The Foot of a Child Speaks a Thousand Words

Saturday we woke up to 4 inches of snow. The boys piled on their snow clothes and went sledding on the hill in the backyard. Adam was particularly proud of himself as he was able to sled down the hill, on the trail through the ravine and partially up the other side without hitting a tree. Let it be known that his distance and path traveled is not only guarded by angels but presently the Jenson Family record for least injury and greatest distance traveled through the ravine.

Today, however, not even 48 hours later we woke to green grass, birds singing and spent the day outside playing baseball without jackets. When I came in the house to fix dinner I turned to see Matthew coming in behind me decided that he has a particular gift of expression.

This friends, is spring in Iowa...

Haiti Email #3

Hello Again from Haiti. Today was a very busy day. However, it was a
lot of fun. I am sending this from an iPhone so I won't make it very
long. We did six cases, and lots of ER cases. We are tired, but
alive and well. I love you lots. Have a good night. Me!!

Happy Birthday Adam

Wowza the kid turned six today. Having a child that is 6 is a defining moment like turning 30 or dying your hair not because you want to but because you have to.

We celebrated Adam's birthday last week before Jonathan left for Haiti so today was quite a mellow day. Adam request Oreo's for his birthday school treat. So he enjoyed them at school and then came home and quickly pulled the leftovers from his Lightening McQueen backpack and enjoyed them again for an after school snack. The only thing missing was the Chief Dunker in Command... I would say we will save some oreos to share with him, but due to the junior dunkers having been taught the art of oreo-dunkery by a the Chief Dunker himself I doubt there will be any t0 share by the time he returns to his command post. Amidst the "black cookie" birthday indulgence the phone rang... who better to wish a 6 year old boy happy birthday than Gramps and Grams. Thanks for the call.

At six Adam:

1. Has lost 2 bottom teeth and 1 top tooth.

2. Has mastered the art of saving everything and keeping all things in mint condition. There is not a toy, trinket or paper that he does not genuinely take good care of.

3. Has started a bird book where he writes down the name of a bird, draws and colors it, describes the young, the nest, the egg color, what they like to eat and fun facts about them.

4. Will conquer his fear of being in front of people and even thinking about speaking by giving his first talk in primary next week.

5. Is Andrew and Matthew's best friend. Adam is a nuturer. When the tears start to flow the little guys always turn to Adam knowing he is the first one to put his arm around them.

6. Loves to play baseball and basketball.

7. Is as anxious to plant a garden as his mother.

8. Obeys with exactness the first time he is asked. Adam does exactly what he is told when he is told to do it. Always. He came to earth with a VERY obedient spirt.

9. Hates drips when his hair is combed with water.

10. Has a secret crush on Kara Greiner.

11. Loves oreos and yogurt.

The Birthday Party

Gifts:

1. Handmade swords from Matthew

2. 2 Backyardigans Movies

3. Basketball hoop

4. $10.00

5. Wal-Mart gift card

Cake:

Rainbow Castle

Party Fun:

Family bowling. The first time this family has been bowling since it's establishment in 2001.

Dinner:

Blueberry pancakes. Would Adam have picked anything else?

The Hold-Up:

The unanticipated 5 hour hoop assembly time.

It was a Happy, Happy Birthday even if we did celebrate 10 days early.

Sunday, March 21st - Email #2

Well, it has been a very interesting few days. Today, I did my first scrotal appendectomy. The surgeon this week is letting Aaron and I assist with the surgeries while the other one does the anesthesia. We have been taking turns scrubbing in and assisting with the surgeries It has been a lot of fun for the both of us. Things are going well. I have lucked out and had hot showers both mornings, I am sleeping well, and I don't think I have received any mosquito bites. I don't know how I am going to give away all of the things I brought though. We have been constantly warned not to give things away because of the mobs that develop. They say it is a matter of personal safety. I guess we will see what happens. Our team has been very interesting and a little whiney - at least among the nurses. Aaron and I are glad that we are apart with the surgeon. We work with everyone, but at the same time, we don't have to have the constant interaction because we are in the OR. Also, the OR is really the only air conditioned area in the place, so we are truly spoiled.

I am glad that you guys are having so much fun. Sorry to hear that it snowed again, but I sounds like the boys made the best of it. I laughed when I read your emails. I didn't cringe about the drill bits, but I wonder how you did that. I believe the hammers are all in the bathroom downstairs. I do cringe to hear you bought a sander at Menards. I have been wanting to get one, but I worry about the quality at menards. What brand did you buy - I hope you say Bosch or something good (not Masterforce). Anyway, well live with it.

I hope you have a good week. I'll try to email often if I can.

Love Ya,

Me!

Friday, March 19th - The First Email from Haiti arrives

Hi Dear,

Well, we made it. It has been a long day. We arrived, got our luggage, and then we waited for our ride for a couple of hours. Haiti doesn't observe daylight savings time, so we are actually on the current Central Time Zone. That will be nice so we don't have to adjust again. Anyway, when our ride arrived, we had two people who approached Aaron and I holding signs with "Notre Dame" on them, and they took our luggage and helped us get to the car. Well, after the luggage was loaded, they told us that we each needed to pay $20.00, which we understood was the fee for the taxi. Unfortunately for us, they were just asking for a tip for carrying our luggage (I didn't try to converse in French because they were speaking Creole and a little English), so we "tipped" them each $20.00, and then they left. We didn't realize we got "took" for at least 30 minutes when I was talking with our taxi driver and asked him about it. He told us we tipped them "too much". As if I didn't know that already!! Aaron and I just looked at each other and laughed because we were so dumb! Anyway, we made it here to our residence around 2:30 PM and we are very hot and sweaty, but that is to be expected. I have been able to communicate with a lot of the people in French, which has been a great blessing. We will be starting in the OR at 7:30 am tomorrow. We probably won't have a heavy day tomorrow, but we hope things will pick up at the first of next week.

I sure love you all! Give the boys great big hugs and kisses from Dad and let them know I love them too. I'll try to update you daily if I can find someone who will let me borrow their computer.

Love,

ME!

Going vs. Coming

I was a little curious to see how Jonathan coming home would compare to him leaving... So I snapped a few pictures before he left. We were fortunate to find out that flights going into Haiti don't charge baggage fees. Jonathan was able to tote along four bags with him. He took his personal essentials and some medical supplies and with the rest of the room we decided to put in some clothing, toys, markers, hygiene items etc. for him to give to people in his tent hospital. When we realized that he had a little space left we told Matthew to go and pick out some of his toys that he wanted to give away to the kids in Haiti. He was VERY generous. My bedroom exploded and there was a bit of disappointment when everything Matthew had wanted to give away wouldn't fit in Daddy's suitcase. Maybe another trip.

Booked it-

When the earthquake hit Haiti Jonathan and I felt a need for him to offer service if at all possible. We looked into him volunteering with Doctors Without Boarders but found that the length of commitment was longer than what he could offer so we put good intentions on the back burner. Last Sunday he got a call from our dearest friend, Aaron Thornton, that trudged through anesthesia school with Jonathan. There was an opening for another anesthesia provider in a surgical team that will be leaving the middle of March. He was cleared to go and he booked his tickets today to fly into Port Au Prince. He will be serving in Leogane which is actually just outside of Port Au Prince but was the epicenter of the earthquake. We are excited for him to go and volunteer. Jonathan speaking French will be a wonderful blessing in trying to communicate with the people there. The scripture in Esther 4:14 continues to come to my mind when Esther was prepared... "for such a time as this." How thankful I am that Jonathan has lived his life following the words of the latter day prophets. That he served a faithful mission and took the initiative to "be smart." Through his obedience he is prepared for such a time as this to "succor the weak, lift up the hands which hang down, and strengthen the feeble knees." (D&C 81:5)

Here's to hoping he comes home without malaria.

Broccoli From Below

Dinner Tonight -

Mom singing a happy spontaneous song: "I'm the meanest mom in the world! I put lots and lots of broccoli in your dinner. And you get to eat it even if you don't want to. 'Cause I'm the meanest mom in the world."

Matthew: "Mom, you follow Satan. That's a bad choice."