Happy Birthdays!

Here are the promised pictures and video footage of Noah and Michael's celebrations. For both of my guys' birthday breakfasts they enjoyed a chocolate chip bagel (somewhat of a delicacy here - since chocolate chips and bagels are not easy nor cheap to come by). On Sunday, after naptime, we celebrated Noah's 3rd by taking him to "Parque de la Amistad," a beautiful park, complete with its own steam engine train! We got there just in time for the last ride of the day.

Monday, Michael's birthday, we celebrated with a big party for both him and Noah. This year I tried my hand at making ice cream cakes for each of them. They turned out pretty well aside from a mishap with the writing sticking to the lid of Michael's. But you really can't go wrong with these things because all the ingredients are so tasty, it's bound to produce a yummy cake! Michael was the master of events for the kids and came up with a fun musical game and the classic fishing for treasure game. Noah did pretty well for the party considering that he had skipped his nap that day - there were only a few small outbursts. His favorite parts were probably near the end when he was the center of attention, kicking a ball around the room for everyone and then getting to hold Tio Carlos' Army Saber - Carlos had come straight from work.

The following evening, we went to Robin and Elita's home and had another little party, since neither they nor our friends John and Heather (whom Elita also works with) could come the night before. We got to meet the Chapman's new baby girl, Michaela, just a few weeks old at this point.

Enjoy the video!

Peruivian Ingenuity

We've seen this many times, but this time it was happening right in front of our house. We couldn't help but take a video to share with you the marvels of bricklaying teamwork here.

Double the Fun Baby Shower

Here are a few pictures from the Baby Shower for Amanda and I last weekend. It was held at our church (the school building where we meet). They made us feel like princesses, decorating our "thrones" and placing crowns on our heads. It was fun to have both girl and boy baby things represented, resulting in a lovely mix of pink and blue decor. (c:

We played some silly games too!

It was just so fun to have friends here to celebrate with! We felt very loved and cared for by our dear teammates and church friends. Amanda is in her final days of this pregnancy now - you can be praying for her! I'm not far behind. I think it'll become more real for me after Amanda has hers.

This was from a girls morning out last week. We went to our favorite Cafe, San Antonio's for lunch - one of the safe places where you can get a good salad!! These are the ladies of the team in order from left to right are Susan, Lori, Sara, Amanda, and me.

The Celebrating Continues

Just this evening, we celebrated for the third time in just three days! Saturday, the ladies on our team and from church hosted a sweet double baby shower for both Amanda Ross and me. Her baby is due just a few weeks before ours.
Sunday, was Noah's 3rd Birthday! It came and went so fast, but we tried to make it a special family day, going to church and then to a special park with a train after naptime. It was lovely for just the "four" of us to celebrate.
And, today, before the clock turns midnight, I want to wish my precious husband a happy 29th birthday! We kinda did a combined party for him and Noah this evening, as our teammates and lots of friends from church came to "festejar" with us. With baby brother only getting bigger and bigger, this "simple" party was just about all I could do this year. It was fun though, to have our home filled with sweet friends that care so much for us.
All this to say...the pictures are coming....and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MICHAEL! I am SO blessed to be your wife and I look forward to celebrating many more double birthdays for you and Noah!

After a break

Well, after two weeks off, I can safely say that is one resolution not kept. We had a great New Years on a church retreat/prayer vigil, and it has been busy since. Still, I have had a lot of good time for reflection and regrouping, both for the new year, and to make the most of our last several months here. In this year I do plan to share more of those thoughts and reactions on the blog. I always find I can organize my thoughts more clearly when I write, and it makes sense to post them, especially when they can give a more thorough picture of life here, in all its highs and lows. And with how inconsistently we send our prayer letters, its only fair to those who have so faithfully supported our ministry in various ways. God is at work here, and it's both trying and thrilling to be a part of it. Thank you for all your encouragement and prayers, and we hope 2009 is a beautiful year for all of you!

Christmas Festivities

It's been busy around here! Thankfully it's all been a lot of fun and helped us enjoy the anticipation and celebration of Christ's birth. Noah has had so much fun preparing for Christmas - he especially loved the advent candles and calendar and reminded us to do it every day. He now understands the story of the Nativity quite well and playing with the pieces of our advent calendar really helped. He has also really enjoyed the music of Christmas, often asking for us to play "Feliz Navidad" (which you'll see in the video - every part with him and/or Michael and the guitar is him playing along to the song). At bedtime, he would ask for the "Glory Song," or "Angels we Have Heard on High" - he sings along with the "Glooooria" part.

The festivities began with Noah's preschool performance - Noah was an "angel" (but we already knew that(c:). He danced with his class to the songs "Campanas de Belén," (Bells of Bethlehem) "Te Quiero" (I love you) and "Cristo Me Ama" (Jesus loves me) - and he did the best he's ever done at a school performance! It was darling.

Then, Sunday, he was an "angel" again for the church Navitiy play - this day, though, he was not SO angelic - the video taken missed the temper tantrum in the middle, where he laid face down on the floor. But regardless, it was cute to see all the little ones participating with their costumes.

Tuesday evening we hosted our first musical Christmas party! This has been a long standing tradition in Michael's family, and missing it so much, we thought we'd try it here. Michael made song sheets with many classic carols, just translated. It was so fun to share this sweet tradition with so many of our Peruvian friends. The party was complete with the Peruvian tradition of special spiced hot chocolate, always accompanied by panetón. We stayed up late after the party to finish making our gifts to friends - chocolate truffles and chocolate dipped macaroons - made with all the love and care we could pack into them. (c:

Wednesday, Christmas Eve, we prepared food to bring to the Wards and enjoyed celebrating with just our missionary team that afternoon. Michael brought our piano, Jim played the guitar, and we sang all our favorite carols in English this time. Sara Ward led the kids through a special advent book and let each of them participate in the readings or placement of nativity characters in the stable scene. Noah fell asleep in the car, so we couldn't remind him of what would happen in the morning. He was so tired that he slept through the other big Peruvian tradition - a huge firework display throughout the whole city! They are all personal fireworks, nothing official, but many are as big as the professional kinds, and are launched from every block and every street. Michael and I grabbed our hot chocolate and went to watch up on our roof - it was impressive - and LOUD.

On Christmas morning, Noah came in to sleep with us at 4:45 - a sleeping issue we're working on (c: About an hour later, he was still with us, so I crept out of bed to lay on the couch and wait to catch that first moment of him seeing the Christmas tree with all the presents under it on video. We should add here that we are so grateful for the ability to have presents and a Christmas tree. We know there are so many Peruvians who do not have either. Thank you to those of you who even took the trouble to send things or cards to us! It means so much, being so far from home during the holidays.

I had to tell Noah to look before he realized that there were gifts. Then he said that "Santa Claus came because he was kind!" (Some other Santa quotes this month include "Santa Claus is coming to Baby Jesus too!" and "I love Jesus. I love Santa Claus too!" One day he'll figure it all out, but for now we love his sweet imagination.)

We took our time opening presents one by one, enjoying the thoughtfulness of each. Then we had a special pancake breakfast followed by a very lazy day of talking to family and playing at the park - on a gorgeous summer day! Noah went to bed early after skipping his nap, so Michael and I had time to finish up our evening with a good game of Scrabble by the light of our advent wreath and Christmas tree. While he indeed beat me again, it was close!

Enjoy the highlights video of all of the fun.

Merry Christmas

Welcome, all wonders in one sight!
Eternity shut in a span,
Summer in winter, day in night,
Heaven in earth, and God in man!
Great little One, whose all-embracing birth
Lifts earth to Heaven, stoops Heav'n to earth.

Richard Crashaw, 1612-1649
"In the Holy Nativity of Our Lord God"

"Incarnation" by Denise Day Spencer

He stands,

poised on the brink of two worlds:
One, land of eternal day,
the other, earth of mire and clay.

Behind Him,
legions of heavenly host,
bright faces covered, praising,
all chanting, voices raising.

Before Him,
chaos yawning, swift and deep,
known, yet unknown. Fear unfurling,
death and darkness churning, swirling.

He turns.
One last look at golden glory.
The Three part; He is now One.
The Father’s voice says, “Go well, my Son.”

He leaps
into the abyss.

His next memory will be a Mother’s kiss.

~ Denise Day Spencer, January 1999

(via internetmonk)

Last Day of School!

Noah just finished his last day of preschool for this year! We'll be going to pick-up his "grades" on Monday, but I have a feeling he passed. Tomorrow morning is his "clausura," I suppose a graduation ceremony/Chirstmas play of sorts. We'll be sure to post something about that! We're so proud of our boy for doing well in his all-Spanish-speaking preschool!

His first day of school - my, how he's grown!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to my mother, and to my dear former piano teacher, Martha Smith, for collaborating to send the music I was looking for!

Because of the order in which posts went up, readers may have missed the thorough Noah update that Laura posted - see below for exceedingly cute pictures.

Music help?

Quick question - is there anyone out there with a Carols for Choirs 1 book and a scanner who would like to spread some Christmas cheer? I'm trying to get a hold of the O Come All Ye Faithful, specifically the Willcocks' alternative harmonizations for the last two verses, "Sing Choirs.." and "Yea, Lord.." I'm not up on my copyright law, but I'm pretty sure it's okay because I do own the book (it's back home), and I'm not using it for commercial purposes. The descant from Hark the Herald wouldn't hurt either. I know that's a major ask, and would be a fair amount of work to email it, but I figure it's worth a shot. If you're able and willing, please let me know. Thanks!

Noah Update

It's been a while since we've given a little update on our busy little boy. I can't believe he's turning the big 3 in January! When I look back at pictures, even of those taken when we first arrived in Peru, I marvel at how much he has grown and become his own little person.

He is a big talker - both in English and Spanish, while we think his English is probably better, we can't really tell because he usually only uses Spanish when there are Peruvians present. From what Elita tells us about the times she watches him, they have full discussions.

He is very active! We haven't used a stroller for probably a month or two since he's so good about walking (or running!) places with us. He could care less if he falls down, while Peruvians gush and marvel at his bravery - they don't like to let their small children run for fear of their falling. Most recent close call? We were playing in our little park and Noah ran right into a rose bush while retrieving a ball. Indeed a branch had impaled his forehead with 3 thorns - he did cry about that! Thankfully, they were superficial wounds and healed up well.

He is an artist, in every way! He loves to color and draw...sing and dance...and play a variety of instruments! We can't wait to see how he will further develop all of these skills. Some of his favorite songs right now are "Your Grace is Enough" by Chris Tomlin (complete with motions we do together), "Feliz Navidad (with his guitar or air trumpet)," and "Frosty the Snowman" (after Grandma read him the book on Skype). He really likes to make up his own little ditties or insert funny words into a song. A favorite - "Old MacDonald had a farm...and on that farm he had a cake!" (followed by raucous laughter)

Can you see the bunny and snowman?

He's a big reader...I wonder where he gets that from? Just yesterday, at a friend's house, Noah chose to spend a good part of the time with their books, instead of the friends. Perhaps an introvert in the making? He also asks a lot of questions now when we read together - about new words or what different phrases mean, like " What's 'Dash away, dash away, dash away all!' ?"

He loves to pretend - having his stuffed animals and figurines talk to each other. Often he'll tell me "You're Goliath and I'm David," wielding some sort of "slingshot" to spin around and aim at my forehead. He likes playing "running and tickle" or hide-and-go-seek with Daddy - actually he likes playing most games with Daddy. But Mommy and baby brother are who he usually runs to for snuggling and comfort.

He likes to talk to baby brother and "wake him up" by giving my tummy raspberries - sure enough, it usually makes him kick. About a month ago, we were walking to a friends' house in the late afternoon, and could see the moon beginning to rise. I pointed it out to Noah and he was happy. Then he asked us, "Can baby brother say 'the moon'?" I explained that he can't talk right now and that Noah would have to help teach him how to talk. So, he stopped me on the sidewalk, put his hand on my belly, pointed, and said slowly and carefully, "the moon." I think he's going to be a great big brother!

Here he is helping me go through baby brother's clothes...

...believe it or not, he had a lot of fun looking at them all, pointing out the little ducks, balls, whales, and cars on them.

Noah continues to teach us the joys and trials of parenthood - while he makes us laugh so often, we are learning the challenges that come with disciplining a nearly 3-yr-old. He reminds us of how very stubborn we are before God, wanting to do our own thing even when He knows it's not what is best for us. How much better a parent God is than I am! We have a lot to learn from him about patience, compassion, and grace.

Trust must be earned

Just read a very interesting Economist article about attitudes toward government and democracy in Latin America. With some notable exceptions, freedom is growing slowly but steadily, though people are mostly unhappy with their own country's system. In a survey taken, only one country, Uruguay, could claim more than 50% responding that they were "satisfied with the way demoncracy works in your country". At the bottom of that list - Peru, with only about 18% agreeing to that statement. As the text of the article puts it:
"Peruvians are particularly disgruntled. This is paradoxical; Peru's economy has grown faster than that of any other of the region's bigger economies both this year and last. Their discontent seems to reflect deep flaws in the political system." You can say that again! Peru's government is ruthlessly corrupt, and hasn't had the trust of the people for years. Recently the whole cabinet was forced to resign. More presidents have been installed through military coup than through fair elections, and bribery is common, almost expected at every level. I'm so glad this stuff doesn't happen in the U.S.

In other news, the Governor of Illinois.....

Visit from Friends

This past week, we got to host some truly wonderful people for a few nights. Aimee is a dear Canadian friend from our days in Arequipa at language school. While we were only together there for a few months, we cultivated a lasting friendship. That's why I was so excited to hear that she was marrying her Ecuadorian friend, Abner. When she left Arequipa, she was moving to Guayaquil, Ecuador to serve her mission there, living with Abner and his family. Well, God had obviously planned that out because they were wed just a couple weeks ago in Ecuador. Only a week after the wedding, they came to visit and stay with us on their way back north for their Canadian wedding.

We had so much fun with them, mostly just chatting, catching-up, and getting to know Abner, who speaks English fluently. After their month or so in Canada, they are going to live in San Jose, Costa Rica - Aimee will be working with Youth for Christ and Abner will be finishing his degree as an architect for the next couple years. Needless to say, we agreed to visit them while they are down there. (c:

Noah misses them and asks about them. We extended an open invitation to them as well, wherever we end up in the States. Congratulations, you two! And thanks for the sweet time of fellowship!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was hosted at our teammates, Jim and Sara Ward's house. While it was mild enough for a pool party, Sara went all-out making the house feel like Thanksgiving with all the pumpkins and decorations. Everyone brought their family's traditional dishes and desserts. Sara cooked the turkey for all twenty-five of us.

We had the pleasure of inviting our dear friends, Todd and Stephanie Edgar, who were in town from Pucallpa - you may remember pictures of them from my visit to their home in June with Noah and Annmarie. They were here looking for a new car for their growing family (Stephanie is due in January) and doing some shopping, while Todd competed in the Peruvian Amateur Motocross (dirtbike racing for those who are unfamiliar with the sport) race and won first place! Congratulations Todd!

There was even a tackle football game...at least a tackle-Michael game.

Stephanie, Amanda, and I with our bellies!

Over dessert we all sat around in a circle on the patio, sang songs, reflected on God's graciousness to us over the past year, and prayed together. We will likely not be here for next year's warm weather Thanksgiving celebration, so we soaked-up the uniqueness and the sweet friendships that we are so grateful for when family is so far away.

Tradition

Just have to write really quick here, to say we are doing one of my favorite activities all year - decorating for Christmas. Just as last year, it feels a little strange, since we wear shorts to go outside, but just as special to be together, trimming the tree and listening to beautiful music. Noah understands and loves it much more than last year, and it's amazing to see it through his eyes. Merry advent!

Lessons Learned

Sooooo, this morning Noah woke me at 5:30, soaking wet - must have had too much to drink before bedtime last night. This, however, didn't matter to him, I had to discover the wetness part after I had already helped him into our bed...I was doing a lot of laundry early this morning.

Since I was already up and Noah was not going back to sleep, I thought I would let him play quietly in his room with his music, paper, and a new found joy - markers! The other day I was SO impressed because we were sleeping in and he had found the markers in the drawer, colored very nicely with them on paper, and even returned the proper caps to each one. From then on he had won my trust with caring properly for markers - all that changed this morning....

I had decided to have some of my own quiet time, reading, journaling, praying. He was indeed very quiet and when I went to check on him this is what I found....

I was so shocked to find him there like that! He had a very proud smile on his face and inside I was dying of laughter, but wasn't sure how to react - this of course, is NOT taking proper care of ones markers. So I told him to go wake-up Daddy. Michael was a little more serious about the whole event (of course stifling laughs as well - who wouldn't?). Somehow, that gave me a brief moment to laugh to myself, while Michael played the role of disciplinarian. I had to capture it all in pictures - it's just one of those times that I know I'll always have in my mind of Noah! It wasn't until I removed his shirt that I found his tummy all colored too! Considering this, I'm surprised the shirt wasn't more colored! I even found green marks in his ear. He got his belly button really well too. Noticing the marks around his lips, I asked him if he had put them in his mouth, to which he nodded affirmatively...needless to say he had a bath before school and I had to do some serious scrubbing. The water was a lovely aquamarine.

Arequipa Revisited

What a privilege it was to return to Arequipa for the weekend! I arrived around 6am on Saturday morning to a sunrise with CLEAR skies - a sight I haven't seen in Lima in months! Bob Rich graciously picked me up from the airport, believe it or not he was already up taking his wife, Noel, to the pool, as is her early morning routine. (c: He brought me back to our old apartment, right beneath theirs, at the church they pastor. Noel prepared breakfast for me and soon after I was asleep in our old bed - gotta say it was really strange to be there without my family. This was the apartment that basically welcomed us to Peru - most of my first impressions and memories occured in this place. Noah learned his first words, Spanish words, here. It was all so familiar and easy to feel at home again.

When I had caught up on my sleep a little, I was ready to take a stroll through town, seeing all that had changed in a year. I enjoyed lunch at one of our favorite little cafes and did some handicraft browsing. In the evening, I visited Concho's home. Concho was the woman that cared for Noah and cooked for us while we were in school - in other words, she became family to us. My main reason for coming to Arequipa was to celebrate her daughter's big birthday, but the party fell through after I had purchased my ticket. Concho still made it a special visit by turning it into an early Thanksgiving Day celebration. I was the only non-Peruvian, however, and this celebration had almost nothing to do with food. She and her friends like the American holiday and celebrate it by sharing all the ways that God has been faithful over the previous year. I was delighted to get to participate! Most of the 10-12 women were new faces for me, so I made some new friends quickly as we shared over scriptures the ways God has been teaching, working, and providing for us. It was one of the most special Thanksgiving celebrations I have participated in. Concho did also provide dessert at the end of the night.

After a great night's rest, (and even getting to sleep in until 8 am) I got ready for church and left early, having a chance to read in the park across from it until church began. I started a new book called "The Emotionally Healthy Church" by Peter Scazzero (I hope to blog about it when I finish - it is a fabulous book emphasizing the importance of ministering to the emotional health of the church body). I attended the church that most of our language teachers attend - it was so refreshing to see everyone again, but also to be able to worship freely, without also needing to focus on Noah during the service. It was neat to be able to worship in Spanish at this church - I remember when we would come before and I could only pick-up about 1/2 of the sermon and worship songs. But this time, I completely understood the sermon and even recognize most of the songs as ones we sing in our own church.

Following church, Miriam and Julio (2 of our teachers) invited me to their home for lunch. While there I met two missionaries who are living with them right now as they attend language school (they are ALWAYS hosting missionaries in their home). After lunch and a little rest, we went for a little tour around the outskirts of Arequipa, got "buñuelos" (Peruvian donuts, served with honey) in Tingo, and came back through town to visit another teacher, Edgar. I had mentioned that I wanted to see his new baby, so they gladly took me by. It was a blessing to see his whole family and catch-up briefly. That evening I returned in time to attend the evening service at Bob and Noel's church - also a very special visit, getting to see more friends.

Miriam, missionary Christie, and me

You don't see this in Lima!

Monday, I had breakfast with Bob and Noel and got to visit the school where Noel teaches English and Bible classes. They had just purchased the three homes directly adjacent to their church, and have been using them for this school year, but they are in need of a lot of work to actually make it into a fully-functional school. They've just made bedrooms into classrooms and doorways to connect the 3 properties. I took a bunch of pictures and hope to help them publicize the needs they have through a video and/or getting them into the hands of people that are interested in helping in some way.

The church is yellow, the 3 following homes now belong to the school

Then it was off to school, taking my old bus route, to get there - the bus ticket price had gone up by 10 centavos ($0.03). I got to celebrate a birthday with them in the institute, so it was fun to see all the students that are currently there - from Ireland, Denmark, Germany, Switzerland, the US, and Australia. They all sang "Happy Birthday" in their own language/style.

With all our teachers

Concho met me there and we had some time to go out for empanadas and catch up on life. It was so sweet to hear how God has sustained her and her family even though she's been out of work since April. You can see in the picture below the pretty necklace and earrings she made for me! She's so talented.

I made it back to have lunch with the Riches and then I was off for a few more hours on my own before my flight. I returned to a couple artisans for a little shopping, but hurried to get plenty of time at the Monastery of Santa Catalina - what I think is the most beautiful spot in Arequipa. being there all by myself I was able to truly take in the beauty of all the colorful passageways, designed to point you to the glory of Our Creator. I had our iPod with me and was able to worship through song, journaling, and reading the Bible. I felt SO spoiled to be able to have such a retreat! It was also fun to just wander around capturing pictures - trying to grasp the beauty around me.

I was able to take my last stroll through town as I walked back to the Riches to catch my taxi to the airport. My uneventful flight arrived in Lima around 7pm and I was joyfully greeted by Noah, who came running to me with open arms, yelling "Mommmyyyy!!!" We all had dinner together at the airport and shared a little about our weekends. What a rejouvenating time it was for me! Thank you, sweet Michael, for encouraging me to take this trip, and to all of those who made it so welcoming and special for me!

A gift from the heart

In all the activity following the election, there are many questions to be answered, first and foremost among them being, "What kind of dog will the Obamas get?" In his acceptance speech, Barack mentioned a promise made to his girls, and the canine world is abuzz.

Never lacking in concern and generosity, Peru is here to help. The head of the Peruvian Hairless Dog Association has offered the president-elect and his family a puppy of the national breed. We see these creatures around, and they are the oddest looking dogs you have ever seen. Even Noah laughs at them. But Peruvians are proud of their dog, and it meets the hypo-allergenic criteria for the Obama girls. Imagine what this could do for U.S-Peru relations!

Here is a picture taken in our neighborhood, and some links below for more pics and information.

Do you think they should take it?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/11/12/peru-offers-national-hair_n_143228.html

http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/10266

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2008/11/peru-offers-bal.html

Guys Weekend

Noah and I have the house to ourselves for the next 3 days, as Laura has left for Arequipa! She was going to attend the quinceañera (15th birthday) party for Concho's daughter, but that was postponed, and Laura already had her tickets, so she's just going to visit friends from our language school days and soak up the bright mountain sun. Meanwhile the guys have intense bonding planned, including running in the park, visiting the pet store, and going to Chili's for lunch with some visiting missionary friends. We'll keep you updated on our progress.