Monday, August 31, 2009
recently
just a few sentences on everyone:
Ian: he is a pure joy to us. quickly smiles all the time...unless he is crying :D and rolling over and trying to scoot places...he is moving...just don't quite know how he does it! he loves loves loves his siblings and our ibu...can't say enough good stuff about the little guy...even when he is sick...it's been good here in indo for him. all the high schoolers at mountainview laugh at his tuft of dark hair on the back of his head. it's like a mullet??? but not really long enough...but his hair is coming in blonde all over except this longer newborn hair patch...it's his trademark...gotta have one.
Hazel: today she is sick. still wearing princess clothes...but a sick princess today...we all have this fever, cough, bellyache, painful headache thing going on. but besides that...has a new friend from kinder and wants to play with her 24/7 and her friend wanted to come over yesterday after kinder...but i told her hazel was home sick and her friend replied "oh...i'm sick too...i can still play with her then!" hazel is growing up too fast. giving us looks that only teenagers gave...or so i thought!
Paul: so far he is the healthy child in this second round of sickness. but he doesn't think it's fair that he is the only one who has to go to school (as gavin is home now for the 2nd day in a row). he likes school...thinks it's "easy peazy" and after greg had been walking with him to his class for 3 weeks, paul turned around the day after they got out of the car and said, "i don't need you anymore dad"...aw...poor dad...his heart sank and i am sure his sholders did too...it's hard when our kids are growing up...even though we like it :D
Gavin: he gets the most sick award. poor guy. indo just doesn't fit well with his body. i really do feel for the guy. he has spurts of greatness and is finally drawing again. back at the beginning of 1st grade one of his classmates told him "you can't draw!" and for some reason...Gavin believed him and would never try anymore...we loved Gavin's artwork...he had been so detailed and colorful and creative...so we were super sad that he was giving up at such a young age. but just this past week...we really prayed for him and talked with him on this and i think there has been a change...he is drawing again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and creating lego after lego after lego contraptions!!!
Greg: he is super busy...leaves the house at 7am and comes home at 6pm. he teaches all day and then coaches soccer. yesterday was their first game. greg loves soccer coaching and has 39 kids out for it...thankfully he has some assistance with it :D his classes are going well and of course the kids were sooo glad to have him back. he comes home and plays hard with everyone before we all go to bed...to do it all again the next day...he is loving it.
Martha: i am starting to feel somewhat better...i won't even complain cuz it's getting so old. my days are being consumed by lots of prayers for indo and what is being researched here on human trafficking...so much is happening. i feel confident we are here for such a time as this now. i love how God threads our lives...we don't see it until it's "more complete" but it's so great when we do! if you want to know more...let me know...
Ian: he is a pure joy to us. quickly smiles all the time...unless he is crying :D and rolling over and trying to scoot places...he is moving...just don't quite know how he does it! he loves loves loves his siblings and our ibu...can't say enough good stuff about the little guy...even when he is sick...it's been good here in indo for him. all the high schoolers at mountainview laugh at his tuft of dark hair on the back of his head. it's like a mullet??? but not really long enough...but his hair is coming in blonde all over except this longer newborn hair patch...it's his trademark...gotta have one.
Hazel: today she is sick. still wearing princess clothes...but a sick princess today...we all have this fever, cough, bellyache, painful headache thing going on. but besides that...has a new friend from kinder and wants to play with her 24/7 and her friend wanted to come over yesterday after kinder...but i told her hazel was home sick and her friend replied "oh...i'm sick too...i can still play with her then!" hazel is growing up too fast. giving us looks that only teenagers gave...or so i thought!
Paul: so far he is the healthy child in this second round of sickness. but he doesn't think it's fair that he is the only one who has to go to school (as gavin is home now for the 2nd day in a row). he likes school...thinks it's "easy peazy" and after greg had been walking with him to his class for 3 weeks, paul turned around the day after they got out of the car and said, "i don't need you anymore dad"...aw...poor dad...his heart sank and i am sure his sholders did too...it's hard when our kids are growing up...even though we like it :D
Gavin: he gets the most sick award. poor guy. indo just doesn't fit well with his body. i really do feel for the guy. he has spurts of greatness and is finally drawing again. back at the beginning of 1st grade one of his classmates told him "you can't draw!" and for some reason...Gavin believed him and would never try anymore...we loved Gavin's artwork...he had been so detailed and colorful and creative...so we were super sad that he was giving up at such a young age. but just this past week...we really prayed for him and talked with him on this and i think there has been a change...he is drawing again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and creating lego after lego after lego contraptions!!!
Greg: he is super busy...leaves the house at 7am and comes home at 6pm. he teaches all day and then coaches soccer. yesterday was their first game. greg loves soccer coaching and has 39 kids out for it...thankfully he has some assistance with it :D his classes are going well and of course the kids were sooo glad to have him back. he comes home and plays hard with everyone before we all go to bed...to do it all again the next day...he is loving it.
Martha: i am starting to feel somewhat better...i won't even complain cuz it's getting so old. my days are being consumed by lots of prayers for indo and what is being researched here on human trafficking...so much is happening. i feel confident we are here for such a time as this now. i love how God threads our lives...we don't see it until it's "more complete" but it's so great when we do! if you want to know more...let me know...
Friday, August 28, 2009
Ramadan
so we are a week into the fasting month. for us, this doesn't mean too much change, other than we have to move our bed from our bedroom (in the front of the house) to the boys room (in the back of the house). their room is able to be closed off and has AC so we don't hear the mosque across the street AS MUCH...at different times throughout the night. it's hard to watch movies at night because the mosque is going off pretty much the whole time so we fight to hear. last night we just turned up the tv so we could hear but then gavin came out and said he couldn't sleep for all the noise! ho hum...what to do?
as for the preferred religion here, they fast from sun-up till sun-down. i remember growing up in small town iowa and the supper bell would ring about 6pm. the same kind of bell rings here during ramadan so that all know it's OK to eat again. then all night long they are able to eat and drink and swallow their spit and brush their teeth and do all the things they can't during the day. work is slower because people are more tired. many are relaxing in the afternoons to try to save their energy. as the month goes on, people get a little more irritated and little less patient...but in the end, they believe this is what they have to do to have a clean slate...sins forgiven and debts forgiven or paid up. all is well for the next year. how sad to live under 'law' and not to have grace to carry them...
and now...alas...i am sick AGAIN...this is just indonesia for me...or is it? i don't know? today i tried to 'just buck up' and go out this morning with mr greg and get a few things from downtown. i must have a fever again cuz i was getting hot and cold and had to quick dash to the toilet. i thought it was just a cold...but i don't know? seems deeper in my lungs and deeper in my head...tuesday it will be 4 weeks of sickness....today marks 4 weeks in indo...but others have the same thing...it just lasts a long time...even with meds...
i know i have more to write about but those things will just have to wait. my heart is with so many different people who are struggling in these days. peace and blessings to you in your stretching times...
as for the preferred religion here, they fast from sun-up till sun-down. i remember growing up in small town iowa and the supper bell would ring about 6pm. the same kind of bell rings here during ramadan so that all know it's OK to eat again. then all night long they are able to eat and drink and swallow their spit and brush their teeth and do all the things they can't during the day. work is slower because people are more tired. many are relaxing in the afternoons to try to save their energy. as the month goes on, people get a little more irritated and little less patient...but in the end, they believe this is what they have to do to have a clean slate...sins forgiven and debts forgiven or paid up. all is well for the next year. how sad to live under 'law' and not to have grace to carry them...
and now...alas...i am sick AGAIN...this is just indonesia for me...or is it? i don't know? today i tried to 'just buck up' and go out this morning with mr greg and get a few things from downtown. i must have a fever again cuz i was getting hot and cold and had to quick dash to the toilet. i thought it was just a cold...but i don't know? seems deeper in my lungs and deeper in my head...tuesday it will be 4 weeks of sickness....today marks 4 weeks in indo...but others have the same thing...it just lasts a long time...even with meds...
i know i have more to write about but those things will just have to wait. my heart is with so many different people who are struggling in these days. peace and blessings to you in your stretching times...
Sunday, August 23, 2009
HELD by natalie grant
two months is too little
they let him go
they had no sudden healing
to think that providence would take a child
from his mother while she prays...is appauling
who told us we'd be rescued?
what has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
we're asking why this happens to us who have died to live?
it's unfair
this is what it means to be held
how it feels when the sacred is torn from life and you've survived
this is what it is to be loved
and to know that the promise was when everything felt would be held
this hand is bitterness, we want to taste it
let the hatred know our sorrow
the walls have opened slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow
if hope is born of suffering
if this is only the beginning
cannnot we not wait for one hour
watching for our Saviour?
this is what it means to be held
how it feels when the sacred is torn from life and you've survived
this is what it is to be loved and to know that
the promise was when everything felt would be held.
they let him go
they had no sudden healing
to think that providence would take a child
from his mother while she prays...is appauling
who told us we'd be rescued?
what has changed and why should we be saved from nightmares?
we're asking why this happens to us who have died to live?
it's unfair
this is what it means to be held
how it feels when the sacred is torn from life and you've survived
this is what it is to be loved
and to know that the promise was when everything felt would be held
this hand is bitterness, we want to taste it
let the hatred know our sorrow
the walls have opened slowly to lilies of the valley and tomorrow
if hope is born of suffering
if this is only the beginning
cannnot we not wait for one hour
watching for our Saviour?
this is what it means to be held
how it feels when the sacred is torn from life and you've survived
this is what it is to be loved and to know that
the promise was when everything felt would be held.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
the 4th baby
well i guess i kind of like to think of myself as a naturalist but after meeting "TRUE" naturalists, i kind of cancel myself out of that category. i also like convenience and "moving right along" so it's kind of crazy to me that even for our first child...little gavin...i only gave it a couple of rounds of "making my own food" before i said...no way! and started to collect coupons for those gerber foods. now i am in indonesia where there is no such thing as INSTANT foods...yes, they have instant coffee...but certainly not baby food but i have impressed myself by blending oatmeal and mushing up some banana in it and calling that Copeland 1st foods :D...i got the idea from a friend here...it's not mine...but i did it! ian doesn't much care for it yet but he is nursing so much lately that i have to try something!
as for diapers...they typically don't wear diapers here...so i buy diapers in a 4-pack or the extra large 10 pack! ha! can you imagine the looks i got when i got to the counter with 4 of the 10-pack! they actually made me wait as they went and retrieved a "gift" cuz i bought so much! a stuffed caterpillar! ha! it's just great! and i have tried several different brands trying to see which one i will go with...some of the "tape" on the sides don't stick...be very wary of those!
ian is almost 4 months...next week...and babies here are not allowed to sit up until at least 3 months. ian is wanting to not only sit up but...gasp...STAND all the time and i carry him on my shoulder and so many comments on "his is still little...he shouldn't be doing this!" so it's funny to see the different ways babies are raised around the world. we were eating at a restaurant and ian was sitting on the edge of the table making faces with the workers and they said "oh poor baby, if he sits like that it will hurt when he pees" i couldn't even comment on that one...
we thought we got attention with just us 5...but now that we have ian...it's oh so much more! i wasn't really prepared to deal with paparazzi again...we get photographed...video taped...the works...people love to see 4 little kids...blond and blue-eyed...tramp sing around...but i just want to shop or walk and not be noticed for my every move...but i guess this keeps us on our toes.
i forgot to bring a sheet for our pack and play, which is now ian's bed, but i realized that if you take a twin sheet and wrap it sideways 3 times...it works perfect! just in case you wanted to know...
i also forgot to bring swimmers...we went swimming over the weekend...EXPLOSION of goooo! how did we ever get by without swimmers before?
so the days are going to be fun raising mr ian here...he doesn't suffer for attention...or suffer at all really...life is just great for baby #4...
as for diapers...they typically don't wear diapers here...so i buy diapers in a 4-pack or the extra large 10 pack! ha! can you imagine the looks i got when i got to the counter with 4 of the 10-pack! they actually made me wait as they went and retrieved a "gift" cuz i bought so much! a stuffed caterpillar! ha! it's just great! and i have tried several different brands trying to see which one i will go with...some of the "tape" on the sides don't stick...be very wary of those!
ian is almost 4 months...next week...and babies here are not allowed to sit up until at least 3 months. ian is wanting to not only sit up but...gasp...STAND all the time and i carry him on my shoulder and so many comments on "his is still little...he shouldn't be doing this!" so it's funny to see the different ways babies are raised around the world. we were eating at a restaurant and ian was sitting on the edge of the table making faces with the workers and they said "oh poor baby, if he sits like that it will hurt when he pees" i couldn't even comment on that one...
we thought we got attention with just us 5...but now that we have ian...it's oh so much more! i wasn't really prepared to deal with paparazzi again...we get photographed...video taped...the works...people love to see 4 little kids...blond and blue-eyed...tramp sing around...but i just want to shop or walk and not be noticed for my every move...but i guess this keeps us on our toes.
i forgot to bring a sheet for our pack and play, which is now ian's bed, but i realized that if you take a twin sheet and wrap it sideways 3 times...it works perfect! just in case you wanted to know...
i also forgot to bring swimmers...we went swimming over the weekend...EXPLOSION of goooo! how did we ever get by without swimmers before?
so the days are going to be fun raising mr ian here...he doesn't suffer for attention...or suffer at all really...life is just great for baby #4...
Friday, August 14, 2009
Greg is...busy
this guy is teaching K-12 Art...many preps...many kids :D
and today there were 39 boys signed up to try-out for soccer...everyone wants to be on his team...so things are going well for mr. greg...
i'm trying to download a picture of him...but i can't seem to do it? i hope it's not this new page layout i selected? maybe i will try again tomorrow...
and today there were 39 boys signed up to try-out for soccer...everyone wants to be on his team...so things are going well for mr. greg...
i'm trying to download a picture of him...but i can't seem to do it? i hope it's not this new page layout i selected? maybe i will try again tomorrow...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
ants
i must say i am not liking the ants...not like i ever did but they are in EVERYTHING and i am not yet accustomed to brushing them out or eating the cereal with them it in. so far we have found them in the tea i was about to drink, in the sugar, in the computer, in the car, in the cupboards just roaming around. i can't figure them out and how quickly they come when something they want is left out! another new thing is a bug living in our bamboo. you can hear them chewing away at it. sounds like sprinkling rain. but i guess these are bugs that look like ants but are actually white. ewww! even worse! i tried to look up their name but couldn't find them to show. we also had to throw out a lot of powdered ingredients when we got back. this week i was making cookies with hazel and found little worms in all kinds of things...so sad to throw out things that we can't get anymore...like corn flour. (we weren't using that for the cookies :D) i guess there is a new import # on items and grocery stores have to pay a lot of money for that #...so in turn...we don't have a lot of things i was seeing on the selves just 5 months ago. bummer
paul woke up this morning and killed a cockroach outside my bedroom door. they were amazed at the sound it made and when i got up he apologized, "oh mom, sorry, did i wake you up when i smooshed that cockroach? it was so loud wasn't it mom? did you like that i did that?" ha ha ha, i was laughing on the inside but not awake enough to laugh on the outside...
i have also found gynormous "evidence" that a rat has been sitting on a window sill. why? sick!
so today i am sanitizing the house. maybe this is why we are sick? i am going to clean it all really good in hopes that all these critters stay away...even though i know it won't help too much...it will at least give me peace of mind that there aren't nests or anything around.
paul woke up this morning and killed a cockroach outside my bedroom door. they were amazed at the sound it made and when i got up he apologized, "oh mom, sorry, did i wake you up when i smooshed that cockroach? it was so loud wasn't it mom? did you like that i did that?" ha ha ha, i was laughing on the inside but not awake enough to laugh on the outside...
i have also found gynormous "evidence" that a rat has been sitting on a window sill. why? sick!
so today i am sanitizing the house. maybe this is why we are sick? i am going to clean it all really good in hopes that all these critters stay away...even though i know it won't help too much...it will at least give me peace of mind that there aren't nests or anything around.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
That's right! You found us :D
Here is our first post...it's like starting all over again so i picked a fresh look. hopefully this will be fresh and not a repeat of the last two years. but we are definately back in the swing of things here in indo.
the whole plane ride went pretty smoothly. i went into expecting no sleep and i was pleasantly surprised when i probably got about 6-8 hr of our 30+ travel time. greg however went in expecting sleep and was a bit more annoyed with the amount he got which was about the same. it's all about lowering your expectations...that is one thing i am learning...not wanting to...but having to.
the kids were so excited to enter the country again...this REALLY helped me to enter again as well. all the familiar scenes really did seem like "home" and it was nice to recognize and be able to understand what was going on...for the most part :D
we arrived in salatiga about 8pm...it gets dark here about 5:30-6 so it felt really late and we all went straight to bed until about 1 am...jet lag...yeah...we are just now getting off of that...at least ian and i are...the rest seemed to adjust a lot easier but ian couldn't understand what was going on so now he no longer sleeps through the night like he used too :( but slowly slowly...it will come again...it doesn't help that the mosque across the street seems to have gotten a new sound system just in time for ramadan to start...it's SUPER loud and i don't see how we ever slept through it before??? so every morning we are awakened at 4:30am with a startle
right away the kids went to the yard and to the friends here in the neighborhood. they found so many lizards and even a trantula! yidda...friends all around here were happy to see the foreign kids to return and when ian met everyone...he had a smile for them all...so he is known as the happy baby...yeah! cuz those first impressions stick like gorilla glue...
and of course we all got sick right away...gavin was the worst off...with fever and throwing up...and the rest of us...except for greg...all have really bad coughs and all that goes with that.
i don't understand how we can all be so healthy for the 5 months we were in america and the first days back...we are sick again??? what is it about here? i will be investigating...so we are still coughing and blowing noses...even little ian... :(
but i must now go...
pick up greg and gavin from school...paul goes for half day and is liking his class of 12~
life is moving right along
the whole plane ride went pretty smoothly. i went into expecting no sleep and i was pleasantly surprised when i probably got about 6-8 hr of our 30+ travel time. greg however went in expecting sleep and was a bit more annoyed with the amount he got which was about the same. it's all about lowering your expectations...that is one thing i am learning...not wanting to...but having to.
the kids were so excited to enter the country again...this REALLY helped me to enter again as well. all the familiar scenes really did seem like "home" and it was nice to recognize and be able to understand what was going on...for the most part :D
we arrived in salatiga about 8pm...it gets dark here about 5:30-6 so it felt really late and we all went straight to bed until about 1 am...jet lag...yeah...we are just now getting off of that...at least ian and i are...the rest seemed to adjust a lot easier but ian couldn't understand what was going on so now he no longer sleeps through the night like he used too :( but slowly slowly...it will come again...it doesn't help that the mosque across the street seems to have gotten a new sound system just in time for ramadan to start...it's SUPER loud and i don't see how we ever slept through it before??? so every morning we are awakened at 4:30am with a startle
right away the kids went to the yard and to the friends here in the neighborhood. they found so many lizards and even a trantula! yidda...friends all around here were happy to see the foreign kids to return and when ian met everyone...he had a smile for them all...so he is known as the happy baby...yeah! cuz those first impressions stick like gorilla glue...
and of course we all got sick right away...gavin was the worst off...with fever and throwing up...and the rest of us...except for greg...all have really bad coughs and all that goes with that.
i don't understand how we can all be so healthy for the 5 months we were in america and the first days back...we are sick again??? what is it about here? i will be investigating...so we are still coughing and blowing noses...even little ian... :(
but i must now go...
pick up greg and gavin from school...paul goes for half day and is liking his class of 12~
life is moving right along
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