Next Time I Go To Haiti...

I can't come home alone. I think four visits is enough. I'm hesitant to say that because I love Haiti and I love the Creche, but this trip was particularly draining because Asa is getting older and is understanding more. I know he remembered our visit in July and how I had to leave him. He would cry when I'd take him back to the aunties at bedtime, and handing him over Friday morning was gut-wrenching. I don't ever want leave him again so we're hoping and praying that this lengthy process will be over by the first quarter of next year.

The trip, itself, went smoothly. After a few months of delays, the 84 tubs of food from the C4C box drive were on our plane and eventually made it to the Creche. Getting them out of the airport was interesting (and unexpected since we thought they were going to sit in customs for a few days). But we had and awesome group and everyone pulled together. Amber from C4C, April and her husband Mike (adopting Darline) worked really hard to make the whole thing happen and found favor with almost everyone they encountered (airport personnel, customs agents...).

The village road was noticeably washed out from the flooding which made the the ride.... bumpier. ;o) There is a new live-in director at the Creche and she seems to have things running smoothly. The children are looking so healthy and seem happy. It felt hotter than it had been last October but the evenings were lovely and the children have so much fun playing outside before dinner.

Asa's monthly reports have been accurate. He has definitely gained 3+ pounds since July. He now has a belly to match those chubby cheeks. He talks a lot - I can understand and speak a little bit of baby-Kreyol. He remembered a lot of the toys/books I brought back from last time and enjoyed carrying around his mini tote bag filled with crayons, stickers and sunglasses. He loved to be carried and did not love to be put down (definitely my child). He cuddled up and slept on top of me for a nap which it was sweaty for both of us, but I was in heaven. I think I've mentioned this before, but napping with a toddler is total bliss for me. Oh, and Asa has the BEST LAUGH EVER. Here are a few pictures from the trip. More to come in the next few days...

Asa's New Poster...

All the children at the creche have family photos over their beds, and I take a new poster for Asa each time I visit. This one is special because it was made by my super-amazing-brother-in-law, Gary. Isn't it cute?

Gary arrived today (he lives in Maryland) and is going to hang out with Jim & the kids while I'm gone. In addition to being a really cool poster-making uncle, Gary is a Haiti adoption expert. Seriously. He knows the terms IBESR, Parquet, Second Legal and MOI. He even uses them in the proper context. :o)

Thank you, Gary - I know Asa is going to love it!!

Four Kids... Two Weeks... Eighty Tubs...

Four children from Asa's orphanage are coming home to their families this week (three sisters came home just a few weeks ago, too). What's especially exciting is that I've traveled with their parents on past trips so I'm incredibly thrilled for all of them. This gives us such a sense of hope: children do come home... eventually.

I'll be in Haiti with the littlest Pie in TWO WEEKS! One cool thing about the upcoming trip is that we'll be escorting the 80 tubs of food (from the box drive a few months ago) to the orphanage. It was actually scheduled to fly to Haiti in August, then rescheduled for September but the hurricanes and flooding caused numerous delays. So the food will be on our plane and will {somehow} be hauled to the orphanage - where we will help to unpack, sort and store it. The final count includes FIVE months worth of formula, hundreds of cans of fruits/veggies/tuna/peanut butter and massive amounts of rice & beans. This supply is crucial as food costs continue to be insane in Haiti and some types of items can't be purchased at all.

I'm getting so excited. It's kind of weird to imagine that one whole year ago, I was preparing for my very first trip to meet Asa. I never would have imagined that twelve months later, our little guy would still be in Haiti and I'd be making my fourth trip to see him. Wow. But what a blessing those precious visits have been.

Monthly Update... Already!

I wasn't expecting it so soon since it seems like we just received the last one. But, SURPRISE! After a busy Friday afternoon, we came home to find a new picture and a GOOD report from Haiti.

Look at how big he is - - 27 pounds!! Our teeny-tiny-little-guy is finally growing. This is huge news since Asa had been hovering in the low 20's for nearly a year. He has gained four pounds in the past two months. I purchased a few outfits for my upcoming trip back in August. It's funny because, even in Florida, they start stocking fall/winter clothes and I knew it was my last chance to buy shorts & summery stuff. The clothes I bought (based on his size in late July) might just be a little snug!

Now the really EXCITING news:

The status of our file is now listed as "in preparation to enter MOI." We've been told that it means we are either out of Second Legal or are very close to being released. Either way, this means we have an adoption decree (!!!!!) and supporting documents that have been authenticated, registered and certified. So, in Haiti's eyes, Asa is our SON! There is a bit of a lag time before entering MOI, though... it can be up to six weeks. I think this is because the file is heavily scrutinized in MOI and they are making sure there are no errors before its submission. But still - - this is progress. MOI is the last step of the Haitian process and it is currently averaging two to three months. After an MOI exit, the final step is US immigration.

I'm not ready to predict when Asa will come home. I'm not even willing to ball-park it because anything can happen. But our family has been praying some very specific prayers about God's timing in all of this and we're trusting that Asa will come home at just the right time. We've already seen some pretty miraculous things, timing-wise, and believe that there is a plan and a design beyond our own comprehension.

New Update Photo...

We received this picture today:

And I played around with it:

Playing Around With Photo Editing Programs...

Just for fun - - since we're done with homeschooling for the day.

Unintentional Blog Sabbatical...

So it's been a while. Initially, I hadn't been posting because we simply didn't have much adoption news to share. We're still in Second Legal which seems to be slow right now and I haven't heard about much (if any) movement lately. Then, the storms started hitting. In light of the devastation taking place in Haiti, I felt like anything I might post about it would seem trite and couldn't really convey our deep concern and sadness over the suffering there. This past week, I was thinking about how I really needed to update the blog, but we were enjoying a visit with my brother, sister-in-law and precious nephew - so I never got around to it. Now that I've listed my excuses for the huge gap between posts, here are some updates...

We received Asa's monthly report (no picture yet) and he has gained 3 pounds and grown 3 centimeters since I visited at the end of July. I'd like to think the spurt was from the extra love he got when I was there but I guess a lot of it might have to do with an unreliable scale at the orphanage. ;o) He is growing, though, and we're thrilled. The update also said that he is polite and is becoming more verbal; he knows and calls all his friends by name. He was starting to do that when I visited but I'm sure his vocabulary has increased exponentially since it just explodes at this stage. It hurts so much to think about missing all this: new words, potty training, cuddling up together and reading board books.... I love everything about toddlers. Asa will be three in December. I'm missing it all.

While I'm on the subject of what we're missing, I was reminded this week of what Asa will be missing. Regardless of when he comes home to us, it won't be until at least 2010 that he'll meet his uncle, aunt and little cousin. I was still clinging to hope, even up until early this year, that Asa would be home before October... my brother and his family leave in two weeks for Amsterdam as church planting missionaries. Their plan is to live in The Netherlands for five years with a short furlow mid-way through. We are so excited about the work they'll be a part of, but there's definitely an element of sadness in knowing that my brother won't be here when our son comes home. We said goodbye yesterday, after one last visit, and it'll be Skype for the next few years...

Finally (wow, this got long after nearly a month between posts) Asa's orphanage weathered the first of the storms pretty well. But last week, we received news that the White River did end up flooding the village and the road was, essentially, washed out. Food was being carried in via donkey and there has been some damage to the generator so candles were being used at night. We haven't gotten a more recent report, but our hope is that the water has receded and things are returning to normal. [UPDATE as of 9/18: it is still raining quite a bit in the evenings and the village is still flooded.] Please pray for the children of the Crèche Enfant de l’Jèsus and the people in the surrounding village of Ti Mache. Here are some pictures:

The gate into the orphanage compound: water covered the road and came up to the wall.

The road to the crèche looks more like a rushing river.

Ending this post on a happy note: I'll be there in five weeks.