Peek a Boo!

These pictures were taken the last night we were in Haiti and the Carnival was going strong outside. Destina was out on the rooftop with my sister enjoying the scene and Avrie and I were back in the room, I was packing and her little personality just came bursting out! She was all smiles and giggles and we had a fun time bonding just the 2 of us. She was pretty quite the first 2 days we had her and then the last day or so she really opened up and started trusting me and loving me. I wonder low long it will take this time for her to warm up to me again after I left her last time, how does she work that out in her mind? I hope she remembers me!
I am waiting for my rice to come so I can finish packing. I have been running I just finished up my 7th week of running 5 days a week this has been my countdown "how many more weeks of running before Haiti?" I am now down to 2 weeks that is 10 more days of running, and then the next day I leave for Haiti! I can't wait I just try to enjoy the anticipation because it lasts longer than the trip, 5 days every 5-6 months is not enough time with my girls! Scott and I were talking and he just made this weird comment he said; "I never thought we would be experiencing adoption infertility!" We want these girls home so bad yet we are still so far away from seeing that happen, our homecoming date keeps getting pushed back every month we are stuck in IBESR! Some days this seems impossible!

Let The Countdown Begin!

20 days until I get to relive this moment again, Destina running up to me and giving me a big hug and this time Avrie better be right behind her!

I try not to start obsessing about the next trip too early, I do everything I can to stay busy and keep my mind off of it, and with 5 kids and a million things going on with them it shouldn't be hard to do, but for the last 2 nights I have been dreaming about them, and wake up thinking about them, and I know it has started the trip anticipation! So if you know me and are trying to have a conversation with me and I seem to be wandering off I probably am...my mind is in Haiti or it is thinking about all the things I need to bring and still need to go buy. Scott and I were in the car waiting for Katie last night and talking about the things to bring and ketchup became the topic and we decided that we need to bring some because when we are in Haiti French Fries are one of the main staples that we eat and they were real stingy with the ketchup last time I was there. They would bring out the ketchup in little tiny silver cups and there was never enough and the ketchup tasted a little funny anyway, so we were having a discussion on bringing ketchup...see how all of this worms it way into my brain and I start thinking about all the stuff that I have to bring and I still forget things and maybe if I kept a list on paper instead of my head I wouldn't forget and I still have to wait for the rice to come so that I can actually start packing.
Speaking of rice we are (as a group) taking down almost 1600 lbs of rice from Feed My Starving Children that is a lot of rice and it should last quite awhile! Also, there were 2 garage sales yesterday to raise money for the Orphanage and they both brought in $1200.00. I am excited to see the small changes that will be made possible by a few people trying to make a difference! We are changing the lives of these children one small step at a time!

Ok back to my obsessing!

Check Out The ETSY Store!

The ETSY store that is run by Brent and Lori is selling some great items this of course is one of my favorite items in the store "Napping Nelly". These hand made dolls are so cute and they are great for any little girl to snuggle with or to take with them in the car or to have when it is nap time. They are made with specialty fabrics and the faces are each hand painted with different faces, right now there are 14 to choose from. They are all hand made by my sister to help the ETSY Store raise money for the orphanage. So if you are looking for a gift for a baby shower or a new mom click the link on the left and check out the other cute dolls and the great items for sale. 100% of the money goes to the orphanage and right now I think shipping is free on these dolls! Only 25 more days until we go to Haiti and we would really like to take enough money down to get the orphanage a generator!

6 months and Still Counting

Dear IBESR Director,

We have been waiting for 6 long months to get your approval so that our new parents can officially be our parents. I know that 6 months is really not that much time in the big scheme of things but to us a 5 year old and a 2 year old it seems like forever. Knowing that we have a family that wants us and we want to be with them and making it official should not take this long. In the eyes of a 5 year old it seems simple they want us, we want them lets shake on it and then let us go home. I am not even sure what home is but I know the feeling I have inside when my mom comes to visit and I get to see pictures and I get to talk to my brothers and sisters through the computer I know it is a place I want to be. I already know my brothers and sisters even though I have only met one of them. I want to be able to cuddle at night with my mom and listen to a bedtime story, that is of course, after my long bubble bath, and yummy dinner. I know you are making sure that everything is in order but please hurry I want to be home with my whole family and every day longer that it takes is one less day that I get to spend with the people that I love and I know those people love me, they are my family!

Thank you for listening,
Destina and Avrie

Just Imagine

Loved this ad....just imagine!

Favorite Family Foto!

Thanks Jessica for taking our family pictures you did a great job! This one is my favorite!

Too Sweet Not To Share!

I had a great Mother's Day my kids were really fun and sweet, but the card that I thought was the funnest was Ryan's that he made at school. He gave it to me on Friday as he couldn't wait until Sunday for me to open his present and read his card. I love that he couldn't wait and wanted me to see what he had made and to read the card.


I really love how I have him fooled enough to think that I would do better running the world and that I help other countries, and best of all I can do it in one day! Shhh... don't tell him I'm a fraud!

Finally!

We received the death certificates for Ellie and Gracie last night. We have been waiting on them for a long time, we were told we would have them in January on our visit but then we were told that they would be here next week and then another next week and finally it is next week! We need these certificates so that the US government will know NOT to do the orphan investigation on them, and so that they can officially close their case. When we go down in June we will be filing again asking the US government to start their orphan investigation on Avrie, we needed Ellie and Gracie's files to be closed.
It made me really sad to actually see the documents, this makes it official, they are gone. How many children die in Haiti without someone petitioning weekly for their death certificates? How many children die and no one even knows the child's name? How many mothers bury their children in Haiti all because of something that could so easily be fixed here. No child should have to die from malnutrition, yet it happens daily in Haiti.

We Will Remember You!

Ellie Kithana Gordon
Jan 5, 2007- May 5, 2008

I am a huge Amy Grant fan and one of her songs "I'll Remember You" is one that I think of when I think of Ellie and Gracie..I will remember you....

I will be walking one day
Down a street far away
And see a face in the crowd and smile
Knowing how you made me laugh
Hearing sweet echoes of you from the past
I will remember you.

Look in my eyes while you're near
Tell me what's happening here
See that I don't want to say good-bye
Our love is frozen in time
I'll be your champion and you'll be mine
I will remember
I will remember you.

Later on
When this fire is an ember
Later on
When the night's not so tender
Given time
Though it's hard to remember darlin'
I will be holding
I'll still be holding to you
I will remember you.

So many years come and gone
And yet the memory is strong
One word we never could learn
Good-bye
True love is frozen in time
I'll be your champion and you'll be mine
I will remember you
So please remember
I will remember you
I will remember you
I will remember you
I will remember you.

Our Family Picture at the Tulip Fields

Two years ago when we were at the Tulip Festival and we had just started this adoption process we naively said to ourselves that "next year we will come down here and take our family pictures here after we bring our little girl home!" Well, that was 2007, and in 2008 we didn't go to the festival, but we decided to go this year. As I was walking around I remembered my previous thoughts and felt a little sad that we would not have all of our family members in our family pictures at the Tulip Fields this year again....do I dare hold out hope for next year?


When I got home I thought I would just add the girls to our family picture so here is our whole family at the Tulip Festival!

What do you think? How much longer will I have to photo shop the girls into our family pictures?