Pregnancy and Ecuador Pics

We spent last Tuesday thru Friday night in Ecuador getting our residency. Tuesday we mainly traveled and got settled into the hotel. Wednesday morning we rode thru the countryside to the town where the consulate was located, we spent the afternoon in the consulate. (Very easy to get residency in Peru!) Thursday we drove back to the city and played a little in the park in the afternoon. Friday we hung out and then boarded our plane. Because of delay after delay, we did not return home until 4am Saturday. But Micaiah did beautifully with all his missed naps and different foods to eat.

On the pregnancy front, I am 33 weeks now. I think I am about as big now as I was when I was due with Micaiah. A couple people have told me I've dropped, but I don't know. It's still awfully early, but possible. Things are still going well, although I can tell I am getting closer. I am waddling more and walking slower. Sometimes I think of Angela's post a couple days before her baby was born when she got lapped by the old folks on the track. I'm starting to feel that way!

Calling All Bloggers

Okay, we need help! We have had a girl's name picked out since before we were even married. We have always refered to our first daughter by this name. Now we are not so sure if we want to sick with it. We are covered in the boy's name department, but we need your help with a girl's name. We like uncommon, but not weird names, something with great meaning. Something a little trendy would be okay, but not commonly trendy like Madison. Something old-fashioned would be fine, but not something 80's like Brandy or Tiffany. Something Biblical would be nice, but not something too plain like Rebecca or Elizabeth, and not something awful like Dorcus or Jezebel.

Any and all suggestions are welcome as long as they are sincere.
Thanks for your help.

Pet Peeves

I'm curious and I'd like to hear your thoughts. This may require a little self-reflection and honesty. What are your pet peeves? What are those things that drive you crazy that other people do? I was just thinking about it today, and it made me wonder what bothers other people.

I'll start. I can't handle when people stand in doorways. The whole point of a doorway is to provide an entrance or exit to somewhere else. It is only something to pass through for a brief moment, not somewhere to congregate. Yet, many do not understand this concept and continue to have long discussions in doorways. So there. That's one of my pet peeves. Not sure if I'd say it's my biggest, but one that makes the list. So, now it's your turn.

(Side note: Ell and Micaiah are back safe and sound after having an incredible time. I'm so glad to have my family again!)

Empty Nest

Elliott and Micaiah went to Ontario for 10 days. They left at almost midnight on Wed. It's sad and lonely here. It is nice to be able to eat a meal all by myself instead of feeding Micaiah simultaneously. And it's nice not to have to clean up the messes and pick up toys. But I miss my family. I'm a mom...what do I do without a child to care for? The little one in me is quite busy kicking away every chance he/she gets. But even still, this baby does not require attention like an out-of-the-womb one does.

I am sill working on missions stuff while they are gone. And I have been catching up on Grey's Anatomy and Heroes (we have the dvd's). But it's not the same without my little family. We have done video phone calls over the web so I get to see my little guy. But he looks so cute I just want to cuddle him.

Well, enough sap for now. I have youth group to prepare for.

Self-Discipline

How do you teach yourself to be self disciplined? I have never really possesed this skill, but I want to. I've never been able to keep a diary, can't remember to take a vitamin daily, and am easily disracted when working alone. So how do I correct this? Is it futile to think if I have no self-discipline that I can teach myself to have it? What do you think? Can you help me?

Recent Happenings

Yesterday I went to Immigration to finish the process Elliott started the day before of extending our time here. We entered on our passports and were told they were good for 90 days. We are in the process of getting residency, but are waiting for the paperwork to return, which should only be another 2-3 weeks. So after two trips to the office (because it closed while we were there, but before we could finish) and time spent standing in line, I was told we were not elligible for renewal because we are already over our time, and therefore illegal. Our time on a passport is only 60 days, not 90. Great! Not a big deal, we will each have to pay a fine of one dollar per day we were over time. Ell and Micaiah are going to N. America in about 10 days, so they will each pay about 45 dollars. I'm not sure when I am leaving, but it'll have to be soon.

Micaiah has been walking for about two weeks now. He got up, took his first steps, and never stopped. He didn't just take a few steps the first day, he just started walking! It was pretty cool. And now that's all he wants to do. I am hoping that when he and Ell get to Canada he will just walk right to his grandma. That'll make her cry, and we all know that's the point. He also started saying real words recently. He's been calling the dog "ga ga" (I think it meant "good girl") for a couple months, but now he says "dog", and possibly "no" and "book". He's been saying "lie" and pointing at lights for about 3 months, but we're stilling waiting for those ending consonants. But all day he babbles in his own language, and I just love it!

We were supposed to be in Argentina right now, but since our residency visas are not in yet, we could not go. Very sad. We were supposed to go down to the very southern tip and would have gotten to see penguins and possibly whales! Not quite what you think of in S. America, is it?

Well, that's all for now.

25 Weeks and Counting

For those of you who have asked, and any others who care to see, here's the growing baby. We turned 25 weeks yesterday. It continues to be a very easy pregnancy, like the previous one. I am starting to feel those abdominal muscles stretching out, but that is normal. All is well, and we pray it keeps going that way.

Happy Birthday!

My little guy is one year old today! Happy Birthday to him! We will have a party on Saturday and I'll share pics. Today we are spending a nice morning at the park just the three of us. Happy Special Day, little one!

Special Day

Last Sunday, a week ago, Micaiah was dedicated in church. It was not as big a deal as we normally make it in N. America, but it was special, nonetheless. It was just two minutes at the service. Micaiah was precious -- pulling the pen out from the Pastor's pocket, and smiling for the camera. He's our little cutie.

Finally!

I promise I did not fall off the face of the earth. Well, maybe I did, we moved to Peru. We are here now, and I am finally blogging again.

We had a great family vacation at the beach in Costa Rica that included eleven of us and Micaiah. We wake boarded, ate too much and most of us got a little tan. Micaiah loved the water and even learned to "swim". We had to support his body of course, but he would kick his little legs and put his arms out in front of him, and even stuck his face in the water many times! He's a total water baby!

Now we are in Peru. The Lord has truly blessed us with a house that was exactly what we wanted but never thought we'd get. it has plenty of room to grow and host guests, and we even have a little back yard with flowers and a grill. We are a block and a half from a park that Micaiah and I frequent. I have officially started my Bethany internship now, which will be good to get it done finally. We are working with two youth groups at our church and are starting to get to know people well. We finally have all our furniture, which makes it a lot easier to have people over. Life is quite busy, but great. We also have a new puppy, Rambita (like Rambo, but for a girl), which is like having two babies. I am constantly telling one of them not to bite. But it keeps life interesting.

Don't want to make it too long or I know no one will read it. So I will blog more soon...PROMISE.

Be sure to scroll down for pics!

Swimming and Exploring God's Creatures at the Coast

A BIg Move

At home in Peru

Moving

As we begin our last week of school, and the suitcases are piling up in the living room, I get more excited about Peru. (We head out on Dec 30.) At the same time I am not wanting to leave Costa Rica. I knew I liked it, since I was here years ago, but now it has become our home. We have already lived here longer than any other place since we have been married. This is where our son was born, and where we've learned to be a family. But Peru is where my heart lives. Since the first time I was there I knew I had to return.
Lima is in the desert, and it rains here in CR about 50% of the time. So I will miss the rain. I will miss the friends we have made here, our neighbours, and Micaiah's playmate upstairs. I will miss the food: the rice and black beans, arroz con pollo, and abundant pineapple. But we are excited about having a house, more space, and the opportunity to pick out home furnishings and actually settle down.
So we are excited about wrapping up our studies, settling in to our new (and hopefully final) home, and getting nestled into our minisry. But we are sad to leave, not knowing when we will return. But at least we get to spend a week at the coast first, but more about that in my next post.

Let it Snow

I miss snow. I love snow! The first day of snow is like a holiday to me. I turn into an eight year old in snow. I love to make snow men and angels, have snow ball fights, build forts, and just jump around and get wet in the snow. I love the way an untrampled field of snow glistens like a million tiny diamonds. But, sadly, it will be a long time until I see snow again. I know, none of you have any sympathy for me, living here in the land of perenial sun. But seasons really are a blessed thing. Believe it or not, sun does get boring after 365 days. Anyway, as all of you trudge around in the cold and snow, just remember I wish I could trudge around for you. Enjoy your tiny crystals of fun for me!

Baby On Board

Surprise! We are expecting Baby #2 on July 9th, 2007. We just had our first doc appointment last night, and all is well. Since we are moving to Peru at the end of the month, this baby will be born there. Then our family will consist of a Canadian, an American, a Costa Rican, and a Peruvian (alhtough the kids get tri-citizenship). I thought I was maybe having twins because I've had considerably more sickness with this one than with Micaiah, (although still not much compared to many women) but the doc confirmed only one baby (yeah!). I might have one more appointment with the doc before we move, but then it's off to find one in Peru. That's it, that's all we know for now. We'll keep ya'll updated of course. (By the way, the baby is that frog looking thing at the top of the black jelly bean shaped hole.)

Miles Disculpas (a thousand apologies)

I know, I know. It's been way too long since I did my last post. I think perhaps not much interesting has happened. We are still plugging away at school; less than three weeks left. Then we head to the coast for a week with my family to enjoy Christmas. We had a good Thanksgiving. There were about 20 people, gringo-tico mix, and it was enjoyable chaos. We started quite late, it was quite noisy, but the food was good. We had most of the N. Amer. favorites: turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, veggies, but no dressing (stuffing). That's alright with me, though, since I'm not a fan anyway. Ell and I had a date last night - much needed and fun. We found this great Cuban restaurant. And that's about it. I'll update again soon. Hopefully the next one will have more interesting info.

Portrait of a Cutie

Mama's little helper!

Sleep Dilemma

Hey Moms, I need your help.
Micaiah is 7 1/2 months old now. He has been sleeping 12 hours straight through the night for several months. He normally goes to bed around 6:30 and gets up at 6:30am so I can nurse him before I go to school. He takes two 1 1/2 hour naps in the day, for a total of about 15 hours sleep. Lateley he has been waking up about 5 or 5:30am. He is very sensitive to sound, so we took steps to make his room more quiet, but it didn't really help. I tried putting him to bed a little later, but that didn't help. I tried putting him to bed a little earlier, but that didn't help. I know when he wakes up that early he's not well rested, because he wakes up crying, whereas normally he wakes up very happy and cooing. Have any of you had this problem? What worked for you? Any suggestions?

Our Not-Growing Family

Well, we almost added another member to our family last night. We have been waiting to get to Peru to get a dog, but yesterday Elliott got tired of waiting. He went to a few places, looked at some puppies and fell in love with a female boxer. He even picked out a name for her. He came home and brought me to the store hoping I would fall in love with her, too. I did (she licked my face and nibbled my ear-how could I resist?), but after careful thought we realized we really should wait until Peru. Micaiah even liked her. He squealed and slapped her paws (we'll have to work on that) and laughed. But in the end, we came home with no new family members. But hopefully in about three months you all can read about the new puppy we will have in Peru.