My husband has a job! For the 1st time in almost an entire year, he got a yes!
Now, we still covet your prayers, because it is 100% commissions, no base salary. But a job is still a job, and much, much better than no job at all.
He will be working in a bank, ´selling´ credit cards, insurance plans, etc.
The big upside...he will work normal, 40 hour work weeks, Mon-Fri, and will be at a desk in the office...no crazy driving all over town stuff like the last job. :)
I can´t remember the name of the bank, but its owned by the man who is even richer than Bill Gates and from Mexico...
Today he went in and filled out all the pre-hire paperwork, and tomorrow or Wednesday he´ll start his training or orientation or whatever you want to call it.
THank you so, so much for all of your prayers!!!!
___________________
In other news, because I ran out of time last time, we have switched churches. This has been a major decision for us that we have struggled with since actually before the wedding, about 2 years now. It has been hard, mostly because we really felt like we were with family at our first church. At the new church we knew only a handful of people getting started, although I am happy to say that after 5-6 weeks, I do know a few names and faces now. But we reached a point where we really felt it was where God wanted us, that He has a plan for us and for the family of my husband in that church and under that Pastor´s care. We actually will be meeting with the Pastor in about a half hour. Anyways, for that reason, I can´t write more now, but it has been a major change for us that I wanted to share here, even if it is only a little bit.
Thanks again for all the prayers. I´ll keep doing my best to stay in better touch!
Showing posts with label FB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FB. Show all posts
Monday, November 23, 2009
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wow, it´s been a LONG TIME
I am going to write as much as I can and post as many pictures as I can before Herme and Katya can´t handle waiting for me any more... pictures taken since around early August till the present, and include first birthday celebrations :) (They are in reverse order, and my husband wants it clarified that his pants are only dirty because he had just sat down on a dusty bench....)
Let´s see, where do I start??
Well, still no job. My poor husband has applied for things ´beneath him´, for things recommened by friends, anything within his ability....and no one even wants to interview him (beyond an initial screening anyways), much less hire him. We don´t know what to think. He just keeps looking, keeps applying. The whole state of the economy doesn´t help any - there just aren`t a lot of jobs out there, and there are so many people looking for work.
My parents came to visit for a weekend, just in time to celebrate Katya´s 1st birthday. That was awesome, especially since Mom coming was a complete surprise to me! It was quick, part of a business trip, but we enjoyed every minute of it :) So special to have them here for the birthday party and everything.
Living so far, far enough to make travel expensive and therefore not common, was not a part of how I saw my life, and yet here I am. I am happy here, wouldn´t trade my husband or how this has all come together for anyting, but it is really hard to be so hard from family and friends sometimes. Speaking of which, this lack of internet time has started to wear on me...I feel really out of touch with all my U.S. folks. Sometimes I feel like you all have moved on with your lives without me, if you know what I mean. I know it isn´t really the case, but with communication a little harder of late, thats how it feels. Oh how I´d love to be able to use skype in my house and talk to you all whenever the mood strikes!
What else? CAn´t believe that my baby girl is already a toddler! What a fun age, learning something new everyday, showing off for us. Of course, there´s the tantrums and tired breakdowns and vomiting 9x between the hours of 1:30am and 8am, but it´s all worth it of course :) She started walking at 9 months, got scared by a fall, and didn´t find her confidence to walk alone until 11 months. But then she just took off running! She is always on the move, or at least it often feels like that. She loves to read, together or alone. She loves animals, no fear, says ´ruff!´ every time she hears a dog bark. She´s generally a very happy, smiley, friendly girl, although she is a bit discriminating in who she wants to be friends with, gie kisses to, etc. She knows where her nose is (or mine, or yours), she can tell you she is ´so big!´, she loves it when you applaud her. She likes to play peek-a-boo, palms facing out, elbows sticking out to the sides. She waves to the moon every single time she sees it, even if that means 5 times in 6 minutes :P
Ok, I think my time is up. So good to connect with you all :) I love and miss every one, and will try to figure out how to get online more often.
Let´s see, where do I start??
Well, still no job. My poor husband has applied for things ´beneath him´, for things recommened by friends, anything within his ability....and no one even wants to interview him (beyond an initial screening anyways), much less hire him. We don´t know what to think. He just keeps looking, keeps applying. The whole state of the economy doesn´t help any - there just aren`t a lot of jobs out there, and there are so many people looking for work.
My parents came to visit for a weekend, just in time to celebrate Katya´s 1st birthday. That was awesome, especially since Mom coming was a complete surprise to me! It was quick, part of a business trip, but we enjoyed every minute of it :) So special to have them here for the birthday party and everything.
Living so far, far enough to make travel expensive and therefore not common, was not a part of how I saw my life, and yet here I am. I am happy here, wouldn´t trade my husband or how this has all come together for anyting, but it is really hard to be so hard from family and friends sometimes. Speaking of which, this lack of internet time has started to wear on me...I feel really out of touch with all my U.S. folks. Sometimes I feel like you all have moved on with your lives without me, if you know what I mean. I know it isn´t really the case, but with communication a little harder of late, thats how it feels. Oh how I´d love to be able to use skype in my house and talk to you all whenever the mood strikes!
What else? CAn´t believe that my baby girl is already a toddler! What a fun age, learning something new everyday, showing off for us. Of course, there´s the tantrums and tired breakdowns and vomiting 9x between the hours of 1:30am and 8am, but it´s all worth it of course :) She started walking at 9 months, got scared by a fall, and didn´t find her confidence to walk alone until 11 months. But then she just took off running! She is always on the move, or at least it often feels like that. She loves to read, together or alone. She loves animals, no fear, says ´ruff!´ every time she hears a dog bark. She´s generally a very happy, smiley, friendly girl, although she is a bit discriminating in who she wants to be friends with, gie kisses to, etc. She knows where her nose is (or mine, or yours), she can tell you she is ´so big!´, she loves it when you applaud her. She likes to play peek-a-boo, palms facing out, elbows sticking out to the sides. She waves to the moon every single time she sees it, even if that means 5 times in 6 minutes :P
Ok, I think my time is up. So good to connect with you all :) I love and miss every one, and will try to figure out how to get online more often.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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.
-------------------
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 ;)
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.
-------------------
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 ;)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Quick bullet points
- The baby and I both had check-ups today. I weigh 11 pounds less than my first prenantal appointment :) and she has gained about 3 pounds in her 1st month of life (she`s at 10 pounds already!). We are both healthy and good in all other aspects.
-Please pray for us in the coming days as my husband was informed near the beginning of the month that if his numbers didn`t go up this month he would be let go. We haven`t heard anythng else since (like how his numbers are, etc), but have no indication that things are any better.
-One week from today we head to the nearest embassy to register the baby as a US citizen. (Please pray we don`t get lost, no complications, etc.)
-A week ago I sent in my presidential vote! (Here`s hoping the unreliable Mexican postal system gets it to the States in time!) A good friend just got cable, which includes CNN (in English) - I`ll be at her house on election night checking in :)
-Please pray for us in the coming days as my husband was informed near the beginning of the month that if his numbers didn`t go up this month he would be let go. We haven`t heard anythng else since (like how his numbers are, etc), but have no indication that things are any better.
-One week from today we head to the nearest embassy to register the baby as a US citizen. (Please pray we don`t get lost, no complications, etc.)
-A week ago I sent in my presidential vote! (Here`s hoping the unreliable Mexican postal system gets it to the States in time!) A good friend just got cable, which includes CNN (in English) - I`ll be at her house on election night checking in :)
Thursday, October 23, 2008
I am still here...
...just need to figure out how to hold a baby and type at the same time :) One handed is realllyyy slooooowww!
I finally bought material to use like a Moby Wrap, so maybe that will help.
I wanted to post a few pictures, then realized I am on that ancient computer sans USB port again. But she is 4 weeks old today and already so much bigger! That could possibly be connected to the never ending nursing we seem to be doing, even right this minute :) She loves to hold her head up (she started when she was only a few days old, and now can hold it up pretty steadily for extended periods already), recognizes me on sight, and is tracking us with her eyes. Everyone always comments on how alert she is. I have a tendency to hold her a lot (I don´t always, but a lot)... but I waited a long time for this sweet little girl and figure in 1 or 5 or 10 years I probably won´t look back and wish I did more housework and held her less.
I feel a little like it was forever ago now, but I still would like to share some about the birth and hospital and what not from my perspective.
I had gone to the Drs Tuesday am, and was 0 cm dilated. He was talking induction if I didn´t go into labor within a week. I started soon after having contractions of varying strengths and intervals. With 0 cm on the brain and hoping to go naturally, I made a point of walking little laps the rest of the day. We made sure everything was ready to go to the hospital that afternoon. Wednesday I again had inconsistent contractions. Weather was yucky, so I walked in the house and up and down the stairs. I´d had other days with contractions lasting a few hours and then disappearing, so I wasn´t reading too much into things. They were only rarely of an intensity to make me actually uncomfortable.
We got to bed around midnight Wednesday. At 1am I got up and headed for the bathroom. I mean, thats what I´d been doing every other time I woke up for the last nine months. It took me a minute or 2 to realize I hadn´t woken because I needed to pee, but because of a contraction. They started out every 7-8 minutes. They shortly were coming every 6, and I asked my husband to start timing how long they were...65-75secs. By 2:30, they were every 5min, and we called the Dr. He, thinking 1st labor, told us to hang tight and call back when we saw blood. By 3:30 they were every 3 min and lasting more like 90 secs. I convinced my husband that the Dr wasn´t expecting things to move so fast and to call even though there was no sign of blood. The Dr wisely :) agreed to meet us at the hospital. We arrived around 4am.
I had gotten the distinct impression that epidurals weren´t done here, and didn´t think I wanted one anyways. But when the Dr started talking induction, he mentioned the possibility of an epidural. And I got to tell you that around 3am, I started changing my mind about having one. I know it was great that my labor moved along so fast, but it was intense! I was going from nothing (remember 0cm?) to pushing in a few short hours. When the Dr came in to examine me, I felt better hearing him say something about what strong and fast contractions I was having (so it wasn´t just in my head). They never actually asked me, they just went ahead and worked on getting me that epidural. I think it happened around 5ish or just before, and it was a wonderful feeling :)
I was just thinking maybe I felt the urge to push when they realized I wasn´t feeling much and should cue me in. I started pushing at 5:15, and my baby girl was born at 5:30.
My husband was at my side every step of the way, and was a wonderful support. I don´t totally understand how his presence made such a difference, but it did make things so much better when he was with me for a contraction. I don´t know how I would have made it thru the entry procedures, during the strongest/longest contractions, without him there. And it was obviously absolutely wonderful to share the moment of our daughter´s birth with him. He still talks about it. A million thank yous to the person who made it possible for him to be with me.
Some of the words that describe our hospital experience...
beautiful
quiet
friendly
good service
good food
comfortable
Everyone who came to visit us was impressed. And I got a few comments about how much better this type of experience was than being in a room with 15-20 other woman giving birth (can you imagine??!! and without a husband at your side!?!)
Oops, out of time. Writing one handed takes ages :)
Hope to be back on soon!
I finally bought material to use like a Moby Wrap, so maybe that will help.
I wanted to post a few pictures, then realized I am on that ancient computer sans USB port again. But she is 4 weeks old today and already so much bigger! That could possibly be connected to the never ending nursing we seem to be doing, even right this minute :) She loves to hold her head up (she started when she was only a few days old, and now can hold it up pretty steadily for extended periods already), recognizes me on sight, and is tracking us with her eyes. Everyone always comments on how alert she is. I have a tendency to hold her a lot (I don´t always, but a lot)... but I waited a long time for this sweet little girl and figure in 1 or 5 or 10 years I probably won´t look back and wish I did more housework and held her less.
I feel a little like it was forever ago now, but I still would like to share some about the birth and hospital and what not from my perspective.
I had gone to the Drs Tuesday am, and was 0 cm dilated. He was talking induction if I didn´t go into labor within a week. I started soon after having contractions of varying strengths and intervals. With 0 cm on the brain and hoping to go naturally, I made a point of walking little laps the rest of the day. We made sure everything was ready to go to the hospital that afternoon. Wednesday I again had inconsistent contractions. Weather was yucky, so I walked in the house and up and down the stairs. I´d had other days with contractions lasting a few hours and then disappearing, so I wasn´t reading too much into things. They were only rarely of an intensity to make me actually uncomfortable.
We got to bed around midnight Wednesday. At 1am I got up and headed for the bathroom. I mean, thats what I´d been doing every other time I woke up for the last nine months. It took me a minute or 2 to realize I hadn´t woken because I needed to pee, but because of a contraction. They started out every 7-8 minutes. They shortly were coming every 6, and I asked my husband to start timing how long they were...65-75secs. By 2:30, they were every 5min, and we called the Dr. He, thinking 1st labor, told us to hang tight and call back when we saw blood. By 3:30 they were every 3 min and lasting more like 90 secs. I convinced my husband that the Dr wasn´t expecting things to move so fast and to call even though there was no sign of blood. The Dr wisely :) agreed to meet us at the hospital. We arrived around 4am.
I had gotten the distinct impression that epidurals weren´t done here, and didn´t think I wanted one anyways. But when the Dr started talking induction, he mentioned the possibility of an epidural. And I got to tell you that around 3am, I started changing my mind about having one. I know it was great that my labor moved along so fast, but it was intense! I was going from nothing (remember 0cm?) to pushing in a few short hours. When the Dr came in to examine me, I felt better hearing him say something about what strong and fast contractions I was having (so it wasn´t just in my head). They never actually asked me, they just went ahead and worked on getting me that epidural. I think it happened around 5ish or just before, and it was a wonderful feeling :)
I was just thinking maybe I felt the urge to push when they realized I wasn´t feeling much and should cue me in. I started pushing at 5:15, and my baby girl was born at 5:30.
My husband was at my side every step of the way, and was a wonderful support. I don´t totally understand how his presence made such a difference, but it did make things so much better when he was with me for a contraction. I don´t know how I would have made it thru the entry procedures, during the strongest/longest contractions, without him there. And it was obviously absolutely wonderful to share the moment of our daughter´s birth with him. He still talks about it. A million thank yous to the person who made it possible for him to be with me.
Some of the words that describe our hospital experience...
beautiful
quiet
friendly
good service
good food
comfortable
Everyone who came to visit us was impressed. And I got a few comments about how much better this type of experience was than being in a room with 15-20 other woman giving birth (can you imagine??!! and without a husband at your side!?!)
Oops, out of time. Writing one handed takes ages :)
Hope to be back on soon!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A collection of thoughts
So, I am currently listening to the drumming of a ritualistic dance/celebration for an idol that is taking place in front of the Catholic church a couple of buildings away from me. The dancers are dressed in traditional, indigenous outfits, very bright. Interesting, huh?
__________________________________________
In other news, we were back to the Dr´s this morning. Things looked pretty good, with me dropping a pound and the baby apparently gaining a little over a pound (estimated weight: 7lbs 11oz - which is actually my birth weight). The Dr did another internal exam, and it sounds like I hadn´t dilated at all at that point. When all was said and done, he announced that he´d like to induce next week (Wednesday, Oct 1st) if I haven´t already gone into labor. Something to do with the rate at which the placenta is ageing. I am not necessarily a huge induction fan, but considering the many levels at which I am out of my element right now (country, language, first baby....), I don´t really feel up to disagreeing with his strong personality and opinions. I am just happy he´s talking induction rather than C-section, and actually said he thinks I´m a better candidate for a normal labor than for surgery.
Both my husband and I are hoping and praying for labor to start on it´s own before next Wednesday - and in fact, it may have already. I have been having contractions at varying levels of strength and varying intervals all day. Actually, I had come last night, too. So we´ll see what happens. Obviously, any and all prayers are appreciated at this point!
One way or another, my little girl will be here in the next week. The thing that is funny to me about that is that those ticker countdowns I put on the blog just might be right on :)
___________________________________
My 3rd and final shower was Saturday. Actually, I feel like I had 2 showers on Saturday, because that morning a package arrived from a very good friend who appears to have had fun shopping for us :) But the official one was thrown by my in-laws, who made me feel very loved by all the thought, planning, work, and money that went into making it something special. Several guests we thought were for sure never showed (including, for example, a cousin) - that was the only downer. I received a variety of really nice gifts, ranging from very practical (diapers, medicine dropper, nose suction cleaner thing), to fun (hairbands!), to special (handmade by the giver sweaters), to cozy (fleece baby blankets), to possible winner of best gift (a hardcover/pages children´s bilingual Bible!).
__________________________________________
Don´t know how many of you have followed the AIG bank woes, but that is the parent company that my husband is working for. He already was feeling enough pressure of late to feel his job is at risk. We´re obviously feeling that pressure even more now. Still waiting to see what God has in store on the job front, and hoping it is something new and better just around the corner...
__________________________________________
In other news, we were back to the Dr´s this morning. Things looked pretty good, with me dropping a pound and the baby apparently gaining a little over a pound (estimated weight: 7lbs 11oz - which is actually my birth weight). The Dr did another internal exam, and it sounds like I hadn´t dilated at all at that point. When all was said and done, he announced that he´d like to induce next week (Wednesday, Oct 1st) if I haven´t already gone into labor. Something to do with the rate at which the placenta is ageing. I am not necessarily a huge induction fan, but considering the many levels at which I am out of my element right now (country, language, first baby....), I don´t really feel up to disagreeing with his strong personality and opinions. I am just happy he´s talking induction rather than C-section, and actually said he thinks I´m a better candidate for a normal labor than for surgery.
Both my husband and I are hoping and praying for labor to start on it´s own before next Wednesday - and in fact, it may have already. I have been having contractions at varying levels of strength and varying intervals all day. Actually, I had come last night, too. So we´ll see what happens. Obviously, any and all prayers are appreciated at this point!
One way or another, my little girl will be here in the next week. The thing that is funny to me about that is that those ticker countdowns I put on the blog just might be right on :)
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My 3rd and final shower was Saturday. Actually, I feel like I had 2 showers on Saturday, because that morning a package arrived from a very good friend who appears to have had fun shopping for us :) But the official one was thrown by my in-laws, who made me feel very loved by all the thought, planning, work, and money that went into making it something special. Several guests we thought were for sure never showed (including, for example, a cousin) - that was the only downer. I received a variety of really nice gifts, ranging from very practical (diapers, medicine dropper, nose suction cleaner thing), to fun (hairbands!), to special (handmade by the giver sweaters), to cozy (fleece baby blankets), to possible winner of best gift (a hardcover/pages children´s bilingual Bible!).
__________________________________________
Don´t know how many of you have followed the AIG bank woes, but that is the parent company that my husband is working for. He already was feeling enough pressure of late to feel his job is at risk. We´re obviously feeling that pressure even more now. Still waiting to see what God has in store on the job front, and hoping it is something new and better just around the corner...
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The day to day stuff, and the extraordinary
So, we made it through the month of July. It was pretty crazy, especially since we were without the car for 2 weeks, but we survived. They gave everyone an entire weekend off (Saturday AND Sunday) at the very beginning of August. That was awesome, and there was a noticable lift in my beloved´s mood the following week. They finally told him at the end of last week the new expectations - they don´t have to keep working every Sunday (although I am guessing they will work the last one of the month like they used to), but they have to work full instead of half days from now on every Saturday. And a full day will continue to be 35 instead of 28 visits. They are still ´considering´ giving a little more gas money (which seems like it should be a given since they are doing the equivalent of almost 2 full extra days, based on the old number, of visits per week); there is no extra pay.
Over the last month or so, my husband has managed to go to a few interviews based on what he found the day we went to the circus. But nothing has come together.
I am almost half way through my 3rd trimester, and am definitely feeling it, although I am doing pretty well overall. I just need to say that 2nd trimester is heavenly and by far the best part of being pregnant. Of course, since I felt so energetic and almost normal, it flew right by me. Third trimester came along, and I started feeling suddenly more awkward, slower, bigger. I tire easier, and retain water more/more often. I am up going to the bathroom a lot again, although some nights are better than others. There are also nights I just can´t get comfortable. I get really excited about the nights I get to sleep 3 hours straight. As my husband said this morning, the good thing is I almost always fall asleep again very quickly. Several weeks back I started noticing Braxton-Hicks contractions. At that point they were completely painless, just sort of odd feeling. The last week or 2 they have a definite crampy feeling to them, a mild kind of pain. It finally occured to me the other day to start praticing now relaxing through a contraction instead of tensing up.
I haven´t done any major nesting kind of things, but I am slightly anxious about the fact that we are getting nowhere on choosing a name. And I would like to see the crib put together soon. I was told on Sunday about 2 different baby showers they are planning for me here - one through church, and one by my in-laws. Culturally here, they think you shouldn´t have the shower until the last 6 weeks of the pregnancy, so one is the first Sunday in September (the 7th), the other the 3rd Saturday(the 20th). I´m due at the very end of September or beginning of October, so here´s hoping the baby doesn´t come too early ;)
Today I finished reading a novel about Esther - completely in Spanish. I am feeling pretty good about that. I read a bit slower in Spanish, but not extremely so. I didn´t understand every single word, but I only used the dictionary maybe a dozen times through the whole book. I wrote a birthday card to my beloved the other day (he turned 30 on Saturday), and he told me he sees a huge improvement in my Spanish (I´ve been writing to him since early on in our relationship, always in Spanish). He said he would think another 2-3 months and I will be quite fluent.
Ok, now for the extraordinary. You may remember that we have been trying to figure out a good option for the birth, and I asked for prayer along those lines. Well, although we tried to pursue things with the midwife we had found, she appears to have dropped off the face of the earth. So we decided to start looking around at private hospitals, knowing we most likely did not have the money, to see what kinds of options there were. I believe it was 2 weeks ago today that we managed to squeeze in our first 2 hospital visits. We were suitably impressed. Clean, bright, private rooms, more modern ideas (one offers water births, the other offers to videotape the birth for you). Both seemed relatively quiet and no where near full, leaving me feeling like I would get much better care than what I have heard is the norm in the overcrowded government run hospitals. Both allow my husband to be in the room with me. And both charge much more than we have.
The VERY NEXT DAY - we received news of the provision of a large sum of money towards helping us pay for a private hospital! From a completely anonymous and unexpected source. And it is EXACTLY the amount we need to make it happen! God is so faithful to provide!
We still haven´t chosen exactly which hospital. We visited a 3rd last week that we liked even more than the other 2. And we have one more that has been recommended to us to check out. But we have good options, and the ability to pay for it.
Even better, any of these hospitals would allow the Dr who has been providing my prenatal care to be the attending physician at the birth, and it doesn´t really change the prices at all as he charges more or less the same as we would pay to have a stranger from the hospital be the attending. So it looks like I will actually have someone I know and who knows me and about my pregnancy attend the birth. That is relatively unheard of here, and something I had long ago given up hoping for.
And I´ll end on that happy note :) I´ll give more info once we make our final decision on the hospital.
Over the last month or so, my husband has managed to go to a few interviews based on what he found the day we went to the circus. But nothing has come together.
I am almost half way through my 3rd trimester, and am definitely feeling it, although I am doing pretty well overall. I just need to say that 2nd trimester is heavenly and by far the best part of being pregnant. Of course, since I felt so energetic and almost normal, it flew right by me. Third trimester came along, and I started feeling suddenly more awkward, slower, bigger. I tire easier, and retain water more/more often. I am up going to the bathroom a lot again, although some nights are better than others. There are also nights I just can´t get comfortable. I get really excited about the nights I get to sleep 3 hours straight. As my husband said this morning, the good thing is I almost always fall asleep again very quickly. Several weeks back I started noticing Braxton-Hicks contractions. At that point they were completely painless, just sort of odd feeling. The last week or 2 they have a definite crampy feeling to them, a mild kind of pain. It finally occured to me the other day to start praticing now relaxing through a contraction instead of tensing up.
I haven´t done any major nesting kind of things, but I am slightly anxious about the fact that we are getting nowhere on choosing a name. And I would like to see the crib put together soon. I was told on Sunday about 2 different baby showers they are planning for me here - one through church, and one by my in-laws. Culturally here, they think you shouldn´t have the shower until the last 6 weeks of the pregnancy, so one is the first Sunday in September (the 7th), the other the 3rd Saturday(the 20th). I´m due at the very end of September or beginning of October, so here´s hoping the baby doesn´t come too early ;)
Today I finished reading a novel about Esther - completely in Spanish. I am feeling pretty good about that. I read a bit slower in Spanish, but not extremely so. I didn´t understand every single word, but I only used the dictionary maybe a dozen times through the whole book. I wrote a birthday card to my beloved the other day (he turned 30 on Saturday), and he told me he sees a huge improvement in my Spanish (I´ve been writing to him since early on in our relationship, always in Spanish). He said he would think another 2-3 months and I will be quite fluent.
Ok, now for the extraordinary. You may remember that we have been trying to figure out a good option for the birth, and I asked for prayer along those lines. Well, although we tried to pursue things with the midwife we had found, she appears to have dropped off the face of the earth. So we decided to start looking around at private hospitals, knowing we most likely did not have the money, to see what kinds of options there were. I believe it was 2 weeks ago today that we managed to squeeze in our first 2 hospital visits. We were suitably impressed. Clean, bright, private rooms, more modern ideas (one offers water births, the other offers to videotape the birth for you). Both seemed relatively quiet and no where near full, leaving me feeling like I would get much better care than what I have heard is the norm in the overcrowded government run hospitals. Both allow my husband to be in the room with me. And both charge much more than we have.
The VERY NEXT DAY - we received news of the provision of a large sum of money towards helping us pay for a private hospital! From a completely anonymous and unexpected source. And it is EXACTLY the amount we need to make it happen! God is so faithful to provide!
We still haven´t chosen exactly which hospital. We visited a 3rd last week that we liked even more than the other 2. And we have one more that has been recommended to us to check out. But we have good options, and the ability to pay for it.
Even better, any of these hospitals would allow the Dr who has been providing my prenatal care to be the attending physician at the birth, and it doesn´t really change the prices at all as he charges more or less the same as we would pay to have a stranger from the hospital be the attending. So it looks like I will actually have someone I know and who knows me and about my pregnancy attend the birth. That is relatively unheard of here, and something I had long ago given up hoping for.
And I´ll end on that happy note :) I´ll give more info once we make our final decision on the hospital.
Monday, July 21, 2008
The Circus
So, I could go on and on about the frustrations of the last couple of weeks, the job situation, the major (read: expensive and time consuming) car repair.....how my poor husband was exhausted after only a week of this crazy new schedule, managed to complete his 35 visits 4out of 6 days - and yet was reamed out by his boss for not getting them done evryday and told he comes across like he doesn´t want to work hard. How now they want them to also include making visits between the hours of 6-11PM in hopes of finding more people at home.
But I am tired of thinking about it and feel like I´m very complainy of spirit lately.
So I am going to tell you about the circus instead.
The day the car broke down, my beloved chose not to work the rest of the day (it was broiling hot out and the idea of visiting clients by foot....). Instead, he spent a couple of hours job hunting, came home to eat, we got a few errands done....and then we went to the circus.
By the way, although he did find a couple of good leads on jobs that day, nothing has come through so far.
So, the circus. It set up in the next neighborhood over from ours, in an empty lot about the size of a gas station or corner store lot. If you bought your ticket ahead of time from the guy driving around the area with a loudspeaker, it was halfprice at only about $1.50 (American)/ticket. It seemed like a good chance to relax a little and enjoy some cheap entertainment. And it was within walking distance (a key point when carless) :)
We walked thru the entryway, handed over our tickets, and I suddenly felt like I had stepped back in time about 100 years. It was a dirt floor. Seating consisted of bleachers - literally thin planks of wood tied with rope to makeshift stands. If you had paid the premium price (I think like $5), you could sit a little closer in white plastic chairs.
The show opened with 2 girls, dressed in leotards and streamers that hung from their arms and waist, coming out and basically twirling in circles a few times to the music.
The opening act was essentially yo-yo tricks.
I think the whole operation ran with about 15 people. The first half of the show, several little boys were the stage hands for the different acts, and I wondered if they were sons of the men doing the acts and how they felt traveling with the show all the time. Then the 2nd half the show began, and those little boys were the acts, and the men who had been the acts earlier were now the stagehands!
During the break and after the show, anyone one of them could be seen selling the souveniers and snacks.
Every circus had animals, right? This one had miniature horses, and their tricks mostly consisted of walking the perimeter of the ring, and bowing when introduced.
My favorite act of the show was the clown, though. He wanted to throw knives at someone, and so came and picked someone randomly out of the audience. And trust me, the man chosen was not a plant - the looks on his face made that quite clear as we went through this experience! So, the clown and his assistents tied his arms above his head on the corkboard type thing that was the target. The clown put a ballon next to the man´s hip and started to pace off, preparing to throw a knife and break the balloon. We all knew there must be some trick here, including the poor man from the audience - I mean, this was a clown act after all! But at this point the victim, as I will call him, was starting to look pretty nervous. Then, just before the big throw, the clown has the brilliant idea to use a blindfold! He started to put it on himself, then turned and covered his victim´s face instead. And now, the big moment.....He paced off, turned and encouraged us to make a lot of noise, then quickly handed off the knife to the littlest stagehand, who ran up to the ballon and easily stuck the knife into it! Then they unblindfolded the man, so he could see that the ballon pop he heard was indeed caused by a knife arriving within inches of his body. They proceeded through this routine a couple of more times, and it was just hysterical watching the face of the poor victim each time, sure that the clown was going to hit him with one of those knives!
All in all, the show lasted about 2 hours, brought lots of laughs, and actually included a couple of impressive acts with people flying through the air or doing some amazing balancing. Of course, it also included more clowns, and a girl who could hoola-hoop like nobody´s business :)
Not bad for a cheap night´s entertainment - I only wish we would have had our nieces and nephews with us to enjoy it. And that the bleachers had been just a teensy bit more comfortable.
But I am tired of thinking about it and feel like I´m very complainy of spirit lately.
So I am going to tell you about the circus instead.
The day the car broke down, my beloved chose not to work the rest of the day (it was broiling hot out and the idea of visiting clients by foot....). Instead, he spent a couple of hours job hunting, came home to eat, we got a few errands done....and then we went to the circus.
By the way, although he did find a couple of good leads on jobs that day, nothing has come through so far.
So, the circus. It set up in the next neighborhood over from ours, in an empty lot about the size of a gas station or corner store lot. If you bought your ticket ahead of time from the guy driving around the area with a loudspeaker, it was halfprice at only about $1.50 (American)/ticket. It seemed like a good chance to relax a little and enjoy some cheap entertainment. And it was within walking distance (a key point when carless) :)
We walked thru the entryway, handed over our tickets, and I suddenly felt like I had stepped back in time about 100 years. It was a dirt floor. Seating consisted of bleachers - literally thin planks of wood tied with rope to makeshift stands. If you had paid the premium price (I think like $5), you could sit a little closer in white plastic chairs.
The show opened with 2 girls, dressed in leotards and streamers that hung from their arms and waist, coming out and basically twirling in circles a few times to the music.
The opening act was essentially yo-yo tricks.
I think the whole operation ran with about 15 people. The first half of the show, several little boys were the stage hands for the different acts, and I wondered if they were sons of the men doing the acts and how they felt traveling with the show all the time. Then the 2nd half the show began, and those little boys were the acts, and the men who had been the acts earlier were now the stagehands!
During the break and after the show, anyone one of them could be seen selling the souveniers and snacks.
Every circus had animals, right? This one had miniature horses, and their tricks mostly consisted of walking the perimeter of the ring, and bowing when introduced.
My favorite act of the show was the clown, though. He wanted to throw knives at someone, and so came and picked someone randomly out of the audience. And trust me, the man chosen was not a plant - the looks on his face made that quite clear as we went through this experience! So, the clown and his assistents tied his arms above his head on the corkboard type thing that was the target. The clown put a ballon next to the man´s hip and started to pace off, preparing to throw a knife and break the balloon. We all knew there must be some trick here, including the poor man from the audience - I mean, this was a clown act after all! But at this point the victim, as I will call him, was starting to look pretty nervous. Then, just before the big throw, the clown has the brilliant idea to use a blindfold! He started to put it on himself, then turned and covered his victim´s face instead. And now, the big moment.....He paced off, turned and encouraged us to make a lot of noise, then quickly handed off the knife to the littlest stagehand, who ran up to the ballon and easily stuck the knife into it! Then they unblindfolded the man, so he could see that the ballon pop he heard was indeed caused by a knife arriving within inches of his body. They proceeded through this routine a couple of more times, and it was just hysterical watching the face of the poor victim each time, sure that the clown was going to hit him with one of those knives!
All in all, the show lasted about 2 hours, brought lots of laughs, and actually included a couple of impressive acts with people flying through the air or doing some amazing balancing. Of course, it also included more clowns, and a girl who could hoola-hoop like nobody´s business :)
Not bad for a cheap night´s entertainment - I only wish we would have had our nieces and nephews with us to enjoy it. And that the bleachers had been just a teensy bit more comfortable.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Prayer Request
So tell me if this doesn`t sound like a heavy enough workload...
Mon-Fri: 11ish hour workdays
Sat: 7ish hour workday
Sun: work one Sunday/month, about 8ish hours
The work includes: Driving to 28 clients´ houses (14 on Saturdays) to find out why they have not been making payments on their loan and to somehow convince them they need to start paying. Then head to the office for a couple of hours to capture all the data on the day´s work and print out what to do the next day.
This has netted us just enough to pay our bills.
That has been my dear husband´s schedule since we got married (well, for a few months before then too.)
On Tuesday, they had a staff meeting. The workload increased significantly, starting immediately. By significantly, I mean they have to make 35 visits/day Mon-Fri - a 25% increase. Saturday´s workload doubled from 14 to 28 visits. And for the rest of the month they are expected to work every single Sunday - 35 visits.
You may ask, as my husband´s coworkers did, if the increased workload equals more pay. The answer is no. You may also ask if they will be given more gasoline money (they have been receiving enough to pay for about 2/3 of the gas they actually use in a month). Again, the answer is no. So basically, my poor husband is going to put in the equivalent of an extra week to 10 days worth of work this month, and we will have less money when the month ends (because we will have to pay for all that extra gas ourselves - I`m not sure we even have the money to do that).
They were told these changes are definite for this month - there are no promises of what next month will look like.
Are you feeling our need for a breakthrough on the job front? We aren`t looking for a huge salary or anything, just enough to pay our bills with a new baby on the way and have a little bit to set aside for emergencies and such. We aren`t saying he should only work 40 hours a week, but it would be nice if he had more than 3 Sunday`s a month to rest (oh wait, he doesn`t even have that any more!). And having a boss that wasn`t constantly questioning his work ethic and integrity would be nice. One who was actually somewhat encouraging would be a huge blessing.
While I am asking for prayer, I officially entered the 3rd trimester this month, and so the decision about the how and why of the birth needs to be made pretty soon. You see, we can go to the government run hospitals and pay little to nothing (which fits our budget perfectly) - but they are generally overcrowded and understaffed, I would be expected to stay in a bed once admitted (no birth friendly position changing allowed here, nor walking), at least 3 women are put to a room, and my husband is not allowed in the room with me. An even bigger deal when you realize the language issues that could arise. (We are going to ask if the language issue would get my husband in the room with me, but it doesn`t look too likely.)
There are private hospitals, but the cost would be close to 2 months wages.
What I would really like is to have a home birth with an experienced midwife. Unfortunately, that is not common here and it is next to impossible to find midwives. The only one I have found has a prior commitment that takes her out of town every Thursday to Saturday (as in, half of the week), every week, all through September and October. And even if/when we find one, it costs a little more than a month`s wages.
So please pray for wisdom and open doors and peace in both of these major areas of our lives right now. Thanks for helping us in this way. I appreciate your friendships!
Mon-Fri: 11ish hour workdays
Sat: 7ish hour workday
Sun: work one Sunday/month, about 8ish hours
The work includes: Driving to 28 clients´ houses (14 on Saturdays) to find out why they have not been making payments on their loan and to somehow convince them they need to start paying. Then head to the office for a couple of hours to capture all the data on the day´s work and print out what to do the next day.
This has netted us just enough to pay our bills.
That has been my dear husband´s schedule since we got married (well, for a few months before then too.)
On Tuesday, they had a staff meeting. The workload increased significantly, starting immediately. By significantly, I mean they have to make 35 visits/day Mon-Fri - a 25% increase. Saturday´s workload doubled from 14 to 28 visits. And for the rest of the month they are expected to work every single Sunday - 35 visits.
You may ask, as my husband´s coworkers did, if the increased workload equals more pay. The answer is no. You may also ask if they will be given more gasoline money (they have been receiving enough to pay for about 2/3 of the gas they actually use in a month). Again, the answer is no. So basically, my poor husband is going to put in the equivalent of an extra week to 10 days worth of work this month, and we will have less money when the month ends (because we will have to pay for all that extra gas ourselves - I`m not sure we even have the money to do that).
They were told these changes are definite for this month - there are no promises of what next month will look like.
Are you feeling our need for a breakthrough on the job front? We aren`t looking for a huge salary or anything, just enough to pay our bills with a new baby on the way and have a little bit to set aside for emergencies and such. We aren`t saying he should only work 40 hours a week, but it would be nice if he had more than 3 Sunday`s a month to rest (oh wait, he doesn`t even have that any more!). And having a boss that wasn`t constantly questioning his work ethic and integrity would be nice. One who was actually somewhat encouraging would be a huge blessing.
While I am asking for prayer, I officially entered the 3rd trimester this month, and so the decision about the how and why of the birth needs to be made pretty soon. You see, we can go to the government run hospitals and pay little to nothing (which fits our budget perfectly) - but they are generally overcrowded and understaffed, I would be expected to stay in a bed once admitted (no birth friendly position changing allowed here, nor walking), at least 3 women are put to a room, and my husband is not allowed in the room with me. An even bigger deal when you realize the language issues that could arise. (We are going to ask if the language issue would get my husband in the room with me, but it doesn`t look too likely.)
There are private hospitals, but the cost would be close to 2 months wages.
What I would really like is to have a home birth with an experienced midwife. Unfortunately, that is not common here and it is next to impossible to find midwives. The only one I have found has a prior commitment that takes her out of town every Thursday to Saturday (as in, half of the week), every week, all through September and October. And even if/when we find one, it costs a little more than a month`s wages.
So please pray for wisdom and open doors and peace in both of these major areas of our lives right now. Thanks for helping us in this way. I appreciate your friendships!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
A Looooong Overdue Post - including a baby update
Yes, it has been truly ages since I´ve posted. I´ve since gone home (to my family in Rochester) and come home again (to my husband here in Mexico). Without spending a lot of time making excuses for my prolonged absence, I originally thought I might get some really good posting in while in Rochester with virtually unlimited internet access. Reflecting on why that didn´t happen, I think it is because since coming to Mexico, I´ve learned to see computer time as almost entirely for the purpose of staying in touch - and since I was already spending real time with the vast majority of people I would normally be staying in touch with, I wasn´t real motivated to get online. And I just haven´t gotten on much since getting back, for a variety of uninteresting reasons.
But the trip was great - I managed to spend time with all of my immediate family as well as each of the people on my short list of ´must sees´. That sounds simple, but keep in mind that I am the oldest of 7, and not all of my siblings live in Rochester these days. And coordinating the time to see them around the ´must sees´ busy schedules - I was glad I had kept my goal relatively simple and that I did in fact accomplish it. My apologies to those I wasn´t able to spend time with. I would have liked to, but there was only so much time to go around.
Otrgirl has written at different times about the energy it takes to keep up relationships long-distance. I must say that as good as it was to see everyone, it was also a bit exhausting at times. Of course, being pregnant might also have played a role in my tiredness.
I had lots of people ask me if it was weird to be back, but it was my home for the first 29 years of my life. It was just being home, being with family.
The biggest cultural observation that tickled me - how well trained Americans are to never touch a pregnant woman´s belly, at least without asking first. Here in Mexico, everyone touches my belly. It is often a part of their greeting or good-bye to me- an affectionate belly rub. I am one of those women who don´t actually mind at all, so that works. I´m not sure what it would look like if an American woman that hated belly touching moved to Mexico. But anyways, it was just funny to me to watch everyone´s restraint.
My final note on the trip home is that I missed my husband like crazy and was quite happy to find myself back hom with him when all was said and done.
As for the baby, we went for a check-up last Wednesday - my first visit in almost 2 months. After gaining only 3 pounds the first 4 1/2 months, this visit I had gained 11 pounds!! Guess I am all caught up on weight gain. Otherwise, baby and I both checked out as healthy and on target. The big news was finally getting a clear look at the baby´s gender. Remember this quote:
He said it is still a little early to be sure, and so he`d say he is abotu 80% certain that it is a..... boy! My beloved is thrilled, as he has been hoping for a boy since the beginning, and walked in the clouds the whole rest of the day :) For me it isn`t so important if we have a boy or girl, but it is fun to start thinking more specifically about who is inside of me, and to be able to use his name, etc. Don`t worry, though - we are both well aware that the Dr wasn`t sure, and are waiting for future ultrasounds to confirm.
Well.....as it turns out....the baby is actually a girl! So we had a couple of days of getting our mindset turned around, and now are thinking carefully about the names we didn´t think we´d be using yet :)
Ok, gotta run. But coming soon....photo fest! My sister gave me a memory card reader, so I think I should be able to easily load pics now :)
But the trip was great - I managed to spend time with all of my immediate family as well as each of the people on my short list of ´must sees´. That sounds simple, but keep in mind that I am the oldest of 7, and not all of my siblings live in Rochester these days. And coordinating the time to see them around the ´must sees´ busy schedules - I was glad I had kept my goal relatively simple and that I did in fact accomplish it. My apologies to those I wasn´t able to spend time with. I would have liked to, but there was only so much time to go around.
Otrgirl has written at different times about the energy it takes to keep up relationships long-distance. I must say that as good as it was to see everyone, it was also a bit exhausting at times. Of course, being pregnant might also have played a role in my tiredness.
I had lots of people ask me if it was weird to be back, but it was my home for the first 29 years of my life. It was just being home, being with family.
The biggest cultural observation that tickled me - how well trained Americans are to never touch a pregnant woman´s belly, at least without asking first. Here in Mexico, everyone touches my belly. It is often a part of their greeting or good-bye to me- an affectionate belly rub. I am one of those women who don´t actually mind at all, so that works. I´m not sure what it would look like if an American woman that hated belly touching moved to Mexico. But anyways, it was just funny to me to watch everyone´s restraint.
My final note on the trip home is that I missed my husband like crazy and was quite happy to find myself back hom with him when all was said and done.
As for the baby, we went for a check-up last Wednesday - my first visit in almost 2 months. After gaining only 3 pounds the first 4 1/2 months, this visit I had gained 11 pounds!! Guess I am all caught up on weight gain. Otherwise, baby and I both checked out as healthy and on target. The big news was finally getting a clear look at the baby´s gender. Remember this quote:
He said it is still a little early to be sure, and so he`d say he is abotu 80% certain that it is a..... boy! My beloved is thrilled, as he has been hoping for a boy since the beginning, and walked in the clouds the whole rest of the day :) For me it isn`t so important if we have a boy or girl, but it is fun to start thinking more specifically about who is inside of me, and to be able to use his name, etc. Don`t worry, though - we are both well aware that the Dr wasn`t sure, and are waiting for future ultrasounds to confirm.
Well.....as it turns out....the baby is actually a girl! So we had a couple of days of getting our mindset turned around, and now are thinking carefully about the names we didn´t think we´d be using yet :)
Ok, gotta run. But coming soon....photo fest! My sister gave me a memory card reader, so I think I should be able to easily load pics now :)
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A little bit about life lately...
We finally have a car again! Woo hoo! 2 weeks after it broke down and almost as long in the shop (basically just waiting to do a simple repair until the part arrived). But it has been an interesting couple of weeks, and more poor husband`s feet are about to fall right off! He still had to make all his client visits, but by bus and foot.
In the meantime, I have become an official bus rider, making my first few solo rides in the last few days. Gives me a new level of independence, as I could go visit my in-laws or the Pastor`s family by bus now even if my husband is busy working. Admitedly, it takes much much longer by bus, but it is better than nothing!
My other big news of late is that I am definelty feeling the baby move these days! All of a sudden, a week ago today, I was sure that it was the baby I was feeling, and ever since, I have been feeling him a lot! Very exciting. And yesterday morning, he was kicking unusually strongly, and my husband could feel it already!
Thanks to the car issues, the lastest Drs appointment, that should have been last Thursday has been postponed 2x, and we will finally go this Friday. So you can expect a baby update soon :)
Ok, all out of time - until soon...
In the meantime, I have become an official bus rider, making my first few solo rides in the last few days. Gives me a new level of independence, as I could go visit my in-laws or the Pastor`s family by bus now even if my husband is busy working. Admitedly, it takes much much longer by bus, but it is better than nothing!
My other big news of late is that I am definelty feeling the baby move these days! All of a sudden, a week ago today, I was sure that it was the baby I was feeling, and ever since, I have been feeling him a lot! Very exciting. And yesterday morning, he was kicking unusually strongly, and my husband could feel it already!
Thanks to the car issues, the lastest Drs appointment, that should have been last Thursday has been postponed 2x, and we will finally go this Friday. So you can expect a baby update soon :)
Ok, all out of time - until soon...
Monday, May 5, 2008
On Life in Mexico...
So sorry! Last time I posted, which was a very long time ago, I promised to get more posts up. And I actually started this post a week ago - but couldn´t finish because my time was shorter than I thought. And then, due to car troubles and the related fall out, I haven´t been on since. Finishing this post was on the top of my list for today,and then for the longest time I couldn´t sign in to Blogger. But I am in now, and hopefully have the time to finish this. Maybe I´ll post it unfinished if my husband comes for me - some news is better than no news, right? :)
I´ve been meaning for ages and ages to write an update on my life here and how I am transitioning, etc. Back when I first wanted to write it, I had the post half written in my head already. A lot has changed since then, but I don´t want to put it off any longer. So here´s hoping this post at least half way flows! ;)
First of all, I know that it is easy to use the blog to dump frustrations at times. And so you all get to hear about tight money or my naseous stomach sometimes.
But what I really want to be sure to say is how very happy and content I am here in my new life. I can´t tell you how many times I think in a week (or sometimes in one day) - how is it that I am soo blessed? Or - I can´t believe how very much I love my husband and he loves me! Or - Is this life really possible or only a dream? Will it last?
I really am very happy married to this man. I know he isn´t perfect, and we´ve already had assorted issues to work through, things from past and present, areas we don´t necessarily agree on. But overall, we are a really good fit for each other. He takes such good care of me - I´m not sure if I could have told you before I got married that I was looking for that feeling, but I sure am content now that I feel I have a husband to cares well for me. And somehow, although I tend to see where I fell short or the things I haven´t gotten done yet, he says the same about me. Do you know what a good feeling it is to have your husband take your hand to pray before a meal, and every single day include a thanks to the Lord for giving him his wife, and the coming child?
Now, as I´ve alluded to in other posts, his job is very demanding and low-paying... obviously I´d love to have a little more time with him and a little less tight of a budget. Really, as far as marriage goes, the biggest change I´d like to make is having more time with my husband. But I think that´s a pretty average for the course kind of request, one that lots of wives have. And in my case, it is one my husband echoes (sometimes the husband chooses to not be home for whatever reasons). So most of the time I don´t even give it that much thought. I just try to make the most of the time we do have together.
Switching topics, everyone always wants to know how my Spanish is coming. Honestly, I feel like I am coming along. I actually go places sometimes without my dictionary (and haven´t regretted it yet)! :) I usually can make myself understood and understand without too much mental effort at this point. I feel like I still have tons and tons of vocab to learn, but I have enough under my belt to get by. I often find myself thinking in Spanish, which they say is a sign of fluency or something to that effect. Of course, lots of times I get half way through the thought in Spanish and realize I don´t have the vocab to finish it and wonder why I am not thinking it in English. But Spanish is beginning to take over to the point that when my husband and I are trying to pratice his English, I am the one that keeps slipping into Spanish!
Talking to strangers and on the phone used to be the biggest struggles. Well, I can´t remember the last time I really struggled to understand/be understood by a stranger. And the other day I found myself talking to one of my closest friends here for 2 hours on the phone!
Speaking of friends - that seems to be another one of the biggies that people ask about. That particular friend has probably become my closest friend. She is in walking distance, and has made a point of telling me how she gets frustrated when I don´t come to visit her in a given week. (She has a baby and a child who needs to be walked to and from school everyday, so its a little harder for her to come to me...) I think second in the running is my sister-in-law. We´re close in age and connect well. And it helps that I get to see her regularly since we always head over there at least on Sunday´s after church (all my in-laws pretty much live together/next to each other). There´s others I´d like to get to know, but it is a bit hard to go visiting (we only have one car, and my husband has it all day for work) - which would help get a foundation started. Little by little I am getting there thru just the little bits of conversation at church.
Hmmm, those are the big points I think. If I missed something obvious, leave me a question in the comments to answer next post. I´m gonna go ahead and post this now while I still have time and everything. And hopefully I´ll be on more consistently again and able to post again soon!
I´ve been meaning for ages and ages to write an update on my life here and how I am transitioning, etc. Back when I first wanted to write it, I had the post half written in my head already. A lot has changed since then, but I don´t want to put it off any longer. So here´s hoping this post at least half way flows! ;)
First of all, I know that it is easy to use the blog to dump frustrations at times. And so you all get to hear about tight money or my naseous stomach sometimes.
But what I really want to be sure to say is how very happy and content I am here in my new life. I can´t tell you how many times I think in a week (or sometimes in one day) - how is it that I am soo blessed? Or - I can´t believe how very much I love my husband and he loves me! Or - Is this life really possible or only a dream? Will it last?
I really am very happy married to this man. I know he isn´t perfect, and we´ve already had assorted issues to work through, things from past and present, areas we don´t necessarily agree on. But overall, we are a really good fit for each other. He takes such good care of me - I´m not sure if I could have told you before I got married that I was looking for that feeling, but I sure am content now that I feel I have a husband to cares well for me. And somehow, although I tend to see where I fell short or the things I haven´t gotten done yet, he says the same about me. Do you know what a good feeling it is to have your husband take your hand to pray before a meal, and every single day include a thanks to the Lord for giving him his wife, and the coming child?
Now, as I´ve alluded to in other posts, his job is very demanding and low-paying... obviously I´d love to have a little more time with him and a little less tight of a budget. Really, as far as marriage goes, the biggest change I´d like to make is having more time with my husband. But I think that´s a pretty average for the course kind of request, one that lots of wives have. And in my case, it is one my husband echoes (sometimes the husband chooses to not be home for whatever reasons). So most of the time I don´t even give it that much thought. I just try to make the most of the time we do have together.
Switching topics, everyone always wants to know how my Spanish is coming. Honestly, I feel like I am coming along. I actually go places sometimes without my dictionary (and haven´t regretted it yet)! :) I usually can make myself understood and understand without too much mental effort at this point. I feel like I still have tons and tons of vocab to learn, but I have enough under my belt to get by. I often find myself thinking in Spanish, which they say is a sign of fluency or something to that effect. Of course, lots of times I get half way through the thought in Spanish and realize I don´t have the vocab to finish it and wonder why I am not thinking it in English. But Spanish is beginning to take over to the point that when my husband and I are trying to pratice his English, I am the one that keeps slipping into Spanish!
Talking to strangers and on the phone used to be the biggest struggles. Well, I can´t remember the last time I really struggled to understand/be understood by a stranger. And the other day I found myself talking to one of my closest friends here for 2 hours on the phone!
Speaking of friends - that seems to be another one of the biggies that people ask about. That particular friend has probably become my closest friend. She is in walking distance, and has made a point of telling me how she gets frustrated when I don´t come to visit her in a given week. (She has a baby and a child who needs to be walked to and from school everyday, so its a little harder for her to come to me...) I think second in the running is my sister-in-law. We´re close in age and connect well. And it helps that I get to see her regularly since we always head over there at least on Sunday´s after church (all my in-laws pretty much live together/next to each other). There´s others I´d like to get to know, but it is a bit hard to go visiting (we only have one car, and my husband has it all day for work) - which would help get a foundation started. Little by little I am getting there thru just the little bits of conversation at church.
Hmmm, those are the big points I think. If I missed something obvious, leave me a question in the comments to answer next post. I´m gonna go ahead and post this now while I still have time and everything. And hopefully I´ll be on more consistently again and able to post again soon!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Vacation Days, Or Not (and an announcement at the end...)
Week before last was Holy Week - and in a predominately Catholic country, that is a big deal. Everyone gets lots of time off. Kids had last week and this week home from school. Something like 90% of the country got off Holy Thursday and Good Friday. And the way it works out this year, with Easter being so early, 90% also got off last Monday in celebration of some famous President here.
We were under the impression, leading up to Holy Week, that my beloved would have off Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (he generally works 1/2 days Saturdays, which means half the number of clients visited - not necessarily half the time). So we made plans for a day trip on Monday, thinking later in the week we´d have a lazy day. Lazy days are few and far between (meaning in large part we can sleep in, and get up when we are in the mood, istead of rushing out) - since FB works Monday thru Saturday and the last Sunday of every month, that only leaves Sunday. But of course we get up and go to church on Sundays. So, lazy days...? I think we´ve had one since we returned from the honeymoon.
Instead, he had to work Thursday, Saturday, and....drumroll please....EASTER SUNDAY!
I am sure you all understand the logic there - since clients really want to open their door to a stranger to talk about being behind in their payments on EASTER SUNDAY, if they are even home and didn´t take off on a vacation somewhere. No, the logic was - you all had off Monday and Friday - better work Sunday. And since the office closed a little early Thursday, FB had to hit up the office before getting started on Saturday to finish up from Thursday. Then when he finished for the day, he had to prepare all his visits for both Sunday and Monday. So Saturday was a long day of work.
Monday and Friday, the days he did get off, were´t bad, just not lazy days like we´d been looking forward to.
Monday we did the day trip to a pretty and quaint little town about 2 hours away. The 2 of us had been there once before. This time we took along another young married couple and their little boy. I had just recently been thinking we should hang out once in a while (when there´s time - which is the whole issue) with other young marrieds, so I was fine with Herme´s spur of the moment idea to invite them Saturday night. The weather was weird that day, lots and lots of wind, carrying lots and lots of dust. And spring hadn´t quite arrived there like we´d hoped. But we ate at a nice restaurant and then spent several hours at a park where they have created a pond (they call it a lake, cuz there isn´t much water here. but it is only a pond). The temperature was nice, even if it was windy, and we had an enjoyable time, a mix of keeping to ourselves and hanging out all together. Just before heading home, we hit up a vineyard museum, which was interesting, but would have been more so if the guide talked just a little bit slower.
One highlight for me was a stop at the street market on the way out of town. FB and I had stopped there when we were there a little over a year ago, and he bought me a pink shawl. I wore it when announcing our engagement here and in Rochester, and subsequently on any chilly day when I wanted to feel like my fiance was a little closer to me. It was very pretty, and an important memory item for me. But I lost it a couple of months ago. I think what happened was that it was on my lap in the car, and I forgot when I got up to get out and it fell. By the time we realized it, it was long gone. I was devastated. (And for those of you who know, this happened like the same week as another major possession loss.) But anyways, we found the same vendor and bought another shawl. She didn´t have the same color, but otherwise it is the same, and it comforts me to have it.
Friday, we got up about the same time as a workday and headed to a Good Firday service. It`s a gathering of many churches that all form an alliance, and different people from different churches take turns reading the last 7 things Jesus said during the crucifixion. Afterwards, there was a picnic style lunch and everyone fellowshipped for a bit. And in the culture here, that means everyone packed a whole lot of one thing and shared it with everyone else. Everyone always shares here. It was good, and lasted til about mid afternoon. I got sunburned - didn`t know it was outside, and apparently the tarps providing my shade were not all that protective. AFterwards, we spent some time with my in-laws, then headed home to get that budget done.
Easter Sunday our church did a sunrise service (although the sun never rose, it was one of those rare cloudy and chilly days here), so we were able to go to service before FB had to work, which was nice.
The other part of that week that kept life interesting was that when we returned to town Monday evening from our day trip, we headed straight over to my in-laws to pick up 3 very excited children. Our 2 nieces (10 and 7) and great-nephew (6) had been dying to spend the night at our house for weeks. And since they were on vacation for 2 weeks, they came and stayed with us until Thursday morning. Great vacation for them - a bit exhausting for me!
Remember the weird windy weather we had Monday? Well, Tuesday morning, the temperature dropped to the 40s, and there was so much dirt being carried in the wind that visibility was bad. And dirt was coming in thru every crevice of the house - door jams, windows, you name it. So, I had 3 very excited children stuck inside for the better part of the day. I have no toys other than a game of Dominos, a few childrens books, but mostly in English, and no TV - and a pretty small house. The saving grace was when I remembered late in the day the Play-Doh recipe I had - all dead time from that moment on was spent pretending to be a bakery or restaurant. (By the way, the recipe was from a cook-book the church ladies put together back in Rochester a year or 2 ago. Any one from there reading this - I love that little book and reading what you all wrote, and have used several recipes already!)
The next day we had much nicer weather, walked the 20ish minutes to visit someone from church and later hit up a nearby playground. Still tiring, but in a less anxious, pent up kind of way. I taught the kids Mother, May I? and Red Light, Green Light. Since hardly anyone here has any yard to speak of (homes are usually all built right up against each other), any time spend at a playground or even in an open patch of grass is much enjoyed.
Ok, this post is a book. I promise the others I am planning to write shouldn`t be quite this long. But as computer time in the next few days will be devoted to getting my taxes done, I`m not sure when the next post will be. I do hope to write fairly soon, though, because my second prenatal appointment is Friday. Can you believe that today officially marks the beginning of my 2nd trimester already?! And yes, I am trying to figure out how to post the occassional picture of my growing belly.
Oh, and I forgot to post last week in the midst of all my catching up, that I am an aunt again!! My brother and his wife welcomed their first into the world Saturday, March 22. From what I am told, she`s beautiful, with lots of hair. It`s crazy hard not knowing when I will meet her. But then, as they live just that far away from the rest of the family, only my parents have been able to meet her so far, and the others aren`t sure when they will. This is the first baby that we all (or almost all) didn`t meet in the first 48 hours - times are changing in our family I guess.
We were under the impression, leading up to Holy Week, that my beloved would have off Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (he generally works 1/2 days Saturdays, which means half the number of clients visited - not necessarily half the time). So we made plans for a day trip on Monday, thinking later in the week we´d have a lazy day. Lazy days are few and far between (meaning in large part we can sleep in, and get up when we are in the mood, istead of rushing out) - since FB works Monday thru Saturday and the last Sunday of every month, that only leaves Sunday. But of course we get up and go to church on Sundays. So, lazy days...? I think we´ve had one since we returned from the honeymoon.
Instead, he had to work Thursday, Saturday, and....drumroll please....EASTER SUNDAY!
I am sure you all understand the logic there - since clients really want to open their door to a stranger to talk about being behind in their payments on EASTER SUNDAY, if they are even home and didn´t take off on a vacation somewhere. No, the logic was - you all had off Monday and Friday - better work Sunday. And since the office closed a little early Thursday, FB had to hit up the office before getting started on Saturday to finish up from Thursday. Then when he finished for the day, he had to prepare all his visits for both Sunday and Monday. So Saturday was a long day of work.
Monday and Friday, the days he did get off, were´t bad, just not lazy days like we´d been looking forward to.
Monday we did the day trip to a pretty and quaint little town about 2 hours away. The 2 of us had been there once before. This time we took along another young married couple and their little boy. I had just recently been thinking we should hang out once in a while (when there´s time - which is the whole issue) with other young marrieds, so I was fine with Herme´s spur of the moment idea to invite them Saturday night. The weather was weird that day, lots and lots of wind, carrying lots and lots of dust. And spring hadn´t quite arrived there like we´d hoped. But we ate at a nice restaurant and then spent several hours at a park where they have created a pond (they call it a lake, cuz there isn´t much water here. but it is only a pond). The temperature was nice, even if it was windy, and we had an enjoyable time, a mix of keeping to ourselves and hanging out all together. Just before heading home, we hit up a vineyard museum, which was interesting, but would have been more so if the guide talked just a little bit slower.
One highlight for me was a stop at the street market on the way out of town. FB and I had stopped there when we were there a little over a year ago, and he bought me a pink shawl. I wore it when announcing our engagement here and in Rochester, and subsequently on any chilly day when I wanted to feel like my fiance was a little closer to me. It was very pretty, and an important memory item for me. But I lost it a couple of months ago. I think what happened was that it was on my lap in the car, and I forgot when I got up to get out and it fell. By the time we realized it, it was long gone. I was devastated. (And for those of you who know, this happened like the same week as another major possession loss.) But anyways, we found the same vendor and bought another shawl. She didn´t have the same color, but otherwise it is the same, and it comforts me to have it.
Friday, we got up about the same time as a workday and headed to a Good Firday service. It`s a gathering of many churches that all form an alliance, and different people from different churches take turns reading the last 7 things Jesus said during the crucifixion. Afterwards, there was a picnic style lunch and everyone fellowshipped for a bit. And in the culture here, that means everyone packed a whole lot of one thing and shared it with everyone else. Everyone always shares here. It was good, and lasted til about mid afternoon. I got sunburned - didn`t know it was outside, and apparently the tarps providing my shade were not all that protective. AFterwards, we spent some time with my in-laws, then headed home to get that budget done.
Easter Sunday our church did a sunrise service (although the sun never rose, it was one of those rare cloudy and chilly days here), so we were able to go to service before FB had to work, which was nice.
The other part of that week that kept life interesting was that when we returned to town Monday evening from our day trip, we headed straight over to my in-laws to pick up 3 very excited children. Our 2 nieces (10 and 7) and great-nephew (6) had been dying to spend the night at our house for weeks. And since they were on vacation for 2 weeks, they came and stayed with us until Thursday morning. Great vacation for them - a bit exhausting for me!
Remember the weird windy weather we had Monday? Well, Tuesday morning, the temperature dropped to the 40s, and there was so much dirt being carried in the wind that visibility was bad. And dirt was coming in thru every crevice of the house - door jams, windows, you name it. So, I had 3 very excited children stuck inside for the better part of the day. I have no toys other than a game of Dominos, a few childrens books, but mostly in English, and no TV - and a pretty small house. The saving grace was when I remembered late in the day the Play-Doh recipe I had - all dead time from that moment on was spent pretending to be a bakery or restaurant. (By the way, the recipe was from a cook-book the church ladies put together back in Rochester a year or 2 ago. Any one from there reading this - I love that little book and reading what you all wrote, and have used several recipes already!)
The next day we had much nicer weather, walked the 20ish minutes to visit someone from church and later hit up a nearby playground. Still tiring, but in a less anxious, pent up kind of way. I taught the kids Mother, May I? and Red Light, Green Light. Since hardly anyone here has any yard to speak of (homes are usually all built right up against each other), any time spend at a playground or even in an open patch of grass is much enjoyed.
Ok, this post is a book. I promise the others I am planning to write shouldn`t be quite this long. But as computer time in the next few days will be devoted to getting my taxes done, I`m not sure when the next post will be. I do hope to write fairly soon, though, because my second prenatal appointment is Friday. Can you believe that today officially marks the beginning of my 2nd trimester already?! And yes, I am trying to figure out how to post the occassional picture of my growing belly.
Oh, and I forgot to post last week in the midst of all my catching up, that I am an aunt again!! My brother and his wife welcomed their first into the world Saturday, March 22. From what I am told, she`s beautiful, with lots of hair. It`s crazy hard not knowing when I will meet her. But then, as they live just that far away from the rest of the family, only my parents have been able to meet her so far, and the others aren`t sure when they will. This is the first baby that we all (or almost all) didn`t meet in the first 48 hours - times are changing in our family I guess.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Sshhh! It`s a secret!
You see, I was paid a very high compliment this week, in an area in which I have already shared my insecurities with you all. And it came from the person most able to affect me with such a compliment. But it is the type that can`t get back to certain people. However, since those people live here in Mexico and speak Spanish, and my readers generally live in the US and speak English, I thought maybe I could share here.
My dear, sweet husband told me this week that I am a better cook than his mother. (And his mother is generally known to be a very good cook.)
Now, I am keeping in mind that this came at a time when he happened to be very hungry - everything tastes better when you are hungry. But it was said very sincerely, and pretty much blew me away.
-----------------------
In other news, I don`t think I have mentioned yet here how excited FB`s family is about my pregnancy. They have already started buying us baby clothes! And you should have seen and heard them the other night when we showed them the ultrasound picture. And they keep making me model for them to see if I am showing yet (enough for FB and I to tell, not too noticeable to most other folks). All in all, it`s fun.
I am happy to say that I am one of those people that really enjoy my in-laws. A couple of Herme`s brothers are really quiet, and we are only just starting to be comfortable initiating conversations with each other. But the brother closest to me in age is really outgoing and loves to pick my brain about one thing or another. He`s managed to pick up enough English words to help me along when I`m not sure what he is saying, too. And his sisters and I hit it off since the beginning, as well as the neices and nephews. We get along even better now that I have improved enough in my Spanish that I don`t feel like they are talking at the speed of light ;)
Well, we are giving ourselves a rare treat and heading to the movies in a little bit, so I am going to get going. FB has had a great workweek, getting out much earlier than usual (by several hours) a couple of days and an hour or 2 early the other days. If only his weeks could be more like this on a regular basis!
My dear, sweet husband told me this week that I am a better cook than his mother. (And his mother is generally known to be a very good cook.)
Now, I am keeping in mind that this came at a time when he happened to be very hungry - everything tastes better when you are hungry. But it was said very sincerely, and pretty much blew me away.
-----------------------
In other news, I don`t think I have mentioned yet here how excited FB`s family is about my pregnancy. They have already started buying us baby clothes! And you should have seen and heard them the other night when we showed them the ultrasound picture. And they keep making me model for them to see if I am showing yet (enough for FB and I to tell, not too noticeable to most other folks). All in all, it`s fun.
I am happy to say that I am one of those people that really enjoy my in-laws. A couple of Herme`s brothers are really quiet, and we are only just starting to be comfortable initiating conversations with each other. But the brother closest to me in age is really outgoing and loves to pick my brain about one thing or another. He`s managed to pick up enough English words to help me along when I`m not sure what he is saying, too. And his sisters and I hit it off since the beginning, as well as the neices and nephews. We get along even better now that I have improved enough in my Spanish that I don`t feel like they are talking at the speed of light ;)
Well, we are giving ourselves a rare treat and heading to the movies in a little bit, so I am going to get going. FB has had a great workweek, getting out much earlier than usual (by several hours) a couple of days and an hour or 2 early the other days. If only his weeks could be more like this on a regular basis!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
My Baby! :)
We had our first prenantal check up this morning, and it was so exciting!
Our Pastor and his wife had recommended this particular doctor to us (they are currently under his care for their pregnancy). At their suggestion, they accompanied us in order to present us to the doctor as friends that they recommended him to, which was really nice of them to take the time to do. It also helped us with the practicalities of figuring out where we were going the 1st time, etc.
It was a pretty straight forward appointment overall, with him asking some basic questions and laying down the law as far as my diet and activity levels are concerned. He is really friendly and likeable, and you really get the sense he knows what he is doing. The only downside is that he talks kind of fast, so I couldn´t always keep up with him (as in, my Spanish isn´t quite good enough...). I think I will be able to in another month or 2, but in the meantime, thankfully have this great husband who will be accompanying me, and who pretty much knows all my answers anyways :) And he even explains to me afterwards anything I missed.
But the exciting part was the ultrasound! What a gift of technology, allowing us a glimpse at God´s miraculous creation of a new little person inside of me! It was very clear, and both FB and I could easily identify the head, hands, feet, etc, even before the Dr explained. The Dr also showed us the beating heart and developing brain, and said taking size and everything into account, all appears to be coming along normally and healthy. The size of the baby was right on track, giving a predicted due date within 3 days of what the Dr had said based on the calendar.
Speaking of the baby´s size, he or she is 3.12 cm long from head to rump, which happens to be the length of the upper 2/3 of my pinky finger. I keep looking down at my finger and picturing the little baby I saw moving around this morning. So amazing.
We both walked out of there several feet above the ground, I think. And we have stayed in a slightly dazed state all day.
I think seing the baby like that was especially good for my husband, as he was just expressing the other day that he kind of wishes the baby were born already, because he feels so unconnected or far removed from the baby right now. I don´t think he feels quite that way anymore :)
So, all is well and developing right on track. Next month we´ll have some basic lab work done so the Dr can check my levels of whatever is doctors check. In the meantime, he made some suggestions to help with the congestion and nauseaness. And I am supposed to cut way back on carbs, salt, and junk food and up my intake of fruits, veggies, water, etc. Sounds basic, I know, but was reassuring to me as such dietary onversation are much more rare here.
Our Pastor and his wife had recommended this particular doctor to us (they are currently under his care for their pregnancy). At their suggestion, they accompanied us in order to present us to the doctor as friends that they recommended him to, which was really nice of them to take the time to do. It also helped us with the practicalities of figuring out where we were going the 1st time, etc.
It was a pretty straight forward appointment overall, with him asking some basic questions and laying down the law as far as my diet and activity levels are concerned. He is really friendly and likeable, and you really get the sense he knows what he is doing. The only downside is that he talks kind of fast, so I couldn´t always keep up with him (as in, my Spanish isn´t quite good enough...). I think I will be able to in another month or 2, but in the meantime, thankfully have this great husband who will be accompanying me, and who pretty much knows all my answers anyways :) And he even explains to me afterwards anything I missed.
But the exciting part was the ultrasound! What a gift of technology, allowing us a glimpse at God´s miraculous creation of a new little person inside of me! It was very clear, and both FB and I could easily identify the head, hands, feet, etc, even before the Dr explained. The Dr also showed us the beating heart and developing brain, and said taking size and everything into account, all appears to be coming along normally and healthy. The size of the baby was right on track, giving a predicted due date within 3 days of what the Dr had said based on the calendar.
Speaking of the baby´s size, he or she is 3.12 cm long from head to rump, which happens to be the length of the upper 2/3 of my pinky finger. I keep looking down at my finger and picturing the little baby I saw moving around this morning. So amazing.
We both walked out of there several feet above the ground, I think. And we have stayed in a slightly dazed state all day.
I think seing the baby like that was especially good for my husband, as he was just expressing the other day that he kind of wishes the baby were born already, because he feels so unconnected or far removed from the baby right now. I don´t think he feels quite that way anymore :)
So, all is well and developing right on track. Next month we´ll have some basic lab work done so the Dr can check my levels of whatever is doctors check. In the meantime, he made some suggestions to help with the congestion and nauseaness. And I am supposed to cut way back on carbs, salt, and junk food and up my intake of fruits, veggies, water, etc. Sounds basic, I know, but was reassuring to me as such dietary onversation are much more rare here.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Tidbits
This post is a random collection of thoughts and observations I have been wanting to share...
They are building a new section to our relatively new neighborhood behind our house. I think it much have something to do with being made in the image of our Creator that makes it so very interesting to watch the process of something being built. I often watch from my upstairs window for a few minutes, and usually check daily on how much progress has been made.
I am not thrilled about having houses put in behind us, as it will feel much more closed in, but I am grateful that my bedroom window will look out at the little bit of space between houses instead right into someone else´s bedroom window. And I am grateful that there are no houses right across from us. I think they will someday turn the open patch of dirt into a park.
I´m looking forward to reaching the benchmark of 2nd trimester in about another month... the nauseasness and tiredness are getting old, and I am hopeful that some of that will ease as the 1st trimester ends.
Any worries I had about filling my day as a homemaker disappeared with the onset of pregnancy. I am lucky to keep up with the basics these days.
I´m realizing that I have a lot of fear attached to doing anything outside of my comfort zone - which includes kind of a lot of things, sometimes. I´d appreciate prayer to be released from this. I know it is natural to be nervous, etc, about new things, but in a situation where I am often confronted by new things are something outside my comfort zone (I´ve moved to another country, for goodness sake!), this whole fear issue can be a bit debilatating.
Although still being asked to work harder and do more, my beloved husband received some rare praise last night for a job well done in recent weeks. For this, I am grateful. And for the fact that he might actually get home by 8 tonight, instead of 9 or later.
Of course, last night was also when we thought we´d be getting news about the level of insurance coverage his company will provide for my prenatal/birth care, but instead found out his boss forgot to take the marriage certificate to HR in Monterrey last week. Supposedly he took it today; we now have to wait up to another week.
It is interesting the little things you learn about a person when you live with them. For example, my husband religiously checks expiration dates when making a purchase and/or consuming something we have had for a while. On the other hand, though, I´ve seen him eat fruit or homemade items well past the date I would have considered them edible.
I know there was more, but I am afraid pregnancy brain strikes again! It´s all mush now, and I can´t for the life of me think what else there was. I´ll be so annoyed later when the things I have been wanted to share with someone suddenly pop back into my head. Oh well.
They are building a new section to our relatively new neighborhood behind our house. I think it much have something to do with being made in the image of our Creator that makes it so very interesting to watch the process of something being built. I often watch from my upstairs window for a few minutes, and usually check daily on how much progress has been made.
I am not thrilled about having houses put in behind us, as it will feel much more closed in, but I am grateful that my bedroom window will look out at the little bit of space between houses instead right into someone else´s bedroom window. And I am grateful that there are no houses right across from us. I think they will someday turn the open patch of dirt into a park.
I´m looking forward to reaching the benchmark of 2nd trimester in about another month... the nauseasness and tiredness are getting old, and I am hopeful that some of that will ease as the 1st trimester ends.
Any worries I had about filling my day as a homemaker disappeared with the onset of pregnancy. I am lucky to keep up with the basics these days.
I´m realizing that I have a lot of fear attached to doing anything outside of my comfort zone - which includes kind of a lot of things, sometimes. I´d appreciate prayer to be released from this. I know it is natural to be nervous, etc, about new things, but in a situation where I am often confronted by new things are something outside my comfort zone (I´ve moved to another country, for goodness sake!), this whole fear issue can be a bit debilatating.
Although still being asked to work harder and do more, my beloved husband received some rare praise last night for a job well done in recent weeks. For this, I am grateful. And for the fact that he might actually get home by 8 tonight, instead of 9 or later.
Of course, last night was also when we thought we´d be getting news about the level of insurance coverage his company will provide for my prenatal/birth care, but instead found out his boss forgot to take the marriage certificate to HR in Monterrey last week. Supposedly he took it today; we now have to wait up to another week.
It is interesting the little things you learn about a person when you live with them. For example, my husband religiously checks expiration dates when making a purchase and/or consuming something we have had for a while. On the other hand, though, I´ve seen him eat fruit or homemade items well past the date I would have considered them edible.
I know there was more, but I am afraid pregnancy brain strikes again! It´s all mush now, and I can´t for the life of me think what else there was. I´ll be so annoyed later when the things I have been wanted to share with someone suddenly pop back into my head. Oh well.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
How I am feeling, Prayer requests
How I am feeling is a question I seem to get from everyone I talk to, so I thought some of my readers may be wondering as well.
I am pretty much mildly nauseas most of the time, although some days are better than others. I have yet to throw up at all, and usually can eat something, although often not just anything. I keep saltine crackers, water, and hard candies on me at all times, any of which seem to help when I get too uncomfortable. I try to eat a little something every few hours. I also learned this week that it is important to eat a little something in the evening, especially if I am at all hungry. I tried to ignore feeling hungry as we were just settling in to fall asleep the other night... and felt absolutely awful the next morning. I won't do that again!
I am also very tired. If I didn't keep reading on pregnancy websites and hearing from people who have been pregnant that being really tired is normal at this point, I would feel a little ridiculous. Although I rarely actually take 3 naps a day, I almost always want one every morning, every afternoon, and every evening. I usually let myself have one longer one, and sometimes one other quick one. Of course, 'longer' can mean anything from 40 min to 2 hours, depending on how I feel on a given day!
This quote was in the weekly email I am getting from Baby Center...
"I'm seven weeks pregnant, and I'm having every symptom in the book — from morning sickness to sore breasts. Is it possible to feel huge already?" — Janean
I laughed when I read this, because although my clothes basically still fit an all, I do feel a lot bigger already. And I have quite a few of the basic symptoms as well. But overall, I am not complaining. I am not throwing up, and for that I often give thanks.
Oh, the other thing I am experiencing is a lot of congestion, which apparently can be a pregnancy related symptom. This I would appreciate prayer for, as it is wearing on me. Plus, then I have trouble beathing at night, which makes it harder for both of us to sleep. And, congestion related coughing engages my gag reflex, which is the when I come closest to really losing it. All in all, I am ready to be done with the congestion.
Speaking of prayer requests, my big one is for my beloved's job situation. He is frustrated by the tediousness of the work, and by his supervisor's style of leadership...which includes up to 4 calls in a day reminding him to work hard and get everything done. And the salary just isn't sufficient. It already wasn't, and now we have a baby on the way. Not to mention things like me needing maternity clothes, prenatal vists, etc. I was going to blog a while back, but never got that far, how in early January, they were told 'positive changes' were coming to the comapany, which would lighten the workload and possibly raise salaries. These changes are supposedly coming in February or March. But so far nothing else has been said. So, we are praying for either really good changes to come quickly, or a new job to open up. The trick is, while working, he doesn't have a lot of time for job hunting...so it has to be the Lord.
We had a major car repair recently, which I think just added the pressure on my beloved. He has taken to saying almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day how he needs a new job. Then last night, he asked me if I think he's a bad person, like lazy or something, because he doesn't want this job anymore. Poor guy. He's working his tail off, getting hounded by his boss like he isn't, and getting paid next to nothing for it....and he feels bad that he doesn't like his job!
God has always been faithful to provide for me in the past, so there is a part of me that is sure He will this time too. Then there is that human part of me that struggles every blasted time to have faith. Anyways, I know He will be faithful to provide again, I just would like prayer that the doors open soon, and that we recognize them when they do.
Well, I think I'll leave it at that for now. I really am trying to blog more consistently, but of course lately I have too easily allowed myself to sucked into reading pregnancy pages! But my desire is to get better. So, maybe I will!
I am pretty much mildly nauseas most of the time, although some days are better than others. I have yet to throw up at all, and usually can eat something, although often not just anything. I keep saltine crackers, water, and hard candies on me at all times, any of which seem to help when I get too uncomfortable. I try to eat a little something every few hours. I also learned this week that it is important to eat a little something in the evening, especially if I am at all hungry. I tried to ignore feeling hungry as we were just settling in to fall asleep the other night... and felt absolutely awful the next morning. I won't do that again!
I am also very tired. If I didn't keep reading on pregnancy websites and hearing from people who have been pregnant that being really tired is normal at this point, I would feel a little ridiculous. Although I rarely actually take 3 naps a day, I almost always want one every morning, every afternoon, and every evening. I usually let myself have one longer one, and sometimes one other quick one. Of course, 'longer' can mean anything from 40 min to 2 hours, depending on how I feel on a given day!
This quote was in the weekly email I am getting from Baby Center...
"I'm seven weeks pregnant, and I'm having every symptom in the book — from morning sickness to sore breasts. Is it possible to feel huge already?" — Janean
I laughed when I read this, because although my clothes basically still fit an all, I do feel a lot bigger already. And I have quite a few of the basic symptoms as well. But overall, I am not complaining. I am not throwing up, and for that I often give thanks.
Oh, the other thing I am experiencing is a lot of congestion, which apparently can be a pregnancy related symptom. This I would appreciate prayer for, as it is wearing on me. Plus, then I have trouble beathing at night, which makes it harder for both of us to sleep. And, congestion related coughing engages my gag reflex, which is the when I come closest to really losing it. All in all, I am ready to be done with the congestion.
Speaking of prayer requests, my big one is for my beloved's job situation. He is frustrated by the tediousness of the work, and by his supervisor's style of leadership...which includes up to 4 calls in a day reminding him to work hard and get everything done. And the salary just isn't sufficient. It already wasn't, and now we have a baby on the way. Not to mention things like me needing maternity clothes, prenatal vists, etc. I was going to blog a while back, but never got that far, how in early January, they were told 'positive changes' were coming to the comapany, which would lighten the workload and possibly raise salaries. These changes are supposedly coming in February or March. But so far nothing else has been said. So, we are praying for either really good changes to come quickly, or a new job to open up. The trick is, while working, he doesn't have a lot of time for job hunting...so it has to be the Lord.
We had a major car repair recently, which I think just added the pressure on my beloved. He has taken to saying almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day how he needs a new job. Then last night, he asked me if I think he's a bad person, like lazy or something, because he doesn't want this job anymore. Poor guy. He's working his tail off, getting hounded by his boss like he isn't, and getting paid next to nothing for it....and he feels bad that he doesn't like his job!
God has always been faithful to provide for me in the past, so there is a part of me that is sure He will this time too. Then there is that human part of me that struggles every blasted time to have faith. Anyways, I know He will be faithful to provide again, I just would like prayer that the doors open soon, and that we recognize them when they do.
Well, I think I'll leave it at that for now. I really am trying to blog more consistently, but of course lately I have too easily allowed myself to sucked into reading pregnancy pages! But my desire is to get better. So, maybe I will!
Monday, January 14, 2008
A bit more...
I only have like 10 minutes, but I thought I{d add a bit more about life here...
(sorry to those who are punctuation conscious...I can{t for the life of me figure out how to type an apostrophe on this keyboard!)
Some good news...stove is hooked up and working great! and washer should be by days end. And we are off to buy the dryer my family gifted us with the money for :)
Some fun news...I received my first real piece of mail last week. I think it was Friday. I was walking home from visiting a friend and found myself wondering where they would put are mail were we to ever receive some, since no one here really has mailboxes. And what did I find when I walk in my door but a letter for me that had been slipped under the door, from a good friend with the same first name as me :)
What an awesome treat that was! Please, please...write to me! Emails are great too, for those mail challenged. Ive loved the few emails I{ve gotten from friends and family so far! But gosh, what good it did me to have a touchable taste of home!
And before I run out of time, I got to thinking how I went into narration mode last time and failed to mention the really amzing man I now have for a husband. So far, his worst quirk is the large amounts of soap he feels a need to use, either when washing his hands or in the shower. Mot bad huh? And Ive only been more impressed by all of his good qualities. I know there are many of you who think you have the best husbands out there, but I know I really do! ;) Ok, maybe hes just the best husband for me, but one way or another, hes the best!
K, Im gonna go cuz if I dont post this before my account runs out of time, I lose everything Ive written.
Until soon!
(sorry to those who are punctuation conscious...I can{t for the life of me figure out how to type an apostrophe on this keyboard!)
Some good news...stove is hooked up and working great! and washer should be by days end. And we are off to buy the dryer my family gifted us with the money for :)
Some fun news...I received my first real piece of mail last week. I think it was Friday. I was walking home from visiting a friend and found myself wondering where they would put are mail were we to ever receive some, since no one here really has mailboxes. And what did I find when I walk in my door but a letter for me that had been slipped under the door, from a good friend with the same first name as me :)
What an awesome treat that was! Please, please...write to me! Emails are great too, for those mail challenged. Ive loved the few emails I{ve gotten from friends and family so far! But gosh, what good it did me to have a touchable taste of home!
And before I run out of time, I got to thinking how I went into narration mode last time and failed to mention the really amzing man I now have for a husband. So far, his worst quirk is the large amounts of soap he feels a need to use, either when washing his hands or in the shower. Mot bad huh? And Ive only been more impressed by all of his good qualities. I know there are many of you who think you have the best husbands out there, but I know I really do! ;) Ok, maybe hes just the best husband for me, but one way or another, hes the best!
K, Im gonna go cuz if I dont post this before my account runs out of time, I lose everything Ive written.
Until soon!
Friday, January 11, 2008
For Carole...(and everyone else who has faithfully waited...)
Sorry, folks, that it has been so long!
Those last 10 days before the wedding were a little hectic, especially once my family arrived and I felt like I needed to host them on top of accomplishing all the myriad of things that needed doing before the wedding day. But it all got done, in large part thanks to my family´s help and that of the few friends who made it down. Except that our mattress never arrived (it should have arrived a solid week before the wedding), and so the day of the wedding we had to make other plans for where to sleep that night. ;)
The wedding day...hmmm...I think it must be a little bit like when a woman gives birth and the hormones cause her to forget the worst of labor...
I know it was crazy that day, and I felt completely depleted. And I did have one true complete breakdown when I thought for about 2 and half minutes that we didn´t have my wedding jewelry. But when I think about that day, I only remember from about 4pm onwards. My sisters-in-law and good friend did a fabulous job on my hair so that it looked salon quality, and just what I wanted. Everything came together just as it should, found jewelry included, and when it came down to it, although it felt slightly unreal, I was very calm and very ready.
If any of you ever get a chance, you should really experience a Mexican wedding sometime. Although there are many parallels to what Americans are used to, it is definetly a different experience. For example, our invites said the wedding was at 5pm. I think we started a little after 6 - and felt good that we started that early! They have a few additions to the ceremony itself that are really very beautiful - like the gift of kneeling cushions to symbolize the part that prayer will pray in your marriage. And how many of you have played musical chairs a wedding ceremony?! Or any other games that involve the distinct possibility of someone getting hurt, but make you laugh like crazy?
Really, though, it was so beautiful and wonderful. And I didn´t even cry during my own wedding ceremony, if you can belive that! I wouldn´t change a thing about it. A Pastor and good friend from Rochester gave a beautiful word, his wife (who I miss like crazy!) very graciously translated the majority of the service, and our Pastor here did the vows and what-not.
I´m really looking foward to seeing pictures (I think tomorrow!), because I know there were details I couldn´t take in, and because I think the photographer did a great job.
Oh, to backtrack a second, I got really nervous just before my family came that they wouldn´t like or wouldn´t understand Saltillo - it is a whole different world from Rochester. And I so love it here, I wasn´t sure how I´d handle that. And I was nervous about our families being able to connect with knowing so little of each other´s languages. But I worried for naught. If anyone didn´t like it here, they hid it very well :) And somehow our families really connected - a couple of them even want to stay in touch.
Beyond the wedding day, the honeymoon was awesome. We absolutely enjoyed every minute of it, with only a couple of exceptions: we missed our flight and had to leave the next day instead (FB´s brother was using FB´s car to take his sister to the hospital, which had one of my bags and FB´s ID in it); and we ended up having to call in the hotel Dr for some type of infection or something that required 3 different types of treatment and occassionaly make him feel like he was in a hospital or something. But neither of those things slowed us down much, and all in all it was a beautiful week that I wish would have lasted longer.
FYI, the birth control we had planned on doesn´t work for us after all....so we´ve just kind of decided to see what happens. So no one should be too shocked if I end up pregnant sooner than I´d originally thougt.
I know this is getting way long, but its been ages since I´ve written, and I don´t know what I´ll get another chance. SO, if you´ll all bear with me, I just want to give you a taste of what my married life looks like here.
Monday: I cried a little when FB left for work the first time, then cleaned like crazy cuz I don´t think our place ever had been. And started organizing our things. After FB came home for the midday break, I went with him the rest of the day. That night, we discovered our mattress and stove finally arrived at his family´s house, but we couldn´t transport them back to us yet.
Tuesday: Our suitaces arrived from the honeymoon finally, our sofa set arrived (I was so excited - they are so pretty!), I walked our neighborhood a bit looking for a cyber cafe, and instead finding 3 near-by neighborhood stores (kind of like tiny groceries where you can get many of the basics).
Wednesday: I walked 20ish minutes to the supermarket to do our first real grocery shopping, and returned by taxi. Managed to make a meal without a stove still. In the afternoon I walked again to the supermarket to get what I needed to do laundry by hand since we can´t hook up our machine still. Stove and mattress arrived that night, but I´m still waiting for the stove to get hooked up.
Oops, gotta go, but the rest of the week included more laundry and walking 2oish minutes to visit with a friend for a couple hours.
So, alls well. ANd hopefully I´ll settle into a routine soon where I can write more.
Those last 10 days before the wedding were a little hectic, especially once my family arrived and I felt like I needed to host them on top of accomplishing all the myriad of things that needed doing before the wedding day. But it all got done, in large part thanks to my family´s help and that of the few friends who made it down. Except that our mattress never arrived (it should have arrived a solid week before the wedding), and so the day of the wedding we had to make other plans for where to sleep that night. ;)
The wedding day...hmmm...I think it must be a little bit like when a woman gives birth and the hormones cause her to forget the worst of labor...
I know it was crazy that day, and I felt completely depleted. And I did have one true complete breakdown when I thought for about 2 and half minutes that we didn´t have my wedding jewelry. But when I think about that day, I only remember from about 4pm onwards. My sisters-in-law and good friend did a fabulous job on my hair so that it looked salon quality, and just what I wanted. Everything came together just as it should, found jewelry included, and when it came down to it, although it felt slightly unreal, I was very calm and very ready.
If any of you ever get a chance, you should really experience a Mexican wedding sometime. Although there are many parallels to what Americans are used to, it is definetly a different experience. For example, our invites said the wedding was at 5pm. I think we started a little after 6 - and felt good that we started that early! They have a few additions to the ceremony itself that are really very beautiful - like the gift of kneeling cushions to symbolize the part that prayer will pray in your marriage. And how many of you have played musical chairs a wedding ceremony?! Or any other games that involve the distinct possibility of someone getting hurt, but make you laugh like crazy?
Really, though, it was so beautiful and wonderful. And I didn´t even cry during my own wedding ceremony, if you can belive that! I wouldn´t change a thing about it. A Pastor and good friend from Rochester gave a beautiful word, his wife (who I miss like crazy!) very graciously translated the majority of the service, and our Pastor here did the vows and what-not.
I´m really looking foward to seeing pictures (I think tomorrow!), because I know there were details I couldn´t take in, and because I think the photographer did a great job.
Oh, to backtrack a second, I got really nervous just before my family came that they wouldn´t like or wouldn´t understand Saltillo - it is a whole different world from Rochester. And I so love it here, I wasn´t sure how I´d handle that. And I was nervous about our families being able to connect with knowing so little of each other´s languages. But I worried for naught. If anyone didn´t like it here, they hid it very well :) And somehow our families really connected - a couple of them even want to stay in touch.
Beyond the wedding day, the honeymoon was awesome. We absolutely enjoyed every minute of it, with only a couple of exceptions: we missed our flight and had to leave the next day instead (FB´s brother was using FB´s car to take his sister to the hospital, which had one of my bags and FB´s ID in it); and we ended up having to call in the hotel Dr for some type of infection or something that required 3 different types of treatment and occassionaly make him feel like he was in a hospital or something. But neither of those things slowed us down much, and all in all it was a beautiful week that I wish would have lasted longer.
FYI, the birth control we had planned on doesn´t work for us after all....so we´ve just kind of decided to see what happens. So no one should be too shocked if I end up pregnant sooner than I´d originally thougt.
I know this is getting way long, but its been ages since I´ve written, and I don´t know what I´ll get another chance. SO, if you´ll all bear with me, I just want to give you a taste of what my married life looks like here.
Monday: I cried a little when FB left for work the first time, then cleaned like crazy cuz I don´t think our place ever had been. And started organizing our things. After FB came home for the midday break, I went with him the rest of the day. That night, we discovered our mattress and stove finally arrived at his family´s house, but we couldn´t transport them back to us yet.
Tuesday: Our suitaces arrived from the honeymoon finally, our sofa set arrived (I was so excited - they are so pretty!), I walked our neighborhood a bit looking for a cyber cafe, and instead finding 3 near-by neighborhood stores (kind of like tiny groceries where you can get many of the basics).
Wednesday: I walked 20ish minutes to the supermarket to do our first real grocery shopping, and returned by taxi. Managed to make a meal without a stove still. In the afternoon I walked again to the supermarket to get what I needed to do laundry by hand since we can´t hook up our machine still. Stove and mattress arrived that night, but I´m still waiting for the stove to get hooked up.
Oops, gotta go, but the rest of the week included more laundry and walking 2oish minutes to visit with a friend for a couple hours.
So, alls well. ANd hopefully I´ll settle into a routine soon where I can write more.
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