Bailamos! & The Best Ice Cream in Bogota

Where to start for our day today... well, let's just start from the beginning. We woke up to rain, and for breakfast had special sandwiches (two pieces of bread, cheese, and ham). This is a Wednesday treat, and on Sundays we are treated to pancakes. The rest of the week we have a menu to choose from, so there is plenty of variety for us to eat. We all woke up a bit tired today- I think the combination of Will's (lack of) sleeping habits, new sleeping quarters, and pollution has caught up with us somewhat. The kiddos were a bit crabby, but seemed to improve after they had a chance to sleep.

We took a walk to Uni Centro (a huge mall) with our new friend Jen from Minnesota and went to Exito for some groceries. After a brief shopping trip there and a stop at a Juan Valdez for a cup of coffee (the 4 we had here at Paris weren't enough to kick start us, apparently) we made our way back to Paris, in the rain. We actually ran into Isabel Romero, our rep here, on our way back and had a chance to just chat with her for a few minutes.

Once we got back, we had some lunch, and then some rest time. And after that, we made the trip that I have been waiting four years to do- my favorite place in Bogota, and with all due respect to the Housemans (from Houseman's Ice Cream in Byron Center- you gotta go there!), to Crepes and Waffles. We paid just over 6,000 pesos (about $3) for 2 huge waffle cones for Ally and me (Beck didn't want one, and wouldn't let me buy two, just in case she changed her mind. Hey- you never know!). There we had some of the best ice cream I have had in a loooooong time:

Even Will got in on the action!

I may head back there after Beck falls asleep tonite. For only $1.50 per cone, I almost can't afford NOT to go there more often! Is that a good excuse?? Either way, we'll be back there soon.

So after dinner tonite we did something that I've missed since we've been here- danced! OK, well, Beck and Ally danced. I watched from the sidelines (DWTS has called me a few times, but
I hung up my dancing shoes a few years ago) while Juanita pulled out some Colombian music, and we all had a good time. There's even a rumor floating around here (via Juanita) that John Vandermaas has some pretty good dance moves. I'm going to have to see if there is any video of him- Kristi- can you help us out? Just kidding John!

Ally and Will have been doing well together. Better than I thought for sure, but I think it's because Ally has been able to handle Will's rough n' tumble attitude. Here he is tackling her on the couch tonite:

We didn't do much for videos today, but here's one of Will yesterday on the swing- he was loving it!

No big plans for tomorrow, but I'm sure we'll put some miles on. I'm in training for the 2014 olympics- the double stroller push is the event I'm looking to enter. After the last week and a half, I've become a heavy favorite. Or maybe after eating Juanita's cooking, I'm just getting heavy. :)

God bless!

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will

Feels Like Home Part 2, & Things That Make Us Laugh

So today we moved. Again. But this time it was more like coming home than when we moved into our previous residence. Don't get me wrong- our last place was super nice, only updated a couple months ago, and well managed. I would recommend staying there for anyone... but coming back to Hotel Paris today brought back so many memories of 4 years ago with Ally. It was great to walk in and see so many familiar faces; faces who actually remembered us (I hope that's not a bad thing... I'm scratching my head to think of anything I could have done to "make an impact" on them). We have a history here, and it's just plain great to be back.

Our morning started off a little discombobulated (ooh, how many points is that on Scrabble? It took me about 10 minutes to think of a word there). We were supposed to be picked up at 10:30 with a van to bring all of our things over here. Well, at 10 am we get a call that our taxi is already out front. I've been fortunate to be able to work while I'm down here thanks to Hoekstra, and I was in the middle of a phone call when the taxi showed up. And of course, Will was having a bad morning, and Ally was too, so Beck was trying to play Super Mom (which she is quite good at, I must add) and help bring the luggage downstairs to a taxi that's the size of a matchbox car (they forgot the van part of needing a taxi). No worries- the taxi driver took half of our luggage to Paris while I finished up what I was doing, and by the time he returned we had the rest of the luggage ready to go. So we said our good-byes at Las Palmas, and off to Paris we went.

Today it rained most of the day, but that was fine for moving. When we arrived at Paris we were given the upstairs corner room which is the largest room in Paris. I haven't taken any pics yet, but I will tomorrow and post them ASAP. It has 2 queen beds, 2 twin beds, 2 walk-in closets, and a huge bathroom. It's really nice for Will and Ally especially; Will has a lot of space to move around (and that boy needs it- he's like Mario Andretti on his hands and knees), and Ally can still have plenty of room to play. We're really glad we moved here.

So on to the second part of the post tonight- things that make us laugh. There are so many things when you have a 4 year old with a heart of gold and great love of life and a 15 month old who is warming up to the idea of being a ham himself that make for many minutes of laughter as you spend time together as a family. For example, check out this video of the war for room on Momma's lap tonight:

Or this one of bathtime tonight, with Fearless Will having a riot splashing water with Big Sis enjoying it at first, then having enough:

It really is a blessing to be able to spend this much time together as a family and be able to share in these moments together. It's crazy to think how the four of us all met- first, Becky following me down the hallway at GRCHS, practically begging me to take her out on a date. Sheesh, she sure was persistent (and I'm a good liar, too. That's totally not what happened, but it probably would have been if I wouldn't have sent a friend over to ask her out for me. See how much embarrassment I saved her?). Then 4 years ago, we have the incredible opportunity to come down to a country called Colombia (and I'm sure I spelled it Columbia at some point, too) to meet a sweet little girl. And now, returning again to have a 15 month old brown haired boy given to us who will some day call us Mom and Dad. It's a crazy world we live in, and what a tremendous blessing this family is. I hope you feel the same about your own.

Lastly tonight, Ally has something she wanted to send back to Michigan:

Until tomorrow- God Bless!

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will

ICBF & the Notary

Well, today the process has officially started. We had our interview with ICBF this afternoon, and from there we went to the notary to have our intentions to adopt Will notarized. Our wonderful representative Tia Isabel went with us. We haven't seen her yet since she's been so incredibly busy helping other families out, so it was great to finally get to spend time with the person who has played such a huge part in putting our family together. She was also our rep with Ally, so it's like she's family- and not just to us, but to SO many families across the US, and especially in West Michigan. She has a heart of gold, no doubt about it. She even has a great sense of humor- when we were at the notary signing papers, Beck was holding Will, and so she was just signing the paperwork as Isabel put it in front of her (and it was also all in Spanish, so it's not like she would've been able to read it anyway). After signing the 3 required documents, Tia Isabel says, "Rebecca, would you like to know what you just signed?" And to which Beck replies (with a somewhat confused look on her face, as if to say, "I hope it was the right papers! You gave them to me to sign!") "Sure!" And Tia says, "Those were divorce papers. You are now divorced" with a little grin on her face. So we had a great day catching up with Tia Isabel and getting the process moving.

Tomorrow morning we are moving. We have really enjoyed Las Palmas, and it is a nicely renovated hotel (I would recommend it if you ever come to Bogota!) but we miss Hotel Paris, and we will be able to get a larger room there. There is a large room here, but we didn't want to take that away from our friends the Lieberts who will need it much more than we do. So tomorrow morning we're heading back to the place where we were with Ally, and are looking forward to it (plus we'll be closer to Uni Centro, which means many posts about Crepes and Waffles and cheap ice cream. I can't believe I've been here a week already and haven't been to Crepes and Waffles! But we did promise Ally ice cream on Wednesday, so look for a mention of it in the post that day!).

Due to the running around of the ICBF and the notary, we didn't take too many pictures today. But we did have a great day yesterday with the Tanners who returned home to Michigan today with their new son Sebastian. We took a long walk from Las Palmas to La Carulla (a grocery store) where we met and walked to the Santa Barbera markets.

After that we had the privilege of meeting Adriana's parents for lunch at a local restaurant. We had a wonderful time (next time I think we'll make it adults only though- Will had the biggest blowout of his life- and I'm not talking about a torn ACL, and Ally was super tired from walking so much) getting to meet them and hear about their children and life living in Bogota. They're the kind of people you would like to sit and talk to for hours- their kindness was incredible, and their love for their children and grandchildren was so evident. After lunch we headed back home and spent the rest of the day recovering from pushing the world's largest side by side stroller and walking 136 miles (OK, maybe not quite that long, but sure felt like it!).

So here are 2 videos of Will, or "Squirmy", as Ally has nicknamed him (appropriately so. Have you ever seen a cowboy ride a bull for 10 seconds? That's nothing compared to trying to hold Will down and change his diaper). The first was bath time last night- someone learned how to splash:

The second is of Mom and Will playing upside down "Hola":

Tomorrow we don't have a lot planned other than moving and getting settled in. We look forward to seeing our friends at Paris again, and look forward to having a larger room where Ally and "Squirmy" can move around. In a way, it's kinda like going home.

Love to all-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and Will (aka Squirmy)

March 28, 2006

March 28, 2006. Bogota, Colombia.

Inside Tia Rosa's apartment in the city, Becky and I anxiously sit on the couch while we wait for Tia Rosa to return with our 4-1/2 month old daughter who we learned about only 7 weeks earlier. A couple minutes later, Tia Rosa walks into the room, and our world is changed forever. We are the proud parents of a little girl with the biggest, brownest eyes, the biggest cheeks, and the longest eye lashes you've ever seen. And that smile. From minute one, that girl has loved to smile. But for all you boys out there, I own guns. Lots of them. :)

I'll never forget that day. I think the first thing we both thought was, "what is that thing that she has on? It looks like a cast!" That "thing" was her brace for her hips, and although it was a little while before she was able to move around without it, it never dampened her spirit or kept her from smiling or laughing, or making others around her do the same.

7 weeks later we returned home to Grand Rapids, and that little girl is now growing up fast! I keep telling her that she has to stop growing, but she always says, "but Daddy, I have to keep growing up. I want to be a mommy some day too!" And that is our daughter- sweet, funny, to-the-point, and always in control (or at least trying to be in control).

So yesterday on one of our missions, we made a stop at Pasteleria Jaques, a French pastry place that we were introduced to by our friends Andrea and Gloria when we were here for Ally's adoption. We were in search of a treat for Ally to celebrate the meaning of today, as we do every year. I let Ally pick which item she would like, and we took it back to the hotel and put it in our frig for an after-dinner celebration tonight:

As you can see, the South American sun melted it a bit before we returned to the hotel. But it still tasted just as good!

Ally has been a great addition to our family- she is a great Big Sis:

She makes us laugh:

And she loves to entertain (although she may get a little perturbed if Mom "laughs" at her):

She's known as Ally, The Lady, Crazy Lady, Bugaboo, Crazy, Lover, and Alexandra Daniela (and we all know what's happening if she gets called that name!). She is an incredible daughter (in my opinion, due to all the time that Beck is able to spend with her) who is not only able to bring smiles to peoples' faces, but is also incredibly adaptable. You can't imagine how well she is doing down here so far as Will's Big Sister. Every morning she wakes up (often at 5:30 or 6, when she's used to getting up at 7 or 7:30), looks over at Will who has woken us all up, and gives him the biggest smile. Her love for him is growing, and she just loves having someone else in our family. We always thought she would be a great sister, but not to this extent. The one thing she perhaps misses the most from home is her daily errand runs with Beck. She'll jokingly ask, "Momma, when are we going to run errands? And where are we going- Target? Meijer?" And then she'll give her patented "Janice" laugh (see the old TV show 'Friends' for a clue on that one) and we'll all laugh about it. Ask her, and she'll tell you that she wants to be an Artist and a Doctor when she grows up. Odd combination? Yep. But if there's someone that can do it (and will, just to prove she can!), it's Ally. And we're going to encourage her to do both if that's what she wants to do.

It's so cool to me to think that on this Palm Sunday, when we think about what our Savior has done for us, that we can also thank Him for what he's given us. A little girl with nothing but love (OK, and the occassional attitude, but don't all 4 year olds go through that?) that has brought so much into our family, and we are so blessed to be able to call her our daughter. I often joke that God gave us her because there's no way that Beck and I could produce a child like her, but it's the truth. Once again, He shows us that He does know what He's doing, and today we thank Him for placing her in our arms 4 years ago. We love you Lady!

Momma, Daddy, and Will

Getting to Know the City & Crazy 8s (I Can't Win)

Today was a little more laid back, which was a welcome. Will didn't sleep well again last night, and neither did Ally. So having a day together as a family and just relaxing was great.

This morning we went on a long walk. We walked down one of the main roads (please don't ask which one- it's taken me 4 years just to begin to understand the numbering and how the streets work. Point me in the right direction now though, and I can find it!) and headed in the direction of Archie's, where we ate pizza last night with the Tanners. Our mission (well, actually there were 2 missions to accomplish): first, find Pasteleria Jaques (more on that at the end- we have a very special day tomorrow), and second, go to La Carulla, a grocery store near Hotel Paris. The reason for mission #2 was this- they have a LOT more healthy food (and you all know how health conscious I am- never eat anything bad for my body! No sir, not me! Just don't ask about the Jif I bought when Beck sent me out the other day to buy peanut butter. Phew- that was not a smart decision on my part!) than our local Pomona, and at cheaper prices (OK, now that part is true. I'm the cheap one in our family. Beck's a close 2nd though!). This time I left with sunscreen already applied, and gotta say I feel pretty good tonight- no fires raging on the top of my head. We accomplished both missions and headed back to Palmas for lunch.

After lunch we waited for the doctor. Will has been pulling at his ears, runny nose, and poo that could make a grown man cry. So we thought we'd have Dr. Maria Clemencia check him out and make sure that all is OK. She came, put some fears to rest with saying that he does NOT have an ear infection, and gave us a couple scripts to help out with the runny nose and make sure there's not more to the #2. So we'll be monitoring him for the next few days to make sure he's on the path back to normal health.

One thing we keep seeing more and more of every day in Will- he is ALL boy. He is mischevious, and you better keep your eye on him or you may find him here:

He loves noise- the louder the better. And balls. We have a foosball table here, and he loves to put one ball in each hand and crawl around on his hands and knees. He also loves to throw things (mostly food off his high chair on to the floor when he's eating) and put things in his mouth (usually unlaundered things that make you go "Ewwww" when you see him do it).

Here are a couple pics from Parque Jaime Duque yesterday, before our camera batteries died:

And here is a little video clip of Will and Mommy playing a game of "hola":

After dinner tonight it was bath time for both kiddos. And while Beck put Will down, Ally and I went downstairs to play a new game we brought down here called Crazy 8s. It's a fun game if you're Ally or have no competitive bones in your body. However, if you're me, it gets a little frustrating when your 4 year old daughter beats you 8 games to 2. I almost resorted to cheating, too. Even then I'm not sure I could have done anything to beat her. She's a natural, I guess.

So tomorrow's post is going to focus on our first child, Ally. Four years ago tomorrow Ally was placed in our arms, and she has been a light to so many people since day one. So one of our missions today was to go to Jaques, a famous pastry shop here in Bogota, for a "Gotcha" day treat, as we do every year. 4 years ago yesterday we made our first trip to Colombia, and four years ago tomorrow we became a family of 3!

Love to all-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and Will

A Day With Friends

We had a good day today. We're a bit spent due to the fact that Will isn't a sleeper like Ally was, and he is still making some adjustments which effect all of us. That said, tonight's post won't be quite as extensive, and sans pics. I'll make up for that tomorrow, promise. We all know the pics are the most exciting part anyway!

Today we were invited by Stephanie Kammeraad to go to Parque Jaime Duque- a gigantic playland with a zoo. We readily agreed to go so we could get out a little bit and enjoy the weather again (although it's raining as I type this). As we were getting ready Carmen, our rep here in Colombia, called and said she was planning on taking us to the notary this afternoon. I explained the situation about going with Stephanie, and she said, "No problem, go and have a good time." Both Carmen and Isabel have been extremely busy with Sentencia paperwork (Sentencia is the last step before you get to go home)- I think half of West Michigan has adopted from here in the last 3-4 months, and now most of them are going or have returned home. So with all of the Sentencias, Carmen and Isabel have been hopping to it! We haven't even seen them since we've been here, through no fault of their own. They're just that busy.

So off to the park we went, and had a riot with Stephanie, her son Carlos, and her new daughter Maria. It's about a 40 minute ride outside of Bogota, and it was great to see the mountains again and see the gorgeous countryside. Once there, we hopped on a "train" (it was actually a tractor pulling about 8-10 covered carts) and were pulled over to the zoo that is there. We saw all kinds of animals, and tried to keep up with Ally and Carlos who were typically 4 animal cages in front of the rest of us. After the zoo, we took a ride on a merry-go-round (they wouldn't let me ride on a horse... the lady kept pointing at my tummy and said, "gordo senor, gordo". I wonder what that means?), and then on a pink elephant (had to go with pink- it is Ally's favorite color!). At around 1 pm we headed back to the hotel to await Carmen's call. Finally at 3:45 pm she called, and then said it was too late to go today. So now we'll go Monday before our ICBF meeting and get the ball rolling!

Fortunately we had other plans lined up already- our good friends Jeff and Adriana Tanner from GR invited us out to pizza, and we readily accepted. We went to Archie's pizza, a pizza joint right in Bogota. Good pizza and great friends- we had a riot and it was good to be with friends again. Jeff and Adriana are leaving early next week, so it was great to be with them for a couple hours.

So tonight we're back at the hotel unwinding, tired but happy to be here with Will and Ally. There have been a few tough moments lately (especially today), but we are so blessed to be here with friends, our family, and Will. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Love to all-

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will

It's Still 70° Here & The Many Parks of Bogota

So today I did the same thing I did four years ago- thought I didn't need the suntan lotion when we went for a walk. And I found out the same thing that I did back then- that I'm still Dutch, and Colombia is still a lot closer to the sun than Michigan. Net result- burned arms, neck, face, and head. At least last time I had hair so it couldn't penetrate as easily. And Beck got burned too; but not the kids. Tan lines for both, but only mom and dad bore the brunt of el sol.

However, if you think I'm complaining, you're guessing wrong. It's been absolutely gorgeous here all week. Today was actually a little cooler and overcast this afternoon- other than that it's been 70° all week. By the way, how's the weather in Michigan? Just kidding; gotta get my digs in before it turns nice there!

Anyway, the burns came on a walk to and from Hotel Paris, where we stayed when we went through Ally's process. We went there to see Stephanie Kammeraad, our friend who is also from Michigan. She is leaving Tuesday, so we wanted a chance to see her before she left. It was great to see her, and also to see the people of Hotel Paris that we got to know so well when we were there last time. Katya (the owner), Valeria, Hermann, and Juanita; they all remembered us and Ally, and we took the 2006 book out (Katya keeps books with pictures and a hand-written note from each family that passes through there) and showed Ally her picture of when she was there. It was a lot of fun to go back and reminisce with them all (and I gotta say, I miss Juanita's cooking. She is a great cook!!) and see the place where we started our family.

There are a million parks to go to here in Bogota. In a city of 7.3 million people (over 8.5 million if you include the metro areas) people need an outlet, and the parks help with that. We have a park about 100 yards from our hotel, and we've been there every day since we arrived. Here are some pics:

As you can see, we have a lot of fun at the parks. It gives us some great bonding time as a family and allows us to have fun while we do it! The nice thing is, when we're not at a park or don't feel like going out, we have a large back yard where the kiddos can play:

The kids are really getting along well; Will is coming out of his shell, and Ally is amazing at being a big sister. She loves to play with him, and she can make him laugh, giggle, and do more than Beck or I. Case in point:

For those that know Ally well, this is no surprise. She can make lemonade out of lemons any day! Please continue to pray for both Ally and Will, that their relationship gets stronger every day, and that when the hard days do come (because we know they will!), that God will use the hard times to actually strengthen their relationship. There is nothing better than having a great family (as Beck and I have both been blessed with).

So we have some good news from yesterday- our ICBF interview will be on Monday! Beck got a call from Isabel (our representative down here in Colombia) yesterday, and she said we already have the interview. That's sooner than we expected, especially because of Holy Week next week when the courts are essentially shut down. This interview is the first step of our process in coming home, and we're so thankful that things are moving. We still expect Beck to be here for 6-8 weeks, but at least things are moving forward!

Thanks to all for posting comments too, by the way. As was with Ally's Caring Bridge site, this will be Will's way to see all of the friends and family that followed his journey into our family. We know that he is loved so much- by the 3 of us with him down here, and also all of you in the States. We look forward to some day seeing the look on his face as he reads through this and begins to understand God's perfect plan for his life.

Love-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and Will

Parenting is NOT Like Riding a Bike & Las Palmas

First of all, here is the video I mentioned last night that I wasn't able to load. I hope you get a kick out of it as much as we have:

Remember back in high school when you had that one class that was seemed impossible, and no matter how long you studied it didn't get any easier? And then when you passed it by a hair, you thought, "Phew. I hope I never have another class as difficult as that one?" Now imagine that one day you get a knock on the door, and it's your old math or English teacher standing there, holding an exam. And they tell you, "Johnny, I'm not leaving until this exam is completed, and you only have one chance to get it right." What would go through your head? How much of that class would you have actually remembered? Even after only a year or two, unless you've used the math or English in context continuously, you'd forget most of it, right?

Parenting kind of works that way. Now don't get me wrong- I love being a dad and daddy. My point with the example above is, how quickly we forget how to parent a particular age. When we were blessed with Ally, I remember trying to figure out what each whimper or facial expression was. Eventually we would figure it out so the next time around we knew how to handle it. But now, we are learning how to ride a new bike. Will's personality seems to be completely different than Ally's- he appears really calm and laid back (of course, Ally was at first too, I guess. Yikes!), but one thing the boy can do- go #2. We were awakened early this morning by a rumble- now keep in mind that we're near an airport, so turbulent noise isn't out of the ordinary, but this was in our room. I didn't know what the heck it was, and sat upright in bed. Beck kind of looked at me like, "What was THAT?!?", and the next thing we knew we were giving Will a bath. At 1 am. Gotta love parenting. I'll probably remind him of that at his wedding. :)

So we've been constantly changing diapers all day, and he's been double-diapered for most of it. But he's amazing- so content, and no amount of rumbles seem to phase him. Yep, he's a man all right!! In all seriousness though, please pray that this clears up quickly. Although he's been content, it can't be all that fun having your diaper changed so often.

That brings up the 2nd portion for tonight- where are we staying? Bienvenidos a Hotel Las Palmas!

Las Palmas was recently renovated, so for the most part that was deciding factor. It was a little less expensive too, so that certainly helped. So far we've been very impressed with the facilities and staff (you can see Juan, the GM, standing behind the pool table with the white shirt on). They are still doing other things- next on the list is the beds, which should be here in 3 weeks. That will be good, because when I sleep I feel like Fred Flintstone on a literal bed of rock. That and the fact that being 6'4" in a country where very few people are that tall presents a length challenge in bed. My feet hang over the foot board all night long, so I'm constantly waking up with my feet asleep. If there ever were a fire or emergency I'd have to have Beck give me a piggy back ride while holding Ally and Will. How much would you pay to see that?

But other than that, no complaints here. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous, we have a park right across the street, Pomono (the grocery store) is only one block away, and we're together as a family for a few weeks. Once we get Will's tummy figured out and I figure out how to keep my feet from falling asleep, we'll be even better. Now if I can just remember how that whole parenting thing works...

God bless-

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will

Introducing....

He's here! Welcome to our family of four- William Michael Schrotenboer! We got the call this morning that our presentation would be this afternoon at 4:30 pm. So we spent the day staying busy- to the bank to withdraw funds to pay the lawyer, to the park so Ally could run around and play, unpacking at the hotel room, and walking around a little bit to get a feel of the city again.

At 3:30 pm we were picked up to head to Los Pisingos:

We went through the gate, and inside we were met by Carlos, the man who runs the orphanage (Tia Rosa, who ran Los Pisingos when we adopted Ally, passed away 2-1/2 years ago).

He brought us into his office where we went through Will's medical history and he told us his eating and sleeping habits. Then he told Ally he had a very special surprise for her- she would be the first to see and meet Will! Her eyes lit up like Christmas lights, and off she went, holding Carlos's hand as he led her into another room. And there, for the first time, she met Will:

So as they played together and had a chance to meet, Beck and I (impatiently) waited for Carlos, Will, and Ally to come back. And soon they did. Here is the first pic of Will, Ally, and Beck together:

Then the first family pic:

They gave us a few minutes alone as a family, and then Carlos came back. Los Pisingos is such an incredible place- just in talking to the caretakers (OK, who I am kidding. We listened to them say things to Carlos, perhaps picking up a word or two of what they were saying, then Carlos would translate in its entirety. We didn't listen, we nodded) you can see their absolute passion for the children. It's not about anything BUT the children there, and I am so thankful for all they do. We even had a chance to meet Will's "foster mother" who has really watched and taken care of him more than the other people there:

Then after a few minutes of talking, back to the hotel we went. Carlos said he likes to do the presentation but then get the family back to the place they're staying so they can spend time together as a family. We certainly appreciated that.

Once back to Las Palmas, we were greeted with this:

We showed him off to everyone in the hotel, then up to our room we went.

When we first received Will, he was very quiet. I'm sure that, at 15 months, he's used to particular people and routines at LP, so he was probably wondering who in the world we were. So we were having a difficult time getting him to smile or laugh. That is, until Ally took over (I have a great video but am having a hard time getting it to load. I'll try again tomorrow.):

That girl is hilarious- she always knows how to make people smile, and her little brother is no exception!

So the rest of the night was spent at dinner, Skyping family, and just hanging out. It really is fun being a family of 4. Ally is a great big sister, Will is a huge smiler and laugher now (not to mention ALL over the place- he's crawling like mad), and life is good. Well, it's always been good. But now it's even better. We have another male in both sides of the family (expanding the gap on my side, and closing the gap on Beck's side), and I've got a fishing and hunting buddy (oops- that's fishin' and huntin'). Our first day as a family of 4- freaking sweet.

Love to all-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (I'm home!) Will

Feels Like Home!

We're here! I'll give a quick synopsis of our day yesterday:

3:45 am- After hitting the sack at 10:00 pm, turning over 1.3 million times, and waking up every 10 minutes, Beck and I get up and get ready to fly out the door.

4:22 am- Out the door 7 minutes late (don't ever travel with me- I'm a "time perfectionist", meaning that if you're 1 nanosecond late I start asking questions).

4:35 am- Meet up with my dad who will take us to Chicago.

4:45 am- Pick up my nephew Jeron, who wanted to ride along (thanks a ton JT!).

7:45 am (6:45 Chicago time)- arrive at Ohare, with Becky wondering why we had to leave so early (Mapquest said 3 hours, 38 minutes- I swear!). Our flight doesn't leave until 10:20 CST.

10:20 am- After a breakfast at McDonald's, we head out on our first leg of the trip, into Atlanta. The flight is smooth- very little turbulence, and Ally was awesome! It's raining in the ATL.

11:20 am (back on EST now)- 4:55 pm- Try to find concourse E in the airport, find our gate, then head to TGI Fridays for a "real" meal. Burgers for all 3 of us! Hang out in the airport, walk around, etc.

4:55 pm- The 2nd flight of the day! On to Bogota- Colombia is on CST right now, and our arrival time is 8:44 pm, so this one is longer. Fortunately we're on a 757 now, and the backrests of each seat have your choice of "entertainment"- TV, movies, or music. My favorite was an updated map showing you exactly where you were during the flight. It's funny because my dad and I were just talking about how some planes have that feature on the way to Chicago yesterday.

8:44 pm (CST)- Arrive in Bogota! By this time we're tired, sweaty (the plane was about 120 degrees), and Ally is ready to be done traveling. But we're almost there- just a taxi ride to our hotel and we're home!

9:00- Wait about 45 minutes to get off the plane, catch a bus to the airport, and find absolute chaos. It was 10 times busier than when we flew in 4 years ago, and the line to immigration appears to be about 2 hours long (no exaggeration!). So what do you do? Play the "child" card, of course! Beck noticed that anyone with a child(ren) was just walking past everyone, so she went up to a guard, pointed at Ally, and said "nina". He looks and waves me over (keep in mind I have a double stroller, so I'm about 4 feet wide). We follow along the wall past about 500 people (no joke), getting some angry stares, but we walked up to a line of families only! Yahoo- great job Beck!! So instead of 2 hours, we stand in line for about 15 minutes, and we go through immigration. Next step- get the luggage.

10:00 pm- Gather all 6 bags, and walk outside to find our taxi driver. We were told there would be someone there holding a sign with our name on it. I walk, and walk, and walk, but nothing. Huh. Houston, we have a problem. So I leave Beck, Ally, and the guy that helped gather our luggage while I walk around. But no luck. Then finally- I see Beck standing by someone who looked awfully familiar- it was Freddy! Freddy was one of our taxi drivers when we were here last time, and he speaks English very well, so it was nice to know we would have some good conversation on the way to the hotel.

10:25 pm- Leave the airport with Freddy, and we're quickly reminded of the pandemonium that is driving here in Colombia. Driving here is not for the faint of heart- if you pause for even a second you won't get very far. It's every man, woman, and child for him/herself, and if you can't drive 2 feet from someone's bumper at 60 km/hr, fuggetaboutit. You really need to experience this- it's a riot!! So off we went with Freddy to our hotel, and he pointed out multiple places (we could vaguely make out the lights of Monseratte in the distance), and about 1/2 hr later we were there!

11:00 pm- Arrive at our temporary home- Hotel Las Palmas (http://www.laspalmasbogota.com/). We chose this one over Hotel Paris (where we stayed last time) because of the recent renovations they did. They shut the hotel down from mid-December until mid-January, and completely re-did the entire place. It looks great! The rooms are a little smaller than Hotel Paris, but they are VERY clean, the bathrooms are awesome, and there is a lot of room to play for Ally here. There is only one other family here right now, but the Leiberts will be coming in soon, and Hotel Paris (where some of our other friends are staying) is only a few blocks away, so it shouldn't be an issue.

11:30 pm- Ally is sleeping, and Beck and I lay down for our first night back in Bogota. I am reminded of our first time here with Ally and how much I love it here. I don't think I could permanently live here (probably due to the combination of lack of Spanish that I speak and the fact that all of you are not here :)), but I do have to say- this place does feel like home.

So now we're waiting on a call to hear when we get Will today. It's been a whirlwind the last few days and will continue to be so today for sure and probably into tomorrow while we settle in, but we're excited to be here, to be back in the homeland of Ally so she can experience it, and most importantly, to be introduced to William Michael Schrotenboer. It's been crazy, but we know this is all part of God's plan. He has us exactly where He wants us and where we need to be, and soon we'll be a family of 4. REAL soon!

Love-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (today!) Will

Edit: Thanks to Lesley for the help on the comments! I've changed the settings, so everyone should be able to post comments now without having to sign in or have an account. If that doesn't work, please email me and I'll enlist Les's blogging expertise again!

Time to Go

Ally and Beck are in bed, so one last post here on American soil before we head to Bogota. We're leaving GR at 4:30 am (thanks Dad and Jeron!!) and our flight leaves O'hare at 10:20 am. Why I need to be in an airport 3 hours before it leaves it beyond me. I guess I look like a terrorist- must be the hair.

Anyway, the next post will be from Colombia! Travel all day tomorrow (we arrive in Bogota at 8:44 pm tomorrow night), and we get Will Tuesday. Please pray for safe travels, and that Beck continues to feel better (she had a NASTY stomach flu Friday night). Also for Will, that he is healthy and will be happy to meet his new family. We're packed and ready to get him!!

Love to all-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (in two days!) Will

A Verse for the Day

This morning Iwoke up with so many things on my mind...packing, making sure work was all wrapped up, how was Ally going to do on the trip, how is she really going to like having a baby brother, how is Will doing, is he safe and healthy, am I going to remember everything and am I going to get everything done before we leave on Monday...and the list goes on and on.
I don't know what made me do it, (well, I do, I'm just shocked I listened) but I decided to take a moment this morning, even with everything going on in my head, and listen to what God had to say to me. And here's what He said, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say again: Rejoice! Let your gentlesness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be axious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:4-7.
Not much needs to be said after that...our God is in control of this whole journey, and He has blessed us in so many ways...with amazing family and friends, with two precious children, and with His peace...peace that calms my anxious heart.
So, I really wanted to share that with you this morning, and to try my hand at this blogging thing (I know all of you will be disappointed when Scott has to go back home...he really is an amazing writer, isn't he?!)
Thanks to all of you who are following along...we so appreciate your prayers and your support!
Becky

How Does This Thing Work?!?!?

A few people have asked how to post comments on the blog.

It's really easy. You just.... or, maybe it's.... huh. Oh wait, I think it's... nope, not that one either. OK, to be honest I'm not sure exactly, but I do know you need an account (I think Google). It's not too difficult to sign up for that, but if someone a lot smarter than me, and with an account already, wouldn't mind telling the rest of us that would be fantastic. Sheesh, I can't even figure out the formatting of this crazy thing... all I can do is dump some pics in here and there and add words. Even an old farmboy can figure that one out!

Love-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (5 days til!) Will

Adoption Calisthenics & It's Time For Me (Us) To Fly!

If adoptions were calisthenics, I would look like this guy:

Why you ask? Well, let's just say there are a lot of ups and downs and things that stretch you uncomfortably when going through the adoption process. Case in point: After last weekend in Chicago, we've been anxiously awaiting the call to book the plane tickets to leave, and we were hoping that we'd leave this weekend or for sure by next week. So the call comes yesterday and the presentation date (the date we would receive Will into our family) is on April 5. HUH?!?!? I think I heard wrong... April 5? You mean, three weeks from now April 5? Really? Strrrretcchhh. But it was true. The date we were given to receive Will was April 5th, 3 weeks from now. Hard to believe, and even harder to understand why we had to wait so long when everything was in order on this end.

So Beck and I quickly tried to figure out how we could change the minds of the powers-that-be and do everything possible to leave earlier. But we were told that usually, once the presentation date has been given, it's very difficult to get changed. But we had to try- we couldn't bear the thought of Will being down there by himself, so we did a couple things to get outta Dodge earlier.

And it worked! Beck called me at work this morning to give me the GREAT news- our presentation date has been moved up to March 23rd- they said "pack your bags, you need to be in country by Monday!" Sssstretchhhhh.

So it's Time For Us to Fly (thanks Reo Speedwagon, and how many of you just sang that chorus in your head? :)), and we couldn't be more stoked. We're frantically booking plane tickets, hotels, and packing (and packing, and packing, and packing. 6 big ol' bags worth.). The wait is almost over, finally, and as Ally said: "Jesus said it's time to go get Will! Jesus said it's time to go get Will!" Ahhh, the beauty of a 4 year old's mind. While we're frantic with all of the details and often forget that it's always been His time and not ours, she reminds us that Jesus said it's time to go- not Mommy, not Daddy, not anyone else. His timing is perfect, isn't it? Even when we feel that painful sssstretcchhhhh.

Watch for another post or two before we leave. I'm warming up my blogging hands and will do my best to post every day while we're there. Can't wait, and hope you are blessed in some way by our journey to Will.

Love to all-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (Almost there now!) Will

Becky's Favorite City

We're ready to travel! This morning we left GR at 6:45 a.m. and headed to Becky's favorite city, Chicago. We had absolutely smooth sailing and rolled into town about 10:00 a.m. We arrived a bit early, so we took a short walk to the river for a photo op:


















When it was time, we went into 500 Michigan Ave, took the elevator to the 20th floor, and went into the Colombian Consulate's office. We had about a 15 minute wait, and then gave our paperwork to one of the workers. She asked us to come back in 30 minutes, so we went back outside and took a quick trip to Gap for some window shopping.


After our 30 minute wait, we went back to a PACKED consulate and received our visas! So we made a quick stop at Gap to pick up an outfit for Will. And as luck would have it, we had the pleasure of meeting fellow adoptors Ed and Amanda Liebert, who were also in Chicago (from Minnesota) to get their visas. It's unreal how God works to bring people together. We most likely never would've had the opportunity to meet Ed and Amanda were it not for Colombia, and now there's a good chance we'll be in Colombia together! What a great couple, and what a blessing to have a chance to meet them.


So we're at the final step. We hope to find out this week when we travel- it could be next weekend, but we're thinking the following week sometime. As soon as we find out, we'll get it posted!


Blast from the past: Here's one of my favorite pics of Ally in Colombia, and one with the same hat the other day. Then and now:





















Get ready Will- we're coming to get you soon!


Love-



Scott, Becky, Ally, and (soon to be) Will

Moving Closer and Fundacion Los Pisingos

Well, a bit of more good news- our I800 has been cabled to Colombia! Another step closer to leaving Grand Rapids. Now we wait on the Article 5 to be completed, then we're outta here. We asked some friends how long they waited to leave once their I800 was cabled, and from what we've been hearing it takes 10 days or so. Then we'll get a presentation date to get Will, and we'll go down a couple days before that. Moving closer!

Most of you know Ally's story fairly well (http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/allys) and followed along on our journey to her. And now as we move toward adding Will to our family, I wanted to briefly mention the incredible place where they both waited for us- Los Pisingos (http://www.lospisingos.org/). I won't get too much into the history or details, but this orphange has some incredible individuals running it. When we went there with Ally I couldn't believe how clean it was, how kind the people were (the caretakers all remembered Ally, but all it takes is one time to remember her for life!), and how many BOTTLES there are. I think they said they feed over 500 bottles per day. That's a lotta formula! But when you're there, you can see and feel that the people involved truly care for the welfare of each and every child. I couldn't be more pleased with how well those children are cared for. Unfortunately there are just so many children, and the financial strain is great on Los Pisingos.

So Becky and I have talked about this (many times in fact; we've really been torn whether we should do this or not), and we are asking if you would be willing to help out down there. We are taking donations of clothing, etc., there, but we would also like to help out financially. If you would like to give $10 or $15 towards the orphange, we would truly appreciate it. We are planning on bringing that money with us to give to them, so if you would be willing to help out please give or send the money to Becky or me. If you would like to write a check, please write it to us as the government taxes any checks heavily, and we want to make sure all of that money goes to the orphanage. There is no pressure here; we're only asking you to help if you feel led to do so. The orphanage needs it, but more so the children. This is for them.

Tomorrow we're off to Chicago for our visas, one of the last steps before we leave. We hope and pray for a travel date ASAP, and once we have it you'll hear it here first!

Love to all-

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (soon to be) Will

A Trip to Chicago

Things are moving forward. Becky has been on the phone often and has a new "friend" down in St. Louis, where our I-800 has been for the last 2 weeks. Becky apologized in advance on Monday and told the woman who was working on our approval that, "I'll be calling you everyday". So she did, to see how the progress was coming on our paperwork. And today we found out that we've been approved! While that is great news, the one thing that might be a minor hang up is that she wasn't able to view a set of fingerprints with her computer for one reason or another. Regardless, she did say that if she wasn't able to button everything up today and have it sent out, that it would be done by Monday.

Immediately after that Becky got on the phone and spent 1-1/2 hours with BCS, going through the Colombian consulate's website to schedule our visa appointments. I tried to help by looking on their website, but the website is completely in Spanish and I haven't brushed up very well on my Spanish, so I was essentially NOT helpful. Website only in Spanish + 2 people who speak little Spanish= recipe for disaster. They've also changed the way appointments are made, so now they need to be done online. Fortunately, BCS was able to help her enough to get the appointments, and now next week Friday we go to Chicago to get our Visas!

Of course, this is great news. This means we're getting close to leaving, but there is one problem. Currently in Colombia there is a transportation strike. From what we've been reading from other peoples' blogs (thanks Housemans, Tanners, Thompsons, and Kammeraads!) it sounds like it started this week and is due to the fact that the government wants to take over all of the public busing system. This is a big deal because so many people use that mode of transportation. Our friends there are not allowed to travel to the south end of Bogota until the strike is over, so what does that mean for us? We don't exactly know yet, but it could delay us from traveling- we're still praying for 2-3 weeks, but we know it's not our plan. Never has been, never will be. But we do know one thing: God is bringing us closer than ever to getting Will, and we can't wait to make ours una familia de cuatro!

Thanks to everyone for the continued prayers, support, and love. We're so blessed to be going through this process, and to know and see you all stand behind us means more than you'll ever know. We truly have been blessed with incredible family and friends, and we hope our journey blesses you in some way as well.

Scott, Becky, Ally, and (soon to be) Will