Harley (a.k.a. Marmaduke) and Uno Update

Dan kept saying that Harley looks like Marmaduke.
I guessed Marmaduke was a dog, but didn't know what he looked like.
So I finally Googled the word Marmaduke and up came Wikipedia came up with this cartoon......

According to Wikipedia he is a Great Dane.
Harley Boy is a seven month old Mastiff that just thinks he is a lap dog, just like Marmaduke. He has no idea how big he really is. We know this because he tries to sit on Dan's lap and thinks that when he jumps up he isn't going to knock you over. This has been a real problem with little kids and Uno just eggs him on.

Ever since Uno got run over by the Tap-Tap in front of our house we have been trying to think of a way to "calm" him down. We have been talking about getting him "fixed". We thought this needed to happen since he thinks screaming children with arms flying in every direction are play toys he should be tackling.
No harm meant, he is a dog. But it lost it's cuteness months ago.
Our second clue was when Corrigan used our dogs in a sermon. This would have been a honor but the message was about the Lord not giving us "the spirit of fear", like happens at the Lynches house when you are three and come in the gate only to be pounced on.
We could get it.
Pretty soon our hand full of friends would hate us.
The writing was on the wall and Uno's days as a stud muffin where numbered.

Maddie says, it is just wrong to have a dog with a bucket on his head.
But, for the next week, until he gets his stitches out, he is lovingly going to be called "Bucket Head". I am sure the Haitians think we have lost our minds using a perfectly good bucket on a dog like this.

Oh, just in case you are wondering.....
No, it didn't stop him from running out the gate!
His first day home, he was out the gate checking things out, that was after Harley Boy pulled the bucket off.

Grandma Florida

The average life expectancy for a woman here in Haiti is fifty five years old.
So last Wednesday when I told all the sewing ladies this was Mama Dan they all started laughing, clapping and jumping up and down because not one of them could believe she was sixty nine years old (or young).
As she unpacked her suitcase I started jumping up and down when she opened a side zipper compartment on her suitcase and pulled out a box of bullets that Jerry forgot to unpack before she repacked the suitcase. Actually, my heart sank and I could feel the blood drain from my face as I thought of her being taken directly to jail as she tried to clear Haitian Customs trying to explain how these bullets got in her bag. God himself must have walked you through today, I said.
As we drove in the truck Dan finally asked her what she thought about her trip and what she had seen so far.
The word overwhelmed came up a lot.
Haiti can be culture shock with out a doubt.
There are hundreds of people walking on the streets, it is hot, it is normal to see a goat hanging in a tree getting ready to butcher, there is so much trash and people are poor beyond what most people have ever seen.
But, she is doing great.
She is going with the flow, the pot holes and the bumps of our everyday life.

Maddie The Middle Schooler

Wednesday morning at 8:30 Maddie and her sixth grade class "Stepped Up" to be in Middle School.
We pulled into the school parking lot, she jumped out of the truck, ran over to me, hugged me and said, Mom, give me one last sixth grade hug because the next time you hug me I will be in Middle school.
I considered bursting into tears right in the parking lot, but knew she would hate it.
Several kids read poems, speeches or played a piano solo.
The whole class played songs on their recorders.
We are really proud of her for all her hard work and all that she has accomplished.
We want to say a big "thank you" to Miss Ann for all her hard work too. She helped make sixth grade wonderful for Maddie. She helped them learn to write wonderful stories with hamburgers and marshmallow treats and since we are "Foodies" that totally worked for Maddie.
Her fear of Middle school seemed to vanish this past week. That's a good thing!
Summer here we come!

a.k.a The Deli Mart Lady

She has moved back to her side of town.
She was sitting close enough to the street this time.
I have always wanted to talk to her but I didn't want to have to go near the car catcher. I have issues with the car catcher. The smell and the garbage that surrounded her was one thing, the car catcher is another.
Today was the day, she was so close to the street and I wouldn't have to cross over the car catcher to talk to her.
I have tried talking to her, she talks very softly.
This was my chance!
Stop! Stop! I'm gonna get out and see if I can find out what her name is.
I have called her The Deli Mart Lady for months now and I really wanted to know what her name was.
People on Facebook started asking if I knew her name.
Nope!
So, Calah......
Her name is Carmelle!
She is "officially" no longer The Deli Mart Lady.

Grandma Florida

In just three short days Grandma Florida is coming to Haiti for the first time....school will also be over for the year!!
We are counting down the days! We have sent her our shopping list and can't wait to show her the sites.

Grandma Florida is really Grandma Eileen but when Maddie was a little girl she always called her "Grandma Florida" because she lived in Florida......we never changed it.

Color

Published Copy

Madisen G. Lynch
May 12, 2009

Color

Creamy, white, black, brown, there are many different colors of the skin.
What color is your skin?
We are all human beings, we are all people with feelings.
In 1955, a lady with brown skin named Rosa Parks changed every ones lives. She didn't not give her seat to a white man in the front of the bus.
She was tired of having to sit in the back of the bus just because her skin color was not white!
Rosa Parks got arrested.
No one should be arrested for their skin color or where they sit on the bus.
All people should have the same rights.
I respect what she did.

"You must do the things you think you can not do."
That was a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt.
What would do if no one had respect for other people?
Would you step up and do something?
Do you know who did step up and help?
A man named Martin Luther King, Jr.
With his strong faith in God, Martin Luther King Jr. stepped up and helped the American people to have equal rights.
Later Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed.
I respect him and I say thank you to all who tried, especially God, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King,Jr.

*thanks for the picture Mama Beth*

Giving Back

I believe that one of the most important lessons we need to learn in life is that no matter how little we have, or how "poor" we feel, we still need to give back to others who are in need or others we simply want to bless.
On my first trip to Africa, I remember being in a great big tent meeting with hundreds of people. When it was time to take the offering, they began passing around these huge baskets.

My first thought was so cynical,I still cringe when I think back to that night.
I arrogantly laughed to myself thinking how badly they "missed it" with the size of the baskets, after all I just knew no one in that crowd had the kind of money needed to fill those baskets. I soon found myself wanting to bolt from the stage in tears as the congregation began to fill the perfectly sized basket with clothing, food and money. How small my view of giving was and they just busted me.

I believe giving is key for the ladies in this program.
They have been given a great opportunity to change their lives.
Some grab at that chance and run with it and it is paying off big time in their lives.
Our ladies are required to "donate" one out of every ten purses as their tithe/offering back into this program to create a benevolence fund to help other ladies in our community.
Every once and awhile we are also asked to do projects for different groups here in Haiti.
This past week they worked on folding chair covers for the high school graduation at QCS.
We purchased twenty yards of fabric and supplies, they gave their time.
As I watched them work, I loved seeing the ladies put all their skills together and work together on this project!

So as you give by supporting us as a family or purchasing a bag, please know that our ladies are giving back by "paying it forward" to another woman in need.