Technology Craze...

...or maybe we are technologically crazy here in warm, sunny Pereira. We have had no internet access for two days straight. The day prior to that we had a whole 15 minutes of internet access, that is about the length of time it takes to send one email sitting outside next to the neighbor's fence where the wireless access is coming from inside his house. Suffice it to say, we are feeling a bit disconnected here.

I see Nic on his way back inside with my computer where he just picked up my emails. My computer doesn't receive the wireless signal as easily as his does, hence the sitting along the fence line. With Nic's computer he only needs to lean out the kitchen window or hold it up towards the nieghbor's house over over the kitchen sink. Someday, when it is in the past and less frustrating, we will share a little giggle about this - okay, alright, we have already had a few chuckles about it already!

The dail-up internet is also not working. It is rigged together somehow and when it doesn't work you're supposed to jiggle all the wires around and hope it works. Ah, well. This, too, teaches us loads of patience.

This week has been a great week together for our family to grow and learn how to be a family of seven. There is so much that the new children have not experienced and that no one has ever taught them that every minute is an opportunity for a lesson of some sort. They are such quick learners, though, and so proud of all they have learned as they join our family. We have all learned a lot and since the internet seems to be working tonight I will give a quick recap of a few things we have learned this week:

• The children have learned to ask for our attention by saying, "May I please have your attention?" instead of just yelling Mama and Papa. However, when distressed by their siblings, they know how to make Maaaaa have at least three syllables.
• The children have learned how to ask for food and table items by saying, "Please pass the ____." This has replaced the grab and toss of the first few days that made table time quite exciting.
• I have learned that you can't get five children clothed and ready for breakfast in 30 minutes using only one bathroom.
• I have learned how to battle lice, mosquito bites, hoarding/gorging food, one little non-eater, and next on my list...intestinal parasites! (I'm not sure about that last one, I just have a sneaking suspicion.)
• I have learned that the opportunity to swim is a powerful motivator for all five children.
• Our littlest daughter has learned to swim across the pool all by herself WITHOUT any floaties, head in the water all the way! Big sisters are great teachers!
• Our middle daughter has learned to swim down to the bottom of the pool to retrieve the diving toy of the day.
• Our oldest daughter has learned to do front and back sommmersaults in the water and handstands.
• Our sons are STILL learning to share the toy cars, even though there are enough for each of them and their sisters. We're confident they'll learn this someday.
• I've learned that children are great at learning routines and expectations, and that they will rise to the challenge when you praise them and train them accordingly.

We've learned so much more, but there isn't space or time to share it all. Really, our time here has been ideal for the training and bonding necessary to become a family of seven before returning home. While some of the conditions haven't been ideal (lack of internet, gazillion bugs everywhere, rain every night making the grassy areas sloppy and muddy, minimal sleeping area to share our piojos-lice), the timing has been just perfect for our family. God's timing is always prefect even when it is not what we expected or planned for.

Of course, it is easier for me to say that on this side of the ordeal, knowing that we will go to the court on Tuesday morning to sign our sentencia. Tomorrow is a holiday here and the courts are closed tomorrow, so our entire court process took only one week. We are thankful for a merciful judge. We're not sure exactly how many days it will take to collect the birth certificates, other paperwork, and passports here in Pereira before we fly back to Bogota, but once in Bogota we only need three business days maximum to go to the doctor and get the visas. We should be able to make our return flight with no problem - now we need to pray that there are three more seats available for that flight!

Until the next time we have internet access...