Guatemala 2011

I got to go to Guatemala with Nate this year :) My mom came and stayed with the kids, and did a little tag team with Chris to keep the kids going while we were gone. They did great!!!

And we had the most amazing time. I've been looking at pictures and hearing stories about Guatemala and its people for the last 7 years...but the reality is...I had to be there to really understand.

Mark pulling teeth. He alone pulled about 100 teeth last week.

Hirsche Smiles Foundation: the group we travel with. Asorech: the group in Guatemala who finds places for us to work. {Their main work is to teach new planting methods and create systems to get drinking water to the Chorti indian groups living high in the mountains.
The new members of our Little League Wrestling Team above Olopa

("Europa: because it's so far away"...Horacio)

This is our way up the mountains from Zacapa. When our brakes went out on the way down, we got to ride the rest of the way in that green cattle truck.
Nate would go through the line about 10-20 people at a time to diagnose. I would put that on a piece of tape so when we had a chair open, I could get the next person in line for a filling or extraction.
Getting ready to work on Monday morning. This is La Perla, the hotel where we stayed in Chiquimula. By the end of the week we called it La Hurla by the amount of hurling that went on there that week, and because everyone could hear it all.
Horacio...what a good kid. He drove us a couple of days to our locations. He's waiting for a mission call. I told him he would go to the states because he understood everything we said...just wouldn't speak in english.

Beautiful baby!!!

Friday...Up at 6:00, leave at 8:30 for Guatemala City. 3-4 hr ride. Nate mapped it out. Market until 4, Temple from 5-7:30, dinner at 8. And miracle of miracles, it worked...mostly.

We had an absolutely amazing trip!!! It was very humbling to see the extent some people traveled on foot to have some dental work done. It was very humbling to see how they lived. It was very humbling to see that...with nothing...they are very happy people. It is so true that "When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God."

Mosiah 2:18

And I came away feeling like the one who was blessed.

{I'll post more pictures later...the kids need me}

12 to 2:34

In November, Sam got pinned in 12 seconds by an amazing wrestler. (that's Sam in the yellow and brown)

Last Saturday, Sam had to wrestle him again at a middle school tournament. He got pinned in 59 seconds.

Yesterday, Sam wrestled him again at another middle school tournament. He got pinned in 2:34 seconds. (that's Sam in the royal blue)

I'd call that improvement.

I don't think I was any happier when he beat the other kids he wrestled than when he had done so well against this kid.

Last week, when Sam learned he had to wrestle this kid, he came and told me about it.

"You nervous?" I asked

"A little" he told me

"Just remember, Sam...you are a better wrestler now than you were in November, so just do better than you did last time."

AND HE DID. I can't tell you how proud I was of that boy. Again yesterday, he was determined to do even better. He had analyzed how this other kids wrestled, and what he would need to do to do better. And he did. That's fun to watch!!!

5 Years, not 5 Hours

Just yesterday morning, there was a tiny little puppy sitting behind us at Sam's wrestling tournament. The girls went ga-ga, loving this tiny little thing. I mentioned to Chris that a tiny dog like that would be fun to have...in about 5 years. Well, it wasn't five hours later that the boys brought home this little thing.

Welcome, Cruzer. {the new Chevy car with an r at the end}

It had slipped my mind that Nate had done a little trading with a patient for this pure-bred Irish Setter who wasn't quite ready at Christmas. He is cute, but I think I'll keep my feelings about this to myself for awhile.

It's not too hard to see how the kids feel about it though...He likes to sleep with Emma. And there has been more fighting in my house the last 24 hours that there has been in quite sometime.

{"He's mostly mine, right?""No, he's all of ours, but I'm taking care of him the most." "wawa"}

{"I want to hold him" "No, it's my turn" "I never get a turn and you always do"}

kind of like that

Update

We didn't go to the hospital. Henry's fever went down, but he was still sleepy and needy. He woke up yesterday with a rash all over his body, and he seemed to be much more cranky!!! He just cried and cried. I guess with his throat feeling better it was ok to cry and cry and cry. The Dr. said the rash was viral and an indication that the sickness was winding down. oh, this is yucky. Henry slept through the night again. {he's pretty good about that...better than Emma even} But woke up having thrown up in bed, and just wanted sprite and some cuddles...now he's asleep on me and the kids have missed their bus. I'm sooooo lucky to have great friends who bring me dinner and shuffle my kids...any takers on laundry??? {jk}

Can't do a post without a picture....

Happy Christmas Morning Faces

Henry's New Look

My sweet baby boy is so, so sick right now. Fever, sore throat, throwing up, yuckiness...all he has done all day for the last couple of days is sit on my lap or sleep. The doctor said it is tonsillitis. I'm starting to think she is wrong. If he is still fevered at 103-104ish tonight, we will be taking a trip to the hospital. He only wants me, and swats at anyone who touches him, or scowls at anyone who looks at him. {that's kind of funny} But I miss his giggles, his smiles, and his running around. I hope he will perk up quick.

Before the sickness struck, I got these great pictures of his new scowl. He gives it to anyone who tells him no...{he'll listen, but he'll stare ya down with a look to let you know of his disapproval}

What's funny is how quick he'll switch looks, too.

First, the scowl...

Then, a quick smile for the camera...

Then a silly little smile...

Followed by a "I'm trying to be mad at you, if you would please let me now" look...

Sam: 12

I can hardly believe that it has been 12 years since that night the doctor said, "well, since you almost passed out in my office, I think it would be best if we just go ahead and deliver that baby tonight. Go get something to eat and come back in about an hour."

"Uhhhhhhh"

Sam...he's just always been nice, pleasant, loving, and kind. Yes, he is 12, which means there are occasional bouts of moodiness. But, how many kids are that will p

erceive when their mom is having a little rough spell, and sincerely say, "I'm sorry, is there something I can do?" He can see every slight change in mood of me or his dad. We're working on being that perceptive of the siblings now, and acting accordingly. He has this thing {we all know where it came from} where he likes to tease his siblings. He has great amusement at their expense.

This year, my mom and dad came out for his birthday. At church, when boys turn 12, they are allowed the privilege of receiving the Priesthood and becoming a deacon. With the privilege comes responsibility. They must keep themselves in line with the moral standards and values that we believe. They have the responsibilty to pass the sacrament to the members of the congregation every Sunday. They have the responsibility to collect fast offerings.

Sam was ready for this responsibililty. It was exciting to have his Father, Grandpa Lester, Grandpa Perkins, Uncle Andrew, and Bishop participate in that special day.

I put my camera away before Gma & Gpa Lester came over, but we did get a couple pictures after church.

Then here's Sam's cake.

The bottom layer: Chocolate cake drenched in caramel, covered with cool whip.

The second layer: Oreo cheesecake

The third layer: Chocolate cakepop cake {this is from bakerella...you bake a cake and then crumble and mix it with a can of frosting. She makes cute little pop things on sticks. I put it in a cake pan and freeze it and eat it just like that}

The top layer: Tres leches from Cafe Rio

When I asked how he wanted it decorated, he said...it doesn't need decorations.

That's Sam...no fluff or frills, purely functional, and delicious.

(can't figure out how to find my pictures to upload from my new mac:-) any ideas? figured it out...now, how to move them in the post.

Tooth Fairy

The first thing that Amelia showed me after school yesterday was her loose tooth. I knew that it was wiggling, but the new tooth behind it was positioned so that it would not push her baby tooth out. It was going to have to come out with sheer force, or persistent wiggling, which was the case this time. Although she went to school with a little wiggle to the tooth, she could bend that tooth clear to her gums when she left school yesterday. She didn't want dad to pull it. She didn't want to have to "screw it out with pliers." She wanted to pull the tooth out herself.

So she did. When she got home she spent about 10 minutes in front of the mirror before she came out with her eyes big like they get when she's excited about something. In her hand was her tooth. "Look, mom."

She is a go-getter. {remember the training wheel incident}

I was laughing because I can just imagine her all day at school, working on that tooth. She actually even told me how she wrote her numbers.

"first I would take my pen and circle the 6, put the pen down and wiggle my tooth, then pick up my pen and do another 6. just like that." {imagine that with actions}

I can't even belive my Mia is big enough to be losing teeth *sigh*

So the very next morning the tooth fairy had *gasp* forgotten to come. But mom knows how to fix things. Mom can "find" things that little girls cannot, and even though she had to increase the pay to make up for the disappointment, it all worked out. That tricky tooth fairy can even come while you're eating breakfast and mom's making beds. {betcha didn't know}