Wondering What's Going On?

I know everyone is wondering what's been going on, so here's what's up. A bunch of waiting. Yep, that's pretty much the extent of the information we can share. Ok, maybe a tad more. Our files are moving forward, and that's definitely better than sitting still on a desk somewhere! We've reached the step in the adoption process that we really aren't being told a whole lot at the time, but are patiently awaiting any tiny bit of info we are given. There are still some fees owed, and we are still working on getting all that squared away. The next step on our end will be for Daniel to go to Haiti to apply for Ooley's Visa. After that has happened, we will then wait for the approval and arrange to bring Ooley home....FINALLY! It seems it really is hurry up and wait sometimes. But wait it is. And we will wait and do what we can to prepare our home.

Ooley is doing well! He's learning at a great pace and gets along well with others. He's gaining weight and getting more healthy, but growing up too fast it seems. The newest pictures we were sent show him looking like such a big boy. It's seems his chubby cheeks have gone away in the few short months since we were there. Sad that we are missing these days with him, but so happy that he's doing good!

So, there ya go. Now you are in the know and up to beat with what's going on. Patience is a virtue, and it's not easy to keep either.

Sales, Grants, Approval Letter, and Timelines! It's been busy!

The Bring Ooley Home Sale we had last week went great! We raised just over $1,500 in just a couple days!! Thank you SO much to everyone who was involved, whether bringing items, buying items, or spreading the word! You each played a role and we are so grateful for your help and support. The remaining items from the sale were taken by a non-profit that takes the items and recycles them in another form or donates them to those in need. This non-profit will weigh the remaining items and pay us per pound of what is there, so that amount of $1,500 will be more once that is done.

We're looking at needing close to $12,000 additional funds needed to complete the process. Fees pop up here and there as well, and it all adds up. We've been approved for our first grant and received $2,000 and are currently in the application process of another one as well!

The sale was Friday and Saturday...then on Monday we got our official approval to adopt! Our letter from the USCIS shows that we are allowed to adopt up to 3 children up to 18 years old and we are approved for special needs should we ever feel that calling! Pretty exciting stuff!!! So what's next? Well, we're trying to figure that out ourselves actually. With this last piece to the puzzle, our documents will be complete on the U.S. side and will move into the hands of Haiti. Once they've pushed the documents through a few offices, we (or prob just Daniel) will be flying to Haiti to apply for Ooley's Visa. After that, the next step would be arranging to bring him home.

How long will all this take? Pretty cool story about that! A couple weeks ago, we got an email telling us that from this point we were looking at 24 months for Haiti to process. We know that is unecceptable and have been believing for our son to be home around Christmas. The adoption agency has been telling us that is a lofty goal and that they've never closed an adoption in less than a year. A week after that email saying 24 months, and us saying absolutely not, we got another email. This one told us that our agency has been talking with some others who are working Haitian adoptions as well and they are saying things are moving very quickly. They estimated the time from where we are now to be 4-6 months!

How do you explain the jump from 24 months to 4-6 months? GOD! And if you do the math, that is Christmas time! They are saying it's still too premature to say if an adoption can be closed in less than a year, but we are believing that ours will be their first! Please continue to believe with us!

We'll keep you posted! Love you all!

Happy 3rd Birthday Little Man!

Today is Ooley's 3rd Birthday! Although he doesn't even know it's his special day, we do! It's hard to not be able to be with him on this special day, but we are definitely celebrating his birth. Three years ago today, God brought our baby boy to life, and that is something to be excited about! The first three years of Ooley's life have not been easy. But the rest of his life will be different. We believe that this will be the last Birthday he has to spend away from us.

We are so grateful for CFC, the creche he's in, and for all they are doing to assure Ooley is being cared for. He's gotten so much more healthy in the last year and we couldn't have done any of this without their help. It's such a relief to know that he's in good hands while the rest of the adoption process is completed. We had our last round of fingerprints last week and now we are in a waiting period. We haven't heard a lot of info lately because our adoption coordinator has had a tragic loss, she lost her 23 year old son. Although we are eager to move forward with the process, we feel that our adoption coordinator needs time to be with her family right now. Please pray for her and her family, we can't imagine what she's going through. We'll let you know when we know more.

Next weekend is the huge indoor sale for the Ooley fund! We could use some help Thursday 28th to set up and price, as well as help Friday 29th & Saturday 30th to run the sale. Thursday is the drop off day for any items that you would like to put in the sale, and we would love for you to bring anything you can get to us! We already know we will have some great items, so don't forget to come back and shop the sale too! Please spread the word and tell everyone you know to be a part as well.

The sale is at Trinity Church of the Nazarene gym, located on South Walker just North of I-240. We will be at the church gym Thursday from 9a-8p and donations can be brought any time between those hours. The sale will be Friday 8a-5p & Saturday 8a-3p. If you have questions, please contact Amber via email amber@salonendeavor.com

We look forward to having you be a part of bringing Ooley home! Thanks so much for your support! He's already got a pretty big fan club, definitely not lacking in love and prayers!

Next year Ooley can have all the cake and ice cream he wants& we hope each of you can be a part of celebrating with us! :)

Bring Ooley Home Giant Indoor Garage Sale!

Bring Ooley Home Giant Indoor Garage Sale
When: Friday July 29th 8a- Saturday July 30th 3p
Where: Trinity Church of the Nazarene - 7301 S. Walker - Okc
(Just north of I-240 on west side of Walker)


Time to clean out those closets and cubby holes and help us bring Ooley home at the same time! We are having a Giant Garage Sale in the gym of Trinity Church of the Nazarene and we need your stuff! Of course you can shop too!

Items can be brought to Trinity Church gym anytime Thursday July 28th from 9a-8p. All remaining items at the end of the sale will be donated to charity unless other special arrangements have been made. For special arrangements for drop off or pick up of items, contact Amber at amber@salonendeavor.com

WE NEED YOU! We will need help in the following areas:
1- People to help set up and price items Thursday
2-Team to help run the sale Friday and Saturday
3-GUYS (& girls) WITH TRUCKS to help us take the remaining items to charity Saturday afternoon

If you can help in any area, please contact Amber at the above email.

Thanks so much to everyone who has helped already, and thank you for your help too! Please pass the word and hope to see you there!

Hurry up and wait some more

Hurry up and wait. We are now at the stage where we are at the mercy of the speed of other people. Our next step will be to get our fingerprints run again as soon as we get the time and place assigned to us by Homeland Security. Then it's more waiting. Our documents are currently at the Haitian Consulate getting authenticated there in Haiti. We aren't really sure why all the documents need to be checked and rechecked a bunch of times, but it's the process.

We got an email that wasn't super encouraging regarding the timeline of when we will be able to bring Ooley home. Haiti was taking average of 24 months for their part of the process before the earthquake. Haitian adoptions haven't been opened long enough after the earthquake to really know a good estimate of how long things could take now. We are praying for expedient process and extra favor for getting it all taken care of as quick as possible.

We don't really know why it takes so long. Our documents must go through so many hands and offices. Once we get everything authenticated in Haiti, which should be in the next week or so, they are sent to Chances For Children, where Ooley is, for processing there. Once our documents arrive in Haiti, the attorney will need to go through it and make sure everything is there. Then the file will go to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, next IBESR, next Civil Court of Parquet, next Minister of Interior, and then finally to the US Government for approval and then Ooley's Visa issue.

We've been told the whole process is pretty long. The thought of it taking two more years from here feels like my heart is being ripped from my chest. There's no way it can take that long. On the positive side, we have been in contact with several people who have authority and know people who can help speed up the process in Haiti. We've been blessed with so much favor this far, and we know God has every detail taken care of already. We don't take for granted all the contacts we've been given and all the help that has been offered our way.

We don't understand all the details. We don't understand where all the funds will come from. We don't understand how things could possibly take so much time. But we do understand that we love our son and we will continue forward and trust God with the details.

We are looking to have a garage sale to raise funds, but we haven't been able to secure a venue. Ideally, we would like for it to be inside somewhere like a church gym or something. If you have any contacts that we could pursue in south OKC/Moore area, please email us at amber@salonendeavor.com . As soon as we get the details worked out, we will be letting you all know when and where it will be and gathering items.

Thanks for your prayers and support, it means more than you realize. As we may seem to be emotionally numb, we are really excited but just overwhelmed. Love you all and look forward to sharing good news with you soon!

Leaving Haiti Without Ooley Was Heart Wrenching

We are home safe! Our plans while in Haiti all got shot, but God had better plans anyway! We traveled to Port au Prince, Haiti on Wednesday to visit Ooley. Daniel wasn't feeling very well and I gave him some medicine that pretty much knocked him out, which made for a more interesting day. Interesting meaning stressful for me. After getting a late start, we spent maybe an hour with Ooley on Wednesday. Daniel's health was our first priority and he was running a fever and struggling to stay awake. So we headed to our hotel, only to find out that the "thank you" online meant nothing and they had no rooms. We headed back to The Juniper Tree, the place that houses groups when they go to Haiti to work with Chances for Children, and they had a room for us.

It was a blessing that we ended up at The Juniper Tree! With all the failed plans for the day, and Daniel not feeling well, I was a nervous wreck! The small group that was staying there was a really great group, and the lady who was running the home for the week has adopted three children from Haiti and was able to understand our emotional stress. They were so much help and took time to pray for Daniel and comfort and calm me. Daniel's fever broke Wednesday evening, but he still wasn't feeling too great Thursday morning.

We got a late start Thursday as well, but were able to spend about 4 hours with Ooley. He is doing really well! He gets a good meal every day, and a bath too! He got a haircut Wednesday night, so when we got there Thursday, he was handsome and clean. Ooley is learning some English and he really enjoys being outside. It melted our hearts when he said Mommy and Daddy. The mothers at the creche are helping him understand who we are, so that is really nice. We noticed that one of the little girls who is being adopted has pictures of her adoptive family hanging in the area of her bed, we're pretty sure that will be the case when they get our photo pages for Ooley as well. That will help him get even more aquainted with our faces and remember more each time we see him.

Leaving the creche after putting Ooley down for his nap was very hard. Especially hard when he looks at you with begging eyes not wanting us to go. Leaving Haiti without him was heart wrenching. We know he is being taken care of, but we want him home here with us. We are ready to go back to see him already, it's not easy to adjust our minds back to our life here right now without him.

Our adoption dossier is complete on our end, we just need to print the photo pages and it's ready to be mailed to our agency. There's another form we must apply for which requires another round of fingerprinting as well. That form will be sent with our dossier and everything will be headed to Haiti when the last pieces have been translated. We are believing that Haiti will move extremely fast with our process and make it a priority! The expenses for this process are hitting the large totals needed, but God has provided this far and will continue to provide! We are applying for some adoption grants and possibly some no interest loans through our adoption agency. We haven't had the need to do so until this point, but we would like to know the funds are available when needed so the process isn't slowed for any reason. Thanks again and again for all of you who have helped with our adoption process so far, you will be blessed for being a blessing!

Back to our life here in the U.S., and back to pushing forward with the adoption process! God is good, and we look forward to sharing all the amazing things that will come soon! Thanks for your constant prayers and support, we are in awe of how God is providing everything needed at the perfect timing!

Anxious Anticipation!

We leave to visit Haiti Saturday June 4th, and it can't seem to get here quick enough! We will be traveling with the same group and helping Mission of Hope, just like last year. However, we are coordinating to spend a couple days with Ooley as well! Ooley can't be taken out of the creche he's in, so we will be staying in his area at a hotel and spending time there at Chances for Children. It is definitely not super easy to coordinate anything when in Haiti, but we have been blessed so much with people who are helping us a lot! Bobby, who Ooley stayed with during the transition from the orphanage to the creche, is helping us yet again! He has arranged a car and driver to transport us, and he will be traveling with us to visit Ooley as well.

All of the documents for Ooley's adoption have been authenticated! We have one last form to apply for, now that the authentication is done. Then the entire packet is complete and it's off to the next step! Our dossier is already being translated, so this will help save time in the process and get it to Haiti quicker. Now that our government recognizes that all our documents are legit, Haiti will do the same process and put their "stamp of approval" on each one. Contacts have been coming out of the woodwork in our favor! Complete God given favor and amazing that we are able to have help offered from people who have ability to encourage the adoption to move a little quicker!

We are still believing to have Ooley home by Christmas of this year! There isn't really a promised timeline that can be offered, but we know God's hand has been all over this! Still amazes us how the funding has played out perfectly each time a big sum of money is due. We are entering the really big amounts at a time now, and it requires faith beyond measure to trust the funds will be there when needed. God has supplied so far, and we know He will continue to do so! Thank you SO much to all of you who have been able to help financially in our adoption process! Words cannot express the feeling of knowing that friends and family are willing to put their hard earned money into helping us bring our son home.

Prayers move mountains. Please continue to pray! It's been comforting and overwhelming to hear of how many people are covering our family in prayer. I don't think a day has gone by that we haven't had at least one person encourage us and tell us their church groups are praying for us. Ooley is doing well, and we know it's because God has lavished him in love and protection. Our Haiti trip is so close that we are struggling to focus on our remaining time here in the U.S. and are counting hours til we can be there! Anxious anticipation!

We will be posting a blog as soon as we can once we get back home. Thanks for your prayers!

Ooley Has a Pretty Big Fan Club!

WOW, we are overwhelmed by the love and support from friends and even strangers! Even more overwhelmed by how God is working! This last 2 weeks has been crazy amazing! A big thank you to everyone who was able to eat at Harry Bears in Moore during our fundraiser there! We were given 10% of the ticket totals for the tables that mentioned they were eating there to help bring Ooley home, with our total being $215.29!



In that last couple weeks, we have been amazed by the support given! We have been contacted by another restaurant interested in doing a fundraiser night for Ooley. We have been contacted by people who have heard about us from friends and are offering help and support. So thankful that people are spreading the word and more people are joining with us! It's SO much more than just financial support. It's an indescribable feeling to know that other people, some who don't even know us, are praying for our son! To know that people have a place in their hearts for our precious boy is every parent's dream. One thing is for sure, Ooley will not lack people to love on him!



We have wrapped up our documents for our dossier and are finishing up our last piece to turn it all in! What's next? A LOT of pushing papers! Once our dossier is assured to be in correct form, we turn it into the Lt. Governor and they go through and make sure it's all good and put their stamp of approval (cover sheet) on it and return it to us. From there, our documents will clear the U.S. and be translated to Creole for the Haitian government to approve. Once they give us the go and the U.S. confirms that the documents were unchanged, it will be time time bring Ooley home! How long will this take? That's where you come in again! The time isn't necessarily on the U.S. side, although our end does take time. We would like you to join with us in believing that the Haitian government will not sit on our dossier, but will get to it will quick timing and return it in a timely fashion. We have been told they have seen Haiti take as quick as 3-6months up to 18-24 months to process a dossier. As you know, we are believing for that 3month or less range!



We should be turning in our dossier to the Lt. Governor within the next week! Along with the next step comes the next wave of finances to be paid. God has not failed to show up! Our next payment will be $5,000 and the following amounts to be paid will be that amount or more. In the last week, we have had two couples decide to bless us with $1,000 check each. It's so amazing how God works! When it comes time to send a big chunk of money, God provides just in time! Thank you, you know you who are :)



Faith has been a big part of this process for us. To look back and see where Ooley has been and where he is now is incredible! To know that Ooley is being cared for allows us to sleep better at night for sure. We are trusting others to care for our son, but knowing that God holds him in His hand no matter who is around in the physical. We don't have $30,ooo sitting in a bank to pay for an adoption, but when God bonds a family together He provides the way! We have been doing what it takes to make margin in our finances, and it's liberating to not care about physical things anymore! Our son is way more important than having a house full of decorations, dressing in the finest clothes, or driving the best cars. It's been interesting to see the detachment of things we thought we would not get rid of. More interesting that once we started getting rid of things, it's easier to just keep going and get rid of more.



To all the skeptics who told us we were in for a heartache, take a look and see that our God is greater! To the one's who told us there was no way, I hope you now see that God provides for the path He calls us to take! And to those of you who have never wavered in believing with us, thank you! We couldn't make it without all of you continuously lifting us up in prayer and loving on us, as we are mind numbed with all the details to take care of. Words cannot express our gratitude to everyone who has been a part of our process this far.



We can't wait to see Ooley on our upcoming trip to Haiti! We are going with Victory Church and leave June 4th. Trying to coordinate time with Ooley at the orphanage he's at isn't as easy as renting a hotel room and/or car. But we are talking with those who can help us get it figured out and believing for the details to be worked out quickly for our plans. Can't wait to love on our son and see how healthy he is now!



We are trying to figure out how we can plan a time for everyone to meet Ooley without overwhelming him! Looks like Ooley already has a pretty big fan club to welcome him home! Maybe we should make fan club t-shirts.......

48 days and counting...

As we count down our days for our next trip to Haiti, we have been making some changes in our own little world.

It's amazing the shift that takes place in one's life when they decide family is more important than things. They start realizing all the things they can go without. Many of us don't realize just how blessed we are to have that things we have in our country, most of which we don't really need. Everything has a "bundle" package these days to "save" us money, and it seems everything can be given in a larger size with only a dollar. With so many things surrounding us screaming for attention, how can we not have those things?

Well, we decided we can go without several things and have been shifting our view of our "must haves". A few short months ago, the thought of living without dvr and enough tv channels to keep me flipping from show to show for days, would have made me feel boring and old fashioned. But it's been pretty liberating to not be tied to all the hours of shows we used to watch on a regular basis. Making smarter choices, like trading our Tahoe for a smaller more efficient car, have not necessarily come without at least one tear shed (I, Amber admit to having been pretty attached to that car). But when we think of all the money we will be saving to provide a better future for our son, every choice gets easier.

In no way at all am I implying that everyone needs to get rid of their extra things in life. In no way am I implying that everyone should go back to the simpler way of doing things. All I know is that in our own lives, we have taken a step back and looked at our options to help provide the best we can give for Ooley. Minimizing has been liberating already, and I'm sure we'll come up with more to sale or do away with as we go! I'm sure that after being able to see him again soon, we'll be more willing cut back in more areas. It's hard to explain why it's getting easier to part with things, the best explanation is that love is proving to be bigger than things.

We are working on the details of how to coordinate spending time with Ooley while on our Haiti trip coming soon. It's not as easy as renting a car and just driving back and forth, or renting a hotel. Please pray that Haiti will be in a peaceful state that will allow for easy and safe travel for us to be able to spend as much time as possible with Ooley. We are SO excited and ready to go now!

In the mean time, we are doing what we can do here. The adoption process from here out seems to be pretty much a lot of paper and money swapping and waiting for approval through each step. And we are heading forward as fast as we can, still believing to have Ooley home by Christmas. The "Help bring Ooley home by eating at Harry Bears" (in Moore) started today! Please plan to eat there any time, any day, now through close of Sunday May 1st. Tell your server you are eating there to help bring Ooley home, and they will donate 10% of your ticket price to Ooley's adoption fund! Visit www.harrybears.com/ for a glimpse at their menu & location information.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support through this process. It hasn't all been easy, but it's all worth it!

Papers Papers Everywhere!

What's been going on??? A whirlwind of gathering documents and meeting with people. From proof of dogs shots from the vet, to a psych evaluation. From referral letters, to finger prints. SO much stuff has to be gathered and everything must be certified or notarized. It's been pretty fun running all around town making sure we get the right things at the right time (enter sarcasm here). Totally worth it all though without a doubt! We still have a few documents left to gather. Got one more referral letter coming and some blood work to be done. But Daniel has to get well before we can get his physical done that's needed. Poor guy has definitely had a rough go the last few weeks with Strep& H1N1 at the same time, and now bronchitis. Trust me when I say that the devil is throwing out ALL the stops to try to keep this adoption from proceeding! Like a beating from all sides, but kinda funny to step back and look at the attempts like it's actually possible to shut this down. I said kinda. Thankful that God knows what's up, even when we don't! Ooley has a bed! Our home is officially deemed "ready" for a child via our home study recently. Now they are processing all the documents they need to get the ball rolling as fast as possible. Things in Haiti can change rapidly with all the re-voting of Presidential election and everything else that goes on in a third world country. So, we are choosing the extra fees that come along with it expediting the process to get ahead of what changes could come. The adoption agency and orphanage are ready and waiting to rush their end as soon as we get our dossier (tons of documents basically) together! Ooley is healthy and happy! They update us on his health and skills at least once a month, and he's doing great! There's another little girl in the same orphanage as him and they say he mimics everything she does and it picking up on a lot. Everyone that goes to visit Ooley tells of how precious he is. Can't wait to go see him again! We are going back to Haiti in June with Victory Church, but are coordinating how we can spend a lot of time with Ooley as well. Excited doesn't even begin to describe our anticipation for this trip! In case you haven't heard, we are having another fundraiser! Any time APRIL 16TH THRU MAY 1ST, EAT AT HARRY BEARS IN MOORE (2113 Riverwalk Drive- just off I-35 at 19th) and mention that you are eating there to "Help Bring Ooley Home" and they will donate 10% off your ticket total to the Ooley fund! Plan your lunches, date nights, and group gatherings there, and please pass the word along! Check out their menu at http://www.harrybears.com/ and call to reserve a space for larger groups. Whew, it seems like a lot is happening, but most of it is running from here to there. Please continue to pray that things all go smoothly. Please pray the the attacks with attempt to bring us down will stop! It hasn't been easy, but our God is greater! Thanks for your continued support of our endeavor to Bring Ooley Home!