I've Been Waiting for This Moment for All My Life...

I know... I didn't see the Phil Collins coming either, but what are you going to do?

As of July 19, 2010,  Nathan Brent Rosenlof is official!

Here we are with Grandma Rosenlof, Grandma and Grandpa Olson and Judge Laycock!

Judge Laycock was very funny.  She wanted to make sure we knew that once she signed the papers, it was done.  She said if we changed our minds when he turned 16, she would be retired and "there would be no one to help us".

When she read the official declaration, she said she was granting him all rights, privileges, etc including "inheritance, if there's any money left by the time you die"....

She also admitted that we were lucky that these things didn't happen before a jury because Nathan's so cute one of the jurors might try to run off with him.

Forever, Little Man!  I'm your Mama forever. 

You're stuck with us now. 

And I don't know if anything's ever made me happier!

Things That Make Me Smile

Brent has this supplement that's supposed to give you a full day's nutrition from vegetables or something.  It supposedly has a "New Green Apple Flavor" but I think it tastes like DEATH.

He mixed some up the other day and of course, Nathan wanted some because he always wants what you have.  Brent put a bit in a cup and Nathan eagerly slurped it down.

Then he made a face and said, 'That's TERRIBLE".

The only time we've heard him use that word but it was CLASSIC!
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 I have this firm foam roller that I use to stretch my back.  It's about the same length as Nathan and 6-8 inches across, maybe.
I usually use it after Nathan's asleep.

The other day he and I were in my room at the same time.  I arched my back, put my lower hand on my back and said to myself, "Man, my back is killing me."

From across the room I heard, "Nathan get it!"  He ran to where I store the roller, pulled it out (even though it's the same size as him) and laid it on the floor.  Then he patted it and said, "For Mama... Right here."

I think I cried just a little bit at how completely sweet and lovely my little boy is.
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Nathan's Nursery leaders sing different songs than I do.  The other day after Church I heard him singing to himself, "E-I-E-I-Nathan!"

(He moved on to "E-I-E-I-Mommy" and "E-I-E-I-Grandma"... just that part. I"m not sure what the rest of the song is for him... )

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And finally... my mom sent me this link the other day.

http://catalogliving.tumblr.com/

The author pretends that the pictures in catalogs are from a real house, inhabited by a couple named Gary and Elaine and she points out how completely ridiculous things would be if you actually tried to LIVE in the "perfect" house.

It's good for a laugh.  Enjoy!

Belhaiti.org update, part II

Added a little slideshow to the homepage.

Stop by and check it out, and sign the guest book while you're there.

The pictures of what has to be cleared off the land will make you grateful for whatever flower beds you might be responsible to weed in your own personal yard.

Bèlhaiti.org

Well, we have a beginning site up for belhaiti.org.  It's got all the generic pictures that came with our domain host's software, so we'll be updating and adding pictures of the land, the people, etc in the very near future.

Please swing by and sign the guestbook!

Then maybe I can figure out who actually reads this blog.  :D

"My Perfect World Would Be a Whole Lot Perfecter if That Would Work"

I actually heard someone say that the other day.  It made me giggle.  It also made me think of this sweet face:

It's never seemed right that Miss Jess wasn't home.  There were too many miracles that brought us to her in the first place for it to just end with a man taking her and trying to sell her to us.

I received a very sweet letter from our dear friend, Shannon this week.  Shannon is one of the founders of Haitian Roots.  She was in Haiti on the last trip in June to see the property.  She and Chareyl knew that we were hoping to find out SOMETHING about Jessica on that trip.  She told me of a very sweet experience they had in Haiti. 

She told me that at one of the Haitian Roots activities they had on this trip, Brent was introduced to a little girl in the HR program named Viviana and that Brent and Viviana just "fell in love with each other".  (No, we're not adopting Viviana - that's not what this story is about).

She sent me these pictures of Brent with Viviana.



She said that it was just so sweet to watch them together.

Shannon said, "I've been praying for you guys and Jess a lot and going to Haiti I kept thinking, 'It is so sad that Jess can’t be with her family.  But that’s Haiti.  I truly hope that Brent and Lori can at least get some closure from this trip.'"

She said the day after they met Viviana, she was sitting at the restaurant with Brent.  She said she'd been preparing to tell Brent that maybe it was time for the Rosenlofs to "move on" and let Jessica go.  She was prepared to tell him that maybe the experience with Viviana had been a sign that there could be a different little girl out there for the Rosenlofs.

But what she experienced next wasn't what she'd expected.

"As I talked to him about how his little experience with Viviana seemed to be some kind of a message, I was seriously surprised and almost shocked at the waves of the Spirit that kept pouring over me and telling me, 'You were wrong before.  Viviana’s love WAS a message.  They can’t give up hope.  They MUST have hope.'  Even typing that, I am covered in goose bumps again."

She continued, "Why?  What does it mean? I don’t know.  I know I am not to receive revelation for you.  Yet when there is truth, the Spirit will testify of it.  What is that truth?  Should you not give up because she IS STILL COMING TO YOU?  I do NOT know.  But I do know that you still need to have HOPE."

 I agree with Shannon - I know that there have been so many miracles in this process that I couldn't have planned out the way things would turn out to get Nathan home.  I know God knows the beginning, the end and everything in between.  I know that the Spirit is the way the Lord helps us recognize truth, and I know that, through all this or whatever else life throws at us, we have to have HOPE.

The Lord never cheats anyone.  That includes Miss Jess.  That includes the man who has her right now.  That includes us. 

Do I know what's next for us or Jess?  No.  But I know we can keep praying for Miss Jess every day and hope that she can come home soon.  And we can be ready for wherever and whatever the Lord has in store for us. 

Songs from the Heart

Some time ago, I posted a video of the little song Brent made up for Mr. Nathan.

Nathan still loves that song.

But Nathan's found his own variations.

Sometimes, he'll come up to me and sing, "Ki se bebe Mommy".  And then he'll go through everyone he knows, including our dogs:

Ki se bebe Grandma,
Ki se bebe BobbyJones
Ki se bebe Daddy


You get the idea.

The words don't make sense - in Kreyol anyway.  But it's Nathan's way of explaining that he knows that we, like that little song Papa made up for him, belong to him.