Vacation, Part II

The day after we drove back from Indy to Wheaton, we went to a Cubs game. It was a surprise birthday present for Daniel and his dad. Daniel's mom got the tickets, and I bought them both a Cubs shirt. They opened the shirts Thursday morning, and found out they were going to the game that day!
We tried to leave in plenty of time. However, 2 minutes from home we were double-rear-ended. Daniel's mom and sister were behind us. They were rear-ended, causing their car to run into the car Daniel, his dad, Jeremiah, and I were in. After about an hour, we were able to leave again, and sadly missed the first few innings of the game.
But, once there, we had a great time!

Stadium

Daddy and Son

Grandpa and Grandson

Mommy and Son

After the Game

After the game, we drove to Lake Michigan beach, where Jeremiah played in the sand.

Hanging out

Sideways Jeremiah playing in the sand

Clapping

The next few days consisted of seeing lots of family and friends:

Jeremiah and Peter

Jeremiah visiting with friends

Us, Sopeak, and Zay

Indiana Visit

The first few days of our vacation were spent at Daniel's parent's house. Then Saturday afternoon we headed to Indiana. First, we stopped in Noblesville where we attended Grace Community Church (the Sat evening service). Daniel and I both interned there one summer, and we were happy to see many people we knew but hadn't seen in a while. We went home with Joanna and Josh, and were able to be their first overnight house guests in the new daybed Josh built. They were great hosts! We had a good time talking around the bonfire, and just hanging out on Sunday morning. We even ate some yummy homegrown peas from Joanna's garden. I have a few pics, but for more, see Joanna's post.

Joanna and Casey

Joanna and Jeremiah

From there (Saturday afternoon) we headed down to Indy where we visited Allie and Mike (Taylor friends) and their beautiful 6-week old daughter. After a wonderful visit with them, we drove up to Upland, stopping to visit Ron and his family on the way (Daniel's boss when he interned). Finally, we arrived at Brent and Sara's house in Upland Sunday evening.

Our visit in Upland included spending time with Brent and Sara, visiting Taylor, celebrating Brent's birthday with him, seeing the Shockeys and Moores, playing Wii bowling and Mario Cart, and relaxing.

Brent's birthday dinner

Liz showing Jeremiah his new book

On our way back to Wheaton, we stopped in West Lafayette to visit Beth and Josh (Taylor friends). Jeremiah had fun playing with Benjamin and Olivia, while Daniel and I enjoyed seeing Beth and Josh again.

The men and the babes

Beth and the boys

Cuddles! (Aren't they cute?)

Olivia and Jer

I'm not sure if she's attacking him, or giving him a kiss...

And thus ended our tour of Indiana. Pictures of the rest of our trip to come soon.

New Neighbors

We have new neighbors: a family across the street, and a single neighbor next door. The family across the street lives in New York and is just here to visit. They had the house built, and hope to rent it out. Our neighbor next door is tall, dark, and eats grass. (He's a horse.) I don't know whose horse he is, as it's just an empty lot. It's nice to hear horsey noises. :)

Home again!

We had a great two weeks visiting with family and friends throughout Illinois and Indiana. We took a real vacation- we checked email (and Daniel had to do some emailing for work), but we didn't spend much time at the computer. We enjoyed time with family, went to parks, etc. All went well, besides the two airplane trips there and back. On the way to Chicago, we were delayed in Miami for 6 hours (most of which we were on the plane). On the way back, we were delayed in Miami 31/2 hours (all of which were on the plane). However, Jeremiah was great and smiley throughout most of it. And for that, we are very thankful.
The rest of the time was wonderful. We split the time between Daniel's parents, my parents, and Indiana, where we visited Indy and Upland. However, more on all that to come. For now, I will post some Jeremiah pictures, as I know many of you have been anxiously waiting. ;)

Climbing the window

Taking a peek outside

Going down the slide

He even helps with the laundry!

His first time on a swing

Hmmm... close, but not quite

Crawling out of his pants

Playing around

Staying cool in his ducky
(I tried uploading this picture twice, and it rotated it both times)

More about our trip and fun pics to come...

Oh what a night!

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

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

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

And that about sums up that...

2 more days...

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

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

And now for the exciting news...

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

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

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

Beach Day

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

In his big boy car seat, ready to go!

Playing in the sand

Here comes the water!

Crawling with Daddy

Having a great time!

Playing in the shade

Sandy butt

Discovering a granola bar wrapper

Hi Daddy!

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

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

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

Having fun in the food court

And for some other random pictures:

Look at that mischievous smile!

Happy Boy!

1 week to go...

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

And some exciting news to come...

Jeremiah Videos

Here are some recent videos of Jer:

Jeremiah learning to give kisses

Jeremiah having crawling races with Daddy

To buy, or not to buy?

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

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

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

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

Hurricane Season

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

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

Facing the Giants

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

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

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

Meet: The New Bathtub!

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

Jeremiah in Feb. in his little bath seat


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

And for some random photos of Jeremiah:

Jeremiah snuggling with a onesie.

Showing off his cuteness!