Update... Incase you have not heard yet! :)

A few weekends ago we went to get Halloween costumes. It was buy one get one FREE at Target. So we got 2 for The Bash. He loves to dress up as superheroes so it was money (free money) well spent! The best part was walking down the aisle after we selected which ones to grab and talking about next year… NEXT year we’ll be able to get one for you and one for B. It seems like every moment we experience we get to say… Well NEXT year we’ll get to do this, but we’ll have B with us. It’s fun to dream about our family as a whole! Our complete group hanging out and doing these things together!

We have some great news! YOUR PRAYERS ARE WORKING!!! Our paperwork has moved through and OUT of step one of this 3 part process! Our paperwork has now moved on to the next step. Our paperwork must move through 2 more steps before we get the call to come and take our girl home (approximately 6-8 months time. Of course we all know that at any point during this wait our paperwork could be stalled or held up.)! Each step is one more closer to bringing our sweet child home!

We just wanted to rejoice with you that our papers are moving and let you know that our prayers are being answered! We love rejoicing in any good news we can possibly cling to. The Lord is working friends. The Lord is working hard for us. All our prayer warriors out there we want you to know that we FEEL it! We feel your prayers for our girl and for our family and for our desire to bring her home. Thank you for continuing to hang with us during these hard months of waiting. Please continue to pray fervently for our paperwork to move quickly through the steps so we can bring our little girl home as soon as we can!

Also I just want to say how blessed I feel when people message me or email me asking if that is our girl on the Chances for Children website. :) I love that people are checking on her as much as I am! I got to show my Kindergarten class her latest picture. They love seeing her too! Every moment that others get on board with our excitement makes us feel that much more excited about her becoming part of this community. Thanks and thanks and thanks! We love you all!

Our Hearts are Happy!

So we have gotten home, and have been home for a little over a month. Once we got home and had to get right back into our "normal" life here in Kansas. It has not been easy. There are a lot of ups and downs after our trip to Haiti. We yearn to know more about our child. We miss seeing her. We love talking to The Bash about her. Keep praying that this next process gets passed through quicker than a year. Just keep praying for that.

What we do know about Benithy right now:
Chances for Children got to take all the kids to the beach for a day! It looked like everyone had a really great time. If you haven't liked/followed their page on facebook you should totally do it! There is so many great updates about everyone there.

Today we were excited to get an update about our little gal from a Haitian staff member. Here is what they put:

Benithy has made some changes since meeting her adoptive parents. She used to be

alone a lot and was mean to others and didn’t like to smile. She didn’t like white people

around her. Now, to her it seems like all the visitors coming are coming for her. Benithy

now wants to go to them and be held. She smiles more and plays more. She has a very

big voice when she is playing or calling the other kids. She is a very good girl never get in

trouble, with the other kids.

I think I've read that message a billion times, and each time I read it I tear up! It's so cool to hear all these positive things about our little girl! We look forward to more of these! Thanks again for all the continued messages and thoughts since we've been home. So many have sent such cool prayers and messages to me about knowing our pain in the wait.

Some questions we get a lot:
How long until you get to bring her home? It looks like a year. But we pray and hope that it will be closer to May

Why such a long wait? That's Haiti ya'll! :) It takes a while to get all of our items processed

Do you get to talk/see her? We really don't get to talk or see her. C4C did email us this update, so I assume we'll be getting more of these. They did also send some pictures of her as well. We'll mostly hear/ see her on he C4C facebook page. We hope we can write/email back and that someone will read it to her! :) Just playing it all by ear.

Day 15- Wednesday

Today was hard because we knew we would not be going to see our daughter. We had to get everything packed up and ready to head back home. It was so weird to venture out of our guest house and into Port-au-Prince leaving behind a very big piece of our heart! Not only not being able to see our daughter, but all the kids that we have come to know.

Our day started at 4:30am (3:30 Central). We woke up (I worked out.. I know...) and then we got everything packed up. Our C4C rep read over all our paperwork and made sure we were set to go. Then we headed into Port-au- Prince. There we waited... and waited... and waited... then they finally called us up to the counter we answered a few questions and gave them all our paper work and we were done! The whole process took less than 15 minutes... the waiting probably lasted a good hour and a half.

Then they took us to the airport. We waited in the airport for a good 5 hours. Although we would have loved to go back to the creche it just didn't make any sense. It takes at least an hour to get back to Kenscoff so by the time we got there we would have to leave like 30 minutes later. We figured it was too hard for us and Benithy to do that.

As we sat there in the airport we kept thinking and talking about our little girl. Wondering what she was doing. If she realized we weren't there. I wondered what she was like when we weren't around. I suppose our friend we made will answer some of those questions for us! It just felt so weird not being there!

We loaded our plane and arrived in Atlanta. Unfortunately we missed our connecting flight to KC... which is where we are right now. Waiting to HOPEFULLY load onto this plane and get home tonight. By the time we get home tonight we'll be up for a good 24 hours.

On the flights and sitting here in the airport The Man and I talked about how weird it was to be back in the USA. We love it here. We feel so blessed to have what we have and live where we live, but we also realize how much we over use and over do. We are in a complete backward culture shock right now! :)

- We understand what those around us are saying.
- We are not stared at everywhere we go.
- The electricity stays on all the time.
- We don't have to sanitize after washing our hands
- We can see all around us (Haiti has wall EVERYWHERE.. you cannot really see beyond where you are)
- Just everything is a little bit different!

Day 14- Tuesday

Well today is probably our last day at the crèche. Today is the first day that Benithy actually approached us with a hug first. It was a good day with her. We had a lot of good quality time with her. It was another exhausting day, but it was good.  As we left The Man and I said our good-byes with the heaviness that this will probably be our last time we get to see her for a while. She treated it like every other day. She has no idea. I feel awful! Tomorrow we just won’t be there.

Tonight I sit in my room in a state of so many mixed emotions it’s hard to sort through them. I feel like I wanna cry, jump for joy, be angry, frustrated, and excited. There is no way to sum it up. Just know that we are in a hard place…. And will be until we can bring our girl home! J

Tomorrow we have a very early morning as we venture into Port-au-Prince for our ISCBR appointment. We MAY have time to go back to the crèche, but probably not. Then we head to the airport to come home! Ready or not ya’ll here we come! I think tomorrow we will be focusing on getting to see our sweet son again and sleep in our own beds!

On a side note tonight we ordered pizza from a place that one of the guys that works for C4C suggested. We got a seafood pizza… and it was AWESOME!! Really good eats! J So that was a positive for the day. 

Day 13- Monday

Today was another good day with Benithy. As soon as I swept her up she was ready to play! She talked a lot and played a lot. Then she passed out on me, and today I decided to keep ahold of her. So I rocked her for a good 1.5 hours! J

The social workers came today to ask us some questions and make sure we were suitable to adopt Benithy. It’s so hard having someone come in and evaluate you on such little information, but I think the meeting went well. There were a few weird questions in there, but for the most part really great questions.  After they interviewed us, they interviewed one of Benithy’s maids that takes care of her. Then we had to take Benithy and the other couple’s little guy into the Doctor for a check-up. We rode in the truck, the other couple, the driver, and 2 women from the crèche were also there. I had Benithy on my lap, and the couple had their son on their lap as we drove home. Benithy is awfully scared of cars and so cried for a bit. I held her tight and hummed in her ear, which usually calms her down (and it worked). Not the safest way to transport people or kids! J

Once we got home we realized we hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch, so we made our dinner and ate it up fast! We sat and chatted with the other couple for a while, and are now getting ready to call it a night.

One more day left at the crèche is all. We are there all day tomorrow and then we DO have our USCIS appointment Wednesday morning. So we are thankful that we are getting that done, but sad that we won’t get a last chance to see Benithy and the kids before we leave on Wednesday.

The best way to sum up our feelings right now is we are ready…. But SOOOOOO not ready. 

Day 12- Sunday

Today we started our morning off with church. It was a good 3 hours in a hot building with the sun literally shining down on me…. It was toasty, sweaty, and long….. but we got to see a baptism! One little boy was baptized this morning! It was done very differently because they did not use water, but they did “cover him with Christ” using a robe. It was interesting to see. Benithy slept in my lap for about 45 minutes and then spent the rest of the church playing with my Bible. She was very well behaved.

After church we walked to the crèche. It was an enjoyable walk with the kids. We got back there and Benithy was ready to go. We gave her a water bottle and that was a HIT with her! J She was showing it off. She really talked a lot today. We even started working on saying please and thank you. We played outside a lot, danced, chased, colored… we really had a great day. She really didn’t nap the rest of the day, so we really got a lot of time in with her! Hooray! A good full day. Right before we were leaving she started to get snuggly and tired. We had to go, and she was mad at us. She got real grumpy and swatted at me. The Man and I thought… I guess it’s good that she is mad we’re going and not indifferent like usual. It’s a weird thing to be kinda happy about… but we took that as SOME sort of emotion towards us! J

The other cool thing about today is I got to connect one of the kids at the crèche with his mama! I met his mom here the day we arrived they were getting ready to leave. So she messaged me and asked me to hug her son and tell her she loved him and then show him the picture. We were able to message with her a bit today and send her a picture. It was so sweet to see his face as she responded. It’s such a blessing that our adoption community can be so big, yet so small.

I can totally… yet barely believe that we are only 3 short days away from leaving. I was talking with some of the boys at the crèche today and they said, “You have 4 weeks…” I said, “I have 3 more days. Then tomorrow I have 2. Then Tuesday 1. And then Wednesday I have 0.”  And one of the boys said.. “And you cry?” and I said “Yes… I’m for sure going to cry.” And the boys said “Me too…”  So sweet!

Once we got home we ate dinner and then played some games with the other couple. It’s been fun having them here for sure.  We also got to talk with The Bash! It sounds like he is having a blast in CO right now. I really cannot wait to be able to hold him again.

Tomorrow (Monday) is our social worker visit. A social worker will come to the crèche and observe us with Benithy. Pray that all goes well. I believe they will be observing us and the other couple.

It also looks like we’ll be getting in at USCIS this trip as well. Either Tuesday or Wednesday before we fly out. 

Your prayers are being answered here. Your comments and thoughts to our family are so precious to us. Thanks again for all of you walking with us! 

Day 11- Saturday

Couple fun tidbits I keep forgetting to mention: The kids LOVE The Man’s hair a ton! They love my hair, and always ask me why I have purple in it. A couple of kids have tried to rub off my tattoo on my wrist. One kid told me NOT to wear my hair up because it made my eyes look bad! Haha.  The Man has gotten to play a lot of soccer, and most of them are shocked that he can play well! The kids walk around with baby powder on their necks after they shower. That’s how you know if a child has just bathed. Most of the kids wear crocs. This crèche is one of the best in Haiti (so we are told).

Today started off great. When we got there Benithy was up and ready to play. We took her and did play-doh with her. She loves the stuff! We also had fun with stickers. We FaceTimed The Bash today as well with Benithy. She didn’t get the concept, of course, but The Bash got to see her, and I got to see him. I simply cannot stress how much I miss that boy! Cannot wait to snuggle him! After the FaceTime we played and sang music for some of the kids. They love hearing the guitar! Then we played outside. This is where we lost The Man. He decided to play soccer, and Benithy and I played outside and with bubbles. Then we went inside and played with play-doh more until lunch. After lunch we rocked and she fell asleep (I almost did). Her nap time was a nice break, but she was asleep for a bit and I was tired myself today. I read and tried to stay occupied the most I could. The Man eventually woke her up and we played a bit before we had to go home. It was a good day with Benithy. It still kills me a bit that she really has an indifference to us coming or going.

I have to say today caught up with me. I love going to the creche and spending time with my child (of course). But to do this 8 hours a day is really catching up with me. It’s a lot of full on kid time, and there really isn’t much break from the monotony of it all. It’s nice to have the other couple because they do add some good conversations to our day, and they can empathize with how we are feeling. But we literally wake up, go to the crèche, come home, eat, MAYBE play a game, and then go to bed. So, today if I’m being completely honest with you all, caught up with me. Which is why The Man playing soccer for most of the morning didn’t bother me as much. Something different and fun for him to do and bond with some other kids is good.

Another thing I was thinking about is…. How am I supposed to go home and carry on after this experience? There is so much need from just the kids here. I can’t seem to shake the guilty feeling of just going home and carrying on with my day to day events.  I know this whole trip has changed me… I’m just trying to see how exactly it has changed in me…. If that makes sense! J

We miss you all so much. I think the closer it gets to coming home, the more we wish we could see you! 

Day 10- Friday

Friday nights don’t seem like Fridays here! J It’s the start of the weekend for most of you, but for us it’s just another day at the crèche!

Today it rained, and if you are a teacher you know first-hand that this means that the kids are CrAzY!!! We had a busy morning with “class” and then the kids made it outside to play in the dirt for a bit. Then, they went inside for bath and then play time. We took Benithy and got the play-doh out. She had such a good time with it! We played for quite a while. She really enjoys when I put music on as she plays, and every once in a while she will have to stop playing for a dance break!! Sound like anyone else you know?!?!?! J (if you don’t know… it’s all of us! The Man, Myself, and The Bash are always ready for a good break out dance moment!)

After lunch Benithy basically fell asleep for a good hour or so. This is when we played with some other kids and read. There isn’t a lot of down time there. Even as we read we are having kids come up and ask questions, take stuff from us, pick on us… So then we just give in and play. J

There was a large group of people that came through the orphanage today. They were from “Grace International” I believe an organization that helps orphanages. Anyway, they came and brought 3 big bags full of goods and toured the place. We got to talk to a few of them. They had brought over 40 bags worth of goods for orphanages all around Haiti. They go around and visit the different orphanages and bring goods for the kids! How cool is that? She said they went to a government owned orphanage earlier that day, and they had 400 boys that hadn’t eaten in three days there. They pooled their money and went and got some supplied to feed the kids for about 4 days. I’m glad there are people out there willing to do this for the kids here in Haiti!

Once we got back we were all so hungry and tired we cooked up our food, played a quick game, and we’re getting ready for bed as I type! Not a normal Friday night indeed! We need to get our energy back up for the next day though… So no time to lose! J

It looks like we WILL be getting our USCIS appointment! So that means we’ll have all of our necessary paperwork done! Then the praying begins that the process does not take too long for us to be able to come and bring her home! 

Day 9- Thursday

Today we had a pretty normal day. We got to play outside a lot because it was fairly nice outside most of the day. The kids play pretty well outside because they have something to do! So it was fun. Benithy was in good spirits most of the day. We were able to play with her and enjoy her spunky sassy spirit a lot today, which is great!

The other couple that is here is a lot of fun. Tonight we got to sit around and enjoy dinner together. Then we played guitar and sang songs. One of the things I miss most about being home is listening and singing to music! So tonight refreshed my spirit a bit.

I have not gotten to run in 9 days now….. If you know me at all it is killing me. I feel my lung capacity slowly go away to nothing! I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, and what I’m doing here is WAY more important…. But it doesn’t mean I miss it any less! J  I don’t see anyone running here for exercise. I can only imagine the looks I would get if I ran around town here…. But it is perfect running weather and I WOULD get an amazing hill workout!

Things we actually are doing fine without (for the most part): TV, Our phones, air conditioning, and eating out.

OH! Other news is we may have our USCIS appointment after all! I’ll keep you posted. This was the interview that they said they would not be able to fit us in. So if we can get to this interview that would greatly help us! So pray that we get our date set for sure! 

Day 9- Thursday

Today we had a pretty normal day. We got to play outside a lot because it was fairly nice outside most of the day. The kids play pretty well outside because they have something to do! So it was fun. Benithy was in good spirits most of the day. We were able to play with her and enjoy her spunky sassy spirit a lot today, which is great!

The other couple that is here is a lot of fun. Tonight we got to sit around and enjoy dinner together. Then we played guitar and sang songs. One of the things I miss most about being home is listening and singing to music! So tonight refreshed my spirit a bit.

I have not gotten to run in 9 days now….. If you know me at all it is killing me. I feel my lung capacity slowly go away to nothing! I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, and what I’m doing here is WAY more important…. But it doesn’t mean I miss it any less! J  I don’t see anyone running here for exercise. I can only imagine the looks I would get if I ran around town here…. But it is perfect running weather and I WOULD get an amazing hill workout!

Things we actually are doing fine without (for the most part): TV, Our phones, air conditioning, and eating out.

OH! Other news is we may have our USCIS appointment after all! I’ll keep you posted. This was the interview that they said they would not be able to fit us in. So if we can get to this interview that would greatly help us! So pray that we get our date set for sure! 

Day 9- Thursday

Today we had a pretty normal day. We got to play outside a lot because it was fairly nice outside most of the day. The kids play pretty well outside because they have something to do! So it was fun. Benithy was in good spirits most of the day. We were able to play with her and enjoy her spunky sassy spirit a lot today, which is great!

The other couple that is here is a lot of fun. Tonight we got to sit around and enjoy dinner together. Then we played guitar and sang songs. One of the things I miss most about being home is listening and singing to music! So tonight refreshed my spirit a bit.

I have not gotten to run in 9 days now….. If you know me at all it is killing me. I feel my lung capacity slowly go away to nothing! I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, and what I’m doing here is WAY more important…. But it doesn’t mean I miss it any less! J  I don’t see anyone running here for exercise. I can only imagine the looks I would get if I ran around town here…. But it is perfect running weather and I WOULD get an amazing hill workout!

Things we actually are doing fine without (for the most part): TV, Our phones, air conditioning, and eating out.

OH! Other news is we may have our USCIS appointment after all! I’ll keep you posted. This was the interview that they said they would not be able to fit us in. So if we can get to this interview that would greatly help us! So pray that we get our date set for sure! 

Day 8- Wednesday

Today I was really missing The Bash. It has been hard not having him here… but for some reason it really hit me today. I walk around feeling incomplete without that crazy boy! I know he is being loved on and taken care of amazingly by our family, but it is so hard to be without him for so many days. Which puts into perspective how hard this year wait is really going to be for us! Anyway, I came into our room this morning crying because I just wanna snuggle that boy so bad right now.

Anyway… Our day started with a knock on our door. We were headed to the crèche early today because they needed the car for something else. We crammed into the truck and headed to the crèche. When we arrived we caught the end of the kid’s prayer/devotions in the morning. The boys were making a sweet beat using drum stick on this shelf and a baby toy piano! It was AMAZING! They were all singing. Then they said their own prayers aloud and then said a prayer together. It was really cool getting to be a part of that.

Benithy had to go to the Dr. clinic today. She’s fighting a bit of a cold of some sort. So she got checked up on. The clinic is right there by the crèche so we didn’t go far.

One thing about Benithy is that every day she has to re-warm-up to us. It makes it very exhausting because every day we are breaking down a barrier. By that I mean she never comes to us right at first, we always initiate the relationship. Sometimes she still cries (especially if she is tired). At first we hold her for a long time, and she doesn’t let go. Once she finally starts to play she’ll get her sass and her voice… but some days she never gets to this stage. Some days she’ll look at us and interact with us, and some days she just lays on us. These are all good, but every day we go through these stages. Some days are easier than others. Some days she leans toward wanting one of us more than the other. Once we break down the Benithy barrier it does not mean it’s like that all day… Some days we are doing it 2-3 times each day! She is amazing, but so hard to get to.  On top of that we are bombarded with the needs of the other kids that are there. We get to know the kids more and more and love on them… Making each day so awesome, but so hard. So please continue to pray for us and her heart! Thanks!

Today while Benithy was napping we got to sit in on the older kid’s “class.” They pick a topic and have to discuss/debate it in English. Today the subject was sharing. It was really cool to get to sit and listen in on what the kids thought about sharing and all the different aspects of sharing. More than anything it was great to get to know the older kids a bit more. They are all very sweet!

The other couple here is so sweet. They are kind and, again, I cannot stress how nice it is to have someone that we can have good conversations with!

We are on our downhill ride of our trip! 7 days left (6 full days and 1 day of travel) left. It seems absolutely insane…. I don’t know how we’ll leave here.... There is so much I enjoy about it here in Haiti (I didn’t think those words were gonna come out of my mouth before we got here). Things are just simpler in that we don’t really have a lot of internet access so my phone addiction has been cut in half. We don’t have a lot of time for anything but playing with kids, reading a bit, and a few games at night. Everyone is really quite pleasant and nice, even if I don’t understand a whole lot of what they are saying. It’s really been quite nice. Please continue to pray for Haiti as a country. They do have some elections coming up that are going to cause some turmoil. Pray for guidance and peace! J

Day 7- Tuesday

Today we went to the grocery store this morning, so we did not get to the crèche until 12:30 (We usually get there around 10). When we got there Benithy was getting her “bath.”

After she finished we swooped her up and took her to a room and played with the unicorn horses and the coloring book. She was VERY tired and so I turned her around and she fell right asleep in my arms. I thought that her waking up in my arms would go better than her waking up back in her bed. So I held onto her. Plus, we only get so many hours with her… I may as well hold on to each moment I can! So we sat there for about an hour while she napped and then it was “lunch” time (they eat around 2:00/2:30). So we woke her up and got her to her table to eat (and we ate).

Once she was finished we took her and went outside. We played in the dirt for a while. She had some great discovery time. She dug, scooped, let it drop, filled my hand, buried stuff…. It was such a cool time to see her work/think/discover. WE were all covered in dirt when we got done. So we came in and wiped ourselves off. Then we played with stickers, we listened to music, and she drummed and kept the beat. We had ourselves a great time! Really we had a great day all three of us bonding. We had a lot of alone time just the three of us, which does not happen very often. We took a few really cute videos of her that I cannot wait to show you! Her smile lights up a room! Her voice is so great! Her laugh makes you giggle too. Her sassy looks and attitude makes you smile!

We finished the day playing outside. The Man played soccer with the boys and I played with Benithy and some of the other kids. It was a really good day.

Another couple came in today too. We just finished eating dinner and chatting with them. It sure is nice to have another couple around! It is REALLY nice to get to speak some English to someone and carry on a bit of a conversation. J

Day 6- Monday

Couple cool things we learned about Haitians/Haiti:

                -They don’t trust people with tattoos, piercings (for guys), or weird hairdos (like Mohawks, color…)

                - Church dress is very conservative you must have a long skirt or dress on, closed shoes, and guys typically wear a suit like outfit

                - It’s bad to try to be too American or French

                - They try and live a very community driven life. Everyone knows each other, most stay close to home, and very friendly.

                - Creole seems to be a mix between French and Spanish and there is some English (like Hello and Bye-Bye and OK)

Today was a good day. We got there in the morning and right away started playing with the kids and Benithy. I think she has connected with The Man and I. She seems to smile at us more and is talking a LOT more. It’s really hard to know if she REALLY understands our part in her life. She probably will not get it completely until we take her home. It must be so confusing for her and the kids for us to sweep in for 2 weeks and then in an instant leave. It’s already so hard to wrap my own brain around. None the less we were there and had a good day. We played outside, inside, hide-and-seek, school, chase, walk around the whole crèche… endless fun! J Today we spent a lot of time with all the kids. I tried to get them to play duck-duck-goose…. But that did not go well! J I tried to think of something fun for us all to do together.

I will tell you this about Benithy, she is SASSSSSSSY! She even has the hand on the hip with the ‘ol head swivel move down! J One thing is for sure, we gotta get on learning our Creole so that when she DOES finally get home we can get some kind of communication with her. She seems very healthy and good in size! She fits in those 3T outfits no problem!

We finally got to SEE The Bash today. Our connection was not great and they could not hear us… but we got to see him and blow kisses his way. As much as I love being here, I sure miss that boy!

Nothing too exciting to report today. Another couple is supposed to be here today… but it looks like that it may be tomorrow. They are also adopting from C4C, but they have a little boy. It will be nice to have another couple around to hopefully play games with, and if anything talk to in English! Right now our conversations with others are limited to “Bonjour! Or Bonswa! Or Merci! Or Como ou yea? Bien…” Maybe some hand motions… J hahahaha! 

Day 5- Sunday

Jeremiah 29:11- For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you, not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future.

That was the verse the pastor spoke on today at church. I did not understand a word the man said, but The Man had a man translate most of the message for him! The Man said the lesson was basically don’t live a Sunday Christian life, but live it all your days. J For me, I thought… what an awesome verse for us to hear in the middle of this trip. PRAISE GOD for meeting us where we are and giving us just the words we need.

Church was super awesome! It was SUPER hot! It was MUCH longer than what we are used to (we were there from 10-12:30 and we were late). I didn’t understand anything they said or sang about…. But I left feeling refreshed and filled with the Spirit… I had my own little worship service in my head! J PLUS I got to experience it with Benithy in my arms! I kept thinking…. This experience is something we can share and discuss and have together for the rest of her life. I get to take a glimpse into her culture and this can help me bring her up to LOVE it later in life (I hope). What a blessing!

After church we went to the crèche where we were able to play with Benithy! She was ready to play right away and we got her going and playing and laughing! We brought a coloring book for her to enjoy. Some other kids joined us and it worked out well. She got stickers and LOVED that. After lunch (She SARFFED it) we played with these plastic unicorn toys I brought for her. She did more counting (in English), sorting, putting away and dumping out then actually playing with them. It was really cool to see her interact with them (we caught it on video… cannot wait to share it with you). Anyway after that we played with bubbles and then a little chase game we love to play. Today Benithy was a lot more interactive with us. Approaching us first. Lots of laughing and playing with our faces. A good day with her for sure!

Then, it was her nap time. She laid down for a nap and The Man and I settled in for a little reading. It didn’t take long and we had some boys at our sides asking questions and looking for all types of attention. They were our entertainment for the rest of the afternoon! I laughed so hard as they did silly things, sang songs, and just were boys! Benithy never woke up…. She was still sleeping when we had to leave. We said: “See you tomorrow” and headed back to the crèche.

Another great day.

 Every day it gets easier… and harder to leave….. As I thought I would.... I want to take about 5 of them home with us. It breaks my heart that there are so many that don't have parents... One of the older boys is almost 16 and then he has to leave the creche..... Can we have him please?!?! Pray for these kids... Pray that more people take the leap to help these in need. :) Thanks! 

Day 4- Saturday

I always say our day starts off as normal… SO I want to tell you a few things we do each morning that are NOT normal to us:

1-      Whenever we use the restroom, shower, or wash our hands in any way we have to use sanitizer afterwards

2-      Showers are SUPER short and to the point

3-      We lather ourselves with 12 hour mosquito protection. It’s a lotion we put on each morning. Then we spray our clothing

4-      All our produce must be washed n vinegar water before eating.

5-      We cannot use the faucet for anything really all our cooking, drinking, tooth brushing… water must come from the water tank located in our kitchen.

OK so those are a few new things we get to experience! J So today we woke up and did our normal routine and our ride was there to get us promptly at 9:30! We left and headed to the crèche. Today is the weekend crew and when we arrived there was another group of people at the crèche playing and holding the kids. All the people wore red t-shirts. It looks as though they are a part of some organization that comes in to give the workers a break and the kids someone new to play with.

When we got there Benithy was playing in the corner I went over to her and started to play. She smiled and immediately looked for her papa! J She got up and found him and fell asleep in his arms! I, on the other hand, had not 1, not 2, not 3, but 4 little boys laying on me. It was a site to see. Each kid claimed their spot on my leg and didn’t let the other boys share a single inch! Good things I have comfy legs! J They were there until nap time. We to Benithy to her spot for a nap and then had some free time. So we read a bit and talked a bit… It wasn’t long until we had two older boys asking for our attention. So we talked and played with them until Benithy woke up.

Today Benithy was pretty out of it. She wanted to cuddle and be held a lot. Which is find by us! So we pretty much snuggled her and hung out with her for most of the day.

Sadly, our driver told us we had to leave early from the crèche because someone else needed the truck and he had to get us home so they could take it. So we had to leave early. “damen (tomorrow)” we told her. Gave her kisses… and loaded into the truck.

Each day we come home exhausted. It’s a LOT of work and those ladies that are in there all day every day get every badge of honor I could give. Their love and work for these kids is amazing.

Today we got home early and was able to watch the USA lose…. Read a book… and cook a dinner!

Another good day.

Tomorrow is Sunday and I know The Man and I are super excited to experience church here… we are also super sad we are going to miss church there. I pray you all sing loud for us! J

Day 3- Friday

Today we woke up after a good night of sleep! One thing we will get is sleep! J We usually end up going to bed early and then sleeping in (compared to our normal routine at home) every morning! Our mornings so far have been pretty laid back. I get my workout in, we fix lunch for the day, we get ready, eat breakfast, and then try and use the wifi here! So far the wifi here has been pretty hot and cold. We’ll have a great connection at one point, and then lose it completely in the next moment! We did get an email out to our friend with a picture of our girl. We’ll try and send more. IF you haven’t gotten to see it we’ll try and get one to you as soon as we get home. Again, we cannot post it on the blog or facebook or anything until she is ours legally!

We were picked up at 9:30 and taken to the crèche. Before we left I looked at The Man and said “Today is going to be an amazing day! It will be better than yesterday… and each day will get better.” Ya know what?!? It WAS tons better today.

We got there on time to meet Benithy playing. When we first arrived she was shy again. We sat next to her playing next to her and around her (there are tons of kids there that love on you… so you do your best to play with them, but still let Benithy know you are focused on her… it’s a hard and weird combo). Anyway, she had breakfast shortly after we arrived and then we walked around with her for a bit. She had a dirty diaper, and I think that is why she didn’t approach us to hold her right away because once she got cleaned up she ran right over to me and I held her.

Soon all the little ones were taken to a little room (the TV room) and we watched “Despicable Me.” Benithy didn’t really want anything to do with the movie (I can’t really blame her the whole movie is in English, and it was REALLY loud in the room) so she snuggled up to me and eventually fell asleep. She was out for a good 1-2 hours. I looked at The Man and told him that we wouldn’t have to worry about Benithy sleeping through loudness at home! J

After she woke up we snuggled a bit more and then we went outside for a bit and tried to play with her. She was still waking up and didn’t really want to have any of it. We went and got bubbles and played a bit with those. Then she ran out of our hands, turned around and said “Mama! Papa!” and then motioned for us to follow. So of course we went after her. We played with her for quite awhile in the “school room” drawing and interacting with her and a few other boys that were inside.

3:00 was lunch for us today! All the kids were so hungry. The Man and I made our own lunch and sat down at a table to eat. We ate our food and were sitting there chatting a moment and we turned to look and there was Benithy! We welcomed her and walked back to her table and noticed that not only had she finished her food, but her food plate was completely clean and all the other kids were only about ½ way through their lunch! She scarfed it! I THINK she wanted to finish early to come see us again! J In our home for meals the Bash always gives us places after we finish our food… I always get 1^st because I eat fast (Hey! I’m a teacher… scarf it down or don’t eat!)… but once Benithy gets home I may have a little competition on my hands!

We played more after lunch. She really loved when I was holding her and we would chase papa or he would chase us. She also loved us hiding and kinda scaring her out of corners. She also loves humming. She will sit in our arms and hum away. At one point we were playing music on my phone and she was just be-bopping away! She’ll fit right into this family! We LOVE music so much! Cannot wait to bring her home and have her experience the Praise Band and all our music we love!

We finished the day with Benithy taking a nap. We sat outside of the office trying to get use of their Wifi (we’re told it is much better there… and it is!). We were able to contact a few from home and check some things before a few boys hijacked my phone. They love playing games (like anyone does). So they were trying to take it from me. So I got to see some things and check some messages and reply to some of you! J That really helps to see and hear from people at home. It feels pretty isolated here…. We’re alone in this house and we spend the rest of our time with kids that don’t really speak English.

All in all today was better! MUCH better… and tomorrow will be too! We continue to feel your love and prayers as we venture through this part of our adoption. We thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement we could not manage without you all! Keep them coming. From Haiti I send you some tight hugs! 

This is a view of Haiti's mountains. We see it every morning on our drive to the creche. Pretty cool huh?

Day 2- Thursday- We Meet

Today started like most days we wake up, I worked out, The Man drinks coffee, and then we get ready for the day.

We ate breakfast, packed our lunch, said good-bye to the people that were staying here, and then we waited….. We waited…. We waited. We tried the wifi here and IT WORKED!!! So we were able to upload our blog from Day 1 and kinda check facebook. We really have a touch and go experience here with wifi… we are pretty much unreachable for 90% of the day….. Which really doesn’t matter too much during the day because we are busy, but at night it sure would be nice. One thing I miss….

ANYWAY, finally our ride arrived and we loaded into the vehicle and drove to the orphanage. Another interesting drive full of honks. Another fun observation is that people give thumbs up to say hi.

We arrived at the orphanage and The Man and I step out of the car and stand there waiting as our driver talks to another guy.

 A few minutes later he looks at us, smiles, and says “I thought you would just go on in” our driver says (our driver is also one of the main people in charge of adoptions for Chances for Children…)

“We’ve never been here, we don’t know where to go.” We both said.

“OK” he says and walks us into the orphanage. This is kinda the feeling we have gotten these past few days we’ve been here. We have no idea what we are doing, and no one here seems to want to give us too much information… Or they don’t know what information to give… and we don’t know what questions to ask. It’s been an interesting time… we are going with the flow the very best we know how…

Anyway we enter the orphanage and 3 kids run up and immediately want our attention and to be held. The man leads us to this side room and we wait for Benithy there. We wait for quite a while and as we wait we play with some other kids that are coming in and out of the room.

Finally our child is brought to us! And just unlike a fairy tale meeting… she is bawling, she does not want to be with us… The lady that brought her in plops her on my lap and walks off and we are left with our daughter in all her glory! J So we get out our picture book and we just sit and try and calm her. Eventually she stops crying (and I’m not using the word eventually lightly)… she settles into my arms a bit looser, and then passes out cold. Our first moments are literally crying, snuggling, and then sleeping…. Just like a baby I suppose!

We sat there for a while just letting her sleep… Just letting me sink her in… Just letting us BE with our daughter. She does the same small snore that The Bash does when he is fast asleep. Then another Chances for Children worker showed us all around the campus. We saw the rooms, the play rooms, the “TV room, the new building they are working on, their garden, their kitchen, their dr. office (medic center)… they have an amazing set up for these kids. Then we played! We played from about 1-5. We tried to really focus our attention and time with Benithy, but there are so many kids of all ages that want your attention. SO many yell out mama!! Papa!! And hold their arms up to you. I thought being a kindergarten teacher was a lot of touching…. Oh no… this was touch overload! I do believe that Benithy warmed up to us both quite a bit by the end of our time. We spent a lot of time just following her around as she ran room to room… By the time The Man and I loaded back into the truck to go home we were both over exhausted physically and mentally and emotionally. How are we going to expel this much energy and touching for the next 14 days we asked each other!!!

We may get to bring her back to the guest cottage the rest of our stay here. We aren’t sure yet. That should be an experience on its own, but a great way to get some more personal bonding time with her. Please pray and The Man and I adjust to so many things all at once.

 I wish I could show you a picture of our adorable, dimpled, sweet sweet girl, but we are told we cannot post pictures until she is legally ours! So, we will do our best at texting and showing you in person when we return. Until then… just picture the sweetest girl ever… because that is her!

Her name is pronounced: Ben-ee-tee

Day 1- Wednesday- Traveling

Today we started our day at 3 am. Luckily we have some great friends that volunteered to drop us off at the airport early in the morning. We left our house and traveled down to the airport, checked in, and waited for our first flight to Atlanta. The whole day seems weird from the start because of the crazy hour you wake up. Plus we have no Bash…. So the day started off in a bit of a haze.

We landed in Atlanta and got off and traveled our way to the terminal for our second flight to Haiti. It was a short walk, train ride, and short walk to get to the international terminal. I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd we would run into. What kind of plane we would be loading. But there actually was a large group of people traveling mostly missionary groups. To be honest I was surprised at some of the ages of kids that were loading up to go. Anyway, we freshened up, filled our water bottle up with clean water, and ate a meal bar (breakfast). It’s kind of funny because the terminal was super new looking. The bathrooms were AMAZINGLY nice. Everything was so clean and fresh and I kept thinking…. What a shock to our system we are about to step into. Shortly after we both freshened up it was time to load the plane. We boarded and got the sweet deal of sitting where the wings are, which means we had extra room for our feet! I called Bash knowing that the internet/wifi in Haiti would be sketchy and I honestly was not sure if/when I was going to be able to talk to him again. After a short exchange and a reminder of our love we hung up with him, put the phone on airplane mode, and we took off for Haiti. The plane ride to Haiti is only 2 hours and 40 minutes. We spent a lot of time reading, trying to cram some Creole in our brains, and I napped because… napping is amazing… and we were up at 3am! They came around with snacks and drinks…. I got my diet coke thinking….. well here is my last sweet soda of goodness for a long time! I sipped it and enjoyed every last drop. J The little pleasures in life.

We finally landed in Haiti and quickly felt the over 100 degree heat as we entered the airport. We walked through all the different stages and customs. Each time we walked to a new area workers were there just pointing in the direction we should go. We finally got our baggage (YES! It all arrived with us) and then we waited. We knew we had a rep from Chances for Children coming for us, we just had no idea what they looked like and we were not sure where exactly they would be. The whole time there are people asking to help you carry your bags, lift your bags, take you in a taxi…. Anything they can think of to help you (for a small price of course). We just kept saying no and waiting. I got a bit nervous thinking about what our plan B would be. Our phones do not work here, and we are at the mercy of wifi and Chances for Children for any help. Finally our rep comes and we walk down to the truck. Two men that I thought were WITH our rep were actually just there trying to make some cash. They quickly ripped my baggage from me and lifted it into the truck for me. I had no idea what was going on until they asked for a tip! J

OK! Now we are in the truck and we start driving. I am not a great writer and I cannot paint pictures with my words. I don’t think I can possibly sum up the scene we saw, but I will try. Before I do I want to preface this with the fact that this is not a dig at Haiti, nor is it a negative thing, these are just the observations and situations we experienced on our way to the guest house:

1-      We only saw 2 stop lights the whole time we were driving

2-      People are literally lining the streets selling items, walking, or carrying items places. There are tons of people out and they just walk through the streets without much regard to the fact that there is a crazy amount of traffic driving without much regard for them!

3-      LOTS of honking. Honking if you are annoyed, honking to say HEY I’m COMING AROUND THIS CORNER PLEASE DON’T HIT ME!, honking if someone is in your way, just random hoking to honk…

4-      A street will go from paved to ridiculously nonexistent in seconds.

5-      I have no idea how we got from point a to point b because there does not seem to be a rhyme or reason to how they are set up. I would not be able to find my way back even if you had a million dollars if I could. It was insane

6-      We saw goats and cows just eating stuff on the side of the road

7-      There is a lot poverty and things are still not rebuilt from the earthquake many years ago. I cannot even begin to describe this.

8-      Our truck broke down about 5 times on our way here. Which was a  bit nerve racking as well.

9-      The mountains here are gorgeous. We are actually up in the mountains right now. They are large and take your breath away

1-   Everyone is dressed up nicely! Everywhere I looked, and all the people I saw were wearing nice clothing. I felt under dressed in my leggings and t-shirt.

1-   As we moved up the mountains we noticed the weather got cooler. Right now we are sitting quite comfortably here in Haiti (never thought I would say that). It has cooled down for the night and there is a nice breeze that makes it quite pleasurable.

When we arrived to the guest house we were welcomed with a group that was here to work at Chances for Children and one mother of a boy from Chances for Children. Today is their last day here… they leave tomorrow morning. It was nice to be welcomed by someone that could speak English as American as that sounds…. We came in, put our stuff in our room and collapsed on the bed. We were just laying there and the others just popped their heads in and introduced themselves. Some of the nicest people in the world! We quickly warmed up to them (especially when they offered a beer for The Man and a glass of wine for me… J). We settled downstairs talking and soon it was dinner.

No wifi to post until tomorrow, but we are pooped at 9:00pm here. We have had a very interesting day, and look so forward to meeting our daughter! The butterflies are in our tummies and our anticipation is as high as ever. But, we will wait until tomorrow! J  

All God's People Say Amen!

Wonderful friends and family we cannot begin to describe our joy and love we feel from all your support this past week. Through all your givings we have 2 full suitcases full of items to donate to our child's orphanage and raised close to $4,000 in funds! This will pretty much cover our travel costs! We feel SO blessed and we also feel God's loving hands through you all! We have gotten a true view of a church family coming together to help those in need!

All we can do is sing:

You are not alone if you are lonely
When you're feeling afraid you're not the only
We are all the same in need of mercy
To be forgiven and be free
It's all you got to lean on
But thank God it's all you need

AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN
AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN
GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HIS LOVE NEVER ENDS
AND ALL THE PEOPLE SAID AMEN

If you're rich or poor, well it don't matter
We grow strong and our love is what we're after
We're all broken but we're all in this together
God knows it's summer and fall
And He so loved the world He sent His Son to save us all

Blessed all the poor spirits who are torn apart
Blessed all the persecuted and the pure in heart
Blessed all the people lonely for another start
For this is a kingdom
The kingdom of God 



We leave this Wednesday for Haiti and we will be there for 14 days! Please stay tuned for more updates!!!! 

We Have a Girl!

Hey everyone I wanted to write down this roller coaster ride we have been on for a week!

It all started last week while we were in Texas. We got a phone call from our adoption agency telling us that it was looking good for us to get our referral later that week! We would be matched with a little girl! Our agency also told us that we would probably be traveling to Haiti by the end of the month.

The rest of the week was spent:
Looking at Haiti plane tickets
Trying to plan a fundraiser
Trying to wait patiently for our referral to come in so we could learn more about our little girl

So Wednesday passed... and nothing.... Thursday came and we got an email saying that our referral was in, but just not in the hands of our agency. Friday came and we were told we'll be getting our referral on Monday. So Monday came and we sat impatiently waiting for any information about our girl. That day I got an email that said we will probably not get anything until Tuesday. AHHHH!!! This is kinda how the whole adoption process works! Why it's so hard not to get your hopes up, but so painful when things don't come like they are supposed to!

Anyway, our country rep sent an email Monday with the French version of our referral... Which doesn't do us any good except that there was a picture of our little girl!!!! So we finally got to SEE her!

Finally today we got our referral.

Meet Benithy
 She just turned 3 years old in June

Her beautiful big eyes and chubby little cheeks! Cannot wait to snuggle her in a week or so!

Right now she is at the Creche Chances for Children http://chances4children.org/ You can check out their site there. When we go to visit her we will bring with us a ton of needed items to donate to their orphanage. When we go on our bonding trip to see her we will get to stay in the guest house at her orphanage!


Here are our next steps coming up:

1. Fly to Haiti and stay there for 14 days. There we will bond with our child, fill out legal documents, and do some interviews. By the time we are finished she will legally be a White family member!
2. We will have to come back without her on this trip.
3. Then in about a year we will travel BACK to Haiti with The Bash to pick up our daughter. I don't know why we have to wait a year. I'm guessing it has a lot to do with the Haitian government and the way their country works. It's going to be SO hard to walk away from our daughter. As hard as it is going to be, we are going to try our VERY BEST to look at this as one step closer to bringing her home.... and not focus on the amount of time.... Try and look forward to tall the wonderful years we'll have together... and not all the times we have missed so far. God has provided us with what we have needed so far, I have no reason do doubt that He will provide for us here too!


Prayer Requests:
Safe Travels
Open the heart of Benithy to let us in!
Strength and Patience during our year wait between visits
For us to get to go FASTER than a year to go get her
Funds for all these events in the next few weeks
People in Haiti/ their community
Chances for Children and the work they do there
Our family


Thanks again for the overwhelming love and encouragement during these hard times of waiting and now during this crazy time! Whatever you have done whether it was give money, time, encouragement, let me ramble on and on about it to you, let me cry to you about it, prayed for us and our family, read these blogs, told a friend about it.... whatever you have done for us.... we cannot even begin to tell you how much it means to us. We are absolutely overwhelmed with your love! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! Again and again.... Our daughter has no idea how blessed she is going to be with this community she has around her!


-The Whites

It MAY be something.....

I juggled writing about my phone call yesterday to everyone or not... because... I have to preface this with what our country rep told us.... Don't get your hopes up... BUT.....

SO....

Don't get your hopes up... but

I got a phone call from our country rep with some MAYBE news.. I say maybe news because Haiti is not very helpful in knowing where or what exactly is going on with our paperwork over there. Not sure if we are close to getting matched or at the bottom of the pile. We don't know if they've even LOOKED at our dossier or not! There is a lot of random logistics in all of this... so I'm going to say it all in the simplest way I can...

The orphanage that we signed with (right before everything changed and you don't really sign with an orphanage anymore) is called Chances for Children. (look them up online they are awesome). Anyways within that orphanage they tentatively "matched" us with a GIRL at their orphanage. They wrote that in on our cover letter (submitted to their government with our dossier) as a suggestion for our family. Anyway, her dossier has started to move/ get processed!!!! Which COULD mean that things are moving closer to our referral stage/matching stage! I say could... because there is no real say as to what that means really until we get the letter/ phone call from them saying we have been matched, BUT it is encouraging none the less.

I realize it could mean nothing. I realize it could mean everything. More than anything... it's just nice to hear SOME news about our process at all. During these months of waiting sometimes you feel like it may never happen EVER!

So, without much speculation... we MAY get matched with a GIRL soon! (By soon.. I mean months... or something... who knows what soon means in this process???? not me!!!)  Amen!

The other bit of news is that the person in charge of placing/matching kids is going on vacation soon... so... we still may be awhile...

Thank you AGAIN and AGAIN to those who have continued to keep us all in your prayers. You may not hear a lot from us, and we may be plugging along day to day, but our hearts are still longing to bring our child home! So to all of our prayer warriors I just want you to know that it is working. It is helping us get through this time of waiting.. and will continue to carry us through the rest of this long process! I love you all! :)

Yep... we're still adopting... it's just taking awhile!

I recently ran a marathon. It was the best thing ever! The training took my mind off of things, gave me a goal I could work toward, and helped me COMPLETE something.  When we set off on this journey this was not a part of the plan, but as I was faced with another LONG wait I knew this would help me a ton... and it did!

Right now we are still waiting... it could be tomorrow that we get a call.. it could be another 6 months..... We have no idea. So we have taken on the mind set that we are going to live each day enjoying the blessings we have now, but ready to take on the new blessings whenever it comes. We have almost had to put our adoption to the side of our plate instead of having it sitting as the meat and potatoes of our plate. It was consuming my brain and life TOO much and causing some anxiety and pain! So we are still SUPER excited to bring another child into our home, but trying to not let it consume every minute of who we are.

Mind you once we find out who our child is we go to Haiti for about 2 weeks for our bonding trip, and then we have about another year wait until we get to bring our child home to us! Are we tired of waiting? YES! I must say that as I have traveled more down this road it has gotten easier. Not because waiting is awesome. Not because I've become more patient.... but really because all we can do is put our trust in God and know that He has that. We have no control. We have NO say... But it is always comforting know that the creator has us in His hands. There we shall sit... nestled in... :)

SO if you think I've dropped off the face to the universe I have not... IF you think that we forgot about you... we have not! We are just still in the same place as 6 months ago... Waiting! Thanks for waiting with us in prayer and kind thoughts.

Here is a good picture to explain the process right now:



Again thanks for all your love and support! We would not be as confident and as at peace with this process without you!

Strength Will Rise When You Wait Upon the Lord!

Psalm 27:14 ESV

Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! 

Psalm 145:15 ESV 

The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. 

Psalm 130:5 ESV 

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 

We continue to wait. We continue to trust the timing. We continue to believe that our Haitian child is worth every heart breaking moment without them now. We continue to pray for our child. We know that in due time our family will be united with our most special child. 

Our dossier is still in the process of being approved by the Haitian government. Right now Haiti is in a LOT of turmoil. There are a lot of protests going on, which makes it hard for some people to get to work! Our agency has told us that people's adoptions are still being processed. So things are still progressing and not at a complete stand still. Which is good! We are still looking at another 5-11 months for our dossier to be fully approved. Hopefully we will get matched during that time, or quickly after. 

Right now we are at the point that some of our documents will need to be renewed. So we'll be looking at all our documents that were submitted, and see what we need to do to renew them.  I guess that makes us seasoned adoptive parents.... in that we are on our second time through this process... without our child. It sounds like a lot of parents adopting from Haiti are to expected to renew their documents 2-3 times throughout the process....

Please continue to pray for our family. Pray for patience for us, but especially pray for all of those in Haiti right now. It is dangerous and unsettled there (even more so than normal). Thanks again for all your continued support! We feel it each and every day! :)

Prayers for All

I don't know if you have been following the news much at all, but there has been a lot of unrest and hard things going on in Haiti. Here is an email from our country rep that fills you in the best:

I wanted to take a moment to update you with information that we have received from our in-country partners today. As you all know, about a month ago, I sent you an update regarding the political climate of Haiti.  I know that we have all been praying as the Haitian government continued to make decisions and work through challenges. The potential elections did not occur yesterday, and this has caused unrest in the Port-au-Prince area. The unrest has resulted in riots some of which have become violent in nature. There is potential that the unrest could cause different governmental offices to close for several days. All of our in-country staff, homes, and children are safe and doing well. Our in-country partners are keeping us abreast of the situation as things arise. I would like to encourage you to continue to use this an opportunity to pray as I know you have been doing. As you continue to pray, please know that we are praying for your family as we wait on updates to come. 

Please keep the people and the country in your prayers right now. Not sure what this means for us as far as adoption goes. I guess we'll just have to wait and see (seems to be the name of the game lately). I do imagine it will make our process all the more longer (right now we are looking at 2 years still).  I hope you continue to keep us in your prayers and the entire country of Haiti. 


THANKS!