Even his pouty face is cute!

Have you ever heard of a Restavec?

Restavec ---- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A restavec (or restavek; from the French reste avec, "one who stays with") refers to a social system in Haiti in which parents unable to care for their children send them to relatives or strangers living in more urban areas where they receive food and housing (and sometimes an education) in exchange for "light" housework. In reality restavecs often live in grinding poverty, enslaved to their "hosts" and seldom receiving an education. The restavec system is considered a form of slavery.

My heart was breaking while I was reading this post on the Livesay's blog but then I got nearly to the end of it and I read this:

"[As an aside for adoptive parents. In general adoption is misunderstood. In this culture, if you take someone's child, it is so they can work for you. A lot of people will assume that is also why you are adopting. Jeronne recently told us that once everyone in LaDigue saw how kind we were to our Haitian children, they wanted to know if we would help with their children. We hope that our love and equal treatment of our kids will be evident when we're out and about in Port. Troy noticed a lady at a store observing his shopping with Hope. She later said to him, "You really love her, don't you!?!?!" She was surprised by it and pleased.]"

My heart sank and tears filled my eyes. During our last trip one of the aunties asked several times "do you love Loudince? I love Loudince." We told her over and over that we do love him. Every day I made sure to tell her and him that we love him. Before we left I asked another auntie to tell him that we love him and will be back. Actually I asked Nate to ask her to translate for us, I couldn't get it out without crying. But how do you explain that adoption to us, is a means to finding our family. We adore our baby and will love him forever, I hope he knows that.

Traveler Photo!

This is a good photo of all three of us on top of the creche. I like this photo a lot!

Playing!

Oh what fun!

Who loves ya baby?

Your mommy does, more than you could know!

Sometimes...

...a Granny's cuddles make it all better.

Blogged Baby

Cute?

I think so.

Photos

Updates for the families!!

Faline- So cute and grown so much! She's still very little but looking excellent! She'll be adorable in her dress and they plan on putting it on her for the Christmas party.

Richnightder and Jerome- I love your boys!! They are so sweet. Jerome is just Jerome so sweet and so funny. He and I were dancing last night and he was singing me a song. Richnightder keeps coming up to me and giving me his big smile.

Peterson- He wore little toy loops as earings today and was dancing around like a little ballerina! So cute.

Alder- Not at all interested in having his update photo taken - will try again later. ;-) He is feeding himself like a champ and sits at the toddler table now.

Asa Mack- Pretty quiet today but I have gotten a few smiles.

Darline- So cute today. She was giving me a lot of smiles and giggles at breakfast this morning.

Ronese- What a sweetheart she has grown so much! She looks really really healthy.

Ok I have to go eat. You don't want to miss a meal around here :-)

Oh Baby!!

Now this is more like it!!! Talk about a happy camper today!!

Here!

We are here. No internet last night so we are all mobbing the computer. Lou is even cuter this time, but he has a cold so he's kind of sleepy. Not much to tell so here are some updates really quick.

Darline- I played a little bit with her last night. She's so sweet. She comes over to the toddler room and helps with the littler kids.

Asa Mack- He's just him as sweet as ever I played a ton with him and Ko-Lou last night. He points to your photos and says mama!!

Peterson & Alder- SO CUTE! Peterson is quieter this time around. Alder is so funny and super cute. He's grown!

Oh it's not half as hot or humid as it was in June - it's very very nice weather especially for December. It doesn't seem like Christmas is 2 weeks away when I'm in shorts, a tank top, and flip flops! Hopefully I can post more tonight!

Freezing in Seattle!

We are freezing in Seattle.

Must.Have.Warm.Tropical.Weather.

That's all.

Peace Out!

We are out of here!! We will be at the airport at 5am tomorrow and if you know me then you know I need to go to bed NOW. I will post updates from Haiti every chance I get. If you have a kid at the creche be watching you never know what kind of message I may leave you here!

Goodnight!

Our little boy!

Our little baby is now a little boy! This little loverboy will be smiling for photos very soon!

OUT OUT OUT!!!

OUT

OF

PARQUET

No really! We are OUT!

The Travel Forecast

Our trip to Haiti is *so* close that I can predict (with great accuracy I'm sure) the weather.

Tuesday Dec 9th ~ Port au Prince, Haiti

Partly sunny, a shower, humid

High 87 °F ~ Low 69 °F

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I'm most concerned with which color flip flops match my outfit:

You will be too worried about warmth to care about fashion:

That leg lamp will never be the same...

Forever and ever the leg lamp will symbolize
Little Lou's file

GETTING OUT OF IBESR!!!

That's right folks we are OUT!!!!

9 months and A LOT of tears later we are out!!!

Can I say it again -
PEOPLE WE ARE OUT OF IBESR!!!!!!!!!

Is that a...light???

Some of you may see this as Tifanni's leg lamp but not me! I see it as a little flicker of a light at the end of the IBESR tunnel - maybe? It could be...we will see.

Lost in translation??

Here's the thing about our monthly updates on Lou - they are written by a person who's second or maybe third language is English and MOST of the time the point gets across but every once in awhile it's humorous.

Take for example this months update:

Mood = Smiling
Nutrition = His appetite is perfect.
Behavior = Interesting
Sleep Habit = His sleep habit is good.
Other General Changes = He behaves a lot better at table.

Not really all that informative, none the less, I still look forward to each month's update as if one day it's going to say come pick your son up tomorrow! Ha! A girl can dream, ok?

Does anyone know what exactly it means to behave interestingly? Is that like he randomly walks around with a pumpkin on his head and refuses to take a decent photo for his mama? Would that be a form of interesting behavior? Something to ponder.

Does this make you laugh?

If not you're a freak...because THIS is FUNNY!
I LOVE MY SON!

Too cool for school...

Here is our update photo of the little punk...and I say "punk" with the utmost love and endearment. Apparently he's just a little too cool for scarecrows and cute pictures...

A photo a day keeps the insanity away???!!

What?!?!?!
It's worth a try anyway!

That's what friends are for!

The story goes like this....as many of you know we were planning on visiting Haiti with this trip. I was super excited not only to go to Haiti but to meet a couple of people that I just really think are great. Well obviously we didn't make it this trip and many of you know why and those of you who don't email me if you really want the story otherwise it's just a little heavy for this blog. Anyway, I asked April and Beth to please give Lou a big fat smooch on his chubby cheek for me and the fact of the matter is he's a little unsure of visitors and getting within 10 feet of him is pure luck. So I knew he might scream and freak out and well he did - but April and Beth delivered that big fat smooch and they got photo evidence. Thanks guys!!!!!

NOT the Mama!

How do you say "not a kiss day" in Creole?

Thank you Beth, so much for these great photos and all the other ones!
PS: No babies or toddlers were harmed in the delivery of this kiss. No babies or toddlers will be damaged for life due to the kiss.

He looks so cute in camo!!

In honor of it being opening day for hunting season here are a few photos of Kobe in camo - this is for you Daddio/Kobe Grandpa!!!!

Thank you for the great photos April!!

~THANK YOU!!~

Sometimes the words "thank you" don't adequately show the amount of appreciation I have. To all who participated in our box drive - thank you! After months of devastating hurricane's the food finally arrived at the Creche. It's amazing to see all that food and all those kids so excited and helping unload the boxes.

It's the little things.

I could be negative and tell you that today marks 8 months in the first step of the process, IBESR. I could tell you that I have thought about it since I woke up and that I have been fighting tears since my alarm clock went off. I could tell you those things but what is the point?

I am the type of person that feeds off of moods (some may call me moody) so since I'm the only one who can change my mood I am going to focus on some positives. It certainly doesn't take away the hurt I feel but it makes it easier to fight the tears.

Here are a few little angelic qualities about Lou:

1) When he smiles his top lip disappears.
2) He has mismatched eyebrows - his right one(the left when you look at a picture) is in permanent surprise mode. I love it!
3) His eyes are deep. You can tell a lot by a person's eyes and his are gorgeous.
4) His eyes (again) are the most beautiful almond shape they are perfect.
5) His face is so pretty and I don't care that he is a boy - he has a pretty face, gorgeous really, maybe even stunning.

With love from Haiti

April says:
"Kristi - I kissed Little Lou a minimum of 5 times today and nibbled on his neck. He looks s GREAT. He really likes Mike and was clinging on his legs in Darline's room tonight."

Beth says:
"Kobe is AWESOME!! He was giving me a shy smile, then he closed his eyes to pretend that I could not see HIM. LOL. SO cute. He's a super-chunk and seems to be very happy."

What a difference a year makes!!

One year ago today something happened that would change our lives forever! Something that we had been waiting for - for a very long time. Do you know what it is?

We were matched with sweet adorable little Kobe Loudince. We got that call and could hardly believe our ears. We saw that photo of him for the very first time and it was truly love at first sight. At that moment I didn't know I could ever love him more than I did right then. Then I met him and I loved him even more. Now when people ask if I have children there is no hesitation I say YES!! I keep loving this sweet little boy more and more every single day. I can't believe how much he has changed in the last year and I can't wait to see how much he changes in the coming years.

Here he is - then:

My handsome baby - this photo was taken at the transition house in Port au Prince sometime between Sept 23rd and October 15th - 2007. He was 8 months old.

Here he is - now:

My adorable, playful, happy, and so much more little boy. This was taken while playing with his daddy at the Creche on June 16, 2008.

September Update!

Our September update was delivered quite promptly into my email yesterday. Kobe is doing well, still friendly, still healthy, still in IBESR - the first step of many.

Now for a moment here I am going to do something I have not done on my blog I'm going to pour my heart out - WE are so sad to still be in IBESR, sad does not even begin to explain how our hearts feel that Kobe is not anywhere near coming home. It's hard - adoption is HARD - but it is also a huge blessing because we have a son. Even if he is not home yet and will not be home for awhile we have a son who is loved more than we could have imagined loving another human. He is our son - maybe not legally yet - but he's ours.

Please I am asking/begging do not ask how it's going. I am on the verge of a whole lot of tears and it just won't be pretty. Please when I do tell you we are still in IBESR do not launch into a "how can they do that to the kids?" I don't know I don't have the answers but it's part of the process and it's just best that we follow the rules and bring Kobe home when we can. I am not speaking directly to any one person it's just that the majority of people say this and it sticks the knife into our hearts deeper. We have a lot of questions that don't have answers, but for now we are going to keep going and keep asking our questions and soon we will have Kobe home for everyone to meet him. He is such a cool kid. I cannot wait to introduce him to everyone - and by everyone I mean strangers on the street - just kidding - it's not good to talk to strangers we all know that. But seriously you will all know when something happens believe me, I will be telling the whole entire world, even strangers. Take comfort in knowing that when Kobe comes home or is even signed out of IBESR - you will know.

Wow!

Check out that counter! I can't believe we are going back to Haiti in less than a month!
That is awesome - I can't wait to hug and smooch our adorable boy!!!

Update Photo

Not so great news...

We found out today that there is flooding in Lamardelle - the village where our creche is. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

This is the road by the creche -

and the ditch where, in June, people would bathe and wash clothes.

This is the gate into the creche - as you can see the water

is right up to the gate - we are told that there is

no water inside the compound, yet.

Another photo of the road to the creche -
it is completely washed out.

Here is the information we received from Gina Duncan in Haiti:

“The white river since Tuesday night has flood the village. Access is impossible via vehicle only can get through with donkey. Lucien has been able to get some food and supplies to the crèche via donkey. The children are safe but stuck inside the compound. The village people are without food and drinking water.”

From Vivian with Chances for Children:

"The Duncans, including Mommy and the staff at FEJ have been distributing relief packages to the village as they have been able, but certainly the need in Haiti is only increasing with these storms."

What is...

...32 inches long and 28 pounds?


KOBE IS!!!! We got our update and he's so cute. Well we didn't actually get a picture yet but I'm pretty sure he's still cute. Something pretty noteworthy is that it says his disposition is "happy" - never before has an update called my little boy "happy" and after meeting him I wouldn't say he's unhappy but he's more stoic - he doesn't get real excited over much.

Wow he's really grown in the last month - I can't wait to see him! Oh yeah and it says he has a bump on his head - not sure if that means he fell down and bonked it or he has a mosquito bite. Hopefully it's nothing major - and I'm sure it's not, so I'll put my efforts worrying on something else.

That's pretty much it.

PS: Our file is still in IBESR.

Amusing Myself

I am finding it harder and harder to amuse myself while we are stuck in IBESR - and yes I officially consider us stuck. But this weekend I gave myself a headache while squinting at google earth for hours trying to find the creche. I re-traced our route a few times and then finally I spotted it, I found it!!!!! No really I did - and with that I give you a picture of the creche from space!

I've been thinking...

I wonder if any banks are hiring in Haiti? Not that I've thought this out too much but I could probably live at the creche and work at a local bank - Lou could stay with me and when I had to work it's like instant nannies everywhere. I could totally walk to work and I'm sure my Haitian Creole for Adoptive Families book would get me by until I could pick up more of the language.

Have I lost my mind completely?

Leaving on a jet plane...

The rumors are true - we are going back to Haiti in October! Even better yet, my mom is coming with us! Kobe gets to meet his grandma!!! It's so exciting. Our tickets are booked and we are just thrilled to get to go back to visit. We left not knowing when we would be back. This time leaving is sure to be difficult but I think I am better prepared now knowing how it all works. Now I know how to leave Kobe or I should say who to leave him with.


Nate and I miss our little boy so much. I can honestly say my arms ache to hold him, I get all teary when I look at his photos because I honestly don't know when he will be home. I keep telling myself he will come home but I have no idea when. It is so frustrating, I want our file to be signed out of IBESR right now! Do they even have any idea how much this sweet little boy is loved? His room is practically ready, which I'm so glad because whenever I'm missing him I can work on little details - like hang a new picture, or write on his chalkboard closet doors.

For now I will leave you with this photo, I've been shopping again!

July Update

Disclaimer: Yes, going into this, I knew it would be a long process, I knew that I would love Kobe no matter what BUT in my defense I didn't realize just how intensely I would miss my little cupcake sweetie pie (yeah I know that's girly I don't care). We do have an update finally but it's basically no news. We are still in IBESR - 6 months now - it's getting me down - there's just no way around it. Colors are muted, food is bland...just kidding.

My little baby chubby Lou is no longer - just look at him - he's a handsome little boy who grew an inch - ONE - WHOLE- INCH - He slimmed up like kids do and looks extra handsome. The girls are going to be knocking our door down.

Our update also says his mood is friendly, his behavior is improving and he is listening better (it's ok you can laugh out loud now, I am), he plays better with his friends and that about sums it up.

Breakfast at Tifanni's

Actually it was dinner at Fuddruckers with Tifanni, Mike, & Aurrora - parents and big sister of the adorable boys featured on this blog!

We met up with them to have some dinner and talk about how cute our kids are which is a good form of therapy. It was decided that when we meet up for dinner with all four kids (someday soon I'm convinced) the restaurant will have to have a playplace. Aurrora was awesome and put up with all the boring adult conversation like a pro!

New Name For Ko-Lou

I would like to interupt this video series to announce that no indeed it is NOT too girly to call Kobe SASSY - so staying true to my promises I told Nate that if I won this little game - that Kobe's new name would be KOBE LOUDINCE SASSY MCSASSTER -- what do you think??

July Trip Back from the Creche!

The July trip returned safe and sound from the creche - I have so many photos I'm not sure where to begin! April, Beth, and Melissa all took great photos of Ko-Lou for us - thank you so much you fabulous ladies!!

Beth was super nice and delivered the picture poster to him along with a treat (Trail Mix) she was able to get some great photos of him eating his snack and looking at his photos. She said that he looked at the photos with Elta (his favorite) and Elta explained to him what they were - he looks real interested in the pictures and it looks like he wanted to show his friends:

He really enjoyed his snack - he loved eating my Trail Mix when we visited - except he didn't like the M&M's at all when I visited - he acted as if I stuck a lemon in his mouth!! And now he eats them - such a one year old!!! I love him SO much!The next photos are from April - some of the kids (ok MOST of the kids) have had the chicken pox lately and I think (am nearly 100% positive) that Kobe had them right after we left - he has a few marks on his skin but for the most part it looks like he's all healed up. It would seem convenient that he had chicken pox while he was in Haiti but sadly it kind of reminds me of one more thing I've missed - but I'm sure he'll have plenty of colds and coughs when he's home so I can play nurse and cozy him up on the couch and serve him juice and toast all day! In the last photo I'm pretty sure he's saying "STICKERS ARE FOR SISSY'S" -- he's sassy like that.