Finding a sub...

At our school, they have a pretty awesome maternity leave. They will allow me to take off 28 days before the due date and then 56 days after. That is unheard in the States. At my old school, teachers would save and save their personal days and sick days, so they could take off just 2 months after the baby is born. I really am a little bit in shock that my school lets me take off before the baby is born. Not only do they let me, but really, really encourage it! That's amazing! I really do feel like that is a blessing from the Lord! It will be the hottest time of the year in April (like 90 to 100 degrees), so not having to work and being able to prepare for our baby is wonderful!
The only thing is, I need to find a sub for my class while I'm gone. Again, it's not like the states here! I can't just call a the "Sub Hotline" and have someone fill my position! :) You also have to really like little kids to take on 1st grade! Sooooo, I'm praying for the perfect person to fill my job! I would love it if you prayed too!

3d Ultrsound

Last week I went to have a 3d Ultrasound. Which by the way, is way, way cheap here! So much so that if you were pregnant and happened to be visiting I would schedule you an appointment!
I was really excited because I had heard it was very cool seeing your baby this way! So I drove (all by myself, because David coudn't find a sub) to a new doctor's office. (I was very proud of myself driving a large van through the streets of Managua, all by myself!) The doctor was extremely thorough. He looked at the baby's heart forever, the head, something inside the head!, and other stuff! But he kept saying, the baby's face is pressed up against the side of my stomach (he used other words, but I'll just say that!) So he couldn't get a great picture. So at the end of the day, this is the only 3d picture we have of our sweet baby! :)

I've decided that this baby is going to be stubborn (like David and me!) because he/she will never turn to take a good picture!

He did say that the baby looks great and healthy and developing well! Always a blessing to hear!

p.s. I'm not quite sure what this is a picture of! Is that terrible! I think it's a foot? or maybe a hand?

Hola!

I'm not sure who all reads this blog and if you read it, if you also get our monthly updates. So just in case you don't receive them - here it is:
(If you would like our monthly updates, just leave a comment or email us!)

Dear Friends and Family,

Feliz día de San Valentín! (Happy Valentine’s Day!) We hope all is well! We have had a very busy and fun January and February. Every month, as we sit down to write this update, we are always amazed at the things the Lord has done or taught us and the blessings we have received. Here are some of the highlights from January and February:

· Chase and Julie Russell came to visit us at the end of January! They were so kind and brought down some rather large suitcases with some wonderful things for us from the states. We received taco seasoning, a baby swing, and some really cute house decorations – to name just a few. More important than the “things”, it was like a breath of fresh air to have our family here. We really are so thankful that they would take time to come visit us. We loved having them here!

· While they were here we were able to do some sightseeing. We visited Lake Nicaragua, went on a boat tour and saw some really friendly monkeys. We went to the Masaya Volcano, went inside an insanely long bat cave, and even saw the glow of lava. We also spent some time on the Pacific Ocean and it still amazes us how warm the water is! (Pictures above are from all of those places)

· This month, Kristina led chapel for the preschool and lower elementary. Our study this semester is over the many different names of God and Kristina was able to teach about Jehovah Shalom, God is our Peace. Although, the students are young, we prayed they could understand how God is a God of peace and not a God of fear. In the recent past, Nicaragua has had some political unrest and most of the students have experienced fear through this. They have seen and experienced some things that most kids their age have not. Our hope is that they trust fully in Jehovah Shalom and do not live in fear.

· Kristina is 29 weeks pregnant and was able to have a 3D ultrasound. We are told that this is rather expensive in the states, but it’s not here! It was extraordinarily cool to see the baby and hear that everything looks great and we have a healthy baby! We are so thankful for this news! Each week we get more and more excited to meet this wonderful baby!

· David has been an assistant coach for the high school guy’s basketball team and today was their first game! They lost unfortunately, but it has been really fun for him to get to interact with the guys in and out of class. This semester he has been teaching geography, government, and biblical ethics to the high school grades. Between basketball, lesson planning, and grading, life stays extremely busy!

Our prayer requests for this month:

· Pray for us to grow in our marriage and love for each other as we are both often very busy and tired.

· Continued praise for a good update on Baby Russell!

· As we work with students and their families, that we would be full of love and wisdom in those relationships.

· We’re looking for a car! Pray we can find the right one for us and our budget!

As always, thank you for your prayers and support. We are continually reminded of how we need Christ! We hope that you are reminded of Him today and that your love for Him continues to grow, even in the monotony of everyday life.

In Christ,

David and Kristina Russell

Car shopping!

We are in the process of looking for a car! It's kind of fun and also a bit overwhelming! We want one that is reliable - so that it won't break down on some random road here! We want an SUV - so that when we hit a pothole (there are about 100 or so just on our 1 road) we won't bottom out or go flying. We want one that doesn't cost a lot of money! And we want one fairly soon!
I can get a bit panicky, when I think about going into labor and having to take a Taxi to the hospital or borrow the teacher van! :) However, this is another fantastic oppurtunity the Lord has given me to display patience and trust in Him. I know He will provide for our needs; He always has!
We're praying that we can find the right one for us and would love your prayers as well!

disclaimer: The car above is obviously not the one we're getting! We have looked at a few older (like '90) 4Runners though!

A common situation

Just thought I would share about being pulled over here. In the past 2 weeks, David has been pulled over about 5 times. Need I remind you that we don't have a car, so it's not like we drive a lot!

This is how the conversation almost always goes
Cop: You were (speeding, not stopping fast enough, crossing a line) sir.
David: Oh, okay.
Cop: Do you have your documents?
(David hands them his driver's license, and the car's insurance cards)
Cop: Well what you did was an infraction of the law, so I'm going to have to give you a ticket.
David: Okay, Esta bien.
Cop: Well you could pay me now OR I'll have to take your license, and then you'll have to go to the bank and pay the fine.
David (and me): It's okay, we'll take the ticket
Cop: You'll have to go to the bank, pay the fine, lose your license OR you could pay me now.
David: It's okay, we'll take the ticket
(At this point the cop is a bit frustrated with our lack of Spanish and then usually looks at our insurance card, where it says where we work)
Cop: You work at the Christian Academy???
David: Yes, we are teachers there.
Cop: Oh, you can go.

Seriously, every time that is how it has gone. Sometimes we have to tell them where we work, but they have always let us go when they hear we work at NCA! I'm not exactly sure why, but we think it's a blessing from the Lord! :)

Another fun weekend!

Chase and Julie left on Sunday (at the crack of dawn), but not before another fun weekend! On Thursday night we attempted to go see Marley and Me at the new theater. Which by the way is really nice and only about 3 dollars! Much better than the $9.00, we were paying in Dallas! However, Marley and Me was only in Spanish, so we opted to play some arcade games! I dominated in air hockey and basketball shoot out!! :) Ask David about it!
On Friday, we went to the beach! We stayed at a cheap little hotel right on the beach. We spent our time being sung to


eating and playing games!


It was nice to be away and enjoy the waves! Again we felt so blessed to have Chase and Julie here! They brought us much joy!


Pregnancy Update:

I am 27 weeks pregnant!! Which means in 13 weeks we'll have a baby! I am getting more and more excited each day! I had some blood work done last Friday and the good news is I don't have gestational diabetes! I was getting a little worried because I definitely love sweet foods! I still am a little anemic, so I'm pumping up the iron intake! More bad news (not really) my ankles are still so swollen! Chase called them cankles (calf+ ankle), which I hate, but describes it well! :) It's worth it though!


I thought this picture was appropriate - me looking quite pregnant, probably bare foot, and making cookies!