The clocks are ticking

We want to thank everyone for their comments and well wishes. Those of you that have taken this journey know just how much it means. We feel truly blessed to have such support.

The boys are very excited to go to school in the morning and love to show us everything in their backpacks after the day is over. We spend a lot of time in the evening with homework and it surprises us just how much they have to do every week. We have signed them up for ESL summer school for the month of June. It is a half day and will be held at the school they attend. We will probably find something else after that as well.

We started with a new idea for getting them up in the morning and ready for bed. Jeison and Johnnatan can get themselves ready but most of our time was spent keeping them focused. So we purchased alarm clocks and made a list of morning tasks and evening tasks. Once they have these completed they receive a quarter, so fifty cents each day. This has worked really well and they get up, shower, dress and come downstairs to eat, then back up to brush their teeth. In the evening it is PJs, getting their clothes out for the next day and brushing their teeth. We will add Juan into this routine one day but for now he needs assistance. A bit later we will add some household tasks so they can earn more. They love to help around the house but we just like to take time between changes in routine or adding something new.

Each of the boys now have their own room. Jeison and Juan were sharing but kept asking when the room downstairs would be ready for Juan. So we let him try sleeping by himself to make sure he was going to like it and then decorated the room and moved his things. It is much easier for us as well since he is on the same level as us. He is usually the first one to get up in the morning and likes to crawl in the bed with us for a bit.

I (Ramona) went back to work on Monday which was earlier than planned. Since the boys are in school it was not necessary for me to be home during the day. I surprised myself at how much I missed the challenge work offers. I missed everyone there and looked forward to being back again. The company and managers have been very supportive and this allows me to work while the boys are in school but be there in time to pick them up. Larry takes them to school in the morning. I do miss seeing them in the mornings but would rather be able to see them after school and have time to spend playing and talking to them.

As you can see in the pictures a family donated a trampoline to us. The boys so love it! We also bought a very tiny pool. They cannot swim so we are afraid to get something any deeper. But the boys do not seem to care it is small. The trampoline and pool are the first things they want to do after school.

What's new

Things have been very busy. The food issues seem to have subsided for the most part. It may have been just hesitation to try new things and being in new surroundings. We have found quite a few things the boys like now and will continue to try more new things.

Their first dentist appointment here went well. Jeison has to return to cap a sheared tooth in the back. He will also definitely need braces but we will wait for his permanent teeth to all be in place. Johnnatan and Juan had no issues. The boys brush their teeth after every meal, rinse and floss as well. While in Colombia they always brushed after meals and we added the other here.

They have also had their first round of vaccinations. Jeison was very brave and only winced. Johnnatan and Juan had a hard time and well...screamed. We had to hold Juan down. Jeison and Johnnatan return next month for more but Juan is blessed to have no more until October.

We visited the school twice and then the boys started on Wednesday and are really excited each day when we pick them up. They are always eager to tell us about their day and show us what they did in school. The teachers have sent home sight word cards so we will work with the boys on these at home. They are once again very interested in how to say things in English. All of their teachers are great and the staff their is so excited to have the boys at school.

Other than that we have been attending church, riding bikes, going to the park, etc., typical family life. We are still finding thing pretty easy with the kids. Of course their are some difficult times but for the most part they are really great kids. We have found that giving them choices works very well. We still are in awe that God has so richly blessed us with these children.

The pictures are from a day we took the boys bikes to the park. They found the stream that runs around the park and jumped in shoes and all. Also, a picture from the first day of school. Johnnatan began crossing his eyes for the pictures and once he finally stopped Juan began trying to do the same...therefore his crazy eyed look. Jeison thought it was all too funny.

Life is crazy now

The trip home was interesting. We made it to Atlanta and then the flight to Nashville was cancelled due to weather. Delta kept promising another flight and after many gate changes and about 6 hours of waiting we stayed in Atlanta that night. The kids held up remakably well and there were no meltdowns, we were very surprised. The next morning Juan was not in a good mood but after about an hour he was fine. We think the excitement of another plane ride curbed a lot of the possible issues that could have arisen.

So, now we are home and it is just non stop with the boys. They love to ride their bikes outside. Johnnatan kept insisting he needed training wheels but we helped him for two days and he is now riding his bike. He is very proud of his accomplishment! We are busy scheduling optometrist, dentist and doctor appointments. We were told by the ICBF in Colombia that both Jeison and Johnnatan need glasses.

Things are going well and the boys seem to be adjusting to the changes. We are having one issue with food. They don't seem to like much. So far they may or may not eat a hamburger. They will eat hotdogs but Johnnatan does not like his cooked. They will eat plain pasta if it is mixed with milk. But tomato sauce of any kind is out of the question. Eggs, toast and cereal are good. They also like fruit. They were very picky in Colombia as well and did not eat much the ladies made at the hotel. So, it is a challenge at the moment.

Coming Home!

Monday started out with Larry going with our attorney to obtain the boys birth certificates and change the last name. Then he returned and all of us went to obtain the boys passports. A quick trip back to the hotel for lunch and some last minute paperwork completion. Then we were off to the Embassy doctor.

Tuesday we all went to apply for Visas at the US Embassy. Larry will pick them up at 3:30 today. We are scheduled to fly out Thursday morning.

Not much time for anything else. As you can see by the photos we are all packed! The boys thought is was funny to climb into the luggage so we snapped their picture.