We're having a great morning.  Annie was up and out to school.  I love, that she loves her school.  She looks so cute in her uniform too.

And she loves her school bus and buddies.

Alejandro and I had a good hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, bread (he now likes PBJ on it), cereal, milk and watermelon.  He wakes up so happy everday.  Our rep stopped by this morning to get our POA and go do some legwork on our behalf.  Soon, we'll get ready to go to the post office to pick up my package.  It's nice to know that you can receive a package here.  I think it took about two weeks to arrive.  It's about a mile and a half walk to the post office.  I think I'll just pack some snacks and stay out for the day.  It helps that we bought a cheap local phone so I can be reached by Annie's school or our reps, when needed.   He doesn't know it yet but I made his favorite no-bake oatmeal cookies.  His face lights up and he claps when he sees them. 

Jim arrived home safely last night.  Thanks be to God.

Day 33- When it rains, it pours, literally...but then comes the sunshine.

Well, first let me start with some of the great stuff, and there is great stuff.  Monday we had our court appearance, and as you know now, it went well.  We dressed up.  Met a new attorney that was assigned to us.  Apparently, our attorney could not represent us for that because she is employed by the agency.  Not to worry, though.  All the new attorney did was be present.  We didn't need him to "do" anything except sign the papers on the dotted line, so to speak.  I made sure to ask him the process before we enterred the room, so that I was sure not to repeat our last meeting.  The court appointed translator arrived.  Everybody smiled, I even detected a small glimpse of a smile on the judge as we concluded.

Alejandro was still feeling a little under the weather either due to the Friday's vaccinations or due to our altitude changes from Cuenca to Quito and back to Cuenca.  I know I was feeling very poorly.  BTW, I received a package at the post office from my wonderful friend that sent me some over-the-counter children's motrin and sudafed I can't get here.  I exhausted my supply with the kids colds, bronchitis and recently, immunizations.  THANK YOU!!!  You can't find these OTC in Cuenca, local law.  I think it's different in Quito, because I saw some ibuprofen there.

Today is a gorgeous day. Absolutely gorgeous. The weather could not be more perfect. We're enjoying it from the apartment grounds because I didn't want to venture far from home...I managed to develop a bad stomach the last two days and I don't know how. Everyone else is fine, once again, and thank goodness.

Another great thing I discovered today is that the apartment owner has food delivered to her daily. She says its very good, freshly made and inexpensive. I jumped on that bandwagon, knowing well that she would know the best place to receive this kind of service from. No cooking, fewer dishes, fresh and yummy? Oh yeah, I'm on it. It was delicious and very geneous too. I thought two portions would be enough for myself and the kiddos, but it's actually too much, so tomorrow I will ask for just one portion. It had a potato and cheese soup called Locro, white rice (always), meatballs stewed in a yummy tomato sauce with fresh peas and carrots, and a banana puff pastry. I shared with the neighbor, Titima, who's Thai. Her son and Annalise have become good buddies, although the boy doesn't speak much English and almost no Spanish. Titima is married to an American and they moved here from Thailand three months ago to buy a pig farm. Wow. Our families have become quite dependent on eachother for support and we will miss them when we leave.

Yesterday, our reps husband came to take Jim to sign a power of attorney giving me permission to complete the rest of the process. From here on, he doesn't have to be present, as long as I have a power of attorney.  The two of them went to the notary public and were told they needed to bring an official translator with them, since Jim did not understand 100% of what he was reading or being told.  He says he understood about 90%.  Sooooooo, what was to be a 15 minute process, took about 4 hours before they could schedule both the translator and the notary public at once.  I wasn't allowed to be the translator, because I am the person receiving the POA.

All throughout the day, I worked on getting Jim flights back to home.  He has worked so hard trying to manage things from here with poor internet reception, skype and occasionally very expensive phone calls.  He's tried everything to do the best he can, more than anyone will be aware of.  He really needed to get home.  No one here in the process seems to really understand that, because they would be able to take off of work for however long they had to.  Crazy Americans, we are.

After hours of my being online and on the phone, Jim had to finally go to the airport to finalize flights.  The first available flight out with an exchange ticket would be for March 7th.  Oh no!  So, we had the privilege of buying a new ticket with a different airline at peak price.  Lovely.  This awaits me in a couple of weeks.

He had to fly to Quito last night, so he could make a connection today, and praise be, let him get home soundly.

A little while ago, the reps husand dropped off the POA.  I told him it was made of gold.  He laughed.  Along with that we received some bad news, bad to me anyway.  Sighhhhh...he just found out I have the "privilege" of going to Quito to be interviewed by some hoop-te-ha before I can go to the embassy in Guayaquil to get the little prince's final get out of dodge papers. This adds another plane trip, another two days (to the 2- 2 1/2 weeks left, and more stress to the process.  Originally, we weren't going to have to go to Quito, only the families that were already in Quito were made to go.  But, as many things keep changing in this fairly new process in Ecuador, there is now a new hoop-te-ha in that position that wants see everyone.

Lastly, the judge's house had an "emergency" during a HUGE hail storm we had two days ago...so...still waiting on him to sign off on the papers. Literally, when it rains, it pours. 

Looking out the window at the beautiful sunshine and awaiting my princess from school any minute.  Both reasons to smile, among many.  (***I wrote this much earlier today***)

Love, Lisandra
P.S.  The photo is of Annalise giving a brother a "haircut"...this could be bad...better hide the real scissors.

Day 31- It's Official!!!

Introducing the Rojas Knotts or Knotts Rojas family, depending on which country you're in!!!  He's officially ours!

Took my little guy to receive the rest of his two-year old immunizations this morning. He immediately recognized the grounds of the children's home when we enterred the gates and started to whimper. I'm not sure why. It seemed like a sad whimper like he didn't want to be there, but then he saw the grounds keeper, a man who takes wonderful care of the grounds as well as the facility and staff. Alejandro was happy to see him. He was especially happy to see the social worker that he has known all his life. He led her to her office where apparently he always likes to look up at the mountains. Then he turned around and waved at me and said, "Ciao". The little stinker! He thought that was funny.

We walked a couple of blocks on the main street to a doctor who sees the children from the homes when needed. Her normal office visit costs $30 but only charges OSSO $3 for their visits. That is so awesome! He took the checkup like a champ. She didn't charge us because she was so glad to see one of the children find a forever family. He's managed to gain some weight while he has been with us, even though I don't feel he eats up to his previous quantities. Obviously, it's enough!

We then took a taxi to the health office for immunizations and there were no less than thirty or so families waiting to be seen. Again, the office knows the social workers from the children's homes well and agreed to help us out, and pass us through. Once again, they were so happy to see one of the children with a new mommy, that they were thrilled to let us go ahead of everyone else. They answered all my questions about his immunization status so I can relay the information and documentation to the pediatrician at home accurately. He took one shot like a champ. The second really hurt bad...yellow fever. I told them that one isn't required in the states and asked if we could skip it, but they said it will be required to leave the country. Poor little guy!
We were able to get a flight to Quito in the afternoon and our rep helped us with a recommendation of a place to stay. It's technically a hostal but if it is, it's the nicest hostal I've ever seen. More of a hotel. Looks like it dates back to the 1920's. Great old pics of the city in the hallways from the turn of the century. I always love looking at pictures like those.

Poor little guy started not feeling well during dinner. We can only assume that given he received his shots today and by the way he was crying insessantly. He especially cried when his bottom was touched or he was made to sit down. We figured it out. He's hard to figure out sometimes given that he doesnt' yet have much of a vocabulary. We're working on that. He uses a couple of signs we have taught him in the meantime, the most important one being "bathroom". I couldn't get him to say yes or no to whether or not he was in pain. He just cried. Jim and I felt bad that we hadn't figured it out sooner. I had given him a dose of children's motrin after his shots, but he was due another dose.

We just came back to the hotel, rather than go out for the early evening. We held and rocked him, gave him a juice he had wanted throughout dinner and then I laid with him until he fell asleep. Hopefully he will feel much better tomorrow.
Annie said the greatest thing today, she said, "I thought I would be jealous of my new baby brother but I'm not, I just love him so much." The wisdom of a five year old.
Love, Lisandra

Hi.  We received good news today!  Even tho' our "friendly" judge is out of town this week, he apparently left instructions (or whatever one calls that in legal-speak) and we have been put on his schedule for 10:00am Monday morning for finalization of our adoption!  Yay!!!  Of course, there is much more to happen after that, but this is THE most important step (as far as we know).  He helped us out after all.  Again, YAY!!!  We celebrated with a pizza dinner...I know, not very Ecuadorian, but we went out for a swanky seafood and wine dinner last night...we needed it after the day we had.  The kids LOVE pizza, and Annie is "Ecuadorian food-ed" out.  All Jim and I cared about was that we received this call.  Soooooo, everyone was happy.

We're trying to get a flight to Quito for the weekend so we can enjoy some kid-friendly sights like the zoo and amusement parks.  We put the kids to bed and tried calling the airlines.  We didn't realize they closed at 8pm and it was 7:55.  We were put on hold and well...you get the  picture.  We'll try again tomorrow. 

Unfortunately, we were hoping to meet up with another family that is currently in Quito in the same stages as we are in our adoption, but they will also be enjoying some time out of town.  We'll try again another time.  The wonderful thing is that they live only 30-40 minutes from us in the states.  I belong to a Yahoo support group for Ecuadorian adoptions and I found another three families, besides ourselves that all live about 40 minutes in one direction or another.  How nice is that ?!?!

Sooooo, the plan for Monday...lots of smiles, happiness...and kill 'em with kindness, as very trusted and loved friends have advised.  They've never steered me wrong in the lifetime I have known them.  I'm so blessed.  God is good.

Of note, my five year old recited two prayers to me, in Spanish.  She says they recite them everyday in school before lunch.  How beautiful.  She is not in a religious school at all, yet they recite prayers before meals for those who want to participate.  That would never happen back home.  Those of you who know me well, know that I have a very strong faith that has seen me through life.  I'm so happy she gets to experience this which is so different from school in the states.  Amen.

Love,
Lisandra.

Day 26, Court day to verify signatures- And The Fun Begins...

Ok. That did not go as smoothly as it could have. Unfortunately, Jim's and my signatures on our passports did not exactly match our signatures on all the paperwork we have done thus far. Let me 'splain...We were told to sign paperwork as our names are typed. Thus, Christopher James Knotts and Lisandra Rojas-Knotts. HOWEVER...our day to day signatures are abbreviated, i.e. Christopher J. Knotts and LR Knotts Who wants to sign those long names all the time. Sooooooo, this was almost a no-go, because signatures did not match our supporting documents. Who knew? That irritated the judge.

Then...he asked me a question and I answered. Simple enough. Then he asked Jim question. Now let me say that Jim speaks a fair amount of Spanish, more than he gives himself credit for. HOWEVER, the judge spoke too fast and Jim did not understand, so I proceded to translate. OOOOHHHH NOOOOO! Apparently he was trying to figure out how fluent we both were in Spanish and by my translating, I was totally out of line. WELL EXCUSE THE HELL OUT OF ME FOR TRYING TO BE HELPFUL, LIKE I WAS SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT THE $#@! HE WAS DOING! The judge then was very nasty to me, even our attorney was taken by surprise. Oh, and this is supposed to be the lenient judge that she favors. Holy hell, thank goodness we didn't get any of the others.

Well, from then on, I think he had to ask me questions twice, because I was never sure when I was supposed to speak and when not. He's irritated we will need a translator for Jim. This is a surprise to a judge? Grrrrrrrrrrr. Hello??? We''re....ummmmm....American?

That did not go smoothly. We were hoping for an audience with the judge by Friday, no chance. Our attorney already asked. This adds another week to our stay. Oh goodie.

Thank God for little smiles, dimples and giggles that melt your heart.  Mmmmmm. :-)

Love,

Lisandra

Day 24, Catching Up

Hi everyone...a quick post before Jim has to take off to work with the computer. We've had a fabulous last few days. The weather has been gorgeous and sunny. A few days ago I ventured into the Diez de Agosto market. It's an indoor farmer's market jam packed with fruits, vegetables, grains, cheeses, and people. Then there is the meat and fish area...yikes! Not very appealing so I stuck to the fruits, veggies, cheese and grains. I felt so out of place. It's very crowded and not much room for a stroller. In addition, I don't know some of the local names for the items I want, how much to buy and how much I should be paying for it. I just winged it and I seem to have done Ok. Everything is so much tastier bought fresh from the market, lots more flavor than back home where things are shipped in while still unripe.

I discoverred more things Alejandro likes as he would point and squeel when he saw something yummy he recognized. Lunch that day consisted of Queso Fresco, fresh baked bread, grapes, mangoes, carrots and a peanut nouget that reminds me of Turron from Puerto Rico. All fresh, all yummy. I was really nervous about the cheese because it's sold in the open, unrefrigerated. Oddly, it seemed cold when I got it. I took a leap of faith that we wouldn't get sick and we've done fine. I can't say I'm looking forward to going there again...it was that intimidating for me. But, for fresh yummy goodies, I'l definitely venture it. I'm sure I'll feel better about it the next time since I know where to find what now.

On Saturday, Annie and I had a girls out day. We ventured on the city bus to Rio Mall where there is an arcade, movie theater and food court. We had lunch and went to the arcade, which has with a bunch of huge moon-bounces. For two dollars, she could bounce in there all day! She's gotten so good at climbing, my prissy little girl. After we went to the movies, also at the mall. Annie chose to see, "The Tooth Fairy" and although the movie was dubbed in Spanish and she couldn't understand all of it, she stayed for the whole thing and enjoyed it. Topped off the day with a big cup of ice cream.

We've been fortunate to have been befriended by another family in our apartment complex. The dad and grandma are American. The wife is Thai, and they have a 5 year old boy that mostly speaks Thai. He and Annalise can't understand a word the other says, but the have a ball playing outside and picking cherries to eat off the trees. Yesterday, the family invited us to go to a new park none of us had been to before. They live here permanently and have a large SUV that we were all able to fit in with the kids in the back cargo area playing all the time...scary for me. Ugh.

Parque del Paraiso was gorgeous! It reminded me a little of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens when I was growing up, only it also had the river than ran through it with paddle boats (closed yesterday), tons of playsets and gigantic rocks for children to play on and climb. There were musicians throughout the park, and most importatntly, ice cream vendors! There were also other food vendors kiosks there, but we don't frequent them. The food looked awesome, and Annie was starving. She had to wait until we could go over to the mall to eat our usual stuff.

Alejandro is doing super. Potty training is going well, save a couple of accidents, both on daddy! Tee-hee. We have gotten into a good routine. Presently, we are in Carnival season, so Annie is off from from school for the next three days. Wednesday, we'll be going to the court to verify signatures. The next step.

Bye for now!

Lisandra.