Yummy Turkey

Here's a video of Ashlyn enjoying a few bites of leftover turkey the day after Thanksgiving.

Measuring Tape

One fateful day a small measuring tape appeared in our truck. We have no idea how it got there, but it has become one of Ashlyn’s favorite things to play with.
She crawls around with the tape draped over her neck like she’s a tailor. She even takes it on walks with her when she pushes her high chair around the house.
Adam and I find it quite amusing since she looks like she’s going to measure something at any moment.

Off to find something to measure!
Getting a close look at her amazing measuring tape. Trying to recall her last measurement.

Thanksgiving Day

A missionary family here hosted a big Thanksgiving meal and I think every missionary in Nicaraguia was invited. I ate an enormous amount of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. Not to mention two pieces of pumpkin pie. This is the first time I’ve been overseas during Thanksgiving that I’ve actually gotten to eat turkey. I was very thankful for that because I absolutely love turkey. When we were in India I’m pretty sure they served us roasted gofer on a stick.
It was wonderful to have a big yummy meal and stuffed myself full. I haven’t done that since leaving the states and I must say I really enjoyed having the “I ate way too much" feeling.

Ashlyn was a little overwhelmed with all the people at first, but I think she had a good day. She ate so much! I don’t think she ever stopped. Everyone who sat at our table was amazed at how much she consumed. She seems to be a big fan of turkey too; every bite was accompanied by an “ahmmmmm” sound.
Ashlyn also took her first official step that day! When we first arrived I was holding her hand and walking with her. As soon as the kids there saw her they started running over. She saw them coming and got so excited she let go of my hand and took a step. Then she quickly realized I was no longer holding her and sat down! There were lots of kids there, most of them were a few years older but they really liked “playing” with her.
She also got to bounce on a trampoline and wade in a pool. Oh, and see their pet monkey which she was rather intrigued by!

Adam and I both had a really good time talking and laughing with people. You forget how easy it is to communicate when you speak the same language! It was also refreshing to talk to people my age. There are no Americans in our town under the age of 60. Not that I have anything against the 60+ age group; it was just really good to talk to girls my age. We were very thankful for the great food and fellowship, it was a fun day!

A Change in Weather

When we first arrived it was hot, really hot. It was dripping with sweat at all times hot. All you wanted to do was sit around with a fan blowing on you. It was like that for the first three months we were here.

Then in October the rain started and it rained everyday, sometimes all day. The newspaper said Nicaragua received more rain this October then when Hurricane Mitch hit in 1998. The president even called a National State of Disaster because of all the rain. All this rain ruined crops and the price of beans has gone up! And let me tell you that is a big deal here, nobody in Nica is happy about the price of beans going up!
As for Adam and I, the rain got a little old; our yard was a muddy swamp most the time. I declared our house a natural disaster due to muddy dog prints everywhere.
When it was raining the weather was a bit cooler, however when it wasn’t raining the humidity was suffocating! Luckily, it rained most of the time.
Adam and I did enjoy seeing the streets flood. Within minutes of the rain starting roads would be flooded with at least a foot of water. It was amazing to see streets turn to rivers in minutes. Even better was watching people try to drive motorbikes and bicycles through them.
One time when these “floods” happened we were driving on our way to Managua. The road was dry in spots and then covered with water in others. We hit a spot where the road was flooded at the same time a man on his bicycle did. As I looked out my window I saw the man disappearing behind the wall of water our truck was spraying on him. We were only about five feet apart and I could not see him through the water. I can’t believe he stayed on his bike, I thought for sure he had fallen. But when we looked behind us there he was still peddling away!
We felt bad (or maybe I should say I felt bad because I haven’t seen Adam laugh that hard in a while). But it’s not like we got him wet, he was already drenched from the rain.

This month…the grand month of November, has been wonderful. The rain has pretty much stopped and there is a constant breeze blowing which is so refreshing! It doesn’t start to get hot until about 10 am and then starts to cool down again around 4 pm. At night I would actually go as far to say it feels cool with the breeze blowing.
So, rejoice with me! It is no longer unbearably hot!! What a refreshing change in the weather.

Birthday Girl!!

Today was Ashlyn's birthday! It's hard to believe one year ago today I was giving birth to her. I didn't even know if she was a boy or girl or what she looked like. Now I can't imagine life without my little munchkin!

Her birthday was filled with the three things she loves: good food, horseback riding and the ocean.
For breakfast she had a banana pancake for breakfast with extra banana on the side. (She's a banana-holic.) I also made her a pineapple cake that she really liked. I was trying to make a semi-healthy cake, but it ended up being full of sugar. Oh well.


After cake and presents we went the camp and I took her for a half an hour horseback ride. She never grew tired of it! She is such a serious rider, all quite and concentrated but seems to be fearless! She only talks when she sees a cow or something else that catches her interest. You have no idea how elated I am that she likes riding.

In the evening we went to the ocean and played in the waves. We had supper at one of the restaurants on the beach.

It was a late night and a big day but I think she had a good time. Yesterday I was feeling a little guilty being overseas and not having a "normal" birthday party for her. But I think she enjoyed today more than she would have a party.
Thanks to everyone who sent presents for her. It means a lot to be remembered even though we are so far away!

Gecko Killer

This morning Ashlyn and I were practicing “walking” in her new shoes. I was holding her hands as we circled the living room together. I noticed something on the floor just as Ashlyn’s clumsy foot smashed down on it. When she lifted her foot there lay a baby gecko…poor little guy, he never saw it coming.
On the next trip around the room Ashlyn noticed the gecko too (now with no tail and bulging eyes). This time she aimed for it and actually tried to step on it! Who knew my sweet little girl could be such a heartless killer?

A crib for Ashlyn!

Since arriving here we’ve been borrowing a "Pack n' Play" for Ashlyn to sleep in. Lately I’ve been feeling bad since the mattress is so thin; it can’t be very comfortable for her. So, since she has an up and coming birthday we decided to use it as a good excuse to go crib shopping!

About an hour from us is a road with shops all along it selling hand made, wood furniture. It is pretty fun place to visit. The shops are just extensions of the people's homes; it is really impressive to see how they make everything!
After awhile of driving around to different shops everything started looking the same. But then we found a crib we liked…it has two wooden drawers on the bottom and one side of the crib unlatches and folds down. It also has a canopy that is removable. Pretty snazzy! I’m imagining hitting my head on the canopy, so we’ll see how long it stays attached.
Not only was this the crib we liked the most, but it was the least expensive one we had looked at!

Ashlyn really seems to like crawling around in it and "walking" herself around by holding onto the bars. Tomorrow we are going to buy a mattress for it and pick out some fabric to have sheets made. The crib mattresses here are just thick pieces of foam. After purchasing the foam you take it to the tailor and pick out fabric for the sheets. Then the tailors sew a whole mattress cover as a sheet with a zipper to get it on and off the foam. I’m excited to pick out fabric for the sheets and start to make her room a little more “homey”.

My little cowgirl!

A few blocks from where we live is a small hotel run by an American man. In the last month he has befriended us and helped us out with various things. He also owns five horses; two
geldings, a mare and two colts. The most amazing thing is he has decided to give them to us! On Monday we will be moving the horses to the camp. Not only will they be available for the camp to use but us as well! I am so excited!

The past few days I have been going over to his place and riding them. Tonight after I had my ride, I took Ashlyn around. We did a circle around the yard and then Adam came to take her off. She started bawling! We didn’t know what was wrong. Then I thought maybe she wanted back on the horse. Sure enough her sad cry magically disappeared and she was all smiles! That was the first time I’ve ever seen her really cry because she wanted something. I took her all around the yard and even trotted quite a bit. She loved it and still cried when we finally had to get off. I could not have been more proud! I am so excited she loves riding!

Trotting around!
Taking hold of the reins!