Here We Are...

 Well we've been back for two weeks now but we hit the ground running and we didn't have WiFi for awhile and this just never happened!  The trip home was semi uneventful but did have a few bumps.  Boy, I have to sit and think about it awhile to remember how it went!  It seems like so long ago...

It was soooooooo nice to be able to fly from Cayes to Port au Prince.  After last year's traumatizing exit from Haiti with almost no sleep and multiple rounds of puke, it was night and day difference.  We drove ourselves to the airport, picking up a hospital worker along the way so he could bring the vehicle back.  We also met up with the Haiti in country director for Harvest Call who was flying in to stay for a little while so Lydianne would not be completely by herself.  Just did a little switch a roo with him at the airport:)

Spirits were high and moods were happy as we started our two day journey.

There was very limited napping for Tanner but he did manage to fall asleep in the stroller finally.  Five minutes before we went through security.  I was so hoping they would have a little compassion and let me just push the stroller through but nooooooo.  I wasn't surprised.  I mean, they can't really make exceptions.  So I carefully, gingerly took him out of the stroller and carried him through the metal detector in my arms.  Of course I set it off.  And of course they gave me a pat down while I tried to keep him asleep.  And when I say pat down, I mean more like squeeze down.  Let's just say some private parts aren't super private in Haiti...  But somehow, someway he stayed asleep through it all and I was so thankful.  But then there was a second security check that I had forgotten about.  Same thing- "Can I please just keep him here?????"  Noooooooooooo.  We weren't so lucky the second time around.  Naptime was over!

But we carried on with our day and things went really smoothly until it was time to go to our hotel in Miami.  Also judging by the picture below, Sawyer had to go potty.  Anyway, we did not have cell service at this point.  Until Danny went to the A T&T store we could only use our phones with WhatsApp when we had WiFi.  We tried looking for a phone we could use and found ourselves standing at the shuttle pick up place asking some kindly looking gentlemen (I think they may have been pilots) if we could use their phone.  They were so nice and friendly to us!  So I called and to our surprise and dismay the hotel currently does not offer shuttle service unless you belong to a flight crew that has a contract with them.  Found out once we finally got there and checked in that it's in the fine print even though the list of amenities says "airport shuttle".  Phew.

So it was back across a couple lanes of traffic with taxis barreling through.  We found our own taxi and piled in.  Danny and all four kids in the back and me up front.  Our driver was mostly Spanish speaking and after trying to speak Creole for two years our Spanish skills have dramatically dwindled so we had very limited conversation with him.  And it's maybe okay that he couldn't understand all we were saying- at one point Summer asked "Why are there Haitians in America?"  He was very dark skinned:)

We finally made it and got checked in.  We had been talking for months with the kids about ordering pizza and watching TV in the hotel.  We did that last year and they loved it.  So after managing to get ahold of the local pizza chain, which was no easy task, they let me know that they are not doing delivery right now.  Same ole unemployment issues I guess.  So I set off walking to find the Burger King we had seen on the way in and was not having much luck.  But I did see a guy walking down the sidewalk with a Panda Express bag in his had and asked him where that was and it was just right across the street and I was giddy with excitement!

We put Tucker to bed nice and early and then Summer and Sawyer joined him in his king size bed until Tucker woke up around midnight and realized he was sharing.  He started crying and yelling "MOVE!!! SCOOT!!!! NO!!!!!" and so on and so forth and was not going to be happy in the middle of his older siblings no matter what.  After trying and trying we finally gave up and put him in our bed at like 1:30 where he promptly and peacefully went to sleep.  Why didn't we do that a lot sooner?????

In the morning when we woke up, my brain said "Ok let's go!! And my stomach said "Nope."  Not sure if it was the interesting textured cheeseburger I had in the Port au Prince airport or what but my stomach continued saying "nope" for almost a week.  Not cool.  But back to the story at hand, we continued on our journey, calling another taxi back to the airport and finding our gate and some lunch.  At this point Tucker especially was getting very travel weary (and probably very tired from his midnight escapades) and he was DONE being anything close to cooperative with his mask.  God answered our prayers with those kind and understanding flight attendants we asked for and nobody said a word when his was safely packed away in the diaper bag.  He was also being really stubborn about walking because apparently he was sore in his diaper area and he let everyone in that general vicinity know.  

Our flight from Miami to Chicago was delayed about 20 minutes which was unfortunate because we did not have an abundance of time to catch our next flight to Ft. Wayne. We got to Chicago and while I went and took the kids to the bathroom quick, Danny waited at the end of the tarmac for the stroller that we had checked gateside in Miami.  He waited and waited and waited..... finally he gave up because we just had to go.  He was holding Tanner and I was dragging Tucker along.  We traded boys, and with Summer and Sawyer on the loose, we ran to our next gate.  Danny said later that he had the Home Alone music going through his head! 😂 We quite breathlessly got on the plane and they shut the door behind us.  We got settled in our seats and then had to rearrange a little because of not having enough oxygen masks on one side of the plane for a lap infant.  Summer and Sawyer got to sit by themselves and they thought that was pretty cool.  Danny ended up with Tucker and Tanner both and I fell asleep feeling guilty because I had no kids.  But then he said that both boys crashed almost instantly so I no longer felt guilty:)

We landed a little early in Ft. Wayne so the kids could run around a little while we waited for Danny's parents to pick us up.  When they arrived, they informed us that mere hours before, our driver's side van window had broken and was permanently stuck down.  Welcome home:) It was so good to be back.  The kids went with grandpa and grandma while we took the second vehicle and stopped for supper before going to their house.  It was a welcome relief after the last two days.  Travelling internationally with a small host of young children is no leisure walk in the park.

We had not made plans concerning church because we just didn't know how things would go for us.  But we didn't get in super late on Saturday and everyone slept good so we decided to go on Sunday morning.  Also, with going to the lakes and Illinois, we only had one other Sunday to be there for church.  I thought I was going to be really overwhelmed being there but I think some adrenaline may have kicked in because I loved it!  I did crash the next day though.  Come Monday I just kind of existed.  Okay I guess I did a little more than that because we had to get ready to go to the lakes!  Which will be a post of it's own.  But they're over now and we are camped out in IL for 2 1/2 weeks.

Furlough is already 1/3 over!  Time flies I guess.  I'll hopefully get the lakes post done before our time in IL is finished.  We are looking forward to some time of rest here so I should be able to.  We'll see about if I have motivation though:)  But for now, we are just enjoying being up here!

Hyped Up For A Hurricane

 We saw the headlines that a storm was headed toward the Caribbean, but thought nothing of it.  Then we heard it was headed to the southern coast of Haiti.  It was still tropical storm status, but we wanted to keep an eye on it.  Then it moved to Category 1 hurricane.  Now we kept both eyes on it.  Nothing like 2016 when Hurricane Matthew (Category 4) came through southern Haiti.  We've seen the pictures and heard the first hand tales of that time and have no desire to repeat it.  But still, this could cause some damage and power outages and we have a very bare bones team here right now.  One that does not include a person who really understands the power and facilities stuff.  

We (meaning Lydianne) shut all the windows in the unoccupied houses.  We moved vehicles to an open area with less chance of trees falling on them.  We brought in all our outside toys and made sure we had plenty of drinking water.  Not really scared but a little on edge and strange feeling because this was a new situation for us.  And so we watched and waited.

And then it was over about the time it began.  Hurricane Elsa turned back into a tropical storm before it visited Haiti.  And then it went a little ways off the predicted path and we just caught the outside edge.  So anticlimactic!  Really though, we are thankful.  A hurricane is the last thing Haiti needs right now.  On the 4th we had Lydianne over for a little cookout and then went up to Nussbaum/Herrmann's for a potential campfire and for a change of scenery.  It was a little too windy for a fire but the kids had a great time playing on the big tree limb that fell down in the storm!

Other than Elsa, we're hanging in there pretty good!  We had a beach day with all the Harvest Call people currently in country.  These two played in the water way more than they have in the past.  They had a blast jumping the waves close to shore!

I even went on a hike!  A lot of times Danny will take the two older kids and go on some little adventure while I stay home with the little boys.  I do not complain about this setup as it gives me some much enjoyed peace and quiet.  But one day he suggested asking Lydianne to watch the littles and I join them.  So I did.  And had a way better time than I anticipated.  Hiking in the heat always sounds a little miserable to me.  My body has never done really great in hot weather and let's face it- I'm not in prime condition right now.  But I really enjoyed it and was really glad I went.

Sawyer loves to watch our cook when she does this step of her food prep.  And she is more than happy to let him watch!

The headbands just kept piling on one day:)  I think he was up to five in this picture!

The day after the storm passed through was still really rainy.  We have this huge roll of paper that was here when we moved and occasionally we will use it to make "the longest picture in the world".  Credit goes to the Ramona movie for that idea!

When Brandon and Katelyn came for their second visit, they stayed in the house Carrie had been living in.  That house has been through multiple tenants in the time Harvest Call has been here.  Each person accumulates and then leaves stuff when they go back to the states.  Katelyn cleaned out the house some and came across this devotional that she passed on to me.  It has been Perfect for this season of my life.  Written in the 80's, it is scripture and thoughts put together by a group of Mennonite women who had young children and were missionaries in Central America during that timeframe.  Sometimes there's just a few verses and sometimes a whole chapter to read.  Sometimes the thoughts written to go along with the scripture just hit me square between the eyes and relates perfectly to my life.  Sometimes I just want to cry happy tears because I am so thankful for this book.  Who knew a book written just a few years after I was born would be so relevant to me 30 some years later!

Isaiah 40:8  "The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever."

Today I was working in the kitchen while the older three were outside and the little squish was playing by himself in the living room.  I peeked in to check on him and this is what I saw.  I got such a kick out of it!

As we start getting ready to go on furlough next week, there's just a few prayer requests that I would like to put out there for any who are willing.

1.) That we all have negative covid tests.  I think we will probably be getting those done on Tuesday, a week from today.  Maybe Wednesday.

2.) That we can all handle the tests.  For real- I am offering cookies to anyone who will allow me to do my own swab and do my kids' swabs.  I. Just. Can't.

3.) That we can have kind and understanding flight attendants with our kids.  Especially concerning masks.  They have not worn one since we came in back in early December.  And they wore them very minimally while we were in the states in the fall.  Probably most flight attendants are fine, but I see the horror stories in the news and know one horror story personally so that doesn't help!

4.) General safety and sanity concerns that come with travelling with young kids. 

Thanks all!

Odds-n-Ends And FURLOUGH!

 The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.  So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day.

Tucker's current favorite spot in the house.  This kid loves to sit and listen to music.  Actually it feels really familiar to type that out.  Maybe I've already mentioned it.  But seriously.  He's a little obsessed.  But he's memorizing songs about scripture so I just let him at it.

Last year the Herrmann's did VBS with our kids and did such a great job of it!  This year they sent down a little VBS in a box and it was so fun!  Joni put a weeks worth of stories, crafts, activity ideas and snacks in a box and we spent a week talking about the miracles of Jesus.  She is destined to be the world's best teacher or something like that.  Thanks again, Joni!!

Fish.  It's what's for lunch.

One Sunday morning Tucker called me to his bed and wanted help getting out.  He wouldn't even stand up.  I thought he was just being silly but about 20 minutes later we had our first out of four pukes of the day:(  We were supposed to go to Cayes that day for church and were bummed to miss out.  But it turned out to be a true day of rest on a Sunday which was pretty nice.  Tucker was wiped out though.  Fell asleep in his favorite spot doing his favorite thing.  Nobody else ever got anything though, thank goodness.

Tanner likes to try and go through the chairs rather than around them.  Sometimes it does not end well:)

9 months in, 9 months out with this little avacado lover!  He is just as sweet as can be.  And messy as can be.

We have reached the end of an era.  Our swing is going to a new home.  Along with a few other things too.  *tear* And after hugging my nursing pillow goodbye, it went in the trash.  It was pretty nasty.  Should the Lord send us a surprise package, well, there's garage sales.

Happy Birthday to My Love!

A quiet evening spent at the lookout is never a bad thing.

 

And furlough!  We are tired.  We are lonely.  Don't worry- we're really fine, too.  But we are excited to see people!  And eat at restaurants:)  The kids are good and ready too.  I remember last summer about this time they would just lay around because they were about at the end of their rope and just needed a break.  That point came earlier this year than it did last year.  They really do pretty good, but below is a common sight.  Kids just sprawled out.  They've got all sorts of plans in their heads for when we're in the states and most of them won't be happening.  But they'll be alright.  They just need to be with other people for awhile.

Lord willing, our schedule looks a little bit like this:

July 16-17: travel days

July 17-30: REST and lakes

July 30-Aug 17/18: Illinois

Aug 18-Aug 28 Indiana

Aug 28-29 travel days

At first we had planned on taking a 7 or 8 week furlough, but it will only be six.  I wanted to get back in time to be able to get organized and start school right after Labor Day weekend.  Six weeks feels a little short and rushed to us, especially since it's split between three different places, but it will be fine.  Actually, right after we booked our tickets we were like, WHY didn't we just start the furlough earlier??????  But we had that July 16 date in our head and I guess we were just stuck on it.  That's ok.  It will still be good.

The other night Danny googled pictures of "delicious American food".  I laughed and said it was definitely time to go if that's what he's spending his time doing!!

Well, quiet time for the day is coming to a close.  It's not been real quiet today though.  One with a stinky diaper, one desperate for water, and another sharing the living room with me who just can't stop talking.

Hope to see many of you soon!

Summer Is 6!

 We got to celebrate Summer this past weekend!  She wanted a unicorn rainbow cake and I knew I didn't really have the resources to make that myself so I just got a cute little unicorn rainbow cake topper online.  And judging by how easy it was to find and how plentiful the options were, a unicorn rainbow cake is what a large number of girls want right now:)  I can't say I'll be super sad when the unicorn craze is done.  I mean, why didn't I have a six year old girl when cute little owls were all the rage???

Summer is a great big sister, keeping her brothers in line.  Also this picture is being stubborn and won't let me make it bigger.

Sawyer decided to jump on the unicorn train too and pretend his hat was a horn.

She does love them dearly, however she just wrote a little book in her Kindergarten level handwriting entitled "Dreams".  The first dream she wrote was "Have a sister."  She might need to let that one go.

We had a little party on Saturday for everyone who was in town.  It included all the current Harvest Call Bonne Fin residents, a board member, and an orthopedic surgeon from South Carolina who has spent years making short term trips to the hospital.  You just never know what kind of a hodge podge birthday party you'll have when you're an MK!

We also got a kick out of the pile of presents.  Total Haiti style of "just make do".  One came in a bag that was ripped almost all the way down the side, one was in a black plastic sack (all the Haitians carry things in black plastic sacks), two were wrapped in Christmas paper, and one that came in the mail never made it out of the USPS envelope.

Modeling her new dress from grandparents.

Her actual birthday was Sunday and we had joint services up here at the hospital.  She soaked up the time with a friend.  Those times are few and far between enough that she gets SOOOOOO excited when it happens.  So to be able to have it on her birthday was pretty special!

And just in case you need one more reminder of how glamourous life on the mission field is, this was Summer's activity one morning.  She said "I saw Tom go past on the 4-wheeler so I'm going to sit at the gate and wait so I can watch him go past the other way."  And lest you think she would be so bored doing such an activity, don't worry.  She played with a piece of yarn while she sat there.  It just doesn't get much better than that.

We love our Summer and just can't hardly imagine life without her!

Containers And Roosters And Getaways, Oh My!

Container days are always kind of fun.  For me, anyway.  I always give a grocery list to Danny's mom of non perishables that we can't buy here and she will buy them, box them up, and get them to the distribution center.  It's so handy that the center where the containers go out of is right in Bluffton!  But then in between giving her the list and when the container actually gets here can be a good two months or longer.  So when it finally comes, it's like Christmas!  It holds mostly hospital supplies, but our precious boxes are tucked away in the middle of medical equipment and such.  I have never helped out with unloading until this last one.  And even then, I didn't unload.  I just stood there with a clipboard making checkmarks on a list as things came off the container.  And even then, there was another girl with the same list on a clipboard and I totally got distracted and confused and miscounted a whole bunch of stuff and she didn't.  I may be fired.

But I enjoyed seeing how it all goes down.  And so I snapped a few pictures for you.  The truck is backed up to the unloading dock and a group of men start hauling stuff off, stopping by the checklist people to see where it goes.

Some things take a little more effort than others to get to their designated spot.

Some boxes are loaded on gators to be dispersed around the hospital campus, whether to missionary houses or to the red door.  The red door is a magical, free-for-all pantry that gets restocked any time a container comes.  That's where I was headed to with my cute little passenger here:)

Once we get our boxes delivered to our house, the fun begins!  The grownups drool over the snacks that we've been out of for so long while the kids turn into little tornados opening up what we have deemed "the grandma box".  Since grandma is right in town and able to personally drop off our groceries, she also packs an extra box or two filled with goodies for the kids.  They are always giddy and jumping up and down like crazy until that box gets opened!

The following weekend we had a fun little experience!  Our cook had been telling us that she wanted to buy and cook a live chicken from the market for us.  Usually she just buys chicken legs in bulk quantity, but all the workers were trying to convince us that "country chickens" were better because they had more nutrients.  They're also about three times the cost of the chicken legs.  But we said go ahead, we'll try it once.

Well, for me it was fun to watch her butcher.  Not everyone in our household agreed.  It was a little different method that what I always saw my dad do with the turkeys, but fun nonetheless.  And as far as the meal, well, I think I'll pass on the extra nutrients next time in order to have meat I can actually chew.  It was so tough!  And yes, I realize that's a rooster which is probably most of the reason why.  But it was fun for her to do it and fun for us to try it once.

And then we had a getaway.  WoooooHooooooo!!!!!!!  We left the kids with Brandon and Katelyn for the night and headed to a little resort a couple hours from here.  It was relaxing and peaceful and right on the ocean which made for some great views.  After we checked in, we headed to the pool and on the way found the gym!  It gave us a good chuckle:)

We enjoyed supper at the restaurant that was at the hotel.

And we found a spot that had tons of hermit crabs, so the next morning we took some home to the kids.

So pretty and relaxing!

And so romantic with just the two of us.

Just kidding!!  Tanner doesn't believe in bottles so he came along.

The hotel looked like the Forbidden City!  That's our room right there with the towels hanging off the railing.

In the morning we woke up, stepped out on our balcony and saw a bunch of fishing boats!  In this particular instance, one man worked the net from the boat while the other looked to be keeping it untangled in the water.  Occasionally he would climb back into the boat to bail water back into the ocean:)

We went home then and showed the kids their new pets.  There were seven crabs!  They were pretty excited and we built a little habitat and all seven were affectionately named.

And by the next morning they were all dead.

Oops.

It was so good to getaway for a little bit, even if it was just 24 hours.  We so appreciate B and K for helping us make that happen!

Other than that, we just keep plugging away one day at a time.  It's starting to get really hot out.  We still have some days (like today actually) where it rains or is cloudy and we have some relief from the heat.  But in general, fans are being turned up higher and shower temperatures are being turned down lower.  We are going through ice faster than we were a month ago!  We are trying to cement some dates for our furlough this summer.  We are looking at early to mid July through August.  Some days that seems so far away still but other days I can't believe it's already time to make those plans!  I must have restaurants on my mind because the other night I dreamed I went to McDonald's!  However, McDonald's will have to wait just a little bit longer.

I hear Tanner.  He just woke up.  Unlike McDonald's he will not wait.  Farewell, friends.

Photography by Summer:

Komari and Selah are in country right now and we spent an afternoon decorating eggs together.

Colored Easter eggs just make me feel so cheery:)

The night before Easter we went down to Cayes for the afternoon and then spent the night.  Someone had sent eggs and candy so we had a little egg hunt (in the rain) which the kids loved.  

The Shrock's have recently moved to Cayes from Illinois and two out of five of their kids are close to Summer and Sawyer's age.  It's easy to mix up Sawyer and Nathaniel, especially from behind.  We love having a chance to let our kids play with them and the other kids in Cayes!

Sunrise service was the reason we spent the night.  That way we only had to get up at 5:15 instead of 4 something or other.

But it sure was pretty!  If the weather cooperates, the service is held on the roof of the Child Sponsorship building.  I, for one, was happy it didn't rain.  I mean, if I'm going to go to a sunrise service, I want to see a sunrise!

A couple different groups sang, Bonne Fin being one of them.  We sang "Across the Lands" by Keith and Krystin Getty.  Tucker was very attached to mommy that day.  It made holding sheet music in the breeze a little interesting.

We are reaching the point where Summer is starting to be able to read to her brothers.  It's slow going and probably a little painful for the listener, but it's great practice for her and they don't seem to mind.  Also Nathaniel was able to come up to the hospital one day when a group from Cayes came to work on a generator.

Summer's princess dress was laying on the floor one day and Tanner got himself all rolled up into it so it looked like he was wearing it!  This is his new scrunchy face.

But seriously...😍😍😍

One day I was trying to put Tanner to bed quietly in his room when the door opened and this creature started roaring at me.  So much for quiet!!

It's been cool and rainy here this week.  Probably cooler here than back home!  We are having supper guests tomorrow night and I'm planning to have chili.  So I sure hope it stays cool and rainy for one more day!  Just wait- I'll wake up in the morning to hot, sunny, 90 degree weather.  Cause that's my luck.

Until next time!

"And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."  Colossians 3:17