Worth the Wait!

Here she finally is!! Laura Claire has finally arrived to our family. She is doing well -- a little cough and sniffle here and there -- but she is adjusting to a full day of activity. We arrived at the orphanage around 11:30 a.m. to do some paper work and sign this and that. And then the moment finally arrived. We were seated at the corner of a room next to the door where she would enter. Stephanie and I kept looking at each other going, "Can you believe this?" The moment I first saw her my eyes immediately went to that full head of spiky hair. Stephanie held her first -- of course -- and then it was my turn. Laura was in a great mood, and pretty much didn't seem to know what was going on. She definitely didn't mind all of the attention. She was smiling, especially when people talked to her in Spanish. Stephanie and I still plan to learn more words so we can sing and talk to her in her native tongue. There is a Spanish channel that we might turn on occasionally so we can watch her response. Right now she is snoozing away. Earlier today when she was taking a nap, Stephanie and I found ourselves just staring at her, watching her sleep. It was pretty cool. Anyway that's all for now. Here are some more pictures from our first day with our beautiful daughter.

The moment we first saw her!












Getting to know each other.













Playing with mom.














Her first bottle from us...we happen to be in a cab...no carseats in Colombia!! It was either hold her tight or strap her to the top of the car...just kidding:)
















Down for the night...hopefully:)









P.S. Men always forget this...she weighs about 16lbs. She is much bigger than we anticipated but everything still fits fine for now. Check back tomorrow for more pictures!

Big Day!

Today is the big day. Stephanie and I probably can't put into words all that we're feeling today -- nervous, excited, overwhelmed. We know that in the next few hours our world is going to be totally different ... and we can't wait! It's been a long journey, and we are truly thankful for all of the prayers and support we've recieved and will continue to receive from friends and family. We'll be leaving in a little while to go get little Laura and plan to send out photos and all the details later today. We'll keep ya posted.

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!