tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79963932160394986812024-02-19T06:10:30.620-08:00Bring Nephtali HomeIn 2009 God placed a little girl in our hearts. I held Nephtali during the January 2010 earthquake and leaving her behind was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. This is the account of her journey home.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger79125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-71149682508811642722013-05-27T07:36:00.001-07:002013-05-30T18:04:04.634-07:00In the Air<p>We are in the air. And we appear to be making good time after a lengthy delay due to heavy rain and lightning.</p>
<p>If we land when we are predicted to we will have about 12 minutes to get to our connecting flight. At the Dallas/Ft Worth airport, that's not likely. We're hoping there's a flight available later in the afternoon or evening..</p>
<p>Please continue to pray that all goes well and we are able to arrive in Haiti as scheduled.</p>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-10474329173787834382013-05-26T18:03:00.001-07:002013-05-26T18:03:23.739-07:0012 & 9612 - The number of hours until we get on a plane.<br />
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96 - The number of hours until our little girl gets off the plane.<br />
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<i>And Nick as healed enough that we are not concerned about her travelling... That's a very good thing indeed. Praise God.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-527854430232009642013-05-20T15:15:00.000-07:002013-05-20T15:15:44.551-07:00Joy & PrayerWe have been experiencing a whirlwind of emotions over the last week.<br />
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First the good news. Nephtali's Visa appoint is set for tomorrow and plane tickets have been purchased. If all goes as planned, we will be flying to Haiti next Monday on the 28th and will be bringing her home on the 30th.<br />
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Now the not-so-great news. Nicky is experiencing extreme sciatica and cannot not sit down for more than a few seconds without tremendous pain. As it is now, there is no way she could endure the plane rides (or even the hour-long ride to the airport). The last time she experienced sciatica, it lasted almost six weeks.<br />
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As anyone in her shoes would, Nicky wants so desperately to make the trip. And as anyone in my shoes would, I want her by my side when I make the trip. Please join me in prayer that God will heal her in time to travel.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-52845790791897217662013-05-14T11:52:00.000-07:002013-05-14T11:52:25.835-07:00Approved<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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What words do you type to describe a feeling so long in the making that you yourself, when you hit your knees and raised you hands high, couldn't find? When the only sounds were moans and tears? </div>
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Maybe instead of finding the words I will share the ones sent to us and you will understand. "USCIS in Port au Prince, Haiti is pleased to inform you that the I-600 petition, which you filed at this office on December 7, 2011 on behalf of Nephtali Lehaut, seeking to qualify her as your immediate relative has been approved" </div>
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Approved....4 year and 4 months praying for those words. </div>
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Our Butterfly is coming home.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-67306251963041940222013-05-13T10:08:00.006-07:002013-05-13T10:19:49.358-07:00A Daughter, a Stranger, a Blessing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Wednesday is Nephtali's 8th birthday. This is the 5th birthday spent apart from our not-so-little-now Butterfly. The years have gone by and she is not the round faced little goofy toddler that ran into my husband's arms chewing on a crayon and sashaying down a pretend runway to the laughter and clapping of the big girls around her. She is now a little lady. A spunky beautiful little lady so eager to learn new things but so stubborn when she is not interested. So quick to flash her smile and melt your heart, to act a clown to make you smile, and to stop and bow her head in prayer.<br />
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Over the years we have learned may things about this amazing child of God. This child that we have prayed for, fought for, and have been blessed to call our daughter. But in truth, as hard it is to say... a little lady of eight. Five birthdays later... and still a stranger in so many ways.<br />
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There are so many mysteries to uncover in this bundle of curly black hair, big front teeth, and skinny little arms and legs. What is her favorite color? Will she favor chocolate or vanilla? Is she afraid of spiders like her Papa? Will she be a book worm and soak up stories? What talents has God given her? What giants does she battle when she closes her eyes?<br />
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There is a beautiful tapestry that has been woven over the past eight years with perseverance and pain, laughter and love, caution and curiosity, but we haven't been able to be close enough to see those individual threads that have been used in its making, just the big picture it makes when seen from afar.<br />
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May 15th, this year, will be the same as it has been the past four years in many ways. Nephtali will go to school, she will play, she will eat her rice and beans, she will be still with her thoughts and dreams, she will close her eyes and fall sleep. Will she even know it's her birthday?<br />
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Here in Kansas we'll make Haitian spaghetti, we'll hold hands and thank God for our far away butterfly and pray for her well-being, we'll make a cake and sing happy birthday in hopes that a note or two will be carried on an angel's wings across the ocean to her ears as she drifts off to sleep.<br />
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But May 15th this year will also be a little different. This year there is a seed of hope growing - a whisper in the winds from heaven - a stirring in our hearts. A whisper which says this is the last last birthday of hers we will celebrate apart.<br />
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We are almost there sweet butterfly. We are almost close enough, precious daughter, to see, to learn, to embrace the colors, the textures, the strengths and weaknesses that make up who you are. We are almost ready to stretch out our arms and hold you tight, never to let go again.<br />
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All Glory to God. He creates the most beautiful things and writes the most amazing stories.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-89459342545592190452013-05-12T20:22:00.002-07:002013-05-13T10:09:37.096-07:00Interview DoneThanks for all the prayers. We do know that the interview on the 9th did happen, but we do not know how it went. We now continue to pray and wait for USCIS to send us an email to see if their confusion is cleared up with the information they were given. It could take a couple weeks to get a reply from them.<br /><br /> Nephtali's 8th birthday is this coming Wednesday. This will be the 5th birthday of hers we've celebrated apart. Praying hard it can be celebrated for two reasons. The first in thanksgiving because of God's goodness at bringing that precious butterfly into this world and the second for an approval to bring her HOME!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-65948198153727031352013-05-06T13:02:00.002-07:002013-05-06T13:02:51.008-07:00So CloseIt's a little over two weeks since our final documents were submitted. We were expecting 3 or 4 weeks before we heard anything but on Tuesday of last week we received an email from USCIS (US Customs and Immigration) asking for clarification on some dates in the paperwork.<br /><br />Nephtali's birth father has abandoned them and gone to the Dominic Republic years ago but had since come back to Haiti. Because he was back in the country IBESR (Haitian Social Services) wanted him to go to court to relinquish his rights. When he did so they put that paperwork in with her mother's, making it seem that the mother and father appeared together and making the previously-provided dates appear inconsistent. USCIS asked our lawyer for clarification and a written statement of what happened.<br /><br />The Lawyer responded quickly with an email explaining the confusion and said she would get them the written statement and another document to support the clarification.<br /><br />We received an email this morning from USCIS stating that they had scheduled an interview for the birth father and Nephtali on May 9th at 9am. The orphanage director's assistant has responded that she should be able to find the birth father and get him and Nephtali there. Later the lawyer also responded that the written statement would be delivered at that same time.<br /><br />This is the same heart-wrenching interview that was done last year with Nephtali and her birth mother. <br /><br />Friends, this interview is not pretty. USCIS is making 100% sure that there isn't the slightest chance the birth family can be restored. With so much trafficking and bribery in the adoption system, it's something they can't avoid. But it can be a very ugly interview. It's broken my heart several times to hear stories of children repeating the questions and answers about them in this process. Please pray for Nephtali's heart as she, again, has to sit in a room listening to one of her birth parents explain how they do not want her or anything to do with her.<br /><br />Please also pray that Her birth father can be located, has his ID, and says all the right words to satisfy USCIS and that the written statement from the lawyer clarifies everything so that we can receive our final approval in the next week or two.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-79265214251562288702013-04-26T09:23:00.001-07:002013-04-26T09:31:25.172-07:00Giving Page & Airfare<div style="text-align: center;">
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We've had a few people ask about how to donate to help us raise the funds needed to fly to Haiti and bring Nephtali home. We have updated our giving page on the right to reflect what our current needs are. We've also posted a video we made a little while ago, <i>Our Promise to our Butterfly</i>, on the giving page. To view it, just click the play button on the "then and now" picture of Nephtali.<br />
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Some of you have also asked when are we going to bring her home. We do not have an exact date yet; but it will be very soon. Once we get the final approval from the US government, which is expected in a few weeks, we will be given a date for Nephtali's Visa appointment. Her Visa will be ready for pick-up a couple days after her appointment. Once we have this date we will be buying tickets and flying from KS to Haiti, where we will need to stay for a few days. It could be more if there is an issue with the any final documents. This has happened to a few families and adds a couple days to the stay.<br />
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During our time there we will be giving Nephtali the time she needs to say good-bye to her orphanage family and throw something of a going away party to celebrate her leaving to join her forever family. Then, when all the documents are in order and we are ready, the three of us will fly HOME!<br />
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HOME!!! I just had to say it again! after 4 years and 3 months this part of the journey is almost over and we can start to walk down the new road of learning to be a family... TOGETHER!<br />
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Praise God!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-31562596215898268302013-04-17T09:13:00.001-07:002013-04-17T10:00:53.069-07:00PASSPORT!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Praising our God for His continued goodness. Our daughter has her passport. We are on the final stretch prayer warriors! Next stop is USCIS were they will take a few weeks and give their final approval for her to come to the US. A few days after that they will schedule a Visa appointment for her and, Lord willing, she will be on a plane with Erin and I and on her way HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-20207758003574245242013-04-17T07:24:00.004-07:002013-05-20T15:34:30.855-07:00Every Child Deserves A Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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"Every Child Deserves A Home" by Newsong</div>
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To be remembered on your birthday</div>
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Feel a father’s kiss goodnight</div>
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To have a mother wrap her arms around you</div>
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And say it’s gonna be alright</div>
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These are the things we take for granted</div>
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That every child should know and love</div>
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It’s simply heaven’s way of telling them</div>
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They are precious in this world</div>
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Precious in this world</div>
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Every child deserves a home</div>
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Every child deserves to hear the words, “You are not alone.”</div>
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Every life on earth is sacred</div>
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Every heart is heaven’s own</div>
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Every child deserves a home</div>
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Deserves a home</div>
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They are out there by the millions</div>
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Hurting children without hope</div>
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Little boys and girls who need a family</div>
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That they can call their own</div>
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Now it’s up to us to help them</div>
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We can’t just close our eyes</div>
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Jesus loves the little children</div>
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And His arms are open wide</div>
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They are open wide</div>
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Every child deserves a home</div>
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Every child deserves to hear the words, “You are not alone.”</div>
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Every life on earth is sacred</div>
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Every heart is heaven’s own</div>
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Every child deserves a home</div>
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There’s something in their faces that tells us their story</div>
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There’s something in their cry that keeps calling out, “Don’t forget about me.”</div>
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Red and yellow, black and white</div>
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They are precious in His sight</div>
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Jesus died for all the children of the world</div>
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Every child deserves a home</div>
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Every child deserves to hear the words, “You are not alone.”</div>
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Every life on earth is sacred</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-26591116816981840992013-04-13T09:20:00.001-07:002013-05-20T15:33:57.931-07:00Are You Listening?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's another weekend, proceeded by another week of no news. Weekends are hard. The silence is madding and filled with wonderings of why, still, no news. But this Saturday morning there was a voice in the silence. <br />
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So many in our world do not believe God is real or if they do, that He really cares. They close their eyes to things they see or hear and turn from Him instead of to Him. He is always there, even when all we hear is silence. He is in the wonders around us. He is in the day to day. He is in the things that rock our world. He is in the little note from a friend. He is everywhere. But are we looking? Are we listening?<br />
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This Saturday He was there as I sat at the kitchen table with my cup of coffee. Sitting and thinking of how to spend the next two days. How do I fill the weekend so that I don't dwell on the thought that there was no news and won't be for the next few day?. How to I fill the weekend so that I am redeeming the time with my family as it is now before it changes? How do I get up and fold the laundry when I don't care how high it's piled? How do I do it when I just want it over and Monday to be here?<br />
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And there was God. In the note of a friend. In the sunshine on my face. In the pages of a devotional I didn't want to read.<br />
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<i>"WHEN I GIVE YOU no special guidance, stay where you are.Concentrate on doing your everyday tasks in awareness of My Presence with you.The Joy of My Presence will shine on you, as you do everything for Me.Thus you invite Me into every aspect of your life.Through collaborating with Me in all things, you allow My Life to merge with yours.This is the secret not only of joyful living but also of victorious living.I designed you to depend on Me moment by moment, recognizing that apart from Me you can do nothing.</i><br />
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<i>Be thankful for quiet days, when nothing special seems to be happening.Instead of being bored by the last of action, use times of routine to seek My Face.Although this is an invisible transaction, it speaks volumes in spiritual realms.Moreover, you are richly blessed when you walk trustingly with Me through the routines of your day." ~</i>Jesus Calling<br />
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He loves me. He answered my questions. <br />
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He loves you. He is speaking to you too. Are you listening?Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-21158890071064395032013-04-08T08:41:00.000-07:002013-04-08T08:41:19.074-07:00Still Waiting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over four weeks have passed since we got out of MOI. The projected passport printing after one week did not happen. Nor did it happen the week after that, or the one after that.... and so on. This is all part of adopting from Haiti. Something as simple as printing a few pages can take, what feels like, forever.<br />
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We had heard from a family, adopting from another orphanage, that on the week before Easter the immigration office had run out of passbooks. They were expected in the Thursday before Easter, but did not come in before they closed early that day for the holiday weekend. The Monday after Easter this family received word that their passbooks were in and, later that day, printed and picked up. It boggles the mind how one can move so smoothly with information along the way and another without news or movement.<br />
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We have faced that our dreams of having her home before her 8th birthday are no longer a reality. Now we are praying that possibly we could have USCIS's final approval by then and know that travel would be likely only a few weeks after that.<br />
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Most of my posts on here, lately, are just quick updates. To look deep and write from the heart right now hurts too much.<br />
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The wait has not gotten any easier after four years and three months. It has gotten harder... much harder. The missed milestones have been piling up in my mind. I am ready to brush those aside and replace them with a new pile of togetherness.<br />
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But you can't have togetherness without the together part. And for that we are still waiting.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-26160971669744871622013-03-12T12:50:00.001-07:002013-03-12T12:50:48.167-07:00On His Shoulders<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was too excited and... well... slightly in shock, to share
on Friday that we received word we were out of MOI! Two weeks and two days...
WOW! In the four years we have been walking/running/stumbling along this road we
have never seen quick movement like this. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Thursday night I was talking with a friend and expressing to
her how my heart was hurting. I was crying and, quite frankly, whining about
how tired I was of the wait. I told her how I had prayed for a sign from God we
were getting to the end of this. That the wait would soon be over and we would
be holding our daughter. My mind knows I shouldn't have been whining. I
shouldn't be pleading for a "sign." God has been more than generous
with me and my cry-baby episodes over the four years and has made very clear
that He has got this. But I was just like a tired toddler, who doesn't intend
to pitch a fit, but is just overwhelmed and needs rest but won’t lie down and
close its eyes. And just like a patient and loving parent, for the 100th time,
God wrapped his arms around my trembling shoulders and soothed me with His
sweet voice and answered my prayer for a sign with an email in the morning.<o:p></o:p></div>
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He didn't have to answer. There is so much more work to do
in me. He could have let me wait and remember the things He has already taught
me. But instead He acknowledged how worn out I am.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now, this doesn't mean the wait is over, but the finish line
is within sight. How I tremble typing that. We can see the finish line. There
might still be a pit or a boulder in our way as we get there. But we can see
it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Our loving Daddy picked us up and put our tired bodies on
his shoulders as the journey continues so that we can see the end. Telling us,
yet again, that as each day brings us one day closer to holding her, "I
got you. I got this. I will get you there." <o:p></o:p></div>
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Please continue to pray with us. We are now waiting for
Nephtali's passport to be printed. Our prayer is that it is printed and
completed this week. If it is printed this week or next we could still be
looking at bringing Nephtali home for her birthday (mid-May)!<o:p></o:p></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-23929991591443783592013-02-22T10:01:00.002-08:002013-03-12T11:44:24.346-07:00One Step CloserPrayer Warriors<br /><br />We have moved to the next step in our adoption. We are in MOI (the office were our paperwork is checked over and we are granted permission for Nephtali's passports to be printed). This step has gone as quickly at two weeks for some and as long as several months for others. Please join us in prayer that all our paperwork is in order and we can be granted permission for passports very quickly! <br /><br />Nephtali, sweetie, we are getting closer!!!<br /><br />*Once we do get to passports that step can also be as little as a few weeks or as long as several months to get them printed. So please keep that in your prayers also!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-86941929698262714772013-02-14T11:36:00.001-08:002013-02-14T11:36:51.028-08:00My Dear Little Far-Away Valentine<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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My Dear Little Far-Away Valentine,<br />
<br />
I am missing you today, just like everyday. I know today is really just another day, but as I watch your little brother and sister I wish away. I you were here eating a silly valentine's breakfast. I wish you were here to smell the sweet flowers. I wish you were here cutting, and gluing a huge pile of red and pink paper. I wish you were here, paint on your clothes and marker on your fingers. I wish I could squeeze and tell you I love you. I wish I could make you smile and giggle.<br />
<br />
Soon.<br />
<br />
Until then, know your mama is praying for you. Every holiday, every season, every month, every week, every Thursday, every Monday and every day in between. I am praying that you smiled. I am praying that you are safe. I am praying for your belly to be full and your heart to be content. I am praying that you giggled and shared a hug with a friend. I am praying you know we are missing you and love you so. I am praying the time apart is coming to a close. I am praying we've seen the last valentine's day separated by long and lonely miles.<br />
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Happy Valentine's Day, Precious Butterfly.<br />
<br />
Love,<br />
Mommy<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-46797876376087476222013-01-28T11:59:00.002-08:002013-01-28T11:59:19.354-08:00Four Years<br />
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The other day someone asked me, "It isn't <i>really</i> four years. Is it... <i>really</i>?" Their head was tilted to the side and their eyebrows raised. My old nature pressed against my heart to answer. Pain wanted to give a snippy reply. But instead I closed my eyes for a split second and sent a S.O.S. up to God for guidance and responded with a gentle yes.<br />
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Four years have come and gone this past week. Four years since my husband sat down with the adoption lawyer and started the plans to bring our daughter home. Four years with paperwork gathered, lost, regathered, not good enough, gathered, updated, redone, gathered again. Four years and three lawyers later. Four years of Haiti opening, closing, opening, and changing the adoption process. Four years with an earthquake, floods, and riots. Four years of watching our child grow and change in pictures. Four years of her asking if can she come home yet. Four years of praying, hoping and trusting.<br />
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It is so hard sometimes. I struggle. I take that pain, hurt, jealousy, and anger and I lay it down at the cross. I don't want that burden on my heart, but honestly, I never leave it there for good. Whenever the longing comes, whenever I see a new picture of her, whenever I think of the things she should be doing with us, whenever I miss her... its right there again attached to my thoughts of her by an invisible tether.<br />
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I am tired. My heart is so tired. I long for the days when we look at pictures and heaps and heaps of memories with our family together together fill my heart, instead of empty silence and hundreds of miles.I look forward to the day that tether is broken. When the pain of the wait and the things that have been missed is only a tiny blip on the radar of my memories.<br />
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I can't change the past. I can't change that it has taken four <i>years </i>to get to this point. I waste so much energy sometimes, wishing I could, wishing it was different. Each day I have to start at the present moment and keep trusting God. Because he has painted a picture that is much bigger than the four years worth of snapshots I keep looking at over and over. It's a picture that is in the past, the present, and the future. It's one I should always look to with faith. I can pull that bigger picture to my heart and know that it is good because <i>He </i>is good...<i>always</i>...even when the tears fall and the wait is long.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-51304842653449128652012-11-29T12:16:00.000-08:002013-03-12T11:46:04.315-07:00Feels Like Family<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our friend Emily, who lives at the Lifeline orphanage in Haiti, will be coming home for a month to be surrounded by her family and friends for Christmas. Before she does, she has been taking some of her free-time to let the families adopting from Lifeline Skype with their children. Yesterday was our turn. <br />
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Erin got out of work early and we all huddled on the back, arms, and cushions of the poor old couch as it groaned under the strain. Six faces (the seventh face was at work) shifting and bobbing to find an open space on the video feed. And then there she was....the eight face ...on the other side. How I wanted to be able to reach in and pull her to our side. To cram her onto the couch with us, nestled within this mass of bodies that is called <i>family</i>. And even though she hasn't spent one second on the couch, or at our table, or in this house... it is all hers. She is a part of us, even though she is far away.<br />
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As many of you know, it will be four years this coming January that we have been working on Nephtali's adoption. Four years of dreaming of her as part of our family, thinking about her walking the hall, playing in the yard, scrambling into the car. Four years of imagining a toddler, a preschooler, and now a little young lady as part of our tribe! And through those years we have always wondered what <i>she </i>was thinking. Did she remember us? Did she miss us? Did she understand just who we are trying to be in her life? Yesterday she let us know.<br />
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Her face wiggled all over the screen and then that sweet little voice asked Emily in creole, "Is that all my family?" She was counting us. Us... her <i>family</i>. And she knew someone was missing. She laughed at "her big family." Ivy showed her the space in her mouth where four teeth used to be. Nephtali laughed with her sister about her big gap. She asked Emily what we were all sitting together on. Emily told her it was a couch and pointed down the hall where the only couch at lifeline is and her eyes light up. She wanted to know everyone's ages and shouted with joy when she heard Ivy was 6. She wanted to know if Daniel was a boy or a girl and smiled big when told he was her little brother.<br />
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Then there was this moment... "Can I see my bed?"<br />
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Now the woman in me said to herself and her husband ...we can't do that. Their room is a huge mess! You see, the room that she will share with Ivy is only a play room right now. Two years ago we painted, polished, and primped this room in preparation for two little girls. It's a cheery yellow room with a play kitchen, dolls, stuffed animals, dress up clothes, a doll house and bunk bed with fluffy bright green polka dots comforters!<br />
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But Ivy doesn't sleep there yet. She is still waiting for her sister to come. It's their room and she isn't here yet. Plain and simple. So each day the little ones go in the room to play (which in children's terms means getting everything out and collecting it in the middle of the floor) and at night the door is closed and the room is left until the morning.<br />
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Luckily, though, my voice wasn't the only one. There was Dad's voice saying "Who cares. She wants to see her bed!" And so, laptop in hand, we all marched down the hall and Daddy, keeping most of the floor out of view, put her bed on the screen and there on her precious face was the biggest smile we've ever seen.<br />
It was brighter than the twinkle of the Christmas tree lights, brighter than a spotlight on a stage, brighter than the sun... we have a bed for her! She has a bed! A fluffy soft bed! She has a safe place to dream. She has a place in this home.<br />
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There were other things as we continued our Skyping that made that big tooth grin appear. Like seeing the wall in our living room with all of our childrens' pictures on it. She jumped when she saw her own face smiling back at her and when I pointed to everyone and said their names and told that "These are <i>all </i>my babies!"<br />
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After, when we had to say goodbye and hit that ugly button on the computer that separates our family again, tears started to slide down my face. Tiny drops filled with sorrow falling from a body aching to hold her, but this time there was a smile on my face and a joy in my heart. We are her family. This is her home. She <i>feels </i>it! She <i>knows</i>... She is part of our family!<br />
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Lord, please bring her home!<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-29771186515188708942012-11-21T12:22:00.001-08:002013-03-12T11:45:52.289-07:00A Little UpdateWe were praying hard to hear good news before Thanksgiving and even though the update we received wasn't what we had hoped for, its still a good one.<br /><br />"Nephtali's court validation is pending and should be arriving soon.". <br /><br />Please join us in prayer that this does indeed arrive soon and we will legally be a family of 8 before Christmas. It will still be many months before she can come home but we will be all the closer to that day!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-14881205314590037232012-11-08T07:47:00.000-08:002013-03-12T11:46:22.927-07:00Third Time's a CharmIt seems to be a theme in our adoption. Things don't happen the first time around or the second. It takes 3 tries. October 17 the was a holiday in Haiti, October 24th hurricane Sandy hit Haiti, but October 31st we got word that the court appointment did happen and everything went well.<br />
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Now we wait and pray for a few weeks to receive word that our adoption decree has been created and that we are the legal parents to one silly , beautiful, smart, sweet , precious little Plastic Wrap Ninja. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-6599044016670460432012-10-10T19:51:00.000-07:002012-10-22T19:52:42.022-07:00The Exodus & the Rest of the Journey Home<br />
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<i>The waters saw you, God,</i></div>
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<i>the waters saw you and writhed;</i></div>
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<i>the very depths were convulsed.</i></div>
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<i>The clouds poured down water,</i></div>
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<i>the heavens resounded with thunder;</i></div>
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<i>your arrows flashed back and forth.</i></div>
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<i>Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,</i></div>
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<i>your lightning lit up the world;</i></div>
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<i>the earth trembled and quaked.</i></div>
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<i>Your path led through the sea,</i></div>
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<i>your way through the mighty waters,</i></div>
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<i>though your footprints were not seen.</i></div>
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<i>You led your people like a flock</i></div>
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<i>by the hand of Moses and Aaron.</i></div>
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Psalm 77:16-20</div>
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And He made a way and led us out of IBESR.<br />
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Okay so maybe getting out of IBESR and the parting of the Red Sea are not on the same playing field. But for our hearts,waiting and longing for 11 months and one day, to hear those words, it sure felt like a small miracle.<br />
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We have our "Authorization to Adopt." After 3 yrs and 9 months we have Haiti's permission to adopt Nephtali.</div>
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Now I know some of you are saying "Huh?" "She isn't coming home yet?" "You still haven't adopted her yet?"</div>
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She is closer to coming home. This step was a big one. We are now on to the next step. Possibly even right now as I type, the lawyer will be bringing our file to the Dean of the Court in Croix-des-Bouquets. This next step is known as Parquet (generally pronounced as "par-kett"). It is here that an adoption decree will be created making us the legal parents of one precious Haitian butterfly. But along with that paper being created, is a very complex series of steps and processes involving several offices and repeated trips between them to have everything legalized.</div>
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There have been some changes for the good that we are hoping could make this process much quicker than it has been in the past. But there are no guaranties. Other families are seeing this take anywhere from one month to three or four. So please pray with us that God's plan for our adoption has this process take the shorter time-frame.</div>
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Once we have the adoption decree and it is legalized, we will still need to wait a little bit longer for our Butterfly to flap her wings and come home. But again, she is much closer.</div>
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From there, our file will go to an office called the Ministry of Interior (MOI). At MOI, our file will be checked, and double-checked, for spelling mistakes, forged documentation, and other things. Once everything is found to be in good order, authorization will be granted and our file will be submitted to Haitian Immigration for a passport. Again I cannot say how long this will take. But other families have seen time-frames as small as a few weeks, while others have had problems and were there for as long as seven months. The average seems to be two or three months. But this too, is in God's hands.</div>
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Once the request for passports has been made, it can be just a few weeks before they are in hand. After that, there is one more stage: Nephtali's visa. Steps have already been taken toward getting this and once we are at this stage we could be ready to fly within a month to bring our daughter home and this long journey to it's end. </div>
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Then... we will be begin the new journey of being Nephtali's family.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-50423066285759506562012-10-03T15:43:00.002-07:002013-05-20T15:34:47.530-07:00Kisses in the Wind<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"> [ Dear Nephtali,] I hold you in my heart and touch you in my dreams.</span></div>
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You are here each day with me, at least that's how it seems.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">I know you wonder where we are... what's taking us so long.</span></div>
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But remember child, I love you so and God will keep you strong.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Now go outside and feel the breeze and let it touch your skin...</span></div>
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Because tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">May God hold you in His hand until I can be with you.</span></div>
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I promise you, my darling, I'm doing all that I can do.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Very soon, you'll have a family for real, not just pretend.</span></div>
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But for tonight, just as always, I blow you kisses in the wind.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"></span><br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">May God wrap you in His arms and hold you very tight.</span></div>
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And let the angels bring the kisses that I send to you each night.</div>
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">--- © Pamela Durkota, written for Josh</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-76666547945772152432012-09-17T11:25:00.000-07:002012-09-17T11:49:00.692-07:00Signatures, Dates, & Planning<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBN31heJ3t5lRazUsPBtRrWkjkEbivk4oqCj90C96lH7u0BOl5n4fwSGu97BCL1wY2lFLMvHCgHBgMntRFX_MMY9qz9MWg9y6zd_f2eYapWQ9_OnQqjBkKbQyVwMkuYbp0dOgjNP_JDfI/s1600/TCZ_planning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBN31heJ3t5lRazUsPBtRrWkjkEbivk4oqCj90C96lH7u0BOl5n4fwSGu97BCL1wY2lFLMvHCgHBgMntRFX_MMY9qz9MWg9y6zd_f2eYapWQ9_OnQqjBkKbQyVwMkuYbp0dOgjNP_JDfI/s320/TCZ_planning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Some of you heard the shouting last week... we made a little bit of a ruckus. But when you have been waiting for over 10 months to see the words:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i> "I am thrilled to tell you that Sarah reported today that you have received a Presidential Dispensation!" </i></blockquote>
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...you can't help but let the JOY come rushing out of you. Lots and lots of joy! It comes out in praises, in song, in tears, in whispers, in hugs, in dancing, in smiles, and every other way it can when you have been holding on to Hope for so long.<br />
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But that evening some of our joy was stolen for a little bit. Through a few conversations on Facebook we ended up searching for our daughters name in the legal journal that it needed to be published in before our paperwork can go on to the next step. We didn't think we would find it since we had just received our dispensation and it's normally a few weeks before it was published. But upon searching we found it! Dafterly LeHaut (her legal birth name) posted on May 15th. <br />
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Our hearts dropped... May 15?! It was Sept 12! How was it published that we received our dispensation nearly four months ago, on May 15th? That night and the following morning there was a lot of phone calls made and emails sent looking for an explanation. The short version of a very long and complicated explanation: someone messed up.<br />
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We, in fact, received our presidential dispensation around the end of April. But sometime after leaving the President's desk... it was left, sitting on a desk, with no inquiries as to its status or whereabouts. We don't know why and never will.<br />
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The idea that we lost four months hurts... BAD! Those were four months during which we could have been making progress. During those four months I've endured some of the hardest days I have ever had. Days I hit rock bottom, waiting for something we didn't know we already had. But because somewhere along the way someone didn't do their job, I was left to wonder... and cry.<br />
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So what did we do next? We chose to celebrate for another day! It is what it is and we can't change what happened. We can't redeem that time. But God can. I know God used those days I was in a pit of sadness. I know He used those days of longing to bond her closer to our hearts. They were not wasted. And the fact still remains... WE GOT OUR SIGNATURE!!!! So even though there were twinges of pain, there was so much more to celebrate and thank God for, and that is where we wanted our hearts to be.<br />
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Now the second part of the story is this, the other line of that email we received said this...<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"She said that she will pick up your file from IBESR next week!"</i></blockquote>
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For any of you that have been in these adoption shoes, you know what follows: the estimating, the planning, the what-if's, the time-tables, the dreaming! This next step averages about this long, but I knew someone who got it done in this many weeks, and I heard that... and so it goes until you head is spinning and your heart has your child home by the next major family event or holiday.<br />
<br />
I was taking a stroll down that road this morning as I sipped my coffee.<br />
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It's a road I have walked many times these past 3 1/2 years. But the map has always been upside down, the road signs were after the exit, and it has never gone like I had planned in my head. Too many times I have fallen on the side of the road and cried because I didn't get where I wanted to go. Yet, even with that knowledge, here I was this morning blissfully ignorant to the walk I was once again taking as I looked at the time frames of other adoptions, searched blogs, and Facebook posts. Could she be here by February? Maybe everything will be done by the ministry teams trip in January? Maybe we can delay Christmas for our family so she can be a part of it? All the while my heavenly Father is shaking his head.<br />
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He knew. He knew I was go there again. He knew it was too temping. But this morning He stopped me. There was a gentle whisper in my heart that reminded me I hadn't had my quiet time yet. So I stopped my stroll, set down my coffee, quieted my heart, and picked up my devotional and read:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"You will not find my peace in excessive planning: attempting to control what will<br />happen to you in the future. That is a commonly practiced form of unbelief.<br /><br />When your mind spins with multiple plans, Peace may sometimes seem to be in your grasp;<br />yet it always eludes you. Just when you think you have prepared for all possibilities,<br />something unexpected pops up and throws things into confusion.<br /><br />I did not design the human mind to figure out the future. That is beyond your capability.<br /><br />I crafted your mind for continual communication with Me. Bring me all your needs,<br />your hopes, and fears. Commit everything unto My care.<br /><br />Turn from the path of planning to the path of Peace."</i></blockquote>
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Oh Daddy, how you know this child of yours. And how you love me. Thank you for your gentle reminders. Thank you for the progress we have seen and the progress yet to come... in your perfect time!!! I look forward to each day spent with you as I try and wait, not plan or predict, for our daughter's homecoming.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-87690380794625468222012-09-06T11:59:00.000-07:002012-09-06T12:00:37.350-07:00Goodness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghJHwmfYBrSK2MCwlUjHvKnLGynn18PneMQZyvqcCbI85MBkht_hyphenhyphencKODQC3ReyQRTLtpbQqdp4FsRQK8m9nS8aLM3963Fwnbz158nNMvCMNOoYdS3C5b0K-s9R5761J1tZ4OWum_my0/s1600/sad+wom;an.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhghJHwmfYBrSK2MCwlUjHvKnLGynn18PneMQZyvqcCbI85MBkht_hyphenhyphencKODQC3ReyQRTLtpbQqdp4FsRQK8m9nS8aLM3963Fwnbz158nNMvCMNOoYdS3C5b0K-s9R5761J1tZ4OWum_my0/s1600/sad+wom;an.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br />
Yesterday was a hard day. Plain and simple. And that hardness traveled through the night and into the morning. We had heard that a new list of people that had received Presidential dispensations was released. It was true... and again, we were not on it. But others who were behind us were. No matter how hard you want to be filled with joy to see progress for those you care about, no matter how much you want to smile at knowing children you love are one step closer to their families, sometimes you can't stop the tears of pain that fall..<br />
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I choked at reading words about God's goodness and wanted to scream. Where was our dose of His goodness? Where is the fairness? How can we hit so many ditches, ruts, and gullies? How can we continue to watch our daughter grow older and older with no day to count down to? How can I stand to see the pain in my children's and husband's eyes as we pray day in and day out only to watch others receive answers and our family only the hollow ticking sound of the clock as time continues to pass. In pain I let myself become blind and deaf for a moment. I let myself shut out the truth.<br />
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God is good... period! God is not good <i>some </i>of the time. God is good <i>all </i>of the time. God cannot be other than what He is. So... if God is good for some... He is good for all. So where is His goodness for us on this day filled with tears? Well, He did try and talk to me before we heard the news, but I didn't want to listen. I was so wrapped up in thinking, in hoping, in dreaming that today would be the day we got good news. He had good news for me but I glazed over it. My devotion for the morning was this:<span style="text-align: center;"><br /></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="text-align: center;">"I am your best friend., as well as your King. Walk hand in hand with me through your life. Together we will face whatever each day brings: pleasures, hardships, adventures, disappointments. Nothing is wasted when it is shared with me. </span><i style="text-align: center;">I can bring beauty out of the ashes of lost dreams. I can glean Joy out of sorrow, Peace out of adversity." ( Jesus Calling)</i></blockquote>
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Things are not fair sometimes. We are sinners in a sin-filled world and that plague causes pain. But God is GOOD.
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So where is my dose of His goodness? It's right there. He is my friend. He is my King. He is with me. I am not alone. And it is enough.<br />
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</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-34926300809819279602012-08-14T20:47:00.000-07:002012-09-06T11:59:38.447-07:00Rainbows, Time, and a Beautiful Butterfly.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsdPStmIAoTqoUyQBSIwEC-fgfOPxWFGwNcLnmoN49C2-h3No5vaUuSBQPmESjH0_eJM4ouYvVG8p3ELQNZn2h_iDg-t72FF4lLcjzIirqAKc-iBtHCDK27159V-Cxxq0vTUA34MhWP4/s1600/Nephtali+Growing+Up.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFsdPStmIAoTqoUyQBSIwEC-fgfOPxWFGwNcLnmoN49C2-h3No5vaUuSBQPmESjH0_eJM4ouYvVG8p3ELQNZn2h_iDg-t72FF4lLcjzIirqAKc-iBtHCDK27159V-Cxxq0vTUA34MhWP4/s640/Nephtali+Growing+Up.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Talking with a friend tonight stirred up the memory of these two pictures. Our beautiful butterfly so tiny in one. Barely fits on Daddy's shoulder. Our beautiful butterfly 3 years later. Barely any room left in Daddy's arms. Lord, please bring her home soon.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7996393216039498681.post-762923436837742282012-08-10T12:19:00.004-07:002012-08-10T12:20:21.503-07:001300 days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMSu7fVaP1mDDLF2fabCnTt3NLauQIjf2pAqjChSNoUZUQfKC7622MReVb1BqF1n8G1F1U9tySRmFn8RqXMpNhF5PXTHC3WNG2AHuQXm8wlRH_nHkd5WIGn47M-fi6-7Oa5SAbxULXjE/s1600/5636838-composite-of-calendar-pages-and-clock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMSu7fVaP1mDDLF2fabCnTt3NLauQIjf2pAqjChSNoUZUQfKC7622MReVb1BqF1n8G1F1U9tySRmFn8RqXMpNhF5PXTHC3WNG2AHuQXm8wlRH_nHkd5WIGn47M-fi6-7Oa5SAbxULXjE/s320/5636838-composite-of-calendar-pages-and-clock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">It's been exactly 1300 days, today, since I fell in love with a little girl in Haiti and she with me. Sometimes, nothing hurts as bad as the passage of time.</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">~Erin</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0