The Grandparents—There were so many factors that we didn’t consider
when we made this jump, but that’s what jumping into something is, right? Not
totally considering all of the factors. We’ve faced some challenges sharing a
dwelling space with Grandma and Grandpa, but I feel like we can genuinely say
the good has significantly outweighed the bad. We do appreciate prayers for
contentment and patience in relation to the kitchen and the shower. I miss
having the freedom to cook whatever and whenever I please, and we miss hot
water like we’d never imagined. I do; however, have the most amazing husband
who has set up a mini kitchen inside of our casita
that consists of a refrigerator, electric burner, electric oven, a pot, and a
pan. These things have saved our lives since we opened the office because often,
by the time we get home my grandparents have already closed up for the night.
Not to mention, that on chilly, rainy days we can heat up water in the pot and
pour it into the solar shower bag for HEAVENLY agua caliente.
On another note,
my grandparents’ health and energy levels have improved drastically. John has
been treating Grandpa’s back pain and nerve issues, and he has moved from
wanting a wheel chair to wanting to be able to walk without a walker. Since the
office has opened, John and Grandpa still go out in the wee hours of the
morning. They buy Grandpa’s daily lottery, avocados and other things, and they
eat empanadillas (similar to a meatpie) at a local bar—yes, at 6:30 en la mañana, and, yes, I said bar.
Because of these outings, John has become something of a local celebrity among
men 70 and older. They recognize him as con Juan a
la plaza en la mañana.
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| That was Grandpa's first day with his new snazzy walker. He's come so far since then! |
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| They're off! |
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| Oh, goodness. :) |
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| We got the man in the garden only so he could tell us we did everything wrong. Notice he's sitting on an extra shower chair. Hey, they're waterproof, right? |
My
grandma is doing fantastically as well, but she doesn’t like the thought of it.
I laugh as I write because I don’t mean to portray her negatively by any means;
nevertheless, she loves the attention that comes with being sick. She tells
everyone that she can’t walk and her husband is in the bed all day long. I tell
everyone that both grandparents could run a marathon tomorrow if they did it
slowly. Since the office has opened, she takes full advantage over any outing
she can get. She uses her medicine running out, telling us only the day that
she has zero pills left, of course, as a way to get out of the house. And, she
demands it be me that takes her because each time she has ulterior motives.
Often times, we go to the pharmacy, and then she has to stop by the cosmetics store and the shoe store on the way to
the car. Then, before we go home she begs for an “MMmmm Mapree”—which is a
Frappe, she just can’t pronounce it. Yes, she is Diabetic, but she doesn’t
listen to us when we talk about the importance of food. She argues that she’s
80-years-old and can eat what she pleases. She attended Catholic mass for the
first time in several months last week, which was great. She loooooved hearing,
“Gloria! Que Linda!”
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| She might kill me if she saw these, so no one tell her! Those are banana tree leaves from the banana plant! |
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| Making pastelles! |
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| At the Festival Patronales! Grandma wanted to go because she hadn't gone in years... this was the first time in my pregnancy that I lost my dinner. Boo to the yucky fair smells, but Grandma had a GREAT time! :) |
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| At the mall, of course. It's a once a week trip nowadays. Look how cute they can be! |
Me and John—Well, as is known, we are pregnant! Surprise! To
everyone! Including us! This was certainly not in our “four month plan.” However,
we feel very blessed, and we know the Lord never gives us more than we can
handle. We have also found a church and a small group that has been nothing but
the Lord’s doing. We’ve been attending Church Without Walls for several weeks
now. During the summer months, they were offering Saturday night services that
we LOVED because it meant we had both weekend mornings to take out my
grandparents. They’re not offering that anymore, but we love our small group on
Thursday nights and the beautiful view on Sunday mornings. God graciously gave
us friends that are about 10 weeks ahead of us in pregnancy! They have been
through the same “how to have a baby in Puerto Rico” journey as we have—even
with both of us starting with the same doctor! We have absolutely treasured
their friendship and hospitality the last few weeks more than they can know.
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| This is what non-cursing people call the "OH SNAP" moment! |
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| I had a vision about how to announce since day 1. |
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| Darn ocean! |
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| Got it! |
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| Dad and Stephanie sent a preggers care package: after summer sales clothes from Target since my summer never ends, lemon Bath and Body Works soap because we had no way to get it ourselves, and seasoning that someone else requested... |
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| I think he's eaten one or the other every day since. |
We are impatiently
excited about seeing 3 parts of the Barrington family in November, and we have
good times planned. You should probably pray for their comfort as well, as
they’re staying with us, and we’re not totally sure they know what they’re
getting into. We can’t wait to show them around the island, including John and
I seeing some things that are new to us too!
Lastly, we CANNOT
WAIT to see friends and family in December!! I should probably also warn
everyone we’ll be staying with that I plan to take a bath and a shower every
day just to take advantage of the hot water!! We can’t wait to meet all of the
new babies that have come into the world since we’ve been here. Babies Hazel,
Ainsley, Pitts twins, and James—we hope we get to meet you all in person while
we’re stateside!!
Centro Quiropractico de Hormigueros—I am happy to be writing this in between PAYING
patient appointments!! The first few weeks were certainly slow…and terrifying.
We felt like we did things the smart way—no loans—using specific money that was
saved for this purpose—etc. Wow, though, have we had serious moments full of
financial fear. Fear though, that is not of the Lord. Ugh, it’s so convicting.
I hate that our worry is a slap in God’s face, yet we do it anyway. We have
each sat at numerous tables in numerous locations advertising for this office.
We’ve passed out hundreds of flyers in festivals and parking lots. John’s
offered free physical exams and discounted adjustments. We’ve had several
patients come for their physicals and then not return; others made appointments
and then didn’t show up at all. Then, all of a sudden we had walk-ins! Referred
by doctors and nurses in the hospital we’re in, and they keep coming back! We
also started offering the option of a physical exam and an adjustment in the
same appointment. This has proven profitable as well. So, thanks so much for
the prayers! Keep them coming because we are by no means at a true profit yet,
but we have hope. God brought us here, so we have to learn to trust Him.
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| We have air at the office!! |
In Other News—The car in the drive-way is gone! It only took nine
months. Despite the fact that we still have a random tire and car battery in
front of the house, we are pleased to have open space with shade.
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| It's all clean now! |
The garden has been sadly neglected by its pregnant
gardener, so we’ve had some casualties. The herbs, cherry tree, and pepper
plants are happy and fruitful despite it all, but the squash and strawberries
are stagnant. Alive, but not producing. We have attempted celery, eggplant, and
tomato by seed to see if anything turns out differently for them.
Unfortunately, John murdered my celery by leaving it out during a storm…he said
he would move it if it rained, and it rained. We haven’t had ceremonies for the
fallen, but my grandparents did have workers come to clear out the front yard,
and it looks great. I’m ready to figure out a schedule and get back out there
to play around with so many new possibilities. The front is where the sun
shines!
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| May the little baby celery and onion rest in peace. |
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| Peppers! |
We have discovered a family owned coffee shop by the
office that we are hoping to adopt as our own like we did JavaMeUp while we were
in Valley Ranch. Both owners speak English and today I had a tomato omelet with
toast and juice for THREE DOLLARS! It doesn’t get much better than that!
Thanks for prayers. Thanks for encouragement. Thanks for reminders that
God is faithful. Dios de bendiga.
