Did you know?

*These are the quiet hours.  Everyone is asleep and the only noise is our fan clicking and the crickets and such outside.

*We are enjoying the 'beginning of fall' (smile) so the night temps are in the high 70's/low 80's.  

*Last year John was here in Haiti and I was at home in Madison with 3 of our kiddos and we were praying for our things to be released from customs and safely transported to this place where we now call home.

*I drove a couple of weeks ago for the first time in ~288 days (not counting the 3 or 4 times I've driven the mile to and from the soccer "field").

*It's not safe for me to go anywhere alone.

*On any given day I am "Mommi" to three times as many kids as I was when I moved here.  (My mama always said I'd probably grow up to have a house full of sweaty, stinky boys.)  :-)

*My kiddos (except one of them) go across the hall to school instead of across town.

*I miss going to the mailbox.

*It took a while to get used to boxed milk.

*We interact with people all day long, everyday, every week and these hours when it's so quiet are medicinal.

*I get lonely sometimes even though I'm constantly surrounded by people.

*Yesterday Kinley asked me how to say 'shower' in English.  Wonder how long it will be before she speaks more Creole than English...

*I never knew I could love a child that isn't flesh of my flesh as if he's always been my own until Cabila.

*Kylie wants to move to Africa when she grows up but she promises to visit us in Haiti.

*There isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss my pets.

*I know that my kiddos miss non-traditional/traditional church but I am so proud of them for being active in this foreign one here.

*Caleb lost another tooth tonight.

*John and I ordered a rat-zapper online and it arrived today.

*We need the rat-zapper to work and we probably need to order a couple more.

*I miss my girlfriends terribly and I daydream about reunions.

*I believe my mama and daddy are 2 of my biggest fans.

*I am amazed that God continues to give to us.

*I think it's sad that we assume people know how we feel about them so we don't tell them.

*I often wonder what Cabila's birth mom looked like.

*I believe that when you pray for something you should expect and be prepared for answers.

*Having a washing machine at the Mission House makes life easier.

*I took electricity for granted.

*There are children who dig in our trash for food and containers.

*We eat rice every day and sometimes some of us complain about it.

*So many kids here think that many of you 'hung the moon'.  We appreciate your investments and your follow-through.

*What you truly desire, you pursue.

*Being a missionary doesn't mean that you don't struggle with some of the same things everybody else struggles with.

*My heart breaks for mamas that search for others to take care of their own children they can't provide for.

*Balance continues to be difficult for me.

*I have to go to bed or I will not be a sweet teacher tomorrow.