On the Road Again

For those of you who haven't heard, my husband and I have been on a whistle-stop tour of the United States... or at least it feels like it.  We are sitting in Sacramento International Airport for what will be Emme's 9th flight (the child is only 5 months) and we are glad to be going to our own beds.  We've had an amazing trip... er, trips? but there's something to be said about washing your own underwear in your own decrepit, semi-condemned house with the dryer that leaves little brown marks on everything.  Ah, home sweet home!

The next few weeks are going to be crazy, so if you're the praying type and think of us, do us a favor and pray your little heart out.  In the next week, Todd and I both have a final paper for our summer module class due, I have a term paper and 20 minute presentation (yet to start the research for- all that free time on my hands and all) and we have a crate to build and pack which literally includes weighing everything we still own and writing each item and it's value on a manifest... yeah for no Ikea in South Africa!

Emme, surprisingly, is doing amazing.  She is mobile, although without direction or purpose, more of a swiveling meander around the room, but hey, I'm all for it.  She's gotten started on "real" food (we were trying to wait as long as possible, but when MY child watched and yelled at the food I was eating and she wasn't... well, you've all experienced me and my relationship with food in plain sight- enough said).  That adds such a wonderful new dimension to our travels!  God has a great sense of humor who has lovingly provided me with the world's best highchair- Todd!!!  Anyways, the plane is boarding, so till Kansas City, goodbye for now.

Trip Home

There are many times in life that make you step back and see your life from the outside.  As a kid, I always wanted to have those stories of how my parents put me in their alma mater's diapers or brought me to Homecoming every year.  I'm one of those people who love traditions for the sake of traditions.  It seems rather ironic, then, that I moved 26 times before the age of 18.  Funny how someone can feel at home in a place while still missing another.  I love Auburn and consider it home.  I graduated there.  I had my first job there.  I was married there.  It is home, and yet, Bourbonnais is home as well. 

We took a trip back there to see friends and take care of some business.  During this trip, Emme got to do some of those things I had wished for as a kid.  She went to her first Olivet soccer game (the girls thought she was way more fun than my gigantic belly!), the group of college kids who have been with us since their freshman year were there (they all voted that she was more entertaining than Bubba the cat), and we were able to get together with all the 'aunts' and 'uncles' who are still there.  It was hard to leave, but I look forward to the many trips we will take back to visit over the years.  She gets to go to college wherever she wants (the Lord knows that she'll be paying for it!) but at least she'll have the photos of her parents' alma mater and stories from those who care so much for her.  

Ropes... and other 'shiny' things

There's something wonderful about seeing things through the eyes of a child.  Braeden and Emme went to a pumpkin patch this weekend for the first time.  The ways they joyfully screamed about the animals and the pumpkins was great.  But this picture of my daughter sitting on a saddle and being fascinated (fascinated people) with the rope rather than the blow-up jumping gym or the ponies or the go-cart bikes or any of the dozens of other things that were around... absolutely amazing how little it takes to entertain my daughter.  It wasn't even shiny!!!

Anyways, we loved the pumpkin patch with Aunt Hilary and cousin Braeden and Oma and Grandmother.  We had a lot of fun and enjoyed a wonderful weekend with family.  Hopefully, we'll be able to do something like this again. 

Rubber Ducky

Few things in life are as important to children as their bath-time toys.  My grammie had a mechanical frog, Mr. Fribby, and it was so much fun... yes, I still remember the frog's name.   With a trusty rubber duck (thanks to Grams) Em is now officially no longer a bystander at bath time.  She is a participant, engaged in the activity of getting clean and soaking the rest of us.  So, as her mother mourns the quite, placid process that was (because it will no longer be strictly functional), Emme is wonderfully enjoying her new best friends... to be added to the list of best friends:  Gustav, Gina and Gabe (the giraffes in her crib's mobile) as well as Kermit from her bouncy seat.  So many friends, so little time to talk!

Doubters and Nay-Sayers

It's officially Fall in Kansas City.  I was driving back from a friend's house and I caught a whiff of the evidence... the smell of falling leaves.  I don't know how to describe it because it's more than a smell.  It's more of a taste in your mouth.  A longing for warm apple pie bitting the tails of a crisp wind.

Now some of you are still melting in unbearable heat or humidity. Here, however, thanks to Hurricane Whatever-Her-Name-Was and Hurricane Ike, we who are residing in Tornado Ally are getting a reprieve from Summer.  It went from a high of 91 to 59 degrees in 12 hours.  This drastic change brought on new challenges for this first-time mom.  Emme, who is growing out of cloths faster than I can find new ones for her, was suddenly in a clothing crisis.  We went from diapers and bibs (because it was just too hot) to needing multiple layers of cloths.  The need, however, made me smile and chuckle to myself.  The reason for this response?  Much to the dismay of some (yes, I know that you are out there!), I am sentimental about some things and one of those is a particular orange outfit that I've been holding on to since 2003.  

You see, in 2003, my husband (then boyfriend of less than a year) bought a cute little sweater and hat that only Ecuadorians can claim as 'native'.  He bought it, and I've held on to it.  Yes, almost 5 years later, and much to the chuckle and chagrin of some who know my distain for most things girly and sentimental, I kept it, and I LOVE it!  I'm so glad that I picked a few things that I deemed sacred and holy to have for Em.  I know she, like I did, will look back at this picture of her in this Aunt Kate-inspired color palate with her "smiley" eyes and become completely exasperated, but I think that this is a once-in-a-lifetime look for my nearly 4 month old.  So while we'll probably never land ourselves on the cover of Mother-Daughter Scrap-bookers Weekly, we, no doubt, will laugh at my descent, for a few moments,  into the realm of 'cutesy', 'girly' and 'sentimental'.

Kermit the Frog

Okay, so we've finally finished these insane days of module classes... which translates to Todd and I are each down to one class a piece, one day a week for three hours (plus the seminars for World Missions which are about 20-30 hours a week), so we're REALLY excited to have some free time on our hands.

That being the case, we finally took up another missionary's offer of a Baby Einstein bouncy-walker-thing. Walked down to get it (which is no small task when people drive on your street like they're racing to the hospital because, well, they're racing to the hospital!), cleaned it up and put Emme in it.

Now Emme is only 15 weeks old today and still slightly small for the chair. So, being the resourceful mom that I am, I shoved towels all around my precious girl until the chair worked (probably not the safest thing to do). Now, this is one of those chairs that doesn't walk around. It stays in one location (great for Mom) but the chair spins around so that Emme can have a 360-degree view of the room, or in this case, the room and a wall. There are four stations with things that move, a piano keyboard that lights up, etc. Of all these gadgets and gizmos, my daughter decided that a small green frog was the lucky recipient of her undivided attention.


Two things you need to understand about my daughter. One, she does things her way, in her time, and on her terms. Period. Two, she has discovered the ability to stick her tongue out in the last two days. So back to the new-fangled toy. Emme has chosen to like this frog. She made a few friendly noises at Kermit, but when no friendly noises were returned, the staring contest started. She started low, she stared straight on. There were stares from tip-toes and stares at close range. She tried everything in her power to goad that frog into an argument. When she realized that Kermit wouldn't bite for anything, she stuck her tongue out and yelled at me, as if I had control of that evil green monger who eats flies.

Cross-Cultural Training

For those of you who have spent more than 3 seconds with my, you know I am a people-oriented person. Right now, my culture is academically-oriented, thus leading to some cultural clashes. Let me explain...

Todd and I have class from 8am until 12:15pm; five books, three diapers, two homework assignments and one Boppy (oversized pillow for Emme) in tow. Then, we go home to work on homework until 4:45ish, at which point, two gals come over to the house (one missionary intern like us, and the intern coordinator) to watch Rosie, 3 and Paul, 4 (their family leaves for Peru in a few weeks). We then head to class until 10ish. Now, Monday night, I left Emme with these two sitters and was a nervous wreck the entire time, so now she goes with mom and dad to class until 7:30ish, when she gets picked up to spend the rest of the evening with the other kids. We come back from class to do homework until one of two things happen: a) we fall asleep or b) we run out of cereal and/or Cup-O-Noodles.

I was feeling this difference in cultures, but I didn't think it was that extreme until last night. Standing in my 'dining area' after class, looking at the two sitters finishing up bath time with Rosie and Paul, their parents waiting with pj’s in the 'livingroom,' Todd with Emme talking with the husband of one sitter, I had two major epiphanies. First, it was 10pm and I had almost a dozen people in my tiny rental house... a DREAM come true for this people-person. Secondly, I needed to shove them all out because I had a book to read and paper to write before class the next day.

I've never been more aware of how fully I'm in the middle of God's plan for my life, but it's hard to describe how no one, save the other ten people who are going through this with us (and even then, not to the same degree because of the kid-factor), understands what's going on. Pray that God will give my family patience. We are tired, which can quickly lead to crankiness. I know that this is only for 'a season' (trust me, I counted down the last 100 days of my pregnancy, I'm counting down these 10 days!) but that doesn't make that season any shorter. Pray that my family comes out of this still knowing one another... and have some friends to boot!