Another big day!

Today we passed through another step. With this one complete we are now legally Bedeline's parents! While this is wonderful news, it's still not time to go pick her up. :( The next step is the Ministry of Interior, where they issue her a Haitian passport. This step has been known to take a few months, but we're hoping our lawyer will work the same magic she's worked in the last two steps, which she moved us through very quickly.

While we wait we're very excited to get to spend Christmas with our families, especially my nephew, Owen, who we haven't seen since June.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to each of you!

Another step hurdled!

After not writing anything for months, it's crazy to have enough to write about that I'm putting up two posts in one night! We just heard that we've already passed through another step and the lawyer is feeling confident that we'll be through yet another within the next week or two. As you can see from my last post, this is much faster than the timetable that we'd found, which is great news. We'll keep you posted! :)

Health and Timeline Updates

Hi friends and thanks for all of your well wishes in the last week! It's been much fun to hear from all of you.

We heard that Bedeline has recovered from malaria and is on medication to clear her chest of the pneumonia that still lingers. We are relieved that at least one of the illnesses is over and continue to pray for her health.

As for the timeline, we've been checking websites and asking friends that have recently brought their children home from Haiti. What we've seen and heard is that from this point to the point at which we go pick her up could be 6-8 months. I know that many of you had been imagining us packing our bags up this weekend and though we wish we were, 6-8 months is much better than the five years we were beginning to think we'd have to wait. And who knows? Maybe Haiti will surprise us and we'll get to go pick her up even sooner.

In case you're interested, I've listed the next steps below. We'll continue to post as we hear that the paperwork moves from step to step. Please keep the "paperwork people" (as we so lovingly refer to them), Bedeline, and us in your prayers. Thanks and Merry Christmas! :)

Civil Court
4-8 weeks

Legalization & creation of Affidavit
8-12 weeks

Minister of Interior (MOI)
3-5 months

Immigration/Passport printing & Medical Exam
2-8 weeks

USCIS Orphan Investigation
2-8 weeks

Visa Process
2 weeks

AT LAST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After sitting completely immobile in the same agency since July 2007, our paperwork was signed today!! The lawyer immediately brought it to the next stage, which is one of a few left, including the passport process. We have no clue about timelines, but are just thrilled to know that it's moving.

We had just started to talk about looking into other countries and had been urged by many to give up long ago, but we knew that this country and this little girl are for us. And so we somehow stuck it out for 18 months of waiting.

Thanks to all of you who supported us through that time and for putting up with our moodiness and/or lack of communication. It hasn't been easy, but as we heard C. S. Lewis quoted in a play last night, "The pain now is part of the happiness then. That's the deal."

And so we move closer into the "happiness then" stage. You can now begin to check here more regularly (if, indeed, anyone out there even still checks this!) and we'll let you know when our sweet girl is coming home to us.

Until then, please keep her in your prayers. She's currently very ill with both malaria and pneumonia. So, prayers for her health as well as for the speediness of the rest of this process so we can get her here and healthy would be much appreciated.

:) :) :)

Some news...and a picture!

After 14 months of having our paperwork stuck in one place we have word that our paperwork may be leaving that agency within a month. We've been promised things before and will believe it when it's officially out, but we're happy to even have talk of movement. We will certainly let you know as soon as it's been signed. (Remember that this isn't the final step, but a major one.)

In other news, Sean has been promoted to Regional Director of Friends of the Orphans! He is both honored and excited and looks forward to many more opportunities to travel to the orphan homes in Latin America and the Carribean. If you live in the area and want to come to an event about Haiti, check out the website at www.friendsus.org, click on the Upper Midwest Region, and look for "Faces of Hope".

Enjoy the new picture!

June 1 Letdown

I'm sure after my brief mention of potential June 1st news some of you have been wondering what, if anything transpired. The situation was this: apparently our paperwork has a stamp on it saying that it will be held for one year starting June 1, 2007. Our lawyer had seen this and was looking forward to that deadline. She went in on June 2, as June 1 was a Sunday, and asked for the paperwork to be released. When they refused she threatened to take legal action and was told that it will do no good as there is currently no legal system in place.

This most recent disappointment has been a tough blow for us as now our only hope is that Parliament, who we heard didn't pass any laws at all last year, will get together and pass this law saying that we only have to be 30 instead of 35, which is why the paperwork is currently stuck. We don't have much hope that this will happen, at least anytime soon, but are not quite sure what to do next. Not only is it difficult to wait for the joys of parenting this sweet child, but it's doubly hard knowing the condition that Haiti is currently in and worrying about her well being there.

Please continue to pray for her, for Haiti, for us, and for all other potential adoptive parents who are out there waiting.

To end on a lighter note, Sean and I just celebrated our six year wedding anniversary and the week before that went on an eventful trip to Yellowstone with my family. We are grateful every day that we are so blessed and happy in all other aspects of our lives, including having the support system that we do!

One Year Ago

Hi friends,

One year ago today we were in Haiti having just met Bedeline for the first time. In some ways much has happened in the last year, but in the adoption realm we've hardly progressed at all. It's been hard not to give up hope and we must admit that there have been times when we have, but we're still holding on, and there's a small chance that June 1st may bring us some progress (too complicated to explain, just pray!!!).

In the mean time, I'm sure you've heard about the food riots in Haiti, leading to the ousting of the Prime Minister. A new PM was recently appointed and everyone's hoping for change and progress. At Friends of the Orphans, where Sean works, they are planning on a 40% increase in food costs for the year, which adds up to nearly $500,000. It's so difficult to just sit here in Minnesota eating all kinds of food and going to the Dr. whenever we need to. Our eyes have definitely been opened and we realize just how blessed we are. Please continue to pray not only for our situation, but for all the people of Haiti and the other countries effected by the food shortage.

A story about Paul Farmer was on 60 minutes last night. You can watch it by following the link below.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=4069409n&channel=/sections/60minutes/videoplayer3415.shtml

We hope that you're all well and we so appreciate the blog checking, lack of questions and prayers. Love you!

Nothing to report

Hi all,
I know it's been a very long time since I've posted and that's simply because there's nothing much to report. We're still waiting on Parliament to pass the age law, but have heard that they've adjourned indefinitely. We'll let you know when we hear something. Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Hope you're all doing well!

Recent article on Haiti

Hi friends,
I know that those of you faithful blog checkers will be disappointed to see that while I am posting something, it's not adoption related. All we've heard is that the law hasn't passed and that it's not actually that you have to be 29, but that you have to be 30 in 2008, which Sean will be. It's not that the law has NOT passed (how many negatives can I put in one sentence??) it hasn't been discussed yet. We had been told it would happen in January, and realize fully that January is over. And so we wait.

Marialyn is in Haiti right now and has promised to check in on the baby and take some pictures. She's not coming home for a few weeks, but it's nice to know that there are pictures and a report coming.

This post is more about distressing Haiti stories that I've heard lately. One is that Marialyn said that the day she arrived two Americans were kidnapped and are being held for ransom. The other is about how Haitians have resorted to literally eating dirt because food prices have gone up from the rates that they could barely afford in the first place. Both of these stories remind me that things are so very desperate there and of what people will resort to when they have no food or money, not to mention medical help. So, if you think of it, tag on a little, "Watch over the people of Haiti" prayer to the ones I hope you say that go something like, "Watch over Bedeline and bring her to Minnesota SOON!"

It's hard to sit here in my cozy beautiful home with a full fridge and to know how to help, and others who have read the mud article have also asked what can be done. One way is through Friends of the Orphans, (http://www.friendsoftheorphans.org/)which is where Sean works and how we sponsor Herbie. Because he's on the inside we know it's reputable and that 100% of sponsorship dollars go right to the orphan homes. We've also been amazed at how many Haiti non-profits exist, so if orphans aren't your thing, you could always google Haiti and non-profit or relief and see what happens.

Please don't think I'm trying to convince you to give away your money, I just know that when I finished reading the article, I was left with a feeling of wanting to do more and wanted to give some suggestions if you felt the same. The link to the article is: http://news.aol.com/story/_a/hungry-haitians-resort-to-eating-dirt/20080129175709990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Aside from the endless waiting game, things are going really well for us. Our jobs keep us busy, inspired, energized, and feeling like we're in the perfect jobs for us. This Minnesota winter has been less than fantastic with it's endless darkness and sub-zero temps, but we've filled our time watching Indiana Basketball (go Hoosiers!) and political debates. We have been feeling very fortunate to live in the Twin Cities lately since in the last month we've been to an IU basketball game, the play Peer Gynt, a concert of Luther College's Nordic Choir (this is the choir Sean sang in during college) and a huge political rally. Not a bad place to be once you get over the frostbite and light deprivation!

I hope this finds you all well and warm. Trust that I'll post something the second we hear, which I pray will be sooner than later. Love to you all.

Tiny update

As you may remember we're waiting for a Haitian law to be passed that adoptive parents need only be 29 years old (Sean's current age). We heard tonight that the Haitian legislature began meeting last week and that this law is one of the first on the list to be passed. The lawyer also said that there's a chance that the papers will be signed on the same day that the law is passed. Keep in mind that this is not the last step. There are two other places that the paperwork needs to pass through before we're finished, but both will be relatively quick (meaning about 6 weeks).

That's all for now. We'll let you know when we hear more!