I am getting fat. Have I said that in my letters yet? Well, it's time to admit it. Ugh. I'm gaining missionary weight. HA! The first month of being here was rough in the health department. We have not been eating like I am used to and it wasn't until this last week that I have really gotten back into exercising full fledged (though it's nothing compared to home). It's interesting getting fat without having a baby to blame :) It's about time I set my goal to do 100 pushups like you. Maybe you should let me in on your little secret as to how to go about that (hint, hint)!
The crazy thing is,even though I'm gaining weight, I am about 10 pounds less than before I had Eden. So.... not a good thing. Just yesterday, I noticed that I am totally unbalanced because of carrying Eden. My left shoulder is about 4 inches higher than my right when standing normal. Yikes! It's been driving me bonkers since I noticed.
I say all that because we weighed Eden too. Any guesses? She weighed in at 16 pounds. She's a healthy little thing and doing well! I have no idea how tall she is, but she was blessed with beautiful long appendages. Her long fingers are just like yours- perfect for piano playing. Oh, but to have a piano. That's unheard of here. Can you imagine trying to keep a thing like that in tune with the humidity? Sheesh! It was so humid during a rain storm last night that I almost had trouble breathing because the air was so thick.
Already, in the month and a half of being here, I have learned a lot about myself. My testimony and grounded faith has become more obvious and proven to me; I have learned that I have patience; I have once again proven how independent and self-sufficient I am; my talents are being improved upon. Austin and I are very frugal and I have found many ways in which to spread the means we have. I discovered that I am very good at coming up with tasty concoctions from scratch and on a whim with minimal ingredients, for one. I get bored having the same thing for dinner, so it is often a new creation out of thin air.
I have taken an approach of wanting to be best friends with Eden while teaching and caring for her. I hear way too often parents yelling or embarrassing their kids. I hope to follow mom and dad's example and never do that. Instead, I have a mind set to teach my children what TO do instead of saying "no, no, no" to everything. Even to Eden, I'll say things like "It's time to be quiet" or "keep that out of your mouth" instead of "no screaming" or "don't eat that." This all may sound silly, but it's really important to me in keeping a positive spirit and good relationship. I'm sure there will be times of discipline, but like dad always said- if someone tells you NOT to eat that candy bar, it's the only thing you'll want to do and the only thing you'll think about until you do it.
Well, you've heard me ramble enough. Our big adventure was getting to go shopping at the island Costco wannabe called "Cash and Carry." It's a wholesale store where you have to pay cash, but hopefully get a good discount because of it. I wouldn't have called it Costco and definitely not the happiest place on earth (as I often say Costco is), but it may just be one of the happiest places on the island besides the Marriott. A lady in our branch was kind enough to drive us. Three of us moms from the branch went with our kids and the branch president's wife, who drove us. We were quite the spectacle: one pregnant lady with a kid, one red head with a baby and a kid, me with Eden, all of us white, plus an Asian. Yeah. That says it all.
Our new branch President had his first Sunday leading the congregation today. Oh man! What a difference! It was so very evident that he was called of God. I felt like the branch is going through a real make-over. Already, he is cracking the whip and making a big difference. That was a short testimony builder of how true it is that our leaders are called by revelation. Great things are about to happen in St. Kitts!
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