Family Picture

Mommy, Markenley, Taylor, Todd, TJ, Jessica, Solomon, Sharene & Shanay

ice cream at the ball game

Markenley didn't eat his spiderman ice cream, he put it back in he wrapper to save for later. How could i explain that it would melt in the 100 degree weather. Poor guy!

He wanted to taste sisters ice cream!!

Shanay and Markenley

PB and J

Patience, pee pee, and sleeping

Through the whole adoption process I felt the Lord teaching me trust and patience. I feel that now even though the boys are home that still seems to be what i daily pray for. As a Mommy waiting for her kids and praying for them as they are being cared for in an orphanage my heart ached for them. Now that they are home my heart aches for their hearts to be healed. Praying that daily we are doing what is right for them to help with attachment, for them to be secure. As I write this Solomon is playing very sweetly with Jessica and laughing and kissing her...how sweet he is.

On Monday we were at Todd's softball game and Markenley had to go pee pee...there was no bathroom...I figured we would run to the nearest tree...that's what all the boys on TJ's team do. I didn't know how i was going to communicate this to him with my limited Creole. Just then Zach who is a little younger than Markenley heard that we were going to pee and he had to go too! GREAT!!! I had Zach show Markenley how to pee on the tree. I kinda wondered how I would stop this from being a normal thing for Markenley to do. Later that night we were at Safeway and I see Markenley standing up next to a cardboard display saying 'pee pee' looking as if he is going to try to go there...EEEKKKK ..Todd grabbed him and ran to the bathroom. Sheesh....I don't know what I would have done had he gone in the middle of the aisle in Safeway. I need to learn more Creole!!

Last night Solomon refused to go to sleep. I had layed with him for like an hour. It was so hard because as much as I love that time with the boys, I was feeling extremely guilty because I wanted to be downstairs with TJ helping him with his solar system project. Oh the Mommy guilt was building up! TJ is an extremely wonderful brother but he still needs me too.
I decided just to get him up and go help TJ. Solomon was being hysterically funny. He did not seem tired at all. He played and was being goofy as we made an awesome solar system. Later when we went to bed Solomon was sleeping in between Todd and I. He would, in the dark, go over to todd and kiss him, then to me..smooch smooch smooch. Finally I turned to my side and my back was to him. He would tap me and then I would turn to look at him and he would kiss me and then push my head back down..over and over. It was adorable.
I wonder how they were put to bed in the O. Markenley wants to lay on top of todd or I. He falls asleep pretty fast, but if i try to move from the bed when he is still awake he will pull me back to him.
I have read that leaving the room after they fall asleep will only cause anxiety and they will have a hard time falling asleep the other nights. hmmm...could this be why Solomon won't fall asleep as easily, or is there just too much excitement? Or is it because he is a Dunn and the Dunn kids are all night owls?? Solomon used to let his sisters snuggle him during nap time occasionally....as of last night it is only Mommy.
I can honestly say that I feel as if Solomon has been here forever. Markenley is still learning to trust, he is doing good though. He is a funny character, he loves to laugh. We are still trying to figure out the hair...it will need to be re-done soon. A doctor and receptionist both thought he was a girl today....hmmm...what to do. Will Markenley even let me spend that much time on his hair? Everyday I make sure I rub his hair and tell him how much I love it and want to take care of him. We'll see.

love you all.

Bonding!

Ok, the big kids are at school and the two little ones are napping! I have a cold so i feel yucky!
Overall things are going well. The first few days were a blur and I did a lot of worrying about the boys hearts and attachment...but each day brings us all closer. Markenley is a daddy's boy and Solomon is a mommy's boy. Yesterday at church was hard. Todd had to be play and sing during the service and Markenley wanted Daddy. First service I spent holding Markenley in Todd's office while he screamed and yelled for Daddy. After about 20 minutes he calmed down, rested in my arms and even went in the sling. I held him for a while and he was content and then was happy to see Daddy. During the second service he did the same. He does calm down and then we have a special bonding moment. Todd and I have made a concious effort to swap kiddos and he does the after bath massage with Soly and I do the same with Markenley. Putting them to bed is a special time of bonding too. Last night our family walked around the block and Soly was being pushed in his stroller and I held Markenley the whole time...he had a water bottle and each flower we passed he gave a drink of water. The closeness we shared was wonderful. Each day promotes new memories and bonding. We are constantly in awe that they are actually here. Each day also brings new challenges of teaching them...like getting little Soly to not throw his cup, not hit, or spit. He is a super sweet little boy, but when he doesn't like something he will tell you! I have seen that in the toddler room at the orphanage...the clawing and scratching of sweet little kids to get back their prized possession. We don't get upset at them because they don't know any better. These little ones have gone through far more in their little lives than we can ever imagine. We are thanking God that they are here, they are safe and they are loved. Our older kids are doing great with the boys too. They are a huge help and also very understanding of the need for them to bond with Mom and Dad. My little TJ seems so big to us and that is sad!!
Love to you all!
Renee

Ice cream and kisses!!

Solomon and TJ


Taylor, Solomon and TJ...kisses and ice cream?? Wow!

HOT May Day!

Jessica helping Markenley make a basket!

Already wants to drive!
First Ice cream cone...thanks Auntie Tara and Uncle Anthony!
The look!
MMMMMM

Haiti and going Home!

Home from Haiti..Is this real??

Well...we are home...with our sons. We are happy...we are tired! ;) It was an amazing trip. To see the way God orchestrated the final details was more than we could imagine. My dear friend Ann Marie has been such an encouragement to me the last few months. We spoke and emailed a lot. Our files entered at different times but the last few steps they were together...which is odd for Haiti :). To find out we had the same exact day and time for our Visa appointment was a huge blessing. We met in Miami and sat next to eachother flying into Haiti. That was something we dreamed of, and prayed for!
The day we left for Haiti Todd had to perform with our church group at a Festival in town, which he finished at 2pm...we had to run about 10 blocks to my friends Jen and Jeremy's van and rush to catch our 3:15 flight. We had already gotten our boarding passes that morning...but it was still SO stressful! We got to the airport with less than 50 minutes until our flight left. There was not one person in security and we got in and were even able to grab a bite to eat! Praise God.
So...we flew all night and got into Haiti at about 8 am on Mother's Day. The kids were brought to our hotel about 1 pm. What a gift. They did great! Solomon was very quiet at first but by that evening he had perked up. We had a nice Mother's Day dinner with Todd, Ann Marie and Francesca and our sons!!
Our Visa appointment was for Monday morning at 8 am. We arrived a little after 7 am. There was a very long line of Haitians...maybe 500.. waiting to get into the US Consulate. We were able to move to the front of the line, I am assuming that was because we were Americans and had an appointment.
We went in and met Madame Antoine....the lady I would call daily. She seemed so sweet. She smiled and said "oh, Mrs. Dunn.." she was very familiar with who i was!! Funny!
Then we met with Nancy McCarthy..she was very nice. I asked her if she thought that there could be any problems (meaning, do i need to stress until 2:30 when we would have to go back to get the Visa?). She said that it takes a while to get the appointment because they don't want people to come down and then run into issues, that is why they go over it all ahead of time. Our appointment was done before 8 am...our processor Kiki hadn't even shown up yet. He did meet us as we were going out. He is very nice and we were happy that we got to see him.
We went back to the hotel and then sat by the pool with Todd and Ann Marie and visited. A little later Pierre showed up with the kids birth parents. They stayed more than an hour...maybe 2. We had them tape video messages to the kids, while pierre translated.
Later we went swimming...because we were SOOOOO HOT!!! That was nice. Ann Marie and I went back to our rooms because we were exhausted and then our Todd's (yes, both of our hubby's are named Todd) went to pick up our Visa's!!!!!!
I was so tired but the boys were NOT! I could not get them to sleep!! A little while later Todd came back with the VISAS!!!! Yippppeee
Todd also told me that Pastor J was there to take us to see his orphanage. Pastor J is an awesome man of God in Haiti who helped us with our file when it was in MOI....he runs a orphanage with 50 boys and a school with 500 students. He is opening a medical clinic as well.
We grabbed the boys and off we went. It was a blessing to be able to spend time with him as well as see his ministry in action. When we got there a team from YWAM was there and Pastor J invited us to eat dinner with the team. We were so greatful.
Then we went back to the hotel and Todd and I put the boys to sleep and then packed our stuff!! We couldn't believe we got to take our boys home !!
The next day we were off. The flight from Haiti to Miami Soly slept and Markenley played. Then when we got to Miami we had a 4 hour layover because we heard immigration could take hours. Well...it took us (and Todd and Ann Marie) about 30 minutes!!
We both went to check to see if we could get an earlier flight home. Well...we both did!! It was sad to say goodbye to them!! So, we left at 2:30 Miami time and instead of flying to LA, with a 2 hour layover, we flew straight to SF. That meant we got into SF at 5:30 CA time instead of 10:20. It was a 6 hour flight. The boys did awesome!! We were so proud of them.
Jen picked us up from the airport and we got home and the kids were super excited. They kept hugging me saying "is this real?"
That night was crazy with lots of neighbors and friends coming by. But it was good. Markenley had a blast playing ball with the kids on the lawn. Soly did too.
That night we were going to have the boys sleep in our room but Markenley wanted to sleep in his new bed! TJ ended up sleeping with him part of the night. Soly slept with us.
I will post more about the adjustment later...must go to sleep!!
love you all!
Renee

PRAISE GOD!!!!!!!!

We got an email this morning from the Consulate!!!!!! The boys have their Visa appointments MONDAY MAY 12th at 8 am!!!!!!!

So does Ann Marie, for Francesca!!! Same time!!

Thank you GOD!!!!!

Waiting/FAQ

Well...we are still waiting to find out what is going on with our file. It's frustrating to say the least. The Consulate doesn't really like to answer our emails..if they do, they are super vague..."Rest assured, we will contact your processor with the next step". First of all...can you at least answer my questions in my email?? Secondly, these are MY children...TELL ME TOO!! We are paying over $1300. for the Visa's you are supposed to be processing! Where is the customer service?? Aren't our taxes paying your salary?? Imagine being pregnant and the doctor telling some other person about your baby and telling you nothing!! We are trying to be patient..but the days keep passing by.

The reality is that they WILL be home...soon...or eventually. One of the questions I get asked quite often is "are you nervous/scared about the boys coming home?"
There are days when I honestly can say I am a bit nervous..a "what are we getting ourselves into kind of thought?"
Then I think of all God has done for us....His Sacrifice...how little we will be sacrificing for God's Children. Our whole family will have to sacrifice time, money, etc. But we will be gaining so much LOVE and JOY! All I have to do is look in their precious eyes in their pictures...then I also feel peace.
There is so much attachment therapy that we will have to do when the boys come home. We will not be able to parent these sweet little ones like we have been parenting our bio-children.
These boys have missed out on so much developmentally.
I can only imagine how they are going to feel coming home. We have been WAITING for them, but they haven't been waiting for us! This will truly be traumatic for them. New environment, new language, new people, new food, new smells, new rules, new EVERYTHING. They will surely grieve everything they 'lost'. Ya, to us this is BETTER, but to these sweet little ones, they cannot comprehend all this. It's hard enough for me to comprehend!
They do not know what a FAMILY is. So, for them to call me Mommy...they have no clue what that is. Todd and I will have to teach them to trust us. They will need to learn that we are here and will ALWAYS be here for them. They will need to learn their role as a sibling...grow to love their other siblings.
We completely feel that this was God's plan for our lives..who are we to argue with him?
This leads me to my next FAQ...will we adopt again?
Who knows?? Only God knows. I find it really hard to not do something. There are so many hurting and hungry people in the world. How can we ignore it? I could expand on this more..but I am super tired.
love to you all...
Renee

Todays news...

Well I called the Consulate (during the one hour a day they allow you to call!)...and Kiki was there when I called turning in our paperwork. I was told they would review it all and then email Kiki...Soooo...please pray that it is all GOOD!! We really want our boys home for Mother's Day!! We can pray for that MIRACLE!! :) Another weekend...Sigh!
Love-
Renee

National Day of Prayer

What an amazing night we had, outside looking at the beautiful hills that our amazing God created. Singing praises to our Lord with our community. Hearing prayers from many other languages...all of them our God could understand even if I couldn't. Watching my daughter praise God with flags, while my other daughter sang and my VERY HANDSOME husband played the keyboard and sang. Next to me was my Jessibear and my wonderful friends Pam and Tara. It was altogether a wonderful night. We have so much to be thankful for, and I feel that lately I have been living in this adoption cocoon...and I realize I miss the world. I miss my friends!! I made a date with my dear friends Martha and Pammi to take our kids to get McFlurries and hang out at McDonalds tomorrow..and I can't wait!!!

My hubby gets to go to a men's retreat tomorrow with our church..he will be doing music. Please pray for an amazing weekend for the men as they draw closer to God and to one one another in fellowship!

Also....please pray...our adoption processor has an appointment tomorrow at the Consulate to turn in paperwork on behalf of Markenley, Solomon and Francesca, (my friends daughter). Please pray that all of our paperwork will be in order and my dear friend Ann Marie and I can travel to Haiti next week to pick up our kids!! Our investigation is already done, so hopefully we will not have any hold ups at the visa level...but so many people are...pray for the release of so kids waiting to go home.

TJ has opening night of Mulan Jr. tomorrow..I can't wait to see it! :)

Life is Good...because God is SO GOOD!