Where we are....

We've been getting the "where are you in the process" question quite a bit, so I'd like to answer that here. Our dossier is done and is with our agency. We are still waiting on our Home Study though, this has taken much longer than it should have and is getting frustrating. The reason it has taken this long has been affected by both factors in our control and factors outside of our control. Our part is done and now we just have to wait for it, this is hard and only the beginning of our waiting. Once we have our HS done, then we can send it along to our agency to have it translated, we can apply for US permission for our boys to come to the states, this is called the I600A form, and then we can also apply for interest free loans and grants. Once our dossier is in Haiti I will be able to breath a little better. It will go into what's called IBESR. It's kind of like a Dept. of family and children's services...this has been closed for a while because they want to get the backlogged cases sorted through before they move forward. Our hope and prayer is that our dossier will be translated and sent down to Haiti before they reopen in early August, and will be in the pile and get processed through quickly. This is scary and time is not on our side but we are still trusting in God's perfect timing, no matter how outside our personal timeline that may be. We miss our boys terribly...a hole is felt in this house as long as they are still not here to fill it. Melat has told us that she will do any paperwork we need or help us get money so the boys can come home:) The next time we will be able to travel to Haiti will be for court that we will need to be present for. This won't be until early 2013, or later. We are thankful for pictures, videos and Skype until then. Oh and some great news is that Guerlens is walking! He started 11 days after we left Haiti..I was praying he would take those first steps when we were there but he saved them for later. We Skyped so we could see him walk and of course he had absolutely no interest in walking but wanted to be held instead...true to form.:)

Chip In at right..

If you come to this blog at all, you've probably noticed the Chip-In widget on the right side of the page. Several people have asked about where we are in the process but also how much $ we still need to raise. We thought the Chip-In meter would be the best way to gauge the cost remaining and for people to give if they choose to. It's very easy to use and will automatically track our progress. This figure of $8,000 is based on agency/International fees that are needed as soon as possible.

Son Son

When Jivenson's 2nd birthday came last year, we talked about doing something of remembrance for him, something that would last and would be shared between us. We decided to get tattoos, each of us sharing a "Son" and when put together would be our SonSon. It got put off...then the first anniversary of his death came and we planned to do it that night, but something came up with a friend and we were unable to go. One week later we finally were able to do it. It was a little painful but so short and when we were done it just felt right:) And since the pic seems unclear as to where we got them, they are on our right ankles:)

One Year

Today marks 1 year since Jivenson passed away...June 4th 2011. It seems impossible to believe that one year has actually passed and even more impossible to believe where we are now. We would never have dreamed this up...that after losing one little boy, we would be blessed with two. We've watched the video Kevin made in tribute to Jivenson and we've all cried, the girls included. It's amazing to me how acutely they still feel that loss, especially Wesli. They still refer to him as their little brother. We all still feel it. And right now it's coupled with that loss we're experiencing Post-Haiti. We're just letting ourselves wallow in it, letting ourselves fully feel it all, every emotion...then we'll move on. Move onto more paperwork, waiting and dreaming of our family of 6 finally coming together...one day.