SOS Childrens Home

I spent the day with a church group that brought presents to all these cute little kids!

New Years Day

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone back home has an amazing and wonderful Christmas!

More pictures

Aren't the kids cute!

The happenings

November went by quickly and uneventful. We went to the beach at least once a week—I have quite a tan (and some pretty tan lines) now! I spent a whole week in pants and my sweatshirts though when the weather turned cold. It was probably around 50˚ and pouring down rain. The skies stayed gray and I was sure I was back in Oregon but then the sun broke through. In the aftermath of the storm thousands of mosquitoes were hatched and they all found great feeding grounds on my legs. Thanksgiving came, and I was set on having at least mashed potatoes (instant!) and stuffing (Stovetop!) to make up for the feast I was missing back home. It was good, but just not the same (could be the missing turkey and gravy).

This month has pretty much been the same as the last. We do laundry one day a week—and its and all day chore. Leon sorts the clothes and washes them, I rinse, and we both take turns wringing them out and hanging them on the line. Because we still have no internet, we usually go to the library at least once a week to check email. My fingers are still crossed that we will get the internet soon…like before February! In the middle of December, Leon’s friend Miguel came down for his twin sister’s wedding. Leon was part of the wedding party too. The day of the wedding came and I rushed Leon to get ready so we could be to the wedding on time—we were told it would start at two in the afternoon. We got to the church right as the clock hit 2, and wouldn’t you know it, we were first to arrive. Over an hour later, the rest of the wedding party began to arrive, and the wedding started almost and hour and a half later.

I made it!

My alarms rang—I set the alarm clock, my phone, the TV, and had a wake-up call—and I was off! By five a.m. my bags were checked and I was waiting at my gate, macaroon in one hand and a bottle of water in the other. Both connections were very easy...I slept through my first flight, and my second I played Scrabble and visited with an old man who was heading back to Jamaica for a visit. A little girl and boy in front of me were flirting all through the flight, laughing and giggling whenever I would smile. After a little bit of turbulence flying around a thunderstorm, the pilot brought us down in Montego Bay with quite a few bumps and jolt.

I rushed off the plane and raced through the long, un-air-conditioned hallways to beat the lines in customs. I finally made it to an agent, and then my troubles started. She asked me all kinds of questions, wanted to see our marriage certificate, and then had me go to the help desk and call Leon. No one in his family answered, but luckily Leon called back and she finally stamped my passport. I headed for the baggage claim area, collected my huge 70 pound bags and proceeded to get in the wrong line. Whoops! I got in the correct line and hefted my bag onto the table so the woman could search it. Thankfully, she just asked what was in the second bag onto the table and then sent me on my way. I dragged my bags out of the building into the humid tropical air and past all the taxi drivers asking where I’m going. Surprisingly, Leon is there before I even start looking for him (Jamaican time usually means you’re waiting for at least ten minutes before your ride is there). My flight was over 20 minutes early, so Leon was able to meet me at the airport before work, and his brother Dwayne drove me home.

On Sunday, the whole family headed out to Granville to go to Leon’s great-aunts funeral. We were late, and every couple of minutes Rose (Leon’s mom) would call from the church asking where we were, and then “hurry up, but drive careful’. The service was very nice, but it was very hot inside the church, and I was very grateful every time the fan turned my way. After the service we headed to the graveside. We had gotten some jerk chicken (yum, yum!) and as we were eating we tossed the bones to the ground. Here comes mr. rooster and what does he do? He starts eating the chicken bones! Finally it was time to leave, but it was too late. I was already eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Find the criminals in your community!

For all y'all that just like to know who the criminals are in our small little piece of Oregon, here are some fun websites to check out:

Josephine County Inmates

Oregon Meth Labs by County

Oregon Sex Offenders Search

If you know of any more interesting websites, let me know!

My Celeb Stunt Doubles

I'm getting ready

My bags are open and the packing has begun! Only 26 days until my flight lifts off from the rainy blacktop of the Portland airport and lands in beautiful, sunny, humid Jamaica! What an adventure, although I'm still in the process of finding something to do for the three months I'm down there. I just found out we will have high speed access at his house, so I'm brainstorming right now. And rejoicing that I'll be able to stay in touch with all my family!