It is Tuesday evening and we will be in Texas Thursday morning.  In order to prevent the heart attack that last statement wants to cause me, here are a few thoughts on the subject.

Things I don't like about furlough or will miss about Arequipa:
- It's long.  Really long.  Two months is a long time to not ever be at home.
- Speaking of long, we're driving all over the place.  We're used to staying in town unless we fly somewhere.  Here's hoping in the kids take it well.
- Speaking of kids in cars, car seat laws stink.  I know it's about safety, but we all know it's getting out of control and let me tell you, it's nice to be able to nurse the baby en route.  
- Having to remember to speak English in public settings.  Yes, we're used to still speaking English at home, but the brainpower I spend mentally rehearsing (this is subconscious to do now, prepping for an encounter) what I want to order at Sonic is a waste.  "Buenas tardes.  Quisiera un Route 44 Coca Cola con vainilla.  Y con mucho hielo, por favor.  ¿Es la hora feliz?  Ay, que bueno.  Gracias."  *Sigh*
(Side note:  Spell check does NOT like it when I mix languages.  I had to fix that last one more than once.)
- Missing Arequipa, from friends to our daily routine to the market lady that sells awesome fresh green peas to speaking Spanish...because I do enjoy it.
- Having to haul several suitcases down from the fourth floor, then back up again in two months.  
- Trying to explain aspects of our lives.  It's just hard to connect with no personal experience.  It would be like a bird describing flying to a fish.  "It's like swimming, but up in the air, and you can look down and see everything, and if you want to dive down, you can, but it doesn't mean you're falling..."  You can kind of talk around it enough to make it make sense, but it's still not quite there.
- Friends.  Really good friends that I want to meet at the cafe and talk until we realize they have closed up and are waiting for us to leave.
- Opportunities for new outreach that have to be put on hold.
- Kids on a plane.  Kids on six planes.  Three kids on six planes.  Two parents.  (That was very PD Eastman.  "Two dogs in a house in a boat in the water. A dog over the water. A dog under the water."  Name that book.)

Saying time flies just doesn't quite capture it.  One minute I'm just trucking along in my normal, everyday life, and the next I have 3 daughters that are now 5 years, 2 years and 1 month old.  Yes, somehow a whole month has passed since Aria Ruth was born and I think I barely blinked once.  I know I haven't slept all that much...

I do have lots of catching up to do on various fronts, but let me start by getting out the story of the newest one's arrival so we can get that ball rolling.

It is so hard to believe she is already one month old.  She was due on the 27th of December, but I was hoping desperately that she would arrive before Christmas, both so we wouldn't have another birthday to contend with on the holiday (it's a hassle) and so that my parents would get their full time with her once they arrived on the 23rd, especially since my dad could only stay for one week.  It turned out well, since she came on the 21st.  

I had my standard appointment that morning, and since I hadn't had any painful contractions, my doctor didn't expect much.  However, somehow I had already progressed halfway, so she decided I should go home, get my bags and my husband and come back to the hospital.  "If you wait until you go into labor", she said, "I'm afraid you'll have her in the car on the way here."  So we came back, and by this time I was having regular, not-feeling-so-good contractions.  The hospital was too full, so I got prepped in the observation area, then hung out in the hallway outside the delivery room until it was open and spent the rest of the time in there.  

It was a little bit of a roller coaster.  I got an epidural, which sent my blood pressure plummeting, so I got dizzy and cold.  They pushed fluids to get it back up.  Then they were concerned about the baby's heartbeat being too low and discussed the possibility of a c-section.  Then everything was fine and back to just waiting through contractions.  Got another dose of epidural (no pumps here, just injections into the epidural line, kind of like an IV - I had to request more each time once it started to wear off), which sent my blood pressure down again.  Then they were concerned about the baby's heartbeat being too high and discussed the possibility of a c-section.  Then everything was fine again.  Then the epidural started to wear off a second time (doc was starting to get a little antsy...she thought it would all go much faster than this, though in all fairness we had only been back at the hospital for a few hours.  She suggested to me that we wait for another dose of epidural to see if the contractions made more progress without it ("it makes the uterus lazy" she tells me.  Ha!).  About 10 minutes later, as I am unable to stay still (read: writhing) as I experience undrugged the strongest of the contractions I will have, she determines it worked and it's time to push.  About 3 or 4 pushes later, I'm done.  Good thing, too, because I don't like that part.  Ouch.

Considering I went in at 8:00 for a regular appointment having had no contractions and had a baby in my arms less than 8 hours later, it was a crazy day.  Plus, it's unusual here in Peru to request to have the baby in the room with you.  Most moms let the nursery keep the baby and they sleep all night long (the nursery gives formula).  Since we prefer to have our babies with us in the room, my doctor lets me go home the next day.  She says if we're taking care of her anyway, we might as well do it at home.  Fine by me.  So we were headed home before lunch the next day.  Cap it off with a classic electricity outage on that first day home right at dinnertime, because life in Peru just can't be that smooth or we might get spoiled! : )

As far as the baby is concerned, she is great.  She looks most like Shaye did at this age, but she has Cora's nose and hair color that falls between the two.  She is more laid back than either of her big sisters was, and as long as she is fed and changed, is pretty much content.  She seems to already have a soft spot for Papa and cuddles right in with him.  When she won't calm down for me, he inevitably can get her settled.  I'm looking forward to when she goes longer stretches at night, but for now she is pretty consistent in waking up hungry every three hours.  Which is probably why she has been growing steadily.

Big sisters are just great.  They both want to hold her, and watch out for any spitting up, ready with a burp cloth to wipe it up, though Shaye dislikes when it happens ON her and quickly asks me to take Aria so she can go change her clothes.  They will both try singing to her if she cries while they have her, but Cora is quicker than Shaye to tell me "all done" and let go.  Cora's favorite thing is to give her kisses.  "Tiss?" she'll ask with expectation on her face.  

It's been pretty easy adjusting to three so far, since Aria is so easy.  We have a baby swing in the living room, the bouncy seat in the kitchen, and the pack n play in our room, so there is always somewhere to put her and let her hang out.  This has been invaluable for letting me have some quality time with the older girls.  Shaye helps me hang and fold laundry.  Cora likes pushing a chair up beside the sink to stand with me while I was dishes.  Both "help" me cook.  Sometimes they bring me books while I'm nursing and we read.  Sometimes they just lounge on the couch with a book to look at themselves.  I have noticed that they strongly tend to be in the room with me, so even if I am moving from room to room, I probably have one or two extra shadows.  It can make me a little crazy, especially when it involves extra conversation, but basically it's sweet.  If that is their only reaction to having a new baby in the family, that's not bad!  

Coming soon, 2 year old Cora.  She's a hoot, let me tell you!

Okay, not really 101, but before you throw out that perfect little box, consider the following uses and see if it is really worth making just that much more trash, when it could help simplify your life...at no extra cost!

Seriously, I currently have about 20 of these scattered around my house, and you can bet I'm saving up more!

*Note: I keep the cardboard part from the bottom.  I do chunk the lids.  And this is from the 2 lb packages.  1 pounders aren't actual boxes, just cardboard with flaps.

1.  Drawer organizers - You know those plastic divider/organizer thingies that you buy to put in a drawer for pens and paper clips and such?  You know how they are about as deep as a single pen and the stuff ends up scattered?  Try this box and see if anything escapes.  And they're modular...rearrange as many times as your dear heart desires.  I especially like using them for measuring spoons.  I just take out the whole box when I'm cooking and don't have to rummage around anywhere for the 1/2 teaspoon.  

2.  Receipt holder - Need something simple in the kitchen/entryway to stash receipts, just until you're sure you can discard them?  Here you go.  Deep enough to hold papers up sideways, small enough to fit just about anywhere.

3.  Candy box - slide this into a cabinet or drawer to easily house little treats.  Then, when it is a good time for your little one (or you) to select one, simply take it out, choose your goody, and put it back.  Shaye put stickers on hers.

4.  Storage of individually wrapped items - cracker packs, granola bars, packs of gum, tea bags, soup or dressing mixes, hot chocolate packets, etc. don't get lost in the shuffle when they have their own spot...whether in a cabinet, drawer, or open basket.  

5.  Extra silverware - Is your silverware organizer actually overflowing, because about 3 times per year you need all those spoons, but the rest of the time they just jump over into the knives and forks?  Purge down to what you actually use on a regular basis and relegate the remainder to your dining room hutch or buffet, or to a top cabinet shelf, or the back of another drawer...in a box or two.  Easy to pull out when you need the extra, but keep your drawer more functional for the rest of the time.

6.  Crumb catcher - Now, the most brilliant idea for this I have ever seen was a trash drawer shown on a cooking show.  She could just open the drawer, sweep any crumbs, peelings, etc. off the counter and into the drawer, close it right up and keep cooking.  But...most of us don't have a drawer to spare for such a use, and I imagine keeping it lined would be a headache.  However, our hands really are quite ineffective at this job.  Yes, we sweep those things off into our hands or a paper towel or something, but some bits always escape.  No more!  Grab an empty box, hold it up to the edge of the counter, and easily nab all those runaway pieces that usually end up on the floor.  

7.  Kids' medicine measurers holder - I keep all our little medicine cups, syringes and droppers in one of these, set inside the larger box that holds the medicine.

8.  Crayons or markers for kids - large and light enough for kids to manage, and easy to stash when they are done.  (No, kids don't really need access to 2000 crayons at a time.  This holds enough for coloring time.  I keep the rest in a zip top bag to refill those in active use when there are too many broken ones.  Same with markers - if they don't color well, chunk them.  You wouldn't want to use them, either.)

The basic premise here is DON'T THROW AWAY YOUR EMPTY VELVEETA BOXES!  Find somewhere to put them and I guarantee you'll end up realizing their usefulness and distributing them around the house.

The part that has kept me thinking is about what that life looks like, and how do we keep the right balance between choosing right actions without counting on them to save us all over again.  Because if you think about it, we can believe that Jesus has saved us all we want, but when we look at the person next to us with a judgmental attitude, it's usually because of something they have DONE or NOT DONE, and we are disappointed (like it matters what our opinion is in the first place).  We still have it in our heads that the way we live somehow matters in whether Jesus' sacrifice for us even counts.  Isn't that called idolatry?  When we attribute power where there is none?  Do we have a tendency to idolize "appropriate" behavior?

But surely the opposite extreme is wrong...that Jesus has saved us, therefore we can do whatever we want because ultimately it doesn't matter.  We know in our bones that this is lacking as well, because the power of Jesus' death shouldn't serve to let us off the hook but to hook us into His kingdom in a way we are incapable of achieving alone.  

It was a big enough deal and a difficult enough question to put Paul and Peter in face-to-face opposition.  Knowing that neither of these guys was all that laid-back and subtle, it must have been a serious discussion.  We only see Paul's side, but the point we can glean from the encounter is that this really matters, and isn't easy to nail down.


For an initial, simple consideration, I think it comes down to the order of things.  Originally, the Jews believed that this life described in detail by God was the means to their continued relationship with Him.  I believe the intention behind God providing this list of do's and don'ts included a desire for them to live well, be healthy, remember what mattered.  It wasn't just to whip them into submission to His will, though He does want that.  He wanted them to know what a good life should look like.

Jesus repeated the same.  He reiterated the old laws, with new understandings.  Don't just draw the line at murder; back waaaaay up from there and don't even concern yourself enough about your preferences to be offended by the actions of another so that you don't even become angry.  Don't just love those who love you, but choose to seek good (love) for those who refuse to do the same for you.  These are the kinds of attitudes, thoughts and behaviors that can actually transform a person from being selfish, petty, and demanding to being sacrificial, kind and loving.  But He took it even further.  Instead of saying, "Do these things in order to have a good life.", He said, "Here is my good life and you can have it.  Now use it the way I showed you."  

The right living follows the right relationship with God, rather than requiring right living in order to reach and maintain the right relationship with God.  Thus, the holy, healthy life that we want to live today may not really be all that different from the way the Jews lived (specific details of their interpretation aside).  We still shouldn't murder, covet, lie, steal, work without rest, etc.  But we absolutely cannot imbue those actions with saving power.  

We must remember that Jesus has completed all redemptive action.  Done.  Period.  He granted us the gift of the opportunity to pursue a life that pleases Him with no strings attached.  However, if we really grasp who He is and what He has given us, we should be unable to honestly say that the way we live has no bearing.  Not because it can or cannot save us, but more because it shows whether we understand who it is we are following.  If we are not living with intent to please Him, we must not quite get Him.

On the one hand, I know my girls are still very young and for the most part, we don't know what they will really be like.  However, we are seeing more and more of their specific personalities come through and it is fun!  Most of the time...


They are quite different.

Shaye is almost 5 and she is becoming more and more our dramatic one.  She does things big and loud and thoroughly, whether she is "cooking" up a meal and needs half of my kitchen supplies to do so, OR making a picture for her grandparents that involves drawing, cutting, writing, and hand-making their envelopes, OR describing to us how she is "really, really serious about wanting to have some ice cream today" complete with an intensely direct look.  She plays very happily and loves time with her little sister. They can often be found sitting on a couch or bed together, with Shaye more or less reading a book to Cora (mostly from memory, with full inflection, of course).  Another recent development is being big enough to carry Cora around, so a few times a day, she comes trucking through the room, her sister dangling from her hug.  

She is also our most sensitive family member, specifically when it comes to interpersonal relationships and space.  When she reads a book with someone, she prefers to be sitting on their lap.  Sitting alongside them is too disconnected, so snuggling is required in that setting.  She gets most upset by being left alone, either in time out to cry (she ramps it up!) or if a friend just doesn't want to play.  And while this lends itself to overreaction and drama (wearing us out), it also means that she can be extremely kind and sweet, because people really matter to her.  She loves sitting with me, talking about how the baby is growing, feeling my belly for kicks.  If she catches me funny with her elbow or knee, she is very quick with a "Sorry, Mama.  Are you okay?"  If we have an idea of something kind to do for someone else, she gets really excited to make them happy.  She is also very helpful and is getting good at various chores like making her bed and Cora's, cleaning up her room, and even washing some (non-breakable) dishes.  She loves helping us cook, but hasn't gotten to the point of being very useful yet.  It takes her FOREVER to grate cheese.  She seems most eager to learn how to crack eggs...not sure why.

She began ballet at the beginning of September and absolutely loves it.  Just ask her about her "leagatargets" (leotards) and she'll talk your ear off.  Ballet days are our best days because she is just waiting to be told to get ready.  I can basically require anything 'before you can get dressed for ballet', and she will do it.  Not that I abuse that.  She's always been a little clumsy, but I can honestly say she has been a little more graceful, with less wipeouts in recent weeks.  It's cute when she decides she needs to stretch or practice, and Cora joins in.  Very sweet to see them giggling together, bent over on the floor or up on tiptoes (Cora tries, at least).  

Being fancy is another favorite thing.  Speaking of doing things big, this girl would actually choose to wear a dress with pantyhose and sandals (we don't have anything fancier), jewelry, hair done up in a big bow or with a crown, and lip gloss, carrying a purse...every day if we would let her.  Her crown is now broken (stepped on too many times...it kept shrinking until there wasn't anything left), and she tried hard to convince me that she NEEDED another one so she could be fancy because nothing else would work as well.  *Sigh*  We're not sure where she got this.  : )

She is very interested in reading, and tries to sound out words, though she guesses half the time.  Her memory is unreal, recently referencing "the time she learned the word SHAKE because it was like her name but with a K".  This happened a year ago on furlough in the car when she read it off of a Sonic cup sitting in the cupholder.  

Overall, her grandiose approach to daily life can be exhausting, but she is just wonderful, exactly as she is.  

Cora has always been our calmer and happier child.  I thought she might be the laid-back one.  However, as she grows and develops, it seems I may have been mistaken.  For one, she still isn't talking much, as far as real words go, but she does babble with inflection like she really thinks she's using words.  So when we don't understand, she gets frustrated.  She also gets upset when something is either taken away or not provided as a toy, like a cell phone or pen.  She has developed a banshee-like screech to let us know she is unhappy about that.  Besides this, though, she is still the more easy-going of the two and knows how to work her charming little smile and head-tilt to wrap herself around little fingers everywhere.  But this doesn't mean she just takes it easy.  Rather, she may turn out to be our little clown. She makes silly faces to make Shaye laugh.  She fake sneezes to get us to say Bless You and laughs.  She falls down on the floor as a joke, giggling.  She pretends to be asleep, complete with "snoring".  She loves being tickled, and will voluntarily raise her arms to make it even easier.  She laughs freely.  Still very happy, but not so much the calm one, with a defiant streak for now.  Fitting, her favorite song is "If you're happy and you know it".  

She is also an odd balance of shy and outgoing.  Strangers are met with blank stares and the thumb in the mouth (yep, still going with that - right thumb in the mouth, left index finger touching her bellybutton).  But friends, especially Manuela, Anna and Sakari, to name a few, get big smiles, excited squeals and hurrying toward them to be picked up.  

Even though she's not talking much, she understands most of what we say.  I can direct her to go get her cup out of her room, and she heads straight in there.  She answers our questions about what to eat or what book to read.  She says more and more words every day, and Shaye likes helping her practice to make them clearer.  She'll attempt anything we ask, but only about half of what we try comes close right now.  

She loves reading books, even by herself, and is easily occupied for long stretches of time flipping through them.  One of her favorites is Amelia Bedelia, who she calls something along the lines of "belabelabela".  Not too far off.  The Bible storybook is another favorite, and she often points out a "duck" (any bird).  Unlike Shaye, when she read with someone, she usually prefers to sit beside them rather than in their lap.  

She still eats more than her older sister, though she is odd in her preferences.  By this I mean she prefers tomato slices, grapes and watermelon to peanut butter and bread.  Yogurt is fun to eat, but she's unconcerned about getting every last bite.  French fries are just okay, but corn is a hit.  She won't eat goldfish, but give her a bowl of atomatada (Peruvian dish with beef, tomatoes, onion and rice), and she'll have it down before you finish yours.  She swiped Shaye's Coke one day and liked it, so she often reaches for our cups, but she refuses to have a juice box if she can't hold it herself.  She crunched into a coffee bean one day by chance (I didn't think she'd like it, so I let her have it), and now comes begging for them whenever she hears the coffee grinder start up.  

I'm sure I'm forgetting to mention all kinds of little things they do that make them even more unique.  (Pregnancy does this to a mom's brain, you know.)  But even as they keep us on our toes and stretch us to new limits, they really are such blessings and, when we remember, very fun to watch as they grow and become their own little people.

It's a small world, after all.  We recently learned just how small when we were contacted by a Finnish university student about doing an internship for her Masters in Development through CUDA (formerly known as ICDU).  A few conversations later, we agreed, and she and her husband packed up and headed to Arequipa to spend the next several months.

So, Anna and Sakari Heikkila arrived last Tuesday and have been staying with us while we look for an apartment for them.  We have really enjoyed having them so far, learning a little about Finland, introducing them to the city, and generally having a good time just hanging out.

They definitely deserve some recognition, not just for their attitude in picking up and moving halfway around the world for a semester, but for the way they have welcomed our daughters.  And let me tell you, our girls have been stuck to their sides as much as possible.  Cora particularly likes Sakari, and has even sought him out rather than me a couple of times for comfort after a fall.  Shaye and Anna are bonding over girly stuff, like knowing how to fix hair in fancier ways than Mama (not my strong suit, by a long shot).  They have both gotten crash courses in princess and ballerina life, been served tea in princess cups, read more than their fair share of kid books (Anna read about half of the Bible storybook to Shaye this morning), and are getting a kick out of Shaye's way of talking.

<Example:  When setting the table for lunch today, Shaye put Anna between her seat and Cora's.  I asked Anna if that was okay with her.  She said that was fine.  Shaye turned to her and asked, "Do you like being between stuff?">

It looks like it will be a fun semester!  And with as much going on with the development projects as there is right now, it's a great time to have extra hands.