Days One and Two

Day One
Well, here we are!  We made it!  It was a very looooong trip that started when I accidently set my alarm clock for 1:00am and not 2:00am (sorry Jim).  Our flight out of Dulles was at 5:30.  Our wonderful neighbors were so gracious as to offer us a ride to the airport.  Now that's friendship for you.

Three flights and many hours later, we arrived in Cuenca, Ecuador.  Look it up, it's lovely, so I hear.  I look forward to getting out to explore once the dust settles.  It was 8pm and my little 5 year old was such a trooper.  Armed with her Hello Kitty backpack filled with crayons, books, activity sheets and oh yes, the DVD player, she trecked on like a pro.  She had been counting down the days until this trip and by gosh, nothing was going to keep her from completing her mission.  Fortunately, our travel went well, without a hitch.

We were met at the airport by the representative, a lawyer that works tirelessly for the benefit of these  children.  She knew us instantly from pictures.  It was a nice, warm welcome.  She accompanied us to our apartment and helped us settle in.  We met briefly with her as it had been a very long day.  We were excited to hear everything she had to say though.

Our apartment is...well...quaint, and somewhat rustic.  The complex itself is lovely, and villa style.  We have two bedrooms, living room/kitchen/dining room combo type room, and a bathroom.  Annalise is most joyful about the playground just outside in the courtyard.  It's a well-enclosed area and quite safe.  The surrounding streets aren't much to look at.  The apartments do back to the local river, which is running low at present, so it looks more like a large stream.  We can hear the run of the water, along with cars, buses, dogs and the morning rooster.  This is the "quiet" side of the city.  Hmmmm.  Sometime at night, all the street noise does die down and all we hear is the river.  Regardless, we all sleep very well.

Day Two
We were awoken by screams this morning...poor Annie woke up and forgot where she was.  She was OK, just needed some cuddles.  Two minutes later, she was ready to go play outside.  Mind you, it's six am.  No coffee pot.  We are not starting off well.  Fortunately, we were able to hold her off until 7:30 and ordered breakfast...yes we can do that!  We had a lovely breakfast outside in the courtyard...scrambled ham and eggs, COFFEE, rolls with fresh apple marmalade (mmmm) and a fruit nectar we had never tried before made from a fruit called naranjilla.  Tasted like a cross between fresh squeezed orange juice mixed with banana.  It was a little creamy and delish!  We couldn't convince Annie to eat anything but part of a roll.  After all, it's not Poppa's grits and cheese.  Poor girl is in for a shock.  She's going to have to eat new things.  What?!?!

The owner of the establishment drove us to the supermarket so we could stock up on staples.  In the afternoon we ventured out on our own to find the town center.  It's very beautiful.  Picturesque.  Looks much like the plazas in Puerto Rico, with the church in the center, and beautifully groomed landscaping.  There were vendors about.  One sight that was disturbing was a group of kids that had a little sweets stand.  They were about 7, 5, and 2 years old.  They were so dirty and so sad looking.  Wish I could take them all home with me.  Sigh.  We sat there for a while then went to get something to eat.  After, we discovered  were no less than 6 ice cream shops in the center...this place takes their ice cream very seriously.  Our kind of place!

Tomorrow we will be taken to Annie's school so she can start Kindergarten.  She is both excited and nervous.  Understandable.  We've been told that the children are excited that she is coming and looking forward to playing with her.  She'll ride the school bus, la busetta, for the first time.  A new experience for all of us.  Kinder is only half day here.

In the afternoon we will receive a visit from a governement type official social work person to review the upcoming process and then we will finally get to meet our son!  OMG!!!  We've been looking forward to this day since our first application to the agency, Oct 2008.  Not bad, but we've definitely gained a few extra gray hairs in the process.  No...wait...it was pretty horrible.  Thank goodness for a super agency, my Yahoo support group and countless friends and family with unending support. 

More or less, we will meet with him every morning while Annie goes to school, then bring her with us after lunch.  All three of us will then be there afternoons.  He might likely come spend the afternoon with us midweek, and a sleep-over with us after that by late week.  All things going well, we should have him with us full time sometime next week.  Wow!  Already, we're baby proofing the apartment.  His birthday is on Thursday, so whether he is with us that day or we visit, we hope to be able to either  participate or throw him a little birthday party.  How fun!  Can't wait...mental note, buy birthday cake and candles.

Love, Lisandra.