Mmm...yummy!

Two months ago these little cousins were vastly different in size. Israel (actually Finn's cousin-once-removed) doesn't seem to mind at all that Finn has put on some delicious meat! These photos were also taken on the night of the carnivore.

Hard Things

*all pics of orphans removed from post per request*

This morning I was in the bathroom getting ready when Loumy came in complaining about a sore on his wrist. We had covered it with a bandaid earlier but for some strange reason four-year-old boys are not known for keeping themselves excessively clean, so his sore looked like it was festering a bit and was hurting him. As I put on Neosporin and a clean bandaid he looked up at me and asked very seriously and sadly, "Mom, why do all hard things have to happen to Haitians?" I was shocked for a second and then I thought I might cry. "I don't know bud," I finally responded with a sigh. "I've asked myself the same question a thousand times."

Last week my sister, Kathy, went to Haiti for the first time. I was sad not to be going with her but was so glad she was able to go. She works for Wasatch International Adoptions, so she went with Chareyl to do adoption stuff and also she and Chareyl were able to do some things for Haitian Roots. We have added a new, amazing Haitian coordinator, whom I'm SO excited about (but will save details for another post). We are also adding 20 new children, so we are hoping to send 135 children to school this year. Our fundraising is only about 1/3 of the way there for the year so please feel free to spread the word about Haitian Roots and the need for education in Haiti to end the poverty cycle.

Anyway, Kathy has always been supportive of Haitian children, but of course she is even more passionate about it now. She is a very giving and loving person and has special ties to Bulgaria and China, as well. I was worried about Kathy because I love Haiti so much and I want everybody that I know to love it to and care about it like I do so when somebody is "meeting" Haiti for the first time I always pray that their hearts will be touched. I have rarely seen somebody come back with a passive reaction for Haiti. Most of those I've known have one of two reactions: 1. Either they are so horrified and disturbed by the whole situation that they can't wait to get out and never have a desire to go back (even if they feel compassion and would still like to help); or 2. Something gets into their blood and they are forever changed. Its like an addictive chemical that makes you crave Haiti fortnightly. Luckily I know that Kathy is now hooked to Haiti forever.

The addiction usually only takes place after experiencing a lot of "hard things". Here are a some of them:
*lots of needy orphans!

*lots of garbage! these dumpsters were donated by Unicef but nobody manages or uses them.*lots of poverty
*lots of rain! a short rainstorm in Haiti can mean a lot of destruction. Hurricanes are devastating.
*lots of sick babies

* And then there was the hardest thing of all...FALLING IN LOVE WITH JTI think I'll do a separate post about gorgeous JT.

So, now you ask, with all of these "hard things", why would one ever want to go to Haiti, why would you want your sister to fall in love with the place, and why in the world do you feel like it is your second home and the place where half of your heart belongs? Hm...I guess you'll just have to come to Haiti with me some time and find out!

Please Pray for Avrie!!!

I don't usually send out prayer requests, but this is urgent. I met Michelle Gordon in Haiti last October with her husband, Scott, while they were visiting their sweet little daughters (in the process of being adopted), Gracie and Destina . Their first little girl whom they were adopting, a little angel named Ellie, had become ill and died. When they arrived in Haiti for this trip (in October) they discovered that Gracie had become very ill. I took this photo of them. They nursed her the best they could while they were there. Gracie struggled for a few more months and then passed away in January. The family was devastated but, eventually they decided that they would press forward and accept the referral of a third baby girl. They named her Avrie. She turned 2 in April. When Michelle was in Haiti at the end of January, Avrie weighed 19 pounds--small but doing well. Michelle excitedly waited for this parent trip in June to see her daughters again. She arrived in Haiti on Sunday and found that Avrie is very, very ill--down to 11 pounds! My 3 month old, premature son weighs more than she does! Avrie has parasites, and bacterial infections, scabies and ringworm. Her life is really hanging in the balance right now. It is so so so not fair that little children just an hour flight from the US have to live like this. The Gordons are doing all that they can for Avrie-- took her to the hospital and she is on lots of medications. Please pray for Avrie. And please pray for the Gordons!

Three Months Old

Finn turned 3 months old yesterday. He is not really as chubby as he looks in this top photo but I had to show off his cute little smile. And he is growing very well. He is over 11 pounds now--that is more than 3 times his birth weight! He continues to be the sweetest and most docile baby I have ever seen. I am just head over heels for this little guy of mine. And with these photos I think we can officially say his eyes are blue, don't you think?

Dear Hair,

Thank you for coming back the last few months. I really did miss you. I thought I was mostly over you but having you come back has really made me feel good. This last week, though, you are giving me indications that you don't want to stay. Why? What can I do to convince you that this is where you belong? I wish I knew. Perhaps you'll change your mind and stay on a bit longer. And if you want to stay for good, that is great with me. But if you decide to go, please invite my positive attitude and self-confidence as a bald woman to come back because I really don't want to have to go through the search again.

Dear Loumy,

The other day when friend Maddie came over to play and I was putting sunscreen on you all, you broke my heart. You said to Maddie, not knowing I'd overhear, "I wish you were from Haiti, Maddie. That would be cool if you were from Haiti. I wish somebody else was from Haiti around here." You said the last part with that joking little voice you use, but I could see in your eyes as you looked at your skin compared to hers that it hurt you to feel different.

I think that most of the time you know how truly handsome you are. I hope you know that. I don't think you have a problem with the color of your skin or the color of anybody's skin. You made dad and I laugh in the car on Sunday when we were playing "I Spy". It was Dad's turn and he said, "I spy with my little eye something brown..." and before he could even finish giving his clue you shouted gleefully, "ME!!!" It wasn't you, but it was a good guess and it made me think again about how aware you are becoming of things that I didn't think you would be aware of for much longer. You know your skin is beautiful, its the being different part that is hard some times.

I am so grateful that you are my son. I think that in Heaven you must have been so noble. The Lord had a plan for us and your part was going to be extra difficult. I can picture you volunteering to do it to save your siblings any pain. That is how you always are now, so I'm sure it wasn't any different then. Even today when I was telling Addie that she needed to clean her room, you said to me resolutely, "Mom, its okay. She doesn't need to do it. I will clean her room for her." I didn't let you do that, but you would have done it just to make her happy and me happy. You like to do things that you think will make our home more peaceful, even if it means a sacrifice on your part. You were meant to be a part of our family. We need you and we love you.

I hope you always know that the Lord loves you. I wish I could take away any of the times where looking different hurts you. I wish you could also know how every place we go I see women smile with delight at how absolutely gorgeous you are.

I also wish that everybody could know how clever and funny you are. You love to be silly and you are getting so smart. And sometimes you say things that are very funny with out realizing that they are funny. Last week when Dad's PlayStation 3 FINALLY arrived in the mail, you cheered and shouted, "I knew it! I knew it would get here before Isaiah was resurrected!"

My dear, sweet, beautiful, Haitian Sensation, I am so happy we belong to each other!

Love,

Mom

Journal Stuff

The past few weeks have been so busy. I am sorry that I have nothing at all clever to say, just some documenting to do for my own journaling purposes.

Mahri came to visit two weeks ago from VA. The kids all fell in love with her. She is one of those rare friends that you come across and realize that you have known before. String Cheese felt a special connection to her. Mahri always makes me feel so good about myself that I want to be stronger and better and somehow I am able to be when she is around. We had a great time and the kids are begging for her to come play again!

Loumy had his first soccer season. He took it VERY seriously. He has a lot of skill for one so young but it hasn't transferred to the field just yet. He mostly has a very serious scowl on his face as he runs quickly near the ball. It was a short Spring season and by the last game he was getting much more involved. He really loves sports and the idea of being part of a team thrills our little man.Deedle has played a full year now and seems to like it fairly well. But I'll tell you, it was not good when a little girl from another team pulled on her shirt to try to get to the ball. I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but Deedle is rather fiesty. I'll leave it at that. She likes to kick the ball, although is not necessarily concerned with the direction. And she gets really ticked off at the end of a game if she hasn't scored. But she enjoys it well enough that she wanted us to sign her up for next year. And I must mention, though I have no photos at the moment, that String Cheese is turning into a very good little player. I am so proud of her. She is quick and getting more and more skilled all the time.

Finn even came to "watch" their last game. Thanks to the soccer mom who held him for me since I also had to coach Deedle's team.

It is dance time again. We've been having lots of practices and rehearsals for various performances. The first was today and then there will be a big one in June where the girls will each perform two dances. They are doing tap this year with Mrs. Peek. She is so cool and reminds me exactly of Jackie Hearn. I hope that she doesn't have to retire soon because she is an awesome teacher. Deedle danced to "Woody's Round Up" from Toy Story 2 and SC danced to "Tip Toe Through the Tulips", which Mrs. Peek played for them on a record player while they practiced. :) Now that's my type of dance school! Old school.

When I asked Deedle to pose after her performance today I heard her saying softly to herself, "Sassy. Sassy pose." I'll say.

And now I will have to start a new post because it is way too hard to move the pics to where I want them!