My trip to Haiti: part 2

I think I left off with Sunday night; kissing the babies...





Monday morning we got to go to the new orphanage property, and to the toddler
house:
For Rebecca's goodbye's.

Chris was our tour guide, and he was great!!!!!! He loves taking visitors
different places,
so it was a lot of fun. The new property, at Fort Jaques, is
amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!! The land is
beautiful, and the work that the haitian people have done there is amazing!
Honestly,
when you go up there, and if the people are working, you feel as if you have
stepped back
into the 1400's. I will never forget the man breaking rocks, by hand and pick,
to a size
suitable for cement mixing. That is his job everyday... It made me feel very
blessed to
live where I do, and also very lazy at the same time!!!!!! I am sure that he
was happy just
to have his job. Another thing that was amazing was the 10ft. wall around the
entire
property. Chris told us that it took 10 months to erect, because all of the
rocks for the
wall, were dug out of the property: by hand. All of the foundational work was
dug by
hand, all of the earth moved, was moved by hand: Let me tell you this; Haitian
workers
are some of the hardest working people that I have ever met!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The
property and
the view are stunning!











After the property, we headed to the toddler house. This was a treat!!!!!!!!!
It was so
much fun seeing all of the kids, and getting to witness their "goodbye
tradition"! I was so
mad that my video camera ran out of memory right when the kids started
singing... The
candy that Sheryl and I brought was a hit. I think each kid got to go through
the line at
least 3 times, and I still gave a bag of candy to Molly that was left over.





















I also got to hand deliver gifts to Peterson and Gaelle, from Beth; and to Marie
Mica from
Gwen. That was great seeing there expressions first hand with their gifts!
Miss Mica was a
little diva in her new dress, and when she went out where everyone else was,
they were all
cheering and clapping for her! She was so proud of herself! And, to see how
sweet
Peterson was with Gaelle, would melt anyone's heart!!!!!!!! He helped her undo
her ribbon,
and was just so incredibly sweet with her!!!!!! Beth and Gwen, you will be so
blessed with your children joining your families!!!!!!








After that, we got the tour. I only toured part of the house, because Jonas was
hungry,
and I had only brought a bottle of water with me. He was not impressed with me
at all! :-)
I will never forget Rebecca going into her preschool classroom, and realizing
what was
going on. I had to leave before I started balling and making the situation a
disaster.
We hung out at the toddler house a while longer, and then headed back to the
baby house
for lunch. Rebecca walked so proudly to the gate, and lead us all out. We got
into the car
and headed back to the baby house, and in her own 3 year old way, Rebecca knew
that
this was it. Sheryl, you were so strong for her, and once again, I had to use
every ounce of
strength that I had within me, to not start balling!!!!!!!! It was one of those
times that you
know if you start crying it will be uncontrollable, and I was not sure how I
would stop!!!!!!
That 10 minute car ride has left an impact on me forever. I got to see a
glimpse of the
other side of adoption. Adoption is an amazing gift from God; but when you are
placed in
a loving orphanage, like GLA, the kids form bonds with the other children, and
with their
caregivers. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing better than a forever family,
but I got a
glimpse of how much the kids really do love GLA! The staff work so hard to
create this
great environment, and it shows!!!!!!!! It feels like one big family at the
toddler house.
















The rest of Monday was spent hanging out, packing up, and getting ready to head
back
home. The time flew by SO FAST!!!!!!!!! I was ready to go home and let the
rest my family
meet Jonas, but the mission side of me, felt like I had not really gotten to
help out at GLA.
Obviously my primary job there was Jonas, but I loved playing and loving on all
of the
babies and toddlers!!!!!!! I did not feel like I got to do that as much as I
would have liked
to! There was just not enough time. I could have also spent one entire day
just
photographing the kids, but once again, there was just not enough time!















Monday night was a rough one for Jonas. He was so gassy, and when he woke up
around
3 am, he really did not go back to sleep until about 7am. I was so exhausted,
and really
did not know what to do for him! I am sure it was all of the formula that he
consumed
while I was there, because he would not eat from me. During my entire stay at
GLA, from
Saturday until Tuesday, he ate maybe 1 1/2 bananas, a bowl of hot cereal, some
mango
bites, and a few bites here and there of my food. I think this was just a way
to control his
environment, because he had been abruptly taken away from all that he has known
for the
past year of his life. So, needless to say, he was drinking a lot of formula,
and I don't
think his body was ready for all of that!!!!!!

We all said our goodbye's, and I headed up to the nursery for one last goodbye.
I could
not stay in there long, because the kids had gotten to know me, and thought that
I was
coming up to play, and when I had to leave, some cried, and then they hold on to
your
legs, and I just had to leave before I had a complete meltdown! It was the
hardest thing to
do, and by this time my emotions were shot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you can't tell
already, I cry
pretty easy! :-) Plus, knowing some of the children from this group, and who
their parents
are, did not make it any easier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Being at GLA was amazing, and the staff and volunteers made it that much better!
I loved meeting everyone and hanging out with them! The only thing that I did not like
at GLA, were the rats!!!!! Don't worry, if Chris is still playing war games with them,
by the time he and Lea leave, they will all be dead!!!!!!! :-) They were only out at night,
and they did mind their own business, I just hate rodents!

LOOK WHO'S STANDING...

I know, I am being an overachiever: 2 posts in one day... Don't get used to it! :-) I was able to get Jonas down with the other kids tonight, so I thought I would blog a little bit. Plus, I have to show you all what Jonas has done for the first time in 28 months: I will let the pics speak for themselves... (This was during his first PT session) Sue, the PT, is AMAZING!!!!

HAITI: Part 1...

Okay, I have been home 11 days now, and this is the first night Jonas has actually went
down to bed about the same time as the other kids. Nights have been more difficult, but I
will get to that later...

My friend Mia and I left from Indy friday evening, to Charlotte, NC. Unfortunately,
we did not have enough time there, or Laurie Watson, another adoptive mom from GLA,
was going to come and meet us there and hang out for a while. That would have been so much fun!!!!!!
From there we flew into Miami, and got in around 12am.

I was so nervous all day, and did not eat much.
I was excited, apprehensive, scared; as to what I was getting our family into???? So many
thoughts, and too much time to think about them, before we flew out for Haiti the next
morning. Once we got to MIami, we found a spot in the airport, and slept for the night.
This was a first for me, and not one that I would like to do often. We knew we had to back
at the airport around 5 am, so it did not make much sense to us to spend the money on a
hotel. I probably got about 3 hours of sleep. I had my pillow with me and a down blanket,
so it was not too bad. So, we get up Saturday morning, kinda freshen up; brush our teeth, hair, etc.,
and then off to find Sheryl, (She was going to GLA to pick up her daughter, Rebecca), and her friend Lisa.

The one thing I hate about airports now, is having to do the detailed security check at
every turn. We packed all of our things in our carry-ons, so we always had to take out
baggies of liquids, etc. I do appreciate the security, it is just a pain sometimes.

We get to our gate and Sheryl's friend recognizes us pretty easily. I guess two women with
bags, and an empty stroller are easy to spot! :-) We got to sit and chat for a while, and
then it was off on our last leg. I was really feeling nervous!!!!!!! We got into Haiti at the
scheduled time, and it was so good to step out on Haitian soil! It had been 9 years since I
had been back.




The airport has improved A LOT since last time. Immigration is air
conditioned now, and the baggage claim area is a lot bigger and more organized!!!!!! We
did not even get our luggage rummaged through.

When we got outside, it was a little confusing as who to go with, even though I speak
some Creole. There was the one guy with our names, but we did not know that he had a
helper too. EVERYONE will help you, but then you have to tip EVERYONE too. So, we got to
the trucks and loaded up and headed up to GLA. The sights and sounds were so good to
see and smell!!!!!! It never changes. I was even amazed that I knew where we were at
some of the times. Where I grew up was up the coast, so we never drove a lot in Port,
except on the weekends.

We got to GLA, and it was all pretty sureal!!!!!! I went into the living room, and Jonas was
given to me, by Dixie, I think??? That is so bad, I can't remember. All I know, is that it was
SO GOOD, to finally be holding this precious boy that I have carried in my heart for 9
months!!!!!!  All of my fears and reservations were gone the moment I held him!

It was almost like holding my children after delivery, except he was 27 lbs. :-)
The hardest thing, is that you have prepared yourself, and you know that this is the best
thing for them, and you know that you will love them unconditionally: But, they don't
know you from any other stranger! Especially the younger children, like Jonas. His visual
impairment adds a whole other element too!



After a while, I could tell that he was tired, hot and restless. I felt like I had to ask
permission to do things with him. GLA did not make me feel this way at all! It was the
whole thing of arriving, and here is your child, and now they are YOURS... It almost felt
like there should have been one final gauntlet to get through the doors, for him to be
officially "mine". I also felt like I needed a manual of how he liked things done. He has 28
months of history, that I have not been a part of. I think of Luca, who is 22 months, and
he definitely has some routines that we do before nap, and bedtime, etc. So, I am sure
that I was frustrating to Jonas those first few days, because I was doing things my ways,
with his cues, but definitely not the way it had been done before! He HATED me rocking
him to sleep the first couple days!!!!!!!!!! I could tell everyday that he would be more
relaxed in my arms, and there was less frustration on his part! The staff was very leery
about how he was going to do with all of these new changes, and they were pleasantly
surprised at how well he adapted!

After I got him down for his nap, I went to help with unloading the donations. It was
already done, and it was fun to see the staff sorting things. It has to feel like Christmas to
them! Between Sheryl and my luggage, the dining room table was covered. I love to give,
and that was one of the highlights of the trip for me, just getting to see them go through
everything!



After naps, we headed up to the Baptist Mission for some lunch and souveniers. Lea and
Anna took us up, and I was able to get all the vanilla that I thought I needed. I should
have bought more, as most of it is already given away! For anyone going, I think it is the
best buy! 17 oz. of pure Haitian vanilla for $2.40 american. It used to be $1.00, but it is
still a bargain!!!!!!!! You will not find a better, more pure vanilla, than this! I have tried
many, and still Haiti's is better!





The rest of the day went well, and I loved eating all of Haitian food!!!! The cooks at GLA
are fabulous!!!!!!!! Jonas would still only take a bottle from me. This must have been one
area for him to control. In our 4 days there, the only solid food he ate from me, was a
bowl of hot cereal, one banana, and some mango. He would take a bite or two of other
things, but would not eat like he had been. So, we went through a lot of formula!

Sunday, we went to a house church about 10 minutes or so up the mountain. It was
awesome! It was also Mother's Day, which made it even more special! The family who has
the house church have been Missionaries in Haiti for a long time, and the husband runs a
christian radio/TV station that broadcasts to other Islands in the caribbean with Haitian
populations. That might not be totally accurate in all that he does, but pretty close???





After church and lunch, Mia, Sheryl, myself, and some of the other staff went to the
balcony to play with some kids. It was so much fun going into the nursery and seeing
some of your children and taking them up to the balcony to play with!!!!! Some I didn't
know, but it was still just as fun! The kids have so much fun playing in the rubbermaid
tubs filled with water! They could have done it all afternoon!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We played up there
until dinner, and then at night, I would always go up to the nursery after Jonas was asleep
to just look at the kids sleeping, or just love on and hold the ones that were still up. It is
amazing how many babies/toddlers that fit on my lap!!!!!! :-) I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF
IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!









Well, that is enough for now. I will finish up the rest of my trip in the next post, and then I
will let you know what has happened since we have been home.

One fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish...

                                        Do lips get any smoochier than this???

I PROMISE; I have not stopped blogging...

This will be short, I have a couple minutes before I need to get the kids ready for school. I have not forgotten about my blog, our fios router has been acting up, and our connection for the last few days has been slower than dial-up. Today I should be able to get all of my photos uploaded to FLICKR, and then I will put a link on the blog.

Jonas is doing well. He slept through the night last night. He seems to be taking all of the new changes well. He has started eating a lot better, and taking less bottles. We have a LONG WAY to go with him for physical development, but the pediatrician is very optimistic that he will do great!

I am putting a link here from our local newspaper. Jonas made the front page yesterday.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080520/NEWS/805200314

I know that everyone is dying to see more pics of him. Here is a couple from yesterday. Do you people would be confused if I said that they are twins??? :-)

I am going to Haiti...

All of Jonas's paperwork should be done by tomorrow, and then the orphanage will get his escort papers.  I was given the go-ahead to get my plane tickets this morning. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I leave Friday, May 9th, and return Tuesday, May 13th.  This is the best Mother's Day present ever!!!  We also got our official referral today.  So, here are some new pics, and some taken over the past few months.  He is so cute.  I can not wait to smooch on his lips, and hear his giggle that everyone talks about!  Jonas, Mommy is coming soon............ 

Look, I am sitting all by myself now...

What should I ask Santa for...

I just crack myself up...

I love this swing...

My volunteer is so much fun...