The rest of the story

Okay after some time of simmering down about my frusterating day I think I can share what went on today. First of all... thanks again so much to all my friends that cheer with me when we get good news and boo with me at the bad. ;) I really am so grateful for it!!!


Updated Note: To anyone new to the my blog I thought the following may be confusing so I'll briefly explain~ I used to have seizures and CA is for some reason not fans of convulsing and driving. ;) So now my seizures are under control and I'm ready to drive again. Just wanted to clear that up before being branded as a wild outlaw... lol~

So it started out with me going to my DMV (department of motorized vehicles) hearing to attempt to get my drivers license back. Theoretically I should have been driving again many months ago but between errors on the part of DMV and my doctors/insurance company my case with DMV has opened and closed more times then the door to a public restroom! Each time my case is closed again it takes months more to get it back open and my license remains suspended. I had high hopes that today might end the madness. We left around 8AM to be there before my 9AM hearing. I showed up early and signed in. My hearing officer and the receptionist called me up to the desk and said that I was not on their schedule and asked to see my letter that showed what time I was to appear. They were both puzzled as my letter did say 9AM. The hearing officer asked me if I would wait for her to complete her other 9:00 appointment and then she would come and get me. No problem! So I wait nearly an hour just to be called to the desk again. The receptionist asks for my letter again and then points out the date to me. My hearing was not today it was TWO days ago!!! My case was once again closed because I did not appear and I would need to reschedule another appointment. At this point any pride I had was long gone and I began to beg and plead with her to see if I could get in at anytime today. She asked me to have a seat and she would see what she could do. At this point I was just about to totally lose it. In the past when my case was closed it would take me several months to get another appointment which means several more months of not being able to drive. So I sat and sat and sat. At 10:45 she finally called me back to the desk (I've now been waiting 2 hours) to tell me that no one could see me and I had to reschedule. I was so mad at myself. After months and months of delays due to mistakes other people have made I now had made the biggest of them all. I looked at that letter with the hearing information so many times. The only thing I can figure out is that the 28th is written at the bottom of the letter so I must have confused that with the 26th at the top of the letter. Now a little bit of sort of good news. The receptionist must have taken pity on me because there was one appointment available for Tuesday, March 4th and the rest were months away. I'll take it!!! So now I get to attempt it all again next week. Lets hope I can manage showing up on the right day!




Then we get home and I check emails~ always hopeful of news from Haiti. This is when I was in for another unpleasant surprise: When we moved here 2 years ago we were told that Jim's company would want us to move again in about 2 years. Since we thought this was going to be temporary we decided to rent a home. We've really enjoyed a gorgeous (and big) 6 bedroom, 4 bath, 3 car garage home. Our lease ends at the end of next month so the owner of the home sent us a new lease to sign. I had to read it several times to make sure that I was really reading it correctly. We had been very up front with the Property management company about our adoptions before signing the original lease. I also made sure that the owner was aware of it to make sure that it would not be an issue later on. The new lease we received today actually said that we would agree to pay a large increase in rent when our children come home. It was very clear that our adopted children were the only reason for this increase. We actually would not have been mad if they just asked us straight to pay an increase but to use our additional children as an excuse did not sit well with us at all! Never before have I heard of anyone having to pay more because they had bio kids or adopted more children.



The big news is that we are now very seriously considering moving! On one hand I totally dread the idea of even more stress at what is already such a stress packed time in our life. However, this new lease, that at first made us kind of mad, got us looking online to see what other homes are going for. It turns out that if Jim is willing to commute just 15-20 minutes more each way we could save as much as $500-$700 a month on rent for an equally nice or nicer home. So now comes the decision... Do we hang tight in this house we really like and not add the stress of moving or is it totally worth it to just make a move happen and save a lot of money? We will need to make a decision soon so we can give our notice here. So it's time for lots of prayer about what we are supposed to be doing. It's totally not the best time to be adding more to our lives but may be worthwhile in the long run.



I apologize that this has become so long and rambling. I realize it is very likely it will not make any sense at all. This morning I woke up with hopes of celebrating the end of the drivers license nightmare and ended the day still unable to drive and now maybe having to find a new home, pack up and move. My brain is beyond fried and I'm totally wiped out. It will be interesting to see what comes of all of this.

Crummy and then really crummy....

So today was the day I both dreaded and looked forward to. Jim took the day off and we loaded up all the kids early this morning so they could drive me to my DMV hearing. Let's just say it did NOT go well and this time it's due to my mistake and my case has been closed YET again. As if that was not crummy enough we came home to a situation that has us outraged. I'm sure it does not help that I'm already not exactly in a giddy mood but I am really struggling with anger about this new situation. If you think of it please pray for us that we don't allow the anger to take over and do something that we'll totally regret later and could really impact our family.

Meanwhile... Poor Jim is upstairs in bed with a migraine. Oh boy... Not a good day around here at all. So glad it is almost weekend!

Getting Closer

I just received this information from NLL in an email:

Your children are still in MOI. I have just asked one the people that's working on our dossiers at MOI, she told me there is no problem with your dossier, and then Lovenie might have been signed but not out yet from MOI.

So I'm thrilled to hear there is no problem that might hold us up even longer. It sounds promising that Lovenie has been signed but I don't understand her being signed but not out of MOI. Any adopting readers that might know what this means? So, while not HUGE news it is just enough to reignite some hope that we may get the news we are so anxious to hear very soon!!!

This is why we wait......

More pictures of our precious children from Bryn (thanks Bryn!!!)

Wow! Thank you so much for the great amount of kindness and encouragement so many of you sent to me after yesterday's post. I share my thoughts (even when they are not happy) for a couple reasons. One of them is that it's like therapy for me to put into words what I'm feeling, another is to share with other families that are adopting or considering adopting the truth about what our adoption journey is really like. For those in the process we can share that we all have down days in the long wait and it's so nice to know you are not going insane alone. It's nice to know I'll have company when I'm locked up one day. ;) Seriously... Thank you so much for your kindness!

Please continue to pray for all the families that are seperated from the children they love and having to endure such long unexpected waits to be with them. Last night before going to sleep I asked Jim to pray with me over all my concerns and frustrations and it's amazing how much peace I felt afterwards. It's so great to know that God really truly understands and is right here with us working out the details to the outcome that He already knows about.

I've also discovered that I seem to have the same plan for dealing with happy days and not so happy days.... going to Disneyland! Jim dropped off me and the boys yesterday and we got to spend a couple more hours with the Brady family before they headed home. Then we stayed until disneyland closed. We had some really great times together and I'm forced to focus on how fun our boys are and not worry about anything outside of that moment. While the boys played some games in the Innoventions center I was able to read a book to work on my Creole a bit. One of the employees asked me about it so I shared a little about our adoptions with him. He was very excited for us and our new family members. He left and came back with some tinkerbell pins for our girls and three 1st time vistor pins for me to give to Stephanie, Jude, and Lovenie for their first visit to Disneyland. It took a long time to get back to practising my Creole as I sat there looking at those pins and thinking what it would be like to finally get to put them on them and bring them to Disneyland. I tried to think of all the amazing things they would see and do and imagine their reactions. I can't wait!!!! It really lifted my mood and I'm back to excitedly waiting for some news.

Update and a little tantrum

Okay, I'm afraid I'm going to have to use my "Hey, I am paper pregnant x's 5" excuse so that maybe it will be understandable when today's posts suddenly go from giddy to tantrum. It used to be that getting an update picture of our kids was the highlight of the month. I would get all excited and call the family over to see it. Now it's not so fun anymore. Honestly.... while I love the pictures... I don't want to see our kids in Haiti anymore!!! I don't want to see the background of the orphanage walls. I don't want to have to receive an update because it means that they are still not home with us. To make matters even more upsetting--- NO NEWS. Yep, not a word about our paperwork which leads me to believe that there has likely been no change and our files just sit on a desk (or in a file) in MOI while we wait helplessly. Most days, with God's help, I can handle this horrible waiting but NOT today! In less then 2 months from now it will be THREE YEARS from when we called and requested to adopt Lovenie. THREE YEARS!!!! Sometimes it just gets to be too much to handle calmly and I instead want to find something to throw against a wall and have a really good tantrum. Today is one of those days so please pray that the first thing I come across to throw is not breakable or costly!

Never fear... In a matter of minutes, hours, or days... I will likely soon be back to happy. However, for now... thanks for letting me share my frustration and heartache!

Good Mom/ Bad Mom

The very delightful Bryn is currently living with the teens at Hope for the Children of Haiti. From there she feeds us priceless information, contact, pictures, and video's of the kids that we love so much. She has a great blog at http://jamesonetwentyseven.blogspot.com/ where you can follow her journey in Haiti with all these really fantastic kids! Last week she posted a contest on her blog just sharing the smiles of many of the kids to see if we could figure out who the smiles belong to.

I was pretty sure when I guessed that this smile belonged to our sweet Jacques and I was right!

However, Our ALWAYS smiling Jude was also in the contest and while I thought this might be him I was not totally sure so did not answer on this one. But there it is... Another one of the smiles that melts my heart in an instant.

Just another Crummy Weekend.........

Our really tough and crummy weekend went something like this.....

Friday- Jim HAD to stay home from work and play with us. He also HAD to go to court for a silly traffic ticket and won the case and the ticket was dismissed. Then we HAD to celebrate by meeting up at Disneyland with the Brady family who it turns out~~ just happens to be one of the funnest families we've ever had the pleasure of hanging out with!

Saturday- We HAD to sleep in late and then watch a movie before even getting out of bed. Then we HAD to go to a birthday party for one of our favorite of people on this earth (Happy Birthday Andrew!!!!) where we were forced to play some of our favorite games and eat Jim's (friend Jim, not to be confused with my husband) delicious bbq. We HAD to leave that party to attend a "Dessert" party and get together for families who are or have adopted. We met some really neat people and saw the most beautiful children of so many nationalities all blending perfectly together in their families. It was so cool to hear the many stories of these families being brought together through adoption and every one of them was of course exciting and incrediable!

Sunday- We HAD to attend yet another service at the church that we totally love going to. Then we HAD to go to Disneyland again to spend another day riding rides and laughing together with the Brady family.

Yep... just another nearly unbearable weekend! ;)

The Brady Bunch

Because there is an unwritten law that you HAVE to have your picture taken here when you go to Disneyland.

Johnny, Maddie, and Kyle
During the Electrical Parade

So this is the second time we have been able to benefit from living near Disneyland in this way. One of the greatest blessings during the very long (and grueling) wait of these adoptions has been that we have been able to connect with and form the most wonderful friendships with other waiting families! Many of them I've just known from online but gradually I've been able to meet some of these friends in person too. This happened again yesterday when the Brady family flew in for their family vacation. They graced us with the honor of getting to tag along. Just like when we met up with Mandy and Bryn and family... We were instantly comfortable with them and it was as if we were hanging out with long time friends! Their 8 year old daughter, Maddie, had our whole family totally charmed but especially our boys. She's totally adorable! We had such a blast and we must not have scared them off too much because we've been invited back for more fun with them this Sunday. We are already counting the moments until we get to hang out with them again. It was so hard to part Kyle and Johnny from their daughter when it was time to leave last night. The three of them kept trying to come up with suggestions to stay together or get together before Sunday. It was really cute.
Please pray for the Brady family as they are at the very beginning of the adoptions of two adorable twin sons from Haiti.

Things that make you go Hmmmm....

While we have a very busy and fun weekend ahead of us our last few days have been a little dull and we have no news to share yet about our children or my trip to Haiti. So to spare you from my uneventfulness I'm going to pull off some blog theft. I read this on my friend LeAnne's blog this morning and thought it was funny.

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?
Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are flat?
Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?
Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?
Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?
Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?
What is the speed of darkness?
Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up every two hours?
If the temperature is zero outside today and it's going to be twice as cold tomorrow, how cold will it be?
Do married people live longer than single ones or does it only seem longer?
How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage?
Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground?
Did you ever stop and wonder...... Who was the first person to look at a cow and say, "I think I’ll squeeze these pink dangly things here, and drink whatever comes out?"
Who was the first person to say, "See that chicken there... I'm gonna eat the next thing that comes outta its bum."
Why do toasters always have a setting so high that could burn the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat?
Why is there a light in the fridge and not in the freezer?
Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs!
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables, then what is baby oil made from?
Why do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune?
Stop singing and read on…….
Do illiterate people get the full effect of Alphabet Soup?
Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him on a car ride, he sticks his head out the window?
Does pushing the elevator button more than once make it arrive faster?

Now a couple questions of my own:
Will my husband call me with the answers to the questions that have an answer?
Will he be totally bugged by the ones that defy logic???

Great News!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you all again for your prayers for Jim's friend and to share the wonderful news that we learned yesterday afternoon that he is out of the coma and recognized all of his family! This is a very good sign. Things are really looking up! The family has asked his friends to give him more time to get well before coming to see him so we will not be heading that way for now.

Celebrating 11 Months!

Today is the 19th which means that I have hit yet another month of being seizure free!!! Next month will be ONE YEAR. Can you believe it? I have noticed that I've become a bit over confident about it though and am not as cautious about the triggers as I used to be so every few months have a very close call, but overall I almost never need the meds anymore. Sunday we didn't get to church early so were asked to sit near the very front and far from the door. Doesn't sound bad right? It sends me into a bit of a panic as I like to sit near the back and by an exit just in case a seizure comes on. So I sat there feeling a little tense at first and then just let it go and enjoyed being able to do something that so many other people don't even have to think twice about. My DMV hearing is finally coming up next week so I can't wait to feel like I have totally moved past this season in my life.

Another Friend~ Another Coma

I just want to thank all of you for all your kindness and friendships but especially at times that you have shared like family in the things that have really mattered to our family. I just received a phone call from Jim as he just learned news that one of his very close friends growing up, that he has been friends with since they were little boys, has become very ill and is in a coma. We don't have a lot of details at this point. Jim is calling around trying to find out how serious it is and what is going on. Can you all please pray with us for Jim's friend and the people who love him? I'm waiting to hear from him to see if I should start packing as his friend is in San Jose and if it looks like we should either Jim will travel with another close friend or our family may pack up and head there together.

We have been so grateful for your prayers recently for my friends son as well and I am happy to update that not only has he survived but is now out of the hospital and recovering remarkably well at home.

So, here we are again with heavy hearts for a friend, asking for you to please join us in prayer and expecting to celebrate soon with another great miracle.

It's In The Bag

These days if I say something is in the bag I probably mean it literally. I got two really fantastic bags in the last week. One was the over the top pink and black (totally girly) bag that was in the pictures/video from the limo ride. My Mom sent it to me as a gift and she got it from one of my favorite stores ever in the town where she lives. The store is called La De Da and is filled with nothing except over the top girl shopping. Everything that sparkles or frills can be found there.

Then I got the above pictured purse yesterday. Jim atempted to get it for me as an anniversary gift but we had some problems with the staff at the store we went to and couldn't get our hands on this purse (even though it was paid for) for over a month. I had to get ahold of the store owner to end the craziness. So- I now have it and LOVE it. It's the softest leather I've ever felt. The first picture is of the front and you can see the very suttle NOTW on the front (Not of this world) and on the back is the matching stitching as the Hope/Jer. 29:11 wallet I got for Christmas and the material in the middle of the purse has Jer. 29:11 written on it. We got this purse from a store my teen nephew introduced me to at Thanksgiving. It has some very cool stuff that you can check out at www.C28.com While our experience with them at our local store has not been fantastic, I've been in to another store that had really wonderful service and as soon as I contacted the owner of our local store the problem was immediately resolved and I received a very kind letter from them.

Other non-bag related updates: Still not sure what day we will be headed to Haiti but we got a lot of things for the trip taken care of yesterday. My flu is finally gone and I have almost everything I wanted to take so am anxiously waiting word that we can head to Haiti!

I read this morning that 51 files were signed out of MOI just last week. My heart pounded as I couldn't help praying "please let our kids be among them". With hundreds of children waiting to be signed out I am also trying not to get my hopes up but I can at least be very excited that it means 51 children GOING HOME!

You got it, dude!

Jude (yellow shirt) and his friend Ernso try to say "You got it, dude!" in English. SOOOO CUTE!!

Don't Judge Too Quickly

Pictures from our Picnic

Blogger has decided it's okay for me to add pictures again so here they are:

In front of our home before taking off.
Meet Vern, our driver. We could not have asked for a nicer guy! He was so kind and fun. He told us that we should have fun and do whatever we want. He only had two rules~ Don't tear up his car and don't even think about opening our own door!

I looked up new recipies for this picnic and one of our favorites was these Strawberry Blossoms. Cut strawberries to make 6 petals, mix 3 oz. Cream Cheese with 2 T of Powdered Sugar and 1 T of Sour Cream. I put this mixture in a baggy and cut off the tip to fill the strawberrys. It was SOOO good!

We saw many houses we would love to stake our claim to. These houses Jim was especially drawn to because of their "play" features. This house had something like their own little beach in their yard and the house next to it had it's own full basketball court but none of that could compete with....

This house and the giant slide from it's second floor!

The Family

Me and my "babies"

Jim and his "babies"

BACK TO REALITY:

Not long after we got home we were off again to run some errands. This is a picture of our boys going from limo to the back of our SUV with just as many smiles and very good sports about it!

So afterwards we had to go to a couple different places to take care of some very complicated stuff with our taxes. Nothing like jumping right back to reality but it had to be done. At the second place we went to is when I started getting really sick including an unstopable coughing fit that really didn't help get things done quickly but the taxes have been sent. Now we wait to see if we will be granted Tax ID numbers for our Haitian children or if it will be returned with a big rejection stamp.

Valentines Day was pretty mellow around here. We kind of felt like we had our big celebration already on Tuesday. I put a card and giant hershey's kiss on the counter for Jim to find in the morning. He was so touched since he knew I didn't have my license so I must have walked a few miles to the store and back with the kids to get it. Nah... I'm not THAT thoughtful. I simply purchased it while we were running errands the weekend before and hid it from him. The boys were as sweet as could be drawing us pictures and letters. Jim came home from work and since I still had the flu made me a romantic dinner of toast. That's all I could handle and we snuggled up and watched our favorite show (Lost). We did recieve a couple of very "sweet" surprises as a friend sent us See's Chocolates in the mail and another family of friends showed up at our door with the cutest basket of homemade chocolates, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and other goodies. We have such thoughtful friends!

Still fighting the flu today and not getting much done. It looks like we will not be able to leave for Haiti next week as the Visa appointment could not be scheduled for that time. So we wait, which is something we've grown used to. This may actually be a very good thing as I need to get well again and Ange's family has been very sick too. I can't wait to get there and hug our kids (who have no idea I am coming) and see Ange bring her daughters home!

A Picnic With A Twist......

So we went back and forth over and over again about plans for the grand finale of our 10 dates for 10 years plan and I don't think we could have ended it any better (short of going to Haiti to bring our kids home)! A Limo picked us up from our home at Noon on Tuesday. We rode to Hwy 1 visiting Hunnington Beach, Newport Beach, Corona Del Mar, and Laguna Beach and then home again. It was over 80 degrees outside so the weather and views could not have been more gorgeous! The first plan was for just Jim and me to go on this date but the kids were so excited about the plans that we decided to make it a family celebration and take the kids with us, a decision we did not at all regret. We had so much fun together as a family! The Ultimate picnic video below includes some photo's of our outing and Kyle and Johnny dancing in the limo (the result of unlimited free soda's and juice!). For some reason blogger is not letting me post pictures today so maybe I'll post a few later on when it's cooperating.

I still had my "man cold" during the date but had drugged up and wasn't feeling too bad until we got home and I started getting much worse. After a sleepless night and some tossed cookies in the wee hours of the morning I realized that this is no "man cold" it's an ugly flu! So I've been pretty miserable for the last couple of days. A bit better today though. Still waiting on confirmation for Ange's visa appointment to see if we are heading to Haiti in just a few days. Please keep her family covered in prayers as they are all very sick also.

Happy Valentines Day to all my dear friends and family. I hope this is a wonderful day for you and your loved ones!

Ultimate Picnic

Interview in the Limo

Kyle shares his thoughts about his first ride in a limo (30 sec.)

Great Big Celebration!!!!!

Edeline, Milouse, and Josiane are coming home!!!

This morning we heard news that had my heart pounding and had us screaming for joy! My very dear friend Ange finally got the news she has waited so long for. Her little girls are ready to come home. They are just waiting for their Visa appointment to be scheduled and WE will be on our way! Yes, We!! I've been offered the great honor of being there to help bring these sweethearts home. We may be traveling as soon as next week! Because our children are together in Haiti I will also be able to go and love on our kids!

Ange and family- Congratulations! We are as thrilled for you as if it were happening to us. We love your family and I thank you for such a great honor as being there for such a special event!

Man Cold

As promised!

Updates and Date 10

We have a lot going on over the next few weeks and am fighting a "man cold". I would imagine most of you know what the man cold is because the funny video has been floating around for a while now but just incase someone has not had the joy of seeing it I will post it soon.

So here's what's going on in our family:

No car debt! I just finished making the last payment on our van so we now have two cars and no payments. Love it! It feels pretty great to be done with it.

Jim and I have been trying so many variations on a trip to Haiti. Should he go since he has not met them yet or should I go again? Is it at all possible for us finally go together? (No) Should we hold off and see if I can go with Ange when she picks up her girls or hold out in hopes that our kids will come out any day now and we can go together to bring them home? We are hesitant to put off the trip thinking that any day now we will get the news we've been waiting for just to be disappointed with a long wait. Then again we are hesitant to go as it really is possible that we could get the news soon. Then you throw in what to do about the childcare of our boys and the crazy schedules we both have and.... whew! The plans have changed again and again and we are still unsure of what we will do.

Stephanie, Jude, and Lovenie are still in MOI (as far as we know). The girls files have been there for over 3 months and Jude's has been there for a little over 2 months. It seems the average recent wait times for this stage is 3-4 months. Some people have been signed out as quickly as 2 months or less and others have been stuck in this step for 6 months or more. So, again... we just have no idea what the wait will be but it does seem we are very close based on the average numbers. Once they are out of MOI we "should" be traveling quickly afterwards because everything else (birthparent interviews and I-600's) are done. We don't really mind having to wait. It's more a wishing we knew how long the wait would be so we could make plans based on actual information. ;)

Yesterday was the official first day of the new church we've been attending. I think we are more excited about this church then any we've attended in the past. We've been involved with them for several months now but the services started out being held once a month building up to the official start date and now we get to go EVERY week again. For the first official service the place was packed, literally! They ran out of chairs and had to start taking any they could find from the children's ministry and then even after that many people stood along the walls crammed in together. What a great start!

Jim has more then usual going on in the near future also. He's been swamped with work but most weeks he continues to still be able to work four long days instead of five. He's got a big audit coming up soon at work so that should keep him busier then usual. Remember a while back when I shared that he had an appointment with our dear government that ended up being an appointment to stand in line to make an appointment? Well that appointment is on the 22nd and we think there is a good chance it will not lead to another line to schedule another appointment.

My Driver's License- If it can be difficult it will.... It's true that DMV closed my file because it took so long for Kaiser to get the paperwork turned in so I had to wait over a month for them to re-open and review it once the paperwork did get turned in. Then I received a letter to appear for a hearing on Feb. 28th (more then another month away from when I got the letter). I have the slightest bit of hope that this will be the end of the driveless road since they did not request any more information from me in this letter, but that could change at my hearing. If that goes smooth I may be able to schedule a behind the wheel test and could be driving again soon. Consider yourselves warned. ;)

Dates- Well... here it is... the last of our 10 dates for 10 years. We have been trying to figure out how to make the last one really special and memorable. I think we have finally come up with just the right plan! We are hoping to be able to have this date tomorrow as the weather is supposed to be just gorgeous! This time I'm going to just say what we are up to... A picnic. A picnic? Is that our idea of going out big? Yes, because it is not your average picnic. There is a twist... Can any of my pro guessers figure out what the twist may be?

Let's not forget...

This picture was taken earlier this week when we were just hanging out and the boys were being sweet. I've been blogging quite a bit about our kids in Haiti recently so I thought I would take time out to share about our really amazing boys at home.

Kyle- Kyle (age 9) has been doing really great work in his very tough 4th grade curriculum. He's continued to keep straight A's (graded by the computer program, not just Mom). More importantly is that he can't get enough bible reading time! He has a kid friendly daily bible and is way ahead of the date because he doesn't want to stop reading when the days reading is over. He is often excitedly sharing with us what he is learning and talks about how exciting the bible is. I think he's going to follow in the footsteps of his Papa.

Johnny (age 7)- Kids just don't get any sweeter then this little guy! Whenever Jim or I ask him to do anything at all he almost always immediatly does what we ask with a sweet smile and great attitude. He's doing great in Second grade but especially excells at Math as he grasps concepts that shock me when he picks it up so quickly. His favorite subject is Science. I think he will be following in the footsteps of his Dad. Could we have another Chemical Engineer in the family?

Luke(age 4)- He's a real piece of work- that's for sure! He can turn on the charm like crazy or turn in to the most stubborn little person ever. Comes with the age. When he is sweet he is REALLY sweet! Yesterday we were in the innovention center when Luke took a time out from playing games to run over to me and plant a whole bunch of kisses on my face followed by a big hug. One of the employees saw that was working near us came over to meet him and tell him what a sweet and good little boy he is. He is still continuing to read at a rate that amazes us. I would think he's at least at a first grade reading level and picks up new words like it is no struggle at all. He sure is a smart little guy!

Pictures from yesterday's trip to Disneyland:

The boys on the A of the California sign in front of California Adventure Park

All 3 boys love to go to the Innovention building at Disneyland. This building is insane as it has tons of game consolse and games to choose from. Above is Kyle playing one of his favorite games (Thrillville off the rails) and Johnny sitting next to him watching. This gaming area has screens facing the person that is playing and a larger TV on the other side so that anyone who wants to can watch them play.

Luke in the long tube playing on the big screen.

Luke can jump into any new game and figure out how to play it (How do kids do that?). Here he is playing a new game in these strange circles chairs.

Back view of the circle gaming area.

In summary: Children in Haiti- AMAZING! Children in the US- AMAZING!

Am I one really blessed Mom or what???

For Beka

For guessing correctly 3 times in a row (cruise, ATV's, and Disneyland) about what date we will be doing next. Way to go Beka! :) I wish the prize could have been a trip back to Haiti to see your babies again but for now I hope you will accept this picture of an award and the promise of many prayers for your family as you wait to bring home your twins!!

Lots of Love,
Angela

We are still looking for ways to celebrate the final date. Keeping in mind that we are not planning any overnighters and the date will likely need to be around 6-8 hours at the most. Please send any great ideas my way!

Disneyland Date

Disneyland
California Adventure Park

Jim in front of the 180' drop ride- Maliboomer

We just had to take time to ride the Sun Wheel with a swinging Gondola. Our kids are always afraid to try it so we always end up on the stationary Gondola's.

This is what I get when I make a comment like "I think I got some good footage"

Hands down-- FAVORITE ride! The Hollywood Tower of Terror. It's such a blast! We were talking with the guys behind us in line. They were visiting from Canada and it was their first time to ride. One of the guys kept saying he was sure the ride would be a "Hoot" over and over again (is that a Canadian expression?). After the ride ended I asked him what he thought and the word out of his mouth was not Hoot and not repeatable. ;) Very fun ride.

Inside the Tower of Terror

In line for the Indiana Jones ride.

Such a rebel! The sign says "Do Not Pull Rope"

Getting in the car for the last ride of the day on Indiana Jones

Date 9 of 10 was a lot of fun to remember what Disneyland is like without children, a stroller, or riding kid rides. A big part of the joy of Disneyland though is seeing your children so happy. So... I'm off again in a little while to spend the day at Disneyland again, but this time with 3 little boys. They were bummed they didn't go yesterday so I'm going to make it up to them today.

How Sweet He Is!

This morning my day started out just about as fantastic as it could! I got not one but 2 letters from our sweet son Jacques!!! His sweetness, love, and faith overwhelms me. I love to read the letters from him and at the same time am tortured by them and they always leave me fighting off tears. He's just such a great kid and I can't believe that God would allow us to know and love him, much less call him our son! I usually don't share his private letters but since this one was for us, and other family members, I thought I would go ahead and share them:

Hello mom and dad,
How are you? I 'm very happy to write this letter. Last weekend i was at a camp and icome back to home. I played basketball and soccer. I soccored a goal with my head. I ate so much. I prayed so much too and i was blessed. I smile so much too 'cause my friend told me some jokes. The jokes were very funny. Everybody was very happy at the camp.
If you could be there i was very very happy. I miss and love you so much.
When i was at the i thought to you so much. I prayed for you. I 'thought to my brothers too. 'cause if they could be there i could playe with them. I love you so much.
Please say hi! to my brothers, grandpa and grandma ,uncle aunt and all my familly.
God bless you!
xoxo.
Sweet son and brothers:Jaaco:

And:

Hello mom ,
how are you? I received your letter. I love it. No i didn't go to the beach but we are going to the beach this saturday. I hope i will have a good time. Please say to my brothers be patient for God knows everything and can do everything.
I love you so much.
xoxo. Sweet son and brother"Jaco".

Date 9 of 10

I can't believe we are already nearing the end of our 10 dates for 10 years plan. It's been so fun and I want to do it all over again! Does anyone have any suggestions for the grand finale of date 10? We were thinking of sky diving until I looked up the prices. When, to my surprise, I saw it cost as much as a trip to Haiti the idea was veto'ed. So we are looking for one last really special date idea. Anyone???

Meanwhile... Date 9 of 10 is scheduled for tomorrow. We will again go during the day and mid-week to avoid the crowds. This date will be to a place that is much more familiar to us but we have not been there without children since almost exactly 10 years ago (we were married just 3 weeks then).

I would love to hear your ideas!

Precious Love

Imagine that you are at home going about another normal day when your phone rings. You answer the phone having no idea at all that at that very moment your life was going to change in ways you could have never imagined in your wildest dreams! That is how little Love (Lovenie) came into our lives and she led Stephanie and Jude into our lives also, later followed by Jacques and Vilner. Isn't it amazing that a tragedy for one tiny little girl could bring so much good! We've continued to be amazed at the miraculous recovery she is having from her stroke as only God could do! We thank him for bringing Love and her siblings into our life the day we answered not only the phone call but the calling on our lives.

She is SMILING again!!! What a great sign this is.

I'm pretty sure she's saying "Come and get me Mama"

Full on pouting. Isn't she great at it? I've decided to add a caption to this picture that says "What do you mean you haven't processed my passport?" and send it to MOI. Do you think it will work?

MMMM... Cornflakes

Lord, Please bring home our little Love. My arms miss holding her and my heart aches to not be with her as she grows up.

Praying for more miracles!


These recent pictures taken by Bryn who is living with the kids in Haiti. Please keep her in your prayers. Thanks so much Bryn!!!

Playing Cyber Tag

I've been tagged by Manyblessings at http://prayingthemhome.blogspot.com/

The rules are to link the person who sent this and leave a comment on their blog so their readers can visit yours. ~Post the rules on your blog ~Share 7 strange/weird facts about yourself ~Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and link their blog ~Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

I'm so normal that coming up with 7 strange/weird facts about myself will be a real stretch (anyone buying that?). Of course I think I'm totally normal and sane so instead I'll share what other people might find strange/weird:

1. I do not like jeans or T-shirts. I have nothing against them for other people and have even been known to buy them for others. I personally cannot stand how they feel and have never understood why people think they are so comfortable.

2. I love to be scared. Not life in jeopardy scared... more adrenalin rush scared! I'm totally not afraid of heights at all and love things that fling you high up or down in the air or is fast and really love the combination of both things. For many years I have wanted to sky dive. I have not done it yet but it is one thing I'm determined to do. I've done many other height and speed rush things. Motorcycles terrify me in the good way. I love hitching a ride from my Dad when we visit. (when can we go again Dad??).

3. I am outrageously girly. I prefer dresses and high heals if I have somewhere to wear them to (unless PJ's is an option, but even then my favorite is a long satin nightgown). I love to shop, dress up, change my hair, don't like to get dirty, and watch chic-flicks. The only non-stereotypical "girl" thing that I don't enjoy is shoe shopping or owning a lot of shoes.

4. Being a home schooling/stay at home Mom is sometimes a struggle for me. I think the benefits are totally worth it and am so grateful to be able to do it. However, it does not come naturally to me at all. I enjoyed working in the big world of grown ups. My favorite jobs have all been very socially oriented and I loved being around lots of people. Fortunately I have really great kids that are so fun to be with and a husband that is totally understanding and jumps in to help as soon as he walks through the door.

5. I love to dance. At home, in a public place, when I'm happy, when I'm sad... you name it! Just turn on some music and get outta my way (or come dance with me!). I'm not a good dancer but that's never stopped me before.

6. I made it in the newspaper just for being born. It's true! I was born on January 3rd and was the first baby born in that county that year. The county had a contest that I think was called Stork Derby, or something like that, and my parents won over 50 prizes from local businesses and a picture of my Mom and me in the paper. I was nearly 2 weeks late so I guess I figured I owed my Mom something to get on her good side. ;) How about that for a grand entrance into this world?

7. Favorite Day-- APRIL FOOLS DAY!!! I LOVE this day and am always thinking of what to do "this year". However, my friends and family have ruined my joy for this day as I've learned they actually call and email each other reminding each other of what day it is and not to answer my calls or believe anything I say. Bah humbug! I need new friends and family (just for the one day).

My turn to tag:

http://havingfunservinghim.blogspot.com/


http://embracedbygrace.blogspot.com/


http://2guineapiggies.blogspot.com/


http://www.baurerbits.blogspot.com/


http://moreonthemoores.blogspot.com/


http://acceptancewithjoy.wordpress.com/


http://www.thehaitilady.blogspot.com/





You're it!

Lost and Side Show Bob

After 8 months without it we finally got to see the premier of Lost last night!!! It was a major event around here because we are totally hooked on the show. As always the show did not disappoint and we were wanting more when it was over. How much longer until Thursday??

The boys set up the living room in an island/Lost theme for us

They spent the time during the 2 hour premier upstairs in our room

watching movies past bedtime. So they were happy too!

Kyle drew up this very informational map for us to use if we get lost or confused

Side Show Bob

An Important Announcement: Let it be known that from here on out Luke's nickname is no longer Bobo but will be known as Side Show Bob. When he was 2 he would call anything and anyone Bobo so thus he himself was named Bobo and has been called that for 2.5 years now. As Bobo started to grow into a big boy his harrassing us increased. A few nights ago we were playing a card game with his brothers and Luke was running around trying to steal cards from us all. That's when I blurted out "listen here Side Show Bob"-- That's all it took. It just stuck, so Side Show Bob it is!