Greetings from Guatemala

Cruz's 20 Month Update

2012-01-31T20:18:00.000-06:00

Our little boy is now 20 months old!

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

* He is wearing size 12 month shorts and pants and 18-24 month in everything else.

* He still wears size 4 diaper

* He wears size 5 shoes

* He loves counting things although he still only says 2, 3, 2, 3... He points to everything as he counts it.

* He loves to sing! He loves music and pretending he is playing musical instruments. One of his favorite

songs lately is "If you're happy and you know it".

* He loves to wash his hands before eating.

* He likes to feed himself with a fork or spoon. He also likes dipping his food in sauces.

* He loves watching DVD's. His favorites have always been Sesame Street but he is also crazy about the

two Baby Genius videos he got for Christmas. They are sing-a-longs and he would watch them over and

over again all day long if we let him.

* His favorite foods are meat dipped in ketchup, peanut butter on anything, and all fruits. He still drinks

milk with his meals and juice at other times.

* He has learned to say his own name and it is so cute to hear him.

* He talks out in his sleep a lot.

* This month we moved to his third home. So far he seems to be adjusting well to his new place. We are

thankful that he typically adjusts well to any and every environment.

* He pats himself on the chest when he gets choked.

* He is learning to cover his mouth when he sneezes and coughs.

* He still loves books. His favorite book lately is "Head to Toe" by Eric Carle. He loves to do the

actions.

* He can now say "love you" but it sounds more like "la lu", It melts my heart!

* He bows his head when we pray and shouts "amen" when we finish.

* He is definitely showing signs of the terrible twos and can be sooo dramatic at times for a little boy. He

does not like being told "no" and lets you know it- loudly. He is becoming more and more independent

and testing all of his boundaries.

* He sleeps well through the night. Depending on how early he wakes up he either takes one or two naps

during the day. On a good day he will sleep until 6:30ish and take a 1-2 hour nap right after lunch. There

have been a few times lately that he has started our day at 5/ 5:30. On those days he usually will take a

nap in the morning also. He sleeps well in the car when we are traveling.

He is a great mixture of naughty and nice. There are times that he can be extremely sweet and loving and then there are times that we question "what happened to our child?" haha We love him and are having an awesome time watching him grow and develop. We are blessed to be his parents.

Our First Guests In Camotan

2012-01-30T21:11:00.000-06:00

Tonight we enjoyed our first guests over for a meal in our new place. David and Glynis Miller (fellow IMB missionaries) were in the area doing some scouting for an upcoming team and we invited them over to eat and fellowship with us. We had a great time around the table together! Cruz also got lots of extra loving and we enjoyed that too. They are a precious couple and we look forward to visiting with them again soon.

Glynis, David, and Cruz

We have been steadily working to get ourselves settled in. It is hard to believe that we have been here a week already. We have been so busy with unpacking that we have hardly had time to do much of anything else. We feel we have accomplished a lot in the past week and things seem to be coming together nicely. We really like our new place and it is starting to look and feel more like home.

We have met a few new people so far, and many have offered us good tips and advice about the area. We found out where the nearest hospital is in case of an emergency. We plan to stop by there later this week while in Chiquimula and check it out. That gives me a lot of peace of mind because you never know when you might need it.

We found the main Claro (internet service) office in Chiquimula and are now in the system to get internet service in our home. They said they would call when they can get to us. That could be a day, a week, a month... who knows.

Cruz seems to be feeling better. He ate very good today considering he has eaten very little in the past week. He spends most of his time outdoors playing, running, and exploring. I love that he can be outside here. He gets soo dirty though! In Sayaxche he rarely got to play outside so he stayed somewhat clean, but here OH MY he gets filthy. He loves it (except for his hands) so therefore we have to love it too. We live in an apartment that is shaped like a U. Each room has a separate door that leads out to the sidewalk. He has learned to open all of the doors so we are having to keep most of them locked, haha. Overall he is doing well, but please pray that he would continue to have a good adjustment to his new home and area.

We hope to be getting out and about soon and meeting some of the locals. We are eager to get started in ministry here. Please pray that God would lead and guide us every step of the way.

A Few Of Our Sayaxche Friends

2012-01-25T20:46:00.000-06:00

While saying our goodbyes over the weekend I tried to get photos of Cruz with some of the people who he loves and who love him. We missed a few people but here are some we did get.

Normis and Mayra work at the coffee shop/ hardware store that we visited often. Not only are we going to miss them, but we are going to miss their hotdogs, cheeseburgers, and nachos too. The Oasis in Sayaxche was one of our favorite places to visit.

Cruz with Cecilia, Anna Victoria, and Hans.

This family lived on our property and we spent a lot of time with them.

Yoselin, Eva (the mama), Cruz, Candi, Yuli, and Glenda

Some of the people we will miss the most is this family. They lived across the street and treated us all like family. They ADORED Cruz and spoiled him rotten. They helped us out greatly with Cruz often coming to get him and playing with him. It gave us short breaks that some days made all the difference. Oh how we have missed them these last couple of days, haha.

Cruz with Glenda

You cannot tell it from this photo but he was crazy about Glenda. She was his favorite of all the girls.

I think one of his favorite people in all of Sayaxche was Julio. Cruz was nuts over him! Julio took up a lot of time with Cruz and was so gentle with him. He let him play in his truck, sit on his motorcycle, and just do boy things. He was also very good at teaching Cruz Spanish vocabulary. He will be missed by us all.

Cruz with Susi, Enoc, and Ingrith (the little girl was someone visiting in their family- I forgot her name). They are a few of the neighbor kids we met shortly after arriving there.

They all played with Cruz some while the workers loaded our things.

Cruz with Rosendo- our landlord

They adored each other as well.

We are thankful for each of these and many more whom I failed to get photos of who took up time with Cruz and loved on him. Cruz was definitely the bridge that allowed us to form all of these relationships and we are thankful for each one. When we think about our time in Sayaxche it will be memories of folks like these that will bring smiles to our faces.

How Things Are Going So Far

2012-01-24T21:34:00.000-06:00

In case you don't know, we moved this past weekend. We left the comfort zone of working full time with the Kekchi and moved eight hours away to a new people group, a new area, a new language, etc. We will now begin full time work among the Chorti with trips from time to time back to check in on the Kekchi. We are excited about what the future holds and ask you to pray for us as we begin this new chapter in ministry.

The movers arrived on Sunday- two hours earlier than we were expecting them. That is rare here as most people would show up two hours late, haha. They got all of our things loaded in about 3.5 hours. It helped that we had just about everything packed and ready except for the kitchen. We left that for them to pack. We were able to make it to Poptun for the night- two hours away. We checked in, ate, showered, and got to bed early because we had a very early morning the next day and six more hours of travel.

the moving truck in our yard in Sayaxche

Cruz loved watching the men work. He was facinated by all that they were doing and tried every chance he got to help them a little. They were very kind and patient with him.

two of the movers packing our kitchen

On Monday we arrived in our new town, Camotan, around 10:00 a.m. It only took the movers 2.5 hours to unload everything and then they left it in our hands. We have been very busy unpacking ever since. It is a large task but we are making good progress.

our dirt road

There was no way the truck would fit in our gate so the movers had to park outside and carry everything in. It was not that far but I felt bad for them with the heavy items.

They worked really hard, and we were pleased with the job they did.

Cruz and David putting our bed together

So far we have most of the kitchen unpacked. The gas man came and filled our tanks with gas which allows us to use the stove, grill, and dryer. The washer and dryer are hooked up and we have washed a load already. Our bed is up and we slept in it our first night. Cruz has all of his toys out and accessible. We left our clothes in our dressers so we have good access to them. We have found out which days the garbage runs and the water is delivered. We have done a few other odds and ends, but still have many boxes to unpack.

We are not sure when we will get internet service hooked up. David spoke with a rep. today and he said the system is overloaded in this area so it could be a while. Until then we will use a temporary service.

Cruz thinks he is at a playland. There is so much for him to explore and get in to. He has been a handful to keep up with and still get things done, but we are managing. He woke up today with an upset stomach. He does not seem to feel bad. He is just sick at his stomach. He has very little appetite, but is drinking well. Please pray that he will be well soon.

"helping" us unload boxes (with his fourth change of clothes for the day) and wearing his daddy's shoes- he is a mess!

We went today to buy groceries. We have been making due the last several days trying to get down to as little food as possible before we moved. I loved getting to restock our supply with all sorts of goodies. I also love the grocery store where we will be shopping! I am happy that we only have to drive less than 45 minutes to the store instead of 1.5 hours like we used to. That will be nice! I am also happy that our trip to buy groceries does not include having to cross the ferry.

Cruz eating supper our first night here.

We did not have anything to cook. We were also too tired to drive to town to buy anything. Instead we visited a local chicken place, Pollo Express, and bought some fried chicken. Cruz loves eating meat and especially dipping it in ketchup.

I will try to get some pictures of our new place posted soon. Once we get everything in it's place I think we are going to like where we live. It is definitely an improvement from where we came.

A Few New Things

2012-01-19T09:10:00.000-06:00

While traveling last week we picked up a few new things for Cruz. I am enjoying collecting Guatemalan items for him.

If you read our blog much you know he loves riding in tuk tuk's. They are a form of taxi here. We found this toy tuk tuk in the Antigua market and I just had to get it for him. He loves it! The funny thing is it has a Mayan lady driving it and that is something we have never seen in real life.

I picked up these letters to hang in his new room. We also plan to hang letters for his little brother- we just need to settle on a name.

We like to shop at a particular booth in the Antigua market. The owner, Neli, is always so kind and gives us great deals. I bought the letters from her. I also was able to share with her the news of our baby on the way. As I was leaving she called me back and gave me these two animals- one for Cruz and the smaller one for the new baby. How sweet!

The volunteer team that came down this past weekend brought a few things to entertain the kids with. Before leaving they gave Cruz these musical instruments. He loves music and will enjoy playing with these. When we would have our worship time he would get his songbook and just sing his heart out. No one could understand what he was saying but he was doing his best to make a joyful noise. It was so cute to watch and hear him.

Our friend, Ms. Shirley, brought Cruz these three stuffed animals of some of his favorite characters. He is crazy about Sesame Street! He has slept with that Cookie Monster every night since.

Life Lately

2012-01-18T08:11:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post we spent the weekend in Guatemala City attending a Prayer Retreat with our IMB mission family. It is always a refreshing time to be together. In addition to worship and Bible study (led by a wonderful volunteer team from Irvine, CA) each family has a time to share about themselves, their family, and their work and then the other families gather around them and lift them up in prayer. It is an encouraging time for everyone! We also had a lot of fellowshp time and did a lot of eating and snacking. I am usually in bed between nine and ten but found myself up until 1:30 a.m. one night just talking, laughing, and having a great time with a few other families. We really enjoyed our weekend. Believe it or not I did not take a single photo the whole time we were there. I took my camera to a few sessions but never took it out of the case to take any pictures. I cannot believe I did that.

The retreat ended after lunch on Sunday so we made plans to visit with a sweet friend who was in country on a volunteer team. They were also staying in Guatemala City. We wanted to visit with her on Saturday night but our new President was being inaugurated that day and the zone where she was staying was closed off because he was speaking there. Instead we met up with her on Sunday afternoon in Antigua where they were shopping. We had a great visit with her while there. We were able to eat supper at one of our favorite places in Antigua- Las Palmas. I LOVE their eggplant parmesan. It was oh.so.good!

Cruz and I with Ms. Shirley at the market in Antigua

Overall we were gone from home a week. During that week we slept in four different places- Poptun, Chiquimula, Guatemala City, and Coban. I was pretty tired by the time we returned home!

We'll spend the next two days with the Kekchi at the Peten Association's Annual Meeting here in Sayaxche. We are looking forward to hearing the reports from the previous year and goals for the year ahead. Please pray for these meetings.

Life Is A Zoo These Days

2012-01-14T08:18:00.000-06:00

I have not blogged much this week. We spent the first few days packing and organizing our things for our upcoming move. We then packed our bags and traveled for a few days. We headed back to the Chiquimula area to visit the apartment we will soon be renting as well as meet our new landlord in person. We have only had contact with her through e-mail thus far. She is American and seems like someone we are going to enjoy getting to know. The place we are moving to is much smaller than the house we are currently renting. We needed to decide which rooms were going to be what before the movers showed up with all of our stuff so that we could direct them where to put everything. While there we were invited to eat supper with a young missionary couple we met back in November. We had a great meal and visit with them. I can see a great friendship forming there.

After finishing up there we traveled on into Guatemala City. On Friday I had the glucose screening test done. We also spent some time that morning walking around the zoo. We are attending our missions annual Prayer Retreat this weekend. It is already going great and we look forward to spending the rest of the weekend with our mission family. I will have a prenatal checkup and also a dental appointment on Monday morning before we begin the long drive back home to Sayaxche. It has been some busy days and we have many more coming up. We would appreciate your prayers for our family during this time of transition.

Here are a few photos from our trip to the zoo-

Cruz and I standing outside of the entrance.

We have not taken him there since he was about 3 weeks old. We went when family came down to see him after his birth. He really enjoyed himself. He was able to recognize many of the animals. Some he says in Spanish and some in English. He also enjoyed making their sounds too. We just enjoyed watching him experience it all.

Since we were there in the morning most of the animals were getting fed. He would look at the animal and say (for example) "camel eat" (he would leave off the -ing). He did that for many of the animals. We would just laugh at him.

He liked looking in the glass at this bear. You cannot tell from the photo but the bear had his very large paw sticking in the window. I tried to get a photo of Cruz's hand next to it, but Cruz did not want to touch the glass.

This is the bear he was looking at.

My little monkey!

We saw just about every kind of animal you can see at a zoo. You would think that Cruz would have been very content with his visit and satisfied with all that he had seen. Well, he wasn't. Can you guess what he asked to see the WHOLE time we were there??? Horses! He kept wanting to know where the horses were. There are not usually horses at the zoo and this particular zoo did not have any. He was a little disappointed, but we made up for it by promising him a ride on the train a.k.a. "choo choo".

Here we are as we were taking off. He is waving goodbye to his daddy.

Our family at the zoo

It was a fun day and we look forward to visiting there again someday as a family of four.

The Weekend

2012-01-08T15:31:00.001-06:00

We had a pretty relaxing weekend. Friday night we visited a local restaurant/ coffee shop in our town and enjoyed cheeseburgers, hotdogs, and nachos. They also had plenty of Dr. Pepper's. I can remember just a short while ago that finding Dr. Pepper in this country was hard to do. Since Walmart arrived we can now find it at many places. You can buy regular Dr. Pepper, Caffeine Free Dr. Pepper, and Diet Dr. Pepper- even in Sayaxche. That makes me very happy!

On Saturday we drove north to Santa Elena to have our vehicle serviced. We left it at the shop and took a tuk tuk to one of the malls there. We walked around some and let Cruz play on this large inflatable slide. He loved it.

We ate lunch at Pizza Hut and bought some groceries before taking a tuk tuk back to the car shop. We came home and just chilled the rest of the afternoon. I cooked supper (meatloaf, homemade mashed potatoes, and English peas) and we watched a DVD episode of Dick Van Dyke before heading to bed.

On Sunday morning we attended worship at a local Spanish church in town. We have visited this church from time to time since moving here and wanted to go one more time before we moved. In addition to talking with the pastor and letting him know we were leaving we also got to visit with Edgar, Anita, and Barbie Cosigua and Barbara Stoltzfus while there. They are just a few of the many people we are going to miss from here!

Cruz enjoyed playing with the older kids some too.

David and Cruz walking home from church

We returned home, ate lunch (leftovers), and all took a long afternoon nap. I made a batch of dough I plan to use today to make some homemade cinnamon rolls. I'm hoping they turn out delicious! We'll spend the next few days trying to get some more packing done. We have made a little progress but still have a good ways to go. The movers are scheduled to arrive the afternoon of the 22nd to finish packing us, and loading all of our stuff. When that is complete we will be on our way. I am starting to get a little sad when I think about it.

Cowboy Cruz

2012-01-05T13:27:00.003-06:00

I posted one of these photos on facebook and got such a great response that I thought I would share the story behind the photo. It is very common for people to stop by our house daily selling things. Usually it is things like homemade food items, fruit, blankets, plastic storage containers, and newspapers. Earlier this week we were surprised to see a guy with a toy horse, a hat, and a western outfit stop by offering to take photos. Knowing how much Cruz "usually" loves horses we could not pass that offer up. David excitedly called Cruz outside to come see what was there. He ran to the door, looked out, and then ran back inside. He was afraid of it. We could NOT believe his reaction. He has never acted that way with any kind of horse he has seen- real or fake. He returned outside but only with me holding him and him squeezing me really tight. It took several minutes for him to warm up to it, and he honestly never really just enjoyed it being there. We finally got him to sit on it and then he would not wear the hat (something else he normally loves). It was just not his normal reaction at all. Once we convinced him to cooperate the guy took several photos and we were able to take a few as well with our camera. We paid him a very small deposit and he is supposed to return in a week or so with our pictures. I am not sure how his shots turned out but we were able to get a few cute ones ourselves. In spite of Cruz not being a huge fan, we thought it was fun.

David getting him dressed.

He did like wearing the clothes, but not the hat so much.

It looks like he is tipping his hat and saying "howdy y'all" in this photo, haha.

My favorite!

Shortly after the horse left he began asking for it and has asked about it the rest of the week. He has been to the door several times and looked for that horse. Maybe if we could get the guy to come back he might be ready to ride.

Put Your Shoes On Mama

2012-01-05T10:30:00.008-06:00

I had typed this up several days ago but forgot to post it. I wanted to share a conversation I had with Cruz recently. The other day I was sitting down (barefooted) and Cruz came up to me wanting to go outside and play. He kept saying "pato, pato, pato". I had no idea what he was trying to say and tried my best to explain that to him. He just kept saying it. The word for duck in Spanish is pato but he does not use that word. He usually says "quack, quack" for ducks. After more explaining to him that I was sorry but I did not understand him, he backed away, picked up my shoe, showed it to me, and said "shoe". He wanted to go outside and he knew that I needed to put my shoes on first. The word for shoe in Spanish is zapato. I was only hearing him say "pato". So he said the word in Spanish, in English, and showed me the object! My little boy is learning and it makes his mama proud.

January 2012 Newsletter

2012-01-03T18:02:00.001-06:00

Greetings from Guatemala! We hope each of you had a wonderful holiday season. Ours was extra special thanks to a certain 19 month old who made it a lot of fun. During December we hosted two missionary couples who live and serve in Guatemala City for a few days. It was nice to have their fellowship and company. Shortly after they left I became ill and spent the next three weeks recovering from getting e-coli and having rotovirus at the same time. I spent two nights and three days in a local hospital getting drips for dehydration and antibiotics for the infection. It was a miserable month for me and I am glad to be feeling better again! We made a trip into Guatemala City to attend our annual mission Christmas party with the other IMB missionaries. We had a wonderful time there. David was able to be a part of the organizing of a new Kekchi mission. We celebrated the five year anniversary of our arrival in Guatemala this month as well.

This months pastors meeting was extra special. It was exciting as they all brought in the offerings that their churches had collected on Christmas Eve. This is their equivalent to our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. This offering is used to support their six national missionaries and the association of 60 plus churches and missions. They collected a good amount of money considering the average income for most of these families. We are humbled by their sacrificial giving and service to the Lord!

As we look to the new year we see a lot of change for our family. In addition to the adjustment of having a new baby around (due the end of April) we will also be moving to a new area. We will begin work with a new people group- the Chorti, and a new language. We have plans to move to the Chorti area the end of this month. Yes, sometime around the week of the 23rd. On our last trip to that area back in November we found a small apartment to rent in the town of Camotan. It is located about 45 minutes outside of Chiquimula and about 20 minutes from the Honduras border. We have been making plans since to move and we think we have it all lined out. I am feeling a little overwhelmed with the idea of packing this house, moving seven hours away, unpacking, and getting settled in to a new place, all the while being pregnant. It was our choice to move now though instead of waiting until after the baby was born. I would rather be there and adjusted when he arrives than be facing a transition. Once settled in we will continue learning all we can about the Chorti people and their culture. We also plan to begin learning some of their language. We plan to make trips back to the Kekchi area to keep up with the work and be a presence of support and encouragement to the pastors and leaders. It is going to be a very challenging year for us. We are excited to see how the Lord is going to work it all out and begin to use us in that new area. Would you pray us through these transitions? We are going to need them a lot this year!

During the past five years of living in Guatemala we have done a lot of adjusting. We have had good days and bad days. We have encountered sickness that at times seemed unbearable. We have traveled many hours on many dangerous roads. We have seen lives changed and lives destroyed. We have studied two languages (and are facing a third). We have seen our family grow from two to now four. We have hosted many teams and have made some amazing new friends in doing so. We have eaten foods that I would have never dreamed I would have eaten. We have seen God work in amazing ways and have learned over and over just how faithful He is. Many of you have been right there with us praying us through all of these adjustments. We cannot express enough how grateful we are to all of you who regularly lift us up in prayer and show an interest in our work here. It is a great encouragement to us! We thank you and ask for your continued prayer support in the year ahead.

Ringing In The New Year

2012-01-02T13:00:00.001-06:00

It has been our tradition to spend New Year's in Flores for the past several years. It is such a pretty place, and we always enjoy our time there. We love to watch the fireworks being shot at midnight. The reflection over the water is really pretty. This year was especially fun with Cruz at the stage he is in. He made it very lively for us. I must say that this was by far one of the best away from home trips we have made with him. He was so good and calm the whole time. He was pleasant when we were eating out. He stayed in his chair, ate well, and did not ever seem to disturb anyone else that was eating. He acted much older than 19 months and it made us very proud. Here is a little of how we spent our holiday-

This was our beautiful view on New Year's morning.

Cruz slept until 7:00 a.m. He then woke me up by kissing me on the cheek and saying "good morning". It was too sweet and a great way to begin a new year!

We spent a lot of time playing.

We talked to family on the phone.

We laughed and giggled A LOT.

We clowned around.

We swam.

We rode in tuk tuk's.

We rode reindeer. (well kinda, ha)

We took lots of family photos to remember our time there.

New Year's Eve

We took walks around the lake. We ate, snacked, and took naps. We also got to watch t.v. (a treat). Overall our trip was relaxing, laid back, and full of family bonding time. I think we kicked off 2012 in a fun way. Happy New Year!

Cruz's 19 Month Update

2011-12-29T19:52:00.003-06:00

Cruz turned 19 months old on the 26th. With each passing month he just gets more and more fun. He keeps us well entertained and busy all day long.

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

* He weighs around 26 pounds

* He wears 18-24 month clothes, size 4 diapers, and size 5 shoe

* He eats everything. We are very thankful that he is not a picky eater and he will eat whatever is fed to

him. Recently he has started holding his food in his mouth and won't chew or swallow. It drives us nuts.

A few of his favorites are peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, McDonald's cheeseburgers, and any fruit.

He loves mandarin oranges and for some reason calls them "dooney". We have no idea where that word

came from but we hear him ask for it often.

* He likes to sleep with a burp cloth that he calls his towel.

* We love that he can now follow simple commands like "bring me your shoes", "put that in the garbage

can", "pick up your toys", etc.

* He loves to help us around the house. He likes to hand us the clothes out of the basket when we are

loading the washer. He likes to sweep and mop (or at least try to). He loves to get a wet wipe and go

around dusting things. He is a big helper! I think he gets that cleaning from his daddy, haha.

* He has a great vocabulary and seems to learn new words everyday. He repeats many of the words he

hears us say. He loves to read books and say the words after us. He has a pretty good pronunciation

as well. He spends time daily next door at our neighbors house so he is learning a lot of Spanish words

too.

* He loves to curl his tongue under and bite it.

* He LOVES music. As soon as he hears music playing he starts dancing. We have always sang to him

since he was born. Many times I have sung hymns and praise choruses to him. His new favorite song to

sing I am not sure of the title but the chorus goes Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, sweetest name I know. Fills my every longing. Keeps me singing as I go. Well he loves to sing the Jesus, Jesus, Jesus part and sings it all

day long and especially when he goes to sleep. It melts our hearts to hear him! He also likes the "Love

My Lips" song from Veggie Tales.

* He loves shoes and wants to change into a different pair several times throughout the day. He also loves

to wear things on his head.

* He has learned to say many of our neighbors names. It makes them very happy that he can say their

name. His favorites to say are Hans and Yuli. He calls our neighbor Glenda- Glenny. He also knows

the names of their dogs- Shakira, Tookie, and Spikey.

* He has started telling us when he has pooped.

* He is learning to have temper tantrums and testing our limits often.

* We are trying to change him from two naps a day to one long afternoon nap. It works well most days

but there are days that he just cannot make it until after lunch. He still goes to bed between 7:30- 8:00

and most days wakes up around 6:30 a.m.

* He has learned to crawl out of his bed and that makes trying to get him to go to sleep at night very hard.

* He has started giving us kisses. He especially likes to kiss us when he wakes up in the morning.

He can be so sweet at times!

He is as active as any little boy can be. He is rough, rowdy, and just simply all boy. We love his personality and watching him grow and develop. Of course we think he is very smart (doesn't every parent). He is a happy child that seems to adjust well to any and all circumstances.

Happy 19 month birthday baby boy!

We look forward to seeing what these little hands and feet are going to get in to next.

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-26T14:26:00.001-06:00

Our Christmas Day began with Cruz waking up at 5:00 a.m. despite the fact that he went to bed way later than normal! We put him in our bed and he tossed and turned for about an hour before falling back to sleep. Once he did, he slept until around 8:00. We then all got up and walked into the living room so he could see his gifts.

his gifts waiting for him to open

He went right to his new car and as you can see from the look on his face he loved it. He was not interested in opening anything else, only riding in his new "cah".

He would stop playing to open one or two gifts at a time and then go back to his car. It took him a while but he finally got them all opened. In addition to his car he got a bean bag, several movies, books, and puzzles, some play tools, a see 'n say, a Love to Play Puppy, a pillowcase, and a DVD player for the car (which we gave him a little early).

He loves his new pillowcase. Once David put a pillow in it Cruz put it on the couch, grabbed his towel he likes to sleep with, and layed down on it. We have it in his bed at night and it is funny listening to him talk to the characters.

He likes playing with the puppy but he prefered to pretend the box was a chair and sit in it. He sat in that box many times on Christmas Day.

For Christmas morning breakfast it is our family tradition to eat a typical Guatemalan breakfast. That includes scrambled eggs with cheese, black beans, and fried platanos. We ate toast instead of tortillas because we did not want to go out to buy some.

For lunch we ate American style. I cooked a turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, deviled eggs, pecan pie, and sweet tea. It was delicious! We invited Ms. Barbara Stoltzfus over to eat with us. After lunch and visiting it was naptime, and a much needed one I must say.

We spent the rest of the afternoon playing, watching his new videos, working his new puzzles, reading his new books, and dodging him in his new car, haha.

Cruz turning the t.v. on so he could watch a movie.

reading and playing

We ended the day by reading the Christmas story and having a family prayer.

Although we missed being with our families terribly bad, we did enjoy our day. It was quiet, peaceful, and relaxing. We hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas as well.

Christmas Eve 2011

2011-12-26T09:15:00.000-06:00

Our Christmas Eve morning began with our tradition of eating French toast. Afterwards we all got dressed and we drove north to Santa Elena. We ate lunch at Pizza Hut and then did a little walking around in the strip mall next to it. We let Cruz play on the playground and ride several of the coin rides they have there. He loves to ride these rides and since they are inexpensive we always let him ride several times.

He loves the motions, the lights, the sounds, and especially pushing all of the buttons.

Cruz and I sitting in Santa's chair at the mall.

We returned home mid-afternoon and I did some early cooking for our Christmas day lunch. We have been exchanging food all week with our neighbors. They are so kind to us! We have received a lot of good food. A tradition here on Christmas Eve is to eat tamales and we got several of them delivered to our house. I was looking forward to it because tamales are one of the things I have craved with this pregnancy. I enjoyed eating some before we headed next door to have supper with our landlord and his family.

It might not look appealing from this photo, but they are DELICIOUS!

A quick family photo before we walked next door.

me and my silly boy

For the second year in a row our landlord has invited us to eat with his family for Christmas Eve supper. They always fix a delicious meal and we always enjoy the fellowship. This year they had tamales, smoked turkey, a fruit and veggie salad, a jello salad, apples, and grapes (grapes are popular here for Christmas). Many people drink ponche, a hot fruit drink similar to a cider, with their meal but we had Guatemalan hot chocolate. It was good. This is a photo of a few of us eating. We gathered at our landlords restaurant that is next to us.

Cruz had a blast playing with all of the grandkids. They seemed to enjoy him as well. At one point they took him into the kitchen, wet his head, and fixed his hair like a shark. They thought he was styling and loved it, haha.

Cruz with the kids

After eating and visiting for a while we returned home to get Cruz ready for bed. We gave him his bath and put him in his pj's. We then had our birthday cake for Jesus. I have been baking cakes and taking them to our neighbors this week and almost every time we delivered one Cruz would cry because he wanted it. I tried to explain to him that we would have one later but he is not old enough to understand. When he realized that we were about to eat cake he was really excited.

I fixed it on our celebration plate that we eat on for our birthdays. I thought it would be good to keep the tradition even at Christmas.

Look at that sweet grin!

This was his face as he listened to us sing "Happy Birthday". He loves singing.

I took a few more photos of him in front of the tree before he headed to bed.

I call this one his "I know I have been bad but PLEASE get me some presents" face. haha

and one final grin.

Another Guatemalan tradition is to shoot fireworks at midnight. We were not sure if we wanted to wake Cruz up or not and decided to just let him sleep (and we were very glad the noise did not wake him). We had planned to turn on our a/c in the bedroom to help drown out some of the noise (and because it has been warm) but there was not enough power to run it. Usually in our area things die down after dark but on Christmas Eve people are up until way after midnight. With everyone using electricity we just did not have enough to run the air. Instead we opened the windows and ran the fans. It was VERY loud at midnight. I got up and went outside to watch and loved every minute of it. Cruz slept soundly. Because of our windows being opened our house filled with smoke from all of the fireworks and that was not fun. It is such an exciting time seeing and hearing all of them being shot at once. It literally sounds like a warzone.

Christmas Eve was a fun filled day. We enjoyed some time together as a family and also enjoyed some time having fellowship with our neighbors. We like being able to participate in some of the Guatemalan traditions as well as make family traditions of our own.

Mission Christmas Party 2011

2011-12-23T14:18:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday we attended our mission Christmas party in Guatemala City. It is held at the Hardeman's home each year. We enjoy a potluck lunch and a lot of fellowship together.

Each year the MK's take a group photo. I am glad we are now able to make a contribution.

We also play games. This year a few brave "volunteers" had to put a piece of ribbon with a cotton ball attached to it in their mouth. They then had to dip it in a spoon of vaseline and try to get it to stick to their noses- without using their hands. It was funny to watch.

they were all good sports

The MK's draw names at Thanksgiving and get each other gifts. The adults bring "white elephant" gifts and play a game swapping them.

Cruz getting his gift

Last year I took a photo of Cruz in front of the Hardeman's beautiful tree. I decided to do that again this year and make it a yearly tradition. Here he is looking a little naughty and a little nice.

Last year's photo.

He's grown and changed so much!

Our family

It is hard to believe that next year we will have another little person in our photo!

Giddy Up!

2011-12-22T07:00:00.004-06:00

If you follow us much you know that our little boy has a new obsession with horses. He likes to pretend that things are horses and then tries to ride them. So you can imagine his joy when he finally got to ride the real thing this past Saturday. We had just attended our mission Christmas party in Guatemala City and another missionary told us about horse and pony rides in the park close to his house. We stopped by there on our way home and let Cruz ride. He loved it! We thought he might be a little scared of a real horse but no way. David put him on there and it was like he had been riding for years. No fear! He talked and made horse sounds all around the block. It made us so happy to see him so happy. The cost for this simple fun- Q10. That's about $1.25 for a trip around the block. Well worth it!

Of course his joy did not last long. He cried as soon as we took him off. He cried himself to sleep in the car on the way home, and then cried as soon as he woke up from his nap. He cried off and on the rest of the day wanting to ride the horse again. We will definitely have to take him back there another day.

Adding A Little Sparkle To Our Nights

2011-12-21T16:19:00.000-06:00

For the past several nights after Cruz has had his bath we have let him go outside and light a sparkler. He had so much fun doing it the first night that we thought we would continue each night until at least Christmas. He gets very excited now when we tell him we are going out to do it. He has also learned to say "sparkler". Here are a few photos and a short video of him the first night-

Two Sweet Friends

2011-12-20T08:59:00.000-06:00

We recently got a chance to visit with two ladies that we love very much. The first one, Ms. Ruth, was our host while we were in language school. We lived in her home and she took excellent care of us. She is like another grandmother to me and I really love her! I cannot say enough about how kind she is, what a sweet heart she has, and how much she makes you feel loved. I always enjoy getting to return and catch up with her. We wanted her to see Cruz, tell her about the new baby, and wish her a Merry Christmas. We had a great visit!

Ms. Ruth, Cruz, and I

Next we went to see Ilse. She is the one we rented our apartment from in Antigua when we returned this term to study more Spanish and have Cruz. She is a precious lady as well. She was very excited to see how much Cruz had grown. When we told her about the new baby she wanted to know if we were going to rent from her again and live there. She was a little disappointed when we told her no. We had a good visit with her and promised to return to let her meet the new baby once he is born.

Ilse, Cruz, and I

We love both of these ladies and are thankful the Lord placed them in our lives!

Monday Missions Moment

2011-12-19T07:58:00.000-06:00

If you are a follower of Jesus, you are part of the task to fulfill the Great Commission. Paul says, “All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (1 Corinthians 12:27). Jesus has commissioned us to be His heart, His hands, His voice. Through praying, giving and going, Southern Baptists have fulfilled this legacy for more than 160 years.

Yet, billions remain lost and time may be running out for them. We must pray more intentionally and give more sacrificially than ever before. Our churches must take direct responsibility for helping reach the nearly 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups that missionaries may never be able to get to.

And, since most unreached people groups likely are represented in the world’s urban centers, we have unique challenges and opportunities to reach the world through the cities.

What can you do? If you are a pastor or missions leader, you can lead your church to own the Great Commission as never before, to be an extension of His heart, hands and voice through praying, serving and unprecedented giving to engage the remaining people groups without access to the Gospel.

Individually and together, we are Southern Baptist missions!
(copied from the IMB website- http://www.imb.org/)

If you are not called to go, will you GIVE so that others may?

Cruz's 18 Month Check-Up

2011-12-18T13:07:00.004-06:00

Last week while in Guatemala City Cruz had his 18 month check-up.

playing in the lobby

Cruz and David waiting to see the doctor.

Our regular doctor, Dr. Asturias, has moved to Denver to work and teach. We will now be seeing Dr. Figueroa. We have been very pleased with all of the care we have received from this clinic.

He is smiling now but it did not last long. This was the first time he really cried during his check-up. He was just not excited about it that day.

Cruz and I

He is 33 inches long

He weighs 25.12 pounds. Look at that face- he was not happy.

He got a good report and received one vaccine. We are very thankful that he is a healthy little boy!

He's A Player

2011-12-18T12:58:00.000-06:00

When picking places to eat these days we pretty much try to stick to those that offer an area for kids to play. Thankfully many places in Guatemala have those and not just the fast food ones. Although, we do spend a lot of time at the fast food places when we get the chance (who can resist a cheeseburger and fries when you don't have access to that everyday). Cruz loves McDonald's and has learned to recognize the golden arches. When he spots them he starts saying, "ay, ay, ay". His version of "play". He knows that all of them have a playland. He just seems to young to already recognize places like that! He loves their cheeseburgers too. Here is a photo of Cruz and David with "Donald". He leaves off the Mc.

looks like a happy face to me!

We visited a few malls while in Guatemala City last week. We enjoyed to options of the food courts and things for Cruz to play on. One mall has a large play area that is great for kids. There is a tree house with a slide and plenty of space to run free.

Cruz waiting his turn to go down the slide. Some of the older kids were good about helping him. He always enjoys getting to play with other kids. He thinks he is big like they are and follows their every move.

no fear

Most every mall in Guatemala City also has a carousel. He got to ride two last week.

He enjoyed every minute of it!

One restaurant we visited had this inflatable jumper. He liked it more when other kids were in it with him. One little girl got in for just a minute and then returned to her table. Cruz got out, walked over to her table, and drove here crazy trying to get her to come back and play with him. He kept saying, "go, go, go". That is his way of saying "come on". The poor little girl did not know what to think about him, and he could not understand why she would not go play.

And lastly, here he is playing at our mission house. He loves this car and is just now getting tall enough for his feet to both touch the ground so he can ride it. He also loves wearing his hat and look at that tongue- he is obsessed with curling it under and biting it.

Our "little" boy is growing up fast. He loves to run, play, jump, and climb- all the things that make him really tired so that he will rest well. That makes our outings worthwhile.

Our Visit To Klippers

2011-12-17T08:46:00.000-06:00

While in Guatemala City this week we were able to get Cruz a hair cut. It was his second haircut, but his first here in Guatemala. His other one was while we were in the States back in October and he did not like it. You can see photos of it HERE. This time he did much better!

This is the place we took him to. I thought if it was kid friendly he would do well and he did. They had cars for the kids to sit in and had t.v.'s at each station playing cartoons. He did not even notice they were cutting his hair.

He is such a big boy these days.

He looks much older with his new haircut. We are glad he handled it so well.

Fun Foto Friday

2011-12-16T09:11:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos I have taken of Cruz recently-

One of the very few I have of him with our tree. It sat for five days before I put ornaments on it and then I have been too sick since to think about photos. Maybe I will get a few more soon.

Playing in his "toy box" right after waking up one morning- love that bed head.

About to open his package from Ms. Shirely in Alabama.

reading with his daddy

Clapping because he was so proud he climbed on top of that stump in spite of the fact that I was saying "no Cruz, no Cruz, no Cruz"...

I guess he was thinking if I won't let him climb on the stump that maybe I would let him climb up the fence. He has to be climbing on something, always! And, yes, he straddled two of those slats, bounced up and down, and pretended he was riding a horse. In his mind everything can be a horse.

Playing in our clothes basket. I think if he would have stayed still just a little bit longer he might have fallen asleep, but then he might have missed something so he quickly got up and ran off to play elsewhere.

On another note, I am 21 weeks pregnant today with baby #2. I had a prenatal check-up yesterday and the baby is doing fine. I am still sick. Saturday will be two weeks that I have had this. I hope to get test results back today from the lab and maybe we will find out something new. Please continue to pray for complete healing. I am so ready to feel good again!

Over The River And Through The Woods

2011-12-15T20:27:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post David recently went on his first overnight trip without me. I was very sad to see him drive away and me not be in the car with him. I am not one to stay at home when I could be out and about with the people, but I knew this trip would not be a good one for a 1.5 year old and his pregnant mama. So Cruz and I hung out at the house and I heard him ask for his daddy at least a thousand times.

He picked up a Kekchi national missionary in town and they then headed to the village of Santa Amelia. They had to cross a ferry to get there and it was a ferry we had never been to before. Once arriving in the village they were greeted by the local pastor and a few church members and treated to a caldo lunch. They then left the vehicle there and headed out hiking. The purpose of this trip was to visit the village of Chi lar. There is a group of people who recently began meeting there and they wanted to become a mission so David and Abilino went and had a service to offically organize them as a Kekchi Baptist Mission. Once they arrived they were fed another meal, they had the service, and then they hiked back a little over an hour (in the dark) to the village of Santa Amelia where they spent the night. When they returned to the village they were fed again. They slept in the pastors home on typical Kekchi beds which are just wood frames. Between David's sinus issues and the others snoring he said he got very little sleep.

The next morning they were up early for breakfast and then took part in the service at the church in Santa Amelia. They ate lunch with the pastor and church leaders before heading back home to Sayaxche. Here are a few photos from his trip-

Hiking to the village of Chi lar

They could have driven there but they would have had to cross our vehicle on this other ferry. The nationals did not think that was a good idea so they left the car in Santa Amelia, crossed the river in canoes, and hiked the hour to the village.

more hiking

Eventually some locals met up with them and brought them horses to finish the trip. Cruz would have loved this part!

Cruz loves to look at this photo. His two favorite things- his daddy and horses.

This is the church at Santa Amelia. To the left is Kekchi national missionary Abilino with the pastor and his wife.

a few kids from the village

My Not So Private Stay At A Private Hospital

2011-12-11T16:09:00.001-06:00

If you follow us on facebook you know that I, Regina, have been very sick this past week. It began last Saturday when I woke up with stomach cramps. David had an overnight trip planned with a Kekchi national missionary and he was leaving that morning. I told him I was hurting "a little" but did not want to make him worry or cancel his trip so I did not really say how bad it was. He left and I was home alone overnight with Cruz for the first time. My cramps got worse and more frequent by the time he returned late Sunday afternoon. I also began having diarrhea soon after he returned.

Monday was about the same with diarrhea and the cramping was getting more severe. Late that afternoon I went to a local pharmacy and had a urine test done. It was late when we got the results and it showed I had a urinary tract infection. I planned to return on Tuesday for a stool test.

Tuesday morning I woke up feeling much better. I had no cramps or upset stomach all day.  For the first time in a few days I had an appetite and ate a good breakfast and lunch. I finished decorating our tree which had sat with only lights for five days. I did some things around the house and felt normal. Later that afternoon as I was cooking supper I began to feel bad again. In a matter of about an hour I went from feeling good to laying on the couch with fever and diarrhea again. David went to get a local doctor that we know and had him come examine me at home. He took my blood pressure and it was 80/50. He was certain it was something bacterial, but could not say what without a stool test. I made plans again to go the next morning for a stool test.

As the night went on my symptoms became worse. I was doubled over in pain, the diarrhea was very frequent, my fever was getting higher, and I began throwing up. I was very sick! I knew there was no way to make it to Guatemala City or Coban so we made plans to visit a private hospital in San Benito. The only problem was we had to wait for the ferry to open so we could cross the river. We were not sure if that was at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. We waited until 4:00 just to be certain and headed on our way. We arrived at the hospital emergency room at 5:30 a.m.

There they checked me out, admitted me, and began a drip for dehydration. They also did urine, stool, and blood tests on me.

Now the fun began. We found out that this private hospital has no private rooms. They have two rooms- one for men and one for women. There are six beds in each. The womens room already had three women in there when I arrived. I was placed in the back bed closest to the bathroom (which we all shared along with the shower). The room was very simple. There was no t.v.. There were ceiling fans but the other ladies did not like cold air so we could not run them (I got really warm over the next few days!). There were no call buttons for the nurses (if you needed something you had to get up and go find one- which I had to do on several occasions). One lady could not sleep at night so she left the overhead light on. The second night in the bed next to me was a lady who came in to have a baby and the baby stayed in the room also and screamed all night long. The other womens cell phones loudly rang all hours of the night. There were visiting hours twice a day- once in the morning and once in the afternoon. This was the only times I saw David and Cruz. I was by myself the other times. During these times it is open for any and everyone to come in and visit. So there I was in my bed, in pajamas, sick, and in comes a herd of people- men and women. I was not comfortable with all the men around. Other than getting to see my family it was my least favorite part of the day. Another thing that drove me crazy was every morning at 5:00 a.m. the nurses came in, turned all the lights on, and got everyone up. They change all the sheets and we each took turns taking a shower. It seemed like boot camp. Breakfast and dinner was a cup of atol (an oatmeal drink) with water, and I would get vegetable soup for lunch with a tortilla and a glass of refresco (kool-aid type drink). I quickly realized how spoiled I was from the hospitals in Guatemala City!  It was a great learning experience for me in language, culture, and also about myself. I had to let down my privacy wall and learn to live like everyone else. It was humbling and even though I did not enjoy going through it I am very thankful for the experience of it.

My symptoms continued to get worse. I could not get the fever to break because the medicine would just pass through. I had a fever for 32 straight hours. It felt much like the fevers I had with dengue. I hurt sooo bad all over. I thought my bones would break! Once it did break it came back a few times. I was going to the bathroom every 15-20 minutes for hours on end. I could not have rested even in a quiet, private room. There were times I really thought I was going to die there because I could not get relief. It was horrible being alone. I needed help getting in and out of bed, getting in and out of the bathroom (pulling a drip pole), and just with little things that came up. I was not only physically alone but I found myself in a room full of others and it was one of the loneliest times I have ever felt. I cried often- both from pain and from just feeling alone. It was not fun. The nights were the hardest by far.

I took three rounds of antibiotic drips. The hard thing was trying to figure out what was wrong with me and then finding a medicine I could take being pregnant. David was in constant contact with another missionary in our mission who is a nurse and was informing her of all their steps. She also spoke with the doctor over the phone. She was approving all they were doing as well as the medicines and doses they were giving me. That gave me great comfort! She also had a medical team that week so she was double checking everything with the doctors on the team. I felt like God ordained all of that just for me. I was able to relax and not worry so much about how it was affecting my unborn child.

The baby seems to be doing fine. They sent me for a sonogram at a lab in Santa Elena. The results were all good. I have a prenatal check-up next week with my doctor in Guatemala City and will also have another sonogram while there just to check things again.

I was finally diagnosed with both e-coli and rotovirus. One of those alone makes you ill so you can imagine having both! I came home late Friday afternoon.   They wanted me to say another night, but I just did not think I could take another night there. I needed rest and knew I could not get it there. The second night all six beds were full. I have rested more since being home but still am having diarrhea. It wakes me up a few times at night. I am sooo very ready for it to stop! Please pray for me to get over this sickness soon. As of today I am on day eight of being sick. It is draining and I am ready to feel better. I would appreciate all of your prayers very much!

December 2011 Newsletter

2011-12-05T15:13:00.001-06:00

Greetings from Guatemala! We trust that each of you had a great season of Thanksgiving and are looking forward to celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior this month. We spent Thanksgiving in the town of Panajachel with our IMB mission family and had a great time together!

During November we attended a pastor's conference, two birthday parties with our neighbors, and visited a newly formed mission to offer prayer and encouragement to them. We made another trip to the Chorti area and made some really great contacts while there. We met a Bible translating couple who have lived and worked in that area for 38 years. We were able to help with the delivery of 20,000 new Kekchi Bibles. That was exciting! David also helped with another recording for the "Institute of the Air" and got 12 new stories from the book of Acts recorded. The Kekchi radio stations should be airing them now.

I am 19 weeks with baby #2. Things are going well. Please continue to keep this pregnancy in your prayers.

We are expecting Christmas to be extra fun this year getting to experience it through Cruz's eyes. He turned 18 months old recently. We hope all of you have a wonderful Christmas season as well.

Monday Missions Moment

2011-12-03T20:56:00.000-06:00

Today I am beginning a month long series of posts called "Monday Missions Moments" to promote the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is what funds our being on the mission field. Throughout the month I will be sharing more about what the offering is, how it supports us and many others around the world, and how you can be involved. This years theme is: His Heart, His Hands, His Voice. Below is the 2011 theme video- check it out.

To learn more visit http://www.imb.org/.

Good Company Warms The Heart

2011-12-01T20:32:00.001-06:00

We have been hosting a couple of missionary families a few days this week. We have really enjoyed their fellowship and company. The Hardeman's are the longest serving missionaries in our region currently with 40 years of service. The Macumber's are the newest members of our mission. They were appointed with us and arrived in Guatemala last August after language school in Costa Rica. They all wanted to visit us and see where we were living and working. It's been a fun few days!

Yesterday we took them to the Santa Elena/ San Benito/ Flores area. We ate lunch on the lake, enjoyed a nice stroll around the island, and we ended our time there with a stop by Sarita's for ice cream. David, Cruz, and I shared a yummy banana split.

It can get a little lonely at times where we are not having many other North American's around to fellowship with so we always enjoy having people come to visit. Cruz has enjoyed all of the extra attention and we have enjoyed the extra hugs and kisses he's received and the extra arms to help carry him around. We are blessed with a great mission family here in Guatemala!

Cruz (napping), David, me, Helen, George, Jeff, and Noemi

Horsing Around

2011-11-30T21:05:00.001-06:00

I have started collecting Cruz some handmade Guatemalan things when we travel around. I write on the bottom of them where and when we bought them. I hope one day he will look back and enjoy all of the things we pick up for him along the way. One thing I love are some handpainted wooden animals that are common in most tourist markets. They come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I had only bought him a small dog so far (at a time when he was really loving dogs). On our recent trip to Lake Atitlan we picked him up another animal and this time he wanted a horse. I should have known. They had five different animals lined up and I let him grab the one he wanted. He immediately chose the "horsey". It is bigger than his dog and he has had a blast playing with it. The tail comes off and I just hope he doesn't lose it. Here are a few photos of him with his new horse-

Taking the tail off...

trying to put the tail back on.

What he loves most about this new horse is trying to ride it. I am so afraid he is going to break it, but we let him play anyway. That's what they make glue for, right.

Here is a photo of his orange horse and green dog. When he is not playing with them I keep them on his dresser. In front is his name made into tiny wooden puzzles that we bought for him in Cozumel. I think I am going to enjoy looking back one day at all the things we pick up for him too.

Cruz's 18 Month Update

2011-11-29T20:18:00.001-06:00

On Saturday Cruz turned 18 months old!

I cannot believe we are half way to his second birthday. It seems like yesterday I was pregnant with him instead of baby #2. He is such a big boy now and changing so much. This is a fun stage with him because he is so curious and more aware of life around him. He does not miss much and is so full of life. He makes us laugh often with his funny little personality that is really starting to shine.

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

* He wears size 12 month pants and 18-24 month shirts

* He wears size 5 shoe

* He wears size 4 diapers

* He has 16 teeth

* He loves to play in our shoes

* He likes to clean things (he gets that from his daddy). If I give him a wipe he will go all over the house

wiping things with it.

* He is crazy about horses. Everything is a "horsey" and he tries to ride anything that will hold him. He will

bounce up and down and say "neigh". His favorite thing to do is bounce on our feet and legs. He wears

us out wanting us to bounce him.

* He loves the teenagers that live next door and will stand at the door and call for them to come get him.

They have a lot of animals at their house and also spoil him with love and attention. We are thankful

that they like to spend time with him.

* He does not enjoy long car trips. None of us do, but he is just a little more vocal about it, haha.

* He sleeps very good at night, but naptimes are a nightmare. He will be so extremely sleepy, but will not

go to sleep. He has yet to ever just sit still and fall asleep on his own during the day. When he gets tired

he goes into overdrive mode and gets crazy! It can be very frustrating at times.

* He loves to play peek-a-boo.

* He is facinated by all forms of transportation.

* Oh my is he ever a climber! He tries to get on top of everything and has such determination. We have

to constantly keep an eye on him.

* He still loves music and will almost always start daincing when he hears it.

* His vocabulary is growing everyday. He says many words and repeats a lot of the words we say to him.

He is hardly ever quiet and when not saying words he is babbling away to himself.

* He still loves books and he likes to look at the pictures and turn the pages.

* He loves to open and close lids. He likes to unlock things with a key. He likes to play with tools. David

bought him a small measuring tape to play with at meal times and he loves it.

* He is still a good eater and will eat just about anything we put in his mouth. That is a blessing.

* He loves balls (and anything round that resembles a ball)

* His favorite toy right now is a Country Crock butter tub that he wears on his head and calls it his hat.

* He loves to fill his backpack and pull it around the house.

* He loves sticks and likes to hit everything in sight.

* He is very social and loves to be around people. He rarely meets a stranger.

* He gets bored easily and needs almost constant stimulation.

This is the view we see most of him. He is always moving and rarely sits still for any length of time. He makes us soo tired most days. He is a bundle of fun, but a handful at the same time.

HAPPY 18 MONTH BIRTHDAY, CRUZ

You are a charming little fellow!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-28T19:54:00.001-06:00

We spent the Thanksgiving holiday with our IMB mission family in the town of Panajachel. It is mission tradition to have Thanksgiving at our mission house there. Most everyone traveled there on Wednesday, but we chose to drive on Thursday morning. After traveling from Sayaxche to Coban on Monday and Coban to Guatemala City on Tuesday I just was not up for another three hour road trip on Wednesday. Once everyone arrived, we all had a delicious lunch together. I think we were covered on all of the traditional Thanksgiving foods. I know I ate way too much!

Our group photo after lunch

It is a little blurry. I had planned (as usual) on taking lots of photos over the weekend but quickly learned soon after we arrived that the battery in my camera was low and my charger was left at our mission house in Guatemala City. UGH! I only got to take a few photos with my camera the whole time we were there. I was miserable and just had that naked feeling, haha. My sweet friend Carol took several and I was able to copy photos from her.

A photo of the MK's.

Cruz is by far the youngest, but he had himself a ball playing with all of the older kids.

They all took up time with him and helped keep him entertained. That was a blessing to us!

After lunch several of the ladies (and Cruz) walked to the market to do a little shopping.

That night we chose to stay across the street at a local hotel. It was such a treat. We enjoyed getting to build a fire in our room, watch t.v. in bed, and just enjoy a little relaxing time together.

On Friday morning several of us took the boat across Lake Atitlan to the town of Santiago Atitlan to do a little shopping, eating, and sight seeing. One of my favorite things to do in Guatemala is ride the boat there. The views are breathtaking with three volcanos that surround the lake. It is such a beautiful place to visit. Our mission property is not on the lake but just a few short blocks from it.

Our family on the boat ride.

This was the only family photo I got during Thanksgiving this year.

Cruz had himself a blast on the ride. I knew he would love it and was anxious to take him. As usual he was not still one second and climbed all over the boat. He was passed from person to person and had us all tired by the time we arrived.

Me and my sweet boy taking in the views

Here he is playing peek-a-boo with us. He loves to do that lately.

We arrived and walked all around both the tourist market and local market. It was market day for the locals so the place was pretty crowded. We ate lunch at a place called La Posada and it was delicious. Cruz enjoyed a few tuk tuk rides while there as well. He loves that!

Before boarding our boat for the ride back we got a quick photo of Cruz with a local lady. Many of the ladies in this area wrap fabric around their heads like the lady in this photo.

We had checked out of the hotel that morning and when we returned to Pana that afternoon we moved into a room at the mission house. We had planned to return to the Capital that day, but ended up staying another night to visit with everyone. I am glad we did because we all had a fun time.

We drove back into Guatemala City on Saturday, to Coban on Sunday, and home to Sayaxche on Monday. It was a LONG week of travel and we were exhausted by the time we got home. There was a protest/ roadblock on Monday and it took us eight hours to make the normally 3.5- 4 hour trip from Coban to Sayaxche. That is not fun under normal circumstances, but definitely not fun with a small child! Driving to Panajachel directly would take us almost twelve hours. Last year we chose not the go because it is just too far. I am glad we were able to make the trip this year, but not sure what we will do next year with a toddler and an infant. We will have to see...

Here's one last photo and I think by the looks of it you could say our little boy enjoyed himself. Hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too.

Baby #2- What We Are Having

2011-11-27T20:02:00.001-06:00

Last Wednesday I had a prenatal checkup in Guatemala City. In addition to that I also had a sonogram to check on the baby and possibly find out what we were having. My checkup went well. The heartbeat was good, and the baby appears to be developing well. I have only gained three pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. I lost five pounds in the first two months, and gained it back in the third month which got me back to my original weight. I then gained three pounds in the fourth month. I think that after the Thanksgiving weekend I have surely added a few more, haha.

We took Cruz back with us and as soon as we walked into the exam room he started crying hysterically. We are not sure if he had a flashback to his stitches episode or maybe he thought he was getting vaccinations. Either way he was not wanting to be there! He calmed down but when I got up on the table he started up again. He was worried about his mama and did not like me laying on the exam table.

This is me before the sonogram. I was a little nervous about the whole "finding out" thing and not really sure I was ready to know.

The doctor was pretty certain that we are having another boy. I am thrilled for Cruz to be getting a little brother (even though I would have loved a little girl!) The main motivation for having another baby was for him to have a playmate and a little brother seems perfect. I am already trying to teach Cruz to say brother and hermano. He tries to say both although he errupts into laughter when I say "hermano" to him. I am not sure why, maybe he thinks it sounds funny. We did not get any photos but did get a video of the sonogram. I will try to post it later in the week as I am sure our families would love to see it.

I am currently 18 weeks and 4 days pregnant. I am feeling great these days. Sometimes I even forget I am pregnant. I have not slept good in weeks though. The longest I can sleep at a time is about three hours and then I am up for around two hours. I try to nap when Cruz does but that is not always convenient. I know that it is only going to get worse the further along I get so right now sleep is what I miss most. I eat most everything. The things I crave often are chocolate milk, crunchy cheetos, and any orange flavored drink. I have terrible sinus trouble that just lingers on week after week. I have occasional headaches with it as well. Other than those few things all is good.

We both appreciate your praying for this pregnancy, my health, and the development of our new baby. I am no spring chicken and am just so thankful to be carrying another child at my age.

Belts, Butterflies, Black Beans, and Baby #2

2011-11-22T19:41:00.001-06:00

We travel a good bit. It is not always easy when eating out to find highchairs that have straps on them. There are times when we find ourselves at places that have no highchairs- those are not fun. We have a travel chair that we use in times like those. Most places offer the same style wooden chair with a tray that lifts over the head but have no way to secure the child in them. When Cruz was a little smaller this was very difficult to keep him from falling out. David most always had to hold him still while I fed him. Now that he is bigger we are having a hard time keeping him from climbing out. Recently someone, and I cannot remember who, mentioned to us to use a belt to strap him in. What a great idea! Now when eating David just takes off his belt and straps Cruz in. It has made a huge difference. Here he is at breakfast this morning-

This "butterfly" was on his plate. I thought it was so cute and creative. He loves a typical Guatemalan breakfast- scrambled eggs, black beans, fried platanos, and tortillas. He will eat scrambled eggs any time of the day. When we moved here we thought it was so weird to eat beans for breakfast, but Cruz will grow up thinking it is a normal part of the meal. I also try to feed him grits and biscuits at least once a week to expose him to a few Southern staple foods as well.

On another note, tomorrow might be the big day. I have a checkup and am supposed to have a sonogram. If all goes well we just might be able to find out the sex of baby #2. I am excited yet I am trying not to get my hopes up. When we went for Cruz he would not move and we could not find out. I hope this baby will cooperate a little better. If we do find out we'll be posting the news soon (after we share it with family of course)

Kardamomuss Fusion

2011-11-21T19:57:00.001-06:00

On our trip into Coban last week we got to try out a new restaurant that recently opened. There are a lot of good places to eat in Coban and this one will definitely be added to our list of favorites. It opened right next door to the Dieseldorff coffee farm, and within walking distance from our mission property. I think the building used to be a car repair shop, but they have done a wonderful job of remodeling it. It is named Kardamomuss after the cardamom spice that is grown in this area. Many of the dishes they serve have cardamom in it.

They have two dining rooms and both are open and spacious.

We chose to eat in this one because it has huge french doors that open to a balcony with beautiful views of the coffee farm.

View from our table.

another balcony view

You cannot see well from this photo but to the left of the balcony are many coffee plants.

All of the tables are handmade with glass tops. Inside each are coffee, chili, cardamom, and other things typical to the Coban area. I just kept saying over and over how much I think Mrs. Jane would love this place. I cannot wait to get to eat here with her one day!

A few of the items seemed a bit pricey especially for the dinner meal, but average compared to some of the other nice places in town. We ate there for breakfast and it was very reasonable. Here was my plate-

I had pancakes. It came with fresh fruit (papaya, cantelope, watermelon, and strawberries) syrup, whip cream, raspberry sauce, coffee with refills (that is not always common), and fresh squeezed orange juice. It was delicious and only cost around $3.00. I am looking forward to a return visit there soon.

New Kekchi Bibles Have Arrived!

2011-11-17T16:50:00.001-06:00

We have been waiting all week to hear when an order of Kekchi Bibles were going to be delivered. We knew that they had arrived in port but were waiting for them to be released and brought up on the truck. They called late Wednesday afternoon around 5:30 to say that they would be arriving in Coban at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. Thanks for the advanced notice! haha The problem with that is 1) we live almost four hours from Coban and 2) we do not travel at night. So, that meant a very early morning for us on Thursday. I joked on our facebook page that we saw the sunrise and we do not see that often. It is because we are almost never up and going at that time of the morning. Not many other people were either.

We stopped to eat breakfast in Chisec and arrived in plenty of time to meet the truck. They were not so prompt and arrived at 10:30 a.m. Ugh. Miss Fran had about five people lined up to help and we were very thankful and happy to see that almost twenty of our Baptist pastors and leaders showed up to go help us as well. Miss Fran was very worried about not having enough help and in the end she was a little overwhelmed with the turnout. It was a blessing to have so many eager workers. There were 20,000 Bibles packed in boxes of 24 each. That equals around 834 boxes. It only took them about 1.5 hours to unload the whole truck. PTL! It rained off and on during that time but that did not delay them.

It was just a happiness in the air that we all felt knowing that so many copies of God's Word would soon be in the hands of the Kekchi people. After unloading we all gathered around for a group photo and then had a prayer over the Bibles. It was a special morning! I am attaching a few photos from the day and will be adding an album of all the photos to our facebook page. Thanks to those of you who prayed!

the truck full of Bibles

getting ready to unload

Our group minus about three men who had already left to take a load over to our Kekchi Baptist office. We are thankful for their servant hearts.

Spreading God's Word- Oral and Written

2011-11-16T19:49:00.001-06:00

On Tuesday David traveled to La Ceiba to do another radio recording for the Institute of the Air. They met and did the recording in the Baptist church there. They have been doing a series through the book of Acts and got twelve more stories recorded in the series. David edited them and burned them to CD's on Wednesday and we hope to get them out to the radio stations within the week. Please pray that God would use these stories to encourage believers, and open doors to new works among the Kekchi people.

Manuel, Abilino, and Mateo

Bro. Adilio (not present) has been heading up the Institue of the Air for many years. He recently ended his time as pastor at his church here in the Peten. He has returned to his hometown in Carcha (outside of Coban). We are not sure what further involvement he will have in the recordings but ask you to pray that those involved will be able to continue with this great ministry.

On another note, the Kekchi Bibles are arriving in Coban today- 20,000 of them! Pray for Miss Fran as she gets a little overwhelmed with receiving and storing them. Pray that we will find a storage home for each box and that plenty of workers will show up to help unload them.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-11-15T19:39:00.001-06:00

Ahh, Peace And Quiet

2011-11-15T10:11:00.001-06:00

Cruz got an early Christmas present in the form of a portable DVD player to use on our long road trips. We brought back most all of his Christmas gifts from the States and this was one of the things we got him. I had all intentions of waiting until Christmas morning for him to get it, but David has been itching to try it out. I gave in and on our last trip to Chiquimula (which is 7 hours one way) we let him have it. I must say it did make for an enjoyable, quiet trip while a video was playing. On those long trips it gets very difficult trying to keep him entertained. I am sure we will be getting a lot of use out of this gift, and it's a gift we are all going to enjoy.

Wrapping Up Our Trip To The Chorti Area

2011-11-13T20:31:00.001-06:00

On Friday we met Dan for lunch. He is working with the Chorti in Honduras. Dan is a missionary kid who grew up in the Philippines. His father developed an agricultural program there and the same program is being used among the Chorti in Honduras. It was very interesting to hear about his work and possible ways that we might partner with him in the future. You can click HERE to read his blog.

After our lunch meeting we headed out to the village of Lagunetas to make a short visit. It's been almost three months since we were there and we just wanted to let them know that we are still around. They were surprised to see us and we assured them that we would be back soon.

We then went back by a housing prospect that we had looked at on Thursday to take a few photos before heading back into Chiquimula for the night. We had planned to stay in the area until Sunday but felt we had accomplished all that we went there to do. We decided to leave on Saturday morning heading home. We stopped off in Coban and had a great visit with Miss Fran. She was eager to hear how our visit with the Lubeck's went since she was the one who put us in contact with them. We also needed to discuss with her the plans for receiving an order of 20,000 Kekchi Bibles that are to be delivered this week. Once we hear of their arrival we'll be heading back to Coban to help her unload and store them. How exciting is that!!!

Thanks again for praying for our trip to the Chorti area. We feel it was productive. We would now like to ask you to pray for a radio recording that David will be doing on Tuesday. He along with several Kekchi men will be recording some new stories that will be aired on the Kekchi radio stations. Many new Kekchi churches have been planted as a result of this radio ministry. Pray that it all goes well. Thanks!

Making New Friends

2011-11-10T20:47:00.001-06:00

On Thursday we had the privilege of meeting the Lubeck's. They are Bible translators who have spent many years working among the Chorti people. They invited us to their home for a lunch meal and fellowship. We really enjoyed visiting with them and learning about the Chorti work. They are very knowledgeable about the Chorti people, their culture, and their language. They are a wonderful resource for us and we are thankful that we got to meet them. We look forward to another visit soon!

They also invited another young couple for us to meet who recently moved to the area. They had friends from the States visiting with them who also had a two year old little girl. It was a full house and a fun time for all of us. Since this couple just went through the house hunting process in the area they were able to give us a lot of information and helpful advice. We consider both of these contacts a blessing from the Lord and are thankful that He arranged for our paths to cross.

Today we will be having lunch with a missionary who works with the Chorti in Honduras and we are excited about meeting him as well. This trip has been very productive thus far and we appreciate those of you who have been praying for us while here.

Simple Fun

2011-11-08T12:04:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we traveled to Santa Elena to have our vehicle serviced. It is usually a day trip because it takes 1.5 hours to get there, at least two hours to wait, and then 1.5 hours to get home. We try to do any necessary errands while there as well. We planned the trip so Cruz would take his morning nap on the way there. We arrived, dropped our car off, and then flagged down a tuk tuk to take us to lunch. It was Cruz's second time to ride in one and he loves it. I snapped the photo below right before we got out. He was not smiling then, but believe me he grinned the whole ride there.

We ate lunch at Pizza Hut and let Cruz play on the playland while we waited for our order. It was not enough that he had climbed to the top, as you can see from this photo, he then wanted to climb even higher. He is like a monkey when it comes to climbing. He climbs everything!!!

After eating we walked around the strip mall to kill time. We found a playground that we have never visited before. The things they had to play on were a little big for Cruz, but he had fun anyway. I am sure we will be back to play there again. Here he is jumping on the trampoline. It said for kids ages 4-8 but there were no other kids around so we let him play.

He is obsessed with "horsey's" these days (horses). He straddles and tries to ride everything like it is a horse. Here he is riding the see saw.

more climbing

He liked playing in this fort. He kept trying to lock the gate. I guess he wanted to keep the bad guys out.

He always enjoys a slide. I am just thankful he went down feet first this time, haha.

We bought a few grocery items and then took a tuk tuk back to get our car. Here he is playing in the tires while David payed the bill. He had a fun time playing, running, climbing, and exploring. He took a good nap on the ride home and that was worth it all. I love turning trips like getting your car serviced into fun family days.

An Afternoon Birthday Party

2011-11-07T08:59:00.000-06:00

On Saturday afternoon Cruz was invited to a one year birthday party for a little boy who lives in our neighborhood. It was our second birthday party to attend last week. The first one was for a man that lives across the street.

Cruz and I with the birthday boy, Nahum, and his mother.

While waiting for the party to start the older kids took turns helping Cruz sit on the motorcycles, which he LOVES! He was in little boy heaven.

the birthday boy hitting the pinata

Cruz getting a turn. He thought that was fun.

They had two pinatas. They let the little kids go first and then all the big kids got a turn. When it was over candy was everywhere and they all had a blast picking it up.

Cruz wanted no part in wearing a birthday hat. We all tried several times to put it on his head and he would pull it right off. But, he has walked around our house ALL weekend with a Country Crock butter tub on his head and calls it his "hat"- go figure, haha.

We then all enjoyed cake, tostadas, and horchata. It was a fun party.

Feliz Cumpleanos Nahum Garcia

October/ November 2011 Newsletter

2011-11-04T21:16:00.000-06:00

Greetings from Guatemala! I think October was the first month since being on the mission field that we did not send out an update. We traveled (in-country) the last two weeks of September, and then headed to the States the first of October for a three week vacation. We were away from home almost six weeks total. We just did not take the time to sit down and write. We did have a wonderful time in the States with family and friends. We loved for Cruz to get to know them and spend time with them. We just wish it had not gone by so fast! In case you have not heard, we surprised our families with the news that we are expecting baby #2 in late April 2012. We are very excited and cannot wait to find out what we are having. We hope to do that at the end of this month. I have had some complications already, but they seem to be clearing up. Please keep this pregnancy, my health, and the growth and development of this baby in your prayers.

We returned home to find everything we own completely covered in mold. We have spent this whole week trying to clean and wash everything. It covered all of our furniture, bedding, the floors, pots, pans, utensils, our clothes, etc. It was a disgusting mess, and has exhausted us trying to get it cleaned up. Guatemala received a lot of rain while we were gone and much of the country has dealt with flooding and landslides. We are thankful that our house did not flood (or get broken in to) but there are a lot of areas in our town that are still under water. Please pray for those that have been affected by this years rainy season.

We have a few things lined up for the month of November. David already attended a two day pastor's conference here in Sayaxche. Sunday is the Presidential elections here in Guatemala. Pray that it will be a peaceful process. Next week we will be having a prayer service at the mission in La Libertad. The mission there is growing and good things are starting to happen there. That is a blessing! We plan to make a trip to the Chorti area soon. David will be helping with another recording for the Kekchi radio stations this month. We plan to spend Thanksgiving with our IMB mission family. We are looking forward to a good time of fellowship with all of them.

It was great to see many of our prayer supporters while we were home on vacation. We wish we could have visited with all of you and thanked you in person for praying for us. It does mean so much to us and we cannot express that enough! Until next time...

Sending our love,

David, Regina, and Cruz

Your Missionaries to Guatemala

17 Month Update

2011-11-01T09:03:00.000-06:00

On Wednesday of last week Cruz turned 17 months. We traveled back to Guatemala that day and have been busy, busy since. I am just now getting his pictures posted. I normally take notes throughout the month of things he does but did not do that while we were in the States. He continues to change so fast and there is never a dull moment with him around.

WHAT HAS HE BEEN UP TO LATELY?

* He weighs 24 pounds

* He wears size 4 diapers, size 5 shoe, size 12 and 18-24 month clothes

* He cut four new teeth this month, two on the top and two on the bottom, all at the same time

* He made his third trip to the States to visit family

* He got his first stitches- 9 in his forehead

* He got his first black eye

* He got his first haircut (and cried the whole time)

* This month he helped us announce that he is going to be a big brother. We are all excited about that.

* While in the States he enjoyed playing outside, riding in a Little Tykes car, going to the park, feeding the ducks, watching the cows in the late afternoon, watching t.v. (his favorite show was America's Funniest Home Videos), and taking bubble baths.

* His vocabulary is growing everyday. He learned several new words while in the States. His new favorite thing is saying "cheese" before you take his picture.

* He is facinated by motorcycles and gets very excited when he sees one. He makes a revving sound and motions his hands.

* He loves to play in vehicles and his favorite toy is keys. He will tote a set of keys around and try to stick them in any lock he can find. He walks up to everyone and asks them for their keys.

* He likes to look at pictures and will point out the people he knows. He especially likes seeing pictures of his mama.

He is a busy little boy these days and there is not much going on around him that he misses. He keeps us exhausted, but we wouldn't trade it for anything. He blesses us everyday!

Happy 17 month birthday, Cruz!

You are a fun child.

Pregnancy Update

2011-10-28T08:49:00.000-06:00

I am 14 weeks today! I have not updated much about what all has been going on. While in the States I started having some complications (bleeding) and had to see my doctor twice. I mentioned in an earlier post about our first visit. A few days after that checkup I woke up in the middle of the night bleeding really bad. So much so that we were certain that I had lost the baby. We waited until the clinic opened to go in and see the doctor. The first thing they did was a sonogram and to our amazement the heartbeat showed right up. The baby, placenta, and fluid around the baby looked perfect. I am dealing with a subchorionic hemorrhage. The doctor assures me that it will clear up on it's on and that the baby is fine. He said that until it all passes that I could continue to bleed for a few weeks. I do not think I will have peace of mind until it clears up completely! I had a regular scheduled checkup with my doctor in Guatemala City on Thursday. We heard the heartbeat, and it sounded good. Everything else seems to be fine. Just please pray for this to clear up and for me to not have any further complications. We will soon be traveling back to our home in Sayaxche which will be about nine hours from my doctor. My next scheduled appointment is the end of November. Maybe, just maybe, we will find out what we are having on that day.

Visiting My Granny

2011-10-25T13:31:00.000-06:00

Last Friday David, my mom, Aunt Nita, Cruz, and I traveled to Liberty, MS to visit my grandmother in the nursing home. I was glad to get to squeeze in a visit with her while we were home. When we arrived she was getting her hair done and looked really pretty. She loved seeing Cruz and he made her very happy. It was a beautiful day so we got to sit outside and enjoy the weather with her. I was glad to see her doing well and looking well. She is 96 years old!

my Granny and I

Family Fun At Lake Chautauqua

2011-10-25T13:30:00.000-06:00

Another tradition we have is gathering with David's family for lunch and then all heading to the park for the afternoon. We did that this past Sunday and had a great time!

our group

we began by feeding the ducks

Cruz calls them quacks

we all walked along the treetop trails

a few clowned around along the way

we walked along the lake and enjoyed the beautiful fall scenery

we spent a while letting everyone play on the playground

we even took a few family photos

We love afternoons like this and making family memories together!

Picnic At The Park

2011-10-25T13:09:00.000-06:00

When we were home in March I had all my family gather at the local park for a picnic/ visit together. We all enjoyed it so much we decided to do it again this October. I love the idea of us all getting together so we will make it a vacation tradition to have this gathering. In addition to eating we laughed, played, and just had a fun time all being together. We are going to miss our families!

Cruz with his cousin Ryder

Cruz with his cousin Preston

Cruz with his cousin Lexi

Cruz with my mom

Visiting With The Gallman GA's

2011-10-24T12:39:00.001-06:00

Last Wednesday night we spoke to the GA (girls in action) class at Gallman Baptist Church. We had a great time with them! We talked about our work in Guatemala, taught them a few Spanish words, taught them a song in Kekchi, and a Bible verse. They asked a lot of questions and hopefully learned a little bit more about what we do. Their leaders always let us know that they are praying for us and that is such an encouragement!

group photo

We brought chumparrada cookies, lemon flavored Tortrix (chips), and mango kool-aid for them to try.

David and Cruz wore their matching soccer jerseys from the team in our town of Sayaxche. I snapped these photos of them before we left.

The back of the shirt shows the name of our home team- The Fury of the Passion.

It is named after the Passion River in our town.

Bath Time

2011-10-24T12:26:00.000-06:00

One night last week I snapped a few photos of Cruz in the tub. He is going to miss getting to play in a bathtub when we go home. He has really enjoyed his bubble baths! Every photo I took of him he was sticking out his tongue. He is such a clown.

If you look close you can still see the cut in his tongue. It has been three weeks since he bit it and it still has a large hole. I guess he likes showing it off, haha.

Playdate for Cruz

2011-10-24T12:19:00.002-06:00

Last Thursday afternoon we met one of our former youth ministry students, Ashely, at a local park to visit and let our kids play together. Her little girl Amy is just a month younger than Cruz. It was the first time they met in person. We loved catching up with Ashley and also loved seeing our kids interact. We laughed about how funny it is that we have kids the same age, that would be in the same school grade, and graduate high school in the same year. We will always think of these now young adults as our kids and love getting to still be a small part of their lives!

Cruz and Amy

Visiting our MK

2011-10-24T12:09:00.001-06:00

Last Thursday we had a special treat of getting to visit with a sweet MK (missionary kid) from Guatemala. We work with her family there. She is in her freshman year at Mississippi College and we drove up to see her and take her to lunch. We had a great visit and were happy to see that she is doing well. Please pray for her as it is not always easy to be so far away from family and loved ones. Pray that she would make some great friends that would love and encourage her. Pray that she would do well in her studies. Most of all pray that she would be a good witness and testimony on her campus. She is a beautiful young lady inside and out and we know that the Lord has great things in store for her.

me, Bethani, and Cruz

Our Little Pumpkin

2011-10-20T15:50:00.000-06:00

Last year I took photos of Cruz with the pumpkins we got from the pumpkin patch so I thought I would make that a tradition on our trips home. These are a few I took of him-

I used this one to have a package made to give out to friends and family.

This was Cruz last year with our pumpkins. He was such a chub!

Playing

2011-10-20T15:38:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-20T15:33:00.002-06:00

This past Sunday we attended worship at our home church, ate a big family meal at David's grandmother's, and then loaded up and headed to Mitchell Farms to play and pick pumpkins. We visited there last year for the first time and loved it. It will definitely be a tradition for us on our trips home in October.

Look how tall this fall.

This was Cruz last year. It is hard to remember him being that small.

There is a lot of things for kids to play with/ on. Cruz is still a little small for a lot of it but he had a good time running around and watching all of the people.

He loved the animal barn the most.

We enjoyed a farm tour on the trailer ride.

We picked out pumpkins. Of all the pretty, orange pumpkins they had Cruz went straight to this yellow and green pumpkin and would not put it down. I tried to hide it and let him pick another one, but he would find it and pick it back up. So, that is the pumpkin we came home with for him. It is cute once you get it away from the others, haha.

The kids enjoyed riding the train

Our family 2011

A group picture of all of us

It was a fun day!

The Weekend

2011-10-18T13:12:00.000-06:00

We had a full weekend. It began on Friday with a lunch date at Porches while David's mom kept Cruz for us. We then made a trip to Wal-Mart to do some "childfree" shopping. On Friday night we had a family meal at my mama's and then went looking at fall decorations.

On Saturday morning we drove to McComb to visit David's dad. We visited and ate lunch before returning home. I cannot believe I did not get one single picture while there. We hope to see them again before we leave.

Saturday night we joined our friends Reagan, Malinda, their daughter Sara Madalin, and Mr. Johnny for dinner at Bonefish Grill in Madison. It was a fun evening! We left Cruz at home with my mom so we could enjoy ourselves.

Sunday morning we attended our home church. It has been nice to be able to visit there while home.

Us with Nanny Roberts

After lunch at David's grandmother's house we all loaded up and headed to Mitchell Farms to play and pick out pumpkins. I will try to post pictures of that tomorrow.

A Little Update On Baby #2

2011-10-14T14:38:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to give a quick update on the pregnancy. We had a little scare this week and ended up having to go see my local doctor to have a check-up yesterday. After having a sonogram we discovered that everything looked great and the baby was fine. The heartbeat was 155 and he/she weighed 2 ounces. I should be 12 weeks today, but the sonogram was measuring the baby at 12 weeks 5 days. It was a great relief to hear that all was well! Please continue to keep this baby and pregnancy in your prayers. I will try to start posting regular pregnancy updates once we return home to Guatemala.

Cruz's Pumpkin

2011-10-14T13:13:00.001-06:00

David's Aunt Pat decorated this pumpkin for Cruz and he loves playing with it.

This is a photo of his scar and his black eye. It looked better this day.

MS State Fair 2011 (second visit)

2011-10-14T13:11:00.001-06:00

On Monday we made another trip to the Mississippi State Fair with David's family. The kids were out of school and the fair was having armband day so we loaded up and headed out for a day/ night of fun. Cruz enjoyed getting to ride many of the smaller kiddie rides. I even got to ride a few with him.

Cruz and Larsen riding the jeep. I think this was his favorite of all.

Larsen riding the motorcycles.

Cruz wanted to ride them but was too small- maybe next year.

We made another visit to the petting zoo. This is our brother-in-law Kelly.

We all enjoyed the slide.

Cruz's first armband. He would not let the workers put it on his arm. We had to hold him down to get it on his leg. Since his stitches episode he is afraid of anyone doing anything to him.

He was very tired by the time we left but we all had a lot of fun!

My Dad's Birthday

2011-10-13T15:37:00.001-06:00

We were able to celebrate my dad's birthday this week. We took him to eat lunch at the Cracker Barrel and then spent some time visiting together and letting him play with Cruz.

Ruff Night

2011-10-13T15:36:00.000-06:00

Cruz had a package waiting for him when we got home. It was filled with lots and lots of fun things for him to play with. In addition to these "ruff night" pajamas he also got his very own backpack to pull around. He has had a lot of fun pulling it, opening it, zipping it, filling it, and then taking everything out. He also got books, puzzles, snacks, and much more. He's getting just a little bit spoiled here, but that's okay.

You cannot see it well from this photo but he has a black eye that matches the one on the dog on his pajama shirt. He got that last Sunday morning right before we went to church. I'll post a photo of it soon. That boy sure needs to give his mama's heart a break, haha.

I just love his sweet feet!

Playing at Maw Maw's House

2011-10-13T15:28:00.000-06:00

We spend most of our days at David's grandmother's house letting Cruz play with all of the toys she has there. He cries everytime we have to leave. We want to buy him a Little Tykes car like the one below for Christmas but they are expensive in Guatemala. I am glad we got a chance to see how he likes it while here before we bought one. He does love it and plays in it a lot while we are at her house. I guess he'll be getting one soon.

his hair had static and looked funny

propping his feet up

I guess he got tired, haha

He has also enjoyed playing with his cousins in the afternoons after they get out of school.

Wedding Bells

2011-10-12T17:04:00.000-06:00

On Saturday we were able to attend the wedding of two of our former youth ministry students- Scott and Haley. It was held at our home church. We were able to see many familiar faces and get hugs from some people who mean so much to us. My mama kept Cruz while we went and of course the question we heard most was "where's the baby?" I know people were happy to see us too but Cruz is the main attraction these days. We were back there for Sunday morning worship and he was able to get loved on by many. It was a sweet wedding and we wish them the best.

Cock of the Walk

2011-10-12T11:52:00.000-06:00

On Saturday night we joined several of David's family at Cock of the Walk on the Reservoir. David and I have always enjoyed eating there and were looking forward to it on this trip home. We are always eager to eat fried catfish on our trips home and just like the pretty water views of this restaurant.

our group

After eating we all walked out to the water and let the kids feed and chase the ducks. Cruz just ran around saying "quack, quack, quack". That is his word for duck.

those little feet are rarely still

Larsen

Sawyer and Cruz

Kaylie and Cruz

Cruising With His Cousin

2011-10-12T11:51:00.000-06:00

On Saturday morning we spent some time at David's mom's house. Cruz enjoyed riding in the jeep with Larsen. He wanted to drive but his feet would not reach the peddle. Instead he just played with the key, turned the steering wheel, and adjusted the radio. He also got to ride on a power wheels motorcycle (his favorite) and a train. He had a fun time!

Mississippi State Fair 2011 (first visit)

2011-10-12T11:46:00.002-06:00

On Friday we made our first trip to the Mississippi State Fair. We went with my family. We mostly went to eat and look at the exhibits. We enjoyed walking around and seeing the sights.

We went with my parents, my two aunts, and my uncle.

We spent the most time at the petting zoo. Cruz was a little nervous at first, but quickly warmed up to all of the animals. He had a lot of fun feeding them carrots.

Going to the state fair is one of the highlights of vacationing in October. I am so glad we have our little boy to enjoy it with!

Sawyer's Football Game

2011-10-09T16:01:00.000-06:00

We were happy to be able to attend our nephew Sawyer's last football game at Copiah Academy where he attends school.

Sawyer and I

While the game was going on Cruz and Larsen had fun playing together. He got so dirty in the dirt and rocks but he had fun.

Visiting the Nursing Home

2011-10-09T15:54:00.000-06:00

I cannot believe one week has passed of our vacation already. It is going by a little faster than we want it to. We have been busy since we flew home. I am way behind on blogging but we do not have internet service where we are staying so I have to catch up when we are in town. We have had fun visiting, shopping and especially eating out.

Last Thursday we made our visit to the local nursing home where my mama works. Many of the residents were excited about seeing Cruz again. This is a picture with Jennifer who works with my mama.

Cruz with Nannie Harper

he was a lot of entertainment for them

Afterwards Jennifer, my mama, and I went to eat lunch at Porches (my favorite place!)

David kept Cruz so I could go and enjoy myself. It was a fun, relaxing meal.

Cruz's First Haircut

2011-10-06T17:47:00.000-06:00

Tuesday morning Cruz got his first haircut. I wanted to wait until we were home so he could get it cut here.

The back was getting long and shaggy.

He would not sit by himself so I had to hold him. He cried the whole time. I think he was just afraid after getting stitches and having them taken out that Amy was going to hurt him.

I did not get after photos or a photo of him with Amy. As soon as he was done David took him out while I got my hair cut. It looks much better now and he looks more like a little boy than ever.

Getting Cruz's Stitches Out

2011-10-06T13:18:00.001-06:00

On Monday morning we took Cruz to have his stitches taken out. It went about as well as we expected. He DID NOT enjoy it at all. I am glad to have it past us and now I just hope I can keep him from needing more in the near future.

He looks real excited, huh. haha

Because we kept a bandage on it I never took time to take a photo of them. This one is blurry but shows his stitches. We think he had nine total.

This is how they did it- a nurse took them out, she had a backup nurse to help hold him, and David held him as well. I stood back and tried not to cry myself, haha.

My poor baby cried the whole time. He was very relieved when it was over and as soon as I held him he quit crying. That was not the way we had planned to spend our first morning home, but it makes for a good memory.

Sharing Our News With Family

2011-10-05T16:16:00.000-06:00

Here are a few photos of us arriving at the airport. I dressed Cruz in a t-shirt that announced that he was going to be a big brother but nobody read it. After about ten minutes David finally told them to look at his shirt. You can imagine everyone's excitement when they realized we were having another baby. It was another fun/ memorable trip home!

Us walking out.

Everyone was expecting a BIG sign. We had one but they just didn't see it.

Larsen and I

David and Larsen

Sawyer and Cruz

Kaylie and Cruz

Traveling Home Fall 2011

2011-10-05T14:50:00.000-06:00

We left Guatemala City on Sunday morning heading to the States.

A missionary friend, Carol, volunteered to take us to the airport. It was very sweet of her to get up early and take us!

After a smooth check-in Cruz had a lot of fun running around and looking out the windows. He would point out and sometimes say "plane" and other times say "car". All forms of transportation are car to him. He would run up to all of the locals and say "hola". He was a lot of entertainment for those getting ready to travel.

He was past due for a nap by the time we boarded but we wanted him to wait and sleep on the plane. He got his second wind after takeoff and for the first hour he was a nightmare! He was definitely "that child" on the flight. We were very embarrassed. He finally fell asleep and slept the remaining two hours of the flight.

In the meantime, he loved playing with the seatbelt. We booked the aisle and window seats and luckily no-one had the middle seat so we had the whole row to ourselves.

This was my favorite part of the day, haha.

We arrived in Dallas, went through customs, ate a quick pizza, and boarded our next flight to Jackson. That flight was only a little over an hour and he did well on it. We were greeted by family and friends at the airport and had a great homecoming with them.

News From Cruz

2011-10-02T16:07:00.000-06:00

CHOO CHOO! Guess what's new?

i'm going to be a BIG BROTHER!

~Cruz

Our Week in Pana

2011-10-01T20:16:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in my last post we spent all of last week in the town of Panajachel attending a work conference with some other families in our mission. We were getting a refresher course on oral Bible storying. It was a great week (with the exception of Cruz getting hurt), and we had fun just all being together. We had class from nine until noon, took a lunch break, and then had an afternoon session until after five. We would eat dinner and then have a homework assignment to do. We were all tired by the end of the week, but feel we are better equipped to share God's word with oral learners.

Jeff and Karen, Roger and Vickie, Alan and Melodie, David and I, Lily and Gary

While we were meeting all day these two sweet girls came to babysit Cruz. They are missionary kids who live in that area. They were wonderful with him and entertained him well.

Cruz's First Stitches

2011-10-01T06:46:00.000-06:00

We spent all this past week in the town of Panajachel attending a work conference. We joined several other missionary couples and we all stayed at our mission house there. We ate breakfast at the house and then everyone went out for lunch and supper. Because it is so difficult to take Cruz out to eat and especially twice a day for a week he and I stayed in and made sandwiches many meals. One of those meals was this past Tuesday for lunch. Everyone had gone to a local restaurant but Cruz and I. We had two teenage missionary kids that live in Pana come to take care of Cruz while we were in the meetings. They had also gone home for lunch and were to return for the afternoon session. After eating and before he went down for his afternoon nap he and I went outside to play. He loves to play with the five gallon water jugs that we use here for our water. There were two empty ones that he had been playing with since we arrived. He had left where we were playing and walked over to pick one of those up. Somehow he slipped and fell off of the sidewalk and gashed his head on the corner of the concrete. He immediately began screaming and crying. I rushed to pick him up and blood was gushing from his head.

I ran him inside the house, grabbed my phone, and began calling David. The place where they were eating was a concrete building and he could not get phone service from inside. I only had one other missionary's cell number from the group and he did not answer my call either. When I could not get in touch with anyone I began to panic. I called David's phone repeatedly for about 15 LONG minutes before he answered. By then I was frantic. He, along with another missionary from the group who is a nurse, ran home to get us. We loaded the car and headed out to our first local clinic. There was no surgeon on duty at the time so we left to find another clinic. Guatemala City was about three hours away and we were trying to make a decision about going there or not. We tried the other clinic. They said they had a doctor on hand but we waited for a long time and he never showed. In the meantime Lily, the lady with us, got in touch with Vickie, another missionary nurse in our group, and they decided for us to drive to Quetzaltenango to see a doctor they both know there. They also both live in that city.

We loaded back up and headed out for the 1.5 hour drive to Xela (another name for that place). Vickie called and got us a 4:00 appointment with the doctor. Cruz slept most of the way and was hungry by the time we arrived. I fed him some water and yogurt melts while we waited.

The doctor called us back and after asking several questions began to try to clean the wound. David and Lily held Cruz down because I could not bear it. He was hysterical! He would not be still for anything. The doctor told us that there would be no way they could get his wound cleaned and stitched up with him moving that much. He suggested we go to the hospital and have Cruz given anesthesia. After discussing it, we decided that was our only option. We loaded up again and drove to the local private hospital there.

After meeting with the doctor he informed us that you cannot receive anesthesia if you have eaten within the last four hours. We had only given Cruz water and yogurt melts (because we had no idea he would be put to sleep). It had been almost an hour by then so we had to wait another three hours before they could work on him. That was a long three hours with a tired, hungry, restless one year old!

Finally about eight o'clock that night (seven hours after he fell) they came to get him. It only took about an hour and they brought him back- screaming and crying! He wanted nothing but his mama. Because it was so late the doctor wanted him to stay the night and be monitored. They had already put us in a room to wait so we made plans to sleep there. He soon fell asleep and rested fairly well that night.

He was up at 5:10 the next morning wild as ever. We did not get checked out until close to 10:00 and my biggest fear was that he was going to get hurt again before we left, haha. He was climbing off the bed, up the bedrail, opening the drawers, getting in the closet, etc. He was bouncing off of the walls!

Once we checked out we drove to the local McDonald's for a late breakfast and then made the 1.5 hour drive back to Pana. It had been almost 24 hours since the ordeal began. We ate lunch, took a long nap, and then showered. You know you are tired when you choose to sleep instead of take a bath.

He has done fine since. He is just as active as ever and does not seem to know he was even hurt. We have an appointment to have his stitches taken out on Monday. He was to leave his bandage on until then, but Thursday night while in his bed he decided to pull off all of the bandage and proudly showed us when we got him up Friday morning. He is a mess and always keeps us on our toes.

We are thankful it was not more serious and that he is doing so well. It was definitely a tramatic moment for me and one I am not looking forward to repeating. He is such an active little boy and I am sure this is going to be the first of many more episodes to come.

Here are a few photos from the day-

This was taken in the car while he was asleep on our way to the third clinic in Xela.

Once arriving at the hospital they had us dress him in this gown. He looked like a sweet angel boy in it.

This was our room. Cruz and I slept in that small twin bed. I was so afraid he was going to fall off that I stayed awake most all of the night to keep an eye on him. He tossed around a lot and that kept me awake as well.

We did not have anything with us for an overnight stay- no change of clothes, no jackets, no toothbrush, hairbrush, toys, etc. Lily ran to her home and got us an extra blanket, pillow, a sweater, and a few books for Cruz. David slept on this padded bench in our room that night.

Here is our sweet boy before they took him back. He is a trooper!