The Train To Crazy

Wordless Wednesday

4 generations. My daughter, my brother, my mother, and my paternal grandmother. Priceless.

For more Wordless Wednesday stop by 5 Minutes For Mom.

The movie you should watch

I got out to see a movie this weekend. Aahhh... Out of the house. It felt good. Some time out with a friend, a good movie. A great movie. Not a feel good movie, not a comedy, not a "chick flick".

But a great movie. A movie you should see. You don't need to be a foodie, or an environmentalist, or anything really. You just need to be a person who eats. Even if you are just a person that cares about people, this is a movie you should see. See the movie. You'll thank me.

Be where you are

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately where people talk about being very busy, not great at everything they do because there is a lot they are doing. Questioning whether they are over committed, spread too thin, not doing enough, etc. One of my favorite pieces of advice I ever heard was

"Be where you are"

If you are at work, be there. Don't let your mind wander to what you could/should be doing at home. If you are with your kids, be with your kids. Play with them, interact with them. Get off your blackberry or your computer or cell phone and be with them. On a date? Be there. Just be where you are.

Of course, the flip side of that is wherever you go, there you are. That may be a problem for some of us...

Where is that road?

We've had loads of fun this week. Well, not so much. It started with the discovery on Sunday night that our flight was on Monday, NOT Tuesday. Yeah, glad I checked. Then Monday brought a 4 a.m. wake up, 2 hour drive, 6 hour flight, etc. Oh, and the girls were sick. Sick, sick. Sickness continued throughout the week. And adjustment problems for a two year old. Combined with Arthur not getting home from work until at least 9:30 every night made for some rather grumpy kiddos and a very grumpy mom.

It all culminated with a lovely trip to the doctor on Friday. Naomi was writhing in pain so I got her an appointment and packed everyone up, prepared snacks, and headed to the doctor's office. Upon arrival we waited for a half an hour in the waiting room. Annoying, not the end of the world. The nurse then brought us back, took Naomi's vitals, said the doctor would be in shortly. We waited. Naomi cried. Maggie complained that she was missing her nap time. Daphne complained that I left the snacks in the car, there were no toys, she was bored, she wanted to play, etc. Everyone needed a trip to the bathroom. Naomi cried in pain some more. Oh yeah, the air conditioning wasn't circulating in the room either so we were all very sweaty. Finally Naomi fell asleep. Standing. With her head resting on the chair. 

I checked with the nurse to see how much longer it would be. She apologized for the delay. Yada yada. The doctor finally came in. We had been waiting in that room for about an hour and 15 minutes. Insane. The doctor apologized profusely. Yada yada. Tests needed to be analyzed. More waiting. 

After nearly 2.5 hours we were out of there. The doctor was going to call the prescription in so we could run right over to the pharmacy and get her on the prescription right away. Yes, at least something would be quick!

Not so fast. Got stuck in traffic for an hour on the way to the pharmacy a mile away. A water main had broken. Fabulous. Everyone fell asleep so I decided to detour, go through a drive through so they'd have food when they woke up. I didn't want to wake them up at the pharmacy and not have any food for them. So I headed off down the road. 3 miles to the nearest drive through. More traffic. I arrived at the drive through 25 minutes later. Glad everyone was asleep. Bought lunch, Naomi woke up. She had to go potty so we hurried home. I woke everyone else up, went up to our apartment, ate the food, and hurried everyone back down to the car.

As most of you know, it is no small task to get three littles in and out of cars. But, alas, we needed the prescription so we were on our way back to the pharmacy. After unbuckling everyone again we went into the pharmacy, only to discover it hadn't been called in by the doctor yet!! I called the doctor's office and the receptionist said she would do it but it was going to take her another hour before she'd have time. O.K. everyone, back into the car. We drove the 3 minutes back to our apartment and then I got the call. The prescription had been called in. Fabulous... So, back to the pharmacy. 

I think you get the picture. LONG day! Can I say how wonderful the kids handled it though? They did well. We survived and hopefully Naomi is on the mend. 

***

I mentioned that we needed to buy Maggie a new car seat. I thought to myself for a moment and said, "I'll probably buy it online." To which Naomi replied, "Oh, is that a road?" Why yes Naomi, it is a superhighway.

Taking out the weeds

A lot of the blogs I read are talking about balance and cutting back some on blogging for the sake of time and family. I've thought about that in the past but I'm not really sure that it is the blogging that takes up too much of my time. It is the reading blogs that takes too much time. How many blogs do you read?

I started using a blog reader (google reader) over a year ago and it really helped save time. I didn't have to check certain blogs only to find they hadn't been updated. I could have them all delivered to my "door." Along with this convenience came the "convenience" of being able to follow more blogs. Any blog I wanted. Now I have too many blogs coming to my in box. It is time to start weeding.

I've been trying to decide how to narrow them down. I think I have them ranked this way:

First: blogs of family and friends

Second: blogs with content that improves my life in some way or inspires me

Third: blogs I enjoy reading and keeping up on

Fourth: everything else

So, I'm toying with the idea of organizing my blog reader with these categories. If I have time I can read the first tier, second tier, etc. No time for the rest? Delete. Don't let them pile up because I'll never get to them. 

How do you decide which blogs to read? Do you spend too much time reading blogs? 

My favorite puzzle maps

Since my brother lives in Africa, we talk a lot about it to the girls. We have globes and they love pointing out Liberia. They also love pointing out "Chicken" but that is a different story. (There seems to be a mental block on the country of Turkey)

We bought this Africa puzzle and we love it. Since many of you have children from Africa, or are interested in teaching your kids about the cultures and countries around the world I thought I'd pass on this review. GEO Puzzles makes puzzles for all the continents, well, almost all of them. They aren't the kind of puzzles little kids can do by themselves but that isn't really the point. There are some very small pieces so keep them away from babies. All of the pieces are shaped like an individual country so kids can get to know the shape and location of the countries along with the name and capital. We usually have to do this puzzle at least once a day. My girls love it. Yours probably will too. Just be prepared to do it with them!

"oh, I love this apartment!"

That's right. We are back "home" after being "home" for the last two weeks. While we were staying in our old house, getting everything shipped out to Boston, the girls kept saying how much they loved that house and missed it. They loved the yard, the space, their room, everything. It made me feel pretty bad taking them away from it all to go back to our apartment. Then we stayed for a while at my parents' farm and they loved it there. They didn't want to leave. They loved everything about it and kept telling me they wanted to stay. I felt bad taking them away.

We got home last night, after traveling for 14 hours (door to door) and the girls ran in and exclaimed, "oh, I love this apartment!" It is good to know that no matter where kids are, no matter how fun or big or grassy the home is where they live, they still love it. I'm sure we all have a lot to learn from kids.

More fun on the farm and THE total

We are officially moved out. As of this coming Monday we will no longer be home owners. This actually makes me happy. Ahhhhh.

We are back on "the farm." We arrived here around 8 p.m. last night and spent the day relaxing and playing. There were trampolines to be bounced on, trees to be climbed, spaces to hide in and hiders to be seeked. 

Life is always more fun with cousins around.

I realized that I never reported the total for the Feed The Forgotten campaign. The campaign lasted for two weeks and over $20,000 was raised!! Since each meal can be provided for 14 cents, that means over 143,000 meals can be provided. Isn't that amazing? Thanks to all of you who helped out.

Also, if you are interested in watching the progress of the roof being put on the orphanage in Liberia be sure to check out the Orphan Relief and Rescue blog. It is being put on right now! 

Traffic, the human kind

Does human trafficking make you angry? It probably should. I think the reason people don't give it much thought is because, "really, how in the world would I be able to help?" 

Answer: Try answering that question yourself.

Seriously.

Did you know that many sources say there are as many as 27 MILLION slaves around the world. In the sex trade industry, 80% are women and over half are minors. 

Don't know what you could possibly do to combat human trafficking and the enslavement of children for sex? Read up on it. Hillary Clinton just released the human trafficking report. She also recommends Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. Looks like an important read. 

Does human trafficking make you angry?

Eugene Cho has a great list of organizations that work to end human trafficking. I stole his list. Here it is.

Check out some of these orgs that are engaging the work to combat human trafficking:

Break the Chains - an initiative of the Evangelical Covenant Church [denomination I am part of].

The Sold Project – Focused on fighting and stopping child prostitution. They visited Quest this past February.

Free the Slaves (Free the Slaves liberates slaves around the world, helps them rebuild their lives and researches real world solutions to eradicate slavery forever.)

International Justice Mission (Legal Advocates for Justice Around the World)

JustOne (Foundation for Relief & Development on Issues of Poverty, Orphans, and Human Trafficking)

Stop the Traffik (Abolitionists Coalition of Over 900 Organizations)

Not For Sale – Campaign to End Slavery

Love 146 – Love146 works toward the abolition of child sex trafficking and exploitation through aftercare, prevention and advocacy.

Call and Response: Film and Action. Show this film at your church!  

The best quotes

I realized today that I put some of the girls' best quotes on facebook where they will fade away and become forgotten forever. One of my favorite parts of Domestic Cents is how Nicki always adds quotes and thoughts about her family at the bottom of each post. I'm thinking of stealing that idea. Mostly because I just need to record this stuff and when I print out my blog it will all still be there. I will not, however, be printing anything off facebook... Or perhaps I'll just devote a post a week to all the cuteness. We'll see where I land. 

For today, I had to add this quote:

me: Do not put that eye patch on Maggie.

Naomi: But she isn't Maggie!! She's Pirate Captain Maggie!

Oh, of course she is.

Runny noses and moving boxes

Yes, this week is move week. The girls and I are camping at our "old" house. We are selling furniture, visiting friends, playing with cousins and grandparents, and eating more snacks and takeout than we should. This week is dedicated to moving activities but we're still sneaking in some visits with friends. It is hard to see everyone in one week! 

It turns out that if you fly kids across the country and then drag them all over a state for days on end they end up cranky and a bit under the weather. We'll be staying "home" today to "relax". 

On the farm

We made our way up north to my parents' farm. My brother's house is right next door. Separated by this fence. The girls love his trampolines.

Those moments you think you just might be doing something right

Waking your children up at 5:30 isn't exactly ideal. Especially if you plan to drag them to the airport, through the airport and onto a plane. For 6 hours. I was tired, they were tired. We were all a bit hungry. 

Today was the big travel day. I tried to be as prepared as possible. I think I did a pretty good job. More on that some other day. I tried to pack light as far as carry ons go. In fact, I packed pretty light overall. For 12 days, 4 people, I packed 3 suitcases. Though, 1 was full of gifts I brought with me, 1 full of diapers (I wanted the extra space for the return trip anyway) so really it was just one large suitcase. Not bad. The girls each had their little backpacks and I had my big backpack as well as my camera bag. 

I have to say that I am really impressed with the non business travelers. Very nice, helpful. Those business men, not so much. But I digress... We made it successfully through the airport, checked bags and the girls' car seats and headed toward security. I did my best to remain calm and relaxed. No need to rush even though you have to take off 6 shoes, 3 coats, take out 1 laptop, 1 DVD player, put 4 bags on the conveyer along with a double stroller and a car seat, sans baby. Then carry baby through and coax the others through, one at a time. Ahhh. THEN we have to get everything and everyone put back together. We did it though. No crying, no screaming or whining. And the kids were good too.

The plane ride was, well, it was about as good as it could have been. The girls were brilliant. I had bought a seat for Maggie and I am so glad I did. I am pretty sure I could not have travelled with the 3 by myself if I hadn't. Especially considering Daphne's 3 trips to the bathroom. Daphne was a bit cranky to start but took an uncomfortable looking nap for a bit and woke up refreshed and only a bit whiny. You know, normal. Naomi was happy as a clam with all her activities, she didn't even watch any shows on the DVD player. I'm impressed. Daphne, however, is at a different stage of life and that is O.K. Maggie was, well, Maggie. Happy, happy, happy. 

So other than a few tears, a few dropped crayons, slipping earphones, and those painful ears on decent, we did very well. They got many compliments and everyone thought they were cute. So, today I was proud of my little girls who were awoken at 5:30 a.m., shoved in a car, on a plane and then another car for 2 hours ("It takes so long! It takes so long!") and still managed to hold it together. Did I mention they didn't really eat most of the day either? That's another story as well... 

Saving a tree

Sometimes I feel that having a two year old is the ultimate test of character. Or, possibly, the ultimate character builder. If you're really lucky, it continues on into the threes. 

I finally decided that we'd just put all the unrolled toilet paper in a pile on the bathroom floor and we'd use it. This pile used to be twice as high (2 rolls). I told her if she was older I'd make her re-roll it but since she is just two, we'll use it this way. Of course, this is one of the least frustrating things that happened this week with our precious two year old.

What crazy things do your toddlers do?

I'm a leavin', on a jet plane...

That's right. Our house is sold, time to sort through it and ship everything east! I'm packing and planning and trying not to sweat with fear or panic. The girls and I head out on our 8 a.m. flight Wednesday morning. That's right. Just me, a 7 month old, a 2 year old and a 4 year old on a plane. Oh, plus TWO weeks worth of stuff... Should be quite the circus. 

I'm very excited. The girls are excited. Unfortunately Naomi made the initial mistake of thinking we'd be STAYING there. For good. Oops, had to crush that one. Thankfully she is making fast friends and has found a little best friend here so when I told her we'd be coming back it wasn't so bad.

I'm making my lists. Here is a list of my lists (do you do that?)

• what to bring on the plane
• what to pack
• what to buy before plane ride
• what to take pictures of and put on craigslist immediately upon arrival
• what to take to goodwill
• what to toss

Anyway, I'm thinking I'll be busy for the next day preparing. Thankfully I have EVERY ITEM OF CLOTHING AND COMFORT BLANKIES CLEAN AT THIS MOMENT. In 5 seconds I could have a full load of laundry to do but that will just have to wait a couple weeks for me to return. Now, I just have to remember to charge the portable DVD player's battery and we'll be set.

Forgotten Tears

(This is copied from Anne's blog. This is very touching and I couldn't have said it any better. Thanks for writing this Anne!)

Adacar in the Katakwi subdistrict of Uganda - isn't it beautiful?



And then...

there was this girl...



I don't know her name. I don't know her whole story. I don't know if she is safe at night, if she is outgoing or shy. Does she like to dance and sing? What does she want to be when she grows up? I just don't know many things about this girl.

I will tell you what I know.
~she was in tears as we gave her food
~the tears streamed down her face the entire meal as she sat with her young sibling
~she was taking only small bites leaving a majority of the meal for her sibling
~her parents are dead
~she has other siblings, 4 younger siblings total, I believe
~she is only 9 years old.

Here are some more things I know:
~I was lost
~I had no idea what to say to her
~I had no idea what I could do for her
~I could not tell her everything was going to be ok
~I CAN and will DO something for her, I can feed her and pray for her

You can too!
$.14 will give her a meal.
$.70 will feed her and her siblings a meal
$21.70 will feed all 5 of them for a month

GIVE and be sure to write FEED THE FORGOTTEN on the notes line/child reference line.

We want to provide food for to Kapelebyong, Usuk (also known as Adacar) and Ngariam for a few months until partnering churches are found. I don't want this to be giving that is done because of guilt - a fellow blogger posted wonderful words about this, please read here.

Give because you genuinely care about what is happening in Uganda - and all over the world. We as Americans can generally eat at will. I have food readily available at all times. If tragedy struck us and we had absolutely no food, we have family to call on, friends to call on, a church family to call on, and organizations in the area to call on. Even during the hurricanes, there were MRE's being handed out left an right to make sure people were eating. I will NEVER starve, NEVER! It breaks my heart and I honestly feel I have to give - not out of guilt. It is out of a true love and concern for the people. And I know it is easier for me because I was just there and saw this first hand. I share the stories for this reason and I am so grateful to Ria for sharing stories through photos so you can hear and see.

I am waiting for Pauline - one of the Teso widows - to email me back with more information about this sweetlittle girl and her family. I will share when I have it. If you want to give but you think the amount is too small give anyway, remember what Jesus did with the little boys' lunch. The little boy gave all he had and Jesus fed thousands with it. If you want to give on a regular basis, please contact me. I know without a doubt that I want to put together a sponsorship for at least 100 kids of this area. So if you would like to be part of that, leave me a comment.

Pray for all the people who are hungry at this very moment - not just hungry, who are literally starving and may be near death at this very moment. Pray that our Father is with them, so they know that they are not alone.

UPDATE: Since Monday we've raised over $9,000!!! Keep it up! Consider Swapping It  to raise money!

A decision!

This week has been stressful. I've been hauling the three kiddos around, in and out of the car and through apartment after apartment looking for something to rent that works for us. Well, after a couple weeks of searching we've finally settled on a place. Exhale.

Here are the things we decided were most important to us:

1. Garage parking. 3 kids, frigid New England winters. It just seemed like the easiest transition to this climate.

2. 3 bedrooms on the same floor of the house/apartment. We debated going with 2 bedrooms but decided for sanity sake to get 3.

3. A short walk to public transportation. Not negotiable.

4. Lead free.

Well, we found all these things in one place, finally! No outdoor space to speak of but we are just a couple blocks from a park that has a field and a playground. Woohoo! I am SO relieved to be done with this search. 

That was my week. Oh, and we went to Drumlin Farm today. Very fun. Highly recommended if you are in the area. No pictures, of course, because I haven't figured out how to go out with 3 kids, their stuff, and a camera. 

How wealthy are you, really?

Feel like the economy is really pinching you? See how your income ranks globally. Go to globalrichlist.com and input your yearly salary. They'll tell you if you're in the top 50% or the top .01% of people. You just might be surprised. Or maybe you won't be.

A roof and a hatch

Remember the orphans with a leaky roof in Liberia? Enough money was raised to put on a new roof!  Thank you so much to everyone who gave and posted about it! Isn't it amazing what can be accomplished by spreading the news?

Some of you might also be interested in hatch. That's my new blog for all things created. I've decided to create a blog devoted solely to my sewing, cooking and photography stuff so if you are interested in any of that be sure to subscribe to hatch! Why "hatch" you ask?

hatch: verb. to bring forth or produce; devise; create; contrive; concoct: to hatch a scheme.

Feed The Forgotten

Yes, I am THANKFUL.  Yes, I shed TEARS for the hungry people of the world. Yes, I am asked to RESPOND.  Yes, I can DO SOMETHING. 

Children's Hope Chest is responding to the starvation happening right now in Uganda. Many of you read brandisthoughts.com and know she is an amazing servant. On her most recent journey to Uganda (leading a team for Children's Hope Chest) she witnessed the extreme hunger and felt God telling her to respond. Since she returned a few weeks ago she's been spearheading this enormous effort to bring food to the starving people in Uganda. Isn't this exciting?!

The details (in Brandi's words):

80% of all the money you send goes directly to Uganda. 20% stays in the US to cover admin costs and wiring fees. (this is the standard according to the ECFA of which HopeChest is a part) When giving, make sure to write FEED THE FORGOTTEN in the notes section so the money is allocated for this use!

Joseph, the HopeChest country director, will be handling the distribution of the food. He will work closely with village leaders, pastors and the leadership of the Teso Widows Project in that area to determine the families in most need (child headed households, widows and their children and people living with HIV) and adequately distribute the food.

The first 3 villages targeted are: Kapelebyong, Usuk (also known as Adacar) and Ngariam. The pictures you will see were all taken at Usuk/Adacar in the Katakwi District. These villages were chosen because they are potential carepoint sites!!! Yes, that means YOUR church/community could get involved long term. We are looking to have a community (one church, a group of churches, an online community--this could just be all of us if there are enough people interested in sponsoring 150-300 kids. . let me know--or even business) to sponsor an entire orphan community. . i.e. THESE VILLAGES! Carepoints will provide FOOD and JESUS!!!! hello! Isn't that pretty much what we are desperately praying for these villages?!

This way, each of the villages receiving food will not just have a "one time gift" from us, but we get to be involved LONG TERM!!! For now though. . they need FOOD. Will you help?

Remember: $0.14 provides one meal this means. . .
$1.40 provides 10 meals
$14.00 provides 100 meals
$140 provides 1,000 meals
$1400 provides 10,000 meals
$14,000 provides 100,000 meals

Each one of us can give. For some, God is calling us to provide 10 meals. . for others it may be 100 or 1,000 or 10,000 or even 100,000 meals. . .just ACT as GOD calls you to act. "they" (not sure exactly who) say that if you don't act within 48 hours of hearing about something you never will.

So, a choice lays before you. People are hungry. . strike that. . .WE get hungry waiting for our next meal. . .THEY are STARVING . . .literally, to death. What will you do? Will you give of your abundance and send an extra $5 to HopeChest. Heck, most of us could find at LEAST $1.40 if not $14 just in change around our house. Better yet, will you give out of your sacrifice? Like Angel and her kiddos who gave up pizza so a WHOLE FAMILY could eat for 20 days ($20). Or Wendi, who gave up a drink at a fast food restaurant knowing that the cost would provide 10 meals. Or many friends across the nation who are giving up their $5 starbucks run to feed others.
(note: please write "feed the forgotten" in the notes section when you give)

Will you forget? Or, will you choose to FEED THE FORGOTTEN?

Psalm 107:5-6 says, " ⁵They were hungry and thirsty; Their soul fainted within them. ⁶Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses"

I am praying this verse for the families of the Kapelebyong, Usuk (also known as Adacar) and Ngariam Villages and thanking God for the opportunity to be used by HIM to be a part of HIS DELIVERANCE. As you give, stop for a moment and dwell on that. . God is choosing to use you as a part of His deliverance. Oh Jesus THANK YOU for the opportunity to join you where you are at work.

Please feel free to pass this along! Grab the button for your blog! Spread the word on facebook or twitter! Pick up the phone and call your great aunt to let her know! 

Tears

Times are really tough. It has been days since I've had any food to eat. Days since my children have eaten. We found some meager food today and I divided it among my children to barely ward off the sever hunger pains they are feeling. I didn't take any for myself. 

My little ones cry constantly. Begging me to feed them. Begging me to soothe their pain. I watch them waste away and I am powerless to do anything. 

I watch friends and neighbors die of starvation, knowing our turn will come. My tears do not stop. How can I watch my children die?

How much do you know about hunger? Have you ever gone a whole day without eating? Maybe you were dieting and went through some hungry moments. Maybe you fasted for a day. Maybe you grew up in a home without much food and had to go to school without breakfast.

No matter how much, or little, you've experienced hunger, you've never experienced starvation. Can you imagine not eating for days? Can you imagine listening to the screams of your hungry children and have not substantial food to feed them? Can you imagine being so desperate that you eat cow dung? 

People are starving like this in many places around the world. Right now there are thousands of people dying in Uganda because they have no food to eat. War and drought has left a whole region starving. The Amuria district is reported to have 19,000 people starving and the Katakwi district has 55,000 people starving. These are only two districts! There are others!! People are feeding on leaves, ash, cow dung and termites!

Please read this article on allAfrica.com for more in depth information. Must we just sit back and watch people die? No, we can't watch them. We are a world away. We are here, they are there. We are in our homes, that we've earned. Right. We deserve what we have, right? 

Just Mothering Through wrote in her post, Under the cloak of frugality; "...just because we have a higher paying job than our neighbor does not mean we are entitled to nicer vacations, homes or things. There are so many factors that went into you being who and were you are today and I would say that about 90% of them had nothing to do with you. When we start to use terms like "deserve" for the abundance in our own lives we enter a scary place and imply that those who do not have also "deserve" their fate. We all know that this is not true. There are too many people in the world who suffer due to circumstances far outside of their control."

Feel helpless? Like nothing you could possibly do could make a difference?

***check out my next post to see how you can actually make a difference***