Well, our bags are packed...

...we're ready to go. In fact, we've been ready. But, now we're all packed and just waiting to go tonight to the airport. We were going to go to the beach right when we reached Honduras, but Ally called last night to say that our beach trip had been cancelled. I was worried that maybe the kids were sick or something, but instead it is for a very good reason. The reason is that Ally and Jarrod have found a family of 6 kids with no parents and they are in the process of getting them set up with a place to live and someone to stay and take care of them. They didn't feel that it would be too good to rush off while they are trying to get the kids settled in. So...that's a very good reason to cancel a trip.

It just reminds me that a situation like that is so foreign to me. I know that there are abandoned kids in the U.S., but I don't come in contact with them. It's a too commonplace occurance in Honduras, and even more reason for the orphanage to exist that is in the works. If you don't know about that latest project, go online at www.missionlazarus.org and see if you can get some information about it. The hand of God has been in this project from the beginning and it is very exciting. If you or your church would like to help with this in any way....for example, buying a cow, please let your wishes be known.

I hope to come back with updated news about that and many other things that are going on in Honduras...as well as a few pictures of the grandkids!

A new job

I got that job! Now what do I do? This will be a total change for me and you know, change is good. It shakes things up a bit, keeps you on your toes. Instead of teenagers, I'll be working with kindergarteners and 1st graders who need help with reading skills. On reflection, I bet it's about the same. It's been my observation that teenagers act like kindergarteners a great deal of the time, so maybe I'm more prepared than I think.

I'm excited about this for a lot of reasons: 1) It's something new 2) I can actually go to work, come home and be done with it 3) which means I can have a life 4) I don't have to be there until 9 a.m. (woo, hoo) 5) which means I can go to the gym before work, come home and shower 6) which means, I can start to get this body back into shape 7) I'll have time to do my doula-ing on the side 8) we can actually maybe balance our budget and pay a little extra on bills 9) we can go out to eat again (occasionally) 10) and I don't have to work in the summer!!

We leave for Honduras in 9 days and I will miss the prep for school that employees have, but that's even OK with them. Not to worry they said. I start work the day after we get back on Labor Day. So life is good. Wish me luck. Can one woman manage 6 little kindergarteners at a time?? We'll see.

Strawberry Shortcake

I'm looking for a good recipe for strawberry shortcake. I've a friend whose daughter is getting married and I'm helping her with some baking. One thing she wants is to serve strawberry shortcake so we are tossing around ideas about the shortcake part. My mom always made this with pie crust pastry. She would cut it out in rounds and then bake the pie crust and use that as the "shortcake" part. Very non-traditional, but very good. But, we think we want something a little more cake-y. The shortcakes I've had, I haven't liked because they are too dry...too biscuit-y. Does anyone out there have something that is really good, and more moist than that traditional shortcake? I use pound cake myself, and we may end up with that, but I thought I'd ask the good cooks that read this blog.

So, please share if you have a good idea that would not be extremely labor intensive as we are doing this en masse for a wedding. It would be helpful if the whatever would "freeze beautifully" (what movie is that from)? Thanks for your help.

I love it when...

...a plan comes together. Well, I've finished my postpartum doula training, so I guess I'm an official PPD. I've gotten myself some business cards (never had those before, pretty cool), and also a business license with official numbers from the IRS. I'm contacting OBs and pediatricians in the area and the midwives too, so I guess I'll just see what happens next. By the way, my business is called the "Tree of Life Doula Service".

I also got a call for a job interview at a local elementary school for a paraeducator job. This would be a job working with the students on their reading skills. This particular school is very close to my house (5 minutes away at most) and has a great reputation for getting kids on grade level with reading. Plus, they don't start until 9 a.m.! That is very wonderful! My interview is next Monday, so keep me in mind. If I land the job, we can balance our budget which lately has been in the negative, and I can work on my doula business part-time.

In 17 days, we leave for Honduras to see Ally, Jarrod, Sol, and Levi and we are going from the airport to the beach! Very exciting because Bruce and I have never seen the beaches in Honduras but more exciting are the people we're going to see. Sol is very anxious for us to come and has figured out that Nana is Mommy's mommy, and Pop is Mommy's Papi. That's a big step in making sense of all the significant people in her life.

So...things are looking up around here. Even though I haven't lost much weight (2.5 lbs), I'm still trying and hope to join the local gym if I snag that job. That will help matters greatly. Even my ugly backyard is looking better as you can see from the pictures above.

Once again, I see that things do have a way of working out.