An interesting day!

We had a great day at la casita (the apartment) today. We played and colored and watched tv. Alexandra even helped get lunch together (cooking spaghetti, setting the table). She loves to help with cooking and putting things away. (I am hoping she rubs off on the older kids!) After having such a great day, we decided to venture out without our friend Cami to translate for us. We had been doing so well. We went for a walk with Alexandra holding our hands or us carrying her. We then went to a local department store to buy her some warmer clothes. All went well and she was dancing to all the music, until....Drake brought up a giant stuffed lollypop. When she couldn't have it, we had a minor issue. It quickly passed and she was fine. We bought some new clothes that she helped pick out and we were off. As we were walking home we decided to run into Bembos (the local hamburger chain....I know funny name, I am sure Layne will have more to say about that later!) for a snack. Well the line was long and we had to wait for our food. Meanwhile we had gotten a table upstairs. When Alex realized Papa was downstairs, she went down, then when she realized Mama was upstairs she went up. Back and forth this went, up and down until Papa finally brought our food.

We decided to top off the evening with ice cream from Bembos. Not the same as last night's gelato, but we managed to do just fine. Walking home Becca was elated to find $4 American Eagle t-shirts at a discount market. Alexandra didn't make it home awake and fell asleep on Becca's shoulder as we walked into our apartment. Unfortunately it didn't last, but she is now tucked in asleep. Three successful nights in a row!

daily life in Peru!

Since I had a minute while Alexandra is watching Cars with Luke (she seems more interested in the English version on the little dvd player vs the Spanish version on tv) I thought I would let you know a little bit about what our daily life is like here. You know, now that we are pros since we have been here a whole week! :) Since we are south of the equator the seasons are opposite, so we are heading into winter here. They really don't have fall here, just lots of fog and humidity. Being right on the coast where Miraflores is, it stays pretty foggy all the time. In fact when the sun tried to poke out yesterday, I believe it was only the 2nd time we had seen it! (In Comas where the orphanage was, it was sunny one day. It is away from the coast so it isn't as foggy and cloudy, but it is more polluted.) It is only in the 60's but based on how everyone dresses you would think we were boardering freezing weather. I know it feels cold to the locals, because even Alexandra is asking for a jacket while we are still inside. There is no heat or a/c in most places. I believe only fancy hotels and some businesses. You don't really need it this time of year, but it would be nice to cut through the 90% humidty!

Since it isn't summer here, the kids are still in school. From what we hear, if you can send your kids to private school at all that is what you do. There are state schools, but they aren't very good. Those in school wear uniforms and we have seen many kids in the plaid skirts and knee socks with a sweater. My kids are very glad PCA didn't adopt that uniform. They start school about 8:30 and finish about 2 or 2:30. That is when the big meal occurs, after school in the afternoon. It would be similar to our dinner...sandwiches or a salad wouldn't cut it! Then in the evening they have a small meal. The kids pack bascially a snack for school...fuit, veggies, or bread...and plan on their big meal when they get home.

There are laundramats on every corner, so you can drop your laundry off in the morning and pick it up in the evening and it is clean, dry and folded. The only problem is they use a super high heat drier to dry, so you have to handwash delicates and let them hang dry which takes 3 days! It is nice though, not having to mess with lots of laundry!

Since we are in Miraflores, it is similar to a big city in the states and living downtown. There are taxis everywhere and you walk most anywhere you can. In fact we walk to the grocery ever couple of days for groceries. It is just a grocery store, probably the size of a drug store in the US. I am sure we frustrate people as we stand trying to figure out what we are buying. I will have much more patience in the comissary after this! As I have shared before there is fresh bread every day and they have a counter with prepared foods. This is how we have been eating lunch for a few days, so we don't take Alexandra to a restaurant yet. We will attempt that this week. Milk is sold in paper boxes on the shelves, so it took Drake a week to be convinced it would taste the same. Eggs are sold on the shelves, not in the refrigerator either! We are getting used to it all and Becca has even begun to be willing to eat meat again.

Ok, so I know this isn't as exciting as hearing about the kids, but I wanted to give you all a pictue of it. This is all just in Miraflores which is realtively clean and very safe. There are other areas that don't seem to be the same and aren't near as nice! Unfortunately the orphanage was in one of those places.

Well off to chase Alexandra, she is bored with the movie and is bouncing from one activity to another!

Sightseeing in Lima

Today we took Alexandra out on the town for some sightseeing. We rode a two-level tour bus around the city and learned about the various landmarks of Lima. The second deck of the bus has no roof so it was a great way to see the city. Alexandra probably won't remember too much of it but at least we can tell her about it someday.

After the tour, we walked to the outdoor mall by the coast (Larcomar) for Gellato. Gellato is like ice cream taken to the next level of creamy deliciousness. Cami was with us tonite so she could translate all the flavors. Based on churros and Gellato, I will probably gain several pounds on this trip.

If the tour bus and Gellato were not enough stimulation for Alexandra, we finished up our day on the town with several rounds of skeeball, whack-a-crab, and whack-a-wolf. The last two are minor modifications to the ever-popular whack-a-mole game. I guess the fun of pounding small creatures with a mallet transcends any geographical or cultural lines. We did succeed in earning enough tickets to "win" Alexandra a small coin purse full of hair scrunchees.

I guess it shouldn't be too surprising that Alexandra wasn't ready for bed when we got back to the apartment. She was very excited to put on her "princessa piyamas" but did take a little longer to go to sleep. I got to lay with her tonite while she talked for 20 minutes with the only words I really understood were "mi papa". I said "si" whenever I thought she was asking a question and she eventually fell asleep with her arms around my neck.

Things are going so well that we sometimes worry that we are missing something but we know God has prepared this way and we are just enjoying His blessing. God is truly awesome!

Great Night!

After about 10 minutes of "crying" Alexandra fell asleep in her bed wrapped in my arms. I say "crying", but it was more like a faint attempt at wimpering. ( I have noticed she does this when she wants to be held. My prayer is she will realize she doesn't have to for us to scoop her up and hug her!) I know it was her way of showing she was scared, but she seemed quickly consoled and slept great. She only woke up once and saw me and snuggled up and fell back asleep. It was more than we could have asked for!

We were prepared (on much advice) for her to be very upset all night and it to be a very long night! What can I say? God continues to amaze us! As we got up this morning, she wanted to make sure everyone was here. She is already playing with the boys (its 7am) and has had a heapin helpin of Yogurt!

We will lay low this morning then venture out this afternoon for a bit and do some sightseeing!
It is hard to believe we have been here a week already!

Life in Peru

After much debate and several days viewing on the drive to the orphanage, we determined the costumed individual is a propane tank- not a twinkie or hot dog as was previously guessed.

Alexandra has expressed some concern over my nose and if she would inherit my nose even though she is adopted. She was relieved to find out that the big nose gene cannot be passed through the adoption process.

All is well tonight. Alexandra is excited about her "princessa piyamas" but does not show any interest in going to bed. She isn't smiling because mama keeps talking about going to bed.

Deb got the first attempt at "sapia des dientes" - who wouldn't want to brush with a brand spankin new Winnie-the-Pooh toothbrush?

Tomorrow we will probably venture out into town- hopefully Alexandra will interpret for us.

Alexandra is HOME!!!

Today has probably been the most emotional day yet! We went this morning to the orphanage and signed custody papers that put Alexandra officially in our custody. After we changed her into her new clothes, all the way down to panties and socks, she said goodbye to her friends and the sisters that run the orphanage and we were off. She seemed to understand and it wasn't too emotional for her. Praise God since she had only been there a month, I believe it made it much easier! Even though we were so excited, it was hard watching all the kids that weren't leaving. There are some very sweet ones there that just soak up the love and attention! It is a blessing that those at this orphange are taken such good care of. They have a very clean home, with good food and toys and caregivers. They all seem very happy and laugh and smile a lot! Finally walking out of the gate as a family of 6, just seemed like such a milestone in our lives. It is a new chapter for our family and I am just so excited for all of us. To see God's promise fulfilled is just...well, I just can't put it into words! He is so good!

Alexandra seemed very nervous as we went to the government office to sign the legal paperwork after we left the orphanage. She seemed to get more comfortable as time went on there and she loved coming home to la casita. We stopped on the way home and got roasted chickens with fries and salad and ate lunch in la casita! She continues to amaze us with what a great eater she is!

Becca has already painted her nails and Alexandra has discovered all her toys. She seems a bit hyper today, but that is only to be expected. If only I could speak better spanish to communicate better.

Before Cami our translator/friend left Alexandra showed here where she was sleeping tonight, where her siblings were sleeping tonight and said good bye. She even went and opened the door for Cami. It was so good to see her so comfortable. We'll see if it lasts through the night.

name?

Layne again. Tomorrow Alexandra, Alessandra, Alesandra (not sure yet how we will spell her name) comes to live with us. We are very excited but realize it will be somewhat traumatic for her. Pray for her to know we love her and for her to be at peace. Also pray for all of us as we live in a 500 square foot apartment. Hopefully, many trips to the park and the churro stand will keep us from going crazy.