Los Pisingos, Ajiaco Soup, and The North Coast

Yesterday we had the pleasure of going back to Los Pisingos, the orphanage that took care of both Ally and Will until we were able to come down and "scoop" them up, as we always tell Ally. It's always a bittersweet time there; we're so thankful for what they've done for us and given us, but when it's time to leave, you can't help but want to take a car load of kids home with you.

We met with Carlos, the orphanage director, Isabel, our in-country representative (or more commonly known as Tia Isabel by all of our children),

and Andres, who was in Los Pisingos and now works for them.

We spent almost 2 hours there total- we weren't able to do a tour due to a virus that was going around; we were sad we couldn't go through the orphanage, but thankful about some of the things we learned about both Ally and Will.

We also had a great talk with Carlos about the needs of LP and how we could help. We went over their budget, talked about how much money they need and how we can help once we're back stateside. They're actually looking for sponsors for the kids- it takes less than $1 per day to sponsor a child there, and the goal is 2500 sponsorships. It can be done, and we're going to make sure it happens. I have the spreadsheets from Carlos and we'll be organizing something to get this started along with Friends of Los Pisingos (http://www.friendsoflospisingos.org/). What a great opportunity this will be!

One thing I didn't mention- Isabel couldn't get a taxi driver, so she came to pick us up at Hotel Paris. As we were getting ready to leave for LP, she asked me, "Do you want to drive?" You betcha I do! I'm one of those people who can't stand to be a passenger- give me the keys and let me drive every time! So we hopped into Isabel's 4 door Nissan and off we went. On the way back to the hotel we dropped her off near Santa Barbera so she could meet some friends for lunch, and we headed back to the hotel just with the fam. What a great time driving like a maniac (You're forced to. If you don't, you'll get run off the road)!

Today was a little more low key. Ally wasn't feeling the greatest yesterday, and I've been busy with work, so while I did some things Beck and the kids hung out. Our major thing we did was make a trip to La Carulla (the grocery store). We needed more things than usual, so we made about an hour trip out of it. It was fun! Then for lunch, we had one of the sopas (soups) that Colombia is famous for: Ajiaco! It's been 4 years since we've had it, and it was awesome.

Thanks to Juanita, Colombia's greatest cook, for making me even fatter. It's worth every bite.

After lunch was rest time, and most of you know that Will isn't the best sleeper in the world. But today he took a 2-1/2 hour nap (his previous longest nap was 1 hr 15 minutes)- Hallelujah! He woke up and actually looked refreshed instead of the empty stare he normally has. We'll be praying that his sleep habits continue to improve!

This afternoon we also booked a "vacation" for Beck, the kids, my mom, Beck's mom, and my nephew Blaine at the Hotel Caribe (www.hotelcaribe.com) for their trip in a couple weeks. It looks beautiful, and sure is nice that they waited until after I leave until they go to the beach. I must be doing something wrong!! But they'll have a great time, and I can't wait to get back to the cold and rain of Michigan while they're there. But really, I'm not bitter or anything. :)

Tomorrow we're going to my roots- Panaca. Panace is a "la granja", or farm. This one's a bit different than the dairy farm my uncle had for so many years and that I essentially grew up on- this one has many more animals and cool things for kids to do. It'll be a nice day trip, and we're going along with our friend Jen from Minnesota. Look for some great pics and video of me bull riding tomorrow! (You'll be looking for that video for a looooooooong time, I can promise you that)

Until tomorrow!

Scott, Beck, Ally, and Will