Five.

My adorable niece started kindergarten a few weeks ago...when did she get old enough to be going to school and soon celebrating her fifth birthday?

I had fun creating her party invitation once again...even though for the past few years she's been talking about having a princess party and I had an awesome princess invitation all ready to go...and then my sister drops the bomb that it's going to be a luau party in their new backyard. Oh well, I guess I have a princess party invite in the hopper in case I ever need it!

The big block of white space is where the details went...figured that didn't need to be broadcast all over the interwebs!

Lanmou.

A week in Haiti will change your life...

You experience overwhelming love and devastating heart break.

Feelings of both strength and insignificance.

You get slapped in the face by poverty one minute, and have the time of your life swimming with the local children at a beautiful beach, the next.

You move mountains with only shovels and buckets, and you do so much faster working side-by-side with Haitian men, women and children. Men apil chay pa lou.

You fall in love with a boy named Mackenly and a baby named Sammy.

Complete strangers become your best friends.

You are consumed with laughter after a Bonneou kiddo puts you “in the pot” during a game of duck-duck-goose.

“Inspired” takes on a whole new meaning when Haitian teenagers share their passion, dreams and clear vision of a
bright future for their country.

A cold shower quickly becomes heaven on earth.

You discover international languages: bubbles, hugs, laughter, and seeing yourself, perhaps for the first time, on a camera’s small screen.

You make a difference.

A week in Haiti will change your life...

I wrote this for a thank you card that I gave my friends and family who provided financial support for my trip...but I still can't think of any better way to share my experience in Haiti...so here it is for the faithful blog readers too! The only problem is...I definitely feel like I didn't do enough, that my work is unfinished...

Travel.

“Still, despite all this, traveling is the great true love of my life. I have always felt, ever since I was sixteen years old and first went to Russia with my saved-up babysitting money, that to travel is worth any cost or sacrifice. I am loyal and constant in my love for travel, as I have not always been loyal and constant in my other loves. I feel about travel the way a happy new mother feels about her impossible, colicky, restless, newborn baby—I just don’t care what it puts me through. Because I adore it. Because it’s mine. Because it looks exactly like me. It can barf all over me if it wants to—I just don’t care.” -Elizabeth Gilbert

A Home in Haiti

I'm very much delayed in posting pictures, stories and thoughts from my trip to Haiti...but to hold you over, below is a video that was produced while we were there. I went with A Home in Haiti, and they have already done GREAT things in Haiti, including sending $1.5 million in tents to Port Au Prince. Phase 2 of the project is to construct a new home for the children at the Miriam Center at the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission.

We were the first group that went, 60+ strangers who met in Haiti to do big things, love on special kids and make a difference. I've met the kids of the Miriam Center and they are some of the most special souls on this planet...would love it if you could take a look at the video, visit ahomeinhaiti.org and help us finish what we started!

Bonjou!

I just got back from spending the week volunteering in Haiti...it was an absolutely amazing, heartbreaking, inspiring and exhausting experience. More about that later...but before I headed out I was able to spend a few days with my adorable niece and nephew and couldn't resist sharing their sweet faces with the world!