July 25,2018

Emotional Roller Coaster

Our journey toward adopting sweet Jameson into our family has been an emotional roller coaster at times! It seems every high moment comes with a splash of reality which typically slows the process.

We thought our court date in Burundi had either already occurred or would be occurring any day now. Unfortunately, we received an email from our social worker stating our court date is currently scheduled for October. Our first reaction was- Are you kidding us? We were quickly grounded by a subtle reminder, this entire process to date has not gone as "planned." We've found God's unique timing to be perfect. Pierre, our social worker in Burundi, will be negotiating to move our court date sooner but there are certainly no guarantees. We want to note, several families received this news. Please continue to pray for all families currently adopting from Burundi as we accept God's perfect timing. 

What does this mean for travel? 

Once our court date occurs, we'll be waiting on our adoption decree. The adoption decree can take anywhere from one to two months. Then we'll wait for an invitation from Burundi to travel!!! Typically, this arrives 40 days after the adoption decree. We originally thought we'd be traveling between October and December of 2018. If our court date doesn't occur until October, then we'll realistically be looking to travel in January or February. Not only would Jameson not be home for the holidays, there would be a high likelihood we'd have to pay to update our home-study again. The irony behind this "set back" is no matter what Jameson is our son and WILL be coming home! We'll just have to continue to hurry up and wait!!!!!!!!!

T-Shirt Campaign:

Thank you to everyone who ordered a T-Shirt. Ours arrived today and WOW are they soft!!!! Remember, we want to collect pictures of everyone wearing their shirts!!! We want to show Jameson how loved he is! A few people ordered shirts after the deadline, so another campaign opened! If you know anyone that missed out and wanted to order, they have 11 days! The link below works: 

Order a T-Shirt

Jim and I appreciate each and everyone of you! Without you, the past three years of waiting would have been torturous! 

                                         LOVE,

                                     Jim and Kelly 

July 8, 2018

What is Cocooning and Why is it important? 

Cocooning is a very intensive time of care where Jim and I will be the sole primary caregivers for Jameson. During this time, we will be the only people to hold ,feed, touch, kiss, comfort and play with him. It's recommended we don't introduce him to new people including family members and not leave the house with him. During cocooning we have to be intentional about bonding with Jameson and teaching him we are his primary caregivers no matter what! Our main goal will be to develop healthy attachments and boundaries as well as a deep bond to us. We must be sensitive to his needs and highly responsive during this time as well. Establishing routines will also be key. The best part of cocooning will be learning his personality while he investigates ours!!! It's absolutely critical we establish TRUST before leaving our house consistently. 

The one piece of advice Jim and I hear over and over again is be sure to cocoon. Families choosing not to put this practice in place regret the decision. 

Our Plan.......

We will be in Africa for 9-11 days as a family unit. Upon returning home, we want to control the outside world and distractions as much as possible so Jameson can begin to feel comfortable. Remember we will be dealing with a language barrier as well. We will put ourselves in his shoes and provide routines and proximity (recommended to be only an arms length away as much as possible- even when he's sleeping).  We want to give Jameson our undivided attention during this time. He will guide us through play and we'll show him as much affection as he can tolerate. We will also limit rules to health and safety during this time. 

9-11 days in Africa 

First Two Weeks Home- Alone in our house as a family unit, providing him with some 1:1 time with each of us toward the end of this two weeks. 

Third Week Home- Transition back to work one of us at a time. 

*** Our plans will adjust depending on the time frame of travel and how he's handling the transition***

Once we go back to work, we will still be cocooning in the evenings and on the weekends. It's recommended we do this for at least the first 90 days and again anytime we feel it's needed. Once we have a pattern of good behaviors, we'll start emerging! 

What we ask of Friends & Family during Cocooning......

The main thing we need from our friends and family is understanding during this time. We will share our journey and time with Jameson via our Whittaker Adoption Journey Facebook Group. We will post pictures and videos as often as possible. Thanksgiving and Christmas will most likely fall during this time, we need everyone to understand our need to be low key and limit traveling during this time. Our local friends and family can run errands for us or even grocery shop especially during the first few weeks! 

The first three months Jameson is home will be critical for bonding as a family unit. While we know it's going to be hard for everyone because you all care for him deeply, we are asking you to be respectful during our cocooning and understand the process. Trust us, we'll be dying for each of you to meet him as well! 

Prayer Requests: 

1- For God to prepare Jameson's heart for his transition to his forever home in America with us. 

2- For Jameson to know he can be who he wants to be! We have NO expectations for his abilities or interests! 

3- For guidance as Jim and I make decisions regarding cocooning and schooling

4- For doors to open regarding childcare once we go back to work. We need to find a babysitter with limited, very limited kids in their home until he goes to school this Spring. Several potential plans have fallen through. 

5- God to continue to provide financially as we are nearing the end of this journey 

Thank you for joining us on this journey, please do not hesitate to ask questions about cocooning. We will do our best to answer! 

             Love,
         Jim and Kelly 

June 21, 2018


More Exiting News, Plus information regarding Matching Grant from our church! 

Exciting News:
We received word, our Article 5 was sent to Burundi!
 What is an Article 5?
 An Article 5 is a document stating  in accordance to The Hague Convention and based on information currently available, the US authorities  from the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya have determined us eligible and suited to adopt Dieudonne (Jameson)!!!!!!! It also give Dieudonne permission to enter and reside permanently in the US following his adoption!!!

Next step?  We wait for word of our court date in Burundi. Pierre, our social worker, will represent us during the hearing. After this hearing, Dieudonne (Jameson) will officially be ours! 

It's honestly surreal at times to say we have a son. Jim and I have prayed long and hard for many years for this day to arrive. God is good and he knows what he's doing! 


Matching Grant From Our Church, Life Mission:

There are two ways you can give:

1. Give By Check:
Please have family and friends make checks payable to Lifesong for Orphans. In the memo, you should write the following:  Preference #7693 Whittaker

Please mail checks to:
Lifesong for Orphans
PO Box 40
Gridley, IL 61744


2. Give Online:
Click this  link to donate online.

Then complete the online form and fill in our family name and family account number.
Family Name= Whittaker
Family Account Number= 7693

If you have any questions, please reach our to one of us! 

*** Please note, all donations of $50 or more will automatically receive a tax-deductible receipt from Lifesong for Orphans. Receipts for donations under $50 will gladly be sent upon request. 


"How blessed is he who considers the helpless...."
       Psalm 41:1


Love,
Jim and Kelly 

June 17, 2018


We have a lot to update, so here we go! 

Name:
You will see us refer to our son as Dieudonne or Jameson. His given French name is Dieudonne meaning "Gift of God." To ease transition and his life in America, we'll be naming him Jameson meaning "Son of James." We'll legally change his name during the re-adoption process (We'll explain later) to Jameson Dieudonne Whittaker.


Next Steps in the Adoption:
We sent our application for Dieudonne's Visa which is being delivered to the US Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya as I type. Next, we're waiting for our Article 5. An Article 5 is basically the US Embassy in Nairobi giving us permission to bring Dieudonne to the United States. That approve will be sent to Burundi, we'll be waiting for our court date, typically about 4 weeks from Article 5 approval. During the court date, we'll receive our official adoption decree and Dieudonne will be ours! Next we'll wait about 3-4 months to get an invitation to travel. The final step for now, will be going to Africa to pick up our little man! Our estimated time for travel is between October - December.


Matching Grant- for travel via Life Mission Church:
There are expenses along this journey all the time and honestly at times it feels never ending! The last big expense is our trip to Africa. We recently discovered our church offers matching grants for families that are adopting. Jim and I applied and were blown away when we found out they approved a $4,000 matching grant through a not-for-profit organization called Lifesong for Orphans. We are working to get our account set up. We've unfortunately encountered some technical issues and hope to get them resolved this week! More details on this amazing opportunity to come!!!!!

Facebook Group:
If you're a Facebook user, we've created a closed group. This group will mainly be utilized to post updates when we travel. We will also post pictures and videos of Jameson as they become available. We'll still utilize our Blog for updates as well. If you'd like to follow our journey on Facebook search Whittaker Adoption Journey and request to be a member!

You can try this link too......

Whittaker Adooption Journey Via Facebook 




Pictures:
Another family we've gotten to know traveled to get their two precious little boys from the same orphange Jameson's located this past week. We were blessed to receive some updated videos and pictures of Jameson from them! Can't believe we've known about him for about three months now! We also found out his favorite color is Yellow, see he was meant for our family. We plan to incorporate yellow in his room as much as possible! (It was Jim's idea to find out, he definitely earned bonus points for this one!)

               Looks like he's drew a basketball court!

          Look at those feet! We certainly hope they are over-sized!

Thank you from the bottom or our hearts for supporting us through this journey. Words can't express how much we appreciate each of you!

                                                   Love,
                                          Jim and Kelly

March 19, 2018

On February 22nd, Jim and I received the phone call that would forever change our lives! We're honored to introduce six year old Dieudonne, our son! 

        *** Please do not share these pictures on any form of social media!***

Dieudonne is a French name meaning "Gift of God." We plan to make Dieudonne his middle name and give him the name Jameson meaning "Son of James." 

We appreciate all the LOVE and SUPPORT you've showed us over the past three years! We have a remaining $10,000 to pull together for our trip to pick this little handsome man up! Be looking for an opportunity to match your support through a tax deductible donation via our church! Details coming soon! 

                        LOVE,
                  Jim and Kelly 

                                                       

October 11, 2017

Wow, the past 48 hours has been a roller coaster of emotions! We knew this was the week we'd find out if God felt it was time for us to receive a referral or not this go around. Families in our agency starting finding out their status on Monday..... Around 9:30pm CST, a friend of mine messaged and stated she just got off the phone with Melissa, our social worker, her family didn't receive a referral. Then another friend messaged because she found out her family's status. We really started to wonder why we hadn't heard anything. We requested a phone call for a yes and an email for a no. We kept thinking....  How hard is it to email us... or call for that matter. Needless to say, our anxiety, especially mine was high Monday evening going into Tuesday, October 10, 2017.

I was pretty busy at work, so the day had gotten away from me. After texting with Jim, we worked up the nerve to email Melissa around 2:45pm CST.

Melissa,

Do you have any information regarding who has received referral and who will be waiting for the next meeting? A few ladies I speak with regularly mentioned they spoke with you last evening. They did not give any details. 

Jim and I are just anxiously waiting, so we can prepare appropriately. 

Jim and Kelly 

As I was leaving work around 4:30pm CST, I received a phone all from Portland, Oregon. I immediately knew it was Melissa. She stated, "You received a referral." followed by a quick BUT....

Melissa continued to explain that the Central Authority placed us with a referral match for a little boy that just recently turned 7. Since 7 is out of the age ranger we were approved for through our home study and immigration, we are not allowed to accept the referral. My fear was instantly that we'd be disrespecting Burundi and the Central Authority by turning down this referral. Melissa reassured us they will simply be transferring the referral to another family within our agency that meets the young boys parameters. She stated both Pierre, our social worker in Burundi, and herself will continue to advocate for our family at the next meeting. The next meeting date is currently unknown.

As you can imagine, I was initially heartbroken by this news. We were prepared for a Yes or a No, our emotions were not certain how to handle Yes, but..... After a lot of processing together, emotional eating (my favorite way to handle bad new! :) ) and prayer we are honestly in a good place.


Today is a new day, and we know God has a bigger plan!



Our Child is and will be.......

LOVE,

Jim and Kelly 

October 2, 2017

We've been putting off this post just simply because we don't have any updated news for everyone. We are simply still waiting. The Central Authority (CA) was gone last week. Melissa, our social worker at AGCI, confirmed he is back in the country today. Pierre, our social worker in Burundi, is hoping to connect with the CA tomorrow to get an updated status on the referrals that are ready. Remember, a referral means we'll prepare to travel in approximately 10 months and no referral means, the wait will simply continue! 

We are continually reminded by family, friends, and social media that this process is in God's hands............. 

We had a little fun while my mother-in-law was recently in Kansas as well.  Check out this amazing shirt my dear friend Rebecca Wise made for me! 

We pray our little man or lady knows how much we LOVE them! Prayers to good news during our next post! 

              Love,

                  Jim and Kelly