The Baby needs a house!

So I know it's been a while since I blogged, but I am redeeming myself with some pictures of what is happening in our lives. My belly is growing, growing, growing. I put a picture on here of my belly as of today, this would be 6 1/2 months. I know the pictures are dark, but they will have to do for now. The baby still has no name, but doesn't seem to mind. He is kicking like crazy ALL THE TIME! And when I say all the time, I mean ALL the time. I wake up in the middle of the night several times and every time he is kicking a lot even then. I can't imagin that he sleeps very much. I hope this is not a forshadowing of what will come. He does kick more though in the late evenings and very early mornings.
I put a picture of the house that we are looking at right now. We are more serious about this house than any other one we have looked at, which makes me very happy because 2 weeks ago we were still planning on living with the very generous Bills family when the baby came (which of course still might happen.) With only 2 1/2 months to go I am starting to feel a little on the desperate side to find a place. I don't have pictures of the inside yet because technically the house isn't even on the market yet. It is brick house with a 2 car garage. 3 bedrooms, 2 baths. The man has redone a lot inside the house and it looks really open and bright. Most of the land is to the right of the house (when facing the house) and some is in back of it. There is a place for me to plant a garden in the back yard (very exciting!) and plenty of room for horses (~7 acres). Only alittle of the land is fenced, so we will have to do a lot of that. But of course I live with an expert fencer and his dad isn't so bad himself. The place is within Tullahoma city limits which makes it good for resale and good school systems also. So enjoy and make comments!

This is the big part of the land (7acres) that is with the house.
It sits to the right of the house. (the rest is behind the house)

Here is the house from the road. The brick is an orange/red color.

The garage is on the left (attached) and the driveway starts at the left also.

Here is "the belly." 6 1/2 months.
Again, kinda a dark picture, but you get the idea.
I tried to pull my shirt back so you could see the bump.

It's a BOY!!!

Well I know most of you know already, but I wanted to make it official.....


IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We are so excited. I wish you all could have seen Mark's face when we finally saw our sweet boy on the ultrasound. He could not be happier. There is no mistaking that our baby is an Adams. He has BIG feet and long legs. Very stubborn as well. The entire time throughout the ultrasound he had both hands and feet together up by his face. We saw his little mouth opening and closing. It was so cute and precious! We are so excited! I will try and post some pictures later on, but for now I just wanted to make the announcement.

More market fun!

Today I went with Larissa to the market and one of the grocery stores near by. I took a few pictures of her talking with her regular fruit and vegetable ladies. I am really enjoying watching Megan and Larissa really getting comfortable with their new culture. I love seeing their relationships with the people of Arequipa blossom daily. God is working through them to reach so many like the lady with a shop on the street who calls their names as they pass by several times a day, or the ladies in the market who greet them as they enter to buy their usual fruits and vegetables, and especially Manuela, the house keeper, who has become part of each family.


Last night when Megan and I got home from the Plaza what did we find our husbands doing?

Yes, that's right. Both of them were sitting on the floor building an airplane and a building from Ana's legos. Where was Ana you say....not allowed to come near the masterpieces being built by our creative husbands. They were so proud of their creations as you can see from the pictures


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Worshiping in Arequipa

Today we worshiped with Team Arequipa. Megan made lunch for everyone (Tacos!) and we had the Lord's Supper together during that time with our meal. Of course this way of participation in the Lord's supper is not what we normally do on Sunday's at home. I have to say that it made a very deep impact on me because I was a lot more aware of my relationship with the people who were at the table surrounding me and the importance of my relationship with them as a family of God. It made a huge impression on me. I doubt there will ever be another time when I am participating in the Lord's supper again that I do not remember this special time sitting around the table with my family in Peru. I made a view video of our worship time together and put in on here for your viewing pleasure. While there are only 4 people here on a regular basis worshiping right now, I can feel the excitement in each of them for the future to have God's church in Arequipa grow beyond all imagination.



After worship the girls (Megan, Larissa and I) went to see "Bride Wars" at the movie theater and had a bite to eat afterward. It was really great spending time with Megan and Larissa. I am reminded why I felt so close to them in Tullahoma. When we got home the boys were watching the Superbowl in Spanish. The only thing Mark and I understood were when they said the players names.

Jerry David is kicking like crazy now. I feel him/her almost all the time. Our next ultrasound is scheduled for the week after we get back so HOPEFULLY the baby will show us if we should be saying he or she. I talked with mom and dad to see how things were going after their ice storm. The weather is much warmer now, but no on in Melber has electricity yet and it doesn't look like they will for a while.

Also, to those who are wondering, Mark is NOT wasting away! He is having no trouble eating here. Lots of yummy stuff to eat and try. And we have NOT had any guinea pig.....YET!

Ciao!

Party at the Plaza!

The Market - this part smelled good!

Our walk to get a taxi

Larissa made cupcakes for desert last night - the girls loved them!

Really loved them!

Conversations after dinner.

Shaye and Ana reading together

Today's Arequipa adventure took us out on the town! We started out walking down the street, catching a cab and going to the main plaza in Arequipa called The Plaza de Armas. There were a TON of people there. We walked for several blocks and saw(among other things) a beautiful church and the market where you can buy pretty much ANYTHING you want. Of course the smells of the raw fish was almost impossible to take, but I did it with my nose plugged. We also stopped and had some fruit drinks and a snack. Then it was on to the language school where the team has been taking classes for the past several months. We stopped at Arequipa's form of a walmart (sort of). The main lesson I picked up from this experience is that no one in Arequipa is in a hurry to do anything. I bet we waited in line to pay for about 4 things for 30minutes. We were the next people to check out the whole time too! I know you are asking...what were those people in front of us doing??? Honestly, I have no idea. At one point I looked up and it seemed like the cashier and the customers were just standing there staring at one another. Anyway, here are some pictures I took last night at Kyle and Larissa's for dinner and then today while we were out. Enjoy!

Bienvenidos a Arequpia!

This is our airplane, the mountains were
more visable when we first stepped off the plane.

Mark and Ana are reading the Elmo book
that Mark and I got her for Christmas

The plums and grapes we had as a snack
being enjoyed by Ana

So....we made it to Arequpia! We are safe and sound at Greg and Meg's place. After a long trip we arrived at the Arequpia airport about 5am. I'm sure you are wondering how we did on the flights...well Mark won't be able to tell you because HE SLEPT THE ENTIRE WAY! He stayed awake long enough to transfer flights, then he was out until I woke him up AFTER we had already landed in each airport. My absoulte favorite time was in the Lima airport when we (actually I mean Mark) slept during our 3 hour layover. I got a total of 30min the entire trip....most of which was in the Lima airport. My job was to stand guard of our 'stuff.' I am not exaggerating when I say that Mark had no trouble sleeping in the airport. I woke him up at least 5 times due to his extremely loud snoring which was causing others who were slowing coming into the gate area to STARE! He was very good thought through the long flight from Atlanta to remind me to get up and walk around.
Once we arrived we met Greg at the Arequipa airport and he was gracious enought to aready have a cab ready to take us to their appartment. The car ride was interesting. I loved the expressions on Mark's face as we would pass in the tiniest spaces on an already small road. It was very interesting to say the least. I have to say Mark and I instantly fell in love with this city and all the views surrounding it. It took our breath away as soon as we got off the plane. Megan was ready and waiting with her usual beautiful smile. It was so wonderful just seeing both of them. Ana has grown so much since we saw here last. She was a little baby when we saw her last and has now grown into a little girl full of energy and the CUTEST faces. Very friendly and loves to read and color...a tactic Mark and I used to get her to play with us. Now we are great friends! Except for the fact that she has called me 'Jenny, Danny, Marlee, and Diane' since we have been here, we seem to really be getting along great. Of course she has no trouble remembering Mark's name without even a cue. We have spent the day relaxing and talking A LOT! Tonite we are going to Kyle and Larissa's....very excited! I can't wait to see them, especially can't wait to see Shaye and how much she has grown.

It's getting to be about that time, so I need to get going. More about our walk and the food we have encountered. Here are some pics to get you started!

Viva Las Vegas!

Las Vegas was awesome! Dave and Phyllis were the best. We saw so many things in just a few days. I worked all night Tuesday night and with perfect timing, the baby decided to add some fun to our trip and kept me throwing up that entire night. I was able to get some sleep on Wednesday during the day, but as soon as I woke up, I was back at it again. Somehow I was able to get us packed and made it by the skin of our teeth to our gate. Wednesday night we flew from Nashville to Vegas. Still feeling extremely nauseous, I made a fool of myself and got one of those blue passes to preboard so that I could sit near the front of the plane, next to my favorite place, the bathroom. Mark was gracious enough to let me lay in his lap practically the entire flight, and by sipping ever so slighly on some gingerale, I was able to keep from getting sick. Dave and Phyllis picked us up we were able to drive through the strip before going back to their house. They live in the cutest little house literally 10minutes from the strip. Dave worked on Thursday, and thankfully I was feeling a lot better so Phyllis took us to Red Rock for a hike which was so awesome. The mountains there are SO different than we had ever seen. They were beautiful! We also went to The Mirage where all the tigers and dolphins are. Friday Dave took off work and we spent most of the day in Zion National Park.....VERY COOL! We did some hiking and drove through the canyon. It was a blast...until the very end. Just as the sun was setting my stomach started hurting and I was soooo nauseous...AGAIN! I then proceeded for the next 24 straight hours to lay on the couch and sleep. The only time I got up was to make my frequent trips to the bathroom 5 feet away and then back. My wonderful, awesome, one-of- a-kind husband along with my now very favorite Aunt and Uncle served and pampered me until I was able to come out of my coma. When I woke up it was Sunday morning, I felt some better and was able to actually converse and eat some food. I was feeling good enough on Sunday night to go to the strip and see some of the awesome places. We went to the Bellagio (sp), The Paris, and The Venetian. Monday morning we got up and went to Hoover Dam (which Mark LOVED) and then Phyllis dropped us off at the airport. The flight back wasn't as bad as the flight there, but still was not at all good. Here are just a very few of our pictures!

Gondola ride in The Venetian...so cool.

Our guide was actually Italian.

Hoover Dam

Zion Nat. Park- our favorite part of the trip


Hiking at Zion - Mark, Phyllis and Dave

In the Mirage- there were atually 6 baby tigers

playing in a cage

Zion...again. Can you tell we liked it!

Red Rock! I felt good that day.

Dave and Phyllis were so awesome and created the perfect vacation for us. They knew exactly what we wanted to see and were so willing to 'just do whatever.' Dave cooked for us every chance he could and did a great job at it I might add. Apparently he is extra great on the grill (I don't first hand-he grilled during my coma). So I totally recommed Las Vegas to EVERYONE! We enjoyed our short time on the strip, but there is so much more to do there than that. We will definitely be back!