Memorial Day Birthday Party

The initials in Mim's name
starting to eat
Cousin N and her Mom (my sis M)
picnicking outside
my brother K, with DaVinci and my niece M
Mim hitting a Hanna Montana Guitar Pinata - Uncle W was goofing around by lifting and lowering it as they attempted to hit it
Tuki
Cousin N
Ve - she busted it wide open
Opening presents
Mim's new necklace, her birthstone from Aunt M, Uncle J & Cousin N
Hugs
Playing ball
almost catch
again ---almost

don't forget others, as we remember those who fought for us

Volcano’s eruption in Guatemala triggers panic among locals

GUATEMALA CITY, GUATEMALA – Alvaro Colom, the Guatemalan presdient, has declared a 15-day state of emergency around the Pacaya volcano, 50km south from the capital.

The volcano awakes again from its dormancy last Wednesday and erupted anew on Friday, killing two people, including a television reporter covering the event, and injuring 59 others. Three children remain missing after the eruption, damaging 800 homes that caused up 2,000 people to evacuate to nearby emergency shelters.

Volcanic ashes also cloaked several planes sitting on the tarmac at La Aurora International Airport in city’s capital. President Colom said the airport would remain closed until later today “because we’ve got to clean the runways and surrounding areas” of ash.

This is not the first time Pacaya has erupted as it is considered the most active out of all the 32 volcanoes in the country. It has been erupting on an infrequent basis since 1966 with the last big eruption in 1998.

Meanwhile in Guatemala, 50 kilometres south of Guatemala City the Pacaya volcano began erupting on Thursday. Many have been injured and latest news is that at least 2 people have been confirmed dead, one being a television reporter. The international airport, La Aurora, will possibly remain closed throughout Saturday due to the runways being smothered in ash.

Yesterday we gave you a story about the Pacaya volcana eruption in Guatemala , Central America, which began on Thursday. It appears that the situation has worsened today following tropical storm Agatha bringing heavy rains in the same area leading to landslides that have now killed up to 17 people.

The capital city is under a double-threat from rain and ash from the volcano forming cement- like mud. Deadly mudslides have already occurred with the threat of more to come, in the city and in the surrounding villages, according to Katie Cassidy on Sky News. Two children and 2 adults in one home were killed when a large boulder crashed onto their house.

There were more than 4-inches of rain in Guatemala City over the course of 12 hours and Cesar George of the Guatemalan Meteorological Institute said, “It rained in one day what it usually gets in a month.” Already more than 4,000 people have fled their homes to shelters and the situation could become even worse as many rivers are close to flooding.

Meanwhile the volcano eruption, around 25 miles south of the city is still continuing, over 800 homes have been wrecked by lava and much of Guatemala City is covered in ash. For more on this story go to Sky News.

At the central plaza in Port-au-Prince, now home to thousands of displaced Haitians, water pelted rows of tents, seeping inside from every direction Monday night. At the Champs de Mars people tried to close shut entrances, some with thin cotton sheets or blankets. Mothers rushed to move children sleeping on the ground.

Suddenly, the constant noise of the street came to a halt, replaced by the thud of monstrous drops falling hard from the sky. The only welcomed sight: gleeful children cooling off after another scorching day.

The water quickly started collecting along the roadside. Aid workers say they fear that constant rain will overflow garbage- and rubble-filled canals, flooding the encampments that have sprouted on their banks.

The situation in some camps could be life threatening.


Haiti's latest hardship: Relentless rain
In Haiti, everyone knows the rainy season’s coming but there is little they can do to prepare. It comes every year in Haiti. The skies open up starting in May and the rains continue for several months. There is the added risk of hurricanes smacking into the nation that now lies devastated by the massive earthquake in January.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that about 2 million Haitians were displaced from their homes and are now living in more than 1,300 makeshift camps, some under bed sheets and flimsy tarps.

“A tent is a good place to be in another earthquake but not in a hurricane,” said Imogen Wall, spokeswoman for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Haiti.

Or in heavy rain, like the downpour Monday night in Port-au-Prince.

Almost 50,000 people are camped on the undulating nine-hole Petionville Golf Club. Vital Junior pointed to the dirt under his feet. When it rains, the place turns into a mud bath, slick and treacherous on the slopes.

At another much smaller camp in seaside Carrefour, water gushed down the hill and through the tents.

There are also worries that unsanitary conditions will unleash vicious disease outbreaks – malaria, cholera, dengue fever.

The fear is compounded by memories of Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 that weaved a path of destruction in the Gonaives area. Nearly 300,000 Haitians were affected – more than 3,000 died.

Four years later, Haiti’s third largest city was pummeled again by a series of deadly storms.

With painful images lingering in their minds, 2 million people are sleeping in tents in this year’s rainy season.

They are homeless in the poorest nation in the Americas. Homeless in a nation that’s highly disaster prone and vulnerable to flash floods because of environmental degradation.

Haitians know what to expect of the rainy season, unlike the earthquake. Except this year, many have no roofs over their heads.

Egg Money Talks

Mim has no clue as to the economy in America, and of course this is for obvious reasons. She believes that I make my living by selling the eggs, the whole whopping $24.00 each month. Now I realize in Haiti that would be great money and one could feed the whole household with the egg money.

This spring, we have looked at several places with land, and Mim keeps asking what is the cost of a home with 5+ acres. I ask her what she thinks and she usually states $360.00. Perspective is WAY off.




Today we went to Walmart to purchase items for her birthday party. It ended coming to over $222.00. I pointed this out to her (to start teaching her the true costs of items), and she couldn't believe the cost. She asked it I bought it with the egg money. I shared with her how much I actually do earn as my job as a teacher. She was amazed. I worry that I have so little time in teaching her all she needs to know before she is out on her own. Six - 7 years really isn't that long and then she will be in the next phase of her life....I sure have my work cut out for me, and good thing she is a motivated and easy learner.

Meet is complete

Today at the meet Mim won her heat of the 100m, with a time of 16.70, BUT while she was racing she zig zagged between 1st (her lane ) all the way to 4th lane..thereby the judges placed her second instead of 1st (understandable), or DQ her (thank goodness), so she didn't make it into the final 100m...learning experience for her.

She placed 4th in the 400m with a time of 1:18 something. I guess a good time for this age.

and her coed relay team took 7th, so Mim has come home with 2 medals around her neck, and she is still wearing them.

Lastly, her elementary school won the spirit jug..

I volunteered to time for the 1st shift thereby making sure I was on the finish line when Mim finished her races. It was fun!!

the schools cheering
waiting for her co-ed relay
lane instruction
just received the baton
taking off for her 100m jag

Mile in 7:35 min, and in 9th place

that is a whole 25 sec faster than last Thursday, and she just missed a medal spot (1 - 8) Tomorrow she will be running the 100m, 400m and the 4x1 relay


race course instructions

400 meters out from the start

half-way point


starting to pick it up and finishes with a 9th place...way to go Mim

This morning

Mim stated: "We have so many dolls!"

Me: "yes we do, you got those from Christmas and birthdays"

Mim: "When we go to Haiti (BTW, not until Tuki is 7 and the plan is to go to Guatemala and Haiti) can we bring some of the dolls for my friends at the O.?"

Me: "Yes, but your friends won't be there anymore, but we could bring some for the other kids, would you want to do that?"

Mim: "Yes"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

We have had many conversations about being American lately. The girls usually state that they are NOT good Americans, in which I comment...(yes, a little sarcastically), "Well if you believe your wants are now needs, then yes, you make a great American"

I guess Mim is still a good Haitian, and so far resisting the American ways of I need, need, need.....and still wants to share her abundance. So far ..it is hard to resist the surplus..but so far she is being a great example what what an American should mean.

It has happened

I placed Mim into 5th grade upon her homecoming and she has been fine with this UNTIL her birthday. She now has real awareness of the fact that she is 2 years older than her classmates. Last night I talked with her about this and I told her if it was really bothering her, I would have her placed into 7th grade instead of 6th grade next year. I also told her that it was her decision, and naturally we talked about why she had been placed into 5th grade etc.,. I shared that if we placed her into 7th grade, she would still be 1 year behind, and she would have more homework, but closer to her age group. She told me tonight that she wanted to go to 7th grade next year.

Thank goodness I talked with our guidance counselor today and asked how we would go about this...it sounds like all I have to do is let them know..our advantage is that Mim will be going to my junior high next year so we will be in the same school for the next 3 years, plus we have a strong ESL program since we have many Hmong immigrants in our town.

Mim's birthday

Today Mim turns 13. We had a discussion about birthdays the other day. She thought that birthdays were only celebrated once in a person's lifetime and this year was her year to celebrate. I told her that birthdays are celebrated every year. She then shared that her birthday had never been celebrated before, AND she didn't know her birth date until I told her (on her birth certificate).

I emailed her teachers to let as many people know that it was her birthday so that as many people possible would wish her a happy day. She opened gifts from me this am, we will have a small intimate celebration tonight and then a full out family celebration on Memorial Day.

Mim's mini-track meet

tonight in preparation for next week's elementary track meet

She competed in the long jump with a jump of 10' 1"



She ran the 200m with a time of 33.02 and she won her heat by quite a bit



Lastly she ran the mile in 8:00 min. She starts too fast in this distance race and will need to learn to pace herself, but 8:00 min is a HUGE improvement compared to the race she ran in early March


and what were the two wee ones doing, playing with Kiki and cousin N



and they ran a race of their own


Ve in lane 7, Tuki in lane 6 and N in lane 3 in the blue..Ve won and she ran in bare feet

My nephew-American Record in the 10K - May 1 2010

M 10k F01 (Chris Solinsky *American Record 26:59 video, 2010 Payton Jordan) 10k

Science Fair evening

not wanting to sit at booth nor have her picture taken
getting a smile out of her by making a funny face at her
Mim and her wonderful teacher Mrs. Z
sisterhood

Satisfaction guaranteed

The garden is planted...what is is about the sight of a garden full of mouth watering fork fulls to come.....The garden holds:

radishes (2 kinds)
carrots
turnips
onions
peas
peppers (2 kinds)
lettuce (3 kinds)
spinach
beans (4 kinds)
squash (2 kinds)
cabbage
broccoli
tomatoes (3 kinds)
cucumbers
corn
rhubarb
and
gourds (2 kinds)

Living like a Princess

Taken Thursday night at her spring choir concert..she loves to sing

Tonight while Mim and I were planting the garden, she stopped and stared at our house. She then said, "I just like to stare at the big house sometimes"

BTW it looks big because we have a walk-in basement and it is two stories on top of that, so it looks real tall.

I then said "sometimes, can you hardly believe that you are living in the big house?"

Mim answered "yes".

I then asked her "do you feel like a Princess?".

She smiled, looked away shyly and then said "yes, sometimes"

awww how sweet is that....

a hat worn in one of her choir numbers...

Four years ago

today I became a Mom to this little bundle of joy!!!


The first morning after I met her...we both had a sleepless night she was 2 1/2 months old

Tuki and her foster mom, about 2 1/2 weeks old.

Tuki at 4 1/2 months - 1 month before she officially was in my arms forever

A couple days of ago , Tuki asked me if I am will be her and her sisters Mom forever. I answered with a "yes, forever and ever, even on the days whether you like it or not, I am your Mom forever" ..Love that kid!!!!

Mother's Day

Yesterday, Mother's Day was spent outside, all 4 of us working (pulling grass chunks) a new, large piece of tilled ground and preparing it for our garden. It is a sunnier spot than where we previously had it. We will compete with the deer, but hopefully we will not only get good healthy plants, but also ALLOT of produce. Mim told me she used to work the garden in Haiti with her Haitian dad, so she was somewhat knowledgeable about the process. It took us a great deal of time so I kept reminding the girls of our future bountiful harvest... LOL, finally I just bribed them with doughnuts..it worked. The garden is prepared, the mulch has been laid (from mucking out the chicken house) and in a week or so we will plant.....perfect day for me, all home spending time together, working, interacting, laughing and functioning as a family.

4 weeks left of school.....

The summer is mostly planned out, vacations, summer school, swimming, swimming lessons, gardening, hopefully get back into shape, time spent with family and friends, cleaning the house from top to bottom....and who knows what else....it is all just around the corner.

Character vs. Personality

After nearly six months home Mim is still an easy child. On most days, I say most because she isn't perfect, just a really good kid, she is a great big sister. Mim and Tuki are now starting to bond, and Mim is beginning to look after Tuki like a big sister usually does. So I began to wonder, why Mim's transition has been so smooth, especially for a 12 1/2 year old..there are many horror stories of this age of child joining a family and especially out of birth order, yet she is truly a wonderful child. Is it because she chose to be adopted?, maybe, Is it because her birth family situation was one of poverty, not of neglect?, maybe, Is it because while at the O, she dedicated her life to Jesus Christ? highly possible, Or maybe all, some or maybe even none. I REALLY DON'T KNOW. BUT, I do know that Mim does have a good personality and a good, intact unblemished character.

Then I look at Tuki, she came home young. She doesn't like to be told no, my friend calls her the "General" because she likes to tell people what to do. She has a hot temper, she is overly dramatic on many days, she even can be a real turd to her sisters on some days, but you can see glimpses of kindness, right from wrong and a real desire to learn and be pleasant. Tuki has a difficult personality some days, OK, most days but I am hoping part of it is due to her age, yet she posses a really good, unblemished character.

Then I look at Ve. She is usually smiley, unscathed by her very troubled past (her past is very unpleasant by most standards and by far compared to her sisters). She seems to jump right back no matter the circumstances, and isn't overly dramatic, nor orders anyone around, she loves to be silly...etc., BUT, Ve's character had been scarred, tampered with. She gets into trouble daily for not listening and being overly active and out of control. She and five boys are the naughty bunch in her class... These bad choices in behavior is escalated into deeper trouble because then she chooses to attempt to lie to cover them up. A battle I have talked about before and certainly not one that I feel is getting better. She needs to learn to make good choices over the bad choices, because guaranteed, when both sit in front of her, she chooses the bad one. I NEED to continue to teach her right from wrong, and it is real exhausting most days. To reiterate, Ve has a great personality, but a tarnished beat up character...where some where along the way, right and wrong had been turned upside down. Therefore, she has been and still is my most difficult child. With out a doubt, I believe that if I am able to raise Ve to be a law-abiding upright and productive citizen, I will have earned my parenting stripes....

Character is etched deep down, personality sits on the surface. Character is much harder to change simply because it is so deeply etched from experiences had over time.

They are all so different, but I could not love any three people more deeply, even tho, most days I feel I am hard on them, I know down deep we are doing well as a family, therefore I must be doing Ok. But I still do wonder .......