Cheri Kay in Haiti....where my life became meaningful.

I was lucky enough to meet Kim on the 4th of July! She was working at an orphanage up the mountain and came to have dinner at our house! We immediately had a great conversation and hit it off. I didn't see her too much after that, until we both started working at the school. She is an English teacher and is amazing. She still does some work at orphanages too and has a huge herat. She took me to another orphanage way way way up the mountain and introduced me to Emmanuel. This little boy has mainly physical disabilities and has a very difficult time walking. I had such a good time doing therapy with him. I am going to try to get some shoes and braces for his legs. Unfortunately it takes a long time to get to the orphanage, or I'd do more consistent therapy with him. But, we will try to get some shoes and inserts to him in the next couple of weeks. I worked with his nanny and gave him some exercises to do, we'll see if they are getting done!!! Emmanuel lives in th...

So, that's my little Dora!!!! At the school, the elementary kids are participating in a Read-a-thon! They had a parade today around the schools campus, and each student was to dress up like their favorite book character and bring the book. So, Ecrissa was Dora, brought her Dora doll and a Dora book! She makes a cute little Dora huh!!!! Please pray for Momma as now we have to devote even more time for the next week to reading and logging minutes. The proceeds from the pledges go to benefit a literacy program here in Haiti! I love doing this type of thing, but it's one more thing to add to our busy day! I know that Ecrissa will enjoy the dress up days at school and her book time! Jaryse got his hair braided!!! Momma spent a couple of hours adding some braids all over the little man's head! He looks adorable!!!!!

This past weekend in Jacmel, Jaryse and Ecrissa experienced a few -Firsts! This weekend was the first time that my little ones have ever spent the night in a hotel!!! They have stayed in guest houses with me, but never in a hotel! It was fun and they did a really good job! They slept well and they enjoyed all of the newness! I guess this was a first for Mommy too, the first time I stayed with my kids in a hotel!!! For most of us that grew up, or lived most of our lives in the US, this type of bathtub is really no big deal, but here in Haiti, they typically don't make bathtubs like this and this was the first time my babies have ever seen or taken a bath in an "American Style" bathtub. They had a blast!!!! Believe it or not, these types of things are fun for me, since I missed Jaryse's first words, his first steps, Both of their first teeth coming in, Ecrissa's first birthday and I guess I could go on and on, I love being a part of their lives and their "...

Well, we are back from our weekend trip to Jacmel! We made it Friday night and picked up 2 year old Bethena from my friends. She is adorable! She does have severe Cerebral Palsy and functions physically like a 3-4 month old baby, but she she can light up a room with her smile and her little personality! All four of her limbs are involved and she has a whole lot of tone which makes her very very stiff and she is not yet rolling over. She is able to move her arms and legs a tiny bit. She stayed with us in the hotel Friday and Saturday night. She was a good little girl and slept well for us, for the most part. I did some therapy with her to try to release some of her tone and she tolerated it very well. I called the orphanage that had initially said that they would take her as long as she did not have any complicated medical issues, and they told me that the Haitian Social Services (IBESR) showed up with another child and they therefore would no longer take this little girl. I was devast...

We made it through our first week back to school! Ecrissa has been doing a wonderful job and Mommy and Jaryse are making it through! Thank goodness for Princess Mia!!!! Jaryse has really taking a liking to Princess Diaries 2 and is happy to watch it all the way through 2 or three times a day! He even is beginning to say lines with the characters and sing the songs with them!!!! He laughs and laughs and is even laughing before the funny part happens! I am thankful, because I can actually get some work done!!! This weekend we are taking a 2 hour trek down south to a town called Jacmel. It is a beautiful coastal village that has wonderful Haitian history. I received a call from a friend of mine that has a mission down there, and apparently there is a little girl (age is guessed to be just under 2) with some sort of handicap that has been abandoned to die at a local hospital. I am going down to evaluate the little girl and hopefully help place her in some sort of orphanage or find someo...

Remember Baby David?? Well, he is just over 6 months old now and growing wonderfully. He struggled early on with gaining weight, but after a hospitalization, a round of antibiotics, treatment for malaria and formula supplementation from the Missionary Family that I live with, he is doing great! He now weighs over 16 lbs, he smiling, interacting with his environment is such a joyful little guy! With all of his early stuggles, we have noticed some physical delays. He is not pushing up to lift his head as well as we'd like to see a 6 month old baby do and is not controlling his head and trunk as well as we'd like to see in sitting either. So, we had a little education session the other day. I gave the mom a few toys and we showed her how to play with David on his belly. It was sure alot of work for him!!!! Then, I gave her a Bumbo chair to use for a month or so to encourage him to use his hands and look around and interact with his environment a bit. He seemed to really enjoy the ...

My very good friend Mia has been hassling me for some pictures!!!! I am so sorry, I know everyone is wanting to know how Christmas was and to see some pics of Christmas! I have to say, the support and love and prayers from all of you made a wonderful day for us here in Haiti! I am so blessed to be here with my kids and celebrate Christmas with them! They had a blast opening presents and they are still enjoying all of their gifts! We have enjoyed our time off of school and work too! We have laid around and been a bit lazy, played with toys and read some books. We have enjoyed our family time! We look forward to a wonderful 2008! I am convinced that something really exciting is going to happen during this year. I can say that and be sure of it, cause something exciting always happens in HAITI!!!!!!!!! Happy New Year!!!!! luvs Cheri Kay, Jaryse, and Ecrissa