Guest Blog: Jeremiah's First Digit

Jeremiah, our son, hit his first digit today. And since this is (at least to us) a momentous occasion, we thought that I (Evan, Jessica's husband) would have the honor of blogging his day.

The actual birthday party won't be until this Saturday, the 8th of March. Still, there are still some pretty exciting things that occurred today:

• The first thing didn't actually happen today, but one year ago on this day. One year ago at 12:35 pm in the Birthing Center of the Silverton Hospital, my son took his first breath of fresh air. At that point he was already 9 months and 2 days old (he was 2 days late) and was ready to continue his growing, but this time on the outside of mommy. And so with much joy our son went from his mother's belly to her chest. He's remained there many days since. I suppose, since he was already alive 9 months and 2 days when he was born, that means he has been alive for 21 months and 2 days. He's already an old timer.

• The second exciting thing about today again wasn't today, but a year ago. You see, our beautiful baby boy was born on a special day. A math day. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a history teacher through and through, but a little math distinction is kind of cool in my book. Jeremiah was born March 3, 2007 or 03/05/07... which are three consecutive prime numbers. And, he was born at 12:35 in the afternoon. If you divide 12 by the number of fingers (not including the thumb) on Jeremiah's left hand (four), you get 3. Then if you divide 35 by 5, you get 7. Or in other words, our son was born at 3, 5, 7 on 03/05/07.

• The third thing that I would like to share about today actually happened today. For some reason, as though his mind and body knew that today he was one years breathing, Jeremiah has made leaps and bounds in his development. Its all in the little things too. One example is that normally in the bathtub he is very docile. Not tonight! Tonight he started splashing and splashing and splashing. And when I would tap my hand on the side of the tub, he started doing it right next to mine keeping perfect time. Also, when I told him to put his toys into the tub at the beginning and to take them out at the end, he did so with such understanding and seemingly happiness. He seemed pleased to follow directions.

These are not the only things that I've noticed about my son today, but they are a few of the cute things that have just warmed my heart. It is a great privilege to be a father. Tonight, watching my son play in the bathtub, it was almost as though I were watching myself. It was surreal but very pleasant. I have the joy of raising my son. In a sense, I am raising myself. That's one digit down. Let's make it to two.

News, news, news...

On Monday Evan had a Skype phone interview with the principal at the Cikarang middle school, along with the principal of the high school who was also present. It started at 8pm our time (11am their time) and lasted an hour and a half. The principal, Eric Semler, was really nice and went into a lot of detail about things. They asked a lot of questions, but Evan did an awesome job answering them and really showed his teacherly ability. By the end of the interview Eric said that Evan was just what they were looking for and was a good fit for their school and that "this is a job offer."

We were a little shocked. I figured it would be a long wait again with the constant check of emails and the daily reminder that "it is 8am in Indonesia." But there it was, a job offer. If he were to accept he would be teaching 9th and 10th grade Language Arts and Social Studies. He would probably also be involved in some after school sport as well. We told him we pretty much knew our answer, but would pray about it for a few days to make sure and then email him back. We will probably email him tonight with the answer.

INDONESIA! We knew it could really happen, but it's hard to believe it really will be happening. There are still some concerns, such as having the baby. The school can't cover us with insurance when we get there. We will either have to pay for having the baby ourselves, which might work since it is a cheaper standard of living, or me possibly staying behind and Evan coming to get me and Jeremiah and the new baby in October when they get a week break. Eric was going to find out the prices for us to have a baby there and get back to us. We have to really get going too, there is so much for us to do before we go. We need to sell everything in our storage unit, buy a bunch of stuff, do a lot of planning, sell the car... etc, etc.

The only really hard thing to think about is leaving family. Our families would be happy if we stayed here and yet we would be miserable. If we go, we will be happy and our families will be upset. My parents are having a particularly hard time with it all. My mom worries a ton about things and this is like a worry hay-day for her. Also they have had Jeremiah here for almost a year and refer to him as "my baby." They wouldn't see the new baby in person for at least a year, but possibly two. Hard things. I keep thinking about what pastor Keith has said in the past. If you are following God, sometimes those around you will have to make sacrifices and suffer for your obedience. It's true and a bit sad all at the same time.

Since this is getting long, one last thing. Today Jeremiah is one year old! Can you believe it? My baby is not a baby anymore, but a toddler. It goes by so fast.

The Waiting Game

We finally heard back from Indonesia. It was not the day after as we were hoping, but a week later. Evan emailed the principal and politely asked if we would be hearing any new soon. The principal responded saying that "staffing was a complex process" and especially since he was talking with the other schools about their positions as well and so who know how long it would be before they could nail down an offer if they had one.

Then the email came and it was not the one we wanted. "It looks like I will have to use my last expat position elsewhere and will not be able to offer you a position in Karawaci. However we feel you are the kind of teacher we are looking for within our organisation so I have passed your application on to Mr Eric Semlar the Principal at out Chikerang campus. He may well have a vacancy that would suit you."

After all the waiting and hoping it seemed like there would be no position at this school for us after all. The principal had made it seem like we had more of a chance than I guess we did. Evan emailed the Chikerang principal, but it is kind of like starting all over with another school. Application, references, interview...etc. He also might have a position available. Needless to say we were a bit upset and disappointed (he emailed at the end of the day Indonesia time which was about 12:30am here). Then a few minutes later we get another email from this principal. "Evan, sorry. I may have a position open. I'll email you tomorrow."

What? You just said there was no position. We eagerly awaited an email the next day, but to no avail. It was then their weekend so we are waiting until it turns Monday morning there to see if we might hear what position he might have available. We are both losing patience with the school and the process of job hunting. If they have a position we want them to offer it. If they don't we want them to tell us it is over so that we can move on.

All in all it looks like the waiting game will continue another week.

kleenex mountains

Last week Jeremiah and I went to playgroup and there was another baby Jeremiah's age there who was sick. Jeremiah and this baby played together and most likely slobbered on the same toys since they are both in that phase. Two days later Jeremiah got sick. One day later, after holding the sick child, I was sick. Now it has been five days and Jeremiah is finally getting over it and I am hoping for an end to the stuffy nose and the coughing fits.

Though it is sad when Jeremiah gets sick it is cute as well. Sickness is the only time he will slow down enough to be held and cuddled with and when he is sick all he wants is to be cuddled. That is why my mom and dad are now getting sick as well. They couldn't resist his little sicky eyes and runny nose. My sister is also sick because she made the mistake, I mean choice, to come over here and then my mom kept telling her that Jeremiah wanted her to play with him. So sickness abounds around here and hopefully will end soon.

On another note we finally heard back from Indonesia after two long weeks of waiting. The verdict...keep waiting. They said that they really liked Evan's application, references, and interview but they had to give the economics position to another candidate who was more qualified. But they also said that they would love (actual word used) to have Evan as part of their team. The principal was going to look into a couple more possible positions at the other campuses so we shall see. We are hoping to hear back tonight. I know that it boosted Evan's self esteem to have them really trying to find a place for him because they want him to come. Since we are married and are a team, even though I will not be teaching I feel like their acceptance or rejection of Evan is an acceptance or rejection of me as well.

We both really want to go...to have a little bit (or a lot) of adventure, but it is also incredibly scary. Knowing soon would be nice, things here are getting a bit tense.

Many mouths to feed

The other day we saw another show with the Duggars a Christian family with 17 children. The show we were watching was an earlier one called "Raising 16 Children." Every time we watch one of these shows we get fascinated with the family and Evan does all the Google research he can to find out more about them.

There are a lot of people who disagree with the fact that they have so many children, but really what right do you have to say that they should or shouldn't? It is their life. Their children seem happy, well mannered, and well provided for. They live debt free for goodness sake! Shows like this make me think of our possible future of who knows how many children. Our philosophy on birth control and how children are a blessing is very similar to the Duggars. To us they are an inspiration.

One of the things people like to point out is that having so many children is bad for the kids because they don't get enough attention or one-on-one time with their parents. I don't like that reasoning at all. In America, even families with only two children are not guaranteed time and attention. There are many families where both parents work and the kid is in daycare. I think that whether you have 17 kids or two it all depends on how you raise them.

I only have one sister and growing up I was lonely. I don't have a huge bond to either of my parents and my sister and I are very different. As a young adult I don't remember my mom ever coming into my room and having deep meaningful conversations with me. My parents were always there for me in the ways that they should be, but to this day my parents still miss out on a huge chunk of my life because we don't have the relational part of our relationship down. So despite the fact that we only have two kids in my family there are still many things missing.

Anyway, I think I kind of got off topic and opened my heart a bit much. That is all for now. I just really appreciate these families who stand unafraid against a society that does not agree with their lifestyle. Plus all 17 kids have names that start with "J" crazy huh?

God and His sense of humor

I have to love God and His sense of humor. The day I posted my previous post I was at the end of my patience when it came to waiting for direction. I just needed something to happen...anything! I blogged about my frustration and by the end of the day two of my frustration blockades had been torn down.

1. Evan got his substitute license.
2. Evan received a time for an interview.

I was a little bit ashamed at the end of the day that I had so lacked patience in these areas. I am convinced that God chose that day for these events to happen to show me that He is indeed still working behind the scenes even when it seems like everything is at a standstill.

Since then Evan has had his interview and we are waiting to hear back from the school in the next week or two. He has also registered with the school district here and is awaiting their call to substitute. This is where we are in life at the moment.

Since it was Evan's birthday yesterday we get to go out for dinner and a movie tonight...baby free. Let me just say that I am quite excited about this. If we were to move away I think I would miss the baby-free date we go on every week the most. Because it was his birthday we should get to stay out a little later than usual. My parents should be able to get Jeremiah down to sleep since we have resorted to the cry it out method. While I hate putting him in his crib and leaving him to cry, he is 11 months old and still cannot go to sleep without us "holding his hand" or continuously laying him down for an hour. It has worked for the last two days and he has been crying less and less so we are crossing our fingers that this is our final solution.

That is all I have to post about today though I heard through the grapevine that I need to post more often. Getting more comments which would show me that people actually read this would help me to have the desire to post daily (which Evan said he would provide time for). We shall see.

" I'm stuck in the middle with you..."

I feel like I am stuck in a place where I don't want to be or maybe, where I don't know how to be.

Part 1: We are still living with my parents (six months and counting) and will probably be here until the summer at least. While I love my family it is just so stressful for me to have to live here. I am in desperate need of my own space to have some control over. My parents were gone for the weekend and we had the house to ourselves. Let me tell you, I was so much more relaxed and less stressed.

Part 2: The people that do the licensing for teachers still have yet to get Evan his substitute license. While Evan reminded me that it has only been three weeks or so, it feels like forever. He has been at home, jobless, since the middle of December. That is a long time for us to just be sitting around the house...together. When he was working I felt like I had a routine and some purpose for my days. Now I just feel like I am wasting my precious moments to television and sitting. I can't stand it.

Part 3: Evan has applied at many International schools and has gotten many responses in the negative. He doesn't have the two years of teaching experience that every school wants. We have however heard favorably from Sekolah Pelita Harapan, a Christian school in Indonesia. They have looked over Evan's application, checked his references and are now wanting to schedule an interview. If he were to get the job he would be teaching Economics to grades 11 and 12.

It is just so hard to continue waiting and hoping and being scared. What if they say no? We have been trying not to get our hopes up, but it is a little bit difficult. What if they say yes? We will be embarking on a huge, scary adventure. Plus there is the fact that I am having a baby in September...in Indonesia? I know that the Lord is directing all of this to whatever His will is, it is just getting so hard to wait. I don't know how to live my life in the waiting process. It seems like everything is at a standstill and there are just so many unknowns.

Lord give me patience and wisdom to know what to be doing now while I wait.