Brady February 23, 2014

Today Brady celebrates his fourth birthday.  I tried to protest and convince him to remain three-years-old forever. But he insisted on getting older.  I am only allowing this to happen because I know that I still have a baby somewhere in Haiti (I am not ready for my youngest to be four). It’s strange not to have any real little people in our house anymore.

It is so easy to celebrate Brady. He is just plain joy. Four things I love most right now about “teeny pants” (his nickname):

His Style: Brady is cooler than the rest of us. He likes flashy Pumas, skinny jeans, and “cool” shirts.  He will shop at American Apparel and H&M exclusively in a few years. I am not sure where he developed his sense of style. The rest of us are Gap jeans/Buckeye t-shirt people.

His Pout: Brady is a world class pouter. You have never seen arms crossed and lip out done so well.  It is near impossible to keep a straight face when he really turns it on. He is stubborn and unreasonable – but in all the ways that little boys are supposed to be.

His Love: Brady is full of love. He loves his “mama” above all else (which obviously melts my heart). He adores his three grandmothers. And he works especially hard to charm 6-12-year-old girls. Not only is he a ladies man, but Brady loves his big brother. If he could attach himself to Noah and experience life by Noah’s side, he would do it.

His Voice: Brady has not learned to pronounce “R”s yet. I hope he never learns.  He calls himself “Bwady” and says “Gweel” instead of “Girl”.

We are so grateful that God put this child into our family – he makes us laugh, keeps us dancing, and has an infinite amount of love to give.

 

Handful February 12, 2014

The wait over the past month has been emotionally charged for me. I don’t typically wade in dramatic waters…I reserve that for other family members. But I have to admit, I’ve been a bit of a “handful” as Patrick delicately says. I think a number of life circumstances have led to my theatrical disposition.

 

First up – On January 17^th, we got an email from our adoption coordinator stating that she had a very productive meeting in Haiti regarding our family’s case. Well of course that sent me into an email-checking frenzy for the next two weeks. Somewhere deep in my being, I convinced myself that we were going to get our referral ANY MINUTE. Sure –everyone else in the Haitian adoption process has to wait at least six months to get a referral. But somehow the Wicklines were going to get theirs in two months. After some serious prayer time, I received some peace of mind and have dropped the email obsession.

 

And then…about two weeks ago, I was struck with the flu. And when I say flu, I don’t mean the “it’s just a bad cold” kind of flu. I mean I was “knocked out for 10 days” type of flu. During that miserable period, I somehow convinced myself that our child in Haiti was also somehow sick and literally shed tears thinking of the type of care that he or she might be receiving. I am pretty sure it was flu deliria, but one never knows. I am over it now.

 

Lastly, I recently read Amy Wilentz’ book, “Farewell, Fred Voodoo”. New York Times critics call the book “bracingly unsentimental”.  That means cynical. It was a fascinating book. Amy Wilentz is a reporter that has spent the past 20+ years back and forth between the US and Haiti, trying to make sense of it all. If you really want to know what is happening in Haiti, particularly after the earthquake, you should read this book. With this warning though: it is not pretty. It does not paint a picture of hope for Haiti – she tells countless stories of “do-gooders” coming into the country with great ideas and energy, but achieve nothing because of a variety of factors at play in Haiti.

 

The book made me question, how in the world does any adoption get processed in Haiti, much less ours? Fortunately, we entered into the adoption journey through our faith and that is how we will continue.

I’ve recently entered back into the land of peaceful sanity. I hope to stay here for some time.