Haiti Themed Necklaces

This summer I discovered the love of jewelry making-- necklaces/pendants, bracelets and earrings.  It has been a wonderful creative outlet for me!  I am also blessed to say that I have sold several pieces and continue to have custom orders.  And interest in my jewelry continues to grow!  It seems I may have the start of a good Adoption Fundraiser to help bring our son home from Haiti.  {Thank you, Jesus!}

This is a sampling of my Haiti-themed necklaces, using several different techniques and components. 

Designed and Handmade by Jennifer

Please visit our FaceBook page and click on "photos" to see a few other styles.  I also have many more designs on my personal page.  If you are interested in making a purchase or have a custom request, please post a comment here and I will contact you privately. :)

W's First Care Package

This is one of several very sweet photos we received of W with his care package

In early December, a group of adoptive parents traveled to the Chances for Children (C4C) creche in Haiti to visit their children.  As my hubby and I were unable to go, we asked another C4C adoptive mama who was going on the trip to take down our first care package and some creche donations with her on the trip.  She actually lives in the same city as us, so it worked out great!  We were so excited and greatly anticipated the news of his response.  This would be the first time he would see our faces and learn about his future family!

We included several small gifts, including a local t-shirt and a very special Christmas book.  It's one of those Hallmark books that records your voice reading the story.  Eric and I and our girls all got involved in reading the story.  We also introduced ourselves in the beginning and sang "Jesus Loves Me" at the end.  We have received two videos of him singing "Jesus Loves Me", so we thought this would be the perfect song for him to have in his book.

We were later thrilled to hear about his response to our package and the big news of a forever family. Our local friend who delivered the care package and another adoptive friend (who lives in the same state, only a couple hours away) took W aside to a quiet place to present him with the package.  One sat with him and explained each item and the photos.  The other took photos of his response.  He was quite shy at first--I can only imagine!  What huge news for a child who has always been an orphan to suddenly see the faces of the people who will become his FAMILY!  He did seem to love the gifts and was so proud to have photos of us and his two sisters, his future kitty cats and his house.  He hurried off to show all his friends, and he showed anyone who would look, the pictures of his new family!  We are told that he made sure, however, to keep a careful hold on them when people looked. :)  The book also turned out to be a huge hit...with all the kiddos at the creche.  Apparently it got passed around all day!

Another fun part of the story is this.  The C4C creche has a large map of the world in one of the hallways.  Each child has a sticker where his adoptive family lives.  W several times proudly showed our local friend where his sticker was--on the state of Tennessee--nearly on top of his buddy D's sticker!  And close by to A's sticker (our other friend's son--who is now home!).  What an awesome connection these boys have!  They are all born in Haiti, get placed in the same creche, and out of any place in the world they could end up, their families are all close together in Tennessee!

Thank you Lord Jesus, for your wonderful blessings, your wonderful plans. :-)

W's November Update

A few days ago we were excited to receive new photos and a report about how W is doing.  It is always such an encouragement to hear that he is healthy and is continuing to grow and learn.  We love these bi-monthly updates, but in some ways it makes the longing for him even stronger.  We are just so anxious to have our boy home with us!

Here are a few highlights from the report:

W is one of the most good-natured boys in the crèche. He always wants to help and loves to play with his friends. Wisly responds positively to adult attention and interactions. W almost always has a smile on his face. He is focused in his school work, but also loves rough-housing and playing.  He speaks clearly and is learning English.  He is intent on learning new English words. He is a quick and patient learner.

WE ENTERED IBESR!!!

Awesome pre-Christmas gift---being told that our dossier entered IBESR on December 3rd!  What an answer to prayer!  Our agency coordinator emailed the above receipt to us.  Such a lovely piece of paper. :)

So practically speaking, what does this mean for our adoption?

It means that we have now begun the Haiti side of our adoption process.  IBESR is the social services department that reviews our dossier documents and W's documents.  They are the ones who decide whether to allow us to adopt a child from Haiti.  And they will decide whether to allow us to adopt W, specifically.  W's file has still not entered IBESR.  It still needs his official birth certificate to be issued by the court.  Once this occurs (our creche thinks it will be soon...), his file will enter IBESR. 

Getting his birth certificate has been quite a lengthy process.  Please pray with us that very soon, the judge (?) will sign the certificate and allow it to be issued.  We can't go any further in this adoption without that one document.  I am praying that God moves upon the proper officials' hearts that they will get this done!  Thank you for praying with us. :)