Welcome Home Picnic for R.J.

After 9 action-packed days at home with R.J., followed by 10 fun-filled days at Granma & Granpa's house in Iowa introducing R.J. to family & friends there, we are back home ... with 5 more weeks before the boys start school. Now it's time to introduce R.J. to all our friends here at home!

We have a Welcome Home Picnic planned for this Saturday, July 14th from 11am to 4pm at the Gas City Park. Come for as long, or as briefly, as you wish!

Lunch is at Noon. Fried chicken, watermelon, cake & ice cream, and table service will be provided. Please bring your own drinks and a side dish or two to share (salad, veggies, chips, etc.). And, if you do plan to join us for lunch, PLEASE R.S.V.P. no later than Friday, July 13th.

We hope to see you Saturday! :)

Day 3 in Haiti with photos

We all slept in this morning until 8:00! Papa and R.J. went down to get their showers first, while I organized things in the room. After they returned, I went down to shower, and when I got back, Phil said R.J.'s birthmom had arrived and was waiting to meet with us. LaDawn had come up to our room to let us know, and she thoroughly explained to R.J. what was taking place. We had a very good visit of about 30 minutes with James acting as translator for us.

By time R.J.'s Haiti Mama left, it was time for us to leave for the Baptist Haiti Mission to do our souvenir shopping. Laurie and Jean each drove a vehicle and took about 8 of us farther up the mountain to BHM where we shopped and then had lunch. Some of the others chose to also do some shopping at the market outside the BHM compound, but Phil and I chose to limit our purchases to the wide selection inside the mission store. Thanks to R.J.'s newfound interest in taking pictures, I've posted a couple for you to see the BHM store. And the prices are great -- without having to negotiate as you would at the market (much to my delight!).

We all ate lunch at the Tea Terrace, which is a nice little restaurant at BHM. Phil had a Santo Domingo sub sandwich, curly fries, and Diet Coke; I had a Salad Mezon (chef salad) and Coke; and R.J. had the Especial -- a kids' meal with chicken strips, fries, small Coke, and a toy. We decided to have ice cream as well -- sundaes for Phil and me, and an ice cream cone with "white" ice cream for R.J.

Upon arriving back at GLA about 1:00 with all our purchases, Phil and I decided we'd better work on reorganizing and packing our things, and we managed to consolidate enough to eliminate 1 suitcase and 1 large carry-on bag (since we no longer need room for the donations we brought). We were surprised how fast we finished packing, and it left us with enough time to take turns taking a nap before dinner. Meanwhile, R.J. did various things: played with the babies & volunteers on the balcony, rode a bike and scooter, and used the computer. There was a 10-minute rain shower just before supper, which increased the humidity, and we actually felt hot and sticky for the first time here at the Main House; otherwise, it has been very cool and pleasant!

Supper was a delicious and very typical Haitian meal of chicken, rice, and red sauce; avocadoes; salad; fried accra; mangoes, bananas, and watermelon; and we had a cake and cupcakes baked & decorated by Molly for LaDawn's last day at GLA after two years of outstanding service. :) We will be flying out on the same plane with LaDawn tomorrow.

After dinner, we hung out with Joyce and Molly while R.J. practiced his bike-riding some more. We also got to see the sun set over the mountain behind the Main House. Then we had a call from Charlie and Aunt Pam at 7:30. They are understandably very excited (as are we) about our arrival at the airport tomorrow night!

We relaxed in the Main House for another hour or so, and by about 9:00, R.J. was tired and wanting to head to bed. R.J. said it was Mama's turn to read the bedtime story, then we said prayers, with R.J. going first tonight and praying a very sweet prayer in English, followed by lights out for Phil and R.J. I returned to the Main House to go over our last set of paperwork with LaDawn and to post this last blog entry from Haiti.

Our alarm is set for 5:45 tomorrow morning. We depart for the airport at 8:00, with Laurie serving as our driver. The three legs of our flight home will take 12 hours altogether -- 11:00 a.m. until almost 11:00 p.m., and then we have a 90-minute drive home from Indianapolis. It will be a long, but very exciting day!

Don't expect another post until at least Saturday, but we are eager to share with you the delightful event of finally uniting the whole family by introducing R.J. to his proud younger brother Charlie. Again, we'd appreciate your continued prayers for safe travels, good health, and a smooth adjustment.

So excited at home!

NOTE FROM ANGIE:
We received this e-mail report from "Aunt" Pam, who is staying at our house with Charlie this week while we are gone. Gram (Phil's mom) is also helping out in the afternoons and evenings. Many thanks to them both! :)


Date: Wed, 20 Jun 2007 00:17:01
From: Aunt Pam

Angie, Phil and R.J.,

It was so good to talk with you tonight. When I told Charlie at about 7:45 that we had to get out of the pool because I had a very big surprise for him, he couldn't guess what it was! We cleaned up, got our p.j.'s on and then about 8:00, I told him. His eyes got as big as saucers -- he said, "Mama said they didn't have a phone in Haiti!" [Angie's clarification: Charlie asked if we could call him while we were gone; not thinking this was possible, and to keep the explanation simple, I said they didn't have a phone.] He was very excited! We watched a little of the Charlotte's Web movie to help the time pass and then made our way to the computer (to get the phone number) and phone.

I wish you could have seen his face during the phone call! Priceless! I wasn't sure how he would be after the call (tears or smiles?). But as soon as we hung up, I said something like, "Isn't that amazing that we could talk to Haiti so far around the world?" He was all smiles, hitched a ride on my back and then we went down to finish the movie. It was good we had lotioned up and put on the pull-up because he almost made it to the end of the movie before he was a goner! I carried him up to bed and he didn't even wake up! (Sorry no prayers tonight but I said one over his head as he slept!)

I think I may go in to the office for a while tomorrow, then stop at home for a bit. I probably will stay in Marion on Thursday so I can get Charlie a little earlier from daycare. We want to do a little afternoon swimming and want to have plenty of time for dinner, etc. before we leave for the airport.

Well, I better hit the hay! The "prince" may get up early! Sorry about the breakfast donuts [Angie's clarification: She's really not sorry at all!] but it is getting to be a routine. I will probably spoil all the good habits you have established. That's an aunt's (and grandma's) privilege.

Know that there are many praying for you guys!
Aunt Pam

P.S. I intended to have Charlie write but he was exhausted! Maybe tomorrow! :)

Photos of Day 2 in Haiti

ABOVE LEFT: Kids at the GLA Toddler House
ABOVE RIGHT: Joyce, Molly and R.J. with the donations we took along
BELOW LEFT: Papa pushing R.J. in the wagon
BELOW RIGHT: R.J. talking on the phone with Charlie

We talked to Charlie on the phone this evening! GLA has a satellite (high-speed) Internet hookup and Vonage telephone services with a Chicago number. The connection is clearer when calling from the States (rather than calling from Haiti to the States), so Aunt Pam had instructions to call at 8:30 tonight. The three of us talked to Charlie and Pam for 27 minutes!!! R.J. was grinning from ear-to-ear while talking with Charlie. Charlie had a hard time understanding R.J. because of his Haitian accent. It will take some getting used to (it has for Phil and me), but the phone makes it ten times more difficult, I believe.

Anyway, they'll call again tomorrow, then the next evening we'll see them in person! Time here is going quickly, but we are here for just the right amount of days. We're ready to start getting R.J. into the routine of our family life at home, and I don't think I could be away from Charlie at such an exciting time for our family any longer than these 4.5 days!

Check again soon for more updates. It has gotten easier to transfer and upload photos and to do email and blogging since Joyce lent me her laptop with a wireless card! I just have to contend with R.J. for computer time! :D He is quite good at using the computer: He has played Reader Rabbit's Kindergarten learning CD (numerous times), he has listened to music, and he has looked at the "Charlie Blog" videos today. We actually had to give a 10-minutes-more time limit at bedtime so he'd go to sleep! :)

Phil and R.J. got ready for bed and were falling asleep by 9:00 p.m. when I came downstairs to work on posting photos again. Tomorrow morning we can "sleep in" (maybe 'til 7:00??) with no early appointments to keep.

THANKS to everyone for your prayers on our behalf!!! WE CAN FEEL THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And we cannot wait for you all to meet R.J. Every single wonderful thing you have read about him from the updates over the last 14 months is true!

He's a keeper. :) :) :)

Day 2 in Haiti

Gram,

You are the first person to write us back!  Thanks for the note.  We are doing great!  R.J. is opening up more and more.  After our visa appointment this morning, we visited the Toddler House where R.J. has been living, and the kids sang for us, and R.J. played the drum.  He is quite a good drummer!

 

R.J. and I were up with the sun at 4:50.  Papa woke up about 5:20.  We got our visa this morning.  Everything for the adoption is done, except for getting on the plane to come home!  Tomorrow we'll shop for souvenirs at the market, and probably meet R.J.'s birthmom.  Thursday we'll leave for home first thing in the morning.

 

There were several near-chances for a rain shower today, but the clouds passed us by.  God is holding off the rain so the mosquitoes don't come get me with their Dengue Fever!  :)

 

Tell Charlie we miss him a lot.  We can't wait to talk to him this evening.  Learning freestyle at age 5 is fantastic!  (You got it exactly right. Good job, Gram!)  Take care and we'll see you after just 2 more sleeps.

 

Love, Angie (for Phil and R.J., who prefers to be called R.J.!)

 

 

Lucille Macomber wrote:

Hi

 

You three make a good looking group.  RJ Looks happy.  Just one little person missing from the picture.  Charlie will be glad to have you back;  he seems to be doing well but misses you of course. 

 

He did very well in swimming; started teaching him how to put his face in the water and then turning his head for a breath.  Also free style.  I think thats what its called; not being a swimmer.  He was really tired last night; hope he slept well for Pam.

 

See you in a couple of days.

Love, Mom

Meeting R.J. for the first time!

We've had a good but long day. We got up at 5:45 (after finally getting to sleep at our Miami hotel about 1:00 a.m.), went to the airport at 7:00; made it to our gate by 9:00, but the plane didn't take off until 11:50 (1.5 hours late). We finally got to the orphanage about 3:00 p.m. because our plane was late and then it took over 1.5 hours to get our luggage at the Haiti airport (only a bit longer than in Miami last night).

Anyway, R.J. is great! He was wearing his Big Brother shirt today for our arrival. He has been pretty shy and nervous with us. He won't talk much (not even to Joyce and Molly), but he sure does understand a lot of English when you talk to him. He also can read and write in English quite well. It's very impressive. At one point this evening, while he was being shy, he lay down on the concrete and wrote Charlie a letter in English, unassisted!!! He also read the bedtime Bible story aloud all by himself with help on only about 4 words.

R.J. LOVES his MP3 music player! He had it on most of the day from 3-8 pm. He looked through a lot of the gifts (toys and games, not the clothes yet) that we brought him, and we just kind of hung out before dinner, which was at 5:15. The weather is about 75 degrees F. and breezy here on the mountain in Kenscoff. Perfect!

The food for dinner was great! Something like taco casserole and salad and fruit and Pepsi. Jean Bell, who runs things for GLA in Colorado Springs is here, and she made the food. There were lots of avocados to eat, too, which made me very happy!! After dinner, Papa pushed R.J. up and down a steep hill/ramp within the orphanage compound on a two-wheel bicycle for about 20 minutes. Papa got very tired. Then, after giving Molly and Joyce the books and photos of R.J. that we brought them, they left for the Toddler House. (We're staying at the Guest House which is part of the Main House/Baby House compound.) That gave Mama, Papa, and R.J. some alone time (for the first time of the day) at about 7:00. We played Go Fish with alphabet cards, and R.J. won!! He started coming out of his shell a bit while we played cards, but he was really tired (he was up at 5:30 this morning), so after one game it was time for bed. Yes, it was only 7:45 p.m., but it was already very dark and seemed like about midnight to me and Papa.

R.J. was restless until Papa and I settled in for sleep too. Papa fell asleep in about 10 minutes. R.J. fell asleep in about 20 minutes. I waited until 8:30, just resting with my eyes closed, and then snuck out to post this.

We can't wait to get home to Charlie on Thursday. Pray that we make all our flights and that they're not running late like our two flights down here! Tomorrow morning we depart the orphanage at 7:00 a.m. for our Visa appointment at 8:00 a.m. in Port-au-Prince. We'll be back by lunchtime. Then who knows what we'll do after that?!

We'll post more after we're home. Time is short here and I need sleep instead of spending time on the computer, so check back in about a week. :)

Save the date!

After we get home from Haiti, we'd like everyone to have a chance to meet R.J., but Charlie will need time first to get to know his big brother since he's not accompanying Phil and me to Haiti. So, we're reserving our first week home just for our immediate family of four to get to know one another; then we're headed to Iowa for a week to introduce R.J. to our extended family. So, we're planning to have a Welcome Home Potluck Picnic in honor of R.J. on Saturday, July 14th, and you're all invited!

If you think you'd like to attend, send me an email at angia_e@yahoo.com so I know to send you more details when the time gets close.

Our travel itinerary

R.J., Here we come!!!

Much to my surprise, we got word today that the U.S. Consulate is done reviewing our file and that we have the go-ahead to travel to Haiti to bring R.J. home!!!!

Phil and I will leave home in 63 hours (Sunday noon, June 17) on Father's Day!
We will meet R.J. for the very first time in 87 hours (Monday noon, June 18).
We will spend 72 hours at GLA.
We will be back home 7 days from today (Thursday night, June 21).

Wow! My head is spinning with all that there is to do, even though I checked the last thing off my shopping list this afternoon. Speaking for all three of us, we are ecstatic! We can hardly believe this day has come at last! Charlie has just 7 sleeps until R.J. is home, and on the 8th sleep, both boys will be sawing twigs (we hope) together in the same room! :)

Gotta go pack!

Good news and Bad news!

Well, the good news is that -- after a week of repeated phone calls & emails and intervention from our Congressman's office -- Phil received his U.S. passport renewal in the mail yesterday "just" 13 weeks after we sent it in! I had alerted the local newspaper about our situation last week, and a front-page story and photo ran in this morning’s paper.

The bad news is that -- a mere two hours after the long-awaited passport arrived -- we got an email from our orphanage director saying there was yet another unforeseen delay. The visa-granting official at the U.S. Consulate in Haiti has now decided he wants to review each family's completed dossier (over 200 pages’ worth!) before he will approve the child's visa. No one knows how long this could take, but obviously we all hope it won't take long … although I've been saying that since Christmas! So, we won’t be traveling by the end of this week as we all (including the orphanage staff) had anticipated.

So, we're still waiting for our son’s arrival 15½ months after we submitted our paperwork. I have never been pregnant (nor do I ever want to be), but I truly believe that what I’m feeling right now is what it would be like to be 15½ months pregnant. Don’t ever think that adoption is easier than pregnancy! You have no guarantee that it won’t last months beyond the “due date;” you can’t induce an adopted child’s homecoming; and there is no epidural to help ease the pain of labor. On top of that, in adoption, BOTH parents experience the same turmoil and labor pains. So please keep praying! Phil and I both know that, no matter how discouraged we feel now, all the ups and downs of this journey will have been worth it once R.J. is home! :)

~ Romans 8:26-28 from The Message ~
Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God's Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don't know how or what to pray, it doesn't matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our expectant condition, and keeps us present before God. That's why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.

We have R.J.'s passport, but we can't travel until we have Phil's

From: LaDawn - GLA Adoptions
Sent: Mon 6/4/07 10:05 PM
To: Macomber, Angia
Subject: GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am VERY, VERY, VERY happy to inform you that we got Ronaldo's passport today!!!!! It usually takes a week or two from the date of the orphan investigation until INS sends the necessary paperwork to the US Consulate; however, we will be in regular contact with the US Consulate to find out when they have received it. I'm just curious, how much notice do you need before you can come? As soon as we find out that the US Consulate has everything they need, we will make an appointment for you to pick up Ronaldo's visa, and so it would be helpful if you could give me just a bit of an indication as to how soon you can come to get him. I would guess that it could be by the end of next week!!!!! Very, very soon!!!!!!!

Have a great night knowing this great news!!!!!
LaDawn - GLA Haiti

---------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Macomber, Angia
Sent: Mon 6/4/07 10:38 PM
To: LaDawn - GLA Adoptions
Subject: RE: GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW, LaDawn! I actually can't believe it's true!

We can come almost immediately, HOWEVER we need Phil's passport! It expired June 1, 2007. We sent it in March 13 for renewal by regular mail. We were told it would take no more than 10 weeks. It will be 12 weeks tomorrow. We read in the USA Today newspaper on Saturday that, because of the new U.S. requirement that everyone must have a passport to leave the country, the passport office is swamped and it is taking much longer than 12 weeks. We were just getting ready to contact our Congressional rep. to see if they can help get Phil's passport ASAP. We will keep you posted, but we certainly want to come as soon as we possibly can! Nevertheless, we can't buy plane tickets until we actually have Phil's passport in hand. Surely the Lord won't let us down now and keep us waiting even longer because of a delay on THIS end!!! We'll all pray for Phil's passport to arrive THIS WEEK!

Thanks again and again and again for such wonderful news! Our boys' birthdays are just 8 days (and 2 years) apart, and it looks like their Homecoming Days will be about as close also. Charlie came home 3 years ago today. :)

See you SOON!!!
Angie

Heartwarming message from Molly (Warning: Have tissues ready!)

From: Angie
Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 12:15 AM
Subject: Thinking about R.J.


Dear Molly,

I've been thinking a lot about R.J. this past week. I realize he probably doesn't know how close we are to bringing him home, and I do wonder what his thoughts are about the matter these days. I pray for him every day that the transition will be smooth and without a lot of heartache for him, although I realize it will be a tremendous adjustment for R.J. to leave the country, the language, the weather, the food, the music, the customs, and everything else he's known all his life. And I have no doubt that he will miss you, Joyce, and his friends at GLA terribly, and I can only hope that we can comfort him as he grieves the loss. I also hope that he will understand just how thrilled we are to welcome him into our family! And we are so pleased that we will have the entire summer to spend together getting to know him, letting him get to know us, and enjoying lots of fun things as a family! Since my teaching responsibilities end May 19, Charlie will be home full-time, and Phil has two extra weeks of vacation time saved up (four altogether). We are hoping that -- even though R.J. will be homesick for Haiti -- he will be excited about the new life he will have with us!

With all of that said, I'm writing to let you know about a blog I made full of photos and videos of our family activities (mostly featuring Charlie) over the past several months:

http://themacomberfamily.blogspot.com

I'm hoping that you might be able to find some opportunities to let R.J. look at it with you so that he can see the kind of things we like to do and what he'll be doing with us when he comes home. I'm hoping that -- while it won't prevent the sadness he will feel to leave GLA -- it will help him look forward with happy anticipation to joining our family.

We are also praying daily that the backlog in the passport office will get resolved quickly so that we can bring R.J. home very soon. We hate the thought of summer ticking away while we continue awaiting his homecoming. I'm fine waiting until the end of May so that I have my school responsibilities finished, but once June gets here I think I'll go crazy if we're still waiting!

So I hope this finds everyone at GLA doing GREAT! I thank you SO MUCH for the LONG update you sent a week ago! We hang on every word and live for every photo. I hope you realize just how much you are helping forever families bond and fall in love with their adopted kids long before they ever get home! Those monthly updates are a vital part of the adoption process, and we appreciate it more than you can know. We actually appreciate all that you do, including the numerous things we have no idea that you do, but those updates are at the top of our list! :)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Hugs and kisses for Ronaldo,
Angie

-------------------------------------------------

From: Molly
Sent: Fri, 1 Jun 2007 18:14:08
Subject: RE: Thinking about R.J.

Hi Angie,

I read and sympathized with your email. However I must say it is the first like it I have ever gotten before... this is one child that though we are going to miss him I CANNOT WAIT until he is home with you. I am so thankful that God provided your family as RJ's family. I always give Joyce the rundown on everything you write about, or share you emails with her, and she feels just the same. Ronaldo is a VERY special little boy here, there will never be another like him, and to know that YOU GUYS are his family is the best feeling!!! God sure is good, and His plan is ALWAYS perfect! He confirms that to us day in and day out:) Anyway, I guess I have diverged from the intent of my email, but I certainly just wanted to let you know that Joyce and I both are just overjoyed at the family that Ronaldo will call his!

RJ and I spent several hours watching and re-watching the videos on your blog, reviewing all the photos, and reading about Charlie's activities. RJ was just aglow! He loved every bit of it, and after one time through the videos, I asked him if he wanted to watch again, and he did, after twice through the videos, I asked him if he wanted to watch again, he did.... and the cycle would have gone on until he got too hungry and had to go eat, but I cut him short. I promised him we'll look again this weekend, so he reminds me:) A LOT! What a treat for him! Charlie, he thinks that you are an amazing soccer player! He was very impressed and clapped at some or your shots. He can't wait to play with you. He can't wait to be your big brother, and he talks about all the things that you two will do together continuously. He brags to the other kids about his brother Charlie with such pride in his voice! I can't wait for you to be together! It sounds like you are going to have a great summer!

RJ wants his mommy and daddy to know that he loves you both very much! He wants to see you as soon as he can!! Tomorrow would be good, or the next day, or next week? But he is very happy to wait until that day is possible. He nods his head and tries to be very understanding. He is a patient boy. He loves his friends very much, and he loves Joyce very VERY much, but we will write and send some photos off and on, so that he knows we still love him and will not forget him. I don't think he'll have too much homesickness, I think that you'll find you are all that he's been waiting for and he's not going to look back once he gets you! All of his friends leave, it's what happens at "Kay B" ["House B" a/k/a the Toddler House]... one by one, and it's a very special time when it's your turn to go... so much fuss is made, and then the day comes when mommy or mommy and daddy arrive.... and all that you've been waiting for since the day you arrived to "Kay B" comes true. RJ has been waiting for you since that first afternoon that I sat and talked with him. I remember it very well. You are his dream come true:) RJ can't wait to show you off to all of us!

It sounds like your prayers are being answered! I know we've gotten a couple of passports out, and it sounds like things have started moving! So maybe RJ is next? Every time I mention Ronaldo leaving to Joyce she gets a little quiet, and I think that I'm going to be the one helping her grieve the loss from this end! I already have the tissues and chocolate stocked up though, so we're ready for the day you guys fly out.... :) Take care! I pray that we'll see you soon!

Blessings,

Molly
GLA - Haiti

R.J.'s passport approved!

Yup, you just read that right! Ronaldo's dossier came out of the MOI today! Tomorrow, it will be going for printing! Celebrate tonite!!!!!! As well, today was Ronaldo's orphan investigation at INS, and everything went very well. It usually takes 1-2 weeks for INS to get all the paperwork over to the US Consulate. As soon as they get their paperwork to the Consulate, and Ronaldo's passport has been issued, we will inform you as to when you can come and pick up your son!!! It won't be long now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a great evening!
LaDawn

Sounds like we could have R.J. home by the end of June*! We are on Cloud Nine! :)
~Angie, Phil & Charlie


*See Timeline for completing the legal process in Haiti

Still waiting for R.J.'s passport after 9 weeks

We're still waiting on R.J.'s passport; it's been 9 weeks as of today with no word on any progress. I emailed the orphanage director the end of last week to see if there was any indication of how much longer it might take. Here's what I heard this afternoon from LaDawn:

Unfortunately I don't have any great news for you. I so badly wish I did! We have been busy submitting the forms that [the passport office] has been asking for. The problem that we are having, is that they will only accept about 4 per day, and then every other time, the person responsible is not even there! So, it is becoming a long process just to submit all the forms. However, I can assure you that Ronaldo's was one of the first [passport request forms] that was submitted, as he has been in the passport process one of the longest. There are a few ahead of him, but not too many. We are expecting to receive some news this week that [some passports have been approved] and that they can move on to printing! We pray this happens!

I wish I had more encouraging news than this, but I can tell you that Ronaldo's passport should be in the first or second group of passports that get printed! I hope that helps! Considering that we have over 30 dossiers in for passports right now, that is good news for you! :o)

Thank you so much for your confidence in our work here. We are certainly doing all that we can. It has been very hard on us not having any children leave for quite a while. We so badly want to see some children go home to their "forever families". It is time!!!

Since passport printing takes 2-3 weeks, this makes me think that it's possible that we could travel to Haiti before the middle of June. (Maybe by Father's Day???) PLEASE PRAY WITH US THAT THIS WILL BE THE CASE! I can hardly stand the thought of the summer days passing by with Charlie and me out of school (starting a week from today, May 21st) and R.J. still not home with us; it will seem like such a waste of a prime opportunity for valuable bonding time -- 14 hours a day of his getting to know us and our getting to know him. The summer seems so short, anyway, with the boys' first day of school on August 14th -- just 3 months from today! (Not much time to spend with a new son before sending him off to second grade and returning to work myself on August 16th!)

Happy Mother's Day wishes from R.J.

Happy Mothers' Day, Mommy!!!!!

I Love You!

RJ

April Photos and Update from GLA -- Last One?

We're hoping that the snag with the passports will get resolved quickly and that we will be able to go to Haiti by the end of May to bring R.J. home. So, hopefully, this will be the last update we get from Molly and that, instead of a monthly update, we'll be announcing R.J.'s Homecoming Day a month from now!

In May 2004, we were in Haiti for Mother's Day when we went to bring Charlie home. I am really hoping we'll be in Haiti this Mother's Day to bring Ronaldo home. (Mother's Day in Haiti is May 27.) Please pray with us that this will be the case. Thanks!

~Angie (for Phil & Charlie, too)

-----------------------------

Hello Phil and Angie,

It’s good to be writing you again! I am excited to share a little bit of your son’s daily life with you! I hope you have had a good month, and Spring with all its freshness is surrounding your home, as May quickly approaches. Its mango season in Haiti, and avocado trees are just budding tiny little green fruits. We’ve had a very enjoyable month at the GLA toddler house.

Here in Haiti no one knows about the Easter bunny, and they have certainly never thought about hiding food (eggs) outside for kids to search and find. Even the concept of decorating eggs is foreign. But regardless of the traditions that surround the celebration, it still remains wrapped around Christ’s resurrection. Worship and praise is continuous, and services are held from early in the morning until mid-afternoon. Afterwards families gather for a celebration and much food. At the toddler house this year we added a few new fun activities for the kids. A few of the kids had been here last year and remembered the craft. However many of the kids were brand new to our tradition… and even after an explanation a few children still bit through the shell of their egg and tried to eat it. Ronaldo chose green and yellow dye for his egg and was in awe when the white egg came out in great bright colors. He then proceeded to dry his egg with his mouth blowing on it for several minutes. Seeing how that wasn’t working I got out a hair dryer and tried it that way. It was a success. Little did I know how popular that little machine would be. The kids had never seen anything like it. They giggled and chuckled as I blew the warm air in their face and thought it was the greatest when I blew the air into one little boy’s shirt. The kids couldn’t believe how big around the little guy’s shirt puffed up. It was an exciting day that we will not soon forget.

A ministry team came to visit us one morning last week. They put on a program for all the children at the toddler house. They did a short program for the youngest children and a longer program for Ronaldo and his group. The program had several activities focusing on how Jesus can make us clean inside. The team put on skits and taught the kids a new song. The song was all about how people in different parts of the world greet each other with love. In each country they sang about a different hand or body movement was used as well as a vocal greeting. Ronaldo’s eyes were glued on the performers as they went through it the first time. The second time the team encouraged the children to try as well… and of course Ronaldo had a great time joining right in. Ronaldo laughed during the funny parts but sat quietly and listened to everything thing they had to teach him about the Lord and his forgiveness. Later that day I overheard him lecturing the other children and teaching them the lessons that he had learned that day.

Earlier in the month we had a very special movie night with the kids. All the children were sitting in the room ready for the movie to start and me to bring the popcorn when… Joyce and I walked in with a huge tub of home made ice cream. We made so much ice cream that we had to invite more kids than usual. We gave each child their bowl of ice cream and let them choose toppings including peanuts, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup, butterscotch, cookie crumbs, cherries, whip cream, gummy bears and the list goes on. The most popular topping had to be the gummy bears. Ronaldo couldn’t get enough. I think he chose every single thing on the list. He packed all the syrup and cookie crumbs that he could get his hands on. After he finished his bowl there was a younger child that couldn’t finish his and Ronaldo polished off that one too. The kids played around with the food for a few minutes but then the television came on and all was silent for the rest of the evening.

Ronaldo is doing great in school and is continuing to learn at a steady rate. He is one of the few children here that really prefers to speak the English language over Creole. This last week Ronaldo received twelve out of thirteen on his spelling test. His words included hot chocolate, milk, french fries, juice, cereal, and other food and drink related words. When asking the kids if they understood and knew what each word means Ronaldo piped up when the word “milk” came up. He said “I know… my Haitian mom puts that in her coffee!” He was full of excitement and gave out a shy little laugh and carried on with his lesson. Ronaldo also read his Adam and Eve book Friday afternoon without struggles. The books are ones you print off the computer and the pictures are just white so it gives the children an opportunity to color them. Joyce gave them the homework of coloring their book on Tuesday night and handed out pencil crayons. As Wednesday afternoon rolled around Ronaldo came into class and opened up his new coloring job with pride. Joyce flipped through the pages praising the great job and she came to a page that was scribbled all in black. When she asked Ronaldo what the black scribbles were all about Ronaldo explained that it was the page with the snake on it that tempted Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. He explained that Satan didn’t deserve to be colored beautiful. He had to color it black because that snake is ugly and mean. What a smart kid! Ronaldo also memorized his bible verse this week which was Deuteronomy 6:5. He said it loudly and proudly and was ready to receive his prize. He receive one mango lollipop for his Bible verse, one mango lollipop for his reading test, and the grand prize of anything he chose out of the box of prizes. This box consists of things such as jump ropes, toy cars, coloring books, and other fun toys. After searching through he saw what he wanted and he pointed his little finger up at the shelf and said “ I want soup.” Well soup is actually Ramen Noodles or also known as Mr. Noodle. Well that started a small riot and a few other kids immediately wanted that too. So today Ronaldo and his classmates enjoyed a nice bowl of spicy noodles for snack. I think that means we better stock up on those cause it was a big hit!!

Ronaldo is healthy and doing well. He has not been ill nor on any medications in the last few weeks. He has a good appetite, is full of energy, and sleeps soundly through the night. He is steadily growing. His current measurements are:

Height: 123 cm (48.5 inches)
Weight: 51 lbs

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Many blessings,

Molly
GLA – Haiti

P.S. The package you sent made it just fine, and in perfect time!!! RJ had worn his sandals out and I didn't have any more in his size at all!!!! (He has the second largest feet, so we don't get a lot of sandals come through for that sized boy. :) ) It was a great package! You sure know a lot about what little Haitian boys like. :)

Passport delay

After waiting nearly 7 weeks for R.J.'s passport, we got this message today from Dixie, the orphanage director at GLA:

We have 32 children waiting for passports. The Ministry of Interior, responsible for approving the passports, has added a step in the process. They did not tell anyone that they were adding this step; however, no adoption passports have been approved since January. Finally in early April, we were told that the lawyer needs to fill out a form. They have since changed their mind, and now anyone from the orphanage can go to the Ministry of Interior and fill out this special form asking for the child's passport.

The form is very long, asking for a lot of information about each adoptive parent. LaDawn spent one whole day this week just finding the information for the forms, so that Terriot can go and fill them out. Of course, when he arrived with 32 forms, they would not receive him and gave him an appointment for Friday, the 27th. They told him they could not do all of them in one day, and he would need to come back three days next week to get them all filled out. They will not give us the forms so we can fill them out in advance. Rather, we must fill them out sitting with the person in charge of doing the form.

We are praying that once we have filled out and submitted these forms, that the passports will be approved quickly and we can get some children home and beds opened up!

Donations welcome for the GLA Toddler House

With an estimated 40 days until we travel to Haiti to bring R.J. home, we are beginning to plan ahead for our trip. It is customary for anyone traveling to an overseas orphanage to take along some donations, and we will be able to take 100-150 lbs. of supplies with us. We asked Molly for ideas of things that could be used at the Toddler House where R.J. lives, and we now have a list to share with anyone who might wish to contribute something to our collection of donations to take to Haiti.

Click here to download the list.

There are 65 kids, ages 2 and up, who live at the Toddler House at God's Littlest Angels orphanage. Just imagine the numbers of supplies they go through -- for instance, that's several 150-count bottles of multivitamins each week! School supplies are needed because all of the kids are schooled right there at the orphanage, which includes learning to read and write in English (since the majority of children at GLA are adopted by families from the U.S. and Canada).

As Molly said, Whatever you are willing to donate will be used and fully appreciated! Sincere thanks in advance to all who are able to help out! :)

~Angie & Phil

March photos and update from GLA

Dear Phil and Angie,

Thank you for the email. I really enjoyed hearing from you. I hope all is going well for you and your family there. It’s hard to believe that another six weeks have flow by since I last wrote. It’s been a great March! We’ve had a lot going on at the GLA toddler house, and I am excited to be able to share a little bit of it with you!

The third week of February was Kanaval week in Haiti. As in tradition with the Haitian custom we had a kids’ Kanaval party here, one morning, at the toddler house as well. The kids dressed up and made bright masks and head bands covered in glitter. We sang and danced, until everyone was exhausted and then we turned on national television to watch the festivities live in Port Au Prince. This is the first time the kids were able to watch it on TV. It was quieter than nap time in the room as they stared in amazement at the parade floats and artists performing. That night bath time was a little extra long as the nannies scrubbed to remove the last traces of face paint from each child.

Ronaldo is healthy and doing well. He has not been on any medications. He is growing at a steady rate. His current measurements follow:
Height: 112 cm (44 inches)
Weight: 51 lbs

We have started a new tradition here at the toddler house. Every Friday night Ronaldo and a group of his friends sit outside anxiously waiting for my arrival from dinner at the other house so I can start up movie night! I open up the door as a dozen kids pile in to find their seats and vote on which movie to watch. I let them choose and slip out to start up popcorn and juice for the movie. As I come back in with the bowls and cups in my hands I get a smile and a thank you but it seems that their eyes never leave the screen. They reach into the bowls packing popcorn into their mouths still with both eyes glued to the television. The movie room is underneath my room and I can hear their explosive laughter and cute comments all throughout the movie. I love hearing the excitement of movie night even if it does mean answering the questions of what movie we will watch and what we will eat and when and how long it will be every day until next Friday.

Earlier in the month Ronaldo was picked up by Ernst (a worker at GLA) with his Haitian mother in the car heading off to INS for some paperwork. Ronaldo was very excited for this outing. He picked out the clothes he was going to wear and waited at the gate for the car horn to sound telling him it was time. With his backpack full of goodies and a smile on his face he hopped into the car ready for his day out. Several hours later Ronaldo returned with a satisfied grin and a big plate full of rice and chicken and veggies that he had been saving since lunch. Noticing it was hours past lunch I curiously asked why he had not eaten earlier and he just opened his lunch with a grin on his face and started stuffing spoonfuls of rice and chicken in the mouths of several other children. That’s when I realized he sat with his food on his lap in the car the whole time waiting to get home to share his special meal with his friends.

Earlier this week the oldest child at our house celebrated her 17th birthday. Ronaldo was invited to the party and he had a great time. We ate small chocolate cakes, he carefully peeled off the paper wrapper, and then ate the crumbs from it, before calling me and asking me to throw it out for him. After it got dark we had a fun time with “glow sticks” they are plastic tubes that illuminate in the dark. We made a parade around the yard waving the sticks and singing. Ronaldo looked at them with so much excitement in his face just waiting for his turn to come up and get his glowstick. He picked up his blue and yellow glow sticks and immediately went crazy spinning them around in the air and jumping up and down. The night continued with lots of singing and dancing and laughter. :)

Just this morning Joyce was telling a story about his thoughtfulness:
"Yesterday I (Joyce) was watching the older boys attempting to make paper airplanes. The airplanes wouldn’t stay together and weren’t getting any distance. This morning I went down into the school room and started making airplanes by the dozen. I called Ronaldo down to help and he picked up the markers and named all the airplanes according to who he thought needed one. After writing the names of all the kids in his room he ran out of ideas and asked me who else so I started naming some other kids I thought would enjoy the airplanes. He continued to write thinking of some more names. Not only did our youngest girl here get one but so did Jesus and David. (He made it clear that he wasn’t going to make one for Goliath.) Ronaldo and I packed up the airplanes in a big zip lock bag and he ran upstairs to give out the new planes (which were pretty awesome). I stood from a few feet away watching him excitedly call out the kids' names. Finally all the airplanes were given out. Ronaldo stood there looking at empty bag while all the kids around him were playing with their new airplanes. He continued to stare at the bag and I knew what he was thinking. I walked up to him with a little grin on my face asking him what was wrong and he looked at me and said 'I forgot to make one for myself.' I let out a little laugh and we headed downstairs to make one last airplane which turned out to fly farther than any of the other planes."

I hope you enjoy the photos!

Many Blessings,
Molly

Last piece of paperwork filed!

On Saturday, we received our finalized adoption documents (in French) along with their English translations via e-mail from the orphanage director in Haiti. These documents are needed so that we can file our very last piece of paperwork for the adoption! This morning (Tuesday), Phil and I drove to Indianapolis to the office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (formerly known as INS) to turn in the papers. It was a very exciting 5-minute appointment and the lady sent us off saying, "Congratulations! Is it a boy or a girl?" "A boy. He's 7," I proudly replied.

Here's what all this means: There are two things left that we're waiting on before we can bring R.J. home -- a Haitian passport so he can leave Haiti and a U.S. visa so he can enter the U.S. as an immigrant. R.J.'s passport was applied for in Haiti two weeks ago, and the paperwork we filed today (I-600) finalized the visa application.

In a few days, we should receive the visa application approval in the mail, which we will then fax to Haiti, so that the U.S. Immigration office in Haiti can begin the work needed to issue the visa, which we will pick up when we go to Haiti to get R.J. Then, as soon as both Phil and R.J. have their passports, we're ready to go!

We probably have less than 50 days now ... :)

Getting a big brother

To say the very least, Charlie is excited to be getting a big brother! The anticipation has been growing for all of us, as we get closer and closer to the end of this adoption journey. In fact, for the last month or so, Charlie has regularly gotten up in the morning telling me all about the dream he had the night before of what he and R.J. are going to do when R.J. comes home. In these dreams, Charlie and R.J. have gone sledding, had snowball fights, and built snow forts; they have been playfully chased by our dog Honey, thrown a football, ridden bikes and scooters, gone swimming, played on the swingset in our backyard, and more!

It occurred to me the other day that Charlie has a very unique experience of looking forward to the arrival of an instant and permanent new playmate and best friend; so one evening at dinner I said to Charlie, "Do you know that when most kids get a brother or sister, they get a baby?" There was silence as this sunk in. Charlie looked absolutely incredulous! "They do?! Why?!" he said. I went on to tell him that he is very special to be one of only a few people in the entire world to be getting a BIG brother and not a baby.

Charlie still can't fathom why anyone would get a baby when they can get a big brother instead. Neither can I, now that I think about it. :)

Phil's passport renewal

After receiving word that R.J.'s passport was to be applied for yesterday, we are cautiously estimating that we could travel to Haiti May 14th (which is Finals Week at Taylor University, where I teach) -- since passports are averaging 6-8 weeks, and then it is typically one more week before being able to travel. We also decided we needed to get Phil's passport renewal in the mail, because it will expire June 1, 2007. Much to our chagrin, we discovered that the U.S. passport office is overwhelmed with applications, and it is taking 2-4 weeks longer than usual! We thought we needed to allow the usual 6 weeks for renewing Phil's passport; as it turns out, we need 10 -- although May 14 is just under 9 weeks away! Yikes! The most interesting twist is that you MUST send in the expiring passport in order to receive an updated one. (Otherwise, it takes longer and costs more!) So we put the passport and application for renewal in the mail today. Now we'll wait and see: Will Papa's or R.J.'s passport be ready first?!

The end is in sight!

Hello Angia and Phil,

I am VERY excited to inform you that on Monday we are applying for Ronaldo's passport! We received all of Ronaldo's documents from legalization today! The Parquet wait was FAR too long; however, I must admit I am very happy with how quickly things moved after Ronaldo's dossier did finally get out of the Parquet. I would say passports are averaging 6-8 weeks at this time. Next week we are sending all of Ronaldo's adoption paperwork for translation, and then as soon as we get it all back, Dixie will forward you the necessary documents and information that you need to file your I-600 in the States. Then, once you have received your I-600 approval, if you could please scan and forward a copy of your approval as soon as you get it, we can go ahead and begin his orphan investigation with INS here in Port-au-Prince.

Congratulations on moving to the next step!!!!! The end is definitely in sight! *

Hope this news helps you to have a great weekend!

LaDawn


*See Timeline for completing the legal process in Haiti

February Photos and Valentine's Day Wishes from GLA

Bonjou Mama & Papa,

HAPPY VALENTINES' DAY!!!!

Today is a special day. Molly says that its a day when you have to tell the people you love, that you love them, and you can do it as many times as you want to! I want to you tell you, Mama, that I love you! I want to tell you, Papa, that I love you! And I want to tell you, Charlie, that I love you!

Molly took some pictures of us to send to you today. Everybody says I am just sooo cute! We are going to do some special things this afternoon, and I know it will be a good day. I hope you have a good day too!

Love, Ronaldo