Some Journey

The saga continues

I know it is an inherently characteristic risk when purchasing things online from someone you haven't spoken to face to face, and I suppose I've made enough online orders that it was bound to catch up with me, but I am really struggling to not lose my temper.
Stephen picked up my camera this morning. Good news. It arrived and seems to be in tact, etc. Bad news, the extra lens that was supposed to be included in the package is not there. I really would like to have that lens (the 70-300 zoom) for when we are in the mountains of Oaxaca. I called, and was told to call back after 10, when the salesmen arrive.
When I've spoken to them on the phone other times this week, I would hesitate to say that customer service is their strong point. So I'm nervous. Please pray that I will be able to communicate with them in such a way as to help them understand their responsibility to overnight the lens to me at their expense, but also to remain polite enough not to disgrace the name of my Savior.

My barbaric yawp.

AAAAAARGH.

When my camera had still not arrived at 4:30 this afternoon, I emailed epixny, the ebay store from whom I purchased it, and requested the tracking number they should have already sent me. I discovered that though they had told me over the phone that my camera had been shipped at 11 am Monday, it in fact was not shipped until 5:31 pm Tuesday. Knowing that I had to be home in order to receive the package, I made a point of scheduling my week in such a way that I would be home all day today. Not so tomorrow. I have a whole list of errands to run tomorrow, including two doctor's appts. So I had to call FedEx and have them hold the package at the station where we were assured we could pick it up any time tomorrow after 830 am. I guess I'll believe it when I see it. So I will now have less than 48 hours to make sure that everything is as it should be with the camera before leaving the country. Nervous. Yes. I guess I should have known better ordering a week before leaving, but more times than not I receive my ebay purchases within a few days when I pay regular shipping. I was foolish enough to think if I shelled out the dinero for 2 day shipping that it wouldn't take a week to get it. And again I say, "AAARRGH".

Joseph can swim!!

Today we went swimming. Joseph has still been using a "bubble" (those foam thingys that you strap to their backs) to assist him in swimming, up until a week or two ago, when we switched him to a small life vest because we couldn't find the bubble. The vest did not give him as much lift, and I thought it might be a good transition to swimming unassisted. Apparently it was.
About thirty minutes before we were planning to leave, Joseph asked if I would get in the pool and let him try to swim without the vest. I'm a "fair weather swimmer" so the last two times we went swimming I didn't get in because the water temp still wasn't up to my liking. This time it was, so I told him he could give it a shot.
I got in and stood about three feet from the steps, mentally preparing myself for the long drawn out process of swimming attempts which we experienced with each of the other kids in which they gradually swim a little further, struggling along, until after a few weeks they can be declared an independent swimmer. Joseph dove into the water and swam. . .right past me. He circled around me and went back to the steps. So I backed up. He did it again. I backed up further. This time he didn't swim back to the steps but swam to the side where he retrieved a toy. He spent the next 20 minutes throwing a "diving ring" to the bottom of the pool and diving to the bottom to get it. So there you have it. Apparently Joseph can swim. Who knew?
This actually isn't that surprising. Joseph has always been our "water baby", prefering to be in the water as much as possible from a very young age (he consistently takes 2 hour baths). He used to be constantly frustrated with his "bubble" because it would not allow him to dive under the water and stay submerged for any amount of time. He can hold his breath for a really long time. . .long enough it is scary. When we used to go the Y when he was 2, he used to scare the life guards because he loved to float with his face in the water for so long they thought he surely was drowning. But that's just what he likes. It's not at all hard to imagine him as a future life guard. He tans easier than any of the other kids, and his hair just gets blonder. . .we may have to change our phone number when he hits adolescence.

The Countdown Begins

I know, Scott, if I were truly an industrious blogger I would actually have a counter thingy at the top. But I've got laundry to do.

Our flight to Mexico leaves at 9:30 am this coming Saturday. This time next week we'll be in the village (Mixtepec). So I will spend the next five days trying to prepare and pack for the four of us for two weeks in Mexico, while simultaneously trying to prepare the little kids emotionally and get them packed for being "left behind" for two weeks. Though it's not as bad as it sounds for them. Mom plans to take them to music camp at Hixson Pres, which they LOVED last year and will keep them busy most of the day for one of the weeks. Mako plans to have Joseph over to spend the night, and Mandi and Greg offered to do something fun with them while we're gone as well. Joseph will also have a day with Cocoa (Ricardo Gilbert), which he keeps reminding me of. ("When you go to Mexico, Cocoa will come get me. . ."). I think the hardest part for them, particularly Joseph being the age he is, is understanding that it is soon, but not really understanding time/calendars well enough to really know when. When we got out of the car Sunday for church, Joseph got teary eyed and wanted me to carry him in. I told him I had my hands full, but I would hold his hand instead. He hesitated for a moment and said, "But is this when you're leaving?"
It's frustrating to feel like I have sooo much to do, but I need to also just spend some time snuggling with the kids, too.
In other news, my Nikon D70 should arrive today or tomorrow. I'm soooo excited about getting to take it to Mexico. Nervous, too. But very excited.
Also, Stephen's back is out again. Please pray that it is better before we leave.

I plan to try to blog from Mexico. There is an internet cafe place around the corner from Casa Hogar in Acapulco, and even one in the village, though I think it is only open 2 or 3 days a week. So, we'll see. If nothing else, I'll try to email updates to Dad and see if he'll post them for me.

Now pray I remember to pack everything. . .

Rolled

Well, the CVPC youth had a lock in last night. How do we know? Because we awoke to this:

First Baptist Church, where our friends who live across the street are the youth ministers, had a camp out at church last night, too. At first, we thought it was them. Then we remembered CVPC's lock in, and changed our minds. After clean up, Sam found a note in the mailbox that said, CVPCY. Course, I still don't know who to blame, Scott or LaLa. :)

Samuel y Samuelito

Tonight we received a call from Stephen's mom at about 8 pm.
"Sam and Justina and the kids are here, and they want to see you guys."
So we packed up the kids and went.
Samuel Lopez went to visit his dying brother in the hospital more than 30 years ago. . .maybe even 40. His brother told him that he was not afraid of dying. He had been told by a Wycliffe missionary about a Savior, Jesus Christ, and becasuse he had accepted Christ as his personal Savior and Lord and had a relationship with Him, he knew that when he died he would go to be with Christ in a better place. His dying wish was that Sam go to Wycliffe and tell them to send a missionary to his home village in San Juan Mixtepec to share the news of the gospel with the Mixtec people. Samuel did just that. The missionary who came to the village was my father in law, Thomas Ibach. Over the many years that my father in law worked with the Mixtec people of Mixtepec before his death from cancer in 1986, Sam was by his side, as friend, translator, and general helper.
So when we became pregnant with our second boy, the first of whom had received Tom's name, (Ethan Thomas), Stephen and I thought it only made sense to go with Samuel.
Samuel Lopez has been proud of that fact ever since. When our Sam was 9 months old, Sam came to visit and we photographed them together. I don't think they've seen each other since. But our Sam has heard many stories and is proud and affectionate regarding Samuel Lopez. And when Stephen and I were in the village last summer, we gave him a picture of the kids. He carried it with him everywhere in the village, showing everyone Sam and telling them that was his namesake.
So, bedtime or not, when the opportunity to get Sam and Sam together again was enough to keep our Sam bouncing in the car all the way to Grandma's house. It was a fun time of fellowship and telling stories. My children had the priviledge of spending the evening surrounded by people speaking a language that only a small fraction of the world is familiar with, Mixteco. And that is truly a priviledge. Sam and Justina were so excited that the boys will be in the village this summer. Our only sadness is that they will be here, instead. I was so hoping the boys would have the opportunity to walk the village with Sam. He's such a delight to be around, and an invaluable connection to the grandfather they never knew.

That about sums it up.

We started off VBS at CVPC with a "Kick Off Party" today. VBS will be all next week in the evenings. Stephen and I were at the church from 9-5, along with the little kids. The older boys went to JFest, a Christian music festival, from 9-12, then came to the VBS party, then back to JFest until 7. We are all exhausted, sunburned and drained. But it was fun. The above pic is of Noah just after sticking his head in the "fish pond" to cool off. The "fish pond" was a kiddie pool we filled with water, then added magnetic fish to be caught with magnetic pole. It was hot and humid and there were lots of preschoolers, so there was much less fishing than there was wading. We did discover Dana Monahan's incredible affinity for nudity, as well. . . It was fun. Now I've gotta start gearing up for the week ahead. Also gotta get Ethan ready for his first overnight summer camp. He and Jason are going to join Ethan's best friend BJ and go to Crosspoint Christian Sports camp. He leaves Monday and returns Friday. I think he will have a blast.
I'll close with another VBS pic:

Many thanks to everyone who helped out today!!

And then there is this

One of the most predictable things about having five children is the number of "incidents" we encounter, whether minor emergencies or just humorous anecdotes. Yesterday Sydney awoke with a fever of 101. Today she has no fever, but her stomach is red/rashy. No idea. Later in the day, my mom and I were loading some furniture into the back of my van. We had folded down the back seats and opened up the back to make it easier. Sam had carried something out for us when we heard him screaming. We went rushing out to discover that the car doors were all closed and locked, with Sam screaming somewhere inside. I have tinted windows, and combined with the fact that there were two warm kids inside the car and it was rainy outside so the windows had fogged over, we could not see Sam to see what was going on. I did see Noah standing in the front seat, and began to yell in to him to unlock the doors. He started pushing buttons and pulling knobs, but didn't unlock the doors. About that time Joseph ran up and said, "Mom, I have the keys! I took them out so Noah couldn't start the car!" Whew. Good thinking, kid. We unlocked the car and opened the doors to find that Sam's hand had been closed into the back door at the top where the door attaches to the car, so he was essentially hanging from the roof of the car by three fingers. (Insert OUCH here). We got him iced up, and within a few hours the swelling was gone and he was using the fingers normally, citing minimal pain. Today he's fine.
Enough for one day? You would think so.
So we had several people join us to paint at the little house that my parents own which we are fixing up for a summer seminary intern to use in a couple of weeks. It was getting late, so Stephen decided to take the kids home while we finished up. I had just finished painting and was preparing to clean up when my cell phone rang. It was Ethan. "Mom, Dad says to hurry up cause Noah hurt his head and might need stitches."
Noah had decided to unbuckle before pulling into the driveway, and had fallen as Stephen turned in, hitting his head on something that was in the car. Ethan grabbed him and saw that his head was bleeding, so he put his hand over the back of Noah's head and held him until Stephen could get the car stopped and get to him. By the time Stephen was able to get everyone in the house to look at Noah's head, Ethan's entire arm was covered in blood. When I arrived, we began trying to find the source of the blood so we could assess what type of wound it was and how big to decide if we needed to go to the hospital or if we could fix it ourselves (butterfly or bandaid glue). His hair was so matted and tangled together with blood, it was nearly impossible to identify the wound itself. Finally after about an hour of pouring bottled water on the back of his head and scrubbing stubborn spots with a Q-tip we found the 1/4 in, narrow cut. The bleeding had long ago stopped and the cut did not easily open when washed or moved, so we decided to forgo the ER copay and clean it up the rest of the way and leave it alone.
Never boring, huh? And then there's this:
This morning Joseph was playing in the bathtub and I went in to the kitchen to check on some playdough Ethan was making for VBS. A few minutes later, Joseph comes into the kitchen crying. I turn to see where he's hurt to discover that he has somehow gotten his head stuck in Noah's "potty seat". I've been the parent of five kids long enough not to even ask how it got there, but to grab the camera. After about 10 minutes of tugging, I was able to free him.
Makes you almost not want to ask, "Lord, what next?"