Went for a ride in the car to calm my dogs... what's next?

Today was a low energy day for me. I could not seem to be able to motivate myself. For the past 2 weeks, I’ve been going jogging outside instead of going to the gym. I find that it gives me more energy. Well today was a different story, it was windy, cloudy and rainy. I dragged myself to the gym and was able to do a little workout but at the end I gave up and did a good 20 minutes of stretches. I love to stretch!


When I got home, Sam and George were waiting for their usually run on the beach but mommy was not feeling like it. I tried to make them forget about it but around 7pm, they were not letting me sit and relax. Sam was barking at me and even jumping on the chair with me. Those 2 girls need attention. I never thought I would do this... I kind of laugh at myself when I left but I went and did it. I grabbed my car keys and brought them for a drive to calm them. I always found it funny when parents told me that the only way to get their child to sleep was to go for a drive. I don’t even have my girl home and I am already doing it LOL! Now I have the rest of the evening to myself. Sam is lying beside the woodstove and George is sleeping beside me on the sofa. Relax time for me with a good book and a cup of tea!

Oh and for adoption news, I received our Immigration papers in the mail for Kyanna so as soon as we can be matched with our little princess, we can send the info to Customs and Immigration Canada.

WE ARE THE WORLD!

On my lunch break at work, I went jogging on the trail that runs along the side of the Chocolate River. It was a fun and peaceful hour! When I got close to work, I found a nice spot to do my stretches and the song, We Are The Word was playing on my IPhone. This is the old version, the one that Michael Jackson and Tina Turner are in. To tell you the truth, I have not watched the video of the new version they did for Haiti. I was too emotional for me at the time. After listening to the old version I think I am ready to see it now. I will Google it tonight when I get home.
The words in the song got me thinking...

I wanted to just copy a few lines of the songs to show how the devastating earthquake in Haiti changed my life forever on January 12, however the words are all true and its all how I feel. I guess I can say that I was probably naive and selfish before. This trip to Haiti changed the way I see people, things, and life. I’m not saying that I was a bad person before, but just seeing things on the Internet or on CNN is not the same. I drove in a SUV from the airport in PAP to Pétion-Ville up in the Mountains. We saw fields of tents and tarps on each side of the roads in the city. The earthquake hit more than 3 months ago and they still have nothing. When we got to the Orphanage, John, Dixie’s husband was telling us that they got 3 or 4 containers full of donations that are stuck at Customs in PAP. The Gov. is putting red tap on the donations and want to charge tax... I don’t really know all the details but it’s not good. GLA, from the goodness of their hearts, they are doing everything they can to help out. They are receiving donations all over the world from people like us. They are trying to “lend a hand to life”. On top of trying to run the orphanage, they are helping the nearby villages with all the donations they are collecting. Here is the link to the stories of one of the journeys of Tent City Ministry. THEY ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

Well for me, it changed who I am today and who I want to be in the future. I have a new perspective on life in general. We have to be thankful everyday for being alive and healthy. We take things for granted too much. I made a commitment to myself that I will not live a life that I don’t like. I am going to be making choices that will make me a better and happy person. I will not make room for negativity. If I do fall off the wagon, I sure hope that I will be able to realize on my own that I have to make some changes to reflect the good. I am as well, making a commitment that Haiti will always be a part of me and even after our adoption is completed, I still want to contribute my effort and time to them. If I,” one person can do it”, so can everyone “The world must come together as one”

Here are the lyrics of the song for a reminder to everyone.

There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need

[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

Missing my little princess so much!

I thought I would be calmer after my trip to Haiti but I guess I’m worst than ever. I went to the post office the other day to mail the cheques that I received for donations for GLA. I had to send them to the office in Alberta. Since that day, I can no longer find my husband’s pay cheque. I looked everywhere and it’s nowhere to be found and it’s not in our bank account. I got thinking and maybe I added the cheque with the rest of the donations... So I emailed the girl in Alberta today to let her know that I sent her some donation cheques along with my husband’s cheque. I checked my emails this evening and she replied back that she will let me know when she receives the letter. I felt really smart LOL! I guess I have to get my life back on track. If anyone knows how to do that, let me know because I certainly don’t have a clue how!


I was looking at my picture again this evening and I just could not stop looking at Wislande’s pictures. I miss her so much. That smile on her face was just priceless. I think I am just realizing now that I am back home and no longer there with her. I am praying so hard that it won’t be the last time I see her. I really connected with that sweet little girl.

Back home with my loving Family!

Having slept on 4 chairs lined up at the Toronto airport Wed evening, I was a total mess on Thursday when I got home. It felt so good to see Victor standing at the airport waiting for me. I missed him so much during my journey in Haiti.

This is the first time that I traveled and was not feeling good in the plane because of my cold. I thought my head was going to exploded and my ears. I know what they mean now when they say, don’t fly when you are sick. All day Thursday, my ears were popping and they were hurting. Friday morning I was not feeling good. My ears are still hurting bad. I stayed home from work and slept till noon. Woke up and felt worst. This is not fun!

I got dressed and went to the bank to make the down payment for the adoption. I wired transferred the money to Colorado! Another step accomplished!

Miami pit stop

Day 9, April 13, 2010

I woke up to the sound of waves in Miami Beach. This feels more like home. I got up before everyone else and went for a nice jog on the beach. It was really peaceful but made me feel home sick. I know I still have 2 days left before I get to see the rest of my family. Thank god Nicole was with me because I would have probably been home sick way before now. We went to the buffet at the hotel for breakfast. It was really good. We had fresh fruits, omelettes and all kind of cheese.

After we ate, we relaxed by the pool and the beach. It was a really hot day. The water in the pool was actually warm. For supper, we took a cab to Lincoln Rd and had a nice Mexican supper on Espanola Way and then browsed the stores.

Don't want to leave this beautiful place!

Day 8, April 12, 2010

This is our last morning in Haiti. We woke up and packed our suitcases. We then came downstairs to have our breakfast. It was hard to believe that we were really leaving. We left 3 suitcases behind with them. We said our good byes to Nikki and the girls because we would not see them when Brandon would pick us up to go to the airport. I took down their mailing address and phone number in Haiti. When we got to the orphanage, I didn’t want this to be my last day but I know that I will be back soon with my husband. I want him to experience this with me. We went up for one last time to play with the children. I brought my little princess, Wislande! It was a peaceful morning, overlooking the mountains and the fresh air. We came down for lunch and ate rice, bean pure, some kind of veggie sticks bread and the rest of the cake from Sunday. We said good bye to everyone. To be honest, I was not a sad as I thought I would be. I am really holding it together. I am really impressed. I think it’s because I talked to Victor last night and he said he can’t wait for us to come home. I do miss my Victor, Renée and my funny farm. We still have 3 days before we get to see them but at least I am on my way there. This is the first time that I have been away from Victor for so long. I miss him very much.

Brandon came and picked us up at 12:30. He drove us to a coffee shop in the city. It was really Americanized. I had a cappuccino and it was delicious. John, his adoptive son from Haiti came to say bye. He was supposed to have started school today but because he did not have his uniform, he will only start tomorrow. I bought a few books for Kyanna, some are in French and some in Creole. We then took a little detour to pass in front of their house in the city. The house is in a nice area. I am really glad that Brandon drove us to the airport because we got to see more of how the Haitian is living after the earthquake. In the mountains, it did not seem to have disturbed too much, but we were able to see with our own eyes, the destruction of the earthquake. The tent cities are in every corner. When we said our good bye’s to Brandon, he said I know I will see you back. We passed through 3 security belt for our luggage. One before we got our boarding passes, one right after and then we went up the stairs and had to do it again. It was weird but... whatever!

Well, this is it for my first Haitian trip! I am sitting next to Jeanne in the plane, flight AA 1908. We are headed for Miami for a few days of beach. It’s funny how I thought we would be so messed up after this trip and we are going home with a smile on our faces. The Haitian people are making the most of what they have and they appreciate life.

I am now sitting in my room in Miami Beach. We are staying at the Four Point Sheraton. We even got upgraded to an ocean front room. It’s really nice. It felt good to take a nice shower.

Church Day

Day 7, April 11, 2010,

This morning we woke up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. We were sitting on the balcony and Nikki came with coffee in her hands. We did ballet with the girls before we headed out to church. Sunday is a day of rest in Haiti. Canada, its Costco Day! We relaxed till about 10 am and then we headed to the priest house for church. Another spectacular view to see.

After church, everyone went back to the Main House for lunch. We had rice and beans of course, steamed vegetable, bread and a fruits cup up in a liquid. The fruits were so good but I was eating it with my fork. I think Dixie saw me drooling over it so she told me it was ok to drink from the bowl to get all the juice LOL! So I did!!! Nikki had made a supper good cake for lunch. It was white but filled with chocolate on top. Because it’s Sunday, we were not on the schedule with the children so right after my lunch, I hurried to go up and see my little princess. She was eating her lunch and stopped when she saw me. She came in my arms right away. I just sat in the middle of the floor where all the beds are and, Michnaud, Big Gerry, and 3 others came and played with me. They did not cry at all. I was playing and giving them all attention. They all had big smiles on their faces. When I left the room, they all just looked at me and waved good bye.

When we got back to the guest house with the Jordan’s, Melissa called to see if we wanted to go for a hick in the woods. Nicole, Daniel, Nikki and I went. We were about 10 that went. We have fun but was it ever a workout. We were walking by the Haitian doing their everyday thing. Some were working in gardens, some selling stuff and others just hanging around. Each time we passed by Haitians, they say bonjour or bonsoir. They are all really friendly. I had no fear at all walking those villages’ streets. While we were getting in the woods, the river started flowing and we saw 2 Haitian taking a bath. When we got to the water fall, the view was just breath taken. The air was so pure.

For supper we had tuna sandwiches and chips. On Sunday evenings, nobody cooks. Its relax time. We watched Princess and the Frog while Nikki gave us pedicures. She said she likes doing them. It was just like being at the Spa! It’s really hard to imagine that tonight is our last night here. I know that it won’t be my last but for this time around it is. We really connected with the Jordan’s and its going to be hard to leave tomorrow. Brandon asked Dixie if it was ok for him to bring us to the airport tomorrow and she said yes. They ‘all going to bring us to a coffee shop down where they used to live in the city. I’m glad because we did not really get to see any of that yet. We were so far from the hustle and bustle.

Right now, I am sitting in our room listening to the rain fall. Rainy season just started and there lighting and thunder. Oh and yesterday just before supper time, there was a small tremor. Jeanne felt it but the rest of us didn’t. It’s really weird because we only found out today and last night I had a dream that my little princess was in Canada and I was trying to get her paper work to adopt her. In all that I dreamt that there was an earthquake... When the workers told us today that they felt the earth shake yesterday I suddenly thought of my dream.

I don’t think I mentioned this yet, but every day or night, the power goes. When the power goes out, the batteries kick in. When the power goes back out, they have to plug the generator in case it would be out for a long period of time. It’s quite the system. Just heating up a cup of water in the microwave can cause the batteries to die. It’s sad to see how we take things for granted in Canada. We don’t even realize how much energy we consume in a day. Here, in Haiti, you have to think twice before making a cup of tea or using the toaster.

Another think I forgot to mention is that I got a cold! All the children had runny noses, fevers all week and I’ve been kissing them all week. I should have been smarter than that but then again, if I was able to give them love and comfort, it’s worth being sick for a few days. It won’t kill me.

Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult day. I really want to get home to my dear husband that I miss dearly but at the same time I don’t want to leave this beautiful place. We’ll be with the children till noon and them Nikki and Brandon are going to pick us up. Miami for 2 days and I would rather stay here the extra days.

Hard day’s work in Haiti

Day 6, April 10, 2010

This morning, I woke to the neighbours signing. Brandon said it was probably some kind of ritual. I had oatmeal again for breakfast with a few slices of Nikki’s homemade pumpkin bread. Today is Saturday so John was going to pick us up at 9 to go painting. Haitian time, we left around 9:45. He had his adoptive son and Dave the Australian guy with him already. We spent the morning putting on primer and then painting the walls of the house at Fort St. Jacques. We also tried to scrub the new flooring of the bathroom. They put tiles that absorbs so it’s all dirty already. I am glad we went today with John. I will have contributed to the construction of the new orphanage. I can’t wait for Victor to come and see this place. It’s just amazing. He would of loved helping out John today.

After supper, I had a nice chat with Stephanie, how is the adoption coordinator. She was telling me about the adoption process and how Dixie is the one that reads all the dossiers and matches the child to the families. She still wasn’t able to give me an estimated time for our referral but she explained how it all works.

We got to the Main House around 4:30, just in time for FB before supper. Tonight was sloppy Joe’s so it was peanut butter toast with bananas. I had some potatoes and fruits as well. When we got to the guest house, I had a nice homemade cookie and a tea. It was pouring rain this evening so we went downstairs and Brandon had the projector on and was showing us some family picture and some of the work he did after the earthquake to help distribute aid.

Movie night at the Jordan’s Guest House

Day 5, April 9, 2010-04-09

This morning, Daniel got up to come to work. We think it was just a sun stroke and not the food. He is looking better that yesterday. Brandon had gone to get his some Gatorade so he was able to hydrate again. We were woken up this morning with the smell of homemade cinnamon buns. Were they ever yummy!!! I don’t know what I’m going to do when I get back home. How is going to cook all those yummy breakfast stuff for us???? Maybe Nicole who knows, maybe Haiti changed her as well and she will cook for us from now on LOL! 

When we got to the O. Melissa said was going to go shopping this morning. I went to pick up my little princess again this morning. She is always smiling. We left around 10 am for a little bit of shopping. It was same as when we go to the DR, Mexico... you have to bargain. We bought a few things for souvenirs. I bought my first How to learn Creole book. I am so excited. I will have something to obsess about for a few months. The bell just rang for lunch, will continue later.

We had Rice, Beans with a chicken sauce on the side and bread for lunch. I still did well, just left the sauce part out. Right after lunch we went back upstairs to play with the children. This pm, we took out the tubs and kiddie pool and filled them up with water so the children could play in the water. They had a blast. Even with the aches and pain some of these children have, they always have that huge smile on their faces. Probably 75% of the children have a runny nose, fever and their stomachs are so huge. I’ve been told that allot of children in orphanages have worms but seeing the size of their stomachs from my own eyes... that’s a different story. We were sitting on the floor playing with the children and talking about how they all have the same toys in their mouth, we don’t even know if they give them water because we only see them with milk or juice, their nose is always running... on and on but at the same time, we know that this orphanage is so great. They have nannies, nurses running 24 hrs to care for the children. Maybe they don’t live up to our standards in our home, but I know that the children are loved. It’s easy for us to say we could do this, they should do that but we are not the ones trying to care for all those children. They are doing a fantastic job and I will be at ease knowing that my daughter will someday be living there for a short period of her life. I know that there will be great volunteers taking her up on the balcony and playing with her and not wanted to bring her down after the one hour passed to go switch for another child. Jeanne took my little princess for some time this pm and I was trying not to look at her. Every time I would get up or move her little head would follow were I was going. I don’t know what I am going to do Monday when we have to leave. It’s going to be heart breaking. Oh and while I’m on the subject of my little princess, I taught her how to blow her runny noise by making funny faces with her. It’s too funny!

After the water fun with the children, we mellowed down and had nice chats with the other volunteers. We got to know them. Nicole made them laugh... I was telling them how the little girl that I still can’t write her name properly aka... My Little Princess that she was ‘The One’ and ‘Mine’. Nicole just looked at me and said ‘I thought I was the one LOL’ everyone started to laugh.

For supper, we had Pizza. It was good. Tonight we stayed at the Main House a little bit longer than usual after supper. We bought some GLA souvenirs and had a chance to update FB.

When we got back to the Jordan’s Guest House, the girls came running for us outside. It was movie night! We got in the door and the projector and DVD were all setup in the living room. I was just shaking my head. We are in Haiti and we are watching a movie on a projector and on top of that, Nikki made homemade cookies. Molly, Melissa and Joyce came from the Toddler House to watch the movie with us. It was like being at the theatre. We even had a special visitor that joined us... I will post the picture when we get home.

Before we left the Main House, we told John, Dixie’s husband that we would go help him out at Fort St. Jacques to paint. We did not know that Brandon and Nikki had already made plans to take us out on a little tour and visit a nice coffee shop. We tried to negotiate getting out of painting but at the end Brandon said he will see if he can bring us to the airport on Monday and we would leave early to do our little site seeing.

We are officially EXPECTING!

Day 4, April 8, 2010

I got up this morning with a sore back. I guess my years working at a computer are showing how hard it is to play with kids all day. Yesterday just killed me with all the 30 some children upstairs on the balcony with us. Nikki said she was going to keep Daniel at home today and take care of him. We knew that he would be in good hands. We had a nice breakfast as usual, bowl of oatmeal and Nikki’s fresh biscuit. They were still hot. We are honestly being spoiled here in Haiti. I know it’s hard to believe but that’s just the way it is here at GLA.

When we got to work, LOL, Dixie told us that someone would come and get us around 9am to bring us see the new place at Fort St. Jacques. I was able to go up and get my munchkin for 1 hour. You should have seen her when I walk in the door. I should have brought my video camera. It was priceless. Around 9:15 am, someone can to get us and said we were just about to leave. The ride up to Fort St. Jacques was a bit different from the one from the airport. We sort of saw a hang out place with tones of motorbikes and all kind of Haitian people. To get to Fort St. Jacques, we had to go up a bit more in the mountains. The views were breath taken! Once we got out of the vehicle we could not believe how beautiful the property is. John showed us the plans of what his dream property is going to look like once finished. It’s going to be some beautiful. I sure hope that I will someday, be able to visit the new place.

For lunch, we had spaghetti. They had the meat sauce on the side so I was able to eat. Yes!!! Right after lunch, I went to talk to Stephanie, the adoption coordinator to see if I needed to send the deposit when I get home. She said yes. She said, that she went through my dossier and that everything looked good. She said you are in the system! You are on our waiting list. I could not believe it when she said that. I have been waiting for this moment for so long. We are officially expecting our baby girl. I asked her in the mean time about the little one that I fell in love with. She said she was 1 ½ year old. The little one cannot crawl yet. The lady from Montreal that left the second day we arrived said when she got there, the girl had no emotion. She did a fantastic job at stimulating her and you can see from your own eyes how she has improved. She’s a little princess. I can tell that she’s going to be a smart girl. I honestly thought she was younger but knowing that she is already 1 ½ year old, I don’t think she would be a prospect for us. There are others in front of us so the chances are slim. I know that my daughter is in Haiti somewhere, I just have to wait a bit more to meet her.

I went to see Laurie this pm, and gave her the money that we had collected. They were extremely happy with the donation. We gave them the money directly and they will be able to buy medications or things that the children need urgently.

Once we got back it was back with the children. The children today were all tired. I think being on the balcony all at once for the day tired them out. At the end of the day, I had a hard time bending down to put the children in their beds. I feel like an old gale! Just before supper time, another of the French ladies arrived with her daughter. She’s been in Haiti for 2 weeks now. She is just waiting for the passport of her child and she’s on her way. The girl is a sweetie. She played with Nicole’s iPod. She was dancing and making us laugh.

This evening, we all met on the balcony like every evening. We downloaded the picture and we all looked at them. Nikki, Brandon and John played cards while we were just sitting on the chairs and relaxing. We called it quits early. I feel that the Jordan’s adopted us. I feel part of their family. I can’t wait for Victor to meet them I think we came in our room at 8 pm. Now that we are expecting, I won’t have anything to do for our adoption anymore. I think I might learn Creole. It’s so close to French that I think it won’t take me long to learn the basics. It would be fun when I come back, that I would be able to communicate with them in Creole. I think I just put myself up to a challenge. I need something else to keep me occupied...

Oh and tonight was a good supper. There were rice/beans, green bean salad and a spicy sort of coleslaw. It was yummy!

Found my little Munchkin!

Day 3 – April 7, 2010

Last night I forgot to tell you about the sounds of Haiti. We were on the patio reading peacefully and in the background you could hear Haitian people signing a few blocks away and then from another distance, we heard music. Let’s not forget all the dogs barking into the night. If I was home, I’m sure we would have been complaining about the noise but here in Haiti, is a sound pretty normal. We are all up right now on the patio With Bailey and Kyla. Its 6:30 am. Nikki is making us pancakes and fresh coffee. I am ready for another day and can’t wait for day 2 at GLA.

We walked down to the Toddler house and the children were already there, smiling and signing for us. We stayed there a few minutes to play with them and then off to the O. This morning, Melissa said we would walk down. So off we went along with the 2 French (from France) ladies. Today was a really important day for them. They were going to sign the adoption papers in front of the judge. It was another experience walking those Haitian streets this morning. Girls and boys walking all dressed up to go to school. They all had smiles on their faces and telling us bonjour! At every corner of a street, you have Haitian people selling stuff. They cook food right on the side of the street. Nicole almost fell walking down a street. You cannot imagine how bad the roads are. I’m not sure if the picture and video will do justice to it. We’ll see when we get home.

 

When we got to the O. and off we went to the nurseries to get the children. As soon as I saw my little princess in her crib, I went to pick her up. She had her arms in the air ready for me . A few minutes after we got on the balcony, Melissa came over to let us know that they were going to move all the children upstairs with us along with the care givers and nannies. They were going to spray for cockroaches. Ikes!!! I am so happy that I had not seen one yet  Instead of having 1 child per hour, we had them all at once. It was sort of overwhelming at first but we got the hang of it. You had 2 of them in your arms because they were crying to get in your arms and them you saw a little boy hit another one and they start crying.... put one of the children that you had in your arms down so you can pick up the other one crying on the floor. Wow! But all in all it went well. You should have seen the nannies in the pm. They were all lying down in a corner sleeping or on a chair. They are not too stressed. Some of the children had fevers today and were not at ease. My little princess stayed with me all day. She even fell asleep on me for more than an hour. The one thing that I didn’t enjoy today was seeing them eat. Because we were all on the balcony the nannies were giving them their bottles and food with us. So today, my little princes did not want her milk in the morning because she was not feeling good. She had a baby cookie later on the baby cereal and then I had to tell them that she was trusty so they gave me a big bottle of juice, probably tang... and then a chocolate pudding. What can you do!!!!

Well tonight was peanut butter sandwich for me. They had macaroni and cheese, plus hamburger in it. I hope that there is something else tomorrow that I will be able to eat. If not, well there is always peanut butter sandwich LOL! The good part about supper time was that I was sitting by Dixie and we had a good chat. She is a super lady. She told us that her husband, John will take us see the new land where they are going to be building the new orphanage, guest house, church... This is in Fort St. Jacques. I guess it’s like 5 miles away.

After supper, we had bible study. This was my first time attending one so I was pretty nervous. They handed us books and everything. Brandon, Nikki and the kids came over. They were some glade to see us. Especially Daniel 

Once we got back to the guest house, I had promised the girls that I would do Yoga with them and Daniel. The girls were just having a ball. They are the cutest and adorable children and well behaved. After yoga we just sat on the balcony with the whole family and just talked. We really got to know the Jordan Family. They explained to us how it was when the earthquake hit. They used to live in PAP in a duplex with no yard. They said it was pretty dangerous. She never went out after 3pm. They are really happy that they are now living in the guess house and running it.

That family make us feel such at home. I feel that we are living in the 1900’s. Life is just so simple here. I was telling Jeanne the other night how I get really anxious when I travel, but here, I feel no stress. Just miss my husband, Renée, my mom, Sam, George and Sponge.

At 2am, I got awaken by Daniel being sick. The poor guy was not feeling good. He went downstairs to sleep on the couch. Jeanne being the great mother she is, she went and slept on the other couch to take care of her son.