Did ya hear??? I'm coming home soon!!!!

So, on Wednesday, 8/28 my paperwork was submitted to the United States Embassy!  The next time my mama gets an email it will be from the United States Citizen and Immigration Services telling her I am approved for a VISA.  I then have to go to an interview at the US Embassy!  After I go to this interview and GLA gets my VISA she and my grandpa can come get me!!!!  I will be home before it snows!  :-)

I LOVED POOL DAY!!!!!!

This is me at my 3rd birthday party!!!!  My birthday was on August 7th!  I now weigh 24 pounds, size 18 mo clothes fit me best (but my mom is gonna dress me in 2T and 3T) and I wear size 7 shoes.

I loved my cupcakes!!!!!  I look forward to getting home for all the fun Minnesota fall activities.  I have never felt cold, cold weather, or seen leaves change colors.  I have never been pulled by a bike in a cart or even been in a car seat.  I have a whole bunch of new experiences ahead.  I hear there are also these two things called Tigger and Garfield waiting for me.  I wonder how we will get along?!?!

I am sure my mom will let you all know when the next news comes along and when we will be coming to the airport.  She will hold me tight the whole time but I sure would love to see you all there when I arrive in Minneapolis!!!!  See you soon!!!

WE HAVE A PASSPORT!!!!!

ONE WEEK AGO I WAS TOLD WE WOULD HAVE SEVERAL WEEKS TO A MONTH OR MORE FOR A CORRECTED PASSPORT AND TODAY, ONE SHORT WEEK LATER WE HAVE A PERFECT PASSPORT WITH THE NAME KRAFT ON IT!!!!!!!!!!!  I CAN HARLDY STAND IT!!!!!  I PRAYED ALL WEEK AND ACTUALLY ASKED GOD FOR THIS MIRACLE....THE ONE WEEK PART TOO!!!  YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WHEN GOD IS GONNA TURN YOUR WORLD UPSIDE DOWN AND DO WHAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE EXCEPT BY HIM!   I GOT THE NEWS RIGHT BEFORE SCHOOL OPEN HOUSE AND I HAD TO HOLD BACK THE TEARS AND FREAKING OUT I WANTED TO DO!!!!!!  THE PARENTS OF MY NEW STUDENTS AS WELL AS STUDENTS WERE AMAZING....I WAS BLESSED BY HOW EXCITED EACH AND EVERY ONE WAS ABOUT THIS!!!  I WILL BE SAD TO LEAVE MY ROOM FOR 6 WEEKS BUT BEYOND THRILLED TO SOON GO GET THIS LITTLE BOY AND SPEND AN AMAZING 6 WEEKS WITH HIM AND THEN FOREVER MORE AS WELL!!!!!!!  MAMA IS COMING SOON!

Love this Boy!

This is an angle we don't too often see in pictures of him.  I love it!  A friend who recently returned from her trip to meet her child shared this with me.  He is all powdered up, in jammies, ready for bed.  I love this profile.  This picture does justice to his eye lashes! Oh how I long to hold you, little boy.  The time is growing near.  I love you!

Ornaments from Haiti

I will receive the ornament right around the time Mr. M comes home.  This will be tricky for me as far as getting them to people....but perhaps we can set up SHORT visits at my home where you can pick up your ornaments should you want some!  I only have 6 weeks to sell them before I have to send them back and I have 6 weeks on leave with him once he comes home.  We will work it out.  The ornaments will be $10 each with $5 going towards adopting costs for #2 and $5 going back to the Haitian artist who created the ornament!  I will receive 150....50 of each.  Email me or call me if you have my # to place your order as I assume they will go FAST!!!!! And if they all sell that will be $750 towards #2 which is AWESOME!!!!!!!

This fall I will have these beautiful ornaments made by artists in Haiti!  For over 50 years Haitians have created beautiful artwork from steel oil drums.  I have been selling Apparent Project bracelets for a year and a half to help raise $$$ for my adoptions of two children from Haiti.  As you are aware I am working on adoption #2 and still have a ways to go with raising $$$.  I do not know what the price of these ornaments will be nor when I will get them but I wanted you to see them early and think about buying one or some to help me out with adoption #2!!!!  Thanks!

Passport Update

So, on Tuesday, August 13, Mr. M's passport was received at GLA but his name was misspelled!  AAAHHH!  It really seems like WAITING and DELAYS and more WAITING....but as I read the email over and over again, I was overcome with great peace.  Yes, I was anticipating returning to Haiti and bringing him home within a matter of weeks....but even so, I felt peace.  This is all going to be ok.  I have SO many questions I want to ask God some day about lots of things in life, but also SO many things that have happened during the last two years in this adoption journey.  I feel like once he is finally home I will better understand even this delay.

As for now, I will prepare to start school.  I will likely have a solid month with my 5th graders before taking leave for Mr. M.  He will come home and when he does it is going to be so amazing!  A long awaited for day!!!!  Thank you for continuing to pray!!!

UPDATE ON #2

The day after I received my great news for M, I also received great news about #2!  Still cannot share any details as far as names and pictures but I really hope I can soon!  I have not received referral #2...but when I do, it's gonna be one of the BEST gifts ever!!!

Under the new Haitian policy, agencies can only enter 1 dossier (all of my paperwork) into IBESR (Haitian Social Services) per month.  This is new in 2013.  I inquired of my agency the other day if a family had been chosen and promptly received a phone call apologizing because I have been the family chosen but I just wasn't told!  So in August my dossier and a child's dossier will enter IBESR.  Just to put that in perspective, M and my dossiers entered IBESR last September and he will likely come home in September.  I do not know if with the new policies this will take longer or go quicker but perhaps within in a year I will have have both kiddos home!  Yes, its been a week with wonderful news.  Thank you Lord!!!

OUT OF MOI!!!!!

Back on May 14, I entered a step that makes adoptive parents feel like "my child will be home soon!!!!"  So I have had a really hard May, June and July, as my child is NOT home and I was in this step for 11 weeks.  MOI (Ministry of the Interior) is where the passport is applied for.  Lots of other things happen as well.....complete, thorough examination of EVERYTHING.

On Wednesday, July 31, as I was sitting at a camp with basically no internet or phone service, an email came in.  It was the message I have been praying for!!!!  "Great news for Jenny Kraft!  M's file has come out of MOI and will be submitted to Immigration tomorrow for passport printing."  

I hesitate to give a time frame, but typically the passport is printed in about two weeks. There are then maybe 4-6 weeks of time where the US side of things are occurring.  The VISA will be applied for.  There will be a VISA interview.  After this interview happens and the VISA in in hand, then I can go get him!  These are still two pretty big steps so please continue to pray that we move through them swiftly and he can be home this fall!!!!!

I also received my July update this day.  Mackenley has begun school!  He loves it!  He also has a pretty remarkable gift and this is that he knows the name of everyone, all the kids and all of the staff!  It was a day filled with GREAT news!!!!!!

CAN'T WAIT TO HOLD YOU IN MY ARMS!!!!!