Finally, the 3 of us. Pronto estan enviando copias de este foto a Peru por la familia alli.

a photo and video

we made it

don't miss the photos I posted below.

Rain

This was Eliana and Andrews first thunderstorm. They experienced it in a car, which made it even scarier. But we made it back fine. It shook me up too! The clouds sure came close to the ground, and it seemed like a tornado could pop out of them anytime, but I guess clouds doing that is normal in Iowa.

Iowa, Estados Unidos

I know, we need some family pics! We always take photos of Andrew, but need more of the 3 of us.

this evening

I really didn´t think my camera would still be taking pictures, but it is. It has made it from Kansas, to Alaska, to Iowa, to Peru, and soon to Iowa again. It has been a trooper. Really has been great, because if that camera gave out, we would not be able to get another one right now. It has problems, but atleast I am getting photos, and can someday be put into a scrapbook.

Here are some photos today of a going away dinner that was especially for the people who are a part of the company Eliana works in. Friday is a special get together for all the family, because saturday Elianas parents are leaving on a mission, and that is the last time we will see them for a while, because then soon we will be leaving.

My birthday, and more.

I had a really good birthday. I got to eat one of my favorite Peruvian foods... Peruvian Chaufa. Elianas sister, and one of my nieces made that sign that says ¨feliz cumpleanos tim¨. I have said before that the cakes that you can buy here are really good. But for my birthday, Eliana made me cake. Eliana made it without using a cake mix, and it was even more delicious than the cakes at the bakeries. I am not just saying that because I am her husband... everyone else was saying how good the cake was too. I wish there was more, but it is all eaten now.

(below) Eliana wanted to see how much clothing she could fit in a suitcase, and Andrew wanted in on the fun.

(below) Andrew adores our nephew Gabriel, and Gabriel is always knocking on our door so he can see Andrew. Gabriels parents were worried because we are leaving and it could make him really sad, but we tell him that we are leaving, but when we come back, we will bring him a present, and he is glad about that.

update

We are all doing well. We will soon be leaving Peru, and so for the next few weeks we will be getting ready to go. We will be going to Iowa next month.

After Andrew was born, going to the U.S. seemed impossible. Having to get visas for Andrew & Eliana, and that is so expensive and difficult to do. But what is impossible for us is possible for God. I soon learned that Andrew was eligible to be declared a U.S. citizen, and so he was given his U.S. passport. We wanted to go to the U.S. and atleast visit, but did not know how to go about getting Eliana some sort of visa. We thought about a tourist visa, and just stay in Iowa for a while, and then returning to Peru. I know we prayed for guidance and help, and God did just that in his time. God gave Eliana an immigrant visa. This will be a very special Christmas, because Paul, my sister and her family, my parents and Eliana, Andrew, and I will all be together for Christmas. I don´t know when the last time me, Rhonda, and Paul were all together with my parents at the same time. So this is very exciting, and we will have to take a photo of all of us together.

Andrew keeps growing. He is starting to learn how to push himself up on something, and straighten his legs, and so his is kind of in a push up position. He likes to throw his toys. When he was in his walker, he was hitting his rattle real hard on the top of the walker, and broke it. He also broke another by throwing it on the floor. It is funny, because he will throw his toys on the floor, but then right away want to go and look for it. He used to always wear a hat, and I remember one time we were talking to my parents on webcam, and I took Andrews hat off so they could see his hair, and he started crying, and so we put the hat back on him. But now his hats don´t stay on very long, because he pulls them off.

Andrew has both front teeth on the bottom, and one on top is coming in. He does really good, and I think does not have the pain or discomfort that a lot of other babies have when they are teething.

Oh, This morning I was laying on the bed, and Andrew had crawled onto my back and he saw my ear, and bit my ear. And with those teeth of his, that hurt. If it hurts when he bites your finger, you know it will hurt when he bites the bony part of your ear. But of course he just wanted something to chew on, especially now because he is teething.

Everyone get ready to welcome Eliana & Andrew to the U.S.

Here is Andrew in his new stroller, that we got for our trip to the U.S. Instead of carrying him in the airports, he can be in this, and I imagine he will sleep in it. That bar is to help keep him from falling out, but he likes to put his feet on it. The first time he did it he laughed, and has been doing it since.

Look what he is doing!

That little guy, he loves to be stood up. I think he has wanted to get a hold of that stuff on that shelf for a long time. He likes to kick that shelf through the bars on the crib. Today he got on his knees, and reached up to get to the stuff on the shelf. His cold medicine, and desitin, and all that sort of stuff is up there. I helped him get on his feet, and he was then able to stay stood up by himself. He is so active, when he gets to walking, I don´t know if I am going to be able to catch him.