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Tantrums here and tantrums there, terrible tantrums everywhere! So goes the life of a mommy with a toddler, who is not even 2 yet! Boy does this little boy know exactly how to push my buttons. And I love it when I give him a very firm, "NO!" and he looks right at me and does it again, and again, and again. I find myself praying many times a day for patience, wisdom, and an extra portion of grace.

But as challenging as those times are, they are made up for when I receive hugs and kisses and "lub blue" (love you) moments. Or when Asher sees me crying, he rushes to me, clings on, and begins to cry too. Or when we are on a little walk and he reaches up and grabs my hand. Oh, I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it. Yes, the toddler stage is difficult, but also so rewarding. I love my sweet boy. 

Mastered Skills: walks upstairs by himself, able to set certain goals (e.g. deciding to put a toy in a certain place). CHECK to all!

Emerging Skills: throws a ball overhand, kicks ball forward, stacks six blocks. CHECK to all!

*He learned to do all of these a while ago. 

Advanced Skills: names simple picture in a book, can walk downstairs. CHECK to all! 

Happy (Grand) Father's Day!

This is why I love SHUTTERFLY! You embed a project and get a gift coupon. Yes, please, and thank you! 

This is a card I made for Asher's grandpa's for Father's Day. 

I Love Grandpa Father's Day 5x7 folded card

Create personalized greeting cards and invitations at Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

I CAN'T WAIT

As many of you know, we have plans to return to the good ol U..S..of...A this summer. We leave July 12 for Michigan for my BFF's wedding and will be there until July 18. From there we head straight to Washington for another 4 weeks. Chad is always a huge help to his dad during the fair and he gets a good paycheck, so we decided to stay through the fair and return back to our Honduras home around August 22 or so.
We also plan to do some more fundraising while we are home, with another Taco Feed similiar to the one we had before we came here. Other than that, our schedule seems to be filling up fast, with people to see and things to do! I am hoping and praying that our time at home goes by VERY slowly, especially since we are never sure when we will be coming back to the states. I am already sad to leave my Lynden home.

With that said, there are several things that I CAN'T WAIT for when going home. Here is a list of some:

1. FAMILY, FAMILY, FAMILY (can't wait to see them all)
2. Visiting my 2 BFF's (one I haven't seen in 3 yrs, and the other in 1 1/2 yrs)
3. A long date night with my husband
4. Sushi PLEASE!!!
5. A much needed pedicure 
6. Walks with Asher 
7. Going to the park with Asher
8. Jake's Western Grill
9. Northwest Washington Fair
10. The Woods Coffee
11. A week long camping trip in Sun Lakes
12. And so much more! 

4 Months Shy

That's my BOY! 

What a ham! 

We have a 20 month old! And what a rambunctious 20 month old he is! With each new month that comes and go's, I continue to be amazed at Asher's development. He is such a smart little boy! He continues to learn new words everyday, and even knows about 5 or 6 spanish words. He has learned how to match shapes; and just tonight he was matching the correct animals in his animal puzzle. I am one proud momma!

He always has to throw his garbage away. 

Mastered Skills: Takes off own clothes (he can pull his pants down), Dumps an object in imitation (such as throwing garbage away)...he actually just does the action instead of imitating :)

Emerging Skills: Learns words at a rate of ten or more a day, Can walk upstairs (but probably not down)...but he can walk down by himself, which makes me a little nervous sometimes!

Advanced Skills: May start exploring his body parts, draws a straight line (not a perfect one, but pretty close), names several body parts (eyes, ears, nose, teeth, hands, tummy, belly button).

If you look closely, you can see that one of my front teeth is shorter than the other one. Yep, I'm a little boy who climbs and falls and bumps. 

He just learned how to match shapes. Here he is concentrating very hard!  

He is My Teacher

I am always amazed at how God speaks to me, especially when I am least expecting it. After a very frustrating mommy morning, I felt discouraged and defeated. I have struggled with Asher's meal times for a while now. I worry that he is not getting enough nutritious food in his growing little body. That said, I have taken a liking to Jessica Seinfeld's book, Deceptively Delicious. Asher seems to like most of the things that I make out of there. So when I saw the recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly Muffins, I thought for sure he would enjoy his breakfast this morning. I also made scrambled eggs with cauliflower (which you cannot taste). But I put him in his highchair, placed his plate of goodness in front of him, and....nothing. He wouldn't even try it. And when I tried to give him a taste, he threw a fit. So the battle began. And I am not sure if it was harder on him, or me.

After this little fiasco, I prayed and asked God to please just teach me how to teach him. In fact, I pray that prayer a lot as a mommy. And today while doing my devotions I was comforted to hear God reassure me that He is my Teacher. In Isaiah 48: 17 it says, "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go." Just like a parent loves, teaches, and directs their children, so God loves, teaches, and directs us. I find peace and comfort in the fact that God is my Teacher. And what a great Teacher He is.

Papa and Grandma VISIT!!!

Last week we had the wonderful privilege of having Asher's grandparents visit. It was so great to have them here and show them our ministry. But it was even more fun for Asher to spend some time with his grandparents. Living far from family is hard for many reasons, but one reason is that Asher doesn't get to grow up with his grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, etc. So we were very excited when we learned that Jim and Laurie (Chad's parents) were coming down to see us! It was an all too short week and hard to say goodbye again, but we find comfort in the fact that we will see ALL family in just 2 1/2 more months. Below are some pics of Asher with Papa and Grandma Baron. 

A new truck from grandma! 

Papa Jimmy and Asher. 

Grandma even gave me a haircut! 

All of us out to dinner on their last night, at El Patio. 

I love papa and grandma! 

HALLELUJAH!

It was a happy day when I discovered this...

Don't worry, it wasn't $69.00...that is the lempira cost :)

After 6 months of searching for creamer (I eventually gave up and began making my own), I finally found some at a different grocery store. One day while we were out and about with Travis and Allison, we stopped at a grocery store on the other side of town to pick up some lunch items. I was walking down the dairy section to get some milk and POW! There it was! It was like a Hallelujah chorus went off in my head. There, right before my eyes, was finally some coffee creamer. And not just some... A LOT of different flavors! We ended up buying two, and Trav and Allison bought two more for us; so we have a total of four. That should last us a while, considering I am the only one that takes creamer in my coffee. Oh the things that can make your day in Honduras.