highs and lows

Today it's been exactly one month since we arrived in Peru. Everything is finished for the adoption in Peru; now we're working on stuff to bring our four sweet little immigrants into the U.S. The Consulate is here in the capital city, Lima, so here we are. We expect we'll need another week or so to finish up everything to get passports and visas for the kids, and hopefully we can head home early next week.

Here are a few highs and lows from the past few days...

VACCINATIONS.  :(
We were under the impression that vaccinations were optional, but we were mistaken. Certain vaccines are required for immigrants into the U.S. (of which we have four). The orphanage directors searched their health records and didn't have anything for any of our kids, so unfortunately they each had to get SEVEN shots in the same day... probably shots they've already had but just don't have records for. Poor them!

Joseph is usually fearless, the first one of the kids to jump into something new. But not at the doctor's office...

I've been talking to the kids about collecting some small souvenirs to remember their life in Peru. The day after the vaccines, one of the boys told me he had his souvenir for Lima ... his bloody band-aids which were stuck to the wall in his bedroom. Umm... Life with boys.

THE BEACH! :)
We rented a great apartment a block from the ocean. It's winter here in Lima (low 60s and cloudy/rainy) so no one is swimming... except our boys. Still, it's fun to be able to see the water from our balcony and walk by the water.

HEAD LICE.  :(
During a checkup at the doctor's office we learned that some of our kids had little friends in their hair. But at least the girls had fun washing their hair with the special lice-killing shampoo, which happened to be extra sudsy. 

FAMILY TIME. :)
The kids don't always get along. There is plenty of punching, jabbing, teasing, poking, prodding, whining, complaining, and all the rest. It's bringing back memories of my own childhood with 6 siblings. My older brother would jab me in that hollow part of the upper arm over and over until my arm lost feeling and I barely had sufficient energy to run and tattle on him. Ah, the good ol' days... But the majority of the time they really get along pretty well -- especially Joseph and Ivone. I love watching them together!

A chocolate bar with "The Misti," one of the three volcanoes you can see from Arequipa. It was a gift from a friend of the orphanage, but it turned into a recycled birthday gift from the kids to me. :)

Stephanie, the fashionista. She loves feather earrings!

EXERCISE.  :)
It's been a fun surprise that the boys like exercising. And the other day, David pulled out that magical phrase that works on all boys, young and old" "I'll time ya." For the last three days in a row, we've gone out and timed them running laps -- 100 meters or so on flat ground, then down a steep staircase, across a road another 100 meters and up another steep staircase. They race against their own time and against us. They're pretty fast! Alfredo and David are going head-to-head. I'm hoping they want to do CrossFit with us when we get home.

The sweaty runners after their race.

The other day when we got back from running with the boys, the girls had set the table, made dinner (omelets) and had music playing. They were so happy ... and so was I!