Link

We get stuck in the question of "what is being accomplished here?" fairly often. In truth, we don't really know. This was a great post ... it resonates with us ... Thanks to Carrie for writing it so eloquently.

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Sonia, a proud momma, and her new baby boy.

What a Hoe!

Here is one dirty little hoe. Yes, that's right. I called her a hoe. I am just telling it like it is...



...Or is it? Maybe it really is just a frame to showcase a favorite photo...

...or the perfect spot to hang my honey do list. And for those who know me, this honey doesn't like to be told what to do.

...or the perfect holder for Grandma's favorite Christmas Cookie recipe.

All you need for this Monday Making is some paint, elbow grease and a whole lotta imagination.

My point? Never judge a book by it's cover. That's all I'm saying.

p.s. I also posted it on JunkMarket Style. For those of you who haven't been on that site, run don't walk over there (Just make sure y'all come back now ya hear?). Prepare to be inspired. I have posted about it before, but it is an online community of talented artists who literally turn trash into treasure. I typically post my Monday Making project on it. Look for Down Home DIY for some of my other posts. The members and contributors comment on your posts and those are fun to read too.

p.p.s. If you want my Gram's yummy cookie recipe, let me know. It is a tad time consuming but the kids love to do it b/c it requires rolling dough, using cookie cut outs and decorating with frosting and sprinkles. Better yet, that may be my next Monday Making post. I'll make a batch and post the recipe. How do you like them apples?

Happy Monday and all it's makings,

~MB
http://www.addressingspaces.com/
Bringing new life to your decor and more
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New Week

Vivien arrived on Saturday, here she is with two out of three of her very favorite students ...
We have a group from Austin, TX currently headed toward Port au Prince (these hipsters below) to spend a few days with us visiting various projects and ministries. They were also kind enough to act as mules and are bringing all of our school books and a few other important items.
Paige and Vivien will spend the week with the team and Troy. We wanted to give Vivien a chance to settle in and see some of Haiti before she starts teaching next Monday.

I will spend the week with a bunch of cornholio little people and at Womens Program Tues and Thurs. I am hoping Troy or Paige will rally for me (and for you) and write about what they do this week with the group.

~tara

Should be Doing Something Else but....

But....my bff wants me to blog, so I must oblige her. ;)

And now I am back. Seriously as I typed that line above this afternoon, I heard two sweet little girls "chatting" after waking up from the shortest naps in recorded history! Argh! I guess I wasn't supposed to enjoy a nice quiet afternoon. Ha!

We continue to do very well. I was actually back up north for a week last week. I had a garage sale at our old place and then spent a few days cleaning the house. I had three sweet friends come and help me out with the sale. One of the three you can find blogging here. She is such a blessing to me! Another friend helped me set up for the sale, helped all day for two days with the sale, and then helped me all day for 3 days clean the house! She totally rocked my little world. Oh and she was my biggest buyer for the sale. Hope her hubby enjoyed all those fun things coming home to him. Ha!! Here she is working on the desk that she got from us. It had sat out in the rain and the top totally disintegrated. She saw that glass half full and started stripping it! Ha!

While we were up north we got to go to a going away party for a sweet family that we knew from church. They also just moved but much farther south than we did. We sure will miss our playdates with them.

We also visited with family quite a bit which was so nice. I think I will see my family more often now that I am not as close. Isn't it crazy how that works? We went to my cousin's house one evening so Peanut could see all of her animals. She had a ball petting the animals, jumping on her trampoline and being TOTALLY silly with cousin's hubby. They were a riot! :)

We partook in the bountiful harvest of sweetcorn from one of Gigi's friends and did some freezer corn. Peanut had fun shucking the corn.

Pumpkin is ready to roll!!! Not roll literally...she's been doing that for weeks and weeks now. She can get up on all fours and rock herself back and forth like nobody's business now. She started really going at it just before we left to head back up north. She is a hoot because she gets herself up and either gets totally frustrated and cries or face plants into the floor when she tries to move forward. It will be any day and that little 5 month old (as of Sunday) will be crawling all over the place. She has determination that scares this Mama just a bit. We started giving her rice cereal as she just seemed hungry. She chowed it down!

We have really been enjoying our local parks this week. Our new community has a ton of great parks to take in. The only unfortunate thing is pictured below....

Yes...I know that is Peanut. She threw the worst fits this past weekend, both times when leaving the park we were at. They were AWFUL!!!!! She did one with me and one with Daddy. So today we did not get to go to a park....that was her punishment (and mine) for throwing the last fit. She asked all day if we could go to the park and I had to remind her that we could not because of her behavior yesterday. We will try again tomorrow. PRAY FOR US! I know all of you who know her are thinking, "Yeah right...Peanut...a fit? I'm sure it was nothing." It was NOT nothing. We were both so shocked by it. Wow!!! I have heard several people say that it's not the terrible two's anymore but the terrible three's. I think they are right on the money. Ha! Oh but I love that little girl so much! :)

Here are some cute pics of the girls from the park pre-fit!



One quick story...I will title it the JOY (sarcasm intended there) of apartment living. The day that Papa and Daddy moved us in to our townhouse, they parked the 26 ft. truck out back to unload as much as they could in our garage. A bit later our landlord stopped by and regretfully told Daddy that the neighbor next door had complained that the truck was blocking her garage. He felt really bad to have to say anything as he knew that we WERE MOVING IN!!!!! You have to park the truck somewhere, don't you? He did tell Daddy that she was actually moving out in a week. Whew!

So the week goes by and we don't see her much. I will have to say that she always was parked in front of her townhouse, not ever in her garage that was blocked for a couple of hours one Monday. Anyways....we had a good first week but I knew Daddy was going a bit crazy being without the internet and all, so after his first day of work I told him he could go somewhere with WiFi after the girls were in bed. He was pretty excited about this! This was on a Saturday, the same Saturday that said neighbor begins moving out of her apartment. So around 8 p.m. that evening her moving truck comes back to our parking lot and really does block us in. We have no way of getting out at all. Poor Daddy peered out the window all night to see if they had moved it at all. Said neighbor and her help were amazingly loud also as they moved things out in the dark, waking Pumpkin up twice from sleep! I was just about ready to go out and give them a piece of my mind. (It does say in the move-in info packet that you must do your moving between the hours of 9 a.m - 6 p.m. Mon.-Fri. It was Saturday people and it was after 8 p.m.!) Daddy gave up at midnight although this was the same time we thought they had left with the truck...BUT....ALAS...NOOOOOO....they moved the truck down to the back to empty her garage!!!! Daddy said they weren't done until 1:30 a.m. and they were LOUD! We were pretty ticked off with all of this, but she is gone...

So...that leads to this request...if you think about it, could you pray that we get some sweet neighbors next door. A family with young children and sweet parents would be awesome but just someone nice and congenial. Pretty much everyone else here in our little area just keeps to themselves which is totally fine but it sure would be nice to have one neighbor that we could get to know a bit.

That is my story. I am now very tired as I am blogging (for you BFF) at a much later hour.
Love you all!
-Mama

P.S. We think we found a church! We visited it on Sunday and really liked it alot. We're going to try it out again and see if it is the right one!

Here is the beautiful sky from our patio last night. It was gorgeous!

Glamping

We took our boys on there first camping trip. We dubbed it "glamping" glamorous camping. Nana and Poppa met us on the Washington coast with their camper for 2 nights of camping. The first night when we arrived at Cape Disappointment, which by the way was beautiful, it was raining. Heating up chili over the stove and eating in the camper at the banquet was cozy and fun. Plus, the boys enjoyed all the play space.









Sweet Bryce, asleep in out tent (in the pack n play)



The next day the rain stopped and the sun came out. In the morning we enjoyed beautiful beach walk. The great part was the state park allowed dogs on the beach. Jack & Bryce enjoyed riding the Skuut on the beach.











I call these kids "Lord of the Flies" note the shirtless kid in the back ground. The boys were in the rusty boat on the beach. The shirtless kid was leading the boys in turning the boat into a pool, one bucket at a time.





We really enjoyed our rain-less day!















In the evening Jack & Bryce enjoyed their first camp fire. We made smores, and a good time was had by all. Jack's favorite part was driving McQueen and Sally by the camp fire, in the dirt. In the morning...









Jack discovered his Lightning McQueen car was missing but Sally was still by the fire where he left it. Mommy suggested that perhaps the car that was probably covered in marshmallows and chocolate, was stolen by the raccoons who broke into our food during the night. Sure enough, we check around the camp site and found the car in bushes just beyond side our camp sight, about 5 yards from Sally. Jack was thrilled when Daddy had to climb into the bushes to save Lightning form the raccoon theifs. True story.

A great resource: Home Decor News

I received an email today asking if I would be interested in writing articles for a home decor news website. I had never heard of it before so I wanted to check it out.

I was so delighted to find a great new resource! It is chock full of helpful information, which is why it is my Friday Favorite. Surf on over to Home Decor News and check it out. You can also shop for decorative items from their Art & Home store too.

Happy Friday,
~MB
www.addressingspaces.com
Bringing new life to your decor and more
Follow me on Twitter

As of Today

-Donation facts-

(Troy says this officially qualifies me as OCD. I say these are interesting stats and he should zip-it.)

• Minnesota (37), California (20), Texas (16), Indiana(15), - top four states for number of individual donations
  
• one donor has given five separate times
• one donor has given three separate times
• fifteen donors have given two times each
• largest single gift $5,000
• smallest single gift $1
• 251 donations given
• 15 donations received by mail
• gifts received from 41 different states (only 9 slacker states)
  
• gifts received from 8 countries (USA-Canada-United Kingdom-Belgium-Germany-Australia-Italy-Haiti) and 1 U.S. Territory (Puerto Rico)

Medika Mamba Totals Update:

$24,355.44 (shown on Chip In Meter)
7,800.00 (matching grants)
1,212.68 (tip jar coffee shop)
1,000. (mailed in)
566.00 (mailed in)
500.00 (mailed in)
200.00 (handed to me in Haiti)
220.00 (mailed in from various donors)

Promised but not received yet - (included in total below)
$750 from WI
$500 from NJ

Total Raised THANKS TO YOU guys as of 8/28/09
$37, 104.12 !!

That is at least 371 kids who can be treated with Medika Mamba in the coming year. I will update the totals again in one month, the day before we leave for Minnesota. THANK YOU for continuing to spread the word and support the kids of Haiti. I'd love to see 400 kids treated.

Run Report-
We pulled off 18 Port au Prince miles this morning (Beth and I). I only questioned my ability a time or two in the 8-9 mile range and again at about mile 12 which is an all up-hill mile. My adorable water boy showed up shortly after that. We changed clothes once, ate at mile 6 and 9 and 13, and stopped to hug and cry one time at mile 13.75 or so.

We don't run right together much of the time. I was out in front of Beth by a minute or so. I was on a stretch of the road where there is no shoulder and you're forced onto the road. At this place the road also curves. There are not many people/vendors/houses in that area and vehicles tend to get go about 30-40 mph. I had my back to oncoming traffic. I had David Crowder Band in my ears. I wear a visor that sort of cuts down on my peripheral vision. It was sort of a perfect storm moment. I was running along and all of a sudden I feel something brushing against my left shoulder. It bumped me away from it so that I almost went off the road into the ditch area. This is what brushed my left shoulder and this is why I stopped right where I was and burst into tears. It scared the crud out of me. It also instantly hit me how totally lucky I was to be standing there in one piece.I waited for Beth to catch up. She noticed I was freaking out and asked what happened? I told her. She got covered in goosebumps and burst into tears too. Just a minute or two before the bus passed me, it passed Beth. She saw it and was prompted to say a little prayer and said, "Lord protect Tara as she runs."

He did.

Midwives & Growth at Heartline

Beth has two midwives in for a couple of weeks that are helping get the upper level of the Women's house ready for the growing pre-natal program. They are beginning to set up a room that will eventually be used to deliver beautiful bouncing babies. :) That is so exciting to all of us. Yesterday was our first day upstairs for the weekly check-ups. The extra space was needed, it allows the sewing and literacy ladies to have the entire ground floor and the other two programs will now meet upstairs.

(Top Photo - Beth and Louis, visiting midwife with one of our Moms)
(Bottom Photo - Paige, Beth, Laura, Louis - praying for the Mom before she left)

Maybe That's True

If you've been reading for long, you know that some things are explained by "TIH". That is just a way of saying "that is how things roll in this culture". Today we are introducing a NEW blanket statement that also covers a multitude of things: "Maybe that's true."

We use this daily. So much of what you hear and what you see (especially if you're the foreigner) is hard to take at face value. This culture is full of rumor, stories, and much superstition. A friend who has lived here twenty years says, "Believe nothing that you hear and only half of what you see." Because we often don't know what is true and what is rumor, we'll hear a story and say to ourselves, "Maybe that's true." It might sound a little bit rude to you. It is not. It is just another way of recognizing that we are the visitors in this culture and therefore we are outsiders and we won't ever be more than that.

• Jeronne's only daughter Jenny spent all of July with us. She left (by Jeronne's choice) in early August. On August 12 Jeronne was trying to hide tears so we asked what was going on. Jenny had called and said that the aunt taking care of her (not Jeronne's sister - but the sister of Jenny's father) had spanked her because she said she was hungry when she was not finished with her work. Troy said, "Let's go get her." They drove out to their village and picked her up. Jenny's paternal grandmother is gone for the summer and that is who usually takes care of her. Troy asked Jeronne why she does not want Jenny to live here with her/us and suggested that having her all the time might be better for Jenny. Jeronne does not agree - but we are guessing there is more to the story than we understand. It is common for kids in this culture to be raised by aunts, cousins, grandparents. Jenny's Dad lives in NY with his new girlfriend and child. According to Jeronne he got to the USA on a boat in 2007. Maybe that's true.

• Jeronne had a bad dream last night. It caused pain in her abdomen and back. Maybe that's true. She says it is. She is leaving to go get an herbal remedy from a doctor out in the village. We told her we could have a Haitian MD here in our neighborhood look at her. She said "system American" would not work, she needs "system Ayiti". She said that the last person she knew that had this pain and ignored it, died the very next day. Maybe that's true. We asked how she could know that the person had the same thing she has. She looked at us like we are dumb and said she just knows. She is leaving today to go deal with her pain ... as near as we can tell she is getting some sort of herbal drink that will flush her out. I could easily hand her something that would do the same thing, but culture prevails.

• A woman shows up at the orphanage. She has a new baby wrapped up in a towel. She says she wants to leave it at the Orphanage. John speaks with her and tells her she needs to think it over, she needs to go home and really think. He tells her she needs to bring papers back if she still wants to give the baby up. She says she is sure. She does not want "her" baby. (Maybe that's true.) She says she does not have papers yet. Upon further investigation and asking around, it turns out the baby was born to the 13 year old niece of the woman and was a product of a rape by her husband. The true story eventually came out, but it took time and patience.
  

• Troy is often gathering prices for things. Everything from construction materials to food for a large group to auto parts. Sometimes he will go do it himself, other times he will send Tipap to do it. Troy is not the type to yell and get angry about being quoted very high prices (he does not yell unless he is in a car accident and the person lies - but even that he is remorseful about). Many times a week when sorting through what things will cost and putting together budgets we will do our best with the information gathered but blanket it with "Maybe that's true." For example, a contractor quoted a price to build a small cement structure. A contract was written. The building construction began. Six weeks into the project the Contractor comes and says "I am out of money, it is going to cost X amount more to finish." The Western response would be "You signed a contract, you gave your word, this is unacceptable!" That would not work here. If you want your building finished you shell our more cash or you stare at an unfinished structure for the rest of your life. So - the lesson is ... When quoted a price, you must recognize that "Maybe that's true."