Nicaragua: Part 1

Its summer!! I can’t believe its already june! I’m going to try and start blogging more as we begin our journey to the mission field. We will begin traveling the country at the beginning of august!!! that is only 2 months and will be here before i know it! If i can remember to blog, this will be a great way to communicate what we are doing! The last semester of dental hygiene school was the hardest thing that I have ever done. I could never describe to you how horrible it was and I think the only ones who really truly know are my fellow classmates. However, during the cold winter we did have a couple weeks of warmth when we traveled to Nicaragua for Christmas/New Years/ My birthday. We had BLAST. I think it was the calm before the storm. I never blogged about our trip so here it is!

We got to spend a week on Corn Island and a about a week at Jason and Tammy's in Diriamba, Nicaragua. It was so fun! We had been traveling all over for Christmas. We went to my parents and spend Christmas in St. Joseph. Lindsay was able to come with us. It was so fun! We traveled back to Springfield and then a couple days later drove up to St. Louis where we stayed the night with my grandparents who got up at 2 am to take us to the airport. We made it to Miami where we had to wait 5 hours for our next flight. We sat and read the book Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers to each other. We had been working on it since thanksgiving and we finished it that day. We were on the last pages of the book when Jaron realized that he had gone to the restroom about 10 minutes earlier and left his planner, which had all of our money, all of our cards, both our passports, our boarding passes and all of our information in it. I am pretty sure he had a heart attack. He slammed the book shut, dumped out the backpack and realized it wasn't there just like he feared. He sprinted to the bathroom, pushing people out of the way to get there, and came sprinting back with it in his hands. He had set it down to wash his hands and walked away without it. Crazy. Thankfully it was still there and all hope was not lost! We made it to Nicaragua that evening and Jason and Tammy came and picked us up and took us to Pizza Hut, Jaron's favorite restaurant in Managua. He swears its better than any US Pizza Hut. We drove back to Diriamba that night where Jason and Tammy had a birthday cake awaiting my arrival. It was the day before my birthday, but they wanted to celebrate immediately! We all sat out on the beautiful back porch and enjoyed some chocolaty goodness. The next morning I was greeted by the smell of a delicious birthday breakfast that Tammy had made for me. Jaron and I were hanging out that day because Jason and Tammy had some work at the church to do. So I sat around and got ready, painted my nails, and watched Serendipity with Jaron. I had been told we were going to have a womens bible study and I was excited to see everyone. We drove to the church and I walked in and to my surprise, there were birthday decorations everywhere and all the women were gathered around the tables singing(more like yelling) Happy Birthday to me in Spanish. Tammy had prepared an entire meal of lasagna for all the people at the party and they had gifts for me to open. I had to wear blue bunny ears because I was the guest of honor and I needed to stand out (as if my white skin wasn't enough ha!) We played a game where everyone had a silhouette of their face drawn and you had to guess who was who. Unfortunately the woman drawing the silhouettes was no artist and it was almost impossible to tell. We played another game where everyone had the name of an animal taped to their back. You didn't want to let anyone see what animal you were and you wanted to have the most names matched with animals as possible on your paper at the end of the game. It was fun. Tammy also gave a lesson for us (all in Spanish of course!) It was so humbling to see all of these people who have almost nothing, sacrificing and giving a little of what they do have to me for my birthday. It was the sweetest party, AND I finally got my first surprise party!!!!! I had always wanted one and I NEVER expected it to happen in Nicaragua! The next day was New Years Eve and since we hadn't done a formal Birthday Dinner for me, Jason and Tammy decided to take Jaron and I out to dinner in Granada. On our way we stopped at a stand selling pineapple on the side of the road. We got out and saw the giant pineapple field behind them. We bought two pineapples and a 3 liter bottle of freshly (so we thought) squeezed pineapple juice. We made it to Granada and went restaurant hunting. We weren’t sure which one we wanted to go to but we decided on a Mediterranean place(that’s us at the place in the pic) and it was SO good. It was run by a woman from Canada/France. However, they weren't open yet so we walked around the city and went to a coffee shop where I got a frappe and then we walked around some more. It started pouring rain and we went into a couple beautiful hotels and toured them. We made it back to the restaurant for opening and Jaron got some sort of steak with Roquefort cheese(a type of bleu cheese from south France) sauce. It was delicious. So delicious I can' t even recall what I ate! Granada is a beautiful city and we really enjoyed ourselves there. We made it home in time to hear all the fireworks go off (we couldn't really see any of them) and try our pineapple juice. It was very fermented. The bottle was rock solid... so we decided it would make a good New Years bomb. Jaron climbed up on a tank and threw it down where it exploded and sprayed everywhere (and smelled horribly of alcohol). Lindsay came down the following day, which was Saturday. While Jason and Tammy were on their way to pick her up, Jaron and I went to visit Chepe and Fatima and see where they were building their new house. We also went to visit Chuy and Liset. We were so excited to get to see these families again! Fatima had cooked Quesillo for us because she knows how much Jaron loves it. I'm not a huge fan, but I'm not really a huge fan of any Nicaraguan food!! Sunday morning, we went to church. I love going to Iglesia Bautista Gracia a Dios. It is an awesome church! Jaron taught in both morning and evening services that Sunday. I sang 3 songs in Spanish which was a blast. It was so fun to try and do that and the people seemed to love it. All those with phones or cameras were recording me and talking to their neighbors while I was singing. It was pretty funny. We also were able to see a few baptisms that morning. Its always good to see believers get baptized! We went home and had to finish packing because we had to get up at 3am to get to Managua to get on the plane for Corn Island!

I'm back!!

Wow, I went the whole sememster without blogging!!! Crazy! I can't wait until I don't look at time in semseters!! Well, since the last post, I've lost a couple lbs! I'm down to where I was when Jaron and I got married! yay! I want to loose about 10lbs more, but i'm happy to be here! It has been a crazy busy sememster! I got a job working for an elderly woman, plus school. That has been a lot. Jaron has been super busy with work and over the last several weeks, he has been working at Doling gym again, once a week. We also started working with the college class. We teach the freshmen in college and we love it. We have a bi-weekly bible study on Thursday nights and I always look forward to it! Jaron's parents were here for about 2 months becuase his dad had heart surgery. He is doing well now and they are back in Nicaragua for a while.We went apple picking this fall and i loved it! My mom and I always went when I lived at home! We also went to the corn maze with jarons family. We had a good time doing that too! We also were able to go to the wax museum in Branson on a date for Jaron's brithday. We had a blast!! Some of the wax people looked really good and they had many characters that we loved!! It was fun to be able to get up close to them and take pictures!! we also went deer hunting this fall! We sat out one Saturday for 11 hours and didn't see a thing. Then we were out walking in the woods going to try to sit for a few more mintues on the last day of rifle season (the day before we drove to St. Joseph for Thanksgiving) when we came upon a group of does. Jaron shot one and we stayed up until 5 am that night processing it! It was crazy!We both had to work the next day and then drive to St. Joe on 2 and 3 hours of sleep. We for sure got starbucks before we left!! We got to meet up with some friends at Starbucks who we hadn't seen in months so that was nice!! But we have made jerky, which was great and a roast, which tasted just like beef. It is delicious and so cheap! i now love deer meat!! We have the Scrooge play this week. We have dress rehearsal tonight, tuesday night, church wedensday, and then the play goes from Thursday through saturday... A busy busy week. I just got done taking a final and giving a presentation. So glad those are over. Only two more finals and I'm done for the sememster. I can't wait! we are going to Nicaragua on December 29th! I'm so excited! It is going to be so fun!!! I'll have to post pictures when we get back! I'll take a lot!!

weigh in....not as bad as i expected!

So, yesterday i decided to go work out with my sister in law. She was starting P90X, which i'm sick of hearing about..lol. but she had to weigh herself to start the program so I decided, even though i'm not doing it i needed to weigh myself as well. I have been complaing to Jaron constatnly about how i know i've gained wieght, but i haven't weighed myself in almost the whole year we have been married becuase i just never want to know. So, yesterday i decided to see the damage a year of marriage has done on me. I exptected a fairly big amount of weight gain, but to my surprise, i had only gained 5lbs. on top of that, i had just drank a bunch of water, eaten, and wasn't completely naked, which means if i weighed myself as soon as i got up, after using the restroom, with no clothes on like i used to, it would be even less than 5 lbs, maybe only 3! i need to weigh myself like this and let you know. All i know is i want to loose that and more! hopefully i'll be more faithful to working out than i have been! it is a constant struggle. jaron is so good at it and i just flat out suck! But I have heard several times that you get the freshman 15 when you move away to college and the first year 30 when you get married. so i'm ok with such a trivial amount. now, too loose it....lol

Life Lately

not much exciting has happened lately. We have been really busy, which isn't new! I have been going to school (a little bit! I love the slower pace of summer school!) and Jaron has been working (just as much as ever :(..) Jaron and I have been trying to eat healthier, and that includes, chicken, tilapia and a LOT of veggies. Its good for us. I crave chocolate constantly, and if we are at somebody's house we aren't very strict about what we eat. I like eating healthy, and its cheaper to eat chicken, lettuce, and rice rather than cooking large delicious meals. lol..
I gave Jack a haircut and a bath yesterday. he looks so cute! i love that little dog. He is so precious. He has the most personality of any dog i've ever met. His mannerisms and little noises are so cute and i love talking to him! Sometimes Jaron and I just stand and stare at him for a long time and he will make grunts and then whines and then he'll start barking and running around and the whole time we will just stand and stare. Its hilarious. anyways, thats all I have for now! Amanda, i'll try to post more often!!!! I aspire to be as good of a blogger as you!!

1st Anniversary and More!

well, last month, Jaron and I celebrated our 1st anniversary. I sometimes can't believe that we have been married that long some days. Other days I feel like we are so stressed and busy all the time that I see how its been a year. I can't wait to be done with school and for Jaron to get a better job. I know life might not be all better but I am so ready for a change. School has been stressful this summer but clinic is over and now all I have is anesthetic. Over the last two weeks I have received 12 shots in my mouth for this class. I have also given 12 shots. Being around needles is not my favorite thing but we finished up with the needle sticking yesterday and I'm so glad!! Now I just have lecture for 3 more weeks and then the summer semester is over and I have a few weeks off.

We did take a little weekend get away to Kansas City for our anniversary. On Thursday the 17th, we drove to my parents house and stayed the night there. We left Jack there and went to KC where we stayed at Hotel Phillips in downtown. It was a really old hotel that had been redone. It was really pretty and we liked it. We went to crown center and the plaza. We ate at the restaurant where Jaron took me the night he proposed, McCormick and Schmick's. It was so delicious. Then we went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D at the Imax. The next day we went to the bridge on the plaza where Jaron proposed and we went to the Nelson Atkins Meuseum. We really enjoyed that. We went back to St. Joe and drove out to the LaFaves and went swimming in their beautiful in ground pool! Sunday we went to church at Green Valley and then came back to Springfield and have to go back to the real world. That was hard.
I think we are planning on going to Texas in August. I'm excited to go see where Jaron spent most of his childhood. It will be a great road trip. I hope we can take Jack. The poor little baby's leg was broken last month. He just got his cast off this Monday. He is doing good! I was so glad to finally give him a bath and brush out all his clean hair. I even gave his face a little trim. He looks just as adorable as ever!

Summer Break

Jaron and I did find out some great news!! Jaron is going to be able to quit his second job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we are so happy that he will be able to have the weekends off and work fewer hours. Its a big deal!! We are both so glad. We are so ready to be in the ministry(missions!!!) but we know that the Lords timing is perfect and we will get there after my schooling(boo) and then possibly his schooling.... but sometimes being patient is SOOOO hard.

Well, i've been on break for a couple weeks and have been attempting to take advantage of every day that I have off. This means doing absolutely nothing!!! Ok, so I have done some stuff, but I've been pretty stinking lazy. I've just done the bare minimum on housework and not much else. We went up to St. Joseph a couple weeks ago and were able to watch my little brother graduate from high school. that was exciting and I had so much fun helping my mom with all the preparations that went into his graduation and open house.
Another little tid bit of good news, I think we might have figured out what was causing our dog Jacks HORRIBLE gas. For those of you who don't know, Jaron and I have a cairn terrier who has some major tummy troubles. His gas literally clears a room. As in you CAN NOT stay in the room when it happens. its CRAZY. I think i've norrowed it down to the source of the problem. He can't have chicken. I've been feeding him a salmon based food and his gas has been much less of a problem. I'll keep everyone updated!! hahaha!!!

Summer Break!!!(short though it may be)

I took my last final today!!! I am officially going into my second year of dental hygiene school...second and last. as long as i don't get kicked out, i will be done with school in a year and i am soooo excited to be finished. i have some major senioritis! I only get three weeks off between spring and summer sememsters! i'm going to make the best of those 3 weeks of freedom that i can!!
This weekend we went to STARS with broadway youth group! it was fun. we went to ocean zen and ate some yummy food and then stayed at the hyatt place in kc. It was fancy! then we went to worlds of fun saturday. Jaron and I had fun. I am pretty sure the only time i was with females was to sleep and on the bus. haha. I wanted to hang out with Jaron and I followed him, Luke Thomson, and Jeremiah Webster around worlds of fun all day. it was pretty entertaining. I felt like I was hanging out with my own little brother Luke. It made me miss him! Those boys love Jaron thats for sure! Can you blame them though? I mean Jaron is a pretty great guy!!! ;) This coming weekend we are going to go up to St. Joe for Luke's graduation. I can't believe he is graduating from high school already! its insane!! I am really excited to see my family too. I was sad yesterday becuase it was mothers day and i couldn't see my mommy!! i got to see one of my grandmas at least! Jaron and i went over to mark and leisa's for a mothers day meal. Jaron and i played with mckenna and mica most of the time! lol we flew kites and played on the swingset. then i left and came home and took a short nap, trying to recoop from the insane stars whirlwind! then we went back to church and i sang special music. i did what do i know of holy.. I my throat was sooo hoarse but i muddle through lol. i sang it in honor of my mom because she has wanted me to forever and it was mothers day! if i can get it to upload i might put it on here!

wow! i haven't written on here in a really long time. Well, life has kept going since January. Jaron's parents are living with us. They had to fly back to the states February 5th due to my father-in-laws health problems. He has a heart condition called atrial fibrillation. It is pretty serious because he has been in a. fib for almost 2 months now and that is not good. Also, the doctors are in no hurry to see him, but have informed him that the longer he goes without doing anything, the worse his chances get of getting his heart back to normal permanently. It is really frustrating.
Not much has happend lately. For Valentine's day, Jaron finished some furniture for me to go in our room. He tried to make it a secret, but I found it in the garage before he finished it! I love it and i think that it looks really good in our room!
Our dog, Jack, almost died last month. He got neutered and the vet office gave him a vaccine that he was allergic to while he was there. I informed them not to give it, but they gave it anyway. That night he swelled up soooo big. he was shivering and shaking and wasn't able to breathe correctly. It was bad. So we had to take him to the emergency vet clinic to save his little life. This is him after we got hom from the emergency clinic where they gave him shots that helped the allergic reaction to go down. Poor little guy. I don't feel bad for him today though. He eats EVERY pair of underwear and shoes of mine that he can get to.. Other than that, life has just been busy, but not very exciting. Just normal. Spring break is just around the corner, however, and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! I appreciate time off school and I get to go see my family which will be really fun!