If today was a sign of things to come, I'm going to have to put a lock on the pantry door. My kids, who normally are very picky and selective when it comes to eating, practically wiped me out food wise today.

It all started this morning when Abi (3) and Nate (5) asked me for cinnamon toast after having eaten watermelon and bread and jam (healthy, homemade bread and jam=) for breakfast. Kenny (13 mos) seemed hungry, too (pointing to the kitchen and going "nyum, nyum"), after his morning nursing, so I made him a bowl of oatmeal to eat before his nap. Nate asked for a bowl, too and both boys ate until it was gone.

I started on lunch-- homemade wholewheat tortillas and bean/veggie soup. I wanted to use the tortillas to make baked tortilla chips but the kids were eating them almost as fast as they were coming off the griddle! I managed to save a few and make my chips only to have Abi come and turn the oven light and check on them every 2 minutes and ask imploringly if they were done yet!

By this time, I'm starting to catch on and am just shaking my head in amazement! I've never seen them eat so much before, especially Abi!

I served lunch and the chips disappeared in no time along with their soup. Meanwhile Kenny ate a bowlful of cooked, fresh carrots and potatoes and some bean soup and a tortilla! Gosh! He is feeling better, by the way. I was very happy to see him eating so much after being so sick for over a month. =)

For snack time we made a peanut butter smoothie and Kenny had some kasha with his. He ate a huge bowlful and was looking for more.

For supper I made one batch of pancakes. Should have made 2. Nate ate 3 and a half, Abi and Kenny each ate 2!

All throughout the day today I had to literally keep shooing Nate out of the pantry! All he wanted to do was eat this and that. It was so weird! I told him if he keeps it up I'm going to have to send him to grandma's house because she has a bigger pantry.

What am I going to do? Seriously, I try to keep our food spending to about $185.00 a month. That's pretty much all I have to work with when feeding 3 adults (we have a young Mongolian girl staying with us for a time) and 3 kids. Together with other household expenses, not including bills, it comes out to about $200.00 to $250.00 a month. Minimum wage just went up here and right along with it the prices of groceries and gas. Just about every time I do my monthly shopping, at least 5 or 6 items on my list have gone up in price. I know this because I keep track with a pen and paper.

Here are some things that have gone up over the past 4 months or so:
(Exchange rate: 1 us dollar= 1160 tugrugs)

beans -from 1,500 a kilo to 2000
beef- from 2500 a kilo to 3000
peanuts (kids' favorite!)-1400 a kilo to 2400
apples-from 800 a kilo to 1000
butter- from 1400 a kilo to 2200
bread- from 300 to 350
oil- from 5000 for 5 liters to 6500

And the list goes on and on.

Although the increase in the prices has me a bit worried and kind of mad, I am happy my kids' appetites are picking up and that they enjoy my cooking. And I know God will continue to provide for us as He has always done without fail in the past.

Every time we stock the pantry, we pray a prayer of thanksgiving for God's faithfulness in providing for our family through the help of friends who support us. We know full well that all we have is a gift from Him.

Sigh...

I feel better.

Happy Birthday, Nate!

Today is Nate's 5th birthday!

My, how time flies...

This morning Nate and I were in the kitchen making pancakes (his birthday breakfast request) and I was telling him all about the night he was born. He was fascinated and asked a lot of questions.

Nate, born at 9:20 pm on Aug 3rd

Sometimes he asks me why I had him at a hospital, with "bad" doctors, yet, had Abi and Kenny at home. I told him that it was not because of him (children seem to blame themselves for the most absurd things!) and that mommy and daddy are a lot smarter now because of him and his birth. He then asked me-- get this-- if the doctors tried to abort him! I told him, "no"and that he never had to worry about that. But there was something about his birth that holds a lot of meaning for us.

I remember the first time I set eyes on the delivery chair (or whatever they call that contraption) at the hospital where he was born. I recognized it since I'd seen it before at abortion clinics as same ones they used for abortions.

Next to the "chair" was a basin full of abortion tools-- curettes, pincers ( I can't remember the name in English! They look like mini forceps), etc. I noticed these were still there as Nate was being born. Funny how you see these things even in the throes of hard labor!

It was during a moment of respite from the contractions when I had a "thought", that I felt, was a prophetic one. I thought, wouldn't it be a hoot if the most powerful pro-lifer Mongolia were to ever know, were born on an abortionist's table into an abortionist's hands? (many Ob's double as abortionists) Only God could have thought that up!

Nate getting to know Grandpa

Today he's quite the pro-lifer. He's been to countless seminars and classes and could probably teach one by now. He's sat in on many birth classes and has been there for his sister's birth and actually assisted his little brother's birth. He knows babies are a gift from God and that they are alive from conception. He knows abortion is murder. He knows more than most adults.

With Abi, minutes after her birth

The other day, out of the blue, he said something that made me go "whoa". We were sitting in the car waiting for someone and he stated matter of factly that I hadn't done any pro-life seminars in a while. He then pointed out that babies are dying every day so, "Please hurry and tell as many people as you can".

Holding his brand new baby brother

The other day Nate and I were taking a walk outside and I was using the opportunity to instill some wisdom into him. I told him that life had 2 cycles--in the first cycle, mommy and daddy are responsible for him and his siblings. It is our job to feed, clothe, and provide for any needs they may have. But after they grow up, the second cycle begins and then it is their turn to care for mommy and daddy help us in any way we may need it.

Funny and lovable--that's Nate

He nodded his head in full agreement and told me eagerly that he "may have" changed his mind about being a rock star/astronaut and wanted instead to be an electrician. I think that he came to that decision as the reality of taking care of mommy and daddy sunk in. He then told me that he would be a very good electrician and would buy clothes and juice for us with his paychecks. I told him that was very generous of him.

So, my Nater Potater turns 5 today. I gave him a "grown up" New Testament, among a few other things. We started reading it today.

I made him a cake, decorated like a soccer ball and he was thrilled with it. I was disappointed that my icing didn't come out better, but I didn't let it ruin the fun!

The past 5 years of my life have been full of wonder, joy, frustration, tantrums, tears and change. I can only imagine what the next 5 years will bring!

God Bless you, Nate. Mommy loves you!

Prayers Please

I have almost completely recovered from my cough but just as I was getting better, the kids caught it. Nate wasn't so bad and he recovered quickly. Abi and Kenny have been sick for over 3 weeks now and, although Abi seems to be recovering, Kenny is still as sick as day 1.

I've been talking to the American Dr. in UB and we're both kind of baffled as to what it is. Kenny coughs until his little body looks like he's convulsing, gags, and almost always throws up. At night he has periods of apnea where he'll wake up blue and gasping for air. This has had us very worried and shaken up for some time and now I'm just plain exhausted. I wake up with him, sometimes up to 6 times a night. During the day he only sleeps for about 2o minute stretches then wakes up coughing and very cranky.

His nursing has picked up again so that's a relief. He's not much into eating but is drinking a lot.

I want to ask you to be praying for him and Abi to be completely healed. I also ask that you pray for me and Hetee, that we'll get the rest we need. My body is protesting the sleepless nights and added stress with headaches, weight loss and painful mouth ulcers. The tears come easily but I cling to Gods promise that He is our Healer.

Random thoughts...

Well, Abi and I are feeling better but Kenny is still coughing. Every now and then, like when he gets overheated or upset, he'll have a coughing episode where he coughs and can't breath. His lips turn blue and there's absolutely nothing I can do. We think it's bronchitis but Dr. Bradley (not THE Dr. Bradley) in Ulaan Baatar thinks it may be allergies, since there's no sign of infection, like fever, and cough suppressants aren't working. He said that the main complaint he's been getting from people this year suffering from allergies, including himself, is that cough suppressants don't seem to be doing their job. Hmmm. I sure hope it's not allergies 'cause if it is we'll be looking at it again next year.

So, whatever it is, Kenny needs healing. It breaks my heart to see him like this and not be able to do a single thing. Please keep praying for him, that God will do a miracle on his behalf. Thank you.

Apart from taking care of sick babies I've been taking advantage of more time spent at home. The other night Nate asked me to teach him how to read a face clock. Now he's learning to tell time!

I have also been making jam with the black currants we harvested from the 30 or so bushes in our yard. We didn't expect to have such a good harvest as most of the bushes were old but God totally gave us more than we could handle. We gave about 75% away just because I couldn't keep up with the fruit!

Besides making jam, I put together a recipe for bread using whole grains and seeds. It has things like bran, millet, oatmeal, poppy and sesame seeds, barley flour, pepitas (pumpkin seeds), and anything else I think it should have at any given time. =) I bake 3 loaves at a time and I can't believe my family eats all 3 loaves in 2 days! Abi and Nate told me they like my bread more than the bread from the store. It was great to hear, especially since most children like the white stuff. Pb&j just got a whole lot healthier!

I'm also reading the book "Blue Like Jazz" and there was something I read recently that I wanted to share here. I don't have time to write a lengthy post so I'll quote the author and leave you to your thoughts:

"I don't think any church has ever been relevant to culture, the human struggle, unless it believed in Jesus and the power of His gospel. If the supposed new church believes in trendy music and cool Web pages, then it is not relevant to culture either. It is just another tool of Satan to get people to be passionate about nothing."

Crazy Town

Oh Boy, just when I think Mongolian doctors can't get any stupider, they go and outdo themselves!

After several days of trying, I finally got my chest X-ray. I'm happy to report that I DO NOT have TB. Thanks to all of you who were praying. Please keep praying as I still have somewhat of a cough and now Abi and Kenny are sick with the same thing.

I always get a kick out of the Mongolian medical system, to say the least. Today was a real hoot and I just had to blog about it as it had "blog material" written all over it.

So, I get to the hospital around 10 am and get in line in front of the x-ray room door. Now, for those of you familiar with lines in Mongolia you're already groaning. I don't know why people even bother lining up here; it's not like it means anything.

Anyway, I stood in line for almost an hour, waiting for the dr, as she was off somewhere, probably helping God rule the universe, cause we all know He can't to squat without her help.

Since lines don't mean anything, I worked my way up to the front (first time I've ever done this, btw. I'm way too polite for my own good. But today I was in a hurry and people were cutting in front of me left and right. ) then in true dumb tourist manner started fidgeting with my cell phone, listening to music etc, acting like I had no clue about what was going on. This always fools them because they don't want to argue with someone who can't understand them. Little do they know I can understand everything they say to me and about me. Makes it interesting.

Anyway, the dr came back and about 5 people followed her into the room, including me. She told everyone to get out. Again, I play dumb foreigner and stay in until it's my turn. All the while they're doing X-rays right there. One lady sat next to the X-ray machine the whole time nursing her baby! Now, I'm no expert but, that can't be good, can it?

I finally get a hearing with her majesty and establish that I need a chest X-ray to determine if I have TB. (they don't do the under-the-skin thingy on adults here.)

Let me backtrack a second. Sometimes people here are really mean to me. Sometimes I just take it with a grain of salt and sometimes I just chock it up to racism. But I realized that me being a foreigner was only part of the problem, today. The main problem is that I did not have in my possession, the coveted and much-worshiped "health notebook", that has recorded in it all dr visits since the I was a baby. All Mongolians have them and if you don't have one, you must ...GASP, pay cash for your dr visit. Oh, the scorn, as I have not one of these flimsy little books. They didn't know what to do with me. So finally, after being ignored for about 30 minutes (the communist system was starting to give me hives) I spoke up and told the good doctor (yeah right) that I didn't have a health notebook but I was prepared to pay cash. They motioned me in and told me in hushed tones that it was going to cost 3,000 tugrugs (about $2.50) I paid.

The dr lady (as in dragon lady) barked at me to take off my bra so I move to a part of the room that had fewer people and start to maneuver my way out of my bra underneath my shirt. Thank GOD I was wearing a newish bra and not a old, fugly nursing one.

I was told to come back an hour later for the picture and expert's opinion. I walked home, made a smoothie with the kids then Nate and I walked back to get the results. We got the picture and went into the expert's office. I use that term lightly. Very lightly.

We walked in and there were about 5 male dr's and 3 of them were smoking. I could already tell is was going to be an enlightening experience, as I could also smell some alcohol in the air (not the rubbing kind).

I sat down and the "expert" asked me where my translator was. I told him I'd been living in Darkhan almost 10 years and wouldn't be needing one. He asked where I was from and I told him America. He looked at my x-ray and scribbled something on a piece of paper and shoved it at me and told me nothing was wrong (I could see the x-ray was clear, too). By this time the smoke was getting to me and I was barely able to talk, I just kept choking back coughs. I cleared my throat and said sarcastically, (I can't help it!) "Are you sure it's ok to smoke in a hospital?" That got their attention. The "expert" told me that they were "great doctors", all of them and in Mongolia great doctors did what they wanted. He proceeded to tell me that I knew nothing and I should not criticize them. Now let me tell you, there were posters all over that wing of the hospital showing what smoking did to the lungs. It was a total Napoleon Dynamite moment, where you just wanna go "Gosh, friggin idiot!"

I looked the "expert" square in the eye, crumpled up his note and walked out. I'm still shaking my head.