Baby Update!

While we were in Delhi, I went for my mid-pregnancy appointment to the OBGYN that I plan to use for delivery (assuming I make it to Delhi!) Everything went great! I got to sit there for about 40 minutes and watch my baby while the ultrasound technician measured and checked everything on Fergie 2. In our country, it’s illegal for the doctors to make known to the parents the gender of the baby. This is because boys are highly prized and girls are often seen as a curse from the gods, and are often aborted if found out about (and sometimes simply discarded after birth). I don’t understand this part of the culture at all, and mourn over the lostness of this sad mentality. However, because of that, we will not be finding out the gender of our baby. At first, that made me really nervous. Now, it just makes me somewhat nervous! J I’m pretty darn sure I know what we are having, but for this Type A planner to not know is just a little out of my comfort zone. However, I think about how every other woman in this country doesn’t know, and how our parents didn’t know, and it makes it a little more bearable! Anyway (rambling!), the ultrasound was great, the hospital was nicer than I expected, as was the doctor, and I left with a very positive attitude about everything. Fergie 2 is healthy and measuring exact to the day! The doctor still wants me to come 6 weeks early because of how early Corinth was, but our company only sends us 4 weeks before, so we’ll see what happens with that. Pray that the right decision is made by the people who make those decisions (not us!). I will be taking weekly baby belly shots and putting them on Facebook if you care to see the bump as it continues to grow! For now, I’ll leave you with 2 pictures- the first of which is from the day I found out I was pregnant, and the second is today, at 21 weeks! J

Bumpless belly pic!

Right before my morning run (back when I lived in a city where I could run... sigh)

 

 21 weeks- over halfway there!

(Side note- I will be wearing this same outfit every week. Reason? I don't wear western clothes at all here, so I don't have very many, and the clothes I DO wear here look ridiculous for belly pictures!)

Post-Christmas!

Merry Christmas again! Things were quite different for us this year! (Not that we've ever really had a 'normal'! Every year we've been together has been totally different!) Let's see...

We began the week's festivities by inviting neighbors and friends to our party. Most of our neighbors welcomed us into their homes for chai or coffee, most for the first time, so that was a great way to meet and get to know many people we live around! This has been a struggle for us, so that was one way we really saw God at work!

Christmas Eve we had a party with the rest of our team in our city. It was fun! We had some American foods, including cheese (can't get much here, and what we can get is not very good!), meatballs (chicken), and beef jerky (thank you to the Walls Family!) We also played a fun game where you have to draw a scene on a plate that's on your head. It was pretty funny, and Kyle the Artist's plate was definitely the worst! :-) We also did a gift exchange which was quite fun as well. And, most importantly, we read the Christmas story and talked about how important it is to our lives.

Christmas morning, we Skyped with both of our families. Those were great, because it really eased the sadness of being apart at Christmas. We love our families very much, and miss them a lot! Then, our friend John came over and I made homemade monkey bread- first time ever using yeast!- and then we opened the rest of our presents! Corinth was beyond happy with opening presents and having so many new things to play with and wear! Thank you to everyone who sent things- it really meant so much to us.
 
After that, Kyle and I took turns being sick for the rest of the morning. I won the contest, he started feeling better, and I was in bed for the next 2 days. We debated on whether or not to cancel our Christmas party because we were both feeling so miserable, but he was getting better so we decided he could handle it without me. I spent our entire Christmas party locked in my room listening as 25-30 people gathered and celebrated in my living room!

Kyle did a fabulous job with the party! He said it went great! Most of our neighbors came, as did many friends. They loved the food, laughed a lot (I could hear everything!), sang Christmas songs while Kyle played the guitar, and Kyle even told the Christmas story in Hindi. It was such a success, which all glory can be given to God for!

We missed seeing and talking with many of you before and on Christmas, and want you to know that we love you very much!

Early morning smiles! She's excited!

 So happy!

 Merry Christmas! Love, the Fergusons

 Friends and neighbors enjoying the party!

 Food and fun!

 

Pre-Christmas!

Christmas is FAST approaching! Am I ready? No, I have a million things left to do! Am I otherwise ready? Yes, I LOVE Christmas! This year it is very different, not only because we are away from pretty much everything and everyone that we know, but also because our family is trying to be very intentional about celebrating CHRISTmas, and not presentmas, treemas, or american-secularismmas. Which do you celebrate?!? At first I thought, "this is dumb! I want a tree, and Santa, and lots of presents, and everything Christmassy." But it has been great!

We love doing Advent every night. I made a felt Advent/Jesse tree last year, and we have loved having our Advent time in the evenings. Every night, we have an ornament, story, prayer, song, and special candy. Corinth loves it, and several times a day goes up to the Advent box and says, "please. please. please." I love it! Also, we (I) have been crafting a lot. This has seemed to be one of the things that makes me feel most at home. That, and baking, which I have also done a lot of. If you know me well, neither of these activities should come as a shocker to you! :-) We also had an Elf-watching party (also, not a shocker!) and it was great! So fun, and really got me in the Christmas mood!

We are planning on having a team Christmas party Christmas Eve, and then having our own Christmas on Christmas morning. Christmas evening we are having a party for our neighbors and some friends. Hopefully this will be a good time of outreach and that many neighbors come! During those days we will also Skype with family, which we are really excited about! We have many things to look forward to! Please pray for us (especially for me) as this is our first Christmas away from home and I'd be lying if I said I would rather be here than home. I know God has us here, and I have peace about that, but it doesn't stop the longings of my heart for family!

Merry Christmas from the Fergusons, and I really hope you know Jesus and focus your time in the next week on HIM and the wonder that He loved us so much to save us. He is our Lord! Merry Christmas!!!

Yes, I bought a Christmas outfit! (After all, I am a teacher at heart!!!) :-)

 

Our Advent Tree! (It's more filled in now- only 4 days left!)

 

One of the many crafts we've done! This time, our neighbor and his mom joined us! :-)

 

Mother of More Than One

I have been having a difficult time lately, thinking about how different life is going to be with two children. Don't get me wrong- I am THRILLED to have another baby, I'm just sad that life will never be the same as it is now. (Tears already flowing as I write this...) I cherish my moments with Corinth. Even when she's not a perfect angel, I still love her so much. I love laughing with her, I love holding her hand, I love making faces at her at the table, I love when she gives me tight hugs, I love singing songs with her, I love when she makes sure her kiss is exactly on my lips. I love it all. Every day she makes me smile, and every day I am reminded that she is one of the greatest blessings of my life. Life is so wonderful with Corinth, Mommy, and Daddy. And I am afraid of everything changing. And I'm not so naïve as to believe that things won't change. They will have to. I feel like my time with her is slipping away, maybe because she's getting bigger (and I don't like it) and maybe because I know there is a +1 coming soon. I don't want to be sad when I put her to bed because I know another day is over, but I'm having a hard time with this season of life. I've heard that going from 1 to 2 is the most difficult transition, and I absolutely believe it. I want to be all that I can be for my kids, and I want them to all have wonderful, full lives. I would love to hear from those of you with multiple children advice or thoughts on this. This Mommy needs your prayers also. Thanks friends.

 

Thanksgiving!

Our first holiday away from home (excluding Halloween!) was a success! It was quite an adventure, and I'd like to share it with you!

We spent our Thanksgiving with many other American families (about 50 people including children), and drove a LONG way to get there! We left at 4:30am and drove about 7 hours from our city to P city, where we stayed for the night. Then, the next morning we left at 5am for a 12 hour journey to S city, where we spent 3 days for Thanksgiving. It was AWESOME! We had all of the wonderfully American Thanksgiving foods, of which my favorite was mac and cheese, as was Kyle's, and Corinth's favorite was ham. :-) We also all enjoyed pumpkin pie! I loved relaxing with other English speakers, and I really, really loved that I could let Corinth run and play with the other kids and not have to worry about nationals here picking her up, taking pictures of her, and pinching her cheeks (which is what happens every time we go out on a normal day here). It was a very relaxing and refreshing time. After those 3 days, we travelled with all of those friends up to K town, a town in the foothills of the Himalayas, which was just ridiculously beautiful and cool to know that I was in the tallest mountain range in the world! NBD... In K town, we had a retreat, where we enjoyed more rest, relaxation, great company with one another, and breathtaking views of the mountains. From our hotel, we could see Nepal, Bhutan, and the 3rd tallest mountain in the world. Pretty spectacular! After 3 days there, we headed back down the mountain to S town and stayed the night, followed by a LONG journey back to our city.

That journey included: a supposed-to-be 12 hour drive that ended up being 16 because of: a luggage rack almost falling off a car and having to be transferred to another car in our caravan, a car with a dead clutch plate that had to be replaced, and for which we spent 3 hours in a (very nice and hospitable) car dealership, and to top off the night we were in an accident with a semi-truck getting stuck to the side of our car, smashing the 2 doors in (not completely) and having to be backed up in traffic so it wouldn't completely rip off the front panel of our car. I have never, NEVER been more happy to get out of a car safely! The next day, we travelled back to our city for what was supposed to be 7 hours but ended up being 8 1/2, and about 10 minutes into it the driver of our car hit a guy on a motorcycle. Let's just say that I never want to ride in a car again! :-)

God gave us a great week of rest and relaxation with friends, and then Satan tried to take away our joy from our trip, but was (of course!) unsuccessful! I am thankful for this week, for all of you, and mostly for Jesus Christ, who gives me hope and blessings every day! Here are a few pics of Thanksgiving!

Happy playing on the slide!

 Lots of yummy food!

 Corinth playing with friends- my favorite part of the day!

 Thanksgiving family photo!

 K town, foothills of the Himalayas- beautiful!

 Behind us is the 3rd tallest mountain in the world!

 

 

Now, we're preparing for Christmas- this is how we decorate presents here! :-)