My childhood and what it taught me - dedicated to all those in Haiti.

This post is dedicated to all the people in Haiti that have lost so much and are suffering. 

Our house in the village where we lived.

We all look back at our childhood memories and reminisce.  I've been doing a lot of that lately and have come to realize that a lot of how I was raised is now influencing the way I run my life and my business.

As some of you know, I was a missionary kid and for part of my childhood grew up in a pretty primitive part of Mexico (Chiapas).

 I'm grateful that while we eat we don't have kids peering through watching us.  Grateful for privacy.

We lived very simply.  I don't know how my mom did it but she always made it feel like home.

Notice the mud stove. 

 As I look at this, I'm so grateful for my double oven and my Travertine and wood floors.

Making our own bread and cinnamon rolls.  We baked them in the mud stove with a special technique using the coals.

Feel blessed that I was able to teach my kids how to make bread and also love my Krispy Kreme Donuts and Starbucks down the street!

Home Schooling was accompanied by a neighbor playing the guitar.

I'm thankful for the memories with my mom and that my kids have an incredible school they get to go to.  Mom you did a great job but  how blessed I am that we have great schools where we live.

We had no electricity so we had dinners by candlelight.

  Love that I have a switch that turn my lights on and off..  I also still love my candles, even though my house almost burned down because of them (that's another blog entry).

My sister and I washing clothes in the stream with our friend Cecillia.

Dad called us his twin tub washing machine

Guess who had to hang them all out on the washing line?  Yes, We did.  Cecillia taught us how to carry the silver buckets on our heads and we felt quite pleased and proud about that.  I could probably still do that today.  We all have unusual talents, this is mine!

 I'm thankful for being able to adjust to another culture and make friends with kids that didn't even speak my language.  Hand motions does the trick every time.    My washer and dryer are also at the top of my thankful list even though they aren't the red front loaders that I love so much.

Mom doing dishes outside.  Luckily we couldn't reach the sink!  She never complained.  She always said, "I have a great view."

I'm thankful for my mom and dad that instilled in me a great attitude in hard circumstances and am extremely happy that I have a dishwasher that washes and dries my dishes within an hour - it disinfects them with HOT water too!

Reading letter from home - 4 week old news but we were glued to every word from our grandparents and cousins in Africa.  Notice the mud floors and my precious porcelain bride doll on the window ledge that went everywhere with me.

 

 What a blessing to have e-mail and Facebook where I can communicate with my friends by the minute.

We could bath in the river but we often loved walking to our favorite waterfall!

It was absolute heaven on earth and we tried to make the trip each weekend.  We didn't tell a soul we knew about this hideaway!

I'm thankful for pool in my backyard and for my hot water that automatically comes on in my shower each morning.  I'm also glad that I don't have to hike 2 miles to get to my bathroom!  I'm also happy that I get to use shampoo and conditioner instead of just plain ivory soap!

Our grocery store

My parents trained other missionaries on how to survive in the jungle.  We would stock up for 3 weeks and take everyone out for a test survival run.  Above are all the moms stocking up for their families.

I'm loving my Tom Thumb store that has more selections than I could ever imagine!  The first time my mom came home to visit she cried when she saw all the fresh vege's in the store because she was so happy - I still think of that now when I'm choosing my fruits and vegetables.

Our hammocks!
Is this heaven for little boys or what?  Poor dad had to put up 5 of these!  Thanks Daddy!

My hammock.

I was so proud of it and made it all comfy cozy inside.  The first night I slept in it some kind of animal bumped up underneath it and scared me half to death.  I kept our whole family up all night.

 Thanks Dad for all your hard work and diligence that has taught me so much about patience and hanging in there even when it is tough.

I'm grateful for my king size "Heavenly Bed"  from the Westin Hotel that has no animals living underneath!

Our pantry and closet.  Oh my, how did my parents do it?

I'm thankful for my pantry and for my closet..even though it doesn't have Elfa shelving.

Making bread on the open fire.

My mom and dad always found a way to entertain even in the jungle.  Our home was always filled with people. 

Glad I have friends around that come over and share life with us in the good and bad times.  Learned that my house doesn't have to be "perfect" to enjoy others. 

We walked everywhere!

Happy that my Honda Pilot SUV serves me well by getting me around and has seat warmers.

My 11th birthday - Our second house behind us!  We upgraded to the mud hut!

I'm thankful my parents always made us feel special on our birthdays.  All it takes is the simple things like friends, lots of hugs,  pinatas and cake for a kid to feel special on their big day (of course back then it only lasted a day...now I milk it for a week....shhhhh, don't tell).

Rope swing we made!  We also had one that swung into the river!

The simple life made me get creative when we were bored.  We didn't have to be entertained.  I'm hoping I can teach that to my kids.

Of course we all know that our childhoods start the process of who we become as adults.  All of life's experiences turn us into the people that we are today.  What I've learned that I can apply to my business daily is that "using what we have" and making the best of every situation is a great lesson to apply to life.  Fortunately we HAD to do that as kids and it has made it easier for me now as an adult.

I wore thick glasses until I was 10 -

the best day of my life was when I got contacts.

I learned not to worry about what I looked like but what was in my heart.  Still working on that one, it's a constant process.

My business was started with the philosophy that I can "use what you have" to make something spectacular for your home.  In this economy my clients really appreciate that.  I can take what they have in their homes and use the budget they DO have to add to their design and make it wonderful without spending a fortune.  Of course, there are those that want to spend a fortune and I love those clients too!

It's been fun for me to see where my creativity was stemmed from.  I thank my Mom and Dad for teaching me so much about life from the experiences they gave me.  Thanks mom for always making a HOME no matter where we were. I've been able to apply these skills to my business and use these life skills daily as I'm introduced to new clients and go into so many different homes.

What have you learned from your childhood that makes you who you are today? 

Overall, what I've learned is Less really is more!!

Again, this post is dedicated to all the people in Haiti that have lost so much and are suffering.

We hurt deeply for you.

Ruthie