J's 9th birthday

I can't believe that this little buddy is 9 already! We sure love him.

We went on a little rowboat in a lagoon about 30 min. south of our place, looking for many species of birds. It was a fun adventure!

E made J a wood burned spider on a piece of wood from a cork tree. (Patrick saw the felled tree near our house and took E and their little saw to clop off a chunk.) Really cool!

We've moved!

This is our new salon with our "frosh" that goes around the room. What a bonus that the colors match the beautiful tilework!

Going up the stairs, it opens up to the roof. I have met my two neighbors up here, as they were also checking on their clothes on their roofs (separated by a wall). I love the sunlight that this brings. This is the third floor. So--first floor is the garage and squatty potty, second floor is 3 small bedrooms, bathroom, and the salon pictured before, and the third floor opens up to this roof, has a open salon, a bathroom (that the landlord promised to put in soon), and the kitchen. The kids have enjoyed playing hide and seek throughout the floors.
This is the open salon on the third floor and our eating room. More importantly, this was H's 4th birthday on December 4. I can't believe that she's that old already. But I'm reminded almost daily that she is a "big girl."

JP is happy that all the stuffed animals made it.

Patrick and E stuffing the pillows (see next pic) into the covers.

A unique thing about this move compared to our many stateside moves is that we had over 20 big pillows to pack, due to our "frosh." It's super comfy and versatile, but the pillows sure are bulky!

The boys new room

A view of our moving truck from our old apartment. We had lots of kind helpers at 7 am!

We are so thankful to be here--grateful for all of the help and the prayers. Patrick is now working to find a location for the physical therapy center and we are learning to find our way around our new town. My health has really improved for which I'm so thankful. I still feel a bit of fatigue (but could be due to this move, etc.) but am happy that I haven't coughed up blood for about a month. This is a direct answer to prayers.

God is good all the time, all the time God is good.

Dad--the pillar

We all love dad! We are all clinging to him during our transition time!

Carrying on...

We are getting back into a routine. School is now underway and I have noticed a real ownership of what the kids are working on, so that makes it nice for a mom/teacher. I'm back to cooking and just started to add some language listening in this week.

Patrick is up in our new city trying to find housing for us. One lead turned out to be a dump on the inside "requiring 8 months of work" according to Patrick. We have another one in mind but it has been hard to find the landlord to talk price, etc. Patrick has been patiently plodding along by looking for housing, interviewing the ladies that will work at the physical therapy center, and working with the Mor. association to be able to potentially open the center in January. I have been really proud of him--his energy and courage.

I wish that I had a glowing report to share about my health. I feel a little discouraged that I'm still not better, realizing that I almost expected that my trip back to America would cure me. My heart is wrestling now with how you carry on when you just don't feel that well. I know that a lot of people suffer from chronic things on a daily basis and now that I'm amongst their ranks, I want to learn how they do it. My main things now are fatigue, back pain (which began 4 weeks ago with the new meds), and hormonal changes. I'm still coughing up a bit of blood several times a week so I know that I still need to heal. I am hopeful that I will feel much better in a few months. Please pray that I will indeed rest up but that I will carry on and be joyful when my cup is at 50% and that I will think of others more than dwelling on my health. I do take great courage that because of the Lord, my cup truly does overflow. We have seen His hand in many things, from special verses in His Word to people we've met in our new city. I just need to remind myself of this over and over!

Out of the mouths of babes--in a third world country

JP, our 6 year old was working on a question in his spelling book-- "What is a good rule to have when riding a bus?"

While he thought and thought, I looked over some of the words they suggested like "sit." I was going to comment about "sitting" when he said in all honesty, "Do not steal."

I couldn't argue with that one!

Good News!!

My sister and her husband have a new little baby girl! Paige Elizabeth was born on Saturday weighing in at 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 20". We have loved the pictures they sent--H even tried to kiss her little chubby cheek on the computer screen. She's darling. We rejoice in this great news!

Unexpected side effects

I began a new line of anti-fungal medicine last week--fluconazole. The doctor took me off of my original one because she didn't have a way of monitoring it overseas to make sure that I was actually absorbing it. Apparently, she wrote today in an email, my blood work said that I wasn't absorbing it very well. It's ironic though that I was feeling so much better.

Anyway this new fluconazole at 400mg. a day brings something new to my table--side effects. It seems dehydrating (lips and eyes are dry), causes dizzyness, brain fog, fatigue, and possibly extensive hair loss. I've experienced them all but the hair loss (and I'm scared of that one!). I'm thankful because my doctor is very quick at responding to emails. Pray that I wouldn't surcome to fear (I can't imagine being on these meds for the 8 months scheduled), that my side effects would be minimized or that the Lord in His mercy would heal me to be med-free. May He give me the energy and grace to see His hand in all of this that I might praise Him.