A really "crappy" day

What an exciting day we have had in the Folman household. For obvious reasons, which you will read about, there will be no photos involoved in this post. If you need to see a photo as you read, refer to the expression on Sophia's face in the photo below. It may express a fraction of how this day went.

So, here's the story. This morning started out with an immediate change of Caleb's clothing because he pooped through his pj's. We got that taken care of, the kids ate and Ben went to work. Then, around 10:45 it all happened. Sophia had a temper tantrum, ran into the bathroom, slammed the door and then I heard her playing with the lock. I heard her lock the door so I went over there to tell her to unlock it. She started trying and she couldn't get it. If you've never been to our apartment, it's got all this great old woodwork and glass door handles. Very pretty until you have a 3-year old locked in the bathroom. I had never realized this before but there is absolutely no way to unlock the door from the outside. I kept trying to get Sophia to do it and she couldn't so I ran down and asked my landlords if they knew a way to get it open. They came and looked at it and then called their locksmith friend.

In the meantime, I never explained what Sophia's temper tantrum was about. She kept getting a red face because she had to go to the bathroom but was saying she didn't have to go. I finally told her she had to go try and that's when she ran off. So, there Sophia is, locked in the bathroom, trying to open the door and not to go to the bathroom.

After a few minutes of trying to get Sophia to open the door, encouraging her to try to go potty, waiting for the locksmith guy and looking for other ways to get the door open, Sophia suddenly says, "oh no...I stepped in poop...OH NO, THERE'S POOP ALL OVER ME!!!" She says she doesn't even know what happened but I was starting to think about the mess we were going to find when we finally got the dumb door open.

Up until this point Sophia actually did pretty well. She didn't freak out or anything but now she wanted me to come in and clean her up. She started crying a little at first and then harder and harder. I called Ben back and asked if he could come home (he was working not too far away). I knew Caleb would be waking up soon and whenever we got her out of there we would have a mess to clean up and try to keep him out of.

The locksmith guy came at some point in here and started trying to get the door open but quickly saw that there was no way to do it but break the door. (I could have told him that and if they didn't do it quick I was ready to just call 911 and tell them I needed someone to come break the door in!) Sophia was screaming and crying really hard and Caleb was awake at this point. The guy had to use a sawzall to break the door frame, which Sophia really didn't like. Finally, Ben came in as the locksmith and our landlord were prying the door open through the busted up frame. As soon as the door opened the wonderful odor filled the whole hallway! She was locked in there for almost 40 minutes.

Ben cleaned Sophia up while I kept Caleb from eating paint chips and everyone finally calmed down, thankfully. Sophia calmed down pretty quickly after but each time I talk about it if I chuckle at all she immediately says, "That wasn't funny. Why are you laughing?"

One more thing to top off the morning, as if all that wasn't enough. As Ben was getting some lunch ready for everyone Caleb came in the room and Ben smelled his dirty diaper. He wanted to change him right away so I didn't have to - what a great husband. Well, a minute later I hear him screaming for me from Caleb's bedroom. Somehow the kid pooped through his entire outfit again! Seriously, everything he was wearing was covered. I ended up just giving him his second bath of the day!

Oh...the joys of parenting. I'm going to sleep now. It's been a long, long day.

Nummy!

Sophia and I made some super delicious chocolate chip cookies this morning and we all had one after lunch today. I think it was the first time I have just given Caleb a whole cookie to eat. He loved it. The chocolate chips were still really soft and warm so it made a huge mess.

Sophia also loved the cookies, of course, and was way into making weird faces for the camera.

Negotiations

Sophia has become quite the little negotiator lately. After lunch today she asked if she could watch TV and I said no because she had already watched some this morning. She started screaming and crying and then came back a minute later and said, "I know. How about instead of watching TV, I watch Ice Age: The Meltdown." When I said no to that she began screaming and crying again. I let her cry for a couple minutes while I finished cleaning up and then said, "Sophia, do you ever get things you want by screaming and crying?" She immediately stopped crying, laughed and said, "actually, no!" I couldn't help but laugh at that. Then I asked her why this time would be different and she said, "but I wanted it to be different this time!" I couldn't believe her.

She must be learning her negotiating tricks from Ben. We went to Hom Furniture yesterday to buy a much needed comfortable couch. We found a couch we liked a lot and while Sophia, Caleb and I enjoyed some free fresh-baked cookies in the kids' play area, Ben talked to the salesman. He ended up getting the guy to take 38% off the price it was marked. His technique was much different than Sophia's. He mostly stood there without saying much - just throwing in an occasional, "My wife would kill me if I spent that much on a couch." The guy just talked himself down. I was impressed. Unfortunately, it takes 4 months to get the couch in because it was a custom order! Ben figures the wait will just make it seem like we are getting a free couch when it finally comes since we paid for it up front!

As for Sophia's negotiating skills, there's only one way that I am able to spend this much time posting on the blog. She is happily watching Ice Age. I finally gave in and told her she could watch part of it. Of course, she just turned to me a minute ago and said, "Mommy, I'm not watching part of this, you're letting me watch the whole thing." When I said no she wasn't she just smiled and said, "yes, I am." I better go enforce at least one of the things I told her!

Back home safe and sound

Well I am back safely to the frigid Duluth winter, along with the rest of my teammates. On the last working day of our trip, we worked at the house you see above. If you notice how small the shovels in the first picture look compared to the doorframe you'll realize that the ceiling is about 12 feet tall. After waiting for a team member who was stuck in traffic to return with taller ladders so we could tear down the ceiling, I decided to climb up into the rafters and bust up the ceiling from above. It was probably the hardest work I had done all week. It was about 80 degrees and very humid. I sat on one beam and propped my leg up on the one in front of me. By the end of the day, I was limping around because my butt and my back hurt so bad. Don't worry...I'm recovering fine after a few strategic massages from Jen.

On Saturday we packed up and had a chance to see a bit more of the city before we flew home. We went to City Park, which was absolutely beautiful. I had to take some pictures of the water and trees around the park because they were so green (here in Duluth there's no snow so everything is brown!). Flying home was a bit of a temperature shock. We went from 80 degrees to a windchill of -13!

It was so good to be back and see Jen, Sophia and Caleb. Since coming home, both Sophia and Caleb run to me every time I come through the door and give me great big hugs. It's a great feeling. It's nice to be back with Jen too and I loved being able to share all the details with her of the trip and hear all the ways Sophia and Caleb terrorized our apartment while I was gone.

Both yesterday and today we went to a different area of New Orleans to work on the house you see above. The new owner is a member of the worship team at a Vineyard down here, which was cool to find out. It was night and day difference between this place and the place we worked at for the first two days. Here it felt much more like a nice blue collar suburban neighborhood where many homes were a long way towards being rebuilt and the neighborhood had banded together in a flurry of activity to help one another in the rebuilding; the first neighborhood looked much poorer and still seemed totally devastated with much work left to be done and no one around to do it. In the first home we started from scratch gutting the home and taking it a long way towards being livable. In this house (above) we did all the final prep work so that it could then be sheetrocked and rebuilt. Both experiences were amazing because through both you left feeling like you're that much closer to helping someone get their life back together.

As a team we talked about what we've experienced so far and how it has impacted us. One team member shared the verse Galatians 6:9-10 where it says, "Let us not become weary in doing good for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." As we talked about this verse and our experiences, we were physically tired and some of us felt like it was just becoming a "job". But as we shared stories of the people we interacted with, suddenly we realized how good God is and how amazing these people's stories were.

One person shared with me today that as they watched the water flow down the street they put towels under the door. Then, water came up through the floor boards. In 15 minutes it had reached his shins, in 30 mintues it was at his waist and by 45 minutes after the water first began to flow, it was up to his armpits and he had to swim out of his home. He swam next door to his father in-law's place (who was an invalid) and they climbed up to the attic where they waited for rescuers to come in a boat and cut a hole in the side of the house to get them out. Another person shared how when his family called to check in on him, he lied and said he made it out safely and was on the road; in reality, he was stuck on top of a lift bridge with water covering the houses and street below; he stayed there two days before being rescued. All this becomes so much more real when you see it with your own eyes and hear people's stories with your own ears. How I wish I had paid more attention to the news stories.

Today as a group we watched a video on the Mercy Response website (www.mercyresponse.com) that displayed how the water poured into the city as the levy's broke. We identified where we have worked on houses and how deep the water had gotten in that area. The second photo above is of Lake Pontchartrain. This was the lake that swelled as the hurricane filled it with water and contributed to the failing of numerous levys. To stand and look out at it is amazing; it's like looking out at Lake Superior where all you see is water...there's no land in sight, it's that big.

As a team, I think the gravity of the destruction dawns on us in waves and it only encourages us to pray for the many people whose lives are no where near back to normal. Many that we have talked to are just moving back into the city after nearly a year and half. May God continue to provide for everyone's needs and use me in any way He sees fit do do so.

Today marks day one of gutting homes. We had a "house gutting 101" class before we went out, then we just went out and got to work. When we got the house, there was stuff everywhere–piles of sheetrock and plaster and board. There was not even one square foot of space on the floor to walk. Our job was to take everything down to the studs so that they could begin the rebuilding process–take out all personal items, appliances, sinks, toilets, walls, carpet, everything!

One of the best parts about the work today was getting to interact with the homeowner, her daughters and her grandson. She came into the house to personally hug us and thank us for all our hard work. I couldn't imagine the mix of joy and sorrow she felt as she walked through her house and relived the many memories yet the place was stripped bare. One person on our team had the chance to pray for her too. We were so blessed to see the joy and hope on their faces–they talked and laughed with us for about a half hour. I can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds.

Mercy Response–New Orleans

Here's a fun new adventure that I'm on that I wanted to share with everyone. Me and a team of 12 other people from my church went down to Kenner, Louisiana to join with the Kenner Vineyard and Mercy Response (an organization formed by the National Association of Vineyard Churches in response to Hurricane Katrina and Rita) to help in the relief effort. We arrived on Saturday and got settled in. Today, Sunday, we got to take some time to tour the city and decided to go to the French Quarter, which was quite the experience.

In the first photo is most of the team standing in front of the Mississippi River. We got to talk to a woman whose house was flooded with nine and a half feet of water–three feet into the second floor!

The second and third photos are right at Jackson Square. The first is a picture of a cathedral there with a monument of Andrew Jackson in the center of the park and the other is a photo of the street right in front of it (notice the tarot reading sign).

We also had the opportunity to walk down the famous Bourbon street and had coffee and beignets (donuts) at cafe du monte. The last picture is of two musicians playing in front of the cafe. They were actually very good. Some of the other shops and stores were a lot scarier than the cafe. Many streets had voodoo shops or x-rated bars...not the safest place to be. In fact, we have had at least three warnings (including from the leaders down here) that we ought not to travel in groups of less than four because the "murder rate is pretty high down here".

Tomorrow we're going to begin gutting homes. The one we'll be going to has not been touched since the hurricane hit! It's mind boggling to think of. We're praying that God will give us lots of opportunity to help in any way we can whether that is through doing demolition work or by simply listening to someone's story or praying with them. All in all, we can't wait to see what happens next!

All alone...

Ben left this morning for a missions trip to New Orleans for a week. He took the camera with him so if you see any photos on here this week they will be from him, which would be pretty cool. He is leading a team of 13 people from our church down there. They are joining the Kenner Vineyard Church just outside of New Orleans as part of their Mercy Response Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. They will be spending the week gutting homes and trying to help people rebuild somewhat of a life. I've heard that it's pretty shocking to see just how much damage is still left there. It seems like forgotten news. You can click here to look at the Mercy Response website if you're interested in more information about what he's doing.

While he's gone, I am here with the two kiddos solo. So far (all 8 hours that he's been gone) the kids have been abnormally calm. Well, Sophia has been abnormally calm. Caleb would need to be sedated for that to happen but he's been pretty sleepy from his shots yesterday so the stints of hyperness are short-lived.

If you think of it, give me a call or shoot me an email this week. I'm sure I will need some adults to talk to, probably quite desperately by the end of the week!!
Jenny

Phantom Toy

Funny story...ever since we got back from Christmas we have had these loud phantom toy noises coming from the living room. Caleb got a few really noisy toys for Christmas and we thought it was one of the cars but couldn't figure it out. We would get ready for bed, long after the kids are in bed and suddenly we hear these car noises coming from the living room. It even went off in the middle of the night one night when Caleb woke up and Ben walked through the living room. None of the new toys have "off" switches so there was nothing we could do about it.

So, Ben finally solved the mystery last night. Caleb got this puzzle that has all sorts of transportation vehicles on it. When you put the puzzle piece in it's spot it makes the noise of that vehicle ( car, train, etc...). Ben finally figured out that the way it does that is a light sensor. When it gets dark on the picture because the puzzle piece is there, it makes the noise. It turns out the airplane one is especially sensitive and every time we turn the lights off, if the puzzle piece isn't in it's spot, it makes the airplane noise! Really, who ever heard of a puzzle that takes batteries? It's a cool puzzle though, a little cooler now that we can control it's noises! Caleb loves it. Thanks Christy and Danny!

Happy New Year!

It's been awhile since we did our last post. We left for the Cities after church Christmas Eve and didn't come back until yesterday. It was quite the adventurous week. We stayed with my sister Kathy's family for Christmas and my parents and brother, Nick were there too. We were able to spend time celebrating with my family and Ben's which was really nice.

We spent the week in the cities and then headed up to my parents' house in Breezy Point on Friday, where we stayed for the weekend. A bunch of my family went up there too so it was really fun. We were able to celebrate Caleb's first birthday with everyone Saturday and bring in the New Year on Sunday with a Dance Dance Revolution competition followed by some great cheese fondue (and some other great snacks) and a slide show of a bunch of old family photos. Unfortunately, the show started in about 1960 and we just barely made it to the beginning of my life before the slides had to be put away to see the ball drop! That's ok though. It was fun to see what my family looked like before I ever entered the picture. Apparently there were a lot more zoos and amusement parks before I came along!

I think I would be here all night if I tried to post all the great pictures from this week so I will stick to the highlights.

-Jenny

Ben's stepsister, Christy, gave their dogs a workout by pulling the kids around in the sleds. Sophia didn't want to do it but Caleb was all for it.

Ben's brothers kids, Breanna and Kalista with Sophia and Caleb. It was fun trying to get four kids under 4 to cooperate for a photo!

My parents with most of the grandkids that were around on Christmas. Caleb was already sleeping.


Sophia and her cousin Sebastian. Sebastian just turned two but they are about the same size. I thought this picture was really cute!

By Thursday afternoon both kids had pinkeye and Caleb had an ear infection. I have no idea where they got the pinkeye from but it cleared up by the end of the weekend. Everytime we go to the cities we end up bringing someone to urgent care! Don't they look terrible?!


Sophia got to try out her new cross-country skis and I got to try my new snowshoes out at my parents house Saturday. Unfortunately, by Sunday most of the snow had melted and we don't have much here!

I know he's crying but Caleb really was excited about his birthday cake. He just loves to eat so much that he can't handle the cake being a whole foot away. He wanted to dig right in and eat!

Sophia's aunt, Karna, made this poncho for her for Christmas. It turned out really cute. I think I should learn how to knit so I can make stuff like that!