Article 5 letters!

So last weekend I was violently ill. I'm not using that term loosely, just so you know. I literally didn't leave my room/bathroom for 3 days (well, from Thursday night to Monday morning) and may have set a new world record for longest continuous use of a bath. So...coming off that I was a bit out of sorts.

Sunday night I was not sleeping well and kept waking up from nightmares of the twins' car being ambushed on their way to the embassy (where they were actually going to that next morning) and them being kidnapped. It was horrible. Glad it was just a dream.

So, I tried to pull myself together Monday and just stand long enough to take a shower (I promise I'm not being melodramatic here)...I was a bit nervous while showering to see a call come in from Chareyl. Most of the time I'd just call someone back when I was done, but...it's Chareyl...and I was already anxious about the embassy appointment and had leftover emotions from my upsetting dreams about the girls. So! I answered and was glad to hear, among other things, that Nisthone had mentioned to her that their appointment went well. She said that Nathan (the rep for the orphanage) was the one in charge of that meeting, so we'd wait to hear about details from him like if any additional documents were needed...but the reassurance that all was well with our sweet girls was so welcome.

And! *Drumroll please* That afternoon I received emails from the U.S. Embassy in Haiti with copies of both girls' Article 5 letters attached! I was so happy to hear that the approved everything! And they don't usually issue those letters same day! What's this?...something in this process went faster than expected? We'll take it! And as a random side-note: the article 5 letters were issued exactly 4 months to the day from when we started our bonding trip to meet the girls.

So, things are turned over to the Haiti side now. The next step is a bit unpredictable in length as our file is now presented to the director of IBESR and once she signs off on it we exit IBESR and their files head to the courts for the girls' adoption to be finalized. After that it's on to MOI (Ministry of Interior) for approval, passport approval, article 23 issuance, document translation, exit medicals, visa finalization, and travel to pick them up!

While still riding the high from our actual concrete step yesterday, I was disheartened to see that the Haitian congress ruled a vote of no-confidence in their prime minister, which essentially shuts down the government...which is a problem for many reasons, namely among them in our case processing adoptions. This morning I read that the prime minister has rejected the no confidence vote and is proceeding as normal. I'm not sure what that will mean and if it will lead to a resurgence of protesting, but time will tell. Such is Haiti. I'm trying really hard to learn to go with the flow, but it's so hard when the stakes (bringing our girls home) are so high and so personal.

For today though...I'm rejoicing to finally have gotten those article 5 letters!