While they were all napping, I read a book and checked the clock on my phone frequently in hopes that time was ticking by quickly. Once when I was looking, I received a text from Brent saying there was bad weather in Miami and his plane was rerouted to Ft. Myers to wait out the storms. His layover in Miami was less than an hour, and there was a huge chance he was going to miss his flight from Miami to Medellin. There is only one direct flight a day from Miami to Medellin, so there wasn't a possibility of him grabbing a later flight.
We prayed hard, as did tons of of friends and family. We used social media to beg for prayers. The Lord doesn't always answer prayers the way we hope or expect, but it is evident he is way more intelligent than we sheep-like humans. We were devastated that Brent missed his flight and had to wait another day to make it to Medellin. However, the Lord used this trial to show me I can survive three kids by myself. Brent does a ton of traveling, and it was a blessing knowing I can take care of the children when he is away and working.
Nonetheless, we ached for our family to be back together in the same apartment, same city, and same continent! It was rainy Saturday, so we couldn't even go out on the balconies to blow bubbles. We were couped up inside, and tried to make the most of it. The kids made jello, and had apple jello and popcorn for a snack. We read books and colored. I was incredibly anxious about being alone in the apartment at night with the kids. Colombia is very different that it was when we were kids, but not having my husband here brought back all of the thoughts of kidnappings, drug cartels, cocaine traffickers, gangs, and gunfire. (Sounds a lot like parts of Montgomery, sadly, doesn't it?) Obviously, we survived the night safe and sound!
After a nutritious breakfast of Colombian generic brand Cocoa Puffs, the kids played and colored while I started getting ready. I don't think I have primped that much since our wedding, and the kids were all in their Sunday best. We wanted Brent to feel very welcome when he got home. We had church, which was our second church Sunday in a row without Brent. The kids' favorites this week were Owl City's In Christ Alone and Rich Mullin's Our God is an Awesome God. The latter always brings me back to Ahna's Angels in first grade, and doing "fat claps" as we sang. As I have mentioned before, Samuel remembers song lyrics really quickly. He has been singing Our God is an Awesome God all day for now two days. So precious! We pray he soon learns how awesome our God truly is, and how much he is loved by our Father!
The kids all fell asleep quickly for their naps, even Lilly Grace who is truly outgrowing hers. Brent's plane landed in Medellin at 2:48. He was unable to fly directly to Medellin, as that flight wouldn't leave Miami until later in the day. He flew from Miami to Bogota, and then from Bogota to Medellin. Being in Bogota made him long for us all to be there; once we are there we will be extremely close to being home in lovely Pike Road, Alabama! While in the airport, Brent, who is the most organized person in the world, somehow lost his boarding pass. After sprinting around the huge airport, he had a new one printed, went through security, and boarded the plane for Medellin.
Around 3:30 there was a knock at our door. The two oldest kiddos had recently awaken, and we all went ballistic about having Daddy home! What a joyous reunion. I am certain none of us stopped smiling the rest of the afternoon or evening. Being an incredibly thoughtful and giving person, Brent had brought us all back fantastic gifts! He gave me a gorgeous camel colored Coach handbag and some stunningly beautiful jewelry! He is always too kind and spoils me. Every time he travels through Austin, he brings the kids suckers that have scorpions in them. This was Samuel's first time experiencing the scorpion suckers, and he was rather repulsed at first. He eventually caved and really enjoyed it! In no time, all three kids were nasty, sticky, banana-flavored messes, with scorpion body parts rummaging around their digestive systems. Bleh!
Also in Brent's luggage were care packages from our precious friends, the Cowdens. They are so thoughtful, and the kids were elated at their gifts! They had coloring books, glitter crayons, erasable colored pencils, a book with 3-D glasses, and incredibly sweet notes. Their oldest daughter, Catherine, had asked her classmates at Eastwood Presbyterian School to pray for Samuel and the adoption process. Her class had all written and signed a precious letter for our family. We were amazed at the kindness and maturity of those teens. Our family is quite ready to be back and have some more fun dinners with this phenomenal family. We would introduce them to some Colombian food, but I've decided it isn't exactly my favorite.
Today is Monday. Brent and I slept in to the extent that you can in a building close to the busiest highway in Medellin. Every morning we are convinced a truck is going to come barreling through our window - which is impossible being on the 8th floor, but it sounds like just that. Today was marvelous. We did school, and I feel like something clicked with Samuel. He is remembering more letters, and writing them much better. He is really getting the hang of it! Let me emphasize that he is very intelligent, he just wasn't taught letters, numbers, colors, or shapes. It isn't his fault, and all of this is new to him. The positive part is that not only is he a fast learner, but he isn't having to convert his knowledge from Spanish to English. It is all new to him, so learning in English is no big deal.
Everything about today went smoothly. Alex has been really whiny off and on lately, but has been running low-grade fevers for a few days as well. Her whines usually coincide with elevated temperature. The children ate well, played well, learned well, colored well, obeyed well, and got along well, and right now they are all sleeping well.
Tomorrow marks the beginning of our fifth week here, and Thursday will be when our 1-10 day period awaiting the judge to issue the adoption decree begins. Let's pray it happens quickly and we can head to Bogota. We anxiously and prayerfully await good news.
Scorpion Suckers. Yummy! (Once he is officially adopted, and we are in America, we will put photos of his perfect, handsome face on here unblurred.)
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