Day 20: Sentencia!!!

Today was the day! We have SENTENCIA!! Kate is legally our daughter!

The day started with a 5:00 am wake up call for me. Last night was a rough one for Kate. She did not want to sleep in her crib and with her oxygen tubes, I wasn't comfortable having her sleep in the big bed so neither of us got much rest.

At 5:00 am I popped out of bed. I was worried I'd miss the phone call from the front desk asking if our nurse should be let into the building.  At 5:30 the phone rang, our nurse was here. Kate was still fast asleep when I sneaked out the door at 6:00 am to head down to the garage to meet Patricia and Maria Teresa Perez. We were making the 3 hour drive back to La Mesa. The Family Judge had signed off on our adoption paperwork.  All that was left to make it official was for Shane and me to sign the document.

We set off for the long drive through traffic, winding mountain roads and road construction. We arrived to the court house just before 9:00 am. Shane, Nana Bev, the kids and our lawyer were waiting for us outside the building.

Our Anapoima crew had taken a cab from their hotel to save us some time. We were the first adoptive family to arrive so we were the first to see the Judge. Our "interview" consisted of her asking how Kate was doing, lots of conversation back and forth in Spanish, and then her congratulating us our finalizing Kate's adoption. That was it! Then back to the front of the office to sign the document and Kate is officially ours!!

After Sentencia, Maria Teresa walked over to the Registry to see if we could get Kate's updated birth certificate here in La Mesa rather than finding the notary in Bogota.  The rest of us stayed at the court house, patiently waiting to hear the news. 

It turns out the man in charge of processing the changes to the birth certificate wasn't available.  He was in a training to prepare for Colombia's upcoming election and they didn't know when he'd be back. Instead of wasting time in La Mesa, Maria Teresa said we'd drive back to Bogota and stop at the notary where Kate's birth was registered to get her new birth certificate listing us as her parents.

But first, we needed copies of our Sentencia. We walked to the photocopy shop up the street - in Colombia you can find a copy shop on every street corner - they are everywhere!  After making copies of Sentencia, we grabbed coffee and some treats at a nearby coffee shop (the same place where Shane had coffee the day of Rose's Sentencia!) and then we were off to Bogota. Or at least we thought!

As we were driving out of town, Maria Teresa was reviewing our paperwork that she received from the court. In it, they noted we would be getting Kate's birth certificate at the Registry but since we were instead getting it at the Notary, it needed to be changed.  Thankfully we had not gotten back to Bogota before she discovered the issue!  We turned around and after another 30 minutes or so, she appeared with the corrected document. Phew! Adios La Mesa!

The beautiful church in the center of town

We made the long drive back to Bogota and headed straight to the Notary. Their website said they were open from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, but it forgot to mention they are closed 1 1/2 hours for lunch.  We arrived at 1:20 pm and they didn't reopen until 2:00.  By this time, it was well past the lunch hour and the kids (and grown ups!) were getting hungry.  We pulled up to a nearby restaurant that serves rotisserie chicken in nearly any form you want.  It was chicken nuggets for Owen and Rose, a 4 piece chicken meal for Shane and Cole, and chicken and rice for the ladies.  I was skeptical as I'm super picky when it comes to chicken, but it was delicious!

After lunch, Shane and Maria Teresa walked over to the Notary while the rest of us stayed at the restaurant to wait. The Notary was packed full of people when they arrived just 10 minutes after it reopening.  Once it was their turn, the clerk at the Notary said it would take a couple days to process the birth certificate, but Maria Teresa fired back stating it is the law that a birth certificate must be produced within 24 hours. And the end result...it will be ready tomorrow morning at 11:00 am!!  Shane and Maria Teresa will go pick it up tomorrow and we'll have one more item to cross off our list as complete.

We arrived back to our apartment at 3:30 pm. It was so great to have everyone back together under one roof and to see Kate!! 

We celebrated with the kids opening the gifts they were supposed to be given at Kate's Presentation at FANA, but since that didn't happen, Sentencia was the next best thing!

 

Rose wanted to be the one to give Kate her gift. She very proudly presented Kate with her new toys.

Everyone wanted to get their photo taken with Kate - she was the star of the day!

It had been a long day so the girls were off to bed. It wasn't long before they were snoozing away.

Dear Kate - You are legally our baby girl today, but you've been our daughter since the moment we laid our eyes on your photo. Our hearts melted as we gazed upon your sweet face that day. You are an amazing little peanut with such a personality. Your adorable gummy grin brings a smile to our faces. Your giggles have the whole room laughing. You are such a little cuddle bug. We are so very blessed on this day to officially call you our daughter. Welcome to the family, Kate Juliana.  We love you to the moon and back!