Pets

Katrina enjoys cruising around the backyard in her walker!

On Christmas Eve morning, Josh, his mom and his sister Jodi went for a walk.  They happened upon 2 baby kitties on a burlap sack and took them home to see if they could help them.  Jodi fed them with a syringe (similar in method to a dropper) until she left about a week later, then Josh and Spencer took over.  For a while there it looked like they were going to make it.  They were getting perkier, and every time I turned around they were in my kitchen.  They were scampering around the backyard, chasing each other and anything that moved. 

Cocoa in her last days, didn't really fight the daily baths she got.

 Then one day Josh noticed a big stray cat leaving our backyard.  A little later when I went out I came across one of the kittens in a corner, whimpering.  When she tried to walk it was obvious her front leg was broken and she was in a lot of pain.  Long story short, by the end of the day Josh had to put her down.  Shortly after that Cocoa started going downhill.  She wouldn't come out of her bed, didn't want to eat, her fur looked all scraggly etc.  She got worse and worse in the weeks following (one person who'd had experience with it said that she had distemper) and eventually died.  

Josh doing a feeding 

(and a necessary bath - Cocoa wasn't "going" in the litter box).

For me, it seemed like they were too much work to be worth the time invested in the kittens, and originally I'd objected to them being brought home.  (I'm not really a pet person anyway, so that wasn't a high priority for me.) Josh thought it would be a good experience for the kids to be responsible for the kitties so they stayed.  I was sad that the kids didn't really have a chance to snuggle and cuddle them and play with them.  They were always too little or too sick.  When Cocoa was dying and we knew it was just a matter of time, we told the kids they could say goodbye to her.  It totally broke my heart to see my Mitchell sobbing as he sat and watched her struggle to breathe.  I think as a parent it's normal to want to shield our kids from as much pain as possible for as long as possible.  

What did our kids learn from this experience?  Maybe that life is short, that in the animal world survival of the fittest is the rule of the land, that there is pain in loss.  What I learned is that it's worth it to get my kids a pet - a healthy one this time - for them to enjoy, love on, and most of all, help to train and be responsible for.  Josh was right - and I won't let my lukewarm feeling towards owning a pet stop my kids from enjoying what I enjoyed throughout my childhood - the devotion of... a  DOG!!! Cats don't really go for the adoration thing, unless YOU're adoring THEM! :)

No pictures yet, but our colleague's dog had puppies around mid-February so we should be bringing "Pepper" home around the 18th of March or so.  We went as a family to pick this puppy from a litter of 7.  He's white with black spots and some brown on the head as well - the mama was red and named Ginger.

Fun In The Sink

I had a great time shooting these photos!

Katrina suddenly realized there was a baby beside her and tried to reach out!

She's not real talkative, Mom, but she's friendly!

I think we're gonna be friends!  What fun!

Christmas/New Years Celebration

A few weeks ago our tribal church celebrated Christmas/New Years together.  Normally a lot if not most of the people that attend our church go interior to spend Christmas with family so they're not around over the actual Christmas/New Years time.  That's why we have this celebration a few weeks into the new year.  

Here are some photos we took of the service as well as people hanging out between the service and the meal.  With juggling getting food for the 3 kids and Katrina needing to be fed, the photos of the meal time didn't turn out well - maybe next time!

The front porch serves as a nursery - but doesn't keep the church from hearing the child's noises and the mom can't really hear the sermon! This was taken after the service. The lady beside me is a coworker who also had her baby here just a few weeks after I had Katrina.

As you can see, dress for church is a range from jeans and t-shirts 

to skirts and heels and of course the traditional batik on men and women alike.

Motorcycles continue to be the main form of transportation!

Thrush!

2 weeks ago we had some indications that Katrina had thrush.  We were glad to find out that one of the western doctors from a mission hospital near here would be in town and arranged for him to stop by and check things out.  

He did so and prescribed medicine for both of us.  Katrina's (Nystatin) was easy to get - I just went to a store and picked it up, no problem.  Mine was a bit more complicated and involved this doctor having his hospital's pharmacist contact their supplier who then came to our home to drop off the medicine that I needed.  Unfortunately he only had 13 days worth of meds for me, not the 14 days I needed.  

They arrived in these 14 boxes: 

And this was the sum total of the contents of the boxes:

Part of the routine of having a baby with thrush is making sure she doesn't get reinfected from the things she's chewed on.  It's been a bit of a pain to boil anything that has made it into Katrina's mouth - toys, pacifiers, medicine droppers, spoons from her cereal, sippy cup lids, you name it.  After this (toy-wrecking) round of boiling for 20 minutes, I put away a lot of the surviving toys and now she's chewing on the hardiest of the lot!

Katrina responded quickly to her medicine and was thrush-free in just a couple of days.  Pray with us that we'd be able to get more of the medicine I need - I didn't respond as quickly to my medicine (fluconazole) and now need another 3-4 days worth minimum!

Life is never dull here!  And God is faithful to heal us, provide the medical help, medicine, etc.  We're so thankful!

Some Katrina Milestones

Last weekend - trying to figure out sippy cups!

First 2 teeth - early January

No specific milestone but we're always glad when she's happy!

She LOVES chewing on watermelon rinds!

First tub bath

Sitting Up late Dec/early Jan

When you need medical care...

I often gather my meds and stuff onto one tray so it's not scattered everywhere.

Today is day 4 of Spencer's fevers.  He started Friday afternoon with a temp of over 103 degrees. I've been keeping a journal of all of the times I've taken his temperature, all of the medications I've given him in the amounts he received.  This is helpful when we need to talk to a doctor OR to see if his fevers are cyclical (which could indicate malaria or worse).  Last night I emailed 3 docs back home but none of them are probably at work since it's the weekend.  Tabs that are up on my browser this morning include how to effectively do the saline nasal spray, one on fevers, one on Ibuprofen dosages, and one google page on which antibiotics are used for sinus infections in children.  (Just doing the research...) This morning his fever was still going at just under 103 which has been normal for the past 4 days so I decided to call a doctor.  There are 2 western doctors and a nurse with a ton of experience in our region so I tried all 3.  I could reach NONE of them, so I called my mom.  

As I was Skyping with her, one of the docs I'd tried to call called me back!  I gave her the history and she said we should try antibiotics - not that there were any guarantees and in fact there were indications that it WOULDN'T work, but there isn't really anything else left to try.  SO - I gave her Spencer's weight (in KG and in LBS- info I try to keep current so that I don't have to weigh them in the middle of the night when they're feeling awful) and she told me which medicine I needed to get and the range of mg of meds he needed per kilo per day - divided by 2 dosages.  

Armed with that information, I headed off to the drugstore.  I approached the counter and told the lady what medicine I needed.  She looked like she understood and headed to the back.  She returned with a box, inside was a sealed bottle with white powder in it.  She showed me on the label where it said how to reconstitute it to the correct strength.  It didn't look like it would make a lot of medicine - so I used her calculator to figure out that if he needs 500 mg of the medicine 2 times a day, he needs 7000 mg in a week.  She and I did a number of different "figurings" on her calculator, then I paid the 67,000 Rupiah (just over $6), took the bottle and went home.  

When I got home, I started the calculations again - and realized that the bottle she sold me would only give Spencer 3 doses - a day and a half of medicine - and that I am going to have to go back and get FOUR more bottles - if she will sell it to me - since I don't have a prescription, only directions from my doctor friend that I scribbled while we were on the phone.  The saga continues...

Our Beach Vacation

Family shot (I was there - taking the photo)

Monday around 12:30 our family (along with Josh's parents and sister visiting from Venezuela and California, respectively) piled into the minibus with all of our "stuff" and headed off to the beach.  We anticipated about a 4 hour drive.  Mitchell mentioned "in passing" (for real) that he'd thrown up that morning in school.  I thought, "Hope that was a one-time deal!"  

Julia looking pretty in Mommy's hat.

Literally as we climbed into the vehicle, it began to rain.  Surely, I thought, it can't be raining at the beach - after all, sometimes when it rains here it doesn't rain at my helper's house and she doesn't live that far away.  About 15 minutes into the drive, Julia suddenly threw up all over herself, Daddy and Grandpa.  We pulled over and I jumped out in the rain to do damage control.  That done, I stepped into the nearest warung to see if I could buy anti-motion pills (which I'd opted not to bring from home) for the kids - but they were out.  Surely we didn't need them anyway...    

Sandcastle time!

Not sure how much time passed, but while the rain continued and the traffic was stop and go, we had a good time in the car, listening to music and chatting about the various aspects of life we were seeing from the vehicle.  THEN - someone from the back said, "Mitchell is throwing up! Stop the car!"  So Josh found a place to pull over beside a rice paddy.  Mitchell was using a bag, so there was no mess.  Jodi simply tied the bag up and placed it neatly beside a tree with everyone in the nearby house having come outside to watch.  Jodi and Mitchell got back into the car, we waved and departed once more, the rain continuing.  

Jodi riding the waves in.

Jodi being "dumped" on the beach by the waves!

We made pretty good time and arrived at the beach at 4:00, 3 1/2 hours on the road so we made good time despite the barf breaks, one potty stop (short since no one really wanted to use the squatty potty at the gas station) and one VERY close call with a bus.

Trying to find a place where the waves were better...

We unloaded into the 3 rooms we had reserved (waiting for the rain to let up a bit first) and made plans for dinner at the hotel restaurant.  Once dinner was over, we settled in some more and bathed the kids and got them to bed.  We had to do a last minute switch since Mitchell was running a fever around 101 degrees and I wanted him in with us for the night. (The fever didn't come back after that night - nor did he throw up again.)  Suddenly the lights went out!  I got out my cell phone and Josh did too and continued using the built-in flashlights.  The power wasn't out long, probably 15 minutes.  When Josh and I started getting ready for bed, I noticed as I rinsed my toothbrush that the water was not coming out as quickly as before.  By the time Josh wanted to rinse his brush, the water was gone - no showers for us!  He did let the front desk know and there was water again in the morning.

Enjoying some fried rice and fried noodles for breakfast on the beach.

We had water the rest of the time at the beach.  We also had random power outages the rest of the time, both day and night but none lasting VERY long.  The hotel didn't have a generator so they provided one candle per room to give us light. 

Julia jumping over waves as they came in.

One night I sprayed the room for mosquitos so Katrina wouldn't be bit up at night.  Josh had to clean up 12 dead or dying roaches.  I stopped spraying after that.  

Check out the trash behind the boys - 

there was more trash on the beach closer to the hotel.

Early morning building sandcastles with Grandma.

Basically it rained almost the entire time we were there, with the exception of mornings before 10:00.  We took walks in the mornings and the kids were up early each day so Grandma could take them down to the beach.  Afternoons and evenings were spent reading and playing cards. 

Spencer trying to get to the "sweet spot" to catch the wave.

Thursday we celebrated Josh's mom's birthday and had managed to smuggle a cake, candles and gifts along with us.  We drank a lot of tea, Dad read a lot of stories to the kids, they played many rounds of "Trouble" and WE played a lot of rounds of "Gang of Four".  

My wonderful husband and children!

Holding up the boogie board

The LAST morning the sun was shining!!!  We played on the beach all morning, stopping to pack around 11.  We left for home around 1:30, after a brief "snacky" lunch.  The trip home was much nicer with no throw-ups, no close calls and good fellowship in the car!  Katrina slept most of the way home so that was a treat!

Grandpa being the mobile holder - 

keeping the kids occupied while it was raining outside.

Katrina just kicked and kicked when Josh put her feet in the water. 

PS- Jodi also posted on her blog about this vacation - for her take on it and MANY more pics - click here!

Doctor or Dentist???

***This photo below is my friend, NOT me!  I've had a bunch of letters from people thinking it's me.  It even fooled my parents for a few minutes.

Here is a letter one of my colleagues wrote to her friends last week.  I wanted to share it to give you an idea of what we do when there's a medical issue here:

Today,  around 8:45 AM,  I went to our teacher's house to water her plants and misjudged where her new air conditioner unit was located and got a big cut to the bone on my forehead

 Mia (her 5 year old daughter) was with me and thought I was dying by the amount of blood gushing from my head and started screaming.  Everyone came running out to help me and I was able to walk home (about 200 meters) and wash up a little before throwing up and almost passing out.  There were other missionary ladies here to clean it out and decide where best to go.  We don't just run to the ER.  So, it was decided that we'd go to a local dentist.  She had sewn up a head wound about 20 years ago just beautifully.  When we got there she looked at us as if we were crazy and called around to her other doctor friends and found one that is known for her fine stitching.  The only problem was was that she was on a different island but was boarding the plane in Jakarta and would call us around 2 PM.  When she finally arrived, she had us drive to her house and she proceeded to stitch me up.  I was very thankful for the shot(s) to numb it!  The doctor, at some point, showed Doug (her husband) and a co-worker who'd been with me the whole time the actual skull. The doctor put in 8 inside stitches and about 10 outside stitches.  All costing the equivalent of $70.  Doug called the air conditioner men right away and they reinstalled the a/c unit about 7 feet higher.

Other than that, our family is doing pretty good.  Jensen (another daughter) may have a mild form of Hand and Mouth disease so we are watching that closely.

What my friend didn't say is that they did try to go to the place where Spencer had his stitches done a while back and it was a horrible experience - very busy, disorganized and a bit scary, so they left, concerned that any treatment they did get would not be good.  While my friend did get good treatment from this doctor (in the back room of her home), we discovered that she's moving to another region shortly, so she won't be a long-term person to go to for stitches.  Apparently she's a plastic surgeon - something she's done a lot of is creating eyelids for Asian women who want them!  That's why she's so good at facial stitches!   Praise the Lord she was there and was available!  My friend's wound is healing up really well and you can tell she did a terrific job.

Another thing that I do (not everyone does this but I love doing research) is that I go online to a number of web sites and see what there is to learn about the problem.  I also have a number of friends in various disciplines of the medical field so have some resources to email or call if I need to.  

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Kid's Pics - First time in 2 years!!!

Katrina - 15 weeks old

Julia - 3 years 11 months old

Mitchell - 6 years 3 1/2 months

Spencer - 8 years 3 1/2 months

On my to-do list

I thought that a look at my to-do list might give you a better idea of what I'm up to here.  Of course, this to do list is more like a project list, as I'm first of all occupied with the things that moms and wives do - cooking, organizing, Pre-school with Julia, feeding Katrina, helping boys with homework, not to mention helping Josh in the office when he needs it!

To do:

Burn family home video to DVD
Back up pics (2003-2007) to disc
Sew new skort

Mend Julia’s dress
Make tortillas
Make yogurt
Make spaghetti sauce

Make baby food and freeze
Back up laptop and external drive
Write thank-you notes
Fix family picture and get copies printed
Get kids’ school pics printed for their friends
Christmas Mailing
Get kids’ blood typed
Curriculum Research
Team Meeting Email
Team Meeting Agenda
Update – Due Dec 1
Katrina’s Canadian Birth Abroad Paperwork
Medical Claims Paperwork
Update blog

A lot of what I do at the computer involves communication - with supporters, friends and family.  I also use the internet a lot to access resources for the various needs of my family - whether it be how to treat a sickness my kids have, a recipe for something we miss from back home, extra practice sheets for the boys when they are struggling with a concept in school, how to make or a substitute for an ingredient we can't get here.  

An example of making a substitute for something we can't get is pancakes.  I pre-make my ownpancake mix so I don't have to make it from scratch in a pinch.  Then, since we can't get pancake syrup (except expensive stuff at import shops in big cities) I make a syrup with sugar and water (which works OK most of the time - sometimes it crystallizes).  I then add maple and butter flavoring which I've had sent from the US and we're good to go!  I try to always do it ahead of time and store it in the fridge, cause if I don't then it's too hot for the kids to eat with the meal!  

We can get corn flakes here, as well as some very sugared cereals (nothing "normal" like Wheaties, raisin bran, and so far Rice Krispies has only been available a couple of times).  As a result I try to keep granola in the cupboard.  We can only get instant and quick oats so I generally stock up on rolled oats when we're at import stores so that there's some bulk to the granola.  

So there you have a bit of an idea of what I do from day to day!

Flexibility is highly underrated...

Something I’ve heard over and over again from our leaders here is that flexibility is a virtue.  I think that’s true across the board in life, but especially in a country where so much is uncertain.  That's not to say that I am really good at it - I often struggle when things mess up my plans.  That's one of those things God's working at in me!

Here’s a look into one aspect of my life here. 

Josh & I love to have people in for dinner and generally try to have Mission Home guests (generally the guests are our interior co-workers) in for dinner at least once during their stay.  It’s a great way to stay in touch with what’s going on in their lives and in their work, not to mention getting to know them better.  The kids love it too.

This week, we invited our Korean friends in for dinner – they got here late last week.  I wanted to keep it easy so I planned to do grilled pork chops (easy 'cause Josh does them!), seasoned roasted potato wedges, salad, bread and a dessert.  Josh went to take the meat out of the freezer this morning and said, “Josie, I think we used the rest of the pork chops last week.  All I could find was a pork roast.”  Ok, so I’ll change the menu a bit – Garlic Pork Roast with Sour Cream Gravy, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Salad, Bread and dessert.  Since we can’t get sour cream here, I’ll use my homemade yogurt instead – should work just fine – in both the gravy and the mashed potatoes.  So while the meat thaws, I scour cook books to find an easy dessert recipe that’s not brownies – I’ve been making those a lot lately.  Then I remember that Barbara and friends sent me a lemon cake mix – that will be easy.  I check online to find out how to make Lemon Poppyseed Cupcakes with the mix, get those started, and then check on the meat. 

What I see causes me to call Josh, who’s walking through the dining room to get some water.  It’s FISH, not a roast!  Well, it's already thawed, so we're going to have to use it. OK – so I make sure Josh is willing to do the frying – we still have some of that great seasoning mix that my parents brought this past summer, so we’ll fry up the fish, change the potatoes back to potato wedges, keep on with the salad, bread and dessert.

I’m thinking the garlic heads I have ready to go into the oven to roast (doused in olive oil and wrapped in foil) will still have to be roasted, but that’s great smeared on fresh homemade bread, so that will still be OK.  Less than 2 hours until our guests will arrive – gotta feed Katrina, Josh has to run over to the corner store for some lemons (which I saw there when I picked up some extra garlic heads) for the fish, and we’re good to go!  How’s that for flexible!!!?  The good thing is that while generally this kind of upheaval is somewhat upsetting, today it didn’t really bother me!  PTL!

A few hours later… I didn’t think anything else would probably change after I wrote the above – but… last minute we added 2 more guests.  They were staying at the mission home and as no one was aware there were no dinner plans for them, Josh offered to order dinner in from a restaurant for them (they don’t speak the local language).  We ended up deciding to just have them join us instead.  Josh went and bought more fish and there was a lot of the other stuff (including a papaya I had my helper cut up last minute before the left today), so we were fine.  We had a good time!