More Moseys

In South America, instead of celebrating Halloween they celebrate Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) a day later. It's connected to a Catholic holiday, All Saints Day, and everyone cooks tons of food. The idea is to make the favorite dishes of your family members who have passed away, and then take it to their graves. The grocery store and market this weekend was INSANE, like the week before Thanksgiving and a snowstorm forecast all rolled into one! Not to mention the employees dressed up in costumes roaming the aisles. But with all this cooking, we were lucky to score some homemade cookies and pastries from Tina, our neighbor and spanish teacher:) It's an interesting holiday, and although I respect the traditions, I still hold that after I'm gone, I won't need cheesecake or caprese salad on my grave....there's bound to be some seriously good food in Heaven, right?

And speaking of seriously good stuff, the Moseys are working on adding another kid to the mix:) I'm 9 weeks along and the baby is doing great. We found a great doctor here and already had an ultrasound. The due date is June 5...Jude's birthday is June 4 and I'm hoping they don't have the same birthday. I'm not sure why, it just seems like unless you're a twin, you deserve to have your own day! Anyway, I've been a little tired and *maybe* a tad more irritable, but otherwise fairly well. I thought I had morning sickness and flailed around the house complaining about it, but later discovered my "morning sickness" conveniently started when I began 10 days of antibiotics for a UTI (sorry if that's too much info) and as soon as I stopped taking it, the nausea magically disappeared! I would come out of the bathroom after a sick episode and tell Ted to get ready for a daughter, since this pregnancy felt so different from the last. But now that things are kind of normal again, I'm back to the drawing board on what the sex is! And for those of you who have already asked...No, we're not finding out again. We have PLENTY of green, white, and orange onesies to cover the first 3 months:)
Does this affect our time in Cochabamba? Yes, and we're still working out the details. The bad thing about trying to plan a family is that you can never really plan correctly, and once again our picture is changing. We came here with a bit less financial support than we needed to cover the year, and we're taking that into account along with what's best for our family and the future needs of the ministry here in Cochabamba. Our plans for now are to have the baby in the U.S. and that means we'll be leaving in enough time to do that, but we're still working on the exact timing. Stay tuned!
Here's the 8 week ultrasound, and the up and coming big brother.


Thanks for already loving this new little one as much as we do!

Lucky in Love

Ted and I are celebrating our 4th year of marriage today. Remembering that beautiful fall night in Nashville always makes me smile:) I remember my 22 year old self thinking that night, "This is it! I can't imagine being any happier than I am right now." But you know what? I've had Tuesday mornings where I'm stretched out on the couch watching the news with my family that my heart has been just as full as that day. The wedding was great, but its the marriage that makes me smile now. We've been better and we've been worse. Definitely been richer and poorer. Sickness? Check. Health? Check. Has it really only been four years??;)
So today, I'm celebrating every page of our story--all the good and the bad and the in between--and the wonderful priviledge of being the other half of the best man I know. God says He can do for us "immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine," and I see that most clearly in the gift of my husband. Happy Anniversary, Teddy! I can't wait for more!

La Paz, Cuzco, and Machu Picchu...oh my!

It's been a busy couple of weeks! Ted's dad and Thom came to visit us. They spent the first part of their trip in Cochabamba, and it was fun showing them around our "hood" and having a little piece of home here for a while. We did lots of walking around the city, visiting the parks, taking them to local restaurants, showing them the markets, and sightseeing.





After Cochabamba, we all left for Peru! First, we had to fly to La Paz (the capital of Bolivia) and stay the night. We got there early enough in the day to check things out and walk around the "Witch Market" area. La Paz is BEAUTIFUL with a capital B. I had no idea! It's the highest capital in the world, at 13,000 ft. The views are breathtaking: snow-capped mountains, huge valleys, gorgeous architecture, cobblestone streets. It reminded me a little of San Franscisco with all the steep alleys, only La Paz has a darker and more mysterious vibe. Ted and I are hoping to go back sometime in the future, since its only a 30 minute flight!

What are those, you ask? Dried baby llama fetuses, of course! Used by Bolivians for ritual/religious purposes...

...used by Ted for a photo op. Yes, he washed his hands before dinner!


We stumbled across a tiny Moroccan restaurant and had a feast!

We only spent one night in La Paz, and its a good thing too because Bryce and Thom were having some trouble with the altitude and couldn't sleep:( We woke up bright and early the next day and flew to Cuzco, Peru. Cuzco is an interesting city and it used to be the Incan capital of the world, with tons of history and very cool Incan architecture everywhere. We were greeted at our hotel with coca tea, grabbed some lunch, and then went on a city tour of cathedrals and Incan ruins. Jude even got some quality time with a couple of sheep.



Jude got tired early that night so we put him to bed, ordered room service for dinner, and discovered the Colts/Titans game was on TV! So in a very unabashed American display, we settled into bed to watch the football game...in Cuzco. The next day we headed to (drumroll) Machu Picchu! The town at the base of the mountain is actually called Aguas Calientes, where most of the hotels are. So, after 2 flights, 2 (long) taxi rides, a train, and finally a bus, we arrived at Machu Picchu! The train was about an hour and a half through some very pretty parts of the country. Here's a shot out the window.

And arriving in Aguas Calientes

OK. Here's the thing about Machu Picchu. I had no clue what it was 5 years ago, but it was recently voted one the Seven Wonders of the World, and very deservedly so. When the Spanish came to conquer this part of the world, they somehow weren't able to find this city since its so high up in the mountains. It was only discovered in 1911, and the architecture is amazingly advanced. All the stones are handcut and fit together perfectly, so tight in parts that you can't slide a piece of paper in between them. They built tiers going down the mountain where they experimented with different crops. It was a city for elite intellectual Incans and a place where knowledge was preserved. There are stones that perfectly align with the stars in certain months of the year, doorways that tell when the solstice is by the position of the sun, all kinds of crazy stuff. It even sits on a fault line, but the design was so perfect (without mortar) that it survived through many earthquakes because their plans allowed for minor shifts of the stones without damage. Ted's dad has wanted to make the trip to Machu Picchu since he was young, and it was really cool to make the trip with him:)
We got up at 5am to be on the mountain when the sun rose. At first it was really cloudy, but them all of the sudden the clouds started to burn off and Ted and I just stood there and stared at the most incredible sight we'd ever seen. Hands down, no contest, the most spectacular scene I've laid eyes on! Not just the city itself, but those towering green mountains and even the mysterious clouds just all came together.




Then we decided to hike Waynapicchu, the second highest mountain. Well, Thom decided, and we all went along with it:) It took over an hour to hike up, and whew!--was it steep! As someone afraid of heights, I tried very hard not to look at the drop-offs every few feet, and instead concentrated my efforts on saying "Caaareful" every few minutes to Ted, who had Jude in the baby backpack. Did I mention there were NO kids at Machu Picchu? None. I saw a teenage girl but that was the youngest kid I saw at any point that day. People were shocked when they saw that we had Jude with us on the hike, and he quickly became a celebrity. People were stopping to take pictures of him.


Needless to say, we were completely exhausted by the time we were finished!

We went back to Cuzco for our last night. American Indulgence #2 was McDonalds. Yes, on the Plaza in Cuzco we spotted those gleaming golden arches. We managed to find a quarter pounder and fries and I was one happy gringa:) We strolled around the plaza, browsed some shops, and had a great dinner. Jude had a wonderful time riding around with his Gramp, too.

Jude was a total angel and slept through each night like a rock, took his naps, and toddled around Peru like a little pro. Much to his parents' relief! His personality is just right for traveling, and I could not be more thankful for that, especially this year! A huge thanks to Bryce and Thom for bringing us along:) It definitely left us with memories to last a lifetime!
"It is good to know our universe. What is new is only new to us."
Pearl Buck

Chair Affair

We normally visit the orphanage in Frutillar twice a week: sometimes to chat with the houseparents, Marcelino and Sophia, sometimes to watch a movie with the kids or take them somewhere to play, and sometimes just to say hello. Jude always loves our visits, and the kids just love Jude right back. The girls take a special liking to him. He has that effect;) This week, Jude got trumped by his diaper bag, though. I've always found its contents rather run-of-the-mill, but it quickly became more exciting than the soccer game!
Ariel was soon engaged in an important phone conversation (on my old cell I brought from home, that obviously doesn't work here but serves as a "toy" for Jude)

Jhonny started downing Jude's sippy...

And Vivianna found the camera for a few self-portraits...

I had no idea our stuff was so interesting! I did manage to turn the camera on Dahlia though...right before she asked if she could borrow the old cell phone and return it when we go back to the States:)

Back at our casa, Jude has 2 new loves: chocolate milk and his new plasitc chair. I let him finish a carton of chocolate milk I was drinking because he loves straws so much, and he's decided to try and drink all straw-bearing drinks without the use of his hands. It's cute until it ends up all over him:)


I got this chair from the grocery store because he's been trying to sit in our kitchen chairs and can't stay in them too well yet. (We found some similar little chairs at a store a few days ago but were told they were only for RENT...what??) I figured he'd like sitting at the coffee table and eating snacks in it, but he doesn't. He prefers dragging it to windows and peering outside. And also leaving it in bad spots like in front of the toilet for us to trip over. I'm pleased to report he's only fallen off backwards on his head ONCE.


Other than that, we're just gearing up for our first visitors! Ted's dad and Thom will be here Tuesday and we're really looking forward to it. They'll spend the first part of their trip hanging out with us in Cochabamba, and then we're all going to Peru to visit Machu Picchu, which we are so excited about!

Busy Bee in the Bathroom

So I'm probably the only person who thinks this is super-cute, but whatever. Jude loves playing in the guest bathroom, and I mean LOVES it! It's nice, because I can have coffee and check email in the morning, and he just goes to town in there. It's the same every day...
He carefully climbs in (to Mom's incessant "Caaaaaareful" as there are lots of sharp corners)

He closes the sliding doors until he is "locked" inside...

...gleefully acknowledges his new position...

and happily screeches as though in a soundproof booth:)

At risk of sounding TOO corny, my heart just overflows when I look at him sometimes, and I know it always will. Jude, sweet baby, honey bunny....I love being your mom:)

Time Warp

Spring has sprung in Cochabamba and its so confusing! September is supposed to be about football and that first nip in the air, not about blooming flowers! Ted and I have each received our spring "gifts" early this year...his allergies, and my first migraine here:( Cochabamba is nicknamed La Ciudad de la Eterna Primavera--the City of Eternal Spring--(which was a little scary since that's my migraine season!) but temps stay mostly the same during the day here. The nights have started warming up considerably though. It really is beautiful though, and a treat to experience twice in one year:)


Football season looks a little different this year too. No more tailgating, jerseys, and (oh! clutching our hearts) Colts games in the new stadium. No sir. This year, we gather 'round a laptop and pray the NFL Ticket/NFL Pass we're sharing doesn't malfunction (as it did during the 4th quarter of the first game) and leave us blinking at a blank screen! It's actually nice though, that after 6 days of immersion of Spanish and Bolivian culture, to have that American activity to relax in. We've been watching with our friends Matt and Elsa (Bears fans, yikes) and Jude does a good job of being ignored, toddling around their house taking important phone calls. Personally, I think he's taking bets when he disappears around the corner on the phone, but he's learning to cheer on the correct team at (mostly) the appropriate moment, and its just adorable:)
Even with silly stuff like football, I've noticed God pointing to a lot of my blessings lately, and clearly telling me "Look at that! Enjoy that! Notice that!" Whether its Jude blowing me a kiss, the purple flowers outside my window, or the fact that Ted gets to be home for lunch, or avocados the size of my head, or the miracle that a taxi driver gets me anywhere with my broken spanish...these are not my rights. A lot of the time, I'm too distracted to notice, or think I've earned or deserve them, or focus on what's not mine or what's not right, and meanwhile God is waving his arms and shouting "Look right there, crazy girl!" So I'm trying to notice. It's a process for sure, and an every other day thing for me, at best.
"Earth's crammed with Heaven
And every common bush afire with God.
But only he who sees takes off his shoes.
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries."
-Elizabeth Barrett Browining

I'm sorry but...

...I have the cutest kid on earth. I know this is probably hard for some of you parents to hear, but its true:) And he's absolutely addicted to a Jack Johnson/Curious George video online that he watches oh...15 times a day!


Things have returned to normal for the most part here in Cochabamba. We went to the orphanage in Frutillar last weekend to take some of the kids to play soccer. We encountered a herd of cows and bulls on the walk to the soccer field (because why WOULDN'T we??) and one of the sheep we brought along got a little too close and was kicked 3 feet into the air by a bull (it recovered quickly). Other than that things went fine and it was a good afternoon. The girls are fascinated with Jude and love playing with him:) At one point, Ted asked me how to say "team" in spanish and I told him I thought it was "tema." He ran around yelling for the kids to switch up and create new teams, and we later discovered when we looked it up that tema means theme...hence the bewildered looks he received. Things stick in our memories better when there's an awkward story surrounding it, which seems to be the way we're learning Spanish: through humiliation. Yesterday, Ted was talking about what he thought was a half-brother, but he was saying "half man" instead. That sort of thing.





Saturday we went back to Frutillar and set up a projector and watched Kung Fu Panda with the kids, and yesterday we were pleasantly surprised to discover a new holiday: Dia del Peaton (Pedestrian Day). No cars are allowed on the streets in the city and everyone could wander in the streets with their strollers and skateboards and big wheels and whatever they wanted. Even though Jude was in his stroller most of the time, it was SO much nicer pushing him in the streets, especially when sidewalks look like this:

We walked to our friend/landlord Ana's house downtown and had lunch with her family on the roof of their building. It was great meeting the rest of her family and Jude hit it off with her younger nephews. Cochabambinos are so warm and welcoming, and this shines through so much in their food and hospitality. Ana is moving to La Paz in January, so we have to soak up as much time as possible with her before she leaves. We'll still see her at least once a month after that, but not for leisurely lunches like today:( The walk home was great! This picture of me strolling Jude doesnt look too exciting, but it is to us! This is one of the busiest intersections we walk through on a daily basis. It's right by our house, and traffic is bad here and we basically risk life and limb to cross the streets when stoplights are just a suggestion and motorcycles do their own thing most of the time. So, it was a big deal to stroll across the street right there:) If you blow up the picture you can see a little row of blue shacks in the median up ahead of us. That's "Las Islas" and its a really popular area every night. Around 6pm they all open up and grill all kinds of food, and that whole area is clogged with people until late at night. We're lucky to live right across the street from it, and normally eat "on the street" there (the infamous cow heart kabobs) about once a week when I dont feel like cooking. It's delicious, but makes the dog problem in our area pretty awful...Ted and I have woken up several times a night this week by howling dogs outside our building (hungry? bored? full moon? no idea). We've been sleeping with a mound of oranges on my nightstand to throw in their general direction when it gets bad (please don't call PETA, I said "general direction!"). I actually woke up on the living room floor on Saturday morning...the howling was so bad that Ted got me up and led me to a makeshift bed he made for us using the guest room matress, a little further from the noise. Jude sleeps right through it. It seems to be calming down though, and Ted must agree because I noticed he made a smaller pot of coffee this morning:)


And here's Jude after the stroll home, asleep and clutching his beloved fly swatter. They're his favorite toys right now, and instead of using old ones, we've been buying new ones for him to play with. This particular one is his "travel swatter" as it came with a larger green version that's more appropriate for home use.

He's 15 months old now and so much fun. He teeters around the house with his swatter, giggling and making us laugh:) I haven't seen him crawl in a while so I think the walking is here to stay. He's gone cold-turkey off the "baba" and drinks his milk from his sippy now, and has taken a much greater interest in his books lately. He loves fish so we bought him two at the Saturday market which now live in our kitchen (please don't die!) and we point at family pictures around the house and say names every day. He especially loves looking at Memaw:) He doesn't really throw tantrums, but when he doesnt get his way, he instead looks genuinely hurt and puts his head in his hands and cries quietly, and a kiss usually solves the conflict, bless his heart! When I put him down for a nap this morning, I caught myself walking away from his bedroom half-smiling and shaking my head...I just love that boy so much. God gave us a good one:)








He keeps getting hurt, though. This newfound walking equals newfound face-battering. Last week he fell at the orphanage and busted his lip, and you can see in the same picture a healing cut over his eye where he got caught between a chair and the wall and fell. On Pedestrian Day, we decided to let him be a pedestrian, and he tripped on the street and landed on his face, as seen in Exhibit B. I suppose he is a toddler, and he is a boy, and I'll just have to get used to the bumps and bruises, right?