Friends,

 We must let you know that Jim, Jorge, me and Yamile will not be coming back to Houston. We have all decided instead to fight crime as a family of Super Power Rangers throughout the world. Yes, we are now crime fighters. Jim is the blue power ranger, Jorge is red, I am pink and Yamile is yellow. It’s pretty funny, our kids love power rangers and like to pretend to fight crime.

We had a great day, got to be on TV, played at the hotel, went food shopping, blew up and played with 10 ballons, I had to tie them all b/c Jim and the kids can’t do it. Ate lots of chicken and french fries for dinner - with strawberries too.

Today I got lots of kisses from the kids, very nice indeed. We also sang, they sing one song about their new family that makes me cry like a baby. Nuestra familia feliz, our happy family - it is wonderful.

Tomorrow, we are going to spend the day at the pool, the kids are very excited.

Vaya con Dios,

Gina, Jim, Jorge and Yamile

Hi Everybody,

Guess what at 4:30 we are going to be on TV on channel 10 here in Medellin. They were doing a story about tourism, saw us and realized they had seen Yamile and Jorge at Casita de Nicolas. The kids showed the reporter the albums we made for them. I of course started balling at the cameras rolled and babbled something close to learning about Colombian culture is very important for our family at least I hope that is what I said. I also made the reporter cry.

Hasta Luego,

Gina

Hi Everybody,

 The Query Dattilo family is exhausted from a hard day at the restaurant, pool, playground and hotel room. Yeah it is a difficult life but someone has to lead it. Can I tell you how nice it is not to have to cook or wash clothes everyday and I so don’t miss work. Sorry guys.  

The president of Colombia was at our hotel yesterday, very scary with the domb sniffing dogs and many many guards.

Tomorrow we are going to Il Pueblito and probaby back to the gorcery store for more supplies. Hit brand juice is very tasty- also they have very good Pepper Jack Cheese. We need more of both.

If you come here look for Leonardo. He is a great guy, very sweet and helpful. He is great with kids and a pleasure to talk to. He also seems to work all the time which is great for us. Also Vicki our guide and Nora our lawyer are gems. The kids love Vicki tons.

Tip for those adopting older kids from Colombia. Make sure that they understand that you will always have food for them everyday. Our girl tends to come close to gorging herself. Also try to have as many meals in the room as possible. It is less stressful for them. Gosh there are so many things I would like to tell you about. How our kids put my little pony stickers all over papi today and he wore them proudly everywhere we went. Or how about when Yamile and later Jorge jumped into bed with me. Or how about when Yamile wanted me to carry her like a baby. Yamile and I have this English, Spanish, Italian, sign language, pull out the dictionary thing going on. Some times we just give up and laugh- She also pulled a fast one on papi today. We are running out of Ice Tea, Mr. Tea very very tasty. So I said she and Jorge had to share one. Well she told Papi that Jorge wanted water, then she told Jorge that he wanted water so she got all the tea. She is very slick. She will fit in with our family well. Another thing that was really cute. She took our Buenas Noches Luna and on the first page it says this book is for_________________ given by ________________. We had been saying Yamile Y Jorge and Mami Y Papi but we filled it in together.

Vaya con Dios,

Gina Y Jim

Hi Everyone,

This was the story we read tonight before going to bed. It’s funny we are all going to bed early and waking up late in the morning. It seems like we are wearing each other out. Today was a great day. No pool today b/c of yesterday’ behavior and that went well. Yamile did not mention going to the pool once. We also ate in our room lunch and dinner. They don’t like going to the restaurant. The place is nice but the food takes too long for them and their manners in the restaurant are wonderful. So last night we ordered extra food and also went to the store for some food.

Today the kids played Candyland- their own unique version of it which involves counting and naming the colors and then turning the board into a road for Jorge’s cars. Yamile played a lot with her baby doll. It is the kind that wets when on the potty. She thinks this is hilarious. They also played with “plastica” again (blue modeling clay) Did you know that in a pinch you can turn modeling clay into a shirt for a baby doll. This is true I spent about 20 minutes doing this. They also played on the computer. We found free English games at www.abcfrog.com The kids enjoyed them a lot Yamile and Jorge both love looking at their picture on my screen savers and they also like looking at all of our families pictures.

A little about Yamile, she is a tough cookie. She has also been Jorge’s “mom” for a long time. She enjoys caring for him and got a little bit upset this morning when I took Jorge to the room for a nap. Jorge was just not ready to wake up when he did. He wanted to sit on my lap all during breakfast- It was great. Jim and Yamile however kept eating and eating and eating so I took him to the room. I don’t know what she thought was happening  but apparently when she was with Jim in the restaurant she cried. She and he came back she sulked for about 5 mintues then we watched the Backyardagins in Spanish. We had a lot of fun. I think Jim likes it more than the kids.

Jim then promptly passed out. I was the one who was supposed to take a nap b/c I am sick. I have a sore throat, runny nose and a terrible cough. It is pretty gross. The medicine I took with us from home has not been any help. So I am trying the medicine here. Anyway we played with dolls and sang a lot and then the staff at the hotel brought up roses to our room they are so pretty. The kids play really well together and very well in our room. They really enjoy stickers. Yamile put them all over me and papi!

Then we ate lunch in the our room. Gosh they can eat. We had ham and cheese sandwiches - dont buy the American cheese at Exito if you ever go there it tastes really weird. Both ate their sandwich and extra cheese. They both like cheese a lot.

We then went to the pharmacy for medicine for mommy. Of course we had to take the pelota and the baby with them and of course papi and I had to hold them. In the pharmacy I got some lozenges (they are very tasty) and so kind of pill. After then we played at the jungle Jim. They are both very wiry- we think Yamile may need to tak gymastics. She is really good on the monkey bars. She also got a kick out having me push her on the swing and then she pushed me. Jorge really enjoyed hiding in a tunnel and having us look for him. We then played ball. Jorge is a soccor natural.

Then We went back to the room and Jim was playing with the kids and I started coughing up a storm so I went to lay down. Not five minutes later I feel a little body jump on the bed Yamile came first then Jorge. Yamile brought a little yellow napkin with her and put it on me like a blanket. It was really cute. As you can imagine no nap for me. We started singing instead. They don’t seem to notice that I am tonedeaf. Its kind of nice. They on the other hand sound really good when they sing. Yamile has a lot of trouble speaking but her singing is perfect. Also when she tries to say something in English it sound wonderful, very good pronounciation. Jorge picks up words very easily too. It’s just more amazing with Yamile b/c she has so much trouble with her Spanish. Instead of otra which means other she ocolo.

We then order dinner soup for Yamile Pizza and a calzone for Jim and me. We also gave the kids some chicken and beef. They like to eat the food we have in the room first. Then they eat some the food we have sent tonight we had potato soup, fruta, and pizza. Jorge does not like pizza but Yamile does. She like to say deliciousa to everything she eats. Tonight though she just gorged herself on everything we had. I had to have Jim tell her that everyday we will have enough food for all of us not just today. I then told her that we worked hard to have enough money for all the food she and Jorge will ever need. She liked that very much.

We also talked a little about her new school and she was very schocked to hear that mommy works at 18 schools (please excuse the terrrible spelling tonight I am medicated and tired). She thought mommy said the wrong word esculas for escula. We then sang and cleaned the table off.

Jim helped the kids with their teeth and I put on Jorge’s pull up and Pjs. We then read Buenas Noches Luna and Yamile then read it back to us very nicely. We then prayed.

I know I am missing lots of stuff. Oh I almost forgot a photographer who was taking shots of the hotel for publicitiy gave us free pictures to days ago Jorge accidently got in his way for a shot so he took our picture together it looks really good. We are hoping to ge the camera charger tomorrow so you all can see some picures.

Ok in case I forget here are things I wish I had with me and Wish i left at home - a pocket knife Jim said honey why do we need a pocket knife lets not get one. Big mistake. You can use a pocket knife to open difficult bottles and packets of things. You can also use the scissors for all of the many tags that you will have on cloths. It is also good for helping toys out the their packages. I have had to use a toenail clipper for these things difficult and kind of yucky. What I wish I did not bring a big gigantic box of dreft. There is nowhere to do clothes here. If I use 1/4 of it i will be amazed.  Anther good thing is zipp lock bags - good for modeling clay food, weird trash that you don’t want to just place in the trash can. Cough medicine did not have wish I did. Small bills in Colombian money many people got insanely high tips b/c we had not smaller bills. Another thing I am very happy about ABC frog.

Buenas noches,

Gina  & Jim

Hi,

We have had lots of ups and downs in the last two days. First let me say that Jorge is a riot. He loves to sing and play with la pelota his ball. He tend to cry when tried, he is only 3. He likes to eat and drink make very silly faces.

Yamile, she clearly loves Jorge and she can be very silly. She has also started testing us a lot. Me more than Jim of course. Jim is much better at correcting her in Spanish than I am. I am so grateful to God that I have learned some Spanish. At times it is hard to understand her due to her cleft lip/palate

Both children like to say “thank you” and “bye bye”, they aslo say Chao and gracias. We have not gotten a lot of information about their past prior to the casita. They are going to tell us monday.  The children were so excited to leave that they had us leave early. Several of the founders and the psychologist were there. Clearly these children are well loved. Sadly, there is a your 10 year old boy there who is still waiting for a family and he is going to be VERY  sad and lonely without them. I wish I knew someone to adopt him. We wish we could take him but we can’t because we need time together as a family. Keep him in your prayers please.

Buenas Noches,

Gina

Hey everyone, Jim here. Gina is resting and the kids are fast asleep. It has been an exciting, and somewhat challenging day in some ways. We were very excited, and as many of you know, somewhat apprehensive about our first real time meeting. It went very well though and there were alot of tears. They each gave us some personal drawings that touched our hearts big time. It was also indescribable to finally see them in real time and to hold them. They were very pleased and thrilled with our initial gifts for them.

When we were at La Casita de Nicolas, it was readily apparent how much they were loved. And we had NO doubts about that before today anyway. All the folks at La Casita have a calling and that kind of passion is all too rare these days. All the kids there are exceptionally lucky to have such caring and dedicated people in their lives. It was an honor to meet them and to gain just a glimpse of their profound and therapeutic effects on the kids. Gina and I both agree that Yamile and Jorge are gifts from God.

 After leaving Casita, we returned to the Hotel. We showed them some of their new clothes and then had lunch. Despite having to wait a good amount of time for our food, they both were well behaved and very patient. We were impressed by their good manners. We did have difficulty understanding some of each of their words, but for the most part were able to work through those speed bumps. Gina’s studying has paid off (though she is very hard on herself) and much of my Spanish acumen has returned. All the people we have encountered here have been incredibly nice and helpful. They appreciate our genuine attempts to communicate in Spanish and not be ugly tourists.

After lunch and before going to the pool, Jorge broke into tears. We were not sure if it was stomach pain or just the stress of the day. We layed down with him and I read a story in Spanish to him. Eventually, he became content again and we were able to move ahead. Gina and the kids then  spent two hrs in the pool (we have to purchase my trunks tomorrow since I forgot them *LOL*…absent minded prof you know). They all had a wonderful time. We took lots of pics and will try to post some of them, perhaps tomorrow. We also played on the jungle gym and swings. That was some neat fun time too.

After swimming, they all took a quick shower to wash off the chorline. That went very well. Yamile is also a big help with Jorge and she has been in some ways like a mom to him. It is readily apparent that they love each other very much. They are both very sharp and even spoke some English today with us. As many of you know, that can be a huge barrier. We are committed to helping them become and then remain bilingual. On that note, both Gina and I cannot imagine the trauma families would experience if they had no background in Spanish. Wow, that would make the assimiliation and adjustments sooo much more arduous. We are soo glad we do not reside in that category!

We had din-din at the same restaurant (where we had lunch and next to the Hotel’s pool). The food is excellent and the staff is so gracious. We then returned to the room. The kids were very amenable to brushing their teeth after both meals and we are so grateful for their prior training at Casita.

They then changed into their pjs and we read a story in Spanish. Gina read the first part and I closed it. We then said our prayers.

Tomorrow. we will go shopping with Vicki who is an amazing person, very warm, and bilingual. She loves Jorge and Yamile and that is readily apparent. She serves as our translator for the more complex interactions.

I will close for now, hoping I was able to craft a post that kept your interest. Admittedly, it is difficult to match Gina’s flair for Blogging.

Muy buenas noches!

Jim & Gina

Letter to my children-

In one hour- I will meet you for the first time and I wanted to get my feelings down for you. Know that I am excited, happy and afraid. I am excited because this is the journey of a lifetime- our journey together. I am happy because of you. You are so precious more precious than diamonds more precious than gold. You are people.  For this reason I am also afraid. You are such gifts from God. You are so imporant, we love you so much already. There is so much I don’t know yet. What makes you happy? What makes you sad? 

In one short hour we will meet and I will be the luckiest woman in the world. I have the best friends & family. My husband is a treasure and so are you.

 All of my love ,

Mami

A neustros hijos queriods: tu mami tiene mucha razon cuando dice que ustedes son regalos de Dios. Adoramos muchisimo antes de encontrarlos hoy. Papi

Hola,

Estoy muy emocionada y feliz que yo no duermo. I am so excited and happy that I can not sleep. We are going to the Casita a 10:20am.

Last night I realized that every dream I have had for myself has now been realized. It is amazing. I am so grateful to God.

Vaya con Dios,

Gina

Buenas Noches,

Tomorrow we meet our children. We had a very long meeting with Nora our attorney and Vicki our guide. She told us everything to expect for the next several weeks. Most of it I have discussed before. Tomorrow we meet with the kids psychologists and many people from Casita. We then meet the children. We were told by Nora and Vicki that the kids have very proudly been showing everyone their albums. They are very pleased and excited also a little nervous about learning English we have been encouraged to do our best to speak Spanish with them tomorrow. I hope I do OK.

After this meeting the kids go home with us. If it is not too late we will go to the store for ropa nueva, new clothes. If not we will go tomorrow. We also need to get Jim a bathing suit. He forgot his. I also forgot the charger for the camera, (can u believe it). Heather is going to Fed EX it to us (Thanks amiga). Nora was very pleased to learn that the kids will be in bilingual school and that we would only change their names if then when they want. We would like to chage Jorge’s name to Diego Jorge but we will try it out first. We would like to give Yamile my mom’s middle name either Rose or Rosa. It really depends on them, they are after all very verbal little people and we don’t want to make changes without their input and approval.

Jim was so cute tonight. We ate dinner then he went to look at desserts and there he was buying one for Jorge and Yamile, para manana he said (for tomorrow). You can see why I love him so much.

Vaya con Dios,

Gina

Hola,

We are in Medellin, can you believe it? We spent the night in Bogota at the Sheraton. It is a lovely place, the most friendly staff you can imagine. I highly recommend it and I am very picky. At 11:50am we flew to Medellin on Avianca. The airline was nice, we flew on a small Boeing. We were met immediately at the airport by Vicki. She works for Casita de Nicolas. She drove us to the hotel and checked us in. She gave us an update on the kids and said that Yamile is talking a lot since her last operation. Thank you, Lord. Jorge still speaks some baby talk and is very elegant. Everyone loves him. He is after all the “little prince”. He likes to look nice. Both children are excited. We will meet them on Monday and take them to the hotel.

The hotel is great, really nice wait staff here at the Intercontinental. We have a large suite with a lovely view and a kitchenette. There are two pools (heated), several restaurants. There are mountains surrounding us and flowers all over the hotel. We love it already.

We have managed to unpack everything! We also toured the hotel. Can’t wait to go in the pool. Can’t wait to bring the kids here and start our lives together. We were told that the kids are a little afraid of learning English, so we will ease them in. We are really glad we decided to put them into bilingual programs at school.

I was able to call my mom using skype.com - very inexpensive to call a land line and free to call another computer!

Hasta Luego,

Gina & Jim