Day 3 and Day 4 in Haiti

Day 3 (Monday)

After a wonderful breakfast at the guesthouse we drove (we didn’t drive, we rode) over to the crèche to see the boys.  A is still glued to Joey and C is still stuck to me. It is really sweet. They have made it clear to the other kids that try to climb in our laps that we belong to them. We had some time to spend with the boys by themselves. Joey and A experimented with a few board games and C took the time to take a great map on his mom.  Joey brought down some baseball gloves and some tee balls, which the bigger boys are loving. Right now A is requiring Joey to hold him while they play, so together they make one player J While I wasn’t holding C, I spent a lot of time making sure that we had all of the documents necessary for our embassy appointment on Tuesday. This is the appointment where we sign the I-600 that is time sensitive. We are hoping for a good, smooth appointment.

Day 4 (Tuesday)

Today we left the guesthouse at 5:30 for our drive to the US Embassy. Our appointment was at 7am. The drive through Haiti is very eye opening and reveals such a variety of ways of life. I see something new every time. By the time we arrived at the embassy there were several lines forming outside of the building. I did not take pictures of the scene because I didn’t want to draw more attention to us or offend anyone, as were seemed to be the only non-national Haitians at the US Embassy and it is a high stress day for a lot of people.

We waited in line for about 40 minutes, by this time the line had extended a great length down the sidewalk. The embassy employees were very nice and were gracious with the language barrier. Noah, our C4C representative was with us which made the whole experience less stressful. After waiting outside, we were escorted through a security building, through a courtyard, and then into the large room in which we would have our appointments. There were 28 windows that were available for appointments. Someone over a loudspeaker would call a name and that persons would step up to the window, that was slightly more private than that of a bank teller, and discuss paperwork and answer questions. After about an hour and a half we were called to window 26 to ensure that we had all of our documents and that everything was properly filled out. We were instructed to sit again and wait for our “interview.” In about another hour we were called to window 28 to be questioned about our process and about our personal lives. All went well and both agents were very kind during our meetings. Needless to say, we were happy to have that step behind us.

After our appointment, we stopped by a grocery store because Joey told A he would bring him cookies (who doesn’t love birthday cake Oreos?) and Joey wanted to pick up the boys another soccer ball. We arrived back at the crèche during A’s school time. We didn’t realize that we were walking in on it, so we just joined in. It didn’t take C long to realize that we were downstairs and he quickly joined us. Both little guys dressed in there cute clothes and shoes that Meme sent them.

The day was filled with holding and snuggling. C’s favorite thing to do is for me to hold him at the fence of the crèche so that he can look over at the people and vehicles in the street. He likes to say, “bonjour” to those passing by.

For the first time since we have been with them A got down and played soccer with Joey instead of being in his arms, however, when the big boys showed up he rejoined his dad and they played as one player again. In one of the instances when A did get down to play with the bigger boys he had a little fall (which really wasn’t bad), but it upset him so it gave me a chance to scoop him up and give mama snuggles, which he lovingly accepted. But…other than letting me console him after his little scrap-up, he has been a daddy’s boy!!

So thankful for the good times we have had and are continuing to have with A and C!