Blogging without city power!

Exciting news (for us anyway). We now have new inverter batteries! Which means I can still use the computer, have lights, have internet, have vonage, use the bread-maker and crock-pot, etc. even when the city power is off. Daniel bought and installed them yesterday. We praise the Lord for using others to provide for us! :-D The power has been off a lot recently, which makes it even more timely. Yay!

Our Trip: Spring Break 2009

I finally uploaded our pictures to a picasa web album! Most of them, of course, are of Jeremiah.



Here's a brief run-down of our trip:

-Arrived Wednesday, April 1. Hung out with my parents next two days; ate at a German restaurant one night and had my grandparents over for my b-day celebration (and a huge Pennsylvania Dutch meal) the next. It was so fun to be home to celebrate my b-day!
-Saturday my mom had a mini-reunion with some women from her college dorm. We ate lots of food and hung out with my friend Devon.
-Sunday we went to church and then had a big party with Daniel's mom's fam. at their house. Daniel's sister was in for the week as well. We also ate lots of yummy Italian food.
-Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we spent the days with Daniel's family, and Daniel did recruiting at 3 different schools. On Monday Daniel's parents and I took Jer. to a children's museum. Tuesday night we ate yummy Thai food. Wed. night we had a family get together with Daniel's dad's family and (you guessed it) ate lots more food.
-On Thursday Daniel and I went on a lunch date and then came back to hang out with Daniel's cousin and his two kids at the Peterson house. Thursday night we hung out with friends from highschool.
-Friday we spent time with my family and my brother and sister-in-law. That night we went to a good Friday service where you walked through different "stations" in groups, going through the night of Christ's death. It was a very powerful experience.
-Satuday we spent with my family. That night we had a seder dinner (though we were two days late) with the Peterson family.
-Easter morning we had a big yummy breakfast with Peterson fam, a mini Easter egg hunt outside and in and attended a great celebration service at the church. Afterward we went to my parent's house and had a yummy dinner with family and another Easter egg hunt.
-Monday was our last day with family so we went out to dinner with both our parents.
-Tuesday we left.
So, basically, we spent lots of time with people, and ate lots of yummy food. We were spoiled. :)

A Discontent Heart

The background:

This week has been a rather difficult transition back to the D.R. The first few days I spent organizing and unpacking, while Daniel spent his evenings (after work) fixing things. The first evening he fixed a leak (well, more like a gush) in our pipe; the next night he fixed our washer. It wasn't until Friday afternoon (we came home Tuesday evening) I got out of the house and saw anyone (Jer. and I visited the school). Friday evening Daniel had a board meeting. Saturday we were in Santiago all day; Sunday we actually relaxed, and then Monday the power was out most of the day (so I couldn't post pictures!). We had tried making bread in the bread machine, but everytime it got to though the first rise the power went out. I finally baked it in our over and we now have a hard and dense (but edible) loaf of bread. Monday evening Daniel spent taking out the toilet to search for a diaper insert that I accidentally flushed down (while cleaning a really poopy diaper!). oops...

Today I went to the grocery store only to discover that my bank card was rejected. So I walked across to the bank but the atm wouldn't let me draw money. I was told I could only take money out by waiting in a line (a very long line). Since I was feeling weak and dehydrated, I was not up for standing in a long line, and gave Daniel a call. Except that my minutes had expired. Feeling panic-y and emotional (being a tired preggy does that to me) I went back to the store (trying hard to cover my tears) and explained the situation. The very kind woman at the register let me "buy" a phone card to call Daniel, trusting that he would come and pay for the groceries and the phone card. I called, my hero came to my rescue, and I felt much better (we later found out they froze many bank accounts because of some big fraud going on).

The point:

So, now for my main reason to post. I'm not writing this to complain (though it is good to vent a little) or to make anyone feel sorry for us. After all, I'm sure everyone reading this has weeks when everything seems to break or go wrong. The main point is to share my lack of contentedness (I guess that would be called discontentedness- is that even a word?). Coming back this past time has seemed more difficult than ever for me. For two weeks I was surrounded by family and friends. Now I'm home all day with Jeremiah. For two weeks I enjoyed consistent power, lots of hot water, a dishwasher, clean tap water, smooth sidewalks and roads that allow for a stroller, etc. Then we came home to the previously mentioned problems. After those two weeks of feeling spoiled, I did not want to come back. (You'd think after 4 years I'd be used to it!) And there have been many times when I've felt adjusted and content. But it comes in waves. The bottom line is this: I care way too much about my own comfot! And I know God's been working on me in regards to that for a long time. But I still have a long way to go. Needless to say, my attitude has not been the best this past week and my heart has not been joyful. It's not my circumstances that need to change- it's my heart that needs to change. God has blessed us so much, yet I still complain about the little annoyances. Our house now is so much better than the first place we lived, and yet I compare it to our parents' homes in the States.

The sacrifice:

Daniel and I both know that God has called us here. And following Him means sacrificing. The sacrifice is different in each person's life- but we're all called to sacrifice. For Daniel and I the big sacrifice is raising a family far from home and loved ones, and giving up little comforts. I know that, but part of me still fights it. Part of me wants to throw a tantrum just like a two-year old. And another part of me knows that I'm supposed to be here, that I do love it here, and that I'd rather being struggling and where God wants me than anywhere else. In His presence is the only true contentment and comfort. And in Him is the only place I'll find my peace.

News on Baby Peterson!

We had our monthly check-up this past Saturday. With Jeremiah we decided not to find out the gender but to leave it as a surprise. With this one we decided to be different. So, on Saturday we found out the gender of Baby Peterson! Jeremiah is going to have a little brother! We're excited and knowing the gender helps me to think of the baby more as a person. And now I'm going to be really outnumbered. Even our dog is a boy! Also of importance, the baby looks healthy as far as the doctor's can tell. We even listened to his heartbeat!

Baby P's head

Little hands and a foot

The end of the nursing...

Although it was the first night I haven't nursed, Jer went down without much fuss tonight. I was willing/planning to nurse longer, until Jeremiah decided to start using those sharp little teeth of his. We were down to about 3 or 4 nursings/day when he started biting. I told him "suave" (soft) and "no dientes" and said "ow" numerous times, so that he began to say "suave" and "ow" each time he went to nurse. And so we quickly went to nursing only before nap and bedtime. Over break we cut out the pre-nap time, as Daniel was there to put him down and offer him a cup of milk. Each night I would prepare myself for the pain and each night it seemed worse. Finally, last night, after he hardly sucked from either side and just bit and pulled, I decided it was time. And so today we went without any nursings. He was a little upset before nap time (since I put him down), but fine at bed time. And now I have 4 1/2 months before it begins all over again!

We're Back!

After a wonderful vacation with family and some chilly weather, we are now back in the warm D.R. We have tons of pictures that I'll share later, but I just wanted to send a brief hello for now. Jeremiah had a great time with grandparents, aunts, uncle, etc., and I enjoyed time relaxing and visiting. I spent very little time on the computer (thus the lack of posts). Daniel visited some colleges (Wheaton, Trinity Int., and Moody) and established some contacts there for possible future teachers. We also ate lots of yummy food while we were home- our moms spoiled us!
More on the vacation to come later...