Thank You President Martelli!

Through this entire process there has been one major hurdle that we have known we needed to cross in order to have a successful adoption.  It was not a need to overcome the fear of the process.  It was not a need to bond to our girls.  It was not the need to raise thousand of dollars to get them home.  It has simply been a signature on a piece of paper.  Simple.  Well, the signature had to be on just the right paper, from just the right person.
Today, Friday, March 8, 2013 we were notified that the Haitian President, Mr. Michel Martelli, has agreed to allow us to adopt Sunshine and Sleyca.  We have received our Presidential Dispensation!  This requirement, though overwhelming to us, was not problematic for the God who has brought us down this road so far.  Shouts, tears, ice cream, and game night all celebrated this monumental event for us.  The girls are one step closer to coming home. 
Our hearts right now are seeking God and persistently asking him to get the girls to us in June of this year. Lord, our hearts ache for these girls.  Make them ours, and please bring them to our home.  Upon arrival, may it feel for them like their own home.  Would you grant us the desire of our hearts and bring these girls into your eternal family, and into our earthly family? Today in your word, Lord, you told me from Psalm 84 that 
 the Lord God is a sun and shield;

    the Lord bestows favor and honor;

no good thing does he withhold    from those whose walk is blameless.

Lord Almighty,blessed is the one who trusts in you. 

Father, please do now withhold good things from us and from the girls.

God is putting His love all over us

This week marks two big milestones.  First, a year ago this week Daddy and I began this journey to get you girls into our home.  We did not know at that time who God had chosen for our family, but we did know that we would be parents to at least one more little girl (because God is GREAT and always exceeds our expectations, He blessed us with not one, but TWO little girls!).  Also this week marks the one month point of my return from Haiti.  My heart is slowly healing from leaving you again, but it is taking a long time.  I miss you, think about you, pray for you, and just want to be with you.
What God is showing me right now is that e is the same God every day of our lives.  He is still strong, capable, and mighty.  He is still in control, in charge, and alert to my situation.  He knows that you are far away from me, he knows that I want you here with me, and he knows when that will happen.  The really good news is that he knows my heart, and he loves me.  He has good things planned for me.  He hears me when I talk to him about you, and he hears you when you talk to him about me!  He loves us equally, knows what is best for us, sees our futures, and still chooses to have us apart for now.  Though it is hard for me to not have you, I am trusting this alert, capable, and mighty God and his plan for you and me and us.
Earlier this week Silas told me that before he went to bed he want to put his love all over me.  Then he gave me a bunch of kisses.   That brought a smile to my face.  This week as God has shown me in his word that he is in control of our lives, it has been like God is "putting his love all over us" just like Silas put his kisses all over my face.
I love you girls, and I cannot wait to kiss all over you again, but in the meantime I am enjoying the love of our great God and I know you are too.

Home Again....For Now

After an amazing week together, you girls are now back home.  Back in your beds at Lifeline, back in your normal routine, back in life for school.  You are back home, at least the home that you know for now.
As I sit here processing all that I have learned about you, all that I have seen of you, and all that I have processed about your life it is hard to know where to go now.  Without a timeline for your flight to Virginia, I am faced to wait.  The waiting is hard because I know you now.  I know how you will respond to things I do and say.  I know how you will giggle when you are happy, and how you will shut down when you are mad, and how you will crash when you are tired and how you will play when you are ready.  I'll be able to imagine you in our house, in our family, in our life.  And when I think about what that will look like, I love it.
This week you learned much more English, you learned how much we love you, you learned that having a Nana is really great.  But sadly, you learned that it is not time for you to come home yet, and that you will have to stay at Lifeline a little while longer.
This week I learned much more Creole (yes I did understand all those things you were saying to your friends about me!), I learned how you live, and I learned how you cope with how you live.  I learned that you are wonderful sisters to each other, that you are beautifully made by God, and that you long for me as much as I long for you.   I learned how to better pray for you and for me while I wait for you.  I learned that God has good things in store for all of us in His timing.
Naomi Sunshine and Joanna Sleyka, I love you and I thank you for a great week together.  I'll be praying and preparing for you, and I will see you soon!
Mwen renmen ou!!

My sisters are in Haiti

Last week I was driving several children into DC to attend a Kennedy Center school performance.  Among the children were my two boys.  As young children often do, the conversations was a period of questions and answers about families.  None of it was of much interest until I heard Silas describing his family to a friend.  "That's my brother James,"  he points to James.  And I have two big sisters who are at the Hinces house today.  And I have two sisters who are in Haiti."  It made me nearly stop on the highway.  I was so touched by the way everything is black and white in his world.  Of course he has sisters in Haiti.  The way he stated it so frankly, though, was striking to me.  It made it sound as if they are just away on vacation.  They are often not real in my mind, but for him, they are real and accounted for, just not yet present in our car or at our dinner table.

Last One Without You

Girls, I missed you on Christmas....even more than a normally do.  My heart hurt for you both.  Not because you were unsafe, or scared, or alone.  You were comfortable  and happy and under the care of people who love you.  But my heart was sad that we were not together.  Your cousins gave us a Christmas gift for each of you.  You'll love them when you get here.  Your siblings got your pictures off the fridge when we got up on Christmas morning so that you could be at the breakfast table with you.  We cleaned up your room today, and started getting a few things ready for you.  We miss you.  We love you and we know this is our last Christmas without you.

P.S.  Nana and I are packing our bags so get ready because in 13 days I'll be holding you again!!!

December Birthdays

I had hoped that the hustle and bustle of December would distract me from thinking about my girls.  Since coming home from meeting you both, it has been harder to wait for news of progress, harder to think about you without feeling lonely and discouraged, and harder to be away from you each day.  December 2 came and went, and we celebrated Sleyka's 3rd birthday without her.  Tomorrow Sunshine's birthday will come as well and we will celebrate her 6th birthday without her.  We were reminded this morning as we sat at the breakfast table and read our Bible that many people in history have waited for God's timing.  In Habakkuk the people were reminded that God heard when they cried out to him.  He knew their situation and he had a plan for them.  We were reminded that we need to sit at the top of our watchtower and wait expectantly for Christ.  We had hoped, in our human timing, to have word of dispensation before Christmas.  We had prayed that God would speed our process along.  We had dreamed of an adoption decree in 2012.  It seems God's time line is different from what we had hoped.  

Next week Jesus' birthday will come and we will celebrate him and worship him, and as we do, we will proclaim from our watchtower that Jesus Christ same to seek and to save.  We will rejoice that both of you girls will continue to grow and to hear God's word everyday at Lifeline.  We will expectantly pray and beg God to bring you home sooner, but we will wait in our watchtower and our hearts will grow fonder of you and long for you more each day.  And some day soon, we will get the phone call that says we are one step closer to you.

Happy Birthday Sleyka!

Happy Birthday Sunshine!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Home from Haiti

Ryan and Sunshine at lunch-talking about teeth

Last week we experienced several "firsts." It was our first trip to Haiti.  It was the first time we left our children home with a school work and a substitute teacher (Nana, you did GREAT!)  It was the first time we ate rice and beans for lunch and dinner every day for a week.  But, it was also the first time we met the two little girls who will grow our family this year.  It was the first time we held two  girls who learned to call us, "Maman and Papa."  It was the first time we got a real picture of what life might be like when those girls come home on a plane to live with us and be ours forever.

The purpose of the trip was two-fold:  to bond with the girls and to file an immigration form with the DHS in Haiti so the girls will be granted a travel Visa when the time comes.  In order to file this form, adoptive parents must meet the children and "approve"of them in person.

On both accounts  our trip was a success.  We met the girls at the orphanage on Monday and took them back to our hotel with us where they stayed with us until Thursday afternoon.  Tuesday and Wednesday were days to be together and get to know each other around the pool as well as a chance to meet other parents who are working through our same agency.  We played some games, swam in the pool, and watched some movies together.  We decided that "bonding" was an awkward word for what was taking place.  It is hard to bond with young people who you are meeting for the first time, especially when you do not share a common language.  (That said, they did understand some English and my rudimentary Creole was handy as well for conveying simple messages).  

Sunshine getting ready for a swim-the goggles were mostly for looks!

Thursday we had to go to the US Embassy to appear before a judge and accept the girls as our own.  The appointment took 4.5 hours  (actually it only lasted 5 minutes but there was a lot of waiting around).  When we got back to the hotel where they girls were playing with friends and some of the staff from the orphanage, we had about an hour before we had to say goodbye.  (Open the floodgates). I had hoped to go, conduct business, meet the girls, and come home with pictures and videos showing how cute they are and how much fun we had.

The best picture we have of Sleyka and mommy-courtesy of Sunshine!

In reality, I came home broken.  The business was conducted, the girls girls were met, and we came home with pictures and videos (not great ones, but they'll do). The brokenness came when I fell in love with these two little girls.  Sunshine is a vibrant young lady who loves people  cares for others, and wants to please everyone.  She nurtures her little sister, seeks out others who need help, and does all within  her power to love others.  Sleyka has a laugh that will melt your heart.  She is intrigued by others, enjoys watching life around her, and loves a good bag of animal crackers.  After three days of holding these girls and playing with them, I could start to see how they will fit in the family.  But I also realized that I can't start life with them yet....and that hurts.

All the girls-this is a pretty typical expression for Sleyka

So, when asked how our trip was, I can say it was hard, but it was good.  It was different than we expected (more vomit and crying  and less Skype time)  and it was critical to growing our faith.  We know that God's timing and provision is perfect so we'll trust Him in the rest of this process.  We also know that he joined our hearts to Sunshine and Sleyka through this trip and this Thanksgiving we'll be able to rejoice more richly knowing the sweetness of God's love.