email update 3/6

We had a wonderful day yesterday (Friday)

We left for the orphanage at around 1:30, full of anticipation! We arrived to the gate of the property, and the kids were all in colorful uniforms with little pom-poms cheering the arrival of Rey's family. It was so wonderful - of course Rey was right there to give hugs and be up front.

From there we toured the facility - it is small but not cramped. There are a few buildings and they are beautiful and spotless. It is also colorful and really a cheerful place. The children play all around the common areas - it is well used and cared for. We got to see all the kids' areas - they are split by gender and age and their beds are cleaner than a military facility! very nice.

Then we had a ceremony called "entrustment" not unlike a wedding. We had songs and prayers and the kids volunteered to speak and wish Rey well (mostly they told him to be a good boy) and that they will miss him. Honestly, this was the most difficult thing to watch, as the kids really have no concept of forever at their tender ages. The sweetest thing is all the littlest ones who just love Rey working to overcome their shyness to speak to him and then they come hug him. When they come, he usually holds their cheeks and looks in their eyes. It is just so touching. What a wonderful kid. Two of his friends will be moving to Hamilton, MT - so that is nice to know that we will have a connection for him in the near future!)

Coop and henry fit right in and had a great time getting SUPER sweaty and playing basketball with all the kiddos. Rey actually looked all over for me and then found me and....handed me coop's glasses. he's a caretaker for sure.

so, i bet you want to know how flipping hard it was to drive away from that place? Well let me tell you, it was as hard as you think. The kids. they are so joyous and truly happy for Rey, but then when it is time to got they are singing a goodbye song and just soooo super sweet. they are up to the car and wanting to come, and there's coop, leaning out saying "quick, jump in!" and i was with him on this one. Can't help but want to bring them all home. They feel the need for a mommy and daddy so deeply that they'd go with a stranger, no problem.

That is the thing i wasn't really expecting - how totally affectionate they are. not finding the right words....well, the kids just want to have you look at them and talk to them. there was a little guy in orange who kept running up and grabbing my hand and then running off. The kids would ask my name and then just want to talk in broken english. So desperately shopping for parents. But they are not sad, they are happy and to hear the stories of how far some have come. Some have been abused or abandoned, and there was one who couldn't walk when he came 4 months ago - but he's now singing and taking a big bow after. These are the lucky kids.

okay, i had better try a teeny nap - my time is a mess!

email update 3/5

kumesta! (hello/how are you!)
you say: "mabuti rin" (I'm good)

We made it!

We had a smooth trip boise-Portland-Tokyo ( in true boise style we happened to be on the flight with an old friend Lorraine Kerr going on to singapore!)
Coop only had one quick episode (landing in Tokyo) of emptying into the barf bag and it was over. and he felt better.)

the tokyo-manila flight was the bumpiest, messiest, most cramped, stinky, screaming baby laden flight I have ever been on in my life. maybe my adventurous spirit was just spent by then (it was nearly 24 hours that i had been up?) Henry crashed HARD on that leg. it was so bumpy that the sodas and juice were flying. wow. I spent ample amounts of time in prayer (hahahaha!) and making sure the barf bag as close at hand.

we got off the plane and made it through customs & baggage claim in fairly short order and went outside where a car zipped up and who popped out??
you guessed it! REY! What a fantastic surprise for us. Deanna (the head of MFH) brought cool shirts "Just" 'became' and "brothers" ! I'll try to send a pic. It felt like I was on a reality show or something. Rey and david rode jump seat in the back, and Rey wouldn't let go of his hand. And then he told him that his arms are hairy. lol.

We drove in crazy manila traffic to the hotel, hitting bed after 1 am local time: 10 am boise. that was the 25 hour mark for us. Rey went back to MFH for one last night. No tears - but hard to explain to the kids...

Breakfast was wonderful and the fruit here is fantastic! Mango & papaya especially sweet. David had hardboiled quail eggs with 'rooster sauce' - do you guys call it rooster sauce too? ha. I ate TONS. I have a food baby now.

We are heading to the orphanage very soon - i am sure this will be an emotional day for all of us. Yesterday Deanna mentioned that they will be getting many new children at MFH as they have had 4 adoptions recently (our friends from boise were here just last week for their daughters!)
We will have a nice ceremony at the orphanage - i hear that it is powerful, and that the group there tapes it so we can just enjoy. Isn't that amazing? love them. They are doing great work here. The kids are truly blessed to have these amazing social workers in their lives.

okay, have a great day/night.

here's the time diff calculations incase you wanted to know:
Boise - Manila: boise time + 15 hours (or you can cheat - +3 & switch am/pm) for ex: 7pm boise=10am manila tomorrow
Seattle - Manila: seattle +16 hrs

ps: weather here is H U M I D and in 90s during the day. :)

BYE!

the 4 mccauleys (for abt 2 more hrs)

please make sure the tray table is up.....

well, this is it!

last night was our last time around the table as a family of FOUR and we are heading out to become 5.

it is almost 6 am. We leave in a few hours. I am having a little morning coffee and enjoying the silence of the calm before the storm.

Last night the phone was LIT UP! Rebecca and Inna came by to have me bring a gift to jasmine - Inna's friend who's sisters just moved here sunday. jasmine is too old for adoption, so she remains in Manila. I had calls from family and friends who are acting like family. in the good way, not the annoying way!). I just loved all the input and well wishes and "can we run to the store for you?" offers! I had a vm from a friend reminding me to leave the details to God, because if he has called us to it, He will go before and work it out. Those are sage reminders to a details freak like me.

I have had such a difficult time accepting help - it's hard to ask (often because i have no idea what i need - aside from the power of teleportation and a clone)...but i want to thank those of you who are just doing things. It is so great to know that everybody is so supportive!! I am overwhelmed by the support and kindness you guys are showing. If i act weird (weirder than normal) please know that i am just bowled over by the kindness and it is hard to be the center of it all! (but i LOVE it...)

off to zip the last suitcase.

oh, and when i return, i will be FORTY! :)

GAME ON!

YES!
We received Visa approval. Or HE was approved, whatever. You get the drill.

that was it! it's the big call! the "honey, i think it's time" moment.

So I am buying tickets (yes, 4 there, 5 coming back) to Manila. the biggest layover is in Seattle - so we may fly out the night before and just stay with Grandma for one last night. Grandma is ALWAYS good for grandkids.

so it is looking like 3/3 - 3-11 ish. and YES that means my 40th birthday will be spend doing one of the best things of my life!

yipppeeeee!

Skyping with Rey

We get to Skype with Rerey every so often. Normally the line breaks down, or the picture is horrid - or the sound is bad. This was an exceptional call, on New Year's Eve - the boys were really connecting.

We would like to provide newer equipment to the orphanage so more families can begin connecting to their kids faster. It is a tremendous help - i know i will look back fondly to the good ol' days! (but i really can't wait to get his fanny here in the US!)

so you hear we're having a yard sale...

you may have read the note coming home last week saying that some friends are having a yard sale to benefit the Orphanage in Manila where our son is currently lives. Folks have been asking me a few questions about it, and i am guessing that there are more people wondering - they just don't ask. so here are a few questions and answers for you - i'll post more as they come.

• When is it?

It is Saturday, March 20th. Still working on the details, but the plan is to have it at Washington School on 15th between Lemp and Ridenbaugh. Looks like there will be drop off/sort night on the 19th after school. more details as we get close...

• Why can't we just ship items directly there? Why do we need to send money?
  

There are several reasons not to ship items - it is costly and SLOW and in addition, there's customs to deal with. I sent a Christmas package to Rerey and it took over 9 weeks to get there. i mailed it right ofter Halloween. Didn't make it until the new year.

another reasoning behind sending money is that often what we have to send is not what they need. For example, a used laptop (or computer peripherals or whatever) may not work with the power there - we'd be better off purchasing the items there - we have connected with many people there who will do our legwork.

You may have heard that we're bringing vitamins and other things - we will be bringing a suitcase for Rey to use coming back - and it WILL be packed full of supplies that are expensive, rare, or just a treat (hershey bars!!).

• The sale is after you return, don't you need the money to give them? If you have Rey home, why do you want to send money there?
  

We will pass the money to the orphanage. How much we raise will determine what all we do with it. We may label a portion for computer updates and give them the rest to do with as they se most beneficial. We will consult with social workers to see the best way to handle this.

we believe strongly that we need to continue to provide support to this great orphanage. They do amazing work there. If you want to talk to me more about their outreach and loving support, i'd be happy to talk!

• Can I just give a little money?

sure you can! (we'd be crazy not to take it!!) you can contact Catholic Charities of Baltimore : email Ellen Warnock ewarnock@catholiccharities-md.org, she'll get you to the right person. Tell her you want the money to go to My Father's House in Manila. Or you can give us a check (easire, but you miss out on the tax deduction...)


On a side note, we are so thankful to have a supportive community around us. This will be a really bittersweet time for a lovely boy leaving the only life he has ever known. You will be a huge part of helping him feel secure and rooted. Providing support to his friends back in Manila is an extremely large part of this. Thank you thank you thank you.

January Update 2010: hurry up & wait.

January again, and Rey is still in Manila. We are still here. Yes, this takes a long time. In fact, we've been at this since july 2008, making January month 19.

So far, we plan to be traveling to Manila in March. We chose March - we really have no clue - no vote... In reality, here's how the process works: Mid-December, we got an email from one of the agencies with which we work, and they told us that our paperwork made it to one of the 'gates' that is generally a 10 week mark. So, simple math - plus a few weeks for good measure - puts us at spring break. Late March.

The next step for us is that we will get notification of our 30 day window. Basically, they give us a month to get there and back home.

While we wait, much is going on all over the place. The Hague is busy approving us (and we have already had a hiccup with them this last week) - They have a hand in the adoption process as an international court system with new laws adopted in 2009 that are in place to control human trafficking. You can imagine that adding another government - let alone, an international court system, does nothing but create more hoops. It is a sad reality, but necessary.

Rey will have to submit to some medical testing. There is TB in the Philippines, so he has to take a cough test, and if he comes back positive, he has to take medicine - which is no small feat. It is my understanding that the medicine is administered across town at the hospital - often, for many many weeks - and then re-tested. When you consider traffic in Manila & the major endeavor to assign a valuable resource like a social worker to one child...well, you'll know why we are praying that he remains healthy.

and of course there's stuff i don't even know is happening. my understanding is an inch deep and a mile wide!

I pray for speed and that all the issues that crop up are hidden from me until they are solved! So far, that is pretty much the case. :)