The end... or the beginning

After working for the City of Lynden for the last two and a half years I am now entering my last month; I only have 22 more days of work left. Once every 5 weeks I have to go into work at 3am, and this morning was my last time ever. I was originally scheduled for this shift again on June 4th, however my last day of work is the 3rd! Guess I planned that right! I honestly wont miss this shift. Although the next time I wake up at 3 am it will probably be for a screaming baby that needs a diaper change!

We have 45 more days left in the states which means we are busy completing all the random tasks that go along with moving out of the country; such as changing our address on all pay roll, credit cards, and several other documents. Two months ago Nikki and I created our "to-do list." Many of the chores on here weren't things we could complete until closer to the time we leave. Now, months later, we are beginning to cross everything off of this list. We have been busy gathering supplies, sorting, packing, cleaning, and moving everything. This week I had errands to do everyday after work. These errand ranged from going to the travel nurse to get a typhoid vaccine to buying a years worth of dental floss!

For now we are just trying to enjoy not sleeping under a mosquito net, having fast internet, 24 hour electricity, and most importantly eating ice cream! I would like to thank everyone in our community as well as our family for all of the support you have shown us! It is more than I ever expected! It really means a lot to both of us!!

-Nick

Cell phone suicide

Lately I have been having a difficult time with my cell phone. About three weeks ago, the phone that I have been using for the past 2 years (phone A) decided not to take a charge. One day it was working fine and the next day it stopped. I tried everything, and could not get it to work. Not thinking it was a big deal, I moved on to cell phone B, the phone that I had used for 3 years in high school. This phone was missing a button and was on it's last leg, but I figured it would last the 50 some days until I left. However I was wrong. About a week and a half after switching to that phone, it also decided to quit taking a charge. I tried the wall charger, plugging it into the computer, turning it on and off, taking the battery out, etc. But nothing worked. It has a different charger than the first one so thats not the issue, plus Nicks phone uses the same one as phone B and it works fine for him.

Now I am down to two choices. There is cell phone C which is Nicks old phone. This phone recognizes my sim card enough to allow calls to come in and out, but not enough to read my address book. Therefore any time someone calls or texts me, I have to guess who it is. Everyone comes in as an unknown number. This phone also doesn't have a hang up button, so I am dependent on the person I am talking to to end the call. This becomes more interesting when I call someone and get their voicemail because I just have to leave a long awkward message until their voicemail cuts me off. So if you have gotten any of these from me recently, that is why!!

Then there is cell phone D, which is a $19.99 pay as you go phone that Nick had for a few weeks when he was in between phones. The buttons on this one are horrible and it's impossible to use. No matter how low you change the volume on this thing, its so loud that it kills your ear and you have to hold it a few inches away from your head. When Nick had this phone he used a head set and we would make fun of him because he looked like an air traffic controller (remember this Sigma friends??). This battery only last about 3/4 ths of the day and then is completely dead.

The good news is that we almost got rid of all these phones a few weeks ago, and so in that case I would have been completely without a phone. I only have to make this one last for another 46 days though and then I won't have to worry about a cell phone for a long time!! Yay!!

Nikki

Thanks

Thank you South Ridge Community of Christ for allowing us to present about our upcoming move to Haiti! We really appreciate all of your support, this would not be possible with out you!

Nick and Nikki

A home for Larry

I am happy to announce that I have found someone to adopt Larry!! She will be going to live with one of my professors on June 3rd and I think that this will be a really great fit! Hopefully she will continue to be as spoiled as she is now! Were going to miss you Larry!!

Speaking Engagements!!

Just want everyone to know that we are talking about our past and upcoming trip to Haiti at two churches soon.

April 25th 11 o'clock at Southridge Community of Christ
400 NE 179th St Ridgefield Wa

May 23rd 12:15 at Ridgefield Church of the Nazarene (Hospitality Room following 11'oclock service)
747 Pioneer St Ridgefield Wa

If you are interested in hearing more about our move to Haiti and see pictures from our last trip, we invite you to come to one of these presentations. Feel free to contact us for more information and pass these dates on to anyone who would be interested!

57 more days!!

Nikki

2 months exactly!!!

Between now and the day we leave, we have no free weekends. They are all booked with fundraisers, speaking engagements at churches, moving, graduating, etc. With as busy as we are the next two months will fly by.

Exactly 60 days from today we will be flying to Haiti!! So excited!!!

Nikki

A Grieving Mother

Since we decided to move to Haiti, I have been following several blogs of missionaries there. This morning as I sat in front of my computer, eating my breakfast, with my cat sprawled out on the desk next to me, I started to bawl as I read about one specific mother grieving over the death of her children. I can't imagine what this mother is going through. How she continues on from day to day is beyond me. She is obviously a much stronger woman than I because I don't think I could have the strength that she does. Even as I sit here writing this I can't quit crying.

You can read her story here.

Nikki

Donate Button

I just added a donate button to the right side of my blog. If you would like to help Nick and I fund our time in Haiti or would like to donate towards our efforts you can now do it right here. All funds go directly to us and will help with our mission! We thought that this might make it easier for some people! Let us know if you have any questions! We appreciate all your help and couldn't do it without you!

Thanks for helping us help the children of Haiti!

Nick and Nikki

Happy Birthday Miss Kiara

Three years ago today Miss Kiara Lynn was born! I just got off the phone with her and she was so excited that she yelled "IT"S MY BIRTHDAY!!!" Then she asked me if I wanted some of her birthday cake!! She is so precious!!

Kiara 12/2009 Bellingham

Happy Birthday Kiara!! Wish I was there with you today!! Love ya always, Aunt Nikki!!

Little by Little!

This weekend we took our first load of stuff down to store in Nicks parent's barn. Our car was literally packed to the brim. We had things stuffed in every nook and cranny we could find. I had to keep our duffel bag of weekend clothes on my lap because there was no other room for it!





We had been waiting for this day for about a month when we packed up all the boxes that we were taking down. Honestly though we don't have to take thing home because my dad is bring up his trailer to move us in June, but we wanted to get some stuff out of our apartment.

We then spent about 5 hours on Saturday cleaning out and organizing our section of the barn. We have a lot of stuff in there already and needed to make room for more!!

Also on Saturday we had a meeting to go over details for the benefit auction and dinner that is going to help us raise funds for our time in Haiti. I want to thank everyone who has helped out so far! We are very impressed with how well everything is coming together and can't thank you enough for your support! It was nice to meet each of you and also find out what is going on!

Sunday was spent with my family. Since my parents got home from Mexico late Saturday night, we didn't have the traditional Easter. Instead we all went to Church, then to breakfast and bowling. It was different but fun! Unfortunately I woke up with a horrible sore throat and head ache, so I wasn't much fun. After bowling the boys shot clay pigeons for awhile, and then Nick and I made our 4 hour journey back to good ole Bellingham!

The Quake

PBS recently did a video on Haiti that I thought was very well done and informative. I highly recommend everyone to watch it! I have posted it below, let me know what you guys think about it!!