Sweet Dreams My Dear Child

On July 7th I traveled to Haiti again to visit Esther. This time it was a bit less overwhelming since I somewhat knew what to expect. Esther was a little bit stronger since she had not been ill previous to my visit. She could stand up by herself and towards the end of the trip she could take a few steps! So exciting to be there for that moment:) She was crawling around quite a bit which was lovely to see as she was too weak to do that when we came the first time. She hadn't grown much since March but she definitely was a bit more independent. It was such a joy to spend the week with her. Oh how I had missed her so!

This trip was a bit different as my husband did not accompany me. He stayed home to care for Gavin. It was a little more work taking care of her all by myself in a less than ideal environment. Although, I did travel with my husband's Aunt & Uncle who are also adopting a little boy (Jean Marie) from KKO. So I was not completely alone! It was a blessing to be able to spend the week with Jean Marie as well. Jean Marie & Esther will live only a few miles from each other when they move to Maine. It's so neat that they are already forming a bond in Haiti and will get to continue to do so as they grow up together as cousins in America!

I'm not sure how to put the rest of my visit into words so I will tell the story with pictures...

The caretakers bathe the children in these buckets with cold water... I bet Esther will find it very strange to have a warm bath when she comes home:)

I took this picture of a neighbor's home standing on the roof of KKO. These are the tents that many families call home since the earthquake destroyed such a huge percentage of Port-au-Prince.

Esther's great grandmother (Granmum) bought this dress for Esther to wear to church. She looked absolutely beautiful!

My mom (Mimi) made this dress for Esther. She looks so pretty in yellow:) Water has to be hauled up in these buckets in order for us to flush the toilets and bathe.

Sweet dreams my dear child... may God hold you in the palm of His hand until we're together again!