Escalator

First Escalator Ride Ever



Third Escalator Ride

Intense

After talking with Nic tonight about the victories and defeats of the day, we decided that the best way to describe the experience is intense.  The challenging moments, which spring up frequently at inopportune times, seem insurmountable.  In the same breath they are followed by a string of victories and sweet, sweet moments of bonding and love.  Already in just two days the children have grown so much, have learned so much, have shown so much potential.  We are reminded that the true blessing is not in the absence of troubles, but having the presence and peace of God even in the midst of the storm.  We know God's peace in the midst of our "growing pains" here in Colombia.  And we see His grace and mercy as each day unfolds for us here, too.

The newness for the children is so big it could aptly be described as intense.  They were so excited to be with us and see a suitcase for each of them that they all wanted to change into clothes that we brought for them as soon as they arrived at our hotel.  The first night the children asked if the showers had hot or only cold water.  When they heard that the showers at this hotel had hot water, which is rare in parts of Colombia, they all started jumping up and down saying "agua caliente" over and over.  The littlest one must have washed his hair at least four times he was so excited.  They all wanted to shower again the next morning.  Very clean children!  We visited the mall to check out the video arcade that has games like bumper cars, a trampoline, indoor slide, etc. (but all but one of the kids was too short to play them all).  We didn't figure that they had never been on an escalator.  Imagine our surprise when we were trying to give directions to five children in two languages about what to do in order not to get hurt.  They had not idea what to do - they were terrified and excited at the same time.  It was a complete fiasco because we went up and down all four floors of the mall to see the arcade and visit the musical Christmas exhibit.  Crazy!

We are all learning together and the bonding times have been so sweet.  One of the many answers to prayer has been the way that all five of the children respond to one another.  A love for one another has been our principal prayer for over a year now and it is evident that God has answered and continues to be faithful in answering.  The older children love the little ones.  The take their hands when we go for walks, they share EVERYTHING with them and the little ones do the same.  Our little daughter's only complaint yesterday was that she didn't have enough time to play with the new big sisters and brother.  She didn't get to do everything with them she wanted to.  We definitely are confined by space here, so I know she wants to play with them like she could at home, and I feel for her desire and disappointment.  Our little guy thinks his new big brother is so cool.  The little ones talk to the big ones all day in English - it is such an amazing and precious bond building.  Only God can do something so cool like that!

Another answer to prayer was when our oldest daughter took the initiative to pray for the meal at lunch and supper today.  On her own she asked if she could pray.  She thanked God for the food, for our family, for "padres lindos" (meaning kind parents, not pretty), her new siblings, and the rain.  What a blessing to our hearts.  It was much needed right at that time, because it was followed by two bowls of spilled soup, a glass of spilled juice, a glass of spilled avena (oatmeal drink), an argument over whose glass of avena had more after the spill and who was going to get the more full glass, three bathroom breaks, four complaints over the yucca with sauce and beet salad, and one little girl who didn't want to eat anything but rice and the fried banana bread dessert.  At least three children cried during this meal, but no one needed to change clothes afterwards due to the spills (whew!).  And, we all managed to say "gracias por la comida" to the restaurant workers before stumbling out of the restaurant, across the street and back to our room for a much needed quiet time!

We beat our own personal record tonight and were feeling fantastico with all of the kids in bed by 9:30, when a smiling little 10 year old peeked her head out 10 minutes later and plopped down on the couch between us and asked to stay up a few minutes later.  At home it would be easier to give her privileges, but here there is no space for someone to stay up later than the others.  We let her have 10 extra minutes listening to music and playing a game between us.  She is so precious, such a leader and a helper.  I tucked her back in after that and checked on everyone else one more time.  We still beat our record from nights past!

It was then that I realized the camera was still on the dresser in the bedroom where I had just tucked the last one in.  So, in lieu of new pictures tonight, you can click on the link above the picture of Pereira in the upper right hand corner that says more pictures to see a photo album of our time here.    Or  http://gallery.me.com/naolson#gallery  We'll be updating these as we go and as time allows depending on how well we get this bedtime routine down.

Thank you for your continued prayers for our growing family!

Presentation

Blessings

From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

De su plenitud todos hemos recibido gracia sobre gracia.

John 1:16

This will be a short update now without pictures because I am stealing a few minutes while four children are watching a short video and one child is taking a much needed nap.  However, I know that the suspense is great for many of you back home, so I didn't want to keep you waiting any longer.  Pictures will follow when we get them uploaded - and when we have time to get back to the blog.  I know, not very fun!

Today has most certainly been a day full of one blessing after another.  The children are more beautiful than in their pictures, and as sweet and as vivid as their personalities were described in the paperwork we received.  Our official meeting went very well and we got a few more questions answered before meeting the children.  Meeting the children went extremely well.  They ran to us and hugged us right away.  They hugged our little ones who have also taken to the big kids right away as well.  Communication has not been a problem.  The kids are so very sweet and loving.  They have been trained well to say thank you after everything.  After meeting the children briefly I left Nic alone with all five children to meet with the social worker and psychologist for about 10 minutes.  What a way to break him in to parenting five children!

Lunch went well.  Miraculously, no one spilled and two children even cleaned their plates.  All the children wanted to change into clothing that we brought for them.  They are all so grateful and excited to have things from us.  

We have played playdough and Polly Pockets (thanks, Lorraine!) and the kids have all shared and had so much fun together.  They all want their pictures taken together with Nic and I and with the little ones.  They are so sweet and they want to know when they get to go home to the US.  

One blessing after another - and it is by God's grace.

Pictures to follow in due time! 

Pereira: A Quick Glimpse

We had a safe and quick flight to Pereira last night and enjoyed a restful day getting settled in here at our quaint hotel in downtown Pereira.  We walked to the central plaza earlier in the day and later on walked again to another plaza.  Many places are decorated already for Christmas and our little children have loved seeing all the lights.  We crashed this afternoon for a much needed family nap in order to catch up from our late night travels to and from airports the past two nights.  We are feeling rested this evening and ready to meet the three whom we have referred to for the past year as "the other brothers and sisters."  

Below is a quick glimpse of the decorations of Pereira and the happy travelers.  I tried twice to upload a video of the school band we saw practicing at the public library, but blogger was having trouble and the internet connection is very weak.  This has taken me an hour alone, so I'll leave it at this for tonight.  The good pictures come after tomorrow.  It will be worth the wait.  I promise!

A Constant Dripping

A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day.  - Proverbs 27:15

Ah, marital bliss!  I am so blessed to have an incredible husband who is my best friend.  He shares my hopes and dreams for the future, challenges me towards God's best, and is a fantastic father to our children.  As far as quarreling goes, we never quarrel; we have what we refer to as "intense moments of fellowship" over our disagreements which usually resolve themselves quite quickly.  In our marriage journey, the above verse from Proverbs has inspired me to use self control when I have been tempted to argue or disagree.  How annoying to be thought of as a constant dripping!  However, after our day here at the hotel in Bogota the Lord has given me a vivid example of just how bothersome that quarrelsome attitude could become.

Before you begin to worry about how we could have passed the homestudy with marriage problems, let me explain.  The bathroom in our room here at the hotel has a leaky ceiling.  There are so many leaks that the floor is constantly wet in so many places that we have put a few towels down on the floor to help the kids not slip when they go into the bathroom.  However, the wet floor and towels creates another problem: wet socks!  The ceiling has been dripping since we arrived and it wasn't even raining then.  It drips near the toilet so that you get wet as you go to the bathroom.  (Quite the mental image, I know.)  It drips near the sink so that you get wet as you brush your teeth.  And we found out this morning it drips in several places on the counter, so some of our bathroom bags were wet - nothing got damaged.

And when it rains...it drips faster.  We took a walk to the nearby supermarket this afternoon in order to get some Colombian pesos, cash a travelers check, and to try to find something stronger than sudafed at the pharmacy for my now raging sinus infection.  We accomplished the first two items on our list, grabbed a coffee because it started to rain, found out all the pharmacy could offer was sudafed with tylenol in it, and tried to wait out the rain.  When it looked like it wouldn't let up we decided to make a run for it - after all, it is only about 6 blocks back to the hotel and a block to the hair salon where the boys were going to get their hair cut.  In one block we were all drenched!  The boys got their hair cut and the girls dried off while we talked with the ladies who worked at the salon.  Then we all ran the last five blocks back to the hotel and took hot showers to warm up.  Our clothes are drying in the clothes dryer here, but our shoes are going to have to air-dry over the next several days in Pereira because they got sacrificed to the ankle deep puddles as we carried the children back.  We had quite a few giggles about run through the rain.  

Back to the bathroom - which is now sopping wet from the rapidly dripping ceiling, the four very hasty showers, and the dripping Americans who decided to make a mad dash in the rain!  I hope that I'm never like that constant dripping, and I'm thankful that God uses vivid imagery to remind me what to do when I disagree with my best friend.

Please pray for my sinus infection that the sudafed will start to do the trick and that the kids won't get sick.  Pray also for an easy flight tonight to Pereira.

Bogota

We had a great trip to Colombia yesterday!  Safe travels and good little travelers all day and late into the night.  The kids were fantastic throughout the day, even when we had to run to catch our connection in Atlanta.  

After a week of packing and preparing exhaustion, yesterday was its own kind of exhausting, but the Lord was gracious and merciful and everything went so well.  

Special thanks to Uncle Andy for the ride to the airport and our new friend William for the ride to Hotel Paris.  It was a blessing to have these portions of our trip taken care of!

We'll update more when we get our feet on the ground and find out the next plans. 

...Not of the Essence

time is of the essence n. a phrase often used in contracts, which, in effect says: the specified time and dates in this agreement are vital and thus, mandatory, and "we mean it." Therefore, any delay, reasonable or not, slight or not, will be grounds for cancelling the agreement. (See: contract)

Copyright © 1981-2005 by Gerald N. Hill and Kathleen T. Hill. All Right reserved.

Failure to act within the time required constitutes a breach of the contract. The general rule is that time is not of the essence unless the contract expressly so provides. As a result, with respect to real estate transactions, the modern view is that time is not of the essence unless the parties have manifested such an intent. The same is generally true in construction contracts and in contracts relating to the manufacture of goods. When time is not of the essence, courts generally permit parties to perform their obligations within a reasonable time.

West's Encyclopedia of American Law, edition 2. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Time is of the Essence"> "http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/time+is+of+the+essence"Time is of the Essence">

The week leading up to departing for an international adoption is a busy week of final preparations.  All that remains on my "priority list" has prompted me to think a lot about time, and to sleep very little.  As I have cleaned, sorted, organized and packed for seven people to spend a month in Colombia, I have had lots of time to think over the phrase "time is of the essence".  One night I found myself rushing from room to room putting things away, packing, washing, folding and simultaneously organizing while I directed bath time and cleaned up from general kid mess of the day, chanting to myself time is of the essence, time is of the essence, time is of the essence.  It's not that we're stressed.  It is just that there's just a set amount of stuff that needs to get done, and just barely a few more hours in excess of that list in which to accomplish everything.  Sleep takes second place to preparation during this leg of the journey.  I was an attentive younger sister of an Eagle Scout.  The scout motto: Be Prepared!

Now that the suitcases are mostly packed - and have been repacked a few times - I have been able to think about all we are leaving behind.  I have found out that truly for us and our relationships, time is NOT of the essence.  The Lord has blessed us richly with friends and family and a church who are supportive and encouraging, who already love our three new kiddos and who adore our little munchkins already at home.  In addition, while we will be stepping out of our roles here in North America for the next four weeks, time is not of the essence with those roles.  While we cannot keep up with those relationships that mean so much to us during our time away - and we haven't done a reasonable job of trying since we began our final sprint to bring these kiddos home - we know that those relationships won't expire or become invalid while we are away.  (See the legal definition above for time is of the essence.)   We treasure these precious friends, their great understanding of our love for our children, and our desire to be obedient to God's calling for our family. 

For the next day and a half I can concentrate on completing the priority list as I guzzle my liquid nap (Colombian coffee) and chant contentedly to myself: time is not of the essence, time is not of the essence.  Once we get to Colombia everything happens on their time anyway - an entirely different and more relaxed clock system with something like 26.4 hours per day.  It's a nice place!  You can pray that we'll all sleep when we get there!

On another note regarding timing: our meeting to receive the children will be Monday morning at 11 a.m. Colombian time - that's 10 a.m. MN time.

 

Quick Update

Our plane leaves Minneapolis at 12:15 on Friday, Nov 21. We change planes in Atlanta and arrive in Bogotá at 9:42 pm Eastern time. A friend of a friend will be picking us up at the airport and we will spend 1 night in Bogotá, then back to the airport on Sat. night. The flight from Bogotá to Pereira is only 50 minutes but the time spent getting to and from and waiting and waiting with a toddler and almost 4-year old in tow will make for a long 50 minute flight. Most of the day Sunday will be spent figuring out which way is up and trying to settle in to our new "home."

Muy Rapido!

Very Quickly and just at the right time.  That's how fast God answered our prayer for the visas!  Tonight we checked the online status of our FedEx package for the visas and noticed it was shipped from Chicago and should arrive tomorrow by 10 a.m.!  Whew!  No trip to Chicago for the Olson's this week.

Now back to packing!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

Chaos!  

Gotcha.  You thought I was going to say Christmas, but I didn't!  Have I mentioned that I'm a Type-A?  Oh yes, God's still working on this aspect of my life big time, as I have seven half-filled suitcases scattered around the house with heaps and piles and bags and lists of stuff to do and pack.  Of course, on top of every suitcase is a neatly typed out packing list complete with bulleted boxes that are getting neatly crossed off, one at a time.  In the basement are several small stacks of Christmas gifts for the children, the cousins, etc., labeled with sticky notes so that my mom can stop by and wrap them in our absence.  (Thanks, Mom!)  And the house is half labeled with Spanish/English labels to help the children learn English and to help Nic remember how to tell the children to put away toys and not drive the toy cars on the walls.  It's complete chaos, and I've never felt such amazing peace in spite of the tremendous unknowns.  

Between the basement and the bedrooms is the everyday chaos that two adorable children ages 2 and almost 4 dream up while playing "Joseph", "Moses", or "David & Goliath."  Why do they always pick the violent, messy parts of the Bible stories to act out - especially while Nic's at work?  I quote my 2 year old son speaking to my daughter: "I'm gonna throw you in the pit and sell you to the Ishmaelites!"  (See Genesis 37)  And again my son said, this time to me, "Mama, you be Goliath and I'll be David, and I'm gonna knock you down!"  (See 1 Samuel 17)  Unfortunately he said this while I was on a conference call with our adoption agency working out some details.  Why can't they act out the feeding of the 5,000 or the walking on water or the children coming to Jesus?  Something sweet and gentle with less drama and extreme vocals.  And why when the phone rings?  We're still working on phone etiquette with the children - the number one reason I don't answer the phone in the mornings. 

Today we were waiting for several important phone calls and each time the phone rang the children were instructed to scurry to their rooms and play individually with toys or look at books until the call was done.  After two miserable failures, we had a little remediation and tried again when the phone rang again the third time.  It was a huge success and we celebrated with a piece of Halloween candy.  The kids are used to fruit as "treats" every day, so a real piece of candy was like hitting the jack pot.  I made the next few phone calls so much easier!  

We're still waiting to hear if the Colombian consulate in Chicago is going to process our visa and send it back via FedEx or if they are going to require us to travel to Chicago yet this week to pick it up in person like it says on their website.  During our two previous adoptions we didn't have to pick it up in person.  It is a new requirement, but some other families have been blessed to just receive it back via FedEx without having been requested to travel.  We're hoping for that same blessing!

On Monday we received an update from the psychologist and defender of minors who are working with the children.  They answered our initial questions regarding the children, including updated sizes - which unfortunately were in Colombian sizes which I think I remember being different from ours, not measurements.  The sizes they listed were far too big compared to their height/weight at their summer visits, so I think that their US clothing sizes are closer to age appropriate sizes: 5/6, 8, 10.  The shoe sizes were listed in European sizing, but I figured that out.  We were encouraged to hear that the children were being prepared to come to an adoptive family and prepared to come to the US.  We pray daily for God to prepare their hearts to join our family and love their new siblings.   

Our flight leaves Friday, November 21st for Bogota with a short layover in Atlanta.  We will arrive late in Bogota, spend Saturday in the area and then fly out Saturday evening for Pereira.  We will have Sunday to get settled and ready for our newest children.  Our little ones at home are very excited and have made a paper chain to count down the days until we leave.  We are bringing the little ones with us so that we can all bond together as a family together as one family during our time in Colombia.  Please pray for safe travels and good health as we all share a room at the Hotel del Cafe for 3+ weeks.

Back to the chaos...

 

Whiplash...

Presentation Date: November 24!!!!!

...more later.

Redeeming the Days

I am thankful for a God who is sovereign.  That will have to be enough for me, even when I don't understand what or why things happen.  Adoption is an incredible experience, full of ups and downs.  It is a most precious and amazing blessing, spoken as an adoptive mom and an adoptee.  I hesitate to share the difficult side of it for fear of scaring away some who may consider adoption.  There are 140 million orphans worldwide waiting for families, and in the end, any challenge we face to bring our children home is worth the effort.  Along the journey there are hills and valleys and sharing one without the other wouldn't make the journey seem real, while sharing them both with you makes the mountaintop experience even more sweet when we finally reach it...

For the past two weeks we have been working through what I can only describe as a communication gap in our adoption process.  Upon accepting the referral of our beautiful daughters and son we asked for updated information regarding their height, weight and foot measurements.  We asked a few other clarifying questions and have gotten no response to our questions after two weeks.  Generally, families travel to bring their children home 4-5 weeks following the acceptance of their referral.  We have been eager to hear about our travel date which is usually a few days prior to the presentation date when the children would be presented to us.  We are especially eager because the Colombian courts close for 3 - 4 weeks from mid to late December to early January.  We've heard a variety of dates for different regions, but have also not heard specifically back regarding our region.  Again, we're in the communication gap.  We've been told the process will be approximately 4 weeks, so in order to get finished before the offices close for the holidays we need to have a travel date by mid-November or we would be "stuck" in Colombia for 3 - 4 weeks while the courts and offices are closed.  If we don't get a travel date in time to complete the necessary process before the offices close we would have to wait until January to travel - two extra months before we can see our children.

We sent our final stack of updated documents along with a small gift for the children and a photo book which describes our home, our church, our family and some things we like, and introduces the grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  The book is bilingual so that the social worker or foster family can read it over with the children to help prepare them.  The goal is to have this to help prepare the children prior to our arrival.  We have also requested video conference calls per the ICBF website guidelines, but that, too has fallen in the gap.

Being on this side of "the gap" with three of my children on the other side and a holiday deadline looming ahead threatening to separate us for eight more weeks has not been a comfortable place to be.  It has consumed me this past week.  (Consequently I haven't returned many phone calls or emails.)  I don't want to think about the possibility that we won't travel until January, but I know that it is possible, and that if it happens that God can redeem those days I have lost and will lose with my children, too.  If God can redeem the days Joseph spent in jail, He can redeem the days for my children and our family.  If God can redeem the days of the Israelites spent wandering in the desert for 40 years and bring them to the promised land in His time, I know that He can redeem the past week that I have spent wandering about my house wondering what to do about the situation and bring me to my children in His perfect time.  

• Please pray for peace in the midst of the painfully silent waiting to bring our children home.
  
• Please pray for clear communications to fill the gap and make sense of the past two weeks of silence from Colombia.
• Please pray especially that if we are not able to travel until January that the Lord helps the children in Colombia to understand that we are still coming for them and have not forgotten about them or changed our minds.  Pray that He protects their hearts during the waiting.
• Please pray for clarity in travel plans.
• Please pray for peaceful preparations at home.
• Please pray for sweet sleep in our home for Nic and I which has been lacking since we have gotten lost in the communication gap.
• Praise God with us for the eager hearts of our children at home who long for their brother and sisters to come home!
• Praise God with us for the encouragement from family and friends that means so much to us!  You are the hands and feet of Christ!

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.  He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.  Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.  One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving.  Psalm 62: 1-2, 8, 11-12