Hey friends!
Sorry for the lack of posts. The internet here is spotty and the computer is in a spot swarming with mosquitoes. Needless to say, I'm going to make this quick!
Last Thurs was a day of miracles. After a million things went wrong and it seemed that we were going to have to go another week without the DNA test, at the very last minute everything fell into place and the DNA test was performed. It is truly a miracle that this happened and we credit it to the fact that the chauffeur, birth mother, Dr., sean, and I were all praying with all our might-not to mention all of you.
So the DNA was sent off to the US to be tested and we paid extra for it to be expedited. We've completed all of the other steps and as soon as the EMbassy gets the results she'll issue the visa and we can come home! We're praying hard that we get it T, W, or TH, as the Embassy is closed F for the 4th and I don't think we can handle many more days here.
Baby girl is doing well, but the boredom of being in a hotel room is getting to all of us. The restaurant here can take up to an hour, which has made life difficult. We're all starting to lose patience and are very ready to be home surrounded by nutrituous food that's easy to access.
Thanks for your continued prayers and I hope to be writing from MN SOON!
love you all!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Together At Last!
I wanted to give you an update on our lives this week, as it's been a huge one. We are now the proud parents of the sassiest, cutest, funniest, smartest toddler you've ever encountered!
Her birth mother was interviewed by the embassy on Wed and left Port au Prince on Thursday afternoon. Since then we've been thrown into parenthood and are trying our best to always have snacks, water, wet wipes, and toys on hand. The first night we could not believe it when we got to sleep with that sweet thing in between the two of us. We were even more shocked when, in the middle of reading, she said, "Dormi" (sleep), closed her eyes and went to sleep.
She eats as quickly and ferociously as I do and snores like me. She likes the same foods as Sean (Coffee, french fries, cheetos) and loves to sleep a lot like her dad. She had her first trip in the swimming pool today and LOVED IT. She's very self reliant and feeds, bathes, and clothes herself!
Because we're so in love and because things here have gone very well, we're not coming home without her. We will not be home as planned on June 25 and are not exactly sure when we will be back, but think it will be around the first of July. It's frustrating to have to stay here, especially because our money is quickly running out,after paying for hotel rooms, food, taxis, fees for adoption stuff, etc. , but we feel safe and are well taken care of.
The steps that still need to be taken before we go home is that the birth mother needs to find her own birth certificate, which will be ready by Tuesday, with that she and Bedeline will get a DNA test on Thursday, then we wait for the results, which e're having expedited (amazing what you can get done if you beg and say you'll pay more). As soon as the embassy gets the results (a week or less) we get our interview for the visa and then the visa is issued either that day or the next business day.
Since our arrival we have encountered so many angels and have experienced countless miracles. Everything from the Priest that works with Sean's organization being on our plane from Miami and therefore able to help us with a number of things, to the Embassy granting us the interview even though we had a ton of reasons why they shouldn't have (including that we just showed up w/o an appt) to a canadian dr at the DNA clinic making phone calls on our behalf. Even the fact that our hotel room ceiling started dripping last night, meaning we had to change rooms at 4am (B never went back to sleep after that) we think will work out as Sean's trying to use it to get us some free rooms. We have just been overwhelmed by the amazing amazing things that have happened so far. The time has not been w'/o frustration, but for the most part it's been wonderful.
Bedeline has adjusted SO beautifully. She is completely comfortable with us and is already callng us Mommy and Daddy. My creole gets stronger each day and we've started to teach her some words as well. It's an amazing joy to be able to walk around the hotel with her and answer "yes" when people ask if she's my daughter.
Love to you all! Keep your prayers, both of thanksgiving for this amazin beautiful child, and for speed of the process, coming. We cannot wait to introduce her to each of you. As for the original plan that everything would be overwhelming for her at first and we wouldn't be able to see people for awhile-this girl is happiest when she's in the car/eating/doing something new and she's won over the hearts of the hotel guests (she even got us invited to a wedding reception at the hotel tonight!) so you'll all get to see her when we return.
I'm not sure when Sean will let me announce her name, but she already responds to it and the people who have met her say it's a beautiful name. love you all and enjoy the pics!:)
Her birth mother was interviewed by the embassy on Wed and left Port au Prince on Thursday afternoon. Since then we've been thrown into parenthood and are trying our best to always have snacks, water, wet wipes, and toys on hand. The first night we could not believe it when we got to sleep with that sweet thing in between the two of us. We were even more shocked when, in the middle of reading, she said, "Dormi" (sleep), closed her eyes and went to sleep.
She eats as quickly and ferociously as I do and snores like me. She likes the same foods as Sean (Coffee, french fries, cheetos) and loves to sleep a lot like her dad. She had her first trip in the swimming pool today and LOVED IT. She's very self reliant and feeds, bathes, and clothes herself!
Because we're so in love and because things here have gone very well, we're not coming home without her. We will not be home as planned on June 25 and are not exactly sure when we will be back, but think it will be around the first of July. It's frustrating to have to stay here, especially because our money is quickly running out,after paying for hotel rooms, food, taxis, fees for adoption stuff, etc. , but we feel safe and are well taken care of.
The steps that still need to be taken before we go home is that the birth mother needs to find her own birth certificate, which will be ready by Tuesday, with that she and Bedeline will get a DNA test on Thursday, then we wait for the results, which e're having expedited (amazing what you can get done if you beg and say you'll pay more). As soon as the embassy gets the results (a week or less) we get our interview for the visa and then the visa is issued either that day or the next business day.
Since our arrival we have encountered so many angels and have experienced countless miracles. Everything from the Priest that works with Sean's organization being on our plane from Miami and therefore able to help us with a number of things, to the Embassy granting us the interview even though we had a ton of reasons why they shouldn't have (including that we just showed up w/o an appt) to a canadian dr at the DNA clinic making phone calls on our behalf. Even the fact that our hotel room ceiling started dripping last night, meaning we had to change rooms at 4am (B never went back to sleep after that) we think will work out as Sean's trying to use it to get us some free rooms. We have just been overwhelmed by the amazing amazing things that have happened so far. The time has not been w'/o frustration, but for the most part it's been wonderful.
Bedeline has adjusted SO beautifully. She is completely comfortable with us and is already callng us Mommy and Daddy. My creole gets stronger each day and we've started to teach her some words as well. It's an amazing joy to be able to walk around the hotel with her and answer "yes" when people ask if she's my daughter.
Love to you all! Keep your prayers, both of thanksgiving for this amazin beautiful child, and for speed of the process, coming. We cannot wait to introduce her to each of you. As for the original plan that everything would be overwhelming for her at first and we wouldn't be able to see people for awhile-this girl is happiest when she's in the car/eating/doing something new and she's won over the hearts of the hotel guests (she even got us invited to a wedding reception at the hotel tonight!) so you'll all get to see her when we return.
I'm not sure when Sean will let me announce her name, but she already responds to it and the people who have met her say it's a beautiful name. love you all and enjoy the pics!:)
Monday, June 15, 2009
Trip to Haiti
Hey friends,
After reports that Bedeline has recently been ill, Sean and I have decided to fly to Haiti to make sure she's getting good medical care. While there, we will do our best to move things along with the adoption process, but are not planning on bringing her home on this trip. We will be gone from June 16-25.
Now more than ever we need your prayers and support for our safety, her health, and that this situation turns out however it is meant to be. We are so grateful and overwhelmed by the love that is continuously poured on us by all of you and know that you'll be with us on our trip.
We're not sure what the communication will be like and if we'll be able to update, but if nothing else we'll write when we return next week.
We are also celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today (june 15th). It's been full of adventure and we're grateful for each other each day.
Love you all!
After reports that Bedeline has recently been ill, Sean and I have decided to fly to Haiti to make sure she's getting good medical care. While there, we will do our best to move things along with the adoption process, but are not planning on bringing her home on this trip. We will be gone from June 16-25.
Now more than ever we need your prayers and support for our safety, her health, and that this situation turns out however it is meant to be. We are so grateful and overwhelmed by the love that is continuously poured on us by all of you and know that you'll be with us on our trip.
We're not sure what the communication will be like and if we'll be able to update, but if nothing else we'll write when we return next week.
We are also celebrating our 7th wedding anniversary today (june 15th). It's been full of adventure and we're grateful for each other each day.
Love you all!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Hangin' In
Hey friends,
I know that lots of you have been wondering what's going on, as there haven't been posts in the last few days. We've had a few - not setbacks, but certainly not "moveforwards" either - lately, including the fact that our lawyer's brother died, leaving her distressed and needing to take a trip to the states for a funeral.
As you can imagine, all of this has taken its toll on us, but we're plugging along and have some connections that are trying to help. We'll let you know when something big happens. Until then, please continue to pray that we will be able to bring our sweet girl home soon and that we'll have the strength and patience to wait for that exciting day. It's so reassuring to know that we have so many friends out there who are sending their love and prayers to us. We couldn't be doing this without you!
I know that lots of you have been wondering what's going on, as there haven't been posts in the last few days. We've had a few - not setbacks, but certainly not "moveforwards" either - lately, including the fact that our lawyer's brother died, leaving her distressed and needing to take a trip to the states for a funeral.
As you can imagine, all of this has taken its toll on us, but we're plugging along and have some connections that are trying to help. We'll let you know when something big happens. Until then, please continue to pray that we will be able to bring our sweet girl home soon and that we'll have the strength and patience to wait for that exciting day. It's so reassuring to know that we have so many friends out there who are sending their love and prayers to us. We couldn't be doing this without you!
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