I need to purge this information and then get back to packing ...
- Our kids were late to school on day two. :( What winners we are! Driving this far through that traffic is not the best way to start your day. Patience required.
- MN Team departed without drama - in the air to MSP already ... only one hour delay out of PAP - To continue along and to support the Kohnen Family through this difficult time, you can go to their site at: www.caringbridge.org/visit/stevekohnen I know they appreciate your prayers.
- New house not ready. "It will be ready August 15" - actually means - "It won't even be ready August 20" The owner informed us it was "not his fault". We questioned that logic (silly Americans) and he said it was the workers he hired - it is their fault. TIH
- There were some tense moments trying to negotiate how to move forward.
- Spontaneous and involuntary crying happened ONLY 4 times today. 1. When house was not ready and I could feel Troy's disappointment. (Not that I was not disappointed, just that I was more sad to see him so defeated.) 2. At lunch talking over the sadness of leaving people we love out here. 3. Over finding out I had majorly screwed something up. 4. Upon picking up Paige and seeing that she looked sad and cranky.
- (Thank you Shelley for your help!)
- We bought two desks. It was a smooth transaction. Customer service was superb. That was the highlight of the day. They even gave the wrong price then when they gave the higher price and we stood there trying to decide if we still wanted them, they said "Because it was our mistake we will give it to you for the lower price." We just about fell over dead. That just.does.not.happen.here.
- Troy was supposed to photograph the Gray Family. We set it up, it is on our calendar, I even spoke with Gail Gray at length yesterday and KNEW we had an appointment to meet them and take their family photos at 4pm. Phone rang at 4:30 and I burst into tears when I saw it was Gail and realized the stupid mistake. I never thought of it once today. Troy did not have his camera. They got dozens of children (or what seems like a dozen) ready for photos and sat in the heat waiting for us. Lovely. I feel like a total dweeb. We'll try to screw our heads back on and actually show up and try it again on Friday.
- We attempted to set up for delivery of appliances for tomorrow. We'll just see how that translates into reality. TIH.
- Knowing there are some Q. Christian School folks reading, I'll word this carefully so as not to offend anyone ... none is intended ... but Paige says (and I agree) it is very alternate universe there ... she said she had to get used to being the "rich" girl in her little village setting -- now she is the "poor MK" in a school with many very wealthy students. We decided the subculture of the school is like some sort of vortex of socioeconomic oddity- both bizarre and intriguing ... and that we will all have an amazingly entertaining year watching and learning about that subculture.
- Isaac really likes school so far. He just wonders if he is cut out for waking up every day at a certain time. It feels a bit rigid and restrictive to him.
- Hope goes for half days. We decided we need to wait until Monday for her to go back, the noon pick-up think won't work with moving from 90 minutes the opposite direction.
- The work left to do on the house is going to need to be done as we move in - requiring extra patience for people who have fried brains and are communicating poorly. Good times good times.
- While at the house today, Noah asked "When are we gonna be done?" 784 times in one hour. Then he informed me he wants to live at the "green gate house fo-evah". (Lifeline) On the way home he and Isaac had a deep conversation about the UN. I was highly entertained as they pontificated about the soldiers and the ramifications on the political process. ;) No. Not really. But they did have a lot to say about the tanks, the guns, and the soldiers. I had no idea they knew what the UN was.
- My Dad gets here tomorrow, I am guaranteed to melt down at the sight of him walking out of the airport.
- I miss Lydie and Phoebe and Annie like crazy, I feel like I have not had five minutes to connect with any of them in the last week. Jeronne is doing great as their stand-in Mom, I could not be more pleased with the way she cares for them. Tonight when I finally got home at 7pm Lydia was content to sit on Jeronne and did not do her happy dance that she usually does when she sees me. :( Waaaaahhh. Sad.
- Troy and I talked on our drive through Port today and realized that one person we met up in Petit Bwa on Sunday was heavy on both of our hearts. We're looking into finding help for his situation. It was cool to realize we were both thinking the same thing and feeling compelled to enter into his situation. Pray for Pierre. We'll share more later.
- There will either be a major cry-fest or a major fight --- we feel it coming on. If we fight, it will totally stink. Crying is much preferred to fighting.
- We have a real sense that we are on the cusp of some really exciting and fun and challenging ministry stuff ... it feels good to be moving toward that.
- I hate that I am a person who uses terms like "ministry stuff".
- We feel loved and supported by you. Thank you for that! We'll see what sort of Internet access we have in the coming days - until then ... entertain yourself with this contest ...
To enter you simply need to make a "It is so hot that _____" or "It is so hot you could ___" statement. It does not have to be funny or even unique. The winner will be drawn from a hat. All entries will be eligible. The only other requirement is to share one random thing about yourself. We're thinking lurkers could maybe even delurk. One entry per person. Not sure when the contest will close, but not for at least a few days.
Prize:
Brand New IPod Shuffle - valued at $49.99
My non-entry entry: (True) It is so hot that my deodorant curdles in my armpits.
Out-
tara (for all of us)
