Homecoming week in review

Well, we've been home for a little over 24 hours now. J slept in his room by himself and did fine. I stayed in there until he fell asleep and just explained where things were and what he could do if he woke up, where to find us and he did great. I thought I heard something this morning but I actually woke him up by accident when I checked on him.

We took him to see where we each work but he was intimidated by all the people who wanted to see him. I'm glad that the bond to us is there already. He is definitely comfortable around us and not so much around strangers.

He likes the cats okay but is still not fond of the dogs. He just tolerates them.

He loves the ice and water dispenser in the fridge door. He is quite fascinated by anything to do with ice, including popsicles and ice cream.

I loaded a bunch of pics and figured the easiest way is to just review the week in chronological order.

I've been to Haiti several times in the last 25 years and this was my first time in a tap tap. That was an experience. I'm glad I did it but I went to the chiropractor already this morning. Of course that can't be blamed on just the tap tap. Anyone who knows Haiti knows what the "roads" are like.

This is the very, very bald spare tire for the tap tap.
Pic of a PAP hill side.
J is really going to miss his buddy, LM. I think they are close to the same age but LM is quite small for his age.

Um, yeah. A self portrait.

Hamming for the camera after putting his sunglasses on the fan.
This is the shirt I made for him to wear home. It says From Haiti to home with love.
Our flight out of PAP went fine without a hitch. We cleared immigration fairly easily too. It just took a little time because there were quite a few people. This is J's first meal in the US. Pizza!!

You know the whole trip couldn't go without a hitch. Our plane was delayed because of weather and when we finally boarded we just sat there for a while. They finally came on and said that there was a leak in the galley sink and it would take 20-30 minutes to fix it. A few minutes later they came on and said that the power to the plane would need to be turned off so we would have to unload the plane to fix it. We all got off, with our carry-on luggage and most people headed towards the only restaurant that was still open. We got some food and sat down to wait. J had been so good all day with all the waiting and he continued to be very good. He layed down and went to sleep.

I was able to wake him up to get on the plane where he promptly went back to sleep. We landed in Atlanta and Mrs. H and her daughter and grandson picked us up. It was about 2 a.m. at this point so we got to Mrs. H's house around 3. J was so good. He looked around for a while, asked some questions, and went to bed. I couldn't find my contact case but after a week in Haiti I was able to "degaje" (figure out how to make do or make it work). Here are my contacts soaking in bottle tops at Mrs. H's.

We drove the rest of the way home on Sunday. We had been trying to get there for church but after the delays and the very late night, it just wasn't going to happen. When J walked in the house and met his sisters he wandered around some and went up to his room. He was all smiles. He told us that he saw something on his bed. It was his Christmas gifts from his aunt and uncle from 2 years ago. He wandered around a little more and asked where his bike was. He knew we had gotten him one for Christmas a couple years ago. The tires were flat on it so they had to pump them up.

He really likes the bike.

He wanted to go swimming even though it was rather cold for that. There was another little guy here and they played really well together. Isn't it amazing how kids can just play like they've known each other forever?

He got cold and we had to pick out pants and long sleeves to wear. He was shaking and said he needed some sleeves for his hands too. I told him I had just the thing so he put the Spiderman hat and gloves on and went back out to play. Too funny.

He likes anything to do with electronics, computers, game systems, etc. and here he is bowling on his sister's wii.

Well, that's pretty much homecoming week in review. He is outside riding his bike right now. If I can manage it, I'm going to take a nap.