The End of This Chapter

Today is August 2nd, 2023. 

It has been nine years since I blogged our first trip to Colombia to adopt Eli. 

Yesterday, on August 1st, 2023, we flew to Bogota for a return trip with our now NINE year old son! It was exactly 9 years ago on August 1st that we traversed the same airports for our return trip...Bringing Eli home to meet his new American family. The serendipity of these coinciding dates gave me pause. I've been reflecting and remembering the incredible magic of that first visit here and those first unforgettable moments as a family. And I realized...

I never finished this blog. This chapter of our story was left dangling because our return to the USA was a wonderful whirlwind that completely consumed my time and energy. Introducing Eli to our family and friends, the pediatrician appointments, the return to a "real-life" of bills to pay, groceries to buy, a house to maintain...I always meant to write a final post and never got around to it. 

So, here it is. I'm back at La Fontana in Bogota, staying in an "apartamento" very similar to the one we were in nine years ago, and I'm inspired to use some of the vacation time to finish the telling of this part of our story. I will piece together the missing days from my Facebook posts and iCloud photos during that time. I'm hoping to have a published copy of this blog to give Eli for his 10th birthday this September. So, here we go...

A brief run-down of our last few days in Bogota during the end of July-August 1st, 2014:

July 28th-29th, 2014

After spending a beautiful day with the Cuesta family, it was back to paperwork and appointments! Everything seems to be moving along quite nicely for us. Eli now has a Colombian passport. Isn't he the cutest?!! Still hoping to be back in Buffalo later this week!

July 30th, 2014

Well, we spent the whole day waiting for a phone call that never came. We finished our part of the paperwork yesterday and now all we can do is sit and wait and trust. The US Embassy is experiencing difficulties with their computer system and that's delaying Eli's visa. We can't take him out of Colombia without it, so...maybe tomorrow. We are healthy, safe and together; I can't complain. But, we are so looking forward to bringing our son home to the family and friends who are waiting to meet him!

July 31st, 2014

9am: We just got the call!!! Eli's visa is ready! We go at 11am to pick it up and then we can book our flight. We will be home tomorrow night!!!

1pm: We have our tickets!

Arriving in Buffalo at 11:59 tomorrow evening- just in time to make it for Grandpa's memorial service Saturday morning! God has been good to us. We feel incredibly blessed.

3pm: It is hard to believe it is our last day in Bogotá...Eli and I took a break from packing and walked out to the playground. We both love being outside and are ready to enjoy the rest of Buffalo's summer season. We had such an amazing experience here, but I can't wait to introduce our family and friends to this little guy. He just melts me!

August 1st, 2014

What an epic day! We started our day in Bogota at 5:30am and finally crawled into a bed at my parents' house  in Pennsylvania around 3:30am! We flew out of Bogota to Atlanta, Georgia and had a long layover there that allowed us to get a little rest (somewhat uncomfortably) at the airport and eat a proper dinner at a restaurant in the airport. 

Saying "goodbye" to our Bogota Apartment!

"Resting" at the airport

Eli was such a trooper! He was easy and jovial for the majority of our day and slept through much of the second flight home in my arms. This boy has so much joy in him...His sparkling eyes, infectious laugh and dimpled smiles make everyone around him happy. So many people stopped to interact with him throughout the day and the staff at the restaurant we ate at all wanted to take turns holding him and making him giggle! I just love that he is so comfortable in social situations and seems to genuinely enjoy meeting new people. 

Now that Eli's a US Citizen, there's a whole new set of expectations...We Americans are very serious.

Hangin' with the restaurant staff...

We arrived back in Buffalo, NY around midnight and were greeted by the most wonderful gathering of friends and family. They brought signs, balloons, stuffed animals...It was an emotional homecoming and both Jamie and I cried happy tears as we embraced our people and introduced our son. I'm so grateful for the beautiful pictures my friend and fellow FANA mom, Jill Pogodzinski, took of that night. She truly captured the overwhelming love we felt in coming home with Eli. 

After about a half hour of greetings and hugs, we loaded Eli into his first car seat for the two hour drive to my parents' home in Eldred, PA. He wasn't too sure about the car seat and had a good long cry for the first part of the trip before falling asleep. We finally arrived around 2:45am and found that my sister's family were also camped out at my parents' house eagerly awaiting Eli's arrival. It was so good to see them. Everyone woke up for quick hugs and a peek at our boy and then we finally got to bed around 3:30am, knowing that the next morning was going to be difficult. It would be my grandfather's funeral.

Love and loss, laughter and tears, joy and sorrow...We have certainly been experiencing the fullness of life. I knew Eli would bring some light to my grandmother's darkest day. I was so grateful that I would be able to place him in her arms that next morning. 

Buckled in for the last leg of our journey...

August 2nd, 2014

The morning was full of celebration, love, snuggles and the warmth of family. My parents finally were able to meet and hold their grandson. They immediately embraced him with so much love and enthusiasm and Eli took right away to his "Sissy" (Aunt Kelley), Uncle Ricky, and his cousins Malachi and Lydia. 

The afternoon was much harder...But, as soon as my Grandma saw me she lifted her head, smiled and reached out for her great-grandson. I know she had prayed religiously for so many years that God would give me the gift of motherhood. I will never forget those precious first moments when Eli and his "Yaja" first locked eyes. I knew that we had made it home on that day for that exact moment. I truly believe God had a plan for us and it was bigger than we even realized. 

This chapter ends here. 

With a difficult "goodbye" and a jubilant "hello." 

Our family's story has only just begun and I know we have many journeys ahead.

Some of those journeys will be beautiful and exciting, but I know we will travel long, dark roads, as well. Whatever comes our way...We've made it this far. We are a family. We have each other and so much love...In the end, I will be able to say that I had the opportunity to love more than I knew I was capable of. I had the honor of being a mother.