America is dangerous.

So we aren't used to America yet.

We're having a good morning. We're in Nashville, TJ's on his way to record tracks on a new quick project, and we stop to get donuts at the famous "Donut Den".

TJ walks across the street to get some antihistamines at Walgreen's, and (Don't worry, Mom...HE'S NOT HURT) when he gets back, he tells Holly that he's just been HIT by a car. Hit by a car while crossing (jaywalking) a busy sidestreet in Green Hills. He was hit, thrown up in the air, rolled over the hood, dented the heck out of a Buick LeSabre, and found himself staring at its' tires while lying on the asphalt. The whole sh-bang.

Miraculously, thankfully, he is completely unharmed, except for being really bruised up and sore. The elderly gentleman who hit him refused to accept payment or insurance information for the car repairs - he only wanted to see TJ walk back and forth a few times to make sure he was OK, and then prayed over him. His response was "Oh, son... I'm old and I've got great insurance."

We just wanted donuts and Benadryl... my goodness, America is dangerous!!!

24

Set up for Sunday Night Worship & Movie/Christmas Party. Jam out with the kids. Back by popular demand, an encore performance of the Christmas Pageant, Dominican Style, this time. (Read: lots of freestyle, part-switching, very chaotic.) Pass out candy canes & juice. Watch Polar Express. Clean up Outreach Center. Fond farewells, hugs and tears with the kids. LOTS of assurances from us that we are just going to VISIT our friends and family, and we WILL be back.

Clean. Pack. Clean some more. Leave 10 notes for Kayla & Osvaldo. TJ sleeps a few hours, Holly keeps packing. Drive to Santiago at 4am. Wake our friend at 6am. Check in at the airport. Eat nasty stale Dominican meat pie corn pastry. Get on the plane. Sit on the runway 1 hour. Take-off. Sleep 1.5 hours. Land. Sit on the runway 30 minutes. Realize we won't make our connecting flight to Nashville, departing in 1 hour. Deplane. Fly through Immigration. Run to baggage claim. Get our 4 bags. Dash to Customs. Speed through, re-check our bags, MOVE it to security. Wait through a line of over 1000 people, shedding our shoes, sweatshirts, laptop, video camera and iMac as we go. Miraculously make it through security in under 20 minutes with no help or special treatment from the MIA/TSA staff. (It's the holidays. What can you expect? That's the thing about living in a developing country. It SERIOUSLY lowers your expectations.) Find our gate. Board. Celebratory/triumphant kiss. Against all odds, we made it. Pull away from the gate.

Sit on the runway for 1 hour. (Apparently it's our day for that.) Take-off. Sleep 1.5 hours. Get our bags. Step outside the airport. Feel the frigid blast of Nashville air, wish to run back to our balmy tropical clime. See Kristen Norman, waiting to pick us up with sweet little Elijah, bearing Dr. Pepper and a "Welcome Home" sign. Remember JUST how much we love our sweet friends and family. Drive to Arby's, TJ's heart's desire, revel in free refills and flavorful food, marvel at Elijah's antics. Drive to the Essner's, who are SO kind to store ALL of our stuff in their attic. Load up on winter clothes, enjoy catching up with more of our favorite people in the world.

Drop our stuff off at the Farmers, drive to Chili's. Sink into to chips, salsa & bottomless Dr. Pepper's with Blake, Moriah, Shawn, Rebekah and Hannah, just like we've been dreaming of for months...

Sunday 6pm to Monday 6pm. 24 hours in the life of TJ & Holly McCloud.

We are blessed beyond measure. Blessed to know and love our dear kiddos in RSJ, blessed to come home to delightfully familiar friends & family.

We WISH You a Merry Christmas...

We've added a few Christmas items to the Outreach Center Wish List.

Check it out...

Two Storms

Sub-Tropical Storm Olga has passed.

Storm Christmas Pageant & Party has passed.

We are beat. Enjoy the pics.





(Check out our "water-bottle-as-baby-Jesus." That's a DR special, right there. The kids did ALL of the props - constructed the manger scene and EVERYTHING. Totally without our help.)

A Party for You, Mom

Mmmmm...

I (Holly) woke up really thirsty this morning. I reached for my glass of water, and started gulping it down.

After about 15 seconds, I felt something on my hand. I looked down at the water I was drinking, only to discover it was swarming with sugar ants.

I probably swallowed hundreds - no joke. Gross.

Oh well. What can you do?

Favorite Christmas Present?

Okay, this is not my FAVORITE Christmas present ever. But it was unexpected, and has been unexpectedly useful. And I think of Sheryl Thomas when we use it, which is pretty much every day.

She made them for Trina and I when we worked in the office at Otter Creek. Pretty thoughtful gift for your husband's assistant, don't you think?

Somehow it made it's way to the Dominican with us, and we keep it in our car. It dries our sandy car-full of kids on the way home from the beach. I use it as a pillow on our long trips over the mountains to Santiago. The girls wrap up in it after pageant practice, and have me turn on the air full-blast. When a new girl comes, first thing, they pull out the blanket and show this off incredible item. Everybody oohs and ahhs. Seriously.

Soooo... Thanks, Sheryl!

If it's true what they say, that "you are what you eat," then TJ & I are slowly turning into popcorn & Diet Coke.

We gave up on trying to figure out what to eat. Our work days usually finish around 9. So, popcorn & Diet Coke it is!

En Español

We live our lives in Spanish.

We don't even think about it anymore. We find ourselves fumbling for English words, wanting to use the Spanish words that are always on the tip of our tongue.

We talk, eat, dream, live, love, laugh, fight, play and cry... in Spanish.

That's a cool side benefit to changing kids lives: becoming nigh fluent in another language.

We didn't do it on purpose. We were just desperate to understand what they were saying to us, to be able to respond in a meaningful way. And desperate to get our (electricity, car, water, internet, etc.) fixed.

Thanks, B&K, for making language school possible. Thanks, Steve & Brian, for supporting us in making it a priority. And thanks, CSA, for 6 weeks of the best Spanish language instruction possible. More than a year later, we're still learning, building on the foundation you laid for us.