Haiti

Like many, Haiti has been on my mind. I hear about it everywhere. The events, as they unfold, slice through me. I can’t completely wrap my mind about what has happened. It is almost like after 9/11. And I want to help but the only way I know how is to pray and pray and pray.
My heart bleeds for a country I honestly know little about. I remember learning about Haiti in school. My thought was it was always a poor place. That was confirmed last year when our church did a Reaching Farther emphasis, with a focus on the countries like Haiti. Our church has many out-reach efforts there and we helped raise money for a storage container full or dried beans and rice. It was an impactful time. The church has more missions planned, including one next month. And just last Sunday, a couple days before this deadly earthquake, we heard from a local doctor who has been to the country on medical missions time and time again.
Through all these stories in the last few days, I find I am just in awe and inspired and amazed by those who leave their homes and lives to go to Haiti, to reach out with love and compassion for the people there. It is truly amazing! I praise God for those loving people and their courage and bravery and love and desire to go time and time again.
We have members, a family, from our church there right now. They are spending three-months in Haiti, where their adopted son is from. They are about four hours away from Port-Au-Prince but they will likely feel the affects and will have more need to minister to a people suffering.
I can imagine too that those who have been to Haiti, who have seen first-hand the poverty and suffering that was there before this disaster, are chomping at the bit and making any and all efforts to get there. I am sure they feel helpless here in the states while people, families, children they know are suffering or worse.
So many people have connections to Haiti….the stories continue to amaze me.
I pray for the missionaries and aid people already there. I pray for their safety as they minister and serve while they are likely hurting as well.
I pray for those trying to get to the country and for their safety as they get in the midst of it all.
I pray for those here in the states. Maybe, like me, they feel a little helpless and wonder how to help. We are witnessing a world, broken and on its knees. We need to help them stand again.

2010 here we come!

The holiday hustle and bustle is over! I think I am recovered. We will see as we enter a new week. C will return to work and we will return to our routine, as it is.
We enjoyed the holidays. We spent Christmas Eve and part of Day here at home. It was so nice to wake up in our own beds and delight over the gifts. I will eventually get pictures out. They are still on the camera. :)
The girls got toys that will encourage their imaginative play: dress up dolls, play food, Play Dough and a super cool puppet theater that C built.
S is in her glory with the play food. She has really been into playing a chef and operating a restaurant. Tia got her a super cute apron with hat and oven mitt and pad. So cute! And Tia got S a Melissa and Doug sushi set. Again, super cute and S is in her glory!
M loves to play with ALL the toys. She got Elefun and Play Dough so that has been huge. She also got a Mega Blocks Kai Lan Dragon Boat set and has enjoyed putting that together.
I received some much needed Creative Memories scrapbook pages and page protectors. It might sound boring to some but I need those because they are being discontinued and I already have the albums for them. So it was buy them or be stuck with books that I can't fill with the new size pages. I also got some yummy chocolates, super comfy socks and PJ's.
I took advantage of several photo book offers and gave C and the girls each a book with various memories. For C, the RV trip we took to NC shortly after we married. For S, our Chicago trip and for M, our MOA trip.
C was very surprised about his gift from the girls and I: A GPS! He has had a lot of fun using it. No, we have not named it. Although he did have it set to an Australian man's voice so I think of Connor from Ugly Betty or Hugh Jackman from X-Men. C thinks Paul Hogan from the Crocodile Dundee fame. :) C also received a couple neat toys: an Open It tool, which has come in handy many times already; and a cordless screwdriver.
We spent the rest of Christmas Day and that weekend visiting family in the southeastern part of the state. It was a nice time. We came home for a day (which we spent in out jammies) and then headed off to the Western part of the state to spend a couple days with the family. We returned New Year's Eve and basically chilled out over the weekend. No super late parties for us! :)
Now, I guess, is the return to normalcy. C goes back to work. :( And we will once again see a schedule with various activities like ballet, story times, play groups, the return of my church mother's group and so forth. The girls will participate in a couple parks and recreation programs next month. I plan to resume homeschooling with S and, maybe try some things with M. (Suggestions anyone??) Reading is one of the things we plan to begin with S. And we will be enrolling her in kindergarten this month, I believe! She is very excited for school to begin. She even created a picture with her name surrounded by hearts in the middle and, in each corner, a picture to represent the seasons. She "checked off" winter (depicted by little circles to represent snowflakes) and knows when we get to fall it will be the start of school.
With any luck, this winter will pass by and we can look forward to warm spring days! :)