A Little Christmas

Today was a really good day. We tried harder to keep Laura on a schedule and we had a much, much happier baby. We also spent a lot of time out and about...and that always makes Shawn and me much, much happier! We have switched our meal plan here at the hotel to only include breakfast and lunch or dinner (instead of all 3 meals) so we can go out and get a little variety. Today, we opted for El Corral. We had heard this place had great hamburgers and fries -- very American-like. And for people who have been eating a lot of Colombian hotel food - today's lunch was great!! I tried to order my hamburgesa con queso y salsa de tomate (hambuger with cheese and ketchup only) but I ended up with mayonaise, mustard, and every vegetable imaginable. For those who know me and know how picky I am, you will be very surprised to know I ate the hamburger anyway...and loved every bite!! We also went to a store today and bought a small Christmas tree and some lights (all for about 6 US dollars!). I have always been a white-light girl...but our only choice here in Colombia was colorful lights...and once we pluged them in we learned that they also flash!! We strung some popcorn and made ornaments out of construction paper all while watching a DVD of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Laura sat in her bouncy chair alternating between watching the movie and watching us like we were crazy!! It will always be a great memory.

We talked to our agency representative today and she said there is no news on the adoption front. Right now we are waiting for the first judge to approve our petition. Technically, he or she has 10 business days to sign, but we are hoping they move faster to try to get us home for Christmas. There are still 3 more steps after this first judge, so that is a lot to get done in the 2 weeks we have before the courts close. Just keep praying that things move smoothly and we don't have any problems along the way.