In the words of my friend Beth...

SENTENCIA! SENTENCIA! SENTENCIA!



Yesterday, (Tuesday) A. told me to by on stand-by mode to see if I would be signing the Sentencia today. This morning he came by and told me that we were to continue to wait. He then began to help me with some money issues. These Colombian pesos really confuse me!! I'm not used to dealing in the millions!

As we were counting out money for the hotel bill, he got a call that said I would not be able to sign today. Apparently all the parties involved, including the judge, had signed, but I was not allowed to sign because my name had not been entered into the computer.

Yuly wanted to go to the water jets again, so we headed there. We had a nice time and came back to the hotel in time for lunch. Later in the afternoon, the interpreter called and said that his wife wanted to know if we wanted to go to the mall in about an hour. Of course we said yes! We got ready to go, but when A. showed up, he said that there was a change in plans. We were going to the mall still, but first we had to go sign Sentencia!!

So, we headed to the courthouse. The occasion seemed very inauspicious for the life-changing event it actually was! We walked through a crowded government building, met up with the lawyer, went up to a window, signed a document and that was it! We are Yuly's forever family!!

We sat on the steps to grab a snack and I took the picture at the top. That was taken just a few minutes after we became a family!

Then we met up with A's wife and headed to the mall. The girls rode some rides and then we went to Crepes and Waffles. I had heard about Crepes and Waffles ever since I started blog stalking. It was a perfect place to go for a celebration!! It was so awesome!!

Now we are back at the hotel, and although it is dinner time, I think we are still all to stuffed to eat! I should say--stuffed and very happy!

So, the next step...Yuly's birth certificates--her original as well as the corrected one (with her new name) has to be picked up from a place about 3 hours from here. Fortunately, we are able to pay a courier who knows where to go and how to do this. She will do that tomorrow. On Friday, we will go get Yuly's passport. My big girls and parents come into town tomorrow night (Thursday) and so on Monday we will all head to the airport. Of course, they will be returning to Florida as we make a quick stop in Bogota before returning, but it is so exciting to know that we are on the home stretch.

I know I've said it before, but I really mean it...I really appreciate everyone's prayers. I know that God's hand has been in this whole process. God is good--whether the process had happened this quickly or not, but I am so thankful and grateful that He has allowed us to speed through the process. Thank you so much for all of your words of encouragement as we have traveled and adjusted to our daughter. I'm so excited tomorrow to have all FOUR of my girls here with me!!