Thanksgiving Day

We’ve never taken the children on an outing specifically for them so on Thanksgiving day that’s what we did. Our choices are of course very limited but Matt knew of a little amusement park with some rides but when we checked it out it wasn’t open anymore. So we ended up driving up to the beautiful mountains of Petion-ville to a mission where they have a little petting zoo and restaurant where you can buy banana splits larger than your stomach!!

Us girls don’t get out much at all so it was a real treat for all of us. It was so relaxing and refreshing to get some fresh air outside of our little compound. The mountains were just gorgeous!! And at the mission there were beautiful flowers and brilliant green plants. The air was cool- such a nice change from the stuffy town air we always breathe here at home.

Julien obviously isn’t used to riding in vehicles and gets carsick!! We had just gotten a good start down the road when suddenly without warning he emptied the contents of his stomach, and his stomach isn’t that small, all over the car and all over me. A whole bunch soaked into my skirt and ran down over my foot and in between my toes, gross!! Thankfully it didn’t smell; probably because he had just finished drinking a bunch of water.

The vomit should have been a forewarning to me about my day!! Soon after the vomit incident: Veronika was sitting on my lap and suddenly I felt something warm and wet soaking through my skirt onto my legs!! That was gross too!! Then when we got there I wanted to get out of the car and somehow I tripped and came crashing out headfirst onto the pavement! What an entrance!! I skinned my foot up a bit but nothing too bad. And the whole day I was having bad stomach pains and diarrhea; swallowing charcoal pills and praying fervently.

But in spite of those little incidents which all had to happen to one person. It was a very happy and fun day!

Here are some eager little boys nestled into the back, yes, I know they should be in car seats but that is not how we do here.

 

Here are some pictures we took at the zoo:

And here we are with our kids, all except Came Suze:

Veronika loves pretty flowers:

She really dug into the food too! I gave her chicken nuggets, fries and a small container of ketchup and she thought it was the best thing she’s ever had in her life. She would take a fry or piece of chicken and just plunge it deep down into the ketchup before putting it in her mouth!

And then came those amazing banana splits!! Veronika doesn’t usually get to eat sweet like that but I decided I would let her for a special treat. She dug into that ice cream and with every bite she would say,” Mmmmm, mmmm,” and take deep breaths like she was trying to squeeze all the pleasure out of it!

On the way home Sulley made Julien wear his plastic bib with a  big pocket in case of vomit!

And not  a sound did we hear from the back!

D.R.

Last Sun. us girls got to go to the Dominican Republic for the day. Our mission has a branch over there and there was a work team from Canada here that wanted to go over to visit so Matt said he’ll take care of the boys if us girls want to go along!!

Veronika and I ready to go!! :

Rachel, notice that Veronika is wearing that dress you gave her!

We went to church there and had lunch with our dear friends, Tom and Laurie, and the Bill Jones family. Then in the afternoon we went to a place called the aqua-ducts. It was just gorgeous!! I am a nature lover/tree hugger and that is something I miss dreadfully here in Haiti so this was especially special to  me! There are a bunch of little water falls and it was the first time Veronika ever saw anything like that! At first she wasn’t sure what to think about the crashing falls; she just stared:

But she sure enjoyed the quiet waters:

Here we are enjoying the aqua-ducts!

It was also Dadou’s last day with us. (She is currently transitioning back to her family. ) So we were all taking picture with her.

And here Sulley pretends to throw Dadou in the water!!

It was a very fun day!!

Apple Peels And Bread Crusts

I don’t like it at all when children think they can’t eat bread crusts or apple peelings. If you never tell them that its not as good as the rest of the bread or the apple they won’t know. Here at the children’s home if some one doesn’t eat their crusts we’re just like, “ Hey, finish your bread.” and we might add a bit more butter or jelly to help it go down better but the kids just eat it up. They just think its part of their bread and oops forgot to eat it all. Even Veronika and Julien practice on bread crusts when they have a chance.

Apples are a very rare and special treat and when I go to the states I like to bring some and feed them to the kids. They all love apples but they think the peeling is a rind and eat the middle out like an orange and then we say, “Hey, eat the rest of your apple, that part is for eating too.” and then they chew it down and love every bite.

I personally believe that as a whole each person should be responsible to eat their own crusts and peelings but now and then there is a reason someone can’t. For example, Came Suze who has difficulty with chewing could choke and die if I fed her a bread crust or apple with peelings and Veronika who only has two tiny teeth on the bottom although she likes to practice hasn’t quite the ability to chew tough stuff. Now it just so happens that both of these girls are my charges so:

When there is fresh, warm bread for supper guess what happens. I dine on crusts alone and my girls dine on warm, soft middles saturated with sourwood honey.

And again when I bring apples home and cut them in thin slices so they can safely eat them, I end up nibbling off all the peelings while they savor the sweet, crispy insides.

That just the way it is when you’re a mom. 

Finally After a Big Brunch…

…two or three times around until we all got a turn at the table,

there was quiet talk and we were in twos and threes through the house.

None of us thought about home or leaving very much. We were so busy hugging and eating and breathing together.

Beth and I are sharing a big wad of soft melted cheese:

Mostly we just enjoyed breathing together:

We aren’t particular about beds, which is good since there aren’t many extras, so a few of us squeezed in together and the rest slept on the floor… It was different going to sleep with all that breathing in the house…

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The next morning we climbed out of the beds leaving them too big and too quiet. We drove all day long and into the night, and while we traveled along we looked at the strange houses and different mountains we thought about all the fun times we had but we thought about the relatives too. Missing them. And they missed us.

The next day I had to pack my bags and say good-bye again:

As I flew away into the blue sky back to my home in Haiti I thought about my time at Rachel’s house loving her children, and about our trip to VA and I thought about next year when I will come again and eat up all her grapes and nuts and cheese and drink up all her milk and kombucha, and I promised her that she could come to Haiti and eat up all my rice and beans! I dreamed of living with Amy again someday… I thought about my family missing me and I missed them but most of all I thought about my little girl missing me and I missed her more.