Merry Christmas...

Praying that next year brings waiting children home to their families!

More Christmas Pictures on our family website.

Home Again...

And what a different experience. The orphanage & staff were wonderful, just like last time. I was, yet again, enchanted by Haiti and all the people there. But this trip was so much better because my boy was well!! Asa was still quite the snuggle-bug and really wanted to be held a lot. He did feel secure enough to get down and play a few times, though. He gave me some shy smiles at first, and later on, some big laughs. He's such a little pumpkin and will fit in so well with our gang.

He said mama a few times and "Ma-chine" when the trucks would drive up the orphanage drive-way. I brought some cookies for him and while he was eating, I asked him to share with me by pointing to my mouth and saying "Mama manje." I guess that was a totally new concept for him. But when he put a piece in my mouth, I said a very happy "Meci!" and he just beamed with pride. So over the next few days when we'd eat, he'd always offer me little pieces of his food with a big smile. What a cutie pie!! He looked at the photo book I made and I said everyone's names as he pointed to the pictures.

I also got to spend a little more time with the aunties (the young women who care for the children). These women are amazing. And I'm sure that the jobs they have at the orphanage are better than most positions they could obtain in Haiti. So really - this amazing orphanage is doing more than just caring for children.

Asa with Jasmine and Mona... the aunties in his baby room.


Asa eating!

They have the whole orphanage decorated so beautifully for Christmas. They truly want the children to have happy memories. This is Asa with Sister (the nun who lives there). Every evening, the big kids sit around the Christmas tree and are taught Christmas carols. They are preparing for Christmas day when they'll have a big party. It's precious!

I didn't get any smiley pictures because he wasn't thrilled when I'd put him down. But check out those CHEEKS!!!! I could not stop kissing them.

So, of course, I am missing him more than ever. Now - everything we do as a family is just a bit harder because I imagine him with us. And I have to be honest and say that there's a little bit of fear because of UNICEF's increased interest in Haitian adoptions and adoption laws. When they get involved - things slow down. Please pray for everyone adopting from Haiti and all the children who need to come home to their families.

Missing Both My Boys' Birthdays...

Asa turns two today! That's so strange for us because he was only 17 months old in the first picture we saw of him and we accepted his referral when he was 18 months. We've already missed so much of his little life. But I'll be with him next week.

Our Camden turns four next Tuesday, and I'll be in Haiti with Asa. Shhhhhhh - don't tell him. We're going to celebrate his birthday on Friday the 14th, after I return. And since he's little, he'll never know the difference - but it's still a little sad for me. His birthday is a significant one because I always reflect on my amazing 31 hour, drug-free labor. No kidding - it was a great labor and delivery. But we both went downhill quickly after his birth and had some scary complications. So it's also a time of extreme gratitude that we both recovered and that I was blessed with my first boy.

I can't help but wonder what Asa's Haitian mother is thinking & feeling today. We hope you'll join us in lifting her, and the rest of his biological family, in prayer.

Laboring at home with my wonderful doula and the fabulous birthing ball.

Jim with Camden - 12/11/03

*~*~* Jwaye Nowèl *~*~*

It might be just a bit early to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, but I was online looking for the translation so we could use it for Christmas cards and/or decorations.

I really need to study Creole (Kreyòl) more because I'd love to be able to communicate with the aunties at the orphanage. It was pretty funny in October... there were a lot of hand gestures and overly animated facial expressions while trying to ask or convey certain things. Now I can say:

mwen - me, I
anpil - a lot
bonjou - good day/morning
bonswa - good evening
mèsi - thank you
manje - eat, food
and Jwaye Nowèl - Merry Christmas

It's good that I'm going two weeks before Chistmas so I can use my newest phrase! And in between homeschooling, decorating & wrapping gifts and all the other craziness that will be occurring in the next two weeks, I'm going to commit to studying more Creole than I did last time!

So Much Better...

I received these last week but have been too busy to post them. He's looking great and it just hit me that I'll be headed down to see him two weeks from Monday.

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving!!

Wonderful News and Some Pictures...

We received a fantastic e-mail last night saying that Asa is back to his happy self. There have been two groups that traveled to the orphanage in the past two weeks and he has continued to improve. We're so happy and just thanking God for healing his little body. The reality is that Asa has had a pretty rough start in life and there may be continued challenges.

One thing we hadn't really mentioned yet is that we were told a few months ago he may have a deformity in one of his knees. I wanted to get some video and pictures when I went down so we could consult with our wonderful pediatrician about what treatment options there would be upon his arrival. When I was at the orphanage, I asked the doctor who was visiting his children if he could take a look at his knee. His knee does hyper extend, but it is probably to compensate for the fact that one leg is longer than the other; a fact easily missed by a third world doctor - - they just noticed that he held his knee funny. He will probably need to have surgery to correct this. We don't want any of our children to endure physical pain or even discomfort, so this is obviously hard for us. But we feel so blessed to know that, once in the US, there will certainly be safe and effective treatments that will enable him to be more comfortable in the long term.

Now, we just pray that the adoption will continue to progress smoothly. We are currently in IBESR. Maybe, if the current trend continues, we'll be out of that portion by early next year. We then have a few more steps in the Haitian process - so when people ask what the timeframe looks like, we say that we'd be thrilled if he's home by next summer. There are a lot of families bringing children home from our orphanage before the end of this year and the final stages seem to have recently picked up speed. We're hoping for a miracle for us and all the other families in process. This got a lot longer than I had planned... here's the best part: PICTURES!!

Improvement...

Just got an e-mail from someone visiting the orphanage. She said that Asa is doing better. He was feeding himself at lunch and even smiled when she gave him a toy (he didn't smile once when I was there). She said he still is somewhat lethargic, but we're happy to hear that he's moving in the right direction.

Something else - kind of Haiti related... two nights ago I started getting this crazy, itchy rash on my legs. By morning, it was on my stomach, too. I took some liquid Benadryl (which knocked me out - thank goodness Jim & Allyson were here to help with the little kids). It helped the rash temporarily but by yesterday evening, it was back and TERRIBLE. We were at Target and I told Jim I needed to get to a doctor. He dropped the kids off at home (Ally babysat) and took me to a walk in clinic near our house. The doctor suspected that it was an allergic reaction to the anti-malaria pills I had been taking over the past two weeks. Oh, and I LOVE this doctor; he has taken eight medical mission trips to Cite Soliel. Anyway, they gave me a steroid shot in the tush. And before the nurse put the bandaid on me she asked if I was allergic to latex or adhesives. The priceless quote of the night from Jim, "Yeah, we wouldn't you want to get a rash..." It would have been more entertaining if I wasn't writhing in pain.... the needle was really long!!!

So this morning it was still pretty bad and had spread to my face (and itched sooooo bad) but after about 3 doses of the antihistimine/steroid combo he prescribed, it had cleared up. Hopefully it stays away. And I'm not going to take any more of the weekly anti-malaria stuff I was supposed to be on for four more weeks. I only got two or three mosquito bites in Haiti so I'm sure I'll be fine. And when I go back next month (YES - in December!!) I'll just make sure I coat myself with bug spray.