Baby's first Christmas!

This is Hannah's first Christmas...what a blessing to have our little treasure as yet another amazing gift from God. She had fun with the wrapping paper! After opening this present..that was it for her! She needed her morning nap!

Caleb sportin' his new Superman cape mommy made for him!

Superman and a little princess...

Oh boy! Their first games! We've already played them....they love them! Thank you Aunt Jody and Uncle Tom!

Here is my little princess!!

Thanks sweet friend for my present! I've already started reading it! I'm still looking for chocolate as being one of the veggies in there....because it does come from a bean right? :)

The night before the kids and I read the Christmas story and talked about the real meaning of Christmas. Caleb wanted to wish Jesus a happy birthday! Then I asked Caleb what his favorite gift was...and he told me "God mommy". No prompting I promise. It is fun starting our traditions with our family like the Christmas cookies and stockings...and focusing on the reason for the season.

Happy Birthday Sarita Joy!

Happy Birthday baby girl......I love you.......life is so much richer with you in it!
Some of Sara's amazing qualities:
Funny
Smart
Sharp as a tack
Adorable
Sweet
Affectionate (when she wants to be)
Athletic
Spitfire
Loves, loves, loves to sing...and listen to music
Funny and smart (did I mention that?!)
Goofy
Self confident
Perceptive
.....and just plain sweet.....

Happy Birthday baby girl....may the Lord protect you and guide you.....I am so honored to be your mommy.

Caleb's Party at School...

Cachow!! Caleb is FIVE!

I cannot believe it has been a month since I have posted. Wait. Yes I can. Before it is Sara's birthday next week, I thought I better give Caleb the spotlight from his birthday ...before he has to share it! Caleb LOVES the movie Cars...and Lightening McQueen (who he affectionately calls "Cachow!") So of course that had to be the theme! We celebrated his birthday three times. The actual day I took cupcakes to school to share with his classmates. (mental note to self: don't get all fancy and make a neat color frosting using Wilton dyes....they tend to make preschoolers faces look like clowns...because it stains their faces!). Then Alex's family came over for dinner and "abuela" gave him a beautiful cake for his present. Then came the actual birthday party..and we were ever so grateful to have nice weather for it. It was an absolutely beautiful day! I made him a "cachow" cake...he had been asking one...for what seems like forever! And invited his little buddies over to celebrate. He had an absolute blast! (and so did Sara! they are still talking about it!). So I will put up a gazillion pictures to tell the story of my now FIVE YEAR OLD boy's birthday. Could somebody please stop the clock!

I seem to be having technical difficulties. Surprise. Surprise. Ideally I wanted to put a caption at the bottom of each picture...but for some reason the pictures go where Blogger wants them to go...and not me. So I will briefly tell you about the party. Caleb had friends there from different places...school, soccer...and friends who are just friends with no other connection. Caleb has several good buddies from school already. One is named Lorenzo...and they just adore each other. They just have this chemistry between them....that good friends just have. It warms my heart to see it. They just click. You'll see them together in one shot.

All the boys...were...well....just that. Boys. They decided to climb one of our trees! It was great! They also pretended to be in a boat...and we played Red Light, Green Light. Caleb's favorite game is Duck, Duck , Goose. So of course we had to play that as well! (Only we called it "Mater, Mater, Cachow!". :)

After everyone had left...I asked Caleb what his favorite part was. And the funny thing is...I already knew. But it was just the sweetest thing to hear it. "My friends Mommy". "My Cachow Cake". "And, Duck Duck Goose!". You see, for Caleb...to be surrounded by friends is just the best thing in the world. So we knew the best gift to give him this year for his birthday...was to have his buddies here to be with him. And of course living where we live, that HAD to have a pinata.

Craziness!

Yep. Pure crazines around here. I haven't posted in forever. But I have a million (well, ok, maybe ten) written in my head. I was all ready to post a few of those right now...to keep my mind off my sick baby Hannah....but realized I don't have the pictures downloaded to the computer yet! Hannah has me really nervous right now...her breathing is weird...and we had a scare of her not being able to breathe due to so much phlegm coming up. She was literally turning colors on me...before she could get some oxygen in her. So right now it's almost midnight...and to keep my mind off of her strange breathing patterns right now....I apparently decided to babble. I just really need to get one of those many blog posts in my brain on here! so i will see if I have at least one pic to go with my one of my nonposted posts! :)

Ok, couldn't resist. Doesn't that smile just make you melt? It sure makes me melt! Oh it's like everything in the world just stops for me when I see her smile.

ok, on to our next random picture...

It rained for a MONTH STRAIGHT here. We just had a two week reprieve...but the rain has come back now. Those last two weeks were wonderful by the way. Before...I was keeping my eyes out for Noah to come on by..... So here is a picture of part of the river that was coming out of our yard. Our poor puppy thought the mud and rain was getting a bit old too! The water literally was flowing....so we officially had a river....however I don't think you can see the movement in this picture.

Now, I am not sure how well you can see it in this picture...but there is a lake there in the middle of our lawn. We didn't put it there. It was there for a while. I was so thankful to see the sun these past two weeks. It was good for the soul. And the lawn actually doesn't say squish back at ya each time you step in it! Toby was a muddy mess for that month. Poor pup needs a bath. But we missed our window. Maybe he'll get a bath next year.

There is my crippled husband after a weekend of camp with the youth. I had gone down to pick him up after camp....and this is what they all looked like. He got hurt before camp though...playing soccer. I suppose this picture goes to show some of the craziness that we have had lately. I had also become more of the family taxi driver than I normally am :) One of those crazy days I was at the pediatrician's office with the kids and he asked me where Alex was. I told him he was getting xrays for his ankle (which proved to be a torn ligament) and he asked me how it happened. I told him and his response was, "well...he is young...but not THAT young!" refering to him playing soccer. Ha!

Well, that will be all for now. I am thankful for the distraction...and Hannah seems to be doing better. Hopefully the next blog will come soon. A small hint....you will see pictures of yummy things in one of them!

Thankful for Health and Power!

I thought I better put up a post before some of you give up on me ever posting again! Not that these are the most exciting posts in the world...:)

We have had the most interesting two days. The weather has gotten REALLY cold (upper 40's at night....52 by morning). Now this might not seem that cold to you...but we don't have heat...and live in a home that is made of cinder blocks...and a bit drafty sometimes. The ceramic floors are normally a good thing...except for when it gets this cold. It is kind of fun to hear the wind howling though! So Caleb was at school, and I got a call from the teacher that they were closing school down early at 11:30...because trees were falling down on top of the school because of the wind. OK. That's good, I'd rather have him home anyway. So I am on my way to go get him...and the teacher calls me again. Caleb's throwing up. So I go up to pick up my poor sick child who is in the clinic. Oh, did I mention the power was out and I was supposed to have six ladies over for lunch? So much for that! So my poor munchkin could not keep any liquids down...not even pedialyte ....the whole day or night. But thankfully yesterdy late afternoon (still no power...) he perks up and keeps his liquids down. AHHHHHHH. Life is good now.

I hope to post again soon! Meanwhile, I am thankful for our children's health...and elecricity.

Missing in Action...

Wow, it has been a while since I put up a post. I have wanted to. Really. In fact I have had tons of things I have wanted to post. (cough...no energy) I have tons of pictures (cough..cough...no time...cough) to upload and put on here. My kids do the funniest things...(cough...and not so funny things ..ehem...) that I want to post as well. One of my excuses (cough...because I am full of them)...is that my hubby thinks he is still in his 20's (cough..most people think he is OLDER than me even though he is not ...cough...) and was playing soccer in the rain...(cough...bad idea weekend warrior!...cough..sigh) and decided to TEAR a ligament in his ankle (cough...what was he thinking? sigh...sigh..rolling of the eyes). So like I said I would come up with an excuse (cough...three kids below the age of five...cough..) and I will happily put all blame on my cripple....I mean my hubby. So all that to say...I haven't been updating my blog. By the way, does anyone have a taxi sign I can borrow to put on the top of my minivan?

Hannah cooing...

Another video of Hannah...she is a little talker!

A Video of Hannah

Just to make this little munchkin more real to you...I thought I would post a video. She is truly a joy in our family. She smiles a lot...and coos a lot now too! Oh how grateful we are to have this little treasure from the Lord!

Look What Hannah Found!

Yep. I'd prefer the "chupete" or pacifier. That can eventually be taken away (and with some resistance we know...ask Caleb). This cannot be taken away. But it is oh so cute.

That's My Girl!

This is just for a good laugh for the day. This is my girl in the midst of potty training....and well...quite frankly....it's hard to keep clothes on her!

Life in Honduras...

There is a new post I have, but since I did a draft of it a while ago, blogger has put the post below further. So please scroll down! :)

Independence Day Celebrations!

Monday, September 15th, is Honduran Independence Day. So, on Friday we had special activities at school! One, the kiddos came dressed in white and blue or in "typical" clothes. The traditional outfits will be obvious in the pictures, and the kids looked so cute in them! Now as a parent of a preschooler (as opposed to teacher) I made a gazillion chocolate chip cookies for Caleb's class and some freshly squeezed lemonade! Yum! Another mother brought in sandwiches and mini enchiladas for our hungry little kids! It is fun to watch Caleb interact with his classmates and he just adores his teacher! So here are some shots of the morning there at the school...Alex was able to join us as well as Caleb's two little sisters!

Did Someone Say Bomb?

Yep. A bomb scare today at school. I had actually thought about not sending Caleb to school today, he has a cold. (I should have listened to my instincts!) I go to pick him up...to find out that the entire school spent two hours out on the soccer field due to a bomb threat! We had had one of these a few years ago...so I suppose it was time for another one. I don't know many details other than someone called, said there was a bomb and that they had one hour to get everyone out. So they of course have to take it seriously! I am thankful that it was just a prank of sorts...and also thankful it didn't rain this morning (because when I went to pick him up it was pouring!). Craziness huh? We are thankful that all is well and safe.

Potty Training Update...

I stand corrected. Chocolate seems to be working. She is a girl after her mom's own heart. Now...Sara does tend to go just a little bit at a time...gets her chocolate....plays...comes in and goes just a little bit...gets her chocolate. Hmmm. I have a smart cookie here. Should I invest in stocks with Mars?

Life In Honduras...in case you ever wondered...

I got to thinking the other day. I bet some people have no idea what life is like down here in Honduras. The question, "you have a Walmart and a Target down there right?" spurred this thought on. So I just thought I would share some of the ways life is different down here.

1. We do not have a Walmart or a Target down here. We have a store owned by Walmart (it is also a grocery store) but it does not have the same products as Walmart. (Hence therefore the major "Walmart Run" as we affectiontely call it when we come to the states). Generally, if you need an item and live in the states, you go to the store and get it. You can pretty much count on finding it. Here however...it may take going to five or six stores (I'm not exaggerating) until you MIGHT find an item close enough to what you want. I have been on the search for quite some time now for good socks for Caleb that actually fit. The search continues by the way.

2. Life takes LONGER. To pay bills, if you can't do it online you have to go wait in line at a bank (and the lines are long)or go to the place itself (e.g. cable/internet). How else does it take longer? No dishwashers. No icecube makers in the frig. Not drinkable tap water in the sink. We need to wash our fruits and vegetables in iodine water before eating them (we can't just rinse them off in the sink)

Traffic. This city is situated in the mountains and the streets can be just pure craziness. There are tons of cars now here...but no space to make roads wider etc.. It LITERALLY takes me THREE hours just to go down the mountain to get groceries and come home. Now we are only about 8 miles away from my favorite grocery store...but the traffic is like rush hour all the time. When you do get to that grocery store, that ONE item you needed for that recipe....is not there. It might normally be there, or occasionally be there, but not always. So you may need to go to three different stores around town to find the one item you need. (now that takes time! Especially with three small ones!)



(in this picture notice if you can, the line of cars behind me...that was the line we were in)

This picture is of a lovely moment...that lasted AN HOUR. I drove in the parking lot with all three kiddos and a dear friend who was visiting. Only to find out that we could not move. We could not park. We could do nothing. As soon as we drove in the parking lot of the grocery store we were at a standstill...nobody could get out of their spots, nobody could park, nobody could leave the parking lot. So there we sat for an HOUR (Hannah was crying too...she was hungry poor baby!) being able to do nothing. I had chosen to go there to get just one item, because I wanted my friend to see it since it was built after she moved. Irony of all ironies...an hour later...we leave the parking lot without ever entering the grocery store. We leave without the item, and we leave without her seeing the store. However, we did leave with a unique memory we shared together!


Roads. hm. They have craters in them. At least the one up the mountain does! Driving takes on a whole new meaning down here! You never know what you might find in the road....a pot hole...a cow...a pig...people walking as if they are not walking on a busy road....taxi drivers without break lights stopping without reason (not necessarily pulling over to the side either mind you)...cars passing and in your lane coming your direction...when you least expect it....chickens...oh the list goes on. Driving defensively takes on a whole new meaning. I am convinced if one can drive in Tegucigalpa...one can drive anywhere in the world. However, I have been told it is worse in other places. Wow. My favorite saying while I am driving is "when in Rome!". So if you can't beat them...join them!

Now I have mentioned some differences that do not seem so positive in comparision to the states. These are definately inconveniences, but that is what they are, inconveniences. I have a theory on cultures and countries. Non are better than the other...they are just DIFFERENT. That said, let me tell you of some positives to living here.

People. People come first. It is not a task oriented culture, it is a people and relational oriented culture. People greet each other with "picos" kisses on the cheek as greetings. No matter how busy someone is, they will try not to let you know if you stop them and chat. If they call you for a reason, they will first ask you about how you are...how the family is...before asking for what they called for.

FRESH FRUITS and VEGGIES!!! Need I say more??? It's affordable to eat healthy! And the fruits are just amazing!!!!

Wonderful climate! We don't have air conditioning, nor central heating. Our temp inside the house depends on the weather outside. There is something nice and natural about that. Now we technically live in a cloud forest, so it can be quite damp certain times of the year. We don't have seasons other than the rainy season and the dry season. I can wear capris pretty much all year round...but when it's cold, it's cold. But that doesn't last very long.

The mountains and countryside are beautiful!

Medical attention is amazing. Now we might not have state of the art this and that....and there are some reasons to go to the states for medical attention..but for the most part it is a very positive aspect of living here. I actually have the cell phone of our pediatrician and ob/gyn....and I have used it several time. And yes, they actually DO ANSWER!!!!!

Life can be simple. A simple life is nice. A silly example, but an example nonetheless, I have learned to not depend on packets to cook with...things are now from scratch. Including lemonade! Electricity comes and goes at times. Internet comes and goes at times. But we have these things. And life is simple. Life is good.

Well, our children were born here...so I now have even more affection for this place than I did when I came.

So there are just some aspects that have come to mind.....as to how life is like here!!! I will put more pictures up sometime of the beautiful countryside! And also a video of the ride up and down our mountain. In case you ever wondered.

Art Attack!

For those of you who know Caleb...you know that he is my little Picasso. He LOVES art and LOVES to draw. It is his passion, and well....he is REALLY good at it! This morning he was in his room quietly drawing..and this is what he came up with. I am amazed at my little munchkin...truly. (I know I am mom...but still!) Also, this morning I made play dough and the kids had a ball! Caleb actually came up with the idea to make "cookies"...specifically peanut butter! (can you tell who is mommy's little helper when I make cookies?) So apparently he took the "dough" part quite seriously! He asked me for a fork. A fork? Hmm. OK. Then he asked me for pan...hmmm...OK. Creative little fella. He actually wanted to timer so that he could "bake" them for the right time! Sara...well...she just had fun making balls and cutting out shapes. She likes the feel of it! (oh, and yes, that is a tatoo on my baby girl's arm!)