Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Boring Update

Warning. This is a boring update.

Okay, you've been warned. For the past week or so, Chuck and I have been working on updating our home study, which expired on 2/24. There's a good chance we won't need to prove that it's been updated, but we'd rather not worry about it toward the end of our adoption. Peace of mind means more to us than the $250 the update will cost us. So, we both had to get updated medical and employment letters. Even though I'm no longer employed I was required to get a letter from my former employer stating that. Silly! After a few notary problems we got it all turned in, along with requests for the State Police to do another round of background checks on us.

We also submitted a request to the USCIS to be refingerprinted. Our fingerprints are due to expire the beginning of July, and since it's beginning to look like the boys will come home mid to late summer, we need to get this redone. If you think to, please pray that the USCIS office in Norfolk will have grace with us because we are requesting to be fingerprinted before we are officially supposed to. We have to do this because we'll be out of the country when we're allowed to ask. If you're wondering why we need fingerprints and refingerprints, I have no idea. I just do what they tell me to do. If they say to stand on my head for a day I'll do it if it means our boys can come home.

When we were in the beginning stages of this process I was amazed to hear of families who had to update their home studies and be refingerprinted. I never imagined that this whole process would take sooooo long that we would need to do these things, too. I thank God often that I didn't know in the beginning how long this would take. I just don't think my selfish little self would have done it.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Good News??

I have this feeling that good news will come this week.

I hesitate to write this because I could be wrong and I hate to be wrong (just ask Chuck about that!). I also like to put protective measures in place so that I don't get hurt. In this case I would not out loud (or in print) voice that I think something good could happen. That way, if it doesn't happen I'm not hurt. Well, my heart has been stomped on all through this adoption journey, so a few more stomps won't kill me.

Good news would sound like this: "Chuck and Juli, your dossier has been released from the Prosecutor's office." In case you're wondering, the "come and get them" call is still quite a ways off.

I must admit that I feel this pending good because we are getting close to the 2 month mark from when our dossier was released from IBESR. And 2+ months seems to be the timeframe for the Prosecutor's office. Some people have waited a lot longer, though.

So, we will wait and see. Your prayers would be appreciated. Good night!

Friday, March 23, 2007

Mission Trip Fundraiser

In 64 days, Chuck and I will be leaving for our mission trip to Haiti (we will actually see the boys in 65 days). Here are some of the construction projects that our team hopes to accomplish when we are there:

Building a chapel/lunch room ($2500)
Building some rooms in the front of the property ($2500)
Building benches for the birth parents ($300)
Painting ($300)
Installing tile ($50, tile already purchased)
Possibly installing windows ($?)
Organizing the office/nursery rooms ($0)
Possibly building some triple bunk beds ($?)

One of the adoptive families purchased a bunch of silicone bracelets for our mission team to sell as a fundraiser for the above projects. The bracelets come in a variety of colors and in adult and youth sizes. They read: Every child needs a home ... Celebrate ADOPTION!! We are selling these bracelets for $3 a piece and I'll have them with me at all times. If you'd like one and you won't see me anytime soon, I'd be happy to mail one to you. Just email me at ittybitties@msn.com and I'll send you one. Thank you in advance to all who help us out!

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Running Babies

I was an extremely underweight child. Insert joke here. Seriously, people worried about me because I was so skinny. People didn't like me to sit on their laps because my butt was boney. I remember with clarity the day my grandmother told me that lunch is a meal you eat every day. I just didn't have much of an appetite as a child and I was picky as heck, so food just didn't really appeal to me.

When I learned to walk, I weighed something like 16 lbs. My mom says that I didn't walk, I ran. And I didn't weigh enough to stop myself so I'd have to crash to stop. She says she had foam padding everywhere.

I learned a few days ago that the boys are walking and RUNNING. I can picture it at the orphanage. It's a huge building with wide hallways and a big, big yard. I can't picture it in my house. If you've been here, you know how tiny it is. You can't run for long in this house, and there's no circular non-stop path to follow, so you have to stop and turn around very often if you want to run in this house. I guess I need to thank God for our back yard, because that is where the boys will have to run.

The whole running baby thing has definitely fueled my concern for how crazy it is going to be around here. I mean, I know it will be crazy but that doesn't stop me from having these daydreams of us quietly playing on th floor (sitting!!) together.

Quiet is another part of it that I guess I need to talk about. If you were a fly on the wall in my house you'd hear... nothing for the most part. I don't listen to the radio or turn the TV on during the day. It is very quiet here. I occasionally exchange words with the cats (they talk back, well, meow back - really they do!). I guess it surprises them when I say something. Okay, I just tested it. I just said, "Where's my baby girls?" and they both meowed. Gracie actually got up and came near me and the computer. She just jumped up on the couch next to me. Boy oh boy are these cats going to have a rude awakening when the boys come home and they become regular old pets! But I digress. My house is not going to be quiet at all when the boys come home. I know this. But somehow I think it's going to surprise me.

And I'm thinking the running and the not quiet will go hand in hand. I kind of picture them running AND yelling ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Is that what it's like mom's?? That's what I'm expecting, especially after Samuel's last picture.

Okay, that's enough rambling from me for one day. Nighty night!

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

67 Days and an Update

We are down to just our fingers when counting the weeks until we will be in Haiti!

Yesterday I emailed the Director of our orphanage to find out if the boys are still in the baby room or in with the toddlers. Here's what I learned:

They are still in the baby room. We have two baby rooms one for the little ones and the second for the bigger ones. They are in the second. They are walking and running. Elie has 8 teeth and Elisee 10.

So, our boys are officially 'big babies' and they walk and run. I pray nearly every day for their physical development, so the fact that they are walking is a complete answer to prayer. But, the sappy mom in me has missed another milestone in their life. Please God, bring them home soon!

There has always been a little confusion about who is who with our boys. Some of the staff call them one thing, and others call them the opposite. We've gone with what their primary nanny calls them. Noah is Elie and Samuel is Elisee. However, in the update about teeth above I'm certain that they are backward. So, Noah Elie has 10 teeth and Samuel Elisee has 8 teeth. I know this from their pictures. And in case I haven't posted before, we are keeping their Haitian names as middle names.

And when I wake up it will be 66 days!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

When the Boys Are Home...

Well, I've had a number of requests to post more often, and I've been hesitant to do so because I created this blog to be specific to our adoption. And unfortunately we don't get news as often as I'm asked to post. You truly don't want to hear the ramblings in my head on a daily basis. It's not pretty a lot of the time. :)

My guess is that the boys will be 19-20 months old when they come home, so I like to try to picture what that will be like in our home. I like to picture the three of us playing on the floor in the living room on a rainy day and going to City Park with the boy/girl twins down the street on nice days. I've never been to the Norfolk Zoo, but I'm sure we will go with the boys. I picture being with them in the toddler room at church and seeing them interact with other children their age. I picture snuggling them when they'll let me and kissing booboos and changing more diapers than one could possibly imagine. I picture working very hard to insure good bonding and attachment and doing whatever we need to do to encourage their attachment to us.

So often when I talk about this I get a wide eyed look with a knowing head shake and then something about how I have no idea what I'm getting into. As a 'not so encouraging all of the time' kind of person I easily recognize this as not so encouraging. Yes, I know it's going to be crazy around here with two babies. I'm not the first person to do this and I won't be the last. I'd prefer crazy with them home to crazy with them not home (which happens!) any day.

Okay, that's all for today!

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Flights are Booked

Well, it's officially real - we are going to Haiti May 27th - June 7th. That is 71 days in case you're wondering!! I had a minor freak out this afternoon when I realized that I had forgot to book our flights last night. I put flights on hold earlier in the week and the hold expired last night. Well, it's a good thing that happened because our flights were CHEAPER today. Like $85 a piece cheaper. Isn't God good??!!

Just 3 short years ago Haiti was a bad word for us. Now, there's no place I'd rather go. It's so amazing for me to think about. And really, even if the boys were already home, I still think that I'd prefer to visit Haiti rather than any other place (and I've been to Hawaii folks!). I'd live there if God would give us the go ahead.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

March Pictures

Samuel


Noah

It's always a treat to get new pictures of the boys. We got these new pictures yesterday. Samuel looks like he's making a lot of noise in his picture. Uh oh, and I have him tagged as the calmer of the two. I guess we'll see about that. It's only 75 days until we see them again. We are still waiting to hear from the Coast Guard as to how long Chuck can be in Haiti. We'd like to stay in Haiti until June 7th. If you think to, please pray that the boys will be ready to come home by then.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

There's Easy Waiting and There's Hard Waiting

In this journey of adoption there are days of easy waiting and days of hard waiting. I must say that most of the time the wait is on the easy side for me. For so much of it I worked, and that was a huge distraction. Now that I'm home I have lots of little projects around the house that keep me busy, but every now and then I'm just paralyzed with a hard day. Today is one of them.

I woke up this morning, but made the decision to get back into bed and stayed there for two hours with the covers pulled up over my head. My Gracie cat snuggled with me as I tried, tried, tried to fall back to sleep. Even Sabrina cat stayed at my feet and she hates for me to touch her. If you know me well, you know that I'm a professional sleeper and I usually have no trouble sleeping. Light, noise, a full night of sleep - none of that deters me from sleep. I take pride in the fact that I can sleep anytime and anywhere and for extended periods of time. But not this morning. Not in my pillow top bed with my snuggly cat and the blinds drawn tightly closed.

My sister and brother in law are expecting their first child later this month. Collette is due on the 22nd and when I asked her on Saturday how she was feeling she replied, "Like a ripe tomato ready to split!" Some days I feel exactly the same way. Only it's my heart, not my belly that feels like it could split. I don't really think it will split - no, I think that it is growing with more love for our boys. And sometimes that hurts.

I really do believe that God has a purpose in the wait and whether I get to know what that purpose is for is up to God Himself. I believe that the boys will come home in God's perfect timing. I tell people that all the time. But days like today make it hard for me to trust that. We sang an awesome song at church on Sunday called I Will Wait. It's all about waiting on God and how we can choose to praise Him during our wait and how God knows what's in our hearts before we ask and how He is our hope evermore. I cry everytime I sing it. That is the heart that I need to have in this adoption journey. That is what honors God and brings Him glory. And most of the time this song is my truth. But on days like today I have to ask God to help me make this song my truth. He will.

Thursday, March 01, 2007

We're Going to Haiti in May

Yup, we are going to Haiti on a mission trip. We leave on May 27 and we'll either return on May 31st or July 7th - hopefully, prayerfully, God willing, with our boys. We'll see. We've confirmed with FHG that we will go to Haiti May 27-31. We are waiting for the Coast Guard to approve Chuck's trip. If they say he can be in Haiti longer, we will stay until June 7th. It's nearly 3 months away, but I'm totally looking forward to it.

You're probably wondering what happens if our boys come home before that. Honestly, with the way things are moving in Haiti, I don't think this will happen. But, if it does, we will change our flights and go get the boys and we will not go on the mission trip.

So, with all that said, I AM SO EXCITED. I can't wait. For anyone who wants to donate items to the orphanage, we (as in Chuck and I) are only asking for donations of formula or money to buy formula. If you'd like to purchase formula, the type needed is the Walmart brand, Parent's Choice, Soy with Lipids and DHA and ARA. Sorry to be so specific, but this is what the babies are used to and when you change formula on a baby it's not pretty (I know this because I did it in July!). Formula is the item needed the most at the orphanage, so Chuck and I would like to concentrate on this one item.

It's so ironic to think that 3 years ago the word Haiti was a bad word in our house and today there's no place I'd rather be. If God told us to pack up and move to Haiti, I'd be so excited. So far He hasn't.

Some News

Well, I emailed our adoption coordinator, Cate, this week to see where our paperwork is at. Cate is a wonderful gal who is also adopting from FHG. Her and her husband should be bringing their 3 little girls home sometime shortly before our boys come home. Anyway, the reason that I emailed her was because there was a change in the steps of the process, and I wanted to see how that affected our paperwork. I learned that our paperwork is at the Prosecutor's office. The timeframe for this step, as best as I can tell, is 2-5 months. They really scrutinize the paperwork at this stage (according to everything I've read). So, please pray that our paperwork flies through this step. We aren't sure if we received Judgement before our paperwork went to the Prosecutor. Judgement used to be the next step after IBESR, but now it comes after the Prosecutor's office and Cate is going to find out if we received Judgement before going to the Prosecutor's office (that would be cool if we did) or if we still have that to look forward to. So, that's the news. Please pray - if you are a praying person - that our paperwork moves quickly. We'd really like to bring the boys home with us when we go to Haiti at the end of May. Yes, I said we are going to Haiti in May! I'll post about that separately.