A lot can change in 3 years

This is the first time I've logged into this blog in 3.5 years. I cannot believe how much time has passed since my last post.

For a (very) long time, people would ask me for updates about the adoption, and I hated having to respond with, "We're still just waiting...". I sort of grew to dread the question and didn't enjoy talking about the process. I felt like if there was no news then it wasn't worth talking about. Much of an adoption process is just waiting...and waiting...and waiting.

I suppose that's why I haven't written in 3.5 years. There was nothing to share.

BUT NOW...

there is so much to share!

As of July 16th, Andy and I are parents to twin boys from Haiti! If you're reading this right now, you probably saw our post on Instagram, so you know that this isn't at all what we had planned. The Lord works in mysterious and marvelous ways though! Here we are with our cutest (obviously, I'm biased, but trust me - they're ADORABLE) little blessings!

There is so much to share that I don't know where to begin. Here are some quick facts for you:

1. The boys are fraternal twins.

2. They are 5 years old, but turning 6 on December 1st.

3. Their mother put them in the orphanage in Port au Prince, Haiti when they were 9 months old.

4. They are incredibly happy and healthy.

5. They know we're adopting them and we get to FaceTime them regularly.

6. They don't speak English except, "I love you" and "Hi".

7. The orphanage is really modern and nice. They've been taken care of well in their five years there.

So what's next?

Remember when I said that the adoption process is mostly just waiting? Well, here we are waiting again! But this time things move a little faster and there's officially someone (well two someones) to be waiting for!

We have applied for the boys' immigration. It's been provisionally approved. Once it's officially approved, we will move into the court process. This is when the court will contact birth parents to do one final check to see if they are still comfortable relinquishing their rights to the boys. I know this sounds scary, but we are trusting that it won't be an issue! The boys come from a single mother and she has not contacted the orphanage since giving them up. The boys will also go to the U.S. Embassy to get their visas. This whole process can take about 5-7 months.

Once that time has passed, it will be time to arrange travel to bring them home. Families are not allowed to travel to Haiti right now because of the danger it poses. For this reason, the boys will travel to Fort Lauderdale with a caregiver/liaison who works for our agency, All God's Children. We will travel to Fort Lauderdale to meet them there! If all goes smoothly, this will happen in September or October next year.

And then we bring them home...

It's been a wild adventure, but a good one. And it's just going to get better from here!

I will write more as we continue to wait.