The Adoption Timeline

Many have asked us where we are in the process of our adoption. I have found an outline of what our process will look like. We met John Diego in January of last year, completed all of our paperwork in April and met Christine in June. We are only at step one of the official process. Please pray for our paperwork to move through each step quickly! IBESR Approval and Dispensation (where we are now) What Happens: Case is assigned a number and reviewed by social worker, lawyer and other government personnel specializing in certain areas. Questions must be resolved before moving to the next person. IBESR submits the file to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and the MOJ gives it to the President for approval. Once approved by President Martelly, notice of approval is published in a government newspaper (Le Moniteur). MOJ gives the file back to IBESR for final approval by the IBESR director. Estimated Timing: 2-18 months First Required trip to Haiti/Parquet/I-600 filing What Happens: Prospective parents appear and sign papers at the local court (where relinquishment occurred) and the Civil Court "Parquet" in Port-au-Prince. File I-600 and Adjudicate Orphan Status First paperwork at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Office in Port-au-Prince. Prospective parents visit with their child(ren) and their child(ren)'s caregivers and spend quality time in their environment. Estimated Timing: 2-4 weeks after IBESR approval/Dispensation Civil Court/Parquet What Happens: Civil Court "Parquet" reviews the file and IBESR's recommendation and issues a judgment of adoption. The judgment is typed up by an office within the Civil Court and then hand-written/officially recorded in a Court Book. Transcription of the judgment is then done by Birth Certificate Officer to add adoptive parent's last name to the child's name. Estimated Timing: 4-6 months National Archives (NA) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ) What Happens: The case is attested at the NA, a higher office than the Civil Court/Parquet. MOJ is the highest office. Once the MOJ has reviewed everything to insure it is complete and correct, they issue their stamp of approval. Estimated Timing: 2-4 months Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) What Happens: Upon completion of NA/MOJ, cases go back to MOFA again before review and approval before going to the Ministry of Interior. Estimated Timing: 4-6 weeks Ministry of Interior (MOI) What Happens: The MOI reviews the file and if approved, the Director of the MOI signs off. A child's passport cannot be issued until this signature is received. Estimated Timing: 2-5 months Passport Office What Happens: Application for child's passport. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) What Happens: DHS interviews child's birth parent(s) or other family members. DHS may require clarification about a document or have questions. After DHS approval, the U.S. Consulate must review and grant approval. They sometimes request additional documentation. Estimated Timing: 2 weeks-2 months Child's Visa Medical Exam Estimated Timing: 1-2 weeks U.S. Consulate What Happens: Consulate reviews the file and lets the creche/orphanage know if any questions or action is needed before they will issue the visa. Estimated Timing: 2 weeks-2months Family's Second Required Trip to Haiti What Happens: Prospective parents appear at IBESR with the child and show the child's visa. IBESR provides a "travel authorization document" that will be required prior to departure. Spend a few days visiting and bonding with the child. Come home! Estimated Timing: Any time after the child's visa is approved And there you have it! This is what we know and what we've been led to believe we can expect. The timeline may vary some (it is Haiti), but we've also been told these files are going to be "expedited," so we can only hope and pray.Timing: 2 weeks-3 months

It's A Roller Coaster!

It’s A Roller Coaster!

About 6 years ago Jared and I decided it would be fun to go to Elitches (a Six Flags Amusement Park) for the day.  We hired a sitter for our boys and were like two giddy kids thinking about all the fun that the day was going to hold.  When we arrived at the park, it was nearly empty.  Schools were all still in session, and the weather was cool.  With the scarce crowds came short lines and a lot of riding time!  Jared’s mission was to sit in the front car on every roller coaster. 

I love riding roller coasters.  I love getting on, buckling in, climbing the big hill, and screaming my brains out and laughing all the way down.  It never fails though… After the ascent up, there is always a split second where I think…”uhh why am I doing this?” and no sooner is that thought coming out… my stomach drops, a knot forms in my throat, and my hands are clenched around the bar, that is forcing me to stay in this car.

Sometimes, it feels like this journey of adoption stirs that same feeling in me.  The unknown of what is going to happen, clenching, climbing, coasting… it’s all a part of “the process”.   A process that I love and hate… that has beauty and is ugly… that connects and separates… that fills me up and empties me… that is so full and barren…that has changed my heart forever.

As the metal wheels of a coaster wrap around the track to never separate… my life, my home, everything I am is now connected forever to this nation that has bore my children… Today after spending a week with these two beautiful innocent children… I step on a plane to go home…my arms clenched… sobbing… my son John Diego screaming… Christine blowing bubbles innocently unaware of the environment she is about to enter… back to being an orphan… The lump in my throat, the warm salty tears down my cheek… The part of the ride that is so hard.  Leaving my two children behind. 

And then the free fall follows… Trusting that this is God’s plan for our family…that his timing is perfect… that the bumps and the curves will not jerk us too hard…that He will watch over John Diego and Christine… comforting them at night and filling their hearts with a knowing that mama and papa will come back…surrounding them with His peace. Trusting that every bit of the resources we need to get these kids home will come… somehow… someway… I am surrendered to the journey.

Someday this will come to a halt.  I will walk out of the crèche holding my babies.  Never again leaving them… never again having to say goodbye… full of joy… looking back at all the hills and twists and moments of pure terror… relieved it’s over…thankful I embarked on this process… and in awe of how God made it all happen.

Pure Imagination

I love the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”. Even though its rated #74 for scariest scenes in a movie, I still love it. My favorite song from the movie is “Pure Imagination”. I feel like the song is sung from God’s perspective to us.

Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see into your imagination

We'll begin with a spin traveling in the world of my creation
What we'll see will defy explanation

If you want to view paradise simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Want to change the world? There's nothing to it

There is no life I know to compare with pure imagination
Living there you'll be free if you truly wish to be

There’s this invitation to participate in the cosmic workings, or factory, that is the kingdom of heaven and “the kingdom of this world becoming the kingdom of our God.” A transformation. A blood transfusion of grace.

This whole process of adoption has opened up another world to me. I don’t even know all that it entails. I know it’s not just about John Diego or about my family. I know its about the kingdom of God and it’s changing my life. Probably just as much as music has changed my life. And Megan. It’s on that level of “this is so amazing. I don’t understand it, but I know I can never go back” amazing.

I have so many questions about everything. I know John Diego was born two months after the earthquake. What were the circumstances? Why couldn’t his family keep him? Where are they now? How long with the process take? How much will he remember? Will he adjust to us and our family? Will we adjust to him? Will we ever meet his family? What will it be like to potentially have 3 two-year olds living in our home?

But the process is pure imagination. I am changing the world and I’m being changed in the process. There’s nothing to it. Just saying yes and moving forward. Facing challenges and believing God that you can rise to meet them.

John Diego turns two at the end of March. Megan and a friend are headed down for a few days to be with him. We are going to take our boys down at the end of May once they get out of school. A few friends are coming with us as well. I can’t wait.

Living there you’ll be free if you truly wish to be.

If you'd like to buy a piece of the puzzle you can do so at the top of this blog. Every bit helps. Thanks.

All of Your Promises Won't Let Go of Me!!

The other night while driving home from the gym I decided to call a friend of mine. About 8 months ago I remember exchanging a text message with this friend while lying in bed.
“Are you pregnant?”
“Yes!”
“Me too!”
We had both just spent the good part of the week together. We both knew the pain of losing a baby through miscarriage, and now we were both celebrating the miracle of yet another pregnancy. I remember getting tears in my eyes and shivers up my spine when I knew we would both be delivering our babies around the same time.

Six weeks later my pregnancy ended in miscarriage. I had been down this road three other times but the sting of this death was no less.

My friend will deliver a baby boy sometime within the next couple of weeks. While talking to her the other night I kept thinking, “this could be me.” Going to those final doctors appointments, making sure my house is spot-less for when I go into labor, and waking at every ache and pain and wondering… is this it? But this isn’t me.

I realized while talking to her that God has always given me a new promise to hang on to. With death has always come the birth of something new. With every one of my miscarriages I have been pregnant again or have had a new promise given to my by the time my due date rolled around. Once again a new promise has been birthed in my heart. A pregnancy of a different sort… I may not have physical stretch marks from this pregnancy but spiritually I will be stretched in the waiting, the uncertainty that comes with adoption, trusting for the provision, and the longing to bring our babies home.

I have sung the song “Promises” more times then I can count, but the lyrics to this song have a whole new meaning. I may not be packing my bags for the hospital or smelling the head of a fresh newborn baby this month but I am holding on to the new promise God has put in my heart.

I hung up the phone last week and smiled… so thankful to be a daughter of the King… and grateful that ALL of HIS PROMISES WON’T LET GO of ME!

** If you haven’t had a chance, read about how you can help build our puzzle to get our babies home right here:

From Megan last night

It is 10:24 p.m. on a Friday night. The house is quite, the red light on the coffee pot is on, which means the coffee is made and prepped to brew at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, Jobie is in and sleeping soundly in her kennel, Jared is in Canada playing at a worship conference. I should be in bed… a-sleep… but there is an ache in my heart tonight. I just want to sit here and stare at my computer screen. Stare at this beautiful little boy… this little boy that I can’t wait to hold in my arms and snuggle and say “your mommy is right here.” Tonight I rocked Lyla, I combed my fingers through her soft little curls, then Francie… I told her this ridiculous story about a yellow bird with one white feather named Bizzy, and then gave the boys foot and leg rubs with lotion. I tucked them all in and then walked out of their rooms with this longing in my heart to walk across to John Diego’s room. I stood in the doorway and dreamed of seeing his sweet little face in his cozy bed. I longed to just kiss his little cheeks. This is the craziest feeling I have ever had. Adoption is such a beautiful miracle. There is this love in my heart that I never thought was possible. There is this pain in my heart that will be there until the day we go to Haiti and bring him home. I think of John Diego’s birth mother tonight and I wonder if this pain is in her heart too. I pray for her and think about what it was like to bring him to the orphanage. I honor her…this woman that I don’t even know but hope to someday meet.

Ah, I miss my little boy tonight. I can’t stand it that he is 2000+ miles away, sleeping in a little metal crib without a blanket… he went to sleep one more night without his mommy and daddy tucking him in. I often think about the fact that he doesn’t even know he has a family praying for him and waiting for him… but he does.

I love you my sweet boy and we are doing everything we humanly can to provide all that is necessary to get you home. Sleep tight.

Where in the World is John Diego?

If you haven’t heard our story… we are adopting from Haiti (the country where John Diego lives). God began this story long ago and now we can’t wait to see how the end is written. When Jared and I sat down the other night to figure out the costs of getting our babies home from Haiti we realized the cost would be around $50,000. Small change! J

In order to raise the funds we have ordered a 250 piece puzzle that when completed will be a picture of our little man. Each piece will be worth $100. When we get our referral for our baby girl we will do the same with her puzzle.

When someone contributes to our adoption, we will write their name on the back of the puzzle piece that they contributed to the puzzle. So if 10 people give $10, all 10 names will be on the back of one piece. If someone gives $500, you will get 5 of your very own pieces!

We will post updates of how our puzzle is coming along as we gather what we need to bring our sweet babies home!

If you feel so inclined to be a part of this story feel free to hit the little button at the bottom of this post to give via Paypal or you can send your contribution to The Andersons 17770 West Cherry Stage Road Colorado Springs CO 80921.

Thanks for being a part of this journey! Can’t wait to see how quickly our puzzles are built!

Our Trip to Haiti - as told by Megan

Dear Friends,

I wanted to write and give you a quick update about our trip to Haiti. There are not any words that can adequately describe the devastation in that country. I personally have never experienced or seen anything like it. What stuck out to me is that there is such resilience amongst the people. The Haitian people are beautiful, and both Jared and I fell in love with the country.

We also fell in love with someone else! We have attached pictures of John Diego, the little boy that stole both of our hearts. We are moving forward to adopt him and are just waiting to be a little further along in the process to see who our baby girl might be! The first day in Haiti Jared and I spent the day in the orphanage. We walked in and a mob of about 25 2 year olds smuggled us with hugs and smiles. All of them wanted to be held so we just plopped ourselves on the floor and held them and played with them for hours. At one point I couldn't even feel my legs they were so numb from sitting. While I was sitting on the floor I noticed one little boy who stood and just kept looking at me, taking everything in. I kept inviting him over to my lap and finally he walked up to me and nestled right in to my chest and threw his arms around me. This didn't make the others happy at all. All of the kids scream and cry and soon as you put them down.

There were a few times throughout the day I had to leave the creche ( orphanage) and go for a walk to just breathe and take everything in. I kept thinking to myself, "How could I even be drawn to one child when there are so many... the need is so great!" We went to Haiti to just serve and see this orphanage, not to "pick out" a child. Later in the day, Jared and I walked around to all the little metal double stacked cribs and read all of the kids names and birth dates. So many of the cribs had toys and pictures hanging off of them. (We found out that of the 78 children at the creche, only 15 of them didn't have adoptive families.) When we got to John Diego's crib, there were toys hanging on it so we both assumed he had already been spoken for.

That night we helped tuck in all of the kids for bed which was so hard for us as parents. These babies are put in a clean diaper, and a pair of pajamas and are placed in these little metal cribs that have a simple sheet. It was so hard to place them in there and tie the side rail up. Some would just scream and I would try to comfort them and do everything I could not to cry.

The second day there we went to a village to see another orphanage that is just getting started. When we returned that evening, we were exhausted but so excited to run back down to see all the little faces we had fallen in love with. Jared and I went back again and helped do the night time routine with a room full of boys. I happened to walk into the room that little John Diego was in and there he was looking at me through his little crib rails. My heart stopped. I went over to his crib with tears in my eyes and rubbed his tummy. I kept looking at the toys on his crib and thought, "some family is so lucky to have you!" I left his room with a lump in my throat.

I went to dinner and saw the director of the creche. I leaned over and asked Jared if we could just see if he really did have a family. She took us down to her office and got out the papers she had the day before. There on the very bottom line was John Diego - AVAILABLE. Jared and I both got teary eyed and knew this was the little boy we traveled to Haiti to meet. We were able to talk to the director that night and made arrangements to "hold" him for us. We got up the next morning at 6:30 and spent the 2 hours we had before we left with him and then had to say goodbye.

I told him his time in an orphanage would be a blink compared to what the rest of his life will be. I already look at him and think what a miracle... He has been rescued and set apart. As sad as the orphanage is, I really believe the kids there are the lucky ones of Haiti. Although their beds don't have blankets, they have a bed. They have food, they have clothing, they have people caring for them... much more then the ones you see when you are driving through the streets of Haiti... and now John Diego will have a family that loves him and a community of praying people that will pray for him and his little spirit.

I could go on and on... What God has done in us these past few months on this journey has forever changed our lives. We can't wait to go back and see John. In the next few months we will be getting our referral for our baby girl and then will travel back to visit both of them. Jared and I will take turns flying to Haiti every few months until we bring our babies home.

SOOO here is what we need prayer for... This process can be LONG... they say to plan on up to 2 years. I know with God He can make things move quicker then that, but in the waiting time we want to rely and trust that His timing is perfect! Please pray for the officials in Haiti that make decisions concerning adoption, especially President Martelly and Mme Jeanty Villedrouin the IBESR lady who signs off on adoptions. Pray for John Diego, his protection, that God would heal him from all that he has already experienced in his life already and pray for our family... that we would be able wait patiently upon the Lord.

So there you have it... the story! Much more to come...

Two New Andersons

2012……we made it. Grateful to still be kicking. I’m writing this on the way to Christ Community Church for a night of worship and prayer this weekend. Had a wonderful holiday. The first one not going to visit family in WisconsinL But it was nice to stay home and take a stab at our own traditions this year. A little shaky, but we’re getting it off the ground.

Some big news for our family. We have started the adoption process to get two children from an orphanage called New Life Link in Haiti. Megan and I are actually leaving Tuesday January 10^th for our first visit to New Life Link. We are applying for children age 2 or under.

This process started in our hearts back in September. We have gone through two miscarriages recently, and Megan began to feel the desire to bare more children lift from her heart. This is a big deal because as long as I’ve known Megan, she is the one to be jealous of any mom going to the hospital to give birth. She’s a fan of pregnancy and the birthing process.

During our time in Nashville (May 09-May10) our neighbors adopted two children from New Life Link, and we really felt that after we were done having kids this would be the route for us. Well, now that time has come.

We will posting pictures and giving updates a lot. Maybe too much. Please be in prayer with us as we are believing in faith for the process, the provision, and for a safe transition for two new Andersons.

Much love