A (really late) 15 month update!

Tristan turned 15 months on June 5, so this is a really late update, but I figured better late than never, huh?! Tristan went to his 15 month check-up to find out that he had his first ear infections :( Today is June 27 and we're STILL taking meds for these ear infections. Hopefully this will be the last round! He DID NOT like being poked and prodded, getting weighed, measured, etc... He weighed 22.1 lbs (17%) and was 32 1/2 inches long (87%). The kid can't stay still enough to gain weight! In three months, he gained one pound, but the doctor wasn't worried. He's just active!

Some info about the past three months!

- Sleeps from 7:00 to anytime between 6:45-8:00, although 8:00 is very rare (but Mom sure likes it!). Takes one nap in the afternoon, usually 2 hours, sometimes shorter, sometimes longer.
- Pretty much running now :) He also does very well with steps, even being able to step down off a curb without falling. He LOVES ramps for some reason -- just goes up and down, up and down.
- His favorite thing to do outside is play in the splash pads, which is just different water fountains shooting out of the ground. There is a small one close by that we go to more often, but the BIG ONE is so much fun but much further away.
- Some of his favorite foods now are cottage cheese, plain yogurt, eggs (especially frittatas with salsa), pasta with tomato sauce, tomatoes, corn on the cob, watermelon, strawberries, and, of course, bananas. But cottage cheese is probably his all-time fav!
- He LOVES books and having us read to him. However, if we get past the first few pages, we are doing good! His attention span isn't the greatest... I've had to hide some of his books because I got SO TIRED of reading them and got some new books from the library.
- He is developing a love of cars, trucks, tractors, etc... A true boy!
- Teaching him sign has been useful at times and really frustrating at times. He seems to get a lot of signs confused or will all of a sudden use one sign for EVERYTHING. "Milk" right now is also for "fish", "water", and some other things that I still haven't figured out :)
- He HAS TO BE entertained. He is NOT a boy who can entertain himself very long. He seems to enjoy other children, so I'm hoping having a brother will really help out some day!
- He still doesn't talk a lot -- "ba" for his beloved pillow (not sure why), pee pee :), nononono, go-go-go, and some other words he sounds like he's trying to say...but he understands wonderfully!
- He's a mess, definitely, but he's a funny boy! Enjoy the pictures!

Splash Park Fun!

On these hot summer days, we almost always have to find something to do outdoors in the morning, so the rest of the day, we can spend inside away from the heat. This Saturday, we decided to try out the new splash pad about 25 minutes from our house. Kind of further than we like to go, just for a couple of hours, but we had to try out this new place. Plus, admission was $1 a person, so we thought it would probably be worth it. And boy, was it worth it! Tristan LOVED it! It was a very neat splash pad, with lots of water fountains, a large sand pit, and a water slide just big enough for Tristan and Dad to go down together. We so wish this place was closer to us! It sure would help beat this heat! Here are some pictures of Tristan enjoying his time there.

Pure Joy

I have been blessed with the opportunity to go on a mission trip to Costa Rica this July with an organization called Pure Joy International. This trip's focus isn't the normal focus of mission trips that you think of -- and I'm SO excited about it's focus. It isn't construction or VBS or medical or even evangelism as we think of it...even though all those wonderful things...but it's strictly on lifting up our missionary women. Pure Joy International (purejoyinternational.com -- take a look if interested in learning more!) has one and only one focus -- reaching out to women that have left their home country and are serving Christ around the world. We, a team of twelve from Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Arizona, will be setting up a retreat for fifty missionary women who reside in different parts of Costa Rica. We will have praise and worship, speaking, craft time, exercise time (zumba!), and, most important, one-on-one counseling with two licensed counselors. Being a former missionary woman, I know how important it is to receive counseling. It is so nice just to talk with someone regarding the struggles of language learning, culture barriers, home sickness, marital problems, etc... Each team member has a specific job -- one doing craft and zumba, two being speakers, one media person, two counselors, etc. I have been chosen to be the team devotional leader -- giving devos to the team every day. Scary! I'm not a speaker, but hopefully God has a reason for choosing me to do this!

As with any mission trip, I've had to raise my own money to go, which although I'm not fully funded yet, I'm sure the rest of my funds will come in, which has been a great blessing so far! It is intentional also for the fifty missionary women that have been invited to this retreat would also be funded by various donations of people wanting to help and support. The retreat starts July 12 and so far, only half of the missionary women have been fully funded. I know that God will fully provide -- because that is just the way He works! If anyone would be willing to donate some money towards some of these missionary women, it would truly be a generous and wonderful gift. Just go to the website and you will find all the information there!

I'm excited to be able to go and minister to women that are serving us overseas by sharing God's love in various ways. I'll be leaving my baby boy for 10 days, but I know he'll be having tons of fun with grandparents! Be sure to look up the website! www.purejoyinternational.com