Last Day in Cuenca

On our way to Guayaquil in the morning.  Today as we rode around in a taxi I looked out the window with differnt eyes than when I first arrived.  BTW, Alejandro jumps up and down like a crazy man when I tell him we're going for a taxi ride...he says..."Ta"  for taxi.  The city looked more beautiful to me today.  The colors more vibrant, and the sun shining brighter.  I'm going to miss this little city, but we're definitely ready to be home and start the next phase of our lives with our new family addition. 

We had a fantastic homemade Thai dinner at the neighbor's.  The best I've ever had.  Annalise and James traded gifts and then avoided one another and seemed angry at eachother.  James' family told us that he had spent the day very sad because his friend Annalisa as he calls her, is leaving.  We barely made it through dinner because Annie started to cry.  She cried for the better part of the next two hours, and even a phone call from Daddy didn't cheer her up.

At the same time, Ando was ready for bed, and he too was needing some snuggling.  He didn't want me to leave the bed, but poor Annie needed me too.  This is so new for me.  I love them both so much.  After snuggling Ando for a little while, I went back to Annie and held her for as she cried.  I was eventually able to help her see all the good reasons for going home: Daddy, Gramma and Poppa, Gramma's dogs, her best buddy Sasha, sleeping in her own bed, playing with her fun toys.  An endless list.  She finally cheered up enough to watch a video and go to bed. 

The neighbors are stopping by in the morning, and I'm really hoping we don't have a repeat performance.  People mean well, but sometimes they don't realize they can make a situation like that worse.

We didn't receive the letter we needed from the official in Quito.  We're going to Guayaquil anyway to get Ando's physical done, since we can't leave without that anyway.  Our rep spent the entire day in Quito lobbying and waiting, and waiting.  She says she never left the office, even to eat.  She finally made it to Cuenca and her family at 8pm.  She'll accompany us tomorrow to Guayaquil, as she keeps calling Quito for our letters.  What an exhaustion. 

Hoping things still work out by Friday.  We certainly have people working and praying very hard on our part.

Love, Lisandra.