Adoption Update

Been a while since I updated, so here we go. Studly received an email on Saturday from a lady who said she was a friend of Gertrudes. Gertrude is the head of the orphanage in Haiti. Anyway, this lady volunteers for HealingHaiti and said she could help in the process of adopting Alvarez. Now, as a refresher, Alvarez is the original baby that drew us to consider Haiti. We had been told that we couldn't be guaranteed Alvarez because of the waiting list and so on. We were also told by the adoption agency that they don't have an official working relationship with Gertrudes orphanage. So, all of this is confusing, and I hope you are following me. But, in just reading this, you can see why Tom and I have not sent in the official application yet. We are dealing with the Haitian government here and we want to make sure everything is legit before we start sending money and applications down there. In a nut shell, this is what we found out tonight. Up to this point, Gertrude has been doing private adoptions only. Apparently, there are many people who are pushing for her to change that and place the children with an agency. She has not decided what she wants to do yet. This woman who emailed us is going down to visit Gertrude at the end of this month and will have an answer when she gets back. So, this is where we are at. If we want Alvarez, we have to wait a few more weeks for Gertrude to decide what she is going to do. If she wants to do private adoption only, then we wait until Alvarez is declared eligible for adoption, and then we adopt him from her. If she decides to place him with an agency, we roll the dice and see if we get him. If we don't care which child we get, then we go ahead and send in the application and $200. At this point, we have decided to wait and see what Gertrude decides. We really feel as though Alvarez is who drew us to Haiti in the first place, we want to see if we can adopt him. Waiting a few weeks is not going to kill me. It's driving me nuts, but it won't kill me. so, there you have it! Our adoption update!


chrissy

I dont feel like laughing today

Hello everyone out there in the universe :) Well, this morning finds me brainstorming, well, trying to brainstorm at least. Twin and I need some help! We need some ideas on how to raise some money for this Haiti baby. Like my Twin posted earlier, the advertisement thing didnt work out. Evidently, the "powers that be" dont appreciate you actually being successful at getting people to click on the ads. Whatever. We may start shopping around for a different blog space, but until then, I'll lick my wounds and move on. Chris and Tom are still working on getting officially "matched" with an agency. Once they do, they can go ape crazy with applying for grants. We will be doing another yardsale, on a smaller scale this time, hopefully in the spring.

I'm going to be blunt with you. I havent asked my Twin permission to do this, but I'm going to do it anyway. My Twin telepathy is telling me that she wont mind. My telepathy is rarely wrong. Anyway, we need to start praying BIG. BIG, BIG, HUGE, MONSTER PRAYERS! People, we need 20 grand. Yes, as in 20,000 dollars. Yes, Chris and Tom have already done a great job at raising money, and grants will help, but my prayer is for the whole stinkin thing to be covered. And for it it happen NOW! Is it unrealistic? Yep, sure is. I'm not stupid. And I'm not delusional. I am frustrated however. Frustrated to a level that I didnt know I could reach. This isnt fair people. Its not fair for a family to long for a child like they have. Its not fair that my sister has to wait. Its not fair that they've literally had children ripped out of their arms and sent home. It's not fair and I'm sick of it. Yes, I know my God is sovereign, I know my Gods timing is perfect, I know that I (we) are to remain faithful...but I cannot help but be frustrated and want to know why. WHY ARE THERE SO MANY ORPHANS AND SO MANY FAMILIES THAT WANT THEM?!!! WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO DAMN HARD!??? I dont know that I'll ever understand this.

I'm throwing a tantrum and honestly, I dont care. Adoption is beautiful, but it can also be ugly. Today I'm feeling the ugly. I'm feeling it for my sister. This is the hard part about loving someone as much as I love her. What hurts her, hurts me, and vice versa. We cant always take the hurt away from each other, and that makes us hurt even more.

All this to say, we need help in brainstorming ideas on how to raise money. Anything you can think of, please post either on the blog, or on facebook.

Its either we laugh or....I dont feel like laughing today

Angie

well shoot

Soooo.....apparently blogspot does not condone people click click clickin on ads to generate income. so they disabled our ads. It was a nice thought at least. bummer

Switching Laundry

I had a dream the other night. In it, for some odd reason, Studly and I were getting divorced. I was dating a "new guy". What I remember of it, is me texting Studly saying, "We have to get back together. I'm sick of having to teach this guy all about me." This really got me thinking of just how well Studly and I know each other. Over the years, we have had our ups and downs, ins and outs. We have always said "divorce is not an option", yet there were times I was seriously considering it. Marriage is like that. Most days are good, some are bad, others are horrid. However, we stick it out. Seriously, who else out there knows which of the million pillows on our bed is the one I actually use? Who else knows that I have to have a fan AND a humidifier running every night regardless of temperature? Who else knows that the tips of Studlys eyelids turn pink when he's too tired? He knows that I hate running errands more than anything in this world, so he does them. I know he can scrape brains off of sidewalks, yet can't stomach dirty dishes, so I do them. He knows what's so funny about me asking him to switch the laundry. It's an inside joke I will let you in on. My husband can make ANYTHING peverse. Case in point "Hey Studly, would you switch the laundry?", I ask innocently. "I'll switch your laundry." he replies with a wink. "Hey Studly, will you take the garbage out?" "I'll take your garbage out" he says. Oh for Petes sake pervert! But it makes me laugh every time, and therefore, he ALWAYS says it. My point being, I can't imagine having to "retrain" another man. I can't imagine having to explain how I make my coffee, what my favorite soda is, what my job entails, or how I like to sleep. This man knows me better than I know myself. So it's easier to just work through the problems, than to have to start over. Besides, after almost 14 years of marriage, I am pretty glad he still likes to "switch the laundry. "

I love you Studly

It's either we laugh or....we sell our husbands to the lowest bidder.


Chrissy