NEW THINGS

A lot has happened in Sonel's life since my last post. He experienced his first Thanksgiving, which included him trying to help me make a pumpkin pie. He was making the little zig zags on the pie crust, but as he was going around, he would put his arm on the ones he's made and smash them. I had to end up doing most of it myself.



Sonel is styling in his Veggie Tale apron that I made for Hope, when she was about his age. Last week he just started watching Veggie Tale videos. Now he "gets" all the stuff he's been seeing around here with "vegetables" on it, including some bath toys he plays with.

Another new thing Sonel experienced...PLAYING IN THE SNOW! He loved it.
Hope and Sonel were outside for about 2 hours today. It was a nice 32 degrees. They had a blast!

Dad and Hope built the snowman while Sonel came in for a "food refill". He thought it was pretty cool. He doesn't seem to mind the cold at all. Licia, I think you and your boys are sissy pants...how can you be cold in Haiti????

I forgot to add that we also put up our Christmas tree yesterday. I'll take a picture of the kids in front of it later. The only thing we tell Sonel about Christmas is, it's Jesus' birthday. I hope he doesn't get freaked out if he sees Santa in a store. I have a hard time sharing the wonder of Jesus' birth with Santa. That's just me.

Brenda

LOST ANOTHER TOOTH!

Sonel was brushing his teeth before going to church this morning and when he spit, he spit out a TOOTH! Notice how his first tooth he lost is coming in already. My, how he is growing!

A FANTASTIC BOOK!!!!!

I recently read a book called "The Shack" written by William Paul Young. It is a fiction book, even though you wonder if parts could be true. I haven't read any fiction since, well I can't remember when. I like to read things that are real, but I HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone! It gives you a whole new perspective about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. The last line on the back cover says "You'll want everyone you know to read this book"...how true! I bought 3 copies so I can pass them around to everyone. Please read this if you get a chance. It had a really spiritual impact on my life.
Brenda

SWIMIN' WITH THE FISH!

Sonel gave me a scare on Thursday. He was outside with dad and I was indoors. I heard a weird sound that sounded like one of our chickens dying! It was Sonel screaming (like a girl)! He fell into my pond! It's a little pond, about 14' x 10', and about 2 feet deep. I guess he was bending over and looking at the fish when he plopped right in. He went totally under! He was fine, freezing, but fine. It scared him to death though. After he was in a warm tub, we talked about it and I told him that he had fish poop in his hair. He laughed and told me that he went swimming with the fish. I don't expect him to be checking out the fish again, anytime soon. He was actually proud of his accomplishment and has bragged to every family member that he has seen so far.
The day before all of this drama...we went to the park for some photos and fun. Here are a few of Sonel, he always does such a good job of smiling for me. I haven't cut his hair since he has been here. I love his hair, but I don't know what to do with it. I don't want to cut it. I would love to make him some dreadlocks...cute ones like Will Smith's son's hair. I've looked on the Internet on how to deal with longer black hair, but I guess I'm going to have to break down and take him my hair salon. Does anybody have any suggestions?

GONE CAMPING!!!

We went camping this past weekend. Here are a few pictures of our fun time.
Sonel had a blast playing in the leaves.

Hope jumping out of her swing.

I would love to make a puzzle out of this picture of Hope fishing.

Sonel seen Dr. DeHeer on Wednesday and Dr. DeHeer will make new splints for Sonel next month, which will continue to stretch his tendons so he will be able to walk more normally. I'm thrilled to say that Dr. DeHeer thinks Sonel needs to stay longer than Jan 27th for his feet to be how they NEED to be. Yeah! That means I will request that his medical visa be extended for 6 more months, which will be until July 27th. He will get to experience a very cold Indiana winter all the way through. Right now, he doesn't seem to mind our chilly weather. He tries to sneak outside all of the time...with out his jacket.

CHANGES

I just wanted to tell everyone how Sonel is coming along in the American way of life. He has been here for 5 months and he almost speaks entirely in English. Sometimes I speak to him in Creole, just because I want to practice and not forget what I know. He asks for ice cream...every night! If you will remember, when he first tasted ice cream, he spit it out. He hated anything sweet. My how the tables have turned! He loves suckers with a passion, especially bubblegum suckers. Most Haitian kids HATE dogs. When Sonel first came to our house, he almost climbed up to the top of my husbands head when he seen our little black Scottish Terrier. Now he loves him. So much about Sonel has changed, especially how he looks. He looks like such a big boy, even though he is still in a size 3 toddler in clothing. That's pretty small for a 5 year old. He was bald when he first came. I love his hair. It's pretty long when you pull it out. I'm not quite sure what to do with it, but I really don't want to cut it. He has been such a blessing and it has been such a privilege for my family to take care of him. We all love him.
Dustin, (my nephew), if you come home for Thanksgiving, let me know and you will get to meet him. He loves your mom's dog! (haha) You'll have to ask her about that.
Brenda

New P.J.s

I bought these pajamas for Hope and Sonel to wear Christmas Eve, so they will be sooooo cute when I take movies of them Christmas morning. I wanted to make sure they fit, so I let them wear them tonight. These pictures show how Hope and Sonel get along. They have their moments, but most of the time is like this.