It's a Boy!

We accepted a referral for our adoption! His name is Elijah and he was born on April 7, 2006. He was abandoned at age 7 months and weighed only 8 lbs! Now he is healthy and chubby and super cute. We can't wait to bring him home, but it will take quite awhile. Please pray for the adoption to go quickly and for Elijah to continue to grow healthy and strong!

Paperwork ready

I can't believe we are finally at this point! I am off to go to the copy shop to make 3 copies of the whole stack of papers in our dossier. After that task we are going to mail the thing to Haiti! We also got an appointment for INS for fingerprinting. So we are sending the dossier in a bit early with hopes that we can get a referral for a child before the I600a approval.

Jeremiah also found a part time flexible job working for a friend who builds custom homes. He is going to be driving a truck to the dump and helping out on other things as well. He is at his first day today. He will be able to work for D. during his days off from his full time job. Maybe this will help fund the adoption and trip to Haiti this fall. God is good.

busy, busy, busy

I will just do a quick little update because I have to get in bed! I am going to be going to Seattle with Sarah, her 2 daughters and Helande and Christella for 3 days. I need to get up really early so we can be on the road and get to Seattle Childrens' Hospital by 9ish. Sarah's daughter (adopted from Haiti) has spina bifida and is going for some appointments there. While we are there we are hoping to share the girls' story with the doctors and maybe get care lined up for them. Pray that they will be compassionate for their needs.

Last weekend we went to a church retreat up near Mt. Baker. It was a rainy weekend but we all had fun. The kids did pretty well despite the rain, and they were soaked by the end of the day on Sat.! We got home today around noon. I had a lot of laundry to do!

We are expecting our paperwork back from the Haitian consulate on Tuesday and then when I get home we can make copies of everything and send the whole thing to Haiti. Wow I can't believe we are this close. I have also been applying for more grants and praying that we will be accepted by one or two!

Girls Night!

We had a fun time last night with my friend Sarah's 6 girls plus Helande and Christella. We ate homeade pizza, pop, salad and brownies and ice cream, watched "Bridge to Tarabithia" and stayed up late. Everyone but Kylie, Helande and I slept in the living room and seemed to have a good night. Our son went to their house and had a boys' night there. Now my kids are wiped out and need naps!

Helande and Christella had a visit with the doctor in Sumas and are doing well.

We got our documents back from the translator and now will be sent to the Haitian Consulate. After that we just need to send the whole thing to Haiti! We are also waiting for the i600a stuff. Getting closer for the wait to begin!

Bless you.

Baby Celebs

Another news story and video:
http://keyetv.com/topstories/local_story_169191509.html
There is a baby boy with a cleft pallet and lip that may be coming to the US for surgery. The only thing is we need to raise $500 for paperwork fees, etc. If you can help us raise money for him, click the donate button on the side of this page. Please consider giving even a small amount!
Thanks

Girls in the news

Christella and Helande were in the news in Texas.
http://www.kxan.com/Global/story.asp?S=6617291
there is a mistake in the story, the girls were helped by Real Hope for Haiti, not Until All Have Homes.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to my sweet husband. You are a terrific husband and father, I am so blessed to have you part of my life! Praying that you stay safe during your training this week.
Love you lots.

not much new...

We were able to take Helande with us to church on Sunday. We showed her off to people and answered a lot of questions! It was good to show people that miracles do happen, and share what I have been doing and plan to do in Haiti in the fall. She did really well at church, mostly slept. She is a really sweet baby. Yesterday we went to Sarah's house and hung out most of the day there with the babies. It was a fun day to just visit with friends, and hold sweet little ones.

Today Sarah watched two of my three children while I took my middle child to the doctor. Then we met Sarah and kids at the store in town and did a bit of shopping. It was like a parade of kids, shopping carts and babies going through the parking lot. I heard lots of people comment on how cute the babies are.

Sarah is working on a non profit organization to help bring more children with medical problems to the states to get surgery. She is calling it A Gathering of Angels. (see her blog ourhaitianjourney.blogspot.org) I am so excited about this and am eager to help however I can. There is a paypal button on my blog to donate to Real Hope for Haiti. This is the organization that helped Helande and Christella while in Haiti and got them medical visas to come here. The nurse, Lori is in need of donations so she can cover her costs at the clinic, paperwork expenses for the 2 girls, and other cases.

Babies

Our family was able to go over to Sarah's house on Thursday to give her and her kids a little break. We were there for several hours taking care of the babies. They kept us busy and were a lot of fun. My older kids were more interested in all the fun things there was to do and Kylie wanted Dad to hold just her. She is definately a daddy's girl. She did fine when Ambria was at our house for the weekend, but I think it was because Jeremiah was at work the whole time and she didn't have to share him! She doesn't mind sharing me too much I guess.

Yesterday we hung out at home and did some yard work and cleaned up the house a little. We even went to bed a little early! Today we were going to go to the Deming Log Show but it is raining so I am not sure...

We got all the paperwork for our dossier emailed to the translator and now have to wait for him to translate it into french. The next step after that is to mail several documents to the Haitian Consulate. We are still waiting for our passports, the I600A, and to hear back about grants and loans. I am praying that we will be approved for some grants so we won't have to borrow a bunch of money.

Right now the plan is for Sarah and I to go to Haiti in October. We are planning on returning the babies to their parents and then travel to the orpanage Children of the Promise. We will spend over a week there helping with projects and caring for the kids.

K's first ballet recital

Here are some pictures of K, age 4, at her first recital. She did a great job and was very graceful. She really loved dressing up in her costume, complete with body glitter!

Babies come home today!

I am so anxious because Helande, Christella, Sarah and the crew are all coming home today! I know I probably won't be able to see them for a few days until they settle in, but I can't wait. I have seen pictures of them recently but I want to see in person how much they have changed. I guess Helande has a neurosurgeon lined up in Seattle so that is really good news. I was having a horrible time finding one to donate care. I did find a family doctor for the girls though. Christella needs a urologist to look at her bladder function still. Keep praying for these girls, and for the trip to Haiti in the fall for Sarah and I.

Home Study and paperwork

I am so excited. We were finally able to mail in paperwork for the I600a and the Sec. of State. Our homestudy arrived on Saturday and I have been busy getting things in order. We also applied for a adoption loan and a grant. I pray that the finances will come through, we have no idea how we could pay for the adoption without God's help.

Sarah and the girls are supposed to be coming home tomorrow but there is a chance that Helande may not be ready, I haven't heard any news yet though. I am really excited to see them and help out however I can.

We had a great time babysitting my neice Ambria last weekend. She was a great guest in our home, such an easy baby! The kids had a fun time with their cousin, entertaining her and playing with her. She woke up a few time in the night but didn't make a huge fuss. They are moving to Arizona this month. I will miss them, hopefully we can go visit soon.

Well I am off to start the day, had a late start!