Miles Moves Out

We leave our front screen door latched most of the time...but yesterday I decided to leave it unlatched just to see what would happen..  It didn't take Miles long to push on it and (to his amazement and delight) it swung open.  I believe it was in that moment he decided that he was ready to move out and join the "real-world."  He pushed on the door a few more times to watch it swing open (testing to make sure it wasn't just a fluke), then began gathering the necessities for life on his own.  Those necessities turned out to be his monkey blanket, a pacifier, and an egg shaker.  After he had what he needed, he set off, swinging the door wide open and stepping outside.  I'm sure in his head he was yelling...FREEEEEDOM!!! 

OR Update

The guys are making great progress on the new operating room!  I don't know a lot about construction, but I do know that walls growing upwards is a good sign.  

This is Joe (the guy on the right).  He's the head carpenter in charge of the project, who reports directly to Jordan.  He's a really nice guy but doesn't know the Lord.  You can pray for him...and that the Christians around him will brightly and boldly shine the light of Jesus!!  

Is this a joke?

This morning, Miles toddles over to me and happily hands me a HEADLESS COCKROACH!!!  Really??  What is going on?  Why are creatures having trouble keeping their heads attached to their bodies?  And don't bother asking where the head went because I never found it...and, quite honestly, I don't want to consider the possibilities!

My Tuesday/Thursdays

Every Tuesday and Thursday (which are the days I don't teach at the high school) I get to watch the other teacher's little boy, Theron.  He's about 6 weeks older than Miles, and they have a great time playing together!  Last Thursday I took some pictures...most of them are blurry because getting them both to sit still is next to impossible!

I wanted to get a nice picture of them both sitting and looking at me.  Fail.

I get this look from Theron a lot.

I think they might be able to transfer thoughts by touching foreheads...

...either that or they just like head-butting each other??

Again, cute perfect picture fail..but I guess this is more "real-life".  It can be hectic having 2 one year-olds running around, but it has also been a blessing.  I've learned more about patience, I've learned to let go of some things (like my favorite mug), and I've become a better mother because of my crazy Tuesdays and Thursdays.

My Limit!

One of the things I’ve learned in the past few years is that I can handle more disgusting things/situations than I’ve ever imagined I could…as a missionary, as a teacher, as a mother.  I’ve sifted hundreds of small black bugs (and their larva) out of my flour just so I’d be able to use that flour that month.  I’ve hand-washed cloth diapers filled with horribly disgusting baby poop.   I’ve told several of my elementary students to please stop picking their nose and eating their boogers.  I’ve taken several large dead cockroaches away from my curious child.  I’ve added ant infested sugar to my coffee and, after fishing out as many as possible, I drank the coffee and whatever ants were left.  I’ve eaten greens cooked in pig’s blood. 

But today…….today I’ve found the limit of what I can handle.  Today, stuck to my door frame, I found a fat, beige, headless gecko.  Did you get that??   HEADLESS!!!!   As in: it had no HEAD!!!!!!!  It was a bloody stump of a gecko body whose back left foot was still suctioned to my door frame!!  Then I thought to myself (while simultaneously gagging) “Hmm…I wonder where its head went."  My vast knowledge of gravity prompted me to look down, and sure enough, there was the gecko head…already covered in ants. 

Why was this gecko decapitated…you may ask!?!    I.  DON’T. KNOW.  (And I think that’s the worst part.)  After close inspection, from a reasonable distance of at least 4 feet (because you never know when the headless gecko is going to spring back to life and POUNCE on you!!),  I realized that the gecko was positioned in such a location that it would have been impossible for the door to have caused the “head-less-ness.” 

And not knowing the exact length of time a dead gecko can remain suctioned to any given surface, I imagined the body falling on me the next time I stepped through the threshold of our house.  (That thought will probably haunt me…forever!)

Thus, I realized that unless this cranially-challenged lizard was removed, we were NEVER going to be able to use our front door again.  And I could not do it!!  I had found my limit.  Apparently, I’m incapable of removing, touching, coming near, or even looking at for more than a few seconds at a time geckos whose heads are no longer attached to their bodies. 

And since Jordan wasn’t around, I went over to my neighbor and good friend, Erin’s house to ask her to please come see my lifeless visitor.  She came right away and swiftly removed the body and head with a paper towel, because she’s awesome (and brave) like that!  Then she tried to make me feel better by telling me it clearly was just smooshed in the door…which is very sweet, but a lie!  Good try, Erin!

So there you have it…my limit: headless geckos

New Operating Room

Jordan's latest building project has been a new operating room for the hospital.  The new operating room will connect to the recovery room of the current OR.  With two rooms, two surgeries can happen simultaneously or one can be prepped while the other is in use. Here are some pictures of the progress:

They poured the foundation in sections...which was a difficult process due to the large quantities of rain we've been having.

All the concrete was mixed in the small yellow mixers then delivered down the hill in a wheelbarrow.  It took hundreds of wheelbarrow loads to finish the foundation.

Now they are beginning the block walls and have stood up the frames for the doors.  

This is our surgeon, Dr. Jim Radcliffe.  He's known throughout Papua New Guinea as the best surgeon in the country.  Jim and his family have been serving in PNG for about 28 years.  It's our privilege to know them and serve with them!

Miles's Birthday

MILES turned 1!!

Again, he wasn't sure what all the excitement about this day was, but he was willing to join in!

He had on a super cute shirt that said "My 1st Birthday" but he's so squirmy I never got a good picture of it

 It's been one of my favorite years!!

We are so thankful for friends who are willing to pile in our little living room to celebrate with us!

Cake decorating is more difficult in a third world tropical country...imagine that...

It took him a while to dive in, but once he did, cake was EVERY-WHERE!!  Let's be honest...it's how we all really want to eat cake!

We missed you Grandma & Grandpa B, Grandma and Grandpa Thompson, Uncle Nate, Uncle Jake, Uncle Jared, and Aunt Jill!!

(I fear that after the last few posts people are going to get the impression that all we do is throw parties...but with Miles's birthday so close to Christmas we've done a lot of celebrating lately!  I'll have to remember to post about something mundane and typical in the next blog.)  :)

Miles's First Christmas

Christmas morning, Jordan and I burst into Miles's room saying "Merry Christmas!" and "Happy Birthday, Jesus!"  He smiles and flaps his arms...not sure why we're so excited but willing to join in the happiness!  We eat our special Christmas morning banana bread (at least that's what I told the boys...it was really just bread that I had made and frozen a while ago when I had an abundance of ripening bananas..shhh, don't tell!)

  

One of my favorite parts of celebrating Christmas here in PNG is the lack of focus on presents.  This year we just had a few gifts each to open.  It was perfect! 

It was also Miles's first present opening experience...he needed a little help from his dad.

Truth be told...I had already given him this monkey, then took it back a few months ago and gave it to him for Christmas.  He was pretty excited to see it again!  

After presents we went over to the Dooley's house to eat lunch and hang out for the rest of the day.  It was a lovely Christmas!