A Rare Photo

I wanted to share this picture of Jeff-Taline.  I came across it on the GVCM website and it is precious to me because it is probably the only picture we will ever have of her as a baby.  I'm guessing she is about 18 months here.  Adoptive parents rarely get to see their child in the different stages of life prior to adoption.  I think she is so stinkin' cute! Look at that big belly!

Restaveks (child slaves) in Haiti

Please read the entire article. This is a very sad reality in Haiti.  Remember, this is a country that is only a two hour flight from Miami. Pray for Haiti
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/buy-child-10-hours/story?id=5326508&page=1

Yikes!!

Just a quick update to let you know that Michael has finally been able to get a flight into Port au Prince for January 2.  We are excited that he will begin to build our house there, but pray for his safety.  Although the riots have calmed down, Haiti can still be dangerous for foreigners. Check this out.   http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4632.html

More Lessons in Patience

God is again teaching us to be patient.  Michael was supposed to be on a plane with a one-way ticket to Haiti this morning, but that has all changed with the news of violence and rioting in PAP. The violence is mostly due the elections that were held Sunday and the fact that the people are angry about their corrupt, evil government.  Michael's plan was to begin excavation, retaining walls and pouring the foundation for our house.  Now we will wait until Yves says it is safe to travel in PAP.  Here are some things you can pray about for us. First, pray that Yves will be able to get NGO (non-profit status) in Haiti. This will be very helpful when it comes to getting shipments for the orphanage out of port.  The ports and the people who run them are corrupt and take advantage of people who are shipping things in the country, either by stealing the contents or charging outrageous fees to retrieve the shipments.  We are especially concerned with the shipment of our building materials and the Christmas shoeboxes that will be distributed to the Haitian children.  Also, pray that cholera will not take another life, the death toll is up to 1,650.  Pray that God will do a miracle among the leaders of the Haitian government by changing their hearts and that He will protect the people from riots and violence.  Their anger is completely understandable given all that the Haitian people have endured just this year.  We know that God can change Haiti and our small frustration with delays and lessons in patience are NOTHING compared to what the Haitian people are enduring.  God will get us there in His time.  Thank you for praying for us in this transition.  Michael is hoping to be able to fly out later this week depending on the news we get about the state of PAP.  I will keep you posted!

Thank You Robert!!

I love this picture of Robert Upham.  You can see his sweet spirit and know why we love this guy so much!  With all of the bad news coming out of Haiti right now and news of the spreading cholera and resulting deaths, I want to thank God that there are men like Robert Upham who love Him and are willing to use the resources God has given to help the desperate people of Haiti and especially the orphans at All God's Children.  After the earthquake, Robert began to be burdened by the fact that the orphanage did not have clean, reliable water.  He began a personal mission to install commercial filters and tanks that hold 7,500 gallons of water for the orphanage.  Knowing now that the cholera may have started in Mirabelais, I am so thankful for Robert's hard work and generosity! It is good to know that the children and people we love at the orphanage have clean water and can stay cholera free!  Thank you Robert! But mostly, thank you Jesus!

Re-Entry in Tough

Coming back home from Haiti is a hard transition.  As much as I missed my boys and wanted to see them, it feels like we are living in two worlds.  The question we get the most is,"When will you actually move?". Well only God knows that answer, and as soon as He works out the details of building materials, shipping crates, excavating, etc. we will go!  We actually were able to purchase our land while we were there this time. Two acres overlooking the orphanage with a gorgeous view! Believe it or not this process is much like it is in the states, requiring a survey and a closing.  One more huge step closer to getting there.

We had a great team of 16 people who went with us this time.  So much work was accomplished and lots of time was spent loving on kiddos.  Three things happened that were significant to me.  First of all, since the beginning of the adoption process we have been trying to find a Haitian attorney that can be trusted.  Not an easy task.  The attorney who has done the work for the orphanage in the past has been in France studying.   But much to my surprise, Yves had set up a meeting with him at a grocery store in PAP!  Wilkie Joseph is back in Haiti and willing to take our case.  We will soon be signing a contract with him.  What an answer to prayer! With a government as corrupt as Haiti's, it is a relief to have a Godly man represent us.

The second thing was how much the girls have warmed up to us.  On past trips they have been shy and reserved, but not this time!  They actually sought me out and rarely let go of my skirt. This was very affirming to me that they are beginning to bond.  The last thing, and most precious, was when I asked to see Jossett's photo album.  She is Jeff'-Taline's birth mom and I wanted to see pics of her other 6 children and possibly get some insight into her life. I was hoping to maybe even see a pic of Jeff-Taline's father.   There were only about 10 pics in the small album and right in the middle on them was a pic of me holding Jeff-Taline.  I pointed to it smiling, and she said (in broken english) "your her momma".  I was so surprised by this and it washed away any feelings I had of hurting Jossett.  She loves me, and loves Jeff-Taline so much that she wants a better life for her.  How selfless! And what a surprise blessing that God allowed for me!

A few trip pics...

One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was check out the markets. The boys were glad to see some familiar items!

We bought these fireworks to put on a show for the orphans. They had never seen fireworks, but I think Michael and Yves had the most fun with them!

Wilkie Joseph (on the left), the attorney we were praying for.

Handing out food

Every girl needs a tu-tu! I don't care where you live!

A mystery as to what burned this baby's lips. 

Much needed pampering for the nannies.

These ladies take care of the orphans 24/7

My sweet girls. We were waiting for fireworks to start.  Soon after this pic was taken they were in tears, afraid of the loud fireworks... :( 

Our Team

We spent hours filling balloons with water.  They were gone in a matter of seconds.

Food was distributed by some of the team members in a town about an hour away from the orphanage.

Some REALLY great news!

We finally received our letter from USCIS saying that we are APPROVED to adopt from Haiti!! WHOO-HOO! and Praise God!  Now all that is left is translation and Legalization, then it all goes to Haiti! Hoping we will be able to take our dossier with us when we move!

Here is the letter that we are soooo excited about, for all the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into this, I expected it to look a little more official (maybe laced with pure gold or something) but this will do!

Happy Birthday Michael!!!

These sweet friends helped us celebrate Michael's 43rd!  Who would have thought that that at 43 we would be making such a huge life change? We are very excited about what lies ahead.

There's nothing better than sushi and friends! Happy Birthday Baby, I love you! Enjoy your massage today!

First Family Pic! Yikes!

I know, I know, Gage is 5 years old and we have never had a family picture made! I'm a terrible mother! But truth be told I HATE to have my picture made!  Out of necessity it is finally done. On Sunday Oct.17, our church is having a commissioning service for us, so we had our picture made for "promotional materials".  Glad to finally get that done, we needed to since the next time we do it we hope to add two precious baby girls to the Family!

Red Tape

Here is an example of the kind of red tape I'm talking about.  I believe that the way to qualify for adoption is to see who will actually go through with all the mountains of paperwork! It's a weed out process.  Not only do they require blood and every bit of personal information about you (including when you lost your virginity) , they also require my dog's shot records.  But the most recent ridiculous event happened on one of my many trips to the Secretary of State's office in Austin.  It is required that even though every single official form be notarized, it must also be "certified". You then must send all of those notarized form to the Secretary of State's office to be "certified", which is basically a stamp to verify that the notary is actually a notary for the state. Oh, plus a fee for each stamp.  So this past Thursday I thought it would be fun to make it a girls/shopping trip to Austin as well, because my business at the SOS department would only take 10 minutes. Two of my sweet girlfriends decided to go!  We had a great time until I actually got tho the SOS office found out that the state had no record of the "registrar" for which I needed certification.  Did I mention that the document I am needing certified is Phillip's Death Certificate? Yes, I need that for adoption.  For 11 years his official death certificate has been accepted for many different things, but now the state says they have no record of the registrar that signed Phillip's Death Cert.  Needless to say, it is not a document I like to tote around and look at often anyway so I was not happy.  Then she says that I need to go to the Vital Statistics office and get a new certificate.  Great! That should be an easy fix!  So we all three head across town to get a new certificate and the pleasant people there tell me that they have no record of Phillip's death..... Really!!??  They say that a certificate has never been filed, and even suggest that he may not have died!   WOW! He did a heck of a job faking that!!  But seriously, after 5 hours, many phone calls to Tarrant County, and even speaking to the Secretary of State herself, they suggest I go back to Tarrant County and try to get one with the current Registrar's name on it.  At this point I'm feeling so bad for dragging my friends along that we decided to leave it at that and go shopping!  The rest of the trip was a blast, eating Sushi, shopping vintage stores, outlets, eating Chalupa's Cancun (which by the way is going to be my last meal if I'm ever executed)  and visiting with an old friend-PollyAnna. It was by no means a wasted trip and I decided that there is a perfectly good reason for all that nonsense.  God knows what it is even if I don't yet!

The end of the death certificate drama is that Tarrant county vital statistics at first acted as if there was nothing they could do. My blood started to boil, and I guess Michael could see it because he calmed me  down.  In the end, a supervisor there WAS able to help me with a new certificate and $21! Yeah!  So now all that is required is another trip to Austin!


Red Tape experience # 2 this week.  One of the many things required for adoptive parents is FBI fingerprinting.  I originally did that in Haiti, but the US has no record of that even though it was done at the US consulates office. No big deal, I'll redo them.  Well, for 3 months I have been trying to get this done! Today I get a phone call that finally I have an appointment to have my fingerprints done.  While speaking to the Homeland Security Officer I stupidly mention that the form she needs to send me should go to my new address. "NEW ADDRESS" she says? "Your application is based on your home study which shows you live at another address."  Which by the way, to prove that you are capable of adopting a child you must produce pictures of your home, places the child can play, sleep, eat, the square footage of your home and the Mortgage statements!  All of which is completely reflects what sort of parent I would be.... hope you can read through to the sarcasm.   Anyway, because I mentioned that we have a new address, I may have to have my home study amended!! UGH! How much time and money will that be?? Please say a pray that it doesn't effect things negatively.  And pray that from now on I can keep my big mouth shut when it comes to information they really don't need.

This is two year old Jeff-Taline (Tilly) on the left and Lovely on the right who just turned four.  Can't wait to be with them!

A Month of Change

Well, I must admit... I never expected God would work so quickly! I thought for sure He was teaching me a lesson in patience.  But within just a few weeks He has brought us through A LOT of change and that has led to even MORE blessings!  First of all, our house sold.  The house that I thought we built to live in until the day we died!  Not only did it sell quickly, but to the exact, right people who God wanted in that house.  Mark and Cathy Collier love the Lord and Cathy shares a similar story to mine as she was a widow at a young age.  It was so good to know that the people living in our house would use it to Glorify God.  I loved sharing with them that God's Word is buried in the concrete at the front door threshold, because I knew how they would receive it.  Not only did it sell quickly, but easily without a single hangup or conflict, and we have made new life long friends.

So once the house sold the ball started rolling..... garage sale, packing, storage building, find a temporary place to stay, deciding what to keep, sale, take to Haiti... whew! We did it all in about 2 weeks and know we are "temporarily settled" in a small town home (which is way too flattering a word, it's really just a row of duplexes!) in Weatherford.  Our upstairs furniture filled up the whole thing!! But, I love it.   And No, I have not one time missed our house we were supposed to die in.  It's funny how God prepares and changes you when He is calling you to a purpose!  Downsizing Rocks!  We have sold most of our things, and it feels great!

There have been other changes as well. Michael has leased the gym to Josh and Lindsey and no longer has to get up at 4:00 am!  Quite a change after 20 years of that!  It is difficult to release something that you have nurtured for 6 years, but we know that God will take care of Michael's business and if it is His will, Michael can go back to it when we return.

In the meantime, we are sending materials to Haiti to build our house, working on plans, coordinating trips, and trying to figure out how all of this is going to work while reminding ourselves that God already has the details figured out!

I am also amazed at how much people have loved and supported us through this so far!! You know who you are (judd, carrie, scott just to name a few!)  and we are thankful for you!!

Here's how you can pray:

Pray that our house materials get to Haiti and out of port without any problems.
Pray that God prepares our boys for this huge life change.
Pray that we will be keenly aware what God wants from us as a family and how He will use us there.
Pray for the adoption of our girls and the mountain of red tape that requires.
Pray that our families here will be comforted and know that God is in control.
Pray for our church as they guide us and support us in this process.
Pray for the gym that God will continue to use it as a place where people meet Him.
Pray that God will send the right person to homeschool  Elijah and Gage in Haiti, and IF that person is me that I would accept it and trust Him in it.  (God, please don't let it be me!!!)
Pray for Yves Prophete, the orphans and all the people who work there now!
Pray that God will hand pick and send the right people to Haiti to accomplish His work.

And pray that as inadequate as I feel to do this job, I will know that God has led us here for a reason, and I want to be obedient to Him.


More to come.....
Renea

Remember the Good Ol' Days...

WHOOOOP!  totally delete this...i was just making sure everything was working ok!

You are Ready to Roll...