A hero and a grease ball

JUDE AT SCHOOL


Last night, thanks to Jude's great desire to have friends, we had our first Honduran guests over! It was a really nice time as he played with our 6 year old neighbor and we visited with his mother. Just another reminder, as he says to me when he kills an insect or does something helpful, “I am a hero.” And he is my hero because while I sit and fret about what we are doing here and if we will ever learn to properly conjugate these verbs he is reminding me daily that we must reach out to every opportunity presented to us. My favorite quote from him this last week is, “yes I have friends at school – I just don't know their names.” Oh and also, he goes to a bilingual school where they teach in English (which his teacher knows less of than I know of Spanish – that's bad). Anyway, he brought home this worksheet of identifying family members in English. He did fine until he got to a young girl which he called a “SEA-STAIR.” And I was like, “You mean 'sister'.” “No,” he said, “It is SEA-STAIR in Spanish.” So we may be ruining the one language he has.

All this to say that for the last 3 weeks we have prayed together every morning and every night, “Please God help us to do the hard things,” and often he openly admits he doesn't want to pray that because he doesn't like the hard things. And, well, sometimes neither do I. To prove how far the standards have fallen we had to bribe him with fast-food and play-place to get him to sit quietly through the church service yesterday, although Sunday school went great because they watched TV! And on the way home while I was actually contemplating getting a TV so he could practice his Spanish he asked, “Which play place are we going to? The one with the guy with the gun outside? That was SO NICE.” They all had guards with automatic weapons so we went to Burger King.

LIKE THE BITES?

The girl on the other hand is not having any trouble making friends – either with the people or the misquotes here. If I learn anything in Spanish it is going to be how to say my daughter is beautiful 10 different ways. And if I learn anything about healthcare it is going to be 20 different ways to keep off misquotes – right now we are slathering her with baby oil 3 times a day so she looks like a greased little piglet.
And if the guns, fast-food, TV, and misquote bites weren't enough – this morning they both came down with low-grade fevers (which Jarod is sure are just a cold and teething and I am sure is malaria)... so please be praying for their health and my anxiety.
Overall the past week has been full of school and meeting new people – both nationals and American missionaries.... and so far the people have made all the 'hard stuff' worthwhile... because even if we all do get malaria... we have learned so much in just 2 short weeks!


JUDE W/ OUR MINI FRIDGE COLLECTION



DOES EVERYONE LIKE THE NEW HEADING? THANKS JAROD

Happy FUNNY New Year

I wanted to wish you all a happy new year, but in all honesty the change in he final digit of a date has been the least drastic change in my life this week (so non-monumental in fact I attempted to sleep through it... although it turned out to be another failed attempt as the $200 worth of firecrackers outside my bedroom window sounded like repeated gunfire. But that's funny. It's funny. Because it has to be. I am continually amazed by the power of perspective. And well folks, I am pretty sure there are 10 million things about this country that cannot, from any perspective, be considered humorous... and I am sure you will be hearing plenty about those in upcoming months. So for today I want to focus on the things I need to find funny...

From the looks of my children in this photo – their lives haven't changed one bit...


Except their house is huge... so huge in fact we have 3 bathrooms!! All of them complete with toilets that cannot accommodate toilet paper …



but never fear Honduras is not short on plastic bags to accommodate. Also each bathroom has a handy-dandy shower thingy that gives some heated water through this electrical gizmo.... oh and we found out today that the one in the kids bathroom also sprays them with electric current so we are down to only 2 showers :).




They only thing bigger than our huge house is the huge insects that inhabit it... check out these 2 ordinary ants trying to haul of a Honduran ant carcass... poor little workers... I'd hate to see how many of them it takes to haul off one of our cockroaches.



To foil the mammoth house we have mini appliances. Like our fridge?



And stove?



Me too... they suit well the fact that I have to do grocery shopping on foot.... so like every 3 hours I'll be at the store. With this stash of cash, that I am guess will buy a week's worth of groceries...



not that I'll buy that at one time.. I can't even store an orange (which is green here) or a bag of milk. And when I'm not at the store I'll be doing laundry in my new laundry machine.



I love it. I can already see my biceps growing.

Let's take a trip to my front porch. Love the view. Oh and here is one of 3 locks I have to go through to leave the compound (And yes Alison- I do lock them all and I do think of you every time!)







Then, here is the view from our street. Typical Honduras, as near as I can tell – immense beauty meshed with... immense problems.... but we'll get there... I'm sure.



I read somewhere that the difference between mockery and satire is it can only be satire if you love the thing you mock.... and know this … I love my life here... I'm not complaining... just amused... but tomorrow we start school... all three of us... then I'll be tired and then my tiny fridge won't be funny at all... I can already tell...

In the meantime – check out Mr. Adventure and Ms. Lazy pants... she has still shown no interest in rolling.. or anything really other than chilling.







P.S. Here is our local park... I think it makes the one at our church back home look stelar! Oh and this is the golf course … next to the park.... notice the LOVELY fence.... I will NEVER get golf courses... EVER... what is it doing here?






PS - I wrote this Sunday and today Lucy rolled over like 10 times and we all loved school.... sort of.. we are exhausted...

I should be napping...

What is it about children and naps? I would give my right eye and possibly my left leg (since it has a dozen mosquito bites already that I am just sure are Dengue fever ridden anyway) for a nap right now. But NO, Jude is laying in our bedroom screaming his lungs out because he is being forced to take the rest I so badly need. You may be asking yourself why I need a nap so bad, and I will tell you – because I am a mother. Kids don't need naps. Mom's do. Because in the last week we have had 2 Christmas celebrations, said goodbye to everyone we know and love, made a 49 hour traverse to Florida with 7 children (2 of which puke when they get in a car), flown to a foreign land, drove 4 hours to our apt. (which is beautiful but OH SO COMPLICATED), and enrolled in language school and begun our “adventures”. It has been quite physically demanding: climbing over a ½ dozen car seats every 10 minutes to reach an every important blankie, cracker, or bane-of-my-existence water bottle which contributed to a never ending need to “stop and pee,” hauling 300 lbs. of luggage (which I am proud to announce after MONTHS of packing – seems to be about adequate, and finally in the last 2 days we have walked miles on end to procure every item except a kitchen sink (including a bucket big enough to bathe 2 kids in) that we couldn't pack. But more than my utter physical exhaustion ( which I KNOW Jude shares – and which is why – thank the Lord – He just went to sleep) my emotional exhaustion is about the end of me. 

We have “slept” in 5 different places in the last week but I may have gotten 5 hours of sleep total. I wake at every noise thinking the kids must be waking and are frightened of the new surroundings... and than I spend the next hr. thinking about how the past day went and how the next day will go and he 10 million details that could go wrong. I sound like the picture of emotional health don't I. Oh and by the way – I miss you all... and it takes so much of my energy. So much, in fact that I thought a few minutes on the computer might be more resting than sleep. Does that make sense? I didn't think so... but neither does my life.

Needless to say, I have a million stories to tell... details of puke and pit stops that make me evermore amazed at the Lowery clan, but that will never be fully scribed because of my new found amazement with Honduran culture. How am I ever going to share my life with you while I am here? I don't know... week by week I guess... photo by photo... don't forget about us down here... we are doing well... God is working... somehow... we will only know in hind sight I'm sure....

Please write. I love you all.  

IOWA

If Christmas in Iowa with Jarod's family is not predictable I don't know what is. I've been joining them for this “traditional” gathering, whenever we can for the past 8 years. And with my erratic personality and our mobile life each year I more deeply appreciate the routine, and the comfort of the known and expected (It also gives me a renewed insight into why my husband is the stable man that he is). Now that I know what to expect, this year's 8 hour drive to Iowa was ALL that I knew it would be. There was:

Grandma Mary: The matriarch of the family, who, is managing a farm all by herself and greets our noisy arrival after days of hurried preparation.

Farm. Each year something breaks or has been broken for months but Grandma Mary in her frugility has done without until some in-law or grandson comes along with a few tools and few hours on their hands. This year it was faucets and bathtubs....

Ping pong... I don't know, I don't play... but someone always is... for days straight... and they start 'em young.

Snow (in large amounts which caused much discussion and slight worrying about pipes, roads, etc... like every year... but plenty of inspiration for the smallest guests to venture out in -20 wind chill.)

Food (I could predict the menu 2 months in advance but NO ONE can predict just exactly how much sugar I can consume if it is laid in front of me for 3 days straight.) Next year, another in-law and I are going to do hourly blood sugar tests on ourselves and chart the damage. (We have this EXACT picture of me last year - except last year I was debating over which cookie to eat - this year I have a second waiting in the wing...)

Cousins. I guess this is why we go... all of us making the long journey to a town in nowhere U.S.A. For several days which revolve around the kitchen and the bad weather... so the cousins can know each other... and know where they are from... so that they can grow up to be stable, predictable, and consistent people... just like Jarod.

Speaking of consistent – check out our children … we are pretty consistent, don't you think?  

It's all over but the cryin'

...Well, almost... and the packing, and the traveling. I guess it is really just beginning, but in the last week: we have had our last family dinners, I spoke at our last ladies Bible study, my parents hosted a fabulous going away party for us, Lucy started eating cereal, Jude debuted as a Shepherd in a Christmas program, and Jarod and I both had our birthdays).  And this is all just a running start to the weeks ahead. If they are all this good I will die a happy woman... but I will die shortly of exhaustion.

I am going to attempt to keep up with Monday blogging but for those of you that are keep a running tally of the insanity, here goes:

Tomorrow - move out 

Wednesday - clean

Thurs - Sun - Iowa trip to visit Tippy family

Mon-Wed - figure out how to get all this stuff into manageable luggage, and say goodbye and cry a lot

Thurs - Christmas... leave for Miami - 7 kids under the age of 5 on a 28 hr drive. Prayers anyone?

Sun Dec 28... foreign soil....

Until then please enjoy:

A LITTLE BIT 'A JUDE

P.S.  The Tourrettes is in remission or maybe just the calming atmosphere we provide him has cured everything! :)

A LITTLE BIT 'A LU

P.S. I love the audio on this more than anything... it just shows that it is all down hill after breast milk... sorry my dear Oregonians... our Christmas cookies are just better here...

2 pans, 2 pair, 8 days

So with 8 days until we move I am feeling a little overwhelmed (as evidence I filed my nails last night at midnight – I haven't done that since I was overdue with Lucy... I only do that I guess when big stuff needs to happen but I feel helpless... can someone psychoanalyze that for me?) Anyway, they look nice but my house does not. Partially because as Jude says, we have “turned our house into a store.”
Last week 3 international students came through and bought all but two of my pans. For $7. I don't really know why I decided to sell my pans along with our car, furniture, motorcycle parts, nicknack's and unused greeting cards but my friend bought those for me 5 years ago for $10 and well – you get what you pay for. I guess am kind of hoping that if the Honduras thing doesn't work out at least I'll get new pans out of the deal. In the meantime, according to Jarod - “We'll starve.” and I guess Jude will keep begging to sell his stuff at our store too (He is saving for a new fire helmet.. which he will have to wear on the plane because Jarod has enforced a 150 lb luggage limit on a family of 4... not fair... not even nice).

Then as I was going through some old trunks I found these handy little sunglasses of Jude's... I was just thinking the other day Lucy was gonna need a pair and WA-LA there they were... so I guess we are COMPLETELY ready to move ... and maybe I'll go paint my nails now.



P.S. Here's Jarod with his 2 screens... notice the new one isn't 1/2 the size of the old one so he is going through a little trauma as well these days...

P.P.S. Korene... if you read this... I loved the pans.. and I really got your money's worth out of them :).

So they say he has Tourette's…

My family has always been a strange flavor of hypochondriac. Because of the nature of my parent’s work, where others see "quite", they see "autism". Where others may see "moody" they see "schizophrenic." They are like a pair of walking DSM-IV's. And where I see Jude with a scratchy throat they apparently see the beginnings of lifelong nervous tics and social estrangement. Ahhh… it warms a mother’s heart to know that the grandparents think the kid is a freak. No, in all honesty 4 months ago Jude did developed this odd blinking obsession that comes and goes – we attributed it to our premature and thorough “winking lessons” – but now he has developed this nervous “throat clearing” that is anything but endearing. Actually it is so annoying it makes me want to cry.
But they say whether it’s Tourette’s or “transient tic disorder” the worst thing you can do is mention it to the child - so I am venting to cyberspace tonight. (Oh and the second worst thing you can do is put your kid through any kind of stress… but I am assuming that means any stress other than moving him from his home, his toys, his church, his friends, his grandparents, and his cousin to a developing country where he doesn’t speak the language and can’t drink the water… right?)
Anyway, I won’t go into my file of hypochondriac issues that my children have narrowly escaped (but suffice to say that I am more relieved than one should be that they both have 2 arms and are gender specific.) But just know that a dear friend of mine came over today and just said, “I always prayed over my children and any medicine they might be taking.” And seriously… it was like a novel idea to me. Huh? you mean I could pray instead of directing these elaborate mental melodramas about how my outcast child will cope with his sophomore year? That is far too practical... I’ll have to think about that.
In the meantime I have decided that if my parents have formed a correct (and I might add miraculously early) diagnosis… it really isn’t that big of a deal. Right? He’s gonna be made fun of. And well, he is gonna be made fun of anyway, because last week in his little Alphabet class the teacher laughed at him when he said thanksgiving was, “about God.” And well folks, there just ain’t nothing I can do about that situation either. Actually I could pray about that too, couldn’t I? But I think I’ll worry a little first… oh and review these photos to remind myself how ADORABLE the ticy little kid is.







P.S. I also have an untreatable condition… it is called GLUTTONY and the symptoms are usually latent for many years, appearing only in slowly increasing underwear sizes… but after 3 thanksgiving dinners and twice that many pieces of pie, every inch of my body is feeling the pain….