http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/stinamarie/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from stinamarie en-us Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:56:55 +0000 Thu, 31 Dec 2009 09:56:55 +0000 i've been finding myself unable to sleep through the night for the past two weeks. it is so weird. if i stay up past 9 or 930 which is always i have trouble.last night i think it's because i drank yerba mate and two cups of coffee after 4 or 5pm. some nights i think it's because i have too many blankets. most nights and i'm sure what's the real reason for this ridiculousness i know it's beca http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-269177.html peace all over mei am SO SICK from all the different american foods i ate the past couple days on the road trip. my mom and sisters stayed up until we got home which was fabulous. about four hours ago i was moaning and crying because i felt so sick and was scrunched up in the back seat even more than i was when i went on that minitour with dave mats matty and benv. ...and i called my mom c http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/California/blog-261443.html let me start off with this irsquom exhausted.in my heart in my immune system in my brain. i havenrsquot been away from matthew for more than a day in a long time. it was SO WEIRD not to be holding him last night. it really hit me around 930pm because thatrsquos usually when he is pretty active he babytalks and smiles and is really lively before his bottle and sleeping...also i think http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Utah/Salt-Lake-City/blog-261061.html it is so weird to be leaving. for the last two days i shopped for my fam and walked up and down the road through our community saying goodbye to people.my heart is so tired. and so am i.i didn't even sleep on tuesday night. i just stayed outside all night. went on the new trampoline for a little bit until the rain forced me to the front porch...i was just stuck in think mode.it is so sad that i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-260314.html neyo is standing on my lap as i write this...it's a copy of a myspace bulletin i posted a couple minutes ago...mat8203the8203w has8203 the8203 flu8203 tha8203t's8203 wha8203t's8203 bee8203n wro8203ng8203 EVE8203RYO8203NE'8203S bee8203n pas8203sin8203g it aro8203und8203 for8203 abo8203ut a mon8203th on thi8203s who8203le i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-257666.html just to update everyone matthew is getting better. looking a lot better talking a lot still really aware and making great eye contact...relying on his own hands to stare at a lot less and more solid doodoos and still spitting up a lot but i think it's closer to the normal amount now...umm he's just a really happy baby. earlier tonight michelle and i were talking about what it was like when he http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-257228.html So the Robin's Nest board decided at their recent meeting that it is now going to be mandatory for long term volunteers like myself to go through training before they come. This means I'm not going to be in Jamaica at the Nest from MaySeptember after all I'm really sad that I don't have another five months with the kids staff and our community and the students in our small church youth grou http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-255989.html I know that's a really weird blog title but my bathroom is infested with mosquitos and I have become the queen of killing them and I was just so surprised when I saw mating mosquitos on the wall.Anyways.Matthew is home...did I write that in my last blog...and he is doing much better. I know...I still haven't written much about him on here.n If I didn't explain it much before I'll just tell yo http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-255284.html Well. I should post something about the Matthew situation...I will probably just copy and paste emails I've already written about him. I'm making falafel and hummus right now but decided to post a lil entry while the batter was soaking.Today is a wonderfully mellow Saturday.Thank you to anyone who has donated. Sometimes I don't know who is donating how much or when so this is a general thank http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-254019.html well. maybe you can't even tell when i'm rushed...and i feel like that's how i start all my emails blog entries and such...right now in another browser window i'm finally adding pictures to myspace. i'm very excited for that hahai decided since i haven't updated very well on here and please excuse if i word things weird...i think it's from listening to people speak patwa and talking with two http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-246699.html some people are saying they can't even get on here to see my stuffi filled the gallery with 50 pictures. go see themi'm exhaustedi will start taking at least one day off a weeki love it herewe have lots of kids and babiesadoptions are going through slowly but surelyi've been at the hospital a lot lately with matthew.time at internet cafe is about to run out.keep in touch http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-243903.html because some fathers are sick and they molest their sons. i met a couple of those kind of sons tonight.and it breaks my heart.i know it's a sin to hate someone in your heart and i know that even a man like that could be forgiven...but it's too bad nobody is going after him with a dull machete.oh that sounds so awful of me to say. miss michelle is so strong for being able to take care of so many k http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-234177.html it's overcast and raining for the...i don't know 4th straight day maybe. everyone has been bundled up and we send the kids out to play and run around for a few minutes here when the rain lets up. there's supposed to be rain for i think 4 more days so says the forecast.we have more babies on the way.i'm realllllly missing having friends my own gender and age to talk with about life and the Bible http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-233744.html on christmas eve we were delivered some super fabulous stuff. a HUGE donation that will pay for an important building project we have going on...annnd...TWO INFANT BOYYYYYYSthey're not related but from the same hospital. one is a premature 18day old and the other is 5 days old. they are the same size. i'm holding one as i type right now and i'm also getting my hair braided by one of our http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-230358.html Where do I even beginI.LOVE.MY.LIIIIIIIIIFE.Hard times don't matter in comparison to the good times.What's interesting about that is I so cherish the times I'm feeling so low and so driven to the Lord.So I love both fun times and tough times.I am already so sad that I'm leaving Jamaica one day. I'm having these rich experiences and soaking them up feeling my heart grow as more people climb insi http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-228184.html other than anything good or fun i've written or thought of writing...because there is SO MUCH to say about the daily goings on of life here...i am going to copy and paste an email i just wrote to someone someone i hardly know but i just had to get it off my chest and i want everyone else to know it too. i'm going to say it's not really a big deal but really...it has been a big deal to me and i http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-227174.html i'm serious. martika who is five and up past her bedtime was in one of the bathrooms just now. when she came out i asked her what she was doing in there and to show me what she had done because she isn't supposed to play in the bathrooms clearly. she said like all jamaican children do my doodoo was comin' down so she took me in there and i had her flush the toilet and start to wash her h http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-226666.html I walked back to school after lunch with our last boy to finish eating...the kids at our school out here in the country have a pretty long break for lunch and when they're done eating they wait for the principal or teachers to return. So what do they do RACE No wonder so many of the kids are so lean and muscular looking. For at least a half hour they SPRINT back and forth across the huge law http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-225156.html Right now baby an I are cooing and kissing faces. Before I fed him I had to suck snot out of his nose because he couldn't really breathe and he has this awful cough...poor struggling baby. I was supposed to be in charge while the recent team of volunteers was here this week so that he wouldn't be exposed to even more germies...so one day I held him in the cloth baby wrap from 8something or 9AM http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-222267.html Already it is SO much better than it was last night. The main person I was struggling with from yesterday it seems miraculously changed over night. I'm serious. We've been talking all morning working on things together here and there. I FEEL like the cloud is gonethe weight has lifted.Last night I meant to tell a couple of funny stories from the past two days...When we were returning from ou http://www.travelblog.org/Central-America-Caribbean/Jamaica/Montego-Bay/blog-218231.html