Traveling!

Tomorrow I'm traveling to Chicago with Jeremiah for a friend's wedding. I'm a little nervous about traveling by myself with a toddler. Hopefully, flights won't get delayed and I'll make my transfer. I'd appreciate any prayers! I look forward to seeing some of you soon!

Beach Video

Here's a video of Jeremiah and me playing in the sand. He's scooping sand into a plastic container. At one point someone walked behind Daniel, and Jeremiah waved at him, trying to get his attention. Alas, the person didn't notice.

And here is a video of Jeremiah learning to roll "dice." When Daniel and I were playing Yahtzee, Jeremiah was intrigued with the dice, so I found a large plastic cup and put some plastic letters inside.

Beach Pics!

I wanted to get these up for Meet-and-Greet Monday, but that didn't happen...

Pictures from our Beach Trip:

Our spot under the palm tree

Playing with daddy

Dinner at the beach

Sushi!

Jeremiah's "rat"

(bread from the yummy bakery, given to him by the owner's wife)

Our little balcony

The view from the balcony

The tunnel

Jeremiah loves playing with the squeaky toy we bought previously for Chiste;

Chiste is afraid of it

He had a great time at the beach!

And video to come...

Brillante Weblog Premio-2008

Erin, over at $5 dinners gave me a weblog award! Please go check out her blog; it is full of great idea of how to feed your family frugally. Erin, we miss you here in the D.R.!
I'd like to pass this award on to some of my blogging friends:

Joanna at Sunflowers in my Kitchen -a blog about cooking, especially using seasonal produce
Ashley at Two Kitties and a Puppy- a blog for animal lovers
Beth at The Natural Mommy- a blog on raising children naturally, cloth diapers and all!
Jes at Beauty from Chaos- a blog written by another real life mommy
These blogs are written by wonderful women that I respect, who strive to serve Christ in their daily walk.

I know I didn't follow the min. 7 rule, but, though there are so many wonderful blogs I run into, time is so precious, so I usually focus my blog reading time on the above blogs (or their main blog sites).

Rules for Passing on this award:
When you receive the prize you must write a post showing it, together with the name of who has given it to you, and link them back.Choose a minimum of 7 blogs (or even more) that you find brilliant in their content or design.Show their names and links and leave them a comment informing they were prized with ‘Brilliant Weblog’. Show a picture of those who awarded you and those you give the prize (optional).

Weekend at the Beach, and a Storm A-coming

This weekend was a wonderful, relaxing trip to the beach! Saturday morning Daniel, Jeremiah, and I drove up to Cabarete. The drive was beautiful; part of it followed a ridge through mountains and hills. At one point, we could see all the way to Santiago, as well as other cities. We arrived in Cabarete at noonish, checked in, ate lunch (we brought it) and went directly to the beach. We found a nice place under a palm tree (it's low season, so there weren't too many people), spread out our blanket, and relaxed. Jeremiah had a great time playing in the sand and the ocean. Later, we walked along the beach looking for a nice restaurant to eat at that night.
For dinner we decided to splurge. After stopping by the grocery store, we showered, changed, and had dinner at a Sushi place along the beach. We managed to find a two person dinner for about $25 and had an appetizer of steamed soy beans. The dinner included soup and a few different kinds of sushi rolls. It was wonderful, fun, and different. We very much felt like we had a break from the everyday! As a result, we didn't go out to eat for breakfast or lunch the next day, but bought food from a local supermarket.
Sunday morning was rainy. we decided to go down to the pool anyway. By the time we walked down, the sun had come out. We had brought Jeremiah's pool floatie, and he had a great time as we pulled him around the pool. We took him back up for a nap as we packed up. After another hard rain shower, we finally got back out to the beach, rented some beach chairs and an umbrella, and had another relaxing afternoon (besides one more brief, but hard, rainshower in which the umbrella proved ineffective).
After a fun time of playing with Jeremiah, we loaded up the car and headed back to Jarabacoa. We took a brief stop to eat some Dominican food and arrived home in time to give Jeremiah a good bath (he was a very sandy boy!) and put him to bed on time.
Overall, it was a very rejuvinating and relaxing time emotinally and spiritually. God certainly blessed our trip and we are thankful for the much-needed break! (Pictures and video to come).

As far as the storm goes, a "low pressure point" has been hanging out over our island and is "moving" very slowly (if you can call it moving). It looks like it will bring lots of rain. Tomorrow is a Dominican holiday, and we are having a JCS staff get-together, rain or shine.

So, that's our news for now. Thank you to all who have been praying for us!

Prayer

For all you prayer warriors, if you could be praying for us today and this weekend. I don't think I can really put it into words or explain it, but I just feel like I need to ask for you to cover us and JCS with prayer right now. Thank you so much!

Update and Threadsnakes

So, I forgot to mention that we did get propane last Thursday, after being out for 1 week. Thank you all for your prayers and concern! Internet and phone seem to be normal again, and our invertor (which occasionally doesn't turn on) has been working the past few days. So, praise the Lord, things seem to be working again! Jeremiah is doing much better. He slept a lot today! Our "strange thing" of the week right now is snakes. At least, I think they're snakes. We keep finding skinny worm things in Jeremiah's room. When we try to kill them, they start slithering like snakes. After a online search, I discovered something that looks very similar, and I'm pretty sure this is what they are: threadsnakes.
It looks similar, and fits the description (emerging after rain, eating ants and termite (we have plenty of those for them to eat!)). So, they aren't dangerous, and are probably helpful if they eat ants, but I don't exactly want them in Jeremiah's room.
Anyway, that's all our exciting news for now. :)

We need a break!

It started with Thursday. I went to school before noon, helped with scholarship stuff (I'm volunteering to do the work behind the scholarship program) and then took off to Escuela Caribe with Daniel to borrow their very large pick-up truck (we drove up together, then I drove back with our car). From there, we went to one of the staff houses to help them move. I drove things in our car, while Daniel drove the large pick-up. We finally got back home after 6:30 (needing to feed a hungry child!), exhausted, but glad to have been of help (afterall, we were so grateful for all the help we had when moving!). By this point, Jeremiah and I already had a cold. Also throughout the week, Jeremiah had been frequently streching out his stomach in pain and crying, and I was already worrying about if I should take him to the doctor.
Friday afternoon: after a day of grocery shopping, I'm at home with Jeremiah, lying on the floor (I was tired) as he was playing. Suddenly, he does his stomach-stretch cry-thing, and then throws up all over me. A lot. I run to the shower, since my shirt has a puddle of throw-up, rinse off, and come back to my crying baby. I clean him up, calm him, nurse him, and put him down for a nap. He seems to fall asleep and then... he throws up again. I pick him up, he continues throwing up, and go to the telephone to call Daniel.
But of course, I remember that the telephone company has cut our phone and internet (because we didn't pay our bill from last month. Except that we did. And Daniel kept taking the receipt back to show them. And they kept "forgetting." So then he had to pay money for them to reconnect. Or else we could have driven down to La Vega to argue it, which would cost more money. So he paid and they said they would connect it in 4 hours. It had already been 4 hours!
So then I pick up the cell phone. And it tells me I have no more minutes. Thankfully, Daniel was planning on calling me soon, and he does. He calls the doctor and tells her we're coming. I drive over to the clinic, where Jeremiah throws up a few more times, and Daniel meets me there. Doctor agrees we should have tests done, so we plan to get a stool test the next day.
Because Jeremiah is sick, we miss Bible Study (which was finally going to start up after the summer). We also miss the JCS Saturday beach trip we've been planning for a month (it kept being delayed due to the storms.
So, Saturday comes, we get tests done, the phone and internet finally get re-connected (after we've spent lots of money using our cell phone). It's a beautiful day, and I keep trying not to think about the fact that we should have been at the beach. I regret not getting to go, but I don't regret putting Jeremiah's health above the beach. The test results come back: he has pinworms. We get medicine for it. Ok, but that doesn't account for the stomach pain and the throwing up. Maybe it's just a passing bug?
So, all this to say, I decided we needed a break. So, we booked a hotel room for next Saturday night and are going to stay the weekend at the beach! A real (two-day) vacation!
Yesterday and today have been full of a very crabby baby (who could blame him? a cold, tummy troubles, pin worms, recent vaccine, and teething!). Oh, and did I mention that they cut our phone again today? At least I still have internet... for now...

What's for dinner?

We're on day 7 of no propane (= no stove or oven). We did lots of grilling, sauces in the rice-pot, etc. Tonight I even made moro (rice cooked with beans) in the crock-pot. But my meal for tomorrow night is not transferrable to grill or heating pots (falafel on homemade pitas that I haven't made). I'm at a loss! I'm really missing my stove/oven. I've been craving eggs and toast for breakfast (our stove is also our toaster). I have plenty of throw-together ideas, but they all involve a skillet! Ah well, lets just hope the town gets propane by tomorrow!

Propane Update

Just to update you all: Jarabacoa wasn't greatly affected by Ike. However, there's still no propane in town, and we continue to grill and make good use of our crock-pot and rice-cooker. That rice-cooker has def. paid for itself and then some!

Vaccines and my first solo drive

I'm excited to say that today I completed my first solo drive in our mini-bus, and in the Dominican Republic. Okay, so I didn't go very far; I drove Jeremiah to the Jarabacoa hospital for his 1 year vaccine. I was questioning whether to get or not get or delay the vaccine (MMR), so I called up a fellow missionary friend who lives here and happens to be a pediatrician. She recommended it and said that mumps is very prevalent here. On that advice, we drove to the doctor and Jeremiah made lots of new friends (he had to wave to everyone in the office). There was another 1 yr. old boy there, and they greeted eachother and patted eachother's hands. It was cute. I expected Jeremiah to howl upon receiving the shot, but he did very well! He whimpered a bit as the shot went in, but as soon as it was over, he went back to smiling and waving at everyone. What a trooper! So, that was my "eventful" morning. Maybe tomorrow I'll drive even further. ;)

Pasta on the Grill, and other adventures

Thursdaqy night our propane tank ran out. Bad timing. One tank usually lasts 3-4 months. This one happened to run out during the stampede of tropical storms and hurricanes that have impacted our island, particularly the coastal areas. And where do you think the ships come that carry the propane? So, bad storms= shortage of gas. In short, we couldn't refill our tank because the city is out of propane. There is another propane gas station about 20 minutes down the mountain. We have no idea if they have gas. And of course, we don't know their phone number.
So, Thursday night we had to be creative. I was making pasta with veggies. So, we cooked the pasta and broccoli over the grill; grilled some eggplant and peppers, and made a cream-tomato sauce in the rice pot. It turned out very yummy. :) Last night we made hamburgers.

Cream Sauce

The Grill
The Grill master (the photo is a little foggy from the smoke)

Storm updates:

Hannah hit most of the island pretty badly (as the storm passed us several times in it's crazy loop). The D.R. at one point "canceled public schools until further notice." In Jarabacoa, we were not as affected. Here are some pictures of some cool clouds from the storm:

And now Ike is on it's way. The Bahamas, which were hit again and again by Hannah, look like they will be the main target for Ike. Right now, it is cloudy and comfortably cool, but nice outside. The birds are chirping and one wouldn't suspect that a huge hurricane was sitting on our North-East coast, heading WSW:

Hurricane Ike

So, depending on how it continues, we may lose power for a while. Which means we may not be able to blog. Or the storm could head up north and not affect us. Meanwhile, we'll try to find propane, and if we can't, buy lots of charcoal and hope we can grill. And hope the power doesn't go out, leavning us without a crock-pot or rice cooker!

And now, for Jeremiah's adventures:

Jeremiah is walking on his own now:

Jeremiah's favorite book is Animal Kisses. Somehow he got the idea that he should kiss each animal. Not sure where he learned that, but it sure is cute!

And pictures of the boy:

Weather in the Tropics

Rain, rain, and more rain. All the hurricanes/ tropical storms you've heard about in the news recently have been dumping rain on our heads. First we had Fay, which brought lots of rain. Then, a week later, Gustav dumped more water on us. Hannah brought clouds, but not much else. And then it turned:

The above map shows the path Hannah took. It started out W, like most storms travel. And then dipped south. And then west. And then east. And then it brought lots of wind and rain as the storm covered our island. And now it's headed North. The funny thing is, the weather people kept insisting it was heading NW even as it went South and East.

Here's what the storm looked like today. If you look in the middle of the storm, you can see our island, Hispanola. Haiti is on the left, the D.R. is on the right. There's a section of the D.R. where it's green, and the storm is all around it. That's where we live. Today was hot, humid, and sunny, while the rest of the island was being drenched. Now the storm is supposed to head NW which means we're being hit with rain again.

And more to come:
Here's a map of the Atlantic. Hannah's off to the left, Ike is in the middle, and Josephine is on the right. So, if it hasn't rained enough, more may come. But, at least I haven't had to water my plants in a long time.

Meet and Greet Monday- The many faces of Jeremiah

Looking thoughtful

The pout

The look of concern

The "downtrodden" look

The look of anguish:

The "uncertain" look

The "just chillin" look

The "silly" look

The "Happy" look

And finally...

The jubilant look!

For more meet and greet, visit The Natural Mommy.

Gardening, and My Little Green Thumb

Between last weekend and this weekend, we did a lot of garden work. I moved the cilantro and parsley to planters, the fennel to a pot, and the dill to another small location. Now I have an area with a little shade to plant my beans. The hot Dominican sun was proving too much for them. This way, they will get only the afternoon sun, which should be enough for them. In the sunny place where I had the beans previously, I planted plum tomatoes. In between the beans and plum tomatoes, the cherry tomatoes are growing and doing well! I already have some beautiful little green tomatoes. I just hope that the bugs don't get to them before they ripen.

I will plant beans in the front area; plum tomatoes are in the back.

Baby green tomatoes

Jeremiah, of course, had fun playing in the dirt. So, most of my gardening pictures were of my little green thumb:

Playing with weeds

Somehow he put a weed on his head... (and yes, he did it on his own)

Looking in at mommy's garden

Crawling away

And if anyone can tell me why blogger keeps rotating my pictures, I'd appreciate it. :)

Baby Help!

Jeremiah has figured out how to take off his diaper cover. I suppose I could use diaper pins to pin the cover on, but I'm afraid that this will affect the life of the covers. Any ideas?
Also, Jeremiah has taken a liking to throwing things...hard... all the way across the room. We've started taking putting away (for a little while) things that he throws. Is there any other way to stop this, or is this a phase that will pass?
And finally, he's really into head-butting. He even head-butts our faces. It hurts! I'm looking forward to the day when we can really communicate with him. I'm trying to teach him the sign for "hurt," but he doesn't understand it yet.

Fun with Food

I've been having fun with food lately, especially because Jeremiah is old enough to eat almost everything we eat. So, if dinner is something he can have, we leave out the salt and any spiciness until the end.
Coconut:
This past weekend we received 3 free coconuts. Now, I must shamefully admit that before I lived in the D.R., I thought that coconuts grew on the palm trees as we find them in the store. After all, this is how most cartoons display coconuts. But no, that would be too easy. Instead, they are literally the "nut" or seed of the plant. So, you have to first cut through the outer part of the plant to get to the brown nut that we find in the stores. To get to the nut, Daniel went at the three cocos with the machete. As he finished each, I tried to scoop out the flesh. After I finished this, I put the coco in my mini food chopper and grated it. I saved some for later use, and I used the rest of it to make coco milk. We haven't actually used either (they're in the freezer). If anyone has any good recipes that use freshly grated coco, I would appreciate it if you could send them this way!

Daniel attacking the coco

Post-coconut scraping

After grating the coconut

Chicken Cacciatore:
On Monday night (date night) I made chicken cacciatore in the crock-pot. I've recently been finding more uses for my crock-pot and it was great to have the meal ready when Daniel came home, without taking away time from him being home. The chicken turned out wonderfully. We also sent some with Jeremiah to his sitter. She envied his supper. :)

It didn't look this brown in reality...

I even used our fun napkin rings for the first time! (we got them at our wedding)

Grilled Pizza:
Last night dinner was a throw-together pizza. We had some pizza dough in the freezer, so we decided to grill a pizza. The toppings included: pepperoni, bell peppers, jalapenos, anchovies, olives, avocado, and cheese. Jeremiah just had the avocado, bell peppers, and cheese. Except we started it so late that I had to throw something else together for his dinner. He had the pizza for lunch today. :)

And of course, it's not complete without some pictures of Jer...

Sorry these are rotated, for some reason the blogger changed them and I don't feel like figuring out how to make them upload properly. :)

This is what Jeremiah does while I'm working in the kitchen:

He seems to be very attached to the beef cubes...

Yay for sleep!

After a few rough weeks, Jeremiah slept 11 hours last night and only woke up once, very briefly! And then he napped over 2 hours today!

The first week of school and a trip to Santiago

Daniel reports that the first week of school went very well. Instead of starting Monday, school started Tuesday. But this was not because of the tropical storm (which, by the way, we have another tropical depression coming near us). Due to builders still building the staircase, we had to postpone school a day. However, Daniel was very proud of the staff and please with the first week. And, we have all of our teachers! (Although one is still coming) We are very thankful as it was truly only by God's provision!
On Saturday we went to pick up the "morning PreK-2/business admin. helper" from the airport. This was our first trip to Santiago in our own vehicle (see below)! We decided to do a little shopping. I found fun things we can't buy in Jarabacoa like: whole wheat flour, whole wheat pasta, dried apples (they were cheap too; and apples here are expensive!), flax seeds, wheat bran, and tahini. Sadly, next to the tahini, the flour was the most expensive thing we bought. It's getting pricey to bake! However, the other health foods were very inexpensive, and I was so glad to find them. I know it may not seem like much, but it's hard to find those healthy foods here! How is the price of flour in the states? Is baking getting expensive there, too? I think I may "dilute" our whole wheat bread by adding oat flour (they use it here in drinks).
And I'm happy to report that Jeremiah really liked the dried apples.

Meet and Greet Monday- Making Life a Little Easier

I'm very excited to introduce you to:

Our very own mini-bus!

It has one row of back seats, and lots of cargo room. It's a stick, and so I'm learning to drive stick and learning to drive for the first time in the Dominican Republic. I want to thank my brother for giving me practice on his stick many years ago, as it's made it much easier! The car is pretty forgiving and easy to shift. However, it's an adventure learning while driving up and down steep hills, over unpaved roads, all the while looking for motorcycles that try to go around you while you're turning.

Also exciting: our new washer!

Ok, it's not "new" but it's new to us. We can now wash diapers without the long tedious process of our old washer. It's absolutely amazing how much time this has saved us!

Look- lots of room for diapers!

On Saturday we transplanted some herbs while Jeremiah decided to play in the dirt:
(notice the very dirty diaper cover)

Apparently he enjoyed the dirt

And here are my happy boys:

Make sure to check out Meet-and-Greet Monday at The Natural Mommy.