It may be raining and dark outside but there is sunshine on our path. We were able to get our dossier authenticated and mailed to Chicago. It arrived early this morning. God willing it will be in the right hands on Friday to be taken to Haiti. Soooo very excited.
Another spot of sunshine was our visit with Jimmy last night. He was in such a good mood and his sweet personality was shining. His English is getting so much better. He talked to us and had few things translated. We laughed together. I went away with a much more positive attitude. God knew I needed to see my boy smile and laugh. Hunter said the announcement to the the rest of CHCH went well and Jimmy seems to be in good spirits since with a better attitude. He is being a typical kid in a not so typical situation. I had been worried but once again God had it all under control. Thank you for your continued prayer.
We are preparing for our benefit dinner and auction this week. Please pray that everyone there will be blessed by being there.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Being Authentic and Parenting From a Distance
Not sure I should be writing this right now. I am totally overwhelmed with life, this process, and just everything adoption requires of you. I will start with how the day went yesterday. We had everything gathered together except for one thing. After many, many phone calls, we finally got a hold of the psychologist that did our psych evaluation and he said we could come pick up our letter. So I get in the car and head to OKC to pick up the letter and get everything authenticated. I was so excited to have everything ready and be able to send to the Haitian Embassy. I go to the Capital to the Secretary of State offices. I was a little intimidated by the process already. I start handing the guy our papers. The first two or three..fine. Then he says this one won't work, this one either. WHAT? I remain calm on the outside and let him finish. In the end, he authenticated 9 of the 15. Basically, we have to redo 6 of our documents. That may not sound like a big deal, but it is. I called Rob and start to cry. He let me go so I could compose myself and we can devise a plan. Rob, being the task oriented person he is, springs into action. By the end of the day, we had three of the documents ready to be notarized again. This morning we got the rest done. Everything is ready to go back to be authenticated tomorrow. Rob will be taking it back up. So relieved but man am I drained. Our goals is still to be able to send everything to Haiti by May 2. There will be a Chances 4 Children representative that is going to Haiti that day and will take our dossier and hand deliver it to the lawyer. Please pray that we can meet this goal and be that much closer to having Jimmy home.
So, after the stressful day, we get to skype with Jimmy. A great ending to a bad day...well not exactly. Unfortunately, our sweet boy is having some trouble dealing with this whole thing. He has not told any of his friends at CHCH, and Hunter and Jillian feel like keeping this "secret" is starting to weigh on him. He has been disobedient to Hunter and Jillian and short with the little kids. Nothing out of control, but just out of the norm for him. We are so blessed to have Hunter and Jillian there. They took him aside and discussed the situation. He was not surprised with their comments and said he felt bad. They suggested he tell his friends. He asked that they help him by telling everyone at devo on Thursday. When we talked to him that evening, we reiterated that no matter how he is feeling he still has to act appropriately, etc. etc. He looked so sad. I know he is dealing with so much. I can't imagine what is going on in his head. I ache to be able to bring him home and hug him and try to understand. Please pray for Jimmy. Pray that everything goes well Thursday evening and that his friends react in a supportive way. Pray for Hunter and Jillian. They have the enormous task to parent sixty children and give all of them the love and support they need. We did end the conversation on a good note. Rylan and Kyndal came in and said hello. Kyndal asked if he liked Justin Bieber. Jillian said they all have Bieber fever. :) We told him we loved him and would talk again soon. He said goodnight with a smile.
The process is so delicate. Your foundation is always moving and you have to keep up while juggling all of it plus normal life. That is hard enough but throw a teenager in the mix with all of his emotions and feelings and this momma is drowning today. I don't want to sound dramatic or "poor me". I just want you to know what is going on so you can pray for us and this journey. God is good all the time!
One last thing, our bbq dinner is a week from Saturday. We will stop selling tickets after this weekend. If you live close enough, please come. If you don't please pray for it to be a success. The expenses have been piling up and we could really use a boost in the adoption fund. We also pray that it will be a blessing to everyone who comes. There will be yummy food, good entertainment, and great company. We have some awesome things for the silent auction you don't want to miss. Get your cowboy duds on and join the fun! Saturday, April 30 5-8 pm Central Church of Christ.
So, after the stressful day, we get to skype with Jimmy. A great ending to a bad day...well not exactly. Unfortunately, our sweet boy is having some trouble dealing with this whole thing. He has not told any of his friends at CHCH, and Hunter and Jillian feel like keeping this "secret" is starting to weigh on him. He has been disobedient to Hunter and Jillian and short with the little kids. Nothing out of control, but just out of the norm for him. We are so blessed to have Hunter and Jillian there. They took him aside and discussed the situation. He was not surprised with their comments and said he felt bad. They suggested he tell his friends. He asked that they help him by telling everyone at devo on Thursday. When we talked to him that evening, we reiterated that no matter how he is feeling he still has to act appropriately, etc. etc. He looked so sad. I know he is dealing with so much. I can't imagine what is going on in his head. I ache to be able to bring him home and hug him and try to understand. Please pray for Jimmy. Pray that everything goes well Thursday evening and that his friends react in a supportive way. Pray for Hunter and Jillian. They have the enormous task to parent sixty children and give all of them the love and support they need. We did end the conversation on a good note. Rylan and Kyndal came in and said hello. Kyndal asked if he liked Justin Bieber. Jillian said they all have Bieber fever. :) We told him we loved him and would talk again soon. He said goodnight with a smile.
The process is so delicate. Your foundation is always moving and you have to keep up while juggling all of it plus normal life. That is hard enough but throw a teenager in the mix with all of his emotions and feelings and this momma is drowning today. I don't want to sound dramatic or "poor me". I just want you to know what is going on so you can pray for us and this journey. God is good all the time!
One last thing, our bbq dinner is a week from Saturday. We will stop selling tickets after this weekend. If you live close enough, please come. If you don't please pray for it to be a success. The expenses have been piling up and we could really use a boost in the adoption fund. We also pray that it will be a blessing to everyone who comes. There will be yummy food, good entertainment, and great company. We have some awesome things for the silent auction you don't want to miss. Get your cowboy duds on and join the fun! Saturday, April 30 5-8 pm Central Church of Christ.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
One step closer...
Our home study is finished! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is being looked over by our agency then we will have it translated and authenticated. So glad to know we are moving forward. Please pray our psych evaluation is written by Friday. The pyschologist is taking his time to get it done. We really need to have everything ready to go by May 2; so, it can be HAND DELIVERED to the IBESR in Haiti. Thank you!
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Lil' Buckaroo BBQ Dinner & Silent Auction
Adoption Benefit Dinner
& Silent Auction
Saturday, April 30 5-8 pm
Tickets can be purchased by April 23rd at The Brown Box on Main Street
$15 for Adults. $5 for kids 4-12. Kids under 3 eat free.
$15 for Adults. $5 for kids 4-12. Kids under 3 eat free.
Our Sweet Boy
Every time I look at this sweet face, I am reminded of why all the work and stress is worth it.
We are nearing the end of our dossier prep. We have sent what we have to the translator and have authenticated our Texas and Colorado documents. The home study report and psych evaluation should be done by Thursday so I can make a trip to OKC to have it authenticated. We will then send those to the translator. We will send our home study and application to Homeland Security to get the US clearance. At the same time, we will send all the documents to Chicago to the Haitian Embassy to be signed off on. Many, many steps but we are getting so closer. I think both Rob and I are more stressed during this stage than ever before. We are so anxious to get it done and into Haiti's hands. From there it is out of our control, but I guess it is really never in our control only in God's hands. Please continue to pray for the dossier prep and fundraising. We have a big goal coming up. Also, pray for Jimmy. He is doing great but I am sure the waiting can seem like eternity.
If you live close to Ada, be sure to buy your tickets for our benefit dinner and silent auction.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Lil' Buckaroo BBQ Dinner & Silent Auction
We are one of 3 families that are hosting this benefit dinner to help raise money for our adoptions through tickets sold for a BBQ dinner and with a silent auction. We are still working out all the details but are hoping to make this event not just about raising money to bring our children home, but also raising awareness to the orphan crisis.
The plan for the night is that we will start at 5pm with dinner and silent auction to go on throughout the night. In addition to the dinner and silent auction, there will be music, door prizes, some guest speakers, videos, and more! Of course, the theme is cowboys/cowgirls so we encourage everyone to dress accordingly although it is not required. It will be fun for the whole family and kids 3 and under can eat free!
You can buy tickets directly on our blogs through the PayPal link posted off to the side or just email one of us or post on our blogs and we will see that you get your tickets. $15.00 for adults, $5.00 for children over 3, and 3 and under eat free.
If you have anything you would like to donate to our auction or have any ideas for us, we would love to know and will be more than happy to include it in.
Here is a little bit about the other families this benefit will help support.
The plan for the night is that we will start at 5pm with dinner and silent auction to go on throughout the night. In addition to the dinner and silent auction, there will be music, door prizes, some guest speakers, videos, and more! Of course, the theme is cowboys/cowgirls so we encourage everyone to dress accordingly although it is not required. It will be fun for the whole family and kids 3 and under can eat free!
You can buy tickets directly on our blogs through the PayPal link posted off to the side or just email one of us or post on our blogs and we will see that you get your tickets. $15.00 for adults, $5.00 for children over 3, and 3 and under eat free.
If you have anything you would like to donate to our auction or have any ideas for us, we would love to know and will be more than happy to include it in.
Here is a little bit about the other families this benefit will help support.
The Brown Family
Christy & Tyson have 2 boys Winston & Wyatt and have just mailed off their application to adopt a little girl from Ghana. We met this couple when we first moved to Ada. They are such a great family. Winston & Rylan are in the same class at school and have become good buds. We can't wait to meet the sweet little girl God has picked out for them. Follow their journey on All You Need Is Love.
The O'Neal Family
Joely & Jason O'Neal have a two year old boy, Jalen; and they are adopting a boy or girl under the age of 2 from Ethiopia. They are waiting on a few last documents to get finalized and will have their dossier in the mail this week! I met them at the first It's A Child's Life meeting. We are happy to know them and have the opportunity to be a part of their adoption journey. You can read about their story on Expecting from Ethiopia.
Hope to see you there!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Psych
Let me start off by thanking everyone who came to our benefit show yesterday. We are so blessed to have your support. I will post more on the show later when I have a pics and video ready to post.
I want to ask that you pray for us tomorrow. We are headed to Edmond for our psychological evaluation. Not really worried about it, just want it to be over. Thanks to my mother in law Kathie for watching the kids while we go.
Skyped with Jimmy tonight. I just cannot really put into words how great it is when I see him and hear his voice. The only word I can think of is JOY. It feels me with joy. He is doing well. Hunter and Jillian (the orphanage administrators) are taking the kids to the beach tomorrow. He was excited about that. He said he and the rest of the kids at CHCH passed their exams this week. They know they passed just not their grade yet. Looking forward to hearing that later. He seems to be relaxing more. His English is improving and he is gaining confidence. He got to meet Nana (rob's mom). He said "hello nana". He has no idea how many family and friends are looking forward to his homecoming. Anyway, we also got to Richard. He and Jimmy have become good buddies and enjoy sitting in on each other's family skypes. Such sweet boys.
One more quick story. We are currently trying to sell our house and looking for something a little bigger. Well we went to lunch today with Sam and Kathie. We ate at a little place here in Ada called Folgers. We sat at the counter and Kathie struck up a conversation with the lady next to her. The lady was from Colorado (where Kathie is from) and she was here fixing up her parents' house to sell. Long story short, we went and looked at it and liked it. I am not sure if this is the house but I kind of feel God's hand in it. Please add our home search and selling to your prayer list. We are asking for it to all workout at just the right time. Also for us to be patient and let God take the lead. Thank you!
I want to ask that you pray for us tomorrow. We are headed to Edmond for our psychological evaluation. Not really worried about it, just want it to be over. Thanks to my mother in law Kathie for watching the kids while we go.
Skyped with Jimmy tonight. I just cannot really put into words how great it is when I see him and hear his voice. The only word I can think of is JOY. It feels me with joy. He is doing well. Hunter and Jillian (the orphanage administrators) are taking the kids to the beach tomorrow. He was excited about that. He said he and the rest of the kids at CHCH passed their exams this week. They know they passed just not their grade yet. Looking forward to hearing that later. He seems to be relaxing more. His English is improving and he is gaining confidence. He got to meet Nana (rob's mom). He said "hello nana". He has no idea how many family and friends are looking forward to his homecoming. Anyway, we also got to Richard. He and Jimmy have become good buddies and enjoy sitting in on each other's family skypes. Such sweet boys.
One more quick story. We are currently trying to sell our house and looking for something a little bigger. Well we went to lunch today with Sam and Kathie. We ate at a little place here in Ada called Folgers. We sat at the counter and Kathie struck up a conversation with the lady next to her. The lady was from Colorado (where Kathie is from) and she was here fixing up her parents' house to sell. Long story short, we went and looked at it and liked it. I am not sure if this is the house but I kind of feel God's hand in it. Please add our home search and selling to your prayer list. We are asking for it to all workout at just the right time. Also for us to be patient and let God take the lead. Thank you!
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