Zeq

That's how we feel! Zeq is a word used by our local friends to describe almost any and all emotion (sad, lonely, bored, depressed, etc.) Austin has translated it to be "emotionally ambiguous."

We sure had a great time with Babu and Gogo. Time and internet allowing, I plan to share pictures and stories. But now that they are gone and we're back home from the capitol we are officially ZEQ.

They are here!!!

Two weeks ago Ethan and I made a paper chain to countdown the days until Gogo and Babu arrived to visit us. Everyday Ethan and Elli would take turns tearing off a link.

And they have arrived. So Thursday morning Ethan tore the last link off with Babu and Gogo. We've made it over the mountains and are at home in our valley. We are excited for the memories that will fill these days. I'm sure there will be pictures to share once they leave.

Spring Cleaning

We've completed a slight overhaul on our front entry hallway. The coal heater is out!!! The plastic is off the windows and we've scrubbed it from the top down. And I assure you it feels SO much better. I don't know if I can say the same for my pregnant body!

Some pictures of what spring cleaning looks like in Aobistan:


I think I've told you that our coal heater "burned dirty." Thus the great overwhelming smell triggered nausea that plagued my first trimester.

This is what I mean by dirty. This was a soot iceicle during some of the colder days in February.

So then this is the fine film of black shoot that covered every surface; window sills; walls; clothes; pantry; etc. Before we re-hung our curtains (I'm so glad I took them down so they weren't blackened all winter) I wiped down every surface. To explain the picture - out the window you see our home insulated water pipe, bringing water into our house, and then the coat rack by our front door is down below. With my current lack of balance and a rickety ladder, I probably shouldn't have been as high as I was for as long as I was. But can you really stop a pregnant mama from cleaning, when she sets her mind to it?

So the soot also clung to our carpet, turning the soles of socked feet black. So Friday we took our carpet over to T's house to utilize her large paved patio. And Mary and I scrubbed our hearts out. We laughed that we were getting good exercise, as we squatted and scrubbed for close to 3 hours non-stop. It wasn't long after the carpet was clean, that I stopped laughing. My body hurt!!!

But the clean carpet was so worth it. Austin spent all weekend painting the walls a fresh coat of white. Now that the space is all back in order, I'm so glad we did the work. It feels so much cleaner. Who knew spring cleaning could be so very intensive.

More on Papa Frank

Saturday morning, Kansas time, Papa Frank went into surgery to repair a "leak" that Vickie (Austin's mom) was the first to catch. As of what we know right now, he is still in ICU. They plan to start chemo on the same time frame, even after a second surgery. They had to remove more of his colon when they were in fixing him up and have put in a temporary colostomy bag.

We pray daily, often hourly, for Papa Frank and appreciate so many of you who are joining with us in asking for quick recovery and full health. Right now it looks like he'll still be in the process of chemo when we make it to Kansas in June.

Spring is here?

I'm hopeful that spring is here. Our yard is full of apple, apricot and cherry trees (some big, but most of them are quite small still). So right now everything is budding. I never knew how beautiful apricot trees were in spring. They have these pretty little pink and white blossoms on them. On Friday our high temperature was 78 F. But then crazy enough, on Saturday it snowed. And it was cold through Monday.

So I think spring is on the way. I sure hope we won't have more snow; cause we've planted our green beans, strawberry and raspberry plants and some flowers. We hope to plant lettuce, zucchini and more green beans soon. But we'll see if the weather holds!

In the meantime!

Sorry such a long silence after my desperate cry for help! Thanks for praying. After 2 days in bed; a hot water bottle as my constant companion; a night's rest with one really awesome muscle relaxant (THANKS Sarah!); Lynelle's helpful stretches and your prayers. . . I'm up on my feet and back to my old self. Whether while I was down and out, during the days of catch up after feeling better; or over the weekend during the local New Year (welcoming spring) holiday . . . life goes on.

On the day my back hurt the worst, I sent Ethan to go and buy our lunch from a neighbor who makes one of the local snack foods and sells them out of her home. Most often her 12 year old boy sells them in the bazaar. They are very similar to a bierock; except with a potato and onion filling. Ethan was so proud of his big boy task. Apparently, she was making them while he waited. As she went to brush the tops with oil (fresh out of the oven), Ethan confidently explained "for my family, oil is awful/gross." She just laughed and finished brushing the tops. He came home and explained he had tried to tell her not to do it, but she didn't listen. Such a health conscious little guy! I guess he's caught on to all our talk of the excessive use of cotton seed oil. Little ears are always listening!

Ouch!!!

Just a quick request! I seem to have done something to my back. Friday I tweaked it and it was kind of sore, but with rest it was better for our very full weekend. Yesterday, as I stood up from a very awkward bench where I was sitting and talking with some neighborhood grandmas while my kiddos played; instant pain that took my breath away. It's hard to walk, sit, bend, do dishes, etc. The pain is in my lower back and shoots down my tailbone if I turn funny.

Please pray for quick healing. Austin's a trooper and has helped out a bunch as I lay in bed (the only place relatively comfortable.) But he has work to do and life doesn't function here on it's own.

Pregnant with very little options for pain relief, also frustrates the problem. Please pray for complete healing, that back or sciatic pain won't plague this pregnancy. Thanks for praying!