It's been a while since I've had time to post on this clunky old blog. I really should take the time to update you on the four miracles we witnessed over the past few weeks: 1) Dustin's passport arrived in time for his trip; 2) My lost passport was found, with the help of a saint (or Jesus, for those uncomfortable with the idea of saints pitching in); 3) Our home study report was finished with just days to spare; and 4) Dustin and I were both fingerprinted by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in order to gain approval to bring a child home as an American citizen. While these may not sound miraculous, each has it's own story or saga. I may try to write more on these later, if time permits.
Now, however, we have much more exciting things to talk about, like Dustin arriving in Malawi and meeting Moses for the first time. I won't try to describe how Dustin felt in that moment because I hardly know. But I can tell you some details about the little man. He's about the same size as our niece Molly (for those who know her). John (Dustin's brother who is currently in Malawi) says he feels half a pound heavier and looks a little taller. John also says that Moses is very active, more so than his daughter and the other babies we know. He definitely sounds active. He was singing and talking to himself all morning. Dustin said that Moses is very comfortable with him (and John) and is enthralled with all the watches, beards, and glasses these two Americans brought with them. Dustin and John both say he's even cuter in person than in the pictures we have. The word "adorable" came up several times. Also, our child's gots skills. (Yes, I meant to say it like that.) Apparently Moses is very good at mimicking, and can repeat sounds that Dustin makes. Dustin says he's full of personality. He's a pretty mellow, happy kid who can entertain himself quite well. He likes being thrown in the air, sucking his thumb, and taking long walks on the beach. Dustin says he sucks his thumb almost constantly.
Dustin also says that most American mothers would freak out to see their babies crawling in the places where Moses crawls and eating the things Moses puts in his mouth. Apparently Moses spit up on a plastic floor runner at a guesthouse where they are currently staying. When Dustin cleaned it up, the rag turned black. He said it was just nasty. Then Dustin looked over to find Moses chewing on a corner of the same dirty runner. C'est la vie en Malawi!
Dustin, John, Margaret, and Moses are taking a bus to Balaka and should be there by (our) Friday morning. Monday, they plan to head to Blantyre to meet with the Social Welfare Officer who will oversee the foster/adoption process. We hope to have a better sense of the timeframe and details at that point (though we recognize that we probably still won't have a good sense of it even when it's finished.)
It's almost midnight so I really ought to go to bed. Thank you for not judging this blog as a work of art, but rather as a simple medium for me to get thoughts and details out to the masses. Good night!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
The Recent Past
The past few weeks have just been a whirlwind of paperwork, phone calls, and yes, stress. Today we made the biggest payment of our lives to the adoption agency. We also had another unexpectedly large payment. Apparently Dustin had run a red light accidentally back in October and a camera picked it up. The first we heard about it was today when we received a notice that we owed the state a lot of money. They had sent the ticket and payment notices to the wrong address. Thankfully, this error won't affect our credit report, but it does affect Dustin's ability to drive. Because we "failed to pay," the state suspended Dustin's license - unbeknownst to us. If he had been pulled over in the past eight months (for anything), we would have owed thousands as he would have been driving illegally. We have to PAY to un-suspend Dustin's license. It's a very unfortunate situation, and one that we don't have time or energy to fight. So, we paid and will pay.
In other news, Dustin's getting ready for his big trip. He leaves three weeks from yesterday. He's excited and anxious as you can imagine. Moses and Margaret can't wait for him to arrive. (Moses told us so.) In the meantime, we're working on our home study. We are waiting for our social worker to contact us about setting up an interview at our home. Consequently, we are cleaning our home. We're trying to get Dustin a proper visa for Malawi and will be shipping his passport off to Washington tomorrow. Pray that there are no delays and that it arrives back in Portland on time. We're also gathering information about immigration requirements and necessary documents to bring little Moses back, should all work out. It's quite a headache. The immigration office I need to talk to does not have a posted phone number anywhere and their e-mail address isn't working. And this is in America! Think about the fun that awaits in Malawi! :)
We made two important connections in the last week or so. I talked to the baby's birth mother on the phone. She speaks English quite well. I asked her what she wanted for Moses Khumbo's future. "You take the baby," she said. Dustin made the other connection, with our potential Malawian lawyer. He can't state his fees on the phone, nor can he help the process along until Dustin arrives. One thing he said was that it would be "very important" for me to also come to Malawi. Our current plan is to wait until Dustin is there, on the ground. Then we will assess if I can/should/must go too.
To friends, I apologize if I've been bad at responding to emails. There are currently over 100 unread e-mails in my box. I don't have a lot of time at the computer these days, so if you need to contact me, phone is certainly quicker. I'll try to wade through the ol' inbox this weekend.
I'm sure there's much more to write, but I have to run to a meeting. Thank you all for your prayers AND your gifts. We would not have had enough money to pay for our home study without the generosity of several of you. This means the world to us. And someday, I hope it will mean something to you-know-who.
Take care,
Cara
In other news, Dustin's getting ready for his big trip. He leaves three weeks from yesterday. He's excited and anxious as you can imagine. Moses and Margaret can't wait for him to arrive. (Moses told us so.) In the meantime, we're working on our home study. We are waiting for our social worker to contact us about setting up an interview at our home. Consequently, we are cleaning our home. We're trying to get Dustin a proper visa for Malawi and will be shipping his passport off to Washington tomorrow. Pray that there are no delays and that it arrives back in Portland on time. We're also gathering information about immigration requirements and necessary documents to bring little Moses back, should all work out. It's quite a headache. The immigration office I need to talk to does not have a posted phone number anywhere and their e-mail address isn't working. And this is in America! Think about the fun that awaits in Malawi! :)
We made two important connections in the last week or so. I talked to the baby's birth mother on the phone. She speaks English quite well. I asked her what she wanted for Moses Khumbo's future. "You take the baby," she said. Dustin made the other connection, with our potential Malawian lawyer. He can't state his fees on the phone, nor can he help the process along until Dustin arrives. One thing he said was that it would be "very important" for me to also come to Malawi. Our current plan is to wait until Dustin is there, on the ground. Then we will assess if I can/should/must go too.
To friends, I apologize if I've been bad at responding to emails. There are currently over 100 unread e-mails in my box. I don't have a lot of time at the computer these days, so if you need to contact me, phone is certainly quicker. I'll try to wade through the ol' inbox this weekend.
I'm sure there's much more to write, but I have to run to a meeting. Thank you all for your prayers AND your gifts. We would not have had enough money to pay for our home study without the generosity of several of you. This means the world to us. And someday, I hope it will mean something to you-know-who.
Take care,
Cara
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