Oh what a night!

To be sung to the tune of the song, "Oh What a night."

Oh what a night!
I did not sleep because my baby had gas;
He cried all night and now my head's a mess.
What a baby, what a night!

Oh what a night!
This constipation just is no fun;
Please give advice for my gassy son.
What a baby, what a night!

And that about sums up that...

2 more days...

Two more days until we are in Wheaton, visiting the family!
Sorry the blogging has been sparse lately. I have been:
1.Taking care of sick husband.
2.Getting sick myself.
3. Recovering from being sick.
4. Getting ready to leave for our trip.

The blogging will probably continue to be sparse, as we will be traveling over the next 2 weeks. We are excited to see friends and family and to have them meet Jeremiah; the family's met him, but they will be meeting a new little boy!

And now for the exciting news...

After much prayer and some late nights of talking, Daniel decided to apply for the Director position at JCS. And as of last night, he is officially the director for next year. I'm excited for him, though I realize that this will have a big impact on our family life, as it will be a greater time commitment. This also means that we will probably be here for at least
another two years. We ask for all of your prayers as we embark on this new adventure!

Here are some of the positions still available:
Pre-K 3, and Kindergarden
Some Elementary Positions
Jr. High/High School Social Studies and Math
Counselor Position
Preschool and Elementary Aid positions

So, if you've ever wanted to work in the D.R., now's your chance!

Beach Day

On Saturday we took a day trip with some friends (Leah, Dylan, and Kate) to the beach. We had a wonderful time and Jeremiah loved it!

In his big boy car seat, ready to go!

Playing in the sand

Here comes the water!

Crawling with Daddy

Having a great time!

Playing in the shade

Sandy butt

Discovering a granola bar wrapper

Hi Daddy!

Hey, where's my wrapper? Give it back!

And you better not try to take it away this time!

After a long day of playing, it's time for a nap.

Having fun in the food court

And for some other random pictures:

Look at that mischievous smile!

Happy Boy!

1 week to go...

In one week, we'll be visiting family in the States! We'll travel to Wheaton, take a brief trip to North Indy and Upland, and then drive back to Wheaton to finish visiting. I'm looking forward to it greatly! Jeremiah is such a different little boy than he was in December when he met the family. I also just bought the plane ticket to fly home to Matt's wedding in October. The wedding is near Wheaton, so I can stay with my family. And, of course, I'll be sure to visit the in-laws too. :)

And some exciting news to come...

Jeremiah Videos

Here are some recent videos of Jer:

Jeremiah learning to give kisses

Jeremiah having crawling races with Daddy

To buy, or not to buy?

The Scoop:
We have a great opportunity to buy a used vehicle (a hijet "micro" bus). Some missionaries are moving in August and are selling theirs. It's a manual (which means less parts to fix), gets good gas mileage, and is only about 3 years old (3 cylinders). The price is $4000 (which is a really good price for it's age and condition here). The missionaries who bought the car bought it right off the boat, so that cut down on dealer costs, etc. which is why it is such a deal.

Pros:
-We will be able to actually go places. With the baby. Without walking (not that walking's bad, but it's limiting).
-We'll be able to pick up teachers from the airport.
-I could go grocery shopping much more easily.
-We can do day trips to the beach, etc. without having to rent a vehicle (only pay for gas). Which means we may actually take a day or two away (we've been to the beach all of 3 times this year. But, we're going tomorrow... wahhooo. Anyway....)
-We can go on vacation without renting a car. And we can take other people with us.
-As we are wanting to get pregnant again sometime this year, we will be able to drive to Santiago for Dr. appointments (and this is a biggie in consideration).
-We can sell the car when we eventually leave for almost what we paid for it. Automobiles do not depreciate much here. Which is why even old cars are usually expensive.

Cons:
-We would have to almost deplete our usable savings (we're absolutely not touching our savings set away for when we eventually move back). And at this point, we have no way to get more savings, as we lose money each year being here. Although God could provide the money, as he has time and time again!
-I wouldn't walk as much. Although I usually just don't go many places because it's such a pain...

So, advice and prayers would be much appreciated! Thanks! :)

Hurricane Season

It's official... Hurricaine season has begun! Wahooo! (um, not so much...)

And for other interesting news articles, Leonel is attending the UN Food Summit.

Facing the Giants

On Saturday night, Daniel and I watched the movie Facing the Giants. It was a great movie. The fictional story is about a high school coach from a Christian school that has never had a winning season in 6 years. He's tempted to give up, but instead, is inspired to take on a "new team philosophy" in which he teaches the players to play for the glory of God and expect the impossible, instead of assuming defeat before the game even begins. The difference between this movies and other sport movies is that in the end, the glory goes to God. At the end of many sports movies, like Remember the Titans, my thoughts were, "Yay, they did it! They worked as a team and pulled through." (And I do think Remember the Titans is a very good movie.) However, at the end of Facing the Giants my thoughts were, "Wow, we serve an amazing God!" It was a reminder to me how many times God has done the seemingly impossible, both in the history of the church and in my life.

The movie was also convicting to me. So many times I don't try very hard or don't pray for something because I don't really have the faith that it can be done. What a defeated way to live! I want to live in hope and faith, knowing that God can do the "impossible" as he has proved time and time again!

After we watched the movie, we were curious about who created it. I was amazed to discover that it was done by a church and volunteers. Now, I could tell that many of the actors were not experienced, but I was surprised that the main characters were just volunteers associated with the church and/or school of Sherwood. Only one was listed as having acting experience (in school plays). They did an impressive job putting it together; another reminder not to set your sights to low when God is on your side. If you have not already, I urge you to check it out!

Meet: The New Bathtub!

We finally decided that Jeremiah had outgrown his infant bath. Most of his wasn't even in the water. Since he can sit up on his own, we figured it was time to upgrade.

Jeremiah in Feb. in his little bath seat


So, after looking various places, we went to the hardware store and found a giant plastic bin. It holds a lot more water, and Jeremiah can actually play in the water! He likes it so far:

And for some random photos of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah snuggling with a onesie.

Showing off his cuteness!