FUNDASIDA Donation

Back in late July I visited an orphanage called FUNDASIDA (Translation: National Foundation for HIV/AIDS Prevention, Education and Care) here in the capital.  The organization supports a temporary home that helps children who are ill with Tuberculosis and AIDS.  There are sixty children ranging from one years old to early teens.  Over the last few months I was able to raise over $800 to buy food for these children.  Yesterday I met with some of the children and caretakers to go shopping.  The kids had a lot of fun picking out the necessities they needed and had huge smiles.

A huge THANK YOU goes to my friends Sean and Lindsay Lynch and Generous Heart Ministries, Inc., Destin, FL for their generous donation and our Faith Formation Director, Teresa McClure at Saint Peters Catholic Church in Mary Esther, FL.  Without you, buying food and hygiene items would not have been possible.  

Ken and I purchased some things as well.  Besides birthdays, Christmas is really the only holiday celebrated here.  So while we were purchasing the food I saw a Christmas Tree with lights and bought it.  I am not sure if these children will even get presents but at least they will have something to make them smile :)  

Miami

Ken and I just returned from Miami where we both attended the Security Cooperation Officer's Conference.  I attended the spouses portion and learned quite a bit and met some wonderful spouses.  I think I had more fun since the spouses got one free day from briefings and we visited Fairchild Gardens, The Biltmore and spent a few hours shopping :)  Ken stayed extremely busy throughout the conference while coordinating relief efforts back in Honduras.  Tropical Depression 16 created a lot of flooding and some of the villages were really affected.  Thousands were rescued and 30 are dead with more still missing.  The MILGP and Joint Task Force Bravo (US Military Unit in Honduras) have been assisting the Honduran gov't and COPECO (the country's disaster relief) with humanitarian relief and rescue efforts.  

The best part of the whole week was being able to see family!  My parents, along with two of my aunts and uncle flew down to meet us.  It was wonderful to see them and catch up.  Here are some photos with the family................

It goes with out saying that I made the trip to Target!  And yes, a big box came back with us on the plane full of diapers, wipes and some other goodies.  In Honduras we are very lucky to have US imports unfortunately you will pay twice the amount.  For example, a package of 40 diapers costs close to $30.  So there were some pretty good deals at Target that I could not pass up.  For the last five months I have missed eating at Outback Steakhouse so Ken took me there so I could get my Alice Springs Chicken.  The Children's Place clothing store was nearby so we made a stop there too.  

It was really nice to be back stateside and we miss the roads!!!!!  In Honduras they are very narrow and full of potholes with lot's of crazy drivers.  However, we saw very similar driving techniques in Miami.  Ken and I will probably have to go through a driving course when we return home so we can get rid of the bad habits:)

We have a doctors appt today so I will be sure to post the latest on our little girl.  It is hard to believe we are at 34 weeks.  Not much longer!!!!!!!!!!!   

Ken's Spanish Interview

Here is Ken's big debut!!!!!!  The interview took place a few weeks ago but I was having problems uploading the video to the blog.  It finally worked.  Ken did an amazing job and everyday he sounds more and more like a local :)  I on the other hand have a long way to go but I am getting the accent down.  In the interview, Ken is talking about the security cooperation between the US Navy and Honduran Navy.  During the visit of the USS Kauffmann, training was involved to combat drug trafficking and community assistance in repairing a school.  The week was very long for Ken and the MILGP but the visit was a tremendous success.  

4D Ultrasound

Last Thursday Ken and I got to see our little girl on 4D.  It was amazing!  We saw so much detail of her face.  She was opening her eyes, sticking out her tongue and grabbing onto her feet!  She was even doing her famous hand wave across the face :)  She also had the hiccups, which has been ongoing for the last two weeks.  I did get a little lightheaded due to my blood pressure dropping so it was hard to turn and look at the screen.  However, we have a 30 min DVD that we watched when we came home.  Technology has come a very long way!!!!!!!!!

The best news is our baby is super healthy and right where she should be.  She is 41 cm long and weighing 4 lbs, 3 ozs.  The doc estimates she will be around 7 to 7 1/2 lbs.  Let's hope she is not bigger...........at least for my sake.  The doctor is very pleased and answered a ton of questions about the labor process.  We also met the pediatrician and we feel pretty confident about him as well.  He was highly recommended by my doctor and a lot of US families bring their kids to him.

The interesting news is the expected date of arrival is now 8 December.  So we will be ready b/w 28 Nov to 8 Dec.  I just hope she arrives before my brother heads back to Hawaii.  She has been so active and kicking like crazy (she got me good today) that we hope she will be more than ready to come out and meet us!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ken's Commander's Conference starts next Monday so we are leaving Saturday for Miami and will be there a week.  It will be nice to be in the states for awhile but we are thrilled b/c my parents and aunt and uncle plan to meet us there.  It will be so nice to see family!!!!!!!!