One year ago today our files entered IBESR. One year ago from today we officially began the paper chase for Haiti. It seems weird that a whole year has gone by since we got our numbers and began to count-the-months-until-we-would-get-out process.

When our dossier first arrived in Haiti in January 2008 we prayed that our kids would be home by Christmas of that year. We were hopeful! We then discovered that one of our papers was wrong and we had to redo it, so we didn't enter IBESR as soon as we thought we would. Then when we got in IBESR in April we then were hoping for early 2009 that they would be home. I dreamed of having them with us for Valentine's day 2009.

As 2008 drug on and we were still in IBESR we began to reevaluate when we dreamed of them being home. It seemed as there was no way to determine when they might be home. While in Haiti in Dec we found out that we were indeed OUT of IBESR. That was a fun day and especially since we were there with our kids.

Then we flew through parquet and finally we were their legal parents! They are our children in the eyes the Haitian government. What a great feeling. Since we flew through that department we began to pray and dream of all of our kids being together for Easter. I prayed for April 12 for so long. We entered MOI at the end of January. Of course we had some problems with Amos' birth certificate and that has been fixed, but every week I wonder if this is our week to get out.

I have heard recently that they are only signing out files from MOI one day a week. I'm sure there's a good reason for this, so for us we hold our breath at the end of each work week, wondering if we'll hear from our lady telling us that we're out. I look forward to that.

It seems that with adoption you are always looking forward to the next step. For me I always feel if we can just get out of this one department it will all be good. When the truth of it is that each stage has its own challenges and circumstances. Each stage holds its own worries and fears.

Each month that passes is one more month that we are CLOSER to our kids then the month before. That's how I'm trying to look at things. Each day brings us closer to our kids being here with us in TX. What a glorious day that will be!

I think I'll think of this day forever as the day we began the journey in Haiti. Although we began working on this adoption in September of 2007, April 28th, 2008 is the day we began to move and go somewhere.

If you are waiting somewhere in this process know that we are all in this together. We have each other to lean on and learn from.