Olivia has caught a royal cold. Runny nose, cough, and general whinnies has taken hold. Tomorrow, a trip to see Dr. Steves only to be told it is a cold and in about 10 days, she will be back to her old self. Oh, well, she loves the stickers!
Still waiting, but I'm hearing one word over and over SOON. My soon and Haiti's soon are very different. Soon for me is right away a few minutes, hours, maybe a day, but I'm learning Haiti's soon is more abstract might be a day or two, or was that a week? Doesn't matter, I know now she is coming HOME.
This weekend very exciting stuff happening: Laundry. I've ignored it all week, maybe two weeks now and we are running out of apparel and if you've seen Olivia's closet, that is some serious laundry!
I took time out today to go for polarity treatment: for an hour, I floated, emptied my mind of worry, and every cell of my body relaxed. Oh, how I LOVE my RUB. What a great t-shirt slogan. I could be the poster child for polarity. If you haven't tried it, I would highly recommend it, it has changed my life.
I am so blessed to be the mother of two beautiful daughters. One from China and another from Haiti. Read about our life together as a forever family
Thursday, February 4, 2010
No go
Chaos and fighting erupted outside the Embassy. The director felt it unsafe to travel with the children into Port au Prince. Right now, there is a backlog of people waiting and conditions are beyond awful, so instead of waiting for a plane that may or may not come, they have decided to stay put for now. Aliette and Jefferson are safe and loved at MDA. When conditions improve they will be brought to the embassy. Although, I desperately want Aliette home, I don't want to jeopardize her safety, so we wait. I take comfort knowing I have all the documents and she will come HOME.
The conference call wasn't as helpful as before, but we did learn all cases are now being processed in Miami. So at least we have a port of call. A NCHS parent has offered use of her summer home in Miami for us to stay while we wait and are being processed. So many blessings. Thank you Lord for making a way out of no way.
The conference call wasn't as helpful as before, but we did learn all cases are now being processed in Miami. So at least we have a port of call. A NCHS parent has offered use of her summer home in Miami for us to stay while we wait and are being processed. So many blessings. Thank you Lord for making a way out of no way.
Humbled and grateful
Yesterday, I was showered with blessings from my fellow colleagues at work. As a special education teacher, I don't just belong to one department, but my students and network interfaces with the entire staff. I know everyone by name and I'm happy to report when they see me with paperwork in hand they usually don't go running. They have learned that although my student might have a special need, I got their back. I respond to emails and I like to solve problems before they become problems. I've become a valuable resource, rather than a problem they have to endure. Throughout the day, I was showered with love, tearful hugs, words of encouragement and promises of prayer and help. Aliette was given a beautiful handmade quilt for her crib and a student brought in a special present for Olivia, so she wouldn't feel left out. I was humbled by the generosity and forever grateful. I love this famous quote "It takes an entire village to raise a child." Thank you NCHS for being my village. My family thanks you for your love and generosity and I can't wait to bring Aliette to school in her new squeaky shoes.
Yesterday, I was the guest speaker for the advanced child development class. Topic: Adoption. I had a great time talking with the class about my two very different adoptions. They asked great questions and they were so attentive. After reflecting on the discussion, it was a heart felt conversation, unpracticed, unplanned, and unrehearsed. No time for power points or photo stories, visuals or manipulative's, but I don't think it detracted from the meaning. There is currently 187 million orphans world wide, all just waiting for a home and someone to love them. Maybe today, my story planted a seed that will help bring one of these children home. The plight of the Haitian orphans have opened the eyes of many Americans. Maybe it took a 7.4 earthquake to get the world to look past the color of their skin, to focus on a child. Unfortunately, racism isn't a problem of the past, it is alive and well, but maybe a natural disaster of epic proportions has helped open the minds and hearts of middle America! Only time will tell. A month ago, Haiti the world's poorest country, only 45 minutes off the coast of Florida wasn't in the nightly news. Nobody seemed to care that 75% of its children are illiterate and often a family lives on less than a dollar a day. For now, the spotlight is on this country. I pray that the passion for helping our close neighbor doesn't fizzle as time goes by, but that real change will take place and improve the quality of living for all the Haitian people. I have pledged to help rebuild the Maison de Anges orphanage and restart the school. What are you going to do?
Yesterday, I was the guest speaker for the advanced child development class. Topic: Adoption. I had a great time talking with the class about my two very different adoptions. They asked great questions and they were so attentive. After reflecting on the discussion, it was a heart felt conversation, unpracticed, unplanned, and unrehearsed. No time for power points or photo stories, visuals or manipulative's, but I don't think it detracted from the meaning. There is currently 187 million orphans world wide, all just waiting for a home and someone to love them. Maybe today, my story planted a seed that will help bring one of these children home. The plight of the Haitian orphans have opened the eyes of many Americans. Maybe it took a 7.4 earthquake to get the world to look past the color of their skin, to focus on a child. Unfortunately, racism isn't a problem of the past, it is alive and well, but maybe a natural disaster of epic proportions has helped open the minds and hearts of middle America! Only time will tell. A month ago, Haiti the world's poorest country, only 45 minutes off the coast of Florida wasn't in the nightly news. Nobody seemed to care that 75% of its children are illiterate and often a family lives on less than a dollar a day. For now, the spotlight is on this country. I pray that the passion for helping our close neighbor doesn't fizzle as time goes by, but that real change will take place and improve the quality of living for all the Haitian people. I have pledged to help rebuild the Maison de Anges orphanage and restart the school. What are you going to do?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Dreaming of a snow day
What a day! A short cat nap and I'm wide awake. The other night, we lost power and although I reset the time on my clock, I didn't reset my alarm, so it went off at 1am. I'll go back to bed soon, but for now I'm enjoying watching the snow fall. It is so peaceful. God, I know I've been praying a great deal lately, but I could really use a nice snow day.
Tomorrow, there is another conference call with Homeland Security, USCIS, and a bunch of other agencies. These calls are great because we get filled in on what is going on and what to do next. They provide answers, calm fears, and give us hope that our children will come HOME. Stay tuned.
Aliette and Jefferson will be taken back to the Embassy tomorrow. This time our orphanage rep. is well prepared. He has the paperwork, printed emails explaining what he is do and what the Embassy is suppose to do. He also has been told, don't go back to the orphanage without the babies having their photos taken! Yes, God is AWESOME and with HIM all things are possible.
Tomorrow, there is another conference call with Homeland Security, USCIS, and a bunch of other agencies. These calls are great because we get filled in on what is going on and what to do next. They provide answers, calm fears, and give us hope that our children will come HOME. Stay tuned.
Aliette and Jefferson will be taken back to the Embassy tomorrow. This time our orphanage rep. is well prepared. He has the paperwork, printed emails explaining what he is do and what the Embassy is suppose to do. He also has been told, don't go back to the orphanage without the babies having their photos taken! Yes, God is AWESOME and with HIM all things are possible.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Praise God Miracle of the PAPERWORK
Yesterday, I took my suitcase out of my trunk and was trying to wrap myself around what to do next. Throughout the day today, I prayed and decided that the only left to do was to plan a trip to Haiti to bring Aliette home. So, I spent the day on the phone, exploring various travel options and speaking to many, many people. Around 5 pm, I took a break from the phone calls to check my emails and there they were. Sitting in my in box, looking so perfect FRAMEABLE! I'm not kidding. These are sensential looking, very official looking paperwork. It has Aliette's mothers fingerprint and all sorts of offical seal. This means, Aliette qualifies for Humanitarian parole category 2, and I don't need to go to Haiti. Instead, in a few days, maybe a week, Aliette will be home with us. Prayer, faith, and hope has gotten me through these past few days, my friends, don't let up because she isn't home yet! I've got some more calls to make, so I'll post some more later, probably at some ungodly time.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Worst fears confirmed
I received offical word today that all the adoption paperwork was destroyed. This was my worst fear, because the government is requiring documentation of abandonment prior to the quake. My agency has requested special consideration based on their reputuation and my other documentation. From what I understand, I'm not the only one with this problem, remember 7.2 EARTHQUAKE. Guess only time will tell, if Aliette will come home or have to remain in Haiti. Crazy how you can care so much for someone you have never meet. Tonight, I pray that my daughter is safe, has enough food and water, and continue to thrive under the special care of Gladys. May she know how much she is loved by her big sister and her mommy. It is our hope and prayer that you come home soon, but if you can't we will continue to pray for you and provide you with the basic necessities to grow stronger.
Saved the best for last
Aliette is one of about 100 US orphans still in Haiti. One can only hope that the remaining orphans will be gathered and sent home quickly. On Saturday, our agency requested another embassy appointment, but we have not heard anything since. Marta made it home to her mother in Orlando this weekend. I'm so happy for you Linnea. My new best friend Amy has been enjoying being home with her 3 darlings due to lots of snow and ice. Don't know if I could have endured the wait without you! Hoping to meet you in person really soon.
Onto other news, we didn't go see the dinosaurs, but went to an indoor bouncy place. Let me tell you, it is the place to be if you are under 4 ft. tall on a Saturday. We had fun playing with our new friend Benicio.
Got some rest this weekend, so I'm in a better place emotionally.
Onto other news, we didn't go see the dinosaurs, but went to an indoor bouncy place. Let me tell you, it is the place to be if you are under 4 ft. tall on a Saturday. We had fun playing with our new friend Benicio.
Got some rest this weekend, so I'm in a better place emotionally.
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