Haiti Trip Nov 2008

I arrived home from Haiti at midnight last night. It's hard to know where to start, to describe the trip. It was a whirlwind. We arrived Sunday afternoon, and checked in at the hotel. Then we went to the orphange and visited and picked up our kids. Some ran right to their parents, some screamed, some just looked confused! Avery (Estherline) was a little confused and only screamed a handful of times. She was so sweet, shy and a little skinnier than I would have liked. She came right to me but definitely had a look of confusion for quite a while! It was so amazing to hold her and cuddle with her. The first night she slept for 15 hours straight and never made a peep!

The next morning, I went to sign the I600 at the Consulate office. All went very smoothly. Then we took a tour of some of the areas the kids came from. Very eye opening. Families live in concrete block "shanties" and many had no roofs. There was garbage everywhere. They all have so little. Everyone we encountered was so friendly and we were always safe.

I have a lot of photos to go through and videos. I didn't spend as much time at the O as some, so I don't have photos of all the little ones. I do have a lot of photos of the older kids.

It was so sad to give her back, I had to hide in my room for a little while to collect myself. But, the nannies love all the kids and I know she'll be safe until I can return.