Haiti, Day 1

Our motto today - Be Flexible! We were on a plane at 6am Eastern time (way too early) and had a roller coaster ride of emotions. We were feeling it all - tired, excited, hot, cold, bored, uncomfortable, energetic from excitement! The plane was horrendously turbulent but we hit ground safely and passed through customs with a breeze. (side note- President Martelly was on a plane from Miami with a few of our families so maybe he is going to get to signing some dossiers this month!) The girls weren't quite prepared for being slightly overtired and a little too hot as we arrived. Haiti is exponentially more humid than our Colorado climate. The pool helped, but the 5 hour wait for the 11 families to arrive so that we could get Christopher was hard for the girls to wrap their minds around. We tried to stay busy and make small adjustments here and there. All in all I'd have to actually brag on our troopers! They each commented on how much fun their first day was in Haiti. I love how easily my kids can remember the positive in a day that wasn't what they expected. Through washed out streets and the busyness of life here, we finally made it to Haiti Lifeline around 3ish. I'm trying not to look at the time down here. it helps my scheduled type-A personality let go of control. We had to search for Christopher. I was grateful I had been before so that I could go straight to his bedroom. He knew he was coming because we had just had a bath and was getting new clothes on. I had a new family album for him and came and kissed it. He acted like he remembered me but was very aloof and stayed very protective. He went to Tracy which thrilled us both. The girls are having a hard time with our "no holding Christopher" rule today. He was overwhelmed but didn't seem to mind 3 cutie pies in his face for the most part. There were tween girls that I met in Decemebr that wanted to be friends with the girls. After a little debate and firmness on Miliane, each girl had a friend and they were whisked away to play and sing and get a tour. The girls LOVED it! We were given a 2 story apartment with 2 bedrooms, a iving room, kitchen and 2 toilets! Spoiled! We will get to go to market tomorrow and buy lunch food. Si so many families in our group, the hotel is offering a. Under each night. It was awesome tonight and each girl found something to eat. It was traditional Haitian food - chicken, fish, potatoes, rice & beans, cabbage slaw, pickled veggies. YUMMY! Christopher is sweet. He's not willing to trust yet. He's an observer who hates change. He lets us hold him and take him wherever we are going. We are praying for a morning of no tears and a quick turn to comfort on his part. Tracy would love to see his smile in real life ;) the girls too for that matter. Tomorrow is a relax day here. I will try to post pics tomorrow. Some families weren't having any luck.