'Twas the morning of Christmas...

'Twas the morning of Christmas, and all through the place

Excitement was flowing with joy on each face. 

The Filipinos were all gone,  only the Americans were there. 

Breakfast was served...it was quite the affair! 

Fruit smoothies, omelets, gravy and biscuits

Each of these thought to be great favorites. 

The party was moved, up the stairs we all went

We'd open all the presents that were sent.

After the gifts came the Christmas movies.

Little did we know we'd soon be catching babies!! 

Dogs were barking, so I peaked out the window

And saw a tricy parked below.

Down the stairs I went to open the door.

When I saw the woman I thought today would not be a bore! 

Active, was she ever! The baby's coming she shouted, 

Call Georgia! Will she make it? I doubted. 

I threw a sheet on the bed. 

And just in time to see the baby's head!

Two more Christmas babies we caught

A more memorable Christmas could not be bought. 

 

 

Long time...no see

It's been too long since my last update. Rather than write a long update I'll just post a bunch of pictures to show you what I've been up to!! I hope you enjoy them!! =)

 

Happy Birthday Hosea Luke!! October 12, 2011

 

October 26, 2011 Doesn't sweet little Tarren look just like a little pumpkin? 

 

October 31-November 4 I got to go up to Bugnay again. 

I love visiting the mountains...it had been too long!! 

I love this old woman...she's so cute                                                                       I got to cook over the fire in the home where 

and has quite a bit of spunk too!                                                                             we stayed...nothing like pancake mush!!

 

This woman has the most beautiful smile,                                                               This day on outreach I think I ended up 

       but she doesn't like to show her teeth.                                                                 weighing about 15 babies of different ages!

 Meet Norvin - November 7, 2011

 The day after Anrhey was born (November 18, 2011) I went to his home to check on him and his mama.

Even though it was a short trip, I had a nice little break in Manila for a day. 

Like I said, it was a NICE break!! =)

Just a couple days after Thanksgiving I got to attend a breech birth!! It was a really good birth too!!

The baby cried a little right after he was born and only needed a little help to breath. So much to be thankful for!! 

Each Tuesday I work in the clinic doing prenatal exams. I love watching 

a moms face when she hears her baby's heartbeat for the first time!!

This little guy weighed only 2.1 kgs (4.6 lbs) when he was born on 

December 2, 2011. Please pray that he is doing good. His mama hasn't come 

back for any postpartum checks and I worry that maybe he's not gaining enough.

This is Lilibeth, doesn't she look good for being in labor? 

She was so excited to finally meet her sweet little girl on December 8, 2011.

So, that's some of what I've been up to the past two months...fill in the gaps with LOTS of studying, sleeping when I can and having fun with my roommates! I hope that December is going well so far for you and that you enjoy the holiday season!! I know I will!!

I don't do spiders!!

Ok, so the other night my roommates and I watched a movie in the other room. When they went back in our room after the movie I heard them calling for me saying "your friend is in here!" This could mean only thing. A spider was in our room.
Now, let me take a moment to tell you about the relationship I have with spiders. I don't mind small spiders. Even if they are in the house...I don't mind too much. However, a spider that has a more than 1-2 inch leg span is not my friend, especially if it is hairy. EEEK!!! If they are seen within my living quarters they will be caught and boiled. Yes, boiled. I do not squish said spiders because I seen a spider get squished only to have a billion tiny off spring scatter. I WILL NOT squish a spider.
You may be wondering how to go about catching a spider? I'll tell you by getting back to my story.
So, I walked into our room and sure enough my "friend" is hanging out on the bottom of Emily's dresser. And to top it off I can clearly see that she is carrying a VERY LARGE egg sac underneath her. I'm standing there with my roommates and I begin to panic inside. I can sense that I may loose it, so I grab an empty Pringles can that was on another dresser removed the lid and tried to catch the nemesis. She was quick though and she had a leg span of about 3 1/2 inches which is just a little bit bigger than the can I was trying to catch her in. At that point I began to panic outwardly. I wasn't going to just leave her there...letting her babies hatch and become big and invade our room. NO WAY!!
One of my roommates handed me Tianne's arenola (pee pot that you pee in at night and empty in the morning) which thankfully she has not yet used. However, by this point panic was truly setting in. I couldn't do it. I just kept thinking about missing and it jumping on me and biting me, or missing and her getting away. I was frozen. But Emily came to the rescue! She took the arenola from me and slammed it down over the nasty thing! YAY!!! Now I could do something. We took some paper and slid it carefully between the side of the dresser and the arenola. Then moved it to the edge in order to put the lid in place.
We carefully brought it downstairs to boil some water and poor it over her. As we walked into the kitchen half a dozen cockroaches scattered. These used to bother me, but I've kind of just got used to them and while I still find them gross, they don't really bother me much now. As I was putting the kettle on the stove a rat ran across the floor. Again, I don't like rats, especially in the house, but they don't bother me as much as they used to. It's just the spiders that I can not deal with.
When the kettle whistled I took great pride in poring the boiling water over the thing that disturbs me so much! Once I was satisfied that she was indeed boiled to death we removed the lid to look at her again. She was floating in the water, all curled up, her egg sac floating beside her. EEESH!! I felt like vomiting. Tianne took it outside and disposed of the nasty thing.
It took me awhile to fall asleep that night because every time I closed my eyes all I could picture was the spider. BLEH!!!
The picture here is one I found on the internet, but looks just like the one that had the audacity to try and set up house in my living space. You see her egg sac? How many baby spiders do you think are in there?!?!

Missing the Garhwal Hills

Not a day goes by that I do not think about India, my second home. I often sit on the balcony in the evening watching the sunset, remembering how I used to watch the sun sink behind the hills from my host family's front steps. I long to see the neighbor ladies all sitting together with their knitting and neighborhood gossip. I think back to my language route and my visits with the shop keepers. Trying to understand the game of cricket, practicing my Hindi, discussing a wide array of topics. I miss my Indian clothes, the comfort and colors. I crave Indian food, the spices and flavors. I ache to be back there, where everything is so familiar, where I know and love the culture, to see my friends, visiting over chai and pakoras just like old times. I miss the sights, smells and sounds. I miss hearing and speaking Hindi. I miss India so much!
I keep telling myself that another year and a half isn't that long. But it feels like ages!! God has imprinted India and her beautiful people so deeply upon my heart. India shall forever be home.

Tickling the heart of God

Have you ever thought about tickling the heart of God? You know how when a small child tells you the cutest thing you've ever heard? Or when a child brings you the biggest arm full of freshly picked dandelions...all the stems so short that there is no way you can put them in a vase, so instead you just put them in a bowl of water? Or when you lay on the top of a hill watching the clouds together and that sweet little child's imagination just runs wild with what they see in the clouds? Or when after having to discipline a small loved one and they look up at you, tears still fresh in their eyes and they simply say, "I love you." And your heart just melts, so in love with that child. Tickled that they love you no matter what you do. No matter how many mistakes you make. No matter if you forgot them at church or even at the grocery store.

Sometimes I like to imagine my self frolicking through a meadow with Jesus, chasing each other across the hills. Picking wildflowers with Him, chasing butterflies, laughing over the silliest little things, and then tumbling to the ground, laying there giggling like little children. Watching the clouds overhead and falling asleep in the sweet sunshine. Then walking down to the little stream and sitting on a log that lays from one bank to the other, dangling our toes in the cool water. Talking about everything and nothing. Just like the old friends that we are.
One day, I hope that I can find this meadow for real...just like I picture it in my head. A few rolling hills, covered in wildflowers. A nice sunny day, not too hot. A small breeze that just barely stirs the grass and flowers. Beautiful butterflies floating from one flower to the next. Little birds singing a sweet song of praise. Clouds drifting through the sky, just the perfect kind for watching. A gentle brook, lined with trees that give just enough shade from the late afternoon sun, with that log that rests over the water in the perfect place to dangle your feet and visit. And I'll stay there all day with Jesus. When I get hungry there will be a berry patch filled with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. When I get sleepy, I'll lay in the sun and rest. If I'm thirsty I can drink from the brook. But the whole day I'll be with Jesus in this perfect, wonderful, undisturbed place. And it will tickle His heart to spend the whole day with me, and I with Him. Talking and running and laughing like old friends.
But until I find this meadow...I content myself with the one in my head. And when the stress of this life becomes too much for me...this is where I retreat to. And I cherish these moments with Jesus. In childlike innocence I enjoy His love, His presence and His joy. And it is so refreshing! And I know that it tickles His heart to meet me there.

How about you? Do you have a place that you imagine going to? A place of retreat with Jesus? How do you picture tickling the heart of Jesus?