1 Visa, 1 to go

We found out tonight that Isaiah has received his Visa, but they have not secured one for Annecy yet. We are hoping first thing tomorrow and then on a plane. We will keep you posted.

Also, we wanted to share, we have a friend who is a Pastor at Applegate Christian Fellowship, close to Medford, OR He knows a wonderful artist who wanted to paint some pictures of Haitian people to raise money for Haiti. He asked us if we had collected any random pictures over the years and we sent him some. He just sent us a link to a newspaper article that displayed the first picture she has painted. It just happens to be our daughter! If you click on the Title of this post "1 Visa, 1 to go" it will pull up the link to the article in the paper. Hopefully tomorrows post will say we are flying out.

Sleeping "Safely" in Haiti

Well,, we did not get visa's today, they spent all day at the embassy and we got word this evening that no progress was made, as the embassy was "stonewalling." We got slightly discouraged for about an hour, until we got a message that said, they were all spending the night inside the embassy gates, so they will be the first ones in line in the morning. I guess you could say, this is their first night sleeping on American soil. If they are first in line tomorrow, then hopefully they will secure visa's for all 56 kids and be able to fly out on Saturday or Sunday. Please Pray!

There were 4 dads that flew into the dominican republic yesterday and drove across the Haitian border this morning. They arrived at the orphanage to help escort the kids to the U.S. in the planes. One of them had a blackberry and took a small video of all 56 kids in the back of the van that the orphanage uses (a moving truck with the roller door detached and bars welded on the doorway) All kids were loaded up after trying to borrow shoes, socks and the cleanest clothes from the kids that weren't going, to make a whole outfit for the ones that were going. They were saying goodbye's in case it would be the last time they saw all of their friends. The little girl right in front is the daughter of the Directors Hal and Chris, Hal is going to have to stay behind to take care of the children that were not adopted and look for new living quarters. She was not happy about leaving her daddy, he is the one giving her one last kiss at the end of the video. As the van was getting ready to drive off, you can hear the kids singing the christian song "Our God is Mighty to Save," Guard you heart strings, cause they are going to get pulled. Signing off until tomorrow.

They are at the Embassy!

We just got word this morning that the kids are at the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince getting visa's. They have secured a plane to leave as soon as they have aquired them. They will fly to Dayton Ohio, as that is where Chris and Hal (the orphanage directors) are from. There are a few churches there that are allowing the kids to stay there while they wait for parents to come and get them. As soon as we hear they are on a plane, we will get a ticket for Tadd and send him to bring them home!

Kenya and Elijah are so excited, we are not sure which on of us is more excited. Please pray for the Medical Appts. in the next couple of weeks, that the insurance would possibly retro back to the day they got home, once we get the paperwork turned in. We have been on the phone lots, trying to get things set up for them, so when they get home we can return to some normalcy as quick as possible. I am sure it will be crazy the next couple of weeks, trying to work it all out, but the Lord has taken us this far, I am sure he is not backing out now.

Please pray for a safe flight for Tadd there and back and that the Lord would take care of any fears or worries that our kids have after coming out of such a disturbing mess. The orphanage director said, some of the kids are very afraid to go into buildings as they have seen the devastation that comes when they collapse. I think she may have been reffering to some of the younger kids, but I am sure there are some people who would say our kids might be pretty messed up after all they have been through. We are sure that God will be faithful to calm their fears and help them work through whatever may arise. Thank you so much for all of the wonderful people who have blessed us more that we could have imagine.

We were reflecting back over the last 9 years of this adoption journey and watching the craziness that is going on with some adoptive parents taking things into their own hands and making it more difficult for large groups of prphanages to get kids out, as they are stuck behind the people who have pushed their way to the front and clogged the Haitian airport with private planes, not allowing supply planes and rescue workers to land. We decided that we may have been able to get our kids home sooner if we had maybe pushed more or gone to Haiti and forced some people's hands in certain situations. This may or may not have been productive. But as we look back and see in the situations that we sat back and waited on the Lord, He provided mighty miracles to occur for us and others to see. He provided us with other wonderful people to bless us when we could not get the things we needed. He has blessed us way more and shown himself way bigger than we ever could have fathomed. So if we had to do it all over again, would we do it differently. Absolutly not! We love you guys and we look forward to posting some sweet picutures of our family in one big hug, finally on American soil.

Prayer needs!

We have a couple of prayer requests, we got off the phone this morning with the state department and they said, they are going to fly all the orphans to New York or Miami in the next couple of days and have parents come and claim them. They may only be able to tell us our kids are on their way, when they are taking off from Haiti. That is only 2 or 3 hours away from either of these places. Needless to say we will have to get a round trip ticket for Tadd out of Sea Tac and two one ways for Isaiah and Annecy. We had a reserve account for our plane ticket money, but just used it for fee's and things. We were waiting for our tax return to put it back and obvioulsy we can't wait that long. If you could pray that the Lord would continue to bring the Glory to Him by performing yet another miricle, we would be really blessed.

Also, the state departments is recommending that we take them to the Dr as soon as they get home because of disease and damage, not to mention dehydration and malnutrition. They will not be covered by our health insurance until we fill out the paperwork and are accepted. Please help us lift all these things up to the Lord as He already knows and we know He has a plan. We have a Big God who loves to do Miracles! Thanks for your prayers.

Our kids are coming home!

We just heard from the state department that if you have paperwork saying you were in the process of adoption (in some cases even just pictures of you with them) you are eligable for a "Humanitarian Parole Visa" We definantly have lots of pictures, so I think were good. They did say they would be handling these Visas on a case by case basis, so it may mean it will take a little longer than expected, but we'll take it! It sure beats starting over, when Haiti gets back to normal. We will keep you updated on exactly when we hear they will be here, but it should be with in the next 2 weeks or so. Wow! just saying it seems so surreal.

If you know anyone who has lots of hand me downs for a very skinny size 10-12 girl and a very skinny size 10-12 boy. Please let us know. We have had 2 beds in the kids rooms since they were infants, but we stopped buying clothes for them after the 3rd time they grew out of the ones we bought and never got a chance to where them.

Only a awesome, wonderful, amazing God could have orchestrated a blessing like this, 2 weeks before we were going to have to pay $1350.00 dollars to redo paperwork that was due to expire in February. He is way too amazing for me to fathom! Please pray that this visa process is expedited quickly and that our kids will be safe and feed until then. We got an e-mail 2 days ago that said they had rationed the kids down to 2 meals a day and they were waiting for tents to come, as they are sleeping in the backyard of the church with no covering and rain was forcasted for today. Needless to say rain coming when there are 1000's of dead bodies stuck under rubble, will spread alot of sickness and disease.

We will keep you posted as to what we hear, until the day we can finally say (after 9+ years) our kids our finally sleeping in our arms tonight. Never, Never, Never doubt a God who promises he has a plan to prosper you and that if I have a desire to give good gifts to my children and I am sinful, how much more does He want to give good gifts to those who ask. (Jerimiah 29:11) (Matthew 7:11)

WE ARE SO EXCITED! Thanks for sharing it with us!

Please Pray for Haiti!

As many of you know there was a 7.0 earthquake in Haiti today, 10 miles from where our kids live. We got word that one wall of the orphanage did collapse, but by God's protection, none of the children were hurt. When we got word it was about an hour after the quake and all of the kids and the directors were standing in the driveway experiencing the 5.9 aftershock. The "Delmas" (the area where are kids are located) reported there were more houses fallen than standing. There was a cloud of dust over Port-au-prince from the numerous cement buildings falling and raising dust into the air.

Given the circumstances we are very blessed that the orphanage did not collapse. We are not sure what the future hold for the orphanage, as the drinking water will be hard to aquire and the grocery store will be out of commision, along with no electricity or little gas to run generators. Please pray for the orphanage and the directors, as they have a long hard road ahead of them.

We are also unsure exactly what this means for our adoption as the presidential palace has collapsed, (this is a before and after)

along with many of the government offices. Needless to say adoption paper work will be a last priority for a while, if it can even be found.

We know our God has done many miricles up to this point to bring our kids home and they will not cease now. We also know that these miricles have been made possible, by your prayers and intercession. So, please join with us, as we yet again, pray for the certain victory over this next hurdle. God knows exactly what month, what day and what time our kids feet will touch american soil and He alone will get the praise on that day.

Thank you to all of you that sent notes and called on the phone to inquire about our sweet kids. It means a lot that you are thinking of us and concerned for our children. We will keep you updated when we hear anything.

Psalm 91:9-16

If you make the Most High your dwelling place, even the Lord, who is my refuge,

then no harm will befall you, no disaster will come near you tent,

for He will command Angels concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.

They will lift you up in thier hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone...

"because he loves me," says the Lord, I will rescue him.

I will protect him for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him,

I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

God is, and always will be Amazing!

We have yet another story to write in our "God is way to good to us" book. We got a call from our Lawyer (you know the pro bono one that He provided) this morning saying that CPS's Lawyer called her to say they are overturning the neglect finding on Charity's case! The trial was not even supposed to be until later this month, but God wanted to show himself strong, so He did it even before the trial. Our lawyer had explained to the CPS lawyer that I could not have this on my file for adoption, church or future occupational purposes as we would not be able to work or serve in the comunity. She said our plan was to drag the trial out for a year, do lots of community service and then ask them in a year to overturn the finding as the media would not care by that point, since we all knew that is why they came up with the neglect finding anyway. Their lawyer said she would call the CPS office and get back with her. When she called back she said she put some pressure on them to overturn the charge, and they did! Now there will be no trial, no findings, nothing on Charity's file! There are not words on this earth to express how great our God is.


Tadd gave a message on Christmas Sunday that talked about the verse that says "His name shall be called Immanuel." Immanuel means "God with us," I think that is a very fitting verse for our lives as God has shown himself to be Immanuel over and over again. And the crazy thing is, I'm sure He is not done! Thank you so much for all of your prayers, I know we could not have done this with out all of your prayers. God chooses to give us the gift of prayer, to unlock all of the beautiful things he wants to bless us with. You have all been wonderful intercessors, to allow all of our blessings to come showering down. You all mean so much to us and we are blessed beyond measure to have you as friends and family.


Now for the little stuff. We had a great new year, we had a church new years eve party and our house and we weren't sure if we would be up to bring in the new year, as we have a large amount of small children in our church. But apparently we have enough college kids and young marrieds to have plenty of company to toast sparkling cider with at 12:00. It was so much fun. Kenya was our little babysitter with 4 new baby's in the church. Tadd and Elijah really cleaned up nice for the party with the help of Elijah's spiderman shaving kit he got for Christmas, (no blades in the shaver of course) He loves using it with Daddy.


We are also getting lots of white stuff that Kenya and Elijah have been playing in, and Patches (the dog) refuses to go out in, despite how much she wants to chase the cars. Here's a short video of what to do with a dog who needs to expend some energy, a red light and some already fading carpet. (It's a little long, so feel free to cut it off.)