First Christmas in Wamena

A few days ago we celebrated our first Christmas in Wamena! We forgot to take a cute family photo in front of the Christmas tree, but here are the kids:

Ariella enjoying homemade peppermint stick ice cream.

Zoe eating it too! A friend brought us candy canes from the US to put in it!

I forgot to take a picture of Zach eating ice cream. Here he is with his hands in bandages and socks with thumb-holes (for sucking). I'll explain in a bit why his hands were bandaged...

A note about firsts...
I have had "first" Christmases for quite a few years now:
2015 First Christmas in Nampa, Idaho, waiting for Zechariah to be born.
2014 First Christmas in Nashville, TN, waiting for my nephew David to be born and then actually being present for his birth.
2013 First Christmas in Nabire, Papua, Indonesia, in our new home there with 1-month-old Ariella.
2012 First Christmas in Sentani, Papua, Indonesia, where we were living temporarily. 1-year-old Zoe was oh-so-cute that year. Earlier that month I miscarried her younger sibling.
2011 First Christmas in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia while we were in language school. This was Zoe's first Christmas and I made cookies to bring to our neighbors and went to the city-wide sunrise service.
2010 First Christmas in Apple Creek, OH (not Daniel's first Christmas there, but mine). We celebrated with Daniel's family and had so much fun picking out a tree from a Christmas tree farm while it was snowing!
2009 First Christmas in St. Louis, Missouri. We were there preparing to volunteer at Urbana. This was also our first Christmas married.
So I have to go back to 2008, when Daniel and I were newly dating, to have a Christmas in New England. Time is just flying by! Every year since getting married I have celebrated Christmas in a different place!

And back to this year...

We had a quiet Christmas, mostly at home, after poor Zach burned his hands on the oven door on Christmas Eve (when we had friends over for dinner, of course). He was doing so well that we did venture out of out house to the afternoon Christmas service in the little building on our housing complex. Here is a photo I took after church...we have 6 babies (age 1 and younger) in our expat community right now. Zach is the 3rd oldest, the biggest/heaviest, one of 4 boys, and one of 2 Americans. Here they are with their dads:

babies from L to R: Marie, Melody, Marc, Brett, Zechariah, Jesse.

Christmas morning I enjoyed re-reading the Christmas story from the Jesus Storybook Bible, opening gifts (especially watching the girls open their gifts), and FaceTime with extended family. And we played with new games and started reading new books. It is easy for me to romanticize the Christmases of my childhood, and long for the excitement that I felt about Christmas as a child (and having other people do all of the cooking, cleaning, present-buying and wrapping, etc). Now at Christmastime I think a lot about how Mary may have felt, as Jesus' mom. And I think of the fear and awe that the shepherds felt and how truly good the news was that the angels proclaimed.

"Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you; You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. ...Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests." -from Luke 2:10-14

Christmas is about so much more than my family, my community, and the place where and ways that I celebrate. I need this good news of great job more and more each year. And this Savior is for all people! He is for me and for you, for the people who are easy for me to love, and the people who I struggle to get along with, for those who are generous and those who take advantage of others... He is for all the people. And I am grateful and filled with awe that God chose to enter my world-our world- as a poor and helpless baby.

11 months old already!

Eleven months is getting very close to one year! Zach now pulls up on everything, and can walk along the couch holding on. He likes to pull things off the Christmas tree, crawl all over the house, and crawl right out the door. He says "uh oh," "da da," "ma ma," and "hi." He also may have said "rice" when we were eating that the other night. He imitates lots of sounds, yells, laughs, and generally enjoys life.

Look what I found!

Yum! Strawberries!

Story time before bed.

Standing up in bed.

Pulling flowers apart outside. "Zachy, those are flowers, not food." (Ariella)

Look who is escaping while sister dances!

On the eve of Ariella's 3rd birthday

Exactly three years ago I was heading to the hospital to birth Ariella. It was almost 2 weeks past my due date, and I was very relieved to be finally having contractions and about to meet my little girl.

Tonight I kissed my 2-year-old goodnight for the last time...tomorrow I will kiss my 3-year-old.

My Ariella gives the squeezy-est hugs, loves to be read to, enjoys swinging, jumping on a trampoline, playing with her big sister, snuggling, painting, playing in the dirt, chasing frogs, and catching worms. She is interested in all sorts of animals. 

Here is a little bit about her in her own words (I interviewed her this afternoon):

•What is your name? Ari-yell-a

•How old are you? 2

•When is your Birthday? My birthday is in 12, and I’m gonna get in 12 and have a number 12 because I’m gonna get 12.

•How old is Mommy? You’re uh 6.

•How old is Daddy? Daddy’s 2.

•What is your favorite color? My favorite color is is is is…pancakes. Uh I think it’s cake.

•What is your favorite food? Uh…honey sandwich and snack. Can I have a snack?

•What is your favorite book? Uh…A Snowy Day. (The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats)

•Who is your best friend? Uh, uh…Ellie Chin. (Ellie is one of her sister’s friends.)

•What is your favorite show? Super Why

•What is your favorite movie?  Super Why

•What is your favorite song? Uh, Mommy and Uncle Joy.

How does that song go? “uncle joy, mommy mommy, It goes like this.” (In a sing-song voice…first time I’ve heard this one.)

•What is your favorite animal? Shawn the Sheep

•What are you scared of? I’m scared of of of of of of of of of if there’s dark. Because you know that I wike dogs. Do you wike dogs?

•What makes you happy? Uh…Everest.

•Where is your favorite place to go? Uh, Indonesia.

•What do you want to be when you grow up? Uh, uh, use your computer.

•What is Mommy's favorite thing to do? Uh, use your computer (that’s what I’m doing now, writing her answers).

•What's Daddy's favorite thing to do? Take off the fire with Ariella. And then take off Mommy’s fire. (I’m confused about this, something about the fire place in our house.)

•What does love mean? Love means nighty-night.

last night as a 2-year-old!

Waiting with Zoe for our flight yesterday.

A little bit blurry, but such sweet smiles

 This year Ariella got to welcome a baby brother into our family and move (back) to Indonesia. Big transitions! It will be fun to see what the coming year has in store us, and how she will grow. We love her so much!

Zach is 7 months old!

This adorable guy is 7 months old! He loves to smile and interact with people, and to bite things with his two bottom teeth. Although he puts everything in his mouth, he does not enjoy solid food (yet).

Zach weighs 20 pounds and has just started wearing 18 month clothes.

Ewww, what are you feeding me?

Thoughts on Mother's Day

First of all, I am so grateful for the moms in my life... For my mom who has loved me well and speaks truth and wisdom. She is the "glue" of my family of origin, reasonable, hard-working, always serving us and praying for us. I love going clothes shopping with her, going for long walks together, and watching her love her grandchildren!

And for my mother-in-law who is so very loving and accepting of me and has raised my husband. I love watching her love her grandchildren too! She comes up with fun ideas...making giant bubbles, snowmen, flower gardens.

I also am so very grateful for my children who make me a mom.

They get a little crazy at bedtime!

As I've enjoyed their hugs today I have also been thinking about the baby I lost (miscarried at 14 weeks in December 2012). She or he would be 3 years old later this month. I am thinking of and praying for others who I know have lost children or who want to have children but have not been able to. Mother's Day is a wonderful day and can be a really hard day too. My dear friend Emily wrote about how hard this day is for her this year here. I hope that if Mother's Day is hard for you (perhaps because your mom is no longer alive, was not loving, or you have lost a child or been unable to have children) that you are able to grieve and are able to receive love from God and/or from someone important to you. Much love to each of you today!

Ordinary Beauty

My days are filled with small things...small people (my kids and neighbor kids), small steps towards growth (in patience, love, communication, friendship, physical exercise etc.), and many small delights (flowers, conversations, laughter, rainbows). Please enjoy with me a few of the ordinary things (in my home and around the area where I live) that I have noticed that are very beautiful.

Who can resist a baby's beautiful smile? :)

This is an amazing fern-covered fence!

Ariella with the beautiful fence.

A beautiful day! And fun on the swings!

The beauty of gently holding a baby rabbit.

Ariella is picking flowers with a very sweet Indonesian girl.

This is Zoe playing "airport"...a game where she brings her doll in her stroller to the airplane that she sets up (plastic chairs in front of the washing machine). The stroller is stowed under the sink, and then she and her baby (or babies) travel to Indonesia. One day when playing this I explained to her that Indonesia is where we live now...and she told me that Indonesia is her "favorite world." I think the beauty of her creativity and play and happiness to be here is delightful!

A rainbow seen from our back yard.

Daniel reading a bedtime story to Zechariah.

Zoe enjoying the beautiful fire pit.

I hope you enjoy these glimpses into my life. Life with my kids seems to take more patience than I have and some things in my life seem to take more courage than I can muster up. But I am trusting God to help me to be patient and brave. And gratitude for the beauty around me helps me as I slowly grow and learn. Where do you see beauty in the ordinary things in your life?

Eleven Months

Well, Ariella's 11 month birthday has come and gone...and later this month we will celebrate her first birthday! I remember thinking a year ago thinking that she would be born any day! I think it's a lot more fun to have an active and smiley 11 month old than to be 9 months pregnant!

My parents were visiting the week when Ariella turned 11 months old. She looked around for them when they had returned to MA. She has not started walking, but loves to stand up in the middle of a room and bounce. She yells an enthusiastic "hi Daddy!" to greet Daniel...or me or even Zoe sometimes. Ariella is already much more of a climber than Zoe was. I am really enjoying watching her grow and seeing her personality unfold.

Enjoy the giggling in the video. :) And note Ariella's happy feet.

Five Months Old

My lovely Ariella is 5 months old now! This morning I looked at the date and realized that yesterday was her 5 month birthday. We've been a little sick here, so I guess that's my excuse for losing track of the date.

Ariella loves to roll and roll. She gets up on her hands and knees and rocks/wiggles/jumps until she falls over. I think she will learn to crawl very soon! She loves to be outside, to watch and touch her big sister, and to grab everything: faces, hair, toys, bowls of Mommy's food, a stray cat, etc.

I especially enjoy her laugh, the way she coos, her lovely smile, and the way she snuggles with me when I hold her. What a precious girl!

Movement

A few nights ago I dreamed that Ariella was already walking and running. Maybe I dreamed this because she is rolling over a lot and squirming backwards on her tummy. 

this is not how I put Ariella down to play

When I was trying to make dinner I noticed that she was stuck under a chair. This little almost-4-month-old is very alert and moving around a lot! I guess I really need to keep an eye on her. How is it that babies change and grow so quickly?!

Nourishment

This is a post that I have been meaning to write for some time.  It is kind of about nursing my baby.  Only kind of....please if you are male and reading my blog and nervous about things like mommies feeding babies don't worry.  No details or pictures on this subject, I promise. :)

When I had Zoe and started nursing her I found that sometimes she was hungry but would get her little hands into her mouth instead of eating.  I would try to gently move them out of her mouth and help her to latch on so that she could get the nourishment that she needed.  Sometimes she would sneak her hands back into her mouth and then get frustrated because sucking on her hands did not fill her stomach.  I thought:

Oh little girl, don't you know that milk tastes better than fingers?  My silly sweetheart, don't you see that you can't have both food and your hands in your mouth at the same time?  Don't you know what is good for you?

Then I heard God's gentle reminder speaking into my soul.  What are you trying to satisfy yourself with, my daughter?  Let me feed you with the food that you really need...

Psalm 81:10 says "I am the LORD your God who brought you out of Egypt.  Open wide your mouth and I will fill it."

Beginnings

I have been meaning to start a blog for several months now.  The problem, really, is getting started.  Other people's blogs interest me, make me cry or laugh.  I have ideas that I would like to share, but none of them seems right for a first blog post. What is worth writing about to start out?

There are many beginnings in my life right now: beginning to live in a new place, learning a new language, being pregnant and giving birth for the first time--becoming a mother.  Almost everything feels new!

Yet, at the same time, it's amazing how quickly we adapt to a new place.  When we took Zoe to Jakarta to visit the American embassy and turn in her passport paperwork, I just wanted to go home.  Home to Salatiga, to the house I'm living in for a year during language school.  And looking out my windows at banana trees, red-and-white flags, and my neighbors' homes is so familiar.  Only understanding part of the conversations around me also feels fine, now.  Yes, I can communicate much better than I could when I arrived here in March, but I do not really mind that I sometimes do not know what people are saying.  And even my little Zoe, who is still very new, is growing so quickly! 

So, to honor what feels like the most significant beginning that I am a part of right now, my daughter Zoe's birth and life, I will share some pictures of her in her first day of life and current pictures!

July 15, 2011

 

August 22, 2011

 

I hope you enjoy these pictures!  What beginnings do you have in your life right now?  How do you suggest starting a blog?  :)

-Joy