Quick Update-I have been speechless for a few days.

This is a bit of a bipolar post. Full of ups and downs. My life is sort of like that these days. Friends and family moving away. Job changes. Financial stuff. Decisions. Big decisions. Small decisions. I don't think I am losing it. Maybe I am. But if I was, I don't think I would be aware of it, do you? Hmmmm. I'm pretty aware that my emotions are all over the place right now. I think that I just have to laugh or cry. Sometimes, both at the same time. So read on, at your own risk. LOL


Last week, I got an email from USCIS that says they have made a "favorable determination" regarding our AOF application. What this means is that USCIS has reviewed documents submitted and at least initially found that the boys meet the legal definition of orphan, as is required for immigration to the United States. That is good news. It's one small step in a process full of big and small steps. I don't really think it means we are any closer or anything like that-it just means that one thing has been accomplished. The letter tells me to pursue the adoption abroad, and then submit those documents to USCIS for a final approval. And it gives a deadline of September 2009. THAT made me laugh out loud.

In reviewing the letter, I also saw something else, that was not good news.

It's strange, because it is not something that I did not know.

I mean, I did already know this, but there was something about seeing it in black and white that just sort of took my breath away. Part of the documents reviewed include the forms/paperwork that the birth family filled out when they relinquished the boys to the orphanage.

Now I KNEW how long my boys have lived there. I have seen the pictures and talked to people involved with the orphanage long before me. This was not new information to me, but seeing the date in black and white really did a number on me. It took my breath away. It broke my heart. It forced me to my knees and to cry out to God. I have cried for the last several days, off and on. Fine one moment, not fine the next. Better when I don't think about it. But it's pretty hard not to think about it.

They have been there too long. That's all I'm going to say about it. It's a good place. They are happy. They are loved. They are fed. They are cared for. They are learning. It is a good place and I'm HAPPY they are there, for the alternative could be so much worse. And yet, it saddens me deeply because children belong in families, not in orphanages. Period. end of story.

I pray for the children-these two boys especially, but for all the children living in group settings or worse, on the streets. Who will care for them? Who will do something?

I read a verse recently that said (my paraphrase) not to steal from orphans BECAUSE GOD IS THEIR DEFENDER..........and defend He will. I can't recall where the verse was exactly, I think it was in Proverbs. God is the defender of orphans. That's pretty powerful. I like the image.

I pray that God protects these children's hearts. I pray that He helps me deal with it-and I pray that people will step up and DO SOMETHING for these precious children.

Like Tara L.

See the side bar (back on the upper left hand side of this blog page) for this week's feature and read about what she is doing. Click on the before/after picture of the little boy and read about what Tara is doing. She's an American living in Haiti. Has been there for four+ years. Has bio and adopted children. Teaching women skills. Making a difference, and running a marathon to save the lives of Haiti's malnourished children-you can help, right there from the comfort of your own computer screen. Click on the link, read the stories and give if you feel led to give.

I pray that God's people will DO SOMETHING.