On to the Next Step...

Well, we are now waiting for the next step in our process called, "Judgement Granted." The IBESR missing receipts problem has obviously been straightened out, praise God!! The past few families from our orphanage who cleared this step did so in about 2-3 weeks. When we receive Judgement, the boys are officially adopted in the eyes of Haiti! They will have our last name at that point! There are still a number of steps after Judgement, but how exciting is it to think that they will be little Cason's in just a few weeks!

Noah's Newest Picture

Look at that smile! And all those teeth!! It's so much easier to see their pictures knowing that they are coming home soon!

Another Picture of Both Boys

Do you see how big their bellies are?? They sure are getting big!

Samuel's Newest Picture

Isn't he just so cute! Chuck says the boys look like they're heading off to law school in these pictures.

New Picture of the Boys

Woooooooohoooooooo!!

I got the phone call we've been waiting FOREVER for today!! We are out of IBESR! Woohoo!! IBESR is Haiti's social services. They have the task of approving (or not approving) families for adoption. We waited 6 months and 9 days for this news. Our timeline is now probably 3-5 months before the boys come home.

I do have a prayer request regarding this, though. Our attorney had his briefcase stolen last week, and in it were receipts for our files. IBESR won't give him the files without the receipts or a copy of the police report proving that his briefcase was stolen. Please pray that he can get them a copy of the police report and that he be kept safe as he travels about to get it. Once our files are released to him they still have a number of steps to go through before we get the very best phone call ever - the 'come and get them' call!

Thanks for all your love and prayers. Oh, and I realized why January 16th was such a hard day (see previous post). January 16th was the one year anniversary of receiving the referall for the twins. No wonder it was such a hard day!!

Hard Day

Well, in the adoption journey, some days are harder than others. Today is one of them for me. Chuck and I stayed up late last night watching video footage from my trip to visit the boys in November. Both of us were just about crying through the whole thing. I miss them so much. It feels like it will be forever before they come home. I'm sorry to whine here, I'm just missing our boys. I can't even muster up a pep talk for myself. The wait is hard today. I'm sorry this is a bummer of a post. Hopefully we'll get some happy news soon.

Waiting for News

Well, I haven't posted in a while because there's no news to share. We're waiting for pictures from Christmas at the orphanage and I'll post those once we get them. Not much has been happening. We are just quietly waiting for the news that our paperwork is out of IBESR (Haitian Social Services). Our paperwork has been there since mid-July and the families who have most recently gotten out of this long step went into it in June. So we are close. I can feel it. While getting out of IBESR is worthy of a huge celebration, it could still be 5 more months before the boys come home. It makes me want to cry when I think about it. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a patient person. I want things yesterday. I really expected when we started this process in November 2005 that our kids would be home by now. Had I known it would take this long, I don't know that I would have been willing to do it. I'm glad I didn't know because although it's been hard, I wouldn't do it differently. God has made it so clear to Chuck and me that Noah and Samuel are our sons. I long for the day that they'll be here with us. The thought that just came to mind is that I was away from God for many years. I did things my way and really messed up. And God waited. And it must have broken His heart repeatedly for Him to have to wait for me to come home to Him. And eventually I did. Our sons will come home. I know this is true. International adoption is risky stuff, but I believe in my heart that our sons will come home and that it will be in God's perfect timing. Okay, you've just now officially witnessed me giving myself a pep talk. I'm thankful that I have God's promises as my encouragement. I don't know how I would walk this journey without Him. That's all for now.