Stay Tuned

I know that I have been MIA from the blog lately, but we have been dealing with some long days and long nights. So, by the time I get the kids in bed, all I can do is fall into bed myself (after a skype to my loving husband, of course).

I have been wanting to post some new really cute pics of Max, as well as how he is doing. I will do my best to do this tomorrow afternoon...so stay tuned!

Love to you all,

Becky

Giving Thanks

Today was a good day. We didn't do much, but it was still a good day. I started the day (after Max's bottle of course) with an amazing email from my amazing husband. He challenged me to give thanks in all circumstances and to look for all my many blessings. So that's what I tried to do today and it really helped to change my attitude. So here are some of the things that I am thankful for:




















An amazing big sister who wants to be so helpful and was proud to push her baby brother in the stroller. My Ally is so strong and such a blessing to me in so many ways. She was my first baby and will always hold a special place in my heart. She brings joy and laughter to my life and I can't imagine a life without her. And for Max, who is such a sweet boy. His smile is contagious and his calm manner is a constant throughout the day. How did I get so blessed by this child? My love for him grows daily and I am thankful for this time together in his birth country.















Good friends to share this journey with. This is Alex, John and Sonia's son, swinging with Ally at the park today. John and Sonia have been great to me while Scott and Will are gone...letting me tag along with them to parks and to the market. We also share a table for all the meals, and it's great to have some adult conversation. On a side note, at the park today, a bird pooped on Sonia's head. We were all laughing hysterically and she was explaining how her mother thought this was good luck, and about two seconds later, their cell phone rang and it was Isabel saying that the judge had approved their case. So now, I'm looking for birds to poop on my head! :)



















A good ice cream cone to brighten anyone's day. Ally was feeling a little down this afternoon...really missing Scott and Will. So, we decided to venture to Mimos, a local ice cream joint and play land to lift the spirits...it seemed to work!

But most of all, I am thankful for my God, who is able to move mountains and provides peace in all circumstances, for my family, who supports me unconditionally and for all of you, for your prayers and support during our time here. Colombia has blessed us with three wonderful children (Will, I'm so thankful for you too) and I am so thankful for this wonderful country!

With love and a thankful heart,

Becky

Sundays in Colombia

So today we did what you always do on a Sunday in Colombia...Cyclovia and the markets!

This morning, John, Sonia, and their son Alex, along with Paul, Cheryl and their two sons and I all decided to go to the markets after breakfast. I was a little worried about how I would navigate this as the double stroller didn't work so well for Max yesterday (I got yelled at by a Colombian woman in the grocery store for how Max was kind of slumped over in his seat) so I thought it might be best to have Max in the carrier while I pushed Ally in a single stroller provided by the hotel. Did I mention that walk to the markets is mostly up hill and that this morning it was actually sunny and hot? Ok, so I think you know where I'm going with this....while we had a great time looking at all of the items for sale, I think next time I need to come up with a better plan. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were all a little sweaty and tired!

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We laid low in our room as Max wasn't feeling good again. He seems to be really struggling with gas (Sorry, Max for just laying that out there. When you're 14, you're going to kill me for this) so if anyone has any great remedies, either post or email me when you can. It really affects him (and the rest of us) so anything would be helpful!

Later in the day we skyped with Scott and Will. We are so thankful that they made it home safely and relatively uneventfully. While we continue to miss them, we know that we will be reunited soon.

Again, I'll leave you with the verse of the day from my mom (thanks, Mom for always sending those...you're the best! ) Here goes...
Eph 3: 20-21, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever, Amen."
To God be the glory for the gift of Max, for a safe plane ride for Scott and Will and for continued safety and health for those of us here in Colombia.

With love,
Becky, Ally and Max

Saying Good Bye to Scott and Will and A Special Treat for Ally

This morning, Ally, Max and I said good bye to Scott and Will. Johnny, our faithful driver, picked them up at 530 in the morning and Will was very, very excited to be going home. We are beyond sad to see them go and today is a day of finding our way with just the three of us. Even though this is by far the hardest day of the trip, I know it was the right thing to do to send Will home with Scott...Will has been struggling here and I think this will be the best thing for him...even though I miss my little guy like crazy already!!!

So, the torch has now been passed to me to keep up on the blog. I know how much you all have enjoyed Scott and his "mad blogging skills" (as Sarah our social worker so aptly called them) and I will do my best to live up to his high standards.

I want to take a moment and say thank you to my wonderful husband. We have been in love with each other for over 20 years, and each year, he amazes me more and more. He has been my rock and my strength throughout these last few weeks here in Colombia as well as an outstanding dad to my now three kids. Honey, you are missed more than you will ever know...we love you!

To try to lift our spirits, Ally, Max and I took a little walk over to D'Norbertos to get Ally's nails painted...that did the trick for Ally!


















Here she is in her first professional pedicure...I see a lot of those in her future! :)

I'll leave you all with a verse that my mom sent me today...very apropos...
Jos 1:9, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go." Although our family is not all together, God is with us all.

Love,

Becky, Ally and Max

Lunch with Isabel, Christmastime at Hotel Paris, and Goodbyes

Today was a good day. Max was feeling better in the morning, and so we took our time getting ready after breakfast, and once we were ready, we went to the bank and then to a nearby park. After the park, we had the opportunity to go for lunch with Isabel Romero (Tia Isabel to hundreds of children). It is because of this kind, gentle woman that we have our 3 children. At the restaurant I let Ally take some pictures, and I think this is a great one of Tia:

At the restaurant we had a good time, and here are a couple more of Ally and me with bibs on:

And here's a random one, but I think it's pretty cool.

Think Becky would let me put it in our family room? Maybe I'll buy a print before she comes home and put it up on the wall, next to my deer head. That would be cool.

Yesterday they put up all the Christmas decorations here at HP. They've got trees, Santas, lights, and the like all over the hotel, so I asked Ally to go around and take some pics to share with you back home. Unfortuantely this is about the only one that turned out:

We did have a little family time this afternoon while Max was sleeping, and so we decided to fire up YouTube and pull up some Christmas music:

It's been fun, once again. I've always loved blogging while down here so that we can give you a glimpse into what we're doing (or eating, Lisa K. :)). I'm sure a lot of it may seem monotonous, and some days it is. But the process as a whole is exciting; being 3,000 miles away from the normal, every day lives we live to be able to add to our family through God's grace- it's truly a blessing, Colombia. The people are wonderful here, and if you can get past the language barrier (our Spanglish improves the longer we're here), it's a fun time. By the end of the process you're certainly ready to get home, but being here is like having a second family, and we're blessed to have them all.

Will and I should be home shortly after 10 pm tomorrow night, and a huge thanks to my parents for picking us up. Another huge thanks to Beck's mom and sister Cathy for coming down here on December 5th, which will be awesome for Beck and Ally (and Max!) to have someone close here while I'm gone. And still another to the many people who are helping us out by watching Will during the day while I work (sister Jen, my mom, Lisa K., Lisa L., and Jen D.) you are all so awesome for helping us out, and we truly appreciate it. And that's a lot of Jens and Lisas- whenever Beck says, "Jen called", or "Lisa called", I have to ask which one because we know a million Jens and Lisas.

Lastly, we found out today that we're in Court #2. We don't know exactly what that means, but we think it's a good one, according to a couple different sources. We have a different lawyer from our previous two adoptions, and he seems to really be working hard for us, which we certainly appreciate. We know that ultimately the timing of Beck's return home with Max is in God's hands, but it does make us feel a little better at least that we have someone working hard for us.

Last time I'll say it from here, but again, please continue to pray. Pray for a quick Sentencia, health for Beck, Ally, and Max, strength for Beck to get through the alone times, and for Will and I as we go home tomorrow without our 3 family members. Thanks to all of you for the kind emails, the kind words, and most importantly, the prayers. We can feel them from 3,000 miles away, and we know we are truly blessed by all of you.

P.S.- So sorry for all of the comment issues. I know that many people can't post them, and I'm not sure why. I think it has something to do with the template we use, so I'm going to try to dig into it. If anyone has any help they can offer, please shoot me an email at scotts3435@gmail.com. Thanks!

Matthew 6:34:
" Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

With love, from Bogota,

Scott, Beck, Ally, Will, and Max

New Post, No Pics, So Sorry!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you all had a great day today. This post will most likely be a quick one as we didn't have too much going on here. We had a somewhat eventful night last night; Max woke up around 2 am and we could sense that something was off. Unfortunately sleep the rest of the night was few and far between, and when you having a crying 5 month old in one room with 5 people, it affects everyone. Turns out he had a minor bout of diarrhea, with a low grade fever. Needless to say, the 2 older kids are already sleeping, Max is having his last bottle now, and Beck and I will be in bed before 9 pm. Yep, I said it: we're old.

Outside of working through Max's issues today was, for the most part, uneventful. We went to see if we could find some Pedialyte and gas reducer for Max's little tummy at La Carulla, after that we went to the bank, and then we went to the park so the older kids could blow off some steam. That was a nice little break from the happenings of the day, until Will fell about 4 feet straight onto his back from the monkey bars. After a 15 second delay from breathing, he cried for awhile, and now is fine. He's the toughest little monster I know. Crash strikes again.

Tonight we were surprised with the traditional Thanksgiving meal from the hotel. We had mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin "pie" (which was closer to pumpkin bars with raisins in them), salad (which we never eat because we're too nervous about the water they use to wash the lettuce), and "turkey". The turkey wasn't your traditional one; it was more like pieces of ground turkey pressed into a large turkey-looking "turkey". Oh, it did have 2 drumsticks, but that was the only genuine turkey part of it. But, it didn't taste too bad, and we were hungry. So we ate- Ally scarfing down the turkey, Will and I working on the pumpkin pie, and Beck working over the mashed potatoes. It was good, and a reminder of our many blessing back in the States. I was going to take a couple pictures of Juanita and Valeria dishing out the meal, but the camera battery was dead. So, unfortunately due to today's chain of events, there are no pics today. I'll try to make sure we get a couple extra for tomorrow!

Unfortunately, tomorrow will be my last post from here. Will and I are getting picked up at 5:30 am Saturday to head home. He's ready for it, and it will be good for him to get back to his normal surroundings. It's been a fun (and fast) almost 2 weeks, and the best part about it is that we're now 2 weeks closer to having Max home. Praying for Beck, Ally, and Max- that Beck has the strength and patience to be here without Will and me; that Ally can continue to have fun and be safe; and for Max to get better quickly and for him to remain healthy until he gets home. I'm going to miss it- it's truly become a second home to us here, but we also need to get back to the normalcy of our lives at home. Please pray for a good court for us, and a quick Sentencia, once again.

Blessings to all!

Scott, Beck, Ally, Will, and Max

Tick, Tick, Tick, Helado, and Wrapped Diapers

Today the clock started officially ticking. We had our ICBF appointment this morning, which formally starts the process of Becky coming home with Max. Sweet!!

The interview went well, and was pretty unenventful. In fact, I think the interview itself lasted only about 10 minutes, after a one hour wait to meet with them. Another check mark in the box, and another step to Beck coming home for Christmas. I was going to take a picture of the ICBF office (it's in a new place from where we've been before), but when we got there I realized I didn't pack the camera. Sorry.

After we returned home, we decided to run errands. La Carulla (grocery store), the bank, the park, and then...

You got that right- Crepes and Waffles!! 11,700 pesos (roughly $5.50 USD) for 3 waffle cones with 2 scoops each. Yahtzee!! We love this place, and although it was just before lunch, we still went. Sometimes you need to do things like this as a family, and we certainly enjoy every time we go.

The last thing for today is Wrapped Diapers. Doesn't sound like anything exciting, and it's really not. But I feel guilty for not including a 3rd point yesterday, so here it is. We bought some diapers at La Carulla for Max, and found out the each one had these cellophane wrappers on them. So I enlisted Ally and Will tonight, and we ripped them all off:

Afterward, I somehow was mauled by my two oldest. I gotta say, it never gets old. My kids rock:

Tomorrow the plan is to go to a cool park for kids. The best part is, I get to drive again, like last time we were here. John, if you want to drive Tia Isabel's car again, better get your paperwork going. After tomorrow, I'll be up 2-1 on you. Let's see if you dare come back. :)

Anyway (sorry for the sidetrack), a few more days and Will and I will be heading home. I'm teaching Beck tomorrow night how to blog and upload pics, so look for her incredible writing skills come Sunday. She's amazing at writing, and an even more amazing mom to her 3 kiddos.

Hasta Mañana-

Scott, Becky, Ally, Will, and Max

Los Pisingos and Lasagna

(NOTE: Posting this on Wednesday, as the Internet went down for awhile last night)

Normally I post about 3 things. I guess I'm not sure where it came from; I've never preached before, and it wasn't intentional. I guess normal days just normally contained 3 main points, but not today. Only 2 points today; hope that's OK for you people looking for 3 points. Perhaps the biggest reason we only have 2 points today, is that this morning was, well... uneventful. These are the mornings that you know are coming, but don't necessarily look forward to them because when you're here you like to be on the go. It makes time go more quickly, and keeps spirits up.

Will has been talking about going home to see Grammy, Papa, and Mimi. He's looking forward to it, and would probably go right now if he could. He may have taken it to an extreme here, though:

And then when Ally saw him doing it, she wanted me to take a picture of her as well:

Mid-afternoon, we were picked up by Jonny and Isabel for our tour of LP. We were a bit early for our appointment there, so we went past a place of significance to Will and Max:

This is the hospital where they were both born (Ally was born in a small town just outside of Bogota called Chia), and this was the first time we had seen it. It was pretty cool to see the actual place where both of our sons were born, and I'm thankful we had a chance to see it.

We were still a little early, so Jonny took us down some of the side streets so that we could see more closely how some of the more poor people live (we're in a part of town that is what I would consider more "upscale"). We rounded a corner, and this is what we saw:

The picture isn't the greatest, but what you're looking at are homes built on the mountainside (hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them). Isabel said these people are called "invaders"; people who come into Bogota and use the city's water, food supplies, etc. She said the government can't do much to remove them, so they continue to build and grow. It's pretty amazing to see, and all they essentially are is just shacks. I've got to believe that at some point some of them will collapse/fall apart. It was interesting to see how so many of Bogota's people live.

At our appointed time, we arrived at LP. It has such a special meaning to so many people, not just in Grand Rapids or Michigan, or even the U.S. There are many families from all over the world that have been blessed by this place. And once again we had the opportunity to go there to see where our 3 children were for the first months of their lives. I have more pictures, but am only going to share one. There are a few things we like to keep for our children privately. Here is one of some cuties sleeping in their "cribs":

Andres (who helps the director of the orphanage, Carlos) gave us our tour, and on it he mentioned that there are approximately 115 children currentlyat LP. They are adopted at all ages, and we saw ages from newborn up to probably 7 or 8. But they have more children that were in school at the time, so the ages are even older.

I think one of the saddest things for us to see were families in an area together, waiting to talk to a psycholigist to see if their own children were right for adoption. Oftentimes the birthparents aren't able to afford a mouth to feed (or another mouth to feed), so the parents have to make the ultimate sacrifice: giving their children up for adoption. Without these special people, there would be many more empty homes; homes without children. Through their sacrifices, we are blessed. On a special holiday weekend, I would like to thank the many parents who have sacrificed so that others of us can have children of our own. Thank you.

Today after we returned to Hotel Paris, I noted a peculiar smell in the air. Thing is, I was surprised to smell it. See, yesterday I asked Juanita if we could have lasagna on Friday, because I am leaving Saturday, I HAD to have her lasagna before I left. She said she thought she could make it happen that night, but would have to check with Katya (the owner of HP). So when we came down for dinner tonight, I snuck into the kitchen (for those of you who have stayed at HP, I went downstairs the back way, directly into the kitchen). Juanita was surprised to see me and essentially threw me out of there, because she was trying to surprise me with lasagna tonight instead of Friday. That's one of the things I love about this place- they truly care about the people, and the people who work here are incredibly kind. So, I stuffed myself full of lasagna once more here at Hotel Paris. I'd come here again in a heartbeat!

Again, what a blessing this journey has been. Having the chance to go to LP today, and just the heartfelt kindness throughout Hotel Paris, we feel so blesses. It's hard to imagine life without Ally, Will, and Max, and these are 2 large pieces of the puzzle that made our dreams come true. The smiles, the personalities, and the love of our children; neither my life nor Becky's would be complete without them, and day after day after day, I amazed at how God's plan is perfect- in every way. Thank you Lord, for blessing us with our amazing children.

Scott, Becky, Ally, Will, and Max

Social Workers, Archie's!, and Papa Hair

This morning we had a brief interview with Isabel, a rep from Los Pisingos, and another social worker. It was a brief 20 minute interview which basically covered our family and how things are going now with Max. They asked a few questions, told Beck she looked really young (which I tell her everyday, of course), and asked if we were coming back for #4. Yikes.

After our interview, we went to Exito to get a few things, then on to the bank to withdraw some money. The intent was to then go to Bogota Beer Company for lunch as something different to do today, but when we got there at 12:30 pm, we noticed a letter in the window saying they weren't opening until 6 pm tonight due to a festival of some sort. Fortunately, Archie's was kitty-corner to BBC, so we went there instead. And the kids had a RIOT. Sorry for all the videos, but they're pretty comical in how they have the kids make the pizzas:
































After Ally and Crash made their pizzas, we went and sat back down at our table with Beck and Max, and we ordered our own pizzas. I think Beck was HUNGRY:



As we were eating, I noticed how beautifully blue the sky was today. Thing is, the mountains can play tricks on you. Here was my view as I faced Becky:

...And this is the view when I simply took the camera and turned 180 degrees. Blue sky one way, dark clouds the other, over the mountains. It poured this afternoon, about 5 minutes after we returned to the hotel from Archie's.

I've said before how Will is hilarious. He has a thing for picking up small pieces of lint, string, fuzzies, etc., and rolling them between his fingers, and then just... holding them. When we were at the market yesterday, Beck was trying to get him to hold her hand, and she noticed that he only offered a couple fingers to hold. That was because he had a piece of balled-up string in between his first finger and thumb. He kept calling it "Papa hair". Sorry Dad- don't know where it came from (other than the fact that my dad is his absolute favorite. Every day he asks when he gets to see Papa again), but again tonight in our room, I noticed he was holding something. I asked him what it was, and he said, "Papa hair". So, here is Will holding his Papa hair:

If you're wondering about the band-aid, it's because he's fallen out of bed a couple times here. This is his first time in a big boy bed, and he's adjusting... fairly well at least. Another reason I call him Crash.

Tomorrow we have our tour at LP (Los Pisingos). We've done this 3 times now, but every time it's emotional. To actually see the place and meet the people who took care of our 3 children before we were able to is simply awesome. We owe them a life debt, and always want to take as many children home as we could. Unfortunately we can't, but wish we could! Hopefully we'll have a couple pics to share tomorrow.

We received some good new today as well (didn't know this when we Skyped tonight, Jen and Dean). We have our interview with the Defendor of Minors on Wednesday. This formally starts the process for us, and this is the first step in Beck, Ally, and Max coming home. After that, the wait begins. Again (and I'll probably bring it up every post), please pray for a quick process so that Beck, Ally, and Max can be home for Christmas. Ultimately it's in God's hands, but the more people can pray... well, I think you all know the power of prayer :).

Looking forward to our tour tomorrow, and we'll be in touch! Love-

Scott, Becky, Ally, Will, and Max (edit: thanks Dana!)

Cyclovia and the Markets, Temporary Insanity, and First Communion Fiesta

As I mentioned yesterday, Sunday is always Cyclovia here in Bogota. They shut down one side of the one-way streets, and that allows bicycles, roller bladers, runners, and walkers to go on the lanes of the road that are shut down. It's really nice because you can be on the road and not have to navigate the bumps and cracks in the side walks.

So today, Beck, the kids and I headed to the markets and did some perusing. We went with John and Sophia from Lakeview, MI, and a new couple that came in late last night from Iowa. It was a nice day for a walk, and it hasn't rained (much) during the day the last couple days, so we're praying that the rainy season may be ending soon. It's been raining at night, but that's OK.

As we walked throught the markets, the Christmas stuff was out in full effect. Here is a pic of Ally and Will in front of a 40' white Christmas tree with blue stars on it:

This was in Simon Bolivar Square, which also was covered in white stars and little trees wrapped in Christmas lights. It was pretty cool to see.

A little further up the hill was another market, and we took the opportunity to take a picture of the older kids in front of Rudolph! (Will was super excited to see him)

After the markets we went back to the hotel and had lunch. After lunch, the boys went down for naps while Ally and I went outside for a bit to play in the "backyard". Nothing crazy today, which caused a bit of temporary insanity for all of us. This led to games of Bubble Gum Bubble Gum, Rock Paper Scissors (I beat Ally 3 out of 5 games :)), Duck Duck Goose, and finally, Ring Around the Rosie:

At 3 pm we headed down to a fiesta to celebrate Camila's first communion. Camila is the daughter of Valeria, who helps to run the hotel. Camila and 23 of her friends had their first communion today, and so we celebrated tonight at Hotel Paris with about 50 people. Here is a pic- Camila is in the middle:

And of course, no Colombian fiesta is complete without some dancing! Ally and I may have busted some moves together as well, but there's no photographic or video evidence, so I'm denying it. If the photo don't fit, you must acquit! But here's a video of all the girls dancing together. Ally, bless her heart, wanted SO badly to fit in and play with the girls (and they were very accommodating), but the language barrier was just too difficult. Ally did tell me that they said she was "bonita" (beautiful). She said she replied something in Spanish, but they didn't understand :). Makes you wonder what she said (or tried to). Here's the "train" of girls:

After the fiesta the kids went down, and that was about it for today. Tomorrow we have a social worker and psychologist coming from Los Pisingos to our hotel. Hopefully they think we're fit to be parents, for the third time. We're praying that this week goes well, that we have our ICBF interview sooner rather than later so that we can get into a court, and that we have the BEST judge and FASTEST court ever. Beck's been a trooper thus far and is preparing herself for the worst, but we would love to have everyone home Christmas. Please continue to pray for a fast process for us- we would surely appreciate it!

Scott, Beck, Ally, Will, and Max

Sleeping Babies, Card Games, and Diaper Dandies

Not a whole lot going on today. We did go to the notary this morning with Isabel, which was a bit odd considering that it's Saturday. Most everything is done Monday-Friday, so anything that we can get accomplished on a Saturday is good.

Max seems to be settling in pretty well. I woke up to Ally asking to watch a video this morning at 6:15 am ("Hmmph? Wha? Sure- OK"), then quickly realized that I didn't get up at 1 am to help with Max's bottle. Feeling a bit like a neglecting (not neglected) husband, I rolled over and asked Beck if I had been a bad husband early this morning. She said no in the respect that Max had slept all night long, but wasn't impressed that I didn't realize the older 2 kids were up multiple times last night- Will with a cough (he's got a little cold), and Ally with bad dreams. I had my baby blinders on, only listening for Max's whimper/cry so I could get up and help out Beck. It appears that my blinders need to widen a bit- to the entire room and not just the crib. My wife is amazing with hearing the kids in the middle of the night. I guess that's why they always go to her side of the bed when there's a problem. I only get the occassional question asking permission to watch Boz (spelled B-o-z!!) at 6:15 am.

Question: Would you rather lick a 10 foot stretch of a New York city street, or would you rather lick the seat of a bench at a busy bus stop? I had that question asked to me tonight, as part of a new-to-us card game called, "Would You Rather?" that Beck and I played with Ally (Will is a bit young to answer questions like the above). There are a lot of silly questions like that in there, and Ally was rolling on the ground for a few of them. She's looking forward to Mimi and Aunt Caya coming in a couple weeks so that she can play the game with them. So, would you rather eat 10 live earthworms, or lay in a full container of them for an hour? Hmmm... choices, choices.

The kids did play a little bit outside today, and here they are on the teeter totter here at Hotel Paris:



Here is a pic after baths tonight of my 2 Diaper Dandies. I doubt either of them will play the 5 spot for John Beilein at Michigan, but after watching Will dribble a soccer ball, there might be a chance of him playing left wing (he appears to be left-footed at this point. Sweet.).

As always, Will and Ally wanted to do a video, and they wanted to say hi to ALL the cousins, aunts, and uncles. They forgot them the other time, so here you go!





And here's a video Ally wanted to do of me and Max. He loves to do this, and constantly smiles when we do:

Tomorrow is Sunday, so you know what that means! Pancakes for breakfast, Cyclovia (where they shut many of the local streets down to automobiles, and they're open only to walkers, bikes, and anything without motors), Markets, and a boatload of walking. This is my favorite day here, because you get an awesome opportunity to walk anywhere and everywhere without the normal traffic of the other days. Can't wait!

Hasta Mañana-

Scott, Beck, Ally, Will, and Max

Feliz Cumpleaños Mommy, Max is a Michigan Fan, and New Friends

So, today is Beck's birthday. As I mentioned before, I hooked her way back in 1991 with an amazing ensemble of clothing my sophomore year of high school, and ever since, she couldn't keep her hooks off me. OK, so maybe not, but that's how I remember it. My in-laws will remind me of a few times that I may have parted ways with her, as they do about every month or so, but the fact remains that we're still together after 13-almost-1/2 years of marriage (and over 20 years total. Yikes I'm old!), and she's more amazing than ever.

Tonight for dinner, Juanita made burritos, and we had birthday cake for Beck that Valeria made for dessert. It was awesome! Here are pictures of the Birthday Girl with some of the people I've been posting about lately:

Beck with Katya, the owner of Hotel Paris:



And with Guillermo, the night watchman, and my good amigo:




And the cook who brings us the BEST meals everyday, Juanita!




Here is a quick clip of everyone in the hotel singing Beck a merry Happy Birthday:




And earlier today, we had a quick opening of presents with just our family. Nothing special, but yesterday Ally and I made a run to Maku and bought Beck a bookmark and a nativity scene for Christmas. The funnest part is yet to come: I'm sending Beck and Ally to Noberto's together for a pedicure, hopefully tomorrow. Here are some pics of the birthday girl with each of her kiddos:

Overall, it was a great birthday for Beck. She's an amazing mom, and wonderful wife. We're blessed to have her as our mom/wife!

An incredible thing happened today. We found out the Max is the PERFECT match for our family. The older kids, Beck, and I were playing Go Fish, when suddenly I turned to check on Max, and this is what I saw:

I don't know how it happened or when, but right then and there I thanked God for making another perfect match for our family. Max is a Michigan fan- Go Blue! Sorry Papa and Aunt Kris, but you've lost another one. This country truly is amazing with how incredibly intelligent the kids are. At 5 months old, Max knows what the best schools are, and that Green, White, Blue, and Gold are moot. Or manure, I can't remember which one he told me (yes, he's talking already after 4 days with us. Amaizing!).

Ally and Will have been having fun with some other kids here at the hotel. Pictured below are Parker and Payton from Wisconsin, who are leaving tomorrow. We've gone to parks together, ate almost every meal together, and just had fun together. We'll miss them as they return to Wisconsin:



There was a couple from South Dakota that left this morning as well, but fortunately there is a couple here from Lakeview, MI, a couple from North Carolina, and various others from Spain, Italy, etc. Ally and Will actually played for awhile with 2 girls who don't speak a lick of English after dinner tonight. Their parents do and said they'll be here for awhile as well, so that was good to hear. It's funny how quickly kids pick up on other languages- when Ally was using the restroom before bed tonight, she couldn't reach the toilet paper so she yelled: "Ayudame, Ayudame!" (Help me, help me). Too funny!

Tomorrow we go with Tia Isabel (our incredible Colombian representative here) to get some paperwork notarized. No date scheduled yet for ICBF (or Defender of Minors), which is when our case formally starts, and the countdown commences. Please pray that we have that one early next week, so we can be together as a family for Christmas.

Lastly, I had to include a couple vids of my older kiddos. They can be hilarious at times, indicative of these 2 vids right before dinner:

Kids are freaking hilarious sometimes, and we're blessed to call these 3 ours! Until tomorrow...

Scott, Beck, Ally, Will, and Max

Silly Sisters, Amazing Sleepers, and Jacques!

There is a Silly Sister in our midst. She loves her two younger brothers, and loves to play with them both. Her goal: to get as many smiles as possible in the shortest time period possible:

I have many pictures and videos of Ally playing with Max, and the above video is just one representation of how great a big sister she is.

Late this afternoon Ally and I took a walk and went shopping for Beck. It's her birthday tomorrow, so we needed to get a couple small presents for her. Along the way, we walked past D'Norberto's, which is a local, high-end salon. Christmas is a HUGE holiday here in Colombia, and this is what Ally and I walked into there:

I didn't take a picture of the entire building, but as you can see, it's a big, huge, pink, castle. They've also put white tarps down on the ground outside to simulate snow; it's quite impressive! And of course Ally was extremely excited about it, because Grammy passed down her love of Christmas to her.

So, after we went past D'Norberto's, we ran into another place which was impossible to pass: Jacques! And once we went in to peruse the offerings, we just HAD to try something.

So, so good, and we may have to make one more trip there before I leave.

Will has also been making the adjustment to having Max in our family. Considering he's not quite 3 yet, it's been a little more difficult, especially considering he's been Mommy's only boy until this point. But he's learning how to play and deal with Max, and enjoys the occassional playtime with him:

One thing we've come to learn about Max in the short time he's been with us: he's a good sleeper. He's slept well both nights so far, with only one time waking up each night. When we first got him, we noticed he appeared to be a little sick. The first night he coughed quite a bit, and so the next day Beck made a call to her holistic doc back in GR, and she recommended we change formulas and also rub chopped onions on his chest. Yep, you read that right: chopped onions. On his chest.

OK- so, I'm not a big "holistic" guy. I've always debated with Beck about what works and what doesn't in that world, but in this case, her doctor nailed it. Within 2 days, his cough is almost gone, and he's already sleeping better (less interruptions). The funny thing is, I was telling my dad about this tonight, and he said my grandma Schrotenboer did the same thing with him when he had a cold. So: chopped onions on a chest to help with congestion- who woulda thunk it. Not I, but I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer, either. Thanks to Dr. Stacey for helping Max sight unseen, and helping us from 3,000 miles away.

No big plans tomorrow, but I do have a small surprise for Beck on her birthday. Nothing big (she already got her big present :)), but I'll post some pics of it after it happens. We also may have a little party for her here at Hotel Paris, so check back in tomorrow night to see some pics and/or video of her on her birthday. Make sure to email her, hit her up on Facebook, or post a comment in the blog. Happy _6th, Beck! :) You're more amazing now than ever before, and I've gotta believe you're happy you married me after the first time you saw me wearing the coolest outfit EVER. I'm not going to say what it was publicly, but it was sweet. One strap and all. :) Love ya Babe.

Scott, Beck, Ally, Will, and Max

Day Two with Max, Settling In (for the 3rd time), and Empanadas

We had a great night last night. Outside of Max's cough, we slept relatively well for 5 people in one room. I'm contemplating seeing if Beck is interested in selling our house and buying a motorhome, or better yet, a couple acres somewhere and then put up a 350 square foot, one room cabin. Hmmm.... think I have a chance? Nah, me neither.

So Max only woke up one time, and we got up, gave him a bottle (seems a little wierd to be back at the bottle stage again), and he went back to sleep. A couple coughing episodes throughout the night, but we all ended up waking up around 6:45 am or so. Not bad for night #1 together.

Today wasn't anything special; we had the norm for breakfast: tostada integral, revueltos con jamon for myself and the 2 older kids (Beck had revueltos solos), a little jugo for the kids, agua crystal for Beck and myself, and of course, cafe. Mas cafe, mas cafe, mas cafe, por favor.

After breakfast we decided to head to Uni Centro, which is a HUGE mall about a 10 minute walk from our hotel. We were going to try to locate some things at Exito, a fair-sized grocery store. And... there is a little place inside the mall which serves 2 delicious things: Crepes and Waffles. Oh, and helado, which is ice cream. I've been hyping it up with Ally for 3 months now, and it was finally time to make the trek. Only one problem, though- it was 10 am when we left the hotel, and Crepes and Waffles didn't open until noon. Ally was NOT happy about that (nor was I!), so I promised her that we would go after rest time this afternoon. As we left the mall, it was raining again. Fortunately we had 2 umbrellas and plastic covers for each of the strollers as well. So we stayed about 80% dry on the way back, and it had pretty much stopped raining by the time we got back. BTW, it's pouring out now, as I type this at 9 pm.

For lunch, we had one of my absolute favs here: empanadas. For those that have never eaten them, they're essentially meat and potatoes and a few veggies wrapped in dough, then deep fried. You can dip them in a vegetable sauce or hot sauce, and they are SO good! I may have eaten more than I should have, but considering I've pushed 2 kids around in a stroller over some of the most broken-up sidewalks and roads you'll ever see, I think I've earned it (and may just be trying to justify my over-eating. Juanita made me do it!).

We did a short rest time, then it was off to make good on the promise I made Ally. One issue: the weather. It wasn't raining, but it sure looked like it might at any time. But that wasn't going to stop us! No sir, I made a promise, and I was going to make good on it! (And I may have also had a selfish motive to go, as well). So instead of Crepes and Waffles, we took a shorter walk to a place called "Mimo's". And there my friends, was iced gold: Helado.

So we finished up our helado about 45 minutes before dinner was to be served (don't tell my dad- he would NOT be happy to know I snacked before dinner), and went back to Hotel Paris. We had a chance to Skype Aunt Caya and Aunt Jen and the Boys, and then had some dinner. After dinner was baths for 3, then time for bed. A great day, and this little thumb-sucking-extraordinaire guy is fitting in well:

So, Beck took my picture with Max after multiple comments from the staff here about how our haircuts look so much alike. Not sure if I believe it, but I'll let you be the judge:

My goal is to try to post more videos starting tomorrow. I resized the movie mode on our camera, which was using about 35 MB on a 15 second video, so that should make it a little easier to do. Ally has a video prepared for Pastor Ron which I'm going to ask her to re-do, and she also did one for her Kindergarten class at Ada Chrisian. She misses you guys!

Hugs and kisses to everyone at home. Thanks for the prayers, the notes of encouragement, and for just being a great extended family to us. You're all appreciated more than you'll ever know.

Scott, Becky, Ally, Will, and (day two now!) Max

Gotcha, Max!!

Tuesday morning after our first night of sleep here in Bogota, we went downstairs to see our Colombian family, whom we hadn't seen since last May. Valeria, Juanita, Herman, and some new workers all met us. It was so great to see them again, as they truly have become our family while we're here.


We ate breakfast, then I took the kids to the park down the street for an hour while Becky unpacked the 5 suitcases we brought. Crash fell in a mud puddle at the end and soaked his jeans, but other than that it was great!


After lunch, the kids went down for rest time while Beck and I caught up with home/work things. At about 3:30 p.m., another friend, Jonny, came and picked us up to go to Los Pisingos. And at 4 p.m. EST, our lives were blessed through this orphange, once again. Meet Max Richard Schrotenboer:































A cutie, isn't he? I don't think they have kids that aren't cute down here (not to say that any of your kids aren't cute! Just a little biased toward Colombia :)); at least I haven't seen any in the 3 times we've been here. Max is doing great- he's a chunk-o-lunka, as Beck likes to say, and outside of a little cough issue, he seems to be healthy, which is an answer to prayers!

It's certainly different going from 2 to 3 kids, and now we're playing zone defense as opposed to man to man. But what a blessing Max is to our family, and now Ally and Will have someone else to play with as opposed to only each other!

The rest of the day it rained a TON, so we've been trying to figure out Max's schedule, playing with him, holding and kissing him lots and lots, and watching Ally and Will try to figure things out. Will is struggling a little bit sharing Momma with Max, but I'm sure that over time he'll adjust and understand that Momma has enough love for all of her kids!



Momma and her 2 boys:







My 2 girls and Max!



We've been making trips to the bank, stores (Uni Centro, Exito, La Carulla), and will be hitting Crepes and Waffles tomorrow (Wednesday). We've had some Internet issues, so bear with us on any delayed posts. I'll try to get one up every day so everyone can follow our adventures!

Finally, someone wanted to say hi to some special people at home:

I asked Beck for her input on a bible verse for Max, and this was her suggestion. I would encourage you to think about not only Max as you read these verses, but about all the orphans in this world. There are so many, and each needs a loving home. Why God put Max with us and not someone else is not something for us to question, but a reason to promote and publicize adoption. It's a blessing to a multitude of people.

Psalm 139:13-17 :

"13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. 16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!"

We'll post again as soon as possible. Please continue to pray for a quick Sentencia, so that our family will be together as a whole during Christmas. Hasta Manana!

Scott, Becky, Ally, Will, and (now) Max

Catching Up With Crash and Travel Day

So, let's back up a few days and get caught up with the latest and greatest.

Saturday was nutty, running around doing last minute things and packing. OK, so Becky was packing. I was mostly handling the kids and running errands where/when needed.

Sunday was great. Had a GREAT church service, and had planned to run a couple more errands after church, when something happened. Now most of you know Will. Will is an amazing, charismatic, funny kid. He looks up to Ally with loving eyes each and every day, and can't stand it when she goes off to Kindergarten 3 days a week. But... Will is also a bit of a bone crusher, a head smasher, and just an all-around tough kid. I'm surprised that this hadn't happened earlier, but on Sunday- the day before we were scheduled to leave, it did:


















Will (or Buddy, as Ally calls him, or Speedy, as one of our good frinds, John, calls him) was running around after church while so many kind people were saying goodbye to us, and he somehow crashed into a door or door jamb. He came running up to Becky, blood pouring out of his forehead, and off to the South Pavilion Urgent Care we went. Fortunately they were able to glue it instead of stitches, but he had a nice goose egg to go with it. So from now on, I think I'm going to call him Crash.

Yesterday was a great day for us, travel-wise. We almost missed our flight out of GR (yes, GR, not our connector in Newark. Gotta pay attention when the people say, "Now Boarding" over the loudspeakers!), but once we got past that, everything went well. We had a long layover in Newark which we planned, because it gave us more time to sit down and get the kids some real food (whatelse? McDonald's of course! Real Food!), instead of just snacks offered on the airplane. It worked out well, and after 4 hours in Newark, we were off to Bogota!

After a 5 hour flight in which the kids were simply GREAT (thank you portable DVD players!), we landed in Bogota. We had a 15 minute delay on the tarmac, but were in the airport by 10:15 pm. We collected our suitcases and were met by a familiar, friendly face outside. Freddy had the van ready to go, and off we went to Hotel Paris about 10:45. We arrived there about 11:30 pm, greeted by Guillermo's smiling face, put the kiddos down in our new home for the next few weeks, and went to sleep.

So Travel Day 1 went well (Travel Day 2 is the day we come home). It's great to be back, and today (or yesterday, as I am posting this on Wednesday) we get Max. A separate post will accompany his arrival. :)

Somebody's Six and Four Days Out

Somebody turned 6 today. Somebody, but not just anybody. That little body is a cutie pie, a lover girl, and our oldest. Yep, Ally is 6.

So that begs the question: How do you go from this:

To this?

A good friend emailed me today and mentioned how quickly kids grow up. He's got 4 daughters himself; fortunately I only have to worry about running backgroung checks and fingerprinting one boy before he's acceptable to marry my daughter; he has to do it 4 times. Yikes. But it's true- time does fly, and especially when someone special in your life makes it fun. Sorry in advance for the pic of you in your PJs Ally, but I love the joy in your face and your incredibly magnetic smile. It's one reason of many that people are drawn to you, and we are SO blessed to have you in our family! Happy Birthday!

Four days until our flight leaves. On Tuesday, Beck and I made a quick trip to Chicago to get our visas, so we're set to go! We have a 10:07 am flight out of Grand Rapids to Newark NJ, on Monday morning, and then we go directly into Bogota from there.We haven't started packing yet, but the floor in the corner of our family room is beginning to fill up. We'll be working all weekend double-checking and triple-checking paperwork, plane tickets, packing lists, etc., etc., etc. Oh, and suitcase weight. We got busted on that when we adopted Ally, and it cost us an extra $125 to get one of our bags home. Awesome. That won't happen again- we'll have the bathroom scale downstairs to weigh each one!

This may be the last post until Bogota (I may have said that last post as well!), but it's getting close. I can almost hear Juanita's laugh (and taste her lasagna!), see Guillermo's dancing moves, and see the faces of the children of Los Pisingos. That's always the most touching part of the journey there, and you NEVER forget it. We're blessed to be the parents of three of their children. What an amazing God we serve.