A Family Affair; 100 days of School

Dad was the only one to get paint on his shirt.

The finished product :)

Proud of her work!

Jia was given a 100 days of school project, which means we were all given a 100 days of school project. She had to find 10 different things that equaled 100. Pipe cleaners were flying, tongue depressers were being glued, two types of glue, puff balls, stamps and stickers. We are going to be modest and say that Jia's (our) project will be the best in her class.

Love, Anna

P.S Don't forget to read my Mom's blog post underneath this.

"I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, WHEN YOU DID FOR ONE OF THE LEAST OF THESE BROTHERS OF MINE, YOU DID IT FOR ME. ~MATTHEW 25:40

Anna promised to continue my blog for a little while and she is promising to put some pictures up tonight with the camera that she bought with her Christmas money. We can only hope.

The illness that I have gives me severe vertigo and effects my eyesight, so please pardon me if this is not all correct. (Who am I kidding, my grammar isn't great in the best of situations)

I did want to get on the blog and pour my heart out again. I want this blog to not only be pictures of our family, but because so many people are reading it, I also want people to realize how important some things are to me.

The children of China will always be close to my heart.

But think about this: I live very, very close to Miami, Florida. (Directly over the county line) Here is some information that I googled this evening: Port Au Prince, Haiti is between 681-713 miles from where I sit. They are my neighbors. It is your Christian duty to help your neighbors.

I have never lived through an earthquake, and I have all the creature comforts most of us in first world nations enjoy. But I also live in a place called "Hurricane Alley" and have lived here since 1968. I have lived through fear, in dark hallways, in the bathtub, because that is the safest place in the house, to the question "do we stay, or do we go?" to noise that sounds like a giant is banging on the roof of your house, as you watch the water rise, to weeks with no water and no electricity. There are huge differences the biggest one is this--with a hurricane you KNOW its coming, there is time to make decisions, and if you feel a little foolish because your shutters are up and it veers off course--thank God, and help your neighbors take their down too. My family always teases me because I am stocked with baked beans, can openers, peanut butter, battery powered everything and bread in a can(there really is such a thing!)

Those things are gone, we have sent them to our neighbors, who need them far, far worse than we ever will.

As of right now charity organizations need MONEY more than anything, they also need non-perishable food, water, any kind of gloves, surgical masks and tents.

You can call any number of non-profits to donate. I have a very small Ebay business of which I send percentages to the Clinton-Bush Haitian Relief Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, The Red Cross and Save the Children.

Our grocery store, Publix, also lets you add on to our grocery bill and 100% will go to Haiti. One more thing, if you saw the concert "Hope for Haiti Now" they have a beautiful CD of the concert that you can purchase online for $7.95, profits going to Haiti.

Please don't donate once and forget...

And while I am talking about that.... don't forget another neighbor, right here in the United States, New Orleans, which is only 670 miles from where I sit still needs A LOT of help. Sign on to Make It Right NOLA to see the progress and miracles that have been made.

Helping Haiti

Our donations

Jia always need a picture by herself.

Today everyone in our family gave 10 dollars (Jia gave 1 dollar) and we went to Target and Publix to find things that the people in Haiti might need. We bought; diapers, toilet paper, can openers, hydrogen peroxide, rubbing alcohol, gauze, toothpaste and toothbrushes, canned foods, little kid underwear, and flashlights.
We are also going through our clothes to donate some summer things. My dad is taking everything to his school which is a central drop off point for Broward County schools. Dad's school has a lot of Haitian students.
My mom was happy to find out that a little girl she had in class last year, who moved back to Haiti, was fine as well as her family. My mom was proud that one of her former students, who is a doctor, is flying with Doctors Without Borders to Haiti.


Love,
Anna

Watch for Anna

anna is going to take a turn with the blog again. God Bless!

HAITI

As a teacher in South Florida I deal with many Haitian students every day. All handouts that schools give out here are printed in English, Spanish, and Haitian French Creole.

As a Geography teacher in South Florida I teach that Haiti is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.

Most of the time when I make "political" entries to my blog it is to plea for orphans in China. I know that most of the people who read this blog is through the Chinese connection of my link with Tina at "The Story of You".

Today I am asking you to help the people of Haiti, the relatives of my students, people who have already been living in situations that we can barely fathom.

I know times are tough, but I have researched some ways that people can help without a lot of time or money:

~if you text HAITI90999 the American Red Cross will automatically add $10 to your phone bill, this money will go to Haitian Relief Organizations.
~If you go to Amazon.com you can donate through Mercy Corps.
~You can call your local schools and churches and ask if they have set up a donation site. (if you live in Broward County I know that both Plantation High School and Flanagan High School are taking donations and there are numerous Haitian churches that will also be collecting.
~If you are a Dr. or a Nurse, American Airlines will fly you to Haiti for free. Call them for more information.

If you believe in the power of prayer, please pray for the people of this island nation....

Love to All,
Lesa

Hanging Out After School

Katie's cute outfit

Anna's happy with her new backpack

Anna's weird new backpack

Cutie Pie picture of Mr. Benny Foo

It was a little warmer today, but not a lot. The girls did see some iguanas moving around on the way home from school so they are thawing out...lol.

Just a couple of pictures of the big girls right after school, I thought Katie's outfit was really cute and for once she let me take a picture.

Anna was happy because she got her new handmade bookbag today. In my opinion it is very weird, it has a zombie,a brain, a little boy and some rabbits, I guess I am too old to understand.

The End

Anna's last Varsity game as a 10th grader

Coach and Proud Daddy

Crazy Anna and Conservative Dad

Tonight was Anna's last school soccer game. Unfortunately they lost. Their final record was 10-9-1. It was freezing--in the 40's. I had to go to the car for the second half, I felt like one of those frozen iguanas I wrote about yesterday.

We have one day (tomorrow) before Anna's Rec soccer practice starts on Thursday night. Drew is going to be the head coach on this team. I hope it gets warmer for these games...

The big girls have exams this week and they will start new classes on January 20th. Katie will have Spanish II, Anatomy and Physiology Honors, World History Honors, and Teacher Assistance (a class usually opened only for 11th and 12th graders.) Anna is taking Spanish II, Algebra II Honors, American History Honors, and Yearbook.

Anna is hoping to attend a Journalism Institute at University of Florida this summer (Go Gators) and has just received her application . She is honestly thinking that she will pursue a career in Journalism. As a proud Mom I also have to tell you that she was also invited to a sports and exploration program at Yale University (gasp!) this summer.

Both Anna and Katie got invitations to educational camps at the University of Miami, but I think Katie will continue her babysitting and money making pursuits.The way Katie saves she may be the next Donald Trump.

I will let the girls tell everyone their grades, but I will say--we are very proud and they are very, very good.

SUICIDAL IGUANAS

Iguana Popsicle

It is a little warmer today, but last night was cold! We have had 3 consecutive nights that the temps have dropped into the 30's or 40's that is incredibly cold for a long period of time around here. Last night we lost our electricity until 1:00 a.m. I had no idea that this happens in the cold. It was kind of nice because we sat around our lantern and played family games. This was 1 million times better that a loss of power due to hurricanes when the temp is 95 degrees and the humidity is unbearable.

Thought a few of the more "demented" j/k of you out there might like this little known fact about cold in Florida. First of all we have wild reptiles, one group being iguanas. Not lizards, iguanas are AT LEAST as big as your cat and they have spikes. They mainly hang out and live in trees basking in the sun. However when it gets this cold the iguanas freeze & drop--literally a frozen iguana shower! The weirdest part is that they look really dead but they thaw out and "come back to life" cool, huh? Unless one drops on you!

Weather Report

NEWS FLASH: 31 DEGREES IN WESTERN PEMBROKE PINES AND IT IS RAINING. SLIGHT, VERY, VERY, VERY SLIGHT CHANCE OF SNOW FLURRIES! LAST TIME THIS HAPPENED: 1977.

SUGAR AND BOWLS

Big game night and also soooo bittersweet. As a die hard Gator of course I think we should be in the National Championship game, however the Sugar Bowl is nothing to sneeze at.

The bittersweet part is that it is the end of the Tebow-Meyer Era. Both of these men exhibited faith, grace, and integrity, things that you don't always see in football, or any sport.

I have NEVER followed pro football, but whatever team Tim goes to will be my team.

Add these 2 men to my list of personal heros.

Thanks Tim, Thanks Urban.
God Bless.