Mr. and Mrs.

I introduce to you, the new Mr. and Mrs. Lacroix!

We met Samuel just a few months after moving here. Jared was desperately missing his days of working out and had been trying to find any sort of gym here. While on a walk one day we spotted him helping repair a house that had been damaged in the earthquake. (I can't seem to remember if it was me or him that noticed Samuel's arms and assumed they looked that way because he worked out. ha!)

Jared asked him if he worked out in a gym here, and the answer was yes. Jared asked where it was, and Samuel invited him to work out with him the next day....at 5 a.m. ! HA ! The next morning Jared ran at 5 a.m. to the house he had seen Samuel at and together they went to the gym. (the explanation of that gym deserving of a blog itself). And, they have been friends ever-since!

Samuel's wedding was at 2 o'clock on Friday. The details went down in true haitian fashion.

1:35 pm: I took this picture of Samuel as he was getting ready for his wedding.

They do look sharp I must say.

1:45: We left the house to drop Samuel off at the church.

2:00: The wedding starts. no bride at the church. no bridesmaids. really...no one at church.

1:54: Get Samuel to church. I look at the clock in our car. laugh. It's 1:54. Haiti. I love it.

1:55: We are instructed to go to his bride's home and pick her, her family, and bridesmaids up and bring them to the church.

1:58: We get to her house. (thankfully not far). Her mom comes to talk with us. Hair in rollers. Day clothes on. Tells us that Bride isn't there. Her brothers get in the car with us. Mom asks us to go get Bride at the beauty salon and come back for her.

2:00 The time the 'wedding starts'. We pull up to the beauty salon. We see the Bride walking out. Oh good, there she is! Then, I look again. It's not her. Another wedding party. awesome. Brothers tell us its the next salon. No worries- just down the road.

2:04: Jared runs into next closest salon we find. Full of women. None of them our Bride.

2:07: Turn the corner to find the next closest salon. BINGO. She's there :)

2:09: Walks out looking gorgeous. Not a care or worry in the world.

2:16: We pull up to the church. Somehow everyone else is there as well. Including mother-of-bride. san rollers in hair.

2:20: I go into church with Miles to find a seat. Including us and the 4 pastors up front I counted 17 people in the church.

2:30-3:00: People trickle in. Ceremony begins.

3:00: Bride walks in. In my mind an hour late. To everyone else...everything is right on time.

4:00: People still walking into ceremony.

4:30: Ceremony over. Half of the church is completely full! ha

The rest of the evening: Reception!

Jared made a great speech :) (There's something awesome about hearing your husband challenge another man to love and honor his wife daily).

Thankful to have our friend Robert there to translate for Jared. Jared's kreyol is awesome. He gets complimented on it all.the.time. (Mostly the compliment he loves the most is when I'm standing there, too, and others tell him that his kreyol is better than mine). But still, we all make mistakes. And our accents just aren't what they should be. So- it was a perfect time to have our friend Robert translate.

(Side note: Robert is seriously amazing. He speaks kreyol, french, spanish, and english fluently. and I mean fluently.)

SO glad to see Samuel's parents enjoy this special day with him! Although this picture may not be a good indicator...they were all happy, too :) I promise.

Aren't they a good looking couple!

And, I just had too. Miles is way too cute to not work a picture of him in here.

(Yes. Jared got to wear white gloves. Be jealous.)

This little guy was the hit of the reception. Everyone wanted to hold him. I may have went into hiding with him for 15 minutes or so to calm him a time or two ;). He is a people person. But not so much when his eyelids are heavy ! :)

Oh, and the day ended with Jared and Samuel having to drive all the guests home. Oh the differences in culture.

Jared was pulled over. He didn't have his license on him. He was told he would have to go to jail for 3 days. Then...after talking through that, the cop decided he would let him go for a fee. Jared had zero dollars with him. The cop asked if we had alcohol in the car to help him pass the rest of his night quicker. Negative. and can I say oh. my. word.

Needless to say, we had our share of laughs on Friday and were so glad to share the day with our friends.

Samuel has made it so much easier for us to live here. Especially for Jared. He is one of those people that everyone just can't help but love. God knew we needed him when we came!

Please pray with us over Samuel and Manoucheka's marriage. Pray that they would faithfully love each other and serve God as a couple, and follow his leading in their lives together daily.

p.s. I joke about the timing of his wedding day lovingly :) Samuel knows that we do things differently in America and that we thought some things were a bit crazy. He laughs about it alongside us. It's one of the things we love about him...that he can think we're crazy Americans at times...and vice versa. It's a great thing ! :)

little miss 6-yr-old

I don't know how this girl that we've known since she was 4 1/2 years old is suddenly 6 !!

As you can see...she hated every second of celebrating her birthday ;)...

It was this past Sunday, and when we came with the cake in the evening this little girl had kept her dress from church on all day long and informed us that she just bathed and had her hair re-braided for her party :) love.her.

Ciara gives so much joy to our days. Her helpful spirit, love and spunky little personality makes the tough moments so worth it.

and boy did we find a winner with this cake! Remember miss Genese who eats no cake....

Yes, that would be cake frosting and crumbs all over her mouth. Pink frosting and sprinkles...how could she say no this time? All that pink did her in. It's a pretty popular color around here ;).

And one more thing about our birthday girl. She loves work. She's still on Christmas vacation from school and asks all the time for work to do. Lately, she really wants to wash clothes.

Since she needs to learn how to do this sooner or later...and the desire is there now...we told her to have at it. It's been a great chance for her to learn things alongside the nannies. Who am I kidding, I can't teach her how to wash clothes by hands correctly. She'll be the one teaching me what I'm doing wrong. It sounds so simple I know. But trust me...it is an art. I have never seen white clothes so white before. And I still don't know how they get their clothes to make that perfect little squish sound each time they squeeze out the water! Sorry...went off on a rabbit trail there.

The nannies wash the girls school shirts while she washes her baby dolls outfits before they go to school (aka table under the slide). She LOVES this. She is so much better than I am. Big surprise there. My first experience with this months after moving here left me with bleeding knuckles and raw hands for days. Machines have nothing on these women. They told me they could tell I must have grown up in a house with a washing machine before I moved here! HA. got me there ladies.

And she still looks adorable doing work, too :)

Ciara, we are so blessed to walk through these years of your life with you. You fill our lives and all of your sisters with so much laughter and joy! You are a great big sister that helps everyone out so much. We are so proud of you and love you! Happy Birthday :)

P.S. -- Please pray for Rosiany and Mariline as they both have the mumps right now. Don't worry...Ciara is on lysol patrol every night and sprays down every room in the house. Sometimes sprays others too in the mean time. Trying to teach her that good smelling disinfectant spray does not equal perfume. ;)

christmas weekend

We had a a great weekend celebrating Christmas...

The preparations started on the 23rd..no girl can get ready for Christmas in Haiti without fresh braids. The ''dos' that come before hand never get old to me :)

Somehow I always get trapped like this it seems once a week. They always get frustrated that the braids fall out of my hair so easily. ;)

And we attempted sugar cookies together. Key word attempted. The darn heat really changes things sometimes. Like turning dough into a muddy substance for example. Thankfully the girls don't care when food doesn't turn out if it's anything cookie related. It's still a victory to them. And double thankfully I had a lot of extra flour to try and keep the dough from sticking everywhere! ha

The next day we all got dolled up and had a feast together to celebrate Christ !! (Did you know that Christmas is celebrated the 24th here?)

Yvrose and Lillian did some serious work in the kitchen. Watch out Rachel Ray.

The girls personal favorites...cheetos. Well, the wanna-be kind. Don't they look so fun like this!?

We enjoyed the rest of the day eating, reading the Christmas story, singing, playing games, giving our staff and girls some gifts, and finally getting some e.x.t.r.e.m.e.l.y. tired girls to bed at 7. Unfortunately, Jared and I aren't coordinated enough to throw a Christmas party for a group of people and be organized enough to actually get pictures of all of that's going on :) So, you can enjoy what we did get !! haha

The nannies favorite thing...random pictures that we had put up of them working throughout the past year. They loved it! It was so fun to watch their reactions as they found themselves in the pictures :)

And on Christmas day we relaxed and celebrated just the three of us.

We are grateful to celebrate and know Christ. It is the greatest blessing we can ever know. We pray that you were each able to celebrate that same gift this past weekend. God with us. God with you. It is a beautiful thing.

We spent time on Sunday talking about God's goodness to us this past year. We never get far without thanking God for each of you who allow us to be here. Who encourage us. Cover us in prayer. Care for the girls alongside of us. Support us financially. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be here. For allowing us to worship our Savior through life with these precious girls everyday. Although I may have my moments...It really is a sweet gift that I am so thankful for :) May God richly bless you.

bon fet genese

On the 8th it was Genese's turn to celebrate :)

This little thang does not like cake. A delicious piece of chocolate cake sits in front of her and she won't. touch. it.

So...we went old school with rice krispie treats. I forgot how good they are. Add some sprinkles on top and you've got yourself a winner for a girl who won't eat cake.

The what-felt-like-hours spent practicing blowing bubbles this summer with the girls paid off for Genese when it came time to blow out her candles!

This now two-year-old is big stuff. Not only does she blow out candles on her own...she loves to sing, talk, dance, play outside, and repeat e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g.

And by repeat I mean yell.

It's a really annoying cute habit.

She expects kisses every morning and night. And she puckers up and won't stop until she gets her smooch. Sometimes she even intentionally puts food on her lips before she goes to kiss us. I think she may be spitfire #2 in training.

Genese loves her siblings so much. Almost nightly she prays for everyone. And I mean everyone. Even if one of the other girls are praying before dinner...Genese will undoubtably chime in. She starts going around the room listing off everyone's name and asking God to bless them. It is darn cute. She has something for Miles and even remembers to pray for him when he's not there. Somehow the prayers usually go something like this: Bless Ciara, bless Rosiany, bless Miles, bless Mariline, bless Miles, bless Kiara, bless Miles, you get the picture. There are no shortage of prayers for him ;).

And here's miss Kiara enjoying the party... she doesn't care what you give her. Cake. Rice Krispies. Doesn't matter. She will destroy them both. But in this case I'm not sure how much actually made it to her tummy...

The girls' were just a tad wound up that night. They love birthdays. In fact, lately they've been singing happy birthday to me on a regular basis. Two birthdays close to each other has made them think that singing birthday songs = dessert magically appearing from the kitchen. Sorry girlies- not the way it happens ;).

It was a fun night celebrating Genese. The girls were smiling and giggling all night. It's medicine to my soul.

Happy 2nd birthday, Genese. We love you!

happy birthday, kiara !

I can't believe how time flies.

On the first of this month, Kiara turned one!

There is no shortage of love for this girl when it came time to celebrate. The nannies love her just as much as we do. Even those that weren't working that day wanted to be with everyone to celebrate Kiara's special day.

Kiara didn't need an explanation when it came time to dig in ! This girl took care of her cake in record time :)

Miles had his eye on the cake all evening. Kiara wasn't about to leave any for anyone though. Soon enough, you'll have a cake, too!

We're blessed with such a great group of women who love the girls as their own. Kiara holds a special place in each of their hearts since she has spent all but 7 days of her life with us :) We love her smile, and the way she giggles over everything! This girl is strong and walking all over and learning so much everyday from her big sisters!

and Crystal and Niclaudette will learn so much from you, too!

Miles and Jared were worn out by the end of the night. But, they better rest up...because Genese's birthday is coming up in just a few days!

Happy Birthday, Kiara. We love you !!

thanksgiving

Miles successfully made it through his first thanksgiving today :) He even found himself a part of the cool carseat club...

It was a sweet thing to be celebrating together with 70 others today. (Thank you, John and Beth, for giving us all a place to find joy and family here, especially during holidays when we're all missing loved ones).

Our family is overwhelmed with all that God has given us to be thankful for.

Even in the moments this year that have been just downright hard...God has been gracious enough to allow us to see just how blessed we were in those moments.

God has been teaching our family a lot since we have moved here (some lessons learned easier than others) One of the biggest things is just how much he loves us and how much grace he continually pours out on us...when we are so undeserving. It really is too much for me to take in.

We're grateful for the seasons of life that he brings us through. That there are always sweet mountaintops after we trudge through the valleys. Thank you for being a part of all of those seasons with us. For how you've cared for our family and loved us through prayer and sacrificing financially, for emails, encouragement, and just a simple word to let us know that you are in this with us. Thank you. Along with the long list of things that we have to thank God for today and everyday...you all are included.

We pray that you have each counted Jesus and his love as your greatest gift this thanksgiving day. That in all seasons of your life, you too may feel his unending love for you and be joyfully overwhelmed by his goodness and grace.

Magalie

Today Magalie (lady who washes clothes for us at the orphanage, and mom of the 5 girls that hang out with our girlies) was over at the orphanage just to visit.

While there, she had a seizure just as she was about to leave.

We knew that she had passed out/blacked out in the past, but didn't think it was anything more than that. We had thought that these instances were from a lack of good nutrition, sleep, etc. But, after talking with others today, we now realize that her 'passing out' before hand was most likely seizures as well.

Jared took her to a hospital afterwards, and after 3 hours of waiting they gave her a prescription that couldn't be filled today, because by the time they were seen it was too late in the day and pharmacies had closed (A common frustration that we expected to happen). So, tomorrow we are hoping to those meds first thing in the morning. Please pray it happens that way.

The hospital asked that Magalie go to another place downtown and receive an EEG scan, and once we receive the results from that, to come back to the hospital to figure out what the next steps are.

We are thankful that there is the ability to have that scan done here. We didn't realize beforehand that there was.

Thanks for all who prayed when I sent out an email with few details this morning. Please continue to lift up Magalie and her health. She is a woman that has become very close to us over the past years, and our girls, too.