Weekly Wrap

Ahhh, my time has been so limited lately.  We have been up to our eyeballs in homework (all things Dobu) so I have not been able to get on here. To sum up my week I could just say HOMEWORK, HOMEWORK, HOMEWORK! I think you get the point.  We have been busy analyzing all the info we got over the past 2 months in the culture we were studying. We have one more week to go and then we will be done with this class. This upcoming week is more paper writing and analyzing. I have analyzed so much I dream about it until my brain hurts. LOL

We had our last session with our language helper on Friday.  We decided to keep Anna and Ryan out of school for the morning so we could take them with us. We prepared them as much as we could. We weren't sure how they would feel being involved in the simulation. They did great however. They were both very attentive during the session.  Ryan kept leaning over and whispering to me and pointing out all the interesting things in the room. Anna didn't say a word until we got home.  Then she took some time to vocalize what she had observed. One interesting thing that she picked up on is that our language helper is unsaved (the character is unsaved that is, not the person who plays him) because she noted that he talked about putting sickness on the trees. She noticed some worldview things that Alo (our language helper) said that don't line up with what we believe. I was excited that it turned out to be  a very positive experience for both of them.

Picture of our language helper and his hut.

It was bittersweet to have our last session in Dobu. We really enjoyed it. It was a lot of work (and all those wrap up papers will be a lot of work for the next week) but it was worth it.  I learned things that I wasn't expecting to learn...things about myself.  I don't have time to expound on that right now but I will soon.

I think this is all I have time for tonight. I am hoping to get back to write the things my heart has been learning.  We start our simple living class a week from tomorrow. That will be two weeks of no electrical appliances, no electricity after 10pm, cooking TOTALLY from scratch, no computer/Internet, etc. Sooo, hopefully between all the papers I have this week I can make time to get back on here, if not it might be a few weeks. {grin}

That's a wrap. Until next time!

Weekly Wrap

Not too much to say for this week.  I am tired and not feeling well. I came down with a head cold this weekend and have felt pretty icky. I didn't get much done the last few days except for the necessary homework and some laundry.  Ryan also came down with something tonight.  I just had to run up to his room a bit ago because he said he was cold.  Poor guy was shivering and had teeth chattering.  I took his temp, 103.00 degrees Fahrenheit. I covered him with more blankets, gave him a heated rice bag, some Advil, and a drink of water. Hopefully he goes to sleep soon.  Looks like I won't be going to classes tomorrow. Actually this semester is going WAY better in the heath department then the last too so far.  The first semester I missed about a month's worth of classes, this semester I have only missed 2 days in the past 5 weeks.  Pretty good I would say.

Speaking of classes...have I mentioned how much I am enjoying this semester? I love how hands on this semester is and how we get to put everything we have learned into practice. One thing I have learned about myself (one out of a hundred things) is that I am more of a hands on learner then I realized. I never really knew that about myself. I learn best when I am an active participant.  I don't like to be the center of attention but sometimes with this learning style I have to put myself out of my comfort zone. I am sure knowing this about myself will come in handy later in the future.

As much as I am enjoying this semester it is also a lot of work.  We have about 4 papers coming up within the next 3 weeks.  All of which are going to take a lot of thought. Which for me means hours and hours of work. {smile}

I don't think I've mentioned it but the kids started Awana a few weeks ago.  This is James' first year in Cubbies. He was really hesitant the first 2 weeks.  Bill and I talked and decided that we wouldn't force him to go if he wasn't comfortable. So the following week we asked him if he would like to go to Cubbies he said yes.  Now he looks forward to it every week. He is so excited to learn his verse.  I love it! Claire is feeling a little left out as she is the only one (well, other then Katy) not going to Awana, but her time will come soon enough...hard to believe! My babies are growing so much.

Speaking of verses, Claire recited 3 whole verses from Psalms the other day.  I was amazed! I asked her to repeat it like 3 times and she did. They are learning Psalm 100:1-3 in Toddlers.  I got it on video because I thought it was too cute (I know I biased). {smile} If you watch the video you will have to turn the Volume up because she is pretty quiet. 


For family night on Friday we watched part of Fiddler on the Roof with the kids.  I thought it might be a little too old (like they just wouldn't enjoy it) but they all loved it and were really into it. We didn't even get half way through it so we will have to finish it on another family night. Family nights are really the only time we let the kids watch any sort of TV. It's a long story (if you don't know it already) and one I want to write about sometime. It works really well for our family not to have so much TV.  When the kids are bored they have other things to entertain themselves with.

Katy has officially discovered her voice. I was thinking she would be a little bit older when this happened but I guess she is Anna and Claire's sister {grin} (they both discovered their voices pretty young too)! Unfortunately she discovered it during one of our classes.  So I sat out in the hallway while Katy sang me a beautiful song.  She sounds like a little bird.  It's so funny because she sounds exactly how Claire did. Claire used to sing these high pitched songs when she was a baby.  It really is very sweet...just not during class time. {smile} I need to get it on video one of these days.

I had a few other things I was going to write down, but it's late and I need to go feed Katy so I can get to bed. I'll save it for next week...if I remember {smile}.

That's a wrap until next week!

Weekly wrap

It's time for another weekly wrap. I'm sure you all are just sitting on the edge of your seats to read of our happenings. {grin} I'm sure it will be fun for me in years to come to look back and read the little trivial details of our lives.

Well, potty training isn't going so good. Claire WAS doing really well.  She hadn't had any accidents in weeks. She started keeping her diaper dry at night and at nap times.  The only thing we hadn't gotten down was going #2 on the potty but we were working on it.  Well, within the last week or so Claire has regressed. Ugh! She pees on the floor all the time now.  I haven't figured out if she just doesn't care anymore or just gets too busy to want to go. Whatever the case is we had to put her back in pullups. {frown} We have concluded that maybe she just isn't ready?  Although she is for sure smart enough. I don't know, it's pretty frustrating. We are working on it, and I remind my self that she won't always be in this stage.  I just have to say though, potty training is my least favorite stage.

Katy seems to change daily. I don't remember if I mentioned last week but she laughs now.  It's so cute. And when she smiles you can see her big dimples on both sides.  I changed her feeding schedule this week. I was feeding her every 3 hours but it seemed like she wasn't really wanting to eat much so I decided to have her go every 4 hours.  She is sleeping and eating so much better.  It amazes me! She is such a happy baby.  feeding every 4 hours has given me a little more freedom with my time.

I noticed this week that my hair is starting to fall out.  I was wondering when that was going to happen.  This has to be my least favorite part of after having a baby...well, that and the 25 pounds I have to loose {smile}. Now I will need to start cleaning the shower daily (maybe I should be doing that daily anyway hahaha) so the hair doesn't build up, yuck!

Thought I would jot down what our Our daily routine consists of.

~Alarm goes off at 6:20 am.
~I get up at 6:38 {smile} and shower
~Out of the shower a little before 7 am
~Get the kids up at 7 (although Anna is always up around the time I am so no need to wake her)
~Wake Katy and feed her at 7 am
~Anna and Ryan head out the door at 7:20 to get on the bus
~From 7:20-7:50 I get the other 3 kids ready for classes
~Bill and I head out the door usually at 7:55 and head to class
~Our first class of the day starts at 8:00am.
~At 8:40 I leave class to take James and Claire over to Preschool and Toddlers (They have to be in their rooms by 8:50)
~From 9am to 12 pm we have classes ( have to take a break during classes to feed Katy usually around 11).
~We pick the kids up at 12 (or a little after if the teachers go late) and head home for lunch
~Between 12-3 pm we have lunch and naps for the little ones.  Sometimes I am able to slip in a little nap right after lunch until I need to feed Katy at 2:30pm.
~I try and have my quiet time at 2:30 pm when I am nursing Katy
~James and Claire are often up from naps around 3
~Anna and Ryan get home around 4
~I greet the kids, give them snack and we take about their day.
~They usually head out to play for a little bit until supper time.
~I aim to feed my family around 5:30
~After supper the kids do their chores, Anna clears the table, washes the dishes and washes of the table. Ryan picks up the living room and sweeps the floors.  James has the shoe chore.  He lines up all the shoes against the wall. And he has to clean up his room.  Claire has the job of cleaning her room.
~After chores Bill does Bible study with the kids (usually while I feed Katy)
~Bedtime starts between 7:15-7:30 the kiddos are usually tucked in by 8.  I read to the boys (right now we are reading the chronicles of Narnia picture book) and then I read to the girls (we are reading Elsie Dinsmore book 2)
~Bill and I sit down and start homework
~I get Katy out of her bed around 10:30 and nurse her 1 more time for the day.  Bill and I usually use this time to relax together. We either talk or watch a DVD.  Right now we are working our way through the series HOUSE M.D. season 1.
~We go to bed and get (never enough) sleep only to wake and repeat it all again the next day!

I talked to a friend here who's daughter has a ton of food allergies.  She was so encouraging.  She offered to help her go grocery shopping to show me where to get the right foods.  She has been such a good resource.  She is going to lend me a cookbook too that has all kinds of recipes I can use for James.  I am excited about that!

We have made Friday nights family night around here. With the week being so busy and the kids in school all day, I often feel like we need time to just do fun things instead of the normal routine. We played a new game (that I got for free) with the kids on Friday. It was called "Learning to Listen Pizza Game" it's made by Noobleboro. It was a hit.  Technically the game is for 2-3 players but we made it work for the whole family to play. Bill and I took turns ordering the pizzas and then we rotated who played. James and Claire would make the pizza's then Anna and Ryan would go. We all laughed and had fun in the process (of course there were a few tears shed by a few of the younger members of the fam...they are still learning about taking turns. {smile}).  I think it is a good character building game...or at least we turned it into that.  Without the kids knowing we were teaching them about sharing, taking turns, considering others, etc. Family nights have become a thing that the kiddos all anticipate every week now. So far we have usually watched movies but Bill and I are trying to come up with other options then just movies. We always had Friday family nights when I was a kid and I am excited to be implementing it with our little ones.

I LOVE Saturday mornings.  Even though our weekends are usually busy due to family time and homework, Saturday mornings are just relaxing around here.  We sit around in our jammies.  The kids play with their toys on the living room floor, we read books, I drink my coffee. We are not in a hurry for anything. It's a much needed change of pace from our hectic week.

Another great thing about Saturday mornings is taking a shower. Sounds funny, but it is the only day of the week I can actually enjoy taking a shower.  I am not in a hurry to get ready for the morning so I can just enjoy the silence.  I enjoy talking to God during this time, just me and Him pouring over what is on my heart. It is so refreshing. I always have so many things in my heart, so it's good to have a concentrated amount of time to be able to converse with Him.  I know I can do this anytime (and I do) but Saturday morning showers are just special. {smile}

A funny conversation I had with the kids on Saturday:

Anna- do you know how bees turn nectar into honey?

Me- no I don't.

Anna- does anyone know?

Me- Yes, I'm sure scientist do

Ryan- I want to be a scientist when I grow up.

Anna- That's dangerous.

James- I want to be a cyborg.

LOL LOL  I have no idea where cyborg came from!

Well, I think this has gotten long enough. I think I better wrap this thing up!

Until next week...

Weekly Wrap

It's Sunday evening and I have finished my homework and ready (or not) for school tomorrow morning.  The weeks since we got back here have been going so fast.  I just looked at the calender and realized  that we are fast approaching October! Graduation is right around the corner. I remember when we first got here last August a woman I met (who later became a good friend here) told me to enjoy every moment here because it goes by so fast.  I nodded my head and smiled but inwardly thought "good.  I really hope it goes by fast." Of course I didn't really want to be here at all. But now that we have two semesters under our belt and December is getting closer I have mixed emotions. I never thought I would say this, but I might actually be sad to leave this place.  With all the ups and downs that we have had (and I have hardly written about it) this place has actually become our home. Another thing about leaving here is that we will be officially "homeless".  It's not like with summer break when we went back home, stayed with a few different families and then came back to our Apartment here at the end of the summer.  We will no longer have a place to go back to.  That is such a weird feeling.  Such has become our lives! :)  It's exciting and scary all at the same time.

That was really random and not really the reason I sat down here. I don't have much time these days to write, so I thought I would try and do a weekly (weekend) wrap.  Just a short summery of our lives during the week.

Nothing too exciting to note.  We very immersed into what is happening here are school. Bill and I only have 1 class (4 hours of the same class) a day.  The last two semesters we have had 4 classes a day but now that we are getting to the end things are getting pretty intense.  We are doing CLA (culture, language, acquisition) Practicum.  The class is basically us acting out everything we have learned up to this point.  They have a mock village with people (staff) dressed as villagers (face's painted and wigs included).  We get to go in and see what it will be like (on a very small scale) to face things in a different country.  So far it is really interesting but a lot of hard work.  We are assigned a language helper to help us speak their language.  They speak broken English to us while they are trying to teach us.  It is a lot of work but I know it is going to be so worth it to have practiced many of the things we have learned.

Katy is getting so big.  I find that I am falling more in love with her everyday. We are starting to see more of a personality in her.  She is so full of smiles and coos. She really is such a blessing to our family. I find that I just want to be with her all the time.  So most days you will find her strapped (in my Baby K'tan) close to me.  I love having her in class with me and so far that is going really well. Knowing that she is our last makes it even sweeter to have her close.  We just want to enjoy every minute.

Bill and I have been working our way through the Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the evenings after the kids are in bed, and our homework is done we sit down to watch a little bit, while I feed Katy on last time before bed.  This is such a nice relaxing part of our day.

I am reading through the book of Acts. Every time I read this book I just enjoy it so much. It is always so inspiring, the faith that all those men and woman had at the start of the church.

I did TONS and TONS of laundry this weekend.  It felt good to get it all done, of course it won't stay done but it's always a good feeling to get that accomplished.  I washed all of Katy's 3-6 month clothes. She is almost outgrown her 0-3 month clothes.  Hard to believe, but she is 3 months old now so I suppose she is going to start needing bigger clothes.  I'm not sure I am ready to pack up all the little things yet...sigh!

We found out James has food allergies.  He can't have egg whites, wheat, cow's milk, or peanuts.  We have cut all of those foods out of his diet until we can pinpoint what is causing his skin to get so itchy and inflamed. This week I have been feeling out of ideas for food for him.  I feel like all he eats is rice.  I am looking for new recipes but sometimes it gets so hard.  We eat A LOT of rice, fresh spinach and carrots, and chicken.  At least we are eating somewhat healthy.


A funny thing Claire said tonight, "Katy has black hair."  I replied, "Yes she does. and what color is your hair Claire?"  She looked at me for a second and said, "Blue!"  I laughed and said, "No, Claire your hair is brown, silly."  Then Claire surprised me and started crying.  I guess she really did want blue hair! :) Maybe you had to be there to think this was funny.

So I think that's about all for this week (or what I can remember anyway).  Nothing too exciting to report...however sometimes not too exciting is good. :)

And that's a wrap...until next weekend!