Sentencia...Check

Well, the dreaded judge number five turned out to be not that dreadful. Maria Eugenia came to pick us up at 10am. I think we were running a few minutes late and then traffic was really bad so needless say our 10:30 appointment turned into 10:40. Luz Stella was waiting at the judicial building and calling Maria Eu every few minutes. We got there, had to walk really fast (I don't do that well in heels) to the entrance. The officials check your bags (briefly) and then had to stand in a line to have our id's entered in the computer. Walked fast, again, to meet our attorney, Yolanda, to sign a few papers. Waited for about 30 minutes and the judge requested that we come back at 2pm.

Luz Stella then gave us the option of going back to our hotel to relax or go to the mall. We decided to go to the mall and have lunch. Almost missed lunch, like we missed breakfast because this was a different shopping center. I (Nicole) visited it without Jay and admired a couple pairs of shoes from the window. Well, I had to go back to get a pair. Maybe it was two...or three. Not telling.

Went back to the judge number 5's office. We had to wait again for 30 minutes for her to see us. Now normally I would be irritated that it took so long. I mean an appointment's an appointment, right? But here, we just do what we're told. No reason to get upset over something that is completely out of our control. I know Yolanda and Luz Stella were stressed. I want to make their lives easier by not having to worry about us, too.

Luz Stella told us on the way to the shopping center that the judge wanted to talk with us. She explained the questions that she would probably ask. How do you feel about having a child with a different skin color? How will our family feel? Do we know we can't give her back? Apparently, there have been 5 European families in the past 20 years who have tried to give them back. She may be behind developmentally or have issues regarding her adoption. Things we have already thought about. This judge feels like she needs to reiterate these thoughts she has. In the end, it's her name that signed off on our adoption and she wants to make sure we know the good and bad.

After our judicial appointment (doesn't that sound better?), we went to a bookstore and then headed to get Avi's passport/visa photos. It was a pretty long day.

Today we are meeting with Luz Stella to go over a few things we have left to do. Pablo is driving to El Playon on Monday to update Avi's civil registry. Basically, get us an updated birth certificate with our information. On Tuesday, we will get her Colombian passport and then leave on Wednesday morning sometime to fly to Bogota. From the past fellow Bucaramanga families blogs, we may be home sometime next weekend if all goes well.

This morning we are heading to the movies. Exposing Avi early! Our family made it safely back in the US last night. They are spending the day in LA and will be home this evening. I know this post was more of an "informational" post. Not really us...:)