Happy Thanksgiving 2012 and update

Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!!

Let me start by apologizing for being such a slacker when it comes to updating this blog. As I stated several months ago, there hasn't been much change in the adoption process so I guess I just didn't want to acknowledge that we were at a stand still by typing it all out in black and white. As some of you know we are expecting a little girl on Nov 21 and I have been on bedrest for the last 6 weeks. Seeing drs twice per week and all that the pregnancy has involved has only slowed us down even further but we know that God's timing is perfect so I have tried not to stress over it too much.

We heard in October that Haiti reopened the IBSR for adoption applications but because we had not begun putting our US Dossier together, there wasn't anything to submit. I have to admit that with all of the activity in the last few weeks with the pregnancy I have not been diligent at pursueing the info that we need to get going again. We purposely did not begin the US Dossier because there are time limits on those documents and didn't want to waste the money having them done only to have them expire before Haiti reopened for adoption. We also need to locate a Hague approved agency that can do our homestudy and so far I have not been able to secure one in the state of Georgia. I will not stop looking though. A wonderful relative of Lester's has since stepped forward after talking to one of Lester's sisters about our adoption and says that she feels that God has led her to help with securing the funds for the adoption. I won't deny it. That is one of the MAJOR obstacles that we have right now. (BUT GOD is our waymaker). Donna has advised me that we need to secure a non profit 301C status for our ministry so that businesses and those that do not know us will feel more comfortable giving toward our mission. That is the where the first monies that are donated will go. We have the paperwork in place and now just need the money to complete it. Here is some info that Donna sent to me about the first efforts that she has begun: We will be having a craft/bake & yard sale Saturday, December 1st, from 9-4 in Brunswick. (exact location will be decided Tuesday). We need donations of any craft items, back goods, or anything else you have to sell in the yard sale. We will also have extra tables for any crafters wishing to sell their own goods. We will charge $10 and the donation of one of your craft items for a table. Any volunteers to help with the sale will be greatly welcomed. You can contact Donna Wilson to arrange pick up of any donations, to volunteer, or to rent a table. Contact @ msdmarie@hotmail.com or 912-230-7954. Please open your hearts and be generous. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if this would be Aaron’s last year without a home and his own family to celebrate Christmas with. Love and Blessings to everyone. She also contacted The Brunswick News about our story. Bethany Leggett interviewed us last Thursday and our story was featured in the weekend edition yesterday.

The baby is due in 10 days and after we get settled I hope to be more diligent in seeking the Hague approved agency we need to begin the homestudy. We would love to have the money in hand to get that going as soon as we find one. Those run approximately $2500.00. We also need to find out about the new guidelines that were put into place for Haitian adoptions as of November 1. We have heard conflicting things about what the changes are. I hope to find something solid out about that soon. In the meantime, Emory is in Haiti doing some scouting for a new location for ministry for him and Mary. While there, he is going to try to get death certificates for Aaron's parents for us. Having him do some of the legwork for us is such a blessing as we can not afford to travel to do these things right now and of course, I can't due to being pregnant. Well, there that is. If you are not familiar with our story, please take the time to browse back through the archives of posts and read about our sweet little man. If God lays it on your heart to help, please do. We know that God will provide for what he has called our family to do but we don't want you to miss out on the blessing of getting to partner with us in it! God's richest blessings to you and yours! Shelby and Lester

We are praying for you Aaron!!

Dear Aaron, We have NOT forgotten you! You are prayed for daily and missed SOOOOOO much! I hear that you got a visit from "Papa Emory" receently. I am so glad that he got to visit with you.

Mama Shelby didn't sleep much last night because I was praying for you, Mama Dorothy, the nannies, and all of your other brothers and sisters, as well as the people in Haiti. There is a storm called Isaac that is threatening to come to Haiti. We are all praying that it will go away or not do any damage to Haiti. We know that Jesus is with you and will keep you all safe! I pray that you know that too! God is doing some great things in our lives. We have some new info about adoption and things that we need to get busy doing. We know that God is going to guide and provide with each new step we take. Changes are happening in Haiti. They have stopped adoptions temporarily but we hear that this should be over soon and new changes may be in place. We are praying that the new changes that are coming will mean having you here with us SOON! Until then, I hope that you enjoy school! Marleigh has started to school already. She had a hard time at first being away from Mama, but now she likes it alot. I remember when we took you out for a little while when we were with you. You did not like riding in the "Machine" or going to the restaurant. My heart breaks to think that you may cry when you go to school and I can't be there with you. I am praying that you will be brave and enjoy your school! You are getting to be such a big boy! I am so proud of you!!! Hug Mama Dorothy for us, okay?

I can't wait to see you again. Until then...Remember!!!!We!!!!!! Love!!! you!!!! more!!!! than!!! words!!!!! can say!!!!!, Mama Shelby

Update as of 5/22/2012

It's been a while since I have updated our blog simply because there has not been much change in things concerning the adoption of Aaron. Let me start by saying that Aaron is doing well. I've seen several pictures of him over the last few weeks and have spoken via facebook to sevearl people who have made visits to Ms. Dorothy's home in the past couple of months. He is looking great and each picture or story makes me want to hop a plane and fly to Haiti... like...NOW! We had a wonderful visit with Ms. Dorothy at Emory and Mary's home while she was taking a much needed break in the states during the month of April. We always enjoy our visits with her. It is so comforting to know that Aaron is in such wonderful hands. So, let's get the not so good new out of the way first. I received an email from Cathy Fitzsimmons (missionary to Haiti) on May 18th stating that Haiti has temporarily suspended all adoptions from Haiti until further notice. Apparently they have a backlog of adoptions and will be processing all dossiers submitted before May 7th before reopening for adoptions again. The good news is...THIS IS ONLY TEMPORARY! I keep saying those 4 words to myself over and over again as a reminder. Finding this out really confirms to me how MUCH God is guiding us in this process!!!!!!!!!!! I am so glad that he knows things that I don't. :) If you have been keeping up with our journey you know that we have not pursued doing our homestudy because we were trying to locate Aaron's father. We had been told that he was alive and knowing that meant that he could stop the adoption at any time. There was no sense doing anything until we knew for sure that he would be on board with the adoption. If we had gone ahead with the homestudy etc we may have risked losing that money as these things all have expiration dates. IF Haiti doesn't begin the adoption process again quickly those things could have expired and we would have had to begin the process all over again. Can anyone see the hand of God in this with me?? Now the good news. Lester's brother, Emory, visited Aaron's family in Jubilee last week. He found out that, unfortunately, Aaron's father passed away before his mother did. I am not sure of the circumstances concerning his death but Emory says that obtaining death certificates for both of his parents should not be a problem. He spoke with Aaron's family at length including Aaron's grandfather and they are in favor of us adopting Aaron. While my heart breaks for Aaron in that he will never know his biological father and mother, I am so relieved to know that his family supports the idea of his becoming a part of our family!!!! I look forward to the day that we can meet them for ourselves and thank them for this wonderful gift! For now, we ask that you pray with us for Haiti to work quickly to move through the adoptions that they have in their hands. Not only so that we can move forward but also so that the families that have waited for so long to have their little ones with them will finally have their dreams realized!!! Believing in God's promise, Lester and Shelby

Surprise!!

Well..SURPRISE! Aaron may not be the only little boy in our family! We are pregnant! Yes..I said PREGNANT! Shocked??? SO ARE WE!!

While on a Spiritual Retreat in 2001, God birthed a desire in our hearts for another baby. At the time, my tubes were tied and we were not sure how God was going to make this happen. In 2005, he provided a way to have a tubal reversal. I had my Tubal Reveral 11/24/2005. After a year of trying to conceive with no success, we had an HSG to check to see if the tubal reversal was successful. That testshowed both tubes wide open. We tried a fertility medicine called clomid with my GYN for 3 months and then moved on to an Infertility specialist. Dr Blohm (the Specialist) found that my husbands sperm count was extremely low and I had late ovulations which made conceiving IMPOSSIBLE. We tried 3 IUI's (Intrauterine inseminations) with clomid and then moved on to the final option which was In Vitro Fertilization. After one failed Ivf, miscarriage on our 2nd (thawed) cycle, our infertility specialist said there was no hope and urged us to quit trying given our "advanced age" and bleak odds. We talked him into doing one more round of IVF. He finally said "ok" but assured us one more and that was it. He was shocked when we got Marleigh from that final IVF in 2007!!

When I left the hospital after giving birth to her in 2008, the discharging dr said that there was no need for birth control. I saw another dr in the group at my 6 wk appt that said the same and yet another dr in the group at my yearly exam that said no need for bc given my age and infertility history. 4 yrs later and surprise!!! I thought I was beginning menopause because I turned 40 this year. We did nothing different this month and were not trying at all to get pregnant(haven't tried since having Marleigh 4 years ago). God is amazing. So for you who are believing for what looks impossible, hold on!!!!!! God is faithful and what looks impossible to man is very much possible to God!!!

So, that being said, our hearts are still set to adopt Aaron. God knew that this baby was going to be a part of our story when he put Aaron in our hearts to adopt and as surprised as we are...this certainly has not surprised God! Gonna have my hands full? yes probably so...but God's grace is sufficient!!

Grace for the Waiting

Dear Aaron,
This week has been so hard. I am not sure what made is any harder than any other week and why it seemed so hard when we have only just started this journey.  I don't know, but it was hard.  I dream about you at night.  I talk about you everyday.  I think about you constantly...I... miss.. you.

I thought that I almost had Daddy Lester talked into letting me climb on an airplane and come to see you.  But Uncle Emory talked him out of it. *pout face*   I know that Uncle Emory is right. I have to wait. I have to be patient.  But.... I... miss... you.

Today, we had a yardsale.  That is where we take all of our things that we don't use, put them outside and let others buy them.  I was watching a lady walk up to one of my tables when I noticed a little boy walking beside her.  She turned toward me and he walked out from behind her.  He took my breath away.  He had a pacifier in his mouth so all that I could see was his eyes and the shape of his head.  So many pictures of you have your thumb in your mouth so that all I can see are your eyes and the shape of your head too.   He looked exactly like you and for a minute...I was in Haiti again.    I walked around to the other side of the table and fell onto my knees in front of him.  When I realized what I was doing I decided that I needed to ask his mama's permission.  "Can I hug him?"  She smiled at me and said yes.  I held my arms out to him and he fell into my arms and snuggled up to my neck.  I held him so close.  I hugged him for a really long time....because....  I... miss... you.

When I finally was able to let go, I told his mama all about you.  I took her over to a picture that I had of you and me together.  She smiled and said, "His eyes look just like my son's eyes."  I nodded in agreement with her. I told her that I thought that Jesus had sent her as a special blessing to me.  Jesus knew that I needed to hold you.  Jesus knew that I needed to feel you hugging me.  Jesus knew that....I... miss... you.

She told me that she didn't plan to come to my yard sale.  She had been to another yard sale down the road from us and her car was parked far away...but something made her walk down to where I was.  She agreed with me that it must have been God that sent her to me.  She could tell by the tears in my eyes.  She knew that....I... miss.. you.

So today I am thankful for the grace that God granted to me through that little boy and his sweet little hug.  I am am amazed at how God is providing for even the smallest of  needs and I am trusting that he is meeting the smallest of your needs too.  I hope that God will send a lady to you.  Maybe she will have dark curly hair. Maybe she will wear glasses,  or maybe she will wear the same perfume that I wear or have a voice that sounds like mine.  I hope that when you see her, when you hug her, or when you hear her voice...that you remember me...and that you will know that....I... miss... you.

Love,
Mama Shelby

Bringing you up to date...

I just thought that maybe I should update you all on where we are in the journey to adopt Aaron.  If you haven't done so, please read "How it all began" under the tabs on our home page to find out how God began this journey that we are on.

As you know, our family traveled to Haiti in January of this year.  God had several purposes in mind for us on that trip but one of those was to find an orphanage that had a license for adoption.  Ms. Dorothy's orphanage (Faith Hope Love Infant Rescue) is primarily a home for children with special medical needs.  While she is presently in the process of getting a license from the Haitian govt, her primary calling is to meet the needs of sick babies/kids.  Some of the kids in her home come to her in order to get through critical health challenges and then return to their families.  Though Aaron has been diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease, he is, for the most part, a very healthy little boy thanks to the love and care that she has given to him.  Moving him to a licensed orphanage will not only provide a means for us to begin adopting him, but it will free up a spot for another child who may have a critical medical need to be loved and nurtured in Ms. Dorothy's care just as Aaron was.

God surely directed our path as we sought for the right place for Aaron to live until we can bring him home.  Over a course of events, God directed us to Cathy Fitzsimmons.  She and her husband, Rodney, have ministered in various ways to the people of Haiti for 30 years. They have raised their family there and have devoted their lives to the work of the Lord there.   They presently over see, through the help of Baptist World Mission, an orphanage that is directed by Pastor Anesse Aristild and his wife Madam Aristild.  When Cathy introduced us to the Aristild's and showed us around their orphanage, there was such a sense of peace.  All I could do was cry as Cathy translated for us to the Aristild's about the need that we had for Aaron.  Through tears of joy, I managed to whisper a "Thank you" after they told us that they were willing to take Aaron and love him "as their own son."   I can't even tell you what a comfort those words were to this mama's heart.  Even though they couldn't speak much english and we couldn't speak ANY creole at all, there was a calm assurance way down in my heart and an unexplainable "connection" to them  that let me know that these people would love and nurture our son in the same way that we would if we could be there.

After finding the right orpahange, the next step was to find out if  we would be able to qualify to adopt Aaron. We wanted to be sure that we met the guidelines before we put him through the pain of leaving Ms. Dorothy's home to go to a place that he had never been, to live with people that he had never met.  It was such a HUGE thing to think that we would be affecting this child's life in this way.   We did some investigating over the internet, made some phone calls, asked some questions from people in the "know" and found that we should be able to meet all of the U.S. and Haitian guidelines. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

While we were in Haiti, we found out that Aaron had a brother and a grandfather living in Jubilee.  We wanted to be sure that we had the blessing of the family before we began the adoption process, so Kathy and Beaver Brooks (missionaries living in Gonaives Haiti-Much Ministries) sent a picture of Aaron into the community in an attempt to locate his family.  Much to our surprise we found out that Aaron's biological father was alive and came to Jubilee from time to time.  So, word was left with the family requesting that he contact the Brooks' when he returned to Jubilee.  We need to get his consent to adopt Aaron before we begin to take the next steps in his adoption. 

Several weeks have passed and another message was sent last week requesting that he contact us.  So far, we have not had any word from him.

So that is where we are.  Waiting. From what I hear, that is the common theme for families adopting from Haiti.  I have faith that God, who holds the hearts of Kings in his hands and turns them to or fro (Proverbs 21:1) will move on the heart of this father and get him in touch with us soon.  We believe that God wrote a book about Aaron's life before he was ever formed in his mother's womb (Ps 139:16) and that he will order his steps in those good plans that he has made for Aaron's life (Jeremiah 29:11).

Would you join with our family in prayer that Aaron's father will contact someone soon?  I know that God's timing is perfect. Even so, I am sure that you can imagine how this mama's arms are aching to have her baby snuggled in them.  Each day that passes feels like another opportunity missed to watch God's plan unfold for Aaron's life.  I know that he is well cared for, and he is loved tremendously by Ms. Dorothy as well as the Nannies that help her care for him.  I just feel as if a piece of our family is missing.

 Thanks so much for your prayers! As soon as we hear from Aarons' father, I will be sure to update you all. 

We want your junk! Auction for Aaron.

Last Saturday Lester and I attended an Auction at a home down the road from where we live.  It was called an "Estate Auction" which usually means that someone has passed away and the family is auctioning off what is left of their stuff.  However, in this case, the auction was held by a family that was moving out of state.  They didn't want to move a bunch of things that they couldn't use so they hired an auction company to come in and auction off their things for them.

I watched in amazement as people happily bid on the things that these people had. Don't get me wrong they had some really nice stuf bfut it was the price that people were willing to pay for these things that was amazing to me.  I love to shop yard sales. For those of you who don't live in the south, that is where you drag all of the things that you no longer want or use out to the front yard, put prices on them, and invite people to come out on a weekend and buy your things.  Do they have those in the north??? I'm not sure.  Anyway...people down here tend to want to "haggle" over the prices and often want to pay next to NOTHING for the treasures that they find.  I love a great deal myself so I am not faulting anybody for this, just stating the facts.  HOWEVER, at this Auction, I watched as people paid almost the same price for these things (and sometimes more) than they would pay for them at the store. *insert open mouth here*   I knew that there was NO WAY that they would expect to pay that much for those exact same items if they had seen them on a table in this family's front yard on a Saturday morning.  So what was the difference? I think maybe it was the thrill of the competition as they bid against another person. A lady standing next to me at the auction said that they were probably bidding against was someone's ex husband's cousin's uncle and they were determined that this person was NOT going to take it home with them at a cheap price. LOL.   I'm not sure about that one but whatever the reason..the family made substantially more $$ that day than they would have made had they held a yardsale instead of an auction.

It was then that it hit me! Several blogs that I have read by families who are currently in the adoption process mentioned a Yard Sale to raise funds for the adoption costs at some point.  We are told that we can expect to pay somewhere between $15,000.00-$25,000.00 to adopt from Haiti.  There are several organizations out there that offer grants to families who are trying to adopt but they only "match" funds that are raised by the family who is adopting.  We can only qualify to apply for these grants AFTER we have passed a U.S. homestudy which means we will have to come up with the money up front for the things that are required to get that done.  We don't have a savings account to pull this from, but we have a Heavenly Father who owns the cattle on a thousand hills!  We know that he will provide, but the truth is, he allows others to partner with the plans that he calls us to so that they can be blessed by their giving. We knew from the start that some sort of opportunity to allow others to give would be a part of our journey too.  So..why not hold an auction??  It's fun, it's thrilling, it's a competitive sport,  it's good for the environment because it goes along with the new trend of "going green"  by taking other peoples junk and recycling it into something NEW for you....okay, so those last two were stretching it a bit...but it sounded good right?  Seriously, standing at that auction,  I really felt like God was saying..Do an AUCTION FOR AARON!

So, that is what we plan to do.  If you have any junk..urrr...I mean TREASURES...that you have sitting around (That is in good shape and still works. PLEASE don't donate something that you wouldn't be willing to pay money for if you needed it) and  you no longer want them, WE want it!  We have a storage trailer that we will put these things in and when we have enough to hold an auction..THAT is what we will do. 

Anyone know a licensed auctioneer that would donate their time to help?  We plan to grill hamburgers and hotdogs, have nachos and cheese, baked goods, drinks etc for sale that day too so we could offer him/her a free meal for their services. *BIG GRIN*

What do ya think? We'd love to hear from  you.  Would you attend?  Got some treasures you'd like to donate?  It's for a really good cause..have you seen my Handsome Son?  No??  Let me show him to ya.  AARON: