Meet-and-Greet Monday: Playing Dress-up

I'm actually posting this on Monday this week! Here are the photos of Jeremiah's first "dress-up" play:

It started when Jeremiah decided to put on my sandals and purse, walk to the door, and tell me, "Byebye!" I realized then that he may enjoy playing "dress-up".

So we went and found random clothes: t-shirt of mommy's, shirt of daddy's, Mommy's hat, necklace, and bracelet.

I love this face!Next we added some mittens and shoes to the outfit:

He really liked the mittens.

And finally mommy joined in! (Yes I'm aware I look quite scary- my smile looks almost evil.)

And here are some pics of Jeremiah using the potty (except that he didn't go). When I told him he could bring a book, I didn't realize that he would choose A BOOK. He could barely hold it on his lap!

Check out more Meet-and-Greet at The Natural Mommy!

Meet-and-Greet....Wednesday? and other ramblings

So, I'm a little late. I kept meaning to post, but life got in the way. I'm not sure where each day's been going, but they've been flying by. One thing I've been working on is compiling Jeremiah-friendly airplane activities. I used some ideas from a few books, and some of my own.

The list includes, but is not limited to:

• photo book (cut out photos of us, family, Jeremiah, taped them on construction paper, and laminated them as a photo book for Jeremiah to look at)
• crayons and coloring book
• sticker books (book with stickers and pages to put the stickers on and take them off again)
• puzzle (we found a small, flat puzzle to bring with few pieces)
• small toys (baby, soft ball)
• small calculator (he loves playing with calculators!)
• sandpaper and yarn to stick on and make designs
• finger puppet
• tissue toss (toss a tissue into the air, let the air nozzle push it back down)
• shape matching (I laminated a paper with colored shapes on it, and laminated matching shapes. Then I put velcro on the shapes so he can match them)
• books
• food!

We'll see how much we can fit. All of the above things are very compact and easy to pack. The goal is to keep him busy! We also have a list of games we can play with him.

Ok, and now for the pics. Meet Jeremiah's babies. He's entered the phase of wanting to sleep with his babies. Sometimes it's one, sometimes it's two, and sometimes it's the huge blue care-a-bear. We try to rotate through so he won't become too attached to one and insist we take it everywhere. I "made" a bed for his babies. I took a box, put some fabric in it, and then laid a pillow and blanket in there. He likes putting his babies to "nigh-nigh."

Jeremiah and his baby

Trying to sit with the babies on the chair

Snuggling

His head ended up where his feet were

Waking up from nap time

We leave for the States in one week from today!

Random things for today

Ok, so here are some random things in nice, bullet format:

• I've been working today on uploading pictures to snapfish. I realized that we have no prints since Jeremiah was a few weeks old! Hmmm... time to update the baby book. And wow do we have a lot of pictures to sort through!
• Apparently Jeremiah wanted me to exercise today. He pulled out my fitmama prenatal workout DVD case, opened it, took out the case, popped open the CD drive and was trying to figure out how to put the DVD inside when I interrupted him. And we don't even watch that many movies!
• Rainy day= craziness. Boy gets hyper; dog gets hyper; and vice versa. We've been letting the dog inside when we're home. He didn't want to go out at all because of the rain. They both had to spend some time in time-out.
• I just realized that I haven't updated my menu in a long, long time! Don't worry, we have eaten since New Years! I'll try to update it for next week, because I'm sure you're all wanting to know what we're eating. ;)
• We just paid off Daniel's grad school loan! Yay! We have some money left in our savings account. When that runs out, it's time to go back to the States (we have a little set aside for moving back to the States and don't want to touch that until then). Someday it will be nice to be able to save instead of drain savings, and we'll have to take that into account as we decide how much longer to stay here (I think we'll probably be here at least another 2 years). But, with no life insurance and no savings building, we can't be here much longer than that without making some changes. But I'm not worried, it's in God's hands. If we can't start building up savings in a few years, we'll probably take that as a sign that it's time to go back "home". We do have a little bit put away for way in the future in mutual funds, but it's not worth much right now, especially with how the stock market is currently; so we're not touching that until we're old. :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Jeremiah would like to wish all a Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We celebrated with home-corned beef that we later boiled and roasted, a big pot of veggies cooked in the beef broth, soda bread, and green jello.

Don't worry, I took seconds. And thirds...

Meet-and-Greet Monday

Meet my plants:

Vine Roses

Front yard bushes

Backyard

To view all the pictures of our plants, check out the slide show below:

And of course, we can't leave out some pics of Jeremiah. On Saturday we took another family bike ride. This is what happens when Jeremiah tries to put on his own helmet. Next he tried attacking me with mine (sorry, no pic of that). He also apparently knew which shoes I should wear.

For more meet-and-greet, check out Beth's page!

Spirit Week

This past week at JCS was spirit week. Each day the students dressed up based on a certain theme (sports, career day, twin day, whacky day, and JCS colors). Daniel had to be creative while still looking "professional" or at least being able to look professional in 1 minute. For sports day he wore a white sox shirt, and had a dress shirt to put on if he needed. For career day he dressed as a "secret service" agent with a dress coat, blues brothers tie, sunglasses, and ear-piece. Twin day he dressed normally, and for "whacky" day he wore dress clothes in a "whacky" manner. Friday they closed the office for field day.

Jeremiah and I visited Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. I enjoyed seeing the kids running around having fun. Thursday afternoon the preschoolers wanted to play with Jeremiah. He enjoyed it, but was eventually overwhelmed.

Unfortunately, Daniel forgot the camera all but one day, so I only have one picture of him:

Daniel wearing his pink-striped short-sleeved collared shirt along with a green-plaid-ish, long-sleeved shirt.

1st graders doing their cheer

Jeremiah with the big 3 yr. olds (after a little too much attention)

More than Just Pregnancy?

I had another one of those days on Sunday. It was similar to two weeks ago, when I couldn't keep anything down, except that it only lasted 1 day. And then Monday I was wiped out. Yesterday I felt good; I went on a walk with Jeremiah, did some preggie stretches, laundry, made dinner, etc. And then I was weak again today. I figured it was just really bad morning sickness. But I'm in my second trimester and "shouldn't" be this bad, nor was I anywhere near this bad anytime during my pregnancy with Jeremiah. Then again, many people have bad preggie symptoms, and each pregnancy is different.
But then today I ran across a few notes I'd written before I was pregnant (when I was trying to keep track of how I felt) and remembered the strange symptoms I experienced during the three months before getting pregnant. I even went to the doctor and had blood tests taken (which of course came back normal).
Here were my symptoms that came and went throughout the months:

• dizzy
• weak
• nauseous
• extremely thirsty

So remembering that makes me worried that there's something besides pregnancy agrivating my pregnancy symptoms.
Any thoughts, suggestions, ideas?

Our little talker

I've been meaning to put this up for a while. I recently sat down and wrote out the words Jeremiah says. He's increased dramatically in speaking lately, as I'm sure is normal for his age. So, for interested grandparents (and others who want to know) here is a list of his current words. He may have more, but it sometimes takes me a few days to figure out what he's saying. (Although I really don't think his "OwahOwahyeow" has any meaning). And keep in mind he speaks with a "toddler accent."
And now, in no particular order, except for the order I thought of them:
Cheese
Gracias
Libro (book)
baby
hot
no
Iah (Jeremiah)
Pee (Pie for "foot" in Spanish, not for the dessert)
sticker
pan ("bread" in Spanish)
mas (more)
ball
pow-pow (Dominicans use it for no touch)
uh-oh
"Bee" (for cleaning hands or turning off the light. I'm still really confused on this one)
Ya (finished)
Chiste (dog's name)
Chai (Cat's name)
Mama
Dada
woof
mow (for mewo)
neigh
bye-bye
Hola
Hi
Agua (water)
Pee-pee
Poo-poo (says this occasionally)
A-men (with a clear break between the two syllables; comes out "Ah-mm")
ta-ta (we use it for no touch)
nigh-nigh
mano (hand; says it like "meemo")
lave (wash)
undies
His favorite words are "agua" and "Chiste." And he says "Chiste" whenever he hurts himself as if he's blaming the dog. He's also repeating us a lot, which is really cute. I don't know how many words he's "supposed" to have in his vocabulary, but I'm not worried; I know he's progressing and it may take more time with the two languages.

Meet-and-Greet Monday

It's been awhile, but I'm finally participating again in Meet-and-Greet Monday!

Enjoying a a beautiful sunny day in our backyard
(Daniel picked a huge flower for me and put it in my hair. Awwww...)

Our silly little boy

And he knows he's cute!

That's it for now. Check out the pics from our family bike trip here.

Visit The Natural Mommy for more Meet-and-Greet!

Family Bike Ride

Yesterday was Independence day. That meant Daniel had a holiday! To celebrate we ate chocolate chip-banana pancakes (Jer missed out on the chocolate chips), went bike riding, and had a b-b-q potluck with our small group. This was our first family bike ride, and the most exercise I've done since being pregnant (I've just been walking and sometimes doing my preggy work-out video). But, I hung in there, in spite of walking up a few of the bigger hills (put too much strain on my belly). We biked to a nearby waterfall (about 30 min ride, though it took longer this time). The whole way there I felt exhausted and wondered why it was so difficult. Then on the way back I coasted 90% of the time and hardly peddled. Ah ha! That's why it was so difficult going the other way!

Here are some pics of our trip:

All Ready to Go!

We put the rest of the bike trip pics on Picasa; it uploads quicker. :) Click on the link below:

Bike Ride

"Arguing" with a Toddler

I had a mild disagreement with Jeremiah this morning at the breakfast table. Here's how it went:
Jeremiah: (squinching his face muscles and concentrating) Pee-Pee!
Mommy: (recognizing that this was not pee-pee and trying to teach him the difference) Poo-Poo.
Jeremiah: (Mouth full of food) Pee-Pee.
Mommy: Poo-poo!
Jeremiah: Pee-pee!
Mommy: Poo-poo!
This goes on a little longer. At which point Daddy just shakes his head in amusement at our very intellectual argument and I laugh. And then Daddy takes care of Jeremiah's "pee-pee/poo-poo." Yay for daddy and a holiday!

By the way, Jeremiah ate 3 banana pancakes and a bowl of fruit and yogurt.

Corning Time!

It's almost March. That means it's time to corn some beef! Well, at least for those of us who enjoy corned beef for St. Patrick's day and aren't able to find it within 100 miles. Yes, I know corned beef was not a typical Irish food (was mostly just eaten by the rich), but it's still a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick's day. So, last night we took out our beef, stuck it in a ziplock, added lots of spices and salt, gave it a good massage, and put it in our fridge. It will need to be massaged daily for a while to insure that the cure gets into the meat thoroughly. We used a combination of these two recipes: here and here, adjusting for size differences in our cut of beef. I'll let you know how it turns out in a few weeks!

Need a Job?

Anyone interested in teaching a 1st grade class for 3 months?
Class includes: 13 cute kids and 1 teacher's aid. We just need the teacher. :)

I feel like a new person!

So, at the beginning of last week I was starting to feel really good again. My energy had come back; I was feeling less nauseous, etc. Then Wednesday hit. I was tired and more nauseous than normal, but nothing alarming. That night I threw up three times (well, 1 was in the morning, but I went back to sleep). And Chiste barked for about 3 hours straight (I'm not joking; it was over 2 hours; we couldn't get him to stop! We finally tied him in the back where we couldn't hear him as loudly and fell asleep in spite of the barking). Thusrday I was absolutely kaput. I hardly kept anything down (except maybe a small bowl of cheerios), was super dehydrated, had no energy to take care of Jeremiah, and didn't change his overnight diaper until Daniel came home at 1:00. All I could do was lay on the couch and feed Jeremiah honey-nut cheerios (We'd sent a "buy order" for cheerios from the States and they didn't have regular, so we received 3 boxes of honey-nut. Hmmm... good thing they were cheap.)
Anyway, back to me being a terrible mom- Daniel was planning on coming home early to "help" me pack for our trip to the beach (he had a conference in Puerto Plata, so we thought we'd stay a few nights and take time away). Well, he ended up doing almost all of the packing as I tried to re-energize. I took a nap, threw up again, and we proceeded to hit the road for a 3+hour drive. I actually felt better during the drive than I had all day. Something about the sunshine and the fresh breeze. I ate a few pretzels and kept them down for the night.
Friday was off and on. I kept down a little bit of food, but not much. I spent most of the day inside the hotel room (which was actually relaxing; it had AC!). I did manage to take Jeremiah in the pool for about 45 minutes; it was enjoyable. But, I quickly lost energy, and we went back inside for a nap. Daniel came back from the conference at about 4:30 while we were putting our feet in the pool. It was so good to see him! (and to pass off the boy...)
Saturday was similar, though I managed to keep down a little more food. We hung out by the pool, relaxed inside, and then packed up to go. Once again, I felt better during the drive, ate some pasta for dinner, watched Sound of Music and had a good night o' sleep!
After relaxing Sunday and taking a long nap, I awoke today feeling like a new person! It is amazing how much energy I had today compared to the previous days. I was so afraid I would just be a bum for 7 more months!
So, I'm half suspecting that I actually had a bug of some sort, due to the violence of my "morning sickness" (I won't go into the details) and it's abruptness (feeling my worst yet in the middle of feeling my best).
So, poor Daniel had a lot of work on his shoulders the past few days. And even though we took our camera, we didn't take any pictures. Nice as the hotel room was, it wasn't really worth taking pictures of it. But, hopefully I'll have some Jer pics and videos to put up soon! :)

Doctor's Visit and Baby Dreams

We went to the doctor's on Saturday for our monthly check-up. We have a different doctor and hospital for this baby. When Jeremiah was born, the hospital was not yet finished. I remember passing it on the main road, in labor, on the way to our other hospital and saying, "If that hospital were finished we'd be there already!" Well, we have our chance with this baby. It is so exciting to go to a nice, quiet, clean hospital (and they take our insurance too; and this time we have insurance because the company didn't mess up! at least that we know of...). The hospital is named HOMS (Hospital Metropolitano de Santiago). It's supposedly "the largest hospital in the Dominican Republic and one of the most modern hospitals in Latin America and the Caribbean," according to Wikipedia. And with our 3-cylinder engine, it doesn't cost too much in gas to get there and back (though it may be a little slower). The bathrooms even have soap! And toilet seats! (unlike the other hospital...) So after you give a urine sample, you can actually wash your hands! What an idea!
Ok, anyway....
At this visit we could actually see the baby, the heartbeat, and the arms and legs! We even saw it move! It suddenly felt real. There's actually a little baby inside of me! We're actually going to have another baby! But then, with relization setting in, the baby dreams started last night. You know, the kind where you have the baby but lose it, or forget it somewhere, or it turns out to be a monkey. I remember having tons of strange dreams like that in my last pregnancy.
Last night I dreamt that we had a baby girl. Only it was about 3 months early. And they wouldn't bring her down to nurse. And then when I was finally nursing her, she disappeared and I couldn't find her. Strange...
So, that's the baby and preggy update. :)
Jer's still doing well. Kept the training pants dry the entire afternoon until bed time (had on diaper for church and nap). We've even taken him out shopping or on a long walk, and he's still been dry when we get home. Apparently he's learned to control it. Of course, I'm still bracing myself for a regression, but am enjoying it for now!

No more rain!

Well, after raining every day for almost a week, today is sunny and warm! (See here for article on the rain)
Here's what rain means in the D.R.:
-Lots of flooding
-No dry clothes (even though we hang our clothes under shelter so it doesn't rain on them, they still don't dry (even the clothes I washed last week!) because the air is too wet. This meant we ran out of training pants for Jer. Which means he was not very happy to be in diapers.
-Not good for roads (when you live on dirt roads, a lot of rain means a lot of mud and a lot of potholes. Ok, not potholes- these things are the size of boulders)
-Cold! Yes, I know it's not nearly as cold as in the States right now. But when I woke up this morning the temperature was in the 50s. And when you have lots of windows that don't close all the way, the house gets very chilly. And we don't have many warm clothes here. And we're wimps after living here 4 years...

But, it's a warm, beautiful day, the clothes are drying, and Jeremiah is back in training pants. So we're all good. :)

Cute Jer moments...

Of course, there are too many to recount. But these two are super cute. And they both have to do with milk.
1)Yesterday, there were still some diaper scraps lying around from when I cut up ragged prefolds to make training diapers. Combine this with a bottle of milk (we've been giving him milk lately, usually from a sippy cup but it was dirty, in spite of the fact I'm still nursing). Jeremiah decided to give me a milk facial! He tipped the bottle over and tried to pour milk on the diaper scrap (none came out, of course). He then proceeded to wipe my face gently with the cloth. He did this several times. After about 5 minute he decided to give himself a milk facial as well. Here's the video:


2) I finished drinking my daily glass of milk. He gladly took the cup from me and wandered into the kitchen. He then went to our water filter, pushed down on the tab, and filled the glass with some water, which he proudly brought back to me to drink. I thanked him, took a sip, and then gave it back to him. He happily drank it himself. After he decided he'd had enough, he poured the leftover water into our potted plant. And then put more water in the cup to give to the plant. Hmmm... not sure our plant needed filtered water, but it's super cute that he's taking care of his mommy and our plant!

Potty Training, Continued

At first I tried to potty train him by letting him run around naked...But this caused a lot of extra work. I was more anxious to get him on the toilet frequently, I had to clean up several messes, I pulled up most of our carpets, and I tried to keep him off the couch. By the end of two days, I was exhausted. The cloth diapers were a pain to take off and put on at a moment's notice. So, finally, I decided that we needed to try training undies. We had three that grandparents brought us. However, I knew I'd need more than that. So, we went on a little shopping trip and bought 11 pairs of big boy undies for about the price of a good cloth training diaper. I took them home and cut up a few cloth prefold I had that were ripping to shreds and were no longer being used. I sewed up any loose ends and using one safety pin, pinned them to each pair of underwear. This didn't take much time and, Voila!I now have 11 training undies! Over the training diapers I put dappi diaper covers, as they are easy to pull on and off. So, over the weekend we stressed that if he goes pee-pee in the potty, he can wear his big-boy undies. Suddenly, he took to it. On Sunday he went 5 or 6 times. Today he's already gone several times and has been dry most of the day. I don't know how long this will last, but I'm enjoying it for now!

And his potty turns into a step stool!

Lots of stickers! (And we have a poor whale and penguin in the mountain valley on the bottom)

And for some random pictures:

He pushed the step stool over to the counter and began to each raw chopped onions.

Potty Training, Day 3

Ugh. That's about the best way to describe it. Everything is becoming a fight with him. We can barely change his diaper because he kicks and screams so violently that it makes it almost impossible. We've been fighting a bacterial rash, impetigo, on his bottom for months now. We've been using an antiobiotic ointment from a pediatrician friend. For a while the impetigo will get better, but then it comes back. He now associates the pain with diaper changes. He also has been fighting his beloved bath. I'm guessing it's for the same reason; it hurts to sit down in the water. And so even things he used to love are becoming a struggle.
For this reason, and becuase I'd like to have him potty-trained before child number 2 comes along, knowing he'll regress some, I've been leaving off the diaper and trying to teach him to use the potty. The first day he managed to go once in it; yesterday he went twice. Today he's been going everywhere but the potty. As he hates diapers so much, I try to explain to him in the simplest way I can that if he learns to go peepee in the potty, no more diapers. But I'm not sure he's getting it. I know this is just a normal part of being a toddler, but man, do I have less patience these days! Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

Happy Anniversary

Happy 4th Anniversary Daniel!
Ok, so I'm almost a week late. I wanted to post this earlier, but was working so hard on retreat stuff that I didn't have a minute to do anything else (like pay attention to my poor child). Anyway, I wanted to share our anniversary meal with you:
We decided to do something a little unconventional. Instead of going out to eat (I was really wanting "special" food, not Dominican food. Nothing seemed worth it for the money), we took Jeremiah to a teacher's house and ate in. I made special "tapas" (appetizers) for the meal. Here was the menu:
-Candied nuts (walnuts and pecans)
-Asian Chicken-Lettuce Wraps
-Shrimp wrapped in chili peppers and bacon
-Dates wrapped in bacon
-Cucumber-Cream cheese mini-sandwiches
-French Onion Soup
-Fruit with cream cheese dip
-We were going to do bruchetta as well, but decided we had enough food.

Our meal lasted about 3 hours. Throughout the time we played card games, read to each other, talked, re-read our vows, and picked up Jeremiah and put him to bed. It was wonderfully relaxing to sit on the couch, not worry about other people or trying to have energy, etc. I couldn't have imagined a nicer evening!

And I'm back... again

After the crazy rush of last week (preparing for our anniversary dinner (Tues and Wed); preparing for the retreat (thurs and Fri), and actually going to the retreat (Fri-Sun)), I am now back. And do I have a lot of blogging to catch up on! Before I post on our anniversary and the retreat I need to back up and post a preggie update, as well as pics from Daniel's fam's visit. So, here goes:

Baby number 2:

I am now 2 months pregnant. That means the baby *should* arrive around the beginning of September. I've been up and down. The first month and a half I was super tired, and nauseaus most of the time. The key is, I can't let my stomach get empty. The problem is, I don't always feel like eating. And sometimes the thought of food makes me nauseaus. Being thirsty adds to it; but when I'm dehydrated, drinking makes me more nauseaus. And the cycle continues... But, praise the Lord I had more energy last week! And after resting yesterday (due to not much sleep over the weekend and a cold) I'm feeling better again today. We haven't decided if we're going to find our the gender. We're already thought of some names. Anything else left to cover? Next appointment is Feb. 14.



Now for the pics:

Jeremiah would like to make an announcement...

Passing...

Yesterday morning, after a battle with cancer, Angela (Dominican mother and grand-mother) passed away. Not only was she the mother of one of our staff members and a second-mother to one of our good friends, but we enjoyed her hospitality and warmth on several ococasions. Please pray for our staff member, Vladimir, and his family as they deal with this loss. Also pray for our friend, Regan, who lived with the family for the 3 years he worked at JCS, and is now back in Indiana.

And We're Back!

Daniel's family just left this morning after a week long visit. During their time here we hung-out, went to the beach, went whale watching, visited the Ark, played games, and enjoyed being together. I, obviously, took a break from blogging. Jeremiah had a blast playing with Grandpa How, Grammy Dee, and Aunt Sara. And, due to our new camera (Christmas present), we took lots of pics and videos!
So, after the holidays and visits life is getting back to "normal." Well, somewhat. I'm still doing last minute things to get ready for the retreat coming up next weekend (in a week). I'm helping with decorations, etc. This year, there's a record number attending: 112 women! Life for Daniel isn't quite normal yet, either. Today he's subbing for teachers and trying to be the director all at once!
When we set up our camera, I'll post some pictures. :)

Thoughts on Atheism

Well, this has been going through my mind for some time now, but this article prompted me to write on it. You may agree or disagree, but as it is my blog, I get to write what I believe. :) Freedom of Speech and all that.

In the U.S., there is so much talk of "seperation of church and state," etc. which, over the years, has been interpreted differently. What many people are apparently calling for is the government, and anything associated with the government, and anyone who works for the government, and any organization that receives money from the government, to be "religiously neutral." Ok, first we need to figure out what "religion" means. Some people think that religion refers only to beliefs that include a "supernatural deity" of some form. Another definition is a system of beliefs (Merriam-Webster includes both of these). Whatever you call it, everyone has a system of beliefs; things they believe in that shape their worldview, determine how they behave, shape their beliefs in how the country should be run, etc. My belief in God and Jesus Christ affects me to the core- it's not just a "belief;" it affects the way I live. That's true of everyone, whether they believe in a deity or not. Every person has a worldview and holds to certain beliefs.

Now, I may sound pessimistic, but frankly, I don't believe it's possible to have a "religous/world-view" neutral country. So many people say "well, we shouldn't offend anyone's beliefs, we shouldn't choose any group over another." It's not possible not to offend anyone. Whatever laws the governent makes will be based on someone's beliefs of right or wrong. Whatever decisions a court upholds will be someone's interpretation of a law. And those decisions and interpretations will largely reflect that person's worldview or the worldview of their supporters. All this to say, I don't want people to be naive. When people push to take God's name out of everything related to the government, they are not being "neutral." Yes, they have the right to fight for it, as I have the right to fight against it. Either way, we are both fighting based on our "beliefs," not on "neutrality." If we take God out of everything related to government and make sure our laws for the country aren't in any way related to the Bible or God, we are not making "neutral" decisions. If we tell the government, "you can believe whatever you want, but you have to speak and behave and make decisions as if there is no God," that is not neutrality, that is Atheism. Atheism is a worldview. And I believe I have as much right as Atheists to stand up for what I believe.

Now let's look at public schools. Do people actually believe that children are only taught things that have been 100% proven as fact? Do people honestly believe that children won't be taught any worldviews in school? I have enough scientists in my family to know that not all scientists believe the same things. What views do we choose? What views of history do we teach? What books of literature do we introduce to our children? All of these choices are made based on some sort of worldview. Whether your god (Marriam-Webster gives one definition as the supreme or ultimate reality) is science, or mankind, or nature, or the God of the Bible, etc... we all have some view of the ultimate reality. So, the question is, what ultimate reality- what worldview- is being taught in our schools? Is being held by the government? And who decides it? Obviously, I think it would be great if the government went with my worldview; I would think Athiests, Muslims, secularists, etc. would all feel the same about their own worldview. And it's better than being apathetic and thinking "I shouldn't impose my beliefs on others" because anyone who stands up for what they believe and pushes for or against a law is imposing their views on others.

I'm not trying to say that I have an answer. All I'm asking is that people stop pretending we can be "neutral." Whether the government listens to Christians or Athiests, Muslims or Jews, they're going to listen to someone. But please, don't tell me that I can't fight for what I believe in because it goes against the beliefs of others. Don't tell me that one group can fight for their worldview while I cannot fight for mine. I expect them to stand up for what they believe. But I also expect to be allowed to do the same.

People will make laws based on their worldviews and ideas of an "ultimate reality." Public schools will teach some sort of worldview. The question is, what will it be? And what are you going to do about it?

Finally Finished!

Our Christmas letter and recent ministry update are finally completed and sent via email! (If you wondered why I haven't blogged lately, that's why) If you would like to receive a letter/update, but have not, please let me know!

Christmas Pictures

Here are our photos from Christmas break (click to view album):

Christmas Break

My dad took even more photos (and has a better camera) which you can also check out here. There are photos of our house, more of Jeremiah, etc.

Have you seen my brain?

It's been one of those days... maybe it's because I'm still sleepy from staying up until 1 on New Year's Eve (yes, I'm pathetic, but babies don't sleep in no matter how much the parents may want to sleep). But, for whatever reason, my brain is not working today. Here's a few examples:

1) I had to make a phone call. Daniel was the last one to use the phone. I went to get it from the charger. It wasn't there. I asked Daniel where it was. He was confused; he thought he'd put it back. I glanced at the coffee table; not there either. I was about to get frustrated until I looked down and... it was in my hands... the whole time. sigh.

2)Shopping exhausted me. I kept asking for "books" of things instead of "pounds." Wouldn't you like a book of cheese?

3)I can't get out the correct words. There were a few times I just stopped talking because the words were not coming out correctly.

I think I need a nap.

Interview with J. D. P.

Name: J.D. P
Age: 1.41666 yrs
Occupation: Full-time Toddler
Interviewed by: Ma P


Ma P: Thank you for giving us a few minutes of your time today.

J.D. P: No problem. But I only have a few minutes before nap time.

Ma P: I'll be quick. To start out, tell us a little about yourself.

J.D. P: Well, I'm a typical toddler-boy who loves to hit things, throw things, make noise, eat, chase the dog, and follow mommy and daddy around.

Ma P: What's it like living on a tropical island?

J.D. P: It's wonderful! I get to play outside in the sun. And when it's raining I try to go outside and make myself as muddy and wet as possible! I also eat delicious foods such as fresh fruit, avacados, and comida dominicana.

Ma P: Sounds exciting. Tell me, what type of activities fill your busy day?

J.D. P: Well, I always start out my day with some hearty breakfast and good ol' mama's milk. Some days I go walking with mommy. I'm there to navigate in case we get lost. I have some time to read books and play with my stuffed animals and toy piano. Otherwise, being a toddler is hard work! I sweep and mop, re-organize the kitchen cabinets (mommy always puts things in the wrong places), feed the dog, hammer wooden balls, help mommy with the laundry, instruct mommy in making lunch and dinner, and entertain daddy when he comes home from work. It's a lot, but somebody's got to do it! And nap time fits in there too.

Ma P: Wow, sounds like you've got an important job to do! You had previously mentioned something about a dog?

J.D. P: Ah, yes. We have one dog, Chiste, and one cat, Chai. Chiste says, "Woowoo" and Chai says "Mow."

Ma P: Interesting. And what is your interaction with them?

J.D. P: I feed Chiste. And sometimes I give Chai treats. I enjoy playing with both of them. I like to pet Chai. Chiste is a little rougher. Sometimes he bumps me over. He also gives me doggy kisses.

Ma P: Well, it looks likes it's time for your nap. Is there anything else you want to tell us? Maybe some helpful information for fellow toddlers?

J.D. P: Always remember that your role in the family is very important, despite your small size. Mommy and Daddy are depending on you, so remind them to drink lots of water, bring them their shoes, and give them plenty of hugs and kisses!



And indeed, what would I do without my snuggly little boy who continually hands me my water bottle, brings me my sandals when I mention a walk, and adds so my joy to my life?!!

mopping the rug

reading with mommy

Our tropical Christmas

Rain, waterfalls, palm trees, 70 degree weather, sancocho, rice and beans....
Sound Christmasy? Maybe for some, but this year was certainly an unusual Christmas for us.
The past three years we traveled home for Christmas. This year, we decided we'd had enough of traveling to a frigid climate, the shock of the dry air that leaves our mouths feeling parched, and me feeling nauseaus, etc. So, we decided to stay. While we missed many of our family, we enjoyed "staying put" for the holidays this year.
Here's a run-down on our week:

Monday- get the house ready for my parents to come; Daniel picks up my parents from the airport. Yay!

Tuesday- wrap presents, hang out around house, Dad not feeling well :( , make moro, ensalada russo, and pollo guisado for dinner, Jer has fever

Wednesday- walk with friend and mom; Dad is still not feeling well, but is willing to go to waterfall (during a clearing in the rain); visit waterfall; finish wrapping; make Sancocho for dinner; Mom, Daniel, Jer, and I go to Escuela Caribe for Christmas Eve service and dessert

Thursday- Christmas!!! Sticky rolls and ginger tea for breakfast, read advent scripture, relax, open presents, relax, open more presents, Jer takes nap, Jer eventually finishes opening presents, relax, make dinner (Daniel smokes pork, I make Dominican salad), guests come (a family from church), eat yummy food, talk, sing Christmas carols, watch "It's a Wonderful Life," go to bed late

Friday- Go walking, Mom not feeling well, go to another waterfall when it's not raining, relax, eat Columbian food for dinner. Daniel gets sick (fever). Power goes out in the middle of the night... twice. Wakes us. Wakes baby. Baby cries and throws tantrum. Daniel spikes a high fever.

Saturday- raining, sleepy, Dad and I go out for breakfast (we're the only healthy ones), hang out, decide to drive to Manabao (further up into the mountains) as the rain cleared up and Daniel felt a little better, I drive, we picnic by the river, drive back down, starts to rain again, go back home and relax, go out to eat for dinner

Sunday- Daniel wakes up with sore throat and neck; Dad, Mom, Jer, and I go to church; come home and grill; relax; Mom and I walk to the farmacia to buy medicine for Daniel; Mom and I go to neighbor's for birthday party (for their 6 yr old); throw-together dinner (mac n cheese); pray together

Monday- Daniel drives Mom and Dad to airport

So, in spite of all but me being sick at some point, and it raining some every day, we had a very enjoyable time together. Things on tab for this week:
-do stuff around house (make shelves, hang pictures, etc.)
-visit friends
-get some work done (tutoring prep and grading, Daniel needs to look over final exams teachers have written, etc.)
-play with Jer and his new toys

Daniel's family comes in two weeks, so Christmas decor will stay up (yay!), and we'll just extend the Christmas season (we'll keep listening to Christmas songs, watch Christmas videos...). We're looking forward to seeing them!

Christmas Caroling, Dominican Style

It's the middle of the night; you're asleep in your warm bed, dreaming of family gatherings and Christmas plans, when you're suddenly awoken to loud voices and banging. Is it a burglur? Is it the end of the world? Did Santa Claus come early? No, no, and no. Music fills the air and you realize that it's just some typical Dominican Christmas caroling. Afterall, what't the fun in caroling when everyone's already awake? This noisy disturbance is what befell my household last night as we lay tucked under our blankets, slumbering peacefully:

Waking to drumbeats and voices, my heart beat quickened as I heard the commotion. Realizing what it was, I rolled over in my bed, hoping they would pass us by quickly so I could continue my snoozing. After a few minutes I realized, They're not moving any farther away.
"Why are they still here?" I mumbled to my husband.
"Maybe they're staying until they can tell they woke up someone." He suggested, as he lumbered out of bed to investigate.
My mind, still slowly waking, pondered this idea. I recalled previous years in our other house, when we woke to carolers passing quickly by, causing noise and disturbance in one minute, but leaving us to go back to our dozing in the next. No, this doesn't make sense.
As I lay there in my room, trying to unravel the mystery, I began to notice certain clues. The drumming- it sounds experienced. And there's a guitar. This isn't just a random group; there are musicians outside.
[Side note: While things are slowly changing, opportunities to learn to play a musical instrument with fluency are available, but not prevelent in our little town of Jarabacoa.]
Suddenly, a voice stood out from the others; a voice that I heard each and every Sunday at our Spanish church.
The lightbulb turned on; I bet it's a group from our church! They had mentioned something about caroling (though in my naïveté I had assumed it would occur much earlier).
I climbed out of bed to inform Daniel of my newly aquired discovery. However, he was not in the living room, as I had expected.
"Daniel," I called quietly.
It was then that I realized the door stood open. Peaking out into the dark night, I could make out a few vehicles, and by now, I had begun to recognize more voices. Timidly, I reatreated back inside, not feeling fit to be seen in my wrinkled pjs and messy hair. They finished their last song, and I mustered the courage to go outside and join Daniel, realizing that in the darkness, they could not see me very well. "Merry Christmas!" they hollered, and proceeded to choose their next victim. As they drove off, we called for our "watch" dog who had somehow slept through the commotion, as did our child, much to my relief.
Crawling back to bed, I tried to slow my racing heart and calm my awakened nerves while feeling strangely appreciative that we were included in this festive tradition. Meanwhile, a few miles away, another family lay in slumber, unaware that they too would be jolted awake by a friendly, and very loud, group of merry Christmas carolers.

Christmas Coffee House

Last night we had our "annual" Christmas Coffee House for the JCS staff. I (with the help of a friend) baked cookies (sugar, candy cane, and ginger snaps). We also had rice crispy treats, M&Ms, candy canes, and guacamole. It was a wonderful time, and made many feel that it was truly Christmas season (it's hard to feel Christmas-y in 70 degree weather). Here are some pics for your enjoyment.

Check out this huge avocado! It's almost as big as our pineapple!

We used two of those avocados (50 cents each) to make all this guacamole- it filled half of a large(8 1/2 in diameter) sauce pan.

Yummm... Christmas treats.

At the JCS Christmas Benefit Dinner

For more pics, go here.

Needing Motivation...

I don't know why it's been so difficult to blog lately. Maybe it's because a little boy tends to throw tantrums when I'm on the computer. And when I am, I usually want to do brainless things, like read comics... Anyway, thank you, Leah, for nudging me back into gear. :) Here are the very late pictures (is it really December already?).

For some albums, you'll need to click the picture to take you to view the entire album. Others are in "slide-show" format.

Let's start with Fall Festival. The kids had a great time! Older students helped out for half the time and relaxed the other half. Younger students had both halves to participate in the activities. We had a waterballoon throw, football toss (which turned into a football game later on), basketball throw, beanbags, sack race, beads, orange (we have no pumpkins here) painting (this was a popular one), face-painting, leaf coloring, pin the nose on the pumpkin, and dancing (WMCA, Chicken Dance, etc.). And of course, don't forget the scarecrow contest and food contests (pie and hot-dog)!

Fall Festival

Ok, moving on to Thanksgiving:

And now for Christmas Decorations:

Green Onions?!

I like green onions in salads, stir-fry, soup, grilled, etc,. but I can't say that I'd ever snack on them plain. Apparently, my child's tastes differ from my own. He's been fairly picky about food lately (he'll like something one day and refuse it the next; suddenly spit it out in the middle of a meal, etc.). Sometimes, though he'll suprise me, like the time he tried something with hot pepper and like it. Today, after he finished eating, he tried to grab a dish from the table. The dish had various toppings for our Asian salad. His hand reached for the green onions, so I decided to give him a taste (thinking he would then leave the dish alone). But no, he not only ate the piece of green onion, but came back for more... several times! Strange child...
In other Jer news, he said his first phrase, "Ma, ma Papa" which translates to "Mas Papas," which translates to, "More Potatoes." (He was eating potatoes at the time and wanted more). He continues to say "Ma" a lot for "Mas." It's hard for me to tell when he's says Mas, and when he's saying Mama. He also loves to say "Chee-Tay" for Chiste (our dog- pronounced Cheestay).

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wow, am I late! But at least today's a Thursday, right? Last week was a busy, but fun week. I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for the week, Fall Fest, and Thanksgiving (making food, cookies, and curtains). Wednesday was fall festival including games, activities, and food eating contests! Visiting school and hanging out with students (and Daniel) was a highlight of the day. We also did some dancing (country dancing, WMCA, etc.). Pictures to come...
On Thursday, the entire JCS staff (and families) were invited over to our house. About 40 or so people came. We potlucked, so the Thanksgiving feast was a wondeful combination of traditional American Thanksgiving foods, and yummy Dominican foods. Daniel smoked a pork leg, and a friend of ours brought the Turkey. The weekend was spent relaxing and decorating for Christmas.
I love Christmas time; I love the decorations and the lights. I love listening to Christmas music. Most of all, I love the time to reflect on God's love for us and the gift of His son. I feel like Thanksgiving is a wonderful "kick-off" to the "Holiday Season." I don't want Thanksgiving to be a one day event in my home, but a reminder throughout this season of all that God has given us: family, friends, and an eternal home through Jesus Christ, His son. God's faithfulness amazes me, and I want to carry "Thanksgiving" throughout the Christmas season, and into the New Year as we celebrate the birth of the King!

Frugal Recipes

I'd like to share two yummy recipes I made this week. They both include rice, as we have been consuming more rice in an effort to save money. Savory and fairly easy, they are healthy and kind to the budget!

Cabbage Roll Casserole (Adapted from Taste of Home)
TIME: Prep: 20 min. Bake: 55 min. (or cook in crock-pot)
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef (I used less- on the short end of 1 1/2lb)
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans (15 ounces each) tomato sauce, divided (or use canned tomatoes; I used a mixture of fresh tomatoes and tomato paste, because fresh tomatoes are cheaper here than canned)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dill weed (feel free to use seasonings you have)
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups cooked rice (I used more)
4 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled (I substitute this for a pork seasoning cube)
1 medium head cabbage (2 pounds), shredded
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (or any cheese)

Directions: In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in one can of tomato sauce and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat: cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in rice and bacon; heat through. Remove from the heat. Layer a third of the cabbage in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Top with half of the meat mixture. Repeat layers; top with remaining cabbage. Pour remaining tomato sauce over top. Cover and bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Yield: 12 servings.

To make in crock-pot (this turned out wonderfully!): I made the rice and cooked the tomatoes (because they fresh) the night before. I followed the directions in cooking the beef, and adding auce and rice. Then I layered it into the crock-pot. When I came home from church, I realized I had not used enough tomato sauce, so I added more paste and water. When it was finished, I sprinkled the shredded cheese on top and let it melt. Because the crock-pot hold in more liquid than the over, the cheese melted beautifully and mixed in well when served. Yum!

Dijon Rice & Egg Skillet Supper
This recipe uses eggs as its source of protein. Here is the link.
The only thing I did differently from this recipe was using home-made Italian dressing. I also forgot to add the parsley, though I will do that next time, as we have fresh parsley in a pot on our porch. :)

I will definitely be making both of these again and adding them to our "frugal favorites!"

Cold and Rainy

It's cold and rainy today (like 65, the kind of weather where everyone's bundled up in hats and mittens and no one wants to go out; although when most people in town drive a motorcycle, I don't blame them). I'm actually weating pants, a long-sleeved shirt, and a hoody! When we lived at our other place, I rarely wore long-sleeved shirts. Because we lived in a second story with a tin roof, the house trapped the heat (which made for really hot summers!). I'm very glad this house is cooler and shadier, but it has it's downsides: 1)things don't dry as well, so lots of things mold (dishcloths, our wedding picture...) and 2) it will be very chilly in the winter nights! Granted, it doesn't get anywhere near as cold as in the States, but at night time in the mountains in January, the temp. can drop, and when you have windows that don't really close, the house doesn't retain heat very well.
I know, I know, none of you feel sorry for me. And that's ok. It will just mean that I may need to ask for my warmer clothes, as I only have a few long sleeved shirts here. And I'll be drinking lots of tea in the morning. But during the day, if it's not rainy and the sun is out, it generally gets pretty warm, even in January. So, I think I'll probably survive. ;)

Jer Update

Alright, now to what I'm guessing most of you want to read: news of Jer. He's "grown" a lot since I last wrote a Jer update (almost a month ago).

Activity and Play:

He's walking well (and occasionally backwards), and sometimes "runs." He attempts to draw with crayons or chalk. Sometimes he wanders into his room, picks out a book, hands it to me, and signs "please." I'm glad he likes books! He also loves his puzzles. Right now he has two wood puzzles out- a dinosaur puzzle, and a farm animal puzzle.

Jeremiah is a great helper! He "helps" me put away laundry. He picks up his toys before bed (with lots of help, of course), and thinks it's the best thing in the world to feed the dog. I tell him (in Spanish) to get the dog food. He walks to the door, points to it if it's not open, goes to the food, signs "please," gets the food in the cup (unless the level is too low; he can't reach the bottom of the bin), carries it nicely to the door, makes a noise for me to open the door, and pours the food into the correct bowl. If any falls on the ground, he makes sure to put them in the bowl. Sometimes we catch Jeremiah trying to feed the dog when it isn't time!

Learning:

Through the farm puzzle and a few animal books, I've been teaching Jer animal names and sounds in Spanish. It's amazing how fast they learn! His favorite sound is the "cluck" that a chicken makes (he actually clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth). He also likes to "woof" and sometimes will "moo" or "baaa." Usually, though, he'll just click for the animals. And the dinosaurs. And sometimes inanimate objects. He's beginning to talk a little more. His "grunts" are sounding more human (they have inflection, and you can tell when he's asking a quesion). I know this is a stage before talking, and it's fun to have him "interact," even if it's just with grunts. He's starting saying "Hola" more often, has said "Amen" a few times again, and sometimes says "byebye." He also says "Awa" for Agua.

Food:

Lately, he'll randomly like foods we don't expect (things with cumin and hot pepper, for ex.), and then turns down foods that he liked just the day before. It makes it hard to know what to feed him! He's still a good eater, in general, though, so I'm not too worried. And he'll never turn down bread and a banana (or guacamole).

I know all of the above it normal for toddler, but it amazes me how quickly they learn and develop. They are so aware and smart at this age; it is truly a blessing to watch him grow!

He can get in and sit in his chair like a big boy!

Wearing Daddy's helmet!

I blame the diaper hunt

Wow, it's been a long time since I posted! Since I don't spend much time sitting at the computer, I've spent most of my "internet" time on the cloth diaper hunt. (It's only through November) It's been fun to hunt through cloth diaper sights looking for the diaper icon, and discover what all is out there in the cloth diaper/natural baby products world. But, tonight I set aside time to blog, as Jeremiah is in bed and Daniel is outside making our dining room table.
What all have I been up to lately? Well, for those of you that wonder (and that's ok if you don't), here's a "loose" schedule I follow:
Monday, Wednesday
-Wake up at 6:30, make breakfast and eat with Daniel
-Daniel leaves, baby wakes up
-Play with baby, feed baby breakfast
-Put diapers in the washed
-Walk with a neighbor
-Do chores (laundry, dishes, plan tutoring, water plants, etc.)
-Read to Jer, Jer goes down for nap (11 or 11:30)
-Have quiet time, eat lunch, get Jer's lunch ready
-1:30 tutor; Jeremiah wakes up, feed him while tutoring
-2:30-3:30 play with Jer
-3:30-4:30 Algebra II tutoring
-Make dinner, Daniel comes home (Mon. Daniel makes dinner and I go to a women's prayer group at church, 5-6; Wed. Daniel and I have date night)

T/Th
-Get up a 6, quiet time
-breakfast, Jer wake up, etc.
-I exercise with another neighbor (run or video)
-Come back, do random things, put Jer to nap
-Bake, sew, write, work outside, etc.
-Tues-lunch, feed Jer, more baking or other work, or Jer play
-Thurs- Jer wakes up, go to school to have late lunch with Daddy
-E/o Tues night- "dinner party" with friends

Friday-
-non-eventful morning
-shopping in afternoon
-Bible study after dinner

Ok, that's fine if you skipped all of that. But, if you really wanted to know what I'm up to, there it is. :)
And I'll leave you with some pictures from our Costufallaween Party (Daniel's a clown, Jer's a leopard, and I'm the ring leader. It's our own family circus.).

$5 Dinners in Foodchannel.com

I just had to link to this post. Foodchannel.com wrote an article on $5dinners.com. I enjoy reading this blog (even though frugal things in the States don't always transfer here) because it is written by a friend of mine. Daniel and I spent the first week at her house when we moved down to the D.R. We also enjoyed many of her meals first hand at the "Tuesday Night Dinner Parties" we had with her family and another dear friend. Some other fun memories include "camping" out at their house after Thanksgiving, roasting marshmallows over a campstove at our house, and driving up a very steep mountain for a picnic.
Congratulations $5 dinner mom!

More Jer pics

I tried to put these on the past post, but it didn't work. Now that it's been a while, I thought I should make a new post rather than editing the previous one.