Therefore Having Gone ...: We DO Like Spiders and Snakes

Just wanted to post a few pics from the last couple of weeks to show that life went on, even as some of us were under the weather. (By the way, thanks for the many prayers - I was able to complete a full day back at school last Friday and I'm feeling good heading into this new week!)

We got a package in the mail last week from our dear friends, the Bradburns. The box was packed with autumn-themed goodies and decorations for the house. This is so helpful since everything around us tends to scream Perpetual Summer and we always LOVED fall in Indiana, with its cool days and trips to pumpkin patches and apple orchards.

You know what those orange things are on top? Carve-able foam pumpkins. How fun is that?

The Bradburns even included a couple of fake spiders from the Halloween aisle. Samuel latched onto one of these immediately and started plotting mischief. The funny thing is, a fake spider THIS SIZE will scare virtually NOBODY in Indiana. But HERE??

Here, It's actually a whole lot more realistic. Melissa yelped when she turned on the kitchen light that night and saw it on the countertop! And then last Friday when I came home to grab a book I had forgotten to take with me to school, Madam Arnold (our sweet friend who helps us with cleaning and laundry a few times a week) re-enacted for my enjoyment how she found the spider under one of the couch cushions, screamed and ran out of the house! When she found her courage, she poked it with a broom handle for a moment or two before realizing it was a toy.

On one of the days I stayed home sick from school, I was preparing to take a(nother) nap when I heard a bizarre little scream repeating from the backyard. Curiosity drove me to check it out. I found this beautiful green snake swallowing a terrified frog on the floor of our shed.

The snake was so preoccupied with his lunch that he was fairly easy to catch. I put him in a tote and was excited to take him into school the next day for a bit of show and tell.

Many Haitians will run the opposite direction of a snake as quickly as possible, but we had a young visitor from Canada who wasn't afraid to handle it.

Eventually we let the snake go in our backyard where I found him. We've not had any problems with rats inside our house over the past year and at least part of the credit goes to him, undoubtedly.

A FEW OTHER ODDS AND ENDS:

COWMAN: I was feeling good enough after skipping school all day last Thursday, to meet my students' parents during Cowman's Open House that evening. We had a fantastic turnout. I was able to share info with the parents about improvements I am making this year to grade tracking and parent/teacher communication. AND we began discussing what does Cowman 9th Grade look like starting next year? There's never been such a thing before!

BABY SHOWER: Melissa hosted a baby shower for Cheyenne, a sweet young lady who has been working at Emmaus Biblical Seminary over the past year with her husband Ryan. This will be their first child and everyone is so excited for them!

MIKENN: My illness reminded us that Cowman could really use a substitute teacher. Mikenn's medical school doesn't start until October and even once it does, there may be time in his schedule here and there to work elsewhere. So I thought he might make a good candidate. I was able to help him work up a first resume and print it off. We'll see if anything comes of it.

WEED TEA: I'm not a big fan of tea of any sort - I usually joke that tea uses the same recipe as a mud puddle - dead leaves in water - but without the dead worms. But when Madam Arnold graciously went out of her way to collect some leaves from our yard that she said would help my cough, I had to try it.

The flavor was ... distinct.

But I have to admit, it helped the cough.

AVOCADO SEASON: Avocados are one of a handful of foods cheaper in Haiti than in the States. But it's feast or famine! The trees are loaded with them right now and my three Haitian sons have helped pick us quite a few.