This morning while I was laying in bed, I over heard Kiefer and Caleb fighting with eachother. (Note that they are twins, same age and same height)
They were going back and forth saying......
No, I'm bigger.
No, I'm bigger
I'm married
No, your not
Yes, when I turned 4 I got married
No, you didn't
Yes, I did
Well, I'm taller
Well, I'm older
No, I'm older.........
This went on for some time. I was laughing and enjoying my little babies, that aren't so little anymore.

Ok, this is such a cute story for me. It puts a grin on my face when I think about it.
Yesturday afternoon I decided to go running. I haven't gone in about 7 weeks, so I thought I would get with it again. I put on my running clothes and headed down the stairs. As I headed down, Marcelo was heading up. Lets just say it was the first time he has seen my legs. (They don't really wear shorts where he grew up, especially the hermanas:) ) He started rumbing my legs with this stare in his eyes. He then went to Bryanna half laughing telling her I have shorts on. BUT, then I got on the tredmill. He stared at me for some time. I imagine he was thinking, what is she doing, how does that work(she is running in place on this machine with this thing that keeps moving), why in the world would she want to run in place, that is just odd.
I kept laughing to myself as I watched him looking in amazement. I have to be honest I ask myself those same questions sometimes.
Walking and excercise is a way of life there. You walk to where you want to go or take a taxi(if you can afford it or find one empty) I didn't see anyone "run" down there until the last couple of days. They looked like visitors.
Speaking of visitors. The last week Rich and I saw a couple walking down the street. My first thought was, "Oh, they surely aren't from here, they kinda stand out." I had to laugh at myself when I realized what I thought and said to Rich. After being there for some time. I felt much apart of the city and the people. I forgot that when people looked at me they were thinking the same thing about us, "they sure aren't from around here." I guess all things are in a matter of perspective :).

Home Life

We're back into the groove now! I worked my first full day and Marcelo and the family had a really good day. It snowed a little last night so he got to go outside and play and have another one of his "firsts". I'll share a few of those in this post as well. I wanted to share what our lawyer told us about the last 2 days in Ecuador. Everywhere she went people said what we were doing was impossible yet here we are. We told how we had the crazy day of traveling to get his identification card. What she told us of her day is that as she hurried to the airport and arrived there they told her boarding was closed. She showed her ticket and said the plane wasn't even there yet. It just so happened that thick clouds covered the little town Catamayo where the airport was and delayed the plane just enough that they let her on. She then went to Quito to work on our papers. She first went to get some papers signed. The lady asked if everything was legal because no one ever comes with the papers dated the same date. She showed them her plane ticket and everything and they were surprised. They then told her that the Lady who normally signs those was out on sick leave and the other person with authority had resigned the day before. There was no one with the authority in the country to sign the paper. They said we'd have to wait until Jan. 4th, 2010 and someone was appointed. Our little hero lawyer then asked what she needed to do. They said they couldn't do anything. She asked again. They told her the steps that had to happen to get all this done. She then took all the legal paperwork from person to person getting signatures and approvals until someone who had never done this was appointed. This new person then procedes to ask her questions about us she doesn't know like where we were born, birthdates, etc... She tries to call me but I don't hear the phone. Finally this person says she has one more minute, I answer the phone and she asks me to text her the info. I had no idea the hurry she was in. It took me a while because of the cheap little phone I had. She called in the middle asking why I hadn't sent it, I told her it would be there. I find out later the person left, she ran down the stairs, blocked the doorway with her little body, and told them to wait, the info was coming. The paper got signed.

The next day another paper had to be signed. The only man to sign that was away on religious holiday praying. She had to get a flight this same morning (the 23rd) to make it to Guayaquil to work on the Visa. They said she'd have to wait again. Someone contacted him, she said he told her, " a child is even more important than this", left where he was at, and came and signed the paper. She then couldn't find a ticket to Guayaquil because of the holidays. She spoke to a friend in the government who got her on the plane because of "special government" business. Off she went. This is the day we had to wait until noon for the passport. Which we did get around noon. We ate and were back at the house when she called and needed the scanned copy of the passport. That story is recorded as well. It was needed come to find out for the US doctor to sign the necessary paperwork for the Visa. With this copy they started the paperwork for us to just go, show the original on the 24th and get the final paperwork at the US consulate. We made it to Guayaquil as you know. Ran around all morning and finally caught our planes. Due to many days of looking at different return options I can say I felt inspired as to what planes to book and the times of them. It was really the ONLY option to get home that night.

So many miracles over the past month. It's hard to describe how our faith in the Lord and his miracles has increased. I guess some could look at it and just say we were lucky or we had a hard working lawyer. But we know that through the prayers, fasting, and faith of us, our family, and hundreds of friends, and maybe even some people we don't even know that God heard those and answered them. We can never doubt this.

Marcelo has enjoyed a lot of firsts. His first plane ride, his first water fountain in the airport. He sucked on the fountain itself, I had to show him how to sip from the top of the stream, very cute. His first bathrooms with the automatic water on, handdryer, and flushers. His first home with a family in it. First older brother to share of room with. Him and Trey just layed there looking at eachother with the blankets up to their noses and a slight grin on their faces that first night. His first snow and really cold weather. His first bike, riding it outside, 39 degrees, with a cold drizzle on Christmas morning, he knows only one speed and that is FAST!

I'm sure Jill has some more firsts and I'll let her add those as they come. Thank you everyone again for all the help, prayers, and faith. It's so good to be home yet we miss a lot of our Ecuador experience. It seems as if it passed like a dream and here we are. What a blessing to know that God lives and loves his children. He is there always waiting for us if we will but come close to him and ask. May God bless you all.

Just wanted to let everyone know we got his Visa yesterday by 10:30 a.m. I ended up doing a bunch of research on flights and bought 2 seperate tickets. One to Miami, and then Miami to Cincinnati. Couldn't find anything to Louisville. But the goal was to get home before Christmas morning. We even had enough time to stop by the Guayaquil Temple before catching our flight. It was a pretty crazy day. A lot of questions and stops to check passports when you're taking an Ecuadorian child into the states. After leaving and hour and a half late, going through immigration, customs, rechecking our bags (running through the Miami Airport), going through security again. We made it to Cincinnati at 11:55 p.m. My wonderful father picked us up and we were home at 1:30 a.m. When we went to look at all the kids they all woke up so we had a great reunion in the middle of the night. All the kids then slept well. We stayed up til 4 a.m. prepping for Christmas and before 8 this morning we were up. It has been wonderful to finally be together as a family after a year of working and expectations. The kids have all gotten along great and he loves being with Bryanna who just dotes all over him. So many miracles have happened along the way. I will share some in another post just to show how each day of impossibilities turned into sufficient each day to get us where we need to be to get to the next step. What we were told would be 6-8 weeks ended this morning at day 3 weeks, 6 days. We have seen the hand of the Lord in each step. Thank you all for the prayers and faith. It would not happened without it. Merry Christmas to everyone. What a great day to join together with all Christian faiths everywhere to recognize and celebrate the birth of our Lord, the King of Kings, Jesus Christ. We have felt the true spirit of Christmas this season more than any other. Thanks to all who followed this journey with us.

Rich and Jill

So, I'm writing yesturdays update today. I couldn't keep my eyes open last night to write.
Yesturday, at noon, we got Marcelo's passport. It felt so good to finally get it. I say finally, but when I think we got his passport in one day it is amazing seeing we waited 6-8 weeks to get ours.
We went back to the hotel to say our goodbyes to some of the people who have been so wonderful to us. We also had a huge lunch there, since we didn't know when we would get to eat again.
When we thought that we would have to walk the couple of miles home,( because there were so many people out and about, and taxis were full and not going into the center of the city) we saw a truck from the airport sitting at the corner. Rich went to ask him if he could take us to the airport at 3:30. He ended up taking us to the house and picking us up. How wonderful.
In the meantime, Rich had to find a scanner and email a copy of Marcelo's passport to our lawyer. This isn't easy to do. Not alot of people have a scanner. He finally called our realitor and it all worked out with in 15 minutes of having to leave for the airport. Marcelo and I chilled at home while he was out. We went on to Lds.org and watched one of the little videos on Christmas and then we found where you can listen to the hymes. So we listened to some of the Christmas songs. He loved it and it relaxed him so much he fell a sleep.
As we were about to walk out the door to leave for the airport, I looked around the house. This place has been our home for the last month. In just a short moment of time so much as happened. We are leaving Marcelo's home town. I have grown to love so many things about this place. I love the warm greetings and the warm good-byes, the mountains, walking to places, so many people who have made our stay so nice and have helped in so many ways. A flood of emotions hit that I didn't expect. This whole experience has been such a growth for us all.
Before we knew it we were sitting at this very small airport waiting for our plane to get there. The plane was late. When Marcelo's eyes first saw his first plane his eyes just about popped out. It was so fun to watch. He had his first experience on a plane. I love the firsts of things. He did great.
Our hotel in Guayaquil is so nice. It is the first time we have had airconditioning in a month. Our queen bed isn't a true queen, but it is longer than the beds we have been sleeping in. AND, it is SOFT. Oh, the pleasures of life. This is the first time Marcelo has slept in air conditioning.
WELL, THE GREAT NEWS IS WE BOUGHT OUR TICKETS LAST NIGHT. WE ARE HEADING HOME AND WILL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It is hard to believe we are at this point. Our lawyer was in Quito trying to get this certain paper done. The lady she was to work with was sick the other lady was out of town. Everyone she talked to said it ws impossible to get it all done before Christmas. But, she called yesturday morning with the paper in her hand. We told her we had many people praying for us. She told us that as she worked she could feel those prayers.
Thankyou you all so much for your prayers. They have been felt and it has allowed the impossible to be possible.
Today, we still need to get his visa done and some other things, but we are here. I can't believe it. I'm so excited to get home and be with all my other children. They have been so great through this whole thing. So strong!!! I appreciate everyone's help, love , and prayers. You have allowed this Christmas Miracle to be that much sweeter. I may never know all the people or all the things that took place during this adventure to help us. BUT, my heart will always be full of love and gratitude. Thank you and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Crazy day 1 is now behind us. We woke up this morning and had to be at the "Registro Civil" at 8am. We met our two lawyers there. We ran around to different parts of the building for the first hour first getting Marcelo's birth certificate canceled, then a new one made with his new last name "NEAL". It took a lot of begging by our lawyers each step. Our main lawyer Ximena had a flight at 10am booked to Quito to begin the other parts of the process there but she needed to have certain information with her to do that. She didn't leave for the airport until 9:25 and the airport is 35 minutes away. When my phone rang with her number at 10:10 I prayed it wasn't to tell us she missed the flight, but instead she said how she was on the plane. If she hadn't made it there is no way we could be done by Christmas. In the meantime we finished all the paperwork there to find out they weren't doing new "cedulas" (identification cards) in our town all this week. We have to have that, to get his passport, to be able to fly home. The person in charge was out in the small towns to make identification cards for them. With a little talking and a very softened heart the main guy here in Loja told us we could go there and get it (45 min. drive to Vilcabamba). He was heading there, so he gave us a ride in the government issued truck, we pulled up with him where they were doing it, and we had his card within 40 min. Truly a miracle. We then rode the long, twisting, mountain roads back to Loja to go apply for his passport. The normally stop taking the applications at 12 noon. Thus the rush. We got there at 11:40. We finished all the application but had to go to the bank to make an official deposit and bring the receipts back before they could send the application to another town for the next day passport. We got to the bank and there was a line of at least 60-80 people. Somehow our lawyer went talking to people and got 3rd in line and we were out in 10 minutes. They got the application off at 12:15. Unfortunatly the town where they send the application electronically has its lights go out from 12-2, so they didn't get it until after that. They said it could be Thurs. before we get the passport which we told them was not possible because I have tickets to fly to Guayaquil Wed. evening. They said they'd make some calls. Please add prayers that we'll get the passport tomorrow and that our lawyer in Quito will accomplish everything that needs to be done so we can get our Visa Thursday morning, and we can get our behinds home. The rest of the day was pretty relaxed, drizzling a little. We went to the park and Jill was feeling a little under the weather also. We have seen the Lords hand continue to work with us and have faith that if we keep moving forward we'll see the blessings in front of us. We have started packing our bags. Hard to believe we are gettting this close. Love and appreciate you all.
Rich

We sit here at 9pm. The electricity just went out which is weird. It normally only goes out between 4 and 6:30. Luckily we have a little juice left in the computer. It's been a pretty low key day. Tomorrow we get crazy trying to finish up the last bit of paperwork here in Loja. We went to the travel agency and reserved tickets to Guayaquil. We can't buy them yet because tomorrow we hope to have to get Marcelo's identification card with his new last name on it which is necessary to buy plane tickets. So here's what has to happen in the next 60 hours. We work here in Loja to get Marcelo's birth certificate cancelled with his old names, new one made, identification card made, and passport ready to go. In the meantime our lawyer her will be flying to Quito to meet with the main adoption people in the country to get a specific paper needed for his Visa. When all that is done we all fly to Guayaquil and meet our lawyer there, we then will go to the US Consulate and hope to obtain a Visa for Marcelo within a few hours time. Once all that happens we then will need to find last minute plane tickets to the USA hopefully on Christmas Eve in time to have Christmas with the whole family. Keep praying. We know all things are possible if it's the Lord's will. We feel like we've done all that we can now and we are letting it go and putting it into His hands. While Jill and Marcelo went to the park I went to get cash out of th e ATM. It took 5 different ATM's until I could get enough out. They aren't real reliable here. There's no guarantee they'll have enough money in them. After all that this morning we couldn't find a taxi home, everyone was full. I think a lot of people are in town for the holidays. So we walked the couple miles back to the house and relaxed.We also said goodbye to Rosa who has cleaned the house and done some laundry a couple times a week for us. I swear we are both standing at the same level in the picture. I felt a little under the weather and Jill as always took great care of me. She even made the herbal tea drink here that's called Horchata. It's very healing is what we hear. I do feel better now I must admit. Marcelo has seemed today to understand more fully that we're leaving and that yesterday was his last time seeing his friends for a while. He's had a couple sad moments but he's done well. He even seemed to be closer to us, in a more family way if that makes sense. He was really cute today washing the dinner dishes. He had on the gloves and my head flashlight (because the lights were out and we use it when it's darker in the house). It was really cute. It's been hard hearing all the kids at home have been sick with the flu. We are eternally grateful for all those who have helped with our kids at home. We know that we'll probably never know everyone who has helped us in so many ways and we wish we could thank everyone in person. We really feel blessed to have such great family, friends, and employees who have done and sacrificed for us. Thank you forever. We love you all and hope to see you soon.

Rich

Today has been one special sunday for us. We got to go to church and witness another Primary program. Marcelo loves hearing all the primary songs. It is so nice to go and be strengthened. We then went home and had a first discussion with the missionaries and our friend, Jimmy. It is very interesting how Jimmy and us crossed paths. We had a bunch of electrical issues and he was the one who came to fix them. The next night we had more problems and he returned that night at like 9pm and worked until it was all fixed right. Rich shared with him today that we both felt very strong that we needed to invite him to come to our home for a discussion or go to church with us. The light of Christ shined through his eyes. What a good guy. He then told us that he had missionaries come to him months ago and he has read much of the Book of Mormon and Bible and he has been praying for some kind of sign or answer to know if he needed to move forward. He said he thought that we were that answer by talking to him and inviting him over with the missionaries. We ended our meeting with him saying the sweetest prayer on behalf of Marcelo. It was so tender for Marcelo for his life. I only caught bits of pieces of the whole conversation, but the spirit was so strong. (the two pictures are of us with Jimmy and the missionaries, Rich is realizing he doesn't look as young as the missionaries anymore.)We then went to the "Hogar" where Marcelo has lived. I got to see him in a whole new light. He was much more confident this time and I saw what a good helper he was. He really enjoyed seeing his friends and playing with him. We had a nice lunch with the hermanas. They showed us the beds with the blankets that Bryanna made for the kids. She made 13 blankets for them. The kids loved them. The most heart felt thing about today are stories that were told us about the kids. It will bring anyone to tears. The boy I'm holding in the one picture is the one that broke my heart the most. He has been there for two days. His mother left him with some guy who didn't feed him and abused him pretty bad. He is 2 1/2 years old and he is the size of a 1 year old. He can't walk, talk, or crawl. I know with a loving family and good care he would be a totally different child. I think I would have brought him home if I could. Makes me very thankful for the life and even the trials that I have. Kinda puts things into perspective. Last of all, we had our "good-bye" party (called a despedida) for Marcelo. We had cake and Marcelo handed out cake to all the kids. They had children's songs playing..it was a good fiesta. Then it was time to say goodbye. I don't have words to express how I felt. To see the hermanas, who have loved and cared for Marcelo and know him better than I do, have to say good bye to him. How does one express graditude to someone for being that "mother figure" for your child for his early years. It was a very tender moment, one I will forever hold close to my heart. Two of the hermanas drove us home to help with the transition. It helped for a while. Marcelo still grieves for his past life. I don't blame him. This is hard stuff. I'm full of emotion. I can't imagine all the stuff going through him. We told him today that he has so much family back at home and they all love him and are excited for him to come. We have been working on this, hoping it helps him. He gets really excited then the next moment he is a bit scared. I'm so excited for him. He has no full understanding of what awaits him. He is going to love it and he is going to be so happy with all his brothers and sisters. We feel so blessed, today. We feel the hand of the Lord in our lives blessing us, shaping us into what he wants us to be, and guiding us. It is a wonderful feeling, today.

jill and rich

Today was another low key day. I think we are gearing up for a wild time on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Rich and Marcelo played serious hide and seek and they took a bunch of pictures of our house we have been renting. The one is a picture of his room he sleeps in and the other of him is the back where the laundry is washed and then hung to dry.

I got to fix a nice dinner, American style. I have to say with my limited resources it was pretty good. It is so fun to watch Marcelo eat. He loves to eat and when he is done he claims it by saying, "ya". I'm sure our other kids are going to get a kick out of it.

We went to the District Christmas special tonight. Rich was in the choir. You can see that he is much taller than everyone else. The funny thing is, so am I. It is the first. The picture of the older lady...well, I just had to get a picture of her. She is such a sweet lady and what a character (in a good way) She has been in the church a very long time. Probably, when there weren't too many around. Then the picture of the couple...they are the missionary couple. She put this whole program together. Before her, there wasn't ever a choir. She did an amazing job with them.

The spirit was so strong and sweet. It is just what I needed. I felt my heart soften and the love in my heart grow during this program. I have to say, it is the first program in the chapel that I saw tons of people taking pictures and then asked to give an aplause. It was a great experience and a great turn out. Bro. Harrison said that since they have been there that it was the second largest turn out since they have been here. The other was a General Conf.

When the night was done, Marcelo exclaimed that he wanted to go back tomorrow to sing songs. He really enjoys going to church. He also loves watching all the kids. He misses being around other kids. He will very shortly be able to be a kid with kids very soon. I think it will be so good for him.

I have felt your prayers and I really appreciate them. It is making a big difference. love you all

jill

So today we pretty much chillaxed at home. It rained so Marcelo stayed home all day. He had a few moments of cabin fever but did pretty well. He and I played hide and seek for a while which was fun, Jill helped him hide and gave hints of where I was. It was really fun. I went out for a couple hours to go grocery shopping. We have found those are good moments for Jill to have the one on one she needs with him. I pretty much hung out at a bunch of stores to kill time, there is one American fast food restaurant by the grocery, it's the only one in Loja, ...that's right baby, Kentucky Fried Chicken. That and Daniel Boone are the only things people have to relate to when we tell them we're from Kentucky. I came home and all was well. He and Jill had gone through the pictures of the family on the computer and Marcelo was really excited about the Christmas tree from last year, Kiefer and Caleb's birthday with the cake and candles, the kids going to school, and the summer pictures of the pool. So much fun ahead for him. Jill went out in the afternoon for a little alone time. Yesterday and today are the first times she's walked out alone (don't worry Mom's, it's close to the house and very safe). She really enjoyed being alone for a while. So here's a fun story from a couple of days ago. Marcelo is loosing teeth at a very quick rate. He's only 5 and has lost 6 teeth, usually an 8 year old has lost that many. One of his front teeth was super loose, and having the dental itch going I kept trying to get him to let me pull it out, but he'd never stay still. It was hanging sideways at this point. He gets up in the morning, takes his bath, Jill is brushing his teeth, and out it pops! After all my hard work. Oh, well. It was a fun experience for them. He came running into the room and said, " Mom took out my tooth." So he now walks around with no front teeth. I guess we need to teach him, "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth." We are just waiting now until Tuesday when the work can begin to get us moving. There is alot that has to happen between then and Christmas Eve. Appreciate and love you all.

Rich

It's been a good day. Much more relaxing considering we didn't have to show up for any court appointments. We found out early this morning that many prayers have been answered. The judges heart was softened and signed the "sentencia" as of last night. That means what we thought was going to happen today or Friday was done as of Wednesday. That puts us a couple days ahead of time. With that news there is now a slight possibility if all things continue to go smoothly we can all come home together on either Christmas Eve or Christmas day. We are very excited at this possibility and recognize the hand of the Lord in this whole process. Keep the prayers going. We are so grateful for all of them. The only thing I had to do today was get some paperwork notarized, it was a much longer and intensive process than at home. Jill and Marcelo went to the park and fed the pigeons. He really loves that. Marcelo is starting to understand the that things are going on. We where talking about going on a plane and he said he didn't want to, I asked him if it was because he was afraid, he said "yea". He said he'd go if we sat by him and held his hand. He already has a connection to Trey and if we talk about going home he always asks if it's where Trey is. He also keeps asking if "Papa Noel" (Santa Clause) has come to the house yet. He really wants a bike for Christmas. As Jill and Marcelo where walking to the park he kept whispering to himself "Marcelo Francisco Neal Neal" in his cute latin accent. He's heard the lawyers talking about his name change a lot and obviously is working it all out in his head. Hard to imagine what the little fellow is going through trying to figure it all out. He is quite the cutie.

Hoping we'll be back to the comforts of our own home soon. The light at the end of the tunnel has begun to shine. We have felt so blessed. Love you all. Hope you enjoy the pictures that we are now able to post.

Rich

We can now post pictures of Marcelo. I'll let Rich do the updates today, but I wanted to share our little Marcelo with you. He doen't like having his picture takin too much. I hope you enjoy.....

I know I up dated the blog just a couple of hours ago. But, I just wanted to say that I got to talk to my kids tonight. They were all happy and it was so good. My spirits are so high and I have the feeling of hope again.
We even received a email with a picture of a great friend in front of our Christmas tree. It was too funny. I have missed having a Christmas tree this year. Words can't express how good it was to see MY (our families) Christmas tree.
Just wanted everyone to know I'm happy. Even with all the struggles..I'm happy. I couldn't say that yesterday or maybe even this morning. It is amazing how God and through the atonement how even through craziness one can still feel hope, love, and happiness. Live is Good....REAL GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Merry Christmas!!!!!!
Jill

Well, it is official. We are now parents of Marcelo. The judge was nice when we went in and I have to say I'm sorry I said she had huge claws....she doesn't.
Yesturday, was a very high emotional day for us all. Marcelo hears things that go on and I think it makes him nervous and a bit scared. I'm sure he can feel of the high emotions and stress we have too. By the time last night came...lets just say the emotions had to release. This whole journey has been so hard. I have a friend that went through this not so long ago. I keep thinking of her strength and it helps me so much. I don't know how she did it and so much on her own. Of course, we are never alone, but still....
Marcelo, the past few days, has been better about his testing us. When he tests us.. it isn't like my other kids it is harder and much more difficult. Sometimes reading these books gets us so nervous about how we are handling things. He can be so sweet one second and the next he is testing us hard and the next he is so nice. It at times feels like whiplash and sometimes it is hard to have Christ like feelings :). BUT, we are all working at learning about eachother and like any family we love eachother even when we aren't liking eachother...Does that make sense?
Well, today we found a market that was crazy busy. We found New Moon in english. We will see the quality of it. :) After we walked around a bit, we were tired and went home to rest. We then went to the park. We fed the geese and did the padel boats again. He really likes that. We always get popcorn ($.30) and icecream($.60). who can turn that down when it is so cheap. It was a very fun day for us all.
I have felt a bit more strength, today. I can feel the prayers and of the blessings of the fasting from my family. We are making arrangements and planning things out for Rich to get home for Christmas. We skyped them yesturday. They are doing well, but my heart broke. I miss them and I could see in there eyes that they are running thin. They need at least one parent home.
Our sweet children decided not to have "Christmas" until we are all home together. It is a huge sacrafice on their part. My children are so kind and loving. My heart just goes out to them. I am so grateful for my many blessings. I love you all and I thankyou for your prayers.
jill

Well here's the update. We finally went to meet and do signatures tonight at 4:30. It took all of 2 minutes to do. They ended up having to have someone read over all our paperwork and sign each piece and confirm it was translated correctly. Then the judge looked over everything and had them remove a coma that she didn't like the placement of. It was all pretty crazy. We meet with her tomorrow at 9a.m. It looks as if with these couple days of setback coming home before Christmas won't happen, but before New Years most likely. Still a lot of steps and traveling to go.
Our electrician came to the house and got the electricity fixed. It was interesting that finally yesterday we found out there is a hot water heater in the house, there was just no gas, so we do have hot water. I spoke with the electrician quite a while, and we spoke about the gospel and the church. I invited him and he accepted to take a discussion at our house on Sunday morning. Interesting the way things happen. I did go practice with the District choir and will be singing with them in their Christmas program on Saturday. There is a lot good going on. Just figuring out all the details. Thanks for the love and prayers. Things could have gone a lot slower today and because of the set backs here, our lawyer thinks they will move things quicker in the capital city because of it. Could be a blessing in surprise. Love ya.

Rich

Quick one for you to update. We went to the Judges office, still could only see the secretary. She says now they want all the documents translated (which they already are), by an approved translator. Our lawyer said she's never seen this in 11 years. She left immediatly to go to find someone who can certify the translation. If they have to translate again it will be at least another week. Are you kidding me? And they've had the documents for a week and now tell us this. We are moving along, still praying, and appreciate all the prayers. We'll give the next play by play as soon as we know something. Love and hugs!
Rich

Just to give a little update...We went to the lawyers office and they said that the judge's office door is shut and when it is shut NO ONE goes in or else. So, we walked over and our little brave lawyer ( I just love her) went in her office and pleaded for us. The Judge said there were 4 youth that got arrested and she is dealing with that for us to come back tomorrow.(stinkin youth, as my father in law would say) So we will have our signiture and court day tomorrow. Hopefully, the Judge will not put us off again. Our lawyer said if everything goes good and very fast we all might be on a plane on the 24th..
I'm fasting and praying so hard that miracles will happen and hearts to be softened and that people will work very fast....So, we can wake up with our whole family on Christmas.
I don't even want to think about trying to get tickets at the last minute on Christmas Eve.
I know God's hands are in our lives and I'm letting go and letting him to his "magic" :)
ON another note....Rich and I have been reading our book about bonding and the care of an adopted child. We are learning alot and realize some of the behavor of Marcelo isn't all what we might think...even like going to bed so good (which isn't so good anymore). The guessing comes into play because we don't know his past. I love the gift of the Holy Ghost and how it is guiding us. It is interesting how we are learning about Marcelo, but at the same time learning so much about ourselves. Sometimes that is nice, sometimes not so nice :)
Please pray for us......

Saturday and Sunday's post

Saturday, after heating the water by boiling it and showering, I was able to talk to Jayme before she got married. It was so good to hear her voice and tell her I love her. After that, we went to the park. It is a big park with a lake. We did the paddle boat and went around the island in the middle, which has animals living on it. It was a fun day at the park. We were able to buy some nice things from Ecuador. Rich is very excited about his hammock he got for $18.
My spirits were higher this day and it was good to get out and walk and play.
Rich started getting sick. He had a dream that said he had strep throat...In fact he does. Lucky, he brought medicine down and started on it right away.
Early evening I had a half hour of the blues and I said a prayer and then I said to myself that I wished there was a Baptism I could go to. Five minutes later the couple here serving there mission called and invited us to a baptism. It was good to go and sing and enjoy Christmas songs too. It lifted all our spirits. Rich crashed when we got home though.
Sunday
We were grateful that there wasn't a band playing outside our house all night long. Instead, there was a party with loud music and laughter that started at 3:00 am till 6:00.
Marcelo is testing the rules and limits. Today I was using english, spanish and sign language to get my point across. I just hope he got the right point. I laugh about that. Who knows what he got out of it. It could be something totally off the wall. Ha Ha
We went to lunch at the Harrison's house(the married missionaries) They are so kind. It was the best meal I have had here. My tummy was very happy. We then went to church.They had their primary program. It being all about families, it was interesting to see the different reactions Marcelo had with different songs. The primary did a great job.
After sacrament meeting, Rich received a blessing. It was nice to have Bro. Harrison and the elders to help with this. I love being able to have these resources.
It is fun seeing the different ways of life and embracing it. We are all God's children and he loves us all. I love seeing it through people's eyes at church in a whole other part of the world.
Thank you everyone that is helping with my family. It gives a whole new meaning to the saying,"You have done it unto me" I love my family and miss them. It gives me great peace that there are so many people loving them. Thankyou!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So Jill sent me out for a while all alone. Walking the city streets. Jill's hand is doing so much better. Thank you all for the prayers and thoughts. I know her last post sounded like it's been a little rough, but she is doing great. She's a real trooper. I think we've both come to realize how much better we do as a couple than if we were alone. I look back on all that has been accomplished in our lives and I know I could never have done any of it without her. Marcelo really is doing well. He had a hard time with me leaving. With Jill not feeling well this week and Marcelo relying on my spanish he has a hard time when I'm not there. That's why I went out alone right now to do some errands. He and his Mom really need some time without me there to build the necessary bonds. He said today a couple times, "I want to go to the house where Trey is." I think he's starting to get it. He prays for all the kids each day and has all their names down with a very cute accent of course. The Ecuadorian people are a very kind and nice people. They have been very kind to us and we have felt very safe the whole time.
By the way, Jill definitly still has it. That girl is fine! And she's all mine! As far as whistling girls go....it's kind of like when you see a monkey at the zoo, you can't help but try to get their attention. I'm kind of this huge strange looking, albino, semihairless monkey. You can't help but get a few whistles that way. Love you all. thanks for all the help. Jayme, we are so happy for you getting married tomorrow, we are so sad also that we won't be there. You're like a daughter to me. Nathan, take care of her. Tons of love.

Rich

ok. So, I decided to put a new front forward. The Lord sure does know how to try us when we decide to do so. Last night, all the outlets upstairs in our house are not working, now. After waking up this morning to some issues with Marcelo we realized since the outlets aren´t working either is the heater that provides hot water for the shower. Poor Marcelo had to take a very cold shower. I boiled water to try to make the water not so cold for a sponge bath for me.. Didn´t work so well. I stuck my head under the fauset to wash my hair. I never have felt my head freeze before. I told this to Rich and he has the same response when I say things like this...TWO YEARS BABY..TWO YEARS. I decide to laugh, because I then realize, OK I don´t have it so bad.
My mother in law sent pictures of my hand to a doctor, so we were able to know what kinda medicine to change to. My hand is still a little swollen on one side. The other has thick chunks of skin coming off with raw skin under it. Rich keeps saying in his funny voice,¨" NO ,I´M NOT AN ANIMAL." He always brings humor to my life. I do feel blessed to have the use of my hand now.
It is different trying to earn trust of a child and trying to always find ways to communicate and bond. It is emtional exhausting at times. When a birth child is upset with their mother, the mother still knows that they are still loved by the child. In this case, if Marcelo doesn´t want to hold my hand or is upset about something and having that language barrier....I´m not sure what he thinks. It is hard and I´m finding strength and sometimes selfesteem from the Lord.
Rich is amazing. He has been so helpful and loving to both Marcelo and me. He is a bit homesick, too. Although, feeling more and more comfortable getting around, he is wanting to visit his old mission ground.
We found out our signiture is on Monday and the lawyer is going to try to get our court day that same day. Our lawyer is trying so hard, I pray her efforts will pay off.
Love you all, Jill

It is 1:00 but it feels much later. I have a couple of thoughts lately I'd like to share.
1. To become a taxi driver I think they have to go on a course and show how many times they can come close to death and not kill everyone in the car.
2. I realized this morning as I was making breakfast, that the trucks that drive around with tanks of gas on the back of them sound like the icecream trucks back home.
3. I'm glad I have a washing machine and dryer at home. Here they have concrete sinks outside to wash everything by hand. We hired a maid to do this for us, since I can not get my hand wet with soap. It makes it so much worse.
4. Walking in the college garden, Rich was a head of me. He passed by a bunch of students. He totally got whistled at by several girls, then they saw me and laughed. My husband still has it in him!!!!!!!!!!!!!! or it is also because he is the only white guy with blue eyes in the city :) I choose to think he still has it.
So, Last night I became very home sick. At night is when it all hits me, maybe it is because of the hardest bed I have ever slept in. Ha!!!! It is good to be in a house for Marcelo, but it is harder for me. It is someone elses house with some of their stuff in it, and a home is where my family should all be together. I was saying my prayer expressing my feelings to Heavenly Father when the words of Pres. Hinckley "forget yourself and get to work" came to my mind. So, I am making this public to give myself strength. I am now going to try harder in learning the language and speaking it to more people. I'm going to try and seek more guidance of how the Lord wants meto be and what I need to learn and do while I am here. Hopefully this helps.
I really do love the experience I am having. I love seeing different parts of the world, for some reason this is harder. I am feeling better with my hand and fever and all.
Marcelo is such a good helper. He wants to wash the dishes, set the table, and clear. He did have some of these jobs at the orphanage. He is always joking around and loves to sweet talk especially when he wants something..like...Mom, please can I have another one, beautiful (he says it in spanish) or "mi amor". Rich and I laugh just laugh. He is too funny and very out going once you have met him twice.
Last night we went to the foodstore and in the middle of shopping the lights went out and we had to leave the store without buying anything. They said to come back in 2 and a half hours and the lights will be back on.
This morning we went to the botanical gardens here. This place was so beautiful to walk around. This is when Rich got whistled at. I have to say it gave us both a good laugh and a huge selfesteem boost for Rich :)
We went to Marcelo's favorite place to eat lunch at the ..El Frogon.
I want to send my best wishes to Jayme as she goes through the temple tonight. I wish I could be there with you. May you feel my love with you tonight.
Jill

I'm writing todays post early because we are leaving our vacation place and I don't know if we will have access to internet today.
We went to the zoo today to find out they decided to close it today. So, we decided to go to town to get icecream, they decided to be closed today, too. So, we walked around town and found some frozen treats. I had the great idea to walk back instead of taking a taxi. I got some great pictures, but it was sooo hot. The sun here is pretty powerful. In fact, I was sitting soaking the sun on my face (knowing soon I'll be going home to no sun and coldness) and a guy told me that the sun is strong and I needed a hat. They are probably thinking that crazy white girl :). We got to our room and I laid down. I still don't feel full of energy yet. It is silly how an infection on a hand can cause so many problems.
We talked to our lawyer today. She has all the paper work done that needs to be done to go to court. She told us we got assigned the toughest judge and the judge right now won't let her talk to her....So, please pray that the judge's heart will be very softened and she will feel the urge to move this forward very fast. We are hoping to have our signiture thing this Friday, but the looks of the judge it might be Mon. :(
Love you all, Jill

I hope you enjoy the pictures we posted today.

Thought we'd try to add some photos of the trip so far.

The place we are staying at I have decided to call it paradise. Everywhere I look is beautiful scenery and the pace here is slow and very laid back. This morning we went on a hike. It was beautiful weather and the mountains are beautiful green. I looked up and in the middle of a steep mountain I saw one cow just eating grass. For some reason I thought it to be humourous. The town part is to be said that it hasn't changed in a 100 years. It is old looking, but that is hard to imagine. On the drive to the hiking place I saw a outhouse with the door open and a toliet sitting in it. I saw several of these. Makes me grateful for my bathroom in my house.
We enjoyed the town and got some good gifts for our kiddos. I felt more of an outsider in this town. Not so many people and there were so many of them sitting or sitting getting drunk. It is more of a hippy place. Latinos and white hippys.
I feel a bit better today. My hand is still swollen on one side and the other feels like my skin is crcking open when I move it..oh yeah it is cracking. I have some pictues I will post.

Marcelo I think is getting it more and more about having parents. He has asked if his friends are getting parents. He has said he doesn't want to come to the house in the picture, which is our home in Kentucky, but then he says," Oh you can play there!" He has said several things that tells us that he is getting there, but still nervous.

Today I had to work hard to bond with him. The last couple of days of not felling well, Rich has been with him a lot. This afternoon he pretty much didn't want anything to do with me. So I locked Rich in the room (to let him nap) and Marcelo and I played with playdough. Then we all had a great dinner. Their chicken down here is so good. The lights went out in the middle of dinner, so it was by candle light. By the time we were done, it was dark, and when it is dark Marcelo is all about going to bed. We have to try hard to keep him up til 7:30. He usually wants to go to bed around 6 or 6:30....then he is dead to the world. What a funny kid.

Thankyou all for your comments. They are very strengthening to us. It is something we look forward to. We love you.

PS: We added some pictures to some of the older posts as well.



Jill