Snow Much Fun

We got a lot of snow...well, for this part of the country it's unheard of! I think about 10 inches between Friday night and late last night.

Saturday was still very much a snow storm...today gorgeous. Here is a picture of the same place Saturday (you can't see the bridge, the shipyard, or across the river)....

and today.....

Yesterday Rhonda, Lilly & I headed out in the snow to go sledding....but it was still snowing very hard. So, Lil got pretty wet & cold very quickly. Here are Lilly & Rhonda heading down the hill...After I carried her the half mile home in the snow, she (Lil, not Rhonda) even chastised me for not remembering extra snacks and extra mittens. Well, I learned from my mistakes and had them both today!

Today was a GORGEOUS day...crystal blue, clear skies, no wind, just perfect. Jackson & fam came over & we headed back to the "hill" and went sledding. I say "hill" because you really need to remember that the highest place around here is probably 35 feet about sea leavel - and that's probably on a highway overpass somewhere. Nonetheless, the elementary school near our house (where we go to the playground & enjoy the pier) has two hills to sled on. One was a smaller hill and then a larger "big kid" hill, and we enjoyed both today.

I think the funniest part was when I realized Lilly has gone down the "big kid" hill for the first time...but was still so into her snack that she was eating her raisins, not holding the sled, and just popping her snacks the whole way down. Then she got to the bottom, where there was the nice neighborhood dad there making sure everyone didn't hit the tree, and she layed back in the sled, and kept eating the raisins, I was hysterical laughing, but quickly pulled it together enough to tell her she needed to get up & out of the way so other folks could slide down the hill. She was unphased and kept popping the raisins. That's my girl..... Here is the pick as close up as I could crop it to see the raisin box....enjoy...she certainly did!

Growth Spurt

We have got to be in a growth spurt. That child is eating like a 17 year old boy! Sloppy joes, grilled cheese, grapes, bananas, tomatoes, yogurt, oatmeal, eggs, crackers....you name it!! She inhales it, and then asks for more food. She is also sleepier than normal. Yesterday she even took two naps at school (a short one in the morning in addition to the regular afternoon nap), and she is sleeping almost 11 hours a night. But - growth spurt explains her sore knees from last week....growing pains. I remember them as a kid...they hurt! But, as Lil keeps saying...."I'm growing BIG."

Koalas

I was waiting in the coat room outside Lilly's classroom last night for her to finish up and chatting with another mom. She had a great story...she said her daughter Erin came home the other night and announced that Lilly was born in "Koala-mala." Soooo great.

Time for a happier post...

I am still rather obsessed with following things in Haiti. But, it is time to shift this blog back to a happier note for a while. If I learn anything about Fondwa and Leogone (the areas I have been to, feel more connected to, and frankly that aren't PAP where all the international journalists are) I will let you know.

I have been trying hard to keep CNN off when Lil is around & generally protect her from all of it. She saw me upset at one point and asked what was wrong, and I told her I was worried about Margaret's Mommy (Jamalyn) who was far away when a bad thing happened there. She just took it and went with it and started talking about when we visited Margaret this summer and how she liked the Margaret's toys, etc. The next day I was able to tell her they had heard from Margaret's Mommy and she would be home in a few days. Then Lil said, "Ok, so the bad thing is over?" That's when I teared up. I sighed and told her no, it wasn't over. But, some happy things were happening, like Margaret's mommy coming home, but that we needed to keep asking God to be with everyone else having trouble. She said ok, and then demanded her music be put in the CD player instead of mine. And we just went on.

Enjoy the pictures...this is Lilly arranging her stuffed animals in her room & posing for pics.

Lilly is still kickin along in full force. Two interesting emotional / mental developments we are going through these days: 1) beginning of friend drama in little girl land and 2) trying to get a sense of humor (her, not me).

Friend land...

There are several "root causes" to this little situation. 1) she is a girl, and girls just come with drama. 2) She misses going to school with her best friend Jackson. 3) My little one is often torn between wanting to be the good girl and wanting to hang on the wild side.... And...4) there is a little girl in her class (I'll call her "M") who I think is a pretty bad influence on her (can't believe I am saying that about a 3 year old...but so be it). M is a wild child. Lilly is attracted to this "fun and crazy" girl. But, M says things like "I hate you, Lilly" or "you can't be the lion you have to play princess" (them's fightin words in our house), or "Lilly, go hit Oralee (another little girl in the class)." Then she comes home upset that M doesn't like her, or got her in trouble, etc etc etc. I have talked to the teacher and asked her to try and encourage Lil to spend time with other children besides M. Lil and I had a long talk last night about what friends are - that they are encouraging, positive, and help you be a better person. Friends aren't mean to you. Friends don't try to get you to do bad things. Friends don't make you feel bad. I have tried to help her understand that M is a fun and crazy person to hang out with and play with at school. But, M is not behaving like a good friend. Then...today when I picked her up today I asked her how it went with M today. She said "It went much better. She said she won't say she hates me anymore." ARRRGGGHH. Seems like the message isn't quite through yet...but we'll keep working on it. And...we will be hanging out with Jackson this weekend to remind her what a real friend feels like.

Humor...

I have a little bit of a reputation for having a cheesy and punny sense of humor that not everyone appreciates. I love puns...what can I say? Lil is smack dab in the middle of learning about humor and jokes. Apparently that is one of the things that M does..."makes funny jokes." We have been enjoying her jokes...I will share...

Lilly: Knock Knock

Me: Who's there?

Lilly: Chicken head

Me: Chicken head who?

Lilly: That's the joke (laughter!!!!)

Hmm...still working on the knock knock concept. This is Lilly's picture of me where I am trying to laugh at her jokes ;)

Just saw the report that they are home...

They made it to Homestead AFB last night, and bizarrely took their regularly scheduled flight from FL home today. After everything this week, they arrived home right on time.

The note said that they were at the orphanage when the first quake hit. The orphanage sustained some damage, but is ok. Blessedly, all of the children who were at the orphanage were ok. The "only" deaths were the one nun and the baby she was with at the time of the quake.

Please keep Jamalyn & the team in your prayers as the transition home & begin to process everything that has just happened to them. And, continue to pray for everyone still in Haiti.

Below is a picture of the orphanage when I was there in 2005, with me surrounded bby many of the children there who love to be loved. Thank God they are ok.

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Still Praying...

The last report I heard was Friday night, saying Jamalyn and the team were in Leogone and planning to travel to PAP Saturday to the US Embassy, and be evacuated to Ft Lauderdale via a USAID evacuation flight. I haven't heard anything since then.

I keep thinking they will post something when they are home safe, but maybe everyone is so relieved they haven't done that? Instead I am worried they are still in the chaos of PAP.

Please pray for Jamalyn. Not only has she been in the midst of this apocolyptic disaster and seen, smelled and touched things no one should have to experience, but this whole time she has been the one "in charge," carrying the burden of her group. She is the one who knows the langugage, the people, the culture, the roads, the way things work. She is also the minister, trying to not only shepard her team to physical safety, but to tend to the spirits as well, as well as the many, many friends and loved ones she was with in FOndwa. My heart has been so heavy for her.

As I go through my daily routine as a mom, my heart aches to think of how she can transition back from digging through rubble for dead children to a mom of two little ones, demanding popsicles or another episosde of Mickey Mouse. Please hold her tightly in prayer. Jamalyn is one of the toughest women I know - and an incredible leader. But everyone has to melt down at some point. And, my guess is that she has been in full adrenaline leader mode since Tuesday, and a day or so after she gets home, everything will start to be able to start processing in her heart and mind.

Holding her...and all of Haiti..in prayer....Carrie

Finally - word from Fondwa: Friends safe, town destroyed

Jamalyn & the team are safe, but the guest house/clinic/convent and the school are completely destroyed. There is not word yet on the orphanage. I have copied Dave's email below...

Also - here is a copy of a prayer written by someone else who has been to Fondwa with Family Health Ministries....and I found it incredibly moving, so I wanted to share.

God of the living and the dead,
we wail in grief at the pain and loss and horror and distress
of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
We do not understand your ways –
that those who already suffer the most, now suffer so much more.
Lead us to repentance,
that we who have sinned so much are punished so little,
and they who already struggle
have now impossible burdens to bear.
Where people are still breathing under collapsed buildings,
give them air and hope and courageous searchers.
Where children are injured or orphaned,
find them trusted friends and generous caregivers.
Where despair is infectious and disease or looting spreads,
bring patience and forbearance and healing and strength to conquer temptation.
And when others look with compassion from afar,
release resources, empower expertise,
shape political will, and bring deliverance for your people in their distress.
Through him who was crushed and bruised for us,
in the comfort of your Holy Spirit. Amen.

Dave's email...

Just wanted to give you the latest news and keep you updated. Last night we received word from a doctor named Vladimir Rosen that Jamalyn and the group are all right. Vladimir is a close personal friend of two members of Jamalyn's group--he has a practice in Jacmel and knew they were in Fondwa because the group was carrying supplies for his clinic. After the earthquake, he travelled to Fondwa by motorcycle and has given us first-hand account of group's safety. According to him, the group got out of the guest house just before it collapsed. We have Vladimir's contact information but have been unable to contact him (and he has also tried to call me on two separate occassions, but when I picked up I couldn't hear anything). We are still trying to make personal contact with the group or with Vladimir (who we believe to still be in Fondwa).We have received word from other sources that the damage in Fondwa was pretty severe--apparently the aftershocks of the earthquake hit very close. A professor at UNIF (the University of Fondwa) traveled to Les Cayes after the earthquake and has contacted Rich Gosser, the president of Partners in Progress (and a close friend of ours). According to this contact, both the mission house and the school collapsed. We have no word on the orphanage. In addition, the university in Fondwa was destroyed along with most of "Tombgateau" (the market region along the Jacmel road--easily the most densely populated portion of Fondwa). So I continue to be thankful that our group is OK, especially as it settles in how devastating the impact was in Fondwa. But my heart is also heavy for all of my friends who live in Fondwa, and I am praying for their safety. As for next steps, we're just trying to make contact with the group so that we can coordinate their exit from Fondwa. We are lining up as many resources as we can in case we'll need them (evacuation teams, etc.). But the main objective for today is to try to establish contact with them so that we can find out how we can best help them in their efforts to get home. Thank you for your concern and prayers, and we'll keep in touch--

Another Day With No Word From Fondwa, Haiti...

There is still no word from Fondwa, Haiti, where my friend Jamalyn took a group from the states on Monday.

Her husband Dave posted a note to the Family Health Ministry site this evening (see this link http://www.familyhm.org/whatweknow.html#dave ). He says that he is encouraged to have heard nothing, because he knows that if someone was hurt they would have moved heaven and earth to get the person to Jacmel. The road to Jacmel (and the one to Port au Prince- same road - different direction) has been washed out, but he knows that if someone needed to get out, they would make it happen. But, since there has been no word, Dave feels confident that they are sitting tight and waiting for communication to be restored.

Another worker from the Family Health Ministry who was in Leogone (where the hospital has collapsed that they worked with) has set out on foot to walk to Leogone (2 hour drive up a mountain in a truck on a normal day) to try and make contact. But, no word from her yet. So, for now, we wait.

Jamalyn and Dave recently (within the month) moved from their previous church (UMC Milroy) to a new UMC church in Indianapolis. The team Jamalyn is leading consists of 4 people from their "old" church and 4 people from their "new"church. So - please pray for Dave as he not only worries for his own wife, but serves as the pastor to the 8 other families from his old and new churches as they await word as well.

Prayers for Haiti...

Please take a moment to pray for Haiti. As many of your know, it is a nation close to my heart. I had the privilege of going to spend a week there in 2005 (pre-Lilly), staying briefly in Port au Prince, visiting a hospital in Leogone, and spending the bulk of the time in the amazing mountain town of Fondwa where my dear friends David & Jamalyn WIlliamson were living for their two years there as missionaries with Family Health Ministry.

David & Jamalyn have remained close friends of mine, and I most recently visted them at their home in Indiana this summer (their daughter Margaret is Lilly's age). Both Dave & Jamalyn have remained very connected to Haiti, and Jamalyn has remained on with Family Health Ministries to coordinate their sponsorship program. They both frequently travel to Haiti, with Jamalyn taking a group to Fondwa this past Monday.

She is there with the group, and no one has heard anything from any of the contacts in Leogone or Fondwa. The people connected to FHM in Port au Prince & Jacmel have been able to get some emails out, and many of the people I know & pray for are ok, while many of the buildings are utterly destroyed. But, no word from Jamalyn. Please hold her, and all of the people in Fondwa, Leogone and all of Haiti in your prayers. Please also pray for David, who is home with their children Margaret & baby Nathan. In an email today he sounded confident that Jamalyn had things organized down there, but I know he is dying to hear from her that she is ok.

I have been staying connected today through the Family Health Ministry web page at www.familyhm.org in case you want to check for updates yourself.

The top pic is Sister Carmelle, one of the nuns who run the community center, teh school & the orphanage. Below are two other pics from my trip to Haiti then....One is Jamalyn and I in Fondwa back in 2005 as we were walking back from the orphanage one night. You can see the amazing mountains in the background that gives you a sense of the rugged and rural setting. The second is Jamalyn at the orphanage with some of the children.

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the new year (or about 4 hours before the new year) at the Coopers with party hats, games, and an overly cranky Lilly. Jackson told me she hadn't napped that day, and I believe him! (She had gone to her "old" school the past two weeks since her new school was closed. Went pretty well...we shall see how the transition back to Montessori goes tomorrow)

Christmas Fun

It just doesn't get more magical than Christmas with someone who is 3 1/2 years old. I may have just had the best Christmas of my whole life...time will tell. But...it was wonderful. Exhausting, but wonderful.

We headed to my parents' house for Christmas Eve dinner and a children's service at a local church. The pageant was so great...straight from Hollywood casting with the little sheep crawling down the aisle, the Star of Bethlehem being so nervous he spit out his lines in about 2 milliseconds, and the sheperd with the tied on brown beard speaking with a cute lisp telling everyone they had to go to befwahem to see the baby Geezus. Dinner was lovely...each thing mom made seemed to melt in my mouth. Yum. I made a great dessert (see prior pose) that was fun too. We enjoyed our tradition of Christmas Crackers that we picked up when we lived in England, and just had a great night. Only thing that could have been better is if Maren could have been there, but she is enjoying her grand travel adventure in Chile.

From there we headed home to get ready for Santa. But, we took a small detour to drive around and enjoy Christmas lights out in the neighborhoods. We then came home, set out milk, cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. Lilly was very concerned that there was a carrot for each reindeer, so we had to go back through the song to count how many there were. And, we carefully set out the two special cookies Lil had decorated especially for Santa. Then we curled up on the couch in front of the Christmas tree and fireplace and read stories, and the Christmas story from the Bible. And, eventually, Lilly got to bed.

This was to be the first year we got to celebrate Christmas at our house...and both Lilly and I were very excited about having Santa come to our own home. My parents were there by 8, and then we sat around and waited for Lilly to wake up!!! A little after 8:30 I started to help her wake up, and soon the fun began. Santa had come! He brought the trains she wanted!! He ate the cookies and drank the milk!!! Sooo magical!!!!

It was a lot to take in all at once, so Lilly had to ease into the gifts, stockings, etc. She loved her stuff, but also was very concerned that everyone have things to open and get to enjoy their presents too. She is such a sweet kid. Once we were through all of the presents, she immediately went to set up her new marble racer game with Papa while Mae Mae started on our traditional breakfast of aebleskievers (thanks to our Danish heritage...YUMMY apple pancake balls that you eat with jam and powdered sugar). We had a nice breakfast before my parents headed home for a few hours, Lilly played with her trains, and I cooked like crazy to get ready for the larger family party. Lilly had her only real meltdown of the day when I told her she had to take a nap before the party...which meant putting down the new toys...which went over like a lead balloon. But, after crying for a solid hour (I kept thinking she would just cry herself to sleep), I lay down with her and she eventually fell asleep. She didn't wake up until after everyone was here...but it was great...and to be expected for so much excitement and different schedules!

The family party was a blast...WAY too much food, and many more presents. Lilly quickly got Andrew to play with the new marble racer, and poor Andrew "got" to do that all night long. He's a good godfather!


One of the funniest things of the night was with Lilly and my mom. But...it requires some backstory explanation... I have been telling Lilly that there aren't any bad words, just that certain words are only appropriate in certain places. "Potty mouth" is only ok in the potty. For those of you who don't know me or my family well...you need to know that my mom cusses like a sailor. I'm better than she is, but we all cuss waaaayyyy too much. BUT, Lilly doesn't know those words are "potty mouth" words. On Christmas, Lilly got my mom to go with her to the potty. While Lil is sitting there doing her business, she whispers to my mom that they should stay in there a while and say potty words. My mom....trying VERY hard not to laugh...says "OK, but I don't know that many words...what ones do you know?" Lilly announced that "Pootie Butt" was the potty word she knew. This practically dissolves my mother into hysterical laughter, but she recovers. She asks Lilly if she heard this at school or from a bathroom somewhere. Lilly said from a bathroom. One can only imagine.

Eventually that night she got to bed. She said she wanted to have Christmas and another party again soon. I was sooo exhausted by that point, all I could do was smile. We all went to bed at the same time, and I am pretty confident I fell asleep before her. The next morning, she finally dragged me out of bed, and thus started the "lets play with every single new toy right now" marathon. Was a little more than I could take, so I called my folks and we headed up there for dinner, distraction, and some baby sitting by Papa while mom and I did a quick trip to the sales at the outlet mall. Nice.

Overall...wonderfully magical. It was so great to get to make new traditions. It was so fun to have Christmas at home. It was so fun to watch the wonder in her eyes. It was so fun. We all missed Maren, but we know it should hopefully be magical for at least one more year...at least that will be what I ask Santa for next year.

Bragging on My Inner Domestic Diva...

OK - so lets face it, being a full time working single mom to 3 year old does not lend itself to many opportunities to get to do what I consider the fun side of things in the home...fancy cooking, arranging flowers, etc. So...since I never get the chance to do these cool things, I have to brag at my results over the holidays....Martha Stewart's got nuddin on me....

My Christmas Eve dessert (Roasted Pear Creme Brule Tart from Cooking Light Magazine...I was SHOCKED that it actually looked like the magazine picture. But even better...it tasted amazing. Will certainly make that again!!!!!)

My floral arrangements for Christmas (really fun having the party at my house this year). I bought the white lillies, the red berries and the alostemeria, and everything else was from my yard.

Soooo my daughter...

I have a reputation of having one of those punny senses of humor that not everyone appreciates, despite my continuous attempts to share new and funnier jokes that crack me up.

Last night I was explaining to Lil that Maren wasn't going to be there for Christmas since she went on her big trip to Chile. This is how the reaction went...

Lilly: "CHILE? That's a funny name for a country! Is it CHILLY there?!?!?!?!?" and then she rolled in hystreical laughter on teh floor for a good 5 minutes.

Yes - she is soooo my daughter.

For the record, she also thinks Turkey is a ridiculous name for a nation, but she hasn't come up with nearly as funny as response yet.

Weekend Part 2: Train Trip To Visit Maren!

Right after the Winter "Show Show" (see previous post), she and I climbed in the car and headed to Richmond to catch the train to DC. Why not just drive to DC, you ask? Well, Lilly is sooooo into trains right now. It is all she wants from santa. She LOVES trains. Her favorite 2 shows to watch at this moment? Dinosaur Train and Thomas the Train (sense a theme?). No, she hasn't abandoned her committment to Diego and Baby Jaguar, she just pretends they are all on trains together and headed off to rescue animals. So, I thought it would be fun to go on the train. Now, you can get the train from a station right near my house...but its a 4+ hour train ride, and only comes twice a day. Or, I could drive an hour and catch one of 8 more conveniently timed trains for a 2 hour train ride. And, since this was about a fun experience and not me wanting to be stuck on a train for 9 hours in 3 days, we drove to Richmond.

She was thrilled, so it was worth it. Not only did we take the train to DC, since I had decided I wouldn't be hauling a stroller or a car seat with me on the train, we were strictly sticking to public transport or taxis (which don't have to have carseats in the city). In the three day trip she rode 2 amtrak trains, a city bus, a slew of taxis, and a couple subway trains. According to her, the best part of the trip was the "cafe car" on the amtrak train. Go figure.

Adding to the country mouse visits city mouse theme, we also got to ride on elevators and escaltors, and even got to watch the cool escalator at Target where you ride up the escalator and your cart rides up a seperate "cart escalator" at the same time. We watched that for 20 - 30 minutes, and even I was captivated and feeling like a total country bumpkin - and I live din DC for 4 years!!!!!

All this city gaulking was in addition to seeing Maren and Ollie Baby (Maren's dog). Sunday we headed off to be tourists in the cold rain, and I am paying for it now w/ both bronchitis and a sinus infection and strict orders to stay in bed for 2 days. Yuck. BUT, we all loved the train and holiday display at the National Botanical Gardens on Sunday. Absolutely incredible. Then we headed to the American History museum which was not nearly as neat as I had remembered. We walked (or rather trudged) over to the White House to see the tree and menorah. Lilly said she wanted to take the bus (there was a stop near the White House). It was quite cold, and we were quite wet, and I carried her a long way. At one point she whimpered "I just want to go to Barack Obama's house and get the school bus and GO HOME." Pretty cute.

She liked the city, and loved seeing Maren & Ollie, but she was most interetsingly homesick. She actually cried some thinking about missing her home and her cat (who she now calls "my brudder"...sort of sounds like that old camp song "hello mudder, hello fadder..."). She was very happy to be home on Monday afternoon. She is just such a homebody. It wasn't as bad at the beach...but city living is so foreign to her (small apartments, no cars, walking everywhere, not eating at home, etc) that I think it made it harder to adapt. Very interesting.

Since home...she has been a total hellion. Combination of feeling better on her part, being home, and getting the Christmas excitement which turns kids into stubborn, greedy monsters (the tv ads which say children are angels at Christmas are clearly only written by people who have never had children). She was so bad her teacher even called me at home tonight to discuss how we can get her through these last 3 days of the year at school. Ugh. THANK GOD mom came and picked her up this afternoon and was here this evening. I am quite sick and just can't keep up with her right now. Mom & Dad will be here tomorrow, and I am counting on the Z Pak antibiotics kicking in tomorrow afternoon. Enjoy the pictures of our train adventure!