Paperwork and Adoption Update

On October 13, we took baby Sophia back to Bolivia Immigration and applied for her Bolivian passport! It was a pretty smooth deal. And since we got to the point of making the payment, normally done in a bank, just minutes after said bank would have closed, we were allowed to pay right there at immigration. Cool!

And most amazing of all, we got the baby's passport picture within a minute! ONE minute! This time I fed her while we waited and then got her awake. We learned something from our ID card experience!! Unfortunately, she came out rather cross-eyed, but the second lady helping us had to run back to her station ASAP and she said to leave it at that, that the picture was good enough. Jake was sputtering about it, but no one paid us any attention... Oh well!

There are problems with immigration's new passport system so they said it will take 3-4 weeks to process. Good thing we're not trying to travel right now!

Adoption News:

Our first court hearing for the boys was possibly going to be the first week of November, but our judge's father passed away so she took several days off. Then the lawyer said everything was on track again for the second week of November, but she had to travel to Sucre and had all of her client hearings postponed. So now we'll see what happens this week! Casa de Amor staff was contacted by social services to bring in papers that the court had ordered them to present for the adoption, so that was one more step in the right direction.

The time between the first and second hearing is used for a full on "get to know each other" period for the new family. In this case we already know and spend time together, but it will be different after telling them that WE are their family! I imagine we'll bring them to the apartment, show them their new bedroom, share meals together, go to parks, maybe shop for more clothes for them, etc.

Jake and I are starting to get antsy to just get the process going! I am, however, grateful for the chance to more fully recover physically before being very active and busy with the boys. When they say six weeks postpartum recovery time, wow - they mean SIX WEEKS recovery time!! (Sophia is five weeks today!)

It's also good timing in that the kids are almost done with the school year. All year, I had hoped that they would finish before we got them, just for a sense of closure and so that they officially graduate their current grade, even though we'll have them at home next year. They were supposedly finished on Friday but now they are being called back for one more week. (The Bolivia school system runs February through November.)

God knows!!

Yesterday we heard via a volunteer that Marcus has guessed that we are the family they are waiting for! The other two boys told him they didn't think so. I love it that the youngest guessed right! :)


Anddd because any good post must include pictures:

One of Sophia's favorite hang out spots: Daddy's pillow!!

 

Sure helped today while we got ready for church.

 

This past week has been full of good nights! She really has her nights and days straightened out right now, at least for the moment. She has very long awake periods during the day, and nurses and goes right back to sleep at night. Yay!!

 

 

My big-eyed baby!