A Christmas Miracle?

Santa has his work cut out for him this year. Both boys woke up this morning, in such sweet moods (this isn't always the case...). Caden said, "I love you mom, love you Preston, love you dad" and Preston says, "I love everyone" You get the idea. Just so sweet.

Then Caden says, "Since Santa is magical, I know what he'll bring us for sure this Christmas" I was expecting him to say Bakugans or the Nintendo DS....he says, I know Santa will definitely bring Avery to us and she'll stay forever" Preston agreed, Santa will definitely not forgot to pack Avery in a large box addressed to: Mommy, Daddy, Caden, Preston, Gramma, Papa, Poppy, Granny, Aunt Robyn, Uncle Aron, and Mer.... And when they see this box, they said they'll KNOW exactly whose inside. They figure Santa will try to disguise the box but they're already on to him...uh oh. Both boys agreed, Avery would want a princess dress to wear when she arrives.... Not sure how I am going to explain it to them, when there is no large box with a miracle inside.

Countdown..

We have a couple different countdowns going on in our house right now. The boys are counting down our trip to NY next week, I am silently counting down (sometimes I feel like it's really not going down) the months until Avery comes home, and well...let's face it...the Christmas countdown has begun. Believe it or not, there is only 37 days until Christmas.

Normally, I wouldn't panick. But, Caden has asked for 3 specific things from Santa this Christmas. It wasn't until this past weekend that I realized one of them is not available...ANYWHERE! He wants a Bakugan Battle Pack. I have never heard of Bakugan. But, yesterday, he said if Santa brings him a Bakugan Battle Pack that will make his day, I knew I had to find one.

So, I have spent the past hour bidding on Bakugan sets on Ebay, only to get sniped out by those Ebayers who love to steel the item at the last second. So, finally, I won a Bakugan Set with only 2 seconds to go. Yes, I had to pay $15 over the Walmart price, but Walmart doesn't have any in stock, so that's the way it goes!

I also just got off my weekly "Haiti" Chat group. It sounds like a couple of us were told some information that was not accurate. In my last post, I mentioned the birth parent interview, in Dec. I thought after that takes place they can no longer change their minds...but I heard wrong. The birth parents have rights to take the child back up until that child boards the plane...and considering the birth parents can say their final goodbye at the airport...well, it's very nerve wracking. However, our coordiator has said time and time again, do not worry about this. It is very rare for this to happen. But, it has happened, so that's enough to get my mind running...

When?

Since I arrived home from Haiti, everyone is asking me when she'll come home. To be honest, I don't know any more information since before I went on the trip. We are hoping next summer, but that is a longshot.

Avery's parents are scheduled for an interview December 2nd at 9am. We are of course, hoping and praying that they'll show up for this appointment. We hear it is unlikely, as usually these interviews end up having to be rescheduled a couple times...but we can still hope. If they are able to make the appointment, they'll sign some sort of paperwork (not exactly sure what) but at that point they will no longer be able to change their mind and take Avery back. I think we'll also find out if a DNA test is required, again hopfully not, as that just slows down the process. I have read about stories of birth parents changing their minds, and the adoptive families being left just heart broken. So we are still guarded, but hopeful, that Avery will remain our baby. It is rare for birth parents to change their minds (mainly due to poverty) but it does happen.

Anyway, nothing else new on the homefront. Everyone, but Mike, has colds/coughs. It has been a hard adjustment for me, coming back from Haiti, feeling sad, and losing our precious videos of her when I got home (which we were able to recover...a miracle!!!)

I miss these eyes and that smile

Some of my favorites...

Haiti Photos

I think the easiest way to view my photos is going to be clicking on this link to my shared Haiti album on snapfish. If you have a snapfish account, just log in to view. If you don't, you'll need to create one (it's free). As others get back from our trip, I am sure you'll find lots of other great photos on their blogs as well. We traveled with a group of 25 and everyone took lots of photos and videos. I'll put my videos on Youtube and post those soon!

Here's the snapfish link to my album:
http://www1.snapfish.com/share/p=79061225983653945/l=440898951/g=19530073/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB

Haiti Trip Nov 2008

I arrived home from Haiti at midnight last night. It's hard to know where to start, to describe the trip. It was a whirlwind. We arrived Sunday afternoon, and checked in at the hotel. Then we went to the orphange and visited and picked up our kids. Some ran right to their parents, some screamed, some just looked confused! Avery (Estherline) was a little confused and only screamed a handful of times. She was so sweet, shy and a little skinnier than I would have liked. She came right to me but definitely had a look of confusion for quite a while! It was so amazing to hold her and cuddle with her. The first night she slept for 15 hours straight and never made a peep!

The next morning, I went to sign the I600 at the Consulate office. All went very smoothly. Then we took a tour of some of the areas the kids came from. Very eye opening. Families live in concrete block "shanties" and many had no roofs. There was garbage everywhere. They all have so little. Everyone we encountered was so friendly and we were always safe.

I have a lot of photos to go through and videos. I didn't spend as much time at the O as some, so I don't have photos of all the little ones. I do have a lot of photos of the older kids.

It was so sad to give her back, I had to hide in my room for a little while to collect myself. But, the nannies love all the kids and I know she'll be safe until I can return.

Off to a Bumpy Start...and Halloween

I am packing up my documents that I have set aside to bring on my trip. There are 5 zillion documents one needs to adopt. My flight leaves in 7 hours and I am missing a page to our 2007 tax returns. Here is Mike's office, torn apart, as he searches to find it. Long story short...he found it, crisis averted.

Here's a few photos from last night. Guess I am not going to bed tonight...still doing laundry...have to leave for airport in about 6 hours. Tomorrow is going to be a LONG day! But it's all worth it!