School

After many months of going back and forth, prayer, consideration, and reaching deep down, the decision has made that starting February 22nd, three of our children, Parker, Ally, and Jaxson will be going to a private, Christian missionary school her in Peru. There are 25-30 kids in the entire school, and the average class size is 2-4 kids and I know most of the mothers and children that attend there. It is a wonderful place and my kids have many friends from this school. Our children will be enrolled there until June. In August, we will arrive in America and at that time I will homeschool them through December with the curriculum that the school gives me to carry to America. Next January, we will once again reevaluate where we are at in life, how we are doing, and decide what is best for our children and family at "that" time. With this sojourner life that we live, we have decided that we cannot have "absolutes" except for the Word of God. So for this moment of our lives, they will be in school and who knows what the rest of their schooling years will look like, except for God.

Parker will be in 4th Grade, Ally 2nd and Jaxson 1st.

I will not be online for awhile. If you need to get in touch with me, call me at 321-766-4043. Blessings, Jess

Trying to be a good steward

Yesterday we decided to buy a pool for the kids. We loaded everyone up, drove for what seemed like an eternity with our Peruvian friend, Rosita and her son Berto, to an obscure market. We were the only gringos within 20 miles of the place and everyone was staring at me constantly. My friend, Rosita, was shocked at the gawkers. She thought that soon they would start asking for my autograph. LOL! I digress. Anyway, when we went to bargain for a pool, Rosita and John made me move to a place where I was not visible. Why? Because as soon as the Peruvians see me, the price is double. They think "gringo = lots of money."

After about a miles worth of walking, searching and bargaining in the heat, we bought a pool for 120 soles (about $38-40). We thought this was a good deal. We left the house at 2:40 and got home and 6:30 p.m. In total, yesterday, we spent 4 hours getting this pool and trying to be a good steward of our money. The supermarkets and stores that are comparable to Wal-Mart generally charge double for things like this. Even our Peruvian friends thought we got a good deal.

Well, we got home and the pool was missing 3 caps and we couldn't even set it up. So today, right after church, John heads back to this far-away area (called Dos de Mayo) to return the pool. He spends another 3 hours (including setting up) doing this. Then, he heads out to do ministry and stops at the local hardware store here (think Home Depot). While he is there, he decides to compare the price of the pool. Big mistake! It costs 106soles and we paid 120 and spent 7 hours of our life that we will never get back trying to be good stewards of the little bit of money that we are blessed with. Not only did we not save one single penny with ALL of that effort, but we OVERPAID!!!! UGH!! The market is suppose to cost MUCH less than the stores. And today, John bought an air pump to blow up the pool, only to find out that he was overcharged on that as well.

Peruvians wonder why I don't like to shop at the mercados (markets) here. And now you know why. Because for me, it just costs much more than if I went to the regular store that is already over priced anyways. For them, it is worth the effort, but not for the blonde-headed, blue-eyed gringo.

So this afternoon, when the kids wake up, they are going to swim in their overpriced swimming pool and I am going to pray for the person who gypped us and hope that the extra money that is in their pocket is a blessing to them and helps them out somehow.

And I'm NEVER going back to the mercado!

P.S. My spell checker doesn't work on blogger. Not sure why.

I'm NOT sick....I'm.........

This might bore you to tears, but I am going to start a little series about each one of my kids and their uniqueness. It's time that I caught you all up to speed on each one of these cuties. I will start that tonight or tomorrow so be on the lookout. I am going to start with Jaxson first. ;)

Okay, so I figured out 2 things that are wrong with me. Brace yourself because you might be shocked. I'm NOT sick!!! I am NOT sick at ALL!!!

I AM...........







HOT!!!!!!!!


I AM HOT!!!!!! I AM HOT!!!!!! And do you know what happens when I am hot and have no air conditioner? I get tired and irritable! Yep, I am hot. That's it. That is my problem. It is summer here and the sun is scorching down and the house stays about 80-85 degrees or higher inside (yes, I know it could be worse), but without air and sometimes no wind coming in or good circulation in the house, I'm sweating and sticky, then I get tired and then I'm irritable. Did I mention the 100% humidity and terrible air pollution? And last year before I got pregnant, summer had kicked in and that is why I felt the EXACT same way. I felt fine before we left for America (because it wasn't too bad yet) and fine IN AMerica (because it was FREEZING). And now I am here and I am just hot.

And the 2nd thing is disobedience. I have noticed that when my kids don't obey me the first time and I have to ask for things to be done 2 and 3 times, it makes me grumpy, too. So I can't control the heat, but I can control whether or not my kids comply and obey me. So instead of getting frustrated or irritated with them, I'm going to get down on their level, ask them to do it and there will be a conflict of some sort if it doesn't get done. I will not be hot and grumpy with them. I will just put the expectation clearly on the table and deal with if it is not obeyed.

How hard was that? I know that many of you have been praying for me and have sent encouraging e-mails and suggestions. Thank you so much, I feel that your prayers have helped me to see where I need to regroup.

Also, I did want to mention that the exercise and nutritional program that we are doing (which is intense and demanding) is not a heavy load to me. I know it would be for some people, but it is one of the few things here in Peru that truly makes me feel NORMAL and brings me an immense amount of personal satisfaction!!! :) Without the running and exercise, I just wouldn't be me. And speaking of that, I also realized that exercising has been difficult as well because of....you guessed it....the heat!!!

blah, blah, blah

We have been home a week now. WOW! That was fast. All I have to say is that I am unusually EXHAUSTED and irritable. I am working very, very hard to keep the grumpiness in check. I seriously have NO idea why I feel so poorly. I am eating unusually healthy (no sugar, caffeine, only fresh foods), am sleeping 8-9 hours a night AND am taking a deep, long nap each day. I am exercising as well. So why I would not feel INCREDIBLE at this point, is beyond me. I haven't been to the doctor (besides baby stuff) in over a year. I am wondering if my thyroid is off or something. But when I think about it, this is EXACTLY how I felt BEFORE I got pregnant. I don't know what is up. Maybe I'm just still recovering from the marathon.

Ally has been sick with 102 fever the past 3 days. I think I brought my cold home to her. Today we had a family beach day planned, but I am staying home with her and the baby since she can't go. John took the other three kids.

John's first day of ministry on Sunday went very well. Oasis had their first ever "baby dedication" and the people of the church planned this event ALL on their own. John simply showed up and said a few words. He said he was pleased with the progress. On Wednesday, he did a lot of visitations, but it was cut short by a migraine. He had to come home and quickly get a shot that nurse Jessica gave him in the behind. He went to bed for 3 hours and woke up feeling fine.

We are on day 5 of our P90X workouts. John is definitely hanging in there. He has been giving me lots of compliments about my physical strength. Awwwww....I love him. Last night we did yoga and I think he was expecting it to be a piece of cake. I have NEVER heard him grunt and groan so much. He made it about an hour, but just watched the last 20 minutes. I was struggling, too! We have enjoyed connecting through exercise each night as the kids are sleeping. It is MUCH better than watching television.

Please pray for little Ally to feel better soon and that Miles doesn't get sick as well.

Tomorrow I will be joining the running club at 6 a.m. to do an extremely hard Hills run of 15K. Call me weird, but I am looking forward to it. Well, I am looking forward to the running, but not the speaking in Spanish WHILE running.

Also, God has given me two good friends here, who believe in Jesus, but have no personal relationship with Him at all. They are extremely lost and I am praying to continually be a light and point them to Him. Please lift up these two people (God knows their name) to our Heavenly Father.

struggling

I am REALLY struggling with getting back into the groove. Being away from the kids was hard, but now that I am with them again, I feel very overwhelmed with 5 children after only having a baby for 2 weeks. The bags are now unpacked and things are in order. Rest has finally found us. However, I still feel out of sorts and abnormally irritable. Not sure if it is from change of diet, running a marathon last week, not exercising for a week when my body is use to it, or traveling in 3 different time zones or ALL of the above. Who knows? I am just hoping to get back to my normal happy, non-stressed self any day now.

The kids are happy to be home. All of us are struggling with bad Spanish. But we ARE enjoying all of our new toys from the U.S.

Ministry went well for John yesterday. There was a great turnout at church. He is now up to his ears in work that he needs to catch up on quickly. He always does VERY well under pressure. I want to be like him when I grow up.

We are pressing play on P90X in a few hours. I have done the diet ALL day. John is not liking it so much. It's fine for me. ;)

prayer requests

Please pray for the following:

The fleas have already started. I was in the car for 5 minutes, the first night we arrived home and I have 5 bites now.

I am in a deep, spiritual slump. Please pray for revival. I thought going to America would help that part, but honestly, it didn't.

John starts seminary class again on Monday.

John starts work again tomorrow (ministry in Oasis). He hopes the church isn't dead.

We start P90X together on Monday. This is an intense 12 week workout program, with diet, that will take a lot out of us. We will be doing it at nights together when the kids are sleeping.

For the kids' bodies to adjust back to Peruvian time (not California time). There is a 3 hour time difference. They are still sleeping until 9 a.m. and staying up later.

For all that we need to get done, to get done with happy, joyful (not stressed, anxious or angry) hearts. I am getting no where really fast.

Homeschooling to resume on Tuesday. :)

the unmade to do list

We are home. It is hot. Lots of bags to unpack (12 suitcased. 4 carry-ons and two book bags).

The to do list seems gigantic, but I keep telling myself it doesn't need to all be done in one day. So...I didn't even make the list. I am setting small goals. Like today, my goal was to go grocery shopping and unpack a few bags. I did that and still the day was very full. I am totally going to love my slow, Peruvian life as opposed to the fast pace American rat race.

Tomorrow we go back to our church. They have already called or come by to greet us. How sweet!

I COULD blog about 15,000 different things, but I really can't think of where to start. So instead, I'll just say goodnight.

Marathon Stats

Disney Marathon Stats:16,883 people finished today. Average finishing time: 5 hrs and 12 min. The slowest time: 7:49:18. Fastest time: 2:22:08. My overall place: 5,655 out of 16,883. There were 8,152 women runners, and I placed 1,904 for women. My age division (30-34), for females, had 1,287 and I placed 348. My half m...arathon time was 2:22:36. I ran the 2nd half in 2:18:29 for negative splits. I finished:4:41:05

I will write a detailed blog later!

Marathon

I am running the marathon on Sunday, January 10th. If you want to track my progress during the race (to see how I am doing), use this link http://live.activeresult.com/msg/MSG-signup.tcl?event_id=3

It will send you e-mail or text updates when I cross certain points of the 26.2 most magical miles I will ever run! LOL!!!