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Tuesday, June 19, 2012
June 2012 trip to Haiti to meet the twins photos!
We will be typing up our journal of our trip to meet the boys shortly, but in the mean time I wanted to share a link to our photos from our trip. You do not need to have a Facebook account or be FB friends with us to view the pictures. Enjoy!
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Over the Moon in June!!!
I am happy to share that late last week we made the decision to take our entire family with us when we travel to Haiti to meet the boys for the first time. We prayed about it and it didn't take long for us to realize that this was the most logical and obvious choice. We really want our Aftyn, Haley and Aiden to deepen their hearts for Haiti and there is really no better way than to travel there and see what it is all about. It will be amazing to see what impacts them the most and how it affects them after we return home to the States.
We will be flying to Miami on June 10th and then will fly on to Port-au-Prince early the morning of June 11th (my mom's birthday) and we will be able to meet the boys that day! We will actually be packing clothes and supplies from home and taking them with us for the boys as well. It will be as if we are their only caregivers while we are there. I think that this will allow for some wonderful bonding time. I am sure that when we are back we will have many stories to share!
The kids found out last Thursday that we are going to take them along and their excitement was priceless! I think that we made the right decision. We have had many decisions to make recently...we have all of the decisions surrounding the adoption and then on top of that, we decided to build a new home on a one acre lot to give the little ones a little more room to explore...not to mention more than a closet for me to do laundry for a family of seven!! It will be interesting to see how it all comes together. I just can't wait for the day that we can bring the twins home to stay!
I am already heartbroken thinking about spending those precious days with them in June only to walk away from them and fly what feels like an eternity from them. I pray that the days will go quickly and that the sorrow won't be too deep. I pray that the care that they are receiving will be wonderful and perfectly evident to us while we are there so we have no worries over their care when we return home to Sioux Falls. Please join me in prayer over these items. Also, continue to pray for the health of the boys. We haven't received any new updates, but know that it is always best to be bathed in prayer!
******************************************************************************
I have been reading a wonderful book called "Kisses From Katie." I highly recommend it. It is beautifully written and touches the heart a little bit more with each page. It is an auto-biography about a girl named Katie from Tennessee that decided to do a mission trip to Uganda her senior year of high school. She then decided to go for a year and ended up adopting fourteen little girls over the next several years in Uganda. It is an amazing account of a girl being called by the Lord to do His work and her challenges and many blessings through the process. I am only about halfway through the book but was very moved by a passage she wrote about adoption. I would like to share it here:
"I knew that one of God's purposes in placing me here was to grow in me, through my children, this heart for adoption. In an effort to be real, I will tell you: It was hard. Being a mother of six at age nineteen was just plain exhausting sometimes. But God continued to show me that adoption is His heart, and it was becoming mine.
Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have ever experienced. Adoption is also difficult and painful. Adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption. It is the Gospel in my living room. And sometimes, it's just hard.
As a parent, it's hard not to know when your daughter took her first steps or what her first word was or what she looked like in kindergarten. It's hard not to know where she slept and whose shoulder she cried on and what the scar on her eyebrow is from. It's hard to know that for ten years yours was not the shoulder she cried on and you were not the mommy she hugged.
As a child, it's hard to remember your biological parent's death, no matter how much you love your new mom. It's hard to have your mom be a different color than you because inevitably people are going to ask why. It's hard that your mom wasn't there for all the times you had no dinner and all the times you were sick and all the times you needed help with your homework. It's hard when you have to make up your birthday. It's hard when you can't understand the concept of being a family forever yet, because your first family wasn't forever.
Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world. And every single day, it is worth it, because adoption is God's heart. His Word says, 'In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will' (Ephesians 1:5). He sets the lonely in families. The first word that appears when I look up adoption in the dictionary is 'acceptance.' God accepts me even, just as I am. And He wan'ts me to accept those without families into my own. Adoption is the reason I can come before God's throne and beg Him for mercy, because He predestined me to be adopted as His child through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of His glorious grace.
My family, adopting these children, it is not optional. It is not my good deed for the day; it is not what I am doing to 'help out these poor kids.' I adopt because God commands me to care for the orphans and the widows in their distress. I adopt because Jesus says that to whom much has been given, much will be demanded and because whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it.
God was showing me His heart and His Word in new ways right there in the life I was living though the children I was serving. Armed with this new sense of who He is and who I was as His servant, I continued to try to give myself away in every circumstance. I wanted to do God's work, let Him display Himself through my life, and change my world as much as possible every single day. Most days, that didn't include anything other people would find impressive. It simply meant being faithful to the people and the responsibilities God had given me."
*******************************************************************************
There was another section of the book that broke my heart for the orphans throughout the world that continue to wait for a family to love and be loved by. As we have moved through this process, several people have mentioned to Craig and I that they had thought about adopting a child at one time or another, but there was always a reason that stopped them from moving forward. A reason why they had not followed that leading. Some said it was too expensive, they were getting too old, they already had 2, 3 or 4 children, or that they would be overwhelmed or too anxious. Well...I have to say that all of these reasons came into our minds at one time or another during the process of considering adoption. I really believe that those thoughts were the devil trying to convince us to pass up this opportunity. Pass on doing the will of the Lord. I know that adoption is not for everyone. I don't believe for one minute that the Lord is calling every Christian to adopt a child or children. What I do believe is that He calls some of us and that even though we are all ill-equipped to step into this role, He will equip us with the finances, energy, love, space and patience during the process. I fully believe that I do not have these qualities in abundant supply on all days. In fact, I believe that I might be one of the least likely to fit the mold for a model mother...but I know that our Lord uses the least of these to accomplish amazing things. If He could do it with a shepherd, a virgin, a tax collector, and a small boy, I know that He can do it through anxious, weary, stressed out and broken me. I can't wait to watch as His glory shines through our family as we venture into this new territory! May He receive ALL OF THE GLORY!!
Another heart-wrenching excerpt from the "Kisses From Katie" book:
"The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left.
This is the Truth. I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible."
********************************************************************************
Today we received some additional wonderful news in regards to our adoption. We knew that the government in Haiti had put a temporary freeze on new dossiers coming into the government from April 30th until June 1st. They wanted to process the ones that are currently in their possession. We did not know whether our dossier had already been in the hands of the government in Haiti or not. We knew it was overseas, but not where it was located exactly. We found out today that our dossier was submitted to the Haiti government on Friday, April 27th. The last day before the temporary freeze! Hooray! We know that this won't really speed the process up, but it should keep it from slowing down! Praise God!
We will continue to keep you all informed as we receive updates! The boys are now seven months and we should be getting some new photos and updates soon! Thank you for continuing to pray! We can tell that we have some prayer warriors on our side and we are so thankful for you!
Bursting with excitement!
Rebecca
We will be flying to Miami on June 10th and then will fly on to Port-au-Prince early the morning of June 11th (my mom's birthday) and we will be able to meet the boys that day! We will actually be packing clothes and supplies from home and taking them with us for the boys as well. It will be as if we are their only caregivers while we are there. I think that this will allow for some wonderful bonding time. I am sure that when we are back we will have many stories to share!
The kids found out last Thursday that we are going to take them along and their excitement was priceless! I think that we made the right decision. We have had many decisions to make recently...we have all of the decisions surrounding the adoption and then on top of that, we decided to build a new home on a one acre lot to give the little ones a little more room to explore...not to mention more than a closet for me to do laundry for a family of seven!! It will be interesting to see how it all comes together. I just can't wait for the day that we can bring the twins home to stay!
I am already heartbroken thinking about spending those precious days with them in June only to walk away from them and fly what feels like an eternity from them. I pray that the days will go quickly and that the sorrow won't be too deep. I pray that the care that they are receiving will be wonderful and perfectly evident to us while we are there so we have no worries over their care when we return home to Sioux Falls. Please join me in prayer over these items. Also, continue to pray for the health of the boys. We haven't received any new updates, but know that it is always best to be bathed in prayer!
******************************************************************************
I have been reading a wonderful book called "Kisses From Katie." I highly recommend it. It is beautifully written and touches the heart a little bit more with each page. It is an auto-biography about a girl named Katie from Tennessee that decided to do a mission trip to Uganda her senior year of high school. She then decided to go for a year and ended up adopting fourteen little girls over the next several years in Uganda. It is an amazing account of a girl being called by the Lord to do His work and her challenges and many blessings through the process. I am only about halfway through the book but was very moved by a passage she wrote about adoption. I would like to share it here:
"I knew that one of God's purposes in placing me here was to grow in me, through my children, this heart for adoption. In an effort to be real, I will tell you: It was hard. Being a mother of six at age nineteen was just plain exhausting sometimes. But God continued to show me that adoption is His heart, and it was becoming mine.
Adoption is wonderful and beautiful and the greatest blessing I have ever experienced. Adoption is also difficult and painful. Adoption is a beautiful picture of redemption. It is the Gospel in my living room. And sometimes, it's just hard.
As a parent, it's hard not to know when your daughter took her first steps or what her first word was or what she looked like in kindergarten. It's hard not to know where she slept and whose shoulder she cried on and what the scar on her eyebrow is from. It's hard to know that for ten years yours was not the shoulder she cried on and you were not the mommy she hugged.
As a child, it's hard to remember your biological parent's death, no matter how much you love your new mom. It's hard to have your mom be a different color than you because inevitably people are going to ask why. It's hard that your mom wasn't there for all the times you had no dinner and all the times you were sick and all the times you needed help with your homework. It's hard when you have to make up your birthday. It's hard when you can't understand the concept of being a family forever yet, because your first family wasn't forever.
Adoption is a redemptive response to tragedy that happens in this broken world. And every single day, it is worth it, because adoption is God's heart. His Word says, 'In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will' (Ephesians 1:5). He sets the lonely in families. The first word that appears when I look up adoption in the dictionary is 'acceptance.' God accepts me even, just as I am. And He wan'ts me to accept those without families into my own. Adoption is the reason I can come before God's throne and beg Him for mercy, because He predestined me to be adopted as His child through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will--to the praise of His glorious grace.
My family, adopting these children, it is not optional. It is not my good deed for the day; it is not what I am doing to 'help out these poor kids.' I adopt because God commands me to care for the orphans and the widows in their distress. I adopt because Jesus says that to whom much has been given, much will be demanded and because whoever finds his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for His sake will find it.
God was showing me His heart and His Word in new ways right there in the life I was living though the children I was serving. Armed with this new sense of who He is and who I was as His servant, I continued to try to give myself away in every circumstance. I wanted to do God's work, let Him display Himself through my life, and change my world as much as possible every single day. Most days, that didn't include anything other people would find impressive. It simply meant being faithful to the people and the responsibilities God had given me."
*******************************************************************************
There was another section of the book that broke my heart for the orphans throughout the world that continue to wait for a family to love and be loved by. As we have moved through this process, several people have mentioned to Craig and I that they had thought about adopting a child at one time or another, but there was always a reason that stopped them from moving forward. A reason why they had not followed that leading. Some said it was too expensive, they were getting too old, they already had 2, 3 or 4 children, or that they would be overwhelmed or too anxious. Well...I have to say that all of these reasons came into our minds at one time or another during the process of considering adoption. I really believe that those thoughts were the devil trying to convince us to pass up this opportunity. Pass on doing the will of the Lord. I know that adoption is not for everyone. I don't believe for one minute that the Lord is calling every Christian to adopt a child or children. What I do believe is that He calls some of us and that even though we are all ill-equipped to step into this role, He will equip us with the finances, energy, love, space and patience during the process. I fully believe that I do not have these qualities in abundant supply on all days. In fact, I believe that I might be one of the least likely to fit the mold for a model mother...but I know that our Lord uses the least of these to accomplish amazing things. If He could do it with a shepherd, a virgin, a tax collector, and a small boy, I know that He can do it through anxious, weary, stressed out and broken me. I can't wait to watch as His glory shines through our family as we venture into this new territory! May He receive ALL OF THE GLORY!!
Another heart-wrenching excerpt from the "Kisses From Katie" book:
"The truth is that the 143 million orphaned children and the 11 million who starve to death or die from preventable diseases and the 8.5 million who work as child slaves, prostitutes, or under other horrific conditions and the 2.3 million who live with HIV add up to 164.8 million needy children. And though at first glance that looks like a big number, 2.1 billion people on this earth proclaim to be Christians.
The truth is that if only 8 percent of the Christians would care for one more child, there would not be any statistics left.
This is the Truth. I have the freedom to believe it. The freedom, the opportunity to do something about it. The truth is that He loves these children just as much as He loves me and now that I know, I am responsible."
********************************************************************************
Today we received some additional wonderful news in regards to our adoption. We knew that the government in Haiti had put a temporary freeze on new dossiers coming into the government from April 30th until June 1st. They wanted to process the ones that are currently in their possession. We did not know whether our dossier had already been in the hands of the government in Haiti or not. We knew it was overseas, but not where it was located exactly. We found out today that our dossier was submitted to the Haiti government on Friday, April 27th. The last day before the temporary freeze! Hooray! We know that this won't really speed the process up, but it should keep it from slowing down! Praise God!
We will continue to keep you all informed as we receive updates! The boys are now seven months and we should be getting some new photos and updates soon! Thank you for continuing to pray! We can tell that we have some prayer warriors on our side and we are so thankful for you!
Bursting with excitement!
Rebecca
Monday, April 30, 2012
We Have Been Invited to Visit!!!
We are happy to announce that we received a phone call last week to let us know that we are invited to come spend our first moments with our twin boys! We are invited to be in Haiti from June 11-15th. It is a relatively short trip, but we are looking forward to soaking up every moment.
We will be flying out of Sioux Falls some time on the 10th and heading to either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. We will then jump on a plane and head to Port-au-Prince early the morning of the 11th. We are busily trying to make sure that we have all of the immunizations that we need and are beginning to discuss whether to bring Aftyn, Haley and Aiden along on this first trip. I spoke with Erin today and found out that we could bring them along this time if we could work that out. Most of the time will be spent at the hotel with the twins and it would be wonderful bonding time all together. It would also give the kids a chance to see why it is that we are making this choice and for them to have a taste of the twins' culture.
We hope that we will have confirmed our plans in the next day or two so we can get the rest of the pieces lined up. Please pray for clarity in this decision and for wisdom in our planning.
The most recent update that we received on the twins shared the following:
The boys are well. Boy A was sick last week into this week, but seems to be doing better right now. Boy 1 is MOVING everywhere! They are both eating well, and growing. I don't think there are any teeth yet...but I should check.
We can't wait until we can check on these things on our own. I have a feeling that we will take 5,000 pictures just to capture as many moments as we can. I am really looking forward to spending time as a family!
Thank you for your prayers,
Rebecca
We will be flying out of Sioux Falls some time on the 10th and heading to either Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. We will then jump on a plane and head to Port-au-Prince early the morning of the 11th. We are busily trying to make sure that we have all of the immunizations that we need and are beginning to discuss whether to bring Aftyn, Haley and Aiden along on this first trip. I spoke with Erin today and found out that we could bring them along this time if we could work that out. Most of the time will be spent at the hotel with the twins and it would be wonderful bonding time all together. It would also give the kids a chance to see why it is that we are making this choice and for them to have a taste of the twins' culture.
We hope that we will have confirmed our plans in the next day or two so we can get the rest of the pieces lined up. Please pray for clarity in this decision and for wisdom in our planning.
The most recent update that we received on the twins shared the following:
The boys are well. Boy A was sick last week into this week, but seems to be doing better right now. Boy 1 is MOVING everywhere! They are both eating well, and growing. I don't think there are any teeth yet...but I should check.
We can't wait until we can check on these things on our own. I have a feeling that we will take 5,000 pictures just to capture as many moments as we can. I am really looking forward to spending time as a family!
Thank you for your prayers,
Rebecca
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
April 2012 Update
We are going to be receiving monthly updates on the boys to give us an idea of how they are doing and to get the updates on their growth and development! (Not to mention the adorable photos that accompany the updates!) Before I go into the updates, though, I think it is important to mention how precious it has been to be able to share our boys with our families and friends! We are so thankful for them and the future that we will have together, and it is such a joy to share that with everyone!
The message we received yesterday was brief but sweet. It said (and I apologize for not being able to share their names at this point):
Little Boy #1-Spent some time recovering from diarrhea, but that didn't stop his sweet smile. He didn't gain weight this month, but he's become more active.
Little Boy #A(Craig won't let me label him #2 because he needs to be at the top of his list too)- Continues to move all over the room using his sweet commando crawl. He's working to push himself up on all 4's to continue the movement. He grew a lot this last month, and you can see it in his cheeks.
There were 6 photos included of the boys and 4 of them were of the two boys side by side in their high chairs. It is amazing how quickly they change! They are obviously fraternal twin,s and we are also amazed by how each is his own little man! I can't wait to learn their personalities.
It looks as though Craig and I might be included on the June trip to the orphanage. The May trip is almost full, and we haven't received an invite yet. The June trip is a bit shorter which is a bummer...but the blessing is that it is only two weeks after the May trip so we won't have to wait too much longer! Please pray that we will receive our invite so we can begin our planning.
The excitement is almost unbearable!!! I can't wait to snuggle my two littlest boys!!!!! Until that time, I am soaking up the snuggles with my three biggest angels!! It will be hard to be away from them when the time comes...but I am sure that they won't even miss us because they will be slumber partying at their cousins' house!!!
We will continue to bring you updates as we receive them. The process is sort of at a stand still and much of our "adoption time" is spent figuring out the remaining finances and figuring out our family's plan as we are going to be filling up our house before we know it!!! God has blessed us beyond belief with this beautiful family of SEVEN!!!! :) What an amazing dilemma!
Abounding with Blessings,
Rebecca
The message we received yesterday was brief but sweet. It said (and I apologize for not being able to share their names at this point):
Little Boy #1-Spent some time recovering from diarrhea, but that didn't stop his sweet smile. He didn't gain weight this month, but he's become more active.
Little Boy #A(Craig won't let me label him #2 because he needs to be at the top of his list too)- Continues to move all over the room using his sweet commando crawl. He's working to push himself up on all 4's to continue the movement. He grew a lot this last month, and you can see it in his cheeks.
There were 6 photos included of the boys and 4 of them were of the two boys side by side in their high chairs. It is amazing how quickly they change! They are obviously fraternal twin,s and we are also amazed by how each is his own little man! I can't wait to learn their personalities.
It looks as though Craig and I might be included on the June trip to the orphanage. The May trip is almost full, and we haven't received an invite yet. The June trip is a bit shorter which is a bummer...but the blessing is that it is only two weeks after the May trip so we won't have to wait too much longer! Please pray that we will receive our invite so we can begin our planning.
The excitement is almost unbearable!!! I can't wait to snuggle my two littlest boys!!!!! Until that time, I am soaking up the snuggles with my three biggest angels!! It will be hard to be away from them when the time comes...but I am sure that they won't even miss us because they will be slumber partying at their cousins' house!!!
We will continue to bring you updates as we receive them. The process is sort of at a stand still and much of our "adoption time" is spent figuring out the remaining finances and figuring out our family's plan as we are going to be filling up our house before we know it!!! God has blessed us beyond belief with this beautiful family of SEVEN!!!! :) What an amazing dilemma!
Abounding with Blessings,
Rebecca
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
It's a YES!
After very little deliberation, but bathed in prayer, Rebecca and I accepted the referral of "our twin boys" today!
I sent the e-mail to Erin at CAN this morning and it still makes me teary-eyed to think of them... all day. We're both SO excited to get the invitation from the orphanage to travel and meet them in Haiti for the first time. We're hopeful that we'll be invited to travel in May or June to see their precious faces in person. Our referral acceptance today, and that first trip down there, will set the Haiti Government's paperwork in motion for the long home stretch. As mentioned in our last update the average wait time from today until we bring them home is 10-12 months. This sounds like a long time and many people get frustrated with that answer and ask, "but why?" My answer is always, if the US were adopting kids out to other countries and going through the legal rig-a-ma-roll it would take us 10-12 years to adopt kids out. So for a 3rd world country that still deals with a lot of paper, instead of computer files and e-mails, that's not so bad. Plus we knew the time frame going into this whole process and we're right on track so we're ok with it. If God wants us to bring them home sooner, He'll make it happen. Which I pray he does... :)
So, that's it! We're still learning from our agency and from the orphanage how much we can share about the boys; names, photos, etc so as soon as we're cleared to do so, we'll share; trust me!
Thanks for all of your prayers!
Excitedly,
Craig
I sent the e-mail to Erin at CAN this morning and it still makes me teary-eyed to think of them... all day. We're both SO excited to get the invitation from the orphanage to travel and meet them in Haiti for the first time. We're hopeful that we'll be invited to travel in May or June to see their precious faces in person. Our referral acceptance today, and that first trip down there, will set the Haiti Government's paperwork in motion for the long home stretch. As mentioned in our last update the average wait time from today until we bring them home is 10-12 months. This sounds like a long time and many people get frustrated with that answer and ask, "but why?" My answer is always, if the US were adopting kids out to other countries and going through the legal rig-a-ma-roll it would take us 10-12 years to adopt kids out. So for a 3rd world country that still deals with a lot of paper, instead of computer files and e-mails, that's not so bad. Plus we knew the time frame going into this whole process and we're right on track so we're ok with it. If God wants us to bring them home sooner, He'll make it happen. Which I pray he does... :)
So, that's it! We're still learning from our agency and from the orphanage how much we can share about the boys; names, photos, etc so as soon as we're cleared to do so, we'll share; trust me!
Thanks for all of your prayers!
Excitedly,
Craig
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Referral!!!
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
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
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
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