Ecuador Day 26 Gotcha Day! Part 1

Friday Dec. 30th
Late last night our in country rep, Maria Jose called to see if we had any questions..and to let us know we needed to pay our lawyer $200 for the power of attorney fee..I let her know we had already done the POA and Priscilla didn't want paid for it, but she insisted we still give it to her...so that was very wierd, but we'll do as she has requested.

Zac let me sleep in this morning, so I didn't get up until closer to 8...which was great! We all got up and Zac made pancakes for us while I finished up making sure Zac's bags were plenty full. =) Trying to send as much stuff home with him as I can.

Priscilla called to let us know she had to be at the court house for another case in the morning and gave us the address to have a taxi take us in the morning. She let us know she'd meet us in the front of the court house with the translator. We finished getting ready...I tried on a couple different outfits before I decided on one...
(I thought I would lose weight while here since we are walking so much and eating so much fresh fruits an veggies...but it is very interesting that I have actually put on weight and I think it is 100% related to the fact that I went from not eating gluten to eating a lot of gluten...the bakeries here are amazing! So i'll have some work to do when we get home! LOL)
Adriana wore her Christmas dress and got just as excited to put it on as she did on Christmas..so cute!

We arrived with plenty of time in front of the court house and were standing out front taking pictures and talking with our translator when a man walked up and told us he had a 14 year old son with Down Syndrome! Turns out he is lawyer here in Cuenca and wanted to know why we were adopting a child with Down syndrome and said we were very kind people to do such a thing...it was a very interesting conversation. Adriana had said hi to him as well as calling me mommy and saying agua (water) and the man said his son must have Down syndrome worse because his son is very slow and doesn't talk...I felt sad for him as the education about DS was clearly still years behind what it is in the states and his son as they don't have the early intervention here like we do in the states. I was sad, but was happy that atleast him and his wife chose to keep their son with them at home. I also felt so blessed for what we have in the states and happy that Adriana was going to be able to reach her best potential! Amazing how God puts people in places as just the right time, huh?

We walked up to the same area we were yesterday and went to the judges office...a nice office with large windows and a view of the mountains. The judge was very quiet and did not show a lot of emotion. He welcomed us and asked for our passports again and sat at his computer and typed away. He started with Zac asking him questions of what his motives for adoption were and why he wanted to adopt a child with Down Syndrome. Zac said that he felt that God had called us to adopt after our friend, Tiffanie, visited Adriana's orphanage and we saw her picture and heard about her orphanage. He explained that to us, DS is really nothing, it's just part of who our daughters are and we wouldn't change it. He said that we wanted to expand our family and the timing just seemed right to bring Adriana into the Harlan family. The judge then asked me the same questions...my answers were pretty much the same and I just added that we had been looking at adoption as an option to expand our family but it wasn't until our friend Tiffanie went on the mission trip to work in the orphanages that we knew it was time. We also told the judge that Addie and Adri have been able to talk via Skype on the computer and he seemed happy about that. We also told him that we already have Adriana set up to start Speech, Occupational, and Physical Therapy once we return home and that Addie's preschool has a spot for Adri if we chose to enroll her in preschool this year. The judge was interested in knowing more about the school system and if it was all special needs or what type of school. We explained that she would be with typically developing peers as well as other children with special needs, and he seemed pleased with that.
After he was done questioning us, he let us know that adoption is forever and he wanted to make sure we couldn't return her...he explained that a family had done this a while back and it concerns him now whenever he works with adoption and wanted us to know this...we let him know we were so attached to this little girl and we knew it wasn't always going to be flowers and roses, and there would be hard times, but she was ours forever.
He finished typing up the document and printed it out for us to all sign. He told us that there are no fees for his services, but that we would need to pay our translator $60...we weren't preparred for that, but our translator had been very good and it wasn't like we were going to argue with the judge! He started to loosen up quite a bit and was interacting with Adriana more so that was neat to see. We asked to take pictures and he showed us a painting on his wall...he explained that a student of his with Down Syndrome had painted it...very cool! He then asked us to send him a picture of Adriana and Addie together and that he was happy for Adriana. (Priscila later told us he was on FB and we could find him there) LOL. It took about 45 minutes start to finish.

Ecuador Day 25

Thursday Dec. 29th

We found out last night that our court hearing will be Friday at 11:30. Praise be to God as Zac wll be able to fly home and spend a couple days with Addie before returning to work on Tuesday. John took us out to a nice dinner at this place that brings the meat out on this huge platter....we quickly found out that Adriana loves steak!

Zac is working today while I am getting his bags packed and sending emails to make sure all is ready at home and schedules are set for Addie.

We are waiting to hear from our travel agent on Zac's flight but are planning on him arriving in Chicago Saturday night and driving to my parents to get Addie on Sunday morning...I so wish I was there to see Addie's reaction when she sees him.

John called to see if we wanted to go to lunch (I think he's sad Zac is leaving as well as I know they've enjoyed talking to each other) and we also needed to go to the bank to get some cash out as we were running low..so John took us to the local place that served the traditional soup, rice, and meat dish...however the soup was this fish base with corn, bananas, and pieces of fish...my stomach still turns thinking about it..and the meat dish was something that involved some kind of hot dog...I ended up being not very hungry.

I was also having a hard time with the whole idea of Zac leaving and Zac kept analyzing everything and asking me all these questions about time frames remaining...and the fear, anxiety, and stress of it all was starting to get to me...I feel sorry for John as I was somewhat emotional and ended up having to leave in the middle of lunch to have a time out in the bathroom and just let myself cry for a minute...I know I'll be fine...but it is so easy for the devil to creep in and fill my mind with all sorts of things..so a couple minutes to let myself cry, repeated some scriptures and had a chat with my Heavenly Father and I was good to go..I also felt bad as I know Zac is worrying about Adri and I and I want to show him that I am confident and will be OK...but I guess I failed at doing that at lunch! LOL

Across the street was the Bank Museum that is one of the larget museums here and has all sorts of differnt things to look at as well as the history of the money system here in Ecuador. (they now use the American dollar) It was interesting as there was carpet in the museum and Adriana would run from the carpet to the linolium and back again...she would also reach down and feel the carpet...it was pretty fun to watch. John and Zac enjoyed reading and looking at all the money history and Adriana and I enjoyed running around chasing each other amongst the pillars of coins...we had fun.

We got back to the apartment later than expected and we were able to all take a nap. I had another good cry over Zac leaving and spent some more time filling myself with scripture and the truth. When I woke up from my nap I could tell the Holy Spirit had completely rid those negative thoughts out of my head and I was filled again with the truth that God was carrying us on this part of the journey and Adri and I would be just fine as well as Zac and his flights.

We decided to head out to the pizza place near the Supermaxi for dinner as well as stock up on groceries as Zac wanted to make sure I didn't have to try and haul water and groceries back when it was just Adri and I...have I mentioned by husband is amazing?

We enjoyed just snuggling and hanging out together one last night with the three of us...I made sure all of our clothes and things were ready for the next day as Priscilla was picking us up at 11:00 to go to the court house...

Ecuador Day 24 cont..

Signature verification....complete! This was something both Zac and I were nervous about as Zac's signature is never the same...but it was very easy for us and our judge! We had a very nice traslator who did a very good job for us. The court building is huge and very intimidating! We walked in, met our judge, and sat down...he and his secretary looked at our passports and typed up the document for us to sign to verify signatures. We had to stand and take oathe that this was our sigantures that we use for all things...and we were done! Both Priscila and our translator asked the judge for court tomorow...the judge said he'd have to check his schedule...so we wait and see what he enters into the system. Priscila thought we should know later tonight....wish we had gotten an actual date...but nothing much we can do. We walked outside the court houe and there was a very bright double rainbow! I'm translating it is a signal from God that He's got it all covered...

John called us and invited us to dinner, so we are waiting for him to pick us up...it will be good to get out while we wait to hear something from the judge.

We are still very hopeful that we'll have court tomorrow and Zac can leave tomorrow night. Addie has contantly been asking for mom, dad, and Adri...and has also had runny stools today, so that's great...wondering if she's got an upset stomach over us being gone so long...either way, we need to get Zac home to her! So wish I was there to see her reaction when she sees her daddy!

Ecuador Day 24

Wednesday Dec. 28th

Today we are having a lazy day around the apartment. I have dragged out the suitcases that Zac will return with and started to throw things in them that he'll take home. Zac has maintained a good internet connection, which I think has helped him calm down a bit since he has been able to work all morning.

Priscila is going to be here at 3:00 to take us to the court house. For those that wonder here is what will happen in the coming weeks

Today - Signature recognition will happen today...they have to verify signatures between our passport, our adoption application, and our dossier...and Zac's signature is never really the same..so we are praying they grant us a good verification. We will also find out today when the judge will see us for our "audencia" or court hearing for the adoption...we are praying he will give us a time for tomorrow (Thursday)

Thursday - we pray to have court this day and will also schedule Zac's flight out of Cuenca. He will spend the night in Quito with other friends adopting and then will fly out of Quito on Friday morning arriving in Chicago Friday night.

After court...we have to wait 3-5 days for the judge to write is official report. Once that is ready he will let our lawyer, Priscila know and she will pick it up. Then we have to get the court document notarized. Once we have the court report we take it to get a sedula or Ecuadorian ID for Adriana. With the sedula we can then apply for her birth certificate and passport. Typically, we can do all of this in one day provided there are no hiccups...

Then we take all of the above items and go to see a doctor for a physical for Adriana to show she is in good health to travel to the US. Once we havd the doctors report we fly to Guayaquil or we may drive..Priscila is hopefully going to be coming with us as Guayaquil is a large city with a large amount of crime. Good times.

Once we have the visa and all of the above items, we do an exit interview and wait for approval to leave Ecuador.

Right now Adri and my flight is schedule to leave Cuenca on the 17th and leave Quito to Chicago on the 18th...I am confident we will have all of the above completed in time to travel at our scheduled time if not before...if we are done ahead of time, we will just have to wait and see what the fees and price of airfare would be to bump our flights earlier...

That's about it in a nutshell...so after court...Zac leaves and Adri and I hang out and wait for the report...prayerfully I can keep her entertained as we are running out of ideas..LOL.

For now, it's lunch time then naps, then we head to the court house....prayers appreciated!

Ecuador Day 23

Tuesday Dec. 27th
We got all of Zac's flights cancelled today with a hefty $275 fine...lovely..we do get a credit from the flights, but our travel agent let us know that flights from Dec. 31st to Jan. 14th are extrememly pricey from Ecuador due to everyone traveling after the holiday. Awesome. So we are praying we can get Zac flown home on Dec. 30th to avoid a sky high airfare...praying.

Today we were hoping to hear from our lawyer that it was time to go do signature verification, but it unfortunately didn't happen. Last night our internet here completly went out...so we called our friend John to see if he knew of an internet cafe Zac could go to for work and he suggested we just come over there...and could get laundry done as well.

We headed over to John's house and Zac started working and Adri and I got our two loads of laundry done...and of course watched a Dora while we waited...with Addie it is Little Bear or Backyardigans...with Adri it's Dora or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...so we shall see who wins at home when its time for our shows...typically morning, naps, and bedtime...so I suppose we can trade off between the three times.

We took John to the nice restaurant nearby that we went to a couple weeks ago....$8.75 for the four of us to have a nice Ecuadorian meal. We headed home in time for naps...and we were all needing one as the stress of waitig for the court day was starting to wear on us...and I truly believe that Adri understands that this is not our home...she got so excited to fly I am just sure she knows we have yet to fly to her new home and see her sister. She gets so excited when she sees Addie on Skype...

I have a couple friends on facebook that have adopted in Ecuador and have been encouraging me along the way...to try and not focus on our wait here..and just enjoy our time here....we have been trying to not just sit around and wait...but it is just hard when part of our family isn't here with us...but it is good to have the encouragement that others who have traveled this journey ahead of us.

After naps the internet was still not working the greatest so we decided to head out to the markets and do some sight seeing...it was a successful trip as we were able to get to all the places we wanted to with only maybe three or four wrong turns...LOL...those that know Zac and I well know that we typically don't go anywhere without either our Garmin or the GPS turned on on our phones...so us trying to get around by walking is just comical....well...we laugh now....three weeks ago...not so much. LOL.

At about 5:00 we heard from Priscila! The judge had finally reviewed our files and was ready to see us for signature verification tomorrow (Wednesday) at 4:00. Priscila said she'd pick us up at 3:00 in time to get to the court house and get assigned a translator. Zac and I were so very happy and praising God for an answer to prayer. It really isn't that we are sick of being here..it is simply that we have a daughter at home that needs us and my husband's job can only be patient for so long..Zac needs to get back to work on Monday..well..Tuesday with the holiday..but getting him flown home is a two day process and back to Iowa is another day as he needs to stop in Illinois to get Addie. Praising God and knowing He has it all under control. Definetly a test in our trust...do we not only trust in our Heavenly Father...but do we also trust on Him? I fail often in this area and this journey has helped me to learn how to rely and trust competely On Him...

We had our famous rice, chicken, veggie soup mixture and all went to bed early...