A toothless grin

Wednesday night, we convinced Ethan to let Daddy try and pull his VERY wiggly tooth.  One of his adult teeth was already poking up behind it and needing some extra room!  The drama quickly subsided and he was excited to put them, in a bag, under his pillow for the tooth fairy to reward!

Here he is, celebrating his prizes!  It's about $1.25 each (not that we were that planful about the exact amount.  Infact, we forgot about it until Austin was up to quiet Elli back down in the middle of the night.  Wouldn't that have been disappointing?)

He sure seems like a big boy with his cute new little grin.  It catches me by surprise when he smiles back at me with his little gap on the bottom.  But then again, those big blue, almond shape eyes . . . .

they haven't changed much, have they?! (photo by Nate Sapp)

Sure love him!

Our Easter

We had a sweet Easter with our friends back in the Valley.  We showed up for fellowship at 9, though it didn't begin until closer to 10 (just too many little preparations to get started on time.)  And then I think we left close to 7 p.m.  Just a lot of time catching up and being together. 


We had 2 egg hunts; one for the 3 and younger crowd and then the 5 to 16 group.  The kids played under the sprinkler, since it was 95F; I'm kind of scared at what the summer may be.

Of course we had our fun baking creations.  Rhubarb is out at the bazaar, so I tried my hand at a Strawberry Rhubarb pie.  I've never worked with rhubarb.  It's amazingly stringy, but cooks well.  Strawberrys aren't here yet, but I had a jar of Strawberry jam I made in May 2009.  With some alterations to the recipe, I think it turned out well.

All in all a great day of celebrating Him!!!  Hope it was for you as well.

Where to start

I feel like I should have posted long before now . . . sorry that I haven't.  We've been in our city for almost a week and a half.  We showed up and the electricity went out.  Or at least almost!  Since we've arrived, they have been seriously rationing our power.  I guess there wasn't much snow this last winter, which means there hasn't been much melt off to fill the dam to then power the country (via hydroelectric power).  Everyday the "schedule" has been different.  So that leaves you to wonder, "is there really a schedule, or is that my Western mind stretching for something structured and predictable.  But even in "the dark" it has been good to be back.  It has just meant getting set back up is taking a little longer, and several more steps, than we anticipated. 

All that to say, conserving the computer battery and tackeling the list of electricity necessary tasks has kept me from blogging.  And in all honesty fun times and some overwhelming ones too have also contributed to the silence.

Some pictures to catch you up:

 When I caught them playing!  They sure love each other and have such fun together.

 My little "duck hunter."  It's hard to believe he's almost 7 months. 

That's right, we have 2 very loose teeth.  (Notice Elli giving her support and encouragement?)  Trying to pull them by headlamp.  Not quiet ready . . . but soon!  Maybe the cast will come off and the teeth will fall out all at once.  What kind of fairy would that be?  A casted tooth fairy?

First Reception

As of Saturday, 2 of the families on our team have come into the capitol for a homeschool testing/conference.  But that has meant we've gotten to have time together!  We had a basic meal together and it was SO good to be back with those we love and have missed.

This was the line waiting to wash hands for dinner!

Amersheks on Jet Lag!

It’s almost comical to see how jet lag impacts each of us individually.  Some I’ve been able to capture on camera, but others I have not.  I thought you’d get a kick out of it too.

Ethan: He is driven to clean!  I think it’s honestly more the unsettledness of life that brings this urge on, not so much jet lag.  He actually has recovered the fastest of all of us.  He plays hard all day with the little boys that live at the Guest house.  And his absolute abhorrence of naps has helped him kick jet lag!

Elli: When she’s loopy tired, she’s a LOT more talkative!  Didn’t know it was possible, but it’s true.  And the things she says are so funny.  The expressions are all there, but the thoughts she has crack us up.  One of the first nights, she was sitting at the table and said “Now that we’re in [Aobistan], I’ve learned to say “noooo.”  All in English, she dragged out that “nooo” with all kinds of personality.  The rest of us died laughing.  Friday, I put her down for her afternoon nap, from which I then had to wake her up from with all my will.  We had decided, pre nap, to have popcorn and apples (our family fun night tradition) that afternoon, since we were eating dinner with friends that night.  In hopes of helping her wake up, I offered her very favorite treat/tradition.  To which she replied, “I hate popcorn and apples, I just want to sleep!”

 

We finally convinced her to get up and she was eager to take her popcorn outside and share!

Elias: There is nothing more pitiful than a baby on jetlag!  I’ve had to wake him up from multiple naps and his poor little eyes, glazed over, ask me “Mommy, what have you done to me?”  He’s been waking up, ready to play, at around 3 a.m.  Our electricity has been going out at night, so that means playing with either Mommy or Daddy by candlelight. 

Austin: his strategy the first few days, when your body just wants to sleep and you can barely function, was to “position himself to wake up.”  So I would find him sitting in a chair in the entryway while the kids ran in and out.  He was crashed out but knew that he would have to wake up sooner rather than later.  Our first night in country, he nodded off to sleep mid-story while we were eating dinner with friends. 

Jenni: I don’t know if I’ve ever longed so intently for my bed before.  Something just comes over me and all I want to do is lay down.  I walk by my bed and it is as if it has a magnetic pull on me.  One day, overcome with tiredness, I laid down on the floor in the middle of the dining room and fell asleep.  When Ethan asked to project something, I had to honestly reply “Mommy’s too tired to think about projects!”

We are slowly getting through it.  The big kids have slept through the night the last two nights, so for that I am GRATEFUL!

 

We've Made It

Just a quick update for everyone . . . we have arrived in Central Asia and are glad to be here.  In many ways it feels familiar and good to be home.  There is also the list of things that aren't quite as I remembered it being when I left; it seems dirtier, the smell seems stronger, my mouth is so much slower to get out what my mind/heart want to say.  I know culture shock and a good dose of jetlag/exhaustion are also to blame.  Jet lag with 3 small children and no electricity during the night seems quite challenging, so I'd appreciate your prayers in that regard too.

Yet, we have been received by our sweet teammates and the warm faces of national people.  That makes it feel so good to be back!

Change of plans!

Since I last posted, plans have drastically changed!  We had already loaded all our large luggage and sent it on a truck to the airport.  We were 5 minutes out from loading up and heading to the airport ourselves when a blood curdling scream came from the front yard.  Ethan had tried to jump the fence, in an exciting game of hide and seek, his flip flop caught and he instead landed on his arm.  Nurse Aunt Jenni quickly assessed him and we determined something was seriously wrong; either a dislocated shoulder or a broken arm.  With a departure time of t-minus 2 ½ hours, we headed to Immediate Care hoping  for immediate care and a possibility to still catch our flight.  The afternoon progressed in a roller coaster of emotion; “yes we’ll make it” to “no, we shouldn’t go.”  Ethan broke his “Radial Neck,” the top of his radius up close to his elbow.  Luckily it was not dislocated, eliminating the need for surgery.  But we needed to see a Pediatric Orthopedic Specialist, which was not possible before 4:50 p.m.  

This captures how we felt at the end of Tuesday; exhausted, overwhelmed and somewhat in shock. 

We had an 8:30 a.m. appointment with the specialist on Wednesday.  It was determined that he would need to be in a cast for 3 ½ weeks.  The Dr. felt comfortable with us traveling back and having the cast removed and the break re-xrayed in country.  So after a flurry of phone calls, we are ticketed to leave next Tuesday.  Exactly a week later.  We are back in the house we've been living in in Wichita and are trying to keep Ethan's arm elevated, unpack as little as possible, and keep from further injury!  Here's some shots of his casted arm.

Ethan saying "Go Piggybacks (Razorbacks)"  He's a fan, thanks to Uncle Dan

 The boys taking it easy on the couch.  Ethan thought it was funny that Elias was resting his arm just like big brother!

It's fun to think what good friends they will become!

We are hoping and praying we'll be on the flight next Tuesday, March 29th, afternoon.  We don't have internet at the house, so I can't guarantee how many trips I'll make to the library to blog!  But wanted you to know about this BIG change!