Category: adoption

As of this morning, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

The tunnel of the adoption process, that is…not the adoption journey itself of course, that will only begin when Rose comes to live with us. Then the job of waiting turns to parenting which is much much harder, make no mistake.

Since we came home from Haiti everyone has been asking how soon till Rose joins our family. Because there are a whole bunch of steps in the “legalization and courts” process, steps I really couldn’t identify clearly and understand, I didn’t have a good answer. We were told maybe four months by our lawyer and creche director (creche = orphanage) but our agency coordinator said that was unrealistic and to expect longer.

This morning I got an email that we are through all those “courts” steps and on our way to the MOI, the Ministry of the Interior in Haiti! That means that our adoption decree has been issued and legalized and now Rose has our last name and is legally part of our family!

You might think that means we can go get her now…ooooh good heavens, no. The MOI can take anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months to review the file and give permission for immigration to print her a passport. We hope and expect 3 weeks. Then it takes 1-4 weeks to actually print the passport. Friends received their’s recently in just a week, so we hope for that. At that point, everything is done on the Haitian side of the process.

Then things flip back to the US government side of things to grant her permission to enter the US. The Department of Homeland Security has to do an investigation into the adoption to make sure it is ethical and there is no child-trafficking involved before they will grant Rose a visa. This is a super important part of the process, which we have actually already begun. But they can’t start reviewing the file in earnest until they get her passport and the full dossier. This last part can take anywhere from 3 weeks to months. Sometimes USCIS decides to request a DNA test to prove a family member who dropped her at the orphanage is really a family member. That adds considerable time. Sometimes they request extra official documents from judges who signed off on the file. We believe everything is in order so I’m not expecting any of that, but it certainly can happen.

After the US grants approval for a visa, they give a visa appointment and Rose has to actually go to that. Then it is printed and we can go get her and bring her home!!

So the quickest timeline I could see would be 8-10 weeks. I’m not really expecting that though, 12 to 14 weeks is more likely. But oh my gosh, we are talking about weeks now. I’m thinking about June-ish.

Suddenly I’m freaking out a little. There’s still so much to do to get ready for this little princess to join our family. I wanna learn more Creole!! She talks a lot, in babyish Creole, and the few phrases I was able to pick up in Haiti were so helpful. She responds so well when I speak to her in her language! I know she will switch to English soon after she’s home, all toddlers do, but I understand the importance of connecting with her quickly on her level.

Y’all, she is a joy. Her smile lights up the room. Her chatter is adorable. She’s a cuddle bug, loves nothing more than being held in my lap. She sleeps hard and eats a ton. I gotta learn to cook Haitian rice and beans!

So today I’m praising Jesus for the incredible, amazing, perfect timing of this roller coaster journey he has brought us through. I know He goes before us, every step of the way.

Well we have finally arrived at this blessed day where we get to love on our daughter in Haiti. This is for realz, yo. Somebody pinch me.

We got word last week that we were released from IBESR and the lawyer wanted us to come for court asap. So we requested a new appointment with USCIS and they got back to us this past Tuesday with a date of this coming Tuesday. Ha! So we booked flights, packed up quickly, notarized and signed tons of forms, and left for the airport early Saturday morning.

Our flights were easy peasy, save for the opinionated racist (himself adopted 60 years ago) who talked my ear off en route to Port-au-Prince. How do you deal with a chatty, obnoxious jerk who has you trapped on a plane? Smile and don’t say much I guess. He was on a mission trip and at the end reminded me that “the dude upstairs is the one in control” which only served to remind me of how broken even we who claim Christ are.

We met our driver and headed out on the most adventurous drive I’ve ever had. More like an amusement park ride that just kept going up and up and up amid roads that really shouldn’t be called roads. Kathi and Espie met us at the empty guesthouse with Rosenaicha, who was already in her pajamas, sleepy and stunned. Poor child never even leaves the creche (orphanage) and here she is meeting strangers in a brand new place.

We had delicious Haitian bbq chicken with rice and beans and plantains. Rose ate a bit but refused to even think about smiling. She never cried though, just stared with eyes big as saucers.

She let me hold her and after awhile we were left to ourselves. I changed her diaper and laid down in bed with her and in a matter of minutes she was out cold. I had a much harder time falling asleep though, body clock telling me it was only 8pm and mind wired. Barking dogs outside had multiple conversations with each other all night.

Despite a wheezy cough, Rose slept soundly till past 7am when we finally woke her. I guess she’s used to sleeping through the roosters. She clung to me quite a bit this morning and after feeding her and some playtime she is now napping soundly.

So far she is making this easy on me. Mike, not so much, but he gets it and is not pressuring her one bit. She is wary of him.

Well let’s see if this will post from my phone and then I’ll try adding some photos.