We had a special dinner for Madam Ino (who cooks for us) and Emannier (who works in our yard). I found it very amusing the differences in culture. Emannier has been showing up for work around 7am - and sometimes before!! When he started, I had told him he could come around 9am. The other day I told him he didn't have to come that early (please!!) and he said he didn't know what time it was. He was doing better the past few days, showing up more around 8 or 8:30, but now it's back to 7....think he's going to get a clock for Christmas :). Anyway, I had said supper would be at 5pm, and I wondered what time they would both show up.... It was around 5:30 before they came :) So funny. I can't figure it out, but I go by the clock so much that I can't fathom a life otherwise....
I had made an american meal for them....hopefully they liked it ok. The menu was chicken breasts stuffed with cream cheese, bacon, spinach, and Parmesan cheese; seasoned cubed baked potatoes; apples and dip (cream cheese and brown sugar - yum!); sweet and sour green beans; and finished with fruit pie and whipped cream. I told David I'm pretty sure it was a gastronomic nightmare for them....since they are probably used to pretty much beans and rice, chicken, and everything fried that you can imagine. All the cheese was probably crazy to them, but what can I say?? It was an american meal :) I was kind of bummed because I didn't know spinach out of a can is TERRIBLE, and it totally killed the flavor of the otherwise most awesome recipe out there....but oh well....better luck next time. We had an enjoyable meal with quiet Christmas music playing in the background.....
The next day was my birthday, and I got surprised by so many emails of birthday wishes (thanks Rhonda for spreading the word! :) ). David made breakfast of crepes with nutella and berries from the pie ;) (Why is this post centered around food? Any ideas :) ?)
Wednesday night was the school kids' Christmas program. They did a play about the stories behind different Christmas hymns. It was pulled off very well (as usual), and then at the end, some of the men played guitar with the song Silent Night, as this was how it was supposedly first performed. The kids did a great job, and we really enjoyed it!
Saturday we woke up to a really awesome morning...it felt like spring! So we took our chairs down to our "patio" to hang out and read a while. Orrin got to run around, push his dump truck, climb over rock walls, and in general do what a young boy should be doing!! Later, Madam Ino came by bringing our market items, and also chickens for us! We had asked her to buy two chickens for eggs, and she came back with them plus a rooster :( David had built a chicken coop this summer, made with tin and then a "run" outside made out of pallets. Totally redneck. Anyway, we put the chickens in, and one promptly walked right out of the slats between the pallets. So a little modification really quick and we had our chickens in the coop. We've gotten two eggs so far, and Orrin is loving going over to check on them all the time :)
I can send him out with a bowl of table scraps, and he toddles out and dumps the food to the chickens. Makes us both happy :) The other night someone came to the door asking for money, and we gave him the rooster. Again, everyone was happy...well, maybe not the rooster.....
Sunday evening we had a supper together with all the other Bonne Fin missionary families. It would be the last time we all are together. Eric and Jami and family were going home on furlough for a few weeks, and they are planning to come back the day Daryl and Norma move back home. After supper, the kids sang the "farewell" song from The Sound of Music and presented Daryl and Norma with their going away gift.
I was supposed to go see Dr Mario (the OB doctor) on Monday, but after waiting 2 hours, I found out he was in surgery.....so we got to go back the next day....and wait another hour and a half :) Seems to be the name of the game here. I've learned to take a good book....and NOT bring Orrin! Dr Mario said the baby is head down and ready to go in two and a half weeks. (He said to tell the baby not to come early because he's going to be out of town until January 3. I told him we'd wait :) ). Lordwilling, it looks like we should hopefully be good to go and no c-section in the future. Side note just for me to remember someday.....I was sitting in clinic waiting for Dr Mario, and there was this old lady sitting on the bench too. She was the most round Haitian woman I have seen yet :) As we were sitting there, she leaned over and told me I shouldn't have my arms crossed over my preggo stomach. I smiled and uncrossed my arms. David and I decided she looked like she had the personality of "Queen Bee" and was used to having her many opinions obeyed :) I didn't argue with her, but I wonder what her reasoning was.... Then a little later, I was talking to a hospital employee, holding my book, phone, and water bottle. He advised me that I shouldn't put my phone next to my stomach. Aaaaaahhhhh!!!! I thought I'd have a few weeks yet before everyone started telling me that I should be wrapping my baby in sweaters, blankets, hats and socks, but I guess they found things I was doing wrong already :-P
Christmas Eve, and Orrin took two naps...yay! Or maybe he's just getting sick again :( I made supper while listening to people at church practicing for the Christmas Eve song service that night. I finally realized I was hearing the same guy sing the same "Noel" song over and over again. Then, I couldn't stop thinking about it. I text David and told him I was going to turn into Scrooge if I had to hear that song one more time!! I turned the fan up on high and tried to play my own Christmas music :) After supper we went up to the hospital and sang Christmas carols, handed out blankets and prayed with patients. Orrin went around bumping fists with some patients and saying "Bon swa" (good evening). That got a lot of smiles.
When we got home, Orrin opened his presents. We weren't quite ready to start yet, but Orrin pulled the tissue paper out of one of his gifts and saw the semi book inside, and he started going crazy. "Semi! Semi! Semi!" It was a book "Big Rig" that I had gotten from the library this summer and it was his favorite. So I had to spoil him and buy it for him for Christmas. We've been reading nothing else since :) This summer we were at IKEA and bought Orrin a rug with buildings and roads printed on it. We had it shipped down on the sea container this fall...how does that compare with overnight shipping from Amazon? :)
Christmas morning we Skyped with my parents, then called in to Forrest Church service. That afternoon, all the families met at Lee and Desma Klopfenstein's for our Christmas dinner. Inside it felt all Christmas-y, with a beautifully set table, lots of good food, a whole dessert spread, and christmas lights and music. Outside, though, it was warm, sunny and breezy.
The kids (and adults) took turns whacking on a homemade gecko pinata that was nearly impossible to break :)
The afternoon was filled with visting and playing games, and we Skyped with David's family who was together for their family Christmas. We were finally able to have empty enough stomachs to eat some chili for supper around 7. Then some (ahem, smart people) went home, and some others stayed to play instruments and sing. My Christmas was complete after we sang "Lo How a Rose Ere Blooming" and it was the best I've ever heard it sound..... The music and singing sounded so beautiful it was hard to leave, but we did around 1030. So much past our bedtime, we are such old people now :)
The next day we were dragging ourselves around (again, may I say we're pathetic? :) ), tired, and with a slight stomachache. (I won't even tell how many honey butter dinner rolls I ate on Christmas.......) We are very thankful for the blessings of this holiday, even though it was different from others. But, I guess it was better than Christmas on the ambulance, which is probably what one of us would have been doing were we home...
Now we are just on the countdown for January 10, (not so patiently) waiting for Baby Zimm to make it's arrival! Trying to find fun things to do each day to make it pass quicker. We're pretty much back to normal now...back to laundry and dishes, work, studying and changing diapers.... But let me just say.... anything that is below knee level now, will remain there until a future date when I can see my feet again :)
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!! LOVE TO ALL!!
Enjoyed reading about your life across the sea! While I can't identify with most of what you write, I can sympathize with your preggo comments! Pray all goes well for you...hopefully, we are "meeting" Baby Zimm soon (via pictures!) Take care, Marsha
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