Lots of Noah...

Just a few more pictures of Noah, so you know what he's up to. Always full of energy, today he played hard at school, then managed to knock a glass off the table reaching for a banana.

At his silliest, enjoying one of his birthday presents - a box of big legos.

Sporting an outfit his Dad once wore

Loving school!

He always brings home lots of interesting crafts

Getting a much-needed haircut.

And spending a hot summer day on a real Slip-And-Slide with good friend Bella

A Birthday Weekend!

Here's a little video of our weekend's events! It was a busy, but really fun way to celebrate Noah's 2nd and Michael's 28th Birthdays! On Friday, for Noah's birthday, we had a really special family time in the morning, reading the Bible, worshiping together, and giving him a present from us - Mr. Potato Head, which he affectionately refers to as "Papas." At Noah's school on Friday, all the kids sang to him and gave him a little crown to wear, which Noah actually liked wearing! That night, Elita stayed with him while we celebrated Michael's birthday by going out with friends to Pardo's Chicken (the best "Pollos a la Brasa" that we've had here in Peru!). Then we came back to our teammates' house for a little more partying to include a little Salsa music and Martha's 3-Leches Cake - basically a beautiful, moist combination of cake, cream, milk, and strawberries.
The next morning, neighbors and friends gathered for Noah's birthday party complete with cute kids songs (led by our teammates Becca and Laura - thanks girls!), games, carrot cake, arroz con leche, and a piñata! It was a "Cars" theme and again, Laura, helped me with most of the decorating. Elita also helped with a lot of the food prep, what an angel! Then later that night, we had one more family party (for Michael's actual b-day) to finish opening gifts.
It was a very special time for all of us, even though we were celebrating all these birthdays for the first time away from family. What a gift to experience the love shared in the family of Christ - crossing cultural and language barriers. And as a side note, tonight Noah put together his first 3-word phrase: "Daddy's at church." (c:

Noah goes to school and turns 2!

Well, it's been a hectic week and we are tired, but I promise we'll get more posted about what's going on here. Today is Noah's 2nd birthday! Two whole years! It's really hard to believe. He is getting so big, and looking so grown-up. (I know, we'll keep saying that all the way to age 25, but it's true!)

We've felt it even more this week, as he went to his first days of nursery school - here they call it a "nido" (nest) or "jardin" (garden). He's just going a few days a week, really for the social interaction and to hear more Spanish. But he absolutely loves it. They have activities like painting and plenty of things to play with. There's only a few kids in each class, so they each get plenty of attention. Every morning before leaving he has been very excited, going on and on about "skoo". He grabs his hat and Spider-Man backpack and runs to the door. Today he didn't go the full time, but he stopped by to pick up some artwork, and they all sang Happy Birthday. It's just adorable. Here are a few pictures, with more to come.

Tomorrow morning we are having his party at the apartment. Birthday parties are a big deal here, and we have (well, mostly Laura has) been preparing all week. It's a "Cars" theme, and we'll put up pictures over the weekend. Happy Birthday to our growing two-year-old!

New Years

Trying to catch up quickly here....

Happy New Years! We had a blast! (hmm...literally) I really think we're going to be bored at these holidays when we come back to the states.

On New Years Eve, one of our dear friends from language school, Wolfgang, came through Lima with his girlfriend Heike visiting from Germany. They were tired and wanted a quieter evening anyway, so they were happy to be there with Noah while we went out.

We enjoyed some quality time with our German pals, then put the little guy to bed (no late night like Christmas this time), and went a few blocks away to the house of our good friends Paolo and Raquel. Along with their parents, brother, uncle, grandmother, and teammates Susan and Laura, we had a great Peruvian New Years party.

It started with music, then a turkey dinner around 11. Once again, as midnight approached, the rockets began outside. I think it was even louder and more intense than Christmas. The added twist this time was the wild tradition of burning a "doll" to represent the old year.

Paolo spent the day stuffing this guy with paper and whatever else could be found, and at midnight, we brought him out to the street, loaded him up with firecrackers, doused him in lighter fluid and watched him go.

It was a pretty amazing sight, along with the other dolls along the street. Between the huge fireworks going off all over the sky and the little kids running around lighting small ones still in their hands, I can't imagine how many people end up in the hospital every year.

After the pyrotechnic show, we went back inside, cranked up the music and danced! Paolo and Raquel taught us a little salsa, we taught them a little swing, and all had a fabulous time.

Here's to a great 2008! Feliz año nuevo!

Elections...

You could probably call me a geek just for following this stuff. I just need to say that I'm really excited about last night's Iowa results. Two candidates that I like won surprisingly decisive victories. I know it's a long race, but I'm fascinated by the possibilities in this election, and it's encouraging to see those emphasizing unity and optimism over division, rewarded (see their speeches afterward - Obama's was particularly inspiring). Update: Links to speeches - here's Huckabee's as well.

To the Beach

The day after Christmas, we left for Chile. Our main purpose was to get Noah's resident visa, but we also decided to take our two remaining days of official vacation in 2007 and see some friends. After a taxi to the airport, plane to Tacna, Peru with a stopover in Arequipa, then a taxi across the border, we arrived at the Hotel Arica at 7:30, which is actually 9:30 Chile time. The time change was so strange that we decided to ignore it and remain on Peru time for the two days. Noah had lots to say about each part of the journey, and absolutely could not wait to get on the airplane.

We had no problem getting Noah's visa, allowing us a wonderful and relaxing time at the beach. We even got to try out the pool. Noah enjoyed walking around the baby pool with our help, but at one point slipped and dipped his head under the water, making him a bit nervous for the rest of the swim. This also may have been the beginning of his later troubles. We played in the sand and tip-toed into the waves, enjoying the breezes and utter peacefulness.

Just toward the end of our time in Arica, Noah started losing his appetite and suffering from a bad case of the runs. Nevertheless, we moved on to our next destination - back across the border to Ilo, Peru. Our Northern Irish friends from language school, the Murphys, are working in this coastal town, and it was great to see them again and spend a night. Noah, despite not eating much and lacking energy, had a blast playing with Sara (two and a half).

It was sad for all to have to leave, but at noon on Saturday the 29th, we returned to Tacna to catch our plane back home. Unfortunately, this was where it got worse. Towards the end of the 2-hour taxi-ride to Tacna, Noah threw up everything he had had in the last day or so. When we got to the airport, we cleaned it all up, but were very worried, having not seen him like that since last April. We just wanted to get home, but it would not be yet, as our flight was delayed about 3 hours. Surprisingly, Noah started to get a lot of energy back even as we waited at the gate. He slept through both legs of the flight and we finally made it back around 11pm.

We're glad to report that he has made a full recovery! He had diapers taken to the lab, but everything came back negative, and yesterday ate three plates of arroz con pollo. We're very thankful, and really, the fact that he hadn't been truly sick for almost 9 months is amazing. It was quite a trip, but it feels good to be back home.

Catching up - Christmas!

Happy New Year! We have had a wild week, most of it great, and there's so much to catch you up on. We returned from Chile to find our vonage phone not working - so sorry to those who have tried to call. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.

We'll start with Christmas. Living in a new place and a different culture, it is sometimes difficult to decide how much we can adapt to the traditions here, and how much we will stick with the customs that we know and that make sense to us.

As our normal celebrations go, all the excitement is supposed to build toward a peaceful morning of December 25th. In Peru, (and I believe in much of Latin America) Christmas Eve is when all the celebrations happen. Some of our dearest friends, Robin and Elita, invited us across town to join their family that night for the traditional party - starting at around 9pm and culminating with fireworks and a turkey dinner after midnight. We wrestled with the implications for Noah, who is usually asleep at 8, and for an exhausted Christmas morning. In addition, I was not feeling well that morning, so the whole thing seemed completely unrealistic. Nevertheless, we decided it was worth it to try and go for as long as possible and I could not be more glad that we did. It was such a special evening, and they really made us feel like part of the family.

We arrived around 9:30 and brought Noah's crib. The evening started with introductions to their whole family - grandparents, uncles, etc., followed by some praise songs, prayer, and the traditional Peruvian Christmas snack - Panetone and hot chocolate. Laura got the honor of being the "madrina" of the panetone.

We then opened presents - in "secret pal" fashion, which is very typical here. By then it was about 11, and Noah was very tired, so we put him to bed in a back room. He did so well! All of Robin's family is musical, so the next hour was spent jamming to traditional Andean music with guitar, charango, quena, and good singing.

Throughout the evening we had been hearing various explosions and fireworks, but as midnight approached, the big show began. I don't know exactly which fireworks are illegal in Peru, if any, but it is apparently very easy for anybody to get anything, even the large sky-filling variety that professionals in the US use on July 4th. And as Christmas day officially starts, the whole city begins to explode. I have never seen anything like it. We went up to the roof to watch, and everywhere we looked, there were fireworks, sparklers, children running through the streets with crackling noise-makers, all accompanied by thumping Latin music. We wished one another Merry Christmas and enjoyed the chaos.

When we finally all came inside, we ate what we could of the big turkey they had prepared, and shared in wonderful fellowship. At around 1:00, we decided we needed to go home, so we got Noah up and said farewell to the family. I don't know how much longer they continued to party, but we were exhausted. I really can't express just how thankful we were to be there, sharing Christmas Peruvian-style.

As for Christmas morning, we all slept in and did get to enjoy a peaceful celebration just the three of us. Noah woke up to see all the presents under the tree (we hadn't put any out beforehand), and was very excited. I made pancakes for breakfast (trying, somewhat successfully to make Christmas shapes), Noah's new favorite food.

Afterward, we had a sweet time of family worship - singing carols, reading the familiar scripture passages from Luke, lighting our advent wreath and reflecting on the wonder of God's plan in sending Jesus.

We opened presents, which Noah seemed to understand much better, and spent the rest of the day talking to family and relaxing. In the evening, we went over to the Ross's home for a dinner with the rest of the MTW team. This being our first Christmas ever away from our family, we missed them all very much, but we praise God for granting us a very special Christmas in Lima.