So, we have Landon’s visa. Praise God!!!! We still do not have an appointment to get Isaiah’s visa. So the big question is… should I stay or should I go now!

We have people willing to keep Zi, we have people willing to escort him as far as Texas. But, we are so close is it worth the added expense to have him escorted?? We have no idea if it will be a matter of days or weeks until we get an appointment so as of right now… we have no idea what we are going to do!

Friends~

Please pray!!

We just found out Landon's visa is being printed today but they will not give it to me. I was told to call back on Monday morning to find out "when it will be released". Jody is on the phone to senators, congressmen and other government representatives trying to find out why it can not be released today.

Thanks!

Major Set Back

It’s a long story and I’m, quite honestly, too angry to give details but the bottom line is we do not have Landon’s visa and no one at the Embassy will tell me when it will be available. I was told it is approved but not printed. I was then told to call back next week!! Who knows at this point when we will be going home!

Yes! DHS found the missing fingerprints. They will be sending our approved file to the visa unit by tomorrow at the latest. This still does not guarantee Isaiah coming home on Monday though. Best case scenario...we get an appointment on Friday and we all travel home on Monday. More likely scenario, we get an appointment some time in the next week or 2. If that happens, Landon, Sutton and I will travel on Monday. Isaiah will stay with friends here in PAP and then he will be escorted home by another set of friends.

We are still praying for that miracle!!!

God’s Timing~

I hear those words all the time. It’s all in God’s time! I’ve even said them. Lately I’ve been asking myself, “Do I really believe things happen in His time.”? Do I truly trust God enough to see that my timing is not always His timing and that it is OK? As Christians we are called to believe that if we trust in Him He will provide for all our needs.

God knows how much I want to be with my family, God knows how much I need to be with them, He placed that longing in my heart when I became Jody’s wife and mother to my children. He also knew before time began that I would be sitting in Haiti waiting on Isaiah’s visa to be issued. He knew I would be impatient and not listen to reason. He knew I would go ahead and buy tickets before we had the visa. He knew!! And He will make things right. Is it going to happen the way I want it to? Probably not but if it does, it has nothing to do with me or what I have done, It has everything to do with what He has done.

It is still possible for all of us to travel together on Monday, only because with God all things are possible. But, if God in His infinite wisdom chooses to not have it happen that way, it will still be OK. We have a back-up plan, not that we need one, since God already has it planned out, but for our limited minds we see at as such. There are families willing to help. Families who will love Isaiah for us in our absence, families who are willing to travel with an almost two year old to bring Isaiah home for us. In the end it will all work out.

In… God’s timing!

Isaiah 40:28-31-
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint

Dinner at the Gray House

Carsen: "Dylan did a good job helping Kynsley with her homework today."
Dylan: "Yeah! So I deserve chicken."

Another night, Kynsley said...
"Maturity-shmurity... smells like a turdy."

UPDATE....

DHS has my fingerprint clearance but not Jody's. No one knows why. They are "looking into". I was told even if they get Jody's today the soonest they can have our file to the adoption unit is Thursday afternoon. The adoption unit will NOT schedule an appointment until they have the file in their hands. The likelihood of them having an opening on Friday is slim and none!

So...

depending on when the appointment is scheduled for, we have a decision to make. We can postpone our tickets and all of us stay in Haiti until the visa is issued. Or... Landon, Sutton and I can leave on Monday. We have friends that have offered to keep Isaiah for us until he can leave. There are several families traveling to the states in December who could escort him for us. This is the most likely scenario unless the appointment is schedule for the following week. If it is that soon then it would be worth staying since most of the people traveling to the US are not going until right before Christmas.

We won't know anything until they find Jody's fingerprints and are able to tell me when the next available appointment is.

We are still praying for that miracle!!

I just found out our fingerprint clearance was sent to DHS here in Haiti on Thursday. It is possible that our file is being approved but I have not been able to reach anyone to find out one way or another.

Please.....

PRAY!!!!

We have such a small window of time to get this all done. I know with God all things are possible, but my faith is weak. I'm tired! I miss my family! I want to go home! I'm praying but need help. Will you please pray for us??

We have not got our fingerprint clearance. Jody tried to call the lady handling things in the states and she is out of the office until Monday. He did talk to someone else who said they would "try" to look into it for us. Unfortunately, this probably means the kids and I will not be coming home on the 24th. Next Tuesday is a Haitian holiday so the Embassy is closed. That only leaves us 4 working days to get it done. Not enough time in here in Haiti. We are still praying for that miracle, we know God can do anything!

New Blog

whateverchristian.blogspot.com

Check it out!

Prayer Warriors UNITE.....

We need you again!!

We have exactly 5 working days left before the kids and I board a plane home!

We do not have our fingerprint clearance yet... which means our I-600 has not been approved... which means we can not schedule a visa appointment... which means no visa can be issued...which means we can't board that plane!

I have heard of people getting a visa appointment for the day after their I-600 was approved but I also know MORE people that have waited WEEKS for appointments. Even if we get our clearance today it will still take the mighty hand of our God to get us home on the 24th. We took a leap of faith and bought the tickets, we did exactly what I have cautioned so many people NOT to do! We are asking a lot!! BUT, we know if it happens than it happens only because of God.

Would you spend some time in prayer on our behalf today? And tomorrow? And for how ever long it takes??

"Heavenly Father~
We are asking you once again to move mountains for our family. We know we do not deserve for you to do this for us, yet we ask. Our family needs to be together. Father, will you please move this mountain, will you please open the doors?? We just want to go home!! Whatever Your will God. We do not understand why we can not already be together, but we stand firm that You do know and that You know best. Thank you, Lord! We love You, we praise You and we will continue to seek You in all we do! Amen"

Get Up Offa That Thing

And dance until you feel better
Get up offa that thing
Try to release that pressure


Nothing is more therapeutic for me than dancing. I groove, shake, wiggle, and spin my way out of stress. Music has a way of touching the soul, but for me I can't just take it in. I've got to let it out too. I know many of you are going through stressful situations with your adoptions, the economy, and countless other things. Maybe you should give dancing a try? Just turn on some music and let it go.

Here are some lessons from James Brown himself. I'm personally working on the Camel Walk. So play that funky music white boy and hit the dance floor.

Sorry for the long delays between updates, it’s been crazy. When I arrived home I found out the apartment we were planning on moving into was not ready and would not be ready for several weeks. This posed a serious problem, the kids and I could not stay in the house we were in and we had no where to go. I sent out an e-mail to a few people here and asked if anyone knew of a room for us to rent. I got an e-mail back from Tara Livesay. She said that she had talked to John McHoul (pastor of PAP Fellowship and director of Heartline Ministry’s). They had a small apartment at their girl’s home that was not being used and they offered it to the kids and I until the visas are issued. What a relief it was to know we had a place to stay. The apartment is small but is fine for the 4 of us. It’s located in Clercine so it’s pretty far away from the school but it’s worth the drive!! II got home on Wednesday and by Friday night we were moved into our new place.


I went to the Embassy today and Landon’s visa was approved and we can pick it up on the 19th!!! PRAISE GOD!!! Now we are just waiting for our fingerprint clearance and then I will make an appointment to have Isaiah’s visa issued. We are praying we are able to travel the week of Thanksgiving, if not the prices of tickets almost double until after the first of the year. I really can not imagine being here through the Holidays, I just want to be home as an entire family soon!

prayers....and PRAISES

Most importantly.....

Please pray for the students and teachers trapped in the school that collapsed today in Haiti. Things are crazy and many are feared dead. A friend of ours is helping with the rescue effort and says it is really bad. I was driving in town today and traffic is horrible, every available UN and PNH officer is being sent to the scene. There are ambulances trying to get out of the area. It is not good!

PRAISES....

We have the document we need for Landon's visa to be processed! God is so good!! I will take it to the embassy Monday morning. I spent 3 hours there on Wednesday and I was told that all I would need is that document and copies of a few of Landon's US documents (which I already have). I plan on being there when they open and am praying hard to have a solid answer of when it will be issued!

Jody did his fingerprints today for Isaiah's file. We should have clearance by the end of next week. All we need then is an appointment for the visa. We could be home in time for Thanksgiving!!!! Please, Lord, please!

I'm sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport with 10 hours to kill so I thought I'd update everyone on the last week or so. It's a long post....

The last week has been so crazy for us. We left Haiti not knowing where Jody and the kids were going to live. We had no idea where the money was going to come from to rent a house and no idea how long I was going to need to stay in Haiti once I returned. So many unanswered questions….

As of right now, some of those questions are still unanswered. Here is what has happened so far…

We arrived in Sacramento on Wednesday and Carsen picked us up. We stayed in a motel for the night while we tried to figure out what to do. On Thursday morning we went to view the 6 bedroom house we saw online, it was even more beautiful than in the pictures. The house was spacious, full of natural light and all around perfect for our family. The only problem was we did not have enough money to move into it. It was a hard and very painful decision but we realized that no matter how much we loved the house we just could not afford it. We told the property manager we were unable at this time to rent the house. There were 2 other families interested in renting it so she would not be able to hold it for us. It was not easy to hear! The house felt so right but obviously God has a different plan.

At that point we headed into town and went to look at an apartment complex that Jody knew the property management staff. They had several 2 bedroom apartments available and were willing to let us move in without a deposit. The apartment is a good sized 2 bedroom but still very small for Jody and the kids. It isn’t the optimal situation but one that will have to work for now. We then went to register the kids for school. Not an easy task we were soon to find out. The schools in Vacaville are very full and we were having a hard time finding one that had space for Dylan, Kynsley and Landon. On top of that, 2 of the schools are year around and were “tracking-off”. We left Vacaville Thursday evening not knowing where the kids would be attending school. But, before we left we were able to view a 3 bedroom house managed by one of Jody’s co-workers. It will be available December 1st, if we are unable to find anything else before the 1st we plan on moving in. It isn’t much bigger than the apartment but at least it is a house and it does have a third bedroom and a garage. It will be a VERY tight fit when I get back with the three little ones but at least our family will be together.

We stayed with my mom in Redding on Thursday night and got up early to load the U-haul. Jody, Carsen, Shane and I loaded a 26 foot U-haul by ourselves in less than 5 hours. We weren’t sure if everything was going to fit but I guess all those years of playing “Tetris” paid off. We got everything in and then headed to our friends, The Painters, for dinner, fellowship and a little Halloween fun! Jody was gracious and took Dylan, Kynsley and the Painter’s son, Daniel trick-or-treating so Lynn and I could stay home and catch-up! It was a great evening. I will miss being able to see Lynn regularly when I get back to California but we are still close enough to get together occasionally.

Saturday morning we left my mom’s and drove to Vacaville. We were met by several of Jody’s co-workers (Thanks Dave, Ron, Aaron and Mike). We had the U-haul unloaded at the apartment quickly and they even went to the storage unit and helped us get our excess stuff packed away. By 8:30 p.m. we were exhausted!

Sunday we spent the day shopping for necessary items, unpacking and trying to get everything to fit into such a small area. The kids were nervous about starting school the next day and we still weren’t sure where they were going.

Monday morning Jody got up at 4:30 a.m. for his first day back to work. The plan was for him to drive Carsen’s car to work since his car is still in Coarsegold with Angela. He went to the parking lot to leave and found the back passenger side window smashed and the stereo missing!! Not the best way to start out the week. I drove Jody to work and then woke Carsen up to tell her the bad news. She was very upset. The only thing that was taken was the stereo. She was actually sad that they had not taken her CD’s. Most of them were Christian artists and she said maybe they could have found the Lord listening to them! It started to rain soon after and we were able to get the car under a covered parking spot. The thief broke 2 windows trying to get in so it is going to be pretty expensive to replace.

The day didn’t get much better when we went to the school we were told had room for the kids. Upon arriving we found out that they only had room for Dylan and Kynsley and would not be able to take Landon when he arrived. After more searching we were finally able to find a school that had room for all three. It was God’s plan all along! The school is small, very diverse and Dylan immediately took to his teacher. We were most worried about Dylan’s transition since he is so shy but it really worked out well. I also met Landon’s future teacher, she is young, out going and vibrant. I think he is going to do very well there.

We experienced further issues when it was time to register Shane for school. There are 2 high schools in Vacaville. Jody really wanted Shane to go to Vacaville High School but we do not live in their boundaries. We went to the school anyway to try for an Inter-District transfer. We were told they were full and even if we lived in that area he would need to be “over-flowed” to Will C. Wood. We left there a little disappointed but were soon pleasantly surprised at the reception he received at Wood. He really feels it is the place he is meant to be. The only negative was in order to receive full semester quarter credit he would need to take the exact same classes he was taking at QCS. He was put in choir at QCS and did NOT want to be there! He wanted to take band. The counselor was not able to change it since he was already going to lose the credits he received for bible since it isn’t offered at the public schools. So he is in choir at least until January. He is going to try and make the best of it but is still disappointed. Hopefully he can get into band next quarter.

We do not have internet yet in Vacaville so we were not able to check our e-mail for awhile. I was happy to receive an e-mail with an appointment at the embassy to discuss Landon’s case. We are praying his visa can be issued without the one document we can not get from the Haitian government. I also received an e-mail from DHS saying they were ready to approve Isaiah’s I-600 BUT… our fingerprints had expired! And, the only place we can get re-fingerprinted was in Sacramento! I left all of Isaiah’s paperwork in Haiti so had no idea how to get a hold of anyone to set up an appointment. We finally just started calling people hoping to find a way to talk directly to the officer handling our paperwork in Sac. We tried all day Thursday and all day Friday with no luck. When we were unpacking a box Jody found a scrap of paper, believe it or not, with the direct line to the officer handling our case. We called and left her a message but since it was the week-end we knew we would not hear anything until Monday at the earliest.

After getting the kids registered for school on Monday Carsen and I decided to drive to the fingerprinting center hoping to talk to someone face to face, since we had not heard from anyone. They were closed!!! And there was a sign on the door that said we are currently at “Threat level-Yellow”. No one will be admitted into the building without an appointment letter! Now what?!?!?

We decided to try again on Tuesday without an appointment on our way to the airport and if I was not able to be fingerprinted I would need to change my flight to a later date.

On Tuesday morning at 7:30 as I was leaving the house I received a call from the USCIS officer and she said if I could come to Sacramento and pick up the letter from her office I could get fingerprinted before I left! I took the kids to school and headed to Sacramento, 40 minutes from Vacaville. We had to pass West Sacramento where the fingerprinting office is located. After we got the letters we drove back to W. Sac, got fingerprinted and then drove back to Sac to go to the airport. I honestly wasn’t sure if we would have time but God is good and we even had time to stop and get lunch before I had to be at the airport. Carsen was fingerprinted as well and Jody has an appointment on Friday. The officer told me she should have the clearance within 5 days. She will mail it to Jody in Vacaville and he will have to scan the letter and e-mail it to the Embassy. If all goes well we should have our approval within 7-10 days and be ready to make the final visa appointment.

So… it’s prayer time! We need the fingerprinting to go smoothly for Jody and a speedy clearance. We need DHS in Haiti to get our paperwork to the immigrant section quickly and an appointment scheduled. We need either Landon’s missing document to be granted or the Embassy to process his visa without it. We are really praying for our family to be reunited in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. Ticket prices will be increasing the closer it gets to the holidays and our resources are so limited right now. We need firm direction concerning a house to live in.

We are so close now. Thank you for praying with us and for us. Without our prayer warriors, I’m not sure we could have survived thus far. Keep it up, the journey isn’t over yet!