August update....oh so fun !

    It really is amazing how towards the end of the month every "ding" of my email sends us all running for my computer in hopes that it is the long awaited update on Judith and Kerby. This month seemed particularly long since we didn't get it until the 30th, but the wait was worth it !!!   Molly from the orphanage wrote specifically about Judith and Kerby this month instead of the updates coordinator. Molly knows the kids the best and so it was fun to hear what she had to say about their bedtime routine. Each month there is a new theme and this month was bedtime.  I do have to say that each update brings a little more difficulty in the wait....I feel that much more attached and long that much more to love them in person.  I know Gods timing is PERFECT, but the wait is still oh so hard and getting harder.  I don't always share all that is written about Judith & Kerby because I think Judith and Kerby have a right to some privacy, but this month I posted everything.....I cry reading it, which may be silly, but I can't help myself.  Please continue to pray for Judith and Kerby and all of the precious kids at GLA orphanage in Haiti....Blessings!!!

Sleepy Greetings from God’s Littlest Angels, Ryan and Rori!

As the summer winds down and we face another hurricane season, we feel blessed that Tropical Storm Emily and Hurricane Irene that were headed our way did not hit Haiti as predicted. Please continue to pray that the storms this season will bypass us just like Emily and Irene. Please know that if Haiti does get hit with a bad storm all the children and everyone at GLA will be safe but much prayer would be needed for the families still living in tents and the rise in cholera that tends to happen after heavy rains and flooding. Everything at GLA has been coming along well. We continue to be busy with our daily activities as well as planning a major fundraising effort. Many volunteers have come through our gate this month and they have each done a great job. They spend much of their time loving on your kids and helping to further the building process at Fort Jacques.

It seems that bedtime can go from the most stressful to the most relaxing time of the day in matter of hours or even minutes for some kids. I am going to highlight bedtime for this month’s update, as it is a special time in every child’s day, even here at GLA. Because we are close to the equator it gets dark every evening between 6 and 6:30 depending on the time of year. Lucky for us, here in Haiti, there is not a giant fluctuation in that time so getting the kids into a year round bedtime routine is fairly simple. At both the Baby House and the Toddler House bedtime seems to be marked with a loud burst of energy as all the kids are fed, bathed, and let loose to get that last bit of energy out. Then all seems to suddenly go silent as the babies and kids settle into their beds, say their prayers and are tucked in.

As I have been swamped with school sponsorship organization this month, Molly was gracious enough to help me write part of the updates for the kids at the Toddler House. Who knows the kids better anyhow? So the below info is thanks to her.

After dinner the kids head outside to burn off the last of their energy.  It is generally the loudest and most active time of day, mostly because everyone is out of school and the weather is cool with the sun low in the sky so they can run and jump and play without getting too hot.  At about 6:30 the nannies head to the entrance of the house and yell, “ENTRE, ENTRE, ENTRE!” - which means “Come in,” in Creole.  Several of the kids will chime in and chante (sing) it in sync as they roll their balls, scooters, hula hoops and other toys to their spot in the yard by the garage and divide up, boys heading to the boys’ house and girls to the girls’ house. 

Everyone stops outside their bedroom removing their sandals and leaving them outside the door to keep the outdoors out.  Then they head in their rooms and sit on the floor receiving their toothbrush and toothpaste as their name is called.  Each takes a little different amount of time to brush their teeth and slowly one by one they are finished and undress.  They line up and quickly step in and out of the tub; each one gets doused with a pitcher of water, soaps up, and gets doused again to rinse off.  Then they make their way back to their room to dry off, lotion up, and get their pajamas on.  By 7:15 usually everyone is clean and ready for bed, and usually by 8pm most are sound asleep, but in the mean time each has a little different preference of how to spend their last conscious moments of the day.  

Judith is usually the first to bath in the evenings.  She takes her shower and then gets her pj’s on so that she can help the littler kids get theirs on as they come out of the tub.  She is usually a very good helper in this way.  Her job is also to sweep in the evening after the kids are all tucked into their beds, but this one she doesn’t like so much.  After all the kids are bathed and pj’d, they have a little bit of time before their nannies tell them its time to get into bed and go to sleep. 

Judith usually then will gather with Jeanilia, Marie Laure, Frantzdie, and a few of the other girls and they will take turns praying together and singing worship songs. They are a tight group of girls and this is their normal nightly routine before breaking and heading back to their own beds.

Judith stays up later still, usually the last one to climb into bed and the last to fall asleep, she will often use the quiet time as the littler children are drifting off to do her journal homework English assignment.  There is a topic and she is required to right a number of sentences concerning this topic that shows her opinion and experience or knowledge on the subject.  She prefers to do it last because it is something that takes her own thought and is also one of her favorite parts of homework.  

Kerby, like his sister, is not one to call it quits on the day early.  He likes the part of the evening when the little boys are all quiet and in their beds and he and his 6 roomies can just lay in bed and chat.  He doesn’t help get the younger boys ready for bed, but he is responsible for toothpaste.  Each boy will get their toothbrush out and Kerby will squeeze them each a blob of toothpaste to brush their teeth with.  When the tube gets empty he always comes to Molly to exchange it for a full one, often waiting for her at 6am when she unlocks the house and starts to put out their daily supplies.  He loves it when he can select a new tube from several different choices. 

Kerby usually buddies up with one other boy to say prayers. He and Berthony have gotten in the habit of praying together nightly. They both have their usual prayers.  Kerby prayers for his birth family, and his adoptive family, and he prays for all the other kids in the orphanage, and he also makes sure to thank Jesus for the day that he had and the good things that happened. 

Kerby likes to sleep with his head covered.  He may not want the blanket or sheet on his body but he likes to have it over his head. 

Judith is healthy and growing:

Height: 146 cm
  Weight: 94 lbs

Kerby is healthy and growing:
Height: 138 cm
  Weight: 73 lbs

slow adoption progress....update!

Wow, I can’t believe that I have not updated my blog since May.  How did that happen?

Unfortunately there is not a lot of exciting news to report on the adoption front since that time.  We finally had our paperwork move into IBESR, the Haitian Social Services portion of the government, in mid-June.  That was a very exciting step but also very frustrating for us in that it took many extra, unexplained months to get to that point.  Water under the bridge now and now we just continue to pray that our paperwork will just move through quickly.  According to Dixie, the director of the orphanage, it has been taking an average of 1-3 months in IBESR lately. That is a huge improvement over the 8-12 months pre-earthquake.  We have been in IBESR a little bit over a month now and are still waiting for word. 

The other disappointing part of this recently is that your first trip to visit the kids, meet the judge, and file immigration paperwork used to be once you entered IBESR.  They just changed that rule so now it is once your paperwork comes out of IBESR, which just extends the timeframe before we can go meet Judith and Kerby.  We asked to go in August during my slightly lighter time during school, but didn’t get the answer we were hoping for.  Good thing we really know that God is ultimately in charge of ALL of the timeframe.  We really can rest in that and when we start to get pretty anxious or impatient, we notice that our eyes our off of God. Time to refocus our perspective!

We have been writing the kids letters with the hope that they can get a glimpse of what it means to be a part of our family. We want them to know that they are a part of our family forever and that means love, security, support, and really has little to do with material items. We have really learned how common it is for older children in Haitian orphanages to get the idea that they have hit the jackpot; that they are now similar to royalty and sometimes develop a little attitude of the sort.  We really feel it is important to communicate as much as possible with them to paint a picture that coming to America can be difficult. Yes, many of the material needs that are not available for them in Haiti are abundant (in most cases) in America, but that this abundance also provides many obstacles. We really want Judith and Kerby to know they are not coming to live with us to get the material items but they are coming to be a part of our family- to be loved unconditionally, to be accepted, to be raised by parents who can help guide them into becoming who God created them to be, and to be a permanent part of a family and all that entails.   This is the tone of our letters to Judith and Kerby. 

We have made some progress at home getting ready for Judith and Kerby. We got the new beds for Mark and Kerby’s room and reorganized the closet since we won’t have room for a dresser and need to fit another child’s items in there now.  Getting the new bed set up really made it feel so real. I am waiting to get Judith’s room done because I need it as long as possible for my office for schoolwork. Judith will be using Mark’s old bed and I already found the bedding that I think she is going to love.  I could put her room together pretty quickly  (lets hope that need arises J  ).    When I think of all of the items that are needed to get ready for a 10 and 11 year old, it is a bit overwhelming. Silly things that dawn on me such as toothbrushes, backpacks, lunch boxes….   It will all happen soon enough I suppose.

Well, that is the latest adoption news.  We wish we had more “movement” and could report something really big, but that has not happened yet.  We would love your prayers for a continued pattern of clear direction from God and that Gods perfect timing continues ….  We ask god for quick movement of our paperwork and that we can get Judith and Kerby home as soon as possible. WE would specifically love them to be home before we celebrate Christmas. Seems difficult at this point, but we know God can accomplish that …..Thank you for your prayers!  I will post the new July update as soon as we get it for the month.

Many blessings to you!

The best video I have ever seen.......

We have waited and waited for the video that was taken when Molly and Joyce from GLA introduced us to Judith and Kerby and gave them the family book that our Molli jo made for them.  The wait was absolutely worth it !   This is the best video I have ever seen.

We have watched and watched it since we got it last night.  Molli so loved to hear Judith and Kerby read the words she wrote to them.  Ryan and my favorite part is around 2:35 or so when Judith runs her finger first over the picture of me and then Ryan and says very quietly, "my new momma and my new daddy" and then Joyce in the background says "yeah".  The boys just smile when they hear the kids say "Mason and Mark".

As exciting as new pictures are, I am afraid they are going to fall a bit short and be a little disappointing after getting to watch a video of the kids.  I will take what I can get, but still photos are not going to be the same !!!   I can only imagine how I am going to feel once get to be with them for a few days !!!

It just adds such another layer of "realness" to this process.  It is so real now that I ordered the new beds !  We are getting ready.......Thinking about really all that we need is a bit overwhelming.  It is so different than getting ready for a baby over a 9 month period of time.  To think what a 10 year old boy and a 11 year old girl need from scratch is,,,,, wow.  Toothbrushes, hairbands, underwear, socks, jammies, shirts, pants, shoes etc.

Have a blessed and happy day !!!

here is the link:
http://sharing.theflip.com/session/d778abe4d77323050ec9bb794e1d6bf8/video/87109981

Introducing the Hartzell's.....finally the long awaited email !

We have really waited on pins and needles, imagining many scenarios that could have played out, about the day that Judith and Kerby found out about their new forever family !  As I said in my last post, we were told they were going to be introduced to us and receive our "family book" that Molli jo put together for them, on Judith's birthday which was April 1st.  We waited all month and heard nothing from the orphanage, which of course got our minds thinking of scenario's that were not ideal. BUT saturday morning I got that all exciting name in my inbox.....  Molly for the orphanage had sent us a beautiful description of Judith's special day and a great description of how they introduced us along with pictures of the big event !!!  
Needless to say we spent a great deal of Saturday and really the weekend distracted, excited, and also tearful.  I can't really describe what it is like to know that they have seen us and learned a little bit about our family and I really can't explain why it is such a huge deal for us, but it is.  It really makes us feel so much more connected to them and just makes things feel so much more certain.
I am going to copy some of the letter from the orphanage, not all of it as some of it should remain a little private for Judith and Kerby's sake.  I will also post what we think are some of the most gorgeous pictures ever !!!   :)  The family book is a scrapbook that Molli jo made for them. They each got a present from us. Judith's is the black and pink outfit, locket necklace, and more necklace beads.  Kerby got the green and navy outfit and a pack of legos.


Here is the letter :

Hello Rori & Ryan,

So Judith anticipated her birthday all week long….  She even painted a picture of what she wanted her cake to look like, originally bright orange .  But then when it came down to it and she told me what she wanted it was different.  Purple cake and pink frosting.  Joyce got her a special sparkler candle to go on the top which freaked her out, she thought it was going to light the table on fire! 

Judith’s birthday party celebration involved the oldest kids at the GLA Toddler House who also happen to be the kids in her morning English class, so the whole class got the morning off in honor of her day (also in trying to keep it on par with Kerby’s birthday just the week before and they had gotten the morning off due to the teams)  At 11am we started her party.  Joyce and I met with Judith and Kerby before the planned celebration.  

We told them of you, something like this:   “You do have a new family.   The two of you together.  Your family is very excited to take you home with them and teach you all the things that their family does and how they do it, to love you, to call you brother, sister, son, and daughter.  Your family has had to do a lot of paperwork, and talk to a lot of people, and wait a long time already.    Now all their papers are here in Haiti and we have to wait for your papers to be done. It will take a lot lot longer before your family can come and get you, but they wanted very badly for you to have photos of them like they have photos of you. So you can begin to love them from afar like they love you.”  The whole time they are just silent.  No questions just starting at Joyce and I, Kerby grinning, Judith smiling timidly.  (That right there gives you a little window into their personalities.)   

And then we let them open their photo album.  Judith grabbed it up and you could tell she didn’t want to be the second one to notice anything about the photos.  Kerby just took it in.  I won’t go into more detail because we filmed it and I will email it through YouSendIt.com right after I send this out.  They would have poured over it forever… but then we told them the gifts were from you as well and they pounced. 

They were so thrilled with your pkgs, and the clothes fit them very well.  Great job on the sizes.  They changed into them right away.  Kerby wore his for the day and then carefully put it away for special times.  He wears the shorts off and on, but usually pulls out the shirt just for days he really wants to look nice. Judith wears her outfit as often as it is clean.  And considering we do laundry every day she wears it almost that often.  

They posed for photos, just radiating joy.  Then when Joyce asked if they were ready yet for the kids and the party, they both agreed, and Judith ran out and called Eunise, Edelyne, Johanne, Montesuqieu, Rilinxe, and Endy to come.   The first thing they wanted to do was show YOU off of course.  They showed their album to the kids they are closest too, and just briefly explained who was in the photos.  It was really much quieter time than I expected, everyone was happy for them, real photos of a real family, it was really happening!  They are the first in their peer group to have an album and faces to put with their new family.  I think they would have just looked and looked but we steered them back to the table and the rest of the party continued though it was definitely nothing special after the news and items that preceded it.  Judith opened her presents.  Happy and grateful for each thing as she unwrapped them.  She asked Kerby to stay and sit with her and would have even let him open gifts for her if we had let her.  They really needed to be next to each other, and even later that day when they usually would have been playing apart they stuck closer together.   Then we had cake.  Joyce lit the special candle she had gotten her and Judith jumped back.  She told her that the cake was going to light on fire with such a big flame and then laughed unsurely at herself and how close she was getting to it.  We sang, and sang, and let sparkler burn down till it was almost out and then she blew.  She served the first piece and then let me take over.  The kids had cake and by this time it was after lunch so they all ran down, got their plates and then settled in to watch “The Princess and the Frog”.  It was the first time they seen it, and we had to monitor it because of the “magic” that every child is surrounded by people believing in in Haiti we have to be very careful about what pretend magic we show in movies.  Judith liked the movie, but with the amount I had to fast forward in it, I am not sure they all understood it exactly.  Its magic is too close to the evil magic they have all heard about so I’ve passed the movie on and we won’t be watching it again.   The kids like to stick with the Air Bud movies for now.

Thanks for your patience!  Hope that this gives you a little window into what happened, and I hope the video will send to you without much difficulty.  It should be fairly small in file size, it is 2.5 minutes long. 

Photos are attached. 

Blessings to you on this Easter weekend…. 

Molly

April Updates.....

There is nothing quite as exciting as opening up my email and seeing the inbox say "GLA-Updates" and knowing that there is a great surprise behind that email.  Every month the orphanage sends us a written update with what Judith and kerby have been up to during the month, information about height and weight, and then a fresh new batch of adorable pictures.  This month was no exception!

I must say thought, I was a bit disappointed because I have been trying so hard to be patient and wait for the email update to see if the information regarding Judith's birthday and the kids responses in finding out about us and receiving our family book was included.  It was not.  We still don't know if they told the kids about us, what their responses were, how Judith's birthday was, and pictures of the kids opening their birthday gifts from us.  We were told they would tell the kids about us on Judith's birthday, April 1st, but we have heard nothing and it is killing me.  I have worked so hard to be patient mostly having some self-control because I thought "well, it will be in the monthly update" but its not.  I am feeling my self-control disintegrating.  Patience Rori, patience...all in good time I suppose.

I am however grateful for the update that we did get.......

Happy Good Friday.....and thank you Jesus for what is to come on Sunday!  We serve an amazing and gracious God. We have so much to be thankful for in what Jesus sacrificed for us. Praise Jesus for who He is and what He has done. All He asks in return is to not only know who He is, but to have a relationship with Him, to love Him, and to love others and be in true relationship with them.  Fall in love with Jesus....the reward is more than can ever be imagined !!!

Time flies !!!

Wow, how did it become April already?  How has the time gone so quickly?  I wish that I had more to update on than I do, but we have made some headway on the adoption front.  Kerby turned 10 years old on March 20th. We all had a bit of mixed emotions with not being able to be with them. We had a little birthday party for him while we were at the beach in our trailer. We sang happy birthday, thought and talked about him all day, and then had ice cream cones. Molli, Mason, and Mark enjoyed having our own birthday party for Kerby and hoping it is the last one he celebrates without his family.

Molly from the orphanage sent us AMAZING pictures and a beautiful description of his day. All I could think was "man, I hope his new mom can give him such a great birthday party".  He awoke in the morning singing "Happy birthday to meeeee" and the day sounded like it went up from there.
Molly (orphanage Molly not our Molli) also told us that they decided to wait and not give Kerby his gift from us until Judith's birthday (April 1st)  and at that time both kids would get their gifts together.  Molly also said that after a lot of discussion, they decided they would give the kids our "family book" and begin to introduce them to who we are and begin the process of giving them information about us.  This is a really big step in the process.  Obviously huge for Judith and Kerby and not so small for us either!  We have been waiting on pins and needles for information about Judith's birthday and how the kids did in learning about us. Molly had said she would send us all that information---we are still waiting to hear something.

 I work really hard to not let my mind settle in the uncertainty of what not hearing anything from Molly yet means.  I could easily cross over into thinking the kids must be having a hard time with it, they must not like us, etc.....God stops me and reassures me that He, and only He, has this process covered. I will only create obstacles for His plans if I continue to throw myself in the way and not completely turn things over to Him.  Let Him use me, not have to move me out of the way.  I just so deeply pray that Judith and Kerby's hearts were settled, peaceful, and that they felt unexplainable love when they were introduced to us through our pictures and words. I pray that it did not create fear, sadness, or more uncertainty for them. I truly cannot believe how you can love someone so much when you haven't met them yet, but I do....we do.   We love Judith and Kerby in a way that doesn't make sense other than to know that Jesus Himself placed that love within our hearts for 2 children that were meant to be a part of our family.

I have moments, although not often, such as during spring break when I am sitting in our 5th wheel in the wind and rain at the beach with the kids  (tight quarters :) ) , that I can get a glimmer of a panic feeling thinking "oh my, how are two more children going to fit in here?  Can we really do this?  Do Ryan and I have what it takes to make this work and raise 5 children who love Jesus and contribute well to this world?"......... What truly amazes me out of those moments is that God has immediately answered me. For some reason up to this point during this process, God has chosen to not leave my doubt or questions hanging for more than 24 hours. It is almost like clockwork. Now I am not saying that God has to answer me immediately etc., but I am in awe of how clear He has been. He does not let me settle into a place of fear, uncertainty, or questioning for very long. I realize these are just words that I could say regardless of how strongly I really feel them, but words are all I have to share my experience. I truly can't explain adequately how strongly present God has been during this adoption walk....I have not had to even begin to look for Him, He is just STRONGLY there.  Expressing myself in words is not my strongest gift so I apologize that this is not eloquently written.  My friend Rochelle has a gift with words like no other and God has connected me to her and her words so often express almost exactly what I am feeling in my heart.  I don't have Rochelle's gift, wish I did, but I don't.  Maybe that makes me appreciate her gift even more.

So back to the update.  We had to update our homestudy to account for the increased ages of the kids. It has taken months to get this paperwork done again- months !  I am really now officially sick of the paperwork.  I know our dossier is finally fully in Haiti and am hoping and praying that it has been submitted to IBESR (Haitian social services), but I don't know for sure.  The next step involves waiting for our first court date. The first court date has now been moved to after your dossier has been all the way through IBESR. It used to happen while it was in IBESR, so that means we make our first travel date later than we would have.  A bit of a disappointment, but one thing I have learned so far is that when dealing with an adoption in Haiti, you really just have to "roll with it" or you might have to be institutionalized by the time the process is completed.  God know how much I like planning and structure and He is getting quite a chuckle out of me in this process......he-he  :)

Well, I will post some pictures of Kerby's birthday and some update pictures from March.  We should be getting our April update within the next week or two and I promise to post those right away.  God is good and His plans are so much more than we could ever really imagine !!!

Choose to make it a great day !

Here is a link to Judith singing a solo :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afnzuUcWTEo

AND

Here is a video link to copy and paste of Judith and Kerby singing !!!!

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/17590820/VIDEO0007.3gp

Beautiful new update....

Getting the new monthly update from GLA orphanage is about one of the most exciting things to happen to us around here!  We wait all month until we get a little glimpse into what our children, who feel so far away, have been doing over the past month.  The updates make us feel so much closer to Judith & Kerby...so much more connected.

Today we got our February update.  Judith and Kerby are both doing so very well.  The theme this month was "love" and they focused on what the kids love...love to eat, favorite color, favorite toy etc.  Judith loves pink, brown dogs named Buddy, flowers, and pizza with hotdogs and cheese on top.  Hmmm, hotdogs on top---that might be a new one for this family :(  Kerby's favorite color is yellow and he loves yellow dogs named Buddy, basketball, and riding bikes.  The update coordinator says she loves to spend time with Judith and Kerby and that Kerby is so gentle and loving. She said that both kids are so kind to other children and always include them in activities.  A group of individuals from a church in Iowa spent a week at GLA recently and made a youtube video of their experience.  One of the ladies described her most precious moment as being when a "girl named Judith" stood from the group and sang them a solo before they left.  Who knew...Judith can sing !

Not only did our update come today but so did our paperwork that we have been waiting months for so that we can move the adoption forward.  We were so very excited about that.  The paperwork did point out to us that we had been given the wrong birthdate for Judith and her birthday is not April 19th but rather April 1st---which happens to be Ryan's moms' birthday !  A special day indeed.

I attached some of the pictures from this months update.......  What amazing, beautiful pictures!  What a gift from the Lord and how very thankful we are to get to be a part of their lives.  We really are blessed.