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