the island of misfit pictures (iphone photo dump)

The kids and I are up at my moms this week...soaking in some family togetherness. We have all loved being here and the kids have seemed more "settled" then I've seen since we've left Haiti. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that they have so much to do here and so many people to do it with =)

I've gotten to visit with a lot of family, with the highlight being my cousin who just had twins! Oh my goodness...they were so sweet I didn't even want to put them down to take a picture. So I don't have any pictures, but take my word for it...cuteness overload.

Even with all these people to play with, these two are buddies.

Have I mentioned before that this girl loves pigs.  

Snuggles with my niece, Calea, and Zoe. Calea was just a newborn when we left...

Two birthdays a day apart  mean a joint birthday party for my siblings Isaiah and Lila. TMNT/Ballerina fun for all!

The time always goes by when you travel, which I am thankful for...because we are in the final week countdown till Jeremiah gets back to our family!

three

My Zoe Elizabeth is three now.

She loves animals.
More than princesses, dolls, barbies, or any other toy.
There is always a stray plastic donkey or stuffed doggie hidden in her hands or pockets.

She loves wrestling or rough-housing.
There is no thing as being "too rough" with her, as her Ezra is sure to push the limits on this.

She loves to cuddle or snuggle and asks repeatedly for me to rub her back.

She hates to sleep alone. I find her in one of her siblings beds most mornings, where she has snuck in sometime during the night hours.

She refuses to go potty on the potty. Which I'm totally okay with as I know from a now semi-experienced perspective that she will do it when she is ready.

She is a bit of a hypochondriac, as some body part is always hurting her =)

She loves pancakes, chicken nuggets, raspberries, and popsicles. And would dip everything in "chep-up" if allowed.

She has to warm up to you and be the one to initiate interaction...or else.

And, as far as her transition from Haiti, she asks to go "home" a lot, but when you press her for where home is she can't tell you. (I know the feeling.) I think the hardest thing for her is missing her Daddy right now. She asks for him all day long. I am sure she will really settle once Jeremiah is back home and we get some sort of "normalcy" again. Whatever that is?

Zoe Elizabeth,

Oh my goodness girl, you keep me on my toes. In the very best way. You are so spunky and spirited and full of life. I can just imagine the strong woman you are going to grow up to become. I pray everyday for your strong will to be guided by the Lord and I know He will use you. You bring so much joy to my life and I love being your Mom. Happy three years of life!

forever,

Your Momma

Eli Cade: 4 years a Hambrick

I have quite a backlog of things to write about. This blog is my scrapbook of sorts and I love looking back and remembering things I would not remember if left to my own memory devices.

First off, this summer marked 4 years that Eli has been a part of our family.

CraZy, huh!

My, how things have changed for that quiet, non-talking, scared of everything, timid little boy with a will of steel and eyes that could give the killer "look."

He is now still on the quieter side with a will of steel and the same ability to give the "look", but we now have discovered his silliness, his gift of knowing when to be gentle with a person or animal and when its okay to go wild, his love of dancing and music, his goofiness, his love of costumes and dressing up and acting and making people laugh, and his sweet sweet disposition.

He was an absolute rock star in Haiti. Everyone loved him. Of all of us, he had the easiest transition to life in Haiti. He was flexible, loved all the foods, made friends easily at the mission, never got sick or seemed bothered by the heat, and did I mention that he made friends easily?!

I think a lot of his ease with the kids at the mission was due to 1) his easy going nature and 2) his comfort level with "institutionalized" life because of his first 3 years spent in an orphanage. We tried to be very sensitive to this and make sure we reassured all the time that he was a part of our family. I still don't know if the impact of this past year was confusing or reassuring to him?

I do know that this past year revealed a lot of work we have ahead of us academically. This boy is so so so so smart and the hardest worker of all my children, yet, he struggles with school. A lot. Since being back in the states we have started the process of having him evaluated for learning disabilities and to consider all our options to make sure we are giving him all the resources that he needs. I am not fearful or anxious for his future at all, because I know how hard he works and I know how motivated Jeremiah and I are for helping him. I am very excited for this upcoming year and the time I will now have to devote to helping him get where he needs to be.

This past year brought so many new experiences for Eli and he did amazing with every opportunity! He has gotten really good at soccer and branched out a lot physically this year, losing a lot of the fear in his physical abilities we saw in those first 3 years.

His relationship with Ezra is one of a true brother. They fight, they wrestle, they infuriate, but oh my goodness, they love and have so much fun together! For other families with two boys close in age, this stage of them together has been amazing.

Eli Cade,

You rock! I am so proud to be your Momma and I really really like you.. All of us do. Our Hambrick family would not be complete without your silliness, your dancing, your gentleness, your crazy non-sensical jokes, and those costume get ups you are always coming up with. You are so quick to forgive when I mess up and lose my cool. You are so sweet with those that need sweetness. I will never ever be able to express what a gift you are to me and to everyone who is around you. You will always be my hero for your bravery and courage to face all that you have. I love you.

Happy four years a Hambrick!

forever,

Your Momma

Jeremiah in Haiti: back one week

Jeremiah has been back at work in Haiti at Have Faith Haiti Mission for over a week now. He has moved onto the actual mission campus (we stayed in a house about 20 yards down the street) and has resettled back into Haitian life well.

We are thankful for technology and are able to skype pretty much every day, around breakfast and bedtime. The kids and I also love getting to see our Haiti family thru the computer screen every day! Ella especially misses her friends and seeing them in this way helps.

The mission has added 5 new children over the summer. Jeremiah tells me they are doing great and he has enjoyed getting to know them. One little guy, Knox, has especially captured the hearts of everyone at the mission. He is the first special needs child our mission has taken in as he has a neurological disorder, but he is thriving under all the special attention the other kids and staff are lavishing on him.

Of course, Jeremiah stays busy with the maintenance of the mission. Already since being back he has gotten the mission van back up and running (it had broken down for the 147th time this year!), fixed several broken fans, and installed two new air conditioner units on the campus. He is able to be present at nighttime devotions and tucks the kids in as usual. It is a completely different dynamic with him being there solo, and I think he is enjoying the freedom to completely pour into the kids without the divided attentions of us being there for this season.

Thank you to all who have continued to support us through this transition and pray for us. And because some of you have asked, you can continue to give as usual through this site if you feel so led.  We love you and are so thankful for how you have walked with us through this past year in Haiti and are continuing to walk with us.

silence is weird and golden, muddy waters, and peace. lots of it.

We are staying with our Via family in VA.
Specifically, we are staying in a house on 40 very secluded acres.
It is very green, very spacious, and very very quiet.



I can't seem to stop just sitting on the porch staring at all the green and absorbing all the quiet.

I've attempted to blog over the last week but I feel like my words are all muddy.

And so, I've just been silent.

I don't want to come across as unhappy or discontent, because that is so far away from the truth, but I don't want to come across as blissfully happy, because that too is not the truth.

I love being here and I hate not being there. All at the same time.

I was tucking Zoe into bed last night and sang her lulluby.
But it isn't just her lullaby anymore...
I have memory after memory of night after night of singing the same song to the little ones in Haiti.
And I miss them.

It really is a muddy pit, these emotions I am doing by best to allow out. Never will home be fully home again, for my home is with those I love the most and there is a divide now.

In the midst of the mud there is peace.
A peace that goes deeper than feeling.

Which is good.

Because my feelings are a quagmire at the moment.

My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 

Psalm 73:26

climate control

It's been a while.
Things have been busy.
A whirlwind, really.

We were in North Carolina, bought a van, visited with friends and family, trekked up to Virginia, got settled in our new temporary home, visited with friends and family, and this morning I sent Jeremiah back off to Haiti.

I think we are all in a bit of shock still.
American life and culture is just a tiny bit different than our life in Haiti.
Tiny bit.

I can say that everyone is doing good and thankfully everyone is healthy again. It's a bit ironic that other than the dreaded chickungunya our family had the healthiest year ever while living in Haiti. Not a single cold/ear infection/strep throat all year. However, by day 2 of our return to America 4 out of the 6 of us already had some kind of bug.

If you see my children walking around with their arms tucked inside their shirts...well, its because they just can't deal with 72 degree climate controlled environments anymore. We have yet to set our AC unit on less than 78 degrees.

We got to celebrate Zoe's 3rd birthday this week before Jeremiah left. Although, if you ask her how old she is she will tell you that she is 5 years old. Every single time.

Our crazy bunch.

So, yes...we are here. 

We are good. 

A tad bit cold and shell shocked, but good. 

on the goodbye and one day back

If there is such a thing as a good goodbye, we had it on Friday night as we celebrated the year with our Have Faith Haiti Mission family. 

Ice cream.

Slide show of pictures of our fun and adventures over the year.

Sweet prayer time.

Sharing of hugs and special notes.

Yes, it was a good goodbye.

Or see you later, as I prefer to say.

After being dropped off at the airport by Gramma and PawPaw and bidding a difficult farewell to them, all our travels went smooth, as much as traveling with 4 children can be termed smooth. 

At the airport.

All our luggage arrived and transportation details worked out.

The best part, being greeted by our sweet Via family.

And here we are, back in America. 

At the risk of being too honest, if there is such a thing, I will admit that our first full day here was pretty rough. We are all out of sorts and dealing with a lot of big emotions that are coming out in not so pleasant ways. We also are dealing with some health issues and no one is feeling 100%. 

The full reality of what reemergence looks like is hard.

I knew this was going to be hard. 

But I am one day in and just realizing how hard this hard is going to be.

I'm not complaining and I'm not without joy, but I am in desperate need of Jesus today and in the days ahead. He is my rock when all around is unsettled.

Thank you for all who are praying for us and everyone who is helping us out in these days...lending vehicles, watching our kids, transporting luggage, stocking our fridge, and just being completely awesome. We are so thankful.