Day Seven...Heading Home...

Phoebe & I got up Wednesday morning & finished packing. We ate a "quiet" breakfast compared to the past several days with one or more of the kids by our side. I was dreading going to the O for just as few minutes to say "Good bye." To me it seemed cruel for all of us to go in there, get everybody worked up & then say Good bye. The team leader said he needed to go by to pick up something...would have been nice if that would have been taken care of the night before but it wasn't so we went.

Shakira immediately came running to me & Phoebe. She was so excited to see us & then we had to tell her "Good bye." Samara immediately started pouting & ignoring us. I didn't want to go to the nursery because I knew Caleb would start crying as soon as I got out of his eye sight but I could not be there & not see him so we went up. He was in his crib & the team was ready to leave so I just loved on him through the crib slats & told him that I loved him. We quickly walked out of the nursery, down the steps, & into the van. This is getting old. Saying Good bye to them...to put it bluntly..stinks! They are tired of it...and we are tired of it. Please Lord, bring them home to us very soon! Thank you!

We had a very interesting ride to the airport. We actually had a short wait through the line & then had lots of wait time after we got our boarding passes. We went upstairs to look at the shops & had a bite to eat before going to the gate area. We then had our final devotion as a team. Phoebe & I were very blessed to be a part of this team. Each person was awesome & it was so very cool to experience a trip with one of my bestest buds, my "older brother"...aka Don, & my "younger brother"...aka Jarod, not to mention my "boss"...aka Tim, & the "Creole translator"...aka Jason :o)

Suprisingly our flight left Haiti on time...I think that's a first for me! Phoebe & I had the priviledge of sitting behind the "3 Amigos" which was quite entertaining :o) We flew into FLL which was also a first for me. That airport makes a lot more sense than Miami...imagine that! :o) We left 92 degree weather in Haiti to arrive to 75 degree weather in FLL with their AC's on full blast. We were all shivering. Most of the team put on their jackets that they had brought with them but I couldn't do that because "we" accidentally left my jacket on the plane going to Chicago on the way to Haiti. So unfortunately, my very nice $2 thrift store jacket was replaced by a very over priced, "okay" sweatshirt that said FLL on it :o( We had lots of time at FLL before our flight to Chicago so the team ate an oversized late lunch at Chili's & a few of us topped off our meal with a delicious ice cream cone from Edy's...yeah, I know we were freezing but we still wanted ice cream :o)

Phoebe & I sat next to Tim on our flight from FLL to Chicago. We were suppose to only have 35 minutes or so to make our next flight but our flight from FLL was early...which was an answer to prayer...unfortunately we were very delayed leaving Chicago due to having to have the plane de-iced twice & then needing a new battery in a cart or something. This time Tim was sitting behind me. About 10 minutes before the plane was ready to take off, Phoebe stood up & threw up into her seat. Mr. "Quick Reflex" handed me a puke bag but we didn't need it anymore. The stewardess came running to us & handed me a bunch of towels, wipes, & a bag. After I got Phoebe & the seat cleaned up, she came back with Ginger ale & a wet cloth for Phoebe. Thank goodness she didn't have any more emesis on the plane. When we finally got to our airport we were all exhausted. The team said brief good byes & then we headed out. This time it was "Randy's taxi service" & we dropped off Jason, Tim, & Don before heading home. It was 12:30am when Phoebe got into bed & I had already decided that she would not be going to school in the morning.

Day Six...

Tuesday the 17th was our last full day in Haiti. Shakira thought it would be nice to wake up at 5:15am...me not so much but was unable to go back to sleep because she was up for good. We ate breakfast & then headed to the O in time to see the school children off. Samara was pouting & doing her "ignoring me" thing when something is wrong. I asked her what was wrong & she said, "You go tomorrow." I said, "Yes, but we still have all of today so let's enjoy it." She went off to school pouting. Shortly after this I talked with Jean Nathan & asked him if our files were still on the 2nd desk & he said, "Yes." I sighed, & he said, "Soon, very soon, you'll be out of MOI." I looked at him with a horrified look & he looked back at me with a puzzled look. I said, "The last time you said, "Soon, very soon...it was 7 & 1/2 months!" He said, "Oh!"

The men were busy working on their projects, Kelly & Megan were working on a nutrional program, Gina was loving on the nursery kids & Phoebe spent time playing with Shakira, the nursery kids, & hanging out with Hunter. I decided that I would "tackle" organizing the office. The office is usually nice & neat but on this trip it was construction zone due to the remodeling of the mission room. You could not get to the desk or to any files which I thought probably wasn't a good idea. There was dust everywhere & lots of bins that needed to be gone through & things sorted out. So just as soon as I started my project...my favorite nanny in the entire world came in & started helping me. She stayed by my side until we had went through & organized every bin. I LOVE YOU MADAME VALET!!!

It was then time to return to the guest house for lunch. My original plan was not to bring any of the kids...except Phoebe of course, with me to the guest house that day because we decided as a group not to have any of the children stay with us Tuesday night since we were planning to stay late at the O & get up early in the morning to head to the airport but Samara was still pouting & wanted to come to the guest house for lunch so I gave in & let her :o) I have a feeling Daddy is going to be the one to tell Samara "NO" :o)

After lunch we went to St.Joseph's to see the Dance Theatre. I had seen them practice before but not the actual performance. It was very good. Phoebe & Samara were totally mesmerized by it. I decided not to bring Shakira because I knew she wouldn't want to sit still & would be up there with them dancing...she actually did that when we saw them practice before :o)

We then returned to the O & while the men finished up their projects, the ladies hung out & loved on the kids. We decided to order pizza & eat at the O for dinner. I had no idea there was a Domino's in Haiti! Samara started pouting again as we were waiting for our pizza to arrive. She basically said she was tired of waiting & wanted to go home with me. I told her that I was tired of waiting too but unfortunately we had to wait until all the paper work was done & it wasn't all done yet. She continued to pout so I directed her to her Godfather Don & told her to tell him about it. He tried to explain it to her but she didn't care. She was "done" with waiting! Sweetie...I so know how you feel!

We left the O around 8:30pm & returned to the guest house. We had our devotion & then I started packing our things. Phoebe was "chillin" & enjoying some quite time. We were both ready to go home...but was feeling heavy hearted as we knew we had to leave Shakira, Samara, & Caleb behind.

Working hard...

I will post Day Six today but I wanted to share this devotion from Dr. David Jeremiah first. Most of you that know me well, know that I "love" watching the "Biggest Loser" on Tuesday nights. So much so that you know unless you are dying you should not call me between 7-9pm on Tuesdays. After the last season ended I felt like God spoke to me & said, "You know that when the other 3 come home you will not be able to watch this show faithfully every Tuesday night like you have been for the past few years." I agreed & decided that I would continue watching it until they came home & then I would stop. The Tuesday before I left for Haiti I needed to get to bed early so I chose not to watch the show & go to bed early instead. Then I missed the Tuesday after that because I was in Haiti...and I did not ask Randy to record it for me just as I hadn't the week before. So last night came around & I decided that I had already missed two weeks of it...and I lived :o) so I could skip another week. Now I'm not saying that I will never watch it again. I just won't make it a neccessity in my life...almost to the point of idol worship. So I thought it was interesting when Randy sent me this devotion today & it talked about the "Biggest Loser" show.

It Doesn’t Just Happen
He must increase, but I must decrease.
John 3:30
Recommended Reading
1 Timothy 6:11-12

On the hit TV show, The Biggest Loser, contestants must work hard every week to drop pounds so they can continue being on the show. They are held accountable by a gigantic scale that reveals their weight in front of millions of Americans. Going into the contest, they know weight loss doesn’t just happen; they have to fight for it by breaking old habits and creating new, healthy ones. Desperate to lose weight and get healthy, they do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.

This should be our mentality as Christians. Becoming like Christ won’t just happen; it takes discipline and the honest pursuit of righteousness. When we accepted Christ as our Savior, we made a commitment to Him; and it is our duty to work hard to put off the “old man which grows corrupt” and “put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24).

When we earnestly do this, we will be well on our way to achieving our goal of godly righteousness and pointing others toward Christ Jesus.

"I know I can't do a thing to earn my salvation; but now that I am His, I will do everything in my power to show Him how much I love Him—and I live to please the One I love who has transformed me with HIS love." Katherine Walden

Day Five...

Monday morning 2/16th...President's Day! After breakfast we headed to the O & arrived in time to see the school kids before they left for school. Three of the team members had appointments to go to, the rest of the men on the team got busy working on their projects. Clotide (the O nurse) & I were going to get weights & heights on all the children as well as trace their feet for shoe sizes but she had to take one of the children to some appointments so I recruited my bud Kelly & Phoebe to help me. We did the nursery children in the morning & the school age children in the afternoon. The other woman on our team, Gina, played & loved on the children. As soon as we returned to the guest house, Shakria, Samara, Phoebe, & I headed to the pool. It was Shakira's night to stay but Samara "conned" me into letting her come for dinner & returning to the O in the evening. Shakira likes the water & had a great time the last time we were in the pool but this time she kept "drinking" the water which caused some problems. She would get anxious when she started coughing & then she held her breath...for a really long time...and I had to forcefully "pat" her back to make her open up her mouth. After all that drama she was done with swimming :o( but she sat by the pool & watched Phoebe. I didn't have as much one on one time with Shakira as I usually do & I think she realized it because she was quite clingy. Overall she was a lot more hyper than she has been the past trips but I think that was because she was so excited to see Phoebe...and she wants to come home! I could tell that Phoebe was somewhat overwhelmed with Shakira but she did pretty well with it. I'm glad that she experienced it now before they come home. We tried to tell her about Shakira's needs but you don't really "get it" until you experience it. Phoebe understands that Shakira will be going to her school & will be in a special needs class. I can't wait to see how Shakira will continue to blossom once she gets the therapies & education she needs!

Loving Unconditionally...



The joys of trying to get a family picture(minus one)...

Day Four...

I woke up to see Phoebe & Samara's sweet sleeping faces. A little while later Samara got up & thought that Phoebe should be awake to so she went over to her bed & gave her a big hug which did not make Phoebe happy. We then got ready for church & headed downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast we had an approx. 20 minute drive to an English speaking church. It was a very nice church & the people were very friendly. We got there in time for Sunday School so Reece & Phoebe went to Sunday School together while Samara stayed with me while the team had our own devotion outside. Phoebe slept through most of the church service while sitting on my lap & Samara sat (awake) on Kelly's lap. Kelly & I had a hard time containing ourselves toward the end of the service when a woman got up & sang a beautiful song...the same song that Kelly had broken her ankle dancing to :o) Samara was totally mesmerized by the flushing toliets at the church. It was quite entertaining to watch her watch the "stuff" go down.

After church we returned to the guest house for lunch. The rest of team went to the O to do some work but Phoebe & I went to drop off Samara & bring Caleb back to the guest house. Phoebe, Caleb, & I swam for awhile & then we took a nap. Caleb liked the water as long as he was clinging tightly to me :o) Kelly & Jarod had a "girly" birthday party for Naitile in the evening so that's why Caleb has a tiara on in the birthday pictures :o)

Phoebe really enjoyed her one on one time with Caleb. She fed him, helped changed him, & tickled him & made him "gut" laugh. It was so cute! She did however get a little jealous in the evening when Caleb didn't want to go to sleep & I spent 5 minutes rocking him. She wanted to know why I was spending so much time with him :o)

Day Three...

Saturday 2/14...Valentines Day! All 5 of us got up & headed downstairs for breakfast. Phoebe had her hands full trying to keep Shakira at the table while I was preparing their plates. I could hear Phoebe get louder & louder, "Shakira Chita, Shakira Chita!" The next thing I know Shakira has budded in line & is tyring to help herself to the food. I assisted her back to her chair & then finished getting their food. Shakira eats everything you give her which is a pleasant change from my picky eater Phoebe but it's a challenge to get her to stop eating. She tried to eat & drink Phoebe's food & drink which did not make Phoebe happy :o( We then got loaded up into the van & headed to the O. The men started on a construction project while the ladies loved on the children & then sat with them during church. After church, Kelly & I hosted a Valentine's party for the children & staff. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the party because I was too busy running around like a wild woman trying to get everything ready & then I was on clean up duty. Kelly talked to the children about God's love for them & how we should all love each other. They then had some heart shaped Little Debbie cakes, pretzels, cheese curls, & lemonade. The older children got large conversation hearts & the younger children got heart shaped gummies. After the Valentine's party, Phoebe, Samara, & I went back to the guest house to swim & relax while the rest of the team went to tour Wings of Hope & the Baptist Mission. Phoebe really likes to swim so she was very happy to get to swim. Samara on the other hand, has to ease into it although she's doing a lot better since her first swimming experience with me in Dec. 07 when all she did was yell, "Why, Why, Why?" when I put her in the water. We swam for awhile & then we dried off & took a nap. When the rest of the team returned from their outing they decided they wanted to go swimming. Phoebe & Samara thought it would be fun to swim in their clothes & Samara actually seemed to like it better this time around. Not sure if it was because she was in her clothes or because she was with Jarod who she thinks is really funny :o)
Phoebe really enjoyed her one on one time with Samara. They are a lot of like in many ways...thankfully Samara is not as strong willed :o) When we returned home I looked at some pictures that was sent to us by Stacey while I was gone. It was funny to see pictures of Samara with the same head tilt, cheesy smile that Phoebe is so famous far! It didn't take long to see some sibling jealously either. Phoebe wanted to know why I "always" gave Samara her food first & Samara wanted to know why she didn't have a back pack just like Phoebe. Oh, the joys of parenthood! :o)

Day Two...

Phoebe & I got up at 6:30am & had to high tail it to make it to breakfast at 7am...neither one of us are morning people & we don't move very fast upon waking :o) After breakfast we headed to the O but did not get there in time to see the kids before they went to school. We did "peek" into their classrooms though. Phoebe & I spent some time downstairs with Shakira & then I headed up to the nursery. I spent some one on one time loving on Caleb & then Jonathan, Jamesely, Rebecca, & Sara. Phoebe took over for me on that part so I could start the head to toe assessments on the children. I checked out all the nursery children who aren't in school in the morning & then assessed the older children in the afternoon. It was a busy but very productive day for me. Before heading back to the guest house I had a little time to love on Noah, Ellie, Fritzon, & Daniel.

We brought Caleb, Samara, & Shakira back with us Friday night. It was quite a production but something that both Phoebe & I need to get use to :o) The guest house was pretty full the entire week we were there so I had Caleb(was in a pack n play), Samara, & Shakira sleep out on the balcony which worked well except for when Shakira woke up once during each of the nights that she was there(around 2-3am) & couldn't find me on a top bunk so she went to the lady with dark hair on the bottom bunk & shook her arm & said, "Mama, Mama, Mama." The lady was very good with her & then she woke me up so I could get Shakira back to sleep again.

Day One...

Thursday the 12th we left the house at 0 dark thirty which was 3:50am CT & after Don's shuttle service picked up Tim & Jason, we headed to the airport. Our flight to Chicago was at 6am. From Chicago we flew to Miami (still don't get the flying north to go south bit). We had a short lay over at Miami & then headed to PAP which for once was on time. We landed in Haiti at approx. 4:10pm ET but by the time we went through customs, got our bags, loaded the vans, & arrived to the guest house it was dinner time. We ate dinner & got our room assignments.

By this time it was around 7:30pm & the team leader thought it would be best if we didn't go to the O that night. I put on a dramatic show, explaining why we needed to go that night & at least see our children even if he thought it was too late to bring them back with us that night :o) It must have been convincing because he changed his mind & we went to the O for about an hour. Although I as well as the other parents were disappointed that we didn't get to bring them back that night, we were thankful for the hour that we got to spend with them. Phoebe was very happy to finally meet her siblings & they were extremely excited to see her. Phoebe picked all three of them up & carried them around. She didn't have any problem picking Caleb & Samara up but Shakira who is very light but very tall, was somewhat of a challenge for her :o) Shakira was so excited to see the both of us that she kept jumping up & down which was somewhat overwhelming to Phoebe but she handled it well.

After lots of hugs, kisses, & pictures, I had to explain to Samara & Shakira that they wouldn't be coming back to the guest house with us that night but that we would see them first thing in the morning. They were disappointed but handled it well. Caleb however, cried as soon as I put him down & started to walk away. We then returned to the guest house & got ready for bed. Normally the roosters don't start their carrying on until around 2 to 3am, this time for whatever reason, they decided to start not much after our heads hit the pillow which was around 10pm & it lasted until around 7am. Unfortunately they maintained this schedule all week. I didn't know there was such a thing as noc turnal roosters!!!

Gone & back!

Hi All! I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to post before we left or while we were in Haiti. We arrived home late last night & are still recooping today so this will be a brief post but I wanted to let you know that we had a wonderful trip & I'm so glad that Phoebe & I got to go on this trip! Here are a few pictures to look at for now. I will try to send individual pictures of children to their adoptive parents over the next couple of days.

Sleepless nights...

The past two nights I have gone to bed early & have awaken way early...this morning it was 12:30am :o( Now, sometimes I wake up & can't go back to bed because I have a lot on my mind. But these past two nights I think God has awaken me because he knows I have a lot to do before I leave & that I do my "best work" at night...when everyone else is asleep :o)

This morning when I woke up I decided to read my Bible first. I read Psalm 63. One of the verses spoke to me but not because it applied to me right now but because it has in the past & I think there are some people out there right now that is reading this that it applies to so I hope it is helpful!

"I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night." Psalm 63:6 The footnote from my NLT Life Application Study Bible says this: " During sleepless, uncomfortable nights, David thought about God. Instead of counting sheep, he meditated on his Shepherd. He reviewed all the ways God had already helped him, & he greeted the next day with songs of praise. In quiet moments or wakeful nights, make it a point to count examples of God's faithfulness to you. Doing so is far more likely to give you rest than other items you might count!"

I have not...

fallen from the face of the earth :o) I've just been very busy the past week trying to get ready for our trip to Haiti. If I have time tonight I will come back & post a picture of Phoebe's hair after Belle braids & beads it this evening. Here are some pictures from the snow & ice storm we had a couple of weeks ago.

Happy Birthday Nata!

This beautiful girl turned 8 today. I pray that it is a wonderfully blessed day for her. Please pray for her family as it is a hard day for them as she & her brother Fritzon are not home with them. Please also pray that whatever the hold up is with Nata's paperwork will be resolved today & that their files would go into MOI this week.

ANSWER and UPDATE!!!

The answer to my previous blog post is:
1.) Unfortunately...is totally true!
2.) Is half true...the first part is totally true...the second part is not. Instead of being chased down the mountain by a grizzly bear, Randy had to push me down the mountain as well. When I got to the bottom I thought my legs were going to fall off of my body :o)
3.) Of course is true! I didn't know about the HBWD back then :o)

Now for my wonderful update!
We have MOI numbers! Caleb 8195, Samara 8196, & Shakira 8209 (not sure what that's all about...being 13 off)
And...we are on the 2nd of the 3 desks!!! Praise God!!! I am praying that we will be off the 3rd desk & out of MOI by the time I land in Haiti next week :o)

Two truths & a lie...

A couple of my friends inspired me to do this. I've done this before as ice breakers with the youth group & I think it's fun. I will describe three events. Two are true & one is not. You have to guess which one is made up. Happy guessing!

1. During a Myrtle Beach vacation with my husband & my mom we went to a huge water park. We were in line to go down a very fast water slide. My mom was first, I went second, & Randy was third. My mom went down with no problems at all. I went down & by the time I reached the bottom...where about 100 people were standing...my bikini top went "up" & my bottoms went "down." The 100 people...along with my mom...were laughing hysterically while I was very, very embarrassed! Randy came down a few minutes later & had no idea what had happened.

2. During a vacation to Glacier National State Park, Randy & I went hiking up Mt. Brown. I was very out of shape at the time & I had asked Randy to pick the easiest trail but he picked the hardest trail instead. He had to literally push me all the way up the mountain but I ran all the way down because we were being chased by a very large Grizzly bear!

3. On my wedding night I danced the Gator in my white satin & lace wedding dress.