Cast and Crew

If you are a new reader, a little more about us and the people we work with and mention frequently.

Introducing the players:

Troy-The Dad, Husband and Jack of all trades, master of none. He likes to play guitar and sing and he has a good sense of humor. He is generally the most well-liked person in our family ... he is nice, very nice. He makes friends easily. He blogs on occasion. If given a day to do anything he wanted he would golf - but not all that well.

Tara-The Mom, Wife, assistant to Troy and CEO of butt wiping. Keeper of the blog. In her spare time she likes to run. If given a day to do anything she would go for a long run, meet a friend for a gigantic cup of coffee, and go out to a fancy dinner with Troy, the cutest guy in all of central Haiti...possibly even the greater Antilles.

Paige-
Is almost 14. She is a big sister, a friend and a funny girl. She speaks Creole so quickly the Haitians tell us she sounds Haitian. She attends QCS, an English-speaking school in Port. She writes on this blog occasionally. Given a day to do anything she wanted she would hang out with friends. She is the only person in the family that spends any time on hair and clothes and looking good. None of us understand it. She is text book TCK (Third Culture Kid) - we are blessed to watch her developing into a young woman integrating the best parts of two cultures.

CREW-
Isaac-
Is 7. Is beyond happy, he finds everyone wonderful. He was adopted six years ago and is a source of great joy to his parents. Most people who meet him comment on the joy he exudes. He is in the first grade at QCS.
Hope-
Is 7. Is all girl. Was adopted six years ago. Is most certainly the easiest and most cooperative child in the world. Is in Kindergarten at QCS.
Noah-
Is 5 and is ALL boy. The most complicated character in this story. We're still trying to figure him out. He is either an angel or a devil, he seems to think there is no room for anything in the middle. Destruction is his specialty. Hugs are his love language. He is incredibly affectionate. Odd combinations.
Phoebe Joy-
Is 2. Is Hope's biological sister. She loves her food and has a wicked temper. She is also incredibly silly ... which makes for an interesting combination ... She is either dancing around trying to make us laugh; or she is on the floor screaming. She speaks Creole and English or a combination called Crenglish.
Lydia Beth-
Is 1. A surprise baby, born in October 07. Lydie is opinionated and very, very squishy. Lately she has determined that she is stubborn and has a crazy bad temper too. We almost lost her in January 08 and have never looked at her quite the same since. She is our miracle girl!
Annie-
Born in late November of 07. Is Isaac's biological sister but is being adopted by Tara's sister ... (Tina & Matt) which will make her our niece and cousin. She will live with us while her adoption processes. We hope and pray she will be in MN with her new mommy and daddy by mid 2009. She is a very happy, silly, and content baby. We love her dearly.

Britt- (19)
Is a cast member on hiatus. She left the cast to further her education at Baylor University. She blogs occasionally from TX. Given a day to do anything we KNOW Britt would chose to hang out with her super cool family!
Chris - (23)
Britt and Chris got married in January 2009 - That makes him our son-in-law - we feel old. Chris and Britt live in Waco, Texas. Don't mess with Texas.
Peanut-
Is the Mastiff who has a strange hold on this non-animal-loving family. She is a great watch dog and is treated as a human most of the time. She loves eggs and ground beef.
Tipap-
Security, Troy's assistant - can do-it-all guy. Hard working, amazingly kind and trustworthy - lives with us. His only fault is he uses too much sugar in his juice.
Jeronne-
Helps with all household chores and is a nanny for our kids - takes care of Annie, sweet lady that helps us and lives with us. She is the MVP around here.

PEOPLE WE WORK CLOSELY WITH IN MINISTRY:
John and Beth McHoul-
Founders of Heartline Ministries - good friends and mentors - we work with them and their programs and live near them.
Pat and Randy Mortensen-
Our partners with World Wide Village - we are ministry partners and work with them on various projects and with visiting teams, they are in MN and handle our personal support dollars.
Shelley and Byron Tlucek-
Work with Heartline - manage the two kids' homes. They also have a large family.
Dan and Sheila Lynch-
Work with Heartline - directly oversee sewing school and assist with other womens program.

There are others ... but these are the folks most often mentioned on the blog.