Sweet Email from Homeland Security

I was just cleaning out my email and found this one that I'd saved. I want to put it in Nathan's book so I thought I'd post it here.

Angie is the person on the other end of the generic alias the government gave to all the families.  I spoke to her and emailed her a lot during our saga getting the kids home earlier this year. 

I thought this was very kind of her to send and it is a good reminder about how many people were touched by the events to get the children home from Haiti.

Received March 24, 2010

"Hi Lori,  

I hope this message finds you all doing well and Nathan enjoying his newest adventures.  I received your note and burst into tears when I saw his tiny handprint. Sometimes we get so focused on all the work of making phone calls, sending e-mails all day long, meeting after meeting that I actually lose sight of WHO the work is for. Nathan’s little hand is absolutely the best thank-you I’ve ever received! I proudly display it on the outside of my office (also with pictures of Fabrice) so that everyone on the team gets to share. Actually I know that your letter has been taken down several times and walked around to several offices here at USCIS headquarters in DC.

I’ve been meaning to write but things remain at the same frantic pace for us here – the team is still working 12 to 14 hour days to continue as many evacuations as we can.  Earlier this month the Haitian government began requiring passports for all of the children before they can leave Haiti so that’s caused some additional scrambling for us and adds an additional burden for the parents anxiously waiting here in the U.S.  All in all though the process is still working and it is a good sign that Haiti has recovered so much so quickly. [IBESR is also functional again.]

I just wanted to say hello, and let you know that even though you’re back home, you all are still in our thoughts.

Kindest regards,

Angie

Haitian Adoptions Team

U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services

U.S. Department of Homeland Security"

Collin's Official

Tuesday we went with TiTi and Collin to see Collin's adoption finalized.

I figured this was a once in a lifetime shot - Tia as an "Inmate"

Mr Collin has some serious ab muscles... particularly for a 2 year old!

ALL LEGAL!!  Thank you Judge McDade

Amazing how tearful something so serious and formal can make you!

Congrats, Titi and Tollin!!  We love you!

The Ply! The Ply!

My sweet son is apparently terrified of bugs.  (I think he gets it from his dad.  Brent doesn't "do" spiders.)

There's a house fly here in the office today.  Nathan keeps yelling that the "ply" is going to "get you a Nathan" (get Nathan).

Thanks for being such a sweet little bug, Little Man.

This is Nathan's "I'm getting ready to jump off the step" pose...

This is Nathan's "funny face"

And this is what makes every day amazing

Just Being Neighborly....

I've seen this couple riding by in the evenings on their bicycles many times.  I've always thought they were sweet, riding along together so slowly. 

Last night when they came by, Nathan and I were outside, enjoying the evening.



They stopped and asked if they could spray our thistles.  She said if they get them at this time of year, it keeps them from cropping up on their land (which is apparently downwind from us) AND it makes everyone else's property thistle-free.


How awesome are they - riding along, hunting thistles and spraying them for everyone to be spared the prickly madness??

What a good reminder to quietly find ways to serve.

No, Really... He's Not Cursing or Speaking Kreyol...

There's a very wonderful woman in our ward named Jamie that Nathan and I sit by when we go to sacrament meeting. She brings treats for Nathan and always tucks a toy or two into her bag for him.

When I get Nathan dressed for Church, I tell him we're going to go sit by Jamie, and he gets excited.  He really loves Jamie.

The other week, Nathan came to Church in his "Señor Cranky Pants" mode.  He was grumpy and ornery and didn't want to be reverent, thanks for shopping.

So there we were as they're passing the sacrament and Nathan is screaming that he wants Jamie (who wasn't there that week).  What comes out of his mouth (loudly and repeatedly) is:

"No, Mama!  Dam-me!  Dam-me!  Dam-me!"

Interesting looks from the people sitting around us to say the least!

We love you, Jamie!  Thanks for being a great neighbor and friend!

Micro Waves

Tia posted a few days ago about Collin's fear that the big black box on the wall won't give his food back.  He doesn't get why Mama feeds it before she feeds him.

Nathan's pretty much the same.  Doesn't understand the microwave, doesn't want to wait for whatever Mama's waiting for, just wants FOOD and NOW.

I've tried explaining it to him, but well... he's TWO.  Logic and English are lost on him quite often.

I thought we'd finally had a breakthrough, though, last week.   I'd warmed up a bowl of Asian noodles and veggies for him for lunch.   He was eating and playing and playing and eating, but he seemed to really like the noodles.

About 20 minutes later, he gave me the bowl back (which was now mostly just veggies) and pointed at the microwave and very clearly wanted me to put the bowl back in the microwave.

I felt the veggies and they were cool, so I thought, "Wow!  He finally gets it.  He wants them warmed up again!"

I nuked it for a few seconds and handed the bowl back to him.  His excitement as I took the bowl out of the microwave was obvious.

He looked at the bowl, and looked at me, and back at the bowl and said, "Mama... where noodles go?"

Oh, sweet friend...  The box on the wall doesn't magically PUT the NOODLES in the BOWL.  But bless your sweet heart for thinking that it did.

That WOULD be an impressive piece of machinery.

And we're back to square 1 on explaining what the microwave actually does for his food...

Haiti Update

We've been able to talk to Papa every day and check in with him.  They've had a very successful week for the new Children's Village project. 

They were able to meet with the surveyor and find out about the water table.  They were able to make connections with the School of Architecture at the University of Haiti and those students were able to meet with the U of U students that had traveled down on this trip.  Brent said they spent a day driving around and looking at the damaged buildings and determining what was flawed so they'd know what not to do.

They put a sign up on the property      
(we'll have to get Brent to tell us what the sign says, since you can't read it.... it's something about the new children's village and how it's a joint venture with Haitian Roots, the U of U, Common Studios and Bel Haiti.  Brent said the sign is awesome, but the professor from the U said, "But it's BLUE"  ;)   )

He said the people in the village are VERY excited for this new development.

That's just the short list of the things they've done this week.

What they haven't been able to do is spare the driver for several hours to take Brent to where Jessica was last known to be.

However, Brent said that he's made some good contacts - some people that are willing to help us get this sorted out.

It's always bothered me that we had to pay hundreds of dollars to have DNA testing done to prove that Jessica's birth mother was her birth mother and was therefore legally able to relinquish her, but this man can just show up and take her from the orphanage and no one knows that he is the birth father.  Additionally, Jessica has 2 half siblings (one older, one younger) and all three of them have different fathers.  This man did live with Jessica's mother 4 years ago, but Jessica's mom didn't tell him she was pregnant before she left him and didn't tell him he was a father at any point in the last 3 years (I guess I"m trying to say that it's questionable that he's really her father).  The people that Brent's been able to make contact with said that what this man has done isn't legal in Haiti, either.  He's not on her birth certificate.  He doesn't have any legal right to her unless he can prove he actually is her father.  Apparently he was abusive to Jessica's birth mother, so she's afraid of him (even to protect her daughter).  At any rate, there may be things we can do in the legal channel in Haiti to address the fact that he took her and then wanted to sell her to us (yeah.... father of the year material all the way around)

I just wanted to post a quick update so you'd know that we haven't made the progress we'd hoped, but we have made other traction and that there may still be more to come in Jessica's saga.  Thank you for the prayers and support.  We really appreciate it!

Hindsight

one 2 year old screaming that "No! No! No!" he doesn't want to go to daycare

+

one moment of temporary insanity where it seems like a good idea to attempt to reason with said 2-yr old

+

attempting to backout of the garage at the same time

________________________________________

you will rip the sideview mirror off the car

It's really simple math when you think about it....

Haiti Update - Request for Prayers

I wanted to make everyone aware that Brent's going to Haiti next week.  He'll be traveling with the other non-profit we've partnered with and with students from the U of U School of Architecture.  They'll be visiting the property that we've purchased and assessing it as well as visiting some other orphanages in the area to find out what works and what doesn't about their buildings.

I haven't talked a lot about what we've found out about Jessica in the last few months.  People don't understand how things work in Haiti and how the culture is there.  Harry tells us that Jessica's birth father is "a devil man" and that he threatened Jessica's birth mother that he would kill Jessica if the birth mother tried to regain custody of Jessica.  We've also been told that the birth father has a sister that has told him she'll send him a monthly support check "as long as he has Jessica".  So our Miss Jess is a cash cow for him.  

Jessica was granted Humanitarian Parole the same day Nathan was, so technically, we'd be able to bring her home if the birth father changes his mind again.  

With that in mind, the other thing we hope to accomplish on this trip is to make contact with Jessica and her birth father.  As wonderful as it has been to finally be parents and to have Nathan home, it still doesn't feel "right".  It doesn't seem like it's supposed to be just Nathan.  It's been a real struggle, particularly for Brent because he saw the conditions she's living in.  It still feels like Miss Jess is our little girl.

We're praying that Brent and Harry are able to find Jessica and her birth father and that they'll find Jessica to be healthy and happy.  We're also praying that we'll at least be able to find peace about this situation if it's truly not meant for Jessica to be part of our family.

We're praying for miracles.

We ask that you join us with your prayers (or at least your positive thoughts if you're not the praying kind) that we'll be able to get some sort of resolution and peace with this trip. 

Thank you for your continued love and support,

Brent and Lori

"It's Not That I'm a Waffle Racist - I Just Like Mine White"

Heard someone at work say that this last week. And I totally agree. Waffles and cookies shouldn't be crispy (in my opinion).

We've been a bit under the weather all the way around this last bit. I've vacillated between having no voice and doing my best "Marge the Queen of the Trailer Park" impersonation this last week. The funny part is that Nathan's taken to trying to imitate me. He's one funny kid.

He's decided he lives the movie, "Cars". I love to hear him ask for it because when he says "Lightening McQueen" it comes out "Miney All Clean".

He's also slightly obsessed with the "Move It Move It" song from Madagascar. We're quickly approaching the point where we either need to "ruin" the DVD or you'll have to commit Brent and/or me to an instution!

Plus, it's only slightly maddening when you're trying to teach your 2-year old how to be reverent in Church and he keeps yelling, "No, Mama!  I like to move it move it!"

Love my Little Man!  Even more than I love blond waffles.

Crud, Crud, Go Away...

Spent the evening at the Urgent Care. Brent has pneumonia again. He coughed so hard he blacked out in front of the doctor and kinda fell out of the chair.

The doc thought about admitting him to the hospital, but I told him Brent's a stubborn ox.

Nathan has been just awesome and patient with all these doctor/hospital visits lately. He's a very good boy.

Now if we could just get Brent to bed since rest is what he needs right now.

Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn....

Sometimes, It's the Little Things

Life has been busy, busy, busy lately and I haven't been very good about staying on top of things.  Plus there's crud going around our house - Brent's hacking like he did when he returned from Haiti this last time and Nathan's nose bubbles a lovely shade of green.

Sometimes you have to remember what's important.  People, feelings, gratitude.  These are important.  Things - not so much.  Sometimes you have to slow down and remember.

My mom sent me an email she received from her cousin, Sherry.  Sherry's mom is my great aunt Lola.  I remember hearing my grandmother talk about them so very many times.  In my head, the name "Wes" is automatically followed by "Lola" because that's how grandma always referred to her brother and his wife.  

I don't remember the last time I saw Sherry, or her parents.  I know Sherry and her dad came to my grandmother's funeral.  

So, needless to say, I was surprised to see this email from Sherry:

"I have to share something with you. I write to my mom and when I do, I also enclose notes and comments I've received from others. This has included e-mails and notes from telephone conversations. I also forwarded all of the newsletters that I received at Christmas. Mom has enjoyed them all!

In a recent letter, I hope you and Lori don't mind, but I copied out her wonderful "El Camino" story and sent it with my letter. I had sent her your Christmas letter and so she knows what Nathan looks like. I also kept her appraised during the earthquake crisis and all that your daughter and her husband were going through.

From what I've heard, she cried when she read the letter and really, really enjoyed the story. She has shown it to EVERYONE who has visited. We have a lady named Coco who we've hired to check on mom several times each week. She also is there when mom's physical therapist is there so she can be mom's voice. She has also helped transport mom to a couple of doctor's appts. when no one in the family could make it. Well, Mom was trying to tell her something and she couldn't get it out; so finally she wrote out the word "Haiti". Then she got the letter out so Coco could read the story again. She asks everyone to read it out loud so she can also hear it again! You have to understand in addition to being aphasic, mom also cannot write. This is something we have been working with her on as well as her speech.

So--please let Lori know how far reaching her story has gone! We now all "know" just how much she loves El Caminos!  :o)"

My mom included these words with her forwarded note:

"I cannot begin to tell you what this means to me, to know that her mom cares about Nathan.  Especially to have her write “Haiti” when they have struggled to get her to write much of anything since her stroke.

Our little man has endless potential for doing good!"

Thank you, Great Aunt Lola, for the reminder that it's the little things that matter.  It's the way we touch each other's lives that matter more than most other things we encounter in this world.  And thanks for the reminder that we ALL have an endless potential for doing good!

FOX 13's story

Part One



Part Two

 

 Thank you, Sandy.  You did a very nice job.

Todd's Yard Sale!

Saturday was the B98.7 Todd's Yard Sale at the E-Center!

Todd and Erin have been very good to us and they arranged for half of the "booth fee" to be donated to Hope!

We raised $1400 for Hope!

It was a busy, fun day. Here are a few pictures of our adventure:

Believe it or not, there's a little boy in the pile of toys there... that's my Nathan!  And to think I was originally worried about what we'd do to keep him occupied...

Todd can't believe this high-quality genuine particleboard computer desk didn't sell....  (shocker!)

Todd and Erin were just awesome!  Collin played hide-and-seek with Todd - and his mom said he is still runs around the car and says, "Where is he??"

Nathan was DONE by the end of the day!  It was fun, but EXHAUSTING!

Buddies

We get to see Collin and Tia quite regularly.  We've even had sleepovers with the whole family.

Now that we're in our new house, we're just over half a mile from "Tollin and Ti-Ti".  

The boys will go to the same school when they get older.  We go to church in the same building (but at different times)

I'm so happy these boys will be buddies as they grow up.

We love you, Tollin and Ti-Ti!

Updates and Stuff

For all the pictures on this blog, there isn't one of "the family".

Let's fix that, shall we?

==========

We're visiting B98.7 tomorrow morning at 7:50 AM to talk about Haiti and HLAH with some of our other friends from the O.  If you're in the area and available, feel free to tune in.

Todd and Erin (the morning DJs on that station) are big supporters of Hope.  They have their annual "Todd's Yard Sale" this weekend at the E-Center and Hope is one of the charities that is being supported through their fund raising efforts there.

I ♥ them.  Thanks, Todd and Erin (and the Aitkens, who made them aware of all this in the first place!)

Come by on Saturday and see us!

==========

Nathan has a fascination with the letter "W".  Actually, the sound of the name "W", I guess, is more appropriate.  He doesn't actually know what a "W" is (he is only 2, after all) but we've been singing the Alphabet Song with him (among other things)  He really likes the way that sounds though because I'll find him singing "Double-yoo.... double-YOO" to himself all the time.  

===========

It's also awesome to see him play with his food.  That's a big change from the starving little Haitian we brought home a few months ago.  And when I say "play with his food", I mean "PLAY".  There were car tracks from the El Camino on the piece of cheese that he didn't want during dinner tonight.  

===========

Yes, he still loves his El Camino.  I think it's adorable.

===========

My dad has an enormous aquarium in his front room.  Nathan and I went to visit Grandma and Grandpa last night.  Nathan loved the fish.

Tonight, I was looking at a picture book with him.  I turned the page and there were some fish on the page.  He said, "Grandpa" then shook his head and said, "fish".

===========

Have I mentioned he's adorable??

Unsolicited Advice...

Dear Man in the Truck for Some Sort of Dry Wall Business With the Name "Anubis" in the Title,

We don't know each other but I wonder if we could have a little chat.

Apparently you REALLY like Ancient Egypt.  You probably saw that traveling Egyptian exhibit that came to town when we were kids and you were just as awed as the rest of us by the quality and quantity of stuff a dead guy can own.

I get it.  I do.  I like Ramses as much as the next guy.

(Either that or your name is actually Anubis, in which case, I think you should sue your parents for malpractice.)

But I have to wonder if the name of your business is actually affecting, well... your business.

Subconsciously, people have to wonder if they really want to give a guy with an apparent fascination with the Egyptian God of the Dead access to the space between their walls.  Seriously.  

Most of us have seen at least one episode of CSI.  Have you SEEN the things that can apparently happen??  (although those things are apparently far more likely in Las Vegas, Miami or New York).

If business isn't good, you might want to think about it.

I'm just saying....

Love,

Me

You know you need a water filtration system at your new house if...

...the Haitian in the household makes a face and refuses to drink the water from the tap.


Have you SEEN what passes for drinking water there??

I Want a Divorce...

...from my husband's kidneys.

Just the kidneys.

Mostly the left one.

We spent the morning at the ER again yesterday.  Apparently he had more stones queued up in his kidney.  They didn't mention that to us until we went back in and then it was like, "Oh, yeah... there were others in your kidney on that CT scan the other week".

Not that we could have done anything about it.  I guess sometimes knowing isn't half the battle.

Deseret News cont.

There is a nice little video that Mike Terry crafted that goes along with the story. Mike spent several days as well in Haiti documenting what happened. He also was at the airport when we were leaving and stayed in Miami while everyone picked up their kids. Most of the great photos from Miami and at the PAP airport were his.

www.deseretnews.com/video/1809/Haitian-adoptees-keep-the-story-alive-for-some-Utahns.html

Haitian adoptees keep the story alive for some Utahns

By Elizabeth Stuart

Deseret News

LEHI — Burly and bald, Brent Rosenlof looks gruff behind a no-nonsense goatee, but he trails his 2-year-old son like a well-trained puppy. 

Kitchen. Living room. Bedroom. Repeat.

"Nathan's pretty much the center of our lives these days," Rosenlof said, scooping up the 24-pound toddler and tossing him, happily squealing, into the air. It's clear the big man would have it no other way. 

Three months ago, Nathan, left homeless by a 7.0 earthquake that rocked his Haiti orphanage, was sleeping on the concrete in a country made so desperate that some child-care workers reported being robbed by armed gunmen. Rosenlof and his wife, Lori, held their breath as the little boy, whom they had been trying to adopt since his birth, secured refugee status, was strapped into a charter plane and joined them in their Lehi home.

Since then, about 1,000 Haitian children, whose parents had filed adoption applications before the Jan. 12 quake, have been flown to the United States. Around 3,000 children — some orphaned before the quake, some during — remain in temporary shelters in the rubble-strewn country. 

In Utah, Nathan is getting healthier by the day. His belly, protruding bloated from the top of his too-big cargo pants, is one of the few remaining indicators of his deprived past. Now that he's done two rounds of antibiotics and gotten most of the parasites out of his system, Nathan, once a lethargic, clingy baby, is an ever-moving tornado zigzagging through the house, small toy car in hand.

The family couldn't be happier — at least, that's what the Rosenlofs know they ought to report.

In reality, the Rosenlofs are still pacing, tormented by the damage done to a country they have come to call their "second home." Sometime during the "two years of hell" the couple spent wading through paperwork, trying to rescue little Nathan from an orphanage with too many children and not enough rice, they fell inexplicably, head-over-heels in love with desperately poor, crime-riddled Haiti. She gets tears in her eyes holding her little boy in her arms, but, Lori Rosenlof said, "Nathan is such a minor, minor part of this deal. There was much to be done before the earthquake. There's even more now." 

So, in between teaching Nathan important English phrases like "I love you" and keeping the perpetually hungry boy supplied with avocados, the Rosenlofs are gathering support to help the children still in Haiti. Other Utah parents, connected to the island nation through their own little bundles of joy, are rallying to their cause.

"My family may not be all Haitian by blood, but we're pure Haitian by heart," said Shannon Cox, a Riverdale mother of four. Her 5-year-old son Andre, as she explains it, "just happened to be born in a Haitian orphanage."

During the adoption process, Cox started the nonprofit Haitian Roots, which provides scholarships so children can attend school. The nonprofit, along with the Rosenlofs' nonprofit, Hope for Little Angels of Haiti, is making plans to build a school, a boarding home and an orphanage facility.

"I've been to slums, I've been to Third World countries," Cox said. "Haiti makes them all look like paradise. I can't take away one child and forget about everyone else who's left behind."

David Aitken, an Eagle Mountain businessman who welcomed home three little Haitians in January, has persuaded his place of employment, HIT Web Design, to donate $4,000 a month to support the endeavor. Other parents are collecting items for a charity yard sale. 

Last week, parents collected enough money to purchase a plot of land. They've hired the University of Utah and a non-profit architecture firm to draw up the plans. Constructions set to start in early June.

"My kids are safe, but that doesn't stop our responsibility to take care of those who can't take care of themselves," Aitken says. "Those children have nothing."

In the meantime, Utah's adoptive parents, a tightly knit group pulled together by common experience, are trying to savor the good moments.

Brent Rosenlof, who has taken a leave from work to play "stay at home dad," is already sharing one of his favorite pastimes — professional sports — with the little boy. Nathan recently attended his first Jazz game. Lori Rosenlof is busy teaching the 2-year-old about the wonders of grocery shopping ("he just kept grabbing food and putting it in the cart," she said) and figuring out his favorite foods. Right now, she said, "It's avocados. Weird, I know."

Nathan himself is busy enjoying having two grown adults wrapped around his itty-bitty finger.

"Bijou!" he tells his parents (and anyone else who will listen), offering his dimpled cheek up expectantly. That's the Creole word, his doting mother explains, for "kisses."

She gladly obliges.

Because Anything that Will Keep This From Happening Is Worth It...

I promise, I'm not a media whore.

We interviewed tonight with the Deseret News (thanks, Elizabeth!) for an article running on Friday.

We've also had reporters and cameramen from Fox 13 and KSL come by an interview us in the last week for pieces they're doing on Haiti or international adoption that will air in May or June.

I promise, we're not actively seeking this out.  We try to keep low key about the events.  I mean, I didn't even do a blog post a couple weeks ago when some people from that Oprah lady's show called us.  We obviously, didn't do her show - yet but it may be a possibility.  (They were trying to gather some information for a piece they were considering doing on Haitian adoptions so they talked to us and to Chareyl.  We'll see.)

I know some of the other families that have recently brought children home are hesitant to do interviews and I totally get that.  If Nathan was older or could talk, we'd feel differently as well. 

I'm sure the neighbors (who don't know us that well but have seen cars emblazoned with the logos of the local stations in our driveway) are starting to wonder if we're running a meth house or something.  It's generally not a good thing when the news are always around, right?

I feel like we have an obligation to keep Haiti on the minds of the people around us.  We do have the nonprofit that we have to keep on people's minds, so we bring that up (even if they want to talk about international adoption, they end up hearing about Hope)  :)

Even if it freaks out the neighbors - even if people get sick of hearing from the Rosenlofs - I feel like we have an obligation to keep Haiti and her people on the minds of those around us. 

Because anything - ANYTHING - that could possibly keep this from happening:

is worth it to us!!

The Big Announcement

Many of you have been wondering what is up with Hope.

For a lot of reasons that I won't go into in this forum, we cannot continue to work with the current orphanage of Hope for Little Angels of Haiti.  For a lot of other reasons that I also won't go into we cannot keep using that name for fundraising and for our non-profit efforts in Haiti. 

We're not done in Haiti.  We're not done helping orphans.  We're not done trying to make things better. 


We've submitted the paperwork for a new "DBA" and we should have the state's approval back in the next few days.  As soon as that's in my hot little hands, we'll announce the new name and the new logo.


I can, however, tell you what the plans are.

I'd say it was a teaser to hold you over, but this is awesome stuff.  There will be official press releases soon.  But I figure not everyone who supports the org reads this blog and not everyone who reads this blog supports the non-profit, etc, etc. 

Here's the beef.

We've joined forces with Haitian Roots.  We're both still independent non-profit organizations, but we've realized that we have a lot in common with our goals and that both organizations can work well in partnership.

We've combined resources and purchased a nice-sized, multi-acre plot of land in the Haitian countryside.  More on the miracles there later. 

On that land, we will be building a school that will serve 150 children, a boarding home and an orphanage facility to support 50 children. It will be on enough land that they will be able to have chickens for food and income as well as vegetable gardens.  We have some contacts that we trust and know well that are running things on the ground.  The purchase of the land just happened this last week.

Shannon calls it a "Children's Village."  I love that name.   I think of it as a compound, but in a very "non-Waco" sort of way. 


Some of the children that Haitian Roots is sending to school were orphaned during the earthquake.  They're all in the care of a friend of ours down there.  Right now they're all living in tents in the backyard of an orphanage that was damaged during the quake.  It is for this reason that we'll have boarding at the new Children's Village.

See, we don't want to go through this again.  We don't want our people to starve.  We don't want them to be entirely dependent on foreign resources. We want a place where the people in the village can learn skills and learn a way to support their families - even if it's through raising vegetables for resale.  We want a place where the children have room to run and play - which they never did at the last orphanage.  It had a tiny cement spot barely big enough for 2 cars.  For all 68 kids.  We're not doing that again.

I'm happy to report that we've teamed up with the awesome people at Commonstudio.org.  They work with the architecture students at the U of U and they have taken on our project.  They will be studying the list of needs we gave them, the local building materials, the building methods, the land, etc and they will be designing our Children's Village.

We still have a lot of fund raising to do.  We have buildings to build and a facility to develop.  Some of our friends have hooked up again with Todd and Erin of B89.7 and they will be doing some amazing fund raising for us in 2 weeks at their annual Yard Sale.  Watch for more information on that. 

We firmly believe that life is what you make it.  And we're hoping to make a brighter life, a brighter future for Haiti - even if we have to do it one child at a time.

Moving On

I firmly believe that Bank of America is run by criminals.

We made an offer on this house (the one we're currently in) last JULY. We sold our last home in October and made arrangements to move into this one because the bank kept saying that they should be ready to close our offer "within the next month".

They said that again.

And again.

And again.

Now, mind you, the man that owns this house hasn't paid THEM his mortgage payment since December.... of 2008.

TWO THOUSAND EIGHT.

We've been living here, paying HIM rent since the end of October.

I know, I know... we should have not paid him either. But two wrongs don't make a right. We wouldn't have felt right about not paying SOMEONE while living here. Pretty sweet deal for him, huh? He's been renting this place and not paying on it for a long time (there were renters in it before us). He'll have to deal (at some point) with his own dishonesty.

Oh... AND he didn't pay the utilities. We happened to find that out last month before they turned off the utilities. We had to catch up 4 months worth of utility payments. Then we had them all moved to our name.

Yeah, we're getting the shaft on this one.

So, needless to say, when it became apparent that the bank was not going to close on this property in time for us to get the tax credit, we said, "We're moving on".

For those in the area, we're moving back down to the Lehi South Stake area. We'll be in the North Lake I Ward.

We're excited to be back down among the people we've known and loved for the last 8+ years.

I'm very sad about not getting this house. The neighbors have been so fabulous to us, particularly during all the stuff trying to get Brent and Nathan home from Haiti.

And I love this house... particularly the stairs. And the kitchen. And the master suite.

But, apparently it wasn't meant to be.

The house we're moving to is a pretty normal, average house. It's a rambler, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths.  But, it has half an acre. Brent will be happy in the yard for years on this one. Click here if you don't recall the awesome things he did on our .22 acres at the last house.

We did our walk through on the new house this last week.  We'll close this next week.  And then we'll be done.  No more rent that's going to nowhere.   No more "shaft". 

We'll be in a place where we can put up a fence and grass and let Nathan run around in the yard.  Can't wait for THAT part.

Drunk with Laughter

This clip was taken the same day. Brent and Nathan played soccer in the entryway for about 20 minutes and Nathan laughed his head off the whole time.

I've edited this down so you have a good view of this handsome man and a good sample of his awesome laughter.

It's a Boo Day

I've had this little clip for several weeks now.  I think it was taken March 3rd.

I wanted to share with you how cute it is when Nathan sings his favorite song.

We figured out shortly after he arrived home that he already knew some American pop songs.  Brent said when he was in Haiti last, every tap-tap had Beyonce's "Single Ladies" blaring. (It is a catchy song.)   That's one of the ones that Nathan knows.

His favorite, though, is will.i.am's "It's a New Day" from the last election.  You can find the actual song here.

Nathan LOVES this song.  He calls it "Boo Day" because that's how "New Day" comes out when he says it.

It's a tough call for him -do I want to watch Handy Manny or do I want to watch "Boo Day"...

Oh, to have the troubles of a 2 year old...

Sorry that it moves around a lot - it's hard to keep a video camera trained on a 2 year old!

6-9 month shorts and a 2T shirt

This poor kid is too skinny for his own good.  It's a good thing "shorts" weather is coming because the pants that fit him around the waist are WAAY too short.  The ones that fit in length are so baggy that we could probably put Collin in there with him!

I never thought I'd have a two-year old who bursts into tears if I won't let him eat more than one avocado (or "tadotado" as he calls them) at a sitting, but that's what he does. 

Aren't 2 year olds supposed to cry if you MAKE them eat green things??

Dear Nathan,

I picked you up this morning to bury you in hugs before I had to leave for work and I could swear that you had grown taller overnight.

I think you're getting bigger, Little Man.

I swung you around and said, 'Not bigger!  You need to stay my little baby forever!" and then you tried to repeat what I said because that's just what you do right now and the way you said, "No bigger baby ever!" made me laugh.

But I do think you're taller and it scares me just a little because I JUST got you and I NEED MORE TIME.

I need the years we lost.

The years when you were in Haiti and I was here and the Haitian government didn't want to process papers so you could come home.

The years that I didn't know if you were OK and you didn't know if anyone cared and we both could have answered each others concerns but the governments wouldn't let us be together yet.

I need to rock you through your infancy and nuzzle your little neck as you start to crawl and swing you around as you chase me when you learn to walk.

We lost that, you and I.  But I want you to know that doesn't make us any less "one" than if we'd had it.

I can still snuggle you and wrap you up in my arms and relish the way you just seem to fit tucked into my shoulder.

I don't even mind the superbly toxic Chambers of Haitian Secrets that are your "stinky butts" (as Papa's taught you to call your dirty diapers).  I'll change them for a few more years if you'll just promise me that you won't grow up yet.

You are such a joy, Little Man.  You are a silly, wacky, busy, happy, stubborn, temper-ridden ball of goodness.  And I can't believe you're mine.

I have to admit that I am constantly in awe of you.  Sometimes I find myself staring at you and wondering how in the world you came to be and why I'm so blessed to get to be your Mama and if I'll ever get over marveling at how amazing you are.

This evening, I told one of my coworkers I needed to head home so I could see my son.

I don't think you'll ever know how amazing it is to me that I HAVE A SON.

You've done for me something that I couldn't do - you made me a Mommy.  I know that sounds silly and that no one can really make themselves a Mommy, but that's what I mean.

Things just didn't work.  And the doctors didn't know why and we didn't know why and I didn't know if I'd ever be a Mommy but you did and Heavenly Father did.

Now I know that I wasn't a Mommy yet because I needed that ache in my heart to grow and grow to where it carried me to you, clear across the country and over the water to the tiny island where you were... sitting... in a boring stuffy house that only had 3 bedrooms but had 68 kids and not enough not enough not enough.

"'Not enough' what?" you ask.

"Anything...Not enough anything."  Not enough room.  Not enough beds.  Not enough toys.  Not enough food.  Not enough love.

And then the earth moved and the buildings fell and hearts changed and they let us bring you home.

I love when we're playing on the floor together, both making "car noises" and driving your trucks, and you look up at me with the most vibrant, sparkling smile that seems to say, "Mama... this is the best day ever!"

I adore that crooked grin you get when something you were trying to do finally works and you're trying to pretend that you're not amazed yourself that it finally came together so you're trying to suppress the grin that is bursting to break out. Your "modesty" makes me giggle.

Today Papa taught you how to say, "Hello, baby.  What's your sign?" and then you called me at work to share your new pickup line.  I love the little inflection in your voice when you say, "Hel-low, BAY-bee", trying to imitate Papa's "fake sexy voice".

I chuckle that you think you can get out of going to bed by pretending the thing you need more than anything else in the world is a hug from Mama RIGHT THEN.

I'm so on to you, Little Man.

Of course, you'll still get the hug because you've been through horrible things and you've been on such a tiring journey to get to this place where you have your own room and you actually HAVE a bed.

We learned this last week of some of the other horrors that you and your friends from the O had to endure and I can't believe you're all sane.  You're strong, Little Man.  You're stronger than Mama, but Mama won't tell you that.

It's one of the rules, I think.  The Mamas are supposed to pretend like they're fine and not that their hearts are breaking over what you've already endured.  And I don't know what I can ever do that will be enough to make up for what you've had to live through.

But having you home... that's enough.

Just don't grow up yet.  I'm not ready.

Love,

Mama

Romancing the Stone

Brent and I are having a bit of an argument.

He thinks that, when he's in excruciating pain from a kidney stone, I should somehow whip out some amazing supernatural driving skills and fly through traffic a bad "Starksy and Hutch" car chase scene.

I, on the other hand, think it would be very bad for us to get in an accident and possibly kill ourselves (or someone else), while I'm trying to rush him to the Emergency Room.  I keep picturing myself arrested and telling the judge, "But Your Honor, my husband had a KIDNEY STONE."  I don't think it would help me avoid time in the slammer.

Do I break traffic laws while we're going to the ER?

You betcha!

Do I use the emergency shoulder lane to pass all the cars waiting in line to turn at the light and weave my very large Dodge Magnum through traffic like a fighter pilot dodging (no pun intended) enemy fire?

No. No, I do not.

Why?

Because, my friends, I suck at driving.  I admit it.  I hate it.  I've been in an accident... or two.  Possibly three - but I wasn't driving for the third one.  I would much, much rather not do it at all.  To the point that I'll put off errands of any type to avoid driving.

Two adults with no kids at home can go a LONG time between runs to the grocery store, by the way.

I drive a good distance to work every day so I'm kind of numb to it now but I really hate it.  The very sound of a road trip makes me want to cough up a hairball.  There's nothing appealing to me about long periods of time behind the wheel - no matter the destination.

So, needless to say, both times that I had to run Brent to the ER yesterday there were some... firm words... exchanged between us. 

This stone is a "little" one, compared to some in the past.  I really pray he can pass it without surgical intervention like the last few.

Sorry that you're hurting, Brent.  And I'm sorry I suck at driving.  But at least we're all alive.

Nathan, by the way, was VERY patient with us and all the hours spent at the hospital yesterday.  He did tell me multiple times that we were "All Done" but he really did pretty well for a 2 yr old that has no idea what's going on or why Mom doesn't want him to run in this beautiful, wide open hallways that echo.  Thank you for being a good kid, Nathan.

Easter

Aunt TiTi's family invited us to come over for the extended family Easter Egg hunt and dinner at Mom Simpson's house.

I've known Tia for almost 20 years.  Her older brother was one of the guys I hung out with in High School.  And, her older sister was Brent's first girlfriend.  I guess you could say we go "way back". 

Mom Simpson hides plastic eggs all over their half acre yard.  HUNDREDS of them.  Over 500 eggs this year in her backyard.  They're strategically hidden by height so the older you are the higher off the ground you're required to look when hunting for hidden eggs.

She also hides bananas.  Three for each grandkid.  They're easir for the little ones to spot and healthier for them all to eat.  Plus, if they miss one, they don't smell bad when they rot.  :)

She gave each kid a basket and announced there were enough eggs for each get to get 33 (plus their three bananas) and they were off.

I

 Nathan and Collin caught on quickly to how this game worked.  They had a great time.

The older kids helped them out and Nathan was quite happy to let them find them for him.  Too much running on those little legs.

They searched high and low and basically had a grand time.

Collin is MUCH better at sharing and taking turns than Mr. N.  He's also freakishly strong for his size.

All the candy was new to Nathan.  He really likes Sixlets and Smarties.  Good to know!

Then everyone moved to the Garage (was converted to a dining room for the occasion because it's the only place big enough to seat everyone) and we had a fabulous dinner.

Thanks, Mom and Dad Simpson and family for inviting us and making us feel like family.  We had a great evening. 

(and thanks, Toria, for the pictures!)

It was a PERFECT first Easter for Mr. Nathan!

Grandpa Keith

My grandfather was laid to rest on Saturday.  Nathan did really well (my dad said it wasn't an option for us - Nathan was coming!  He had too many extended family members that he wanted to meet his new Haitian grandson).  He did try to grab the microphone a bit when I said the opening prayer for the services (he kinda has this "thing" where he screams if I leave him) and there was a solemn moment at the cemetary when they were unloading the casket from the hearse and Nathan suddenly noticed the hearse and how shiny it was and started yelling, "Mama!  Mama!  Machin!  Machin!" but other than that he was a trooper.

I come from a large family and everyone wanted to hear him say "El Camino" (and he usually obliged them).

My Uncle Scott did a fabulous job on the eulogy.  He shared some great stories from Grandpa's childhood growing up in a tiny little speck of a farming town... like the time there was a squirrel living in the walls of their farmhouse and Grandpa shot it with his BB gun but he just wounded it so it ran back inside the wall to die there.  I guess the stench was pretty unbearable for awhile there.

There was also a story about the year Grandpa received a gopher trap for his birthday - it's a different world, folks!


We'll miss you, Grandpa.  Thank you for being a "good grandpa".

Scenes that I've Seen

Saw a truck on the freeway the other day that was advertising its business in lawn care.  The side of the truck said,  

"Lawn Gevity"

and I had to give them points for creativity.

However, the best thing I've seen lately on the side of a truck was for an excavating company.  Across the tail gate of the truck in large, shiny font it said:

 "All Our Hoes Are Legal"

 That may be the best really bad marketing line I've ever read.  Good times... Good times...


And then the other day the guys went to lunch and I stayed back.  When they returned they informed us that they'd seen Lance described as a Street Urchin Darth Vader sitting on the side of the road with a sign that said, "Rebels destroyed my Death Star.  Please Help."  I guess there are internet pictures of these sorts of Beggin' Vaders going round the web.  But, really.... "Street Urchin Darth Vader" could be a great name for an album....

-----
My son loves to be with me.  He'll fall asleep in his bed, but then he comes in to my bed at some point (usually around 4) and stays there the rest of the night.  He likes me to sit by him if he's eating.  He likes to sit on me if he's resting.  He likes to follow me into the bathroom if I'm having a little toilet time.

I figure we might as well work on building some skills while we're there.  I'm trying to get him started on a stand-up comedy routine.  So far, his attempt to repeat and say, "So... how many of you are from out of town?" needs some work.  It will probably be quite some time before we try to bring his bathroom stand up to a urinal near you.

Thank You to Geralynn and the boys!

My mommy blogger friend, Geralynn, who lives in North Dakota and has adopted children herself (two of hers are beautiful sons from Haiti) sent a toy in the mail to Nathan.  It an awesome set of wooden trucks that can also be put together like puzzles.  The perfect size for little sweet chubby two year old fingers.  He LOVES his new Machins!
He's figured out they will stack different ways and that they can all make the "VROOM" sound he loves so much.  My mom-in-law stopped by that afternoon with her 3 childhood girlfriends.  She wanted them to meet her newest grandson and of course, Nathan had to show them all the parts of all the Machins.  It was quite cute... this little man holding up part after part and saying, "Machin!" and these sweet grandmas just thinking it was wonderful. 
 
Thank you, thank you for your thoughtfulness.  He LOVES the trucks!

Boatload of Busy

Lots going on...

• My grandpa passed away on Monday.  Yes, the one that Nathan just met at the beginning of March.  He's had leukemia for a a couple of years and had been having a hard time for awhile.  It's a blessing for him - he's no longer in pain.  I'm very grateful my little man was able to meet him before he left us.

• Speaking of Mr. Nathan, he's like a billboard for Johnson and Johnson today because he had so many Band-Aids.  Poor kid got 4 immunizations and had was jabbed multiple times before they could get enough blood for his lab work.  They had to send us over to the hospital lab because he just doesn't bleed well (insult to injury).  This time Papa held him down.  I thought at first that would be awesome.  That was until Nathan started screaming, "Mama!  Mama!  All done!  All done!"  My poor little man. 

• He did do quite a bit of CHARMING on the nurses and the receptionists.  He says, "Whose Your Daddy?" and it's just scrumptious.  They all claimed they wanted to take him home.  (HEY - Go get your own kid!  This one is MINE.  I've waited a LONG TIME for him!!)

• He's seriously doing wonderfully.  He amazes me sometimes.  He's just wacky and happy and singy and dancy and silly and two and WONDERFUL.  If I was to make up an "internet alias" for him right now, I'd call him "Ma-lum Ma-lum".  I have NO IDEA if it's even a word, but he yells and sings it all the time lately. 

• He has also invented this game where I give him a kiss and then he pretends to wipe it off and then I pretend to freak out that he's wiping off perfectly good Mama kisses and he LAUGHS and CACKLES and we do it again.   I'll have to see if we can get that one on film to share...

• Oh, I had another Awesome Mommy Moment plowed over by the El Camino!  Brent called me at work.  He put Nathan on the phone and said, "Nathan, who is that?" 

Nathan said, "It Mama!"

And I said, "I love you, Sweetness"

And he said, "El Camino!"

AARRGGHH!!

• We're excited to see all Nathan's friends from the O next week.  Michelle and family are coming down and so we're having a little shindig for the kiddos to see each other again.  Nathan sees Collin regularly (or "Tollin" as he calls him... "Tollin and Tant TiTi" instead of Collin and Aunt Tia).

• Is it pathetic that Brent's teaching Nathan how to sing "STINKY BUTT! STINKY BUTT!" when he has a bad diaper and I think it's adorable?  It is pathetic, isn't it.  Give it to me straight.

• We've got some awesome stuff going on with the non-profit, but I need to wait for the Public Relations Director (Brent) to finish up the press-release before I update all y'all.  AWESOME, I tell you.