31 Weeks

Ken and I just returned from the doctor's office with a glowing report.  Baby Girl Rodriguez is 3 1/2 pounds and 41 cm long.  Her heart rate is 136 so she is right in the middle and all her bones and joints are forming perfectly.  We got some great shots of her face and her upper lip is normal so no worries about her having a cleft pallet.  Her mouth was moving non-stop, it was adorable!

The delivery date looks like 29 November, but I guess we will find out the day when "she" decides or not.......  My weight is 130 so I am doing real good and can't complain.  The 4D ultrasound is planned for 9 October and the next appt with my doc is 13 October.  Ken and I can't believe we are 7 months into the pregnancy.  It is amazing how the time has flown by.

I just found out that some of the military spouses are hosting a baby shower for me which was a huge surprise, but very thoughtful.  So more info to come............

We are heading to the beaches of Le Ceiba this weekend with 4 other families.   The resort looks very nice and we are planning to go on a wildlife refuge tour.  We are taking a train to the site and then a 2 1/2 hour motorboat ride where we will see mangroves, Howler monkeys, more than 200 birds, alligators and manatees.  So I hope to get some great photos! 

The Lamb Institute in Tegus

Last Friday Ken and I visited an orphanage that was founded by a US woman who has lived in Honduras over 15 years.  It is called the Lamb Institute and there are two facilities, one in La Cantera and the other in Flor de Campo.  Both facilities are located in impoverished inner city neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa.  The one we went to on Friday is about 15 minutes from Ken's Office.  There are over 50 children living full time in the residential program and another 200 children in the daycare/school program.  I think there are 8 staff members that provide formal kindergarten and primary education for children with an emphasis on Biblical principals.  The institute provides a food bank to help out the local neighborhood, which I have been told needs support.  Most of the kids who live in the neighborhood and come to the facility for school get lunch and two snacks.....which is the only food they will probably receive (each day).  Another facet of the organization is education for people who live in the neighborhood but have not had the opportunity to receive a formal education.  

This is an organization that really tries to reach out to the community and I think Ken and I have found our calling to where we would like to volunteer our time.  We really enjoyed visiting the kids and getting to know them.  The MILGP supported the org's event "Day of the Child" by providing the funds to buy food and toys for the children living there.  I am hosting an Embassy Spouses Coffee in the next few weeks at our house and we are going to discuss volunteer opportunities so I hope to get some support and see what we can do as a team!!!! 

For more info on the organization, website is www.lambinstitute.org

Centro Integral

About two weeks ago I traveled with the wife of the Chief of Defense to a very small orphanage that houses 23 little girls and 3 little boys, aging from 4 years old to 15 years.  There are two ladies who look after these children 24/7 and provide education to them.  Basically the building is 4 rooms containing a kitchen, classroom and two large rooms for activities but turn into bedrooms at night.  The kids basically sleep on very thin mattresses.  With the limited space you do what you can.  The hard part is seeing these young children in such a harsh area of town surrounded by barb wire fences.  We had to have armed escorts b/c the area we were in is in a very bad part of town.

The children earn their keep by doing chores and making / cooking bread and cookies.  Can you imagine a 4 year old kneading dough to make bread to survive.  It really touches your heart!  I got to try some of their cookies which reminds me of sugar cookies back home and they were very yummy.  We spent a few hours with the kids and had pizza, cake and candy......Yes, I had a good time at the store buying all sorts of candy.  I have noticed the candy goes over big, my concern is the children obviously do not receive dental care unless it provided to them through donations.  The MILGP has supported this orphanage through funding for a stove, bread maker and fridge.  Others have contributed by getting clothes from friends and family back home in the states.  Every little bit helps!  Some of the photos are a little blurry........camera issues.

Olancho, Honduras

Just wanted to share some photos of our weekend trip to Olancho.  It is a beautiful part of Honduras (it is the equivalent of a state) and the air is so clean.  Unlike Tegus, where you have about 1.2 million people living and the pollution is pretty bad.  We stayed at the ranch of the Chief of Defense and had a wonderful time.  Ken and I had a tour of this amazing ranch with over 2,000 beef cows, milk cows and horses and every other farm animal you can imagine.  The area is not overly populated but the economy is real good b/c everyone is into farming.  Although you still have to be careful b/c you never know if you come upon someone with a machete.  Ken ran with one of the Honduran Lt's with an armed escort and came upon a bull being butchered in the middle of the town square.............I would have loved to have taken photos of that :)  As you can see, Ken was playing cowboy.  The horses are absolutely beautiful and very well trained.  The family was wonderful to us and we enjoyed some very good food!!!!!!!  The vice prime minister came by for a visit too - pretty cool when you can arrive to your destination by helicopter.

3rd Trimester

It is hard to believe how fast time is flying...........here is the latest belly shot.  She is moving around so much and it is such a great feeling!!!!!  She is very active especially at night so I have been putting headphones on my stomach playing music and I actually think she chills out.  After 3 or 4 songs the movement subsides (a little).  For about two weeks, I had a hard time sleeping but now I am sleeping through the night.  Ken has been home this past week burning some leave time so it has been wonderful spending time with him and doing things around the house.

We have had workmen at the house doing some repairs.  We had a lot of heavy rain and found some leaks in the ceiling (luckily in places where the water would not have damaged our stuff).  They fixed the holes and came across a few bat nests which would explain the running around and little noises at night.  I saw a baby bat over a month ago and did not think anything of it until we kept hearing noises in our bedroom late at night.  The guys got rid of the nests and placed garlic on the roof.  I guess we can uses crosses next if the garlic does not work. :)

The new ambassador and his family have arrived in country so Ken is looking forward to working with him.  We have a function to attend tomorrow evening to welcome them so we are looking forward to it.  

I drove for the first time on Wednesday.  I think Ken was a little more nervous then I was.  Not that he does not have confidence in me but the drivers here (especially bus/taxi drivers) are very ignorant and erratic.  You always have to be on your guard.  I did not even realize it had been 3 months since I drove, but I did well and feel confident.  We still have our Florida tag and waiting to get our Honduran tag.  It makes me a little nervous to drive with the tag so I hope with get the country tag soon. 

Her room is coming along...........

Ken and I picked up the baby dresser on Wednesday.  We love it!  It matches the crib perfectly and it goes well with the ratan chair and chest of drawers.  I planned on just getting a simple changing table with some shelving but Ken thought it would be a better investment to buy something long term with enough drawer space for her clothes :)  "Good thinking Dad."   

Proud Parents!

We could not be more happy!!!!!!!!!!!  Ken just returned from Guatemala and I surprised him at the airport.  

It's A GIRL!!!!!!!!!

We had much success at the doctor's office yesterday.  Our baby cooperated with the ultrasound and we are absolutely thrilled!!!!!  Our little one is very healthy and weighing 2 lbs.  She has been moving around quite a bit and I feel those kicks especially on the right side.  The doc says I am doing well.  I fell about a week ago due to being clumsy but the baby was kicking like crazy soon after so I was not worried.  The only symptoms I have is occasionally feeling dizzy and nauseous. My blood pressure is low which accounts for the symptoms but I was thankful to hear from my cousins they went through the same thing during their pregnancies and low blood pressure seems to run in the family.  So, I am taking an iron pill once day as well as the pre-natal and drinking a protein shake twice a day.   

As you can see, it's our baby's most recent photo.  29 Sept is the next doc appt and I will have the 4D ultrasound so we are looking forward to that!!!!!!!!