Today we got to see some of the sites and sounds of Cali. Enrique arranged a city tour for us with his driver. He likes doing this for all of the adopting families so they get a chance to see the city. We had no idea were we were going to go or what we would see, but it sounded like fun and we needed a reason to get out for awhile. So off we went.

Did I mention that the driver didn’t speak English? =) It made things a little interesting, but I guess he had done this enough times that he could communicate the important details. Honestly, the views we say spoke for themselves. We had no idea that Cali was so big and so beautiful!!!

We drove up to the highest point of the city, the Cristo Rey, which is a huge statue of Christ that looks down over the city. On one side you have this huge city that seems to go on forever, and on the other side, these incredible mountains that stand between us and the Pacific Ocean. It was amazing.

After coming back down we visited one of the oldest trees in Cali. The root system of the tree spread out over a entire hillside. Next door stood a monastery which we were able to tour. A dear sweet nun blessed Cameron as we were leaving. It was very sweet.

Cali is a wonderful city! Definitely someplace that we want to visit again!

Day 10 Photos

Day 10 Videos

I didn’t take any photos of the monastery. I wasn’t sure if flash photography was a good idea. Just off the main room where we were standing were some nuns chanting and I didn’t want to disturb them. Here is some video from inside the main worship area.

We found out today that we have been assigned to court #7 which apparently is a really good thing. Our translator says that court #7 is a fast court and that everything should go smoothly. There are three steps in the court process. Once we sign the final adoption decree (called sentencia), the only steps left here in Cali will be to get Cameron’s Colombian passport and copies of his new birth certificate. Then we will travel back to Bogota for a doctor’s visit, a final paper from the ICBF, and then to the US Embassy for Cameron’s visa. Then it will be changing our plane tickets and coming home.

We decided to celebrate by spending a little time in the pool. Cameron loves bath time, so we figured the pool would be fun. He didn’t like baths at first, but it might have been the whole idea of a couple of strangers trying to bathe him. We were right, he loves the water!

Day 9 Photos

Day 9 Videos

Taking it slow. The water was so cold that slow was the only way to go!

Didn’t take long though. Cameron kept throwing his ball into the big pool.

The big event of the day was the ICBF interview. This is the interview were they make sure everything is going okay and that Cameron is adapting well to his new family. Magnolia picked us up around 1 PM and we traveled to the ICBF office for our 1:30 PM meeting. Everything went really well. They were impressed with how well Cameron was doing and very excited about him being with us. I heard the social worker say it was “Perfecto!”

Magnolia told us that the social worker that was working with us was retiring this Wednesday. We will be one of her last cases. She has been doing adoptions for a very long time (Magnolia didn’t even know how long). She was a very sweet lady and wished us well.

All of the paperwork was given to our lawyer, Ellena. She will be submitting everything to the court system. We will find out tomorrow which court will get our case. Magnolia says that as long as it isn’t court #5, everything should move quickly from this point. With everything else that has gone haywire with our adoption, I am fully expecting to be assigned to court #5! =) The adoption cases are randomly assigned to one of eleven different courts. Some are faster than others, so we will see what happens.

Day 8 Photos

Happy Father’s Day to all of the dads out there! Figured I would start with that since it is a little fresh on my mind. =)

Sunday’s are a little different around Hotel Pension Stein. Since they don’t serve lunch on Sunday’s, the owner of the hotel takes all of the adopting families to lunch at a local restaurant of his choosing. He tries to pick places that give us a taste of Colombia. Today we traveled about 20 minutes into the mountains, which are right next door to the city, to a little country restaurant (as he calls it). It was AMAZING! The food was so good. Even the things that I don’t normally eat were really, really good. We had a wonderful time!

There are so many families here now that are adopting. It is had to keep track. There are at least two or three Norwegian families, one Swedish family, one German couple, another American couple, and us. The other American couple is leaving today in order to travel to Bogota to get their baby’s visa before traveling back to the states. Best of luck to them on this last leg of their journey! Most of the other people in these pictures are adopting families. Some have already gotten their children and others will be going this week to start their process.

Be sure to click on one of the pictures to navigate through the photos and see the descriptions.

Day 7 Photos

Day 7 Videos

Driving through the mountain villages outside of Cali.

Outside of the restaurant. The gardens and play area were very pretty. I loved the big tree in the center of the grounds. It was very interesting close up.

Cameron drinking lemonade. We thought we were going to get a funny face out of him, but it seems that he is used to it. Patrick thought it was pretty sour.

The clouds were moving over the mountain top as we were eating.

All the children went out into the play area after lunch. It was a little wet so we didn’t really want Cameron getting muddy, but he enjoyed watching.

The drive back down the mountain. Watch the side of the road, there were lots of little tents with people selling goat milk and cheese. We even saw them milking the goats!

One of the nice things about staying at the Hotel Pension Stein is that the owner loves to take adopting families on outings around the city. Today we had the opportunity to visit the Cali Zoo with one of the other families staying here at the hotel.

Day 6 Photos

Day 6 Videos

After daddy’s computer again. The word “no” is the same in English and Spanish, but we doesn’t seem to know either at the moment.

Cameron’s toy bag! He likes kicking things, even his books.

Cameron walks pretty well. He is still a little wobblely, but manages to get around pretty good.

Cameron loves his big red ball that he brought with him from the foster family.

Cameron wasn’t tool impressed by the fish at the zoo. And no, that isn’t him screaming! =)

Ahhh, the monkey cage. Cameron’s favorite!

The Zebra Pin…no response.

Okay, here is the crazy bear. Poor thing made us laugh. Not sure what he was trying to say.

This bear had to be a close cousin to the cliff bear. He was swimming around and around his bath tub building up a current. Self made whirlpool tub!

Cameron and mommy play patty cake while watching the deer.

Big, Bad, Tiger! This tiger was pretty active compared to many of the animals in the zoo.

Okay, here is the llama video. Mary Ann was trying to get Cameron to feed the llamas. It didn’t go over so well. Won’t be working the family farm anytime soon. Sorry.

Cameron and I were sitting out on the balcony today admiring the plants and birds flying around outside the hotel. He was fascinated by a little humming bird that was busily feeding on the flowers nearby. I couldn’t help get a little emotional as we sat there together. As much as Mary Ann and I can’t wait to get him home, part of me knows that this is a special time that we will never have again. It is just us. No pressures, no schedules, no deadlines. Very few people to talk to (that understand us) and only one channel on the TV that plays English reruns, so pretty much no TV to distract us. Just us. Our new family.

The chorus to a song I heard for the first time almost a year ago came to mind as we sat there together.

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You’re gonna miss this
You’re gonna want this back
You’re gonna wish these days hadn’t gone by so fast
These are some good times
So take a good look around
You may not know it now
But you’re gonna miss this

Needless to say, I am okay with the process taking a few weeks. We are cherishing every moment together. We will be home soon enough and things will get busy again, but we will always look back on this time as precious. I pray that I never forget the important things.

Day 5 Photos

Day 5 Videos

On the porch of the Hotel Pension Stein.

Cameron loves to play with daddy’s computer.

A little refreshment on a warm sunny day.

Our happy little boy. He loves to watch people.

Cameron finds his voice. Amazingly, we have only had one all out crying fit in the week we have been together. I am sure that will change soon enough. =)

Who needs expensive toys? Give him a couple of bottle caps and a laptop case…he is good to go!

Juice time with Mommy.

Here are some more pictures from the past couple of days. Everything is going really well. This week is our bonding time with Cameron so there is nothing to do but enjoy him. Our next official meeting will be Monday with the ICBF (Colombian Family Services) to make the adoption official from their end. Then we have to go through the legal portion which could take a couple of weeks.

I haven’t found a good video plugin for our website yet, so all of the video is being posted to FaceBook. As soon as I find a good plugin, we will post the video here too.

Also, check back on the previous posts as I have been adding details to them as I have time.

Day 3 Photos

Day 4 Photos

Day 3 Videos

Cameron is a happy boy at meal time!

Some more footage of Mommy feeding Cameron.

Mary Ann has a new man in her life…but I am okay with it. =)

Day 4 Videos

Mommy mixed some mango in with Cameron’s morning cerel. He liked it! Notice the spoon…he loves to hold a spoon while he eats.

Cameron’s foster family must have taught him about remote controls. He’s got mad skills with a TV remote!

We woke up early on Tuesday morning, the big day! We were told to expect the taxi driver to pick us up at 7:00 AM. Our flight to Cali was scheduled to leave at 9:02 AM and needed to be there an hour before the flight. We were packed and ready to go by 6:4o AM when the taxi driver arrived. We were told that the rule in Colombia is, “Hurry up and wait.” It isn’t uncommon for people to be half an hour late to a meeting. It was nice that he was early.

We had a wonderful ride to the airport. Bogota is a city of many contradictions. The traffic is crazy, but we haven’t seen one accident. The city appears old but you will find all of the latest technology around every corner. They tell you all these stories about the crime in Bogota, yet the city seems to be filled with wonderful people eager to help a stranger. We enjoyed seeing some of the city on the way to the airport. We even got to see a McDonald’s. What would any modern city be without a McDonald’s?!?

The airport was crowded, but we got right in and made it to the ticket counter quickly. After paying for our extra baggage, we made our way through the security check point without any problem. Well, except for the language problem. There was a little lady with the scanning wand that kept saying something to me, but of course I didn’t understand. Finally she realized that I didn’t speak Spanish so she said, “Turn Around!” I guess I must have responded in a funny way, because she just started laughing. Oh well. =)

We boarded a VERY nice airplane that was more modern than anything we have flown in the states. It was very comfortable and had all kinds of technology gadgets to play with. We spent a long time on the runway waiting to take off, but we finally got into the air and got to see a little bit of the country side. It is sooooo beautiful! The mountains are incredible! From that view point, you can’t imagine there being any problems at all!

We arrived in Cali about forty minutes later and immediately fell in love with the area. It reminds me alot of some of the tropical areas that we have visited on the cruises we have been on. It looks like a beautiful tropical paradise. The climate is much like Savannah, so we are very comfortable with the weather. On the thirty minute drive from the airport to Cali, we saw field after field of sugar cane. There were a lot of motorcycles, as in Bogota, and we also saw our first armed patrols. When we asked about the patrols we were told that someone important must be coming to Cali that day. They patrol the road between the airport and the city for safety.

The city has that tropical feel, the streets are narrow with street vendors selling all kinds of wares. We drove through the center of the city until we arrived at the Hotel Pension Stein.

Minutes after we arrived at the hotel, our translator, Magnolia Ospina, arrived to greet us. She is the dearest, sweetest lady you will ever meet. She gave us a tour of the hotel and the services that are offered to us. She sat down with us and went over the process of the up-coming week. She let us have a few minutes to settled in before we had lunch together in the hotel dining room. All of our meals are included in the price of our stay, which is very nice. The lunch was fantastic! And when we were finished, we headed to the ICBF office to meet our little boy.

We arrived at the ICBF office shortly after an Italian family that was staying the the same hotel as us. We were both told that our little boys were still in route from Buga, where Cameron was born. We waited for about forty five minutes before we were asked to wait in the hall. The ICBF is very careful about the introductions of children to their new parents. It is a very good process that helps the children make their adjustment to their new family.

The Italian family was first since their appointment was before ours. We waited in the hallway for about another thirty-five minutes before they invited us into an office to discuss Cameron’s physical, mental, and emotional state. We would have been completed lost had it not been for Magnolia. She was with us every step of the way and did so much more than just translate. She was more like a friend.

After talking for about fifteen minutes, we were given all of Cameron’s paperwork which included a letter to him from his foster mother. It is a sweet letter from her wishing him all the best with his new family. It is obivious from the documentation that we got from her that Cameron has been extremely well taken care of during his period of foster care. Magnolia said that many foster care homes in Colombia are poor families, but that from what she was seeing in Cameron’s papers, his was not. We have complete medical records from the day he was brought to the hospital, a baby book with all of his firsts, and a picture from each month of his life! It is so much more than we ever thought possible. We are very grateful to his foster mother, and to God for putting Cameron in such wonderful, loving hands.

Then came the big moment! The moment that we had been waiting for more than 14 years, six of which was spent actively pursuing the adoption. The moment that would change our lives forever.

We walked down the little hallway and there he was, sitting with one of the office workers. At first he was a little shy, not knowing who these new people were. He didn’t cry at all, and it took everything I had to keep it together! I didn’t want to cry, because I thought then he would cry. Mary Ann and I both shed a few tears, but held back the sea of emotion that was rolling inside. Within minutes they had given him to Mary Ann and slowly they started leaving the room, one by one. Finally we were alone, just the three of us. Our new family had begun.

Cameron is wonderful and has already changed our lives! We are praising God that He has finally met the desire of our hearts for a family. We left the ICBF office and headed back to the hotel. The first few days are supposed to be quiet times for us and him. Time spent getting to know one another and time for him to begin to trust us as his caregivers.

We got back to the hotel and spent the evening getting to know our little Cameron.

It was a long day and a much longer wait, but with much gratefulness (and a little bit of that daddy pride) I introduce to you, Cameron David Mulvehill…

Day 2 Photos

Day 2 Videos

The drive between the Cali Airport and the city.

Our ride home from the ICBF office right after we got Cameron. He is enjoying his first Cheerios with us.

Our first night together. We gave him some animal crackers and he showed us his little happy food dance. He isn’t sure what to think about us yet, but he loves those crackers.

The video is a little dark, but this was an important boding time our first night. We sat out on the balcony of our room and held him. It is especially  important to have lots of physical contact the first couple of days.

Well, we arrived in Colombia last night and things were pretty intense for a little bit. Everything went very smoothly as we departed the airport. We had no trouble getting through immigration and the customs officer took one look at the stroller we were holding and waved us through customs. Once through customs we were told to look for the currency exchange window to exchange a few dollars into Colombian Pesos. That was easily done and we headed out of the airport. It was an amazingly easy process.

Once outside the airport, things got a little more interesting. We thought that we were going to be met by an English speaking driver, but as it turns out, he didn’t speak any English at all. He was, however, a good driver (you have to be in order to drive in Colombia…it is amazing)!

After driving for what seemed like forever, we finally arrived at our apartment building which our lawyer in Bogota had arranged for us. Our lawyer, Mr. Torrado and his family met us in the lobby of a very nice apartment complex. Mr. Torrado’s son and daughter-in-law spoke very good English and got us settled in.

After a long night’s sleep we got up and got ready to meet Johanna, another lawyer from Mr. Torrado’s office. Johanna is a very sweet lady who is handling our case. She and an interrupter came to the apartment on Monday and went over the process covering the next several weeks. We exchanged some paperwork and they left us to spend the rest of our a day Bogota.

We ventured out of the apartment to a nearby grocery store to get some dinner. We were a little to scared to tackle a restaurant just yet. We wondered into a large store that, for the most part, looked like any store in Savannah. Just everything looked to be much more expensive. The Colombian peso exchanges for the US dollar at 1850 to 1. So looking at a loaf of bread that cost $5,500 makes you a little nervous!

So, $26,400 pesos later, we walked back to the apartment with some spaghetti, sauce, Cokes, water, and some Mister Chips. We enjoyed some spaghetti and flat steaks that had been left in the freezer that Mr. Torrado wanted us to have. Little bit of a strange meal, but it was very good. Mary Ann always cooks good suppers.

We finished the day trying to watch some American TV on the Internet, but that didn’t happen. For the record, all of the mainstream sites that allow you to stream video don’t work outside of the US! Not even a NetFlix account! Oh, well, probably for the best. We did a little reading and then headed to bed for a much needed night’s rest before the big presentation day.

Well, we are packed and ready to go. We will be leaving for the airport around 5:45 AM Sunday morning. Special thanks to my Dad for taking us to the airport and to my brother Dana and the Maners for looking after our house and our dog, Bama. Bama is looking forward to spending some time with her uncle Dana. =)

Thank you so much to everyone who have helped us get to this point. So many people have given to help us financially. We know that many prayers have been offered and continued to be offered up for our trip. We will never be able to thank our employers enough for the flexibility in allowing us to travel to Colombia to get Cameron. There is no way that we could name everyone that has been apart of this process, but we look forward to the day when we will be able to share with Cameron the love of Christ that has be shown for him through all of you.

Many updates to come as we begin our trip!