Sunday, August 31, 2008

Bumper Stickers

I found a web site that has 'stickers' for your blog and myspace. I have posted a few here that kind of describe me or mean a little something to me currently...I have also pasted 3 at the side of the blog that are a mantra in my life!


MY MANTRA....




REALLY NEED THIS ONE LATELY...


THOUGHT THIS ONE WAS GREAT










FOR THOSE THAT KNOW ME WELL....THIS IS SO TRUE











SOMETHING I NEED TO REMEMBER

Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Job Search

I have been nervous as possible lately. First, I applied with the local bus company to drive bus for them....applied for the special ed bus due to my sign language skills and past experience with handicapped (no jokes about the short bu and driving it as opposed to riding it..hehe) After I applied I found out they have 4 people without routes they have already hired so my chances are slim to none right now.... :-(
I am going this week to apply for a job thru the school that I am going into with recommendations from the school my kids go to because they know me so well, but it isn't up to them if I get the job or not.
The position is for Nurse Assistant to work at 5 or so schools in the District helping out the main nurse. Good thing is I have medical training so I hope I have a good chance...say your prayers for me that I get it...I will let you know.

It is weird looking for work when I have been out of the job pool for so long. I worked for Adoption Agencies for years, but it was always from home with occasional trips to the office every few months....mostly on my own. To now go out to search and be in the public all the time is strange. I have worked in adoption since 1998 so any job before that they will not remember me and had I left work in 1996 to get ready for the baby we were adopting...which actually took 18 months and ended being Hunter, a totally different child than we started out adopting...God works in mysterious ways. Even so, I was out of the typical 'job market' since 1996....scary prospect going back in, but it is necessary! I told Curt I hate to get my hopes up for anything since it makes me feel rejected...I take everything personal I think...hehe

Pray for the opportunities and for God to show his plan to me if possible.

Friday, August 29, 2008

A Sour Cream Day

Ok..I have to write about a funny that happened the other night.

Tuesday Curt comes home kind of grumpy. He had one of 'those days' at work, where you deal with adults who act like children, money issues that were dogging him etc. He was just a bubbling cauldron of grump that so wanted to overflow.

I was standing next to him finishing up dinner so we could eat, bathe kids etc and I could go to a meeting with Fighters and the Promoters of the next show I was doing.

Curt was about 1 foot from me, telling me about his day while finishing up his serving of potatoes etc. He reached for the sour cream and I told him I had already put some on his so he didn't need to. In his reach to return the sour cream to the counter, it fell....sour cream container- open, landed flat on its bottom on the ground in between the two of us, splattering Curt all the way up his body from his legs to the ceiling...COMPLETELY MISSING ME and COVERING HIM from head to toe....hehehe. He then looked at me and said "Do you SEE what kind of day I am having??" To which I, the loving and dutiful wife replied with a hardy giggle, as well as the kids doing the same.

Hard for him to be to mad when he is covered in sour cream and we are all laughing at him. :-P

He lightened up deciding that the good Lord had gotten a laugh at his expense showing him that life can be a little screwy sometimes, but you have to laugh at yourself!

Now, we use the term 'sour cream day' to explain if we are having a crappy day :-)

Thursday, August 28, 2008

A Confession....Prayer Request

I am just going to lay something out here that has been heavy on my heart for a while now...I hope I am not judged, but I have to just say it and get it off my chest...or chesticles as Demi and Nikaya call them..hehe

I am in the process of looking for a job.
After quiting as an Adoption Coordinator I am only helping a few families on the side by answering questions etc...getting to do what I feel I am called to do, but not having to put up with agency bull while doing it. :-)
Unfortunately, it, along with the general economy now, has put us in financial straights. Not that I was making major $$...about $250-$300 a month with the agencies I worked with, but it helped.
We have added 2 kids and growing 2 others who have been home for a while, it has been tight.
We have debt, like many do, but I have one debt that makes me ill to owe....Our adoption fees of one child. I was able to work it out to pay little amounts on what we owed to get the kids home. I still owe quite a bit to Dr. B and feel sick about it. I know that he is so financially strapped that he NEEDS that money more than I do, but I have none to provide. We had big hopes of taxes, economy stimulus, promise of help from others etc.. but all panned out to be way less than expected, did not happen or had to go to other things when they were here.
He has asked a couple of times where we are in order to pay, and to have to tell him I do not have it makes me more than physically ill. He has never said anything to make me feel bad about it, other than I KNOW his position in Haiti etc.

Please, if you feel led to pray for the situation, pass on any job leads you hear in the adoption world etc I would really appreciate it...otherwise, it is just great to get it off my chest to someone other than the Lord and hope that if he hears it from more than me he will help me find a way to remedy the situation.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

OUCH!!!!

I am extremely sore today.
2 Days ago I woke up with quite a headache. My gums were swollen on the right side on the top and the bottom. I assumed I had something in my teeth, flossed extra and tried to go on. My headache never went away so I popped Ibuprofen pills like there was not tomorrow.
Today I woke up and the headache was worse and my jaw was swollen. I tried flossing again and took a good look at my tooth and saw a crack running thru it that was not supposed to be there...I thought about trying to hold off until Thursday PM, when the kids and I are scheduled for our regular appointment for cleaning, but the swelling had me worried and the pain was now getting worse.
I called and they got me in today at 9am...x-rays showed a lovely broken molar on the right side of my mouth...CRAPTACULAR! Good news-No root canal needed since the break was far enough away from the root of the tooth! Bad news-I need to have a crown which costs $400 for my portion...YIKES..I don't HAVE $400 I can give them. They managed to numb me (EEKKK...needles) and removed the broken piece and fill it in with filling material....good to get me thru for a while...whew! :-)
I am off to take more Ibuprofen to help with the pain of my jacked up gums and try to find something to make for dinner that the family likes and I can eat!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

A Missionaries Insight on Healing...

Check out my friend Brynn's blog at:



http://jamesonetwentyseven.blogspot.com/



She has an interesting blog on life as an orphan, from the views of herself losing her own mother to understanding the very children she is living with in Haiti.


The blog is titled HEALING:
Her words: "Please don't forget these children in your prayers. They are the lucky ones in their country, but being lucky doesn't protect them from the scars of being an orphan. "

These words struck such a chord with me. Thinking of my own children who are now home and how well they have meshed into our family, what scars do they hold inside that still need healing..

THANK YOU BRYNN, FOR HELPING TO LOVE OUR CHILDREN BEFORE THEY COME HOME TO US!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Were Jumping Here

A few new things are going on around here.

1. I have fights coming up Sept. 5th at the Speedway and 27th at Qwest...should be a blast.
2. Have first Choir practice coming up , but think I have a fighter meeting the same night....gotta work that out...hehe At least my church knows what I do so they will understand when I say "I cannot come to first practice this time because I have to meet with a bunch of sweaty guys who want to punch each other"...hehe
3. Took Demi today to meet an old Friend of mine that runs a Modeling agency. She is anxious to have someone like Demi, with an exotic look, dark chocolate skin etc.
We are having my dad try his hand at taking head shots of her tomorrow and then we give them to the agency to put up on the web for people to book from. They are anxious to give her a class and get her ready for a fashion show in Oct. Should be fun as we see how she does in front of the crowds and cameras flashing at her from every angle.

Gotta run for now....peace to everyone

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

1st Day School Report

Well, today went off pretty good considering all things I guess.



Demi and Kai made their bus, even though it was EARLY...:-)



Hunter made it out the door with all school supplies and the correct bus was ridden (I swear we have 50 in our subdivision....3 different buses stop at our bus stop alone..)

All kids left without a hitch, supplies were sent and kids were fed, cleaned, dressed etc.



What we did NOT do:

Demi forgot to turn in her papers she needed to

Hunter left without his ID card that is like a mini drivers license and allows you to pay for lunch etc.



This all was managed by me with a MASSIVE headache and aching body. After all kids leave, I come upstairs and log in to check emails, pay lunch $$ for Hunter and call the school to see if it is needed that I bring his ID card to school.

I got a reprieve and had mostly junk mail, Hunter could live one day without his ID card and papers can be turned in tomorrow.



I laid down on the bed for about 35 minutes until Nikaya wakes up. She and I venture back downstairs for food and both of us collapse on the couch to watch cartoons. I doze, Nikaya gets her pillow and dozes and wakes up with a RAGING fever. She tells me she is hungry and wants cereal with her medicine...1 bite down and it all came back up again along with tears and more headache complaints from me AND the 4 yo.....We clean Nik up, lay back on the couch to stare at the walls...Good Times! ;-) As my friend Ange would add-Job Security...aint it great?!



Kids are all home, Hunter has a class item that needs done (get to know your rule book type thing) and the other kids are home work free for today...whew.



Demi has to turn in her papers tomorrow, Hunter MUST leave all school supplies in his locker (a thought that freaks him out and he would prefer to carry 500lbs of items in his back pack instead) The thought of having to remember a combination is so beyond his range of normalcy that he is refusing to conform..hehe



Dinner is on to steam (potato bar for us with leftovers!!)



Tomorrow we will begin again and hopefullyI will be on top of it instead of half way under it...

Monday, August 18, 2008

Me in The cage



Here is me in the cage doing my thing!

School Soon...

I have mixed feelings about school starting in a couple of days (Aug.20th to be exact). I always find that the rush of life, homework, activities etc. keeps us hopping around all over the place. I also find I like it because it jogs us out of our summer lazy and gets us back on a schedule.
In the summer, kids will go to bed anytime between 11-12 midnight....we are night owls for sure.
When school is in, we have Demi and the Littles (the nickname for Kai and Nikaya) go to bed at 9pm and Hunter to bed at 9:30pm.
Demi and Kai get up at 6:30am for the bus which arrives about 7:15am, school starts at 7:55 and is out at 3:00pm.
Hunter will be on a different schedule now that he is entering Middle School....man, I cannot believe I wrote that word down....yikes! His bus will come at 7:50am, school begins at 8:30 and is out at 3:45.
Any activities we do must be done between dinner, homework, reading etc....it gets our groove on though, that is for sure!

I have joined our Church Choir and will begin practice next Tuesday. I have not sung in a choir since High school, so it has been just about 5 years...hehe...made ya think huh??!! It has actually been 18 years since I sang in a choir, and I have NEVER sang in a church Choir....to involved in the church element for me in the past. I am anxious to get going and see where it goes...very exciting.

Went school shoe shopping the other day for the oldest three. Hunter is now wearing a MEN'S size 7 sneaker, Demi is in a WOMAN'S size 5.5/6 and Kai is in BOYS size 3. I about freaked when I saw Hunters shoe size...Curt only wears a 9.5 in shoes...is Hunter going to pass him?? :-)
The kids are growing so fast it amazes me...sometimes it seems like yesterday that they all came home, needed food around for a constant promise that it would always be there, and hugs were looked at as fairly alien...we are a huggy/kissy family...much to the chagrin of the kids when they first come home...hehe now you would never know it was foreign to them.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Wanna See Me 1 Year Ago?

OK..I found this video on youtube..I end up on youtube, TV etc. with the fights.
It is short and the KO is great, but if you want you can fast forward to 1:45 (right after blue screen) and I am the one in the red shirt on the right of the screen. Pause it and drink in the mass I was packing....I have not thought of it as that big of a difference until I compare this pic.to the ones I have posted lately!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Do You Have G.P.S. ?

Our Holy Spirit is our GPS...God Positioning System.

As said to us today by our Pastor Geoff. Not sure who he said originally coined the phrase, but it resounded with me none the less!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Haitian Going to The Olympics!

Found this on my Yahoo news feed. Miami Herald posted this about this young Haitian Boxer...what an amazing man...Hope he gets the Gold!!!!!



Fight for Haiti: Boxer goes from boat refugee to Olympics contender
Posted on Wed, Aug. 06, 2008
the_miami_herald:http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/630713.html

BY DEZMA GAINER
dgainer@MiamiHerald.com

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Dressed in black trunks, Azea Augustama danced across the boxing ring, bobbing and weaving, striving for perfection with every hard-hitting punch. His goal: consistency.
A few days later, Augustama would be thousands of miles from his Miami Beach training ring, preparing for his Olympics debut. The National Golden Gloves boxing champion has come a long way from the 7-year-old who landed in Miami in 1990 aboard a rickety boat from Haiti.
''I have been working at this for 18 years,'' says Augustama, a light heavyweight who will be among 10 athletes -- and the only boxer -- representing Haiti in Beijing.
''When I'm at the opening ceremony and they light the torches, it might sink in then,'' says Augustama, 25, still awestruck about the possibility of living his dream. ``This is a lifelong experience.''
Augustama made the Olympics in mid-April by capturing the bronze medal at the International Boxing Association American Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Guatemala. He beat out competitors from Mexico, Canada and Uruguay. His accomplishment has captured the attention of South Florida's Haitian community, which last week had a fundraiser to help raise the $20,000 for his Beijing trip.
With thousands of athletes from more than 200 countries competing in the Olympics, Augustama knows there are no guarantees. But he says he is ready.
He has had more than 60 fights in the last four years. Competing in such places as Cuba, Ecuador, Brazil and the Bahamas, Augustama has an 85-8 record with 35 knockouts.
As a junior amateur, he competed in two Nationals, winning the 2001 Junior Golden Gloves Nationals and the 2000 National Police Athletic League Championships. He won the National Golden Gloves in May by defeating the defending light heavyweight champion.
But while his Haitian citizenship has created a path to the Olympics, it also has hindered him.
''Not being a [U.S.] citizen, I couldn't go to certain competitions, and Haiti is in a lot of turmoil and did not have the money to send me because it is expensive,'' Augustama said. Many countries cover expenses of their athletes regardless of where they live.
FOCUS ON TRAINING
With few competitions to bolster his competitive edge and grow his popularity, Augustama said he focused on his training: jump roping, shadow boxing, sparring with partners and the punching bag, and running four miles a day.
He paid for the training by working a construction job for the last four years. It has also allowed him to support his 2-year-old son, Azea Jr., and his girlfriend. He was laid off in March.
''I chipped and hammered all day, plain and simple,'' he said. ``It would break your joints down, and by the time I got to the gym I was really beat up.''
Augustama, who is not on any Olympic ''to watch'' lists, faces a tough road in Beijing.
Jacques Deschamps, who has a 37-year career as a boxing manager and promoter, has never seen Augustama fight. But he knows about his achievement.
His chance of winning an Olympic medal, he says, ``depends on the draw.''
''If he draws a Cuban first round, he's out of it,'' Deschamps said in a telephone interview from Haiti. ``If he has a good draw where he doesn't draw a Cuban or an American, he will have a fighting chance.''
Earlier this year, Augustama realized another dream. He became a U.S. citizen. While theoretically the Haitian Constitution does not recognize the citizenship of another country, Augustama was still a Haitian citizen while competing in the qualifying fights. Also because he and his parents were born in Haiti, Augustama and his coach say, the government saw nothing wrong with the representation.
Neither does his parents. ''It doesn't matter what happened in Haiti, we are still Haitian,'' said his mother, Cilia Augustama, who is proud that her son will represent Haiti at the Olympics. His first fight will be Saturday.
On Monday, the day Augustama and his trainer left for Beijing, Cilia Augustama prayed that he will win a medal in China. She keeps faith and is sure of his chances of winning ''because I know that God is with him,'' she said.
THE JOURNEY
It's not the first time Cilia Augustama has prayed for her son's success and safety. Born in the northwest Haitian city of Gonaives, the young boxer fled Haiti with his parents and seven of his nine brothers in 1990 in a boat. At the time, Haiti was mired in political violence as the country prepared to elect its first democratic president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. Thousands of Haitians fled on the high seas.
''We left because of political reasons. They use to come in your house and question you and sometimes not even question you and just kill you,'' said Augustama, 62, a retired housekeeper. ``We needed more security and a better life and education.''
He grew up in a tough North Miami neighborhood where many of his friends and neighbors easily fell prey to a local gang.
After failing to make his high school football team because of lackluster grades, he discovered boxing. At 15, he was boxing with the Hollywood Police Athletic League with trainer Antonio Detancourt.
Soon, what began as recreation became a passion.
Among the people Augustama has trained and spared with: Jermain Taylor, World Boxing Organization Middleweight Champion of the World, and Arthur Abraham, International Boxing Federation Middleweight Champion of the World.
''I look at him as a specimen. He is the epitome of a lightweight champion,'' said Detancourt, Augustama's trainer.
Detancourt has trained more than 50 amateur fighters, but Augustama is his first boxer to qualify for the Olympics. Detancourt says the ultimate ending to Augustama's storied journey would be for him to be Haiti's first boxer to win a medal, and the first Haitian since Sylvio Cator won silver in the men's long jump in 1928.
''It would be a beautiful feeling,'' Detancourt said.