Meet the Nursery

I've been meaning to put up pics of the nursery for a while, but I'm finally doing it for Meet-and-Greet Monday.

The door to Jeremiah's room

First hand and foot prints

Shelves made by daddy as school cubbies converted to toy/book shelf; rocking chair with blanket made by Joanna

Winnie the Pooh curtains and stickers above door (we put these stickers around the room)

Dresser/Changing Table made by Daddy

Diaper Station

(The crib is in our room)

Other random pic:

Happy Boy!

Happy 6 Months!

Jeremiah is 6 months old today! To celebrate, we mashed a little banana in his rice cereal. I think he liked it.

Random Pics

First feeding!

I think he likes it!

I just had to post this because of the bad rap iceberg lettuce gets. Isn't it beautiful? And free! (from our neighbor)

The dog who's decided to live under our stairs

Passionate

A few weekends ago I attended a women's retreat. This is the same retreat I went to last year when I was almost 3 months pregnant. This year's theme was "Passionate for God's Presence." What wonderful timing! I've been struggling with the monotony of every day life. I love being a wife and mother, but I was struggling having joy and passion about God and what He is doing in Jarabacoa. As I anticipated the retreat, I was excited, but also a little nervous about how much I would be able to really relax having Jeremiah with me.

On Friday, Daniel dropped me off with Jeremiah and Karen (a mother of 2 and a teacher at JCS, who roomed with me at the retreat). It turned out that this year, Jeremiah was the only baby there (they allow nursing babies). The evening's theme was "acknowleding His glory." Each "session" consists of four main components: worship, teaching time, personal reflection, and small group time. They keep the teaching time short to ensure lots of personal reflection (one of my favorite parts of the retreat!). There were three other sessions that weekend (Saturday morning and evening, and Sunday morning). Their themes were: "valueing God above all things", "remembering what God has done", and "making His glory known". Thanks to my wonderful husband who picked Jeremiah up Saturday morning and brought him back for feedings, I was able to have baby-free time to focus on the teaching and listening to God.

Over the next few weeks, I want to share what God taught me from each session, and how He is continuing to teach me. This will hopefull encourage you and further ingrain it in my hear.



For now, here are some highlights from the weekend:

-Refreshing individual time listening to God and reflecting on His Word

-Great praise time in English and Spanish

-Great fellowship with other women (it's so nice after living with all boys and tutoring all boys!)

-Fun talking and laughing time with other women

-Relaxing break Saturday afternoon to rest, make jewelry (supplied by the retreat), and talk

-Lots of good Dominican food!

-Not needing to make food

-Not needing to do dishes

-Meeting new people from around the island

Rolling

Here are some pics of Jeremiah rolling. He's not quite sure what to do with his arms; he just held them in these positions for a while.

He rolled over!

Jeremiah rolled over last night. We put him down on his back, and when we woke up in the middle of the night, he was on his stomach! He still has yet to go from stomach to back. I'm not too surprised, because he spends more time on his back than on his stomach, though we do try to have some "tummy time" each day. I know he's a little "late" to be rolling, but I wasn't too worried; I knew he'd probably figure it out before he was a teenager. ;)

Meet My "Semi-Automatic" Washer

So I'm a little late for Meet-and-Greet-Monday, but I wanted to participate anyway.

This week I want you to meet my washer. It does a lot of work for us; it's running almost daily (diapers three times a week, our laundry once a week, and Jer's laundry as needed). Without it, we would not be able to use cloth diapers (I have no desire to hand wash them). For those wondering what "Semi-Automatic" means, I will satisfy your curiousity. It means that it's somewhere in between a fully automatic and hand washing (isn't that a helpful definisiton?). I'll take you through the steps of our washing process; it's very exciting.

1) Fill washer (using hose).

2) Put in soap and clothes. Turn on to "15 min." Washer will "swish" the clothes around.

3) Turn middle switch to "drain." This will drain the water.

4) Repeat step 1.

5) Turn on to "15" min. Washer will "swish" clothes again, but this time with no soap.

6) Repeat steps 3-5 once more.

7) Now the wash has been washed once and rinsed twice. Put clothes into spinner on the right. Make sure you pack in the clothes (except for diapers- they are too heavy). Close the top (it will not run otherwise).

8) Turn dial on right to 5 min.

9) Spinner will start to spin very quickly. If you hear "thuds" open the top, wait for it to stop and rearrange the clothes so they are evenly distributed.

10) Repeat step 9 until spinner spins without thuds.

11) After 5 minutes, the excess water "magically disappears", and the clothes will be ready to hang.

12) Hang these clothes on the line while repeating step 7-11 until all clothes are spun (1 load of wash usually takes two loads in the spinner).

13) While the last load is spinning, fill the washer for the next time you want to wash your clothes (in case there is no city water).

14) Hang the last of the clothes.

15) Take a deep breath. You're finished- until the clothes are dry and ready to take down, fold, and put away.

Did you make it this far? Or did I lose you back at step number 6? Either way, here are pictures of our wonderful machine...

Our washer and hose

The spinner section

Anniversary Pie

For our anniversary last Tuesday, I prepared Daniel an anniversary lunch (we later went out to dinner too- pics to be posted later). I made curry chicken salad sandwiches, carrot salad (his favorite), and for dessert, I made Papaya Pie (it's even fun to say!). I found the recipe while browsing online; I wanted to make an interesting pie, and since Papaya (called Lechosa here) is so inexpensive here, I thought I'd try it. Here is the recipe as found from Ichef.com:


4 lb Papaya fruit

1 tb Ground cinnamon

1 tb Ground nutmeg

1 tb Ground pumpkin pie spice

1/2 lb Brown sugar

1 c White sugar

3 Eggs, beaten

1 9" Pre-made pie shell -(Graham cracker shell)


Cut fruit meat from skin; cut fruit into chunks. Add sugars, let set 10-15 minutes. Place sugared fruit in a pot large enough to handle, cook over medium heat until fruit is tender and is easily broken into smaller pieces, about 30 minutes. Stir occassionally, to keep papaya from sticking. Add spices about halfway through the cooking process. When papaya is cooked, allow to cool about 15 minutes, add the beaten eggs, and place in the pie shell. Bake at 350 deg F for about 45 minutes.



Of course, I made some changes. My papaya was a little big, about 5lbs, but I used it all anyway. For the nutmeg, I only had whole, so I ground it myself (using the small side of a cheese shredder worked well). I didn't have any pumpkin pie spice, so I just made it myself (cinnamon, ginger, allspice or clove ,and nutmeg). I found the recipe somewhere online. I looked up online how much 1/2 lb of brown suger was, and found many different answers (ranged from 2-3+ cups for 1 lb. I decided to go on the small end and use the 2 cup (though I know it wouldn't be that exactly), and put in half of that (since it called for 1/2 lb). I only have brown (it's not American brown; it's somewhere between American brown and white sugar), so I used it for both (the total sugar was about 2 cups and a little more because I threw some more in later).

I made the crust, but couldn't find any graham crackers at the store, so I used some cookies (somewhere in between a graham cracker and vanilla waffer), as suggeted by Daniel. I made more than one recipe, because one never seems to be enough for a pie.

When the papaya was cooked, I poured it into the pie pan, but it didn't all fit- there was lots leftover! So, I grabbed two of the mini bread pans we bought over Christmas break, laid some of the cookies at the bottom, and poured in the rest of the papaya. I baked them in the oven (I'm not sure what the temp was, our oven doesn't work that way) and pulled them out when the filling had set. The crust was a little over done, but it still tasted fine. We ate the mini bread pan "pies" for lunch and saved the real pie for after dinner.

The most important part- Daniel loved it! He also got a kick out of eating the "leftovers" first.

Here are some pics of our Papaya "Pies." They look funny, but tasted great! (When they were warm they were a little too sweet and needed coffee (I forgot that Papayas here are riper and more sugary), but when we ate them cold from the fridge they were fine).

Our "leftovers"

The pie (with slightly burnt crust...)

He loves his lips!

Here's a video of Jeremiah making a very interesting noise. I apologize for the poor lighting and shadows.

The Jer Monster

Here are some updated pics of the Jer. monster.

For more cuteness and pics of our anniversary, follow these links:

anniversary

Jeremiah

Cheap Storage

Since plastic storage items are so expensive here (about 3 to 4 times the price in the States), we are always looking for ways to reuse what we already have. Before Jeremiah was born, we received many gifts in the mail. Some of the baby items came in nice, plastic bags with closures. I felt bad throwing them away, so I saved the bags in case I needed them. Fast forward a few months. I was looking for a way to organize my plastic food containers and tops. I put the containers in a large foil baking dish, and tried to think of somewhere to keep the tops. That's when I remembered the nice bags I had saved. I grabbed two of them- one for the jar tops and one for the plastic container tops. Daniel put a few nails up, and we hung the bags in the pantry. Other ways we've reused things for storage are by using a zippered bag (maybe from a package of sheets?) to store my stationary and stickers, using a cookie tin for my jewelry, and using plastic jars for Daniel's nails to organize his "tools" area. So, when you buy an item that comes in packaging too nice to waste, hang on to it- it may come in handy!

Bags for tops

Daniel's tool area

My bag for foot soak/lotion/massage stuff; tin for jewelry; bag for stationary; and to the right a yet-to-be used nice zippered bag for something

For more helpful tips, see other Works for me Wednesday posts.

Happy Anniversary, Daniel!

It's been a wonderful 3 years!

We're going to re-read eachother our wedding vows tonight. I thought I'd include them:

Today, in front of our family and friends and before God, I, Daniel Peterson joyfully take you, Teresa Gerig, as my wife and spiritual partner. I choose to serve you as my primary service to Christ. I will strive to love you as Christ loved His church and to humbly lead our family in godly leadership. I vow to love you in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, for richer or for poorer. You will be my delight; your joy will be my joy, your sadness my sadness. Apart from Our Lord, you will be the number one in my life. I commit these things to you and offer them to Jesus Christ, the keeper of our marriage.

And I, Teresa Gerig, in front of our family and friends and before God, joyfully take you, Daniel Peterson, as my husband and spiritual partner. I choose to serve you as my primary service to Christ. I will strive to love you as Christ loved His church and to humbly submit to your godly leadership. I vow to love you in sickness and in health, through good times and bad, for richer or for poorer. You will be my delight; your joy will be my joy, your sadness my sadness. Apart from Our Lord, you will be the number one in my life. I commit these things to you and offer them to Jesus Christ, the keeper of our marriage.

Meet the Family Cont.

This blog is continued from last week's Meet-and-Greet Monday (hosted at The Natural Mommy). The pictures are in no particular order- based only on where I found them in the files.

Grandpa Rod

Daddy!

Great-Grandma Flo

Great-Grandpa and Grandma Troilo (Mommy was sick when this pic was taken, so Daddy subbed for her)

Grandpa Howie

Nonna Linda

Dominican Moments

Check out other Wordless Wednesday posts.

Meet the Family

So, I'm a little late on Meet-and-Greet Monday, but yesterday was a holiday, so Daniel, Jer, and I spent the morning-lunch at church, and then had time together as a family. :)

Here's my belated post:

Over Christmas break, Jeremiah loved meeting all his relatives, so I thought I'd introduce you to some. (Note: He doesn't have any first cousins yet, so I'm referring to his "first cousins once removed" as "Great-cousins" (as one of Daniel's cousins suggested).

Here are some of the relatives (in no particular order); more to come next week.

Aunt Sara

Uncle Brent

Aunt Sa ("Say")

Great-cousin Julia and Great-aunt Sandy


Great-grandma Julie and Great-grandpa Gerig

Great-aunt Jo

Great-grandma Pete

Great-cousin Amy

Great-aunt Linda

Great-cousin Josh and Great-uncle Mike

Check out more Meet-and-Greet at Beth's page!

Getting Desperate Creative

So, in a desperate attempt to figure out what's been bothering Jeremiah (for those of you who don't know, he hasn't been sleeping well and has been arching his back, crying in pain, and having lots of gas), I've decided to change my diet for a few days. I eliminated citrus foods and dairy (as well as fresh garlic and onions). I'm not sure how long I can keep it up, it makes for pretty boring meals. Anyway, we've had to be creative about dinner time. Wednesday night we were having meatloaf and mashed potatoes (I made the menu before the diet change). So, instead of milk and ketchup in the meatloaf, we used chicken broth. And instead of milk in the mashed potatoes we used chicken broth. We sauteed our green beans in seseame oil and soy sauce, and added seseame seeds instead of using onions, garlic, and vinegar as we had planned. The following day we had to really change the menu (I had planned Sloppy Joes). We threw together some already cooked ground beef, already grilled chicken, zucchini, rice, and chicken broth. It was surprisingly yummy.
As far as Jeremiah goes (sorry to bring this up after talking about meals), we're having his poopy analyzed at the lab in hopes that this will tell us why he has been in pain. He did, however, have a much better night last night and was very happy most of yesterday (and very sleepy today).

Delta (Delta Seasons)

Daniel requested that title, so I humored him. For all of you that didn't notice (could anyone not notice?) Changing Seasons has had a make-over! I owe it all to my wonderful friend and designer Ashley B. Visit her a twentysixcats and tell her what a great job she did!

Ode to the Motorcycle

About a year ago we had a motorcycle stolen in our gated area below the house. We had left the gate unlocked (but closed) and were upstairs watching a movie. Someone opened the gate and took the bike. Through the generous gifts of others, God quickly provided money for a new bike and we got smarter about protecting it. We always kept our gate locked in the evenings, and almost every day (unless tutoring and having students coming and going). We kept the motorcycle chain locked to the fence overnight. Daniel always locked the steering lock, so you couldn't turn the handle bars.
All this to say, last night our motorcycle was stolen...again. Someone broke the lock on the gate and on the chain. They obviously knew what they were doing. This comes in the middle of us trying to figure out why Jeremiah isn't sleeping (and seems in pain when laid down- probably digestion related) and right after discovering that we won't have insurance on him at least until Feb. (which prob. means later), though we had submitted all the proper information in September. Does this sound familiar? Yes, last time when our motorcycle was stolen we had just discovered that I did not have insurance (see blog here). Does this sound like a reoccurring problem? Definitely.
In all of this, we are trusting that God will continue to be faithful (He has been so far!). Right now, we don't use the motorcycle as much as last year (since we can't take Jeremiah on it), and Daniel can ride his bicycle to and from work. We potentially have a passola we can borrow for a while, and will not look into buying a new bike until we decide if we are staying next year. Daniel reminded me that the bike was never really ours- God provided it fully when we needed it, and we can trust Him to continue providing for us as we have needs. At least I think we have a better attitude about it this time than we did last time. (Does that mean we're learning, or just too tired to think too much about it...?)

Meet the Snow Baby

I realize that I have neglected to post many pictures from our trip to the U.S. Jeremiah seemed to enjoy the snow and cold. Here are some pictures of the snow baby:

Nonna and Jer walking in the snow

Enjoying the Snowfall

Making (very quick) Snow Angels

Baby Snow Angel

Sledding with Mommy (on a very small hill)

Sledding with Daddy

Unfortunately, our digital camera just decided to suddenly die yesterday. So we may only have pics of Jeremiah through the webcam for a while. :(

For more meet and greet, see Beth's page.

The Good Shepherd

It was so good to be back at our church yesterday; though I have to retrain my brain to listen in Spanish. The sermon was from John 10, a passage where Jesus calls himself the good shepherd. The speaker pointed out that Jesus was referring to passages in the Old Testament where God declares Himself the Good Shepherd (Ezekiel 34; David's reference in Psalm 23). I decided o spend my quiet time yesterday studying these chapters. Some thoughts that stuck out to me:
-Jesus says that His sheep know His voice and follow Him. As I read this, I realized that if I know His voice (which I can't unless I'm spending time with Him) then even in times of fog or "darkness" I will be able to hear Him and follow where He leads. However, so many times the fog overwhelms me and I lose focus on His voice.
-In Ezekiel 34, God tells the current "shepherds" of Israel (the leaders) that He will come and take back His flock, because the current leaders are not caring for them, but using them. In contrast, in John 10 Christ says that He lays down His life for His sheep. This is the opposite view- He is willing to serve and sacrifice for His sheep (even though He is the shepherd and the sheep are there to serve Him)!
-Also, in John 10 Christ says He chooses to lay down His life (it is a choice He made, and He did it willingly because it was the only way.
Those were some of my ponderings in response to the sermon. For more "Sunday Ponderings," check out Ashley's website.

Thankfulness Week Day 6: Sunday

I love Sundays and am very thankful for a Sabbath day! Here's why:

-The opportunity to worship and fellowship with other believers.

-Family time: games, guitar/ singing, family nap, etc.

-Daniel is home (not at school)

-Time to enjoy outdoors (when not rainy)- and today was a beautiful cloud-less day!

-The ability to sleep in (a little) when not getting enough sleep

In general, Sundays are very restful for us and I'm so glad we make sure we can rest.

It's an old pic, but it was taken on a Sunday. :)

Thankfulness Week Day 5: Belated Thanks

I thought about what I was thankful for yesterday, but wasn't able to post it. Here are my thoughts (pretend this is Saturday):
-I'm thankful for the sunshine!
-I'm thankful for getting to sleep in after another tough night.
-I'm thankful for having supportive friends in the D.R.
-I'm thankful for having a grill and a husband that makes amazing smoked meat! ;)
-I'm thankful for a fun, happy baby during the day.

Thankfulness Week Day 4: My husband

I am so thankful to be married to a wonderful husband and daddy! He is a great support and encourager. He is the calm one when I am stressing out about Jeremiah. Last night was another tough night. I didn't sleep well and Jeremiah seemed to wake up every few hours. I was exhausted when I woke up. Daniel volunteered to come home during his prep time (he was working on report card) to carry Jeremiah while doing report cards from home. I was able to have a uninterrupted quiet time and take a nap. It refreshed me for the rest of the day!

One thing God put on my heart during my quiet time was the phrase "Trust and Obey." That brought me so much peace. During the difficult trials of raising a child, I am supposed to trust and obey God- obey Him by loving and nurturing this child and raising him in a way that honors God, and trust God to take care of Him and give Daniel and I the strength we need. What a simple but powerful phrase!

Thankfulness Week Day 3: Our House

Although we are currently looking to move into a new place due to problems in our current situation, there are many things I like about our house.


-I am thankful that God provided us with an affordable place when we first moved here.
-I am thankful for the patios on our house, especially the large side one.
-I am thankful for the fun kitchen counter.
-I am thankful for the uniqueness of our house.
-I am thankful for our wonderful down-stairs neighbors.
-I am thankful for being close to town.
-I am thankful we have a roof over our head.
-I am thankful for all the hard work Daniel put into our house to make it better (hooking up a tinaco, putting screens in the windows and doors, sealing out bats, trying to seal out termites, putting up a tarp on the patio, etc.)

Thankfulness Week Day 2: Thankfulness in Sleeplessness

So, as I mentioned earlier, Jeremiah hasn't been sleeping as well as he used to sleep. However, I still have many reasons to be thankful:

-Last night he slept for almost 4 hours before waking up!

-I don't have to get up early.

-I no longer need energy for taking care of baby and teaching preschoolers.

-I have a bed to sleep in.

And mostly, I am thankful for the cause of my sleeplessness- Jeremiah! He has been so giggly and fun lately (when he's not crying due to teething).

I really have enjoyed being home with him all day, even when he's fussy. I started tutoring today and will be gradually adding to get two hours of tutoring every afternoon. It's so much better to be at home and only with a few students instead of taking Jeremiah out and being with 15!

More cuteness :)

Thankfulness Week

As I hinted at in the last post, I've had a hard time being thankful and having a good attitude with all that's been going on lately. On top of the getting sick, I knew that coming back to the D.R. meant coming back to a dirty (micey, termitey, bat poopy, dusty, exhausty, etc.) house (we are looking for another place to move into). I realized that there's only one way to change my attitude, and that's by being thankful (I know I have a lot to be thankful for)! So, every day this week, I am going to post things for which I am thankful. This will remind me how much God has done for me and help me think of positive things to blog about. Please keep me accountable if I miss a day!

So, to kick it off:

Thankfulness in sickness:

-I am so thankful that Jeremiah's flu did not last very long and that he got better!

-I am thankful for my mom who helped me take care of Jeremiah and me.

-I am thankful for my dad who kept the heat turned up. :)

-I am thankful for my wonderful husband who took care of me and did all the things that needed to be done and carried most of our luggage and a baby around the airport and never complained about it.

-If we had gotten sick any later, I'm not sure that I would have had the energy to travel back to the D.R., so I am thankful for the "timing" of getting sick.

-I am thankful that I got sick in my parents comfy house in my pretty room that my mom worked so hard to decorate when I was in highschool (hey, if you have to get sick, you may as well have a nice view- when awake and aware).

-I am thankful that I am now healthy and that I was able to keep nursing Jeremiah during it all.

-God is good! (see, it's working already!)

This picture is not specifically related; I just thought you might want to see Jeremiah.

Welcome 2008

Jeremiah decided to celebrate his first New Year in a rather uncomfortable way. (Okay, so he didn't have much choice in the matter) Shortly after our friends Sopeak and Zay (whom we hadn't seen in a year) came over, Jeremiah threw up all over me. He's thrown up before, but I've never seen him throw up so much at once. I changed clothes, and we thought maybe he had swallowed some water in his bath and that it was over and done with. I later fed him, and as soon as I held him up, he threw up again. I changed again, and this time we realized he may be sick. Later as my mom held him, he threw up and dry heaved a little. We put him to bed, checking on him often. Finally in the night he ate and didn't throw up. The next day he ate little and by the evening he was looking like himself again.
However, in the middle of the night I woke up feeling nauseous. I won't go into all the grusome details, but throughout the day (Wednesday) and half the night I couldn't even keep liquids down. I never realized how miserable it would be to be dehydrated and still have to nurse! Finally on Friday I was able to get up and go to Sears with Daniel to pick up my new glasses and have them fitted. On Saturday, God gave me enough strength to get through the airplane rides, etc. back to the D.R. And Jeremiah was great on the plane! Praise the Lord!
Daniel was a huge help during those last few days- since I was out of comission. He did the last minute shopping, Christmas letters, and did all the packing.
As far as Jeremiah goes, since he was sick he has not been sleeping well, which of course means less sleep for the parents. For the past few nights we've had to pull him in bed with us for him to actually sleep. So, if you've wondered why there have been no blogs lately: sick, traveling, no sleep, nothing good to write about (more on that later).