Portrait of Halloween

Today I took the kids to get their annual Halloween photos. We took Madeline Hubbard (Emma's best friend) along. She and Emma dressed up as twin Elvis's. Here...take a look!

Sage Sisterly Snippets

"Every song tells a story, Maddie"-

Emma Baldwin

(old picture but new quote!)

My Miniature Diva...

San Diego Fire Relief

· Over 1700 homes lost in San Diego alone to date
· Hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes
· Largest evacuation in California history…larger than evacuation during Hurricane Katrina

You may be like me and watching the news wondering what in the world you can possibly do to make a difference even from a distance. I have one avenue that I would like to pitch out to you.

When we left San Diego, we were involved in a church called Crossroads Church. The congregation at Crossroads has a motto: No One Stands Alone and they live it. When there is a need they will hold “No One Stands Alone” offerings and throw themselves into serving that need. This is NOT a church with a lot of money. They do not live in suburban America with 4 bedroom homes and 2 car garages. Many of them rent and live in apartments. The majority are blue collar workers living paycheck to paycheck. They are a living, contemporary example of the church in 2 Corinthians 8:

2 Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme
poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.

Crossroads is currently involved in the effort to provide fire relief in San Diego. They have done everything from directing traffic in front of shelters to donating water, cots and other needs. They are being the hands and feet of Jesus to the victims of the fires with their time, energy and money.

Here’s how you can help. By writing a check to Crossroads Church and including “SD Fires” in the memo line you can be guaranteed that your money will go directly to fire relief. If you are in the Michiana area, I would be happy to collect the checks and get them to Crossroads. Or you can mail your check directly to them. (You will receive a tax receipt at the end of the year)

I’ve included an e-mail from the fire relief point person at Crossroads so you can get an idea of what is being done.

Thank you already to those of you who have already contributed!

****************************************************************

Hello everyone,

Matt Ortiz and I spent the morning and early afternoon visiting some evacuation shelters. From our contact with leaders there I would like to suggest a strategy for those would like to organize and help. Please forward this to anyone who is interesting in participating. If you want to receive updates on how to help, make sure you e-mail me at Daviemio1@hotmail.com or call me at 619 248 8226.


Assessment
First, let me describe the situation with evacuation centers. Almost all centers are currently well organized, supplied, and staffed. Volunteers have been storming Evacuation Centers in large numbers. Matt and I spoke with the leaders of the Chula Vista Youth Center and two San Ysidro evacuation centers today. The centers are well prepared for Evacuees. Larger Centers are the main focus for the cities and are less needy. Qualcomm and the Rock for example even have live entertainment. It is the smaller centers, especially those housing the elderly, that are the one's needing more supplies and manpower. Since the volunteers came as a spur of the moment "thing," these smaller centers may need assistance soon.

Assisting

For those who are local to San Diego: Scouting the needs of smaller Evacuation Centers might be the best use of our time. As the day(s) go on, the needs of specific evacuation centers will become clear. Perhaps the best strategy now would be to visit local centers, meet the leaders get their contact information and ask them regarding their needs. Do they need people or supplies? If so, what kind of supplies and what kind of activities are the people needed for. Basically, the evacuation centers are off to a good start, but we want to make sure we can be there if the volunteers and supplies start to die down. If you are not local to San Diego: It's difficult to see if and when we will need volunteers. So far it seems like evacuation centers have more volunteers than they actually need, but this could easily change. If you are interested in helping, please let me know what you think you can do. As we hear from individual evacuation centers I will pass that information on to you.
My email is daviemio1@hotmail.com.
My cell phone is 619 248 8226.

Summary

1. Tomorrow (Wednesday) night Crossroads Community Group will meet at Chula Vista Youth Center to volunteer from 6pm-8pm. It is on the south side of Chula Vista High School 4th and K in Chula Vista. Tim Berroth is sending information.


2. Find and visit local evacuation centers, meet their leaders, get contact information, inform them or you willingness to help, and determine their needs. As you encounter needs, please pass those on to others (and please to me).


3. If you are out of town, please let me know what you are thinking you can do, so that we have an idea of what we can rely on you to provide. Primary Needs: Cots (especially for the elderly), Bedding, Toiletries (not toilet paper - there's plenty of that), Cash (Note: See P.S. below)

Thank you,

David Looney

P.S. Crossroads Church can accept checks made payable to Crossroads Church with a memo line that reads: San Diego Fire Relief.
Mail to:
Crossroads Church
555 Saturn Blvd., Suite B, PMB#510
San Diego, CA 92154

The Sky!

We don't have any fires coloring our sunsets at the moment but you sure wouldn't know it by looking at our sky last night...do you remember that commercial a few years back where the little boy and daddy watched the sunset and then the little boy whispered, "Do it again, Daddy..."

Do it again, Daddy...

Preschool Perspective

Maddie's comments to me while we watched "Dancing With The Stars" during their samba/rhumba episode...

1. "Mommy, somebody ripped the back of her dress!"


2. "Eeewwww...she's NAKED!"

Latest Update!

According to San Diego Sheriff's 346,000 homes have been evacuated...that is NOT the number of people...that is the number of homes...the number of people is MUCH higher.

I am working with my brother's church, Crossroads, to coordinate relief efforts. If you would like to be a part of this effort, please leave a comment and I will contact you when I have details and resources set up to accomodate the help! Thank you!

Prayer Request!

Many of my friends and family live in the San Diego area. They are currently facing multiple firestorms in worse conditions than when we had them back in 2003 (our family was evacuated at that time but suffered no damage...other than smoke and ash). Some have been evacuated and others are on alert. Please keep them in prayer. The entire city is blackened with smoke and ash.

Parenting Tip of the Day

From Stephen Colbert's "I Am America (And So Can You!)" :

Arbitrary rules teach kids discipline: If every rule made sense, they wouldn't be learning respect for authority, they'd be learning logic.

Basement Burrowing

The kids and I are currently huddled in our basement. Landen has the girls watching "Annie" on Larry's laptop while I track the storms on the television. Our sirens went off a few minutes ago sending Emma screaming down the stairs while Isaac had the presence of mind to grab Maddie from bed and meet us in the basement. Poor Maddie was shaking so hard from being jolted from bed by sirens and screaming...she ran to Landen and wouldn't let him put her down. Oh...the exciting adventures of midwest living. Can't wait to get back to the earthquakes.

Finally! A Candidate I Can Stand Behind!

And I'm thinkin' the view might not be too bad from back there...hmmmm....

Yes, it's true...the illustrious Stephen Tyrone Colbert has officially announced his bid for the Presidency.

Creative, socially-conscious, intelligent housewives unite!

Geek Shriek

I have absolutely NO love for the Geek Squad at the moment!

Desert Wanderings

I thought we were headed for Canaan. We had sold our overpriced, yard-deprived bungalow in the dry, smog-filled, traffic-infested land of Southern California for a solid profit and after the purchase our new much larger home in a green, upscale Midwestern neighborhood, still had money to sock away for a rainy day. We had experienced a peace about our new adventure and not solely based on what seemed like the promise of financial security. Every door had opened wide for us and we were eager to see what God had planned for our family of five in our new community.

I have to say that the first few months were incredible. Larry was home because we were waiting for a contract he had to start. We found a perfect local coffee house to hang out in and felt a strong calling to our church. We dove into our new life with relish. Within a few months we had some significant friendships, had gone to China on a mission trip, were starting an orphan ministry and were enjoying making our new house a home. We came home from China and began the adoption process for our sweet Madeleine who was waiting in an orphanage back in Asia, a addition to our family we hadn’t even considered while in San Diego.

Then the roof caved in. Every consulting contract that appeared on the horizon seemed to dissolve before our eyes as obstacle after obstacle kept us from moving forward. We started living on our profit from our San Diego house and, with adoption costs added to every day living expenses, we started watching our nest egg evaporate. Each consulting contract soon became the proverbial carrot…always just a little out of reach. The lean months turned into a year. A year turned into two. Our money was gone and our credit was maxed. We were down to one car and struggling to pay the bills each month.

Why had God brought us here just to let us flounder? Had we been mistaken in what we thought had been his direction? We believed we had been obedient. We believed that He had plans for us beyond what we could imagine. We certainly hadn’t imagined this.

And yet we got to see God where we had never seen him before. We met him on our patio in the melting snow where bags of groceries had been left anonymously. We found him in our mailbox where two gift cards of $200 each showed up in a blank envelope at Christmas time. We glimpsed him in the eyes of our new chosen child. Everywhere we turned, expecting to find no one, we found Him.

So, here we are. Three years after arriving in what we believed was the Promised Land, we are leaving. God has provided a job for Larry in San Diego. This is where my family is. This is where I am from. What we thought was our Canaan has been revealed to us as our desert wanderings. A place where God has been refining us, teaching us to depend on His provision and increasing our faith. He has taken two first-born over-achievers and taught us how to accept help. He has deepened our understanding of the gospel and how it should affect the way we live. And frankly, we’re not sure that our big, beautiful house in suburbia is it.

While to many people it may look as if we are running home with empty hands, we have seen the sovereignty of God at work in our lives, as individuals and as a family and it has changed us. And we wouldn’t change that for anything.

I miss...

my husband.

Maddie quote...

A couple days ago, as a flock of geese flew over our house (one of the many things I will miss about living here)...

"Thems geese gots lotsa family!"

wow...

rough couple of days.