Sibling Rivalry

So for Father's Day, Jock wanted to go out for donuts for breakfast. Kaylen had a 10 am soccer game, so we decided we'd all go instead of some of us going to church and splitting up. We were all up and ready by 8:15 and headed to HyVee. That gave us about 45 minutes to get there and eat before heading out for the soccer game.

I grabbed myself a Chai at the Starbucks just inside the store, and Jock and the kids headed for the bakery section. We met in the cafe area and sat down for a nice Father's Day donut.

As we'd expect, the kids each picked out the biggest glazed donuts they could possibly find, a couple with cute sprinkles and filling, and one with an inch thick of frosting. Jock got me a cake donut with white frosting, and himself an apple fritter, and juice for him and the kids.

We all thoroughly enjoyed the donuts. One of the kids finished very quickly, as we would expect this one to - such a sweet-tooth! The other two were slowing down, I think realizing that the extra large donuts with the thick frosting and filling might've been a little too much. One had about two bites left and said their tummy was full and asked, "Do I HAVE to finish?!?" Jock said no, and asked "Speedy Sweet-Tooth" if they wanted to finish the last two bites -- until the full child rescinded the full comment and quickly shoved the remaining bit into their mouth.

Not five minutes later, when it was nearing time to leave, the last child to finish had about 1/3 of the enormous donut remaining. Jock suggested maybe giving it to "Speedy Sweet-Tooth" who wasn't full and would be more than happy to consume more sugar. "Last-to-Finish" also decided to take a few more bites rather than give in to "Speedy Sweet-Tooth", although did eventually give in because it was just too much donut.

Oh, the selfishness in making yourself miserable just so that your sibling cannot be more happy. I'm sure I did some of the same when I was a kid, but seriously, this is the stuff that drives parents nuts! How did my parents not go crazy?!? :)

James' Update - June 2012

We got our update about James on Monday afternoon, just a few hours after we heard the good news about our adoption process moving past Parquet...

Happy Summer from GLA, Jock and Lisa!

This past month has been very busy and adventure filled here at God’s Littlest Angels. We started off the month by taking in 23 kids from an orphanage that was shut down up the mountain from us in Kenscoff. If you check with our blogs you can read about how they came to be with us and how the adjustment has gone. Most of them were older then 3 years old so they are staying at the Toddler House. Despite space issues we have been making it work for them to sleep in one of our classrooms since May 31st. We are praying that their parents will be located soon so we can determine a permanent solution for each of them, whether that will be with us and a forever family or with their biological family. Besides that we have gotten more volunteers and teams in the last few weeks. We are grateful for each person who comes to stay with us and give of their time and gifts to assist the kids in their growth and development until they can be home with you.

You may be surprised that this update has come a little early this month. This is because I will be going home to Wisconsin for a couple of months leaving on June 21st and returning on August 22nd. My co-worker, Emelyne, will be in charge of writing and sending your updates to you for July and August. They will continue to come from this email address but they may look a little different then you are used to.

This month the theme of the photos and update for the babies at the Main House is “Bath Time”. Bathtime in the nursery is an interesting time of the day and there is nothing like it. To a first time visitor it may looks like chaos as the nannies just finish giving the kids supper and start taking each one to the changing room for a bath, powder, and pajamas. The nannies start a sort of assembly line during bath time. They will stand in a row and each one will do a different part of the process. One will bath the child another dry and yet another will powder and the next dress them in their pajamas. Their teamwork skills are amazing! Bath time is personally my favorite time to visit the nursery each day because all of the kids seem to be in the best mood. Their bellies are full and they are clean!

James loves bath time! He seems to most enjoy being clean and hanging out with his friends in the nursery before he needs to go into his bed.

He has done really well this month. He went for a lot of walks in the neighborhood with his volunteer and she told me that he has become really very independent on the walks. He has gotten very good at navigating the rough terrain all on his own. He got so used to going for walks and loved them so much that the first thing he would do when he arrived at the balcony was go find a pair of shoes to wear. One day his volunteer had to say no and he was a little upset until he found out that he would get to go in the pool instead. He loves to play chase games and will run as fast as he can. He also does a great job with playing with play dough. It is sweet to see kids get to the point where they can do this activity without wanting to place it in their mouth.

James is healthy and growing: Height: 81.5 cm Weight: 24 lb 4.5 oz

Blessings, Susie

Oh, precious boy, I'm so looking forward to having you in our arms again, and bringing you home!

Parquet Approval

Monday morning we got the following update on our adoption:

Congratulations Jock and Lisa! Great news! Your adoption of James has just been approved by Parquet. This week, we are preparing your dossier to enter the courts, in which we will create the civil court document and the Act of Adoption. This is when James will legally become your child and take your family name of Naert.

After the courts, we will ask National Archives for an attestation signature for the Act of Adoption and then we will legalize the Haitian legal documents in both the Department of Justice and Minister of Foreign Affairs (MAE). These steps together – courts, attestation signature, legalization, and MAE – should take approximately one month to complete.

Then, we can apply for James’s passport in the Minister of Interior’s (MOI) office. I may not always have the time to email you as we exit each step, but I will, however, be sure to email you when we apply for James' passport at MOI.

Once again, congratulations on being one step closer to taking your angel home!

After our last adoption, it's hard to believe how fast this one is going! IBESR took 10 months for Elijah & Josephine - 10 weeks for James. Parquet took 7-8 months for Elijah & Josephine - 2 months for James! And they're saying courts/attestation/legalization might be only a month - it was about 7 months for Elijah & Josephine between Parquet approval and MOI entry. Amazing! The 4-6 months Dixie told us was possible the day before we left in May is a very real possibility... James could be home for Christmas! :)

Jock and I met for lunch right after we heard this news. On the way to the restaurant, the song "Voice of Truth" by Casting Crowns came on my radio. I shed a few tears as I thought about how I've been letting my doubts creep in about just how soon James could be home. I hear things are moving much more smoothly and quickly than they have previously, and I see it happening in our adoption, yet I'm skeptical. That song was a good reminder of God's goodness as we go through this process. He will bring James home in His perfect timing, and I just need to trust in His timing. I have had a peace about this adoption that I cannot describe. It's really quite unbelievable considering how difficult Elijah & Josephine's adoption was. And even through my unbelief, I believe God has given me that peace to trust in His ways. Thank you Jesus for carrying me through this adoption process. It's amazing to look back and see God's hand in this adoption, and He deserves all the praise and honor and glory!

Oh, and to add to our excitement, we got our monthly update with new photos Monday too. I'll post those tomorrow.

James' Update - May 2012

We got our May update about James a couple weeks after we returned home.

Happy Mothers Day from James!

May holds a number of special holidays. Haitian Flag Day is on the 18th of May. This year that day fell on a Friday. The children at the Toddler House enjoyed a parade and singing through their neighborhood on Flag Day. Haiti is a truly beautiful country and if you have had the opportunity to come visit GLA you will know that the view from the balconies of all of our homes is truly breathtaking. In order to honor that beauty we have been blessed with, I wanted to highlight the incredible landscape we see each day by taking pictures of the kids with this view as the backdrop. The lighting posed some problems with the sun coming in and out but I think this months photos capture a small glimpse into the beauty that Haiti holds.

May also holds a special holiday we call Mother’s Day, which is celebrated the last Sunday in May here in Haiti, the same as it is in France. It is an honor to recognize the mothers that are waiting for their children to come home. It is certainly a special calling to be a mother of an adopted child and whether this is your first adoption or you have adopted several children, we at GLA want you to know that you are appreciated and loved by us and by the child who is waiting to be at home with you. I am sure with the passing of Mother’s Day this month you have thought about the child this update discusses.

It was a true blessing to meet both of you this month. I am so happy you got a chance to meet James and spend some time with him over the course of a few days. He is a fun little guy and I can tell he is going to fit seamlessly into your family. He continues to enjoy some time on the balcony each day as we now have more volunteers. He loves to spend time in the swimming pool splashing around. It has been a true joy to see this little guy blossom and grow over the past month. I assure you that we will continue to do out very best to care for James until you are able to bring him home with you.

I included a few photos of you with James from your time here. ENJOY!

James is healthy and growing: Height: 80 cm Weight: 23 lb 12 oz Happy Mother’s Day!

Blessings, Susie

Haiti Trip, May 2012 - Part 7 of 7

The last day of our Haiti trip. I think the whole mood of the day was a little somber. We knew we would have to say goodbye to James.

We were up and had breakfast before 8, as we were told that we could walk to from the Toddler house (about 2 houses from the Guest House) to the Main house with Melissa, around 8 am. We'd have about 1 1/2 hours to spend with James. Melissa wasn't quite ready to leave when we got to the Toddler house at 8, so we met Joyce, she got Jock a little bit of coffee, and we sat in the kitchen and watched a little girl having a frosted cupcake for breakfast for a few minutes before heading out! :)

The walk was pretty uneventful. A little slick walking in flip-flops on the steep hills after it had rained that night. We did see a motorcycle wipe out, but the two guys on it (one dressed quite nicely), caught it with their feet and hands, got back up, and continued on their way.

When we got to the main house, we were told James was ready, so we headed up to his room. You know that question by the US Embassy agent about whether we thought James recognized us? Well, we would now answer Yes to that question. Of course, hard telling who he thinks we are, but I'm certain he'd been told we were coming to see him again, and when he saw us at the door, he pushed past the other children and came right to us with his arms up, ready to go play. :)

We took him upstairs to play for the short time we had remaining with him. He, of course, went right for the Cozy Coupe again.

He also was on the swing for quite a while - and Jock had him smiling, but he still wasn't too sure of me, and I thought he was threatening to fall asleep on me, so I convinced Jock to try to get him out of there so we could have a few more minutes with him before we left.

He went over to a toy/book table, and found just the one he wanted. It was a big one, so he needed help to get that one out - but he wanted that specific one. We realized when we sat down, why he wanted that one - it was one where you push the buttons and it makes noises! :) He sat for the longest time looking at that book on our laps.

It was pretty quiet upstairs on the balcony in the morning. I think a few of the volunteers help with school at the Toddler house before coming to the main house, so only two were there. They were chatty, but it was nice to not have so many there in our last time with James. They also took a couple photos of the three of us together, and I'm thankful to have those.

It also was fun to see James in the morning, instead of in the late afternoon as we'd seen him the previous three days. He was so wide awake most of the time, very busy as usual, but more smiley and happy than in the late afternoon when he was already worn out from his day.

Around 9:25, we took James back to his room. Jock wanted to ask one of the volunteers to do it for us, because of how hard it is to leave, but for some reason, I needed to do it. James wasn't very happy to be leaving the balcony and heading downstairs, but when we got down to the baby room and I tried to put him down, he clung to me, and started crying - screaming! I tried a couple times to put him down, without success. Then a nanny who had been doing a little girl's hair, stood up (I assume James was her charge) and took him from me. He was NOT HAPPY!!! I was on the verge of tears, so I gave him a kiss, thanked the nanny, and got myself out of there.

I could hear him screaming for a few minutes until they got him calmed down, and that was not easy. We stood around downstairs for a few more minutes, and I was relieved that James had stopped screaming before we left, but still So hard!. A few of the staff were around to see us off, and I could barely talk to tell them goodbye and to thank them for all they do there.

Around 9:30, Ernst was ready to take us in the truck back to the Guest house, to get our luggage, pick up the other family, and head to the airport for our 1:00 flight. About half-way back to the guest house, I think I regained my composure. One more bumpy ride in the back of the truck, and we were on our way home.

We got to the airport in decent time - although I don't remember what time it actually was. We had plenty of time to get checked into our flights, get through the multiple security checkpoints and get our exit stamps on our passports. We even stopped by a souvenir booth, but it was very small. We thought there'd be a large area of shops upstairs as there had been before, but no such luck. We'd gotten through the final American Airlines security, and went upstairs, but it was just a bar - no shops. There had been one other place with a stairway right near the small booth, but it was before security, and we wondered if that's where the other shops were, or if they were just gone. We didn't ask at that point. We were happy just to sit and wait out the last half-hour or so before boarding our flight.

Fortunately, our flight from PAP to MIA boarded and landed on time. We got through immigration and customs just fine in MIA, grabbed our luggage and headed to our hotel. Leaving PAP around 1:00 in the afternoon, we were not able to get back home that Thursday, so we decided to spend the night in Miami instead in the airport in Chicago. It was also my birthday, so we'd planned to go out for dinner at a Cuban restaurant we'd been to on a previous trip. When we got to our hotel, first on the agenda was showers, of course, to wash off the grime from the truck ride to the airport. :) Then we headed to the hotel's complimentary drink reception before heading to dinner. After dinner, we had nice intentions of taking a dip in the pool or hot-tub, but we went back in for a quick nap... and just went to bed instead. Jock was starting to feel sick, and we were exhausted from the emotions of the week!

The next morning, we checked out of our hotel and headed back to the airport. Our flight from MIA left around noon for Dallas Ft. Worth. We were on time departing, but we circled the DFW airport for quite a while because of the weather, and were late landing. We already knew we had about a 5-hour layover in Dallas, so we weren't too concerned. We did head to another gate to see if there were any empty seats on an earlier flight to Des Moines - no such luck - it was full. So we found a restaurant and sat for a while nursing a plate of appetizers and a drink.

We headed to our gate and got out a deck of cards, but couldn't play long, because Jock's cold was coming on like crazy. So he tried to nap, and I just sat and read and people-watched. As it got closer to our departure time and other people started arriving at our gate, we found out there were two flights scheduled at that gate, because of more delays due to the weather. Our flight was delayed a half-hour, then another half-hour and a terminal/gate change. Then another longer delay and another couple gate changes. We ended up leaving about 4 hours later than we'd planned, and landed in Des Moines around 2 am, and got home around 3 am - and Jock with a NASTY head cold!

Grandma and Grandpa had stayed the week with the kids, and were planning to head out Saturday morning. The kids woke us up around 7 am - that was a short night! Kaylen had soccer at 11, and Elijah & Josephine both had t-ball at noon. With Jock in bed sick, I took Kaylen to her game, but left early to get E&J to their games. I left Elijah with his coach and another friend's parents, then walked across the park to Josephine's game. One of Kaylen's teammates' parents brought her to Josephine's game, then when that was over we rushed back to pick up Elijah. Then it was finally NAPTIME!!! Josephine took a nap with me while Kaylen read and Elijah played quietly. Poor girl missed her mommy! She's usually too wiggly to snuggle for long, but not this time - and then she cried when I had to get up later. Oh boy, I wanted to cry too. I missed my three at home dearly when we were gone, but was missing James so much too!

Please be praying that the remainder of the steps in the adoption process go smoothly and swiftly so we can have all of our children home with us!