Yesterday, Oscar the attorney and I traipsed all over town getting 2 birth certificates during the morning.  Then we spent the afternoon at this huge park/playground and then at this very upscale mall.  Last night there was a big party at the B&B celebrating adoption.  VIP's from FANA were there.  We partook in delicacies from a French connoisseur including quiche and many fancy gourmet desserts.  The kids behaved for the most part.  All in all, yesterday wuz a ton-o-fun.

This morning Jaun guided us thru the Salt Cathedral.  It was an hour outside of Bogota.  We saw salt mines and the Cathedral was underground and everything was made of salt.  It was really neato.

O.K........BIG news!  The kiddos are officially ours.  This afternoon we were surprised that I was asked to immediately get in a taxi with Andres (our adoption escort) and go downtown to sign papers to take the kids for good.  There is a big name for it but I don't remember it.  Now starts a bunch of formalities but we were told that we will probably be able to catch a plane home next Wednesday.

Please pray for all the paperwork to go thru properly and for us to be able to catch a flight at a good time for no extra $.   Thanks.

We got to video conference with both Rena's parents and one of my brothers and his family yesterday.  We have already done this with my sister and her family in Hawaii a few times.  It is so much fun to watch the kids react to family elsewhere.  They say Hola, Te amo mucho, and give kisses.  Oh, and I can't forget that they show off their all too famous "Mamacita" dance.  Technology is just crazy these days.  The picture when we webcam is so clear!   Thank the Lord that He shares some of His brains with us so we can do amazing things.

I posted a cute little video of Erika on You Tube.  Look it up under nd4367.

Funny moment:  Luisa pulled a "Caddyshack" pool scene in the bathtub this morning.  Erika, who shares the tub, was extremely disgusted and dissatisfied.

Erika's birthday party

Princess Erika turned 3 yesterday and boy did she have a big day.  The El Refugio threw her a HUGE shebang.  Lucia our contact, Oscar our attorney, Andres our driver were all there.  All the other families were there.  Everyone showered her with many wonderful gifts.  She was sung Happy Birthday in English, then Spanish, then in French.  The staff dressed up in costumes.  Carmen also suggested the kids be in costumes.  Erika had a Dora pinata.  It was a smashing success.  The Colombians REALLY know how to fiesta/party!

In a few hours we will take the kids for their passport pictures.  The adoption process is moving along quickly and we should be home in less than 2 weeks as per Lucia/Oscar.

Today the priorities finally got straight.  I got a Harley Davidson t-shirt from the Bogota HD store.  I was upset that they didn't have any shirts for Rena or the kids.  I really wanted a picture of us all in HD shirts.  

We hired a tour guide/driver named Juan who was just excellent.  He showed us all around Bogota and shared all kinds of historical information about it.  We visited the huge square where you see the pigeons.  We visited an art gallery that had all kinds of famous artists from all around the world.  They featured a Colombian artist who only draws fat people.  I felt quite at home.

The kids are up now.  See ya.