Woo-Hoo!!! IT IS TIME!!! We received our referral for the beautiful twin boys at 2:45 this afternoon! Erin from the adoption agency tried to call me, but I missed her call and tried to call her back. When I couldn't reach her, I left a message and immediately called Craig to let him know that she had tried to call. I was hoping that it might mean that the referral was coming.Craig answered, and I could hear him talking to Erin in the background on his land line at work!! I listened to their call and quickly realized that the time we had been praying so diligently about had finally come! The referral was happening!
We received the email with all of the medical and social history on the boys shortly after the call, and we have been able to print it out and look through the information...but unfortunately most of the information is in French and my primitive French abilities are not panning out fully. We have sent this paperwork off to be translated and then we will be able to figure out some more of the details. We also plan to have our paperwork looked over by a medical professional to be sure that everything is clear about the decision we are making. So far the specifics that I can figure out by looking at the paperwork look like both of the little boys are healthy! Praise God!
We were also able to gather some of the information about the birth parents and the situation surrounding the adoption. The boys were born on October 5, 2011. On January 10th, 2012, the boys were brought into the orphanage by their birth mom and dad. They stated that the reason that they were giving up their rights for the child was due to their birth mom being sick. We were saddened to find out that 15 days after she dropped her twin boys off at the orphanage, she passed away. What a remarkable birth mom. She was providing a future for her boys even in spite of her failing health.
Craig and I were thinking about this and discovered that we were notified of the twins about 8 days prior to her passing. During that time, I was praying frequently for her because of the painful decision she had made. I never dreamed that she would be going through so much during that time. I will be forever grateful for her thoughtful decision to make sure the boys were safe and provided for.
We are very excited about the steps to come in the adoption...and aren't positive about the length of time that the rest of the adoption will require, but Erin says that on average, the current adoptions out of Haiti have been taking about 12 months from the time of referral acceptance. So we are still bracing ourselves for the rest of the journey...but we are excited to meet the twins and keep that time moving along. We are going to be making our decision whether to accept the referral in the next two weeks and will be sure to notify everyone when that acceptance takes place.
I have to share that over the last week I have struggled a bit more with patience during all of the waiting! There were two days where I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with the slow pace of the process. I was reading a book called "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World" by Joanna Weaver and was really touched by the section of the book where it discusses never putting a period where God puts a comma or a comma where God puts a period. I felt that I could really apply that to where I was emotionally with the adoption. I was able to remind myself that God had placed a comma in the process. What was supposed to take 2 weeks, had taken close to 10 weeks...and God never places a comma when it isn't the best thing for His plan! I needed to accept the comma and embrace God's timing...I needed to trust His schedule as much as I trust His character.
"Faith is about how you live your life in the meantime, how you make decisions when you don't know for sure what is next. What you do with yourself between the last time you heard from God and the next time you hear from God is the ongoing challenge of a life of faith." --CeCe Winans
It was amazing. I felt the peace that only comes from the Lord rest on me....and now....when I was able to believe and obey...He released His plan!
Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we move further in the adoption process. It has been a pleasure to share this information! We are so excited!
Rejoicing in His plan!
Rebecca
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 12, 2012
Finally More Information!!!
It was January 19th when we initially received information on the possibility of adopting twin boys from Haiti! We were told that it would probably take a couple of weeks to get their paperwork together so we would be able to receive a formal referral and more information. We knew we had to be patient...but it is amazing how much the anticipation of wanting to know more information...can fill a person with excitement!
We have been waiting patiently now for almost two months! On March 9th, we finally received a bit more information. Unfortunately we are not able to share any of the photos on this site until we have an official referral for the twins...but I can at least share some information...
We received eight photos of the boys and they are PRECIOUS!! So sweet! They appear to be fraternal twins and one of them has an incredible head of hair already! He also has a beautiful smile. The other has a sweet little face and a peaceful expression in each of the photos. We also were told their names and it was startling because one of the boy's names is what we were planning to name one of the boys! The other boy's name is the same name as a young man that we both met when we were on our Mission trips in Haiti. He is an incredible young man of God!
It feels like God has chosen these beautiful boys for us, and we are anxious to be formally referred so we can fully share them with the whole world! We were able to get some additional information today as well. We were provided information on their birthday...which is October 5th, 2011, so they are just over 5 months now. We were told that they are 13 and 14 pounds. The additional information on the twin with all of the hair is as follows: "He continues to get bigger it seems, daily. Has the sweetest disposition, and loves to take everything in." The additional information on the other twin is as follows: "He moves so much! When he's awake, he's moving. He can make it from one side of the room to the other doing an interesting crawl/scoot/pull himself along. Smiles all the time."
Can't help but smile when I think of these little guys! Our kids are so ready for the little additions to come home and Craig and I both feel the same way.
We had additional good news when we returned from Florida because we had a letter from the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS, announcing that we have been given our final permission from the US to move forward with this adoption. Now we just wait for the referral to come and things will continue to fall into place. We feel so blessed at this time! It is amazing to watch the Lord work in our family! I am so thankful that there is a Divine Creator bringing all of this together!
We will be sure to pass on the good news of the referral when it comes. Things could still potentially change, and we could actually end up with a different referral...but for now...it feels like everything is pointing in this direction! At this point, we will receive monthly updates on the twins and we will share as much of that information as we can! Thank you so much for your continued prayers! We are so blessed!
Resting in Him,
Rebecca
We have been waiting patiently now for almost two months! On March 9th, we finally received a bit more information. Unfortunately we are not able to share any of the photos on this site until we have an official referral for the twins...but I can at least share some information...
We received eight photos of the boys and they are PRECIOUS!! So sweet! They appear to be fraternal twins and one of them has an incredible head of hair already! He also has a beautiful smile. The other has a sweet little face and a peaceful expression in each of the photos. We also were told their names and it was startling because one of the boy's names is what we were planning to name one of the boys! The other boy's name is the same name as a young man that we both met when we were on our Mission trips in Haiti. He is an incredible young man of God!
It feels like God has chosen these beautiful boys for us, and we are anxious to be formally referred so we can fully share them with the whole world! We were able to get some additional information today as well. We were provided information on their birthday...which is October 5th, 2011, so they are just over 5 months now. We were told that they are 13 and 14 pounds. The additional information on the twin with all of the hair is as follows: "He continues to get bigger it seems, daily. Has the sweetest disposition, and loves to take everything in." The additional information on the other twin is as follows: "He moves so much! When he's awake, he's moving. He can make it from one side of the room to the other doing an interesting crawl/scoot/pull himself along. Smiles all the time."
Can't help but smile when I think of these little guys! Our kids are so ready for the little additions to come home and Craig and I both feel the same way.
We had additional good news when we returned from Florida because we had a letter from the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS, announcing that we have been given our final permission from the US to move forward with this adoption. Now we just wait for the referral to come and things will continue to fall into place. We feel so blessed at this time! It is amazing to watch the Lord work in our family! I am so thankful that there is a Divine Creator bringing all of this together!
We will be sure to pass on the good news of the referral when it comes. Things could still potentially change, and we could actually end up with a different referral...but for now...it feels like everything is pointing in this direction! At this point, we will receive monthly updates on the twins and we will share as much of that information as we can! Thank you so much for your continued prayers! We are so blessed!
Resting in Him,
Rebecca
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)