Thursday, May 22, 2008

I Asked For, I Was Given....

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve,
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey;

I asked for health, that I might do greater things,
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things;

I asked for riches, that I might be happy,
I was given poverty, that I might be wise;

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of man,
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God;

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life,
I was given life, that I might enjoy things;

I got nothing that I asked for - but everything I had hoped for,
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered,
I am among all men, most richly blessed.

--Author unknown

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Would You Eat It???

Ok...those that know me, know that I LOVE chocolate. I am totally addicted. It has been a long running joke that includes friends, family and even my newest children....If ya want mom to eat anything just cover it with chocolate!!!
Well, now they may have been proven wrong....not saying I wouldn't try this, but I would have to mull it over seriously. I mean, I love chocolate and I love crispy bacon, but the two together might be gag inducing......


(Found on Dlisted.com)

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Nikaya's Booty Shaking Day

Yesterday, May 15th was the birthday of my youngest, Nikaya. She is now a BIG, BIG 4 years old....the BIG, BIG is her words, not mine! ;-P

Nik picked a local buffet to eat at and LOVED having the waiters sing to her while she stood on her chair and shook her booty....she waited a long time to have her B-day and get to be the booty shaker and has endured many others getting their day before hers. She still isn't old enough to go on the school bus or go to school, but she is big enough to do lots of things as she always reminds us!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NIKAYA!!!!




Nikaya, the day she came to New Life Link aged 18 months






















One of my Christmas Photos I got of her for update photo






















Nik, safe at home in her bed...living the hard life






Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Blog Theft Alert...






OK...I am admitting right off that I have blog stolen.....My dear sweet Vera, thank you for posting this cartoon...sums up my life some days!


Hehehe.....I am walking 2.5 miles per day and have now added 3lb. weights to my wrists. I am seriously hoping that this increases calories burned as well as tame my bat wings. :-P

I may be making a return trip to Haiti soon. I have another family that would like me to go with the mom to pick up their daughter. So...prepare the streets, I may be coming back to lay on them again soon!

4 Gorgeous Ones

Below are 4 of the MOST Gorgeous children you will ever see!

















Sunday, May 11, 2008

Fight Night Fun

Saturday night was fight night again! It was great to be back and the fighters were glad as well!
I am excited to report that our fights may become televised....me, large and on the T.V. Now everyone can see me threaten a fighter with violence if they misbehave...hehe (I had a fighter last night spitting blood at his opponent. When it was time for me to go check him out he was angry that he lost so he was stomping, cussing, spitting etc. I entered the cage and pointed square in the face of the fighter, who was 6'3" 240lbs, that if he spit blood in my face or cussed me in any sort of way, I was going to rip his arm off and beat him with it! I know, a kind and gentle touch is all that was needed for the guy, who responded..."no problem sweet Mama"...and did as I asked! :-) Much different treatment than he gave the Dr.'s filling in while I was in Haiti the last fight from what was reported to me.) Poor guy lost AND had broken his nose.

Fights were fairly clean. Several hyper-extended elbows from submissions and one we had to pop back in. One complete knock out and several face pummels but nothing major. I will let ya know when the televised shows will be on if interested...should be great!

Friday, May 09, 2008

A Little More Time

Well, with my schedule and getting back to Kiwanis group so late in the game, Peggy found someone else to speak on the 13th of May. I am signed up for June and see it as a great God thing. I want to put together a quick power point photo show etc and get in my head the intelligent things I would like to say, so this gives me more time to do that! I know if I don't have a pointed conversation I will meander on about Haiti, not making sense to anyone but me since I have been there, so I have time to plan..YEAH!

I am working Cage Fights Saturday 10th so I am excited for that. Pray that no one gets hurt to bad and I am able to care for them the best way I can and that things go well for all the fighters! I am taking a couple of old friends as well as their oldest son to see the show and will have my friend Jenn in place of my brother to help out ringside....I know she likes to help, but I think she likes the scenery as well....hehe

Thursday, May 08, 2008

More Field Trips and Stuff

Today Nikaya and I went to the Zoo with Kai's kindergarten class. It was a great day and everyone had a blast! Nik prefers to watch the Guin, guins...Penguins for those of you that don't speak 3 year old Crenglish....hehe Kai wants to see the monkeys! We had a couple of other kids and parents in our group so we had quite a bit of fun.



I have begun my outdoor waling routine now and can walk about 2.5 miles a day. I need to get better fitting shoes since even my feet have lost weight and now my shoes rub blisters on me. The first day I walked I came home with a limp and I hurt like an 90 year old gimp....not fun.



Adoptions are moving slower than sap. No one is answering emails at the US Consulate again...not that I am surprised, just frustrated. I have a family that should have traveled already, 2 families waiting for passports that should have been done forever ago and a family in IBESR that should have been approved many, many months ago as well....so it goes with Haitian Adoption, never an easy path to take. I wish the Haitian and US Governments would figure out that if we 'wealthy Americans' wanted to adopt children illegally or for slave trade that we would have picked an easier country than Haiti....But...What do I know??!!



I am working with the local 6th-8th Grade school in our district to do a food drive to benefit Haiti....mainly the New Life Link and Hope For The Children Orphanages and Creche. If it all pans out I am anxious to see how much food we can gather.

I am also going this next week to make a Presentation to the local Kiwanis group. Maybe they will have some awesome ideas to help a starving country so close yet so far from us.

I have spoken to members of my new Church into possibly doing a Mission trip next summer. This summer they are sending people to Spain, so I figure next year we can hit Haiti!
I have also been hooked up with the local Genesis Strength Team. They are a group of Christian's that 'street preach' and so feats of human strength to spread the word. They are also open to doing heavy jobs and traveling, so maybe I can get them to Haiti as well! They are amazing to watch. They preach, bend re bar and frying pans to prove the strength of God....that should interest a few Haitians, ya think??!!

Well, off to email Haiti again and hopefully hear good news for families.
Pray for the families as I have:
1. One family in IBESR
2. Two Families waiting for passport and Visa appointments
3. One family (my littlest daughters bio. brother) has had DNA requested after MONTHS of USCIS and US Consulate having the dossier ...this is so ridiculous I cannot even begin to tell you...
4. One family waiting to travel
5. And many, many more waiting for their kids to come to their forever homes.

Monday, May 05, 2008

Me, Tagged and Beautful :-)

I am: A child of God, a Happy wife, a Loving Mom

I think: I am a little crazy...ok...a LOT Crazy

I know: That my children know I love them

I want: my kids and their friends to want to play at our house instead of somewhere else

I have: a busy life

I wish: I weren't such a control freak and perfectionist

I hate: Mean people who judge before knowing the other person

I miss: The people I have lost in my life

I loved: Seeing my kids for the first time

I fear: The things my kids have to face because of their race and age and the state of the world
today.

I feel: Happy and content with who I am

I hear: My kids and the neighbor kids playing...as usual

I am filled: with happiness, doubt, anger and overwhelming hope

I smell: nothing..my nose has never worked

I crave: Chocolate-24 hours a day (at least only when I am awake)

I search: for more God in my life

I wonder: If I will ever be a millionaire

I regret: nothing...my past makes me who I am today!

I love: my family, friends and even those that do not like me

I ache: For extended family members to know God

I care: for the children of Haiti

I don't always: Come across the way I had hoped I would

I am not: Perfect...try as I might

I believe: In myself and the ones I love

I sing: Loud, Proud and fairly well

I cry: When I am extremely angry....if we are arguing and I start to cry...WATCH OUT!

I always: Try to say what I mean and mean what I say

I fight: For adoptive children and their families more often than they truly believe

I write: because it is good therapy

I win: every time a child comes to their forever home

I lose: When US and Foreign Governments have crappy bureaucracy

I never: say never...you do not know what the good Lord is going to give you!

I confuse: something being complete to my being accomplished

I listen: To crazy headbanger music and LOVE it even if you don't :-P

I can usually: Make friends with just about anyone, especially the people others deny

I never: Judge a book by its cover

I am scared: I will not live long enough to see my grandchildren

I need: Lord God, Family and Friends

I am happy: Most of the time

Grow Old With You

This song is for my friends Ange and Paul for their Anniversary!

This song is one that my hubby and I say is 'our song'....crazy but true!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY PAUL AND ANGE!

Saturday, May 03, 2008

Petit-Homme 11 Years Later

Today is the day. 11 years ago a wonderful woman gave birth to a little boy we know as Hunter Jaymes. Hunter has been home since the age of 2 months...now completely unheard of in Haitian adoption....ANY International Adoption....

Hunter is an intelligent, artistic, dry sense of humored young man. He has been in our lives so long that we forget that he has not a part of it forever.

I remember the day I first met him....we met Claudette in Miami on July 4th, 1997 to pick him up (Americans didn't travel much to Haiti back then for adoption). We were told our papers had some problems and the USCIS office wanted to close for the Holiday. One USCIS officer was considering sending him back to Haiti to work it out after the Holiday....Claudette prayed for them to get us and let us see him and for a resolution to be met without him having to return to Haiti.
A USCIS officer came to the outer area to find us and took us back to the area where he was. There for the first time I saw my Petit-Homme (little man) for the first time face to face. What a little wide eyed baby.
He was small, 6lb 10 oz and 18 3/4" long at 2 months....a peanut.
Curtis was great enough to let me hold him first...good thing cuz I probably would have fought him for it...hehe Claudette handed him to me and I just looked at him and he looked at me intently. I cried and looked like a complete idiot, I know it.
Another USCIS officer, this one an African American woman, came over and asked what was going on with the case. After having it explained to her she scoffed at the one officer who so coldly wanted to send him back to Haiti and took the file from him. She smiled at me and told us that she would get things cleared up and he could go with us, if it took her all night to get it straightened out. I swear, that woman was an Angel sent by God that night! She ran all the papers thru and got us on our way.
We hugged and thanked Claudette, a woman that I did not know would mean so much to me later in life...oh what great gifts the Lord had in store for us. We tried to take a photo with the USCIS woman, but were not allowed....very sad because I can see her in my head but cannot show Hunter the woman who helped us get him home that night.

Now, 11 years later, he is the beginning point of such a wonderful ride the Lord has put us on...one that has fed the ride of many others...he is truly a gift.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOO BOO!!


















Hunter, Summer 2006















Hunter doing one of his favorite pastimes, 2006



















Hunter being crazy with the camera, 2007





















Hunter the young man, 2008

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Craptacular News

I got home to crappy news. My Brother-in-Law, Derek, has been denied by insurance for his claim for a Liver transplant. They will not pay for up to 1 year. I am not sure how long he has had the insurance, but he really doesn't have a year to wait. I am not sure if there is an appeals process, but prayers are desperately needed for him and the situation...Thank you in advance!

A Dam Field Trip

Hehe. Today I spent all day with 5th graders (and Nikaya) at the Dam. Unfortunately we were not able to tour the dam since we had to leave earlier in the day to get back to school for the buses to make their routes. We did have quite a few stations that taught science subject such as Crops, Mining and taking care of the land after mining is done, the kids rode a raft and paddled, looked at water side vegetation and rode in an old wagon with big horses pulling it. It was fun...chilly, but fun. I think all the ragweed in the air has my allergies acting up and I am stuffy nosed now. :-P
Tonight Hunter is dancing in the Cinco De Mayo presentation at school.
I have a lot of photos to post, but blogger is being a butt and wont let me post anything right now....later maybe!