Ganson Family Scrapbook: Gotcha Day! October 11, 2022

Marvel and Marvens finally came home!

The beginning of October, all we needed was the exit letter. Abel (lawyer) tried going to IBESR on Monday the 3rd and they were closed. He went on Tuesday the 4th and they were open, but no one was there to process his request. He finally got in on Wednesday the 5th and dropped off the paperwork. On Thursday, the 6th, the kids and I were at the Wilburns' house for their Challenge A (and siblings) party when Molly called from the adoption agency to let us know the exit letters had been picked up and it was go-time! That was fun to be with so many moms (whom I had homeschooled with for years) when I got that news!

By that evening, we had booked all our flights through Adoption Airfare and made a hotel reservation. We also hired a security team to travel with the boys and nannies to the airport. The turn-around time in Haiti was only an hour, but the travel agency assured us others families had done it just fine, and there really wasn't any other option.

The next morning, we had a conference call with the adoption agency and then with Adoption Airfare. We decided to cancel the in-going flights to Haiti and reserve airline tickets ourselves through Spirit Air (which Adoption Airfare couldn't book for us.) That would give us more like 4 hours at the airport in Port Au Prince. So that day felt like scrambling to cancel flights and hotel and then reserve other flights and a hotel. I spent the next couple days figuring out how to take everything in just two carry-ons (diapers, food, clothes for one night in a hotel in Fort Lauderdale, gifts for the nannies, lawyer, etc.)

There is no way to include every detail of the trip to get the boys and the days right after, so I will include the very summarized version I posted to Facebook and then include just some of the ten million pictures I took.

The Facebook post I wrote on October 12:

October 11 - Gotcha Day! and First Day home

We feel like the "luckiest" people on the planet to add Marvel and Marvens to our family! Because of the situation in Haiti and security risks, I didn't post anything before we picked them up. In fact, we had to hire a security team to get the boys to the airport... so like the VIPs they are, these boys rolled up in an armored vehicle with security guards, and we had a special ops guard ourselves. We flew into Haiti at 9 am and were back on a plane at 1:30. It's a quick turn around for two little boys to leave with people they have never met in person.

At first, the boys wanted nothing to do with us. But they still snatched up the suckers I offered them while giving me the side eye! Our lawyer, translator, the orphanage director, a nanny, and our security team all stayed with us for the initial two hours during which we had a quick scare where we thought we were missing the most important paperwork we needed to take the boys home with us. (Our lawyer sped to the US Embassy to try to get them, but after some frantic phone calling, we found out that the paperwork had already been submitted electronically and we were good to go... that just hadn't been communicated to anyone!) Once we went back through security, we were on our own with the boys although the security team stayed on-site at the airport until we were in the air in case of emergency.

The boys warmed up to us slowly throughout the day in stages. First sidling up close enough to allow me to put a sticker on their shirt or pop a Cheerio in their mouths... then eventually taking it from me directly... then letting us carry them through security checkpoints before going back into their stroller for a while... By the last flight into Charlotte, they were even snuggling and teasing and tickling. Althea Miller is the rock star who sent us stickers, lollipops, and pop-it balls that kept the boys occupied all day. You really would have thought they had been flying their whole lives!

A few more notes... first, all the pants I have (and diapers) were way too big! They turned 3 in May, but I kept lots of 2t stuff, knowing they would be little. Today I sent my mother-in-law out to buy 18 month stuff for them so they could keep their pants up... and those were too big too.

So far, the only thing that works is size 12 month or 18-month if it has a drawstring that can be tightened.

We weighed them today - they are both almost exactly at 20 pounds. Food is a big deal to these guys.... they want to always hold something in their hands to eat, even if they aren't eating at the moment. I think they both had about 6 poopy diapers today... it's going to take their bodies a long time to adjust to actually getting enough food and nutrients. (And probably some parasite medication too.)

And yet, I've noticed that EVERY time I give one of the boys something to eat, whichever one gets it first, they hand it to the other brother. If one finishes his lollipop before the other, then they just take turns licking the one remaining lollipop. When Marvens finished his lunch before Marvel today, Marvel started feeding Marvens from his plate. It's crazy how much they look out for each other.

The morning of October 10: Last minute touches - putting up the baby gate; making sure we have everything packed! We took the kids to the Kaufman's around noon, and then we all loaded in the Kaufman's van for them to drive us to the Charlotte airport. It was a quick drop-off with just a tear or two, but it was helpful to say, "We'll see you tomorrow!" Ben and I only took carry-on bags, so we got through security with our backpacks and two empty umbrella strollers and just sat at the gate until 3:30ish when we loaded the plane.

Sitting at the gate in Charlotte Airport, ready to fly to Fort Lauderdale. Last time we will be kid-free for a long time!

It was beautiful flying weather! I kept seeing these long oval shapes at one point when we were flying over Florida, and I still don't know what they are.

It was so nice that all of our flights were about 2 hours, and there was very little turbulence at all. I took minimal motion sickness pills and didn't feel sick at all!

We landed in Fort Lauderdale, called our hotel and got a shuttle to pick us up. Our shuttle driver was Haitian, from Port Au Prince! He was shocked when we said we were going to Haiti the next day, but relieved to find out we weren't leaving the airport, and VERY excited we were adopting. The man speaks 4 languages (Haitian Creole, French, Spanish, and English) and came to America to work as a hotel shuttle driver for a better life.

We walked to a restaurant for dinner (a neat Buffalo-style bar with very yummy tacos), and then had "lights out" by 9 since we had to get up at 3:30 am the next day.

October 11 we had an Uber pick us up at 4:15 and get us to the airport since our flight was scheduled to leave at 6:00 am. At the gate, a couple from France approached Ben because he had two empty strollers... they were also flying to PAP to pick up their daughter! I was so glad we had two short flights to get home instead of flying back to France!

6 AM and ready to get our kids...

Fueled by Starbucks...

Beautiful sunrise!

Flying over Haiti!..

Outskirts of Port Au Prince:

The closer we got to landing, we could see a few spots of smoke rising.... most likely the ongoing barricades the gangs burn in the streets to block off certain areas.

The band greeting us off the plane in PAP:

The airport was fairly empty, but still busy with people asking for money and trying to sell things. Our agent had told us not to bring cash, although I brought $20 for the "tourist tax" and about $15 "just in case." We got our strollers from the baggage claim since they had to be checked. Ben's phone was supposed to be able to make international calls, and we were supposed to text or call (or Whats App) our security team the moment we landed, but somehow it wasn't working. Maybe he didn't have enough reception? We weren't sure. So we made our way to the "exit". We had talked to the security guy the day before (who was Irish, and in Ben's words - very good-looking. Micah saw his picture and said, "I could look into those eyes forever!") He had told us DO NOT LEAVE THE ARRIVALS area until we are being escorted by our Chilean guard. A manager of some sort saw us hesitate at the door, and we communicated with him we were supposed to meet someone. He asked our name, and then went into the crowd outside yelling, "Ganson!" He found our guard and brought him to the door for us. We exited out into the parking lot/courtyard area with him where he took us to a Jeep in the shade. Lots of people were trying to carry our bags and strollers for us, and at one point, I gave a stroller to a guy whom I thought was with our security team because I thought he needed to put it in the Jeep. Turns out he just wanted a tip for folding up the stroller, and our security guy was like, "You need to pay him!" so I handed over the $10 bill I had.

And then suddenly... there were the boys! A moment I will never forget!

Marvel in yellow; Marvens in blue:

Abel, our lawyer:

Evelyn (the creche director) and Monique. Ben said he saw Monique tear up a few times... I can't imagine raising these little guys since they were two months old and then turning them over for the last time to someone else.

Evelyn doing a Zoom call with her boyfriend so he could say goodbye to the boys....

The first time we held them! We had to put the strollers through the x-ray machine at a security checkpoint, so we picked them up and they wrapped their little arms around our necks!

Waiting to board our flight. We had about an hour and a half until we could board, so we ate Cheerios and played with stickers.

Sharing suckers...

Partway through the flight, the boys started teasing each other a little and giggling.

A missionary sat in front of us on the airplane. He said he listened to the boys talking to each other, and while he caught a few Creole words, he thinks most of what they were saying was just toddler/twin jabber.

Putting the suckers in the holes of their shoes was great entertainment!

Getting sleepy... :)

Not too long into the flight, the boys nodded off. They slept for a while, and when they woke up, they didn't fuss or cry. Just opened their eyes and looked around.

Woke up! Back to playing and snacking!

Coming into Miami!

Marvel started getting expressive when the ride got a little bumpy as we lowered for landing.

They were interested in everything happening out the window as we pulled up to the terminal.

When we picked them up, we realized their diapers had majorly leaked through and soaked their pants and even their shirts a little. I wrapped my jacket around Marvel and we spent some time cleaning up in a bathroom before heading through customs. The extra clothes I had were enormous on them, but they had to do!

We were excited about how quickly we got through customs, but then we sat in the immigration room for a long time - with a lot of other people - while we waited for the boys' paperwork to be checked out. We had a four-hour layover, but we got scared for a little bit we might actually miss our flight because it was taking so long. The boys did great though - they let us snuggle them, played (while trying to keep their pants on), snacked, and just watched everything around them. Finally, someone called us up, asked a few questions, and "kissed" their Haitian passports. (That's what they called it when they put a special stamp in it.) They officially became US citizens at that moment!

Marvens:

We had so many comments on the Batman and Superman shirts and how cute the twins were!

Marvel:

Marvens kept hiking his pants up, but Marvel just let them fall around his ankles over and over. :)

We got to our gate as they were loading. We grabbed some (very expensive) ham and turkey sandwiches from a deli by the gate, and ate quickly while they loaded almost everyone else. It was a totally full flight to Charlotte, and we sat in the very back.

Cool Ranch Doritos were a hit; the crackers/cheese/grapes platter I got them was not.

I just loved looking down at the tops of their little heads.

Ready to head to Charlotte! The plane was delayed about 20 minutes.

I loved watching their expressions when the plane started going fast.

We did lots of stickers and looked at books on the way home. They knew the cat says "Meow" and the dog says, "Woof!"

Once we were in the air, Ben scooted back to hold Marvens on his lap.

Marvens loved listening to music on Ben's earbuds. Marvel didn't like Ben going anywhere near his ears with it.

The further we got in the flight, the more comfortable they became. At one point, Marvel threw a hand wipe over his seat onto the phone of the lady in front of us. 😦

They LOVED doing stickers!

Ready to land in Charlotte!!

The stickers didn't just stay in their notebooks!

Marvens feeling sleepy, but stayed awake!

Doing pretty good for such a long day!

Marvens stayed awake until AFTER the plane had landed and we rolled up to the terminal. THEN he nodded off. :)

The Kaufmans, Ziebers, and Mike Jette were waiting for us at the airport with our other three kids. For some reason, the Kaufmans brought our kids there at like 7 pm even though our flight wasn't supposed to get in until 9:00ish. Since we were at the very back of the full plane, it took us a while to get off... then we had to find a bathroom, then an elevator, and then we had to trek all across the airport to get to baggage claim where everyone was waiting to meet us. Because the plane was slightly delayed too, it was after 10 pm before we got to everyone.