{Friday Favorites} - January 18

1. Claudy and I were able to travel to the U.S. for Christmas. We had a great time visiting my family. We helped my parents move, went to Green Bay and spoke at Forest Lake District Youth Conference, and relaxed. We are so thankful for our family who spent extra time with us!! 

2. Had a great week with Constance Free Church. We worked with many of our partnering organizations.

They wanted to participate in knitting class also!

3. Frensky - Some of you know this little boy if you visited OLTCH in the early days of RG being in Haiti. He was a very sick little boy (he is 3). I saw him this week at MyLIFEspeaks!! He is getting bigger and stronger!!! and is as cute as ever!!

4. I love my HUSBAND!! - Our water pressure has been even worse than usual. So Claudy jumped in the tanks to clean them out!!

5. Crocheting...I haven't crocheted in a while, but our group of knitters this week stirred an interest in me. I made 3 Kindle covers (I don't have 3 kindles - let me know if you want me to make you one). If you want to make your own here is the pattern...

Chain an even number of chains - a little smaller than the width of your kindle, nook, iPad, phone, etc...

Row 1 - sc in 2nd ch from hook to the end. Ch 1. Instead of turning sc in same ch, but the other loop and work your way back to the front. This creates the base of your cover. 

Row 2. trc in first sc from row 1. then sc (this creates the bubble). *Trc, Sc * until the end of your loop. 

Row 3. Sc in every stitch all the way around

Row 4. * sc in first stitch, then trc * Repeat all the way around

Row 5:  Sc in every stitch all the way around

Repeat until your cover is as tall as your device. 

To make flap... continue pattern, but instead of crocheting all the way around turn and make a new row. 

Have a great day!!

{Friday Favorites} - May 4

Well...It's been a while since I've updated you! So here they are...

1. Working with the Nations: One of the coolest things we do here, is have mission groups from other countries come and work in Haiti. We just spent two weeks from a group from the Czech...they worked so hard and were great to work with...but boy can they eat :) 

2. One night last week, we got together with the staff of OLTCH and had a night out to eat...after some of the staff wanted to play games...some of us didn't, SO...Brett baked us some wonderful Blueberry Muffins!!

3. Maxo's Family: I write about them often, but seriously, I love them. Could these kids be any cuter. 

4. Crafting: I love to craft. When I was home, I was able to buy some canvas's and paints. I made some cool new signs, in effort to make our room a little bit more homey, not that we are getting married. I loved how they turned out... (Don't give me credit, I totally got these ideas from Pinterest). I loved using the wood frames and buying chicken wire to put behind them...I also have been crocheting every night...my new thing is wash clothes. 

5. Maxo's School: I am seriously in love with these children...who wouldn't be!! They are so precious. We had a great day yesterday, just playing with the children and loving on them...

Her name is Ashlee too!!

6. Bethany - Bethany has been serving along side me for two months. It has been so much fun to watch her grow in her weaknesses, to be challenged and to totally embrace the people of Haiti. She has loved on the least of these!! She leaves tomorrow and I will be so sad to see her go. This picture is with her and Madam Christian, last week, with Sally's help they descavied that orphanage!! 

Well..we are off to the beach!! Have a great day!

Day 8 - {25 Days of Christmas} - Construction

 When I decided to move to Haiti, one of the things I was a little concerned about, was the living conditions. I had no idea what type of house I would have to live in. I must admit that I am beyond blessed in this area. I live in a really nice house, that was partially damaged in the earthquake. One of the rental agreements was that we would fix the house. For the most part, upon my arrival, this was already done, except for parts of the upstairs, the staff living quarters. This week, 2 wonderful men, Rob and Paul, are visiting and working on finishing some of the needs in the upstairs. They have been working on a new bathroom. Selfishly, I am thrilled about this, as I will no longer have to share with the men of the house or have to worry about people staring at me while I shower. The bathroom I currently use has a giant window in the middle of it. The pictures on the left are what I arrived home to this afternoon... We love construction.

More crafting....I had finished the hat last week, but I finally made myself a new infinity scarf, that matches my hat!! Now I am ready to arrive in Minnesota on the 21st!!!

Blessings to you! Hope you have a great day!
                            

Day 3 - {25 Days of Christmas} - Crafting

I spent the day, having a catch up day. It started out with a load or two of laundry. Have I ever mentioned how much I hate laundry, especially now that I do it by hand! Then I cleaned the house, lit some Christmas candles, turned on the cheesy Christmas movies (I love these), and got to work on the computer. It was a blessed morning.

I finished early and decided to do some crafting... I found this great pattern for a hat and it only took an hour to make. I'm excited to wear it at Christmas, when I'm in Minnesota. I also took an old wine bottle and wrapped it in twine...now to find some Christmas flowers to put in it.

I also stopped by the orphanage today...What a surprise, the were all dressed in their Christmas bests to take a picture...here's the youngest, Elijah...Laura had him dressed perfectly!!!








Have a great night and Merry Christmas from the kids at OLTCH.

{Friday Favorites}–November 18

Today is a holiday here in Haiti. On November 18, Haiti won their independence. Today we celebrate. Since, there is no school and no governmental offices open, we are celebrating; only as expats we are celebrating Thanksgiving. On this holiday, here are a few of my favorite things happening…


1. OLTCH Field Day: Jasmine, Laura and Ayla did a great job planning this day for the kids. I was blessed, because I was able to bring our group over for the day to help. The kids were able to play “carnival” games and win prizes. At the end their faces were painted. Here is Friztline and Anne or should I saw the Zebra and the Giraffe. I have so many great pictures of this day. Please go to my facebook page and check them out.



2. Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies: Thank you mom and dad for bringing me a can of pumpkin and chocolate chips so I can make these. They are my favorite Can’t wait to share them at our thanksgiving meal!





3. Christmas Tree: I know. I know…It’s not even thanksgiving. However, I was shopping at Mega Mart and they had a Christmas Tree. I had to buy it. It’s starting to feel like the holiday’s hear in Haiti!










4. Elijah: A new baby…a new life, full of hope. This precious one was born at the orphanage on Sunday. Our prayer for him is that he will be a servant of God.







5. Scarves: In preparation for my visit home at Christmas, I decided I needed a scarf with me when I arrive at the airport so I don’t freeze. They aren’t easy to buy here, so I made one. It is an infinity scarf, mustard yellow, and I love it…I wish it was a little thinker, but I ran out of yard…what can you do!!









Have a great Friday

{Friday Favorites} - October 14

1. Laura  Is a dear friend of mine here in Haiti. She works at OLTCH an orphanage we partner with. She and I have become close friends...We have already had some very funny moments. I am so thankful for her and that we can walk through this part of our lives together. It is great having someone that understands what you are walking through who is also walking through it at the same time! Laura, thanks for becoming a great friend.

2. Teaching Teachers....One of the main reasons I felt called to Haiti was to start developing and discipling teachers. Up to this point I haven't had much opportunity to do so...school wasn't in session and I have been busy working with groups. This week we had our first session. It went great and totally reaffirmed what I felt God was calling me to do. I went back to the school the next and witnessed on of the teachers using some of the techniques we talked about: Bubble Mapping!

 3. Paper Lanterns: For those of you that have been over to my Florida house for a dinner time meal, you may have noticed one of my favorite decorating accents...Paper Lanterns. Two weeks my stuff out of that house and I could just not let them go into storage...so I brought them to Haiti. They add a nice element to my home here and make it feel a bit softer...My home here is starting to feel homier. I just need to paint my TV stand and get an coffee table...One thing at a time though.

 4. Crafting: Ok, I'm not gonna lie. I have a slight addiction to pinterest.com and this is one of the projects I saw. It didn't come out quite the same (I don't have chicken wire here, so I improvised with twine). Also I have tacky white hooks, but give me a little break, I live in Haiti. Thank you Jacque and Kelsey for providing me with the frames! I really want to add some flowers, so I am going to crochet some small ones, but if you are coming to Haiti, I would love some scrap fabric.

5. Homemade Granola: Thank you to the Mann family, who I stayed with in April, for sharing this recipe. I have made it for my family and they loved it. However, I thought once I got to Haiti I wouldn't be able to make it. After all, what are the odds of finding Graham Crackers and Wheat Flour here. But, I found some yesterday at a store in Petionville! I was elated and made a fresh batch this morning. All that is missing is the chocolate chips (which I found and added after)...For those interested, here is a simple recipe!!

Granola

10 Cups old fashioned oats (Don't use quick oats)
4 Cups wheat flour
2 Cups brown sugar
1 cup coconut
3 cups graham crackers (14 whole crackers)
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup maple syrup (I add a little more - I like my granola clumpy)
1 bag chocolate chips.

Mix everything except choc. chips. Bake in oven at 375 degrees until nice and brown, stiffing often (every 15 minutes) for 30 -45 minutes. Put choc. chips in after baking but while still moderately warm, depending one how mixed in you like the chocolate (Not you could also substitute in dried fruit if you want a healthy version, but I love the chocolate).

Use a large turkey roaster or throw away tin pan..If you make a half batch it fits nicely in a 13x9 pan. When it looks golden brown, it is done!


Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Preparation

One particular area that we have learned about in preparing to move to Haiti, is to start living how you will be living on the field. Now, that is really difficult to do here, so I have been trying to cook more at home and not eat out. I also have been crocheting at night, with the TV off. My task this week was to figure out how to make coffee cozies. Here is my latest.

This week I started working on a new project...ereader cases. I'll post a picture when I have it finished!!!

Anyone have any other ideas of things I can start doing to prepare for my move!!