Surprise

On Monday, Sue had a wonderful surprise for me! I was having a rough morning and the kids were getting on my nerves. Sue went to the bank with her driver and when she got back she said, "go get your shoes on, we're going somewhere." My kids were in the middle of school and she said, "go hand that baby to someone else and tell your kids school's over." She didn't tell me where we were going the whole ride. We drove past the airport and she promised that she wasn't making me fly home. She ended up taking me to a fancy hotel where we ate a delicious buffet! Guess what was in the buffet? TURKEY! Usually I don't even like turkey but I was so sad when I missed it on Thanksgiving. It was such a nice surprise! The food was delicious and it was a refreshing break.

Yesterday was a productive day. I got a lot of chores done after school including laundry, mopping my room, organizing my room a little better, and redecorating our school room for Christmas with our snowflakes. This Saturday we'll make new Christmas crafts to add to our decorations.

Last night the boys were up ALL night. The poor things were coughing up a storm. They have had this cough for weeks now. All the kids in the house are coughing at night. Allergy medicine helps the older kids but I can't do anything for my boys. Yesterday afternoon they started wheezing which worries me. I heard of a good doctors office within walking distance to us so one of the workers and I walked with the boys there after lunch. They couldn't take us but we're going to go tomorrow morning. Hopefully they can help us! These sleepless nights are making me crazy!

Two of the girls here (Mislanda and Beshlanda) may be going home with their mother. Their mother comes to visit frequently. Today she came and informed us that she is planning on taking Beshlanda, the younger sister, home with her this summer but that she does not want Mislanda and still wants her to be adopted. Sue's place is a home for kids who are up for adoption. She is not an orphanage. The mother of the girls had agreed to put her girls up for adoption when she brought them to Sue. In Haiti, a mother can always change her mind up until the child leaves Haiti.

It hit me hard when I saw the mother tell her younger daughter that she was taking her home. The older sister was sitting off away from her mother and sister but was fully aware of what was happening. She showed no emotions when her mother was telling Sue that she wanted to keep the younger girl but adopt out the older girl. I am so surprised at the strength of these kids. I can't imagine being 7 years old and having my mother tell me that she is taking my brother but giving me away. I wonder what was going on in her mind. When Sue told the mother that she was not going to take just one girl the mother thought about it for a while. I think she finally decided that she wants to take both girls home. I'm happy for them. Beshlanda asked her mom, "are you taking us home with you?" When the mother said yes, Beshlanda jumped up and down with excitement. Mislanda came over and found out and they both were bouncing off the walls. Strangely enough, they started talking about all the food that they were going to eat when they went home. I am happy for them both that they will get to be with their mother. But I'm worried for the girls. I worry about their connection with their mom. How can they bond with their mother when every day they wondered if their mom would want them. How these Haitian kids can handle rejection then acceptance then rejection again is beyond me. But a mother is always a mother and I hope that they will trust her and that she loves them with everything she has.

Every day I'm surprised and impressed by how strong these kids are. I know that it's in their blood because even Noah and Jackson have it. They are physically the strongest babies I have ever seen. Haitians have been through so much oppression throughout their history and it is continuing on. They have to be strong to survive. I admire their strength. The more I see and read about Haiti leads me to believe that Haitian's give most of the credit for this strength to God. They are such spiritual people and their strength overflows from the physical and emotional to the spiritual. There's so much I need to learn from them!