Pictures

Kids all together watching TV, I think first day home.
Girls at Babtist Mission zoo (if you could call it that, it was very small).

Just a few days ago, Brison and Falancia watching TV and I caught them leaning on one another. Sivencia jumped in when I started taking pictures.

All of us at the Haitian gathering this past weekend. Molly and Joyce flew up from Haiti and surprised all of us!

Everyone gathered to sing a good-bye song to the girls, very awesome moment!

Our room where we all slept (roosters and dogs right outside those windows).

Molly and Joyce, two very awesome people that God has put on this earth to work for Him!

Haiti, view from our place.

First day with the girls, outside where we were staying.Brian with the girls right after we first met them. Me and Jiovenda, just after we first met them.

This is the couch they were sitting on when we first came in the room and saw our girls!

Settling In

Has it really been over a week since we got home! Well it has been a challenging one to say the least. Brian went back to work today and he is probably glad to go. We ran around like crazy last week, with doctor's appointments, getting the girls signed up for school, and a million other little things. Falancia started 1st grade and Jiovenda started Kindergarden on Thursday, Sivencia started preschool on Friday. They love school and needed the routine, plus they love learning. We are still working through many discilpline things at home, but as we have been saying, it gets a little bit easier everyday. We did their hair and it turned out pretty good. Falancia is easy, now that we got the extensions out of her hair. Her hair is short and we just put a headband in her hair. I braided Jiovenda's hair, half one night and the rest the next morning, it takes several hours to do. Falancia did Sivencia's hair, but her rubber bands are breaking and she pulls out her clips. Hopefully it will last till the weekend and then we can redo it. My finger tips still hurt.

The boys are doing very well, just a little sibling rivalry going on at the moment. I promise to have pictures soon, that is my next project. Please be patient, remember I have 5 kids now! Again, thank you for your many prayers!

In Him!
Allison

HOME AT LAST!!!

We are finally home, we rolled in around 12:00 this afternoon. Sorry I was not able to blog or email earlier, but I did not have access to a computer, nor would I have had time. Yesterday morning we left for the Embassy at 7:00am, still not knowing if our visas were printed or not. Our flight left at 12:40, we weren't sure if we should try to back up our flight or delay it until the next day. Very nerve racking! We got to the embassy around 8:30 and met with an awesome woman, who sympathized with us greatly. We literally begged for the girls' visas. She told us to wait and she would get back to us. We sat for about 45 minutes, in a wonderful government issued waiting room. We only had about 15 more minutes before one of us would have to leave and change our flights at the airport. She finally called us up and there she stood with our packets. She started going over all the information and we all started crying. She said the people in the back were nice enough to print them up early. Usually they don't get them out until about 2:00pm. I'm sure she had a lot to do with getting them printed. She was an amazing woman and God sent. I just wanted to dance like David at that moment, we just kept praising God! I can't tell you how stressful that was. Right after that they took us to the airport. We flew out to Miami, bye bye Haiti!!! We got to Miami and then sat in immigration for awhile and just made our connecting flight to Detroit. We got in at around 10:00pm with only one piece of missing luggage, Brian's, oh well... We stayed the night in Detroit and drove home this morning.

It has been a very difficult week and we are trying to decompress and relax. It feels so good to be home with hot water and wonderful roads. Trust me, none of us should ever complain about a MI pothole again. We have no idea what potholes are. Anyone out there that works on our roads, give them a big high five and say thank you! It is great to be able to use the sink water to brush your teeth.

I want to give a big thank you to Molly and Joyce at GLA. You guys are awesome, you were such big helps and so sympathetic to our needs. Thank you for putting your own agendas aside and focusing on us. The two of you amaze us and we are honored to know you. You are truly walking in God's path. Thank you to everyone else at GLA and Bethany that tirelesly helped us and sypathized with us!

Our girls are wonderful and we are so glad they are home. They have lived a very hard life and it is reflected in their attitudes. We hope to be able to melt some of those old habits and ways of thinking. It is going to be a long, difficult road, but with God's help we know it is all possible. We also ask for a lot of patience from many of you as will, especially with those of you that are close (in proximity) to us.

Thank you for all of your love and support, it has definetly been felt. Trust me, it held us up through this past week that has been very difficult. We knew what we were coming home to and that so greatly comforted us. I have never in my life missed MI so much, so much so I think I can handle the snow! Thank you for the signs on the house, they were great to come home too.

I will post some pictures when I get around to it, but other things are beckoning me, oh yeah I have 5 kids now....

Love,
A Michiganer and American and Mother of 5!!!