The Palm Six

Ode to the Massive Rubbish Bin

2012-01-19T23:16:00.001-06:00

A pictorial overview of our last three weeks

Jayson commutes a few days a week on his bike.

I think that is an IKEA cardboard sled, in our backyard

It would be a move-in without a bath in something other than a bathtub

Jovie, exactly three years ago, India move-in

Move-in day

Move-in night

Move-in day

Tra-la-la Christmas

Jayson's grandpa and Syd

Christmas Eve in Rockford, IL

Road trip! Doesn't get better than this

Or this

Goodbye Schoolcraft (Bemidji)

The bus stop. Whew, the bus stop. My kids’ school bus stop. I liken it to any sort of plane or train travel. Our family is a bit notorious for mad dashes and dramatic, near misses of the plane/train/bus. And our wee school bus stop is more of the same. It’s about a block and a half away from our house. And it seems like every morning, as we really do have quite a bit of time to get our morning chores done, there is a frantic coats/boots/gloves/hat/backpack/lunchbox (and now ice skates, for recess) in the short minutes before the bus comes. And all the while I ride that fine line between firm encouragement and all out shouting. But here we are, in our new house, our new neighborhood, our new school...doing life our normal way...making it to the bus...barely. It’s good that we carry home wherever we go.

So, the last three weeks have been filled with: Christmas near Chicago, packing up in Bemidji, and unpacking in Minneapolis. I kind of don’t want to give nitty gritty details of all the wiggles and woots that transpired. But I will say that we have felt the love all around. I am grateful for all the hands that participated in our last three weeks. I guess it’s really four weeks, I’m a little bit in the twilight zone when it comes to time these days.

I honestly think that’s all the things that I have to share. Not much I know, but I am not quite sure where to start. So, this tie I gave you the bus stop, maybe next time will be about our newly painted laundry room floor. Who knows. Surprises await you.

An ode to the massive move-in rubbish bin.

Oh, how I really, really liked you

Oh, how I only needed to take you out weekly

Oh, how you took in... everything, without complaint

Cardboard, Painting Supplies, Pizza boxes, Bubble wrap, Yucky old stuff.

You just stood there. Always. Forever. I will miss you

Packing. PACKING. packing. PaCkInG.

2011-12-22T22:25:00.000-06:00

Packing. PACKING.packing. PaCkInG. Packing. Packing

Packing lunches

Packing Legos

Packing backpacks

Packing the car

Packing for Rockford, Illinois (Christmas)

Packing bedding

Packing my cheeks with popcorn balls

Packing groceries

Packing dollies

Packing suitcases

Packing blue packs

Packing plastic bins

Packing boxes

Packing Zippies

This is what I did this week. My month. It’s my world. Thereis no other world, other than packing. I feel like it has been a part of my worldoff and on for the last 3 1/2 years. And there is a part of packing that is helpful.I weed out things that have absolutely no reason to be in our life. Packing helpsus transition. It’s physical. You can get your head around it. But here’s thedeal with packing and me. I’m kind of packing loser. This is where I go wrong withpacking. I have a slight Post-Great Depression Era process that goes through mymind when packing. Tarrah’s train of thinking... “I know I will never find the othermate to that sock, but if I keep it, I could use it do dust”... That’s kind ofa poor example, but you get my drift. But it’s not only with socks, it’s with sleepingbags, broken toys, picture frames, vases, etc. And that kind of issue mounts a bitwhen packing for a family of six.

I also kind of get nauseated when it comes to the details ofpacking. Road trips, travel in general, I pack light, serious light. I can packup a car in 10 minutes flat, if all the laundry is clean. I can pack my family fora long plane ride like I get paid the big bucks for it. It’s the whole house packingthat drives me to drink. And the fact of the matter is that I have stuff that hasbeen in boxes for over 3 1/2 years that I have absolutely no recollection of. Whenwe sold our house 4 years ago, I had 3 children under 4 and one on the way - thebig deal was making sure that I tried my hardest to not leave one of my kids ofthe at the grocery store. That was my daily goal. So, remembering if I have anymattress pads is a bit of puzzler for me. And then we have suitcases full of ourthings from India that I didn’t bother to unpack that still kind of smell likeIndia. And then there is packing up the stuff of daily living the last six monthsliving with my folks.

Oh man.

But you know what?

We close on our house in 8 days. The kids and I celebrated theirlast day at a great school. My mom made popcorn balls for me, oh, I mean, for thekids. We pick up Jayson tomorrow in Minneapolis and head down to Rockford (nearChicago) to celebrate Christmas with Jayson’s family. We go ice skating often onmy parent’s lake. Jayson loves his job. In 8 days, our family of 6 can live underthe same room for many consecutive days in a row. We celebrate Jesus’ birth soon.

Merry Christmas friends.

Anyone Want to Go Bowling?

2011-11-22T21:41:00.001-06:00

I just ironed for the first time in about three years. Not really surprising, I probably ironedabout once a year before moving to India. But five minutes ago was the first in a long time. I like ironing trousers way better thanshirts. So many different bits to theshirt. The reason for this momentousoccasion is that my dear husband Jayson was given a job. (I shamelessly admit that I asked my mom toiron his clothes the first few weeks on the job. I know, I know, what to do though.) His first day was two weeks ago Monday. He isthe associate director of ICA Food Shelf. It serves seven different communities outside of Minneapolis. He hasloved his last two weeks and we both feel really grateful. The food shelf is a stone’s throw away fromour church, which is an added bonus.

We’ve said since the beginning of summer, that when dad gets ajob, we’ll take the kids bowling to celebrate. They’ve never been. So, when thejob came, we picked them up from school and slyly asked, “Does anyone want to gobowling?” In about two nanoseconds they all asked, “Did dad get a job?” It was great to celebrate with them. This season since coming back from India hasbeen so much about the six of us walking this road together. Not just Jayson…not just Jayson and I…but allsix of us.

So, this past week, Jovie and I drove down to Minneapolis for abit of a house looking trip. We did comeacross one that we thought would be good fit for our family, we came to anagreement with the seller and the inspection is tomorrow. Whoop-whoop. We shallsee if they find any trolls in the attic… if there are no trolls, we close onDecember 30.

Jayson and I were talking two nights ago that the feeling thatsettles the most in us is gladness. Happy doesn’t really cut it, and excitement sounds tiring. It has takenme a while to get my head around everything that I have felt and continue tofeel. It has taken me a while to calland email our friends and family about our turn of events. It takes me a while to put my feelings intowords right now. To say that I have beensitting with this would be a good description. We are nothing short of thankful and ready.

I Do Love Subcultures

2011-10-27T22:59:00.000-05:00

The Palm Six at a Family Wedding

In India we showed you photos of the Arabian Sea, clever monkeys in our yard, and electricians climbing telephone poles barefoot. Now the excitement is Jayson getting a free photo shoot.

My Grandmother asked on the phone tonight when my next blog was going to be... When Grandma asks it is so very hard to deny her. So, the moral of the story is, if you need anything of me, just have my Grandmother call and ask for you. Her name is Eleanor and she is wonderful. Here goes the blog.

I left off last having a series of medical dramas in the family. And the drama continued as we were sitting in the cafeteria of St. Mary’s hospital (connected with the Mayo Clinic) in the first hour of six of my Dad’s open heart surgery when a phone call came through saying the doctor needed to see us. Yikes, of course we assumed that they found something even more dreadful upon “cracking” him open. But the doctor kindly said that after a series of consultations (some sort of high intensity scope and two other doctors), they decided not to open him up. We were all a bit stunned. Adding further to our shock, doctor said that this happens maybe once or twice a year. We felt grateful, extremely grateful, to be in that very small percentage. So, my dad was awakened an hour later and was told that he could go elk hunting this year.

I must say that while I was at Mayo I fell in love. I do love subcultures. Any sort really. The bird watchers, the Trekkies, hip hop, juggling, organic, Pokemon, etc... you get the picture. Any group of people that have their own little code. And my newest subculture love is the Mayo clinic. You guessed it folks. First off, who doesn’t love a whole gaggle of people in light blue scrubs. Second, everyone there really knows their stuff, experts to the max, and there really is something lovely about experts. Third, the amount of organization that pulses through there is over the top. And I am not really an organizational junkie, but man, I was convinced that I must be the biggest dummy in the world if they can effectively do hundreds of surgeries a day and I can’t figure out how to get my kids to put their shoes in the one basket I ask them to. (Full discretion, I really don’t know how many they do, but its lots.) Anyway, all that to say, I did ask Jayson if there was any desire within him to go to med school...

Within our current routine I’m finding myself engaging more fully in the present moment. And I don’t mean to say that flippantly or with cliche. It comes from a deep place in me. I’m learning how to be more responsive to what is. The high’s and low’s of unemployment/job hunting; the unexpected and acute emotions that come along with my dad’s health; living in a house of a three-generation, eight-person family; and having such a dramatic change from crazy India to near calm Bemidji have continued to impress upon me the gigantic amount of energy it takes me to just stay present for this day, not having a clue what tomorrow will bring.

Boxed in By Crazy Dogs

2011-09-29T23:20:00.000-05:00

Barney's Birthday Bash. James was a bit disgruntled, his options this particular Saturday were to go to the Barney show or to go quilt shopping with Mommy

Barney and all his friends

Nothing like a good loaf of "butt bread" to start off a cozy weekend. This didn't turn out quite like I thought it would

When I went for a runor walk in India, 95% of the time I would finish with really high bloodpressure. Mainly because I feared thedogs, monkeys, cows, etc. that shared the road with me. I remember thinking to myself that I lookedforward to being able to go for a run in the States without fear. Well, this week all my animal fears camerushing back.

Incident numberone. It is really quite dark out at 6:15a.m. in the morning here in Northern Minnesota. I was starting a run and, not even out of my parent’s driveway yet, Iheard a very loud and daunting huffing/snorting noise from the woods, like fivefeet away. Needless to say, I boltedback to the house, and my fear kept me in my parent’s yard, running laps. Can you believe what a chicken I was? I knew it was a deer, there are tracksgalore, but logic did not win out - irrational fear did.

Second incident tookplace on Saturday morning. Again, goingfor a run. About 11:00 a.m., totaldaylight. Now, let me back up a bit toIndia. There was a very specific time,on a run, that I got myself boxed in by crazy dogs on one side and crazymonkeys on the other. I chose monkeys, andran my hardest under the trees where they lurked. Blood pressure sky high. Okay, back to present day. Saturday morning, quaint dirt road on abeautiful fall day. I came upon twodogs... I stayed calm, slowed down, got by them. Whew. Joggingon, came up four dogs. Four I say. Still, two behind me. I totally panicked. And a mail car passed me just then. I started waving my hands and shouting out,“Excuse Me! Hello! Excuse Me, Hello!” - got his attention, so Iran up to his car. Note: mail driver wasabout 20 years old, with loads of tattoos and piercings. (I am all about loadsof tattoos and piercings, it just kind of makes the story that much moreridiculous.) So, I said to him, “I amlike crazy scared of dogs (I am panting and sweating mind you), umm, could youlike follow my out to the main highway until I know the dogs are not going tochomp me to pieces?” I have no pridepeople. Gone. Done. The guy was great and said sure. So, there I went and he followed me for a good half a mile until I wassafely on the road. He then proceeded tofollow me some more, and double back once, and I thought, “Great, I got pastthe dogs, but now I am going to be kidnapped...” Alas, I kept on running, mail guy continuedon his route and I went back to thehouse, with sky high blood pressure.

My quaint Saturday morning running route, dogs and all

I know that was atotally long story, but I just had to share it. It is often good for me that some of the hard things that were in

India

for us did not just stay in

India

. They came with us. And they arestill here for us to work through. So asto not “blame”

India

, but know that it’s more about me and myown silliness to work through.

Last week I mentionedmy dad’s health and that he was going to be “back to his own foxy self in notime”. Well, the foxy self will be a bitdelayed, but will come in time. Aftergoing down to Mayo Clinic last week to check on a few things after his stroke,we found out that he needs open heart surgery. So, on Friday, my very brave Dad is going to get his chest“cracked-open” as he likes to say. Andmy very brave Mom will be right there with him. And their daughter too.

A New Week Has Arrived

2011-09-19T22:24:00.000-05:00

Jovie's first day of ECFE with mommy

A gorgeous view of Lake Bemidji

Weekend chores - sweeping pine needles off the roof

I was asking the kids tonight at dinner, which I lovingly prepared, what was the most surprising moment of their day. Very quickly James fires off, “The most surprising moment of my day is that this dinner actually tasted good.” Well, I asked didn’t I? What was the most surprising moment of your day?

The most frequented place I go these days is the grocery store. The second is the dentist. They just love my teeth so much that they cannot get enough of them. Or... I had three cavities and a wisdom tooth that needed to be pulled. You choose the correct answer. Anyway, I was sitting in the dentist’s chair last Wednesday and I was letting him know to be careful of my canker sore that is the size of Detroit. And as he saw it he asked, “Are you stressed out or something?” And I awkwardly said, as his hands were in my mouth, “Well, my dad had a stroke a few days back, my husband’s been out of town working hard to find a job, and my daughter is going to have her tonsils and adenoids out tomorrow...” I really didn’t mean to say it all, but I just did. I felt like my canker sore deserved a minor applause. So, it’s been a bit of a 10 days. But it’s Monday. A new day. A new week has arrived and I say, Go Team!

Sydney and I had quite the fun night in the hospital sharing the bed

So, backing up a bit, my poor dad had a stroke. I will not give a doctor’s report, but he is rapidly improving and will be back to his normal, foxy self in no time. But while walking alongside his trauma and my parent’s stress of his unknown health issues, I was pretty grateful to be around, to be able to hear real-time updates, to run and get him that sandwich he was craving, to be able to intercept all the phone calls of people wanting to know the latest, to be told a number of times by family and friends “if there is anything we can do, just ask”, to bring his four grandkids in a couple times to let them ask a 101 questions about the hospital room, and then to celebrate when he was able to to come home from the hospital. I say, Go Dad!

Noodlie-Doodlie

2011-09-06T22:09:00.001-05:00

The Palm Six, Living in Bemidji

I just made a really yum scrum peach and blueberry cobbler. I’ve been dreaming of peaches for two plus years. Crates of peaches are being sold in a beat up van that sits in the parking lot right next to my parent’s shop. The same guy, the same beat up van, not the same peaches (but similar tasting peaches), the same parking lot, for as long as I can remember. I love the steady-on practices that unfold in the midst of our transition.

It seems appropriate for some reason to blog today. First day of school, I guess. Ani, James and Sydney all made their way into Schoolcraft Learning Community. It’s a charter school out by my parent’s house. Nothing, other than lakes and woods, are out by my folks - except Concordia Language Villages. Which, on the property of their French Camp, houses the charter school during the school year. We feel grateful for the five minute drive to the small school in the woods. I thought for the last month or so that we would be out at the school that I went to as a kid, which would be a bit trippy. But this opportunity came along, and noodlie-doodlie, to Schoolcraft we go.

I’ve only been away from Bemidji for 15 years, but coming back as a resident-in-limbo does catch me off guard sometimes. Okay, most days. Today, I was grocery shopping at the same grocery store that my family has shopped at for ages, and I ran into the mom of a friend that I grew up with. Barb was the first stay at home mom that I ever knew. And back in the day, stay at home mom’s were a bit rare. I kind of had a moment in the grocery store today - not having any clue when I was snatching cookies out of her freezer 25 years ago that I would be a stay at home mom as well. Or, in both Ani and James’ classes, they have buddies that are the sons and daughters of good friends of mine that I grew up with. Or, Jayson and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary by going canoeing of Lake Bemidji, a lake that I played on since I was a kid. The contrast of coming back from India, a place that was so foreign to us, to place that was my home for all of my growing up years, is all a bit foreboding.

I’ve been making photo albums of our time in India for each of the kids. I do not hesitate to tell you that I have weeped with every child as I look back on who they were when we first boarded the plane to who they are now. I have been kind of avoiding the task of the needed photo albums, in part because I am rubbish at making photo albums, in part because I emotionally could not muster the energy to pick out 20 pages of pics that best describe each child’s life. But here I am, both cursing my horrific inabilities and sniffling through the process. Three and half down, and the other half of Jovie’s will be done in the coming nights.

First Days in India for The Palm Six

Jayson heads down to Minneapolis tomorrow for the rest of the week. His goal is to be down three days a week, every week for the month of September. 70% of jobs are found through networking, so noodlie-doolie, to networking we go. He’s really been hard at it for the last two months. Every month is ramped up another notch. We still stand with hope and courage that a job is just around the corner. Most days we stand that way, it would be untrue of me to not tell you I do have my moments of slum-bummin’ it, that’s for sure. The peach and blueberry cobbler tastes that much sweeter in those moments, which I am grateful for.

On a separate, side note, thanks to all of you for your cheers for me to keep on writing. Along with the comments on the blog, I also got a nice round of fun emails from you all. Thank you, thank you. That was not my intent in posing that question to you all, but thanks nonetheless. I am going to keep on blogging. But a few changes will happen. We are not going to keep on emailing you when I have a new post. There are about 400 people that read the blog and only 40 plus that are signed up through the blog to automatically receive it. So, Jayson is going to type out below about how to subscribe to the blog, so you can receive an email through the blogging service when I do blog. I think I will shorten my blogs as well, try to keep them weekly again, and I have no idea what I am going to write about, but I do want to write, so noodlie-doodlie, to writing I go.

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Dipping Chapati into Ketchup

2011-07-19T22:00:00.000-05:00

I had to put some kind of picture in the blog. This is what you get.

I am eating frozen blueberries. They are my favorite evening treat during the summer. Take a fresh pint of blueberries, wash, freeze on a cookie sheet and then toss into a Zippie in the freezer. My mom does it for me. She’s a gem. I do love the perks of living with my folks. Another perk is that Jayson and I are able to go for a run in the morning together whilst the children are snoozing and my mom is getting ready for work. Together. Did you hear that? Glorious.

I am not sure if you recall my blog about the Wolfe boys... our friends Sarah and Chris, who live in Texas, have five boys, all around our kid’s ages. Well, Sarah flew me down there to spend time together (and fabulous it was) and then for me to also help fly her oldest back to Minneapolis to spend a bit more time with his grandparents... Anyway, I had this squirrelly idea to bring James with me. Previously, James had been feeling restless with his three sisters and no friends around, so what better therapy than to bring him to destination Camp Wolfe in Texas with me? And he had the time of his life. All boys, all the time. We swam, we watched baseball, we played Legos, we watched Cars 2, we went to Sonic, we stayed up late. It was such a pleasure to see James totally able to let loose and have fun.

Bemidji. My parent’s house. This time.... for me, has high monastic-like qualities. I do say that with a smile on my face, knowing that I have four young kids around. But I cannot tell you how true it is. Monastic in the sense of quietude and simplicity. It’s the way I know how to heal right now. My reading companions currently are really quite thoughtful and solitary as well. I just finished the Dietrich Bonhoeffer biography. I cried at the end. Even though it is a whopper of book, it’s a really great read.

The Palm Six are okay. I feel like on any given today we are so grateful to be at my parent’s house. The enjoyment and freedom of playing, in an uninterrupted schedule. Today, Jovie did not want the grilled cheese I was making for lunch, so I gave her some curry and chapati (Indian flat bread). She didn’t want the curry, but asked for ketchup instead. So, merry on she went dipping her chapati into ketchup. That’s us. Leaving a tremendous amount of space for things that don’t make sense. And trying not to take ourselves too seriously.

Jayson is a total rock star in looking for a job. I am so proud of him. Tomorrow he drives down to Minneapolis for a handful of interviews and a dozen networking meetings.

Enough about him. I am not altogether sure what to with my blog. To write or not to write is the question. I am so heady right now. I don’t really have any bizarre stories, and I don’t even have a camera to take shots of the kids doing what we do here... I don’t know people. What’s that phrase, the jury is still out on the verdict. Is that right? Oh well, would love to hear from you about what I should do about the blog. Let the people speak.

Nutty as a Fruitcake

2011-06-20T23:03:00.001-05:00

Our favorite road trip pic

Happy birthday Syd! - June 19

Where I am writing right now is in front of a very large mirror. I am not sure how I feel about that. I see that my newly waxed eyebrows and covered-up gray hair are looking quite... hmm, well, to be honest, fresh. And I kind of like it. Today, I am a new age. 34. And all in one day, my mom colored my hair and she sent me in for an eyebrow wax, facial, and pedicure. All in one day I say. My body is a bit shocked. And I’ve got this cute new red zip-up sweatshirt that Jayson got me... I guess I am just ready. Ready for this 34th year. Ready for... well, I don’t know. We’ve got jobs, home, schools, neighborhood, health insurance, pediatricians... all to be filled in. And my new eyebrows and red sweatshirt are ready.

When I last left you, we were packing up to go on a road trip. Rockford, Chicago, St. Louis, Nashville, Wisconsin Dells, and back to Bemidji. It was quite the trip. We covered some sweet mileage and spent time with very great friends and family along the way. I am going to attempt something very challenging for me, but because I am 34 now, I am going to do just do it. And my vacuumed out facial pores are going to help me. I am going to sum up each stop in two sentences.

Rockford (where Jayson was born): Jayson’s mom hung out with the kids while we went into Chicago for the weekend - she is a total rock star. Loved seeing Jayson’s grandpa (Mor Far) and other aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Chicago: Talked for two straight days with our friends/mentors about our time in India, current status, and what’s to come. We walked out of that weekend with a better understanding of why we are as nutty as a fruitcake currently and started the process of healing - we are so appreciative of them.

St. Louis: Had great fun with Jayson’s sister and her family (we give a shout out to Denver, our newest nephew, born June 12) and Jayson’s folks. I loved watching the cousins and adults get back into the groove like no time has past.

Fun with the cousins in St. Louis

Nashville: Who knew Tennessee was two states away from Florida (we got pretty south)? Spent a very merry weekend with Jayson’s other sister and husband, trying to catch a glimpse of their world, and loving it.

Wisconsin Dells: This was an 18 hour pit stop - the half way point between Nashville and Bemidji. It turned out to be a wonderfully fun and needed time for the Palm Six to just be us.

I did it, two sentences each, but I totally wiggled around with the parenthesis, commas, and hyphens. Yikes. We were on the road for a total of 40 hours, the same amount of time it took us to get back from India. The kids asked if we can withhold a bit from the 40-hour-block traveling in the near future.

A few days after we got back to Bemidji we did take another long weekend down to Minneapolis/Owatonna for a few family showers and a graduation. Again, it’s great to reconnect with family. We also spent a few days with Sarah, David, and kids. The kids were a bit beside themselves that we have been in the States and hadn’t seen the Landt kids. We’ve missed them.

I am not quite sure what to say about our current status, folks. I do know that change takes courage. And we are in a whole lot of change. Not just change, but recovery as well. Some days I feel like change is for the birds, other days I have a bit more gumption. Soon, I will start sharing in more detail... but for now, this is all I got.

Quite the Lovely Evening

2011-05-26T22:31:00.001-05:00

Adding to the all-important "to do" list

It's quite the lovely evening here in northern Minnesota. It's actually what everyone imagines a northern Minnesota evening to be. If one has ever imagined about it I guess. It's about 65 degrees Fahrenheit. Slight breeze. A Minnesota Twins baseball game is playing on the radio in the background. My dad is tinkering on his fishing boat. A mosquito is buzzing around my head and I just pulled a wood tick off my back, which always weirds me out. Anyway, this is our current reality, just thought I would let you in on it.

Its been about 2 ½ weeks since I last wrote. Let's back up a bit. Our last few days in India went relatively smooth. Sarah successfully packed us up and Jayson finished training in a new Freedom Firm staff. I know I will sound cliché, but it's oh so true... I had been so grateful for our friends these last 2 ½ years in India, but I really didn't feel the magnitude of how great our friendships were until we were saying our goodbyes, until we gave our last hugs, until I saw their tears and mine, until they prayed with us, until I read their cards, until we were driving away, until I felt a deep sense of loss as I was driving down the mountain for the last time. The nature of goodbyes are a bit awful really, I always feel stormy inside. I miss you dear friends.

Buckingham, Ketchum, and Palm families

Thank you Sarah

Freedom Firm staff at the farewell

Our plane ride was rather uneventful. Lots of sitting, lots of TV watching on the planes. I would like to kiss whomever put those sweet personal TV's on British Airways flights. I have loved them since I met them nearly 10 years ago. Our trip was extended a bit at the end by 4 hours, but after 30 plus hours of travel already, it all kind of blurs together.

Photos of the journey home

We have been a bit reclusive these last 10 days. Well, I have been. Jayson has been forced (with gratitude) to enter into the world with a few interviews and a trip down to Minneapolis. We have enjoyed the peace of my parent's house. The first few days back I was at an all time of high of coo-cooness. It was the combination of being tired from the actual move, the grotesque jet-lag, trying to get my head around what had just happened and knowing the future is a bit of a blank slate. I feel better now. I still have a long way to go, but I am hopeful. In a few days we are heading down to Chicago to meet with some dear friends, Dave and Glenda, to help us start wading through all that we have done and been through in regards to India and Freedom Firm. These friends of ours are wise, insightful, show great hospitality, and validate well. Dave actually officiated our wedding. We are thankful for them.

We will continue on from Chicago to St. Louis to see Jayson's folks and sister's family. Then on to Nashville to see Jayson's other sister. We will be on the road for about 11 days and we are glad for it. Yesterday, I had to go to the bank for about a 10 minute meeting and I was feeling a bit overwhelmed about taking the kids with me. And the thought I had was, I would rather take the kids on a 40 hour plane/taxi ride/journey than take them to the bank. Some of those kinds of feelings take up a large part of my re-entry back. I don't make a lot of sense right now. I am not super fun or light to be around. That's okay for now. The kids are reeling as well. From the outside, they probably look fine, but they have their own sort of transitioning as well. They all have had super weird tummies since we got back, picking up all sorts of new kinds of bacteria to get used to. They are in a bit of slow motion, taking everything in. They are wanting to tell people their stories, where they have just come from, what they have just been through, but are finding it difficult. That's okay for now too. Jayson has one foot in transitioning and one foot in finding a job. Which is also sort of weird. He's a bit wonky as well. Oh well, what's a family of six that just moved back from India to do... Be wonky, eat ice-cream, and try to put one foot in front of the other. Until after the road trip...

Jovie was sad to say goodbye to Naseema

Last day at Hebron School

It was sad saying goodbye

Goodbye for Now

2011-05-08T10:53:00.000-05:00

Just some fun kid pictures for you, from their last weeks of school

“All my bags are packed I'm ready to go....

I'm leavin' on a jet plane

Don't know when I'll be back again.”

(John Denver - Again, mad lyric skills)

Happy Mothers Day! Mom, I will be home in three days. Well, this is the last night we will be in our house. Internet is being shut off tomorrow and we are delivering the mattresses and appliances we sold. Bon voyage Sangeetha Cottage. We will be staying at a hotel tomorrow night, so we can have a jump start on moving out of our house. The kids have school Monday and Tuesday and we will be tying up loose ends. Then Tuesday around 6:00 p.m., we will jump into the vehicle and drive through the night to catch a plane in Bangalore on Wednesday morning. We will fly for awhile, then get into Minneapolis, Wednesday evening.

On Wednesday, I went to Bangalore to pick up Sarah. Hip hip hooray! It was a sixteen hour trip to pick her up (eight hours each way), but oh so worth it. Sarah came to help us pack up, keep us moving in a forward motion, telling us when to go lay down, love on our kids, and let me talk about all that’s going on inside. You are such a gem Sarah.

Yesterday, the kids went to friends’ houses and Sarah and I packed 13 suitcases. Actually I did not pack a single suitcase, I merely placed things in front of her. Jayson has had kind of a crazy week - a new staff and his wife moved to Ooty from England and Jayson has been fast and furious in orientation and running him through job responsibilities and helping them find a place to live. He’s been so crazy finishing up that I am so glad Sarah is here, because I am sure that I would have been doing all the packing and kid stuff by myself, which would of left me curled up in a suitcase and sucking my thumb.

Before

After

We’ve had a good week of goodbyes. It’s a bit of an ironic statement. Goodbyes are always a bit dreadful. I need to take really deep breaths, and just when I think I am going to keep it together, it’s like Niagara Falls on my face. Oh well, what’s a girl to do. I am all a bit mixed inside, you can tell by just reading my blog right now, I am kind of all over the map. That’s okay. I will write when we get back and am coherent enough to put a sentence or two together - not that I really can right now, but just wanted to say goodbye, for now.

Freedom Firm leaving party

Monday, Monday, So Good to Me

2011-05-02T11:20:00.002-05:00

Note JJ's legs. Who sleeps like that?!?

Monday, Monday, so good to me,

Monday, Monday, it was all I hoped it would be.

That was the Mamas and the Papas folks, coming live from Udhagamandalam, India. I really don’t know that song at all. I know the Monday, Monday bit, but that’s it. I had to look the lyrics up. I am telling you this just in case you were wondering when and where I had acquired such vast lyric knowledge of the Mamas and Papas. It would be rather disappointing if you wanted me to be on your Trivial Pursuit team because you once remembered me quoting the Mamas and the Papas. Just keepin’ it real folks. I am done calling you folks from now on.

So, we borrowed a camera. A cute little green camera. It’s been fun to have one back in our lives after a monthlong escapade without one (I did not forget a space...did you know “monthlong” is one word?). It felt a bit wrong not to have one in our last days of living in India. It also felt wrong to have such disastrous hair. So, the other night, after a long, long day of nonsense, Jayson cut my hair. In the bathroom. I am sure my mom is a bit horrified, but my hair was even more horrifying. My vanity got the best of me, because I was thinking that all the pictures I would be taking in the last days of India, I would not look at my darling friends’ faces and remembering them with fondness, but I would be looking at my hair. I know, I know, I am dealing with loads of emotions, mine and my families, packing, sorting, thinking about our current beginning of unemployment, but I also thinking of my hair. And you and I are just going to have to deal with it.

When we moved to India, my kids were at an age that we kind of just packed up, shoved them in a plane and left the country. I mean it wasn’t that drastic, we talked about it, they helped pick out toys they wanted to bring, etc... But this time around I feel like I am having to be way more intentional, feeling the reality of Jayson’s and my decision to leave effecting them greatly. I know that whole bit about “kids are resilient” and that if their family remains strong, that is so incredibly helpful for their process of transition. Yes, yes, I agree. But they still have great big emotions. Sad emotions and happy emotions. And we still have to walk that road with them and not tell them to just go and play with Legos. James and Ani have both asked why they can feel both happy and sad feelings at the same time. I didn’t know what to tell them really, other than you just have live feeling both sometimes and know that it’s okay. (Btw, Ani is brilliant at both crying and laughing at the same time.) Jovie, out of all of us, is the most bi-cultural (I am pretty sure that is not a word, but just go with it) and in some ways I grieve the most for her in leaving. Also not sure what to do with that. Wondering if somehow her comfortability with India will serve others and her well in the future. And Sydney, well, she told her teacher the other day that when she finds her prince and they get married, she will come back and wave to her in India. Enough said from Sydney, really.

We’ve had a bit of car oopsie lately. Not really oopsie. More like headache. Not a nightmare, but definitely draining. So, after many attempts of trying to hand off our car, Jayson finalized the deal on Thursday. Whew. The plan was to borrow the buyer’s car until we leave. Well, the car was, how do I put this nicely...it needed some work. I kind of felt like I was driving on ice and snow...in India. I know nothing about cars, but I want to say that the axel was probably twisted and turned beyond all recognition. The first day we had it I got two flat tires on two different tires. Every time we turned, I kind of felt like the car was just going to give up and die. Lame. A bit stressful, a bit dangerous. After two days, I told Jayson that we needed something different. We borrowed a friend’s vehicle for the night, and then this morning a hired vehicle came to pick us up for school. Having a hired car and driver sounds a bit posh, but posh is probably not how I felt this morning. I asked the kids when we were walking up to school how they thought it was going to be having the car for the week. Ani said, “Well, I guess I’ll just have to get used to plugging my nose and covering my ears...” Making memories I guess...

Second flat tire on the first oopsie car.

If current vehicle proves not to work, this is what we'll aim for.

We’ll blog again on Sunday night, two days before we leave Ooty... Until then. Happy Monday.

A Moment of Silence Please

2011-04-24T10:28:00.006-05:00

Photos taken last week during the kid's school break by a dad of their friends at school. He had a camera the size of the car/van/can.

Happy Easter to all. We had hot crossed buns after church today. I was a bit surprised. I haven’t had hot crossed buns on Easter for about 15 years, and then, all the sudden, bam!, hot crossed buns in India. Nobody prepared me. No email. No phone call. Nothing. Did any of you have hot crossed buns today?

On Tuesday morning, it was like Mutual of Ohama’s Wild Kingdom around here. Probably a smaller version than the African Plains. But you know, birds are constantly flying into our house. The fly in, they fly out. Done. But, Tuesday morning, one swooped in and our cat, Snowy, was on the prowl and caught it in mid-air. Ani was home with pink eye and saw it all happen and screamed. Snowy was running around the house with a flapping bird in his mouth. I am so not-brave you guys when it comes to animals. It’s really quite humbling. So, I told Ani to go open the door to the courtyard to shoo out the cat, because I didn’t want Snowy ripping the bird apart under someone’s bed. Gross. So, Snowy ran outside and proceeded to chase the limping/dying bird around the courtyard for about 10 minutes. My dear, animal loving child, Ani, was bawling, telling me to call Ilona, our vet friend. I can only imagine what Ilona thought about the phone call, but I was a bit desperate to console Ani. Ilona said that I needed to end the birds suffering and break its neck. Pardon me? Come again? No, no, no, there was no way in all of the world that I was going to do that. At least, not yet. So, I told Ani, let’s give it just another minute, and (deep breath) whew, the bird did die. But I was already trying to play out the scene in my head of whacking it with my frying pan - and I did not like that scene at all.

My audible pleasures are this currently: fireworks, bus horns, meowing cats and really loud music from the neighboring guesthouse. Let me give you their playlist, it has been played often as of late.

“Every Rose Has Its Thorn” - Guns and Roses

“You’re Beautiful” - James Blunt

A few Hindi tunes

“Country Road” - John Denver

We have some serious “bus action” going on around our house. Being that we live close to the lake, a tourist hot spot, it’s a bit of an obstacle course getting to our house. As we were stuck for 30 minutes in a bus jam yesterday, James said, “Mommy, these roads are not made for these large buses.” Right on James. I grabbed some photos from Google images to at least some sort of visual...

A moment of silence please ------------------------ tomorrow, we are selling the car/van/can. I have made my fair share of jokes about our little vehicle, but it has served us well. We thought selling our car/van/can was going to be quite the task, but it was a hot item around here. The buyer wanted our vehicle so badly, that he was willing to give us his vehicle to use until we go. So long car/van/can...

Well folks, we are leaving India. Wild, crazy, beautiful India. I feel like I haven’t processed much with you all about my transition feelings. In all honesty, I don’t know how I feel. Last night we had an early Easter dinner with the Parks and Ketchums. It occurred to me in the last few days that this will be the last holiday shared with them. For the most part, we have celebrated all the major holidays together. Although we once were used to our mothers, aunts and grandmothers making the pies, stuffing and mashed potatoes...now we are. Although we used to get ready for Thanksgiving at our extended family’s house, now the kids ask, “Are we going to the Parks’ for Thanksgiving?” The Parks are staying in India, the Ketchums are moving to Cambodia and we are going back to the States. (Tears stinging eyes, lump in throat.) We probably won’t be sharing a holiday together in the near future. But in the very same breathe, I am wild to see and live beside our family, friends and church and I am ready to not have my tummy ache 80% of the time. So, it’s all these mixed up emotions. Which is fine. It’s really the nature of transition. Jayson and I have moved six times in the the last nine years (the next one included). (I am not including that fact the first four years of our married life we moved to a tent for a few months each summer.) All moves different. Some enormous, some smaller. I think because my parents have basically been in the same house since I was little, I don’t feel like a “mover”, but as an adult, I think I have been. And I don’t know if the moving season is coming to a close, but for now, it’s moving time.

James Herriot in 3D

2011-04-17T11:28:00.000-05:00

Good evening. It’s Sunday, April 17, at 8:15 p.m. What to write about tonight.... Hmm, let’s start with the elections. On Wednesday, it was Ooty’s turn to vote. National Elections (State Assembly and Presidential) happen every five years, so it was interesting to sit back and watch a bit. We would show you pictures, but you already know the camera sob story, so I will be sure to be extra descriptive as I paint you the picture. There is so much about politics here that I don’t understand, so I won’t talk about that, because, well, I am simply overwhelmingly ill-informed. But elections here happen over a three week period. Every part of the country has a different time to vote. And the votes will be counted on May 13. Now, the day of elections, we were driving down one side of the mountain and there were loads of people bare-footed walking in from villages to vote. I felt so glad to be a quiet observer of such an important day.

Election Day

The two Chief Minister candidates in Tamil Nadu

We went down to IPAN Animal Shelter on Wednesday. Our friends Alona and Nigel, who run the animal shelter, have a few vets on sight and also train other vets in India. Anyway, their place is beautiful, crazy and I always see new things. On this particular day, we saw a baby monkey who was rescued after his mom was hit by a car. Now, you all know that I am not partial to monkeys. But this monkey was oh so cute. The best is when he popped his toe in his mouth to suck on, like a child would his thumb... My other favorite moment was when we were watching Ani getting ready to ride a one-eyed pony and we looked over and saw one of the vets with her arm fully up a horse’s rear. All of our eyes dropped out of their sockets and we had to pick them back up to continue checking out the sight. It’s not like I was disgusted or even alarmed, I just don’t often think that when I turn my head 45 degrees to the right, just three feet away from me, and two feet away from my kids who are painting merrily away, that I am going to see a person’s whole arm stuck up a horse’s whole rear. Now, I actually have a great love for animal stories. I have read James Herriot’s “All Creatures Great and Small” about a half dozen times, but this was like James Herriot in 3D. A bit shocking you know. You can only imagine how the kids loved to talk about it the rest of the week.

In Freedom Firm news, there are five cases right now where the judge has issued a warrant the arrest of the brothel keeper or trafficker. All five of them are absconding (in hiding) and the police are searching for them. Freedom Firm staff are encouraged because if found, all five of them will likely be convicted.

I have been full of India spirit as of late. I think that’s all quite normal when leaving a place. Jayson and I have been eating Indian food at least once, if not twice a day. Last week I went into town and bought three kurtas (longerish shirts) to wear in my last days here. (Previously to now I kind of rebelled to the Indian wear, and just wore my “western” clothes and tied a shirt around my rear when going out.) I have also been reading a good share of Indian novels, which I haven’t really read much since the initial first few months here. And it’s fun to read in context of cultural norms that I know about or live in. I feel glad for this last burst of India energy. We’ll see what I bring back with me.

We have a few pictures to add, none taken by us of course. A few were taken by our friend Ruth of the kids sports day at school. The others are from Google images, just to add a bit more flavor. That’s all for this time folks...

Happy British Mother’s Day

2011-04-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

Syd's class assembly, about plants.

Monkey sighting, outside our back door, 20 feet away

Three things. First, Happy British Mother’s Day. I did receive a painted pot from Sydney and a nice picture from James. I love that I will be able to celebrate twice. If you know any British women, make sure you wish them a Happy Mother’s Day. Second, let’s give it up for India winning the Cricket World Cup. The World Cup takes place every four years and as Jayson was watching the game via the internet last night, the moment they won we heard a massive amount of fireworks. Now, a lot of people do not understand cricket, myself being one, but Jayson is a bit hooked currently. When we get back to the States he is going to start the rally cry to start a U.S. team. Let’s see how that goes for him... Lastly, my third child, second girl, princess extraordinaire, called me a “Noodle Crack-Head” at dinner tonight. On British Mother’s Day, of all days. Sheesh. Give a girl a crown and she throws it back in your face.

Well people, our camera broke. So we took out the back-up camera that we had given to Ani. That’s broken too. For the last week, if we need any pictures taken, we ask whomever around us to take a picture of said object/person and email it to us. Seems a bit high maintenance. We can’t solve the camera issue until we are back in the States though, so we may be a little lacking in the pics arena from here on out. Maybe I will have Jayson draw pictures instead. Like the good ol’ days.

I am “trying” to help Jayson with the job search by spending a bit of time looking at about 20 designated websites every other day. And I must say I am getting so good at it. When he lands a job, I will take all the credit. Just kidding - kind of. My “helping” did start out a bit rocky though. Making comments like, “There is no one in the whole entire world that would match the criteria of this job description” or “This company is so elitist, why would anyone ever want to work for them?” or my personal, all time low, “Searching for jobs is such a waste of my time.” Honestly, I am learning a lot about looking for jobs. There is a culture out there in the whole looking for jobs world. And I am fascinated by culture so it has been really very interesting diving in. I also can see how someone could fall into the trap of having others define if they are “good” or “worthy” depending if they get an interview or not. It’s quite exposing really. We have been doing a lot of reading and networking, but if you have any tips or insights to share, send them our way... it’s a whole new world to us.

Well, this week we are heading into Parent’s Week at the kid’s school. We’ve got a sports day, a swimming gala, a junior school open house, and few other bits. And then starting at the end of the week we are on mid-term break for a week. All so fun. We hope you all have a great start to your week. Until later...

Saran Kumar

2011-03-23T00:19:00.001-05:00

Near our house, there is a place called the “New Boat House”, named the “New Boat House” because it’s newer than the “Old Boat House”. I love that really. Well, parking there is nonexistent and I was on my way to get Sydney from school and there was a car that was taking a tremendous amount of time to parallel park. So, I got impatient and, well, big-headed and went to “roar” around him, in the car/van/can mind you, and had to go on the grass to do so, knowing full well that the grass was wet and quite muddy. Well, people, I got stuck. Right in front of the car that I was impatient with. Humbled is the first word that should come to your mind. Well, I couldn’t get out without a bit of assistance. It took eight men, four rocks, 10 minutes and at the end, them actually lifting the right side of the car/van/can out of the mud. To add to the story, since that time, whenever the car/van/can hits any sort of hole, the horn automatically beeps, reminding me to be drive with patience and humility.

This week we were able to share in a really special time with a 14-year-old boy named Saran Kumar. His dad passed away in 1999, his mom ran away after that, and he has been living with his brothers and grandmother since. Someone in his family gave him a small plot of land. Probably 12 feet by 6 feet. And we helped build a house for him and his grandmother. The gentleman that introduced us says he is a hard worker, a good student, and soft-spoken. Saran’s grandmother is nearly blind and quite aged, but strong in spirit, you could tell. Jayson was especially taken with him and is so thankful to have been a part of Saran’s life for this brief time.

So, we have been selling some of our things, and I took a few pictures to make a wee flyer to go around. I am showing you some of the pictures to make you feel better about your own picture taking. A lot of the pictures were taken when the kids were sleeping and I didn’t want to turn on lights or make much noise, so I just snapped and fled.

After this photo was taken, we realized that we cannot sell this dog house. Maybe for firewood.

Why try to sell the "potential", when you can sell the "reality"?

Our heater has a strong resemblance to Wall-E.

I wasn't joking when I said the kids were sleeping when I snapped some photos, because James was dead asleep when I took this one. By the way, I'm highlighting the "mattress" in this photo.

Nothing about this photo is right - It's an awkward angle, the top edge of the radiator is off the photo, and there's underwear draped over it.

No need to get the water container down from the storage shelf...just point and shoot.

The parenting class that I have been a part of with the two moms in the aftercare program has come to an end. I have been with them for nearly 1 1/2 years and can hardly believe that I said goodbye. I knew we were going to eventually finish once I left, but they decided to leave with their kids to go work elsewhere nearer to family. I kind of got this panicky feeling when I knew they were leaving. They are safer with Freedom Firm, not completely of course, but safer than the rice factory that they were going to work at. The kids are safer with us keeping an eye on them. I don’t know how to end this paragraph, because I don’t know entirely how I feel on the subject.

All for now from Ooty, India.

Marshmallow Cricket

2011-03-14T12:19:00.001-05:00

I love this shot of Jovie. Shopping at the "Eight Market" with Anik, Yuimi, and Jovie. Don't mind the blue tint, the market is entirely under blue tarps.

Yuimi and one of the many piles of clothes at the Eight Market.

I am feeling all a bit overwhelmed as I sit down to write this blog. It has been three weeks since I wrote last. Three weeks. I am such a slacker. I also have an incredible sweet tooth currently. Today, I have consumed at least 4.2 pounds of sugar. I am also sitting in front of a fire and am squinting my eye that faces the fire because I fear that my retina will be sizzled and the right side of my body is 20 degrees hotter than the left. In short, I am a slacker, sugar-aholic, and I am about to combust because my internal temperature is rising to about 212 degrees Fahrenheit. We are off to a great start people.

Where did I last leave you...? Oh, that’s right, I had just told you about Jayson’s resignation. No small piece of news there. I have struggled to know how much to write about our story of going home. Mostly because I don’t want that part of us to distract you and me from staying present in our current home. Home being India. Home being working hard for girls that need support and advocacy. Home being where the kids go to an amazing international school. Home being where we feel content “being” until we step on the plane. Home being a place where we feel sad at the thought of leaving our friends, our vocational passion, and the place that has helped form the family of six that we are and that we like. So, I will write about our feelings about our transition, because it is a very real part of us; a part of our journey. And we just would like it if you continue to walk this road with us. It’s taken twists and turns that we could have never imagined.

Two weeks ago we had our Freedom Firm retreat. It’s an event that Jayson plans and thoroughly enjoys. It is so fun watching people who take their job very seriously and work really hard doing it, sharing meals, playing, listening, and relaxing together. I think my favorite part was watching the investigators/operatives (the guys that go into the brothels for the rescues) playing “Marshmallow Cricket”. Another highlight of the retreat was having Gretchen and Pat right next door to our family. Gretchen is the U.S. Director and Pat is her mom. Pat was at the retreat last year with her husband Denny, who was the speaker. Their family, on the whole, has been significant to Freedom Firm over the years. When I said right next door...there was half a wall dividing us. And when Jayson was out with one of the staff and I had a frog/spider emergency in the bathroom with the kids, all I had to do was shout. When I was trying to calmly tuck the kids into bed on Friday night, we went to go brush teeth and there were three frogs staring at us. Now, in the great, wide open my kids go wild for frogs. But in the bathroom at night, the kids and I were just not really all that excited about our bathroom companions. And I didn’t have any spirit in me to catch them, so Gretchen and Pat came over to save the day and in the process, Jayson heard all of our shouting from across the way and came to see what the ruckus was about. Gretchen did the initial frog find and then Pat went in to finish the job with Jayson, and in the meantime also found a jungle spider as big as my face. Awesome. Needless to say, that night I slept with a scarf wrapped around my face and head, a little wary of any more friends wanting to join our family of six.

Leah, Achi, Sunayana, Gretchen, and Pat at the retreat.

The Freedom Firm staff with families.

Jayson and the jungle spider. I get the heeby-jeebies just looking at this picture.

The staff playing games at the retreat.

Since the retreat, I think I have found my feet again. I was a bit beat after our resignation and retreat. I/we felt weary. Which is to be expected. I anticipate those feelings to circle more than a few times. We have slept a lot, watched movies, and tried to keep our schedule light. Another way that we have tried to rejuvenate a bit is to do some Explooting... Of course, it’s really what the doctor does order. Our friend Adam, from the States, has been up in Calcutta for a bit of time (working with Word Made Flesh) and came down to visit us last weekend. So, we thought we would show in a good ol’ fashioned time in Ooty. We took him to a dam. Of course. Why not? And then a lake which we took a boat ride around, and then to some waterfalls. As I write that, it does sound a bit pathetic really. At the time though, I was pretty pumped. And Adam is very gracious. A good combination.

Adam and the Palm Six on the lake. And yes, Sydney does feel compelled to strike a pose in every photo she's in.

Ani and Susai by the beautiful waterfall in Pikara.

I am encountering the time in the blog that I am aware that if I write any more, it will seem a bit over the top. So I will leave you and hope that you are off to a great start to your week. Until next time...

Mr. Twiddle

2011-02-21T10:22:00.000-06:00

Helping to get ready for her brother's birthday

My throat hurts. From bed time stories. I quite like reading out loud to my kids. I really get into it. Tonight it was a story about this gentleman named Mr. Twiddle (of course his name is Mr. Twiddle, brilliant name...) and he’s fantastic really. I was howling during the story, howling I say. I won’t repeat the premise of the story, that wouldn’t go well, you wouldn’t think it was funny, blah, blah, blah... just remember the name Mr. Twiddle and the name alone should make your throat hurt.

Since our last blog we have a newly crowned eight year old daughter and six year old son. Ani’s birthday was on the 12th and James’ on the 14th. We had a fantastic weekend celebrating and trying to squish a little Valentine’s Day in there. We do V-day on the 13th... well, I say that like we’ve been doing that for years. We did V-day on the 13th this year, and I kind of liked it. It may be our new thing. If you want to try it, go ahead. We won’t mind.

Ani's Birthday

James' Birthday

Breakfast in bed

Another happening this week was that Jayson resigned from Freedom Firm. Say what? Some of you may already know this and have started processing this with us, but for those of you that haven’t, we will tread the waters with you. I do want to keep the “why” quite short and talk more about “how” this week has been. The why is that we just know that it is time for us to come home. This decision has not been taken lightly. So not lightly. This decision has been very deep in our bones. It’s been surprising as well. We thought at the onset that we would be here for 3-5 years. And yet at 2 1/2 years we will be going back. The anticipation of this week was a bit shaky. Shaky like “big, deep breathes, this feels really big” shaky, not, “oh geez louise, we are making a really bad decision” shaky. It brought back memories of us deciding to move here...

Jayson started the week telling the staff. That was hard. They, and we, will miss working with each other. The staff are so incredibly strong and courageous. We then told our kids on the 15th. They all had mixed emotions. Surprised really. Ani has been walking around the house saying, “I can’t believe we are really moving back the States.” Ani understands the reality of this transition more than the other kids. We then started emailing people back in the States, and then a flood of emails came back to us, and we literally were saturated with kind and warm words. You see, we feel sent from you all to be working here. A delegate of sorts. So, when we decided that our time was done here, we feel the weight of the decision in all sorts of ways. I see the weight in mostly positive ways. Keeps us accountable for our actions. Our decisions. Whew, I feel the need for a good joke after all this serious talk. Mr. Twiddle anyone???

So, we are here until May. We are here. Fully here. Engaging here. Working hard here. Loving and enjoying life here. And we continue to love the journey that we are on here...

P.S. Thanks to all that posted comments and sent us emails from my blog entry about the kids. You are all so encouraging and I did feel like I put our whole family out there and you really did well with it. Thank you.

Sydney at Christmas

2011-02-10T21:24:00.000-06:00

I don't think it is an overstatement to say that Sydney is simply hilarious. Her reactions to the Christmas presents she received this year were consistently over the top. So we put together a short video of "The Best of Sydney Christmas Present Reactions" for your enjoyment.

Through the Eyes of My Children

2011-02-10T12:09:00.001-06:00

Workers digging a well at the Roja aftercare home in Ooty. We're expanding the home to house 12 girls. It currently can handle four girls.

35 rings needed so far (totaling 45 feet down!). Still no water.

An overhead shot. This is the space where a dormitory-style room will be built.

I am eating a dark mint chocolate that has just come out of the freezer. I am in love. I have this memory of either visiting someone, babysitting, going to a party, etcetera, I can’t really remember. But I was at someone’s house and they had Andes Mints in the freezer and I think every so often during the night I would go in a grab a few and by the end of the evening I had eaten the whole package. (Not the wrapper, but the chocolate, lest you be confused.) Mmmmm, that was a really nice night. I am sure you are feeling very satisfied with that story. More intelligent. Curiosity quenched. Heart filled. Done. Go home. Pack it up. With that story, you are finished for the day.

I was thinking that it may be interesting to write about India and our life here through the eyes of my children I have been thinking about it for a few days, wanting to put more thought into it than just my stream of consciousness. I also need to say that because of the ages of my kids, their comments, ideas, assumptions deal very little in the abstract. What they see, hear, smell is well, what they see, hear, smell. With that comes very blunt and sometimes coarse feelings. I risk being a bit offensive by letting you in on their perceptions, but their story is as much a part of our story as Jayson’s or mine. We have given them the space to have really hard feelings, and not trying to quickly tell them more of the why behind a certain situation. But there have been times that I’ve felt scared or embarrassed about some of their words about India. I find myself wanting to rush and try to convince them that their feelings are wrong. But that’s not usually very fair of me. So, I hope you find it interesting to hear their musings.

Jovie. Age: 2 1/2. India is what she knows. She delights in all the random and numerous animals on the street. She does not shout at people when they pinch her cheek. She would prefer rice and dal over pasta. She drinks chai tea like it’s water. She eats with her fingers like the locals and can handle more spice than anyone else in the house. Adults included. She interacts with local people with ease and the guys at Modern Stores carry her around while I shop. She is so comfortable that she often wanders off, which was a bit nerve wracking for my mom when she was here. Because Jovie is so young, I wonder what she will remember about India and what from here she will carry with her.

Sydney. Age: 4 1/2. When we moved here, Sydney was 2 1/2, so really, India is what she knows as well. But because she is a bit older, she is more influenced by Ani and James and their memories of the States. All that being said, Sydney being Sydney has a confidence about her here. She will go up to anybody and ask them anything. When we were on holiday, we went back to the hotel after dinner and she pranced into the lobby and said with her hand on her hip to the three employees there, “Hi boys, I am back.” That’s her. She handles the food fine and doesn’t think much of all the different sights and smells to be seen and smelled. It is what it is. She does miss her grandparents and Nana and Papa dearly. So there is a miss in her for our family, which at times does affect her outlook here. She is aware that there are huge gaps of time between seeing them. She has picked up more of the British lingo than any of the other kids. Uses words like “straightaway”, “proper”, “trousers”, and “knickers”. India is a colorful country that has poured its color into her.

James. Age: turns 6 in 4 days. James came here shortly before his fourth birthday. He is more grayscale compared to Sydney’s vibrant color. That being said, he has transitioned here a bit more stealth than the other kids. He moved here with a bit of concrete information about the States, but not enough to be solidified in things. Like knowing a bit about different sports, currency, clothes, etc. So, when he came here, he was inundated with new information. Of course he was, we all were. But because his foundation of what is “normal” in the States was not yet solid, he gets the components of life here mixed up with the States. Maybe more in the first year than now, but it still shows. Like soccer and football. To him they’re essentially the same thing, yet he knows somehow their different. Considering he’s never been in the States for a football season, he doesn’t know how it’s different. The same with cricket and baseball. There is a basket by the front door holding both a cricket and a baseball bat. To him, as he reaches for either bat, it doesn’t matter which he grabs, so long as he gets to hit something.

Ani. Age: turns 8 in 2 days. I have saved Ani’s for last because she is the one that has been both the most delightful and the most painful to watch take in all that is different here. My Ani girl is full of questions. She has had a hard time not asking sweeping questions like, “Why are Indians so rude?” (because she loathes it when they touch her, tweek her cheeks, and take photos of her) or “Just because I have white skin, why does everyone think I am so special?”. She has asked Jayson and I, “Why in the States do we have a lot less than some people, and here why do we have more than most everyone else?” Or “Mommy, why do Muslim women want to cover themselves?” or “How come Hindu people worship something that looks so weird?” These types of questions come all the time. Some days, I don’t know how to answer them. Some days I do okay. Explaining poverty, skin color, and different religions to a child is hard. Living in the tension of poverty, skin color, and different religions can be a bit overwhelming. She is the most patriotic child I have ever met. She has a warped perception that all things good are in the States. I get really wound up when she goes there. But she does not like that she is so far away from her family and dear friends. She does not like the fact that she gets the runs quite frequently. She does not like the fact that she feels different here, that she stands out. So, I give her space to hold the States up a bit higher than she should. Even though she struggles here, she is the one I most foresee living in a cross-cultural setting when she is older. She’s really compassionate. And she feels sad that there are a lot of people that “go without” here. She feels like it’s really important that we are here doing the work that we are doing.

Whew, I made it. This blog is really long. I don’t know how to make it shorter though. The length being what it is, I am sure I have left some major gaps, but it’s a good start. And with that, I say goodnight dear friends.

High School Musical

2011-01-28T10:39:00.001-06:00

Breakfast in bed for the birthday boy

The second Freedom Firm Awareness Program. Vijaya again did an amazing job sharing her story.

That's Vijaya in white in the middle of all the girls. We're so thankful the students were so moved by her story.

It is 2:11 p.m. on Friday, January 28. I am not sure if I can write a blog in the daylight. I am thinking the moonlight usually helps the blog flow. I also think the evening tiredness helps - I am a bit more loose with my tongue and say things that I was curious about in the morning. So, you can all expect the highest degree of congeniality out of me.

Currently, my mom and the kids are outside working in the garden. I know I have told you this before, but my mom is this magic fairy cleaner/organizer/work horse. In just one week she has scrubbed and painted our patio railing, cleaned and organized my laundry room and refrigerator, organized closets, and done 1,042 loads of laundry. She is now trying to sort out all of our flowers. I look at flowers/shrubs and say, “Oh, that looks pretty,” or “Oh, that looks pretty awful.” And leave it at that. I kind of get overwhelmed in the conquering of flowers and such. But my mom is fearless.

Grandma's little helpers

Oh, and what about her back you ask. Wasn’t she laid up for three days at the beginning of her stay with us? Yes friends, yes she was. When I last wrote to you all, I was hiding something from you... So, I think I wrote you on a Saturday night. At that point she was barely able to walk. Back up a few months, my mom wanted us to plan a beach holiday while she was here. So, we had planned that the Sunday after she got here, we would hop on a train and head to the beach. Jayson and I waffled back and forth about whether to cancel or not, but my mom was determined, determined she was. I was a bit nervous about the whole thing, wondering if we actually got my mom on the train, was she going to be able to get off, picturing my mom endlessly traveling back and forth from Trivandrum to Coimbatore day-in and day-out because she simply couldn’t get off was a despairing thought. So, I just didn’t tell you all that part, lest you all get nervous with me. So, I kept it to myself. And thankfully, she did great. And by the second day that we were at the beach, she was digging in the sand with the kids and doing back flips into the pool.

Jovie sleeping 2011

Jovie the consistent little girl, this is her sleeping on vacation with Grandma LAST year.

My favorite bit of our whole five-day-long trip was heading up the mountain to Ooty in the last few hours of the trip. We were unsuccessfully trying to avoid getting travel sickness, so the driver pulled over. All the windows were down because for some reason more wind in the car is better for trying not to chuck. Then all of a sudden a monkey jumped onto the edge of the window. Ani was inches away from the monkey, with James right next to her, and then Jayson realized what was happening, he looked at the monkey, and just bellowed at it. I think he was trying to shout him out of the car. I know you are all tired of my monkey stories, but I almost wet myself over the whole ordeal.

I had Jayson draw a picture of the situation, especially the part about him shouting at the monkey. Enjoy.

We just passed the two year mark of our time in India. Can you believe it? I still feel like such a newbie here. For me, I am not sure that feeling will ever pass. I still feel like a newbie at parenting, marriage, life, etc. I look at the teenagers on High School Musical and feel like they are way more mature than I am. I still feel new at cultural things, like what all the different clothing or different kinds of foods are called and all the Hindu/Muslim practices. I still feel new at being intimidated by monkeys and dogs when I go on a run or walk. I still feel new at the depth and scope of what it means for a country this size to support over 1.1 billion people. I still feel new when I try to get my head around how to help girls have a fuller and healthier life after they get out of the brothels. And last, but not least, I still feel new and in disbelief that when I search high and low in all the shops in Ooty and I cannot find a single Diet Coke anywhere.

My mom heads back on Monday night. So sad. If you see her on February 3, wish her a happy 60th birthday.

Double Feature

2011-01-15T09:24:00.005-06:00

(Written January 3) Last year we had a rather quiet Christmas. This year, I swung the pendulum a bit, having guests over on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, in total serving food for nearly 100 people. I went a bit nutty. Nutty in inviting, not nutty whilst having guests over. That would have been a good story though. On Christmas Eve, I thought it would be fun to have a casual soup and bread lunch. Inviting everyone I knew really. Thought maybe 30ish would be around, thinking loads would be traveling or back at home for Christmas. But as I started counting everyone that could come, the list totaled about 70ish people. Love it. I doubled everything and there wasn’t but three pieces of bread left when all was said and done.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Morning

Christmas Day

Currently, Jayson is sitting right beside me reading a book on Project Management. I can hardly think of anything less that I would like to be doing then reading a book on Project Management. I did read Jane Eyre over the Holidays, for the second time. Oh, how I love to read about Jane and Mr. Rochester.

Yesterday, we went swimming down at Jungle Retreat with a family that is here serving Freedom Firm for a few weeks. Their daughters have become such a fun part of our holidays. My favorite part of the girls being around is the fact that Sophie, their 10-year-old, has taken James under her wing. She has the calming effect on him. James is one for the high emotions and he hardly bellows when she’s around. And if he does, she does this cute little Yorkshire accent on him and he is bewitched and calmed again. I am definitely keeping tabs on her until they become of the betrothal age.

Jovie holding a... kitty? a puppy? Nope. A goat.

The Palms and the Youngs trying to track down any way possible to ride an elephant. Easier said than done.

Of course, an elephant crossing the road.

This is the point where James asked me, "Is that elephant going potty?"

Ready, steady, jump!

James, keep your eye on this girl...

Last night, after a long day of swimming, elephants, and driving, when all of us felt and looked like rubbish, Sydney was sitting in front of the mirror and proclaimed, “Oh my goodness, I look so beautiful.” Oh, to be Sydney for a day...

Hey, thanks so much to you who thought of us with your Christmas cards and Christmas emails. We continue to get two a day. Never three, not four or one... always two a day. Do you think that’s weird? I do. I kind of like it though. The pitter patter of Christmas cards is a glorious thing.

Naseema teaching me how to make Dosas and Pooris

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Two birds flew into the Dining Room

That's Tarrah diving out of the way when one of the birds flew into the Kitchen

Headlight burnt out? No problem. Just grab a head lamp and a flashlight!

It’s a double feature, 2 for 1, double stuffed pizza, buy-one-get-one-free, twice-baked potato. The earlier dated blog was written about a week ago. But same ole’, same ole’ excuse from this girl, there was a lack of internet at the house to send it, and Jayson and I didn’t have the giddy-up to bring it to the office to send. So, here we are, rolling it together, Hansel and Gretel, Gidget and Moondoggie, Tom and Jerry, Josh and Donna. Twice but Nice.

So, my mom is here. Wednesday afternoon, James, Ani, and I jumped in a car and headed to Bangalore to surprise my mom. I am not sure at what point along the way I came to the conclusion that it was no biggie to drive eight hours and then turn right back around and drive back home. But, I guess I did. So, sixteen hours later, we were back in Ooty for breakfast, with my mom in tow.

We stopped at the new McDonalds on the way to Bangalore

Ani giving the McDonalds "M" gang sign

There's nothin' like a donut at 1:00 a.m. on the floor outside the Bangalore Airport

Within two hours, my mom had given Ani and I haircuts. I have had a consistent bad hair day for months, I think this is why she was alright to cut my hair before she showered, hugged Jovie or unpacked. As we finally did get to unpacking, we discovered a ham, a few pounds of yum-a-dum-dum cheese, fudge, carmel, Christmas presents from Grandma and Grandpa and Nana and Papa, and so much more... my mom is brilliant.

My mom has also been in bed for the last few days. Poor, poor mom. Her back went out the evening she got here. So, we just brought the party to her. Opening up Christmas presents, breakfast, lunch, dinner, movies, playing - all the things that we would be doing anyway - just all held in James and Sydney’s room. Works for us. We are just thrilled that she is with us. Anything else is just icing on the cake.

Bringin' the Christmas to Grandma

Also in the news is that I have officially watched my first Bollywood movie. I cannot believe that I have been here for two years and I haven’t feasted on a Bollywood production. A few staff and volunteers were all a bit traumatized that I hadn’t, so they brought over one of their fav’s (“Three Idiots”) and we baked some pizza and had a grand night. Now, the name is a bit ridiculous, in my book. The wow factor is not real high with that kind of name. It doesn’t have the “Pride and Prejudice”, “The Last of the Mohicans” or “It’s a Wonderful Life” kind of draw to it. Anyway, moving past the title, it was actually fairly engaging. My eyes did get sore reading subtitles, and of course the dancing was quite a kick, but all in all, I would totally recommend the movie. So, let me know when you watch your next Bollywood movie, I do want here all about it.

In Freedom Firm news, near the end of 2010 nineteen girls were rescued in Nagpur, a new area where Freedom Firm hopes to make major headway in the coming 12 months. 2011 is off to a mixed start, with five minor girls rescued just two weeks ago, then police in a different area this week gave excuses why they “can’t” help. It’s a roller coaster as usual.

Merry Merry Christmas Eve Eve

2010-12-23T11:24:00.000-06:00

Jovie getting down to U2's "Mysterious Ways"

The Freedom Firm Christmas party

The girls doing a dance at the party that they had been working on for months

Merry, Merry Christmas Eve Eve to you! Just a wee note from the Palm Six to wish you all a Merry Christmas. I just ate two popcorn balls in the last ten minutes. My mom sent them to me; I mean our whole family. Confession (mom, don’t read this next part) in the last week the kids have each had two popcorn balls. I have one or two each day. I hid them from the kids. I love popcorn balls. My mom sent other treats, so they have had plenty of Grandma’s homemade goodness. Just not in the popcorn ball category. If you haven’t had a popcorn ball this season, run, run to your supermarket and get the ingredients now.

Tarrah and the Freedom Firm aftercare crew baking for the Christmas party

We have been in the full Christmas swing around here. I think this year I will remember Christmas by all the baking. I think it’s been my coping mechanism a bit. I tried my hand at fudge this year. It never set. So, now, it’s fudge syrup for ice cream. We also tried our hand at caramels. They got brick hard. Now, they are caramel syrup for ice cream. Saufferer family (my maiden name), if you are reading this, don’t eat all the fudge and caramels at Christmas. Maybe you could pack up a bit of a Ziploc and send it with my mom when she comes in a few weeks... If you do eat it all, could you make some more?

There is a bit of shindig here tomorrow, for a Christmas Eve lunch. Appetizers, soup, bread, and yummy treats. I hope it’s a real barn burner. Can you have barn burners for Christmas Eve? Who even knows where the term barn burner came from? Anyway, I did put away the Star Wars light sabers and Nerf guns tonight. I remember last year’s Christmas party, there was a bit of deal with them. You don’t want to deal with a weapons deal on Christmas Eve, that’s my motto.

Okay, so our mystery picture from the last blog got an overwhelming nod towards the overflowing yeast. I guess it wasn’t so mysterious. Or maybe you guys are incredibly smart when it comes to mystery pictures. Let’s go with the latter.

Love to you all and Merry Christmas.

Burning Plastic and Rank Garbage

2010-12-14T09:47:00.002-06:00

James and Ani ready for a formal event at Hebron.

If anyone can guess what this is a picture of, we will be very impressed indeed!

I was just warmly sitting by a roaring fire and my keen sense of smell picked up a burning plastic smell. Like a bird dog, I put my nose to the ground and was off. After 10 minutes, I could only place the smell somewhere around the fire, but nothing more specific. So, in an attempt to guard against anything more hazardous happening, we put water on the fire. That was 10 minutes ago. “Jayson, does it still smell in the living room?” Jayson, “Little bit, not as bad.” Good, we are making progress. I was having a bit of a salty tooth and went to go scavenge the kitchen for a salt lick (a bit of deer humor, forgive me). All I could find was stale rice crackers and the smell of intense garbage. Bummer. Burning plastic and rank garbage, pretty much paradise island here in the Palm household.

Well, we definitely had a great fill of cuteness this last week at our kid’s Christmas play at school. For the last six weeks, our kids have been belting out a song, “Babushka, Babushka, open wide your eyes and you will see...Babushka, Babushka, baby Jesus came for you and me!” At all hours of the day, this song was heard. Even Jovie got it down. Ani was an angel, James, an Italian pizza delivery man, and Sydney was a tree. I don’t mean to play favorites here, but Sydney definitely was the most memorable of the three. Come on, a four-year-old in a Christmas play is nothing but fantastic. By the fourth and final performance I am pretty sure I saw her eyes roll up in her head and almost fall asleep on stage out of sheer exhaustion. Click here for a taste.

The Hebron Christmas Program

Sydney on day 2, still smiling.

Sydney on day 4, definitely done.

I need to give a shout out for my favorite Christmas CD of the year. Andrew Peterson’s “Behold the Lamb” has heightened our celebration. If you like your music with a little folk and a lot of great lyrics, check it out.

The kids start their holiday this Thursday morning. They will be off until the first week in February. Being that we live in an international community, these are the answers I got when asking people how they are spending their holiday: Australia, Thailand, Kathmandu, North India tour, Scotland, the States, England, Ireland and Everest Base Camp. Whew!

Some cool Freedom Firm news from Jayson. At Freedom Firm we’ve wanted to raise awareness in India about the problem of sex trafficking, but the tyranny of the urgent has pushed this aside regularly. Our amazing Finance Manager, however, lined up a school for us to do a presentation. Last Friday I had the privilege of seeing Vijaya, one of our rescued girls, share her story openly in front of 160 teenage girls at this school. Their response was overwhelming. The girls flocked to Vijaya afterward to talk to her and thank her. Several shared feedback, telling their stories of how they’ve been mistreated and not feeling like they’ve had a voice. At the very least we hope to help schools recognize the struggles of their students, but more than that we hope to find ways that these girls can get the help they truly need.

It's a bit hard to see, but that's Vijaya on the stage speaking to the girls. Even harder to see is Jayson sitting to the left of the podium.

Okay folks, it’s good night for now from the Palm house. Sleep tight.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

2010-12-02T11:44:00.001-06:00

Jovie's first ride on daddy's bike.

Decorating for Christmas

“The weather outside is frightful... ya ta da da da...” There was a reprieve in the rain a few days ago, but “it doesn’t show signs of stopping...” It’s official, and I am sorry to say it, but I have now been colder here in INDIA than any weather in frigid Minnesota. It doesn’t make sense. We are inches away from the equator, but I am telling you, I have been wearing four layers all day, inside, with wool socks and a hat on. I am not sure with what to do all my coldness. I am also sorry that I keep on leading with weather reports. I really can’t help it.

Okay, moving on to more exciting events, our current (electricity) flow into the house. Totally more exciting, right? So, I will try to shorten this fascinating story to a swallowable amount. For the last six months, our plug to our washing machine has been melting. We have probably gotten it fixed four times. Two weeks ago, we came home to a smell of burning and our plug to the geyser (pronounced “geezer”, the hot water heater) that is hooked up to the water in the bathroom had started melting. So, we could only plug it in for 20 minutes at a time or it would start smoking. I know, I know people, the Palms are usually a hazard waiting to happen, but this multiplied it tons. Early this week, the plug quit altogether. So, we called the electrician to come and fix it, and he came out and fixed the plugs, and he also said the current coming into the house wasn’t coming in properly. (Hang on folks, I’m almost done.) So, the EB guy came today. I have no idea what EB stands for, it’s the electricity people, maybe it stands for Electrical Board. Anyway, so this wee olderish man knocked on my back door today, asked me if my current was bad, and then proceeded to wrap a rope - like for sailing kind of a rope - around his waist, and then put a wide, elastic looking like hair band around his feet, and started shimmying up our electric pole. Just like that. About five minutes later, he came down and said it was all fixed. I asked him what the problem was and he said it was rusty. Rusty? That’s it? Rusty? I was looking for a paramount problem. In fact, I have been blaming myself for using too much electricity. I thought maybe the house wasn’t designed to run a washing machine at the same time as a refrigerator and geyser. But it was rust, an age old problem in the world of metal.

I hope your Thanksgivings were all grand. Ours was scrumptialicious. I ate so much of Bec’s Harvest Stuffing that it totally gave me a carb hangover the next day. We had Thanksgiving number one on the Friday before t-giving and Thanksgiving number two on the Saturday afternoon after t-giving. I was very thankful to have two groups of people to celebrate with.

Within the last week Freedom Firm has rescued 19 girls, and as I write this as they are doing another raid. All so exciting. So thankful.

The Second Thanksgiving

The First Thanksgiving

I was asked to go into James’ class last week and talk about Christmas in America. I was a bit stumped at first. Not knowing really where to go with it, the previous week another mom came in and talked about an Australian Christmas. She talked about having a candlelight service on the beach, because its summer during Christmas in Australia. So, I talked about snow, and how the tradition of snow was a part of my memory of celebrating Jesus’ birth. I know, geographically speaking, it would be different all over the States, but I showed them where Minnesota is on the map and had them all say Minnesota. I taught them how to make snowflakes from folding paper and cutting little bits out and then unfolding it. I showed them how to do it and they thought I was so magical. And then I read them a story about snow and then we frosted sugar cookies. It was so fun. And it helped the missing of a Minnesota Christmas.

Yum-A-Dum-Dum

2010-11-17T09:59:00.008-06:00

None of the following photos fit anywhere in the blog itself, but they are part of our last few weeks.

Sydney squeezing into Jovie's pjs.

Cross country at Hebron is a big deal. All three Palm kiddos participated.

James was a panther at his friend Samuel's birthday party.

James in the bath...getting off the black "washable" Crayola marker wasn't so easy.

The following pics are all of the Hebron event where everyone is supposed to come dressed up in "past" or "future" costumes.

It’s raining right now. Been raining for the last 12 1/2 years. Not really, but feels like it. That’s my weather report from Ootacamund, India. Weather Girl, signing out.

Did you know that if you Google “Peter Pan” and “Robin Hood”, their cartoon images come out practically the same? James and I were arguing over if the figurine he wanted to bring to school was Robin Hood or Peter Pan. I was sure it was Peter Pan and he was sure that it was Robin Hood. We were both right. Google it. It’s very weird. I have been thinking about it ever since. Riveting Story Girl, signing out.

There were no fireworks last week with Jayson being gone. It was the tail end of Diwali, the festival of lights, so there actually were fireworks, but none in our own home. Other than the let down of not having a good story to pass on, it was actually so good to not feel anxious with Jayson leaving, no drama. In his last 3-4 trips, drama. Now it’s easy peasy lemon squeezy folks. Progress people. Progress Girl, signing out. (Are we all having fun with my new “signing out” mantra?)

There was a group in from North Carolina last week. They were here to do an intensive workshop with Ruhamah, the micro-enterprise that the rescued girls work for. They brought buckets of supplies, ideas, energy, and encouragement. At the end of their week they had a jewelry/card party and invited friends of Freedom Firm and other townies. They sold loads. It was great to see how proud and accomplished the girls looked as they watched the general public “ooh” and “ahh” over their work, seeing some real-life reward for their efforts and hard work. I am so thankful that this team came and used the creative gifts that they have been given, then giving those talents to the girls. Thank you Grace Church team!

Another fun note was that on the team was a good friend of Jayson’s from his university days, Devon. She also took pictures at our wedding. And during our wedding weekend, I spent all of two seconds chatting with her. So, her and I had great time of connecting and it was such a treat to spend time with someone who has a history with our family.

(Now a bit from Jayson) Before visiting the Pune office last week, I knew there were some rough patches that needed to be smoothed out, and I was looking forward to walking through this with the team there. And that’s what we did. My favorite conversation was a team building exercise with the director and the head of aftercare. They are two incredible leaders who approach leadership from two very different perspectives. This can either be an asset or a barrier, and we started the conversation about how it can regularly be a benefit to the office. I also had the surprise privilege of being around after the Investigations Team returned late one evening with undercover footage of a minor girl they had found that evening in a brothel. The next morning I was able to sit and listen as the team strategized about how best to rescue her. To be completely honest, it was thrilling to be a fly on the wall in those moments!

Okay people, we are celebrating Thanksgiving this Friday. A little early, but celebrating it to the core! I am going to attach my yum-a-dum-dum Oatmeal Pecan Pie recipe. I will stick my neck out there and say that you may have just a wee bit better Thanksgiving if you partake in this scrumpalicious pie. Note: I am not a pecan pie lover, really I am not. So, I dare you to make it and see if it brings tears to your eyes. Obnoxious Oatmeal Pecan Pie Maker Girl, signing out.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)

• Cooking spray

• 1 cup packed dark brown sugar

• 1 cup light corn syrup

• 2/3 cup regular oats

• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

• 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°.

Roll dough into an 11-inch circle. Fit into a 9-inch pie plate coated with cooking spray. Fold edges under; flute.

Combine brown sugar and remaining ingredients, stirring well with a whisk. Pour into prepared crust. Bake at 325° for 50 minutes or until center is set. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Taken from CookingLight.com.

The Typical "Ooh,ooh, ahh, ahh" Sound

2010-11-02T11:00:00.004-05:00

A great day swimming at Jungle Retreat with four other families... and cows... and goats.

This morning as the kids and I were walking up the path to school, a family of monkeys walked across the path, they said good morning and invited us over for tea... hmm, just kidding. Instead, they screeched at us. Did the typical “ooh-ooh, ahh-ahh” sound. They are so cliché. I did wait, though, until the family behind us caught up to us, and walked with them. I do not have any energy to look tough in front of my kids when it comes to monkeys. Later in my morning, two birds flew into the house, sat on one of the tops of our windows and then proceeded to poop... on my floor. And then they flew back out. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with both experiences. Are the animals planning to have some sort of siege on us? This is what I have been thinking about today.

This weekend we pulled off the Sisters Conference. Around 275 students, staff and speakers were able to come. We held it at a local boarding school, St. Hilda’s. It was such a fun weekend. Lots of energy from the girls, and diverse and applicable topics were discussed. One of my favorite sessions was about love and arranged marriages and being single. Two women each represented the “love”, “arranged” marriages and being single. A lot of the girls present will be in arranged marriages in a few years, and very little is usually talked about in the way of what to expect. One of the panelists didn’t meet her husband until the day she got married. Whoa Nellie I say, whoa Nellie. They all talked candidly about some of the more sensitive issues surrounding the topic and I felt really grateful to be able to listen to their stories. I especially loved the fact that regardless if they were single or not, or how they got to their wedding day, they all had joys and they all had pain. It brought the gap a little closer.

I was kind of waiting all weekend for something major to happen in the way of catastrophe. And nothing really did. The closest thing we came to was on Saturday night after a BBQ, bonfire and karaoke, we had packed all the students up to go home and a few of the staff had been sitting around with a cup of tea for about half an hour. And the husband of one of the volunteers came in the room and said, “Do you know that there are a bunch of girls in the forest?” Umm, no, we didn’t know that. Bec jumped up to see who they were, and yes, they had been sitting in the forest for 40 minutes waiting for their bus. We sorted it all out pretty quickly, but good grief.

I am really delighted to be a part of the whole process of putting on this conference. Like I said before, and it was said time and time again by Indian nationals this weekend, that conferences like these do not happen for teenage girls here. And being the main detail person was kind of big deal for me. There were other people definitely helping in the details, but I was kind of the buck stops here. Which, to be perfectly honest, is a bit scary because at the end of the day sometimes I don’t have patience for the nitty-gritty details. But, being the buck stops, as far as details, is pretty great in India. The expectations are more relaxed, which is just, well, more relaxing.

So, what’s on the horizon this week for us? Well, there is a group coming from the States to put on a week-long workshop for the aftercare girls. I have enjoyed helping them get prepared to come and look forward to meeting them on Saturday. They are also bringing pecans so I can make an oatmeal- pecan pie for Thanksgiving. I humbly admit that my oatmeal-pecan pie is the best in the whole wide world. Jayson has a trip up to Pune soon. He will be doing some staff development and strategic planning. I also need to organize my kid’s closets. I humbly admit that I cannot keep their closets - or mine for that matter - clean for 24 hours. But this week, they will look tidy... for about 24 hours.

“OOTY BUS, OOTY BUS, OOTY BUS”

2010-10-20T10:52:00.006-05:00

Just outside our window on the taxi ride to Bangalore.

Good evening. I am yawning uncontrollably right now. I wonder if you all yawned when you read that. Kind of like when you see someone yawning, and then you automatically yawn. Wouldn’t it be great if I passed on a yawn half a world away? Okay, maybe not amazing. But noteworthy. If you yawned, could you post it in the comments? My research is sure to be pretty scientific. Okay, now that I have almost spent a whole paragraph on yawning, I will try to make a lively transition. To waken us all up.

This past weekend, I went up to Pune with Bec and seven students from St. Hilda’s School and Hebron. We met her sister Debbie there, who currently lives in Pune. We wanted to take a crew of girls there to partner with the Sisters conference that is coming up in a week and a half. The goal of the trip was to broaden the knowledge base of the students on different social issues (HIV/AIDS, training centers for homeless youth, trafficking, meeting with the police commissioner, etcetera). The girls either interviewed staff or interacted with people at the different sites. They will take these experiences and be the “main speakers” for the social justice session during the conference. I went up on Saturday and came home Monday night. The rest of the crew is staying until Friday.

The girls on the balcony of the boarding school where we stayed.

The seven girls represented five different countries.

The lab at the HIV/AIDS clinic we visited.

Training stations for youth wanting to get jobs at car factories.

Let me tell you some of the more memorable moments... Interacting with students for the first time in probably four years (for those of you that don’t know, I was involved in youth work for about a decade, up until I had Sydney). That was such a big part of my life before. We had some meaningful conversations, as well as some good laughs. Another memorable time was going to my first movie in India. That was so fun. Also, I was opening my car door and didn’t look to the left and silly me knows that two wheelers can go between the sidewalk and the car... but I did not check and totally rammed the door into a passing scooter, not injuring the guys, but definitely tipping them over. Can you believe it? I tipped them over. Let me tell you how awful I felt. And so embarrassed. Moving on, my face is getting red just thinking about it... It was really incredible watching the students, in a very mature way, interview adults and engage in the social issues at hand (good eye contact, quite articulate, good non-verbals).

So, let me share with you another story of my travels. I flew from Pune to Bangalore Monday night. Then, I was to catch a 10:15 p.m. overnight bus to Ooty, getting in early Tuesday morning. Now, I could tell you that I was all breezy about going to the Bangalore bus stand at 10 o’clock at night and catching a bus. But then, I would be lying. I definitely had to put my big girl pants on and just do it. The fare was $8 U.S. dollars, comparatively to a car which is about $75. So, I got a bus from the airport to the bus stand, no problem. Found the platform that my bus was to come to, no problem. The bus didn’t come until 11:30, no problem. Bus came, gave the ticket to the driver, my ticket was for the next night, problem. No more seats left on the bus, problem. At this moment, I could have tried to pull myself together and talk rationally to these kind men. But I didn’t, I cried. I couldn’t help myself, people. In the big spectrum of life, not a big deal. But I was tired and overwhelmed and I simply just let it go. So, the driver was a bit startled by my reaction, looked at me as if my water just broke and I was going into labor and what in the world was he going to do with me. He told me that he did have a seat for me, but it was the seat that they usually don’t give to passengers. I didn’t care. Give it to me! But I needed to pay 400 rupees, and I freakin’ didn’t have it. I had 300 rupees though. No go. At this time everyone was getting anxious to get going. The driver told me to go to the office and get my ticket refunded, he said he would wait. I felt suspicious of that fact, but I went for it anyway. I flew up there and in a very broken conversation tried to tell the ticket guy my issue. Within moments, there were probably a dozen men surrounding me, giving me advice, all with very little English. After a time, they finally figured out what I needed, gave me a refund, and I flew back down to the platform. There was no bus going to Ooty in sight. So, in a bewildered and very loony way, just started yelling “OOTY BUS, OOTY BUS, OOTY BUS,” very loudly. And one of the traffic people heard me and told me to follow him and we ran after the bus, finally got to the moving door, tapped on it, and showed him that I had the money. I am pretty sure that he thought I was a serious nut case. But I got on the bus and found my seat. My seat was in the very back, in the middle of a block of five seats, and I think the reason they never sell that one to anyone is that the reclining feature of this particular seat never locks. So on every speed-bump, slow-down, speed-up, or curvy-curve, the seats moves up and down. It’s pretty much a constant roller coaster. But I didn’t really care my friends, because I was on my “OOTY BUS.”

The bus station...pre-meltdown.

****You may be wondering how the ticket mishap happened and why I didn’t catch it. Well there is no clear reason, just that between the four people that were handling the ticket, the dates got switched somewhere. It really doesn’t matter. And I never know the date of the month, so I am complete loser in that category.

Pot Roast Dinner in the Car

2010-10-09T12:10:00.007-05:00

The most beat-up package we've yet received. (Thank you Askers, it was fantastic nonetheless!)

Photos from Ani's first trail ride

Sydney's had a bit of a cold

Jovie wasn't crying in this photo. She's all "cold" as well.

Gather around while I tell you a tale that is unforgettable. That was my sentence that was supposed to grab you, did it? It actually is a tale about forgetting. Within a course of two days, we found out that we skipped right over Mike, our new brother-in-law’s, birthday; I got all mixed up with Sammy’s and David’s birthday (I have been giving gifts to them for about a decade); and I congratulated Betsie on getting married, finding out that I was about a month off. I was very teary when I realized all my blunders, because here’s the twisted deal that goes on in my mind about me being here (here being India). If I am at least present enough in people’s lives, whether it’s emails, phone calls, gifts, notes, blogs, etc... then I won’t be forgotten. And within the course of a few days, I was ridiculously not present. Now, my mind, when it comes to birthdays and such, is not as sharp as a tack. One would think that I would set up some very easy reminders, such as, hmmm... a calendar. I go in waves with calendars. This year, I do not have one going. I don’t know why, I just don’t. So, usually, with my cat-like sensory skills, I pick up on lines that give me clues about upcoming events. But here, I miss the clues. I miss lots of them. Sometimes I don’t always know what to do with all that I am missing.

Jovie is screaming wildly right now in bed, protesting the fate of sleep. I protest with staying up too late reading or watching a movie. I like my protest better.

Today our car wouldn’t start, which is surprising. The Car/Van/Can is surprisingly reliable. A mechanic came out to look at the car... rats had chewed on some very important wires I guess. The mechanic said that if we wouldn’t eat snacks in the car, that would help the rats not to chew on the wires. Okay. It’s not like we eat a pot roast dinner in the car, it’s crackers, chips or cut-up fruit. You try having four kids and not having car snacks. I dare you. The car still isn’t running great, I had this flash of fear while I was driving today, that a rat was scrambling around in the motor and since I practically sit on the motor, that a rat would take a chomp out of my rear. It’s not unheard of you know. When I was growing up, we once had family of mice scrambling around in the van... So, you can understand my fears, right?

Yesterday, we took in two boarders. JJ and Snowball. They are cute. They also have fleas. Do fleas bother humans? Or do they just bother animals? I need to figure out how to get rid of the fleas. Anyway, my eldest is an animal lover. So, kittens it is. I haven’t started sneezing yet, maybe kitten dander isn’t as lethal... I know nothing really. I about wet myself yesterday trying to chase down JJ as he darted around our bedroom. It took me half an hour trying to snatch him up. Half an hour of life, snap, just gone, because of a two pound creature.

Meet JJ and Snowball

Bec told me that I could tell you a sweet story of generosity. First, an important side note. Often in India, instead of people saving money in the bank, they buy gold jewelry and when they want to take out a loan, they give the gold to the bank and the bank gives them as much cash as the gold is worth, and when they have the money back, they take it to the bank and get their jewelry back. Now back to the story. Bec’s husband Glen is looking for a job, and has been looking for the last few months. Well, the family that works for Bec and Glen at their home, took them aside last week and told them that they had taken all their gold jewelry to the bank, cashed it in, and wanted to lend that money (about 50,000 rupees, which is about $1100 U.S. dollars) to Bec and Glen until he finds a job. The family that works for them does not have running water in their house. Amazing.

A Handmade Wooden Ladder

2010-09-30T11:28:00.009-05:00

Jovie, on my lap, eating her breakfast. The morning routine.

Hello friends. It’s Thursday night. All is quiet at the Palm house. Today, James puked in class, on our doorstep, in our bed and then in a bucket. Poor buddy. James told me that he feels like his stomach is backwards. Good description. Speaking of my children and descriptions, lend me your ear for a moment whilst I tell you Ani’s (who is seven) spelling list. I am sure I will be amazed for years to come at what my children are learning in class, but this spelling list, while it may be normal for seven year olds in today’s world, I tell you that I just learned how to spell these words last year. Here we go.

Vegetable
Valuable
Reliable
Probable
Portable
Terrible
Horrible
Invisible
Possible
Impossible
Responsible
Sensible

Now, I know there is a major theme/pattern going on here, but still, what happened to this list for seven year olds?

Dog
Cat
Mom
Dad
Bat
Ball

Or even,

Apple
Duck
Egg
Sock
Rope

Oh well, what’s a mom to do, especially a mom who loves “spell check.”

So, yesterday, I took the following much celebrated pictures - the telephone repairman putting up our new phone line. So, as of four o’clock yesterday, we had internet again. So, so great. At eight o’clock last night, a storm rolled in, and lightening hit our phone line and fried our modem. What? WHAT? Do you remember this same thing happening last spring? When our modem finally got fixed, after weeks, and then a big bus with too much luggage strapped to the top came and clipped our telephone line, the very same day. Anyway, but I can’t expect too much dear friends. I don’t mean to disrespect India with that statement, but the reality, at least in Ooty, is that what we try to do with modern technology, really pushes the limits here. And sometimes the limits get pushed too far. It’s the marriage between India’s simplicity and its desire to welcome the demands of modern technology. Oftentimes it simply doesn’t work. The guy who came to fix our telephone walked up to the house with the telephone line wrapped around his shoulder - like we do with Christmas lights. When they were hanging the new line, the guy used a hand-made wooden ladder to get up our tree, because our tree is sort of proxy telephone pole. So, when our internet busts, it helps to remember that most of the people in this country do not have running water in their homes. It’s really important for me to remember that.

Here he is. Bag of phone line over his shoulder.

And here are his two helpful helpers. Note the phone line just behind them at Sydney's "head level." It's not normally like that.

Again, phone line right past the door and above the deck chairs.

And there it is, the handmaid wooden ladder. Note the broken step in the following picture.

Oh me, oh my, dear friends. What to do? What to do?

The Back of Katie Couric's Head

2010-09-23T10:57:00.010-05:00

Our bashful Ani at Mike and Mel's wedding.

You can see all the wedding photos on our Facebook page - click here.

I feel like I am sitting in a glass house currently. All of our curtains are off and in the wash, trying to get the damp smell to skitter skatter away. So with all of our windows, it’s all a bit eerie. Not being able to see out, since its black as tar outside, but anyone, anything can see in. Yikes!

Eerie, huh?

Seriously eerie.

So, it’s true confessions time. Are you ready? Here we go. I kind of go a little bananas when I know someone famous is within reach. Like, I think about it all the time. Try to go out of my way to see him or her. Talk about it with other people, etc., etc. A few years back, I was on Nantucket Island at my dear friend Ruth’s wedding, and I saw the back of Katie Couric’s head. And it made my day. I think the whole famous people thing started back in the day of New Kids on the Block. I loved them, heart and soul. And at any cost, I would see them in concert when they were within reach. Since then, it doesn’t matter if I know them or not, I get all excited inside. So, this week, the Prime Minister of Tamil Nadu’s (the state that we live in) son came to town. Who he is and what he stands for, I know not...but there was much pomp built up to welcome the kind sir. They had major road blocks, loads and loads of police around, etc... So, I had the funny, excited feeling inside of me when I knew the guy was near. I am completely ridiculous and slightly embarrassed. But there you have it folks. I did snap some photos of the festivities while I was driving... not always preferable in the safety category, but completely necessary to help convey my excitement.

Note the pomp. Lot's of pomp.

We went to the dentist on Saturday. Five checkups, two teeth cleaning, two cavities filled (one of the them was my four year old, all my fault), one enamel work, one glaze type thing to protect the teeth, and one trainer (to help pull Ani’s front two teeth together) - all for $80. You really can’t beat it. Granted, not everyone would think having your dental work done in India is desirable, but alas, you can’t win them all. The dentist was great, but my favorite part of the visit was when she asked me if I felt my teeth were wearing out. Its hard to know how to answer that one. But I must admit that there must be a better way of asking that question to a patient. Anyway, she gave me something called Tooth Mousse, and said that it would help my teeth not to wear out, whatever that means. I have no idea what it is, if you do, could you tell me?

Brings a tear to my eye, Sydney's first cavity. All my fault.

I don’t think I ever told you about the washing machine/dryer repairman that almost stole three of my Ziplocs. No, I am sure I didn’t. Sounds like quite a story though, doesn’t it? So, when our dryer was broken right when we got back to India, the repairman was packing up his stuff and I went to go pay him and he was taking my brand new Ziplocs out their container and storing his stuff in them. I was so baffled. I said, “Are you stealing my Ziplocs?” and he said, “No stealing madam, just taking.” Oh, okay, that makes sense then. I then proceeded to make him give them all back. It wasn’t the fact that he was snatching my precious Ziplocs - lovingly sent from the States - it was more the principle of the matter. I told him, that if he would have asked, I would have totally given them to him. It was all a bit bizarre, and I wasn’t sure that I handled it correctly. So, fast forward to today. When he came to fix the washing machine, I kind of tried to schmooze him a bit, trying to make him feel better. Not that he probably cared, but I did. This was me in this afternoon... “Sir, would you like water? Tea? How about some lunch? No, sir, I don’t mind that I am paying you entirely too much to fix my washing machine that shouldn’t be broken in the first place.” Etcetera, etcetera. Probably overkill, but hey, I tried to clean up the whole Ziploc mess.

I am going to attach or at least somehow show you all the Sisters Conference brochure for the conference that I am a part of planning. I think it will give you all a better idea of what we are working on.

Click on either image below to see/read the Sisters Conference brochure I've been helping with.

Let me tell you about Gouri Tamang, the thirteen year old who testified against a major brothel keeper Tuesday. She is a Nepali girl who was rescued by Freedom Firm two years ago. Yes, at eleven years old. We flew her in for her court date (Monday) with no guarantee it would even happen. Monday came, the defense was “sick” and didn’t show, so the date was moved to Tuesday. Somehow everyone showed up on Tuesday and she testified brilliantly. We were so proud of her. Now she is back in Nepal, after being treated to some of the fun side of Pune by our staff before her flight, and we’ll patiently await the judge’s decision over the next few months.

That’s it for now folks. Grace and peace to you all as you move into your weekend.

This Cow Was Galloping

2010-09-13T22:42:00.004-05:00

Ya gotta love pictures like these.

I love this girl!

Josephine puts out the laundry sometimes and as I stepped outside to take the laundry off the line, this made it on my list of favorites; the beautiful flower surrounded by our family's underwear.

I went for a walk on Saturday, and this is what I saw.

It’s Monday, September 13, 2010. This blog is written in two parts. The latter part was written last Thursday, and the next few paragraphs were written, well, right now. Right now being, Monday, September 13, 2010. I need to put on the broken record again, but our internet and washing machine are out again. What’s a girl to do around here? Along with the Shout Stain Remover, could you also please send me new internet and a new washing machine? Thank you.

So, it was a pretty festive weekend. Ramadan just ended and it’s party central around here. Lots of people coming in on big ol’ buses. When we were in Europe, I thought that I had seen lots of coach/bus travel. But, I think India has all of Europe beat. One interesting note about when people travel together here, it’s usually packs of men, and I mean packs, or sometimes families. You may see an all girls school tour going on occasionally, but mainly it’s just lots of men. That mostly has to do with it being quite inappropriate, at least in the south, for men and women to spend much time together outside of marriage.

Again at the dinner table tonight we had another exhilarating conversation. It all started when James asked how he could become famous. I guess one of his friends at school is in a magazine, and obviously now she is “famous”. We discussed all the advantages and disadvantages of becoming famous. I think of all my kids, if one of them were to become famous, it would be Sydney. She’s pretty, umm, charismatic. On Saturday night, she did convince an eight year old boy to marry her and then kiss her. Oh my...

My famous girl.

Written, Thursday -

So, Saturday, Jayson and I went out for a little date-date. It wasn’t raining hard, only misting, so we went on his motorcycle. Believe it or not, it was my first time on it. And it was fabulous. My most favorite part of the ride was when Jayson had to speed up to miss a cow that was heading straight for us. This cow was galloping, yes galloping I say... running away from his master, the master was running after him. And the cow was galloping on top of an embankment, and then all of the sudden took a dive for the road. And the cow was definitely bigger and stronger than the two of us on the motorcycle, so if we were to collide, the cow would have won. So, Jayson laid on the gas, and I could feel the cow’s breath on my back as we cruised by. Well done Jayson.

Tonight we had the Freedom Firm volunteers over - a lovely bunch of girls if I do say so myself. The volunteers that come over must commit to at least three months. They work day in and day out with the girls. Some of them also have come to work in the Horse Therapy program. One of the extra bonuses (or is it bonus), anyway, let’s go with bonuses, is that my kids always love all the volunteers. It’s one of their favorite nights of the week. I feel grateful, on so many levels, for these and all the past volunteers that have come to work with Freedom Firm.

The wonderful Freedom Firm volunteers.

Finding the Funny

2010-09-01T10:34:00.004-05:00

Happy September 1, from these bathing beauties.

My #1 mom goal this year is to go until mid-term break without a single stain on James' school shirts. But it requires a lot of time and Shout stain removal, which they don't sell here in India, so could someone please send me some more Shout?

A bit of our pantry, just in case you're interested to see the Indian labels

Happy September 1, 2010, people. September. It’s the time of year here, here being India, that we have chances of sun. It’s wonderful. Vitamin D peeking its little head out. I was able to put three loads of wash on the line. None of it really dried fully, but dried to damp and then a little finish-finish in the dryer. I know, I know, you love it when I talk about my laundry. Two weeks in a row. I hope I am not seeing a pattern here.

The poinsettia tree. Who knew that it was not just a small plant at Christmas?

Does anybody know if this is lemon basil? It smells a little lemony, a little basily.

Anyway, I feel a bit lighter this week folks. Last week, a bit down. Let’s blame it on the rain, yeah, yeah - You gotta blame it on somethin’. Finding the funny in my days again. For example, at dinner tonight, the kids were talking about secret passageways around the world - to Ireland, to England, to Horseland. And then I mistakenly told them about the Chunnel. That being sort of, kind of, a secret passageway. Boy, I should have never opened the big can of Chunnel. Because for the next 30 minutes, the kids all tried to figure out how they built the Chunnel. Let’s just say it was a bit mind numbing.

Last night, I actually went out after dark. It’s a very rare experience here. First of all, I hate walking in the dark. I am afraid that I will kick a rat. Not like they’re running wildly all over, but I do hear them whilst I walk to and fro. Secondly, I hate driving in the dark. Street lights are few and far between. The narrow roads seem narrower. The near misses of hitting other cars seem more frightening. And there are lots of nighttime walkers that one day I feel as if I am going to give them a little bump while driving. But there was a meeting of the minds that was calling to me and I braved the night and just did it. Hooray.

So the meeting of the minds was about a conference that my friend Bec is initiating, along with her sister Debbie. Bec and her husband Glen are the ones that really held our hands 24/7 as we tried to sort through living here. Bec also, besides holding my hand, can really convince you of almost anything. I swear she could convince you that it would be okay to buy someone’s dirty underwear. Okay, I am digressing. Anyway, Bec has a huge heart for Indian women - Indian teenage girls specifically. So she, along with several others women, are trying to pull of a conference for teenage girls in Ooty come late October. They have invited about 400 girls from eight boarding schools in the area. Girls in India often get the raw end of the deal. There are few, if any, conferences for teenage girls in India. Here is a little snippet from the brochure, “The mission of ‘Sisters’ is to enable teenage girls to face the challenges of growing into womanhood with confidence and maturity. ‘Sisters’ empowers these girls to contribute their gifts and talents to help one another and to provide solutions to the failings of the status quo.” So, I hope to keep you all in the know of how the conference planning goes.

The meeting of the minds.

In other India news, three more brothel keepers were convicted to time in prison, which makes six total in FF’s four years. Two more girls were also rescued from brothels in Pune, both on the same raid two weeks ago. At the same time, our operatives have located a number of other girls who have not been rescued because they’ve either been moved or the police aren’t cooperating. One of these girls gave us amazing information about her trafficker, including a photo. We’re all praying that soon these girls will be rescued and that this trafficker will also be found and convicted.

So, I do need to give a shout out...to us. Us being Jayson and Tarrah Palm. You have got to love when you can give a shout out to yourself. Anyway, we celebrate our ninth anniversary tomorrow. We will celebrate it with our four darling children and the Freedom Firm volunteers and single staff. Pretty hot stuff, eh?

Happy Anniversary to us. Don't you love that I totally told you all it is our anniversary?

I wish you a wonderful start to your September and bid you farewell for now.