It is finished!

143 pages!!!!! Our dossier is completely finished and in the mail. O, this is the weight I have been waiting to have lifted off my shoulders. It is all in God's hands now. We have crossed every "t", dotted every "i", notarized, certified, legalized, and translated all that we needed to do. We mailed the original plus 4 copies (over 700 pages total!) to our agency in Minnesota today. They will check it over and it should be on its way to Haiti next week.

So, what's next? From best we understand, once our dossier gets to Dixie at the orphanage, we will be matched with our baby girl in 5-8 weeks. One thing we've learned on this journey is that the "shoulds" are not always the case. God can and will do anything. So, we might be surprised and meet our baby sooner or we might be sitting here in September with no baby match (there are currently 65 babies waiting for families at the orphanage, so I don't think the wait will be this long). We are resting in Him, though, and so thankful that He's brought us this far. It took us 10 months from the phone call from GLA saying "go" to mailing the dossier today.
I have anticipated this day for months because I just felt like we could have peace and wait patiently knowing that we've done all we can do. God's perfect plan is in place and He already sees our daughter as a member of our family.

Last night, we had a precious time of prayer over our big box of paper. : ) We prayed for the pilots flying the plane carrying the big box to Haiti. Jonah's words: "...and please don't let the papers fall in the sea." Yes, there was silliness involved. We prayed for Dixie and her staff as they read about a family they've never met and choose the baby to fit into our family. The boys have been so understanding and so patient during all of this waiting, but I think it's becoming more real to them now.

A few days before we got it all in the mail, I was having the nervous freak out moments that I remember having right before I gave birth to all 3 of our monkeys. "What have we done? What are we getting ourselves into? Life is so easy right now and it's about to get hard!" Just normal doubts that any Mommy would have. Then, God gently reminds me that we are walking the path He has set out for us and that He is holding our right hands. In obedience, there is blessing. We are being obedient to Him and following His call on our lives to adopt. I can't wait to see the blessings He has in store for us!

My Grandpa coincidence for the day: our cousin, LuLu, is here visiting. LuLu is adopted from China and we love having her here to stay a few nights. Our friends from church, Max and Vivian, also adopted from China, stopped by for a few minutes today. So, we had THREE sweet kids---all adopted from another country---playing at our house today on THE day we are mailing our dossier. Just made me smile. It's something my Grandpa would write down in his "Book of Coincidences".

I'm attaching a few pics of our friends. Luke is the only one who would let me take a picture of him in the post office for the big send off. : ) During all of this, the post office has become our 2nd home. It's strange to think we won't be there several times/week like we have been the past 10 months. Trust me....we put LOTS of insurance on that box!

Our entire house is rejoicing tonight! God is sooooooooo good!

Meet Grayce Mackenzie

When I was a little girl, my Cabbage Patch doll was my favorite baby. Betsy Janine and I went everywhere together. Even though her hair was just yarn, I styled it all the ways possible. Betsy Janine was special because she had a pacifier and according to my Mom, she was VERY hard to find back in 1984. : )

I have wanted a brown-skinned Cabbage Patch baby girl for a while now, but the newer ones just aren't that cute to me. They put teeth on them and they look funny. So, I decided to use my Christmas money to find a "vintage" (am I really that old?!) Cabbage Patch doll. I was searching through a big batch on Etsy and when I found one with Grace (well, it's spelled Grayce, but still...) in her name, I knew she was waiting to be adopted by me. She was still in her original box with her birth certificate. She sits on our bed and makes me smile every day. I love to dream about our little brown-skinned girl playing with Grayce Mackenzie one day. :)
P.S. No, that's not the way her hair was styled when I got her. The ponytail just didn't fit her personality. : )

GLA needs your help

Please read Dixie's latest blog post here and consider helping. The orphanage is in desperate need of financial help right now. There are 65 children waiting for forever homes and until they are placed, the costs to care for them are high.
Thank you!

Haitian Govt.

The Prime Minister of Haiti has resigned.
You can read about it here.
After reading this article, here are my thoughts (just my own thinking, nothing official).

This past week, I have had some doubts creeping into my mind and have felt a loss of hope. The news coming out of Haiti concerning adoptions has not been good. They are wanting to change adoption laws, but not the right way.
Anyway, now that they have to appoint a new prime minister, maybe the focus will be on that while we continue to toil away trying to get our dossier there. From what I understand, if our dossier is in Haiti and the law is changed, we will not be affected. That's why we feel such an urgency to get it there!
What we're waiting on now:
1. Translations from Florida
2. CPA letter being certified in Austin
3. Then, #1 and #2 go to Chicago to the Haitian Consulate for legalization.
$4. Finally, it goes to Haiti.

Please keep praying that we can get it all together. Of course, I keep praying, "HURRY, God, HURRY!" but I know in my heart that His timing is perfect.
Will keep you posted.....

GLA Video

I am in a Yahoo group for parents adopting from GLA. It's so great to have other mommies to talk to who are playing the waiting game, too. My friend Cindy made this video with the pictures she took when she visited GLA. It will bring a smile to your face just seeing their smiles. It gives you a good idea of what GLA looks like, too. It's a very real possibility that our baby girl is in one of these photos and we'll go back one day soon and "know" her when we see the picture. : ) Sweet idea.

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

MomHeart

Last weekend, I went to a great conference called MomHeart. I left feeling so overwhelmed with so much good information and teachings. I sat down and just made a list of the truths I learned at MomHeart. (Please don't feel obligated to read. It just helps me to type it all out.) : )

If you are reading this and you are a MOMMY, you should make it a priority to go to MomHeart next February. Sally believes that we should be pampered (nice hotel, chocolate, wonderful luncheon, etc.) and then she teaches us with her great wisdom. I would've invited more Mommy friends if I had known this wasn't a specific homeschool conference. Clay and Sally are homeschoolers, but that was not the focus of this conference.

So, in no particular order, here's what God taught me at MomHeart (ok, well, not all of it is "new", but I was reminded of much).
1. My children are my sanctification. God uses my struggles and trials as a mother to strengthen my faith and make me more like Him. If He had given me only compliant, obedient children, would I be looking to Him for strength to be a Mommy?

2. Ask myself: "How old was I when I quit sinning?" I won't, so I don't need to expect my children to be perfect. They are sinners, saved by grace, just like me.

3. Proverbs 14:1: "The wise woman builds her house." It takes TIME. I want to build a magnificent estate, not a little condo. Biltmore was build over years---brick by brick.

4. Am I an adversary or an advocate for my boys? I don't need to correct every sin or induce guilt or they will feel like they can never please me. I am their advocate---no condemnation, commit to being "for" them.

5. Jesus walked with the disciples and invested in their lives for 3 years. If I want to make disciples, I must invest time in my children's lives.

6. The thing that opens a heart is a loving relationship. Am I giving them enough time?

7. Relationship + Grace = Parenting Influence for Christ: Grace-based parenting=freedom!

8. I find grace and mercy at His throne (Heb. 4:15-16). My children need to find grace and mercy when they come to me.

9. In the absence of Biblical conviction, people will always go the way of culture. **This is such a true, deep statement. One of Clay and Sally's "mottos".

10. A Christian cannot be passive. Image of a plant: I'm either blooming or dying, there's no in between.

11. Right is always right, even if no one is doing it. Wrong is always wrong, even if everyone is doing it. I LOVE this---so much better than "if all your friends were jumping off a cliff...."

12. My boys' brains and souls are like treasure chests. How can I invest in them? What can I pour into them now that will still be there later?

13. My goal: giving grace, teaching truth.

14. I want to be a F.A.T. girl---faithful, available, teachable.

15. My children's hearts are like a garden. I have to cultivate and soften the hard soil so that the seeds God plants through me will grow.

Soooo excited!

This weekend, I get to take some time away and be refreshed! I'm too EXCITED for words. One of my favorite authors is hosting the MomHeart conference. In my opinion, she wrote "the" textbook on homeschooling. There will be great encouragement and great food. I need this. When we take breaks, it makes us better mommies and better wives. I wish I could convince all of my friends of this.
Sally Clarkson is my mentor, even though she doesn't even know me. She has the most encouraging blog and is so faithful to write on it almost every day. When I grow up, I want to be like her. : )

Lonnnng week

How can 7 days seem more like 14? Some weeks are just like that. This has been a rough week for me. I have a good friend who has been hurt in so many ways and God placed me here to help her. It's just so hard to see a friend hurt. I am thankful that I am able to help her, but I have experienced such a range of emotions through this journey.

Something that I've been mulling over a lot this week:
It's not fair that innocent children have to suffer the consequences of their parents' sins.

I know that seems very whiny and immature saying, "it's not fair", but it isn't. I also know that children all over the world are suffering every day, but when they are kids who are close to you and you experience the suffering up close, it hurts in a REAL way. It hurts my heart. I want to take them and hold them and hide them. If only I could.

It's no coincidence that our memory verse for this week focused on God being "over every power and authority". He is on His throne and He is in control and I am resting in that. I have been on an emotional roller coaster this week, but He has continually brought me back to this truth. He is God. I am not. Period. End of story.

In other news: the State of Oklahoma is on my "naughty list" tonight. They sent Robby's birth certificate back saying we didn't send enough money. I went back to their website and double-checked and it CLEARLY says $10 for a certification. 2 more steps back. So, now I will mail it AGAIN on Monday with $20. The other 7 documents are at the Secretary of the State of Texas office. My money's on Texas. They will get back to us long before Oklahoma's. Sigh.

6 Steps Back

Robby and I are very discouraged right now because we've had a major setback in our adoption process. The Haitian consulate has decided that there are more documents that need to be authenticated, notarized, translated and legalized. This is a new law that is affecting everyone going through the adoption process. Needless to say, we are VERY discouraged right now since we thought we were on the last U.S. step (the work we could do). We're not starting over, but we have to take several steps back. Blah.

Robby reminded me that God's timing is perfect and I do believe that with all of my heart, but I feel like I was almost about to give birth and the doctor said, "Oops. We messed up. Your due date isn't for 3 more months." It just stinks. There's nothing we can do about it except comply and do the work.

This morning, as I was thinking about it and just grumbling to the Lord (He can take my grumbles!), I thought about this:
the Haitian government could say, "You need to charter a private rocket ship, fly to the moon, collect moon rocks, and bring them to us to meet your adoption requirements," and you know what? We'd do it! We'd do anything for our baby girl! So, some extra paper work is worth it and we will persevere.....stay tuned!

Chicago-bound!

Today we mailed our 9 documents to the Haitian Consulate in Chicago. This is the LAST STOP in the U.S. before we get to send the whole dossier to Haiti. VERY exciting!!!! We are rounding 3rd base, folks!

I am a member of a Yahoo group with other families adopting from Haiti. Word is that referrals are happening 6-10 weeks after dossiers arrive in Haiti. Incredible! The wait use to be almost a year to be matched with a child. To think that we will see our daughter's face that soon just makes us giddy!

Happy Weekend!

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

This morning, I talked with the boys about Martin Luther King Jr. and his mission. They remembered watching the "I Have a Dream" speech last year. Mostly, they wanted to argue about why "all of their friends" (this is a joke in itself because most of their friends are homeschooled!) didn't have school today, but we did. "So unfair!"

What always surprises me when we discuss race and racial tensions and the way things used to be in America is the fact that they really can't comprehend living in a world like that. We are about to bring a baby girl into our family. We love her already and can't wait to squeeze her and kiss her. She happens to have brown skin. That's the way our boys look at it. They are completely color blind and I am so thankful for that. They truly don't understand why white people owned black people as slaves in the past. Noah has read a lot of American history books this year, so he's learned a lot about slavery and the way slaves were treated.

We ended our discussion by reminding each other that God created every person and we are all equal in His sight. I am so thankful for my boys and their love for all people.

Good mail day!

Just yesterday I blogged about running to the mailbox every day. Today was a great mail day! We got Robby's certified birth certificate (man, the state of OK is REALLY slow!). We also got a letter from the government that I don't really understand, but I'm pretty sure it's important. It's regarding our visas for orphan adoption and says something about our I-600 form being sent to Port au Prince. I'll have to ask our agency exactly what it is, but it's good. : )

So, as soon as our dossier gets back from the translator (hopefully, tomorrow), we'll get it in the mail to the Haitian consulate in Chicago. LAST STOP before Haiti!!!! Wow!!! Everything seems to be moving quickly now!

Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of the Haiti earthquake. I stayed up WAY too late last night watching slide shows and videos posted by our orphanage. If you have time and enough Kleenex, check them out:
http://godslittlestangelsinhaiti.org/parentslookback/

Through tears, laughs, and smiles, here is what I realized: God has called us to adopt from Haiti NOW because He knew I couldn't handle the process that was in place just 2 years ago. Many of these parents had waited 2 years after being matched with their child. One mom said she had received 20 monthly updates on her child (the orphanage sends pictures/updates to adoptive parents every month while they're waiting). After the earthquake hit, Dixie, the orphanage director, worked tirelessly with the US and Haitian government to get the babies at GLA humanitarian parole. These videos say it all. Incredible! Here is very clear evidence of God bringing good out of an otherwise horrible situation.

Mail!

I feel like a little kid running to the mailbox every day...just hoping for something good in there. Still waiting on the state of Oklahoma to send Robby's certified birth certificate.
Heard from our translator today that she is finished and mailed the dossier back to us. Looks like we can get it to Chicago as soon as that birth cert. gets here. My goal was to get it to Haiti by March, but it looks like God's plans might be bigger! : )Woo-hoo!

Sweet story: last night we were waiting to get our picture made for the church directory. A sweet lady in our church was chatting with the boys. Jonah was being very outgoing about being the baby brother. I just sat there and listened, but wondered if he'd mention his sister. Not 10 seconds later, he said, "I won't be the baby much longer! We are adopting a girrrrrl!" It was so sweet. I just love how their hearts are just as excited as ours!

Waiting...

Just a quick update:
Right now, we are waiting on the dossier to be translated. It's in Miami FL with a French lady and she promised to get it done in a week (mailed it last week). So, we should be close. Then, it makes its last stop in the U.S. at the Haitian consulate in Chicago before going to Haiti.
We are getting soooo close!

One more check

One more check on the list---we got our dossier back today from Austin! Woo-hoo! I was actually very surprised. I mailed it on the 21st and just thought that with the holidays, it might not get back til January. We're rounding 2nd base folks!

Next step: translation of 9 documents.
Then, to Chicago to the Haitian Embassy.
God is good (and quick sometimes!).

Merry Christmas!

Robby and his parents

Aunt Amy with ????

The boys with their favorite cousin, LuLu

Luke with his giant Angry Bird--that boy loves his birds!

Santa has come and gone. This year, I got a new camera. I LOVE the quality of the pictures. It will be so great to take to Haiti and to have to document our baby girl's homecoming. We had a wonderful celebration with (almost) all of our family.

Daddy's highlights: iPad, tickets to Opening Day, Rangers hoodie, imported tea : )

Amy's highlights: camera, map of the Carribean, Haitian rocks, backpack that can easily double as a baby girl diaper bag : )

Noah's highlights: remote control car, bike, iPod

Luke's highlights: birds (the angry kind), basketball goal, Legos

Jonah's highlights: Legos, Legos, Legos (he was easy this year!)

Birthday weekend!

This year, Jonah decided that instead of having a birthday party, he wanted to have a "vacation" to LegoLand to celebrate. In our family, a "vacation" is defined as staying overnight in a hotel (usually found on Hotwire for very cheap). Jonah is a BIG Lego fan and he's read a lot about LegoLand.

If you ask the boys what their favorite part was, they all 3 will say the big trampoline. This wasn't even in LegoLand! Some (very smart) guys set up a bungee trampoline in the mall right outside the LegoLand doors. So, they all 3 begged to do it. Huge bungee rubber bands were tied to their waists and they were hoisted up to jump. Luke was pretty freaked out by it, but Noah and Jonah loved it. During this busy busy stove season, our family really needed the time away together. It was WONDERFUL!

Happy Birthday to Jonah!

My baby is 6 today! So hard to believe. How did this happen? It seems just like yesterday that we were crawling to the birth center in thick ice. Robby had the day off because school was closed. My Mom had spent the night after deciding she wouldn't make it home to Greenville on the icy roads (we spent Dec. 7 walking the mall trying to induce labor!).

It was a very eventful day. Both Nanas were there for Jonah's birth as well as Aunt Penny. My Dad made it right after Jonah hatched out. His birth was definitely the easiest of the three. I felt the urge to push and he was here! I can't imagine how easily Mrs. Duggar's births are!

Jonah is our clown that always keeps us in stitches and our family wouldn't be complete without him! We love you, Jonah!

It's in the mail!

Today was a great day! For several reasons, actually, but mostly because.....drum roll please.......

WE MAILED OUR DOSSIER!!!!!

This just the first of several mailings. It's not on its way to Haiti, yet, but it was still a very big accomplishment. 24 pieces went into that puppy! It took 7 months to get it all together. We mailed it to our adoption agency today and they will look it over. There might be corrections we have to make. Then, it goes to the Secretary of the State of TX. She will put her seal on the notarized documents (proves the notaries are notaries). Her name is Hope. Thought that was cool! From there, it goes to the Haitian consulate in Chicago. They put their seal on it. THEN, we get to send it to GLA! I'm shooting for March. We'll see....never know about the government.

Just the idea that we might possibly could bring our baby girl home in 2012 makes us all giddy!!!!!
My baby turns 6 tomorrow. He's really filling up my lap, although he still cuddles with me every day. I'm ready for a tiny one again! : )

Why

In case you still don't get why we're adopting, this video says it all. Wow....no words to describe this!