Christmas Stockings en route!

Every year, Answered Prayers sponsors a Christmas Stocking Drive complete with a Haitian Santa Claus and presents for each child and nanny at BRESMA. Parents are invited to sponsor their own children if they would like. They didn't have to ask US twice! We also chose to sponsor one of the nannies. We had fun choosing these recommended items for each: an outfit, sandals (hard to find in SD in November!), soap, toothbrush, book, and a couple toys. It is so fun now that we know their favorites in characters, types of toys, and colors. Since it is Christmas, we didn't worry as much either about if it was a toy that would get destroyed or if it could be shared easily. All the kids would have something their very own (for the day), so we could splurge. :) Ange-Laurette got a doll with hair, which she always requests. Fixing hair is a BIG thing in their culture, and she does it well! We also found a "skipper" which they spin around one ankle as they jump. That will keep her endless energy channeled. :)

For Pierre, we enclosed an "American futbol" for him and the other big boys. That will be a skill he will definitely want to have once he arrives here, between his younger brother's obsession and the recesses with other boys at school. Then, we added his hero, Spiderman, on a battery operated 3-wheeler. I can see all the younger kids making their Spiderman hand gestures now! We so wish we could be there to witness the frenzy when the packages arrive. It is so much like our Christmas morning....yet so very different. I was laughing with the postal worker as I mailed each child's package yesterday: If only we could limit our American children's gifts to one shoe box in size!

We prayed they'd sense our love as they were opened. Bon fet Noel, to our kids a world away!

PRESIDENTIAL DISPENSATION....GRANTED!!!

Last night we thought we heard the phone, in our sleep, about 11 p.m. Then, I got that sinking feeling that it might have been one of those emergency phonecalls and went to check the message. It was Diana with the phonecall she promised...anytime day or night~

We had received Presidential Dispensation to legally adopt AND both Pierre Cardin and Ange-Laurette's cases had moved out of IBESR (Haitian social services). This is the longest, toughest, and most unpredictable step. This is the place so many before us had gotten "stuck."

Diana explained that this marks the halfway mark. Things usually proceed in a more orderly fashion after this....and the adoptions should be complete within 9 months. It also means that bringing the kids home during the warmer months in South Dakota is a likelihood! We will have time to adjust as a family before having to deal with school!

We will now begin to plan our January visit, where we will finally get to bring Pierre his Granmay Gran (my mom)!

Precious Phonecall from Haiti

We were able to call the kids while our adoption coordinator, Diana, was visiting there early October. She does not yet have a cell phone with speaker phone capabilities, but she did her best to interpret for us. As she searched for "our girl," she put Pierre on the phone. He said timidly, "Ah lo?" Bruce greeted him and told him it was "dad." Pierre responded again, "Ah lo?" It must be awfully strange for them to hear these foreign voices on the end of the line and not be sure what to say. Bailey jumped in to say, "Hi Pierre!" He excitedly answered, "Hi Mom!" When I asked him how he was doing, he said, "I'm good." And he sounded good, as well, as he said hi to Nate and Bailey as if they were long lost buds. Then, Ange-Laurette got on the phone, with her much-improved English. She seemed to understand most of what we said, answering, "I'm fine. Me love you, too." When Bailey emphasized that she missed her, Ange-Laurette genuinely responded, "Me, too."

We asked Diana to tell them that Nate is taking good care of Pierre's soccer ball and truck....that Bailey's friends are excited to meet them...and that we will visit in January. She shared their comments: Pierre said that he needs to come to South Dakota because he loves South Dakota (that on a day we were getting our first snow and freeze!). Ange-Laurette wanted us to know that she prays for us everyday. Both were eager to tell us how hard they have been working in school. They would send school work with Diana to give us and we would be proud.

We asked Diana to tell Pierre that it was ok that he was sad on our last visit to Haiti. She quickly explained that he would not be at all embarrassed for crying...that is an American thing. :) We asked her to describe Ange-Laurette's hair for the day. Ange-Laurette described the pony tails and barrettes, adding how happy she was that it was getting so long. I asked her to have Diana take a photo for us. Ange-Laurette shocked us all by saying, "Diana already did!"

We were all beaming ear to ear! Their joy was obvious and the connection between all of us was so real. Bruce said, after we said our long goodbyes, that he could actually picture them here in our home with us, for the first time! Later that week, we received these priceless photos of our babies. We cannot thank Diana enough for moments and photos like these!!

Bailey's descriptive paper for school

"Driving through the streets of Haiti is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As we begin our trek down the bumpy road, every sense is quickly overwhelmed. The first sensation is of the extreme heat and foul smell of exhaust. I recognize how pale I must look to the hundreds of African descendents.

Our navy van nears the city. Lining every cement wall is coiled barbed wire. As I look up the mountainside camouflaged with rivers of trash and roofless houses, my heart breaks. A smile returns to my face. Strutting along the pathway are joyful children heading to school. The dozens of beads in their hair match the billboards we pass. I almost bounce up and down on the sticky leather seats picturing the two siblings I will soon meet.

Jerking to a halt, I fly forward in my seat. Wincing, our driver stops for a group of men ripping a lady's fruit out of her arms. Beep! Beep! We're off again. Our van darts down the street, dodging women with baskets upon their heads. White UN vehicles kick up loose gravel as they pass. The Caribbean music on the radio and smell of spicy foods fill the air. A bony, stray dog slinks among the trash lining every curb. Dark-skinned Haitians sit in the scorching sun. Their tired bodies are eager to sell used luggage, worn sandals, colorfully painted tiles, and all types of fruits.

At last, my senses are relieved as we turn onto a quiet back road. My heart leaps when we come to a stop at an orange metal gate. Behind the orphanage wall comes laughter and excited Kreyol chatter. Seeing the bright smiles of my new brother and sister make the long journey well worth it."

Wish we knew the words...

Each time an adoptive family visits, they are welcomed by a song or two from the children at BRESMA2. We could learn a thing or two from the nannies who are somehow able to get 40 children to sit still, to wait as long as it takes for the parents to come inside, and to sing with all their gusto. It is truly amazing that these children can be so well behaved with so little structure and without traditional parenting day-to-day. They have a much stronger sense of what it means to share and they are open with each other regarding their feelings and thoughts.
Still, there is the taking of each others' things and a pecking order the little ones must detest. Bailey had brought hair accessories for the girls when we arrived. She carefully gave a red headband to the smallest girl in the group. Almost immediately, one of the bigger boys pulled it out of her hand and put in on himself. She was sad but did not look surprised, and certainly did not fight it. We laughed to know that the joke was on the older boy, who looked a bit silly in a red headband anyway. :)

We were unable to locate any of the items we have previously sent the kids. Ange-Laurette showed us her High School Musical bag from our last trip, but it only had a few items within. They continue to accept gifts we send shyly and never want to return to BRESMA with their special things. Understandable. Still, we will do our best to brighten their days and send small packages with each visiting family that we can. We want to shorten the times between visits by letting them know they are thought of and loved!

Pierre Cardin turns 9!

Neither child has celebrated their birthdays before. Parents do know the birthdates of their children but do not go as overboard as we do in the US! They do not have the means to buy gifts and make birthday cakes, but they do find ways to celebrate special occasions such as a relative visiting by having a meal together and maybe adding meat. We wanted Pierre to feel special by celebrating his birthday, which had been August 22nd. I had packed unfrosted cupcakes in a tupperware container and spread on frosting/sprinkles when we arrived. We sang "Happy Birthday" and Pierre "blew" out the unlit candle, with a friend from BRESMA2 who was staying at the hotel.

This trip, Pierre had a more difficult time. He tended to pout and go off on his own when he was corrected (more so by me than by Bruce). He acted much more like our younger son than the 10 or 11 year old we assumed he was, based on his height and full mouth of adult teeth. On the last day of our visit, we invited his birthmother to the hotel. Two American missionaries joined us and willingly interpreted our conversation with her. The information we learned was invaluable! Pierre's birthmother was very adamant that he was born in 2000 and had indeed just turned 9 years old. She explained that his father and two older brothers are very tall (taller than Bruce) and that they were judged as older than their true age also. When asked how best to respond to his pouting tendency, she said that she offers much attention and comfort. The interpreters further explained that mothers in Haiti tend to "serve" their sons, rather than discipline or tell them what to do. THAT, in a nut shell, explained what we had observed for the previous few days. Pierre is just a young boy who is not used to a "mom" like me. :) He is also a very caring, sensitive person...which makes all of this much more difficult. But the fact that he is acting more like himself tells us he is trusting us and bonding well.

Bailey meets Pierre and Ange-Laurette

One of the harder things to put into words is how amazing our teenage daughter Bailey was on this trip. We had no question how she and the kids would hit it off, but we had no idea the joy and energy she would have about it all. She ate up every minute until she crashed at night, at the same early bedtime they seemed to need. They talked to her as if she could understand their quick Creyole, and vice versa. You never would have guessed that they spoke two different languages. Bailey had brought walkie talkies that helped them try out their much improved English as they walked throughout the hotel grounds. That was one of the greatest surprises this trip...that they had obviously been working on their English and were very eager to share as much as they could, right down to ABC flashcards with vocabulary words to match.

The other awesome surprise was how much healthier they seemed. From skin tone, to scalp, to eye brightness, to less bulging tummies, they just seemed vibrant and content. Neither was as famished, as they demonstrated by not eating every morsel from their salads and not rummaging as often through the snack bin. The "super food" they have been receiving is worth every penny any mission group wishes to spend. The difference in just a few months, for all the kids at the orphanage, is life-changing in their learning, their energy, and their health.

One of the things Bailey has been studying up on is all the ways she can do Ange-Laurette's hair. She didn't waste any time getting practice! Pierre joined in! With the heat index of 119 degrees, we spent long days in the pool and afternoons playing games or doing crafts in our room. They progressed from their early fears of the water to Pierre doing canon balls from the side and laying on the bottom of the pool...and to Ange-Laurette teaching herself to do 50 bobs and multiple somersaults underwater. Their determination and courage will come in handy in the years ahead.