Carnival shmarnival

This was carnival week in Haiti so most of the offices were closed most of the week. We haven't heard a thing about the adoption. Sigh...

The weather here has been really weird. Warm, cold, rainy, stormy, snowy, sunny, cloudy. Sometimes all on the same day. It's been bizarre. Kind of like my life here lately. Keep praying for us.

I wish there were some awesome, incredible news to share but there just isn't. A is doing really well in her current play and enjoying it. That's something good. Maybe I should do a thankful list. Let's see. It was warm enough today to open the windows a little bit. My feet are warm. Our pets make us laugh and I'm thankful for that.

We're still here

We're still here. We're just struggling. Home issues, family issues, adoption issues. Please, pray for us. Oh, how we need it.

We celebrated R's bf's birthday this week. We made silly hats out of paper and some of us sucked helium (left over from A's birthday) and sang songs and told stories. That part was hysterical. Thank God for some laughter in the trials. The making and wearing of the crazy hats may become a birthday tradition. We did it when the kids were younger and we used to do it for the pets' birthdays too.

Here is the birthday boy.

T even made and wore a hat.

A was trying to get her hat on and was telling us that ours seriously lacked in the creativity department. She struggled some more with her hat and then concluded that ours may have beat hers in the functionality department. She had to add on to hers to get it to stay on her head. That's a paper swan on top of hers. It's holding a happy birthday banner.
Our water dispenser on the fridge quit working Sunday. We were very bummed. We came home from church Wed. evening really thirsty. I hate the taste of our local water so the filter is a must. I started trying to clean the dispenser and figure out where the problem was. T found me trying to clean it out and he got involved. His solution to anything that breaks around here is to take it apart. Of course, he's been taking things apart since he's been in the world. He and his twin brother took the water heater and furnace apart when they were two, and not because they were broken. At least they weren't broken when they started but had to be repaired when they were done. One of the things couldn't even be repaired. His parents had to replace it. But anyway, back to the fridge. Remember that we have a long-haired cat who leaves his fur all over the house. We are constantly saying, Dexter, I wish you could keep your fur on your body. When T pulled the fridge out the side of it looked like it needed a shave.
So I "shaved" it with the vacuum. Think Flow-be. This is what we found behind the fridge. Yuck!

It's all cleaned up now. But back to the taking things apart. I had mentioned to him that I found the little ice door flap held open with a chunk of ice while I was inspecting the water dispenser a couple days prior to that. Aha! His theory was that the ice in the fridge began to melt some and leaked into the door and then because the fridge ran so much because of the cold air leak caused by the ice jammed into the flapper door, the tube that runs the water to the dispenser, froze. He concluded that he could prove his theory and fix the problem by taking the freezer door apart. Yeah, it has like 20+ screws in it. He was not deterred though. He moved all the freezer stuff to the fridge side and proceeded to take the door apart. Sure enough. There was a sheet of ice over the whole door. A has a pic on her phone of me with a blow-dryer trying to melt the ice. We were trying to salvage the insulation around the door and finally decided to replace it. The tube was frozen, just like he thought. We got the tube thawed out, the insulation replaced, the freezer completely cleaned out, the door put back together and wa-la, water. Sweet, filtered water. Here is the inside of the freezer door. The fuzzy looking stuff is insulation packed with ice.

We started our little project at around 9p.m. and finished about 11:15. I'm just glad I have a Mr. Fix-it type husband and we didn't have to pay anyone to thaw our water tube. Even if his "fixing" almost always involves taking things apart. :-)

Friday the 13th, hmmm

Another Friday has come and no news about the adoption process. Sigh...I won't tell you how sick I am of it because you've heard it all before. I guess God has a plan but there is also a human factor involved. Sometimes it feels like the kid will never come home. T says, another "black Friday", where we don't get any news. All we know is that our file is in MOI and that they added a step to the process while I was in Haiti.

Both my brother and my daughter had birthdays this week. My brother is older. When we were kids that wasn't necessarily so great but now that we're older, I think it's pretty nice that he's older than me. My baby turned 16. Zoiks! Where did the time go? J was looking at pics of her when I was in Haiti and he'd say, "This is my sister. She is beeaauuutiful." We think so too.

I had my birthday before I went to Haiti. R and her bf gave me a new guitar strap. I had my old one for years and it had cracked and had a sharp place on it. This new one is soft and supple, and it's my favorite color.

A made a cake for me on my birthday. She did a pretty good job.

R made a cake for A's birthday. She called me at work and said, "You're gonna laugh at my cake. It kind of fell apart and I decided to make it a cat. The frosting is weird though. And I spilled powdered sugar everywhere." That's T's child, LOL.
She is beautiful, isn't she?

The cats were busy doing funny things again today. Sanomae was in the laundry pile. Are you surprised? Dexter and Misty were looking at each other through the living room window. I love this pic. I like the way his eyes look and the way her tail is curled.

A took this one of Misty on the railing.

And Dexter can't get the treats out of his mind. He sits and stares at the door unless it's open. Then he sits and stares at the treats and looks longingly at them and hopefully at anyone who passes by him.

He was actually rubbing his face on the treat box. Goofy cat.

Please pray for some good adoption news. We need it. Thanks.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch

I haven't heard anything about our file since I've been back home. I have no idea if it's in the new step or what's happening with it. Sigh...

I'm sure you must have missed pics of the pets. And I know we're always posting pics of Sanomae in the laundry but this one's a little different. She by-passed the laundry and went up under the quilt. See her lumpy form? Yup, she likes it right under the quilt and on top of the comforter.

The kids always pile up the pillows on one end of the couch and sit on the other end. They almost never put them back, but that's okay with Dexter. He's kind of like the princess and the pea here on top of all the pillows.
Awww, I woke him from his nap with the camera. Isn't that too bad?
No, this is not a pet pic. It's my toothbrushes. No, I don't use all three at once. This is the result of not being able to find my favorite toothbrush anymore and buying three different ones in an effort to find one I like. Unfortunately, I don't like any of them, I like different things about each one of them. My favorite was Crest complete with a soft, compact head. I can't find them anywhere anymore. Sigh...maybe I should just go for the electric ones and try them out. That could get costly though, trying to find one of them that I like. Oh well.

Sunday recap

Church was good this morning. It was good to be leading music again. I'm still terribly missing J but I'm also glad to be home with the rest of my family.

I told my church family how "alive" the churches I visited in Haiti are. I also told them about J pleading with me to take him home with me. I also mentioned sitting at the O and feeding a 2 1/2 month old girl who only weighs about 7-8 pounds and I was holding her and giving her a bottle and looking at the scars on her arm from rat bites and the scars on her leg from abrasions from being thrown on a garbage heap and thinking, someone threw this baby away. OMG! Then I had a few people tell me that I was "different" today when I was leading music. You can't spend that much time in Haiti and experience the things I experienced and not be different.

I sometimes feel like a woman in labor. I'm just so tired that I want to give up. I need a C-section. I just need to get this child home. We're at 42 stinking months since we started the paper chase. 3.5 years. How is this good? Like being in labor, one part of me wants to continue to push and another part of me says I can't do this anymore and I need a C-section. Either way, one thing I know is, I WANT MY EPIDURAL!!

I think I'll do a thankful list. Let's see, I'm thankful for the time spent with J and with T's parents. I'm thankful to be home again. I'm thankful for our jobs. I'm thankful for our church family. I'm thankful for the great time I had with A today. Just her and I. She drove, I didn't panic, we didn't hit anything or have a wreck and we had a nice time together.

Pics

Ok, here are some more pics from the trip. I've been uploading for a while now. I went to work yesterday and it felt strange, like I didn't belong there and at the same time, like I'd never left. Weird. Anyway, this is J with the daughter of the people whose wedding I attended in July '06. She's a cutie and J is really good with little kids.

Here is a typical Haitian fishing boat.

This is a picture that J drew in the dirt. I think he said she was the lightning queen-or something like that.
The cook for the 3rd and 4th teams that were at T's parents while I was there gave J and A each a rusty pan. He made a flower box out of his. He has an eye for beauty.

J and A played on the bikes every day. Sometimes they each rode one and sometimes they played "taxi" and he took her places. I think she is running to jump on here.

A friend from my dad's team sent J these K'nex. Thanks CN!

Oh, boys and puppies just go together don't they? When she first handed the puppy to A we all thought it was a stuffed animal. J kept saying he thought it was a teddy bear. Aren't they cute?

Playing "taxi" with the puppy.

This is overlooking Cap Haitian from the Mont Joli. We had dinner with a team up there and enjoyed it very much.

Some Haitian fishing boats from the Mont Joli.

J got to go swimming at the Mont Joli with one of the team members.

T's parents got a container the day we left. Here they are getting ready for the container by clearing out the storage containers.

T's parent's dog had puppies while we were there. A kept saying that she was going to have 5, which she did, but one died.

After the plants in his planter died, J used the pan to make this cross and decorated it with flowers. He made it in the driveway though and it didn't last.

J loved anything to do with cooking. He made himself 3 scrambled eggs at some time every day. Here he is making brownies.

On the way back to PAP we stopped at Pignon, which has a grass airstrip. That was my first time on a grass airstrip.

We also flew right by the Citadel.

Here is J at the O with some of the other kids. Whatever he did, the other boys did.

That's it for now.

Home again, home again, jiggety jog

I made it home last night around 9:30. Flights and airports were okay. I'm glad to be home. I still have too much in my head to process right now.

My hot shower last night was very nice. I woke up in the night trying to figure out where I was and what was in the bed with me. I finally figured out that it was T but not before I tried to push him away. He was on my side. The blankets felt heavy after only using a sheet for so long. And this morning I woke up because it was too quiet. There were no roosters crowing or babies crying or kids yelling. There was no generator hum. And T had gotten up to take A to school so there was no CPAP hum either.

The Livesay children were very entertaining. Hope likes to talk and every time we were "erupted" (interupted) she would say, "Now, where were we," and never miss a beat. She also informed me that Peanut the dog "sweats hair on you" when you pet her. Yeah, that's one way to put it.

I will get around to posting pics someday soon. I've been doing laundry all day. And now I must go make cookies. A tried but said they're just not the same as mine. Hmmm. She told me that my cookie customers will be glad I'm home too.

Please pray for the adoption to move forward quickly. It was heart-breaking to say good bye again.

Heading home

I've been in PAP since Thursday, staying at the O. J had a meltdown yesterday when he figured out that I was leaving today. I'm at the Livesays right now and it's so nice to be here. I'm so grateful to them. J kept saying yesterday, "Please mom. Please, please, please take me home with you. I don't want to stay here without you. Please, please, please." God and I had a little talk and I had to repent later. Sigh...Church was good this morning. The Lord Jesus is alive and well in PAP Fellowship and people are worshiping. I needed that. There is too much in my head and heart to process right now. I'm sure bits and pieces will come out over the next few weeks. Please pray for the adoption process to move forward. I wish the "powers that be" that need to sign and process a passport and visa for us had even an inkling of the anguish of the waiting parents. I have more pics and stuff to post when I get home. We flew right by the Citadel on our way here. Literally, right by it. I was getting ready to zoom in but I wouldn't have been able to get it all in one pic if I had. I'm supposed to fly out in the morning. Lord willing and the creek don't rise. I'm ready to be home. I was not ready to tell J good-bye again but I am ready to be home.

Quick update

Hey, quick post here. We're doing fine and having a nice time together. It has rained a lot and the roads are awful but we went out to eat with a team yesterday and J was able to go swimming. We played a little baseball this morning.

They have added a step on to the MOI step. Since we are one of the first to have to do this step they have no idea how long it will take. Therefore I am scheduled to fly home next Monday without J. I have to say good-bye to him again. The last time we said good bye to him we were sure that it wasn't for long. Ha! That was 19 months ago. I'm not looking forward to saying good-bye but I am looking forward to getting back to my family and life. I have some ideas of what we need to do/buy before he comes home and I've enjoyed my time with him. I've also met some neat people and have hopefully been helpful for preparing for teams. So, I'm ready to come home. That's the change, subject to plan.

Weekend update

I only have a second to write a note. The power went off and this is running on the inverter. I'll update tomorrow and explain the pics when the power is on.

Ok, Monday morning. MFI put a retreat on for the missionaries that they serve in Haiti. It was very good. I'm not a missionary here but I still enjoyed it. The pastor that came has a small church in Man O War Cay, Bahamas and he was excellent. He was animated, used good life lessons and had good life application ideas. There was also a quartet of young college age kids that was very good. Their harmonies were excellent even when singing acapella. Super nice young men. I didn't realize when I came down that I was going to get a retreat weekend too.

J did well through the services. He colored and made some friends with some other kids there and was even invited for a play date if we can work it out.

He has been super snuggly in the mornings, usually climbing into bed with me. Thankfully, he has not been wetting the bed. He'll snuggle up as close as he can get and soaks it up. He wants me to pick him up and hold him but he's just too big for that. I'm sure he missed all that over the years.

The meltdowns and "tuning outs" are becoming less and lasting much shorter. He definitely struggles when things don't go just the way he thinks they should.

Today we are washing sheets and towels and making beds for the next team. They arrive tomorrow.

News from home is that it has been very cold there. I am still enjoying the weather here. It's been around 70 at night and about 80-85 during the day. It's hot in the sun but it's very shady here so very nice. A got a main part in another play. She is excited about that. R started back to school and I haven't gotten an email from her (hint, hint) but I think she is enjoying the classes.

Here are a few pics. This is the quartet. They were from a college in FL.
This is the team loaded up to head to the airport. They had a rough ride and we followed and laughed. The guy with the water bottle lost the lid and tried to keep it from spilling for a while and finally gave up.

This is a hillside of homes in Cap Haitian. I don't know how the houses stay in place and I don't know how the people get to them.

This is one of the dogs at G'ma and G'pa's house. She always her tongue sticking out. I know it's not the best pic but she's a little shy.

Here is A. J dressed her up like a princess with flowers in her hair and on her royal robe (a towel).

And this pic is for R's bf. J slept with the Spiderman a couple of nights and he also set him up in the buggy one night. Too funny.