Issues, always issues

Issues, always issues, and it is always the innocent that get caught in the whole mess. I noticed that now, as of this weekend, Larry King (LK) is raising money ONLY for the American Red Cross.....


Well Said!!!!!

see here, for the latest with UNICEF

Haitians are survivors

"Haiti's is not a story about death.
It is a story about life after death."

a quote from here

I say amen, and yes to that.......

I can see it in my own two daughters, Haitians are survivors, way beyond what most humans think it is possible to survive, they manage to do it.....

Haiti----rise of the Phoenix??

"For so long, no one cared, no one knew us." an emotional quote from Haitian American Actress Garcelle Beauvais. She was a visitor on the Larry King Help Haiti fundraiser from a few nights ago.

I never watched LK before, but I wanted to see how this mini-telethon played out for Haiti. Within two hours, the show had raised nearly 5 million dollars for UNICEF and the American Red Cross. Not too bad. All good, YET, I couldn't help but dwell on Garcelle's words.

She was right.

In my visits to Haiti, I always wondered how people could live in such poverty, when only 600 miles from the USA. WHY, why didn't we seem to care, why didn't people know about the country, where it was located, the conditions people lived in, why, why, why. My head hurt sometimes in thinking and wondering why. Yet when I would talk about the country and conditions, I could easily see people were only as interested for as long as they could pretend they were interested. The talk would then quickly turn to other, insignificant (I think anyway) subjects.

So I wonder, NOW, with this continuous horrendous tragedy, if, just maybe, if, Haiti could be re-buildt. There has been such an incredible outpouring of support from so many countries. Maybe it could be a beautiful country once again, Maybe.....Maybe, Haiti will be like the Phoenix symbol...a bird that dies in ashes, but rises again to be a much more beautiful creature, after it was re-born. I know whimsical....but I am so hoping and so praying that good may come from all this heartache, death, and sadness....

PLEASE, PLEASE don't forget

"How can I stay away from a place that holds my heart?" a quote from this blog.

I watch the news, I ache for the people and the country. My daughters are home BUT Haiti has me bound...forever. After all, I am attached to Haiti with two umbilical cords. Cords of life to my daughters when they were most vulnerable.

I don't know how to even begin, when to begin to explain to them what has happened to their home country. I want to go to Haiti NOW, to help, but it would not be wise at this time. My daughters need me here.

I have so many discombobulated thoughts, here, there, not coherent yet feeling deeply, yet no real words that make sense come to my mind or fingers...

If you want to help check out the many Haitian adoptive family blogs I have linked to the left. They are so good at getting the word out.

And PLEASE, PLEASE don't forget, rationalize, judge, or analyze the situation, just act.... People need us!!!

World Bank pledges $100m for Haiti

Just the beginning, but it is a good start

The World Bank has said it will provide an additional $100m in emergency aid to Haiti as governments and aid groups step up efforts to help the Caribbean country in the aftermath of Tuesday's devastating earthquake.

The pledge comes as the Red Cross said it estimated that at least three million people are in desperate need of urgent assistance, including search and rescue teams, medical supplies, shelter, food, and clean water.
The Haitian government has said it believes the magnitude 7.0 quake may have left over 100,000 people dead.

"This is a shocking event and it is crucial that the international community supports the Haitian people at this critical time," Robert Zoellick, the World Bank president said in a statement on Wednesday.

"The World Bank is mobilising significant financial assistance and sending a team to help assess damage and reconstruction needs. Our thoughts are with the people of Haiti, our staff, and our UN colleagues."

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank's sibling institution, said it also plans to lend support.

On Tuesday, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), another Washington-based institution, announced that $200,000 for emergency assistance would be provided with more funds to be made available if needed.

'Cruel tragedy'

The US government meanwhile has also begun to mobilise a massive military effort in response to the disaster, readying ships, helicopters, transport planes and a 2,000-member Marine unit to provide help.

Barack Obama, the president, promised on Wednesday to mount an all-out rescue and humanitarian effort to help the people of Haiti overcome what he called a "cruel and incomprehensible tragedy".

As part of the relief effort one of the US navy's large amphibious ships, the USS Batann, has been ordered to Haiti with a marine expeditionary unit on board.

The ship is one of more than a half dozen, including frigates, a destroyer and a guided missile cruiser, being sent to the country.

General Douglas Fraser, the head of the US Southern Command based in Miami, said at a news conference that the Pentagon was "seriously looking at" sending thousands of marines to assist with disaster relief efforts and security in Haiti.

The troops would aim to keep the peace in the event of post-disaster unrest as part of a larger international effort overseen by the United Nations, whose peacekeeping operation headquarters was destroyed in the quake.

Pleas for assistance

Other countries have also been stepping up assistance efforts, with China announcing Thursday that the Red Cross Society of China has pledged to donate $1 million of emergency aid to Haiti.

China has also sent a team of 60 relief personnel to the country, including search and rescue crews, medics and seismological experts.

The team will bring rescue, communications and security equipment as well as 10 tonnes of food, medicine and other supplies.

Iceland, France and Spain have also despatched search and rescue teams to the area, while commercial airlines have halted passenger services to Haiti, switching their aircraft to help with airlifting aid to the country.

Celebrities, musicians and athletes have also mobilised pleas for aid to help the recovery effort, with many posting messages online via Twitter and other sites.

Wyclef Jean, the Haitian-born musician, was among those calling for an urgent global response to help those affected by the disaster.

He arrived in Haiti on Wednesday, and his charity website, Yele,org, has been inundated with donations and has crashed under heavy internet traffic.

Meanwhile Lance Armstrong, a seven-time winner of the Tour de France cycling competition, has pledged $250,000 to the victims of the earthquake.

"This is really when the global community has to step up and recognise that we're very fortunate and sometimes we have to reach out," he said.

Haiti Earthquake: Thousands Feared Dead

Haiti Earthquake: Thousands Feared Dead

Dawn is supposed to bring hope. But today -- sunlight revealed hundreds of dead in the streets of Port-Au-Prince. CBS News anchor Katie Couric reports parents have lost children, and children have lost their parents. Survivors not overcome with grief used their bare hands to remove the rubble that trapped their families and neighbors. It's now a race to save the people buried under the destroyed hillside neighborhoods and shanty towns of the capital city.

"Information on the full extent of the damage is still scanty," said United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

A third of all Haitians - 3 million people - need emergency aid. One of the first priorities is setting up medical care for the thousands of injured. All three hospitals operated by Doctors Without Borders have collapsed or had to be abandoned. Many of its doctors are missing. What infrastructure Port-Au-Prince had -- is practically gone.

The presidential palace, which weathered decades of political unrest, is in ruins. There's little water, spotty electricity, and no place to store the dead. Adding to the chaos is that the biggest relief organization in Haiti -- the United Nations -- is in shambles.

At least 14 UN workers are dead. More than 100 others may be buried under their collapsed headquarters. A search and rescue team from Virginia is already here. They'll be joined by other teams as far away as Europe and China. A U.S. aircraft carrier is on its way. Two thousand Marines may follow. "We're looking at all the options to make sure we have as much flexibility as possible," said General Douglas Fraser, U.S. Southern Command.

In the best of times, Haitians endure daily hardships. Four out of five people here already lived in poverty. Few could imagine the catastrophe unleashed by the 30 second earthquake that left Port-Au-Prince covered in a cloud of dust. The coming days will be about survival: for the injured, the orphaned, and an entire nation that now faces the greatest crisis in its history.

I am left speechless, stunned, frightened for my daughter's birth families and others I have come to know,......and.......yet.....selfishly
relieved that my daughters are home.....
as others have stated more eloquently..

pray........please...

thank you

Snow Shoeing at Galecke

We had a wonderful and busy Saturday. In the morning we went to the Y. I ran 3 miles and the girls played in their respective areas. We then came home, had lunch, and then prepared for Kiki to arrive so that we could all go snow shoeing in the afternoon. The girls did fairly well. Tuks became tired towards the end, Ve fell a few times and had the wrong type of socks on, so one of her boots had snow in it, and lastly Mim was exhausted, but trudged through til the end. Again a first time for her. The dogs, Kiki and I liked it too.

Then at night we had hot cocoa, pizza, Kiki read the girls some books and then later watched the movie Ratatouille. Good day all around.


Tuks amd Ve checking out the frozen river.

The 4 dogs with the gang.

Kiki looking like he is being pulled on skies by the three amigos....

Me and the girls with Heathcliff and Einstein

Kiki with his two companions; Watson and Alley

Kiki racing the girls on the shoes.


Still running
and Mim wins

Exhausted

The fallout is Tuks was left behind, but Kiki and Watson went to get her, while I fixed my snow shoe....

Chicken Update.

Even though we have temps in the single digits most mornings, my chickens are still laying quite well. I collected 14 eggs from my girls today..that is 14 eggs from 16 hens...pretty sweet. I gave many dozens of eggs away for Christmas and just this week I bartered 3 dozen for a hand made personalized cookie jar. I requested that the potter etch the adoption symbol into the side. I'll post a picture once it is made. I am also working on bartering eggs for homemade salsa...also from a co-worker.

I have attached pictures of my Serama chicks, range from 5 to 10 weeks old.

Atlas (rooster) front and Bryne (pullet) both around 4" tall

Olwyn (pullet) around 6" tall at 10 weeks

L to R Bryne, Atlas, Olwyn, and Tai

Over, but not out

Well our Christmas vacation is over. Tomorrow we start on busy street again. This break was good for all of us, but most especially for Mim feeling more comfortable with our family.

She says she is beautiful whenever she has all this on..Where does she get it from..surely not from me...



I also started to assign more daily chores for the girls. They all need to make their beds, we rotate on who does dishes each night, and yes, Tuki is in the rotation. They are starting to help set table as well as clean the table (they have been doing this for some time). I will be adding more as I feel Mim has adjusted better, and the other two are older and can handle more responsibility.

The little girly attitudes....

The clothes were purchased at Goodwill as a Christmas present...best investment that I have ever made.The girls LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!!!!

I have attached photos of the girls. Tuki and Ve play dress-up ALL the time.
With the accumulations of crowns, high heel, make-up, dress-up clothes and jewelry, they go all out when ever we are home...All I can say is that I hope this not indicative of my future with these two....LOL



All three dancing in the living room. See the BIG pink house behind Mim? Well that is a Barbie doll house that was given to the girls by by brother's girlfriend J. Over Christmas and birthdays the girls accumulated a total of 20+ Barbies..and now they have a house as well. SPOILED......, but worth it!!!

Mim wanted me to take her picture as well. She doesn't play dress-up, but is now more of couch potato with the TV. It reminds me of Ve at the same time last year. I let her watch as much as she wanted to and now it is not such a big deal and her English is pretty darn good, if I must say so my self. Mim's English is budding as well.


Starting this week, along with school (theirs and mine) and homework, Mim will have basketball two nights a week (she really begged to do this), all three will continue to attend AWANA, Tuki will go back to YMCA gymnastics, and Ve will finish up her YMCA basketball that lasts another two months. BUSY BUSY BUSY...I am tired just reading this. I also hope I will have the energy to want to work-out at the Y at least 3 times a week while I nurse the plantar fasciitis that sprang up just before Mim came home.

Oh well, my blogging may drop in frequency, but I will be back now and then to keep our on-line journal active...

Ve's 6 year birthday celebration

The family had a get together at my step-mom's -Grandma to the girls, for a New Year's Day celebration and also to celebrate Ve's birthday.
The three hooligans in front of Ve's cake. The colors-- orange and brown were Ve's request. It didn't turn out as well as I imagined, but she didn't mind.



Goofing around with Uncle W


The birthday girl

Mim does her own hair styles, and I must say she comes up with some pretty contemporary and classy looks.

Singing to Ve. She can hardly handle all the attention

Uncle W catching her as she is attempting to run in the other room to avoid all the eyes on her while we sing.

Opening presents

Lip gloss--obviously her favorite present!!