Just Got the Phone Call...

We're in IBESR!

uʍop ǝpısdn

˙ןoɹʇuoɔ uı sı oɥʍ poƃ uƃıǝɹǝʌos puɐ ƃuıʌoן ɐ ǝʌɹǝs ǝʍ 'ʎןןnɟʞuɐɥʇ ˙ǝʇɐןǝɹ uɐɔ sʇuǝɹɐd noʎ ɟo ʎuɐɯ ǝɹns ɯ,ı ˙uʍop ǝpısdn pǝddıןɟ uǝǝq sɐɥ pןɹoʍ ɹno 'ʇdopɐ oʇ pǝpıɔǝp ǝʍ ǝɔuıs ɹǝʌǝ ʇɐɥʇ ƃuıʎɐs ʇnoɥʇıʍ sǝoƃ ʇı ˙sʇuǝuıʇuoɔ oʍʇ ɯoɹɟ uǝɹpןıɥɔ ǝǝɹɥʇ oʇuı pǝuɹnʇ ʇuǝuıʇuoɔ ǝuo ɯoɹɟ pןıɥɔ ǝuo sɐ pǝʇɹɐʇs ʇɐɥʍ

Awwwwwwwwwwwwww!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Chew on This!

Our friends and fellow adoptive parents, the Bettendorfs, are awaiting exciting news tomorrow!! Their dog, Ruby (far left), is one of the top 3 finalists in Milkbones National Spokesdog contest. The results will be announced on the Bonnie Hunt show tomorrow, the 23rd! If they win they will receive $100,000! If I had to pick just by looking at these three, I'd pick Ruby no questions asked!
For more, click here.

"I Saw What I Saw"

Sara Groves singing...

NEW PICTURES!!

They look older this month, though (whine, pout).

I can say it, you can't! :P



Sure wish we could just pack 'em up and bring 'em home with us!

Please visit our other blog!

Click here for a Flip Flop Fleet update.

Women, Don't Drive

Jenny inspired me to post this...

Another month goes by...

Today marks the 35th month since our log in date for China.

FINALLY!

After I started this 100 Wishes Quilt in 2005 I got really frustrated with the wait for China and the wait for fabric and I took a really long break from it! I joke that I hope I never need a kidney, because it sure has been an interesting experiment to get 100 pieces of fabric and 100 notes for Olivia from people!! And we still only have about HALF of the notes at this point!

Well, I have all the fabric now and I FINALLY made some progress! I still have lots to do, but the most tedious part is done. I had such a hard time figuring out where to put the squares. I could have spent 100 years trying to figure out the "best" spot for each square, but art is subjective and with fabric trickling in over three and a half years, I didn't wait until I had it all to start placing the squares. If I had them all at once I am sure it would look different, but if I had spent five more minutes on it, it would look different since I would have moved something just once more!!! HA HA!!

Dentist vs. Kid

The dentist won this round.

OUCH!

The one good thing about the actual PROCESS of adopting from Haiti is that it's making us appreciate the Chinese process. We moved out of the first stage for Haiti on August 6th. We never dreamed that SIX MONTHS LATER we would still be waiting to ENTER stage two. We try to stay positive, folks, but we are only human. This anniversary SMARTS.


Here again is the process for Haiti. All wait times are approximate and often are longer. Not included here is the wait time BETWEEN the steps:

1. First Legal - 1 to 4 weeks. WE MADE IT THROUGH IN JUST LESS THAN 2.5 WEEKS.
   
2. IBESR is next, which takes anywhere from 3 to 12 months
   
3. Second Legal - 1 to 4 weeks.
   
4. Then comes Parquet- 1 to 14 months. The official wait time is 2-4 months, but people have waited 7-8 months there.
   
5. MOI- It's supposed to take 1 to 3 months. Apparently 5-6 months is more likely.
   
6. Visas issued - This used to take a few days or maybe weeks. Now it is taking 5 months or more for American adoptions. It is due to a problem with the US Consulate in Haiti. Visas are issued by the Canadian consulate in 24 hours or less. The French consulate, less than one week.

At least with China there is some way to gauge the time-frame. This is a taxing process for Haiti, and in a country where there are so many kids who need forever homes, we pray that the process gets better and FASTER! FOR EVERYONE!!!

Another Musical Family

As many of you know, I sing with the Great Northern Union Chorus. Here is our director, Pete, with his wife and two oldest boys (directors in training?) singing "Down Our Way." Enjoy!

The Super Bowl Commercial You Weren't Allowed to See

You didn't see it because NBC refused to run it. One viewing of this powerful and ironic video and you'll understand why.