Little Of This... Little Of That...

Life has been pretty normal, day in day out, run of the mill the last few weeks.  Which is truly not a bad thing!  Here's a smattering for you to enjoy:)

Squishy McSquisherson hit four months!  I feel kinda bad for him.  I mean, I'm pretty sure that the other three kids had their own separate post at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months and Tanner is just getting jumbled in with a bunch of other stuff at four months.  Sorry buddy!!  We'll see if we can at least get an eight month post in there for you!

This was his first time in the bumbo.  He didn't hate it but it wasn't his favorite.  He's getting a little better with it though.

He's kind of taking his time with things like rolling.  Maybe because he has so much to roll over??  He squirms around on his back and rolls up onto his side enough to do a full 360 though when he's on his play mat.  He's just as sweet as ever and still sleeping like a champ at night.  Naps are a little iffy- some days he naps great and others he will just limp along with catnaps.  But I really don't complain because he does so good at night!  He is quick to offer a big ole smile and loves to interact with others.

A couple Saturdays ago, Danny and I went on a little date to the market that's about halfway down the mountain.  I wish I would have remembered to take pictures to give you a better picture of it but I didn't.  But I did get a picture of the parking lot...

Summer has been doing great with school.  She does miss having other kids in the class but I don't think she minds getting all the attention either.  One day they were talking about Hawaii and we got a video of her doing a little dance in her hula girl getup:)  Sawyer has been going three days a week but we are going to drop it down to two.  He enjoys it, but really he's not actually starting Kindergarten until fall of 2022 so it's just a little much for him.  But it's nice for him to have a little something to do.

I found this one on my phone and it made me smile:)

When we visit the missionaries in Cayes, we get to drive through the river.  This was later in the afternoon than normal when I took this picture.  Usually it's full of people doing laundry, washing their motos, and bathing.  I'll be honest, it makes me feel a little cool when I'm driving a big stick shift vehicle through a river.  Don't worry though.  Soon after I get through the river I have to stop and go on a hill to get back onto the main road and I usually kill it at least once if not two or three times and then I'm put back into my not cool place.

I get so carsick on these roads that I usually just look straight ahead.  But sometimes I just need to stop and appreciate the beauty.

We've had a few days that were hot enough for swimming and popsicles!

Summer got a bug house for Christmas as she is forevermore trying to catch some kind of critter and find a box for it to live in.  Danny and the kids caught a lizard and had him in there a few days.  His name was Quick.  Because he was fast.  Super original, I know.  Poor Quick never got fed and after two or three days I said they had to release him.  He was definitely quick then once we opened the door and let him out.  FREEDOM!!!

She also has an obsession with making knots and tying things up.  If there is something she can make a knot with, she does.  She loves to tie up animals and have them on a leash.  Sawyer got those dinosaur eggs for Christmas where you can dig out a little plastic dinosaur and Summer had about five of them tied up together.

Our Haitian minivan.  If we're only hauling kids, we just walk.  But if we're going somewhere for supper and have food and stuff, we load up the gator.  We've had our share of casualties when we hit a bump a little too hard.  The kids have gotten really good with holding on with both hands with their arms straight out to prevent said casualties.

There is an orphanage not too far from here that Carrie likes to visit.  I finally had a chance to go for the first time!  The kids were cute of course and loved getting visitors.

Such a sweet little smile!

The nannies loved Tanner and said I should leave him there.  They were shocked to hear he was only four months old.  He might be the fattest four month old in the country!

We've loved having the Moreau family here the last few weeks.  They left this morning to head back to Connecticut but they have been such a blessing to all of us down here!

Their oldest daughter did a great job with Summer.  She is just so full of ideas and wants to do all the things so when someone is willing to work with that I really appreciate it!

So that's been life the last few weeks!  Today is a relaxing, no schedule Saturday.  Well, most of our Saturdays are like that I guess.  Well, except Tanner has his schedule and I hear him letting me know it's time to move onto the next thing.  So until next time!  Bye:)

Goodbye's And Weddings And Christmas, Oh My!

Well we are back in the saddle.  With Christmas and New Year's happening in there we might have been just as busy as everyone in the states!  A little increase of activity and plans for us here and some definite decrease for everyone up there, we ended up being about equal:)  Danny is back at work and I am back to answering the gate and pretending I know what people are saying.   However inflation went way down while we were out on furlough and the amount of people coming with needs/wants/things to sell has also decreased.  The needs are definitely still there but they are not as overwhelming as they were in the spring and summer.  And of course we had people coming to ask if we had a Christmas gift for them because, I mean, why not???  The answer was always no.

We bade farewell to our friend, sister, and cohort, Ruth, soon after we returned to Bonne Fin.  She spent I think four years here in Haiti and has now returned to Iowa.  We were on the field with her for 16 months but between furloughs and COVID we were actually only together in Haiti for less than four of those months.  We wish so badly we could have had a whole lot more months but we're glad we had the ones we did:) 

The kids got the biggest kick out of her!!

On December 19 one of our yard guys got married.

Turns out Danny was the equivalent of the best man!  We did not know this was going to happen.  We were sitting in our chairs waiting for the wedding to start when the other yard guy came up and said the groom needed Danny.  So he left and I sat and waited for him to return.  A few minutes later the music started and in walks Danny and the groom together!  So I was by myself for the duration of the wedding.

But at least I had a cute date still.

Also we had a lot of people in the back of our vehicle.  It was probably the most that was ever in there because usually it just transports Americans but Haitian style is just a little more cozy.  I was not complaining to be sitting up front.

After the wedding the vehicle was parked in our driveway for awhile and the kids kept getting the mops and brooms out of our storage depot and cleaning it:)

One day I went to get a bowl of cereal and noticed a small lizard had met it's fate the last time I had put the container back up on the fridge.  Can you see it hanging off of the bottom?  Oops, sorry little lizard!

Carrie had us over to decorate cookies and I think Tucker had the same cookie the whole time.  He just kept adding more frosting and licking it off.

Christmas!!  Because of Christmas church services and family plans we've never had a typical "Christmas morning" with our kids.  It was kind of fun to do that!  We did wait until after breakfast though.  I made a french toast casserole that I thought would be kind of special and they would love it.  They didn't.  Such is the life of a mother feeding her children.

Being in Haiti didn't prevent "the aftermath" like I thought it maybe would.  We gave grandparents to thank for that:)

Later that day we got together with the missionary family.  It was an afternoon filled with good food, good company, Settlers of Catan for some, and watching Elf for the others.

I wasn't sure what Christmas would be like for us as it was our first time away for it.  The hot weather was definitely a foreign feeling.  No cozy blankets or fires or hot drinks were really needed.  Aside from one grocery store with lights and garlands strung up (and really annoying Christmas tunes that sounded like they came from a child's toy), there were no festive decorations.  Well, except for my nostalgic big colored lights I (still have) strung up on our back porch area!  I told Danny it was kind of a heart check for me.  I am such a Christmas junkie.  I don't necessarily love all the commercialism of America, but I do love the gatherings, food, lights, music, hustle and bustle, gift exchanges, and even the weather that comes along with a midwest Christmas.  So taking that all away was a little bit sad, but made me celebrate the holiday for all the right reasons.  I'm sure many of you had similar feelings with everything being so different this year.  So thankful for the reason for the season!

We hosted New Year's Eve at our house so we could put our kids to bed and enjoy being around for the whole party rather than having to leave at like 8:00.  We have an extra family down here right now that came to visit a few days after Christmas and is planning to stay until January 23.  The husband/dad is on the hospital board.  With six extra people we just had ourselves a nice little party!  I only got one picture of the whole night but I think it's a real cute one!  Tanner and his Auntie Carrie:)

And with that, Happy New Year, everybody!  Remember to keep your hope in Jesus and not in 2021:)

Endings And Beginnings

Beginning is always a word I'm not sure if I'm spelling right.  I always think it should have two g's for some reason.  And then I type it out both ways to see which one looks the best and I always come to the conclusion that what I have in the title of this post is correct.  It helps when the red squiggly line shows up underneath the other option.  But I digress. 

Oh, I've always wanted to use that sentence!  I read it in other people's writings and it took me a long time to even figure out what it meant.  I mean, all I really needed to do was to look up the definition but I guess I'm a little slow or something because I didn't do that for a long time.  But now I know what people mean when they say that and so now I can say it too.  Oh lookie there.  I digressed again:)

ANYWAY.....

After Covid made it's rounds in our circle, we filled the time we had left in the states as much as we could spending time with family and friends.  And in the meantime Tanner got chunky.  Or maybe I already mentioned that.  But he is over the 50% though I can't remember for sure where he falls.  (4th child woes)  It might even be close to 75%.  But before him, Tucker was our chunkiest baby coming in at the 10%.  He's just such a little squish!!

Thanksgiving with Danny's family- grandma did some of the games she had planned for her fall party that was cancelled and Sawyer was double fisting the apples after the bobbing was completed.

Guys.  My mom found my first pair of glasses from when I was in 1st grade.  I remember getting those... I wanted a blue pair like some of the other kids in my class had.  My dad convinced me to get these.  They have a tiny picture of a smurf on the sides which is how he made me say they were okay to get.  Looking back from an adult perspective, I'm sure it's just because they were a lot cheaper than the blue ones!!  Oh and the dots on Summer's forehead are from dressing up like an Indian at school.  But really, did I look that cute/dorky???

We were so happy to have some snow before we left!  I think Summer was the most excited.  She loves to play in the snow!  When she got dropped off from school that day, it took her forever to come inside the house.  Finally I opened the door to see what was up and she was just taking her time, eating snow before she came in!

This guy opted for a snack instead of the snow.  He pretty much chooses snacks over anything.  Truly, "snack" was one of his first words!

Seriously.  I just want to smooshle him!  Rolls for dayz.

And then our furlough was done.  My goodness there was a lot that happened during that time.  August 2, when we left Haiti, seems so, so long ago.  Yet our time in the states went so fast.  We were all ready to come back and I was so thankful for that.  Just a few weeks earlier I wasn't quite able to say that I was ready.  But we just reached that point when it was time.

Travelling went amazingly smooth.  I don't doubt that God heard people's prayers on our behalf.  The kids did great, and the flight attendants were kind.  We left Danny's parents at 9:00 Saturday morning and pulled into our drive about 3:30 Sunday afternoon.  It was a long journey, we were all so very tired, but it was good to be back.

It was also great to have Danny's parents along for the ride.  They were so helpful with the kids while we travelled and got settled in.  We had a house that was torn apart because it had been painted while we were gone, lots of luggage to unpack, and the most recent container that was shipped arrived on Sunday so all of that stuff showed up at our house too.  It would have taken about 3 times as long to get settled in if they had not been here!

We had sent some of our baby gear on the container and the bumbo promptly got used by the big kids.  Sawyer said to me, "Look mom!  I still fit in the dumbo!"  Oh, and that's his new smile.

We sent some Christmas decorations down before we had even moved in.  Last year we were still in the states for Christmas after evacuating so I was excited to bust them out this year!  This little tree was perfect for the kids to decorate.  It's already haphazardly being held up with a box and books so I had no problem letting go and allowing the kids to have full control of decorating it.  It was the perfect size for them and they had a blast!

Tanner experienced Haitian church for the first time.  He wasn't sure what to think of all that noise!  But eventually he settled in and took a little nap and we stayed a lot longer than I expected we would.

All the kids still adore him.  But the one who surprises me the most is Sawyer.  He just loves to be right by him and talk real sweet into his face.  The other day Tanner was fussing in his bouncy seat and Sawyer tried showing him a book to cheer him up!

First day of school for the second time this year!  We loved loved loved our experience at KA the first  part of the school year.  We are so thankful they let us in for just a few months:)  We took one week off to get settled in and then started back up again, this time as the Bonne Fin Geckos!  It's a beautiful little school, just perfect for a small amount of students.  With the Herrmann's being in the states right now, that leaves Summer as the only one.  So Miss Trinity said it would be okay if we sent Sawyer a few days a week too!  They had their first day yesterday and came home with rave reports about how great it was!  Well, except Summer was disappointed to learn she still had to do handwriting:)  Tucker was sad that he didn't get to stay.  We came home and within five minutes I couldn't find him.  Sure enough he had gone outside, pushed open the gate, and was headed up the hill.  He almost made it all the way to the school before I realized he was gone!  So needless to say we will be locking the gate from now on.

We are glad to be back.  It feels good to be in our own house and to start finding our routine again.  We know there will be days when we feel really worn down from loneliness, stresses of cross cultural living, and spiritual warfare.  But we are at peace being here and we know people are praying.  We can feel it!  So thank you for that if you are one of those people:)  You pray for us and we'll pray for you!

What We've Been Up To

In between birthdays and new babies and such, we've squeezed in plenty of things to do!  We spent the week of fall break in Illinois.  Going to the pumpkin patch was one of the highlights for the kids.  Except I had packed only cold weather clothes and the weather was not cold that day at all!  We had some rosy cheek kiddos by the time we were finished but they still enjoyed the day.

Farming was another highlight.  Aunt Jamie hauled the big kids around for a couple of days, much to their (and my) delight!  They loved all the cousin time.  And I got to ride in the combine for an afternoon, too.  It's a treat to ride and chat it up with my brother for a couple hours!

I took Summer to Caleris for a little breakfast date and she got to help decorate a cookie!  And eat frosting, of course.

And Tanner got to meet my side of the family.

We've spent lots of time at the doctor catching up on all the appointments we've missed and making sure Tanner gets a healthy start.

Why is watching the laundry go so much fun???

Spending one of those nice warm afternoons at a park.

Loving on this little chunka wunka.  The kids do really good with him.  Tucker is getting a little less gentle than he was at first.  He wants to play things like "sit on the baby" and "poke the baby's face" and things like that.  Tanner is not quite ready to play those games and makes it known when Tucker tries.

I just took him in for his two month checkup and he comes in at the 75th percentile!  After having babies that are in about the 5%, he is HUGE!!!!!!

We also spent our time in quarantine when the big bad 'rona hit us.  I only had mild symptoms but it was really hard on Danny.  He was down for the count for about a week.  We were all glad to see it go and bid it good riddance.  And it is not welcome back to make another visit.

Also we bought plane tickets to go back to Haiti.  It's got us feeling all 😀😭😬  We've got mixed emotions for sure.  Ready to not be living in limbo, ready to not be using a bunch of borrowed things, ready to settle into our routine again... but not ready to say good-bye to family and friends, not ready to be separated from convenience and restaurants:).  We don't want to make it sound like Haiti is a terrible place to live, because it's not.  There are things we enjoy about it.  But there's a lot of really big unknowns as we head into this next go 'round.  We feel isolated and we feel a level of spiritual warfare that we don't feel up here.  Going back isn't this light and fun thing.  There are many factors that make it feel really heavy, but we also feel that it's time.

December 5 is our departure date.  We plan to spend Thanksgiving weekend back in IL again with my family, and then have a week here in IN to pack and say our goodbyes before we head out.  We won't turn down any prayers!!

Four Years With Sawyer

*Edit* this post has not been thought out ahead at all and I wrote it at the end of a busy day so there's no telling how much sense it makes or how many typos there are!!

Well we have quite the string of birthdays in our family.  Three in September and one in October makes for a lot of cake in a short amount of time.  Which I'm not sure is really anything to complain about.  I love cake.

Anyway.  The final party in the lineup was finally today.

Our not-so-little-anymore buddy is four!  He has been waiting for this day for a very, very long time.  He's had big plans for months:)  He didn't quite get EVERYTHING on his list but I think he was satisfied with the day!  

He wanted a banana cake.  I'm not sure how he even came up with that but it made things pretty easy for me to just make some banana bars and call it good!  I forgot to set a timer and the bars were a little overdone, I added too much powdered sugar to the frosting and it was a little dry, and my writing with a tube of decorating gel was a little less than stellar but he was quite forgiving.  And it still tasted alright after all that.

He had a little party last week when we were in IL too.  Also he's been on a bit of a dinosaur kick lately and those were his decorations of choice.

Sawyer has loved having Tanner in our family.  He's been so sweet towards him!

He is such a hoot.  He's just kind of a natural clown so this outfit he decided to try on suits him well!

Back in June or so, Danny and Summer did a daddy/daughter date night and Sawyer was then all about having a mother/son date.  He can be really sweet!  He wanted to go somewhere where we could eat and play games.  He loves to play games.  So while we were in IL over Labor Day weekend we headed to Common Grounds where yummy food and board games live.  Oh and also it was hard to see the pictures before I put them on the blog and I did not notice that I chose one where I had such an amazing look on my face:)

And only I ate the CG food cause he really wanted McDonald's.  I'm thankful for friends who own restaurants and aren't offended when I carry in different food for my three year old who knows what he wants!

Sawyer has plenty of energy to spare but sometimes, SOMEtimes I catch him doing something quiet.  Also he really loves his big sister:)  Ever since she went to Kindergarten he just can't hardly deal with his life.  He misses having her around!

Also ever since she went to Kindergarten he has taken it upon himself to fill our ears with his voice.  Fill them.  To the brim.  Like, one time I took him to get groceries with me and the whole experience took a total of almost two hours.  And I kid you not, I heard his voice the ENTIRE time.  He is quite the little chatterbox!

But as much as our ears are full, our hearts are even fuller.  This kid has big emotions, big ideas, big plans, a big list of imaginary friends, a big smile...  but he loves pretty big too.  And we just love him right back!

Happy Birthday Buddy!!