Still waiting for a passport

It has been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd post a quick update. We are still waiting to hear that they have sent our sons passport for printing. It has been about two months now since we applied for his passport. Of course, the US is taking around 3 months to process passports, so I guess the passport wait is happening in many places. Please continue to pray that things will get done there. I did contact the US consulate in Haiti to inquire about what needs to be done to get his visa once we have the passport. They said they had received a cable from the Department of Homeland Security letting them know that our file had been approved, but they haven't received the actual file yet and they will contact us when they have it.

Please write comments to us if you are reading the blog, so we know if anybody is actually checking the blog or not. We appreciate everyone's support and prayers in this time of the unknown.

MOI (Haitian immigration) Update

Well, we finally have an update. Not the update we have been praying for but at least we know something. The orphanage sent out an update email yesterday and it included information about the files stuck in MOI. Someone in charge at the MOI office has decided that they don't think the children's names should have been allowed to be changed during the adoption process. So the orphanage lawyer is working with MOI to verify the laws that allow the children's names to be changed when they are adopted. Apparently they have had this problem once before and were able to get it worked out, but they didn't expect it to be a problem again. Please pray that this issue will be worked out quickly.
I also contacted the US embassy in PAP this morning. A lady on the one yahoogroup said that they wanted to hear from any US families whose files have been stuck in MOI for more than a month. I wrote them an email requesting help. The lady that gave out the email address said that the ambassador promised to check in on all files and try to find out what the hold up is and see what can be done. The ambassador also mentioned that things should start moving now in MOI. Please pray fervently for Michael's passport to be approved, printed, and his visa to be issued so he can come home.

The Big Kids

I've posted about Michael quite often and I thought it was time to post about my other munchkins. Matthew is getting so big and mature. He is really learning a lot. He loves to try to figure out how to make things and how things work. His big accomplishment this summer is his swimming. He can swim by himself and he can even swim under water for several yards. He just loves being in the water. He keeps practicing staying under water longer and longer. Honestly, he scares me sometimes. He is also working on his letters, numbers, writing, and reading to get ready for school.
Alisha is full of energy all of the time. We finally transitioned her into a twin bed and out of the crib a few weeks ago and that is going better than I expected. She has only gotten out of bed on her own a few times. She is also learning to swim, but she has to have a ring or noodle to hold onto. But at least we can get her in the water and get her to move around on her own. Her big accomplishment is that she finally pedaled her bike for the first time on Thursday. She started pedaling the tricycle a month or two ago, but just could not get the hang of it on the bike. So she is very proud of herself and enjoys riding her "purple bike". He bike is pink and blue, but it has purple handle grips and purple rims inside the tires, so that makes it a "purple bike".
The baby seems to be developing well. His heartbeat is strong and he tends to be very active several times a day. It is nice to be able to feel him move around. So now that I am entering the final stretch of the pregnancy, I will be going every other week for a checkup instead of once a month.
I go back to work for inservice soon, so I will be very busy. But at least I have a six week break to look forward to when the baby is born. I have really enjoyed spending time with Matthew and Alisha this summer. I remind myself often that I need to spend as much time with them as I can now, since two new boys will bless our life soon and my time will be even more limited.
God is so wonderful. I can't explain how blessed I feel. Even though I have a hard time understanding why He sees fit to keep Michael far away from us for so long, I remind myself constantly of how adoption is a picture of God adopting us into his family. God was willing to pay the ultimate price to adopt us. And He is willing to wait for us as long as it takes. Some of us accept Christ as our personal Saviour and become sons of God at an early age and some people take a long time to accept God's gift of salvation, yet even though it takes a long time, God is still willing to wait and accept that person as one of His children. God knows what is best and He loves us and our son and will bring him home in the right time.

Nothing New

I thought I would post just in case anybody is looking for an update. I did get an email from the orphanage the other day that said that they go daily to check and see if any files have been released from Haitian immigration so that they can then get the passport printed immediately. However, at this point our file has not been released for passport printing yet. Please continue to pray that things will start moving in Haiti. If we don't hear something soon, we may have to repay to have our fingerprints redone for the US immigration department. So I am praying for a miracle so that we can bring home Michael very soon.
Here is a new picture of Michael. I always enjoy getting to see him, so I thought some of you might like to see a new picture as well.