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)