One week, Ken and Janelle Howes were worried about the fate of the children they'd been trying to adopt from an orphanage in Haiti. The next week, they were on a plane to Miami, where more than 80 orphans would arrive Jan. 22 from the earthquake-ravaged country to be welcomed into the homes of their new American parents. For the couple, it meant sons Ivan, 4, and Kenneth, 6, would acquire a sister and brother, Evelyne, 4, and Venor, 6, who are also siblings. "It's getting better week by week, day by day," Janelle said by telephone Thursday from her home. The Howes family had been matched with the children from God's Littlest Angels orphanage in December 2008, and had met them in Haiti the following September. Before the magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Jan. 12, they believed the adoption was months - perhaps even a year - away. That changed almost overnight, when the State Department granted special status that allowed orphans with adoptions under way to enter the United States. "I wasn't mentally prepared," Janelle said. "It felt like our universe kind of spun out of orbit at first."
Russia RPCV Janelle and Ken Howes have adopted Evelyne and Venor from an orphanage in Haiti
Hatian orphans at home with Burney family
By Janet O'Neill
Posted February 13, 2010 at 9:20 p.m.
Caption: Janelle and Ken Howes are back in their Burney home with their recently expanded family, which includes Evelyne, 4, left, Kenneth, 6, Venor, 6, and Ivan, 4. The Howes have adopted Evelyne and Venor from an orphanage in Haiti. Photo courtesy Janelle Howes
Janelle and Ken Howes are back in their Burney home with their recently expanded family, which includes Evelyne, 4, left, Kenneth, 6, Venor, 6, and Ivan, 4. The Howes have adopted Evelyne and Venor from an orphanage in Haiti. Photo courtesy Janelle Howes
BURNEY - It was the suddenness of it all that was the tough part.
One week, Ken and Janelle Howes were worried about the fate of the children they'd been trying to adopt from an orphanage in Haiti.
The next week, they were on a plane to Miami, where more than 80 orphans would arrive Jan. 22 from the earthquake-ravaged country to be welcomed into the homes of their new American parents.
For the couple, it meant sons Ivan, 4, and Kenneth, 6, would acquire a sister and brother, Evelyne, 4, and Venor, 6, who are also siblings.
"It's getting better week by week, day by day," Janelle said by telephone Thursday from her home.
The Howes family had been matched with the children from God's Littlest Angels orphanage in December 2008, and had met them in Haiti the following September. Before the magnitude-7.0 earthquake struck Jan. 12, they believed the adoption was months - perhaps even a year - away.
That changed almost overnight, when the State Department granted special status that allowed orphans with adoptions under way to enter the United States.
"I wasn't mentally prepared," Janelle said. "It felt like our universe kind of spun out of orbit at first."
From preparing their boys to acquiring enough clothing and beds, much was undone. But three weeks later, all is well.
"Venor and Evelyne have rolled with the punches so well," Janelle said. "I think the biggest adjustment was for the parents."
Accustomed to living in a 70-child compound with 15 to a room at night, they're sharing a two-bunk bedroom with their new brothers.
"We call it the barracks," Janelle said with a laugh.
The newly expanded family has a routine down, with everyone rising at 6:30 or 7 a.m. Ken teaches at Fall River Jr./Sr. School, and Venor goes off to first grade at East Burney Elementary School.
"They made him into a little celebrity," Janelle said. "Everyone thinks he's cool."
Evelyne and Ivan attend Intermountain Community Preschool two days a week, and Janelle homeschools Kenneth.
Surprisingly, Evelyne and Venor don't mind the cold and love playing outside. They're not too interested in watching videos, but "what they do like are noisy toys," Janelle said.
Ken's college French closes the language gap, as does the English that Venor learned at the orphanage.
"He's really picking up English rather quickly, but Evelyne really just chatters away in Creole all day," Janelle said.
Janelle Howes credits friends, family - her parents live in Burney - and even strangers with lending a hand.
"People we didn't even know personally have been very good to us," she said, noting that meals have been brought to the house. "There's been huge community support."
In an e-mail, husband Ken spoke of their decision to adopt. Janelle grew up in the Philippines and both served in the Peace Corps in Russia, giving them firsthand knowledge of the plight of orphans.
"We saw that, with some meaningful sacrifice, we have enough resources in our family to care for two more children. ... Seeing that we have extra to offer, we could not in full conscience pass up the chance to offer two human beings a richer experience at life," he wrote.
He praised God's Littlest Angels, which he says has provided excellent care for its charges, both physically and emotionally. And he talked of his family's transition to its new life.
"The final score is: Haitians tough and adaptable; Americans soft and spoiled," he wrote. "They will be OK, and we will toughen. All involved will be richer for the union."
Reporter Janet O'Neill can be reached at 225-8216 or at joneill@redding.com.
