Turning new leaves~

The kids ran in all excited the other day, yelling, "There IS grass under the snow!" After the winter we have had, I don't think they believed us that our pool would thaw and that there would be "green" on the trees one day. Hopefully, it will rain even harder the next few days to wash off the dirt and melt away more of the snow.

With the change of the season will be so many changes with Pierre and Ange-Laurette as well. One of the hardest things for them to understand is that there may not be total equity between children. For example, Nate's bowl of ice cream may look a little bigger...Bailey may get to buy new clothes with her own money...Ange-Laurette might get to join Mom for a trip to the grocery store. Each of these situations, Pierre has gotten very upset and has firmly said, "That's not fair." I think, this stems from the fact that they had so little with so many children at the orphanage. Each child appeared to receive the very same amount of everything. Any special treat or excess was shared among them. We have tried to explain that we love them all equally and will always give them what they need...but that they will be treated as individuals and will have very different life experiences here.

Yesterday, Ange-Laurette tried on a new swimsuit (since her other two did not fit) and Nate noted that he had 3 swimwuits but that only one fit that he liked. Pierre brought out his one pair of swimtrunks and said, "I love my swimsuit!" Then he added, "She has 3 swimsuits. He has 3 swimsuits. Me have one swimsuit. This is fair. This is good." We all applauded! HUGE progress (sarcasm intended by him or not!)

The other big change is the amount of affection Ange-Laurette is expressing (and tolerating). She is such a strong little girl. This protected her from the sights and sounds in her early years in a very rough area of Port-au-Prince. She has a tough exterior and a great sense of humor that have served her well. However, she has also kept friends and adults at a safe distance, over the years. In the past two weeks, she is offering hugs and holding hands and sitting closer during stories. She puts her arm around us to lead us to a game she wants to play. She replies to my "I love yous" with "I love you too" ...and recently says that to Bruce, too. It shows that she is trusting us and believes what we keep telling her: She will always be our daughter, and she will never have to go back to the orphanage...although we will visit Haiti when we can.