Guatemala Part One

I do not know where to start.  I am going to try and just tell all the details and then hopefully I will have a more thoughtful and introspective post later.  

We left from the church building on Tuesday July 6th.  We arrived in Atlanta and got all checked into our hotel room.  On the bus ride I still had not met many people and was still a little nervous of who I would hang out with on the trip.  Everyone ended up being so friendly and such great friends.  That night I stayed in a room with two great girls.  They are both still in college so it was fun to get to know them and to kind of remember what it was like to be carefree with all you have to worry about is yourself.  I definitely had ME time on this trip which was incredible.  That night it was kind of hard to sleep just because of all the nervousness and excitement of the trip that laid ahead of us.  We got to the Atlanta airport around 7:40 and check in was a breeze because we had printed our boarding passes ahead of time.  Once we checked our bags I told Miss Dee that there was no turning back now.  :)

We had plenty of time to get a snack and relax before we boarded our plane.  

Once they started boarding the plane is when I really started to get nervous.  I still did not feel like I knew anyone really that well and here we are about to get on a plane to another country and these are my links to reality.  The plane ride was very smooth and it was long but went by relatively quickly.  (The in flight entertainment helped, Date Night)  We arrived in Guatemala city around 12ish?  I really had no idea what time it was the whole trip.  Which was very nice.  Customs was extremely easy to get through and no one lost any luggage.  Leaving the airport you are greeted by a ton of people waiting for relatives to fly in.  Unless you are a passenger you are not allowed in the airport.  So it was pretty interesting the way we were greeted.  We met up with our group leader, Rick, and met some other people we would be spending the week with on our trip.  Some of them were even on our plane from Atlanta.  We were waiting on our bus to arrive and also for some more planes to fly into Guatemala.  I ended up riding in the van instead of the bus.  We were given fried chicken to eat in the van.  We made a little pit stop on the way where I had my last Milky Way for 5 days.  Chocolate was not very big in Guatemala.  We made it to the Hotel Santo Tomas around 4:30.  My roomie, Dee and I got to take a nap while waiting on the other group to arrive.  Dinner was always at 7 every night.  The nap was exactly what I needed because I had gotten a little headache from the plane and van rides.  Breakfast and Dinner was eaten at the Hotel everyday.  The breakfast was the easiest meal for me to eat.  Dinner was always a meat and a starch.  I did not eat a whole lot at dinner.  The first night it was roast beef with some sort of sauce with rice.  Most people drank coke but I would get bottled water every night since we could not drink the water out of the tap this was one way to get water.  We had a meeting that night after dinner and a little devotional.  We found out where we would be going and what we would be doing at the meeting.  I found out I would be taking vitals.  I had to ask what that meant.  It was taking blood pressure, pulse, weight and temp.  As I have no medical experience at all I was a little worried about this assignment.  I was told how to take blood pressure by two different people and I was afraid I would not be able to do it.  Luckily when I got to my clinic the woman that came with us had a digital blood pressure machine so I got to cheat for the two days I had to take vitals.  :)  I did have to take 5-10 babies pulses.  That was not as fun because some of them were really afraid.  The language barrier also proved to be difficult sometimes but it is amazing how hand signals are universal.  :)  The first day of clinic we were in a church building.  The dentists set up there station with three lounge chairs that you would find by the side of a pool.   They have 4 bins of liquid to clean the tools for pulling teeth.  These people just sit there and get there teeth pulled without flinching or making any sort of noise.  They get numbed but I do not know how much that helps.  

We only had one little boy that was upset and crying.  The other thing I was so impressed with was that these people wait all day to talk a doctor or dentist.  They get there around 9 or 10 and we did not get done until 4 or 5.  They wait ALL day.  How patient someone must be to wait that long.  They do not get upset or frustrated or angry.  They wait happily knowing they are going to get the care they need.  This bus is what we rode in every day to get to the clinics and back to the hotel.  I was probably in this bus for 12 hours total.  The roads are muddy and bumpy and very narrow.  They also are winding up and down mountains so sometimes you could look out your window at a 1000 foot drop or more.  I actually really enjoyed the bus rides.  One member of the team told us of a saying Let Go and Let God.  This was so true when riding in these buses and on these roads.  Sometimes you just have to have faith and hope that God is with you always.  I truly felt this way on this trip.

Too lazy or too busy?

We have been having a crazy couple of weeks.  Non stop fun, non stop action, non stop moving.  The kids and I have been busy lounging by the pool this week.  We went Monday and Tuesday.  Jonas definitely got too much sun on Tuesday and so did I.  It was well worth it though because we have such great friends that are moving away this weekend.  We are SO sad to see them go.  Jonas said to me this morning he wanted to move to Memphis with them.  So cute!  They moved here the same time we did and they have  a little girl that is one month younger than Jonas.  It has been so great to watch them grow and play together.  It has also nice to not be alone during the terrible 2's, 3's, and so on.  :)
Monday we had our Stay at home Mom breakfast and it was so much fun to eat with everyone and then go and hang by the pool a little bit.  Have I mentioned I LOVE summer?
I am having a hard time remembering my camera to all of this fun. So not many pics to share.
Also, for those of you who have not heard I have gotten a part time job working at JCPenney.  This is to make a little extra money to pay off student loans.  I am determined, along with Tom, to get rid of them.  If we can stick to our plan mine will be paid off in two years.  Just in time for Jonas to go to Kindergarten.  It is not the greatest job but I have enjoyed it as much as anyone can enjoy a retail job.  I am very thankful to be able to get a job.  I know that is a tough things these days. 
Tom and I are also planning on running a half marathon with my friend Jodi in October in New Orleans.  We are all done with our couch to 5k and we are now onto our 19 weeks until the half marathon.  First week has been tricky with work, and the heat, and VBS planning.  (Did I mention I was in charge of crafts for VBS at our church? CRAZY!)  But we got all of our runs in this week and the big run is always on Sat.  So tomorrow we will be running 4 miles.  I have not done that since soccer 8-9 years ago.  I am SO excited about it though.  It really gives me something to look forward to and a goal to achieve.
So I am posting on here two big goals Tom and I want to accomplish this year so that you can all be thinking about us and holding us accountable. 
1.  Pay off my student loans in 2 years
2. Run a half marathon in October. (I also want to run another one in Birmingham in February with Tim and Nicolle)
That is what we have been up to.  I feel like I have been cheating with the blog posts lately.  Just posting pics. 
I have just been so BUSY.  In a good way.  All of these things are things to be thankful for.
We have VBS starting Sunday so it is going to be another crazy busy week.  Then it is 4th of July weekend.  Then I am off to Guatemala for 6 days for a mission trip with our church.  Again, so much to be thankful for and to be praying about. 
I am so excited for all of our events we have planned and also for my niece and nephew, Rachel and Isaiah coming for 2 weeks after I get back from Guatemala. 
I feel like I need a life planner to keep it all organized.  :) 
We hope you are all enjoying your summer as much as we are.  We wish we could see you all more.  I am trying to work out some mini vacations but money is SO tight. 

LOVE THESE KIDS!

Happy Father's Day.....

to some pretty silly and awesome DADS!

Family Pics

13 months

T
Tinzley is 13 months today.  We get told ALL the time how much she looks like Jonas.  These are pictures of Jonas around 13 months.  Similar but still different.  She has WAY more hair then he did.  But about as big of a mouth.  :)
She is not walking yet but can stand on her own and squat down.  Sure laziness really.
She is climbing on everything she can get her little legs onto.  Her favorite activity is crawling back and forth on our couch and then diving over the arm into a nearby chair.  She also loves going from the fireplace to the ottoman to the chair.  This is making me a crazy wreck thinking she is going to fall off all the time.  She is not really saying anything new.  Still mama, dada, bye bye, her version of Jonas, hi (which come out hiya), paw paw, and hey.  So cute!
She is also getting some teeth so she has been really cranky lately.  She is also becoming very attached to her blanket.  For those of you who have been around Jonas in the last 3 1/2 years you will know this is not far behind him in the blanket obssession.  We do not know why but that is definitely what our kids get attached to.  Linus is what we called Jonas, but who is a girl character that carries her blankie everywhere?
Tinzley is really a joy to be around and I am sure she will be walking and talking very soon!

This house has gone crazy!

T

Jonas was not a quiet child ever but he was not an adventurous child either.  He was outgoing but shy, crazy but timid, kind of warring personalities really.  Well, the kid has not changed much but he has gotten a lot more adventurous.  This brings me to Tinzley.  This little girl is CRAZY.  She loves to climb!  LOVES it.  We do not have stairs in our house, thank goodness, but she is constantly climbing on anything she can get her little legs onto.  She also has NO fear.  She has crawled into the papasan we have from the fireplace.  She has jumped off of the couch, some with success and some I have had the mom quickness to catch her.   Jonas did not start jumping until he was at least 2 and even then it took him awhile to get the hang of it.  Tinzley is not walking yet but give her a few more weeks and I think she is really going to go crazy.  She is quick.
Tinzley also is getting, from my best guess, at least 4 teeth.  Needless to say she is VERY cranky which is not like her at all.  We got home from storytime and taking Tom to lunch today and after I changed her diaper she found her blanket and plopped right on the floor.  Poor thing.  I am hoping they pop through soon and she can be herself again!

Also, we are still riding the emotional Jonas roller coaster.  He has been A LOT better but we still have days I wonder if it will ever get better.

Summer time is really helping.  He gets to go outside and play with the big neighborhood kids.  This makes me nervous, happy, and sad all at the same time.  He is just getting so big.  He has the little girl from next door come to the house, knock on the door, and ask if Jonas can come out and play.  WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?  Crazy how time flies.  :)



This was Tinzley on this past Sunday.  I just thought she looked SO cute.  Yes, that is one BIG bow but even Tom said it worked with the outfit.  :)

Long Time, No Blog

  
Summer is officially here! 
We have been SO very busy swimming, hanging with friends, going to see the animals, playing in the fountains, running, and all sorts of things.
We have been to the zoo, the pool, and the children museum just this week.  Crazy!

This past Sunday I had asked for prayers for patience with Jonas.  I think some people thought I was joking but this is NO joke.  He really has caused me to question myself as a mother.  I was questioning my motives, how I discipline, how I yell, what I say, how I say it, etc.  It is not even that he is bad, really, it is just devious, negative, LOUD, and disrespectful.  He refuses to LISTEN.  He runs away from me in Wal Mart, at church, everywhere.  I am really afraid he will get hurt.  Anyways, I was TRULY at my wits end.  I still am sometimes but it has gotten better.  So I had asked for prayers and they were answered on Monday and Tuesday.  I had the most precious little three year old in my house those two days.  He has not gone away completely but a little bit of that other kid has seeped in the past few days.  I really have been trying to be more patient.  I also have been avoiding spanking or yelling.  Sometimes I have to yell because he still has a hard time listening.


 
Tinzley on the other hand has been so great.  She is just so funny.  I know she will be more of a handful someday but for right now I am enjoying every second I have of a relaxed chilled kid.  Example of this was yesterday.  We went to the pool with some great friends, who are moving and I am so sad, and she sat in a lounge chair by us two moms for over an hour eating her snack and watching all the kids splish splash in the pool.  I love that she just wants to lay out and relax. That is my kind of kid!

Here are some pics of Tinzley in her pigtails and then what happens when you take them out.  I love it!