Spring Training Cardinals Baseball Game- Chaos on a Blanket!

While we were in Florida, one of the fun things that we decided to do as a family was go to a spring training game.  Chris's favorite team is the Cardinals and they just happened to be playing while we were there.  We decided to make it a family event, so Chris bought us tickets.

It was exciting standing in line waiting to get into the stadium.

  We got there a little early so that we could watch some of the pre-game events.  Chris thankfully got us tickets on the "grassy hill".  The great thing about the "grassy hill" was that it was close to the cardinals locker room.  So, as they came out- we were right there "up close and personal".  The other great thing about the "grassy hill" (and really more important for our sanity) was that it gave our three kids a larger space to run around in.  I think that they would have gone stir crazy if they had been confined to assigned seats!  We took a blanket and snuck in some picnic food and we were ready to go.  The kids all three got baseballs from the warm-up that came into our area. (picture above) We were pretty excited until we realized how dangerous letting 3 kids ages 5 and under play with baseballs was.  Those things are hard!  Not exactly the ball that you want to have them throwing around at each other.  Or at the people around us. 

Emma was very proud of her ball.

Walker chose to pick grass and roll around in it.

The girls with daddy.

The girls with mommy.

And look who I got a picture of!  I know nothing about baseball players, but I realized that everyone was really excited about seeing this guy, so I made sure to get a picture of his jersey.

The players lined up for the National Anthem.  It really hit me how "out of touch" our family is with american customs.  When they were singing Emma said "Mommy, what song is this and why are they singing it at a ballgame?"

We realized as the game started that there was a downfall to getting there early.  By the time it started, our kids were already bored!  And when they get bored, they tend to start picking on everyone, especially each other.

This is what Walker did.  It is always important to have all of your ducks (or shoes, water bottles and balls) in a row!

Walker and Olivia resorted to wrestling (on top of me).

We tried to get Emma to get autographs on her ball, but she said that she wanted to decorate it instead.  She drew everything that she thought could be found at baseball games on her ball: baseballs, bats, people, icees, hotdogs, sunshine and I can't remember what else.  It was pretty creative though.  And what mother can argue with her child saying that her own signature and drawings were way better than some guy's that she doesn't even know!

Again, same guy.  I don't know him, but I gathered that he was pretty famous since everyone was fighting to get close to him for autographs as he headed back into the locker room. 

We ended up having a great time, but Chris and I didn't get to watch much of the game.  And by the time we left (which was well before the end of the game), everyone on the "grassy hill" knew all of our kids' names and said "bye" to them.  I was curious if they had actually endeared themselves to our children or if they were just so thankful that we were finally leaving so that they also could watch the game. One lady told me that she would love to know how many miles a day Olivia walks.  I lovingly refer to that day as "Chaos on a Blanket", and that is exactly what it was. 

 

Adjusting- an overwhelming feeling

I am many blogs behind where I want to be, so every time I think of something I want to blog about, I just make a draft for it, use that as a reminder and then know I will have to get to it later.  So, as I write this, I have probably gotten over a lot of these feelings, but nonetheless, I wanted to blog about them as a memory for me and maybe so that it might be helpful to others who are giong through great amounts of change in their lives.

Returning back to the states has yet to cause any major culture shock feelings in me.  And I have yet to feel unhappy or weepy.  However, there are a lot of small things that have added up over the last few months, that at times, seem very overhwhelming.  I feel like there is so much to learn and to think about!  Buying cars, finding a house to buy, finding a place to stay until our house is ready, living without all of the stuff that we have in storage, restocking our kitchen with all of the staples,  getting signed up for insurance (health, car, etc.), finding new doctors, deciding on schools (or no schools!), signing up for extra curricular activities, getting Kroger cards and library cards, learning our way around the town (although it is a little easier for us since we lived here before) and that is just to name a few.  Any one of these in and of themselves is not really that big of a deal.  But, when they all add up, it makes for a very busy life!  And some very tired people!

First of all, we got new cars.  That seems easy enough.  It is fun to have new cars (actually they are just new to us- not literally new).  However, with new cars- you have to learn how to use them!  There are new door and alarm locks that you have to figure out how to use, especially on a mini-van (lots of doors that move and slide on mini-vans!).  I still have to think every time I look at my door opener, which button opens which door?  And then you have to adjust to where the windshield wipers are, where the lights are, how to turn on the air conditioner on, how to turn the seat warmers on.  Plus, we have never had GPS on a vehicle.  Our Honda has the Honda navigation system, which is great!  But, it took me a while to figure out exactly how it worked. 

Secondly, we got iPhones and are learning how to use them.  I already blogged a little about adjusting to technology, but I probably can not say enough.  Learning how to use a new smart phone when all you have had is a palm pilot from 10 years ago, is a BIG adjustment!  I had to learn how to make phone calls (not to mention put all my new contacts in), how to use the internet, how to set the phone up, how to check messages, how to sync it with my computer, how to set-up a task list and calendar (and these are very detailed and lengthy in my case), and the list goes on.  Again, I absolutely love my iPhone, but it has it's learning curve. 

Thirdly, we have been house hunting.  That is a very overwhelming feeling!  Trying to decide which house will be best for your family is nothing to be taken lightly!  And a house is not like picking out a pair of shoes that you later decide hurt your feet or you just don't like that much- you are stuck with living in a house every day if you don't pick one you really like!  And you are certainly footing the bill for your choice for much longer than that pair of shoes!  And it seems like you never find the absolute perfect house.  One needs some updating, one is a little too expensive, one doesn't have the fenced-in-yard you always dreamed of, one is too big, one is too small, one has green carpet, one has a tiny kitchen, one is not in the best location, etc, etc.  It requires lots of thinking and lots of questioning, which always equals a higher level of stress than normal.

Another thing that I am trying to adjust to is shopping.  I am trying to figure out which stores have better prices on which items, as well as learn to coupon.  This has been somewhat frustrating because we still don't have a home to have a newspaper delivered to, so I have to remember to go and get the paper.  And I still can't print out coupons from the computer, so I am very limited in that area.  I have been researching about how to coupon and I get emails from various couponing blogs, so I am aware of where the deals are and what they are, but I just don't have the coupon base that I need or the ability to print them out.  So, I feel every day like I am missing all kinds of great deals.  It is very frustrating!  And also with shopping- there are so many choices in the U.S at the grocery stores!  In Paraguay, pretty much every store carried the same items at around the same price.  And there were no coupons, so I didn't have to worry about that aspect.  I also didn't have to worry about which brand to buy, because there was usually only one or two brands and the choices were pretty easy.  The cereal aisle at Wal-Mart is just absolutely overwhelming!  Where do I start?  A huge percent of what is in the grocery store today has been invented or changed since we left 8 years ago!

We are just really busy and trying to balance a lot of activities in our lives like time with our kids, spending time with our church family, spending time together as a couple, finding alone time (a personal favorite of mine!),  getting involved with the community, exercising, sports for the kids and homeschooling.  We have also been looking at school options for the kids: trying to decide between homeschooling and private christian schools.  And then we are going to have to do some rennovations on the house that we are buying as soon as we close on it.  That involves a lot!  We are looking at appliances and trying to decide which ones we can afford now and if they will fit in our kitchen.  Also we are looking at replacing a lot of the flooring in the house, so we are looking at hardwoods and laminates and trying to decide which way to go on that.  And not to mention doing all of this on a budget!  And the list goes on.  And it is a long one!  It is just a lot to think about. So, needless to say, there are many moments that I just can't find enough time in the day to get my daily "to do" list even started, let alone completed.  And most days I am trying to think through all of this stuff and get some things done while raising three little kids.  I get overwhelmed just writing about all of it.  I think right now, my biggest "culture shock" has very little to do with the culture here or the culture in Paraguay, and more to do with just the whole process of moving back to a country after being away for so long.  So, when people ask how we are adjusting- I like to think that we are adjusting pretty well.  Just pretty overwhelmed and pretty tired most of the time.  But, what more can you do than take it one day at a time and do the best that you can each day.  I long to have a routine and feel settled somewhere after 3 months of living out of suitcases.  But as I try to remind myself on a regular basis, "This too shall pass!"

Adjusting back to American Culture

Sometimes adjustment comes in funny shapes and forms.  Here are just a few things that we have found entertaining as we are getting back into the swing of life in the states.

Plumbing!
My kids have struggled in the bathroom.  And not exactly in the way that it sounds.  First of all, they are so confused about where to throw their toilet paper!  In Paraguay, you always throw it in the trash can.  Plumbing systems there just can't handle the paper.  So, now that we are back in the states, my kids keep trying to throw their toilet paper away in the garbage cans.  That is not that big of a deal when you are in a public restroom, but it is kind of embarrassing when they do it in people's homes!  What a fun surprise for those who are allowing us into their houses and bathrooms!

And then when we go into public restrooms, my kids are traumatized by the automatic flushing toilets.  WE didn't have such things in Paraguay. We have had several instances of the toilets flushing midway into a potty break and it has really been terrifying for them!  Walker has actually refused to use the bathroom several times for fear of it flushing on him.  Thankfully, some of my facebook friends gave me lots of great tips about how to stop those things from flushing.  However, the kids are finding great entertainment with the automatic sinks and soap dispensers (as well as water fountains.)  They had never used water fountains except for here in the U.S.  There is no need to take my kids to Disney world- just give them a water fountain or automatic soap dispenser!  Just no automatic potties please!

Lack of full service:
Emma has been greatly offended by the fact that there is no one at the gas stations to pump our gas.  In Paraguay- all stations are full service!  After several times of us stopping to get gas, Emma said "Mommy, why won't anyone come out and help us?"  That is actually a hard concept to explain to a 5 year old!

Grocery Stores:
In Paraguay when you are at the grocery store and you finish putting your groceries on the counter, you push your cart backwards.  Now, when I first got to Paraguay, this drove me nuts!  I mean, you have to ask people to scoot over and let you push it backwards.  But now that I am back in the states, I guess old habits are hard to break because I keep trying to push my cart backwards!  I have gotten some pretty strange looks! 

Technology:
I think this has been my hardest adjustment!  The week we got back, my palm pilot crashed.  And if you know me, my palm pilot (or paper planner back in the day) is my life!  I was horrified to find out that there is no longer technological support for such a thing.  My beloved palm has been retired for quite some time.  In Paraguay, I felt like I had a fancy phone.  But, I have found that here, my phone is decrepid and even worthy of mockery!  It has taken me weeks to adjust to the new iPhone that we got.  Don't get me wrong, now that I have moved everything over and figured out how to use it, I absolutely love it ! And I keep wondering how I lived without all of it's fanciness.  But, it has definately hurt my brain trying to adjust to so many new things at once !

I guess that about covers it for now.  I am sure there will be more to come as we continue adjusting!

Fun For Free: Visiting Loggerhead Marinelife Center and Beach

Chris and I have always loved a good bargain. And there is no better bargain than free!  So any chance we find to do really great stuff for free, we try to take advantage!  While we were in Florida, we wanted to do some really fun stuff together as a family.  We have been through a lot of transition over the last few months and we know that we were about to be facing a lot more!  So, we wanted to spend part of our time in Florida while visiting Chris's family to just relax and enjoy life.  What better way to do that than the beach.  And even better- a fun and educational experience at the same time with the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. 

The have a great playground.  The kids really enjoyed playing in the sand and running around the playground with lots of slides and fun hiding places.

Then we toured the marinelife center.  The kids absolutely loved the turtle hospital.  It is a large area at the back of the center where they bring injured turtles in and nurse them back to health.  There are several tanks that have windows along the sides so that you can get "upclose and personal" with these precious turtles!  And each turtle has it's story posted beside of the tank so that you know it's name, what kind of injury it had and what had caused it's injury.  As well as what the hospital has done to return it to it's normal health so that they can be released back into their ocean home.  Most of the turtles had been involved in boating accidents.  The kids loved us reading the turtle stories to them.  They wanted to know all of their names and what had happened to them.  One of the turtles even had orthodontic work done on it's shell to help the wound underneath it's broken shell heal back together.  It was very interesting learning about how the beaches of Jupiter are some of the most actively nested beaches of the world. 

Family picture time!

We wanted the kids to get a picture by the giant metal turtle, but unfortunately he had been out in the sun a little too long and was not a very fun turtle to touch!  I think Walker is showing us his burnt finger in this picture!

Here is a shot of the marinelife center. 

And we ended our tour with a great picnic!

After lunch we headed over to the the beach for that nice and relaxing part.  But we had to be extra careful because there were a lot of man-of-war washed up on shore.

Ahhh.. nice and relaxing.

Sweet little Emma playing and getting wind blown.

And Walker just always looks like he is being mischievious!

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Olivia loved letting the waves catch her toes.  We enjoyed lots of squeals and laughter!

And that is the lovely thing about the beach- always lots of sand to clean up afterwards!

And it hides in all of the 1,000 parts of Olivia!

But she loved cleaning out those parts.  I hope it isn't illegal for children to be nude in public places in the states.  We have been gone for a long time and I am out of touch with the laws!  But how can there be a law against something that cute?

We Got Wheels!

We had to sell both of our vehicles in Paraguay (although to date, our truck has still not sold), which meant that as soon as we got to the U.S., we had to quickly get new ones.  Our plan was to just buy a vehicle for me in Florida and then drive it up to Tennessee where we could take more time to find the perfect vehicle for Chris.  Chris had already been researching for months about what kind of vehicle would be best for our family and we had already decided on a Honda van for me.  It took Chris a while to warm up to the idea of a mini van, seeing as how they are not the highest rated on the coolness scale.  But, I had convinced him that trying to get three little ones in and out of an SUV that had a third row that you had to climb over, was just not very practical.  When they can all buckle themselves in, fabulous. But until then- not something I want to battle!  So, the mini van it was.  We took the kids to the car lot with us when we went.  We found a fabulous used car lot that only sold used cars with very low mileage.  Chris actually won the vechicle on ebay, but his bid had not met the reserve.  So, we drove to the car lot to check it out.  We really liked it!  The kids were so excited to have all of that space.  They wanted to buy it right away.  Since Chris had been researching, we already knew that it was exactly what we wanted and at a fabulous price.  So, we bought it!  I guess the part we had not anticipated (which we should have), was being at a car lot with three little ones for hours while all of the paperwork got processed!  We made one trip to Chic-fil-A, but I still had to keep them entertained for a few hours.  Thankfully, the car lot had an upstairs gameroom.  However, the gameroom looked out over the showroom and I was nervous the entire time that one of the kids were going to climb one of the walls and topple over the balcony.  Not to mention that the game room was really made more for having parties for clients- wet bar, fancy pool tables, antiques, big screen TV.  Not exactly the place that you can allow your kids to act like kids.  I assumed that the throwing of the pool table balls that my kids were attempting would be frowned upon.  Especially since the walls that protected them from falling over the balcony were glass!  But, we made it without any major catastrophies.  And we drove two cars home!  (Our new one and Chris's parent's vechicle that we were borrowing)  Chris said that I looked like a grandma behind the wheel.  I think it was the combination of the mini van effect coupled with the fact that I had no idea where I was going and we were on the turnpike during rush hour traffic.  Either way, we have really enjoyed our spacious new mini van!  And yes, we are officially calling ourselves "old" as we have joined the mini van owners of the world.

Emma and Walker posing with the mini van and their new fishing rods.

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Our original plan to buy our second vehicle in Tennessee got slightly changed when we realized how much stuff we had!  We returned to the U.S. on the airplane with 10 checked bags, 6 carry-ons, 3 kids, ourselves and a crated dog.  Needless to say, that doesn't all fit in one vehicle!  Not to mention the closet-full of odds and ends we had collected over the years at Chris's parents house.  We checked on renting something to get our stuff up, but that is so expensive!  So, that coupled with a steal of a deal that Chris found on a black Toyota truck, led us to the purchase of our second vehicle just a few days after our first one!  By the time Chris got home with it, it was already late.  But the kids couldn't resist playing in it in the driveway!

Chris was so happy- he had been wanting a truck for years.  And we were so excited to have the vechicle hunting done with and be able to move on to Tennessee and all the adventures awaiting us there.  And we were so thankful to find two great deals that allowed us to afford two vehicles at once, and even do it the Dave Ramsey way!

A Thousand Thanks: Our Welcome Home Appreciation Dinner.

As we returned to the U.S. from Paraguay, we had a lot of mixed emotions.  We were desperately missing our friends and church family from Paraguay, but we were so excited to be back with our friends and family here in the U.S.  It was so encouraging to us to have our church family at Palm Beach Lakes Church of Christ, our overseeing congregation for the last few years, to throw us a

"Welcome Back and Appreciation Dinner". 

They had several of the men of the congregation speak about mission work and about the work that our family and team had done in Paraguay.  It was very special to have Chris's dad as one of those speakers. 

We all squeezed together to try and fit in one picture, but there were a lot of precious people there to welcome us back, so it was hard!

And we thought they had such a creative idea- they made us a "Thousand thanks" sign.  It was literally made with really money!  What a special way to say thank you and welcome back!  They glued each of the bills to the sign and we were worried that we would tear them as we were taking them off.  However, we are thankful to say that they all came off easily and are still spendable!  We are so grateful to have such wonderful people who have supported our family and the work in Paraguay!  We feel very blessed!

Chris's Birthday Celebrations

Chris was able to celebrate his birthday this year in various places!  First of all, we celebrated in Paraguay.  The kids and I made him a cake and decorated it at the SIM house.  We made chocolate coffee cake with chocolate icing- yummy! 

The only thing we had to decorate it with was colorful sprinkles and redhots!  It was an interesting combination, but the thought it was fabulous and that Chris would love it.

I kind of felt bad for the people eating it because Walker's finger tended push the redhots about an inch into the cake!  And I lost count of how many times he licked his fingers and then put on some more candies!

We took the cake to our Wednesday night Bible study to share in the celebration with our church family. 

Every sang "Happy Birthday" and Chris got to blow out his candle.

A picture of the whole family!

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Then when we got to Florida, we celebrated with Chris's family.  It has been several years since we have been able to celebrate birthdays with our families so close to the actual date of the event!  All the kids were loving on him and getting ready for some cake!

He had an ice cream cake- yummy again!

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And then when we made it to Tennessee, Chris got to share a birthday celebration with our nephew, Garrett, who was turning 14!  And, my dad, who was turning a little older than before.

More yummy ice cream cake!



One of the blessings of moving back to the U.S.- celebrating birthdays with family!  And multiple times!