It's 6 O'Clock in the morning, do you know where your roosters are?

Ours are in the front yard.  I do believe this is the first time I've been showered, dressed, and somewhat ready for the world by 6am.  My clock actually says 5:57am.  And I know you're all thinking, WHAT?  You're on vacation, why aren't you sleeping!  Well, at 4am in Haiti, in this neighborhood anyway, church starts.  And if you don't believe, you're gonna wonder why you don't.  Church is no joke here - I knew that on Sunday when I woke up thinking there was a riot going on outside and was literally fearful for everyone in the house.  I had slept in that morning and by the time I came downstairs and saw everyone acting normally, they laughed at my worried face (ah, the irony.)  So turns out it's not just a Sunday event, it's every damn day, ya'll!  Word on the street is that the guy who leads these early morning revivals has even been arrested before for turning his speakers up so high you can probably hear them in the U.S.  But, he came back.

Anyway, there are also roosters in the front yard that like to worship at 4am, apparently.  They walk around the front yard and just hang out with us like they're part of the family, and they kind of are!  Right now Marc's mother is cleaning the gate and the iron bars that surround every opening.  At night we lock them all on every entrance to the house and sleep.  There are Christmas lights strung up on the top row of the iron bars, and the Christmas tree is already up in her house.  Marc has always loved Christmas.  He's loved the music and the energy and the joy in the season.  He's actually made me love it more.

Zaiya just woke up and he's letting me know that there's a chicken right beside me and he wants to know what all this yelling is about.  "That's a rooster, Zaiya."  Zaiya responds by saying, "Well, why does he have to yell like that?"  He's now telling me to try and pick up the chicken and take a picture with it!  Even my 3 year old knows I'd want to take a picture with it.

And, the power just went out again.  We had power throughout the night which made the fans work, and I do believe that is the only way I slept so well.  And I think we were in bed by 10.  I have no idea what time it is unless I'm on the computer - IT IS GREAT!  There are many wonderful things about being here.  I've been in photographer mode the entire time - snapping the neighborhood and people and kids who stop me and ask me to take their picture. I am itching to edit my photos - but who knows when that will happen.  Honestly, some of them don't even need editing.  It is just beautiful here.  As a matter of fact, I'm going to share a few jewels here.

Marc's mother's friend who spends a lot of time here helping her cook and clean.  She asked for me to take her photo.

Marc would probably kill me if he knew I was putting this on here, but this is what he's looked like almost every day.  It. Is. HOT.  No joke, folks.  And honestly, I love the smile on his face because he is so relaxed and so happy to be here - it's just wonderful to see him in his element.

There are bulls, goats, baby goats, dogs, pigs, and all kinds of other animals here as you walk the streets.  They literally walk right up to you as if they are saying hi... this one literally did walk towards us until we moved.  It was kind of funny.... kinda' scary.  Zaiya loves the baby goats.  He was trying to touch one yesterday on our walk and he said, "Come here, Rudolf!!!"  HILARIOUS moment.

People come out of their houses to talk to us and mostly stare, which is strange but to be expected I suppose.  Marc said there are people here in this area that literally have never seen a white person.  They are all so sweet.  These two little girls followed us on our walk and helped us to not get lost in the maze that is the neighborhood!  They kept telling us how much they liked us.  I took so many pics of them and they made me delete most of them.  

Then, I finally got to get one of one of them who wants to be a model - it was so adorable.  She set herself on this rock and got posed for me, and then explained that she was going to be a model.  I think she just needs to be discovered... I mean look at that face!

The flowers here are so beautiful - in contrast with the way the streets look and the trash that is everywhere, it is amazing to me how comforting the beauty of a flower is.  In all the sadness that surrounds the circumstances here, there are these beautiful, bright flowers lining the broken concrete walls along the street.

This is literally one of the streets off the neighborhood in Marc's parents' neck of the woods.  It is gorgeous.  Hopefully we'll get to visit those mountains soon.

I couldn't resist asking this beautiful girl if she minded if I took her picture.  She was just watching us walk and I'm sure she was entertained by the fact that we kept losing our way and having to ask how to get back to our house :).  I showed her the picture and told her she was beautiful - and she smiled and said "Thank you."  This might be one of my very favorite pictures from the trip so far.

Our model, Lourdi, agreed to crawl into this spot so I could take her picture.  I thought it was a great spot for a picture - but she is actually standing over a sewer, and she was threatening my life if she lost her balance and fell in.  Of course, she couldn't resist posing when I told her I wanted her beauty to contrast the broken concrete.  "Oh, okay, well if you put it that way..."  And off she climbed.  ;)

This little boy just stood there and posed for me forever.  I have several pictures of him, and I love the way he is standing and the smile on his sweet face.  He is going to get water for his family, most likely, and was very excited to see new people in the neighborhood.  What beautiful children this country creates... it is truly remarkable.

My sweet Shaine walking through the neighborhood.  Something about her dress and the fact that she was walking the same path she walked when she was a little girl made me snap this one.  The house we are staying in is the house that she and Lourdi grew up in, but it was only one floor then.  Soon, we are going to walk all the way to the soccer field where they used to go watch the football matches when they were little.  They both talk a lot about how much things have changed, and I can only imagine what it must be like to see the changes and have the comparison that a child's memory holds set against them.

Zaiya is right at home here.  There are many of these concrete slabs from parts of the street that broke during the earthquake, and in Zaiya's mind they make for perfect performing stages.  He told Marc yesterday, "You need to sit down (on the street) because the show isn't over yet."  What would we do without children?  I have no idea.

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I just love this one as well.  Zaiya walking on daddy's shoulders through the neighborhood.  There aren't many words needed for how magical this one is.

Time for coffee and play time with my little man.  We have gotten to play and bond so much - I love the freedom of not counting the hours and just literally enjoying the simplest of games with my son.  I was wondering if this would be a healing trip for me or if it would only cause me more angst.  I am definitely feeling healed on so many levels - mostly because I am gaining insight that few have.  I was talking to Marc about how much this place feels like home to me and how strange it is that it does.  But, like I said, I've been in "photographer" mode almost the whole time.  I've been documenting.  Finally, I left my camera at the house while we traveled to the actual city of Port-Au-Prince very close to where Marc grew up.  There are no connections for car seats here so Zaiya rides in my lap when we go places, which is insane to me but then again it really does make me believe now that car seats are truly over rated.  There can not be a more dangerous place to drive than this and I just keep him wrapped in my arms tightly.  Looking out the window as we drove yesterday truly gave me pause as I held him, in his brand new outfit and his spider man toy from Kohl's.  About 20 minutes into our 45 minute drive I couldn't stop the tears from streaming down my face.  I had to get control of myself once Zaiya figured out what was happening and decided he needed to cry as well.  I know he didn't know what he was crying for, and I realized in that moment that I could not continue to be overwhelmed by it all.  I need to be strong for Zaiya and I need to not insult the beautiful people who live here and are thankful for every single thing they have every day.  

Marc says I have only seen one side of Haiti so far - on Friday we are going to a place called Jackmel where there are beautiful beaches and Marc says it will look like a different country.  I have decided not to take any more "sad pictures" because I don't want that to be what I come home with.  This is far from a "sad" country.  It is beautiful and magical and there is a spirit of life here that I've never felt anywhere else I've ever been.  I am so thankful that our family is here.  And again, I cannot thank those of you who contributed to our trip enough.  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, for this priceless gift.

Love and gratitude,

The Obas Family