Top 10 Things...

So as I am readying myself for the transition back to the US, I've been thinking through things that I need (slash want) to buy when I'm back in the States.  It's been awesome having Nat here visiting as she is helping me process through the transition and getting me excited to live with her.  (:

So here are the top 10 things I need (slash want) when I go back to the US:
(in no particular order)

1.  car
2.  professional clothes
3.  mattress
4.  nice camera
5.  plane ticket to visit the DR
6.  supplies for crafting (I've missed this dearly being here for 3 years!)
7.  apartment
8.  books
9.  gym membership
10.   cell phone

Karen's Baby Shower

First of all, I can't believe it's already mid-April.
Second of all, happy Semana Santa! :)
Third of all, less than one month until Giuliana Speciale arrives!!

Seriously, isn't she one of the most gorgeous people you've ever seen?

Gomez, Karen, and I anxious for the shower to start! :)

Super cute purple leopard skirt and top :)

Melted and smashed candy bar in a diaper.  classic.  :)

Praying for our dear friend and her family

(almost) all the attendees

Me and James, my buddy.  Can't you tell he's loving the attention?

Seriously, could I do a blog update without mentioning this cutie?

 You could say I'm a little excited to welcome Giuliana into this world.  Karen is one of my dearest friends here in the DR.  She has the ability to brighten up the room with her beautiful smile and her beautiful heart to love others deeply.  I love her sons, and I am excited to see her and her family adapt to having a daughter and a sister! :)
My favorite part of each baby shower is seeing the joy on the mama's face, being surrounded by close friends, being loved on by those they serve so often.  It was definitely the same at Karen's shower.  She looked amazing(!!) and the joy radiating from her was full of love and gratitude.
I felt immensely blessed to throw this baby shower for Karen and Giuliana!  


Thanks Rachel Sawyer for the photos! :)

Here's a video of highlights from Karen's baby shower!!

Schmorgasboard of an Update

My life has been busy lately: 

Hanging out with this cute little guy and his parents.

Dogsitting Booper.  She loved to visit school.  All the kids wanted to hold her.

Yes.  This is how dirty the water was in my washer.  Disgusting, eh?

It was in this moment that I thought, "I wish I lived in the US, where the water is always clear."

Beauty in the Intricacies

Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to go with my amazing friend Karen to her 3D sonogram appointment.  Never before had I ever done anything like that before, so I was so excited to "see" this baby girl that I've been praying for since the fall.

Well, this visit definitely surpassed my expectations, as I got to see, so clearly, this little baby that is being grown inside Karen.

Hearing her heartbeat, seeing her move, counting her 10 fingers and 10 toes, wow.  It was amazing.  All I could do was stand there and smile.

Smiling because I know that this baby girl is going to be welcomed with open arms into this amazing, loving family.

Smiling because baby girl is so healthy and beautiful already.  

Smiling because I love seeing Karen go through this stage of life and seeing her beam with pride at how beautiful her daughter is becoming.  

Smiling because this baby girl that has been covered with prayer is now so real to me.  

It brought to life the verse in Psalms where it talks about God being the creator, knitting together baby girl in the mother's womb.  Baby girl is being grown into a product of Dan and Karen.  She definitely has Karen's nose already.  :)  I see God's hand at work as he provides protection and nutrients for baby girl using Karen as her provider and shield.

I love seeing God at work, at work in baby girl--growing her healthy and beautiful, at work in Karen's heart--preparing to be a mother again, at work in my heart--giving me so much gratitude for God's goodness and faithful design.

I can't wait to meet baby girl for real and get to hold this precious little one that has been loved so deeply and has been prayed for so earnestly.

Motocross

El Americano (photo by Anna Lanier)

Yesterday I had the awesome opportunity to go see a motocross competition near where I live.  A group of American girls from Doulos, their Dominican guy friends, and Melisa and I went to Corocito to watch this competition.  I was blown away by the sheer magnitude of the competition.  I never would have imagined that this amazing motocross track would be in the middle of nowhere, up a gravel/dirt road up the mountains.
It was so fun!  I cannot express the joy that I had and I definitely got swept up in the excitement.
It was SO hot and we were all putting on the sunscreen like it was our job.  Then we walked around, got some hot dogs on a stick and soda, and met some of the racers.  There was a super cute American guy who came down for the race.  After I found out he was from Jersey, I had this conversation in my mind:

Me:  "Oh!  You're from Jersey?  I am moving to Maryland this summer!"
Cute Motocrosser:  "Really?  You should come watch me sometime!  I love to have fans."
Me:  "Oh, well I don't really have a way to get there, I don't have a car right now."
CM:  "No worries, I'll just pick you up on my dirt bike and we'll ride off in the sunset together."

We can hope can't we?

photo by Anna Lanier

El Americano (photo by Anna Lanier)

Well, after the heat, it started POURING down rain.  Like imagine being in a shower.  Now we wished we had brought an umbrella, not only for the sun but also for the rain!  We waited there, huddling under umbrellas, for about 30 minutes, then we just decided to walk back to where we had left our motorcycles and saw that they were sunk in about half a foot of dirt.  Yuck.  The boys got the motos out and finally it stopped raining.  As soon as we started back home, one of the motos got a flat tire, so we had to wait for awhile.  We were all FREEZING and soaked, but after we made it home, safe and showered, I look back with nothing but happiness at this awesome adventure that we had.  :)

Don't we look wet and disheveled? 

The New Normal...

Well, this was my second official week of teaching 5th grade.  It is so much harder than I imagined it would be.  I'm realizing how teaching styles are so different and how different people can set the environment in their classrooms.  Although the kids seem so undisciplined and regressed, I see growth in their academics and in their personalities.  It has been frustrating jumping in and trying to understand what Laura has done for the past 3 quarters while not changing too much from their daily/weekly routines.  To top it all off, I'm getting a new student on Monday.  I decided that he's just going to have to figure things out and I am not going to spend a ton of time trying to catch him up, when honestly I don't know what to catch him up on.

Honestly, I have been so angry, bitter, and impatient towards anyone and everything JCS lately.  I feel so ready to move on and ready to start something new and exciting.  I feel not helped in my new adjustment, everyone just tells me that it'll get better soon.  I miss my 3rd graders.  It's hard going in there and teaching them and disciplining them when I don't feel like it is my classroom anymore.  Although Jess has been amazingly patient with my new teaching situation, I still feel awkward sometimes just stepping into someone else's classroom and teaching/disciplining.


It's hard to take a step backwards and realize that my problems and frustrations will be insignificant in a few months.  I'll be desiring to be back in the DR, with my students, my friends, my new adopted country.

Thankfully God is faithful and I know this "low" will be gone in a few days.  I just pray for encouragement and direction and a job in the States soon...

Field Trip #2

Field trip #2 this week went much smoother.  Thankfully the party-pooper of the field trip wasn't in my class, so I got to relax and just enjoy time.
Our first stop was to the monument in Santiago and didn't get to go inside or go up in the monument.  So we just killed some time, walking around looking at the statues surrounding the museum and taking lots of pictures and enjoying life.

Then we went to the Centro Leon cultural center again.  We went to a Visual Art section (not the modern art section...) and low and behold there wasn't paintings of nudity, there were full blown photographs of women from the top up naked and men from the top up naked.  Now, obviously the men aren't a big deal, but jeesh.  They're 10, 11, 12 years old.  Seriously.  Don't stop and make them sit down and analyze the pictures with nudity.  Idiotas.
Anyhoo, then we got to go to the highlight of the field trip:  McDonalds.  Everything went so smooth this time, thanks to our once-again-amazing field trip coordinator, Dilania, and our secretary, Yesenia, who called in the order early.  So I got to gorge myself twice this week on McDonalds and man, I can't complain.  :)  Although, I did get in a fight with one of the Spanish teachers.  Guess who won, even speaking Spanish...

I'm so excited, sidenote, because my friend Janessa and her husband are coming to the DR this weekend!!!!!!!! :) :) :)