Saturday, June 11, 2011














I know it's not the video I promised, but I just haven't had time to figure out how to do that.  However, it's this incredible...from being afraid to put his head under to swimming like a fish!!!




Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Lots Going On!

As we bring our time in Cuernavaca to a close everything has excelerated it seems.  Sam is taking six hours of private lessons at language school.  He is working with his teachers on teaching Bible studies in Spanish and preaching.  This week he was able with the help of a tutor and his teacher to actually stand up and preach!  He has 2 1/2 more weeks of private lessons.  It is very intense, but we are trying to make our last weeks here really count.

I am spending my weeks with a Mexican midwife, learning and getting more experience.  She is very busy and there have even been 3 births in one day sometimes.  I have just been observing how they do things here and helping out by doing some labor support, drawing up meds, cleaning up, ect.  Yesterday, I got to catch a baby, which for me is not the most important part of the process, but it is the fun part! :)  She was on the small side but perfect and beautiful and her membranes were still over her head.  Once we removed them, she cried with vigor.  Mama felt great and wanted to leave just two hours after the birth.  We assured them they were welcome to stay, but she wanted to have her family altogether at home.  It was her third baby, and since everything was stable and perfect, we proceeded with the newborn exam and birth certificate and home they went.  Happy babymoon mama!  And off the bed I went, since it was only about 10:30 pm and I got a full nights sleep.

Haden our 4 year old has been very scared and upset to get water splashed in his eyes or put his head under water.  I wasn't sure he was ever going to get over it.  Washing his hair was a little bit of an ordeal. Then last week he began swimming around in the deep end with his lifejacket on.  He seemed to enjoy being able to be involved with the other children and their games and became a little less stressed about water in his eyes.  Then Friday afternoon he was splashing around in the shallow end and he said, "Daddy look I'm going to go under the water."  And he did just that with no help from anyone!  Now there is no stopping him, he has been swimming underwater with ease.  He jumps off the side of the pool , floats up to the top and swims to the side.  We are all completely blown away by the change.  He even ask dad to throw him up in the air and he likes help touching the bottom of the pool, so that he can push off the bottom and fly to the top like Superman.
I will try to post video this weekend.  It really is nothing short of amazing, in my humble opinion!

Living Up to Our Name

In keeping with our "wandering" theme, the Means family will be moving to Encarnation de Diez during the month of July.  Sam will be pastoring for a missionary who will be on forlough.  The plan is for us to be there for 11 to 12 months.  Please pray, Sam will need to be able to preach in Spanish by the mid/end of July.  Language learning is a process, a very frustrating one at times.  Right now I feel very unprepared and overwhelmed and am generally fighty the feeling to run and hide.  However, I must be making progress, as I sit outside typing this blog, my neighbors are chatting in Spanish and I find I can ease drop pretty easily if I so desire.  :P
We share a beautiful and very large "Jardin" and a few weeks back there was a very large wedding.  No one was asked permission, and no one was given any warning.  On Friday night crews came and began setting up chairs and stages!  When they came by the house hours before the ceremony on Sat. night, Sam was very clear they had to shut off the music no later than midnight, to which they agreed.  Hundreds of guest poured into our now, not quite as big looking communial backyard.  After the 6:00 pm ceremony, festivities continued until well after 3:00 am!!  Including a band, loud speakers, a catering tent, lots of drunk people wandering around just outside the back door.  Anyway, tomorrow the owners are having a meeting to discuss the situation and several have gathered next door to discuss tomorrows meeting.
Normally only 3 - 6 of the 20 homes are occupied at a time, but this weekend it's a little busier.  Still, I am sitting outside in the pleasant weather and the kids are enjoying the pool.
I missed the whole wedding excitement, because I was having my own exhausting excitement in El Paso, TX.  Yes, Sam drove down from Rogers, AR to Cuernavaca, MX all by himself with five children.  Five very great children, but still five children.  We have been able to hire a caretaker for the children during the day, so they have been able to do their spanish lessons at home and she makes dinner also.
I'm not sure if I have mentioned it on the blog before, but I am a CPM (certified professional midwife).  However,  I don't have as much experience as I would like to have and ever since we have been in mexico I have not been able to attend births.  The trip to El Paso came at a perfect time, well actually, I wish I had not gone quite so long between births.  However, it did help get my "midwifery legs" back under me and get some more much needed experience.  I spent 4 weeks at Casa de Nacimeinto, a birth center I had spent some time at several years ago.  It was nice to see the midwifes there again, to be around birth and remember, I really do love it.  We feel my midwifery skills will be a good outreach tool in the coming years.