Dear Dave,
I wish you could have seen the reaction here in Haiti to your filters. We had some time while we were waiting for a family that wasn't on our flights to get checked in and we were all hanging out on the parking lot of the hotel. Nadia, the orphanage owner was sitting in the open back of a little pickup truck (on a chair... there were a couple of them propped in the back there. I do imagine it would be more comfortable than sitting on the floor while traversing the bumpy, potholed roads, but it's definitely not safer!) Harry and his wife, Pascal were there as well and they were translating what I was saying into Kreyol for Nadia.
I pulled out one of the sport-sized water filter bottles you sent and told Harry that you could put "any" water in it and it would come out clean. He looked at me skeptically and so I took the lid off and motioned dipping water up from the street, and then putting the lid back on and drinking it. (we were in a parking lot - no water around). Nadia obviously could see where I was going and she started laughing like that was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever seen me do. (and she's seen me do some ridiculous things!)
I explained to them that the Church sends these out with missionaries now and that they sell them at the Missionary Training Center as well. That convinced Harry. He translated to Nadia. While I was explaining to Harry that he can order them for the missionaries in Haiti, Nadia and Pascal were talking rapidly back and forth. Pascal finally interrupted and said, "What about brown water?" Apparently she and Nadia had been discussing the filters and had determined that you still wouldn't use them on just any water, because that obviously just be dumb and Lori obviously doesn't understand what she's saying. :) I said, "Brown, muddy, nasty water from the ditch on the side of the road... YES. You could filter that and it would be CLEAN." Harry translated all my adjectives and their eyes got wider and wider with each. They hooted with delight at this new marvel!
We made it to the orphanage. When I took the filter back into the kitchen to see if it would fit, to my horror I discovered the faucets in both the sinks (I didn't remember there were two sinks in their kitchen, but there are) are different than what we've seen before. They're going to need a female-to-female adapter to connect the filter to the faucet. Harry's working on that (He hasn't actually been able to look yet because we had him booked today and tomorrow he and Chareyl from our agency get to attend an historic meeting on adoption between Haiti and the USA where the State Department from both sides will be signing an agreement on how adoptions will work and what is expected from both countries going forward. Hopefully that will clarify the process a bit for future adoptions. But I digress...)
A bit later I finally had Harry and Brent together and Brent could demonstrate the black bag water filter. (For those of you that have no idea what I"m talking about, it's a bag you can take camping and then hose is antibacterial and then there's one of the wonderful Seychelle filters at the bottom so you can get clean water from anywhere again. The bag allows you to get a larger qty cleaned at one time than with the sport water bottle size.) So Brent pulled out the three pieces and he said, 'You take this bag and you attach this and then you attach this second piece" as he was assembling it for Harry. When Harry could see what he was doing, he clapped his hands in joy and he said, "And you can take it WITH you!" He was so excited! The grin on his face was priceless.
We'll get the piece we need to get the filter hooked to the faucet. Harry's very resourceful. I'm sure they'll figure it out. But you've given them something they couldn't do on their own and that is "get clean water from the kitchen sink".
May God bless you and all of our other angels who have given Christmas money and time and energy and sacrificed to make and give things or buy things from the store to help save these children. Haiti is a world where "survival of the fittest" plays out every single day. And you've helped to increase the odds for all of our babies. Thank you so much!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Update from Haiti
We made it! We had a lot of fun at the last minute trying to get out of Salt Lake (flights canceled because of bad weather in Dallas). But we got here and made it to the orphanage OK.
We actually met Jessica's birth mother today. That was a very special experience for us. I can't imagine what it's like for her to give up this beautiful girl - I can't even describe what it's like for us to become her parents. I'm so grateful she was there today (she wanted to see the people that were getting her daughters as Jessica has a half-sister who met her new family today as well).
Because we were able to meet with Jessica's birth mom, we were also able to find out that she's about 6 months younger than we originally thought. She's about 2 months older than Nathan. So, they're essentially twins but it's WAAY too complicated to actually explain to all the future well-meaning strangers that they're not biologically related and, yes, we know that they look nothing alike, etc, etc. Good times, good times. I'm SOO looking forward to our first eighteen hundred trips to Target when we finally get them home. :)
My sister-in-law gave me a diaper bag that folds really flat so we could fit it in our luggage. It has places on the front flap where you can put pictures and they show through these little openings on the flap of the bag. At any rate, I had two pictures of Nathan and two pictures of Jessica and one picture of our little family in the bag. It helped us get nice exit row seats because the lady at the airline counter asked about the pictures on my bag and she was so excited for us that she gave us the exit row. But the best part was that it meant I had pictures right there to give to Jessica's mother.
A good, exhausting, wonderful, fabulous day!
We actually met Jessica's birth mother today. That was a very special experience for us. I can't imagine what it's like for her to give up this beautiful girl - I can't even describe what it's like for us to become her parents. I'm so grateful she was there today (she wanted to see the people that were getting her daughters as Jessica has a half-sister who met her new family today as well).
Because we were able to meet with Jessica's birth mom, we were also able to find out that she's about 6 months younger than we originally thought. She's about 2 months older than Nathan. So, they're essentially twins but it's WAAY too complicated to actually explain to all the future well-meaning strangers that they're not biologically related and, yes, we know that they look nothing alike, etc, etc. Good times, good times. I'm SOO looking forward to our first eighteen hundred trips to Target when we finally get them home. :)
My sister-in-law gave me a diaper bag that folds really flat so we could fit it in our luggage. It has places on the front flap where you can put pictures and they show through these little openings on the flap of the bag. At any rate, I had two pictures of Nathan and two pictures of Jessica and one picture of our little family in the bag. It helped us get nice exit row seats because the lady at the airline counter asked about the pictures on my bag and she was so excited for us that she gave us the exit row. But the best part was that it meant I had pictures right there to give to Jessica's mother.
A good, exhausting, wonderful, fabulous day!
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Angels Among Us
I am surrounded by angels. Angels who bring shoes and formula for our babies. Angels who buy things from our Etsy store. Angels who create the items on our Etsy store.
Today I need to talk about two angels in particular: Bulletin Board Angels and Water Angels.
First, to my Bulletin Board Angel - who single-handledly created all the advertising posters for the women's conference that I'm chairing. She's done amazing things with these. The design is amazing, the letters are perfect, and she even has 3-D effects. Thank you, Rai. You'll never know the weight that took from my shoulders even though we didn't expect you to do that ALL by yourself.
Second, my Water Angels. Last month my friend at work mentioned that his father-in-law does research and development with water filtration and that he works on projects to get state-of-the art water filters into the hands of missionaries going to third world countries. He told me that they've made a water bottle that would allow the missionary to scoop up water from a muddy ditch and it filters it to pure water so they can drink wherever they end up. They've taken water from Utah Lake and put it in these bottles and it's immediately clean enough to drink. You can't eat the fish in Utah Lake, but with these filters you can drink from it. And the price for these wonders is amazingly reasonable.
He gave me Dave's number and I called him to see what his professional opinion was for the type of water filter we would need for our Haitian orphanage. It was obvious from the initial minutes of our discussion that a) Dave knows his water and b) Dave is very passionate about making sure those who need clean water most can have it.
We spoke for about 20 minutes and at the end of the conversation he said that he'd talk to his manufacturer and see "what they could come up with" that would work well for our orphanage. "I'll see that we get you the right thing," he assured me.
I spent a lot of time wondering what the unit would look like, what type of tools we'd have to take with us to get it hooked up at the orphanage, how easy it would be to train the orphanage manager how to maintain it, etc, etc. Would it fit in our suitcases? Would we need to pack it special and use the box as our 4th piece of check-in luggage?
Long story getting shorter, the water filters arrived last night. We drove down to Dave's to pick them up.
My first shock was the size of the boxes. It looked like it would fit a large pillar candle - it's that compact. This filter kills 99.999% of viruses, bacteria, "cysty stuff", heavy metals, pharmaceutical residue, you name it - it catches it. All of that in a tiny little space.
My second shock was the way they've hooked this up so that we don't have to worry about how to connect it to the orphanage's water supply. The unit has "quick connect" technology so that we can just swap out the end of the faucet in the kitchen and attach this unit it to it. It snaps right on! That means they CAN'T mistake whether they're getting water from the clean source or not. Everything from the faucet will be clean!
My third shock was that since they were making one unit for us, they figured it was just as easy to make TWO for us. Two filtration systems!
And by my fourth shock, I was in tears - Dave and his associates donated these state-of-the-art filters to our orphanage. They wouldn't let us pay for them. He said, "People are aware of what you're trying to do and the cost is all covered." Whoever Dave's "people" are; Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!
Turns out that Dave and his partner had just completed another new design for a home filtration system and their manufacturer was working on the prototypes when I called him initially. You can't even buy these yet. And Hope for Little Angels in Haiti is getting some of the first units.
With clean water, the illness at the orphanage will decrease. With clean water, other children will be spared the fate of Ellie and Gracie. With clean water, the orphanage's limited funds can be redirected to other items because they don't have to deal with the complications of unclean water and they don't have to buy water for the children to drink.
Our thanks and gratitude to Dave, the people at Seychelle Environmental Technologies and our unknown angels that paid for all of this. Thank you for helping us save and change lives.
Today I need to talk about two angels in particular: Bulletin Board Angels and Water Angels.
First, to my Bulletin Board Angel - who single-handledly created all the advertising posters for the women's conference that I'm chairing. She's done amazing things with these. The design is amazing, the letters are perfect, and she even has 3-D effects. Thank you, Rai. You'll never know the weight that took from my shoulders even though we didn't expect you to do that ALL by yourself.
Second, my Water Angels. Last month my friend at work mentioned that his father-in-law does research and development with water filtration and that he works on projects to get state-of-the art water filters into the hands of missionaries going to third world countries. He told me that they've made a water bottle that would allow the missionary to scoop up water from a muddy ditch and it filters it to pure water so they can drink wherever they end up. They've taken water from Utah Lake and put it in these bottles and it's immediately clean enough to drink. You can't eat the fish in Utah Lake, but with these filters you can drink from it. And the price for these wonders is amazingly reasonable.
He gave me Dave's number and I called him to see what his professional opinion was for the type of water filter we would need for our Haitian orphanage. It was obvious from the initial minutes of our discussion that a) Dave knows his water and b) Dave is very passionate about making sure those who need clean water most can have it.
We spoke for about 20 minutes and at the end of the conversation he said that he'd talk to his manufacturer and see "what they could come up with" that would work well for our orphanage. "I'll see that we get you the right thing," he assured me.
I spent a lot of time wondering what the unit would look like, what type of tools we'd have to take with us to get it hooked up at the orphanage, how easy it would be to train the orphanage manager how to maintain it, etc, etc. Would it fit in our suitcases? Would we need to pack it special and use the box as our 4th piece of check-in luggage?
Long story getting shorter, the water filters arrived last night. We drove down to Dave's to pick them up.
My first shock was the size of the boxes. It looked like it would fit a large pillar candle - it's that compact. This filter kills 99.999% of viruses, bacteria, "cysty stuff", heavy metals, pharmaceutical residue, you name it - it catches it. All of that in a tiny little space.
My second shock was the way they've hooked this up so that we don't have to worry about how to connect it to the orphanage's water supply. The unit has "quick connect" technology so that we can just swap out the end of the faucet in the kitchen and attach this unit it to it. It snaps right on! That means they CAN'T mistake whether they're getting water from the clean source or not. Everything from the faucet will be clean!
My third shock was that since they were making one unit for us, they figured it was just as easy to make TWO for us. Two filtration systems!
And by my fourth shock, I was in tears - Dave and his associates donated these state-of-the-art filters to our orphanage. They wouldn't let us pay for them. He said, "People are aware of what you're trying to do and the cost is all covered." Whoever Dave's "people" are; Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!
Turns out that Dave and his partner had just completed another new design for a home filtration system and their manufacturer was working on the prototypes when I called him initially. You can't even buy these yet. And Hope for Little Angels in Haiti is getting some of the first units.
With clean water, the illness at the orphanage will decrease. With clean water, other children will be spared the fate of Ellie and Gracie. With clean water, the orphanage's limited funds can be redirected to other items because they don't have to deal with the complications of unclean water and they don't have to buy water for the children to drink.
Our thanks and gratitude to Dave, the people at Seychelle Environmental Technologies and our unknown angels that paid for all of this. Thank you for helping us save and change lives.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Why We're Counting Down the Hours Until They're in Our Arms again
This is from our first trip to Haiti - a bit over a year ago. We met our son Nathan on that trip. We also had his sister, Lexi, with us then as well. We had no idea at that time how much pain 2008 would bring us but you can see why we were immediately and deeply in love with this little man!
He was about 5 months old here. The little crooked grin when the video hits the :43 mark melts my soul. I have every coo, every lip smack, every motion of this little video clip memorized. I've said before, Brent just KNEW from the first time we met Nathan that he was our son and I think that helped him to get through the 9 months we lost him this past year.
But 2008 also had some joys and surprises in store for us. This is from the October trip when we were reunited with Nathan. He still does this random singing thing - mostly to amuse himself and he does it a lot when he's tired. Just ignore Jessi and me in the background. Yes, that noise that sounds like a cat meowing is Nathan. Even at 17 months he still just coos. He's such a sweet little boy.
And sweet and wacky Jessica... this one was taken within the first hour of getting Nathan back. She didn't know him because he hasn't been at the orphanage but she did really well letting this strange little boy into her new world with her Mommy and Daddy. Her fake laugh completely kills me. As does her little tongue.
We can scarcely wait to be back with them. We leave on Tuesday and we'll be in Haiti with them on Wednesday! I'm anxious to see if they remember us, how they do those first minutes we're reunited, how much they've changed in 4 months, if Nathan being at the O with her has had an impact on how they play together....
Two points for the Lord!
He was about 5 months old here. The little crooked grin when the video hits the :43 mark melts my soul. I have every coo, every lip smack, every motion of this little video clip memorized. I've said before, Brent just KNEW from the first time we met Nathan that he was our son and I think that helped him to get through the 9 months we lost him this past year.
But 2008 also had some joys and surprises in store for us. This is from the October trip when we were reunited with Nathan. He still does this random singing thing - mostly to amuse himself and he does it a lot when he's tired. Just ignore Jessi and me in the background. Yes, that noise that sounds like a cat meowing is Nathan. Even at 17 months he still just coos. He's such a sweet little boy.
And sweet and wacky Jessica... this one was taken within the first hour of getting Nathan back. She didn't know him because he hasn't been at the orphanage but she did really well letting this strange little boy into her new world with her Mommy and Daddy. Her fake laugh completely kills me. As does her little tongue.
We can scarcely wait to be back with them. We leave on Tuesday and we'll be in Haiti with them on Wednesday! I'm anxious to see if they remember us, how they do those first minutes we're reunited, how much they've changed in 4 months, if Nathan being at the O with her has had an impact on how they play together....
Two points for the Lord!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Gracie Cristella
We received the heartbreaking news that our friends' little girl, Gracie, passed away on Friday. This is the 2nd little girl our friends have lost in the last year. It seems like our families have gone through more than their fair share of heartache with this adoption process. It's a long, arduous ordeal no matter who you are, but to repeatedly have your children taken away like this is nearly unbearable.
Gracie, like her sister, Ellie, was a sweet, tender little girl. As you can see from the picture she had the greatest dimples. Her little life has had more struggle and heartache than most of us will ever see in a full lifetime. While I'm happy for her that she will no longer struggle and that she's endured all that God needed her to, my soul and my heart ache for my dear friends who are feeling the void she's left behind.
It seems that part of this Haitian adoption process is to develop a single-minded "obsession" with Haiti. It consumes you and you're constantly thinking about your children and the orphanage and the country and what you can do to ease or lift or better or change some part of the whole big mess. You're praying constantly for various government officials to WANT to do their job so that necessary paperwork can be processed and procedures can be followed. I understand the need for caution and care, but I also KNOW how much we need to get these children home. I know Scott and Michelle have gone through this in the past year. Michelle's been working on creating a newsletter that we can send out to help companies know about our orphanage and its needs so that we can get necessary funding. She's been working on things for the school teacher. She's been trying, with all that she is, to pray these girls home.
It's not wrong to want to parent these children. We need them as much as they need us. It doesn't make it any easier when your righteous desires feel like they've been trampled on and yet another child has died way before what I think they should have. But that's the point, I guess. This isn't my plan, and it isn't my thoughts that make this all work. "My thoughts are not His thoughts and my ways are not His ways..." I know, as I know the sun shines, that the Lord never cheats anyone. Not Ellie, not Gracie, not Lexi, not Malot, not Michelle, not Scott and not Brent or Lori. Somehow we have to bear each other up and try to lift each others burdens and some how bring light to this whole situation.
So we keep obsessing about Haiti. And we pray and we cry and we miss our children. And we ache. We plead. And we risk losing them and when we do lose them we remember that families are forever and the Lord never cheats anyone. Ever. Not aching mothers in the USA. Not even orphans in Haiti. Especially not orphans in Haiti.
Our thoughts and our prayers and our love are with Scott and Michelle at this time, as well as with Harry and Nadia and all our staff. We've all lost a family member. But we'll get through this together.
Thank you for letting us love you, Gracie. We love you.
Friday, January 16, 2009
I'm in Love with Mr. Handsome
We received an update picture of Nathan this week. Surprised us as we didn't expect to get any more info until we get there (in 11 days, not that we're counting) (And oh, we're TOTALLY counting the days. I'm just pretending that we're casual about it)
Check out the lashes and lips on this boy! Goodness! Why do the boys get the amazing lashes?? It's like FRINGE.
He's almost 17 months old now. What a handsome young man!
We can hardly wait to see them again. Will they be excited to see us? Will they remember us? Will they cry, will they come to us, will they get along better now that they've had a few months in the O together?
Anyone have a time machine? I'd like week of the 27th to move as deliciously slowly as possible and the time between now and when we finally get to bring them HOME to fly by. Can you work on that for me?
Check out the lashes and lips on this boy! Goodness! Why do the boys get the amazing lashes?? It's like FRINGE.
He's almost 17 months old now. What a handsome young man!We can hardly wait to see them again. Will they be excited to see us? Will they remember us? Will they cry, will they come to us, will they get along better now that they've had a few months in the O together?
Anyone have a time machine? I'd like week of the 27th to move as deliciously slowly as possible and the time between now and when we finally get to bring them HOME to fly by. Can you work on that for me?
Monday, January 12, 2009
Merry Christmas Again!
One of my high school friends and his sweet family came by tonight. They gathered some of their friends up and told them about our orphanage and together they donated a very generous sum of money to the kids. It's so amazing to see people reach out to these children and do things to make life better for them. Thank you so much, T & S!
Their girls also drew us pictures:
This one is from Anna. The back says "To: Hatey From Anna" and it's a picture of our two kids, Jessica and Nathan. She also included a whole dollar from her very own allowance that she wanted to give to the kids in "Hatey". Thank you, Anna.
This one is from Grace. I LOVE our little family in this picture. She even made Brent bald!
I'm getting so excited to see our babies again. Just two more weeks until we can kiss their cheeks and hold them and tuck them in at night. There's still a very big part of my heart that is waiting for the bad news before this trip. I told my friends tonight that I'm going to end up with an attachment disorder if something happens to these kids. I pray and plead that our Heavenly Father feels we've learned enough to let us keep these two and let us be a family. PLEASE let them come home soon!
Their girls also drew us pictures:
This one is from Anna. The back says "To: Hatey From Anna" and it's a picture of our two kids, Jessica and Nathan. She also included a whole dollar from her very own allowance that she wanted to give to the kids in "Hatey". Thank you, Anna.
This one is from Grace. I LOVE our little family in this picture. She even made Brent bald!
I'm getting so excited to see our babies again. Just two more weeks until we can kiss their cheeks and hold them and tuck them in at night. There's still a very big part of my heart that is waiting for the bad news before this trip. I told my friends tonight that I'm going to end up with an attachment disorder if something happens to these kids. I pray and plead that our Heavenly Father feels we've learned enough to let us keep these two and let us be a family. PLEASE let them come home soon!
Sunday, January 11, 2009
New Updates to the Orphanage's Website
We're still in the process of working with a graphic designer to get it totally redesigned, but there's some new information out there today.
Can't wait... 16 more days, Nathan and Jessica, until Momma and Daddy can pick you up and hold you and kiss you and play with you and feed you and love, love, love you.
16 more sleeps....
Can't wait... 16 more days, Nathan and Jessica, until Momma and Daddy can pick you up and hold you and kiss you and play with you and feed you and love, love, love you.
16 more sleeps....
Saturday, January 10, 2009
New Cards Have Arrived!!
We received our 2nd batch of handmade banana leaf cards from Haiti. Right now, as I type this, I'm in the process of posting them to the Etsy site. Please go check them out!
Here's a link to the back story on the last batch of cards.
We added clear labels to the back of each card this time (based on feedback from our fabulous shoppers). We want the recipients of the cards to know how unique and special they are. The labels say:
They are a bit more this time because the designs are more intricate and therefore we paid the artisans more to create them.
We go to Haiti again in just over 2 weeks. It would be fabulous if we could take additional funds down to the orphanage with this trip. Even if you don't purchase some yourself, please spread the word to anyone you can think of so that we can get more funds to these kids.
Here's a link to the back story on the last batch of cards.
We added clear labels to the back of each card this time (based on feedback from our fabulous shoppers). We want the recipients of the cards to know how unique and special they are. The labels say:
This card was handmade by an artisan in Haiti. The purchase of this card provided work for the people of Haiti and food for the Hope for Little Angels of Haiti Orphanage. Thank you for your support.We're also bundling them differently this time. They're being shipped in a clear cellophane bag tied with a ribbon and with our logo sticker card attached.
They are a bit more this time because the designs are more intricate and therefore we paid the artisans more to create them.
We go to Haiti again in just over 2 weeks. It would be fabulous if we could take additional funds down to the orphanage with this trip. Even if you don't purchase some yourself, please spread the word to anyone you can think of so that we can get more funds to these kids.
Friday, January 9, 2009
You Look Good.... For a Fat, Pregnant Woman
Yesterday my dear Perla posted about a little episode of social whiplash that she recently experienced.
Her post says:
It'd be a pretty dull world if we were all the same.
So share the love and leave us a social whiplash story in the comments.
Her post says:
When the guy that comes to deliver your dry wall says to you, "You look good for your age." Is that a compliment?It reminds me of an "incident" several years ago. I was the lead of a team of mostly women. We had one woman in her seventies that would come in to do filing for us. She was sort of the "Team Grandma". Anyway, another woman on the team (in her very early twenties) was about 5 months pregnant with her first child. One day Team Grandma says to Pregnant Woman:
"Your baby must be a boy because when the baby is a boy the mother tends to carry all the weight on her butt and that's definitely where yours is."There were a few tears shed that day, let me tell you... (and I'm not sure where the "baby boy-butt weight" correlation comes in)
It'd be a pretty dull world if we were all the same.
So share the love and leave us a social whiplash story in the comments.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Em-Ha-Hee
My older brother told me last night that my childhood best friend had found him on Facebook.
In case you were wondering, ladies and gentleman, THAT is what it takes for me to finally join the Facebook revolution.
Emily and I grew up around the block from each other. Our birthdays are 11 days apart and they're both in the summer so neither of us ever had the "bring a treat to school day". Our brothers were similar ages and the entire clan of us spent long summer days running around in the fields around our houses in the tiny, little 8-block square farming community where we lived.
We went to church together. We were in nearly all the same classes in elementary school (which isn't hard to do when there are only 50 kids your age). We dealt with the same bullies. We walked to and from school together every day for years and years. We were both tall and it was awesome to be "the tall girls" together.
And then on my 16th birthday we moved. We didn't leave the state, but we were far enough away that we couldn't talk to each other much. For you younger readers, back in MY day we didn't have cell phones, or text messaging or email. I'm not even sure if the word "unlimited" had been created when I was a kid. We had something nefarious called "LONG DISTANCE" and it was expensive.
When Emily got engaged our first year of college, we went dress shopping together and picked out the perfect dress.
We mostly lost touch with each other after that. But still, when I got married 6 years or so later, she let me wear the dress we'd picked out together. I still think it's the perfect dress. Except for that flower thingy at the waist. I don't think either of us were too keen about that.
And so, Em-ha-hee... I'm glad to find you again. It's interesting that neither of us have ever been able to have children and that we're both career women. Neither of those things were in the plans we made as little girls. But you're healthy and happy and I'm glad to find you again!
And thanks again for letting me borrow the dress.
In case you were wondering, ladies and gentleman, THAT is what it takes for me to finally join the Facebook revolution.
Emily and I grew up around the block from each other. Our birthdays are 11 days apart and they're both in the summer so neither of us ever had the "bring a treat to school day". Our brothers were similar ages and the entire clan of us spent long summer days running around in the fields around our houses in the tiny, little 8-block square farming community where we lived.
We went to church together. We were in nearly all the same classes in elementary school (which isn't hard to do when there are only 50 kids your age). We dealt with the same bullies. We walked to and from school together every day for years and years. We were both tall and it was awesome to be "the tall girls" together.
And then on my 16th birthday we moved. We didn't leave the state, but we were far enough away that we couldn't talk to each other much. For you younger readers, back in MY day we didn't have cell phones, or text messaging or email. I'm not even sure if the word "unlimited" had been created when I was a kid. We had something nefarious called "LONG DISTANCE" and it was expensive.
When Emily got engaged our first year of college, we went dress shopping together and picked out the perfect dress.
We mostly lost touch with each other after that. But still, when I got married 6 years or so later, she let me wear the dress we'd picked out together. I still think it's the perfect dress. Except for that flower thingy at the waist. I don't think either of us were too keen about that.
And so, Em-ha-hee... I'm glad to find you again. It's interesting that neither of us have ever been able to have children and that we're both career women. Neither of those things were in the plans we made as little girls. But you're healthy and happy and I'm glad to find you again!
And thanks again for letting me borrow the dress.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
I Fooz, You Lose
I've never been much of a "gamer" of any type. I'm 6 ft tall and have the wingspan to match. People often ask me, "Did you play basketball in High School?" I say, "No, I played the saxophone." And they don't usually know what to say to that, but facts are facts.
I guess my family was much more bookish than athletic. In the nearly 11 years I've been married to Brent, I've had a very specific role in our athletic endeavors. I have 3 jobs: A) cheer him on, B)drive him to the emergency room when needed, C) fill in as a warm body when some of the women don't show up on his co-ed softball team. They've learned that I'm as coordinated as Frankenstien in a tutu. They don't expect much from me. "Just TRY not to strike out, Lori."
So with that background, let me just say, I work with a great group of guys. I've had that privilege (working with great people) at my last two jobs. On my current team, it's just me and 6 guys - developers, QA and graphic designers (I'm the Project Manager.) The team works hard, they put out great code and we deliver on time. It's a fun and productive environment.
In the software world, you reach points where you just have to step away from the computer for a moment. You can only stare at lines of code for so long before your mind goes numb. So there's a foozball table in our building. The boys will often take a Foosball break and they've become quite adept at the game.
I don't normally play. It is only a 4 person game for one thing. They play more competitively than I care to for another thing. It's just kind of evolved that Foosball is what the boys do.
Well, last week, during the holidays, we had some people out. They were a man short. They asked me to step in for Foosball a few times. I've only played this game MAYBE 4 times in my entire life. But I'll make the attempt. I'll "try not to strike out". I'm certainly not the Marylou Retton of Foosball. But I'll take one for the team or whatever.
So we were playing and I was doing what I could, which apparently wasn't much. My friend, J and I were on the first team together. I blocked some shots and I didn't block some others that would have been good to stop. He missed some too. That's how these things work. We ended our first round and so we rotated one position at the table. My dear friend, J, lets out this little Freudian gem, "Oh, good.... now A has the handicap on his team." HELLO! I'm standing right here!!
You cut me, J.... you cut me deep. I probably should have shown him what my 6 ft wingspan can do across a tiny little foosball table... :)
I guess my family was much more bookish than athletic. In the nearly 11 years I've been married to Brent, I've had a very specific role in our athletic endeavors. I have 3 jobs: A) cheer him on, B)drive him to the emergency room when needed, C) fill in as a warm body when some of the women don't show up on his co-ed softball team. They've learned that I'm as coordinated as Frankenstien in a tutu. They don't expect much from me. "Just TRY not to strike out, Lori."
So with that background, let me just say, I work with a great group of guys. I've had that privilege (working with great people) at my last two jobs. On my current team, it's just me and 6 guys - developers, QA and graphic designers (I'm the Project Manager.) The team works hard, they put out great code and we deliver on time. It's a fun and productive environment.
In the software world, you reach points where you just have to step away from the computer for a moment. You can only stare at lines of code for so long before your mind goes numb. So there's a foozball table in our building. The boys will often take a Foosball break and they've become quite adept at the game.
I don't normally play. It is only a 4 person game for one thing. They play more competitively than I care to for another thing. It's just kind of evolved that Foosball is what the boys do.
Well, last week, during the holidays, we had some people out. They were a man short. They asked me to step in for Foosball a few times. I've only played this game MAYBE 4 times in my entire life. But I'll make the attempt. I'll "try not to strike out". I'm certainly not the Marylou Retton of Foosball. But I'll take one for the team or whatever.
So we were playing and I was doing what I could, which apparently wasn't much. My friend, J and I were on the first team together. I blocked some shots and I didn't block some others that would have been good to stop. He missed some too. That's how these things work. We ended our first round and so we rotated one position at the table. My dear friend, J, lets out this little Freudian gem, "Oh, good.... now A has the handicap on his team." HELLO! I'm standing right here!!
You cut me, J.... you cut me deep. I probably should have shown him what my 6 ft wingspan can do across a tiny little foosball table... :)
Monday, January 5, 2009
Next Item Up For Bid...
One of the odd challenges of the Haitian Adoption Process is trying to find clothes for your child. When we take these parent trips to Haiti, we bring everything we'll need to clothe and care for our kids while we're there for those few days in the hotel.
If all goes well, this will be the first time (out of four trips to Haiti) that we will have had the same set of children for two trips in a row. It's hard to plan with all the turbulence we've had this year.
So we're trying to get things gathered for the next trip. 22 days til we go.
We have clothing for Jessica. We got a little exuberant last trip I guess and we have enough clothing to take care of her. Nathan, on the other hand.... we didn't know we had him back until the last trip was nearly over.
Have you ever tried to find toddler sandals while living in Utah's 20 degree weather?
Thank heaven for eBay. I've found some items there and I even won a few. We'll see if we can get stocked for him before the week's out.
If all goes well, this will be the first time (out of four trips to Haiti) that we will have had the same set of children for two trips in a row. It's hard to plan with all the turbulence we've had this year.
So we're trying to get things gathered for the next trip. 22 days til we go.
We have clothing for Jessica. We got a little exuberant last trip I guess and we have enough clothing to take care of her. Nathan, on the other hand.... we didn't know we had him back until the last trip was nearly over.
Have you ever tried to find toddler sandals while living in Utah's 20 degree weather?
Thank heaven for eBay. I've found some items there and I even won a few. We'll see if we can get stocked for him before the week's out.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Nice Way to Start the Year....
We received update pictures of Miss Jessica yesterday. She looks so much more grownup than she did the last time we saw her. She looks more like a little girl and less like a toddler.
We didn't receive pictures of Nathan. Not sure why.
Still no word about Malot.
We also have tentative dates for the next trip - Jan 27th - Feb 2nd.
That means in a few short weeks we can hug and kiss them again.
Thanks to Lynnae and Vivian and Maggie for your orders on the Etsy store. We hope to sell as much as we can in the next 3 weeks so we have more money to take to them.
We're taking Feed My Starving Children rice again this trip. I think that's helped - all the children looked a little bit more round-cheeked than they did in October (based on the update pics I've seen).
We're taking down a water filtration system as well.
A lot to get pulled together. A lot to sell. A lot of prayers and waiting left to do.
Can't wait to see you again, Nathan and Jessica!
We didn't receive pictures of Nathan. Not sure why.
Still no word about Malot.
We also have tentative dates for the next trip - Jan 27th - Feb 2nd.
That means in a few short weeks we can hug and kiss them again.
Thanks to Lynnae and Vivian and Maggie for your orders on the Etsy store. We hope to sell as much as we can in the next 3 weeks so we have more money to take to them.
We're taking Feed My Starving Children rice again this trip. I think that's helped - all the children looked a little bit more round-cheeked than they did in October (based on the update pics I've seen).
We're taking down a water filtration system as well.
A lot to get pulled together. A lot to sell. A lot of prayers and waiting left to do.
Can't wait to see you again, Nathan and Jessica!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
People are People....
Yesterday while traveling to work in the commuter lane, I checked my rear view mirror and was alarmed to see a rather large SUV rapidly advancing on me. To say this driver was "aggressive" is like saying that Audrey Hepburn was "kinda pretty".
Because the commuter lane has marked entrance and exit points, there wasn't really anywhere I could go to get out of this dear man's way. And because there were cars in front of me, I couldn't go any faster than the 75 mph (if you're my mother, read that "64.9 mph") that I was already going.
As this gentleman continued to travel dangerously close to my bumper, I began to wonder if he was some sort of automotive proctologist. Did I forget my yearly physical? Is there some sort of new age "house call" taking place here? Perhaps there is a need for bumper stickers with your insurance information printed on them so that I can more easily be billed for such a thorough exam.
Eventually he zipped around me and started "examining" someone else. I watched the brake lights and swerving as this vehicle pushed his way through the morning traffic, causing frustration for many other drivers. I don't think he was oblivious to his behavior - I think he plain didn't care if anyone else was impacted by his aggressive rudeness.
Compare that to the email that I received this last weekend through the Etsy store. You may remember we had a hot dog/bake sale in September in the parking lot of the Walmart down in St. George. The email said:
We all come into this world with the same things. We all choose different paths. I'm very grateful that for every bumper-prober there's a little family who is teaching their children about helping and serving others.
For good or bad, one person does make a difference!
Because the commuter lane has marked entrance and exit points, there wasn't really anywhere I could go to get out of this dear man's way. And because there were cars in front of me, I couldn't go any faster than the 75 mph (if you're my mother, read that "64.9 mph") that I was already going.
As this gentleman continued to travel dangerously close to my bumper, I began to wonder if he was some sort of automotive proctologist. Did I forget my yearly physical? Is there some sort of new age "house call" taking place here? Perhaps there is a need for bumper stickers with your insurance information printed on them so that I can more easily be billed for such a thorough exam.
Eventually he zipped around me and started "examining" someone else. I watched the brake lights and swerving as this vehicle pushed his way through the morning traffic, causing frustration for many other drivers. I don't think he was oblivious to his behavior - I think he plain didn't care if anyone else was impacted by his aggressive rudeness.
Compare that to the email that I received this last weekend through the Etsy store. You may remember we had a hot dog/bake sale in September in the parking lot of the Walmart down in St. George. The email said:
"I met you at Walmart while you were doing a fundraiser for the orphanage. My little 5 yr old girl was so touched by you guys and talked for days about wanting to help. She has been making bracelets and selling them to earn money for you guys. We wanted to come over with the money before Christmas but we never made it. I would like to figure out the best time for her to come over, she has been so excited to deliver the money herself!"
We all come into this world with the same things. We all choose different paths. I'm very grateful that for every bumper-prober there's a little family who is teaching their children about helping and serving others.
For good or bad, one person does make a difference!
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Snuggling with Daddy
I think we took these pictures the first night of our October trip. We had only Jessica for most of the week, as you'll recall. That night, Brent had his computer out and was trying to upload some pictures or something.
Miss Jessi just came right over and of course wanted to help - anything with that many buttons and lights has to be AWESOME!! Naturally, right?
But the part that I liked the best was when she snuggled back into Brent's arm - cuddled right up with Daddy. She'd touch a key on the computer and then look up at Brent to see what his reaction was.
Of course, we think everything they do is adorable, so he was laughing which made her laugh with him. She has the funniest laugh - particularly if she knows she's being funny.
My dear friend, Melissa, recently posted about how her daughter likes to snuggle up with Daddy and they take a nap.
I can't wait until that's Brent and Jessica on our very own couch at our very own house.
Please let it come soon enough that they're still little and still want to snuggle. With our luck, they may well be 17 by the time we get them home! :D
Miss Jessi just came right over and of course wanted to help - anything with that many buttons and lights has to be AWESOME!! Naturally, right?
But the part that I liked the best was when she snuggled back into Brent's arm - cuddled right up with Daddy. She'd touch a key on the computer and then look up at Brent to see what his reaction was.
Of course, we think everything they do is adorable, so he was laughing which made her laugh with him. She has the funniest laugh - particularly if she knows she's being funny.
My dear friend, Melissa, recently posted about how her daughter likes to snuggle up with Daddy and they take a nap.
I can't wait until that's Brent and Jessica on our very own couch at our very own house.
Please let it come soon enough that they're still little and still want to snuggle. With our luck, they may well be 17 by the time we get them home! :D
Friday, December 26, 2008
Continued Prayers, Please....
My sweet friends found out today that the birth parents of the twin girls have decided to keep the babies. It's excruciating to go through this rollercoaster called adoption. Please keep Jason and Leslee in your thoughts and prayers.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Christmas Giving
We've been so blessed to have a few choice family and friends who have donated to our Orphanage as part of their own Christmas celebrations. We're very grateful for all the love and support we've received and will be sent to Haiti from good people like you.
Thank you so much!
Merry Christmas!!
Thank you so much!
Merry Christmas!!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Calling All Happy Thoughts!!!
I have a work friend who is adopting. He and his wife have been at this for years, just like us. They found out a couple of weeks ago that a birth mother had selected them and that she was expecting TWIN GIRLS in January.
I just heard that the birth mom is going to be induced TOMORROW and that my friends should get their baby girls on CHRISTMAS DAY!
I'm nearly in tears, I'm so excited for them.
I'm also anxious - now comes the agonizing part with adoption. Will she change her mind? Will everything go well?
It's so hard to want something so much that is such a blessing for you and yet such a heartache for another mother somewhere.
J&L will be FABULOUS parents. I am praying so hard that this happens for them and that they get their family on Christmas Day.
If you believe in happy thoughts - please send prayers, clap your hands (thanks, Tinkerbell) or just positive thoughts to the Powers that Be that this little family will have THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!
We're praying for you!! Keep us posted, J&L!!
I just heard that the birth mom is going to be induced TOMORROW and that my friends should get their baby girls on CHRISTMAS DAY!
I'm nearly in tears, I'm so excited for them.
I'm also anxious - now comes the agonizing part with adoption. Will she change her mind? Will everything go well?
It's so hard to want something so much that is such a blessing for you and yet such a heartache for another mother somewhere.
J&L will be FABULOUS parents. I am praying so hard that this happens for them and that they get their family on Christmas Day.
If you believe in happy thoughts - please send prayers, clap your hands (thanks, Tinkerbell) or just positive thoughts to the Powers that Be that this little family will have THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!
We're praying for you!! Keep us posted, J&L!!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Christmas Stuff
We had our family part with my siblings this weekend. My older brother and his wife have hosted it the last few years. It's getting harder and harder to find a space where everyone can fit. They pulled it off yet again and it was a good time.
The food was great. It was fun to watch baby Abbie open her presents. For gift exchanges between my siblings, we changed the rules up a bit this year and said the gifts had to be made or had to be a form of service.
My sister and her husband drew our names and they made us 3 beautiful ornaments with pictures of Nathan, Jessica and Malot on them. I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out the best way to capture them. I was quite touched by them - literally speechless to see Malot's little smiling face on that ornament. Thank you, Z and Aaron. That was the perfect gift for us.
Brent and I don't do much around our own house for Christmas over the last two years. We both love Christmas, don't get me wrong. But lately our Christmas to each other is "the next Haiti trip". Not gonna buy a tree when that money could go to a Haiti trip. Neither of us really need anything, but what we both want is a Haiti trip. You get the idea.
We're just saving and focusing everything on that. I'm sure some of the neighbors wonder if we've changed religions as we don't have a tree up or anything. It's not that, it's just that our hearts are in Haiti and we want to really enjoy our next tree - and have kids home with us to join in the fun.
We ran an errand to Cabella's last night. For those of you that may not be familiar with it, Cabella's is an enormous hunting and fishing store. We have a ginormous store not to far from us. Inside it's practically a wildlife museum with all the different stuffed and mounted animals from all over the world.
When we're at Cabella's I normally think about our kids because I try to imagine what their reactions will be when we get them home and they can see this or that. But this last trip was different for us because we ran into two other families that had adopted black children. And watching the children run around and be so excited and the brief bit we spoke to one of the parents.... It was just a different reminder that sometime this will end and we'll be done and they'll be ours.
Next year.... please let it end soon....
The food was great. It was fun to watch baby Abbie open her presents. For gift exchanges between my siblings, we changed the rules up a bit this year and said the gifts had to be made or had to be a form of service.
My sister and her husband drew our names and they made us 3 beautiful ornaments with pictures of Nathan, Jessica and Malot on them. I'll post pictures as soon as I figure out the best way to capture them. I was quite touched by them - literally speechless to see Malot's little smiling face on that ornament. Thank you, Z and Aaron. That was the perfect gift for us.
Brent and I don't do much around our own house for Christmas over the last two years. We both love Christmas, don't get me wrong. But lately our Christmas to each other is "the next Haiti trip". Not gonna buy a tree when that money could go to a Haiti trip. Neither of us really need anything, but what we both want is a Haiti trip. You get the idea.
We're just saving and focusing everything on that. I'm sure some of the neighbors wonder if we've changed religions as we don't have a tree up or anything. It's not that, it's just that our hearts are in Haiti and we want to really enjoy our next tree - and have kids home with us to join in the fun.
We ran an errand to Cabella's last night. For those of you that may not be familiar with it, Cabella's is an enormous hunting and fishing store. We have a ginormous store not to far from us. Inside it's practically a wildlife museum with all the different stuffed and mounted animals from all over the world.
When we're at Cabella's I normally think about our kids because I try to imagine what their reactions will be when we get them home and they can see this or that. But this last trip was different for us because we ran into two other families that had adopted black children. And watching the children run around and be so excited and the brief bit we spoke to one of the parents.... It was just a different reminder that sometime this will end and we'll be done and they'll be ours.
Next year.... please let it end soon....
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Been There - Done That - Had the T-shirts Made...
Well, Brent found a company to make our silk-screened T-shirts for us. ABC-Tees made the first batch and they look GREAT! The colors are perfect and the print is clear and sharp. They were wonderful to work with and Brent had nothing but good things to say about Cort at ABC-Tees. If you're ever in the market for custom silk screening, we highly recommend them. Thanks to Colleen for recommending them to us!
I still need to post them on the Etsy store (trying to figure out if I can get away with that - we're kind of bending the rules of what Etsy was intended to be, I think).
We only have adult sizes right now, mostly Medium, Large and X-Large. We're not sure what would be "requested" so we didn't order children's sizes at this point.
We've also nearly got all the kinks worked out of of the embroidery process. We've gone back to our friend Colleen to get a few tweaks made to the logo so that the small print will be legible when translated to thread but we should have some options in that department soon.
Thank you to all the people that are helping us pull things together to raise money for our orphanage. I wish you could see their sweet faces, but that will have to wait until we get the org website complete.
I still need to post them on the Etsy store (trying to figure out if I can get away with that - we're kind of bending the rules of what Etsy was intended to be, I think).
We only have adult sizes right now, mostly Medium, Large and X-Large. We're not sure what would be "requested" so we didn't order children's sizes at this point.
We've also nearly got all the kinks worked out of of the embroidery process. We've gone back to our friend Colleen to get a few tweaks made to the logo so that the small print will be legible when translated to thread but we should have some options in that department soon.
Thank you to all the people that are helping us pull things together to raise money for our orphanage. I wish you could see their sweet faces, but that will have to wait until we get the org website complete.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Advertise our store on your blog...
I have a tiny bit of code now so you can put our logo on your blog's sidebar if you'd like. Thanks to Friend Dan for his help there.
Email me or leave me a message if you'd like me to send this to you.
Email me or leave me a message if you'd like me to send this to you.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Sweets for the Sweet
Sometimes dinners with the big people get boring. Even if there's pizza involved.
Cute Jess loved the Halloween ghost suckers that Aunt Mare brought down for all the kids.
She also liked Pizza crust - we order it from Dominoes on the last night at an exhorbitant rate.
She had a little dance with the pizza crust. You go, sister! What every makes you happy.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Home Sweet Orphanage
I thought I'd post some pictures of the place where the kids are living. I only have a few good shots because, quite frankly, we're more focused on getting pics of the kids while we're there than of the facility.
Nadia and her staff try very hard to keep things very clean. And you can see in some of the pictures that she'd had cartoon characters painted on the walls to make it more visually stimulating for the children.
Kids still get sick for a variety of reasons. After watching Jessica lick the walls and the bottom of her shoe, I'm not at all surprised when we find out someone's sick at the O. Kids will be kids and kids put things in their mouths. When those things have been touched by filthy rain water and all that goes with it then you end up with an orphanage full of kids with giardia or some other gift that keeps on giving.
The O is basically a house with 3-4 bedrooms in it. It has a living room/dining room area, but not a lot of furniture. There's a big kitchen space and oh - how I desperately wish I could carry enough food to stock their shelves!
The kids play and spend most of their day in this area - it's basically the carport. It's covered so it's a bit cooler. We want to get ceiling fans installed for them to keep the bugs down. They eat their meals around these tables. They play around these tables. I'm assuming when the school teacher is there, he's teaching them around these tables.
The kids sleep in these bunk beds - multiple kids to a bed. There aren't blankets because it's Haiti and it's hot all the time. They don't have air conditioning and, given that electricity is often unavailable in the evening, a ceiling fan isn't even an option. Every inch of wall that a bunk bed will fit on is used for that purpose.
50 kids - 3 bedrooms and a carport. But they make it work and they're doing the best they can for our kids.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Wacky Jess
Jess is very curious. She has a "texture thing". I mentioned before that she kept licking everything - the wall, her shoes, the mirror... You can see the gunk on the mirror in this picture left behind from the week's worth of kisses she kept giving herself in the mirror.
She really liked playing with the little girl in the mirror.
Jess is a very sound sleeper. Yes, she's completely asleep in this picture. You can tell she's an orphanage kid used to sleeping through the noise of all those other kids. She could sleep through a freight train going through the house. Her hair in this picture makes me giggle. And yes, we're terrible parents. Once we realized she'd sleep through this, I made Brent do it again so I could take pictures. Poor kid.... 
Jess is goofy. You can almost hear the silly noise she was making when I took this picture. She apparently REALLY liked PopTarts. She was doing a little dance and making noises. And there's that crazy tongue of hers! It's practically an accessory - it shows up in so many pictures!
That last morning, Brent and I were trying to get the kids fed and make sure we'd packed everything. We had a lot of "busy-ness" going on to try to distract us from the fact that we were leaving them AGAIN. Lots of action to delay the hurt that would hit us hard later that morning.
I had Jess in my arms and Brent had Nathan. As we were walking towards the area where we were to meet the other parents, Brent was approached by a nice looking group of people. It was an older man and woman and an extremely beautiful young Haitian woman. They were obviously Americans. We learned they were doing some sort of missionary work in Haiti.
They asked if we were adopting these children. Brent explained that we were and because the excitement was so fresh, he told them a bit about how we'd just been reunited with Nathan. He mentioned we had to leave them behind today and go back to America to wait for more paperwork to process.
The man and woman looked at each other and smiled knowingly several times through Brent's story. When Brent finished, the woman said, "Well, what you're doing is a good thing. It's good for all of you. And in 20 years, maybe your daughter will be as beautiful as ours is" and she put her arm around the young Haitian woman as she said this. She turned to her daughter and said, "It's all worth it. When we were going through the process of adopting our daughter, twenty one years ago, things were even more chaotic, if you can believe it. But it all works out in the end."
I don't think I need to tell you that I was sobbing by this point. It was just what we needed at that moment - a reminder that at some point we would be a family in OUR home, and not in a hotel in Haiti. Someday we'll be done with the paperwork and the waiting and the delays and the frustration and the sickness and sadness and distance.
Someday Jess will legally be our daughter and Nathan will legally be our son. But I already feel that they're both ours in my heart.
We love you, babies, and pray for angels to keep you happy, healthy and safe until we can bring you home.
She really liked playing with the little girl in the mirror.
Jess is a very sound sleeper. Yes, she's completely asleep in this picture. You can tell she's an orphanage kid used to sleeping through the noise of all those other kids. She could sleep through a freight train going through the house. Her hair in this picture makes me giggle. And yes, we're terrible parents. Once we realized she'd sleep through this, I made Brent do it again so I could take pictures. Poor kid.... 
Jess is goofy. You can almost hear the silly noise she was making when I took this picture. She apparently REALLY liked PopTarts. She was doing a little dance and making noises. And there's that crazy tongue of hers! It's practically an accessory - it shows up in so many pictures!
That last morning, Brent and I were trying to get the kids fed and make sure we'd packed everything. We had a lot of "busy-ness" going on to try to distract us from the fact that we were leaving them AGAIN. Lots of action to delay the hurt that would hit us hard later that morning.
I had Jess in my arms and Brent had Nathan. As we were walking towards the area where we were to meet the other parents, Brent was approached by a nice looking group of people. It was an older man and woman and an extremely beautiful young Haitian woman. They were obviously Americans. We learned they were doing some sort of missionary work in Haiti.
They asked if we were adopting these children. Brent explained that we were and because the excitement was so fresh, he told them a bit about how we'd just been reunited with Nathan. He mentioned we had to leave them behind today and go back to America to wait for more paperwork to process.
The man and woman looked at each other and smiled knowingly several times through Brent's story. When Brent finished, the woman said, "Well, what you're doing is a good thing. It's good for all of you. And in 20 years, maybe your daughter will be as beautiful as ours is" and she put her arm around the young Haitian woman as she said this. She turned to her daughter and said, "It's all worth it. When we were going through the process of adopting our daughter, twenty one years ago, things were even more chaotic, if you can believe it. But it all works out in the end."
I don't think I need to tell you that I was sobbing by this point. It was just what we needed at that moment - a reminder that at some point we would be a family in OUR home, and not in a hotel in Haiti. Someday we'll be done with the paperwork and the waiting and the delays and the frustration and the sickness and sadness and distance.
Someday Jess will legally be our daughter and Nathan will legally be our son. But I already feel that they're both ours in my heart.
We love you, babies, and pray for angels to keep you happy, healthy and safe until we can bring you home.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Thank you, Tia!
My dear Tia made and donated this sweet puff baby quilt for the Etsy store.
We sure appreciate all the support from good friends and family.
We sure appreciate all the support from good friends and family.
Luggage Woes
My friend, Ashok just had a rather rough trip getting back to India for a family funeral. He spent about 40 hours in the air, not counting layovers. And they lost his luggage. Travel can be so frustrating. It made me think of this little clip.
Updates
We added a few more items to the Etsy site. Thank you to Darlene who was willing to donate such beautiful cards and gift tags. Thank you as well to my brother and his wife who came over to help me get better pictures to post. Hopefully some of those items look a little better now.
Thank you again to everyone who purchased something thus far.
I have other friends and neighbors who are willing to help with the effort. Hopefully we'll have more items soon. And, if any of you kids reading along from home out there in Internet Land want to make something to contribute to the Etsy store, please feel free to email me. Etsy's business model is that it must all be handmade. You can browse the site for a bit and get a feel for the absolutely insane variety of items that are out there.
Thank you again to everyone who purchased something thus far.
I have other friends and neighbors who are willing to help with the effort. Hopefully we'll have more items soon. And, if any of you kids reading along from home out there in Internet Land want to make something to contribute to the Etsy store, please feel free to email me. Etsy's business model is that it must all be handmade. You can browse the site for a bit and get a feel for the absolutely insane variety of items that are out there.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Christmas Giving
A dear friend told me today that she'd told a neighbor about our orphanage and what we're trying to do. The woman asked her how she could help and my friend gave her the link where I posted about donations to WIAA.
She just let me know that the woman emailed her today and said:
We just can't imagine what it's like to live in Haiti or to be an orphan in Haiti. I'm reminded of what Nadia told our friends this last trip. Our friends are adopting a sibling group and Nadia told them that every time a plane flies overhead the oldest girl wants to know if that plane has her Mommy and Daddy on it to come and get her and take her to her new home. At 7, she is old enough to realize that life has more to offer than what she has available to her and she can hardly wait to come to her new home.
We're the answer to their prayers. You're the answer to our prayers. Those sweet children are the answer to so very, very many prayers.
Thank you so much to those who have added our little orphanage to their family's Christmas plans!
She just let me know that the woman emailed her today and said:
Thanks for the link. I will share this with my extended family as well. We have several nieces who are unable to have children and have adopted or are in the process of trying to adopt. I know they will want to contribute as well. I'm so glad you mentioned this in church. I was looking for something special for Christmas this year. You are an answer to my prayer.I'm so grateful people are willing to help our kids and this sweet orphanage. They're trying so hard against nearly insurmountable odds to keep these kids alive and get them to better, eternal homes. As Harry said, they need our help to do what they do. They simply can't survive without donations.
We just can't imagine what it's like to live in Haiti or to be an orphan in Haiti. I'm reminded of what Nadia told our friends this last trip. Our friends are adopting a sibling group and Nadia told them that every time a plane flies overhead the oldest girl wants to know if that plane has her Mommy and Daddy on it to come and get her and take her to her new home. At 7, she is old enough to realize that life has more to offer than what she has available to her and she can hardly wait to come to her new home.
We're the answer to their prayers. You're the answer to our prayers. Those sweet children are the answer to so very, very many prayers.
Thank you so much to those who have added our little orphanage to their family's Christmas plans!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Cards, cards, cards....
What a strange week it's been! We managed to get all the card orders shipped this morning (or delivered in some cases).
I made up these little tags and tied them to each bundle of cards with ribbon. How many times have I mentioned that I love having a logo? It just makes it seem more official and less like I'm suddenly and completely randomly an importer for Haitian handmade cards that I then package up in my basement and mail off to far-flung places like Montana. Oh, wait....
I thought I'd show you some of the other types of cards that Harry can have made for us. I scanned the sample cards that he sent, so my apologies if they're hard to view or cut off.
I think this would make a cute little set - "Happy Family cards"
These look like good Valentine's Day cards or a nice set to keep on hand to use on wedding gifts.
Here's a grouping for baby shower gifts
These cards say "Tropic Paradise" to me. Great all-purpose cards.
And these are my favorite - "Haitian Women". Some of these are just exquisite. I'm completely amazed by what they can do with a banana leaf!
So - what do you think?
Do you think that you or people like you would be interested in this?
I made up these little tags and tied them to each bundle of cards with ribbon. How many times have I mentioned that I love having a logo? It just makes it seem more official and less like I'm suddenly and completely randomly an importer for Haitian handmade cards that I then package up in my basement and mail off to far-flung places like Montana. Oh, wait....
I thought I'd show you some of the other types of cards that Harry can have made for us. I scanned the sample cards that he sent, so my apologies if they're hard to view or cut off.
I think this would make a cute little set - "Happy Family cards"
These look like good Valentine's Day cards or a nice set to keep on hand to use on wedding gifts.
Here's a grouping for baby shower gifts
These cards say "Tropic Paradise" to me. Great all-purpose cards.
And these are my favorite - "Haitian Women". Some of these are just exquisite. I'm completely amazed by what they can do with a banana leaf!
So - what do you think?
- Any of them strike your fancy?
- Any that you'd buy if I had him make more?
- Do the groupings make sense?
- How many cards would you expect to get in a set (like one of each or two of each or would you expect to get "6 cards" or "10 cards", etc)
- What would you expect to pay for them?
Do you think that you or people like you would be interested in this?
Thursday, December 4, 2008
THANK YOU
We have orders now for all the cards! I think that's a little bit of a miracle. Thank you for your support thus far.
We're getting more items for the store in the near future. Hopefully we can keep a bit of inventory moving through that so that we are always working on bringing in a little extra to feed the kids.
Thank you again for your support!
We're getting more items for the store in the near future. Hopefully we can keep a bit of inventory moving through that so that we are always working on bringing in a little extra to feed the kids.
Thank you again for your support!
Next Item Up for Bid....
There's something about having a logo that makes us feel official! (Still working on getting the website and other such fun stuff done - oh, and all the legal hassels, but it's coming along)
My fabulous spouse found a company to turn our lovely logo into a symphony of satin stitching. Please give me a mental drumroll, while I present to you:
Now, we can start selling shirts with stitching on the website. And I think I'm going to see if Mom-in-Law's friend will help us put the logo on one of her lovely handmade purses. I think that would be a fun surprise for Nadia. What do you think?
We've joked that we need to get matching shirts the next time we go down to Haiti. Apparently in some ways, the missionary groups are safer than the rest of us Americans wandering around in Port-Au-Prince, and matching shirts would make us look like a missionary service group.
Anyone who's interested in getting a shirt that touts your support of this sweet orphanage and our fabulous kids - send me an email and we'll see what we can work out!
My fabulous spouse found a company to turn our lovely logo into a symphony of satin stitching. Please give me a mental drumroll, while I present to you:
Now, we can start selling shirts with stitching on the website. And I think I'm going to see if Mom-in-Law's friend will help us put the logo on one of her lovely handmade purses. I think that would be a fun surprise for Nadia. What do you think?
We've joked that we need to get matching shirts the next time we go down to Haiti. Apparently in some ways, the missionary groups are safer than the rest of us Americans wandering around in Port-Au-Prince, and matching shirts would make us look like a missionary service group.
Anyone who's interested in getting a shirt that touts your support of this sweet orphanage and our fabulous kids - send me an email and we'll see what we can work out!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Helping Harry Help Haiti
It was a good day on the Hope for Little Angels of Haiti Esty store. Our first day in "operation" and we've had 3 orders. Of course, one of those was from my mother ordering a baby blanket made by my mother-in-law and generously paying the shipping fee even though she lives 15 minutes from me. Thanks, mom! The kids will appreciate every dime.
Another hefty order was from a dear friend who is also a Haitian Adoptive Mom and so she "gets it". Thank you again, Melissa.
And thank you as well to Julie in Texas who also ordered some of our banana leaf Christmas cards.
I believe I neglected to tell the backstory on the Christmas Cards....
After our October trip, we'd heard that an American soccer ball can be sold in Haiti for as much as $100. I thought, "If that's the case, we'll start taking flattened soccer balls down!!" So we sent a question through to Harry to find out if he thought he could make money reselling soccer balls. The response came back that he didn't think they could. So I sent a new query through asking if there was 'anything we could bring down to them that they could resell in Haiti".
Somewhere that may have potentially been lost in translation.
Several days later I received the response that Harry had thought of something and he would be sending me samples. Now I was completely confused. We were supposed to be taking things to them, right?
Well, on Dec 2nd we received a box from Haiti with 200 handmade Christmas cards in it. And a note explaining the history.
Harry, who works closely with the needy members of his faith as well as working at two orphanages, had rounded up some church members that did not have jobs and had them make these cards. He then paid for them himself at $1/card. His note said, "if you can post on the cards that buying these cards is giving food for some starving children and is giving jobs for some people".
I sent a message back through to Harry that I'd received the cards and that I hadn't meant for HIM to go to any expense personally, but that we'd definitely reimburse him on our next trip. And I thanked him for being so thoughtful as to find a way to serve the children and the people in his congregation that need work.
He responded that he wasn't worried if he didn't get back the money that he'd spent because:
He's right - they do "need a lot to spend for these kids everyday" because costs in Haiti are so astronomically high and they really can't take care of them without receiving donations."
If you'd like to tell others about these Christmas cards, or post the link to our little Etsy store on your own blog, PLEASE spread the word. I have about 160 cards left and it's Dec 3rd. Please help me help Harry to get these cards sold.
Another hefty order was from a dear friend who is also a Haitian Adoptive Mom and so she "gets it". Thank you again, Melissa.
And thank you as well to Julie in Texas who also ordered some of our banana leaf Christmas cards.
I believe I neglected to tell the backstory on the Christmas Cards....
After our October trip, we'd heard that an American soccer ball can be sold in Haiti for as much as $100. I thought, "If that's the case, we'll start taking flattened soccer balls down!!" So we sent a question through to Harry to find out if he thought he could make money reselling soccer balls. The response came back that he didn't think they could. So I sent a new query through asking if there was 'anything we could bring down to them that they could resell in Haiti".
Somewhere that may have potentially been lost in translation.
Several days later I received the response that Harry had thought of something and he would be sending me samples. Now I was completely confused. We were supposed to be taking things to them, right?
Well, on Dec 2nd we received a box from Haiti with 200 handmade Christmas cards in it. And a note explaining the history.
Harry, who works closely with the needy members of his faith as well as working at two orphanages, had rounded up some church members that did not have jobs and had them make these cards. He then paid for them himself at $1/card. His note said, "if you can post on the cards that buying these cards is giving food for some starving children and is giving jobs for some people".
I sent a message back through to Harry that I'd received the cards and that I hadn't meant for HIM to go to any expense personally, but that we'd definitely reimburse him on our next trip. And I thanked him for being so thoughtful as to find a way to serve the children and the people in his congregation that need work.
He responded that he wasn't worried if he didn't get back the money that he'd spent because:
I'm just open a door to find more money to help the orphanage with these kids. We really need money to save our children. We can't take care of them without receiving donation. We are working hard to create other opportunities to get money because we need a lot to spend for these kids everyday. I'm really appreciate the people which made these cards. I like to keep them busy and have them working to get money.As usual, I'm overwhelmed with the generosity and love of the wonderful people we've met in Haiti. Harry and Nadia and their crew are truly amazing people and are some of the most giving, considerate, compassionate and noble individuals you'll ever meet.
He's right - they do "need a lot to spend for these kids everyday" because costs in Haiti are so astronomically high and they really can't take care of them without receiving donations."
If you'd like to tell others about these Christmas cards, or post the link to our little Etsy store on your own blog, PLEASE spread the word. I have about 160 cards left and it's Dec 3rd. Please help me help Harry to get these cards sold.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Good News and Fund Raising Opportunities
We heard from our agency today that Nathan will be kept one more night in the hospital and will be released tomorrow. They said that he's doing much better and should be full recovered soon.
Thank you so much for your prayers! We appreciate your support!
We also have a bit of an announcement. Our friends in Haiti have sent us some Christmas greeting cards that were made by some of the people they know that needed employment. We also have some beautiful baby blankets with crocheted edges that were made by Brent's mom. We've posted these on a little store on Etsy.com. We have some other friends and family who have offered to donate handmade items as well. We hope to be able to gather some funds for the orphanage through these items.
If you'd like to stop by and check out the few items we have available now, you can see the store here
I apologize in advance for my pictures on the site - we'll have to figure out some better lighting options soon!
I'm a bit nervous about this etsy store. We'll see how it goes. We've never done anything like this before.
Thank you so much for your prayers! We appreciate your support!
We also have a bit of an announcement. Our friends in Haiti have sent us some Christmas greeting cards that were made by some of the people they know that needed employment. We also have some beautiful baby blankets with crocheted edges that were made by Brent's mom. We've posted these on a little store on Etsy.com. We have some other friends and family who have offered to donate handmade items as well. We hope to be able to gather some funds for the orphanage through these items.
If you'd like to stop by and check out the few items we have available now, you can see the store here
I apologize in advance for my pictures on the site - we'll have to figure out some better lighting options soon!
I'm a bit nervous about this etsy store. We'll see how it goes. We've never done anything like this before.
Noble Beasts
And another distraction post...
I learned something FASCINATING this last week on the radio. Apparently, there is a segment of the population of this great country who believe that if someone in your household has asthma you should get a chihuahua.
Yes, a chihuahua.
According to the DJs, the belief is that the dog will 'take your asthma' and the dog will then be sick and you will become well!
There are many questions that arise when I think about this line of logic. For starters, it seems like a very MEAN thing to do to the poor, unsuspecting dog! It seems rather vicious. Secondly, if you were going to believe that a dog had the ability to absorb your asthma why wouldn't you pick a dog with a greater lung capacity than the noble chihuahua? I mean, imagine what a MASTIFF could do in the same circumstances.
Check out those nostrils! He should be able to cure a fleet of sick asthmatics!
But really, aren't chihuahuas kinda wheezy dogs anyway? I suspect it has less to do with asthma absorption and more to do with inherent tiny nasal passages, but what do I know??
And I can say I'm very glad my friend, Michelle, uses an inhaler rather than a chihuahua to treat her asthma....
No offense intended to any noble, self-sacrificing chihuahuas that may be among my readership! May you and all your people breathe happily ever after!
I learned something FASCINATING this last week on the radio. Apparently, there is a segment of the population of this great country who believe that if someone in your household has asthma you should get a chihuahua.
Yes, a chihuahua.
According to the DJs, the belief is that the dog will 'take your asthma' and the dog will then be sick and you will become well!There are many questions that arise when I think about this line of logic. For starters, it seems like a very MEAN thing to do to the poor, unsuspecting dog! It seems rather vicious. Secondly, if you were going to believe that a dog had the ability to absorb your asthma why wouldn't you pick a dog with a greater lung capacity than the noble chihuahua? I mean, imagine what a MASTIFF could do in the same circumstances.
Check out those nostrils! He should be able to cure a fleet of sick asthmatics!
But really, aren't chihuahuas kinda wheezy dogs anyway? I suspect it has less to do with asthma absorption and more to do with inherent tiny nasal passages, but what do I know??
And I can say I'm very glad my friend, Michelle, uses an inhaler rather than a chihuahua to treat her asthma....
No offense intended to any noble, self-sacrificing chihuahuas that may be among my readership! May you and all your people breathe happily ever after!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Not ALWAYS Photogenic
I need something to distract me from the fact that we haven't heard any more about Nathan's health since they told us this weekend he's in the hospital.
This pic is posted for my dear friend, Princess Heather, who asked if it was even POSSIBLE for a child as cute as Jessica to take a "bad picture".
The answer to that is, "YES! My goodness, Yes!"
I think I was trying to get a picture of her little flicking tongue action and inadvertently captured a bug-eyed moment that is completely awesome!
Now you can compare My Worst, with Brent's Best and see that we really are quite happily married. He makes up for all that I lack!
This pic is posted for my dear friend, Princess Heather, who asked if it was even POSSIBLE for a child as cute as Jessica to take a "bad picture".
The answer to that is, "YES! My goodness, Yes!"
I think I was trying to get a picture of her little flicking tongue action and inadvertently captured a bug-eyed moment that is completely awesome!Now you can compare My Worst, with Brent's Best and see that we really are quite happily married. He makes up for all that I lack!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sending Out Happy Thoughts For Nathan
With Nathan in the hospital in Haiti, with IVs in his arms and just trying to endure, I thought I should post some pictures of Nathan and Daddy.
Remember we were reunited with Nathan Thursday night and that we left Saturday morning. We don't have a lot of pictures of him from this trip.
I love his little expression in this one. I'm not sure what I was doing and it looks like he's not quite sure either.
We didn't think we'd ever again see this little boy. So to be able to watch him playing and laughing with his Daddy.... beautiful.
My handsome boys! Love you both so dearly!
Hang in there, Nate. We're praying that you'll feel better soon and that you can be back to running around and being happy with your sister very soon.
We are also praying that this hospital trip turns out better than Malot's trip and that you'll actually come back to the orphanage and continue to grow and thrive and be happy until we can come and be with you again.
We love you, Nate. Get well soon!
Remember we were reunited with Nathan Thursday night and that we left Saturday morning. We don't have a lot of pictures of him from this trip.
I love his little expression in this one. I'm not sure what I was doing and it looks like he's not quite sure either.
We didn't think we'd ever again see this little boy. So to be able to watch him playing and laughing with his Daddy.... beautiful.
My handsome boys! Love you both so dearly!Hang in there, Nate. We're praying that you'll feel better soon and that you can be back to running around and being happy with your sister very soon.
We are also praying that this hospital trip turns out better than Malot's trip and that you'll actually come back to the orphanage and continue to grow and thrive and be happy until we can come and be with you again.
We love you, Nate. Get well soon!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Prayers, Please
We just were updated that little Nathan is very sick and in the hospital. We're confident they're trying to do what's best for him, but we pray he'll be better soon.
It's so tough to keep the kids well in country that has so little and where there is so much disease and poor water, etc. We hope to be able to get a water filtration system to them with our next trip. I wish there was a magic injection we could give them that would keep them well until we can get them home!
It's so tough to keep the kids well in country that has so little and where there is so much disease and poor water, etc. We hope to be able to get a water filtration system to them with our next trip. I wish there was a magic injection we could give them that would keep them well until we can get them home!
Namesakes
I know that it's nearly December. I'm a bit late these days (ask Cliss!)
I felt the need to share these with the world.
Our little Nathan is named after Brent's best friend. Uncle Nate has the COOLEST Halloween costume on the entire planet. (And yes, he does own the horse and no, he didn't rent him for the costume)
When he rides down the street, the horse's hooves spark against the pavement and add to the ambiance of it all.
Nate and his friend, Woody, hauled the horse around to some friends and family in our little town. They'd get Nate loaded up and in costume on Jet (the horse) and position him right in front of the front door. And then Woody would call the homeowners and tell them that he was in their driveway and could they come "give him a hand" with something. Woody would then stand back and "watch the magic" as the poor, unsuspecting homeowners would open their front door and find The Headless Freakin' Horseman!!!!!
PLUS, Uncle Nate gives out full-size candy bars!
It's truly awesome to see him in his full getup.
We love you both! Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do for us and the kids. We can scarcely wait for Little Nate to meet Uncle Nate.
I felt the need to share these with the world.
Our little Nathan is named after Brent's best friend. Uncle Nate has the COOLEST Halloween costume on the entire planet. (And yes, he does own the horse and no, he didn't rent him for the costume)
When he rides down the street, the horse's hooves spark against the pavement and add to the ambiance of it all.
Nate and his friend, Woody, hauled the horse around to some friends and family in our little town. They'd get Nate loaded up and in costume on Jet (the horse) and position him right in front of the front door. And then Woody would call the homeowners and tell them that he was in their driveway and could they come "give him a hand" with something. Woody would then stand back and "watch the magic" as the poor, unsuspecting homeowners would open their front door and find The Headless Freakin' Horseman!!!!!
PLUS, Uncle Nate gives out full-size candy bars!
It's truly awesome to see him in his full getup.
We love you both! Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do for us and the kids. We can scarcely wait for Little Nate to meet Uncle Nate.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I’m Small, I Know, But Wherever I Go the Grass Grows Greener Still
A couple of people have asked me recently how they can give to our orphanage as part of their families' Christmas celebrations this year. I thought I'd post the info here so that anyone interested can get the details.
We still don't have our non-profit org set up. In order to get a receipt for your tax-deductible donation, it should be sent to:
Wasatch International Adoptions
3755 Washington Blvd. Suite 300
Ogden, Utah 84403
Please sure to indicate that you'd like it donated to "Hope for Little Angels of Haiti" as they deal with many orphanages and are a non-profit organization themselves. Indicating your intent will help them allocate it as you'd like.
Thank you for caring about our kids!
Some of the things we're working on right now:
- A water filtration system for the orphanage. The O got giardia after the hurricanes earlier this year and that comes from unclean water. We want to help them meet their own needs and not be forced to BUY bottled water when funds are so tight to begin with.
- A generator for the orphanage. Electricity in Haiti is spotty at best. There are periods every day where the orphanage doesn't have power. That means no ceiling fans, even, to try to keep the tropical heat down. In the evening, the children go to bed when the sun goes down because they don't have power at night. Imagine how cranky and uncomfortable you feel when you're hot and sticky and then magnify that by 50+ to try to get a gist of what they're dealing with.
- We've recently had an English teacher start teaching at the O. This is a benefit to not only the children, but also helps the Aunties who work at the orphanage as knowing English will help them to improve their own lives and provide different job opportunities.
- Of course, food, food, food. Everything is so expensive in Haiti. For a few months this summer and fall the O was only able to feed the children one meal per day. We want to keep that from happening again.
The title of this post is from a favorite song from my childhood. The song is about a little stream who realizes that, even though he's just a little bit of water he makes a difference with what he does. We feel like a tiny stream right now trying to quench a parched desert. With your help and support we can make a difference - little by little.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
More Good News
We were notified today that Nathan's mother has also completed her USCIS interview. Since it was this interview that caused her to 2nd guess her decision to place Lexi and Nathan earlier this year we've been very nervous about this 2nd interview.
It apparently went "very well".
Now we're at the same point with both files. They've both completed their birth parent interviews and we're waiting for USCIS to process our dossiers.
Still no word on Malot.
It apparently went "very well".
Now we're at the same point with both files. They've both completed their birth parent interviews and we're waiting for USCIS to process our dossiers.
Still no word on Malot.
Monday, November 24, 2008
And the Award Goes to....
Brent's now an award winning photographer.
Granted it's just my company's internal photography contest, open only to employees and their spouses. It was judged by an independent panel made up of members of the Utah Arts Council. I figure they should know what they're talking about.
Plus, this is just a fabulous picture. Even if I am ridiculously partial to both the photographer and the subject matter.
(This was taken the 1st day of this last trip. We were still at the orphanage, after meeting the kids again.)
Granted it's just my company's internal photography contest, open only to employees and their spouses. It was judged by an independent panel made up of members of the Utah Arts Council. I figure they should know what they're talking about.
Plus, this is just a fabulous picture. Even if I am ridiculously partial to both the photographer and the subject matter.
(This was taken the 1st day of this last trip. We were still at the orphanage, after meeting the kids again.)
Friday, November 21, 2008
Article from msnbc.com
Kids forced into domestic servitude in Haiti
'Restavek' system thrives as impoverished families have little choice
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Evans Antoine wakes at 7 a.m. and dusts himself off from his night on the floor. While other children in his middle-class neighborhood overlooking the Haitian capital head to school, the 15-year-old puts on toeless sneakers and gets to work washing dishes, scrubbing floors and running errands at the market. He also works in the yard and sometimes wields a scythe in the family's fields.'Restavek' system thrives as impoverished families have little choice
There is little reward for his toil, except for food and a roof over his head. And often, the quality of his work isn't good enough; his caretakers sometimes hit him with a switch or slap him on the back of the scalp. Once they tied his hands and put a bag over his head before beating him with a stick.
This has been his life for the past three years.
"They tell me that I'm useless," Antoine said, speaking softly at a meeting secretly arranged by a teacher who taught him briefly and who fears for his future. "They yell at me and tell me about all the things they do for me and how easy I have it."
During the interview, Antoine never smiled. He also kept looking away while answering questions, clearly uncomfortable with the subject: his unforgiving life.
Antoine is a restavek, a Haitian term derived from the French for "stay with." But, he would rather be described by the more genial-sounding Creole phrase meaning "one who lives with people." He is among 300,000 children, 10 percent of Haitians under 18, who serve as domestics for other families, a tradition in Haiti dating back to the country's independence more than 200 years ago.
Haiti revolted against French colonial rule and became the first "black republic" in 1804. With newly emancipated slaves in power, it also became the first nation to outlaw slavery. Dependent on coffee and sugar, however, Haiti kept the plantation system after the revolution, requiring "mandatory labor" of many citizens. The masters were no longer white, but working conditions improved only marginally.
Children were particularly susceptible. The sons and daughters of slaves remained house servants following the revolution, indentured to newly rich army officers who took over the plantations.
Key to the economy
Today child workers remain an important part of Haiti's economy, a system that barely sustains a nation of 8.7 million that is wracked by poverty and lawlessness.
Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. A little over half of primary school-age children are enrolled in school, according to UNICEF, and less than 2 percent finish secondary school.
Children become restaveks in a variety of ways. Some, like Antoine, are orphaned and taken in by family friends. Others are runaways pulled off the street. Most are given up by parents from depressed rural areas who can't afford to care for them and hope that another family will do better and send them to school.
Antoine's case is an example of what so often goes wrong. His adoptive family promised to pay his tuition, but when it came time to do so, his adoptive father reacted harshly. "He said I was lying and he beat me," he said.
In fact, the majority of families are only slightly better off than restaveks' parents, despite living in the capital.
"It is not in Haitian culture to send children away," said Guerda Constante, a child-rights activist in the small coastal city of Jacmel. "Parents do this because they do not have the means to provide for their needs. It seems strange, but the parents are acting with love."
Promises by host families to feed, educate and take care of the children are just too alluring to poor parents, Constante said. In some cases, the new family meets those promises, but in most cases, she says, "the difference between the promise and reality is seen on the first day they arrive."
Rural poverty
It takes a bumpy four hours in a 4x4 to make the 60-mile trek from Port-au-Prince to the rural village of Fond des Blancs, where electricity and running water are scarce. The center of activity — a foreign foundation-funded hospital, a church and an outdoor meeting hall — sit in the middle of the valley.
Over the treeless mountains to the south lies the Caribbean Sea. Single-room, thatched-roof huts dot the landscape, many housing families with 10 children or more.
Fond des Blancs has little communication with Port-au-Prince and the capital's political system has nearly no influence on the area. Lack of police has made it a favorite destination for Colombian planes to drop drugs for local Haitian runners to send onto the United States.
While some families farm or make charcoal, most have no regular means of support. In the most depressed areas, fortunate children are those that are fed once a day.
Children in places like these, activists say, are most at risk of winding up in the restavek system.
"More than 50 percent of the children in Fond des Blancs don't have the chance to go to school," said Briel Leveille, a community leader and member of COSEDERF. "It is said that education is the foundation of development. It is through education that Haitians will one day come out of this misery."
One U.S. community gets involved
Hearing about the lack of education, one American school has become involved with the Haitian community.
At the Seth Boyden Elementary school in Maplewood, N.J., the PTA is trying to set up a sister-school relationship with those in Fond des Blancs. Students have been collecting school supplies and attended a Haitian Flag Day celebration.
"I hope we can do a lot more than this," said Tamara Thompson, a former U.N. observer in Haiti who now resides in Maplewood and has a 9-year-old son who attends Seth Boyden. "Education is a key to ending the restavek system and it is their right."
For now, however, many parents in Fond des Blancs see the restavek system as the only hope for their children.
"I'm afraid to send them, but I really don't have any choice," said Rodette Clermanceau, a mother of 10 in Fond des Blancs. She is sending two of her children to Port-au-Prince to work for other families. Clermanceau has been raising her children alone since the father was sent to prison.
"If I had the financial means, I would not give them away," she said.
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