A Day of Rest

We just came from church. We had dinner and a time of fellowship after a very light day of work. I was home working in my house today, most of the volunteers got some rest and free time this afternoon. It was refreshingly normal to clean and organize our house for a few hours.

During our little make shift church service in the back-yard of a fellow missionary I realized that my anger is starting to own me just a little bit and that I need to be careful not to allow that.

The fact is, we have seen the very worst of humanity and the very best of humanity in the last 19 days.

I have seen both horrible injustice and beautiful, merciful love. I have seen greed and selfless, sacrificial giving. I have felt gripped by fear and despair and I have felt totally protected with a peace that passes understanding. I have been hopeless and I have been hopeful. There have been victories and defeats.

The range of emotions is exhausting and exhilarating -- but mostly exhausting.

The weirdest thing is, I don't believe we have even begun to really feel things. We're leaving here for a time later this week. While I am so anxious to hug my children and reunite our family, I am dreading the moment that we really begin to deeply feel these things. I am guessing that removing ourselves from the intensity of it will allow for that.

We need the space to figure out the future and hear from God. This is our "home" and we really cannot imagine "home" anywhere else right now. The uncertainty can be overwhelming, but we're trying to remember that He has been faithful to give us answers in plenty of other uncertain situations.

Well, our day of rest has come to a peaceful end ... Troy and Greg managed to play tonight without assaulting us with bad John Denver songs. Which is nice.


Monday will start with a run with Beth and then begins week three of hospital/clinic, we're hoping to see a decline in untreated/new cases and praying for favor with other hospitals for the more serious situations.

"A Thousand Things"

lyrics by Christa Wells

You’re gonna cry yourself to sleep You’re gonna soak the pillow for many weeks You’re gonna cry Why? Why me? But in spite of the ache that doesn’t go away You’ll be sharing your story one rainy day And at the next table somebody catches your words He hears a truth that he’s never heard He takes it back to the marriage he’d given up on Hands it down to his daughter who writes it into song You didn’t know A thousand things are happening in this one thing Like a thousand fields nourished by a single drop of rain So honey, wrap yourself in promise while you wait the morning light A thousand things are happening tonight You’re gonna cry yourself to sleep ‘cause for the moment all that you can see Is what you’ve lost, lost Why me? But in the midst of the most exquisite pain you’re drawn into a peace that you cannot explain and the praises you sing of a sovereign God reach the girl whose last hope is gone she never thought there was purpose in anything here now the seed has been planted and it’s taking root there You didn’t know A thousand things are happening tonight You’re gonna cry yourself to sleep A thousand miracles you’ll have to wait and see

Speed Blogging

• The two brothers in the previous post (12 and 3 years old) ... both are home with their family in Cite Soleil. Mom promises to bring the little guy in for dressing changes daily.
• A little 3 year old girl named Patricia got fast tracked to surgery today at the Miami Field Hospital, she has a serious abscess about to keep her from breathing that needed surgery - they responded to her need with urgency.
  
• Jean was beaming when I checked in on him. He is getting some physical therapy and we'll check back on him Monday. His Granny is still with him.
• Today a brand new three hour old injury came in. A little one year old boy named Benjerry. (Like the ice cream) had cement blocks fall on him today. Both of his feet were horrifically damaged, we were all pretty shocked at how bad his injuries were. Zach helped Paige and Jen get him transported to Double Harvest to see some surgeons there.
  
• Most of today's patients were repeat dressing changes/wound care. There was a handful of new cases. One of the worst ones was a 13 year old boy that had gone to the D.R. after the earthquake but has not been seen since. His mom cried and cried while they worked on his foot. He will be lucky to keep it. We're praying that for him.
  
• There is a little guy that needs skin grafts in order to ever get better. His hand is badly damaged. We're waiting to figure out who is doing skin grafts and try and get him there.
• In many ways the cooperation between organizations has improved. The little guys are helping each other and even finding favor with the big guys once in a while. We've all traded ideas, numbers, supplies, personnel, and have generally networked together for the greater good. When it works - it REALLY works and it is fun to be a small part of something so unique.
• There is a 15 year old girl named Naomie in the Heartline "Hospital" that had a piece of rebar go straight through her leg, side to side. She remains positive on her fifth night with the nurses and we're hoping for miraculous healing.
• On the way from the hospital side of the operation to the clinic (a short drive) Troy got to eavesdrop on the patients in the truck. The truck passed the two nurses that are so graciously working the night shift as they were walking (Laura and Theresa both from Children's Hospital in Minnesota) and they were raving about how wonderful the care was and just generally going on and on about how good these two particular ladies from America are. Troy later told the two nurses and got all teary passing along the appreciation. Everybody enjoys seeing Troy cry, especially over mushy things like this.
• Troy and Greg are out on the patio laughing and playing guitar and singing. Listening to them is cheering us all up. They are going to lead worship at church tomorrow night. I hope they don't do Rocky Mountain High (John Denver fans?) again tomorrow night. That's just weird. I also hope they don't cackle like they are right now.
• There is so much more ... but a longer night of sleep is calling me. Goodnight.
  

No place for politics

Something very odd went down with unicef yesterday. We were instructed in writing to pick up patients from the Comfort ship. When our driver got there to get the people there were unicef vehicles taking them to some camp. The unicef folks were not talking, they were just large and in charge. I'd love to believe somebody just got their wires crossed, but I'm not so sure. Something smelled wrong about it. The Comfort ship went to the work of getting us patient names, details, lists and a time to come get them. Clearly they were unaware of what was about to happen.

The problem is, giant worldwide organizations have power, and they have policies. Giant organizations are so giant that they cannot see the forest for the trees and they cannot see the individual person with the individual situation. We all know power corrupts. The unicef we're seeing is not as interested in putting people/children first as it is in setting policy, precedent, and moving forward its own political agenda. I've watched people get up in arms and say that it is wrong to not support this long-standing and "worthy" organization. I recognize that will likely happen again here. We can easily agree to disagree if need be.

We're simply stating that the policies and procedures are a long way off from meeting real people where they are. (And things are not what they appear to be. Not at all.) The anti-adoption rhetoric is maddening. Kids abandoned to an orphanage by their birth parent PRE earthquake are now being held in Haiti thanks to pressure placed on the Haitian government by the giant and powerful unicef. It is asinine and lacks all logic.

We are all for legal, careful, smart adoption. None of us want to see children taken from a birthparent that wants to raise them. That would be a terrible thing. The fact is, unicef is openly anti-international-adoption and what is happening now is nothing more than political grand-staning and a massive power trip. And all at the expense of children with waiting and approved families abroad.

For more thoughts and a specific story, read this.

Large powerful organizations with money can "encourage" and "convince" and put the pressure on ... and a government in crisis will bend to the will of a single powerful organization.

Meanwhile, children and people in crisis are not being served, cared for, or respected.

Fear Not

I have not had trouble with nightmares at all in recent weeks. Until tonight. I'm not sure why but I have this odd fear hanging over me tonight. I keep dreaming that the patients that need help are standing by the side of the bed angry with us. They are all so bloody they look like they've left the set of a bad horror movie. They keep walking up to Troy's side of the bed and waiting for us to notice them.

There is also a helicopter somewhere near by that has been hovering in the same spot for a long time. A C-130 just flew over. The mosquitoes in our bedroom are atrocious and won't cut us a break tonight. It guess it is just a night to be awake at 3:45.

Last night we had a bunch of new guests arrive. Our house is at capacity. It was Minnesota reunion night for the most part. Randy Mortensen of World Wide Village got in with two people from KSTP in the Twin Cities. I kind of chuckled because Troy-boy has successfully avoided interviews for so long - but now the camera guy and reporter are sleeping in our family room. :) So much for that plan. They seem very nice. They will follow Randy to Leogane to watch the 50 bed mobile hospital go up later today. There are Docs and Nurses set to staff it for the next six months.

Friday Favorite Junk Swap

My Friday Favorite post of the week comes from Sue Whitney over at JunkMarket Style. She is coordinating a Junk Swap. What is a junk swap you ask? Well here is what Sue says

"It is the act of trading some of your found objects for equally as desirable junkables chosen for you by your junk swap partner. "

Each participant is paired up with another member to swap the goods. Everyone is encouraged to reuse, repurpose and refresh their new found junk and post it on the site. Not a member? Sign up now. It's free to join and so inspiring!

I can't wait to get my junk and to see what everyone comes up with. Let the swap begin!

~MB
www.addressingspaces.com
Bringing new life to your decor and more
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The photo of our kids above was taken on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010.
One week later on Tuesday, January 12th, 2010 the Palace collapsed.

SuNsHiNe!

Finally the sun came out for a bit over the past couple of days! It was a welcome sight. We get some great rays through our patio doors, so I caught some fun pics of the girls with natural light in our kitchen. I love natural light!!!! It makes me feel like a professional. Ha!




LOOOOVE these girls. Love them. You can just see their personalities here! They sure keep me on my toes, especially that little one. Speaking of toes, check these little babies out, baby toes tickling Mama's leg at lunch time. Love it!

Peanut and I had quite a playdough production going today. Food Network watch out...here comes our very own Playdough Yummo Food show. We were cranking out the cookies, bread, and waffles this afternoon for Peanut's baby dolls.

Here is Peanut's favorite thing to do in our kitchen.

Dobbie bought this little bike for her when she was probably 1 1/2. She still loves it. We have had to threaten putting it in the basement because she gets caught up riding and not paying attention to where Pumpkin's little fingers are. OUCH! She is doing well with that now. (BTW, I do put pants on this kid but they rarely get put back on after she goes potty! Oh well!)

Pumpkin has a new favorite kitchen activity too.



I think her new nickname shall be "Little Bowl Thief."

Can I just say here that I remember buying those little piggie PJs for Peanut. I was SO excited to have her wear them. It seems like just yesterday she was wearing them....

(February 11, 2008)

And now Pumpkin is in them, much sooner than Peanut was. Time just keeps marching on.

(January 24, 2010)

Things are rolling along pretty smoothly these days. Daddy's schedule is pretty insane. He is gone from 8:45 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. (or thereabouts) for 4 out of 5 weekdays. Really his only time home is on Saturday evenings, Sundays, and Monday evenings. He is doing super in his classes and enjoys them quite a bit. We really miss him when he is gone and it can be quite a long haul for those days that he is gone all day long. The girls and I are keeping busy with two Mommy groups and library activities. We are ANXIOUSLY awaiting the re-opening of the Children's Department next week. They have been closed except for a very small area since November. They were replacing carpet and updating. We have seen the change and are so excited for it to open.

Hope you are all doing well.
-Mama

Long Day

Today we had a team go out, and a team come in.

Saying goodbye is tough. In a weeks time we come to love and respect a lot of the Docs, Nurses, and PAs and EMTs. The airport run to drop off and pick up was mid-day and that sort of messed with the flow of our bigger-truck ambulance runs in and out of the Cite Soleil area. It meant that the last truck load of patients today showed up at about 5pm - and it was a lot of people. Most of the staff did not finish until almost 9pm. We're pooped out and I am too tired to tell the stories in detail.

Quickly with photos to tell a few of the stories ...

Troy and the smaller "ambulance" - Jen loading patients for Troy to move
(Compliments of a truck loan made to us by World Wide Village)
Below is the U of Miami field hospital. The first picture is a triage area for Ortho cases and the second photo is one of the two big tents that they use before and after surgery. Paige jumped in (third photo) to translate for the Docs there while we dropped off a few of our more complicated patients late this afternoon.This is Susanne that I wrote about last week. She is the lady dying of breast cancer. She makes us so sad. She is strong and beautiful. I have so much respect for her. The hospital she was going to for her Cancer has collapsed so we are now helping her manage pain. Jen saw her today.


This is a little 12 year old guy that brought in his 3 year old brother ... Both boys were very dirty and did not have much clothing to speak of. The little guy had bad burns on his torso. The older brother cried and cried for his baby brother, it was heartbreaking. Paige tried hard to cheer him up but he was worried that he had made a bad choice to bring his brother without telling his Mom and Dad, who were not home at the time. He was also in charge of three other siblings, and thought he might be in trouble for leaving them home alone. Pray for these two guys and their family. Their names start with N's but I would ruin the spellings if I tried to give you the full names. It is unimaginable the hard choices this big brother had to make today.


Everyone says I am happier now that Paige is back home. Maybe that is true. :) I just love being with my kids and even being able to have one of seven here is healing to my soul. Paige jumped right in on three hours of sleep and is enjoying being a small part of this effort.

I was supposed to have a web-cam date with Lydia tonight but I missed getting home in time (by three hours) -- :( I am so proud of Britt and Chris for the work they are doing with their little siblings and I am getting antsy to get a date on the calendar to go to them.

Over all we had kind of a tough day. We got turned away at one hospital, went to the next and were told that soon they will be saying "no" too. Beds are filling up all over town and people are working at their max capacity. I am praying for a new solution to come soon for our most serious cases. Jen has been working her buns off and staying patient. Troy had a moment of not so patient today and was Mr. snappy-crabby-cakes to me and Jen ... lucky for him we love him and will give him a free pass. ;)

While Troy was out at the Comfort ship helipad he met a sailor from the U.S. Navy named Corwin. It was nice to connect with him - he said he reads the blog and he is married to a woman who still has family in Leogane (south of Port au Prince). Thankfully he reported that his in-laws are well. It just entertains us to meet people who read ... seems kind of odd or silly to us -- but also, so fun!

When it comes to mind please pray for the Heartline team - led by John and Beth McHoul with about 30 others currently coming along side them. Pray for the night-shift nurses that are working with a lot of patients at once.

Pray for World Wide Village, the other ministry Troy and I work with in Haiti. Tomorrow they/we will be bringing in a 50 bed mobile hospital to be set up in Leogane for the next six months.

Most of all, please keep praying for the hurting Haitian people, the lost, the afraid, the forgotten and scared. "Bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair." Amen.

tara


ps-

Thanks ZACH for the diet coke. You are our hero.
Thanks Scott Salvant for being you and for all you do.
Thanks Jeff Denliger for the MREs.

From Dr. Jen

I was supposed to have 2 ER doctors on today’s flight but both of them were unfortunately unable to travel to Fort Lauderdale in time for the flight. We're working on trying to get them on the next available flight.

Yesterday was extremely busy. There is no way we can keep up the volumes that we’re seeing without the appropriate number of staff. If anyone knows of any ER docs (or ER physician assistants/NPs, or people with a similar skill set) currently in Port au Prince who could help us out for a few days, PLEASE send them our way. I’m mainly looking for people who are able to do sedations (i.e. push sedation meds like Ketamine and Versed) and do procedures (major wound/burn debridements, abscess I&Ds, suturing, splinting, casting, and so on). My Haiti cell is 3480-2914 and e-mail is halv0105 AT umn DOT edu.

Thanks everyone.

jen

**Update, Els at QCS says she may have ER Docs for us. Praying we get them down the hill and into the clinic by noon. - tara

Home Sweet Fixer-Upper

We've finally decided to reenter the real estate market. We thought we'd buy the ugliest house in West Seattle. Ha ha
Actually, we are really excited about our fixer-upper and can envision the house's potential. We think it is a diamond in the rough. After 30 years as a rental it needs A LOT of tlc!

2224 is located in West Seattle, a peninsula directly across from down town (there is a ferry in the summer, bridge access year-round). The house is two blocks from California Street, a great little shopping area. There are a few great pubs, stores, restaurants, a movie theater, and a public library all with in a few minute walk. The main reason we chose this house though is it's proximity to a great public school (Lafayette Elementary) . Jack will be in Kindergarten in 2011, and we wanted to be settled into a neighborhood well before he begins.

Living room:


Dining room:


Kitchen 1


Kitchen 2


Fabulous wood-panelled basement. Future kids hang out:




The yard:



Marty made the property manager/seller leave the plastic lawn furniture and BBQ. He loves a deal! Ha ha
Rear-facing picture of the house:


Happy Home owner:

Mekredi

Photo: Troy Livesay

I've been trying to write twice a day. It is as much for me as it is for you. I feel like I need to get some of the thoughts out for personal therapy reasons - but also because so much is happening in one day and our short-term memories seem fried - I know if I don't write a few things I won't remember a lot of this a few years from now.

Today was really busy. I think we all thought things would begin to slow down by now.

We were wrong.

There were tons of first time patients. People that have been waiting and suffering for 15 days. Add those new people to the load of follow up dressing changes, it made for a crazy day. Most of the patients we've been seeing for a week already are starting to show great signs of healing. There are a few really tough cases that have had set-backs. One little guy had to have his ear cut open to have many maggots removed. There are a few kids with 3rd degree burns from boiling food or water falling on them when the earth shook. One boy has burns over half his face. A little girl has them all over one thigh and on her torso. Another boy named Chedner has a wide open cut that must heal that way because too many days passed to pull it together. We have not kept stats but we think the Docs and nurses have been seeing about 50 - 60% children. Today at one point we had three pregnant ladies in all at once -- and all three had broken bones.

Prior to the earthquake we worked weekly with the same 50 women. We know them well and developed relationships with them in our Prenatal and Early Childhood Development Classes. The majority of the ladies have not stopped in - just a handful have. We're hoping these ladies we've come to love are alive and hanging in there. Two of them stopped in today and it made us realize how much we miss our regular gig seeing them and spending quality time together. We wonder when we'll be able to go back to our Tuesday and Thursday class schedule. We wonder if they are okay.

We transported three women to the Miami Field Hospital. I got to quickly peek in on Jean. He looks like a new kid. It is amazing what a little hydration and rest and medicine will do for a boy. Tomorrow he will be discharged from U.Miami and will likely stay with us for a few days longer. We gave him some clothes and a toy and he was totally beaming - he is a sweet little boy.

We have a big group of Docs going home tomorrow. We had some trouble getting the next set of Doctors to Florida in time for tomorrow's flight. We're going to be very short staffed for a few days, prayers for those of us non-medical people to step it up and be helpful - are needed. A lot of us are also feeling a slump in our energy and patience levels and need to pep up and get over that right now!

~~~~~~~~~~~

I don't think we'll ever forget the way the earthquake felt, but I have not taken the time to write about our personal experience in detail ... On that Tuesday we had finished up women's program around 3:30 and a few of us ran to the store to grab a few groceries. I dropped friends off to their house and headed home. Troy and I were making dinner for two visiting adoptive moms. We were working together on enchiladas while Lydia sat on the kitchen counter and Hope played quietly in her room upstairs. Phoebe was just hanging out in the kitchen, Paige was helping put things away from bags we were unpacking. The boys were over with Vivien watching a movie at the guesthouse.

I told Troy I would be right back and ran up the stairs with a handful of stuff. Paige followed with more things to be put away. I walked by my computer and hit send and receive. The first thing that registered in my brain/body was the crashing sounds around the house. Before I could tell the ground was moving I heard things falling everywhere. It started with one crash then there was crashing coming from every direction. I remember thinking, "Who is bombing us?" At that time I did not know Hope was in her room. I told Paige to come and we ran down the steps while they moved from underneath our feet. We got to the kitchen to see Troy coming toward us and telling us to get out. (He forgot Lydie on the counter.) I pointed to Lydia bouncing around the counter while glass was crashing to the ground from the kitchen cabinets. I grabbed Lydie and then Phoebe and sat down in the entry way to cover our heads. We never left the house until it was over. I don't think I knew yet that it was an earthquake. As I sat down Hope came screaming down the steps. The house was moving enough that it tossed you side to side as you walked. She had been coming through her room and the upstairs at the time the bookshelves were falling forward. She was hysterical. I looked out the front door to see the water in the pool flying about four feet into the air and across the driveway. Jeronne stood gripping the kitchen table screaming at the top of her lungs for Jesus to save us. I kept asking Jeronne to let go of the table and come sit by us. She ignored me and kept screaming. We sat another ten seconds or so before that first earthquake ended. In total we think it lasted about 40 seconds. As soon as we pulled ourselves together I told Troy to go check the guesthouse and the people in it. In the time he was gone the first aftershock happened. Our littlest girls gripped us with all their might. I ran inside to grab a phone and called my Dad. It was still so early that I don't know if I even made sense when I called him. After about 3o minutes I quickly got on line and posted. Most of my family told me they had not heard it on the news at the time they saw the blog post.

We spent a lot of the next 48 hours pacing, praying, wondering, and running in and out of our house with each strong aftershock. There was an eerie quiet in our neighborhood. It was scary. We decided to send our kids out on Thursday night. The Embassy told us they would go to the D.R. and then be able to book commercial flights to the USA. We asked the two adoptive moms to look after them. As it turned out we put them into Embassy Suburbans at about midnight without knowing where the plane would take them. No one would tell us that. After I put them in the truck I went back out to the area we had been resting in the grass and cried like a baby for an hour. Later in the night I got in a fight with a spoiled girl freaking out on the Embassy employees about not being able to bring her big suitcase. I watched CNN live coverage of Haiti while lying on the Embassy floor. I could not believe any of it was real. I went back outside and made a bed in the grass. When I woke up Troy was yelling at me across the courtyard from the front gate. I got up to start moving toward him. He was telling me the kids had made it to New Jersey and were safe. I dropped to my knees and sat there sobbing and thanking God.

In the almost two weeks that have passed since we sent them out, I have been struck again and again with the reality of how easy we have it. I watch these moms and dads come into the clinic with hurt kids and I think about the total and complete relief I felt when I knew my kids were in a safe place ... These parents don't get the option to put their kids on a flight out of this messy and difficult situation. They don't get to choose the best Doctor or a safe and easy place. They don't get to wake up tomorrow and learn their children are fine, cared for, fed, and resting in the arms of loved ones abroad. I wish they did.


tara

What's Up?

Doing a whole heck of a lot of juggling this week! How 'bout you?

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

Against the Odds

The photo is of the Heartline "group truck" loaded with patients. It was purchased very recently to transport visiting short-term teams around. In our wildest dreams (nightmares) we could never have imagined how timely the purchase of this truck would be. We now use this truck to go into the poorest areas of Simone Pele, Wharf Jeremie, and Cite Soleil each day. (Isaac was born in Wharf Jeremie, Hope and Phoebe were born in Cite Soleil.) After the patients are treated we bring them back home in this truck. They are given a card with their return date on it so that they can come back to the clinic for dressing changes. Each day the drivers look for new cases and tell those with return appointments to watch for the truck to come in for them. It is a imperfect system that seems to be working.

Yesterday a man was pulled from the rubble ALIVE - on day 14. I don't know how that can be true - but it proves our point about the Haitian people.

A few days ago a little girl smiled while having her fingers amputated.
Over and over mind-numbing injuries that are now two weeks old -- yet the people are stoic, strong, long-suffering, graceful ... resilient beyond comprehension.

Against the odds, the people of Haiti will endure.

5

1. Jen has updated her blog here and is listing a need for tomorrow to travel to Haiti on Thursday. We are doing great on medical supplies now. Thanks!

2. Paige (our 15 year old) is coming back into Haiti later this week. We are excited to give her a chance to love on the people of the country she considers home. She was given ten minutes notice when she left for the Embassy and she did not get to take anything or say many goodbyes - pray her time here will be healing and good. Troy and I thought and prayed on it and both felt like she should be given time to grieve and leave on her own terms.

3. We drove down to a hospital today to drop a patient for surgery. It is the hospital our Lydia was in when she had Bacterial Meningitis in early 2008. The links to that story are here. The hospital is doing their best in a difficult situation (heard that before?) and they agreed to take a little 7 year old girl for us. They called a few hours later and said they would not do the surgery and we needed to pick her back up. :( Driving through the city is totally and completely devastating. I think by staying focused in our area and mainly going to and from the clinic/hospital - some of us have sort of insulated ourselves against the reality of the destruction. Looking at it photo to photo and one thing at a time is so different than looking at it driving down the road and seeing the unending stretches of total ruins and tent city after tent city of displaced people. It is grievous to think of all the people trapped and entombed under the cement rubble.

4. We're aware that our problems are so small in comparison to the beautiful people of Haiti - and we are the lucky ones ... but even so, we're asking God for clear direction on our future here. We want to be obedient and we want to be open. This has been our home for four years and we're grieving the loss of our normal. We're uncertain of how to raise kids in this Haiti. Please pray with us that we would find the time and the space to process and pray and HEAR from Him on all of it. And please, hear me again when I say that we know we are the blessed ones with options and choices ... unlike so many of our friends here. The unfairness of that is not lost on us.

5. We have been touched by the outpouring of kind words, prayers, love and support. Thank you for holding our family and the people we work with in your hearts. It means more to us than you can possibly imagine.

A new product that is "chalk" full of fun

Well, color me happy with the new chalkboard paint from RustOleum. I loved chalkboard paint before, but this stuff rocks my world.

Here is an overview that I pulled from their site:

"Rust-Oleum Specialty Chalk Board Tint Base converts surfaces into a usable chalkboard. Apply to metal, wood, masonry, drywall, plaster, glass, concrete, unglazed ceramics and hardboard. Erases cleanly.
Chose from up to 12 colors for your Chalkboard paint!"

PRODUCT FEATURES:
Indoor use only
Cleans with soap and water

Allow paint to dry for 3 days. Once cured, prepare surface for chalk by rubbing side of chalk over entire surface and then erasing it"

Where to find it? You can search a local retailer on their site. If they carry RustOleum and don't have this in stock, just ask, they may just get it for you.

They have such fantastic color options...here are just a few.

Thank you RustOleum. I give this a double thumbs up and plan to have some "chalk" full of fun experimenting with it. The opportunities are endless!

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

Something Normal

For the first time since the earthquake (and the Marathon in Florida) Beth and I ran five miles together this morning. We both run as part of our day to day life and have for years. In 2009 we logged a ton of miles training for half and then full marathons. Missing two weeks of running is no huge sacrifice but today we both decided we needed to do something that heals and helps us. We need the serotonin and the physical boost. We need to create an illusion of normal.

It felt amazing to be doing something we did four or five times a week before the earthquake. The path we run looks very different now. Where there used to be buildings there are giant piles of cement spilling into the street. Where there used to be an open space to stretch and get away from the intensely populated area of Tabarre, there are now hundreds of people living in their cars, trucks, and along the side of the road. As we ran another missionary drove by and rolled his window down and said, "Doing something normal again, God Bless you!"

We cannot make this go away, we cannot wish Haiti back to her pre January 12 state. We cannot make any of this "normal". We can only keep running the race. By God's grace and provision we've been able to do that so far.

I received emails asking about following Troy on Twitter. Truthfully, we don't totally get the way Twitter works. Troy mocked it mercilessly for months before joining - which is just funny at this point. :) This is the link to his Twitter page. From here you'll have to figure out how to "follow" - the whole thing is a mystery to me. This is his flickr account for photos, he has been trying to get a few new ones uploaded every few days. This is the YouTube channel we post on - it has stuff going back to four years ago.

Another aftershock just a minute ago. I keep waiting for those to be finished for good. So does the rest of Port au Prince and surrounding areas.

with love from PAP,

tara

Two weeks Post Earthquake

Just read this, loved it. - "Haiti's is not a story about death. It is a story about life after death."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Today a man came in that was in really bad shape. Not only was one leg missing and infected but also his hand was badly crushed and he needed a few fingers amputated. He was very stiff and seemed to be in shock. While they worked on him it became apparent that he is mute. I wrote "John Doe" on his file. I sat there thinking, how awful for us not to know the man's name. We were not sure if he was deaf or partially deaf. We just knew he could not speak to us. He was a tiny man, maybe a 28" waist. He had so much fear in his eyes.

As they began to work on him Nikki, a gal that lives in Haiti and has been helping with interpreting, told us that there was a family member to talk to...she had noticed them watching him from the doorway. We had not know that.

The woman told Nikki that Emmanuel was unable to speak prior to the earthquake and that he understands sign language. She told us he is 50 years old. She obviously loves him and has taken care of him for a long time. She went home to get clothes and pack a bag to stay with him as he is observed for the next few days. His leg and hand are fixed up and a person who loves him and can sign is on her way back to be with him.

Emmanuel - means - God with us.
And He is.

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A little boy named Fritznelson (that is two names for the price of one) came in with a bad bad burn. It happened during the earthquake when food was being cooked and spilled onto his arm, hand and face. The only thing done to him was to put a home remedy onto the burn. It looked so bad. Fritznelson received drugs to help him sleep while the nurses cleaned out the burn. They wrapped him up and he is staying a few days for aftercare and dressing changes. His Mom is due to have his baby brother or sister in less than one month.

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Guests (with links to their blogs) at Hotel Livesay: Jonna (midwife), Joanna (RN) , Jen (MD) , Megan (adoption processing), Vivien (EMT), Ed (planning and strategy guy), Jon (working on construction stuff), Cliff (PA) , Laura (RN), Theresa (RN), Nancy (RN) , and Manoucheka (our morning nanny now helping with laundry and happy to sleep here instead of out in the chaos) and Mike (water treatment guy).

And then, the regulars - Troy - Tara -Jeronne - Peanut

We're close to capacity but still have space for the fabulous Greg Erickson joining us tomorrow.

A shout out to all my little people in America ... Dad and I miss you guys so much and are so proud of you all.

Kenbe fem.

tara