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.

Loving every minute of Haiti

Day 2 – April 06, 2010

Just woke up with Jeanne this morning. We are sitting on our beautiful patio listening to the sound of dogs and roosters. When I was young, my parents had told me that the roosters were getting up around 5am. I believe them now. The dogs, I feel that we are at the SPCA. The barking has not stopped all night. I guess it’s just like living on a farm hours. Something I had not experienced before.

Jeanne and I woke up at the same time, we went downstairs and Nikki had prepared all the blows and cereal for us. She said she will cook us a good breakfast by Wed. They just moved in as well and are not stocked with groceries yet. They had warned u s not to drink the milk if it was not pasteurized but we checked in the Fridge and it was grocery store milk. I think we’ll be safe.

Jeanne said yesterday that she sort of felt ashamed of where we are staying because in our mines, we were supposed to be living with almost nothing because we were in Haiti, not in the DR. We are staying at a 3 ½ to a 4 star resort. The only thing that ticked me off was the bathtub. The water does not drown properly and the water stays in the tub. I’ve experienced that before in Canada so this is not something that I will complain about. We can take a shower ever day so I am extremely grateful for that.

I am really looking forward to leave the guest house and start working with the children. I will blog when I get back tonight.

Yes so I am back from a day’s work at GLA. Before we left for work, I had 2 cups of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal. Nikki and her children, Bailey, Kylie and baby boy were up having breakfast. The oldest one was starting school today. She was all excited. They only arrived back from the US on Saturday. They are adjusting as well. We had to walk to the toddler house to catch our ride to the O. We got there and the kids were all happy to see us. It’s just a wonderful feeling. I haven’t seen so many kids together all getting along. When we got to the Main House (Orphanage), we were assigned children. All day, we went to see the nannies, asked them of a child and we would go up on the patio and play with them. After an hour passed, we returned the child and got another one. As soon as you walk in the nursery, they all run at us and hold their hands up. We are not working at all; all we do is play and eat. Me being the picky eater and being vegetarian, I can always find something delicious to eat.

Today I got to know some of the other volunteers a little more. Yesterday was just too overwhelming. I felt like a new kid in town and benign in my new classroom for the first time meeting new faces. One girl is 19 years old. She has been there over a month and is planning on staying there till the end of May. Angela from BC is very nice. She is leaving next week. There’s a guy that came all the way from Australia. 2 ladies from France arrived today as well. They are here to go sign papers in front of the judge for their adoption. They played all day with their children. It was there first time meeting them. It was so special.

After lunch, we emptied all our suitcases that had the donations. We laid it all on the table for the workers to come and put it away. They were extremely thankful. With everything going on, I completely forgot to give the money donation to Dixie. By the time I went to look for her she was already in her apartment. I will make sure to go see her tomorrow.

After super, Joyce drove us back to the guest house along with the 2 French ladies. Nikki and her husband were home to great us along with their beautiful children. We spend the evening on the balcony playing with them. They are a terrific family. We discovered that we might be related with them. Joyce is from Louisiana and she has relatives that are LeBlanc, Landry and Cormier. It’s such a small world. Brandon, Nikki’s husband will be doing the bible study tomorrow after supper. The minister that usually does it has gone to the states.

This was our first official day and words and pictures cannot describe how good it feels to be here. I can honestly say that I feel comfortable and could call this home. If I could bring Victor, Renée, Sam, George and Sponge along, I think it would be good. I’d have to ask Nicole if she feels the same, but she seems to be having a good time as well. Daniel is just a natural with the kids. They all love him. Tonight at the guest house, he was showing Bailey and Kyla, Nikki and Brandon’s daughters how to do Yoga. It was hilarious.

Well its 8:30 pm. I am going to read a bit and then go to bed. We are on the children’s schedule. We are all tired and need to rest up for another day at GLA.

The Ice Breaker!

Day 1 – April 5, 2010

Happy Easter to everyone!

After a good Easter lunch with the family, we came home to get ready for our journey. My stomach knew that I was leaving. Instead of having supper, we stopped at DQ for ice cream. I think I realized at the Moncton Airport that I was really leaving. Victor and Gilles stayed for a while until we bored the plane.

Flight from Moncton to Toronto was pleasant. We arrived in Toronto, got our luggage and found a nice comfy spot for the night. It wasn’t too bad actually. We slept at a table in a restaurant at the Arrival place. Before I laid down to rest, I attached a strap of my bag to my carryon luggage and was holding the other end. I did that so nobody would steel me stuff while I was sleeping. I had set my iPhone alarm for 3:10 am so we would be the first in line for our luggage and custom but my phone died and thank god for Jeanne, she woke up at 3:30.

Let the fun begin... The nice man at the ticketing booth waved the $30 fee for each of our second checked baggage. Off we went to try and pass through the lady standing at the entrance where we were dropping off our checked baggage. She was not too nice. She told us we could only bring 1 carry-on on the plane. I had called AC and American Airlines before we left and we were told that an extra personal item such as a laptop was permitted. Anyway, needless to say, we were on our knees on the floor trying to rearrange our stuff. Before I could go pass her she told me that I had to fit my carry on in the display thingy. I knew that it would not fit, but with a few deep breaths and hard pushes and a bang... I got it in :) I looked at her with a big smile! I was really proud of myself. She actually had to help me take it out of the display; it was sort of stuck...hahaha

So off we were in line to drop of our checked baggage on the belt. The guy set it so we only pick them up in Haiti. Jeanne and I were concern, but he re-assured us that our bags would be there!!! We'll see.

After we passed security, we made a pit stop to Starbuck for a coffee with a shot of espresso! Oh god how I needed that! Next thing you know, we are on the plane and are headed to Miami! I slept for 2 hours. I actually just woke up.! I needed the rest. I am now ready for my adventure. Let hopes the rest of the gang are all rested as well.

When we got on the plane in Miami, I was feeling a bit nervous. I was telling myself, THIS IS IT. No turning back. As soon as we took off, I fell asleep. When I woke up I knew that I was ready. I had a good feeling. I knew at that point that everything was going to work out. I was not afraid.

The smell that everyone was saying would hit us when we would get off the plane, it was not there.

The fear that I thought would hit me when I would walk in the airport, it was not there.

The one little part that got me concern was when they were telling us we had to get on a bus before going to Immigration. I did not know what we had to do but a nice man told us it was ok to go on the bus. He said it was not his first time and that the bus was going to take us to Immigration. So off we went on the bus. We passed Immigrations fine, I asked for Thomas Pierre Frantz from Quarantine. The guy Diane wanted me to give the album that Melissa prepared for the children’s mother and along with the rest of the supplies. I was told that it was at the next step, customs that I would have to ask for him. We then waited probably 1 hr for our luggage to be all on our carts. It was a little crazy, but not as what people was telling me.

In my mind, I had imagined worst. Once we got our luggage, we went to custom. It’s funny how I had been dreading this moment for so long. The fear, of having Customs search our luggage... But NOTHING!!!! I mean nothing. They did not even ask us 1 question... He took our Immigration card and smiled. Wow!!! At this point, I asked again for Thomas Pierre Frantz and the custom guy pointed at a young man sitting beside the door. When I got to him, I introduced myself and he showed me a paper with Diane’s name. I knew I had the right person. While we had a few suitcases open to get the supplies for him, I felt that everyone at customs was staring at us. I had all our suitcases open and was putting stuff in Melissa’s white bag. I thought for sure that at that time, someone would come up to us and start searching, but they did not even say anything.

As soon as we got out the door, we saw the guy with a sign that said GLA with all our names. It was that easy. I was in total shock. By this point, it was sort of ruff on the edges. We were walking with these men not really knowing who they were and they had our luggage and screaming at each other. After a few minutes, I recognized one of the guys from Dixie’s blog. I know at that point that we were ok. Daniel and Jeanne went in one truck and Nicole and I in the other. I t think this was the most challenging moment for me. I was not nervous but just in a total rush. I know now why Victor did not come to Haiti on my first trip. I don’t think he would have made it. Even Nicole was a little bit nervous. As soon as we got in the truck, it was not too bad. We were just hoping that they were bringing us to the O. I took some video clips of the airport and the drive to the O. It was probably 1 hr drive. The more we were going up in the mountains, the richer it was. I did not feel any culture shock at all. I knew we were not in Canada but again, it was not as worst as I had expected. Having followed CNN during the earthquake, I thought that that’s what I was still going to see. What caught my eyes the most was the tent cities. I could not believe that I was actually seeing them with my own eyes.

When we got to the O., a volunteer from BC greeted us. She was really nice. Her name is Angela. She had been there for a month. She said it was great. We then met some staff and it was time for super. They served rice, spring rolls and a yummy brownie. Victor would have loved that part LOL! After supper, Melanie gave us a tour of the Main House. The first room we saw was the infant room. There were little tinny babies in there. We did not stay long because the room was full of care givers. The next spot was the balcony. If you have already seen picture for GLA, you will know that they have a spectacular view of the mountains. We were there just in time for the sunset. It was just amazing. This is where we will be spending time with the children one on one. Next, we visited the children room I guess. Not sure what they call it but all the children were running toward us and wanting to be held. It was the most amazing feeling. We all had 2 children in our hands and others trying to climb in our arms. After the tour, she explained to us that we would be sleeping at the guest house. We were going to wait for someone to drive us. In the meantime, we talked to a few other volunteers from Canada. They were from Toronto and Montréal. They gave us some pointers and things we should know. We were able to check our FB and call home at that time. We called to let everyone know we had made it in one peace.

I don’t know what made me changed O at the last minute, but I know now that I made the right decision. This is a wonderful place. Before we headed out to our guest house, I was able to give my 5 copies of our adoption dossier to Dixie. I was so excited. The day has finally arrived. This is a true blessing.

When we got to the guess house, we were all just staring at the nice house. It’s a real house that we are sharing with another couple that have 3 children. Their names are Brandon and Nikki Jordan. I honestly have no complaints at all. We sat on our balcony on the second floor by our bed room. It was so peaceful. Because we are in the mountains, there’s a nice cool breeze. Nikki said she would have coffee ready for 7 am for breakfast. That is all I needed to hear.

I decided to take my shower tonight to get a good night sleep. Everyone is sleeping right now and I am going to do the same in a minute.I am truly grateful and happy that I had the courage to do this. Just to let everyone now... I am sleeping in the sheets that Nikki had prepared the bed with. Oh and I forgot to mention this. They have 3 dogs at the O. One wiener dog, a huge dog that is almost my size, a great dane and another mix dog.

I can’t wait to get up tomorrow morning and go play... I mean work with the children.

Finaly in Haiti!

Well I finaly made it to Haiti! This is our 3rd day and I am just loving every moment of it. The internet is really slow so I am only doing FB while I am here. I have been blogging offline everyday so as soon as I get to Miami, I will post my blogs.

Just to let everyone know, live is really good in Haiti. We are staying at a nice Guest House. Its incredible and the family running it are awesome! I think we are actually related to the woman. She is from Louisiana and her last name is LeBlanc!!!! The children are just too adorable. Its hard to only play with one at at time.

Anywho, you will read about it soon.

My nerves are kicking in tonight!

If I’m posting my true feeling on this blog, I guess i have to tell you all that my nerves are finally kicking in. I started having butterflies in my stomach tonight. Ouff! I hope they are gone by tomorrow because I won’t be able to function...Nicole has been laughing at me all week. She says that I dont make sense anymore. I can't wait to see what she will be saying tomorrow LOL.


This afternoon, Victor and I went to bring the extra of the donations. This is what I was not able to bring with me on this trip. I had not realized that I had so much. We had a full truck load. We brought it where Jeanne is storing the donations. I was shocked to see all that she had already. She is doing good!

Today, Saturday, April 3, 2010 was a beautiful sunny day. It reached high 24 degrees. It was a relaxing day at home finishing small stuff I had to do before we leave. My dear friend Monique brought supper over with a delicious chocolate cake. It was so yummy! She came over this morning to pick me up and we went to get more donations for Jean-Coutu. She was able to get 3 full bags of donations. I wanted her to come to Haiti with me this time, but because we booked this last minute she was not able to commit right away. She will defiantly come with us on our next trip to Haiti.

Well, I can feel my stomach as I’m typing... not good!!! I think I’m going to call it a night and go relax with my wonderful husband! I’ll be blogging while in Haiti and hopefully I’ll be able to post it.

I’ll be talking to you guys in Haiti on my next blog. See ya all

Happy Easter!

Exceptional Friday

It’s 2 am, beginning of Saturday. In less than 48 hrs, I will be on my way to Haiti. I honestly thought that at this point, I would start to get nervous but I am not. I am perfectly calm. I think... The only thing bugging me now is that Victor is not coming. I know that it’s going to be hard not being with him for 10 days but deep down, I know it’s for a good reason. Nicole will be with me so I will have some of my home with me. Yesterday, I packed and repacked all day. I think I have everything in the right suitcases. While I was packing, I still had people coming over with more donations. I sort of feel bad that I am not able to bring it all with me but I have to remember that when we get back, we will be bringing all the rest of the donations to Halifax to make its way to Haiti.

I have to tell you guys about my Friday at work. At lunch time, my cousin Margo picked me up to go eat at Calactus. While we were driving,  a lady called on my cell and wanted me to go pickup some clothes, blankets... to bring to Haiti. I was explaining to her that I did not have my car to work so I would arrange to go pick it up this weekend. Being Margo and always wanting to help, she said tell  her  you’ll go tonight; you’ll come home with me tonight. Because I finish work at 4, Margo said take my car and you’ll pick me up at 4:30 because I had to go pick up a few things anyways. I got back to work, and shortly before 4, I checked my emails and had this email with subject ‘Haiti’ from a Ruth... In the body of the message, it said ‘When are you leaving for Haiti’? I had no idea who it was. I had talked and emailed so many people in the pass weeks for Haiti that I could not remember who she was. Then it hit me... she was Frank McKenna’s Executive Assistant. I suddenly got out of control; I did not know what she wanted. So I email her back and told her that we were leaving on Sunday. By that time, it was passed 4pm. I should have been out of the office but I was so excited that I stayed. I was just about to shutdown my computer and my phone rang. I looked and saw ‘Ruth ...’ on the caller display. I jumped out of my seat and answered, she said is this Sylvie and foolish me, I answered ‘Thank You’ LOL What an idiot I am...Anyways, she said, Frank has been thinking about your trip and he really wants to help you out. She said he asked me to find out again when you were leaving and to try and make something happen. I told her I was in Moncton at the Blue Cross Building. She said do you think you could arrange to go to the TD Bank Sat. Morning? I told her I could but I was working close to TD Bank. She said hold on a minute, she put me on hold and when she returned she gave me the name of a lady and told me to go there right now and they would give me something to bring to Haiti. I was so amazed by the work of this lady. She is incredible. If you were passing on Main Street Friday around 4:15pm, you might have seen me running on Main St. I ran all the way there. As soon as I got there, I told them who I was and I got taken care of. That man is so caring. With his donation and all the other ones I received, we will be able to make a great contribution for the medical equipment they need. I can’t even describe how I felt. I know that my angles are working hard to make all of this happen. I don’t know and don’t understand how they are doing it but it’s just happening. On top of all that, Margo was able to bring me 30 prescriptions of what Dixie said she needed urgently for the children. I am so grateful for her.