Thankful Thursday

Sorry for the blogging break. There are some excuses, but I'm sure you don't want to hear them, so I'll spare you!

So we are back to another Thursday and as I sit here and type, I am reminded that I have much to be thankful for.

I don't remember what number I'm on, so let's just say 13.

13. Fans and lights. Recently the power has been going off a lot more frequently than it ever has before. For example, it went off about 5 times yesterday. The longest period from 9AM to 1PM. When the fans are off, it's just still. And the hardest part about it, is that Beckett has a really hard time sleeping without some air moving. However, because it has been going off so frequently, it makes me thankful for the times that it IS on. This might sound silly, but I am not guaranteed to have fans or lights. The Lord never promised me this. We know many people here that either don't have power consistently or not at all. It's a blessing to have. And I am thankful.

14. Mike. Right now David is picking Mike up from the airport! So thankful that he would take the time, spend the money, and go through 3 different countries to see us. I know David is so excited he's here!


This is the only picture I could find of the two of them. They clearly are NOT playing poker, because that would be bad.

15. The beauty of this country. I L.O.V.E. the mountains. Love them. I feel like I see God's grandness and majesty in the mountains. Again, this probably sounds weird, but when I thought of God's beauty, His creation - I only thought about the mountains. But after living here for about 2 years, my eyes are being open to tons of different types of beautiful creation. And I see the Lord in all of it.








16. Ultimate Frisbee. Every Sunday, about 20 or so people come and play ultimate frisbee for 2 hours in the afternoon. I won't lie, I'm not awesome, but I'm not terrible either (or so I think). Regardless, I think it's so fun! I'm thankful that I get to play and also for Julie and Chase, that are willing to watch Beckett while both David and I are there!


Isn't that a cool picture?!?

Thankful Thursday

13. How God won't let me just be. That may sound funny, so let me explain. I am a person who doesn't love change - like a lot of people probably. For example, I find something I like at a restaurant and then will ALWAYS order it. Never changing. Really, I don't ever get something else. I like the familiar. I like knowing that it will be good. It's a bit ridiculous, but that is the way I am. So, I tend to be the same way spiritually. I like where I'm at. I think (not really, but it's how I live) that I'm doing OK. No need for drastic measures or changes. But I've come to learn and see that God does not think the same way about me. He desires for me to grow, to mature, to change. And because I won't put myself in a spot to change, He does it for me. I feel like He is constantly placing me in situations to change and become more like Christ. Examples? I hate leading. Well I don't hate it, but I don't feel the need to lead; I'm a good follower. Numerous times, I somehow I get roped into leadership. At my school back home, I was on the leadership team, here I'm on the Women's Council for our church. I feel, no I know, that I need to learn assertiveness, how to lead, and boldness. Which I hate, but am thankful that the Lord won't let me just be. Hopefully, I'll learn these things soon!

14. Cool breezes. I get up early with Beckett, like 5:40. Even though it's dang early, there's something nice about being up then. One of the things that I love is that it's cooler in the mornings. I love standing in our kitchen between 2 open windows and feeling the brisk morning air. It's lovely! I really do feel that it's one of God's gifts to Nicaragua.

[Side note: This morning was not the same. Our little man woke up so cranky. So currently he's back in his bed, screaming (but he needs sleep). So I'm enjoying the breeze upstairs, listening to him struggle. I hope he sleeps soon!! :(]

15. Skype. How great is Skype? If you don't have it, you should get it. I love that I can talk to my mom, that Beckett can see his grandparents. What did missionaries do before skype? It's the best invention in the world. EVER.

16. Sweet moments with my baby. The moments where he's picking up David's basketball and smiling this huge smile. The moments where he let me hug him and he lays his head on my shoulder. The moments when he's pulling leaves off of bushes and trying to sneakily eat them. The moments when he sees David at the end of the day and reaches out for him. Oh, he's so sweet and I'm so thankful for my time with him.



P.S. I think he FINALLY fell back asleep. Praise the Lord!

Some things.

I'm just going to give you a list of things. Too tired (the power/fans have been off for the past 6 hours) to write a real post.

-We went to Montelimar this weekend for the women's retreat. It was lovely. The speaker was great, the beach was gorgeous, and the pool was so refreshing!


(the pool of Montelimar - it's big and has a fun little food area in the middle!)

-This was also the 1st time I've been away from Beckett for more than a day. I think we both did pretty good. Although, I did miss him something fierce!

-While I was there I went cold turkey and just decided to stop nursing. Pretty sure, you don't care, but I just thought I'd let you know! I won't lie, I'm pretty proud of myself for making it to a year! Those first few months, I thought there was NO way!

-Our friend Mike is coming to visit us on May 27th! He is one of David's very best friends and I'm so excited they get to hang out and just talk. They're good for each other (that sounds weird, but they are). We're way excited he's coming!

-I have started to "run". Be proud of me (apparently,I'm pretty proud of myself recently!)! Don't worry that the running is actually jogging and really the jogging is so slow, I could walk faster. Baby steps, you know?!?

Ok that is all.

Thankful Thursday

9. Chase and Julie I'm sure you know that we live with David's brother and his wife. They moved down here in November of '09. Obviously, living with someone (who's not your spouse) can have difficulties and hardship. There is an adjustment time and transition. They (unlike David) don't love me with an unconditional, passionate love. And vice versa. They also didn't commit a vow to me to stick with me, to love me, to forgive me - like David and I did on our wedding day. And vice versa. I write all this just to say that there can be hard times and annoyances. BUT all of us have really commited to this. Our desire is to live in unity, to love each other, to serve each other, to forgive each other. I'm thankful for them for many reasons.
-they are another example of people living for Jesus
-they are willing to watch Beckett while David and I go on a date or play ultimate frisbee
-they are silly
-they are different from us and it's good to see how marriages can look different, but still be honoring to the Lord
-Julie makes some darn good cookies, cakes, brownies, etc!

10. This weekend. This weekend our church is having a Women's Retreat at Montelimar. Ohhhh, I'm so excited! Montelimar is an awesome resort place on the Pacific. It has some yummy food, air conditioning, TV, and beautiful sights. I'm also a bit excited that I can sleep in!! You see, David will be staying home with Beckett. Although it will be weird to be without them, I am consoling myself with the idea of sleeping in past 5:30!! Oh, life is good! I'm also excited to hear what our speaker has to say and look forward to worship, the Word, and fellowship!

11. Friends back home. I have some good ones. I have some ones that don't let me be bratty, and tell me the Truth. So thankful for them and how they point me to Jesus. I would be a selfish, selfish, selfish girl without them. Thank you Lord for them.

12. I'm just going to say it, Diet Coke. Have I said it before? That would be bad, because then it might show that I'm a bit of a fanatic for the DC. I'm just glad it's here. It makes me happy. One day, I should stop drinking it. One day.

Almost Done...

...with the posts about Beckett's birthday!

So on Sunday, was Beckett's official 1 year birthday. He's 1!

I no longer have a newborn baby. I now have a big baby that is verging on toddlerness (well probably not really).



(waking up on May 2nd)


Here's what he's up to these days:

-He is a walking fool! That's all he wants to do. When we went to the pool the other day, he fussed and and fussed because he wanted to be out walking around. I had to put my foot down on this one and make him stay in the water. I mean come on! Who doesn't love being in a pool?!
-He can stand up on his own, without having to pull up on something.
-He can wave "hola" or "adios".
-He is still jabbering away.
-He can eat more solid foods and the same foods that we are eating. He loves cheese (like every good Russell), bananas, toast, beans (like every good Nica), and chicken. Still not so keen on the veggies.
-He is understanding more and more.
-He still does this super cute scrunching of the nose.
-He loves people and kids!
-He wants to be outside 100% of the time.
-He has a great love for brooms, dust pans, and mops.
-One of his favorite times of the day is playing with David. They'll chase each other, laugh, and just be silly!
-He also loves mouths and wants to put his fingers in them.

He's the best and we love him tons!

A Basketball Birthday Party!

Yesterday we had Beckett's 1st Birthday Party! It was loads of fun!

When thinking about what to do for a 1 year olds birthday, I was having a bit of a hard time coming up with great ideas. I mean, he's 1! It's not like he can tell me what kind of party he wants! So after much thought and deliberation, we decided on a basketball theme. We went with this for a couple reasons.
1. He LOVES his basketball toy Paul gave him!
2. He has a super cute basketball jersey his Lolli gave him!
3. I thought I could make a super simple basketball cake! (This one was the clencher!)

So basketball it was! We were going to have a cute little concession stand that had hot dogs, watermelon, chips, and coke. The silly rains though, ruined my plan!

We passed out invitations about a week ago to all the neighborhood kids and a few friends that live around town.



On Friday, we got everything ready! Bought the hotdogs, baked the cakes, watched the cakes fall apart, baked cupcakes instead, cut up the watermelon, decorated the house, and then watched the rain fall and fall.




Plans changed - the party was moved inside. Yep, we had about 15 kids and 20 adults all cramed in our house. Chaos is an understatement. But it was still fun!

We ate first and I will say that David makes one mean hot dog!



(kids eating hotdogs!)



(Beckett with Nora)

Then we moved on to cupcakes!! :) We sang to Beckett. He was a bit overwhelmed and cried a bit, but promptly got over it when he tasted the deliciousness of icing and cake!



(David shielding Beckett from the flame.)




(This is where he got a bit sad! :( He made such a sad face)



(This is where he got over being sad and shoved the whole cupcake in his mouth!)


Last but not least, the pinata!! No Nicaraguan party is complete without a pinata!

The kids hit it and hit it, but that thing would not bust. So Joel (another NCA teacher) decided to do the task himself. I won't mention how he broke the broom sending it flying over the kids heads. But alas he got it open!



The party was a blast! We are so thankful to be celebrating him this special day!