tears, shoes & bookbags.

this was one of my favorite things to ever be apart of in haiti, for a few reasons. 

one of the reasons is how it all came together. it is amazing to me how things work out, i start to try to put it all together in my mind & then i get lost in the beauty of it all. 

i can't say THANK YOU enough to Cortland Partners  for everything they have done for the kids at CAD orphanage. this shoe giveaway was incredible & the kids were beyond excited. 

we had all the kids sit down & diana (who is truly put in my path by God) got up & was able to speak about how she found out about these amazing kids & what her company did for them. i was holding back tears the whole afternoon because i am just so happy that people come into my life & want to give to these kids. before we handed out book bags we cory lead us in "good good father" - which is the song we taught them while we were there. so, we handed out book bags for each child & inside the book bags were their shoes all wrapped up, pouches with pencils & erasers for school & some other fun stuff. after each child got their book bag they sat down & waited for every one to get theirs. 

marthe seriously had the CUTEST book bag!

sammy!

they were so cute opening their bags. 

they immediately were trying them on. the cute thing was they didn't realize shoes were supposed to have a little room in them.  they are used to people just donating extra shoes & picking from them- whichever shoe fits the most wins kind of thing. so for these kids to get a pair of shoes that fit them was amazing. 

the kids were so cute the rest of the week, always had their book bags on. they would clean their shoes & put them on the roof to dry. it was amazing. my heart was so full. 

to see diana be apart of this & all the hard work she put into this come to fruition was beautiful. she fell in love with these kids & when i see that happen it makes me so happy. so happy to have people come in your life & work with you towards the same goal. changing these kids lives. 

THANK YOU DIANA!

i cannot wait to see these kids! we have so many projects we are doing in march & i am supper happy about it - if you haven't read about them you can do so HERE

HERE is our go fund me link if you would like to be apart. 

i have so many things to share but i can't yet. when everything is done & ready i will & i am in tears thinking about it. HUGE things around the corner. i am so excited about it & i literally cannot wait to share. 

-- ee

oh the joy of peanut butter & a kids smile.

i was so happy to take my mom to haiti with me. she is an amazing cook, baker, interior designer, make up artist, listener, crafter, who am i kidding- she can do anything & she does all of it amazingly.

so i was excited for my kids to meet her & have her teach them some of her magical ways.

we did the BEST baking class & these pictures are sure to make you smile.

for the baking class- we made peanut butter balls & the kids had the choice to roll them in peanuts or cocoa.

photo cred to my little assistant robenson for taking most of these photos. he LOVES taking pictures & i LOVE cultivating that in him. 

i loved that we got to do this with jennifer (light blue shirt) she left that week to live with her mom again! 

you guys- this was SO FUN.

we split the kids into groups & pepe picked a leader at every table. the leader would mix the peanut butter recipe- which was peanut butter and powdered sugar. once it was to a certain texture each child made little peanut butter balls & rolled it in peanuts or cocoa or BOTH.

love this lady!

peanut butter hands!

giveline LOVED the peanut butter balls!

at one point i was over at wilderson's table & i was telling him how to mix it up better- of course he didn't want to get his hands dirty but with baking sometimes you have too. i literally tell him what to do & then to split it so everyone gets to make one & then roll it in whatever they want. i turn around to tell pepe something turn back around & IT WAS ALL GONE. everything on the parchment paper was gone. i was like WHAT! they have peanut butter & cocoa all over their faces. jameson was trying to hide it. wildersons hands were covered in peanut butter & i was laughing so hard. it was so funny. boys will be boys. i literally had so much fun watching them do this. THEY love learning & they probably have never done anything like this before. there are probably some future bakers in there. future restaurant owners in there. you have to show them there is so much they are capable of.

we had left over peanuts & peanut butter & they wanted it. 

wilderson! hahaah. this photo makes me laugh! 

reginald!

jameson & his little wink. he's such a sweetie!

ronaldo (aka big kervens)

they are all a big family. 

she's so cute! love little mickerlange!

ARENT THESE PHOTOS THE BEST?

i can't wait for march. my mom has some more cooking recipes planned & one night we are going to make dinner together!  i am just so happy to see these kids smile. it truly is the small things that matter most. time spent with them. telling them they can be whoever they want to be. it also makes me so thankful for my mom & all she gave to me. being able to learn recipes, make cookies with her, have art projects- these kids do not get that unless we go there & do it with them. their happiness is important. ah! i could look at these photos all day. such a fun day!

if you would like to partner with us & make some incredible things happen for these kids you can email me at --- evanda.estes@gmail.com

- evanda