September Update

We just got our September update! There was no specific news about Trey Amos, other than he's up to 18 pounds now, but here are the new pics. Ugh, we still haven't moved from IBESR. I know four months isn't very long to be in IBESR yet, but it's long enough!!

Tired

I usually like to keep this blog more about the news we get about Trey Amos and the adoption process rather than our own personal feelings about the whole thing. But sometimes everything just boils up inside and has to overflow.

We are tired. We wake up every morning tired. Not necessarily physically tired, but just completely emotionally drained. It feels like we have been doing this for way too long.

It feels like the longest ultramarathon in history. It feels like we've been running for years, and every time we reach the peak of one mountain, there's another mountain behind it. And as we stumble along, it feels like people blow by us in air-conditioned hummers, leaving us gasping in dust clouds.

It's tiring watching people get pregnant and wait a mere nine months for their child. And then get pregnant again and have yet another one. While we wait... and wait... and wait...

Not that we would trade places. As tired as we are...we will keep going. We want Trey Amos, not any other little boy or girl. Sometimes I just don't know how we're supposed to keep this up for another six, twelve, eighteen, twenty-four months.

Please pray that our file gets out of IBESR...SOON!!!

Hey Trey Amos!

Come home soon, little baby! We are ready and waiting for you!

August Update

Our August update has finally arrived! These new pictures were actually taken in the middle of August...as you can see, Trey Amos still has his hair. Anyways, so there is not much new "news" since my mom and dad saw him, but here is what Melanie, the update coordinator had to say this month:



August greetings from Haiti, Brady and Heidi!

I hope that August has been a time of blessing for you and your family! In many ways, August has been very calm for us here at GLA, and that is truly a blessing. This is especially true since Dixie has been in the United States for fundraising; we are always thankful when things go smoothly in her absence. Another blessing of “calm” is the lack of any hurricanes or tropical storms yet this year. We have received only the cooling rains, none of the destructive winds and flooding.

We have certainly been busy this past month, with many volunteers and a team coming to work at GLA. This has meant lots of love and attention for all of your children, both at the main and toddler houses. For most of the month, every child in the main house had a volunteer working with him or her every day. The older children at the toddler house participated in a vacation Bible school (VBS) with the visiting team. The extra activities were fun for them, especially as August is their “summer vacation” from school. The kids have enjoyed the extra play time, but now that the month is almost over, they are ready to get back to school in a few days!
There is a time for everything,
And a season for every activity under heaven. ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1

Here at the main house, one of the volunteers’ and children’s favorite activities is bathing in the tubs and pools on the balcony. This is an especially fun activity during the hot summer months, and most of your children love being in the water. In honor of this pastime, this month’s photo theme was “Bathtime Babies”!

Amos had a great time this past month, as he got to spend it with his grandparents! Amos is just such a happy, loving little boy, that he absolutely loved the extra time and attention. I am sure you have heard many wonderful stories about your little boy, so I hope you enjoy your new photos!

Weight: 17 lbs 14 oz
Height: 66 cm/26 inches
Adoption status: IBESR

Blessings,

Melanie Wright
GLA Update Coordinator

What a cutie, eh? We are getting very anxious to see our status change however! We have been in IBESR for over three months now...three months is the minimum amount of time I've seen anyone in IBESR, but we are really hoping we are in there for the minimum, not the maximum! So hopefully, we will hear very soon that our file has moved.

Good News / Bad News

The good news: It looks like we are going to Haiti sometime in the next few months! We finally get to meet our boy!

The bad news: We don't get to take Trey Amos home with us. The adoption rules have just suddenly changed...we have to meet our son in person before we can adopt him and we must appear before a judge to sign a special form.

Here is Dixie's email that we just received today:


Recently, the Adoption Judge responsible for all of Port-au-Prince made the decision that all adoptive parents must make a trip to Haiti, meet the children, and sign a form in front of the justice of the peace (the local judge that we use in Kenscoff) before the final court decision would be approved. He made this decision on his own without any input from IBESR, the Minister of Justice, or any of the other judges.

This judge, Mr. Cadet, attended a meeting on the Hague Convention and Haiti was shown as a country that had badly managed adoption procedures. On his return, he decided to make all adoptive parents come to Haiti and meet their children before the finalization of the adoption.

Haitian law says that it is legal to be represented by another person living in Haiti. Mr. Cadet has decided that this does not apply to this one section of the law that says that adoptive parents must appear before the Justice of the Peace at the beginning of the adoption process.

Mr. Cadet has been inflexible about his decision and does not want to change his opinion. The French Embassy has tried to negotiate without any results. After the summer holidays, the French Embassy along with other countries, will try to work something out with IBESR and UNICEF about this situation.

Many orphanages are now requiring adoptive parents to come to Haiti. GLA will also now require our parents to come. ALL ADOPTIVE PARENTS MUST APPEAR IN FRONT OF THE JUSTICE OF THE PEACE BEFORE YOUR ADOPTION CAN BE FINALIZED IN THE CIVIL COURT. For American Families, we will try to do this at the same time as you file your I-600. American families, who have already been to Haiti to file their I-600 and can prove this with a copy of their entry visa into Haiti, do not need to come again. If there is a husband and a wife, then both of them must come to Haiti unless there is a medical problem with one of the couple that does not allow them to come into Haiti.

We will first be giving priority to families whose files are currently in the Courts stage. After that, will be families that are in Parquet. And lastly, families that are in IBESR or before. Please note if your file has already passed through Courts, then you do not need to come.

We are extremely sorry for any inconvenience this will cause our families. We have fought through our lawyer and through the Association of Orphanages to get this changed without any success. The bottom line is that if you want your child home in a timely fashion then you must come to Haiti and appear in front of the Justice of the Peace.


And Life in Haiti goes on....
Dixie