Pics of Jez

So in an effort to get some updated pics of Jez I got my crappy camera to work. I really hope we decide to get a new one for Christmas, but sorry that's a side note.

I will let you know that I decided to take these while we were putting away clothes. And then she started throwing them all over the floor. It was very funny. Then she started with the hangers. She thought that was a riot. It's amazing to me what she finds entertaining. Like right now I'm watching her try to get some curtain rods behind our couch and she is laughing because she can't get them.. But anyways.

I really love being a mom. Even though sometimes it can be stress full. Like when she doesn't want to go to bed when she's really tired or doesn't want to keep her bib on while we are feeding her spaghetti o's. But she reminds me to laugh at the little things like Peek-a-boo or bubbles.

Lots of new and exciting things

So I got a job as a pre-school teacher (only part time, but I will be teaching) so that means that Ryan and I are moving next weekend (August 8-9) because we have to be out of our aparment by the 10th of August. We are hoping to be able to move in early so we aren't doing everything at once.



Jez is getting bigger by the day and crawling around now. I'm waiting on pics from my parents (because my camera is horrible) from when we went to Tennessee so I can post those.



Life is a little stressful right now and I sometimes forget to relax and end up taking my stress out on Ryan. He is very patient with my mood swings and loves me none the less. I just hope that I can one day resist the urge to get angry so quickly and take it out on Ryan. That is the biggest struggle that I have. I feel so bad for it afterwards, but when it's happening I just get out of control and can't stop my anger. I don't ever get violent because I don't believe in that.. I just raise my voice and yell at Ryan. The devil definatly has a strong foothold on me in this department. I pray everyday that I can learn to release my stress to God and allow myself to rely on him to take care of everything. Because I do know in my heart that he will take care of everything eventually. It is such a hard thing sometimes to rely on someone that you don't see, you don't always feel the presence of, or even think that they are listening to you. But I do know that God is always around, he is always taking care of me, and he loves me unconditionally.

I am starting a new book called the Power of a Praying wife with the women at my church. I really hope that this will not only give me the opportunity to learn how to pray for my husband, but to converse with other women and talk to them about their frustrations of being a wife and a mother.

Job Hunt and such

I am currently still on the lookout for teaching jobs or something that involves children. I have had a couple of prospects, but nothing permanate as of yet. I am hoping to line up a couple of interviews before we go on vacation.

I am so looking forward to going on vacation. I need a break from my house and my tenants. They are driving me nuts!! It's also really hard to work where you live.. but oh well.

I'm not quite sure what else I want to say.. I'm just stressed right now about future stuff and the unknown. I hate not knowing, but don't you go through most of your life not knowing.

I also am struggling with... how to put it.... not being challenged spiritually. Church is great, but I'm not getting a lot of meat there, it's milk. Which does help me learn the Bible better, but I also feel like I need to be ministering to people, or helping people out, or something. I just feel like there is this void inside of me that hasn't been filled since I left Brunswick. It might be because I'm not working in a profession that challenges me so my brain is not working as hard or because I'm not involved in something at church (except for Saturday night small group). I don't know. And it's hard to fill a void when you don't know exactly what they void is there for.

I'm also getting very short tempered with my husband, all the time. I feel like I am constantly getting angry or stressed about something little he said. I think that this is because we are around each other all day long and the only break we get from each other is the 4 hours that I go to work (if i go work that long) and during that time he is taking care of Jez. I feel like such a bad wife sometimes, because I talk before I think and it ends up in this huge argument that didn't need to happen in the first place. I like being selfish and getting things my way.. but i know that this is not how a marrage works. I am trying to work on realizing that my husband jokes all the time and he's hardly every serious about anything he says to me. Along with not being so stressed out all the time.

Anyways.. I better get to bed, it's late. Sorry for rambling. I appreciate prayers and loyal readers

Pics

So, I wanted to put up pics also.

For the few people that do read my blog

So, I know that I don't post that often. and the subjects usually aren't "debateable" or whatever.. but for those of you who are loyal.. THANKS!!

Anyways (after that brief tantrum)... Ryan has been out of town since Tuesday and I really hate it when he leaves. I don't sleep well, Jezzy always fusses, it's hard for me to work the way I want, and I have to go yell at me tenants late at night and leave Jez alone in the appartment.

I'm having a really tough strugle right now with my job and what God wants me to do right now with my life. I know that I'm supposed to be preparing for the mission field (which I totally feel inadequate for, but that's another story). But, I don't know what I need to be doing as far as a job so I can help support my family. Ryan doesn't work because he is going back to school in the fall and the VA is going to pay for it (which is a wondeful blessing). So, that means to make up the difference, one of us has to work. Well, the VA really doesn't want Ryan to get a job and I know how much Ryan struggles with school, so I feel like I need to contribute and plus I really want to work (or at least have something to occupy my time besides Jez). But, at this job that I'm doing currently I work and take care of Jez (well some of the time because usually Ryan is home and can take care of her) and the house and the cooking, cleaning, etc... It just all piles up on me and I feel like I'm going to cave in. Now, don't get me wrong, Ryan helps most of the time... but still.....

SO, I don't know if this means that I need to find someone to watch Jez when Ryan goes back to school (because I would hate for him to have to take her, although I know he could do it) or find a different job- but put her in child care. If I could find a job taking care of other peoples children, I would jump on it in a heart beat (as long as they didn't mind that I had my own child)... but it had to pay enough for healthcare, part of a house or apparment payment, cell phone, car insurance, gas, etc. So, I don't know.

I just need some major prayers of support right now.... or suggestions or anything at all..

5 months old and counting

These are some pictures from the first week of April. I'm hoping to get professional ones for Mothers Day.. .but we'll see. We have been wonderfully blessed lately with things falling into place. The VA finally gave us the info that we needed to hear (they are going to pay for Ryans school and give Ryan some money for the rest of his life), Ryans truck will finally be getting fixed and we'll be able to have two cars again, we had a wonderful time at Pepperdine and Jezzy is growing big and will be 6 months in a couple of weeks.

Pepperdine was a good time for renewal of spirit and faith. This trip came at a time of struggle spiritually for me, so I had a great time singing songs, listening to lectures, and being spiritually uplifted. If you ever get a chance to go to Pepperdine, you should. I'll keep you guys updated on our orphanage process. Nelly Starkel is working on our business licence for us along with our non profit orginization licence. Anywho.. that's an update

4 months

So I never posted pics from 3 months, so I'll combine them with this post.

Jezreel is now 4 months old, so that means she just got her second round of shots. She is now 11 pounds 3 ounces and 24 inches long. Which means that she is too skiny and very long. We were instructed to start giving her rice cereal so she can start to gain weight. They're not too worried about her weight, but would like to see her a bit heavier.

Well, we are finally moved to Portland. We found a job as appartment managers at La Haceinda. We get a 2 bedroom town house and a $500 a month payment on top of it. It's not the nicest apparment in the world, but it is also not the worst. I'm excited to finally be up here and able to start the next phase of our lives and get onto the orphanage.

It still is a bit scary to think of moving to Central America somewhere, but also very exciting... anywho

So, if you're in the area our address is 7920 SE 72nd Ave apt 26 Portland, OR 97206 or give us a call

3 months

So not very much has been happening since my last post. We are still living in California, but hope to be moving to Portland before the beginning of March. We're looking for appartment manager jobs so that way I can keep Jezreel with me and Ryan can go to school and flip houses on the side. I really hope that we find a job soon because I'm ready to move on to our next stage in life. We do have a job interview this Monday so anyone that is in Portland e-mail me your number at emilykpeters@hotmail.com (because Ryan lost his and I don't have everyones number) and we'll try to hang out with you while we're there. Pray that this door will open for us and we can move up there and start working.

Jezreel is now 3 months old. She has gotten so big it's amazing. I'm finally able to put away all newborn or 0-3 month old outfits and get her into her "old girl clothes". She's now holding her head up fairly well, sometimes playing on her tummy, and ocassionally rolls over when we have her on her stomach. She sleeps mostly through the night, but still doesn't like to be layed down for a nap (unless she's raped up well), but we're getting there. She has put herself to sleep a couple of times, so we're definatly getting there. We're now into a routine, which makes it easier to get things done.

I will try to get some updated pics of us up soon, I just have to take them. Hope to see some of you soon.

2 months

Jezzy will be 2 months on January 16th. I can't believe that she is that old already. I guess time really does fly by when you're having fun. We found out that she is allergic to formula, so we had to switch to soy. She is adjusting well to the new formula and seems to do much better with it when we do give it to her. We try not to give it to her too often, only when I know that it's not going to be convenient for me to feed her. She is now almost 10 pounds. We go in on Tuesday for her shots (Not looking forward to that) so I'll be able to find out exactly how much she weighs and how long she is.

Now, updates on Ryan and I. I am going to Georgia for two weeks to visit family and friends. Just me and Jezzy are flying (which will be interesting to experience) home, so I'm pretty excited about that. Ryan will be traveling to Portland to find a job, a home for us to live in, or a house to flip. We are hoping to find a job/place to live by March so we can move up there and get out of Cheryl's house. I love living with my mother-in-law.. but I really want to live in my own house with my husband and baby. We haven't really lived alone very much since we've been married. Before we move here, Jordan was living with us for 6 months and then we moved here (been here for 5 months). So for one year of our 2 year marriage either someone was living with us or we've been living with someone... and remember for the first 7 months of our marriage, Ryan wasn't even here. That means we've only lived alone for 5 months!! Wow, that's really sad when you think about it.. anywho.

We're just waiting for open doors right now on what Gods going to provide for us next. I really hope that we can both find a decent jobs to support our family and provide health insurance for us. I really miss teaching and want to find something that will allow me to get out of the house and meet some new people. I don't have very many close friends here and would like to be somewhere where I can hang out with more people my age. We're also ready to get our orphanage process started, so if you know anyone who has gone through the process of getting a non-profit business licence, please let us know. We appreciate prayers of patience as we wait for Gods plan to happen for us. I know that in good time whatever needs to happen in our life will happen, but it is very hard to be patient when you know what you want to do and nothing is happening to allow that to happen.

The past 2 weeks

Jezreel is now 2 1/2 weeks old and it has been an interesting time. The first night was rough as she didn't sleep hardly any. She has now gotten a sleep schedule down where I feed her around 10, again at 1, then at 4:30ish. So, overall that is a woundeful blessing. She still has her up and down days, just like any human being. But, overall she is such a wonderful baby. But, I have heard that wonderful babies are horrible toddlers.. Let's hope not.

Ryan and I are getting excited about moving to Portland in January so he can start school. I'm not sure what I'm going to do about working and if I do work where to take Jezzy for daycare. If any one has any suggestions; I would greatly appreciated.

Jezreel Lee Peters

Jezreel Lee Peters arrived Nov. 16th at 11:42 p.m. She weighed 6 pounds 13 oz and is 20" long.

The delivery went very fast despite not having any medicine. I was in labor about 25 minutes total (I really have no clue.. but Ryan does). She had a very easy 2 nights in the hospital, sleeping most of the night and not crying very much. The first night home was a different story. She was very cranky and had a hard time latching on. But, once she settled down I finally was able to feed her and she feel asleep (this was around 12 or 1). She didn't wake up again until 5 and then she feed for an hour. She has a rough time every now and then.. but overall she is a very content baby.

We are so excited to have her home. My mom (who lives in GA) was unable to be here for the birth, but she is here now spoiling her first grandchild. I appreciate all the congrats and warm welcomes. She can't wait to meet everyone.

updates

Well, our house is under contract and will hopefully sell by the 20th of November. There are some things that the home inspector found that our real estate agent suggests we should do in order for the house to sell. We're not going to do everything, seeing as it adds up to 3,000 dollars worth of repairs. We're just going to do some of the repairs that will add up to about 500 dollars and come back with a counter off that the interested buyers will accept.

I have about 2 1/2 weeks left in my pregnancy, but I really don't think I'm going to last that long. I have an appointment tomorrow, so hopefully I'll know more then. I'm getting really excited and nervous about the baby coming and what to do after peanut is here.

I have a camera now, I just have to get a USB cord to hook up the camera to the computer. I will put up some much needed ultrasound pics.

Children that need sponsers

I was visiting a friends website who got a list from the people at the orphanage that states which kids have sponsors and which don't. I decided I'd let everyone see just a few of the kids that don't have sponsors. There are 43 of the current 80 kids that don't have sponsors. 17 of those are girls, and 26 are boys. The below pictures are of kids that are in need of sponsors. If you would like to sponsor one of these kids for only $35 a month, please let me know. I will then give you their full name so you can go to Colene and get started. Thanks for putting up with all my "advertising" for these kids, but you know what they say... You can always ask. It's better to put the need out there and see if anyone is willing.

Arnfulo

Carla

Edwin and Angel

Grisel

Jesus Kevin

L to R Manuel, Jesus, Angel

Wendy and Melissa

There are many more, so let me know the age and gender that you would like to sponser and I will give it to Collene or Hannah (who cordinate the sponsorship).

Hello All

I know that it has been a while since I've posted something new, so I figured I should probably update everyone on what's been going on.

About 2 weeks ago I went in for a doctors appointment and they heard the baby's heart fluttering, so the doc ordered an eco-cardiogram for the baby just to make sure it wasn't what Ryan had or anything else. So, I had to go to Sacramento for a "Level 2" ultrasound (last Friday) where they can look into detail at organs and such. They looked at the heart and said that it wasn't happening that often and they didn't see anything developmental wrong with the heart so they put me on a strickt NO CAFFEINE, NO CHOCOLATE until the baby comes. Then I went for a follow up on Monday with my doctor and he listened to the baby's heart.. and wouldn't you know, everything was o.k. They did a non-stress test (which is where I get hooked up to the monitor and they make sure that they babies heart rate goes up when it moves and then goes back down afterwards) and everything was fine.. Although it was really funny to hear the baby hick-up... so on the baby side, everything is fine now and it's growing everyday. Peanut's head (that's what I've started to call the baby, instead of it) is down right now so it's back likes to push up against my ribs and it's head presses against my bladder.. so my whole stomach is starting to hurt right now... but I guess that's what comes with pregnancy.

I'm not working right now in Cali and neither is Ryan. It's kind of nice to be able to take this time to relax and just spend time with Ryan. We haven't gotten much of a chance to do that since we've been married, so it's been really nice to "get to know" my husband. It's amazing what you find out about people when you just sit down and have the time to talk to them and listen to what they're really saying.

We're also praying adamantly about our house selling in Georgia. In order for us to move to Portland our house either needs to sell or we have to find someone to rent it. So.... needless to say we really want our house to sell because we don't want to have the frustration of dealing with renters, etc.

I'm hoping to borrow my sister-in-laws camera so I can get updated pics of Peanut on here (as I know all of you are anxiously waiting for). I'll be 34 weeks tommorrow, so 6 WEEKS LEFT!!!

The mission trip

I am now officially moved into Cheryl's house (although awaiting the rest of my clothing and "stuff" to get here from G.A.)

We had a wonderful time in Mexico. I can't believe how fast it went (we were there for 15 days) and how slow it went at the same time. I was ready to come home after the short time spent there... tired, sore, and feeling the effects of being 7 months pregnate and on my feet all day working.

The orphanage we visited is called Casa de Elizabeth and it is located in Imuris, Mexico (near Nogales, Mexico). It has been there for almost 20 years and has been run by the same two people (Manuel and Gabby). Right now they have about 85 kids ranging from the youngest being about 4 to the oldest being 18. They do have a few older "orphans" that have been there since they were little, but are now old enough to be considered non-adoptable by the state, but continue to live there because they have no were else to go (but know that they can work around the orphanage and have food and a place to stay).

All of the kids were adorable (as you will see in the pictures). The only problem at the orphanage is there isn't enough adult supervision for them, so they basically solve their own problems by either hitting, throwing rocks, or teasing back. I tried to (in broken spanish mind you) tell them to stop, but since the adults are hardly ever around to stop them, they don't listen to authority too well. They'd either look at me and give me a bad look and contine what they were doing or stop, wait unitl I wasn't looking and then hit them with something handy.

The kids loved the camera (me taking pictures of them and them taking pictures) and were always asking me for it (if I didn't have it with me). The kids also loved the fact that I was pregnant and always wanted to know what the baby was doing (sleeping, moving, etc).

Our main project that Jordan, Ryan, and I accomplished while we were there was putting in a brick walk way for the little boys and girls to the basketball court and the older girls to walk out to the same area. The area will also serve as a play area for the little ones during the day and a place for them to go when they wake up at 5 in the morning (it's fenced in) and not wandering around the orphanage. It took a lot of work because the area was not flat (to put grass in), so we had to shovel it up and turn it over (like you would with a roto-tiller) and then rake it so it would be at a slope. Then we had to shovel a 2" walkway to lay the bricks down, fill the bricks in with sand (they didn't have enough money to put in concrete at the time), and then put more sand in the next day. Needless to say this was a very time consuming and very hard project. We had to wait on rain-delays (because the ground would be muddy and unable to work in or with), the opportunity to get bricks, and other things like that. But, we did get it finished and it looks wonderful.



Ryan being taught how to play the violin


Getting Ready for the pinata!!! Hannah, Suzzie, and Jordan (some other Americans that visit once a month) bring a pinata and cake for the children's birthdays in that month. All the kids go crazy!!!


These are just a tast of all the photos we took at the orphanage of the kids. Here are some videos from the orphange. Snap fish is a free site, you just have to "sign up" in order to look at the pics and videos. Hope you enjoy.

Updated Pictures

So, as promised I have new pictures. I don't really like the way they turned out on the camera I was using... so I might use my parents scanner and try it again.

It was fun seeing the baby again. At first the little booger was asleep and then all the sudden it woke up and was all over the place. The first lady that was doing the pictures (a trainee) was laughing because you could see it "head butting me" and "punching me" and I could feel it at the same time. One moment it's legs were over it's head and the next minute it's butt was right in our face on the screen. It was flipping all over the place and they couldn't get the best pictures of it. But we were able to see it's face (the pics here), the knees, feet, arms, and fingers.
arm is down at the bottom and another by its face. you can also see it's nose, lips, and a bit of ear .

feet are up at the top of the pic. the arm is also at the bottom of the pic.

We still don't know what it is, and aren't going to find out. I'm getting bigger by the week and as soon as I can get my camera working (it broke this weekend) I'll post some pics of me from a wedding I was in this weekend.

Upcoming Changes

For the few of you that do read my lovely post, I can update you on what's happening with the Peters' family in Georgia.

Ryan found out on Friday that he is GETTING OUT OF THE ARMY!!!!! I'm so excited an nervous right now, I don't quite know what to do with myself. Nervous because I'm not quite sure what doors God will open for us i.e. jobs, school, and the baby. But, I have full faith that something good will come available for us.

Our plans are: Going on an easter seaboard trip in early August(up to Niagra Falls and back) to see New York, Washington, Kentucky, etc.... things that you have to see if you might not ever get a chance to see them again. From August 13th until Sept 1st(ish) we're going on our mission trip to Casa De Elisabeth. I will then be traviling to Cali to move in with Cheryl (Ryan's mom) while Ryan goes back to Georgia to finish up the whole Army thing and move our stuff to Portland. We should be in Cali around Sept. 6th or so (look forward to seeing everyone !!!) The baby is coming around Nov. 26th, so I'm going to be out of commission around that time.... so I have no idea what I'm going to be doing from Sept. to November. Probably helping Cheryl and Amy... who knows. Ryan is still looking for a job and we're hoping our house sells quickly so we don't have to worry about that.
After being in Cali for about a year or so, we're headed up to Portland so Ryan can finish his college degree and I can take some ministry classes.

It's going to be a crazy next couple of months, well probably years.. but I'm also looking forward to where God leads us and our search for our ministry. Any support for our up coming mission is greatly appreciated. Check out http://diaporlosninos.blogspot.com/ or http://diaporlosninosaboutus.blogspot.com/ for all the info!!

I will have another sonogram July 19th so I'll post pics of the baby and me.. seeing as lots of people are asking for one.

Summer Plans

Seeing as I only have 3 weeks left in school, it's time for me to start thinking about what I'm going to do for the summer. I am going to be limited to my activities seeing as I will be 5 months pregnate by July.

Our mission trip is still under way for July.. check out our other website http://diaporninos.blogspot.com for more info. I'm very excited about going and helping out with the kids and experience what it will be really like to have our own orphanage. This will also help me see what it's like to take care of a child.

Other than that, we're going to get our house ready to sell seeing as Ryan is getting (hopefully) out of the army. This is going to be a fun process seeing as we have so many "fix-it" projects to finish. I'm limited to the things that I can do (can't paint or handle any harmful chemicals). But, I am working on fixing the pillows, upholstering a couch, and anything household activites.

Hopefully we will see all of our family soon in California and Portland and get our orphanage process underway.

Baby pics

hey all,

Just wanted to keep you updated on the baby progress. We did have a bit of a scare on Monday where I had to go to the emergency room because of some bright red bleeding that occured. We were in the ER from 7:30 p.m. until 1:30 a.m. The doctors cleaned me up and then did a vaganal ultral sound to see if they could hear the babys heart beat, see how it looked.. just to make sure everything was o.k. I got to hear the heart beat while I was in the room, it was amazing. I didn't get to see the images at the time, but I knew then that everything was o.k. The doctor told me that I had a 1/8cm hole in my placenta that is bleeding and that means that I can't do any excessive lifting, try to stay off me feet for long periods of time, no strenious activity, and limited stress. So needless to say, I'm letting Ryan and Jordan Allaway (who is now living with us for those who know him) do all the work around the house while I eat ice cream and watch t.v.

I'm also able to rest this upcoming week since I have spring break, so I will get some much needed R and R. This has really put us into percpective about the control that God has over our lives. On the way to the hospital, we just prayed that he would keep the baby safe no matter what happend, and if I do miscarry then I know where it will go. So, I keep the stress level down and pray daily that the lord will watch over my health and the babys.

The doctor that I saw the next day gave us the picture of the ultrasound and told us that it is 1 cm long, the heart rate is 145 and growing perfectly. Here are two pics below:


Can't really tell that it's a baby, but here it is.



Here's another one...

Quiz

So, I'm sick and don't really have much to talk about.... I made up a silly quiz to see who knows me.

http://www.quizyourfriends.com/yourquiz.php?quizname=060401160522-749815&