March 5 through 14 at a quick glance ...
- Noah, upon opening this Lego gift at the end of the day on his 10th Birthday said, "I am SO impressed with you." He then did a wicked awesome break dance for us to show his appreciation. I mean. Really. That is what all parents are ultimately aiming for, amIright? We have impressed a ten year old. Go us.
- We manage to stay plenty busy with program and regular things that are always going on, but the Maternity Center is experiencing another lull in births. We were slammed in late January and early/mid February. Now we have been waiting on a delivery for three weeks. The last birth we had was an intense shoulder dystocia (stuck shoulder) that turned out well. We are really hoping for some easy, drama-free March babies. The prayer page (tab above) has new photos of ladies in the program if you would like to pray for them.
- Paige arrived March 7 for Spring Break - we went straight to two nights at the beach and had breakfast in our jammies and lots of fun.
On March 11 Matt and Annie arrived. Matt ^ is our brother in law. Troy and Matt went to high school together and in college they did dumb things and wasted brain cells and money together. Now they are brothers and everyone is mature and wise. Gah. (as if!) Annie was adopted by Matt and my little sister, Tina. Annie lived with us for two years and is visiting Haiti for the first time since she left in 2010. We forced the girls to sit for re-do photos. Below you will see today vs. late 2008. Let it be said, life has mainly been easier since oh-eight and oh-nine. (Except sometimes when it hasn't been.)
Matt ran some intense workouts to help spring break lards get off their butts. We didn't intend on having Matt take care of kids but it has been so great that he has been here while we are at work. Tomorrow Matt and Annie get their turn at the beach.
We went to spend time with birth/first-families at their homes this week. I haven't had time to process it all and think about which parts to write about but we are going to write a few posts about open international adoption and try to address the things we have learned talking to many birth families (not just our own) here over the years. If you are adopting from Haiti, I can tell you that most birth parents we have talked with really want to see photos and get updates. In our experience if it is possible, it is a good choice to connect with them annually. Our kids benefit from this as much or more than the first families but I think everyone wins when honesty and openness are employed.
The single biggest finding on that day was that Isaac has been celebrating his birthday eleven days late for the last twelve years. (We had never questioned his birthday and just went with what the paperwork said. There was 100% certainty on his birth date and we got to hear the story of his birth too!) Isaac is GIDDY about EVERYTHING and this is no different. He gets to celebrate SOONER from now on. When I asked him, "Buddy, are you at all sad that we had the wrong date for so many years?" He said, "Well, NO, I have enjoyed EVERY birthday I've had so it has been wonderful!" Then he added, "I do want to switch to the right date now." More on all of it soon.
I said this the other day, until I get the time to write it all out, this is still true-
Open International Adoption - one of the most complicated AND one of the best decisions we've made since moving here. Visiting the kids' first families today. The most complex things are filled with opportunities to grow and see clearer.
