Something New...

It was time! I was never thrilled with our blog design, and until recently had no idea how to design one myself. But, with the help of my amazing friend Lauren, I now know how to design a blog and am so excited to show off our new blog makeover!

If you're interested in getting a blog facelift, check out Lauren's graphic design shop at www.Restored316Designs.com!

what's up...

So I've been a blogging slacker lately... sorry. Truth is, Anna and I have been at home mostly in recent weeks, and so I haven't had many stories to tell or photos to post. And now, we are busy getting ready for a month in the states and that's where my brain is at the moment. But I wanted to give a brief summary of this past week's events.

Pastor Ray arrived on Thursday, with a rental SUV! So Anna and I have been able to go out with the group, and it has been a blessing. Yesterday we spent the day in Los Mortales. I had to make an emergency run to my favorite store, El Cho Cho, to get Anna some little tennis shoes so that she could roam free during the outing. Five minutes, and $2 later, I walked out with a bright pink pair of Barbie shoes... they certainly wouldn't have been my first choice if I had other options... but for 2 bucks I really can't complain.

Sporting her awesome pink stretchpants and new Barbie shoes...


Not sure where she's headed, but man this kid keeps on the move!


Anna with our beloved Luci... who lives in Los Mortales. The tongue thing is new.


Our fearless leaders...


Vero leads the kids in a craft...


Beautiful Los Mortales

Do you want a CUSTOM BLOG DESIGN???

A new friend of mine runs a graphic design business called "Restored 316 Designs". She specializes in custom website and blog design. Well, for the next week, she is having a super fun custom blog design giveaway! (usually $79!)

Check out her blog for instructions on how to get your name in. She will give away one free custom blog design for every 30 entries! She loves the Lord and it would really bless her if you stopped by to check out her work and enter her giveaway!

Click the box to go to her website or click the link to go to her blog!

www.restored316designs.blogspot.com

We LOST a WHOLE Kid!!!

Eric and I have lost a total (combined) of 70 pounds since moving to Panama! It has been a very difficult endeavor, but so worth it! Panamanian food is mostly fried, empty calories and lots of grease and fat. There is no green leafy lettuce (just iceburg) and no salad dressing (which isn't important since there's no salad!) BUT, we were determined to eat healthier, eat less, and be more active... permanently.

Eric walks a ton, and I use an elliptical machine that we bought a few months ago. We eat lots of chicken and vegetables, and a lot less of everything else. (We do splurge and have pizza on Sundays... but you gotta live right?)

Eric is down 40 pounds from his heaviest, and I am down 30. We both need new clothes, as belts are now required to keep our pants up! It's a good dilemma to have. We still have a ways to go to reach our target, healthy weight... but for now, we're very proud of ourselves, and have adjusted quite well to this new lifestyle. It feels good to eat right.

Just a lazy afternoon...

We're outside this afternoon, enjoying the beautiful weather! (That's a joke people, it's disgusting here right now!) Eric's favorite pasttime after a long day of studying is laying outside in the hammock, and Dewey's favorite pasttime is laying with him! (Are we producing another Scarlet here?) Anna is such a big girl now (*sob) and enjoys hanging out with Daddy and Dewey. In all honesty, the hammock is one of the few things I will miss this summer when we're in the states... but a couple of Starbuck's frappaccino's should help me forget all about it!!!

I just had to share!

Well, in the thrill and excitement of our upcoming MONTH in America, I realized that I needed to buy Anna a swimsuit & hat. We have several water excursions planned during our visit to the states, and since summer is over here in Panama, swimsuit pickings are slim!

So, for the first time since leaving the states, I went online shopping! I stumbled upon the most adorable swimsuit on sale at the Gap, and a matching hat & flip flops at Old Navy! (And did you know that in the blessedness of online consumerism, the Gap and Old Navy now have a single shopping bag and checkout system- allowing you to shop at both stores and checkout & pay just once! Oh the joy! (Of course, I won't get to enjoy that convenience very often... I don't want you to get the wrong impression... we live very frugally down here in Latin America!)

Anyways, I'm just so excited about this purchase for my little girl... that I just had to share!

Little Updates

It's been a busy couple of weeks without Pastor Bert & Vero. Praise the Lord, He has given Eric such a gift of the language right now... and his teachings are going well and people are being blessed by the big, tall gringo!

After the crazy night of rain I posted about previously, it continued to rain, without stopping for 4 days!!! I've honestly never experienced anything like it. The sky was so dark, that we had to turn the lights on in the middle of the day! But it was a nice respite from the hot, blaring sun... and a cool breeze even picked up in the evenings and it was delightful.

Today the rains were gone, and the blaring, horrible sun was back out. I've been put on "air conditioner restriction" by my husband, who almost had a heart attack when he opened our last electricity bill! I didn't even think I was using it that much, but let's just say that our bill was about $150 more than Bert & Veronica's bill! YIKES! So, no more air conditioner for Lindsey until after we get back from America!

We have our travel dates... pretty set I think... June 27th - July 30th. I am so incredibly excited to be home for 4 1/2 weeks!! I can't wait to see you guys at CCSFS (thanks for your emails of encouragement, and for my skype buddies, it really blesses me!) and I also can't wait to see my dear friend Faith who is 6 months pregnant! Yay! It wasn't public knowledge until a few days ago... so I've kept it hush hush, but I am so thrilled. Eric, and I, and Faith and her husband are going to spend three nights camping at Bass Lake in July, and I can't wait! Bass Lake is one of my favorite places on Earth, and I am really looking forward to 3 nights without a baby (is that wrong?)

Well, I guess I've rambled enough for one evening. It's late, and I fear I am starting to not make sense! Good night!

The Rainy Season Has OFFICIALLY begun!

It's been raining less than usual here for May, which is technically the first month of the rainy season. The weather has gone from unbearably hot (about a month ago) to disgustingly humid! It has been raining every few days and we've seen a few tropical thunderstorms... but nothing major. Until last night.

We got in bed around 10, and had been sound asleep when we heard the real, true, undeniable sound of the Panamanian wet season. The noise wasn't quite describable... perhaps an analogy is appropriate. It was the sound of a million, gazillion angry elephants trampling the metal roof above our heads.

I'm not sure why, but my first reaction was to leap out of bed and plant my feet firmly on the ground- awake, aware, ready. The rain was pommeling the roof so loudly that I couldn't even hear Eric speak (and I am not exagerating here people, it's the truth).

I'm not afraid of rain, or thunder, or lightening. But the way the rain sounded on my roof, combined with the loud cracks of thunder and lightening shooting down in every direction, just completely freaked me out. My first instinct was to go to Anna's room. I didn't know why exactly, I just needed to. I went to her crib, and she was sound asleep. I tilted the glass blinds upwards so that the raindrops wouldn't come through the window, and then I went outside to comfort Dewey, who was whining at the front door.

I stood in the doorway for a few minutes, listening and watching neon bolts of lightening shoot down every 10 seconds. When I got back in bed, I couldn't believe what I was listening to. It sounded like we were sleeping in a metal hut out in the middle of the rainforest. It was a new experience for me... and I have a feeling, it's only just begun...

(Addendum- a man was struck and killed by lightening while crossing the street last week in downtown Chorrera... about 2 miles from my house)

We Have a Walker!!!

Anna took her first step about a month ago! And since then, each day she has become more steady and more brave. Now, at a week shy of 11 months, she can make it across the living room, but unfortunately I got a clip of only a few steps. But, better than nothing, so here it is!

catching up with us

Well, it's been awhile since I've posted. We've just been pretty busy down here! Pastor Bert and Vero are in the good ol' US of A right now... and we pray that they are having a truly blessed time with their family and friends! And... it'll be our turn very soon! YAY!!! Eric, Anna, and I will be making a trip home at the end of June.... for a whole month!!! I can't hardly wait. I miss all of you guys so so so much. I can't wait for my first Sunday morning back at CCSFS. Praise the Lord for home!

Please pray for Eric, as for the next 3 weeks, in Bert's absence, he will be teaching on Sunday mornings, Wednesday evenings, and Saturday afternoons in spanish!!!

MY NEW BLOG!!!

I started a new blog for my new hobby! It's called "While Anna Sleeps"

Check it out:

www.whileannasleeps.blogspot.com

Time for a Change!

I was SOOOOO sick of the old layout... so I got a new one! I can't decide if this is the one I want to keep... so it might just change again. Just keeping things fresh people!

cupcakes

Some guys from No Te Rindas are working at our house this week to build a wooden fence in the front yard. Now that we have a new dog, and a baby whose 2 or 3 steps here and there are bound to turn into real walking any day now, we need to have an enclosed yard. The guys worked so hard yesterday, that I decided I should make them a special treat. So this morning, Eric and I ran to the grocery store to buy a mix to make cupcakes.

So, I braved my crazy Panamanian oven once again, and made 2 dozen cupcakes (funfetti for those interested). I topped each one with vanilla frosting and took them out on a plate. I set the plate down on the planter, but the guys just stared at it. They know I don't speak much spanish, so they called for Eric. When Eric came out, they basically asked "What are those?" They handed him the plate and said he could take it back in the house!!!

Eric explained that they are called cupcakes. He picked one up and showed them that they needed to remove the paper and then take a bite. Each guy picked a cupcake off of the plate and began to eat it, and Eric brought the rest of the cupcakes back inside and told me what was going on. Just as we began to talk, we hear "MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM" coming from the guys outside. Too funny!

A minute later, one of the guys came to the door and asked if they could have the plate back! They proceded to eat one cupcake after another and make all kinds of "mmmm" noises. When I went out to get the lunch dishes, they all were saying "Muy, muy bien!" " Que Rico!" etc.

They have now experienced cupcakes.

Anna & Me

I feel so incredibly blessed to be the mommy of this wonderful little girl. Motherhood is harder, but more amazing, than I ever expected. Happy Mother's Day!!! (I love you mommy!)

today

Today is a weird, but neat kind of day. It began with a little extra sleep... as Saturdays are my sleep in day (Eric gets Mondays). Eric popped out of bed right at 7 to get up with Anna, and I was able to rest for another hour. Then, Eric took care of Anna while I did a quick sweep of the house, cleaned up Anna's breakfast mess, and scrubbed the shower. There wasn't nearly as much to clean this Saturday morning because Luci has been keeping things so tidy during the week! After lunch, Eric packed up and headed to Los Mortales with Bert & Veronica, just as the sky turned dark and it started to rain. This entire afternoon it has been dark, thundering, and pouring rain. So fun! Anna and I spent a few hours listening to Chris Tomlin and playing in the family room as the rain came down. Right now she cozy in her room napping, and I have been relaxing on the couch in front of my computer. It is so sweet to have quiet time with my baby girl... and to enjoy the sound of rain on my metal roof. I am cherishing these precious hours.

No Te Rindas- Rehabilitation Center

These guys are here to find freedom from addiction. They live on a large piece of property next to a river... and sometimes they go days without food. No Te Rindas, or "Don't Give Up", is a rehab center in Potrero Grande. Financing for this rehab is extremely limited, and these guys live very humbly. Pastor Aguirre ministers to them as often as he can... and now Bert and Eric go every Thursday to lead them in a Bible Study called "One Step to Freedom". Veronica has decided to make a large meal for them every week- and her food is a tremendous blessing to the people in the rehab. Please pray for these men who are here voluntarily to get help and grow with Jesus.

Kitchen/lounging area

The men of No Te Rindas- Pastor Aguirre & his wife are in the front

The bathroom

Sleeping area