this is Sheila's mom. I wanted to let you all know of recent events in sheila's life! July 24 she went into the hospital with pain in her left side and contractions. The short version is she had surgery to remove an ovary! She is home on bedrest now ,recovering from the surgery and trying to avoid premature labor. She would appreciate your prayers and I'll try to keep you updated.

Leaving home, Going home

So excited to see my husband (70 hours and counting) :)

So hard to say good-bye to my out of town siblings and their families last night :(

Looking forward to reuniting my daughter with her daddy and some of her favorite family members :)

Dreading the last good-byes to the rest of my family, especially knowing that Katya won't understand the permanency of these good-byes :(

There have been so many, what shall I call them?, mental conflicts?
Watching one of those remodeling shows and realizing that the amount of money they spent on the dining room would be enough for us to live on for almost 3 years.
Watching the way some people here use water (turning on the water before even putting the toothpaste on the brush...), knowing my husband barely had enough water to bathe, do laundry, etc.
Watching what people here consider to be 'in need' or on a tight budget, knowing the abundance they actually have in comparison with my situation or that of many I know.
Watching what some girls are comfortable wearing here these days, even to church, coming from a culture of knee length or longer.
Enjoying the comforts and comfort foods of home, yet simultaneously feeling a little out of place and looking forward to the simplicity and honestly healthier lifestyle of home.
Struggling with faith, knowing that it "is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen", and seeing the needs and unknowns of our life. (For example, we've been gifted with more than half of what we need for the birth in a private hospital - hooray! But of course, that means that a little less than half is still needed....My husband has a job, but 100% commissions do not add up to what we need, and no other job has opened up...)

Sorry to say that I am too tired to come up with a good ending to this, but at least I managed to get one more post in before I go, and included at least most of what has been rattling around in my brain of late...

Feeling much better

First off, I feel like I should clarify a little: when I said that my neighborhood was one of the worst hit, I meant in our city, not anywhere. But I was tired and worried when I wrote that post, so sorry if it sounded worse than it was.

Anyways, I am happy to say that this morning I received a text from Herme saying that everyone was fine, there were just a lot of problems with phone and internet service, and that we would try to connect in the afternoon, which we did! :) The fact that we had planned to not talk for a couple of days due to busy schedules, and then couldn't talk due to the hurricane issues, I was really happy just to hear his voice, without considering my worries and whatnot.

But, apparently, both he and his family, as well as our houses, are all fine despite some serious flooding all around them. Interesting, since our house has a tendency to flood a little bit in just a regular rain storm. As Herme said, God had His hand on the family.

So, feeling much better today. So good to talk to my husband for a bit. So nice to know that there was no damage to our stuff. So good to talk to my husband for a bit :) (I know, I said that 2x, but it was really good)

Thanks for praying.

Hurricane Alex

I'll update when I know more, but I haven't been able to get a hold of my husband, and from what I can find online, our neighborhood was one of the worst hit by hurricane Alex, one of 6 receiving government assistance for flooding...

Appreciate your prayers...

Feeling a little rusty

The thing about blogging is that if you are blogging consistently, you almost start to see all of life through the lens of the possible blog post. There are an endless supply of posts. But when you are NOT blogging consistently, it gets harder and harder to put together a good post. With such limited internet access the last year or so, I am definitely feeling rusty. But I can't let a whole month of unlimited internet access go by without posting at all, so here goes...

THE VISIT:
I am a pretty social person. But having relationships of varying degrees in more than one place, with the distance factor complicating things, causes me to literally want to avoid acquaintances. I just don't have the energy for them. I have a limited amount of time to see family and close friends, and that is emotionally draining (not to mention the emotional energy involved in missing my husband and everyone else back home). In large group settings I find myself cringing when I see certain people coming, or just sort of shutting down because I can't figure out who is important enough to invest in. It feels almost like a personality change. Then there are the people who I want to see but somehow we don't seem to connect - I can't always tell if I am just not enough of a priority for them, or...?

And speaking of back home, I have to just comment that it is so strange how your parents house is forever home (at least if they still live in your hometown). I had never even seen this house before this visit, but both in my own mind and in that of many others (strangers and friends alike), I was headed home. But of course, at the same time, Saltillo, my husband, etc...that is home.

And I am missing home. Big time. My husband and I were both of the feeling, when we talked yesterday, that a month may just be too long for solo visits. This has been a bit hard on both of us, and definitely harder on him than he expected. He had encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunity to come up; 4 weeks was his idea. But he is finding that he feels awfully lonely, that he now has double the missing to do (last time I came up alone, I was pregnant with Katya...he didn't miss her yet. Now he misses both of us), that hanging out with his family just isn't the same anymore after 2 1/2 years of living with our little family. And although I am enjoying seeing everyone up here, I miss my husband big time. And although I of course have lots of help from my family with Katya, I am finding it very draining to be the only one responsible for her ... the one to make all discipline decisions, always deal with all nap/bedtime fights, etc.

I must be a bit tired, or missing home right now, because so far this post sounds a bit depressing or negative. I AM truly enjoying all the time with my family, spending time with friends that I miss, seeing people at church, seeing all the GREEN here (Saltillo is pretty much a desert), going up to the lake, etc.

Speaking of the lake, I have to share that Katya just loved it! In Saltillo, a large puddle after a big thunderstorm is about as much water as we ever see, so Katya just kept looking around and saying every 15 seconds, "aqua!". Then she'd tell Gramma, then Papa, then an uncle..."aqua". Topped off with all the passing boats, ducks, and swans, and all and all it was a very exciting experience.

Katya has done great adjusting to being here. Within an hour of arriving, she was checking out the house on her own, interacting with everyone. To varying degrees and on different timelines, she has given everyone in the house names that she can say, let them carry her, etc. She even warms up pretty quickly to each new friend we visit. She's been learning new words almost everyday, most of them in English (strangely, since arriving here she learned 'hola' and 'bien').

I put that label of 'the visit' up there because I have at least one other topic I was going to hit as well, but I am thinking this post has gotten long enough and I will save that for another post in the next couple of days.

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 :)

Quick pregnancy update

So, here you can see how the belly was growing last pregnancy.

This pregnancy, I was obviously showing by 2 months, and here is a picture shown today - about 4 months. I've gotten lots of comments about how I appear to be more like 6 months pregnant, and lots of people asking if I'm not having twins or something.



Considering I looked like this by the end of the last pregnancy, and considering that at 4 months I already look like I did around 6months last time, I'm a little nervous about what the last trimester will be like this time.

We did finally go in for a check-up a couple of weeks ago (insurance issues still haven't been resolved, so we shelled out money we didn't really have for a private exam with ultrasound). Thanks to the ultrasound, we are now sure that the larger belly is NOT due to multiple babies. There is only 1 in there. And the Dr seemed pretty sure that it is a boy, but we are trying not to get carried away until we get that confirmed at a later date. Interestingly, although my tummy is quickly growing, I have barely gained any weight - about 3 or 4 pounds in the 1st 14 weeks.

Here are a couple of other pictures for fun - Katya playing with her friend Clara, and one of the three (well, 4) of us.





Ok, I am on borrowed time. Looking forward to seeing lots of you soon :)

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!

Big News!

Yes, I am actually online for the 2nd time in less than 2 months...shocking I know. But I had to share my big news with you all. I am excited to say that after many months of having no idea when I would be up to Rochester again, I can now say that Katya and I will be up sometime around June (give or take a month...plans are still very preliminary). We´ll probably be up for about 3 weeks or so, so hopefully there will be time to see you all :)

Why, you may ask, are we now making plans to visit? Well, because I am pregnant!! Yes, baby number 2 is now on the way, with a due date around October 11th, just 2 weeks after Katya turns 2. I guess my family has a thing about seeing me pregnant :) But anyways, we are very excited (Herme is very excited) and looking forward to meeting the newest member of the family.

I am, of course, in the midst of the fun of 1st trimester - nausea, tiredness, running often to the bathroom already...but doing well. We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we make decisions about Drs and such. The budget is even tighter now that it was last prenancy. I would really love to have a home birth with a midwife, but that is virtually unheard of here. Unless someone knows a good midwife that wants a free place to stay for a few weeks in the fall here in Saltillo ;)

The other big prayer request is for grace in weaning Katya. Until a couple of weeks ago, breastmilk was still her food/drink of choice plus her favorite comforting device. WE´ve come a long way in a short time, but I am trying to balance her needs with mine and the new baby´s.

Anyways, thats my big news. Katya is now crying for me, so I think that´s my cue to finish up. As always, miss you all and will keep doing my best to update things here.

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...