August, September and Now October

I know it has been awhile since I have updated this blog! Since Nick has started school, our lives have really picked up. So lets start with how school is going. Nick loves it. He loves getting on the bus and he loves getting off the bus! He is however a typical "guy" and doesn't say to much about it! ha ha. I get most of the information about his day when it is "quiet time" or bedtime!
One day during the 3rd week of school Nick came home and again, not much information about the day, ( I try to use the 20 seconds walk back to the house when he gets off the bus to gather as much as I can though) ;-) Then during quiet time he pops his head up and says: "Mom, guess what....I got to be line leader today." (Doesn't this just make your heart melt) I am constantly amazed at how much he has grown within just 3 months of being in school.  We were waiting for the bus the other day and we saw 2 birds on  a light post to the right of us and 2 birds on a light post to the left of us, Nick said: "Look mom, 2 and 2 they balance! (in the most enthusiastic voice) Last night we were in the car on the way to Chris' moms house, and Annie, his sisters dog is over there. Nick started doing math in the car. "Mom, our 2 dogs plus Annie equals 3 dogs." and my personal favorite; he is learning how to "sound out words" he will teach Olivia words. "Livvie, can you say "ye" and she says "ye" then he says "good job" can you say "s" and she says "s" Good, now can you say "Ye-s" and then she nods her head yes! Such a good teacher don't you think. Today he was looking out his window and said "mom, look a squirrel outside. teach me to say it" so I have him sound out the word.  He is making friends at school, when I ask him a month ago who he plays with the most he says "Ava" makes me laugh, he is with girls all day and then his favorite friend in school is a girl! ;-) He now has 3 favorite friends at school, Ava, Eli and Dawson.
Chris was watching football the other day and the announcer mentioned "eli manning" this got Nicks attention and he wondered why they were talking about Eli. LOL. I do want to document for my grandmas knowledge that Nick has show and tell every Thursday, and his first 2 show and tells he wanted to take his "people blanket" (what he calls his blanket my grandma made him). Nick is still very into Star Wars might I add, but Dinosaurs are coming in as a close second these days, We took him to see Jurassic World at the end of August for a little mommy daddy and nick date! He ofcourse loved it.

Olivia is growing up way to fast too. I know I say that all the time, but really she must have hit a little growth spurt. She is talking so much. She is a little sassy. OK Very sassy.
Her favorite food is pizza and anytime you ask her what she wants she says "pizza" in the cutest voice you can even imagine. If you ask her if she wants applesauce she will turn/run in a circle and say "apple yay" she says please, and thank you and no and yes, she says Paci. thats right, she still has her pacifier. I remember when nick was done with his "binky" at 20 months when he threw it and never got a new one. there is just something about your first kid growing up even faster because you want to experience everything now and when I see Olivia, I still just see my baby! anyway, she only gets it at bedtime which has made her more clingy to her " blanky" which by the way I think is the most adorable thing in the world! She is also now in her own room, no longer sharing with Nick. This is very recent and actually is her 3rd night in her own room. She loves it. She is into baby dolls right now and she may love Paw Patrol even more. We went to target the other day and if she saw anything paw patrol she wanted to carry it through the store. She has a paw patrol bath toy that she insists on sleeping with. She has a storm trooper face of her own now and uses it when she doesn't get her way. But still instead of throwing a loud tantrum, she still goes down into tornado drill mode, face down hands on her head!

Oh and guess what...I have a 5 year old. Wait. What?
He wanted a Storm Trooper Party and and Storm Trooper Party is what he got! Complete with Storm Trooper cupcakes (Princess Leia cupcakes for the girls) and Storm Trooper eggs for the egg race. Chris is pretty good at making Storm Trooper faces and even better, Nick's cupcake got to be one of his favorites, Cptn Rex. He also had his first sleep over that night, they planned to sleep in the basement, his friend Brennan slept on a toddler mattress I had and Nick wanted the couch, but my kid, the crazy sleeper...I checked on them and Nick was literally sleeping on top of his head. (head on the floor and feet on the couch. So I had to move him to his bed so he wouldn't freak out in the middle of the night, but all went smooth and the party was a success even though the Storm Trooper 'guys' were working on their movie and couldn't make it ;-)  Then over his actual birthday weekend, we went to Kansas City at Andy and Steph's house. We had a party, went to a pumpkin patch, where he picked out two big pumpkins. and Bonus, Chris and Andy went to see the Chiefs vs Bears game that Sunday. Amazing game the Bears one at literally the last second, and to make things better the Royals won the next day unexpectedly. Chris is one happy man!

 In case you are wondering how I found time to blog,  I got my wisdom teeth taken out today! I am still pretty numbed up but not in much pain, I hear the 2nd day is worse. So I decided to get you caught up! I also, must have taken more videos than pictures these past few months and oh how I miss One True Media. I am not so sure how to edit and post videos quite yet with out it, but once I do, you really will be able to watch Nick and Olivia grow right before your eyes!

 did i mention he had picture day? we don't have them yet but this is what he wore!

Nick's 1st Day of School

 Nick was so excited for his first day of School! He got up early, ate breakfast, brushed his teeth, picked out what he wanted to wear, took a few pictures and then off on the bus! What?!! The Bus! How in the world did he grow up this fast?!?! Proud of him!

 Olivia is so proud of her brother! :-)

 He is on the Bus!!!!

His first day of school went great! I met him at the corner of the bus stop. He came out smiling from ear to ear. He was bouncing off the walls when he got inside and then later took a GOOD nap!

Meet Your Teacher Night

Nick is starting Pre-School this year. Tonight was "Meet Your Teacher Night" He is ready to go!

July

July has been a busy month. The week I got back from Peru, we went to Andy and Steph's for the 4th of July. Nick had VBS the following week. He still had T-Ball games up until the 3rd week of July. We have been hanging out with our new neighbors! My mission team and I have been sharing our testimonies at the church. I have been working out in the mornings now with a friend of mine. It's been a fun month, just a busy one.

More Pics and Memories From Peru

More Pictures Coming Soon!

Days 10 & 11: 6/27/2015 & 6/28/2015 Departures/Arrivals

Saturday

Our word for today: Strange
Reading: Exodus 3:3, Proverbs 23:33, Matthew 9:10-11, Genesis 11:9, Matthew 25:31-46

Exodus 3:3 So Moses thought, "I will go over and see this strange sight-why the bush does not burn up."
Proverbs 23:33 Your eyes will see strange sights, and your mind will imagine confusing things.

Matthew 9:10-11 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthews house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?"

Genesis 11:9 That is why it was called Babel-because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Matthew 25:31-46The 

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

getting ready to get on the bus

 Another long bus ride. I didn't sleep as well as I did the last time. They played really loud movies in Spanish again. Mall Cop 2 and My Name is Khan or something like that. I watched bits and pieces. They served us lunch on the bus. and then I slept the rest of the time.
We made our first flight out of Lima to Houston. Once we were in Houston though, it was storming and we had to just sit on the plane until we could get out.Which made us miss our flight home. We were supposed to be home by 10:30 in the morning that Sunday. So they gave us new tickets but only had 10 minutes to get to our gate so guess what, we missed that one too. Long story short, the group had to split up. Andrea, Riley, Zack, Abbie, Tiffiany and I got to go on the first flight out and arrive at 4:30. Adley (who is Andrea's daughter) Krisi (who is Riley's mom), Mandy, Jonna, Roberta had to wait and fly out to denver and then catch a flight to wichita. They were expected to arrive at 12:30 am. but they ended up missing their flight to wichita from Denver. Agh. But everything was in God's hands and they ended up meeting another person who does missionary work.

When I arrived home, Chris, Nick and Olivia were walking towards me. Chris put Olivia down and she had this look on her face like "is it really you, I thought I'd never see you again" So she ran up to me looked at me and then hugged Chris, Nick seemed really nervous, he was talking non stop like he does when he gets nervous! Love them so much! Also, Marolyn Collie and Cathy Smart were there to greet us as well as the rest of the families.

We went to McDonald's for dinner.

Day 9: 6/26/2015 Our Last Day

Friday

Our word today was: Patient

Reading: Proverbs 14:29, 15:18, 25:15, 1 Corinthians 13:4, Ephesians 4:2, Colossians 1:11

Proverbs 

14:29 Whoever is patient has great understanding; but one who is quick-tempered displays folly.

15:18 A hot tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel.

25:15 Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone. 

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 

Ephesians 4:2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.

Colossians 1:11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience.

This morning we had a meeting on top of one of the buildings. We talked about our experience. Daniel, the president of Inca link gave us his testimony. He grew up in the neighborhood as a young child. There were missionaries who came to the area to help and they had a huge impact on his life. and here he is now. He showed us pictures of him and the missionaries. He showed us pictures of him and his sister, he talked about how most of his friends growing up are either in jail or on drugs. His life could have gone in an opposite direction, but since he knew God at such a young age and wanted to follow God, he is here. 

We had some reflection time. They had us write a letter to ourselves and our leaders are going to mail them to us when they get back from their time here. 

For dinner we had a cook out. Chicken and rice or we could have guinea pig and rice. I chose the chicken. We had our debrief and sang worship songs! I could feel myself starting to draw back tonight, I didn't write in my journal. Instead, I wrote, Chris, Nick, and Olivia each a letter.

Day 8: 6/25/2015 Elim

Thursday

Our word today is: Family
Reading: Romans 8:14-17 and Ephesians 3:14-21

Romans 8: 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father" 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Ephesians 3: 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

This morning we had breakfast at 7:30, eggs and rolls with jam and butter. We had our morning debrief and Katie told us a fable.

(This isn't word for word but I am going to do my best)

There was a brother and sister from a tribe who were set out to give a message to the Chief into another tribe. They were told to do 3 things, not to stop until they were there, to pick up as many rocks as they could, to ask the first person they see to take them to the Chief and they were told that when they arrived that they would be happy and sad at the same time. They thought about the last one, "how can I be happy and sad at the same time." but they went on their way.
It was a  very long journey and every time they saw a rock they would pick it up. Until their back packs and pockets were full, it became night time and they were getting so tired; but they knew they had to keep going, so they thought, lets just take a few rocks out so that it doesn't slow us down, Then a few rocks became a few more, and then a few more. Then they saw someone and remembered that the first person they saw, they were supposed to ask them, to take them to the Chief, and so they did. The Chief, said: "We are so happy you are here, we have been waiting for you. Did you bring the rocks?" The brother and sister, said yes, and when they emptied out the rocks that they had left, they saw that they were beautiful jewels. The Chief and his tribe were so thankful and the brother and sister realized that they were happy and sad at the same time. They were happy to bless this tribe with these jewels and sad that they didn't bring more.

The point of the fable: pick up as many rocks as you can.
This story really stuck with me (even though I am sure I didn't say it right) a lot of times I think I get into my own life, needs, wants, and I am too lazy or selfish to go out of my way, to do something for someone else that could bring such a blessing. But if you put your own wants or troubles aside, sometimes the outcome brings you more joy.

There was a need today for the team to do some more weeding. This was not the same weeding we did a few days ago, this was taking trees out. It was really hard work. One of those days where you had to choose joy. But we did it and I can't even tell you how much better it really looked after we were done. The pile was taller than me and very wide. I know someone has a picture of the before and after, and again once I get those pictures I will post them.

We also went to Elim today. Which is the Garbage Dump Ministry. The leaders of this ministry are Brent (who picked us up our first night in Trujillo) and his wife Stephany.

brent and stephany frederick


When we arrived, we walked into a building that looked like our cabin we were sleeping in. Inside it had 3 rooms: a room for the babies/toddlers, a classroom for the older kids and a community area. Some of our group stayed in that building and played with the children, the other half went around to the houses with Stephany's mom. She was going around reminding everyone about the program that they were going to do on Saturday. Saturday is the ministry's big day and they usually have a program going on. (we were supposed to be here last saturday but since we had that extra travel day we could not make it) these are a few pictures of our time here:

(this is stephany's mom)

I had never seen a living situation like this. It is heartbreaking, but like all of the ministries, you can tell that they are making a huge difference. These children are loved.  Before I left to go on this mission trip, I read this article from another missionary who went to the garbage dump. It is a great article, he puts his experience into great words:

http://sammamishreview.com/2011/08/23/a-night-with-garbage-miners-in-northern-peru

for more information on Elim click here: elim

That night we had horse meat and rice for dinner and then had our debrief and worship songs.