Halloween

I love Halloween, so I decided to dress up this year. I got dressed while M napped. She walked in and said, "mommy, did you lose a tooth?" Then she asked, "what happened to your hair?" I think she felt sorry for me because she said I looked pretty. J said I was scary!


Below is a picture of us not dressed up and then pics from tonight:




The family downtown:

National Chemistry Week & Mole Day

I missed this great event - National Chemistry Week & Mole Day. I didn't even know that chemist had such a celebration! Although I am not a chemist now, I did major in Chemistry, and Chemistry will always have a special place in my heart. : )

I met Poverty - blog action day

Call it coincidence or simply fitting that blog action day, focusing on poverty, falls just on the heels of my return from Mexico City.

In Mexico, I met poverty face to face. I cannot express in words the impact that this trip had on me. I only know that I am different.

Upon my return, I wondered, “How do I go back to the way I was?” How do I worry about the typical middle class American issues – the election, high gas prices, whether I will get through the pile of contracts and policies that need review on my desk, whether I will get my kids into the right school, whether I will be able to retire, what will I have for dinner tonight, whether or not to buy a new tv? The answer is that I do not, in fact, I cannot go back to the way I was. I am changed. My perspective is different – my worldview has been broadened.

Despite this, I cannot live my life in guilt. Just after returning, I felt guilty for everything – for having a home, for having a toddler that “wasn’t hungry” for dinner and wasted food. I felt guilty for having an education, for being born – it seemed as if everything was luck of the draw – I was born in America, not in Mexico, thus I had the basic necessities (food, clean water), while others do not. And to make matters worse, work felt like torture. The job that I had taken pride in, and the career that I felt was centered on “making a difference” – working at a nonprofit hospital, impacting the lives of patients daily – it all seemed so irrelevant in the face of hunger, homelessness, abuse, and hopelessness.

Now, I am working through this. I am trying to find a way to continue to care, and to continue to make a difference, without losing my joy in the process. Feeling guilty and hating myself will not make the world a better place. I am trying to work through what I need to do to make a difference.

I also want to stress that I was not unaware of poverty prior to this trip. I’ve been on numerous mission trips in rural and urban areas. I’ve fed the homeless, repaired broken homes, and ministered to the sick. I’ve seen pain and suffering. I also read, I watch the news, and I am aware that there is heartache. However, something different happened to me in Mexico. I fed fruit and gave juice to a child that lived in a shopping cart. When I looked into that 2 year old’s eyes, I saw my children. When the child came to show me his toy and we tried to communicate, I saw a child that simply wanted to play. When I met the child’s parents, they, like me, were proud and did not want to accept help. However, in the mother I saw desperation when she asked if we had a diaper (the child was wearing a paper towel). There is something powerful in meeting poverty face to face – now poverty is not just a social issue, but it is a child – poverty is the people – a city full and overflowing with beautiful people that desperately reach for a glimmer of hope.

I have no answers, I only have pictures – this is my only way to share a glimpse of the poverty that I witnessed.

Maria's latest injury - the drama never ends

The story below is in Mike's words. I guess we should get used to the injuries and drama - it seems that these issues are just a part of having kids. But it does seem like Maria has already had her fair share of heart stopping, scary injuries!

When Maria was one she fell down our steps (13) at our house. When she was two she passed out at a Doodlebops concert because of a fever and had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. Now that she is three I've been waiting for her next traumatic physical accomplishment. The wait is over.

Yesterday Jacob and Maria were busy chasing each other around the house. I warned a few times that they might want to slow down before someone gets hurt. (I sound like my mother). Finally the sounds of laughter were filled with cries of pain. I was in the next room and just casually asked the kids what happened. Maria was crying but not in a "emergency" kind of way. As she walked into the room with her hand over her mouth the first thing i noticed was the large amount of blood running down her arm. I rushed over and carried her into the bathroom. Once she saw the blood her tears and cry turned to curiosity as she casually asked me where the blood was coming from. After cleaning her up I did a quick exam and didn't really see anything out of the ordinary that would have caused that much blood. As I looked in her mouth I noticed some blood around her gums so I went to wipe it off with my finger. That is when I realized her front two top teeth were now loose.

The story I have been able to piece together from her and Jacob was as they were running she ran up and bent over our coffee table. Jacob then ran into the back of her causing her to fall face first onto the top of the table. Basically she did a face plant on our coffee table.

I called the dentist who wanted to see us first thing this morning. Her prognosis is 50/50. There is just as likely of a chance that her gums will heal up and everything will be back to normal in a few weeks as there is a chance she might lose both teeth. The dentist said everyone was different in the way they healed and we'd just have to wait and see.

So for now Maria is on a soft diet for a few days and no more thumb sucking for a few weeks. Other then that you would never know what happened. She was as wide open 5 minutes after it happened as she was 5 min before. I thinking she'll either grow up to be a stunt woman or a MMA cage fighter. She's a lot tougher then anyone else in this house.

Mexico City and other information

So I know that many of you want to hear about our mission trip to Mexico City. I really want to write and share about the powerful things that happened there. However, when I returned home, I've been hit with some personal tragedies (sickness of friends, etc.) Until I can update you, check out Mike's blog . Mike is updating his blog each day detailing the activities of a day in the City.

Also, please pray for my dear sweet Anne (the kids call her their Fairy Godmother). She is very sick and in the hospital. She had a kidney transplant a year ago. Some pictures of Anne are below - I love you girl!