tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30502091711449844102024-03-21T09:46:05.951-07:00thelifeofjessJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-76378641231332841412011-03-07T07:39:00.000-08:002011-03-07T07:44:47.499-08:00Teach me Joy Give-away<a href="http://thecraftyclassroom.com/blog/2011/03/07/teach-me-joy-giveaway/"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqaKYkC3mT0yICSw2ma-NEUljAF6J4wHsOzIgr3amN9EwJ1WERKNKwwykXxlXQ3MiUPqkHLlpgW6AprB2e2GS3Xnsee0QrCYZ2YA-RBk-8DgXeOu5spjTDXiNF_HftWXNv8BMAQggX5OLb/s1600/TeachJoy.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 280px; height: 85px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqaKYkC3mT0yICSw2ma-NEUljAF6J4wHsOzIgr3amN9EwJ1WERKNKwwykXxlXQ3MiUPqkHLlpgW6AprB2e2GS3Xnsee0QrCYZ2YA-RBk-8DgXeOu5spjTDXiNF_HftWXNv8BMAQggX5OLb/s400/TeachJoy.gif" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5581364022491245666" /></a></a><br />These curriculums look great! I hope I can win one in the give-away. Check it out for yourself...there is something for preschoolers, young elementary, and a handwriting program. <br /><br /><a href="http://thecraftyclassroom.com/blog/2011/03/07/teach-me-joy-giveaway/">Teach Me Joy Give-away</a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-18729835187282543952011-01-24T07:21:00.000-08:002011-01-24T09:36:19.090-08:00Baby #4, the delivery.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6yYaTZMtPLH0c6q-Dyd5Vv85yNYtzYJJ64fvIgmzTLI74swIh0iY7U-4IlfwdO5XFu4Dmu8hEbm7YOJsZy7T52ktWOyqs9LaXFuZhE-CZ-GVBdwIJZuZZSWqM4zI4g9ZtC6ZbHhM8dkL/s1600/DSC07279.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm6yYaTZMtPLH0c6q-Dyd5Vv85yNYtzYJJ64fvIgmzTLI74swIh0iY7U-4IlfwdO5XFu4Dmu8hEbm7YOJsZy7T52ktWOyqs9LaXFuZhE-CZ-GVBdwIJZuZZSWqM4zI4g9ZtC6ZbHhM8dkL/s400/DSC07279.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5565780138384282962" /></a><br />Well, baby # 4 is here. I haven't gotten around to blogging about it quite yet. Because of the personal information on our baby announcement that I created, I am not going to post it here, but if I know you and you want to see it, I can email you one. Just let me know what email address to send it to. If you are my friend on Facebook, you can see it there too.<br /><br />The short of the story is that our dear little one decided to show up quite late, making it into the year 2011 and missing her Christmas due date. But that's ok. God had a different timing for her.<br /><br />I feel like the whole week after Christmas I was in early stage labor, but just wasn't having the real consistent, painful contractions that would send me to the hospital. But at about 1 am, on January 3rd, a deep contraction woke me up in the night and I knew it was a "real" one. I let a couple more happen (at about 7 min apart) before I decided to get up and go ahead and shower and get some things ready to go. Being the 4th child, I knew that things could move quickly, so I didn't want to dawdle too much at home. By the time I was done with the shower, I was convinced I needed to go the hospital pretty soon. I woke Jim and told him, "This is it!" and had him call my sister to come stay with our other sleeping beauties.<br /><br />Contractions were not ALL that close together (between 5-10 minutes), but they were to the point where I had to sit and breathe through them. We got to the hospital at about 3:45 am and staff immediately began getting me all checked in and all their computer/paperwork stuff done to get me an IV and what not. When the nurse checked me at about 4:30, I was 4 cm and 90% effaced. The contractions were pretty painful by this point and I told her that I would most likely be getting an epidural around 6 cm. The anesthesiologist just happened to be next door and she said that we should go ahead and grab him because I could dilate quicker than I think. Boy was she right! After the epidural I went to 7 cm in about 1 hour. The nurses were hoping that I would slow a little bit so that my doctor could get there. So they were not going to break my water or do anything to speed the process up. Jim, who was feeling the lack of sleep at this point, asked if he could go get some coffee. I thought that would be fine because Starbucks was not far away and what could happen in 20 minutes, right? Well, apparently a lot. After he had been gone about 15 minutes, I felt my water break and felt tons of pressure and the need to push. The nurse rushed in to check me, announcing that I was 10 cm and 100% effaced and the head was right there! YIKES! I immediately called Jim to see where he was. He said he was like 4 minutes away. "Hurry up!" I said.<br /><br />A fury of excitement then ensued as the staff started getting the room ready for delivery and all kinds of apparatus and instruments began flooding in (at St. Lukes labor, deliver, and recovery are all in the same room--it's pretty cool!). Jim showed up in the midst of this, throwing off his coat and getting the cameras ready. My doctor was still not there, so I was slow breathing to make sure I didn't start pushing inadvertently. <br /><br />A couple minutes later, the doc finally showed up and was kind of chit chatting, seemingly waiting for the nurses to finish set up. Then one nurse was like, "Uh, we are ready here! She wants to push." The doc was kind of like, "Oh! Really?!! Wow, get me in my scrubs!" The first contraction after that I started pushing and after one and half pushes, the head was out. Doc told me to stop pushing for a sec while they suctioned and slowed the baby's entry. Then on the next push, the rest of our girl entered the world with loud crying, at 5:55 am. She weighed 10 pounds, 6 ounces and looked wonderful with her mop of hair on her head.<br /><br />The doc and nurses always laugh at how big our babies are and how easy the delivery is for me. When Jim and I were engaged, a woman came up to me and told me I had good birthing hips...little did she know how right she was. I didn't have any tearing or episiotomy either! That has been so nice because I have needed to bounce back physically a lot sooner this time around with all the responsibility I have in life.<br /><br />So that's the story. Fairly uneventful until a few hours after birth when I had a bleeding/clotting episode and almost passed out. Apparently when you have huge babies and your uterus is as stretched out as mine got, you are more prone to bleeds and clots and need to have the uterus regular massaged back down for hours after birth to prevent issues. My recovery nurse was not as experienced in these matters and didn't do it enough so it was a slight scary moment. But all was well by that evening and I'm fine. I just have to take extra iron supplements to build my blood stores for a few weeks.<br /><br />Now the baby and I are getting to know each other and I'm running on very little sleep. Pray for us to get adjusted quickly! Again, if you want a birth announcement, let me know. There are several pictures on there.<br /><br />-JJessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-70756263052560050242010-12-25T17:21:00.000-08:002010-12-25T17:22:44.585-08:00Week 40<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIXE-FX8EH-4dJuiXL5cUrCdiIPv-A5AJWS0imgSj-WNjUemDDsvyOsf1I2VXyM8OqSCN7wtAXEv9a0cub-BLh6oSO3R3lVmTvQRe6pKc9TMXHd3mDX8u2AaALpL7FZAz3j624pEMpfMl/s1600/Week+40.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIIXE-FX8EH-4dJuiXL5cUrCdiIPv-A5AJWS0imgSj-WNjUemDDsvyOsf1I2VXyM8OqSCN7wtAXEv9a0cub-BLh6oSO3R3lVmTvQRe6pKc9TMXHd3mDX8u2AaALpL7FZAz3j624pEMpfMl/s400/Week+40.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554795232287489426" /></a><br /><br />STILL HERE!!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-36091794770452647012010-12-20T18:28:00.000-08:002010-12-20T18:30:39.496-08:00Week 39<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEn2x_J93YXodv9HA9AM1c-Sv1VzbyE65bJgv1IjIogDEMp-9CcoFdUC1XBzPK4J-YIzuwC0BJFJasCbMzd72XZZNrnNBHYdmp8rmutX0Y_s1tT_iux5qLl3GubT6CjPuCESr9rqOipoxS/s1600/Week+39.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEn2x_J93YXodv9HA9AM1c-Sv1VzbyE65bJgv1IjIogDEMp-9CcoFdUC1XBzPK4J-YIzuwC0BJFJasCbMzd72XZZNrnNBHYdmp8rmutX0Y_s1tT_iux5qLl3GubT6CjPuCESr9rqOipoxS/s400/Week+39.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5552957323281548658" /></a><br />Final stretch...Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-48472782731956157892010-12-12T19:17:00.000-08:002010-12-12T19:20:38.795-08:00Week 38<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPjPbxi9Me7GdvEdN7zDC13WgHO7xX2H0T06BVjYPsdKHYkxMoXlNBOtpBvrlwb7iCmdQ6cMbnVT08FvdjXL99Cc76aMDwUDEXe-nyztM-NzkSOEo2VMdcyB9BLHt7Jq2Y5isLPdLp-vM/s1600/Week+38.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPjPbxi9Me7GdvEdN7zDC13WgHO7xX2H0T06BVjYPsdKHYkxMoXlNBOtpBvrlwb7iCmdQ6cMbnVT08FvdjXL99Cc76aMDwUDEXe-nyztM-NzkSOEo2VMdcyB9BLHt7Jq2Y5isLPdLp-vM/s400/Week+38.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550001496918928370" /></a><br />So cold!!!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-76970639677912925932010-12-06T19:47:00.000-08:002010-12-06T19:50:33.768-08:00Week 37.Blast from the past. HA!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZYjG_SRemkcfCxJXX_O66_gJraY2fnEPRjPcjWVCGrpswZfEOEQUjSNOFYE8Dl-SrLaGTjS4ZceC3cfiniLRn_qA0x-OXQ9tQW9h3_jT3WT7qfBrMkIa93RkTIglP2BhnlBV-zEgP9nB/s1600/Week+37.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ZYjG_SRemkcfCxJXX_O66_gJraY2fnEPRjPcjWVCGrpswZfEOEQUjSNOFYE8Dl-SrLaGTjS4ZceC3cfiniLRn_qA0x-OXQ9tQW9h3_jT3WT7qfBrMkIa93RkTIglP2BhnlBV-zEgP9nB/s400/Week+37.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547782580574868498" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-81732182045112939122010-11-29T19:00:00.000-08:002010-11-29T19:04:52.971-08:00Week 36<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YUpcO2s4zXNFLbiHLbIciE1PHBSPRNrTDuzRCD33wWnmN-hzgJF-8RIhf-wuPlOz41uQor-pNeoK8ZgP9kL0M05obKNl_lb6yUFLQRrSBHXnQD2Pt8n1Yvvncns-44niLJmTzfctIEF_/s1600/Week+36.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0YUpcO2s4zXNFLbiHLbIciE1PHBSPRNrTDuzRCD33wWnmN-hzgJF-8RIhf-wuPlOz41uQor-pNeoK8ZgP9kL0M05obKNl_lb6yUFLQRrSBHXnQD2Pt8n1Yvvncns-44niLJmTzfctIEF_/s400/Week+36.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545173235671466002" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-89381085354743608462010-11-23T16:12:00.000-08:002010-11-23T16:34:43.226-08:00Week 35This one is super late because I had a yucky cold over the weekend and Jadyn had a short-lived puking bug as well. Didn't get much rest until Monday when my wonderful husband took a half a day off to let me sleep in and help with the kids. When taking these pictures I literally felt like falling asleep, so I brought out a pillow and chair and went with it. At this point, I think I have 31 days officially left till the due date. Here's to hoping it's more like 15 or 20!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnMCEjav-HkOP5zKE98FsZEqUFXV4HYW7QhBCL6Qkqlxobx3gnFDVg66oU9i4MljMEETOWYtNZkP3taZ01QTCDC2i6Pjf6S5lPCTMEgnaahTY-OLHkx3pJh5GbyUWECNGHlZ5zCsNKtYv/s1600/Week+35.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQnMCEjav-HkOP5zKE98FsZEqUFXV4HYW7QhBCL6Qkqlxobx3gnFDVg66oU9i4MljMEETOWYtNZkP3taZ01QTCDC2i6Pjf6S5lPCTMEgnaahTY-OLHkx3pJh5GbyUWECNGHlZ5zCsNKtYv/s400/Week+35.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5542903010166942434" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-12545574054124561552010-11-16T16:16:00.001-08:002010-11-16T16:20:49.769-08:00Week 34<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1UdaCB-0LGp_mEurThOiMTMsTvr6T4ddMg8FKekEOSKEQ8gAWziPkewsDzUqCiW9T2puJlI1SDEdxuEGmzf_mHnyXZ5fF-9Q2Eu2bWdxKAcA9Cbv0-aFrrN5hEH6lAjwklhSOIzXCORR/s1600/Week+34.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis1UdaCB-0LGp_mEurThOiMTMsTvr6T4ddMg8FKekEOSKEQ8gAWziPkewsDzUqCiW9T2puJlI1SDEdxuEGmzf_mHnyXZ5fF-9Q2Eu2bWdxKAcA9Cbv0-aFrrN5hEH6lAjwklhSOIzXCORR/s400/Week+34.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540306767932910946" /></a><br />I almost forgot to put this one up this week.<br /><br />Pictures taken by K on my Iphone because I had sent the camera with Jim over the weekend since he was deer hunting. He got two deer by the way...a buck on Saturday and a doe on Sunday. Woo hoo!Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-71335321609176556672010-11-06T20:18:00.000-07:002010-11-06T20:20:06.466-07:00Week 33<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94QWLe5ROOZUpjBVhyphenhyphenCaZGdCgZ2HlTE0qi8lAI_CyrDcL2IhDOBu-6K7_zqeMdmTlSxsAUVl97oQRMtThxIjwh0-swLbLHUuJ6WztSJw0e1CPGpruv48faSwTRKc_QdZESSGFMei7t032/s1600/Week+33.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94QWLe5ROOZUpjBVhyphenhyphenCaZGdCgZ2HlTE0qi8lAI_CyrDcL2IhDOBu-6K7_zqeMdmTlSxsAUVl97oQRMtThxIjwh0-swLbLHUuJ6WztSJw0e1CPGpruv48faSwTRKc_QdZESSGFMei7t032/s400/Week+33.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536642295465213282" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-72588345552783834742010-10-31T17:28:00.000-07:002010-10-31T17:31:15.937-07:00Week 32<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZ4871W3YLym8wArJ0nlvHdKpriSnTsGadobpKlt9xXzNlK-5Dg1IZfMKuhNHWbmwGUdIjIxacU0hKN8zJ_8u0MTGJbUf4oj5WwYaAk6vvHIzMWeD676yKxHafsBhv_-GJF3cetY8pPsm/s1600/Week+32.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZ4871W3YLym8wArJ0nlvHdKpriSnTsGadobpKlt9xXzNlK-5Dg1IZfMKuhNHWbmwGUdIjIxacU0hKN8zJ_8u0MTGJbUf4oj5WwYaAk6vvHIzMWeD676yKxHafsBhv_-GJF3cetY8pPsm/s400/Week+32.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534372234580377650" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-47807682476855063722010-10-26T21:07:00.001-07:002010-10-26T21:08:52.364-07:00Week 31<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsiYLuDj0bs9oaItO4pxGJxAgzxNAmoXSDJobrQnv8uYZvJZRr5F4kI-_8nkB_Axh2Nm-rcOIaqJ5inVbBOD8KFBWdCGqAY0lwwp0a0TG9uo_XoEpfYM5H0OGaa70slWJj8ANg1sLY8TH/s1600/Week+31.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhsiYLuDj0bs9oaItO4pxGJxAgzxNAmoXSDJobrQnv8uYZvJZRr5F4kI-_8nkB_Axh2Nm-rcOIaqJ5inVbBOD8KFBWdCGqAY0lwwp0a0TG9uo_XoEpfYM5H0OGaa70slWJj8ANg1sLY8TH/s400/Week+31.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532572897030785794" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-16512315713655262082010-10-18T20:33:00.000-07:002010-10-18T20:36:26.028-07:00Week 30!As of today, I am only 67 days away fro the due date!! Woo hoo!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1FTMvfhWLk3aMgfM7F9LfkCJnnSqioQPhMouxe08mE4KU7OAdtCUHf_jl0LBxl9IUgs2T1RKkcWufzbY_A8yo3_DD-y52mlrvXaLDBgq6tdR54utq0dPfYL0lWwTe9hqQZwFFErb2q0O/s1600/Week+30.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiH1FTMvfhWLk3aMgfM7F9LfkCJnnSqioQPhMouxe08mE4KU7OAdtCUHf_jl0LBxl9IUgs2T1RKkcWufzbY_A8yo3_DD-y52mlrvXaLDBgq6tdR54utq0dPfYL0lWwTe9hqQZwFFErb2q0O/s400/Week+30.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5529595566830218162" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-17679094642085405512010-10-13T12:12:00.001-07:002010-10-13T12:13:40.880-07:00Week 29<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ykMWufASGOkoeb_oa5IXOFH1G6No-sFIR0tP8iUbGS078Ys2euAoUtmFVeOgV7Jzp7hXJMf7QKIwAS9KmnhudO0VMQnNTFkIpUMi9PEuWzutF4fCGSjODCBmeYxxdQ9sYq01WTXr1pLi/s1600/Week+29.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ykMWufASGOkoeb_oa5IXOFH1G6No-sFIR0tP8iUbGS078Ys2euAoUtmFVeOgV7Jzp7hXJMf7QKIwAS9KmnhudO0VMQnNTFkIpUMi9PEuWzutF4fCGSjODCBmeYxxdQ9sYq01WTXr1pLi/s400/Week+29.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527610793701030674" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-36376460848696914382010-10-03T21:01:00.001-07:002010-10-03T21:02:36.315-07:00Week 28<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWRZ3mrb6LcNe3qmx5R138h2SfSYes6yQQmUeKTjCK7jx9QtjmtXZzZQPljZ0X3_xU5vlU_JMBWETsxY1vb-mrRn1ksGMH7NER3lXpuRyklfc965iQuvHvU2CouM4q3kROGIdzFZfCjii/s1600/Week+28.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtWRZ3mrb6LcNe3qmx5R138h2SfSYes6yQQmUeKTjCK7jx9QtjmtXZzZQPljZ0X3_xU5vlU_JMBWETsxY1vb-mrRn1ksGMH7NER3lXpuRyklfc965iQuvHvU2CouM4q3kROGIdzFZfCjii/s400/Week+28.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524036313216693106" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-38715009847551270572010-09-30T09:28:00.000-07:002010-09-30T09:29:45.834-07:00Week 27<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwAERoFEiuHD3qZrOdazj8LesnWMVc4FK0m98KKIVpwy1a9nXu50XsMLUjQBwz-UNudnq0Y8NHfJL6il0vVBOjTQP78EtN3ijwvz8Elzyj0IR55Lo4cUANbv15o1R_dqZZmO1JNN0QU_h/s1600/Week+27.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCwAERoFEiuHD3qZrOdazj8LesnWMVc4FK0m98KKIVpwy1a9nXu50XsMLUjQBwz-UNudnq0Y8NHfJL6il0vVBOjTQP78EtN3ijwvz8Elzyj0IR55Lo4cUANbv15o1R_dqZZmO1JNN0QU_h/s400/Week+27.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522744555247306226" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-65292431794257188392010-09-22T18:53:00.000-07:002010-09-22T20:29:24.320-07:00Family Photos 2010Our latest pictures by Laura Stern Photography. <div>
<br /></div><div><div style="width:480px; text-align: center;"><embed type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://w140.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fw140.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr34%2Fjesstern%2FFam+photoshoot+10%2F78c0d884.pbw" height="360" width="480"><a href="http://photobucket.com/slideshows" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;"></a><a href="http://s140.photobucket.com/albums/r34/jesstern/Fam%20photoshoot%2010/?action=view&current=78c0d884.pbw" target="_blank"><img src="http://pic.photobucket.com/slideshows/btn_viewallimages.gif" style="float:left;border-width: 0;"></a>
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<br /></div><div style="width:480px; text-align: center;">The last one is a belly pic of Laura and I and the new babes about to join the family tribe. We are due less than 3 weeks apart, and her son will be the first cousin on Jim's side of the fam! Woo hoo!</div></div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-56517750158965567272010-09-22T14:51:00.000-07:002010-09-22T14:53:03.996-07:00Week 26<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS97xZneCxsvKJCYZnPdxtpUgpfo8JFCNKfuNywi27fZLPAQw9oGo6GhhALVIMtvQ2LgOW9Ph1ium5NCi8MN_9F0e5Iw88R1WyiZmV0ZlmkNEzITFZa_HYewd497JRnlC0djJHQrT-05V/s1600/Week+26.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinS97xZneCxsvKJCYZnPdxtpUgpfo8JFCNKfuNywi27fZLPAQw9oGo6GhhALVIMtvQ2LgOW9Ph1ium5NCi8MN_9F0e5Iw88R1WyiZmV0ZlmkNEzITFZa_HYewd497JRnlC0djJHQrT-05V/s400/Week+26.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519859124641466914" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-90484068243588914892010-09-12T17:59:00.001-07:002010-09-12T18:01:29.738-07:00Week 25<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMrxCXPAPUT8-75ly9X0Dju5Mc0ldJJVVp6NnhPwkFWjkXH9IeY9cnn64RhFbtTWqcAa4XZoA6uV7iqm8P4cFggfLoH_14_O3bXiiA_lR8_K4LKUBRPKRyraBVsmlgN5wdlJLdaECDpdP/s1600/Week+25.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjMrxCXPAPUT8-75ly9X0Dju5Mc0ldJJVVp6NnhPwkFWjkXH9IeY9cnn64RhFbtTWqcAa4XZoA6uV7iqm8P4cFggfLoH_14_O3bXiiA_lR8_K4LKUBRPKRyraBVsmlgN5wdlJLdaECDpdP/s400/Week+25.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516196814562231058" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-73392024688027230532010-09-08T12:35:00.000-07:002010-09-08T12:38:03.528-07:00Week 24<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnNZ_pVXxEQX5X6KoHof7_2gls0_KVwHuKqy654XXxM-_MrZVgkqq6gMfHhW2WxEPcAhS6h3NQA-ImrrzRMZ09loDsaakLDHDWXoBJFgbfeCPWVTNCHbv_6Gq1tsdH61F4vAiObHOJKya/s1600/Week+24.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilnNZ_pVXxEQX5X6KoHof7_2gls0_KVwHuKqy654XXxM-_MrZVgkqq6gMfHhW2WxEPcAhS6h3NQA-ImrrzRMZ09loDsaakLDHDWXoBJFgbfeCPWVTNCHbv_6Gq1tsdH61F4vAiObHOJKya/s400/Week+24.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514629124623301762" /></a><br />click photo to be able to read text.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-57487788167289660672010-09-01T14:59:00.001-07:002010-09-01T15:39:20.784-07:00Walk to 40 WeeksI know it has been FOREVER since I have blogged. I suppose the burning passion to write has dimmed quite a bit and with how full life is, sometimes I just can't justify spending any time blogging. I kind of have to choose between that and other hobbies or relaxation time.<div><br /></div><div>Speaking of hobbies, you all know I digital scrapbook, and when I came across <a href="http://pacingthepanicroom.blogspot.com/search/label/The%20walk%20to%2040%20weeks">this</a> idea off a friend's blog of a way to document a pregnancy, I thought I would really like it. It's called the Walk to 40 Weeks, with the main focus to take a front and side picture of the growing belly and to write the little nugget a note every week. I have added a few "scrapbooking elements" to my final compositions. I didn't start until after week 20 because prior to that, there's not really much belly to document. :)</div><div><br /></div><div>Here are the first three weeks of pics I took. I wish I had a nice camera or a talented photographer, or both perhaps, that could capture us every week, but alas, the little Cybershot point-and-shoot will have to suffice. Thank God for photoshop.</div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXJ-2eYJdJcMyL5xzbLrPu21yHOr5WOsiRi6dJY236u5ftldJSqTwnGuWZBh4yJvJdIhVNG9FP0SEyi6d4STACX_SB7q1Pahf185P9UR5b-tFCkMZnawuLjewp8rwTmYjq7gTz0GJEj7h/s1600/Walk+to+40-week+21+5x7.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwXJ-2eYJdJcMyL5xzbLrPu21yHOr5WOsiRi6dJY236u5ftldJSqTwnGuWZBh4yJvJdIhVNG9FP0SEyi6d4STACX_SB7q1Pahf185P9UR5b-tFCkMZnawuLjewp8rwTmYjq7gTz0GJEj7h/s400/Walk+to+40-week+21+5x7.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512071406415214914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituH6NboEjSc9ZX5Cy8hvtobV18jebtIn9NRVZM4YHC0r1senV0yEsuYrN0klMQd-NNBQoSzXtf8qrBGfOrBE-vTR4qStzCe5XXMciNwwseqh3z4UV21a95opJu99JgFwmtSqi7K_IcD_-/s1600/Week+22.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEituH6NboEjSc9ZX5Cy8hvtobV18jebtIn9NRVZM4YHC0r1senV0yEsuYrN0klMQd-NNBQoSzXtf8qrBGfOrBE-vTR4qStzCe5XXMciNwwseqh3z4UV21a95opJu99JgFwmtSqi7K_IcD_-/s400/Week+22.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512071396966193794" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Pu80cxVhFf232LwDyzQWkilppmEbS5in3EjIINhF9nuywZVTcR9LOBmB759hvoUGQ9R7uu7E9l0a1QDxkEVnqOmmgLqCatzqo2fqdnjoq-KlIYi_NerrHfRwFQN0SuITF68nb10AkF2O/s1600/Week+23.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 286px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Pu80cxVhFf232LwDyzQWkilppmEbS5in3EjIINhF9nuywZVTcR9LOBmB759hvoUGQ9R7uu7E9l0a1QDxkEVnqOmmgLqCatzqo2fqdnjoq-KlIYi_NerrHfRwFQN0SuITF68nb10AkF2O/s400/Week+23.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512071389505649410" /></a>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-50203888142495292402010-05-22T20:55:00.000-07:002010-05-22T21:22:17.784-07:00What's that? You're expecting?As I sit here finishing my late night taco bell, I just had to post about our big news. I figured since Jim announced it this weekend at church, most people know now, but even if you didn't, you'd probably know soon by looking at me because the weight gain has begun. Thanks in part, I'm sure, to more than a few late night Taco Bell runs....and Hostess Cherry Pies....and cheesy rotel dip....and donuts....<div><br /></div><div>So anyway, baby # 4 is on the way, expected to make their arrival on none other than Christmas Day. Can you believe that? My kids are something with these due dates, I tell you! M was born on her due date (June 25th), and J was due and born on 9/11. E, of course, had to make her own special entrance into the world 12 days late, but now this 4th one is seriously Dec. 25. I hope they don't hate us too much for forever ruining their birthday (I hear from December birthday people that it's the worst). Oh well, they will be loved and cared for and that's all that matters. We always find ways to make our kiddos feel special.</div><div><br /></div><div>So yeah, that's our news. I'm officially 9 weeks, 1 day, along today (I think). I really didn't even feel any symptoms for the first 6 weeks, and then have had some nausea since then (but usually only from 3-9 pm). I've also been taking regular afternoon naps to keep up my energy. It truly is amazing how the woman's body starts to change pretty much immediately after conception. You haven't even gained a pound yet, but somehow your shape changes and you feel fat. I still had about 10 pounds that I wanted to lose after having J that I will have to contend with after this pregnancy. Hopefully, I will keep the promise I made to myself to really get in shape after this one...I will need to be in peak performance to keep up with this brood of mine!</div><div><br /></div><div>In other news, I can not WAIT for the kids' school to be done with and to have some fun family time this summer. I'm ready for blueberries, and summer nights, fireworks, late night ice cream, dips in the pool, etc. We have some weekend events planned with the kids, and a stay-cation, and Jim and I will get away for almost a week in July (before I get too enormous) and have a summer respite together. Bring on the lemonade! </div><div><br /></div><div>Now all I need is a white painted porch and a lazy-day swing!</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-67590413449152963632010-05-13T12:47:00.000-07:002010-05-13T12:50:09.774-07:00Free GiveawayMy sis-in-law is doing an Arbonne give-away on her blog. If you leave a comment on her blog, tweet or facebook about it, or write about it your blog you get entered into the drawing. So stop by and check it out! It's an awesome collection of stuff! We need a minimum of 20 comments for the give-away to happen. GO NOW!<div><br /></div><div>http://lauradstern.blogspot.com/2010/05/first-arbonne-giveaway-ever.html</div>Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-48215429652914936042010-04-29T14:37:00.000-07:002010-05-01T21:44:18.218-07:00In a time crunch for dinner?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7-fZthc2cYJtKEMhUKaa44qQnKa2UUd_1iGelKFGRoD8giWfGf3GPqIZWSg1hgUFkfxyTNJrc48qVxJaKq6bnGJVKkpA_1gx7XHrBBeAFvIjb37P4hTn31Ok9Cx_6aF9fPmSs4Gq94i6/s1600/2254594828_b751f6e513_o.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 237px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW7-fZthc2cYJtKEMhUKaa44qQnKa2UUd_1iGelKFGRoD8giWfGf3GPqIZWSg1hgUFkfxyTNJrc48qVxJaKq6bnGJVKkpA_1gx7XHrBBeAFvIjb37P4hTn31Ok9Cx_6aF9fPmSs4Gq94i6/s320/2254594828_b751f6e513_o.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465681966003638866" /></a><br />I discovered this SUPER SIMPLE and fast chicken recipe online a couple weeks ago and am making it for the 2nd time already. Our whole family loved it! It's a Honey Baked Chicken dish and you probably have all the ingredients already at home (as long as you keep chicken in your freezer). The lengthiest part of prepping this dish is defrosting the chicken in the microwave! HA!<br /><br />Side note: we buy our hormone-free frozen chicken breasts from Costco. With raising all girls, I can't stomach feeding them meat chocked full of hormones...no wonder girls these days are "becoming women" at 9 years old! Sheesh! I was 16! <br /><br />Anyway, you will need:<br /><br />1 pound of chicken<br />1/4 cup of butter/margarine<br />1/4 cup of honey<br />1/8 cup of mustard (just from the bottle in your fridge)<br />1/2 teaspoon of curry<br />1 teaspoon of salt<br /><br />Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut up chicken into "tender" size pieces and sprinkle with some salt to liking. Arrange flat in a casserole dish. Mix melted butter, honey, mustard, curry, and salt in a bowl. Pour mixture over chicken. Bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. It will look a lot like the picture if you cook it for longer (and the honey starts carmelizing a bit--yummo!)<br /><br />SO EASY! This dish is easily and quickly paired with baked potato wedges (lightly drizzle with olive oil, garlic salt and maybe a little Italian seasoning and you can throw them in the oven with the chicken). With 5 minutes to go on the chicken, you can microwave one of those steamfresh bags of frozen broccoli, and BAM! A whole meal.<br /><br />Your tastebuds can thank me later. ;)Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3050209171144984410.post-21083099900609322952010-04-05T06:10:00.000-07:002010-11-07T16:44:46.661-08:00Haiti in reviewI think I'm now resettled back into life after coming back from Haiti. It's always an adjustment when returning from a 3rd world country. It was an amazing time, as most missions trips are. As an investigative trip to find out more about how we can help in Haiti, we made some great contacts down there. <br /><br />Our initiation into the country at the Port-au-Prince airport was crazy. The luggage was being dispersed in a hot, dirty hanger in a most disorderly fashion. The seven of us traveling had brought some 20+ suitcases full of donations and supplies with us, so trying to wrangle all of them was no small feat. After leaving customs, and exiting the airport we were greeted by the roar of people shouting and haggling outside the gate. Desperate to "help" us with our luggage in hope of receiving tips, people were constantly touching our bags and trying to push our carts. People were following us and begging for money. The shouting of "Blancs!" was heard frequently, as they call white people. The roads and rubble made it extremely difficult to get the carts of luggage to our awaiting contact. I had a flash of concern that the entire trip would be this way, but after leaving the airport area, things got better.<br /><br />We spent a few days at <a href="http://glahaiti.org">God's Littlest Angels</a> orphanage in the mountain village of Petionville (about 20 mi from Port-au-Prince) where we helped do a few projects around their base and loved on the babies and kids for hours. Haiti in general has upwards of 500,000 orphans and another 300,000 in slavery of some kind. Those babies can melt your heart like nothing else, I'll tell ya! They are so happy though and are being well care for at GLA. The house we stayed in was the location of their morning preschool class where they are teaching Kreyol, English, and Bible, so every morning at 8 am we were greeted by a dozen shining faces scrambling up the steps to come throw themselves into our arms, all of them saying, "Hiyeeeeee, hiyeeeee." It was awesome! The children all over Haiti were so affectionate and loving, always holding our hands or climbing on us. One of our team members, Gloria, actually is of Haitian descent and speaks Kreyol, so she was able to lead a little program that we did for kids there and at a couple other locations as we traveled around. I even learned a song in Kreyol that I would sing during the kids' mediation time. It was great! <br /><br />At GLA we also helped take extra donations of clothing, food, shoes, etc and put together bags for the surrounding mountain community. While the city of Port-au-Prince sustained the most damage in the earthquake, there were still many homes and buildings in the rural areas that were lost. We traveled further up in the mountain to hand out the almost 200 donation bags we put together. This was a very interesting day. We encountered many, many widows and also children who lost at least one parent. Several college-aged people who spoke some English would strike up conversations with us. After the earthquake, all schooling was on hiatus, so they literally had nothing to do. Unemployment in rural areas in Haiti is at 90%. People are unskilled and untrained, and many are completely illiterate. The mayor of the village took us around to view the most devastated homes and families so they could be put on a list to receive the first of the bags. Then whatever bags were left would be handed out to other families. The "listed" people formed a line and received their bags without incident, but when the list was done, chaos ensued. People were crowding the trucks, desperate for the handouts--young men shoving older women around, people fighting over the contents of a broken bag spilled on the ground. This part was hard to see. We had to stay inside the trucks as we moved locations two different times to try and reestablish order. Unfortunately, respect for fellow man goes out the window in Haiti when "free" stuff is being handed out (unless you are an armed military operation I suppose).<br /><br />Even though it is not encouraged, we were able to discreetly hand out some $1 & $5 bills to some children and mothers and young people that we had connected with. American dollars are worth seven Haitian dollars, which can go a long way there. The average income per individual in Haiti is $2 a week. I got to thinking about it and realized that the price of my airfare to that country is some people's entire yearly wages. The poverty truly is staggering.<br /><br />After saying goodbye to GLA, we had plans to see more of Port-au-Prince on our way to a hotel that we would stay at for one night as we tried to make contact with two other orphanages. I say "tried" because with one of them, we arrived at the address to find no orphanage existed there and the neighbors all confirmed that it was a guest house, not a residence for older girls as we thought. This was disappointing, but unfortunately a common story in Haiti. There are many organization down there that are corrupt, and it's just sickening that the cause of helping children is being used to pad people's pockets. The 2nd orphanage we thought we would see that day because their office had a Port-au-Prince address ended up being four hours away and the director came to see us at our hotel, probably hoping that we would give her lots of money. We had red flags going off about it, but sat down to talk with her. We believed that she truly ran an orphanage based on her knowledge and pictures, but something did not sit right with us about it, so we thanked her for her time, gave her a little gas money, and sent her on her way. Even though the day seemed like kind of a bust, it was good that we were finding out who we would NOT be able to trust there for future endeavors, and our tour through Port-au-Prince was appreciated too. When you hear that the city was utterly destroyed, it's no joke.<br /><br />Place after place--homes, churches, businesses, government facilities--were completely flattened. We learned from our drivers that in order to cut corners financially, most Haitians mix their concrete with too much water and sand, thereby making it very susceptible to crumbling. You could tell the structures that were build by outsiders (especially Americans) and were still standing. The sad part is that we saw many people beginning to rebuild but they were using the same mixing ratios and methods with the concrete as before the quake. I can't tell you the amount of devastation we saw. It will take them decades to recover. The sheer amount of rubble is unfathomable. We saw small groups of workers in yellow shirts that the government hired to help clean up, but they only had shovels and buckets. We saw very little construction grade equipment--they really need large earth movers and diggers and bulldozers. I don't know how they will do it without them?<br /><br />Seeing the tent cities was especially hard. Entire families are living under a tarp. Some are fortunate enough to find tin for roofs, or to receive a nicer tent from a relief organization. The number of people now fighting infection from terrible wounds or living with a disability or amputation is also staggering. Because of religious beliefs, voodoo, and superstition, Haitians have by-in-large ostracized anyone with a handicap or disability, forcing them into life-time poverty and to begging in the streets. They are not allowed to work and often abandoned by family and friends. Hopefully, Haiti will change because of this catastrophe and begin accommodating the now hundreds of thousands of people who are disabled.<br /><br />Leaving Port-au-Prince for our next destination (two hours up the coastline), we encountered more tent cities. People have fled the city and are "starting over" in the middle of a field or the base of a remote mountain. They literally have nothing. The stark contrast between the poverty of this nation and the beauty of it mountains, coastline, and water is striking.<br /><br />The last part of our trip was at a ministry called GAP (Go and Produce) which helps people with agricultural learning and farming and also has a medical clinic (in conjunction with Project Help which has a team of doctors from the U.S. come in for a week at a time, do surgeries and see major cases). GAP also started a youth ministry, and these young people we got to meet are AMAZING--so filled with the love of God and wanting to start a youth revolution in Haiti. And I think they can do it!<br /><br />Since the earthquake they had been traveling into the city handing out food, water and whatever supplies they could get their hands on to help people in the tent cities. They started forming some relationships with many people there and felt to rescue 250 refugees who truly were left with nothing--many widows and families with young children. A doctor had donated a piece of land to GAP and the youth ministry has been, by hand, building homes on it for these refugees whom they moved from the city temporarily to a school house near GAP until the homes are done. The youth organized the whole thing with a fantastic plan to develop the property with septic and shower solutions, compost area for a garden, and more. We visited the site and were blown away by their compassion, work ethic, and desire for young people to raise up in Haiti and be a better future for the country. Traditionally youth are looked down upon there, not valued, and not expected to do much of anything. The leader, and oldest member of this ministry, is 26 years old. His name is Jasmen and to hear him speak is truly remarkable. They are propelled by their passion for God and believe that Haitians need to be the ones to help their country and raise the standard for themselves. When we arrived there, Jasmen said they had raised enough money/resources to build 22 out of the 50 homes they planned to put on the property. So between the money that my church raised and the money other members of our team brought with them or raised, we were able to give them the funds right there to finished the other 28 homes. I left there with a zeal to help them however I could. Another team from The States that's going in May will visit them again. I'm excited to see pictures of the progress.<br /><br />We need to continue to remember Haiti in our prayers. The government is still a mad mess, and aid is still having distribution issues. Many people are still recovering from injuries or learning how to live again with them. We can't forget that rainy season is almost upon them, and the tent cities will be in for it--disease, malnutrition, unsanitary conditions, etc. Currently the government is rounding up orphans in the tent cities and is not releasing them into orphanages that have been evacuated are now awaiting and have room for them. It's heartbreaking, really. Please pray with me for this nation and the millions of people whose lives hang in the balance every day.<br /><br />STATS & FIGURES ON HAITI<br />80% of people lived below the poverty line before the earthquake. Now matters are worse.<br /><br />More than two-thirds of the labor force do not have formal, consistent or distinguishable jobs.<br /><br />The national income per capita is only $560 per year.<br /><br />Life expectancy at birth is only 61%.<br /><br />Only 50% of males are literate.<br /><br />1 in 20 Haitians is infected with HIV.<br /><br />The death toll from the 2010 earthquake is over 200,000, with tens of thousands more crippled or injured.<br /><br />Parents in such situations will most likely never be able to care for their children again.<br /><br />Unemployment in the city is above 50%, but exceeds 90% in rural Haiti.<br /><br />1/2 the population of Port-au-Prince is now homeless. Currently "tent cities" number the thousands.<br /><br />Rainy season is from May-July, and hurricane season July-October. Imagine<br />living in a tent during that.<br /><br />Very few children in Haiti receive vaccinations of any kind.<br /><br />Medical clinics exist but it is almost impossible to get a sterile work environment. Keeping wounds from getting infected after treatment is equally as challenging.<br /><br />74% of school-aged girls are NOT in school.<br /><br />Nearly half the population of Haiti is under 18.<br /><br />Approximately 1 out of 8 children will die before the age of five.<br /><br />Haitian babies are small and frail, suffering from low birth weight, as most mothers do not receive proper nutrition and care during pregnancy.<br /><br />Every year thousands of children are freely given away into human trafficking by family members for as little as $25-$50.<br /><br />Estimated number of Orphans in Haiti is upwards of 500,000, with an additional 300,000+ in slavery.<br /><br />Widows have grown in number exponentially.<br /><br />A relatively unknown fact about and connection between Haiti to America is that Haiti's revolution from French rule in 1791 paved the way for us to make the Louisiana purchase because France could not financially afford to keep it. So Haiti aided the U.S. in establishing our territory. Isn't that interesting?<br /><br /><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_3FItUY4Yk?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D_3FItUY4Yk?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>The video I put together is really just a sampling of photos and video our team took. The song underneath it was written by a young man in my church named Josh Golden and co-written by Jim, inspired by Haiti. Josh performed the song at a Disney Haiti benefit concert in L.A a few weeks ago.Jessicahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12140453232804661557noreply@blogger.com2