My Cow!

I had to give this cow some attention... cows are my favorite.

This was taken at Fort Jacques... the new orphanage site.

Trip to the Consulate

On my lap... For the wild ride!

Swinging on the Balcony!

Ft. Jaques - New GLA Site

Up at Fort Jaques - wow, this is impressive up here!! Beautiful!

Joe and His Son!

My Little Guy!

Oh how I love this cutie!

I-600 Interview - DONE!

We made it for our I-600 interview at the consulate... and all is now said and done (thankfully so, after all the angst of a couple weeks ago!)

And... the BEST PART was that we got to take Samuel Chancelet with us to Port au Prince!!! So we spent all day with him in our arms. Because he was an orphan, they were able to take care of his paperwork at the same time as ours (vs. having to do an interview later on with his birth parents.) So GLA decided to just have us take him to town with us. That was a true blessing as it was really special just to hang out with him.

He isn't fussy whatsoever and was so good the whole day (even when he got a bit sleepy.) He has a bit of a cough though, so he wasn't feeling great, but even with that, he was a perfect little baby. We haven't heard him cry yet. The road to Port au Prince is awful (scary, bumpy, crazy, etc...) so it was a long journey there and back.

The interview itself went fine; the line was short and it probably took us 30 minutes or so. They told us all the paperwork was good and there was enough evidence to declare him an orphan, with no parents. So that should help us with the US side at the very end of the adoption process.

It was odd to just have this baby handed to us and we were expected to "be parents" -- just like that! :-) I know that sounds funny, but I think most of you will understand what I mean.

I wish I could post some more pics, but can only do so with low resolution from the Blackberry, so will post a couple here and there.

Our First Family Picture!

A Few Thoughts

I have been trying to post a couple of pics via the Blackberry, but it doesn't seem to want to cooperate, so at a minimum I wanted to write... (I will keep trying on the pics though!)

Thanks to each of you who has sent comments and well-wishes! They are getting us through and we can feel the love and prayers!

I didn't sleep great last night - just thinking about everything and just being in a different bed/place, etc. was tough. We sat out on the guest house balcony until around 10pm last night talking with 2 other couples who are volunteering (they have both adopted from GLA in the past.). Nice to chat with them.

Our I-600 appt is today in Port au Prince at 11am. So we will see how that goes. It takes awhile to get down the mountain.

We enjoyed dinner with the group last night - huge group here right now! I think around 30. Then we played with Samuel Chancelet for awhile until heading back to the guest house. He is just so precious! We also enjoyed talking with the volunteers on the balcony yesterday afternoon - nice group of people for sure... Mostly college age who have really enjoyed this experience at GLA.

We are showering "baby-wipe" style today (fun times!). :-). I hear coffee/breakfast being made right now, so will head out there soon, and then go down to the main house to get our paperwork ready to go.

Please say prayers for our I-600 meeting today, that we don't get sick and that this adoption process speeds up (we need him home!)

Wow...

We have met our son! We were able to spend about 3 hours with him, just hanging out with the other volunteers... Wow, he is the best!!! He cuddles, plays and is just the cutest little guy! He is so special!!! I am one happy mom right now! :-)

Jaime (his last volunteer) left us the nicest letter about him and we are looking forward to keeping in touch as she lives in Portland too.

Trying to send a pic, but its not going through. :-(

I am the happiest person right now!

More later,
Jill

Landed in Haiti...

Trying to get off the plane - a slow process. They made us check our bags, which was frustrating. :-(

But we are here! My stomach is doing flip-flops...

Made it to Miami...

And it's time for another coffee! We slept a bit on the short jump down, but we are still a bit tired. Also this is the last STBX for awhile (especially for Joe!)

More later...

Tampa - Arrived.

We made it to the Tampa airport, got the car turned in, printed boarding passes and went through security with pretty much no hang-ups thus far... That's a good sign in my travel book.

AND there was even a Starbucks waiting for us on near our gate, which, as most of you know - made our morning! :-)

So, consider things good!
Jill

And They're Off!

We are headed to the airport; off to start our Florida/Haiti adventure! Follow us on our travel blog until we get to Haiti (when we then have adoption relevant material):

http://wilkinstravels.blogspot.com/


Cheers!
Jill (and Joe)

Haiti Trip... Emotions Evoked

I am anxious about this trip.

This however is not driven out of worry regarding safety, weather, getting sick or other things one should probably be concerned about when traveling to Haiti. I actually look forward to the travel itself, as I love to travel. I love to experience new places and expand upon my exposure to the world. I don’t get apprehensive about travel; I have traveled a lot (mostly for work) and I have always been extremely grateful for my experiences.

This trip though – it is different, and I am nervous (maybe even a little scared.)

I am meeting my son for the first time. I don’t know what that feels like. I am afraid of his reaction; afraid of my reaction. I don’t know how to reconcile my feelings on this subject, but the closer the date comes, I have noticed my fears coming to the forefront of my mind. I have played that “first meeting scene” over and over in my mind. I have data points via videos and descriptions of what it is like, so I have pieced together my own scenario. All the adoptive parents I correspond with have nothing but good things to say about this experience, so I should be looking at this as being all upside. I know this.

I am afraid of leaving Haiti. That day is going to be so hard for me emotionally. I normally keep my feelings well-hidden, but I know on this day I am going to be in complete disarray. I am going back without my son (the one I just met.) The thought makes me sad and I don’t look forward to it.

And then… we wait at home for another 6 months, 12 months, 18 months… however long it will take until this adoption is finalized. Waiting… This next year is going to be so hard. We are missing so important moments and interactions in his life and sometimes I get weighed down thinking about it. The red tape of all this makes no sense when it is keeping families apart, and keeping the orphanages from taking in new little ones.

However, I don’t take this opportunity to meet Samuel Chancelet for granted. I would not trade it for the world and I know I should be rejoicing in the fact that I get to meet my son! I am just anxious. This whole process is just crazy - when I think of how long I haven’t had a kid (or been able to) and now all of a sudden we are about to meet our 1-year old son in Haiti...

I pray God will give us strength to learn & grow - and that this experience will give us strength to get through the next year + of waiting.

Haiti Appointment Scheduled!

I was running my staff meeting when I saw this email from our Bethany rep pop into my inbox... I breathed a loud sigh of relief! Now we can go to Haiti feeling like things are lined up...

Joe and Jill,

GREAT news for you! GLA has received notice from USCIS in Haiti that an appointment has been scheduled for next week for you to file their I-600. The paperwork is all in order!

Have a fabulous trip!

Relevant

• And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me. (Matthew 18:5)
• Learn to do good. Seek justice. Help the oppressed. Defend the cause of orphans. Fight for the rights of widows. (Isaiah 1:17)
• Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (Proverbs 31:8-9)
• Father to the fatherless, defender of widows — this is God, whose dwelling is holy. God places the lonely in families. (Psalms 68:5-6)
• You are the helper of the fatherless. LORD, You have heard the desire of the humble; You will prepare their heart; You will cause Your ear to hear, To do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed, That the man of the earth may oppress no more. (Psalms 10:14,17-18)

Webcam Session #3 - Worth the Wait and Paperwork Red Tape

We just had our 3rd web cam session with the kiddo. This one is worth watching, as he was so animated and chatty!

He had a great volunteer with him (who has been with him the past 3 weeks.) AND the best part was that she is from Portland! So she will be able to see him again... she was really excited about that. She was showing Samuel Chancelet the book my mom had made, where is showed a picture of Portland "your new home" and she said "hey... they live where I live!" :-)

Key Information:

• We found out that he isn't a "handful" (my worry lately by that "sparkle" in his eyes!) but instead the volunteers all love him. She said every extra minute she has, she wants to spend it with him, so that just made my heart melt!
• She has been giving him a bath every day, and he loves them.
• She was been working on his walking - he has taken 4 steps now.
• They have been giving him extra snacks to help him gain some weight!

Enjoy... We certainly feel like the luckiest parents in the world right now! And we get to meet him in just 10 days!

The Video Snippet

A Few Screenshots

Just In... Good News (make that Great News!)

We just received this email from the senator’s office; my blood pressure is now officially starting to work its way down!

Hello Jill and Joe,

Good news! I have received confirmed with the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince that they have your I-171H there. At this point they are waiting for you to file your I-600 to complete the process. This can be done at the USCIS office in Port-au-Prince or at the USCIS field office in Yakima, WA that processes adoption petitions for our area. Please see the information below from the Port-au-Prince Embassy’s website that has some recommendations about I-600s.

I believe things should be taken care of at this point, but please let me know if there are still problems or if you have any additional questions.

Take care,

Constituent Services Representative, Office
of U.S. Senator

Thankful for Sound Advice

A fellow adoptive parent (who is also the only other one I know from Oregon, adopting from Haiti/GLA too) just sent me the soundest advice. She just went through the exact same paperwork issue we did (maybe it’s just an Oregon thing?!) At any rate, here are her words:

My advice (if you’re interested) is to assume it's been done - get excited, pack, pray, and live in that place. Worse case scenario, you get there and don't have an appointment. You've still met him for visa purposes, got to hold, love on, and bond with him, and gosh darn it- you'll just have to go again for the I-600. Or file it the 'old fashioned way'. But more than likely - you'll get to file the I-600.

I'm so excited for you - trust me that the moment you hold him- all of this stress will fade away, and you'd do it all again without a second thought just to be there with him.

Thanks Anita… I am listening! J I think God was using you to have a little “chill” session with me!

Thanks also to all of you who have sent the kindest thoughts and who are praying alongside of us right now. I have no new information today, so I guess we are just going to have to roll-with-it for now…

A Bit Of Sunshine!

I really needed a distraction from my frustrations… and look what I got?!

I just got an email from Cathleen (GLA adoptive parent who is quickly turning into my beloved sounding board.) She shared with me that there were some newly posted pictures of Samuel Chancelet! So, while it doesn’t solve all the paperwork woes, it gave me something to smile about today… :-)

"AUTO RESPONSE"

To those of you who are tracking our situation and saying prayers for us (thank you!) Here is what has transpired thus far today:

• The NVS won’t help us without a case number (Cathleen helped me realize this seems to be our missing link.) We have called and emailed (the email doesn't work - see the automated war & peace novel response below.) Nice, huh?
• Our senator’s office wrote back and said they would be happy to contact the embassy in Haiti to see if they have our I-171H. They said they would email when they got any news.
• Our Bethany Rep just emailed and said:
  “Dixie just tried to call to USCIS in Haiti, and found out the lady who she needs to speak to is out of the office until Monday. This is the only employee who handles the USCIS orphan investigations, and so unfortunately, no one else will give Dixie this information. Dixie is feeling quite confident, though, that if NVC says they sent the approval on to Haiti, that it will be there. She has had the same thing happen with a couple of other families, recently, and the approvals were sent. So, Dixie is not too concerned.”
  
  -----Original Message-----
  From: NVC Inquiry
  Sent: Wednesday, July 08, 2009 1:19 PM
  To: Wilkins, Jill
  Subject: AUTO RESPONSE
  
  PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS AUTOMATED NOTIFICATION
  
  Please be advised that, as of April 4th, 2008, we are now required to verify case specific information each time we receive an inquiry.
  
  According to U.S. law, the National Visa Center is only permitted to discuss details of a visa case with authorized representatives and when provided with all of the following information:
  
  * NVC case number or CIS receipt number
  * Petitioner's name and date of birth
  * Beneficiary's name and date of birth
  * Your full name
  
  Please do not respond to this inquiry.
  
  Thank you, National Visa Center
  

So Frustrated...

Okay... trying to take some deep breaths. Trying to move from cynicism to allowing God to take over. I struggle in times like this because if we don't actively work the issues, God isn't going to swoop down and do it for us. There are things that we have to take on and search out in order to problem solve. And we have been hit with problems today.

So as you may have guessed, I had a rough day. Joe and I went on a walk when I got home from work so that I could just blow off some steam (the treadmill would have been better but I didn't have that much energy left in me.) I told him I didn't know how on earth I was supposed to get through another year+ of this adoption drama. And he felt it too today being on the phone with case workers, doctors, senator assistants, etc... It just always seems like we are missing puzzle pieces and things turn out to be 11th hour nightmares (things that easily could have been avoided had we had more info.)

And again - it doesn't do any good to point fingers... water under the bridge. All I care about right now is hearing the words "the embassy in Haiti has your I-171H paperwork and you are good to go."

And now we find out that we have to fork over $500 for immunization's on Thursday (again, 11th hour nightmare.) The insurance covers Hep A & Tetanus, but not Hep B or Typhoid, and the doctor tells us that we will have to file the insurance claim ourselves... I ask: "why can't they handle it like every other doctor visit and bill them for us?" I can see the storm this creates down the road with convincing the insurance that they should pay this bill. So now we are now both wondering if it's worth the hassle.

We have tried so hard to follow every guideline, process and tip. Where did we mess up here?

And as I type, Joe is watching some Discovery Channel program about finger-printing technology. Don't even get me started! I am again, so frustrated by the process and red tape we are going through. Again, the whole "criminals have it easy" applies right now. We are good people, with good intentions. We just want a family... We are tired of being just "Joe and Jill." We are tired of being dubbed "selfish" when people don't know our story. I am tired of having "unexplained infertility." We just want to bring our son home from Haiti.

I am not a drama queen... but today, I feel like one.

Some Prayer Needed

Apparently we still don't have confirmation that our I-171H paperwork is at the embassy in Haiti. To be honest, I still don't know what we missed here - I have been looking back and don't know who is responsible for getting the paperwork from the NVS to the Haiti Embassy?

Also, we completley missed reading about the immunizations we "should" have taken care of before heading on the trip (thanks to Cathleen for making me aware, and Anita for verifying!)

We are now down to 7 days to go before our trip to Florida (then onto Haiti from there) and dealing with this stuff. I have a big customer crisis going on at work today so I was already stressed out by that... and then we got hit with this.

Here is what I just got from our Bethany rep:

I understand your frustrations and I am working with the Haiti Team to try and get a quick confirmation from GLA. Dixie has emailed the USCIS in Haiti and is waiting on them. The Haiti Team sent a message to Dixie again just to check to see if she had heard yet. USCIS usually responds to her right away when she sends something their way.

Appreciate your prayers that this gets resolved. :-(
I am trying to give this one to God.

The Outfit

I was enjoying a roam through some GLA pictures on-line yesterday and had to giggle. It seems this cheery little outfit has been worn by many GLA cuties!

I guess the thing that stands out to me is that Chancelet actually wore this outfit for both the January Update & the June Update! He is so little (he has been in the 14-15 lb range for months... He will be 14 months in a couple of days.)

Seattle Escape

We had a nice "escape" weekend to Seattle: http://wilkinstravels.blogspot.com/

Birthday Tree

We had intended to get this Magnolia tree planted on Chancelet's actual birthday... but better late than never.

So here is his "First Year Birthday Tree." We figured since we weren't able to celebrate it with him, we would plant a tree for him and they both can grow up together. :-)

Chancelet Update June 2009

We just got the update on Chancelet for June. He took his first steps on May 29th!!!

Well, it is me, Dixie, sending you the update...AGAIN! Melanie has not recovered quite as quickly as she thought she would and she will not return to Haiti until the 1st of July.

Chancelet Specific Update

· Weight: 15 lbs 11 oz
· Height: 27 cm

Chancelet loves to laugh, smile, and cuddle. He likes to tease and make us smile too! He bats his eyes and has everyone do all kinds of things for him! LOL. Chancelet is active and on the go. He doesn’t play with anything for too long and then sees something else that he is curious about and off he goes! He likes to touch and examine things. He wants to look at it straight on, upside down, front and back! He wants to know how it all works! The volunteers call him fearless. He will pick up and look an anything!

Chancelet is crawling everywhere and taking two and three steps by himself. He stands up from a sitting position on the floor. He took his first steps on May 29, 2009! Chancelet loves to be tickled under his chin.

Generic GLA Update

I encourage you to read the different blogs on the GLA website, www.glahaiti.org, to keep up on adoption news and things that are going on at the orphanage. Did you read about my encounter with the HUGE frog at 3 AM in the morning? Go read about it in my blog “And Life in Haiti Goes On…” It was truly a Haitian moment!

It has been raining every day since the 1^st of April. We are very, very tired of rain! We are praying for the sun to come out for a whole day and dry out all of the damp things. Rooms smell musty and we see green mold growing on things! Lots of children and volunteers have coughs, colds, and allergy symptoms. Usually, the rainy season starts 1^st of May and stops the first of June. Then it will rain occasionally but NOT EVERY DAY! Even up here on the mountain, it feels some days like we are living in a sauna! So pray with us for the sun to come out and the rain to stop for a little while. We really need to see the sun…

We have many volunteers here right now and the children are going out for walks with the volunteers and enjoying playing on the balcony with their special volunteer. Even all of the babies in the Intensive Care have a volunteer this month! The kids love their volunteers and I am so thankful that I started the volunteer program back in 1997. Today, we have a waiting list during much of the year for people wanting to come to Haiti to help with the children. God has truly blessed us in this area.

Blessings,
dixie

July Haiti Trip Plans: I-600

It's finally getting close enough to get excited and start thinking about it... :-)

We are heading to Clearwater, FL for Joe's 20th H.S. reunion on July 16th... And then on July 21st we will leave for Haiti to work on our I-600 paperwork.

I am so excited to be able to meet Chancelet face-to-face. I can't wait to give him endless hugs and kiss those chubby cheeks (I might just freak him out with all of my focused attention, given I will have 7 months (actually years!) of "pent-up" love to be shown in my 2 days there!) :-)

We both know it will be painful to leave him in Haiti, but we also can't miss this wonderful opportunity to meet him!

I-171H Paperwork... Hopefully Okay

We spent the week trying to get our paperwork moving for our I-600 trip next month. It needed to go from the USCIS to the National Visa Center and then on to the embassy in Haiti... (This was the paperwork issue I brought up earlier.)

We emailed the USCIS in Yakima, WA (of course they don't have a phone number to call - just email...) They emailed back and said they had forwarded our I-171H to the National Visa Center on June 12th. Okay... so I am thinking that it is probably sitting in someones "to do" box with no priority on it... (my fear.)

So our Bethany rep told us to contact our senators office and ask them to help us makes some phone calls. Joe called the office yesterday, left a message and waited (with little hope) for a call-back. To our surprise, a rep did call us back and had us fill out a form to explaining our request/situation. (Fortunately, the person we dealt with was very friendly, and more than willing to do what she could to help.) So she said she would contact the National Visa Center to see if they could speed things up.

I just received this notice from Bethany today (so hopefully we are okay now!):

"I was able to get a hold of the National Visa Center this afternoon as well and they let me know that they sent the paperwork to the embassy in Haiti yesterday. I am having the Haiti team confirm with GLA to make sure it gets there. I'll keep you updated."

Webcam Session #2 - We are all Smiles!

We just had out second session with Chancelet. :-) I posted a snippet of it so you can how is he doing. He is just so calm and quiet - pretty amazing. We snapped a few screenshots as well, and those are below.

Feeling pretty good right now - it's great knowing he is doing well and being taken care of by such wonderful volunteers. We met "Melissa" who did a wonderful job sharing Chancelet with us...

I was traveling for work last week and overheard a conversation in the airport. A woman asked how old a baby was, and the mother responded that her son was "13 months old." I thought to myself: "I have a son who is 13 months old too." Odd to ponder... but it sure made my heart smile.

The Video:

Some Screenshots:

Love those big brown eyes...

He was so cute here... looking up at Melissa.

Showing some teeth!

Waving good-bye...

More Paperwork Issues... I-171H

Not sure what this will mean for us, but we just got this email from our Bethany case-worker... (insert SIGH here.) I am so fearful this will impact our trip next month.

Joe and Jill,
When the USCIS renewed your I-171H the last time they did not send it to the Consulate in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. When this happens, it can be fixed by having the family email USICIS directly requesting that this be done. Below is the paragraph that you can copy and paste into your email. Please let me know when you receive a response.

"Our current I-171H was not forwarded to the US Consulate in HAITI with our most recent I-171H renewal. We will be traveling to Haiti to file our I-600 very shortly and will not receive an appointment until this form has been sent. Could you please send the case to USCIS in Port-au-Prince? Please let me know if you need more information."

Webcam #2... This Saturday

We have our second webcam session on Saturday and we are looking forward to seeing our little guy again! While I know he can't interact much, just seeing him is sometimes a blessing in itself. And I know it will help get us through another month of "THE WAIT."

No new updates or changes to share on the adoption progress (and not anticipating much of that for a few months) so here we sit & wait... learning patience.

We will get some screenshots posted on Saturday, assuming we have no technical difficulties with the webcam.

May Update has Arrived!

This month, GLA did not do a "formal update" but instead created a video for us, using various pictures of Chancelet over the past few months. There were some new ones in the video, so I had to rally and research to determine the best way to get some screen shots to share. Whew, figured it out and below are the pictures... He just melts my heart (and do you see he now has teeth?!) Oh how I wish he was home with us now...

Melanie will return in June and at that time, give us his weight, height and developmental information.

Here is a note from one of the volunteers:

Each one of your sweet babies has become uniquely precious to me in my time here. They are the faces that greet me each day and the reason I get up every morning. The love that they show and the hugs and kisses that they have given have filled my heart and my soul. I never imagined that 9 months and a few small children could change my life in such a way. I will leave here next month a different person than I as when I arrived. Through my time in Haiti I have fallen in love. I have had been incredibly blessed to be able to see the way that God’s Littlest Angels works from start to finish. I have watched Haitian parents bring their children to us with hope, I have seen the fierce love in their eyes as they look at that baby and know that they will have a future! I have watched the nannies in our nurseries who know each and every child’s fears and who calms their cries. I have seen the way they hold them, cuddle them and know exactly what to do to make them smile. They love them as if they were their own and your children love them too! I have seen forever families from all over the world come together, finally complete after months and years of waiting. I have seen the families that God built, using all of these people and I am in awe. I know that to be a part of this place is one of the greatest assignments of my life and I am forever grateful for the way that each of these babies has touched me.

So… I am just thrilled - it was such a fun update to receive!

Made it to Palm Springs!

For Blog updates, visit this site:

http://wilkinstravels.blogspot.com/

Haiti Travel & Palm Springs All in one Update!

We have our plans in place to make our first trip to Haiti for the I-600 paperwork. We will be going in July and were able to schedule it along with a trip for Joe's 20th HS reunion in Tampa, Florida (which was a blessing for both schedules and flight costs.)

I am so excited to know we get to meet Chancelet face-to-face; it's something that hardly seems real right now, but as it gets closer I am sure it will hit me. However, I also know it's going to be so hard to head home and leave him in Haiti. I have read a lot of painful stories from adoptive parents and I am not looking forward to that part of the trip. But I also wouldn't give up this opportunity to meet "our son" either!

We are heading to Palm Springs tomorrow - for the long weekend. Oh how I need this vacation. This is all about rest, relaxation & sunshine (though wouldn't you know it - we are having REALLY nice weather in Oregon right now!) But it's going to be a nice getaway and especially nice given we were able to use my hotel points & flight miles! :-)

One hand full of rest is better than two fists full of labor and striving after wind.

Ecclesiastes 4:6

More Fingerprints?!

So, apparently my fingerprints "did not pass" - the print of my little finger on my right hand was “too dark.” This was the outcome of the most recent of fingerprint requirements; Oregon now needs to have fingerprints with the Homestudy, in addition to what is on file with the FBI. So now I have to go back in and have them re-done at the Sheriff’s office.

This comes after already going through the FBI, twice… and the Sheriff’s office once (not to mention that I was already on file because I was a coach.) How many fingerprints does it take to catch a criminal? As I have stated before: I am QUITE SURE if I committed a crime they would find me in a matter of seconds (regardless of the little finger being a bit too dark.)

GOOD GRIEF… this is bureaucracy at its worst (in my humble opinion.)

Joe’s fingerprints? Just fine.

SIGH… I am a little frustrated, can you tell?

Dinner with a Friend

We went out to dinner on Tuesday with my friend Jody... She lives in California, but was up here speaking at a similar event at Linfield to the one we did last week. She and I both played basketball at Linfield College (hence the THEN & NOW photos!) :-)

It was so good to hang out with her and both Joe and I were so glad to have the opportunity. We recently "connected" as we are both struggling with similar life "mountains" and she said it best with these words:

"Though I am not happy about recent circumstances in my life, I am grateful that it has brought you back into it...and that we can share as we journey."

No updates or new information on our little guy… I am not anticipating getting our monthly update until the last week, so things are “quiet” right now. That just leaves me to stare at pictures on my desk. I did work on his Lifebook last night, so that made my heart happy.

We have a getaway planned for Palm Springs the back half of next week and I am so looking forward to it… just the opportunity to get some rest & relaxation (not to mention get in some sunshine, and away from work.) I think it is just what we need.

Jody & Jill: THEN

Jody & Jill: NOW

Happy Birthday Chancelet... Happy Mother's Day...

Quite a weekend it was...

Saturday was Chancelet's FIRST birthday! It was bitter-sweet, as I would have liked to have celebrated it with him. And I fear birthday number two will also go by in the same manner. But we pray God gives us the strength to stay strong, and we also have comfort knowing he is in a very loving place which brings us peace.

We also celebrated Mother's Day with Joe's mom and dad in Bend, OR. They have a house on the Deschutes River; it was so nice to have some rest & relaxation time. We got up both mornings and went for a long walks on the trails - it was very beautiful and quiet. We also went out to dinner at the Pine Tavern (an old Bend establishment!) and had a really nice evening...

So... all-in-all, it was a very nice weekend, but also tough.

Giving More, Taking Less

We went to my nephew's track meet last night... He is really doing well and it was fun to see him compete.

The best thing I could have done for myself this week was stop being self-absorbed and frustrated with the adoption, and do something for others… So I had two good opportunities for this:

1) Joe and I attended a "Life after Linfield College" dinner event
We were among 10 alumni who spoke to ~70 students about our careers, etc... We each sat with a table of 7 students and also had an etiquette lesson (I now know the important process on how to "properly" eat bread - apparently I have been doing it wrong all of these years!) :-)

It was just one of those evenings where you looked back on life, and realized how far you have come, and that you have a lot to be thankful for. I saw the hope and excitement in the students' eyes, and it encouraged me to remember that God has done so much in my life.

2) Jeff’s track meet:
We love our nieces and nephews and it is fun that they now live close enough to be able to see them more often (though not often enough.) Sometimes it takes away my “own” time, which makes me sigh internally, but then realize how selfish that was of me. I am always glad when I give them time, and I wonder why my evil monster dares to test me on that every time?! I do feel so much better when I give more; I need to pray about this.

I guess it’s hard when you work full-time+, not to just go roll up in a ball on the couch when the day is done, but then I think “Jill, what happens when Chancelet arrives?!” My world is going to be turned upside down so I better start getting used to it! I need more energy from somewhere - anyone know where the nearest fueling station might be? (wow, there is so much more I should reflect upon in this area; I just opened up a new can of worms for myself to analyze.)

Anyway, both of these things were events that fell into place without me even knowing I needed them. I need to do more “non-Jill” focused things, I think.

Now it’s time to go deal with some work conflicts going on with my staff… Oh the drama. I have some “sibling” fighting going on that I need to attend to. It all should make for a fun day (on top of the stuff that already needed to be accomplished.)

First Webcam Session - Success!

We had our first webcam session with our little guy today! It was so fun to get to see him in real life.

The "full" video is about 14 minutes, but I wanted to put a "snippet" of it for others to see (embedded below.) It was a bit choppy and tough to converse, but well worth the time. Given Chancelet doesn't have much to say at this age, we just visited with Emily, the volunteer... but he was happy and engaged in the whole process. :-)

What a fun day it was! We can't wait until we can meet him face-to-face, but this sure gave us something to look forward to! A BIG thank-you to GLA and the volunteers for making this opportunity available to us!

And also we wanted to thank Jason & Jaime, my sister and Allison for helping do our webcam tests (we truly appreciate your willingness to be guinea pigs for us!)

Here is the video clip!




Here are a few screen shots as well! :-)

Webcam Session Tomorrow: 5/2

We are SO looking forward to our webcam session with Chancelet tomorrow. J It is at 11am PST (if all goes well and the weather is cooperating in Haiti.)

We are both a bit nervous, given we haven’t ever interacted with him before, but we are also very excited. I have been reading about other parents who have had their sessions, and everyone has been really positive about it.

I am not sure if we have the recording functioning completely figured out at this point, but I think so… we are going to try to test it one more time before tomorrow. It would be so nice to share the session with our family members…