"Pappa's House" will always be home

Speaking like the unbiased aunt I am... my neice Courtney is still my favorite kid!! Her first 3 words were; Mom, Dad & Bob... apparently Rebecca isn't a suitable name for her favorite aunt (remember, I'm completely unbiased here). Here Courtney is "bobbing" in the hottub with "her Bob"... yes, she came up with that one on her own!



Well I'm writing this blog curled up in a hotel room bed (king sized bed even!!) in Miami & I fly to Haiti tomorrow morning. It was a GREAT 3 weeks in Vancouver!! I haven't lived with my parents for a long time but I think their house will always feel like home. It was a busier trip then anticipated but I feel very rested & I'm excited to see the kids tomorrow morning. I couldn't help but to call them every few days but talking on the phone just isn't the same :)

My flights today went smoothly but I have a packing tip for you... those little sacs of tuna (I bought them at Walmart) are really tasty but when you put 25+ sacs in your carry-on bag they are well over the liquid allowance!! However, never underestimate the power of any sentence that starts with; "I'm on my way to an orphanage in Haiti..."

Thank you so much for making the time to see me while I was home & for sending me back with full suitcases. And a special thankyou to all of you who started sponsoring a child while I was home. I hope this will be the beginning of a relationship that is just as rewarding for you as it is for your new child.

I have talked to so many people about the amazing Christmas I had with the kids but I don't want the rest of you to miss out so here's the official update on CHRISTMAS IN HAITI 2007.

My mom sent 3 bins of Christmas presents for ALL the kids at H2H valley - that's almost 100 gifts!!! And we're not just talking about a little trinket, each child received socks/underwear, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, a "main" present, several "smaller" presents, hair stuff, school supplies, candy, etc, etc. The older boys even got a knitted hat courtesy of Grandma Rose! I gave out the presents in the early afternoon & then we had our Christmas Feast! I'll skip right to the pictures....

Some of the presents ready to be handed out:



Some VERY happy kids (Albert, Marilyn, Rosmita, Samuel, Junior & Jason showing off his new underwear!):











And, of course, you can't have a Christmas Feast without food, decorations & the Christmas tree!!







We even had the UN stop by a few days before Christmas with some treats:



Probably not sustainable to do every year but man was it fun!!! Thanks to all who contributed!!