Sister Surprise

A few months ago my younger sister Lydia, who lives in Baltimore with her family, messaged me with a proposal - our older sister Kathy, who lives in London, was going to be visiting her for a few days in November and she invited me to come up to surprise her. Of course, I said yes. The last time we had done something like that was years ago, and with both of them married and having family responsibilities of their own, it is not very often that we get to spend time together. So tickets were bought and plans were made for me to leave Trinidad the first week in November. I was also elated that I would get to lime with my nephews twice in the same year!

They didn't seem to mind having a roommate who they

could wake up at 5am every morning :)

Who was to know that, two weeks before I was scheduled to fly out, Trinidad would have been hit by the most devastating floods that we had ever experienced? As one of the persons who had been on the ground helping to distribute relief to those in need, it was difficult for me to leave at such a crucial time. But I am so grateful for technology, and for my network of friends and family and supporters. On the way to the airport, I was able to co-ordinate transportation to deliver two beds from a donor in South, to families in Sangre Grande and Brazil who were sleeping on the ground. While I was in Baltimore, I was able to facilitate the purchase of fifteen bookbags for students at Brazil Secondary who had lost their bags in the flood. I was also able to arrange for 4 mattresses to be purchased for residents of Manual Congo who had none to sleep on. I would not have been able to do this without the generous support of those who gave of their finances and time to be a channel of blessing to those who were most in need.

Some of these bags cost as much as $300 but the owner gave

them to us at $150 when he found out who they were for :)

Kathy was only with us in Baltimore for a few days, so we had a full itinerary for the days she was there. Our family loves the outdoors and nature, so we went for a walk in the "woods" to enjoy the fresh air and see the magnificent colors of fall. We paid a visit to the National Aquarium where our nephews enjoyed seeing their favorite sea creatures. We ventured out to an escape room where we had to put our heads together to figure out all the clues before our time ran out. In between that we played and read stories and enjoyed life with them. All too soon, the time ran out and we had to say our goodbyes.

Monkeying around on our last 

night together

My nephews have grown so much in the past 6 months!!! Enoch is walking confidently now, running to keep up with his big brother. He wants to play with anything that his brother has and loves following him around. He is always camera ready - from the time he sees a phone pointed in his direction, he stops whatever he is doing and his face lights up with a big cheeeeeeeeeesssssseeee! He is the social one who would walk up to strangers in the airport and say "Hi" with an adorable smile on his face. He loves wild play, especially when it involves throwing his body around and biting and climbing all over people. He still loves snuggles and has developed a love for books. His favorite animals are dogs and turtles, and he is at the parrot stage where he repeats everything you say. He spent the entire time calling me "Debbie" except for the time when I buffed him and at the end when I gave him the typical "You hear wat I say?" he responded, "Yes Aunty"

Can you feel the love?

Isaiah is brilliant beyond his 3 years of life. He still loves books and has his favorite ones memorized so you dare not skip out a word when you are reading to him. His mother started buying dot to dot books for him and he would breeze through the ones that go up to 25 in one sitting. So she started buying the ones to 50 and still he was not being challenged by them. It was only when she bought the ones that go up to 100 that he actually had to slow down and think instead of zipping through the pages one after the next. He enjoys trips to the park and to the library where he can play games that challenge his mind. He is doing better with sharing his toys with his little brother, but there are times when he is just happy to be in his own space. He is still obsessed with planes and is developing a love for board games as well. He has his random times where he starts laughing at some small thing that is not even remotely funny but to him it is the best joke in the world.

He used his magna tiles to build

this model of a plane all on his own!

When I was packing to go on this trip, I asked Lydia if I should pack my winter jacket. Her response was, No it's not that cold, and if it gets cold you can borrow mine. Every day that I was there was colder than the day before. I was just recovering from the cold before I arrived, and I think the change in temperature just restarted the process so I got sick all over again. I was congested and coughing a lot even though I was resting. I always say that it is a waste of cold if there is no snow, so I was very excited when I found out that it would be snowing while I was there! It was not a whole lot, but at least Enoch and I were able to crunch around in the snow and throw a couple snow balls around before they melted the next day.

Winter Wonderland!

My sisters and I are all one year apart in age, so that meant a lot of fighting when we were growing up because we had a lot of sharing to do and who likes to share when you are a child? I am so grateful to God that when we started to drift apart physically that is when we started to get closer emotionally so now when we get together it is a joy and not a pain to endure. No matter how often we get to meet or how long we spend together, it is never long enough. I wish they didn't live so far away, but I am thankful for the bond we now share.

We even start to look like each other :D

On my way back home I was able to surprise another sister by spending some unexpected time with her :) A few months ago I started getting some pain in my elbow. It was especially bad in the night when I was trying to sleep. It kept getting worse so I eventually visited my doctor who said it was tendonitis due to repeated use. My flight to Baltimore included a one day layover in Miami. On my way up I visited my friend who is my family and also a licensed physiotherapist and after examining me she said that she could treat my elbow but it would be very painful for a few days after. Since my return flight was supposed to be the Monday before Thanksgiving it was very cheap for me to change my flight to go back home the day after Thanksgiving so I would be able to spend a few days in Miami for her to treat me.

Getting treated from the comfort of home

I have spent a couple thanksgivings in the States, but this was my first in Miami. It was also the first time that Arlette and her family were celebrating Thanksgiving in their home, so it wonderful to be able to spend this time with them. The children came home from college and friends came over and a delicious meal was prepared and we all shared the blessings that we were thankful for. My time there was full of love and laughter as we played games and sang songs and just enjoyed being in one another's company.

Friends who are family

I am so grateful for the opportunity I had to spend such a refreshing time with my sisters who I do not get to see regularly, and look forward to when next we get to meet again.