- WHERE'S THE TIME GONE? -

karleigh's referral picture at 39 days old

that we saw & absolutely fell in love with

july 2, 2004 - age 5 months

getting ready to go 'home' the next day

as she arrives in indianapolis, IN

on july 3, 2004 at just 5 months oldfirst picture taken

she'd only been home 2 days

yesterday playing at the park

4 years old

i'm posting this now as i've got a VERY busy day planned tomorrow [hmmm, what day's NOT very busy for me??] - anyhow, spike & i've got to do fingerprinting tomorrow at our local & FBI offices for ahniér's adoption in the morning - we'll then come home & let the girls take a nap, then we're off to a nearby town for their 4th of july midnight parade - we go there every year & have a great time - it starts at 9pm & runs until about midnight & it's soooooooo fun - the girls think it's the greatest thing getting to stay up late & see fireworks & all - we'll then attend the local fireworks display on the 4th out on the lake near where we live - we've been going there for several years & love it too - we're so excited

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now that you know why i'm posting this early, i'll tell you what it is that i'm posting...

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it was 4 years ago tomorrow [july 3, 2004] that we arrived home with our little bundle of joy - it didn't look as though we'd be bringing her home as we weren't even out of IBESR yet when we arrived in haiti, but we just felt we should go as the haitian government asked barbara if we'd come in for an interview...um, SURE! - we went on a monday & even though they promised that if we'd come in, they'd release us from IBESR, they declined to do their part, tuesday came & went & still nothing - i couldn't understand what was going on, but still knew god could go anything [hey god, you're gonna have to hurry on this one]

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wednesday night we received a phone call from our attorney saying we'd come out of IBESR that afternoon & he'd put us into legalization that same day just before they closed - i thought that was great, but it was deposited wednesday at 4pm & we were leaving on saturday morning so that was only going to give them thursday & friday to not only get through & out of legalization, but also get a visa - we heard nothing at all on thursday & i just kept thinking, "i thought i could leave her [karleigh] if i had to, but i don't think i can!!"

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friday we were driving around with barbara & she got a call & said she'd to stop by our attorney's office - we'd done this all day long, so i thought nothing of it - she jumped back into the car & yelled, "don't loose those papers i just handed you as you'll need them to get karleigh out of the country tomorrow when you leave" - i couldn't believe it!! - we raced over at that exact minute & asked a visa like NOW & they agreed - they even said we could wait for it to be printed, so we did - we didn't have an appointment at all, but god went in before us - at that time [2004], when you got out of IBESR, you only needed to go through legalization & then get a visa, but legalization was taking a minimum of 4-6 days & we exited in just 19 HOURS!!!

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god's so good & allowed us to bring her home with us & it's been a fun ride with her ever since - she's a firecracker on the outside [she sure came home in the right month!], but is the most tender little thing that there ever was - i'm blessed to be her mommy & love her with all my heart - even though we waited for her just 3 months & 25 days to complete her adoption, it seemed like an eternity as she'd already stolen our hearts - happy gotcha day little one, we love you!!