Even thinking about meeting Pierre and Ange-Laurette for the first time kept us up many nights. We would watch youtube videos of other families meeting their children for the first time, and we tried to picture what it would be like. Would they know who we were right away? Would we recognize them? Would they be happy? How would we communicate?
And then the enormity of me even traveling (over water!) to Haiti was a whole other thing to lay awake at night about. :) First of all, I do not like to be away from Bailey and Nate here at home for more than a couple days at a time. There would be a lot of juggling with grandparents and friends to coordinate their activities and care. We would not be able to communicate by phone with them once in Haiti. I was nervous about the food and climate and safety as well.
We kept reminding ourselves that this whole thing was out of our comfort zone. That is how God works! The situation itself demanded that we relied solely on Him for safety and protection. He wanted those children with us, and he would protect us. More than that, we knew there would be an immediate connection with the kids. We had heard otherwise from other parents who had adopted, but we just already felt so much for them...and we had no doubt that they would sense that.
A very generous family from California answered Diana's request and offered to travel with us for our first trip. They arranged the driver and were so very helpful every step of the way. This would be their 7th trip, and another family would be on their 4th trip. They shared tips on what to pack, gave advice on medication/food, and walked us through each eye-opening experience at the airports. We emailed other parents with kids about our kids' ages to ask things like sizes of shoes and types of snacks they would like etc. We would have been so lost without them! We wouldn't have remembered their favorite, Cheetos. And we would not have known to pack double the quantity of underwear since they insist on wearing them under swimsuits. :) One person mentioned hooded sweatshirts since they are not used to being cold after swimming. These were all big hits!
So friends and grandparents kindly jumped in to help with Nate and Bailey, and we had our first trip planned for mid-March!
And then the enormity of me even traveling (over water!) to Haiti was a whole other thing to lay awake at night about. :) First of all, I do not like to be away from Bailey and Nate here at home for more than a couple days at a time. There would be a lot of juggling with grandparents and friends to coordinate their activities and care. We would not be able to communicate by phone with them once in Haiti. I was nervous about the food and climate and safety as well.
We kept reminding ourselves that this whole thing was out of our comfort zone. That is how God works! The situation itself demanded that we relied solely on Him for safety and protection. He wanted those children with us, and he would protect us. More than that, we knew there would be an immediate connection with the kids. We had heard otherwise from other parents who had adopted, but we just already felt so much for them...and we had no doubt that they would sense that.
A very generous family from California answered Diana's request and offered to travel with us for our first trip. They arranged the driver and were so very helpful every step of the way. This would be their 7th trip, and another family would be on their 4th trip. They shared tips on what to pack, gave advice on medication/food, and walked us through each eye-opening experience at the airports. We emailed other parents with kids about our kids' ages to ask things like sizes of shoes and types of snacks they would like etc. We would have been so lost without them! We wouldn't have remembered their favorite, Cheetos. And we would not have known to pack double the quantity of underwear since they insist on wearing them under swimsuits. :) One person mentioned hooded sweatshirts since they are not used to being cold after swimming. These were all big hits!
So friends and grandparents kindly jumped in to help with Nate and Bailey, and we had our first trip planned for mid-March!
