Aren't they just breathtaking?!?!?!
McKensley Isaiah is 8 years old and born on April 12, 2004
Shinailove Hope (I think we are going to call her Shiloh) is 7 and she was born on February 14, 2005
And this is our story..
2 months after the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12, 2010, Matt and his 2 brothers headed to an orphanage that a member of our church have been working with for quite some time. Even though there was no damage in this part of Haiti, it felt like our eyes were opened to this country that is the poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Well needless to say, Matt fell in love with the place, the culture and the people of Haiti. He went back 4 times that year and each time he came back, the pictures of the children just grabbed my heart. There were 2 in particular that I couldn't wait to get updates and see new pictures of. Can you blame me?! They are so precious!!
A year after Matt went I decided to venture down.
One look. One shy smile and Shinailove took my hand. One time that McKensley decided to stay with me instead of playing soccer with the new balls that we had brought as gifts. One time. I Skyped Matt to get his permission to ask if there was a possibility to adopt them. Silence on the end of the phone and then I hear he is trying not to laugh. "Honey, he said, Do you honestly think I would have sent you down there and not totally expected this call?" My man knows me well!
We had been trying (unsuccessfully) to adopt from the foster care system in North Carolina. Turns out most social workers shy away from placing children in homes with 4 biological children. So sad. Wish there was some way to reform that, but we tried for three years and know the names and faces of all 27 children we tried to get placed with us (many of whom are still in the system today)...but I have digressed. Long story short, we already had our home study done and we were ready to go!
I will not bore you all the details of the last 2-1/2 years, but let me wrap it up by saying, this has been the hardest, soul wrenching painful experience our family has ever been through! Last year I went to Haiti 8 times and Matt went several times as well. We have exhausted all our resources to get our littles home.
But I would do it all over again...in a second...no hesitation. Seriously.
They are coming home. Finally.
Their clothes have been hanging in their closets for more than a year now. Their bags have been packed and then repacked every time I would go there thinking "this was the time." But now it is here. I feel like shouting to the world THIS IS THE TIME!!! For sure, no doubts, positive!!
So here is the bottom line. Our lawyer need $2,000 to get started on the final paperwork, Parquet (Haitian court) and passports. The total that we need to bring our nuggets home is $8,000. Gulp. That amount right now seems astronomical. It is really difficult to see how this is going to happen. I trust that the Lord did not bring us on this crazy ride to have our children be waiting on us. Please pray for us, and pray for the kids. We are so ready to have them home.
Enjoy some of my favorite photos of them.
