Open Book Answers PART I (by H)

Well here we go!!!! We're going to try to answer these over the next several days. We'll see how long it takes us to get through them all! (See original Open Book 2008 post by clicking here--) One note: as always, you can click on any photo to enlarge (we're going to be throwing in some photos for fun too)...

My question is: Are you going to answer all of these intriguing thoughtful questions? ~Candis: Yes!

My question is, have you took Kyle and Owen to a Amusement park before? (like Hershey Park, Six Flags, Kings Dominion). I think they would love it! ~Asiaha, hi! Yes, we have taken K & O to one amusement park… StoryLand in NH (see posts from our NH August trips 2008 & 2007)… but it is really just for little, little kids. The rides are only for little tikes, no big roller coasters or “grown up rides” like at Hershey, Six Flags, etc. But, just like you, we think that they will LOVE IT when they are big enough to go! We can’t wait!!!!!!!!! P.S. Photo below was of just last week - the four of us exiting the "Bamboo Shoots" ride at StoryLand and heading straight to the front of the line to ride it again. ;)

I would love to know, are you planning for any more kids? ~Jen: No!

After having meera, do you want or wish for any more children? (I know you said meera is the last but you can't control your heart!). ~Rose: No! our heart says no! I loved being pregnant and I absolutely LOVE having a newborn… and it is already sad for me how fast Meera is growing (especially knowing this is our last baby)… so I’ll admit, it is tempting… but absolutely no—we are definitely not going to have any more children (bio or adopted). I know, I know, “never say never,” but… really…. NEVER! ;)

My question is do you think that with your twins being raised in a very white environment that they will be more likely to be in interracial relationships when they start dating? ~Amy: Yes! But I think they'll probably have interracial relationships outside of black-white too. Just my hunch, but that's my prediction.
Where do you plan to take ALL three Kids for your first "real" vacation (meaning: you have to take an airplane and lots of snacks ;-) as a Family of 5? ~Heutehiermorgendort: Love this question!! Just took them to NH for our first “real” vacation as a family of five!!! This was Meera’s first time on an airplane with “lots of snacks” and everything! Kyle and Owen were super excited to have her on the airplane, etc, etc, etc! We have a vacation planned for late this fall… you’ll have to keep reading to find out where we go! ;) And we HOPE hope hope hope hope to return to Virgin Gorda this spring with Meera as well as K & O. We’ve been dreaming of Virgin Gorda since we went last year (check out our blog posts from on and around June 4th, 2007 to get an idea of how amazing that trip was for us!)

Will you ever bring K & O back to Haiti to visit? ~Nikki: Yes! Absolutely definitely for sure. My question--when will you take the boys' 4 year-old picture by the tree? And will Meera be in it as well? ~Maggie B.: We always take that photo at the end of August – so look for it coming soon! ;) Meera will be in it too this year.

Do you know who Kyle & Owen's birth Mom is? If not, could they ever track her down some day if they decided to? Do you know anything about her? ~Anonymous: We won’t answer this question. Too private. Sorry! What were Kyle and Owen's names before they were Kyle and Owen? ~Anonymous: We won’t answer this question. Too private. Sorry!

Will you come visit me in my new city the next time you are there? ~Maggie: Yes! Can’t wait!

Did you ever find out who sent you the chair for Meera? ~Anonymous: Yes, it was one of my best friends- Kristen! She has already given me a really nice baby gift so I never in a million years would have expected it was her! That Bjorn chair is absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend it!!!!

What agency/orphanage did you adopt from in Haiti? ~Trisha Roe/Major Mom: We adopted through a U.S. agency based in Montana -- the agency is A New Arrival. Their website is: http://www.anewarrival.com/ Their orphanage in Haiti is Bresbis in Port au Prince. They have a new orphanage now (like, a different building) so it isn't the same actual place that Kyle and Owen were... but it is the same organization. Let me know if you want further information! My question is in regards to Heather returning to work. At this point are you looking forward to it, or dreading it? ~Mary: Dreading it!!!!!!!!!

My question is if you could adopt again, but from another country, what country would it be? ~Sara: We originally looked into South Africa before we chose Haiti. At that time, however, South Africa was not open for U.S. adoption because of problems related to the Hague Agreement. We ended up choosing Haiti and we are VERY VERY VERY glad we did. Absolutely no regrets. When we were considering adopting again (after K & O, before Meera), we were decided that if we were to do it we were going to do a domestic adoption in order to get a newborn (we really, really, really wanted a newborn – it was a major priority for us – we have posts on this blog about that). But that was very conflicting for us because we’re so aware of the extreme need in Haiti. So, the answer to your question is: The U.S., but with serious reservations because of our commitment to Haiti. But if we had to choose another country other than Haiti or the U.S., we’d probably look into whether S. Africa is open now. If not, we’d probably go with Ethiopia because they have a relatively good, well-functioning adoption system in place.