Almost time

It's surreal that we submitted our completed dossier to the attorney in Haiti on October 21, 2011,
eight months after meeting our son and receiving permission to adopt him.

A full year after meeting Sister Carmelle and getting her blessing to adopt from the orphanage in Fondwa.

This week we submitted the final documents requested by the United States Citizenship and Immigration department to support our son's orphan status.

Now we wait . . .
We have gotten better at waiting.

The next step?
USCIS will (hopefully) approve Dimitry's orphan status and legal adoption --

they will notify us via email,

and we will sing and dance and shout praises of joy.

Then,
we will wait for the final email: a visa application appointment.

After all this time and travel and expense,
this is the end of the adoption journey . . .
and the beginning of a wonderful adventure.

Along the way,
we've met some awesome individuals and families
who have shared their stories, their struggles, their triumphs, and their advice with us.

Most of these faces we will never see in person,
but thanks to Facebook and email,
we know them
and we've cried with them,
we've prayed for them
and we've rejoiced as they've gotten closer to bringing their babies home.

Soon, it will be Dimitry's turn.

I cannot believe that he turned 8 years old this week.

I cannot believe how much has happened and changed since that first trip to Fondwa in February 2011.

I cannot believe that we are finally this close to our son's homecoming.

Now,
we wait.

The Pictures Don't Lie

Time continues to pass, despite my efforts to wish Dimitry home.

It's been too many months since we've seen his sweet face or held him in our arms,
but somehow, it's still a surprise when we see photos that capture him aging.

You know how little ones go through a change from toddler to little person?
The fat pads in their cheeks go away and their jawline lengthens just enough to provide an appearance of an older child, rather than baby. It's a sad sort of change for parents and loved ones to see that first obvious sign of growth that also indicates growing up.

For the first time since we've loved our son,
(we met him in February 2011, in case you forgot)
photos reveal that he is no longer a little boy.

2010

2011

. There is no denying that Dimitry is obviously a big kid now.

December 2013

Wow.
When did this happen??

2012

Adoption Day, 2013

It's a bit heartbreaking,
not because time has passed,
but because he has done without so much for so long.

I cannot fathom who Grant or Addison would be without a mama and daddy to love them, correct them, hold them, tickle them, feed them (and gripe at them for not eating) . . .
how can this child possibly be changing into a little man when we haven't even had the opportunity to help him be a child?

And this is the newest photo . . .

January 2014

It bothers me even more.
Did he take a growth spurt?
Why is he so thin compared to a photo taken 1 1/2 months ago?
Look at those big kid teeth.
That collar bone is sticking out way too much.
I want to feed him.

Does he realize these photos are being taken for us?
I'm sure he does.
Does he know how sorry we are that he isn't here yet?
I doubt it. It's not his reality to understand "here."
Does he know that it's killing me that he is in Haiti for yet another birthday?

Dear God,
Please continue to bless my baby boy.
Cradle him in Your arms when he needs comforting.
Hold him in Your hand when he needs protection.
Watch over him and guide him. Heal his heart and his body.
Please Lord, bring him home.

Praying for the Finish Line

Sometimes in life's journeys,
it's difficult not to wonder if we are all alone on the path.

Other times,
like NOW for my family,
there is no doubt that someone is paving the way,
providing the means,
and blessing us beyond belief.

After 3 1/2 long years of worry, fundraising, traveling, politics and paperwork,
we have reached the very end of Dimitry's adoption process.
His file is in USCIS in Port-au-Prince,
awaiting approval of his I-600 application.

It sounds simple enough, but many families have known heartache, even at this late stage.

We have been asked to provide 2 additional translations
(I didn't even realize we haven't ever seen the final adoption decree and certificate),
which we are needing scanned to us from Haiti,
and a letter from the nuns at the orphanage regarding Dimitry's journey to them.

Wow
Simple enough, right?

It's been a full week without communication from Fondwa . . .
perhaps the nuns are on retreat and without internet access?

We have been so blessed by other families sharing this journey.

The K family, adopting a dear friend of Dimitry's at the orphanage,
have supported us and assisted in communicating with the nuns recently.
Even they cannot make contact.

This morning, I posted a prayer request on Facebook,
specifically asking for communication to happen so we can continue to move forward with meeting USCIS' requirements for approval.

What did God grant us?
C, a mama adopting twin dollies from Fondwa, contacted me and is leaving for Fondwa tomorrow morning.

Again I say, WOW

Despite traveling to secure evidence for her own children's approval, she graciously offered to act on our behalf to gather the information we need.

Our son turns 8 years old in 10 days --
all I want for him, is a family.
He deserves that, doesn't he?

God has this in His hands, clearly.

January 2014

Today, we received word from USCIS
(our first communication with them since they received Dimitry's file on December 16th or 17th).

It was exciting and a bit scary to see their title on my email list.

Was it good news or bad?

I am relieved to tell you that they asked for translations to be submitted (something we emailed to our attorney twice, and asked him to submit with the original documents), a timeline of our visits to Haiti, and a letter from the sisters regarding our son's history at the orphanage.

Whew

That means that our file is under review,
apparently has not been dinged for significant deficits or questionable paperwork,
and that we are making progress.

January 27th will be Dimitry's 8th birthday --
could it still be possible to get him home??

Little Boy,

We cannot wait to bring you home to our mountains,

and while it isn't Jacmel, 

we even have water :)

Christmas 2013

My Dearest Dimitry,

This year, you hoped for a home. We really, really tried My Love.
You've grown since we held you last. 
Another season of your life has passed, and still you wonder when we will come.
We are closer than we have ever been, Dear Boy.

I pray for your heart as time goes by.
You don't even remember a home with a mama and daddy who set rules and give out hugs and kisses, or siblings to wrestle, play and grow with.

I wish you'd never have to wonder if we love you "as much,"
or feel sadness or guilt for the friends left behind when you join us.

I hope you know the love we have for you comes, not from the sacrifices made, but from the sincere desire to call you Son.

You are a blessing and God's child on this earth,
and we are so very excited to watch you grow as one of our family.

Soon, we will be there;
Soon, you will never have to wonder again where you belong.
Soon, you will be home.

xxoxxo,
Mama Dena

New Adventures

This morning,
a little past 5AM CST,
everyone dear to me left for our next adventure,
without me.

Talk about tough.

Load up your babies, your best friend and spouse, your puppies,
your parents, your father-in-law,
and watch them drive into the darkness of not-quite-morning.

Some tears were shed.

If anything makes this mama feel vulnerable,
it's letting go of the loves of my life,
and staying behind.

Through the sobs, I literally dropped to my knees and prayed to my Jesus:



Please Lord, 

guide them and protect them. 
Allow Your angels to make the way for them
and travel alongside, as well. 
Carry them in Your hands. 
Deliver them safely.



It took a while for me to fall back to sleep, and it was a bit tough to get up again.
I knew my mother-in-law would be waiting for me at church, so I made my way to another set of goodbyes.

We have been greatly blessed by a wonderful church family over the past 8 1/2 years.
The embraced us when we arrived with our 6 month old son,
and helped us welcome our little princess 3 years later.
They've supported our adoption, praying and crying with us along the way,
and I knew that today would be another bittersweet day.

There were tears and hugs,
and on more than one occasion,
I was unable to speak when friends bestowed their wishes and love on our family.

Our journey has been an interesting one, for sure.

I believe that we are led in the direction we are headed,
and no coincidence has occurred along this path.

When I interviewed for my new position,
I prayed that God would leave no doubt in my mind or heart about what to do,
and after considering 3 job offers,
that is exactly what He did.
The location, the people, the opportunities for my family aligned.

When we put our house on the market, our timeline was set to relocate.
After carrying 2 mortgage payments for 10 months last time we moved, we were eager to price the property correctly and do what was necessary to move on without straining our family's finances.
We have one of the world's greatest realtor friends who we called immediately,
trusting her to price our home higher than we agreed we needed to move our family comfortably.

We set a deadline that we needed a contract in hand or we would proceed with renting in Colorado,
rather than purchasing a new home right from the start.

I prayed, a lot.
More importantly, I really trusted that God had this plan for our family, and I was going to go along for the ride.

Our home came under contract after 21 days on the market,
for asking price.

Then,
our son's passport was printed,
after so much time.

It's difficult to understand an adoption process that takes more than 3 years to complete,
but starts wrapping up as a family prepares to relocate,
away from the friends and family that have eagerly waited to celebrate the new child's arrival.

I really think my sister has offered the best insight on this one:
Our entire family will be undergoing a period of adjustment and integration into a new environment (school, work, community),
without the comfort of close friends or family nearby,
no familiarity of "our" church, favorite restaurant, grocery store, etc.
With only each other to cling to,
we all move forward to the next adventure.
No territorialism over who claimed friends, rooms, or anything else first.

Wow.
How can we argue with that philosophy?
Sounds like great timing then, huh?

There are a lot of unknowns in our little family's future,
but one thing is certain,
we have each other,
and we will always have the love of our family at "home" in Missouri.

Thank You Lord for Facebook and texting!

This next week, we will unload all that we own,
decorate our surroundings and find our way around town,
before settling into a new "normal" routine of school attendance and working.

New faces. New names.
Different routines and patterns.
Same Mama and Daddy and munchkins,
eagerly waiting to welcome a brother / son home.

We only live once,
and I believe the best is yet to come.

Let's skip to the chase

I am a bit behind, this I know,
but here is the important news that trumps all other details keeping me from this blog:

Dimitry Edmunds has a Haitian passport

Oooh, that felt good.

There is much to catch you up on,
but really, what else matters?

So, "what's next?" you may ask . . .

His newly acquired passport will accompany all other legal documents related to the adoption to the United States Embassy,
where scrutiny will once again be applied.
The given time period for this stage averages 3-4 weeks,
but being the over-achievers we are (nothing happens quickly with our file),
let's not discount the upcoming holiday.
Once the dossier and supporting documents are given the great, big, authoritative thumbs up,
we should be granted a visa appointment,
at which point, we travel . . .
not to come home empty handed, this time.

Dimitry may not get a mama and a papa and a brother and a sister for Christmas,
but by golly,
he'll have one for his birthday,
if I have any control over it

(and if you've been paying attention, at all, you'll know that I do not).