The Countdown Has Begun

Well it is March 1st and the count down has begun. Movers arrive 15 March so I have been pretty busy lately deciding on what goes in HHG and what comes with us that we absolutely cannot live without for the next few months. We have sent a few boxes home already - sorry Mom & Dad, I know you are counting the days until you can get your dining room back in order :) Luckily I think I will be able to come back with one suitcase and a box. Jenna and I will be leaving at the end of the month and Ken will join us sometime in April.

We have certainly enjoyed our adventure here - living in a different culture, learning a new language, having a baby and surviving a coup has made a lot of memories for us. We certainly look forward to the next adventure. With Ken's retirement (yes, sadly after 30 years it will be time to say good-bye) I know there will be good things in store for us. Ken is interested in becoming a JR ROTC instructor - he will be terrific at it. So he interviewed and scored very high. We have already applied to a high school back home in Northwest Florida so we are keeping our fingers crossed. We should hear something this week.

We certainly plan to take some time over the summer and do some traveling. Unfortunately that is my one regret that we did not get to travel more in Central/Latin America. Being pregnant the first six months, Ken's job and then the coup it just was not feasible. However, we are very fortunate for the traveling we did get to do and especially visiting many parts of our host country. We have made some life long friends and we have already made plans to visit them in Croatia in 2012 - it will be a great way to visit Eastern Europe.

As for Ken, he stays extremely busy and I am keeping my fingers crossed that the US military will be able to re-engage with the Honduran military for the duration of Ken's time here. I know he would love to get back to how things were before the coup.

As for Jenna, our little girl is 15 months old today. I took her into the embassy this morning for her 2nd H1N1 shot and next week she goes in for the last of her shots. Thankfully no more needles til she is 4 years old. She is doing so well developmentally. Her hand/eye coordination is just amazing. Any day now she will be walking unassisted - although I do try to walk with her but she finds that she can get to where she wants to go faster by crawling so I am letting her take it at her own pace - trust me I am not rushing it. Jenna is also in the famous "test" phase now. Ken and I are getting awfully tired of telling her "NO" when it comes to pushing buttons on the tv and having to re-direct her.

She is a terrific eater. About a month ago it was difficult to get her to eat anything that was not milk, cheese or grapes. Now, she is into pasta again, chicken, veggies and loves Bananas, Grapes, Papaya and Cantaloupe. She is so much fun and is really trying to communicate. I hear more and more words and imitating animals everyday and she knows her facial features. It is so funny when we ask "Jenna, where is your nose?" She points to it and then claps. Ken taught her where her ears are and now we are working on eyes and mouth. Also this kid knows how to throw a ball - it is pretty fascinating!!

As for me, I will maintain my position with the embassy as the newsletter editor until the end of April. I have certainly enjoyed it and has kept my mind sharp - at least with all the software training I had at the Sheriff's Office I have been able to put it to use here and not forget :) The next few weeks will be a little stressful but I know it will all get done and will look forward to being back in the good ole USA.

Above are some photos from our trip to Colorado for Christmas (it was great seeing most of Ken's family and mine too), Our surprise trip to Florida in January for my birthday and visiting The LAMB Institute Children's home in Tegus

Much Love,
Ken, Catherine and Jenna