Hi,

I woke up late and found Jim and the kids cleaning our house very nicely. They were very pleased with their work. Then our apartment managers came with balloons for the kids, elmo and minnie mouse. They loved them. They are gigantic! We then went to Target and bought a new blender our broke when we came home. We also bought a very crazy care that talks, lights up and goes forward and backword. It took forever to open it had a actual screws encasing it which I could not get out. I had to us a drill. We also bought some playdoh, some water guns (small) and a Barbie for Yamile.

We also told Yamile that we had to buy a bday present for our cousin Angelique and she wanted a Barbie so Yamile had to chose the one that she liked the best. She picked a princess, that came with a cat and an elephant. It is true that it is the birthday of Ang but she would not want a Barbie. It is actually for Yamile’s birthday. I also bought her some Barbie clothes.

We then bouth both the kids their uniforms, five shirts and bottoms for each. Green and Khaki for Yamile. Red, blue and Khaki for Jorge. It ended up being almost $300. We then came home and played with the toys for a while. We are trying to teach the kids some really basic English I am hungry, I am thirsty, I need to use the bathroom. Jorge just says blah blah blah. He really thinks English has no meaning. It can be a little disappointing. He’ll I am blah blah blah. He thinks it is a riot.

All in all it was a great day.   

Goodnight and God Bless,

Gina

Hi Everyone,

Today we went to the kids schools to drop off some paperwork. Everything went well. Yamile really liked her school so did Jorge. Jorge’s school has an afterschool program Yamile will participate in.  After that we went to Le Peep for brunch, the kids behaved really well, they had chicken fingers and fries for lunch. Then we saw Harry Potter, Yamile liked it but Jorge was unimpressed. We then went grocery shopping again. The kids helped unload and Yamile did a great job organizing her and Jorge cubbord. It houses their special cup and bowls and snacks that are just for them.

All in all we had a really great day : )

Take Care,

Gina

Hi,

Sorry I have not written in a bit. Thank goodness Jim is a natural at this and has really picked up my slack. I have been just too tired at night to write.

The kids are great but since they have been home they have gotten really clingy. We were told to expect this until they feel really secure and get more used to their new home. In Colombia they were able to play alone for long periods of time. Here they constantly want to be climbing on my body, my feet, my legs, my arms, etc. I am physically worn out a bit.

Today both kids were feeling a little off. Jorge woke up at 7:30am and was sleepy all morning. He finally passed out from 10:30- 12:00. Then Yamile was not feeling well. She got very tired and beligerent, she kept poking at me and saying poopy. I had to send her to her room for about 20 minutes. I think this is the result of the vacination they received before they came to the US. We were told they might have some trouble two weeks after they received them. 

The kids have gained enormous appetites. Today Yamile ate two different cereals, 3 eggs with cheese, bacon, rice Krispie treats, french fries, and three chicken breasts. Jorge ate lots of ham, cheese bacon, rice Krispie treats, a banana, french fries and three chicken breasts and a homemade juice pop. This is actually less than they ate yesterday.

Yamile has developed a fondness for HGTV, she likes to see the homes getting remodeled. She likes to say ”OH my Gosh” when the finaly changes are shown. It is pretty funny. Jorge is beginning to enjoy some tv in English like Barney - Yamile not so much. We really need to get the kids legos. I had a few small legos pieces for them and they just love them. We also put up a bed tent yesterday- they call it their casita and we just sit in it and play. They also let daddy into their tent. It is very cute. It is in Jorge’s room. It takes up a lot of space. Thank goodness they have big rooms.

Yamile has decided that Jorge should change his name to Tomas and sometimes she calls him this so Jorge started calling her Yamilo and Yamila. I kind of like Yamila, but she is not so crazy about it.  Today they practiced their names Yamile Rosa Dattilo Query and Jorge Deigo Dattilo Query, pretty cool huh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Night & God Bless,

Gina

Hey everyone…Due to some tech probs, it is Jim subbing yet again for Gina. I do appreciate you bearing with me; more so since I do not blog as well as she does. And that’s ok, really *chuckle*…

Hey everyone…Jim here, subbing for Gina. We took the kids to Galleria today as Gina had a hair

Hello,

We were not able to post yesterday, we could not get on the website, sorry. We had a pretty good day yesterday. We went to Le Peep for breakfast, the kids enjoyed it very much. Then we went food shopping and watched several children’s tv shows, played, napped had dinner and went to bed relatively uneventful. The kids did help to clean today too. They did a very good job. They made their beds and put away some clothes and  ran the vac.  

Today was my first day home alone with them while Jim went to work. The kids ate all day long. They had dry cereal, a lunchable, eggs, bacon, toast, two bananas each, and spaghetti Bolognese, they drink oj, strawberry juice, apple juice, milk and water. It was amazing. They were little eating machines.

They played well by themselves while I showered and visited with Heather, who is moving back to Kentucy tomorrow. I am going to miss her bunches. Several of my other friends has left or are leaving our job in the next few weeks. When I go back in September, it will feel like a totally different place.

Good night and God Bless,

Gina, Jim, Jorge and Yamile

Hi,

We had our first full day home. It was great. The kids did not sleep as well as they could have.There were thunderstorms all night and Jorge woke up first then Yamile. They woke up about 8:45am. They began playing with their new toys immediately. Yamile is absolutely in love with a stuffed dog Jim gave me two years ago for Valentine’s day. She calls it her perrito favorito, after the song Jim taught the kids. They decided they wanted oj and pan (toast with butter). All morning and well into the afternoon. They created little meals for us with some of the toys Monica, Vincent and Bilal gave us. It consists of a fake micorwave, register, blender etc, utensils, cups and plates, and lots of fake food.

Then we gave them their firsts baths ever. They were big hits. Jorge refused to sit at first and instisted that they water was too hot. Jim and Yamile both checked and said it was fine so he finally sat and really enjoyed the bubbles, and little boats and letters for the tub. Yamile liked it too and I let her have about 1/2 hour of private tub playing time. They then helped to put away clean clothes, snacked on two cereal boxes each. We played several games of where are Jorge and Yamile, they played with their toys and stickers and took a nap at about 4pm.

We then played lots more and the kids ate eggs and rice for dinner. Then we played more, we did Yamile’s hair and some light cleaning and played more, the kids helped clean up some dinner stuff and put away their toys (mostly), we all watched Monk ( who Jorge resembles greatly with his ever present desire for cleanliness) and I fixed Jorge’s “mickey mouse” which is actually a eyeless Winnie the Pooh. Well “mickey” now has two nice new eyes for as long as they last. Mickey also got a double washing in the washing machine last night : ) He really needed it, it came from the casita and clearly had been well loved and well worn. The kids went to bed pretty easily.

The kids also had a great time looking at my computer. It randomly shows our pictures. The kids love looking at it. They also love the framed photos we have of them in the house. We had photocopy pictures framed and took photos of them when we sent in our albums. That way when the kids looked at their albums. They saw pictures of themselves in the house.  They we able to make a mental connection of familiarity. They seemed to feel safe here from the beginning. Ok, back to the photos on the computer. They would there is Jorge and Yamile, there are abuelos, mami and papi, tia, primos etc, It was very cute they really want their family and can’t wait to visit. Jim and I however, need some home time. 

The kids went to bed pretty easily and Jim and I are exhausted. We are also grateful, to God for leading us to our wonderful, children.

Goodnight and Godbless,

Gina 

Hey everyone…Jim filling in for Gina. YES, we all are SAFE and SOUND back in Houston! We apologize for not blogging last night; however, we had to leave for the Bogota airport at 4:30am this morning. I thus had to wake up at 3am and then wake Gina and the kids at 3:50 and 4:00am respectively. Our driver took us to the airport and also helped us get an exit exemption for Jorge. Due to his being under 8 yrs old, his exit tax was 32 dollars. For all four of us, the exit tax was 116 dollars. NOTE though they do NOT accept credit or debit cards. Fortuantely, we had American dollars.

Hey everyone…yes it is Jim (Gina should blog tomorrow; she has to interact with her fans you know *G*). And YEP, I could not resist using some NASA talk to announce that the Jim, Gina, Yamile, and Jorge team are CLEARED to leave Colombia legally now@@@@@@@@@@

I went to the Embassy today courtesy of our driver. There was practically no one there and we only had to wait about a half an hour. The drive there and back took longer than obtaining the Visas today!! ALSO, we NEVER needed our tax returns or additional employment verification (though we had those and other docs which we were told would be needed).

Jorge had a tough day since he did not take a nap. He earned at least three time outs. Yamile was very good today. Gina packed alot and I packed some as well. It won’t take us very long to finish it up.

We will go to bed early tomorrow as we will be picked up at 4:30am Thurs morning. We depart at 8:05am and should land in Houston at 1ish. We should then clear customs about 3ish. We are thrilled to finally be going home. We have, however, grown to love much of Colombia, esp Medellin, and its people.

Our kids will become US Citizens as soon as we land on US soil. They will always be Colombian Americans and we are committed to giving them a bilingual education. I have been amazed at how miuch of my Spanish has come back. And Gina’s long hours of studying have paid off as well.

One of the families we met, led by Tonya, was from MN. She was adopted some 30 yrs ago. Her folks came with her and she has completed her and her husband’s adoption of Marisa. What a great family and story.

Before I close, I know that my mom is smiling down on us and crying tears of joy…

Muy Buenas,

Jim & Gina

Hey everyone…Jim here. Gina, the kids and I went to the US Embassy today. The process was MUCH more easier than we anticipated. It took about two hours and the kids were approved!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I return tomorrow to pick them up. That is our last hurdle! We will leave Colombia Thursday morning.

We have had a relaxing day since going to the Embassy. More of the same tomorrow. Again, we are SOOO appreciative of ALL the good wishes and support!!

Muy Buenas!

Jim & Gina