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!