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