Traveling

Just thought I'd throw up a quick prayer request...

Traveling Thursday, June 10th....about 5 months pregnant, alone with a toddler.

Biggest worries are not losing her in the airports, especially when I have to pick up all my luggage to go thru immigration; and that she doesn't get too antsy on the flights (especially the 3hr flight mid-day).

Thanks :)

Travel dates and other news

Time is limited because Katya should wake up any minute (at a friend's house, taking advantage of her internet)...

Wanted to at least let you all know that it looks like I will arrive in Rochester around June 10th (in time for my brother's HS graduation) and leave July 9th. I'm a little nervous about being away so long from my husband, and taking my little girl away from her daddy for so long, but excited about seeing everyone back home!!

And for those interested in such things, weaning has gone surprisingly well, steadily moving forward. Sure, I have to put up with a little extra crankiness sometimes, but that's understandable considering the major transition that it is for her and the fact that we are simultaneously getting her to sleep outside of our bed. We're down to a max of 3 feedings in a 24 hr period, and those are on one side only for only about 5 minutes. The other day, she nursed only once all day! Major improvement over the little girl who was nursing both sides every few hours night and day!

Pregnancy...I think all is well. We haven't actually been to a Dr yet...insurance issues with the new job. So, please continue to keep health care and labor options in your prayers.

On the job front, things have started to pick up lately. We are in god shape for the next couple of months. But the thing about 100% commissions is that there are never any guarantees for the future.

Ok, can't wait to see you all!

Hello again...

I am at a friend's house (an American like me!) with internet access, and my busy, curious, attention demanding toddler is sound asleep :)

So, let's see if I can fill you all in a little on my life...

Herme's job got a slow, slow start...bad weather, holidays, train yourself with a handful of manuals...these things do not make finding your own clients very easy. And remember, this job is 100% commissions. But he's got several clients under his belt now, a potential big-paying deal with a company looking to insure 70ish cars, and they are finally giving him the actual training on what it is he is selling (which, by the way, includes a variety of insurance policies, credit cards and loans, and investment opportunities). Keep praying for a steady client base and encouragement (salesmen get lots of no's in-between the yes's).

Katya and I have settled into our new, no-daddy, routine pretty well at this point. The first week or 2 there were a lot of tantrums while Katya missed her dad and adjusted to less attention and less outings. But now she generally has a nice mix of playing on her own and trying to 'help' me in-between looking for my attention. She only takes 2 half hour naps all day though, so I am generally on the go pretty much all day. But it keeps the day moving quickly.

According to my baby development book, 15-18 months (she is 16mo) is generally a time of language explosion, but I've read that children in bilingual families take a little longer to start talking. Katya says Mama (well, usually she says Mamama), Dada, mira (look in Spanish), meh (more or mas), and bo (boots or botas), and she has a couple of "names" for cousins, etc. She obviously wants to talk a lot... she is always 'saying' things to us, and I am really starting to get very curious about what all she is saying. And she has a little repertoire of hand signs she uses (like patting her own chest to ask to nurse, or putting my hand on something to signal what she wants me to do).

She is just a little cutie, and I am not just saying that because I am her mom :) She is one of those kids that everyone wants to say hi to and win her over as a friend. Everyday brings something new she has learned or something to laugh at. This week I have noticed that she knows how to lift up her feet to put one leg at a time in her pants. Yesterday she walked 10 minutes or more with her hands in her pockets. She loves to try on people's sunglasses (she puts them on herself). She cares about what shoes we put on her (thus, learning to say boots, because they have been her favorites lately). She has very politely gives everyone a kiss on the cheek in greeting or good-bye, and loves to give her daddy kisses (I get very few).

She just got her 1st haircut last week, so she is finally no longer sporting the baby mullet (it was a little out of control!) (Pictures are from today's visit, courtesy of my friend's camera - mine is currently broken)





What else? We're getting settled pretty well at the new church. Katya is finally learning to stay in her class, which is awesome for me! We're getting to know people, had one person over a week or 2 ago, looking to invite a family over soon. Learning names, knowing that there are certain people I can count on chatting with, etc. At the same time, maintaining relationships with friends from the old church. It's nice that we live so close to several of those families, and Katya and I can walk over in about 10 min (Katya speed) to visit on the days that seem slow. It was nice, for example, this week when I was a little heavy hearted, to know that I could pop over and ask them to be praying (I still prefer face to face over phone conversations in Spanish).

Speaking of Spanish, I am getting pretty darn fluent these days. I can have a conversation easily with anyone, only occasionally not knowing a word I want or that they say. My grammar is getting there - I know my more complicated verb tenses still need work.

I often have ideas about things I should blog if only given the opportunity, but of course now that I am here, I am all out of ideas. But that was a pretty decent update, don't you think?

My love to all...I miss being better connected to you all...

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.

Coming soon...

...a real live post with pictures and news and comments...

Have you all given up on me? Internet access has been scarce, but I have lots I want to write. Now that we finished with those classes I was giving at church (which were fairly prep intensive), I am hoping to get online soon and do a real update.

For those who have been praying for us, still no job in sight. Just one closed door after another. Besides praying for a job opening, please pray that we would hear from the Lord if there is something we are supposed to be learning, changing etc. 7 months of closed doors makes one wonder, you know?

Ok, promise to write for real soon, like in the next week-ish.

8 months and growing

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

The New House

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

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

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

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

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

Baby Dedication

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

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