My Five Least Favorite Letters...

So what does the acronym "IBESR" mean? Here's what those dreaded letters don't mean.

I
Believe
Everyone
Should
Riot

Maybe if all the adoptive parents just stormed the office or had a sit-in or something, they'd sign us out? What about blasting loud, annoying music into the office? I've heard that works in hostage situations. What kind of music do you suggest? I'd say polka or Judas Priest. Little known fact about my hubby: he and his brothers snuck out of the house to see a Judas Priest concert when they were teenagers.

It
Beats
Eating
Soggy
Rutabagas

I don't believe I've ever had a rutabaga. Parsnips and turnips, yes.

Is
Beth
Ever
Suspicious of
Railroad tracks?

Yep. They are actually one of my few phobias. I had a friend in middle school who was a child actress. I watched her in a made-for-tv-movie with Jane Fonda called The Dollmaker. There's a scary scene with a train (I won't go into details because it's just too troubling) and it scarred me life.

If
Burping
Excessively
Suggests
Reflux, then I need some Prevacid.

(not really)

Actually, it's the:

Institut du
Bien
Etre
Social et
Recherches

In English, the Institute of Social Well-Being and Research. And I'm going to be forced to post more stupid things like this if we don't get out soon. It's crazy.

Common Sense...

New blog, great post: Why - A Child's Voice International Advocacy?

I'm hoping that she is able to spearhead the effort to truly advocate for children - specifically the children of Haiti who have loving families waiting for them. When the lives of children are at stake there MUST be some accountability for those who wish to hinder legal, ethical adoptions.

Resurrection Day...

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Gave thee life & bid thee feed

By the stream & o'er the mead;

Gave thee clothing of delight,

Softest clothing, wooly, bright;

Gave thee such a tender voice,

Making all the vales rejoice?

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,

He is called by thy name,

For he calls himself a Lamb.

He is meek & he is mild;

He became a little child.

I a child & thou a lamb,

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

William Blake

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world...

Have a blessed Easter!

Can't Think Of A Title For This One... ;o)

We've been hearing, what could be, some positive news out of Haiti. Hopefully that means I'll be sharing some positive news here soon!

I'm excited about the possibility of actually giving a happy report when people ask how the adoption is going. So many people say to us, "You must be getting him soon, right?" It seems like we should be. Most people who know about our adoption remember when we began the process over a year ago. The first five months were spent doing a lot of work here in the US for our dossier. It went to Haiti last August and has been in IBESR (Haitian Social Services) for six months now. This is really just the first of four significant portions of the Haitian adoption process. The first. Even without the weird variables that are common in Haiti, we're still many, many months from bringing Asa home. We're not even close. And it makes out hearts hurt.

There are times when I think I could handle the wait even longer if I had absolute confidence that he would be home and that I actually knew the day.... even if it was one year or eighteen months away. If I had a specific date on the calendar and could count down, it would be hard, but there would be a definite finish line. With Haitian adoptions, it's possible not to even see the finish line until a few days before your child is to come home.

And then I remember that we are to walk by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). It's not faith if we know the ending (duh, Beth, look at the title of your own blog). I know that God is doing work in us while we wait and it's very possible that it'll be many years before we fully understand the value of what He was teaching us. I'm fairly certain that He's preparing us to be the very best parents we can be to this amazing little boy. And he's absolutely worth it!!







By the way, if you have an adoption blog and would like to be added to my list on the right.... please leave a comment with the address. And if I have your blog listed and you'd rather it not be there... let me know! :o)

Comfort Food...

I'm thinking that the late-night-hot-fudge-banana-splits-with-lots-of-whipped-cream aren't the best idea ever. Especially if you (meaning me) have gained ten pounds in one year. It has to be adoption related. Or maybe it's because I'm thirty-something. I've heard that you have to work harder to keep weight off after 30. It could be a combination of the fact that I'm adopting and in my (early-ish) thirties.

If you're adopting or have adopted - can you relate? Do you have cravings? Or find some comfort in a pint of Häagen-Dazs? A plate of loaded nachos? I'm eating for two - the problem is that my baby is in Haiti.


J - if you happen to read this in the morning (you freakish early riser)... could you please get me up at 6:00 am so we can hit the gym? Thanks! xoxo

81° F

It's a picture perfect day in Florida. The sky is bright blue, there's a breeze blowing through the palm trees and we did school work on the lanai out by the pool. The only thing that could have made this day better was good news on the adoption front. We did get our monthly report - it had a nice update and an adorable picture.

My littlest boy...

How cute is he?!?!? It's a rhetorical question. You don't have to answer because I know that he is just wayyyyy too precious for words. He's still only a little over 21 pounds which, at over two years old, is less than our other kiddos weighed at 12 months. But he is growing and he seems really happy. That's incredibly reassuring after he had been so sick back in the fall; the care he receives is excellent. It wasn't a surprise to see that we're still in IBESR. I read the report knowing that, at the end, there would not be a check by the box indicating an exit from this segment of the process. We're hanging in there and praying hard. The wait is agonizing but we're trying to focus on our daily blessings - - it was a gorgeous day and, right now, I'm getting ready to focus on this beautiful hot fudge banana split with tons of whipped cream. ;o)

No News...

The past few weeks have been really, really rough. It hasn't been anything adoption related - just other circumstances. And it's not often that I get stressed out or even feel down. But right now, I think I qualify as officially "bummed." So we've been holding out hope that our report for February would bring the good news of an IBESR exit. A mini-celebration to mark that milestone would definitely renew our spirits.

Well, we haven't gotten our monthly update yet, but it's safe to say that we're still in IBESR.

There have been some good reports coming out of our orphanage - movement with other files, a speedy exit out of Parquet for a family.... so we're remaining hopeful.

I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

Psalm 27: 13-14