Wow, time flies when you have twins! I'm sorry it's been 3 days since my last post. First, I want to thank everyone leaving comments. I don't have the time to answer them individually, but I have enjoyed reading them and I thank you all for your prayers.
Friday we worked at the orphanage and then brought the boys back to the hotel with us. Chuck has been placed in a leadership position with our team (are you surprised? I'm not!) that has pulled him away in many directions over the course of the last week. I ended up crying my eyes out Friday night about it because I felt like he wasn't getting time with the boys and I was overloaded with trying to lug two BIG boys up stairs for meals when Chuck was out doing team stuff. Plus, they wanted nothing to do with him if I was nearby. So, Saturday we stayed back at the hotel all day and hung out as a family. It was wonderful and Chuck got lots of good bonding time with the boys. We rested and played and just had fun. Today we went back to work at the orphanage. Chuck got the wonderful idea that he wanted to minister to the nannies and staff by washing their feet. So that's what he did today. It was incredible to watch. I'm just so proud of him. His back is sore, so please pray that he wakes up tomorrow rested. Speaking of tomorrow - we are again going to try to get to the Embassy to file some paperwork. A lot has to come together tomorrow for us to get there, so please pray that we can file that paperwork if it's God's will. Time on this trip is starting to run out and we really want to file this paperwork here in Haiti rather than in the US.
Finally, please continue to pray for Pierre. God knows his situation and tomorrow is supposed to be a good day for him. Please pray that it is.
We continue to be safe on this trip. God has been good to us. There is a lot of police and UN presence. We also have a number of ex military people with us who remain on guard.
I'm sorry I don't have pictures to post tonight. I forgot the camera in our room. It may not be until we're home that I'm able to post more pictures.
Thanks for all your love and prayers. I don't know how we are going to leave this country on Thursday without our boys. I just can't picture life without them.
We'll post again as soon as we can. Love, Chuck and Juli
This blog was created to share information about bringing our boys home from Haiti. Now that they are home and we've had a baby, we share the day to day craziness that we now call life.
About Us
- Juli
- Mom to three fantastic little boys: Noah and Samuel, 6 year old twins, born in Haiti, who've been with our family since 9/08 and Tristan, our 4 year old handful! God's moved us all over the country and continues to move in our hearts.
Not a Surprise...
Chuck and I have noticed that most people make the assumption that Tristan was a surprise. You know, the idea of, "adopt a child and you'll end up pregnant." While that may be true for some, that is not the case for us. Believe it or not, Tristan was planned. At the time of his conception we were unsure our adoption would ever complete and we decided to stop putting our family on hold. God saw fit to bless us with Tristan, Noah and Samuel all at the same time! While the transition into parenthood was not easy for us, we trust that God knew what He was doing!
April 21, 2009
Brothers
Noah and Samuel, 3 years old
Samuel and Noah at 2 years old
Tristan, 5 months
Tristan, 5 weeks old
Noah and Samuel at 21 months.
Noah at 19 months.
Samuel at 19 months.
Samuel and Noah at 11 months old.
Our Timeline
May 2005 - God began speaking to us individually about adoption.
July 2005 - Decided to move forward with adopting from Haiti.
October 2005 - Applied to adopt through an orphanage.
November 8, 2005 - Approved to adopt through chosen orphanage.
January 19, 2006 - Committed to adopt the boys.
May 15, 2006 - Dossier arrived in Haiti.
July 14, 2006 - Dossier submitted to IBESR.
January 23, 2007 - Dossier exited IBESR.
September 21, 2007 - Exited Parquet.
October 2007 - Received Judgment Granted.
December 2007 - 2nd Legalization completed, which means Noah and Samuel's adoptions are complete. They are ours!!
March 2008 - Finally receive all needed documents from Archives.
March 13, 2008 - Birth parent interview completed.
Late March, 2008 - Submitted to MOI.
May 20, 2008 - Confirmed that our updated fingerprints have reached the USCIS office in Port au Prince.
May 20, 2008 - Received word that our MOI long form has been completed.
June 24, 2008 - Received MOI approval.
July 10, 2008 - Received word that Samuel's passport has been printed.
July 16, 2008 - Received word that Noah's passport has been printed.
July 25, 2008- Confirmed that our passports were presented to the USCIS office in Port au Prince and that out I-600 file has been approved.
July 26, 2008 - Emailed our request for the boys' visa appointment.
July 31, 2008 - Emailed 2nd request for boys' visa appointment.
August 4, 2008 - Spoke with the Embassy, awaiting email confirmation of visa appointment.
August 5, 2008 - Email confirmation of visa appointment received. Our appointment is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 12th.
August 12, 2008 - The visa appointment went well! Visas should be ready tomorrow.
August 13, 2008 - The visas are in hand and the boys CAN COME HOME!!
August 15, 2008 - Baby brother Tristan was born.
September 1, 2008 - Flew to Miami and spent the night.
September 2, 2008 - Woke very early only to learn that our flight to Haiti was cancelled due to Hurricane Hanna hitting Haiti. We spent the next few days visiting friends and family in Florida.
September 5, 2008 - The boys are HOME!! However, we are stuck in Miami for the night because Hurricane Hanna hit Virginia, too, and our flight home was cancelled. Hoping to get home tomorrow.
September 6, 2008 - We are FINALLY home. To God be all the glory!
July 2005 - Decided to move forward with adopting from Haiti.
October 2005 - Applied to adopt through an orphanage.
November 8, 2005 - Approved to adopt through chosen orphanage.
January 19, 2006 - Committed to adopt the boys.
May 15, 2006 - Dossier arrived in Haiti.
July 14, 2006 - Dossier submitted to IBESR.
January 23, 2007 - Dossier exited IBESR.
September 21, 2007 - Exited Parquet.
October 2007 - Received Judgment Granted.
December 2007 - 2nd Legalization completed, which means Noah and Samuel's adoptions are complete. They are ours!!
March 2008 - Finally receive all needed documents from Archives.
March 13, 2008 - Birth parent interview completed.
Late March, 2008 - Submitted to MOI.
May 20, 2008 - Confirmed that our updated fingerprints have reached the USCIS office in Port au Prince.
May 20, 2008 - Received word that our MOI long form has been completed.
June 24, 2008 - Received MOI approval.
July 10, 2008 - Received word that Samuel's passport has been printed.
July 16, 2008 - Received word that Noah's passport has been printed.
July 25, 2008- Confirmed that our passports were presented to the USCIS office in Port au Prince and that out I-600 file has been approved.
July 26, 2008 - Emailed our request for the boys' visa appointment.
July 31, 2008 - Emailed 2nd request for boys' visa appointment.
August 4, 2008 - Spoke with the Embassy, awaiting email confirmation of visa appointment.
August 5, 2008 - Email confirmation of visa appointment received. Our appointment is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, August 12th.
August 12, 2008 - The visa appointment went well! Visas should be ready tomorrow.
August 13, 2008 - The visas are in hand and the boys CAN COME HOME!!
August 15, 2008 - Baby brother Tristan was born.
September 1, 2008 - Flew to Miami and spent the night.
September 2, 2008 - Woke very early only to learn that our flight to Haiti was cancelled due to Hurricane Hanna hitting Haiti. We spent the next few days visiting friends and family in Florida.
September 5, 2008 - The boys are HOME!! However, we are stuck in Miami for the night because Hurricane Hanna hit Virginia, too, and our flight home was cancelled. Hoping to get home tomorrow.
September 6, 2008 - We are FINALLY home. To God be all the glory!
Labels
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3 comments:
Hi kiddo's;
Thank you so much for keeping us up to date. You know what? It doesn't surprise me a bit about Chuck. That young man of ours has a bigger heart for people and God than anyone could ever imagine. We are really glad you are getting good twin time! We'll talk more soon, all our love and prayers are with you,
Dad & Mom C.
I can't imagine how busy you guys have been. I'm praying that all comes together today so you can get to the embassy and file your paperwork.
Looking forward to seeing you guys and hearing about everything in person.
Take care and God Bless you all,
Dana
Hey Guys,
We're so excited to read about all the amazing things going on down there! What a blessing the boys are so happy and healthy (can hardly believe how much they've grown). The best thing was seeing the HUGE GRIN on Juli's face in the family pic. I don't think I've ever seen you with a happier look on your face. May God bless the rest of your trip--know we're praying for you.
Love, The Brown's
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