8 months and growing

Pictures appear in reverse order...most recent are first. The last/oldest is from early Marchish, but just too cute to leave out (and I thought Carole would enjoy seeing the pjs). The rest are from the last month and a half or so. I tried to include some of our favorite fashion statemtents (pigtails, auntie´s hat, dresses from Gramma, showing off her belly) as well as some of her favorite activities (first time in the walker, loves to be on her feet, eating avocado, cold baths in hot weather, drumming on tupperware). She´s been growing like a weed lately (she fills 12mo and sometimes 18mo clothes already...) - I´ll have to try and take some more pictures to post that show just how big she´s getting. I´m guessing she weighs close to 20 pounds these days, and shé close in hight to babies at church that are 2mo to 1 year older.

The New House

Wow, it is embarrassing how long it has been sinceI last blogged, and how long it took me to get these pictures posted...sorry! But you know how it is, you don´t want pictures of a dirty house, but remembering to take them when the house is clean...

The house is simple, but feels much more open and is possibly bigger than the other. It is just 3 open rooms, one leading into the other. The first couple of photos are of the bedroom, which is the furthest in. (Oops, they loaded in reverse - read everything from the bottom up...) That is mosquito netting over the bed so we don`t get eaten alive at night :) In the 2nd photo, said netting kind of eats up the view, but you can see the corner of the doorway that leads into the funny little side space we use like a walk in closet/storage area. The skinny wooden door leads into the very small bathroom (even smaller than we had at the other house). The doorway full of light leads out to the side patio area. If you could see thru the netting, that is where the door into the kitchen is. The pictures of the kitchen and living room are fairly self explanatory. You see in the living room the only window in the house, but since the kitchen and the bedroom each have a door, the light andair get in. You can see the benefits of moving when the husband isn´t working- thanks to him, I have shelves installed in the living room and kitchen (that he made - the space was there, but nothing else), curtains installed, the netting over the bed, etc. I also posted a couple photos that show our view out front - lots of TREES (a rare find here). There is also one of the front of the house with our built-in bench, and one of a portion of the patio - we enjoy the neighbor´s palm tree hanging over the wall as well as a flowering vine.

We love the open layout, although my husband sometimes says he looks for a straight line and never finds one :) It was built by the owners themselves, and you can see for example that the floors are not level. We really love the location, all the trees, being able to walk to the church or to visit friends, the 7 minute drive to thein-laws. We are not so fond of the unwelcome visitors of the animal/insect kind, one of which even elicited a mild scream from me. They may do us in and cause us to look for yet another hous, if we can´t work with the owners to close them out better.

Ok, my baby girl has waited long enough for me, thanks to this computer being really really slow. Not that I am complaining, because it is free to me internet access:)

Hoping to post some new baby pictures later this week - stay tuned!

Baby Dedication

We have video too, but its taking too long to load - maybe next time...

(People who sometimes call me - call me! I haven`t heard from you in over 2 months! Inkling - thanks for your comment and link - we`ve been praying for you!)

5 1/2 Months

Common comments:
She is so alert! notices everything!
She has so much to say- very chatty! (don`t understand that one...) :)
She is so smiley (especially from the safety of mom's arms)!

Recent advances:
Sitting up unsupported (altho carefully watched for the ocassional loss of balance)
Eating a bit of cereal once a day, starting with a bit of banana, etc
Teeth appear to be coming very soon...



Other news:
Looks like we found a house - very near church and family, cheaper, a little simpler in style but a little bigger as well. pictures forthcoming...

Finding about one job/week to apply for - but haven`t received calls for any interviews, etc.

Our Pastor asked us to take charge of the weekly Thurs service - and I`m doing the teaching! (based on restoring the soul book) - very exciting but lots of prep work with the help of my husband - also exciting is all the healing he`s receiving as we work (altho it means the prep goes even slower/longer).

ok, Katya is trying to help me type, and is generally running out of patience with being here, so we´re off. Sorry posts are so irregular of late....the time has been flying...

snapshots of life since returning

writing one handed, so sorry about skipping puntuation...

*the peaceful death of a 96 year old man, and the grief of a large family extending to the 4th generation (about 85% of my church is a part of this family). burials here happen within about 24hrs - the grief is quite raw

*visiting an aquaitence, a 32 yr old man who suffered a severe stroke while we were away and is slowly regaining use of his left side. has a diagnosis of being a walking time bomb. surgery that could help would cost 2-3 yrs gross salary. waiting for a miracle.

*something like 15,000 people in our city have lost their jobs recently. tens of thousands more are at risk of losing theirs and are currently only receiving half pay. (our economy has depended heavily on such factories as GM and Chrysler...)

*job hunting....there just isn´t even anything to try applying for...

*enjoying being together 24/7 after a long distance courtship/engagement and a year with 70-80 hour work weeks

*an almost 5mo old baby girl who delights us with her many smiles and all she is learning

*sun :) 60-70 deg highs :)

*visiting with all the friends and family that missed us while we were away

*finally receiving some clarity, insight and direction on a spiritual issue that has hung over us like a cloud for over a year

*yet another level of freedom in an area of bondage

*attempting to explain Rochester weather to people who think anything under 65 is cold and rarely experience anything under 30

Final moments

Strangely enough, the final moments of our trip.... are a day longer and later than planned. We worked hard to get every last gift and hand-me-down squeezed into the suitcases, made sandwiches to get us thru a long day, got up really early to head for the airport...

and found out that the last leg of our trip doesn't exist today!!

It was the Lord's grace that we found out here and not in Houston - can you imagine if we had made it to Houston, and then they told us? With the baby, and not packed in a way to facilitate such a stop, and without a way to call the family in Saltillo and warn them?!?! It was thanks to the lady who checked us in and my dad that we did find out - the 1st two legs of the trip were a different airline than the last leg, so we had the boarding passes to get started. I was inclined to use our 2.5 hr layover in Houston to worry about the last boarding passes, but the woman behind the counter and my dad both encouraged me that there was time to do it before heading thru security.

So, here we are, one more day. Weird, huh? Good thing we don't have anything pressing awaiting us.

But after a week or so of really not feeling up to leaving and not wanting to leave my family, when it came down to good-byes last night and this morning I was feeling pretty good. The Lord's grace was very apparent in the final moments, and I was ready. (I assume that will be true for the good-byes the 2nd time around too!) :)

We appreciate prayers for the trip home (calm baby, no weather issues despite the forecasted snowstorm), as well as Herme's job search when we get back. Also, we are going to look for a house on the other side of town, closer to my in-laws, church, pastor....and now my closest friend in Saltillo moved to that side of town too.

Time to go

Katya is getting fussy quickly, but I'm gonna go ahead and try to write this post as fast as I can because I may not get another chance.

We leave early Tuesday morning, and I am not too sure how I feel about that.

Last time I came up, I was more than ready to head back to Saltillo. But my husband was waiting for me there. 2 weeks was a long time to be without him. This time, he is here with me. And we have been here long enough to have really settled in, for me to feel 'home' again here. I have no real excitement or urge to get back this time.

I am sure that once I am there, and in our home, back in our own little routine, that I will settle back in and be ok. But I have a feeling that the good-bye is going to be rough. And that getting back in our own little routine will take a little while (it will be much quieter and a bit lonelier not having several family members around at any given time).

Another factor here - last time I knew it wouldn't be too long before I saw everyone again. My dad had already started talking about bringing us up so everyone could meet the baby. This time, I have absolutely no idea when I will be back or see anyone from here again. I remember that feeling of not knowing how long it would be before I saw family a year ago - it easily brought me to tears on occasion. But I was also pregnant at the time, and therefore a bit more emotional than usual. So we'll see how that goes this time.

Ok, baby is fussing more and more - time to go...

Sorry - it's been waaayyyy too long!!

Ok, it has been an embarrassingly long time since I last blogged. Sorry about that. It had to do with online access/time, changes in schedule, hands full of baby.... and eventually just being out of the habit of blogging.

So, let's see. Just to quickly get back up to speed...
(BTW, after talking it over with my husband, I'm gonna start using his real name, Herme, here)
Without getting into all the details, we basically are completely broke and provided for at the same time. Herme left his job at the beginning of December and will be looking for a new one when we get back. We had about 10 days together before leaving Saltillo, which was really nice after all the crazy hours he worked over the last year+. Thanks to those of you who have been concerned about the job situation - sorry I have been so bad at replying! Obviously, we appreciate your prayers for a short search and a good find :)
It took some running around, but we were able to get all the passport related paperwork done in time and have finished passports in hand. (We have to travel with 2 passports for Katya, and a passport and a visa (for opposite countries) for Herme and I. Gets a little confusing!)
Katya did great on the flight up - slept and ate at the perfect times, barely made a peep all day, and even arrived awake and smiling to meet her grandpa and the first few aunts and uncles. I could really feel the prayers, between how great she did and how smoothly and quickly the day went despite a delay on our first flight causing us to arrive several hours later than planned. We discovered that I can go through American customs and immigration with Herme on the visitor side, which is nice because then we can go together and help each other juggle carry-ons and baby(s).

Our visit has been really nice, of course! :) I was grateful to see E&J and kids while they were in town visiting, as well and R&J and their new baby. We've seen both of my grandparents and almost all of my aunts and uncles and cousins. For five days in between Christmas and New Years, we had all of my siblings and their spouses and kids in my parents house - all 18 of us! It was really nice to get everyone together, the first time since my wedding. We're working on visiting assorted friends - many wanted to wait till the holidays were over. We stopped in today at my school to say hi to old coworkers. It was funny to see the looks the kids gave me - 1.5-2 years is a long time in the life of a kid to remember a teacher/principal.

Oh, and we have been very blessed by assorted gifts of money and clothes (mostly for the baby), as well as some favorite children's books and a couple of stuffed animals. :)

______________________

On a completely different note, I felt called to do something a while back and have wanted to share it here. I wrote a thank you note to President Bush for all his hard work over the past 8 years. Having been in leadership positions, I know how hard it can be.... although you try to do your best, it isn't always understood or appreciated. Many have written Bush off the last few months, many are pointing fingers and blaming him for a variety of problems. But I felt it important to acknowledge all he has done and invested these past 8 years. If you would like to encourage or thank him as well:
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
or
comments@whitehouse.gov
or
Check this link for other contact related info.

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A few baby updates before I sign off...
She weighs about 15 pounds these days, and is about 3 1/2 months old already. We are beginning to feel like we have a decent routine coming together, although the travel and lots of people keep us from quite nailing it down. The last couple of weeks she has really 'come to life' - everyone always talks about the difference after hitting 3 months. It seemed all of a sudden that toys that barely caught her attention a short time ago, she now tries to grab at and can entertain herself for some time. She started rolling over 2 or 3 days ago (stomach to back), and not only smiles alot these days, but laughs alot too! She is really a very happy and easy to care for little girl, and everyone has been telling us how beautiful she is (so it's not just her proud parents that think so)! Oh, and she got her ears pierced just before we came up.

Well, I'll try not to wait around so long before the next post ;)

A Quickie

I haven{t been online much lately, and have apparently poorly chosen the times I´ve been on (hard to predict a 2mo old sometimes), so I feel way behind on blogging...and currently have only a few minutes and only one hand.

But I wanted to let everyone know that all 3 of us will be in Rochester 6 weeks, 12/17-1/27. Should be able to many of those I missed last trip up. :)
(Out of towners making any Rochester trips in that time frame???)

Ok, baby is done so so am I.

Pictures!

The green outfit was for her passport pictures.
The one with me is at the US Embassy, just after being officially registered as a US citizen!

The others were just too cute not to share. The one in the brown dress is from just a day or 2 ago.

About a week ago she started smiling and cooing when she sees me )