Our Growing Family and Faith

Clay's Perspective

2010-02-04T20:31:00.000-08:00

The following is a letter written to Clay's co-workers giving them a brief synopsis of his trip to rescue our daughters.

Since many have asked, I figure I’ll give you a not so very brief overview of how it all went down…

Originally, I began to make plans with a couple of friends (another adoptive Dad and a friend from Haiti) to leave on Friday the 22nd and fly into Port au Prince. We scheduled our flights, then they were canceled because no flights were being allowed into Haiti (we kind of thought this would happen). Another friend was already scheduled to fly from Boston on Tuesday the 19th with a team – Most of the team backed out so we rearranged the team and eventually came up with 10 people to travel together – Boston to JFK to Santo Domingo D.R. - Before leaving we managed to arrange a bus to take us from Santo Domingo to Port au Prince. We all met in Boston and checked 112 bags (plastic bins) at close to 6,000# of supplies for the orphanage (mostly peanut butter, formula, diapers, etc). Delta waived more than $25,000 in baggage fees (I am now a big fan of Delta).
Once we were in Santo Domingo we loaded all of our supplies onto the bus and picked up two photographers from Denmark – We were not going to let them come with us, but then we decided that they could fork over some money for the bus so we invited them along. While in the D.R. we needed to pick up some more supplies (diesel and rice) but none of us spoke Spanish. Nanna (the Danish Photographer) had limited Spanish speaking ability, but not enough to order a burger at the airport – We took her with us to by the supplies since she was the best we had – To her own amazement as soon as we got in the car with the driver she was speaking Spanish as if she spoke it every day of her life (we attribute this to God). Anyway, we picked up the rest of the supplies and headed to the border. We arrived at the Haitian border sometime in the night – We had planned to sleep on the bus and cross the border at about 6:00am with a military escort for safety. At 3:00am the border police woke us up and told us we had to leave at that moment, with no escort. We were a little nervous but we headed to PAP – Other than the typical bad Haitian roads it was an easy ride and we never ran into any “bad guys”.
We arrived in downtown PAP at about 6:00am – there were people everywhere but we found a safe place to transfer all of our stuff from the bus to the box truck that is owned by the orphanage. The only problem was that there was no room left for the people – We put one guy on top of a bunch of stuff in the back of a pick-up, a bunch of people in the cab of the pick-up and box truck and five of us stood on the back bumper of the box truck and held on for dear life. Believe it or not, other than the fact that we were all white, it probably didn’t look all that strange to the locals.
The rest of the week is a bit of a blurr – We spent a lot of time (4 days) at the American Embassy trying to arrange for the release of the kids (with all of the kids we were making arrangements for) and the rest of the time at the church where the kids were staying – Incidentally, all of the kids (about 120) were ok although a little scared. The kids had moved from the unsafe houses that they were living in to the yard of their church – They slept outside until the day before we got there when a supply of donated tents arrived. While at the orphanage I slept outside, which was great for me – the weather was nice and it never rained.
As of Saturday night we had received humanitarian parole for 57 of the kids which meant that they were free to travel to the U.S. (one of my two girls was in this group). We worked at the embassy all day Sunday to try to secure parole for more kids – At about 10:30 or 11:00pm Sunday night we had parole for about 10 more kids (including my other daughter) – We already had a plane scheduled to take us out of Port au Prince on Monday morning, but at that time the President and Prime Minister of Haiti changed the rules and we were told that we had to leave immediately or we would not be allowed to leave (with the kids). We made a call back to the orphanage and the team then pulled 57 kids out of their tents, loaded them onto a box truck and drove them to the airport. Those of us that were still at the embassy finished getting the parole for the additional kids – then they loaded us onto a small bus with a couple of Federal Agent (with machine guns) and drove us into the airport using a back entrance.
By the time my group got to the airport the first group was already in the air headed to Sanford, FL. We were processed and waited for the next available flight – We flew out on an Air Force C-130 cargo plane which was kind of cool. At this point I assumed that we were past the bulk of the red tape and we would be headed home shortly. Little did I know that it would take three days in Florida before I could finally bring my girls home. We spent quite a bit of time in Sanford being processed and then we needed to be moved to Miami to get everything completed. The Health and Human Services department planned for 15 passenger vans to pick us up for the 4.5 to 5 hour ride to Miami – That didn’t sound like a good idea with a bunch of kids who had not slept and had just eaten food that they are not used to (I’ll spare you the details of the results). Thankfully, my wife was able to get a 737 donated to come from Atlanta and pick us up in Sanford to fly us to Miami (again, this was a “God-thing”)– A 45 minute flight was sounding pretty good – Needless to say I am now a fan of Vision Airlines - super no-frills flying, but better than driving. After a couple of days in Miami we were able to finally fly home – We arrived home early Thursday morning and have been adjusting to our “new normal” ever since.
The girls are adjusting very well, all things considered (they still fear earthquakes and have nightmares) and are even getting their hair “done” today. They will start school on Monday. After almost three years in the adoption process, we now have to start all over since it is no longer an international adoption – But that’s ok, because we know how the process works in the U.S. and the girls are now with our family – no more waiting.

I could go on and on, but I think you’re probably getting bored by now. Just as a last note – I normally try to keep my beliefs a little low-key around the work-place, so you can stop reading now if you would like me to keep it that way…Before I left I prayed that whatever happened it would be so clearly beyond anything that I could carry out on my own that I would have no choice but to give God all of the credit. I had one main goal – To get my girls home. I believe that without God’s help (often through people like you) there is no way I would be going home tonight to all five of my kids under one roof. The good that has come from this tragedy in Haiti is 100% a result of God’s goodness and 0% related to my (or the team’s) abilities or efforts. God answered my prayer - God is good.

Again – All this to say…Thanks!

January 12, 2010....

2010-01-29T21:03:00.001-08:00

I am sitting here tonight reflecting on the past 2.5 weeks. Beginning with the call from Dad Deeter on January 12 sharing with us the devastating news of the earthquake in Haiti.
For all of us in this house we will remember that day like many people remember when Kennedy was shot and when the Twin Towers came down. For me, I knew instantly it was bad but never in my wildest dreams did I fathom HOW bad. All in an instant we had to learn to be present for our children here all while being completely terrified for our children there. Within 2 hours we were witness to God's first miracle for us in what has been 2.5 weeks of miracles! We learned our children and all the children of HIS Home were ok! SO many families didn't hear word of their loved ones for days and we were blessed to know within a few hours!
As dawn broke and the images of the devastation began pouring in, Clay and I knew, even though we didn't dare utter it to one another, that this could possibly be the way our girls would finally come home!

It's been a long time.........

2010-01-29T06:37:00.000-08:00

Hey y'all! I know everyone is asking me to write a blog....and here's the secret...I started one long ago but never kept it up. After the past 2 weeks of craziness, I do believe now is the best time to start over!

So hang on cuz I am preparing to take you on a ride with us. You will be tired of hearing from me...writing is the best way for me to work out things in my mind. I am probably going to be blatantly honest and I hope you will still love and support us through the muck and mud. It's going to be a sweet adventure but with all adventures there will be bumps in the road.

Thank you to everyone who has prayed for us, listened to me cry, encouraged me, slapped me around when I needed it and just supported our family!!!

I'll be posting soon. I PROMISE!

NOT ME MONDAY!!!!!!

2008-11-03T17:25:00.001-08:00

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I am so thankful for the NOT ME MONDAY because it is forcing me out of my blog hibernation. I never think of fabulous things to blog about and then never proceed. Nope, not me!~

I certainly did not realize this morning that none of my boys jeans were clean and I never would even dream of picking out the least dirty of them, toss them in the dryer to get teh wrinkles out and frshen them up. I am a perfect Mom and always have clean laundry for my children. I would NEVER send them to school in clean/dirty jeans! Not me!

I also didn't send my kids to school with peanut butter on crackers because this perfect Mom would NEVER run out of bread. Not me! Nope. And I certainly didn't plan it last night because I was already in my jammies and too lazy to go to the store. Not me!

Being the perfect Mom that I am, my temperment is always cool, calm and collected. So I would never be crabby enough to screen ALL my calls and not answer a single one. Nope, not me! SO taoday when my mil, sister, and HUSBAND called, I most certainly did not screen those calls. Not me.

I would never feel lazy on a Monday so I most assuredly showered first thing, did all the laundry, first thing, and most certainly did not watch the Oprah show all about sex and then proceed to take a nap. Nope.

And sicne I wasn't lazy at all today, I most definately did not tie the dogs out instead of walking them. And I sure didn't just shrug when my husband asked why they are so wound up tonight. And I would NEVER suggest that he walk them again since obviously one walk wasn't enough today. Not me. Like I said, I'm perfect. ;)

The Nester is Having a Party!!!

2008-08-20T04:51:00.001-07:00

The Nester is having a party and since we're all invited I couldn't resist!!! But the only mistreating I've done to my windows is to not mistreat them at all. :( So I decided to post pictures of the room I am currently working on along with the fabric swatches. Maybe you can help me decide how to mistreat my windows! The yummy hounds tooth fabric is for the chair. It's only a picture of a picture of the chair, but think you can see it. The chocolate ultra suede will be the piping on the chair. The light background fabric will be for the windows. The picture that shows mostly walls is just to show the technique I used on the walls. My camera is at Sony right now so these pictures were taken with my camera phone. Opposite the love seat are two very long windows. (they measure 71" in length) Behind the loveseat to the right are two more. These rooms are supposed to be a living room/dining room but we just aren't dining room kinda folks. So there will be a baby grand in the dining room! These are the most "formal" any room in our house will ever be. The rest is very casual. Any ideas for me??
Thanks for letting me come to the party. I really would have hated to miss it!

Summer Fun!

2008-08-19T15:18:00.000-07:00

Are they too cute or what??

From left to right....Karolyn, Connor the Mermaid, and my daughter, Emilee. Summer fun!!!

Starting over.........

2008-08-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Ok. I've decided that I have been inconsistent in my blogging but I do want to continue. So after much thought about what I wanted my blog to be, I've decided to just start fresh.

Yes, we are currently a family of 5 under one roof and 2 more under a Haitian roof. Soon (hopefully sooner than later) we will be a family of 7 all under one roof.

My intent is to just purge this very rattled frazzled brain of mine about our daily mundane lives. It may be blog worthy, it may not.

I'll start with us. My hubby is 41, went to college for photography but alas works in the steel industry. Go figure. He is a Godly man, a handsome man, sometimes a funny man and a man who looks good in clothes. You know the kind. He is proportionately perfect. Is that a word and did I spell it right? Anyway.

Next is our oldest daughter, E. She is 15, smart, sarcastic, silly yet serious and focused, beautiful and stubborn as all get out. She is beginning her sophomore year of high school and while she has some very typical teenage tendencies, we are blessed beyond words with this child!

After E. come C. He is 12...almost 13. He is HI-larious, wicked smart, musical, soooo compassionate and cute as a button. He is also living successfully with ADHD. C. is our middle child, suffering from much of the stereotypical middle child symptoms. He is PERSECUTED, I tell you. Persecuted. E. gets to do anything she wants and R. gets away with MURDER. I am the only one who ever has to do ANYTHING and THEY always get the credit for it...... Yea, I know. We obviously love them more than you. HA.

The quintessential baby is R. He is 8, cute, smart, tries to be manipulative, loves Jesus so much, is very musical, inquisitive, and a snuggle bug. He is a miracle baby. That story for another day.

I. is a 12 year old girl from Haiti who's bio. Mom died of cancer when she was 5. Her bio. dad lives in Haiti but cannot afford to give she or her sister the kind of life she has in the orphanage or will have here in the US. He sacrificed more than I will ever know to give his girls a better shot. I am grateful. I've had the distinct pleasure of spending a whole week with I. and she is above all a young lady who loves God and gives Him all the praise and glory for everything in her life. She is easy to love, smart, beautiful, a bit cautious and very curious. We cannot wait to have her home!

Her sister, also I., lost her mother during the childbirth of her baby brother who also died. The girls had different bio. moms and the same bio. Dad. While the birth certificate says they are twins, we know they aren't. As a matter of fact, it is pretty apparent they are about a year apart. This I. is sensitive not only with her own emotions, but also feels deeply for others. She is very smart, beautiful, loves soccer and hopes to be a great cook someday. She desires a bedroom with squishy covers and all pink and green. A wish we will be more than happy to fulfill!

I am Lee. Unorganized. Procrastinator. Child of God, wife, mom, sister, aunt, friend, who loves to laugh.

We've recently built a new home to make room for our growing family. So right now I am Decorator. And boy oh boy is it fun! Especially with fabulous blogs out here for wanna be decorators like me. Look at some of my favorite blogs to the right and you will see a couple there.

So that's all for now. I am going to try to get my camera fixed and get some pictures in here from some recent outings. The picture on top is I., I., and E. in Haiti in January. Precious.

Tata for now!

It's been a long time.....

2008-07-31T14:37:00.001-07:00

Alright. There simply is no excuse for taking this long to post. I simply have been enjoying everyone else's blogs and completely ignoring my own. But boy oh boy have I found some neat blogs. If you need to laugh....HARD....go visit http://byebyepie.typepad.com/ If you are in need of some creative EASY decorating ideas go visit http://nestingplacenc.blogspot.com/ Now all I need is a blog about blogging. There is so much yet to learn.
Between entertaining the kids all summer, keeping up with the MOUNDS of laundry, the usual toilet cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking, and trying to read some decent books, time is moving way too quickly.
There is no news on the adoption front.......suffice to say I miss my girls and want them here yesterday.
That is all I have time for at the moment.
Later gators.

Taking a cue from Nate....

2008-03-17T08:25:00.000-07:00

Nate encouraged us to list 7 things the reader may not know about us.

1. I cook. I love to cook. I was taught by my Aunts who are goooood southern cooks. Most everything I make is completely home made and I rarely use a recipe. Unfortunately, all this cookin' has left a few pounds hanging on that I would prefer weren't!

2. My husband and I met and were married within 11 months. Statistically we shouldn't have made it, but 17 years later it is better than ever! Even more startling is that neither of us knew the Lord when we met. But He had a plan!

3. I do not typically like sports. Which is odd because my entire family are sport nuts. But the one sport I love to watch is BOXING. But the hits football players take make me cringe. Go figure.

4. One of my favorite carb craving indulgences is spaghetti with....are you ready for this.......soy sauce on it.

5. If I had my druthers, I would live in the 1800's.

6. I secretly wish I had an Irish accent to go with my Irish heritage.

7. Nicole C Mullen AND Sandi Patti sang Happy Birthday to me on my 40th birthday. Sandi sang to me after visiting my hotel room and having a glass of wine to celebrate. Nicole sang to me while on stage during a sound check. One of the best birthday's EVER!

A break from regular programming....

2008-03-10T15:11:00.000-07:00

This is for Tricia!

If you don't know who Tricia is, then you haven't talked to me lately! Look here to find out who she is: http://cfhusband.blogspot.com/

This is a small list of things for Tricia to look forward to with Gwyneth. And yes, I've experienced every one of these.

1. Holding a squirmy giggly baby above your head after they've eaten and them throwing up in your mouth.

2. Burying your face in the folds of their warm soft skin after bath time.

3. Napping together after an afternoon at the beach!

4. Watching them watch their first fireworks.

5. Watching them eat BBQ ribs for the very first time.

6. That sleepy time right before drifting off to sleep when they wrap their pudgy little arms around your neck and say "night night, wuv youuuu".

7. Saying goodnight prayers.

8. Tan lines on their nekked butts!

9. Having those little hands hold your cheeks so they can look right in your eyes to make a point.

10. Watching them nurture a favorite stuffed animal or baby.

11. Hearing them say "Amen".

12. Hearing them sing....ANYTHING!

13. Watching them sleep all snuggly on their favorite pillow.

14. Pig Tails

15. Your two year old proudly showing you how "shiny" they are after pouring an entire bottle of vegetable oil on the carpet and rolling around in it.

16. Bologna in the DVD player.

17. Actually getting to say things like "it's always fun till someone pokes an eye out!"

18. Sharing an orange popcicle on a hot summer day.

19. Spitting watermelon seeds together.

20. Reading Dr. Suess.

I could go on and on and on about all the things I take for granted on a daily basis. My kids aren't so little anymore but these are some of the things I remember about when they were younger. Now I have a teenager, a pre-teenager and an 8 year old. They always keep you in stitches, laughing, crying, praying, worrying, and loving them more and more every day.

I look forward to seeing pictures and videos of Gwyneth, Tricia and Nate doing all of those things and more!

But first...

2008-03-06T10:53:00.000-08:00

Let me tell you about our biological kids.

Our firstborn is Emilee and she is simply lovely. She is 14 years old, loves Jesus, loves random facts, is very detail oriented (except when it comes to cleaning her room) and is extremely bright. She is a freshman in high school taking all honors classes and is doing very well academically. Her friends are a joy to be around which makes us very happy! She came into this world making a fuss, needing to be heard and is growing into a beautiful young lady that will always fight for what's right and make a fuss about it too!

Emilee doesn't particularly like sports but does play tennis. We're not sure yet if its because the outfits are cute or if she really enjoys it! I think she really enjoys it because it is an individual sport so she can be in control whether she is winning or losing. Either outcome is a result of the things she did on the court. Come to think of it, that's the way she likes to handle most things in her life. Group projects at school can give her fits!

Emilee has a heart for missions. She is very active in her youth group which does a great deal of mission related activities. Last summer she participated in a 300 mile bike ride with me to benefit the kids at HIS Home. She didn't ride her bike but rode in a vehicle marking the route and preparing snacks and lunches for us riders..many of which were youth. She really had to have a servant's heart that week and humble herself to serve her peers with little or no thanks. Those of us riding were more concerned about filling our tummy's and cramming in calories than who made our PB&J sandwiches! She shined in her role! And we were all quite grateful in the end.

This summer Em will be heading off to Kentucky to serve on an ASP team. (Appalachia Service Project) She will have an opportunity to work on someones home by way of a much needed project. We won't know until she goes what kind of job she'll have but it could include re roofing, building a wheelchair ramp, putting a new foundation under a trailer, or putting indoor plumbing in someones home for their first time! Clay will get to go along on this project and help.

Emilee got to visit Haiti with me in January. We spent a week with the girls and at the Orphanage. She hasn't been all that thrilled with the prospect of adoption and decided on her own that perhaps she would have a different outlook if she could visit there and meet the girls first hand. She was overwhelmed by the poverty in Haiti but at the same time excited by the ministry going on at HIS Home. She and the girls hit it off immediately (that's them walking together in the picture above) and while they may never feel quite like sisters, they bonded instantly over hair, nails, silly french television, and swimming. It was breathtaking to watch their friendship develop so deeply over the week we spent together.

Next time I'll introduce you to the world of Colin........

Here we go....

2008-02-08T07:25:00.000-08:00

Several friends have asked me about starting a blog as our family travels through this journey of adoption. So here we go.

I guess the best thing to do would be to start at the beginning.

My husband traveled to Haiti last February with a friend who had been there several times. Their purpose was to visit an orphange that had captured this friend's heart. HIS Home For Children is an oasis in a desolate country.

While there, my husband connected with two beautiful children. Clay (my husband) felt God's urging that these girls would be a part of our family. After returning home, Clay's vision became stronger leading him to ask me to pray about considering the adoption of Ismene and Ismarie. Admittedly, I was reluctant at first. I was angry with God for turning our world upside down. Adoption was something I had thought about but NOT more than one child and certainly not preteens! For every argument I had for God, He showed me His answer. It was not too long before He was speaking to my heart like He spoke to Clay's. And our journey into this world began.