June Update

Our update this month was about the nannies that care for Dieunifer.  She has two that are assigned to her specifically.  They each work 4 days on and 2 days off.  We are so thankful for these ladies who love her until we can.  It is obvious in the pictures of Dieunifer playing with the doll that she is learning a lot from the nannies!
 
We also sent a doll and photo book down this month with another family that was traveling.  She so loved playing with the dolly on the balcony that we sent her her own.  Anything that she gets from her family is kept in a special box that she can play with when she has a volunteer.  Its strange to think that one day we will be packing these to bring back here with her.

Loved these pictures this month.  Susie takes pictures and writes updates for almost 150 kids, even if they don't have families yet.  She is so good at documenting things and keeping us up to date on what is going on.

Dieunifer truly enjoyed opening the gifts you sent for her this month.  She really enjoyed checking out the photos in the book and was in love with the doll as soon as she pulled it out of the gift bag.  She carefully fed it, and rocked it, and even did her best to put shoes on her feet.  It was so sweet to watch her and I was able to capture some of it in photos that you will also find attached to this update. Enjoy!

Dieunifer is healthy and growing:

Height: 92 cm

Weight: 29 lb 8 oz

Haitian Adoption Steps and Timeline

Pre-IBESR – We are preparing your dossier to go into Haitian Social Services. There are some legal documents that must be made after you accept your proposal and some of them must be legalized at the Ministry of Justice. If we have problems getting a document, this can delay this step. (1-2 months) November-December 2011

Wait for Referral

October 2011-May 17, 2012

Referral

 Dieunifer (pronounced Jennifer) May 17.2012

IBESR - Institut du Bien-Etre Social et de recherches ( Institute of Social Welfare and Researchers) - Haitian Social Services (3-?? months. It depends on if your file requires a Presidential Dispensation or not. The Dispensation can add a few, or many months to the process. If you do not need the Dispensation, you can clear IBESR in a matter of about 3-5 months).

IBESR closed from May-August 2012.  We officially entered IBESR August 17,2012.

Exited IBESR with Dispensation March 21, 2013

Printed in Le Moniteur April 1, 2013

Traveled to file 1-600, sign with the local judge, attend court April 16-20, 2013

Parquet – Pre-Courts, they interview the birth parents and give permission for the dossier to go through the Haitian court system.

~exited May 17, 2013 (one year from referral!)

Courts - The dossier is in the Haitian Courts having the actual adoption declared and legalized.
~entered around May 20, 2013  exited July 2, 2013!
Legal or Legalization – All court papers must be sent to the Ministry of Justice to be legalized. They declare that the signature on all of the paperwork actually is the signature of the Judge who signed it. (2 weeks)

MAE (Ministère des Affaires Etrangères) - Ministry of Foreign Affairs must legalize the signature of the person in the Ministry of Justice who signed your paperwork in the step above. (1-2 weeks)

Attest or Attestation - After court papers are finished, the Act of Adoption must be sent to the National Archives and they declare that the signature on the Act of Adoption is legal.   (`2 weeks)                                                                                                        

MOI (Ministère de l’Interieur) otherwise known as Ministry of Interior – All adoption passports must go through the Ministry of the Interior for approval before Immigration will print the passport. (4 -8 weeks is common, but some families have been stuck here for up to 8 months)

Printing – Your dossier is in Immigration waiting for the passport to be printed. (1-3 weeks)

Visa – Your dossier is in your country’s Embassy waiting for a visa to be issued, visa medical, visa printing (4-6 weeks, US)

IBESR exit letter

Our Family Day is:

Coming Home and what happens next

Coming home was a difficult adjustment.  Its kind of a blur now because I did not write this all down right away.  It took awhile to adjust back to American life and all that we have.  We missed Jennifer a lot and thinking of her so far away in another country for who knows how long was HARD!  Time moved on and slowly life returned to the a regular routine.  It wasn't until we got the email on May 17, 2013 that we had exited Parquet that I felt like we were moving again!  That was awesome.  It was definitely a cause for celebration around here...and mostly renewed our energy in the whole process.  It didn't take long to start getting anxious to exit the next step (Courts).  That is where we are now.  I am hoping and praying we here very soon that we have exited Courts.  This is when the Act of Adoption will be printed and Jennifer will legally be ours.  It will still be awhile until she comes home though.  Meanwhile we continue to get updates.  For May the theme was Haitian Flag Day and Mothers Day.

Day 3/ All day and last full day

  We woke up refreshed and excited to spend the whole day with Dieunifer.  We had to wait at the guest house for Judge Bob to come though.  While we were waiting we saw all the preschoolers come in for school.  They were adorable and so well behaved.  They loved looking at themselves in my camera.  They were so happy and excited to be playing a bit outside before they headed back to the Toddler House from school.  We continued to wait...not sure when the Judge was coming.  I started to get nervous because the clock was ticking and I knew we only had a little time left!  Eventually he came and we signed with the other family in the kitchen of the Toddler House.  It was quick and casual.  We signed in his notebook.  Luckily we got a little time to see the Toddler House and meet a few of those kids.

     Melissa took us down to the Main House in the golf cart vehicle.  She was a great driver on those bumpy roads!  When we got there we played with Dieunifer up on the balcony all alone.  The pool was set up and she loved that.  Then we took her downstairs for awhile.  We saw a few birth moms and dads visiting with their kids.  At lunchtime, she went back to the nannies to eat and rest.  We then spend the rest of the day playing with her.  She was so sweet and good tempered.  She didn't like to be told no of course!

     Later in the day she found a baby doll on the balcony.  She played with it forever.  She diapered it, pretended to feed it and even washed its face in a puddle!  She would have played with this one doll for hours!
      We had to say goodbye at dinner time and head back up to the Guest House.  We would have two hours in the morning before leaving for the airport.  I am not sure what we did this last night in Haiti.  I was already getting sad.  and dreading what lied ahead.

        Friday morning, I woke up early.  I got some coffee and sat on the balcony for awhile as the sun came up. That was amazing.  After breakfast they took us and the visiting volunteer team back down to the Main House.  She was all ready for us.  We spent most of this time downstairs away from the crowd. She did play again for a little while with the doll.  
        At 10:30 we had to bring her back to her nursery.  It was so sad.  By the time we got back downstairs, she was waving to us from the balcony.   We got in the van with the other family and half of the volunteer team.  Everyone was pretty quiet and we backed out of the gate and headed down the mountain to Port-AuPrince.   We boarded the flight and I think I cried all the way to Miami.  We had dinner at TGIFridays with our new friends, said our goodbyes at the gate and boarded the last flight to Philadelphia.  We pulled in our driveway, exhausted and drained at 2:30 am April 21, 2013.

Day 2 Embassy Appointment/Court appearance

  We were told to be up and ready by 6:15 am for our appointments back in Port-Au-Prince.  Melissa and Tim, our hosts at the guest house had breakfast and coffee ready.  We waited for the driver.  He was running late and didn't pick us up until close to 7.  They kept reassuring us that our 7:30 appt really meant anytime before noon!  We picked up Magaly downtown at her home.  We pulled up right in front of the Embassy.  It was crowed with a very long line out front.  Magaly walked us right to the front of the line and through security.  It was a little awkward because we cut right in front of all these people who had been waiting all morning.

Once inside we were seated in a big room with lots of teller windows (like a bank).  We were called up and handed in our paperwork.  We sat back down and waited awhile (maybe like an hour or two?)  We were called up and asked a bunch of questions, which were pretty much announced over a speaker for anyone in the room to hear.  They asked about our trip to Haiti, when we met Jennifer, checked our passport and that was about it.

When Jill and Wade were done we all went back outside and waited on the side of a busy road, with lots of traffic and dust and people.  Our driver picked us up, we dropped Magaly off at her house and headed across the city to the courthouse.  That took about an hour, even though I am sure it wasn't that far in miles (or should I say kilometers?!)

At court we again were dropped off in front of the building, met up with Terriot, the lawyer.  He walked us in to a hallway.  We stood there while he took our passports into a small office.  He came back out and stood with us.  Jill and Wade, Matt and I and Terriot stood there for about 45 minutes.  There were lots of lawyers walking through the hallway and it was a neat cultural experience.  It was very hot in here and since we didn't know how long we would be standing there, it seemed worse than it actually was.

Terriot went back in the office, got our passports and we left.   We drove through some of the busiest streets in PAP and past some of the things you may have seen on TV after the earthquake, like the Presidential Palace.  It has now been leveled.  We got back to GLA around 2pm, changed our clothes and spent until 5pm with Dieunifer.

On Wednesdays, the whole staff and visitors eat dinner at the Main House.  We had chicken pot pie and dessert.  It was great.  We headed up to the Guest House after dinner and spent some time on the balcony before going to sleep pretty early.  We were excited to have the whole next day to spend with Jennifer.

Courts Trip Day 1/Part 2

We traveled down the bumpy road from the Toddler House to the Main House...it was probably 5 minutes but it felt like forever as we got closer and the anticipation was building.  In some ways the whole experience was so similar to preparing for childbirth in other ways it was vastly different.  The anticipation was very similar.

The first glimpse of our daughters home was out of the left side of the car.  We turned and faced the blue gates.  These gates that symbolize so much.  Birth families that bring their children through these gates.  The sadness as they walk out without their child.  The adoptive families that enter in excitement and have to leave again for who knows how long.  The emotions of returning again and being reunited with your child.  Leaving again.  So many emotions and tears right here at these gates.

The guard opened the gate for us and we got out of the car and walked inside the Main House living room and there she was!  She was playing with her box of toys we had sent over the previous year.  She was a little shy at first but almost immediately started playing with Matt.  They tossed  a stuffed animal back and forth for a bit.  I was afraid we would overwhelm her so even though I wanted to pick her up and hug her I didn't.   She was not shy at all and loved the attention that she was getting all by herself.  Within 10 minutes we were tickling and loving her.  She was so happy.  She didn't talk much but was very happy.

After awhile inside Susie and Melissa went over some paperwork that we would need for the next day.  Then we took her for a walk in the neighborhood.  It was very, very quiet and pretty hot.  She wanted to be held the whole time.  The view from the end of the road was amazing.  Other than the occasional rooster it was just so quiet.

When we were back inside she spent forever emptying my wallet and organizing all the cards and coins.  Matt stuck them in her dress pockets.  We forgot about it and when we brought her back upstairs the kids instantly wanted to see what she had!  Sadly, the afternoon went very quickly and at dinnertime we had to bring her back up to her nursey.  She seemed excited to go back in.  The other kids were definitely aware that she had been missing all afternoon and it was almost like they wanted her to tell them everything she did. Walking into that toddler nursery was so hard though.  They all wanted to be picked up and they all were saying "MaMa" "DaDa"  It is obvious that Gods plan is for these children to be in families.

First Trip to Haiti April 16-19 Miami to God's Littlest Angels( Part 1)

I have held off writing this post because it was just too hard to get the thoughts/feelings/emotions out of my head and onto the blog.  I am afraid if I don't I will forget though.  I also think it might help someone else making the same trip in the future.  So if you don't like details just skip this post!

We took our kids to school, did a few last minute things at home and headed to the Philadelphia International Airport.  Everything was uneventful (and super easy since we weren't traveling with five kids!).  We landed in Miami at 4:00, got our luggage and took the shuttle to the Sheraton Airport Hotel.  Everything was fine, except we were starving and there was no where to eat.  We walked about 2 miles in the rain and found nothing, ended up back at the hotel with takeout...shriveled up meat on a crossiant...ewww).

Our flight to Port-Au-Prince was at 6:40 am so we were up and out early.  At the airport we met up with Jill and Wade who were also traveling to the orphanage for the first time http://journeyfulloffaith.blogspot.com
We were all excited and nervous.  The flight was great and by 8:30 we were touching down in Haiti.  I really couldn't believe it.  After watching so much post-earthquake, reading so many stories, and being matched with Dieunifer for almost a year it all seemed so surreal!

Our first glimpse of Haiti was the men in the airport playing Haitian music.  We got our bags and headed outside.  We had been warned men in red shirts would try to assist us with our luggage and to just say "Non merci"  In the crowd we were greeted by Cherie who works for the airport.  He took us to our driver from GLA , Ernest.  We were all ready to meet our kids in just over an hour.

There was some confusion at this point as we were also supposed to be picking up a volunteer for GLA but she had missed her connection and wouldnt be arriving until 12:30.  Sadly, there would not be enough time to get us to GLA and back to get her.  Dixie told Ernest to take us to the gas station up the road and sit and get a snack.

Pulling out of the airport was our first experience with Haitian traffic.  I might have let out a big gasp as I thought for sure we were getting sideswiped (in both directions).  After enough time driving, I didn't even think twice about the crazy road situations.

So to the gas station we went.  We waited, and waited, and waited some more.  After two years in the process you would think we would be good at this.  We all felt that everything was a bit more modern than we were expecting.  After three hours we were used to the people passing through with the baskets on their heads or the police with the shotgun patrolling the station.

Finally it was time to pick up the volunteer and head to GLA.  GLA is up in the Kenscoff Mountains outside of Petionville, Haiti.  The view out our window left an impression that will never be forgotten.  There were kids in their school uniforms everywhere.  Lots of dads walking kids.  Skinny cows.  Street dogs.  Vendors with everything on their heads.  Tragic poverty.  Hardworking Haitians.  Amazing scenery.

We dropped Jill and Wade off at the Guest House as it is right next to the Toddler House where their kids were.  It was about 10 minutes to the Main House where we would FINALLY meet Dieunifer!