Happy Birthday Nata!

This beautiful girl turned 8 today. I pray that it is a wonderfully blessed day for her. Please pray for her family as it is a hard day for them as she & her brother Fritzon are not home with them. Please also pray that whatever the hold up is with Nata's paperwork will be resolved today & that their files would go into MOI this week.

ANSWER and UPDATE!!!

The answer to my previous blog post is:
1.) Unfortunately...is totally true!
2.) Is half true...the first part is totally true...the second part is not. Instead of being chased down the mountain by a grizzly bear, Randy had to push me down the mountain as well. When I got to the bottom I thought my legs were going to fall off of my body :o)
3.) Of course is true! I didn't know about the HBWD back then :o)

Now for my wonderful update!
We have MOI numbers! Caleb 8195, Samara 8196, & Shakira 8209 (not sure what that's all about...being 13 off)
And...we are on the 2nd of the 3 desks!!! Praise God!!! I am praying that we will be off the 3rd desk & out of MOI by the time I land in Haiti next week :o)

Two truths & a lie...

A couple of my friends inspired me to do this. I've done this before as ice breakers with the youth group & I think it's fun. I will describe three events. Two are true & one is not. You have to guess which one is made up. Happy guessing!

1. During a Myrtle Beach vacation with my husband & my mom we went to a huge water park. We were in line to go down a very fast water slide. My mom was first, I went second, & Randy was third. My mom went down with no problems at all. I went down & by the time I reached the bottom...where about 100 people were standing...my bikini top went "up" & my bottoms went "down." The 100 people...along with my mom...were laughing hysterically while I was very, very embarrassed! Randy came down a few minutes later & had no idea what had happened.

2. During a vacation to Glacier National State Park, Randy & I went hiking up Mt. Brown. I was very out of shape at the time & I had asked Randy to pick the easiest trail but he picked the hardest trail instead. He had to literally push me all the way up the mountain but I ran all the way down because we were being chased by a very large Grizzly bear!

3. On my wedding night I danced the Gator in my white satin & lace wedding dress.

14 days...

from now I will be loving on all 4 of my children! I can't wait! And I can honestly say for once that I'm even looking forward to the Haiti heat. This ice, snow, & cold is getting really old. I don't know the exact totals but we have had a lot of sleet, snow, & ice since Monday. Although it has stopped now...the danger is not over. Many people are still without power, a lot of roads are not cleared well or at all, & as the ice starts to melt, trees are starting to snap...again. Please pray for our safety as well as the safety of our neighbors & our homes. Thank you!

Pray for Mama Naitile..

Please pray that Kelly's foot is not broken. She was dancing at her church last night (liturgical dance) & she fell on her foot. She thinks it's badly sprained but her doctor says it may be broken so she's on her way to see an orthopedic doctor right now. We leave for Haiti in 16 days...this is lousy timing!!!
Thanks for your prayers!

*** Update as of 2pm today...the x rays do not show any hairline fractures but the doctor suspects there is one but can't see it due to all of the swelling. In the meant time she's being treated for a very bad sprain & will be x rayed again in a week. Please pray that it's a sprain & not broken & that she will recover quickly. Thank you!

"Borrowing"

I know some of you have already seen this from the orphanage blog but it was so adorable I decided to "borrow" it so our family & friends that don't go to that site can see it :o) Toward the end of the video when there is a group of them against the wall, Samara is in the very back & Shakira is in the front...jumping as usual :o)

Phoebe & Jonas...

After Phoebe & I went to the Zoo Friday, we stopped by to see Kristina & Jonas. We also got to see Cathy & Bethany as well.

A day at the Zoo...

Yesterday we were blessed with a spring like day so Phoebe & I went to the zoo. Here are the pictures from our trip.

Lara...

This is a picture of me & my friend Lara. She is a wonderful person. She has a very kind & gentle spirit. She is one of those people that could get a whole room of loud people to be quiet & listen to her by simply talking quietly. I think she has beautiful eyes & a beautiful smile. Please take a moment to pray for her today. Please pray that she will hear good news today about her adoption. She has been waiting a long time to go into MOI...a month & half longer than I had to wait...which seemed like forever.

Where do we go from here?

Now that we are in MOI? For those of you that are unfamiliar with the Haitian adoption process I have listed the steps below that must take place before our children come home. So the question of the day now is "Will you get to bring them home with you in Feb.?" Well, with God...all things are possible but it would definetely have to be God in every single step because Haiti just doesn't move that fast :o) My prayer is still that they will be home before Caleb turns two.

These are steps that are taken once our dossier reaches Haiti...which happened May 2007.

Minister of Foreign Affairs (1st legal)
• Documents notarized and authenticated are now legalized.
DHS
• Submit Orphan First Petition and birth parents interview happens, DNA testing is done if requested by DHS officer.
Justice of the Peace
• Judge issues a formal request for IBESR to exam potential adoptive family as permanent family for child.
IBESR
• Family and child’s dossier are examined. 4 signatures required to exit.
Civil Judge
• Issues official adoption decree.
Parquet
• Social Representative (similar to a prosecutor in a US court), insures that the above departments have done everything legally.
Civil State Officer
• New birth certificate is issued.
Archive• Verifies all signature’s, certificate is issued. (Similar to being notarized)
Minister of Justice
• Above verifications are now legalized (similar to notary being authenticated).
Passport "timber" is purchased & submitted with archives.
Minister of Interior (We are at this step right now)
Insures all of the above documents have not been falsified. Files have to go through 3 different desks.
Political Affairs
Gives final authorization to issue the passport.
• Passport is issued.
DHS
• Take adoption decree to finalize orphan first petition(DHS approval)
Embassy
• Visa appointment scheduled. Visa approval & visas issued.
****We get the call to come and get them**** Do the HBWD & get on an airplane!!!

WE'RE IN!!!

Finallly...after an agonizing wait...we are in MOI!!! Praise God!!! Thank you Jesus!!! I don't have the specifics yet such as numbers or when we went in but was told that we are definetely IN!!! Everybody get up & do the HBWD!!! :o)

20 months...

My "little man" turned 20 months today. Please pray with me that he will be home for his second birthday. He wasn't even born yet when we started the adoption process two years ago in Jan. 07. We love you & miss you Caleb!

Emotions...

The past few weeks I have been contemplating many things but haven't really been able to express them. All last week I was very excited about my good friend Kristina's son Jonas anticipated arrival home. I am always excited when someone's child comes home but I knew this time was going to be different. Different in the sense that his homecoming signified the "second wave" of children coming home from the orphange...a wave that a few of us have been eagerly awaiting as we hope to be a part of it by our children coming home.

I think those of us who are adopting from Haiti have seen by now that there is no rhyme or reason as to how you progress through the process. Although you have some sense of an "order" in your head...it usually gets blown out of the water by something totally ridiculous. The same is true for the timing of when the children come home. Although your file may be ahead of someone else's when you go into MOI, it's quite possible that for whatever reason, they end up passing you somewhere along the way, & their child(ren) come home first. So knowing this, I'm trying not to set myself up for a "fall" because "technically" it looks like my children should be the next ones to come home to our area (after Noah).

So I am guarded but also very hopeful because even if my children don't come home next, I know they will be coming home "soon" (whatever that means :o) As soon as I walked into the airport yesterday I knew I was going to lose it...and I did...big time. Even before the plane landed, I was getting choked up & fighting back tears. After Jonas came through & I had taken some pictures, I just "lost" it. I was flooded with emotions & cried like a baby. Phoebe just looked at me like "Mom, what's wrong with you?" I explained to her that Jonas was the first of several home comings to take place over the next few months & that Shakira, Samara, & Caleb will be a part of that. That after all of our waiting & praying, that they will be coming home in the near future. She looked at me like, "Okay, I got it. Why are you crying now?" That's a good question. I don't really know but I guess it needed to come out. I have a feeling that the day they do come home, I will not be able to talk, I'll be too busy crying...happy tears to replace all the sad, lonely tears that I've cried for them over the past two years :o)

Jonas Homecoming...

I know this is not the best video quality but it'll have to do for now :o)

How many cans???

A little trivia question while we wait for files to move & children to come home :o)
How many cans of TREET (SPAM equivilant) does it take to make a 50 pound supply bag?
Yes, I'm dragging a bunch of TREET with me in February! The person who answers the question correctly will win a...can of TREET :o)

Okay...since there has been so much enthusiasm about the prize...this is what I will do...I'll donate the can of TREET on behalf of the winner, to the orphanage, & I'll give the winner...chocolate. That should inspire some of you chocolate lovers out there to guess :o)

One month

from today...Phoebe & I will be on a plane(3 to be exact :o)flying to Haiti!!! Please continue to pray for our trip. Please pray that God will prepare our hearts for this trip & that it will go really well, not just for us but for the entire team. Please also pray for safe traveling with no or minimal delays & protection throughout our trip. Please pray that Phoebe will not be overwhelmed in a "bad way." Please pray that God will provide the remaining $117 she needs to pay for her trip. And please pray that she will bond well with her sisters & brother & that their love for each other will shine through brightly. Please pray that I won't come "unglued" having all 4 of them at one time with limited resources :o) Thanks for all of your prayers & support!

Weekend Fun

Phoebe & Randy playing beauty shop

Phoebe before she went to cheer at her first Upwards game

Randy in Phoebe's Dora tent

Phoebe playing in her Dora tent with Daddy

Many thoughts, few words...

For the last week or so I have so many thoughts going through my head that if I wasn't so anal & didn't have a neatly organized card catalog system of thoughts in my head, it would drive me crazy! Nothing bad...just a lot of thoughts. Some are deep & profound, some are not. Some are comforting, some are encouraging, & some are curious. But as of right now I still have not found the words to talk about any of these thoughts except for the superficial talk I'm doing right now. :o) All this to say that I really don't have much to say right now so don't be surprised if I'm quiet on my blog for awhile. There are only so many pictures I can post. :o)
I am fine. Randy is fine. Shakira, Phoebe, Samara, & Caleb are fine. So don't worry about us while I'm "gone." :o)

An Oldie but Goodie...

This is a picture from May 07 but I "love" it. It shows the "proper" way to eat an ice cream cone! :o)

Sabatoged!!!

I know you can't tell by this picture...but this is a picture of the most wonderfully tasting toffee I have ever tasted in my life...and an added delight is that it's wrapped in dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. I adore dark chocolate! Anyway, my "good" friend :o), the one I am training to run a 2 mile race against, took me to this quaint little place today in my town & bought me a half of pound of home made, hand spun, dark chocolate toffee & chocolate covered cherries. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!! She did this under the guise of being "nice" but I know the real reason she bought these for me...nether the less, I thoroughly enjoyed them...yes, each & every one of them...all by myself. So needless to say, I will be spending some time on the treadmill tonight :o) Thanks girlfriend!!! I love you!!! :o) You were a Godsend today!!!

Happy New Year!!!

Well, I should have done this post this morning when I was feeling all energetic & reflective of the past year but I didn't. So now I'm tired & sluggish, & all I can come up with is "Happy New Year" so that's what I'm going with for now :o)

More bowling fun...

Bowling Blips :o)

Bowling Alley Fun...

Today we went bowling. It was the first time bowling for Phoebe, Steven, & Belle. They had lots of fun...and so did the rest of us! :o)

Christmas pictures...

Eleven minute...

mile!!! I ran an eleven minute mile today...which of course may sound like turtle speed to some of you but considering I just started running 19 days ago & my first run was a 15.30 minute run...I think I'm doing pretty good! :o)

In today's paper...

There is a nice article in the Courrier & Press today about Mia, Hope, Steven, Belle, & Glory. This is the video clip from the online article.

Missing them...

Merry Christmas!!!

Praying that you are having a very joy filled & blessed Christmas. Happy Birthday Jesus!!! We ran out of purple decorating gel so that's why the message on the cake is kind of choppy. And the red art work to the right side is suppose to be me when I was six...although Phoebe has no idea what I looked like when I was six other than me telling her that I had long, straight hair :o)

More...

pictures from the Dec. trip! None of Samara because she's hard to "catch" because she likes to hide from the camera :o)

Totally Random...Caleb pictures...

These are pictures from June & July 2007.

Totally Random...Samara pictures...

These are pictures from early 2007 when we first started the adoption process. The top picture is the one that "stole" our hearts as it was the picture posted on the 3A web site as one of the children available for adoption.

New pictures!!!

Here is the first batch of new pictures we got from the December mission team.

Totally Random...Shakira pictures

I decided not to leave the other children out of the "random" picture thing so today is Shakira's turn :o)

Totally Random...

pictures of Phoebe from 2005.

Last year...

This time last year I was returning from Haiti. I knew I had to go see my kids before Christmas in order to celebrate Christmas with a joyful heart. That's where I "was" last year. Since then, there has been a lot of growth in me. Although I really wanted to go back this December, I knew God said, "No, not yet." I did not know why but it didn't matter because I have learned that his ways & timing are far better than mine. Now I know why & I am so thankful that he is blessing me & Phoebe with a trip in February. Go God!!! :o)

Funny people...funny memories :o)

These are pictures from our Christ Care White Elephant gift exchange that we had last Sunday. We always have a blast when we do this but this year was by far the best one we've had so far :o)

Little Lamb...

This is a little video blip of Phoebe during our Children's Christmas program at church tonight. I was a little surprised when she came out as a lamb for the third year in a row because on the card they sent home they said she was going to be an angel...but she didn't seem to care that she was a lamb again...a pretty cute one at that! :o)

RUNNING!!!

Yes, you read right...as of today...I am running! This may not sound like a big deal to most people but believe me it is!!! When I was in high school I ran track for awhile & even after I quit track I kept running because I was obsessed with being "thin." It was nothing for me to run 10 miles a day. My running & exercise in general started to decrease as I started recovering from anoxeria. This was a several year process. My mistake however was in not seeeing "the big picture" of it all & how much "balance" is very necessary with most things in life. So I slowly started going the other way. Eating more & more food & exercising less & less until I finally stopped exercising all together. By the time I reached my heaviest weight wich was 206 pounds I would get winded just going up a few stairs. In July 2004, when Phoebe was 10 months old, I decided I had to do something about my weight. I joined Weight Watchers & lost a total of 41 pounds.

During that time I started exercising again & realized how much I missed it & how much of a "release" it is for me. So for the most part I have exercised regularly since then. Running however had never crossed my mind until about a couple of years ago when I was motivated to try it after watching a Biggest Looser episode. Immediately after I stopped, I had back pain.(For those of you who don't know, I had back surgery in 2002) I tried a couple of times after that but kept having back pain so I decided that I was not meant to run ever again. I would have to stick to fast walking & I was okay with that.

Fast forward to yesterday when I was having lunch with my very good friend & "soul sister" & she's talking about how she's running 6 miles like it's nothing. And this is from someone who didn't have a running history but a few months ago God told her "to run" so she did. I got on the treadmill this morning with the intention of walking 5 miles but as soon as I got on I felt like God said, "You can do this, you can run. You're back will be okay. You need to stop running to food & "literally" run!" So I did, & as I started running I realized that I have had always had a competitive spirit deep inside me but I had never really let it out when I was growing up because I had so many other things to focus on that seemed a lot more important than if I could beat somebody at a race, a game, or whatever.

My goal was to run 2 miles in 30 minutes. I know that is really slow especially when I ran track I could do it in 12 but you have to remember that I haven't run in years & I'm overweight so I thought this was a realistic goal. As I kept an eye on the time I saw that I was really going to have to pick up the pace at the end if I wanted to meet my goal. So I thought about my friend & I thought about challenging her to a two mile race some day...and me winning!!! :o) So I picked up my speed & made the two miles just a little over 30 minutes. Did I make it in 30 minutes? No. Did I fail? No. Failing is when you don't even bother to try. I ran faster & longer today than I did yesterday...which was not at all. So today I broke through a "barrier" in my head as well as my legs, lungs, & back...and I won!

Christmas Trees...

When I was a child I couldn't wait to help put up our Christmas tree. As an adult my enthusiasm for the Christmas tree has diminished somewhat. Partly due to the commercialization of Christmas & the world trying to strip every "true" meaning right out of it & partly due to the work of actually putting one up & then spending lots of time & energy trying to keep my cats out of it.

I really like this devotion by Dr. David Jeremiah about Christmas trees & of course the Lutheran Christian in me is a little biased by it's references :o)

The Green Stuff: Christmas Trees

He came into the world…
Hebrews 10:5

Recommended Reading
Hebrews 10:5-10

In ancient Scandinavia, the evergreen tree was considered a symbol of life amid the bleak darkness of winter. Vikings reportedly cut down evergreens and brought them into their homes as a source of encouragement. In the 600s, Boniface, a British missionary, traveled across Europe using pines as object lessons of eternal life. Even the harsh winter couldn't kill them, said Boniface, who also used their triangular shapes to teach about the Trinity. For centuries afterward, people cut down trees and brought them indoors, creating a celebratory midwinter atmosphere. As an added benefit, the tree's fragrance provided a pleasing aroma during the confining months of winter.

According to tradition, it was Martin Luther who popularized trees as a Christmas symbol of the new life given us by the Christchild, and it was also Luther who wrote a carol that's been sung around Christmas trees for nearly 500 years: "From heaven above to earth I come, / To bear good news to every home."

May all the Christmas trees we encounter this year point our hearts upward toward our blessed Savior!

Give heed, my heart, lift up thine eyes! Who is it in yon manger lies? Who is this Child so young and fair? The blessed Christchild lieth there.
Martin Luther

We are sooooooo in trouble!!!

I don't want to compete with the previous video clip but I just had to share this. I took this clip the other day when Emily & Audrey was here. Lord, please help us! :o)

Phoebe's solo...

I apologize for you having to do the head tilt thing to watch this but I forgot to tell Bethany that it's very hard to change the direction on the movie files once they are recorded. This was from today at our Advent Tea at church. It was Phoebe's first solo in front of people.

Trust Issue...

Do you have a trust issue? I think all of us do at some point in our lives & some of us always seem to have a trust issue in varying degrees. When God says, "Trust me at all times" He really means it! :o) The following is a devotion by Dr. David Jeremiah which speaks of this topic.

3-Foot Fall
"Trust in Him at all times, you people." Psalm 62:8

Recommended Reading
2 Corinthians 1:8-10

A construction worker was welding on top of a water tower outside Chicago when he unhooked his safety gear to reach for some pipes. At the same time, a metal cage slipped and bumped the scaffolding he was on, sending him to the ground in a 110-foot fall where he landed on a pile of dirt. When the paramedics arrived and carried him off on a stretcher, he had one humorous request; "Don't drop me." *

Sometimes we are like that construction worker in our faith; trusting God to save us from the long fall of our sins, yet fretting over the three-foot falls of every-day details. It is easy to trust God with the big things we don't fully understand, but a lot of us have a difficult time putting our trust in Almighty God for the small and personal issues we deal with on a daily basis. The Bible tells us to trust God for everything because He knows our needs even before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8).

If you haven't fully put your trust in the Lord, spend some time casting ALL your cares upon Him, for He knows you intimately, loves you perfectly, and is worthy of your trust in every situation.

"It is a glorious thing to know that your Father God makes no mistakes in directing or permitting that which crosses the path of your life. It is our glory to trust Him, no matter what." Joni Erickson Tada

Making Progress!!!

I'm so pumped!!! Phoebe got a check in the mail today for $50 toward her trip! Thank you Jesus! This now puts her at $695 of the $1400 she needs for her trip. And on top of that, even though I did not make it public that I also needed $1400 for my trip, I currently have half of that amount. Praise God! Thank you Lord for your generous blessings & provisions! And...Phoebe got her passport yesterday!!! We are really excited around here!!! Even Randy...because he gets the house to himself for a whole week while we're gone :o) Please continue to pray & thank God for providing the rest of the money that we need for this trip. Thank you!

Need I say more???

China, Haiti, it doesn't matter which country...the feelings & emotions are universal.

Thanksgiving Memories...