2009 in Review

It is almost 2010. I can’t believe how fast time seems to go. So much has happened in 2009!

In January, I had Lasik eye surgery, and said goodbye to my glasses and contacts that I’d worn (one or the other) for 25 years! Kaylen turned 6 years old in January, and we invited 10 of her friends and hosted a fun birthday party for her in our home.

In March, Jock and I took another trip (Jock’s 2nd, my 3rd) to Haiti to visit Elijah & Josephine and do some missions work at the orphanage.

In May, my little sister got married to her high school sweetheart. What a joyous occasion that was. Josephine turned 2 years old, and a week later I celebrated my birthday on Mother’s Day (actually Jock & Kaylen let me celebrate my birthday a day early so I would still get to celebrate both :). Kaylen played T-ball in May & June, and we visited Des Moines’ Blank Park Zoo with friends.

July was a very busy month. We spent a long weekend at my dad’s over Independence Day. Kaylen excelled in swimming lessons, after gaining experience in the pool at the once-a-week daycare field trips to our local aquatic center. Jock and I both were crew leaders and Kaylen attended VBS the last week of July.

August was also a busy month on weekends. One weekend we drove 9 hours to attend Optimist Club meetings in Davenport, a family reunion near my hometown, and then back home. The following weekend we helped welcome friends home to Des Moines after the adoption of their three children from Haiti was final. We attended the Iowa State Fair on Jock’s birthday. Kaylen started the 1st grade. We updated our home study for the third time since starting E & J’s adoption process.

In September, we spent a long weekend over Labor Day, with my family, and also held a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad. That was a fun weekend! Kaylen played in a fall soccer league in September and October. This was her first year of outdoor soccer, and she did great – and really enjoyed it.

Also in October, Jock and I and Kaylen, my two sisters, two of my nieces, and two of my nephews walked in Race for the Cure, in memory of my mom, who died from breast cancer 5 years ago this January.

November was a quieter month for us – finally! We stayed home for Thanksgiving this year, and then went ice skating for the first time of the season. Kaylen has a ways to go to catch Jock, but will soon be a better skater than me!

December is a typically busy month for us, with holiday preparations, shopping, and parties. We will close out 2009 and ring in the new year, visiting some friends in their new house for a couple days, before coming back home to celebrate with our church as we hold the first services in the newly-purchased and temporarily remodeled building. I am looking forward to a fun weekend!

Merry CHRISTmas!!!

Just wanted to wish you all a very merry Christmas, from our family to yours!
We are celebrating Jesus' birth with our family, but there are two that we are missing terribly, praying they will be home with us very soon, and that next year, all five of us will be in the same family photo.May you remember the true gift of Christmas, and cherish HIM in your heart today and always.
Love, Jock, Lisa, Kaylen, Elijah & Josephine

Year-End Giving Suggestions

I know many people look for year-end charitable giving options - either for tax purposes, or for Christmas gifts in honor of someone, or you're ahead of your budget for the year. I've thought I'd suggest a few:

• A friend is raising funds to bring their daughters from Haiti. They are VERY near the end of the process. (Can be tax-deductible, I believe.)
  
• Another friend is selling raffle tickets for a vacation package. Proceeds go towards their adoption expenses.
  
• Our orphanage sent out an update regarding a new law passed in Haiti, raising the minimum wage, in turn increasing the staffing expenses at the orphanage. More info here. (Tax-deductible.)

There are many, many others. I pray you'll consider blessing these families and/or our orphanage with a donation - or at least share these with others. The LORD will provide, and may all the glory go to HIM!

Super Saturday Shopping?

Nope! I'm not much of a shopper, especially when there are crowds, so that wasn't on my agenda this weekend. I actually got my shopping done Monday and Tuesday evenings this past week! My awesome husband picked up Kaylen from daycare both evenings while I finished my Christmas shopping. One night I stopped by home with just enough time to pick up my snacks for recipe night with some friends. We do that about once a month, and it's always fun to share food, recipes and chat with the ladies. This month's theme was "Party Foods - Appetizers & Sweet Treats". About half of us brought christmas treats and the other half appetizers. Everything was so good! I can't wait to try some of the recipes!

Friday night, we went out to eat at Chili's. We love that place. I'd had a very long week at work and didn't feel like cooking. When I picked Kaylen up at daycare she asked about going to her elementary school's "Spirit Night" at the high school basketball game. I told her I didn't really want to go, and asked her, "Wouldn't you rather go out to eat instead?" I think she just thought I'd asked her that because I didn't want to go to the game, so she kept asking me a few more times, "Are we really going out to eat?" Then she asked Jock when he got home. I'd already talked to him on the phone when I was leaving work, so she was excited when he didn't hesitate with his "Yes" answer - ha! This girl loves to go out to eat! Not sure why she was so surprised though, since it's not that odd of an occurrence. We try to keep it to a minimum but with us both working full-time, cooking is not always the priority.

Saturday morning Jock & Kaylen went shopping and then out for breakfast at the McDonald's Playland. So I had a very nice morning - a nice quiet house! When they got home, I set to work. I made one last (huge) batch of chex party mix, prepared beef stew and put it in the crock pot for supper, and then spent the afternoon and evening working on Josephine's blanket and pillowcase.

I'd planned on using a flannel print for the top and then a quilt-fabric for the backing. However, last-minute, I decided to scrap the idea of quilted-fabric backing and made a quick trip to the fabric store for another flannel piece. I am starting to feel better about my sewing skills - my stitches are getting straighter the more I practice. So, when I was doing the final stitching on the blanket, I decided to do a more fancy stitch - kind of a zig-zag - to finish the edges (you can see it if you click on the third picture to enlarge it). It turned out really nice ... if you don't look too closely at the corners, or the spot where my bobbin thread ran out - I didn't take a photo of those parts! :)

Tomorrow Jock and I are helping the pre-schoolers in Sunday school during the 1st service, and then will stay for the 2nd service. I anticipate spending the afternoon making fudge and wrapping presents. I have to get two presents ready to mail, and hope they make it to their destination on time if I mail them Monday.

This coming week (Mon-Weds) will be busy at work again, with evenings filled with laundry, printing photos, and food prep for Christmas - but not too busy to enjoy my family, dream of my two little ones being home next year, and focusing on the true meaning of the holiday - CHRIST!

Song re. Adoption Wait at Christmas

Kristi posted this on her blog today, and I cried like a baby! It's a song by Third Day, written by their guitarist when he and his wife were adopting from China.

Beautiful!!! There's another clip here that shows him telling the story of the song.

Lyrics:
Merry Christmas - Third Day

There's a little girl trembling on a cold December morn
Crying for momma's arms
At an orphanage just outside a little China town
There the forgotten are

But half a world away I hang the stockings by the fire
And dream about the day when I can finally call you mine

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

As I hang the tinsel on the tree and watch the twinkling lights
I'm warmed by the fire's glow
Outside the children tumble in a wonderland of white,
Make angels in the snow

But half a world away you try your best to fight the tears
And hope that heaven's angels come to carry you here

It's Christmas time again but you're not home
Your family is here and yet you're somewhere else alone
And so tonight I pray that God will come and hold you in his arms
And tell you from my heart I wish you Merry Christmas

Christmas is a time to celebrate the holy child
And we celebrate his perfect gift of love
He came to earth to give his life
To prepare a place for us
So we could have a home with him above

It's Christmas time again and now you're home
Your family is here so you will never be alone
So tonight before you go to sleep, I'll hold you in my arms
And I'll tell you from my heart, and I'll you from my heart
I wish you Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

I'm not planning to send Christmas cards/letters this year, but had fun creating this e-card instead. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Love, Jock, Lisa, Kaylen, Elijah, & Josephine

Busy weekend!

Saturday morning I got the aforementioned update on our adoption paperwork. I saw the email right away when I woke up and spent some time praying over that while Jock and Kaylen were downstairs. When I came downstairs we had a little family prayer meeting to pray for E & J's adoption. Then we got to work making some Christmas goodies. When we were finished dipping pretzels (and licking the spoons! :), Kaylen played a computer game, Jock got to work on clearing the remaining drift from the sidewalk and the last half of the snow the street plows piled at the end of our driveway. I got some laundry started... normal Saturday stuff.

After a quick lunch, Kaylen played and then folded her laundry, Jock played with Kaylen and on his computer after a brief nap, and I got to work putting together Elijah's blanket and pillowcase that I'd gotten for him for his birthday last year - just never put them together! I got the pillowcase sewn and the blanket sewn. It's a blanket with fringe ties, but I also sewed together the two fleece pieces in case the ties come undone - but didn't have time to finish the ties before we headed over to our friends' house for an awesome Christmas party with our Bible study group. Jock helped me cut the fringe and I tied, finishing half Saturday night and the rest Sunday. It turned out really cute!

Sunday after church we were lazy for a bit, went to a brief meeting at our new church building, and then started working on Josephine's blanket & pillowcase but didn't get very far. Jock's aunt stopped by for a bit and we had a nice visit. Then dinner, Kaylen's reading and bedtime, and my usual Sunday walk.

Up this week: I would like to finish Josephine's blanket and pillowcase and then will post pictures. I hope to get most of my Christmas shopping done during my lunch breaks and maybe a couple evenings. I have a recipe night with some friends that will be fun! We HAVE to go get our fingerprints redone on Wednesday (they only day they do them in Iowa) for our USCIS adoption paperwork - they expire Wednesday! Our Bible study group meets at our house Thursday. Next weekend, I'm sure, will be more holiday preparations - probably wrapping the Christmas gifts, some usual weekend chores, and also some usual weekend laziness. I can't believe Christmas is at the end of next week already! Where does the time go?!?

Adoption Post-Dec09-Update Update

I heard back from Kiki (our lawyer in Haiti) about the questions we had on our adoption paperwork...

• The long forms for MOI have been filled out for both children. :) If everything goes well, they should be out of MOI by the end of the month. BUT I was reminded that during the holiday season not much will be done, so he'll update us when he hears anything.
• On the DNA for Josephine and her father, it looks like USCIS will start issuing DNA letters this coming week.
• For Elijah's BP interview, Kiki has sent Fifi (our orphanage's birth parent contact) back to the place where Elijah's mother used to live to see if we can track her down one more time.

For those of you unfamiliar with the process, I'll remind of what we have left: Once our children's paperwork is out of MOI, their passports will be printed (a few weeks?), then all that remains is the USCIS stuff: birth parent interviews & DNA (which can be going on now), then visa medical and final appointment followed by the visa being printed afterwards. When they have their visas they can come home.

We are praying fervently for Fifi to locate Elijah's birth mom and bring her back to the city. For the Lord to guide FIfi's steps and make her path straight to Elijah's birth mom. For Elijah's birth mom to be healthy and willing and able to travel back to Port-au-Prince for her interview. For Kiki to be able to make the interview appointment at USCIS for perfect timing for Elijah's mom's return. For no DNA to be requested of her. It means so much to have many of you joining us in praying this. It is our biggest concern at this point, but we praise our God for HIS perfect timing, and know that he can and will accomplish these things for us if we agree in prayer and if it his will that our children come home very soon.

Life for Women & Mothers in Haiti

I've been reading this blog for a while now. It gives some insight into what life is like for people - especially women and moms in Haiti. It helps me to think about the stark realities of life in Haiti - how life might have been for my children's birth families. It's hard to imagine some of these stories, but it helps me to learn and open my heart to pray for my children's birth families and for others in Haiti.

I've added a link to this blog and a few other Haiti mission websites in my list on my right sidebar (scroll down a bit), for a few American missionaries who live and work with the people of Haiti.

Adoption Update Dec'09

Let's see, as of last update:

• Our dossier was ready to have the long forms filled out - this is the last part of MOI.
  
• Our orphanage staff was still searching for E's birth mother.
  
• Our lawyer had requested an appointment from USCIS for J's father's birth parent interview.
  
• Because J's mother is deceased, our lawyer knew that DNA would be requested of J and her father to prove paternity - however, the DNA testing is closed because USCIS is now requiring it all to be done at the embassy instead of at private labs - but there is no process yet to do it.

Updates:

• We heard this week that J's birth father had his interview - it was on Tuesday 12/8/09. DNA was ordered, as expected.
  
• We've contacted our US Senators and our US House Representative for assistance because of the DNA testing being closed. It is being checked into, and we've heard through the grapevine that it may be opening up in January.
  
• Still haven't found E's birth mom.
  
• No news on the long forms.

Prayer requests:

• For the long forms to be completed in MOI.
  
• For E's birth mother to be found/come back to the city for her interview , and for USCIS to grant an appointment with no delay and no DNA request.
  
• For the DNA office to open and J and her father's test to be drawn.
  
• For all of this to be accomplished ASAP so they can come home!

...and a few photos to pray over (from a friend who traveled to visit her twins recently - Thanks Kathy!!!):

Above: Elijah is in the middle with the green and blue shirt. The nannies are getting ready to pass out suckers, so they're all getting into begging mode. :)

Josephine loves that thumb. And look how long her hair's getting!

More snow news

Around 8am - Kaylen cleared (a path to) our front porch), and Jock snowblowed the driveway and part of the street "in case we had an emergency and needed to get out."
The nice drift in the back corner of our yard - that fence is 5 feet tall! This was mid-morning, and the section reaching the top is now much wider.

Snow between the screen and the window in our dining room windows.

Two of the the three vehicles that got stuck in the huge drift in front of our house. Jock tried to get the red truck out while the two guys in it stayed inside their truck - maybe they didn't have the appropriate weather gear - donno. Blowing around him didn't help and they eventually were pulled out by another truck that came to help. The guys didn't even thank him for trying. The guy in the black truck is a part-time city firefighter who I used to work with. He lives up the street. Apparently this was the second or third route he tried to take to get home. With Jock's snowblower and him shoveling got him out but he had to go back the way he came and try yet another route home. He did thank Jock for his help. I didn't get a good picture of the SUV that got stuck later - a little further up the street probably from the other trucks' tracks. I think another neighbor helped him, but didn't see if he got through or if he turned around.


We stayed home all day, and watched news this morning of sections of interstates being closed, plows being called off the roads, and tow bans. The National Guard was out with their hum-vees rescuing people from the ditches and abandoned cars. One hum-vee even drove past our house - interesting - assumed they'd just be out on the country highways.

Our street was plowed late this afternoon, but schools are closed again tomorrow - ugh! Jock is being allowed to work from home again tomorrow. If things are looking better, I'll likely take Kaylen to daycare on my way to work. Will see what the news and weather reports are saying tonight before I decide for sure though. Hope you all stayed safe and warm today!

Thankful for my warm home!

Well, we're in for our "first major winter storm" of the season. We got about 2 inches on Sunday night, and starting late last night thru tomorrow night, we're supposed to get 10-14 inches of snow. We had a winter storm warning. Now we're in a blizzard warning. Tomorrow's high temp is supposed to be 11, coupled with 40-50 mph wind gusts (25-35 sustained) makes it in the -10 to -20 for wind chill. Kaylen's school let out 90 minutes early today. Jock left work at 2 and picked her up from daycare. The shoveled off the first 6 or so inches off the driveway so I could get in. I left work at 3 and headed straight home on the nasty roads - the trip that usually would take me 20-25 minutes on dry roads and no traffic took me an hour, but then some might call me a slippery-roads wimp who drives overly cautiously slow.

Tonight, we warmed up an odd mix of comfort foods for dinner: left-over fried chicken, mashed potatoes & gravy, pizza, turnips/greens, green beans and slaw. Then we played a computer game together. Kaylen went up to read and get ready for bed at her normal time, and is now ready to be tucked in for the night. I'm ready for a cup of hot cocoa later and some more online reading/chatting.

I just got an email alert that Kaylen has no school tomorrow. I'll be staying home - whether the office closes or not. Jock is supposed to be working from home tomorrow - whether his office closes or not. We're hoping we don't lose power or internet service with the nasty winds tonight/tomorrow - we'd be really bored then! We'll probably be doing a mix of movies, Wii, computer stuff, along with reading books, laundry, online shopping, paying bills, listening to music, playing with Barbies & Polly Pockets & Littlest Pet Shops.

Hope you all are having a great week - and that it's warmer where you are than it is here (or you're able to stay in from the cold). Speaking of warm, need a vacation?

Vacation Getaway

Check out this vacation getaway and help a family bring home their little boy at the same time!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Day, we spent together with just our family. It was an awesome day! We started the morning kind of late, with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I missed part of it because I had to make a quick run to the store. Then we watched the National Dog Show while I was fixing dinner. What's your favorite dog? Mine are always the Komodor and the Puli - love that rope-like hair! Last year's Komodor was prettier - this one had shorter dreads, but I did like this year's Puli. Neat to look at, but would never have one though - that'd be a mess to keep clean!

We had left-over Turducken that we'd made for our Bible study group last Thursday. I'd made a casserole of the stuffing, rice, meat, and gravy. We made up a great bean casserole and some jello with fruit in it. I also made Shaylyn's Pumpkin Dessert - it's so easy, and VERY yummy! Before we ate we all went around and shared what we were thankful for. We prayed for E & J in Haiti, gave thanks for the food, and then ate WAY too much! :)

After eating we had to rest for a little while, watch some football, and played a computer game together. Then when we thought we could move again, we went downtown. It was a perfect day for Ice Skating! The outdoor rink was open from 4-9, so we got there just after opening, and there were only about 10 people there - AWESOME!!! By the time we got skates rented, went around the rink once VERY SLOWLY, had the skates sharpened, and then got back on the ice, there were more people there, but not crowded like we'd seen before. It was soooo fun!

Kaylen is such a good skater! She can skate faster than me - although that doesn't take too much effort. It's a little humorous though because she looks like she's jogging. But this girl no longer has fear. She did fall down a lot, but got right back up. She was also VERY good at re-balancing when she was almost going to fall. Crazy! It was a game to her also to stay in front of us. She was so very tired last night though - of course from "jog-skating" all those laps! :)

I'm so bummed that my camera memory card pooped out on me (it said it needed to be re-formatted)! We had some awesome videos and pictures of Kaylen skating. I guess that means we'll have to go again. Would be nice to do anyway, because tonight is downtown's holiday lighting ceremony (it'll be packed tonight!). The ice rink is right along the river, with a great view of the downtown buildings, so it's beautiful to go in December. I'll try to get pictures/videos again if we do go.

We left the ice rink around 6:15, so we'd be home just in time to watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, which was on TV at 7. Always a fun way to spend the evening after you're pooped from a long fun day!

Today, Jock had to go to work. Daycare was open, and since we pay by the week, Jock took Kaylen on his way to work. She would otherwise have been extremely bored with a 4-day weekend at home. I just half got up and fixed her hair for her. I then went back to sleep for a while, did some reading (Bible, 3:16 book, and computer-email/blogs/facebook), and spent some time in prayer. I had my breakfast/lunch of a bowl of cereal and a piece of pumpkin dessert around noon.

After lunch, I started cleaning and re-arranging the living room furniture. I worked some on my Christmas playlist - added it to my blog, but then noticed that there were several songs with broken links, so I spent some time finding new versions of my favorites. I put a batch of Chex party mix in the oven and some hot cider in the crockpot, and was about ready to get my shoes on to go pick up Kaylen, when Jock called and said he was on his way home and he'd pick her up. YEAH! I haven't been outside all day. Maybe he'll even bring the mail in for me. :)

Tonight we are going to finish off the left-over turducken casserole, listen to some Christmas music, drink hot cider, and put upour Christmas decorations. Should be fun. Tomorrow will probably be another lazy day, and Sunday we'll be going to church and then celebrating Thanksgiving with Jock's family, and Jock's Dad's birthday. Monday, it's back to work (and school for Kaylen).

Hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving!

Christmas Season

The Christmas season is upon us... so I've changed over to my Christmas playlist. :)

I wanted to listen to my Christmas favorites while I'm preparing my home for Christmas decorating/baking. :)

What is your favorite Christmas song?

Happy Thanksgiving, 2009!

I wanted to wish all our friends and family a very happy Thanksgiving!

We'll be spending the day/weekend together, reflecting upon what we are thankful for. The Lord has blessed us with so much to be thankful for! I've been reading the book 3:16 The Numbers of Hope by Max Lucado, and it is really making me reflect on the gift he's given us in Christ Jesus. That's my number one, but after Him, the next four that come to mind are these:

1)
2)
3)
4)
In addition to:

• our extended family
  
• our wonderful friends
  
• good health and availability of medical care
  
• gainful employment that affords us many luxuries
  
• a nice warm home
  
• food in the cupboards/refrigerator/on the table

I could go on and on... I pray that you take some time today to reflect upon the many blessings in your life.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Prayer Update

I am humbled and filled with gratitude for the many friends and family that have prayed and continue to pray with us over our adoption process. While my mind is constantly drifting to our children in Haiti, and dreaming of the day we can bring them home, I am blessed by the trust and hope in our Lord. He will will fulfill his purposes and will bring our children home in HIS perfect timing. Until then, I continue to lift E & J, this adoption process, and my worries up to Him. I rest in the knowledge and peace that they are well-cared-for, and are loved by the nannies and staff at the orphange.

I faxed letters to both our US senators and our US Representative in the House. I got an email back from one of our senator's offices within a couple hours. The person that emailed me back is a friend of another family in the area that has adopted from our same orphanage, so it was nice to see her familiar name in my inbox. It's always good to know someone - and we are praying the contacts she makes on our behalf with USCIS are fruitful and help to move along the birth parent interviews and DNA testing.

I'll keep my blog updated as we learn any more details or information. Thank you all SO MUCH for your prayers!

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths. Proverbs 3:5-6.

Nov08 Adoption Update & Prayer Request

We received an update on our adoption process this week. Our dossier is progressing along within MOI, and they are ready to have the "long forms" filled out for our passport applications. I wasn't exactly sure what this meant, but I remember others having this done - checked with a friend who has their children home, and she said they were out of MOI about a month after their long forms were filled out. AWESOME!!!

Usually what this means is, when we're out of MOI, they will print the children's passports (a few weeks), then immigration/visa process (a few weeks to a couple months) - then they can come home. Wow! That really got me thinking about just how much I have to do here at home before they come home. Don't get me wrong, if they called me tomorrow and said to come get them, I would totally do it, and it would work out just fine - granted, a little crazy, but it'd be perfect, and we'd LOVE having them home.

BUT - and that's a big BUT - in order for immigration to go smoothly, we need both children's birth parents to come in for their interviews. Josephine's father is ready to come in, and our processor has requested an appointment but hasn't received it. Since Josephine's birth mother is deceased, it apparently is standard for them to request DNA. It used to be that a USCIS rep would meet the lawyer, child and birth parent at one of a few USCIS-approved labs in Port-au-Prince. Now USCIS requires it to be done at the US Embassy- BUT (another big one) they do not have a process, so they're not doing them yet - they've been at a standstill for DNA for several weeks (maybe longer than a month!). Elijah's birth mother is still missing. We understood she came to the orphanage at one point, about six months ago now, but hasn't been back.

Our processor has also asked us to contact our US senators and representative because of the issues with the DNA testing. Absolutely! If you'd like to contact yours on our behalf, feel free to do so. I'm not 100% sure how to go about this, and I'm nervous and words tend to escape me on the phone, but I'll do it for our kids! I'm glad we're getting to a point when our government is involved, and feel like there's something I can do about this insanity!

Please pray the following with us regarding our adoption process:
*For MOI to continue to go smoothly, and that no errors are found on our documents.
*For Elijah's birth mother to be located, able to come in long enough for her interview, for DNA to not be requested.
*For Josephine's birth father's interview to be scheduled.
*For our US Senators and Representative to be willing and able to advocate for our children in Haiti's USCIS/Embassy office.
*For the USCIS DNA office to be opened up, for them to catch up to the backlog quickly, and for our DNA to be tested and come back quickly with no issues.
*For our hearts and our children's hearts as we prepare for their homecoming.

We are going to fast in prayer for our children on Wednesday. Please join us if you can. We were blessed when we fasted and asked friends to join us in prayer in February - our process has gone fairly smoothly since then, and I've had such a peace about our children coming home in perfect timing since then. We'd like the help of our friends and family to lift our process to the LORD again. “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:19-20.

And I know some of you are asking when - well, it still is unknown. Kaylen asked me this morning, "how many days". I'd love to be able to answer that question - with a number less than 100 - or wouldn't 50 make it an awesome Christmas?!? ...but it's all dependent on the above things. "How long, O LORD, how long?" Psalm 6:3b.

Psalm 4

1 Answer me when I call to you,
O my righteous God.
Give me relief from my distress;
be merciful to me and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O men, will you turn my glory into shame?
How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

3 Know that the LORD has set apart the godly for himself;
the LORD will hear when I call to him.

4 In your anger do not sin;
when you are on your beds,
search your hearts and be silent.

5 Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the LORD.

6 Many are asking, "Who can show us any good?"
Let the light of your face shine upon us, O LORD.

7 You have filled my heart with greater joy
than when their grain and new wine abound.

8 I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

New Pix of E & J, & Process update

We found out last week that we are, indeed, in MOI. Praise God! We'd been waiting nearly 4 months to enter MOI for an unknown reason, but found out earlier this month that it was because of errors on our adoption decree(s). I have asked for an estimated timeline before we get out of MOI. Last I heard (a few monts ago) was that MOI takes 3-6 months. I'm praying it's shorter than that. But I caveat all that with the fact that our children's birth parents interviews have not yet been completed. So even if we get out of MOI and have E & J's Haitian passports printed, if the interviews haven't been completed, they won't be able to get a visa to enter the US. Please pray with us that Josephine's father's interview will be scheduled and completed, and that Elijah's mother will resurface for her interview to be completed successfully.

I was so please today to see some pictures that another adoptive mom took of my two little ones. We adoptive moms all LOVE to see any glimpse of our children, so it means so much when another family traveling is able to walk through and snap as many photos as they can - thank you Mabel!!! Here's our two precious little ones:
Also, there is lots going on at the orphanage this week:
* Several adoptive families have traveled to Haiti last week and this week, to appear before a judge to "prove" that they want to adopt their children. Most of these families will be saying goodbye to their children at the orphanage tonight or tomorrow morning.
* Some families are still being notified of the need to travel, with little to no notice - or still waiting to hear if they will need to travel.
* There is also a medical team at the orphanage this week, doing health assessments on all of the children. I look forward to hearing how the children are doing - they certainly look healthy to me - Josephine's eyes even look clear! Both are growing up WAY TOO FAST!!!
* A family from Ohio will be bringing their twin boys home on Friday!
* And of course many families are still enduring LONG waits and encountering challenges in one step or another.

Please pray with us over these things. Our LORD is stronger and mightier than these mountains standing in the way of our children coming home!

Gotta Love Haiti!

I enjoy reading the blogs of two missionary families who live in Haiti. It gives me a lot of perspective into the ways of life in Haiti. My favorites are the Livesay family and the Mangine family. Tara Livesay recently wrote about names, and Gwenn Mangine wrote today about the language barrier, having just moved to Haiti in the spring. There are many more examples on their blogs, but I just read these two today. Enjoy!

Yucky Head Lice!

Yep, we've been battling head lice. It pains me to even talk about it – I’m itching my head as I type, just thinking about it! With me never having even seen it before, I probably let it go unchecked for a week or so. When we found it, the week after Labor day, it was a huge infestation. I spent a couple hours picking eggs out of her hair, sent her to bed with clean sheets, and then spend the next day attempting to rid it from my house. We continued to change/wash sheets and clothing in hot water, wash hair brushes/combs and pony tail holders in the shampoo and hot water - then spray them, spray down/vacuum the furniture and her backpack, etc.

I thought we’d been rid of it since mid-September, but two weeks ago they were back! I then was checking her head every couple of days, and would find one or two of those little buggers each time, but no eggs - so I knew she was still getting them from somewhere/someone. Ugh!!! I’d also been careful to have Kaylen’s hair pulled back tightly each day, which takes time, but we just get up a few minutes earlier, or I do it when it’s wet on shower nights and it stays well overnight if done when wet. She used to have her hair down all the time because I didn’t want to fight the complaining, but it’s not worth the risk anymore and she’s getting better at not complaining. Problem is, you can’t stand over a 6-year-old nonstop and tell them not to lean their head on something, don’t let someone/something touch their head, don’t hang your coat next to that kid’s coat, etc.

We notified school and daycare twice – Sept 11th, and again two weeks ago. The school nurse’s reaction, on September 11th, was, “Uh-oh… We’ve sent notes home to the kindergarteners, but if we get too many more in first grade, we’ll have to send home letters to them too.” Too many more?!? WHY didn’t they send notes home the first time they heard of it!!! We received a note home Tuesday of LAST week – almost 5 weeks after we first found it. Sheesh! I just wanted go in that classroom, armed with several cans of permethrin spray, and douse all the surfaces and her locker & contents - and also throw out those reading pillows - that Kaylen had been instructed by me not to use any longer! I didn't though.

However, after a VERY LONG 6 weeks, I think we've finally conquered the lice. I've checked twice this week - Monday and today - and I haven't found a thing, other than dry flaky skin - typical for the colder weather we've been having. I can't tell you how tired I am of spraying, vacuuming, laundering, and picking every other day! Luckily Jock and I, and any houseguests we’ve had, were spared. We're hoping those nasty creatures are gone for good, and that they NEVER return!

Church Activities

Our church activities are keeping us busy as well. Our small group Bible study meets one evening each week. Every other week, we meet at our house, so that keeps us on top of our house-cleaning activities, which is a good thing. Jock and I also help once per month, teaching/being helper for the preschool Sunday school classes. That doesn’t take much prep time, only one Sunday morning per month of being at both services (attending one and teaching for the other). The preschoolers definitely keep us busy though. I teach the craft portion of the lesson to three different groups (ages 3, 4, and 4/5), and Jock rotates with the 4/5 group to the story/music, and game/snack areas. It’s really a lot of fun, but those preschoolers (usually 8-12in each group, but varies) definitely keep you on your toes!

Jock and I are singing in the worship choir, which sings for both services once a month. We sang last month for our church's anniversary celebration, but will miss this month. Hopefully we can make most months after this, because we really enjoy it. Our church has wonderful music program, and it's such a joy and a blessing to sing with the choir!

In addition to Sunday school, Kaylen has activities on Wednesday nights, which include learning Bible verses, Bible stories, and an activity that goes along with the weekly lesson. This fall’s series is focused on Paul’s journeys. Kaylen chose her activity (they have several classes to choose from) for this fall’s series to be the creative cooking class. They don’t really cook, but they assemble snacks. The teacher is superbly creative with the snacks and tying them into the lesson! The first week, they decorated cupcakes to look like lawn mowers (green frosting, chocolate bar mini for the body, M&Ms for wheels, a licorice string for the handle), and tied it in with "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever" (1 Peter 1:24). Then during the week, we have to practice the Bible verse, and Kaylen gets points for doing other pages in her weekly packet, which include coloring pages, word puzzles, community actions (e.g. praying for neighbors, sharing about what God means to you, etc), and a prayer. At the end of the semester, they use their points to "buy" treats and trinkets. It’s really an awesome program, and she’s REALLY enjoyed it last year and this year. She’s learning so much – she’s such a little sponge!

This Wednesday, Jock and I had a little dinner date while Kaylen was at Kid Central. She doesn’t even know we did that, or she might’ve been mad that she didn’t get to go out to eat – one of her favorite things! We did make the mistake of heading to Applebee's though - Wednesdays is their 99c kids night, so it was packed. Luckily the bar was empty, so we just sat up there - and got great service from a bartender who was not busy at all! It was really nice to have that time together where we could just talk amongst ourselves – no little ears present, no manners reminders, no requests for condiments or seconds, etc – something we don’t get to do very often.

Other Bloggers

I wanted to do another update on the Wyatt's. Last I heard from Christina was that they were nearing the amount needed to start the DNA testing. They are still in need of funding to complete their adoption. Thank you to those of you who've checked out their blog and prayed for them, donated, or bid on their auction items. The auction is still going on, so head on over here to check it out.

Last week, I was reading some of the online articles of my hometown newspaper. I came across an awesome article about a family that is starting an adoption from Ethiopia. I've since connected with them a bit, and found that they are also doing an auction to help with their adoption expenses. Check out their auction blog, or their adoption blog.

Finally, while reading Journey4Hope's adoption blog, I came across a link to the Sullivan family's blog. I'd heard bits and pieces about this family from a couple other sources, but never put it together until I read their blog. The first I heard of them was from our social worker who'd said that another of her families was at the airport the day we celebrated our friends' arrival home with their three children they adopted from the same orphanage in Haiti where our children are living. Our social worker mentioned that they were at the airport by chance, picking someone else up from that same flight when they got to witness the celebration. Then, when we got together with our friends about a month ago, she mentioned their son is playing basketball in Jake Sullivan's Kingdom Hoops program. When I found their blog last week, I put it all together. They are now starting a program in Ghana and are also planning to adopt from Ghana. They've just started posting more details of their program planning on their blog - what an AWESOME story. I love reading adoption stories - but this is much, much more. What a heart they have for orphans, and for giving the gift of opportunities to children in third world countries. I can't wait to continue to follow where the Lord leads this family! Head on over to their blog, but to get the full effect, start with their Tuesday, October 13th post, titled "Before I start", and work backwards from there.

Happy blog-reading!

Photos

I realized today also that the photos on my sidebar are very out of date. I hope to get those updated soon also. But first, a couple updates...

Blogger's Block

Wow! Looking back at the last year or two, I used to post to my blog about every other day, or even more. The last several months, I was luck to get to it once a week! I bet you’ve been wondering what’s been going on. Well, nothing in particular. It's not really blogger's block, I’ve just been caught up in the busy-ness of life. The summer, it was just, well, regular summer stuff like swimming lessons, t-ball games, VBS, picnics, and the like. This month (and last), it’s been soccer practices and games that take up most of my spare time, along with trying to keep the house clean and rid of head lice, and attending church activities that have started up again after summer breaks.

After running all over town, by the time I'd done for the evening, I'm just ready to veg out on the couch with my laptop. It's been a good friend! :) So what have I been doing online? I really enjoying connecting with all of you. I haven't been commenting much, but I have been reading your blogs. I've been on facebook - a few games, but mostly enjoy connecting with lots of people, including many who I haven't seen or talked to in a long time! I've been trying to keep up with adoption news, and a couple TV shows that I like to watch - lately Dancing with the Stars. Then, when I can no longer hold my eyes open to read one more blog, I make lunches for the next day, and head off to sleep - which usually is too little sleep!

Also, this summer I got into a good exercise routine, but since it's gotten colder and there's less daylight, I'm not doing that as much either. I hope to remedy that now, as I just purchased a used treadmill from a friend of mine, and hope to get back to my running routine that I was doing this summer. Hopefully that will also help my energy level! More on that and much more soon - I promise!

Follow-up on the Wyatt's

The Wyatt family is the family whose girls are near ready to come home to their forever family from Haiti, but are facing a financial hardship that could delay their homecoming. Christina has had some awesome items donated for an online, silent auction. Many of these items would make wonderful gifts, and there's even a time-share package that will be on the auction block soon.

The first item is up for bid right now. Check it out here, and place your bid. Go back and visit regularly, as there will be more items forthcoming. Share this with your friends and family if you would as well.

Update 10/7: The second item is now up for bid, as well as a raffle! Other new items to be added daily!

Follow-Up on Tony

If you go back to some of my posts from January (from the blog archive on my sidebar), I requested prayers for Tony for his eye surgery to restore his sight...

Here's an awesome article on the answered prayers! Praise God!!!

From our friends...

We are in need of your support!
We are at the end of our adoption. We are currently waiting on passports and visa's. Also they are now asking for DNA for one of our girls. This can cost between $500.00 and $700.00. We cannot get their passports and visa's until this is done and we cannot go and get them until we have paid off our adoption fees. On top of that we have traveling expenses to go and get them. I know times are tough right for everyone so no gift is to small and is greatly appreciated. Please pass this along to everyone that you know. I am not asking for me but for these precious girls of God. They desperately need to come home to be with family and for medical attention. Please pray and see what the Lord would have you to do. Thank you in advance for your obediance to God in whatever it is that He calls you to do.
The Wyatt's

Contact me if you are able to help in any way, or contact them at their blog

Process Update Oct'09 & Updated prayer requests

We got our adoption process update today:
*Our dossier will be sent to MOI this coming Monday, correction has been made on adoption decrees.
*Our lawyer/processor is going to request the birth parent interview for Josephine's father with USCIS and will let us know the date.
*As for Elijah's birth mother, she went to the country and is not back yet. They're hoping she shows up at the orphanage any day.

Also, we heard that the orphanage director is working on photos and height/weight updates - I can't wait! ...but I will.

It is wonderful to get a more specific update, after not having one at all for two months. We also never knew why we were waiting 3 ½ months to get into MOI - thought we were waiting on abstracts - but good to know what the delay was. We'll be praying that all goes as planned for submission into MOI Monday (and quick turn-around in that office with no errors found on our dossier) and for Josephine's father's interview to be completed successfully. Will also continue praying for Elijah's birth mother to resurface and for her interview to be scheduled and completed successfully. Please pray these things with us.

FHG has gone through some major changes in their leadership in the last few weeks. They have a new President, VP, and Secretary/Treasurer. Also, our adoption liaison has stepped down to have more time with her three little girls at home. The new President is doing a wonderful job trying to get up to speed on everything, with no records to start from. Thank goodness for email, Yahoo groups, and Facebook, or it would be near impossible for her. She already is providing more information and transparency in her leadership, and for that I am thankful. I pray that this continues and for all the leaders as they learn their new roles and press on towards a positive future.

I know of many families struggling financially or process-wise with their adoptions. If you feel led to help other families financially in their adoptions, please let me know. Also, many families are preparing, with late notice, to travel to Haiti later this month, to "appear" before a judge. It is families who are 1-2 steps behind us in the process, so luckily we are not being asked to travel. Though not part of any adoption law, the judge has started requiring families to travel to Haiti to prove that they do want to adopt, before he will sign their dossiers out of his office (I think he signs the adoption decrees). He will not accept photos and copies of passport stamps from prior trips. Many families are scrambling to make arrangements with employers, for their children at home, and to pay for an unexpected trip due to this sudden additional step in the process. Please pray for them as they prepare and travel. And, there are many other prayer requests that are still quite relevant to Haitian adoptions here.

Fall 2009 Soccer

Kaylen is now three weeks into soccer. She's actually doing outdoor soccer this year. She's on a team with other 1st and 2nd graders.

It's amazing how much of a difference it makes just moving to outdoors, but then someone mentioned that the grass slows down the ball from what it was on a hard gym floor - duh! There are times where all the girls are kicking it as hard as they can and then chasing after it in a mob, but they are getting better at actually dribbling it (shorter kicks as they run). They still have some work to do on learning to us the teamwork to their advantage though.

Today's game there were a few stints where they kept going out of bounds, so they need to also work on their not kicking when they're near the lines until they're positioned correctly. They were better today at being goalies and at the stopping when the ref blew his whistle. I'm still not clear on when the ball goes out the ends why sometimes they do a kick from the goal box and sometimes they throw it in from the corner circle. Maybe I'll have to look that up! :)

At any rate, it's keeping her (and me!) busy with practices two times per week, and games on Saturdays. They've had 2 games so far, and have 4 remaining - although Kaylen will probably miss the last one because we'll be walking for Race for the Cure. Unless of course, they have poor weather one of the next three weeks and it gets rescheduled for the week after Race for the Cure.

Kaylen is doing really well, and is enjoying it - and we're enjoying watching. Last week Kaylen's team didn't get any goals, but had a couple scored on them. Kaylen saved one but then the other team got another shot right away and she wasn't paying attention - I guess she was thinking that if she threw it back out once she had a little time. She did get two shots on goal later in the game when she wasn't playing goalie, but the other team's goalie at the time was really good.

This week Kaylen was again goalie the first quarter and again saved one but one got through. But then later in the game she scored 2 (or maybe 3?) goals! She would have probably had another one, but she realized about 3/4 of the way down the field that she was going the wrong way - it was after halftime when they'd switched sides - she had such the determined, focused look on her face when she went past us, it really was too bad. But all was well - her team got it right back down the field again.

I'm glad they don't keep score at this age, although I have a hard time keeping track of even just Kaylen's things. Oh well. Soon enough they'll be talking about winning/losing and the attitudes that go with it, instead of just having fun and learning the game.

So much fun! A few pictures...
Team pictures:
Cheering her team from the goalie box:
Two shots she had - one went left, the other the goalie caught:
I forgot my camera today, or else I might have more fun pictures. :(

This is Our God

Labor Day Weekend

We went camping with my family over Labor Day Weekend. My dad has a permanent site at a campground near where I grew up and near where my one of my sisters lives. He had reserved the site next to his (which is not a permanent site) for my other sister (the one that doesn't live quite so nearby) and us to set up our tents, which also allowed for more parking if our nearby sister came by and for the kids to play. Saturday we were gone the afternoon and evening, for the aforementioned 60th birthday party. We had gone up Friday late afternoon, and then had Sunday to lounge around and visit. Some fun pix from the weekend...

Sorting rocks:Cousins playing games with Jock:Caden wasn't feeling well Sunday :(We were joking about our high-tech camping - notice the two laptops:And the two little guys watching a DVD on the portable one we keep in our van... Soon after this, Kenny fell asleep, then Caden puked on him - poor guy hadn't felt good all afternoon! Then he was upset after dinner when we roasted marshmallows because he couldn't have one. :(


My dad had cut a big log to make a Swedish candle. I'd never seen one but it was really neat - I was mesmerized and intrigued by it. What is it about watching a campfire that is so mesmerizing - and this was about 10 times that! He started it by pouring kerosene down the middle to fuel it, and then lit a couple newspapers he stuck in a couple of the cuts to get it started.First smoke starts puffing up through the center...Then intermittent flames start shooting up out of the top center:Then constant flames shooting high up out the top of the log (and we started roasting marshmallows - it was hard to not burn them, but that's how most of us like them).Then the spaces start burning and creating larger spaces as the coals fall inward. So neat to watch!Loved the star shape from the top - so neat!And a picture with my flash, to show those HOT! coals in the center!After this we were all tired and ready to turn in, so Dad and Jock started scraping the coals off the insides of each piece sticking up and helping them fall down so we wouldn't have to worry about it overnight. This is how we left it at night - that one stubborn piece wouldn't burn as fast as the others.I didn't get to see it in the morning - Jock got up before me and had already put new logs on the fire to stoke it up again, but Dad said there was still part of the bottom of the stump that hadn't burned totally - but it was mostly coals and ash.

We kept Karen busy over the weekend. She did 7 haircuts, one perm, and one deep-condition. Gracie's deep-conditioning:So serious - Caden (before he started feeling sick - notice the dorito-mouth)Kenny also had dorito-mouth, but I love this one! I think Karen should use it for advertising and call it "have clippers, will travel" - notice the canoes on the river in the background. :) :)
Monday we packed up, visited a little more, and went mini-golfing, as we'd promised Kaylen, before heading back home. Kaylen enjoying (or at least it looks like it - she was really very frustrated at her lack of putting skills) mini-golf:
It was a beautiful weekend - not too hot, but not cold either - well, maybe a little chilly at night, but mostly beautiful weather. Hopefully we can do it again next year!

Dad's 60th Birthday!

My sisters and I and our step-mom threw Dad a surprise birthday party. It was quite the feat - Dad is too smart, so we had to be REALLY sneaky!

Jock, Kaylen and I, and my younger sister and her husband were camping the weekend with Dad and Terry, like we did last year. Dad and Terry have a permanent site near where my other sister lives, so it made sense. Dad and Terry have a large building on their property where they host receptions, so we planned to have the party there - and prayed for nice weather so we could still camp and have Dad off the property. :)

Dad's birthday was actually on Saturday, so when my other sister came by the camp site to visit us, we had her ask Dad if he wanted to go out for supper. He hemmed and hawed and said that we could just have grill something at the campsite, but she came back with, well, she already made reservations and invited grandma, so he had to agree. Then after lunch, Amy proceeded to ask us (Jock and I and Karen) if we wanted to come help her can salsa or make peach jam - so that gave us the out to go get things set up. :)
Terry's job was to conveniently forget some things at the house that she needed for the weekend at the campground. So she was to talk Dad into running by the house to get things before dinner at the restaurant. We figured how long it would take Dad and Terry to get from the campground to the house, then to "get her forgotten things" then get to the restaurant, and calculated back from there for when they would arrive and when to have the guests arrive.

When Dad and Terry were on their way to the house, she texted us to let us know how far out they were. She told Dad that we were asking where things were in the camper for us to get ready for dinner - thinking we were back there after canning salsa or something. :) We were secretly gathering the guests in the parking lot to sing to Dad as soon as he got out of the truck.

Dad looked really surprised. I thought for a minute he was gonna lose it - his face got red, etc. and he turned back to the truck for his hat and was OK then. We took a few picture, then the dinner and mingling began. It was a great evening and it worked out really well.

(Mom and Dad got us these t-shirts for Christmas one year)

I think we actually did surprise him - or at least he let us believe we'd fooled him. He said he had no idea, and was a maybe a little irritated that Terry had "forgotten" several things at the house. :) Then he said he was confused why were "texting Terry about the blow dryer and curling iron" in the camper. Then when they got close to the pole barn he saw a couple cars and got mad that people had thought their garage sale was the wrong weekend and stopped by anyway, then he saw more cars and thought the barn might have been on fire, then he recognized whose vehicles and knew something was up. hee-hee.

We're thankful the event went off (almost) without a hitch (we ran out of plastic forks). It was a lot of fun to see so many family and friends there, and a beautiful day for a nice party! Instead of gifts, we asked the guests to bring a salad to share and a funny card for Dad. We had yummy cake - the kids had fun (after everyone had had some), peeling off the black frosting and making their mouths black. We had lots of left-over beans and hot dogs, just enough potatoes and hamburgers, and just enough cake to have a little left-over for the rest of the weekend.

(Yes, we lit all 60 candles - assistance was needed from 4 grandchildren and one great niece to blow them all out!)

Hope you had a wonderful 60th birthday Dad! (ps. don't think we'll ever be able to pull off another surprise party on him - he'll be too suspicious now - at least until he starts losing his memory :) Love you, Dad!