april showers...

Wahoo, April updates are here!



Mickenson:

“Mickenson loves to cuddle. The times when he is sitting in someone’s lap are the rare moments when he is content to quietly sit still... He loves to climb and jump and does not hesitate to lead the group in active play.  The children are enjoying using a new soccer net donated by Wanguet's family and have been learning how to kick a soccer ball as their recess activity."

"Mickenson's writing skills continue to improve as he works on his letters in school.  Mickenson is currently learning conversational phrases in English and reciting a weekly Bible verse which he is also learning in English."

"Mickenson is growing anxious to meet his adoptive mother. He asks what her name is often and hopes to receive a photo album when she comes to visit him. [I promise little man, I am coming (with photo book in hand)!!!] When asked if Mickenson had a special message for his family, he asked if he could give toys to the other children. When asked what kinds of toys he wanted to share, he looked up into the sky and said ‘Trees. Birds.’”

What a fabulous idea, I now want to share trees and birds with my friends too!


Ashley:
“Ashley continues to thrive on individual attention. He loves to run with toys in his hands and grows excited when he is chased. He is particularly fond of his big brother and smiles when Mickenson enters the room.” :) I am so glad that they have each other. Mickenson's report also said that he wanted to make sure Ashley was going to be a part of our new family too. Love.

“Ashley continues to enjoy his family photos on the wall and likes to place his hand on them while he is looking at them.”

They included the following in both boys' reports...

“The President elect was announced on April 5, 2011. The older children were in the school room when they heard Auntie Elta shouting on the phone outside. Ten faces peeked around the corner to see Auntie Elta calling to the other aunties that Michel Martelly is president. The children ran outside to dance with Auntie Elta and Auntie Kettly as they sang “Michel Martelly Prezidan!” Auntie Evorse was at the top of the outdoor crèche steps throwing Carlo into the air and dancing with him while the infants and toddlers were peering over the patio with their Aunties who shouted over the crèche wall to those on the other side that Michel Martelly is President. There was great commotion and excitement in Kenscoff with this news.”

I love how they so vividly described such an impactful and exciting event. :)

They received the last and final document needed for my boys' paperwork at last!  This means we can start the process of waiting on the IBESR (Haitian Child and Family Services department) - hurry up and wait right.  I will be heading back down to Haiti in two weeks to visit the boys and file my I-600. I am excited beyond expression!!! Thank you so much to everyone who has given me items for the kids down there, I will take LOTS of pictures.


march update...

mick:

“Mickenson made a new art project this month. He chose the color yellow with great thought and made sure his finished product would be sent to Mama. While looking at his photos of Mama and London, he asked what Mama’s name was and smiled as he repeated the name Natalie.”     oh my gosh :)

“Mickenson has an engaging smile when he is playing. He has more energy than time allows him to burn but that doesn’t stop him from trying! He loves to receive individual attention and to have his hand held. Mickenson lingers near adults seeking a lap in which he can cuddle. He is a very affectionate child who folds into one’s embrace and will remain there for long periods of time.”     Ok, I am freaking ready to cuddle with this little man.
 
 
ash:

“Ashley is learning the difference between throwing toys in-front of himself and throwing them at other children.” (haha) “Ashley loves to be by your side. He will bring toys to show you and will follow you from room to room. He loves to be chased and will giggle in delight as he runs and then turns to be sure you are chasing him. He also enjoys chasing after toys and bringing them back.”

“Ashley likes to look at the photo of his Mama on the wall.”


I am so very grateful for the women who create these reports, take time to send me photos of my boys and capture their cute little hand prints.  It is a remarkable gift, when I can't be there to watch them grow myself. 


It looks like I will be heading back down to Haiti in May!!! I am thrilled, so excited to see the boys and to keep things moving with the US immigration stuff. I will be filing an I-600 immigration form down in Port-au-Prince for the boys during this trip. The I-600 is a petition to classify an orphan as an immediate relative. It is a bit of a process (understatement), so I am glad to get it started sooner rather than later.  Things are moving, and that is good...

On an informational note, it looks like the political climate in Haiti may be changing? Round two of voting for a new President in Haiti took place on March 20, 2011. It appears that Michel Martelly, a Haitian pop star, won the election, although the official results won't come out until next week.  I don’t really know much about politics, especially down in Haiti. But it would be nice to see any sort of change down there.

Also, several people have asked me if there are things the orphanages need that they can send down there.  Right now, they are in need of childrens' vitamins (not the gummy kind though because they melt in the million degree weather), cloth diapers, plastic diaper covers, wipes and lotion.  If you have any of these things that you might like to send down with me, just let me know.

february update... a little late

I got my February update a couple of weeks ago and have actually been waiting for a little more information before posting, but since I am still waiting, I will post a little update.

I sent down a package for the boys last month with some friends of mine, which they received. I packed some coloring stuff (Mickenson likes to color), cars (Ashley loves cars), balls, and candy. And pictures of me and London. I was anxious to see what they thought of the photos...

“Mickenson received the photos of his adoptive family and likes to look at them and show the other children his mama, London, and his room.”

“Ashley received the photos of his adoptive mother and sister. The photos were placed above his crib and on the wall across from his crib. When picked up and held in front of the photos, Ashley placed his hand on his adoptive mother’s photo and stared intently for some time. When shifted, he turned back to stare at the photo again.”

Be still my heart.

I am still waiting to hear about where the boys’ paperwork is at. I remember at the beginning of all of this, talking to a Dr. friend of mine who (coincidentally) had adopted two little kids from Haiti (maybe not so coincidental). Anyways, she was talking to me about the time spent waiting for the adoption to go through and how long it took. She said that she actually didn’t like to think about that time of waiting for too long or it would take her back and make her cry again. I totally get it. This has been a particularly hard month. I am so anxious to see those boys, I get very emotional about it.

The good news is, once I hear from my agency about the boys’ paperwork being completed, I can go back down to Haiti to file my I-600 Immigration form. I didn’t think I would be able to do this until much later, like Summer. But it looks like I may be going down in a month or two. I can’t even express how excited I am... really can’t even express it. So, that is the info I am waiting on for now, I check my e-mail literally 1200 times a day.

A couple cute shots of the boys with their updates....

happy, happy, happy ashley :)

 

ashley sleeping

they took a couple group shots of the kids in the mountain orphanage - Mickenson is in the back in the white t-shirt, looking tough.

You can't really see Ashley in this one of all the kids, but Mickenson is in the front on the very far left. This kind of gives you an idea of how stunning the mountains in the background are. It is a breathtaking country.

i looooooove this picture of Mick - seriously, look at his little face. :)

more pictures :) - thanks to tonya!

Happy valentines to me :)  Thanks to my wonderful friend Tonya, I got a whole bunch of new pictures of the boys last week! Tonya is my amazing beautiful talented friend who is also adopting an adorable little boy from the same orphanage as my boys. She was down there last week and graciously took the time to snap about a hundred photos of Mickenson and Ashley for me! Needless to say, I owe her my life.  I know I am biased, but are these not the cutest little boys eva???

this is the beautiful Tonya, with her baby boy Jared on the right and Mickenson in the middle...

hahaha, he looks like superman! :)

i am so in love...



benson brothers

Benson Brothers - that was the title they put on my January update.  Yesssssss, I love it.

Getting updates from the orphanage for me is like being a 6-year-old on Christmas morning. As I can attest, having witnessed an actual 6-year-old on Christmas morning one month ago - it is pretty darn exciting. Since there was no report in December, they must have felt the need to compensate a little bit, and sent TONS of photos too.

brothers

ashley, 17 months - mickenson, 4 years and 2 months

cute ashley :)

hahahahahahaha

k, I think he looks like Mickenson in this one:

Mickenson :)

he looks so happy! :)

 babe.

 
Ashley’s report made me laugh out loud. Here is part of it:

“Behavior: Ashley is a calm and content child. He enjoys receiving affection from the nannies as well as using his walking skills. He is strong and a quick mover. Ashley walks from friend to friend and taps them. He has good balance but tends to knock his friends down who are not as sure footed.... He is a solid child with a strong hand and surprises himself when he knocks his friends down.”  Hahaha, funny little guy knocking his  friends over.

Mickenson is growing up too fast. He already looks older to me in these pictures. I wish I could freeze time (I have had this desire ever since London turned one). He is learning English now and they say he is a very active child:

“Mickenson is most often seen with a smile on his face.  He likes to join in group activities and finds happiness by keeping busy with his friends.  He enjoys outside play time and the freedom it gives him to burn off energy. He likes to swing, run, catch and throw. Mickenson gets along well with the other boys in his age group. When he feels overwhelmed, he likes to be held and cuddled. Mickenson states that his friends at the crèche are Ashley and Ms. Elud. He continues to enjoy art projects, especially coloring.”

Both boys are in good health and as the nannies at the crèche put it, “thanks to God that there have not been any major sicknesses at the crèche during this month.”

10 children from the crèche were released to their adoptive families in the past month, which is very encouraging.  They are so darling, I don't know how much longer I can wait.  Oh ya, THIS much longer:

process from here on out...
So... my ridiculous naivete never ceases to amaze me. A while back I sort of gave a brief run-down of the adoption process. Silly me, apparently I left off like 10 or 20 steps. Ok, not that many. But it seems like it. For everyone who has asked about the process and length of waiting, here is a little update on that. What I understand of it, at least.  It really isn't that bad or that long, especially compared to other International Adoption standards.
 
The Haitian government agency through which all adoptions are processed through is the IBESR. That is where the adoption file may sit for an unknown period of time. Some may sit for 6 months or more, while others (such as two recent friends of mine) may have theirs approved within 2 or 3 months. This is where I will be as soon as my boys’ documents are processed (most likely in a matter of weeks), waiting for IBESR to approve my files. This, however, is not the end of the road.

Once IBESR approves the file (or files in my case), they are then in PARQUET, where they stay for about 2 or 3 weeks until you get your final adoption decrees.

After that, the children will need to obtain Haitian passports from MOI which could take about 2 to 3 months (hopefully less).

Finally, an I-600 United States Immigration form must be submitted (and physically filed down in Haiti) and an I-604 investigation completed before the boys will be allowed to enter the United States. This could take about 2 to 3 months as well.

Bottom line: long and slow journey baby.

In the interim, I would LOVE to go back to Haiti and actually meet my boys in person. Seriously, so bad.  I can't let myself think about it, because I want to so bad.  But, to avoid unnecessary costs and additional emotional trauma, I am thinking I will need to wait until it is time to go down there and file my I-600.  Until then, I have compiled a little package to send down to them.  My agency let me know that I could send photos and letters that they will hang up in the boys' rooms.  Love, love, love.

mickenson

No updates on the boys in December. In case you hadn’t heard, the initial November elections in Haiti did not go well. There was severe rioting enough to shut down the city and the airport for weeks. Subsequent elections have now been postponed indefinitely. So, the wonderful woman who creates our monthly reports was not able to travel through Port-au-Prince up to the orphanage. I swear there is no peace in this country. Given the lack of update, I decided to post this picture of Mickenson taken about a year ago, right after the earthquake.

This is the first picture I ever saw of him. Peeking his eyes open while praying over a bowl of soup. I was with my friend Heather at the time and looking through Ty’s pictures of the orphanages he was helping at. I looked at this picture and told Heather that I seriously wanted to adopt one of these kids. “I would take that little boy right there.” Little did I know that Gina would specifically choose me for him 9 months later. We went and saw Alice In Wonderland that night, me, London, Heather, and her daughter Krystian (London’s BEST friend). I couldn’t sit through the movie without thinking about it the entire time. I felt giddy. It has been almost a year now, and I still feel just as giddy. :)