January Update

We got our update a little early this month! Here's the scoop on what our baby girl has been up to:

December and January have been very busy and exciting months here at God’s Littlest Angels.  We have had more children transition into their new lives with their forever families and have welcomed numerous visitors and volunteers who help us love the children and get projects accomplished. 

I was honored to be here at GLA throughout Christmas for all the celebrations this year.  This is the first year in my three years at GLA that I am able to give you a first hand account of the holiday festivities and I am looking forward to it!

All of the babies began their Christmas morning with a new outfit.  The cutest thing was to walk into the NICU and see all of the littlest ones dressed up in a red and white outfit.  Some us staff members took a group of the two years olds up to the balcony to unwrap and play with new toys that were send as Christmas gifts while all the babies in the smaller nurseries each received a rattle or toy to keep and play with in their crib.  The kids who received Christmas gifts from adoptive parents were brought down to the living room the day after Christmas to open their gifts under the tree.  Malozie got a new outfit on Christmas morning and she was all smiles when she was given a new toy to play with when she is in her crib.  You will find a photo of her from Christmas morning attached.  There are also a few photo day photos of her with a gift that was received from an aunt and uncle I believe.  She enjoyed the toy a lot and it is now kept in her bin of toys to play with when she is on the balcony.  I am also including some pictures of her from her birthday in December.  We hold a monthly birthday celebration for all the kids who have a birthday in that month.  She loved the doll that you sent for her.. she touched its face and examined it closely.  She also liked the phone and looking at the photo of your family in her card.  She was the first kiddo to dig into the cake for herself.  She enjoyed it a lot!    I hope you enjoy the variety of photo included in your update this month.

Malozie is gaining strength in her walking.  She is not yet completely confident but she is venturing out on her own 2 feet and can walk across the room.  She always has a brilliant smile on her face when she is praised for her new accomplishment.  She sure knows she is cute!

Only one week after our Christmas celebration it was time to celebrate the New Year as well as Haiti’s independence day, which is on January 1^st.  The highlight of the day for most Haitians as well as the kids at the Main House is a celebratory soup that is traditionally served at lunchtime.   The soup is called “soup joumou”.  It is a pumpkin soup that has meat, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage.  Everyone looks forward to this soup that is typically only served in Haitian Independence Day.

The photo day theme for this month was “celebration”. In addition to celebrating all the holidays the last few months have held, it is a true joy to celebrate each milestone the children have.  I hope I am able to accurately describe and capture these things for you until you are able to bring them home and experience these moments with them. 

You will notice this update is coming a week earlier then usual this month.  I am taking a trip home to Wisconsin for 2 weeks starting on January 25^th.  I will return to the office on February 11^th and do my best to get your February update to you by the end of the month.  Hope you enjoyed hearing a little more about Malozie’s holiday celebrations this month.

Malozie is healthy and growing:
Height: 71.5 cm
Weight: 20 lb 

And now for the best part....pictures! And we have lots of them this month! 

Look at those eyes! This picture was taken by Jenny, an adoptive Mom who went to GLA this month. Grace is a finger sucker, I think. I've seen 2 pictures of her with those fingers in her mouth. Sweet baby girl!

These were the Christmas PJs we sent to her.

This is her baby doll from Nana D. and Poppy. She is seriously checking it out!

Our family!

I think she likes it!

 

A Face to Pray For

We have prayed and prayed and talked and talked about President Martelly. We need him to pick up a pen and sign our dispensation. Since we have biological kids, our dossier requires a waiver (under the adoption law in Haiti). Crazy, I know. It doesn't make sense. The good news is they are changing the adoption laws in Haiti, but we will be under the old laws.

So, here's a picture to have in your mind. Pray that President Martelly will feel the URGE to sign our dispensation---and many more. There are many families waiting on him to sign theirs, too. These orphans need to go home to their forever families!

Also, his stage name (he's a famous singer in Haiti) is "Sweet Micky". So, use either name. God will know who you're referring to.

Wordless Wednesday

When She Comes Home

Just came across this blog post.

So much to think about as we prepare to bring Grace home. I think a lot of these ideas are right on. We will learn lots as we go, but I am a "researcher" and like to read of others' experiences.
Check this out when you have a moment. 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

What a gift we received from GLA! This slide show has every picture they have taken of Grace since she arrived. Many of them were new to us. She celebrated her first birthday on Dec. 11. Oh how we pray she'll be home for her 2nd! Enjoy!

Christmas highlights

Grace's Giggle

What a gift we received today! A volunteer at GLA made this precious video. She reminds us of "Tickle Me Elmo". Remember him? Noah had one when he was little. You pressed his foot and he giggled. She sounds a lot like Elmo!  Ohhhhh if we could just have her in our arms!

Our Christmas Gift

We are so thankful for many many reasons that Grace is at GLA. They are teaching her how to love because they truly do love their babies and give them the best care. Receiving these updates and pictures each month fills our hearts with joy.

Here's what she's been up to:

This month we took hand and foot prints of all the kids at the Main House. I do my best to have this done about every three months so you have an extra treasure to take home with you when you come and pick up Malozie. Each child reacts a differently to having their hands and feet painted and then pressed against the paper. Most of them are intrigued by the different feel and will closely examine it while others will want to eat it. Malozie was quite content to allow her hands to be painted but she was one of the little ones who though just maybe it would taste good. She tried to put her hands in her mouth after her hands were painted but she was stopped before she could get it there. 

 Developmentally Malozie is advancing well. She is getting stronger in her ability to stand on her own and walk along furniture. She is does not yet have the confidence or stability to step out on her own but she is so very close. We think she will be walking independently in the next few months. She has seemed a little more temperamental in the evening then she had in the past. During the day she is happy and content for the most part but in the evening she will become a little irritable when she is tired. She will whine and cry and act like she is unsure if she wants to be held, lay in her crib, or what. Her nannies do a great job of calming her and getting her to go to sleep when she starts to act like this. Overall Malozie is doing really well and has one of the most precious smiles I have ever seen, especially with her teeth peeking out now! 

Height: 69 cm Weight 17 lbs. 15 oz. 

Humbled

Humbled. That's me. Once again, God has completely knocked my socks off. After finding this blog entry about when Malozie first came to GLA, I left a comment for the lady who wrote it. Susan, the blog author, was the NICU nurse who cared for our baby.

Yesterday, Susan friended me on Facebook. Today, she sent me a message and included another blog entry that I remember reading back in January when she wrote it (I had been following her blog for a while). I remember the baby who died. I remember weeping as I read the story. I remember reading about the "after baby", but never knew she would be ours.

We knew our Grace came to GLA in fragile condition. We knew she was starving. But, today, God allowed me to see the actual state of her little body. She was truly on the brink of death. Her tiny five pound body was eating itself. Reading these words about your child will bring you to your knees:

"her chances of survival are extremely poor"

That was our girl. Our bright, smiley, chubby girl---by all medical standards, she should not have survived her rough beginning. Today God revealed to me through her story that she truly is a MIRACLE child and that it is only by His GRACE that she lives today. Grace. A perfect name for her. God gave us her name years ago. We just never imagined how fitting it would be.

When Grace came to GLA, she was 6 weeks old and had a protein-energy deficiency. The medical term is Kwashiorkor. Even though she looked chubby, it was just swelling---very dangerous swelling. I have no doubt that God used the previous baby's death---Wideline was her name---to give Susan the wisdom she needed to save our girl. 

Grace had been spoon-fed porridge for the first 6 weeks of her life. Our sweet girl was starving, to say the least. If you would like to read the whole story of God revealing Grace's trouble to Susan, you can click here---grab some Kleenex first.

I have thought a lot about Mary today. When the angel Gabriel visited her and told her she would be the mother of Jesus, I believe Mary was as surprised as I feel right now. This is part of her song:

And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord     

and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.

"The humble state of his servant". Mary. I get that. Mary was worthy to be Jesus' mother. God looked down from Heaven and chose her. But, ME? Why has He looked down from Heaven in all of His gracious wisdom and chosen me to be the mother of this sweet miracle we call Grace? I am not worthy. These thoughts have consumed me and brought me to tears all day long. Grace's life was on the line less than a year ago. God could have easily taken her into His perfect Heaven. He could've chosen to heal her that way. But he didn't. He saw her fragile state, he knew she'd be a McCraw, and He gave Susan the wisdom she needed to bring Grace back from the brink of death. 

I will continue to praise Him and I will continue to stand humbled. Humbled at a Mighty God who chose me--chose US to parent His miracle child. Also beyond thankful for his servant, Susan.

And I can't wait to tell Grace of God's amazing grace in her life! 

Such a gift!

It was such a gift to receive these 5 pictures from a GLA volunteer today. Our baby girl truly is so happy---there are many other babies who don't always smile so much in their pictures!

The "Haiti" spelled out in ABC blocks is so beautiful to me. I'm thinking of enlarging it to hang in Grace's nursery.

The lady in the 2 pictures with her is Grace's volunteer. She stays at GLA for long periods of time (4-5 months), goes home for a few weeks, and comes back. I am so thankful that Grace is being so well cared for and so loved on! Doesn't Marguerite just look like the sweetest Grandma? : ) (Oh, about the volunteers: each volunteer at GLA is assigned 6-7 babies to be "their babies". They feed them, change them, give them all of their daily care. So, they are very familiar faces to these kiddos.)

This picture was taken on Oct. 22, so it is her most recent picture. Look at how her hair is growing! It doesn't look so splotchy anymore. Those little rolls on her arms just beg to be kissed and don't get me started on those sweet lips!!! Mmmmmm....so ready to be kissed by Mama!

Another nugget

We keep finding these nuggets of joy. I've been in contact with a volunteer at GLA, now that she's home. We cannot contact them while they're at the orphanage. She is the one who posted lots of pics/video and notes about our baby.

Today, she told me about another blog that was kept by a nurse who worked at GLA.
It is such a blessing to read about our baby and the amazing way that God rescued her. It sounds like she didn't have much time left!
Read this entry (it's the 2nd part of the entry...scroll down til you see the name Malozie).

Wordless Wednesday