Big brother Judah

Judah's birthday present

I love this video-thanks grandparents for the sweet workbench. Now I just have to teach him to hammer quieter! I love Judah's double-tasking skills at the end of this-check it out!

When I look at Judah it's hard to believe that he is already two! These past few years have been an amazing journey learning how to take care of him. We have learned and grown so much. It's awesome now to see the fruit of our labor and to see Judah's personality more everyday.

Yesterday Jake was at planning meeting for the next Vida Joven club so I was at home with the two boys and instead of having an extra hand I was doing the nightly routine on my own. I have to hand it to single parents, it's no easy task being outnumbered. I was outside watering our yard, I put Asher in the stroller so he could be in on the action and Judah helped me water. This usually turns into him drenching himself with the hose or bucket and I end up stripping him down to a diaper. Well, last night he found a leaf from a huge tree in our yard and started pretending it was a turtle. What amazed me most was that this lasted a half-hour. He continued to entertain himself finding turtles and flying them around the yard. He loved it so much he brought one in the house.

I love birthdays because not only is it a great time to celebrate those we love, but it's a good time for us parents to reflect on our children's lives. The days might be long, but the years sure fly by! I hope I can remember that when I'm exhausted and can't imagine several more years of being at home with the boys. It really does go by fast and I want to savor every moment. Judah's calling my name to come color turtles, so I guess I better go now!

Life goes on

Obla-dee-obla-dah life goes oooon, oh how the life goes on... Remember that TV show? Now that I think about it, it was one of my favorites. It's crazy how life goes on. On Thursday I am celebrating my 29th birthday, wow. I know, I'm not that old, but it is pretty wild that ten years ago I was 19, and that used to feel "old" to me. Now I am the mother of two children, we are a family of four, and life looks so much more different than life at 19. I do miss the freedom of being childless at times, but never would I replace it with the wonderful fullness that I am now experiencing as a mother and wife. So what does life look like right now?

Well, slowly but surely we are adjusting to two children. We are still trying to convince Asher to sleep through the night. We spend an hour to two hours, depending on the evening, feeding Asher, burping Asher, changing Asher and lulling him back to sleep. My wonderful husband helps me with all of those things and tries to stay awake by killing mosquitoes in our room with our electric racquet. It's really quite funny because after killing about five or six very large mosquitoes, full of our blood, Jake looks like he has just slayed a dragon. I am relieved for the entertainment too as I can usually barely keep my eyes open and remember that there is a child in my arms as I feed Asher.

What else? Judah is constantly making us laugh. He is funnier than Jake and I combined, which is pretty funny :) He likes to be really loud when we are trying to get Asher to sleep, I would say he knows what's going on. His favorite animals are hepecants (elephants), weegas (zebras), lali (lion), and gatos (lagarto=lizard in spanish). He loves to speak Spanish to anyone who will listen, his favorite word to repeat over and over is harriba (arriba or up). He is also very sweet. He is a good sharer, shares his toys with Asher, snacks with Mommy and kisses with his favorite little friends.

Besides that we are keeping busy, prepping for the summer and enjoying loving Jesus and loving the people he has put in our lives. I have really been excited about spending more quality time in the word and making my time with God a bigger priority. The more time I spend with Him the more I fall in love with Him. I am constantly reminded to tend this relationship and realizing that HE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE! It's not about what I do or what I have, it's about knowing Him! I don't have to worry or be concerned about other things, when I am spending time with the Lord and meditating on his word and praying constantly, He will answer all of my questions or at least put me at ease. So, with that being said, I am going to fill myself up with Jesus and spend time with him before the two kiddos are awake!

Love you all, whoever reads this, thanks for listening...
Kyla

The arrival of Asher!

As many of you know Asher arrived a little late. My due date as March 29th and he was born April 1th at 11:25 pm, almost in his 43rd week of being in my womb! So, I was getting a little bit stir crazy waiting for this little guy to come. Thankfully on Sunday night I started to get contractions on my own instead of having to be induced on Tuesday. I waited them out, although didn't sleep much and on Monday afternoon when they were about 10 minutes apart we left for the hospital.

I went with Jake as well as my friend, Erin. when we arrived at the Dr.'s office my contractions had subsided and I was only dilated to 2cm so he told us to try to spend the night somewhere close to the hospital (we live about 1 hr away) and come when the contractions were stronger. we left for our friends' house and spent the night there, me still contracting and Jake and Erin timing them and helping me through each one. I think my highlight from this night was a few moments of relief while watching some of Nacho Libre and drinking a beer. I tried to put my mind at ease but throughout the night I as having painful back labor and again couldn't sleep. In the morning I was getting desperate to get to the hospital. I didn't want to give birth at our friends' house and by this time I was throwing up and feeling a lot of pain with each contraction.

we arrived at the hospital and again, I was only dilated to 4 cm. It was really hard not to feel frustrated as my Dr. kept checking and saying I was not progressing very far. The day continued and I spent from about 10am that morning until 10 pm that night continuing with contractions, eventually less than 5 minutes apart and only dilated to 5 0r 6 cm. I could not go on any longer, especially as I had decided early on to do things naturally so I hadn't had any iv or pain medication. The Dr. said that what was going on was called failure to progress in labor and for some reason which we couldn't know at the time my cervix just wasn't dilating. I decided at that point that I did not want him to put me on pitocin since I had labored for so long already and we didn't even know if it would help. He said he saw only one option, c-section, and I agreed with much relief! At this point I was yelling for the anesthesiologist! I could not endure a third night of no sleep and fruitless laboring!

So they wheeled me into the operating room and about 30 minutes later, at 11:25 pm. Asher David Salmond arrived! He was posterior, or sunny side, up which explained the back labor and slow labor. But, he was also very healthy: 8 lbs. 4 oz, 22 inches long. Asher arrived just in time, I was able to nurse him right away, and then we all rested up.

Recovering from surgery has not been easy, but I am so glad to have Asher in my arms. It's now a week later and I am feeling much better. My family has helped me so much and hopefully in one more week when my mother-in-law has to leave I will be more than capable of taking care of Judah and Asher by myself. what an adventure this last week has been. I know there is more to come. I am so thankful to God for protecting me through everything and providing the support and sustenance that I need. I cling to Him as my comforter and my healer. I love Isaiah 40:30, "Even youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength...".

Blogging comeback?

I'm wanting to give this a shot one more time, especially with a new baby on the way. I think I will mostly post pictures and videos, so I hope you all enjoy. Here are a few pictures of Judah from going to the zoo with our friends in the capital. Also here's one of Judah being a "moto concho" for his little friend Ezri and using his "reading glasses". Enjoy!

Judah is almost a year!

We have been having fun lately with Judah as he is becoming way more mobile! I took some videos of Judah that I wanted to share. You might want to turn down the volume because as I listened to my voice I realized that my "mommy is excited voice" is a little high-pitched :).

Enjoy! (This is especially for Judah's grandmas who I knew would love to see him in action.)

Spring has sprung!

I think it may be a more achievable goal to write at least every season, so here is my seasonal entry. Well, more importantly, here are more photos of the Judah man. It's fun to look at pictures of him a few months ago and see how much he has changed, or see how much I really should add some variety to his wardrobe. Oh well, anyways, he doesn't seem to mind what he wears. He is awful cute no matter what. Here are some old pics and some new ones too! Enjoy!

Rubber ducky, you're the one...

Actually, parents make bathtime fun, not rubber ducky, right? Well, I have to admit, Judah's bathtime has gotten significantly more fun since we purchased a giant rubber ducky tub. Becaues we have to use purified water for his baths and it requires a lot of work and water, I was giving him little baths in a tiny tub that barely covered his legs, pobrecito! Anyways, we upgraded when we bought his new tub in the states and he loves it! He screams when I take him out of the tub, but today I let him play so long his little toes were pruny and wrinkled. I guess you just can't win. I have found that if I let the water out slowly he doesn't realize what's happening and all the sudden bathtime is over. Genius.

Here is a wonderful clip of my amazing husband, Jake, who is always willing to help with Judah and on this particular day he relieved me of bathtime duty, here goes...

Jake's birthday

For Jake's birthday, I gave him the gift of kiteboarding lessons. He was stoked. He has wanted to learn this sport ever since we moved here and he saw kiteboarders on the beach. Last weekend he became one of the world's best kiteboarders that have ever walked the planet, he went where only thousands had gone before, he conquered the ocean and only hit one person with his kite, broke his own kite, and may have injured his pinky. This may or may not have been a partial truth, but he did learn to kiteboard in an amazingly small amount of time, which meant he also swallowed a lot of sea water. Here are the pics to prove it...

Is it January already?

So, it's true, not only is it January 2010, it's the middle of January and almost the end! Time is flying by. We returned to the DR from visiting family and friends in Oregon, Washington and Georgia about a week ago and so it's time to put some pictures up. I hope you enjoy!

Judah is stinking hilarious!

Here's a video clip of the funniest kid you've ever seen, he's just too cute!

Sorry it's sideways...

A View From the Top: Conquering Mogote

People often use physical feats such as mountain climbing as analogies for our faith. Jesus himself talked about mountains and our faith being able to move mountains, if we have faith as big as a mustard seed. Somehow we need those reminders, those real-life, tangible examples in order to understand what we are being told. We can hear a lot of "truth" but until we actually go through it, experience it, live it; it doesn't become a part of us. Last Saturday, some important truths became a part of me.

Jake and I, along with around 75 campers and leaders, hiked Mogote, the mountain behind Pico Escondido, the Young Life camp Jake works at. We attended Growth Camp with the youth from Pinar Quemado, along with our son, Judah. As part of Growth Camp, we hiked this grueling mountain (without Judah) to truly experience our walk with God, the ups and downs, the sweat and difficulty, and the reward of the view from the top. We got to celebrate the victory of accomplishing what we had set out to do. It was not easy, but at the end of the day, starting at 5 am and finishing at 2 pm, we did it.

So what did I take away from this experience? The truth that our walk with Christ will be difficult, challenging, and easy to give up. But if I will allow him to sustain me, work through me, encourage me, feed me, pick me up, I will see that he has been there all along. I will see a new perspective, his perspective, and as I get closer to the top, my worries and fears will disappear as his truth, joy and love are magnified like the bright morning sun.

The stuff memories are made of

Jake and I decided at about 10 am last Saturday that it would be fun to take Judah camping. We had been wanting to go for awhile and it seemed like a nice day to do it, so we started packing. We were excited to finally use our camping gear that we had shipped here about a year ago. While Judah was napping we threw all the necessities together. Of course, Jake couldn't help but still be his thorough self, checking our stove for gas, dividing the weight up evenly, making sure we had our first-aid kit, etc. But when all was said and done, we were ready to go. We were ready for an adventure.

It's funny how you imagine things in your head and when you actually do them, they often turn out quite different, especially with a six-month old. We drove alongside a beautiful river on a bumpy dirt road to Manabao, hoping to make it to our destination without really having to backpack. In my mind I figured we could just drive up the mountain to camp. Well, we took one look at the river-crossing and steep incline just following the river and knew that our little Rav4, (not 4 x 4) was not going to even make it across the river. So, we parked at a nice woman's house, thanks Merecedes, sat down a minute to talk with her, and headed off, backpacks and all. You can tell by the picture that we were quite loaded down with stuff for just one night, Jake carried Judah in a front pack.

Walking up the mountain, we both asked ourselves, "Why are we putting ourselves through this on our day off?!" It was miserably hot and the trail seemed to be a steady incline for about an hour. Finally, in the midst of Judah crying, I grabbed Jake's hand and started singing worship music realizing that this is character building time and we couldn't give up now.

We ended up about half way to our destination and wanted to just call it quits, but we pressed on. After eating some guayabas and feeding Judah, we had all regained our strength to continue.

I'll fast forward a little... we finally set up camp after making it to the top of the mountain, Judah got to have some freedom and play in the tent while we made dinner and we had a really nice evening, then the fun began.

We made it until about 7:30 pm before Judah was ready for bed and we had nothing else to do but go to bed too. We knew it might be a long night. Although we had planned ahead and packed everything, we only had one mummy sleeping bag and a small blanket between all three of us, plus we were sleeping in Jake's teeny-tiny backpacking tent. So, needless to say, it was a long night of pulling on covers, consoling Judah every two hours (who woke up everytime we moved) and wondering again why we were doing this. It started raining in the middle of the night as well, which although we stayed dry, didn't really help matters since all of our things were outside. In the morning we were thankful the night had ended and decided to at least buy a bigger tent before we would do this again.

Leaving the mountain that morning after the rain subsided was a very peaceful feeling. We had conquered backpacking with our six-month old, we had not given up although we had wanted to, we made it through a very difficult night and we were better because of it. It's funny how hard something can be in the moment and how later you really are glad you did it, at least to tell the story.

A few days later I read this verse that seemed to fit this trip:

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Psalm 25:4-5

Despite the setbacks and difficulties along life's journey, may I at least be on the right path and not back down! We have to continue no matter what, knowing that someday we will look back and be glad we did.

Judah, one through five months

Fast forward to, November already! Here are a few pictures that capture the last few months of our lives as new parents.

Judah is born!

So here are just a few pictures to capture the most amazing day of our lives. I am working backwards since Judah is now five months old, but the goal is to update our friends and family on a more regular basis with pictures of our family!

Judah was born on a beautiful sunny day in Santiago, Dominican Republic. He was born via c-section at 12:20 pm on June 9, 2009. His weight was somewhat debateable, supposedly 6lbs. 14 oz. and height 21 inches. The reason it seems debateable is that two weeks later he was at 8.5 lbs.! Nevertheless, he was very healthy and wonderful from the start. We had a great experience at a very nice hospital here where we live and we continue to thank the Lord for such a blessed experience! Here are some pictures that capture the days activity!

Samana Excursion

Well, first of all, I can't believe where the time has gone. I haven't updated this blog in several months, that is kind of embarassing, but here I am posting some pictures, so that's better than nothing.

Jake and I went on a "baby-moon" get-away to the Samana Peninsula, a very beautiful part of this island. It was our first time there and we were so excited to be able to see some beautiful beaches and humpback whales. We stayed in a cute bed and breakfast (pictured here) and also a nice resort, but in hindsight we would have chosen the bed and breakfast for the whole time. We had lots of time to swim and explore and then on our last day we went on a whale-watching tour. We got to see the humpback whales that come to Samana to breed and have their babies. We were even able to see a mom with her baby, very special!

Spirit Week

Doulos' Spirit Week was phenomenal. Check out the pics of Pajama day and Doulos spirit day!