"Mama, Me!"

Yesterday at Church I taught Finn's Sunday School class, and we were learning about the birth of Christ.  Not quite 3 years old, Finn is the youngest in the class by about a year and a half, and yet the other Sunday School teachers are so sweet and let him attend and participate as he's able.  There's a little box of toys in the corner of the room where he can entertain himself when the class activity is above him.

Last night I realized that my little 2-year-old is a little more capable than I'd been giving him credit for.  I suppose it's probably normal, as a first time parent, to baby your child a bit and underestimate his abilities.  But last night I was surprised and so proud.  (This is your warning: this is going to be one of those proud parent posts!)

As I told the story of Jesus' birth to the class, I instructed Finn to sit in a chair like everyone else, and reminded him several times during the story to please, stay in his seat.  I let  him point out the baby in the picture once, and attempted to include him while teaching mostly to the 4-6 year olds in the room.  When it came time for the craft, Finn was still munching on his snack, and I didn't think he'd really be able to do the craft anyway, assuming that he'd be happy to just continue eating and then wander off to play in the corner when he had finished.

I showed the other children a picture of a Christmas Tree ornament that they would be making with Jesus wrapped in a blanket, lying on hay.  First I gave each child a white star to cut out, then asked them to choose a colored star for their background.  Then they would glue these pieces together, glue another square piece of paper as a blanket around their baby Jesus, glue this to the star, glue crinkled yellow strips (hay) underneath, and finish off the ornament with a pipe-cleaner for a hanger and some extra star stickers.

Somewhere in the middle of doing this craft with the older kids, Finn ran up to me and said, "Mama!  Me!"  I looked down at him, and realized that he was feeling left out. So gave him a white star which I had already cut out, and brought him to his seat with a glue stick.  I began to put glue on it for him, when he again said, "Me!"  So he grabbed the glue stick and proceeded to do just the right thing.  I thought, "okay, then!  I'll let him play with the glue and go back to assisting the other children."

A minute or two later, Finn was at my knees again saying, "star!  star!"

Apparently he had been paying attention and realized that next step was to choose a background star.  So I showed him has options, and he ran off with a blue one.  The rest of the evening proceeded like this.  At the end of the evening, Finn had an adorable little ornament that he made largely himself.  I did the cutting for him, and attached the pipe cleaner for him, but all of the glueing and sticking things together (as well as advocating for himself), was done by him.  He even chose to place 3 star stickers just where he saw another child place theirs (rather than put a million on haphazardly as I would have expected.)

We got to the end of our Sunday School time and I realized that Finn hadn't wandered over to the toy box once!  He'd been a bit fidgety during the Bible story, and needed assistance with cutting paper, but other than this he'd participated like the other children.  That night, I told Derek about it and he reminded me that Finn has been in preschool for the past 6 months, learning to sit in a chair and follow instructions.  Apparently I need to take him more seriously next time I teach.

Homeschool Co-op Prep

I'm getting super excited about starting a 4-day-a-week homeschool co-op with the 1st-5th graders here in January!  I'm already doing some teaching, but in January it'll be in my home and everyone will be all together 4 mornings of the week.  This is what I've been looking forward to since I was a little girl!

A few snapshots of the movable cubbies and supplies that have been slowly taking over our spare bedroom in preparation for the co-op in January:

I can't wait to add to this some things my mom is bringing me from the states!

- Laura

Bible App vs. Print Bible

This morning I was reading the Bible on my smart phone and it occurred to me that when Finn sees me reading the Bible like this, he doesn't know I'm reading the Bible.  I could be simply browsing social media for all he knows.

When I was growing up I remember on a regular basis seeing my mom sitting on her bed with her Bible open, and my Dad sitting on the living room sofa with his Bible.  I saw this constantly, and as a result, always assumed that this is what Christian adults do.  You spend time reading the Bible on a regular basis.  So as I got older, I started to do so myself.  And I'm so very thankful for the impact that this example by my parents had on my life.

But this morning I realized that reading the Bible on my phone might keep Finn from having this sort of positive impact.  Will he know when I'm reading the Bible?

Sometimes it's just quicker to read the Bible on a device, and it enables me to quickly look up cross references, or online commentaries, but is it worth it?  I'm beginning to wonder if I should make the extra effort to use an actual traditional print Bible for Finn's sake.

- Laura

Evolution of a Painting

I've often thought I should document all of the different stages of a painting I do, so when I started my first Peru painting one rainy day while waiting for a team from the States to arrive (their plane was delayed, and we had the day cleared of activities), I decided to take a picture after each day's work.  As of today, I'm still only about a third of the way done with it, but I'll come back and add pictures as I take them.

 

(an up-close)

Stay tuned for updates to the painting!

- Laura

The Hardest Thing

What’s the hardest thing about living in Peru?  We’ve lived in this country for over 10 months now, and we feel so fortunate and blessed by so many aspects of our life here.  But if I had to pin point the hardest thing about life for me right now, I’d have to say that it’s actually the same thing that was hard about living in Birmingham.  I miss having my best friends close at hand.  On the other hand, however, I feel incredibly blessed by the support system I have from my long-distance friends. 

In each of the last several places I’ve lived I’ve had to say goodbye to close friends, but the upside is that I now have quite a few close friends living in several different places, and all willing to bless me from afar with prayers and encouragement.  Because of the extreme introvert that I am, I imagine if I’d lived in the same place my whole life I’d probably have a much smaller number of close friends.

My closest friends know that I love to write long e-mails, and I am so thankful for the sweet friends God has given me who are willing to read and respond.  This encourages me more than they will ever know.

Sometimes I feel a bit lonely and dwell on my desire to have all of these friends close, but it really never lasts long, because I pull out my laptop and type up an email and immediately feel connected and loved once again because I know I can count on them to be there for me and show me again the love of Christ.

" I have an inkling that when you see the face of God in heaven, you will say, 'Yes, I always knew You!' It was Him all along that you loved whenever you were with that treasured person. In friendship, God opens your eyes to the glories of Himself, and the greater the number of friends with whom you share deep and selfless love, the better and more clear the picture of God you will have."
- Joni Earickson Tada

Soccer, Friends, and Green Beans

This weekend has been a fun one for Finn.  On Saturday morning our family went to a cancha (a soccer field) to play some fútbol as a family.  Finn was excited to run around with Mommy and Daddy and kick the ball!

Later that day we went to some friend's house for a "despedida" (a going away party) for some friends who are moving back to the states.  Finn really enjoyed playing with all of the kids and eating lots of sweets!

This morning Finn helped mom snap green beans in the window seat (our version of a front porch).  While Finn grabbed green beans from the bag, snapped them in half and selected a bowl to put them in, Mommy fished Finn's pieces out of the incorrect bowl and removed the ends from the green beans.  It was great fun for both!

Settling in to Cusco Life

Well, we've been in Cusco four and a half months now!  Finn is settled into his new preschool and has learned to use the potty (with assistance still).  Derek has been leading worship, helping with men's Bible studies, and helping with lots of other random aspects of church ministry.  And I've been teaching MKs every week, teaching children's Sunday School, and helping lead women's Bible studies.  We're still taking Spanish classes once or twice a week but we're both feeling encouraged with our continued improvement in that area.  We're getting better and better at understanding people even when they talk quickly or quietly.  We praise the Lord for helping us with all of these things.

Some pictures from our everyday lives:

Finn has gotten more and more affectionate and snugly in recent weeks.  He finally learned how to give a North American kiss too (involving his lips and not just his cheek).  I'm sure enjoying it!

One of Finn's final trips to toss his diapers in the trash.

 My sister Kelly came to visit in August and took me back to Machu Picchu.  We had a blast!

Finn sure enjoyed his time with Aunt Kelly, though he wasn't super cooperative whenever she tried to get a picture with him!