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It looked like this-
Wake up around 7am. Go to church around 8:30. Lunch at Guesthouse to welcome our tutors/teachers with all the Heartline peeps at 1pm. Head home and relax by 3pm.
It went more like this:
7:30 wake up and see that Beth started texting at 2am about a birth happening.
Decide not to go to birth.
Realize Phoebe cannot leave house without much hair work.
Start working on that. Work on that for a looong time.
8:55 leave for church 20 minutes late.
Lydie sits in front of church refusing to listen acting like terror-child. She army crawls across front of church. I pick her up gently. She makes a scene and pretends that I abused her and screams that her arm hurts. For her own safety I send her outside to be with Aaron and Heather.
At church get text from Beth that says "need help, this lady has inverted nipples".
At church get a text from Heather that says "Lydie needs to poop, this sick bathroom is flooded. Now what?!"
At church get a text from Paige that says, "Ma, I don't think I want to go to lunch. My head hurts, plus Moses is sad today."
At church get a text from Troy that says "I love you". He is sitting next to me.
Answer texts in front row of church hoping John (preaching) doesn't notice.
Dislike myself for texting in church.
Leave a little early from church to deal with Lydie poop needs.
Go to store for Moses foods. Paige has texted again that we're out of what he needs.
Go home and finish brownies I am supposed to make for luncheon.
2pm Get all seven kids and three pans of brownies out the door.
Lunch and worship time (something PLANNED!! and it HAPPENED!!!)
Realize the team has been with us 24 hours and they've not had a chance to see much.
4:30 Take visiting Austin Stone Church team on a short little tour.
Arrived home around 6:15pm. Jen has had a stressful day. She picked up a patient from the Comfort Ship who is sitting on couch waiting for Jen to change blood soaked bandages. Patient was operated on yesterday but due to coming hurricane but was let off the ship right after that so the ship could leave.
Kids say they are hungry. Troy makes popcorn.
Paige feeds Moses his baby food.
We feed other kids popcorn dinner.
Kids watch movie together before bed.
Heather shows up with the inverted nipple mom. Jen needs to see the baby because of some concerns Heather has. Jen finishes bloody bandage change gal in family room and comes to kitchen to see Mom and baby.
I say to kids "Go get your water and head to bed - but there is a lady that had a baby today sitting in the kitchen so say hello to her."
Isaac says, "WHAT? A lady had a baby in our kitchen!?!?"
Put kids to bed.
Go downstairs to grab water and say goodnight/goodbye to Heather and new mom.
As Heather is leaving she calmly says, "I just saw a rat run under the steps".
I tell her she is a liar.
She says, "Wait. You don't want to know that there is a rat in your house? Okay then, I'm kidding."
We decide to believe Heather and call Geronne.
Geronne marches in the house full of vigor and moxie. Pleased to be given this assignment.
"Kote?" (where?) she asks. Heather points. Geronne grabs a can of bug spray.
(?)
Geronne begins moving things under steps. The rest of us stay back in the kitchen.
The new mom chuckles at the scene.
Geronne says "M' we li" (I see it) and sprays unending amounts of Baygone bugspray at it.
Rat runs out toward all of us in kitchen.
Heather, Tara, Paige jump on table. (Screaming.)
New mom stands off to the side laughing. Jen grabs her camera.
Geronne chases rat with bug spray. Starts to try to move refrigerator.
Jen takes photos.
Rat runs out from behind refrigerator and does a few circles. Geronne tries to beat it with a broom.
Much screaming.
We jump from table to higher spot on kitchen counter.
Rat runs from refrigerator to stove. Troy finally comes down. He has a shovel in his hand.
(He thought we were being attacked but had just finished showering and was grabbing clothing and a weapon.)
Troy informs us we woke up all the kids.
Geronne moves stove. I ask Troy if a propane explosion is possible? Isaac and Hope come to kitchen. They jump up on counter with us.
Rat cannot be found. Lydie starts crying in bed upstairs because of screaming.
Troy gives up on finding it behind or under stove.
Geronne claims it is drunk on bug spray and will die.
Heather and new mom leave.
Kids get put back to bed.
This blog gets written.
I lie awake for hours thinking about the rat that is still in my house.
Wake up around 7am. Go to church around 8:30. Lunch at Guesthouse to welcome our tutors/teachers with all the Heartline peeps at 1pm. Head home and relax by 3pm.
It went more like this:
7:30 wake up and see that Beth started texting at 2am about a birth happening.
Decide not to go to birth.
Realize Phoebe cannot leave house without much hair work.
Start working on that. Work on that for a looong time.
8:55 leave for church 20 minutes late.
Lydie sits in front of church refusing to listen acting like terror-child. She army crawls across front of church. I pick her up gently. She makes a scene and pretends that I abused her and screams that her arm hurts. For her own safety I send her outside to be with Aaron and Heather.
At church get text from Beth that says "need help, this lady has inverted nipples".
At church get a text from Heather that says "Lydie needs to poop, this sick bathroom is flooded. Now what?!"
At church get a text from Paige that says, "Ma, I don't think I want to go to lunch. My head hurts, plus Moses is sad today."
At church get a text from Troy that says "I love you". He is sitting next to me.
Answer texts in front row of church hoping John (preaching) doesn't notice.
Dislike myself for texting in church.
Leave a little early from church to deal with Lydie poop needs.
Go to store for Moses foods. Paige has texted again that we're out of what he needs.
Go home and finish brownies I am supposed to make for luncheon.
2pm Get all seven kids and three pans of brownies out the door.
Lunch and worship time (something PLANNED!! and it HAPPENED!!!)
Realize the team has been with us 24 hours and they've not had a chance to see much.
4:30 Take visiting Austin Stone Church team on a short little tour.
Arrived home around 6:15pm. Jen has had a stressful day. She picked up a patient from the Comfort Ship who is sitting on couch waiting for Jen to change blood soaked bandages. Patient was operated on yesterday but due to coming hurricane but was let off the ship right after that so the ship could leave.
Kids say they are hungry. Troy makes popcorn.
Paige feeds Moses his baby food.
We feed other kids popcorn dinner.
Kids watch movie together before bed.
Heather shows up with the inverted nipple mom. Jen needs to see the baby because of some concerns Heather has. Jen finishes bloody bandage change gal in family room and comes to kitchen to see Mom and baby.
I say to kids "Go get your water and head to bed - but there is a lady that had a baby today sitting in the kitchen so say hello to her."
Isaac says, "WHAT? A lady had a baby in our kitchen!?!?"
Put kids to bed.
Go downstairs to grab water and say goodnight/goodbye to Heather and new mom.
As Heather is leaving she calmly says, "I just saw a rat run under the steps".
I tell her she is a liar.
She says, "Wait. You don't want to know that there is a rat in your house? Okay then, I'm kidding."
We decide to believe Heather and call Geronne.
Geronne marches in the house full of vigor and moxie. Pleased to be given this assignment.
"Kote?" (where?) she asks. Heather points. Geronne grabs a can of bug spray.
(?)
Geronne begins moving things under steps. The rest of us stay back in the kitchen.
The new mom chuckles at the scene.
Geronne says "M' we li" (I see it) and sprays unending amounts of Baygone bugspray at it.
Rat runs out toward all of us in kitchen.
Heather, Tara, Paige jump on table. (Screaming.)
New mom stands off to the side laughing. Jen grabs her camera.
Geronne chases rat with bug spray. Starts to try to move refrigerator.
Jen takes photos.
Rat runs out from behind refrigerator and does a few circles. Geronne tries to beat it with a broom.
Much screaming.
We jump from table to higher spot on kitchen counter.
Rat runs from refrigerator to stove. Troy finally comes down. He has a shovel in his hand.
(He thought we were being attacked but had just finished showering and was grabbing clothing and a weapon.)
Troy informs us we woke up all the kids.
Geronne moves stove. I ask Troy if a propane explosion is possible? Isaac and Hope come to kitchen. They jump up on counter with us.
Rat cannot be found. Lydie starts crying in bed upstairs because of screaming.
Troy gives up on finding it behind or under stove.
Geronne claims it is drunk on bug spray and will die.
Heather and new mom leave.
Kids get put back to bed.
This blog gets written.
I lie awake for hours thinking about the rat that is still in my house.
21 comments:
This post made me laugh. Thank you for sharing the rat story and pictures! And this explains Troy's nipple shield tweets. =P
You guys are the best!
Thank you, Jen, for taking the pictures. They pretty much matched what was in my head. Now I'm going to go imagine the drunk rat. Goodnight all!
Now that's funny! Reminds me of the rat at the clinic in march that had Dgennie and I standing on the exam tables while the rest of the patients slept! Never a dull moment at the Livesay's...new mom's, post op patients and rats..nice combo!
I saw your post on Facebook and hoped the pictures were coming ;). I would be on that kitchen counter with you!!!
That is too funny... but I would be right up there with you. I remember a similar scene involving a tarantula when I lived near Leogane.
I am impressed with your ability to deal with chaos.
I am also sad to hear about the patient let off the ship so soon after surgery. I can't imagine... I just posted on my blog that the ship had had to leave and that I wasn't happy about it - but I hadn't anything specific, of course. Thanks for posting.
I want a picture of the drunk dead rat (with nipple shields hot-glued to its chest, per Heather's brilliant idea).
I will pray it really truly is dead.
I'm on Gabe's laptop and I very nearly left my last comment under his name. I wish I would've. He doesn't write about nipple shields nearly enough.
First, I thought Troy was posting. Not sure why.
I felt bad for him. When I saw it was you, Tara. I didn't feel so bad for you. Sorry.
Yay for Troy.
Isaac was correct in his understanding that the lady had a baby in the kitchen because your grammar stunk. (stank?)
The ending would have been better if Geronne had a lighter in front of the can before she started spraying. Flaming, running rat. Not sure why I imagined that.
We leave on Tuesday and will miss all our 'new' friends. See you in about a month.
John
having grown up on a farm - I often get calls from friends to find mice - rats, not really sure I want to do that.
I agree that a mouse will die from drunk bug spray.......
I don't agree that it is strong enough to kill a rat. Much less, a Haiti rat - that's been drinking anti-freeze in the ditch near PAP and is now hulk-like and glows in the dark.
GOOD LUCK
There are many things I will serve God through, but rats. AHHHHHH!
Crazy day, but I imaigine they are all like that.
Thanks for your blog! I am praying for you and your family and your ministry.
Oh mah word! Best post ever. I love it love it love and hope that rat is super drunk and dead by now!
I can so relate to the one pretending you hurt her arm. I have one that will go into dramatics in public for attention. Therefore, she doesn't get to go many places! And she's 6 & old enough to realize that game doesn't work.
geronne is the SHIT. look at her go!! your pants are a different kind of shit, but they make me like you even more. fraidy fraidy white whites.
Love it! So sorry it's every day life for you but thanks so much for sharing! Reminds me of the squirrel in the sink drain story. http://thisthatandlifesjoys.blogspot.com/2010/10/rest-of-story.html
Amy(TN)
Welcome back to Haiti, Heather!!! LOL
Loving the second to last picture.
-C
Haha Poor Paige was really scared. She appears to be going into a fetal position while standing. Haha.
Karen in Texas
Bug spray in Haiti 250 gourds
Troys shovel 1250 gourds
Picture of the three of you on a table "Priceless"
So funny! Thank you for sharing. We had rats in Congo (more like giant mice) and I was so freaked out by them that the only thing I would do is throw pillows at them while standing on the couch! Very effective!!
Thanks again.
1) Totally get the Phoebe hair problem, would not take daughter into black hair care store on Saturday for same reason.
2) The fruit in Haiti is beautiful and seeing it makes me see how crappy the fruit here in Iowa is
3) Geronne's arms are amazing, I would fear her if I were a rat
4) So....did you find the rat again? And if it does die as Geronne predicts it will leave an awful smell, correct?
Hi! Found you on the Logan family blog...just wanted to thank you for your honesty and telling it like it is...after 4 years of living in a foreign country myself, this post on "the plan" totally hit home...although I must say I've never quite had a day like that one...and I've never heard my son ask if a lady had a baby in the living room- too funny! The way you share honestly and speak the truth in love has been encouraging both to me and to my hubby. Thanks so much!!!
Brooke :)
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