Onto MOI we go!

Just got news that we're out of 2nd legal and, as of Monday, David's dossier is now at the Ministry of Interiors (MOI). This office seems to be taking ~5 months to get through, but clearly we've learned that estimates are pretty pointless when it comes to Haitian adoptions. So let's pray for quicker!

As soon as it gets out of the ministry, then we're onto visa processing with the US govt and then we get on a plane and go get our little man :-)

One more step to check off

We're out of parquet! We still have several, possibly long, stages left to go through, but we're getting closer :-)

Our initial news that we had left IBESR back in March had been incorrect. We found out a few weeks afterward that the last signature that our orphanage's attorney thought was on our dossier, actually wasn't there. So we didn't really leave IBESR until the beginning of May (frustrating, but at least we're out now!). Parquet went quickly and right now we're awaiting 2nd legal.

I reposted the remaining stages below and also included a cute picture from David's 2nd birthday party.

Remaining steps (taken from this website):

Civil Court Legalization (2-8 weeks)
The adoption is finalized. After this point, the children are legally yours. (2nd Legal)

Minister of Interior Affairs (MOI)/Haitian Immigration (2-14 weeks) - seems to be currently taking 5+ months.
The file is submitted into the passport process. The passports are printed in the adopting parents last name.

DHS Processing (U.S. Parents) (1-3 weeks) - We already filed this so hopefully our time with the visa should be quick!
I-600 is filed by adopting parents. File is reviewed and approved by DHS.

DNA Testing (0-6 weeks) - This has already been done for David.
May or may not be necessary. Depends on DHS' opinion.

Consulate/Visa Appointment (1 week lead time)
Child receives visa in preparation for travel to their new home

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Total (Hopeful) Time Left: 6 weeks - 26 weeks (~2- 7 months)

Pictures

Here's a link to pictures from this trip. Enjoy!

Day 6 - Travel Day

And we're back in Illinois. Today was a long travel day - although not as long as originally anticipated. We were able to fly stand-by out of Miami, so rather than having a 6 hour layover, we only had about 1 1/2 hours. It was pretty smooth traveling. I got carsick on the drive down to Port-au-Prince, but only throwing up once was much better than the last time we traveled home from Haiti and I was sick the whole day. Customs through Miami was the quickest I've ever seen it and we even had time for a quick bite to eat before our plane took off.

We were on Haitian time this morning (meaning everything is slower and takes longer than planned), so we didn't get to see David today before having to leave for the airport. Luckily, we had a great time with him yesterday so I felt like we got to say our goodbyes then. Hopefully (keep praying!!!), it won't be long until we see him again and actually bring him home with us. Rachel talked to her attorney this morning and our papers are on their way to parquet this week. We were told that its possible to get our papers out of parquet in less than a week, which would be amazing! Of course, delays are typical so we'll see what happens.

I spent some time on the plane sorting through pictures, so once I'm done captioning them I'll post a link to picassa. Since, I still need to make the 3 hour drive home tomorrow it may take a few days for me to finish. I'll warn you now, there's a lot :-)

A side note - I brought our laptop and video along this time so that Jay & I could attempt to video chat. I wasn't sure how the upload speed would be at the guesthouse, but it ended up working great! Josh and David even played peek-a-boo together over the video - how cool is that?! I really feel like seeing David and I together in real time (rather than just in photos) is going to make David so much more comprehendable to Josh now. Plus, it was nice to get to see Jay & Josh while I was gone.

Day 5

Well, the Ra Ra parade didn't wake me up this morning, but David did at 5:45 am :-P Looks like we'll need to work to get this boy on Josh-time of waking up at 8 at the earliest! However, he does share the Josh trait of being extremely happy when he wakes up. I absolutely loved watching him 'talk' and play while we were still in our pjs.

We spent the morning at the guest house and then the afternoon at the orphanage. I really feel like I've gotten to know David better on this trip than any of the prior ones. Between spending a good deal of one-on-one time as well as being at the orphanage surrounded by his peers, so much of his personality came out.

Anyway, no specific stories or pictures to share from today. I'm trying to sort through the many pictures we took and will hopefully have them posted in the next few days.

Day 4

This morning we woke up early to the 'Ra Ra' parade that was walking the streets at 4:30am. Well, it kept Mom & Dad up. I was so tired from the day before, that I heard it, rolled back over, and went back to sleep till 7:00.

We went to church up at the Missions church. I missed part of the service due to David's leaking diaper (luckily, I had on a fast drying skirt and had packed some extra clothes for David!). The service is entirely in Creole, so I can't understand any of it, but the energy in the room is contagious. They sure know how to praise God! Willem called Dad up front toward the end of the service along with a missionary from the states to have a Dance Off.The missionary won as the best white man dancer :-P but Dad did awfully well to earn a second place finish.

At the end of service we headed back down the mountain. (Mom & I took the 4-wheeler down). And then we went out for lunch at a nice restaurant. Dad got to try goat, which was a hit.

David basically sat on my lap throughout this entire time (roughly 5 hours) and so he was getting awfully antsy by the time we made it back to the guesthouse for the afternoon. Mix that with a lack of nap and he was a crazy ball of energy that never stopped until he fell fast asleep early evening.
We got an unexpected surprise of a sleep over, because Rachel ended up getting stuck at a family event for the night. No complaints here :-) As I type this, David is sleeping beside me, curled up tight, with his bottom stuck straight up in the air. I’m going to miss this little boy so much when we leave!

Day 3

Wow! These Haitian days always manage to exhaust me. I'm ready again to go curl up into bed and fall fast asleep (before the roosters and dogs awaken me at 6am on the dot). It must be something about the sun mixed with the relatively laid back days and then cool weather nights that lull me to sleep.

We spent the morning at the guesthouse with David and attempted to set-up our own photo studio with a white bedsheet and a clothesline. Nothing too spectacular came out of it, so we'll give it another go tomorrow and see if we can get some more smiles and less wiggles :-)

Then this afternoon, we did a little sight-seeing and then spent several hours at the orphanage. Dad worked on a few odds and ends type jobs (such as installing a baby gate & some outlet covers), Mom read books with the older kids and then enjoyed holding and rocking some of the littlest ones, and I sort of roamed around playing, holding, feeding, etc whoever was the nearest. The kids were about the most well-behaved that I've ever seen them and it was a pretty enjoyable time. David showed some more 'true 2 yr oldness' by taking toys from other kids and pushing them. Nothing unusual for his age, but its a side of him that I don't see when one-on-one. The reality of soon having 2 bickering boys at home became more real while watching him :-P
Jay & I are going to attempt to video-phone tomorrow so that Josh and David can 'meet.' Cross your fingers that the connection is fast enough!