Prayers Needed

Three days ago Kenny started having a fever of about 99-101. The fever came and went throughout the last few days and nights. About the second night I gave him tylenol. Since Nate had mumps the week before we assumed Kenny was coming down with the mumps, too. But it became clear that Kenny was in a lot more discomfort than Nate was.

Then yesterday I noticed a little sore right below his bottom lip. After checking his mouth we discovered several more little canker-like sores on his lips and tongue. At this point his symptoms pointed to hand,foot and mouth disease (coxsackievirus; enterovirus 71). I called the American doctor in town and set an appointment for this morning.

After checking Kenny, Dr. Pham discovered that Kenny's throat is also infected. He doesn't think it's anything extremely serious. Since we can't get a lab test here we have no way of knowing exactly if it is hand,foot and mouth disease or not. It may be strep throat and the canker sores (so far I've counted 10!)could be from the high fever he was having, since he doesn't have any sores on his hands and feet.

Whatever it is, Kenny is one miserable little guy. Please believe with us for a quick recovery and health for the rest of our family.

We appreciate your prayers!

This and That

Today we went out to survey the effects of the recent dip in temperature and to our surprise, our carrots and turnips/beets are sprouting. Also some lettuce seems to be poking through as well. It's nice to see that after last Wednesday's snowy/windy/rainy weather. Hopefully the cold spells and frosts are behind us and we can get on with growing our little crops.

So far, we are looking forward to harvesting: potatoes, carrots, turnips, beets, radishes, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, onions, garlic, and some hot peppers.

Still, we have yet to plant tomatoes, cucumbers, and bell peppers. We want to wait until we know the warm weather is here to stay. Soon!

As first time gardeners, Hetee and I sometimes wonder if we were too ambitious planting such a variety of things. Neither of us have particularly green thumbs and I especially have been known to kill plants despite my good intentions. But this time, I'm encouraged and have seen that with a little effort, things really can grow around me. =)

The last few days I've been feeling the baby move. It's such an awesome feeling that I never get used to. =) My tummy is expanding and on some days, the stretching ligaments can be very uncomfortable. But I see it as a reminder to take it easy (and make other people do stuff for me haha!)

My friend, Amanda, was here visiting this week and left today. For the past 2 years she has been living and teaching English in UB. Her time in Mongolia is over and she will be returning to the States on Sunday. We don't know when we'll see each other again but hopefully it won't be too long. Amanda, good luck with eberything and I hope you don't peel too bad about leabing Mongolia... =)

All for now...duty calls! Actually it's cuddle/sleepytime for me and Kenny-- a very important part of the day!

Promises

During our Singapore trip last March I was thrilled to swim with a beautiful pink dolphin named Han. She was so gentle and left a huge impression on me. My experience was an unexpected gift from God.

I promised pictures and I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get on that. I know, I know, I'm like a cloud that promises rain but doesn't deliver, haha.


Even though these two pics didn't do the experience justice, enjoy!

Here is Han and I, getting to know each other. I was shaking and choking back the urge to cry. I did have a good cry afterward. =)

Han let me give her a hug. Her trainer was really nice. I think his name was Billabong. =)

Heartbreaking, but with a Happy Ending

This is Odko, pictured here with her 8 month old daughter. When Odko was born she was abandoned by her mother. She was later taken back in by her family but remained an outcast. All her life she has been mistreated because of her malformed face. Everywhere she goes children throw rocks at her and call her a"witch".

She's been coming to church, her only place of solace, for a little over a year. Slowly she has opened up to us and allowed us to love her. When her baby was born, again she was rejected by her family. As far as I know, she is not married or in any kind of relationship.

When the baby was a few months old, she became very sick. The doctors told Odko that the baby had pneumonia and fluid in her lungs. They asked if they could "help her die". They insisted that the baby should not have to go through life with such deformities, that she were better off dead. Odko refused their offer and immediately took her baby out of the hospital. Since then the baby has recovered and looks very healthy.

Every Sunday when I see these 2 I can't help but smile. Abi calls Odko "the lady with the heart-shaped face". We talk about the things other mommies talk about: kids, hand-me-downs, and nap times.

Odko and her beautiful baby girl have taught me and my kids a lesson about how special all God's creatures are. No matter the shape of their face.

What's been making me smile...

• Mothers' day, and all the handmade presents and drawings I got. And the massage! Thanks Babe!
• Window shopping for maternity clothes online
• Friday family nights! We eat a wacky dinner then play games and color together.
• We have been getting Nick Jr. in the mornings now. Hello, Diego and Dora! I hope it lasts a while!
• Spending the day with mom, just talking and eating.
• Sunny weather, at least for now!
• "The Office" bloopers on youtube
• Kenny and Abi and their scary faces
• My indoor flowers are sprouting! And my bean sprouts are growing good. At least I'm not totally incapable of growing something!
• Chatting with my sisters. I need to do that more often!
• Getting positive feedback on my kids' behavior. It is worth the hours of discipline and teaching put in!
• Nate is about to complete 1st grade and can read and write in Mongolian. His English is lagging a bit behind but not as much as I thought it would. He pushes himself and can read anything in both languages if he really wants to. His math skills are great and he loves numbers. I'm so proud of him!

What's been making YOU smile? Please share!