Wednesday, March 13th

Today is the day: I-600 filing day!

We met another adoptive mama submitting her final visa paperwork,
preparing to take her baby home.

What sweet bliss!

We were at the U.S. Embassy for quite some time . . . 3 hours?
The boys were great
and it really felt good to be doing something productive for our process.

The boys played for a bit while we prepared for the drive to Fondwa.
Turns our that machins (mah-sheens) are universal.
Man, was that a good call on this mama's part.

Dimitry seemed anxious to take us to the orphanage,
but we found out that he really just had to find his boys to show off the machines :)

Oh yeah, snacks (ti manje) are also universal: no language barrier with boys and food.

The babies have grown and the older girls are now young ladies, but somehow, our little group of guys are the same - Samuel, Michel, Davidson, Jed and Johnny.
Such a handsome crew.

A lot of the boys joined us for dinner after cleaning up.
Grant's appetite is waning . . . the heat? fatigue? more beans and rice??

Oh, our "peach" son ran into some unexpected drama while I showered.
He was following after the boys, but went back for something and tried to catch up.
He took a wrong turn and headed towards the school instead of the orphanage where we assumed they went.

For any of you that know Fondwa, you understand what a big deal this is.

Our little American quickly became afraid and ran faster when so many strangers tried to stop him.
Imagine that, he looked a bit out of place ;)

Anyway, long story made short: Eric wasn't too far behind him,
thanks to an elderly gentleman who recognized the resemblance.

From the sound of it, I'm not sure who's heart rate was faster on that hot, dirt road.
I'm assuming it was one of those If I wasn't so relieved and you weren't so scared (with so many witnesses), I may have killed you for running off. 

At dinner,
Dimitry told the boys he is going to the United States on Saturday.

Oh Boy

He must've misunderstood the conversation at the Embassy.
How we wish you were little man.

Tuesday, 03/12/2013

Today, my sons met.

We were greeted at the airport by Sister Simone and Dimitry was there waiting,
in the car with the driver, when we reached the parking lot.

I greeted him with "Mwen pitit gason! Sa se fre' ou, Grant."

(My son! This is your brother Grant)

He smiled.

We stayed the night in Port-au-Prince at the guest house
where many important things took place:

Intro to Gameboy

Intro To DSi

My heart is so happy!

Checking the list twice

Toys for kids at orphanage

CHECK

Snacks for G-man and D

(since I seriously doubt my 8 year old will eat enough Haitian food to sustain his existence)

CHECK

Anti-malarials for 3 blancs

CHECK

Batteries for fan and camera

Giant roach killer

Sunscreen & big hat for my pale boy

CHECK

Shorts, flip flops, sneakers

Bed roll

CHECK

Passports

CHECK

Paperwork for I-600 filing

hee hee

CHECK

I have literally had nightmares about that one.

Oh, the appointment is today? 

I thought today was Tuesday not Wednesday.

eek
I better start packing.

Back to Haiti

My mood has improved some as I had a personal Haiti fix.

Once again, I was blessed to join my peers from Richmond and Boston in Jacmel, Haiti for a week of surgery.

What a fabulous crew

Dear friends and a blessed facility where new relationships were forged, filled my cup.
I was a little overdue.
I've decided that salt water, a little sea air and some Caribbean humidity is good for the soul.
Not to mention, rice and beans, plantains, mango and that excellent dark Haitian coffee . . .

Oh, the coffee

40 surgeries were done in 4 days.

Bassin Bleu was hiked,

by some.

Not me, but some hiked it.

I went up in a truck and then hiked.

It was awesome.

Having the opportunity to love on some sweet brown skinned babies did me good.
I did not see my boy, but being close still warmed my blan heart.

So, why didn't I see my little guy?
Because in the business of our surgical schedule, I would have had a couple of hours, at the most,
on one day to visit with him and hold him,
and frankly,
that's not fair to him.

 But, 
We are going back very very soon,
and this time,
my sons will meet.

 +

I am giddy with excitement over seeing my two boys on the same turf.
Toe to toe,
chocolate and vanilla.
hee hee 
I can hardly stand it :)

You have got to be kidding me

So, once again, I am behind . . .

Here's where we will start:

A few hours after my last post,
and after forwarding the notification from USCIS to our attorney in Haiti,
I received word from him that there is a misspelling on Dimitry's birth certificate, thereby causing our file to be pulled from the president's desk, where it was awaiting dispensation.

But do not fret. 

They will "correct the issue and expedite (our) file across the president's desk."
Wow. They will EXPEDITE it.
Thank goodness, because I was a little concerned.

Is that laughter I hear??

Never mind that I had been hearing for two weeks in January from multiple families who entered IBESR on the same date as we did who exited WITH presidential dispensation.
Despite my usual glass is 1/2 empty personality, I was certain we were out of IBESR too. Yahoo (right?)

Yeah, right.

OMG.
Are you kidding me?!?!

So instead of hearing that we are headed for MOI, we are idling in neutral again.
Unbelievable.

I couldn't even have 24 hours of happiness and joy regarding our adoption process.
After months and months of no communication,
the only good news I've received was quickly followed by gloom and doom.
Unbelievable.
Oh, I already said that? Well, you should've heard what I saying (through massive sobbing) that night at home.

The attorney did reassure me (ahem) that we should still be able to keep our appointment at the embassy.

Wow.
Inflated, then deflated, just as quickly.

hee hee

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT CONFIRMATION

Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative – Form I-600

Name of Prospective Petitioner:         Dena Kay EDMUNDS

Name of Spouse, if Married:              Eric Alan EDMUNDS

Case type:                                           Adoption

The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) Field Office in Haiti has scheduled you to file form I-600 “ Petition to Classify Orphan as an Immediate Relative” at the following time:

Wednesday, March 13, 2013 at 7:30 a.m.

More red tape

Pardon me while I mount my soap box . . . 

Missouri bill cuts incentives for out-of-state adoption

Feb 5, 2013, 7:42am CST

Kansas City Business Journal

A bill that passed the Missouri Senate could take away tax breaks given to parents who adopt children from other states or countries, The Independence Examiner reports.

Currently, adoptive parents can get $2 million in incentives for in-state adoptions and another $2 million for out-of-state adoptions. The bill would give tax breaks only to those who adopt Missouri children.

Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, who wrote the bill, said that 10,000 to 11,000 children in Missouri are in need of adoption, the report says.

Wow

(and by that I mean Are you kidding me???)

Why don't they just print this:

As if the cost of adopting isn't cost-prohibitive enough, to add to the global orphan crisis, we have decided that only orphans in our state should receive forever families . . . or at least, first. 

Ya see, here is my perspective -- 

If each Christian, or person for that matter, cared enough and had the resources to adopt, there would be no orphans.

If we all played the lottery and won, every one could do it, over and over again. 

In reality though, it just isn't that simple. 

The process is arduous, costly, takes years to complete, and frankly, isn't all that easy.

Is it worth it? Undoubtedly

Should everyone adopt? Absolutely not

But why in the world would you remove incentives to adopt for anyone capable, willing and approved to do so? It shouldn't matter if the child being adopted comes from Missouri, Kansas, Texas, China, Taiwan or Timbuktu. If you are an advocate of adoption and the creation of forever families, whether you work in social services, politics, medicine or the church, why wouldn't you advocate for adoption, period? 

I'm not a politician. 

I am not in charge of balancing any budget but my own (thank Heavens!)

I am a fan of families. 

I do care about orphans. 

I do think that every child deserves a home.

In case there is any doubt, I also think this is a big mistake.

Not from the perspective of those rallying for Missouri's children without families, I'm sure, but generally speaking, for humanity, as a whole.

Breaks my heart that in this world of consumerism and red tape, another barrier or limitation is put in the path of forever family creation.