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Wonderful PHOTOS of Wonderful KIDS  from a Wonderful PLACE!!!








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Update on New Haitian Law -- Good so FAR!

I just realized I never followed up my previous post on the possibility of the adoption law being changed and the Hague Convention Treaty being ratified in Haiti ... as I right now, Feb. 25th, I am almost (not 100%) positive that NOTHING has been signed in Haiti to change the Haiti law and adoption process. Same old LONG process is still in place =/

With that being said, no one ever really knows if and when Haitian officials may ratify the Hague Convention Treaty and/or make changes to the law. 

This past week God showed me that He continues to be in control and I just simply need to trust. 

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside  to false gods"                                                                                                                        

 Psalm 40:4 

As I am learning through this adoption journey..... a false god can appear in many different forms, ie. rumors about possible changes in adoption changes, FEAR, doubt and my own frustrations with the process. 

Tanpri, Mete Plim Ou A Ale (Please Put Your Pens Away)

Please pray for Haitian adoptions-there is chatter that the Hague Convention will be ratified (put in affect) and this would potentially be REAL bad.....pray that the "importants" of Haiti keep there pens in their pockets!!  I will keep you posted to what happens... I am trying to trust God in this new potential bump....

 Kreyon Bondye pa gen gòm.
(God’s pencil has no eraser)

This is taken from the following site-http://kashaiti.blogspot.com/2011_03_01_archive.html  It was written by Diana Boni- the Program Coordinator All Blessings International, Inc. 

The Hague for Haiti - a Dangerous Blessing? 

"On March 4th, 2011, the Haitian Ambassador signed the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in Brussles, Belgium.

The Hague Convention, in simple terms, is an agreement between participating nations to ensure that the highest standards of transparency, ethics, and integrity are upheld during the intercountry adoption process to protect adoptive families, biological families, and most importantly, children.  It is an agreement which has the power to protect children and (hopefully) stop child trafficking.  But it can also be used as a weapon against children who have no acceptable options left in the country of their birth.

Haiti's signing of the Hague is public evidence of the country's desire to protect her children.  It is unfortunate that very few, if any, of the creche directors seemed to have been consulted or notified in advance, but the stated desire to more toward the Hague standards and the many layers of protection it offers is a dramatic step towards improvements in child welfare in Haiti (in the personal opinion of this blogger).

However, many of us who work for the children of Haiti are deeply concerned that the Haitian government is being pushed or even coerced into premature ratification of the treaty.  Ratification is a public declaration that a nation is currently following and adhering to all conditions and guidelines specified by the Hague Convention.  They are quite demanding, as well they should be.  The United States required 15 years between signing and ratifying the treaty to bring our own laws and procedures up to standard.  It seems most unreasonable to believe that Haiti is capable of doing so in only a few months.

In the past, when nations have ratified the Hague treaty prematurely, the effects on intercountry adoption have been devastating.  In Guatemala, Vietnam, and Nepal, other Hague nations have been forced to forbid their citizens to adopt from the newly Hague nation as those countries were unable to actually follow the guidelines they have stated they now uphold.  I do not think the authors of the Hague intended for the Convention to be used to stop adoptions - I believe they intended to protect children and ensure that intercountry adoptions were performed ethically.

I for one would love to see Haiti become a Hague nation.  I believe that the time to begin work on this process is immediately!  But only after several years of performing intercountry adoptions in full compliance with all Hague standards should any nation ratify the treaty.  The Hague Permanent Bureau itself advises internal implementation of their standards before a country ratifies.

So what will happen if Haiti does ratify the Hague Convention prematurely?  Most likely there will be a window where the US Department of State and other Hague nations still permitting Haitian adoptions will evaluate Haiti's adherence to the Convention to which she has become a party.  And once the discrepancies between the requirements of the Hague Convention and Haiti's current infrastructure and child welfare system are evaluated, other Hague nations will begin to revoke their citizens' ability to adopt from Haiti.  In the past, the United States as allowed families in the process of adoption in a nation that has ratified but cannot comply with the Hague Convention to complete their adoptions, but has disallowed new adoptions to begin.  Our agency is moving forward with the assumption that this will be the case in Haiti as well.

What can we do?  Pray.  Think twice before funding organizations that encourage countries to ratify the Hague Convention before they are ready.  Continue to support the Haitian Creche Directors' Association in their efforts to explain the implications of premature ratification to a few key Haitian senators.

It is a dark time in Haiti already.  Such a shame that many of the organizations working in children's services must now take time for politics.  We have so little time, and so many children in desperate need."

LOVE - LOVE - LOVE MY Mail Today

Today I received this precious piece of jewelry I ordered from Etsy.... 

The artist's name is Lisa Keefer and she began making jewelry to raise money for a medical mission trip to Haiti. Check out her blog to learn more and see her other beautiful pieces. http://www.keeferstylecreations.com/

Let me explain the necklace a bit: 

The smaller circle has the country of Haiti punched out and the Creole words:  LAFWA and BONDYE BON.

LAFWA means FAITH 

BONDYE BON  means GOD IS GOOD 

The bigger circle, for now, reads, WAITING.  When Baby Cakes gets here, I will get another big circle with GOTCHA and her GOTCHA date on it !!!

Each morning when I put my necklace on, I pray for Baby Cakes, her family and GLA.  

Nothing Left to Do =)

Today I went a USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services) office in St. Paul, MN to get my fingerprinting completed (part of the I-600A process)!!!!  Isn't that sooo exciting ???  Fingerprinting, in itself, is not too exciting.  Seems like I am kind of scraping the barrel for blog posts these days with discussions of fingerprinting =)

But, this step today marks the LAST step I can do before I get my referral for my child--  WHOOOO!!!!! There is nothing left to do =)

Now I get to do the fun part-wait and shop!!!  This weekend I did break the spending seal for buying cute things for Baby Cakes.  I bought two very cute (and useful) coats for her.  While I was at Old Navy contemplating the purchases, I called my mom to get her advice.  She said, "You are calling the wrong person for advice!" If any of you know my mom, she, of course, said, "BUY THEM!"!!!!!!

Dossier in HAITI !!!!!!!

This was on my Bethany Info Portal this afternoon =) =) 

Dossier Received

February 1, 2012 at 2:08 PM ~ 

Dear Shannon,
We heard from GLA today that they have received your dossier. They will review it, ensure payment has reached their office in Colorado, and then submit the case into the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) for legalization. It generally takes approximately two to four weeks to be legalized. The next update that you will likely receive from us and GLA is when you are presented with a referral.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know!

Especially LOVE the sentence in BOLD !!!   

Thank you God, for the early birthday present ! Exactly what I wanted =)