730

Last year on this date I was in Croatia. The year prior I was taking a little stroll down the aisle on Faith Farm and became a married woman. It was an amazing evening with friends, family and plenty of wonderful memories that I will never forget.
In a little less than three years my life has changed tremendously. I  am thankful for my husband, two kids and the reality that God's hand has been so super instrumental in where I am right here, right now. The older I get the greater appreciation and peace I have in the knowledge of God's direction and purpose for every aspect of our lives.

As we mark our 730th day in marriage I realize each day it is a journey. Sitting on the back porch of the Enchanted Resort in Sedona, Arizona I am soaking in the beauty of my surroundings. With breathtaking views of Sedona's picturesque red rock formations distant from the craziness of reality it has been a pretty great week of nature, family time and an opportunity to recharge before starting a new school year.

Happy Anniversary to you, my husband...thanks for making the past 730 days a wonderful journey and I look forward to the many chapters that lie ahead of us. I love you and thank God for bringing you and Jordan and Taylor into my life. This Hebrew loves you with all my heart!


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Mexico, cave dwelling and a prairie dog

My shoes have covered a lot of terrain over the years, but the vast majority of my travels have been overseas. Venturing out west has been a new experience. Arizona is nothing short of stunning.  Our days here have really opened my eyes to the beauty of the west. From the moments we're in the car or taking a hike somewhere you spot a swirling mass of sand, clouds hovering over a brilliant green span of mountain region or the vast species of cactus that sprout out flaming red and yellow flowers dotting the landscape with color it's all art in motion.

We headed to a few areas for a little hiking that provided constant 360 degree breathtaking views of the desert. The trails gave us ample opportunity to do our own thing while having close enough access to water as the temps were pretty wicked, but definitely bearable. I love hiking, nature and the ever so tempting opportunities to hop on a bit of earth that's a little shaky. Push the envelope, baby!
Being that we were a little over an hour to the Mexican border there was no way a little international hopping wasn't going to occur. Keith did an EPIC amount of research ensuring his three girls would not only have adventure that would be muy divertido, but safe. We parked on the other side of the border, walked across, and broke a little taco, at La Roca, for dinner. The food was awesome, the architecture in the restaurant had me getting that 'I'm in a really funky museum' vibe and I was able to utilize a bit of my fairly rusty Spanish. Yay! 

 The shot above are of prairie dogs scurrying around the desert floor. I have been trying to find a way to add a tea cup pig to the Patterson membership clan, but I would definitely consider a switch up for one of these little guys. How cute are they? I'm thinking Medford Lakes might not embrace Javier, but one can dream : )

Yesterday we headed to an area about an hour outside of Tuscon to do a little cave exploring. Any preconceived thoughts...toss them to the way side. With head lamps, arm and knee pads and a heap of dust we crawled into the earth. And there was much rejoicing! There were a few 'oy vey' moments as Jordan's feet dangled above us as she was clinging to a rock or when Taylor was shimmying through a very narrow hole heading into an unlit portion of the cavern. There were a few times we clicked the head lamps off and just sat in darkness. Utter darkness. Our two guides were pretty much cave dwelling hippies and they did an awesome job giving us opportunities to explore, climb some great portions of rock and come out fully intact. Flesh wound free is the way to be! 

Target heart rate was definitely achieved. If we had anything remotely close to this place in Jersey much of my free time would be split between finding good waves and a good climb. 

Zen of the desert

Taylor and I pretty much went from one suitcase to another. It's early Friday morning and the Patterson crew is in Arizona. We arrived a few days ago and I have been in awe of the beauty of this place. Tucson is our base for the next two days before kicking off the second leg of the trip.

Yesterday we woke around 4:30 to catch the sunrise in the middle of the desert. With already breathtaking views the streaks of pink, blue and yellow made for a majestic view of the desert. Wow! There is just something about nature and the beauty behind wonders we can so very easily overlook. This was not one of these days...

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baby steps can go a LONG way in Haiti

This is the little one that we will be sponsoring via Hope Alive Clinic. A tremendous amount of infants and young children suffer from malnutrition. The little girl posted above is four months old and this will provide sufficient formula, medical attention and her basic needs on a monthly basis. 

I have been left in awe at the work the folks at Hope Alive are doing. God is using Frank, Leslee and the local Haitian doctors and staff to do powerful things. 

If you are interested in taking on a young one and literally having the opportunity to save a life please contact me or you can contact Hope Alive directly. The cost is $25 per month and for a dozen less Wawa coffee trips you have an extra family member : ) 

It's very easy to be comfortable being comfortable. One thing that I have learned about myself is that I grow most when I step out of my comfort zone. I am comfortable being uncomfortable.

As I reflect back over the years there a number of those poignant moments that have forged me into who I am today. Kneeling down to take the hand of the young man stricken with cerebral palsy lying on a slab of concrete at the Emanual Orphanage in Haiti as I had to force myself from welling with tears. The time in Belarus I shared a meal with my friend,Anja, and her family knowing what I was being served was probably equivalent to two weeks of their family's salary. The heart wrenching walk I had around Bogota with the young man struggling to overcome his heroin addiction. He went from being a promising chef in Spain to living on the floor in the back of his boss's restaurant. The lunch I shared with a Holocaust survivor in Jerusalem with the numbers still visibly tattooed on the inside of his arm. Or the time I drove along the coast of Fiji observing one person after another lying along the side of the road strung out on kava, unemployed and living in homes that were made of nothing more than scrap metal and thatched roofing. All of these moments are etched in my memory and I'm thankful for each of them. 

I pray that I will always look life straight in the eyes and do my utmost to get the most from these experiences and the individuals I meet along the way. As I lay in bed last night I kept thinking what if I had been born in Haiti, Belarus , Bosnia? I am not sure I have that answer and I'm even less sure of how resilient I would be if faced with the challenges so many I've met over the years have encountered. 

I am grateful to be an American. I thank God for allowing me to be in a land of the free and home of the brave. The blessings we have here are not to be self contained. It is our duty to utilize our abilities and abundance and do our part to help those who are unable to help themselves. That includes the many who struggle here in our own communities and within our own backyards. Pay it forward, do a little goodness and your sure to feel a little lighter and that smile will grow a little bigger. 

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It's not often that I grapple for words. As I write this the sun has set, the clouds hover above with streaks of gray and hues of pink and the hum of local Haitian radio fills the air. There is always a light to over powering aroma of trash burning. When we first arrived it made my head throb. Now, it isn't so bad. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing:)
We visited Emanuel orphanage this afternoon which was fifteen minutes or so from the Clinic. Leslee made us aware that these kids had less and were not frequented with donations and visitors as our previous visits. These kids glowed when we arrived. As Tay jumped right into her dance workshop I strolled a bit takin pictures and wondering how I would hold up in a place like this. This orphanage is in better shape than others with toilets, functioning beds (for the most part) and cooking facilities (if you would call it that). Embers of charcoal covered the corner of the kitchen area where water was boiled and food was prepared. It's like walking into the dark ages while still in 2012.
As kids jumped for joy with their new toothbrushes and were elated to choose two articles of clothing my heart ached. They need more. You can't help but fall in love with these kids. They are little treasures from heaven.
My hope is to encourage others to give and jump on board with the needs here.
Today a four month old baby was brought in for malnutrition. From the picture below you can see she is well below where she should be with weight and length. The Patterson family decided to sponsor her today:) For $25 a month she will receive formula, check ups and heaps of love from the Clinic. Yay! If any of you are interested let know or contact Hope Alive. Talk about making a difference and feeling pretty good...

I believe there a certain experiences in life that are life altering. Moments that alter your thinking and challenge your perceptions of everything you have ever known.
I've travelled extensively, but the level of poverty and lack of the most basic of needs (running water, food, etc.) seems to have no end. We spent most of the day at World Harvest Orphanage where we attended church followed up by a kick off for a week long of vbs.
As we sat in the shade snacking on lunch it was difficult to to not be wrecked by the handful of kids scurrying around. Most did not eat breakfast. Most did not eat lunch. Taylor rummaged through my bag laying out a half eaten box of puffins and a sleeve of Pringles. Each child smacked their lips and chided a sincere, 'merci.' Their stomachs churn and they are polite, they share with their friends and they look out for one another. Something as simple as tossing a rubber ball makes their day.
Taylor held her dance class and at one point there were close to 100 kids jumping up and down. Her thought was maxing out at 25 and the Haitian kids upped that a bit and she did great. I manned the face painting table as crowds of kids squished, pulled and tugged at me. I kept praying for a sense of peace and calm when I was becoming anxious as kids were literally jumping on top of me. I am in no way an artist, but the kids had a blast as I made rainbows, hearts, whiskers and splatters of color that just sort of happened. It was an awesome day that leaves me lying on my bed at seven pm decompressing. Goodness. Powerful goodness.

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Updating the blog from Haiti...this is my third go today and I am hoping it works! It's near eight pm and I am already lying on my bed ready for a solid sleep. It rained heavily earlier this evening which seemed to alleviate the heat & humidity.
At one point today I couldn't help but laugh as Tay and I were bouncing around with the kids and both of our shirts were stained from sweat. Yay for feeling super attractive! Just watching these kids beam with joy as we sang, splashed each other with water balloons and jumped around made my heart surge with a sense of happiness that is as good as it gets.
Tomorrow we are hiking down to town and attending a local church. Afterwards we're helping out with an afternoon of outreach for all the local kids in area orphanages. Taylor is providing her dance class while I've been assigned face painting and painting kids nails. Bring on the creativity!

Two little girls from World Harvest Orphanage getting ready for the water balloon toss.

Every time I hop on a plane I have preconceived ideas and images of where I am going. Sometimes those ideas line up and other times they do not. There has been extensive media coverage with Haiti since the earthquake. I think all of our hearts go out to those suffering, but it is near impossible to grasp the magnitude of it all. Being here and seeing it all with my own eyes is a completely different experience.
We arrived at the airport and I was impressed with how functional the airport is. In two years so much has been rebuilt. It was a little on the crazy train side attempting to retrieve our luggage. At one point I was jumping over mounds of luggage that had been piled by airport workers. It was, hands down, the most insanely unorganized baggage claim experience of my life. Taylor guarded the carts when Leslee and I were in high gear attempting to use our internal gps. With bags located we were off!
Driving through the city you are essentially driving through clouds of dust and areas indicating how devastating the earthquake has been. There are areas where 'tent cities' have been created to house those left homeless, mountains of trash Haitians pick through in hopes of finding scraps of food or items they might be able to sell and all of this is in the present tense.
My heart aches and wishes a magic wand could be of some assistance to a land where there is a 95% unemployment rate and the average monthly income is $50.
I believe in a short time here if we can leave a few kids with a smile in their face and a sense of love then we have done something. It's hard to not feel gutted, helpless. I am just grateful to have this experience and know that we have taken a few steps and the door is always open for us to return.

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Tay doing a little summer reading Pre-Haiti:) good job!

Taylor and I were out the door by three this morning.My body, even after all these years of traveling, is not appreciative of rising before dawn. But a cup of coffee, no traffic and some good tunes evokes the full fledge travel vibe.

Taylor and I were out the door by three this morning.My body, even after all these years of traveling, is not appreciative of rising before dawn. But a cup of coffee, no traffic and some good tunes evokes the full fledge travel vibe.
We met Leslie, runs the Hope Alive Clinic, at the airport and I felt very fortunate to have access to a scale before the official check in. The first three were a few pounds under the 50 lb mark, but the last bag was a solid 56.5. Fortunately, between our other three bags and Leslie's extra space we were set. What's up, 200 lbs of awesomeness heading to Haiti!
A large portion of today will be spent traveling, but I am anxious to arrive at the clinic and get the goodness rolling.



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Got in a paddle and preppin' for Haiti

Each day of summer seems like an individual grain of sand. Sometimes you can hold a heap in the palm of your hand and then there are those moments when they seem to slip through your fingertips. I feel the older I get the quicker time goes. I feel old just saying that.
As we reach mid-July I have finally had a few opportunities to saturate myself in the Atlantic. Last night Keith and I headed to LBI for dinner and a little beach time. The ocean is pretty much a sanctuary for my mind, body and spirit. It does good things.

There is a sense of stillness and peace that comes upon me as my hands graze the surface of the water and the feel of the wave's spray as my board is hurled over the crest of the wave. It's pretty awesome.   Clear skies with 73 degree water makes for a pretty good combo even when the waves are a little challenged in the height zone. 

Nearing the 24 hour departure mark for Haiti and packing for any international trip always brings out the creative side of me. From donated lollipops, suitcases, baby formula and clothes the bags are being packed to the brim. Attempting to strategically place nail polish remover, lollipops, heaps of clothing, medicine, pens and gifts has caused me to pack, re-pack and then switch things up from all different angles. You have to take advantage of space and getting in as much as possible. 

Standing in our living room I am in awe of how almost every item stacked, stuffed and placed before me was donated by so many individuals. There were those who passed on monetary donations, the local pediatrician who hooked us up with two cases of baby formula, friends who scoured through their closets to give bags of clothing and the many others who just simply found a way to pay it forward towards Hope Alive Clinic. Heaps and heaps of supplies that will be used in countless ways. To all of you, from the bottom of my heart I say THANK YOU!!!! I am quite often left speechless and a lump in my throat whenever I have one of my crazy projects going on. So many who rally together to just make the world a little better. Dig deep and beautiful things transpire. 

We have a fifty pound limit on each of our four bags and I'm pretty determined to reach the 200 lb mark. The more I contemplate where we are going and what we're doing the greater my determination to bring as much as humanly possible. I was really stoked when I ran to the bank today asked if they were interested in donating lollipops and walked out with a 15 lb box. I figure it never hurts to ask and the worst thing is someone says no. So we will dream the dream and aim for 200 1b of goodness on trek for Haiti. Let's see how it goes! 

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Car wash, chicken fried and killer sunsets

Ringing every ounce of summer out of summer. Not sure if that's always a healthy thing, but it's how I function. The Xterra trekked from the farm and rolled into Medford Lakes leaving about 14.7 hours before we held our car wash in an effort to make some last minute cash for Haiti that will be used to purchased medical supplies. Frequently, when it comes to donating there can be skepticism as to where the money you hand over is going. Being able to convey our mission and that each penny will be used to purchase items that will immediately help people is AWESOME! 

In the pouring rain we cheered, scrubbed and sprayed in the name of Hope Alive Clinic: ) Taylor, Nate (my nephew) , Jenna, Kate & Sydney (a friend's middle school kids:)  worked non-stop with smiles on their faces. I'm always in awe of how stoked kids can get about helping others when you provide the right ingredients.
Every time someone dropped another donation they wanted to be updated on what the tally was. Overall, we raked in $204 that has the ability to literally save someone's life
 To think that some might think there is an age limit as to how old one must be to make a difference. I had a bunch of five super stoked young people who knocked it out of the park today. Way to change the world, guys!                                                      

We arrived home soaked and I felt a slight resemblance to a chia pet. After chilling for a little bit and morphing back to human status we headed to Camden with lawn chairs and smiles ready for a little Zac Brown Band! It was an awesome night of dancing in bare feet, swaying to some awesome tunes and letting myself unwind after a super long past few days. How can you not reach the zen zone with good tunes, a killer sunset and great company?

Another farm fresh trek

In an effort to squeeze in a little extra time on the farm I headed south for a few days before Taylor and I head to Haiti. I have to think that if I ever managed to sit still for more than a day I just might internally combust. Sitting still just is not my nature. Timing was perfect with having 72 hours to catch up with my Grandma who was in town for a week.
Grandma Gert has lived in Florida for over twenty years now and we typically see her once a year. The boys entertained her with their boisterous personalities and even serenaded her on the porch with their musical skills. It was nice to see her enjoying herself and just being happy. I am grateful to get the time with her, even if it is only a few days a year. She is my last surviving grandparent. It's a sad thing, but Gert is 93 in a few weeks and as spry and bedazzled as ever.

In the few days we all had together we typically slam  a whole lot into every moment we have. I always find myself mentally and physically exhausted, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Being around the little dudes recharges me in so many ways. Every moment is memorable whether it be picking apples, chasing cows, rolling the scooter down the steepest hill on the farm to sitting on the porch eating breakfast. Once the school year begins it's much more of a challenge and time constraint in seeing everyone, but I'm blessed to have the summer off.

I hope to have one last go down to Va before September rolls around. Sitting on the porch with my parents, Jess and the boys is something that I look forward to. Until then, we'll stick with daily phone calls and a fridge stocked with farm fresh eggs. Keep the goodness rolling!

Past and present connected

 

With the temps hitting an awfully uncomfortable 104 today I managed to spend most of the day indoors attempting to be productive in a way that has yet to have my a.d.d unleashed. I spoke with
my Grandmother yesterday who gave an open invite for us to come down to Florida to 'cool off' from our oppressive heat here in Jersey. Who would have thought? 

(meaning behind the sign - I was born in Pt Pleasant & grew up in Medford.)

I spent a portion of the day sorting through pictures that I have been determined to have scanned and put into dvd form & eventually book form. It's amazing in one box how much life is reflected and the chapters of our lives that are evoked from images that have managed to slip through our memory over the years. In a large rubbermaid bin hundreds of pictures were stashed in my parents attic for the past six years and the sorting through process has brought smiles and tears. In the end, I am in awe of how rich my life has been in these past thirty four years. There have been so many people in my life that have allowed me to become a better human being through their example, their words and encouragement.

I found pictures of my grandmother and grandfather that both passed on nearly thirty years ago. Both Betty and Jack left an impression upon my heart that still is carried with me today. What I take from my grandparents, sister and countless friends are life lessons that continue to mold me. We are a work in process. If you think you know it all you're wrong. If you do not seek wisdom from others (be selective with this one) and rely only upon your own understanding, faltering is inevitable. There is richness in the past and lessons to be learned. I hope to always have the ability to reflect back on different chapters of my life that may bring tears, smiles or a laugh. But through that not clinging to what could have been, but more of the blessings that existed even in the most turbulent of chapters. Life's a journey that will always have a past, present and future.