Black and White Wednesday ~ Liz's Best Friend

This is my, every bodies Liz's Stephen.

He is 15 years old and stands over 6 foot 4 inches. 

His heart is as big as feet. 

If there is water around, he is in it. If there is work to be done, he does it.

If this little girl is around....He will drop everything and do what she asks of him.

This is Mary Elizabeth's big brother...We should all be so lucky.

The Haven

March 19 Kathryn's "Little Flowers" group hosted a garage sale.  They collected things from neighbors, friends and family to sell that early, cool Saturday morning.

All the proceeds this year will go to The Haven in Spartanburg. The girls raised a little over $200..

The Haven is a non-profit organization that helps homeless families stay together. The Haven provides a warm, safe place for a whole family to live and ,most importantly, stay together while the family over comes their terrible hardship.

This year, as you can imagine, the Haven has been very busy.

Through out the year the Little Flowers try to make a difference in the lives of the people around them.

Later this month, the girls and their leader will take the money they have earned and go shopping. They will buy things like: towels, sheets, dishes, shower curtains and other items a family may need to set up a proper home. The girls will take all these items down to the Heaven and just simply... hand them over.  When the time comes for these families to leave the Haven, we hope, they will have what is needed.

The Little Flowers have learned are teaching everyone around them to Walk the Walk. At this young age they know talk is cheap and "The Walk" is what is important. They are putting people and families first.

I tell you, I couldn't be more proud of the woman my Little Flower is becoming.

Black and White Wednesday & A VERY Special 13th Birthday

I sat down to write about Kathryn and her 13^th birthday today and how I can’t believe the time has past. How lucky I feel to have been privileged enough to be not only her mother, but to be her school teacher as well.

I thought I would tell you for her birthday everyone showered her with the most beautiful gifts.

I thought I would tell you about the ring my mother had made for Kathryn out of an old earring. My father had bought a set of earrings for my mother over 50 years ago in Filen's Basement and when my mother lost one earing she held on to the other one saving it for years. I thought I would mention my mother had the remaining earring made into a MOST fabulous ring this year just for Kathryn. I wanted to say just how delighted and truly special this gift is to both Kathryn and me.

I thought I mention how Margaret bought Kathryn a beautiful jewelry box just to put the ring in.

13 for Kathryn this year will be a year to remember.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really have wanted to post all this for the past couple of days but I couldn’t get to it for one reason or another. Tonight I decided this post may be a great post for Black and White Wednesdays.

So now here we are and Kathryn is not only another year older, she is making advances into the cooking world.

Tonight she was trying to boil water for a nice hot cup of peppermint tea before ending her great day and calling it a night. After putting a pan on the stove to boil the water in, she covered the pan with a plastic cover that was way to big for the pan AND she walk away!

Mark and the boys were not home and before I knew what had happened the house was covered in black soot, the stove was on fire and I couldn’t get the fire alarms off…….WHAT A MESS!!!

Uuuuuuu

Soooooo, now I’m just think-en

Maybe we should take a little closer look at Lisa’s cooking posts after debate class for dinner tomorrow night……and then hit a few of my cousin Anne’s Simply Sweeter posts for dessert.

Maybe we should consider tutor. ANNE??? Lisa??? What do you think?

Snapshot Sunday ~ MAN!!!

You know sometimes you just get those shots that say,

"Oh! Wow! I can use this one for Melissa's "Snapshot Sunday".

So you save the picture and try not to forget you have it.

Well, I didn't forget!

Reiner had a birthday last week AND out of respect for my elders

I am not going to tell you JUST how old he is this year...or next.

BUT MAN!!!

Happy Birthday Month Riener!

I Wonder...Did I Blow It?

Can you get behind on blogging?

Blogging is something I do for fun; to look back and see what has really happened through the year....To see if my memories match what truly was, to see who was loved, to see how the children have grown and all the other "stuff" in between.

Now with our seasons changing I wonder, Did I blow the post I should have done about the snow and the fort Stephen built.

One February night, almost a month ago now, we had the prettiest snow fall. It was so soft, fluffy and light. The perfect snow to play in, to build forts in, have snow ball fights in and to just really enjoy the night.

It wasn’t even that cold. The best part of the snow, to me, was, IT was gone the very next day.

Those are the snows I like.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Did I blow not posting about the “Little Flowers” volunteering at the Soup Kitchen?

They got up very early a cold February morning excited about “doing good” for their fellow man.

It really was a warming site.

The girls were a little nervous a first……

But, they jumped right in and did everything they were asked to do with warm and loving hearts.

Did you know, at the Soup Kitchen they not only give one well prepared feast, they offer; a bag that contains some food for the rest of the day, clothing, and just a few personal items, if they can.

You can only take one deodorant, tooth paste or soap …….NOT one of each…..ONE!

You must choose …”Which one do you need the most???”

AND THAT was REALLY tough to have to say.

This was my job…..and mostly, the people ,down on their luck at soup kitchen, understood; Most would just take one, and say “thank you” with a smile and then walked away.

After it was all said and done.….The six girls that came with me, giggled all the way home in the back of my van sharing doughnuts, talking about school issues, books they have read, foods they like and how they should wear their hair.

When I asked them what they thought about the Soup Kitchen they didn’t say much….Thinking about it now, I don’t know if they really knew what to think. They understood, for the most part, these are people that are down on their luck. They understood some of these people made bad choices but some where stuck in a very bad economy. They understood anyone of us could be standing on the other side of that soup kitchen line easy enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So now here we are……The middle of March.

In the height of our birthday season. And, with every passing birthday the memories DO NOT fad…….The presence of our dad grows stronger and the tears still flow freely and easily when we realize…It IS true. All “that” really happened.

But somehow the “Time goes on” as I can hear my father say….and we celebrate each and every birthday and all the "mile stones" of our lives.

There are seven birthdays in our family this month.

AND the BIG surprise this year...

James in now 21!

Black and White Wednesday ~ YA Gotta LOVE George!

Did YA know?

We Celebrate SEVEN Birthdays in March.

SEVEN!

In the spirit of the BIG Birthday month, I thought I would take a picture of everyone who had a birthday the month of March and was at James's 21^st birthday party.

Sometimes George likes to steal the show...

Well, If you know George, you will know, most of the time George likes to steal the show.

That is what makes him fun.

He thinks he ruined this picture....What he never realized was as soon as he jumped in front of Reiner I thought, "Oooo! This will be a great picture to play Lisa's Long Road to China and Black and White Wednesday."

George was very pleased with himself thinking ~ He was making things difficult for his "little Sister". He is always teasing...The perfect big Brother. He plays his role like a pro.

Now here is the thing: George doesn't have a computer and he doesn't read the blog.

Soooo, let's not tell him...The joke really is on George.

I hope he will keep trying very hard to ruin more pictures.

Teasing George back is fun!

Snapshot Suday ~ "OH! I Got It!!!"

Playing Melissa's "Snapshot Sunday"

I thought I would post this picture of Kathryn playing basketball;

She was on the church team and those girls worked hard!

I took this picture last Tuesday night at one of the play off games.

I didn’t even realize I took this shot. I looked down at my camera thinking darn it…I didn't even

look.......

I missed again. But there it was.

I skillfully planned this shot.

WOW!

I am really getting the hang of this thing.

Surprise! it's Black and White Wednesday or George's Birthday

So Bill wanted to have a Surprise Birthday party for George.

It was "The" Big One.

Not that Big one. The other Big One.

NO! The one before that one.

So anyway, Bill planned the party.

Stephenie made a cake.

We all could not be leave how authentically old fashioned it looked.

And that gave me an idea....I could try very hard to get this post out in time to play Lisa's Long Road to China Black and White Wednesday.

Bill planned the party for weeks.

He told the whole family and invited all of George's friends.

Kristen came down for the fun.

There was just one problem.

George didn't know about the party.

Soooo,

George was not in a hurry to be at the party.

Stephenie called her dad and told him her car died at Uncle Bill's house,

AND

she needed him to come and fix it right away.

George figured Bill would be home soon and could fix it.

He worked all day, needed to go by the store and would not rush.

After all she was okay...She was at her uncles house.

So we waited.

And we waited

AND

We Waited

Then we had to pull out the BIG GUNS....

You guessed IT!

We used the B-A-B-Y!

Stephenie told her dad she had to get home...Aubry was out of food and she was screaming!

Uncle Bill would not be home for awhile. He just had to come.

Now THAT

Got him moving.

He couldn't believe all the people....He couldn't get over the cake.

The food was great.

The games were fun.

Most of all it was just a great time getting together having fun and laughing again.

There was just one thing.

George said "He wished someone would have given him a heads up.

"He would have gone home to take a shower and change before he was surprised."

Soo???

The First Flowers of Spring

Does this mean Winter is over?

Black and White Wednesday the Heart Beat

I can hear it now:

"Why would you post that picture?" "No! More Close ups!"

I know my mother is not going to like the picture I choose this week for

Lisa's "The Long Road to China"

Black and White Wednesday.

But I Love this picture of her and I think it is a perfect way to end a difficult month....

the month of Love... the month of February.

STRENGTH, BEAUTY, LOVE

I wish my mother could see what I see when I look at pictures of her.

I see the HEART BEAT of our Family. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please don't forget to Ask Congress to support the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009....My mother would really appreciate it.

Home From Haiti ~ Regina

My cousin Regina sent out this letter February 11 telling everyone she was home and about her experiences in Haiti.

I wanted to post this letter not only because I am proud of Regina there were many people wishing her well that are not on her e-mail list.

I thought some of you would like the opportunity to read her letter.

Hello All:

We departed 95 degree Haiti at 9 in the morning, and arrived home to frigid Boston around midnight Sunday 2/7. Shovelling out from 6-8 inches of snow this morning never felt so invigorating and freeing to me. I'll take this weather and American taxes anyday over life in Haiti. I live in a beautiful country and really take way too much for granted.

I've been home a few days and am still feeling the effects of what I experienced. My body is physically spent as I've never worked so hard in my life. Every time we turned around there was something more that could be done. The morning quickly became afternoon and soon it was evening and then the sun set and the next thing we knew, it was midnight or 2 AM and, I was STILL working!!! Half the time I couldn't remember when the last time was that I ate or went to the bathroom! Constantly I was pulled in different directions....to medicate someone or perhaps 50 patients; to take down dressings and re-bandage gruesome wounds; to bathe victims caked with 3 weeks worth of earthquake soot; to improve the living quarters of 100 women who were sleeping on straw mats on a concrete floor; to assemble a shelving unit from card board boxes & surgical tape, to create an accessible stock area for nursing supplies; to digging a foxhole-like ditch for the emptying of bedpans; to hanging a 2 mile long clothes line for the hand washed laundry to dry. No joke...these are some of the many things that I found myself doing. Sometimes reality would hit and I'd shake my head and think 'I can't believe I'm doing this'!

As a nurse, I found myself thrown into situations that were far beyond my scope of knowledge, however I worked to the best of my ability and really believe I made a difference in the lives of many. As a woman, I felt my maternal insticts pulling me into that role of nurturer and protector. I fell in love with so many of the beautiful children. One in particular who I will give an update later in this letter. As a human, I felt very conflicted that such poverty exists...I'm talking about life in Haiti before the earthquake. How is it that a country can be so corrupt and allow their people to live in these conditions? It is an awful place...dirty, antiquated, sad.

I was in Milot, Haiti. A small town 75 miles north of Port Au Prince. I did not go anywhere near the epicenter of the quake. Our area was not damaged by the earthquake. Hopital Sacre Coeur is a hospital funded by the Order of Malta, here in the States. It functions and is well equipped for 75 patients. Since the earthquake, the hospital has expanded to nearly 400 pts. The original hospital building has been transformed into an ICU, PACU, 3 OR's, 3 Procedure Rms (mostly for casting), and the upstairs is used for non earthquake related patients. We had a birth up there last week. A beautiful healthy little girl! Across the street there was a school building which has been taken over to house the majority of patients and also a nutrition center which was taken over and used as the Pediatric Center. And, another school which is used as the Emergency Room & Triage areas. A soccer field has become a helicopter landing area where victims are brought in from Port Au Prince, the USS Comfort ship, and many of the field hospitals around the immediate earthquake area. The Caritas Hospital Network in Boston, has shipped down 5 very large tents which went up during my time in Haiti. We called it Tent City and it looks just like M.A.S.H. The plan is to move all of the patients out of the school buildings and get the children back into school. The tents are being stocked with supplies and cots/beds and can house up to 500+ patients. The moving of patients had just begun as we were finishing up our 10 day stay.

The volunteers sleep (not much!) in a gated, secured compound. There are 3 buildings, sort of like retreat houses, with 3 people per room and several common bathrooms/shower rooms to share. Tents were also pitched to accommodate volunteers. I was lucky to be assigned a room with a bed in the convent. I roomed with 2 other Caritas nurses and we did have a bath & shower in our quarters that was shared with a few other nurses who were sleeping on cots in the convent kitchen & living room. There was a cook for the volunteers and meals were meager and a little different than what we'd normally choose to eat. Breakfast was delicious juicy grapefruit & Haitian porrage. Lunch was rice & beans and some sort of mystery meat, either goat, mule or some kind of bird. Supper was rice & beans and vegetables. I was very happy that I thought ahead and brought with me those foil packages of tuna!! There was also a fridge full of Coke and cold beer...which was a welcome treat enjoyed by all.

Many of us left behind our shoes and clothing. I gave the few articles of clothing I brought to my friend Rita. She had nothing of her own and was thrilled to have some "new" things to wear. My shoes went to my interpreter Jaqueson. He was a tremendous help to me and I was really happy that my brand new Reeboks would be well worn. I also gave him the Quaker Instant Oatmeal that I brought and never ate. You'd think I gave that boy a thousand dollars. He actually cried real tears to receive my leftovers.

My little boy Raymond looks to be 2 yrs old, but they say he is very articulate, so it is possible he is 3 yrs old. He was found in the rubble of a little shack in Port Au Prince. There were other bodies around him, however he was the sole survivor. He arrived at Hopital Sacre Coeur on a chopper, the same day that I arrived. He was brought to us from one of the field hospitals in Port Au Prince with his right arm already amputated at the elbow. I met him when he came out of the OR on my second day. His wound was badly infected and he had just had more of his right arm amputated. He is now left with a shoulder stump. He woke up hysterically crying looking for his "Mama". I leaned over his bed and tried to comfort him. He was wild and trying to climb out of the bed. I was impatient, stressed and frustrated as the ONLY nurse in an ICU with 12 patients. I asked the surgeon to escort the baby's parents in to the unit. The doctor turned to me with this forlorn look and said: "he is all alone, there is no one". He's an orphan? I couldn't believe it. Everything stopped. My heart nearly burst out of my chest. This little boy, so cute, so innocent...crying for his "Mama", was all alone in this world. In this horrible dirty place, this little guy was totally alone. I couldn't help myself. He was reaching out to me and I just scooped him out of that big hospital bed and held him close. I cried like I haven't cried before. My heart broke for him. I wanted him. I wanted to take him home to my nice clean house in my nice clean world. I thought to myself, I can leave right now. I'll call Colin and tell him I have to come home with this little boy and we are going to adopt him and give him everything that we've given Andrew and MaryKate. It seemed so logical! He touched my face and stroked my straight, smooth hair...something he'd never felt before. He looked at my white skin quizzically and tried touching my light eyes. He was examining this pale creature that was tightly hugging him.

The family members of the other patients in the ICU came over to me. One lady put her arm around me and was comforting me. In spite of our language differences I knew what her eyes were saying. She had that Haitian resilience and hope that would impress me over and over again during my stay in her country. Then, a man came over to me. He was the husband of one of my ICU patients. He took the boy from me and spoke through the interpreter. He said "I'll hold the child for you sister, so you can get your work done." I wiped my tears away and shook my head in thanks. You are right, I thought...get a grip Regina, you have alot of work here and you are all alone with all these sick patients. I handed over the child and went back to nursing the ICU patients.

The boy was later transferred over to the Pediatric Unit. Every night I went over to put him to bed. I couldn't help myself. I needed to visit with him and know that he was okay. It was a task I looked forward to and I think Ray Ray also enjoyed seeing me. He'd stretch out his good arm and nestled his little head into my neck as I rocked him to sleep. He giggled when I whispered in his ears and simply loved my rendition of American lullabies. A bright light for me leaving Ray Ray behind, is the man, named Tomas, who took him from me that day in the ICU. He was also captivated by the little boy. Tomas has become a surrogate Dad for Ray, and has spent much of his time with him in the Pedi Ctr. Tomas told me that he lost his 2 little girls in the quake and if he is allowed, he would like to give Ray Ray a home. That would be so wonderful. I know that Tomas loves him and would be good to him. If the child advocates doing investigations on behalf of the orphans at the hospital do not find any living relatives, then Ray will be placed for adoption. I was in close contact with the advocate assigned to Ray and I left a letter recommending Tomas be considered as an adoptive parent. If there is no family left, then I truly believe Tomas and his wife, who is healing from her injuries and doing well, would be loving parents for this beautiful child Please pray that it works out for Tomas and Ray Ray. I really believe they need each other and truly see the hand of God at work.

In closing, I want to thank you all for your thoughts and kind prayers for me. I honestly believe that it was the power of prayer and strength from those at home, that got me through the journey. It will take some time for me to process all that was experienced. I have many, many stories and memories...some haunting, some sad, some hopeful, some funny. I met so many amazing people...the volunteers - so selfless and living examples of God's infinite love and compassion, the victims - so injured and sick, yet so full of hope and determination, the families of victims - so generous of their meager belongings; offering support, guidance and motivation to every one of the victims, not just their own. The unselfish concern for humanity was so moving and inspiring. Thank you all for your interest. Please don't forget. Continue to pray for the people of Haiti and do whatever you can to support the earthquake relief efforts.

I hope to see you all and share my pictures and stories of the experience. Tonight I look forward to reuniting with my Haiti collegues for a debriefing. There is so much to sort out in my mind and heart. I've had so many personal experiences in my lifetime that have changed me, but there are none that even come close in comparison to this journey.

Again, my heartfelt gratitude to all.

Love,

Regina

Black and White Wednesday & February Birthday's

This February 16th Birthday has caused US a LOT of anxiety.

BUT!

It turned out okay.

So I decided to play Lisa's from A Long Road to China Black and White game.

Okay I cheated a little....

BUT

Shhh! Don't tell her. Maybe she won't even notice.

Tuesday we celebrated Margaret's birthday just as we always have.

THIS TIME WE ADDED JUST A LITTLE MORE CHOCOLATE TO GET US THROUGH!

See how Brain Celebrates the Hot Fudge?

It is home-made you know.

You can find the recipe on my cousin Anne's blog.

Her blog is amazing and Simply delicious!

BUT BE CAREFUL!!!

It can be a little dangerous for your health.

It is helpful that she throws in little hints....Like don't forget to breath...

Which I personally find very useful.

If you know anything about us or read any of my cousin's blogs you will know...

We have a little thing about chocolate.

Because my father's birthday is today...February 17....We have all been very worried about just how we where to get through the week.

For Margaret's Birthday I made a little chocolate.

Chocolate Cake...with Chocolate Frosting...and Home-Made Hot Fudge.

Once we were drunk from our very important chocolate fix

we decided to take a group picture.

We put the camera on the tripod and figured out

how to set the timer

In this picture not only did Margaret have her eyes closed,

Alex and Brian left to soon and Matthew started pinching Kathryn.

In this picture Brain is going to cry, Stephen looks like he just woke up from his nap

and I am not there!

After about 1600 times......We finally got it and it was just good enough

Perfect

YAY!!

DAY ONE DOWN

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

DAY TWO

None of us wanted to go through this day alone so we got together for one of our

father's three favorite meals.

Breakfast

Aubry came and brought her mom.

It was really a great idea!

The men finished up their business meeting outside.

AND

Aubry and Nana had a meeting of their own inside.

Even though there were tears and laughter.........There was a lot of LOVE and DONUTS!

Chocolate ones of course.

02.17.2007

You know what my dad would really like for this birthday?

He would love it if you asked Congress to support the Lung Cancer Mortality Reduction Act of 2009 by signing the petition. It really is that important.