Days like today only come around once every other year or so.  It’s the day when we get all the kids loaded up and we head to the doctor’s office to see an ultrasound of our baby and find out if we’re getting another girl or another boy.

I’m so grateful that my doctor is one of nine kids, because our batch of rowdy kiddos just doesn’t phase him in the least.  In fact, as they pepper him with questions, he listens carefully and then answers each question, no matter how insignificant it seems to be.  Before Dr. Harold started the sonogram, he took a survey, by show of hands, to see who was voting for a girl and who was voting for a boy.  Isaac was sadly outnumbered as the only one voting for another boy.

Each time we make this trek to the sonogram room with our whole family, we add another little person to the parade.  Before long we’ll have to set up bleachers and sell popcorn just to manage the crowd!

It was finally time to get to see our baby.  Some of the kids were eagerly looking at the images on the screen, while a few other kids were hovering over a Highlights magazine they found in the waiting area.  Michael finally threatened, “If you’re going to read Highlights, go back to the waiting room!”

After a thorough examination, with our little baby waving and wiggling the whole time, the doctor finally declared that he was 95% sure that we were going to have another girl.   Yipee!  Now the children were eager to know what the name would be.  I told them I still need to think about it.  I have a few names rattling around in my head, but I haven’t settled on one yet.

I’m really excited to think of having another little girl.  I wonder if she’ll have dark hair and brown eyes like our other girls.  No matter what she looks like, it will be a treat to get to have another baby in the house!

For many weeks Amelia has been complaining that it’s too hard to fit all of her clothes into her dresser drawers. Usually she complains the most when I’m actually somewhat caught up on laundry. My standard answer for her is, “If everything won’t fit, then choose some things you don’t want to keep and put them on my bed.” So now and then I find a little pile of things on my bed that I sort through and put in the box heading to the mission.

Today was the day that I tackled the nursery closet and Amelia’s clothes for sorting and packing. I recruited Luke and Amelia to help me drag everything out of the closet and put it in the hallway. Then I started sorting clothes and other items. Soon it was time to focus on Amelia’s dresser. She was so tickled! She stayed right with me and was very attentive and helpful the whole time. She was quick to identify clothing that was either too small or stained or had other issues. I was so pleased that she could discern the clothes she wouldn’t use and that she didn’t try to hang on to every piece of clothing she had ever seen or worn. We quickly filled a give-away box and then I handed her a very small pile of items to replace in her drawers. Her eyes opened wide and she was delighted to go refill her empty dresser drawers. Once we had finished working through every drawer, she giggled with delight, “I have lots of room in my drawers! I have room for more clothes!”

The other cute thing she said today was when we were hanging up some clothes that I had stored and that would now fit her. We pulled from the box a pair of leggings and a matching top. As she realized what it was, she exclaimed, “This is beautiful! It’s a SET!” I didn’t realize she liked “sets” so much.

Hopefully I’ll have just as easy of a time helping the older children sort through their clothes. We’ll see if they do as well as Amelia.

Last Saturday when we got home from our week in Guatemala, all I could think about was recovering from my lost sleep.  So I slept for about 4 hours before noon, and then another 4 hours after noon.  When I woke up from my second long nap and came downstairs to try to get my bearings, there on the stove was a pot of hot chili, and on the counter was a bag holding corn muffins.  What a wonderful sight!  I got a small bowl of chili and devoured it, not realizing how hungry I was until the smell and taste of the delicious food woke up my senses.  As I was eating, I tried to remember what I had been told about the food.  I had a vague memory of someone telling me that our friends, the Crumbaugh’s, were going to bring a meal.  If this chili was from the Crumbaugh’s, then I knew it had to be venison chili, since Bill is famous for that.  That realization made the chili taste even better.  What a wonderful way to wake up!  Later I discovered they also had brought grapes and cheese and even a box of ice cream!

The next day after church, Roy & Mary gave us a lasagna out of their freezer, along with two containers of BBQ pork.  Two more meals!  Another friend, Bethany, asked if we needed a meal and offered a main dish out of her freezer.  By this point I was feeling very overwhelmed and humbled by all these gifts of food, so I told Bethany I felt we were already set for a while.

All week we’ve been eating chili, lasagna and BBQ pork.  I cooked some rice and added it to the chili or the pork as I felt it was appropriate.  As of today, we have a little lasagna left, but I think I’m finally ready to do some grocery shopping and think of meals for next week.  Isn’t it amazing that we were able to eat all week on the gifts of food from friends?  Thank you, God, for taking care of us!

It’s an overwhelming thought to begin packing a household.  On top of that, I’m trying to keep some of our normal routines in place, with school work and chores and music lessons and naptimes, so that cuts into my packing time.

Every day I try to pick away at some of the things that need to be sorted and packed.  I’m delighted to report that I’ve carried several bags of things to the trash and have already hauled a load of boxes to the mission.  Still, it seems that I’m moving rather slowly.  In two days I’ve only managed to get through two bookshelves.  But maybe those little steps will add up over the next month.  I’m hoping that if I just keep picking away at it I’ll look back and see a good amount of progress before too long.

I don’t think any of us realize how much we’re going to miss our house and our neighborhood. I keep looking around and thinking, “It’s almost over.”  We have lived here for almost twelve years.  It’s a part of who we are.

Despite those sentimental thoughts, I’m excited to think ahead to what waits for us.  We have no idea where we’re going, if we’ll buy a house or build one, or even if we’ll end up just moving back to this house if we can’t sell it.   But I feel strongly that God will lead us.

Meanwhile, I’m enjoying my home even more.  It’s fun to watch the birds argue over the birdfeeder; it’s fun to sit on my front porch and sip my coffee; and it’s such a comfortable thing to lay in my bed at night and feel totally at home.  I’ll miss these things.

Here is what I posted as my final post on the www.blogemala.com blog.

As I muse over the week we spent in a whole different world, I am impressed by a few different thoughts.  First, I’m amazed that we didn’t have any real problems during the whole time.  We didn’t lose any luggage, we didn’t have anything stolen, we didn’t misplace any team members, there were no auto accidents, our flights were on time, no one lost their passports, and no one got seriously sick.  I know that God uses trials to help us trust Him more, but quite frankly, I’m grateful He didn’t use this trip to teach us any lessons like that.

Now that we’re home and getting back into our normal routines, we do so with a new filter.  I can’t help but see my life here in light of life in Guatemala.  I’m eager to continue learning Spanish.  I’m aware of the rich life people lead not too far south of us.  And most of all, I’m eager to go back again.

I think that one other change in my perspective is how I view the Latino folks here in our town.  I feel like I have a new respect for them and their way of life.  Our church is getting ready to start a ministry to non-English speakers, and I’m so eager to get involved.  I want to know these people better.

We tried to post our journal about the trip to Guatemala to both of the websites, but Michael forgot to put the last few entries here.  He has now updated it for the most part, but if you want to see if you missed anything, check out the church blog at www.blogemala.com.

We are so glad to be home and reunited as a family.  Now we will start working toward moving out of our house and seeing where God wants us to go next.

Our last full day here was full of lots of fun. It started with the team dividing up. The ones who came here for outreach prepared to go to the local school to show the Jesus film. The ones who came for adventure got ready for the zip line. And one team member simply stayed home to take a nap.

I’ll need to let the zip line people and the school people give their own reports, since I wasn’t at either place. But I can tell you briefly that the zip line folks had a wonderful time, and the girls who went along just to watch seemed to have a good time too. Apparently there were monkeys in the jungle who were willing to pose for a few photos.
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Breakfast today was a lot of fun. Not only did we have some fun fruits to set out for everyone (watermelon and pitaya, specifically), but we were tickled to find the Spanish version of Coco Puffs and Lucky Charms to share with everyone. Before going to the market Tuesday, I asked the team if there were any special requests. Bill Crumbaugh asked for plantains, and the boys asked for Coco Puffs. Everyone laughed at their suggestion, but no one could miss the look of delight on their faces when they found Coco Puffs at the breakfast buffet this morning.
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This morning, after breakfast, Rachel and I prepared to head to Solola to the market to get more food for our group. I think I’m almost used to cooking for twenty people… but that meant restocking some things that didn’t last nearly as long as I thought they would. That’s not all bad though, because it made for a good excuse to go back to the market, which is quite an experience anyway.
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Guatemala pictures are up on blogemala.com