Unbelievable

We had Erick and Gloria, a couple who work for the ministry here, over for supper tonight. I asked how the fruit trees were doing that they had planted on the property the ministry owns, and Erick said they had been stolen. Stolen RIGHT OUT OF THE GROUND! Isn't that crazy?! Three days after they were planted,someone dug them up and took them. Now they have tomatoes growing on the land and a guard (with a gun) to keep them safe. Talk about the value of food hey.

Una lagartija en mi casa!

This friendly little fellow surprised me today when I saw him beside our bedroom door. Zaak assured me that he wouldn't crawl into bed with us, that he probably eats flies and other such pests and so to let him be. I toyed with the idea then gently swept him outside. A little while later I went to see if he was still there and he was back in the house! So maybe he's on a mission or something; I guess I'll leave him alone. I'm thankful he's not a rata, raton or cucaracha anyway. (All of those are so close to the english words that you can get my meaning I'm sure).

Squash Anyone?

The Beauty of Technology

I just spent over an hour perusing friends websites and blogs. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I love technology! Call me Kip:) It's so neat to see what people are up to and to keep current with them even when we're so far away. I also like how people post links to other people's blogs - very fun. And this whole blogging thing would be a waste of time without you! Yes you! Friend or family of mine who is reading this right now. So thanks to all of you who read and comment, and brighten my day with your thoughtful, encouraging and humorous comments. Thank you (In alphabetical order) Aimee, Alan, April, Curt, J.R., Kevin, Marta, Melaney, Mom Deb, Remy, Saison, and Zaak. And those of you who read but don't comment; tsk tsk! I wish everyone I knew had a blog/website I could visit, but then I'd probably get nothing else done in my day:)

Homebody

I really love staying home. Doing little chores around the house, caring for and playing with Blaise, cooking and baking, studying Spanish, distracting Zaak from his work, going on errands to the market, taking a nap if I want, checking my email, working on Sponsorship Program stuff - this is the life for me. Funny because I never saw myself as a homebody, but I find my days go so quickly and I'm so content. Now if it rains a few days in a row I start to get a little stir-crazy, but the sun usually pokes out after a day of rain.
I was reading how this past Monday was said to be the most depressing day of the year by some expert, with people not keeping their new years resolutions, the bad weather and other such tomfoolery. And funnily enough Monday was a terrible day for me! It all started when I found mouse turds in Blaise's dresser drawers, I think that put a damper on my entire day. And you know once you start thinking about all the things that aren't going your way in life it's amazing how much you can some up with! I miss my family and friends, my hair looks bad today, nobody's asked me how I am, my tea got cold, blah, blah, blah. Thankfully I have a wonderful husband who supports me unwaveringly, and a God who loves me even when I'm having pity-parties for myself. That night when I went up on the roof to toss my parsley to the neighbors cows, I looked up at the cloudy sky and felt God say to me "Amber you are here for a reason." And a feeling of total and complete peace settled over me. So! Life is good. Night all.

Bath time with Papa

Blaise the Incredible

Clase de la Educacion Fisica

Yesterday I taught my first phys.ed. class to the highschool girls at Colegio Beerseba. We walked up the steep road behind the school, stretched at the top of the hill, and then jogged down. Felt a bit silly when there were people carrying down big loads of sticks on their backs or big baskets of flowers on their heads, but we just said good morning to them and kept going. When we got back to the school we did push-ups, sit-ups, lunges, squats, stairs, skipping and jumping jacks. Finally we played some basketball at the end. So that was the hardest workout I've done in a long time, and today I can sure feel which muscles I used! I'm really glad I get to be involved at the school, it's such a wonderful environment; all these sweet little kids saying "hola seno" to me:) (Female teachers are "seno" and male ones "profe") Also it was neat to play on the basketball court that the group from our church 3 years ago helped to haul dirt for. So I'm happy to be teaching again because I can get to know the girls, get some excercise, have a break from being an "ama de casa" (housewife) but I'm also thankful it's only once a week:)

Big News!

Blaise enjoyed his 6 month birthday this past Friday - we had cake that day by chance and so put a candle in it, but he didn't get to eat any of it. So far it's only rice cereal and bananas for the little champ. So this morning after breast-feeding Blaise he stuck my finger in his mouth and lo and behold there's a TOOTH! I was shocked and delighted, since babies sometimes have a really tough time teething. The only difference I noticed was less b.m.'s the past couple of days (big hardship). Way to go Blaiserd!

Rene

Our friend and co-worker, Rene, was in a motorcycle accident yesterday. He was taken to hospital still conscious and once there they discovered he had a broken leg, crushed shoulder and skull fracture. Zaak was with him earlier in the day. Rene has a wife and baby girl waiting for him to come home. Please pray for him.

Success!

After over a week of making faces and letting the cereal ooze back out of his mouth, Blaise has learned to swallow food! I was just feeling like maybe I should wait awhile and try again in a couple of months, when today he ate most of the mushy rice (yum huh) like a pro! My little boy is growing up! Soon he'll be tearing into tortillas and froijoles like nobody's business! He can also sit up now on his own for a few seconds, but then loses his balance and topples over, very cute. He was entertaining me today in his jolly jumper with ear-piercing screams too - quite the little man!

Odds and Ends

Realized haven't blogged for awhile but haven't had any epiphanies lately so maybe that's why. It's very cold here (4 degrees outside which means it's even lower than that inside our frigid house, brr). I bought a thing to make orange juice by hand and some oranges but could only make a bit of juice because I banged my elbow a good one on my night table nursing Blaise this morning. How's that for a run-on sentence? Oh and Kevin loved your idea for a cartoon with the rat adventure - HILarious:)

The Shoe Fits Like a Glove:)

The shoe I speak of is MOTHERHOOD. It's still strange to be a mother, knowing Blaise will soon be calling me Mu-ma, and realizing that I am not just Amber anymore but a mom. Very weird. But I can honestly say I love it! All those years of babysitting and teaching other peoples kids kind of soured me a bit I think. And now having this precious little boy to love and cuddle and care for I just find myself falling harder for him each day. It's an amazing experience. I knew I wanted to have a baby but I had no idea the mothering part would be so incredible. And not to say it's not a lot of work, but when the person you are caring for is your own flesh and blood it's different. It's better:) I'm so happy to be a mother! Yay for me! Yay for my sweet son!

Breathe. In, and out. Breathe.

We-just-had-a-rat-in-our-kitchen!!! All this time I thought we were fighting mice! Although I did have a sneaking suspicion that it might be something larger with all the cookies taken out of their packages, yug. So I wander into the kitchen tonight thinking I'll get some turkey leftovers, when I am stopped dead in m tracks by the sight of a HUGE rat tail and body under the stove! So I yell "RAT! RAT! RAT!" Zaak heard my cries and came to see what was going on. Turns out the rat hadn't ran when I yelled because we'd been poisoning it slowly and it could hardly move. The poor, pitiful, (gross) creature. So Zaak (brave and valiant) swept the rat into the dustpan and disposed of him. Needless to say I lost my appetite.

Two Book-Worms:)

This apple came a long way to be eaten by me.