Ramadan 2011

Our neighborhood mosque is located down an alley and behind someone's construction supplies, but it is bright, cheerful, well attended, and well maintained.

The Muslim fasting month of Ramadan falls in August this year, from August 1- 29.  Ramadan is a time of intense spirituality for Muslims, during which they spend extra time in prayer and seek God's forgiveness and favor.  Sometime during this month, the first revelation of the Quran was revealed to the prophet Muhammed making it a sacred time. 

The people fast from sun-up to sun-down.  Ramadan culminates with the huge yearly celebration of Idul Fitri, which this year falls on August 30 - 31.

The culture in this country is so different during this month ....most of the population is fasting from sun-up to sun-down and the level of activity in general is decreased to be sensitive to everyone's lower physical endurance.  For instance the soccer field next to our house is usually loaded every morning with students from local elementary schools doing their PE classes.  This morning, the soccer field is quiet, and the students stay on campus and perhaps do stretching exercises only for PE.

Everyone needs extra money for their holiday travels, so little temporary store booths have popped up here and there.  There is a new fruit stand near the school -- it's so convenient to be able to buy fruit just a block away from home!  I'll enjoy it while I can, but it will likely be gone after the holiday.

Follow this sign to find our local mosque.

Our local mosque uses this tree to help make sure everyone hears the calls to prayer and neighborhood announcements.  Four speakers facing North, South, East and West are attached high in the branches.

As for the effect on our family, we primarily feel it in the mornings.  The first call comes early, around 4:30 am, to wake people up to eat before sunrise.  At 5 am, a half-hour of preaching is broadcast from the mosque.  Jonathan will sometimes sleep though the 4:30 call to prayer, but he almost always wakes up for the sermon.  I wish it wasn't true, as I could use just 1 extra hour of sleep!

It also affects our decision making.  For instance, I was planning to get an ultrasound in the big city next week to check on our new little one.  However, it's the last week of fasting month.  The doctor and the nurses are likely to be grumpy and not performing at their best.  Also, too many people will be on the road traveling and shopping with their last minute holiday preparations.  I've waited this long ....no problem to wait a few more weeks!

Things that are different: I hate mosquitoes more than ever!

We love our new home, but we are struggling with mosquitoes more here than we did at the other house.  Jonathan gets the worst of it.

I was happy this morning because Jonathan slept through the 4:30 am call to prayer and the 5 am sermon broadcast from our local mosque!  We got to sleep in until 5:30 am and it was WONDERFUL!  But my joy quickly turned to dismay when I pulled Jonathan out of his bed and his face looked like this!  Aaaaugh!

And this is just the right side of his face!

Jonathan sleeps under a mosquito net, but one evil mosquito got inside the net sometime yesterday.  I found that evil bug engorged on Jonathan's pillow this morning, too full of my child's blood to even fly away.  It fluttered it's wings feebly before meeting it's just end.  That thing feasted on my child's face no less than EIGHT times.  

Now we are trudging through our day with pain and suffering, as Jonathan's bites swell up horribly and they are so itchy for the first day or so!!  There are some nice remedies out there...but Jonathan is notorious about rubbing his eyes and none of them are eye safe.  I found a natural remedy on the internet this morning -- oatmeal water mixed with plain yogurt.  I mixed some up and dabbed it on -- he just scratched it right off.  The best thing to do is just cut those fingernails as short as I can and then distract, distract, distract!  I do resort to Ibuprofen and Benadryl at naptime.  It puts him to sleep for about an hour, but that's it.

The scene of the crime:  It looks like a princess bed, but it is Jonathan's Pak-N-Play with mosquito net installed.

We have done so much to try to combat the mosquitoes:  mosquito net, fans on at night, discovery and coverage of mosquito-entrance openings, bug repellent while out, removal of low lying foliage, avoiding being outside at all during prime biting time .....it's so frustrating that they still are getting in after all our hard work! So now we have some new things to try:  Keeping the mosquito net securely closed day AND night, and keeping Jonathan's bedroom door shut when workers are at the house and frequently opening the door.  Also today we installed filter paper over the ventilation window over Jonathan's bedroom door.

On the bright side, we are very fortunate in this part of the tropics that malaria is very rare.  Other mosquito-born illnesses, such as Dengue Fever, are also uncommon.  So it's likely our only problem is a day and a half of itching and swelling and a week of healing.  

If anybody has a great natural remedy for bites in young children, please pass it on!  As much as I'd like to think this will never happen again, I know it will.   

We made it to the US and back in 30 days!

It's kind of old news, but I wanted to share a little bit about our recent trip to the USA.  At least you can enjoy looking at the pictures!

We spent a week in Singapore, where Dave was involved with a conference.  It was hot!  We stayed at a guesthouse right across the street from the Singapore Botanic Gardens, which is free and open from early in the morning until late at night!  Jenn was 7 weeks pregnant at the time, so we weren't ambitious in our adventures.  We were happy to go to the gardens just about every day.   Here we are during our walk through the exquisite Orchid Garden.

It was a bit surprising to go back through my camera and realize how very FEW photos I actually took of during our trip.   (Dave has told me that he is going to be in charge of the camera from now on during our travels!)  We arrived to Dave's parent's home in Mount Vernon, Washington and spent 16 wonderful days with them -- most of those days we were dizzy with jetlag.  I can't believe it but I don't have a single picture of any of us with Grampa Roger!  We especially should have gotten some shots of Dave and his dad fishing -- they went four days in a row!  One of the first tasks I accomplished was to head to a resale shop with Grandma Arlette and buy some warmer clothes for Jonathan!  It was a cool spring in the Pacific Northwest, and definitely cold to us!  Above is an early morning picture of Grandma Arlette with Jonathan ....

Auntie Ruth and cousins Emily and Erica came to visit for two nights!  It was loads of fun and the cousins invoked much silliness out of Jonathan!  (Hard to believe from this picture, I know.) 

Bubbles in the backyard was only the beginning!  One big highlight for Dave and Jenn is that the family babysat for TWO nights in a row and we got to go on a couple of dates! 

What toddler-hood is complete without a ride in the Little Tikes "Flintsones" car? 

Here is another rite of toddlerhood for an American kid -- riding in the "car" cart at the local grocery store!

We really enjoyed all of the fun playgrounds! 

One park had a splash water play area.  Jonathan recognized the concept from Singapore and wanted to get right in ....but the problem was BRRRR!  The Pacific Northwest water was cold and he barely got more than a toe wet! 

We were able to meet Auntie Kristen and family at a park for a few beautiful hours of play and good picnic food!  Here is Kristen reading Jonathan the book she brought for him!

Uncle Mike, Ben, Ethan and Dave all played a game of toddler baseball (Auntie Kristen would only allow them to bring the plastic ball and bat!)  Jonathan surprised us by "getting" the game pretty quick!  Maybe he will be an athlete? 

The smiles say it all -- it was a fun afternoon!

Grandma Coral and Jonathan play "giddy-up horsie!"

Okay, so we spent a week in Lebanon with Jennifer's mom.  This picture is the only proof I have that  we were there!  It was a lovely week spent visiting friends, resting, and eating yummy food.  We also celebrated a big milestone -- Jonathan's first overnight away from Mommy.  It was our 4th anniversary and we had a wonderful dinner at Red Robin (have you tried their new zucchini appetizer) and an overnight to ourselves in Portland!

Grr!  I can't find the CD with pictures from our special day spent with Becky, Sammy and Reuben!  That will have to be another story for another blog post!
 

We left Lebanon on 4th of July to head North on a long mosy back to the airport in Vancouver BC.  That evening we stayed the night with our good friends in Puyallup -- Art, Kim, Shelby and Jenna.  We love this family so much and Jonathan sure had fun playing with the girls.  Here they all are exploring a "sensory box." 

We stopped to visit Aunt Marlene in Seattle, and she lives just a short walk from Cascade Locks.  Jonathan loved the fish ladder!

Yes, that is the last photo from our trip!  I have only commented on the events that I have documentation for, so for all of the dear friends we visited and did fun things with, please know you are loved and we treasure the memories in our hearts.

I'm still feeling rather schizophrenic about our trip, now that I've been home for a month.  It was wonderful to visit family and to reconnect with friends -- but mostly I remember how tired I was most of the time.   I don't recommend month-long (short) trips around the world with small toddlers while pregnant.   I am so thankful to my helpful husband during all of our travels, and our family was gracious to us during our many times of adjustment.

We had some wonderful blessings during our airplane trips, such as the gift of 2 extra seats during one 6 hour flight and another 12 hour flight that surprisingly turned into a mere 8 hour flight.  There are other moments from our flight that are better left forgotten -- like 2 hours or more of turbulence so bad that even all of the flight crew had to be seated and belted, forced to hold a crying Jonathan on my lap while learning to use an airplane vomit bag for the first time in my life!  

So yes, it's GOOD to be home and back into a routine.  We've moved in a new house and are still getting settled.  Dave starts official teacher's meetings next week.  Jonathan, who was sleeping through the night consistently before we left, is still waking up about twice each night after our return.  So we are doing a lot of retraining.

I think this post may sound a little whiny so please forgive me for that!  We are SO thankful for everything we experienced and everyone we saw and especially God's faithfulness in all things little and big!

Bethany turns 3

After another long absence, we return to blogging by remembering Bethany's birthday.

She is 3!

Here she is on her day of birth, July 22, 2008 -- So precious, and so fragile.

I will update you on our events of the past 2 months another day ....suffice to say that with everything happening Bethany's birthday kind of snuck up on me.  I felt unprepared and panicked.  I wanted to honor her, but I didn't want to remember all of the sadness and pain of those 15 days we had with her.   My good husband helped and encouraged me to do something simple.  I'm so thankful that some things came together at the last minute so that we were able to have a little birthday party at home for her.  For instance, after our move, I didn't even have any of her pictures in the house.  On the morning of her birthday that box of things arrived so I could get out her special framed picture and return it to a place of honor in our home.  Our friends at Mountainview also somehow remembered the date and sent us flowers.  I don't remember telling anyone, so I guess someone remembered from last year?  I was so touched.

I do wonder what birthday parties are like in heaven!

I am thankful that she is safe there, surrounded by God's love, whole and wise.

Just for fun, here is a photo of a little friend of ours, Ella, who also celebrated her 3rd birthday this last week.  Happy Birthday Ella!  We have several friends sharing their birthday week with Bethany so ..... Happy Birthday Shelby!  Happy Birthday Selena!  Happy Birthday Dr. Bigger!

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella!

 

 

PS Thanks for all the prayers and love that you are sending our way. We are so thankful for all of you!

Field Day and Rumplestilskin

Once again a long pause in blogging, due to what I call "technical difficulties" which disabled our internet for a week and a half. That always makes me get behind. So now we are in the busy stage that comes with the last week of school and packing to leave for 5 weeks and also packing up our household for a move to a new house! But I had to share a few pictures with you from our fun field day a week and a half ago.

The theme was Fairy Tales and Dave played the role of Rumpelstilskin. When the kids had their turn at his station, they had to make as many words as they could from the letters in his name! One team got over 150 words!

Another game featured Frogs and Lilypads and involved the kids having to pass live frogs around as fast as they could! Between groups, Jonathan was very fascinated with the frogs! It was a hot day and he got his first sunburn -- around the neck. I had put sunscreen on, but I guess I must have missed that spot!

It's TOMORROW!!!

I just wanted to ask you to pray for Dave's US History students.  It's not an Advanced Placement class, but tomorrow 5 of the students are taking the Advanced Placement exam for U.S. History.  It hasn't been done at this school in a long time, perhaps not ever -- so a precedent will be set!  For this privilege they are paying $87 each.  If they pass, they will save hundreds of dollars and a lot of time when they get to college.  Dave is at least as nervous as he was prior to the birth of our children, but unlike then he won't get to see the fruit of his labor immediately.  The results don't come out until mid-summer!  Thanks for your prayers!

First experiences! Poison alert!

Well, I had to call Poison Control Center today.  It works just fine over Skype!  The man who answered said "Now where are you calling from?  I've worked here 17 years and haven't ever seen a caller ID like yours!"

It was in the afternoon.  I was typing on the computer and listening to sounds on Jonathan behind me happily playing with his toys.  I heard rattling and clicking sounds along with his babbling comments to himself.  A few minutes lapsed and then I heard choking, spitting, fussy sounds and then protesting and crying.  I found Jonathan with a mouth full of reddish-brown pasty stuff and fished a partial capsule out of his mouth.  He had climbed on the windowsill to reach the table and managed to grab Dave's pill organizer off the table.  Now a days, he wants to copy his Daddy in every way so he was quite pleased with himself to get a hold of Daddy's pills!  Fortunately, Dave doesn't have any truly dangerous medications.  Jonathan had eaten one of the red rice yeast capsules which Dave is taking for his cholesterol.  I wasn't overly concerned.  Once I got his mouth washed out, he seemed fine.  I thought to call Poison Control about 20 minutes later, and they confirmed that he would be fine.  We're so thankful for God's care in this.

The main thing for us to learn is that Jonathan is gaining new skills each day and that he can reach and do things now that we might not expect! 

If any of you have any spare Mr. Yuk stickers, would you hold on to them for me?  I think I could use them as a teaching aide.