No news

Nothing new on the lost file, so we'll just keep praying and believing that it will be found.

I did have an interesting discussion this morning with a fellow volunteer in the literacy class. She's an older black lady who has no idea that I'm adopting 2 kids from Haiti and she just started telling me about things she's been learning lately. Mainly about white privilage.

Her entire life she has just ignored white privilage and tried to not think about it. But lately she's looking, reading, and discussing white privilage. And it makes her angry.

I guess what I find so interesting is that she's lived her entire life and is just now exploring these feelings and ideas. She even used the phrase, "I don't know who I am." I guess I thought black people here in Canada would go through this as teens and young adults and would come to some kind of peace. Or would work to effect change.

I've tried to read all that I can to prepare myself for parenting black children. White privilage is a concept that comes up frequently. Our family discusses this frequently. I'm looking forward to more discussions with her. She's completely frank and direct with her opinions and I hope as she works through this, she helps me see where she's coming from and what she sees.

Not the message I was hoping for

Our file has been in parquet for 6 months. I have been concerned because other families from our orphanage have had their files pulled...needing presidential permission to adopt because they have more than 2 biological children. But our file was "fine". It turns out that our file was "fine" because it is lost. Parquet doesn't know where it is.

Right now I can only pray that it is found. I just can't think about the alternative.

January update

We're still in Parquet. It's been almost 6 months in this step and there's no way to know when it will be over. But Peterson & Gaëlle look great!!! And are doing great... making wonderful memories at GLA and being loved by their nannies and Molly and Joyce.

Donations for GLA

Robin and Emily are headed to Bainet,Haiti on February 3 to replace a roof on a school. They are also collecting supplies for GLA and this is the video Emily and Kaylin came up with to show at our church.

Sweet little Joseph

Last year we received a wonderful and lengthy letter all about the activities the kids had at GLA during the holidays. One of the special events was a play put on by the older children in the toddler house depicting the nativity. Peterson told Molly that he wanted to be in it next year. When I read that I thought, "Oh, poor kid... he probably won't be there next year to be in the play." But my dream of having the kids home by Christmas didn't happen and indeed, he was there. I even thought about contacting Molly to remind her that Peterson wanted to be in the play. But then I knew that Molly knows these children so well and she would put the right kids in the play. And lo and behold, Peterson got to play the part of Joseph. When I saw the pictures I was so happy for him. A little sad for me, but very happy for him. To see the actors just click on this link. You can also see him opening his presents on top of the play gym.

Who doesn't love purses?

Heartline Ministries has several programs currently serving the people of Haiti. Education in all forms is vital to save lives and create stability in a fragile country. Their women's program trains and educates women in prenatal care, early childhood development, literacy, and sewing. Follow the link to see how simply buying a purse can help women gain skills and earn money to provide for their families.

More traditions

It's funny but so many of our cherished traditions revolve around food. Every New Year's Day or New Year's Eve, whichever works best for us, we have a "Make Your Own Subs & Make Your Own Sundaes" party. Yep, more food. But it's so easy to prepare and so much fun for the kids. And it's so easy to have families share in our tradition.

This year we had to postpone the madness because of the snow. We had some families coming over that we didn't even know well, but the snow did us in. It was just too much snow and too much wind to risk it, so we decided to celebrate on Sunday afternoon. It was a smashing success. It was an simple meal to pull off and it was a great way to get to know some people better. We also introduced these families to a new game - Pit. Another guaranteed way to know people better... as you're yelling at them across the table. Fun, fun, fun. Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture, but I have the memories.

Post Christmas ramblings

I've had a lot of fun this Christmas reading various adoption blogs and learning all the different ways other families celebrate during the season. Simplicity seems to be the key this year. I grew up with small, simple Christmases because my parents have always valued that lifestyle. My husband grew up with simple celebrations because he was one of 7 children, and that was their reality. I'm thankful we have that foundation.

When our son was born, we decided to only get the kids one main present and then fill their stocking. We've kept that up even tho as teens, they see all of their friends receive much more. There may be times that they felt a little down, but we have been blessed to always see them show their appreciation. Just a little brag. 5 years ago (the kids were 14,12,9) one of my husband's brothers spent Christmas with us. Earlier he had shared his bitterness about the lack of "stuff" he had during his childhood Christmases. My kids were estatic with their gifts. Josh received a hockey stick that was nicer than the kind he usually played with, but not even half as pricey as the kind some of his friends routinely used. You would have thought he received the moon. He was thrilled and he showed it. My brother-in-law could not hide his amazement and commented on it over and over.

I like the fun of Christmas morning, especially with children. I don't want to do away with the gift giving. But I love the simplicity of our day and the joy we have as a family just being together... laughing and sharing.

Emily's main gift this year was a puppet. A monster puppet. She asked for a puppet and so knew that's probably what she would receive but she didn't know what we would pick for her. She loved it!!! She has ministry plans for it. She wants to use it around here (our local library, the children's hospital, etc.) and also take it to Haiti and Thailand. Needless to say, that blesses my heart.