A Sweet Visit

A Christian girlfriend, Krista, that I met shortly after I met Scott in 2002 came to visit us with two of her friends, Ana & Neda, last week. 

We enjoyed a day at the beach

Krista took some great shots of life here. 

Krista is all about catching the moment on camera!

This guy asked me to buy him a mango while I was buying fruit. I didn't respond. Then he said "It's for the nino." I told him, "It's always for the nino" (b/c that's a common phrase when they want something). But after Krista wanted his photo he said we could take it if I bought him a mango! Fair enough.
I LOVE THIS PHOTO. It captures the dominican fruit stand, the dominican street sign, and you'll notice our friend here is a windshield washer.  At almost every stoplight there is a guy wanting to wash your windows for a few pesos...it's better than begging! The clever ones, like the one above, use a 20oz bottle filled with soapy water with a hole poked in the lid to squirt the water on your car windows. He then has a disgusting sponge to wipe his dirty soapy water with and a leather strap to swipe off the water. 

Krista and the girls enjoyed coco water and the flesh of the coco or la comida del coco (didn't like that part so much). We found out the hard way that coco water must be refrigerated if its not in the coco or it starts to ferment quickly!

Staple ingredients in dominican seasonings include: red bell pepper, onion, garlic, and cilantro

They DEVOURED Santa's chicken

stoplight vendor

papaya

 Krista, Macklin, and I spent a couple of hours in the Colonial Zone.

restaurant on the water before heading to the airport

We miss them a lot!!

Enjoying our Days

Oh how the days are flying by! Well...there are those hours that seem to never end, but the days are fastly turning into weeks which are turning into months [spellcheck says "fastly" isn't a word, but we're going to roll with it]. 

Adeline and Darton enjoy playing Peter Pan these days. Some days Darton is Hook and other days he's Peter Pan...thanks Aunt Jenny for the awesome costume! 

 Neverland is in the bushes [not exactly bushes]. Matthias curiously followed his older siblings into Neverland.

 "Help me, Peter," Wendy called.

 Matthias' stomach is going to be the strongest of us all with all the hose water I catch him drinking! It's a big no no to drink from the tap here. Praise God he hasn't gotten amoebas yet. The stubborn boy looks me straight in the eyes and THEN puts the hose in his mouth!!

 Macklin turned 2 months this past Tuesday.

 Adeline always asks for dessert after dinner so I thought it would be fun to bake a cake for Macklin's 2nd month bday. Adeline and I baked it, Adeline frosted it, and Darton put the sprinkles on.

Macklin enjoyed sleeping during the celebration. His favorite position is laying on his stomach across your legs. 

Matthias had fun blowing out the candles. 

These clever fellows cut circles out of cardboard squares to create sombreros! They gladly posed for a picture. 

Our train as we walked around the neighborhood this week. I LOVE MY NEW STROLLER!!! 

Matthias sucking on one paci while helping Macklin with his. 

I think it's in there now!

It's lots of sunshine these days and the kids are in the pool just about every day. 

Darton can official swim solo but only when an adult is in the pool. 

A girlfriend loaned us her Moses basket and I'm convinced I'm going to buy one for Adeline's first child. It's awesome!

A Blessings Shower for Macklin

If you recall, this time lat year my Christian sisters gave Matthias a shower in which we passed him around and they each pronounced a prayer or blessing over his life. This past Thursday, they held one for Macklin. It was an incredibly sweet time to hear my sisters' prayers for my son. I thought I'd take the time to post them, especially for my family to read.

Macklin Jedediah Scott

I pray for Macklin and his family to always seek you Lord Seek you when things are hard as well as in tims of blessings. I pray he uses his life and his talents for you and your kingdom. I pray he always embraces your word, wisdom and hugs. I pray that when that day comes and he finds a woman to marry, that she is grounded and centered in you Lord. I pray for the generation he brings into the World seeks you Lord! - Mary

{given that Macklin was a surprise, a sister gave me this verse for his life along with a blessing}
James 1:17 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
May God give you the strength and wisdom as you raise Macklin in your Godly household.
Bless his life with joy and laughter, I pray that he will rise up and take the challenge God has set before him to become the man of God he is mean to be. - Abby

May the Lord bless you and keep you as you grow in all areas of your life. May you truly be "beloved of God" and come to know Him and love Him at a young age. May you grow to be a man that is rooted and grounded in God's love and truth and a blessing to those around you. - Alejandra

May the lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you. May you seek Him and find him. I pray your life is filled with overflowing joy, so that others my know your God. I pray your life is full and your legacy is long. may your friendships be many and your enemies few. May you have wisdom beyond your years and you love the Lord with all your heart. Praying God for your life. - Kerri

May you always know how bless you are! You were born into a loving Christian family that will nurture you and encourage you to become a Godly man. You will have opportunities to live in a different culture and experience worlds others will only dream of. May you always know that you were blessed to be a blessing to others. We wait with great expectation to see how God is planning to use you, Macklin, to grow His kingdom to glorify Himself. - Ina

May the Lord fill you up to overflowing with His love for people and may you pour the joy of the Lord upon all the people on your life all of your days. May you serve Him wholeheartedly and unashamedly all your life. May the fullness of the Lord's blessing be upon you. My heart greatly rejoices and with my song I will praise Him. Ps 28:7 - Dana
{Dana has been praying since we first found out we were pregnant that Macklin would be my joy. If you recall I truly struggled with being joyful with this pregnancy due to its suddenness.}

 {I'm afraid of butchering this blessing in Spanish, so I will leave it in it's original language}
Querido Baby Macklin, Tenemos algo en comun: tu mama nos ha llevado de la mano a onour a Jesus. El camino de sequirle es emocionante. Le pido a Dios y al Espiritu que te acompanen en cada uno de tus pasos. - Elisa

 Mary the hostess with the mostess!
 

 Dana's husband came in to say hi and got a smile out of Macklin.

 7 weeks old

The shower was a great time of reflecting on what God taught me this past February - Macklin's presence in my family is not about me. It's about Him and his plan for Macklin. God wanted Macklin born in March 2012 for a future purpose we don't know yet. And not that this purpose will be some grandioso event, but that God's perfect plan for Macklin's life meant that he needed to be born this past March.

Beach, Tent, & Potty

We have started taking Matthias to the potty when you know he is going in his diaper. He signed "potty" for me tonight and off we ran. Darton is reading a book to keep his brother entertained. 

Scotty set up a tent Sunday night for A & D and him to sleep in....actually he tried to convince me they would be okay sleeping outside by themselves.  I gently reminded him there is a reason we have bars on our windows and we lock ourselves in behind a metal gate upstairs! 

 Our First Trip to the Beach as a Family of 6!

Everyone is lending a hand with pool work since Theo is still gone. 

What a cheeser!