Two amazing girls!

Many of you may know already that Jordyn and Alexis are planning to go to Haiti in June. Jordyn went a couple of years ago and has wanted to go back ever since. Alexis on the other hand wasn't sure she was ready to go until about a year ago and she began to have a burning desire to visit the place her siblings once called home. These girls are so amazing! They have left me speechless on many occasions with their compassion for those less fortunate than we.

I told them they could go only if they raised the money to pay for it themselves. They started fund raising and saving right away. I'm so excited to report that they are getting so close. Each one only has about $300 left to raise! They worked at our church auction, sold Papa Murphy peelers, sent support letters, and saved change to put as much as they could in their "Haiti box." They still have a few things left to do, but I had to take a moment to say how very proud I am of them. I cannot wait to share this experience with my amazing girls!

If you would like to help in their efforts please e-mail me at mecundiff@yahoo.com for details on how you can be a part of their journey!

The Zoo...

We had so much fun over Spring Break visiting the St. Louis Zoo! The kids loved it!

Nearly every exhibit he was the last to leave. All day we heard, "Oh gade!!"

Jordyn and Hope are quite the pair. I had a feeling they would be buddies and I was certainly right. Speaking of buddies, turns out the buddy system is a must to survive a day at the zoo with 6 kids. Thanks to this system we didn't lose a single child. Thumbs up on that one!

My boys! It's so great seeing them all together! I love each one so much!
I'm blessed beyond measure that's for sure!

Mia was all smiles! This girl could light the world with her smile.

Check out this exhibit! Wait a minute....

All of my amazing children! Well and a zebra, that one's not mine.


Taking time to stop and smell the flowers. Hope just has to make sure Noah is smelling the right one. ; ) They did smell really great, unlike the elephants that smelled really NOT great!

Alexis with her buddy, aka "Grandma."

Gotta love timers! Apparently, Mia wasn't ALL smiles. ; ) It was a wonderful family day!!

The carousel is always a big hit!

Yuck, Alexis!

Hopey loves the ride!

I guess that sums it up. This post was brought to you by someone's dirty underwear!

Quick update...

Things are good! I'm sorry I don't have time to update this very often. I would promise to do better, but if I do better that might mean someone is wearing dirty underwear and NOBODY wants that! In a nutshell things are good. We are winding down on school and we are all excited about summer! We found a vehicle we can all fit in so no more riding on the floor for me. I'm pretty pumped about that! I've decided to be frugal on a few things. I have plans for a bigger garden and doing lots of canning this year. I'm also making my own dishwasher detergent and will attempt making laundry detergent tonight. I think I'm becoming one of those women that I used to think.....why? Now I know. 1000 loads of laundry saving, at the very least, $.15 a load equals a savings of $150. That's almost four new pairs of tennis shoes, and way more if I can catch them on a sale. You might think 1000 loads sounds like a lot, but I think I did that many last week. Ok, maybe not, but it did feel like it. At any rate, it's kind of fun so we'll try it and see how it goes! I promise to post some new pictures soon, but this will have to do for now. Blessings to all of you who still come to see what this Cundiff party of eight is like.

Mia's first birthday at home....

We had a party for her on Sunday though her birthday was actually on Monday. I have to say we had a wonderful time, but I did have a moment of sadness as I thought of Mia's birth-mother in Haiti. Mia LOVED her party and being surrounded by so many family members! She was ALL smiles, and what a beautiful smile it is!! I can't believe she is 7!

It is so amazing celebrating these wonderful days with all of our children!

We just don't fit!

No matter how you look at it. No matter how many times we try. We just don't fit. For some reason 8 passengers do not fit in a 7 passenger van(unless you are in Haiti, then you can fit about 14 in there). So she's for sale!

$6200

Please pray we are able to sell our van quickly. We have found another vehicle that we do all fit in and need to sell this one as soon as possible. Thanks!

Coming Home

I guess it's finally time to post these. Coming home was so wonderful. Noah was excited to be FINALLY going home. The departure was so different than that of the girls. Theirs was exciting too but seeing the pain in their mother's eyes made it harder. Noah and I woke up with smiles on our faces. We were up early and ready to go in plenty of time. He was able to go around and tell all the nannies and cooks goodbye. He smiled and loudly proclaimed, "Bye Bye!" They hugged him, kissed him, and wanted pictures with him. There was a team there so they then followed us out to the van. We were all set!!

Waiting in the Port au Prince Airport for our departure!

The first of many strides it would take to get us home!

Watching his life change drastically, but not clear of all it would involve. One day he will know the Lord delivered him!

Gotta love long layovers! He was a dream. He loved watching the planes come and go. That was a very good thing for me considering we got stuck in Ft. Lauderdale and in Chicago.

Traveling like a Pro!

This was the group I didn't get to see. : ( Unfortunately, due to many delays we arrived home over two hours later than expected. I did have a nice size group still determined to see this miracle happen. A big thank you goes out to everyone who came!

Finally

You have all been so patient!! I know you have been wanting to see pictures of our family now that Noah is home. I don't have time to post much other than to say we are having a great time and things are going really well!! Here are a few teasers of some of the things we have been doing. I hope to post pictures soon of each event, but who has time to be on the computer with 6 kids. So far, not me.

Camp Meemaw's!!

Alexis and Noah at the park!

Our boys!!

Count them! That would be all SIX of our children at the St. Louis Zoo!! It feels so good to have them all together!!

Final days..

It was so good to know these were his final days in Haiti. I'm sure he will visit someday, but you know what I mean.

So handsome!

Last day of school!


Making cupcakes with Bethany for his going away "party."

Noah with his good friend Jimmy! Jimmy was very instrumental in Noah's return to the Orphanage. We will be forever grateful for the many phone calls, visits, and talks!!


Going home day!

A look back....

Things are going great here! We are all thrilled to have Noah home and continue to find ourselves looking at him and thinking, "really?!" I wanted to take a moment though to share two video clips that I think you will enjoy.

As many of you know, it had been a year and five months since I had seen Noah and held him in my arms. Since January 9th, I had been aching to go to Haiti and be reunited with our son. I was finally scheduled to lead a trip down on March 8th and was ecstatic to finally know that I would see him. Long story short, we were blessed to have our visa appt three days prior to this date and then knew I would not only be seeing him, but bringing him home.

The team decided to go to the guest house first and drop off their bags and then we would travel to the O. This seemed like the smart choice though my heart wanted to scream, "No, I need to go see my son. Forget your bags!" Sorry guys! ; ) Well, thanks to Megan, Colleen, Jimmy and Junior, I didn't have to wait. Thanks guys! For a girl who loves surprises, this couldn't have been a better gift!!

The following takes place between 11:30 and 12:30pm.

A family complete!!!

Picture taken by Todd Burnett

Our God is so good! I will praise you Lord always for this marvelous thing you have done!!

A picture is worth.....well you be the judge.......

Also, check out the scripture in today's "Walk in the Light!" It's pretty cool!!!

If you check this post after Friday March 6, then look it up. It was Isaiah 25:1 (NIV)

FLIGHTS BOOKED!!!!!!!

We are flying home on Tuesday! We will arrive in Evansville at 9:40pm(assuming everything goes as planned and flights are not delayed). Anyone that wants to welcome us home is welcome to be there!! This is one party we have waited a long time for!! I cannot wait to be on the airplane, look over and see our son sitting next to me.

Guess what!

VISA APPROVED!!!!!!!!

They have the receipt to pick it up tomorrrow!! The Lord is so good! He is so faithful!! He has blessed me beyond these 26 letters I have to work with!

I'm still looking at flights and determining what is the best plan. I will be flying home either Monday or Tuesday. Please pray we are able to arrange the flights without any problems!!

Update

I interrupt this blog for an update!

A visa interview is scheduled on behalf of Wilbert T Cundiff for

Thursday, March 5, 2009, at 7:00 a.m.

Finally....

I will hold our son in my arms again! It has been so long and I am more than ready!! I am scheduled to lead a trip that leaves this weekend. So instead of wondering each day when our visa appointment will be I've decided to avert my attention to the fact that I will be seeing, holding, and loving on our boy no later than Sunday!! Now don't you think for one moment that I'm not still praying daily for that appointment, but I'm thankful to have this other option to rejoice over right now!

We are praying his appointment will be this week, but until we hear about it I will be packing and getting so excited to finally go see our son!

No news yet....

As some of you know the Embassy was closed yesterday and today for Carnaval. We are hoping to hear tomorrow of our appointment and are praying they will set it for Thursday or Friday! We are all excited and ready for him to come home. A recent picture of Noah sums up how we all feel about this wait.....

He's even handsome when he's pouting! Do you think I'll still say that in about six months or so? Probably not. Very similar to the fact that Camden's pout was cute in this picture, but it's not so cute now. ; )


Have a blessed day and I hope to have more news for you tomorrow!! The Lord is good and is always worthy to be praised!!

Camden's project

Camden had to make a "robot" out of recycled materials for school.
He and Jeremy worked on it and I think they did a pretty great job!

I love the bunny ears. I'm quite certain that when the robot sees this picture,
he will be so embarrassed! ; ) Good job, buddy!

Now what?

So, many have asked, "Now what?" Some have said, "What's next?" Others simply, "When are you leaving?" I thought I would give a slight update of my plans. What we are waiting for now is a visa appointment. The file is in the Adoption Unit of the Consular Section at the Embassy. Once a file arrives in their office, the agent working with the parents must request an appointment. The appointment is scheduled and according to their website "After all requirements are fulfilled under Haitian and American law, the immigrant visa is generally issued on the following business day." I sent everything needed for the appointment to Haiti last month with Todd when he went to get Jonas. I had left everything there back in July, but just to be safe I sent it all again. You can never be too prepared in Haiti. ; )

Once we receive an actual date for the visa appointment I will book my flight. I am so ready for that HUGE step! I have wanted to go to Haiti since I received the call that he was back. However, I didn't want to spend a month or more there, not knowing when they would process his visa. You know.......been there, done that! And so, I wait. I wait for the appointment to be scheduled. I wait to book my flight. And as I've done since December of 2005, I wait to bring our son home!

While waiting we will be building benches to go with our remodeled kitchen table. As of now we don't have enough seating. We will also be looking for a different vehicle that seats 8. I will be unpacking size 4/5 clothes and making sure we are all set there. We will be buying a new pair of tennis shoes and packing a little bag of items for the airplane ride home.

I am still in such awe of the goodness of our God! He has given us the grace, peace and joy to endure this process. He has blessed us beyond measure with so many people that have encouraged us and supported us along the way. He has never left us. He has heard our cry......

Psalm 40:1 (Amplified) "I waited patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry."

Isaiah 40:28-31 (Amplified) "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, does not faint or grow weary; there is no searching of His understanding. He gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound]. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and [selected] young men shall feebly stumble and fall exhausted; But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired."

These scriptures have meant so much to me over these last few years. I had to share them. I know they are probably familiar to you, but I beg you don't allow them to become too familiar. Soak them up like it's the first time you heard or read them. The Lord WILL strengthen you as you wait, expect, look for and hope in Him!

One final thing, I want to thank the praise and worship team from Port au Prince Fellowship. They may never read this, but I have to express my gratitude anyway. During my many visits these past two years(since I found PAP Fellowship), I have been strengthened through their ministry of song. Many times I was amazed by the songs they would sing and how they would lift me up and encourage me and caused me to feel as if the Lord was speaking directly to me. Well, He was of course! So many times they would sing one of my favorites, Everlasting God. I'm not normally one to post lyrics of a song, but this one has been such a huge part of my "wait" that I have to include it. I pray it gets in your heart as it did mine and when you feel you can't wait another day you will sing.....

"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary

You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles"

Update

"The approval has been reaffirmed and has been moved on for visa issuance."

Praise the Lord!!

Pumpkin Bread

Hope and I made pumpkin bread this morning! It is baking right now and smells delicious!! It's a new recipe(with a few changes I made) so we'll see how it goes!
My question for you is....just how many things can you lick while baking pumpkin bread?

1. The wooden spoon

2. The beater

3. The spatula

I guess three would be the answer!
However, if you like, you can sit on the kitchen sink and eat the unused pumpkin!