A Reason For Everything

It was a very hard thing to leave my little girl behind in MN while I headed off to Honduras. At first I convinced myself that I would either be back with her or would send for her within a few months of being apart. I cried and cried those first days back in Honduras without her. My heart ached for her. The days passed and I cried less. I loved hearing updates about her new school, her friends, her awesome teacher she had. She seemed happy. I was happy for her.

A few weeks into the school year, she went to the dentist. She had lost a tooth while I was there and I could see the tooth behind the lost one was starting to rot. Great. I can get her to brush, but I can't get the girl to floss. She had just been to the dentist in Honduras and had a filling done there. But I realized they had not done x-rays and I was worried about possible further decay between other teeth. I made an appointment for her at her old dentist and my parents brought her in. They did the x-rays and turns out 3 other teeth were starting to rot too! Fortunately these were baby teeth. The x-rays revealed that she was about to lose them soon too because there was no root and you could see the adult tooth behind. The following week she was numbed up and the rotten teeth were pulled. Because there was no root the procedure was cake. Easy and over within 15-20 minutes. Now if we could just get her to floss now!

A few weeks later she had an appointment with her general practitioner for a check-up. Sister inherited a condition from her father where she has high cholesterol and it can be a health issue down the road if not properly monitored. Well, her cholesterol keeps going up and up. We found out that it will always continue to rise because of her genetics, regardless of diet. Her father died of a heart attack at 35 years old. He did not live a healthy lifestyle though so dug himself an early grave, unfortunately. So, we have to monitor her levels and watch her diet somewhat. In to the doctor she went to get some blood work done. After the results showed a continued rise from the last level check, off to the heart doctor she went at the wonderful Children's Heart Clinic in Minneapolis to have a few more tests done and be evaluated for possible statin treatment. She also saw a nutritionist/ lipid counselor that discussed with Sister (and grandma) about her diet, which was very insightful. She goes back in a few months to check her levels again and will most likely start medications sometime this summer.

I was so grateful and relieved for her to have such wonderful care in the states. To learn about the things that she needs to live a long and healthy life and how to treat this type of thing. I also am so relieved she got her teeth taken care of too! Here in Honduras, I tend to worry and wonder if we are getting good care. I seem to view doctors as unqualified until they prove themselves otherwise. My husband on the other hand. If there is an "md" after their name...they are qualified. Very frustrating for the both of us. One thing that is really awesome is that we get these typed up summaries of her medical issues and findings from her tests. They are the communications that go between doctors and a copy is sent to us. Great communication! The care Sister has received is beyond anything I think she would have received in Honduras.

But wait! There's more! I knew with the above two issues that there was a positive reason for her to be in the states; but it gets better.

Sister also has some learning issues. Nothing major. The girl is bright as can be. But she struggles with reading and writing. I have thought that she has something called disgraphia. I believe she could very well have this, but it's hard to say unless she is actually tested for it. She also has hand tremors and struggles with dexterity which includes writing. It's like a double whammy. Her brain has a hard time telling her hand what to write and then when she does try to get it out, her hand is shaking and it becomes almost painful for her to write. She still practices cursive writing, but it is very difficult for her and she will likely adopt some form of printing as her way of writing in the long term. Fine by me. Her reading has struggled at times. She was below grade level in 2nd grade and had extra help to get her up to grade level. I always wondered why she had such a hard time because I always read her books, worked with her on her reading when they started in Kindergarden, etc.

A few weeks ago the kids in her school were given a survey to screen for possible reading issues. And sure enough Sister was flagged as needing further testing. She was tested for something called Irlen Syndrome and found to have this. It is a visual perceptual disorder affecting primarily reading and writing based activities. Somewhat easy to treat with the use of tinted lenses in glasses and colored overlay sheets. Sister's color is purple. I truly, truly hope and pray that this will help her. It's hard to see your child struggle. I used to get so frustrated with her, not understanding what she was going through. When I finally realized what was going on and told her I was sorry for pushing her and not understanding her, making her feel badly...she got down on her knees and said, "Thank you, mommy! Thank you, thank you!" I gave her a big hug. She was validated and I was humbled.

Again...I realize that the Lord had reasons that she should be in the states and I am at peace with it.

Sis and I have been spending a lot more time on the phone lately. It's nice to spend time with her every day talking about everything and nothing, singing songs, telling stories, but I can't wait to see her face-to-face. I think I'm going to hug her for three days.

I am gearing up for our trip back to MN sometime in April... hopefully. I'm in a wedding and my presence has been requested. We are trying to get Baby's US citizenship registered so that she can get her passport and travel; but we will be on our 3rd attempt at the consulates office on Monday. That's a whole other story....

My Girl Dances The Punta

In Sister's 4th grade class they have divided into groups to present different cultures. Sister's group is presenting the Garifunas. Sister loves to dance and so her and another girl volunteered to present the style of dance known as Punta.

Here is a video of the girls practicing and of course little Brother had to get in on the fun. The kids looked adorable but I have to admit that Sister didn't do too bad for a little gringa! I told sister I was going to send the camera to school so her teacher could take another video.

Dangers Of The Electric Shower Heaters

I don't know if there were any warnings about this danger explained in the instructions that came with the heater, but we are certainly aware of the danger now. Yes, for those unaware, it's very common not to have hot water heaters for the whole house. Many have an electric water heater in the shower head. Sounds crazy to mix electricity and water, but somehow it works.

Sister took a shower the other night but failed to turn the water off completely and since she can't reach the switch for the shower settings, she couldn't turn the water to NO HEAT as we usually do after a shower and were told to do by the electrician who hooked it up. There are three settings for the shower head. HOT/NO HEAT/WARM. Sister likes to take HOT showers. With the water just barely coming out it caused the heating element to overheat. Thankfully Sister was out of the shower when this happened. I was at work but could still smell the results when I got home. There was a lot of snap crackle popping and a flame then the lights in the house flickered. Papa was close by and got the breaker turned off in a hurry. It was over fast but here are the remains of our hot water shower heater:





The showers have been terrible cold the last few mornings. Brrrrr.....

Here's A Little Catch Up

Life here in Honduras has been moving along at a steady pace. I can't believe it's been about 8 months we've been living here now. Being that I now have a job, I've been feeling less cooped up, you could say. It's also starting to get hot around Honduras so it's nice to get out of this concrete oven we live in for a short escape at work.

My Teaching Job
The job teaching English has been going good. I've been hearing good feed back anyway about my teaching skills. I do like it and find it a good challenge. But there are two major issues with the job. The company I work for doesn't pay well and the time it takes to get ready, spend money on gas to get to work and the cost for childcare makes my "take home" pretty measly. That and I also hate being away from my kids and husband for a big chunk of the day. It really makes the job a lot less appealing. Papa says he misses dinner together at night too.

But who knows. I'm going to see if they would be willing to up my pay and maybe I'll stick around. If not, I'm going to see if I can pick up some students to tutor in English. So if you know someone around here wanting English lessons- send them my way.

The Maid Situation
Lets see...Ah yes. Our maid that I mentioned in my last post. We brought her back. Her name is Melinda, btw. We did attempt to find someone else. We called a girl highly recommended, but after talking with her on the phone, I guess you just need to figure that, "I'll get back to you" = no.

After debating the issue for a few days and weighing all the feedback we got from everyone, Papa and I talked to the maid's parents and sat down with Melinda too and gave her a second chance. I guess Melinda's father gave her a pretty harsh talking to, too. The first few days she was back, she was a little uncomfortable, but now seems to be back to her usual self. Laughing and talking. The one thing that helped us make the decision to bring her back, was that our son seems to like her and she likes him. They play and laugh. It's cute.

It's A Zoo Out There
On another note, I got into a small fender-bender a few weeks ago with the car. Papa was not happy. Maybe you saw me mention it on twitter. I rear-ended someone who I didn't see stop. Yeah...it basically cost me my whole months salary to get it fixed. But it looks better now than it did before because there was still some damage from my 1st accident. I think Americans have it almost too easy in the states because you can drive mindlessly. I remember driving places and arriving to my destination and thinking..."was I even watching the road?", "How did I get here?" The roads are wide, open and clear in the states for the most part. Cars usually stay in their lanes and drive at a fairly consistent speed. People don't make frequent sudden stops and theres not cars jetting out in front of you causing sudden breaking. In Honduras you better drive with both hands on the wheel and keep your eyes on the road and what's in front of you. Stay alert! I think that is where I have trouble. I think I forget I need to stay so alert.

Places to Go
We made it to the beach last week. It was a perfect day. I brought the camera and didn't take one photo. Sorry. A friend came along with her two adorable kids and it was a very good day.

I went out a few weekends ago with some girls I met. I also have made kind of a little chum at my job. It's nice to have some girlfriends to hang with. My girls back home can never be replaced, but no matter where you go, I think a girl needs girlfriends. Very important. So we went out and hit the town. Okay we went to one place and stayed there all night. But it was fun and we all danced our tails off. It was a-lotta fun! I felt 25 again.




Brother Updates
Brother graduated from potty training a few weeks ago. It was a bit of a struggle at first. He wouldn't put his "big boy underwear" on but we also would not put a diaper on him. So he ran around naked for a few days. After he wet himself he realized he did not like that and begged and screamed for his diapers. I told him diapers are for babies and had him help me (he watched me) put a diaper on a stuffed animal. He didn't like it at first. He screamed and was very upset at me. He wanted his diapers. But the next day he decided that mama was right; diapers are for babies and started letting us put his underwear on and he would tell us when he had to go. He now refuses to wear anything but his big boy underwear and is bringing himself to the toilet. I''m so proud of him! But the best thing is...no diapers to wash!! Thank heavens for my pila. They are invaluable, in my opinion.

Sister Updates
Sister has really been making leaps and bounds on her language skills. She is understanding a lot more now and I've seen her react to instructions given in Spanish or she will respond in English to what she hears in Spanish. I've been encouraging her tutor to get her to speak more now. Sister also has been picking up a lot of Spanish at school. Her friends seem to be pretty good with trying to help her speak more. They understand that she needs to learn.

I didn't mention this before, but we hired a woman in the neighborhood a few blocks from us that drives her kids and one other kid to school. I was a bit hesitant at first to hire this woman. Mainly because I didn't like that she was charging us so much even though she would be bringing her kids to the school anyway. She's charging us about $50/month which is almost the total cost of gas. We could hire a bus service to pick her up for less, but she would be picked up very early. So paying a little more has worked out well and Sister has fun with the kids she rides with and they too help her with Spanish.

Language
I on the other hand, am still in desperate need of Spanish lessons. I tried to study from the computer with some of the free programs out there on the web. I tried to read my Learn Spanish books. I don't know what I need because everything I do on my own puts me to sleep. Literally. And I don't retain anything. It's like I read it and forget it. At least that's how I feel.

Papa Updates
Papa has been working really hard. What else is new? Ha! I wish there was a magic formula to make his business grow like we want it to. But the systems here are so backwards and literally no one is consistent or is dishonest with their business practices, which makes it very difficult. Papa's joy definitely is in his family. He might have a very stressful day, but he always has room for love and play for the kids and wife.

That's All Folks
I could keep on writing but I'll stop this post here. Just wanted to catch you up on some things.

Happy Birthday Sister Sprout!

Tomorrow is Sister's 10th birthday. It's hard to believe I have a 10 year old. What a blessing to me she has been in so many ways. She is a beautiful girl inside and out.

On Friday we brought cake to share with the class. A box cake that I made into cupcakes. I didn't want to mess around with cutting and making a mess. I forgot how sweet those cakes can be. Toothache city. Especially with the frosting from the tub. The photos were taken in groups. One with girls and the other with the boys. I also took a video of them singing Happy Birthday to her. I think the way the kids sing the song is so cute! With their little accents and whoops or what ever it is that they do. Here's the video


We celebrated last night with two girlfriends at Applebee's (Sister's favorite restaurant from the states) at the City Mall. After dinner the girls burned off energy running around. It was so wonderful to see Sister laughing and playing. I worry, you know, about her adjusting and being a happy little girl.

Unfortunately, I can't share photos from dinner because I forgot the card reader for my camera in the computer because I was downloading the video I took in her class. One of her friends spent the night and stayed all day today too. When we went to drop her off, we talked with her mother for a while and she was such a nice lady. We basically said that our girls are welcome at each others homes anytime. What a blessing that they can be friends.