Part 3 of 3: American Residency and Citizenship Process

Part 3

Detailed Citizenship Process: How we qualified for an exemption under INA 319(b)

A Letter To My Son On His First Birthday

Dear Kai,

It's still difficult for me to wrap my mind around the fact that you came out of my body and into our arms a year ago today. I wrote a different post on how that all happened, so I won't gross you with the details in this letter ;) There is something about that moment, though, when I heard your first sharp cry and laid my eyes on your reddish purplish little body with that head of straight black hair. The first emotion I remember was sheer joy - I cried tears of pure happiness that you were actually out and I could finally hold you in my arms. The next thing I remember feeling was overwhelming love. Parents have said it so much it's almost become a cliche, but that day I realized there is a very real truth in the statement, "You don't realize how strong love is until you have your own child and experience the love of a parent." I remember knowing there is never anything you could ever do that would make me love you any less. I remember wondering how I could love you any more without my heart bursting out of my chest. Yet, somehow, today as I held your sleeping (sorta) little self and laid you in your crib, I realized I love you even more now than I did then, however impossible that seems. 

I'm tearing up right now just remembering those first precious moments - how you stopped crying as soon as I pulled you up to my chest and said, "Hey buddy!"; how your eyes were wide open and taking e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. in from the start; how your gaze immediately shot to where Daddy was standing behind my shoulder when he started talking. You stayed awake for FIVE HOURS! You wanted to be in on everything that was going on - and you still do, a year later! About once a month or so, your Tio Guilamo sees you copy something or pick up on something super fast and can't help shaking his head and saying, "Ese muchacho es observador!" 

Sometimes Daddy and I go to bed and talk about something we watched you learn that day and ask each other, "How has he gotten so big so fast? How did he learn that thing already?" Daddy has lately been especially realizing how much you adore him and want to do everything he does; I call you his shadow. Nothing makes my heart swell bigger than watching you and Daddy together. You hand him his tools when he fixes things or works in the garden; you take him books to look at when he leaves his office door open; and you happily wave good-bye to me when he takes you with him to places. Anywhere he is, you are there or you want to be there. It is such a beautiful picture of the love between God our Father and us His children. I get a little happy feeling every time someone says you look like Daddy and (not so) secretly hope you grow up to be very much like him. 

You're not a baby anymore, no matter how much I want you to be. Even though I sometimes tell you you need to stop growing so fast, you make me fiercely proud in how fast you are learning and understanding things around you. You LOVE your "First 100 Words" book and bring it to me in the mornings so we can lift the flaps and look at the pictures. You especially love learning animal noises. Earlier this week, after learning how to bark like a puppy for a few days, you saw our neighbor's puppy on the street and squealed so loudly!! You were so excited to finally see a puppy in real life instead of just on the pages of your books, now that you knew what sound they make and had something to associate the puppy with.  

You love people more than any of your toys - even when the toys are super exciting for a day, like your little 4-wheeler Daddy got you yesterday. I pray we are able to cultivate and encourage that sign of love for people in you so you learn to always treasure people more than things as you grow. 

You are unafraid. You love climbing. You push boundaries. You are stubborn. You learn quickly. You love to help. You are SO affectionate and give the best hugs and kisses. You are very compassionate and hate seeing people hurting or crying. In the evenings, when I pray over you as you fall asleep, I pray for wisdom from the Lord to know how to bring out these qualities and not stifle them. My greatest fear as a parent is squashing your potential. It's a fear that reminds me quietly that I will never be the perfect parent, so my goal must be to point you to the Father who is. 

I pray so many things over you. But the greatest of them all is my prayer that you learn to love Jesus and live richly in relationship with him. There is nothing greater I can model for you. 

In the span of time, one year may not seem long, but this is the only first year we will ever get with you. I want you to know how much of a treasure each day has been. Before you came along, I used to think I'd feel stifled being a mom and losing sleep and changing so many diapers and having so much time wrapped up in one little person - but you've made all that a privilege, truly. I love being your mom and I'm so proud that you're my son. 

I will always love you.

---

Isaiah6:8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.”

We are Home! A Short Journal

Tuesday, July 7, 2020 is one for the books (that I might actually write one day)! After an unplanned 3 months and 3 weeks stay in MI, we made it back home to the Dominican Republic safely on a Tuesday afternoon. 

It was our easiest trip yet - mostly, surprisingly, thanks to regulations in place due to the current Covid-19 pandemic. Airport staff were very helpful and friendly in spite of stricter regulations and all lines were short and quick due to fewer people traveling. Security let us go through the metal detector as a family instead of sending Miguel to the scanner, which was a first for us. The flights were comfortable with a whole row to ourselves since seating was intentionally spaced with only family members together, and we found out Kai still loves flying! We were worried with him being able to walk now and being much more mobile than he's ever been (he wasn't even crawling when we flew up in March) that he would be restless, but he slept all but 1 1/2 of the 5 hours total flying time. And while awake, he was very happy, loving having his own seat and tray table able to entertain himself with his finger puppets (a last minute buy that I now definitely recommend to families flying/traveling with toddlers!). Arriving in the Dominican Republic, immigration was fast since we were the only flight arriving inside a half hour window. 

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Notes on pandemic affects:

The airports were maybe around half as full, if that much, as they have been when we traveled through them on previous trips. It wasn't unusual to see people wearing these plastic face shields as well as surgical masks. In the lounge areas, travelers spaced themselves even further apart than usual and gave each other wide berths to avoid crossing paths in the walkways. 

Everything was super clean - enough to smell the cleaning chemicals used. One positive change I hope this virus brings about is better hygiene in public spaces! United Airlines seated us in the Economy Plus section at no extra charge since we had a lap child with us and the flight was only about half full. They strictly required masks to cover face and nose unless eating or drinking.

The DR very strictly enforces mask wearing whenever anyone is outside of private property, even when walking or riding a bike in the open air. They will fine, or jail, people riding motorbikes without masks while overlooking the fact that most of them still don't wear helmets (also legally supposed to be required). Our friend who picked us up form the airport didn't even dare roll down the window without a mask on. This has been an adjustment for us since we were just in rural MI, mostly with family, where mask wearing in public was about 50/50.

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The first week home, we focused on fixing the many things in and around home that needed tending to after almost 4 months of being gone. The a.c. unit in our main bedroom was dripping water so we had to spend the first, very sticky night with several fans set up, the 'old fashioned' way. A friend, who we call family, came for a 5 day visit and helped Miguel get our car fixed (a mechanical issue that could have quickly gotten worse with more use) and re-do the garden and laundry areas in our back patio. While they were doing this, I was working on unpacking and redoing Kai's sleeping arrangement. While we were gone, we bought a dresser from some friends moving out of the DR. I wanted to start sleep-training Kai once he adjusted to being back home and figured moving him into his own room at the same time, would help him sleep longer stretches at night, too. Our office was set up in the spare bedroom, so I had to move the desk and other office equipment out to make room for his collapsible crib and dresser. 

Miguel's mom came for a visit over the weekend and friends stopped by sporadically to catch up. Kai, thankfully, adjusted to being home SO well (huge answer to prayer!). He seemed to recognize the house and everything else. He was initially shy around new people, but as soon as they started playing with him, he made a new friend and has since only continued charming people (everyone is his friend now). 

The second week, I started working on refinishing the desk before moving it into our bedroom with a new office set-up. Unfortunately, I I breathed in some of the sawdust with chemical paint stripper on it while sanding it down and spend the next 24 hours with aches and pains and a terrible sinus flair-up. I went through the rest of the week with a bout of sinus cold; at the same time, Kai was working on pushing through two more teeth (to join the six he already had) and had some sniffles. We made sure to fill in our friends and ministry volunteer coaches when they came by for a visit or we visited them so they wouldn't be scared of us having caught the virus! 

On July 20th, the start of our third week home, a nation-wide 45-day state of emergency began. So, we're staying home more than planned these days! It's given me time to finish the desk and another piece of furniture (I found a paint solution that doesn't require stripper!), set up an office nook in our bedroom, successfully sleep-train Kai, and finally prioritize updating everyone on how we are doing. 

Miguel has stepped into the role of Country Director for FCA DR since June, so he's taken the extra time to focus on getting a semi-regular routine in place for our staff to better take advantage of this extra time we find on our hands. This has included coordinating and running online staff training which would otherwise be delayed or drawn out over a longer period of time and will help with future ministry implementation. 

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As I was writing this, the first tropical storm of the season was rolling in so our internet was slow. I came back and added the pictures and couldn't resist adding this extra one. 

We woke up the next day with no water. Upon inspection, Miguel found a PVC pipe from an outside faucet had broken and drained the water tank on our roof. After fixing the pipe, he decided to take advantage of the empty water and give it a good cleaning before pumping water back in from our cistern. On his way down, coming of the ladder, he slipped on the wet patio tile and completely wiped out, hitting his chest and chin. He gashed his chin open enough to require 4 or 5 stitches! Amazingly, he doesn't have a headache or sore chest, but yesterday everyone was making fun of his 'white beard' and getting an injury usually seen on toddlers learning how to walk - haha! 

Until next time.

~Rose 

Kai's Birth Story

I'll launch into all this by first explaining why we made the decision to give birth where we did.
The Dominican Republic has frequently been at the top for c-section rates worldwide. The public hospitals will mostly do vaginal deliveries because the cost is lower, but in many cases, their services and set-up is not very patient friendly. The private clinics are much more comfortable and where most people with insurance will go, but anything even slightly veering away from perfect with often be an excuse to push a c-section. Because of this, I don't personally know many Dominican women who have given birth vaginally. There is currently a lack of education around natural birth and some women will even elect c-sections to avoid the pain of labor. Because of this, neither Miguel nor I were very comfortable with the care options in our town and the place we would've been comfortable at was a 3 hour drive away.  My preferences are also highly for the midwife model of care vs. doctor and hospital and that isn't even an option at this point in the DR, that I know of.
We have the added factor of filing paperwork for dual citizenship for our children. Paperwork alone makes it easier for the rest of our children's lives if they are born on American soil. So, after talking to other missionary couples (in the DR and other countries), we chose to go to the States to deliver at least our first child and will likely do the same for any more children that may join us in the future.
A few months before getting pregnant, we had already discussed all the ins and outs of birthing options, including potentially doing a home birth in MI. Miguel wasn't quite comfortable with the idea of a home birth for our first one, although he did tell me to choose what I'm most comfortable with. So, when my sister, G, told us she was going to start working at a birthing center in OH that summer, we breathed a sigh of relief and settled on that as our number one option.
When I got pregnant in November, G put me in contact with M.A., the head midwife with the attached midwifery group, and we went from there.

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August 8, 2019 - our EDD (estimated due date). The story should start there, or the day before, but let me back up to early July to give a bit of background.

......

July 4.
My parents had been visiting us in the DR for around 2 weeks. I needed to head stateside 4-6 weeks before my EDD, so my parents came down the end of June for their first visit since our wedding and stayed for 10 days. I was then able to fly up to MI on the 4th with them instead of doing the trip alone. We were originally going to fly to OH, leave my stuff with my sister, then head to MI with her for my baby shower that weekend. But, a storm delayed our connecting flight to OH until the next day, so they booked us a flight to MI that same evening instead and my sister just drove up by herself for the baby shower.

July 9.
We squeezed myself, my luggage and the baby gifts, my sister, and her daughter into her car and headed the 5 hours to OH where I waited out the next 4 weeks for Miguel to arrive. Originally, he was going to fly in on August 8 (we basically relied on the stats that first babies go late), but thankfully some ministry scheduling changed and made it possible for him to fly up a week earlier.

Rest of July.
I regularly visited my midwives and chiropractor as baby shifted and turned me into a lumbering cow.

July 30.
Miguel arrived safe and sound to Cleveland airport! Since the schedule change hadn't happened until right before I flew up, in my head, once Miguel got there it was time for baby to come. So, the next few days, we took some maternity pics, went a few places, and in general felt like we were going a week overdue.

......

August 7 - last chiropractic and midwifery appointments.
The chiropractor said he had to adjust me a little differently and we thought it was likely due to the baby re-shifting that week. We both said we hoped we wouldn't see eachother again before the baby was born!
At my midwifery appointment, M.A. did my check-up. Every time I had a check-up with my Dominican Dr., I'd sent an update to M.A. and scanned any test results when there were any. She was graciously available to chat any time. One time I had slightly high blood pressure and she provided me with more extensive research and information that my Dr. ever offered. This all made me very confidant of our decision to be in the care of the midwife group.
I had gotten checked at the last two appointments and seemed to be dilating about a cm a week. That day, I was at a stretchy 3 and 85% effacement, so we went ahead with a membrane sweep/cervical massage when she suggested doing one. The sweep wasn't uncomfortable for me like I had heard it could be and my bag of waters was already so low that she stopped early to avoid breaking it. They sent us home with instructions to keep moving for the next 24 hours to increase our chances of success.
I had a little bit of spotting that evening but nothing a panty liner couldn't handle. Miguel and I went for a walk after dinner and before heading to bed with plans to get up early, before the heat set in, to go for another walk.


August 8 - EDD
7:30 AM found us out circling the cemetery next to G's house again and making plans for other things I could do that day. Remember, I already felt like I was a week overdue with Miguel having come up a week earlier than originally planned, so I was just at the point of being done with pregnancy. The possibility of going another week was enough to make me tear up, grab a push mower, and head out to mow the lawn, determined to do everything in my power to stay active and keep moving!
At this point in pregnancy I wasn't eating a lot at a time, or even a lot in general (no room!) and I was battling what I dubbed late-term-pregnancy-insomnia. I'd only sleep a few hours at a time during the night, wake for an hour or so, and sleep a few more hours - it must be the body's way of prepping for the newborn sleep stage. I tried taking a nap that day but apparently the walks, mowing lawn, and helping clean house wasn't tiring enough to get me more than a half hour of sleep before 6 PM dinner (last time I ate that day).
I lost bits of mucus every time I went to the bathroom all throughout the day and just generally felt uncomfortable. But, there wasn't enough change for me to recommend my mom make the trip down before the weekend, which had me a bit disheartened.
I kept a pregnancy journal. It's something I would love to keep doing for any future pregnancies as well, but I know realistically it might only get done with the first one and I didn't want to regret not doing it. That evening, around 11, I updated it with the above details and wrote, "unless this baby is born in the next hour, he'll officially be overdue."
An hour later, just as I was finally at the point of dozing off, the first contraction hit.

August 9 - Baby Coco is born
During my pregnancy, I had done a deep search for a real description for how contractions felt, because I didn't want to miss the first one and go into labor unsure of whether or not it was the real thing. The best one I found described exactly what that first contraction at midnight felt to me - like a bad period cramp that starts in the front and wraps around the back, lingering then fading in the lower back.
Since I hadn't slept much that day, I stayed in bed, trying to doze off again to get some rest before full-blow labor set in. For the first bit, they came about every 10 minutes and kept getting stronger, often enough and strong enough that half an hour in, I moved out to the couch to be able to time them and work through them better without disturbing Miguel - sadly waving good-bye to the possibility of sleep.
1 - I messaged G just to let her know my contractions were about 5 min. apart and had been going for an hour, in case she woke up and checked her phone.
1:30 - the intensity of the contractions were bad enough that I paused on the steps to work through one on my way upstairs to wake up G. She told me to get a bath going; the water would slow them down if it was false labor or likely make them more intense if it was real. The water was soothing but it definitely ramped things up!
An hour later, I got out to have G check me and move downstairs to wake up Miguel and try using a labor ball. I was around 4 cm or a bit more with a bulging bag.
3 - Miguel was awake and getting some stuff together. G was in touch with the birthing center, giving a progress update. I had changed into labor clothes, put in a large pad in case my water broke, and sat on the labor ball groaning during contractions that came every 3 and a half min. or so. At this point, they lasted anywhere from 30 sec. to a little over a minute.
3:30 - my water broke in a gush that would've covered the living room carpet if not for the big pad! G happened to be on the phone letting the center know we would probably head that way in an hour or so and changed it to, "Oh! Her water just broke. We might be in earlier." The pad had light meconium staining, so we prepared to head in right away.
4 - we got into the car after working through 2 or 3 contractions, strong enough that I had to stop and couldn't talk through them, on our way out the door. Thankfully I didn't puke in the car, but I felt like I was going to a few times. And can I just say, laboring in the car is terrible?!
4:15(ish) - arrived at the center and got checked in and into our room by 4:30.
K, the midwife on call, said she'd be there in an hour or so and hoped I'd be at 8 cm by the then. I wanted to labor, and possibly deliver, in the tub but it took a while to fill it up and I couldn't get into the tub before the midwife was in the building, so I got into the shower, sat on a labor ball, and Miguel sprayed my back between contractions. They were anywhere from 1 minute to 2 1/2 minutes apart and usually lasted 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. I threw up whatever liquid I had been able to drink up to this point.
5:30(ish) - K arrived, checked me the once and I was at 7 1/2 cm. The rest of my water broke sometime around this time and K deemed the meconium light enough to allow me into the tub without reservation.
6 - Got in the tub. With the progress I was making and contractions at times coming back to back, I thought it would be over by 7. All things considered, it probably would have been (or even sooner) if not for two factors - I hadn't gotten any sleep since that 30 min. afternoon nap and I hadn't eaten since dinner time, 12 hours earlier. Before getting into the tub and during tub time, they tried getting me to drink Gatorade and eat something, finally landing on a honey stick. I barely got a small bottle of Gatorade down by slow, forced sips before puking that all up again. I did make it through the honey stick in a few hours' time. I usually lose my appetite any time I feel sick, so no surprise for me on this point.
7 - For me, time had flown up until this point. I did my best to doze between contractions, but the breaks were short and I'd just be re-positioned from hanging over the tub in front to sitting/lying on my back in the water and closing my eyes before feeling another contraction coming on. Miguel and G were amazing support through the entire labor. G taught Miguel how to do counter pressure on my lower back which became a coping method I refused to go one contraction without! Sometime around this is when K got me to get out and labor in a few different positions, including on the toilet, to get my body moving a bit more.
8 - For the past hour, I had felt like the only left for my body to do was push, but I was so tired I didn't really "feel" pushy. The sun had been up for a few hours and at this point, I looked at the clock and told myself, "This is gonna be done by 10. No two ways to it." So, I started zeroing in more on seeing if I could reach the pushy feeling through sheer brain power. The midwives at the center are very conscientious with lowering chances of tearing, and one of the ways they do this is through controlled pushing. That factored with my body's complete exhaustion is why K hadn't checked me again and wanted to wait until I felt ready to push.
8:45 - I was making pushing noises through a contraction or two, apparently, so K checked me, declared me "complete" and G started coaching me through beginning stages of pushing. after pushing in the tub for 10-15 min. K got me to get out of the tub again and do the circuits - laboring on the toilet, leaning over the bed, and squatting - before getting me up onto the bed. At one point, on the toilet, I felt baby move down - the only time I felt anything and had any indication that I was making progress other than K's encouragements.
9: 20(ish) - I ended up kneeling on the bed, leaning against the front of the bed that was angled up (a hospital type bed) in the same position I had been hanging over the front of the tub, and holding onto Miguel's arm as he patted my upper back and kept my hair out of my face.
I remember K telling me to stop pushing when contractions stopped, unless my body kept going. The ring of fire was terrible (like everyone says it is), but I was one of those lucky people whose body just kept pushing out his head through the burn, and I couldn't have stopped it if I would've tried!
9:34 - His head popped out and I could see his black fuzz from my angle. "Reach down and touch his head, Rose!" from G. It felt spongy, like I expected and the happy hormones were already kicking in. K had me pause and wait for the next contraction as she suctioned baby's nose and mouth.
9:35 - Kai's body slid out with barely another push from me when the contraction hit. He started crying and I started laughing! I couldn't quite saying, "We did it, honey!" You never do know how you will react when it's all said and done. Miguel thought I lost it for a bit there, especially when I was trying to figure out where my tears were coming from - haha!
Miguel's first coherent sentence as they were wiping him off on the bed before handing him up to me was, "He has big balls!" This came as a compliment to K's, "Wow, he's big and long!"
They passed him up through my legs and into my arms, still crying. As soon as I started talking to "baby Coco" he stopped crying and opened his eyes and didn't cry much after unless he was hungry or had a poopy diaper.
Everyone then helped me maneuver around to sit/lie down and Miguel, standing at my head, started talking to him. I'll never forget how Kai's eyes immediately shot over to Miguel and stared at him as long as Daddy was talking to him. Their bond has been strong from the start and Daddy still receives (slightly) more physical affection than I do!
G was the first to notice his very Terrero nose, "It looks like your mom's, Miguel." And I couldn't stop remarking on his incredibly long fingers (he still has paws for hands!).

Malakai Sem Terrero made his appearance at 9:35 on August 9, 2019. He weighed in at a grand 8 lbs. 11 oz. and measured 22 inches long!
Meaning of his full name is "a renown messenger" and our prayer over him is Isaiah 6:8: And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" Then I said, "Here I am! Send me.

The 2020 Blur

Let's get a few things out of the way.
1. I birthed a baby
2. He is now 5 months old
There you go. That's my explanation of where I've been at since May 28, 2019!

Seriously though, last time I posted on this blog, we were right on the verge of starting our busy summer team-hosting schedule; I was also only slightly more than a month out from getting ready to head to the U.S. for my maternity leave and then our family furlough.
Over the 5 (total) months of my maternity leave and our furlough, I purposely didn't do much updating through newsletters and obviously no blogging. Miguel was very active on social media, so most people still knew where we were at. We were at a point in our ministry life of really needing a break, as anyone who works in full-time ministry can relate with. Being able to take that time to focus on becoming a family of 3 and re-sort priorities for this new, current stage of life was exactly what we needed.

July 2019
Baby Shower the weekend I landed Stateside, a month before my due date

July 2019
Baby Shower

July 2010
37 wks pregnant - we stayed with my sister's family in Ohio and she put her many talents to use to grab some preggo pics to help fill in the time while waiting for Miguel to join me

August 2019
Miguel came a week before my due date. Our niece, Nikki, loved having us there!

July/August 2019
Miguel did a lot of cooking for the month+ we were in Ohio

                       

August 2
Some of our first visitors included Grandparents, aunts, and uncles (and of course Nikki - who LOVES baby Kai to this day)

Malakai Sem - born August 9, 2019 - week 1

September 2019
Miguel took a trip to Kansas City for FCA training while we were in MI for a month

We also spent 2 weeks in MD visiting Bay Area Community Church and working on paperwork for my Dominican residency and Kai's dual citizenship. For some reason, we don't have many photos of that trip!

October 2019
We headed back to Ohio for a few weeks while waiting on some paperwork stuff for Miguel's U.S. citizenship and my Dominican residency 

October 2019
We got to do a lot of fall stuff, including a corn maze!

November 2019
We made a flying 2 day trip to Atlanta to visit friends and ministry partners. Kai was given his first baseball!

November 2019
This is one of few family pics we have :P

We also spent a few weeks in FL right before heading home. Our trip home got delayed due to some super crazy, random complications with my passport. The Dominican embassy in D.C. mailed in to FL and my passport fell out along the way (the package arrived opened). I had to get another passport "same day", mail it back to D.C. for the reissued visa, and wait for it to be mailed back to where we were in FL. It got delayed 4 days instead of coming next day! The good thing that came from that was being able to spend extra quality time with our friends (who are really family!) who we hadn't seen in over a year and a half, as well as go out on the only baby-free date Miguel and I have had so far.

November 2019
We came back just in time for the FCA DR annual marriage retreat/conference

In December, Miguel got called up for an immigration related appointment, so we ended up taking Christmas vaca and going to ND from MI via train. My sister's family and home church there were completely surprised! This trip took Kai's number of states visited up to 13 before 5 months old. 

                

We got back just in time (again!) for the first team of 2020. 

29 students and teachers from Atlanta spent the week with FCA in San Pedro

January 9, 2020
Kai is becoming a super smiley, friendly baby. He's hit 20 lbs. and 29 in. this month.
He's super active - working on crawling (he scoots on his belly all over the house), working on sitting (still uses his hands for balance), and working on teething. He zooms around in his walker and babbles and growls and LOVES being outdoors.

He loves going with Miguel to work one day a week, allowing me to work on stuff like blogging for a few baby-free hours.

January 21, 2020
Friends from church surprised Miguel for his 29th birthday.

We are finally settled back into a semi-normal routine.
Miguel is studying for his naturalization interview, which should come up in February or the end of March. He will be going to Dubai for FCA's annual International Capacity Conference mid-March.  He's working in coordinating a trip to Atlanta for some of our coaches' teams. They received an invitation to a tournament coming up in May and navigating all the visa and trip details was a little overwhelming for them to do on their own. There's a potential he'll be traveling with them, meaning he's got potentially 3 trips coming up before the summer.
I'm focusing primarily on being mama to Kai. It sometimes seems like I see him growing right before my eyes! Some days, I feel less productive than ever before - I'm not as actively involved in hands-on ministry as before and the daily tasks of taking care of a baby seem so menial at times. Other days, it seems like I'm grasping at oil as each minute flies by before I can fully grasp and treasure all the changes and learning my son is going through.

This year, I have some goals for this blog that are a bit different than what I've done so far. This blog has mostly held stories of my missionary life and the twists and turns it's taken me, and now us, on. I've been trying to figure out what it means to be intentional in motherhood while not using it as an excuse to ignore people within my reach. One way of exploring new opportunities is creating more content for this blog. I don't know exactly how it will look, yet, but it will definitely include mom stuff, foreign living stories in a more detailed way, inspirational/devotional content, and some practical post such as what it's been like navigating dual residency and citizenship processes.

My next blog post is going to be our full birth story. This type of content doesn't interest everyone, but I want to have it documented somewhere, and for those interested in birth stories, you'll be able to relive it with me.


Until next time!