adoption update

No Visa appointment yet, but we got the next best thing. We now hold in our hand our IBESR exit letter (the door to our house & previously thought, final step before the plane). Yes, it is supposed to come afterward & no, we have never heard of anyone getting it before and no, we have no idea how it happened and yes, our agency said it was a miracle. To God be the glory. Anyway, just one step left, one window to go & then we will be on our way!

Our papers are not at the VISA center yet. They said call back on Monday or Tuesday. The NBC mailed them on Friday. I guess that means more waiting. The goal is still to be home by May 9th

Someone climbed over our razor wire fence & stole our inverter, a Duracell 3000 that would probably have cost $1500-2000 here in Haiti. Implications- #1. Our house isn't safe. I proved it by twice climing the wall outside & going over the razor wire to show our house man it could be done easily. #2. All that is in our refrigerator will ruin tonight unless eaten & we won'...t be able to keep any fridge food or leftovers as city power is inconsistent & often is off for five days at a time. #3. The thieves will be back for the batteries & the rest since our landlord just had a shipment brought in to sell of microwaves & TVs & more desireable things that were all just sitting by the inverter, like a kid in a candy store but who could only get one item over the fence I guess. At least we weren't harmed. I guess we'll bring the viscious dog back. Writing this before power is gone UPDATE- they came again & tried three times to come up the wall & get in. We could hear them in the alley walking on the broken tile there at the spot where I climbed up to show the houseman how. The first time city power came o...n the second they nearly got to the top of the wall (thank you God) & they left, the second, the dog scared them away barking & growling at the door & the third I shouted in Creole where they could hear for the houseman to get his gun & shoot them (though he did nothing) & that combined with the dog convinced them to go & try another night, but they were certainly incessant to the point of the dog not even deterring them. We finally went to sleep & nothing is gone. Today, I'm moving the batteries & charger into the front porch where they can be securely locked up & a man is coming to put up more razor wire where it is needed. Strangely enough, I was never afraid at all, though Holly was & is very paranoid today. True to form, Daphnica slept through it all ;^) Chris W

Hair Brush for you little Haitian cutie

This is a must have. We just had a friend give us one. We so love it. Daphnica said it did not hurt at all when we used it. http://www.tangleteezer.com/

Adoption update

We are done with USCIS. I knew it would happen today. Friday the 13th is our lucky day. I told Elizabeth this morning I thought it would be today. Now we just need the VISA. We will be home soon. I have so much to do before I leave Haiti.

Adoption update

We got to add the sun to our chart. We have now picked up Daphnica's medicals and taken them to our agency. One more thing done. We will be home soon.

Our girl is growing

At the Doctor they weighted Daphnica and did her height. She has gained 16lbs and grown 7 inches in height since November. To think we have not even made it to America yet. When we came in November she wear a size 24 month2T in clothes, and size 9 /10 in shoes. She now wears a 5/6 in clothes and a 12/13 in shoes.

Out of MOI photo

We took this photo right after we found out we were out of MOI.

Easter is coming up soon.

Here is what I have found out that Haitians do. On good Friday you must eat fish. On Easter Sunday white rice, white bean sauce, salad, boiled eggs, and fish. Flying a kite is a must.

Our day today

Today was one of those Haiti days. We had to take Daphnica back to the doctor to finish up her medicals. We were supposed to be there at 6am. The car we usually drive had a flat and another tire about to go, so we had a friend drive us who was running late. When he got here, there was no gas in the car. At 5:45 no gas stations are open yet. So he stopped at one of the gas sellers on the side of the street & told them he needed gas. As we drove off, the car back-fired, then died. They had put diesel in his car. So we had to get on a tap tap to take us downtown. We picked Moise, our translator, up on the way. Got the the doctor's at almost 7am right when they open. You need to get there early to make sure you are first in line. The place was already packed. We got to go first because last week I asked the guard to hold me a place in line. It was well worth the $5 it cost. Our driver came back to get us once his car was working. I wanted to go to the iron market. On the way we ran out of gas. You would think someone would think to put gas in the car. What can you do but laugh and go on? We got to the iron market, which is just a big fancy iron building with a normal Haitian mache in one part & souvenir stores in the other. We went through the mache part where they were selling live turtles for recipes, not pets. We decided to get new extensions put in Daphnica's hair because the other ones were old. We found some nice ones cheap & some people that could put them in & told them to cut them to her shoulder length. They told us they could put them in her hair in around 40 minutes because two girls would be working doing it. They said they would wash her hair, as it hadn't been washed since before the current extensions were put in. We left Moise with her & took another Haitian with us & when we returned after an hour, they had removed her old ones & put a grand total of 3 new ones in & made them the wrong length, way too long. Only one girl was working. We had an appointment to return Daphnica's passport to our agency here so we had to leave, so we had to have them take them out so we could go. They then demanded over half the price agreed to originally. We paid them slightly less than that, but as we were leaving we found out that Moise didn't tell us that they NEVER even washed her hair & were going to put in more extensions into her dirty hair! Also, they tried to substitute an orange color after we left & then a cheaper brand & use far less than we bought. Well, I was not a happy camper at the whole situation or at Moses (Moise in Creole). We saw someone selling grapes. They cost so very much, a small amount, around maybe a pound for $7.50. We are told that if you are going to see your girlfriend, grapes or an apple is what you take her. We were told today that a friend of ours recently went to see the girl he likes. He decided to be creative. He took her a bag of cheetos. Romantic huh? Today as we were leaving BRESMA's office here in Haiti, Daphnica looked back & said, "Bye Y'all". We broke out laughing. I don't know where she even picked this up, but she is becoming so southern. That's my girl. One a side not it is so very hot here.