RIP Uncle Bob

Robert E. Newberry: June 26, 1954 - March 30, 2010

R.I.P.

life, death, blog posts, perpetual sickness and a great family

So much to blog, so little time to do it.

My heart is aching for my aunts and uncles. They are all so sad and crying uncontrollably. My uncle was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer 4-6 weeks ago and he has battled Hepatitis (from a blood transfusion) for at least ten or more years. Anyway, he lives in CA and went to the San Francisco area to have some more tests done or to try a treatment or something of that sort. He was staying at a hotel and going back and forth from the hospital to the hotel to have the stuff done. He was with 2 of his boys (my age) at the hotel and they went downstairs and he called them and told them to call 911. They came up, they called 911 and he passed away at the hospital. That is about all of the details that I have. So I'm not really sure what happened. It's so sad and sudden and tragic. I do praise God, though, that he didn't have many months in a hospital bed ailing and dying from Cancer. He was able to be out and about and active until his final moments. But my heart aches for my cousins because they loved their dad so much and had a great relationship with him. He had 3 boys, Bobby, David and Christopher and he leaves behind 7 grandkids (I think). I know he has at least 5 or 6. Anyway, life is so short and ends abruptly. I want to make the most of EVERY moment of EVERY day because I could be one 911 call away from death.

Oh yeh, my mom can't fly out to California for the funeral because 1., she doesn't have the money and 2., she has no valid identification. UGH! Don't ask! How crazy is that?

Yesterday, my sister in law FINALLY had her DNC. Her baby died at 8 weeks gestation and she carried it until she would've been 16 weeks pregnant and found out about the loss when she was 11 weeks along. So she waited for 6 weeks to have a natural miscarriage (8 in total) and it just didn't happen. Bless her heart! What an ordeal she has been through. It makes me sad that my brother has to mourn the loss of his baby and the death of my uncle on the same day while we were over here celebrating John's life. Strange how that happens. That is why I posted the Ecclesiastes verse. There is a time for everything and sometimes those "times" might be at the same time.

In other news, now Avery is sick - 104 temp with vommiting. I think she got it from our new friends (that is a post I can't wait to write about). :) Since the day before Thanksgiving, at least one person in our family has been sick EACH week. I don't think there has been a week yet that everyone has been healthy since that day. I am hoping once winter starts and we can shut the windows that our good health will return.

There is so much more I could write and I always think of these witty, interesting posts, but when I sit down to type I am usually so tired that I just want to get something on the blog and get it to you. So maybe one day I'll get to the posts that I actually want to write.

The kids are out of school until next Monday. Today was a 3.5 hour day so I kept them home with me. I LOVE having them home. It was a tremendously AWESOME day. I am looking forward to the next 4. John is slowing down and will be with us as well. We love being together as a family.

March 30

March 30, 1973, my best-friend, partner in life, co-worker in ministry and the father of my children was born. What a blessed day!

March 30, 2010 my Uncle Bob, the oldest sibling (late 50's) of my mother's 7 brothers and sisters passed away from pancreatic cancer. What a sad day!

Ecclesiastes 3 (NIV)

1There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
2a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Baby's First Trip to the Pool

Last Friday we traveled 3 hours away for the kid's field day. It was a super long drive (and NO I will never do it again) , but worth it because Baby Miles got to go swimming for the first time. He loved it. These are the most unflattering pictures of me EVER, but just focus on him and not me....PLEASE! :)

All ready for the BIG swim!

He just got in with me and was checking it out. The little girl is Maya from Jaxson's class.

Those cheeks!




OH MY WORD! Is HE not ADORABLE? This is my favorite face EVER!

I Love swimming AND my Mommy!

A gift?

I would like a new header on my blog since this one is about 3 years old. Does anyone know how to do one where I can put pictures in it like the one I have? Would anyone be willing to do it for me as a gift? The layout I have now was a gift from a friend as well and has served it's purpose for a long time. Let me know if you are able and or have time.

Feeling Better

I have officially had this cold for 9 days, but am rapidly improving. I think it is trying to leave. My lungs are fine, just the intense sinus pressure is hanging on, but it is totally bearable :) The baby is still coughing and has laryngitis now, but overall he is doing great. He is feeling better, sleeping less and overall content. So I think the cold is almost leaving his body as well. I am about 5 days behind him, so just in time for Easter I should be in tip top shape.

I FORCED myself to run yesterday b/c I hadn't been exercising and when I don't exercise I am just BLAH and YUK! I decided to just put my shoes on and have NO goals - just to run or walk and enjoy it. When I left the house, I told John that I could be back in 30 minutes or 1 hour or 2 hours or 3 hours. Well, I ran, and ran and ran and ran and ran. It felt SOOOOO good. Most people enjoy going out to eat and shopping for some time of refreshment. Me...I love to run! I didn't even allow myself to think during my time alone. I just turned the music on and ran while smiling at the fellow runners. It was heaven on earth. I finished up and I looked at my watch and it said I did 10 miles at 9:20 a mile. I was very pleased. Not bad for someone who had no goals, no expectations, and has been sick. It was just a perfect run that was exactly WHAT I needed. And it was a lot cheaper than a spending spree or eating frenzy! :)

I will post pictures later today so check back!

A BIG cold for a BIG baby!

If you need something to pray for, please pray for me as I caught the baby's cold last Friday and it is quite a doozy. It started with my throat feeling like it was about to close shut, to laringytis, to an intense sinus headache that wrapped from my forehead to around my neck, and finally it is settling in my lungs. I hope this means it is almost gone. I've got the creepy "goo" in my eyes that prevents you from opening your eyes in the morning. Lovely! I was dreaming that I put on too much mascara and couldn't open my eyes and when I tried to open my eyes in the middle of the dream, I woke up to find they were closed shut with mucus. Do you remember that from when you were a kid? Fun times! Anyway, I could use your prayers that this will leave my body quickly. The baby is still coughing a lot, but overall he is feeling a lot better.

Political rant....

"The decision by President Obama and the Democrat-led Congress to ignore the voters and ram their government takeover of healthcare down the throats of the American people will come at a steep political cost in November," National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Pete Sessions said in a written statement.


I could NOT have said it better myself.

What can you get done in 11 hours? Probably much more than me!

I got my hair highlighted and cut today. She arrived at my house at 9:55 a.m. and left at 5 p.m. She also cut and highlighted a fellow missionary's hair. Should it really take 7 hours to do 2 people's hair? NO! But yes, if you live in Peru. Just another example of how life is REEEEAAAAALLLLLLYYYYYYYYY SLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW here and nothing gets done in a timely manner. If you get one thing marked off of your to do list, then you have had a highly successful day.

So if you tally up the hours, I bought birthday party supplies and got my hair done in an 11 hour time span. Can you imagine wasting 11 hours on such trivial stuff in America? I couldn't have 3 years ago, either. But now I don't have a choice. :)

Well, my dear Ally's party was a success. Everyone who was invited showed up and we had a lovely morning. 4 of the mothers stayed for the 3 hour event. We chatted, played bingo, opened presents, cake and just enjoyed ourselves. All was well! After everyone left I layed down for a much needed nap. I woke up and felt very empty inside. I began to cry! I realized that the reason I had been avoiding a BIG party for several years is because no matter how many "people" show up, it is not the same without the friends that you have history with. And what about the grandparents and aunts that were there the day your child was born? What is a party without them? No one at the party is truly invested in Ally or loves her like long-term friends and family can and do. I know it sounds petty, but it just broke my heart and left me aching for the familiarity of birthday's past. The day was sweet, but I must say that it was just empty. I was just there experiencing it, but not truly LIVING it! Anyway, I cried for about 30 minutes and then I got over it and realized this is just another piece of my old life that I am grieving. And at times, probably when I least expect it like Saturday, the grief will rear its ugly head and I'll have to deal with it. But I would be ungrateful if I didn't say that I am extremely blessed with many new friends here that desire to establish deep, lasting friendships like the friends back home did. So once again, I press on and try not to look back too often. :)

Equipping for E-Ministry Blog Tour

A friend from my church back home asked me to post this link on my blog. She has a website on how to evangelize and have a ministry online. She is having an open house/tour on her blog. Click here if you are interested.

More culture babblings

So the entire reason I wrote the post about being Peruvian is because the other day I sat down to eat a chicken breast and, to cut it, I pulled out a butter knife instead of a steak knife. Now, here in Peru, you will be hard pressed to go to a restaurant and find a steak knife, even for the toughest of meats. They will ALWAYS give you a butter knife to cut your meat. So that thought process got me thinking of how much I've changed, especially since I sat down to cut my meat with a butter knife when there is a perfectly good knife in the drawer. But wouldn't you know it, I wrote the entire post and I forgot to include the defining moment:

I am officially Peruvian because I cut my meat with a butter knife!

And now I am Peruvian because instead of shopping at one store to by all of my stuff, John and I go from Mercado to Mercado, store to store wheeling and dealing to get the best prices. We spent all morning buying party supplies and boy was it difficult. It is nothing like walking into Wal-mart or Target, grabbing your stuff and going. You have to search for what you want by asking the woman behind the counter because you aren't allowed to touch anything, haggle prices, shop and compare, wait for them to confirm if they actually have the item or not, etc... And it's super hot, there are a lot of people and lots of words that we don't know the names for. I was SOOOO missing Wal-mart and Dollar Tree this morning. So what I could've done in 1 hour or less in Wal-Mart took us about 4 hours here. But the good news is that my Empleada is here to help me clean, cut veggies and fruits and get ready for the party. So even though so much time was wasted this morning, think of what I am saving with her valuable help! She is even going to come tomorrow, on her normal day off, to help before, during and after the fiesta. Normally a grandma, aunt or friend would help in this area, but since we are overseas, it's just Maria to the rescue and since I'm paying her, I don't need to feel guilty one bit.

The baby is now done nursing, so I am off to prepare for the FIESTA!!!

Tomorrow is Ally's 8th birthday party and we are expecting about 14 little girls. Can you believe we even know that many people now? God is so good. So today and tonight will be spent preparing for the fiesta. I am kind of nervous because it is the first true party I have hosted in over 2 years and my first real one in Peru. I'm just not sure what to expect with a bunch of quiet little girls. At least if there are crazy boys running around things never get dull! My boys will at least be here so maybe they can add some spice to it. Of course, with Jaxson there is never a dull moment.

Miles has been really sick for about 6 days with his first full blown cold. His nose is running green, as well as his eyes, and he is coughing with a ton of congestion. Needless to say, this has made him demanding and irritable. We feel so bad for him. I don't have plans to take him to the doctor unless he spikes a fever and then I will be concerned about his lungs b/c they don't sound very pretty. But right now, he doesn't have a fever.

The mission team left and although things went "okay" it wasn't as successful in reaching the area as John had hoped. The team was wonderful, but they were working in an area where John doesn't have many relationships and we are virtually uknown there, so people become hesitant to participate, because they don't know who we are.

Parker spent 2 days this week vomitting and missed his first day of school. I felt so bad for him, but I did enjoy having him home with me. No one else has come down with it yet, but Avery has complained of a tummy ache.

John is finishing up his seminary class for this semester. He will have officially completed 20 hours of seminary in about 3.5 years. At this point, He will have a Master's in Divinity in about 7 more years. I keep telling him that "slow and steady wins the race."

And me...I'm okay! :) Nothing stellar to report and nothing negative either (PRAISE GOD!)

Gotta go prepare for the fiesta.

I'm Peruvian NOW!!!

If you live somewhere long enough, eventually you are going to assimilate (SAT word) into the culture whether you like it or not. Well, I have assimilated in many areas after living overseas for almost 3 years.

Here are just a few ways that I have become Peruvian/Latin:

I drink, and prefer, my "water" (not soda though) without ice and at room temperature.

BEEP BEEP! My horn has become as important as the brake pedal! I probably average 10-15 honks per car ride.

I don't leave messages on voice mails anymore. Why be the only person who does it?

I wear Jeans when it is hot outside.

My baby doesn't go anywhere without a blanket so that he can have is body and head covered even if it is 85 degrees outside.

I eat rice at least twice a day (when I'm not trying to lose weight).

I stay up really late and sleep in (when the kids weren't and aren't in school).

Instead of eating at 7, 12, and 5 p.m., my eating schedule has become 9 p.m., 2 and 7 p.m. or later.

If I drink coffee, I prefer it with hot milk and definitely not a powdered cream.

We have at least 2 bags of fresh bread in our home at all times.

Our family eats at Menus (the cheapest place you can eat which averages $2-$3 a plate for an appetizer, meal, drink and desert) at least once a week instead of a franchised restaurant.

Instead of shaking hands, I greet everyone with a kiss on the cheek and a light hug.

And I greet EVERYONE in the room this way.

I don't wear much makeup anymore. Maybe this is laziness instead of cultural assimilation! :)

90% of all of our meals are prepared from scratch and we don't each too much processed foods.

And....we have an empleada that cleans our house 2 times a week. She does the laundry too. Okay, now I'm just bragging. :)

My life is rather laid back, very flexible and subject to change at a moments notice (typical Peruvian).

I have become more "non" commital.

I use to be a "confrontational" persona and didn't hesitate to say "no." Now I find myself saying yes even when I don't want to and I avoid confrontation at all costs.

I dream in Spanish and am constantly translating songs into Spanish in my mind.

Our house has gas stoves, gas dryers and a gas heater.

We have no air conditioning and the windows are open most of the time.

All the doors are locked and unlocked from the inside with a key.

What's a dishwasher?

I don't have to pump gas anymore because it's all full service.

WOW!! Boy have I changed and my life, too! And that's not EVEN touching on the spiritual realm. I could do a post about that later if you are interested.

Prayer for Chile

We know 2 families, from language school, that are serving in Santiago, Chile. They are the Dwyer family and Admundson family. Please pray for them as they minister mightily in the devastated areas of Chile.

Also, our mission has many missionaries serving there as well. Here is a recent update from one such family. This will help you know how to better pray. Isn't it neat how technology puts us in contact with missionaries that we wouldn't have had 25 years ago. Amazing! And now we can pray mightily and specifically.

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust." Psalm 91:1-2 (NKJV)

"Please continue to lift up the situation in Chile. Pray for peace for the people who are living in Chile who continue to have aftershocks. Please read below the update given to us by Karen and Charles Clark (CSL-European South Latin Cluster).

"First of all, thank you for all your prayers, emails, phone calls and donations. We certainly feel your "partnership," love and concern for us during these days! I want to refer you to this link http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?StoryID=8475&LanguageID=1709 for some news from the front lines. Charles continues to be in the south working with volunteers in the most affected areas. We have two projects underway in addition to meeting emergency needs of food, water, and hygiene items. One project is for mass food preparation and distribution in several towns/municipalities. Thousands of meals a day will be prepared and distributed. Our US volunteers are working hand in hand with Chilean nationals to get this job done. Also, there is a project for building temporary shelters for families whose homes were severely damaged or collapsed completely. These two projects are being funded directly by Baptist Global Response, an arm of the International Mission Board. In addition to the BGR teams of volunteers, we are expecting many others to come and help. The idea is for churches in the US to adopt a city and come and help, working with Chileans and local Baptist churches. There is an incredible opportunity not only to serve in a tangible way, but to share the hope that we have in Christ."

As you can see from the update, volunteers from the states are needed in prayer AND on the front lines AND for financial support! How can you help?

Introducing.....

Emmy Pearl Robinson born March 14, 2010 at 2:44 pm weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce, 20 inches long. Kitty and baby are doing great!!!!

A GREAT day for a BABY!

Sundays are excellent days to have a baby! Please pray for Kitty as she is in labor with baby #7 this morning. She sounded great when I spoke with her around 6:45 .m. And please be praying for the other 6 at home. Everyone is SUPER EXCITED!!! We keep singing around the house this a.m. "Mrs. Robinsons having a baby. Mrs. Robinsons having a baby." Join us in prayer and excitement for this Godly, sweet family.

A blog challenge and prayer request

I was looking for some clip art of some sweet praying hands when I came across this guy! I thought it would be a fun challenge to ask my blogging friends to write a blog that they could use with this clip art. I will link your blog post back to this picture on my post. Let me know once you have written it. Go for it girls (or guys)!!

Without the sweet praying hands, I ask you to please be praying for the mission team and the work they are trying to do in Santa Rosa/Gosen. Pray it is in done in the power of the Holy Spirit. Pray that God's Spirit would draw the people (not a great turn out today) and that He would use the team mightily while they are here. Our entire Phamily is going out tomorrow. Please pray for us as well.

What are the Pham's doing on this lovely Saturday?

While John and Parker are out with the mission team, the other kids and I....well....

see for yourself!

You know you're a missionary when.....

a mission team brings you a bag of American candies and your kids ask what Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are. They had never heard of or even tried them. Can you imagine? I could hardly believe it, so I shared a little with each kid and their taste buds were freaking out with excitement. Can you blame them? It's the small things in life that bring such joy.

Also, the same team brought Kit-Kats (nope, they haven't had those yet either, but I will definitely share). And, they brought the kids some Peeps. She said we couldn't have Easter without Peeps. God is so kind. Just earlier this week I was thinking about how cool it would be to have some Peeps for the kids. They DEFINITELY know what those are. Now, if I could just get my Cadbury Egg cravings satisfied..... :)

And yes, I know that candy has absolutely NOTHING to do with Easter!

So in love......

After a LOOOOONG DAY!!
Posing for mommy in this special blanket that fellow Missionary June Tate hand made for him.

I LOVE HIM! I LOVE HIM! I LOVE HIM! I seriously just sit around kissing him all day long.

He took the blanket and pulled it around his face like this. I also want you to see this outfit. Kitty and I have been passing it back and forth for at least 10 years now. It's just a little Gap Jean jumper than is unisex. We started doing this with either Gunner or Kelsi and all of our kids wear it and then we pass it back for the next kid to wear it. It is so special and sentimental. So far, at least 10 kids have worn this.

I am just smiley and happy like this ALL DAY EVERY DAY! Especially when I am being held.

Phillipians 4:8

Hop on over to Stef's blog because she is a giving away a book about this challenging verse:

Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

To me, this means that we constantly need to take our thoughts captive and replace the negative voices, images in our mind, grumbling, doubtfulness, etc... with the truth of God's word which is constantly right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praise-worthy. Of course, MUCH easier said than done. This verse also, to me, means that we need to be EXTREMELY careful what we let into our hearts and minds. What am I listening to? What am I watching? How am I speaking? Who am I hanging out with? Because if we are letting a bunch of garbage in, then guess what's going to come out - GARBAGE? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks! So the starting point is the mind...what you think, what you dwell on and what you allow in. I love that Phillipians is so specific as to what our minds need to focus on daily.

Check out Stef's place to enter to win a copy of this book - just make sure you send it to me after you read it IF you win!!! )

Happy Birthday

Happy 8th Birthday to our sweet Allyson (Ally) Paige Pham.

We celebrated with our tradition of going to Dunkin Donuts for breakfast. I made a homemade Carrot Cake for the entire elementary school (haha) as well as Lasagna since that is one of ALly's favorite dishes. And this evening I told Ally we could do ANYTHING she wanted and she chose to play bingo for candy. Sweet tooth much? Her birthday party will be March 20th, girls only, and will be butterfly themed.

I want to do a picture montage, but John is studying for seminary right now and he is on the computer with the pictures, so they will have to wait.

But here are a few things that make our princess unique:

Gentle Spirit

Kind Hearted

Patient

Loving

Friendly

Adores Jesus

Gracious

Hospitable

Forgiving

Sensitive

Super Sweet

Quiet

Servant

Polite

A JOY to be around

Godly

I know that I am Ally's mom, so of course I am going to write great things about her. But if you asked me to write a list of negative things about her, I would be hard pressed to get past number one. She is not perfect by any means, but she is a gem and I can't praise God enough for giving us such a special little girl.

"Wimpy theology makes wimpy women." John Piper
********************
If you get a chance, please check out today's message at http://www.reviveourhearts.com/ WOW! Powerful stuff!!

Our first mission team of the year will arrive on Friday. They are a group of college students from William and Carey College in Mississippi - not to be confused with William and Mary in Virginia. :)

They are helping us start a new work in an area called Santa Rosa/Gosen. We are hoping to impact the community while they are here and then be able to have a small Bible Study to be able to have the beginnings of a church. Will you join us in praying? The work begin on Saturday. Please pray for our family against Spiritual Warfare as it always comes on strong during times like these. Please pray for the missionaries who are coming here to help as well as the community. We are praying for strongholds to be lifted, chains to be broken and hearts to be given!

On the homefront:
I tried to make Gallo Pinto today. It's beans and rice from Costa Rica and if you ask me, I will tell you I make great Gallo Pinto. Well, today I learned that NOT all peppers are created equal. No sooner than finishing the entire dish, I took a bite to savor my creation, only to discover that the creation was made with the hottest hot peppers that a person can grow. I was wondering why these were smaller than normal green peppers and had black seeds in them. And now I know!And now we will be eating Peanut Butter and Jelly for supper. Oh well, I'm sure that has happened to Bobby Flay a time or two. Right?

Pictures Pictures Are so Fun....Pictures Pictures Why Upload Just One?

What's the point in taking all of these pictures if I don't share them? Besides, posting pictures is easier than thinking of something clever or interesting to say. Avery took this. She is practicing her photography skills.
All of the kids from the ENTIRE Fetzer Academy at swimming lessons. Most classes in America have this many kids in just one class. All the kids are stretching before lessons. These lessons are a part of their P.E. for the month of March.

Ally working on her freestyle stroke.
Jaxson trying to perfect his kicks with the swim tablet.
Parker is a great swimmer, but he's not really into form.

Look how long and tall this guy is!!!

She is 4 and he is 5 months. He will catch up to her one day. You can see his length really well next to her.

This is what we do while the kiddos are in school!!!

Jaxson still loves to freestyle dance. Now he dresses up like this before he puts on a show. He refuses to take any kind of dance lesson and says he can teach himself.

Jaxson 6, Ally 7, Parker 9, getting ready for the first day at Fetzer Academy - all smiles, but kind of nervous, too!

My sweet girl let me fix her hair and snap some quick photos of her.


The first "I've found me toe picture." I love when they find their feet. I call this picture PEAS and TOES!!!
More Peas PLEASE!!

Sunny Smiles

The sun is shining over here in Lima and it's a sweet feeling 78 degrees. And how about the fact that we can actually enjoy it since Jaxson is about 95% better and I am on the tail end of the Mastitis, as well, only dealing with residual body aches and fatigue. John's neck is at least rotateable, as if that was even a word. Weeks like last week surely make us extra thankful for health and easy sailing days. :) And we press on towards tomorrow with much hope.

Jaxson

After going the homeopathic route yesterday with no improvement, today I went to the sweet doctor who helped deliver Miles . He put me on a very strong antibiotic and also gave me and anti-inflammatory that he made me take while in his office. He was very concerned with how severe the mastitis is. Within hours of the medication I felt SOOOOO much better. Praise God! I can actually move my arms and my body again without terrible pain. The body aches have decreased as well.

Please continue to be lifting up Jaxson. Here is what his skin looks like tonight - AFTER BENADRYL! You should see it without the medicine. We are thinking it is a virus after talking to two doctors. He is not feeling well and the hives are moving up to his face and out to his limbs. Please pray this passes soon.

Happy Blogging Anniversary

Kind of random, but I realized I have been blogging for exactly 3 years now! WOW! So glad some of our memories and adventures are preserved in written form. I will continue to blog as long as God has us on this overseas adventure.

A tough week

What is going on? First John threw his neck out on Monday. It is about 10% better, but he is still suffering and can't really turn his neck. He has to turn his whole body to turn and look at something. Then, Avery's eyes have been gookey green with a ton of puss. It's quite disgusting and I have no idea why. And last night I came down with the worst Mastitis I have ever had which has included a fever and crazy body aches. And just when I think my cup is about as full as it can get.....Jaxson gets these:

I think they are hives, but I don't know from what. Needless to say, John left the conference early today to come rescue ME/US . And have I mentioned our freezer/fridge, that is only a year and half old, won't freeze anymore and we are losing food right and left? The repair guys came last week, charged us a bunch of money said they fixed it and now it is exactly the same and they won't come back. Spiritual warfare or life?

Mastitis

Mastitis came on fast and furious last night: fever, body aches, fatigue, headache, extreme tenderness. UGH!!! John won't be home until past 10 p.m. tonight. I beg for your prayers.

Maximum details in mimimal words

An update in as few words as possible:

School: AWESOME!!!!

Homelife: WONDERFUL!!!!

Refrigerator: Broken. Repaired once already! Broken again! Scammed! Out of money!

John: IMPROVING! THANKFUL for this week's FELLOWSHIP!

P90X: HARD! WORTH IT! Bring it!!

Weight Watchers: Down 15 lbs since beginning! -10% of overall weight!

Driving in Lima: Angry! Frustrating! Stressful! Pray 4 SAFETY!!!

Avery: Goopy eyes! Ear ache! Luvs 1 on 1 time!

Miles: Hyper, adorable, PERFECT!

Ministry: On hold during conference!

Oasis: Fleas AGAIN - after 1 week of visiting!

My Spanish: TERRIBLE! :)

Jessica overall: Transitioning better! MASTITIS!

Swim lessons: Nice treat during hot summer days!

Homemade Iced Coffee: Not as easy to make as it looks!

Time with the Lord: Refreshing, consistent and needed daily.

Facebook: Don't miss it at all!

John

Last night while we were exercising, John pinched a nerve in his neck pretty severely. He didn't sleep much and was in a load of pain this morning. He went to the pharmacy to get a muscle relaxer around 6:30 a.m. - this from the man who never takes any medicine, so I know the pain must be pretty intense. Anyway, he is attending the Central and South America Young Leader's Conference that is being hosted here in Peru all this week. The meetings start bright and early and go until the late afternoon or into the evening. He is learning a lot about his leadership style and some holes that he needs to work on. It is an honor for him to be able to partake in this. I am just praying that the pain and the meds don't interfere with his day or week. Poor guy!

We are having a crazy situation in Oasis. A young man who used to be the worship leader of the church plant stopped coming about 4 months ago. He just stopped showing up for no reason. When John talks to him he says he is going to go and then never shows up. He has told John at least 5 times or more that he will be there. Well, a neighborhood in Oasis gave John a piece of land to build a church. Now there are all kinds of problems in this neighborhood and the young man who quit coming to church wants John to give him the land or for John to plant a church on it and he will take care of the land. When I say land, think like the size of your living room kind of land. Anyway, I am not doing this story justice at all. The original plan was that the guy and his family were going to help start a church on this land and would have part of it be their house. They are living in the smallest room (like 10 x 10) right now. There current room is going to be torn down by the community because of community politics. So this family will have no place to live. Well, now they are calling John and wanting the land or to help start a church so they can live on the land, but they still don't come to church. Even last Sunday John spent the afternoon with the guy and he said he would be at church when it started. He never showed up AGAIN!!!! Well, last night this guy's mom, who John doesn't know, calls BEGGING John to give the land to her son and to intervene and talk to the leader's of Oasis. It's NOT our land. It is land that belongs to the community. It's so hard because we don't want to see the people without a home, but would we give the land to someone who never attends church to be a caretaker of the church? Plus, John isn't going to start a church there anymore so he says the community can just have the land back (he doesn't feel like it is his) and do what they please with it. But this family thinks it is our responsibility to go to the leadership of the community and beg them to give "our" land to them. Mama MIA!!!! All I can say is PRAY!!!! John is confused and torn and quite irritated as well. He really doesn't want to be in the middle of ANY of this drama.

Baby is crying. More later.