The Many First of Elita Marguerite

*Downloading all these pictures in Haiti would have taken maybe a lifetime. Therefore, there are 68 pictures on this blogpost that perhaps could/should have been divided into many episodes if we weren't so busy taking pictures at all these first! This is for the record and for those who really want to share in our special memories that we are so overwhelmingly thankful we were able to experience!
Special thanks to the Varda and Allen families that helped make our trip possible, to our parents for loving us, providing for us and driving us long distances to help make our trip possible, to our dear friends the Wells and Potts families who housed, fed, and loved us, and to our family members who put up with us and love us unconditionally.

"How lucky we are to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard!"-Winnie the Pooh

We will never forget these moments! We pray we will never cease to be thankful!

Elita Marguerite has been to this airport many times.
Now she gets to go inside for the first time!

First airplane!
Port au Prince to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

 First time in the U.S.A.!

First hugs from PaPa upon arrival in St. Louis, Missouri!

First family photo in the U.S.A. with PaPa and MeMa Ream!

The Bonacquisti family drove 5 hours to meet us at the airport!
The Bonacquisti family stayed with us in Haiti off and on while they were fighting to bring their Haitian daughter Isemelda home to Illinois! They are such great friends and we were so happy to see them! We drove them to the airport in Haiti when "Lala" was leaving Haiti in February 2012. So it was very special that they were here to greet us upon our arrival!

The day before Thankgiving my Daddy took me on a special date. We went to a movie and shopping. Mom thought we were only going to ONE store. Dad called her with a question and she asked where we were at? "THE MALL???"....on my first day in the states! Think that defies some kind of adoption law?
There are no pics of that defiance.

Here is a pic of me eating Thanksgiving dinner.
But I already devoured the turkey!

Since my Dad did such a good job at defying any semblance of adoption law, my mom decided to beat him and take me
BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!

I decided "AMERICAN'S ARE CRAZY!"

I met my cousin Elauna for the first time at Black Friday Shopping at the Wal-Mart in Taylorville, IL.
My mom kept pointing out other relatives too.
MeMa and Dad were standing in lines.
Mom and I left early after we were done helping MeMa!

I met lots of relatives including Uncle Dick...
who gave me these barbie dolls I really wanted! 

I really am a REAM!
Standing outside PaPa and MeMa's house in Taylorville, IL (where her Daddy grew up!)

We drove from Illinois and stopped off
in Kentucky
on our way to Virginia.
The reason we stopped in Kentucky is because we love the Wells family and were just dying to see them!
Here is E.M. with Page!
Thank you Page for being such a treasured friend!

We made it to Lynchburg, Virginia!
And at Lynchburg, Virginia is Liberty University!
And at Liberty University is Ba's (grandpa's) office/museum!
So we had to go see it!

We were a bit naughty at Ba's office!
Not exactly a "first"!

First pic with my grandparents!
And first time at the Snowflex complex!
(Aunt Emee took me another time to tube down the fake snow...
but she has those pics)
Good times!

First time to celebrate with my Ta (Grandma)
on her 60th birthday!

1st time ice skating!

Mom and me at Liberty University on ice!

We drove from VA to TN on our way to TX!
1st time meeting Tia Eleisha in Spring Hill, Tennessee!

1st time meeting my cousin baby Bella Shalom!

And cousins Elianna and Talia!

We finally got to TEXAS!
And mom made me go to the dentist the first morning!
But I got a great report!

I met my cousin Allyssa Grace Babcock for the first time!
Allyssa has prayed for me and raised money for my adoption for the past 2.9 years!
We were very excited to meet each other and are now very good friends!
I got to stay at Allyssa's house for 3 days and we had a ton of fun!
Allyssa has 3 adopted siblings and 9 people in her family that I LOVE!

Breakfast at the Babcock house!
LOVE my cousins!

Guess where cousin Shannon took me, Allyssa, and Deja???

HOLY MOLY!
I am not dreaming...
I think I am officially
SPOILED ROTTEN! 

Then we went to cousin Bobby and Devorje's basketball games!
Bobby scored 3 dunks...another first!
This was my first basketball game America style!
And I realized for not the first time that...
there are a lot of black people in America!

But I couldn't wait to get home and open my American Girl doll "Cecilé" and play with my cousins!

We had to go pick up Ba the next morning at the hotel.
Mom got lost.
I told her, "I thought you knew Texas?"
Mom said, "Well I don't know EVERY road in Texas!"
Mom did much better with driving after we left this "road-high".

I guess it was a good thing that Mom got lost getting to the hotel.
Cause we got to meet a famous person that is friends with Ba.
His name is Tim LaHaye.

M

Hi and Bye to Dallas, TX!

First time to see a zoo when we stopped across the street for gas.
Can we please go to the zoo?

Mom told me she would take me to the zoo.
But I didn't know there was a zoo at her best friend's house!
First time to meet Danny the Deer
= first time at the Pott's house!

My first time on a horse!
Thank you Steph!

My first time practicing ballet with Katya and Allee Potts!

The next morning...
I met my Auntie Erin for the first time!

And also Miss Brittany Docter, a beautiful dancer and teacher who prayed for me and supported my adoption!
Miss Brittany invited me to try out her ballet class the next day!
In more ways than one she helped make my dreams come true!

I got to mee Kayleigh Tansey.
Kayleigh was adopted from the Ukraine this year!
Our mom's prayed for us together!

I really loved my first ballet class!

The next morning we traveled to Houston, Texas
and I met Uncle Jon and Aunt Katherine for the first time!
We spent the night at their house!

And the next morning was Sunday.
And we surprised our cousins who were dedicating baby Kiersten at church the same day we happened to be there!

And after church I went rock climbing with my brother Ethan!
Actually it was really a big, huge, party at Tim Lanier's house and we were invited!

First time as a sumo wrestler.
I could barely stand up.
But I still put my little brother in his place!

Not my first time saying, "What the heck?"
(Thanks a lot Emma Richardson for teaching me that.)

"What the heck?" is right!
First time walking on water alongside brothers
 in a plastic blow up ball!

First major intro to country music at the Faith Hill and Tim McGraw concert which took place at the house party we somehow snagged free tickets to!
"What the heck???!!!"

After my intro to country music I had to learn how to two step!
First time dancing with my Uncle Jonathan!

First time eating Blue Bell Ice Cream on the way home from Houston!

Mom said our tour of the ice cream factory was our homeschooling for the day.
We can handle that! 

Bye bye Blue Bell!
We love you and miss you in Haiti!

Not my first time shopping, but it is my first time selling Apparent Project jewelry!
I asked Mom if we could do this as a fundraiser to help bring Esmée home to experience all these wonderful places and people I can't wait to tell her all about!
Thank you Redland's for opening your home on this special night!

Some of my very best Haiti buds who came to our Apparent Project meet and greet me night!
This was my first time to meet the Redland family and to see Kelli, Ashtin, Peter, and Ben stateside
 (who have all come to see me in Haiti)!

My first time at "The Master's School" that I have heard so much about! I was happy that my brother Ethan got to see his old classmates and that I got to play foursquare at recess with them!
I told my mom, "The kids at this school are very nice!
I think it is a very good school!"

That night I got to meet some more of my brothers friends from
New Braunfels Bible Church!
We went to Peter Piper Pizza and that was my first time at a place like that!

The next morning was Saturday.
We drove all the way to DFW again for something called
"Shaw Family Christmas" or "Cousin Christmas"!
I was happy to see Allyssa again and meet almost ALL of my cousins. I have A LOT of cousins!
Allyssa and Anna Michelle are the cousins I hang out with the most. I so wish we lived closer!

Our Cousin Christmas was hosted by my cousins Carrie and Amy Joy Wilson...and their parents.
I think there were 100 relatives at Shaw Family Christmas!
But we will not post all 100 pictures this time.

We got to see our friend Betsy while passing through on our way back from DFW!
Betsy first met Elita Marguerite when she was stationed as a nurse at the orphanage back in December 2010.
We love you Betsy!

I did get to go to a zoo (besides the Pott's family zoo)!
I got to meet Jefflin and Jeffnia's brothers and sister for the first time too!
(Jefflin and Jeffnia are two friends still waiting to come home from Haiti.)

First animals to see inside the zoo are the flamingos!

My favorite animals at the zoo were the Lory birds!

First time on a train!

Thank you for an amazing adventure in the U.S.A.!
I am so happy I am now an American citizen!
But I still love Haiti too and can't wait to get back to my favorite Haitian food! Oh and I especially have been missing my Dad and sister Esmée who are in Haiti! We are returning to Haiti on Christmas Eve and are all excited to get back!
Everyone says my English is SO good! It is good enough for me to go to an English school soon!
I will be starting school January 7th at El Shaddai Learning Center in St. Marc, Haiti along with my brothers and sister.
We are moving there after Christmas!
Pray for me since my Dad will be the Principal at my new school! "What the heck am I going to do with that???!!!"

Thank you for praying for my adoption! I am so blessed to be able to meet many friends and family that have prayed for me! Please continue to pray for me and for my family in Haiti and for Esmée and many of my friends to be able to come to the U.S.A. soon too!

Signed, Sealed, Delivered!

The past week has been full of answered prayers. I cannot remember a time in our adoption journey or our Haiti journey where everything has fallen into place better than we could have hoped. My wildest dreams never could have imagined all that has happened or the close of this chapter happening in the way it is. But praise be to our Father in Heaven who in His mercy chose us, chose this path for us to journey, has protected and carried us through, and has set our chosen daughter free! We are so excited!

Answered prayers!

Friday November 9th -  Eric and Elita Marguerite travel to the doctor by tap-tap to complete her TB test and pick up her medical report. They left before the rest of the family got up. I called Eric around 8:30 am and they were already finished and were having a daddy/daughter breakfast date at a coffee shop they had found! They found a passport picture making and copy place and checked that off the list as well, picked up some groceries and were back home by noon! That night I found a different flight for E.M. and I for $700 instead of $900 and my sweet parents helped us out with that cost. 

Tuesday November 13th - Our entire family arrived at the Embassy for our 10:30 visa appointment. The Embassy was completely packed. I have never seen it so crowded. The kids sat on the floor (because there were no more chairs) playing card games. I decided to venture up to a window and just ask which window we would be eventually called to since we were seeing the Consular section this time. Less than 10 minutes later we were called and greeted by a smiling woman who granted us a very pleasant exit interview and our request to process our visa the same day.  We were walking out of the building at 11:20 in record time. We went to lunch at a lovely restaurant near the airport and waited until close to 2:00 when we were due to return to the Embassy and pick up the visa. We said our goodbyes to Eric and the boys who were dropped off at the airport for their flight leaving around 5pm. I returned to the Embassy with friends who were waiting to hear the verdict about our Haitian friend they are sponsoring who was applying for a travel visa and had an appointment at the same time as us (but had not even made it inside the building when we were leaving so we had promised to pick her up later when we returned for our visa). Our friend was not granted her visa. This was sad news and our friends sponsoring her were sad and confused by the verdict. Because I had an appointment I was able to get them a pass inside the building to wait with me for my visa and in the mean time we were able to go to the other side of the Embassy and nicely demand to speak with an officer about why our friend was denied. I waited till I had E.M.'s visa in hand and went along to support my friends. Even though our friend's visa was denied it was really providential that we were able to speak with the head chair of non-immigrant visas about why. This was the second time she had been denied (providentially we had also been with her on her first appointment because we were being fingerprinted that same day in August!...what are the chances of that besides God!). Although it was a bittersweet day in that we got our visa and our friend didn't, having a better understanding of the situation and closure was a gracious blessing. It was a bittersweet day for Esmée as well. We really wish she was getting her visa now too. But in our prayers this night we thanked God for His goodness even when it doesn't seem good. We know His plans are good and we trust that He will finish what He started for Esmée as well. All in all it was a very good day! Eric and the boys made all their connecting flights to St. Louis, MO and joyfully greeted grandparents and McDonalds late into the night! 

Oh yeah one more thing. During lunch at the restaurant I checked my e-mail and got one from our facilitator saying that the lawyer would certainly help us in getting the IBESR exit letter instead of me having to spend the entire next day sweating at IBESR trying to accomplish that! Our friends staying with us were headed to the beach the next day and had invited us to go with them so now we were free to go! We stopped by the créche on our way home and dropped off copies of the visa and other documents the lawyer needed to do this for us! What a day!

Wednesday, November 14th - Celebrated at the beach while lawyer took our paperwork to IBESR! 

Friday, November 16th - Got word from our facilitator that the final document needed for travel from IBESR was in hand and I could come pick it up whenever I was ready. I asked if anyone would be heading our way because I don't have a vehicle. I got a response back right away saying that one of their staff was coming our way on Saturday and would gladly bring it right to me!

Saturday, November 17th - IBESR exit letter delivered! Got to see some dear friends who just happened to show up at the same time! 

Sunday, November 18th - Pulled out hair extensions, painted girls nails, and packed! 

Monday, November 19th - Last minute details planned such as new hairdo for E.M. and picking up a new bike that a friend is flying in for Esmée (that should make her feel better for sure as it is nearly all she has ever asked us for the past year!), stopping by Apparent Project, and spending the night with friends nearer to the airport.

Tuesday, November 20th - Elita Marguerite and I get on an airplane bound for the U.S.A.!

Embassy signed and sealed immigration packet to give to immigration in Florida and IBESR exit letter has been delivered! 
Off we go!

Answered prayers for our Chosen girl!

Remember I asked for prayer over the weekend about the following? Check it out!

Monday November 5th - We received I-600 approval (our petition to classify Marguerite as our immediate relative...even though she has owned our last name for the past year) The very day we prayed for!

Tuesday November 6th - Chatted with a friend online who was also waiting desperately to get her I-600 approval. Told her about our hopeful travel plans and my concern that tickets would be too expensive and airmiles too many to take my 3 kids that have passports since our timetable is looming toward Thanksgiving holiday. Didn't know what to do or how to plan. My friend found tickets and graciously donated airmiles/taxes and fees for Eric to escort Ethan and Evan to their PaPa and MeMa in Illinois on November 13th. Eric hasn't seen his parents in a year and 1/2 so this is a huge additional blessing! Thank you God for precious, giving friends! (Eric will return to Haiti to be with Esmée around the time Elita Marguerite and I need to leave). Answered prayer! Praying for my friend to get her approval too!

Nice lady at the consular gave me clearance letter to get the visa medical done (though she did not give special clearance to forsake getting every vaccine known to man ALL AT ONCE...in Haiti! There is a waiver for such but only for children under age 10.) Called and called to try to get a dr. appt asap. Finally got through to one. The closest one to us. And he said to come at 8am the next morning! Answered prayer!

Wednesday November 7th - The doctor said he could have the medical report completed by early Friday morning when we come back to finish her TB test. 

Called the nice consular lady while still at the doctor and told her when the medical report would be picked up. I nicely asked if there was any way we could get a visa interview for November 13th. We  celebrated answered prayer thus far with pizza and pedicures (promised after all those shots)! Came home to an e-mail with official visa interview packet for November 13th! Wow! 

Thursday November 8th - Looked for flights all day (now that we have a visa appointment it was possible to guess when we could be cleared for travel). Was starting to get frustrated with Thanksgiving air travel prices when I saw the e-mail we had been praying for that my friend had received her I-600 approval too! Decided not to be frustrated cause we have so much answered prayer to be thankful for!

--------------------------------------------

Still praying for...

1. Getting to doctor in the morning to pick up and pay for medical report and complete TB test. The car we have been borrowing does not have good enough breaks to continue to risk driving it. Eric will take E.M. by tap-tap very early tomorrow morning. Then they need to find a good copy machine and passport photo shop. I know that sounds trivial but getting that done in Haiti without transportation isn't so simple. 

2. Need to come up with $900 for airfare for E.M. and myself or 70,000 American airline miles. I have a ticket on hold till November 9th at midnight. Praying if that's not the right one then I will find another cheaper one fast without spending another day online neglecting my children.

3. Visa interview on Tuesday November 13th to go well for us and another friend who is applying for a travel visa at the same time and we are riding together. Pray for my guys to get a ride to the airport and make it to Illinois without delay so they don't have to spend the night in Miami. 

4. Pray that I will figure out what we need to do to obtain the IBESR exit letter which is the final document we need in order to board the plane. Pray that it doesn't take long for me to figure out or long to obtain.

5. Please pray for Esmée as this is a difficult time for her. She doesn't fully understand why her adoption process is held up when she and Elita Marguerite went through the adoption process together. We are all excited for her sister and sad for her. It is the definition of bittersweet. We are hoping Esmée's new process goes much more quickly than her last because our family has already been approved once in the offices that take a long time to get through. But it will still be a long time. Please pray for her to feel much loved and not abandoned during this time. 

Pray for our Chosen girl to have a great trip to the United States! 

When I say states I mean IL, VA, TX and all the others we have to go through to get to and from these! 

Pray we get to see as many family and friends as possible!

*We aren't going to be cocooning though we usually recommend it in most cases. It's just that we've been doing that for the past year in the comfort of her homeland Haiti! She is ready to meet everyone and shop and eat and watch as many movies as she pleases is allowed. 

Smile! Your about to get pumped full of diseases vaccines! 
If you know me well you might guess how degradatated I have been over this!  And believe me when I say I tried to figure out a way around it, but alas she was too old for the waiver and I was too unwilling to try and conjure up her old vaccine records. It was a necessary evil. I told her that as far as I am concerned she will never have to have another shot again!