Happy Thanksgiving!!!

In general, Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here in the Dominican Republic (since it's an American holiday and all), but we usually find a way to celebrate it somehow. In the past, our mail service has always paid for us to get turkeys and fixings and all that good stuff (as turkeys are VERY expensive here). This year we were unable to have turkey, but we DID have some great chicken, rice, and beans!! (For those of you who don't know, that is the staple meal here in the DR.) We got together out at Rod & Twila's house with the whole TEARS staff and ate the whole afternoon and evening away. I learned how to play a great new game called Farkle, and now I'm addicted!! Below is a picture of Mia Grace hanging out with her "Aunt" Tracy and eating (or gnawing on) an oatmeal cookie.

Monte Cristi

On our way back from Dajabón, we stopped in Monte Cristi to do a little bit of sightseeing. Monte Cristi is located on the northwest coast of the island. These scenic pictures are actually from the outskirts of the city. I had never been here before, so it was nice to see another part of the island.

These are the salt flats by the ocean. The sea water is let into the flats, and then the natural drying process occurs in the sun, leaving only salt crystals behind.

A beautiful pier with a gazebo at the end.

Another shot of the same pier.

Standing on the pier and looking to the left, you could see the fishing boats lined up along the coast.

A Visit To Dajabón

On November 12th, I had the opportunity to head out to Dajabón, DR, to see my husband and meet with the leader of the team he was working with. We picked her brain on some pretty interesting ministry stuff, all the way from grant-writing to tools we can give to the impoverished to help them break the vicious cycle they are in. I had a great time seeing my husband (of course) and meeting the team of Rotarians from Alberta, Canada that he was working with.
I think the thing that may have impacted me most on this trip, though, was seeing the Haitian/Dominican border crossing there in Dajabón. Rod, Darin, and I walked out on the bridge and took some pictures, and as I stared across the border into Haiti, which is considered a 4th-world country, I felt a wrenching in my gut as I realized how privileged I am just to be able to stand on the other side of the fence. The opportunities for me and my family here in the DR are endless in comparison to our neighbors in Haiti.

Looking through the guard station at the border patrol.

As I watched the Haitians standing at the gate and begging us for just one dollar, I could not imagine life where my freedom ends at the borders of my country. I could not imagine standing at the border of Canada or Mexico and knowing that I could not enter and have a shot at a better life.

Darin standing at the gate that separates the two countries. You can see two Haitian guys standing on the other side of the gate. They were begging us for money.

Here are some stats on Haiti: 1) Half the population is undernourished. 2) The infant mortality rate is 80 per 1000 live births (that's 12.5%). 3) Only 46% of the population has access to clean water. 4) Only 28% of the population has good sanitation. 5) Approximately 1/2 of the population is illiterate. 6) The unemployment rate is approximately 80%.
As Americans, we have the ability to not just put a meal on the table each day but to stock up on food for a week or a month at a time. We have access to some of the most advanced health care in the world. We can turn on our tap at any time and not only know that there will be water coming out but that we can drink it safely. We have the ability to receive not only a basic education but to attend college, as well. And although our economy is suffering right now, we still have access to jobs that can provide for our families. We have the freedom to enter just about any country we would like at any time we would like. All this that we have and we take for granted...yet the majority of us continue to live well above our means, charging up credit cards and drinking $4 cups of coffee every day (hey, I love Starbucks too!!).....and we remain oblivious to the rest of the world, many of whom struggle to even put one meal on the table each day.

Looking across the border into Haiti. The river is the dividing point between the two countries.

Growing up, I assumed the rest of the world was like the US. When I was 17, I went on a mission trip to Venezuela and began to realize that things were different in other parts of the world. It took quite a few more years and several more trips before I realized that the US is unique unto itself. And we are much more privileged than most of us realize.

The river that divides the two countries. If you look closely, you can see the line of Haitian women on the banks of the river in the distance. They are washing their clothes.

I guess the thing that I ponder the most is how I can reach out and truly make a difference. How do I sacrifice in order to give? What do I sacrifice in order to give? Will God ask me and my family to suffer in some way in order to reach out to others less fortunate? And what if He does? Will people think I'm crazy? Should I care if people think I'm crazy?
And, yes, these are all ramblings from a so-called missionary. Maybe I should already have all the answers to these questions figured out. Just goes to show that missionaries are just normal people. :-)
To round this out, I have to say that in my humble opinion (but opinion nonetheless), every teenager should be required to visit a 3rd-world country before they graduate from high school. If you've missed that age cut-off, it's never to late to go! It is a life-changing experience that will change your perspective on everything..if you allow it to.

While Daddy is Away, His Girls Will Play!!!

Luis has been away since last Friday, driving a short-term team around in Dajabon (a DR/Haiti border town). The team is from a rotary club in Canada, and they are putting solar lights in low-income homes in that town. When I talked to Luis last night, he said he was having a great time...which is great because now I don't feel so guilty about my fun beach trip this past weekend! :-) Mia & I were invited to go to the beach with some friends here that work with TEARS. We actually did turn it into a working weekend, as we spent some time tackling the grant proposal process that we are now entering.

Everyone took turns watching Mia and playing with her, which was a great help to me. Too bad no one was awake to help me out when she decided to wake up at 4:30 AM BOTH mornings!! Here's a little of what Mia did all weekend:

She watched Baby Einstein videos with her "Uncle" Darin (who liked them as much as she did, but he didn't want to admit it!) :-)

She tried desperately to pull her booster seat out of the chair.

She drank a bottle by herself, played with her feet and laughed, laughed, laughed.

She spent time in the kitchen cooking with her "Aunt" Tracy.

And she ate at TGI Fridays!!! (which is a BIG treat here!)

All in all, we had a great time. I didn't get any pictures of Mia at the pool or the beach because I was never with her when she went (I was recovering from those 4:30 AM wake-up calls she gave me!) Mia is a little fish, though. She loves to be in the water....pool, ocean, or bathtub!! Oh, and her "Uncle" Rod didn't make it into any of the pictures either. He was always conveniently absent when the camera came out.

And the winner is.....

"Da-Da" !!!!!!!!!! Yep, Mia busted out with the "Da-Da" on Monday afternoon. I took her into another room where Luis was, and she looked at him, smiled, and said "Da-Da." She has yet to use it in context again, but she does wander around saying "da-da-da-da" all the time. Luis is quite pleased about this, of course. We've been told that Mia will be a late talker since she is being "fed" two languages on a continual basis. Either way, this babbling/talking/sign language phase is a BLAST!!

Bathtime Fun

Oh, how my daughter LOVES bathtime!! I decided last night that it was time for a little photo op in the duck tub. Mia is a huge fan of ducks, so I got this tub during our visit to the states over the summer. It's Munchkin-made, WalMart-sold, cute, quacks when you squeeze its beak, and it only costs $10!!

I Love Cloth Diapers!!

Ok, so I must confess that my decision to use cloth diapers had nothing to do with environment and EVERYTHING to do with economy!! Disposable diapers are quite expensive down here, so we figured we would invest a little money up front for the cloth ones and then save in the long run...man, oh, man has that ever been a great decision! I have to say that I love our cloth diapers. They've definitely come a LONG way since the days that my mother put them on me, which makes it a lot easier to like them! :-) As you can see, they are velcro and all one piece these days...no rubber pants, no pins, nothing cumbersome like that...just take 'em off, rinse 'em out, and throw 'em in the washing machine. We don't have diaper services here, either, so we are on our own for the laundering part. They have this great soap here (jabón de cuava) that you can grate and throw in your diaper pail overnight, and the diapers come out of the wash so white, white, white! Love it!! We still use disposable diapers at night, but we are only going through about one pack a month (as opposed to one pack every 4-5 days). Oh, and I must confess too that it is my wonderful hubby that rinses out the poopy diapers (woohhoo!!). :-) There are tons of brands out there, but I went with Kushies. I bought them online on the Wal-Mart site. I would HIGHLY recommend them to anyone!!

Meet Mia Grace

Here she is...the most adorable child in the whole world!! Mia Grace arrived on Feb. 10th, 2008, at 8:22 PM. She weighed in at 7 1/2 pounds and was 19.5" long. You can check out her arrival story on my friend Heidi's blog.

Over the last 8 1/2 months, Mia Grace has kept us busy and smiling all the time. She is SO busy and is already trying to walk. She loves to push a little plastic table around the apartment. I think she's going to be strong-willed like me (yippee!). She loves music, pictures, books, and bathtime. She is officially a dual citizen of the U.S. and the D.R., has 2 passports (with quite adorable pictures!), and has already flown on an airplane! I hope this blog will allow me to share her fun accomplishments with all of you who are far away and don't get to see her often! :-)

Finally...

Well, I've finally joined the world of bloggers! All of my friends seem to be blogging these days and attempting to document the lives of their kids. I've always thought it was a great idea, and I love reading other people's blogs. And then I decided that I should conform to this new technological age and participate in it myself. Not to mention the fact that it's a fabulous way to keep family and friends updated on our growing girl while we are so far away! As I write this first, momentous post, my wonderful husband and adorable daughter are in the floor playing together, and I think life couldn't be any better than to hear them "talking" to each other and having fun. Thanks for joining us on this journey!