AG’s Birthweek

Ana is definitely 3 with all the celebrating we did this week.

On her birthday…

1. Her class sang to her.
2. Her daddy started a tradition of a father/child lunch date (has Tim Henderson influenced my husband in any way?). Ana chose–I love this–“Hamburger King” as she calls it. That is Burger King for those that can’t translate the 3 year old’s title for it.
3. She received her gift from us, a nightstand and lamp. She will now have quite the setup for reading in bed.
On Wednesday it is tradition for the birthday girl (or guy) to have a cake and for the group to sing to them. We enjoyed our Wednesday night Bible Study group and the lovely treats they prepared.

On Friday…

1. We had Ana’s birthday party.
2. We invited several of our Peruvian friends that fill the role of aunts, uncles, and grandparents here in this foreign place. Several were not able to make it, but the ones that came were the team (our Gringo crowd), the Pintos, Cruzilda and Inez (and Inez’s 3 children), Stephanie, Alfredo, and Manuela.
3. Manuela prepared Atomotada (Ana’s favorite dish here). It was delicious like always. I was also very excited to show off Manuela’s “skills” to our other Peruvian friends–and they took notice.
4. Ana requested a strawberry cake this year (I used the recipe for Aunt Katy’s favorite strawberry cake). It turned out beautifully (you never know with the altitude), and you can never beat frosting with cream cheese.
5. While I was in the kitchen cutting the cake and Greg was making coffee, Manuela commented that we could start a 3-way restaurant: restaurant, pasteleria, and cafe. I thought that was so cute of her to say.
6. Although her birthday party was very Americanized we kept their cultural idea of not opening presents until after the guests left. Ana received some great gifts. It was a great activity to wake up to after taking a nap. 🙂
7. Just to document what she received: a tea set, a chocolate bunny, “Llama Llama Who Is Your Momma” with a CD, new underwear and pants, stick-on stars to decorate her window, Peruvian purses, and a Backyardigan DVD.

We had a great week of celebrating. Here are the pix…

MK–8 months

1. sleeping through the night (except for when her body is fighting off Roseola)
2. eating 3 “meals” a day, she really enjoys yogurt added to her veggies and fruit, LOVES puffs
3. her brace comes off in a month, but she tries to reach whatever is around her. I am amazed what the girl can do in the splits position.
4. wakes up around 6:30 in the morning, but I can go in to sit her up, place her tub of toys in front of her, and she will play another 20 min. or so
5. she loves touch-and-feel books
6. she now says DaDa way more than MaMa–oh well
7. she loves her baby doll. She will coo and laugh when I hand her the baby, and many mornings that I get her out of bed she has already found baby and is sucking on her fingers.
Comparison picture (Ana is also 8 months in her picture)…

What do you think? They are DEFINITELY sisters.

8. she loves social laughter. She will intently watch a conversation and when people laugh she joins in immediately like it was a really funny joke to her.
9. She has the sweetest “coy look.” She acts shy and buries her head into my chest when she sees someone after her nap. She will slowly peek up at them smiling and when she gets a reaction she buries her head again.
10. She can wave, but we are still practicing on the “wave on command.”
11. Her favorite game right now is playing ball. I can’t figure out how to put the video on here. I will post it later.

Roseola

Ever since last Wednesday night Maggie has been “teething.” I told Greg by Saturday that I HATED teething and that I never remembered Ana having such a hard time with it. I was for sure that MK was teething because she had all the symptoms they tell you to look for–blowing her lips, mild fever, diarrhea, only wanted to nurse, CRANKY. She hasn’t slept well during the night AT ALL, and she would take crazy long naps during the day.

Today she was scheduled to get a vaccination. She awoke at a decent time this morning (she woke up to nurse several times in the night but wasn’t as cranky as she has been). As I was holding her in our family room I noticed that her skin was splotchy on her face and down to her neck. I undressed her to find the rash all over her torso. Her little eyes have continued to redden and look swollen throughout the day. She ended up not getting her vaccination because she has roseola. Good news, now she should be immune.

Why didn’t anyone tell me that roseola symptoms are very close to teething symptoms? I took a picture of her with her eyes open but ended up deleting it accidentally. Can you see the rash? As the Peruvians would say, “Pobrecita!”

Two New Cultural Lessons

1. Peruvians are excellent gawkers and rubber neckers.

A bad wreck happened at the corner of our street and the park this afternoon. One of our large combis hit an SUV dead on slamming it into my neighbor Stephanie’s house. 3 people were injured on the combi and no one was injured in the vehicle. Sadly, the SUV driver was drunk and it happened around 4 pm. But check out this scene when I looked after hearing the thud…

2. I have decided that a ping pong table is an excellent ministry tool here in Arequipa.

I played with Stephanie the other day for quite awhile. Tonight, Greg invited the oldest two Pinto sons down to play. They had never played before, but after a few games they have improved tremendously. It is a great way for Greg to hang out or invite others to hang out with him here at the house. Of course, I will be getting in on the action as well. 🙂

For the record, we have always talked about getting a ping pong table. Both of us enjoy playing. Greg went into town for all of the equipment for the gincana (the carnival for the library kids). We were told that we could rent a table, but he couldn’t find anyone that rented them. We made a family decision to go ahead and buy one, and I am not sorry that we did. It has been a blast. There are times that just Greg and I play.

Anticipation

Yesterday was a good day. My heart is full. I have been praying for a deeper level in some of my relationships here. Only because of the Holy Spirit working (and he has to have the credit because my Spanish is still poor), “deeper” happened with some of those people. You know the feeling you get before you have to speak before a crowd of people or take a really big test that you have studied really hard for? It is a nervous feeling, almost an anxious feeling. After investing time and specifically praying to be used I really believe that God was glorified in these relationships.

Two new people came to study yesterday with Greg. Two of my friends here. They will continue to study on Saturday afternoons. Another friend is coming to my house for the first time this evening. This is a big step, because I only know her in her work setting. She was supposed to come last night but worked too late. I called, disappointed, thinking she had backed out. She apologized profusely explaining her Saturday work schedule, and said that since she works shorter hours on Sunday she would definitely be coming tonight. I am praying for “deeper” with her.

God is surely working in this place. One tries to follow the path, praying that God will be the guide and that he will be glorified. The Holy Spirit provides the words. After great anticipation things begin to happen. And it can only be credited to God’s hand. Well, things are happening.

Proverbs and Tea

Wow. So much has been going on in this head of mine lately. There are times in my life when I know that I am coming through a molding process. I go through highs and lows, but my faithful Father never leaves me, and sometimes I just need to step it up my ownself.

I feel so encouraged right now by my Shiloh family back home. In my last newsletter article, I expressed for the umpteenth time how frustrated I am with my lack of Spanish speaking. I am to the point in so many relationships where I want to go further, deeper, but lack of vocabulary deters me from doing so. I will admit to you that studying my Spanish has not been at the very top of my priority list. The main reason for this is because I have had an infant to care for, a 2 year old on summer break, and all the other chores that come with being a mom, wife, and worker on the team. Maggie is almost 8 months old, Ana started back to school, and I am very motivated to get back into the swing of things. I have a really neat story that happened yesterday that I plan to share in this month’s newsletter. Let’s just say that God certainly does his share of encouraging me when I feel so inadequate at times.

Kyle’s parents, David and Virginia, have been here this week. They are part of our Shiloh family and delivered a care package to us. In that package was a large bag with an assortment of tea bags. I have been on a tea drinking kick lately. Each tea bag contains a card with a verse. On the back of each card is a note of encouragement from a Shiloh member. The deal is that before I drink my cup of tea I have to pull off the card, translate the verse into Spanish, and then drink it. I was excited to see what the first tea bag would be, and I have to say it couldn’t be any more perfect…

Proverbs 12:25

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. (and thank you, Kacia Parker, for your very sweet message)

Proverbios 12:25

La angustia abate el corazn del hombre, pero una palabra amable lo alegra.

For the record, my tea bag is peppermint (good to soothe the stomach), and I begin taking classes again on Monday morning. Thanks to all of you that have prayed for me and are continuing to do so.

Back to School 2010

I cannot believe how fast Ana is growing. I know, I know. Everyone says it, but it really is true. Time flies, and they grow up before you know it. Since Ana Grace is our first born, she is the one we learn from first. I wanted to post a picture of her last year on the first day and compare it to this year.

I love how her mind works right now. She has had several things to look forward to… first it was Mayerli’s birthday party, then it was the beach. Today we went to see the “library kids” (the team hosted a carnival for 3 of the library locations), and tomorrow she so looks forward to going back to school. This past week she went with me on my grocery store run. I bought food for her school snack. She picked out strawberry yogurt and honey wheat crackers (that’s my girl). Tonight before bed she looked at me with the most excited face and said, “Momma, tomorrow I have school! And I get to eat yogurt and crackers!” I love that she finds such joy in the simplest things in life. She is an example to me in this way.

Mayerli and Mollendo

We had a fun first of the week. We had been planning on going to the beach in Mollendo with our friend, Emilio. This past weekend was the last big weekend before school started and there were no hotels available. We decided not to go. I was actually sad and happy about that decision. We love the beach and I looked forward to spending time with Emilio’s family, but Ana had been invited to her best little buddy’s (from school) birthday party, Mayerli. As it turned out, we went to the party on Sunday, and we went for a quick one night trip to the beach Monday through Tuesday. It was just perfect for us.

Maggie has been a little out of sorts getting used to her new brace so sleeping perfectly would not be on our list of things she has done well this week. Aside from that, the party and trip were a lot of fun to do together as a family. Also, Rachel went with us to the beach. We took a 2 hour and 20 minute bus ride, stayed in a hotel right up from the beach, and got some sun. Unfortunately, we were unable to reach Emilio while there. Because most Peruvians started back to school and the Chile earthquake effects, there were not many people at the beach. It was so enjoyable.

Some pictures from the party…

Ana and Mayerli

Ana’s playgroup at the party (Kiarra, Mayerli, Raphaela, Ana)

We rented an umbrella and chairs for the time we were there (so cheap), and the second day we rented a little pool for Ana which was perfect for her. I love the “extras” they have here for the beach. In her new brace Maggie cannot fit into her stroller so I placed pillows underneath her. That was her bed for the trip.

Pictures