I feel like this blog post has been hanging over my head. Wanting to do one, feeling like I should, yet not really knowing what to say. Everything and nothing happening all at the same time. Everything and nothing running through my head. So this may or may not be totally coherent. Probably a little scattered. But I'm here!
Before we came back from furlough, there was a team down here, one of which was IT support. He spent some time working in Rick's office and found this on the wall. It apparently had been there for years but maybe took on a little different meaning than it had before. I thought it was kind of neat!
I had mentioned in my last post about our chimney that had damage. This was the picture we got before we came back. The team and some of the hospital garage guys kindly removed it before we returned so it wouldn't finish falling while the kids were playing in the driveway. It used to house a water heater or something but now it was a place to put our security lights. You can see both of them there on the top of it. I didn't realize how much I relied on those lights until they were gone. It's soooo dark out now outside our house. We do have a porch light that we never used before and we are using it now, so that helps some. We also found a few small cracks in our walls but they're all just right on the surface. I don't think our house will be collapsing any time soon.
It's good to be back. We weren't sure how things would go or if we were making the right decision by not delaying our return. Once we were back though, we were so glad we made that choice. My parents travelled with us which was so helpful. After going through security at one point my dad made a comment of how it's just a little more stressful with four little kids. Yes, yes it is. That's why we have you come along:)
It's a long two days of travel, but it's way better now that there is a regular flight from Port au Prince to Cayes. Even so, the kids were bushed. We have to go from the main airport in PAP to a smaller one to take the flight out to Cayes. Once we got there and were trying to check in, the kids just sprawled on the floor, not caring about anything but being done travelling. But overall they did great. Thank you for your prayers!
Before we came back we knew there were still aftershocks going on and that they would probably continue on for awhile yet. Thinking about that really didn't bother me until we got here and went to bed that first night. I found myself a little more anxious about it than I expected. I wasn't afraid of another huge earthquake, but we had been told that some of the aftershocks were big enough to make you think about getting up and out of the house. We just didn't know what to expect and I was nervous about it happening at night. If it was a big one, how would we even get the kids up and out? Turns out, all was well. We had one the next day and the kind of knew what to expect after that. We still have them, but they're getting fewer and farther between. There's been a few pretty strong ones including one that jolted us awake in the middle of the night. Last Saturday morning there was a pretty big one but then nothing this week until right when I sat down to do this post there was a really small one. We heard it more than we felt it. It's a little bit eerie to hear the earth rumble like that. The big ones especially give us just a little glimpse of how scary it must have been. It helps me with my feelings of wishing we had been here:)
Just a few days after we got here, Summer's tooth finally fell out. Finally. It had been loose for over a month. Since then her other one has come out too and I'm so happy about it. She had shark teeth for so long with her permanent ones right behind the baby ones!
One night I went outside for something and the sky was gorgeous. I don't usually get terribly worked up over sunsets but this one made me stop in my tracks. I had to go up to the roof to try and get a picture. As usual, it didn't last long. I just realized tonight that I had taken that picture on my birthday. I guess that was God's present to me!
We got started with school a week after getting here. I wouldn't say it's ideal, because there's a lot of things we have to just make do with but I'm really enjoying it a lot more than I thought I would. It gives me something to do and Summer is an easy student. I mean, we've had our moments that weren't super pretty but we're doing good.
One evening the kids and I were just restless so I took the big three to the lookout. We were only there for about 20 minutes but it was good for all of us.
Then there's Tanner. Sooooo stinkin cute and getting a little more ornery.
He's everywhere these days.
His favorite activity- I try to keep the lid shut and the bathroom door closed but there's three other munchkins and that doesn't always happen. Tanner seems to find his way back at some point nearly every day. And now he can open the lid so there's that.
Poor Tucker was sick for about a week. With my limited medical expertise and my flashlight I used to try to look and his throat, I first diagnosed him with strep ("Mommy, my float hurts!") and then moved onto thrush. He had mouth sores and a lovely thick white coating on his tongue.
Whatever it was, he was a sad and tired little boy.
He took good naps every day and was still ready for bed by 7:00 or 7:30.
And he had the most awful breath through it all which was really pleasant when he was crying just inches from my face. Poor guy. But he's better now!
Livin' the good life.
Seriously. What a cutie/stinker!
He turned one on the 19th. He's the fourth kid so he doesn't get his own blog post. We had a small team here that week so we actually got to have a little bit of a party! We're thankful for random people who come to our kids's birthday parties and help us eat all the cake:)
He didn't get terribly messy, but he did like his cake!
Our kids enjoyed having a few extra people around, too!
Tucker had his birthday too, just four days after Tanner on the 23rd. The team was still here but they didn't come back. They just got leftover cake that I took to the guesthouse. I decided this is the last year I can get away with picking whatever dessert I want for Tucker's birthday. I had chosen a caramel pumpkin coffee cake which was amazing, but Tucker didn't agree. The day before he told me he wanted frosting for his birthday and I said "sorry!". Maybe next year.
The kids always think they want to sleep on the trampoline so we finally said they could try. Danny was the nice parent who agreed. We knew they would never fall asleep unless they were really tired. So we let them stay up late watching a movie before they headed out. They went out around 10:00. By 10:45 they were back in the house in their own beds. Just as we suspected might happen. But now they got it out of their system!
And there you have it a semi coherent blog post. I think. Key word being semi.
We are the lone rangers on campus this weekend. Lydianne went to Cayes and there are no visitors right now. Danny is overseeing the power for the weekend which is not something he's especially comfortable with. If you're looking for a reason to pray for us, you can pray that the generators do their job and the lights stay on!
Psalm 18:28 "For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness."
