Remembering Haiti

our hotel in Port-au-Prince

I know that many of us have Haiti on our hearts this week. The earthquake has been such a tragedy for the already-poverty-stricken country.

a man selling his wood carvings outside our hotel

My only visit there was 20 years ago this very month. It was a very memorable trip! I was traveling with my family along with some other missionary couples for a couple of pastors' training seminars and also some other church services and ministry. Our time was divided equally between Port-au-Prince and a small town in the countryside, Petit Goave.

the streets of Port-au-Prince

One of the most terrifying experiences that I ever had was there. I won't go into detail now, but it was truly a miracle of God's protection that saved us from great danger in the slums of Port-au-Prince that dark night. It's a different world there. Each evening as you are drifting off to sleep, the voodoo drums are always beating in the not-so-distant air.

the mountains of Haiti

The people there are warm and friendly and we were well taken care of while we were there. I was just a young girl fresh out of high school, and while I had traveled extensively for my age, this was my first face-to-face with abject poverty. It was so heartbreaking to drive down the streets where raw sewage flowed on each side. As you passed, there would be a woman washing her clothes, a little further down a child splashing, even further people gathering *water* for other purposes.

a school in Port-au-Prince

During this time of devastation for these precious people, I hope that you are finding ways to be involved in relief efforts. There are many groups of integrity sending and taking aid there. One that I can personally suggest to you is my father's ministry, The Living Faith. My dad, Dale Yerton, has traveled there many, many times through the years and has 10 ministry groups there that he is working with during this time. 100% of proceeds go directly to Haitian Relief.

in the countryside at Petit Goave

Above all, please keep Haiti in your prayers.

The Making of an Egyptian Death Mask

We are learning all about the ancient world this year with Story of the World I and loving it! We've been learning a lot about Egypt, of course, which is completely fascinating. Most recently we have studied the New Kingdom of Egypt, which includes the story of King Tut. So we decided making an Egyptian death mask in the style of King Tut's would be a fun project. First since it was too cold at the time to paper mache in the garage (it probably would have frozen instead of dried-ha) and it was too messy to do it in the house, we decided to pick up a couple of cheap craft masks at Hobby Lobby. Next we cut out cardboard shapes to complete the shape of the death mask, attaching them with hot glue. Vince even put a little detail on the *beard* with the hot glue per The Princess' request. Then the kiddos started to paint them with this metallic gold tempera paint. It worked okay for the cardboard, but would not coat the plastic of the mask. We thought maybe a second coat ...

Door Hanger Chore Charts

My kids have had a chore chart for a while. It's one of those magnetic boards and they share it. However, it's not by their rooms and often they (and I) forget to update it. Plus it's a little bulky. When I saw the concept of a door hanger chore chart on Pinterest, I loved it! It was compact, right there were the kiddos could see it coming out and going into their rooms, and it costs almost nothing to make. I headed over to one of my favorite stores: Hobby Lobby, of course. They have these little wooden door hangers for .79. I also grabbed a couple of packets of decorative buttons for $1.99 each. I already had the clothes pins and the paint so those cost me nothing. I began by painting the door hangers (I used tempera paints because that's what I had). Then I grabbed a fine point Sharpie and the clothes pins and started writing chores on them, making sure to write them correctly so they will ...

Fun With 4th of July Crafts: Part 3

I love my new patriotic front door wreath!! I had fun putting this together, although I must admit this is more of an adult craft than one for kiddos. I was inspired by this article in Family Fun magazine. I didn't have quite everything I needed for this one, but all I had to purchase was a few sheets of scrapbook paper and some double-sided tape. Then all I had to gather up were some scissors, regular Scotch tape, a ruler and some cardboard. First I cut four (5"x 6") pieces of each paper. Then by placing a piece of double-sided tape on one of the short ends of the papers, I rolled them into cones, pressing the seams together well. Then I cut a 10" circle out of cardboard and began to stick the cones on it. I used another piece of double-sided tape to stick the cones on, arranging them in a circular pattern. Next I used regular Scotch tape to attach them on the back to the back of the cardboard. After getting all the cones on, I was ready for my centerpiece. He...

my blessed life

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