Morning Tea

Holiday Guide

2011-11-15T10:16:00.002-06:00

I just received this in my e-mail today from CLC Network:

"Children who experience and live with disabilities along with their families often struggle with the many changes in routine due to the excitement and celebrations that surround Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year." So true! The link below will take you to an article by Barbara Newman on putting together a holiday plan to help these children receive the support they need to have a successful holiday season. Barb is a friend of mine and a wonderful educator in the field of special education. She has some great ideas here and also has given permission for you to reproduce and share this article with anyone who may benefit from the information.

http://clcnetwork.org/LiteratureRetrieve.aspx?ID=95851

Treatment Tuesday

2011-11-15T09:57:00.002-06:00

I've been gone for a bit. First I was sick, then my kids got sick. Ugh! Ready for everyone to be healthy and happy again.

Maria has her treatment today so that should help her be a little stronger. Jon Felipe has a bad cold. Cold medicine seems to hype him up and trigger behavior issues so that's a bad idea. It also makes him not sleep and not sleeping is a really bad idea. Being sick triggers seizures. Yep, really need everyone to be healthy.

In the midst of all this, Colin had a birthday. He and I both had to work the evening of his birthday, so we postponed his celebration until the end of the week when everyone would be home. Dwight made a yummy dinner with some help from Maria and we followed up with a chocolate tres leches cake. It was a nice evening.

Wordless Wednesday - Hallelujah Party

2011-11-02T19:50:00.002-05:00

Jon Felipe's Birthday

2011-10-30T17:32:00.003-05:00

My parents drove out to Iowa for the weekend to help us celebrate Jon Felipe's birthday. Unfortunately, they both came down with colds on the day they drove out here so they weren't feeling their best. Still, it was so nice to see them, even if it was only for a short visit. Several months ago, they had made a promise to Jon Felipe that they would come out for his birthday and he had been counting the days. He would have been so disappointed if they hadn't been able to make it. So, I'm glad they made it for his sake, but I'm also glad they made it for my sake. I miss them. I wish we didn't live so far away. I wish I could see them more often. I wish I could just drop by their house for a quick visit and a cup of tea. Talking on the phone is good, but it's not quite the same. Thanks Mom and Dad for making the long drive to see us!

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkin Carving

2011-10-26T11:39:00.005-05:00

Host Family

2011-10-23T14:54:00.004-05:00

This year we signed up to be a host family for international students at Dordt. We were matched up with these two sweet girls. Chan is from Korea and Aziel is from Mexico. There was an organized host family get together in September and the plan is that we will continue to do things with our host students about once a month or so for the rest of the school year. Today Aziel and Chan came over for Sunday dinner after church. Then we made sugar cookies and decorated them. They enjoyed doing this and were pleased to be able to take the cookies back to campus to share with their roommates. We look forward to getting to know them better over the course of the year.

2011-10-22T14:50:00.002-05:00

The fall weather has been beautiful here. Last weekend we headed out to the Dordt farm to get some pumpkins. Don't you wish your place of work had a farm with a pumpkin patch?

Missed

2011-10-17T10:21:00.003-05:00

Do you think maybe they missed me just a bit? Thank you all for your prayers for my family while I was gone. They did great!

Home

2011-10-14T22:47:00.002-05:00

I am grateful to be home! Travel did not go as smoothly as could be desired (true for both the trip there and the trip home) and my luggage is in Houston somewhere, but I got to hug my children tonight. What a blessing! I will post more about my trip in the next couple days.

Nicaragua Conference Pictures

2011-10-13T14:43:00.003-05:00

As promised, here are some pictures from the workshop. Thank you again for your prayers. The workshops were very well received. The director of a Christian school association here in Nicaragua attended the workshops along with several facilitators from his schools. He oversees more than 100 Christian schools here. The facilitators will take these ideas back to their schools. He asked if I could try to find a way to come back and do follow-up workshops that his teachers could attend, so perhaps I will have the opportunity to return to Nicaragua in the future. The teachers at the workshops told us how grateful they were to get this information and to have ideas that they could take back to their classrooms and put in place right away.

With all the rain, we are having internet issues so this all for now.

Nica Blessings

2011-10-12T17:10:00.002-05:00

It has been such a blessing to be here in Nicaragua. This is how we spent our evening yesterday - sitting on the porch (there is a roof so we were protected from the rain) and singing. Wendy's father is a pastor and they had a church event last night, but they were unable to get to their church because all the rain had caused a rock slide closing the road they needed to take. That meant that Wendy's parents were able to spend the evening with us. Some other family members also came over to see Wendy. It was such a nice, relaxed evening and a blessing to be able share this time with this family.

Thank you for your prayers for this time. The workshops have gone amazingly well and the rain has not kept people from being able to attend. I will post pictures later. My family is doing well without me. I have slept well and eaten very very well. Once again, I have to say that I am so blessed to have the opportunity to be here.

Nica Tuesday

2011-10-11T19:35:00.003-05:00

Between travel snafus and weather, it feels like circumstances are trying to keep us from hosting these workshops, but we are here and the workshops are happening. It is raining and raining and raining here. Apparently, in addition to it being rainy season, we are having a tropical storm. Think water, water everywhere. There is water coming in the house. The yard and roads are flooded. Some of the schools were closed today and participants had a difficult time getting to the workshop, but they came anyway. Some participants came all the way from Granada. We are safe and well. We are praying that things will not get worse so that people can get to the workshop tomorrow.

My camera is being difficult (maybe it is too humid here?) so this is the best I can do for pictures. I am staying with the family of my student Wendy and I took these pictures after dinner tonight. I have felt so welcome and comfortable here and am very thankful to be able to stay here. Despite everything, it is a great experience to be here.

This is Wendy's youngest brother. You can just see that he is full of energy. He and Jon Felipe would have a great time together.

This is Alex. She is also visiting this week and is staying here. She is helping out at Tesoros de Dios while the teachers attend the conference.

This is Nanna. She keeps us well fed. I have had homemade tortillas at every meal since I got here. Yum!

This is Wendy.

This is Sarah. She is staying here as well. She is from Michigan and went to Calvin. Turns out that she is a friend of my son Colin. How cool is that!

Treatment Day

2011-10-04T16:37:00.002-05:00

Today was treatment day at our house. That was a good thing, because Maria was definitely in need of "juicing up." This switch back to warm weather has been hard on her. The nurse comes in the morning about the time Jon Felipe gets on the bus and leaves just as he's getting home from school. Currently, Maria is getting her IVIG treatment every three weeks.

Monday Musings - Oct. 3

2011-10-03T12:00:00.002-05:00

We have some friends here in Sioux Center who let us just show up at their house and play with their kids' toys. Sometimes their boys come out and play with us, which makes it all even more fun. My two youngest particularly love jumping on the trampoline. We are even thinking about buying one. We worry about injuries and about liability as well since we don't have a fenced yard. We rent one side of a duplex, so fencing the yard isn't really an option. When we lived in Michigan, we had a great jungle gym in the backyard and a pool. Here, we don't even have trees in the yard. What do you think? Is a trampoline a good investment for our family or are we just inviting trouble?

Dust

2011-10-02T11:17:00.003-05:00

This FFA (Future Farmers of America) field is right across the street from our house. This year they planted corn.

The other nearby fields were planted in soybeans. Think about what this farmer is spreading on this field. Hint: It isn't plain old dirt!

Think of all this "dust" drifting over this field and into my house.

Is it no wonder that Sioux Center is the dustiest place I've lived.

Fall in Iowa is beautiful. I love seeing all the shades of gold in the fields. I think I'll keep my windows closed, though.

Oct. 1 - Update

2011-10-01T11:45:00.004-05:00

We got this hula-hoop on clearance and have been having a great time with it as you can see.

Maria likes to pose for photos.

Jon Felipe's not too into being photographed, but he has been having a great time inventing new games that can be played with the hula-hoop.

I've been MIA for a few months. The needs of the family did not allow for blogging, but hopefully things are settling back down. If I disappear for awhile, it just means my family needs me and, obviously, they're my first priority.

So, here's the big fall update:

Colin is still at Dordt. Still majoring in graphic art and enjoying his program. Still working at HyVee in the meat dept.

Jacob is attending Western Iowa Tech (WIT) in Sioux City studying video game design. This definitely seems to fit who he is. He is enjoying it very much. He is even thinking he might like to live on campus in the future. He still works at Hardees and they've been very flexible about working around his school hours.

Luke is a senior at Unity. He started working as a life guard at the pool this summer. Even though the outdoor pools are now closed, he's still able to get a couple of shifts in a week at the indoor pool.

Maria switched schools this fall and is now an 8th grader at Sioux Center Community School. She is happy and doing well. This school building is just over a block from our house so no more riding the school bus, a fact which does not make her sad at all. I volunteer at the school every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon so I see her at school often and we can come home together on those days.

Jon Felipe is in 4th grade at Sioux Center Christian School. He continues to thrive there. He has a birthday coming up at the end of this month, so he's busy counting the days.

Dwight's position at Ireton Christian School was eliminated for this year due to decreasing enrollment and budget cuts, so he's embarked on a new adventure. He has returned to school to learn band instrument repair and is working with my cousin George in his new music store business. Between going to school and helping with the new business, we don't see as much of him as we'd like, but he likes what he's doing and the store is definitely meeting a need in this area.

I'm still at Dordt. Still love it. Still keeping busy. More on that another time.

Haircut for Maria

2011-08-04T21:24:00.002-05:00

Before, During, and After Pics.

Dordt Discovery Days

2011-06-24T16:50:00.005-05:00

Maria has been attending Dordt Discovery Days this week. She has really enjoyed her week, but it has been packed full of activity. I think she is going to sleep for the next three days. I was concerned about her having enough energy physically to do it all, so we opted to have her come home at 9:00 each night rather than spend the night in the dorms. She would really like to stay overnight with her friends next year, but also admits that even just staying till 9:00 was a lot for her to manage with her MG. Here she is this morning, heading out for her last day at DDD.

Her classes were all theater related. She learned about acting in the morning and did theater makeup in the afternoon. The girls that studied costumes and the girls that studied makeup worked together to put on a "fashion show" for us this afternoon. There was a little story to go with each girl's costume and makeup. Here the girls are waiting for the show to begin.

I didn't quite get all the girls in this picture, but you can see that there was a wide range of costumes and stories.

Maria's character is attending the prom.

I think her friend was dressed as a Southern Belle.

Maria saying goodbye to one of the instructors.

Summer Fun in Iowa

2011-06-03T12:30:00.002-05:00

Head on over to Maria's blog at http://mkv-maria.blogspot.com to see some pics of the things we have been doing lately.

Programs

2011-05-26T16:09:00.002-05:00

Seems like we have been attending a lot of school programs the past couple weeks. Here are a few pics from the different events. All the programs were great and made us very thankful for the schools our children are privileged to attend.

Thankful

2011-05-24T18:12:00.003-05:00

Maria and I decided that we were going to sit down each night and list at least three things we were thankful for that day. Here is my list for today:

Ice cream dates with my daughter.

Hugs from my children.

Sunny days so I can walk to work.

Now go check out Maria's list on her new blog Thoughts from a Romanian Princess at http://mkv-maria.blogspot.com/

Let her know you visited by leaving a comment or becoming a follower.

Luke's Birthday

2011-05-13T12:45:00.003-05:00

Blogger has been having some issues lately, so it took me a bit of time to get these pictures up, but we celebrated Luke's 18th birthday last weekend. Some of Luke's friends came by and they went to the movies together and then came back to our house to hang out and eat cake. Luke is such a fun, easy-going, young man to have around and we are so blessed to have him as our son.

Tip Night

2011-05-03T21:18:00.003-05:00

We went to tip night at Pizza Ranch in Orange City tonight to support a family from Dwight's school. Their little girl was born very early and has been in the hospital a long time, so the event was to help raise money toward their medical expenses. Dwight helped with washing dishes while Luke and I ate with Jon Felipe and Maria. It was one of those nights when I should have known better than to take the kids out. We've been praying for this baby for a long time and really wanted to support the family by attending, but it wasn't our finest hour.

Maria had her IVIG treatment today. She will often sleep for a little bit after each of the doses of benedryl, but today she slept almost the entire day, probably 6 or 7 hours. That's unusual. When we woke her to go with us, she was pale and weak. I suggested that she and I stay home, but she really wanted to go. My girl is definitely a social butterfly, even when she's feeling yucky. She did perk up some after we got home, so I think getting out probably was good for her.

Jon Felipe was in a mood. He had gotten hurt at recess and has a big lump on his head. He also was complaining about his brace. After we sat down, one of the screws came out of his brace. I asked him to just leave it on (his shoe was holding that part together) and we'd take care of later, but he would not wear it that way. He had to take it off. He could not settle down even after he'd taken it off. He was totally stuck on the issue of the broken brace. He wasn't loud or disruptive, just not his usual happy self.

So, needless to say we were quite the spectacle. Maria was drooping. She really looked pitiful. Jon Felipe was out-of-sorts. We probably should have had a sign over our table that said, "This is why some people should do take-out." At least the event was a fundraiser, so I don't have to feel too badly about paying to go out to eat and then having kids not eat much. Plus, it was great to see so many people, both students and teachers, working together to help support this family. And I have to admit that I do like the fried chicken at Pizza Ranch. And the dessert pizzas.

This and That

2011-05-01T21:32:00.004-05:00

It has been a busy week out here in windy northwest Iowa. We had Ideafest on campus this week. Students presented papers and did poster presentations on their research. It was inspiring to hear about the work that students are doing across campus. I went to a presentation given by the student who designed the computer program I am using for my research study. Oh my, that undergrad students are able to undertake such work is amazing.

Friday was Ag day, so Jacob and I took Maria and Jon Felipe down to see all the animals and check out all the farm equipment. Jon Felipe loved having Jacob climb up into all the tractors with him. He wasn't too keen on the animals, though. He was pretty sure they would bite. Maria, on the other hand, spent all her time petting the goats, sheep, horses, and baby cows. I'm pretty sure no one petted the chickens or the steers, not even the baby ones, but I could be wrong about that. Being a city girl myself, I was content to just look.

I also had my interview with the board this week. I can hardly believe that I am at the end of my 2nd year at Dordt. The interview was great fun and they appointed me to a regular contract, so I guess we'll be in Sioux Center for awhile longer. You can tell you're getting used to living in a rural area when a trip to the "big" Walmart in LeMars is a major outing, not that I'm admitting to that happening here in the recent past. Just saying.

We also celebrated Jacob's 21st birthday this weekend. Here are a few random pictures from our weekend. It was a good one.

Inclusion

2011-04-27T15:46:00.002-05:00

Jon Felipe is in an inclusive 3rd grade classroom. Last week the students worked on writing biographies. On the day they presented their reports, they also dressed up like an important person from the life of their subject. Jon Felipe really likes the Curious George books, so he wrote about the author, H. A. Rey, and dressed up like the man in the yellow hat. He was SO excited to dress up and to take his monkey to school with him.

This week the students are working in groups to do research on different countries. Jon Felipe's group is doing their project on India. He has certain pieces of information that he is responsible for providing. I love that he is included despite his learning struggles and that he is expected to participate in ways that are achievable for him. He loves going to school. He comes home everyday and tells me all about the friends he played with at recess. This is how inclusion is supposed to work!

An interesting note: The children in his class have each been assigned a number and they write that number on each of their papers. That helps when it comes time to sort and return papers. Jon Felipe doesn't just know his own number, he can tell you the number of every student in his class. Interesting.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T15:26:00.004-05:00

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Wishing everyone a blessed Easter.

Maria and me in our Easter duds. The boys declined to do the Easter finery thing.

Have I mentioned how much we love having George and Regina and their family living nearby? Definitely on my list of good things about living in Sioux Center!

A houseful for Easter dinner. So fun!

The annual egg rolling contest.

For the championship...

The winner!

Maria took first. Miranda got second.

Austin was the winner last year. He claimed that he used scientific analysis to plan his winning strategy. This year he got knocked out in round one.

Coloring Eggs

2011-04-23T15:46:00.003-05:00

Jon Felipe has been counting the days until we could color eggs. Easter is very late this year so he has had to wait a long time. He loves any opportunity to do something special and thoroughly enjoyed the process of coloring eggs. Tomorrow we celebrate the joy of Christ risen!

Wordless Wednesday - Snow in April?

2011-04-20T11:17:00.005-05:00

And a few pictures of Jon Felipe with his new stuffed monkey. You can tell that he really liked this gift!

Prom 2011

2011-04-08T20:11:00.002-05:00

Luke is attending his first prom tonight. He looks so handsome in his fancy duds. His date looks just beautiful and I love the dress she chose. I hope they have a good time together. Of course, we'll get to check in on them later. Unity has an after-prom party and Dwight and I are working the 11:30-3:30 shift. Staying up half the night is not my thing, but it sounds like the kids will have lots of fun things to do.

I hope her parents got better pictures. If they did, I'll post more later.

Wordless Wednesday - Signs of Spring

2011-04-06T21:29:00.003-05:00

Beauty and the Beast

2011-04-02T18:37:00.006-05:00

Maria was in the junior high production of Beauty and the Beast this weekend. She was the old woman who is really an enchantress and puts a curse on the beast. She was also a villager and a servant, so she got to be in all the big singing and dancing numbers. It was all great fun and she loved being involved and we loved watching it. The kids did a great job. You'd never guess they were only 7th and 8th graders!

My beautiful daughter

The enchantress Disguised as an old woman A villager

A servant singing "Be our Guest"

Thanks to everyone who helped with the production and to those who came to see it!

New Orleans Pictures

2011-03-16T08:56:00.002-05:00

I was asked to post a few more pictures from my trip to New Orleans. These are ones that a friend took and sent to me because I am in them. I thought I'd post those just to show that I really did go to New Orleans. You'll notice that food plays a center role in half of these pictures, which was more or less the proportion of time we spent eating. I will say the food was very yummy and I got to eat shrimp every day that I was there.

New Orleans Tour

2011-03-10T21:19:00.002-06:00

The conference didn't start until lunch time today so this morning we took a tour a New Orleans. Our guide was very personable as well as knowledgeable and I learned many new things.

The tour included a stop at a cemetery to learn about burial practices in New Orleans. I knew that they had to bury the bodies above ground, but that was just the beginning of what we learned about this topic.

We also drove through the lower 9th ward. It is one thing to see the devastation on the news and another to see it in person. I have vivid memories of our flooding in Holland, so minor in comparison to this. I kept thinking about how these people must have felt - the ones that made it out alive. There were so many that didn't.

We went from the devastation of the 9th ward to the mansions of the garden district. New Orleans is a city of contrasts. Our hotel is centrally located. We can walk to the French Quarter, but we can also see the tall buildings of the city.

We are enjoying getting to know just a little bit about this city. Incidentally, the conference this afternoon was also very worthwhile and I am looking forward to day 2 tomorrow.

New Orleans

2011-03-09T22:10:00.002-06:00

I left Sioux Center this morning with 10 other people from Dordt, Sioux Center Public School, and Sioux Center Christian School to attend a conference here in New Orleans. It is a fun group and it should be a good conference. We walked a few blocks from our hotel to Olivier's for dinner. Very yummy.

Walking down the street, it almost feels unreal, like you're in Disney or someplace like that. Lots of lights and people everywhere.

These pictures are for my son Jon Felipe. I thought he would enjoy seeing these signs for Felipe's.

Cleaning

2011-02-27T19:57:00.002-06:00

Saturday is cleaning day at our house. We get everyone to pitch in and help. Jon Felipe particularly likes to help out around the house, often doing chores like unloading the dishwasher or straightening up all the shoes in the back hall without even being asked. On cleaning day, he likes to clean all the mirrors in the bathrooms, wash smudges off windows, and sweep the floors. His favorite, though, is to wash down the kitchen table and chairs. He has always done this, so I think it must be something he did in the orphanage. He does a thorough job, even wiping down all the chair legs. As you can see, he takes pride in a job well done.

So, if you want to come visit me when my house is clean, you should come on a Saturday, but not too early or we might rope you into helping with the cleaning - many hands make light work and all that.

Tractor Parade

2011-02-25T16:04:00.004-06:00

As we were waiting for the school bus this morning, the kids and I were treated to a tractor parade.

There were also lots of tractors parked in the lot at the high school.

This city girl thought it was fun to see kids driving to school on their tractors.

Wordless Wednesday - Iowa Landscape

2011-02-23T08:33:00.004-06:00

Photo credit: Dwight took these photos for me. We were driving from Sioux Center to Orange City, which is just the next town over and where Luke goes to high school.

Wendy

2011-02-22T08:06:00.002-06:00

Several of my posts from Nicaragua mention Wendy. She is one of my students here at Dordt. She is a special person and I have enjoyed having her in several of my classes. This semester she is doing an independent study with me. While I was in Nicaragua, I had the opportunity to spend time with her family.

And a random picture of the ice in the trees because I think it so beautiful - treacherous, but beautiful.

Icy Day in Iowa

2011-02-21T08:16:00.005-06:00

We had freezing rain and ice here in Iowa yesterday causing church to be cancelled. Today it is just lightly snowing. The kids were hoping for a delayed start this morning, but no such luck. Today is already a make-up day for an earlier snow day.

Dwight's van is too tall to fit in the garage. He had quite a bit of ice to get through to even get the van door open.

Jon Felipe and Maria waiting for the bus.

Leaving Nicaragua

2011-02-19T07:48:00.006-06:00

It was sunny and warm as I flew out of Nicaragua early Friday morning and I arrived in Iowa late Friday night to temps in the 20's and predictions of a winter storm. Here are some pics of my hotel. It was a very nice place to stay. While not extravagant by American standards, it was very clean and comfortable. I had my own bathroom with a shower. I didn't have hot water, but most people don't in Nicaragua. I had a room air conditioner that I could turn on at night. I even had wireless Internet.

Geckos, geckos everywhere. These little guys move rather unpredictably, which can be unnerving. They also make a loud chirping noise - all . the . time.

The bed was quite comfortable and it was nice to have a reading lamp by the bed.

Cupboards for clothes. In the middle one there is also a T.V. The man who brought me to my room was quite proud that they had a T.V. with a remote control and programs in English. I never turned it on, but he doesn't need to know that :-)

Lovely brown and orange curtains.

I tried to describe this picture for Dwight, but it sort of defies description.

I had breakfast here in the mornings.

Most places have fences, gates, and guards.

They are building more rooms. These project out over the hill and are supported by posts. It all looked most precarious to me, but it is quite a common building style.

In comparison to these houses, it was like living in a palace.

Nicaragua Day 4

2011-02-17T17:39:00.005-06:00

I spent my day today at Tesoros de Dios (Treasures of God). This is a school that serves children with special needs. The children come from local families. There are very little resources to meet the needs of these children. In order to help as many children as possible, each child only comes for twice a week for three hours each time. Still, there are children on a waiting list. There is so much need!

Thank you for praying for the workshop today. It definitely helped as it seemed to go very well. All of the Tesoros staff attended as well as a couple professors from a university here in Managua. Everyone was great to work with. The bonus was that I could often understand their responses and discussions even though it was all in Spanish.

Here are pictures of the afternoon session at the school. One of the things we did in the morning session was identify a couple children that we would collaborate on during the afternoon, so I observed and met with teachers and helped them design interventions or assessments for particular children.

One of the methods they use is therapeutic horsemanship.

I also went to Wendy's house for lunch.

Day 3 in Nicaragua

2011-02-16T21:34:00.006-06:00

Lots of pictures from my day today at Nicaragua Christian Academy (NCA). This trip has been really a wonderful experience. Everyone always mentions the wonderful people they've met on their trips and I know there are wonderful people everywhere, but it is so true - it is the people who make the place wonderful and the people here have made this a wonderful trip. I am so glad I had the opportunity to come out here.

The first graders led chapel today for the lower elementary grades. The topic was God's protection over his creation. The teacher asked the students to name Nicaragua's two seasons. I wanted to say, "Hot and Hotter," but I guess that wasn't the right answer.

Some pictures of NCA's campus:

The playground area for the preschool and kindergarten students.

Some of the elementary classrooms

High school classrooms

It may be the dry season, but there are still plenty of flowers blooming.

The high school drama class helped lead chapel for the upper elementary students.

Wouldn't it be hard to concentrate on assignments when this is the view from your classroom?

I have also spent time this week doing workshops with teachers who want to help students who have special needs. There is such a huge need here for trained people who can work with these students. Tomorrow I will be going to another school that is solely for education of students with special needs and I will be doing a training with their entire staff. It will be very different from my usual presentation experience. For one thing, I will be using an interpreter. I will also not be able to use any of my typical "props" like powerpoint or even a white board. I hope I am up to the task. Please pray that God will use me to provide these people with the information they need in a way they can use for the benefit of their students.

Day 2 in Nicaragua

2011-02-15T16:32:00.003-06:00

Today I spent the day at Nicaragua Christian Academy. I observed my student teachers and met with the elementary principal, the secondary principal, and the director. I also did a workshop in the afternoon on working with children with Asperger Syndrome. It was a very busy day. It was also very warm, especially in the school during the afternoon. I can see why the school day starts early and ends early.

Nicaragua is an enchanting place and I am enjoying my time here. These pictures were taken outside my hotel.

This little guy is one of my roommates. He's kind of cute, but he's rather noisy.

As we were driving in from the airport, Stephanie told me that one night she went to her room to go to bed and when she opened the door, a gecko fell from the ceiling and landed on her head. I hear that this is rather a common occurance, so every time I open the door in my hotel room, I worry just a bit that something is going to fall on my head. Hasn't happened yet, but I gather it isn't outside the realm of possibility.

Day 1 in Nicaragua

2011-02-14T16:39:00.005-06:00

I spent the day today with Alicia from the Nehemiah Center. She picked me up early and I attended devotions at the Center. It was a very nice way to start my day. We were outside, there was a lovely breeze, and I could follow along pretty well with everything that was going on in Spanish. Then she showed me around the center and took time to explain all the different things that are going on there. Wow! It is a lot. I am so glad I had time to learn more about this work.

Then we went to lunch and she took me to see some sights in Managua. The city has not rebuilt after the earthquake in 1972, which destroyed almost everything in the city center. Where one would expect the business district to be, there is very little.

This is the cathedral that was severely damaged by the earthquake. It is unsafe, so you can only look at it from the outside now.

This is a view looking down on the city toward the lake. Lots of trees and green growing things have filled in the areas where the buildings used to be. The large white building did survive the earthquake as did the brown tower on the right side in the back of the picture.

Then we went to see the volcano area just south of the city. The volcano was not producing much smoke and ash so you could see a long ways down. Alicia said that this was the clearest view she had ever seen and she has been here many times.

It was a little windy up there, but check out the short sleeves and the water bottle. It was in the 90's today.

Some great geology here!

This is a crater over a nearby inactive volcano.

This ridge is between two craters over the active volcano. The picture of me above is from the observation area on the top of this ridge.

Monday Morning in Nicaragua

2011-02-14T06:39:00.003-06:00

I arrived safely in Nicaragua last night. The trip went smoothly and my luggage arrived at the same time I did, which is rather nice. My students came to airport to meet me and seemed very happy to see me and excited to tell me all about their experiences here. It is very warm and humid here, rather like July in Iowa. As we were getting ready to get off the plane, though, mothers were bundling up their children. I gather it is winter here.

The view from my room.

This is where breakfast will be served later this morning.

Last Swim Meet

2011-02-12T19:25:00.004-06:00

Today was Maria's last swim meet. It has been a good experience for her, but I think she is almost ready for the season to end. Only those with qualifying times continue from here. She is a little disappointed that she didn't qualify, but I'm pretty okay with it (not that it was ever even a possibility). For the past couple weeks she has also been busy with practice for the junior high musical, there were even a couple days when one practice would be ending just as the other was beginning, so she has plenty to keep her busy.

Maria and another friend cheering on a teammate.

Maria had a great end to the season, getting personal bests in most of her events today. She even earned a couple points for her team by placing in her event.

Home Again

2011-02-05T19:40:00.002-06:00

I loved spending time with family and friends in Chicago, but it's also nice to come home.

Swim meet today for Maria.

Jon Felipe says he only missed me "a little bit" and then showed how much he missed me by talking nonstop for the next several hours.

Dwight also seems pretty happy to have me back.

Gifts of Love

2011-02-04T21:28:00.002-06:00

My friend Tracy made scarves for Maria and me. They are so pretty and very very soft. Maria and I wore them around the house all evening. Thank you Tracy!

Friends

2011-02-03T22:36:00.003-06:00

My dear friend Tracy drove out to my parents' house to see me tonight. We grew up in neighboring houses and have been friends since shortly after we learned to walk. I had such a nice time visiting with her tonight. The snow interfered with a lot of my plans for this week, but I am glad that I got to do some of the things I had really been looking forward to. I loved having lots of time to spend with my parents, even more than I planned on courtesy of the blizzard. I even got to go to lunch with my sister today since all the schools were still out for snow. I enjoyed seeing some friends from high school on Monday night and I loved seeing Tracy tonight. Actually, before the storm hit I was able to get at least one observation in on each of the student teachers I came out here to see. I'm thinking that was pretty good, all things considered.

Great Chicago Blizzard of 2011

2011-02-02T12:50:00.005-06:00

Thunder, lightning, sleet, 60 mile an hour winds, and a whole lot of snow. The Great Chicago Blizzard had it all. A friend said she was just waiting for locusts to show up. I'm in Chicago this week observing student teachers. While the blizzard did wreak havoc on my schedule for the week, I am so glad I was here to give my parents a hand with all this snow.

View from the front door this morning.

A neighbor and his son came over for a bit to help us out with the snow.

My mom.

Look how deep the snow was! I had been out with the shovel yesterday afternoon and again in the evening. We got all this snow during the night.

I even did some snow blowing. I usually stick to the shovel, but there was rather a lot of snow out there.

I got this far and wondered if we could just let the rest wait for spring.

Done shoveling for now and ready for a cup of tea.

My dad was inside watching. He had hip replacement surgery two weeks ago, but he really hated being left on the sidelines.

Mockingbird

2011-01-26T19:36:00.003-06:00

I just finished reading Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine. A finalist for the National Book Award, this young adult book is captivating. The story is told from the perspective of a fifth-grade girl with Asperger Syndrome (AS). Because I don't have AS, I can't guarantee that she has captured this point of view accurately, but based on my years of working with students on the autism spectrum, I found the portrayal very believable.

I have to add that as a special education teacher, I found the story fascinating. Hearing the words and phrases of the adults in the story, words and phrases that I am sure I have used with my own students, from the point of view of the main character was quite educational. If you work with young people with autism spectrum disorders, you should read this book. There's a chance you might hear yourself in the story.

In the story, Caitlin and her father are trying to cope with a personal tragedy. In addition, Caitlin is faced with many struggles related to having AS. This is a story of courage and hard work. I guarantee, once you start reading, you won't want to put it down. Good thing it is a quick and easy read. If you live in Sioux Center, you can find it in Dordt's library.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday - Luke

2011-01-19T22:11:00.003-06:00

Luke Before

After

Maria and Jon Felipe waiting for the school bus

Saturday Afternoon

2011-01-15T19:52:00.003-06:00

Jon Felipe and I baked cookies this afternoon. What a great way to spend a cold January afternoon.

Convocation January 2011

2011-01-14T21:56:00.003-06:00

Convocation for second semester was today. The speaker was Dr. David Dockery, president of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. His message on global awareness and global engagement was thought provoking. (This picture of me in my "finery" is especially for my mom. Thanks Ed for taking it for me.)

Thursday Thoughts

2011-01-13T22:01:00.002-06:00

I have committed to reading through the Bible again this year. This time I am following a reading plan that is organized chronologically rather than sequentially. That means that I have been spending a lot of time lately in the book of Job. I do not claim to have great understanding of this book, but it has made for an interesting backdrop to some other things that have been occupying my thoughts lately.

I have a friend that lives a long ways from here. We have gotten to know each other through e-mail and keep up with each other through our family blogs. I think of it as a modern day pen pal type friendship. She has 9 children, some biological and some adopted. Almost all have special needs. Her son has been seriously ill and in the hospital for more than two weeks. His condition is serious, potentially life-threatening. This week her daughter was also hospitalized. Both children are extremely ill. I pray that both will be healed, that both will be able to get back to doing typical childhood things. Many others are praying also.

On a note closer to home, my niece is in the hospital. She, like my friend's children, is in pain. She has had more than her share of surgeries and hospitalizations this year. She had surgery again this afternoon and will likely be in the hospital for a few days. We are praying, as are many others, for healing and a return to typical teenage activities. My own children, too, have been having greater battles lately with their own health struggles. We continue to pray, knowing that God hears our prayers, and we wait for the answers. Meanwhile, these thoughts, these children, weigh heavy on my heart.

Winter Wednesday

2011-01-12T20:19:00.002-06:00

I've decided that God intended the good people of northwest Iowa to stay indoors during the winter. Brrr! It is cold out there, not to mention that there is also a lot of snow. My kids were all home for two days this week for snow days and the roads are still pretty slippery. All in favor of spending the rest of the winter inside reading books in front of the fire, say "I."

Now that we've got that settled, what good books have you been reading lately? Someone just lent me Jodi Picoult's book House Rules. I've had several people recommend it and I am looking forward to reading it. I'm also reading a devotional called Going Places with God. This book looks at the people in the Bible and how their lives were shaped by the places where they lived. Since I am still getting used to living in a new place, it seemed like a good one to start the year with.

I'd love to hear about the books you are reading!

Friday Fun

2011-01-07T21:09:00.003-06:00

You can check all sorts of things out of the Dordt library. Need a GPS? They have a few. Want to try out the Kindle? They've got one. How about an ipad? They've got a couple of those too. They've also got games, movies, laptop computers, even books. Tonight I checked out a Wii game system and a few games for a family game night. Of course, after all that exercise we needed an ice cream break. For the record, the girls totally rocked the bowling tournament!

Wordless Wednesday - Jon Felipe

2011-01-05T17:36:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T09:25:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!

Have you made any resolutions for the new year?

Christmas Recap

2010-12-31T11:25:00.004-06:00

We attempted to drive to Chicago on Christmas Eve, but ran into a bad snow storm between Des Moines and Iowa City that forced us to stop for the day (it was scary - we saw dozens of accidents). We found a hotel right next to an outlet mall. I ran in ten minutes before closing time and found a place that had swim suits for my two youngest (on sale 30% off even!). Then we found a pizza place that was closed, but the employees were still there having a little Christmas party and they agreed to make us a couple pizzas (which were very good). We were sad to have to put off seeing family, but happy to be safe and warm. It was more like an adventure than a delay. The next day we drove to my sister's house and had a lovely time visiting everyone.

My beautiful niece Caitlyn (I always think Caitlyn Maureen is named, at least in part, for me as I am Kathleen Maureen :-)

More beautiful nieces - Amanda, Alexandra, and Melissa.

My mom with another beautiful niece, Kristina.

My sister Chris and her daughter Kristina.

My parents watching the present opening. I think this is a nice picture of my son Colin.

My sister Deb.

My dad made these bunk beds and the bedding for the girls' dolls.

Alexandra and her dolly.

Jon Felipe

My parents with all their grandchildren.

After the Chicago visit, we drove to Michigan to see Dwight's family. For some reason, I didn't take any pictures, though. I guess we were just having too much fun to stop and take pictures. Now we're back in Iowa and it's snowing again with a blizzard expected later today.

Special Olympics Scarf Project

2010-12-30T09:43:00.003-06:00

Mailing my scarf today for the Special Olympics Scarf Project. (Thanks Colin for modeling it for me.) Go Team Iowa! There is still time to get your scarf projects in for other states, but the Iowa mailing deadline is today. Colin really liked the colors Special Olympics chose for the scarf project this year and has requested that I make him a scarf with the yarn I have left.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T23:10:00.005-06:00

We had a wonderful day of celebration together and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Wishing you all much joy. Merry Christmas!

Tears and Good Intentions

2010-12-20T20:23:00.003-06:00

I took Jon Felipe to Sioux Falls today for a couple medical appointments. On the way there, I turned on the radio thinking we would listen to Christmas music. Instead of hearing music, however, we heard an announcement from the state police that Hwy 18 was ice covered. I was just turning on to Hwy 18. It was very icy. There were also accidents. I turned off the radio and concentrated on staying on the road. I hate driving on icy roads. I take Hwy 18 most of the way to Sioux Falls.

After a while, I glanced at Jon Felipe in the back seat. He was looking distressed about something and I thought perhaps he had just had a seizure. When I asked him what was happening, he burst into tears. He continued to sob for the remainder of the trip. He could not identify what he was so upset about. I wanted to take him in my arms and comfort him, but of course I needed to keep heading to our appointment as the road conditions had really slowed us down. I was also a little worried about pulling over on such an icy road. I never said anything about the roads, but I wonder now if he was picking up on my anxiety.

We finally arrived. JF was still distraught. Everyone at Sanford Children's ("The Castle" to those in the know) was wonderful. He even got a free t-shirt that says Castle of Care and has a picture of the children's hospital on it (it does look like a castle). Actually, he got three free ones. I had suggested that he put the t-shirt on over his other shirt, but he also wanted to keep it folded and take it home, so the nice man gave him two. Then he wanted one for Maria, because she's a frequent visitor to the Castle too. So of course the nice man gave him one for Maria. He also gave him some note cards and a couple other things. They do take good care of you at The Castle.

We had some time between appointments, so we went for lunch. Now, I have been watching the calories. I was planning to take JF to McDonald's so I brought my yogurt along, figuring I'd buy him a Happy Meal and I'd get an ice tea to go with my yogurt. However, after the icy roads and whatever was happening with Jon, I was a basket case. I was literally shaking. So I decided I would get lunch too, maybe a salad or something low fat from the menu. Um, yeah. Good plan. I had a Big Mac. And fries. With lots of ketchup. Oh well. I'm pretty sure calories consumed for medicinal purposes don't count (surely mental health qualifies as medicinal).

Christmas Program

2010-12-19T17:31:00.003-06:00

Am I the only mom who gets teary watching children's programs? 'Fess up. I'm guessing there are at least a few others of you out there. Anyway, today Jon Felipe was in the Christmas program at our church. It was a little hard to get teary, though, because I was trying hard not to laugh during most of it. It did not help that I was sitting next to Colin, who was having an even harder time not laughing.

The children were so cute and the program was lovely. The laughter came because this was a rather loosely rehearsed program, which is definitely how it should be. I totally agree that participating in your church's Christmas program should be a low stress event. The "hat" (as JF called it) completely concealing one half of Jon Felipe's face says it all.

Even so, I still teared up during the final song. I am so grateful that I can openly speak of my faith, that my children can be brought up to know Jesus, and that we can freely attend a church where others lovingly help instruct my children in the ways of the Lord. Merry Christmas to you!

It's beginning to feel like Christmas

2010-12-16T21:18:00.004-06:00

I gave blood today. If you aren't a blood donor, I urge you to consider doing it. You will help many people, possibly even my daughter who gets an intravenous dose of immuno-globulin (IVIG - a blood product) once a month. It keeps her alive. Your donation could help keep her or someone else alive. Think of it as the gift that keeps on giving. Thank you!

I also got to spend time with a delightful group of middle school children this afternoon working on math. I love helping with math! Then I went over to Kid Zone for a little cup stacking. Those kids that I was helping with math? Yeah, they totally beat me at cup stacking. Fun!

We rounded out the day by attending Unity's Christmas concert. For the Hallelujah Chorus, the director invited audience members to come up and sing with the choirs. We used to do this at the HC faculty Christmas tea. I always loved it. This year, like last year, I just listened and that was nice too. Now if Leona is willing to drive out and share the music with me like we've done at more than 20 Christmas teas, then I'll get up there. Otherwise, it is nice to listen too.

It's beginning to feel like Christmas!

Good Things

2010-12-14T19:13:00.003-06:00

Three good things for December 14:

1. Two dollar Tuesdays at the Fruited Plain. A mocha is my drink of choice. What is your favorite coffee drink?
2. Buffalo chicken pizza. Got a chance to try this today at lunch. Yum!
3. Round 2 of testing for my assessment project completed. That translates into 18 classrooms and over 300 students assessed twice now.

I'd love to hear about the good things you experienced on this cold December Tuesday.

Blizzard

2010-12-12T19:50:00.005-06:00

Jon Felipe absolutely loves snow and until this weekend, this winter had been pretty much of a dud in terms of snow fall. Saturday more than made up for that! We got hit with a blizzard that closed roads and cancelled events. While we stayed warm and snug inside, it was snowing sideways outside. The wind howled, the snow piled up, and visibility was about nil.

So, we stayed home. We baked. We played games. We read books. It was a lovely interlude in a busy season. Today the sun came out and JF could not wait to get out and play in the snow. Don't let that sun fool you though, it is really cold out there. Neither of my older boys could get their cars to start and the water supply line to the upstairs toilet is frozen again. Brrr!

So to all my friends who live east of here, watch out. It's headed your way!

Luke

2010-12-11T16:48:00.003-06:00

After the shaving post, several of you asked for a picture of Luke. I don't have any pictures from November, but this is how he looks now that he is shaving again. What? You couldn't tell that he is back into the shaving routine? Now you know why I am always teasing my boys about being in need of a shave. So, you'll just have to use your imagination to picture how Luke looked last month. You can trust me on this though, it wasn't better :-)

We are in the midst of a blizzard here. It is snowing sideways. We have 35-45 mile an hour winds. The wind chill has dropped to 25 to 35 degrees below zero. That is why Luke is all bundled up in this picture even though he is just taking the trash out. Everything is either closed or cancelled. Happily, all my kids are here at home. Looking forward to a little family togetherness tonight (or fff - forced family fun as my friend Tracy called it the other day).

Thankful Thursday - Inclusion

2010-12-09T21:23:00.003-06:00

As I've mentioned before, Jon Felipe's class has swimming lessons once a week. Every now and then, it works out that I can drop in and watch for awhile. He loves it when I come watch him swim, plus it gives me a chance to chat with his teacher aide for a bit. A lot of good educational planning has happened over the past two years while sitting at the edge of the pool talking with his aide.

Today they had free time at the end of class. I loved watching JF interacting with the other kids. They don't treat him differently and they definitely don't cut him any slack. A group of them were tearing around the area, chasing each other in and out of the different pools, whacking each other with pool noodles, splashing, and generally having a great time. Jon Felipe was right in the middle of all the rough housing, having a great time. The grin on his face was huge and I'm pretty sure the grin on my face was just as big. He is accepted just as he is by his peers and I am so thankful for that!

Friday Funnies - Shaving

2010-12-03T16:48:00.003-06:00

I'm always teasing my boys about being in need of a shave. Colin and Jacob shave regularly, but they wouldn't if they didn't have to for their jobs. Luke, however, joined his friends in supporting "No Shave November." This, of course, ratcheted up the teasing and Luke's new nickname is Sasquatch. Well, my one boy who doesn't actually have to shave yet decided he needed to find out what all the fuss was about. He found Colin's electric shaver and managed to remove quite a bit of hair before he got "caught." No point in getting mad. This is definitely how this child learns. So, we just scooped him up and went to visit my friend Emily who lives in the other half of our duplex. She has a salon in her basement and she fixed him right up. Doesn't he look handsome?

Thankful Thursday - Rutabaga

2010-12-02T16:44:00.003-06:00

I put a note on Facebook just before Thanksgiving that I was thankful for my husband who went to all three grocery stores in Sioux Center looking for rutabagas for me so we could have them with our Thanksgiving dinner. Many people commented that they have never eaten rutabaga so we took pictures so you can all see what you are missing. My grandmother always served mashed rutabaga with holiday meals, a tradition continued by my parents. For some reason, my grandmother always called them turnips. My own kids called them orange potatoes when they were little.

You peel and cut up the rutabaga and boil it, just like you do for mashed potatoes. My grandmother's secret was to put a potato in the pot to "draw out the bitterness" and we always do that too. Then you mash the cooked rutabaga with butter and milk, again just like mashed potatoes. Finally, it is time to eat. You put a scoop of mashed potato on your plate, plop a scoop of rutabaga next to it and pour gravy over it all. My definition of comfort food! I think I like rutabaga for three reasons. One, they really are yummy. Two, people who love me have always made these for me and that adds a special flavor you can't get any other way. Three, I pretty much love everything that goes with gravy.

What A Day!

2010-11-30T21:35:00.005-06:00

What a great day we had today. To start with the end of our day, here are a couple pictures from Maria's Christmas Concert tonight. The kids in the choir all had to wear black pants or skirts, black shoes, and white shirts. This sent all the moms, me included, scrambling to borrow the appropriate attire for the evening. So, first I sent Maria over to Regina's to borrow some clothes from her girls. Then I was able to borrow shoes from a friend's daughter. In the end, she looked quite nice and I didn't have to spend any money on dressy clothes that she'll never wear again, except maybe for the next concert. Not only did the kids look nice, but they sang well too.

Earlier today I took Jon Felipe to Sioux Falls for a doctor appointment. At our last appointment at Sanford Children's, I expressed some concern that JF's gait wasn't as "smooth" as it used to be, so Dr. B referred us to Dr. Johnson, a physiatrist (also called a rehabilitation physician). I am still amazed at how this visit went. Dr. Johnson had read all the notes from Dr. B ahead of time and had assembled a team of specialists based on the concern areas. These people had also all read the notes ahead of time. Then they all worked together to develop the best plan for Jon Felipe. When I told the team that JF was a little overwhelmed at having so many people in the room at the same time, some stepped out for awhile until he felt more comfortable.

So the final determination was that Jon Felipe is in a growth spurt (we already knew that) and that the good leg is growing faster than the bad leg. Hopefully this will all work itself out eventually, but in the mean time we need to deal with the difference in leg length. He needs a new brace, and was casted for that right there during our appointment. He also was fitted with special shoes, which immediately improved his walking, even with his old brace. He was able to wear those home. A small lift will be added to the brace, although if that doesn't work well for him then it can be added to the shoe instead. I was also taught how to do some stretches with him which should help with some of the spasticity in his muscles.

I loved listening to the interactions between the specialists as they each approached the problem from a different angle and worked together to develop the best plan. Jon Felipe's favorite part was when one of the doctors told him (Jon Felipe) that he is going to be tall. JF's goal is to be taller than all his brothers and he checks daily to see if he has grown any taller, so this was good news to him. Can you believe how well orchestrated this all was? As a veteran of many many doctor visits, this was just amazing to me.

Then to cap it off, I came back to Sioux Center and met my dear husband for our Tuesday coffee date. When I got there, he was outside helping someone with car trouble. (It is bitter cold here!) When we got in, we found that our coffee drinks were "on the house" and even included a piece of dessert! That was so nice. It may be bitter cold here, but there are good things happening out here in northwest Iowa. How was your day? I hope it was as good as mine.

Thanksgiving Break

2010-11-27T11:08:00.003-06:00

We are enjoying our break. Yesterday we took all the kids to the community pool for the afternoon. Dwight kept teasing Jon Felipe that he wanted to swim in the outdoor pools and Jon kept replying in all seriousness, "It will be cold." Jacob spent a lot of time giving Maria some swimming tips and helping her with her flip turns. I loved watching them work together at something they both really enjoy. This afternoon we are going to the movies. The merchants in Sioux Center make free movie tickets available for the matinee showings at the theater on the weekends between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Should be another fun afternoon!

Giving Thanks

2010-11-25T21:38:00.004-06:00

We have so very much to be thankful for! It is good to take some time to reflect on that and to gather with family and friends to give thanks to God for our many blessings.

We did not try to travel back to Chicago or Michigan to be with our families there for Thanksgiving this year. Instead we gathered with family here, George and Regina and their girls, as well as some other friends. We had a great evening full of fun and yummy food.

Here are several photos from our evening. I know some of the relatives back in Chicago wanted to see George's family, I think I managed to get each of them in at least one picture.

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Decorations

2010-11-24T21:20:00.002-06:00

Move On

2010-11-23T18:14:00.003-06:00

Jon Felipe has been having some trouble with a couple boys at Kid Zone. Today when I picked him up, he was happily playing with a new friend. In his cute way, he said to me, "Mom, I move on. I make otro friend." (otro = other in Spanish.) He was quite pleased with himself that he was able to solve the problem on his own, plus he has a new friend to play with. Sounds like a great solution to me!

Swimming

2010-11-22T20:30:00.003-06:00

Maria still enjoys swimming with the Seahawks. She continues to improve and got another personal best time on Saturday. She wasn't disappointed at all when school ended up canceled today due to an ice storm, but she was sad that swim practice also got canceled.

I'm Back

2010-11-21T14:22:00.002-06:00

Sorry I haven't written much lately. I've had a bad toothache. I went in this summer for a check-up. I didn't have any cavities, but I did need some repair work done on a tooth to try to prevent a future need for a root canal. It wasn't bothering me, so I didn't have the work done right away, plus I needed to save up the money for it since we don't have dental insurance.

I finally had that work done a couple weeks ago. Teeth are miserable things! My tooth didn't bother me before, but I sure was in a lot of pain after. Several days later, I returned to the dentist and he decided that the procedure had actually made things worse and I likely needed a root canal now. I wanted to go with the "wait and see" approach since I didn't have money for a root canal anyway, but he hated to see me in so much pain and said his partner would do the procedure for me and I could pay it off in installments.

Our check-ups this summer were the first visits we had made to a dentist here and when we went, half of us saw one partner and half saw the other. The other dentist is from Colombia, so we had Jon Felipe see him. He was so pleased that we had adopted JF and emphasized that a person with JF's physical struggles would have no future in Colombia. It was so amazing to us to find someone who grew up in Colombia working as a dentist here in northwest Iowa. How cool is that!

Anyway, this other dentist has only done a few root canals, although not on molars, which is what I needed done, but he was willing to do it for me. Amazingly he was even willing to do the procedure for free! So, I went to see him last week. The ache is getting better so we explored whether I really need a root canal or not. The decision: likely not. Yeah!

Apparently that particular tooth is hard to numb and so when they try to inject the Novocaine, they have to slide the needle between the muscle and the bone in the hinge of the jaw. Sometimes they pierce the muscle and, because the muscle is so thin in that spot, it causes a great deal of pain. Sometimes they also end up piercing the nerve. It appears that both occurred, which would explain why my jaw ached, why it was painful to try to open my mouth, and why it felt like my jaw had been paralyzed on that side. He also told me that it usually takes at least 6 weeks to repair itself.

So, I'm cancelling my root canal appointment and enjoying the fact that the pain is definitely receding. It is amazing to me how much being in pain like that can affect your ability to function. I felt like it was hard to even focus on a simple task. For my friends who deal with chronic pain, you are amazing! I am so grateful not to be facing that kind of pain any longer.

Views From The Porch

2010-11-10T19:35:00.003-06:00

As it appears that our lovely fall weather is coming to an end, I thought I'd share some of the views from our front porch. I love seeing all the bales in the fields. These are the ones in the field across the street from our place.

Jon Felipe is very into trucks and plans to be a trucker when he grows up. Our neighbor "drives truck" as they say around here and this is his truck. The other day, he let JF ride along when he drove the truck across town to park it. He even let him honk the horn. Jon Felipe is still talking about the experience.

Colin's Birthday

2010-11-07T21:03:00.003-06:00

We had a lovely weekend celebrating Colin's 22nd birthday. Dwight and I took him out for lunch yesterday. Today (his actual birthday) we made pizza for dinner and watched a family movie. He chose apple cobbler with real whipped cream rather than a cake and it was very yummy. We enjoyed getting to spend so much time with our first-born this weekend.

Birthday Pictures

2010-11-04T22:10:00.003-05:00

Wow. Jon Felipe is now 10! He had completely planned out months ago what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday. This included having George and Regina and their family over, having a Sponge Bob cake, and having Sponge Bob plates and noise makers. His birthday was on Friday, but there was so much going on this past weekend that we decided to get together on Sunday after church instead. We all had a good time and Jon Felipe totally enjoyed his party.

Wordless Wednesday - Pumpkins

2010-11-03T16:02:00.002-05:00

Pumpkin Carving

2010-11-02T18:31:00.004-05:00

We had fun carving our pumpkins Saturday afternoon.

Jon Felipe got a remote control car for his birthday and he was having entirely too much fun playing with it to stop and carve pumpkins.

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-01T22:03:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago, Dwight took Luke and Jon Felipe out to the pumpkin patch on Dordt's farm to pick out some pumpkins. It was one of many, many beautiful fall days we have had this year. The guys came home with eight pumpkins, six of which we carved this past Saturday.

Hallelujah Party

2010-10-31T21:55:00.005-05:00

It is going to take me awhile to catch up on posting all the photos I've been taking lately, so you will have to be patient. Pictures of Jon Felipe's birthday and pumpkin carving to come. Here are the photos from the Hallelujah Party. Some of you will remember that we attended this last year too. It is sponsored by our church and held at the Dordt College Recreation Center. It is great fun! I love seeing all the kids in their costumes, everyone is having a great time, and it is free to anyone who wishes to attend. Here is Jon Felipe dressed as Curious George (or Monkey as he calls him). Okay, so he doesn't look much like a monkey. He was happy and he had a great time at the party and that's all that really counts :-)

As you can see, pretty much everyone in Sioux Center was at the party. Jon informed me that he was sure every student from his class was there. I love seeing so many of the kids I've gotten to know from volunteering at Kid Zone and at the public school. One of the bonuses of having an indoor party is it is light enough to actually see the kids' faces. Plus, they don't have to wear coats, so you can really see their costumes too.

Maria and her girlfriends were working "behind the scenes" at this fishing game.

About two dozen carnival games are spread out all around the gym. The kids play to win tickets. Tickets get traded in for small, medium, and large prizes. Every kid gets a ticket every time they play. The prizes are mainly various sized pieces of candy as well as some small toys. So, you play a few games, you trade your tickets in for some candy, you go play a few more games, get some more candy, etc., eventually leaving with a good sugar buzz.

Dwight and Luke ran the hockey game. All the volunteers got orange Hallelujah Party t-shirts.

The TP toss game. Self explanatory, I think.

Swim Meet 10-23

2010-10-25T21:15:00.004-05:00

Maria had nice swims on Saturday. The event was held at a beautiful YMCA facility in Sioux City. Maria's main goal is just to have fun being part of a team. Her second goal is to try to improve her times. As you can see, she's doing just fine with that first goal. As to the second goal, two of the events she swam this weekend were ones she had also been in on the previous Saturday, so that gave her a chance to see how she would do at improving her times. In her 50 freestyle, she improved 3 seconds. In her 100 backstroke she improved 10 seconds. We were quite proud of her. She even earned a fourth place ribbon for one of her events.

I'm an Iowan?

2010-10-21T19:31:00.002-05:00

I always park my car in pretty much the same place at work each day. Someone else at work has a car that looks very much like mine and they also park in the same area. Now, it's not that I'm an absent minded professor or anything, but I will admit to almost getting into the wrong car on more than one occasion. Fortunately, the upholstery of the other car is a slightly lighter shade of gray than mine. In addition, that car has a different collection of flotsam floating around in it than my car. Not that my flotsam is any classier, just different.

Anyway, when I head off to my car I am quite aware that I have to do a quick check to make sure that I don't try to drive off in the wrong vehicle. So today as I was walking toward my car, I quickly glanced at the license plate. When I saw the Iowa plate, I swerved toward the other red car parked nearby. Then I remembered that I have Iowa plates on my car too. Oops. That's right, I'm from Iowa now. It's hard to get used to all this change. The other day, someone asked where I worked and I said "Holland Christian," and then had to explain that I used to work at Holland Christian. So, I'm not an absent minded professor and I'm working on adjusting to all this change. After all, I only tried to get into the wrong car twice today.

Iowa Landscapes

2010-10-18T19:56:00.004-05:00

I think Iowa is particularly beautiful in the fall. I took both these on Saturday morning as we were heading to Maria's swim meet. The top one is of one of the fields across the street from our house. I took the other from the window of the car as we drove down 75 toward Sioux City. It was so stinky out that morning that Jon Felipe complained loudly every time I rolled down the window to snap a picture, so I didn't take any more. Maybe you'll just have to drive on out here and get a look for yourself. I promise it won't be stinky if you come visit :-)

Swim Meet 10-16

2010-10-16T18:07:00.004-05:00

Maria had her first swim meet today. I was proud of her and of her teammates. Even though it took her about twice as long as the rest of the swimmers to do her events, the whole team cheered her on and gave her lots of positive encouragement. Even the other girls on her relay team, who were great swimmers and could perhaps have won the event without her on their relay team, congratulated her on doing a good job.

Her team is called the Seahawks and their team colors are black and green. Team suits have been ordered, but they didn't arrive in time for today's meet. Her coaches have been great. They don't push her too hard, but they do push her to do just a little more than she thinks she can. It's a fine balance. They never seem to hover over her, but whenever it was time for her to climb up onto the starting blocks, one of her coaches was always there to help her. They did it so unobtrusively that I would guess not one person even noticed.

As for Maria, she just smiled and did her best. You should see her swim. She has beautiful form, her muscles just don't move very fast. If they handed out prizes for the most graceful swimmer, Maria would win hands down. The meet was in Sioux City and on the way home we stopped to refuel with the traditional dose of fat and salt.

Pool Shark

2010-10-14T21:47:00.004-05:00

My Jon Felipe is totally a child of routine. When I drop him off at Kid Zone, the first thing he does is join the group that is playing air hockey. At a certain point in the afternoon the staff turns off the air hockey table so kids can do their homework in that area. During that time, he will often go to the listening area to listen to books or to the gym to play. Eventually, though, he always ends up at the pool tables.

$2 Tuesday

2010-10-12T22:13:00.004-05:00

We haven't done this often enough yet for it to be a tradition, but I sure think it would be a good one. The Fruited Plain is a local coffee shop that offers $2 coffee drinks on Tuesdays. So, after dropping Maria at swim practice and Jon Felipe at Kid Zone, Dwight and I meet up there. Okay, so we've only done it twice, but I think it could be a good tradition. As you can see, I was even getting some work done while waiting for Dwight to meet me. Add in $2 mochas and this definitely has promise.

House Envy

2010-10-10T20:25:00.002-05:00

There is this house we often walk by on our evening strolls. Almost every time we pass it, I comment on how much I like this house. It isn't large or fancy, I just like the look of it. The other day when we walked by, we discovered a For Sale sign had sprouted on the front lawn. Now I know that we don't plan to buy a house, that we don't know how long God plans for us to be in Sioux Center, and that we are very content with our rental home. However, I couldn't help myself. I checked the price on the house. Oh my goodness, it is listed at $275,000! So, just to reiterate, we are very content in our rental home and we have no plans to move.

Friday, Oct. 8

2010-10-08T15:44:00.005-05:00

We have been having such fabulous fall weather here in northwest Iowa! This is Dwight this morning as we were leaving our house to walk over to Dordt for day 2 of the Heartland Christian Educators Convention. We both enjoyed the convention - great worship time, good learning opportunities, and the chance to chat with fellow educators.

I presented one of the sectionals today. Last night I revised my presentation, worried I had made it too short. I wondered if anyone would even come to my sectional. Of course, today people did show up, we had a good time talking about the topic together, and I never even got to the part I added last night. I need to stop over thinking these things.

This afternoon, we went for a bike ride with the kids, enjoying the beautiful summer-like weather. The temperature right now is 89 degrees! We rode the whole bike trail, stopping to enjoy the park along the way. (Maria is at her friend's house, so she didn't have to deal with riding a bike yet.) The only downside is these Asian beetles that look like ladybugs. Did you know they bite? Ouch.

Have a great weekend!

Finished

2010-10-07T20:50:00.003-05:00

We finished our Head Start testing today. I had planned to finish testing yesterday, but the flat tire I had last week set me back a day. Dordt has reading break today and tomorrow, but these two wonderful students volunteered to come with me today and help with the assessment anyway. I know, I have the greatest students!

We gave the fall assessment to over 300 preschoolers. We will assess again midyear and then again at the end of the year. Overall, I am really pleased with how the project has gone so far. The young man who has designed the computer program we are using has done an incredible job. My students have been really enthusiastic about participating. The Head Start teachers are excited to be able to get this data on their students. It's all good. Now, though, I am looking forward to a little break in the action.

SCS

2010-10-05T16:31:00.004-05:00

Twice a week I get to head over to Sioux Center School and help out in the ESL classroom. Last year I mainly helped middle schoolers. This year I work with a small of group of high school students. I love it! I love interacting with the students. I love the teachers I work with. I love that Dordt College thinks this is a great way for me to spend my time.

This is Nancy. I'm so glad she invited me to come into her classroom. She is a good teacher, enjoys what she is doing, and generally a lot of fun.

This is Jessica. She is fluent in Spanish which makes me very envious. SC could really use about three of her. She always seems to be needed in about three places at once. She is also a lot of fun. I really look forward to my time at the school every week.

Fall Pics

2010-10-03T18:06:00.003-05:00

We have been enjoying the beautiful fall weather here in Iowa. Last year there wasn't much by way of fall color, but this year that is not the case. It may not be up to Michigan's standards, but it is quite lovely. These are the trees I see along my route home from Dordt.

Twice a week I get to help out in the ESL classroom in this school and I love it. (The school is only a block from my house.)

Maria - day 3

2010-10-02T21:11:00.003-05:00

Some pictures of Maria to show you that she is healing. (Notice Colin getting in the act, being goofy and making Maria smile.) She is still very stiff and sore and, as you might guess, her lip really bothers her, but we got through what the doc predicted to be her worse day. We are all hoping that she starts feeling some better tomorrow.

All the kids were here for dinner and a movie tonight. I love having my family all together. During the movie, my friend Gwen came over with a pan of homemade caramel rolls, warm from the oven, for us. She said we could save them for breakfast, but we couldn't resist sampling them tonight. Plus, they were soft enough that Maria was able to enjoy them with us. Yum! We even managed to save a few for breakfast.

Maria has managed to do a good job of handling the discomfort without too much complaining. It helps that friends have come by to help distract her. We are grateful to everyone who has helped us, prayed for us, and loved on our daughter. Thank you!

Maria

2010-10-01T18:33:00.003-05:00

Maria took a bad fall from her bike yesterday. She was feeling quite weak, so she wasn't able to do much to help herself and she landed on her head. As you can see, she did quite the number on her lip and chin.

She was only about a block away from home. Some bystanders called an ambulance right away. I gather it was quite the spectacular fall and she wasn't responding to those who came to help her. The paramedics had some concern about potential head trauma and there was talk of calling the med helicopter to take her to Sioux Falls, but thankfully they decided to check her out at the hospital here first.

Even while she was strapped to a back board in the ER, waiting for the results of the CT scans to determine whether she could stay in Sioux Center or needed to be transported to Sioux Falls, Maria's biggest concern was that she still wanted to go to school today. Her second biggest concern was that she needed to use the restroom and this whole process was taking entirely too long.

After confirming that nothing was broken in her neck or face (there was some concern about that so extra scans needed to be taken which meant a longer wait on the backboard), she was admitted to the hospital for observation. I don't think she realized that staying over night was in the plan until after she was tucked up in bed, at which point she was too tired to do much by way of protesting.

I didn't realize how often they come in and check on patients under observation during the night. It seemed like I'd just fall asleep and the nurse would be back shining the light in Maria's eyes and trying to get her to coherently answer questions. Somehow, Maria managed to do a pretty good job of ignoring them.

After some follow up concerns this morning about a possible fracture in her neck, Maria was finally released to come home so that she could go to the dentist and have her mouth x-rayed. She chipped her front tooth and it has a crack in the root, but we are hoping it will heal on its own. She managed to knock quite a few other teeth loose as well, so she is on a soft diet so that everything can heal.

I was swimming laps with Jacob when it occurred, but good friends Regina and Jana learned what was happening, called me at the pool, stayed with us at the hospital, and took all my boys home to be fed. Regina came back and sat with me at the hospital again this morning. A couple of Regina's daughters came and cheered up Maria and brought her flowers. That makes two days in a row when I needed someone else to be a neighbor to me. I am so thankful for all the neighbors God puts into my life!

Touring Iowa with Head Start

2010-09-29T21:17:00.004-05:00

I've been traveling around Iowa testing lots of little preschool cuties. As fun as that is, it has been wonderful to have groups of students from my assessment class helping me. Here are four of the students that came with me yesterday. We are assessing children at all the Head Start centers under the umbrella of Mid-Sioux Opportunity, so we are getting to see lots of places in Northwest Iowa.

We have classrooms from 10 different centers participating in the project so the locations are quite spread out. Today I had to go to a center located nearly two hours away. Because of the distance, I went on my own. My students have been wonderful about helping me, but it would be hard for them to take such a big chunk of time out of their schedule. I left home at 6:15 this morning!

I drove a Dordt car out there, which was great, except that on the way back I got a flat tire. Of course, I was out in the country when it happened. I did call the Dordt maintenance staff, but obviously there wasn't a lot they could do to help me. Fortunately, I could see a couple businesses way off in the distance and it was an absolutely gorgeous day, so I walked down there to see if I could find someone to help me.

Now I know I should be able to change my own tire, but honestly I haven't had to do that for myself in at least 25 years. I did locate the jack, but it didn't even look the same as the one I remember using. So I set off to find someone who felt a little more confident about this task than I did. At least it wasn't pouring rain.

I found lots of people willing to help me, but because in each place they were the only employee working, they couldn't leave the store and walk back to my car to help me. Finally, a farmer waiting to get a part at an equipment supply place volunteered to help me. He said he had lots of time as he was "just waiting for the beans to dry."

The vehicle maintenance folks at Dordt had asked me to get that tire replaced right away rather than drive that far on the spare, so after he changed the tire the helpful farmer gave me directions to the local co-op. Amazingly, the co-op had a tire to replace the blown one, but they didn't take credit cards and obviously Dordt didn't have an account with them. So, the helpful man at the co-op just put the charge on his own account and asked if I could have the college send the payment in promptly.

I guess it could have been a frustrating and stressful day, and I did lose a whole afternoon that I had planned to spend testing, but I honestly didn't feel frustrated. The weather was too nice and the strangers far too kind to feel frustrated. This past weekend, I read the story of the Good Samaritan. It came up at both an immigration conference I attended on Saturday and in my class during Sunday School on Sunday. At the end of the parable, Jesus asks, "Who was the neighbor to the man?" Those folks out in Correctionville, Iowa, definitely acted as neighbors to me.

Maria Update

2010-09-21T18:59:00.003-05:00

In August, Maria went to the Muscular Dystrophy clinic at Sanford Children's Hospital. During that consultation it was pointed out to us that Maria stands quite crooked and it appeared that she had one leg significantly longer than the other. (We just thought that leg bent, hip out posture was teenage attitude.) So, they sent us off for x-rays and referred her on to another specialist.

Yesterday, Maria was seen by this specialist. He told us that her legs are the same length, but her right side is so weak that she cannot hold her pelvis level. This throws everything off. She has developed a bit of scoliosis as a result as well. The right side weakness goes back to a stroke-like episode she had almost two years ago. We had an MRI done at that time, but it did not show evidence of a stroke, so we've never known what to call it. This doctor said that sometimes that happens. He actually has another young patient who had the same thing happen.

So, the good news is that strengthening her right side should resolve the issues. The bad news is that her MG (a form of muscular dystrophy) is going to make that difficult to accomplish. She did have intensive therapy through the hospital after that stroke-like episode and perhaps therapy will be recommended again. At that time, her speech as well as use of her right side had been affected, but she worked hard to regain what she had lost. I guess it is hard to get back everything you lost and she does still struggle with these things, especially when she is tired, but she seems to do pretty well.

So, now to keep going forward. She really wanted to join the Seahawks, a community USA Swimming team. I was worried that the energy demands of practice would be too much for her MG. On the other hand, we don't have a Special Olympics swim team so that isn't an option any more. The doc sided with Maria, pointing out that swimming would be excellent exercise to get that right side stronger. So, she started this week. The coach is a special education teacher and seems very willing to try to make this work for Maria. We signed up for the two-week trial and we'll see how it goes.