Beach with groups

One of my favorite parts of the week is when we get to go to the beach for some worship and talking time. It's a nice way to wrap up a week-long trip and talk through what they did and saw. Last night was no exception, it was a great night to share and hear from everyone. We had 2 fantastic teams from Wisconsin with great leaders and great middle schoolers working hard! We love groups like these, they are very special!

Cafeteria painted!

They did it! After lots of work, the team was able to finish painting the new cafeteria expansion. It looks incredible and it's going to be awesome to welcome the kids back to a bigger and better cafeteria!!

Building

Our summer teams continue to work hard as we have the expanded cafeteria almost finished! It's been awesome to see the dedication of these teams to help us fit more kids in. It's going to double our cafeteria size which means a lot more space and more kids!!

Summer program finishes

It's hard to believe, but our summer program has already come to an end. We have a 5 week program that is very similar to VBS. This summer, we had a fantastic turn out and the attendance was impressive! On the last day, the kids presented some of the things they had learned through their classes and we had a special lunch. As they headed out the door, they were given a gift bag with donated clothes and shoes and the team that is here helping us this week got to be involved in this whole day. I also got to love on Angelica, one of our teachers bitty little 3 week baby (she's just about 6 lbs now!)

Loving the prego's

I just wanted to share how much Dominicans love their pregnant ladies. When you are pregnant in the D.R. you don't have to:

-wait in line

-carry anything

-park far away (special parking sign at the supermarket in that picture)

-exercise

-bend down

I'm kind of just expected to sit around and rest and that's okay with everyone! It's amazing the type of queen treatment I have been upgraded to, simply for having a belly! On the flip side, I do get some comments when I try to be a pregnant American and bend down for something or carry something or exercise...but I'll deal with that for the star treatment I get the rest of the time!

Family

Ariel's brother is married to a lovely lady from Norway, and last week, her family came to visit. We went to Maimon on the weekend and got to share eating fish with their heads on. Ariel still takes the head off of mine before I eat it, but it was a good time to be with the family and especially those neices and nephews! Their faces never fail to put a smile on mine!

Construction

We have been filled with rocks and dust at the school, but it is well worth it to see the progress that is taking place! The cafeteria has long been too small for the 200 kids that we feed altogether. When everyone is present, kids have to sit in the windows and sides of the cafeteria. This also means that we were restricted to growth, as there is no where to have the kids together to eat. Well, soon that will be a problem of the past as the cafeteria walls are coming tumbling down. So far they have worked amazingly fast to get the roof ready and the walls and floors prepared for our summer teams to continue work. Already I am excited as I see the room that we are going to have. In just a few weeks, we should be able to fit more kids, so in anticipation of the fall semester, we have begun enrollment for a new 4 year olds class!

Summer teams begin

Well I got back on Wed afternoon 1.5 weeks ago to receive our first summer team Thursday! This group came from Indiana and worked hard moving wheelbarrowful after wheelbarrowful of dirt and rocks as well as laying the foundation for the stairs up to our second story! They sweated a lot and worked hard and I bet they're in weather shock back in Indiana now!

Leaving the States

This was a perfect good bye to the States. I got to watch an amazing sunrise over New York during my 4 hour layover. Beautiful.

Growing baby

We got to see the little baby a few times in the last week while I was in Oregon. We went for a few sonograms and the little one was kicking and moving and dancing around. He (gender neutral "he", we still don't know) was even sucking his little thumb. They checked every little piece of this baby and I can say that he is perfect. Every little finger joint, his heart...it is amazing.

We are going to be watching some measurements and changes in his brain, but what we ask for are your prayers that all will be developed properly. We know our baby is perfect and that God makes no mistakes in forming these little ones, so we trust and pray for all to be positive.

Oregon did the baby bump very good and I am looking more and more pregnant these days. The baby is very active and my mom and Ariel both have felt him moving from the outside. He really likes the mornings when I drink orange juice and the evenings when I stop moving from the day.

I am excited, so excited I can't even put words to it. Pregnancy is incredible. I have never experienced so many emotions in so few months. From sheer joy to absolute terror, and everything in-between. Whenever I feel overwhelmed about becoming a mom, I just remember that in the early weeks of pregnancy (I found out I was prego at 4.5 weeks!!) I dedicated this little one to God and I try to always remember that this is His baby that He lets me have for awhile. What a blessing. It is exciting to go through these steps with Ariel, to see our marriage grow as we each change, and I can't wait for what is ahead.

Newport Marathon

My time in Oregon was happily filled to every last minute! It was incredible all that I was able to do and be a part of. My brother ran the Newport Marathon on my last weekend, so I got to stay the whole weekend at the beach with his family and my parents in a house they'd rented months ago. We got to rest (except for John who ran 26 miles), go to the tide pools, eat a lot, visit the beach, and let my mom go crazy with taking pictures. I loved it all, especially time with my neice and nephew...I just can't get enough of that!

More friends!

This was such a fun trip to Oregon because I got to meet up with so many old friends that I haven't seen in many years. I do have to give most of the thanks to Facebook, who keeps us in touch, but it's so cool that after all these years we still can be getting together. I got to have dinner and Voodoo donuts with two friends from high school, Lauren and Shannon, and it was so nice to just talk about our lives now and catch up. Even through all the years...I don't think we've changed all that much!

Carrascos visit

When I was in high school, we had a student from Nicaragua come and stay with us...and he became part of our family! Alan has been like a brother from the beginning and he lived with us for many months, went back to Nicaragua, then returned to live with us. He has since gotten married and now has a family and they all live in New Mexico. It happened that while I was in Oregon, he took is family for a visit for the weekend! It was awesome to get to spend time with his kids, I hadn't even met the littlest one.

Make new friends, but keep the old

Heather and I became friends in Kindergarten and today we got to get together again! We haven't seen each other for years, but talking today felt like it had been no time at all. When we were little I wanted to marry Heather, that's how close we were! I didn't understand that it doesn't work that way...I even wrote her name on the wall. It's funny how kids think, all I knew is that she was such a good friend and I wanted it to stay that way forever. I'm happy that we are still friends after these years!!

Beau-ti-ful

I've been doing some walking since I got home, rain and all, and enjoying every minute of it. Oregon is beautiful, especially right now with the Spring flowers after all the rain. This morning I went for a walk and was overwhelmed as I looked around and prayed and thought through all the amazing things in my life. Blessings surround. I've got this little baby growing in my belly, an amazing husband who supports me to no end, a family who understands me, and friends that are eternal. I am so thankful for where I am in life, for all that I have around me.

The Bellers

Layne and Caitlin were missionaries in the DR for 2 years and left just last summer. They spent a year at the Caraballo site where I'm at and we learned a lot and grew together...they are special friends. They went home last summer for the birth of their beautiful little Lucy Layne and I got to meet her for the first time. They are now living in Seattle, but we met up somewhere along the I-5 in the middle. We ended up having a 3 hour lunch and an amazing time to catch up, hear about each other's lives and plans, and enjoy Mexican food!!!

Lunch

This has been the trip of lunches. I have had lunch out almost everyday with a different family member or friend. It has been fantastic!! This visit home is similar to when I was in university and had to make a list of each day what I was going to do. I have literally done that again...everyday has a visit with someone new. It has been awesome for seeing people and catching up with family and friends!

Julie visits

My dearest and bestest friend, Julie, came to visit for the weekend and it was such a great time. She brought her 3 month old little man, Drew with her, and I was so happy to get to meet him. We kind of love Twilight (I know, we're 30, but whatever). As lots of the movie was filmed here in Oregon, we went around (with my mom, who was equally as excited) to all the sights where the movie was filmed. Our first stop was the Carver Cafe where Bella and her dad ate all the time, then to the rocks where Edward sparkled and tried to scare Bella because he was so strong.

Next we headed over to where the Prom was filmed. Drew was a trooper and happily waited in the car while we snapped our pictures and looked around.

Our last stop was Multomah Falls which served as a background in the movie...plus it's just beautiful.

Drew finally gave up by the end, and this was one of the few times we saw him crying. He is such a good baby, so cuddly...I hope I get one like this! Thanks Julie for making the trip, you're the best!

Oregon

It is so great to be in Oregon! I have been eating constantly and enjoying the rain, family, and friends since I got in. I went to the midwife for a check-up and got a massive bag of baby goodies which was fun! The baby sounded great with it's heart thumping away. I go for a routine ultrasound next week to check the baby all out and I'm looking forward to that. As the belly grows (due to baby and Oregon eating), I have been blessed by maternity clothes my friend Katrina sent me as well as some shopping that I've been able to do with my mom and Julie! It's fun being pregnant with everyone here!

Baby photo

15 weeks and going strong!!