17 months

I can't believe Isaac is no longer a baby. He is clearly a little man at this point. The last 17 months have flown by!

Isaac loves eating, climbing, yelling, singing, and watching birds. He is very social, but doesn't like being dropped off at daycare or the church nursery, even though he gets over it pretty quickly. His favorite foods are french fries and cake or cookies--it makes no difference as long as it's sweet! He can take things off of the table and the kitchen counters. He enjoys emptying both cupboards and baskets or boxes. He is a good helper when it's time to put the groceries away and a terrible helper when it's time to fold laundry. 

His vocabulary expands daily. Common words we hear around here are: up, get down, dog, Da, Mimmy, wawo (zwazo=bird in creole), book, rye (to sing Rise and Shine), ball, more, ji (for drink), tank oo, cat, nose, eye, and ungy (for hungry). He knows the signs for more, please, hungry, and maybe one other word. 

Isaac LOVES music and tractors. 

renew

My one word theme of the year is renew. 

I'm looking forward to a year of renewal--in faith, love, friendship, humility, and many other areas.

Psalm 51: 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Ruth 4:15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. 

Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Titus 3:4 ...He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit...

degaje, what I learned in Haiti

At the beginning of the school year I started drinking coffee every day. Waking up at the (butt) crack of dawn forces a person to find ways to keep their eye lids open so early in the morning.

Before we moved into our apartment I picked up a few essential items at a place called The Depot (it's my new favorite store--a Mennonite thrift shop in Goshen). A coffee pot and a toaster oven were my two proudest purchases. 

Unfortunately, I dropped our coffee pot as we were moving in and it shattered into a million little pieces, along with my dreams of drinking coffee in the mornings. 

BUT! using a skill I learned in Haiti, I was able to find a solution to my very grave problem. Behold, my solution to having a coffee maker but no coffee pot:

I effectively used this small sauce pan to degaje, or used my resources to fix my problem. Thankfully my grandma sent us an extra coffee pot she had and we don't have to use this pan anymore.