Catching Up

Yay! Its Friday. Besides a morning class that I teach from 8:30-9:30 my Fridays are open to do whatever. I spent my morning (after teaching) in the library making little notebooks for Mrs. d. Then I set up a room for Jen Kaiser who will be arriving tomorrow to spend 3 months with us here at CCCD. Jenn is coming to give us an outsiders view of how we can be doing things more efficiently down here. I am sure she can use and would appreciate any and all prayers and she comes to serve with us for the next few months. Since I have some down time. I thought I would take the time to catch up on a little blogging so here we go...

On Tuesday, Chad, Kirk, Elsie Eisenmann (who was here visiting a few days), Lovana, and I all went to Kingston for the day. My purpose was to check on Daneisha (pictured with me above), to make sure she was okay,and adjusting well. Daneisha transferred from KP to Kingston after her mom moved this summer. She is one of my students that I got to know really well and was sad to hear that she had transferred. I am thankful that is was only to the Kingston school and not some school where I would not see her again. Because Kingston was 3 teachers short on Tuesday I jumped in and played teacher for the level 3 class. What a great group of kids! They were so much fun to teach for the day.

Changing Topics...
Ground Beef you can rarely find in the grocery store, but there is always plenty of chicken feet. They are used to flavor soups and stews and as you can see here they are just thrown in with what looks like yams, and boiled dumplings, and simmering waiting to be distributed and enjoyed. Mmmm... I am sure this is a meal you would all like to experience for yourself. It really isn't bad if you can forget that you had chicken feet floating around with all the food you are eating. That's all I can think of for now. I pray that you all have a WONDERFUL weekend.
Be blessed and be a blessing
I love you
Erin

Sat. Duty

This Morning the older kids went out to pick coffee with the dorm parents leaving me to be in charge of the little kids mainly the boys.

Helping Brittana get the plaits out of her hair
Paris

Romoyo

Own, Anthony, Andre Building something out of wood

Renford, Gawayne,Kadeen

Daymar

Richard

The girls playing Uno.

What a great sunshiney day!

Spending all that time outside with the kids I got myself some fine burn lines.

Enjoy your weekend

Blessings

Erin

Its a small small world after all

There is a group from Goshen College here in Mandeville who will spend 6 weeks studying Jamaican culture and will then go to different deaf schools around the island(like a foreign exchange program). I have gotten to know the instructor and her family a little as I have had opportunities to work with them. My friend Felicia is teaching this class and because she is deaf all the students must know sign language to be part of this program. Today Felicia brought her students here to tour CCCD KP and after they were done a girl came up to me and I knew I knew her... I didn't know how... and then it clicked. She is a Kennel from Eureka! I know her family and went to school with her sisters but don't know that I have ever met her before. How fun it was to see someone who is familiar what I know back in the states! So hopefully I will have more opportunities to see and work with Leslie as she is down here learning Jamaican culture. What fun surprises God blesses us with sometimes!

Be blessed and be a blessing

i love you

Erin

Mouse in the house part 2

Following up from last nights story. I finally got off the couch and went to get my broom and bucket (must haves for catching a mouse) put on my shoes (just it case it runs over my feet) and went to move the couch. Once that was moved i didn't see the mouse so i moved the rubbermaid container sitting beside the couch (aka my end table) and i still didn't see it. So i took the cushions off the couch... nope not under there so I flipped the couch over thinking maybe it crawled up into the couch... well there is a holey liner covering the bottom of my couch and i wasn't about to put my hand in one of the holes to be bit. So i then was about to give up and go get a glue trap. When I picked up my rug to straiten it the mouse ran out and the chase was on again! I had my broom in one hand the bucket in the other chasing this mouse around my living room trying to catch it. I am thankful my living room is a step down from the other rooms keeping it confined to one room. Finally the mouse made it to my recliner and out of reach of my broom. Thinking of how much easier this process might be with an extra pair of hands I called kirk over to use the broom to trap it or throw the bucket on it when it was trapped. So he came over about 10:30 at night and we shook the chair and beat the chair trying everything to scare the mouse out. It didn't work. So kirk went back home

( My living room was a disaster after being torn up chasing the mouse)
And kirk brought over a glue trap that I added peanut butter too to catch the mouse for me and I went to bed. This morning when i woke up there was still no mouse in the glue trap so I am hoping that it found its way out of my house, but this afternoon I will have to go through the recliner and make sure we didn't kill it while we where shaking and hitting the chair. In a week or two I would hate to have a smell start to come from my chair!
Have a great mouse free day!
Be blessed and be a blessing
I love you
Erin

A mouse in the house!

So I thought I was safe. It has been about a year and still no mice have been spotted in my house. Then I moved up the hill and have HUGE gaps between my floors and the bottom of the doors. Tonight as I sit here on my living room couch working on the computer I watch a mouse run from my bed room down the step and under the couch where I sit. And no matter how I move it around it will not come out. So... I think its time to suck it up actually get off the couch instead of being lazy and just making noise trying to scare it out and move the couch and try to catch the mouse. Wish me Luck.

Tuesday Mornings

Tuesdays Mornings always bring a smile to my heart. This is the morning that the Pre-primary class comes into the library for a half hour to read books, and put together puzzles. My desire is for each class to come in at some point for library time so the kids are encouraged to read and use all the resources that have been donated to the library. As of now I just have my one class that comes in regularly and I will just have to be content with that.

Have a great day

I love you

Be blessed and be a blessing

Erin

Seriously!

It's been a day full of great surprises ! I just love days like this...

Yesterday we had a few hours of no rain so I quickly tried to get laundry done. Well I am happy to say I successfully got one load washed and dried and as I was hanging my second load it started to sprinkle. When I tried to collect them last night they were still damp so I left them thinking I would quickly collect them in the morning. I woke up about 2 this morning to a down pour playing music on my tin roof and had no motivation to go out and quickly collect my cloths. By now my cloths have been rewashed many times by the rain and I am wondering how many days they will stay out on the line before they can fully dry. We are now on day 2.

THEN...

I am happy to announce the arrival of last years Christmas pictures! YAY!

This morning Nicholas kindly handed me a package from snapfish and my first thought was... NO WAY! then I opened it and Surprise here are my Christmas pictures I ordered last year coming in 10 months late. My question to you is what do you do with 50+ Christmas pictures from last year, they can't be used because I just made more copies when these never showed up and had those distributed. And good ideas?

As you can see (maybe) this package was shipped Nov. 18th 2007

The package looked like it spent a little time in France

and the package was stamped here at KP post office on Sept. 8th.... Craziness.

Have a great Day

I love you

Be blessed and be a blessing

Erin

Rain Rain Go Away...

Good Monday Morning Everyone.

We are now experiencing weather from Ike and thankfully he is not aimed at us as it is now a category 4 hurricane and very destructive. I have been waiting for the last hour plus for the rain and wind to let up even a little bit so that I can make a mad run for the school to get some work done. The rain and wind have yet to let up so I sit. I am starting to understand why Jamaicans don't go out in the rain. When it comes down this hard and is blowing in every direction an umbrella is of no use because by the time you get any where you are totally soaked and need to turn around and go home and find dry cloths.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Erin

A Lazy Saturday.

A Beautiful Sunny Jamaica Day. I love the Jamaica Blue sky!
Brittana and I drawing rainbows

Covering the pavement with chalk pictures

all the kids like to take turns being "responsible" for the chalk bucket

I love Lazy Saturdays where I can take breaks from, cleaning, cooking, laundry whatever is on the agenda for catch up, and just go and have fun with my kids. I hope you have a great weekend. I love you

Be blessed and be a blessing

Erin

1st Day of School

My kids are back! I have missed them so much and have loved getting to catch up with them. I am also already exhausted after only 3 days with them, but loving every min. (so far). God has been giving me great opportunities already with the kids to get down to a spiritual level with them so please pray that as I continue to work with them that I can be sensitive to their needs, and be the example they need.

This is the Beautiful Paris Guthrie. She is one of the new students this year. We have heard that she is both 3 and 4 years old, but I don't know which age she really is. Both her parents are deaf so she has the advantage of coming in already knowing basic signs. So far she is treated like a queen by the other kids and they do whatever she asks. We will see how long that lasts.:)

This is Jonathan another new student. He doesn't yet have a language and it doesn't seem to bother him. He is thus far (usually) in his own world and when I have (at times) tried to instruct him he turns away, and if I make him stop and try to instruct him he usually ends up closing his eyes. Please pray for him as he settles in as he seems to want to do his own thing and not listen to instruction. He is going to learn very quickly that here he will need to listen to authority.

Moeisha and Brittana playing candy land

Kadene and Jessimar playing connect four

Raymond and Tevaughn playing trouble

Maleak and Jessimar playing with trucks

Please pray as the rest of the students come in through the week and for the teachers as they settle into their routines. Have a great day. I love you.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Erin

Going Back...

to that brown oily substance that has started oozing from the walls... Still have not figured out what it is for sure but then last night as I was over chatting with the Plattners we started to once again discuss this mystery substance. They then reminded me of what we had been previously told our old 18" walls were made up of.... then the realization that one of the components ,that make up our walls, is Manure.... what do you think? could this possibly be causing the brown oily ooze that now seeps from the walls? What great surprise awaits us next....?

BIG NEWS!

So I am finally able to inform all of you (who don't ALREADY know)... I am going to be an auntie!!! and this time its more then to just a dog. Ryan and Nicole are expecting a new little blessing. Please keep them in your prayers and they start this new stage of life.

Happy Birthday Drew!

Today is my little buddy Drew's 3rd Birthday. Last night about 6:45 Drew walked the 10 ft. from his front door to mine and stood outside my door calling my name. When I went to answer the door he came in and in his most grown up 3 year old voice told me he was having a birthday party and asked if I wanted to come:)
Keri did a GREAT job making a Noah's Ark cake after his favorite bible story

As soon as I pulled out my camera Truitt becomes a ham and runs toward me (with balloon) saying CHEEEEEESE..... CHEEEEESE...... CHEEEESE!

Can you guess what he is saying as he stands

directly in front of my camera?

Happy Labor Day I love you so much.

Be blessed and be a blessing

Erin