Home...

That’s right we are home!

We got home on Tuesday, April 10 to this amazing crew of support! 

It was a wonderful way to be loved on and cared for!

Two weeks ago today we picked up our sweet daughter from the orphanage to be an orphan no more. It’s almost surreal, no it really is surreal, when I take a few moments and realize we have actually reached this point of the journey.

The Fisher Five Forever

I did a really good decent job of documenting the first couple days for her, but there’s no way I could write it all out here. Just know it was amazing and crazy and a bit of a roller coaster and those first couple of days this mama was just worn out! That has really continued since coming home. Going back to the toddler years (which are even younger than her age) add in communication challenges, trauma, ALL the change, and then pretty much ALL the new things on top of it will surely wear anyone out! But it is SO WORTH IT!

I promised, and I want to keep that promise, to share some of our journey for those of you who have prayed and supported us along the way. I’ve been documenting lots of milestones through pictures on Instagram and Facebook so if you don’t follow me there, it would be a good step to do if you’d like to see the progression of this journey now that she is home. I really am going to try to do a better job of blogging at least for the first year but I can’t promise much because when I go back to work all bets are off. ;)

So, here we go....

The trip began on Thursday April 5th. It started off with a bang as we slept through my alarm and were awoken to a knocking on our door at 5:18am (18 minutes past our planned leaving time). For those of you who know how important it is for me to be on time, you can imagine the chaos that ensued. Alas, our dear friend Nick delivered us to the airport on time and we safely made it out of RDU on our 7:05 flight! The Lord then graced us with the opportunity to fortuitously meet another family adopting from the same orphanage as us waiting for the fight to Haiti (thanks Facebook!). We landed in Haiti around 1pm knowing we would pick up our visa at the Embassy on Friday and then be off to pick up Lonise forever! (FYI autocorrect always changes her name to Louise 😂). We knew that was our one final night to relax so of course it took 1 1/2 hours to get the room safe batteries changed before we could go out and about. It was a true Haiti experience (it involved lots of screw drivers when all that was needed was an allen wrench! HA). Our hotel was just what we needed, we had a true Haitian dinner and enjoyed the view of the lands. Check out these incredible houses in the mountain side!

Friday April 6th - Gotcha Day!

We were up bright and early for breakfast and our awesome driver was there precisely at 7:45! The plan was to head to the US Embassy to pick up her Visa and all our paperwork, stop for a few things at the grocery store and then head to the orphanage for a likely quick pick up/farewells and head back to the hotel for the remaining days! We arrived to the Embassy around 8:50 and it was oddly empty. They had told me they had a modified schedule that day but to come between 8:30 and 11 and we would be good! We hoped out of the car (no electronics allowed or I would have pictures) and headed up to the first security check point. The guard looked at me the following conversation ensued:

Guard: Why are you here?
Me: To pick up our daughters Visa.
Guard: Well we aren't really working today
Me: Smiling -  I am here to pick up our daughters Visa.
Guard: We aren't really working today, do you have an appointment?
Me: They said to come anytime between 8:30 and 11:00.
Guard: Reluctantly sent us through

Security Checkpoint # 2 (Different security guard):

Guard: Why are you here?
Me: To pick up our daughters Visa.
Guard: Well we aren't really working today
Me: Smiling -  I am here to pick up our daughters Visa.
Guard: We aren't really working today, do you have an appointment?
Me: They said to come anytime between 8:30 and 11:00 so I am here to pick up her Visa.
Guard: Sighs, picks up the phone, speaks in Creole and then motions us through the metal detectors.

It appeared as if they were training workers that day because we passed an American giving a tour explaining a new mural designed to promote the stoppage of gender based violence in Haiti. We headed over to the assigned counter (#25) and waited for them to finish a group meeting. I hoped over to the restroom and they were ready for me when I got back. The US side of the adoptions process at the Embassy was THE kindest group of people in the process. They were truly amazing! 5 minutes later, she hands us all our paperwork and a lollipop and this mama had tears in my eyes!

We headed out, off to the store for water, bread and peanut butter (to not eat out so much) and a few other things. We then hoped in our car and had the quickest journey to our orphanage to date! We stepped out of the car and it was just like it was 16 months before, eerily similar! We walked in, were surrounded by lots and lots of Little's and then I began a fairly complex conversation with our translator and and orphanage worker about a mix up regarding the last piece of documentation we needed. I will save that story for another day but suffice it to say it caused our visit to the orphanage to be about 3 hours long of waiting, wondering and some undue stress!

While in the midst of discussing, Daniel was down with the kiddos and I hear "Jennie"... and then another little girl starts tapping my leg and she and Daniel are both saying "Lonise". Little bit had snuck into the middle of the chaos and was just standing there. I stopped talking, bent down, said Bonjou Baby, kissed her sweet cheek and picked her up.

It was NOTHING like we anticipated, but since when has this journey been? Here is our first picture together! I cropped out a dear blessing on this journey that we will share about one day!

I have so much more to share, but it's late... please stay tuned as I plan to blog more about these first two weeks soon!

Almost Home...

We are ALMOST THERE! We received our USCIS approval and now are waiting on her VISA and then we get to go bring our little one home! 

Ya'll this is HAPPENING!

Through this process, we have been blessed with your support, prayers, and encouragement, and we know you are almost as excited as we are for this homecoming!  Thank you for all you’ve done to make this dream come true for us, but our journey is just beginning!  We have been reading and talking with our adoption caseworker about how to help ease our daughter's transition, and we’d like to share with you some insights we’ve learned. We pray you take a few minutes to read this, ask us questions beforehand and know a little more about what the next step of our journey will be like. 

We have come to understand that for us, this is a joyous forming of a family, but for her, this change can be a significant trauma. She is about to be taken from the only home and “family” she has ever known and put into the arms of people who are strangers to her. We understand that we will have to parent her differently, so she will bond with us and learn to trust us.  We are asking for your help as we adjust to our “new normal,” and here are some suggestions for you to help us:

• We would love for you to meet us at the airport, but please keep in mind that we will  have just been through a very long week and put her in a really loud machine that flies (likely to be a little odd) that likely has been stressful for all of us. I can imagine we will not be at our best- ha! So we welcome your grace, hugs for us and our other kiddos and forgive us if we are cranky :).

•  We expect to try and “cocoon” for several days or even several weeks (or change our mind on how long). We know we need time to settle into our routine and to get to know one another.  She has to realize that WE are her new normal and the people that will meet her needs, not all the people coming in and out who may or may not come back (like currently happens at her orphanage). Please let us know if you want to come visit and please don’t be insulted if we decline a visit or ask you to leave after a short stay. It's not personal, it's just sometimes needed! It may also be fine and welcome (again grace needed here).

• We know you want to love on our new daughter, but please help us establish our family as the ones who will meet her needs. No hugs and kisses from you (until we green light it) – hugs and kisses are reserved for mommy and daddy only!  You can absolutely offer a fist bump, a high five, or a sweet wave. We want her to develop healthy relationships and boundaries with all of our friends and family!

• Please feel free to offer help.  Text us and ask what we need from the grocery store; bring us a hot meal (I know a meal train is being set up so we can connect you there). We know we need to accept help; anything we let you do for us will leave us more time and energy to devote to our new family of 5.

• Don’t forget our other girls.  They are likely to feel like they are missing out on the attention they used to get and would welcome the chance to go out for ice cream/cake pops/play date with you.  Offer to take our girls to church or to their sports’ practice.  We want to keep their lives as normal as possible, but we may have our hands full with our new little one, so any help you can offer is appreciated.

• We will likely need empathy and a listening ear, without judgment or just a break for one of us to get away! There are times we may need to talk, vent, question or cry. Just keep being the awesome support system you are!

This journey is life-changing for all of us.  We have endured long and hard for this and though we have tried to prepare in every possible way, we know there will be bumps along the way.  Our strength comes from the LORD, and He has blessed us with an amazing support system of friends and family. Above all we covet your prayers so please keep them coming!

Thank you for all you have done for us as we Journey on to officially become the Fisher Five!