Some news

We heard today that our paperwork is impeccable and perfect, which was nice to hear, after all the work we had done to prepare it. What's not perfect is our age. We've known that Haitian law states that couples must be 35 to adopt, but had been told months ago that there were exceptions to that rule, and that we met those exceptions. But...in January a law is going to be passed changing the age to 29, an age that Sean reached just weeks ago. (Only one of us needs to be 29). One person at the agency where the paperwork has been has decided that he wants to wait until the law is passed next month before signing our paperwork. The rest of his team have signed off and it's all in his hands. The lawyer says he's doing us a favor and that this will make things go more smoothly in the next two step (yes, there are still two more steps).

We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and hope to see all of you in the new year!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving we had so much to be thankful for. My brother, his wife, and their amazing baby boy came to spend Thanksgiving with us. We had a wonderful time and were grateful for the days to relax together and to play with Baby Owen. We're also so thankful for our supportive friends and family, and for having great jobs that we love going to.

Obviously we were hoping to be thankful for the arrival of a certain beautiful girl, but for that we'll have to continue to wait. On last check in the IBESR has still not signed our paperwork. We know that it will take at least six weeks after it has been signed, which pushes our travel date into January at the earliest. It's been difficult to realize that we'll be celebrating Christmas without her and the waiting gets harder each day. We were happy tonight, however, when we talked to our friend who is also in the Haitian adoption process, who said that we somehow got through the US process much more quickly and easily than he ever has. We're not sure which factor made this happen, but are grateful nonetheless.

We hope you all had a great Thanksgiving as well. Know that we are thankful for each of you, for your support, and for your prayers.

Good News!

We got notice today that US Immigration has approved us and has sent our approval to the Consulate in Haiti! I know there was a blog posting months ago saying the same thing, but they had to approve two parts, and this was the second one. This is a huge relief, after the letter we got last week asking for something we wouldn't be able to get from Haiti for weeks, not to mention translation, etc. Apparently they decided we were fine without that. They are also asking for background checks on someone we've never heard of, so we're not quite sure what that's all about, but we're so grateful and relieved to have some good news.

We're still waiting anxiously for the IBESR to sign, as that's all that's holding things up now.

They say that God won't give you more than you can handle, and I think I was about to give up on the whole thing this afternoon...and then I got the email with the approval notice. This has been a long and difficult journey for us both and we know we're not at the end yet, but it's nice to think that we may be getting to the end-ish. I know that it's been difficult for all of you to watch us go through this and not know what to say or do. Know that we appreciate so much the regularity with which so many of you check the blog, these days we appreciate most the LACK of questions we've been getting, and most of all we appreciate the prayers. As a friend put it the other night, "Everytime I log on to the blog-and I do everyday-it's a reminder to send up a prayer." We've got a site tracker on the blog and are able to see the number of people who look at the blog and also what states and countries are represented. It's so powerful for us to know that people all around the country, and a few outside the US, are checking in. Thanks.

Not much to report

On the U.S. side, we mailed a letter to Immigration on Friday trying to clear up questions about the things they've asked for. One of the things they want we can't get from Haiti for a few weeks, so we're hoping that will be soon enough.

On the Haitian side, our lawyer went to the IBESR (agency where the papers have been since July) a few days ago to see if they'd signed it now that the they have our psych eval. They have not. Marialyn instructed the lawyer to let us know the minute they sign.

Sean celebrated his 29th birthday yesterday! I surprised him with our first subscription to cable tv, including the Big Ten Network so that he can watch every single Indiana University basketball game this season.

That's all for now. Keep the prayers coming, please!

Hurricane Noel

Thanks to all of you who have emailed about the recent hurricane, Noel. Although it caused much devastation and dozens of deaths in Haiti, all of the friends we met on our trip are safe. It's devastating to read the stories about parents having to choose one child over another as the water swept them away. The deforestation of the majority of the country played a role in the damage of the heavy rains. We are relieved that it has moved away from the area.

The lawyer received our paperwork (thanks again DHL!) on Friday and said she would bring it to the 2nd agency (the one that the paperwork has been in since July) on Monday. We're hoping that she did and that they immediately signed it so that she could take it to the next agency right away. We're also realistic, and know that "immediately" and "right away" rarely happen.

In the meantime we've been trying to understand a request we got from US Immigration asking for a document we already submitted as well as another form of documentation that we don't even understand. I'm starting to feel like it will be a miracle if this all goes through. But...crazier things have happened, so start praying everyone.

On a happier note, I just got back from a four day trip to my home town in Indiana. A group from my church here went to a conference that my dad played a major role in, so it was wonderful to see many family members (including my amazing 7 month old nephew!!!) as well as attend the conference.

We should be getting some news of something soon, so keep watching and please say (at least) a few prayers for the "paperwork people" as I call them, the baby girl, and the two of us. Thanks.

We love the Consulate

I was joking in my last post when I said that we expected the Haitian Consulate in Chicago to stamp our paperwork before his morning coffee and send it right back out to us. Apparently, it wasn't a joke! It arrived there yesterday at 845 am and it was stamped and on our doorstep when I got home from work this afternoon. I'm always shocked and amazed when something goes quickly and smoothly.

I rushed the paperwork to the DHL office at the airport and had them send it off to Haiti ASAP. Last time it got there in less than 24 hours, although they call it 2 day shipping. Hopefully Noel (the storm hitting that area) won't slow down the flights carrying our papers or more importantly cause damage or destruction to any of the countries in its path.

Now it's back to the waiting game. Of course, I'm frantically calculating in my mind...if it gets to the lawyer on Thursday and she gets the agency to sign it by Friday...Friday is November 2...6 weeks from November 2 is December 14. I'm simulaneously preparing myself for the worst and reminding myself that it's rare for things to go quickly in Haiti. But it sure is fun to think about picking her up in time for Christmas!

We'll keep you posted as we track the package and (hopefully) hear updates from the lawyer!

Updates

Our psychological evaluation is on its way to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago right now in both its English and French versions. It should be waiting there when they open tomorrow morning and our hope is that they will put upon it their seal of approval and ship it back to us in the overnight envelope before they have their morning coffee. As soon as we receive it we'll DHL it to Haiti. We found earlier in the process that that can get papers in the hands of the lawyer in less than 24 hours!

We heard on Friday that Bedeline continues to be healthy and that she's regaining the weight that she had lost during her illness. We have no idea how much she may weigh these days but are thinking she may be in 2T clothing by the time she arrives.

Thanks for reading!

Psych update

We got our psychological evaluation completed, notarized, and stamped by the Secretary of State on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Now we're waiting (not so patiently) for it to be translated into French so that we can send it to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago for another fancy stamp. We'll overnight it there with an overnight envelope for them to send it back. When it comes back to us from Chicago we will DHL it to the lawyer in Haiti. We found last time that this can happen in less than 24 hours. The hope is that as soon as the agency has this new paper in hand they'll sign off and release our paperwork. We think that it will be about 6 weeks from that point, putting us at beginning to mid December.

The phrase "Hurry up and wait," seems to describe this situation perfectly. We seem to do a lot of rushing around to get things ready, stamped, mailed, etc. and then we have to put it in someone else's hands and wait. I'm never sure which is more painful, when it is in our hands and the pressure is on, or when it's out of our hands and we have no clue what's happening.

We have a friend who's about a month ahead of us in the process, who's going to have his two boys come home to him soon. I think it will feel wonderful for us when that happens-proof that the system does, indeed, work!

Keep watching for new details!

Finally, some news to report!

As Marialyn put it yesterday, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that the IBESR (agency where the paperwork's been forever) is ready to sign our papers. Bad news is that before they can do so, they need to see a Pschological Evaluation on both of us. We hadn't known about this before, because it's apparently specific to people under 35.

So, if any of you have any advice about how to make that happen, CALL US! Our goal is to get the evals done, translated, notarized, apostilled (fancy stamp) and DHLed to Haiti by Friday at the latest. The hope is that as soon as they get the evals they sign the paperwork right away. Then there's a 2 week step, then there's a 4 week step. The few people we've told seem less than thrilled that there's another 6 weeks, but for us it's a nice amount of time to be able to get plane tickets, finally buy car seats, get things ready at work, etc. 6 weeks from today is December 1, so perhaps I'll be in Haiti for my birthday (Dec 2) after all!

We're trying to stay a bit realistic, knowing that Haiti timelines aren't always what they promise, but are thrilled to have some news. Finally, something to say when asked 72 times each day, "Any news about the baby?" :)

Happy Birthday Bedeline!

Today, October 18, is Bedeline’s first birthday. Of course we had hoped that we’d be celebrating this big event together, but alas, that’s doesn’t seem to be part of the plan. There’s still no word from the lawyer who had said she’d go check on the paperwork last week. We’re not sure if that means that she hasn’t gone at all, has gone and has nothing to report, or just hasn’t contacted Marialyn with an update. We’ll let you know as soon as we hear.

Last weekend we went to Wisconsin and babysat a 2-year-old girl so that her parents (long time friends of ours) could go to a Baptism out of state. It was an interesting glimpse into what our world is going to become when Bedeline does arrive. A very good practice run!

We now have another Haitian child that we’re invested in. We signed up last week to sponsor a child through Sean’s job (Friends of the Orphans) and of course, we had to choose Haiti! Herby is 12-years-old and as soon as the paperwork goes through we get to start writing letters back and forth. We hope to meet him and see the orphan home and hospital that Friends of the Orphans sponsors when we go to pick up Bedeline. Sean’s boss has also asked us to think about leading a trip to Haiti next year! Amazing to think that a little more than seven months ago Haiti was the farthest thing from our minds. It just goes to show that we never know which way our life will go.

healthy girl

Hello friends! We heard last night that Bedeline is once again healthy and happy (insert huge sigh of relief here). She is reported to have lost some weight during her illness and we're again grateful for the extra pounds that she had going into it, though we're having a really hard time imagining her without all those rolls!

We also heard that the lawyer is planning to go to the agency where our paperwork is next week to check on it, since she thinks it should be finished there SOON! Strange, after all this waiting, to hear the word "soon", though we are only allowing ourselves to be cautiously optimistic, not full out excited...yet. Once we get the word that it's out of the this 2nd agency, I believe it goes to round 3 for a few weeks and then has 22 days of translation. We're still clinging to "end of November, beginning of December", but really just praying she'll be here for Christmas. Either way, girl's going to need a whole bunch of warm clothes. She's not going to know what hit her with this Minnesota weather!

In all other aspects of our lives, we Breiningers are doing really well! Sean absolutely loves his new job with Friends of the Orphans and I've begun volunteering there as well. It's such an inspirational organization and we're so grateful to be a part of it.

My job is also going very well. I was recently promoted and am now a mentor coach to four new coaches that we just hired. I continue to do the Literacy Coaching that I have been, but coach and mentor the new folks in addition. The project that I work for is a huge success and it's rewarding to go to work each day to see the difference that's being made.

Last weekend I flew to Michigan to spend 3 days with my favorite baby boy, my nephew Owen. I had only seen him once since his birth in March and it would kill me to see new photos showing how quickly he was growing. I had a wonderful time spending the weekend on the carpet with him, trying to coax him into crawling and getting him to giggle. I look forward to the day when cousins Owen and Bedeline can play together!

Our mantra this week has been "It's October!". An obvious fact, but one that means to us that we're that much closer to November and December, and that, perhaps, good news will be coming to us soon. Keep praying for and watching the blog for good news!

health update

We heard yesterday that Bedeline's stomach issues have completely gone away, but that now she has a bladdar infection and screams and cries when urinating. :( She has seen a specialist and is on medication. We're grateful that there are specialists to be seen and hope and pray that this will be her last illness in Haiti.

In the meantime we finally took the leap of faith and hung the Haitian animal art that we bought in Port-au-Prince in her room, along with the butterfly mobile that we found a while back.

We were at a birthday party last night where, as usual, we were asked for updates a million times. Each time we said, "End of November or beginning of December" we heard, "That's right around the corner!" It's so nice that November is finally right around the corner, though we're preparing ourselves for it taking longer, just in case.

I'm home with a cold and am trying to put things into perspective that if that little girl can go through all that she has in the past few weeks, I can stand a few sniffles! I hope that each of you are healthy and happy!

good news!

I heard this afternoon that Bedeline is on the mend! She stopped vomiting and has started eating and drinking a bit. We are so thankful and relieved, having spent the morning brainstorming about how to make her better. Everything from somehow telling them the homemade Pedialyte recipe to calling the local hospital. Fortunately we didn't have to go to those extremes and we're hoping for continued positive reports.

This experience has made us so very grateful for our medical system that we take for granted. We can't wait to get her here so that she can have access to the medical help that she may need.

Many of you have been so helpful and supportive in these past weeks of worrying and we are very grateful. We are blessed to have such a support system! How about a new picture to celebrate good health???

medical update

We heard from Marialyn last night that Bedeline had been so sick for a few days that she wasn't even urinating. She is urinating again, but is still quite ill. They continue to take her to the Doctor. That's about all we know. We'll continue to post updates as we get them. Thanks for the prayers for her health and our ever growing ulcers.

Updates

Hi friends,
We found out last night that Bedeline has been sick for about a week with fever, diarrhea, and vomiting. She's been to the Dr. a number of times and has tried 3 different medicines. We're eagerly awaiting updates on her condition. A Dr. friend told me tonight that her size will be favorable in this case. I knew there was a reason for those thunder thighs aside from the cute factor!

We also found out that a friend who is also in the process of adopting from Haiti heard that his paperwork is finished at the dreaded second stage that we're currently in. His was there for 4.5 mos. If that's the trend, we'll be out of that stage in mid-October. After that comes stage three, which I think may only be a few weeks. After THAT is another stage that lasts 22 days, in which everything is translated. The lawyer is now estimating late Nov. or early December. Perhaps in time for my Dec 2 birthday, or Christmas?

Please continue to pray for not only the "paperwork people" as I like to call them, but also for the health of Bedeline. We'll keep you posted.

New Pictures!

As I'm sure you've noticed, we have new pictures! Marialyn just got home from Haiti yesterday and spent her first morning home downloading pictures to send to us (thank you Marialyn!!!). There were dozens of pics in all, but we chose the best 3 to share here with all of you. We're thrilled to see that she's looking healthy, well-fed :), and is developmentally right on track. Now if only we could get her here!

another baby milestone

I talked to Marialyn yesterday who visited Bedeline again on Tuesday. She said that in the few weeks since Marialyn saw her last she's learned how to stand up on her own! Even though Marialyn's camera was recently stolen, she borrowed a friend's so that she could document this for us. She returns to Indiana on Tuesday and we'll be watching our email inbox for pictures from both of her visits with Bedeline. Don't worry, we'll post them here when we've got them!

baby care class

Sean and I started our day at a baby care class at our adoption agency. It was designed for families adopting internationally who are expecting babies from 3-16 mos. of age. It was very helpful and we're realizing that in some ways, the older she is, the easier the "maintenance"! We had some giggles when the instructor talked about baby size, especially when she was explaining that when taking temperatures under the arm it helps if the baby has some fat rolls. SOME fat rolls? I don't think that will be a problem. :)

Two weeks after the Haiti party, donations continue to come in daily. Latest count: $2633! Thanks everyone!

teeth :)

On Saturday we got an email from Marialyn with the subject heading "bedeline" and our hearts stopped. Fortunately the email had only good news: Baby Bedeline has 2 teeth in and one on its way! She is currently eating regular food in tiny pieces, even meat! This is exciting and a bit baffling, causing us to wonder if we get to just bypass all the baby food stuff. She hasn't seen her again, but is hoping to this week.

Fortunately Hurricane Dean bypassed them! Marialyn said on the phone today that it was overcast and a little rainy, but that was it. We are so relieved, having thought that hurricane destruction is the last thing this poor country needs.

We continued to receive donations all this week and our total is now up to $2405! We are amazed at how generous and wonderful our friends and co-workers are.

That's it for now. If we hear that Marialyn has seen Bedeline again, I'll be sure to let you know.

One Country Down, One to Go!

Still riding the excitement of the party last weekend (our total is now up to $2350!), we got an email from our social worker on Tuesday saying that she received word from US Immigration that we have been approved! What does this mean? We think this means that we are finished with the US side of things. We think that the US will send our approval to the US Embassy in Haiti and that when things are approved by Haiti they'll see that the US has approved us and will be ready to issue the visa. This is good! Despite all of the fingerprinting mishaps, we were still approved and without losing any time, it seems.

We've got November on the brain, since that was our lawyer's last estimate and are excited that it's really just right around the corner. Now that we've been approved by the US, we might take a leap of faith and starting getting some of those items we were afraid to get before, like the crib mattress and a giant car seat.

Sean had his first day at Friends of the Orphans today and I'm eagerly awaiting his arrival home so I can hear all about it.

We've been amazed at all of the people and businesses quite close to our home that were affected by the storms last Friday night, losing power and trees, and are feeling even more fortunate that our house was somehow spared all of that and that the party was able to go on.

Sean's home and said his first day was great! If you haven't yet, check out the website at www.friendsoftheorphans.org.

Haiti Party a Huge Success!

24 hours ago we were in our backyard with 91 of our friends, under three tents, in the rain, drinking rum punch, and talking about Haiti. When the forecast called for rain we decided just a few hours before the party to rent a tent and borrow a few others. We are very glad we did because the rain came just 10 mins into the party. Fortunately we have amazing friends who battled the weather, some even biking here in the rain! A friend of ours catered the event and we had Jerk Chicken skewers, rice with beans, peppers, and onions, tropical fruit salad, plantain chips and salsa, and pineapple coconut cake. Sean and I gave a presentation in which we told a bit of the story of the adoption and our trip and then showed a powerpoint that Adam had put together with facts about Haiti. We had a silent auction in which we auctioned off items made in Haiti as well as some framed pictures that we took on our trip. In the end we made over $2,000! We ended the night exhausted, but feeling so very blessed to have such amazing friends and to have had an opportunity to tell them about this country and this family that mean so much to us. Our caterer is already talking about next year's party, but we may have to take a few days to recover before talking about that. Check out the pictures posted on the blog.

I talked to Marialyn today, who is still in Haiti until Sept 4, to tell her the good news of the night. She said she had talked with the lawyer recently who said the paperwork is still in the second stage. She said that once it leaves that stage it will only be about two weeks in the final stage, so it sounds like we may have some notice before we travel. She asked the lawyer about a timeline and the lawyer said she's thinking November. Marialyn mentioned again that the baby's birthday is Oct 18 and that we'd love her to be here by then, to which the lawyer replied, "Only God knows when she'll go to them."

I've been hearing more and more about all the different people who are reading this blog across the country. It's amazing that it's being passed from person to person and even moreso that many of you read it regularly. Sean and I thank each of you for taking an interest in this roller coaster ride that we're on. It's comforting to know that we have so much support, even from people we've never met, and that this baby girl is so loved already. If only she knew what a fan club she has!

just when we thought the paperwork was done...

We got a call yesterday from our agency, saying that there was a form we hadn't filled out for US Immigration. We thought we didn't have to do this one, since it appeared to be the one you do when you have NOT found a specific child yet and we skipped to the one you do when you HAVE found a specific child. Anyway, the good news is that someone at the Immigration office in MN was looking at our file to approve it and saw that this form was missing. It's wonderful to think that someone's looking at our paperwork and that it's not just sitting somewhere untouched. So we filled out the paperwork and are planning to mail it in tomorrow.

In the meantime I stumbled across some Haiti adoption blogs saying that files are often in the IBESR (the agency we're currently in) for 4-10 months! Not what I wanted to read. And that in the past the steps after that agency had been quick and simple, but now those are taking 4-10 months as well. But today I saw a post from last week saying things are running "more smoothly" again. I think I'll stop reading those blogs. We don't know if ours will go more quickly since we're working with a lawyer and not an agency.

I talked with Marialyn this evening who hasn't seen the baby since last week because she's been preparing for her VBS and dealing with problems like delayed flights, car troubles, getting the car stuck in a muddy trench, computer issues, etc. She has 3 family members with her in Haiti until next week when they fly back to Indiana. At that point she hopes to have a bit more time to see Bedeline. She was unsuccessful at emailing the pics because the internet cafe wouldn't let her download them. We'll just have to be patient (seems to be our theme) and wait until she returns early Sept.

Sean was offered and accepted a new position last week at an organization called Friends of the Orphans. They have orphanages in a number of countries in Latin America and the Carribbean (including Haiti!) and his job will be to encourage people to sponsor children in these orphanages, coordinate translation of letters between sponsors and children, and organize trips for sponsors to visit children, among other things. This is obviously a topic he's very passionate about and he is THRILLED about the position. They were quite thrilled with him, as well, since they canceled interviews that were scheduled for later in the week and offered him the job on the spot! The office is one mile from our house, just to make things even better. He starts August 15. Check out the website at www.friendsoftheorphans.org.

Well, Sean and I need to do some work for this gigantic fundraiser that we're throwing in just 9 days. Please pray that our little pile of paperwork moves through IBESR at an unusually fast pace! Love to you all.

We're safe

We’re safe. The 35W bridge that collapsed is only 10 mins from our house, but fortunately Sean, Adam, and I were all safely at home last night at 6:05 pm. We heard the sirens going past our house for hours. More later on the adoption front, but for now just wanted to let you know that we’re all okay.

baby sighting

I talked with Marialyn on Friday afternoon, who arrived in Haiti on Wednesday. She said that she got to see Baby Bedeline on Thursday for a few hours. She is, apparently, even bigger than last time! She said her thighs are enormous! Marialyn saw her pulling herself up to standing. When I asked if she was walking, Marialyn laughed and said she's not sure those thighs will allow it. She's been healthy since that time in June when she was hospitalized. Marialyn said that she was laughing and smiling and seemed wonderful.

It seems even more real now that she's been seen again. I have a clear picture in my head of her pulling herself up and laughing, balancing on thunder thighs. Marialyn took lots of pics and is going to try to email them from the internet cafe when she has a chance. I'll be sure to post them if I get them. Marialyn will be there for 6 weeks and promised to visit the baby often. I told her to expect a weekly phone call from me, checking in. :) As I get updates, I'll pass them along via the blog. Thanks for reading!

updates

Hi friends, we have tiny updates, but updates none the less, so I know you avid blog readers would want me to post them.

Adam got his fingerprints done successfully last Friday (insert singing of 'Hallelujah' here). Now we wait to hear from US Immigration about next steps.

There were two documents we needed from Haiti that we think US Immigration will be asking for. Those arrived via DHL (again, LOVE IT!) this week. Now they need to be translated (this time from French to English) and then we wait for Immigration to ask for them. One was particularly difficult to obtain, so it's very exciting to have it here.

Marialyn is currently IN Haiti! She goes each summer for 6 weeks to do VBS and will be near the baby the whole time. She promised she'd go visit the baby by Friday so that I could call tomorrow and get the update. She also promised to take pics and try to email them from the internet cafe. We are eager to hear what she's doing, how many lbs. she may have gained, etc. Having Marialyn so close makes the baby not feel quite so far away.

RSVPs for the Haiti party are coming in like mad and we're starting to get nervous about space, rain, heat, etc., but are so excited to have a chance to share our stories and pictures about our trip as well as raise money for this country.

On a non-Haiti note (yes, we are capable of not talking about Haiti every once in a while) Sean and I spent last weekend in Bayfield, WI with my parents. Because we're saving every last hour of vacation time for maternity/paternity leave, this was our one vacation for the summer. We kayaked at Madeline island, read Harry Potter, ate amazing food, and most importantly had a wonderful time with my parents. When I get a chance I'll try to post some kayaking pics on the blog, though, of course they pale in comparison to the current pics!

I'll try to post after I talk w/ Marialyn tomorrow and get the update and if she emails pics I'll be sure to post them. As always, thanks for your kind emails and prayers.

You asked for it...

I've had many many requests lately from people who are close to disgusted with the lack of blogs. Trust me that if there was something to blog about, it would be posted. We wish there was news, but there isn't.

Well, (this is only tiny news, but good news nonetheless) today we got word that an important piece of paper that we were worried would be difficult to obtain was obtained by the lawyer. She's going to be DHLing it to us soon. So that's good! But we know that the paperwork is now at the IBESR (an agency in Haiti), which is notoriously slow. We're praying that it will not live up to its reputation this time and that we'll soon get word that it has completed our paperwork.

In the meantime we're working hard on our Haiti party and are having a wonderful time imagining Marialyn delivering the money to our Haitian friends when she's there in a few weeks so that they can start businesses, go to the dentist, pay off their house loans, etc.

Bedeline turns 9 months tomorrow (July 18). We are so excited to have Marialyn close to the baby for six weeks while she does her VBS program. She's going to try to email us pictures and call with updates, so hopefully more blogs will be coming soon.

We hope you're all well and enjoying your summer. Thanks for your continued prayers and interest in our situation!

Healthy again!

Good news! The baby had X Rays on Friday, which showed nothing. As of Sunday she was laughing and playing again and she's started to eat once again. They think that the heat caused her illness, but she's on the mend!

Tomorrow the lawyer picks up the paperwork from agency #1 and takes it to agency #2, which is apparently the longest of the three. Either way it's nice that it's moving along.

We're having a wonderful time planning the Haiti party! The menu is going to be fantastic, thanks to a friend who does some catering. If you haven't RSVPed yet, please do as soon as you can so that we can plan for food. Hope to see lots of you there!

Happy 4th!

Prayers please

Hi all,
It's been a week full of baby updates, though not all have been great. Yesterday we heard that the lawyer was very impressed w/ our paperwork and that we had completed everything we needed to for her. (sigh of relief) She had taken it to the first of 3 agencies and will be picking it up from there next Wednesday so that she can then take it to the next agency. This second agency is apparently the one that takes the longest. It was wonderful to have an update of progress and to know that things are moving along.

When asked how much longer, the lawyer said that she doesn't want to tell us a short time and then have us get mad if it takes longer. So, she said that the longest it should take is 4 months from now. That wasn't what we wanted to hear, but are trying to remind ourselves that that's the LONGEST. We're trying to pep each other up by saying, "She'll be here by Thanksgiving! By Sean's birthday! By Christmas!" It still could happen much faster than 4 mos, but not longer...we hope.

Adam got his fingerprint notice in the mail yesterday and as we'd feared it's not until July 20. Nothing we can do about that. We hate that it's so far from now but are relieved that it's scheduled.

Today we found out that the baby has been sick. She's had a fever, hasn't been eating, and has been crying a lot. She went to the hospital for 3 days and they were unable to find the problem. She got a prescription yesterday and got to leave the hospital then. Today she's doing much better, fever's down, crying less. She's still going to have X-rays tomorrow and there's another prescription that they're getting for her. It's very hard to hear that she's sick, but it sounds like she's getting good care. She's been tested for HIV, TB, and Sickle cell anemia, so it's a relief to know that those aren't the causes.

Needless to say it's been a roller coaster of a week taking in this information. Please pray for the baby's health, for the agencies to move with lightning speed, and for our patience. Thank you!

Haiti Fundrasier Date Change!

I posted a while back that we'd be having a fundrasier for Haiti on August 4. Since then we've changed the date to August 11. Many of you should have received an Evite. If you haven't, that means I don't have your email address. Please send me your email address and I'll send you the Evite! We'd love to see all of you there!

Did you miss our first TV appearance?

Landscape Smart episode 1812 will re-air on Sunday, July 1 at 8:30 AM ET/PT. If you don't have cable or plan on getting up that early, there are before and after pictures and commentary on the HGTV website. I'll try to post the link to it on the blog.

There are no baby updates to report. We did get immigration to say that Adam can be fingerprinted. They said that "as soon as an appointment is available" they'll send him his notice to go get them done. Unfortunately we haven't gotten that notice in the mail yet.

Thanks to those of you who sent ideas about what to do during our waiting time. This week we took advantage of just some of the cool things that the Twin Cities has to offer, going to a free show in the park and a cabaret show. Tonight we're going to a free jazz festival. I also gave in to a friend's pleadings this week and agreed to take Improv classes! I had signed Adam and Sean up for the same classes last fall and this friend who's the instructor had been begging me to join as well. I start next week. Look forward to much wittier posts that are written much more quickly.

That's about all we've got for now. Thanks to all of you who continue to gush over pictures of baby Bedeline. We love that already she is so loved by so many people. Keep praying for the paperwork to move quickly through all the appropriate channels so that you can all meet her soon!

A week in the life of a Breininger

Nothing is ever easy in Breininger land these days. What we thought would be a simple visit to the Fancy Fingerprint Office turned into a bit of a mini-crisis (which felt, at the time, like a major crisis). Short version is: Adam (sean's brother who lives w/ us) needed to be fingerprinted as well because he's an adult in the household. However, he was not sent the form that was necessary to make that happen. So, all 3 of us showed up for that appointment and he was unable to be fingerprinted. We called in our agency for help and they came to our rescue. We hope to have a fingerprint appointment for him very soon. And we pray that it's not 4 weeks out like ours were.

We're trying hard to live calmly in this life of limbo, not knowing when we may be called to fly off to Haiti at a moments notice to become parents overnight. Not an easy way to live. I'm feeling the pressure to do lots of fun crazy things in the upcoming months, knowing that soon (hopefully) we won't be able to do those things. However, we're trying to save every vacation day for our maternity/paternity leave and every dollar for adoption expenses. That leaves us trying to think of fun things to do that require no time or money! I've been reading a ton and am thinking about re-learning French this summer. I know that sounds totally nerdy, but we're hoping to put Bedeline in a French Immersion child care so that she'll be able to learn Creole more easily if she chooses to later. I'm thinking it would be nice to be able to speak French w/ her and it would help w/ my Creole as well. If you have any suggestions about what we should be doing in these final weeks/months, send them our way.

One thing we're doing is having a Big Ol' Party to raise money for Haiti. We have a few causes that we made personal connections with on our trip and would love to raise as much money for them as we can. August 4 at 6:30 pm. Our backyard. Put it on your calendars! I'll be sending an Evite out soon.

Tomorrow, June 15, is our 5 year anniversary! Crazy to think that it's already been five whole years! We feel very blessed to have found each other at the tender age of sixteeen and are grateful every day for each other.

How about another picture??? I wish we could add video to our blog so you could hear this baby's giggles and babbles. You think she's cute in a stillframe shot? You ain't seen nothin yet! Can't wait for you all to meet her!

We Love DHL

The other night, after celebrating the shipment of our paperwork, we realized that we'd forgotten to send photos of us with the paperwork, a requirement. So, yesterday we went to CVS, got passport photos taken, drove (again) to the DHL office by the airport, and for $40 more dollars shipped 8 passport pictures of us off to Port au Prince. The cost and annoyance of this extra trip is made fine by the fact that I just checked the tracking numbers and as of 4:45 pm today, the lawyer has both the paperwork AND the photos in her hands! So the pics took less than 24 hours to get from MN to PAP! Amazing. NOW we wait.

Suddenly it's starting to feel quite real. We're realizing that the crib we bought months ago has no matress, that the dresser is full of infant clothing (not 30 lb baby clothing!), that the many gadgets that friends have given us, like swings and chairs and bouncy seats are much too small, that we've mostly read books about how to care for infants. Yikes. We've got lots of shopping and reading to do! If any of you have had 7, 8, 9 month olds lately and would like to give us a tutorial, especially if you've had one who's twice the typical size, has only eaten breast milk, and who will be new to the country, please let us know. :)

Amidst this bit of panic, we are absolutely thrilled! Keep watching for updates. We hope to have some soon?!?! How about a new photo to celebrate the end of paperwork? I'll post one for your enjoyment.

Whooohooooo!!

Good news! Our paperwork arrived from Chicago today via FedEx with the stamp of the Haitian Consulate on it (the stamps are in the shape of palm trees!)! We took it immediately to DHL who said that it would arrive in Haiti in two business days! It feels wonderful to have the paperwork out of our hands. Now we wait. Next Wednesday is our fingerprint appointment. That's our last step...we think. Keep watching the blog for more news! :)

Paperwork update

Hi friends,
It's been a less than stellar week as we ran around like crazy getting things translated, notartized, apostilled (a fancy stamp from the sec of state), copied, and overnighted off to Chicago. BUT the good news is that the papers have been sent off to the Haitian consulate in Chicago, where they'll be stamped once again. They should have arrived there this morning and we're hoping to get them back from the consulate in the next few days. As soon as they're back we send them off to Haiti! Then we're done w/ the Haitian paperwork (we hope). The US paperwork is just waiting for our fingerprint day. So, we're on track so far.

A number of you have asked if we ever ate the chicken that the pastor had killed for us. Yes, yes we did. You don't let a gesture like that go by!

Haiti story of the day: We went out to a local bar one night in Jeremie. We sat outside with Marialyn and three of her Haitian friends in the pitch black darkness. (Each night when it got dark around 6 pm you didn't know if the electricity would come on throughout the city or not. If it did turn on you wouldn't know how long it would stay on). That night there was electricity, so there was music playing by the pitch black dance floor, but no lights. Soon our Haitian friends decided to teach us to dance to "kompas", Haitian music. They thought Sean's famous moves were hilarious, since their dance moves are very very subtle (and his are far from subtle). They worked hard to teach us the art of subtle dancing, saying over the music, "Listen to me, listen to me, left, right, left, right" The music was a mix of Haitian music and 80s Michael Bolton (which they all knew the words to!). Soon Sean and I were being passed around the dance floor. We had all decided that it was time to leave when...Elton John's "Can you feel the love tonight?" came on. Sean, Marialyn, our new Haitian friends, and I got into a circle and swayed back and forth singing Elton John. One of many moments during the trip that we stopped and said, "Is this really happening???"

That's all for now. Keep the love for this baby girl and the prayers for our sanity and patience coming.

Life Updates

Well, I get to cross one thing off my list! On Saturday, May 19, I graduated from Hamline University with a Master of Arts in Education. My mom flew here for the occasion and she and Sean made it a wonderful day, full of calling me "Master" and taking me to a fantastic dinner. Mom stayed until Tuesday morning and we had much fun sitting in the backyard with her and letting her take us to our favorite restaurants.

We're beginning to adjust to being back from Haiti, though I hate that I can't say anymore, "I was just in Haiti last week." We've had numerous picture showings for anyone who's willing to sit still through them. It's a strange juxtaposition of adorable happy pictures of this beautiful baby and pictures of the streets of Port-au-Prince and then back to picturesque shots of the ocean, not to mention Sean's many pictures of crabs, lizards, and giant beetles!

Last Tuesday we mailed in our application to US Immigration and already today we got the letter telling us to go get fingerprinted, which is the first step. Unfortunately our fingerprinting date isn't until 6/13 and no, we can't get in earlier, I checked. In the meantime we had a paperwork crisis surrounding the notarization of our documents, but are trying to stay calm and retrace our steps to get the paperwork in order. Clearly the one month estimate is out of the question, but we're still hoping for 2 or 3. Heck, we'll be happy with 6 as long as we get that amazing baby in our lives!

My graduation chair (a comfy glider rocker for the nursey that I'd had been dreaming about for months that Sean bought me when I returned home from my final thesis meeting) arrived last night, which is good because, as one of my co-workers said today, "You're going to have to sit down to rock that baby!"

We'll continue to keep you posted. Keep us in your prayers!

Haiti story of the day

I've decided to tell stories about the trip bit by bit, since it was too much to write in one post. So, as my energy level allows I'll try to post a few stories and more pictures on the blog.

The Sunday that we were in Haiti we went to church. Marialyn had warned us that church could be a lengthy process, so we tried to plan it so that we'd arrive part way through, to avoid sitting in a hot church for 3 hours. We arrived one hour into it and the first notes we heard coming from the church were the hymn "Holy God We Praise Your Name" in Creole, of course. We entered and the Pastor sat us in the front pew. So much for being inconspicuous. There was much singing, by the congregation as a whole and by small groups and soloists. By the end 2/3 of the congregation had gotten up to sing something or another. We had talked about preparing something for the three of us to sing, but hadn't had time, with meeting the baby and all, and were disappointed that we weren't able to join in. At one point the Pastor asked us to come up front. Marialyn introduced us and explained that we basically only understood "Bonjour" and "Merci". The Pastor asked us to say something and assured us he'd translate. We said we were happy to be there and that we were loving Haiti and its people. The congregation seemed delighted to have us there and speaking this strange language.

As we sat through the sermon I noticed a giant spider in the rafters, a lizard crawling across the wall, in and out of the window, and a bird that flew in one window and out the other. I also noticed a man in front sitting by a little keyboard who just kind of made things up as people sang, hoping that every once in a while the note he was playing would be the same that they were singing.

We left before it was over and were back into town when the Pastor called Marialyn and asked why we'd left. He said that when we'd arrived that morning he'd had someone go out and kill a chicken for us. We had promised the baby's family that we'd visit them, but told the Pastor we'd be back later for the chicken. When someone kills a chicken for you, you don't turn it down! In the meantime we stopped at a roadside stand for a snack. There, on the ground, was the head and carcas of a pig and sure enough, they were selling grilled pork at the stand. Check out the picture on the left of Marialyn and me buying food there as well as a picture from church.

Thanks for all of the wonderful response to the pictures and stories! There's nothing we like hearing more than how cute people think Bedeline is! So many of you have already fallen in love with her. If only she knew how many aunts and uncles she's going to have when she arrives!

We're sending in the first official papers to US Immigration tomorrow. We're also getting tested for HIV, which we didn't realize was a requirement. Every paper needs to be translated into French, so once we get the results, we'll send them off to our trusty translators. The goal is to have all the paperwork in the mail to the US and Haiti by Friday. Then we wait. So this roller coaster is far from over, and did I mention that I hate roller coasters? In the meantime, we ask you to continue telling us how much you love the pictures and to pray for us, for her, for her family, and for the paperwork people here and in Haiti.

Pictures added

Alright, here she is! These are just a few of the many. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the homepage to see a bigger view. :)