet drive. We have spent most of the morning exploring our hotel and getting unpacked and settled in our room. We met 2 other couples this morning at breakfast. One couple just adopted an adorable almost 4 year old little boy and the other family didn't seem to have any kids with them. We have also heard an infant crying, so we won't have to worry about being the only room with an upset baby!! Our plans today are to find a store to get a few supplies we couldn't fit in the suitcase and go out to dinner...our last dinner as a family of 2! All of our meals are included in our hotel and we will mostly eat here, but occassionaly we are going to need American food! And the big news............we will be picked up tomorrow at 11:00 to go and get Laura!! We will post pictures as soon as we get a chance but most of tomorrow will be spent with us and Laura...not killing time online:) Here a few pictures of our luggage and our room:

We're Leaving!!

Man...it has been a busy three days at our house!! We found out on Monday that we were cleared to travel to Colombia as soon as possible. We were thrilled, but also a little concerned we wouldn't be able to get our travel visas in time since it is a short week. We made a mad rush to the Colombian Consulate on Tuesday to submit the application and much to our surprise (and with a little help from another person at the office) we were told to return on Wednesday to pick up our visas. We came home on Tuesday night, put plane tickets on hold and fell asleep hoping that everything went well on our next trip to D.C. Wednesday morning we again got up at the crack of dawn and drove up 95N to visit the Consulate. We were thrilled to arrive and be handed our travel visas!! After a long drive home (Thanksgiving traffic is the worst!!) we finalized our plane tickets...and we leave on Saturday!! Yep, you heard right...3 days from now we will be on our way to Colombia!! We should "receive" Laura on Monday and we will have many weeks to get to know her, love her, and allow her to get to know us before we head back home to the daily grind. We are looking forward to a Colombian Christmas...a new and exciting experience and can't wait to post our first blog from our new home away from home!

More Good News

We found out on Friday that the US Embassy has finished with the first part of our paperwork and sent it on to ICBF for their approval!! Now, ICBF has to give their final approval, send it back to the Embassy for a final stamp of approval and we will be given permission to travel!! Please join us as we continue to pray for things to move smoothly and quickly. Happy Thanksgiving!

Paperwork has arrived!

We just received word that our documents have arrived at the US Embassy in Colombia. It has taken longer than expected and we were starting to get worried...but worry is no longer necessary! So now the embassy will review Laura's visa application for potential ineligibilities and then send a notice to ICBF (like Colombian Social Services) that everything looks fine on the US side of the adoption. ICBF has to then make sure Laura meets the requirements to be adopted and will notify the embassy once that has been done. It is at this point we are given permission to travel and get custody of Laura!! These steps have been taking any where from 5 days to over 3 weeks. Our agency is part of a large conference call today with other agencies and an adoption advocacy group to try to determine why there are such large discrepancies in time frames. Also, the US Embassy is having a meeting this week with ICBF to make sure everyone understands what is expected of them. Hopefully these things will make our process much smoother the rest of the way. Keep praying for things to move smoothly and quickly. Laura turns 6 months old on Tuesday and we are getting very anxious to meet her. It would be great if we were on our way the first or second week of December!

Some Good News...

We found out yesterday that our documents are on their way to Colombia!! After we got our immigration approval, everything was sent to the National Visa Center. We were told it could take 2-4 weeks for them to send everything on to the US Embassy in Colombia, but it only took 2 days!!! This means we are really and truly getting close to traveling to Colombia. Our understanding is the next steps could take a few weeks but we are really only a few steps away from finally meeting our daughter!!! Please continue to pray that our paperwork moves smoothly and quickly through the US Embassy and ICBF and that our agency representative in Colombia is able to keep us updated as things progress.

Immigration Approval...kinda:)

We found out late Friday evening that our I-800 application is going to be approved. This is the form that classifies Laura as an orphan and gives her permission to immigrate into the US. There is a potential problem with the wording of a letter our adoption agency wrote to accompany the application. This might have to be re-written on Monday, but after that we are approved!! At one point, we thought this was the last step before we are able to travel. We now know that there are still a couple more steps:

-This approval is sent to the US Embassy in Colombia
-They approve Laura's visa application and send notification to ICBF (like Colombian Social Services).
-ICBF writes a letter approving us and sends it to the orphanage.
-Then we think we are able to travel and get custody of Laura.

Worst case scenario, this takes about a month. We are really hoping with lots of phone calls and prayer that we can speed this process up a bit. If we are able to get to Colombia by November 15th, they think the adoption can be processed before Christmas. Please join us in praying for this to happen. We will travel to Colombia regardless of whether or not we will be done before Christmas, but it would be great to spend Laura's first Christmas with our extended family. Thanks for all your prayers and support and we look forward to blogging about more good news in the coming days!!