James has a Passport!!!

We were in MOI from 10/3 – 11/7 (only 5 weeks!). That is where they approve his passport application before it gets sent to printing. His passport was printed in two weeks!

This means that are done with the Haitian side of things, and all we have left is U.S. Immigration!

GLA is reviewing James’ paperwork and prepping it for submission to the U.S. Embassy. There are a couple small steps here before James can come home:

• USCIS approval of our I-600 – this is the paperwork we filed in May, which “is used to classify an orphan, who is or will be adopted by a U.S. citizen as an immediate relative of the U.S. citizen to allow the child to enter the United States.”
• Files get sent then to the Consular section, who reviews all documents and schedules James’ visa appointment.
• Visa appointment occurs, after which the visa is usually printed within 2 days.
• Once James’ visa is printed in his passport book, we will make travel plans.

We’re guessing at this point, that we’ll be traveling early- to mid-January, to bring James home!!!

Glory to God!

Adoption Rollercoaster 10/4/2012

The Down Side:
This morning, while walking out of daycare after dropping my kids off, I see a little girl about the same age as James. I see this little girl nearly every day, as her older brother is the about same age as Elijah & Josephine, but for some reason, today I completely lose it. I barely make it back to my car before the tears overflow. I just sit in my car for a few minutes before backing out of my parking space and heading to work, pleading with God that he bring James home quickly. I miss him so much!

As I get back on the road, the local Christian radio station, that God frequently uses to speak to my heart, again plays the right song at the right time. The next song to play is, “Carry Me to the Cross,” by Kutless, followed by, “Before the Morning,” by Josh Wilson.

The tears flow freely as I soak up the lyrics, hearing God speak to me, “I’m not alone … you carry me … you comfort me, lift me up from my knees and carry me,” and “the pain that (I’ve) been feeling can’t compare to the joy that’s coming.” I could go on and on. Every single lyric in both songs was God speaking right to my heart, “I’ve got this.”

Thank you Lord for leading me through the tough days! And Thank you to the musical artists and those at the station selecting the music, for being the instrument of God's reaching out to our community!

The Good News:
So as this emotional roller coaster continues, it's only fitting that we should get an update on our adoption process this afternoon. Our paperwork is now in the Ministry of Interior! This is where they will process and approve James' passport application.

From the short timelines we've heard lately, MOI could take as little as 4-6 weeks, plus 3 days-2 weeks for them to print James' passport. After that it goes to the US side. I-600 approval I have heard from someone recently that it took about a week. Then next is 4 weeks for the visa appointment after which the visa is usually printed the next day and an exit approval letter from IBESR within a couple days.

So... all this to say we could be looking at as short as 10 weeks, or it could be longer. Trying to prepare and hope for the shorter, but keep the realization that those timelines could easily extend to longer.

Thank you all for your prayers on this journey. We can feel them, and God is answering! Please pray with us that our paperwork would be on the short end of these timelines. We'd REALLY love to have James home in December! Pray for our lawyer/processors, orphanage staff, staff in each government office our paperwork passes through, and also for James and us as he'll be joining our family soon!

Adoption Update 9/18/2012

We didn't get an official update from our agency last week, but the adoption status page on GLA's website was updated. It appears that our file had moved from MOJ legal and into MAE legal. We don't know when in the previous 2 weeks that happened, but we're praying to get through MAE legal and into MOI this week. Will you pray that with us?

And regarding MOI and passport printing, here are the timelines for two previous families adopting from GLA who've gone through:

Family T: Entered MOI 7/26, exited MOI 9/4, passport printed 9/17

Family M: Entered MOI 8/22, exited MOI 9/18, passport printed 9/21

Family T has their son's visa already, and are making travel preparations - so exciting!!! However, I can't use their post-passport timeline to guesstimate what ours might look like because they are a Canadian family. I am watching closely to when Family M gets their I-600 approval and visa, as they are a US family and we'll follow the same process as they do. They were told that US visas were averaging a month to process.

It's so encouraging seeing MOI and passport-printing moving so quickly! It gives me hope that James could be home before Christmas, but there are a lot of IFs to get beyond first. I keep thinking in my head, IF we get into MOI by the first week of October, and IF we exit MOI in 4 weeks that puts us at the week of Oct 29, then IF it takes 1 week for printing his passport that puts us at the week of November 5, then IF his visa is ready in a month, we're looking at the first or second week of December, and IF we can make travel plans on short order, he COULD be home before Christmas!

That's a lot of IFs! And, that's taking the shortest timeframe I've heard of recently! We know GOD can accomplish this, but we know HIS will and timing are perfect, so I'm trying to rest in that, instead if getting my heart set on a specific time period.

As far as what works for us, it'd be awesome if he could come home early December. Jock and I would both be able to take time off for the adjustment period. Jock may not be able to hold over the vacation time he's saved up from 2012, into 2013. On the other hand, I think about how overwhelming it could be for a child to join a new family/home during the holidays? We probably wouldn't be able to travel or spend much time with our extended families all together if he came home right before Christmas either.

But whatever comes of our adoption timeline, we'll take.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who[a] have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

So, when people ask when we might have James home, I keep saying, we're hoping that he'll be home for Christmas, but it'll be tight. We really don't know for sure, and won't until the time comes. :)

Adoption Udate 9/6/2012

Well, I thought we wouldn't hear anything again until we were in MOI, but since we'd been stuck and I'd inquired about it a few weeks ago, they kindly followed-up with an update when we got un-stuck.

So, we're officially unstuck. :)

Our adoption decree got the necessary stamp from the Parquet Commissioner.

Our dossier is being submitted to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for legalization of our adoption documents.

After that, it'll be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) for another level of legalization of our adoption documents.

MOJ and MAE combined are expected to take 3-4 weeks. Please pray with us that these two steps go smoothly, even faster than 3-4 weeks.

After MOJ and MAE, it can be submitted to the Ministry of Interior (MOI). This means they're applying for James' Haitian passport.

Please pray also that MOI continues to process adoption dossiers quickly. We've heard recent exits that were in the 3-5 week range, which would be awesome!

Adoption (Non-)Update 9/5/12

Well, what we'd hoped regarding the Parquet stamp on our adoption decree wasn't. Monday night, when GLA updated their adoption status page, ours still hadn't moved - we're through Courts and Attestation, but not yet in Legalization. I was VERY bummed to see that. :(

However, I'm encouraged today, hearing that several families that we know adopting from GLA have gotten through Parquet - so that means the new Parquet Commissioner is indeed working on adoption papers. I'm hopeful that our adoption decree might now have its stamp, and has been submitted to the Ministry of Justice (aka MOJ) for legalization (like notarizing). After that will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (aka MAE) legalization (again, like notarizing), then Ministry of Interior (aka MOI = Haitian immigration/passport application). Although, we probably won't hear another update until we enter MOI.

Please continue praying with us that we get through MOJ and MAE legalizations quickly and enter MOI.

James - 2 years old!!!

James had his 2nd birthday on August 22nd. The orphanage does one birthday celebration each month, and celebrates all the kids that had birthdays that month together. Their account of him enjoying the party:

James had a great time celebrating his birthday with three other little boys. He spent a little time playing with balloons, and then came over to check out the cake. He got his own piece of cake on a plate, and started working on eating it. He had some help for a little while, and then he fed himself some cake. At one point, he dipped his head down level with the plate so that he could get a mouthful of the fluffy, sweet treat!

And some photos of him from the party:
I'm so thankful that they celebrate with the babies and toddlers, not just the bigger kids. It's awesome to have these photos of his early childhood, even if we can't be the ones to share the moments with him.

As far as the adoption processing goes, I asked for an update on August 17th. We had hoped we would be in MOI a month earlier, as when we exited Parquet, we were told that they expected our files to pass through courts, attestation, and 2 legalization steps in a month total.

Monday, August 20th, we got a response that our file had passed through courts and attestation - which means James has an adoption decree! However, apparently our adoption decree has to have a stamp from Parquet (yes, back to Parquet - we had no idea! - but it must usually be a very quick thing because it's not listed in the steps. The stamp is required before it can got through the 2 legalization steps. The Parquet Commissioner had been out of the office much of the summer (after we passed through the first time), and now there's a new Parquet commissioner. At that time, we were told that GLA did not have confirmation that he'd begun signing out dossiers. GLA's lawyer was hopeful that we'd have the stamp "within the next week or so", and then would submit our dossier for legalization.

We're now praying that, since it's been two weeks since that update, that we did indeed get that stamp from Parquet and that both our legalization steps are complete, and we hear this week that our files have been submitted to the Ministry of Interior. Will you pray this with us this week?

Furthermore, we have heard on a couple adoption groups on Facebook, that one family went into MOI on August 13th, and was out by Sept 1. Another family confirmed that files from their orphanage were being approved through MOI very quickly as well. We're hoping we can get in and out of MOI just as quickly!!! After MOI, they'll print James' passport, then double-check all his documents (for errors or anything needing a re-do) before submitting to the US Embassy. :)

We'd LOVE to have this little guy home in the next 2-3 months, which seems possible if we get into MOI and it moves as quickly as it appears to be currently.

Happy Birthday Jock!

Jock's birthday was Tuesday, but it got a little wrapped up in all the busy-ness with school starting and parent meetings and all. We did still celebrate though. He and I went out for lunch on his birthday, and we also stopped at the Cheesecake Factory to get dessert for after supper. His favorite is the Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake - but we got a few pieces to share between the 5 of us. Mmmmmm!!!

Happy birthday to my most wonderful husband! I Love You!!!

And, since James' birthday is the day after Jock's, it's likely that his future birthday will be a little less of a big deal, but we'll still make it special for him, especially when he hits the next zero here in a few years! :)

Josephine - Kindergarten, Aug 2012

Josephine was probably the most excited of my three to start school, not surprisingly. Kindergarten's a big deal!

At Meet the Teacher night, she got through her tasks like a pro - not wanting help, wanting to put all her supplies where they go very quickly and get on to the next thing, very matter-of-factly. So funny! Then when I asked if I could take a picture of her and her teacher, she got a little nervous, then warmed up fast once she talked to her teacher for a minute. :)

Later that evening, and the next night, while I was finishing her hair, I kept quizzing her on what grade she was in and who her teacher was. Then we'd talk about something else, and I'd come back to the question. It only took a few times for her to get down that she was in kindergarten, but she couldn't remember her teacher's name!

I don't know why, but I worried more about the kids starting kindergarten much more than I did with Kaylen. Maybe I just don't remember 4 years ago! I had visions of Josephine standing in a school hallway, alone and crying, because she was lost. Then when someone came up and asked her who her teacher was, she couldn't tell them. I'm happy to report she had it down after just a couple days of school.

Josephine picked her outfit when we went shopping also. She chose a dress, and then I had to find some leggings for her to wear under it. Later, when we went to the mall to shop for Kaylen's clothes, we found the perfect shoes for her to wear for kindergarten. But unfortunately the store couldn't find the match to the display model - the only one that was her size. She cried and sulked all the way down to the other end of the mall from JCPenney to Younkers, and then was SUPER excited when we found the same pair there, in her size! She's using her backpack that she used for our Disney trip last fall, that has barely been used since then.

Josephine's first highlight from the first day of school was that her teacher had a really big white "TV" that she pulled down from the ceiling. I asked if she shined lights on it and showed some letters, and she said no. She didn't like the school's pizza or chicken gravy over mashed potatoes (although I'm not sure she gave them a chance because she wants to use her lunchbox). When I asked about her special classes (art, music, and library, so far), she seemed to really like music class. She also got to write, sing songs, and has been wearing her eye patch every day, with help from her teacher of when her two hours is up.

So proud of my baby girl - not so much a baby anymore, and so excited to be a big kid in school!

Elijah - Kindergarten, Aug 2012

At Meet the Teacher night, Elijah was so excited to see all the toys in the room! Especially the tub of dinosaurs. I could hardly pry him away from the bin to get a photo of him with his teacher! His teacher seems really nice. She's new to the school, but has several years' experience at another nearby district.

Jock cut Elijah's hair the weekend before school started, so he'd be all ready. We always have to have a new outfit and shoes for the first day of school. Good thing, because Elijah's summer sandals broke the weekend before school started. He chose a cool Batman shirt, and likes the black tennis shoes we found as well. Usually I'll get the kids new backpacks as well, but he was content with his Cars backpack that he took to Disney World last fall, that has rarely been used since.

I can't believe he's in Kindergarten! He's had a good first few days of school so far. I asked him what he did each day, and at first he'd say his standard response from when he'd be at daycare all day: "Play." (Yup, that's it.) Then he corrected himself, and said, "No, we didn't play at all. But... we played outside 3 times." Before school started, he was excited for lunch - that's all I could get out of him. Yup, typical boy, the highlights of the day are recess and lunch.

So proud of my big boy, now a Kindergartner!