ONE!

Today is Labor Day, and I am sitting here remembering last year at this time, how we had just welcomed you into the world, and you were amazing, and you were a gift.  You were gifted to us exactly a year to the day after miscarrying your older sibling.  The Lord works in mysterious ways, but he is always working together all things for good...

This past year has been full.  It has been full of love as we have been overcome by the joy you add to our family.  It has been full of adventure and renewed friendship as we were finally able to return to Honduras as a family of 6 after 10 years away.  It has been full of sorrow as we walked beside a good friend as she struggled with breast cancer, and as we had to ultimately say good-bye to her (even though we wanted to hang on more than anything).  I struggle in my limited vision with understanding God's goodness in things like the seemingly premature death of a dear friend whose children are young and left motherless. And yet the Lord is working together all things for good... and you are one of the many tangible reminders of that to us.

You are so full of life!  You were walking by 9 months, climbing up the sofa and the window-pane by 11 months, and now you are running away with glee anytime you get your hands on a forbidden electronic device.  You are a lad of great imagination - a true opportunist.  You are an idea generator, much like your oldest sister, and you keep us on our toes chasing you around (but we are 10 years older than when she was at your stage, and I fear a bit slower).  But now there are three others on our team, and together we are by the grace of God keeping you alive. :)

You love to laugh and "tell jokes."  The other day I came to get you after your nap, and as I walked toward your crib, you started laughing and dancing your body around.  When I got close to you you took the pacifier out of your mouth, stuck it in my mouth, and giggled with glee.  I was so surprised by it I couldn't stop laughing, too.  It was almost as if you had planned the whole thing out.

You love playing fetch, and you have recently started trying to throw the ball back to us instead of simply running it back.  You also have started picking our hands up off the ground and opening them to place an object inside.

You love to eat.  Pancakes and kefir are two of your favorites, but you also love raw veggies from the garden and grapes and berries and almost everything we give you.

You love your siblings and friends and excitement, though you are starting to feel the separation anxiety pains.  We will have to see how things go at school on Mondays since you will be there much longer than last year!

Your eyes are different colors - with the left one being more hazel, and the right one more blue.  We keep wondering if they will continue to change, or they will stay that way forever.  You are strong, and confident, and adventurous, and a joy.  We love you, happy birthday!!

Photo credit: Miss Raindrop

I want that butterfly!!

I love my pacy!

I love the sprinkler!

I love playing!

I love eating!

I love climbing!

I love airplanes and making messes!

I love adventures!

I love my life!

Roatan: Part One

        I opened my eyes, stretched, and yawned.  It was morning.  Small shaded shapes came through the window onto the bed that my brother and I were sleeping on.  My brother had just woken up, too, and we looked out the window together.

A tree blocked the full view of the window, making it hard to see out, but there were six nests cradled in the crooks of the branches.  The night before we had watched a crow add a piece of straw to one of the nests.  We waited to see if another bird would come, but we watched in vain.

So we decided to climb out of bed and down the latter, for BRO and I had been sleeping in a bed up in the loft of our cabin. Since it was only 5:30 in the morning and breakfast wasn’t until 8:00, we thought it would be the perfect time for a swim.

Papa, me, Benjamin, Eliza, and Tante Corrie put on our swimsuits and took our snorkeling gear down the short path to the ocean.

                                               *** Guest Post: Miss Songbird ***

Rice and Beans and Bags of Rocks

       When we were in Honduras this Summer, we went on an old yellow school bus to visit a friend’s house.  The bus was so packed with people that some of us had to stand up.  The mountain road was bumpy, and the bus swayed from side to side.  When we went uphill it was so slow that I wasn’t sure we would make it.  But when we went downhill it was so fast that I thought we might fall off the mountain.

When we got to our friend’s house we ate rice and beans for lunch, which is one of my favorite meals.  After lunch we played hide-and-go-seek with their four children and climbed a guava tree that had branches that were spread-out and good for climbing.

After lunch my family walked down to the Congrejal River, which was behind their house.  The river had strong rapids, and there was a rock in the middle where the water was deep.  We tried to cross to the rock, but the current was strong we could barely make it.  Mama and Aunt Corrie had to help us get back to the shore safely.

The shore of the river was filled with rocks the size of golf-balls.  We gathered some bags of different-colored rocks to bring back home with us.

      If I ever lived in Honduras, I would probably work as a farmer at the Orphanage, but visit Las Mangas often to go swimming!

                                               **** Guest Post by BRO ****

Arts and Crafts

This Summer we went to work at a school in Honduras called Instituto El Rey.  I got to help in the arts and crafts and English class.  All of the students could speak at least a few words of English, and one class could speak English really well.

The first project we worked on was making necklaces out of modeling clay.  We also made wooden bracelets wrapped in string. And then we made paper bracelets.  I mostly walked around helping the students.

When I helped in the English class, I asked the students questions like, 

“Do you have any brothers and sisters?” 

“How old are you?”

“What job do you do?”

“Do you have any animals?”

During the week I made a new friend, Yeiry.  I first met her in the art and crafts class.  And then we started sitting together at snack and lunch.  Yeiry is 12 years-old and she is very kind.

I’m so glad I got to go to Honduras, and I hope I will be able to go back sometime!

The End

**Guest post by Miss Raindrop**