HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!
GOBBLE!! GOBBLE!!
Overheard….
**
Boat Business….
Levi: So did you see the boat when you flew out?
Asher: Nope. Couldn’t find my goggles and it was too cloudy out.
Levi: Oh. Bummer. Next time you can take mine.
**
Playing on the ipod…Grandma got ran over by a reindeer
Me: What’s wrong buddy? (little tears)
Levi: This song. It’s so sad. What if that happened to nana? I don’t think they should sing like they’re happy about it.
**
Playing on the radio: Santa Claus is coming to town…
Me: He knows if you’ve been naughty or nice. Are you worried?
Asher: True. But he doesn’t visit often. I mean I’ve never met the guy before. I’m more worried about papaw knowing. #papawcomestotownmoreoften
**
Black Friday….
Malaya: So when does black Friday begin? On Thanksgiving?
Rosie: Duh. Friday. Even I know that.
Gabe: Yeah Malaya. Everyone knows you have to wear black this Friday.
Levi: Yeah it looks like a big funeral.
**
Man with sign by the street….
Asher: Mom what does that sign say?
Me: Will work for food.
Asher: oh.(shrugs shoulders). I just work for papaw
**
Jose puts Gilligan’s Island On….
Malaya: No. I’m not watching anything about boats sinking or being lost at sea.
Asher: Do you think Gilligan could find our boat?
Levi: He’d have to bring the captain with him because he’s not really very smart.
Rosie: I just want to know. Did they ever find Gilligan?
Mikela: You guys are dumb. This was made years ago. Of course they’re not lost anymore or we would STILL hear about it in the news.
**
Jody Owen Castillo
November 5 at 10:03pm ·
I’m not sure what’s worse?
Admitting that I was drinking a milkshake while taking a bath…. or that when I accidentally dropped it in the tub I shed a few years because I couldn’t finish it. #firstworldproblems
So we’ve been shopping for supplies and we have two crates already packed. Jose keeps sharing our story at check-out to see if stores will give us any discounts.
So we just went to Lowes and before we knew it Asher was gone. It was actually pretty scary at first. We found him by customer service. He was explaining to the employees and the 3 people who were in line about how our boat sank…… AND then asked them what they were going to do to help? We got $40.00 & 10% off of our purchase! #likefatherlikeson #blushingandblessed
**
Jody Owen Castillo October 25 at 10:32am ·
Asher: So yeah we live in Haiti. The devil sank our ship. Do you know him? He’s a bad guy. We had a lot of stuff in that boat. I think if an octopus found our instruments he could be his own band and play our keyboard, drums and guitars and then everyone could dance like in the Little Mermaid.
So I’m flying to the states and then I’ll take a boat. We have to repack our barrels and crates that are at the bottom of the ocean. I guess we will use papaw’s forklift to get them out of the ship so we can repack them. I can’t wait to see everything that’s in the boat but I’ll need goggles so the water doesn’t hurt my eyes…
(Wait what?) #haiti #divingforsunkentreasure
**
Words of wisdom from Asher (Jody Owen Castillo). Auntie Lolo you are not old. My Papaw is 70 years old and he’s not dead.
**
Last BUT not least….
On Halloween the kids, Susan, & Momma Gigi played games. As I listened to the kids and Susan share about their game Sardines I was could barely breathe I was laughing so hard. (Sardines is where one person hides and everyone looks for them. If you find them you hide with them until there’s only one person seeking left).
There were so many hiding scenarios that were SO HILARIOUS – I can’t even really describe them all.
But here’s one….
The lights were off in our house so it was pitch dark. Susan hid in our bath-tub. She put our little green non-slip mat over her. Malaya was the first person who found her. So she got in the tub with her. Then Mikela found her so they hid together. Susan is telling us about how loud the boys & Rosie are. She can tell they’re far away. But she said she never heard Momma Gigi come into the room. The next thing she knew Momma Gigi just bounced in on top of all of them. So picture the pressure (literally) & surprise – of malaya/mikela/susan under a suction cup bathmat and momma gigi just hops on top. The girls said the suction cups left little impressions on their head!! LOL!
Another game was truth or dare. Their first time playing.
Levi was dared to lick momma gigi’s foot. (and he did)
Susan was dared to eat out of the trash. (Well – I won’t rat her out!)
Momma Gigi was dared to jump in the pool fully clothed. (and she did).
LORD HAVE MERCY!! LOL!!
**
I hope reading through these posts have made you laugh! I wish you could have overhead all of this with us! One thing is for sure – laughter is the best medicine!
So TODAY I’m thankful for laughter! For these hilarious kids – staff – friends – family – that our wonderful & thoughtful God has surrounded me with!
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SO Thankful…Day 26
Over the past few days I’ve laughed and smiled so much that my face hurts! When you’re surrounded by suffering and pain in Haiti – you often feel guilty if you’re really happy. You know what I mean? How can I smile and chuckle when the people I would laugh with can’t even feed their children every day? There’s something unsettling about that. It’s SO easy to lose sight of Joy when you’re surrounded by so much sorrow. In October we visited St. Louis du Nord (for less than 24 hours) right after Catalyst. It was so great to see our Haitian friends. If I heard it once – I heard it 20 times – – We miss you joking with us. We miss you teasing us! We miss your laughter! A few weeks ago I decided for the first time since we’ve been in the Mole to surprise everyone and play games instead of having our usual devotional time. We started off playing hot potato. Then two rounds of musical chairs – which Momma Gigi claimed victory as she used her bum to scoot the littler people out of their chairs! We ALL laughed until we cried. We moved onto relay games and ended the hour exhausted from the fun! I heard the Pastor talking to his wife as they were leaving – “This was a great surprise! I really needed to laugh today!”
Ecclesiastes 3
1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: 2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; 3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; How often do we forget there is a time to laugh and a time to dance? As I begin to close down on these 30 Days of Thanksgiving – I didn’t have any trouble thinking of something every day! I might have to think about how I want to share it – but the blessings were there to be counted. And if we can list even 1 thing – we should be dancing a jig of joy! What I realized after my visit in St. Louis and that hour of play was that I needed to lead the staff in laughter! They NEEDED me to help them laugh! They NEEDED to be reminded there is JOY in this world! God created laughter and He has definitely blessed me with a sense of humor! This fall He showed me that He NEEDS me to use it! He NEEDS me to show people that you can still laugh in the midst of life. Everyone needs that break from reality! So today I am thankful for laughter! For being able losing ourselves in a moment! 