I'm Back!!!!

Oh I have so much to tell you! I'm not sure where to begin. It will take several posts to get it all in. FINALLY I have something to post!

First I apologize for taking so long to post since being back. My cousin from California was staying with us for 6 weeks and helped immensely while I was gone to Haiti. When I got back she only had three days left here and I wanted to focus on time with her. She is now back home. We miss her already, it was nice having a second set of hands around the house. We miss you Jody!!!

Second, Jessica and I both got sick. Thankfully not while we were in Haiti. Jessica threw up in O'Hare airport AND in flight to Evansville. I had to practically carry her to my family. Trust me she was as white as a ghost. But she is now doing just fine and trying to get back into the swing of things.

Third as I mentioned I am sick. Nothing from Haiti this time, just the average flu bug. Oh so much fun. (said with heavy sarcasm)

SO......our trip.

Monday, our flight into Haiti was late so they brought the children to St Josephs to us waiting parents. Jonas looked a bit dazed but as soon as I started talking he knew. And he was really excited about meeting Jessica. Which he pronounces Essica. Too cute!

A mutual admiration society!

Tuesday was a relaxing day. We got to know some of the new children at the O and loved on the ones we already knew. It was sooooo awesome just to sit and love on these children. Jessica was in heaven loving on them. I swear everytime I turned around she had one on her lap. Here are just a few:

Shakira, Bethany, and Jefferson.

Also on Tuesday Jonas's birth mom came to visit. I was so excited to see her I ran and gave her a huge hug and a kiss. We hugged for a long time. I can't tell you how sweet she is. I know that sounds so funny considering we speak different languages and there was no one there to interpret for us. We just made due. And again the Holy Spirit spoke volumes to me. It was sweet to see her and Jonas interact with each other. She was there several hours.

Wednesday was loving on the kids day and St Joesph's dance theater night. I don't have any pictures because I was soooo focused on getting video footage of Shawn and Angela's son, Steven, that I forgot to take any pictures of it.

I think I could watch the St Joe's boys dance over and over again and not get bored. It is beautiful!!!!

Thursday was another day of loving! WhooHoo! I so enjoyed loving on the kids. And I feel like I got to spend more time with the nannies too. Thursday night we went to Fabrizios, an Italian restaurant. Amazing food!

Friday was beach day. I will do a whole posting on that in the next few days. It was beautiful and a shell collectors dreamland! Jess and I spent time walking and combing the beach for shells. Fun, fun,fun. Jonas wasn't sure about the water at first. But once he got a beach ball in hand he had a blast! Too cute for words!

Saturday Jessica and I went with the group up the mountains to the Baptist Missions and Wings OF Hope home for disabled children. I decided to not take Jonas with us because I needed a break. He is a very active little boy! And I needed some time with just Jessica in this beautiful country. She wasn't very happy with my decision but we were both able to help the other parents who did bring their children along. There wasn't much for Jonas to see and do he would have been running around the whole time. So this way i got time with Jessica and a break that made me love on Jonas even more once we were back to the O. at first I felt guilty but Gail helped me with that. Thanks Gail!

Sunday was church day. NOT in English but church. Then the rest of the day was spent loving on the children. It was a relaxing day. In the evening we all were trying to figure out how to pack to go back home.

Monday morning came way to quick. the reality of our leaving Jonas was not a happy feeling. in some ways it was easier to say goodbye this time. Maybe because I had already done it once before. And then it was hard to see Jessica having to say goodbye to her brother. I had Jr (man at O) tell Jonas that I was leaving again and I would return someday soon. I didn't feel right just saying "apita" Creole for see you later. I had used that several times during our stay and always returned within a few minutes or hours. I wanted him to understand I would be gone for some time. After Jr explained that to him he didn't leave my side. He was very somber.

Finally the time came to say goodbye and leave. I walked him into the O and set him down and told him I loved him and walked out. VERY hard to do!!!!!!!!!!!

I miss him now more than ever. Does he understand? I hope somewhere inside him God has spoken to his spirit to let him know it will all be OK.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...A LOT got accomplished while we were there. We are out of first legal. AND we received our approval letter from DHS. This one is BIG! It means the US government acknowledges Jonas as an orphan and we can continue pursuing adopting him. Trust me when I say this is a BIG step. We all joked we were going to frame out letters and hang them on the wall.

So what now? First know I will be posting a blog on the steps of our adoption on the Haitian side real soon. It will better explain what we will be going thru over the next few months. But the next step is IBESR (Haitian social services) this is the biggest step on the Haiti side. It could take months so please be praying we find favor in the eyes of those handling our case. that the wait would be short. The O's lawyer is there everyday so I'm going to believe this will help our files to get thru faster.

Well, like I said I will be doing several posts over the next few days so check back. I love you all and greatly appreciate your prayers!

hugs, Kristina