tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23366414267198508002024-03-12T22:02:16.284-05:00This Little Light of MineDr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-41167667879574860402012-09-05T23:11:00.001-05:002012-09-05T23:19:53.153-05:00Part 1: It is time...the story of the day our angel flew home... So, as today is the 1 year anniversary of our precious daughter leaving us to go to her true "forever home" I sit her with hopes of telling the story of those last days. Jack and I sit at home tonight eating Rum Raisin ice cream which was her favorite and try to wrestle with all of the emotions that continue to rattle around in the holes in our hearts from the loss of a Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-3669341175493252022012-05-30T21:57:00.001-05:002012-05-30T22:00:07.810-05:0040 yr old found as stowaway in 1st ClassI have on a few special occasions considered indulging just once in a "first class" airline seat. The crazy expense of such exclusive tickets never once superceded by intense frugality.
Chipolte Chicken or Tortellini with Red Sauce
This trip all the rules were tossed out the window. I bought an "economy" ticket to go to Santiago which is the class of ticket I always Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-13942831153162037362012-05-30T21:03:00.001-05:002012-05-30T21:03:04.193-05:00JUMP!For those faithful few followers, you will notice a glaring omission in the timeline in this blog. I do intend to blog on Melissa's death but I'm not there yet. So, somewhere in the twisted psyche of my mind I think I'm holding a spot for that special blog until I'm really ready to say goodbye.
Fast forward from last September to today.......
I have been struggling with my "place" Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-37549839439691403902011-09-14T21:27:00.000-05:002011-09-14T21:27:45.689-05:00A little more from our visit in July/AugustAs I sat on the plane staring at the blinking cursor, I found it hard to know how to start this blog entry. Most of you who have followed Melissa’s story know what has happened in the last several days. Let me go back just a little to our last visit to catch up though.
We had a good visit punctuated by the ever present and ever changing medical crisis. This trip it was a 10 day old infant fromDr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-89456215681878474662011-08-11T23:05:00.001-05:002011-08-12T08:31:16.772-05:00She had him at "goo"...After a tumultous trip down to Port-au-Prince, we arrived with much less luggage. We were late getting out of baggage claim. I was waiting to file a lost baggage claim and had left Jack sitting by the conveyor belt with the pieces of luggage that had arrived. As the room emptied, Jack was greeted by Wilbur who was sent in to help us. Jack was quite surprised to be sitting Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-25733893859602725082011-07-29T22:58:00.000-05:002011-07-29T22:58:05.175-05:00The Eve of the "Big Visit"Once again I sit her and blog when my butt should be in bed. As I prepared to try to sleep in the cozy bed here at the Holiday Inn I realized I needed to update things.
We FINALLY, after another round of unsuccessful attempts with the Miami Consulate, learned why they couldn't help us. Jack's birth certificate is from New Jersey.
Why is that important?
Well for 2 weeks I had no idea.Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-69321672729629175872011-07-08T19:05:00.002-05:002011-07-08T19:51:16.265-05:00Yay....Ahhhhhhh....YAY!!! Packet of documents back from the Consulate of Haiti in Miami!
Ahhhhh....They refused to "legalize" (yet another stamp in a long list of stamps we need for each piece of paper proving we are okay to adopt Melissa) Jack's birth certificate. The only explanation we got was a yellow post it note stuck to it:
Um. Okay. I double checked the birth Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-40051115747840807362011-07-05T09:48:00.002-05:002011-07-05T10:34:33.410-05:00Getting closer...Well, I wanted to post a short note about our progress so far. We have made some progress. The majority of the documents are sitting at the Haitian Consulate in Miami hopefully about to be express mailed back to us this week with all the stamps and legalization they need. For those who don't know the process, and let's be serious here NO ONE does, all documents, letters and Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-10919382557019906532011-06-17T23:06:00.003-05:002011-06-17T23:33:04.328-05:00Walk of Faith
This blog update is beyond late. I know that and I can only apologize. I've posted over and over in my mind and yet nothing has made it to this page. Things has been beyond challenging getting the paperwork together for the "dossier" to go down for Melissa's adoption. The dossier is basically the collection of required documents, letter, rectal probes and evaluations for Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-16413773639213154562011-03-04T13:28:00.000-06:002011-03-04T13:28:38.920-06:00Happy 1st Birthday Melissa! HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY MELISSA HOPE!“Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations— that’s what I had in mind for you.” Jeremiah 1:5
So we had all the makings for a special celebration of Melissa's 1st birthday. Pink table covering, banner, balloons, crepe paper, presents, cake and family.Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-78216647331758908362011-02-25T21:00:00.001-06:002011-02-26T15:11:39.887-06:00One tiny bundle of blessed joy! Melissa! She was so beautiful and had definitely filled out from the skin and bones she had been. You judge for yourself.
1st Day with Melissa
5 months later
But, she is definitely still very small for her age. She has developed as well being able to now do 4 month old and some 6 month old gross motor skills. She can rolloverDr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-71605745467725769692011-02-24T22:57:00.000-06:002011-02-24T22:57:11.079-06:00Joy comes in the morning...My apologies to those few out there who have been following Melissa's story. This entry is long overdue. Last week I traveled back to my second home in Port au Prince. The trip was primarily planned to spend Melissa's first birthday with her. How could I possibly miss this special milestone. Secondarily, it was to meet some contacts and plan for a team that I was Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-82799624283353870952011-02-13T19:24:00.000-06:002011-02-13T19:24:36.220-06:00Potholes (continued)If you didn't read the last post, please do. As I was steering 7 10yr old little girls through the breakfast line at the hotel this morning, I received 2 pictures of Melissa and her Mom. The love in her mother's eyes was unmistakable.
You all know all I know at this point. I haven't heard how it went or what was said. It stinks sometimes to be so physically far away fromDr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-2636124446263531772011-02-12T23:57:00.000-06:002011-02-12T23:57:45.182-06:00Caution: Potholes AheadI haven't blogged in awhile for the simple reason that not much has evolved. The steps for the adoption have been slower than usual and slower than necessary in truthfulness. The letters, documents and such require many hours of work during "day hours" and frankly our schedules are confined by full time jobs. So we are figuring this out but not in the timely manner we'd hoped Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-6913124801065964312011-01-24T22:16:00.000-06:002011-01-24T22:16:30.369-06:00Down but not out...After concentrated prayer and seeking the Lord's will, I am feeling much more resolved in the steps ahead. It has been a subtle realization in the last few days of the changes going on within my family. The Lord is truly at work within our home and my heart has swelled with gratitude. I am so blessed!
I love what I refer to as "God things". Saturday, I spent the Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-80480723180135181392011-01-19T22:55:00.000-06:002011-01-19T22:55:45.564-06:00Anger and Frustration"The eyes of the Lord are on me, and His ears are open to my cry...When I cry out, the Lord hears, and delivers me out of all my troubles." Psalm 34:15, 17 (NKJV)
I wrestled with whether to post tonight...few want to read about struggles of the heart and soul but I needed to get this out tonight and sort through these emotions. Tonight I have felt some of my most despised of human Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-54142849064486525792011-01-18T12:46:00.002-06:002011-01-18T13:11:29.915-06:00For the love of a child...What a journey the last 4 days have been...for those who have not heard the heart breaking news, here is a posting from the journalist who has been following Tamaka:
January 17, 2011
By Rachel Turner
Tamaka Ezca passed into the arms of Jesus at 7:25 p.m. tonight, January 17, 2011, at the University of Miami Hospital in Port-au-Prince. Named “the most beautiful girl in Haiti” by nurses, her Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-71715509235025065362011-01-15T22:37:00.001-06:002011-01-15T22:41:13.776-06:00Tamaka Update: The Lord is on the move!A little over 24 hours ago a phone call set me on a path that in all honesty I don't how prepared I was to take. Much less take my family along with me. Assumptions are frequently made that I have certain connections in the community to get things done and if you really knew me, you would laugh. I'm not one to keep with the Jones and the politics around me. Tackling the Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-42006370298777582652011-01-14T23:59:00.000-06:002011-01-14T23:59:56.462-06:00A call for Tamaka...As I was spooling down this evening, the Lord once again spoke and reminded me of my recent prayers to be of use again to my colleagues and family. An brief email was followed by a call from Dr. Clint Doiron who is currently in Port au Prince setting a new pediatric cardiac surgery program in Haiti. He met today a critically ill little girl who needs... no MUST have our help to find Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-83291571741808093262011-01-12T23:15:00.000-06:002011-01-12T23:15:14.935-06:00365 days later...and still ramblingI have been anticipating this day for a few weeks. For those who somehow may have missed it, today is the 1 year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti that literally brought a wavering country to its knees killing over 200,000 people and making over a million homeless. The emotions are not as I would have thought. Those who know me even through this blog know that Haiti Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-63016124592702770382011-01-02T22:28:00.004-06:002011-01-03T15:26:15.981-06:00Melissa's Christmas...not in AmericaAs much as we would have wanted it to work out, it apparently was not in God's will for Melissa to join us this Christmas. It did leave us with a grey cloud of melancholy as we rejoiced our Savior's birth. As the girls donned their matching PJ's on Christmas eve, Melissa's tiny fleece PJ's sat empty. So we will package up her letter from Santa, PJ's and such and take them or Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-6099912906050851132011-01-02T20:14:00.000-06:002011-01-02T20:14:29.727-06:00New Year, New PromisesSo today is the beginning of a new year and WOW! How different my life is a year later. I started 2010 with a whole lot of soul searching. There was such a sense of incompleteness that few were able to understand. I had 3 healthy and beautiful children, a great husband and a good career. What possibly could be missing?
As a child, I accepted the Lord as my Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-73949381906134984642010-12-05T20:25:00.001-06:002010-12-05T20:49:47.935-06:00True Faith and Hope in the ImpossibleIt is interesting how in my mind I have blogged several times. Great thoughts that never make it to virtual paper. I am going to diverge from the story telling of the last trip to update on Melissa's status. In the last month, the Roberts (missionary family in Haiti I serve with) have been working on the paperwork and such for Melissa's birth certificate, passport and visa. Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-63117316193784659202010-11-04T12:51:00.000-05:002010-11-04T12:51:49.518-05:00The ResultsWe arrive back at the guesthouse and blessedly I held the contents of my stomach in place. Once there things happened swiftly. Dr. Serge Geffrard had the portable Echocardiogram machine set up in one of the guest rooms and proceeded with Melissa's exam. Initially, I was downstairs trying to eat a bite to settle my stomach. I walked upstairs and began to watch the ECHO Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2336641426719850800.post-63872287356622705572010-11-03T10:42:00.003-05:002010-11-03T16:21:30.767-05:00Faith...I am not sure right now why I didn’t blog while I was in Haiti. For those few out there who read this, I apologize profusely. The time up to this trip and the travel down was so blessed and smooth. When I arrived, the hard reality of my faultiness and humanity smacked me like an oncoming train. Such a big talker I have been about remaining faithful and going with the flow of God’s will. I had Dr. Jennyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13044083475784431526noreply@blogger.com3