Changing Seasons

Remembering

2012-01-19T18:14:00.004-04:00

Sometimes when I think about our time in the D.R., it seems like a dream, another world, in spite of the fact that we left less than a year ago. And other times, like today, I'll suddenly get a "picture" in my mind of a place. The pictures are usually a random place, maybe somewhere along a road, one of our houses, a scene from a mountainside or beach, or even a face of friends or acquaintances left behind. Accompanied by this is a sudden, sharp pain in a part of my heart I thought had healed. Today, during some quiet processing time we were able to have at MOPs, memories came rushing back and I allowed my mind to follow the memories instead of push them back, as I often do. It's different for me to just think about the D.R. vs. picturing actual places and things from the D.R. The former I can do with less emotion. But pictures evoke my emotions. And sometimes, like today, life becomes surreal. Sometimes the present seems like a dream and the past seems like reality. Almost as if I'm waiting to wake from the dream at any moment and find myself back in Jarabacoa.

The best word I can use to describe this is longing. There's no question that I left part of me behind in the D.R. I miss it. But at the same time, I don't want to go back. By that I don't mean never going back to the country. What I mean is, I know we've started a new chapter in our lives. And I don't want to go backwards. While I long for the country and people, I don't long to live there or to go "back" to a few years ago. Because that's not where we're supposed to be right now. And I want to go forward. God has done amazing things in this tough transition. Through the pain He's brought us hope. Trough our trials he's grown our faith. And while our future is still uncertain, we're excited about where He's taking us. Yet sometimes I still feel that longing, a longing just to "glimpse" Jarabacoa again. Or to go out to a favorite restaurant or food stand. Or to ride with Daniel on our motorcycle (long ago stolen) through the beautiful mountains.

Sigh.

Instead, I think I'll eat some pastalon (in the oven), drink some ginger tea, and look through some past pictures. And let memories aid in the healing process.

Playing Dress-up

2012-01-09T22:42:00.001-04:00

"It won't hurt" the 2 yr old painter-puppy declared as he gave me a "shot" on the cheek. No, this wasn't a bizarre dream; we were playing dress up today. I was found healthy by the 4 yr old, except for high blood pressure (I need to eat lots of food, drink lots of water, and take lots of medicine), and needing one of my fingers cut off so he could give me a new one (he said he has a box of new fingers in his office).

The Alien

The Care-Bear

The Care-Bear attacking the alien

Jedi-Alien

The fairy-care-bear attacking the jedi-alien

Super-fairy-care-bear

Super Bear!

Jumping Kangaroo

The painter-puppy and the doctor

Homemade Candy

2011-10-27T22:07:00.003-04:00

I finally made some yummy homemade candy today. I've been wanting to try this, but things have been crazy between making products for my "business," finding a house and then planning to move all in one week, and still keep up with the boys. However, I finally made it (with the help of the boys) today because I want something they can trade for the Halloween candy they receive. So, because I've been asked for the recipes, here's what I made today:

Peanut Butter Balls

To the best of my memory, here are the changes I made to the recipe (I doubled (ish) it):

3-4 T natural peanut butter

200 grams dates (make sure you take out the pits before you put them in the food processor- just a tip I discovered)

vanilla extract (not sure how much I used)

carob chips (that's what I have)

salt (I have unsalted p.b.)

Almond Joy Bars:

1) I used the recipe for chocolate butter here with the following changes:

For the sweetener, I put in some stevia. First I put in liquid, but I didn't want to use too much since the alcohol gives it a strong flavor (like fake sweetener). So then I used some of the powdered herb. It still needed more sweetener, so I added some honey, but didn't have enough so threw in some maple syrup. It doesn't need to be that complicated, next time I'll just make sure I have enough honey!

2) Then, combining a few posts/ideas of this same blogger, I threw in some coconut flakes, almond extract, and chopped almonds and added it to the processor. Then I put it on parchment paper on a baking sheet, pressed the mixture down to make "bars" (or you can roll it between parchment paper) and froze it. Yummy and very rich!

Pumpkin Balls (Also called Raisin Butter Balls by Jeremiah):

Using the idea from a recipe here, I threw in a random amount of raisins (I didn't have any more dates), some pumpkin butter I'd made (or you can use pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice), and some almonds. I'm not sure on the amounts, but next time I'll use more raisins and less pumpkin to make it a less gooey consistency (though I could still roll them into a ball). Since I didn't, I put these in the freezer instead of the fridge (unlike the Peanut Butter balls).

I was able to make all three of these in a small amount of time with the boys "helping me" (i.e. stealing tastes) and still cooking dinner. Not because I have talent, just because they were that easy.

Some other "candies" I want to try:

Macaroons

Homemade Coconut Butter to make coconut candy (or the macaroons above)

Samosas

I'm enjoying the yummy recipes on this blog despite the fact that I am not vegan (I'm also enjoying my 1/2 pig share).

Enjoy!

4th of July pics (okay, so I'm a bit late)

2011-08-09T22:12:00.004-04:00

So we're back from vacation. Kind-of. We had 2 1/2 weeks of vacation (first Michigan with Daniel's family, then North Carolina with mine) and stopped by Marion on the way back to Wheaton to drop off some things and "move-in." We've been in Wheaton for a few days doing some packing, doctor appointments, etc. and leave tomorrow evening to go back to Marion. So I'm not sure what this "in-between" time would be called.

Anyway....

I have pictures I've been meaning to post. These are a bit late, but here they are, starting with the 4th of July:

This year we celebrated the 4th of July in the States for the first time in years! Our Fourth of July weekend included an evening at the "Eyes to the Skies" Festival, a parade, a family cook-out, family fun, and fireworks!

Eyes to the Skies Festival:

Magic Show (Jer's in the orange shirt holding a white handkerchief)

Mesmerized by the show (both our boys watched it for the entire time- even Timmy was engrossed!)

The boys loved the bouncy thing (esp Timmy, behind and to the right of Jer)

Sitting in a real airplane

Ready to take off!

Love those lips!

Jer and Grandpa

And the highlight- the hot air balloons (hence the "eyes to the skies")

A Purple People Eater, Humpty Dumpty, and a ?Gopher/Beaver?

A panda

Parade:

Waiting for the parade to start

Showing patriotism for their ~~birth~~ ~~home~~ passport country

Here come the firetrucks!

Timmy's a little unsure about the noise

And, of course, we must have a snack

Cute little American

Enjoying "American" food...

With the Petersons...

And the Gerigs

Some fun games afterward

First car ride with the boys in the newly refinished 1969 Cutless

(my mom in front, me and the boys in back)

And the "big" boys had to go too

And, of course, yummy fruit!!

Later we put the boys to bed, left them with my parents (who had seen fireworks the night before) and drove to a nearby town to watch fireworks from the convertible with Daniel's parents. It had been a long time since we'd seen fireworks!

I must admit, it was great fun to finally celebrate the 4th in the U.S. and with family! I don't take that for granted anymore! :)

Pictures: Finally!

2011-06-29T15:13:00.001-04:00

Here's what we've been up to since our move back:

Haircut for Timmy

Trying new styles

Goofing around

Enjoying Parks

Rock Jumping

Chasing Birds

Watching sports with Grandpa

Playing in the sprinkler

Playing "cars"

College Reunion

Water Play

Enjoying family time

For these and more pictures, see link below:

Summer2011

Healing, Part II

2011-05-13T23:02:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, Daniel and I both feel that this "limbo" stage is to be a time of healing. As a result, I've focused on healing in our lives. However, I fell into the trap of over-focusing on the physical healing, which led to stress, anxiety, and weariness. Because of our digestive issues coming back from the D.R., we've cut out certain foods. It took a while to figure out how to cook to our diet when I was still trying to figure out how to cook in the U.S. And far too often I found my thoughts centering about what foods I could make or what ideas I had that might "fix us." And then along with this I've struggled with my neck and back pain. However, the more I focused on trying to control my external healing, the more I ignored the internal healing, and the more weary I became.

And then a few weeks ago I went to a women's bible study (there were only two left of the year, but I wanted to take advantage of any "women" time I could get). I was put in a small group and we proceeded to watch the last session of a Beth Moore study. It was exactly what I needed to hear. This stuck out to me the most- we should never be hindered by fear and never forget the tendency to expend energy on the "lesser battle" (as opposed to fighting for our marriages, families, children, etc.). I realized that I'd been fighting so hard for physical health, that I was expending all my energy on that and leaving none for what is really important! This was the beginning of a change in focus.

I attended the last bible study meeting (a time of fellowship, eating, and large group sharing). I felt touched and amazed as I heard different women's testimonies of the way God had moved in their lives this past year. The theme of the year, "On the move" fit well with our place in life. At one point, they invited anyone who wanted to share to do so with the whole group (over 60 women). I felt God gently tugging at my heart and found myself sharing in front of the entire room! I shared with them the transition from the D.R. and the dream Daniel had, how God has put us in a place of brokenness and healing, and how God continues to show us that
He is our goal- not a future home or job, not even physical health.

God continues to remind me more and more to cling to Him.

So that is what we are focusing on right now- our spiritual healing- drawing close to Him, making Him our desire, and allowing Him to change us.

Transition

2011-05-13T22:30:00.004-04:00

This transition thing is just no fun. Ive meant to post. And I've wanted to post. I've needed to process, but I've unconsciously (and maybe sometimes consciously) avoided it. So here's me processing.

The things I miss most about the D.R. right now:

1) People- Missing familiar faces; missing chatting with friends

2) STABILITY- We're starting to suffer from the instability of not having our own home, a regular schedule (Daniel works random days and random hours; it could be any day of the week or any hours. But he gets to choose from what's available), and of still not knowing what the future holds.

3) The mountains, the sound of cows, waterfalls, palm trees, etc..

4) Going into town and almost always running into someone you know.

5) Spanish. Listening to it, conversing in it.

6) Less varied weather- Here it's changed 40-50 degrees within the same week. In Jarabacoa it doesn't really do that in the same year.

7) Affordable eggplant, squash, and peppers. I'm really missing the varieties of peppers. I hardly even use peppers now. Surprisingly we've found very affordable mangos lately!

Things I'm enjoying about the U.S.

1) Being around family!

2) Parks, library, shopping carts that hold multiple children (one in the front like normal, and one below in a "car"), restrooms with changing tables

3) Smooth roads, sane driving, faster travel

4) LESS MOLD! I think this is helping my health. :)

5) Dr. appointments (as in, they make appointments and it's not come in whenever and wait multiple hours).

6) Garage sales! Wahooo! I can't believe how cheap we've been able to buy things!

7) Super yummy apples and sweet potatoes.

Okay, most of that was pretty superficial, but it's good to get some of that processing out. Next time I process I'll go a little deeper.

Bowing to the King

2011-04-18T21:48:00.002-04:00

We've been here 4 weeks tomorrow. Wow. In some ways it feels much longer than that. We arrived with a sick 3 year old; Timmy and I fell sick shortly after. It's been a long time since I've been that sick. I was shocked when I felt well enough to see myself in the mirror; I hadn't realized I'd lost so much weight (which wasn't a good thing since I'd lost weight a few weeks previously from another illness). The first week and a half of our time in the U.S. I left the house all of one day. All that to say, our transition was a bit rough. Many times during the sickness I was tempted to lose hope. Had God dropped us here with no home and just left us? Where was He in all of this? And I fought Him internally. I didn't want to submit to Him and what He was allowing in our lives. But each time He restored my hope and revealed to me just how much I want everything to "go my way."

Before we left the D.R., I felt slightly concerned with our lack of future stability. We had no car, no "home", and no job awaiting us (of our own, that is). When we arrived part of me thought everything would "fall together." This is another thing I've fought. My desire was to be in Indiana by now. With a home. And a job. And God keeps reminding me that His ways are not mine. And are far greater than mine. But the wonderful thing about these reminders are that they are never condemning. They are the loving nudges of a caring Father, continually reminding me to come back to Him and trust in Him. Through scripture and words of encouragement from others He directs me to submit to His plan. And I think back to so many other times when I've fought God in an area and ended up so thankful that He had his way and I didn't have mine. And so I know that His plan will be better than mine, because it always is!

Yesterday the pastor at our church talked about bowing to the humble King. When Jesus rode in on a humble donkey that Palm Sunday He declared Himself the King prophesied in the Old Testament. But most of the people's view was too narrow- they only imagined a King that would free them from Roman rule. And when he died less than a week later their hopes were crushed. Things hadn't gone how they'd expected and desired. And I don't know, but I wonder if some of the disciples "fought" God. And I'm almost certain that all of them had questions- hundreds of questions. Until that third day when Christ conquered sin and the grave. Because He did not come to break the chains of the Romans. He came to break the chains of sin itself, to free us from guilt, condemnation, and our own sinfulness. Praise the LORD! How small my view is, wondering why I need to wait when God knows what He is doing. His timing is good. My view is so small!

Help me to bow to you daily, Lord, and to remember that You see the big picture and have a plan for us! Amen!

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'" -Jeremiah 29:11

More updates to come...

Jeremiah's Adjustment to the U.S.

2011-04-10T20:58:00.002-04:00

"What's that?" (pointing to a mail truck)

"What are those?" (looking at geese)

"What's that?" (pointing to every building we drove past)

"Are there lions in the United States?"

"In the summer it will be snow time?"

"I put the papel in the trash because I wanted to." (after going potty)

"I don't have any pesos!" (he wanted pesos to put in the offering)

"First I took an airplane to the airport, then I took another airplane to here." (telling Nonna as they watched an airplane fly by)

"I miss our guaguita."

Healing

2011-03-30T15:32:00.002-04:00

Warning: I'm not sure if the below makes much sense, as I'm still in my "brain fog," but here are my thoughts, disconnected as they may be.

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." -Psalm 42:1-2,11

"Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost." -Isaiah 55:1

As I've struggled with our current situation (being in limbo/transition and without any idea of when we will find a job and move to Indiana), God continues to bring a few things to mind:

1) Trust. I belong to Him. He will take care of us.

2) Peace. This comes from #1.

And

3) Healing. Use this time in "limbo" for healing and restoration.

Healing- our family is in much need of that right now, both internally and externally. Internally, because packing up ones family, selling almost everything, and moving thousands of miles and across the ocean (even if it is to "return") doesn't happen without causing some pain, and externally because our health hasn't been terrible lately.

When I think of healing, I picture water. Clear, cool, refreshing, soothing water. Water is crucial to life and health. And spiritual water is crucial to spiritual life and health. And so as my body continue to fight this nasty flu bug, my spirit thirsts for God, just as my throat thirsts for water (even if it's a little hard to swallow). And I look to God as my healer, both internally, and externally!

Saying Goodbye

2011-03-25T08:50:00.004-04:00

From the time we found out we were leaving until the time we left we had 6 weeks. 6 weeks to sort, sell, and pack up 5 1/2 years of life, and 6 weeks to say goodbye. 2 1/2 of these weeks we weren't even in Jarabacoa (boy's house trip and vacation with Petersons). During the 3 1/2 weeks we were in Jarabacoa we took special care to say goodbye to special people, places, and things. We knew this was necessary to close the door to our time there. So, even if it was silly we had some special "Dominican moments" (like trying food we'd always said we would but hadn't!). One day a friend watched the boys so we could go on a "day date." We went to the park, bought some souvenirs, bought some yummy Dominican food and ate it in the park, then drove to the river and walked along it. Other goodbyes included: visiting the Ark, visiting our church in town, having lunch or dinner with friends, having a goodbye party for Jer in his class at JCS, attending E.C. retreat, making gnocci at the boys' house, church at E.C., eating pica pollo and chimi burgers (and pina juice!), and having one last motorcycle ride (it'd been a while!). And, of course, taking pictures of random things.

This time of closure was critical for us, and I'm glad we didn't let the stress and business of packing up and selling things keep us from those special moments!

Traveling Blessings

2011-03-23T11:41:00.004-04:00

Here are the blessings I noted while on our trip yesterday:

1)It was a beautiful clear morning. When the sun came up, the fog lifted and we enjoyed the last sights of the D.R.

2) As the sun rose behind a cloud, the top of the cloud appeared as though it were outlined in gold- a breathtaking sight!

3) Free carts and help in Santiago airport.

4) Of our 6 bags, 3 of them read over 50lbs (in spite of us weighing them beforehand), but they pulled them off right away anyway and didn't even look at the weight.

5) Very tranquilo, sleepy boys throughout the first flight (and an uneventful flight).

6) Friendly, helpful flight attendants

7) Friendly customs person, free carts in Miami to take our luggage through customs (and we managed to carry it all!)

8) A tranquilo Jer (though, sadly, it was because he was sick), and a not-too-difficult Timmy (though he did require more entertainment than the first flight until he finally fell asleep)

9) The reminder that God is in control- as we were landing in Chicago, we couldn't see anything out the window but clouds. After a while Daniel guessed we were in a holding pattern (which we found out later that we were). Finally we could tell that we were about to land, but we still couldn't see anything. It was slightly unnerving. I thought about how much that's like our life right now- we now we're landing somewhere, but right now we can't see where and how soon. And just as we had to trust the pilot, we need to trust that God knows where He's landing us! When we finally came out of the cloud we were only a few hundred feet up and within a minute or two of landing.

10) All our luggage arrived safely (as did we!) and we fit all our luggage in the car without needing to tie any to the top of the roof rack!

And the biggest blessings:

11) We knew we were blanketed with prayers throughout our trip and felt God's loving presence throughout.

Flight #1

Hanging out in the airport

Jer in the airport

End of flight number 2 (no, he didn't sleep the whole time)

All our luggage- 6 checked bags, 6 carry-ons, 2 car seats, two carriers, and 1 stroller

In our Indiana shirts (when will make it there?)

Some More Changes (to Changing Seasons)

2011-03-14T09:24:00.003-04:00

So, for some reason, the banner on my blog disappeared. So I decided to make a new one. But when I put that one in, it was too large my current template. Since I'd spent hours on it already (it take a long time to try to upload any pictures or do anything online), I didn't want to go back, change it, and try to upload it again (at least not until I have a better connection!). So I quickly found a new template. I'm not thrilled with it, but it will work until I have time and the connection necessary to fiddle with it. And I've saved my old template too, so I can always go back!

Any suggestions would be great!

Changes at "Changing Seasons"

2011-03-13T11:59:00.003-04:00

I’ve decided to make some changes to "Changing Seasons". First of all, I hope to blog more often. This past year has been rough (blogging related). Due to poor internet (making even loading web pages difficult), two busy boys, and keeping busy myself, I’ve let my blog slide. And I’m okay with that. But now I’d like to get back to blogging regularly. Secondly, my readers (if any such exist after my poor blogging habits) will notice many posts related to our re-entry back to the U.S. There are a few reasons for this:

1) I know I will do better at blogging regularly if I have a focus.

2) I know I need (mucho) time to process the changes that are taking place in my life. This gives me a place to process, share my thoughts, work through the transition, and hopefully receive some feedback. J

3) Since the purpose of my blog is to share our lives with those who read (and ultimately give glory to God through it), well, I figure I’ll do that! Hopefully this will not only include sharing my honest thoughts and feelings, but will also include humorous/embarrassing re-entry moments, as well as reactions the boys have to the changes (and lots of pictures once we have decent internet)!

And

4) Maybe this blog will also give encouragement to others who are also going through similar re-entry challenges.

Photo-experiment

2011-03-13T11:52:00.004-04:00

Meditating on Scriptures: Habakkuk 3:17-19

2011-03-12T17:01:00.005-04:00

“Though the fig trees should not blossom
And there be no fruit on the vines,
Though the yield of the olive should fail
And the fields produce no food,
Though the flock should be cut off from the fold
And there be no cattle in the stalls,
Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord GOD is my strength
And HE has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.”
-Habakkuk 3:17-19

This verse has been both challenging and encouraging to us during this time of uncertainty. A few times I have written the verse in my own words to personalize it to our circumstances, almost as a kind of statement of my faith or personal challenge (though I still need help living it out!). Here’s my most recent rendition:

“Though we have no job
And no source of income
Though we have no final destination
And no place to call “home,”
Though we be cut off from what we have known here
And leave this place we love,
Yet I will exult in the LORD
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.
The Lord GOD is my strength,
And He has made my feet like hinds’ feet,
And makes me walk on my high places.”

This isn’t to say that we aren’t looking forward to being near friends and family in the States, but it is a difficult time of uncertainties for us right now. There is so much about here that we will miss, and we don’t yet know what we will be going to or where we will live (after we leave Wheaton). But I cling to the words above- The Lord GOD is my strength! He will do good through all of this! Praise the Lord!

Thoughts

2011-03-09T21:27:00.002-04:00

Here's a recent entry from my journal:

Two weeks today until we leave. We’ve never had this much uncertainty before. We have no job, no home, no fixed plans. We still need to find owners for our animals and sell our car, inverter, and many other items. And then we need to figure out how to start all over in a new place. The uncertainty of it all is overwhelming. At times I’m afraid I’ll be swallowed up by it. Nothing yet seems to be “falling into place.” And still other times I see beauty in it and have peace- beauty because I find beauty in the LORD and His ways, and peace knowing that God is in control and that “The LORD’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail.” Lamentations 3:22

And when I focus on these verses and on who He is my heart lifts because- though the circumstances seem so very big and insurmountable- I remember that God is big. His timing and ways are perfect and I can trust in Him!

“For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting and His faithfulness to all generations.”

-Psalm 100:5

Peterson Update: USA- Here we come!

2011-02-25T20:37:00.000-04:00

Below is the email we just sent out:

Dear Family and Friends,
As many of you already know, our family will be moving back to the States in one month. While we've known our time in the D.R. was drawing to a close, this latest change in our timetable occurred rather suddenly.
When we made our transition from JCS to Escuela Caribe we originally planned to finish out that school year and move back. However, after a few months we decided to renew Daniel's contract for one more year before leaving the D.R. We could already feel ourselves transitioning as we became more removed from Dominican culture and our friends in town. While we enjoyed what we were doing, we felt God preparing us to go back and felt the pull on our hearts to have our boys (and us) closer to family.
However, after moving to a slightly larger house on campus in September and buying chickens in October, we began to feel "comfortable" with life and struggled again with the decision about whether to move back. After much prayer, we felt God calling us back to Indiana (we'd previously been thinking North Carolina). We made the decision to move this June and began thinking and planning towards that.
Due to the low numbers of students here at Escuela Caribe currently, Daniel had at one point told the admin that if they needed staff to leave, we could leave early. However, everything still pointed towards our June timetable.
And then about three weeks ago Daniel had a dream. He wrote this in a message he sent out to fellow staff:
"Just to confirm how much God is in this, I had a dream on Monday night (before meeting Tuesday) that my family was riding on a train and we didn't know when/where we were supposed to get off. We were standing ready at the front of the train, watching ahead for some idea that we were supposed to get off. Then, the train stopped and somebody asked us, "What are you still doing here? This is the end of the line. You need to get off now." What had looked to me like tracks continuing, was really a decorated sidewalk that continued on. After we got off the train, we walked a short distance and saw a huge cathedral/castle-type building and were just lost in awe. I didn't understand it at the time, but God made it clear to me during meeting this morning."

That same day, after the staff meeting, we were told that they would need us to leave early, after all.
While this is still very difficult, as Daniel has said- we feel God's hand in it and trust His timing. Tomorrow is Daniel's last day of work, we meet up with Daniel's family in Santo Domingo for a previously planned trip, return in time to participate in the E.C. student retreat, and them leave on Tuesday March 22. We'll fly to Chicago, spend some time with family in Wheaton, and then move out to the Marion area at some point.
While Daniel is actively seeking jobs, we still have no idea what we'll be doing or where we'll live, but God is faithful and we are seeking His face in all of this!
We've enjoyed our time here both at JCS and E.C. and will miss the ministries, our friends, and the students. But we're also looking forward to be closer to our friends and family in the U.S.
Please pray for us as we make this transition. We are also hoping to attend a week long missionary de-briefing in May or August and will need to raise about $1500 for this (for the retreat and transportation).
Also, please have patience with us as it will take us some time to adjust to "changing countries!"
And if any of you want to understand a little more about what we'll be going through, we recommend reading this book (recommended both for those leaving missions and their close family and friends) :)
Blessings!
-The Petersons

Life Right Now/ Grains Part II/ Happy Anniversary/ Choose Title here _____

2011-02-07T22:55:00.000-04:00

So many thoughts have been going through my mind lately. I’ve been writing, mostly in my journal, but rarely does my writing make it to my blog. Most likely this results from a combination of two things: I still have don’t internet frequently and when I do I avoid using the computer too much, as it usually occurs during time I’ve set apart for my children or taking care of my family.

That being said, here’s an update on life right now:

-Health: We tried a grain-free diet. Timmy started sleeping through the night (as in wake up for a 5:30 am feeding) for the first time ever! Hurray! Then we introduced wheat. He stopped sleeping well. We’ve tried to go back to no grains for him (and no wheat for me in case it’s a gluten intolerance) but things are still not back to where they were, though my going on a weekend retreat surely affected that. While on this diet, I noticed no change in Jer. He’s still gassy, complains about his tummy hurting, and has unhealthy looking stools. Then we found out he was being given crackers at school (oops). So our data for Jer is invalid. (BTW, we’ve stopped taking them to the doctor as stool samples reveal nothing and they just give us medication to give them based on guesses). So right now we’re going grain free with Timmy, and gluten free for all of us but Daniel.

-The boys: Timmy is talking more and still super active! He loves to play outside. Jer is beginning to sound out very simple words. His brain seems to be constantly going. He’s also been extremely tough and strong-willed lately which has resulted in a difficult week for us, but he still has a sensitive, affectionate heart, and almost always shows a desire to rebuild the relationship after discipline issues. We’re trying to train him in a way that both praises and awards obedience and good behavior, yet shows him that actions have consequences, while striving to demonstrate God’s character through it all. It has not been easy! I’ve had to ask his forgiveness on numerous occasions and do or say “three nice things” to him as we’re training him to do to us.

-Our Anniversary: Daniel and I just celebrated our 6^th anniversary on January 29^th. I was gone on a women’s retreat, but I left him notes and we had our anniversary date this past Saturday. We still enjoy looking at our wedding DVD (the highlights) and listening to the vows we recited. It’s a good reminder of what we promised each other!

-Women’s retreat: As I stated above, I recently attended a women’s retreat. This year’s theme was “Identity, Who do You say I am?” The teaching, small group, and individual time focused on who we are in Christ, as opposed to who the world says we are. What a wonderful reminder that, though my roles as wife, mother, daughter, occasionally teacher or tutor, friend are important, I am defined as God’s child, God’s daughter, chosen by God, loved by Him, His disciple, etc. I came home from the weekend refreshed and joyful.

-Future: Balancing a focus on the here and now, as well as looking ahead to the future has proved difficult. We continue to enjoy our ministry here, but it’s hard not to let ourselves get caught up in the future of moving to Indiana. We still do not know to where in Indiana we will be moving, but Daniel continues to search for jobs, and we continue to trust God for His guidance.

So, that’s where we are right now. Next week we accompany the girl’s house on a house trip to Samana. In early March, Daniel’s family (grandparents, parents, sister and an aunt) will fly in to Santo Domingo and we’ll spend time with them in the South East.

Grain-Free, week1

2011-01-14T16:55:00.000-04:00

Our household is currently in the middle of a two week grain fast. Basically, we’re trying to figure out why we’ve had so many digestive problems lately. Instead of trying to be gluten free for a while, we just bit the bullet and decided to go grain free, as grains are often very difficult to digest. We’re also eating a good amount of yogurt, as we can’t find any good pro-biotics here.

So far, Jer has slept through the night each night, and Timmy has slept better, including one full night (first time in over a year)! I don’t know if it’s connected to our diet, but it’s at least interesting to observe.

So far, some food highlights are: potato pizza (a favorite of ours previously), shepherd’s pie, pastalon de platanos maduras (one of my favorite Dominican foods), peanut crusted baked chicken, lemon bars with a nut crust, pumpkin pancakes (using a tiny bit of bean flour we milled with our new grain mill) with yogurt-banana topping, salad with yogurt dressing and Greek olives, and salad with chicken and honey-lemon-garlic dressing. Fun snacks include: casaba (store-bought “crackers” made with 100% yucca, a root grown here), eggplant dip, roasted garlic, pumpkin seeds, hummus, potato skins, beef jerky, beet chips and batata chips.

And perfect timing- one of our banana trees is ready, so we have a plethora of green bananas to use in the place of potatoes or platanos. And when they ripen, we’ll enjoy them even more!

And tonight’s menu: roasted tomato-basil soup, chick-pea bread, Moroccan chicken and Moroccan eggplant salad

Christmas 2010

2011-01-13T17:07:00.001-04:00

Christmas this year was incredibly busy, but wonderful! It is difficult to believe that I’ve celebrated my last Christmas season in the Dominican Republic. Here’s a highlight of our activities:

-Sunday, December 19^th: Dominican Baseball Game. Also our first time out with friends without the kiddos in a long, long time. I suppose I won’t be going to any more December baseball games any time soon…

-Monday, December 20^th- E.C. Christmas caroling. We (two groups of students and staff) went around to a few houses (pre-arranged) singing Christmas carols (in Spanish, of course!). It was a wonderful way to ring in the Christmas week with community, singing, and snacks (each house shared treats with us). I came away feeling blessed and touched. The Dominican families that opened up their homes to us so clearly enjoyed hearing us singing carols. It was amazing to bring such joy to them through the simple act of singing.

-Wednesday afternoon, December 22^nd- Christmas Dinner Bags The kiddos and I accompanied Daniel and the other education staff, along with the students to deliver food bags to families that would otherwise not have Christmas dinner. These are families with which E.C. has built long-term relationships. This experience absolutely blew me away and I felt so privileged to be a part of it. The first house we stopped at required a bit of a climb up the side of a mountain. The woman we met there had just recently lost her mom (who was normally with her to receive the food bags each Christmas). Daniel prayed for her and we sang some Christmas carols to her. We continued to deliver bags, sing carols, and visit with these amazing people. One family had a beautiful new baby, another family had a sweet, tender-hearted boy with (I’m guessing) down-syndrome. I was encouraged to hear that he attends Genesis, a school in town for children with disabilities, run by one of the ministries here. We saw such strength, love, and gratitude in these families, but also suffering and brokenness. My heart went out to them, and the silent prayers I offered seemed to come on their own accord. I will miss this country and the people here!

-Wednesday evening, December 22^nd- my family arrived! Their plane was scheduled to arrive around 8:30 but in reality did not arrive until after midnight. After dropping my parents, brother, and sister-in-law off at the place they were staying (close to our house), I arrived home (after 2am) to a screaming baby and a tired, patient husband. We all attempted to sleep in the next morning!

-Thursday, December 23^rd- visit to a coffee factory, Jeremiah had his first taste (and last for a while) of coffee. We had a wonderful Dominican lunch, rested in the afternoon (except Daniel, who worked), and attended the E.C. Christmas banquet that evening with good food and dancing.

-Friday, December 24^th- Rehearsal for Christmas eve service, visit to a small community (we drove up towards the mountains, then walked down a path into the valley), Christmas eve service (in which both me, my dad, and my brother played the music for the Christmas cantata; Daniel sang with the cantata and Jeremiah was an angel for “Away in the manger.”), and Christmas eve dessert up at a staff’s house

Saturday, Dec. 25- Christmas! J

Sunday- church (we played again together), lunch, waterfalls, out to eat

Monday-Wednesday- trip to the beach. It rained much of the time, but we still enjoyed it

So, that was our Christmas business. We had a great visit with my family and it was wonderful to play music with my brother and dad. Of course, the Christmas season wasn’t all about “doing.” Each year we think about how we can better embrace the reason we celebrate- Christ’s coming! Both at our church and in our home we spent the month before Christmas going through Advent- preparation for Christ’s coming. Through bible readings and having a Jesse tree (we put up an “ornament” for each day to put on the tree along with a scripture reading that goes through the bible showing the preparation for Christ. Since we’re moving soon we used a paper tree and paper ornaments- Jer colored them and taped them to the tree on our bedroom door), we prepared our hearts for Christmas. Also, challenged by a blog I read, I thought of a specific gift I could give Christ each day (such as my praise, a joyful heart, etc.). And the older Jeremiah grows, the more he begins to grasp and understand the joy of Christmas!

And Christ truly is the reason to celebrate! I know many traditions are considered “secular, “ but without Christ’s coming, Christmas decorations and lights wouldn’t bring light to my heart and baking Christmas cookies to share with family and friends would have no meaning. It is Christ who gives me hope and brings joy to the little things I do.

Merry (belated) Christmas and Happy New Year!

Other News: Homemade Fun

2010-11-30T09:00:00.002-04:00

I wrote this post before we had internet, and then forgot to post it. Oops... Also of note, though we have internet (YAY) it is VERY slow and spotty, so I doubt we'll be putting up pictures any time soon. :( Maybe I can try to upload some to Picasa overnight and put a link to them here.

So, I haven’t blogged lately. Basically, my internet time has been twice a week, with only a short amount of time to be online and a long list of things to do/look-up. As a result, I haven’t posted much. It’s not worth the time it would take to post pictures, and I haven’t pre-written any blogs to send until now (so I don’t use internet time writing blogs).

I have been taking advantage of the extra time I have from not being online (the extreme frustration and angst at losing internet in the house has been replaced by mild frustration and some refreshment of not having the internet to tempt me to waste time by looking up useful, but not crucial, information). Besides spending time with my little boys, I’ve been spending more time experimenting in the kitchen and working on Christmas presents.

Here are some of the things new things I’ve explored lately:

-homemade mayo

-Making beef jerky in the oven (from ground beef; super cheap and yummy)

-soaking my whole grains before cooking or baking with them (makes them easier to digest and increases the amount of nutrition you receive from them)

-homemade crackers (new recipe)

-protein bars

-veggie broth using the veggie scraps I’d otherwise throw away

-more breakfast dishes: hot cereals (pumpkin, rice, cornmeal, cracked wheat), pancakes using leftover cooked grains or pumpkin, etc.

-new granola bar recipe

I would like to explore homemade sauerkraut, as well as whole wheat pasta. Some other things I want to explore will need to wait until we move back to the States, due to availability.

And, of course, I enjoy baking and cooking the most when I receive help from my big helper(s)!

Christmas Presents:

We’ve decided to do a “Homemade Christmas” theme at our house this year. Since we’re moving this summer, we want to save money and don’t want to give big items that we can’t take back to the States. Our presents for our boys are as follows:

-A sweater and hat for Timmy (it gets cold on the mountain!) I have a confession to make about this gift. I actually started it for Jeremiah and never finished it. So it’s now for Timmy.

-Wooden blocks for Timmy (Daniel’s doing that one)

-A felt car mat for Jeremiah to use with his cars. He loves playing with cars!

-A wooden money box to keep some pesos in (Daniel’s making this too)

-If I have time, I also want to crochet some small ornaments for both of them as well.

So far I’ve started on the sweater (well, continued) and the felt mat. I won’t list other family member’s gifts on the blog however, as they would see it and it would give away the surprise. J

November Newsletter

2010-11-24T15:01:00.001-04:00

Newsletter-Finally! And internet!

We recently sent out our November newsletter. It’s been a l-o-n-g time since we’ve written one (which didn’t mean there hadn’t been anything to tell, it just meant we hadn’t gotten around to telling it). Below is the email sent with the newsletter. If you want to receive the newsletter but didn’t, let me know.

Dear Friends and Family,

God has been doing some great things in our life and ministry, though it has been difficult sharing them since we have had major, ongoing problems with Internet and networking at Escuela Caribe. We are now going on two months without Internet to our house, so our contact with the States has been far less than desired. Our newsletter will give you a quick update on life here over the past six months.

Along with sending out our newsletter, we want to let you all know about our plans for next year. In spite of our love for Jarabacoa and the ministry here, we feel God leading us away from the Dominican Republic when my contract expires in May. We had been thinking this way over the summer, but our new house, Teresa’s need for dental work (see newsletter), and our own comfort here in the DR were causing us to second-guess it. After a somewhat long deliberation between staying at Escuela Caribe or moving to Teresa’s parents’ house in North Carolina, God is clearly leading us to Indiana. It was a huge weight off to receive this guidance, but now we face the uncertainties of moving somewhere where we have neither housing nor work, and doing it from another country. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for God’s guidance for our family into the job, church, ministries, and home that He has planned for us.

In Christ,
Daniel, Teresa, Jeremiah, Timothy, and all our animals

No internet

2010-09-23T10:04:00.000-04:00

For those of you who still check our blog, we haven't had internet up at the house for over 2 weeks. Once or twice a week I have a few minutes to get online down at school. So... that's why I haven't been posting lately!

Pico Duarte: Pictures

2010-09-02T15:31:00.002-04:00

I thought for sure I'd posted the pictures from our Pico Duarte trip; I uploaded them to Picasa a while ago. Looking back, however, I don't see them in a post. If I did and this is a re-post, please ignore. :)

Birthday Pics (and more)

2010-09-01T11:51:00.002-04:00

Here they are! (Click through for a larger view)

Here are a few pics from the birthday celebration

And here's what Jer's been up to lately

From Drop Box

And Timmy

From Drop Box

A 5 minute glimpse into "life with toddlers"

2010-08-27T09:32:00.002-04:00

This is a good example of how many messes little boys can make!
After breakfast, Timmy let me know very clearly that he wanted down. However, I needed to clean up a mess under the table (I'm guessing it was doggy pee) before I let him down on the floor. Just after cleaning up that mess, I walked over to Timmy and realized that he's made a mess (poos) on his feeding chair (he's had a rash, so we're giving him extra "nakie" time). Thankfully, we'd put a cloth diaper on top of the chair in case such a mess occurred (though this was the first #2 mess). I pick him up, cleaned him off, set him free, and carefully picked up the cloth diaper to take care of the poos. While I was rinsing it out, Timmy decided to spill over the doggy water (left out from last night). Water begins runs all over the floor, and I grab a towel to wipe it up. While I am doing this, Timmy crawls into the living room, stands up, and pees on the floor (and part of a rug). And so I run for another cloth. And then clean Timmy off, and put a diaper on him.
None of these were big messes, but it was a bit funny/overwhelming to have them happen just as I was cleaning up from the last one.
In general, Timmy gets into MUCH more trouble than Jeremiah ever did- unrolling toilet paper, climbing on chairs, tables, tops of sofas, etc. I was apparently spoiled with Jer! Which worries me, because Jer is a pretty intense, active 3 year old! What will Timmy be like at age 3?!

How to make 18 burgers from 2 lbs of ground beef

2010-08-21T11:57:00.002-04:00

I knew there must be a way to "stretch" ground beef for burgers, but I'd never tried until now. Last night we had a group over for dinner and we wanted to grill. So, because I've been stretching my ground beef recently with lentils and/or grains, I decided to give it a try in the burgers.

The procedure:
I used, approximately:
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/2-1 3/4 cracked wheat, cooked in 4 C of water (I used a cup of the cooked cracked wheat for bean burgers so make less if it's just for the 2 lbs g. beef; basically use enough so that 1/2 of the mixture is beef, and half is cracked wheat)
1 egg
seasonings: dried basil, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, minced onion, Montreal steak seasoning, salt, pepper
Mix together, form into patties

The Verdict: They turned out well. Everyone seemed to like them, and no one could tell they were half cracked-wheat. Even when I tasted one plain I didn't notice it. So, it's definitely worth the stretching! Lentils are also a good ground beef stretcher in enchiladas, burritos, casseroles, soups, etc.

Birthday fun and a big 3 yr old!

2010-08-10T09:45:00.006-04:00

This weekend we celebrated Jer's 3rd birthday. And what a big boy he is! He's learned so much in the past year. He knows the alphabet and can recognize all the letters. He knows many of the sounds they make and can even write a few (H, C, T). He knows the basic shapes, and can count up to 10 in Spanish and 20 in English (though he skips either 15 or 16 whenever he counts), and he likes to count out objects. He loves singing and telling silly stories. He's active, but much more focused on small motor skills (using his hands) than large motor skills. And just yesterday he learned to go down a water-slide!
On Sunday (the day of his actual birthday) we celebrated as a family. Next week we plan on having a joint birthday part for both boys. Since I'll be making a birthday cake for that party, and we had a whole aullama, I decided to make a "birthday" pumpkin pie (and pizza, as Jer is pointing out to me as I tell him what I'm writing). He loved the homemade pizza as well as the pie.
The next day, Monday, we headed to Kaskada water-park in Santiago, along with one the students. We had an absolute blast! I love playing with Jer in general, but this was the best Jer/Timmy play day yet! The water-park had a hug kid section. Think of a large playground surrounded by water, with water running over the stairs and down the slides. The pool was shallow enough for Jeremiah to talk around in it (up to his chest). Throughout the day he built up enough courage to go down the water-slides by himself, and even went down a few without us catching him at the bottom. It was amazing to see his confidence grow. At the end of the day I felt like I truly had a kid, not a toddler anymore. And these slides were super fun and fast- even I enjoyed going on them.
We did take a quick break from the kid section to each go on a few "big kid"/adult water-slides, including the "Kamikaze" that was super high up and dropped at a 70 degree angle (Daniel convinced me to go on it- what a rush- and a bit painful), as well as a few tall, long spiral slides. While we didn't bring our camera, I did find some pics online. Here's one view of the kids play area. And here's another.

Jer's birthday Jer chair

The birthday lion

Timmy enjoying some homemade cheese/avacado pizza

Jeremiah enjoying his pizza

Looking at his TALL card

His birthday pie

Making a 3

Enjoying a birthday present

Mommy Musings

2010-07-31T15:18:00.002-04:00

Both boys are actually napping (a rare occurrence) so I thought I'd take a few minutes to blog.
Life has been busy lately. I've never had a more difficult time being a mother. I admire mothers that have more than three or more children- I'm struggling with just two! Timmy is everywhere and into everything. If he's in the main room, he's heading for the couch (which he can now climb on and I'm afraid he will fall off) or the bathroom (where he tries to play in the potty). If he's on the porch he tries to eat the dog food, or anything else he can find. Or he'll climb onto the trampoline. And in the kitchen he goes for the garbage can or compost bin. This house is just too small to make baby proof (no closets, hardly any cabinets, so all our stuff is on shelves). And there's just not much space for Timmy to play. We may have the option of moving into another house, but it's only somewhat bigger, and I just don't know if it's worth all the work for only 10 months.
On a positive note, the past two days Timmy has taken a few 1 hour naps. Before that, he took only two 30 minute naps, or sometimes 15 to 20 minute naps. those naps left me no time to re-energize. So, I'm hoping he keeps it up!
I've enjoyed having Jeremiah home all day this summer. But, once again, there's not a lot of room for him to play. And he will not stop hitting/kicking, etc. the dogs, Timmy, and any other animals we meet, in spite of trying to teach him how to be kind and giving him consequences.
So, between trying to keep up on top of life and children in between being sick and having a strained neck (since Jan or Feb I've been sick- digestive, flu, cold, or random fever- just about every month, sometimes even more frequent. I hurt my neck over vacation and am still having difficulties; I finally went to a doctor and he prescribed some stronger anti-inflammatory medicine), I haven't had a lot of time for blogging.
It's been a difficult few months, and I've struggled a lot through all the different illnesses, but I hope and pray that I'm growing through it all. It is my desire that the difficulties bring me close to God and make me into a more loving wife, mother, friend, and daughter. Though at times I've been tempted to lose hope or trust, God fills me with stronger hope and trust after the tears and anger wash away. And each time I appreciate all the more those weeks of full health and strength to serve my family. Please keep us in your prayers, as the boys have also been sick a few of these times. Now, time to go cook! :)

Pico Duarte: We made it!

2010-07-12T16:31:00.002-04:00

A week ago Monday we set off to hike Pico Duarte with the boys group (all E.C. students hike it; they have a girls trip and a boys trip), a toddler, and a 10 month old. We probably looked pretty funny- me hiking in my neck brace (neck still hurting from a somersault incident over 3 weeks ago), Daniel carrying Timmy in a hiking backpack, and one of the students carrying Timmy in the Ergo.
The first day was easy- an hour or so hike into Base camp. We ate dinner, put the boys to bed, and went to bed early ourselves. However, I had a very difficult time sleeping (in spite of the rolled up mattress pad we brought due to my neck issues). I finally fell asleep sometime after 3:30AM (I may have slept about an hour during the beginning of the night, but I wasn't sure).
The next day (Tuesday) we woke up around 6:00 to get an early start to the day and set off with the medium group (a student still carrying Timmy). The hike was tough- 4-5 hours of steep uphill until the lunch stop (aguita fria). 2-3 hours of steep downhill (slipped many times) to Peak camp. We switched Timmy between three different students this day (one student took him for the days following). He did well; he cried a few times when he was tired and only once was it more than 5 minutes until he fell asleep (at the end he cried about 10-15 before he was out). Jer was also pretty content, though we let him get out a few times to walk a bit. When we finally arrived to camp we were exhausted. Poor Daniel was worn out from carrying Timmy, and I was worn out from lack of sleep (and an early/surprise visit from a little friend that I didn't discover until later). That night I took two benedryl (I was also trying to fight off a cold/bad allergies) and slept wonderfully (at least as much as is possible with a 10 month old).
Wednesday the students hiked up to the peak. I had already planned on staying behind with the boys, knowing that they needed a day to be carrier-free. However, since but me and another staff were feeling under the weather, Daniel also stayed behind to give me a rest while he played with the boys in the morning. We've both been to the peak before and didn't feel the need to go again. Later that day all three boys took a good long nap in the tent while I played cards with some of the students and staff. The rest refreshed us and we were ready to hike out of peak camp to the valley (where we'd never been).
On Thursday, I decided to take it easy and take a mule up to Aguita Fria (we put Jer on the mule with another staff that had years of experience and could carry him while riding) and then hiked the longggggg was down to the valley. The first part of that hike was great- we (our family and the student carrying Timmy, and later another staff) sang, played 20 questions, told stories, etc. However, the last 1-1 1/2 was brutal. Not only was it steep (and I fell a few times, jostling my neck even more), but Timmy screamed for about an hour straight. Nothing we did (besides taking him out) helped. Finally, when we saw we were a few hundred feet from the camp, I took him out of the carrier and he was instantly happy. That evening we hung out by the campfire and chatted with students and staff.
Friday began with a berry hunt for fruit to eat with our granola for breakfast. It was absolutely delicious! The rest of the day included: games for students, swim/wash in the river, afternoon rest/free time, dinner, more chatting around the campfire, and a finale of singing (the Dominicans sang/played to us with their make-shift instruments and we sang a few songs for them. That night (following some restless sleep) we awoke to Jeremiah throwing up. After cleaning him up and letting him warm up by the fire, we took him back inside for a few more hours of sleep.
Saturday morning (Daniel's birthday) we packed up, make a birthday cake out of a breakfast bar (I'd brought candles), sang to Daniel, and took the long hike out. Once again, Jer and I were on mules for the first few hours up to give Daniel a rest. Then we hiked the rest of the long way out. After a few mishaps (a few students getting lost, a mule falling off the mountain while rolling around on his back with our gear at a rest stop; the mule was okay, by the way), we arrived back at the beginning, where Daniel was "SPAM"ed (the act of throwing the birthday boy/girl into the river or some other watery location, like a pool). An hour drive and we were back on campus.
We had a great trip, but I am glad to be back! And I've discovered that hiking is much kinder on my neck than daily life (by Friday my neck was feeling much better for the first time in weeks. But today, after doing household chores, it's starting to hurt again). So, that's our Pico adventure! The boys had a great time and received lots of attention. Jer's had a few more bouts of throw-up/diarrhea, but seems to be on the mend. Daniel enjoyed his birthday celebration as well as the flan I had someone make for us while we were away. And we'll see how my neck does now that I'm back to household duties... Pictures to follow eventually...

The ABCs of the USA

2010-06-27T20:42:00.002-04:00

Here's a summary of our trip to the USA, the highlights. A few letters have multiple highlights:

A Arboretum abounding with arboles and adventures for kids all ages
B Birthday parties were a blast!
C Church services were appreciated and enjoyed
D Daniel delighted in his time off
E Excellent time with family and friends
F Food was eaten in abundance
G Gerig Hall Reunion- great fun, good friends, and maybe a bit of gluttony (just how many bratwursts did we eat?!)
H Hot dogs delivered by "H.O." sized choo-choo trains at "Two-toots; happy train ride with Daddy.
I International drivers license acquired
J Jeremiah joyfully jetted from Jarabacoa to JFK (and then some)
K Kielbasas over campfire; kid camped with Grandpa
L Liked looking at lions (and other "rar-ers)"
M Much movement over many miles
N Nibbled nature's nectarous fruits night and day
O Outings in boats
P Puzzles and games were played in abundance- "Play candy land with me!"
Q Questions, questions, questions, "What you say?" "What it is?" "Are you happy, mommy?"
R Relatives Really Rock!
S Stores were visited, stuff as bought, shopping successful but not stupendous (we're not shoppers); somersaults are sometimes suddenly disastrous
T Timmy toddled while pushing toy turtle
U Umbrellas necessary, unfortunately
V Visited parks and enjoyed very yummy picnics
W Water play- wet and wonderful!
X Xylophone with wheels and string enjoyed by both tots
Y Yes we like ice cream
Z Zoos were visited and talked about still; "Zzzzzz"s occasionally participated in

Peterson Update

2010-05-27T15:10:00.002-04:00

So, some of you may be wondering what we've been up to, aside from getting stuck in violent mobs. And if you're not wondering, that's okay too, but I'll tell you anyway. :)
-Basically this semester has been filled with us being ill on and off. It's ranged from fevers, to stomach issues, to a very nasty cold we all just recently fought. Currently we are all healthy, and Timmy's 2 1/2 month nasty cough has finally gone away. But, if you haven't noticed, I haven't had the energy to blog much in the past month.
-Our exciting news is our upcoming trip to the States! We leave on Saturday and will spend three weeks in Wheaton (though one weekend of that time will be in Upland, IN at a Gerig Hall Reunion). We look forward to spending time with family and friends.
-A few weeks after we return from the States, we plan to join the boy's trip to Pico Duarte. We're intend to take the boys with us. Because the group will be renting mules to carry the gear, we will be able to hike with the boys on our backs. It should be interesting (and hopefully fun)!
-Tina is growing and growing! Though she's only about 2 1/2 months old, she's already half the size of Chiste. She likes to chew on everything. And anytime Chiste growls or nips at her she make a big deal out of it and cries loudly (like a typical younger sibling).
-And now for random pictures from the past month:

Scariest trip to town yet

2010-05-25T16:32:00.001-04:00

Some of you may remember the last time my trip to pick up the kids went off-course. Well, this was even scarier (though less costly to our car):
Little did I know this morning when I left to pick up the kids from school that I would find myself in the middle of a lynch mob. I’ll tell the story from my perspective first, then fill in with the details I head about later. After picking up the kids, my car was full with Jer, Timmy, and two other E.C. staff preschoolers. After turning onto the main road that leads to campus, I noticed traffic was even worse than usual. I though this was strange, with elections being over. Suddenly we came upon a mob forming. The car in front of me could go no further, due to people swarming the road. I noticed a red car up to my left. It looked to me like there were men fighting. Then I saw a few police and figured they must be impounding the red car, as a man standing nearby was very angry. However, I soon realized the men around the car were trying to get into the car. And the police were trying to drive the car away, but could not move. The men standing near the car started attacking the car, beating in the windows, etc. While this took place, a few guys that decided to start videotaping the incident with whatever they had on hand. I sat there, transfixed, unable to go anywhere, when a familiar head popped up by my window and asked me if I was okay. I was relieved to see another staff member, and my mind started working again. The red car began to move, and I heard Tommy, the other staff, say something about someone having a gun. There were people all around our car, telling me to get the kids down. I was worried about them, and we still could not drive away. My next thought was to try to get the kids out of the car and away from the mob. At this point the red car had moved slightly and was beside the back of our car, so I turned the car back on, and Tommy tried to help me get around the craziness to get out. But a taxi (to the right of me) decided he should get out first, and wouldn’t let me go. At some point I felt a slight bump, and I guessed we had scrapped each other. At another point during all of this I also felt a bump from behind. Eventually, the taxi went ahead of me, and after some confusion (some random person was trying to direct me over to the right, behind parked cars), I was able to get by and on open road again. All I could think about was getting back to campus.

On the way home, I talked to the kids about how God protected us. The little girl I drive (4 years old), proceeded to tell us how God says we shouldn’t kick people’s windows- especially when they belong to someone else. She also said that her teacher says that God died for us for three days and rose again. “God is alive,” she told us solemnly. This bought a big smile to my face! Out of the mouths of babes! I thanked the Lord again for keeping us safe, though I was still a little anxious for Tommy and any students that were with him.

After the truck of students and staff arrived safely back, Tommy informed me of the details of the incident. Apparently a man had robbed a store, had been caught and beaten, and was put in the police car (the red car). However, the mob (armed with machetes and whatever else) wanted to take things into their own hands and tried to get to the thief, not allowing the police to drive away, attacking the vehicle. When the vehicle was near us, the police man was waving around his gun, near us and in Tommy’s face. After I left people continued to try to run the car down to get to the thief. Apparently the police had little to no control over the situation. Praise the Lord we are all safe! And the guaguita (our car) only suffered some minor scratches (a miracle in my mind, considering the mob of people, motorcycles, and other cars!). It saddens me the way people try to take justice into their own hands, creating an even more dangerous situation than before (and even endangering little children)! But God is in control, and He continues to remind me of this.
Oh how I love the days when my trips into town are uneventful!

Family Photos

2010-05-10T20:50:00.003-04:00

Last week a photographer (director's niece, Sarah Barlow) came down to the D.R. to do photo shoots for the seniors. She also gave up some of her time to do family photo shoots at a discounted price. What a blessing and amazing opportunity for us to have family photos taken in a beautiful location!
The boys did well- Jeremiah started getting squirmy at times, but was easily distracted. Timmy was content throughout the whole process. Sarah did so well with the boys, getting them to smile, or look at the camera (and Annie helped out with a giant Curious George). Here are some (okay, a bunch) of our favorites (see the slide-show below), and a few posted here to convince you to check out the slide-show. :)

Semana Santa

2010-04-19T21:20:00.003-04:00

Now that I've mostly recovered from being sick, I'd like to share our Semana Santa (week preceding Easter) adventures. We had a few highlights over the week:
-Friends visiting
-great birthday
-beach trip

On Sunday (week before Easter), my college roommate, Ashley, arrived here in Jarabacoa with her husband, Paul and her baby girl (2 days older than Timmy).
The following day, we relaxed in the morning, had a Dominican lunch in town, and then went to the Ark (ministry of Kids Alive) to meet up with Brian, another friend who went to college with Ashley, Paul, and I. Together, we all went to the lower Jimenoa waterfalls. Other adventures that week included swimming in the pool, playing card games together, and watching Daniel run in the Jarabacoa marathon (which isn't actually a marathon). However, a highlight of the week for me was Wednesday, when I had an extra special birthday. Because Paul and Ashley were visiting, Daniel took Wednesday off, and we hiked down to the upper Jimenoa, kiddos and all. Once there we swam, picnicked, and just enjoyed the beautiful day. The Upper Jimenoa falls is my favorite waterfall in Jarabacoa. However, we don't usually visit it unless we have visitors to take (I'm not sure why, we just don't usually think to go). To reach the falls, we drive about 20-30 minutes up the mountains, and then hike down about 30 minutes. The hike back up is a tough one, and takes much longer than the hike down!
After we returned home we showered quickly and headed back out for a birthday dinner at my favorite restaurant, La Lena. Following this, we returned home again for a wonderful birthday dessert party, thrown by my hubby and attended by many E.C. staff. My wonderful husband used all his spare time at the beginning of the week baking cookies, a lemon cake, and an angel food cake.
Easter Sunday began, for us, with a sunrise service on the mountain, followed by an Easter egg hunt for the little ones and a brunch. After relaxing some, we headed to a nearby waterfall for a picnic and swimming (see video of Jer singing, and video of Easter hunt below).
The following day we piled into a rental and headed for the beach, where we relaxed, had dinner on the beach, swam in the pool, played in the sand, and just enjoyed ourselves.
We returned Tuesday night, and our guests left the following day.
Altogether it was a wonderful time of catching up, playing with babies, relaxing, having fun, and just being together. Thanks for visiting Paul, Ashley, and Savannah!

Pictures from Semana Santa:

Easter egg hunt:

Babies at the beach:

Some Requested Videos

2010-04-14T15:15:00.002-04:00

First, Tina and Faye playing together.

And don't worry, Tina climbed out of the hole. :)

And next, Jeremiah singing. Jeremiah sometimes sings "real songs" (like ABCs, twinkle twinkle little stars, jingle bells, etc.), but he often makes up his own songs, as you'll see in this video. And if you can't tell, he singing, "Let's go and see some mucho agua!"

Kermes pics

2010-04-10T11:43:00.006-04:00

Before I put up pictures from spring break, I want to share some photos that have been sitting in my camera for awhile. The following are pictures from Kermes, the school carnival JCS had in March:

Throwing a little football

Ring toss

Fishing

Duck pondTimmy hanging out with daddyGetting his face painted

And for some random pics:

Jer's puppy and bear giving kisses

Showing off his Frisbee throwing skills

Lining up his cars (he'll line up anything and call it a "choo-choo"

Hanging out under the table

Asleep on the couch

Tina and her friend

Se0ana Santa

2010-04-07T16:00:00.002-04:00

So haven't blogged a lot lately. For 1, I've been en1oying time with good friends I haven't seen in a while. For another, our keyboard is not working properly. For some reason, I need to hold down the function key when I type. And the space bar key doesn't work very well, meaning I have to press it down really hard and even then it often doesn't work, causing me to backspace mucho. As a result, it's taking me a long time to write anything. And with babies, garden, dogs, life, etc. it makes me less motivated to blog. And my thumb is starting to hurt. So, I'll hopefully be putting some photos of our week up soon. Because that doesn't require too much typing. Sigh. That all took way too long to write...

It's a girl!

2010-03-18T09:36:00.003-04:00

It's also a puppy. A week ago Thursday night, we took in two dogs for puppy foster care. Here's the story:

A staff member here was planning to go back to the States; she is the owner of Fay (the mommy dog) and planned to bring her along. When it came time to give her shots, etc. for the trip, they discovered she was pregnant (she's young, still less than a year). The baby was born a week before she needed to leave. Neither dogs could get there sots due to the newborn nursing, etc. and would need to remain in quarantine for 30 days in whichever city she flew to fist in the states. As a result, she needed someone to care for the dogs until Fay could receive her shots and be sent to the U.S. We had already expressed interest in the puppy, so we agreed to care for the, see how things go with Chiste and the puppy, and either keep her or send the puppy with Fay.
The first few days were a little rocky. Fay growled anytime Chiste or Jer were near. However, they've warmed up to each other in the past few days and Fay has been extremely happy and social. The two of them are becoming fast friends, and we have them in the same area. Daniel made a chicken wire fence around Jer's dog house and part of the yard so they no longer need to wear a leash. There's a temporary separator to divide the dog yard into two smaller sections. That way, when we're gone the dogs can have their separate areas (and they each have a place to go when it rains; Chiste a dog house, Fay a kennel). Right now, though, since I'm home, the gate between the two areas is open, as well as the gate to the porch and the front door. So they can happily go between the house, porch, and both dog yards. I'm glad they can have more freedom and are getting along so well!
The puppy is about 12 days old and her eyes are just beginning to open. She's extremely roly poly, being the only puppy in the litter and having her mama all to herself! Assuming we keep her, we decided to name her "Calcetinas"(socks) and call her "Tina" for short because she's mostly dark, but has white on each leg (see picture at end) making it look like she's wearing socks.

Her's Fay (not sure why the picture didn't stay rotated)Looking out the new fence

Saying "hi"

The dog yard goes to the far tree in that row of palm trees, down the hill a little, and then a little further behind where I took the picture

Tina

Retreat Week!

2010-03-15T10:40:00.003-04:00

I'm excited for my first retreat at E.C. It means a break from the normal routine. Since I'm not an official staff member, but am part of the E.C. family, I can participate as little, or as much, as I would like. In the mornings they have games (for students and staff!), a speaker, and then lunch. In the afternoons they have rest time, workshops, and then dinner. Daniel and I are doing a "cooking/kids" workshop at our house with a few other staff and some students. We'll be baking and letting people play with our kids. :) In the evening, after dinner, there are skits, games, and worship/speaker time. That means I won't need to make dinner from Tuesday-Sunday, or lunch most of the week as well. How much I participate besides the workshop depends on how the kids (and I) are doing! I won't be able to go to all the evening sessions, because I don't want the boys to go to bed late every night, but we'll see what we can do! Hopefully we'll have some fun and not over exhaust ourselves!

Timmy on the move!

2010-03-13T19:58:00.004-04:00

These are a few weeks old, but Timmy's started to move quite a bit! At this point, he can move from one side of a room to the other, and even made it to the doorway of Jeremiah's room (I'd put him on the rug). He's not crawling yet, but he's scooting. He sticks up his rear, puts his head down, and pulls forward with his arms. And he rolls all over the place. We don't have much space, so he usually tries to eat things he shouldn't (strap on Jer's booster seat, curtains, leaves, dog, etc.).

Here he is, ready to go!

On the porch

In the house

Scooting off the blanket

Hmmm... definitely did not put him under there!

...or there!

Jeremiah: My big helper

2010-03-08T21:24:00.003-04:00

Here's some recent pictures of Jer, my helper. :)

Helping with the dishes

Tea time! (For tea time, I put a little vanilla in his milk and call it tea)

Sweeping the porch

Helping me plant my garden

And some fun, random pics:
Crazy dress day at school

Pajama day at school

Up next: pics of Timmy!

Valentines Day: belated pics

2010-03-07T21:40:00.005-04:00

We started out the day with a special breakfast of heart shaped pancakes

and a fritatta

Dinner was fondue; cheese and bread to start

Then beef and veggies in beef broth

Family photo

Ice cream social down at school that evening

Tired Mommy

2010-03-07T21:00:00.002-04:00

Sigh. It's been a while since I've blogged.
There's a few things contributing to that, but mostly they're just excuses:
1) I'm not sure what to write about. And I want to write about positive things. (And I haven't been feeling very positive lately)
2) Lack of motivation. I'm not sure many people will even read this, due to the lack of frequent blogging and all. Which is okay. But it's hard to be motivated.
3) I'm a tired mommy. Timmy's been very fussy lately. Jer's been very "2y" lately (as in, acting very much like a 2 year old). And he's been spending way too much time in time-out.

But here goes; this is what we've been up to:

In the past few weeks I've gotten sick, started a garden, had a toddler with a fever (and a busted lip from a fall), took a 4 day trip to the beach, gotten sick while at the beach, and came home to attempt to recover, though I still feel just plain tired. And cold (due to the lots of rain).

BUT, I want to be positive, and there's plenty to be positive about, so...
-I enjoyed our trip to the beach (when I didn't have a fever). Friday we had a friend come with us, so Daniel and I took a long walk on the beach and had a belated anniversary date (we'd saved up date money for sushi on the beach!). Saturday morning we ran on the beach and played tennis. Monday we drove to Samana where Daniel's parents, sister, and Aunt joined us for the day (they were on a cruise and the ship stopped in Samana).
-Last night Daniel watched the kids while I had a girl's night out. Yay for a great husband!
-My garden is starting to grow! And I'm sure the rain helps!!

Okay, I'm really behind on photos so I will go work on that now. :)

Santiago Adventure

2010-02-09T14:39:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we took another trip into Santiago; this time to take the boys to the doctor. We had some Christmas money for the boys, so we decided to turn it into a "fun day." Well, the "fun" part we planned was indeed fun. The other part, not so much. Here's the summary, with pictures:

-Fun Part 1: Burger King
We left the house at 11 in the morning and drove just over an hour to Burger King. This is a big deal; we have no American fast food restaurants in Jarabacoa. Quite honestly, I don't miss them. But it was a fun treat. We ordered Jer a kid's meal and made sure to ask for a crown. After he enjoyed the hamburger, fries, and water, he played in the play place (no play parks in Jarabacoa either). We had a blast watching him play.

Hamburger and Fries!

Yumm... elephant teether

Playing!

Loves the slide

-Fun Part 2: La Sirena, Ice Cream
Next, we drove to La Sirena (a large, super-walmart type store) for some ice cream (we had bikes being repaired in the bike shop across the street). After the ice cream he sat on each of the "ride" (pictured below). Unfortunately, they were not plugged in. He also played in a play place there. After this, we went out of the food court to choose some V-day gifts for the family and some a few small toys for the boys. Jeremiah chose a small toy motorcycle and a soccer book, and we bought a book for Timmy.

Of course, he wanted the blue ice cream

Driving with a (very scary looking) bird

Avion!

And his very own boat!

Another slide!

-Not So Fun Part 1: By this time Jeremiah was getting tired, but we needed to buy a blender (the motor in ours just went out). The blender we had looked into when we were at La Sirena previously (1 week ago for our doctor visits) was sold out. As we tried to decide what blender to buy, Jeremiah began screeching again and again. He didn't want to read either of the books, or hold his bear. There was nothing to put in time-out, and he was already confined to the shopping cart. Tension mounted as we tried to decide on a blender with a shrieking child. Ugh. I went off to get some socks for Jer as Daniel took him down the stairs to the first level. Once down, we tried to buy some produce we needed. But Jeremiah continued to shriek. So we hurried to check-out and leave. And it was about 3:30 by this time and we realized we were running late.

-Not So Fun Part 2:
We picked up the bikes and headed toward the hospital. Meanwhile, multiple driver's notified us that our left front tire was flat. We arrived at the hospital at about 4:00 (the doctor doesn't get in until 3). By this time both boys were asleep in the car (praise the Lord!). While Daniel changed the tire, I hurried up to the 8th floor and put in the boy's names (doctors here don't make appointments) only to discover that the doctor had not yet arrived and 7 people had their names on the list before us. We hung out in the car for a while as the boys slept. Daniel went inside to retrieve my results while I worked on a logic problem in a puzzle book. Eventually Jeremiah woke up and Daniel returned. We decided to head on up to floor 8 to check the status. I waited with the boys in the large outside waiting area, while Daniel went into the office to ask. The secretary informed him that there were now 4 people in front of us. Okay, that sounded better. And yet we waited, and waited. And Jeremiah continued to shriek and go to time-out. Finally we found space in the doctor's office to wait (there are only 6 chairs inside the office) after we were told there were 2 people left in front of us. At one point I became suspicious that they were letting the mother's with tiny babies jump ahead in line. Time passed, a few people went in and out, and we again asked how many people were in front of us, and were again told two people. Eventually the hall was empty and Jeremiah (and other boys) could run up and down the hall. This cut down on the shrieking. After those next 2 people went, it was finally our turn at 7:00. After the appointment we bought some sandwiches the food bar and headed out at 8:00. Ugh. I was so ready to go home. And then we had a 1 hour+ trip back home.
It boggles my mind that doctors don't take appointments here. And so these little children wait 3 hours to see the doctor. Insanity! This reminds me why we normally go to the doctor here in Jarabacoa (though, I admit, the one in Santiago is much more on top of things). But, for a 3 hour wait? I'll save her for emergencies! (And if Jer didn't have such a bad rash that has been coming and going for over a year I wouldn't have waited).
And really, I have to admit that, considering he had to wait for 3 hours, Jeremiah did a good job for a 2 year old!

So, that was our day. And now I am very happy to be back in our little house in Jarabacoa. Any tips on what to do with a shrieking child?!

Dog aggression problems: HELP!

2010-02-05T14:15:00.004-04:00

At this point, I don't think we have any other option than to get rid of Chiste. But let me back up a bit...
When we first brought Chiste into our lives, he was a rambunctious, happy little puppy. We wanted him to be an outdoor dog. he had lots of room to run around and play. After about half a year, we decided to let him into the house. And so he became an indoor/outdoor dog, and a bigger part of the family. When he was young, we made sure to teach him that he had to share with us. Nothing was so much his territory that he could nip at us if we grabbed it. At the same time, we tried to teach Jeremiah to stay away from Chiste when he was eating. Sometime Chiste would be a little agressive over his food, and nip or growl at Jeremiah (but this seldom actually hurt Jeremiah). This rarely happened with us, as Chiste knew we were dominant over him. We tried again and again to teach Chiste that Jeremiah had dominance over him as well, but this has been an ongoing problem.
Chiste still demonstrated fearful aggression over our house and yard. If friends came, he was fine. If strangers came, or people he decided he didn't like, he would bark like crazy, and usually run away. However, he seemed to get better. Many times he would let Jeremiah snuggle with him on his sleeping pad. And Jeremiah loved to play with him. Things were still up and down, but were good for the most part. One time, Chiste nipped at a girl visiting our house, which was the first time I noticed open aggression. But, though he was still scared of strangers, that didn't happen again.
And then we moved. And Chiste became more aggressive (barking at people more, scared of strangers). We understood that losing his territory can affect a dog. So we had patience with him and kept trying different techniques. We eventually bought a training collar and noticed great improvements. However, we still struggled to convince him that when we said "safe," that meant the person was safe (for some reason, he dislikes Dominicans no matter how many times we tell him they're safe). Because this yard has no fence, we have a dog runner for him, and try to walk him often. And he's been allowed in the house and porch (where we put up a fence). We have a doghouse for him outside, and he sleeps inside in the bathroom.
Lately, things seemed to be going much better. He was becoming more obedient, seemed happy, etc. (though still didn't like strangers). And then, something happened. I'm not sure what. But he's just recently decided he doesn't like Jeremiah. He's started to nip him more- and it actually leaves marks. And then, yesterday, he took two very aggressive nips at Jeremiah. Jeremiah is beginning to be afraid of him. The first time, Jeremiah was playing with a container of cat treats. The second time, he was standing by the fence. I thought maybe he was nervous because there were some students working in our yard. We tried to re-establish Jeremiah's authority (though it's hard when he doesn't take it himself). And then today I realized that anytime Jeremiah gets near Chiste, he growls at him. Later, Jeremiah was reaching near Chiste to grab some blocks (that belong to Jeremiah) and Chiste growled and bit him again. This realization did it for me- for some reason, Chiste does not like Jeremiah. He's happy, playful, and obedient around me and Daniel, but he's become very aggressive around Jeremiah. Now I admit, though we've tried to teach Jeremiah to be gentle with Chiste, he can sometimes be a little rough and annoying, but he's gotten so much better and I haven't noticed him doing much besides chasing Chiste (which I tell him to stop or he goes to time-out), or occasionally giving his car a push so it bumps him (again, he goes to time-out). But most dogs can handle this.
But apparently Chiste is the kind of dog that needs peace and quiet, and no annoying young kids. Which is a problem. Because we have two kids, and they come first! Unfortunately, I don't know what we can do with him. If we get rid of him, I have little hope he'll end up in a good home. But we can't keep him, because I refuse to endanger my children. And we can't make him an all out-door dog, since we have no yard and he'd just be on the runner all day. And I don't think he'd be very happy with that (not to mention he would bark constantly.
This is so hard, as Chiste has become a member of the family. But I guess he's just not a dog that can handle toddlers. So, anyone want a dog?

Timmy started solids!

2010-02-01T20:22:00.002-04:00

My original plan was to wait until 6 months. That's the time that most babies have lost their tongue-thrust, their digestive system is more developed, they're sitting up, etc. And I certainly don't want to start him too early. However, the past few weeks I've noticed Timmy eying our food intensely as we eat. And he seems to be hungrier. And he tries to grab things off our plate. Last week I began to wonder if we should try him on solids early (he's 3 weeks shy of 6 months). Today tried to steal my bread and then attempted to throw himself into it (though he has poor aim). So, we decided to go ahead and try solids today, especially because we had some pumped milk in the fridge from the weekend that needed to be used. If he seemed ready, we'd continue. If not, we'd try again in a few weeks. So, I mixed a Tablespoon of rice cereal with about 4 tablespoons milk, and let him try that. He certainly seemed excited about it, and ate almost all of it. And most of it ended up in his mouth! Of course, Jeremiah was the most excited of all of us! We took some video and pictures that we'll share later...

Thoughts from the heart

2010-01-27T15:14:00.002-04:00

I've been busy lately. Besides doing the whole "stay-at-home mom" thing, I've been head registrar for a women's retreat that is two days away! This year, there are 107 or 108 women attending. I've enjoyed doing registration, but it's been a lot of work! I've also been spending extra time trying to keep up with the news in Haiti. It's wonderful to see all the aid that is pouring in, but saddening when I realize how huge the disaster is. While the media has stopped doing much coverage on Haiti, I continue to read about it via the links from my previous posts, or talking with missionaries around town. A few staff members from E.C. recently went to the border to deliver food and water; others took a scouting bike trip and established some contacts. Another missionary I talked with has been to Haiti to take supplies to some of the "tent cities" that have been set up. The aid continues to grow, as does the need. Here are some thoughts that I wrote in my journal a few days ago (with some editing):

"Lord, I sit here beneath my roof, inside my house, with all my needs met. Meanwhile, only a few thundered miles away, hundreds of thoursands of people are homeless; many are starving, dieing. I long to do something besides praying and giving. I want to use my hands and feet; I desire to go. But I know my place right now is here, taking care of my own family, caring for my own dear children, while close by so many thousands of children have no one to care for them. So for now I wait, and ache, and pray, and try to be patient..."

And we're still waiting. And praying. Please continue to lift up Haiti in your prayers!

Blog of Missionaries in Haiti

2010-01-19T20:41:00.003-04:00

A family in Haiti is giving daily information on the Haitian aid efforts via their blog. They live in Port au Prince and are doing all they can to help the injured. I came across the link from a news article. It is a blessing to see news that offers hope and encouragement, in spite of the challenges they face. Keep praying!

Praying for Haiti and Organizations that are helping

2010-01-16T15:38:00.001-04:00

I'm sure all of you have been affected by the news on the severe earthquake that our neighbor, Haiti suffered this past week. It's hard to be on the same island and feel as though we personally can do nothing, besides prayer and giving. Escuela Caribe has considered sending a group to Haiti to help out, but has decided to wait until the situation is safer for students. As the situation begins to improve, EC will consider being part of ongoing relief and reconstruction efforts. Right now authorities are requesting that extra people not come across the border, as they are having difficulties getting into the cities to help people. Please pray that the help that is ready can get through to the people that need it!

Many of you may already have contacts with people or organizations that are working to help Haiti. However, for those of you who do not, here are a few suggestions we have of organizations that are helping with the relief effort. Each of these ministries already have relationships with Haiti:

-Missionary Flights International- The same organization that brings us our mail also takes mail to Haiti and participates in disaster relief. They have been posting about their status and work here. If you desire, you can donate to their work under "disaster relief fund" here.

-Kids Alive- We have many close missionary friends that work with Kids Alive here in the D.R. Besides moving some children to their ministry sites in Northern Haiti, Kids Alive is arranging with the Dominican Government to bring some of the displaced Haitian children to their orphanages here in the D.R. If this takes place, the children could arrive as early as Monday, some to the site here in Jarabacoa.
Go here for more information.

-Finally, Compassion International also has ministries in Haiti and are contributing to the relief effort. Read more about their efforts here, and/or donate here.

Please keep these ministries in your prayers as they work to bring relief and help to the children and people of Haiti.

Thoughts for a new year

2010-01-12T15:27:00.004-04:00

As I reflected on this past year, one item stood out among the uncertainties and transitions that defined our 2009; God is in control. Here's an excerpt from my journal that explains my thoughts:

Lord, I thank you for a new year- a reminder that You are in control. Who knows what 2010 will bring? You do. And you have gone before us to prepare the way. I don't need to fear a new year. This past year has taught us that anything can change suddenly, even when we think we are secure. But with you as our captain, we can look toward the future with a sense of adventure. You are in control. When I try to control my life, I end up anxious, worried, stressed, and have my priorities all wrong. When I surrender control, You fill me with peace, joy, freedom, assurance, security, and straightened priorities. Thank you that each day can be new; I don't need to wait until next year!

The other day I listened to a song that expresses this; everytime I hear it I laugh inwardly as I am reminded of how often I try to take control instead of letting go. Praise the Lord He is in control. So many times He has blessed me by giving me exactly what I thought I didn't want!

It's out of my hands- Carolyn Arends

And so I stand here
Looking at all that I have made
Fallen in ruins
And it would seem that

It's out of my hands
There's nothing I can do
The best laid plans
Again have fallen through
I thought my world
Was under my command
Now I can't believe
Just how glad I am
It's out of my hands

My favourite delusion
I must control the universe
Failure brings freedom
You are God, and I'm not so

It's out of my hands
There's nothing I can do
The best laid plans
Again have fallen through
I thought my world
Was under my command
Now I can't believe
Just how glad I am
It's out of my hands

And so I stand here
Looking at all that You have made
Learning to place my
Life in your keeping

It's out of my hands
I know this much is true
The best laid plans
All belong to You
When I know my world
Is under Your command
I can't believe
Just how glad I am
It's out of my hands

The best laid plans
Again have fallen through
I thought my world
Was under my command
Now I can't believe
Just how glad I am
It's out of my hands

Happy Kings Day!

2010-01-06T15:25:00.005-04:00

In the Dominican Republic, families give each other gifts on Kings day instead of Christmas. While Christmas is a day of celebration here, Kings day is the day gifts are exchanged, in rememberance of the gifts the kings brought to Jesus (although I'm sure there are some who give gifts on Christmas as well, since many have lived in the U.S., or have family there). This year we decided to celebrate Kings day, in a way. We didn't do anything big, but it's been nice to leave the Christmas decorations up, continue listening to Christmas music, and extend the Christmas season longer than we usually do. It's been a good reminder to me that Christmas is the celebration of a beginning, and a reason for continued celebration!
We also decided to give Jeremiah his main gift from us today. It seemed silly to take it to the U.S. and bring it back, especially since we hadn't made it yet. So in the U.S. we gave him a few clothes, but today we're giving him a matching/memory game we made. Daniel took some extra wood, cut it into small squares, and painted it with white oil-based paint. Then I used puffy paint we bought while we were in the States to paint numbers, pictures, and letters to make two sets of a matching/memory game. The idea is for him to learn to match the numbers with the number of pictures on the squares, and the capital letters with the lower-case letters. Later we can turn it into a memory game (using some at a time). We only have letters A-O right now. But that's still a lot of squares!
Here's a picture of the completed squares:

In other news, we're going to Pizza and Pepperoni tonight along with other staff to welcome the new staff arriving from Marion!

Christmas Vacation: Part II

2010-01-06T15:00:00.007-04:00

On Sunday, after the wedding, we returned to Chicago for the "Meet Timmy" open house, where we caught up with friends and some family we wouldn't see later.

The Peterson boys!

On Monday we celebrated Aunt Sara's birthday with some Brie cheese:

Tuesday we hung out with my family and saw Aunt Sa and Uncle Brent.
Wednesday we played in the snow with Grandpa Howie and went sledding.

Christmas eve morning we had Christmas with Daniel's family

Christmas Eve night we went to church and then celebrated with the Gerig family

Christmas morning

Great Grandpa and Grandma Gerig came over for Christmas brunch

Then we headed out to have Christmas Dinner with Daniel's extended family.

Family Photo
Saturday we played in the snow.

Sunday we had dinner with both families and then headed back to the D.R. on Monday.
It was a whirlwind of a trip, but we had fun!

And now for all the photos:

Christmas Vacation Part I: Kansas

2009-12-31T09:36:00.005-04:00

After traveling all day Thursday (and the kids were great!), we left Jer with the grandparents and woke up very early Friday morning to fly to Wichita, Kansas.

Here's an overview in pictures (there are more pictures in the album below):

Leah and Regan met us at the airport; then we waited for Erin and her newborn

There we are in the back; Erin, baby, and our family all stayed together with a wonderful family that Leah knew

Wedding rehearsal

The proud groom

The beautiful bride

Reading scripture

D.R. Group

Taylor Group

Eating with friends we met in the D.R.

For even more pictures, see our online album here:

Kansas Visit

Jeremiah's Jingle Bells Video

2009-12-31T09:21:00.002-04:00

Here it is. He's not actually singing (though he'll attempt to sing Jingle Bells on his own or with us). Each child has a bell in each hand and a paper cut-out bell that they're wearing over their shirts. Unfortunately, the video missed the very end when the audience applauded; Jeremiah had a huge smile and looked so proud of himself. It also missed the children bow after that.

Back to normal life- almost

2009-12-30T17:51:00.002-04:00

The past few weeks has been a whirlwind (have you noticed it from my absence of posts?). The week or two before vacation was filled with Christmas events, Jeremiah's Christmas program, Christmas caroling, packing, etc. And then our vacation was very full, but also lots of fun. I have videos and pictures I've been meaning to post, but, alas, blogging has not been my priority. So, I hope to post those pictures and videos soon. And now I should get back to supper before the boys come back from their walk to fetch a free squash.

Our house, before and after

2009-12-08T13:50:00.004-04:00

I finally have some before/after pictures of the new house. I'll post them in parts (as I haven't taken all the "after" pictures yet. For now, we have pictures of our kitcha-dina-living room. A note on colors- all the walls that are painted in the kitcha-dina-living room were originally yellow. I wanted sage and cranberry, but you can't find those colors here (unless we wanted to spend lots of money to have them mix it and hope it turned out well. Which we didn't. Especially because we would get free paint otherwise. So, I chose to go with an avacadoy-sage green and a country rose. We've learned to do a lot of "making-do" living here!
Now for the "Before" pictures:

View from the back of the house to the front door

View to the kitchen (there's not a lot of cabinet space, so we have a lot on shelves

View of the kitchen

View from the door towards the living room (yes, it's a very small house)

Now for the "After" pictures (I took them at different times, so don't think I have up Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations at the same time!)

We put a dresser against the wall to have drawers in the kitchen; both it and our deep freeze (between dresser and door) act as extra counter space. :) Our table just fits between the counter and our large handmade shelf.

Looking into our bedroom and the bathroom

View of the kitchen with spice rack (on far wall next to the stove)

Check out my full-size stove!!! And we plan to change out the faucet as it's very low and hard to use (and I prefer the type of kitchen sink with a lever to bump on when my hands are raw-meaty instead of turning the knobs)We added a lot of decor to the living area

Shelves for decor, books, and DVDs (and a messy computer desk...)

The carpet helps to "set apart" the are as the living room (and Chiste likes to sleep on it) This table we actually bought for a Jer-play table, but since we don't have room, we turned our cheap-white coffee table into a shelf in the bedroom closet, and use this as our coffee table

So there you have it, more pics to come later!

Peterson Photo Albums: November

2009-12-03T15:33:00.004-04:00

Here's what we've been doing lately, in pictures. Each picture below links to a web album in picasa containing many more pictures (it takes me less time to upload pictures to picasa than to put them on the blog).

Trip to Santo Domingo:

In an attempt to amuse myself, I took pictures of the drive home (though I missed the "cashew and jelly" zone, as well as the "giant wooden spoon" zone. Near the end we have pictures of driving into Jarabacoa.

SantoDomingoTrip

Dedication/Picnic/Visit to La Arca:

Two Sundays ago we had Timmy dedicated at our church down in town. Afterward, we went on a picnic along with Brian, a fellow Gerig-ite from Taylor. Then we took him back to la Arca, where he is living (he is serving with Kids Alive) and we visited with friends there.

Dedication/Picnic/LaArca

Thanksgiving Day/Day After:

We had a wonderful thanksgiving day filled with friends, food, and fun. :) The highlights:
-Daniel smoked the turkey and built a fence while I cooked
-Friends came and brought wonderful food
-We celebrated Wendi's birthday
-We relaxed
-The next day I took the boys swimming in the pool here on campus, along with some friends

Thanksgiving

Random pics of the boys:
And, of course, here are some pics of the boys. These include:
-Jer's first time trimming a Christmas tree
-My little teddy bear

Theboys

Enjoy!

Timmy Smiling video

2009-11-26T21:43:00.003-04:00

Here's a video of Timmy smiling and Jeremiah doing lots of talking. :)

Thanksgiving Preparations

2009-11-25T22:19:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow we have our first event at our new house. Other E.C. staff will celebrate Thanksgiving with us for a total of 8 adults and 3 children (plus Timmy). Last year we had around 50, but 11 is a good number for the size of our new house. :)

Others are bringing dishes, but here's what's cooking at our house:

-Turkey- Daniel's smoking the bird. He's currently chopping down some fruit branches to use and has the turkey all prepped with butter and fresh rosemary.

-Gravy- I'm making two gravies- one out of turkey broth (using the giblets), and one from the drippings (this will be very smokey and overpower whatever it is on, so the other gravy will be our main gravy) I have the veggies chopped and ready to use for the turkey broth tomorrow.

-Pies- I made two pies today, a "pumpkin" pie (from auyama, a squash very similar to pumpkin) and a honey oatmeal pie (with coconut and raisins). I found the recipe here.

-Stuffing- the bread and veggies are cut and ready to go in. I'm making a crock pot stuffing this year.

-Bread- I'm making "bubble bread." I'll make the dough in the bread machine, and then go from there.

I'm hoping that Jeremiah will be fever-less tomorrow. Today he "only" spiked in the high 102s taken under his arm (much better than yesterday!). And his cough sounded less "seal-like" today.

So, what are you all doing/making for Thanksgiving this year?

Boys Update

2009-11-24T15:24:00.003-04:00

It's about time I wrote a boys update, seeing as Timmy is 3 months old today!
Here's a little about each boy, including a photo and videos. I haven't posted videos for a year, I think, since we received our new camera (we needed to convert all the videos first).

Timmy: The first few weeks Timmy just slept and ate. But at about 3 weeks old we began having "nursing issues." He screamed most of the time while nursing, had tummy trouble, spat up large amounts of milk, and rarely slept for more than 3 hr stretches. I finally began feeding him on one side only for 2 feedings in a row (about 4 hr stretches). By two months he was doing so much better, and I am now back to one side each feeding. He is now a happy, content boy and wakes up once each night (generally). I'm hoping he doesn't suddenly revert like Jer did!

Favorite activities- He is very smiley. He especially smiles when his cheeks are stroked. He loves massages and bath time. He enjoys chewing on or sucking his hands, or folding them in his lap.

Recent development- He giggles some and I believe he's starting to teethe. He bites me, his hands, or anything else he can get into his mouth. Jer started to teethe about this time too, but the teeth didn't come in for a long, long time. We'll see what this little guy does.

(Having difficulty with the Timmy smiling video; I'll get it up when I can!)

Jeremiah:
Jeremiah has transitioned well into being a big brother and into the new house. He loves his little brother, continues to be a great helper, and calls Timmy "Timoteo" (Timothy in Spanish). He rarely naps anymore, but still takes his "quiet time" each afternoon (he is napping right now, but that's because he's sick). He is very popular here, especially with the teenage girls.

Favorite activities- Jeremiah loves going to school. He also enjoys singing the ABCs and "reading."He likes helping mommy and daddy, being silly, and eating. His favorite food is huevos (eggs). I think he would eat them at every meal if he could. He also likes fruit. There's rarely a food he doesn't like, including eggplant and zucchini!

Recent Development- He's learned a lot since being in preschool. Not only does he know lots of Spanish and English, he recognizes several shapes, all the letters, and some numbers. He knows the main sounds of the letters A-I (but has difficulty pronouncing the C and G sounds). He says the alphabet, but misses letters here and there. He can count to ten in English and recognizes several colors. He uses "one" and "two" in context (counts how many things there are). He has also progressed from calling himself "Iah" to "Jeremiah." Apparently he's also learned to cover his mouth when he coughs and raise his hand. The other evening at dinner I asked him a question (not a yes or no question). He raised his hand. I humored him and called on him and he promptly answered "Yes." Whenever we read a psalm in the morning and ask questions, he answers with "Obey." I guess that's a good answer, even if it doesn't always apply. :)

And the car saga continues...

2009-11-18T13:42:00.004-04:00

Have I mentioned I hate driving? Honestly, I love this country. But I do not like driving here.
I long for the easy, pleasant driving of a long stretch of road through Indiana cornfields. Or even Chicago driving; that seems like a piece of cake to me now. But, alas, if we're going to live on a beautiful tropical island on a mountain, we have to take the stresses that come with it.

Today was my first time driving off campus since the motorcycle accident. I was a little nervous, but determined to make the best of it. Driving through town to pick up the kids always increases my stress level, and the addition of the recent accident made me even more tense. However, everything was going well. Until I passed the police station and the police pulled me over. That did it. My stress level maxed out and I broke down (into tears that is). I felt stupid for crying, which just made it worse, of course. The policeman kept assuring me I wasn't getting a ticket, they wanted to help me, and not to cry. That didn't help either. (I'd already figured out by this point that our registration sticker had expired). And so I sat in the hot sun in the car and tried to figure out what to do, as it became apparent they weren't going to let me go anywhere.

In my overwhelmed-ness I couldn't remember E.C.'s phone number, and was in no state to converse in Spanish. So I called JCS, told them I was having problems (since I'd be late to pick up the kids) and asked for E.C.'s phone number. Then I called Daniel and handed the phone to the policeman for Daniel to deal with the Spanish. They said I could go pick up the kids, but Daniel would have to buy the sticker today.

Apparently the sticker's expired yesterday (they do not put an date on the sticker itself). The school let all the staff know that this was coming a few months ago. However, we weren't on staff a few months ago. And JCS probably just did it this past month (and we were gone by then). So we kind-of missed that announcement. As apparently did other people, because I was not the only one being pulled over.

I felt silly for crying over such a small thing- until I found out later that they could have impounded my car if they had wanted.

Sigh. I really just want an uneventful trip when I go to pick up the kids!

What's been keeping us busy...

2009-11-14T09:31:00.004-04:00

Here's a quick run-down on what we've been doing lately:

1) Baking- After reading the many baking posts on Beth's blog and seeing all the pictures of delicious foods, I finally felt motivated to get with it and bake some of the foods on my list. As a result, on Monday I had a baking day and made granola, granola bars, 2 pizzas and 18 hot pockets (like mini calzones; I made 6 of each type: pizza, broccoli and cheese, and cheese and ham). I would have taken pictures, but I couldn't find the camera just then.

2) Organizing la casa- It's coming together little-by-little. Furniture is in place, we've unpacked all the boxes (that aren't used for storage), we've put up the long-term decor, and I decorated the house for fall. Once we hang the curtains, I'll take the "after" pictures. :)

3) Storage- We need to use creativity to fit into this house! Therefor, we've put the extra dressers, plastic bins and shelf units, Jer's bunk bed, and the porch to good use. Yesterday Daniel (he had Friday off because he had training on Monday, his normal day off) bought the supplies and built this for more storage. Jeremiah helped him in the afternoon, and Daniel even allowed me to pound a few nails (and help in setting on the roof). The "outhouse" (as I lovingly call it) is 8 feet tall, 4 feet wide, and 4 feet deep.

4) Working on Christmas gifts- I ordered yarn to crochet some gifts this year, and it came last mailing day. I made Jeremiah a helmet hat and slippers this week, and started on a hooded sweater for Timmy (it will be big, but I know he will grow into it).

I hope to post an update on the boys sometime soon that includes pictures and video (I know it's been a while). If I haven't, bug me about it. I'm sure the grandparents are longing to see photos of the boys!

The storage shed (no door and shelves yet)

Jer's Christmas gift

Yet another reason to dislike driving in the D.R.

2009-11-10T16:38:00.002-04:00

Driving here scares me. I'm tense the entire time I'm behind the wheel. Cars and motorcycles drive in the left lane to turn left; motorcycles often pass you on the left as you're attempting to turn left; stoplight often are not working, or they don't bother replacing a light. But you never know which it is. So, if the light is out it could really be out, or it could mean it's a green light that hasn't been replaced. Or a red. You just have to guess.
Unfortunately, in spite of my dislike of driving here, I have to drive fairly often as I pick up the kids from preschool each day (we carpool). Today on my way to pick them up I received another reason to add to my list of reasons to dislike driving.
While on my way out of the big main gate, a woman (who works there doing cleaning/cooking, etc.) asked if I was going into town and said she was going to JCS. This worked out perfectly, as this was where I was going as well. As we talked, I discovered that she's the mother of Jeremiah's teacher. While driving along the main road towards town, I noticed one motorcycle passing another. Suddenly the motorcycles hit and one of them started sliding right towards me! I slammed on the brakes, but our car doesn't stop very quickly. Either way, it didn't matter because he was still moving towards me, and hit/slid right under my car. Thankfully, the driver of the motorcycle was okay (he stood up and was talking to the crowd that had gathered). He then went to the hospital. The other motorcyclist was long gone.
After seeing that the man was uninjured, I immediately thought about the car. Meanwhile, I realized I had left my cell phone back at E.C. The woman, however, had a cell phone and called E.C. right away. They sent down their driver to come pick us up and take us to JCS.
Upon looking at my car, the Dominicans present everything was fine. I had my doubts, however, as I vaguely remembered it had made a terrible noise before I turned it off. As soon as I turned the ignition, the noise began again. No, this car was definitely not going anywhere.
The driver from E.C. arrived, we locked up the car, and headed to JCS. Once there, I picked up the kids and we headed back to the car, where the director had driven with Daniel. They determined the radiator had a whole and was pushed up against the cooling fan. We would need to call our mechanic to come to the car and fix it, as it could not be driven (tow trucks, what are they?). So, as of now, the car is still sitting down there on the road, locked up, with the club on the steering-wheel.
In all of this, I was thankful that things were not worse. Praise the Lord that the man on the motorcycle was okay, that I was neither alone, nor with the kids (someone was watching Timmy for me), that even though I forgot my cell phone, the woman with me had one, and that E.C. took such good care of us!
Update: Daniel just called to tell me that the mechanic brought our car to his shop. Yay!!!

Our New House

2009-11-02T20:54:00.004-04:00

Hi! Remember me? I've been absent for a bit, as we've been setting up our new house. I'm not putting up pictures of the new house quite yet, as I want it to be a little more "together," but I do have some pictures of the beautiful area around the house that I'd like to share. But first, a little about our house:

There are advantages and disadvantages to our new house. Most of the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The disadvantages are:
-smaller house (1/2 the size)
-ants, ants, everywhere! And they bite!
-smaller fridge with the freezer inside the fridge. But we have a deep freeze, so it's not too big a deal

The advantages include:
-We live on campus, so I'm close to Daniel and other staff members. Daniel can visit me for lunch, or I can visit him. I can also participate in any evening events and still come home to put the boys to bed and Daniel can walk up later (on the 31st we had a fall festival and I got to square dance!)
-In spite of the above, we have more privacy than our last house. We're near the top of campus and mostly surrounded by trees. No cars or motorcycles driving by our house (the road is up a little hill and it only goes to our house, the house above us, and dead ends at the house just below and if front of us)
-We're very taken care of (if there are problems with water, electricity, internet, etc., they fix the problems!)
-A REAL OVEN!!! I haven't baked in an oven that holds more than 1 cookie sheet (until we stuck in another grate, but it didn't work very well) in over 4 years!!!
-We have one glass window (and the others are the typical Dominican slated windows). But a glass window, what a luxury!!!
-Our funny-looking neighbor, Monica, across from us. She likes to yell "hi" to us (in her own language) and swing from trees. Did I mention she's a monkey?
-The beautiful nature around us. The view from our porch is amazing, and we have a little stream that trickles behind us. We also have a banana tree in our backyard and a guava tree in the front (I used the almost over-ripe guavas to make a yummy dessert).
Okay, and now for the pics!!

Since it takes less time to upload pics to my Picasa web albums, and our connection isn't very good, I'll link to the album (there are some bonus pics of Jer and Timmy).

Moving Adventures and two wonderful boys!

2009-10-23T20:36:00.003-04:00

This week- especially these past two days- have been full of packing. Yesterday Jeremiah woke up with a bad cough, so we kept him home; today was the end of a quarter, so there was no school. So, Jer's been with me all day for my super packing days.
Today was an extra stressful day. I was packing all morning and feeling weak and exhausted. I had a few loads of laundry to put away, as well as a few to do and hang. I'd tried to carry Timmy in the carrier, but my back was aching and it was difficult to do any packing/moving. As a result, he was in his baby seat most of the day.
The plan for the day was to meet Daniel at work for lunch with a load of boxes in the car, then drive up to the house, unload, do some unpacking, etc. However, due to my tiredness/dizziness/not-thinking, etc. I locked the keys in the car. So, when Daniel had lunch break he borrowed a dirt bike, unlocked the vehicle, and I drove the car while he biked back up. As a result, we didn't end up eating lunch until 1:30, but Jeremiah never complained and was such a wonderful boy all morning! Timmy only fussed in his baby seat when he was hungry; as soon as he was fed and/or changed, he was content again.
After lunch I drove the car up to the house. Jeremiah was excited and immediately went to "his room." I had brought sheets and a pillow (and a box of books), and I put them on his new bunk bed, gave him the books, and left him for his quiet time. He happily complied and after about 1/2 an hour had fallen asleep. Meanwhile, I decided to take a break and relax, at which point Timmy started fussing. so I walked around the house (the outside, there's not much walking room inside) while holding him, enjoying the break of packing/unpacking while snuggling my sweet baby.
All in all, in spite of an exhausting day, the boys were amazingly wonderful, for which I am so very thankful!
More packing and moving tomorrow; we'll spend all Sunday and Sunday night there, and then Monday is the "big moving day" when the majority of our stuff will go. It's coming along and I can't wait to be all moved in!

Timmy Smiles, Monkey boys, and other random pictures

2009-10-19T10:39:00.007-04:00

Timmy Smiles!

Jeremiah showing off his smile

Timmy smiling up at his big brother

Matching Monkey PJs

Timmy's new Moses basket

Bath time!

Jeremiah giving Timmy his book

Riding in a wagon with puppies- every little boy's dream :)

Jeremiah's bed

Urgent Prayer Request and Need: Please Read

2009-10-17T20:32:00.006-04:00

Some friends of ours, Reuben and Amanda, have an urgent need. They live here in the Dominican Republic (she is American) and recently gave birth to a little boy (sometime in June or July) with what they believe is Holt-Oram syndrome (a syndrome that affects the hand/arms and often the heart). He has not been officially diagnosed because the doctors here "aren't too sure," but they have an appointment for him on December 9th in Erie, PN, to determine if he will qualify for a free surgery to fix his hands and arm. However, they have no money for the plane ticket or the costs of transportation in the States, fees for leaving/entering the country, etc.

So please pray:

-That the doctor's would be able to diagnose him and that he will qualify for the operation.
-That they will obtain his passport before they need to travel.
-That they will have sufficient funds to cover all the costs of travel, staying in the States, etc.
-That God would bring peace to Reuben and Amanda, as well as their 1 1/2 yr old daughter, especially as it is difficult to deal with medical issues in a developing county.

Please join us in praying for this sweet little boy! And if you have the desire and ability to help them out financially, please let me know and I'll send you their information. Thank you!

Menu Plan

2009-10-12T11:13:00.004-04:00

So it was recently brought to my attention that I have failed to update my menu plan since, oh.... last New Years (yikes!). I'd like to blame it on being pregnant and having a baby.
Anyway, do not worry- we have been eating since then, even though I have not put up the menu until now. The latest new dish we've tried was gundules con coco (pigeon peas with coconut milk) over rice. It was super yummy! Jeremiah had seconds... and maybe even thirds.
Our new freezer is also full, which will be helpful while we're moving (2 more weeks) so I won't need to worry about cooking (but it will mean transporting a very heavy freezer).
My binder or recipes that are easy and frugal is growing! I print out the recipes and put them in plastic sleeves so they won't get icky while I'm cooking/baking. If you love homemade, frugal-minded recipes, check out these websites I use often:
Hillbilly Housewives
$5 Dinners

And, on the food note, in case any one was wondering, this is the last thing I ate before going into labor...

A waffle sundae made with chocolate waffles, bananas, vanilla ice-cream , chocolate chips, and home-made caramel sauce. No wonder Timmy didn't want to come out, he was enjoying the food inside!

Meet the Big Brother!

2009-10-05T16:20:00.006-04:00

Jeremiah loves Timmy! He gives him kisses and "snuggles" before bed (and other times), tries to share things with him (stickers, juice- by attempting to pour it on him, and bread- mommy had to nix this one and the juice), and makes sure he has a blanket (we have to watch him so he doesn't put it on Timmy's head). Here are some pics of the big brother on duty. :)

Jeremiah brought his chair over by Timmy so he could look after his little brother

All smiles!

Taking care of Timmy

Other Random Pictures of the Boys:

Jeremiah is our "drink" boy; he has juice, milk, and water (he likes to put coasters out on the coffee table, line them up, and put his drinks on top. And of course everyone has to have a coaster for their drink and he insists on putting them all away before he goes to bed)

Dressed all in blue!

Here are some pics from Daniel's last day at JCS:

The staff had a surprise party for him. Here's the yummy cake:

Jeremiah enjoyed an icing flower (he didn't eat the wire)

One last pic in Daddy's office

And guess who slept through the whole thing?

And another chapter ends...

2009-09-30T16:00:00.005-04:00

In June, Daniel and I were thinking we'd be with JCS for at least another two years or longer. Now, four months later, Daniel just finished his last day at JCS and will be starting a new job on Tuesday. How'd we get from there to here? It happened gradually...

At the end of the school year, we both agreed that Daniel would need some help in administration if he was going to make it another year. Since we've been here, there have always been two education administrators, and usually a secretary. However, last year Daniel was the only one. He was doing the job of two admins, plus a secretary (he had none), plus trying to work on accreditation (ACSI suggests hiring someone full-time for that job alone). So, he was pretty overwhelmed. To our excitement, someone applied for a teaching job at JCS who was way over-qualified and had been a superintendent. As a result, the thought came up that this person could do the director role, and Daniel could take on the secondary-admin job (which is what he wanted to do in the first place). We were happy with this, as it meant less stress (which was super important with a newborn coming!).

However, things did not take that route. The person who would have come down to be the director discovered that he needed heart surgery and, as a result, could not come. After being excited about Daniel taking on less responsibility, it was difficult to think about him picking it back up with no assistant administrator to help him. On top of that, several questionable decisions were made with which Daniel did not agree. Finally, we realized that he could no longer continue in the director role. He announced his resignation in August but agreed to stay on for the beginning of the school year to help with the transition. Meanwhile, we began to pray about what God wanted us to do next.

In the midst of this, Timmy entered the scene. Though this added extra stress, it also gave us something more important to think about. It reminded us that no matter where God leads us, our family is our primary ministry to Him. He has led us far from where I thought we would go. Instead of becoming more involved in the Dominican community, he has led us to a different type of community. Instead of staying in our beautiful, big (comparatively) house, we will be moving to a house half the size (but with a gorgeous view!). Though at first these things made me anxious, I now have peace remembering that it doesn't matter where we are, or how big (or small) our house is, or what we own. What matters is that we are serving God, first through our family, and then through the place where God has led us.

We would appreciate your prayers during this time of transition for us and for JCS.

Happy 1 month, Timmy

2009-09-29T15:35:00.004-04:00

Okay, so I'm almost a week late. I meant to post this earlier, but time just got away from me some how, probably because I was chasing a toddler, caring for a fussy baby, and trying to keep on top of dishes, meals, etc.
Anyway, last Thursday Timmy was one month old. It just so happened to be a day off from school, so we had a family day! We enjoyed a yummy brunch, took a walk down to the river (Jeremiah played in the river and found rocks for his collection), had an afternoon treat of ice cream, and relaxed in the evening (and ate smoked fish caught by a friend). Here are some pictures from the day:

Ready for our walk!

Enjoying ice-cream

Jer "holding" the baby

Random pics of the boys:

What big eyes you have!

Sleeping baby

Jer attacking the camera (wearing his Wisconsin outfit from his aunt)

Wearing his cool Illini clothes

For more pics of the boys, view my picasa albums:

Timothy Birth

september

Life right now...

2009-09-22T20:27:00.002-04:00

Here's a glimpse at daily life right now:

-Nursing, nursing, and more nursing
-Burping a baby; cleaning up lots of spit-up (we think he has some acid reflux- we can't lay him down flat without fear of spit-up and lots of crying; he's sleeping reclined)
-Changing baby diapers
-Dealing with temper tantrums from a 2 year old (but they're really not too bad considering all the transitions going on)
-Napping
-Staring off in to space/playing spider solitaire on my computer/attempting to think but having a difficult time because I feel like I'm in a daze most of the time
-Thinking about getting things done around the house, but am too tired to do much of anything (I wasn't nearly this exhausted with Jer!)
-Trying to figure out if we have any water left in the cistern and where we can find more (hooking our hose to a neighbor's pump when they're willing)
-washing diapers
-trying to figure out Jer's next health issue (first pro-longed severe diaper rash; then cold and ear ache when baby came home that he shared with everyone in the house- the cold, not the ear-ache; now a wierd skin rash on most of his body that the doctor thinks is a skin-strep infection. the strange thing is that it doesn't even bother him
-wondering why my jaws feel tight and constantly ache (since Timmy was born; I must be too tense)
-Trying not to be anxious about the future and all the changes coming up

So, I haven't put any energy into blogging. I have pics I'll need to put up, but it takes so much energy to upload them with our snail-paced internet connection...

I can't think of anything else to say, so bye for now...

Things I found myself telling Jer today...

2009-09-12T13:18:00.002-04:00

"Suave con the baby!" as he forcefully rocked Timmy in the baby seat (okay, my Spanglish is pretty bad too)
"No, don't lick the baby!"
"Please don't blow your nose on the baby." (as he put his nose on the baby and blew)
"Don't put the blanket on the baby's face." (as he tries to use the burp cloth as a blanket )
"Don't cough on the baby!" (as he purposely leans over and coughs all over Timmy)
Jeremiah really does love his baby brother and wants to help take care of him, but he's still a little rough (which is to be expected).
But, on a positive note, Jeremiah did tuck the burp cloth nicely around Timmy in his baby seat, helped do the dishes, and wipe off the place mats and table for us. I do think he'll be a great big brother!

My Little Spanglish Boy

2009-09-10T19:48:00.002-04:00

He can count to 10 in English... almost. When he gets to 8 he says 0cho instead of eight. Then he says nine and ten in English. I'm not sure how he figured out that ocho and eight are the same thing, since we always count to 10 in one language. He know the Spanish numbers to 10 too, but he skips 5. Not sure what he has against it. And we've noticed a new Spanish word he brought home from school- "Mio!" (Mine). He already knew mine, but now he says it in Spanish. Which I think is cuter (if saying "mine!" is ever cute).
As far as letters go, we're focusing on just English right now. It's so confusing between the vowels, etc. that we decided to stick to one language at first. Though he doesn't know the order of the letters, he can recognize and name each letter!
And thus concludes a brief "Jer update."

Our Weekend Adventures

2009-09-07T11:57:00.007-04:00

Starting with Friday:

We had the firetruck follow us home to put water in our cistern (still trying to figure out the water problem, and why we don't have city water).

I snuck a picture through the window; there's the fireman filling the cistern

Jeremiah helped Grammy Dee make lasagna for dinner (he's putting on zucchini)

Now for Saturday: We went down to Santiago for my check-up; while there we took a trip to PriceSmart (like Sams club), bought a pizza there after shopping, and went to the monument to eat it (the pizza, not the monument).

Daniel carrying Timmy in PriceSmart

The monument; the parking lot was filled with pigeons. If you wanted, you could buy feed and have the pigeons swarm your car... not sure why you'd want to pay for that...

Sitting down for pizza

View from the monument

Our family :)

Making a potty stop for Jer on the side of the highway

Sunday we went to church; it was fun to introduce Timothy to our friends

Another family photo (at church)

After lunch and nap-time we went to a neighbor's birthday party (Anthony turned 3)

Timmy with Grammy Dee and Grandpa How

The birthday boy is standing in the middle; Jer's on the far left

And now for other random pictures:

Snuggling with Jer

Me and my boys

Jer and his new blocks

The First Week

2009-09-01T10:30:00.004-04:00

Here's a brief recap of Timmy's first week:
-Born Monday
-Grandpa How. arrived Tuesday night to take care of Jer
-Went home Wednesday afternoon
-Jer stayed home from school sick on Thur.
-Grammy Dee arrived Thursday night
-Jer stayed home again Friday; Both Timmy and Jer get lots of good attention from grandparents
-Mommy, Daddy, and Timmy went down to Santiago Saturday for a check-up; Timmy is doing well and the jaundice is normal (nothing excessive, not beyond what many newborns have, just need to give him sunbaths in morning and evening like we did with Jer, who was worse)
-Sunday- relax with family; meet Nonna and Grandpa Rod via web-cam
-Monday- Jer. goes back to school; Grandpa How. subs at JCS; big thunderstorm; yummy pizza

Timmy enjoying his rocker/baby seat

Timmy and Grammy Dee

Jer and Grandpa How going on a walk

The boys :)

Playing "dress-up"

First day wearing his uniform to school

Grandpa How dressed to substitute teach with Jer in his school shirt (notice the matching logos)

Enjoying his pizza :)

Mommy and Daddy enjoying pizza

Timothy Edward Peterson: The Story

2009-08-27T18:36:00.007-04:00

Here's the birth story of our newest addition; read only if you like birth stories. :) Pictures will follow.

I woke up Sunday night, at about 12:45 with pain. I figured at first it was the normal Braxton Hicks contractions (I'd had similar pains before). However, they didn't go away. I quickly gave up on going back to sleep. At this point, the contractions were 10-15 minutes apart. After a while of this, and realizing that the contractions were stronger than the "practice" ones I'd felt throughout the pregnancy, Daniel and I decided to start getting things ready, knowing we'd be going to the hospital sometime within the day. As we prepared, the contractions grew stronger and more frequent (6-9 minutes apart). However, they were nothing unbearable. We finally called the doctor at about 3:30, and based on the factors, the doctor agreed that we should come in right away. (Factors being: this was a second child, the hospital was almost an hour away, and he wanted to monitor me since I'd had a previous c-section)
So, we called Leslie, a missionary here who is a pediatrician and was present for Jer's birth too, asked if she could come with us, and then called Becky, another good friend and asked if she could come and watch Jer. Yay for friends! Soon, we were on our way to the hospital. We arrived, checked in, and went up to the birthing wing, where I was connected to the monitor. My contractions seemed to level out for a time, at about 5 minutes apart. However, I was only dilated 2, and then 3 cm. The baby had still not moved into the birth canal. The doctor wanted to give us time, figuring the contractions would force the baby into the right position and that I would continue to dilate. He said the baby's head was too far in one direction and having difficulty entering the canal. The contractions became increasingly painful and frequent, and it felt to me like the baby was trying to force it's way out the front. Around 8 or 8:30, the doctor came in and verified that the baby was pressing towards the front and still had not entered the birth canal (and I was still only dilated to 3 cm). He was concerned because all the pressure of the contractions was directed at my previous incision. If it continued, there was a risk that the incision would rupture (this is why it's extremely rare, unfortunately, that doctors here even let women try a vaginal birth after a cesarean). The doctor told me he would like to go ahead and do the c-section, and Leslie confirmed that it was a wise decision, given the circumstances. I was disappointed, but had prepared myself for the possibility. I was also grateful that the doctor had been so willing to help me try to have the baby naturally.
So, an hour later they prepared me for the c-section. That hour before, however, was unbearable, as the contractions continued coming with strength and frequency, and I didn't have the satisfaction of knowing that they were leading me towards a higher goal!
Finally, everything was ready and they began the c-section. This time, I was much more aware of what was going on. Unfortunately, that meant I felt all the uncomfortable, painful pressure that I did not realized accompanied a c-section. Out came Timothy, and they brought him over so I could give him lots of little kisses. Then they wheeled me to the "recovery" area, which was an open room off the main hall of the birthing ward (essentially I was in a hallway). I slept for about an hour, then couldn't sleep any more due to the lights and noise. Eventually they brought Timothy to me for nursing, and a little later (though it seemed like forever), they finally moved me to a room and brought back Timothy.
All together, it was a much better experience than the first c-section, due to the cleaner, nicer, more professional hospital and staff. The only complaint I had was the wait for my room and the fact that they forgot to bring me my breakfast (liquid diet) the morning after the c-section (I couldn't have anything before that time), even though the doctor, and others put in the request for it. I didn't get my soap and jello until lunch! But, the nurses were very helpful and professional (and even wore gloves!). I recovered much more quickly than I did the first time. The pediatrician spoke English and we were very impressed by her (she actually ran blood tests, etc. on Timothy, noticed he was Jaundiced and talked to us about it, etc.). The pediatrician there for Jer's birth really didn't say much of anything.
So, overall we are extremely satisfied with the hospital, doctors, and staff.

Since being home, it's been a crazy transition. We were so glad that Daniel's dad was able to fly in on Tuesday to help out. Jeremiah did very well the first few days of us being gone. However, he didn't sleep very well Tuesday night and caught a cold from school. Wednesday evening (the day we arrived home) he was extremely cranky and somehow bit or cut his tongue. So that's added to his fussiness; every time he tried to eat he says "hurt" and starts to cry. Poor boy; it's been a tough transition and he has a cold and hurt tongue on top of it all.
Okay, now to the good part; the pictures:

Leslie, Me, and Timmy

First family photo (Jer came to visit Tues)

Finding the baby's nose

Jeremiah's big brother gift (thanks to friends!)

Finding his hands

Going home!

Welcome home sign made by the 2nd graders

Jer excited over Timmy

Beautiful flowers from JCS

And for comparison, big brother Jeremiah in the same homecoming outfit, 2 years ago:

(I love how different they look in spite of the same outfit; to my eyes anyway!)

WELCOME TIMOTHY EDWARD PETERSON

2009-08-24T11:57:00.003-04:00

Teresa started having contractions at 1am and we headed to the hospital at about 4. We started to try a normal birth, but after a few hours, the doctor said the baby was not lined up correctly and so Teresa was at risk of rupturing at the old incision. They ended up doing a cesarean and Timothy and Teresa are both healthy. Timothy was born 6 lb. 12 oz. at about about 10:00am.

Mommy and baby

Baby Timothy!

More to come later... need to get back to the mommy. God bless you all!
-Daniel

Congratulations!!

2009-08-22T19:47:00.002-04:00

Congratulations to Ashley and Paul who's baby girl, Savannah, arrived today! I'm so excited for them and look forward to hearing all about it! :-D You can see a picture of her here.

Meet-and-Greet Monday: Jeremiah goes to school

2009-08-17T09:54:00.007-04:00

Today was Jeremiah's big day- the first day of preschool! JCS starts preschool at age 2, for language acquisition purposes. Even though it's going to be mostly in English, the kids will all come in speaking Spanish, and I'm hoping Jeremiah will pick up more Spanish than he does at home. I wasn't worried about him having a good time- but I was worried that I would be lonely without him (I love having my buddy with me). However, I was surprised how quickly the morning went and how much I enjoyed the quiet (but, of course, I won't have that for long!). Daniel biked in with Jeremiah and said he went easily to his seat and started playing. The times that he peaked in the classroom Jeremiah was playing and enjoying himself. Daniel also once heard him down the hall in the bathroom yelling, "Pee-pee, yay!" The teacher informed us that he didn't cry at all (many of the 2 yr olds cry the first day). I'm not surprised, as he's super social and the school is a familiar, fun place to him. After a quiet morning, I drove to school at noon, had lunch with the boy and daddy, came home, snuggled with Jer, and put him down for his nap.
Anyway, here are the pics (and some other random ones as well):

This is the "practice" (introducing him to his back-pack)

And here's the real deal:
(no uniform yet, they're back-ordered)

Off they go!

And now for some random pics:

Jer. still has a thing with putting underwear on his head

So we found him a hat

Helping daddy with yard work

A random chicken that some how made it into our yard (we have a very tall fence)

10 beautiful, big mangos for just under $3 total
(I love mango season!)

And that's all for now! For more meet-and-greet, go to Beth's page.

Saga of the Wall

2009-08-16T19:19:00.004-04:00

Well, the saga of the wall has officially ended. Just before we moved into our current house last year (in March '08), we did some painting. We decided the orange walls had to go (one was in the kitchen/living area, the other was in our bedroom. I love blue, so of course we decided to go for blue in the bedroom (and navy in the living area). The navy wall turned out lovely and was finished before we moved in. However, we had some trouble with our bedroom wall. You see, there isn't any good way to really find out what color the paints dry here. You can look at their samples (and not take them with you), but that doesn't mean the color will actually turn out anything remotely similar. So, we tried our best and bought a blue we thought would work. Daniel started "cutting in" the top edge. Ugh- the blue was a very dark blue that wouldn't work in a bedroom. So, we started over. I wanted a "slightly-darker-than-sky-blue" blue. Once again, Daniel went out to try his best and bought a quart to test it. It ended up being a kinda light-turquoise blue. We decided that was do-able (and since then bought a comforter that coordinated, so it worked nicely). However, there was not enough in the can to finish the wall. This left a wall that was turquoise up to the top of window-level, orange the rest of the way, with a dark blue around the top edging. We moved in shortly there-after, and the poor wall has stayed that way, untouched and rather hodgepodged. That is, up until yesterday. On Saturday, we finally finished painting the wall! And now we have a nice, all-light-turquoise-blue wall. And so the wall saga has ended happily, just in time for a little one to be born and rest it's little head across from the now-completed wall.

Meet-and-Greet Monday: Jeremiah's big day!

2009-08-10T21:17:00.006-04:00

Saturday was Jeremiah's 2nd b-day. We celebrated with a kid (family) party in the morning. It was fun to have kids running around the yard, playing in the pool, etc. And the parents were a huge help (helped ice the cupcakes, do dishes, etc.). Snacks consisted of fruit kabobs, ham-cheese dip and crackers, and bread sticks (and cake, of course). Jeremiah had a great time, but was too excited later that afternoon to take his nap (but he was willing to read books for about an hour). Here are a few of the highlights; check out all the pics from the party at my picasa album!

Here he is trying to stay awake (notice the Mickey Mouse cup and plate):

Showing off that he's 2!

My first attempt at a decorated cake (I cheated and used a cake mix from the box)

With his birthday cake (he gently stuck his fingers in the eyes and licked them):

However, after a few licks of his small piece of cake, he was more interested in the food on the rest of his plate

Time for presents!

He was very excited about his toothpaste and toothbrush; here he's showing off his teeth

Playing with his new "choo-choo"

Jeremiah and Micah (she came early to help; she made the fruit kabobs and the dough for the breadsticks!)

Jer's new apron (I made it for when he helps me in the kitchen)

He loves letters!

And for more pictures from the "birthday weekend" (and to see Jeremiah with underwear on his head) go to my picasa album:

Jer's birthday weekend

For more Meet-and-Greet, see Beth's page.

Long time, no blog :(

2009-08-07T15:52:00.003-04:00

So it's been a while since I've posted. Some of this is related to life's busy-ness, but a lot of it has been related to having no-emotional energy. And it does take energy to think of what to write, and, when I don't write and just put up pictures, it takes forever to upload the pics via our internet connection.

A lot has happened in this past month. What has been the most on my heart and mind, however, I can't talk about yet (which has also added to me not blogging). But, here's a run down of some of what's kept us busy:
-Party for Daniel's birthday (smoked b-b-q ribs- yummmm)
-Play dates for Jeremiah (and talk times for mommy!)
-Weekend in Bonao visiting the family of a former JCS employee. Enjoyed dinner on the roof and swimming in a pool
-Quick visit to San Fransisco de Macoris to visit other former JCS employees that just recently had a baby.
-Celebrated our 12th year dating anniversary
-Started teacher training
-Preparing to celebrate Jeremiah's 2nd birthday (tomorrow!)

So, after Jer's birthday party I'll have pictures to post (and, hopefully, energy to post them). I'm even going to attempt icing a Mickey Mouse birthday cake!

2009-07-14T20:47:00.003-04:00

An account of our adventures (hiking, campfire, scary bridge, playing in the river) and mis-adventures (falling rat, little boy who wouldn't sleep, etc.):

So I'm a little late for Meet-and-Greet Monday. Ah, well.

For Daniel's birthday (Friday) we went "camping" in a little community up the mountain from Jarabacoa. We arrived, parked our car at the top, and proceeded to "walk" down the stairs to the valley below. I carried Jeremiah on my back, and Daniel carried all the "stuff" in his hiking back-pack. After settling into our cabin, we went down a little further to the river, where we started a fire for dinner. Jeremiah helped gather the sticks and attempted to roast his own hot-dog (which didn't last for long). Dinner consisted of hot dogs, veggies packets, and stick-bread covered in butter and cinnamon-sugar. Mmmmm.... Of course, we had forgotten the flour, so we had to run up and ask if we could buy some flour off of somebody. After finally locating some flour, we were able to make the stick-bread. By this time it was very late, so we hurried to put Jeremiah down for bed. We had just transitioned him two days earlier to a mattress on the ground (in preparation for the bed his grandpa is going to make him). However, he was not keen on sleeping on a mattress in an unknown place. We went through his night-time routine, but him on the mattress, and went outside to sit on the porch. When he started screaming and crying we knew we should go back in. This turned into 40 minutes of Daniel and I laying on our bed and singing/ignoring him (he wouldn't accept any comfort from us) while he threw a temper tantrum and declared "no nigh-nigh. Iah side!" (This translates to "no sleep, Jeremiah wants to go outside" for you who don't understand toddler-talk.) Suddenly in the middle of his ranting he stopped and said, "Nigh nigh, Iah," laid down on the mattress and didn' t say another word. After 10 or so minutes of silence, we snuck back outside. It was 9:50 by this time. Be attempted to go to sleep shortly after.
By "attempted" I mean just that. I had trouble falling asleep, being 7 months pregnant and wondered what large animal was on the roof (after all, they have no small mammals here besides rats and mice). Hmmm.... a few minutes of wondering, and I hear something slide down the side of the cabin, and feel something on me. I immediately pushed it off. I have no idea where it went. But of course, for the rest of the night I didn't get much sleep, worrying about the rat falling on me again! (and listening to it climbing around the cabin). Praise the Lord that Jeremiah slept through it all and that the rat left him alone! I kept scooting further and further down the bed, away from the wall. I eventually fell into a very fitful sleep with strange dreams (but luckily, no dreams of rats).
The next morning we woke at 8:00 (well, I woke earlier but kept falling back asleep) and had breakfast at a little restaurant/meeting room. They use the room when if they have groups, etc. But since it was just us, the guy in charge made us breakfast at his house and brought it to the restaurant. After a very satisfying meal, we decided to go hiking and explore. Three local girls showed us the way across the bridge and to a path leading to a "pear" tree (not American pears). We played by the river for a bit, hiked a little more, and then headed back to swim in another part of the river. After a picnic lunch, we went back to the cabin for nap time. Jeremiah didn't nap, but he was content to roll around on the mattress, talk to himself, etc, so Daniel was able to nap. :) Shortly after that, we packed up and headed back up to the road.
In all, we had a fun time as a family, despite the rat, the lack of sleep, and, oh yeah, the fact that we forgot our toiletries as well. I'd love to go back and stay at the cabins again- as long as we knew there were no rats! But it is close enough for a day trip, as well. :)

The view of the valley from the road

The "steps" we hiked down

Jeremiah attempting to roast his hot-dog while shielding himself from the smoke

For more pictures of our adventures, including the scary bridge, our hike, our cabin, and cool flowers, click on, or view, the slide show below (sorry, no photo of the rat).

Jarabacoa Christian School needs...

2009-07-13T11:19:00.003-04:00

Please pass this on to anyone interested in helping out! Here are some needs we have for this school year:

*Sponsor a child! There are several children in Jarabacoa that want to attend JCS, but cannot for financial reasons. There are several types of scholarship available, starting at $17/month (see below). You can choose to give 25%, 50%, or 75%. You can give monthly or all at once. If you pay all of it up front, you receive a 10% discount, if you pay one semester you receive a 5% discount.
Here are the areas of need:
PreK3-K5: $177 inscription; $66/month for 10 months
1st-2nd Grade: $211 inscription; $94/month for 10 months
3rd-5th Grade: $225 inscription; $112/month for 10 months

For example, if you chose to sponsor a student in preschool at 25%, you would give $53 for inscription/August, and $17/month from Sep-June. If you chose to sponsor a 1st-2nd grader at 50%, you would give $106 for the inscription, and $47/month from Sep-June.

*Donations- JCS needs lots of basic supplies: construction paper, glue, tape, markers, pens, pencils, teaching tools, teaching resources, etc... We also need sports equipment, as well as play items for preschool, such as toys, pretend play, clothes for dress up (if you have fun old shoes, dresses, hats, belts, shirts, vests etc.), etc.

*Come join us! We still have some positions that need to be filled: PK4, 2nd grade, 3rd or 6th grade, jr/sr high history, and jr/sr high science. College degree is required, certified teacher is preferred.

*Partner in Prayer! Please pray that God will fill our staffing needs, for safe travels for incoming teachers, for a good start to the year, that all of our teachers and staff would effectively share the love of Christ with our students, and that God would bring us through any obstacles we face this year.

4th of July, freezer cooking, etc...

2009-07-07T09:37:00.002-04:00

We've been busy lately! July seems to be flying by; less than 1 month and summer is over (teacher training starts the first week of August). Here's a run down of what we've been doing:
-3 play dates last week
-"Celebrated" 4th of July on the 3rd with a picnic lunch in our back yard. Jeremiah finger-painted some nice red and blue pictures. :)
We finally turned on our deep freeze and are now trying to fill it!
-Really stretching a chicken: Saturday we bought 17 pounds of chicken (4 large chickens), at about $1/lb from a place that sells fresh, farm raised chickens. It's nice to support local business and know our chickens have some freedom! I used the necks, wings, feet, and skin for broth (yield=9 cups). After cooling it, I skimmed off the fat and saved it to use for cooking. I saved 1 chicken whole to roast (which will go towards at least 2 meals). I have 2 freezer bags of half chickens (also more than 1 meal each unless we have company) and 2 bags each of 2 thighs and 2 breasts. So, the chicken meat itself will give us at least 10 meals, and the broth chicken fat will go towards other meals.
-We also bought 4 pounds of ground beef (also about $1/lb here). I used this recipe (more or less, but added some bell peppers and garlic) to make a "ground beef mix" and divided it into 6- 1 pint bags for 6 different meals. I can use it for quick sloppy Joes, chili, rice casserole, pasta casserole, stuffed peppers, etc.
-After all that I did some weeding and trimming in our back yard. Daniel made a "square foot" garden that I'll transplant my seedlings to after they've started to grow.
-Sunday: after church, we drove with a team here from Minnesota (they're here with our church) to a little neighborhood/town further up in the mountains. We parked our cars on the side of the road and then hiked down the "stairs" into the valley (the only access to the town). We played in the river, and looked at the cabins that they rent out (we're staying there this Friday, for Daniel's birthday). Then we hiked back up to the car. I crashed for the rest of the day.
-Yesterday (Monday) I mostly crashed, but managed to make Mangu for breakfast, cook 7 jars of pasta sauce to freeze and visit Daniel for lunch. Then I crashed some more, went on a walk with my family, and had a light supper.

So, that's been our past week. I'm continuing to fill the freezer little by little. I want to have it well stocked for when baby comes (only 2 months now)! Jeremiah enjoys helping me cook and bake. I didn't really take any pictures last week; I'll try to do better this week! :-D
P.S. If you have any great freezer-cooking recipes, please share them with me!