Day 10- Friday

Friday nights don’t seem like Fridays here! J It’s the start of the weekend for most of you, but for us it’s just another day at the crèche!

Today it rained, and if you are a teacher you know first-hand that this means that the kids are CrAzY!!! We had a busy morning with “class” and then the kids made it outside to play in the dirt for a bit. Then, they went inside for bath and then play time. We took Benithy and got the play-doh out. She had such a good time with it! We played for quite a while. She really enjoys when I put music on as she plays, and every once in a while she will have to stop playing for a dance break!! Sound like anyone else you know?!?!?! J (if you don’t know… it’s all of us! The Man, Myself, and The Bash are always ready for a good break out dance moment!)

After lunch Benithy basically fell asleep for a good hour or so. This is when we played with some other kids and read. There isn’t a lot of down time there. Even as we read we are having kids come up and ask questions, take stuff from us, pick on us… So then we just give in and play. J

There was a large group of people that came through the orphanage today. They were from “Grace International” I believe an organization that helps orphanages. Anyway, they came and brought 3 big bags full of goods and toured the place. We got to talk to a few of them. They had brought over 40 bags worth of goods for orphanages all around Haiti. They go around and visit the different orphanages and bring goods for the kids! How cool is that? She said they went to a government owned orphanage earlier that day, and they had 400 boys that hadn’t eaten in three days there. They pooled their money and went and got some supplied to feed the kids for about 4 days. I’m glad there are people out there willing to do this for the kids here in Haiti!

Once we got back we were all so hungry and tired we cooked up our food, played a quick game, and we’re getting ready for bed as I type! Not a normal Friday night indeed! We need to get our energy back up for the next day though… So no time to lose! J

It looks like we WILL be getting our USCIS appointment! So that means we’ll have all of our necessary paperwork done! Then the praying begins that the process does not take too long for us to be able to come and bring her home! 

Day 9- Thursday

Today we had a pretty normal day. We got to play outside a lot because it was fairly nice outside most of the day. The kids play pretty well outside because they have something to do! So it was fun. Benithy was in good spirits most of the day. We were able to play with her and enjoy her spunky sassy spirit a lot today, which is great!

The other couple that is here is a lot of fun. Tonight we got to sit around and enjoy dinner together. Then we played guitar and sang songs. One of the things I miss most about being home is listening and singing to music! So tonight refreshed my spirit a bit.

I have not gotten to run in 9 days now….. If you know me at all it is killing me. I feel my lung capacity slowly go away to nothing! I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, and what I’m doing here is WAY more important…. But it doesn’t mean I miss it any less! J  I don’t see anyone running here for exercise. I can only imagine the looks I would get if I ran around town here…. But it is perfect running weather and I WOULD get an amazing hill workout!

Things we actually are doing fine without (for the most part): TV, Our phones, air conditioning, and eating out.

OH! Other news is we may have our USCIS appointment after all! I’ll keep you posted. This was the interview that they said they would not be able to fit us in. So if we can get to this interview that would greatly help us! So pray that we get our date set for sure! 

Day 9- Thursday

Today we had a pretty normal day. We got to play outside a lot because it was fairly nice outside most of the day. The kids play pretty well outside because they have something to do! So it was fun. Benithy was in good spirits most of the day. We were able to play with her and enjoy her spunky sassy spirit a lot today, which is great!

The other couple that is here is a lot of fun. Tonight we got to sit around and enjoy dinner together. Then we played guitar and sang songs. One of the things I miss most about being home is listening and singing to music! So tonight refreshed my spirit a bit.

I have not gotten to run in 9 days now….. If you know me at all it is killing me. I feel my lung capacity slowly go away to nothing! I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, and what I’m doing here is WAY more important…. But it doesn’t mean I miss it any less! J  I don’t see anyone running here for exercise. I can only imagine the looks I would get if I ran around town here…. But it is perfect running weather and I WOULD get an amazing hill workout!

Things we actually are doing fine without (for the most part): TV, Our phones, air conditioning, and eating out.

OH! Other news is we may have our USCIS appointment after all! I’ll keep you posted. This was the interview that they said they would not be able to fit us in. So if we can get to this interview that would greatly help us! So pray that we get our date set for sure! 

Day 9- Thursday

Today we had a pretty normal day. We got to play outside a lot because it was fairly nice outside most of the day. The kids play pretty well outside because they have something to do! So it was fun. Benithy was in good spirits most of the day. We were able to play with her and enjoy her spunky sassy spirit a lot today, which is great!

The other couple that is here is a lot of fun. Tonight we got to sit around and enjoy dinner together. Then we played guitar and sang songs. One of the things I miss most about being home is listening and singing to music! So tonight refreshed my spirit a bit.

I have not gotten to run in 9 days now….. If you know me at all it is killing me. I feel my lung capacity slowly go away to nothing! I know it’s not important in the grand scheme of things, and what I’m doing here is WAY more important…. But it doesn’t mean I miss it any less! J  I don’t see anyone running here for exercise. I can only imagine the looks I would get if I ran around town here…. But it is perfect running weather and I WOULD get an amazing hill workout!

Things we actually are doing fine without (for the most part): TV, Our phones, air conditioning, and eating out.

OH! Other news is we may have our USCIS appointment after all! I’ll keep you posted. This was the interview that they said they would not be able to fit us in. So if we can get to this interview that would greatly help us! So pray that we get our date set for sure! 

Day 8- Wednesday

Today I was really missing The Bash. It has been hard not having him here… but for some reason it really hit me today. I walk around feeling incomplete without that crazy boy! I know he is being loved on and taken care of amazingly by our family, but it is so hard to be without him for so many days. Which puts into perspective how hard this year wait is really going to be for us! Anyway, I came into our room this morning crying because I just wanna snuggle that boy so bad right now.

Anyway… Our day started with a knock on our door. We were headed to the crèche early today because they needed the car for something else. We crammed into the truck and headed to the crèche. When we arrived we caught the end of the kid’s prayer/devotions in the morning. The boys were making a sweet beat using drum stick on this shelf and a baby toy piano! It was AMAZING! They were all singing. Then they said their own prayers aloud and then said a prayer together. It was really cool getting to be a part of that.

Benithy had to go to the Dr. clinic today. She’s fighting a bit of a cold of some sort. So she got checked up on. The clinic is right there by the crèche so we didn’t go far.

One thing about Benithy is that every day she has to re-warm-up to us. It makes it very exhausting because every day we are breaking down a barrier. By that I mean she never comes to us right at first, we always initiate the relationship. Sometimes she still cries (especially if she is tired). At first we hold her for a long time, and she doesn’t let go. Once she finally starts to play she’ll get her sass and her voice… but some days she never gets to this stage. Some days she’ll look at us and interact with us, and some days she just lays on us. These are all good, but every day we go through these stages. Some days are easier than others. Some days she leans toward wanting one of us more than the other. Once we break down the Benithy barrier it does not mean it’s like that all day… Some days we are doing it 2-3 times each day! She is amazing, but so hard to get to.  On top of that we are bombarded with the needs of the other kids that are there. We get to know the kids more and more and love on them… Making each day so awesome, but so hard. So please continue to pray for us and her heart! Thanks!

Today while Benithy was napping we got to sit in on the older kid’s “class.” They pick a topic and have to discuss/debate it in English. Today the subject was sharing. It was really cool to get to sit and listen in on what the kids thought about sharing and all the different aspects of sharing. More than anything it was great to get to know the older kids a bit more. They are all very sweet!

The other couple here is so sweet. They are kind and, again, I cannot stress how nice it is to have someone that we can have good conversations with!

We are on our downhill ride of our trip! 7 days left (6 full days and 1 day of travel) left. It seems absolutely insane…. I don’t know how we’ll leave here.... There is so much I enjoy about it here in Haiti (I didn’t think those words were gonna come out of my mouth before we got here). Things are just simpler in that we don’t really have a lot of internet access so my phone addiction has been cut in half. We don’t have a lot of time for anything but playing with kids, reading a bit, and a few games at night. Everyone is really quite pleasant and nice, even if I don’t understand a whole lot of what they are saying. It’s really been quite nice. Please continue to pray for Haiti as a country. They do have some elections coming up that are going to cause some turmoil. Pray for guidance and peace! J

Day 7- Tuesday

Today we went to the grocery store this morning, so we did not get to the crèche until 12:30 (We usually get there around 10). When we got there Benithy was getting her “bath.”

After she finished we swooped her up and took her to a room and played with the unicorn horses and the coloring book. She was VERY tired and so I turned her around and she fell right asleep in my arms. I thought that her waking up in my arms would go better than her waking up back in her bed. So I held onto her. Plus, we only get so many hours with her… I may as well hold on to each moment I can! So we sat there for about an hour while she napped and then it was “lunch” time (they eat around 2:00/2:30). So we woke her up and got her to her table to eat (and we ate).

Once she was finished we took her and went outside. We played in the dirt for a while. She had some great discovery time. She dug, scooped, let it drop, filled my hand, buried stuff…. It was such a cool time to see her work/think/discover. WE were all covered in dirt when we got done. So we came in and wiped ourselves off. Then we played with stickers, we listened to music, and she drummed and kept the beat. We had ourselves a great time! Really we had a great day all three of us bonding. We had a lot of alone time just the three of us, which does not happen very often. We took a few really cute videos of her that I cannot wait to show you! Her smile lights up a room! Her voice is so great! Her laugh makes you giggle too. Her sassy looks and attitude makes you smile!

We finished the day playing outside. The Man played soccer with the boys and I played with Benithy and some of the other kids. It was a really good day.

Another couple came in today too. We just finished eating dinner and chatting with them. It sure is nice to have another couple around! It is REALLY nice to get to speak some English to someone and carry on a bit of a conversation. J

Day 6- Monday

Couple cool things we learned about Haitians/Haiti:

                -They don’t trust people with tattoos, piercings (for guys), or weird hairdos (like Mohawks, color…)

                - Church dress is very conservative you must have a long skirt or dress on, closed shoes, and guys typically wear a suit like outfit

                - It’s bad to try to be too American or French

                - They try and live a very community driven life. Everyone knows each other, most stay close to home, and very friendly.

                - Creole seems to be a mix between French and Spanish and there is some English (like Hello and Bye-Bye and OK)

Today was a good day. We got there in the morning and right away started playing with the kids and Benithy. I think she has connected with The Man and I. She seems to smile at us more and is talking a LOT more. It’s really hard to know if she REALLY understands our part in her life. She probably will not get it completely until we take her home. It must be so confusing for her and the kids for us to sweep in for 2 weeks and then in an instant leave. It’s already so hard to wrap my own brain around. None the less we were there and had a good day. We played outside, inside, hide-and-seek, school, chase, walk around the whole crèche… endless fun! J Today we spent a lot of time with all the kids. I tried to get them to play duck-duck-goose…. But that did not go well! J I tried to think of something fun for us all to do together.

I will tell you this about Benithy, she is SASSSSSSSY! She even has the hand on the hip with the ‘ol head swivel move down! J One thing is for sure, we gotta get on learning our Creole so that when she DOES finally get home we can get some kind of communication with her. She seems very healthy and good in size! She fits in those 3T outfits no problem!

We finally got to SEE The Bash today. Our connection was not great and they could not hear us… but we got to see him and blow kisses his way. As much as I love being here, I sure miss that boy!

Nothing too exciting to report today. Another couple is supposed to be here today… but it looks like that it may be tomorrow. They are also adopting from C4C, but they have a little boy. It will be nice to have another couple around to hopefully play games with, and if anything talk to in English! Right now our conversations with others are limited to “Bonjour! Or Bonswa! Or Merci! Or Como ou yea? Bien…” Maybe some hand motions… J hahahaha!