Oh What Fun.

 This is a short documentary of my favorite things from the past few weeks...  

 This is me, trying to explain the game Pin the Tail on the Donkey to the GNO kids.  They all stood in stone cold silence, and as far as I could tell, they thought I was a total whackadoo.  It was if I could actually read their minds, "you want me to pin a what on a what?"  My enthusiasm could not be extinguished.  We pressed on.  It only took one person to stray so far from that bourik's heiny, that the whole bunch began to cheer wildly, and we all began laughing so hard.   Not long after that, the adults even began taking turns.  So much fun.

We celebrated the 4th in style with a whole gaggle of Americans, Haitians, and Aussies.  We had burgers.  Real burgers, made from real beef (I think?).  My big girl made her Mama proud, and came up with this patriotic ensemble by herself.

This girl was just there for the unattended dessert table.

The evening concluded with real fireworks set off from the roof.  It was a little sketchy but no one lost a hand.  Before we went home, April forced us into a rousing rendition of the national anthem.  Thank you Salvants for throwing an amazing party!

I'm telling you, there are legitimate reasons why I always wanted a sister.  This kind of shenanigan is one of them. Stuck in traffic, these two are giggling like crazy ladies over their diaper hats.  It was so funny.

 We have been having GNO kids over to our house on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays for summer enrichment activities.  Something that is seriously lacking in Haitian school curriculum is hands on problem solving activities.  Because of that, we have been doing a lot of activities that require using problem solving skills.  We have been having a great time with the kids and hope that they love it too.

Dear Friends

In May when we were visiting Arizona, we had several difficult meetings with our church leadership.  After the two weeks in which the meetings took place, after much prayer, we made the tough decision to no longer partner with our church in ministry in Haiti.  We believe it was what needed to happen for the health of our family. 

This left us in the place of uncertainty.  At the point of returning to Haiti after our trip, we didn't feel like God was telling us that we were done in Haiti, and yet, we didn't know what to do.  We took the next month to pray, talk, seek counsel, and wait.  The options that we considered were to stay in Haiti only until October until our lease was up on our house or to seek additional financial support and commit to another year in Haiti beyond October.  During this month of waiting, we had an unexpected opportunity in ministry become an option for our family in the states.

After praying and assessing the feedback we received from our supporters, among several other factors, we have decided to return to the U.S.  To make the transition as smooth as possible, we would like Noah and Mylie to be able to start the school year at the beginning with their classmates, pushing our move date up to August.

It grieves us to leave thirty amazing children whom we love, truly love.  This is the absolute most difficult part of this decision.  The "orphan crisis" in Haiti is personal to us.  It goes beyond knowing the name of an orphan.  At GNO, we know when they are happy, or when they feel sad.  We know what they want to be when they grow up, and who is most likely to be ornery.  We don't want any of them to be orphans, we want them each to know the love of a family, biological or adoptive.  More importantly, we want nothing else more for them, than for each one to know their value and preciousness to our Lord and Savior.

Frankly, we don't fully understand God's timing, and we battle moments of feelings of defeat and failure.  Yet, we feel optimistic for where God is leading us to serve Him next.  When we originally made the decision to move to Haiti, we surrendered our own plan.  We always said we were willing to stay in Haiti for as long as God wanted us here, granted we thought that would be longer, but we are still trying to be obedient to God's plan.

Thank you, truly, for praying for our family and encouraging us along the way.  We know that we did not do this alone, and that many people are part of this story.  As a family, we are seeking opportunities for future ministry, and are actively seeking God's will.

Sincerest thanks,
Gary, Michaela, Noah, Mylie, and Presley Krull 

Heard Around the House: June 2013

Noah, on Moto drivers (motorcyle drivers for hire):  

Moto drivers always look so cool.  You can't stick a nerd on one of those things, it's just not possible.

Noah's bedtime commentary:  

"When I have a wife, and it's summer time and she says 'I'm hot', I'll be like, 'You're always hot.'  I know it's disrespectful to say a girl is hot, but not if it's your wife.  I'm not going to be all kissy kissy and 'hey babe' with my wife, cause that's just not my style.  Like you and Dad.  Maybe a funny nickname, but then I'll just be like, 'Hi.'  Not all mushy and junk."

 Haiti on Ice... c'mon, that's just funny

 Gary, burning his big ole' pile of dried mango leaves.  He is so pleased with himself.

Singin, and dancin', in the rain.

Back in the Saddle

Some thoughts on our first week home in Haiti...

*  Our house became infested with spiders.  Straight up Arachnaphobia up in here.  They took up residence in every conceivable space, such as inside my rain boots, across every doorway (yes, I got a web to the face as I walk into one room), and in all the cooking pots.  Let the shuddering begin.

*  The roads got worse.  I'm pretty sure it isn't just my imagination and five weeks of driving on well maintained asphalt that is playing mind tricks.  I'm blaming the rain for washing away at least 9% of our drivable roads.

*  It does not seem as hot.  I mean it is hot, and very sweaty, but I'm not dying.  Many Arizona friends have tried to comiserate alongside us... but I have news for those Arizona cry babies:  Just go inside to your air conditioned homes and places of business if you're so darn hot outside.  It is not apples to apples when a country doesn't really have air conditioning or consistent power.  Meanwhile, I'll be hot everywhere, except in our car.  That sweet ride has air.

*  My reunion with mosquito bites was not as joyous as one might expect.

*  The GNO kids were glad to see us, like running and jumping, and shouting as we rolled in.  I'm glad they missed us as much as we missed them.

*  Today Woodley, a nine year old boy from Good Neighbor, was wearing a shirt that said, "Who are all these children and why are they calling me mom?"  It made me smile.  I'm still kicking myself for not getting a picture.

*  We've used our generator three times in four days.  I am still ever so grateful each time we fire that bad boy up.  I will never take him for granted.

*  Our neighbor, Ginette, owns a little tiny shop near our house.  This is our preferred stop to buy Haitian Coke in glass bottles.  If you've never had a Haitian Coke in a glass bottle, you are missing out. When Gary stopped over yesterday to buy us some cokes for the "After the Children Have Gone to Bed Happy Hour", she was so excited to see him and started spewing forth excited Kreyol.  Gary gathered she was happy to see him and wondered how Michaela and the kids were.  I will gladly stop over to see her tomorrow.  She has the greatest smile, and treats us so kindly.  

The Mitten

Time spent in The Mitten with our Michigan family and friends was wonderful.  I may or may not have fallen in love with Grand Rapids, Mi.  The Crazies continued their love affair with basements.  They have severe basement envy, especially of Uncle Michael and Aunt Leeshy Poo's.    Noah's dream home will inevitably include a basement.  Lucky for them, everyone they know in Michigan has one.  They spent a lot of time underground.

Highlights:

*  Baby Jan!  The kids' one and only cousin who also happens to be the world's cutest toddler
*  Bacon cheesy dogs a la' Uncle Michael
*  Grand Haven beach
*  Ice cream and Pronto Pups corndogs with The Longs
*  Riding on the ranger at Grandpa and Grandma's (Presley called it the "Power Ranger")
*  Lunch with the extended Krull family
*  Spending time with Aunties, Uncles, and Grandparents
*  Spending the weekend with some of the greatest friends on earth
*  Almost daily Starbucks
*  Grandma's fish fry
*  Fishing (Gary's highlight, not mine ;)
*  Basements, obviously.

Stats on Eleven Years

Today we celebrated eleven years of marriage.  I love being married to Gary.  Here are some statistics of our history.

Anniversary date night #11

18+:  Number of months of friendship while I secretly pined and plotted to make him mine

224: Number of days of dating
60:  Number of days as an engaged couple

4,015: Number of days of Marriage so far

3:  Number of Crazies that we have birthed

4:  Number of local moves

1:  Number of international moves

4: Number of emergency room visits

2:  Number of losses of loved ones 

6:  Number of job changes
0:  Number of times I have ever not wanted to be married to this particular man

Heard Around the House: May 2013

*U.S.A. Edition*

Presley, with wide eyes:  Mom, what is this?????

Me:  This is Target.

Presley:  I like Target.  I love Target.

Me: Yes yes, me too.

Mylie, when asked by family friend Julie where her shoes are while running past her at church:  "They're over there, it's okay, my feet don't hurt, I'm Haitian."