I71H APPROVAL

Well time to update the side bar once more. Today we received our I71H approval from USCIS. What does that mean? "It has been determined that you are able to furnish proper care to an orphan or orphans as defined by section 101 (B) (1) (F) of the immigration and nationality act". Just one step closer. I'll take it!
Bambi:)

Angels Among Us

Longing to know how things are going on their trip I found this blog entry from one of the parents bringing down the water filtration system. I was so touched I had to share this great news. We are also so grateful for Dave and his Angels. Thank you!

Long story getting shorter, the water filters arrived last night. We drove down to Dave's to pick them up.

My first shock was the size of the boxes. It looked like it would fit a large pillar candle - it's that compact. This filter kills 99.999% of viruses, bacteria, "cysty stuff", heavy metals, pharmaceutical residue, you name it - it catches it. All of that in a tiny little space.

My second shock was the way they've hooked this up so that we don't have to worry about how to connect it to the orphanage's water supply. The unit has "quick connect" technology so that we can just swap out the end of the faucet in the kitchen and attach this unit it to it. It snaps right on! That means they CAN'T mistake whether they're getting water from the clean source or not. Everything from the faucet will be clean!

My third shock was that since they were making one unit for us, they figured it was just as easy to make TWO for us. Two filtration systems!

And by my fourth shock, I was in tears - Dave and his associates donated these state-of-the-art filters to our orphanage. They wouldn't let us pay for them. He said, "People are aware of what you're trying to do and the cost is all covered." Whoever Dave's "people" are; Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!

Donation to Orphanage

Hello all,
We are still receiving donations to send to The Hope for Little Angels of Haiti Orphanage in Caliia's name. One check has already been sent, but with such a great response we will also be sending a second check.If anyone would still like to donate please leave us your e-mail address in the comment section below and we will fill you in on the details. What a blessing to be a part of such a generous group of friends and family. THANK YOU !

Hope Over Fear

Tomorrow our agency travels to Haiti to bring much needed medical supplies , food and support. They will be bringing a water filtration system that the orphanage will be able to hook to their kitchen sink which will provide clean water for eating , drinking , bathing and cooking.Right now they have to buy gallons of water and a separate filter locally ( the water may or may not be clean ). Please pray that their trip would go smoothly and safely and that they would be able to get all the supplies to the orphanage in their luggage. This is also an important week for our family. Many times in this adoption process we have had to make decisions about how and If to move forward. God has been ever faithful in this journey. Each time we have decided to move forward I can feel him walking right beside us. We have decided again not to let our fear of the unknowns paralyze us from moving on in this adoption. And with the hope of adopting we will keep stepping through the doors he unlocks before us . We are looking forward to the referral of another little girl soon. The agency will be getting together information and pictures of children for us to look at while they are in Haiti this week:) Please keep this in prayer and that God would match us with a little girl who is ready to come home.
Bambi

Zoe's " I Have A Dream " Speech

In school today the kids were asked to read Dr. Martin Luther King's I have a Dream speech and then write what that means to them. I thought I would share her paragraph with you.

This is what it means to me.............

I believe that all human kind should be treated equally. Everyone deserves a buddy so they can stand up for injustice and fight for everyone's freedom. Everyone deserves a chance in life. I have been in and gone through many hard devastating times with my family,but we never stop giving up hope.We have been through death, sickness, injuries and more. Everybody should stand up for their rights and everybody else's rights. Doing that together,helping eachother through death,and many more things like taking a stand for people who need you. America would be a better place if we all take a stand.If we take a stand it will be a better world.

That is what it means to me. I love our world. Take your stand today.Help your nation.

By Zoe B. Estep

Zoe , you make me proud! Watch out Hillary:)

LOVED

Make a Smilebox slideshow

We are sending out a sympathy card to Callia's orphanage, Hope for Little Angels of Haiti. With the help of family and friends we are including a monetary donation made in her name.We want the orphanage to know that Callia was loved and that we appreciate the care and love that they give the children. Callia is one of 2 little girls they have lost this past weekend.Our hearts go out to them. Please continue to pray that God would protect the orphanage and provide them with what they need.

Pardon for biological children

( President Preval &
child to be adopted)

This is great news! Obama is not the only president calling for change.

President Preval - Pardon for Biological Children: On Thursday, January 15, 2009, President Preval had a meeting with the new IBESR director regarding the issue of families who have biological children who want to adopt in Haiti. President Preval told the IBESR director that the families should be able to adopt in Haiti even if these families have biological children. Good News for many children in Haiti & for those families who want to adopt them!

U.S. Embassy: The embassy keeps on turning down visas for adopted kids, but there is a silver lining because some families who were denied visas for their adopted kids filed their appeals with USCIS and the judge overturned the U.S. Consulate/PAP's decision. Those children now are getting their visas.

Callia Grace

Callia Grace 8-8-07 to 1-17-09

It is with great sadness that we are writing to let you know that that our beautiful Callia Grace has gone to be with the Lord. She became very ill this past Friday and was taken to the hospital by the orphanage. She was not strong enough to pull through and passed away on Saturday. We are heartbroken . For the short time we knew her we loved her and hope to meet her again one day where there is no suffering or saddness. We will miss her and will always hold a special place for her in our hearts. Please keep us in you prayers as well as her caretakers, aunt and those working to bring these children home.
Bambi and Adam

Fun In The Snow

Celebration Time

CLICK ON ME


It has been confirmed! Our Dossier has been sent to Haiti ! YIPEEEEE ! I had to break out the dancing bananna. The agency is still waiting to receive updates on some of the children(Callia included). So, no new pics yet. Now I am stalking the mailman for our I71h from USCIS .This is our approval form for our i600A renewal for advanced processing of an orphan. Come on USCIS !See ya.
Bambi:)
P.S. THE CLOCK TO BRING HER HOME IS OFFICIALLY TICKING

CBS 60 Minutes- Wyclef Jean

Did anyone see 60 minute's story on Wyclef Jean in Haiti last night?It was really cool. This man has a great vision for his native country. He has been blessed and keeps paying it forward to the people of Haiti. A link to his organization, yele haiti, is on the sidebar. Click on it and go to the CBS interview video 1/11/09.
Bambi:)

Callia's Care Package

Here is a look at Callia's care package.I wanted to take a picture before I package it up to send. One pink puppy dog that Adam and i found while Christmas shopping. A photo book of family pictures we made online through CVS. A musical card that we will also be recording a message for her in. Hair bows from the Etsy shop, supporting the Little Angels of Haiti Orphanage.And the winner of our poll the pink purse , filled with Dora and Ariel fruit snacks, a pink phone and a set of play keys.I couldn't fit anything else in my Gallon sized ziplock bag. I would love to send all the kids a great big box of toys. I hope she enjoys them as much as I have enjoyed putting the package together:)No news of updates or pics. Our dossier is back from Chicago though and getting put together to send to Haiti Monday. We are thrilled!Happy Friday!
Bambi:)
P.S.It always seems like I have a P.S., anyway I added a link to the side bar of another site called Soule Mamathey are gathering handmade baby hats from all over the world to send to Haiti. Check it out. Thanks to My sister-in-law Lindsay for sharing this with me. The direct link to the baby hats for Haiti is http://www.soulemama.com/mama_to_mama.

TODAYS UPDATE

Received word from our agency that translation of dossier documents are done and dossier was sent to Chicago for authentication yesterday. They hope to have our dossier back by Friday. From there they will make a bunch of copies of the translations / authentications and forward our dossier to HAITI.Then the dossier will go to the MFA( Minister of Foreign Affairs).The MFA could take from a couple weeks to a couple months depending on how many dossiers they have at any given time.
BYE:)
bambi

MORE FINGERPRINTING

Just checked the mail today and we have our fingerprinting appointment times for USCIS to renew our I600A . It is scheduled for 3pm THIS Saturday. I am so excited to get another thing out of the way. I've already updated the sidebar with the new update.Bye:)
Bambi

The Process Ahead

I found this helpful list of the legal steps our paperwork will take once our dossier is submitted to Haiti. I believe we will be entering this first step soon (MFA). These steps may take more or less time , and maybe not even in the same order but they must all be done. So remember when asking how long it will take , it might be easier to ask which step we are on in the process. There is word that we may get an update an pics of Callia at the end of this week, Soooo.. keep checking in.
Bambi:)


1. Where does my dossier go? What are the legal steps in Haiti?

Minister of Foreign Affairs (MFA)
2-4 weeks

First Legalization (1st Legal). This is where all of the papers are authenticated.


File prepared for IBESR (Concurrent with MFA)
1-4 weeks

When the paperwork is at Foreign Affairs, your lawyer must prepare your file for IBESR. IBESR requires that the paperwork be in a certain order. The social history and psychological examination required by IBESR for your child must be made during this period. It involves putting the child's social information into a home study format with your home study information.


IBESR
2-6 months

Your child's paperwork is put together with your documents and the file is then presented to IBESR (Haiti's Social Service Department) where a social worker will look over all of your documents and decide whether to approve your adoption request.The director of IBESR, the IBESR lawyer, the head of adoption services at IBESR, and the IBESR social worker must all sign off on your dossier. This is four stages of approval.


Parquet
2-12 weeks

This step involves one person(?) releasing the child(ren)'s file(s). Parquet is the head commissioner. He is intertwined with court. He asks all of the birth parents to come for interviews to make sure that they understand that there children are being adopted. Apparently there was some fraudulent activity going on and he wants to protect the birth parents interests. i.e. make sure they are in agreement.


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

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

I-600 is filed by adopting parents. File is reviewed and approved by DHS


DNA Testing
0-6 weeks

May or may not be necessary. Depends on DHS' opinion.


Consulate/Visa Appointment
1 week lead

Child receives visa in preparation for travel to their new home


time

I just found this update in the December newsletter under country updates. This is definitely an event to pray for. Our agency is getting together a parent trip for January 27th-Feb1st/2nd.Adam and I will not be traveling until the summer trip. But we are planning to send our care package along with this group.Our poll is over and looks like ,with 4 votes , the purse with snacks wins!Thanks to all who voted. We will be putting the package together in the next couple weeks and sending it to Wasatch.

Haiti – The Haitian government is meeting on January 29th to sign into law an initiative outlining new standards of practice for adoptions in Haiti. Independent adoptions from this country will become a thing of the past, and agencies working in Haiti will be expected to be in compliance with these new standards practice once this initiative is signed. Our Haiti coordinator, Chareyl Moyes, will be in Haiti at this time and will represent WIA at the signing of these new standards of practice. We are thrilled with this new initiative and are hopeful that it bodes well for the future of the children in Haiti

Bye for now,
Bambi:)
P.S.The above laws being signed into effect are a positive change that will hopefully help the Haitian adoption process. They are not the current 1974 laws that are already in effect ( i.e the ones stating that couples that have bio children cannot adopt )Sorry for the confusion :)

New Years Eve 2009

It took time to get this video posted. My sister-in-law Erin has introduced me to a new site called animoto. So I thought I would take a break from smilebox and do something new . Pretty cool !
Bambi:)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Happy New Year everyone. 4 out of the 5 of us made it until midnight . Carson hit the sack at 11:45pm . So close, maybe next year ! The kids danced ( they have some pretty wicked moves :) ), we played charades , and the telephone game . But in the end I think the kids wore the adults out first ! Carson was the first one up this morning at 8:30am . Not too shabby . He knocked on the door to let me know we forgot the party poppers last night.
I was trying to think of how to sum this year up and decided I would list an accomplishment for each of us. Here goes..... Adam graduated from MVNU(Yeah)! Bambi found a hobby ( BLOGGING :)and became somewhat computer friendly. Zane took his first trip on an airplane . Zoe got her braces on ,and off.Carson started kindergarten. And the Esteps have started an adoption in Haiti.We had a great year. I could probably list more but those are what stick out in my head today.
Have a great 2009!
Bambi:)