My wife is one of those 'chosen ones' who has chronic migraines. When it comes to migraine headaches cool and dark is best! 
Sheree stayin' cool
Our Doxie, Amber, takes really good care of her when she is dealin' with the pain.
Sheree with Amber
"Good dog,
Good Dog!"
These were shot with the night vision mode of my digital camera.
I think the bill caused more pain and suffering than the cut or the shot. I was very brave when the doctor put the glue on my cut, too.
it's been a while since i've had anything worthy of a post. and then it's been a while since i've had time to post. so now i find myself jobless and back from my latest adventure--nairobi--so i have plenty of time to process and post pictures and stories of the wonderful, beautiful kids i got to hang out with for a week and a half.
first i should explain where i was. i worked with an organization that rescues abandoned and orphaned babies in kenya. they have many homes across kenya, but the main place we worked at was in nairobi. they rescue babies between 0-6 months and then take care of them, make them well if they can (some of them remain positive for various diseases), and shower as much love on these babies as possible. they are there until they are adopted, or until they are 3 years old. the next step is being addressed now--what to do with the children who are older? they are working on a new plan, a further step in their outreach. hopes remain in adoptions before they reach three years old.
amy arrived at the home the night before we arrived. she was small, but had been well taken care of. but for whatever reason, she was abandoned, and they brought her to the home. with lots of love and attention, this little one brightened up quickly within the week and a half we were there. she even put on some weight... as the directors said, the kenyans love to feed their babies! :)
abel was in the crawlers room, but he climbed and almost-walked more than he crawled. a strong boy, he'll be a leader for sure. in this picture, he's trying to get to my camera. and in this picture, he's sitting on his friend so he can be the center of attention.
one day we went north of nairobi to another home that was getting ready to receive it's first baby. we painted the walls of the front room and the play room with a cheery jungle mural, and two of the baby rooms with a noah's ark mural. about halfway through the first day of painting, the first baby arrived. and the next day, when the paint was mostly dry, charity, one of the caretakers, took baby adam around and 'introduced' him to all the paintings. "this is mistah lion. he goes roar roar."
chaz. i just love this picture :)
chris was one of my buddy-buddies. he was a sweet boy, sensitive. he cried these soft, quiet cries, nothing that a little attention couldn't cure. he had fun trying to get my camera too.
clarissa playing with one of the ladies from our group. she cracked me up with the way she walked and drooled and ... enough said...
clint thoroughly enjoying his snack.
clive is an older boy that we taught little bible school lessons in the mornings. i think he helped me take this picture of himself. i think it caught his personality perfectly. :)bike riding... clive, anton, and sonia play on their bikes. clive is towing anton on the little bike, and sonia has attatched a dump truck toy to the last bike with a jumprope. she'd sit on the dumptruck, they would go, and she would fly off the truck and onto her bottom. they were truly enjoying themselves
my happy boy! noel was one of the happiest babies i have ever seen, with a look of mischief in his eyes, he ran around the room in his walker, grabbing other kids toys, stealing other volunteers' attention, always on the go, almost always laughing. we had fun together.
my sunshine. serena and i spent the most time together. she and i spent hours together while i was feeding her and singing to her and just praying for her. she was tiny, i dont know how old, but small, with a distant look in her eyes the first time i picked her up. by the end of the week, she was cooing with me while i sang to her... "you are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."
the last pictures i want to share i am submitting into the pain and suffering challenge...
this is jenny. suffice it to say she arrived malnurished and neglected. the pain in her cry and the pain in her huge eyes were enough to make one's stomach churn. she had the appearance of an old lady, withered away by a hard life. but she was only 9 months old. and weighed as much as an itty bitty newborn(6.6 lbs). (update--she is healthier and gaining weight steadily... still a long way to go, but God is good... :))
the trip was amazing. the kids were wonderful. and i still have to process through hundreds more fotos... until next time...
amandaP
Globalisation has created an economic boom resulting in the reconstruction of world cities. Those positioned to drink from the trough of global capital flows are benefitting greatly. Those who are not have found themselves on the wrong side of a widening economic gulf separating rich and poor. In a society addicted to consumption corporations have been able to pressure governments to give them numerous tax advantages on threat of pulling-out. Governments are increasingly strapped for money and are cutting social services to survive. Some are trying to fight back many are left out in the cold.
Lawrence is a man who regularly pan-handles in this location. He stands in front of a branch of TD CanadaTrust which reports multi-billion dollar quarterly earnings. Part of its corporate success has come through reducing the hours, wages and benefits of its front-line employees who, for the lack of one pay-cheque, could easily find themselves begging too.
of my son Melvin Shedd III Born & Died on June 8, 2006. It is true... I feel that it is the worst pain & suffering anyone can ever go through... the loss of your child.The tree in my thumbnail was planted in his memory.
I want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for keeping me busy this last month. I know you didn't know that's what you were doing but it was. I have enjoyed being here with all of you and I have enjoyed looking at all of your wonderful pictures. This site has been my escape from everything around me and kept my mind busy.
Thank you.
Also I want to thank you for all your kind comments & suggestions on all of my pictures and I hope to learn so much more from ya'll the longer I am here. I look forward to the future.
Thank you.
Up close and personal
Individualist
My daughter has now experienced this awful feeling. Her boyfriend has moved to another town. I have tried explaining to her that boys will come and go, but her only response to my comment was eyes rolling into the back of her head.
...I guess too many of these will also cause a different kind of pain and suffering...
I didn't find out how much, if anything, she knew of Che Guevara.
Che
as usual my grandson, mojo, stayed with us for the summer. he always looks forward to the harvest here at the farm. this one day he sat for four hours waiting for the tractors to get close enough to pick him up. after they did he rode with them another four hours harvesting the back forty. it was nearly 11:00 p.m. before he came inside for the night. he was so tired the next day, but, he was up bright and early so he wouldn't miss anything.
later, i was able to catch several good pictures of mojo and the flying tractor! the one i'm posting is my favorite.
now, for another picture concerning mojo and his summer vacations. we moved to this farm for good ten years ago. i had commented several times that it was weird that i never saw or heard frogs. i figured it was due to extensive pesticide use throughout the farms' heyday. we don't use any now and i have lots of wildlife and birds, but, still there weren't any frogs.
one day mojo came into the kitchen with a laundry list of items he needed and asked me to help him find them all. i knew better than to ask a little boy what he was planning so i helped him gather the things he wanted...a bucket, a strainer, his mudboots and a spoon. hmmm?
so i watched out the kitchen window to see just what he was up to with his supplies. i saw him wade into the mudhole at the edge of the field. you see we had had an unusually wet spring and early summer and there were tadpoles in the mudhole. i figured let him play in the mud, it'll wash off with a hose.
as i continued to watch i noticed very methodical movements of him putting something in the bucket. i thought we'll he's gonna make mud pies. then i watched him carefully pick up the bucket and head off in the direction of the barn. i stepped outside to finally ask him "what are you doing?". he replied so matter of factly. "i'm rescuing tadpoles and placing them in your water garden so you can water them and grow them into frogs. he said that he had "determined that there wasn't enough mud to water ratio and that they would die before the grow big enough to hop out of the mudhole and that's why we don't have any frogs here".
now, some two years later.
today was pool cleaning day and when we went to dump out the swimming pool, this frog was in the pool eating the insects that had fallen in overnight. he had hopped in and couldn't get out. i fished him out and i was so thrilled to see the frog that i had to take a picture!
so i hope you enjoyed my story. it is really great to have story to share and a picture to prove it.
four hours in the hot texas sun
waitin on a ride
a JOHN DEERE that flies
mojoicus hopperi
Splat! Birdbath Go ahead, make my day! "What are you lookin' at?" I'm not bitin'
Pain And Suffering
I am blessed with a pain eater who lives in my home, his name is Mishka.
The set-up !!
A very tolerent and sweet young man who would do anything to keep his girlfriend happy...
Thumbnail shot, YUK..ugly and only chicken at the BBQ Does this count as Pain and Suffering...poor thing.
Photographica Feeds
hi! my name is laura and this is my first post. the challenge is a perfect place for me to start. my niece, kori, just had her first child, anthony. she had a hard time cuz he got stuck and they had to do an emergency c-section. but they are both doing great now!