Adoptive Families Told Haitian Kids Could Arrive Any Day

By Lindsay Watts

COLORADO SPRINGS- About a dozen Colorado Springs families are waiting to adopt children from Haiti, andTuesday they were told their kidscould arrive in the US any day now.

“It’s really almost imminent, ” says Greg Nowlin, who is adopting two children with his wife Melissa.”We feel like we can have the kids home before the weekend.”

TheNowlins have suitcasespacked and ready to go pick up 9-year-old Marla and 11-year-old Swolbee. They’re still not sure just where the kids will arrive.

“We may get a call to go to Miami, a call to go to New York,” says Greg. “Things have been changing as we go through the process.”

The earthquake that’s devastated the island has spurred the Haitian government to speed upadoption processes. The Nowlins didn’t expect to get their children until the summer. They already have five kids, including 2-year-old Ki, a little boy also from Haiti. The coupleand their two oldestchildren have already gone to Haiti to meet Marla and Swolbee, and already consider them part of the family.

“They were part of our family the first time we went down and saw them,” says Melissa.”Saying goodbye was heart wrenching.”

They haven’t spoken to the kids since the earthquake, and only found they were ok when they spotted them on the news.

“We saw them just sitting there talking to someone, and our son smiled at someone off camera,” says Melissa.

The Nowlins say there’s about twenty Haitian children coming to Colorado Springs, andthey expect most will arrive together. Many of the kids have grown up in the same orphanage.