It’s been a while. Okay, not really, but it feels like it. I’ve been hard at work for two different projects at church. One is a pictorial directory that I designed and took pictures of every family. I’m proud of it… just waiting for a few last-minute submissions and then it will be ready.

The other project was helping with RSVPs and room assignments for a church prayer retreat this past weekend. We got back from it last night. It was… mostly a good time. :-) I had some wonderful and encouraging conversations, and enjoyed getting the chance to get in the word a bit more (there was childcare!). However, we all stayed in a lodge with bunkbeds. Originally Paul and I were going to camp, but the weather turned cold last-minute, so we had to move indoors. (Yeah… when it gets under 40 degrees at night… not a fan of camping!) Staying in a room with 8 other ladies in addition to Savannah and I was not easy. For one, everyone was hyper and went to bed after midnight. The door kept opening and closing as people were coming in and out, and we could not get the girls to settle down (there was another toddler Savannah’s age who was also having trouble!). Finally, the other toddler went to sleep with her daddy because I think their room was already in bedtime mode. Our room, however, was not. The other problem was that there were big fluorescent lights in the room, and when those were off it was pitch black – nothing in between. Normally, we do low-light in the bedroom while I rock her and read a story. We tried the story time, but it was so bright.

After a long time of Savannah crying and me attempting to get her to stay in her bed, I finally brought her in with me. (I didn’t want her in my bed for two reasons – one I was on a twin bed without any rails on either side, and two I was in a sleeping bag.) This resulted in a very restless night for me. She tends to move horizontal as she sleeps, and combined with the awkwardness of the sleeping bag, I was uncomfortable and kept waking up. Also, she kept falling out of bed since there wasn’t much room. Fortunately, the beds were low to the ground so she was never hurt, but it woke both of us up nonetheless. She woke up at 8 which was almost 5 hours less of sleep than she’s used to, and I’m sure you can only imagine how fussy she was during the day. Then naptime came and went and of course there was no way we were going to get her to sleep… Well, we were supposed to stay until 7pm or so, but we left at 3 because I was just so stressed out with her screaming and fussiness. So, the retreat itself was good, but Paul and I decided that we would never try a group lodge with a toddler again. Now we know. :-)

I felt bad for Paul because he didn’t get to hike at all, nor did he get to play with the bonfire like he really wanted. We are busy the next few weekends, but hopefully we get the chance to go camping for real before too long!

A year ago today, Paul and I woke up at 4am after only three-ish hours of sleep. We took the train to the airport, and got checked in.

We boarded a plane for the four hour flight to Santo Domingo!! Savannah cried the whole flight due to her cold making her ears especially sensitive. We arrived and got through customs pretty fast – and Savannah got her first passport stamp!! My first impression of the Dominican Republic was that it was HOT. We took a taxi to the bus station. We drove through Santo Domingo which I enjoyed because it reminded me a lot of Lima.

We then bought bus tickets to Jaracaboa, and left shortly thereafter.

It was getting dark when we arrived, walking to the prearranged meeting spot at a nearby bakery. There, we finally hooked up with these people:

It was a loooong day! (About 14ish hours from the time we left our house.) But so worth it! We had an amazing trip and we are so glad we had the opportunity to visit the beautiful Dominican Republic. It’s hard to believe that the Petersons are no longer living there, as of last week. :-( I do look forward to seeing them again this summer at the Gerig reunion!!

P.S. Happy birthday to Beth today!

This post has been sitting in my drafts forever. Not sure why I never posted it… but I hope you enjoy. :-)
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Here are some of the pictures from our trip to New York City last October that I took with my real camera. They’re pretty much all from the same day, because I decided just to take pictures with my cell phone after that and not worry about the bulky camera. Unfortunately, I lost all those pictures when I lost my cell phone. :-(

Jeremiah and Savannah in the subway station, waiting for the train. They had all these cool figurines that Savannah liked looking at.

At the Museum of Natural History with Savannah. Here she is with some Central or South American pottery (I am blanking on which).

Savi and I at the Museum of Natural History

In Central Park. I love the skyline in the background!

We had a little photo shoot in Central Park

Savannah and I shared the same bed at the hotel room, and it was interesting trying to get her to sleep without turning off the light. But we managed and she was soooo cute asleep.

I wish I had more pictures!