A few quick updates.  Some with pictures!  Sorry this post is so long, but I’m trying to make up for lost time. * We could use some prayers for health if you’re so inclined!  The Princess has been battling a barking cough which may be turning into an ear infection.  Melissa’s taking tomorrow off from school to take her to the doctor.  Melissa and I are both dealing with head colds, too. *  Melissa turned 40 about a week ago.  I feel guilty that I didn’t have the time or funds to make her day more special.  She planned a…

I must force myself to finish posting the remaining pictures of our Haiti Adventure.  It is tough to do because it provides a sense of closure to me that I’d rather not have!  But the record would not be complete without documenting our return to Indiana from Miami – mainly because our friends Twila and Gonzo provided such great hospitality.  We stayed with them the night before we left for Haiti, early in July.  They found a safe place to park our van for the two weeks and then picked us up at the airport upon our return.  It was…

OK… this is it.  The last pics from our family’s trip to Haiti in July.  (Technically speaking, anyway.  Because I still have some pics from our return to Indiana via Miami that I want to post since our hosts there, Twila and Gonzo, were so awesome.)  (And I still have some videos I’d like to post… those aren’t pics.) These days, I sometimes feel optomistic that we’ll be able to raise support and get ourselves to Haiti next August and sometimes it seems thoroughly impossible.  Now I know that, ultimately, the timing is in God’s hands and He’ll put us there when He…

It’s been a couple of months since I’ve given a possession away.  You would think that since we downsized, had several garage sales, and moved out of our house, that there would be little left to get rid of, but there’s still plenty around that should be given away, thrown away, or sold.  I went looking in the garage for our winter clothes a few days ago and was clearly reminded how much stuff we still have to deal with. My classroom is full too, so today when a student of mine asked where I got my metal star, I…

Just a few more pictures yet to post from our July trip to Haiti.  I get a little sad when I look at these and I have to force myself to post them, but it’s not because they are sad pictures.  In fact, these are happy pictures of a brand new school for the children of Plaine du Nord, Haiti.  Pardon me because I’ve said it before: it’s only sad to me because it feels so distant right now.  When I went to Haiti about a year ago, my friend Beka had a chance to tour some of the “Starfish”…

It’s been an exhausting week – Melissa and I have been tag-teaming OMS orientation this week.  Melissa went to Greenwood on Tuesday and Thursday and I went Monday and Wednesday and will go again tomorrow to catch the tail end.  So I only put in two days at the school, and that feels REALLY weird.  I simply do not like being out of the classroom.  And it’s not just because you never know what kind of damage might occur under a substitute’s watch … I think I honestly miss those kids when I am not there. So I am exhausted,…

It’s been an exhausting week – Melissa and I have been tag-teaming OMS orientation this week.  Melissa went to Greenwood on Tuesday and Thursday and I went Monday and Wednesday and will go again tomorrow to catch the tail end.  So I only put in two days at the school, and that feels REALLY weird.  I simply do not like being out of the classroom.  And it’s not just because you never know what kind of damage might occur under a substitute’s watch … I think I honestly miss those kids when I am not there. So I am exhausted,…