There are people coming out of IBESR (Haitian Social Services) with numbers that are only 200 away from ours!!! YAY! So there is potential for Jacob's paperwork to exit this stage anytime...OR not for awhile. They don't come out in order exactly, so litterally only God knows when his paperwork will come out. But I am hopeful and I know that Jacob needs to be with his mom and dad as soon as possible. And I know that God can do anything!
After that there are more stages, but each one should be shorter than this one.
As someone on the Haitian Angels chat group said, just like all things in Haitian adoption, "clear as mud!"
But at least every day we are one day closer to having our son come home :)
So, I am "living by faith, not by sight".
2 Corinthians 5:7
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Thursday, April 12, 2007
March update
Well, we got new pictures of our sweet boy. Finally. Six weeks was the last time we saw a new picture of him! That's a long time!
One of the nannies is spoiling him with love. That warms my soul :) knowing that he is getting the love and touch that he should be getting from his family...
One of the nannies is spoiling him with love. That warms my soul :) knowing that he is getting the love and touch that he should be getting from his family...
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Waiting
No news....just waiting. We should be getting our March updates of Jacob any day now. So I'm checking my e-mail a lot these days. I can't wait to see his cute face and see how much he's grown.
waiting.................................
waiting.................................
Thursday, February 15, 2007
What a Happy Valentine's Day!!
Well, yesterday we found out that Jacob's paperwork went into IBESR!!!!!!
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So it is official, we are on our way. We're "in line" as Grace and Noah are saying.
I can't believe we are even in, since there was a time when we didn't even qualify.
Thank you God!
We also got cute Valentine pictures from GLA. LaDawn is so awesome :)
Whooohooo!
(and I just figured out how to change the text into different colors..watch out!)
YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So it is official, we are on our way. We're "in line" as Grace and Noah are saying.
I can't believe we are even in, since there was a time when we didn't even qualify.
Thank you God!
We also got cute Valentine pictures from GLA. LaDawn is so awesome :)
Whooohooo!
(and I just figured out how to change the text into different colors..watch out!)
Monday, February 12, 2007
Waiting...
Well, at the end of Jan. we got new pictures of Jacob, and he is SO cute!
I will post them when I have a chance.
We are still waiting to get into IBESR and it's a little frustrating...I thought we'd be in two weeks ago, but GLA says they haven't heard from the laywer yet...so we wait and keep praying.
At least Feb. is a short month and we'll get new pictures of him soon.
It does seem as though some of the post-IBESR process is speeding up. Any movement is good!
I will post them when I have a chance.
We are still waiting to get into IBESR and it's a little frustrating...I thought we'd be in two weeks ago, but GLA says they haven't heard from the laywer yet...so we wait and keep praying.
At least Feb. is a short month and we'll get new pictures of him soon.
It does seem as though some of the post-IBESR process is speeding up. Any movement is good!
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
new criteria!
Well, the criteria to adopt from Haiti has changed back, so we "qualify" again. YAY!
Now we are waiting on one document that GLA needs, so they can take his paperwork to IBESR, where we can start that long wait.
But at least it's progress!
Now we are waiting on one document that GLA needs, so they can take his paperwork to IBESR, where we can start that long wait.
But at least it's progress!
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
The year of Jacob
Well, even though we don't have any idea about when we will be able to bring Jacob home, at least now we are in the year that he'll come home. Small victories..
IBESR is closed and we're not getting any info. and it's really frustrating. I just want to know what we're going to have to do to get into IBESR since we don't meet the 1974 requirements that were reinstated on the 22nd. We are praying that God will open doors for our paperwork, (and Rebekah and Ralph's) and that we'll get in soon so at least we can watch the progress as people are coming out of IBESR. Right now nothing's happening, we are stalled.
But here's my verse I'm clinging to:
I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
I believe He authored this, so I'm trusting Him to work out the details...that's all I can do.
IBESR is closed and we're not getting any info. and it's really frustrating. I just want to know what we're going to have to do to get into IBESR since we don't meet the 1974 requirements that were reinstated on the 22nd. We are praying that God will open doors for our paperwork, (and Rebekah and Ralph's) and that we'll get in soon so at least we can watch the progress as people are coming out of IBESR. Right now nothing's happening, we are stalled.
But here's my verse I'm clinging to:
I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2
I believe He authored this, so I'm trusting Him to work out the details...that's all I can do.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
We finally know who he is!
On Sunday we recieved our proposal from GLA and he was a baby!!
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! That's not exactly what I thought would happen.
But we love him already and he is the cutest thing.
Jacob. He's only 3 months old, born on Sept. 12th and he only weighs 6 lbs.
I'll post a picture of him later.
YIPPEE! Now, we wait.....
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! That's not exactly what I thought would happen.
But we love him already and he is the cutest thing.
Jacob. He's only 3 months old, born on Sept. 12th and he only weighs 6 lbs.
I'll post a picture of him later.
YIPPEE! Now, we wait.....
Thursday, December 07, 2006
one month and still waiting
Well, it's been a whole month and I totally thought we would know who our new son is by now. It seems like it's been forever...
There are changes in the criteria for adoptive parents that could come into effect on Dec. 22nd. And we don't meet this criteria. But I have been told by many "veteran" adoptive parents that these things happen a lot in Haiti and to not panic. So I'm not panicking. Just praying and waiting.
UGGH!
There are changes in the criteria for adoptive parents that could come into effect on Dec. 22nd. And we don't meet this criteria. But I have been told by many "veteran" adoptive parents that these things happen a lot in Haiti and to not panic. So I'm not panicking. Just praying and waiting.
UGGH!
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Dossier in Haiti
Our paperwork made it to Haiti on Nov. 7th! So now we're just waiting for our referal from Dixie at the orphanage.
It's the 18th, and we were hoping that we would already know who he is by now...
It's the 18th, and we were hoping that we would already know who he is by now...
Saturday, November 04, 2006
mailed off paperwork
Well, Noah and I went to Kinkos on Thursday 11/02 and mailed all the paperwork. 6lbs of paper! It was tres expensive. It feels good to have this part done. But it's only the 4th and I'm already tired of waiting. But at least I have more free time on my hands now. It should be there by the 7th, so soon we will know the name of this little guy we've been praying about.
I can't wait until I get that e-mail!
I can't wait until I get that e-mail!
Monday, October 16, 2006
Oct. 16th /recieved homestudy
Today we got our homestudy in the mail! Finally! Tomorrow I'll drive to Salem and have it authenticated. YAY!
Then, just translation (hopefully done by Fri or Mon) and then mail it off to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago.
We're getting close :)
Then, just translation (hopefully done by Fri or Mon) and then mail it off to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago.
We're getting close :)
Friday, October 06, 2006
My adoption story..so far.
It is the desire of my heart to be able to offer a forever home to another child. A child who would otherwise not know the security of a loving family.
The first time I truly expressed this longing, it was only to God, because I knew He would not look at me like I was out of my mind. So, for an entire month it was our secret. Then I shared with other safe people, like my friend Bekah who has such an amazing heart for others; and of course my best friend Erin who said she wasn't all that surprised; and to Lindsey who said "I always knew you wanted more children, you just didn't know it yet!!" Lindsey's response was my favorite :)
But I was concerned about what John would think. So I prayed and prayed and I figured that if God really wanted us to adopt that He was powerful enough to lay it on John's heart. So I waited, not so patiently, and struggled with whether or not this would be a wise decision for our family. But the fact remained that there are children that need a homes; and I was willing to provide one.
So one night after we had watched the gut wrenching movie, Hotel Rawanda, John looked at me and said "you know, I wouldn't mind adopting a little baby from Africa" Talk about being flabergasted! I tried to act cool and said, "I know, me too." Then I went upstairs and did a victory dance in my bedroom and thanked God for that very clear answer to prayer.
We talked about it a little and asked our parents to pray about it for us. But we didn't feel like the time was right.
During this time I had been looking mainly at adopting from Ethiopia, I know that there are so many abandoned children there and they are truly beautiful. But due to the expenses for Ethiopia adoptions at that time, and a suggestion from my friend Lindsey about God's Littlest Angels. I ended up researching a Christian orphanage that's run by two missionaries; and started feeling like this could really work. Plus, French is the country's official language. However, we still didn't feel like the timing was right. Then, after I had fully surrendered it to God, not understanding why he would put this desire in my heart but not allow me to act on it; within a short period of time John got a call that ended up being a new job in Portland.
So, we moved.
After we got settled, the adoption feelings came back. So we started praying and talking and asking for prayer. I deliberated, and wrote out pros and cons, and asked other adoptive parents questions, and stressed, and then prayed some more. Finally when I thought I was going crazy, I had a few of my adoptive friends tell me that taking a small step out in faith and see how I felt afterwards. Around that time I recieved a powerful e-mail from my friend Lisa who heard a sermon by Tony Campolo, all about orphans in Haiti. In this e-mail Lisa really went out on a limb speaking from her heart about us adopting.
Since there wasn't an adoption class that we could attend to get more info. about God's Littlest Angels, the only small thing I could do was find other families who adopted from GLA and ask them about their experiences.
I contacted two families from Oregon that used GLA to adopt their kids. I first spoke to Teresa and peppered her with questions about GLA, the adjustment period, the actual orphanage, the race issues, anything I could think of. And when I hung up with her, I was so excited! The funny thing was, she hadn't said that everything had been easy or perfect...for just a few moments I had given my heart to adoption and it felt perfect. I talked to another mom who said similar comments. Both of the women were pleased with their experience with GLA.
But the "what if"s" came back and for what seemed like an eternity (a few weeks) I vascillated, back and forth, one moment thinking, YES we can totally do this and a few minutes later, thinking, nope we've got a good, comfortable thing going here with our family as it is now.
Again I turned to God and started thanking Him in advance that "he would not allow us to get off the path He had chosen for us"...whatever that may be. I searched the Bible for an answers and clung to the verse: "If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it." (James 1:5-6) And "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
Finally, after talking to Laura who's adopting from Haiti, and one especially deep conversation with my sister, I made up my mind. John was in Alaska at the time and when he came home we talked and decided together we would step out in faith and adopt!
So here we are. All the paperwork we can do now is somewhere in Haiti. And the wait begins.
But I am content, knowing that God was working long ago when I sang to Him "if you can use anything Lord, you can use me." He took me seriously, and brought me to this place.
Anticipating, Alicia
The first time I truly expressed this longing, it was only to God, because I knew He would not look at me like I was out of my mind. So, for an entire month it was our secret. Then I shared with other safe people, like my friend Bekah who has such an amazing heart for others; and of course my best friend Erin who said she wasn't all that surprised; and to Lindsey who said "I always knew you wanted more children, you just didn't know it yet!!" Lindsey's response was my favorite :)
But I was concerned about what John would think. So I prayed and prayed and I figured that if God really wanted us to adopt that He was powerful enough to lay it on John's heart. So I waited, not so patiently, and struggled with whether or not this would be a wise decision for our family. But the fact remained that there are children that need a homes; and I was willing to provide one.
So one night after we had watched the gut wrenching movie, Hotel Rawanda, John looked at me and said "you know, I wouldn't mind adopting a little baby from Africa" Talk about being flabergasted! I tried to act cool and said, "I know, me too." Then I went upstairs and did a victory dance in my bedroom and thanked God for that very clear answer to prayer.
We talked about it a little and asked our parents to pray about it for us. But we didn't feel like the time was right.
During this time I had been looking mainly at adopting from Ethiopia, I know that there are so many abandoned children there and they are truly beautiful. But due to the expenses for Ethiopia adoptions at that time, and a suggestion from my friend Lindsey about God's Littlest Angels. I ended up researching a Christian orphanage that's run by two missionaries; and started feeling like this could really work. Plus, French is the country's official language. However, we still didn't feel like the timing was right. Then, after I had fully surrendered it to God, not understanding why he would put this desire in my heart but not allow me to act on it; within a short period of time John got a call that ended up being a new job in Portland.
So, we moved.
After we got settled, the adoption feelings came back. So we started praying and talking and asking for prayer. I deliberated, and wrote out pros and cons, and asked other adoptive parents questions, and stressed, and then prayed some more. Finally when I thought I was going crazy, I had a few of my adoptive friends tell me that taking a small step out in faith and see how I felt afterwards. Around that time I recieved a powerful e-mail from my friend Lisa who heard a sermon by Tony Campolo, all about orphans in Haiti. In this e-mail Lisa really went out on a limb speaking from her heart about us adopting.
Since there wasn't an adoption class that we could attend to get more info. about God's Littlest Angels, the only small thing I could do was find other families who adopted from GLA and ask them about their experiences.
I contacted two families from Oregon that used GLA to adopt their kids. I first spoke to Teresa and peppered her with questions about GLA, the adjustment period, the actual orphanage, the race issues, anything I could think of. And when I hung up with her, I was so excited! The funny thing was, she hadn't said that everything had been easy or perfect...for just a few moments I had given my heart to adoption and it felt perfect. I talked to another mom who said similar comments. Both of the women were pleased with their experience with GLA.
But the "what if"s" came back and for what seemed like an eternity (a few weeks) I vascillated, back and forth, one moment thinking, YES we can totally do this and a few minutes later, thinking, nope we've got a good, comfortable thing going here with our family as it is now.
Again I turned to God and started thanking Him in advance that "he would not allow us to get off the path He had chosen for us"...whatever that may be. I searched the Bible for an answers and clung to the verse: "If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it." (James 1:5-6) And "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jeremiah 33:3)
Finally, after talking to Laura who's adopting from Haiti, and one especially deep conversation with my sister, I made up my mind. John was in Alaska at the time and when he came home we talked and decided together we would step out in faith and adopt!
So here we are. All the paperwork we can do now is somewhere in Haiti. And the wait begins.
But I am content, knowing that God was working long ago when I sang to Him "if you can use anything Lord, you can use me." He took me seriously, and brought me to this place.
Anticipating, Alicia
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