As much as we've fallen madly in love with this country recent events have really given us a desire to go home. Losing a dear friend back home to a motorcycle crash was devistating, knowing we will never see him this side of heaven is hard especially when we didn't get to say our last goodbyes at a service. Jon was a great friend and was caring for our cats while we are here. Thankfully God has blessed us with other amazing friends who were willing to take on that burden. It has been 6 weeks tmw since our lawyer filed for our birth certificate. She has tried everything in her power, but with election prep last week and election cleanup this week no one seems in a hurry. Agency has sent an e-mail to embassy so prayers that will work. Also a dear friend stateside as well as here are trying people they know. Perhaps its just God telling us to be STILL! We are so ready as of late to get home, deal with paperwork, bills, routine things, and summer with our friends and family, but we all know Gods timing is PERFECT! We wouldn't have our son or this incredible experience under our belts that has forever changed our lives!
We have fallen in absolute love.with the schools here and their work in educating deaf children, our pastor and his wife has been gracious is open their hearts and homes to the HUGE need here and we've seen 3 schools (Brice 4 with our friend Ludwig from another great church here). Soon we hope to visit yet another in our area, God has used this to really show the need for education and the bible to be taught here! Our pastor works tirelessly and has a faithful group who attend church, he also teaches in the schools, disciples Deaf to take leadership roles and offers adult education classes. I encourage anyone visiting this great country who has a heart for deaf to really check out the work here! Back to our adoption once we get our sons birth certificate then we can get passport, medicals, and visa. At this point we don't think its very reallistic to make our end of May flight so come this weekend we will be making hard decisions to either split up (to save $$) or stay an extra week. I think in the kids best interest is staying together. Elias adores his dad and is gonna have a hard time when daddy goes back to work, but he is his sister's twin! If one says something the other copies! Yesterday they got little birthday party blow toys...you could see his little face go from mad to sad bc despite many on the spot lessons in the mall he couldn't figure out how to blow his and make the thing uncurl! He does everything his sister does and she follows him around like a puppy dog! I think splitting the kids up will be hard so prayers that God provides all that's needed as its needed! Pray for an extreme miracle and us to make our May flight if possible! Otherwise things are GREAT busy volunteering at our local deaf school, going to church, and chasing two kids. Elias has learned to sign E-L-I sign name Elias....he is so cute! But all little boy! He lives to swim, play with hot wheels and steal his sisters barbies! I have been SO grateful for the LONG time incountry bc it has really allowed us to bond without tons of distractions. Its only been the past month that we've done lots of extras! Well my happy boy is awake, sleeping in for a record at 9:30! He was WORN out thanks to a great day with friends yesterday! Hugs to all and prayers! Dios Bendiga!
Jess
Thursday, May 19, 2016
Birth certificates, Elections...
Saturday, February 27, 2016
Dominican Downtime
God is so truly amazing! How He so careful crafts every little detail of our lives just amazes me! As I sit here writing this long overdue update I just am astounded by all God has done and that once again we are here with our son in this AMAZING country! Yes, the journey has been fraught with challenges, yes even this very morning I thought I was in danger of losing every hair left in my head! Thankfully to the most amazing hubs, Brianna was apparently in need of a nap and things have been MUCH more peaceful since she is sleeping!
We have been in-country for quite awhile now and have been blessed to be involved with several ministries here. The church at Iglesias Biblical del Jesus Cristo ( http://ibsj.org/) welcomed us with open arms and many great friendships have developed out of our time there! We are grateful to them for their support and understanding. While they have a great interpretive ministry we needed something a little bit different to fit our families needs and were pointed in the direction of another great ministry Iglesias de Convertidos a Cristo (http://iccsordos.org/) we have been attending there quite a bit and really feel at home there. We are praying about what God has in store throughout the rest of our time. We are now settled into our new home and spend lots of time doing household things, washing clothes, hanging clothes, washing dishes, cooking meals. I can easily say the thing I miss MOST is my dishwasher!
Things I already KNOW I will miss the most about the DR you may wonder?!?! Glad you asked... Avocados the size of LARGE softballs that taste absolutely divine! Chinolas: a fruit that might just be the most perfect blend of tangy and sweet in the WORLD! Carrots that actually make it WORTH peeling and taste AMAZING! And even better the fact that these things are discounted on certain days here! 36% when we go to Jumbo on Tuesdays! Meats are discounted on Thursdays and Fridays at La Sirena so it makes eating healthy more reasonable and desirable!
The kids LOVE the water and both have enjoyed the pool here much more than the beach to Brice and my dismay...haha. Alas the opportunities through play for bonding have been GREAT! Water, sand, and beach toys. Not to mention crafts...because I packed enough craft stuff to single handily start my own VBS! Fingerpainting, pipe cleaners, foam stickers, wiggle eyes, you name it! We have had a time! Last night we took inventory of what we had left and made a few games to work on sensory and matching activities for Elias and some writing/letter games for Brianna. Speaking of who...she has DELIBERATELY not spoken a word of Spanish while we have been here outside of the colors her Uncle taught here when he was here...then yesterday out of the blue I hear, "I want my agua." I was floored...apparently she is learning some Spanish even when I'm not looking!
We are so grateful for this time to bond with our new son. Having no language in a ACTIVE 3 yr old body is quite the challenge, but seeing the growth just THRILLS my heart. He pointed to his sisters marker colored hands and signed "dirty", he pointed when his sister was sleeping and signed, "sleeping". He can say, "I want more to eat." "I want a drink." "I want orange juice or I want grape juice." He can even sign potty and does go potty quite frequently but not consistently. This boy has completely stolen my heart and makes the months and years, the trials and tears, and every little heartache along the way completely worth every bit of it!
Prayers for wisdom. Language is increasing, but so are tantrums at times. He is understanding more boundaries and choosing to be a normal toddler and test the limits (think 2 yr old, not my favourite stage). It has been challenging and exhausting, but I am just grateful to have Brice here to partner with me through this process!
Well I must sign off...Brianna just woke up and Elias just went to sleep (watching signing time)...hopefully we will have MUCH happier kids this afternoon!
Hugs to all!
We have been in-country for quite awhile now and have been blessed to be involved with several ministries here. The church at Iglesias Biblical del Jesus Cristo ( http://ibsj.org/) welcomed us with open arms and many great friendships have developed out of our time there! We are grateful to them for their support and understanding. While they have a great interpretive ministry we needed something a little bit different to fit our families needs and were pointed in the direction of another great ministry Iglesias de Convertidos a Cristo (http://iccsordos.org/) we have been attending there quite a bit and really feel at home there. We are praying about what God has in store throughout the rest of our time. We are now settled into our new home and spend lots of time doing household things, washing clothes, hanging clothes, washing dishes, cooking meals. I can easily say the thing I miss MOST is my dishwasher!
Things I already KNOW I will miss the most about the DR you may wonder?!?! Glad you asked... Avocados the size of LARGE softballs that taste absolutely divine! Chinolas: a fruit that might just be the most perfect blend of tangy and sweet in the WORLD! Carrots that actually make it WORTH peeling and taste AMAZING! And even better the fact that these things are discounted on certain days here! 36% when we go to Jumbo on Tuesdays! Meats are discounted on Thursdays and Fridays at La Sirena so it makes eating healthy more reasonable and desirable!
The kids LOVE the water and both have enjoyed the pool here much more than the beach to Brice and my dismay...haha. Alas the opportunities through play for bonding have been GREAT! Water, sand, and beach toys. Not to mention crafts...because I packed enough craft stuff to single handily start my own VBS! Fingerpainting, pipe cleaners, foam stickers, wiggle eyes, you name it! We have had a time! Last night we took inventory of what we had left and made a few games to work on sensory and matching activities for Elias and some writing/letter games for Brianna. Speaking of who...she has DELIBERATELY not spoken a word of Spanish while we have been here outside of the colors her Uncle taught here when he was here...then yesterday out of the blue I hear, "I want my agua." I was floored...apparently she is learning some Spanish even when I'm not looking!
We are so grateful for this time to bond with our new son. Having no language in a ACTIVE 3 yr old body is quite the challenge, but seeing the growth just THRILLS my heart. He pointed to his sisters marker colored hands and signed "dirty", he pointed when his sister was sleeping and signed, "sleeping". He can say, "I want more to eat." "I want a drink." "I want orange juice or I want grape juice." He can even sign potty and does go potty quite frequently but not consistently. This boy has completely stolen my heart and makes the months and years, the trials and tears, and every little heartache along the way completely worth every bit of it!
Prayers for wisdom. Language is increasing, but so are tantrums at times. He is understanding more boundaries and choosing to be a normal toddler and test the limits (think 2 yr old, not my favourite stage). It has been challenging and exhausting, but I am just grateful to have Brice here to partner with me through this process!
Well I must sign off...Brianna just woke up and Elias just went to sleep (watching signing time)...hopefully we will have MUCH happier kids this afternoon!
Hugs to all!
Monday, January 11, 2016
At Last
Bueno es Dios, Siempre fiel.
Cannot believe how time has flown! Alas are blessed to finally be with our son! It has been a journey for sure. Dealing with no language, behaviors, and twin syndrome (which I had NO idea even existed previously). It has been a challenge to say the least, but my heart is full! The fact that I even have time to sit down and write a quick update is a huge blessing. I LOVE it here, but the past few days with sickness hitting again has made it a little daunting. Hopefully we will all be up and running again tmw as we start back to our P90X workout again and try to get in better shape while we are stuck in the city!
God has been so good to us and we are LOVING the friends, support, and community that HE has put in place here. It has been so nice having his brother here for Christmas. We appreciate your continued prayers as we await more info on the possibility of a reduction on our behalf and official court dates. Prayers that God would bless us in this language and as we seek to reach out to the deaf he places in our path! So thrilled to be apart of all he is doing here!
Hugs,
Brice and Jess.
Cannot believe how time has flown! Alas are blessed to finally be with our son! It has been a journey for sure. Dealing with no language, behaviors, and twin syndrome (which I had NO idea even existed previously). It has been a challenge to say the least, but my heart is full! The fact that I even have time to sit down and write a quick update is a huge blessing. I LOVE it here, but the past few days with sickness hitting again has made it a little daunting. Hopefully we will all be up and running again tmw as we start back to our P90X workout again and try to get in better shape while we are stuck in the city!
God has been so good to us and we are LOVING the friends, support, and community that HE has put in place here. It has been so nice having his brother here for Christmas. We appreciate your continued prayers as we await more info on the possibility of a reduction on our behalf and official court dates. Prayers that God would bless us in this language and as we seek to reach out to the deaf he places in our path! So thrilled to be apart of all he is doing here!
Hugs,
Brice and Jess.
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