Huge news!!!

Quick update- just received word that our Orphanage Director has received our final adoption decree (which means we exited Parquet!). To put this in perspective- the children who were at this stage when the earthquake hit, came home with finalized adoptions- we are very very close! This will make it much easier to apply for Stanley's citizenship!

Lots to update but busy living our lives as a crazy family of four- will write more this week...

More on the journey home...

Ok, I know it has been more than a month since I posted last- and once again, it was someone else prompting me to update the blog... so, let's see- when I left off last time, Michael and Stanley were on a flight to Orlando. I have to mention that although we were obviously ecstatic that Stanley and a few of his buddies were coming home, it was gut wrenching to know that most of the children were not coming back on that flight. At that point, we weren't sure if this was going to be the last wave of children to come home for a while. One of our dear friends in particular, whose husband was in Haiti with Michael, and who had been working around the clock like we had on behalf of all of the families, was heartbroken and I honestly didn't know what to say to her. I knew that there were some families who thought it was suspicious that Michael was there and Stanley was on this list- as if he had somehow influenced the process. For those of you who don't know us very well- Michael and I had a very difficult failed domestic adoption two years ago- the birthmother of our first son changed her mind after a few weeks. I know what it is like to come home without your child and the thought that these families- friends- would be going through that was unbearable. We vowed to try to continue to work on behalf of all of the children. Our middle of the night drive from Ft. Lauderdale to Orlando involved a low gas tank, a missed exit, backing up the highway, and getting pulled over! After taking one look at my friend and I and hearing our pitiful story, the officier actually gave us a police escort to the gas station!

We arrived at the airport to learn that the children had landed safely!!!! We were told that we would not be allowed in customs and that we should come back at 1 or 2 PM to fill out some paperwork. Crushed (and a little disapointed that we hadn't taken the time to pack our bags and check out of the hotel...), we decided to head to a hotel for the night. Moments later, we got a call that a nice security guard was going to allow us to come back to see the children (but only for a minute)! As we walked through the gates, we saw what looked like a hundred children laying on blankets in a big roped off area. Frantically, we scanned for our babies- and I saw Michael- and Stanley. He was sleeping (it was about 4 AM). This was it- this was that moment that I'd been preparing for 1 1/2 years. I found out later that one of the other fathers captured that moment in a picture so I've included it. Can you see all the children in the background? Looks chaotic, right? While our orphanage only had 7 children and three escorts, there were two other very large groups with almost 100 children- and very few adults. Somehow, nobody came back to escort me out and I was able to stay with the kids until our paperwork was processed- which was not until 10 PM! Yep, we sat in that room with all of those sick and tired children for another 18 hours!

Volunteers brought food and diapers but the time just dragged. The children had to be individually fingerprinted and then their files reviewed by Customs Officiers. AFTER all of the children had been processed through customs, those of us that were in Category II (Humanitarian Parole) had to go through another file review by the Department of Health and Human Services- this is because under Humanitarian Parole, the kids are actually being released to foster parents (us). Regardless, the process was long and arduous and after three days of no sleep and unbelievable stress, I started to go a little crazy. I remember feeling like we were being held hostage! I think I actually said to Michael at some point, "they can't do this, we are American citizens!" Throughout the day, they kept saying that some of the children would be flown to Miami for processing but wouldn't tell us which ones- I couldn't stop thinking of the other families who, like us, had just driven for hours to Orlando- and now, we might have to go back??? After that crazy wait, it was over. They called our names. We answered a few questions and signed a few forms. Then it was over- almost! We were stopped on our way out and asked if we had our I-94 receipt. Our what? We showed the officer our paperwork and he replied, "Oh no, you need that receipt!" After about 30-40 minutes of searching, someone else appeared with the receipt and we were finally on our way. I felt like running- as in- "please nobody else stop us..." As we walked out of customs, we handed Stanley an American flag and a Haitian flag. He looked so happy and content. We knew how he felt.

We stayed in a nice hotel that night (I'm sure we were a sight when we checked in!). Stanley slept between us in a very comfty bed- probably his first in weeks. We made a few calls, ordered some food, and enjoyed our first night as a family. The rest of the journey home was rather uneventful. A nice flight attendant presented Stanley with a certificate from the Pilot of our flight to BWI that says "Stanley's first flight" (nevermind he flew from PAP to Orlando) and the captain said "Welcome Home Stanley" on the intercom.

All of this seems so long ago at this point. Now, life is full of packing lunches and diaper bags, walks in the park, bedtime stories, really great hugs and kisses, and so many "firsts." I will write more soon (I promise) about how that is going- but, we continue to be amazed at Stanley's resiliency and Dane's acceptance of his new brother. The two of them are so fun together.